Cases argued and decided in the Supreme Court of Texas, during the latter part of the Tyler term, 1874, and the first part of the Galveston term, 1875. Volume 42. Page: 426
This book is part of the collection entitled: Texas Reports and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
426 ROGERS V. RAGLAND. . [Term of
Argument for the plaintiffs in error.
stead, and build himself a residence upon it. The law protects
him in lots to the value of five thousand dollars, and the value
of improvements is not to be counted. His house may cost him
five thousand dollars more, and then he will have forty thousand
dollars left. With this money he can erect other buildings
upon his homestead lots, storehouses or dwellings, and rent
them-say for four or five thousand dollars per year. As the
city grows, and rents and property advance, he will be able to
build more or better houses, and rent them at higher rates,
until, as may easily be believed, he niay, in a few years, have
property worth a hundred thousand dollars, yielding an income
of at least ten thousand dollars a year, whilst his creditorspoor
men, perhaps--perhaps men broken up by his failure to
pay-cannot reach a dollar of this property or income.
If it be said that in such a case the rents might, by process
of garnishment, be made liable for the debts of the owner of
the homestead, we reply, that we do not see how a discriminating
line can easily he drawn between protecting, on one hand,
the homestead property from liability for debts, and on the
other, subjecting to those debts the rents that issue out of that
very homestead property. But suppose the courts should devise,
or approve a plan by which it could be done; then, still,
the owner of the homestead could easily defeat both the courts
and his creditors, by renting only for cash in advance, and thus
have no debts for rent that cold be garnisheed.
And now, while these evils, which cannot be denied, are
perhaps incurable by any remedy thb courts can apply, the
obiter dictuwn we are discussing takes a step in advance,
whereby the rights of creditors must be made still more insecure,
and endless complications induced into the settlement of
estates.
Heretofore it has been supposed that men might safely lend
money upon the security of adequate real estate, which formed
no part of the borrower's homestead; and guardians of minors,
and holders of trust funds generally, have been accustomed to
invest on such security, and feel safe. But if this new doe
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Texas. Supreme Court. Cases argued and decided in the Supreme Court of Texas, during the latter part of the Tyler term, 1874, and the first part of the Galveston term, 1875. Volume 42., book, 1881; St. Louis, Mo.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth28531/m1/434/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .