Page:United States Reports, Volume 1.djvu/165

154 

1785.

another place to refide among us, introduces his family here, take a houfe, engages in trade, contracts debts, and, after fome time, runs away with defign to defraud his creditors, he ought furely to be confidered fuch as inhabitant as not to be an object of the foreign fhould be feized for the benefit of all his creditors, and not of the firft creditor who fhall take out a foreign attachment, otherwife there would be few objects for this equitable law to operate upon.

Such has been the uniform conftruction of the law of attachments in Pennʃylvania from the  year 1724, to the paffing of the act of the 24 Geo. 3. c. 5, which laft act gives a legiflature fanction to the preceeding practice.

We have, therefore, no hefitation in declaring our unanimous opinion, that the foreign attachments againft Lazarus Barnet be diffolved.

The ƒoreign attachments diffolved. 

N this cafe it was ruled by THE COURT, that, to entitle the plaintiff to judgment by default, the fervice of a fummons en the Perʃon of the defendant, as well as it left at his houfe, muft be ten days  before the return. 

FTER argument, THE PRESIDENT delivered the opinion of the Court in this caufe.

SHIPPEN Preʃident:— The firft point to be confidered in this cafe, is, whether the Court think themfelves authorized to enquire into the caufe of action in the cafe of attachments,  as they do in cafes of Copias,  where the defendant's perfon is taken into cuftody ? The reafon of enquiring into the caufe of action on writs iffued againft the perfon, is to prevent a vexatious plaintiff from imprifoning the body of the defendant without cauʃe  In the cafe of attachments, though the reafon may not perhaps be fo forcible,  as the perfonal liberty of the defendant is more precious than his property, yet the abufe of the procefs of law may be as great, and the neceffity of providing againft a wanton and groundlefs feizure of the defendant's effects, as obvious. In the cafe of ʃpeciƒic articles attached, a ftranger's fhip, or other effects, may be taken out of his hands, and detained for fuch a length of time as to ruin his voyage, and embarrafs his affairs beyond redrefs. So, in the cafe of debts attached, his property may be locked up, his remittances prevented, and the injury nearly as great as in the other cafe. The bail marked by an attorney, or a