40 Negro Migration 



ous foreclosures of mortgages. It was introduced in the 

 State legislature of Georgia in 1866 and provided that in the 

 case of mortgage foreclosure, "an exemption of realty to the 

 value of $4,000 in specie, and of personal property to the 

 value of $1,000 in specie, be set apart for each head of a 

 family, or guardian or trustee of a family of minor chil- 

 dren." 



Since the agriculturalists of the State were unable to build 

 a substantial system of credits on land at the time, an expe- 

 dient had to be worked out. This expedient introduced a 

 new factor into the agricultural situation, namely the supply 

 merchant. Under the slavery regime, the planter was, to an 

 extent, also a retail merchant, buying his supplies wholesale 

 from the wholesale merchants in Savannah, Macon or 

 Augusta. Under the post-bellum system the small land 

 owner, and even the tenant, preferred to deal directly with 

 the merchant. During the early years of the crop lien sys- 

 tem (1866-1875) there was a struggle between the landlord 

 and the merchant for the right to hold the lien upon the crop 

 of the tenant. The landlords preferred to hold the lien be- 

 cause they could regulate the expenditure of tenants and 

 would be justified in exercising supervision over the culti- 

 vation in order to protect themselves from loss. The mer- 

 chants wanted to hold the lien because they were advancing 

 the capital for tools, stock-feed and groceries. The final 

 outcome was expressed in the Act of 1875, and was in the 

 nature of a compromise. The landlord was given the right 

 to a first lien upon the crop of a tenant for his rent, and the 

 merchant was given a second lien for supplies advanced. 

 The lien of the merchant was legalized by a transfer of the 

 supply lien from the planter, in cases where the planter 

 desired to shift the responsibility from his shoulders to 

 those of the merchant. 



The advantages and disadvantages of this makeshift sys- 

 tem of credit have received detailed study in several treat- 

 ments of rural economics. 8 



