Distream

n. To stream forth or over. Distre ', n. [O. Fr. distre e; Fr. détre e; Lat. districtio, from distringo, district us. See DISTRAIN.] Extreme pain; anguish of mind or body; suffering; agony; misery. "Tune my distre es, and record my woes." - Shaks. -Cause of suffering; calamity; adversity; poverty; gen eral affliction, as of a nation; as, the distre was universal.-State of danger, destitution, or nece ity; as, a ship in distre . ( Law . ) The taking of a personal chattel out of the po e ion of a wrong-doer into the custody of the party injured, to procure satisfaction for the wrong committed. D. are either for some duty omitted, or for some default, or nonfeasance; or they are in respect of some wrongful act done by the distrainee. The most usual injury for which a D. is taken, is that of non-payment of rent. D. may also be taken where a man finds the beasts of a stranger wandering in his grounds, doing him hurt or damage; in which case the owner of the soil may distrain them while they are upon his grounds, till satisfaction be made to him for the injury he has sustained. As a general rule, all personal chattels are liable to be distrained, unle specially protected or exempted, as are all ani mals feræ naturæ; whatever is in the personal use or occupation of any man at the time; and things delivered to a person exercising a public trade, to be carried, wrought, or managed in the way of his trade. But, generally speaking, whatever goods or chattels the landlord finds upon the premises, whether they, in fact, belong to the tenant or to a stranger, are distrainable by him for rent, the stranger having his remedy by action on the case against the tenant. Fixtures, however, and things in the custody of the law, money (except in certain cases), and goods of a perishable nature, as fruits, milk, ., are exempt from distraint; as are also, in some of the States, beasts of the plough, and the instruments of a man's trade or profe ion. In Pennsylvania, property to the value of $300, exclusive of all wearing apparel of the defendant and his family, and all bibles and schoolbooks in use in the family, are exempted from levy and sale or execution, or from D. for rent. A D. cannot be made in the night, except in the case of cattle damage fea sant , as otherwise they might escape. In general, the D. must be made on the premises; but goods fraudulently or clandestinely carried off may be distrained within 30 days thereafter, unle they have been bona fide sold for a valuable consideration. The landlord may not break open a house of which the rent is in arrear, to make a D .; but when he is in the house, he may break open an inner door. D. must be proportioned to the thing distrained for, and an inventory of as many goods as are judged sufficient to cover rent and expenses, must be made and served personally on the tenant, together with a notice of the fact of the D. having been made, and the time when the rent and charges must be paid, or the goods replevied. The landlord cannot sell the goods distrained before the expiry of five days; and prior to the sale an appraisement must be made by two sworn appraisers of the value of the goods. After the sale, if there be any overplus after payment of the rent and expenses, it is to be handed over to the tenant. This remedy is of great antiquity, and is said to have prevailed ainong the Gothic nations of Europe from the breaking up of the Roman empire. Our State legislatures have generally, and with some alterations, adopted the English provisions; but, as a means of collecting rents, D. is unpopular in the U. States, as giving an undue advantage to landlords over other creditors in the collection of debts. In the New England States the law of attachment or mesne proce has superseded the law of D. In other States, as New York and Mi i ippi, it has been abolished by statutes; while in others, as N. Carolina, Ohio, Alabama, and Tenne ee, there are no statutory provisions on the subject. In Louisiana the landlord may follow goods removed from his premises for 15 days after removal, provided they continue to be the property of the tenant. Distre ', v a . To afflict with pain or anguish; to afflict greatly; to oppre or confound with calamity; to make miserable; to pain; to grieve; to trouble; to hara ; to perplex; as, to distre a tender heart. - To govern or compel by pain, suffering, or perplexity; as, to distre a people into submi ion. (Law.) To distrain upon; to apply the law to, by seizure of goods. Distre 'edne , n . State or condition of being in trouble or distre . Distre 'ful, a . Full of distre , pain, or trouble; inflicting or bringing distre ; miserable; calamitous.Indicating distre ; proceeding from pain or distre . "The ewes lay bleating in distre ful cries."- Pope . Distre 'fully, adv . In a distre ful or painful man Distre 'ingly, adv . With acute trouble, pain, or dis ner. tre . Distributable, a. That may be distributed; that may be allotted in portions or parts; as, distributable alms. Distributary, a. Distributive; having a tendency to distribution. Distribute, v. a. [Lat. distribuo, dis tri but us - dis , and tribuo , to give; Fr. distribuer . See TRIBUTE.] To divide among two or more; to give or bestow in parts or portions; to apportion; to deal out; to a ign; to allot; as, to distribute spoils of war, to distribute lands. - То administer, as justice; to dispense. - To divide or separate, as into cla es, orders, kinds, or species; to cla ify into sections. ( Logic .) To apply in its entire extent; as, to distrib ute a term. (Printing.) To separate and allot to their proper places in the case; as, to distribute type. -r.n. To a ign by distribution; to bestow in portions; to give in charity; as, to distribute alms, to distribute gifts. Distributer, n. One who distributes, dispenses, allots, or a igns; as, a distributer of justice.