Noah Haynes Swayne

“ The future was uncertain. A transaction which then seemed wise and fortunate, a year later might be deemed greatly otherwise. It is hard to avoid the conviction that the plaintiff's conduct marks the difference between forethought in one condition of things and afterthought in another.
The discovery of the cause of action, if such it may be termed, is thus set forth: 'And the plaintiff further avers that he had no knowledge of the facts so concealed by the defendant until the year A.D. 1872, and a few weeks only before the bringing of this suit.' There is nothing further upon the subject. ”

“ An important public policy lies at their foundation. They stimulate to activity and punish negligence. While time is constantly destroying the evidence of rights, they supply its place by a presumption which renders proof unnecessary. Mere delay, extending to the limit prescribed, is itself a conclusive bar. The bane and antidote go together.
The provision in the statute of which the plaintiff seeks to avail himself was originally established in equity, and has since been made applicable in trials at law. ”

“ Cornelison et al. (supra) was a case growing out of an alleged fraudulent conveyance. There, as here, there was a demurrer to a paragraph of the reply setting up concealment to countervail the defence of the Statute of Limitations. The allegations were not unlike those in the case before us. The judgment of the court below sustaining the demurrer was affirmed. The court said: 'The Statute of Limitations is a statute of repose, and where its operation is sought to be avoided by the party liable to the action, the allegation and proof should bring the case clearly within the section. ”