The Express.
London, England, 1849-06-18 00:00:00

Such is evidently the conviction of Mr. GLAD-
aTONZ and the retrogressive wake. Curious and
diverse in oonstruction have been the flying bridges
• that of late have been thrown sorest the abyss that
yawns between Carlton-terrace and• St. Jame's-
square. But all to no purree. Each was • little
too short, or a little too narrow, or • little too un-
dulating in its motion beneath the tramp of men.
Wearied at length with the vain attempts thus made,
the p:otectionists, not many days ag ',are said to have
come to a Buil resolve to have no more to do with
even the retrogressive'; and accordingly Mr. HER-
MES launched his (unexpected) amendment on Mr.
GLADBTONE'S vague and evasive motion reglrding
the Canadian Losses Bil'. The latter begged, in
terms of eirnest deprecation, that so summary and
straightforward a course should not be prraisted in.
He panted out the risk end danger of being explicit,
or going one step beyond high talk on the question.
Shouts of derision was the only answer to his impor-
tunities on Thursday night ; and on Friday he was
actually driven into votiug for the amendment of Mr.
HEARSES, and against his own resolution!
Verily Prelim is I:ke quaking gtass—there are
three vibrating heads upon a single stem.

No branch of our law has undergone greater changes
then that relating to bankrupts. In 1825 all the statutes
then in force concerning bankruptcy, extending from
the time of Henry VIII., to the reign of George IL,
were repealed, and the whole law was amended and
embodied in one sot (6 Geo. IV. c. 16). That act
forms the substance of the bankrupt law at present.
In 1831 the procedure was greatly altered by
the establishment of a Court in Bankruptcy,
which consisted of a chief judo of the Court
of Review and three puisne judges, who were
Ito admirdster that port of the law which
Lad previously come under the control of the
Court a Chennry, and of six commissioners who
were to conduct all the ordinary business in bank-
rttle.cy which had before been managed by the well-
known lists of commissioners. 'the commissioners'
tenets have worked well ; so much so, that in 1841,
the asst. m was extended to the whole ot Er g'and ;
but the Court of Review proved a failure, after v.irious
modifications, and was, about two sessions ago, alto-
gether abolished, the appellate jurisdic ion bee g
brought back to the Court of Chancery, and confided
to one of the Vice-Chancellors. Various alterations
also have been made since 1825 in the law as with
the procedure in bankruptcy. In the first year of the
Queen, the abolition of arrest on meene process ren-
dered it necessary to ireroduee some ether test ot in-
s Aveney as a substitute for that which consist. d of a
debtor's remaining in prism when arrested on me sae
recess. This was effected by a summons to appear
b., fore a commissioner, and secure or compound the
debt of the summoning, or give security. Other
ehaagee have bun made, all in relaxation ot the strin-
gency of the law as regards debtors ; so much so, that
there has been for sonic years past a general feel-
ing amongst the superior trading classes that some-
what t ro mach-feedi'y exists for enabling a del& r to
ret himself free from his debts through the medium
of a bankruptcy. At all events, there had been so
many piecemeal alterations that some consolidation of
the bankrupt law had become iudimpensable. That
task hes been under tiken by Lord Baounrrem, and
his 1 wdship's bill his pass. d the House of Lords and
is now under the consideration of the Commons. Tar
bill, which has been published in exfenso in our
solemn+, meets with very energetic support from the
great majority of influential traders both in London
and the north. To a great extent it consists of me-
thOdiCUl classification and arrangement of the bank-
rupt leer as at present exisriug ; but there are some
important additions. These may be ranged under
four heads—first, increased facilities for bringing a
craning debtor under the operation of the bankrupt
law ; second, the debtor's discharge from his deb.s ;
the mild has reference to arrangements, by composi-
tions, with creditors ; and the fourth extends the
power to punish the misenduct of an insolvent trader.
The operation oft good bankrupt law should be to
induce traders who have b come embarrassed to make
early surrenders of their effects far the general and
equal bi nefit of their ertalitors, rather than to go
struggling on hopelessly, and by so doing to dissipate
their creditors funds and damage their own charac-
trrs. And every debtor fairly
,rneeting his difficulties
in that way should be ebsolu e y sure of a promut and
complete di-charge from his liubilitiee. There should
be no room far vindictiveness or serfishneas on the hart
of indaridual creditors to prevent or impede such dis-
charge; and every discouragement to reckless or
fraudulent trading should be offered. In gross cases
actu el and severe punishment should be the conse-
quence. To these general principles few will refute
assent; the question will be h w to carry thorn out
with equal-handed justice. Teat is the great diffi-
culty. It must never be forgotten that, treat it as we
mey, bankruptcy is a commercial d• ath, which every
man ergiged in trade will try to avoid so long as he
has hopes of weathering his difficulties. Here and
there a trader nho has been bankrupt may
recover a position in life, but as a rule bank-
ruptcy is the extinction of a trader ; he sinks to
rise Ito more. Every fair allowance, the reforc, should
be made tor the man who honestly and honourably
struggles on in trade beyond the period when en im-
puted bystander, or those judging aher the event,
would say be should have given in. Oa the other
hand, fraud and dishonesty should be punished
criminally.
With one exception, to which we shall presently
advert, we think the prnposel measure does seem
generally to effect these purposes of a good bankrupt
law. The additions we have classed under the first
head, are increased facilities for bringing a trader
under the operation of the bankrupt law. Must of
our readers are aware of the general 'wore of an act
of bankruptcy, such as absconding from home, denials
to creditors, fraudulently disposing of property, and
the like, which form the foundation on which the
process of bankruptcy rests. They are evidences or
tests of insolvency. It is assumed, and pro-
perly assumed,
that any tr..der who 11_
com-
mits such acts mast be unable to pay
his debt., and that the administration of his effects
should be taken from him, and an equal distribution
made amongst his creditors. Now, it has long been
complained of that one creditor may by seizing a
failing debtor get paid his debt in full to the injury
of the rest of the creditors. The present bill meets
that by rendering the seizure of a trader's goods in
execurion an act of bankruptcy by the trader.
Article 116 provides :
" That levy by seizure and sale, or by seizure only, under
say execution, spinster affecting the goods and chattels of
founded upon any juient
liblafttraeddeb,ystuhehe my personal action broughtgm after
tea commencement of this act, for the recovery If soy debt
tar money demand in any of her May sty's courts of record
easiest such trader shalt be accounted and adjudged conclu-
des evidence of en am re bankruptcy committed by the
trader at the time of seizure under tee execution, provided •
petition fur adjudication of bankruptcy shall be filed against
the trader within one month tram the seizure, and he be
thereupon adj edged a bankrupt."
And the property seized, or the fall value thereto!,
isa7 be recovered by the assignees from the sheriff,
if in his hands, or the plaintiff in the action, who is
then to come in rateably with the other creditors;
except that he is to be glowed his costs in the action
as between attorney and client. And by article 116,
the assignees are to recover such goods or other value
by a m awn in a summary way, in the court in which
the action has been brought against the trader. By
article 117, a trader disobeying any order or decree in
bankruptcy, lunacy, or equity, fur payment of money,
served on him personally for four days, shall be
deemed to have committed an act of bankruptcy.
All sorts of insolvent petitions also constitute acts
of bankruptcy by the traders filing them. Traders
in parliament are to be held to have committed an
act of bankruptcy in a month after service upon them
of a summons to pay debts. But no person is to be
liable upon an art of bankruptcy committed more
than a twelvemonth.
That these provisions are sufficiently stringent must
be admitted, for should they become law, every trader
against whom an action is brought to recover a debt,
or who cannot pay a cum ordered to be paid by any of
the orders or decrees before mentioned, must forthwith
prepare for a general arrargement of his affairs, or to
become liable to bankruptcy. To the effect of such
an curly warning we we no objection, but its operation
will be somewhat a surprise to large claims of
traders. The only other addition, under the first head,
our limits permit ns to mention, is that which renders
the summons by a creditor to the Bankrupt Court
more rigor-rue than at present.
Article 126 requires, when the debtor has been so
summul ed, that his attorney si.all mike an affidavit
stating the grounds of defence he has against the ere-