The Express.
London, England, 1856-10-15 00:00:00

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Toomshow-311argas. 311.12 a.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15.

Tur battle of the lawyers over the carcase of the
Royal British Bank is going on with an energy and
spirit worthy of so good, or—which is the same
thing both in law and equity—of so lucrative a
cause. The contending powers of Chancery and
Bankruptcy are fairly pitted against each other in
hostile array. Vice-Chancellor lINDIIISLZY has just
granted an injunction to restrain the official assignee
of the Court of Bankruptcy from in any way inter-
fering with the official manager of the Court of
Chancery, and ham, moreover, made an order against
the former functionary to show cause why he should
not be committed for contempt on the groom. f
having disturbed the latter in his possession. Can
anything be more discreditable than this conflict of
jurisdictions, except, indeed, the state of the law
which renders it possible? It is really too absurd,
and had it not occurred in fact, would have simply
been pronounced incredible.
Two distinct Courts, under two distinct Acts of
the Legislature, claim the right of administering the
affairs of this defunct institution. The Court of
Bankruptcy can only deal with the existing asset',
the Court of Chancery, under the Windinrup Acts,
can deal not only with the existing assets, but with
all outstanding liabilities; it can declare who are to
be contributories, and is empowered to make calls-
This, it is conceded, is beyond the power of the Court
of Bankruptcy; bet then it has been suggested
that there is nothing to prevent the two courts from
acting concurrently; Bankruptcy dealing with the
existing assets, Chancery with the future liabilities.
It is possible that there may be nothing in the way of
actual legislative prohibition to prevent this, but that
shareholder or depositor most have been indeed of
sanguine temperament who ever expected that such
concurrent action would be allowed to take place. All
doubt as to this point, however, mast now be set at
rest by the step just taken by the Vice-Chancellor.

In a word, it is ahuodantly clear that the two distinct
judicial organisations are being patronised with dis-
tinct view' by those who in this ruinous affair have
a community of suffering, and, if let alone by the
lawyers, would probably have found that they
had a community of interests. The lawyers have
advised them otherwise, and the depositors are now
eager to work the machinery of the Baskroptcy
Court, in order to obtain as speedily as by
any legal process they can a division of
the actually existing assets, while the shareholders
are only too willing to avail themselves of that delay
and uncertainty which the procedure of the Winding.
up Court, if resorted to in a spirit of litigation, un-
doubtedly interposes between creditors and their
claims. Let them, however, beware of too implicit
a reliance on the protection thus held out. It is well
that they should know that the absurdity of a conflict.
log jurisdiction between Bankruptcy and Chancey
does not exhaust all the possible anomalies which the
wisdom of the English law has provided to meet
their particular case. In case of any delay in brioging
the machinery of the Winding-up Courts to bear oo
the matter, a third jurisdiction may interpose, as it
has done in the NM o 1 the Tipperary Bank, and a
harming fired actions at Common Law complete the
ruin which the Winding-up often have commenced
and the Court of Bankruptcy has endued.
It is not so much with a view to the pardsoler
sufferers in this particular ease that we are Wald
to draw attention to this indefensible state of u
portant branch of oar mercantile law. The taus
both of the shareholders and depositors in the
Royal British Bank are far beyond the Mei
of any advice that we could tender them;
they have naturally enough taken counsel of
those learned in the law, and, the law being
what it is, we are far from saying that the mune)
given may not have been as disiaterested and Jodi-
aims as it was reasonable to caret. Bat we would
endeavour earnestly to impress upon the mercantile
community the flagrant discredit, the nroustrose in.
convenience, of allowing the longer ocatinsance of
each a state of the law. Chancery, Bankruptcy,
Common Law—three separate and conflicting jute-
diction', all having a right to iotermeddle with, and
not ose of the three, no, nor all three together,
having the power satisfactorily to disentangle
and arrange, the affairs of as insolvent Joint.
stock Company ; and this in a country where
more millions ars invested in jeintstook en-
terprise than thous's& are anywhere else. The
thing is utterly preposterous. The time has COMO
when commerce must, for these and kindred pu-
pates, have tribunals and methods of prendere of
its own; something lees formal, but mom business-
like ; less costly, but more effectual; some method
of administration carried out with that con.
tempt of empty form, and strict regard to essential
requisites, which characterise the dealings of the
Exchange and the Money Market. Does any one
suppose for a moment that the business power which
presides over our great mercantile establishments,
which ban organised the Clearing-house:and moves the
intricate mechanism of Capel-court and Threadneedle-
street, would be inadequate, if allowed free play and
unincumbered by the obsolete and slow forms of law,
to wind up rapidly and satisfactorily such a
business as this of the Royal British Bask P The
notion is idle. What is wanted is that our Emma-
tile public should have spirit easaik to ask. GM ear
Legislature wisdom enough to mallsr, the relaidte
powers for giving the force of Impel dime to
the adjudication of mercantile WINE& Oar
men of business have been law•amdthreyee.
ridden long ("sough. If this Motideu War
of the Royal British Bank, :with tare tomare•
tent and costly tribunals contending over its reardes
for the prior right to make legal spoil of them, shall
have the effect of opening the oyes etas eammeesint
public to the miserably inadequate state at the low
for administering the "meta of leeetveat postaer.
ships—it will not have happened in yds. Urged
aright, it is the atroogest warning that Imo over yet
been addressed to our men of bogus speet the para-
mount importance of urging upon the Legieletnre the
constitution of mercantile tribune/a for t Mohair I
tration of purely mercantile aff •