Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-01-21 00:00:00

MRS COMMISSIONER JANE ON BANKRUPTCY

REFORM

Mr. Commissioner Fane has published the follow-
ing• observations on proposed reforms in the bank-
rup,'-,cv and insolvency laws :-
1, tdo not think that any legislative assistance should
be giv.en to enable any majority of creditors, seeking what
is called " liquidation" (which, however, is nothing.but
a plausible word for "secrecy") to control any minority
of creditors, however small. I would not allow even
ninety-nine creditors to• control the hundredth creditor.
The ninety-nine who advocate secrecy are public enemies.
The hundredth man,. who insists on publicity, is the
friend of the public.
There is nothing so agreeable to an insolvent and his
creditor as secrecy—nothing so disagreeable as publicity.
The debtor is only too &l en a knave ; the creditors are
almost all victims of their own readiness to give credit
without inquiry. The debtor hates to have his knavery,
the creditor hates to have his folly, exposed. They are
in a conspiracy against honest meat and their engine is

"secrecy

The usual course is this. When the debtor cannot
longer delay the evil day, he calls his creditors together
to hear his statement of debts and assets, and he submits
a proposition, which is always to pay so many shillings
in the pound. Generally he offers about as much as he
can pay. The creditors consider his proposition, and
almost always stipulate for something more. The debtor
is so anxious for secrecy that he generally undertakes to
pay the something more, but he proposes to pay it by
acceptances, at three, six, nine, and twelve months
Having thus bought secresy, he obtains during the* twelve
months, of tradesmen who have not heard of his insol-
vency, the means of paying his existing creditors ; and
thus Peter is robbed to pay Paul, and the result is the
knave is turned loose on the world unexposed. The
existing creditors do not trust him during the twelve
months, because they know him ; new creditors do trust
him, because they do not know him. Is this a system
which the law should encourage ?
If I could make the law, I would not only not give
the smallest power to the majority of creditors to bind
the minority ; I would go further, and would even enact
that the creditor who established the bankruptcy should
receive some advantage as a reward for having been the
first to denounce the insolvent, and so stop his mischievous
career. In a bankruptcy before me a short time ago,
two eminent banking hoases in the city lost--ooe .£5,000,
the other £1,500, by not knowing that a person who put
his name to a bill as a second security had privately
arranged with his creditors a year before.
I, for one, will never lift a finger to assist private
arrangement. The true policy is publicity.
2. I think there ought not to be two laws—a law of
bankruptcy and a law of insolvency. •
I think that there should be but one law, and that
law should be the existing law of bankruptcy. The
principle of the law of bankruptcy is right. It is this
take possession of the bankrupt's property, realise it,
and after paying expenses distribute it among the credi-
tors.. Inquire into the conduct of the bankrupt before
and pending his bankruptcy, and treat him accordingly,
so far as punishment goes ; but in any event, return him
sooner or later tothe world of industry, entirely free
from all former debts. Let him re-commence the struggle
to maintain himself and his family ; do not impede, or,
it might be said, neutralise his exertions by weighing
him down with old debts. Creditors are nearly as much
to blame as the debtors, and ought not to be permitted to
oppress those whom they have themselves misled by the
carelessness with which they have given credit.
Assuming that there ought not to be two laws, a law of
bankruptcy and a law of insolvency, and assuming that
the main principles of the law of bankruptcy are right,
it follows that the insolvent law should be dropped, and
the bankrupt law substituted; with such amendments as
should be approved of.
It is proposed to consolidate the Bankrupt and Insol-
vency Courts, and have only one court, the judges of
which shall be called judges, not commissioners. This
seems right. I think that the word bankruptcy should
be dropped. The proper word is insolvency. The con-
solidated court should, therefore, be called the Court of
Insolvency. But it would be inexpedient to have all the
cases of insolvency managed by the same court, as there
is great inconvenience in mixing the low with persons who
have always moved in a higher sphere. The proposal,
therefore, to retain the court-house and establishment in
Portugal-street, as well as the building .and establishment
in Basinghall-street, and use the former for the lower class
of insolvents and the creditors, and the latter for the higher
classes seems judicious. It is a great advantage that they
are a mile and more from each other. Insolvents should
be divided into two classes - say class A and class B.
Class A should consist of those insolvents whose available
assets would probably exceed £200; class B should consist
of those whose available assets would probably not exceed
that sum. Class A should be dealt with by the judges
sitting in Basinghall-street and the Bankruptcy Courts in
the country, class B by the judges sitting in Portugal-
street and the insolvency judges in the country.
3. The law which now enables a creditor who has got
judgment to take the property of his debtor in execution for
his own private use should be abolished. He ought to have
20s in the pound on the cost he has incurred, but should
come in with the other creditors for a dividend on his
debt. Under the existing system, the debtor is cons'a itly
in league with the execution creditor, and the two con-
trive to cheat all the other creditors. Even if the demand
of the creditor is an honest demand, it is most unjust that
he should get 20s in the pound upon his debt, when the
other creditors get little or nothing ; but if it is not an
honest demand (and it is very difficult to find out whether
it is or is not) it is a most revolting piece of knavery,
because it is turning the law, which ought to be a pro-
-tection to honest men, into an instrument to cheat them.
4. The law should declare that it is the duty of every
person, when unable to meet his engagements, to record
the fact in the Court of Insolvency. The mode of pro-
ceeding should be for the debtor to go before the regis-
trar oethe day, accompanied by an attorney of the court
to identify him, and declare himself unable to meet his en-
gagements. The court upon this ought to cause the insol-
vency to be gazetted, and the usual proceedings should take
place. If the insolvent did not originate proceedings
against himself, any unpaid creditor should be at liberty
to go before the proper court, and state upon oath a primer
facie case of debt due. There should not be any specific
amount required. The smaller the debt due and unpaid,
the stronger would be the proof it afforded of the insol-
vency of the debtor. He who cannot pay £5, cannot
pay £5O. The judge should immediately issue his
summons to the alleged debtor, calling upon him to
attend the court on a fixed day, and show cause why he
should not be judged insolvent. When the insolvent
attended, the court would deal with the case
as justice required. If the insolvency was declared,
everything would proceed as now, till the insolvent had
passed his last examination. He would then ask for' his.
certificate, which would be granted, as of course, unless.
opposed, the court granting a first, second; or third class,.
according to the circumstances of the case ; but I think
that no certificate but a third-class certificate should be'
given, unless the court should be of opinion that the
insolvent had produced assets which, if they had been
sold according to the usual course of business, would
have amounted to 20 per cent. upon. his debts.
There ought to be a code •of commercial crimes. or
offences and punishment. The punishment should err on
the side of mercy, not severity. A. law constructed on
these principles would, I think, win public favour. lam
very apprehensive that the bill, if passed as proposed,
will throw us all into confusion, from which we shall not
recover for a great length of tune.

Tun NEWCASTLE DISTRICT BANK.—The subject of the (
scale, of remuneration to be paid to the three.liquidators 1
of this bank, and also to Mr. Coleman, the fourth liqui-
clator, came on on Saturday-last before Vice-Chancellor
Mir/eraley. Mr. Murray,. representing creditors of
£3;000 and upwards, whose total debts were.£l,l2o,ooo,
stated that all his clients were of opinion: that the
remuneratien asked for bye the three licpida.tors.of £1,500
a year for three years 'VAS too high, and. that Mr. Cole-
man's claim was also much too high, Most of them
thought that £5OO a year would be- ample, and two or
three thought n,ooo.llberal, and none-of 'them thought
£1,600 a proper sum, Some of the gentleman thought
the remuneration should be a per tentage upon the assets,
or upon the payments made, an gradually diminish in
amount each year ; and that one per- cent. be paid to Mr.
Coleman for two years, array then adduced the this would requiscale of
re a sum
of about L 21,000,. Mr.Mu
payments to the liquidators of the Western Bank of Scot-
land,bank the Liverpool Borough Bank, and the North of Eng..
land, to show- that the stun proposed was not only just
but very liberal. Mr. Coleman said the liquislati,ri
a . s Gf the
would probably extend over SiX, or seven years; that it
fluvlelre;
IT:ydontdhaatuthcoem
was very doubtful indeed if the liabilities
would ever
ill-link
difficult to arrange than those of
The difficulties were such as he even the I)
had
with, even in the whole of his long practice,
of the bank seemed to have been chosen
their stupidity rather than for their
they might not-understand what
conversation then followed
expenses of clerks and accountants
the sum to be awarded
se-
parately, and it was 'and
the method adopted. !Ism more
British Bank.
never before met
The clerks
on account of
intelligence, so that
on thewas
Ping
on.
Along
question, whether the
th should be included in
e liquidators, v allowed
Tersetood that the latter should be
all the gentlemen who h inee-Chancellor
blving
heard
said he would take t hart any ablerrations to make,
inform the i WO or throe ii
. e Clalef tiett of 11. '
---I'o° --nrs to consider, and
Chronicle, • . •• • `..s decision.—Newcastic

ANOTHER CHILD POISON ED BY " INFANTS'
PRESERVATIVE."
An inquest was held at the Rycroft Inn, Ashton-
under-Lyne, on Wednesday afternoon last,- before Mr.

.7 -7
Rutter, county coroner, touching the death of an infant
male child of John Ridgway, mechanic, Stockport-road,
Ashton, the child having died suddenly, and it being
understood that it had come to its death from the effects
of a sleeping cordial given by the advice of the nurse.
Mr. George Woollam, surgeon, Stamford-street, stated
that he had attended the wife of Ridgway during her
umheaoaorlllifiihinertegureiranaa
rnoeTlydrutle,vireiftirlhllod.einr
hAot
ehcbceoau7s ittoh of J
discontinued
nnint
oeaop January
hfaoericssyks ; a
00i
nsniat
stlnlh,ydel oe
an t
tt
ehne :13tthh ,e
leaving
morningbo both.
of
the 15th, he was requested to call and see the child.
When he got to its parent's house, he found it in a
state of stupor ; the. pupils of its eyes were much
enlarged, and it exhibited every symptoms of being
affected with narcotic poison. He inquired what the
child had had, when he was shown a bottle containing a
blackish coloured fluid, and was told that the child had
had half a tea spoonful of it. From the state the child
was in, and having ascertained there was opiuni or
laudanum in the mixture, as well as knowing that the
32nd part of a grain of opium had been sufficient, under
such circumstanes, to cause death, Mr. Woollam had at
once no hopes of the child's recovery ; and, notwithstand-
ing every attention, it eked about half-past four the
pine afternoon. He ascertained that Mrs. Walker, a
midwife, who had been attending the mother, had recom-
mended the stuff, and that her husband was the
maker of it. Mr. Woollam expressed his positive opinion
that the child had died from the effects of opium, and
stated that under no circumstances should opium be ad-
ministered to a child of that age, nor would it be, except
by persons ignorant of its properties. The coroner said,
as the medicine had not been administered by Mrs.
Walker, and as she was not present when it was ad-
ministered, the verdict would be one of misadventure.
Had Mrs. Walker been present when it was adminis-
tered, he should certainly have advised the Jury to have
sent her for trial for manslaughter, as it was quite time
these practices were put a stop to. A verdict was re-
turned in accordance with the opinion of the coroner.

BURNS' CENTENARY..
TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES

Sir, lam a Puritax of the true orthodox type,
sound to the very letter upon all the points that
constitute the creed called Calvinistic, yet, not-
withstanding the absolute character of the doc-
trines of my religious belief, I have been racking
my brains to discover the cause, natural or acci-
dental, of the enthusiasm which appears to pervade
nearly all ssatciloanseosf, explodepraise
o f
the i n t
poet,
o ehe
t,
atnhde 2wsrhthin,hinispit.nai
Robert Burns. I have read the " immortal bard's"
poems through and through, and have studied his
life as written by pretty faithful biographers, and
the conclusion I have come to is, that he was at
once the wisest of men and the greatest of fools
his country has produced. I humbly think that
if he flourished at the present time, lived the same
life, wrote the same poems, that, in spite of the
bewitchery of his genius, he and his writings
would be doomed to at least a temporary dis-
avowal by the common sense (omitting the pious)
portion of the community. In fact, our publishers,
now-a-days, are guided so much by principle or
self-interest, that really even a Robert Burns
might seek in vain, amongst the respectable of
their class, to find one that would usher poems,
of such varied moral character, into the reading
world. Now, if these things are true, as I think
they are, it is unaccountable that a generation sc.
captious as ours should celebrate this poet's birth-
day as never poet's birthday was celebrated before..
Brutus honoured Ca sar for his affection, fortune,
and valour; but he slew him for his ambition.
Brutus did wrong, and so do all those that would.
denounce Barns's claims to our admiration and.
gratitude, because, amidst many virtues he had
many vices. But who can forget that he was as
much the creature of circumstances as most men—
that he forsook the society of rank, fortune, and
talents to associate with the idle, base, and the dis-
sipated—that in the zenith of his fame he hired him-
self to a West India planter, for VG a-year, to
whip his slaves, and that many of his cleverest
pieces countenance, if not recommend (as some
say) obscenity and intemperance. Those of my
peculiar cast of mind are quite in with the ob-
servance of Burns's centennial birthday, but we
cannot understand how Cowper's (a more moral
man and a rival genius) and Milton's (the author of
works undoubtedly more imperishable, and, to
boot, a hero of the Commonwealth) should be
allowed to pass over unheeded. A satisfactory
clearing up of this misty subject by some qualified
pen like your own, would make us who stagger at
everything which is not directly for the glory of
God, or the good of living man, much more
willing to eat, drink, sing, and dance in the
grandest hall in Europe, on Tuesday next, in
honour of Robert Burns. —I am, sir, yours, &c.

CLTI BONO ?

A lad, 17 -years of age, hanged himself last week at
Carrickfergus, because his father would not buy him a
whip and a pair of boots in Belfast !
The Palace of Tippoo Sultan, at Seringapatam,
being- elaborately re-embellished. The natives have been
allowed to exercise their own taste in the work, and have
chosen to represent on a large cartoon the defeat of the
British forces under Colone Bailie, by Tippoo Sultan.
What is most singular is that the Sultan's tomb, which
is very magnificent, was built by the British at an
enormous cost, and a large 'grant is annually made, while
a neglected monument of Colonel Bailie, raised by his
grandson, is all the honour paid to the brave English
soldier who died a prisoner in Tippoo's dungeons. 'What
reason on earth have we to•perpetuate- the old tyrant's
fame, and keep alive the memory of past Moslem glory
among a dangerous and fanatical population ?
HONOUR. IN BUSINESS.—Mr. Peter M'Laurin, of
London, is a gentleman well-known in manufacturing
circles. He was at one time resident in, and it his pre-
sent capacity has still an extensive business connection,
with Galashiels. Mr. M‘Laurin was about ten years
ago a partner in the firm of M'Laurin and Dunlop, of
Glasgow, 'which house on two occasions was obliged to
succumb to the pressure of 'the times. During this-
week, Mr. M'Laurin has been paying in full with interest
for the time intervening, his share of the liabilities of
that firm. In this manner a very considerable sum has
come into the hands of our manufacturers, which, as the
saying goes, is as good as found money. Such honourable
conduct is beyond all praise,-Border- Advertiser.
OUTRAGE BY THE MEXICAN AUTHORITIES. -In the
Journal of Wedneday last allusion was made . to an
outrage committed at Zacatecas on Mr. Newall ,_ a
British merchant of the highest respectability. Mr.
all,ral who
Marquez,narrowlyis a brotherescaped being
of
in
essh e orderbwyall,
Esq.,f
agent of the British Linen Company,
New
erat Newton
Stewart. The latter gentleman write; us that Lord
Malmesbury has taken up the matter very promptly,
and that instructions have been wilt out to Mr. Otway,
our minister in Mexico, to " demand" and " insist" on •
reparation and "an ample apology." The complaints
of the defencelessness of British. subjects in Mexico have
been so numerous of late that the commercial public, we
are sure, will be glad to learn that Lord Malmesbury is
at length aroused into activity.—Glusgoze Journal.
f the
n d morning, nos t
ois his
furniture house,
STARTLING NUPTIAL,INSCRIPTION.—On a
farmer named Quigley, residing at Kilcomrnou, King's
County, was married, and after returning from the
e,
mar-
riageaceamfpacasntie,
datbaynheisarblyridheo,urie
.lin
smashed, and a notice. attached to his best four-poster,
intimating that his. recent visitors " would be the
death
of him, married or single !"' Not a very pleasant- wel-
come. It is said that thbeing
married bridegroom was about
married to
a Young Woman in the neighbourhood, whom
he.deserted for a larger fortune, which has incensed her
friends, who have instituted such a unique action for
breach of promise. The Ribbon executive, as. is well
known in the• counties where its dictates are most usually
obeyed, does not confine its operations to agrarian mat-
ters, but. also assumes to regulate every sociel relation
according. to its notions of justice.
EXTRAORDINARY AND USEFUL INVENTION.,--There is
nothing that housewives complain of with greater truth-
fulness, than the breaking of some favourite piece of
glass, valuable china, or earthenware. In hundreds of
cases such things cannot be matched, and of course cannot
be mended. The latter want has been obviated by an
extraordidary and effective invention, by Mr. Adshead, or
Derby Pottery, near Derby .It is a cement that may be
said to heal, in a perfect manner, all cracks and breaks in
the articles spoken of; and not only in these, but ina Tnot
ble, alabaster, &e. The benefit of this article need ia
at Mr.
d
be dwelt on. We have seen some of its
effects
Hall's, our neighbours, and the glass
than in any other.
cemented by it is stronger in that psar t that, has been
The article is very cheap, and no
its sale Liverpool,
'
all interested can judge for themselves, by
E. T look in
at
},is establishment. Agent Liverpool, for T. 23,
South John-street. Sold in bottles, Is. eao , or sent free
on receipt of sixteen postage stamps.