The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-05-07 00:00:00

LAW lATALLIGANCP.

CC wer or CHANCERY. Wrlviturrsit,
TIIVIRbIIIAA, MAY O.
BROWN', ix he mailer of snowmr. and coomfm,
Bwokrapts.

The bentkreept, Brower, was h glee up from the King'.
Bench Prisms under a wait of 'MMus Cuero..
The -.P.1.11.1111T0R GEN kRAI. Males% 1111• i was the Petition of
the bankrupt. Browne, who hail losers committed to the cos.
holy of the Marshal of the 1/1.19.11 Pr 9.1011 by the
Commissioners of Uankrupt, for not leaving aalisfewlorilv
at counted to ahem for his .property. 9•lw bankrupts had
been bankers in the town of Windsor, its lbw tinnily of Berke,
and they slapped payment 191 the 13tH of February, 1810,
■end me the 10th of lite 114111 C month the commission of
bankruptcy was taken out against them. It appeared by
their hooks that they were debited with the tom Of
♦3,oouf. and whets the Petition. r was called on by the
Commissioners to account fur that 19914 he shit so by
staling that 17,0001 of it consisted of mites of the firm,
which could nut be re.isseseel without makitig them
Gable to Ike it. unities, there fore hr had Mooed I hero.—
The Commissioners did toil thistle this a satisfactory muds-
leatiOn, mail they CONlMilird him. The Petition therefore
!Hayed that his Lordship would set site the C 1111 l mimioners'
order of committal, and, if his Le!rilship thought llsst was
asking too much, that lie would direct Ibr Ceeiumiseioise as to
calla meeting and rewxa ttttt lc the hank relief, mot also 11/
examine all persons that could throw av light glo file ftultircl,
so as to enable them, the Commis tier., to ...nese to a diffe.
rent determination than they had It ass bi► (the So.
licitor General's) duty to ale•w to Isis I.ord.lint, that the
story of the Petitioner was true. 'rice Petition slates, that
it was the custom of the baukeug-Guise of the bankrupts to
burn all notes after they Cl/111(1 199 be re-issued. '1 hr fart
was, that the property of the batik consiated Ist their torsi
nom, and when they issued a quantity of new notes they de.
!Hied themselves with the a 1111 l not—and when they destroyed
r quantity, they gave themselves credit for them. The Pete-
honer never brought any capital into the firm ; he had been
formerly a clerk in the house, and was Lusty three years a part-
ner. It was 991111991bil: for him to give any evidence. hut Isis
own as to the slrairewtsen of the outer, l 0 11w amount of
17,0001.; for, unfortunately, the firm did not keep a clerk,
but there was a circumstance which stroeigly supported his
assertion that he dial born the notes, which was, that, al-
though three years had ,lapsed since the commission issued,
not one of the mules which the Petitioner had asserted that
be el, •,+r .vrd, Mot been off red to be proved under the com-
mission. His Lordship would bear Ili his rectellertime, that
If he did not i:et-rfere, the Petitioner was doomed to impri.
vestment for• file Under these considerations, he trusted that
the Court would moot the prayer of the Petition.
Mr on the saw side.

Mr. liming, Comport fi.r theAsisignees, ►tatel, that his
clients had no angry feeling towards the Petitioner, they
only wished to perform the trust teposed in them according
to the dire. ticris of the Court. It was however singular,
that wile': the Petito.iner asserted it was the custom of the
banking house to burn their notes when the time had ex-
pired I or reissuing Ili .m, that he had not brought any
proof • f that fact. He could not help thiuking that the
most, ,of cam.lime notes by commitisug them to the names
wa•. !...q, and it was singular that the assignees should find
mow: or the same description, to the amount of 9,000/.
whir:. .orre not cancelled. It was natural fur the Commis-
sioner • to) doubt the statement of the Petitioner, and if they
doubt. •t, it was their duty to commit him. He would ask
would of honourable feelings believe that bankers,
uso the ay. of Ilso it bank. owe, would have destroyed their
notes to the omouut of 17,000/. The Commissioners did not
believe it, and it was fur his Lordship to say whether• he
dot or out. From the bankrupts nut having kept darks, it
was impossible to get at the truth except by sifting It out of
the bankrupts silt their oaths. The Commissioners thought,
whether properly or nut was nut for him to say, that the Po.
bumper had not answered the questions put to him by tbess
satisfactorily. and they took the course pointed out to thaw
by the Legi►lature to enforce justice. It was necessary,
perhaps, fur him to state, that the Commissioners had not
dealt harshly with the Petitioner; they did not commit him
on the Ist, gd, or 3d examination, or even the 70th; they
did mot do it until they had given him every opportunity
of explaining the circumstauce; but on the final ex-
amination, out being able to du so, they had no course
left them hut the one they had taken. However his
Lordship might dif•r in °pintos, from the Commissioners,
they would have the consolation of knowing that they meted
(coin the hest of their honest judgment; but they ■ll knew
t►ere were hardly two minds that were susceptible of
the same impressions; so if his Lordship differed from thews,
they would be still conscientiously right. As to his Clients,
the Assignees, they would be perfectly satisfied with soy
order the Court might think proper to makeaur as he before
slated, they had no vindictive feeling towards the Petitioner.
The SOLICITOR.G replied.

The LORD CHANCELLOR olii.ierved, if the only object of
the Petitioner was to go before the Commissioners to re-ex-
amine him, the Petition was unnecessary, for on his being
brought up by Habeas Corpus, and Counsel having stated
that fact, be would have given his recommendation to the
Commissioners to have allowed it. He therefore tad no
difficulty is recommending it to the Commissioners to fur-
ther examine the Petitioner for the purpose of trying to re-
move their doubts. It was certainly a most painful ease to
bins as a Judge, much more so than to other Judges who
were is the constant habit of trying penal cases, was he
to say, on his judicial oath, that the answers of the
Petitioner were satisfactory, when the Commissioners on
their judicial oaths had said they were not satisfactory.
He was therefore bound to recommit the Petitioner. He
would, bri‘-cver, take home the examinations which had
taken place before the Commissioners, and read them,
and if he should see any thing that ought to make hint
alter his then opinion, if the Solicitors on both sides
would wait on him on Mon Jay morning at the House of
Lords, he would communicate it to them.