The Sun.
London, England, 1849-06-06 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS, June 5.

Their Lordships met at Five o'clock.

Earl STANHOPE presented petitions in favour of
an amendment of the poor-laws; also for a repeal of
the Sale of Beer Act.

Lord STAFFORD presented a petition in favour of
an extension of the jurisdiction of the County Courts.
BANKRUPT LAWS CONSOLIDATION BILL.

Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from Glasgow
in favour of the Bankruptcy Laws Consolidation Bill.
Lord BROUGHAM, after giving his strenuous sup-
port to the above petition, presented several petitions on
the same subject. The first was from the bankers, mer-
chants, and traders of Manchester, signed by 3,918 per-
sons, who in the course of ten minutes had subscribed
1,0001. fur the purpose of defraying the expenses in-
curred in prosecuting the necessary inquiries into the
details of the Bill. The second was a petition from the
same parties in the metropolis, and, as a proof of the
interest which it had excited, he mentioned as a fact
that eighteen of the first bankers in the metropolis had
each subscribed ten guineas to defray the expenses of
the mercantile community in promoting the success of
the Bill. The third was a petition fro:n the Chamber
of Commerce in London, more commonly known as the
Association for the Protection of Trade in the city of
London. The fourth was the petition of the bankers,
merchants, and traders of the borough of Salford,
signed by eight hundred and twenty-six persons.
He then presented similar petitions from the Man-
chester Association for the Protection of Trade, from
Plymouth, from Coventry, from Dudley, and some
other places. He then observed that he had so often
entered at length into the description of this Bill that
he would not detain their Lordships long upon it on the
present occasion. Their Lordships were all aware that
it had been prepared about eighteen months ago, and
that it consisted of two parts—the one containing a
digest of the existing bankruptcy laws in 367 articles,
and the other containing several improvements on those
existing laws. Though the bankruptcy laws would still
remain capable of improvement—and what human in-
stitution was incapable of it? —the digest of them con-
tained in this Bill would render the task of improvement
more easy and more practicable. This Bill contained
some valuable and important improvements in the
transaction of mercantile affairs ; and, as he had
stated on many previous occasions, the nature of
those improvements, he would now merely state,
first, that they simplified and extended the
present bankruptcy Acts, and next, that they contained
many most important provisions for preventing undue
dealings with the property of bankrupts, for preventing
undue preference from being given to particular creditors,
for preventing undue preference from being given to the
relations of the bankrupt—and a gross case of this kind
had recently come before Mr. Commissioner Farm, in
which a debt of 1,500/. to the mother of the bankrupt
had been fraudulently set up by the bankrupt—and for
setting aside all conveyances and equitable mortgages
executed within a certain period before the bankruptcy
as fraudulent preferences given to the creditors who held
such instruments. All transactions of this kind were
carefully guarded against by the new provisions of this
Bill. They would also define certain acts of insolvency
on the part of the trader which would let in the whole
agency of the bankruptcy laws. They likewise contained
several most valuable improvements in the whole juris-
diction of bankruptcy. The original intention of
the Bill had been to appoint a Chief Commissioner of
Bankruptcy, with an increase of 5001. a year to his
salary, and a chief registrar, with an increase of 300/. a
year to his; but that intention was now abandoned. No
rotation of commissioners or registrars appeared to be
necessary, and in the metropolis the number of com-
missioners would be reduced from six to four, and so
with respect to the registrars. The six commissioners
now did not sit above two days in the week, and their
business could be easily transacted by four commis-
sioners, who, instead of sitting six days in the week, like
the judges, would only have to sit four. He had there-
fore, in compliance with the suggestions of his Noble
and Learned Friend who now held the great seal, struck
out of the Bill the clauses fur increased salaries to the
Chief Commissioner and to the senior registrar. To
the proposition of restoring arrest on mesne pro-
cess. he had not been able to give his consent,
although many of the petitioners had argued
strenuously for it. Debt, if innocent, was a misfor-
tune, and not a fit subject for imprisonment as a punish-
ment. He laid down this principle, that, excepting in
three cases, imprisonment for debt ought not to be
allowed; and those three cases were, first, where fraud
had been committed by the debtor in contracting the
debt; secondly, where the debtor exhibited contumacy
by refusing to answer questions put to him by the Com-
missioner or his creditors; and, thirdly, where he had
been guilty of gross and wilful extravagance in
contracting debts which he had no reasonable
prospect of paying. 1;1 all these cases there war crime,
and crime was a fit subject for imprisonment. But then
the imprisonment should not be for ever; and, there-
fore, a discretionary power was given to tre Commis-
sioners, wherever they thought fit to imprison a party
guilty either of fraud, contumacy, or wilful extravagance.
This power of imprisonment had been carefully consi-
dered by the Committee which sat last year, and the
result had been that a considerable change had been
made in the Bill which was submitted this year to is Select
Committee—a change which would give a more efficient
remedy to the creditor, and would be a greater in-
fliction on the debtor, but only in those cases where too
much lenity was formerly exhibited towards him. Prima
facie the creditor was in the right and the debtor in the
wrong. Prima facie The creditor was the injured, and
the debtor the injuring party. The presumption was
against the debtor, and in favour of the creditor; and
hence he meant to give to the latter every help in his
p ewer for the recovery of his just claims. Many persons
wished to have arrest upon mesne process restored, be-
cause they knew that, it they waited till their debtor
was taken in execu his funds by that time were pro-
bably exhausted. lie objected, however, to the restore-
flint of that process, because under it the creditor often
get too much. Persons subjected to the magical touch
of a she rill's officer on the shoulder often paid debts
which they did not owe, or compelled their relatives and
friends to pay for the m debts which they did not owe.
The parties who advocated the revival of arrest on
mesne process had attended the Committee, and had
examined witnesses in sapport of their opinion; but,
upon consideration, had accepted the Bill as it
now stood. He then gave a history of the pro-
gress of the Bill in that House, and also in the Select
Committee, in terms precisely similar to those which
he has s,) often repeated during the present session, and
concluded it by declaring that the result of our various
deliberations had been that the petitioners against the
Bill had come to an understanding with such of their
Lordships (himself among the number) as had had the
management of its progress, and that their Lordships
had come to an understanding with the petitioners, who
originally opposed it. He had the Bill printed at the
close of last session; on the first night of the present he
had reintroduced it, and got it it referred to a Select
Committee. That Committee had been attended by
many gentlemen from the provinces, from Manchester,
Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, and Hull. Many new sug
gestions were made to the Committee. They were dis-
cussed and rediscussed. Those that were valuable were
accepted; those that were not so were rejected; and at
last all parties came to this conclusion—that the Bill as
it now stood was entitled to the entire and unanimous
and hearty approval even of those who had at first
soipnpcters been
it.opposed
Only
inly it. one
lie ate
had rdataircedoefdimtpoortthaence ha(l
objec-
tion made by his Noble and Learned Friend whe held
madel
the great seal, against the creation of an intermediate
Court of Appeal from the decision of a single com-
missioner. There might be too great a leaning among
the commissioners, from courtesy to each other, to con
firm their own decrees, and therefore, as he had agreed
to dispense with a fifth commis-ioner, he also agreed to
the proposition that there should be an appeal to such
one of the Vice-Chancellors of the High Court of Chan-
cery as the Lord Chancellor should appoint from time
to time to sit in Chancery. He then proceeded to ex-
plain the reasons which had induced the Committee first
to introduce into, and afterwards to strike out of this
Bill, the clauses which were generally known by the
name of the " Deadinen's Clauses." If an insolvent
trader happened to die after a fiat was struck against
him his estate could be administered as that of a bank-
rupt; but, if he died before the fiat was struck, no such
remedy could be had by his creditors, and their only re-
source was a creditors' suit, which was a very irksome
and very expensive proceeding. To remedy this state
of things he had introduced the deadmen's clauses.
His Noble and Learned Friend had objected to them
on the ground that if they were made law, there must
be a creditors' proceeding and a bankruptcy pro-
ceeding to. He had given in to that objection,
and had struck out in consequence the deadmen's
clauses. His Noble and Learned Friend (Lord Coa
tenharn) had pledged himself to provide a remedy
substitute for the clauses which he had struck out, for the inconvenience of which he complained, and, as a
pro-
posed that in the case of traders only a petition should
be presented without filing a bill or answer subject to the
rules in the Master's office, and the practice in the Court
of Chancery. The Bill, then, as it now stood, had ob-
tained the unanimous support of all the respectable
classes both in town and country; and they anxiously
prayed that there might be no delay in converting it into
law. As a proof of the necessity which existed for pass-
ing this measure with as little delay as possible, he men-
tioned the startling fact that 50,000,0001. sterling had
been annually lost for some years past, partly owing to the
distress of the times, partly owing
to the imperfect
state of the law affecting insolvency and bankruptcy.
He conceived that two moat important effects would be
produced by this Bill—one upon the law, the other upon
the morals of the country.—(Rear, hear.) In the first
place the new law- would make the trader, who gave
credit—and in this commercial country credit must be
given—give a mire limited credit than he hitherto had
done; and, in the next, when the debtor found that ho
and care in all
could not elude the legal operations of his creditor, he
could exhibit greater honesty, frugality-,
his dealings. He would be compelled to become more
honest and more prudent, and to square his expenses
. He therefore
more accurately to his means. These two results would
be of inestimable value to the community
gave this measure to the House as an important im-
provementif it should presentimprove-
ments condition of the law, and that
with a pledge, the
be found that further onconsideration. He could not conclude
were necessary, he would be ready to give them
full and mature Col33l*d
his observations without giving his warmest praise to
n up this invaluable digest.
was the person who had dress:
inform the House of a com-
munication Mr. Miller, an officer of the Court of. Chancery,. who
Before he sat down be must
of his Noble
After he had acceded to the suggestion
should be made to
and Learned Friend, that no increase
he had received from the Lord Chancellor.
registrar, his Noble and Learned Friendhad _ d
He would not
the salary of the Chief Commissioner and_ a
expressed
ecslisiee f
his entire approval of this measure.
have pressed it on the attention a their Lordships