The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-12 00:00:00

Vita 92bition

SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock.

VICE-CHANCERY.-(THIS DAY.)
(Before Vice-Chancellor KNIGHT BRUCE.)
EX PARTE BURTON V. HARVEY.
Mr. BACON, on the part of the plaintiff, said this was
a petition in bankruptcy, which had been presented by
a person named Christie and others. The facts of the
case were, that a Mr. Harvey, in whose bankruptcy the
petition had been presented, was indebted to a Mr.
Ford, a solicitor at Shrewsbury, on a bill of exchange for
5001., upon which some part of the money had been
paid, and a balance of 300/. remained due and owing.
A Mr. Bond was the solicitor to the fiat. On the
29th of January, 1840, Mr. Ford assigned his
interest in the bill of exchange to the petitioners, and
upon the same instrument of assignment the debt under
Harvey's fiat was proved on their behalf. The bill of
exchange was thereupon delivered over to the petitioners.
A Mr. Salt, one of the petitioners, called on Mr. Bond,
the solicitor to Harvey's fiat, and gave him notice of the
assignment of the debt to the petitioners and of their in-
tention to cause the debt to be proved. Ford himself
became a bankrupt on the 11 th of March, 1840, very
soon after the assignment.
His HONOUR—Then the validity of the assignment is
not questioned by Furd's assignees?
Mr. SIVANSTON (for the official assignee)—Oh, yes ;
it is.

His Hotioun said, he should not think of making Har-
vey's au igeees pay without absolute necessity; absolute
necessity alone should induce him to make an order
against Harvey's assignees; and therefore the essential
question was the validity of the assignment by Ford. All
the rest of the affidavits in the case only deposed to mere
formal embarrassment. His Honour complained of the
irregularity which had taken place in bringing the case
before the Court, there being no proof of service of notice
of the proceedings on some of the parties to the suit.
A solicitor in the cause volunteered to go for the
proof of notice of service.
His HONOUR—Very well, Mr. Bacon, you may go on
wasting the time of the Court until that gentleman re-
turns.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Bacota went on reading a number of voluminous
affidavits in'the cause.
His He:moult (interrupting)—Have these parties been
passing their lives in making affidavits?—(Laughter)
Mr. BacoN submitted to his Honour there was suffi-
cient and satisfactory evidence that notice was
given to the assignees and their solicitors
of the petitioners' interest in the debt which
remained due on Ford's bill of exchange, and that the
assignment was executed, not as a voluntary assignment,
but under circumstances of pressure stated in Mr. Salt's
affidavit, and without any notice whatever having been
given to himself or his partners that Ford had committed
as act of bankruptcy, or was about to do so.
Mr. SWANSTON appeared to oppose the petition. He
considered there was but one question, and that
was the validity of the assignment, which involved
two points, namely, as to the validity of the
original transaction between the parties and the
notice which was required, in order to give effect
to that transaction, supposing it to be valid against the
assignees of Harvey. On the first point, it was perfectly
clear from the evidence that the bankrupt Ford was, on
the 29th of January, 1840, and had been for a long time
previously, in a state of great embarrassment, and in a
state of insolvency. The petitioners' case required, as
he aprehended, that there should be clear evidence
of pressure en their part, and a pressure of
such a nature as that, Ford yielding to it,
would establish the bona fides of the transac-
tion. la determining between those two parties,
he submitted ' the Court was not placed in a show
tion of Much difficulty. Mr. Salt, who was the sole
deponent in support of his own case, deposed in most
general terms as to Vie pressure, and as to what was its
nature, and as to what the urgency of it could be on the
mind of the bankr‘ pt; but in order to render this trans•
action valid he did not at all explain.
this HONOUR was of opinion that the execution of the
assignment, which he must take to have been executed
on the 29th of January, the day of its date, was not
fraudulent, was not in contemplation of bankruptcy, and
therefore was not an act o; bankruptcy; by which I
mean that the allegation that it was fraudulent, and was
in contemplation of bankruptcy, or was an act of bank-
ruptcy, was not established. With regard to the refuted
ownership he did not mean to decide that any notice was
necessary; but assuming notice to have been necessary,
the inference that he drew from the evidence was that
notice was given to Messrs. Bond, the solicitors, or one
of them, by Mr. Salt, on that day in February to which
Mr. Salt spoke. Ile thought therefore that the assig-
nees of Ford had the petitioners' money, namely, the
amount of the dividends, upon proof made in Ford's name,
who had been to them, and they must be repaid. There
seemed to have been a spell over this case from the out-
set. He must decide between the claimants, however un-
willing, but ho should like to confiscate the money.—
(Laughter.) If Mr. Bacon would consent, he (the Vice-
Chancellor) would confiscate the money at once.—(Re-
newed laughter.)
The Vice-Chancellor Wigram did not sit to-day.

TATTERSALL'S-THIS EVENING
SIX O'CLOCK.

NORTHA MPTONSIIIRE STAKES.
7 to 2 agst The Tartar
8 to 1 agst Loup-garou
8 to 1 Not Ferr,hill
12 to 1 agst Velox
16 to 1 agst Watchdog
METROPOLITAN HANDICAP.
13 to 2 agst Lugar
10 to 1 agst Can zon
16 to 1 agst Peep 0' Day Boy
18 to 1 agst Executor
20 to 1 agst Do •the• Boys
TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS.
4 to 1 on the field
CHESTER CUP.
15 to 1 agst Joe o' Sot
18 to 1 agst Halo
25 to 1 agst Chanticleer
25 to 1 agst Geraldine
40 to I agst Rathmines
50 to 1 agst Ballinarad
66 to 1 agst Taffrail

DERBY.
3 to 1 agst Flying Dutchman
7 to 1 agst Tadmor
50 to 1 agst Indus

AUSTRIA.

HUNGARIAN BANE NOTES.—The public announce-
ment of Prince Windiscligratz, which appeared at
Ofen on the 2d of March, that the Hungarian Bank
notes will neither Ee confiscated nor considered illegal
in Hungary, in direct contradiction of the decree of
the decree of the Ministry, has excited an
immense sensation at Vienna, and is looked
upon as nothing short of an open letter of
defiance to the Ministry. The proclamation of Win•
discheratz is as follows :—As there is a report in cir-
culation among the public, that the Hungarian Bank-
notes are considered an illegal tender in Austria, awl
will be confiscated, notice is hereby given for the
satisfaction of the public minds, that the illegality or
confiscation of the Hungarian Bank-notes in private
transactions is not applicable to Hungary."
The Silesian Gazette says :—" The Ministry pro-
hibited the circulatian of the Hungarian bank-notes
in tato. The Prince, however, makes an exception in
favour of Hungary in respect to private transactions,
which is tantamount to every transaction?'
The' German; Reform says, "This unexpected step
indicates nothing less than the decided opposition of
the Commander-in=Chief to the Ministry, and is
equivalent to an interdict of the Ministerial power
in Hungary.—Cologne Gazette.

BELGIUM.
THE BRUSSELS CONGRESS.
BAUSSEL9, MARCH 9.—To all appearance there is
no progress in the preparations for the Austro-
Italian conferences for peace, which are to take place
here. Count Colloredo is daily expected from Lon-
don, but as yet he is not come. It is asserted, that
he is waiting fur fresh instructions, but a letter from
London, in the Deutsche Reform, says that Count
Colloredo has declared openly that, in consequence
of the Sardinian speech from the throne, it is quite
impossible for the Austrian Cabinet to send a repre-
sentative to the Brussels Congress. This is also said
to be the reason why Sir Henry Ellis, the British
Plenipotentiary, bas not yet sent for his family.
M. de Lagrene, the representative of France at the
Congress, who was at Paris for a few days for the
purpose of receiving fresh instructions, has returned.