The Sun.
London, England, 1823-02-21 00:00:00

INSOLVENT. DEBTORS' ACT.

Public Meeting of the Merchants, Bankers,

and Tradesmen of the City of London, for the purpose of
" taking into consideration the operation of the present In-
solvent Act, and the propriety of petitioning Parliament for

such a modification or repeal of the Act, as shall be cleaned ad-
visable," took place at the Egyptian Hall, in the Mansion
House, yesterday, at one o'clock, when the business of the day
having been opened by the reading of the requisition, calling
the Meeting, the Right Hon. the LORI) MAYOR was called to

the Chair, which, however, he shortly afterwards resigned to

Alderman WooD, in order to attend other important duties of
his high office.
Alderman BROWS then rose and observed, that it was the
farthest from the wishes of the Committee who had drawn up

the resolutions intended to be submitted to this meeting, to wish
to bear hardly or unjustly upon the honest debtor, and with
that expression of their feelings, he would proceed to a consi.

deration, of the nature' of the Insolvent Act; for the protection
of creditors, certain regulations had been made, which subjected
those debtors who had contracted debts fraudulently, or had
otherwise evinced a dishohest conduct, to such imprisonment
as the Court should think fit, not exceeding three years.—

After touching briefly upon other provisions of the Act, the
worthy Alderman observed, that the debtor was by this Act
enabled to dictate to his creditors in a most unjust and prejue
dicial manner. The object of the present Act was to relieve
insolvent debtors, and the deliberation of such from imprison-
ment. From the King's Bench and Fleet prisons alone 3780 prie
soners had been discharged within the 15 months preceeding Dec.
1821, Whose debts amount to 3,170,009 t, and the assets did
not average more than ode ,halfpenny in the pound; , it was
with this circumstance staring them in the face that creditors
are asked daily to sign compositions, and if they refuse, are
bearded with a threat of taking the benefit of the act. Indeed
to such a pitch was the syaterneearried that there were now
plaintith who might be lured, with whom a debt might be
created, at whose suit the debtor went to prison, and having
been filtered, as it were, of their old incumbrances, they re-
turn to commercial society—too many of them, he was afraid,
to practise afresh those arcs by which they lied formerly ob-
tained a degree of credit to which they certainly were not en-
titled. The worthy Alderman then detailed the nature of the
improvements suggested, which will be found embodied in the
petition.
Sid CHARLES Putcr' in a very nest speech, proposed the
first resolution, which, having been shortly seconded by Alder-
man GARRATT, was put from the Chair, and carried unani-
mously.
Mr. FAVELL, in proposing the second resolution, observed,
that from what. he had recently heardw and front the very nu-
merous body of respectable Gentlemen whom he saw around
him, he was sure that no motive but the public good could be
attributed to them with. whom the proceedings of the present
meeting originated. The really honest debtor could not op
pose the slightest objeclion to the,present petition, and as to the
opposition (,)f those upon whom the resolutions werte intended
to operate; it would !kg be worthy of a moment's consideta-
*ion. Fie thought the public at large were greatly indebted
to the commercial gentlemen of Bristol, who had acted so wisely
and strenuously in petitioning the legislature for the necessary
modifications of the Insolvent Act ; and he was sure that they
were worthy of the cordial cg-operation of the British creditor of
the Metropolis.
Mr. MAwsrAw, of .01d-street-road, seconded the'resolution,
in so low a tone of voice as.to prevent opr hearing his observe-
tions.—Carriedunanimously,
It having been proposed and seconded, that a Petiton, found-
ed on the resolutions previously agreed to, should be presented
to the House of Connons, Alderman Brown read the Petition,
which we subjoin :
To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of
threat Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled.
The humble. Petition of the undr ignekhlerchants, Bankers.

and*Traders, of the city of London,

Sheweth—Thet an Act of Parliam-ent was passed in the first
/ear of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled An Act
for the Relief of lneolvent Debtors in England, to continue
in force until the first day of Juba, 1825 ;" and that another
Act of Parliament was passed in the third year of the reign of
his present Majesty, intituled " An Act to amend an Act of '
the first year of his present Majesty for the Relief of Insol-
vent Debtors in England."
That the limited duration of such Acts shows manifestly,
that they were intended rather as an experiment to determine
the practical operation of their provisions, than as being the
result of experiments already made and valnable consequences
already ascertained.
That your Petitioners humbly submit to your Hon. House,
that the said Acts lave been sufficiently stied, and that they
have proved highly injurious to the country, inasmuch as they
have weakened that faith, and itnpaired that confidence, which
are so essential to the commercial interests of Great Britain--
have injured the fair trader—and have affortied facilities to the
practices of the fraudulent and unprincipled.
That in a country so eminently commercial ae England, it is
almost impossible, amidst the competition occasioned by trade,
to be at all times wholly guarded against the designs of persons
who contract debts without possessing the means, and fre-
'quently without the intention of payment.
That experience has abusdantlyproved, that so fur from the
honest but unfortunate debtor having occasion to dread the re-
lentless persecution of his creditors, it more generally happens
that insolvents obtain their discharges without sufficient trivets-
tiption, on the part of their creditors, of the causes of 'their
insolvency.
That while your. Petitioners disclaim all desire of pursuing
with severity those whose insolvency is occasioned' by the ea-
ilamitotis vicissitudes of life, and are solicitous that all such
should be iiiiielded by the protection' of the law, they most re-
pectfully submit to your Honourable House, that it is essen-
tial to the ,weil-being of the community, that effectual provi.
sion should be made for the counteraction and punishment of
dishonesty and fraud, and that the &listing laws.have proved
insufficient fot Oak Put Pose•
That it appears to your Petitioners, that any legislstive
enactments, by, virtue of which insolvente• may obtain a dis.
charge from their debts without the consent of any portion of'
their creditors, must be destructive of commercial prosperity,
as thereby thelionest creditor is made to bear the evil conse-
qtiences of' fraudulent and improvident speculation, while the
unprincipled debtor entirely escapes from the effects of his own;
dishonesty, under the protection of such enactments.
you: Petitioners therefore humbly pray your Honourable
Rouse that the acid Acta may be repealed, or that your Peti-
tioner); may have such other relief from the evils occasioned
thereby, as your Honourable House shall in its wisdom see fit.
And your Petitioners shall ever pray, &c.
The. rat i tio having been put from the Chair, a Gentleman
from the body of the Hall addressed the Chair. Ile was re-
quested to step upon the hustings, which, having done, he en-
tared into a warm and highly amusing speech of some length •
he asserted that he had some Resolutions in his pocket, what
he wished to submit to the Meeting.
Alderman liroOD observed, that the regular way for the Gen.
dentin to submit his resolutions to the Meeting would be to
propoie them as en 'amendment to the Petitiiin now proposed
and seconded. •
The Oenttenian wished only to submit his Resolutions to
the Meeting, and had no desire to propose an amendment to
the Petition.eaThe Petition was then carried unanimously, and
ordered to be. presented to they House of Peers by Lord Sid.
mouth, and to the House of
' ommons by the Lord Mayor,
And to be supported by the Representatives, of the City.

ST. CHnisToeuen's, JAI4. 14.—" .An event has
occurred on the island, which has produced the
deepest sorrow ; the death of Mrs. MAxwer.L,
the wife of our excellent Governer. She was the
only daughter of Colonel Douglae, of Annan, and
6
first cousin to the Marquis of Queensbery ; she
was but .t.
fallen to the
yeloatrs of
of aanriejitvidlluaasi btoutbeseittritoorrne
deservedly beloved and respected, and to none
to be more sincerely lamented ; kind and
benevolent, to all, she was the friend of the
friendless. one trait, among many, will show
the bias of her mind ; unticipging the pos-
sible termination of her confinement, she desired
that, instead of an expensive funeral, a sum of
motley might be given to tin pour ; a bequest
which her, [lngham' most religiously carried into
execution. The ladies of the island have deter-
mined to erect a monumelit to the memory of one
who was among the brightest ornaments of their
society."