The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-16 00:00:00

trtf Zibition

SUN OFFICE, Seven o' Clock.

TATTERSALL'S-THIS EVENING.
S O'CCK.

CHESTER cur.
20 to 1 agst Best Bower
22 to 1 agst Whinstone
122 to 1 agst. Sweetmeat
25 to I agst The Baron
25 to I agst Mermaid—taken
30 to 1 ag3t Mickey Free
35 to I agat Cataract
35 to 1 agst Fitzallau
40 to 1 agat Hope
40 to I agst Arthur
40 to I agst Inheritress
DERBY.

5 to 1 agst Sting
15 to 1 agst Brocardo
20 to 1 agst lago
30 to 1 agst Malcolm
33 to 1 agst Tibtliorpe7taken.

OAKS.
8 to 1 agst Forth's lot
11 to 1 agst Vanish
20 to 1 agst Mendicant

FEMALE SERVANTS' ROME
SOCIETY.—(THIS DAY).
A public meeting of this Society was held at the Hanover
square Rooms this day,
Lord ASHLEY took the chair at two o'cloble, and called on
the Rev. Mr. Keane to open the proreedlogs with prayer.
Lord ASHLEY said he thought it would be unnecessary for
him to trespass long on their time, as nll of those present
must be aware of the importance of that Institution. From
the report lie had read he was deeply impressed tha
that it Was of
the greatest importance to the peace, welfare,
and the honour of every family in the kingdom. In
that he was ,borne out by a letter from Chel-
tenham, sent him by a gentleman connected with an
institution for the same object, which had existed sevea
years in that place, with the very best results. He (Lord Ash-
ley) was aware that young women were exposed to great
dangers in coining up to the metropolis in search of situa-
tions, and were exposed to dangers and difficulties not only
when in that condition, but after they had actually obtained
places, since, from harsh treatment and extreme exactions,
they might in a moment of excitement throw tip their situa-
tions and leave themselves friendless in the midst of
society. The police reports gave them too many instances
of. the bad results which often ;esued out of these
casualties. Thei own comfort depended intimately
on the welfare of that class of society. After their wives
and children, their comfort depended on no class so much as
on their domestie servants. Great fraud was used in intro-
ducing bad characters into their families. An individual of
respectable appearance would take a lodging at some hotel,
and there would furnish characters suited to the highest
situations, or merely adapted to the humblest menial ser-
vice. It had been found out that so much as a guinea was
the charge for the most common character, but, for those
ascending to the higher flights, the amount exceeded any-
thing they could imagine, that vast sums of money were
amassed by these means. At a time when They were review-
ing their whole social system (and for which he thanked God)
he hopzd that a larger share of consideration would be given
to that class of society for whose interests the Society existed.
-His Lordship, after some more remarks, called on
The Rev. Jolts BROWN, secretary, to read the report of the
Institution. It appears that 2,000 female servants had used
the advantage of the Society's homes, 4,714 had been regis-
tered free, and. 1,550 applications had been made to the So-
ciety for servants.
.1. PAY E, E-q., moved that the report read should be
adopted. He shortly remarked on the evil effects of the
hasty dismission of servants from situations coming within
his own sphere of observation in corroboration of what
- had fallen from the Chairman.
The motion was seconded by the Rev. Mr. DIBDTN.
It was moved by the Rev. Mr. KEANE, and seconded by
the Rev. Mr. PIZEY, that gratitude and praise. to God
should be recorded by the meeting for his blessing on the
Society.
The thanks of the meeting were moved to Lord Ashley,
- the chairman, by the Rev. S. JONES, which was seconded and
caned unanimously.
His Lonnsuns, in replying, referred the supporters of
the Society to the happy effect which had followed his
efforts. Twelve years ago, be said, out of the thousands
of childretilfrom six to eight years old, working from twe've
to fifteen hours a day, not one hundred had hadone hour's in-
struction, but now thirty thousand of them wrought but. six
hours a day, and had three hours of good education.—(Hear,
hear.) He would give them his own rule—first, they ought
to consider whether the cause they took up was good,
and if so to stand by it, though alone, till they grew grey-
beaded, and they would have the happiness to hear, if it
• were on their death-bed, of the good resulting front their
labours.—The meeting then separated.

THE BANKRUPT and INSOLVENT
LAWS.—(THIS DAY.) -
A large public meeting of merchants, bankers, and traders
in the City of London, was held, at one o'clock this day, at
the London Tavern, Bishopegate-street, to receive a report
of the proceedings of the Committee, appointed on the 27th
of May last, to consider the Small Debts Act and the Act
for the amendment of the Law of Bankruptcy sod Insol-
vency, brought into the House of Commons at the close of
last session; and to det rmine on the measures to be adopted
with respect thereto.
On the motion of T. Moms, Esq., M.P., R. J. MASTER-
HAN, Esq., M.P., was called to the chair, who briefly stated
that he had been requested to preside, as he had the honour
to represent the City of London in Parliament.
The Secretary, Mr. TaxvEßs, read letters from Lord Ash-
burton and Commissioners Goulburn and Fane, regretting
their inability to attend the meeting, and expressive of their
opinion that the present laws were defective, inasmuch as
-they afforded the dishonest debtors the means of preventing
their property from being divided amongst their creditors,
and did not afford them sufficient protection, and suggesting
various remedies. Lord Ashburton stated that it had been
his fate to sit on many Committees respecting these laws
with several great lawyers, who appeared to him much more
occupied with views connected with their profession than
those which had reference to the b"eat material and moral
interests of those over whom these laws were practically des-
tined to operate.
The report, after pointing out the hardships to which
creditors were exposed under existing Acts, proceeded to
point out the remedial measures contained in the
Act introduced into the House of Commons last
session under the auspices of Mr. Hawes and Mr. Masterman.
The object of this Bill is to perfect and extend the Bank-
ruptcy Amendment Act of 1842, the object being to afford
greater facility for bringing insolvent persons into the Court
of Bankruptcy; to obtain additional security against their
property being dishonestly made away with ; and to render
exposure and just punishment more certain for those whose
improper conduct shall have deserved them. To accomplish
these objects, improvements are proposed in the first steps in
Bankruptcy, relative to the summons of the debtor, and for the
protection of his, or, rather, of his creditor's property, during
the period which now properly elapses between the day of
appearance before the Court upon the summons and the
completion of the Act of Bankruptcy, and the taking
possession of the property by the messenger under the
fiat. The Committee, aware of the extreme im-
portance of providing against the possibility of abuse
of this power, had endeavoured so to frame the
provision as to preclude reasonable complaint on the part of
the honest debtor. The Bill would also empower the Court of
Bankruptcy at any time in its discretion to withdraw or
suspend its protection from bankaupts and insolvents, and to
make the withdrawal of such protection compulsory, when-
ever the bankrupt or insolvent shall fail to satisfy
the Court that Lis bankruptcy or insolvenc • shah
have arisen otherwise than from fraud, wit?' mis-
conduct, extravagance, or gambling, as well as in those
cases now punishable as felonies or misdemeanours ; thus put-
ting the proof cf honesty upon the debtor, not throwing the
proof of fraud upon the creditor; the creditor being, bv the
failure cf his debtor, the injured party, and the impossibility
of prrring fraud being to well known to require expla-
nation. It proposed to give to the assignees, as well as
to individual creditors upon the emission of their claims,
the rights tI jutigiroint creditors against the person of
the bankrupt or insolvent, which might be enforced
immediately upon the protection being withdrawn; thus
snaking the withdrawal of protection a previous. step to
punidimeut at the discretion, cot of the Court,- but of the
creditor, who then, and then only, may seize his debtor's
person. The Bill provided security . also te.; creditors
against the wasting and loss of the effects of
deceased traders, in default of the appointment of
executors or administrators, and for the distribution thereof
by means of the Court of Bankruptcy after the lapse of a
certain period. It rendered securities by bills of sale, and
inorty:eges of goods, and personal chattels and effects, in-
opefative against creditors unless filed within 21 days after
xecution. The Committee were strongly opposed to the
proposition for uniting the Bankruptcy and Insolvent Courts.
They consider that a very diffinent course should be pursued
in the dealing with the insolvency of traders and non-traders,
under which latter description they include that numerous
glass of persons w ho, whether traders whose debts are under
3001., or non-traders, avail themselves of the protection
granted them Z)y the Court of Bankruptcy by the Acts of
474,-et. and 1814, as it must be borne in mind that the
of the creditor in making his debtor bank-
ruptt`.l
is the distribution of his es'ate among his
creditors; that of the insolvent petitioner, his own relief and
Irtutectl"• Previously to the passing of the former of these
Acts,'the effects otralers only
Court of Ilankszcey. were administered by the
The Insolvent Dobtors' Court dealt
chiefly with the
is to bring into the Bankruptcy The effect of these two statutes
cations front persons whose Court a multitude of appli-
ee debts are less than 31)21. These
cases are nearly all of a
tr
of
fud trivial nature, involving
ordinarily few or no questions
the debtors being nil, and their crrdirorrtsabnecien;g theind
ievffi
de effects
iyo,f
slightest hope of a divi-
for trifling amounts, and without
della. From their number alone they occupy a very
large portion of the time of the co
eina-notnh-ing
official assignees ; and, from there Commissioners, and
avail-
able assets, they of course contribute to-
wards the expenses cf the Court, which
wholly borne by the creditors of the bankrupt tree' etherefore'
petitions of these small debtors for protection might The
dis-
posed of quite as efficiently for them in the Insolvent'6lt be
di,-
Court,
and the Court of Bankruptcy reserved for bankrupt,
alone.' The accounts showed but a small balancZiiciatsleies
hands of the Treasurer.
THOMAS BARING, EST, in moving the first resolution,
stated that he could bring no arguments from practical ex-
perience to bear upon the question
which they had met to
discuss, for it was well known that bankers and general
merchants had not that evory-day experience of the opera-
tion of the bankrupt and insolvent law which was obtained
by those moving in a different sphere of comine!rce. They
were not certainly free from the disagreeable misfortune of
bad debts, but the application oi those bad debts did
t come so frequently before them as • those
engaged hose
trade.—(Hear, hear.)
engaged in other branches of
He had stated this because—althongh he agreed with the
sentiments contained in the report—he did not wish to pledge
himself as to the course he should pursue with res wet to
hese laws until he had had a further elucidetion of their
effect upon the public, anti of the sentiments of the Legisla-
ture with respect to them. lie was saved from entering at.
length into the whole bearings of time question by the very
able and cernprehesteive letters which they had heard read
from those whose experience and official position_ entitled
their
opinions to the greenest •es t
—(II ear ) Although tha
banker and merchant had*
had not so many opportunities of ob-,
'serving the effect of thos "
e laws as the general trader, yet he
was, nevertheless, as deeply
thing which rendered interested in the issue for every-
unsafe must endanger the
oneci:ortion of the trade of the country
that that question affected ttliteer portion also.—(Cheers.) So
they were inclined to believe. mferehantile classes more than
believe that creditors had any ,wti,slvas a mistaken notion to
as justice could he obtained without: -
°Paresis their debtors,
hardships. He Must say, however, unnecessary
a morbid sensibility created , that there was
the public, for the hardship which mind' el
occurred under