The Sun.
London, England, 1848-07-19 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

ROUSE OF LORDS, July 18.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Wool-
sack at Five o'clock.

EDUCATION.
Lord BROUGHAM presented a petition from Pres-
ton praying for the extension of education.
FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.
Lord BEAUMONT presented petitions from various
lodges praying for the legalization of their societies.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS.
Lord CAMPBELL presented a petition from a per-
son named Dugdale complaining of the abuses in these
courts.
BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND MARRIAGES REGIS-
TRATION BILL (SCOTLAND).
Lord CAMPBELL moved the Committal of this Bill.
The Bill consequently passed through Committee.
DISEASED SHEEP.

The Duke of RICHMOND, in moving, according to
the notice which he had given on Monday, for a re-
turn of the number of sheep, and the quantity of wool
imported into the United Kingdom in the year 1847,
and asking what precautionary measures had been taken
by her Majesty's Government with respect to the conta-
gious disease in sheep, supposed to be of the nature of
small-pox, said that the excuse for the last tariff which
had been passed was, that the people of England should
have their mutton cheap. Well, it was true they had
brought in foreign sheep, but with them they had brought
in a disease that would destroy more English sheep than
the whole number of foreign they were importing. It
was the duty of the Government to send over some
medical man to Germany, to study the disease, and
make himself acquainted with the remedies employed
to cure it. Custom-house officers knew nothing of
sheep ; they could not tell a diseased sheep from a
sound one, and the disease was dormant sometimes
for a fortnight after the sheep were landed. He there-
fore thought the Government should either prohibit the
importation of sheep for a time, or should take mea-
sures to enable the veterinary surgeons of this country
to make themselves acquainted with the curative mea-
sures to be adopted for the cure of this disease. The
Noble Duke concluded by moving for a return of the
number of sheep and cattle imported since the alteration
in the tariff.
Tho Marquis of LA.NSDOWNE was not called
upon to argue the merits of Sir Robert Peel's tariff, for
which he had voted, and of which he approved. He felt
obliged to his Noble Friend for having drawn the atten-
tion of the House to the existence of this disease in
sheep, because it was of importance that farmers should
be put upon their guard against it, affecting, as it did,
one of the great staples of the country. It was
only during the present year that it had given
any just cause of alarm. Instructions had been
given to examine the sheep that were landed,
and in only one instance had it been discovered
that disease existed ; but he was sorry to say
that it had broken out in sheep after they had
landed, and had infected sheep in this country. In-
structions had been issued to the officers of Customs
to keep the whole cargo of sheep in quarantine, in every
casel in which there was reason to suppose that disease
existed in any one sheep of that cargo, and
those officers were to be assisted by veterinary surgeons
in forming their judgment.
After a few words from Lord BROUGHAM, the
subject then dropped.
BOARD OF TRADE RETURNS.
Earl GRANVILLE gave an explanation of the cir-
circumstances respecting the distribution to the news-
papers of the Board of Trade Returns.
Lord BROUGHAM stated that it was his opinion
that the explanation of the Noble Lord was perfectly
satisfactory.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE BILL.
Lord CAMPBELL moved that their Lordships should
go into Committee on this Bill, and stated that it was his
intention to propose in Committee that certain amend-
ments should be printed with the report.
Their Lordships then went into Committee, and the
clauses, with the amendments, having been agreed to,
their Lordships resumed, and the Chairman reported
progress.
THE LAW OF BANKRUPTCY.

Lord WHARNCLIFFE said he rose to present a
petition, of which he had given notice, relative to the
laws of bankruptcy and insolvency, and in doing so he
felt called upon to trespass on the attention of the House
for a short time, while ho made some observations on
the contents of the petition. He regretted that the
matter had not fallen into better hands, and more
especially into those of his lamented Friend Lord Ash-
burton, whose long connexion with the commercial world,
and whose great sagacity on all matters connected with
commerce, entitled his opinion to peculiar attention. As,
however, the petition had fallen into his hands, he would
shortly endeavour to describe the contents of it. This
petition was entitled to peculiar weight, signed as it was
by upwards of 300 of the most eminent merchants,
bankers, and traders in the metropolis, and they came to
that House to ask for an amendment of the law in a mat-
ter which peculiarly affected them. After stating that it
was the peculiar duty of the State to maintain credit
in its integrity, and effectually to discourage and punish
its fraudulent and wilful abuse, they add—" That cam-
mercial credit, so far from being sustained by the laws is,
on the contrary, almost wholly unsupported by them ;
and that dependence oa the mercantile honour of the
country, which has contributed so much to its greatness,
is, from a defective system of legislation, almost extinct."
On this matter the petitioners were more likely to be
acquainted than any other class, and after their exten-
sive and long experience of the law they had no hesita-
tation in saying, that they affect the mercantile honour
of the country. If that was the case under the present
system of the law, and if the effects of its operation were
such as in any degree to justify such observations as
these, surely it was a matter which required the atten-
tion of the House. The petition originated in the
earnest desire of the mercantile classes to attract the
attention of the Legislature to the subject, and
its allegations were founded on resolutions
agreed to at various public meetings held during the
present and previous years. The petitioners state—
" That at a public meeting of merchants, bankers, and
traders of the metropolis, held in the month of February
in the year 1847, it was unanimously resolved, that the
existing bankruptcy and insolvency laws were a disgrace
to this commercial age and country ; that under their
shelter, deceit, reckless trading, extravagance, disho-
nesty, and every species of fraud might be practised
with impunity ; the debtor was demoralized, and the
creditor unprotected; that this impunity was steadily
and surely undermining the commercial morality of the
country; that it was unjust in reference to society in
general, and to the industrious classes in particular ;
that under this protection, a profligate dealer, atter
destroying the fair trade of a district, and ruining all
in his neighbourhood, might, in effect, recommence
business and repeat his course in another or even
in the same district, with scarcely a possibility of
.his reckless career being stopped by the arm of
Justice, or of any punishment being inflicted upon him
for the ruin he had entailed upon others. That the
opinion then expressed has been unhappily strengthened
by the numerous and disastrous failures which have since
occurred, and which are mainly attributable, as your
petitioners confidently assert, to the absence of adequate
and certain punishment for reckless and fraudulent
traders." He had in his possession certain returns as to
the extent of bankruptcy, and also as to the amount of
dividends; he, however, would not go into them at length,
but would merely refer to one or two matters connected
with them. He had before him a list of forty-eight
consecutive cases of
.bankruptcy, which had been given
by one of the Commissioners of Bankruptcy, in a pam-
phlet which he had published as to the cost of bank-
ruptcy. In these forty-eight cases, the amount of the
debts due to the bankrupt was 154,5571., and of these
the total amount collected was 41,826/. Before this
sum could be divided amongst the creditors, man
deductions had to be made, such for instance as prefer):
ence debts, the expenses of going before the Court, the
solicitor's bill, the fees to the official assignees, and other
charges. When these deductions were made from the
41,8.261., not more than 23,1381. was left to be divided
among the creditors; that was giving them about 31g. in
t
the pound.
lie had been assured that
cases.the He
these cases might
bewould
be taken. as a f,tir specimen of n
take the year 1844, which he was informed was favour-
able year, when he found the total amount of dividends
paid in the Bankruptcy Court. was 1,213,0001. &e-
-posing this to represent -J.
n in the pound, it would
give 8,083,000/. as the amount of debt, and 6,870,0001.
luso vency
as the amount of the loss. Under tiliTeehehaaddof
seenl
the loss was much greater.
calculations as to the gross amount of bad debts
e
yearly contracted in this great mercantile country,_ one
of which stated that the amount was not less than
65,000,0002, while another said that the loss was not less
than 49,000,000/. On this point the petitioners state—.
" That the annual loss sustained by the country. ft.
bad debts has been under-estimated at fifty. mill.io= n
sterling. That this vast amount is exclusive of the
s
serious injury to the industrious classes by the reduc-
tion of wages, resulting from the system of selling at
a loss, practised by dishonest dealers, who trust to
the protection and exemption from punishment now
afforded them. That the present laws appear to have
been enacted for the purpose of dealing with insol-
vency after it has taken place, and not with the
view to prevent that course of trading which leads
113 it--11 principle of legislation which your petitioners
consider of vital importance to the safety of commerce."
After this he was sure that their Lordships must admit
.that this was a matter which required the serious con-
sideration of the Legislature. Some years ago there
was a strong feeling in favour of an alteration of the law
of debtor and creditor, and Parliament applied itself to
the subject, and applied, as it was thought at the time,
some appropriate remedies. He thought, after the ex-
perience of the last few years, he might express a doubt
as to whether Parliament had taken the proper course.
He did not think that the change which gave an advan-
tage to the debtor was at all more advantageous than
the old law, which gave the advantage to the creditor.—
(Hear.) The petitioners said—" That your petitioners
have long entertained the opinion that where insolvency
has arisen from wilful misconduct or extrava-
gance, or where debts have been contracted in fraud,
dishonesty, or without the reasonable expectation of
ability to pay them, the debtor should be subjected to
punishment for the injury he has inflicted upon society,
ny imprisonment in the common gaol; they therefore
hailed with satisfaction the recognition of this principle
in the County Courts Act, and are most desirous of its
extension to debts of larger amount. That, notwith-
standing certain acts of fraud committed by bankrupts
are by law punishable as felonies or misdemeanours, yet
the difficulties and obstacles in the way of conviction are
such as almost entirely to deter creditors from their
prosecution. That your petitioners are of ()pawn
that upon nonpayment of his demand, the creditor
ought to have every possible facility of obtaining an im-
mediate distribution of his debtor's property, without
the risk of further loss by its being made away with.
That the evils which the trading community have