The Sun.
London, England, 1869-07-10 00:00:00

retreat enc:owmen,': war-1:d, we admit, have been o.;,:.4astrous.
From a political stantlpoint we sympathise to a great
extent with the Protestant feeling of the country, to
which the House of Lords would have given effect had
:hey rejected the bill. We believe that the practical
?fleet of the measure will be to establish the Church of
Rome still more firmly in Ireland, and that to leave the
existing Church of Ireland in poverty will still further
kid her. The division on Friday week, no doubt, shews
that the No-Popery cry is still a power in the country,
:rompelling statesmen, for their own purposes, to act
against their convictions; but when men are induced to
reflect calmly, they will be convinced that in reality the
Government scheme is More favourable to the secret and
unrestricted influence of Rome than some such scheme as
the Duke of Cleveland's.
The Economist thinks that the prospects of a ne .v
Bankruptcy Bill becoming law are at length very good.
Another important stage in the progress of the measure
has been completed by its seeond reading in the House of
Lords ; and. the bill ought now to be substantially safe.
Whatever alterations the Peers may make, they are not
likely to go against the principle—the adoption of the
Scotch system as the English mode of bankruptcy pro-
cedure. This was the principle of the last abortive bill
introduced into the House of Lords, and it is so strongly
demanded by the commercial world that there is nothing
else at present that would satisfy those interested. The
bill, as it now comes before the Lords, is also substan•
tially what it has remained through all the amendments.
The machinery for administering estates in bankruptcy,
and the regulations for the bankrupt's discharge—the
peculiar points in bankruptcy law—are very much what
they were. We retain the. doubts we have several times
expressed as to whether the Scotch system will answer
here ; but we are glad to see that the experiment will
have a fair chance under a good working bill. Among
other fortunate circumstances, the new bankruptcy
statute has not been appreciably lengthened in its final
progress through committee, and it will be a compendious
piece of legislation. The steps necessary in bankruptcy
after the bill becomes law will be few and simple. The
first meeting of the creditors follows immediately the
adjudication of bankruptcy, 'and the trustee and
committee of inspection are appointed at once. There
is no delay of any sort, but the creditors enter
into possession and appoint their administrators
almost as soon as the bankruptcy has been declared.
After that there is no other legal intervention until, the
assets having been collected and distributed, an application
is made to close the bankruptcy. The bankrupt it is true
may apply for his discharge, but that is a separate matter.
The creditors will also know whom to look to for their
dividends. They have first of all the trustee ; but the
trustee's duty to call a meeting of his committee every
three months to audit his accounts and have a dividend
declared, imposes a responsibility upon the members of
that committee too. It seems impossible, under a regula-
tion like this, that the scandal of estates neglected for
years can occur. The matter perhaps will not be wholly
dependent on the creditors. The trustee must forward
every three months to the accountant in bankruptcy the
accounts which he submits to his committee. If the
accountant's audit is not to be a sham, irregularities will
be quickly detected and removed. Of course no such
official supervision will prevent extravagant or careless
management, and it remains to be seen whether English
creditors will chew unwonted vigilance about small money
under the stimulus of the present law.