The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-08 00:00:00

THE BANKRUPTCY BILL.

The Bankruptcy Bill, which almost exclusively
occupied the earlier portion of the session, and upon
which the eyes of the commercial classes were for
some time so earnestly fixed, is once again before
the world. It passed almost triumphantly through
the House of Commons, and was sent up to the
Lords with a general acclaim, scarcely warranted,
perhaps, by the rather circumscribed character of
its general scope. There, however, it met with a
less favourable set of critics. It was regarded
with much more suspicion than enthusiasm, and it:
was sent upstairs to a select committee for close,
searching examination. There were many points
upon which the general community had con-
siderable misgivings, and upon which they
lo lsed to the Law Lords for information,
and perhaps for protection. The non-traders
were in some measure apprehensive that their rea-
sonable security was about to be sacrificed, iu order'
to gratify that eager rush to judgment which
seemed to have become the prevailing desire of all
commercial men. Quiet folk, who have nothing to
do with money or articles of merchandise, and who
know money only as a regular income which they
earn, receive, and spend, were afraid of being
caught up and drawn into a terrible machinery
the rapid action of which was only necessary to
seize the fleeting assets of men whose business it is
to deal with large sums of money as jugglers deal
with balls and knives, making them move rapidly
before our eyes for a certain time, and then
mysteriously disappear altogether. To allay these
fears live looked to the Lords and their Select Com-
mittee. But we had no desire and no apprehen-
sion that the Peers would interfere with the general
mechanism of the bill, so far as it related only to
the administration of bankrupt estates •, and we
certainly expected that the commercial body would.
have been allowed to be the best judges of their
own interest in collecting and distributing the
assets of a bankrupt trader.
This bill is now brought forth from its secret
torture-chamber, and we must confess that it is
a decrepit and a broken spectacle. The rack has
been used more relentlessly than we had ever
anticipated. We little thought, when we saw
Sir Richard Bethell's offspring passing so jauntily
upstairs for a sort of friendly examination, it would.
come halting down again so haggard and so wan-
Doubtless very many of tne excisions which we
see are improvements. Some of them are cor-
rections of clumsy drawing not very creditable in a
Government bill. The non-professional reader may
be astonished to find the Lords quarrelling with
the special provision that when the bill speaks in
the singular number it should be understood to
include several matters as well as one matter, and
when of the masculine gender that it should be
understood also to speak of the feminine gender..
But the Lords are aware that there is a general
Act of Parliament which has already amply pro-
vided for all these small matters of interpreta-
tion, and that it is not only a very useless and a
very inartistic, but also a very noxious practice, to
encumber the statute-book with unnecessary and
conflicting interpretation clauses. When, however,
we have passed over about a dozen of these merely
foe mal amendments, there is a terrible remainder of
great organic changes. In the first place, the Court
of Bankruptcy itself, which the original bill esta-
blished, is swept away. The Chief Judge, with
his £5,000 a-year, his rank among the Superior
Judges, his Secretary, his Registrar, and his retiring
pension, is removed off the face of the bill. This
looks like striking the character of Hamlet out of
the play. The Chief Judge of this Court was the
central figure of the great design; everything else
seemed to lead up to it ; and, if we are to lose this
most imposing part of the scene, and to go back
again to such old properties as the Court of Appeal
in Chancery, we lose a great deal of the novelty,
to say the least of it, of the Attorney-General's
new production. The new important portion of this
bill was the assimilation of remedies against traders
and non-traders, and the fusion of jurisdiction ire
cases of bankruptcy and insolvency. It was in
this we expected to find the most grievous mutila-
tion, for it was against this that Lord Chelmsford's
hostility was principally directed. Strange to
say, however, this part of the bill has been scarcely
touched, except to render its provisions more clear
in their expression. A little more latitude is given
to the non-trader to remain abroad or to lie
in prison at home, but generally he is left
open to the operation of the Bankruptcy Law pretty
much as he was by Sir R. Bethell. A third prin-
ciple of the new measure was to throw the collection
and distribution of bankrupt estates into the hands
of the creditors. The principal grievance brought
forward by the Chamber of Commerce was the
expense attending the proceedings towards a divi-
dend ; it was always said that this expense was
principally ccasioned by the working of the system
of official assignees. It was accordingly provided
by this bill, that for nearly all purposes a creditors'
nominee should take the place of the official as-
signee; and, perhaps, one of the most important
clauses in the bill was that which provided that
upon the appointment of the creditors' assignee the
bankrupt's estate should be divested out of the
official assignee and vested in the creditors' assignee.
All this has disappeared from the bill. The creditors
are allowed to choose their assignee, but what his
duties and powers are to be does not very clearly
appear. All those which were assigned to him by
the original bill have been entirely disallowed. There
is one other alteration in the bill which will be felt
to be of importance to the general public. The mea-
sure which passed the House of Commons contained
a provision that, even in cases where a bankrupt
was not opposed, the Court might consider whether
his conduct, as it appeared from the proceed-
ings, disclosed any reasonable_ objection to his
discharge, and also whether there appeared to be
ground for charging the bankrupt with conduct
amounting to a misdemeanour. In the latter case
the Judge was empowered to try him for this mis-
demeanour. By the Bill as amended, however, the
power to refuse a discharge to unopposed bank-
rupts is struck out, and the power to try a bankrupt
in the Bankruptcy Court is made conditional upon
the bankrupt's consent.
These are the principal alterations which the
Lords have made in this important Bill. We fear
they will be considered both by the autbor of the
measure and by the commercial classes to be by no
means improvements. It is by no means certain
that we might not, if it be necessary to save the
Bill, give up the Judge and his Court, and content
ourselves with the accustomed judicial services of
the present Commissioners. We might also, for the
sake of peace, forego some portion of the protection
against commercial swindling which we had hoped
this bill would give us. It is hardly, however, to
he expected that the Chambers of Commerce will be
satisfied to surrender their favourite point of getting
t he funds out of the hands of the lawyers and adminis-
tering them themselves, and we may be sure that that
battle at least will be fiercely fought. On the other
hand, Lord Brougham and his friends in the Peers
are known to be equally strenuous in their convic-
tion a gainst the policy of creditors' assignees. Surely,
however, this is a matter upon which the desires of
the parties who are interested ought to prevail ?
They must be supposed to understand what their
own interests are. As there is no party question
involved, and no great principles of policy in di,s-
ue
pute, we may hope that all these points may yet .
temperately discussed, and that some compronnse,
may be effected between the professional views 01
the Law Lords and the trading views of the Cham-
bers of Commerce. Something, perhaps, is to be
conceded on both sides. There is so much good
still left in this bill that we should be sorry to see
it miscarry even as it at present stands, but Nv.e mus
confess that we have been disappointed an the
extentandtheimportance of these Lords' amend-
ments.—Tines.

As the history of our first iron men-of-war is a
matter of public interest, and as many contradictory reports
respecting their armaments have gone the round of the
press, according as the opinions of the Admiralty are
balanced in favour of rifled or smooth-bored guns, we give
the following as the latest resolution which has been arrived
at on the matter—The Warrior and Black Prince are each
to have, on the main deck, thirty-four6B- pounders, 95 cwt,
smooth bores; on the upper deck, two 100-pounders, bow
and stern, pivot guns, rifled, and four 40-pounders, rifled.
These guns will be provided with ammunition as follows—
The broadside gnus, 80 rounds; pivot guns, 190. The arma-
ment of the Achilles, now about to be built at Chatham, is
of a more formidable character, namely—Forty-four 100-
pounders, rifled guns, four 40-pounders ditto, and two
32-pounders, smooth bored. These are entirely independent
of 25-pounder Armstrong guns for the pinnaces and
launched. It will not surprise us to hear that the arma-
ments of the Warrior and Black Prinee have again under-
gone modification, and that a larger proportion of rifled
guns are introduced ; but the above is as the order stands
at present. The Duke of Wellington. 131, is ordered to
receive nine Armstrong heavy guns, similar to those sup-
plied to the Marlborough.—Army and .Navy Gazette.
THE MAILS, &c.—SOUTHAMPTON, June 7.—The
Peninsular and Oriental Company's screw steamer Alham-
bra, Captain N. Roskell, sailed hence to-day with the mails
for Lisbon, Oporto, and Vigo, 12 passengers, and £B,OOO in
sovereigns far Lisbon. The Tyne, Captain Woolcott, leaves
on Monday with the mails for Capo Verde, Brazil, and
River Plate; the Delta, Capt. Field, on Wednesday, with
the Mediterranean and Bombay mails ; and the Bremen,
Capt. We: sell, on Wednesday, with mails for New York.
The Ellora, Capt. soy, is expected here on Monday with
tho heavy Bombay and Mauritius mails; the Tagus, Cap-
tain Hall, with the Peninsular mails, on Tuesday ; the
Saxonia, Captain Ehlers, with mails from New York of the
Ist inst., on Thursday ; and the Atrato, Captain Woolley, ,
with the West India and Pacific mails, on Friday,

THIRD EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, Six o'clock.

GREECE.

A letter from Athens says :—" We have been for
the last few days under the weight of a political
crisis. The Government thought it could turn it
to its advantage, and suddenly arrests were made
at the moment when they were least expected.
The Government pretends that it has discovered, or
is on the point of discovering, a conspiracy against
the life of the King, as well as the existence of a
secret society, whose efforts would tend to over-
throw the existing state of things. Among the
arrested is M. Kalamides, chief editor of the Tele-

graph journal, an opposition paper, and said to be
the organ of the Senator Shris tides. Four officers,
two of them of superior rank, have been also im-
prisoned. The investigations into the affair has
been commenced,

MONEY AIABKET Aff.D Grl'Y NEIVAS'.

CITY, Two o'CLocK.

The Bank of England return completed to the
sth inst., is of an unfavourable character. Owing
to the remittances of specie to New York there is a
decrease of about a quarter of a million in the stock
of the precious metals ; the reserve of notes also
shows a diminution of three quarters of a million
sterling. The increased demand for money is shown
in the addition that has been made to the other
securities amounting to a quarter of a million, and
in the private balances there is also a falling off of
nearly a million sterling. The other items of the
balance sheet show little change of importance.
Subjoined are the particulars:—
Active Circulation .. £19,865,695
Increase .. .. 496,025
Stock of Bullion .. 11,940,817
Decrease .. 227,451
Rest .. 3,222,592
Increase .. 1,469
Public Deposits 7,219,540
Increase .. 345,717
Other Deposits 10,714,028
Decrease .. 929,537
Seven Day and other Bills .. 620,170
Increase .. P 4,570
Government Securities .. .. 9,916,605
No alteration. •
Other Securities •• •• •• 19 862, 603
Increase .. .. 225,695
Notes unemployed .. 5,679,740
Decrease .. 763,120
A further sum of £45,000 in gold was taken
into the Bank yesterday.

In the Foreign Exchanges, yesterday afternoon,
there was very little alteration, but more firmness
Was generally apparent.

In the Liverpool Cotton Market, yesterday, the
sales amounted to 10,000 bales, but there was no
material alteration in prices.

The imports of specie since Monday last amount
to £147,315, and the exports to £538,729.

There has not been much animation in the
English Stock Market to-day, but increased heavi-
ness has prevailed, Consols having receded to 891
for money, and to 901 1- for the account. Specu-
lation is extremely dull, but the Bank return being
considered unfavourable has led to a continuance of
aides. The New Threes and the Reduced have
receded to 891 g ; but Exchequer Bills are firm, at
2s. dis. India 5 per Cent. Loan receded to 971 f, ;
ditto Debentures, are 954 98 ; and ditto Bonds,
10s. dis.

There has been very little alteration in the
Foreign Stock Market, but the dealings have been
numerous. Turkish 6 per Cents. are 70/ 71 ; ditto,
1858, 55 ; ditto 4 per Cent. Guaranteed, 100/ ;
Venezuelan, 18/i French 41 per Cents., 94f.;
Brazilian, 98/ 99 ; Buenos Ayres, 901; ditto De-
ferred, 284; Equador, 14; Mexican, 218 ; Portu-
guese, 47,-1 ; and Spanish Deferred, 43.
The dealings in the Railway Share Market have
been very limited, but prices generally have shown
little variation. Great Northern A Stock, however,
bas declined about 10s. to 15s. ; and Nortb Eastern
(Berwicks) have improved ss. The other lines dealt
in remain at about their previous values.
In the Foreign and Colonial Markets the opera-
tions were of an unimportant character. South
Austrian and Lombardo-Venetian brought 151 ;
East Indian were flat at 1001-; Great Western of
Canada brought 10/ ; and Grand Trunk of Canada,

Joint• Stock Bank and Miscellaneous shares
continued very inactive, and prices were without
alteration.

BRITISH FUNDS—CLOSING PRICES,
per Cent. Reduced Annuities B9k
' per Cent. Conasis Annuities
New 3 per Cent. Annuities
India Stock

Ditto 5 per Cent
rntto Debentures, 1859 96
Ditto Bonds £l,OOO lO dis
Cm°ls for Account, July 10
Exchequer Bills, £l,OOO, 11d
D tto £500
FOREIGN FUNDS—CLOSING PRICES.
Brazilian 5 nor Cent
Ditto, 1839 & 1859 9Bl
Buenos Ayres, 6 per Cent
Ditto Account
Ditto Deferred
Equador New Consolidated
Mexican 3 per Cent —
Ditto Account
New Grenada Active, 31 per Cent.
___ 7'

Ditto Deferred
Portuguese 3 per Cent.. 1853 47
Eardiman 5 per Cent

Ditto Account
Spanish 3 per Cent
Ditto New Deferred
Ditto Account
Turkish 6 per Cent ..
Ditto Guaranteed. 4 per Cent.
Venezuelan 3 per Cent
Ditto Account
Dividends on the above payable in London.
French Rentes, 4i per Cent., Ex. 25f. 94f.
THREE O'CLOCK.
Controls, Money B9s
Ditto Account 9ok $