The Sun.
London, England, 1857-01-29 00:00:00

LO , t RSDAY EVE N 'NG, JAN UAR y 29. 7,

ME t,CANTILE LA W CONFB HENCE.

Yesterday the members of the Mercantile Law Con-
ference met at Willis's-rooms, for the purpose of taking
the law of bankruptcy into their coueiderasion. Lard
Brougham occupied the chair. There were also present
--Lori Stanley, M.P., Mr. Headlaeo, iM.P., Mr. Cran-
ford, M.P., Mr. A. Pellatt, M.P., Mr. Tito, M.P., Mr.
Alderman Salotnons, Messrs. Holland, Turner, Rankin,
Crosthwaite; Ray, Heath, Lloyd, Wells, HaStings,
Hawes, Wordsworth; &c.
The .Noordt CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedinwe,
said that it gave him very great satisfaction to have the
honour of. meeting the conference, assembled as it, was
from' all parts of the country, as well as from the
City of London, and that on a subject of the greatest
passible importance. He would not detain them
from the business of the day by dwelling on the ire-
' portance of the occasion It was enough to say that
those whom he. addressed were met •to give the result
of their practical experience of the working of the mer-
cantile law of the country. If anything could add to
the necessity ofattention on the part of Government and
the Legislature to the experience of mercantile men on
tee subject which most nearly affects theni, it was the
fact that of late yews very material changes had been in
traduced into the mercantile law of thia cAintry, but the
effect of these changes, for good or evil, they had n ,t as
yet an adequate opportunity of informing themselves.
At the head of.the subject-matter set down for conside•
ration stood the law of bankruptcy, with insolvenq, and
the other changes of the law of debtor • and creditor,
forming part of the new system which had been intro-
duced within little more than a quarter of a century. A
teelamage irad-bees made by the Act of 1831.
yv el'
calleden
Sub-
sequent important changes had been made by the Acts
trained in 1840 and 1841 ; and a further change, which
us trusted rwirrrol)grol
winaslBe49isebyathfuerathcetthe had
introduced rtor de
Bank-
ruptcy Consolidation Act. They had now to consider
how Tar benefits had arisen from the changes to which
be referred—how far errors had been committed, arid
therefore mischief had been inflicted—and how far
improvements might be introduced in the law. As
:regarded measures of amendment generally, objections
had been urged against the course pursued by the
Law Amendment Society which appeared to him wholly
groundless. It was said that they did not proceed
upon any fixed system—that they ought to introduce
a new code of mercantile laws instead of going to
work pieoemeal, and introducing a variety of proposals.
Now, in the first place, he denied the truth of what was
alleged. He asserted that they had proceeded almost
constantly upo,p a uniform system. One great principle
would be found to pervade and govern all the changes
which he himself had proposed before the existence of
the Law Amendment Society, and many of which he had
happily succeeded in bringing about, and all the changes
which that society had since been the means of carrying
into effect. That principle was the substitution of natural
fur technical procedure—natural procedure,with its iocal-
culable benefit, for technical procedure with itsincalculable
evils. If he were asked why they had not introduced a
systein of law,- his answer would be that that would he all
very well if the existing system of jurieprudence were a
mass of absurdity audcontradiction. If there was nothing
valuable in. the existing system the sooner it were swept
away and another substituted for it the better. But the
contrary was the truth. Even the stoutest law ameedersi
admitted that such was not the case. Mr. Bentham himself
was one of the first to wird; that there was in the Eng-
lish system of jurisprudence far more of what was valu-
able than .of what was reprehensible, and it followed
from this that, instead of asking to sweep away the whole,
they should retain the nine-tenths 01 it which were good,
and try to improve, as tar as possible, the remaining
one-tenth. (Cheers.) Again, it was said that the im-
provements which were proposed, not merely by the
Law Amendment Society, but by all those who desired
changeir in the political, social, or religious systems of
the country, did not go far enough. His answer was
that they went as far in most eases as they ought to go,
and as far as was practicable and safe. It was, he thought,
better fur them to take one step, and make sure of their
footing, and before proceeding further to wait until that
atop had been safe and beneficial. There was no harm
done by the delay. He had touched on the Act of 1849
by way of illustrating the many important changes
which had taken place in the mercantile law. He had
no doubt that many objections had been made, boils
in the courts and out of them, to the working of that
act, and many also to the form of it. • These objections
had ken, however, greatly exaggerated. It must, how-
ever, he was free to confess, be admitted that late events
in the mercantile world had exposed a conflict in the
administration of the law of insolvency as regarded the
Bankruptcy Act' nd the Winding-up Act, (Hear, hear.)
His own impreision was, that alt those eysten-s were
beneficial upon the whole, and that •he great difficulty
arose from the conflict of their jurisdiction, and that if
the law of bankruptcy and the law of winding-up were
administered by the same court and the same tribunal,
99 out of 100 existing grievances would cease. In this
view he was qpnfirmed by one of the learned Commis-
sioners of the C 'urt of Bankruptcy (Mr. Sergeant
Goulburn), who had told them that his colleagues were
of the same opinion' and that Mr. C:stamissioner Hol-
royd had brought it forward in the late important judg-
ment which he had given. He had not as yet had the
opportunity he trusted to have, of perusing the judgment
in question, which, he heard, had been very, carefully
taken, and therefore he could not venture an opinion
upon it. He thought they had, in some respects, met at
a very happy moment, because there was now a general
disposition to devote attention to that most important
subject, the amendment of our laws. Various measures
for carrying out this most desirable project were not
only in contemplation, but also in preparation. Not
only her Majesty's Government, but also parties wholly
unconnected with the Ministry, indeed many of them in
opposition to it, were agreed in the necessity of making
some changes in the law as it at present stood, and he
could only hope that those changes would be for the
better. He would not, however, have them rely much
upon professions and promises, come they from what
quarter they might, come they from men in office, or
come they from men looking for office. (Cheers.) Such
promises and professions cost little, and wise and
prudent men would be very apt to take them as of very
little value, perhaps to take them (if , he might so
speak) at their cost price. (Cheers and laughter.) For
himself he would say that he participated so much
in that feeling that he looked more to a little per-
formance than to a great deal of promise. He had,
however, no reason to doubt the perfect good .faith and
sincerity of those from whom those professions and
promises had proceeded. Although things were £hus
favourable to their cause—the improvement of the law
—yet he could not help repeating what he bad said
before, that they should not rely on promises and pro-
fession% There was an old saying which was this—
" When the weather is fine and fair take with you
your cloak and your umbrella, but when it is rainy
just do as you please." Now, he was very much of
that mind with regard to law amendment. When all
was fair and clear overhead, be watched carefully if
those who made promises were active in carrying them
into performance, and after he had so watched them,
if he found that they were fulfilling what they had pro-
mised, he did all he could to back them up with all
his power—such power as a meeting like the present
was best calculated to lend to him. (Cheers,) He
could not resume his seat without referring to the
great benefits which had resulted from their conference
in 1852, which he hoped would be exceeded by those
which the present meeting would give rise to. (Cheers.)
Mr. HASTINGS, the secretary, then read the report of
the committee, of which the following is a copy :---
" The great success of the Mercantile Law Conference,
held in November, 1852, and the legislative results which
followed its deliberations, induced the council of, the Law
Amendment Society to take into consideration, at the com-
mencement of their present session, the expediency of con-
vening another meeting of a similar nature. The council
felt that the same reasons which had operated so powerfully
to produce and carry through successfully the first confer-
ence were still inexistence to exercise the same influence
over. auot her. It is true that considerable amendments have
been made during the last four years in themercantilelaw
of the United Kingdom, but it is equally true that those
amendments hear but a small proportion to the defects
which still require a remedy. The c. uncil have constantly
received communications from various quarters, whit h
showed that considerable dissatisfaction is felt by the com-
mercial community as to the law or its administration,
or both; and were there no other evidence of the need
existing for further improvements in our laws, this die a.
tisfaction, arising in a body of men so little prone to agita
tion and so desirous of stability as the mercantile classes,
seems in itself a tolerably conclusive demonstration. Law,
if cheap, simple, and well adapted to its purposes, would
work smoothly and silently, as the recognised arbiter in
case of dispute, and as the natural medium for the asser-
tion of right and the redress of wrong. It is only when it
departs from its true nature and fails properly to execute
its appointed ends—when it becomes slow, cumbrous, ex-
pensive, uncertain, and oppressive—in other words, when
it imperatively requires reform, that there is any likelihood
of the public mind being agitated in respect to it. A gene-
ral complaint against the working of a law is a proof that
the law is defective; we may not at once see the evil, but
we may be confident that it exists somewhere. Pure law
is no more likely to be complained of than pure air or pure
water. Impressed, therefore, with the dissatisfaction which
appeared prevalent on the subject of our commercial laws,
the council in November loot addressed a letter to the Cham-
bers of Commerce throughout the United Kingdom, ask-
ing their opinion as to the expediency of holding a Mercan-
tile Law Conference for 1857. The answers received were
so favourable that the council resolved to appoint the com-
mittee who are now addr • easing you, and to charge them
with the preparation for a conference, and the committee
accordingly proceeded to fix the days for the meeting, to
issue invitations to chambers of commerce, town councils,
trade associations, law societies, and other bodies
inte-
rested in commercial law, and also to • •
s suggestions
as suggestions
as to the topics which the conference would do well to dis-
cuss. This appeal has been most fully answered, both
with regard to the number of towns which are represented
to-day, and the number and nature of the communications
forwarded to the committee ; 21 towns,coru
priu
wards of five millions of inhabitants, and
co entngra t"-
ing
the wealth, energy, and enterprise of our shipping, nc
manu-
facturing, and trading interests, have sentdelegates to
this conference. The names of these towns, several of
which have supplied representatives from more than
one public body, are as follows :—Bath, Belfast, Bir-
mingham, Bradford, Bristol, Dublin, Glasgow, Hudders-
field, Hull, Kidderminster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool,
London, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Plymouth,
Southampton, Wolverhampton, and Worcester, The ntun-

ber of communications received is so considerable that the
committee are unable to fulfil their intention of enumerat-
ing and describing them to the conference. Several will be
read as papers during the proceedings, and it is hoped that
all will be printed with the authorised report wbich the com-
mitten intend to publish very shortly. The task of arrang-
ing and classifying the various subjects forwarded to the
committee has been a more difficult one. The circulars
originally forwarded to the different bodies invited con-
tained eight heads of subjects which were selected as in-
dicia of the kind of topics desirable; and the committee
have been happy to find that while suggestions have been
sent up on some point or other under each of these heads,
scarcely any point has been Urged which cannot be classified
under ate of them. Numerous and various, no doubt, the
suggestions are; but on the main points there seems to be
a singular agreement, and the committee believe that the
course of discussion they are about to recommend is likely
to bring prominently 'forward those topics •in which the
great majority of the delegates present are most interested.
The principal subjects, thy would observe, will be opened
by papers, a mode of proceeding which tends to bring the
discussion to a definite issue, and to present that issue in
a clear and intelligent way. Tho first subject in the list is
the law of bankruptcy, one on which the committee have
received communications from every single public body re-
presented here to-day, as well as from a number of private
individuals. There cannot, be a question that the present
administration of this branch of our law, greatly as it was
improved by the Bankruptcy Act of 1831, and afterwards
by the Bankruptcy Consolidation of 1849, requires imme-
diate and searching revision. The committee Will not enter
into the details of this question, being relieved from the
necessity of doing so by the fact that a pepei will be read on
the subject which has been prepared by the Leeds Chamber
of Commerce, and which will no doubt treat of it in the ful-
lest and most satisfactoetvvay. Mr. Com. Ayrton has fa-
voured the counnstOeira paw under the same head,
whiCh will also be read to the conference. The committee
have thought it advisable that on the same morning during
which bankruptcy is considered, other topics which can be
classed ueder the same general head of the law of debtor
and creditor should be taken. Mr. Craufurd, M.P., will
accordinglyread a brief paper on his Judgments Execution
Bill, a salutary measure, which has been too long delayed.
A discussion will also be taken on the United Kingdom
Writs Bill, which is advocated by the Liverpool Chamber
of Commerce and by other public bodies. Under this class
of subjects the committee may allude to that of imprison-
ment for debt, concerning which they havesreceived seve-
ral suggestions, among others a bill from Mr. A. Pellatt,
M.P. In the evening of to-day a paper will be read by the
Liverpool Chamber, on that most important and popular
subject, the :establishment of tribunals of commerce. Con-
siderable difference of opinion prevails as to the expe-
diency of these tribunals, at least if established after the
continental fashion ; but there can be little doubt as to the
justice of the demand by the mercantile classes for a cheaper,
more frequent, and more satisfactory mode of disposing of
commercial litigation. On the morning of Thursday, after
a short paper by Professor Levi on a commercial code, the
Manchester Commercial Association have undertaken to
bring forward the subject of a general registration of part-
nerships. There is no topic more occupying the minds of
mercantile men at the present moment. A strong impres-
sion prevails that such a measure, if it can be practically
worked out, is most desirable, if not essential to the secu-
rity of traders; and it is the highest satisfaction to the
committee that this important subject is in hands so well
calculated to do it justice, it being well known that the
association, in conjunction with th Manchester Law So-
ciety, have prepared a bill to carry out such a registration.
The next paper read will be on the 17th section of the
Statute of Frauds, by Mr. Robert Slater, a well-known
merchant in the City, and one of the late commissioners
of an inquiry into the expcdioacy of assimilating the com-
mercial laws of England, Scotland, and Ireland. This sub-
ject has now been long discussed, and seems to divide the
mercantile world. Th committee hope that the considera-
tion of it at this conference may tend to its ultimate settle-
ment. There are various other topics of a leas general na-
ture which the committee think may be more advantage.
ously debated by a small number than by a numerous and
mixed meeting. They therefore recommend that sevetal
small committees be appointed, composed of one member
from each deputation interested in the particular subject,
and that these committees should, after due deliberation, re-
port to the conference before it terminates. The committee,
in conclusion, cannot but express their deep obligation to
the various bodies who have supported them on this occa-
sion, and to the gentlemen who have sacrificed their time
and occupations to be present here. They are well aware
of the influential nature of this conference, and of the
important results which are likely to flow from it ; but at
the same time they are impressed with the conviction that
these results will not be of a day's accomplishment, and that
much care, caution, labour, and oversight Will be requi-
site if the full fruits of this meeting are in their maturity
to be gathered in. They would recommend, therefore, that
the committee who have superintended the arrangements of
the conference be authorised to continue their functions as
the accredited representatives of the powerful gathering
present here, and that to their number should be added the
president audchairman of every Chamber of Commerce and
other public body represented at the conference. Such a
committee as this will speak the voice not of a town or a
county, but of the kingdom at large ; it will afford a rally-
ing point for all mercantile law reformers, and may lay the
foundations for an orgsnisetiun which will at last move
the Government and the Legislature to efforts worthy of
the national greatness, and calculated to bring the laws of
the United Kingdom into permanent harmony with the re-
quirements of justice and sense, and with the customs and
energies of trade."
Mr. TURNER, of Manchester, then moved, and Mr.
CROSTHWAITE, of Dublin, seconded the proposition that the
report should be adopted and the committee requested to
continue their labours, which was unanimously agreed to.
Mr. Commissioner ATRTON, of the Leeds Bankruptcy
Court, next read the following paper :
The matter which I have the honour to bring before this
important meeting is the improvement of the bankrupt
laws. Your time is so precious that I have endeavoured to
make my paper as short as possible, which will partly ac-
count for some obscurity and abruptness in style. There
are important questions of principle and many
matters of
detail in which improvement may be made, but which I
must omit ; the time will not allow me even to mention
them. The question which I propose to consider is, whether
the present system of administration of the bankrupt laws
requires any and what practical amendment ? The two
great complaints which it has fallen to my lot to hear are
—first, that it is too expensive ; and second, that the pu-
nishments inflicted are uncertain and inadequate. But ex-
pense is the great complaint. Now, the Court of Bank-
ruptcy, being a mercantile court, its expenses are taken
out of bankrupt estates, and fall exclusively upon those who
suffer by bankruptcies ; and if those parsons allege that
the expense of their own court is too great, I apprehend
that the complaint is entitled to be heard with respectful
attention, and that it is the duty of practical men to point
out the remedy, if there be one. In working a bankruptcy
with the smallest possible amount of assets—that is, with
only 1501.—at least 10U/. will be swallowed up in expenses.
till though
in e
eoht
inAs
the the assetssa
e ratio,i crea
ts
ee ,
2s oootl.h espouses3oo
cases as the Royal British Bank the ordinary working ex-
penses will be as many thousands of pounds. The expense
of the Court of Bankruptcy is now greater than it will be
a few years hence—first, because the large sum (about
28,0001. annually) now paid for pensions and compensations
will, of course, cease as the annuitants die; and, second,
, a ndaw4oellol., up,
because the permanent expenses of the court are to be
diminished by reducing the commissioners to four in Lon-
don and to seven in the country, thus saving the expense
of seven commissioners and seven registrars, or 18,0001.
annually. That the gross expenses of the court are too
great is apparent from the fact that its expenditure has
exceeded its income for many years. In order to enable
this meeting to form an opinion on this question of ex-
pense, lam compelled to bring forward a few figures.
know how distasteful figures sometimes are; but on the
present occasion my apology is that figures cannot be
avoided if we wish to form anything like an accurate judg-
ment. The fund for payment of the compensations and
for the salaries of the existing officers of the Court of
Bankruptcy is raised by a stamp duty of 10/. on every
petition for adjudication, and a pereentage on the divi-
dend paid in each bankruptcy. The following table will
give a tolerably correct idea of these annual expenses :
Compensations and pensions (about) £28,000
Accountant in bankruptcy and clerks 6,380
Five London commissioners (2,0001. each) 19,000
Eleven country ditto (1,8001.) 19,800
Taxing master and clerks 1,650
Seven London registrars (1,0000 7,000
Twelve country ditto (8001.)
Five London ushers (1001.)
Eleven country ditto (801.)
Chief Registrar's clerks (four) 905
Travelling expenses of country commissioners anti
registrars (about)

1,000

£85,715
In addition to which sums, the solicitors, official assignees,
and messengers, have to be paid. How much these receive
I cannot accurately state, but I believe that the following
will be below rather than above the mark

ESTIMATE-ANNUAL.
Solicitors' bills, London and country ZIOO,OOO
Thirty official assignees (1,2001. eaob) 36,000
Seventeen messengers (800 i. each) .......... •

28,0001. a-year for compensations and
pensions
12149,600
The
fioterniabois lished offices. Before the reform of the
fir first
bankruptcy system by Lord Brougham in 1832 fees were
payable on issuing commissions, and payable to some 700
commissioners of bankruptcy, distributed over the country.
The Legislature thought fit to abolish these fees and corn-
missionerships, and, with great justice, gave pensions and
compensations to those who suffered by the abolition. But
is it not unjust to saddle these compensations upon bank-
rupt estate in the present day ? The mercantile world
with justice complains at having to pay for two sets of
officers—the old ones who were abolished, and the new ones
who were created. Assuming that the working expenses of
the present Court of Bankruptcy ought to be paid out of
bankrupts' estates, surely it would be proper that this sum
of 28,0001. for compensations, from which bankrupt estates
derive no advantage whatever, should be charged upon the
Cbnsolidated Fund. As regal ds the working expenses of
the Court of Bankruptcy, from returns made to Perlis-
ment last year I have prepared a table of the expenses of
the court in which I act in Leeds, which I have averaged,
and which will, I hope, give some idea of the expenses of
working a bankruptcy :
BANYUPTCIES WOUND UP IN ?4R. ATRTON'S Co VET,
LEEDS, IN 1853, 1854, 1855.
Number of bankt uptcies ............. 121 40i
Average time of working . .............. 3i years.
Total Average.
Gross sum collected £90,627 16 8 £748 19 9
Amount divided
Solicitors' charges in bank-
ruptcy • .
Ditto suits, actions, indict-
ments

14,320 14 3 118 6 11

Official assignee's charges.
Percentage or remuneration
Stationery, &c.
Postages, &c
Miscellaneous

I AiWlacgtieos rr Miscellaneous
1,6:;2 13 5 13 13 1
8,273 6 2 69 4 0
Toe average of solicitor's bills- is 121/. ; but from this is
to be deducted a stamp duty of 10/. paid ou each petition,
reducing the average of each bill to 1111. This ems of 101.
must be added te4-he per centage paid to the chief regis-
trar,' making the average 271. Each Court of Bankruptcy
consists of the folloing officers :-1, A comihissioner ; '2,
A registrar to assist the commissioner; 3, An usher; 4,
An official assignee ; 5, A messenger, who seizes the pro-
pel ty ; 6, A broker, who makes a list of the property seized
by the messenger ; 7, An auctioneer, who sells the pro-
perty ; 8, The creditors' assignees; 9, The solicitor; 10,
Tliebankrupts' accountant. Besides this staff there are-
-11, An accountant in bankruptcy; 12, A taxing master in
London ; 13, To keep all in order, there is a costly appeal
to the Lords Justices, and from them to the House of
Lords ; 14, And over all is the Lord Chancellor, assisted
by a secretary of bankrupts.. This large array of officers
contrasts unfavourably with the number of persons found
necessary under a deed of assignment, in which case all
that are essential appear to be--1, A solicitor; 2, Some
trustees; 3, An accountant.

THE REGISTRARS.
It has been asked whether the registrars are necessary ?
In the country districts there is, eventually, to be but ono
commissioner in each district, who must sit daily ; in case
of his illness, and to enable him to take vtication, the regis-
trar can act for him, and the country registrar has to, tax
the bills of costs of e solicitors ;it therefore appears to
me that the country registrars cannot be dispensed with.
In London it is different : the commissioners there sit for
each other, and there is a taxing, master in London. it
therefore appears to me that the London registrars may be
dispensed with.

THB TARING MASTER.
----mss regards the very able taxing 'mister in London, it
appears to me that his office is wholly unnecessary if the
London registrars are, continued; and, if the master is con-
tinued, as I think he should be, then I perceive no neces•
sity for the registrars.