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

THE MESSENGER.

Another item of eii;;Tsthe—iessenger, whose busi-
ness is by no means pointed out by his name, his duty being
not to carry messages, but to seize the bankrupt's property.
The messengers are useful and meritorious officers ; they
occasionally incur considerable responsibility, and their
duties require temper, discretion, integitty, and a certain
knowledgeof law ; consequently they ought to be well re-
munerated. But I think that they are too highly paid, and
that, if the office is retained, the scale of their allowances
or fees ought to be reduced; but I perceive no sufficient
reason why the office of messenger should not be abo-
lished. In former times, when the Commissioners of Bank.
ruptcy sat only now and then, at long intervals, having
little if any control over the assignees, in those days the
messenger, who was answerable to the commissioners, was
not merely useful, but absolutely essential. They are still
useful, no doubt, but by no means essential, because the
official assignee in no respect resembles the old creditors'
assignees ; he is a responsible man of business, constantly
under the eye of the commissioner. I therefore propose
that the office of messenger be abolished, and his duties
transferred to the official assignee, who can employ compe-
tent persons to take possession of the property. I cannot
perceive that this will be any hardship upon the official as-
signee. The estate vests in him, and if the same estate were
vested in trustees under an assignment, they would find it
no hardship to put proper persons in possession on their be-
half.

•
TIE BROKER.
The broker is a new officer, who sprung up in the Court
of Bankruptcy Ido not know how. Formerly the messen-
ger made a list or inventory of the pi ()party which he
seized ; latterly it was thought that this inventory should
be made by a separate person—seine broker, and thus the
broker came to be arecognised officer, and as the poor man
must live, his employment in all cases came to be a matter
of course. The office should be abolished. If, in particular
cases, the commissioner or the assignees should find it ex-
pedient to have an inventory or valuation made, there will
be no difficulty in finding a broker in the next street. There
is no necessity for a permanent officer.

THE OFFICIAL ASSIGNEE.
I believe that it is not easy to exaggerate the importance
of this office. I know, however, that a very general
opinion prevails that the expense of this officer presses too
heavily upon bankrupt estates. Seeing the importance of
the office, and recognising the necessity, as 'a general
principle, of keeping men honest who are largely intrusted,
I would not advocate the reduction of their incomes too
low, but I would give them more real work to do than
they have at present. It is to be observed that the number
will be reduced when the courts are reduced to four iu
London .nd seven is the country. The official assignees
are now paid bya scale, so much per cent. for the amount
got in, and so much per cent. on the amount divided. It
was intended that this remuneration should bear a propor-
tion to the work done; but I am sorry to have to declare
my opinion that such is not the case. The small bank-
ruptcies, which require much labour to collect numerous
small debts, remunerate the official assignee badly, or not
at all ; while a large bankruptcy, as a banker's, which
gives the least possible amount of trouble, may pay the
official assignee a very large sum indeed. I know of a
banker's estate, in which, with the minimum of trouble,
the official assignee received within the first 12 months a.
slim of -fi;eoo/. tar remuueration. If the payment by scale
was founded on any idea of averages, the returns made to
Parliament of the incomes of the different °them' assignees
proves the idea to be without foundation. One official
assignee may be several years in office, and receive scarce
sufficient to enable him to buy bread and cheese, while
another may make a small fortune in a few months. It
appears to me that the official assignee should be paid a
fixed salary of 8001. a year, and also from 2501, to 3001.
a year for office expenses. In addition to this I would
enable the commissioner to allow a sum, varying from 11.
to 20/. in each bankruptcy, "for examining accounts and
general diligence." This would give the commissioner
some check and control (which it is quite essential that he
should have), and would give the official assignee a motive
for being careful and diligent; in a word, would furnish
that "stimulus" which is said to be so essential in order
to prevent duty being performed in that languidly correct
manner which leaves nothing to be complained of, but
everything to be desired. If the office of messenger were
abolished, then, as the whole of the bankrupt's property is
invested in the official assignee, he appeals to be tke proper
person to take steps to secure it. I would also require the
official assignee t. prepare the bankrupt's balance-sheet in
all ordinary cases: On this subject I shall say a few words
hereafter.