The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-06-13 00:00:00

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teri SMAN.

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BANKRUPT LAWS.
bEKAIKK'S PETITION; pasaaNTSD To TNt total
or COMMONS, 01 Tira STN INIT.. Till LON.
H. o. aerskirrt,, Oro 01111111 TO 1.11 fIR Tut
TANA AID SE Myra&
TO THE HONOURARLK TFIE HOUSEoiI' COM-
MONS OF THE 1/141re:li KINGDOM bir GREAT
BRITAIN AND IRELAND IN PARLIAMER r AS
SEMRLED.
THIL 110111.1 PETITION Or JOHN OUIPRINS, LATt OP
LEEDS, t.r Tux COUNTY of TORE, MENCRANT.
Spowarli,—That your Petitioner begs leave to
refer your Honourable House to a Petition-of his
which was presented on the Ist of May, 1817,
ing that a Bill thee before the House for investing
Commissioners of Bankrupt with an unlimited dis-
cretionary power might not pass into a law, which
Petition was ordered to lie ou the table, and to be
printed.
'Chat the said Petilion stated various circumstances
respecting a Commission of Benkrupt, bearing date
the 13th day of June, 1812, which was seed out
against your Petitioner, contrary to the will of one
hunched and eleven creditors of his, by a person in
London, who had not any legal claims fot debt
against your Petitioner, anti who chose himself sole
assignee. The allegations contained in the said Peti-
tion relative to your Petitioner's case have been veri.
fled by affidavits which his opponents hue net been
able to disprove.
Thar.the said •Pelition farther stated, that through
the abuse of 'discretionary power by Commissioners
of Bankropt, your Petitioner had suffered about lire
years' imprisonment ; and as this imprisonment is
still continued. your Petitioner now begs leave to
state to your Honourable House the following par-
ticulars thereof, is. That at the third public
meeting at Guildhall, on the 28th of July, 1812,
your Petitioner surrendered to the Commissioners
under the add Commission, but protested against its
'validity, and signified his intention to petition the
Lord High Chancellor for a superspdass. Your Pe-
titioner was, however, examined before the Coln.
inissioners, and be answered all the questions that
were pet to him; but his final examination was ad-
journed to the 22d day of August, in order that his
Petition for a supersedeas might previously be beard.
That when the said Petition came on to be heard, oil
or about the 17th day of August, this sole assignee,
who sued out the Commission, stated by his Coun-
sel that he could not he ready, and moved the Lord
Chancellor to let the Petition stand over till the nett
thy of Petitions, which motion his Lnrcishipgraiitcd.
That at the adjourned meeting at Guildhall, on the
22d of the same month, your Petitioner's Counsel
attended and stated to the Commissioners, that the
derision of the L Chancellor having been delayed
by the ssid as‘iipier, they ought to adj turn any far-
ther examln .Lion of your Petitioner until his cause
should be beard ; but the said Coramissinuers retailed
to adjourn, and pressed your Petitioner to he esa•
mined. Your Petitioner, however, conceived that
he had gone every reasonable length by answering
all the questions which were put to hint at the third
meeting when he signified big intention to Petition the
Lord Chancellor for a supecedess, and as this said as-
sigstreos ho sued nut the Commission of Batik ru pt, hsd
declared himself not ready to prove the validity of his
proceedings whets the Petition for a sapersedeas came
on to be heard, and as he had on that occasion been
allowed further time by the Lord Chancellor to an.
seer the said Petition, your Petitioner, by the ad-
vice of his attorney, asked the Commissioners to ad-
journ until the validity of the Commission had been
decided by the Lord Chancellor, and on declining
any further examination for the reasons aforesaid, the
Commissioners committed him to the King's Beach
Prison, where he now remains.
That your Petitioner. therefore, humbly submit*,
that this conduct on the part of tl,e Commissioners
was not only contrary to all reason and equity, but
that it was also contrary to law, according to the
following extract from the 16th a. 30th c. sth Gee. 11.
relative to the power of Commissioners of Bankrupt
to commit persons to prison, •;z.--'s In case any
such Bankrupt or -Bankrupts, or other person or
persons, shall refuse to answer, or shall not fully
answer, to the satisfaction of the Comsnissiouers, or
the major part of them, all lawful questions, dm
(not having a reasonable objection to she wording
thereof, or otherwise, &c.) it shall and may be lawful
to and for the said Commissioners, &c. to commit." &c.
That by the foregoing extract from the Act of
Parliament it appears to your Petitioner, that "
reasonable objection" is a sufficient legs! authority
for not answering Commiisioners of Bankrupt, and
' presuming that his aforesaid objection to answer was
a reasonable one, he conceives himself eutitled to
an honourabledischarge from the said commitment ;
and as.such commitments cannot fail to he disrepu-
table, the preservation of your Petitioner's character
absolutely requires that he should not seek to be dis-
charged otherwise than according to law, that such
legal discharge is also necessary for his future se-
curity, because even if your Petitioner could be in-
duced to sacrifice the present point, on which lie has
now suffered near its years imprisonment,end which
point any person may comprehend, he would still be
in danger of being recommitted by the Commissioners
oil some other point, which perhaps neither himself
nor any other person might be able to understand,
as it is the practice of Commissioners of Bankrupt
to commit persons to prison on merely stating gene-
rally that the answers they have received are 1111.
satisfactory without giving the particular grounds of
their dissatisfaction, which in natty instances might
be essential to a further answer or exploitation ; and
exclusive of the foregoing objections, your Petitioner
submits, that if the Commission of Bankrupt be in.
valid, it would moreover be highly inconsistent for
him to pass through inch an inquisitorial sieve, thus
subjecting himself to stilt further misrepresentation,
and various other evils which might arise from either
the misconception or hostility of his adversaries.
That your Petitioner, in addition to his own case,
humbly begs leave to state, that be has lately read
the minutes of evidence taken before tbe Select Com-
mittee of your ,Honourable House on the Baakropt
Gaya, and their geport thereon, by which Ito ye.
grets to find that the evidence which has been gives,
upon this importattt !object could not be safficient.tw
enable your Committee to obtain a foil view of the
defects in the present Bankrupt system, because the
said evidence is chiefly, if not wholly, of an es-parts
nature) being cooftited to tba supposed iotetesti