The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-07-08 00:00:00

`rocs!

Mr. Bregden and others hronght up from the
House of Commons the Colonial Orders Bill. the Lot-
tery Bill, the St. John's Harbour Improvement Bill,
and the Police Acts Continuation Bill, which were
read a first time.

I \Sill VENT DEBT 1.111:;" BILL—On the motion
of Lord otecucason, the House went into a Committee
on the Insolvent Deleors' Bill. His Lordship then
stated, that he load certain amendments to propose,
which it evils his intention to move should be printed
along with the Bill, in order for its recommittal. He
then briefly took a view of the points to which he
wished the amendments to apply. As the Bill then
Mood, the ineolrent in certain cases was liable to be
imprisoned at the mercy of the Court. It was his
intention to bring the Bill back, in this instance, as
near as possible to the principle of the old Insolvent
Bills, and would propose an amendment, which would
relieve the debtor front the severe punishment of per-
petual imprisonment. Another atnendtateut which he
intended to propose, related to the sale of the property,l
tehieli was to hr delivered up to the creditors. An•
other amendment was intended to afford relief toCrown
debtors, to which amendment he bud the concurretwe
of the law officers of the t rown. There was also an
intendment for the relief of persons confined for a con-
tempt by order of the Court of Chanrery ; and a com-
pulsoory clause as to limiting rules to those in actual
custody. lie intended to propose in addition that the
Court should coirist of three Commiseiontere instead
of one, and that the creditor might refer the err-milts
of the ins olvent to be investigated by one of those
C ' sioners. Another ;great improvement he con-
ceived to be, that the prisoner, instead of remaining
in custody three months before he could take the be-
netit of the Act, should be called upon for his yeti-,
tiin immediately after his menet. This would he be-'I
neficial to every party, and would clear the gaols of
I crowds of prisoners, while it gave spreolicr satisfac-
tion to the creditor. Such alterations, he trusted,
I
-
would have the effect :of satisfying, as far as the na-
ture of the case would admit, all person+ interested ;
hut, at the same time, he felt it necessary to state, that
nu Bill of this nature semi(' be perfect, until the laws
of excretions and ejectment were amended.
Lord Renaansut was of opinion, that the Bill, as
proposed to be amended by the Noble Lord, would im+
team. with the Bankrupt Laws. lie thonsrht that it
was too nue+ at variance with the principle of the old'
law, or rather was calculated to province a total mars- I
vation upon it. The principle which the old law
wenteepon was, that persons who remained ih gaol,
because they did not pity their dodos, were iraTlyin-
solvent, and that fraudulent cases finned nut the gene-
-1 ral rule but the exception. Whereas this Bill smolt
1 what was the exception of*. old Bill the seenensl rule
of the new one, as it went to enact that all persons ar-
'rested should he under a rompulosory obligation to peel
Itition the Court within fear:len days: bat in many in-,
stances the persons arrested might intend to ilisprorel
the debt ; and it wonid be very unfair to bind, him ih
every case to a proceeding which put it out of his power
Ito do himself justice. Former Bills had contemplated
Ithe possibility of a man's misfortune, or the ittiscon-
duet oi others, in the incurring of a debt, and gave
him relief accordingly; whereas the present Bill loo'm
ed upon the dchtor as in all cases hating fraudulently
incurred embarrassment, by making in all cases the
process compulsory. There should he a provision
wade to remedy this, or the Bill would he loiehly oh.
jectionable. Mauy persons might br :lisle to discharges
I the debt within the fourteen days, and it would be eery
'improper to put such persons under the n .reetoity of
petitioning and surrendering their emelt: immediately
upon their arreot. As the Bill stood too, it vested all the
property in the assignee of the insolvent, which might
defeat, as lie load before observed, the prori-ians of
the Bankrupt Laws. There sbonld be, therefore, a
general proviso, to the effect flint nothing in the Bill
should defeat the provisions of the Bankrupt Laws; so
far it was absolutely necessary that the principle of
the •Bill should be qualified ; but after the Rill and
Amendment were printed it ought to be rendered more
intelligible, and the amendments contl 13.. moved on
the re-committal of the report.
Lord AUCKLAND explained. He appeared to agree
with the Noble Lord as to the propriety of making a
provision for cases where it would be urgent to apply
the coeopnlsory process. He also was williag to arecile
to the attggestioit of intro.:uring a getter ii proviso to
prevent the Hill from interfering with the provisions
of the Bankrupt Laws. . .
The Bill and the amendments were then ordered to
be printed. so..
The 1,500,0041/. Exchequer Bills Foonlino Battik
Ir4suol, the Inland Coals Bill, and tie Irish Yeo-
manry Bill, were then committed, and the House ad-
parsed to losserrow (this day).
—.......—.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, Flimsy iI;LT 7.
Mr. WIL3IOT took this opportunity of correcting a
psis-statement of what fell from him in the course of
last Session, on the occasion of the discussion on the
Poor Education Bill, and which tuis-statement was
made use of at the last wieners) Election
He begged to say, that on the occasion
bid, as he had always done, spoken
Apar of the Education of the Poor. The
Ik then laid on the table a petition
'Manta ef'St. Mark's Paddington, praying
tildry tine the state of the Supply of Water
&Tolle
A petition was laid on the table from I
'era of Wolverhampton, complaining of
their trade, by persons not
'' ottecket, nut of ikeir on
--eosins 4 the Act, f

11/Pd

-......—
on— to. his.. iiinrv. fence would be of inch extent that there Linda be nu
)n alluded tif, he occasion fur altering the dty for which the eereutftlY
strongly in fa- was uriginal4 fixed. Bet her Modesty luiviatile-
the Hon. hem- mended an immediate 4.14 wide u 441PINIViloill vary
from tic inks- the time of the Coronation.
?tie
tying for an HI- Mr. Usdill)VlNT was heartily glotitiO Ali ch
Water for the nu- was the Noble Load's intention; . eritai law
.:,volantary postponement of the 4meseptytti %cc%
from the Stop- as an evidence of their nisbwaskiiiitikupci ru
ing of thet'injury ceedings against ber IltajtOvr,.LA a. se
licensed selling Lord Casvi.xagnor wlitlifillTEKlCsaight (is-
i
, a tianutlicture, tine* understood that the, Iss dr the ter, be-
provideteis sad% inept were apt in' the rernot , Fm qi•iplec ith
those Procnknal 'Ow 11", tiSily;i: ~,,,
.