The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-04-13
UNITED STATES DISTRICT c1ulT-.s BANKRUPTCY.

The Hercules Mutual Life Assurance SOci.
ety-ls All Assurance Company n Merchant,
Banker, Booker or Trader f-impOrtant
Decision by Judge isintcai ord-scc!ion 80
OF the Bankruptcy Law Critically Ana
iyzed.
Yesterday Judge Batchford rendered his decision
III the case OF RosalIe Llbine vs.. The Hercules Mu
tual Life Assurance Society OF the United States.
The matter disposed OF involves the question
whether this society IS BANKER. broker, merchant
MINER trader or manufacturer under the provisions
OF the thrty-ninth section OF the banKruptcy law
and whether IL mas iraudulenty stopped payment OF
It's commercial paper wiuain fourteen days HIS
Honor decides tnat the society is not banker,
broker, &C., that 1t has not iraudulenily stopped
payment 0. It's paper, and tnat there ore the pet
tOn TO throw II INTO bankruptcy must ne dismissed
Tne iacts ana the main poiuts Of the Judges dec
sion VIII be found sub lolned.
Rosae Llbline flleo "A petition praying that the
Hercules Mutual l.lle Assurance society OF the
United states be adJudlcated bankrupt me IN
debtedness alleged - on a pr0n!ssory note for
81, oO0 made NY the company III lis corporate name
and signed by us president and assistant secretary
Toe alleged act Oh bankruptcy isslaat 'the company
has stopped and suspended, aud mol resumed the
payment Vi It's commercial paper wltnln period Of
fourteen days rom the 1ytn November, .a7l, TO
January 6, lsl.n .thaJ large amount or Its com
melclal paper mas been lssuei' wnile it WAS IN
solvent anu tnat this paper is past due and
mains unpaid 1t Is urvher claimed in tue pelluon
that the company couiu not be auie pay IN Tie
ordinary course Of It's business being sovent at The
time OF ISSUING THIS commercial paper, ana that The
company has property which II has Irauduienty
refused anu neglected TO appropriate towards the
payment or Us Indebtedness.
judge Blatcntord mas written In this case IL very
long and able opinion, wncn was Med IN the Clerks
once Jesterday LIS Honor disnsses The petItion,
section 80 OF the Bankruptcy act OF March 2, 1867,
as originally enacte :, PROVIDED that ANY person
residing anu owing debts, as aiorcsaid7 tnat is
'resldlng Wtha the jurisdiction Of the United
Slates,n and loving debts payaoe under tins act
exceeding The amount OF Sj0J.r who "Deing Il
banker. merchant or trader, mas fraudulently
stopped or suspended and not resumed
may a flI,
period OF fourteen DAYS, shah be deemed
TO have committed an act OF banSruptcy.u
ceedcd against under This clause must all cases
nave oeen BANKER, merchant or trader. But vari-
words 'fraudulentiy stopped or suspended ana not
resumed payment or his commercial raper WITHIN
a period OIL fourteen days;' That the word fraud
uiently" ana not QUALIFY the whole sentence but an
adjudication could be had where the suspension
continued fourteen days although suCn suspension
was not fraudulent; That the suspension and
resumption must, Ia all cases, be fraudulenL that
a suspension for fourteen DAYS was p,1Did .fdce
evidence Oi fraud, and Lnat suspension for Jour-
teen days was not pi'{nd facte evidence OF fraud.
in this condition OF the statute and rhe decisions.
Congress passed the ACT OF July a. 1870 wncn pro-
vaes that the clause IN section SO 'or who
beng Il banker, broker, merchant or trader has
Irauduienty stopped or suspended and not resumed
payment OF his commercial paper winin perlod OF
fourteen days. snail amended to read
..or VINO, being banker broker merchant, trader
manufacturer or miner, has lrauduiently stopped
payment, VI who has stopped suspended aud
not resumed payment Of ms COMMERCIAL paper
within period OF fourteen days.u The respondent
in this contends That IL Is not banker broAer
merchant. trader, manufacturer MINER and
thar, therefore. ~ Is not within tile clause In section
80 as amended. ms corporation IS, undoubtedly,
not a banker or broker or a merchant or . trader
or a manufactured or a miner. Tie view on the
part OF the respondent IS that the words banker,
broker merchant, trader, manufacturer or mIner''
qualify the whole 81 the clause as IL now reads as
well tnat part OF the clause which follows the sec
Ond "wlio therein as That part which precedes the
second wh0.n In the clause as 1t stoou before 1t
amended there was but one ..who,r and 1t was
ionowed by only one has" In me Clause as 1t
reads "wno' Is followed by its
own mas and each "nlsu has Its
own "whon preceding IT, III tue clause
now read ''or VINO, being BANKER &C, mas
fraudulenty stopped payment, or has stopped,u
&c, emitting The second ''Nno,n ana leaving the
TO he noDnauve ~ the second mas as Wet az To
the irst ''nas,' there could DC no dOuDf that the
words ''being banker,n &C, would qualify all OF
the provisions OF the cause. so, also, II inc clause
now read, ''or being a banker,n &c, "who has
frauduently stopped payment OF who has stOpped.n
&c, the words bcng banKer, y &c, would qualify
all the words of the clause
Alter further criticism upon the language and
81 anmatlcal construction OF section 80 Judge
Blatchord holds that the company not one oil the
SIX classes Speched IN H. aud That the iact OF its
not being so forms no objection TO adj Indicating IL u
bankrupt II II has stopped or suspended ana not
resumed payment Of its com nerciai paper within a
company has not done so, and the petition Is dis
missed with costs.
Involuntary Petition Against u Fire Insurance
Company.
petition has been flied against the Market Fire
Insurance Company, or this city, for the purpose OF
declaring tnat body a bankrupt