Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-09-18
bankruptcy IN England.

Bankruptcy IN England.
New York World.l.
The general report of the English comp
troller in bankruptcy for the year 1880
contains some very interesting statistics
and suggestions. Compared with the
previous year the showing is as follows;
.A 1885,. 1879.
iissS ad,nis'eisa
Assets. :. ......... 4,70l,5 1O,193,6 GIT
The falling off, it will be seen,
is phenomenally great, and this is the
first important decrease in the annual
number of cases under the bankruptcy
law that has occurred during the last
nineteen years without being the 'direct
and manifest result of legislation" I'm
pleasant indications that the standard OF
commercial morality is at least not being
raised, continue to be afforded by the re-
turns, compositions where more than 3711a
per cent. is paid having a tendency to
decrease rather than to increase, while the
the worst compositions-those where 5
per cent. or less is paid-have
gained steadily, a temporary check
in their number owing to decision
in the London Bankruptcy court serv-
ing to emphasize their unrighteous and
avoldable character, while as soon as
means had been devised to evade that de-
cision the numbers went up again. OF
1857 compositions accepted last year,
only 102 were over so per cent, 1000
ranged from 1917 to Is, and 1905 from a
penny in the pound-say two-fifths of l
per cent.-up to 1211a per cent. The
comptroller again animadverts upon the
harpies that have waxed fat and bold
under the system the agents who work
to make composition easy and profitable
| to the debtor, and those who are all for
the creditor and liquidation by arrange
ment and the profits to be derived from
trusteeships. Between these two the
business of touting for proxies, with all
it's attendant rascalities, has become
most active and open. The grossest
frauds are perpetrated in the case
of the smallest estates, and here
bear most heavily on the
smallest creditors, who have not the adj
vantage of being able, like large traders.
to insure themselves against loss from
bad debts by allowing a certain percentage
annually therefor, as for any other item
of outgo. 1t would not pay the average
creditor of small estate to pay close at
tention to administering it so as to real
ize small additional percentage, and
hence the debtor can compound or
his own terms or the trustee fitch as
much as he pleases The rate of cost in
| closed bankruptcies was 3115 per cent
above that in the preceding twelvemonth
being Az per cent. of the net assets,
though the increase is Accounted fol
partly by the assets of two large bank
ruptcies being entirely absorbed by costs.
chiefly of litigation, partly by the clos
ing Of estates that have been a con-
siderable time in hand" and partly by
the fact that fewer creditor trustees now
give their services, while solicitors eXact
higher charges. There are about "a ,Oo0,.
600 in the hands of trustees, and the
comptroller says that "the same trustees
who in bankruptcy need to be consider
ably pressed to perform their duties per.
form them as regularly in liquidation
without any supervision or chance of the
results of their administration being
known" Finally the annual loss by in
solvency is set down at about EGO, 900, 900
The showing is by no means an encour
aging one, considering how sorely Eng
fish trade is already suffering from foreign
competition and domestic drawbacks
and on a reasonable estimate perhaps
one-half of the sum represents downright
dishonesty on the part of debtors
or trustees, a showing still
less encouraging. Everything indicates
how pressing is the necessity for dealing
with the subject at once and vigorously
and Mr. Chamberlain will not only wiz
and deserve rare commentator, but viii
discharge a patriotic duty of the mos
important description if next year he
puts through a just and rigid measure
under which premium will not be put
upon fraud nor handicap upon com.
mercial honesty.