Morning journal and courier., 1882-03-08

SournaI an0 Courier.
Wednesday Morning, March 8. 1882.
THE BANKRUPTCY BILL.

| The bill to establish uniform system of
bankruptcy throughout the United States
which has been reported to the Senate will
not meet with general approval. 1t is ia
| vorable to the debtor and it leaves the maH
ner in which he is to be dealt with largely to
the discretion of the United States Courts. 1t
| provides that whenever any person without
fraud shall have become involved in debt
and liabilities beyond his means of payment
and amounting to $500 or upward he may
apply by petition in equity, setting forth his
insolvency and the cause thereof, with SEIZED
ules of his liabilities and assets duly verified,
to the District Court of the United States for
the district in which he may reside,
on which jurisdiction is conferred,
to surrender his estate for the bene-
fit of his creditors, except SO much shall
be exempt from execution under and by the
laws of the State where he resides; and if
good cause appear the court shall adjudge
the petitioner to be a bankrupt, appoint re-
ceiver, ETC.; and if it shall appear that such
debt and liabilities were incurred without
fraud, and that the inability of the debtor to
make payment has arisen from accident and
misfortune and without fraud, the court
shall grant him a discharge as q bankrupt
from all such debts and liabilities. In the
case of fraudulent debtor, or one who, hav-
ing been arrested in any civil action, fails or
neglects to give bail or in some other mode
to procure his discharge for twenty days; or
fails to dissolve an attachment laid upon his
property in a civil action for like period; or
fails for sixty days to satisfy a. final judg-
ment or decree rendered against him for the
payment of money, unless supersedeas or
stay of execution has been effected in respect
thereto; or who, being trader has sus-
pended and not resumed payment of his COM
mercial paper, open accounts made, passed
or contracted in the course of his business
for q period of thirty days after the same
were payable; or who, being insolvent makes
preference to any creditor, or makes an as
signment for the benefit of existing creditors,
with or without preference, any creditor or
creditors may file petition IN be-
half of all persons interested.
The bill gives great deal of power to the
Court. It provides that the Court shall have
power to grant extensions of time for pay
ment, and to reduce the amount of indebted
ness pro rata for the purpose of allowing the
debtor to proceed with his business, if it
shall seem best so to do; and any agreement
between the debtor and majority in amount
and number of his creditors may be carried
into effect if approved by the Court. Other
provisions are:
That the Court may at any time during the
Trooaa6irf,1 order that all pra r1U other
ceedings be stayed or dismissed and may re-
quire all or any claims to be presented to it
for determination or may allow any other
proceeding to be presented to final judgment
and such Judgment to be filed in the bank
ruptcy Any claim not due may be matured
by rebate under an order of the Court.
That any interlocu. DRY matter in the
course of the proceedings may be heard be-
fore any standing or special master in chan
Gerry and under standing or special order
of reference, and at any place designated in
such order; but all the decisions of such
masters shall be subject to the summary and
informal supervision and control of the
Court. The circui: judge and the associate
justice of the Supreme Court assigned to the
circuit shall have and exercise like super
vision and control over all the proceedings of
the district court in bankruptcy, and at the
request of any person aggrieved by any de-
cision of the district court or the Judge
tons involved in such decision to the circuit
judge for summary review and redetermina-
ton and any decision of the circuit judge
may be in like manner reviewed by said JUS
tice of the Supreme Court or the party ag-
grieved may seek relief by appeal as in other
cases..
That any conveyance, transfer or payment
made and received in view of bankruptcy
may be set aside if found to be contrary to
the just rights of other creditors. But
money obtained and used in good faith,
though unsuccessfully, to avert an impend-
ing bankruptcy, or to save a threatened sacri-
fee of property, or for sickness or other like
necessity, may be preferred in payment or in
security by the Court.
That the District Court shall be considered
as always open for the reception and consid-
Grafton of the business under this act, and at
their regular terms the bankruptcy business
shall have precedence over all other kinds.
That it shall be the duty of the Supreme
Court to make such additional rules in equity,
if any, as may be required to carry this act
into full effect, and to fix all fees and costs
for services in bankruptcy under this act.
This bill is open to a good deal of criti-
cism. AS the New York Herald points out:
by establishing fee system, although the
Supreme Court is authorized to fix the fees,
it is a question whether it does not open the
door to one of the gravest abuses that -four
ished under the old law A serious defect in
it, as it seems to us, is the fact that it does
not reach property exempt under State laws
This puts it in the power of any State vir-
tually to annul the law by excessive exemp
tions. In some of the States property to an
immense extent may now be exempted, and
there appears to be no limit to which State
may go in this respect. 1t is alsoa question
how effectively the bill may prevent the
preferences under State laws which often
work so much injustice in the absence of
satisfactory national law of bankruptcy. In
such law uniformity is one of the highest
considerations