Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1888-09-15 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

BANKR,UPTCIES OF A YEAR.  The report of the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy on the general working of the Bankruptcy Act, 1883, for the year 1887, has just been published. Comparing the year named with the previous year, he states that the total number of receiving orders was 4,839 as compared with 4,816 in 1886,the increase being 23, or about half per cent. The estimated liabilities have increased-from £7,913,871 to £8,936,825, or nearly 13 per cent. while the estimated assets have decreased from £2:855,100 to £2,667,162, or nearly 7 per cent. The percentage of assets to liabilities has fallen from 361 per cent. to 291:per cent. The total amount of annual loss to creditors in England and Wales through bankruptcy proceedings for the year 1887 is estimated at £7,114,905, !against £5,019,802 in the previous year, &hewing an increase of £1,195,103. The Inspector recommends an amendment of the Act in this respect, providing that a debtor shall not be entitled to his discharge unless his estate has yielded, or might with reasonable care have yielded, sufficient to pay a dividend to the creditors (of say, 10s. in the pound), unless the court was satisfied, on the report of the official receiver, that the debtor's failure had arisen from circumstances for which he could not justly be held reeponsible. While it was to be regretted that the amount of the estimated loss to creditors for the past year, should shew a considerable increase over the preceding year, it was satisfactory to observe that the amount of that toss was still (owing to the reduction in the number of insolvencies) far below the average loss sustained under tbe Act of 1809. Up to 30th June last the number of private arrangements amounted to 68 per cent, of the number of receiving orders. The estimated liabilities under these arrangements are at the rate of about £4,280,000 per annum, while the estimated assets are at the rate of about £2,340,000. If due allowance was made for over-estimates and for the expenses of realisation, in the same manner as had been done in the case of bankruptcy statistics, the amount of annual loss arising to creditors under these arrangements, would be at the rate of about £2,720,000 per annum. Although no special causes could be pointed to as materially affecting the insolvency of the year among publicans and hotelkeepers, the number had been steadily rising, having been 285 in 1885, 331 in 1886, and 342 during the past year. Builders' failnres had also increased in a similar manner, the numbers during the three yews being respectively 239, 255, and 289. Bakers and butchers had moved in the same direction,the numbers in the former Case being 85, 104, 126, and in the latter 48, 81, 101. Several trades which chewed an increase in 1886, exhibited a falling off in 1887. To this class belonged grocers, farmers, boot and shoe manufacturers, drapers, and tailors. With regard to the smaller class of debtors' a careful examination of the various causes alleged for their failure chewed that theme cases may be grouped generally under three heads: (1) Those arising from inift,reseen accidents and misfortunes, the proportion of which, however, was extremely small; (2) Inexperience in business, and incompetence to conduct it, the granting of unreasonable credit, and the undertaking of imprudent contracts ; (3) Over-competition, leadbig to the carrying on of trade deliberately at a loss I —often without capital to commence with, and , after the debtor knew that he was insolvent. The number of prosecutions ordered had fallen from 91 in the preceding year to 78, of which eight were in London, and 70 in the country. Of these, 20 debtors absconded after the order W.. 14 made, and three were discharged at the hireinlinary examination before the magistrates. Of the number tried, 32 ended in convictions, and 17 in acquittals or eon-agreement of the jury. It was to be feared that similar cases of ' abortive bankruptcy prosecutions would always take place to a considerable extent so long as the question of guilt was left to be determined by juries composed 01 persons engaged in local business.  The body of a girl named Clara Underwood, whose parents live at Gloucester, has been taken from the river Derwent near Derby. She committed suicide through disappointed love. Before jumping into the stream she wrote a note and pinned it to her jacket. In this she expressed the hope that the young Mall would never be deceived as he had deceived her.  A new form of amusement, termed "The Aerial Flight," has recently been inaugurated at Blackpool. The invention, which is an extensive construction, was advertised as giving " the sensation of ballooning without danger." On Monday a wire rope which supported a car broke, and seven persons—four men and threewomen—the occupants of the car, were dashed to the ground from a height of about 30 feet. They all sustained injuries, more or less severs.