cution of such commission; and if any person or persons named, or to be named, as a commissioner or commissioners in any such commission, shall order any such expence to be made, or eat or drink at any such meeting, at the charge of the creditors, or out of the estate of such bankrupts, every such commissioner, so offending, shall be disabled for ever after to act as a commissioner in such or 'any other commission founded on the statutes made against bankrupts.

Continued by 7 Annæ, cap. 25. Et vide 10 Annæ, cap. 15. EXP.

Preamble.

5 Annæ, Cap. 22. 1706. Expired.

AN ACT TO EXPLAIN AND AMEND AN ACT OF THE LAST
SESSION OF PARLIAMENT, FOR PREVENTING FRAUDS
FREQUENTLY COMMITTED BY BANKRUPTS.

WHEREAS an act made in the first session of this present parliament, beld in the fourth and fifth years of her Majesty's reign, intituled, an act for preventing frauds frequently committed by bankrupts, hath not answered the good intent thereof; but, on the contrary, many notorious frauds and abuses have been committed, notwithstanding the provisions and penalties in the said act: For prevention whereof for the future, and for explaining and amending the said late act,be it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons, in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same,That ifany person or persons who shall become bankrupt within the several statutes made against bankrupts, or any of them, or any other person or persons, by or with his, her or their goods, wares, order, consent, or privity, shall from and after the five and twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thou

Bankrupts, or any others

with their privity, removing, conceal

ing, &c. any

&c. to the

value of 201

shall suffer as

their estate be

their creditors.

.

sand seven hundred and seven, remove, carry away, felons, and conceal, destroy, or imbezzle any of the goods, wares, divided among merchandizes, monies, or effects, whereof he, she, or they or any person or persons in trust for him, her, or them, is or are possessed or intitled, unto the value of twenty pounds or upwards, or any books of accompts, bonds, bills, notes, papers, or writings relating thereunto, with intent to defraud his, her, or their creditors, every such person and persons so becoming bankrupt, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall suffer as a felon without benefit of clergy; and in such case such bankrupt's goods and estate shall go to and be divided among the creditors; any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding. (1)

shall be discharged by

c. 17, unless

and certificate :

by four parts in five in

number and

value of the

2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, No bankrupt That from and after the said five and twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred 4 & 5 Annæ, and seven, no person or persons that have, or hath, or shall the allowance become bankrupts, shall be discharged from all or any of be confirmed his, her, or their debts owing at the time of such bankruptcy, or be intitled to any allowance or benefit given or provided by the said late act of parliament, made in the creditors. fourth and fifth years of her now Majesty's reign, unless the allowance thereby given, and the certificate by the said act directed to be made and confirmed, shall be first signed by four parts in five in number and value of the creditors of such bankrupts, who shall have duly proved their debts, or some others by them authorized thereunto, testifying their consent to such allowance and certificate

(1) The statute passed in the preceding sessions, which had introduced so great changes in the bankrupt system, had made it felony without benefit of clergy, for a bankrupt not to surrender himself and submit to be examined, or to conceal any part of his property by sect. 1 and 18.

This section makes it a capital crime only when the concealment is to the amount of £20 or upwards. That límit was adopted by 5 Geo. 2. c. 30. sect. 1. the existing

statute.

All securities

given by a

bankrupt to a

creditor to in

duce him to

sign such cer

tificate shall be void.

The commis. sioners shall

(saving and excepting only such allowances and certificates, which have been already made and granted, according to the true intent and meaning of the said late act, which shall be good and effectual in the same manner, and no other, as if this present act had not been made) any thing in the said late act, or herein contained, to the contrary notwithstanding. (2)

3. Provided always, and be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That every bond, bill, note, contract, agreement, or other security whatsoever, to be made or given by any bankrupt, or by any other person for him, unto or to the use of, or in trust for creditor or crediany tors, or for securing the payment of any debt or sum of money due from such bankrupt, at the time of his becoming bankrupt, or any part thereof, between the time of his becoming a bankrupt and the time of such bankrupt's discharge, as a consideration, or to the intent to induce or persuade him or her to consent to or sign any such allowance or certificate, shall be wholly void and of no effect; and the monies thereby secured or agreed to be paid, shall not be recovered or recovereable; any thing herein contained, or any law, custom, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. (3)

4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That where any commission of bankrupts shall issue out any commis from and after the said five and twentieth day of April, in

give notice of

sion in the Ga

(2) The last statute directed that the certificate should be signed by the commissioners only, but this introduced the subscription of four parts in five in number and value of the creditors, who have proved their debts.

This was afterwards adopted by the 5 Geo. 2. c. 30.

sect. 10.

By that statute no creditor is allowed to sign,whose debt does not amount to £20, and some other modifications are there introduced.

(3) This almost verbatim is adopted by 5 Geo. 2. c. 30.

sect. 11.

and place for

to meet and

ees, who shall

estate.

the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seven, zette, and apthe commissioners therein named, or the major part of point time them, shall forthwith cause notice thereof to be given in the creditors the Gazette, and shall appoint a time and place for the cre- choose assignditors to meet, which meeting for the city of London, and keep books of all places within the bills of mortality, shall be at the the bankrupt's Guildhall of the said city, in order to choose assignee or assignees of the bankrupt's estate; and the said commissioners, or the major part of them, shall assign every such bankrupt's estate and effects unto such person or persons only, and no other, as shall be nominated and chosen by the major part of the creditors then present; and the assignee or assignees so chosen shall be obliged to keep books of the account of the bankrupt's estate, with liberty for any of the creditors to resort to and inspect them. (4)

The commis

5. Provided always, That it shall and may be lawful for the said commissioners, or the major part of them, as sioners may make assignees often as they shall see cause, for the better preserving or removeable at the meeting of securing the bankrupt's estate, immediately to appoint and the creditors, make one or more assignee or assignees of the said estate, fit; which asor any part thereof; which assignee or assignees, or any signees refusing to deliver of them, shall or may be removed or displaced at the the estate, &c. to the assigneer meeting of the creditors, if the major part of them then chosen by the

said

(4) The 1 Jac. 1. c. 15. sect. 13., empowered the commissioners to assign a debt due to the bankrupt, and the 13 Eliz. c. 7, empowered them to sell the bankrupt's estate. All the assignees of the bankrupt, or more properly of the commissioners, till this section were under the authority of those statutes only. The choice of the assignees by the creditors is now first introduced," to whom only the commissioners shall assign every such bankrupt's estate and effects."

This made a most important alteration. The creditors here shall chuse by a majority in number. This choice of assignees is adopted by 5 Geo. 2. c. 30. sect. 26, 27; but there the choice must be made by a majority in value only, and no creditor votes in the choice whose debt is less than £10.

if they think

creditors, shall present shall so think fit; and such assignee or assignees,

forfeit 1001.

to be divided among the creditors.

as shall be so removed or displaced shall deliver up and assign all the effects and estate of the bankrupt, which before that time shall have come to his, her, or their hands or possession, or shall have been assigned to him, her, or them, unto such other assignee or assignees, as shall be chosen by the said major part of the creditors present at such meeting; and the effects and estate of the bankrupt, which shall be so delivered up or assigned, shall be to all intents and purposes as effectually vested in such new assignee or assignees, as if the first assignment had been made to him, her, or them, by the said commissioners; and if any of the said first assignees shall refuse or neglect by the space of fourteen days next after notice given of the choice of such new assignee or assignees, and of his, her, or their consent to accept such assignment, signified to the first assignee or assignees, by writing under his, her, or their hands, to make such assignment and delivery, as aforesaid, every such first assignee or assignees shall respectively forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds, over and above the value of such money, goods, and effects, that came to his or their hand respectively by virtue of such assignment, to be divided and distributed among the creditors, as the bankrupt's estate is or ought to be, and to be recovered by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in any of her majesty's courts of record at Westminster, by such person or persons, as the said major part of the creditors shall appoint to sue for the same, with full costs of suit, wherein no privilege, protection, or wager of law, or more than one imparlance shall be allowed; any law, custom, or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. (5)

(5) This section for the first time introduces temporary, or as they are now generally called, provisional assignees. This is adopted by 5 Geo. 2. c. 30. sect. 30. with some modifications.