88 73, 74. to do so within seven days after receipt of the request, or such further time as the Court, on application, may grant, the trustee shall declare and distribute the dividend without regard to any claim by him, and thereupon any such claim shall be forfeited as well against the trustee personally as against the estate. nsuccessful applications. Payment of Under the recent Act (n), it was held that a trustee who made an unsuccessful application to the Court was, in the absence of special circumstances, liable to pay the costs, and if there were insufficient assets he was personally liable, but the general rule was, unless it could be shown that the proceedings were improper, to order his costs out of the estate (o). And the practice was, where the estate was small and the result of the application doubtful, to obtain the indemnity of the creditors. Receipts, Payments, Accounts, Audit. 74. (1.) An account called the Bankruptcy Estates Account shall be kept by the Board of Trade with the Bank of England, and all moneys received by the Board of Trade in respect of proceedings under this Act shall be paid to that account. (2.) The account of the Accountant in Bankruptcy at the Bank of England shall be transferred to the Bankruptcy Estates Account. (3.) Every trustee in bankruptcy shall, in such manner and at such times as the Board of Trade with the concurrence of the Treasury direct, pay the money received by him to the Bankruptcy Estates Account at the (n) And see as to cases of composition, Ex parte Shepherd re Dixon, 2 Ch. D. 430; 45 L. J. Bank. 103; Ex parte Ranby re Ranby, 14 Ch. D. 467; Ex parte Gush re Pratt, 12 Ch. D. 915; 48 L. J. Bank. 69. See also as to allowances, Ex parte Joyner, 2 Mont. & A. 1; Ex parte Molineaux, 2 Dea. 33; Ex parte Shaw, 1 De G. 242. (0) Ex parte Prater, 2 M. & A. 364; Ex parte Angerstein, L. R. 9 Ch. 479; 43 L. J. Bank. 131; 30 L. T. 446. See also as to appeal against taxation, post, p. 445, and Re Terrell, 22 Ch. D. 473 and see Ex parte Geisel, 22 Ch. D. 436. Bank of England, and the Board of Trade shall furnish § 74. him with a certificate of receipt of the money so paid. Act, 1869, (4.) Provided that if it appears to the committee of Bankruptcy inspection that for the purpose of carrying on the debtor's s. 30. business, or of obtaining advances, or because of the probable amount of the cash balance, or if the committee. shall satisfy the Board of Trade that for any other reason it is for the advantage of the creditors that the trustee should have an account with a local bank, the Board of Trade shall, on the application of the committee of inspection, authorise the trustee to make his payments into and out of such local bank as the committee may select. Such account shall be opened and kept by the trustee in the name of the debtor's estate; and any interest receivable in respect of the account shall be part of the assets of the estate. The trustee shall make his payments into and out of such local bank in the prescribed manner. (5.) Subject to any general rules relating to small bankruptcies under Part VII. of this Act, where the debtor at the date of the receiving order has an account at a bank, such account shall not be withdrawn until the expiration of seven days from the day appointed for the first meeting of creditors, unless the Board of Trade, for the safety of the account, or other sufficient cause, order the withdrawal of the account. (See General Rules.) (6.) If a trustee at any time retains for more than ten days a sum exceeding fifty pounds, or such other amount as the Board of Trade in any particular case authorise him to retain, then, unless he explains the retention to the satisfaction of the Board of Trade, he shall pay interest on the amount so retained in excess at the rate of twenty pounds per centum per annum, and shall have no claim for remuneration, and may be removed from §§ 74, 75, 76. Trustee not to pay into private account. Investment of surplus funds. his office by the Board of Trade, and shall be liable to pay any expenses occasioned by reason of his default. (7.) All payments out of money standing to the credit of the Board of Trade in the Bankruptcy Estates Account shall be made by the Bank of England in the prescribed manner. 75. No trustee in a bankruptcy or under any composition or scheme of arrangement shall pay any sums received by him as trustee into his private banking account. See and compare Sect. 60 as to the manner of dealing with the dividends of creditors residing at a distance. Penal Interest. It was held that the 20 per cent. was only chargeable as against a solvent assignee, under the 4th sect. of 49 Geo. 3, c. 121 (00). 76. (1.) Whenever the cash balance standing to the credit of the Bankruptcy Estates Account is in excess of the amount which in the opinion of the Board of Trade is required for the time being to answer demands in respect of bankrupts' estates, the Board of Trade shall notify the same to the Treasury, and shall pay over the same or any part thereof as the Treasury may require to the Treasury, to such account as the Treasury may direct, and the Treasury may invest the said sums or any part thereof in Government securities to be placed to the credit of the said account. (2.) Whenever any part of the money so invested is, in the opinion of the Board of Trade, required to answer any demands in respect of bankrupts' estates, the Board of Trade shall notify to the Treasury the amount so required, and the Treasury shall thereupon repay to the Board of Trade such sum as may be required to the credit of the (00) Ex parte Goldsmith, L. J. 2 Ch. 150; Wackerbarth v. Powell, L. J. 5 Ch. 9; and as to whether the £20 is upon the gross sum or during the whole period, Ex parte Lowe, 1 Dea. & Ch. 137. Bankruptcy Estates Account, and for that purpose may direct the sale of such part of the said securities as may be necessary. (3.) The dividends on the investments under this section shall be paid to such account as the Treasury may direct, and regard shall be had to the amount thus derived in fixing the fees payable in respect of bankruptcy proceedings. §§ 76, 77, 78. receipts and of expenditure. 77. The Treasury may from time to time issue to the Certain Board of Trade in aid of the votes of Parliament, out of fees to be the receipts arising from fees, fee stamps, and dividends applied in aid on investments under this Act, any sums which may be necessary to meet the charges estimated by the Board of Trade in respect of salaries and expenses under this Act. These provisions as to the investment of the surplus funds. are entirely new. trustee's 78. (1.) Every trustee shall, at any such times as may Audit of be prescribed, but not less than twice in each year during accounts. his tenure of office, send to the Board of Trade, or as Bankruptcy they direct, an account of his receipts and payments as ss. 20, 55, 58. such trustee. (2.) The account shall be in a prescribed form, shall be made in duplicate, and shall be verified by a statutory declaration in the prescribed form. (3.) The Board of Trade shall cause the accounts so sent to be audited, and for the purposes of the audit the trustee shall furnish the Board with such vouchers and information as the Board may require, and the Board may at any time require the production of and inspect any books or accounts kept by the trustee. (4.) When any such account has been audited one copy thereof shall be filed and kept by the Board, and the other copy shall be filed with the Court, and each copy shall be open to the inspection of any creditor, or of the bankrupt, or of any person interested. Act, 1869, 88 78, 79, 80. The trustee to furnish list of creditors. List to be corrected by statement. Books to be kept by trustee. Bankruptcy Act, 1869, s. 22. Audit. Under Sect. 20 of the 1869 Act the trustee's accounts were required to be audited once, at least, every three months by the Committee of Inspection; he was also, under Sect. 55 of the same Act, required to forward a certified statement of accounts so audited to the Comptroller, and the Comptroller could require trustee to answer inquiries and also examine the trustee. See Sect. 91 as to control of Board of Trade in respect of trustee's conduct. See Sect. 81 as to the annual statement to be submitted by trustees. See Sect. 130 as to the annual account of receipts, &c., to be made by the Treasury and laid before Parliament. 79. The trustee shall, whenever required by any creditor so to do, and on payment by such creditor of the prescribed fee, furnish and transmit to such creditor by post a list of the creditors, showing in such list the amount of the debt due to each of such creditors. List of Creditors. This is entirely new. It is presumed the list must be one corrected from the list of creditors contained in the debtor's statement of affairs by such proofs as have been made. Under Sect. 16 a creditor is entitled, either personally or by agent, to inspect the statement of affairs and to make copies thereof or extracts therefrom. 80. The trustee shall keep, in manner prescribed, proper books, in which he shall from time to time cause to be made entries or minutes of proceedings at meetings, and of such other matters as may be prescribed, and any creditor of the bankrupt may, subject to the control of the Court, personally or by his agent inspect any such books. Books to be Kept. See General Rules as to the books to be kept by the trustee. |