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.

Receipts, Payme ts, Accounts, Audit.

74. Payment of Money into Bank of England.*(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 Bank of England, and the Board of Trade shall furnish him with a certificate of receipt of the money so paid.

(4.) Provided that if it appears to the committee of inspection that for the purpose of carrying on the debtor's business, or of obtaining advances, or because

*The most important provisions of this and the following five clauses down to 81 are new. It will be seen that they take stringent precautions against many of the abuses connected with the administration of bankruptcy estates which have prevailed so largely and created so much scandal under the Act of 1869. Not merely will trustees be compelled for the future to keep the funds of an estate separate from their own, to pay them regularly into a banking account, and keep proper accounts, but the Board of Trade will be armed with the power requisite to prevent these provisions being a dead letter.

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.

(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 anthorise 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 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. Trustee not to pay into Private Account.-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.

76. Investment of Surplus Funds.—(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 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,

77. Certain Receipts and Fees to be applied in aid of Expenditure. The Treasury may from time to time issue to the Board of Trade in aid of the votes of Parliament, out of the receipts arising from fees, fee stamps, and dividends 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.

78. Audit of Trustee's Accounts.—(1.) Every trustee shall, at such times as may be prescribed, but not less than twice in each year during his tenure of office, send to the Board of Trade, or as they direct, an account of his receipts and payments as 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.

79. The Trustee to furnish List of Creditors.-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,

80. Books to be kept by Trustee.—The trustee shall kcep, 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.

81. Annual Statement of Proceedings.-(1.) Every trustee in a bankruptcy shall from time to time, as may be prescribed, and not less than once in every year during the continuance of the bankruptcy, transmit to the Board of Trade a statement showing the proceedings in the bankruptcy up to the date of the statement, containing the prescribed particulars, and made out in the prescribed form.

(2.) The Board of Trade shall cause the statements so transmitted to be examined, and shall call the trustee to account for any misfeasance, neglect, or omission which may appear on the said statements or in his accounts or otherwise, and may require the trustee to make good any loss which the estate of the bankrupt may have sustained by the misfeasance, neglect, or omission.

Release of Trustee.

82. Release of Trustee.*—(1.) When the trustee has realised all the property of the bankrupt, or so much thereof as can, in his opinion, be realised without needlessly protracting the trusteeship, and distributed

*This clause greatly alters the law. Under the Act of 1869 the release of the trustee was the Act of the creditors and the Bankruptcy Court. Under the present clause it will be for the Board of Trade to grant or withhold the release, subject to an appeal to the High Court.