TION. jurisdiction under sec. 5 of the Debtor's Act, 1869, INTRODUCalthough the judgment debt is over £50. Instead of an order for committal of the judgment debtor, the Court may, with the consent of the judgment creditor, make a receiving order against the debtor (s. 103). Appeals are to lie from a County Court direct to the Court of Appeal; from the High Court to the Court of Appeal; and from the Court of Appeal, with leave of that Court, to the House of Lords (s. 104). Where a petition is presented by or against a debtor whose property appears to be under £300 in value, the Court may make an order for administration in a summary way. If the debtor is adjudged bankrupt, the official receiver is to be trustee, and there is to be no committee of inspection; but the creditors may by special resolution resolve to appoint their own trustee, and thereupon the bankruptcy is to proceed as if an order for summary administration had not been made (s. 121). Where a debtor against whom judgment has been obtained in the County Court is unable to pay the amount forthwith, and alleges that his whole indebtedness does not exceed £50, the County Court may make an order providing for the administration of his estate, and the payment of his debts by instalments or otherwise, subject to any conditions as to his future earnings or income which the Court may think fit. The order has the effect of depriving any creditor of any remedy without leave of the Court, against the person or property in respect of any debt which has been notified to the Court (s. 122). A petition may be presented praying for an order for the administration of the estate of a deceased debtor under the Bankruptcy Law, but such a TION. INTRODUC petition is not to be presented where ordinary proceedings for administration have been commenced in any Court. Upon an order being made, the property of the debtor is to vest in the official receiver, as trustee, and he is to proceed to realise and distribute the sums according to the Act (s. 125). Sales by the sheriff for sums exceeding £20 are to be by public auction, and the sheriff is not under a writ of elegit to deliver the goods of a debtor, and a writ of elegit is not to extend to goods (s. 145, 6). PART I. PROCEEDINGS FROM ACTS OF BANKRUPTCY TO DIS CHARGE. Acts of Bankruptcy. (1.) When does a debtor commit an act of When bankruptcy? In each of the following cases:— debtor commits act of bank (1.) If in England or elsewhere he makes a ruptcy. conveyance or assignment of his property to a trustee or trustees for the benefit of his creditors generally: (2.) If in England, or elsewhere, he makes a fraudulent conveyance, gift, delivery, or transfer of his property, or of any part thereof: (3.) If in England or elsewhere he makes any conveyance or transfer of his property or any part thereof, or creates any charge thereon which would be void as a fraudulent preference if he were adjudged bankrupt : (4.) If with intent to defeat or delay his creditors he does any of the following things, namely: Departs out of England, or, Being out of England, remains out of Departs from his dwelling-house, or Otherwise absents himself, or Begins to keep house: (5.) If execution issued against him has been levied by seizure and sale of his goods under process in an action in any Court, or in any civil proceeding in the High Court. Result of committal of act of bank ruptcy. (6.) If he files in the Court a declaration of his inability to pay his debts, or presents a bankruptcy petition against himself: (7.) If a creditor has obtained a final judgment against him for any amount, and execution thereon not having been stayed, has served on him in England, or, by leave of the Court, elsewhere, a bankruptcy notice under the Act, requiring him to pay the judgment debt in accordance with the terms of the judgment, or to secure or compound for it to the satisfaction of the creditor or the Court, and he does not, within seven days after service of the notice, in case the service is effected in England, and in case the service is effected elsewhere, then within the time limited in that behalf by the order giving leave to effect the service, either comply with the lequirements of the notice, or satisfy the Court that he has a counter-claim, set-off, or cross demand, which equals or exceeds the amount of the judgment debt, and which he could not set up in the action in which the judgment was obtained: (8.) If the debtor gives notice to any of his creditors that he has suspended, or that he is about to suspend, pay ment of his debts (s. 4). (2.) What immediate result may follow from the committal of an act of bankruptcy? The Court may, on the hearing of a bankruptcy petition, presented either by a creditor or by the debtor, make an order, called a receiving order, for the protection of the estate (s. 5). (3.) A debtor having committed one or more acts may credi- of bankruptcy, on what conditions may a creditor present a bankruptcy petition against him? On what condition tor's peti tion be presented. A creditor is not entitled to present a bankruptcy petition against a debtor unless (1.) The debt due from the debtor to the petitioning creditor, or if two or more creditors join in the petition, the aggregate amount of debts due to the several petitioning creditors, amounts to fifty pounds, and (2.) The debt is a liquidated sum, payable either immediately or at some certain future time; and (3.) The act of bankruptcy on which the petition is grounded has occurred within three months before the presentation of the petition; and (4.) The debtor is domiciled in England, or has, within a year before the date of the presentation of the petition, resided or had a dwellinghouse or place of business in England (s. 6). (4.) What course must a secured creditor take Petition by who wishes to present a bankruptcy petition against his debtor? He must, in his petition, either state that he is willing to give up his security for the benefit of the creditors in the event of the debtor being adjudged bankrupt, or give an estimate of the value of his security. In the latter case, he may be admitted as a petitioning creditor to the extent of the balance of the debt due to him, after deducting the value so estimated in the same manner as if he were an unsecured creditor (s. 6). secured creditor. required at hearing. (5.) What evidence is required upon the hearing Evidence of a bankruptcy petition presented by a creditor; and what course may the Court take if satisfied with the evidence? A creditor's petition must be verified by affidavit of the creditor, or of some person on his C |