bankrupt under the Act is further disqualified by sect. 32; for

(1) Being appointed or acting as a justice of the

peace;

(2) Being elected to, or holding or exercising, the office of mayor, alderman, or councillor ; (3) Being elected to, or holding or exercising, the office of guardian of the poor, overseer of the poor, member of a sanitary authority, or member of a school board, highway board, burial board, or select vestry.

And if a person is adjudged a bankrupt whilst holding the office of mayor, alderman, councillor, guardian, overseer, or member of any sanitary authority, school board, highway board, burial board, or select vestry, his office shall thereupon become vacant (sect. 34).

Partnerships. A partnership, association, or company corporate, or registered under the Companies Act, 1862, shall not be adjudged bankrupt under the new Act (sect. 123). But other partnerships are liable to bankruptcy, and persons trading under a partnership name may take proceedings or be proceeded against in the name of the firm; but the Court may direct the names of all the partners to be disclosed (sect. 115). And see further, as to Bankruptcy of Partners, post, p. 98.

Where companies are registered under the Companies Act, 1862, great facilities are afforded by that Act for winding-up. And by sect. 10 of the Judicature Act, 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 77), it is provided that “in the administration by the Court of the assets of any person who may die after the commencement of this Act, and whose estate may prove insufficient for the payment in

full of his debts and liabilities, and in the winding-up of any company under the Companies Acts, 1862 and 1867, whose assets may prove to be insufficient for the payment of its debts and liabilities, and the costs of winding-up, the same rules shall prevail and be observed as to the respective rights of secured and unsecured creditors, and as to the debts and liabilities provable, and as to the valuation of annuities and future and contingent liabilities respectively, as may be in force for the time being under the law of bankruptcy with respect to the estates of persons adjudged bankrupt; and all persons who in any such case would be entitled to prove for and receive dividends out of the estate of any such deceased person, or out of the assets of any such company, may come in under the decree or order for the administration of such estate, or under the winding-up of such company, and make such claims against the same as they may respectively be entitled to by virtue of this Act." The above provision, however, appears to have given rise to much difference of opinion.

CHAPTER I.

BANKRUPTCY.

SECTION 1.

OF THE ACTS OF BANKRUPTCY.

Ir is naturally of great importance for the benefit of his creditors that an insolvent debtor should be brought under the operation of the law as soon as possible after his affairs have become embarrassed. For this reason certain acts have been prescribed as the marks or indicia of insolvency. Immediately on committing one of these acts-called an act of bankruptcy-a debtor becomes liable to be made a bankrupt.

Acts of Bankruptcy. Under the present law a debtor commits an act of bankruptcy in each of the following cases :

(1) If in England or elsewhere he makes a conveyance or assignment of his property to a trustee or trustees for the benefit of his creditors generally (sect. 4, sub-s. 1 (a)).

From the decisions with regard to this act of bankruptcy given under the previous bankruptcy laws, when such a conveyance or assignment has been made, it does not appear necessary that an intention on the part of the debtor to defeat and delay his creditors should be shown. In making such a conveyance or assignment,

the debtor endeavours to put his property under a different course of distribution among his creditors from that which would take place under the bankrupt law.

The words " or elsewhere," which occur in this and in the next two sub-sections, are inserted to meet the case of a person subject to the law of England executing a conveyance or assignment whilst abroad, relating to property here, which is intended to operate according to the English law; and do not refer to a conveyance executed in his own country by a person domiciled abroad. (See Ex parte Crispin, L. R., 8 Ch. 374.)

(2) If in England or elsewhere he makes a fraudulent conveyance, gift, delivery or transfer of his property, or of any part thereof (sect. 4, sub-s. 1 (b)).

A fraudulent disposition of property may be fraudulent under 13 Eliz. c. 5, or fraudulent within the meaning of the bankrupt laws. A conveyance, &c. is considered to be fraudulent under the bankrupt laws, as necessarily delaying and defeating creditors—(1) if it includes substantially the whole of the debtor's property; (2) if the consideration be a past debt and there is no fair present equivalent. Thus an assignment of the whole of a debtor's property to one or several creditors, to the exclusion of others, for past debts is a fraudulent assignment (Ex parte Lückes, L. R., 7 Ch. 302; and see Young v. Fletcher, 34 L. J., Ex. 154; Ex parte Trevor, L. R., 1 Ch. Div. 297). But a bonâ fide sale either of the whole or a part of a debtor's property does not in itself constitute an act of bankruptcy. And if the purchaser has paid a fair price and is acting bonâ fide, it is immaterial whether the seller has a fraudulent design or not.

A good deal of difference of course exists between the assignment of the whole and of a part of a debtor's property for a past debt. A conveyance of a part of a debtor's property for an existing debt may, however, be fraudulent and an act of bankruptcy. In deciding this point the intention of the debtor at the time of making the assignment must be taken into consideration. Where the debtor retains in his hands property of sufficient amount to carry on his business as usual, and there is no intention to defeat the rights of his creditors generally, the conveyance may be perfectly good. But if when he makes such conveyance the debtor is insolvent and intends to defeat his creditors generally, it is clearly invalid, and an act of bankruptcy will be committed (Ex parte Pearson, L. R., 8 Ch. 667).

(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 under this Act, or any other Act, be void as a fraudulent preference if he were adjudged bankrupt. As to fraudulent preference, see post, p. 72.

(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 England, or departs from his dwelling-house, or otherwise absents himself or begins to keep house (sect. 4, sub-s. 1 (d) ).

It is especially to be noticed that in the Bankruptcy Act, 1869, the last three acts of bankruptcy mentioned in the above sub-section were confined to traders. A long list of the persons who were included under the head of traders was given in Schedule 1 of the Act of 1869. The subject was important, because the departing from his dwelling-house-otherwise absenting himself—or