yet determined. Creditors who fail to prove before the declaration of a dividend are entitled to receive their dividends on proving before any subsequent dividend is declared, but cannot disturb the distribution of any dividend already declared. Before distributing a final dividend notice is sent to every creditor whose claim has been notified to the trustee, but not finally established, with an intimation that unless so established within a specified period he will be excluded from participation in the estate. In the case of a bankrupt firm the joint creditors are not entitled to receive a dividend out of the separate property of the bankrupts until all the separate creditors are paid in full. Trustee's Administration. While the interim preservation and management of the estate is conducted by or under the direct supervision of officers appointed by and responsible to the Board of Trade, the ultimate realization and distribution of the assets devolve upon the trustee appointed by the creditors. But besides acting as receiver prior to the first meeting of creditors, the official receiver also becomes trustee by operation of law on the making of an order of adjudication. He vacates the office when a trustee is appointed by the creditors, and certified by the Board of Trade, but again becomes trustee on the creditors' trustee being released, dying, resigning or being removed from office. As the bankrupt's property vests in the trustee for the time being, and passes from trustee to trustee by operation of law, and without any formal act of conveyance, the continuity of the office is thus secured. Appointment of Trustee.-A trustee may be appointed by a majority in value of the creditors voting, at the first or any subsequent meeting, or the appointment may be left to the committee of inspection. In either case the appointment is subject to confirmation by the Board of Trade, who may object on the ground that the creditors have not acted in good faith in the interests of the general body, or that the person appointed is not fit to act, or occupies such a position in relation to the debtor, to any creditor, or to the estate, as makes it difficult for him to act with impartiality, or that in any previous case he has been removed from office for misconduct or for failure without good cause to render his accounts for audit. An appeal from such objection to the High Court lies at the instance of a majority in value of the creditors, but in the absence of an appeal it is fatal to the appointment. Before being confirmed, the trusteeelect must also furnish security to the satisfaction of the Board of Trade, and such security must be kept up to the amount originally fixed, or to such lesser amount as that department may require throughout the tenure of the trusteeship, failing which the trustee is liable to be removed from office. Where the creditors fail to appoint a trustee, the Board of Trade may do so, but such appointment may at any time be superseded by the creditors. Removal.-The trustee may be removed by the creditors at a meeting summoned for the purpose without reason assigned, or by the Board of Trade for misconduct, or for incapacity or failure to perform his duties, or on either of the other personal grounds of objection to which the appointment is open. But the removal is in like manner subject to appeal at the instance of creditors. receiving order is made against a trustee he thereby vacates office. He may also, with the consent of a general meeting of creditors, resign, but his resignation does not operate as a release from his liability to account for his administration. ment is obtained to the opening of a local banking account, but in no circumstances must estate monies be paid to the trustee's private account. When monies are required for the purpose of the estate, special cheques or money orders are issued by the Board of Trade on the application of the trustee. Control over Trustee.-In his administration of the estate the trustee is subject to control by the committee of inspection, the creditors, the court and the Board of Trade. The committee is appointed by the creditors, and must consist of not more than five nor less than three creditors or authorized representatives of creditors. It acts by a majority present at a mecting, and should be convened once a month unless it otherwise directs. If no committee is appointed, the Board of Trade may give any direction or permission which might have been given by a committee. Directions given by the committee, if not inconsistent with the provisions of the act, are binding on the trustee, unless contrary to or overruled by those of the creditors or of the court. The official receiver or trustee may summon a meeting of the creditors at any time to ascertain their wishes, and must do so when so required by one-sixth in value of the creditors or when directed by the court. The Board of Trade may also direct the official receiver to summon a meeting for the purpose of reviewing any act done by the trustee or any resolution of the committee of inspection. Further, the trustee may apply to the court for directions in any particular matter, and the court may also, on the application of any person aggrieved reverse or modify any act of the trustee, or make such order as it deems just. The directions of the court override those of the creditors. The of trustees, to inquire into any complaints by creditors, and in the Board of Trade is required to take general cognizance of the conduct event of any trustee not faithfully performing his duties, to take such action, including the power of removal, as may be expedient, accounts, and may require him to answer any inquiries, or may apply It may also direct a local investigation of the trustee's books and to the court to examine him on oath. If any loss has arisen to the estate from any misfeasance, neglect or omission of the trustee, it may require him to make it good. The orders of the Board of Trade by committal of the trustee or otherwise. under the powers conferred by the act may be enforced by the court Audit of Accounts.-The trustee's accounts must be audited by the committee of inspection not less than once in every three months; and once in every six months, as well as at the close of the administration, the record and cash books must also be submitted with the vouchers, and the committee's certificate of audit to the Board of Trade for final audit. If it appears that the trustee has retained more than £50 in hand for more than ten days without a satisfactory explanation, he may be removed from office, surcharged with interest at the rate of 20 % per annum and lose all claim to remuneration. Remuneration.-The trustee's remuneration is fixed by the creditors or by the committee if so authorized by them. It must be in the nature of a percentage on the amount of the realization and on the dividends. If one-fourth of the creditors in number or value dissent from the resolution, or if the bankrupt satisfies the Board of Trade that the remuneration is excessive, the Board may review If a the same and fix the remuneration. A trustee may not receive any remuneration for services rendered in any other capacity, e.g. as solicitor, auctioneer, &c., beyond that voted to him as trustee; nor may he share his remuneration with the bankrupt, the solicitor or other person employed about the bankruptcy; or receive from any person any gift, or other pecuniary or personal benefit in connexion therewith. Costs. A trustee receiving remuneration is not allowed the costs of any other person in respect of duties which ought to be performed by himself. All bills of solicitors and other agents employed must be taxed before payment, as being in accordance with the prescribed scales of costs; and the taxing master must satisfy himself that the employment has been properly authorized before the work was done. All bills of costs must be delivered to the trustee within seven days of the request for the same, otherwise the estate may be distributed without regard to such costs. Powers and Duties.-The trustee is required to take immediate possession of the bankrupt's property, including deeds, books and accounts, and has the powers of a receiver in the High Court for the purpose of enforcing delivery. After payment of the costs of administration it is his duty to distribute the estate in dividends as speedily as possible. He may also, and with the sanction of the committee, or, where there is none, with that of the Board of Trade, carry on the business so far as is necessary to a beneficial windingup, institute or defend legal proceedings, employ a solicitor to do any business previously sanctioned by the same authority, compromise debts and claims, raise money on mortgage, sell property on credit, or divide the estate where practicable among the creditors in its existing form. He may, without special sanction, but subject to any directions which may be given by the creditors in general meeting, or failing them by the committee, sell the property or any part of it for cash, including business goodwill and book debts, and either by public auction or private treaty, and generally exercise all the powers which the bankrupt might before adjudication have exercised in relation to the property, or which are by the Bankruptcy Act conferred on the trustee. Where any part of the property is held subject to onerous obligations, such as the payment of rent, &c., the trustee may disclaim the same, subject in certain cases to the leave of the court, and the disclaimer operates to determine all interest in or liability in respect of the property on the part of the estate. The trustee is required to keep a record book (which is commenced by the official receiver), containing minutes of the proceedings in the bankruptcy, and a cash book in the prescribed form, in which all receipts and payments by him must be entered. All monies received must forthwith be paid into an account at the Bank of England, entitled the " Bankruptcy Estates Account," which is under the control of the Board of Trade, unless where in special circumstances the sanction of that depart Release. When the property, so far as it is capable of realization, has been realized and distributed, the trustee must apply to the Board of Trade for his release, forwarding to each creditor a notice of his having done so, together with a copy of his final accounts, and the Board of Trade, after preparing and considering a report on the same, and the objections of any person interested, may, subject to appeal to the High Court, grant or withhold the release. If a release is withheld, the court may, on the application of any person interested, make such order against the trustee as it thinks just. The release when granted operates as a removal from office, and thereupon the official receiver again becomes trustee, and is thus in a position, even after the nominal close of the bankruptcy, to deal with any circumstances which may arise, or which have not been foreseen and provided for. Small Bankruptcies. When the official receiver reports, or the court is otherwise satisfied that the debtor's property is not likely to realize more than £300, the court may make an order for the summary administration of the estate, in which case, if the debtor is adjudged bankrupt, the official receiver in the ordinary course becomes and remains trustee, and certain other modifications are effected with the view of simplifying and accelerating the procedure. The chief of these modifications | are as follows, viz. the Board of Trade acts as committee of inspection; there is no advertisement of the proceedings in a local paper; in legal proceedings all questions of law and fact are determined by the court without a jury; adjudication may be made on a report by the official receiver before the first meeting of creditors where no composition or scheme is proposed; meetings of creditors may be held in the town where the court sits or the official receiver's office is situated; notice to creditors of meetings other than the first meeting, or of application by a debtor for his discharge, are dispensed with in the case of creditors for amounts not exceeding £2. Costs, other than a solicitor's charges, may be paid without taxation; and the time for declaring the first dividend is extended to six months, but the whole estate must be realized and distributed within this period if practicable. No modification, however, is permitted in the procedure relating to the public examination and discharge of the bankrupt. Notwithstanding that an order has been made for summary administration, the creditors may at any time by a resolution passed by a majority in number and three-fourths in value of those voting at the meeting, appoint a trustee in place of the official receiver, in which case the summary order ceases to be operative. Scottish Bankruptcy Legislation. In Scotland, as in England, the law of bankruptcy arose as a remedy against the frauds of insolvent debtors. It was declared by an act of the Scottish parliament (1621,c. 18) that no debtor after insolvency should fraudulently diminish the fund belonging to his creditors, and if a deed of assignment was gratuitously executed after the contracting of debt in favour of a near relation or a confidential friend, fraudulent dealing was to be presumed. The act 1696, c. 5, settled the definition of a notour or notorious bankrupt, a question which had previously engaged the attention of the judges of the court of session. The statute defines "a notour bankrupt" to be any debtor who, being under diligence by horning or caption, at the instance of his creditors, shall be either imprisoned, or retire to the abbey or any other privileged place, or flee or abscond for his personal security, or defend his person by force, and who shall afterwards be found, by sentence of the lords of session, to be insolvent. Bankruptcy as thus defined was, it is said, intended to afford a remedy against fraudulent preference by debtors, and not as the ground-work of a general process of distribution, although by later statutes it became a necessary requisite of every such process. The exceptions recognized in the act of 1696, of persons absent from Scotland and therefore not liable to imprisonment, or of persons exempted therefrom by special privileges, were removed by later legislation. The old English distinction between traders and non-traders, it will be observed, is not recognized in Scottish law. The statute made null and void all voluntary dispositions, assignations and other deeds made after or within sixty days before bankruptcy. In 1856 was passed the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act, by which the law of bankruptcy in Scotland is mainly regulated. By this act, notour (i.e. legally declared) bankruptcy was constituted:1. By sequestration (or adjudication in England and Ireland); and 2. By insolvency concurring either-(a) with a duly executed charge for payment or (b) with sale of effects belonging to the debtor under a poinding or under a sequestration for rent, or making application for the benefit of cessio bonorum. Notour bankruptcy continues, in cases of sequestration, until the debtor has obtained his discharge and in other cases until insolvency ceases. Sequestration may be awarded of the estate of any person in the following cases: sequestration proceeds, the creditors hold a meeting, and by a majority in value elect a trustee to administer the estate, and three commissioners (being creditors or their mandatories) to assist and control the administration and declare the dividends. The bankrupt (under pain of imprisonment) must give all the information in his power regarding his estate and he must be publicly examined on oath before the sheriff; and "conjunct and confident persons may likewise be examined. The bankrupt may be discharged either by composition or without composition. In the latter case (1) by petition with concurrence of all the creditors, or (2) after six months with concurrence of a majority and four-fifths in value of the creditors, or (3) after eighteen months with concurrence of a bare majority in number and value, or (4) after two years without concurrence. In the last case the judge may refuse the application if he thinks the bankrupt has fraudulently concealed his effects or wilfully failed to comply with the law. This act was amended by the Bankruptcy and Real Securities Act 1857, which deals with the cost of competition for trusteeships; the Bankruptcy Amendment (Scotland) Act 1860, which enables the court to recall a sequestration where it is more convenient that the estate should be wound up in England or Ireland; and the Bankruptcy Amendment Act (Scotland) 1875, which makes the wages of clerks, shopmen and servants preferential claims for a period not exceeding four months and an amount not exceeding £50, while the claims of workmen are placed on a similar footing for a period not exceeding two months. Some important changes were subsequently introduced, one of the principal being that effected by the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1880, which abolished imprisonment for debt, but which, like its English prototype (the Debtors Act 1869), contains a series of important provisions for the punishment of fraudulent bankrupts. Under these provisions the laws of the two countries on that subject are practically assimilated, although some minor differences still survive. One of the most important of these differences is, that while the Scottish act makes the failure, within the three years prior to the sequestration, to keep "such books and accounts as, according to the usual course of any trade or business in which he (the debtor) may have been engaged, are necessary to exhibit or explain his transactions " a criminal offence, the English act contains no provision of an analogous character; the nonkeeping of such books being treated as a fact to be taken into account in dealing with the debtor's application for his discharge but not coming within the scope of the criminal law. On the other hand, there are a few minor trading irregularities dealt with in the English act which are not specifically included in that of Scotland. Another important distinction is that under the Scottish act the same offences may be treated differently, according as they are brought for trial before the court of justiciary or a sheriff and jury, in which case the maximum penalty is two years' imprisonment; or before a sheriff without a jury, in which case the penalty is limited to imprisonment for a period not exceeding sixty days. This distinction admits of a useful elasticity in the administration of the law, having regard to the comparative importance of the case, which is hardly possible under the English act. Another most important modification of the law is effected by the Debtors Act 1880, combined with the Bankruptcy and Cessio Act 1881, and the Act of Sederunt anent Cessios of the 22nd of December 1882. Under the law existing prior to these 1. Living debtor subject to jurisdiction of Scottish courts-enactments, the process of cessio bonorum operated chiefly as a (a) on his own petition with concurrence of qualified creditors, or (b) on petition of qualified creditors, provided he be a notour bankrupt, and have had a dwelling-house or place of business in Scotland within the previous year. 2. In the case of a deceased debtor, subject at his death to the jurisdiction of the court-(a) on the petition of his mandatory; or (b) on the petition of qualified creditors (§ 13). Sequestration may be awarded either by the court of session or by the sheriff. A sequestration may be recalled by a majority in number and four-fifths in value of the creditors, who may prefer to wind up the estate by private arrangement. If the means for obtaining release from imprisonment for debt on a formal surrender by a debtor of all his goods and estate. But under this process the debtor was not entitled to a discharge, and his future-acquired property was still subject to diligence at the instance of unsatisfied creditors. By abolishing imprisonment for debt (except in regard to crown debts and public rates and assessments), the legislature also practically abolished this use of the process of cessio, and the process itself would probably have become obsolete, but for certain changes effected by the act of 1881, which have given it a different and more extended scope. Among these changes may be noted (1) the extension to any creditor of a debtor who is notour bankrupt," without reference to the amount of his debt, of the right hitherto limited to the debtor himself, to petition the court for a decree of cessio, the prayer of the petition, whether presented by the debtor or by a creditor, being " to appoint a trustee to take the management and disposal of the debtor's estate for behoof of his creditors"; (2) the discretionary power given to the court upon such petition to award sequestration under the bankruptcy act, in any case where the liabilities of the debtor exceed £200; and (3) the right of the debtor to apply for his discharge under similar conditions to those obtaining in the case of sequestration. An important modification of the law relating to discharge which equally affects a debtor under the Bankruptcy and Cessio Acts, is also effected by the provision of the act of 1881, which requires, in addition to the concurrence of creditors, the fulfilment of one of the following conditions, viz., “(a) That a dividend of five shillings in the pound has been paid out of the estate of the debtor, or that security for payment thereof has been found to the satisfaction of the creditors; or (b) that the failure to pay five shillings in the pound has, in the opinion of the sheriff, arisen from circumstances for which the debtor cannot justly be held responsible." Orders of cessio are only made in the sheriff courts, and when made, the court also appoints a trustee, who conducts the proceedings without the control exercised by the creditors in a sequestration. Under these conditions it will be seen that the original purpose and constitution of the process of cessio has entirely disappeared, and it has now become a modified form of official bankruptcy procedure, with a less elaborate routine than in the case of sequestration, and one, perhaps more suitable to the smaller class of cases, to which in practice it is limited. The Bankruptcy Frauds and Disabilities (Scotland) Act 1884 applies to sequestrations and decrees of cessio the criminal provisions of § 31 of the English Bankruptcy Act 1883, relating to the obtaining of credit for £20 and upwards by an undischarged bankrupt, without disclosure of his position. It also places the law relating to the disqualifications attaching to such bankrupts on a similar footing to that of the English act. The Judicial Factors Act of 1889 contains a provision calculated to check excessive costs of administration, by requiring that where the remuneration of a trustee under a sequestration is to be fixed by the commissioners, intimation of the rate of remuneration is to be given to the creditors and to the accountant of court before being acted on, and the latter officer is empowered, subject to appeal, to modify the same if he deems it expedient. It may be pointed out that the Deeds of Arrangement Act 1887, which applies to England and Ireland, does not apply to Scotland, and there is no analogous provision requiring registration of private deeds of assignment for the benefit of creditors as a condition of their validity in that country. Finally, it is to be noted that the office of accountant in bankruptcy, which was established by the Bankruptcy Act of 1856, has under the Judicial Factors Act 1889 been abolished, the duties being merged in those of the office of accountant of the court of session. Irish Bankruptcy Legislation. The Irish law of bankruptcy is regulated by the two leading Irish statutes of 1857 and 1872, together with the Irish Debtors Act 1872, and corresponds in its main features to some of the older English enactments, with modifications adopted from the English act of 1869. It may be pointed out, however, that the system of liquidation by arrangement and composition without the approval or control of the court, which proved fatal to the success of the latter, has not at any time been imported into the Irish law. A special act was passed in 1888 for establishing local bankruptcy courts in certain districts in Ireland, and an act was also passed in 1889, applying the main provisions of the English Act of 1888, relating to preferential payments in bankruptcy, to Ireland. by the Irish Deeds of Arrangement Amendment Act 1890, places the law relating to this branch of insolvency procedure upon a similar footing in both countries, so far as regards the publicity of such deeds. The last-mentioned act also requires a similar registration of all petitions for arrangement under the Bankruptcy Act 1857. (J. SM.*) COMPARATIVE LAW British Empire.-In most parts of the British empire the law of bankruptcy has been modelled upon the English system. This is particularly the case in Australia and New Zealand. Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand follow the lines of the existing English acts. In Queensland, Tasmania and New South Wales the system is rather that of the English act of 1869, leaving more to the creditors' management and less to officialism. One point may be mentioned in which the Australian colonies have improved on the English system. Under the English acts a bankrupt is under no obligation to apply for his discharge. The result is that the United Kingdom contains a population of 70,000 undischarged bankrupts-a manifest danger to the trading community. Under the bankruptcy systems of New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand, a bankrupt is bound to apply for his discharge within a fixed period, otherwise he is guilty of a contempt of court. In Canada, under the British North America Act 1867, the Dominion parliament has exclusive legislative power in regard to bankruptcy and insolvency: but there is no existing Dominion act on the subject. A Dominion act was passed in 1875, but repealed in 1880. The failure of this act may perhaps be ascribed to the diversity of the pre-existing provincial systems, embracing such contrasts as the English law of Ontario, and the French code based on cessio bonorum-which ruled in Quebec. Bankruptcy is dealt with in a fragmentary way by the provincial legislatures by acts regulating such matters as priority of execution creditors, fraudulent assignments and preferences, imprisonment of debtors, administration of estates of deceased insolvents. In Cape Colony and Natal English law is substantially followed. In the Transvaal, where Roman-Dutch law prevails, the law governing the subject is the Insolvency Law, No. 13 of 1895. It provides for voluntary surrender and compulsory sequestration. The law of the Orange River Colony is similar. In British Guiana, Gambia, Jamaica, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Grenada, Trinidad, Tobago and the Straits Settlements the law is modelled on the English pattern. In India insolvency is regulated by the Indian Insolvency Act 1848, extended by the Act XI. of 1889. An English bankrupt, it may be added, is entitled to plead his discharge in England as a defence in a colonial court. The explanation is this. The English act vests all the bankrupt's property, whether in the United Kingdom or in the colonies, in his trustee in bankruptcy. Having thus denuded him of everything, it has been held to follow that the bankrupt's discharge must also receive recognition in a colonial court. France.-Bankruptcy in France is regulated by the Commercial Code of 1807, amended and supplemented by the law of 9th June 1838. By Article 437 of the code bankruptcy is defined as the state of a trader who is unable to meet his commercial engagements. Simple insolvency of this kind is known in France as faillite. Insolvency attended with circumstances of misconduct or fraud is known as banqueroute simple or banqueroute frauduleuse. Only a trader can become bankrupt. The debt, too, for obtaining adjudication must be a commercial debt, the laws regulating bankruptcy being designed exclusively for the protection of commerce. To be made a bankrupt a trader need not be insolvent: it is sufficient that he has suspended payment. Commercial companies of all kinds are liable to be declared bankrupt in the same manner as individual traders. A traderThe Deeds of Arrangement Act 1887, which has been already debtor can be adjudicated bankrupt upon his own petition, or discussed above under the head of English bankruptcy legislation, upon the petition of a creditor, or by the court itself proprio also applies in its main provisions to Ireland, and as supplemented | motu. A petitioning debtor must within fifteen days file at the Composition before bankruptcy is not recognized by Italian office of the Tribunal of Commerce of the district, a declaration | representing three-fourths of the bankrupt's indebtedness. of suspension, with a true account of his conduct and of the state of his affairs, showing his assets, debts, profits and losses and personal expenses. On adjudication the Tribunal of Commerce appoints a person, called a syndic provisoire, to manage the bankrupt's estate, and a juge commissaire is also named to supervise the syndic. A bankruptcy terminates by an ordinary composition (concordat), a sale of the debtor's assets (union), or a composition by relinquishment of assets. It is a striking feature of the French system, and highly creditable to French commercial integrity, that a discharge in bankruptcy, even when accompanied by a declaration d'excusabilité, leaves the unpaid balance a debt of honour. At the time of the French Revolution the National Convention passed a resolution that any man who contracted a debt should never be free from liability to pay it. The spirit of this resolution still survives, for until a trader has paid every penny that he owes he is not rehabilitated and remains under the stigma of various disabilities: he has no political rights, he cannot hold any public office, or act as a stockbroker, or sit on a jury. Banqueroute simple is where the bankrupt has been guilty of grave faults in the conduct of his business, such as extravagance in living, hazardous speculation or preferring creditors. Banqueroute frauduleuse involves the worse delinquency of fraud. Both banqueroute simple and banqueroute frauduleuse are punishable, the latter with penal servitude ranging from five to twenty years. Germany.-Bankruptcy in Germany is governed by a code passed in 1877. Prior to this each state had its system and the law was wholly chaotic." The same distinction is drawn in Germany as in France between mere commercial failure and bankruptcy, simple or fraudulent. Simple bankruptcy is established by such offences as gambling, dealing in "futures," disorderly book-keeping or extravagance in living: fraudulent bankruptcy, by offences of a deeper dye-the concealment of property, the falsifying of books, the manufacture of fictitious debts and the giving of illegal preferences. Both kinds of bankruptcy are punishable, fraudulent bankruptcy by penal servitude, or in case of mitigating circumstances, by imprisonment for not less than three months. Accessories in fraudulent bankruptcies are liable to penal servitude-for instance, a creditor who conspires with the debtor to secure an advantage to the prejudice of the other debtors. The creditors are called together within one month from the date of adjudication, and at their meeting they may appoint a committee of their number to advise with the trustee. It is the duty of the court to see that the trustee performs his functions. Estates are liquidated with great rapidity. In order that the creditors may receive dividends at the earliest moment, it is customary to sell the assets by auction. The creditors by a majority in number and threefourths in value may accept a composition, but such an arrangement must have the approval of the court. The fees are very moderate: in an ordinary bankruptcy the attorney's fees do not, it is said, exceed £5. Italy.-Bankruptcy in Italy is regulated by the Commercial Code of 1883 (Part III.). Only merchants can pass through the bankruptcy court. Merchants are defined by the code as those who, as an habitual profession, engage in commercial business. This definition includes merchant companies. Bankruptcy proceedings may be taken either by the debtor or by a creditor for a commercial debt, or may be ordered by the court. The amount of the debt is immaterial: a small sum will suffice, provided its non-payment is proof of insolvency. Bankruptcy can only be declared where there is insolvency. The judgment adjudicating a debtor bankrupt deprives the bankrupt of the right to administer his affairs, and nominates a trustee to realize the property under the superintendence of a judge and a commission of creditors. All the property of the bankrupt, movable and immovable, is sold by auction and distributed in dividends. This is one way of closing the bankruptcy, but it may also be closed by an arrangement. No minimum percentage is required for such arrangement, but it must have the asscnt of creditors To constitute a fraudulent preference it is not necessary, as it is under English law, that the payment should be made “with a view to profer" the favoured creditor. It is enough that the creditor is preferred. This avoids the nice questions of legal casuistry which have embarrassed the English courts, and it is the more rational rule, for creditors are not concerned with a debtor's intention. Any person, trader or non-trader, may avail himself of the act, but, in the case of a corporation, there is this peculiarity: it may be petitioned against but cannot petition. Insolvency is construed in a practical sense; that is, a person is insolvent where the aggregate of his property, at a fair valuation, is insufficient to pay his debts; but he is not necessarily insolvent because his realized assets are insufficient to meet his liabilities. Involuntary proceedings can only be taken against debtors owing $1000 or over, with certain exceptions. A petitioning creditor's debt must amount to $500. The administration of the law of bankruptcy is entrusted to the district courts and is exercised through the medium of certain officers appointed by the courts and called referees. The creditors appoint a trustee or trustees of the estate. So soon as his judicial examination is over the bankrupt may offer his creditors a composition, but to take effect the composition must be approved by the court after hearing objections. The discharge is the key to the efficiency of every bankruptcy system. By the control which the court thus holds, it is enabled to bring its moral censorship to bear on a debtor's conduct and so maintain a high standard of commercial integrity. Under the United States system the judge is to investigate the merits of the application and to discharge the bankrupt, unless he has (1) committed an offence punishable by imprisonment; (2) with intent to conceal his financial condition, destroyed, conccaled, or failed to keep books of account or records from which such condition might be ascertained; or (3) obtained property on credit from any person upon a materially false statement in writing made to such person for the purpose of obtaining suck property on credit; or (4) at any time, subsequent to the first day of the four months immediately preceding the filing of the petition, transferred, removed, destroyed or concealed any of his property with intent to hinder, delay or defraud his creditors; or (5) in voluntary proceedings been granted a discharge in bankruptcy within six years; or (6) in the course of proceedings in bankruptcy refused to obey any lawful order of or to answer any material question approved by the court. It is significant that the italicized qualifications were added to the act of 1898 by the experience of five years of its working. (E. MA.) BANKS, GEORGE linnaeus (1821-1881), British miscel- | united in supporting Banks for speaker, and after one of the laneous writer, was born at Birmingham on the 2nd of March bitterest and most protracted speakership contests in the history 1821. After a brief experience in a variety of trades, he became of congress, lasting from the 3rd of December 1855 to the 2nd at the age of seventeen a contributor to various newspapers, of February 1856, he was chosen on the 133rd ballot, This has and subsequently a playwright, being the author of two plays, been called the first national victory of the Republican party. a couple of burlesques and several lyrics. Between 1848 and Re-elected in 1856 as a Republican, he resigned his seat in 1864 he edited in succession a variety of newspapers, including December 1857, and was governor of Massachusetts from 1858 the Birmingham Mercury and the Dublin Daily Express, and to 1861, a period marked by notable administrative and educapublished several volumes of miscellaneous prose and verse. tional reforms. He then succeeded George B. McClellan as He died in London on the 3rd of May 1881. president of the Illinois Central railway. Although while governor he had been a strong advocate of peace, he was one of the earliest to offer his services to President Lincoln, who appointed him in 1861 major-general of volunteers. Banks was one of the most prominent of the volunteer officers. When McClellan entered upon his Peninsular Campaign in 1862 the important duty of defending Washington from the army of " Stonewall" Jackson fell to the corps commanded by Banks. In the spring Banks was ordered to move against Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, but the latter with superior forces defeated him at Winchester, Virginia, on the 25th of May, and forced him back to the Potomac river. On the 9th of August Banks again encountered Jackson at Cedar Mountain, and, though greatly outnumbered, succeeded in holding his ground after a very sanguinary battle. He was later placed in command of the garrison at Washington, and in November sailed from New York with a strong force to replace General B. F. Butler at New Orleans as commander of the Department of the Gulf. Being ordered to co-operate with Grant, who was then before Vicksburg, he invested the defences of Port Hudson, Louisiana, in May 1863, and after three attempts to carry the works by storm he began a regular siege. The garrison surrendered to Banks on the 9th of July, on receiving word that Vicksburg had fallen. In the autumn of 1863 Banks organized a number of expeditions to Texas, chiefly for the purpose of preventing the French in Mexico from aiding the Confederates, and secured possession of the region near the mouths of the Nueces and the Rio Grande. But his Red River expedition, March-May 1864, forced upon him by superior authority, was a complete failure. In August 1865 he was mustered out of the service, and from 1865 to 1873 he was again a representative in congress, serving as chairman of the committee on foreign affairs. A personal quarrel with President Grant led in 1872, however, to his joining the Liberal-Republican revolt in support of Horace Greeley, and as the Liberal-Republican and Democratic candidate he was defeated for re-election. In 1874 he was successful as a Democratic candidate, serving one term (1875-1877). Having rejoined the Republican party in 1876, he was United States marshal for Massachusetts from 1879 until 1888, when for the ninth time he was elected to Congress. He retired at the close of his term (1891) and died at Waltham on the 1st of September 1894. BANKS, SIR JOSEPH, Bart. (1743-1820), English naturalist, was born in Argyle Street, London, on the 13th of February 1743. His father, William Banks, was the son of a successful Lincolnshire doctor, who became sheriff of his county, and represented Peterborough in parliament; and Joseph was brought up as the son of a rich man. In 1760 he went to Oxford, where he showed a decided taste for natural science and was the means of introducing botanical lectures into the university. In 1764 he came into possession of the ample fortune left by his father, and in 1766 he made his first scientific expedition to Newfound land and Labrador, bringing back a rich collection of plants and insects. Shortly after his return, Captain Cook was sent by the government to observe the transit of Venus in the Pacific Ocean, and Banks, through the influence of his friend Lord Sandwich, obtained leave to join the expedition in the "Endeavour," which was fitted out at his own expense. He made the most careful preparations, in order to be able to profit by every opportunity, and induced Dr Daniel Solander, a distinguished pupil of Linnacus, to accompany him. He even engaged draughtsmen and painters to delineate such objects of interest as did not admit of being transported or preserved. The voyage occupied three years and many hardships had to be undergone; but the rich harvest of discovery was more than adequate compensation. Banks was equally anxious to join Cook's second expedition and expended large sums in engaging assistants and furnishing the necessary equipment; but circumstances obliged him to relinquish his purpose. He, however, employed the assistants and materials he had collected in a voyage to Iceland in 1772, returning by the Hebrides and Staffa. In 1778 Banks succeeded Sir John Pringle as president of the Royal Society, of which he had been a fellow from 1766, and held the office until his death. In 1781 he was made a baronet; in 1795 he received the order of the Bath; and in 1797 he was admitted to the privy council. He died at Isleworth on the 19th of June 1820. As president of the Royal Society he did much to raise the state of science in Britain, and was at the same time most assiduous and successful in cultivating friendly relations with scientific men of all nations. It was, however, objected to him that from his own predilections he was inclined to overlook and depreciate the labours of the mathematical and physical sections of the Royal Society and that he exercised his authority somewhat despotically. He bequeathed his collections of books and botanical specimens to the British Museum. His fame rests rather on what his liberality enabled other workers to do than on his own achievements. See J. H. Maiden, Sir Joseph Banks (1909). BANKS, NATHANIEL PRENTISS (1816-1894), American politician and soldier, was born at Waltham, Massachusetts, on the 30th of January 1816. He received only a common school education and at an early age began work as a bobbinboy in a cotton factory of which his father was superintendent. Subsequently he edited a weekly paper at Waltham, studied law and was admitted to the bar, his energy and his ability as a public speaker soon winning him distinction. He served as a Free Soiler in the Massachusetts house of representatives from 1849 to 1853, and was speaker in 1851 and 1852; he was president of the state Constitutional Convention of 1853, and in the same year was elected to the national House of Representatives as a coalition candidate of Democrats and Free Soilers. Although re-elected in 1854 as an American or " KnowNothing," he soor left this party, and in 1855 presided over a Republican convention in Massachusetts. At the opening of the Thirty-Fourth Congress the anti-Nebraska men gradually BANKS, THOMAS (1735-1805), English sculptor, son of a surveyor who was land steward to the duke of Beaufort, was born in London on the 29th of December 1735. He was taught drawing by his father, and in 1750 was apprenticed to a woodcarver. In his spare time he worked at sculpture, and before 1772, when he obtained a travelling studentship and proceeded to Rome, he had already exhibited several fine works. Returning to England in 1779 he found that the taste for classic poetry, ever the source of his inspiration, no longer existed, and he spent two years in St Petersburg, being employed by the empress Catherine, who purchased his " Cupid tormenting a Butterfly." On his return he modelled his colossal Achilles mourning the loss of Briseis," a work full of force and passion; and thereupon he was elected, in 1784, an associate of the Royal Academy and in the following year a full member. Among other works in St Paul's cathedral are the monuments to Captain Westcott and Captain Burges, and in Westminster Abbey to Sir Eyre Coote. His bust of Warren Hastings is in the National Portrait Gallery. Banks's best-known work is perhaps the colossal group of 'Shakespeare attended by Painting and Poetry," now in the garden of New Place, Stratford-on-Avon. He died in London on the 2nd of February 1805. |