120 



Committee oh Debtors and Creditors. 



ntcs have been ap- 

 pointed, abont . 500 

 Nnnibei of rutiirns made 



by sucli assi][^necs 65 

 Gross amount of pro- 

 perty stated to have 



been sjot in by snob 



assignt;es, and filed in 



this court . . . , 1,499 4 



Is there not a form in the schedule 

 which renders that amount larger than 

 it onE:Iit to be? — Yes. 



E\i)l;iin what that form is? — It very 

 often happens that accommodation bills 

 have been pjiven ; and, in order to pre- 

 vent the party being arrested hereafter, 

 Le stales the names of the different per- 

 sons thronuli whose hands the bills Iiave 

 passed, with the total amount of tiie bill 

 to each name ; and sometimes it happens 

 the same bill is stated fonr or five times 

 over in the same scliednle. 



Are you able to form any calculation 

 as to the probable deduction that would 

 be made from the 5,598,574/.?—! should 

 think it would reduce it one-fourth of 

 the whole. In the case of partners they 

 present separate schedules, and the same 

 debts arc stated in each. 



Would that anthorizc an additional 

 deduction fioni the grops amount of 

 6,598,574/. beyond that which .^ou have 

 already stated ? — No ; I take the whole 

 to be about a fourth. 



It appears by the paper you liave put 

 in, that there have been only five hun- 

 dred assignees appointed? — \ es. 



What is the reason that so small a 

 portion of assignees liave been appointed 

 to so many petitions as are stated in tliat 

 paper? — It is owing to the creditors not 

 applying to become assignees. 



Can you ascertain of >\hat business 

 flie c!edi(ors appear to be?— Mr. Ser- 

 jeant Palmer used to notice, that tailors 

 and shoemakers and cofi'ee-honse keep- 

 ers were the principal suflcrers. 



Do you know of any instructions hav- 

 ing been given to debtors to enable 

 them to harrass their creditors by dila- 

 tory proceeding.*! whilst in prison? — I 

 know of no instructions having been 

 given ; I have a book which was deli- 

 vered in by a prisoner, as liis book of 

 account on discharge; wherein it is 

 pointed out to debtors bow to harass 

 creditors. 



[The witness delivered in a book, 

 from which the following extract was 

 read :] 



Law Proceedings. 



Wb?n arrested and held to bail, and af- 

 ter being served wiili a declaration, yovi 

 may plead a general issue, which brings 

 yau to trial the sooner of any plea that you 



[Sept.l, 



can put in ; but, if yon want to vex your 

 plaintiff, put in a special plea ; and, if in 

 custody, got your alloniey to plead ia 

 your name, which will cost you ll. Is. 

 your plaintiff 311. as cxpences. If you do 

 not mean to try t!ie cause, .you have no oc» 

 caiion to do so till your plaintiff gets judg- 

 ment against you ; he must, in the term af- 

 ter you put in a special plea, send what is 

 termed the paper-book, which you must 

 return with 7s. 6d. otherwise you will nOt 

 put him to half tlie expenses. When he 

 proceeds, and has received final judg- 

 ment against you, get yom- attorney to 

 search the office ajjpoinled for that pur- 

 pose in the Temple ; and, when he finds 

 that judgment is actually signed, he must 

 give notice to the plaintiff's attorney to at- 

 tend the master to tax his costs, at which 

 time your attorney must have a writ of er- 

 ror ready, and give it to the plaintiff's at- 

 torney before the master, which puts him 

 to a very great expence, as he will hav,e 

 the same charges to go over again. The 

 writ of error will cost you 4/. 4s.; if you 

 want to be further troublesome to your 

 plaintiffs, make your writ of error returna- 

 ble in parliament, which costs you 8/. 8s. 

 and your plaintiff lOOf. ; should he have 

 the courage to follow you ihiongh all your 

 proceedings, then file a bill in tlie Exche- 

 quer, which will cost about five or six 

 potmds, and, if he answers it, it will co?t 

 him 80/. more; after this you may file a 

 bill in Chancery, which will cost about 10/. 

 and, if he does not answer this bill, you will 

 get an injunction, and at the same time an 

 attaclinitiit fiom the court ajiaiust him, 

 and may take his body for contempt of 

 court iu not answ cring your last bill ; you 

 may file your bill in the Court of Chancery 

 instead of the Exchequer, only the latter 

 costs you the least. If you arc at any time 

 served with a copy of a writ, take no fur- 

 tlier notice of it than by keeping it. When 

 you aie declared against, do not fail to 

 put in a special pica immediately, and 

 most likely you will hear no more of the 

 business, as your plaiuiiff will probably not 

 like to incur any further expence after ha- 

 ving been at so much. 



Defindants' Costs. 



£ s. 



Common plea . . . 



.Special ditto . . 



Paper book 



Writ of error 



Ditto returnable in Parliament 



Fifing Bill in Exclasquer , 



Ditto iu Chauccry . . 



PlaiidiJ^s Costs. 

 Answer to special plea . 

 Answer to writ of error 

 Answer to Bill in Exchequer 

 Ditto ditto in Chaucery 



314 O 

 A* 



