340 



Abstract of the Bankrupt Law of Hamburg. fNov. T, 



. The wife claims her marriage-portion 

 within five years after the marnaiie, it' it 

 is pioved her Imlljand was aheady in- 

 del)ted at the time of marriage. If tliis 

 cannot be proved, the wife has no claim, 



V i t iinor^ of the following defcription 

 are lit') arated from the gencraJ niafs, and 

 pay themfclvts-. 



Thole vihu hold a pawn may pay them- 

 feUts lu iuli from what i;* in their hands. 

 To fuch as have claims only hypotheca- 

 ttd or fccured upoH moveahles, a larger 

 rate of dividend is indeed allowed than 

 tp the conimf n elafs of book-creditors, 

 but they ai-e not entitled to have their 

 hypothecary fecurity fatibfied either fcpa- 

 rate or in full. 



This however takes place in cafes of 

 mortgages legally entered on the public 

 regifier. Tlie mortgagee enjoys the bc- 

 nelitof beinic feparated from the body of 

 creditors ; the landed property mortga- 

 ged is put up to fale, and the mortgagee 

 IS paid the wliole of his principal, and 

 two years arrears of interelt. If any fur- 

 plus remains, it goes to the general mafs. 



Set-offs are admitted in cafes either 

 ■when the creditor has an account with 

 tlie bankrupt, or when he is in ])oflcflion 

 of effects belonging to him, and on which 

 lie has not the right of pledge above- 

 mentioned. In the tirft inftance he has 

 the ;tt.s compenfatumis, and in the latter 

 tli(' jys rttditionh, which Ixjth he e\e- 

 cutes in the fame full manner as if he 

 vere in puffelhon of the right of pledge. 

 Tliis right to pay one's felf from goods in 

 hand is however liable to be abufed ; 

 and frauds are but too often pratlifed by 

 peifons who are indebted to the bank- 

 rupt's citate procuring an alfignment of 

 die claims of creditors who ought only to 

 receive a dividend out of the general 

 luafs. 



Ik'lidcs tl;e right which the affignees 

 poli'efs to colleit all that belongs to the 

 biu.krupt's eftate previous to Lis failure, 

 tiiey are likevvife entitled to fuch-proper- 

 ty as he may incidentally acquire by le- 

 gacies or fucceflion. Ncvcrthelefs, if he 

 has any children, he may for their benefit 

 reiiife to be an heir. 



Legacies and other cafnal fortunes left 

 to tlie wife of the brjuknipt remain her 

 own pro|:erty, and cannot be touched 

 by the a!li>inees, if flic has not been 

 able to eftablifli her right as before-men- 

 tiiaicd of claiming her marriage-portion. 



The relations of the bankrupt can ex- 

 c'ude hi!n from all fucfellion, ar.d make 

 Jus cJrUdrea or next of kin iLcir heirs. 



This is called Exheredutio bona menfe 

 jMa. 



The liquidation of the deinands upon 

 the bankrupt's eltate is not confined to 

 s»ny fixed period : it muft however b« 

 done as foon as polfible. T'he hquidated 

 claims are admitted witliout any further 

 dithculty. Difputed claims are clearerl, 

 if poffible, by compofition, and require 

 at moft, a continuation by oath. But if 

 they cannot be fettled in this way, then 

 the creditor either is fummoned by the 

 affignees in order to eftablilh his de- 

 mand, or he calls upon the affignees to 

 acknowledge the fame : wliereupon the 

 admiffibility or inadmiffibility of the 

 c'laim is decided by a fenteiice of the 

 Court. 



The general mafs having been confti- 

 tuted, the alIignc^t■5 next proceed to the 

 claffitication of the creditors. 



From the iiril money coming into the 

 common fund privileged CTedirors arc 

 paid in full. Amongil tliefc are included 

 arrears of taxes not exceeding two yeai-s, 

 fervants' and jonrneymens' wages, all de- 

 mands for freight and g(;iioral average. 



With refpect to tlie remainder of the 

 bankrupt's eftate, the other creditors are 

 arranged in tliree claU'es, and take their 

 dividends in die proportion of 2, 3, and 

 4. Creditors wIvj have no pledges in 

 hand, or to wliom no landed property is 

 mortgaged by legillering it in the public 

 books, but £U-e only provided with a ge- 

 ,neral liypothe(|Uc, or have a tacit pawn 

 allowed by th(; law, arc divided into two 

 claffes. The firll clafs of tl'.efo hypothe- 

 cary creditors receives half as much as 

 the fecond, and therefore in the propor- 

 tion of 2 to 3, as mentioned. 



The third clafs, called book-creditors, 

 receives one-half lefs than thole of the 

 fecond clafs. 



The dividend which the general mafs 

 is able to pay is made known to the cre- 

 ditors ill a meeting at which two mem- 

 bers of the Senate prefide. Here the ai- 

 lignees gi^'e an account of their proceed- 

 ings, and here it is the proper place 

 where creditors may ceniiire their beha- 

 viour, and call tlsem to account. 



In general, the aliignees muft conduft 

 themfclves in fuch manner that in no 

 cafe they a^t or do. any thing wliich is 

 not ffrii:tly according to law. They are 

 rather obliged, in o^ cry dubious cafe of 

 coiiltquence, to confuU thj whole body 

 of creditors, by calling tlicm before the 

 connniffioner.-. This efpecially becomes 

 oi' tlic utmoll importance in cafes -^here 



