576 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



nourable confidence on which the 

 interest and the prosperity of a 

 commercial country so essentially 

 depends. 



To one argument which has 

 been adduced, your conunittee are 

 disposed to allow considerable 

 weight, viz. that all tlie sureties or 

 bondsmen for crown receivers of 

 every kind, having become such, 

 depending on their claims to tliis 

 ])rocess in case of necessity, it 

 would be unjust todepiive them 

 of this wea|)on without notice; and 

 that perha])s in equity, if not in 

 law also, they might thereby be 

 discharged of their responsil)ility. 



To this it may be replied, that 

 if it be so, notice may be given ; 

 and as far as exjierience can guide 

 us, no great difficulty need be ex- 

 pected to arise. The situation of 

 lleceiver- General is too much 

 sought after to excite any ajipre- 

 hension that it will not be able to 

 find itself secuiities. In the case 

 of the increase of surety reciuired 

 or> account of the collection of tiie 

 property-tax, no additional emo- 

 lument of poundage was granted ; 

 nor have the instances of default 

 been so fretpient as to create 

 alarm : but should such a difficul- 

 ty be unexpectedly found, it may 

 easily be removed bylessening the 

 balances now allowed to be re- 

 tained, accelerating the ])aymeiits 

 into the Exchequer, and increas- 

 ing the nund)er of receivers : by 

 all or any of which means the re- 

 sponsil)ility of the securities wouhl 

 be diminished, and the facility of 

 obtaining them proportionally in- 

 creased. On refeiring, however, 

 to the evidence, it will be foimd 

 that scarcely any surety has ever 

 been called on, and that very 

 few of the receivers, not being 

 bankers, have ever employed the 



process. It will also be seen that 

 an intention has been declared, of 

 not apjjointing bankers in future 

 to these offices. Of the propiiety 

 of this supposed determination, 

 or how far it may have been in- 

 fluenced by considerations con- 

 nected witii the subject of lliis 

 leport, your committee offer no 

 opinion : but they have no hesi- 

 tation in saying, that in the in- 

 stances which have come before 

 them, of the exercise of the power 

 liy banking-houses, the advantage 

 of the individuals seems alone to 

 have been attended to, without 

 any reference to the safety of the 

 revenue. 



There are also various other 

 embaritissments and vexations in 

 the course of these proceedings, 

 which, though small in compari- 

 son of the enormous grievances 

 which have been detailed, are yet 

 too considerable in themselves to 

 be passed without observation, 

 and which, your committee hope, 

 will, ere long, be also subjected to 

 legislative correction. Such are, 

 the waste of the proi)erty by the 

 sheriff's j)oundage, by forced and 

 hasty sales, and by otlier expenses 

 of the ))rocess, esj)ecially that of 

 resistance, or the attempt to set 

 aside the extent, wliich even when 

 successful, must equally be borne 

 by the insolvent's estate : the ex- 

 tending the operation of tlie writ 

 to the debtor in the fourth degiee, 

 instead of the third ; the issuing 

 immediate extents instead of scire 

 fdcids ; tlie mofles and rules of 

 pleading, ail too niucli in favour 

 of maintaining that possession 

 which is so hastily, and which, 

 sometimes when too late, appears 

 to have been unjustly obtained; 

 and all of whicli, whether de- 

 pendent on the rules of court, or 



otherwise. 



