40S 



BANKRUPT. 



s, and capable of becoming bankrupts ; and 

 the .statute of : r .> Geo. III., relating to tiankrupts in 

 Scotland, describes a person aipiibie of becoming 

 such to be one who, 4i either tor himself, or ns agent 

 for others, seeks his living by buying ami selling, or 

 by tin- workraansliip of goods or commodities." 



By the French mercantile law, a bankrupt mer- 

 chant must, within three days after stopping pay 

 meiit, give notice of it to the tribunal of commerce, 

 \\ liirh, even if the notice is not given immediately, 

 proceeds, at the request of the creditors, or by virtue 

 of its own authority without any petition, or on mo- 

 t ion of the king's procureur, to put the debtor's store- 

 house, counting-house, effects, books, and papers 

 under seal, also to appoint a commissioner from its 

 own body, and several sworn agents, who give secu- 

 rity for the faithful discliarge of their trust, and to 

 put the bankrupt in prison or under arrest and sur- 

 vetflance, from which, however, after an investiga- 

 tion of his aii'.iirs. he may be released, either uncon- 

 ditionally, or on giving liail. From the day of his 

 failure, the bankrupt is divested of all his interest 

 and title in his property, and, during the ten days 

 preceding, no one can acquire any right in it, by 

 pledge or mortgage ; and any gratuitous transfer by 

 him during that time is void, and any transfer made 

 for consideration may be annulled, if attended with 

 circumstances indicating fraud. And all acts done 

 or contracts made by him, in fraud of his creditors, 

 are void. An advertisement of the bankruptcy must 

 be posted up in public places, and inserted in the 

 gazette. The agents above-mentioned continue to 

 manage the affairs of the bankrupt only fourteen 

 days, or until the appointment of the provisional 

 tyndici (trustees). The commissioner, within three 

 days after the bankrupt's leger has been put into his 

 hands, makes a catalogue of the creditors, and con- 

 venes them by means of letters and the public papers. 

 The creditors assemble at the fixed time and place, 

 in the presence of the commissioner, to whom they 

 deliver a list containing three times as many names, 

 as, in their opinion, there should be persons appointed 

 provisional trustees (syndics provisoires) of the pro- 

 perty. From this list the requisite number is ap- 

 pointed by the tribunal of commerce. Within twenty- 

 fbur hours after the appointment of trustees, the 

 functions of the agents cense, and they render their 

 account to the trustees, who, under the superintend- 

 ence of the commissioner, now have the management 

 of all the affairs of the bankrupt. They immediately 

 remove the seals, and take an inventory of the bank- 

 rupt's effects, in the presence of a justice of the 

 peace, with the aid of the bankrupt. Within eight 

 days from entering upon office, they render to the 

 king's procureur a report of the state of the bank- 

 rupt's affairs, and take charge of, and administer 

 upon, his estate. The monies received are placed 

 in a chest with a double lock, of which the oldest 

 trustee has one key, and the other is given to a cre- 

 ditor, selected by the commissioner. Every week, 

 the commissioner is furnished with the cash account 

 of the trustees, and may, upon their suggestion and 

 that of the creditors, if he thinks it advisable, put the 

 money already received at interest. It is the duty of 

 the trustees to call in the debts of the bankrupt, and 

 to have any mortgages made to him recorded, if he 

 has not had it done himself; likewise to summon, 

 without delay, all the creditors, by letter or the pub- 

 lic papers, to appear before them within forty days, 

 personally or by attorney, to prove their claims, 

 present their vouchers, or deposit them with the 

 tribunal of commerce. The examination of claims 

 is made within fourteen days after the expiration of 

 the forty days, and every creditor, whose claims have 

 been allowed, is at liberty to be present at the dis- 



cussion of others' claims, and ofTer objections. Attei 

 the claims have been diseased, each creditor must 

 deliver, within eight days, an affidavit to the commis- 

 sioner, that his demandsare true. Whether a process 

 sliall be allowed to establish the contested claims, rests 

 on the decision of the tribunal of commerce. After the, 

 expiration of the time fixed for allowing claims, it is 

 the duty of the trustees to take note of the creditors 

 who do not appear ; the commissioner gives infor- 

 mation of them to the tribunal of commerce, which 

 now assigns an additional period for their appear- 

 ance, which, in respect to inhabitants of the kingdom, 

 is regulated by the distance of their residence, one 

 day being allowed for every three myriumetres, about 

 eighteen two-thirds English miles. In cases of for- 

 eign creditors, longer delays are allowed. After the 

 expiration of this period, those who do not appear arc 

 excluded from a future dividend. Within three d.iys 

 after the period assigned for making affidavit, the 

 creditors whose claims are allowed, are convem d, 

 and the state of the bankrupt's property is laid before 

 them in the presence of the commissioner anil the 

 bankrupt. This is the time for the accord, which 

 may take place if acceded to by the majority of the 

 creditors, the sum of whose claims constitutes at least 

 three-fourths of the amount of debts to be liquidated. 

 Creditors who hold collateral security for their debts 

 have no voice in the decision. In cise of presump- 

 tion of fraud, from an examination of the bankrupt's 

 books and papers, no accord is valid. If an accord 

 is made, it must be signed during the sitting. Who- 

 ever is against it, is allowed a space of eight days to 

 exhibit his objections. The accord, when legally 

 ratified, restores the bankrupt to his former situation. 

 If no accord is effected, the assembled creditors have 

 to appoint definitive trustees (syndics definitifs), and 

 a cashier to receive the monies arising from the in- 

 come or sale of the bankrupt's property. The duties 

 of these definitive trustees are the same with those 

 of the provisional trustees and the agents whom they 

 succeeded ; and the provisional trustees account 

 and transfer the affairs over to the definitive, 

 in the same manner as the agents had done to 

 them. Monthly reports are made to the commis- 

 sioner, who now has to fix the dividends. Prior to 

 the final division, the creditors are convened, under 

 the superintendence of the commissioner, and the fi- 

 nal account is submitted by the trustees. The com- 

 missioner, on the suggestion of the syndics, assigns 

 to the bankrupt's family their apparel and household 

 furniture. Wives, married with a stipulation for se- 

 parate property, or for community of goods accompa- 

 nied with a separate interest in immovable property, 

 retain the estate to which they are thus entitled, and 

 also such as may have accrued to them by succession 

 or donation. They are also entitled to retain perso- 

 nal property acquired by them, if it is the proceeds 

 of such estate, and the right to employ such estate 

 has been secured to them at the time when it came 

 into their possession. Except in such cases, the pn - 

 sumption of law is, that property acquired by the wife, 

 has been paid for from the estate of the husband, and 

 it is to be considered as belonging to him, unless she 

 can substantiate her claim to it. She has a right, 

 however, to articles of dress and furniture proved to 

 belong to her by the marriage contract, or to have 

 fallen to her by inheritance. Goods sold to the bank- 

 rupt may be reclaimed by the vender, if they are 

 still in transitu, and not yet delivered at the store- 

 house of the bankrupt, and have not been sold by him 

 on authority of the bill of lading, or other sufficient 

 authority. But all the bankrupt's advances for freight, 

 charges, &c. , on account of the goods, must first be 

 refunded. And so the price, for which the goods 

 consigned to the bankrupt for sale, on account and 



