CONGRESS. (UNIFORM SYSTEM OF BANKRUPTCY.) 



indirectly, any property of the estate in bankruptcy 

 of which he is referee; or (3) refused, while a ref- 

 eree or trustee, to permit a reasonable opportunity 

 for the inspection of the accounts relating to the 

 affairs of, and the papers and records of. estates in 

 his charge by parties in interest when directed by 

 the court so to do. 



"d. A person shall not be prosecuted for any 

 offense arising under this act unless the indictment 

 is found or the information is filed in court within 

 one year after the commission of the offense. 



:!(). Kuli-s, forms, and orders. a. All ne- 

 cessary rules, forms, and orders as to procedure and 

 for carrying this act into force and effect shall be 



Erescribed, and may be amended from time to time, 

 y the Supreme Court of the United States. 



:M. Computation of time. a. Whenever 

 time is enumerated by days in this act, or in any 

 proci'i'ilini; in bankruptcy, the number of days shall 

 be computed by excluding the first and including 

 the last, unless the last fall on a Sunday or holiday, 

 in which event the day last included shall be the 

 next day thereafter which is not a Sunday or a legal 

 holiday. 



" SEC. 32. Transfer of cases. a. In the event 

 petitions are filed against the same person, or against 

 different members of a partnership, in different 

 courtsof bankruptcy each of which has jurisdiction, 

 the cases shall be transferred, by order of the courts 

 relinquishing jurisdiction, to and be consolidated 

 by the one of such courts which can proceed with 

 the same for the greatest convenience of parties in 

 interest. 



" CHAPTER V. OFFICERS, THEIR DUTIES AND 

 COMPENSATION. 



" SEC. 33. Creation of two offices. a. The offices 

 of referee and trustee are hereby created. 



"SEC. 34. Appointment, removal, and districts 

 of referees. . Courts of bankruptcy shall, within 

 the territorial limits of which they respectively 

 have jurisdiction, (1) appoint referees, each for a 

 term of two years, and may, in their discretion, re- 

 move them because their services are not needed or 

 for other cause: and (2) designate, and from time to 

 time change, the limits of the districts of referees, 

 so that each county, where the services of a referee 

 are needed, may constitute at least one district. 



"SEC. 35. Qualifications of referees. a. Individ- 

 uals shall not be eligible to appointment as referees 

 unless they are respectively (1) competent to per- 

 form the duties of that office; (2) not holding any 

 office of profit or emolument under the laws of the 

 United States or of any State other than commis- 

 sioners of deeds, justices of the peace, masters in 

 chancery, or notaries public; (3) not related by con- 

 sanguinity or affinity, within the third degree as 

 determined by the common law, to any of the 

 judges of the courts of bankruptcy or circuit courts 

 of the United States, or of the justices or judges of 

 the appellate courts of the districts wherein they 

 may be appointed ; and (4) residents of, or have 

 their offices in, the territorial districts for which 

 they are to be appointed. 



"SEC. 36. Oatns of office of referees. a. Referees 

 shall take the same oath of office as that prescribed 

 for judges of United States courts. 



"SEC. 87. Number of referees. a. Such number 

 of referees shall be appointed as may be necessary 

 to assist in expeditions!? transacting the bankruptcy 

 business j>ending in the various courts of bank- 

 ruptcy. 



38. Jurisdiction of referees. a. Referees 

 respectively are hereby invested, subject always to 

 a review by tho judge, within the limits of their 

 districts as established from time to time, with juris- 

 diction to (1) consider all petitions referred to them 



by the clerks and make the adjudications or dis- 

 miss the petitions; (2) exercise the powers vested in 

 courts of bankruptcy for the administering of oaths 

 to and the examination of persons as witnesses and 

 for requiring the production of documents in pro- 

 ceedings before them, except the power of commit- 

 ment; (3) exercise the powers of the judge for the 

 1 aking possession and releasing of the property of 

 the bankrupt in the event of the issuance by" the 

 clerk of a certificate showing the absence of a judge 

 from the judicial district, or the division of the dis- 

 trict, or his sickness, or inability to act ; (4) perform 

 such part of the duties, except as to questions aris- 

 ing out of the applications of bankrupts for compo- 

 sitions or discharges, as arc by this act conferred on 

 courts of bankruptcy and as shall be prescribed by 

 rules or orders of the courts of bankruptcy of their 

 respective districts, except as herein otherwise pro- 

 vided; and (5) upon the application of the trustee 

 during the examination of the bankrupts, or other 

 proceedings, authorize the employment of stenogra- 

 phers at the expense of the estates at a compensa- 

 tion not to exceed 10 cents per folio for reporting 

 and transcribing the proceedings. 



"SEC. 39. Duties of referees. a. Referees shall 

 (1) declare dividends and prepare and deliver to 

 trustees dividend sheets showing the dividends de- 

 clared and to whom payable ; (2) examine all sched- 

 ules of property and lists of creditors filed by 

 bankrupts and cause such as are incomplete or de- 

 fective to be amended; (3) furnish such information 

 concerning the estates in process of administration 

 before them as may be requested by the parties in 

 interest; (4) give notices to creditors as herein pro- 

 vided; (5) make up records embodying the evidence, 

 or the substance thereof, as agreed upon by the 

 parties in all contested matters arising before them, 

 whenever requested to do so by cither of the parties 

 thereto, together with their findings therein, and 

 transmit them to the judges: (6) prepare and file 

 the schedules of property and list of creditors re- 

 quired to be filed by the bankrupts, or cause the 

 same to be done, when the bankrupts fail, refuse, or 

 neglect to do so; (7) safely keep, perfect, and trans- 

 mit to the clerks the records, herein required to be 

 kept by them, when the cases are concluded ; (8) 

 transmit to the clerks such papers as may be on file 

 before them whenever the same are needed in any 

 proceedings in courts, and in like manner secure the 

 return of such papers after they have been used, or 

 if it be impracticable to transmit the original papers, 

 transmit certified copies thereof by mail ; (9) upon 

 application of any party in interest, preserve the evi- 

 dence taken or the substance thereof as agreed 

 upon by the parties before them when a stenogra- 

 pher is not in attendance ; and (10) whenever their 

 respective offices are in the same cities or towns 

 where the courts of bankruptcy convene, call upon 

 and receive from the clerks all papers filed in courts 

 of bankruptcy which have been referred to them. 



" ft. Referees shall not (1) act inocascs in which 

 they are directly or indirectly interested ; (2) prac- 

 tice as attorneys and counselors at law in any 

 bankruptcy proceedings; or (3) purchase, direct!) 

 or indirectly, any property of an estate in bank- 

 ruptcy. 



"SEC. 40. Compensation of referees. a. Referee- 

 shall receive as full compensation for their services 

 payable after they are rendered, a fee of $10 depos- 

 ited with the clerk at. the time the petition is filed 

 in each case, except when a fee is not required from 

 a voluntary bankrupt, and from estates which havo 

 been administered before them 1 per cent, com- 

 missions on sums to be paid as dividends and com- 

 missions, or one half of 1 per cent, on the amount, 

 to be paid to creditors upon the confirmation of :. 

 composition. 



