BANK 
fce void at the time of the fale, the vendee fhall not pre- 
J'ent to the void turn, but the bankrupt himfelf, bec.aufe 
the void turn of a church is not valuable, i Hum’s Eccl. 
Law, 4ed. p. J25. The commiflioners may fell offices of 
inheritance and for terms of years ; but an office concern¬ 
ing the execution of juftice (and therefore within 5 and 6 
Kdw.VI. c. 16) cannot be fold. 1 Atk. 213. But a place 
that does not concern tiie execution of jultice, but only 
the police, may be fold, t Atk. 210, 215. If a mortgage 
is madefy a bankrupt, tenant in tail, without fuffering a 
reco'very; the affignees fball take adv at ;ge of this delect, 
and hold the land clear of th ‘ mortgage. 1 WHf. 276. 
The commiflioners may aflign a poflibility of right belong¬ 
ing to the bankrupt. 3 P. IVms. 132. 
When aflignec-s are chofen under a commiflion, all the 
eftate and eflefts of the bankrupt, whether they be goods 
in aftual pofleflion, or debts, contrails, and legacies, and 
other chofes in aftion, are veiled in them by alignment, 
(but until the aflignment the property is not transferred 
out of the bankrupt;) and every new acqirifltion previous 
to the certificate will velt in the affigne.es; but, as to future 
real eftates, there mull be a new aflignment of them. 1 
Atk. 253. Billing. 11S4. 1 P. IVms. 385, 6. The commif¬ 
lioners, by their warrant, may caufe any houfe or tene¬ 
ment of the bankrupt to be broken open, in order to enter 
and feize the fame. 2 Skew. 247. When the affignees are 
■chofen or approved by the creditors, the commiflioners 
are to aflign every thing over to them : and the property 
of every part of the ellate is thereby as fully veiled in 
them as it was in the bankrupt hirnlclf, and they have 
the fame remedies to recover it. 12 Mod. 324. 
The commiflioners in England may fell the bankrupt’s 
goods in Ireland; and (notwithftanding a ditilum of lord 
Mansfield to the contrary, Dougl 131) it feeins now deci¬ 
ded, that, by the aflignment of the commiflioners, all the 
bankrupt's property, whether in England or abroad, is 
conveyed to the ufe of his creditors. See Hunter z/- Potts, 
4 Perm. Rep. 182 ; and Cooke’s B. L. c.S. 
If a man fends bills of exchange, or configns a cargo, 
and the perfon to whom he fends them has paid the value 
before, though he did not know of the fending them at 
that time, the fending of them to the carrier will be fuf- 
ficient to prevent the affignees from taking thefe goods 
back, in cafe of an intervening aft of bankruptcy. 4 Burr. 
2239. But, if the goods were fent in contemplation of 
bankruptcy, and to give a preference to a former creditor, 
if the aft of bankruptcy is committed before the creditor 
receives the property, and aflents to it, the commiflioners 
may aflign it, as part.of the bankrupt’s effefts, and it will 
veft in the affignees. 4 Burr. 2235. All queltions of pre¬ 
ference turn upon the action being complete, before an 
aft of bankruptcy committed, for then the property is 
transferred ; otherwife an aft of bankruptcy intervening 
velts the property in the hands and difpofal of the law. 
If a man were to make a payment but the evening before 
be becomes a bankrupt, .independent of the aft of parlia¬ 
ment, and in a courfe of dealing and trade, it would be 
good. Where an aft is done that is right to be done, 
and the Angle motive is not to give an unjuft preference, 
the creditor will have a preference. Ccwp, 123. 
In the cafe Smith v. Payne, B.R.H. 35Geo.llI.6r. 
R. 152, it was determined, that where a creditor, know¬ 
ing his debtor to be in diftrefled circumftances, and unable 
to pay his debt, applied to him in the firft inftance about 
two months before his bankruptcy for a fecurity, and took 
part of his dock in trade for that purpofe, this was not 
.an undue preference, though the creditor did not threat¬ 
en to fue him in cafe of a refufal. 
If the merchant conflgns goods to a trader, and, before 
their arrival, the confignee becomes bankrupt, if tire mer¬ 
chant can prevent the goods getting into the bankrupt’s 
hands, the commiflioners’ aflignment will not affeft them. 
2 kern. 203. 1 Atk. 2^8. Cowp. 296. The future profits 
arifing from a bankrupt’s perfonal labour are not fubjeft 
Pv tr p T. 6 $7 
to the aflignment. Chippendale v. Tomlinfon, T. 25 
Geo. III. B. R. 
The 'property veiled in the affignees is tire whole that 
the bankrupt had in himfelf, at the time he committed the 
firft aft of bankruptcy, or that has been veiled in him 
fince, before his debts are fatisfied or agreed Tor; there¬ 
fore, when the commiflion is awarded, the commiflion, and 
the property of tire affignees, fliall have a relation, or re¬ 
ference, back to the firft and original aft of bankruptcy. 
4 Burr. 32. Infomuch, that all tranfaftions of the bank¬ 
rupt are, from that time, abfolutely null and void ; either 
with regard to the alienation of his property, or the re¬ 
ceipt of his debts, from fuch as are privy to his bankrupt¬ 
cy ; for they are no longer his property, or Iiis debts, but 
thofe of the future affignees. Therefore, even if a bank¬ 
er pay the draft of a trader keeping cafh with him after 
knowledge of an aft of bankruptcy, the affignees may re¬ 
cover the money. 2 Term Rep. 1 13. 3 Bro. C. R. 3x3. Ver¬ 
non v. Hankey, 2 TcrmRcp. 287. And, if an execution be 
fined out, but not fierved arid executed on the bankrupt’s 
effects till after the aft of bankruptcy, it is void as againft 
the affignees. But the king is not bound by this fictitious 
relation, nor is it within the ftatutes of bankrupts, (1 Atk. 
262. IV. Jones 202. 2 Show. 480.) for if, after the aft of 
bankruptcy committed, and before the aflignment of his 
effefts; an extent ilfues for the debt of the crown, the 
goods are bound thereby. Vin. Abr. 104. Cooke’sB.L. c.14. 
As thefe afts of bankruptcy however may fometitnes be 
fecret to all but a few, and it would be prejudicial to trade 
to carry this notion to its utmoft length, it is provided by 
19 Geo. II. c. 32, that no money paid by a bankrupt to a 
bond fide or real creditor, in a courfe of trade, even after 
an aft of bankruptcy done, fliall be liable to be refunded. 
Nor, by flat. 1 Jac.I. c. 15, fhall any debtor of a bank¬ 
rupt that pays him his debt, without knowing of his bank¬ 
ruptcy, be liable to account for it again. The intention 
of this relative power being only to reach fraudulent tranf¬ 
aftions, and not to dillrefs the fair trader. 
Sale of goods by a bankrupt after an act of bankruptcy 
is not merely void ; the contraft is good between the par¬ 
ties ; but it may be avoided by the commiflioners or af- 
fignees at pleafure; therefore they rnay either bring trover 
for the goods, as fuppofing the contract may be void, or 
may bring a debt or affiiimpfit for the value, which affirms 
the contract. T,Salk.$<). o.Term. Rep. 143. And fo, if a 
bankrupt, on the eve of bankruptcy, fraudulently deliver 
goods to a creditor. 4 Term Rep. 211. 
The affignees may purfue any legal method of recover¬ 
ing the property veiled in them, by their own authority ; 
but cannot commence a fuit in equity, nor compound anv 
debts owing to the bankrupt, nor refer any matters to ar¬ 
bitration, without the confent of the creditors, or the ma¬ 
jor part of them, in value, at a meeting to be held in pur- 
fiuance of notice in the Gazette. 5 Geo. IT c. 30. 1 Atk, 
91. Cooke’s B. L. c. 14. 
In the cafe, Bradley v. Clark,'B^R. Eaft. 33 Geo.III. 
5 T.R. 197, it was decided, that affignees, under the flat, 
10 Geo. II. c. 32, may recover money paid by a trader, af¬ 
ter a fecret aft of bankruptcy, to a carrier for the car¬ 
riage of goods ; this ftqtute being ftriftly confined by the 
courts to goods fold , and bills drawn. Inthe cafe, Brandon 
v. Pate, C.P. E. 34Geo. HI. 2 //. Bl. 308, it was deter¬ 
mined, that affignees may maintain an action of debt un¬ 
der the flat. 9 Anne, c. 14, for money loft at play by the 
bankrupt before the bankruptcy. And in the cafe, Smith 
v. Coffin, C.P. E. 35 Geo. III. 2 H. Bl. 144, it was de¬ 
cided, that the right to bring a real aftion paffies to the afi- 
fignees by the 11 final words of a deed of aflignment. In 
the cafe, Lewis v. Piercy, C.P.T. 28 Geo. III. 1 H. BL 
29, it-was determined, that infill ing in the lottery is not 
gaming within the meaning of the ftatute 5 Geo. I. c. 24. 
When they have got in all the elfefts they can reafona- 
bly hope for, and reduced them to ready money, the af- 
iigneesmuft, after four, and within twelve, months after 
the 
