'b 3}ittrufulio.
A committee of merchants and bankers has for some time been sitting in London upon the subject of bankruptcy and insolvency. On Tuesday they held a public meeting to present a report of their labours. Mr. Crawford, M.P., was in the chair. The report dealt with the bills of the Lord Chancellor and of Lord John Russell. The Debtor and Cre- ditor Bill was condemned as wholly bad. The bill of Lord John Rus- sell, Nadia containing many good provisions, does not deal with some of the most serious' defects of the law. The committee have received asuranee that Lord John's Bill shall bo amended in the following respects.
" The bill having proposed the abolition of the distinction between traders and non-traders, provided that the Court in Portugal Street with its officers should be dispensed with, it is to be amended by retaining such court and officers as ancillary to the Court in Basinghall Street for the purpose of dis- posing of cases where the assets do not exceed a given amount. Clauses are to be introduced rendering a debtor known to be insolvent liable to be sum- moned before the court to show cause why he should not be adjudged a bankrupt, and empowering the court to examine such debtor, and in case he appear to be insolvent to adjudge him to be a bankrupt ; with provisions to enable the court to order the immediate seizure of his property. It is proposed to insert these clauses in lieu of those relating to the debtor's sum- mons. It appears to your committee that the machinery of the court ought not to be put in motion merely to facilitate the recovery of debts by indi- vidual creditors, but that it should be used only to test the solvency of a debtor and of dealing with him and his property for the general benefit of all. The seizure of the goods of a debtor under an execution upon a judg- ment recovered for a money demand is to be made an act of bankruptcy. The creditors' assignees are to be authorized to appoint a trustee to wind np the bankrupt's estate ; but sonic officer of the court shall be associated with the creditors' assignees in the possession of the money produced by the es- tate, until' it shall be distributed. That where a bankrupt appears to the court to have been guilty of any misconduct, an indorsement of such mis- conduct under the hand of the commissioner, shall be made on the back of the certificate."
After some discussion the report was adopted. The commercial gentlemen from the country, however, were very anxious that one of
the recommendations should be the appointment of a paid assignee ; but to this the meeting did not consent.
A large meeting of the London Missionary Society was held in the Mansionhouse on Tuesday. The Lord Mayor presided, but unfortu- nately illness compelled him to retire before the proceedings were half over. Among those who spoke were Lord Shaftesbury, Mr. B. Scott, Mr. Cheetham, M.P., Mr. E. Ball, M.P., Sir Culling Eardley, and Dr. Legge, a missionary from China. The business of the meeting consisted in the carrying of resolutions, pledging them to the duty of extending the blessings of the gospel to the multitudinous population of China. Dr. Legge said that Lord Elgin has done his part. He has thrown open China to commerce ; and obtained the great boon of toleration for Chi- nese Christians. It will be our fault if missionary efforts do not succeed. Christianity has succeeded better in China than even trade and material comforts. He hoped to see Christianity universal in China, and did not for an instant doubt of the result.
The anniversary dinner in aid of the funds of the City Hospital for the Diseases of the Chest, on Wednesday, was marked by a striking incident. The Hospital has been 60001. in debt. Mr. Gurney, the treasurer, offered to give 1500/. if the remainder were contributed by others. The condition has been complied with. On Wednesday the secretary stated that the sum collected during the year amounted to 77601., thus covering the debt and leaving a surplus. Sir John Pakington, the chairman, cor- rectly described this as one of the noblest efforts ever made in the cause of charity in London city. The number of in-patients under treatment in the hospital last year was 314, and the out-patients were 6,925, the average attendance of each week being nearly 1000.
The annual general meeting of the Royal Literary Fund was held on Wednesday ; Earl Stanhope in the chair. From the report it appeared that 18401. had been granted in relief, of which amount 14551. had been assigned to forty-three men, and 3851. to fifteen women, Gf which latter sex nine were authoresses and six widows of literary men. The amount of subscriptions and donations for the past year, together with the re- ceipts of the anniversary dinner, amounted to 7151., and there still re- mained a balance in hand of 2051. 18. 8d. A letter was read from Mr. Charles Dickens announcing the prospect of an offer upon certain terms at present unknown. It was arranged that the committee should meet Mr. Dickens and the proposed benefactor, and learn the nature of the stipulations.
A large meeting of coalwhippers was held on Wednesday in White- chapel. It is known that these men were formerly hired at public- houses and paid at public-houses • and that the system was an intoler- able grievance and hardship to the men. Mr. Gladstone passed an act opening a Parliamentary office which operated as the middleman between the employers and employed. This beneficial act expired in 1856, and the coal owners promised to open and support an office of their own, which should perform the same functions as the old office. But this it has not done. The trade has fallen back into its old channels, and the publican and middleman are again in the ascendant. In short "the compulsory drinking system" is once more in full force. The remedy sought is in a revival of the Coalwhipper's Act; and Lord Kinnaird has introduced a bill for that purpose into the House of Lords. He attended the meeting on Wednesday, and declared his full sympathy with their objects. Some coalwhippers made extremely creditable and moderate speeches in support of their cause.
The annual report of Mr. Heywood, the engineer and surveyor to the City Court of Sewers, contains seine interesting facts. It is now known that 12,732 houses are drained ; the number about the drainage of which nothing is known is 3268. Many improvements have been made by setting back the fronts of houses, thereby widening thorough- fares. The number of cow-houses and slaughter-houses has been re- duced, and 4340 inspections of houses have been made. The water supply is not satisfactory. Mr. Heywood remarks that the falling of houses hag increased with increased supervision, and he deprecates the leaving so much to officials, thinking that it tends to weaken the sense of responsibility in builders.
Mr. Heywood, the engineer to the Corporation, in reporting on a pro- posed line of subway, calls for an ample investigation of its details. Mr. Carr, C.E. states the project to be a line of subway to begin at the Royal Exchange, pass through Cheapaide, the north side of St. Paul's, Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street, Strand, Charing Cross, and Parliament Street, to the Houses of Parliament, having stations every quarter of a mile on its length. Constructed at such a moderate depth beneath the street as to clear the gas and water pipes, it will be in the centre of the roadway, clear of the vaults and cellars. The rails and carriages are to be narrow, but with two lines of rails, so that each first-class carriage, like an old mail coach, would only carry two •passengers abreast, and each second-class carriage three passengers. Trains would run every four minutes; and, including stoppages, it is calculated the distance be- tween the termini would be worked in ten minutes. The system of trac- tion would be the endless rope, having stationary engines at each end, on the old Blackwell system.
Previous page
