Established 1875 Manawatu Times. TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1883. THE BANKRUPTCY LAWS.

Manawatu Times, Volume VIII, Issue 308, 10 July 1883, Page 2

Established 1875 Manawatu Times.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 1883. THE BANKRUPTCY LAWS.

" Worda'ure tl'iinrfs, and jv drop of'inlc fil'ibjj Hk* ' dew upc-iS n t. ! !6nffli^'pni'.lii»«9' thi.t whi>h makes . ihousamls, pcib:»iii million^ t.-btr\3c.-** ; ;

The Bankruptdy Bill now. .before the House has for its essential fea-t'ui-e 'f-he appoihtnient of official assignees., .The. object of the Bill is to take out of the ha.pds-of creditors, as' far as possible^ itheadmitjisti-a't tion of ban.kjru.pt estates, and place them it) thQ hands of Government officials," something after the style of the Public Trustee, whose duty would be to wind up the estate with the utmost, expedition consistent with profit' \y'fleth«r this will be an improvement upon the present method of creditors' trustees is, m ouiS ppinipp, iextpemejy .doubtful. -At present a trustee may be eith'ep a certificated accountant m bankruptcy, who is as a rule a professional man, or hejmay be one of the creditois elected to the position. The difficulty which has existed iiv working 'the Act i 'sb*far J *ha^ ' li'eeri, m; our opinion, the lack of proper susj peryision over the trustees. Once: elected, whether professional ac«j counjfcants oij -cr editors^, they have! had pretty well their owri^way, Jjeing 1 subject virtually to no supei vision, and declaring dividends or winding; up the estate whenever they pleased. 1 Would any improvement take place* if bankrupt estates were adininis-. tered *by ai G^veiinmept tpicial? We think not. A good average Accountant m Bankruptcy or ordi-. I naity commercjal man % is, as a rule T a| | better band at business than Go-' [ verriuent' officTals^whb 'are- naturally! red-tapeish and tartly. Besides, the. same lack of supervision' which has been the weak point of the present system would, affect the Omdiat assignees. , would need : *he' spur, m just theskitie^ w^y asere ( di-i 'tors' trustees -do now; j. What, w,e, 'Would therefore- like to see would /be something like this : That- the pre-i sent system of creditors' trustees^ either a creditor' 6v '' a -bertifiekted accountant, should remain ; but thai two creditors " should be associated with *th'e trtrstee as • ** BoardTof yAd* vice, wherever "the estate warrantied siich 1 a*cßurs v e v f andthut the trustee sftould every .three' mouths forward a repor't'^to'tfre Baukraptcr'€o^rt m ,-jyh.icK the cape -was -fixed, of the s|eps"wKicli had bieh' taken towards wih^din'g up the estate. "This 1 would be the most' effectual means of securing i ull , supervision . pf^eatates, and would "be, m our 1 opinion, abett'er means of administering vtha. Act than by official ■.assigneen.^ \