THE BANKRUPTCY ACT

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2122, 3 July 1907, Page 3

THE BANKRUPTCY ACT

- DUNEDIN CHAMBER OF 1 COMMERCE. Tho sub-committee of tlio Dunedin Chamber of Commerce has reported upon tho recommendations forwarded ■ by the Auckland Chamber in respect to proposed amendments to the Bankruptcy Act.' The first clause , stated —-1. IVe approve tho resolution recently passed by the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, and submit that in view of the improved status of accountants in the colony of New Zealand it is inadvisable to appoint more assignees. The Auckland Chamber recommended that increased populotion and expansion of trade i n outlying portions of the bankruptcy district would seem to warrant the re-adjustment of the districts and the appointment of more assignees. Another recommendation of the Auckland Chamber was that one of more judges should be appointed, whose special business shall be bankruptcy work and who, 'when not sitting in open court, could -devote their time to supervising and advising their assignees. The answer - to this from the Dunedin Chamberwas:—“Under no circumstances conld we advise tho appointment of a ■ judge -whose spare, time is to be devoted to advising the official assignee "upon matters which may afterwards come before him in his judicial capacity.” As to strengthening the Act as suggested by the Auckland Chamber, the Dunedin Chamber considered it unnecessary. ,It also disapproved of alleged improvements to subsection 8, on the ground that one creditor could utilise the meeting as an act of bankruptcy and thus debar the majority from giving a debtor further time and assistance. With regard to a proposed new section, dcalino- with antecedent transactions, the Dunedin Chamber considered the clauses now in the Act sufficiently stringent; also with regard to a suggestion that at least one or two of the books'of account required to be kept, should be enumerated, and that failure to treat proceeds of sale of business as above should be a penal offence, the Dunedin Cham--berls recommendation was: —“The more draconic the legislation, the Jess useful it is for practical puposes. In our opinion, closer attention to the giving of credit would render the penal clauses unnecessary.” It also considered that the existing Act sufficiently protected the creditors in the matter of solicitous’ fees. Appended to tho recommendations was. a memo, from the Dunedin Chamber expressing the opinion that “The discontent which we believe is general throughout the colony in' connection with bankruptcy matters mr ’ be attributed to-tlie defective admin- | istration of the Act rather than its 1 letter. This expression of opinion is not intended to.convey any reflection ’• upon the work of individual official i assignees, but as a criticism of the 1 system. It seems to us impossible that any official can do commercial work as well as commercial men can i do it themselves, and we must emphasise our views that a reversal to the creditors’ trustees would be tho i best method of putting an end to the dissatisfaction which undoubtedly ... exists.”