DEBTORS AND CREDITORS BILL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4539, 7 October 1875, Page 2

DEBTORS AND CREDITORS BILL.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sin, —I agree with ‘‘Junius” in thinking that that portion of the Bill which relates to the afteracquired property of the debtor is a mistake. It is unsuited to the circumstances of the colony. But tills part of the Bill could be struck out without at all spoiling the scheme of the rest of tho Bill, whioli I think is at any rate a very groat improvement indeed upon the existing system. It should be remembered too that these provisions are law at present, at least until tho debtor pays ten shillings in tile pound ; and though in the vast majority of bankruptcies in this colony nothing like ten shillings is paid, I believe there has hardly been a case in which these provisions as to after-acquired property have been made use of. So it would not appear to work such hardships as are stated.

The rest of the Bill is founded on the very excellent principle that the debtor and his creditors should arrange everything, if possible, privately, and only trouble tho Court if they cannot agree. This will relievo tho Courts of a lot of unnecessary work, diminish very much the expense of bankruptcies, and give the creditors full opportunity of realising the estate in tho beat and most prolitable manner. Ido not see how the debtor can be oppressed under this system. He can appeal to tho Court it necessary at every stage of the proceedings, which is practically his position now ; while on the other hand he will be saved the painful ordeal of having to go over all his misfortunes in open court. No doubt there are lots of amendments which might be made in the Bill, but no one has admitted this more readily than the Minister for Justice. Perhaps one of the most important of these is that suggested by Mr. Luckio, viz., above and beyond the procedure arranged by this Bill there should be liberty to wind up an estate by something akin to the present system of arrangement by deed, by which, if the creditors choose, they can take an assignment of all the debtor’s property, and at once let him go free, or perhaps take a fixed composition, and leave him his property. Only the method of getting such deeds declared completely executed should be greatly simplified. This would save all necessity for further applications to the Court, Gazette notices, meetings &c., and would bo the method most preferred by mercantile men. Itfcink it Mr. Bowen would throw overboard the part of the Bill relating to after-acquired property, or at any rate leave the House quite free to vote for or against it, apart from party considerations, he might yet carry the Bill, which has in the main received tho approval of the mercantile community throughout the colony. No doubt the Bill is not very agreeable to the legal profession or to the provisional trustees, but that is the best possible proof that tho Bill is a good one.—lam, &c., x.