The Court, having jurisdiction in bankruptcy shall be the Supreme Court in each district thereof, as constituted under “The Judicature Act, 1908.”

The Governor may from time to time by Proclamation declare that any District Court shall have jurisdiction in bankruptcy throughout the whole or any part of its district, as specified in such Proclamation, from a date mentioned therein.

From such date the Supreme Court shall cease to have any jurisdiction in bankruptcy in the said district or part thereof, as specified in such Proclamation, except in appeal cases, and except in regard to bankruptcies in respect to which proceedings, either before or after adjudication, have been taken prior to such date, and except in regard to bankruptcies the proceedings in which have been transferred to it under section eleven hereof; and after such date the District Court shall, except as aforesaid, be the Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy for the district or part thereof specified in such Proclamation.

Any such Proclamation may be revoked, or the boundaries of the district or part thereof affected thereby may from time to time be altered by the Governor by Proclamation, and such revocation or alteration shall take effect accordingly from the date specified in such Proclamation.

The Governor may from time to time by Proclamation declare that the Magistrate’s Court shall have jurisdiction in bankruptcy throughout the whole or any part of a district, to be specified or described in such Proclamation, in regard to all bankruptcies in which the liabilities of the bankrupt do not exceed three hundred pounds, as alleged by the bankrupt or the petitioning creditor in his petition as hereinafter provided.

From the date mentioned in such Proclamation for the coming into force thereof the Supreme Court shall cease to have any jurisdiction in bankruptcy in any such cases except in appeal cases, and except in regard to bankruptcies in respect to which proceedings, either before or after adjudication, have been taken prior to the date on which the said Proclamation came into force, and except in regard to bankruptcies the proceedings in which have been transferred to it under section eleven hereof; and after such date the Magistrate’s Court shall be the Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy in such cases in which the liabilities do not exceed three hundred pounds as aforesaid:

Provided that no such Proclamation shall be issued in respect of a district as defined therein within which a Supreme Court Judge resides:

Provided also that only those offices of the Magistrate’s Court specified in the Proclamation shall be offices of the Court for the purposes of bankruptcy business, and the Magistrates having jurisdiction in bankruptcy shall hold Courts in Bankruptcy only at such offices, or the Courtroom attached thereto or used therewith

The Governor may also from time to time appoint any one or more Magistrates to exercise jurisdiction in bankruptcy, and no other Magistrate shall exercise the powers of the Magistrate’s Court in bankruptcy save a Magistrate specially appointed for the purpose under this subsection.

For the purpose of determining whether any such Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction in any such case, the petition on which the order of adjudication is made, whether by a debtor or by a creditor, shall contain an allegation that the liabilities do not exceed three hundred pounds:

Provided that none of the proceedings in any such bankruptcy shall be invalidated by reason only that the liabilities exceed three hundred pounds; but in such case the Court otherwise having jurisdiction in such bankruptcy may, on the application of the debtor or any creditor, and whether before or after adjudication, order the proceedings to be transferred to such latter Court, and thereupon the proceedings shall be transferred accordingly, in like manner and with the like effect as if consequent upon a resolution of the creditors as specified in section eleven hereof.

Any such Proclamation may be revoked, or the boundaries of the district or part thereof affected thereby may be from time to time altered by the Governor by Proclamation; and such revocation or alteration shall take effect accordingly from the date specified in such Proclamation.

All Courts having jurisdiction in bankruptcy, and the officers of such Courts respectively, shall severally act in aid of and be auxiliary to each other in all bankruptcy matters; and an order of the Court seeking aid, together with a request to another of the said Courts, shall be deemed sufficient to enable the latter Court to exercise, in regard to the matters directed by such order, the like jurisdiction as the Court which made the request, as well as the Court to which the request is made, could exercise in similar matters within their respective jurisdictions.

Every Judge may exercise in any part of New Zealand all the powers of the Court, and may exercise in Chambers the whole or any part of the jurisdiction of the Court:

Provided that the public examination of a bankrupt, an application for an order of discharge, and an application to commit any person to prison for contempt of Court shall be heard and disposed of in open Court.

Every Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy shall have jurisdiction throughout New Zealand in regard to every bankruptcy where the adjudication was made within its own district or the proceedings have been transferred to it.

Every Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy may—

To decide questions of priorities.

To hear, determine, and make order where Assignee makes claim.

To punish.

To review orders.

To exercise other powers.

A District Court and a Magistrate’s Court shall, for the purposes of their bankruptcy jurisdiction, in addition to the ordinary powers of such Court, have all the powers and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; and the orders and decrees of such Court, or of any Judge thereof, shall be of the same force as if they were orders or decrees of the Supreme Court, or of any Judge thereof, and may be enforced by the District Court or Magistrate’s Court, as the case may be, in the same manner.

If any question of law arises in any bankruptcy proceeding in a District Court or Magistrate’s Court which the parties to the question desire, or which one of them and the Judge of the District Court or the Magistrate desire, to have determined in the first instance in the Supreme Court, the question shall be determined in the latter Court, and the proceedings, or such of them as may be required, shall be transmitted to the Supreme Court for the purposes of the determination.

Where the creditors resolve, by a special resolution, that it will be more convenient that the bankruptcy proceedings in any District Court or Magistrate’s Court should be transferred to the Supreme Court, or where the Judge of a District Court or the Magistrate certifies that in his opinion the bankruptcy would be more advantageously conducted in the Supreme Court, the petition shall be transferred to and all subsequent proceedings thereon had in the Supreme Court.

The preceding subsection shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to allow of the transfer of any proceedings from the Supreme Court to any District Court or Magistrate’s Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy.

Where the creditors by a special resolution resolve that it will be more convenient if the bankruptcy proceedings in the Supreme Court or a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court respectively in any district are transferred to the Supreme Court, or to any District Court or Magistrate’s Court respectively having jurisdiction in bankruptcy in any other district of such Court respectively, or where the Judge certifies that in his opinion the bankruptcy would be more advantageously conducted in the Supreme Court or in any District Court or Magistrate’s Court respectively having jurisdiction in bankruptcy in some other district of such Courts respectively, the petition shall be transferred to and all subsequent proceedings thereon had in the Supreme Court or in such District Court or Magistrate’s Court respectively in such other district.

Proceedings shall be transferred from one Court to another in such manner as may be prescribed.

On proceedings being transferred to any Court that Court shall thenceforth have exclusive jurisdiction in the matter of such proceedings.

All orders, affidavits, and proceedings made, used, or taken before the transfer shall have the same effect as if they had originally been orders, affidavits, and proceedings of and in the Court to which the transfer is made.

The Registrar, other than the Clerk of a Magistrate’s Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy, during any vacation, or during the illness or absence from any cause of a Judge of the Court from the place where the offices of the Court are situate, shall have all the powers, jurisdiction, and authority of the Court, save as is hereinafter mentioned; and any order made or act done by such Registrar in the exercise of such powers, jurisdiction, and authority shall be deemed the order and act of the Court.

A Registrar shall not have power—

A Judge may, by writing under his hand, delegate to the Registrar all or any of his powers in any particular bankruptcy or bankruptcies, except the powers conferred upon the Court by Part XIII of this Act, and the Registrar shall thereupon have the same power and jurisdiction as the Judge, and an order made by him shall be an order of the Court.

Any order made by a Registrar may be discharged or varied by a Judge at Chambers or in Court.

Every barrister or solicitor of the Supreme Court shall be and may practise as a solicitor of and in the Court when sitting in bankruptcy, and in matters before Judges or Registrars in Court or in Chambers, and solicitors may appear and be heard without being required to employ counsel.

Every person who, not being such barrister or solicitor, practises as a solicitor in the Court sitting in bankruptcy is guilty of a contempt of Court, and is, in addition, liable to the penalty provided in any other Act in respect of practice by unqualified or disqualified persons.

If in any proceeding in bankruptcy other than in a Magistrate’s Court there arises any question of fact which either of the parties desires to be tried before a jury instead of by the Court itself, or which the Court thinks ought to be tried by a jury, the Court may, if it thinks it a proper question to be tried by a jury, direct such trial to be had with a jury, and such trial may be had accordingly in the Supreme Court in the same manner as if it were the trial of an issue of fact in an action, and in the District Court in the manner in which jury trials in ordinary cases are by law held in District Courts.

The Court shall not be subject to be restrained in the execution of its powers under this Act by the order of any other Court, nor shall any appeals to any other Court lie from its decisions except in manner directed by this Act.

Decisions in bankruptcy matters shall be subject to appeal as follows:—

Provided that, as regards decisions of the Supreme Court on appeal from the District Court or Magistrate’s Court, no appeal shall lie except with the leave of the Judge hearing the appeal in the Supreme Court.

No appeal shall be brought after twenty-one days from the time at which the order embodying the decision appealed from is signed, sealed, or otherwise perfected, or, in the case of the refusal of an application, from the date of such refusal:

Provided that the Court appealed to may, if it thinks fit, allow an appeal to be commenced and prosecuted notwithstanding the expiration of that time.

No appeal shall be entertained under this Act except in conformity with the rules of Court relating to appeals.

No appeal shall be brought in respect of the omission by the Court appealed from to exercise any discretionary power, unless the Court expressly refused in its judgment, or on application made at the hearing, to exercise such power, in which case the refusal may be made a ground of appeal.

Proceedings under this Act shall not be stayed by appeal unless the Court from which the appeal is brought thinks fit to order proceedings to be stayed.

The Court appealed to may in any case, either on motion before the hearing of an appeal or when deciding thereon, order any such proceedings to be taken as in the circumstances appear to it proper for the due and convenient prosecution of the proceedings under the bankruptcy, although the time fixed for such proceedings has expired.

The Court may at any time, upon such terms (if any) as it thinks fit, amend all defects and errors in any proceedings, whether there is anything in writing to amend or not, and whether the defect or error is that of the party applying to amend or not.

Where by this Act or by the rules the time for doing any act or thing is limited, the Court may extend the time, either before or after the expiration thereof, upon such terms (if any) as it thinks fit to impose.

The Court shall, as far as practicable, have fixed days for sitting in bankruptcy, to be appointed by the Judge.

Subject to the rules, the Court may in any matter take the whole or any part of the evidence either viva voce before the Court, or by written interrogatories, or upon affidavit, or by commission abroad, as the Judge in any case thinks fit.

All summonses and processes shall be sealed or stamped with the seal of the Court.

Subject to the rules, all bankruptcy matters shall be entitled “In bankruptcy.”

Subject to the provisions of this Act, rules for carrying into effect the objects of this Act may from time to time be made in the manner prescribed by “The Judicature Act, 1908.”

All such rules shall take effect from a day, not being earlier than the expiration of one month after the publication of the same in the Gazette, to be fixed in and by such rules.

There shall be appointed by the Governor, for each district of the Supreme Court, an Official Assignee or Official Assignees of bankrupts’ estates, who shall be officers of the Court:

Provided that one person may be appointed for more than one district.

The Governor may, by writing under his hand, appoint a fit person to be deputy of the Assignee in the management of any particular estate, or generally as to any bankrupt estates.

Every deputy so appointed shall, with respect to the matters placed under his management, have and may exercise all the powers and duties of an Assignee, and shall receive such remuneration as the Governor in each case by any general rule directs.

Every deputy shall act under the control and direction of the Official Assignee of the district.

In the event of the illness or temporary absence of the Official Assignee, the Governor may appoint a person to be Acting Official Assignee during such illness or temporary absence, upon such terms as the Governor thinks fit.

Any such Acting Official Assignee may exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of the Official Assignee in the name of the Official Assignee.

Assignees shall be paid such salaries as are from time to time appropriated by Parliament for the purpose, or such other remuneration by way of commission on receipts or otherwise as the Governor directs.

Every Official Assignee and Deputy Assignee respectively shall have a public office, open to the public for such hours as are from time to time fixed as the hours of business in the ordinary Government offices.

Appointments of Assignees, Deputy Assignees, and Acting Official Assignees respectively may be made from time to time, and shall be held during the pleasure of the Governor.

A notice in the Gazette of the appointment or of the dismissal or resignation or vacation of office of an Official Assignee or Deputy Assignee, or Acting Official Assignee, respectively shall be conclusive evidence of the appointment, dismissal, or resignation or vacation of office of the person therein named.

Every person so appointed as an Assignee or Deputy Assignee shall give security to the satisfaction of the Minister of Justice for the due performance of his duties, and in such amount as the Minister in each case requires.

The Minister of Justice in any case may from time to time vary the amount of the security required from any Assignee or Deputy Assignee, either by diminishing or increasing the amount thereof.

A person shall not continue to act as Assignee for any bankrupt estate of which he is a creditor otherwise than as Assignee of the property of any bankrupt, if the creditors by special resolution declare that they do not desire him to continue to act as Assignee thereof; and in such case the Court shall appoint some person, not being a creditor, to be Assignee in the particular matter, who shall give such security for due performance of his duties as the Court requires, and shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of the Official Assignee in regard to that particular estate, and shall be paid such remuneration out of the estate as the Court directs.

If an Assignee dies, or becomes incapable of acting, or resigns, or leaves New Zealand for any longer period than three days without the written consent of the Minister of Justice, or becomes bankrupt, he shall ipso facto vacate his office, and another shall be appointed in his place.

No payments shall be allowed in the accounts of an Assignee in respect of the ordinary duties which are required by or under statute or rules to be performed by him, and no commissions or discounts received by or allowed to an Assignee in respect of sales, advertisements, or otherwise shall be retained by the Assignee for his private use, but shall form part of the assets of the estate in respect of which he received the same.

The Assignee may sue and be sued by the official name of “The Official Assignee in Bankruptcy of the Property of [Inserting the name of the bankrupt],” and by that name may hold property of every description, make contracts, sue and be sued, enter into any engagement binding upon himself and his successors in office, carry on the business, and do all other acts necessary or expedient to be done in the execution of his office.

In case of the subsequent appointment of an Assignee in the place of an Assignee formerly acting in respect of a bankrupt’s estate, whether in consequence of the death, resignation, or dismissal or vacation of office of an Assignee, or in case of the transfer of the proceedings to another Court, the property of the bankrupt shall pass from Assignee to Assignee, and shall vest in the Assignee for the time being during his continuance in office, without any conveyance, assignment, or transfer.

All matters and transactions left uncompleted by the former Assignee shall be completed or otherwise dealt with by the new Assignee.

The Assignee shall have a seal of office, which shall be kept and used by him, and shall be applicable to all estates of which he has charge.

The Assignee shall execute all documents which he has to sign for the purposes of this Act by signing his private name over the official name, as before mentioned, and affixing thereto his seal of office.

A debtor commits an act of bankruptcy in each of the following cases:—

Assignment to trustees for benefit of creditors.

Fraudulent conveyance.

Fraudulent preference.

Departing from New Zealand, &c., with intent to defeat creditors.

Filing debtor’s petition.

Not paying judgment debt on serving of bankruptcy notice.

Giving notice of suspension of payment.

Calling meeting of creditors at which debtor is asked to file.

Suffering possession to be taken under execution.

Suffering execution on which return of nulla bona is made.

Suffering writ of sale to be advertised against land.

All proceedings in bankruptcy shall be commenced by a petition filed in the Court.

A bankruptcy petition may be filed either by the debtor or by a creditor, and on the filing thereof a fee of six pounds, or such other sum as is from time to time prescribed, shall be paid.

A bankruptcy petition shall be filed—

When debtor resident in New Zealand.

When petition against two or more debtors carrying on business in more than one place.

When debtor in custody.

When debtor absent from New Zealand.

When debtor never resident in New Zealand.

Where Court has more than one office.

Nothing in this section shall invalidate a proceeding by reason of its being taken in a wrong Court; but in such case the Court in which the proceedings have been taken may, on the application of the debtor or any creditor, order the proceedings to be transferred to the Court in which they should have been taken, and thereupon the proceedings shall be transferred in like manner and with the like effect as if consequent upon a resolution of the creditors as set forth in section eleven hereof; and if no such transfer is made the proceedings shall be deemed to have been taken in the proper Court.

The signature of the petitioning debtor or creditor shall be attested by the Registrar, or by a solicitor or a Justice, or, if the petition is signed out of New Zealand, by a notary public; and the identity of the petitioning debtor or creditor shall be deemed to be proved if the signature of the petitioner to the petition is so attested.

If a debtor by or against whom a bankruptcy petition is filed dies, the proceedings in the matter shall, unless the Court otherwise orders, be continued as if he were alive.

A petition shall not after filing be withdrawn without the leave of the Court.

A debtor’s petition shall be in or to the effect of the form numbered (1) in the Second Schedule hereto; and no order adjudging the debtor a bankrupt shall be required thereupon, but the filing of such a petition shall in itself be in all respects equivalent to an order of Court adjudging the debtor a bankrupt; and all terms in this Act, or in any rules thereunder, referring to adjudication and its consequences, shall, where not inconsistent with the context, be deemed to include the case of a debtor becoming bankrupt on his own petition.

Any two or more persons being partners may file a joint petition, and it shall have the effect of an order of adjudication against them jointly, and against each of them separately.

A creditor’s petition shall be in or to the effect of the form numbered (2) in the Second Schedule hereto.

A creditor shall not be entitled to file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor unless—

If the petitioning creditor is a secured creditor he must in his petition either state that he is willing to give up his security for the benefit of the creditors in the event of the debtor being adjudicated a bankrupt, or give an estimate of the value of his security; and in the latter case he may be admitted as a petitioning creditor to the extent of the balance of the debt due to him after deducting the value so estimated.

A creditor’s petition shall be verified by affidavit of the creditor or of some person having knowledge of the facts, and filed in the Court.

On the filing of a creditor’s petition in the Court, a summons shall be issued out of such Court calling upon the debtor to appear before such Court on some convenient day appointed by the Registrar, and show cause why he should not be adjudged bankrupt.

A copy of such summons and petition shall forthwith be served upon the debtor, either personally or in such other mode as is prescribed or is in any particular case directed by the Court.

If the act of bankruptcy alleged is that the debtor has made a conveyance or assignment of his property to a trustee or trustees for the benefit of his creditors generally, a copy of such summons or petition shall also be served on such trustee or trustees, and if it appears to the Court that it will be for the advantage of the creditors that the estate should be administered under the said deed, the Court may order that the execution of the deed shall not be deemed to be an act of bankruptcy, and that the estate shall be administered thereunder, and may dismiss the petition and make such order as to costs as it deems fit, and such costs if made payable to the petitioner may be ordered to be paid out of the estate.

The Court may, at any time before such summons is disposed of, summon before it and examine any person who is stated by affidavit to be capable of giving information concerning any act of bankruptcy alleged to have been committed by the debtor, and may require any person so summoned to produce any books and documents in his custody, possession, or power.

If the Court, after hearing the evidence adduced by and on behalf of all parties, is satisfied that the copy summons and petition have been duly served, that the debtor has committed an act of bankruptcy within the time before mentioned, whether or not the act of bankruptcy proved is the same as the act of bankruptcy stated in the petition, and that the debtor is indebted to the petitioner or petitioners in the sum of thirty pounds and upwards, then the Court may adjudge the debtor bankrupt.

If the Court is not satisfied with the proof of the petitioning creditor’s debt, or of the act of bankruptcy, or of the service of the summons and petition, or is satisfied by the debtor that he is able to pay his debts, or that for other sufficient cause no order ought to be made, the Court may dismiss the petition.

When the act of bankruptcy relied on is non-compliance with a bankruptcy notice to pay, secure, or compound for a judgment debt, the Court may, if it thinks fit, stay or dismiss the petition on the ground that an appeal is pending from the judgment.

Where the debtor appears on the petition, and denies that he is indebted to the petitioner, or that he is indebted to such an amount as would justify the petitioner in presenting a petition against him, the Court, on such security (if any) being given as the Court requires for payment to the petitioner of any debt which may be established against him in due course of law, and of the costs of establishing the debt, may, instead of dismissing the petition, stay all proceedings on the petition for such time as is required for trial of the question relating to the debt.

Where the proceedings are stayed, the Court may, if by reason of the delay caused by the proceedings, or for any other cause it thinks just, make an order of adjudication on the petition of some other creditor, and shall thereupon dismiss on such terms as it thinks just the petition on which proceedings have been stayed as aforesaid.

The Court may if it thinks fit, on the application of any creditor, at any time after the filing of a creditor’s petition against a debtor, and before adjudication, appoint the Official Assignee to be the receiver and manager of the debtor’s estate, or of any part thereof, and direct him to take immediate possession of his property or business, or any part thereof; and, upon notice of such order being advertised, all proceedings to recover any debt provable under the petition shall be stayed; but the Court may, on application by any creditor or person interested, allow any proceedings commenced to be continued on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.

The Court may, at any time after the filing of a bankruptcy petition, stay any action, execution, or other legal process against the property or person of the debtor; and any Court in which proceedings are pending against a debtor may, on proof that a bankruptcy petition has been filed by or against the debtor, either stay the proceedings or allow them to continue on such terms as it thinks fit.

Where two or more bankruptcy petitions are filed against the same debtor, or against joint debtors, the Court may consolidate the proceedings, or any of them, on such terms as it thinks fit.

Where the petitioner does not proceed with due diligence on his petition, the Court may substitute as petitioner any other creditor to whom the debtor is indebted in the amount required by this Act in the case of a petitioning creditor.

The Court may at any time make an order staying the proceedings under a bankruptcy petition either altogether or for a limited time, on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Court thinks fit.

Any creditor, whose debt is sufficient to entitle him to present a bankruptcy petition against all the partners of a firm, may file a petition against any one or more partners of the firm without including the others.

A petition may be filed against any one or more persons carrying on business in the name of a firm under the name of such firm, to be served in such mode as the Court directs; but in such case the Court may, on application by any person interested, order the names of the persons who are partners in such firm, or the name of such person, to be disclosed in such manner and verified on oath or otherwise as the Court directs.

Where there are more respondents than one to a petition the Court may dismiss the petition as to one or more of them without prejudice to the effect of the petition as against the other or others of them.

The date of the filing of a debtor’s petition, or the date of the order of the Court adjudging a person to be a bankrupt on a creditor’s petition, shall be the date of the adjudication for the purposes of this Act.

The Registrar, immediately upon adjudication, shall give notice thereof to the Assignee.

Notice of every adjudication, and of the date thereof, shall in every case forthwith be advertised by the Assignee.

Upon adjudication all the property of the bankrupt, whatsoever and wheresoever situate, shall vest in the Official Assignee of the Court in which the order of adjudication was made, as such Official Assignee:

Provided that if the proceedings are transferred to another Court, or to the same Court in another district, the said property shall (without prejudice to any disposition thereof made by the Assignee before such transfer) pass to the Assignee of the Court to which the transfer is made, who shall thereafter be the Official Assignee of the property of the said bankrupt.

Upon the adjudication being advertised, all proceedings to recover any debt provable under the bankruptcy shall be stayed; but the Court may, on application by any creditor or person interested, allow any proceedings commenced to be continued, on such terms and conditions as it thinks just.

Upon the adjudication being advertised, no execution, attachment, or other process against the debtor’s property in respect of any debt provable under the bankruptcy, and no process against his person in respect of any debt provable under the bankruptcy, other than such process as may be had against a debtor about to depart out of New Zealand, shall be available without leave of the Court.

Upon the adjudication being advertised, no distress for rent due by the bankrupt shall be levied, but, if previously levied, may be proceeded with.

Nothing in this Act shall prejudice or affect the right of any local authority to recover judgment for rates against any bankrupt, and to enforce payment of the same by selling or leasing the land in respect of which such rates are payable, in accordance with the provisions of any Act relating to rates and the recovery thereof.

The order of adjudication shall be final and conclusive with respect to the validity of the adjudication and to the existence of all requisites thereto; and the order shall not be liable to be disturbed or impeached at law or in equity, or otherwise, on any ground whatever, nor shall any of the requisites to adjudication be disputed or required to be proved in any action, suit, or proceeding.

The bankruptcy of a debtor, if the same takes place on the petition of a creditor, shall be deemed to have relation back and to commence at the time of the act of bankruptcy on which the order is made adjudging him a bankrupt, or, if the same takes place upon the debtor’s own petition, to have relation back to and to commence at the time of the filing of the petition; but in either case, or if the bankrupt is proved to have committed more acts of bankruptcy than one, the bankruptcy shall have relation back to and commence at the time of the first of the acts of bankruptcy proved to have been committed by the bankrupt within three months next preceding the order of adjudication, or time of filing, as the case may be:

Provided that the bankruptcy shall not relate to any prior act of bankruptcy, unless it is that at the time of committing such prior act the bankrupt was indebted to some creditor in a sum sufficient to support a petition in bankruptcy, and unless such debt is still remaining due at the time of the adjudication.

Where a judgment debtor, on the return of a judgment summons, under “The Imprisonment for Debt Limitation Act, 1908,” proves that he has been adjudicated a bankrupt, and that the debt is provable in the bankruptcy, no order of committal shall be made.

Where a judgment debtor, after the making of an order of committal against him under the last-mentioned Act, files in the Court in which the order was made an affidavit stating that he has been adjudicated a bankrupt, and that the debt was provable in the bankruptcy, annexing to such affidavit a certificate of the Registrar certifying to the fact of adjudication, and shall forthwith upon such affidavit being so filed give notice to the judgment creditor of the filing thereof, such order of committal shall not issue, and if issued and not executed shall be recalled.

Where a judgment debtor is arrested, he may file in the Court upon whose warrant of committal he has been arrested an affidavit as mentioned in the last preceding subsection, and give the notice to the judgment creditor thereof as therein required, and thereupon the judgment debtor shall be discharged out of custody upon the certificate of the Registrar or Clerk of the Court upon whose warrant of committal he was arrested.

At the first general meeting of creditors, or at any subsequent meeting, the creditors may by resolution appoint one or more fit persons, being creditors qualified to vote at the meeting, or the holders of general proxies from such creditors, to be a supervisor or supervisors for the purpose of superintending the administration of the bankrupt’s property by the Assignee.

The creditors may determine what remuneration shall be paid out of the estate to the supervisor or supervisors for their services, but so that the sum to be paid to them shall not exceed the scale set forth in the Third Schedule hereto.

Any supervisor may resign his office by notice in writing signed by him and delivered to the Assignee.

If a supervisor becomes bankrupt his office shall thereupon become vacant.

Any supervisor may be removed by an ordinary resolution at any meeting of creditors, of which seven days’ notice has been given, stating the object of the meeting.

On a vacancy occurring in the office of supervisor the Assignee may summon a meeting of creditors for the purpose of filling the vacancy; and the meeting may by resolution appoint another creditor, or other person eligible as aforesaid, to fill the vacancy.

The supervisors, if more than one, shall meet at such times as they from time to time appoint, and the Assignee, or one of the supervisors, may also call a meeting of the supervisors as and when he thinks necessary.

The supervisors, if more than one, may act by a majority present at a meeting, but shall not act unless a majority of them are present at a meeting.

When a supervisor, if there are more than one, is absent from three consecutive meetings, his office shall thereupon become vacant.

The continuing supervisors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body.

The bankrupt shall, within three days after adjudication, make out and deliver to the Assignee at his public office a statement showing the particulars of the bankrupt’s assets, debts, and liabilities, the names, residences, and occupations of his creditors, and the securities held by them respectively, and he may from time to time add to or amend such statement.

Every such statement, addition, and amendment shall be verified by the bankrupt by affidavit.

Any person claiming in writing to be a creditor of the bankrupt may, personally or by agent, inspect this statement at all reasonable times, and take any copy thereof or extract therefrom; but any person untruthfully so claiming to be a creditor shall be guilty of a contempt of Court.

Any other person may, on payment, of a fee of one shilling, inspect this statement at all reasonable times and take any copy thereof or extract therefrom.

Immediately upon adjudication the bankrupt shall deliver up to the Assignee, at his public office, all books of account, papers, deeds, instruments, and writings relating to his estate in his custody or power, and discover such as are in the custody or power of any other person; and shall furnish from time to time such information and particulars as are necessary to enable the Assignee or any person employed by him to prepare the bankrupt’s balance-sheet of his estate.

The bankrupt shall, if required by the Assignee, or by the supervisors, or by resolution of the creditors, within a reasonable time after receiving notice of such requisition, prepare and deliver to the Assignee, at his public office, full, true, and particular accounts and balance-sheets, showing the particulars of his receipts and expenditure, of his stock-takings, and of his proofs and losses during any period not being earlier than three years before the commencement of the bankruptcy, and for this purpose he shall have full access to all his books and papers in the possession of the Assignee, and, if necessary in the opinion of the Assignee, he shall have the assistance of an accountant at the expense of the estate.

The bankrupt shall to the utmost of his power aid in the realisation of his property, and the distribution of the proceeds amongst his creditors; and, more particularly, shall—

To give inventories, &c.;

Submit to examinations;

Attend meetings;

Execute deeds, &c.

Submit to examination at meetings;

Do things to enable life to be insured.

The property of the bankrupt passing to the Assignee and divisible amongst his creditors shall comprise the following particulars:—

Property vested or acquired before discharge.

Capacity to exercise powers.

Goods in order and disposition of bankrupt.

Property held in trust not to pass to Assignee.

If at any time before the date of an absolute order of discharge, or before the taking-effect of a conditional order of discharge, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Court, either by the signed statements of the examination of the bankrupt or other persons before the Assignee, or by affidavit, or by the evidence of witnesses taken by the Court on the hearing of the application, that a bankrupt, after a reasonable allowance for the maintenance of himself and his family, and the payment of debts, claims, and demands not provable under the bankruptcy, is able, from any source, to pay any sum towards the discharge of debts provable under the bankruptcy, the Court, after hearing any evidence which the bankrupt may tender, or, in case of his non-appearance, upon proof that he was served with notice of the application at least three days before the day of hearing, may make an order to the effect that, within a time therein specified, the bankrupt shall pay to the Assignee such sum towards the discharge of debts provable under the bankruptcy as the Court is satisfied the bankrupt is able to pay as aforesaid.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Assignee may do all or any of the following things:—

Sell property;

Give receipts and discharges for money;

Claim dividends;

Exercise powers;

Carry on business of bankrupt;

Bring or defend action;

Employ solicitor or expert.

Take security for purchase-money;

Mortgage bankrupt’s property;

Refer disputes to arbitration;

Compromise with creditors;

Compromise claims arising out of bankrupt’s property;

Divide debtor’s property in its existing form;

Appear in Court;

Administer oaths;

Appoint agent or attorney.

Provided that the powers hereby conferred upon the Assignee shall be in furtherance of and not in limitation of all other powers in anywise vested in him.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Assignee shall, in the administration of the property of the bankrupt and in the distribution thereof among his creditors, have regard to any directions given by resolution of the creditors at any general meeting, or by the supervisors; and any directions so given by the creditors at any general meeting shall, in case of conflict, be deemed to override any directions given by the supervisors.

Subject to the provisions of this Act the Assignee shall use his own discretion in the management of the estate and its distribution among the creditors.

The Assignee may apply to the Court, upon a statement in writing, verified by affidavit, for the opinion, advice, or direction of the Court on any question respecting the management of the estate, and notice of such application shall be served upon, and the hearing thereof may be attended by, all persons interested, or such of them as the Court thinks expedient.

The Assignee, acting upon the opinion, advice, or direction of the Court, shall be deemed to have discharged his duty in the subject-matter of the application, provided that he has not been guilty of any fraud or wilful concealment or misrepresentation in obtaining such opinion, advice, or direction.

If the bankrupt, or any of the creditors, or any other person is aggrieved by any act or decision of the Assignee, he may, within thirty days from the date of such act or decision, apply to the Court, and the Court may confirm, reverse, or modify the act or decision complained of, and make such order in the premises as it thinks just.

After adjudication neither the bankrupt nor any person claiming through or under him shall have power to recover any property, or to make any release or discharge thereof, nor shall the same be attached for any debt of the bankrupt by any person, and the Assignee for the time being shall have the like remedy to recover the same in his official name as the bankrupt himself might have had if he had not been adjudicated a bankrupt.

A bankrupt after adjudication shall not execute, whether before or after he obtains his discharge, any power of appointment, or any other power vested in him, so as to defeat or destroy any contingent or other estate or interest in any property to which he may be beneficially entitled at any time before his discharge, in default of appointment or otherwise in case of non-execution of the power.

If any person on examination under the provisions of this Act admits that he is indebted to the bankrupt, the Court may at any time thereafter, on application of the Assignee, and on proof that such person refuses to pay the amount admitted to be owing by him to the Assignee, order him to pay to the Assignee, at such time and manner as the Court thinks expedient, the amount admitted or any part thereof, either in full discharge of the whole amount in question or not, as the Court thinks fit, with or without the costs of the order.

The Assignee may, but with the sanction of the supervisors (if any), appoint the bankrupt himself, or any other person whom he thinks fit, to superintend the management of the estate or to carry on the trade or business of the bankrupt on behalf of the creditors, and in all or any other respects to aid in administering the bankrupt’s estate and effects in such manner and on such terms, whether as to payment for his services or otherwise, as the Assignee and the supervisors (if any) think best for the benefit of the creditors.

The Assignee may from time to time, with the consent of the creditors expressed by resolution, make such allowance as he thinks just to the bankrupt out of his property for the support of the bankrupt and his family; but any such allowance may be reduced by the Court, on the application of any creditor.

Under every adjudication made against two or more persons jointly, distinct accounts shall be kept by the Assignee of the joint estate and also of the separate estate of each bankrupt; and the joint estate shall be applied in the first place in satisfaction of the debts due by the bankrupts jointly, and the separate estate shall be applied in the first place in satisfaction of the debts of the separate creditors; and in case there is a surplus of the separate estate, such surplus shall be carried to the account of the joint estate; and in case there is a surplus of the joint estate, such surplus shall be carried to the account of the separate estate of each bankrupt in proportion to the right and interest of each bankrupt in the joint estate.

When a member of a partnership is adjudged bankrupt, the Court may authorise the Assignee to commence and prosecute any action in the names of the Assignee and of the bankrupt’s partner; and any release by such partner of the debt or demand to which the action relates shall be void; but notice of the application for authority to commence the action shall be given to him, and he may show cause against it, and on his application the Court may, if it thinks fit, direct that he shall receive his proper share of the proceeds of the action, and if he does not claim any benefit therefrom he shall be indemnified against costs in respect thereof as the Court directs.

When a bankrupt is a contractor in respect of any contract jointly with any person, such person may sue or be sued in respect of the contract without the joinder of the bankrupt.

Any settlement of property, not being a settlement made before and in consideration of marriage, or made in favour of a purchaser or incumbrancer in good faith and for valuable consideration, or a settlement made on or for the wife or children of the settlor of property which has accrued to the settlor after marriage in right of his wife,—

An Assignee may by summons apply to a Judge in any case in which a husband has, within two years before the date of adjudication, erected buildings upon or otherwise improved land of his wife, or has purchased land in her name, or provided money to purchase land in her name or on her behalf.

The Judge may, upon hearing such summons, ascertain the value of the improvements, or the amount expended or paid upon or for such land, by or on behalf of the husband, and may order the wife to pay the amount so ascertained to the Assignee.

In case the wife fails to comply with such order, the Judge, by the same or a subsequent order, may direct the Assignee to sell such land with the improvements thereon, or a sufficient part thereof, and to convey or transfer the same to the purchaser; and the Judge may make all vesting or other orders necessary for that purpose.

The Assignee shall retain the whole or so much of the amount so ascertained as is sufficient, along with any other assets in the estate, to pay twenty shillings in the pound to the creditors of the husband, and the whole of the balance of such proceeds shall be paid to the wife or for her benefit.

On any such application evidence may be given either orally or on affidavit, or partly in both such ways, and on any appeal the Court may, if it sees fit, allow further evidence to be adduced.

The costs of the proceedings shall be in the discretion of the Judge.

The provisions of the two last preceding sections shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to a wife who is adjudicated a bankrupt, and in any such case the word “husband” shall be read as “wife,” and the word “wife” shall be read as “husband.”

Any covenant or contract made by a debtor in consideration of marriage for the future payment to, or for the settlement upon or for his wife or children, of any money or property wherein he had not at the date of his marriage any estate or interest, whether vested or contingent, in possession or remainder, and not being money or property of or in right of his wife, shall, upon his being adjudicated a bankrupt before or within three months after such property or money has been actually transferred or paid pursuant to such contract or covenant, be void against the Assignee.

Every conveyance or transfer of property, or charge thereon made, every payment made, every obligation incurred, and every judicial proceeding taken or suffered by any person unable to pay his debts as they become due from his own money, in favour of any creditor, or any person in trust for any creditor, with a view to giving that creditor a preference over the other creditors, shall, if the person making, taking, paying, or suffering the same is adjudged bankrupt within three months after the date of making, taking, paying, or suffering the same, be deemed fraudulent and void as against the Official Assignee.

Every instrument by way of security under “The Chattels Transfer Act, 1908,” over any property of a bankrupt shall be null and void as against the Assignee of the bankrupt’s estate if executed within four months prior to the adjudication, except as to money actually advanced or paid, or the actual price or value of goods sold or supplied by the grantee of the security to the grantor at the time of or at any time after the execution thereof. Any unpaid purchase-money for any property shall be deemed to be money actually advanced at the time of execution:

Provided that the instrument for securing the same is executed within twenty-one days after the sale of the property.

This section shall not affect the rights of a purchaser, payee, or incumbrancer in good faith and for valuable consideration.

Where a creditor has issued execution against the goods or lands of a debtor, or has attached any debt due to him, he shall not be entitled to retain the benefit of the execution or attachment as against the Assignee on the debtor becoming a bankrupt unless he has completed the execution or attachment before the date of the adjudication and before notice of the filing of any bankruptcy petition against the debtor, or of the commission of any available act of bankruptcy by the debtor.

For the purposes of this Act, an execution against goods is completed by seizure and sale; an attachment of a debt is completed by receipt of the debt; and an execution against land is completed by sale or, in the case of an equitable interest, by the appointment of a receiver.

Where the goods of a debtor are taken in execution, and, before the sale thereof, notice is served on the Sheriff that the debtor has been adjudicated a bankrupt, the Sheriff shall, on request, deliver the goods to the Official Assignee; but the costs of the execution shall be a charge on the goods so delivered, and the Assignee may sell the goods or an adequate part thereof for the purpose of satisfying the charge.

Where the goods of a debtor are sold under an execution in respect of a judgment for a sum exceeding twenty pounds, the Sheriff shall deduct the costs of the execution from the proceeds of the sale, and retain the balance for ten days; and if within that time notice is served on him of a bankruptcy petition being presented against or by the debtor, and the debtor is adjudged a bankrupt thereon or on any other petition of which the Sheriff has notice, the Sheriff shall pay the balance to the Assignee, who shall be entitled to retain the same as against the execution creditor, but otherwise he shall deal with it as if no notice of the presentation of a bankruptcy petition had been served on him.

An execution levied on the goods of a debtor shall not be invalid by reason merely of its being an act of bankruptcy, and a person who purchases the goods in good faith under a sale by the Sheriff shall in all cases, if the sale be otherwise regular, acquire a good title to them against the Assignee.

Subject to the provisions of this Act with respect to the effect of bankruptcy on an execution or attachment, and with respect to the avoidance of certain settlements, conveyances, dispositions, and other transactions, nothing in this Act shall invalidate, in the case of a bankruptcy,—

provided that the following conditions are complied with, namely, that—

Where at the time of the bankruptcy any person is apprenticed or is an articled clerk to the bankrupt pursuant to written contract in that behalf, the bankruptcy shall, as between the bankrupt and the apprentice or articled clerk, be a complete discharge of the liability of the bankrupt and apprentice or articled clerk respectively under the contract.

If any money has been paid by or on behalf of such apprentice or articled clerk to the bankrupt as an apprentice fee or premium, the Court, on proof thereof, may order such reasonable sum as it thinks fit to be paid out of the bankrupt’s estate to or for the use of the apprentice or articled clerk, regard being had to the amount paid by him or on his behalf, and to the time during which he resided or served with the bankrupt under the contract before the bankruptcy.

It shall be the duty of the bankrupt, at the request and cost of the apprentice or articled clerk, to assign the apprentice or articled clerk to any person to be named by him in that behalf, and the service of the apprentice or articled clerk with such person shall, to the extent of the time of such service, be deemed to have been good service under the contract between him and the bankrupt.

If, after the bankrupt has obtained his discharge, the Court is of opinion that the bankrupt is in a position to accept the services of the apprentice or articled clerk for the remainder of the term of the contract, the Court may, on the application of the apprentice or articled clerk, order the term of the apprenticeship to be completed, the residue of the term to date from the time mentioned in such order, and the apprenticeship or articled clerkship to be on the same terms as originally provided; and all moneys paid to or for the apprentice or articled clerk under subsection two hereof to be refunded to the Assignee.

Where any part of the property of the bankrupt consists of land of any tenure burdened with onerous covenants, or of shares or stock in companies, or of unprofitable contracts, or of any other property that is unsaleable, or not readily saleable, by reason of its binding the possessor thereof to the performance of any onerous act, or to the payment of any sum of money, the Assignee, notwithstanding that he has endeavoured to sell or has taken possession of the property, or exercised any act of ownership in relation thereto, but subject to the provisions of this section, may, by writing signed by him and filed in the Court at any time within three months after the date of adjudication, disclaim the property:

Provided that where any such property has not come to the knowledge of the Assignee within three months after adjudication he may disclaim such property at any time within two months after he first becomes aware thereof.

The personal liability of the bankrupt in respect of such property shall absolutely cease from the date of adjudication, and in the case of shares in companies he shall from the date of adjudication cease to be a member of such company.

The disclaimer shall operate to determine, as from the date of disclaimer, the rights, interests, and liabilities of the bankrupt’s estate in or in respect of the property disclaimed, and shall also discharge the Assignee from all personal liability in respect of the property disclaimed as from the date when the property vested in him, but shall not, except so far as is necessary for the purpose of releasing the bankrupt and his estate and the Assignee from liability, affect the rights or liabilities of any other person.

The Assignee shall not be entitled to disclaim any property in pursuance of this section in any case where an application in writing has been made to the Assignee by any person interested in the property, requiring him to decide whether he will disclaim or not, and the Assignee has, for a period of one month after the receipt of the application, failed to give notice whether he disclaims the property or not; and, in the case of a contract, if the Assignee after such application as aforesaid does not within the said period disclaim the contract, he shall be deemed to have adopted it.

The Court may, on the application of any person who is, as against the Assignee, entitled to the benefit or subject to the burden of a contract made with the bankrupt, make an order rescinding the contract on such terms as to payment by or to either party of damages for the non-performance of the contract or otherwise as the Court deems equitable, and any damages payable under the order to any such person may be proved by him as a debt under the bankruptcy.

The Court, on the application of any person who claims any interest in any disclaimed property, or who is under any liability not discharged by this Act in respect of any disclaimed property, and on hearing such persons as it thinks fit, may make an order for the vesting of the property in or delivery thereof to any person entitled thereto, or to whom it seems just that the same should be delivered by way of compensation for such liability as aforesaid, or a trustee for him, and on such terms as the Court thinks just, but no costs shall be payable by the Assignee in respect of such order.

On any such vesting order being made, the property comprised therein shall vest accordingly in the person therein named in that behalf without any conveyance, transfer, or assignment for the purpose, subject, however, and without prejudice, to any under-lease, subtenancy, or mortgage by demise thereof, unless the under-lessee, subtenant, or mortgagee consents to such vesting order.

The Court may, on such application as aforesaid, make such orders with respect to fixtures, tenants’ improvements, and other matters arising out of the tenancy of any property disclaimed as the Court thinks just.

Where the property disclaimed is of a leasehold nature, the Court shall not make a vesting order in favour of any person claiming under the bankrupt, whether as under-lessee or as mortgagee by demise, except upon the terms of making such person subject to the same liabilities and obligations as the bankrupt was subject to under the lease in respect of the property at the date of adjudication.

The rights and powers of the lessor of any disclaimed land shall not be prejudiced or affected by the disclaimer or by any vesting order, or by anything herein contained, except as herein expressly provided.

If there is no person claiming under the bankrupt who is willing to accept an order upon the terms specified in subsection nine hereof, the Court shall have power to vest the bankrupt’s estate and interest in the property in any lessor-reversioner or other person with whom the bankrupt originally contracted, or any person claiming under him, or in any person liable either personally or in a representative character, and either alone or jointly with the bankrupt, to perform the lessee’s covenants in such lease, subject, however, and without prejudice, to any under-lease, subtenancy, or mortgage by demise thereof, unless the under-lessee, subtenant, or mortgagee consents to such vesting order.

Any person injured by the operation of a disclaimer under this section shall be deemed to be a creditor of the bankrupt to the extent of the injury, and may accordingly prove the same as a debt under the bankruptcy.

When any part of the property of the bankrupt consists of stock, shares in ships, shares, or any other property transferable in the books of any company, office, or person, standing in his name in his own right, the Assignee may exercise the right to transfer the property to the same extent as the bankrupt might have exercised it if he had not become bankrupt; and all persons whose acts or consents are necessary in this behalf shall, at the request of the Assignee, do all acts, deeds, matters, and things necessary to enable such transfer to be completed.

Where the bankrupt has any property of any kind, or any right, title, or interest in any property, elsewhere than in New Zealand, of which he may dispose by law, he shall forthwith, upon the request of the Assignee, execute all necessary assurances for granting and assigning the same to the Assignee for the benefit of the creditors of the bankrupt.

Any treasurer or other officer, or any banker, solicitor, or agent of a bankrupt, having any money or securities belonging to the bankrupt in his custody, possession, and power as such officer or agent which he is not entitled by law to retain as against the bankrupt or the Assignee shall on demand pay and deliver the same to the Assignee.

The Court, at the instance of the Assignee or any creditor, at any time after the filing of a petition in bankruptcy by or against a debtor, and if it appears—

may by warrant cause such debtor to be arrested and kept in custody until he finds sureties to the satisfaction of the Court that he will appear and attend from time to time as the Court orders until he is discharged by the Court, and may cause any books, papers, moneys, or property belonging to such debtor, wheresoever they may be found, to be seized and kept until such time as the Court directs.

Any person arrested upon any such warrant, or whose books, papers, moneys, or property are seized under such warrant, may apply at any time after such arrest or seizure to the Court for a summons against the Assignee or creditor aforesaid to show cause why the person arrested should not be discharged out of custody, or why his books, papers, moneys, or property should not be delivered up to him; and the Court may make such order therein as it thinks fit.

Any such warrant may, if the Court so orders, be transmitted by telegraph (the telegraphic charges being first duly paid) and executed on the telegraphic copy thereof, accompanied by a telegraphic copy of the order of the Court.

The Assignee or any other person may, if thereunto authorised by a warrant issued by the Court, seize any part of the property of a bankrupt in the custody or possession of the bankrupt or of any other person, and, with a view to such seizure, may break open any house, building, or room of the bankrupt where the bankrupt is supposed to be, or any building or receptacle of the bankrupt where any of his property is supposed to be, and seize and take possession of his property there.

Where there is reason to believe that property, or any book, paper, or document relating to the affairs or property of the bankrupt, is concealed in any house or place, the Court may, if it thinks fit, grant a search-warrant to the Assignee and his assistants, or other persons appointed by the Court, who may execute the same according to the tenor thereof, and shall in respect to the execution thereof have the like protection as is allowed by law in respect of the execution of a search-warrant for property supposed to be stolen.

If the bankrupt or any member of his family refuses, when required by the Assignee, to quit and deliver up possession of any tenement forming part of the property vested in the Assignee under the bankruptcy, the Assignee may apply to the Court for a summons calling upon such person to show cause why he should not forthwith quit and deliver up possession of the premises, and on the hearing of the said summons the Court may make such order as the case may require, and such order shall be enforceable as any other order of the Court.

The Court, upon the application of the Assignee, may from time to time order that, for such time as it thinks fit, not exceeding three months from the date of such order, post-letters addressed to the bankrupt shall be redirected, sent, or delivered by the Postmaster-General or the officers acting under him to such Assignee, or otherwise as the Court directs, and the same shall be done accordingly; and any such letters may be opened by the Assignee, and any property therein belonging to the bankrupt may be retained by the Assignee and shall form part of the bankrupt’s estate.

The Assignee may, at any time before or after the date of the order of discharge, summon before him and examine on oath the bankrupt, or his wife, or any other person known or suspected to have in his possession any of the property, or any book, paper, or document relating to the affairs or property of the bankrupt, or supposed to be indebted to the bankrupt, or whom he deems capable of giving any information respecting the bankrupt, his trade, dealings, or property, or concerning his income from any source, or his expenditure, and may require such person to produce and surrender to the Assignee any book, paper, or documents in his custody or power relating to the dealings or property of the bankrupt.

The Assignee may, in lieu of summoning before himself and examining the bankrupt or such other person as aforesaid, summon him to appear before any specified Magistrate at an appointed time and place, and such Magistrate is hereby empowered to administer the oath and conduct such examination.

The examination of the bankrupt and every such person shall be committed to writing, and the bankrupt and such person, on being required to do so, shall sign the same.

If the bankrupt or any other person so summoned fails without reasonable excuse to come before such Assignee or Magistrate at the time appointed, then the Court may, on the application of the Assignee, by warrant, cause the bankrupt or any such person to be apprehended and brought up for examination before the Court.

All expenses occasioned by such apprehension and examination before the Court shall be paid by the person apprehended and examined, if it appears to the Court that the evidence given by him was necessary for the purposes of the estate.

The bankrupt, and every other person attending on any such summons, may have such expenses allowed to him or them as the rules direct, and no person so summoned to attend shall be liable to any penalty or punishment for failing to obey the summons unless the reasonable expenses of his attendance are first paid or tendered to him.

The bankrupt or other person who is summoned or examined by the Court, or by the Assignee or Magistrate, under any of the powers given by this Act, shall not be excused from answering any question on the ground that the answer may criminate or tend to criminate such bankrupt or person.

A statement made by any bankrupt or person in answer to any question put by or before such Court, or Assignee or Magistrate, shall not, in criminal proceedings, be admissible in evidence against such bankrupt or any person, except upon a charge of perjury against such bankrupt or person in respect of his sworn testimony upon such examination; but this provision is subject, and without prejudice, to subsection six of section one hundred and twenty-four hereof.

Whenever a bankrupt or other person is examined by the Court, or by the Assignee or Magistrate, under any of the powers given by this Act, he may be represented by a barrister or solicitor, who may also examine him; and his answers to such barrister or solicitor shall form part of his examination.

The Assignee shall summon the first meeting of creditors at his own office, or at some convenient place, for a day not later than fourteen days after the adjudication, unless the Court for any special reason deems it expedient that the meeting be summoned for a later day.

He shall forthwith advertise a notice of the time and place appointed for such meeting, and a copy of such notice shall be served upon the bankrupt, and shall be sent by post-letter or post-card to each creditor mentioned in the bankrupt’s statement of affairs at the address given therein, or such other address as may be known to the Assignee.

The Assignee may at any time call a meeting of the creditors at his own office, or at such place as in his opinion is most convenient for the majority of the creditors, and shall call such meeting when required by one-fourth in value of the creditors who have proved their debts.

Meetings subsequent to the first meeting shall be summoned by sending notice by post-letter or post-card of the time and place thereof to each creditor at the address given in his proof, or, if he has not proved, at the address given in the bankrupt’s statement of affairs, or at such other address as may be known to the Assignee.

The Assignee shall be the chairman of all meetings; but, if the Assignee is not present at the meeting, the meeting may elect one of their number qualified to vote at such meeting to act as chairman during his absence, and any creditor while acting as chairman in the absence of the Assignee is hereby empowered to administer any oaths which the Assignee could have administered if present.

The Assignee or chairman, with the consent of the meeting, may adjourn any meeting from time to time and place to place.

The Assignee shall, if required, produce to every meeting and to any adjournment thereof all books of account, deeds, and papers then in his possession relating to the property of the bankrupt.

The Assignee shall cause minutes of the proceedings at every meeting to be drawn up and fairly entered in a book kept for that purpose, and the minutes shall be signed by him or the chairman.

The minutes of any general meeting of creditors, upon proof of signature of the Assignee or chairman presiding at such meeting, shall be prima facie evidence in all Courts of justice of what passed at such meeting.

A meeting shall not be competent to act for any purpose except the election of a chairman in the absence of the Assignee, the proving of debts, and the adjournment of the meeting, unless there are present or represented thereat at least three creditors, or all the creditors if their number does not exceed three.

If within a quarter of an hour from the time appointed for any meeting a quorum of creditors is not present or represented, the meeting shall be adjourned either sine die or to such time and place as the Assignee or chairman appoints.

A creditor may vote either in person or by proxy.

Every instrument of proxy shall be in the prescribed form or to the effect thereof, and shall be signed by the creditor before a Justice, solicitor, or Postmaster, and must be produced to the Assignee before or at the meeting to entitle the holder thereof to vote, and may be revoked at any time by notice to the Assignee.

A creditor residing or being absent more than ten miles from the place of meeting may give a general proxy to any person, and any creditor may give a general proxy to his manager or clerk, or any other person in his regular employment; and in such latter case the instrument of proxy shall state the relation in which the person to act thereunder stands to the creditor.

Any person holding a power of attorney from a creditor empowering him to recover debts due to such creditor shall, on producing such power of attorney or a copy thereof authenticated to the satisfaction of the Assignee before or at the meeting, be deemed to be the holder of a general proxy from such creditor, and may vote on his behalf.

A creditor may give a special proxy to any person to vote at any special meeting or adjournment thereof for or against any specific resolution, or for or against any specific person as supervisor.

No person acting under either a general or special proxy shall vote in favour of any resolution which would directly or indirectly place himself, his partner or employer, in a position to receive any remuneration out of the estate of the debtor otherwise than as a creditor rateably with the other creditors of the debtor, or as a supervisor.

For the purpose of the first meeting, any creditor who resides more than fifty miles from the place may lodge his proof and proxy with the Assignee in the district in which he lives, and such Assignee, if satisfied that such proof and proxy are in due form, may, at the expense of such creditor, transmit such proof and proxy to the Assignee having charge of the estate, and may at the like expense telegraph the amount of the debt on which the creditor claims to vote, and the name of the person appointed proxy, and any other particulars; and thereupon such person so appointed as proxy may attend the meeting and vote thereat.

At any meeting of creditors a person shall not be entitled to vote as a creditor unless at or previously to the meeting he has duly proved a debt provable under the bankruptcy to be due or owing to him.

A creditor shall not vote at the said meeting in respect of any unliquidated or contingent debt, or any debt the value of which is not ascertained.

A secured creditor may vote in respect of the debt due to him only after valuing, surrendering, or realising his security in accordance with the provisions hereinafter contained in respect of secured creditors.

A creditor shall not vote in respect of any debt on or secured by a current bill of exchange or promissory note unless he is willing to treat the liability to him thereon of every person who is liable thereon antecedently to the debtor, and who is not a bankrupt, as a security in his hands, and to estimate the value thereof, and, for the purposes of voting, but not for the purposes of dividend, to deduct it from his proof; provided that the Assignee may at any time require the production of such bill or note.

If an order of adjudication is made against one partner of a firm, any creditor to whom that partner is indebted jointly with the other partners of the firm, or any of them, may prove his debt for the purpose of voting at any meeting of creditors, and shall be entitled to vote thereat.

The Assignee shall have power to admit or reject a proof for the purpose of voting.

Demands in the nature of unliquidated damages arising otherwise than by reason of a contract, promise, or breach of trust shall not be provable in bankruptcy.

A person having notice of any act of bankruptcy available against the bankrupt shall not prove under the bankruptcy for any debt or liability contracted by the bankrupt subsequent to the date of his so having notice, except in respect of a debt or liability contracted for the supply of the necessaries of life for the use of the bankrupt and his family.

Save as aforesaid, all debts and liabilities, present or future, certain or contingent, to which the bankrupt is subject at the date of adjudication, or to which he becomes subject before his discharge by reason of any obligation incurred before the date of adjudication, shall be deemed to be debts provable in bankruptcy.

The proving or claiming of a debt or demand under this Act shall be deemed an election by the creditor to take the benefit of the bankruptcy with respect to that debt or demand, and any action, suit, or proceeding by the creditor to recover such debt or enforce such demand shall be ipso facto restrained.

Every creditor shall prove his debt, whether a preferential claim or not, as soon as may be after the making of the order of adjudication.

A debt may be proved by delivering or sending through the post in a prepaid letter to the Official Assignee an affidavit verifying the debt.

The affidavit may be made by the creditor himself, or by some person authorised by or on behalf of the creditor; and if made by a person so authorised it shall state his authority and means of knowledge.

The affidavit shall contain or refer to a statement of account showing the particulars of the debt, and shall specify the vouchers, if any, by which the same can be substantiated; and the Official Assignee may at any time call for the production of the vouchers.

A creditor shall bear the cost of proving his debt, unless the Court specially orders otherwise.

Every creditor who has lodged a proof shall be entitled to see and examine the proofs of other creditors before the first meeting and at all reasonable times.

A creditor may, with the leave of the Assignee, from time to time amend his proof.

Every amendment of a proof shall be made subject to the same formalities as an original proof, and shall be sworn or declared to in the same manner.

No proof shall be admitted or amended after the expiration of two months from the date of the adjudication, except under special circumstances approved by the Assignee or by the Court as sufficient to justify the delay.

Companies and other bodies incorporated or authorised to sue may prove by an agent, who shall be deemed the claimant, and who shall in his affidavit declare that he is such agent, and that he is authorised to make such proof, or to give a discharge for debts due to the company.

The Assignee shall have power to accept or reject proofs either wholly or in part, and he shall examine every proof and the grounds of the debt, and, as soon as conveniently may be, admit or reject it, in whole or in part, or require further evidence in support of it.

If he rejects a proof, he shall give notice to the creditor of the grounds of the rejection.

If he thinks that a proof has been improperly admitted, the Court may, on the application of the Assignee, after notice to the creditor who made the proof, expunge the proof or reduce its amount.

If he fails to decide upon the admission or rejection of a proof for fourteen days after notice to decide upon it has been given to him by the bankrupt or any creditor, the Court may, upon the application of the bankrupt or such creditor, admit or reject such proof, or make such other order as it thinks fit.

If within thirty days after the Assignee has served notice on any creditor of the rejection of his proof such creditor does not apply to the Court to reverse such decision, and the Court, on the hearing of such application, does not reverse such decision, the same shall be final and conclusive as to the right of the creditor to prove for the debt or claim in respect of which the proof has been disallowed.

The Assignee shall have power to summon before him, and to examine on oath or otherwise, any person who has tendered or made a proof, whether preferential or otherwise, or who has made a declaration or statement, and may also summon before him any such person or any person capable of giving evidence concerning such proof, or the debt sought to be proved; and, in case any person so summoned fails to attend, or refuses to be sworn or to give evidence, the fourth and following subsections of section ninety-two hereof shall be read as applicable to any summons or examination under this section.

All costs incident to such order and examination shall be paid by the person so failing or refusing, unless the Court otherwise orders.

A secured creditor shall state in his proof the particulars of his security, the date when it was given, and the value at which he estimates it, and shall be deemed to be a creditor only in respect of the balance due to him after deducting the value so estimated.

If a secured creditor surrenders his security to the Assignee for the general benefit of the creditors he may prove for the whole debt.

If the Assignee is dissatisfied with the value at which a security is assessed, he may require that the property comprised in any security so valued be offered for sale at such times and on such terms and conditions as may be agreed on between the creditor and the Assignee, or, in default of such agreement, as the Court may direct.

If the sale be by public auction, the creditor, or the Assignee on behalf of the estate, may bid or purchase.

Where a creditor has so valued his security, he may at any time amend the valuation and proof on showing to the satisfaction of the Assignee or the Court that the valuation and proof were made bona fide on a mistaken estimate; but every such amendment shall be made at the cost of the creditor, and upon such terms as the Court orders, unless the Assignee allows the amendment without application to the Court; and from the date of such amendment the said amended proof shall be the proof of that creditor for all purposes under this Act.

A secured creditor shall, on application made by the Assignee at any time within six months from the date of the proof, but before the declaration of the final dividend, and before the secured creditor has realised his security, and on payment of the value of his security as estimated in his proof, in addition to the reasonable costs of any attempted sale under subsection three of this section, and in addition to such sum as he has expended since the date of the proof in the improvement of the property forming the security, give up his security to be dealt with as part of the property of the bankrupt for the benefit of the creditors.

If the Assignee does not wish to take over any security as in the last preceding subsection mentioned, any creditor may, with the consent of the Assignee, at any time within six months from the date of the proof, but before the declaration of the final dividend, and before the secured creditor has realised his security, and upon payment of the value of such security as estimated in the original or amended proof, in addition to the reasonable costs of any attempted sale under subsection three of this section, and in addition to such sum as the secured creditor may have expended since the date of the proof in the improvement of the property forming the security, require such secured creditor to transfer such security to him for his own benefit, and he shall thereupon transfer such security accordingly.

If a creditor after having valued his security subsequently realises it before the declaration of a final dividend, or if it is realised under the provisions of subsection three of this section, the net amount realised shall be substituted for the amount of any valuation previously made by the creditor, and shall be treated in all respects as an amended valuation made by the creditor; but if the security is a mortgage over land, and the mortgagee becomes the purchaser thereof under the provisions of “The Property Law Act, 1908,” or “The Land Transfer Act, 1908,” the amount to be substituted shall be the value thereof as agreed upon between the Assignee and the secured creditor, or, in case they do not agree, as fixed by arbitration in accordance with the provisions of “The Arbitration Act, 1908,” the costs to be fixed as directed by the arbitrators or umpire.

If a secured creditor does not comply with this section he shall be excluded from all share in any dividend.

Subject to the provisions of this section, a creditor shall in no case receive more than twenty shillings in the pound, and interest as provided by this Act.

Except as in this Act expressly provided, nothing in this Act shall affect the power of any secured creditor to realise or otherwise deal with his security in the same manner as he would have been entitled to realise and deal with it if this Act had not been passed.

A creditor proving his debt shall deduct therefrom all trade discounts, and such portion of any discount he may have agreed to allow for payment in cash as exceeds five per centum on the net amount of his claim.

Where mutual credit has been given by the bankrupt and any other person, or where there are mutual debts between the bankrupt and any other person, or where any person entitled to prove in respect of any debt or demand is indebted or liable to the bankrupt in respect of any debt or demand, the account between the bankrupt and such person shall be stated, and one debt or demand may be set against another, and no more than appears due on either side on the balance of account shall be claimed or paid on either side:

Provided that a person shall not be entitled under this section to claim the benefit of any set-off against the property of a bankrupt where he had, at the time of giving credit to the bankrupt, notice of an available act of bankruptcy committed by the bankrupt; and a creditor claiming the benefit of a set-off shall, in his proof, declare that he had at the time of giving credit no notice of such an act of bankruptcy.

When a debt or sum certain on which interest is not reserved or agreed for is due at the time of the adjudication, and is provable, the creditor may prove also for interest at the rate for the time being in force in the case of judgment debts in the Supreme Court for the period intervening between the time when the debt or sum was payable, if it was payable by virtue of a written instrument at a certain time, or, if not, then between the time when demand of payment was made in writing, with a notice in writing that interest would be claimed from that demand until payment, and the date of adjudication.

Any creditor in respect of a debt not payable at the time of the adjudication, whether on a negotiable instrument or not, may prove the debt as if it was payable presently, allowing thereout discount at the rate aforesaid from the date of adjudication until the time when the debt is payable:

Provided that no discount shall be made from a debt payable within three months of the adjudication.

A creditor secured by a security which under the provisions of this or any other Act is declared wholly or in part void against the Assignee in the bankruptcy shall be entitled to prove for so much of the money which is justly owing to him and is not admitted to be secured under the said security.

If a bankrupt was at the date of adjudication liable in respect of distinct contracts as a member of two or more distinct firms, or as a sole contractor, and also as member of a firm, the circumstance that the firms are in whole or in part composed of the same individuals, or that the sole contractor is also one of the joint contractors, shall not prevent proof in respect of the contracts against the properties respectively liable on the contracts.

Any separate creditor of a bankrupt shall be at liberty to prove his debt under any adjudication of bankruptcy made against such bankrupt jointly with any other person.

An estimate shall be made by the Assignee of the value of any debt or liability provable under the bankruptcy which, by reason of its being subject to any contingency or contingencies, or for any other reason, does not bear a certain value.

Any person aggrieved by any estimate made by the Assignee as aforesaid may appeal to the Court.

If, in the opinion of the Court, the value of the debt or liability cannot be fairly estimated, the Court may make an order to that effect, and thereupon the debt or liability shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a debt not provable in the bankruptcy.

If, in the opinion of the Court, the value of the debt or liability can be fairly estimated, the Court may direct the value to be assessed before the Court itself, without the intervention of a jury, and may give all necessary directions for this purpose, and the amount of the value when assessed shall be deemed to be a debt provable in the bankruptcy.

Where the bankrupt is at the time of adjudication liable, under a contract or promise, to a demand in the nature of unliquidated damages, then, notwithstanding that such contract or promise has not been broken before the adjudication, the Assignee may agree with the person claiming as to the amount to be allowed as assessed damages; and if the Assignee and such person do not agree, the Court may direct the damages to be assessed before the Court itself, without the intervention of a jury, and may give all necessary directions for that purpose, and the damages so agreed on or assessed may be proved under the bankruptcy.

Where the bankrupt is at the time of the adjudication a member of a company registered under any Act relating to the registration of companies, and not in the course of being wound up under that Act, the company, notwithstanding that the Assignee has disclaimed such shares, may prove for the amount of calls made before the adjudication in respect of the shares held by the bankrupt and not paid, and may claim for the value, estimated as the Court directs, of the liability to calls to be made in respect of such shares within one year after the adjudication:

Provided that in estimating such liability in the case of mining companies the Court shall have due regard to the provisions of “The Companies Act, 1908,” relating to the forfeiture of shares in a mining company on which a call remains unpaid.

Any clerk, servant, artisan, labourer, or workman may, in addition to his preferential claim for salary or wages as hereinafter provided, prove and obtain a dividend on any claim he may have for salary and wages beyond that hereinafter made a preferential claim.

Where a policy of insurance on a ship or on goods has been effected with the bankrupt as a subscriber or underwriter, the person effecting the policy may prove in respect thereof, although he was not beneficially interested in the ship or goods.

Where any person is at the time of the adjudication surety or liable for any debt or liability of the bankrupt, and pays or satisfies the debt or liability, or any part of it in discharge of the whole, although he does so after the adjudication, the following provisions shall have effect:—

Every person who, under a verdict, judgment, decree, order, or rule in or of any Court obtained before the adjudication, would have been entitled to recover costs from the bankrupt if he had not become bankrupt may prove for the amount of such costs when taxed, although the taxation is not had before the adjudication.

A person entitled to enforce against the bankrupt payment of any money, costs, or expenses by process of contempt issuing out of any Court may prove for the amount payable under the process, subject to such ascertaining of the amount as may properly be had by taxation or otherwise.

A creditor who has brought an action or instituted a suit against a bankrupt in respect of a debt or demand provable under this Act shall not prove a claim in respect of that debt or demand without first relinquishing the action or suit: Provided that—

The creditors may, by special resolution, accept a composition in satisfaction of the debts due to them from the bankrupt, embodying in such resolution the terms of the composition.

The confirming resolution may vary the preliminary resolution so that the terms of the composition assented to by such confirming resolution are not more unfavourable to the creditors than those specified in the preliminary resolution.

The notice of the meeting to pass the confirming resolution shall state generally the terms of the proposal for composition, and shall be accompanied by a report of the Assignee thereon.

For computing the requisite majority of creditors for the passing of such confirming resolution as aforesaid, if the proposal for composition provides for the payment in full of all creditors whose respective debts do not exceed a certain amount, that class of creditors shall not be reckoned either in number or value.

When the confirming resolution has been passed, either the bankrupt or the Assignee may apply to the Court to approve the composition, and notice of the application shall be given to each creditor.

The. Court shall, before approving a composition, hear a report of the Assignee as to the terms of the composition and as to the conduct of the debtor, and any objection which may be made by or on behalf of any creditor.

The Court may refuse to approve the composition if it is of opinion—

No composition shall be approved by the Court which does not provide for the payment in priority to other debts of all debts directed to be so paid in the distribution of the property of a bankrupt.

If the Court approves the composition, the approval may be testified by the seal of the Court being attached to the deed hereinafter mentioned containing the terms of the composition, or by the terms being embodied in an order of the Court.

A composition so approved by the Court shall be binding on all the creditors, so far as relates to any debts due to them and provable under the bankruptcy.

At the time a composition is approved the Court may correct or supply any accidental or formal error or omission therein, but no alteration in the substance of the composition shall be made.

The approval of the Court shall be conclusive as to the validity of the composition.

Forthwith after the Court has approved a composition the bankrupt and the Assignee shall execute a deed of composition for carrying the proposal into effect, and such deed shall be produced to the Court by the Assignee, who shall forthwith apply to the Court to confirm the said deed.

The Court, if satisfied that the deed is in conformity with the composition as approved, shall direct the deed to be entered and filed in the Court, and shall annul the adjudication of bankruptcy, and the deed shall thereupon be binding in all respects upon all the creditors as if they had severally executed the same; and the property of the bankrupt shall vest and be dealt with thereafter as provided in the deed.

When any such deed of composition has been entered by the Registrar he shall indorse thereon the fact of such entry and filing in the Court, and shall deliver the deed to the Assignee, who shall forthwith have the deed registered in the proper Deeds or Land Registry Office against any lands or interest therein referred to, and on such registration being effected shall return the deed to the file in the Court.

The registration of any such deed shall be sufficient to pass any land affected thereby, and to vest such land in accordance with the terms expressed in the deed.

When any such deed of composition is entered by the Registrar the Assignee shall forthwith, subject to the provisions of the said deed, put the bankrupt (or, as the case may be, the trustee under the composition) into possession of the bankrupt’s property, or such of it as is in possession of the Assignee and as is intended by the composition to revest in the debtor or trustee.

When default is made in payment of any composition approved by the Court as aforesaid, either by the debtor or the trustee, if any, no action to enforce such payment shall lie; but the remedy of any person aggrieved shall be by application to the Court.

The provisions of any composition under this section may be enforced by the Court on a motion made in a summary manner by any person interested, and any disobedience of an order of the Court made on the motion shall be deemed a contempt of Court.

Notwithstanding the approval of a composition, and whether the adjudication of bankruptcy is annulled or not, the Court, from and after the passing of the preliminary resolution, shall continue to have exclusive jurisdiction in the following matters, namely:—

On any application under the preceding subsection the Court may proceed and direct and authorise proceedings with respect to the summoning and examination of the bankrupt and witnesses, and otherwise, as in bankruptcy, and may make such order concerning the subject of the application and the costs thereof as seems just, and such order shall be enforceable as an order in bankruptcy.

The Court shall determine all questions arising under the deed of composition according to the law and practice in bankruptcy, so far as the same are applicable.

If the confirming resolution is not passed within one month after the passing of the preliminary resolution, or if the composition is not approved by the Court within one month after the passing of the confirming resolution, or if the deed of composition is not executed by the bankrupt within seven days after the approval of the composition by the Court, the proceedings in bankruptcy shall, immediately on the expiration of any such period, go on as if there had been no resolution, and that period shall not be reckoned in the calculation of time for any of the purposes of this Act.

Where the adjudication is against members of a partnership, the joint creditors and each class of separate creditors may make distinct compositions, and, if so made, the majorities of creditors required for passing the confirming resolution aforesaid shall be distinct majorities of each such class, but otherwise the joint and separate creditors shall have votes as one body.

The delay of any one of such classes of creditors in accepting, or their failure to accept, a composition shall not prevent any other of such classes from accepting such composition.

Where a bankrupt makes any composition with his creditors he shall remain liable for the unpaid balances of any debt which he incurred or increased, or whereof, before the date of the composition, he obtained forbearance by any fraud:

Provided that the defrauded creditor has not assented to the composition otherwise than by proving his debt and accepting dividends.

No deed shall be entered and filed in the Court unless the commission, as specified in Part II of the Third Schedule hereto, is paid to the Assignee, which commission shall be paid into the Public Account and form part of the Consolidated Fund.

The Assignee shall day by day, except on public or bank holidays, pay all money received by him during the day into such bank as the Governor directs, to his own credit as “Official Assignee for the bankrupt estate of.”

A separate account for each estate shall be kept by the Assignee of all money paid into or withdrawn from the bank in respect thereof; and all money required for the purposes of any estate shall be withdrawn from the sum to the credit of such estate at the bank aforesaid by cheques signed by the Assignee, which must either be crossed or made payable to the order of the recipient.

If an Assignee at any time retains in his hands any moneys contrary to the provisions of this section, he shall, unless he explains the retention to the satisfaction of the Justices hearing the information, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds per centum upon the amount so retained, and shall also be liable to be dismissed from his office and to pay any expenses occasioned by reason of his default.

The moneys received by the Assignee by the realisation of the property of a bankrupt shall be applied by him as follows:—

Supervisor’s and Assignee’s commission.

Rent due, on certain conditions.

Wages of clerk or servant.

Provable debts.

Interest on proved debts.

Surplus to bankrupt.

The bankrupt shall be entitled immediately upon adjudication to select and retain as his own property his tools of trade and furniture and household effects, including the wearing-apparel of himself and family, to the value in the opinion of the Assignee of twenty-five pounds:

Provided that this provision is without prejudice to any valid security there may be over the same, and shall not confer any rights upon the bankrupt to any other portion of his property if his tools of trade, household furniture, and effects do not in the opinion of the Assignee amount in value to twenty-five pounds, or are subject to any such security.

The creditors may by resolution give back to the bankrupt any portion of his estate, but shall not give back any portion of his estate exceeding in the opinion of the Assignee fifty pounds in value, except by a special resolution.

Subject to the retention of such sums as may be necessary for the costs of administration or otherwise, the. Assignee shall, with all convenient speed, declare and distribute dividends among the creditors who have proved their debts.

Notice of the time and place where any dividend will be paid shall be sent to the creditors, and shall be advertised.

Any creditor who has proved his debt may at any time apply to the Court for an order requiring the Assignee to proceed with the distribution of the assets of any estate forthwith, in such manner as the Court directs, having regard to the circumstances of the case.

In any such case the Court may make such order as it thinks fit, or may refuse to make any such order.

In the calculation and distribution of a dividend it shall be obligatory on the Assignee to make provision for debts provable appearing from the bankrupt’s statements or otherwise to be due or owing to persons resident in places so distant from the place where the Assignee is acting that in the ordinary course of communication they have not had sufficient time to tender their proofs or to establish them if disputed, and also for debts provable in respect of claims not yet determined.

In the case of a dividend declared after the expiration of six months after adjudication it shall not be obligatory on the Assignee to make provision for debts such as those referred to in the last preceding subsection, save where the Court otherwise orders.

Any creditor who has not proved his debt before the declaration of any dividend or dividends shall be entitled to be paid a dividend or dividends out of any moneys for the time being remaining in the hands of the Assignee available for future distribution amongst the creditors, but he shall not be entitled to disturb the distribution of any dividend declared before he proved his debt.

Any creditor who has duly amended his proof after the declaration of a dividend shall, if his claim is increased by such amendment, be entitled to be paid a further dividend in respect of such increase out of any moneys for the time being remaining in the hands of the Assignee available for future distribution among the creditors; but he shall not be entitled to disturb the distribution of any dividend declared before the said proof was amended.

Any creditor who has duly amended his proof so as to reduce his claim after receiving a dividend shall refund to the Assignee the dividend received on the amount by which his claim is thus reduced.

The creditors of two or more bankrupts jointly shall not receive any dividend out of the separate property of any one of such bankrupts until his separate creditors have received the full amount of their respective debts, nor shall any separate creditor receive a dividend out of the joint property until the creditors of the bankrupts jointly have received the full amount of their respective debts.

When the Assignee has converted into money all the property of the bankrupt, or so much thereof as can in the joint opinion of himself and of the supervisors (if any) be realised without needlessly protracting the bankruptcy, he shall declare a final dividend.

Subject to the provisions of “The Bills of Exchange Act, 1908,” and subject to the power of the Court in any other case on special grounds to order production to be dispensed with, every bill of exchange, promissory note, or other negotiable instrument or security upon which proof has been made shall be exhibited to the Assignee before payment of dividend thereon, and the amount of dividend paid shall be indorsed on the instrument.

If the Assignee, at any time after adjudication and before the making of an absolute order of discharge, files in the Court a statement to the effect that it is desirable that the debtor should submit to a public examination, or if the creditors, at any meeting before the making of an absolute order of discharge, pass an ordinary resolution to the like effect, and a copy of such resolution verified by affidavit of the Assignee or chairman is filed in the Court, the Court shall hold a public sitting for the examination of the bankrupt on the next sitting-day after the expiration of seven days after notice of the filing of such statement or affidavit is served on the bankrupt; and the bankrupt shall attend thereat, and shall be examined as to his conduct, dealings, and property.

At least seven days’ notice of the intention to hold such examination shall be advertised by the Assignee, and shall be sent to the creditors.

Prior to such examination the Assignee shall file in the Court a full report on the estate, and the conduct of the bankrupt, and on all other matters with which it is desirable for the purposes of this Act that the Court should be acquainted.

The Assignee, or any creditor who has proved his claim, or the solicitor for the Assignee or for any creditor who has proved his claim, may, without any notice to the bankrupt, examine him.

The bankrupt shall be examined upon oath, and it shall be his duty to answer all such questions as the Court puts or allows to be put to him.

Such notes of the examination as the Court thinks proper shall be taken down in writing, and shall be read over to and signed by the debtor, and may thereafter be used in evidence against him notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, and they shall also be open to the inspection of any creditor or his solicitor at all reasonable times.

The bankrupt shall not be deemed to have passed his public examination until the Court, by order, declares that his affairs have been sufficiently investigated and that his examination is finished.

A bankrupt may at any time after adjudication apply to the Court for an order of discharge; but if prior to the day of hearing a statement by the Assignee, or a copy of a resolution by the creditors, to the effect that it is desirable that the bankrupt should submit to a public examination has been filed, then the application for an order of discharge shall be adjourned until the said examination is finished.

Notice of the day on which the bankrupt proposes to make the application for discharge shall be advertised by the bankrupt and sent to the Assignee and all the creditors at least two weeks prior to the day so proposed.

A bankrupt shall apply for his discharge within four months of the date of his adjudication.

The Court, at the hearing, may examine the Assignee as to the bankrupt’s conduct and affairs.

The Assignee or any creditor who has proved his claim may, without notice to the bankrupt, oppose the bankrupt’s application for an order of discharge, and may examine him as to any matter or thing relating to his estate, and as to his transactions and conduct, and as to the alleged causes of his inability to pay his debts.

The Court may adjourn the hearing of any such application as it thinks fit, and may require any opposing creditor to furnish the bankrupt before the time appointed for the adjourned hearing with a written statement of his objections to the bankrupt’s discharge.

Prior to the day appointed for the hearing of an application for discharge, if he has not already done so, the Assignee shall file in the Court a full report on the estate and the conduct of the bankrupt, and on all other matters with which it is desirable that the Court should be acquainted.

On the hearing of an application for an order of discharge the Court may, in its own absolute discretion, either—

Provided that the Court shall not grant any absolute and immediate order of discharge if it appears to the Court that the bankrupt has been guilty of any offence under this Act, or, where the Court is satisfied, upon the representation of any creditor or Assignee, that there is ground to believe that the bankrupt has been guilty of any such offence, or where the Court is. of opinion that the bankrupt has been guilty of misconduct or gross negligence in the conduct of his business.

A bankrupt shall not be entitled to an absolute order of discharge until all preferential claims mentioned in paragraph (d) of section one hundred and twenty hereof are fully paid and satisfied, unless with the consent of the persons entitled thereto.

At any time within two years after the grant of an absolute order of discharge, or after the taking-effect of a suspended or conditional order of discharge, the Court may, on the application of the Assignee or of any creditor, reverse such order of discharge, if after notice to the bankrupt any facts are established to the satisfaction of the Court which, had they been known to the Court at the time of granting such order, would have justified the Court in refusing to grant the order or in imposing any conditions precedent to its taking effect.

No such application for a reversal of the order of discharge shall be entertained if the facts upon which it is intended to be based were known to or could by the exercise of reasonable diligence have been ascertained by the Assignee or the creditor making the application at the time of the granting of the order of discharge.

The reversal of any order of discharge shall not prejudice or affect the rights or remedies which any other person would have had in case such reversal had not been made, and any property acquired by the bankrupt since the granting of the order which is reversed, and vested in him at the date of such reversal, shall vest in the Assignee subject to any incumbrances thereon, and shall, in the first instance, be applied by the Assignee in satisfaction of debts incurred by the bankrupt since the date of the order so reversed.

Upon the Court reversing such order of discharge the Court may then, or at any subsequent time, grant a new order of discharge, either absolute, suspended, or conditional.

Any bankrupt may apply for an order of discharge from time to time, unless the Court on any application fixes a period within which he shall not be entitled to make such application.

In case of failure to comply with the whole or any of the conditions fixed by the said conditional order of discharge the Court may at any time grant an absolute order of discharge to the bankrupt on his application, if the Court is satisfied that the failure to comply with such conditions arises from circumstances for which the bankrupt cannot justly be held responsible.

An order of discharge shall not release the bankrupt from—

but it shall release the bankrupt from all other debts provable in the bankruptcy.

An order of discharge shall be conclusive evidence of the bankruptcy and of the validity of the proceedings therein; and in any proceedings instituted against a bankrupt who has obtained an order of discharge in respect of any debt from which he is released by such order, the bankrupt may plead that the cause of action occurred before his discharge, and may give this Act and the special matter in evidence.

An order of discharge shall not release any person who at the date of adjudication was a partner or co-trustee with the bankrupt, or was jointly bound or had made any joint contract with him, or any person who was surety or in the nature of a surety for him.

A discharged bankrupt shall, notwithstanding his discharge, give such assistance as the Assignee or the Court requires in the realisation and distribution of such of his property as is vested in the Assignee; and if he without reasonable cause fails to do so he shall be guilty of a contempt of Court.

In any of the cases following the Court may by order, on the application of any person interested, annul the adjudication, and thereupon the adjudication shall be annulled from and after the date of the order annulling it, that is to say:—

For the purposes of this section any debt disputed by the bankrupt shall be considered as paid or satisfied if he enters into a bond, in such sum and with such sureties as the Court approves, to pay the amount to be recovered in any proceeding for the recovery of or concerning the debt with costs.

A notice of every order annulling an adjudication shall be forthwith advertised by the Assignee.

Upon the making of an order annulling an adjudication all property of the bankrupt vested in the Assignee under the bankruptcy, and not at the date of the order annulling the adjudication sold or disposed of by the Assignee, shall revest in the bankrupt without the necessity of any conveyance, transfer, or assignment of any kind.

An order annulling an adjudication shall not prejudice or affect the validity of any contract, sale, disposition, or payment duly made or anything duly done by the Assignee prior to the making of that order.

An order annulling an adjudication shall have the effect of releasing the Assignee from his administration of the estate in like manner as if an order for his release had been made under section one hundred and fifty hereof.

Every person adjudged bankrupt shall be deemed to have committed a crime, and on conviction is liable to two years’ imprisonment with or without hard labour, who—

Trading on fictitious capital.

Contracting debts.

Omitting to keep books.

Failure to keep usual books.

Vexatious defences.

Fraudulent gifts, &c.

Concealing, &c., property before judgment.

Speculation and extravagance, &c.

Payments out of regular course of business.

Failing to discover property.

Not delivering up property, &c.

Material omissions in statement.

Not informing Assignee of false proof.

Preventing production of book, &c.

Destroying book, &c.

Concealing or fraudulently removing property.

Accounting for property by fictitious losses.

Obtaining property on credit by fraud, &c.

Fraudulently obtaining consent of creditors.

Absconding.

Getting credit as undischarged bankrupt.

Giving fraudulent preference.

Where any person is charged before Justices with a crime under the last preceding section, they may, if they think it expedient so to do, and if the person so charged, when informed by the Justices of his right to be tried by a jury, does not object to being dealt with summarily, deal summarily with the charge:

Provided that the term of imprisonment to be awarded by such Justices shall not exceed six months with or without hard labour.

Every person who is in possession of the whole or any part of the estate of any bankrupt after such estate has become vested in the Assignee shall, with respect to the estate so in his possession, be deemed to be a bailee, and shall be liable accordingly.

Every person who inserts or causes to be inserted in any newspaper any notice or advertisement under or purporting to be under this Act without authority, or knowing the same to be false in any material particular, commits an offence against this Act, and is liable for every such offence to a line not exceeding twenty pounds, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months with or without hard labour.

Every person who wilfully and with intent to defraud makes any affidavit or statement of account for the purposes of this Act which is untrue in any material particular, knowing the same or any statement on which it is indorsed or to which it is appended to be untrue in any material particular, commits a crime, and is liable on conviction to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years with or without hard labour.

Every Court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy shall have all powers and jurisdiction requisite for the purpose of committing for trial any bankrupt where there is, in the opinion of the Court, ground to believe that the bankrupt has been guilty of any offence which is made a crime under this Act, and for granting or refusing bail to any such bankrupt.

It shall be the duty of the Assignee, when he has reason to suspect that any person has committed an offence under this Act, to lay the facts of the case, so far as he is acquainted with them, before any person acting as Crown Solicitor or Crown Prosecutor in the district of the Court which has jurisdiction in the bankruptcy in regard to which the offence is supposed to have been committed, and if such Crown Solicitor or Crown Prosecutor certifies that there are reasonable grounds for a prosecution, then the Assignee shall lay an information against such person.

Where any person is charged with a crime under this Act, and the certificate of the Crown Solicitor or Crown Prosecutor has been obtained to the prosecution as hereinbefore mentioned, the prosecution shall be conducted as an ordinary criminal prosecution, and all the expenses of the prosecution, including the expenses of the proceedings before the Justices, shall be allowed and paid out of any moneys appropriated by Parliament for criminal prosecutions, unless the Court orders the same to be paid out of the bankrupt’s estate.

In an indictment for a crime under this Act it shall be sufficient to set forth the substance of the offence charged, in or to the effect of the words of this Act specifying the offence, or as near thereto as circumstances admit, without alleging or setting forth any debt, act of bankruptcy, adjudication, or any proceedings in, or order, warrant, or document of any Court acting under this Act.

No indictment shall be quashed for any technical defect therein, or any formal defect therein appearing on the face thereof, but every such indictment shall, either before or after verdict, as required, be amended by the Judge and the trial proceed as if such defects respectively had not occurred, and a conviction shall be had in every case where the evidence at the trial manifests that an offence has been committed.

Save as herein provided, the provisions of this Act relating to the remedies against the property of a debtor, the priorities of debts, the effect of a composition, and the effect of a discharge shall bind the Crown.