,

Council and of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, constituted and assembled by virtue of and under the authority of an Act passed in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and intituled, An Act to re-unite the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, and for the Government of Canada, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that all persons being merchants, or using the trade of merchandize, bankers, brokers, persons insuring ships or other vessels, or their freight or other matters, against perils of the sea or of inland navigation, builders, carpenters, shipwrights, keepers of inns, taverns, hotels or coffee houses, millers, lumberers or ship-owners, and all persons who, either for themselves or as agents or factors for others, seek their living by buying or selling, or by buying and letting for hire, or by the workmanship of goods or commodities, shall be deemed traders, within the scope and meaning of this Act: Provided, that no farmer, grazier, common laborer or workman for hire, or member of or subscriber to any incorporated commercial or trading company, established by Royal Charter or Legislative enactment, shall be deemed as such a trader liable, by virtue of this Act, to become bankrupt.

What persons will be liable to rupt

be made bank

Proviso.

What shall

II. And be it enacted, that every such trader who shall be arrested on mesne be acts of process, in any civil action founded on a demand proveable, in its nature, against bankruptcy. a bankrupt's estate, according to the provisions of this Act, and who shall not give bail therein on or before the return day of such process; and every such trader who shall fly or abscond for his personal safety from such arrest; and every such trader who shall be actually imprisoned in or confined upon the limits of any Gaol in this Province, for more than thirty days, either upon mesne process or in execution in any civil action, founded on a demand proveable as aforesaid, or who shall escape from any such imprisonment; and every such trader whose goods or estate shall be attached on mesne process, in any civil action founded on a demand proveable as aforesaid, who shall not dissolve or supersede such attachment by giving security or otherwise, within twenty days after the return day thereof; and every such trader who shall depart this Province, or abscond, or remain concealed therein, with intent to defraud his creditors; and every such trader who shall make, or cause to be made, within this Province, any fraudulent grant or conveyance of any of his lands, household goods, or chattels, or any fraudulent gift, delivery or transfer of any of his monies, goods or chattels, or other effects or assets, or of his credits or evidences of debt; and every such trader who shall willingly or fraudulently procure himself to be arrested, or his goods or chattels, debts or credits, lands or tenements, to be attached, distrained, sequestered or taken in execution; and every such trader who shall remove or cause to be removed, or who shall conceal or cause to be concealed, any of his goods, chattels or effects, in order to prevent their being levied upon, or taken in execution under attachment or other process, shall be deemed to have thereby committed an act of bankruptcy.

Any trader

may be sum

III. And be it enacted, that if any creditor of any such trader, or the duly moned by his accredited and appointed agent or attorney of any such creditor of such trader, creditor before shall make an affidavit before the proper Judge or Commissioner, in the form Commissioner. specified in the Schedule hereunto annexed (A. No. 1,) of the truth of his debt,

a Judge or

and that the debtor, as he verily believes, is such trader as aforesaid, and that he has caused to be delivered to such trader personally, or to some grown person belonging to his family or his establishment, at his usual place of business, an account in writing of the particulars of his demand, with a notice thereunder requiring immediate payment thereof, in the form specified in the said Schedule (A. No. 2,) which affidavit shall be duly filed, it shall be lawful for such Judge or Commissioner to issue a Summons, in writing, in the form specified in the said Schedule (A. No. 3,) calling upon such trader to appear before him, and stating in such Summons the purpose for which such trader is called upon to appear, as hereinafter provided.

Proceedings on IV. And be it enacted, that upon the appearance of any such trader so theappearance summoned as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for such Judge or Commissioner to resuch summons. quire him to state whether or not he admits the demand of his creditor, so sworn

of on

The trader so

summoned, and

requirements

to as aforesaid, or any and what part thereof; and if such trader shall admit the demand, or any part thereof, to reduce such admission into writing in the form specified in the Schedule hereunto annexed, (B. No. 1,) and the admission so reduced into writing he is hereby required to sign, and the same is thereupon to be filed; and it shall also be lawful for the Judge or Commissioner to allow such trader, on his said appearance, to make a deposition upon oath, in writing, under his hand, (to be also filed,) in the form specified in the said Schedule, (B. No. 2,) that he verily believes he has a good answer to the said demand, or to some and what part thereof.

V. And be it enacted, that if any such trader, so summoned as aforesaid, shall failing to com- not come before the Judge or Commissioner, at the time appointed, (having no ply with the lawful impediment made known to, and allowed at the said time by the Judge or of this section Commissioner,) or if any such trader, upon his appearance to such Summons, shall shall be deem- refuse to admit the demand, and shall not make a deposition in the form hereinmitted an act before mentioned, that he believes he has a good answer to such demand, then and of bankruptcy. in either of the said cases, if such trader shall not, within twenty-one days after per

ed to have com

sonal service of such Summons, pay, secure or compound for the demand, to the satisfaction of his creditor, or enter into a bond in such sum and with two sufficient sureties as the Judge or Commissioner shall approve of, to pay such sum as shall be recovered in any action which shall have been or shall thereafter be brought for the recovery of the same, together with such costs as shall be given in that action, every such trader shall be deemed to have committed an act of bankruptcy ruptcy on the twenty-second day after service of such Summons: Provided, a commission of bankruptcy shall issue against such trader within two months from the filing of the said affidavit of the creditor.

Proviso.

re

VI. And be it enacted, that if any such trader, so summoned as aforesaid, shall, Trader refus upon his appearance thereto, refuse to state whether or not he admits such de- ing to sign the mand, or any part thereof, or, whatever may be the nature of his statement, shall, quired of him. notwithstanding, refuse to sign the admission in that behalf required as aforesaid, it shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act, that every such trader thereby refuses to admit such demand: Provided always, that it shall be lawful for such Judge or Commissioner to enlarge the time for calling upon such trader to state whether or not he admits such demand or any part thereof, for such reasonable time as the said Judge or Commissioner shall think fit.

Proviso.

Trader

charging the

VII. And be it enacted, that if any such trader, so summoned as aforesaid, upon ing admission, his said appearance, shall sign an admission of the demand in the form aforesaid, but not dis and shall not within twenty-one days next after the filing of such admission, pay debt. or tender and offer to pay to his creditor the amount of the said demand, or secure or compound for the same to the satisfaction of his creditor, every such trader shall be deemed to have committed an act of bankruptcy on the twenty-second day after the filing of such adımission: Provided a commission of bankruptcy shall Proviso. issue against such trader within two months from the filing of the said affidavit of the creditor.

VIII. And be it enacted, that if any such trader, so summoned as aforesaid, shall, upon his said appearance, sign an admission only for part of the demand, in the form aforesaid, and shall not make a deposition in the form herein-before required, that he believes he has a good defence to the residue of the said demand, then, if such trader, as to the sum so admitted, shall not, within twenty-one days next after the filing of such admission, pay or tender and offer to pay to his creditor the sum so admitted, or secure and compound for the same, to the sa tisfaction of the creditor, and as to the residue of such demand, shall not, within twenty-one days after personal service of such Summons, pay, secure, or com pound for the same, to the satisfaction of his creditor, or enter into a bond, in such sum and with two sufficient sureties, as the Judge or Commissioner shall approve of, to pay whatever sum shall be recovered in any action which shall have been, or shall thereafter be brought for the recovery thereof, together with such costs as shall be given in that action, every such trader shall be deemed to have committed an act of bankruptcy, on the twenty-second day after the service of the Summons: Provided a commission of bankruptcy shall issue against such trader within two months from the filing of the said affidavit of the creditor.

Trader signing the demand,

Trader signing admission to a

part of demand,

arbitrators may be ap

pointed to de

termine the a

mount due.

Admissions made elsewhere than

IX. And be it enacted, that in any case, when any such trader so summoned as aforesaid, shall, upon his said appearance, make a deposition in the form hereinbefore required, that he believes he has a good anwer to the said demand, or to some and what part thereof, it shall and may be lawful for the Judge or Commissioner, on the application of the said trader, or of his creditor acting as aforesaid, to name one arbitrator, for the said trader to name a second, and for the creditor, whose claim is disputed, to name a third, to arbitrate and adjudge between the parties respectively as to such demand; and in case either the said trader or the creditor shall refuse or neglect to name an arbitrator as aforesaid on his behalf, then the said Judge or Commissioner shall nominate and appoint such arbitrator; and the award and determination of any two of them, the said arbitrators, shall be final and conclusive, unless the same shall be set aside by the Court of Review, as hereinafter provided; and every such trader who shall not, within twenty-one days next after the filing with such Judge or Commissioner by such arbitrators of such award and determination, pay or tender and offer to pay to his creditor the amount of the said award or determination, if against him, in whole or in part, or secure or compound for the same, to the satisfaction of his creditor, every such trader shall be deemed to have committed an act of bankruptcy on the twentysecond day after the filing of such award and determination: Provided, a commission of bankruptcy shall issue against such trader within two months from the filing of the said affidavit of the creditor.

X. And be it enacted, that an admission of any debt signed by any such trader elsewhere than before the summoning Judge or Commissioner, may be before a Judge filed by him, or on his behalf, and shall be of the same force and effect, to all

or Commissioner.

Proviso.

Proviso.

Proviso.

Costs to the trader summoned,

intents and purposes, as an admission signed by such trader, so summoned as aforesaid, on his appearance: Provided, there be present some Attorney of one of the Superior Courts of this Province, or any Notary Public in and for that part of the Province heretofore called Lower Canada, on behalf of such trader, expressly named by him and attending at his request, to inform him of the effect of such admission, before he shall sign the same : And provided also, that the said Attorney or Notary do subscribe his name thereto as a witness to the due exetion thereof, and in such attestation declare himself to be Attorney or Notary attending on behalf of such trader, and state therein that he subscribes as such Attorney or Notary: And provided, such admission shall be in the form of the Schedule (C. No. 1.) hereunto annexed.

XI And be it enacted, that when any trader against whom an affidavit of debt is filed as aforesaid, shall be summoned to appear before any Judge or Commissioner, as aforesaid, and such Summons shall be dismissed without any proceeding being thereupon taken against any such trader, every such trader shall have such costs and charges as the Judge or Commissioner shall think fit.

XII. And be it enacted, that in every action brought after the commencement of this Act, wherein any such creditor is plaintiff, and any such trader is defendant, and wherein the plaintiff shall not recover the amount of the sum for which he shall have filed an affidavit under the provisions of this Act, such defendant shall be entitled to costs of suit, to be taxed according to the custom of the Court in which such action shall have been brought: Provided, that it shall be made to appear, to the satisfaction of the Court in which such action is brought, upon motion to be made in Court for that purpose, and upon hearing the parties by affidavit, that the plaintiff in such action had not any reasonable or probable cause for making such affidavit of debt, in such amount as aforesaid: And provided, such Court shall thereupon, by a rule or order, direct that such costs shall be allowed to the defendant; and the plaintiff shall, upon such rule or order being made, be disabled from taking out any execution for the sum recovered in the said action, unless the same shall exceed (and then in the sum only that the same shall exceed) the amount of the taxed costs of the defendant; and in case the sum recovered in the said action shall be less than the amount of the costs of the defendant, to be taxed as aforesaid, that then the defendant shall be entitled, after deducting the sum of money recovered by the plaintiff in such action, from the amount of his costs, so to be taxed as aforesaid, to take out execution for such costs, in like manner as a defendant may now by law have execution for costs in other cases.

XIII. And be it enacted, that if any plaintiff shall recover judgment in any action personal, in any of Her Majesty's Courts of Record, in this Province, against any such trader, and shall be in a situation to sue out execution thereupon, and there be nothing due from the plaintiff by way of set off against his judgment, and such trader shall not, within twenty-one days after notice in writing personally served upon him requiring immediate payment, pay, secure or compound for the same, to the satisfaction of the plaintiff, he shall be deemed to have committed an act of bankruptcy upon the twenty-second day after the service of such notice: Provided always, that if such execution shall in the mean time be suspended or restrained by any rule, order or proceeding of any Court having jurisdiction in that behalf, no further proceeding shall be had upon such notice, but that it shall be lawful nevertheless for such plaintiff, when he shall again be in a situation to sue out execution on such judgment, to proceed again by notice in manner before directed.

XIV. And be it enacted, that if any decree or order shall be pronounced in any cause depending in any Court of Law or Equity, or any order be made in any matter of bankruptcy or lunacy against any such trader ordering him to pay any sum of money, and such trader shall disobey such order, the same having

fusing deto pay money ordered Court of Law or Equity.