Commons Sitting of 4 December 1813

INSOLVENT DEBTORS.
On the order
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of the day being read for the House to go into a committee on the Insolvent Debtors' Bill,
Mr. Lockhartwished that the committee should be postponed till Monday, in order that the House might be better able to consider what amendments it might be necessary to make in the Bill. He had himself looked over it with attention, and had found in it many things which required to be amended. The first was, that the debtor must first swear to his schedule, and then be examined touching the truth of it afterwards. This he considered incongruous, and likely to lead men to perjure themselves. The statement in the schedule of the apparel of the petitioner's wife and family would lead to great inconvenience. The inventory would, in many instances, be very long, and take up a great deal of time. His next objection was, that the debtor was not to be discharged until he had made an assignment of his property to the proper officer. Now he understood that nobody would accept of the office, because, whoever did, would be involved in constant litigation respecting the property so assigned to him. A great inconvenience would arise from the debtor being brought up to be discharged, in custody of the jailor. That would occasion a great expence, when the place of discharge was at a distance from the place of the debtor's confinement. In this Bill also there was no exemption made from the duty on stamps, as in the former. The serving of notices on each of the creditors he thought would be tedious and expensive; and the insertion of the debtor's schedule in the Gazette, and in the newspapers, would be quite sufficient. For these reasons he requested the hon. gentleman would allow the committee on the Bill to stand over till Monday, when he should produce some clauses which he hoped would obviate these defects.
Mr. Hornersaid, that if the hon. gentleman pressed the postponement of the committee he had little objection to it; but he would suggest to him, that it was desirable this Bill should pass as soon as possible. It was not to be expected, that so great an innovation on the 1aw as this was, could be made perfect at first He thought the exceptions of the hon. gentleman to the Bill required more deliberation than could be given them before the adjournment of the House; and it was probable that, when they met again experience

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would point out other improvements to be made in it.
Mr. Kenricksaid a few words against delay; and in answer to an observation that had been made on a former occasion, that creditors could not compel their debtors to give up their property, he observed, that when the Bill came hereafter to be discussed and amended, it was his fixed determination to propose a clause to compel all debtors who had property of any kind, and were living extravagantly on the same in prison, and laughing at their creditors, to take the benefit of the Act, and to give up their property to their creditors.
The House then went into the committee; in which, a clause was added, to compel all printers of newspapers to insert the advertisements of prisoners at the rate of 3s. for the first 50 words, and 6d. for every 10 words above 50. The report was ordered to be received on Monday.