§ DR. TANNERI beg to ask the Attorney General, if his attention has been called to certain proceedings recently before the Registrar in the Brighton Bankruptcy Court, in which the Official Receiver produced an affidavit from a medical man under whose care the debtor has been as a patient at a previous time for the purpose of defeating the contentions of the debtor as to his incapacity by reason of ill-health to submit to the usual public examination, in which proceedings it was stated by the Official Receiver that the medical man referred to swore the affidavit reluctantly, and under the impression that he might otherwise be compelled to attend; and, if the Attorney General can state whether there is at present any power under the Bankruptcy Acts by which a medical man who has been in attendance upon a debtor can be compelled to appear on any proceeding in bankruptcy to be examined concerning any professional knowledge he may have acquired as to the debtor's health; and, 153 if so, whether he will take into consideration the desirability of advising that the law may be amended so as to relieve medical men from any such liability?
§ THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (Sir RICHARD WEBSTER,) Isle of WightThere is power under Section 27 of the Bankruptcy Act 1883, to summon to give evidence any person whom the Court deems capable of giving information respecting the debtor, and under this the Court can certainly order the attendance of a medical man and examine him as to the condition of the debtor's health and as to the debtor's ability or inability to attend and be examined. Without such information the Court could not exercise its power to dispense with the examination or allow it to take place in private in cases in which the debtor may be too ill to attend. I see no reason to make any change in the law