§ MR. RADFORD (Islington, E.)To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the practice of the registrars in bankruptcy in repeatedly postponing applications for receiving orders in the case of persons against whom petitions in bankruptcy have been presented, and to the fact that the interval between the bankruptcy petition and the receiving order has, in recent cases, often amounted to many months and sometimes to more than a year; and, in view of the inconvenience caused by this delay, not only to creditors but to third persons with whom the respondent to the bankruptcy 824 petition may carry on business and against whom he may institute litigation, he can see his way to take steps to ensure in such cases a more prompt administration of justice.
(Answered by Mr. Kearley.) I understand that the practice of adjourning the hearing of petitions in bankruptcy from time to time is still very common, not withstanding Rules 168 and 169 of the Bankruptcy Rules, 1886 and 1890. The question of further restricting such adjournments will be considered when the opportunity occurs.