§ The Earl of Devonpresented a petition from Mr. Adam Murray, the land-agent, of Parliament-street, complaining of the loss he had incurred by the failure of Mr. Abbott, the official assignee to Messrs. Remington, Stephenson, and Co. He believed, if the creditors and assignees had exercised a due degree of vigilance, so large an amount would not have been suffered to remain in the hands of the official assignee. The subject, however, was worthy the immediate and earnest consideration of their Lordships. It might be a matter for consideration whether a larger amount of security might not be required from the official assignees, and also, whether the balances in their hands should not be paid up at fixed periods.
Lord Broughamentirely concurred in the observations of the noble Earl, and he thought the statement he had made would be worthy of consideration in the event of any contemplated alteration in the law. For himself, personally, he had nothing to do with the appointment of the official assignees under the bill which he had introduced. The selection was made, in the first instance, by a board composed of the governor and deputy governor of the Bank of England, the governor and deputy governor of the East India Company, some of the principal merchants of the city, and two or three judges of the Bankruptcy Court. When the appointments were making, there were not less than 1,500 candidates for the different situations, and, therefore, so far as the field of choice was concerned, it was ample enough. This board, after carefully 723 investigating the subject, made a report in the course of six weeks. They had carefully examined into the merits of the several candidates, and the first eighteen persons on their list had been appointed exactly in the order in which their names stood. It only showed how futile, after all, the most strict and searching investigation into character was, for, at the time of the appointment of Mr. Abbott, no one could receive a higher character for integrity and business habits. Unhappily the result did not justify this opinion. Notwithstanding, however, the objections of the petitioners, he would venture to say that there was no power under the New Bankruptcy Act which had given more general satisfaction than the appointment of official assignees. It appeared to him that the allowing so large a balance to remain in the hands of the official assignee was extremely injudicious, and argued a great neglect of the interests of the creditors.
§ Lord Cottenhamobserved that previously to resigning the seals he had directed an inquiry to be instituted with the view of learning how it happened that such large balances were allowed to accumulate in the hands of the official assignees, and to prevent the recurrence of such a circumstance. The report, however, had not yet been received.
§ Petition laid on the Table.