record, and may appear as joint solicitors; but that does not apply to an individual only retained and employed, but not placed on the record, nor named in the proceedings, and does not constitute him agent in the technical sense which is well known in the profession."

PROCEDURE TO LIQUIDATION.

WITH the modification hereinafter mentioned, all the provisions of this Act shall, so far as the same are applicable, apply to the case of a liquidation by arrangement in the same manner as if the word "bankrupt " included a debtor whose affairs are under liquidation, and the word "bankruptcy included liquidation by arrangement; and in construing such provisions the appointment of a trustee under a liquidation shall, according to circumstances, be deemed to be equivalent to and a substitute for the presentation of a petition in bankruptcy, or the service of such petition, or an order of adjudication in bankruptcy. (Sect. 125, par. 7.)

The modifications in question, or particulars, in reference to which certain majorities of creditors, instead of the Court, are empowered to decide are: As to the close of the liquidation; as to the discharge of the debtor; as to the audit of the trustee's accounts; and as to the release of the trustee, which will be noted in their respective places.

A debtor unable to pay his debts may summon a general meeting of his creditors, and such meeting may, by a special resolution as defined by this Act, declare that the affairs of the debtor are to be liquidated by arrangement and not in bankruptcy, and may at that or some subsequent meeting, held at an interval of not more than a week, appoint a trustee, with or without a committee of inspection. (Sect. 125, par 1.)

The proceedings under these sections are instituted by petition (G. R. 252. Form 106) bearing a 17. stamp. Where the petitioner is a trader, he must, in the petition, set forth the estimated amount of his debts. (G. R. 262.) The petition is signed as in bankruptcy.

The petition must be presented to the same Court to which a petition in bankruptcy against the debtor would have been presented. (G. R. 253.)

In London, it is filed in the office for registration of arrange

ment proceedings in Quality Court (G. R. 315), and all proceedings under the petition are filed in the same office (ib.).

Where liquidation petitions are presented to a County Court acting in bankruptcy, all resolutions thereunder are to be entered at Quality Court. (G. R. 315.)

Application merely to file a petition for liquidation in the London Court, the debtor residing in the district of a local Court (Re Richardson, 14 S. J. 437): the Chief Judge refused the application, observing that he had no jurisdiction to make the order: the petition being filed in the local Court, the creditors could then resolve, if they so wished, to have the proceedings prosecuted in the London Court.

A County Court registrar refused to file a petition for liquidation on the ground that the debtor did not show that he was unable to pay his debts, there being an apparent surplus of about 21., and the County Court judge affirmed the refusal. On appeal, the Chief Judge ruled that the debtor, having stated that he was presently unable to pay his debts, whether or not he could do so must depend upon the realization of his estate, and the order was discharged. (Ex p. Hill, re Hill, MS. note, November 11th, 1872.)

With the petition, the debtor files an affidavit, bearing a 18. stamp (G. R. 252, form. 107), setting forth the place at which it will be most convenient that the first general meeting of creditors should be held, and where an attorney is employed by the debtor, he supports the affidavit by his certificate at the foot. A meeting of creditors is then summoned, to be held at the place mentioned in the affidavit (subject to such place being changed by order of the Court), the time of meeting to be at a stated hour between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a day within one calendar month from the presentation of the petition, unless the Court in any particular case shall otherwise order. (G. R. 254.)

The place of meeting may be changed by the Court on the application either of the debtor himself or of a creditor (bearing a 58. stamp), ex parte, or otherwise, on sufficient cause shown. The application must be made in time to allow of eight days' notice of the change to creditors and debtor, by scaled copy of the order (Form 112) directing the change; the order itself must be gazetted forthwith. The expense of and incident to the order to be paid in such manner as the Court shall direct, and in case of non-payment the copies of the

order will not be sent, but the meeting will be held as originally summoned. (G. R. 259.)

All the provisions of this Act (the Bankruptcy Act, 1869) relating to a first meeting of creditors, and to subsequent meetings of creditors in the case of a bankruptcy, including the description of creditors entitled to vote at such meetings, and the debts in respect of which they are entitled to vote, apply respectively to the first meeting of creditors, and to subsequent meetings of creditors, for the purposes of s. 126, subject to these modifications:

That every such meeting must be presided over by such chairman as the meeting may elect; and

That no creditor shall be entitled to vote until he has proved by a statutory declaration a debt proveable in bankruptcy to be due to him, and the amount of such debt, with any prescribed particulars; any person wilfully making a false declaration in relation to such debt to be guilty of misdemeanour. (Sect. 125, par. 2.)

The first general meeting of creditors is summoned by notice. (G. R. 255. Form 108.)

A sufficient number of forms of the notice, duly signed, addressed, and stamped for post, must be delivered to the registrar, with a request that a meeting may be convened, and a list of creditors (form 110); and such list may be added to, or additional requests and lists be filed, as circumstances may require. Every request must bear a stamp calculated at the rate of threepence for each notice required to be sent with them, exhibiting a form of notice, and stating that similar notices had been posted to the persons mentioned in the lists delivered to the registrar, and stating also the date and place of posting. (G. R. 256.)

The debtor must also deliver to the registrar a notice (Form 108) to be gazetted seven days at least before the meeting. (G. R. 257. Form 111).

Notices summoning any first meeting must be posted at least fourteen days before the meeting. (G. R. 258.)

The notice of meeting is accompanied with a form of proof for the use of the creditors, (Form 109.) which contains also a form of proxy, but the preferable course would be to transmit separately a form of proxy, as in bankruptcy. (Form 33.)

The notice in the Gazette (Form 111) should be gazetted as

in the terms of Rule 257, by the registrar, although a practice has grown up that the debtor's attorney inserts it. In re Groyun, where notices had been served upon creditors by the solicitor, and the registrar had consequently refused to register the resolution, the Chief Judge said, it would be a mischievous thing to introduce the loose practice of giving notice by any person other than the proper officer of the Court. An amended list of creditors must be furnished to the registrar, and, that being done, the notices would be given and the meeting held. Then the proceedings would be regular. (14 S. J. 510.) The notice is prepared in duplicate; one for the Gazette, one for the file of proceedings, and both should be sealed. As a rule, where a petition has been presented and a resolution passed at a meeting of creditors, the resolution cannot be registered unless all the creditors have received notice of the meeting. (Ex p. Rogers, re Rogers, 22 L. T. N. S. 283; 14 S. J. 453.)

The page of the Gazette containing the notice must be filed with the proceedings. (G. R. 13.)

The debtor, or his solicitor, then attends at Quality Court, or the registrar's office in the country, as the case may be, with these various documents. The proper officer examines them, ascertains that they are in proper form, and that the names and addresses of creditors scheduled to the registrar correspond with the notices to creditors before him (G. R. 256); defaces the several stamps, files the petition, and hands to the petitioner or solicitor one of the Gazette notices, sealed. This notice is then taken by the petitioner or his solicitor for publication, to the Gazette. A copy of the Gazette must be purchased, in order that the page containing the advertisement may be filed with the proceedings. (G. R. 13.) Here again, having regard to the precise terms of the General Rules (No. 58), the solicitor performs a duty which belongs to the messenger or high bailiff of the Court, and it is questionable whether any charge made by him for the service can properly be allowed by the taxing master.

The notices of the meeting are then sent by the registrar to the creditors, and the person posting them has forthwith to make and file an affidavit, exhibiting a form of notice, and setting forth that he has posted similar notices to the persons mentioned in the lists delivered to the registrar, and stating the date and place of posting. (G. R. 256.)