THE COURTS OF WESTMINSTER.

TUE Judges went down to Westminster Hall on Wednesday, in pro- , -ession, as is the custom on the first day of Hilary Term. The Equity and Common Law Judgas vere followed by the new Bank- ruptcy Judges, dressed in long wigs and plain silk robes ; the Chief,

Thomas Erskine, like the Chiefs of the other courts, wearing a • ;,: borne by a train-bearer. Justice Park and Mr. Justice Alderson took their seats on the Paeell at half-past one o'clock ; the Lord Chief Justice and the other a Judges of this Court being absent on the Special Commissions. 'I'; I. Sergeants' benches were thinly attended ; Mr. Sergeant Wilde te. tea at Bristol, two other King's Sergeants (Pell and Cross) having Hen raised to the Bankruptcy bench, and Mr. Sergeant Russel to the e:iisn bench ; and Mr. Sergeant E. Lawes having been appointed :liief Registrar of the Baukruptcy Court. Mr. Tattered took his seat within the bar as King's counsel.

The new Court of Bankruptcy was opened on Wednesday. Till some more convenient place is appointed, the Court will hold its sit- tiugs, by favour of the Speaker of the House of Commons, in the Com- mittee Room No. l. At two o'clock, the four Judges took their ants in the following order—on the right of Chief Justice Erskine, Air. Justice Pell; on his left, Mr. Justice Cross and Mr. Justice Rose.

The letters patent constituting the Court were read by Mr. Registrar Law-es. They recite the powers given to the Court under the Act of Parliament, and appoint the Judges and Commissioners whose names have already appeared in our columns. They appoint that the Chief Justice for the time being shall take rank and precedence next after the Puisne Judges of the Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer; the other Judges of the Court next after the Chief Justice,

• zeal the Commissioners next after the other Judges ; both Commis- sioners and Puisne Judges to take precedence amongst each other respectively, according to the order of their appointment. The Chief Justice•said, that the statute under which the Court had been established, requiring that the attomies practising in it should be admitted as members of it, a rule had been made that the ;tummies to lie admitted as attornies of the Court of Bankruptcy must be admitted before the Court of Review, which would accordingly sit for that pur- pose, and for the despatch of other business, at ten o'clock the next day. Mr. Horace Twiss, we see, has declared his intention of practising lcsfora the new Court.

Thursday was chiefly occupied in entering attornies. The rules and orders alt;o, a copy of which follows, were read, and printed copies distributed.

"COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.

" W'Reral Rides and Orders for Regulating the practice of his Majesty's Court of Bank- ruptcy. made by the :fudges of the Court of Review, with the consent of the Lord Chancellor, this 12th day -of January 1832.

t- if is ordeosl that mdi affidavits and other documents directed to be libel in the Court lbeikroptcy. he filed with the Registrars of the Court. That the. Registrars' Office I.' at the (..■ of Commissioners of Bankruptcy, in Basinghall Street, in the City of

1,undon, ball be kept open daily (Sundays excepted) in the morning from ten to heir, and in lm evening from seven to nine.

That :1 tterneys and Solicitors shall be admitted and enrolled in the Court of lii aruptey. " That every Attorney and Solicitor of any of the superior Courts of Westminster . may be admitted and enrolled in the said Court of Bankruptcy, upon the production of a eel-title:Ile from the proper officer, and upon filing his own affidavit of his being such .ir solicitor, mut of the date of his former admission; such affidavit to be sworn liy him, if residing in London, or within ten miles thereof, before the Court of Review; aul if res Ming elsewhere, before a Master in ordinary or extraordinary in Chancery. The a roll or book shall be kept by the Registrars, wherein shill be enrolled the names of all attorneys and solicitors admitted in the Court of Bankruptcy, on pay- ment to the Registrar of a fee of five shillings for such admission and enrolments; such - le: to be applied in the first instance to the payment of the expense of preparing such roll, and the books necessary for the due registration of the names, and the surplus to the same purpose as the fees in the secoud schedule of the Statute first and second William IV., c. 56. " That the Registrars or their deputies shall therewith cause to be prepared, a proper alphabetical book for the purposes after-mentioned, and that the same shall be pub- licly kept at the Registrar's Office, to be there inspected by any such attorney or soli- eitor as aforesaid, or his clerk, without fee or reward; and that every attorney or solici- tor admitted in the Court of Bankruptcy, and residing in London, or within ten miles thereof, shall, upon his admission, enter in such book, in alphabetical order, his name and place of abode, or some other proper place in London, Westminster, or the Borough of Southwark, within one mile of the said office, where he may be served with notices, summonses, orders, and rules in matters depending in the said court; and as often as any such attorney or solicitor shall change his place of abode, or the place where he may be served as aforesaid, he shall make the like entry thereof in the said book ; and that all notices, summonses, orders, and rules which do not require personal service, shall be deemed sufficiently served on such attorney or solicitor, if a copy thereof be left at the place lastly entered in such book with any person resident at or belonging to such place; and if any such attorney or solicitor shall neglect to make such entry, then the fixing up of any notice or the copy of any summons, order, or rule, for such attorney or solicitor, in the office of the Chief Registrar, shall be deemed as effectual and sufficient its if the same had boon Served at such place of residence as aforesaid.

" All existing commissions, when transferred to the Court of Bankruptcy, shall be i duly registered n the Registrar's Office. in books to be kept for that purpose, and shall be prosecuted before such Commissioners as the Court of Review shall appoint. "That the Assignees appointed under such commissions shall be at liberty to retain, until further order, the custody of the commission proceedings heretofore taken thereon, according to the present practice in bankruptcy. " That all proceedings before the Commissioner in the Court of Bankruptcy shall be written on parchment or paper of one uniform size, and shall remain of record in the said Court.

" That every fiat issued by the Lord Chancellor, to be prosecuted in the Court of Bankruptcy, shall be tiled of record in the Registrar's Office within seven days from the date thereof, and that no appointment for the opening of any such fiat shall be made until it shall have been so tiled.

" That upon every application for an appointment for opening any fiat, the Registrar shall, in the presence of the solicitor applying for the same, allot styli fiat, by ballot, to one of the Commissioners of the Court, according to the regulations to be from time to time prescribed by the Court of Review, except in cases of second or renewed fiats. which shall go to the same Commissioner before whom the former commission or fiat was prosecuted. " That upon the making of an appointment for opening any fiat, the Registrar shall, in the presence of such:attorney or solicitor, write upon the face of the fiat the name of t he Commissioner before whom the same is to be opened. " That each fiat shall be prosecuted before the Commissioners so appointed, unless otherwise specially ordered by the Court of Review, or one of the Judges thereof. " That the Commissioners shall sit daily (Sundays and holydays to be hereafter named, only excepted), at ten o'clock, at the Court of Commissioners of Bankrupts in Ba- singhall Street, and shall hold their subdivision 'courts at the same place as occasion may require. "'That a Deputy Registrar shall attend upon eat-it Commissioner, to take minutes of, to draw up, awl have the charge of, all proceedings before ban, under the superin- tendence of the Chief Registrar.

"That in lieu of attaching a copy of the Gazette to the proceedings in each bank- ruptcy, the Deputy Registrar Shall make a memorandum of the appearance of the adver- tisement in the Gazette, and of the date thereof, with proper reference to the tile, to facilitate search.

"That the official assignees be divided equally among the six Commissioners.

"That each Commissioner shall appoint his class of assiences to act in rotation under the several bankruptcies prosecuted before him; such rotation to be settled by ballot. according. to such regulations as aforesaid, exeept in special eases to be referrea by the Commissioner adjudicating therein to the other Commissioners of his subdivision court, or the Court of Review.

" That the same rules for the appointment of official assignees shall be followed as to existing commissioners; but is is reconimended, that no official assignee be appointed under commissions already opened, unless there appears good cause for so doily,.

" That the appointineui of any assignee or assignees to any bankrupt's estate, shalt be under the hand of the Commissioner, and shall remain of record in the said Court of Bankruptcy; and certificates of such appointment under the seal of the Court, shall be delivered to such assignee by the Registrar, upon application for the same.

" That no °Mend assignee shall, either directly or indirectly, carry on any trade or business, or hold, or be engaged in any office or employment other than his said office and employment as official assignee. " That each official assignee shall find sureties to the extent of 6,000/. ; and shall, to- gether with such sureties (except where otherwise especially directed by the Court of Review), execute a joint and several bond to the two Registrars for the time being. and the survivor of them, in the penal sum of 6,0001.

" The official assignees to be made liable to the whole amount. and the sureties to be liable together to the like amount, in such proportions as shall be approved of by the Court of Review, provided that no one surety shall be made liable for more than 3,0001., nor for less than 1,000/.

" That each official assignee shall; on pain of his dismissal, give immediate notice, in writing, to the Chief Registrar for the time being, of the death or insolvency of either of his sureties; and shall, if required, cause a new bond to be executed to the like amount by another surety, to be approved of as above. " That each official assignee shall follow the iustructious of the .Commissioner under whom he acts, according to the exigencies of each particular case, subject to such di- rections as shall from time to time be prescribed by the Court of Review. " net each official 'assignee shall pay into the Bank of England, to the credit of the Accountant-General of the High Court of Chancery, all such sums of money as shall come to his hands, as soon as they shall amount to 1001.; and at the time of paying in such monies, shall state in writing delivered therewith, to the Cashier of the Bank of England, the date and the amount of the payment, the name of the official assignee making it, the name and description of the bankrupt or bankrupts, and the particular estate to which the money belongs ; and that it is to be placed to the credit of the said Accountant-Geueral,. and of such particular estate, aud shall take a receipt for the same from the Cashier of the Bank, and carry it to the office of the Accountant-Gene- ral, who will give a proper voucher for such receipt, such voucher to be produced when called for by time Commissioners. " That it is recommended to the Commissioners to allow the official assignees 1 per cent, on the ninnies they respectively receive, and 1+ per cent. more on the monies ac- tually to be divided, subject nevertheless to be increased or diminished in any case under special circumstances to be referred to the Court of Review.

"That the messengers shall, upon taking possession, forthwith take an inventory of the bankrupt's effects, but that no appraisement shall be made, or other expenses in- curred, without the special direction of the Commissioner, until after the appointment of the creditors' assignees. • " That a table of fees to be allowed to messengers having in the year 1828 been ap- proved of by the then Lord Chancellor. and the duties of messengers having been since diminished, it is recommended to the Commissioners, that all fees contained in that table, except the following, be for the future disallowed in the taxation of the mes- sengers' bills—

s. cf.

Attending the Commissioners until the adjudication for warrant of seizure .. 10 0 Executing the warrant at each place 13 4 Summons to bankrupt to surrender, and duplicate 5 0 Service of summons on bankrupt 6 8

Preparing advertisement for the Gazette, and copy, and attending with, and

fee, the same 6 8 Possession from the day of execution of the warrant of seizure to the choice of assignees, and no longer, per day 5 0 Preparing warrant for bringing up the bankrupt from prison ; attending Commissioner to sign the same, and service on the gaoler 13 4 Summons for assignees to attend audit meeting 6 8 Preparing summonses, anct.serving same upon the assignees 6 • S Proclaiming bankrupt, when he does not surrender to the Commission 3 4

In case of committal by the Commissioners—

Taking into custody, and executing their warrant, messenger, and men's at- tendance, with coach-hire and expenses 21 0

"If. in execution of any of the business above mentioned, the messenger anti his man, or either of them, shall be compelled to travel any considerable distance from London, we submit that, beside the above fees, and in addition to travelling and other necessary expenses, an allowance should be made for the time employed, at the follow- ing rate per day—

For the messenger For his man " That all petitions presented to the Court of Review shall be entered at the Regis- trar's Office, and that the fiat directing the attendance thereon shall be under the seal of the Court of Bankruptcy; and that the original petition shall, when served, be re- turned to the Registrar on or before the hearing; and be filed of record, and that it shall not be necessary to recite such petitions at length in any order pronounced by the Court thereon. " That all the process of the Court of Review shall be under the seal of the Court of' Bankruptcy. - " That all agreements of reference, to be made rules of the Court of Bankruptcy. shall be so made by order of the Court of Review; and all matters arising thereon, shall be heard and determined by the Court of Review. " That all questions respecting the conduct of the officers and practitioners of the Court of Bankruptcy shall be brought before the Court of Review. " That all recognizances to be taken and acknowledged in the Court of Bankruptcy shall be taken and acknowledged before the Court of Review. "That the practice in the Court of Review shall, until otherwise ordered, be con- formed as nearly as may be to the present practice in matters before the Lord Chan- cellor.

s. d.

68 50 "That the first Subdivision Court shall consist of Charles Frederick Williams, Joshua Evans, Robert George Cecil Farm, Esquires; and the second Subdivision Court shall consist of John Herman :derivate, Samuel Martin Fonblanque, nod Ed-

ward Holroyd, Estpires. "1'. ERSKINE, C. J. " ALBERT PELL, J. " J. elms% J.

" G. Ross, J. " 12th January 1832." "Approved, BROUGHAM, C."

At the meeting of the Court on Friday, the following additions to

the above orders were mode—

All commissions of bankrupt heretofore issued and directed to the First and Second Listof Commissioners of Bankrupt shall, IvIten removed into the Court of Bankruptcy, be prosecuted before Charles Frederick Williams. Esq.; those directed to the 'Third and Fourth Lists, before John Iferman Merivale, Etat.; to the Fifth and Sixth Lists, before John Samuel Martin Fool aatupte, Est. ; to the Sal.11th :Ind Eighth Lists. be- fore Joshua Evans, Esq.; to the Ninth and fenth Lists, befine Edward Holroyd, Esq.; to the Eleventh List, before Charles Freder.ek V..illiares, Esq. autl Joshua Evans. Esq. crone of them ; to the Twelfth List, beila..) John Ileriunn Merivale, Esq. and Edward Holroyd. Esq, or one of them ; to the Thirteenth nod Fourteenth Lists, before Robert George Cecil Farm, Esq. In the absence of any Commissioner, any other Commis- sioner may sit for him."