~ FOBTY-THIRD UONGRESS. Sxtss. I. Ch. 390. 1874. 18] plation of bankruptcy or insolvency, shall make any payment, gift, grant, sale, conveyance, or transfer of money or other property, estate, rights, or of6d15S, or confess judgment, or give any warrant to confess Judgment, or procure his property to be taken on legal process, with mtent to g'1V6 a preference to one or more of his creditors, or to any person or persons who are or may be liable for him as indorsers, bail, suret1es,or otherwise,·or with the intent, by such disposition of his property, to defeat or delay the operation of this act; or who being a bank, banker, broker, merchant, trader,·manufacturer or miner, has fraudulently stopped payment, or who being a bank, lyanker, broker, merchant, trader, manufacturer, or miner, has stopped or suspended and not resumed payment, within a period of forty days, of his commercial paper, (made or passed in the course of his business as such), or who, being a bank or banker, shall fail for forty days to pay any depositor upon demand of payment lawfully made, shall be deemed to have comtnitted an act of bankruptcy, and, subject to the conditions hereinafter prescribed, shall be adjudged a bankrupt on the petition of one or more of his creditors, who shall constitute onefourth thereof, at least, in number, and the aggregate of whose debts provable under this act amounts to at least one-third of thedebts so provable: Provided : That pmvasc, such petition is brought within six months after such act of bankruptcy _ _ _ shall have been committed. And the provisions of this section shall 5¥°"*“t:’¤° °*, **2: apply to all eases of compulsory or invo untary bankruptcy commenced ';?,eL°Qf OOQEQIQOW since the first day of December, eighteen hundred and seventythree, bankruptcy 0 Om. _ as well as to those commenced hereafter. And in all cases commenced menccd since D c- since the first day of, December, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, °°‘°b°’ 1» lmand prior to the passage of this act, as well as those commenced hereafter, the court shall, if such allegation as to the number or amount of _ petitioning creditors be denied by the debtor, by a. statement in writing ,P°b**€¥ d°PY¤¤ S to that effect, require him to me in court forthwith a full list of his Qufuizr ‘£,“m:‘f,uEQ creditors, with their places of residence and the sums due them respect of pmt.,,,;,, md. ively, and shall ascertain, upon reasonable notice to the creditors, itorq to ille dist of whether one-fourth in number and one~third in amount thereof, as afore- gfdgfls md Bums said, have petitioned that the debtor be adjudged a bankrupt. But if ° °"°‘ such debtor shall, on the filing of the petition, admit in writing that the If debtor admit; requisite number and amount of creditors have petitioned, the court (lf9S3f, **]::1:, S;’M’;;; satisfied that the admission was made in good faith,) shall so adjudge, ·1,m§,,éd_ which judgment shell be final, and the matter proceed without further steps on that subject. And if it shall appear that such num- Extension or time ber and amount have not so petitionedpthe court shall grant rea- t¤*L¤_;*`j;” sonable time, not exceeding, in eases heretofore commenced, twenty petitioned_ days, and, in eases hereafter commenced, ton days, Within which _ _ otber creditors may join in such petition. And if, at the explration Oflénfjnxilgggzsg of such time so limited, the number and amount shall comply with amount 1,,-V8 M_ the requirements of this section, the matter ofbankruptey may proceed; swered; matter to but if, at the eipiration of such limited time, such number and amount proceed. Shall not answer the requirements of this section, the proceedings shall nufgllggntgjg *:1*})*: be dismissed, and, in eases hereafter commenced, with costs. And 1f ,,,,,5,,md, msc ,0 be such person shall be adjudged arbankrupt, the assignee may recover dismissed. back the money or property so paid, conveyed, sold, assigned, or trans- Asengnoe may referred contrary to this act; Provided, That the person receiving such flQ;',*;,f1,,¥;,'°5;’{(§Y 0*;:; payment or conveyance had reasonable cause to believe that the debtor ,,,,,,,,,1) M_ ’ was insolvent, and knew that a fraud on this act was intended; and Promo. such person, if a creditor, shall not, in cases of actual fr .d on his part, be allowed to prove for more than a moiety of his debt; and this hmxta- Pwd of (,0,,,, in tion on the proof of debts shall apply to cases of voluntary as well as mes or mtu. iuvoluutary bankrupty. And the petition of creditors under this sec- Yeriilcat no n 0 f tion may be su$eiently verified by the oaths of the first live s1gH€1‘S P°*‘“°“ °f°""d‘*°" thereof, if so many there be. And if any of said first five signers shall not reside in the district in which such petition is to be died, the same may be signed and verided by the oath or oaths of the attorney or
