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writing to the court, that such debtor hath directly or indirectly sold, conveyed, lessened or otherwise disposed of, or purchased in trust for himself or any of his family or relations, or any person or persons, intrusted or concealed, any part of his property of any kind, or any part of his debts, rights or claims, thereby to deceive or defraud his creditors, or any of them, or to secure the same, or to receive or expect any profit or advantage thereby, or that he has passed bonds, or other evidences of debt, either without consideration, or on improper consideration, or lost more than one hundred dollars by gaming at any one time, or hath assigned or conveyed any of his property with intent to give an undue and improper preference† to any creditor or security, before the passage of this act or before the time of his application to the court, for the benefit of it, the court may thereupon, at the election of the creditor making such allegation, either examine the debtor, and any person to whom he may have made any conveyance of his property, or passed bonds of evidences of debt as aforesaid, on interrogatories (of which interrogatories the person or persons answering the same shall, at the election of the person or persons making the allegation, be furnished with a copy) on oath or affirmation, touching the subject of the said allegations, or direct an issue or issues in a summary way, without the form of an action, to determine the truth of the same. And if, upon the answer of the interrogatories, or the trial of the issue or issues by a jury, such debtor shall be found guilty of, &c. he shall be for ever precluded from any benefit of this act. And in case such debtor or other person shall, at any time thereafter, upon any indictment found in the county court of the county in which such debtor may reside, or in the county

By the supplementary act of November, 1807, chapter 150. no debtor shall be precluded from obtaining, &c. unless such losing shall have happened within the space of three years next before the application of, &c.

By the act of November, 1807, chapter 55. any deed, conveyance, transfer, assignment or delivery of any property, real, personal or mixed, of any debts, rights or claims, to any creditor or security, made by any person with a view or under an expectation of being or becoming an insolvent debtor, is such an improper preference as is here intended.

where such oath or affirmation shall have been taken or administered, be convicted of wilfully, falsely and corruptly swearing or affirming to any matter or thing to which he shall swear or affirm by virtue of this act, he shall suffer as in case of wilful and corrupt perjury, and be for ever debarred from any benefit of this act.

X. The court may allow any trustee, to be appointed by virtue of this act, such commission for his trouble as they shall think reasonable, not exceeding eight per cent. If any complaint shall be made to the county court of the conduct of any trustee by any creditor interested in the distribution of any estate, or if any trustee hath or shall become insolvent, the court may call such trustee before him, and inquire into the cause of complaint in a summary way and make such rules and orders as shall be judged necessary for the accomplishment of the object of the trust, and punish the trustee as for a contempt in case of his not obeying the same; and if they think it necessary they may remove the trustee and appoint another person in his place.

XI. If any debtor, who shall petition in virtue of this act, shall be imprisoned at the time of exhibiting such petition, it shall be lawful for the court or any judge thereof to order the sheriff or other officer in whose custody he shall be to bring him before such court or judge at a certain time, in the order to be appointed, for the purpose of taking the oath or affirmation herein before mentioned. The sheriff or other officer shall obey the order, and shall be entitled to a preference after the discharge of all liens on the debtor's estate, to all other creditors, in the payment of his account against the debtor for legal fees of imprisonment, and his reasonable expenses in carrying the debtor to the court or judge. The court or any judge thereof may direct that the body of such debtor shall be discharged from imprisonment, and appoint a time when such debtor shall appear before the court, to answer interrogatories which his creditors may propose to him, on not less than three months' notice as aforesaid. Such discharge from imprisonment shall not operate as a discharge of any of the debts of

the imprisoned debtor; and the imprisoned debtor at the time of his discharge, if required by the court, or any judge thereof, shall enter into bond with such penalty and security as the court, or any judge thereof, shall direct and approve, conditioned for his personal appearance at such time or times as the said court, or any judge thereof, shall direct, to answer the allegations of his creditor or creditors, according to the provisions aforesaid; and if the debtor shall not enter into bond, then such debtor shall remain in confinement until the application (if objected to) shall be decided on.

XII. The court may, by order, limit and appoint the time for creditors to bring in and declare their claims, and may examine such creditors, and also the debtor, on oath or affirmation, concerning the same, and on any contested claim, may, if they think proper, order the same, or any fact concerning the same, to be tried on an issue framed for that purpose, and may order any part of the petitioning debtor's estate to be set apart and retained for the eventual satisfaction of any contested claim, or to be brought again into distribution. If any creditor, to whom a real debt is due, shall collude with the debtor to gain an undue preference in the satisfaction of his debt, or for concealment of any part of the debtor's estate or effects, or shall contrive or concert any acknowledgment of the debtor, by parol, or in writing, or any kind of security, to give false colour to his claim for more than is bona fide due, such creditor shall lose his debt truly due, and shall be totally excluded in the distribution.

XIII. If the debtor shall be arrested or imprisoned on any process sued out on any judgment or decree obtained against him, for any debt, damage or costs contracted, owing or growing due, before the time of his application to the court for the benefit of this act, the court, out of which such process issued, or any judge thereof of the court where the said debtor may be arrested or imprisoned, on application made to them, shall and may discharge such debtor on motion; and if the debtor shall be arrested or imprisoned on any process for the recovery of any debt, damages or costs, contracted, owing or growing due before the time of his application to

the court, the court, before whom such process shall be returned, shall and may discharge such debtor out of custody on his common appearance being entered, without any special bail. The discharge of such debtor shall not acquit or discharge any other person from such debt, damages or costs, but all such persons shall be answerable in such manner as they were, before the passing of this act, or before the time of their application to the court for the benefit of this act.

XIV. All proceedings under this act shall be recorded by the clerk of the county court in which such debtor shall reside, who shall be entitled to the same fees as are fixed by law for services in other cases, which shall be paid at the time of obtaining the discharge.

XV. In all appointments of trustees under this act by the court, in the room of any person before appointed, the court shall consult the creditors, and govern themselves by the choice of a majority of them in value, unless upon notice being given by public advertisement, or in such manner as they shall think reasonable, the said creditors shall neglect to make such choice.

XVI. No person who shall apply for the benefit of this act, who shall not execute a deed for all his estate, real, personal or mixed, to any trustee appointed in virtue of this act, within one month after the appointment of such trustee, and bond given by him according to the provisions of this act, shall have any benefit of this act.

The following are the vouchers required in the court of Baltimore county.

1. The petition.

2. Schedule of property and debts.

3. Certificate of the assent of creditors, to the amount of twothirds in value.

4. Affidavit of petitioner and one or more credible persons, that the petitioner has resided two years, &c.

5. Certificate of two printers, that the notification of the intended application (of which a copy is annexed) was inserted in their papers respectively for the space of two months, every other day.

6. Affidavit of the person by whom the notification was posted, naming the places and times, and annexing a copy.

The first supplement, November, 1806. ch. 98. gives authority to the county court or any judge of the county in which the petitioner resides, to extend the benefit of the act to any debtor who shall comply with the requisites of the law, and satisfy the court or judge by competent testimony that he has resided two years within this state next before the making of his application.

The next supplement, November, 1807, ch. 55. is intended to dissipate the doubts that were entertained as to the construction of the words "undue preference," &c. in the ninth section of the original act.

2. Whereas by the twenty-first and last section of the original law to which this is a supplement, any debtor not named in the original law, who is or hereafter may be in actual confinement, and who applies for the benefit of that law under the provisions of the twenty-first section, is placed in a very different situation from that of a debtor named in the law who should be in confinement, inasmuch as the former must apply to the court of his county, which is only in session twice a year, and is not permitted to apply to a single judge out of term time, and must also give two months' notice of his intended application; therefore, be it enacted, &c. [here follows a section in the words of the eleventh section of the original law, to which the reader is therefore referred.]

3. The third section of this supplement invests corporate bodies, executors, administrators and trustees with power to sign their assent to the release of any insolvent debtor.

The third supplement, November, 1807, ch. 150. relates to the proof of gambling, which is restrained to three years next preceding the time of application.

CHAPTER 56. An act to prevent swine from going at large in the town of Belle-Air, in Harford county.

CHAPTER 57. A further supplement to the act, entitled, An act to lay out, and make a public road from the Black House to the Pennsylvania line, in Harford county.