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TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch.9. 1841.

Proviso; per-sons declaredbankrupts attheinstance of cre-ditors, entitledto trial by jury.

Where per-sons reside at agreat distance.

Payments,&c.made in con-templation ofbankruptcy,&c.

Assignee un-der the bank-ruptcy may re-cover the same,as part of theassets.

Such prefer-ences prevent adischarge.

Proviso.

Proviso.

Preference toany creditor toprevent a dis-charge, &c.

Proviso.

dollars, shall be liable to become bankrupts within the true intent andmeaning of this act, and may, upon the petition of one or more of theircreditors, to whom they owe debts amounting in the whole to not lessthan five hundred dollars, to the appropriate court, be so declared ac-cordingly, in the following cases, to wit: whenever such person, beinga merchant, or actually using the trade of merchandise, or being a re-tailer of merchandise, or being a banker, factor, broker, underwriter,or marine insurer, shall depart from the State, District, or Territory, ofwhich he is an inhabitant, with intent to defraud his creditors; or shallconceal himself to avoid being arrested; or shall willingly or fraudu-lently procure himself to be arrested, or his goods and chattels, lands,or tenements, to be attached, distrained, sequestered, or taken in exe-cution ; or shall remove his goods, chattels, and effects, or conceal themto prevent their being levied upon, or taken in execution, or by otherprocess; or make any fraudulent conveyance, assignment, sale, gift, orother transfer of his lands, tenements, goods or chattels, credits, or evi-dence of debt: Provided, however, That any person so declared a bank-rupt, at the instance of a creditor, may, at his election, by petition tosuch court within ten days after its decree, be entitled to a trial by jurybefore such court, to ascertain the fact of such bankruptcy; or if suchperson shall reside at a great distance from the place of holding suchcourt, the said judge, in his discretion, may direct such trial by jury tobe had in the county of such person’s residence, in such manner, andunder such directions, as the said court may prescribe and give; andall such decrees passed by such court, and not so re-examined, shall bedeemed final and conclusive as to the subject-matter thereof.

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That all future payments, secu-rities, conveyances, or transfers of property, or agreements made orgiven by any bankrupt, in contemplation of bankruptcy, and for thepurpose of giving any creditor, endorser, surety, or other person, anypreference or priority over the general creditors of such bankrupts; andall other payments, securities, conveyances, or transfers of property, oragreements made or given by such bankrupt in contemplation of bank-ruptcy, to any person or persons whatever, not being a bona fide cre-ditor or purchaser, for a valuable consideration, without notice, shallbe deemed utterly void, and a fraud upon this act; and the assigneeunder the bankruptcy shall be entitled to claim, sue for, recover, andreceive the same as part of the assets of the bankruptcy; and the per-son making such unlawful preferences and payments shall receive nodischarge under the provisions of this act: Provided, That all dealingsand transactions by and with any bankrupt, bona fide made and enteredinto more than two months before the petition filed against him, or byhim, shall not be invalidated or affected by this act: Provided, Thatthe other party to any such dealings or transactions had no notice of aprior act of bankruptcy, or of the intention of the bankrupt to take thebenefit of this act. And in case it shall be made to appear to the court,in the course of the proceedings in bankruptcy, that the bankrupt, hisapplication being voluntary, has, subsequent to the first day of Januarylast, or at any other time, in contemplation of the passage of a bankruptlaw, by assignments or otherwise, given or secured any preference toone creditor over another, he shall not receive a discharge unless thesame be assented to by a majority in interest of those of his creditorswho have not been so preferred : And provided, also, That nothing inthis act contained shall be construed to annul, destroy, or impair anylawful rights of married women, or minors, or any liens, mortgages, orother securities on property, real or personal, which may be valid bythe laws of the States respectively, and which are not inconsistent withthe provisions of the second and fifth sections of this act.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the property, and rights