2/0 HARVARD LAW REVIEW. petition, within ninety days after the act alleged in the petition as the ground of proceedings, and not afterwards. The Act of 1844^ added four other grounds for proceedings against a debtor : — (4) Removing himself or any part of his property from the State with intent to defraud creditors; (5) concealing himself to avoid arrest, or concealing any part of his property to avoid at- tachment; (6) procuring himself to be arrested or his property to be attached ; (7) making any fraudulent conveyance or transfer of his property.^ The above provisions are substantially unchanged at the present day; another ground only having been added, (8) in a provision as to fraudulent stopping payment of commercial paper by certain classes of persons.^ The ordinary provisions making fraudulent payments, transfers, and conveyances within six months of the filing of a petition against a debtor void under certain circum- stances,* give a remedy to the assignee merely, and are not expressly made grounds for proceedings by a creditor. Let us now return to voluntary assignments and consider what effect the insolvent laws have had upon them, either through their express provisions, above cited, or their mere existence. In Carter v. Sibley,^ there was an assignment under the Act of 1836, which would not have been good at common law, and the question therefore was whether the Act of 1836 was still in force. It was held that, as far as the statutes of 1838 and 1836 affected the same classes of persons, viz., those whose debts in the aggregate amounted to ^500 or over,^ the Act of 1838 repealed the assign- ment law. It was afterwards decided that the eleventh section of the Act of 1836 was not repealed by the Act of 1838, so that creditors had the double protection of both Acts.^ The assign- ment Act was expressly and entirely repealed in 1856.* 1 St. 1844, ch. 178, § 9. 2 The person receiving such payment, transfer, or conveyance need not have reason- able cause to believe the debtor insolvent to make the transfer bad. St. 1856, ch. 284, §29- 8 St. 1879, ch. 245, § 7. See St. 1894, ch. 261.
- St. 1856, ch. 284, §§ 25-29 ; now P. S. ch. 157, §§ 96, 98.
6 4 Met. 298 (1842). 6 The law of 1838 operated only where the debts amounted to $500 or over. This was reduced by St. 1841, ch. 124, § i, to $200. ■^ See also Wyles v. Beals, i Gray, 233 (1854), where, however, this point was not nece.ssary to the decision; Edwards v. Mitchell, i Gray, 239 (1854).
- Zipcey v. Thompson, i Gray, 243 (1854).
9 Stat. 1856, ch. 163 ; but see 109 Mass. 38, 39.
