plete, and the vessel cannot be stopped, then by sending another copy of the bill of lading to a second party at the port of destination of the goods, with instructions to stop the goods until this holder of the second bill of lading shall have satisfied himself, on behalf of the assignees, of the due protection and payment of the drafts passed by the insolvent. If the shipment of goods have been made in consignment for sale, on account of the insolvent, and the unshipment appear connected with considerable loss to the estate, then the board of managers, if they deem it best, may let the goods take their course, instructing the consignee to remit the proceeds to them. These rules are also applicable to goods despatched by land.

Whenever goods bought at other places in Russia, or abroad, on account of the insolvent, have got into his possession before his declaration of insolvency in court, then they belong to his estate; but if they arrive after such declaration, then they do not belong to the estate, except there be a balance due to the insolvent from the shipper, equal to the amount of the goods; or the insolvent should before declaration, have accepted drafts on him to the amount of such goods.

Goods sent to the insolvent in consignment, having got into his possession before the declaration of insolvency in court, belong to the estate, and the consignor is only entitled to a claim of dividend for the amount of the nett proceeds, the same as other creditors. This is also the rule with regard to goods, despatched in consignment, if, though not yet received, the same be proved to have been sold by the insolvent before his declara. tion of insolvency, on bill of lading and invoice, and the money received by him; the transaction having in such case been concluded before the declaration. If such goods, coming in consignment, have before arrival been sold on credit, without the bankrupt's guarantee of the buyer, (the charge for delcredere not having been made to the consignor,) and the buyer's bill received, be still in the possession of the insolvent, untransferred to other hands; then such bill supplies the place of the goods, and has to be delivered up to the consignor as his property, on receiving from him payment of the charges disbursed on the goods, with commission. But if the bankrupt have guaranteed the buyer, and made an adequate charge, then the bill belongs to the estate; and the consignor of the goods is only entitled to claim dividend; while the party who bought the goods, and paid the amount, or gave a bill in lieu thereof, is entitled to receive them as soon as they arrive by sea or by land.

Goods ordered by the insolvent on account of others, and arriving after his declaration of insolvency in court, though the bill of lading and invoice may have been received before, do not belong to the estate, and are held at the disposal of the person for whom they were ordered. The shipper of such goods, if he be still creditor for the amount already received by the bankrupt from the party, who ordered the goods through the bankrupt, has to claim dividend on the estate. A bankrupt having ordered and imported goods by order of a neighbor, and received from the latter the amount in advance, but sold the goods by bill of lading to some other person before his declaration of insolvency, thus fraudulently depriving the party who ordered them, of his property, is impeachable of fraudulent bankruptcy.

If there be goods on hand with the bankrupt, intrusted to him before his being declared insolvent, in his capacity of commission agent, simply for the payment of duties, and for forwarding of the goods to an ulterior des

tination; such goods belong to their owner, and must be delivered up to him or to his proxy without delay, on payment of duties and charges disbursed by the bankrupt. If it be discovered that the bankrupt having had to act simply as a forwarding agent, has, without the consent of the party for whom the goods were destined, sold the same, or transferred the bill of lading to others, receiving the amount, then he is also impeachable as a fraudulent bankrupt; while the buyer is not answerable, unless it be proved that he had been privy to, and participated in the fraudulent design.

The board of managers have to come to a conclusion whether the insolvency is to be deemed unfortunate, or careless, or fraudulent, the latter being a criminal case. If it be deemed unfortunate, they may with the consent of the court, and without awaiting a general meeting of creditors, liberate the insolvent immediately from custody, without requiring bail.

The board of assignees having fulfilled all their duties as above enumerated, fix a time for a general meeting of the creditors, whose claims are admitted. Such a meeting is deemed full, if the number of creditors appearing own two thirds of the gross amount of debts. The board have to lay before the meeting-1st. A detailed report of their transactions; 2d. An account of assets and debts; 3d. A computation of dividends; and 4th. A conclusion concerning the causes of the insolvency. The meeting either approves of and confirms, or if necessary, modifies the accounts and proposals of the board for bringing matters to a termination.

If the meeting find that the board of managers have been guilty of any neglect of duties or abuse of power, they report the same to the commercial court, which investigate the charges brought against the board, appointing a new president, and the meeting immediately proceed in electing new assignees from amongst themselves; nor can the court refuse to appoint a new president to such new board of managers. This intermediate question being at rest, or set to rights, the meeting comes to a final conclusion-1st. Concerning the realization of the property still remaining on hand; 2d. Concerning the final classification of the claims and the rate of dividends to be paid; and lastly, respecting the degree of guilt to be attributed to the insolvent debtor.

If the insolvent be pronounced unfortunate, the consequences are: 1st. Liberation from prison, if he be still in custody; 2d. Restoration of a character of honor, the same as if he had not failed, and relief from fur. ther responsibility; and 3d. Awarding to the insolvent and his family, of such part of the assets, in the shape of a voluntary gift, as his misfortune and good conduct may appear to them to deserve.

The consequences of careless failure are: 1st. Continuation of imprisonment, doing away bail, for a period of from one to three years, including the time he may already have been in custody; leaving it to the court to mitigate the sentence; 2d. The total loss of the right to carry on trade, which he can subsequently only resume with the special consent of his creditors, on his prevailing on them to grant such consent before the court. If, in the mean while, the careless bankrupt gets into possession of property by inheritance, gift, or otherwise, the whole of it is claimed by the admitted creditors, in further discharge of his debts; and this also applies to property acquired by him in trade resumed with the consent of his creditors; in this latter case however, his new creditors in business have pre

ferable claims to be paid in full, before the old ones can come in for a share.

The consequences of fraudulent insolvency are: 1st. Impeachment of fraud in the criminal court, and of perjury, if after making oath, to discover and give up all his property, the debtor shall have attempted to conceal any part of it; 2d. Criminal impeachment of any parties that have been privy to, or instrumental in committing the fraud; 3d. Restitution of payment made to the accomplices in part of fraudulent transactions and claims, such sums belonging to the estate; the criminal court inflicting punishment according to law. Such conclusions of the meeting of the creditors are submitted to the confirmation of the commercial court, and then published in the public papers of both capitals.

A private compromise entered into by a bankrupt during the six months preceding his declaration of insolvency in court, with part of his creditors, to the prejudice of others in the same predicament, is void. Such a compromise can only be valid-1st. If concluded in a general meeting of creditors at the expiration of legal summons for making claims; 2d. If in such meeting two thirds of the creditors by amount of claims, have assented; 3d. If confirmed by the commercial court. Such a compromise may also be entered into under a board of managers in concursu, and if concluded, supersedes it, with a cessation of legal proceedings in court.

The guardianship of an insolvent estate is entitled to a remunerative commission of 1 per cent on all property realized under it, not exceeding about £14,000, and of per cent on the surplus. The creditors may award more. The board of managers, including the president, are jointly entitled to a commission of 2 per cent of the amount of assets realized.

Russian, as well as foreign merchants, and other trading classes, are bound to keep regular books, according to the forms prescribed for the different classes of trade, and to balance the same annually, towards ascertaining the state of their property. Books regularly kept have the strength of half or full proofs in disputes, under the respective circumstances, prescribed by the laws. In lawsuits it is optional with a solvent merchant, to produce or not to produce his books by way of proof; but in questions concerning inheritance and co-partnery, when one of the litigating parties refers to their contents, the court may order the production of the books in court, or to a member of the court, for the perusal of certain passages therein, but even then they need not be delivered up or left in the court. In all other cases a solvent merchant's books constitute a sacred secret of his own, which nobody is allowed a right to encroach upon or divulge.

In cases of insolvency declared in court however, the books, as above stated, are taken from the debtor by the guardian, and then delivered to the board of managers for examination and investigation. If they be found deficient or incorrect, the debtor is impeachable of fraudulent bankruptcy without benefit of justification. The severity of this law can only be mitigated in regard to petty dealers and shopkeepers, the amount of whose business does not exceed about £470 per annum, the creditors assembled being allowed to decide, whether their irregularity is to be considered as having arisen from fraudulent intention or not. Books must have been preserved and be found in existence for the last ten years preceding failure. The Russian code of laws contains the most minute in

structions and details regarding the kind of books required to be kept by each class of merchants, according to the nature of their trade, with complete proforma sets.

ART. IV.-IRON TRADE OF SWEDEN AND NORWAY.*

SWEDEN has been long celebrated for its mines and mineral productions, particularly iron, which still forms one of the principal exports, although it has much decreased of late years. By an account taken by the government in the year 1748, we find that, at that time, there were 496 foundries, with 539 large hammers, and 971 small ones, for making bar and other manufactures of iron, which produced 304,415 ship-pounds, (7 to a ton,) or nearly 40,600 tons.

The government established an office in 1740 to promote the production of iron, by lending money on the ore, even at so low a rate as 4 per cent. ; a correct register was then made of the mines, which is still continued. Each forge has its particular mark stamped on the bars of iron it produces, which is correctly copied into the manuscript, with the name of the place where the establishment is situated-the names of the proprietors of the work—the commissioner or agent for the sale of the iron-the assortment each makes, and to what country it is generally shipped-the quantity annually made by each work-the quantity which each work delivers to the government (which is about 1 per cent on the quantity of the iron produced) the estimation of the quality of the iron of each work, which is variable-the place and province in which the works are situated-the place from whence the iron is generally shipped-and how many hammers each work has all which particulars are regularly and alphabetically described and arranged.

As the working of the mines is attended with considerable expense, and the sale of the iron uncertain, the Bank of Stockholm receives that metal as a proper security for a loan. The iron being duly appraised, and lodged in the public warehouse, the proprietor receives three fourths of its value, at the interest of 3 per cent, and when he can find an opportunity to dispose of his iron, it is again delivered to him, on producing a certificate from the bank, that the loan upon it is duly discharged.

The following account of the state of the forges, producing 1500 shippounds of iron and upwards, is taken from the "Voyage de deux Français, dans le Nord de l'Europe; 1790-92." It is to be observed that they only speak of those forges of which the produce is taken to Stockholm :—

* Prepared chiefly from Scrivenor's "Comprehensive History of the Iron Trade, throughout the world, from the earliest records, to the present period," published at London, 1841.-Ed. Mag.

m, middling; g, good; r 8, red-short; b, best.

There are in all 299 large forges, which furnish 227,507 ship-pounds, besides 92 small ones belonging to a company of peasants, furnishing 18,236 ship-pounds.-Total, 245,743 ship-pounds. These forges employ 373 hammers; there are, besides, twelve inconsiderable forges, of which neither the hammers nor the products are stated.

The iron mine of Dannemora, the most celebrated in Sweden, is situated in the province of Upland, about one English mile from Osterby, and thirty English miles north of Upsala. This mine was discovered in the year 1448, and though it has now been wrought for nearly four centuries, it still yields abundance of the best iron in Europe.