He was thoroughly acquainted with the principles
and history of Bankruptcy laws in this country and England.
But he had no compromise in him. He insisted on the Bill
which he drew, which was a modification of the Lowell Bill,
without being willing to make any concession to objection
or difference of opinion in Congress, or out of it. He said
he would have a perfect law, or none at all. The measure
as he drew it was apparently very austere and harsh to the
debtor. It enumerated a large number of offences for which
the debtor was to be punished by fine and imprisonment, and
by a denial of his discharge. Mr. Torrey's provisions were
not very unreasonable. But they made it seem as if the Bill
were a penal code for the punishment of fraudulent debtors.
A simple provision that any debtor who wilfully should make
false answer to any question lawfully put to him by the Court,
or who wilfully concealed or attempted to conceal any property
from his assignee should lose his discharge and be punished
with a proper and moderate punishment, would have answered
the whole purpose.
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