Mar. 23.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 375

RULES.
Preliminary.

1. THESE rules may be cited as the Bankruptcy Rules, 1893, and are hereinafter referred to as “the rules.” They shall come into operation on the first day of May, 1893, and shall also, so far as applicable, and unless otherwise expressly provided, apply to all matters arising and to all proceedings taken under the Act on or after the said day.

2. In the rules and the Appendix hereto, unless the context or subject-matter otherwise requires,—

“The Act” means “The Bankruptcy Act, 1892:”

“The Court” includes a Registrar when exercising the powers of the Court pursuant to the Act or the rules:

“Court of Appeal” includes any Court to which under any Act for the time being in force appeals lie from the Court, as defined by the Act and the rules:

“Bankrupt” means a person adjudicated bankrupt under the Act:

“Creditor” includes a corporation and a firm of creditors in partnership:

“Debtor” includes a firm of debtors in partnership:

“Sealed” means sealed with the seal of the Court:

“Writing” includes print or writing with a type-writer, and “written” includes printed or written with a type-writer:

Words importing the plural number include the singular, and words importing the singular number include the plural, and words importing the masculine gender include the feminine:

The provisions of section 3 of the Act shall apply to the rules and the Appendix, and any terms or expressions defined by the Act shall in the rules and Appendix have the meanings thereby assigned to them.

3. Where, by the rules or by any judgment or order given or made after they come into force, the term for doing any act or taking any proceeding is limited by months not expressed to be lunar months, such term shall be computed by calendar months.

4. Where, by the rules or by any judgment or order given or made after they come into force, any limited time less than six days from or after any date or event is appointed or allowed for doing any act or taking any proceeding, Sunday, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday, and any other day on which the offices of the Court are wholly closed, shall not be reckoned in the computation of such limited time.

Forms.

5. (1.) The forms in the Appendix, or forms to the like effect, with such variations as circumstances may require, shall be used for the purposes specified in the Appendix. Where such forms are applicable, any costs occasioned by the use of other more prolix forms may be disallowed to the party using the same.

(2.) Where no form is provided in the Appendix, a form applicable to the special purpose may be framed by the parties, or by the Judge, using as guides those provided so far as they are applicable; or any form provided by the rules under the Imperial Bankruptcy Act for the time being in force, with such alterations as are necessary, may be used.

Fees.

6. The Registrar shall receive and take such fees as are specified in the table of fees in the Appendix, and in case of dispute as to the proper fee payable the Registrar's decision shall be final.

Advertisements.

7. All notices and proceedings advertised shall be headed by the words “In bankruptcy” in letters larger than those adopted in printing the body of the notices or proceedings advertised, but one heading shall be sufficient for a column of notices if they are all in bankruptcy.

Court and Chambers.

8. Any matter or application pending before a Registrar which under the Act or the rules a Registrar has jurisdiction to determine shall be adjourned to be heard before the Judge, if the Judge shall either specially or by any general direction applicable to the particular case so direct.

9. Subject to the provisions of the Act and the rules, any matter or application may at any time, if the Judge (or, as the case may be, the Registrar) thinks fit, be adjourned from Chambers to Court, or from Court to Chambers; and if all the contending parties require any matter or application to be adjourned from Chambers into Court it shall be so adjourned.

Sittings of Court.

10. The place of sitting of each Court having bankruptcy jurisdiction shall, for the purpose of such jurisdiction, be the place in which such Court now holds or may hereafter hold its sittings for the general business of the Court,

11. The times of the sitting of each Court having jurisdiction in matters of bankruptcy shall be those appointed for the transaction of the general business of the Court, unless the Judge of any such Court shall appoint fixed days for the sittings of such Court in bankruptcy. The appointment of a special day or days for a sitting of the Court in bankruptcy shall not prevent the Court from hearing and determining any bankruptcy matter on any day appointed for the general business of the Court when it may seem expedient so to do.

Proceedings.

12. (1.) Every proceeding in Court under the Act shall be dated, and shall be intituled as shown in the form in the Appendix. Numbers and dates may be denoted by figures.

(2.) The first proceeding in every matter shall have a distinctive number assigned to it by the Registrar, and all subsequent proceedings in the same matter shall bear the same number.

(3.) All proceedings in Court shall be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on paper of foolscap size, with quarter margin or thereabouts, and shall be properly indorsed in the matter with the solicitor's or party's name responsible for the proceedings. The Registrar may refuse to file any document presented to him which does not conform to this rule, subject to an application to the Judge.

13. All proceedings of the Court shall remain of record in the Court, so as to form a complete record of each matter, and they shall not be removed for any purpose, except for the use of the officers of the Court, or by special direction of the Judge or Registrar, or for the purpose of production in any Court in obedience to a subpoena, order, or summons; and they may at all reasonable times be inspected by the Assignee, the bankrupt, or by any person on behalf of the Assignee and bankrupt, without payment of any fee, or by any other person on payment of the fee mentioned in the Appendix.

14. All notices required by the Act or the rules shall be in writing, unless the rules otherwise provide or the Court shall in any particular case otherwise order.

15. (1.) All office copies of petitions, proceedings, affidavits, books, papers, and writings, or any parts thereof, required by or on behalf of any person shall be provided by the Registrar or Clerk of the Court, and shall, except as to figures, be fairly written at length, and be sealed and delivered out without any unnecessary delay, and in the order in which they shall have been bespoken, and shall be charged and paid for at the rate of 4d. per folio of seventy-two words when such copy contains more than three folios, and at the rate of 1s. for each copy containing less than three folios.

(2.) Office copies of any proceedings, documents, or writings which the Assignee shall supply shall be charged for at the same rate.

Proceedings by Company or Copartnership.

16. A bankruptcy petition against or bankruptcy notice to any debtor to any company or copartnership duly authorised to sue and be sued in the name of a public officer or agent of such company or copartnership may be presented by or sued out by such public officer or agent as the nominal petitioner for and on behalf of such company or copartnership, on such public officer or agent filing an affidavit stating that he is such public officer or agent, and that he is authorised to present or sue out such petition or bankruptcy notice.

Proceedings by or against a Firm.

17. Any notice or petition for which personal service is necessary shall be deemed to be duly served on all the members of a firm if it is served at the principal place of business of the firm in New Zealand, on any one of the partners, or upon any person having at the time of service the control or management of the partnership business there.

18. In cases of partnership the debtors shall submit a statement of their partnership affairs, and each debtor shall submit a statement of his separate affairs.

19. No order of adjudication shall be made against a firm in the firm name, but it shall be made against the partners individually.

Service and Execution of Process.

20. Every solicitor suing out or serving any petition, notice, summons, order, or other document shall indorse thereon his name or firm and place of business, which shall be called his address for service: Provided that in proceedings in the Supreme Court, where his place of business is not within three miles of the office of the Supreme Court, he shall add to his own name or firm and place of business another proper place, which shall not be more than three miles from the office of the Supreme Court, which shall be his address for service. All notices, orders, documents, and other written communications which do not require personal service shall be deemed to be sufficiently served on such solicitor if left for him at his address for service.