VPRS 17037 Supreme Court Register of Summons Issued Under the Imprisonment of Debtors (Amendment) Act 1865, Bendigo

Full description

A register of summons issued under the Imprisonment for Debt (Amendment) Act 1865 (Act 29 Vict. No 284). Under this Act, a summons could be issued against individuals who had not yet made a payment having received civil judgements that required them to make payment. The summons required them to appear before the court and be examined in relation to their ability to pay. Individuals could be imprisoned by order of the court for a number of reasons that included: failure to have a reasonable excuse for not attending the examination; refusal to be sworn in for examination; or refusal to answer questions during the examination. These actions could be undertaken by the Supreme Court (as in this case) or by lower courts.

There are very few entries in this volume. The information has been recorded in following columns: action number; against whom issued; at whose suit; date of summons; amount; name of attorney issuing summons.

The entries do not record what happened subsequent to the issue of the summons.