Holl v. Deshler

• Decision Date: 13 May 1872
• Citation: 71 Pa. 299
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court
• Parties: Holl <I>versus</I> Deshler.

71 Pa. 299

Holl versus Deshler.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

March 19, 1872.

May 13, 1872.

March 19th 1872.

Before THOMPSON, C. J., SHARSWOOD and WILLIAMS, JJ. AGNEW, J., at Nisi Prius

Error to the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh county: No. 322, to January Term 1872.

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T. B. Metzger and E. G. Schwartz, for plaintiff in error, referred to 35th and 39th sections of the bankrupt law.

E. Harvey and E. Albright, for defendants in error.—The first clause of the 35th section refers exclusively to creditors, or those liable for the debtor: Hood v. Karper, U. S. C. C. East. Dist. Penn., Legal Intelligencer, October 27th 1871; Bean v. Brookmire, U. S. C. C. Missouri, 4 N. B. R. 58. The payment, &c., mentioned in the 39th section must be within four months of the petition: Scammon v. Cole, U. S. C. C. Maine, 5 N. B. R. 259. All parts of a statute must be construed together: 1 Bl. Com. 89; Bonham's Case, 8 Rep. 232. Although the confession was within six months if not within four, it cannot be impeached: Sawyer v. Turpin, U. S. D. C. Mass., 5 B. B. R. 339; Kohlsaat v. Hoguet, U. S. D. C. N. Y. Id. 159; Harvey v. Crane, U. S. C. C. Ill., Id. 221; Maurer v. Franks, Legal Intell., March 17th 1871; Vogle v. Lathrop, 4 N. B. R. 146.

The opinion of the court was delivered, May 13th 1872 by SHARSWOOD, J.

Ex antecedentibus et consequentibus fit optima interpretatio is one of the most important canons of construction. Every part of a statute should be brought into action in order to collect from the whole one uniform and consistent sense, if that may be done; or, in other words, the construction must be made upon the entire statute, and not merely upon disjointed parts of it: Broom's Legal Maxims 513. "It is the most natural and genuine exposition of a statute," says Lord Coke, "to construe one part of the statute by another part of the same statute, for that best expresseth the meaning of the makers:" Co. Litt. 381 a. It is clear by the 35th section of the Bankrupt Law — Act of Congress, approved March 2d 1867 — that in order to avoid a preference by a person being insolvent, or in contemplation of insolvency — the person receiving such preference having reasonable cause to believe that such person is insolvent, and that such preference is in fraud of the provisions of the act — such preference must have been within four months before the filing of the petition by or against the bankrupt. There are two classes of cases referred to in that section — preferences to creditors as to which the limitation is four months — and transfers to strangers as to whom the period is six months: Bean v. Brookmire, U. S. C. C. of Missouri, 4 National Bankruptcy...