Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 3.djvu/509

 502 PEDEBAL KEFOBTER. �ehows that it was so treated by them, and mutual concessions were made, very slight on the part of the crediter and very large on the part of the assignee, to effect the settlement. Yet the court itself is restricted by the general orders, so that it cannot authorize the compounding of a claim without notice to creditors, (general order 17,) or at any rate cannot author- ize a compromise except upon testimony, and upon a petition "clearly and distinctly" setting forth "the suhject-inatter of the eontroversy, and the reasons U'hy the assignee tkinks it proper, and most for the interest of the creditors, that it should be set- tled." General order 20. Yet tbis assignee undertook to compromise this matter himself, which clearly he had no power to do, and then, to give an apparent sanction to the settlement already agreed to, he united with the creditor, to ■whose great advantage the settlement was made, in present- ing the matter to the court, not as a matter in controversy or a disputed claim that was to be compounded and settled, but as a case of an unquestioned claim against the estate for which the creditor held seourities of less value than the debt, which he offered to take in full satisfaction thereof. The case thus presented was a clear case for the granting of the order. The real case, which was concealed, was a case on which, according to the settled practice of the court, and under the general orders, it would have directed an inquiry by reference and notice to creditors. �The relation of the parties was such as to suggest the sus- picion that this concealment of the real case from the court was an intended concealment, designed for the benefit of this creditor ; but I have preferred to consider the case as free from intended fraud or deceit. �There is no question of the right of any crediter to make this application. He is interested in the distribution of the estate, and can apply to the court to bave an order which, through mistake or fraud, has been improperly made, to the prejudice of the creditors, vacated and set aside. If he has been buying up claims against the bankrupt, or has a Per- sonal motive in prosecuting this proceeding other than bis mere interest as a creditor, or is acting in concert with the ����