Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/804

 792 FEDERAL, REPORTER. �consent in writing of a majority in number and value of his creditors to his discharge. It also appears that on a former occasion, in 1877,' and prior to the filing of the; petition and adjudication in this case, thejbankrupt and ope Martin Mad- son,a8,copartner$,;doing busineas under the ;firm nameçf J. Bjornstad & Co., filed • their yoluntary petition in this court to be dedared banltr^pts, &nd under and as a part of the prpceftdings in that, case thpy Qbtftined a, composition with their creditors, which was oonôrmed by order of the court on AprUlO, 1877., ■• :,;, vi 'r.i>i' �The Question now* on this ûpi^lacRtion for a dischjBJge, is whether the case conies iwithinth'e pj:ovision of, sec|tion.5;116, E&v. St., which is that "np person who bas been disoharged, and afterwarda becomes banl^upt on his own^ application, shall be again entitled to aidisehftrgej whose estate is insuflB.- cient to pay 70 per centum of ; the debts proved iagainst it, unlesg the assent in writing.of three-fourths in value of his creditors who have proved their cl%ims i^ filedi at or before the timeof application for discharge." �It is claimed by the bankrupt that he bas never been "dis- charged" within the meaning of the provision ; but I am sat- isfled he has. The eiïect of the composition proceedings was to discharge him from ail his debts, — aswell those infavorof his creditors wha were opposed to the composition as of those in favor of it. It is tme, the discharge came by operation of law, and as the effect of the composition proceedings, rather than by any formai order of the court. But the resuit is the same. He was discharged from his debts, as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings, as certainly as though no composi- tion had taken place, and he had been discharged by an order of the court at a later stage of those proceedings. �The purpose of section 5116 is to impose a stricter and additional requisition as a condition: of a discharg^ in a case when the bankrupt :Coming,in,voluntarily, and filing his peti- !tionj has once before had the'benefit c^ the bankrupt law, and by vir tue of it been discharged from his obligations. �In such case, unless he pay 70 percent, of the proved debts he must obtaiù the consent of three-fourths in value of ����