shall allege in writing to the county court, or to the general
court of the shore where such debtor shall reside, that such director
hath, directly or indirectly sold, conveyed, lessened, or otherwise
disposed of, or purchased in trust for himself, or any of his family
or relations, or any person or persons, intrusted or concealed, any
part of his property of any kind, or any part of his debts, rights or
claims, thereby to deceive or defraud his creditors, or any of them,
or to secure the same, or to receive or expect any profit or advantage
thereby, or that he has passed bonds, or other evidences of
debt, either without consideration, or on improper consideration, or
lost more than one hundred dollars by gaining at any one time,
or hath assigned or conveyed any of his property with intent to
give an undue and improper preference to any creditor or creditors,
or security, before the passage of this act, the said county court may
thereupon, at the election of the creditor making such allegation,
either examine the said debtor, and any person or persons to whom
he may have made any conveyance of his property, or passed bonds
or evidences of debt as aforesaid, on interrogatories, (of which interrogatories
the person or persons answering the same shall, at
the election of the person or persons making the allegation, be furnished
with a copy or copies,) on oath or affirmation, touching the
subject of the said allegations, or direct an issue or issues in a summary
way, without the form of an action, to determine the truth of
the same, and if, upon the answer of the said interrogatories, or the
trial of the said issue or issues by a jury, such debtor shall be found
guilty of any fraud or deceit of his creditors, or loss by gaming as
aforesaid, or having given preference as aforesaid, he shall be for
ever precluded from any benefit of this act; and in case such debtor
or other person shall, at any time thereafter, upon any indictment
found in the county court of the county in which such debtor may
reside, or in the county court where such oath or affirmation shall
have been taken or administered, be convicted of wilfully, falsely
and corruptly, swearing or affirming to any matter or thing to
which he shall swear or affirm by virtue of this act, he shall suffer
as in case of wilful and corrupt perjury, and be for ever debarred
from any benefit of this act.

CHAP. 110.