THOMPSON VS. DIFFENDERFER. 491

the state of their affairs, or obtained credit from them or others
thereby. They admitted their liability to the complainants, but
denied that they had ever ceased to carry on their business,
until restrained by the injunction, or had ever discontinued the
payment of their just debts and liabilities, having, on the con-
trary, applied their receipts to the payment of large sums to
their most importunate creditors. They admitted having called
a meeting of the creditors of the firm, their object having been
to procure an extension of time from them, which they believed
would have relieved them from their embarrassments, and
stated, that at the request of some of the creditors present,
they undertook to prepare an exhibit of the state of their af-
fairs, but that some of the complainants to whom they showed
the result, pronounced their statement false and fabricated;

whereupon they offered to have their books examined under the
supervision of one of the clerks of the complainants, and had
always been ready to do so; that their books have ever been
open to the inspection of their creditors, and that many of them,
not parties to the bill, to whom they had been shown, expressed
a willingness to continue their business relations with them.
The defendants stated, that they were perfectly solvent, and
had been so, ever since they began business, and never did
admit the contrary to any one, nor did they ever state that
they had created no liens upon their stock, but averred that
some of the complainants, at least, had notice of said as-
signments immediately after they were made, that said as-
signments were not made in fraud of creditors, or with intent
to take the benefit of the insolvent laws, but were made to se-
cure the grantees on account of loans made by them to the de-
fendants, and in compliance with promises made them by de-
fendants, to secure them in that way whenever they should re-
quest it; and that it was only at the urgent request of the
grantees that they had executed the bills of sale. They stated
that they had been selling off their goods prior to the injunc-
tion, but without any deviation from the usual course of busi-
ness, and had applied their receipts to the payment of their
debts, or the replenishing their stock in trade; and that