David Josiah Brewer

“ That the stock of goods sold at sheriff's sale for less than its value does not, of itself, show wrong on the part of the parties thereto, plaintiffs or defendants. No act is shown tending to prevent a fair sale, and the result-that of realizing less than the value-is a common experience of such sales, and of itself proves nothing amiss. If these plaintiffs failed to attend such sales they cannot complain of the result, and if they did attend they should have seen to it that the property brought its value. ”

“ Nevertheless, the plaintiffs waited nearly five years before commencing any proceedings to charge the preferred creditors, and no satisfactory excuse for the delay is shown. It is well settled that a party who seeks to avoid the consequences of an apparently unreasonable delay in the assertion of his rights on the ground of ignorance must allege and prove, not merely the fact of ignorance, but also when and how knowledge was obtained, in order that the court may determine whether reasonable effort was made by him to ascertain the facts. ”

“ The language of the section is that 'every provision in any assignment hereafter made in this state for the payment of one debt or liability in preference to another shall be void.' A preference given by a debtor after he has made up his mind to execute a general assignment for the benefit of his creditors has been held to be void, upon the theory that such a preference must be regarded as a part of the assignment. There is no such thing as a constructive assignment contemplated by the assignment act. ”