Horace Gray

“ But it was held that, while that provision had a wider scope than section 39 of the act of 1855, and was designed to prevent any preference of creditors 'by assignment,' yet it did not avoid deeds of trust in the nature of mortgages, which were only securities for the payment of debts. The court clearly pointed out the distinction between assignments and deeds of trust in the nature of mortgages, saying: 'An assignment is more than a security for the payment of debts. It is an absolute appropriation of property to their payment. ”

“ Beardsley proceeded, said: 'The assignment law of Missouri is not, in letter or spirit, a bankrupt or insolvent debtor's act. A debtor, whether solvent or insolvent, may, in good faith, sell, deliver in payment, mortgage, or pledge the whole or any part of his property for the benefit of one or more of his creditors to the exclusion of others, even though such transfer may have the effect of delaying them in the collection of their debts. ”

“ Nor did the simultaneous appointment of a receiver of the partnership property at the suit of one of the partners alter the nature of the deed of trust, or transform it into a voluntary assignment, within the meaning of the statute of Missouri, as construed by the supreme court of the state. A receiver derives his authority from the act of the court appointing him, and not from the act of the parties at whose suggestion or by whose consent he is appointed ”