Imprisonment

Imprisonment. By the Debtors' Act 1869 imprisonment for "making default in payment of a sum of money" has been abolished except in certain specified cases, of which the more important are - default in payment of a penalty, not in respect of contract, default in payment of sums recoverable before a Justice of the Peace, and default by trustees or solicitors after order to pay; but in such cases the duration of the imprisonment is not to exceed one year. The above Act, however, gives any court a power of committal on default of payment when the party has the means of paying, and if the court be an inferior one when the debt does not exceed £50, but no such committal is to operate as a satisfaction or extinguishment of the debt.