CESS, probably a corruption for assess, from the Ital. assessare, to impose a tax. It has long been used in England as synonymous with the more modern noun assessment. Camden, in the time of Elizabeth, speaks of every man being " cessed by the pole, man by man, according to the valuation of their goods and lands." Sec LAND-TAX.
CESSIO (Lat. cession or surrender of goods), a process which the law of Scotland has borrowed from that of Rome, and which, like many others, is common to it with most of the continental systems. A C. B. may be defined to be an equitable relief from the severity of the earlier laws of imprisonment for debt, granted to a debtor in consideration of a cession of his goods to his creditors. The jurisdiction in cession formerly belonged exclusively to the court of session, but by 6 and 7 Will. IV. c. 56, it was extended to sheriffs. The principal regulations, with reference to this process, at present in force, are the following: Any debtor in prison, or who has been in prison, or even against whom a warrant of imprisonment has been issued, may apply for a ccssio bohorum. In his petition, he sets forth his inability to pay his debts, and his willing ness to surrender his estates, and prays for interim protection. This petition must be intimated in the Gazette. The bankrupt then lodges with the sheriff-clerk a state of his affairs, subscribed by himself, with all the relative books and papers. On a day appointed for the purpose, he is examined before the sheriff on oath; and if his creditors object to the petition, they arc heard, and a proof, if necessary, allowed them. What
ever order the sheriff may pronounce is subject to review by the court of session. or a lord ordinary in vacation. Cessios originating in the court of session are sued out in the form of a summons, by which all the creditors are called as defenders to the action. Any one or more of them may appear; and the pursuer will not be allowed the benefit of the process, till he has satisfied the court that his insolvency has arisen from misfor tune, and that his disclosure of the state of his affairs is full and honest. The burden of proving objections to his statements, and to the evidence which be may produce, will be laid on the creditors. If the debtor can find caution (q.v.) to attend all diets when called on, the sheriff or the court of session may grant him liberation or protection whilst the process is pending. A decree of C. B. operates as an assignation of the debtor's mova ble estate in favor of a trustee for behoof of the creditors. These trustees, like those in sequestrations, are now placed under the supervision of the accountant in bankruptcy. A C. B. differs from a sequestration (q.v.) in this, that it confers no power on the bank rupt to insist on his discharge, and affords no protection against the attachment of his subsequent acquisitions by his creditors. The debtor has the privilege of retaining his working tools; but nothing beyond what is necessary for mere aliment will be allowed, even to half-pay officers and clergymen.