FO371-46252 — Page 103

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(a) Until such time as it may be announced that the old accounts between the banks and their customers are re-opened, all pay- ments made to the banks from the date horoof shall, except by agree- mont between the parties hercto, be decmed to be mado and to remain unaffected by any cross claim or set-off between a bank and its customers, and the bank shall have no right to appropriate any such payments to any obligation of a customer incurred before the date hereof.

This clause is intended to encourage depositors and to protect the customer from any appropriation by the bank of any payment to a prior debt of the customer. Appropriation can only be made in respect of debts due and payable; during the moratorium and until the unfreezing of old accounts debts prior to the date of the Ordinance will not be due and payable.

DEBT MORATORIUM.

The due date for the payment of any debt or monetary obligation which, but for the provisions of this debt oratorium would be due and payable in the Colony in legal tender of the Colony, shall be postponed to (a date throe calendar months horefron) or to such further date as may from time to time be announced.

Owing to the inevitable delay in recovering records, invosti- gating and screening accounts and ascertaining the position of assets and liabilities at the date of occupation, the absence of" customers from the Colony and at the date of re-opening, and the impracticability of the immediate settlement of accounts, it is essential to have a Debt Morator- ium of at least three months, capable of further extension if considered necessary by the Finance Committec.

The Koratorium to be effective should be absolute for at least the first three months, admitting later of settlements as uniformly as possible under later announce- ments.

The Moratorium is limited in its application to debts payable in the Colony which involves payment in the legal tender of the Colony. The Ordinance could not doal with obligations to be performed outside the Colony which might involve international jurisdictional relationships.

4.

NEGOTIABL INSTRUKTS.

No ncgotiable instrument mado before the occupation or oratorium shall bo doomed to have bo como in- valid by reason only of failure within the required time to present the instrument for acceptance of payment or to give notice of non- acceptance or non-paymont to drawers or endorsers, or to protest the instrument, nor by reason of failuro

Owing to the almost inevitablo difficultios, lack of facilities and absence of partics from the Colony, it will be necessary to provide a period of at least equal length to the Moratorium for complotion of necessary formalities.

As it was impossible as between

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