FARMER’S FAILURE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 50, Issue 268, 26 August 1930, Page 6

FARMER’S FAILURE.

ILL-HEALTH AND BAD TIMES. CREDITORS’ MEETING LAPSES. A meeting of, creditors in the bankrupt estate of James Coskerie, of Ruapuna, farmer, was called for this morning before the Official Assignee (Mr A. J. Young), but lapsed for want of a quorum. Mr L. A. Charles appeared on behalf of bankrupt* . The statement of bankrupt s affairs showed that the unsecured creditors totalled £248 6s 9d, and the assets were nil. There were no secured creditors, > , The unsecured .creditors were as ioiAshburton. —Tuckers, Ltd. £2 2s, Wright, Stephenson and Co., Ltd. £1 10s, E. Eaden £ls, Ashburton Motors, Ltd. £5 10s. Timaru. —J. Needham £ll 8s 4d. Waimate. —Hospital Board £4 Is. Christchurch. —Vacuum Oil Co. £2l 14s sd, Christchurch Times Co., Ltd. £2 16s. Geraldine.—Morrison Brothers £lo 4s lid. . , _ Mayfield.—J. A. Lilley £5 5s sd, G. H. Clements £ll 2s 4d, T. McDowell £4.

Ruapuna.—F. Trasker £4 Is 6d. Carew. —Skinner and Wilkinson £1 9s. Ruapuna and Mayfield.—T. Bennett and J. Brown £143 Is lOd. In his sworn statement, bankrupt said that he had been farming on a property of 100 acres at Ruapuna since 1919. The property was held under a lease in perpetuity and was mortgaged to the State Advances Office. He had ail overdraft at the Bank of New South Wales which was guaranteed by Mr T. Bennett, of Ruapuna, and Mr J. Brown, of Mayfield. They took a second mortgage over the farm to secure themselves, and Mr Bennett also has an instrument by way of security over live and dead stock for the same purpose, and also to secure other moneys owing to him. The property in itself was not large enough to support bankrupt, and he increased his earnings by working for neighbouring farmers: Of recent years ill-health and rheumatism prevented him from taking much outside work, and consequently he was unable to make any headway. Last season was a particularly bad one for him. He used to do little cropping, and depended upon his wool and fat lambs and four or five cows for the bulk of his returns. As a result of the fall in prices, his returns were very poor and he exceeded the limit of liis overdraft at the bank, and could obtain no further accommodation. His guarantors were called upon and they naturally brought pressure to hear upon him and obtained a purchaser for his farm at £l4 10s per acre, which he considered a very good price. The purchaser also took over his stock. After every thing had been cleaned up there was a shortage to these secured creditors of £143 Is lOd. He had outside debts of about £IOO, and several of these creditors had been pressing him. He was unable to pay them, and saw no prospects of being able to do so. He had no assets. The little furniture they had was worth about £3O, was mostly about 20 years old, and belonged to his wife. He had a family of seven, five were at home, and four of these were still going to school. At present lie was out of work, and the purchaser ’of his farm was allowing him to stay in the house, but he would have to vacate it shortly. Ho was 57 years of age: He could make no offer to his creditors, as he would have to work for wages and had no prospects. He ascribed his bankruptcy to his illhealth, which had prevented him from supplementing the income from his farm by taking outside work, and to the prevailing bad times which caused his returns to be much less than in Erevious years, and so prevented him eing able to carry on.