PUBLIC EXAMINATION IN BANKRUPTCY.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 219, 17 September 1888, Page 8

PUBLIC EXAMINATION IN BANKRUPTCY.

Mr Suiter Before the Court

At the sitting of the Supreme Court in Banco, held this morning before Mr Juatic 6 Gillies, the matter of the: public examination of the. principals in the bankruptcy o W. J. Suiter and Co. came on. Mr Cave appeared for the Oificial Assignee, Dr. Me* Arthur for, Sutton. and .Co., creditors, and Mr Thoa. Cotter for the bankrupt. ■ '■_" The motion of the creditors asking for the public examination having been read, Mr W. J. Buiter^was duly sworn, and stated that the sworn sbabemeub as ;rea'ct was .made by him and was correct,* and that the minutes of the meeting in his estate as read was also correct. •""•'■*/ : The bankrupt was then examined by Dr. McArthur, when he sw!ore :^-;Mr Probheroe became my partner in May, 1886, >hen my business was in a flourishing condition. He put £1,500 into the business when he joined. I think my position at the bank waa very good then; there was a little debit balance, I think, some £200 odd. It was ab.ut £275 6s. On July 31st, two months after, as will be seen by my bank book, we had a ci'edib balance there of £16 2s 9d, It;; was within two or three months after Mr Protheroe joining that. I received the £1,500; the books will show for certain. His Honour: Has nob all this been already shown at the public meeting of the creditors, Dr. McArthur ?.: What is it that you want to show •?"■./ . Dr. McArthur: May it please your Honor, I wish to show that bnis money was received within the two months, and thac it has unaccountably been absorbed. : • ■..:;■ His Honor: The books will show that surely; and the statement should have been obtained at the first examination. Dr. McArthur: the bankrupt has never sworn that he received the money in lhab time, your Honor. ' , To Mr Suiter: I want you to state did you receive the money in the two months. Mr Suiter: I; admit to having received that mouey within the two months. Dr. McArthur: If your business was in such a flourishing condition as you state how is it that this £1,500 had, all been,ab- ;- sorbed within such a .short period ? What became of the money between May and July? ■ . ■■; .'■'.:/ :■ ;'''i '' ■' .• ' Mr Suiter t I have prepared a abatement here (pro uoing it) showing that my business at thetime was in a flourishing condition and showing my profits. As for, the expenditure of the £1,500, there was £276 debit balance at the; bank, £70 personal cash, £356 cash, £100 cash to Mrs Suiter,- £75 cash to the Kamo Hotel, £150 cash to another hotel, £100 to Suttori arid Co., £120 for a new copper and £368 for a new cbpperhbuse and cellar, This makes over £1600. I had a good well once, but Sutton and Co. sank one about 15 feet away on their/place and, ran it dry! anditcoatme£4otolay pipes» etc., to Mr; Seccombe's place and afterwards £100 for sinking another well. ~ Dr. McArthur.: Will you swear that this' moneyMwas spent withiri the two months? Mr Suiter: There or thereabouts. Dr. McArfchur: Are theßO items taken; but of the two months ? • ? Mr Suiter: I have not had my books to get them from. The items r are only roughones. •■■ ; ' '"■'■: ■•' -r1 - r : ' '■'- " ■:•'■ ''''7•' ' ' ■' ', .'' ' : His Honor: ,Is the £1,500 entered in the^ bookß as received ? F ; . _ Dr. McArthur: It is, your Honor. • .His Honor: Surely then the cash-book' Tfill show how the money was expended. Dr. McArthur: Yes,' your Honor, but tiio cash-book does nob show it in the wime way as the bankrupt now states. His Honor: What goMwulbhis examination do then, unless you ch^^^ items in the cash book t Dr. McArthur: Then y your Honor we will on}y take the explanation giveu by the cash book? '■ . .--,,•.: His Honor: Certainly* . ; Mr Suiter, examination continued :— Were ib agoodsbatnpl.would consider the bottled beer on :our premises :Jwhen > they were seized by: Sutton and C0.,b0 be fully.-. worth £1,000. But it.would go bad io %ho bottles, having been made with theVinferior malt supplied by Sutton'and Co. Could not say what the stock .was insured for. It would be aboub £750. ; f ;. .■: ; i - Here Hl3 Honor interposed and wished to know what that had to do with the matter. Dr. McArthur said he. wished to show thai the stock was a worthless ione> when His Honor said bhatthab 1 did nob mabter. The insurance was a floating one for a twelvemonth, and was nbton the stock at the '.time."'-.' -■ s .'■ ■'//"' . v v ' " ' "■" '■■;'• Examination continued •. I summoned a meeting of our creditors about the time I filed, and at the meeting wo made an oiler of 10& in the £. Mr Curtis, of Kaipara, and Mr Morrison Ayare at the meeting. Yes ; Mr Morrison was my: teller at the time. V^e were.prepared to make the offer of 10s in the £ ,'ab the time.,,, Our principal creiitors' did not attend the meeting. I let them know about the oiler indirectly. I never wrote to Sutbon&ndCb., who were my principal creditors; offering them 10s in the £, but I wrote asking, them to attend a meotiifg at which an offer would be madei; Ib is a further fact that if we had been allowed to carry on the business as we liked, arid to buy our malt where we liked j we \ could > have paid 20sin the£. The mare we had belonged to the firm, the buggy and harness'to my-pelf-'personally. J;-" so<d' them in' the mp,nbh t ot; April, or. about then, to Mr Stoymisori.'f I received;.;£lo,- but the bobal: amounb; was £42 10s. . The £3210s went bbwurds paying a privabe bill I owed Mr. Stevenson.! The sale was mac|eaboufc: April and may,nob have been e'nterefruritil June. .Ib was a private eale as ,the mare- was only worth. £3.:" The entering of-the bale in; the firm's book-was a mistake of the clerk's. The Mr Sievenson I ; aold the. turnout to was; a gentleman residing in Newton Road. ■ I see by the papers that he has since become bankrupt.* On the night of June I2th,wh;eu the seizure of our, brewery was made by Stttton and Co. I did nob remove a drop of beer to bhe Carlton Club Hotel, nor to the Bottling Company nor to any hotel. ; : Dr. McArthur.: iThisisdecidedlyiOpposite to what he said before, yoar Honor,; ■ Mr Suiter: Ypu said diHtinctly the night of the 12th June. .■ ~ v '.:. • . Dr. McArthur : Well did you remove any on the morning of that day ? Mr Suitor :" Yen, on tlio morning after Sutton and Co. h;ii entered inUjposscnsiou I removed beer inio the lilaces mentioned. I locked up the bailiff so as to take this beer away. In- Baying ;bhafc | may say bhi3.; There was some ; beerj ordered by some ; of our customers. The-beer-was in the carb' when SntbOn and Co. pufa the bailif! ihj and they prdefed ib to be taken down.; This was contrary to an arrangement I had made with Mr Sutton in Dr McArbhur'.s office that the business was to be carried bn as usual. Dr. McArfchur :v As my ; nam.e;lias been introduced I may say that no such, arrangement was made in my office." It was disI tin c.tly said that no such arrangement could be made. .■ " * ' ■ ■ Mr Suiter : That waa afterwards." I did make the arrangement^ with MV, Sutton and in your office too.; ... . Examination- continued: At the time Subbon and Company went" into/ possession of the brewery 1 owned the Carlbon, Club Hotel.; There was £2,000 on mortgage to the CharHiable:Aid' Board.* aiThere was''besidea £300 to Mr Osmond and another £500 secured by promise but not by' deed. I sold this hotel to Mrr Griffiths .for '£3,650." His Honor ■■:■^ Has pot all bhis information been obtained bofova ?. 13^*f^i*^'Tir'!Srfe. "**trr.. ■ . -.■«■>. f

Mr Cave and Mr Cotter: Every word of it,yourHonor , :; , , ~ His Honor: What is the use of wasting; time like this then, Dr. McArthur? Dr. McAtthur: Weli, your Honor; what steps can we take? His Honor: IS'obhing can; be done. Do you-wish bo;bring the case junder the summary clauses? ' , , , Dr. McArthur intimated that such was his intention. "'■'.,' .■ ■','-; His Honor: Well, Dr. McArthur, I have repeatedly laid it down ; a3;a hard and^tast rule that I shall never act under these clauses unless notice has been given bo bhe debtor thabihe is to be charged with certain specific acts of fraud. '" - ' Dr McArthur considered that the course he had adopted was' the correct one. to pursue. He said, in reply to His Honor,, tliat;he;did'not wish ;to make any charge His Honor pointed out j, that anybhing sworn to by the bankrupt would riot be evidence, and that the proper course >vas to go on the .evidence taken jbeforb. bhe. Onicial Assignee. ' .■ ;' :: ■ . ' ''. ■ , ■' Mr Cave suggested adjourning bhe examination. Dr. McArthur said that would suit; him. Mr Suiter : I would like to say, in refer-. ence to this, your Honor, thab I have been kept waiting about for three months wer this. I have (iiven up everything,: and^am practically without a penny, aad cannot go anywhere bo gain a Hying. . Mr Cotter said that Dr. McArthur might give notice to-morrow of the speeihc charges he wißhed. to bring against Suiter and Co.,and the public examination might proceed next Monday. Hi^ Honor consenting, Dr. McArthur agreed to this, so the examination was adjourned accordingly, His Honor intimating thab unless notice of bhe churges was given to-morrow the sibbing would be merely a matter of form. , '