A FOOLISH GUARANTEE.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 219, 15 September 1924, Page 4

A FOOLISH GUARANTEE.

ENDS IN BANKRUPTCY. GUARANTOR HAS NO MEAN!, "NO DEPOSIT" MOTOR CAR. On his own admission John Beresford i Burrell Paxton did a foolish act when' Ihe guaranteed a bill for £500 when he ;had neither property nor means. His : action resulted in him being forced ! through the Bankruptcy Court, and this ; morning he met his creditors, to whom :he is owing £27S 4/l>. with his only asset j a book debt estimated at £14S 10/6. J Bankrupt, a man of 65 years, stated ! that for the past 30 years he had been ■ associated with , the timber trade. He , had never been very fortunate, but on i the other hand he had always paid his i way and had a good name for commerj cial integrity. "My present trouble j arises entirely through having giiaranj teed a young- friend named Wiseman in J the purchase of a motor car for £500 from Anthony Petrie," read bankrupt's statement. He signed a document backing Wiseman for this amount. Some of the amount was paid off, but Petite 1 obtained judgment against bankrupt for ■ £141, which he 'was unable to pay, and Ihe was forced through the Court. It was difficult for him to do any business owing to his age and defective hearing. i Asked by the Official Assignee what j made him enter into the guarantee ' when he had no means, bankrupt stated I that the person he backed was confident : that a success would be made with the car. He knew he should never have done it. The Official Assignee: You were a man of straw.—Yes. Bankrupt further stated that he had been partly kept by his son, and had j earned very little since leaving a position with a mill at Warkworth last May. He had a prospect of "making a commission through selling a block of timber hind, and if it came off would make his creditors an offer. j "What did you, tell Petrie to induce him to accept the guarantee?" bankrupt was asked by Mr. King, the former's counsel. "Nothing;" he replied. "The other fellow did that. I only referred him to a bank manager as proof of my good character." Mr. King: I suppose you realise that you entered fnto this guarantee on false pretences ?—No. Well, what did you think the guarantee was for I —l knew I had made a misI take within two or three weeks j when [Wiseman started to get into arrears. I told Petrie the best thing he could do*was to take the car back. The Official Assignee: You ought not to have signed. Bankrupt: No; I should be out at . Avondale for doing such a thing, j Further questioning showed that the car had been purchased on the no deposit principle for £500. Of this £38 had been paid off and bills aggregating £100 had accumulated for repairs. Bankrupt asserted that the car had been valued at £250. The Official Assignee stated that no resolution could be carried as there was not a quorum. Bankrupt had been very foolish, and he admitted it. . The meeting terminated with bankrupt and Petrie debating which of them had been the more unfortunate.