BANKRUPT CONTRACTOR.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 13 November 1925, Page 13

BANKRUPT CONTRACTOR.

SOME LARGE SUMS INVOLVED. CREDITORS TAKE NO ACTION. A-meeting of creditors in the estate of Augustine St. Clair Hill, of Grand i IA. venue, Mt. Albert, contractor, was : held/ this morning in the Official Assignee's office, when a/ large number of creditors were present. ' . Bankrupt's statement showed that he owed his unsecured creditors the sum. of. £1797 19/4," and secured creditors i £4604 S/9, whilst his securities were represented by the sum' of £5553. These figures represented a nominal: surplus of £948 11/3. Assets stood at £1218 5/2, and the deficiency was estimated at £579 14/2. Li his statement to Mr..W.S. Fisher, Official Assignee, bankrupt said he was a married man with two children. He started building and contracting with £410, of which sum £50 was in cash. He attributed his failure to three causes:—(l) Delay in obtaining progress payments in contracts and consequently losing discounts; (2) failure to quit*houses built speculative]}-; (3) to general slump in the sale of properties. Under examination bankrupt said he was : originally a ' cabinet-maker. by trart*. 'and he took up building , contracting in May, 1923. He' had had no previous experience in : purchasing nor j of estimating work. All .the money he had made was gone, including his original capital. the Official Assignee: Do you really think creditors are • going to get much j e»t of this? 6ankrupt: No, I don't know. Official Assignee: It's been pretty disastrous. Bankrupt: Yes, it has. Continuing, Hill said he had kept a record of his "transactions and a Mr. | ficmmerville had drawn ,up_ several, balances and statements for him. These papers were at home, and he 'did not think they would be needed this morn- j ing. He" thought they would have, heen included in the books. Of the three periodical statements the last one issued at the end of March, and which he received in June this year, ehowed he was about £27 to the good, j He had not taken up any contracts since June, but had built a couple oi. ojobs Bpeculatively. . ■ . Continuing, Hill said that he first commenced to realise his financial position was acute about, the.middle of the year. His March-June balance showed that he was quite solvent,;and he could not account for it unles&.it' was that he could not sell his properties. He had not been sued by ordinary merchants, and had assigned his estate because he could not pay his debts. He realised it before, but not actually till September last. It took him three months to realise that he had to call his creditors together. His personal expenditure: was £6 per week, and he had started off by paying £2 per week rent for one of his own houses. Removing to another house in Maxwell Avenue, he had paid £2 2/6 per week for rent. When one of his creditors had sued him in- August for £230 bankrupt thought he would be able to "fix it up with money which he expected to come to hand.' , 'He admitted he had bought sections and "grossly overpaid for them." Addressing the creditors. Mr. Fisher said he could not understand statements which had shown bankrupt's position to •be good up till the last minute. The statements must be only of fictitious value. A man like this does a lot of harm to anyone -wishing to do legitimate business," said the Official Assignee. With reference to the realisation of assets. Mr. Fisher expressed the desire for one or two of. the creditors to go into matters with him. This course was adopted. The meeting terminated without passing any resolution.