SUPREME COURT.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1408, 14 May 1867, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

I Monday, May 13. [Before his Honor Mr Justice Greason.] ! DHBTOnS AND CHiiDITOKS ACT. His Honor the Judge opened this Court yesterday morning at eleven o'clock. ilis Honor stated that for the future all claims against insolvent estates must be certified by ullidavit before they c-juid bo recognised. FIRST HIUHING3. In re W. F. Moore. Mr Cottrell solicitor for the debtor, and Mr Nottidge for au opposing creditor. •Mr Nottidge stated lh.it due notico of opposition had been served. The debtor was examined by Mr Nottidge— My concurrent creditor is Alary Anne Milling. I lie debt was for wages. I paid her £35 per year. She was in my service twenty-iuo months and five days. 1 paid her only £* on account of wages. It was paid her m sum!* sums. She received money in January ia*t; the amount was either &l or £3 10*. She

"**Tfreccived any other money from mc *** iL, «nend for household purposes. Mr e, r P .„n made nn offer for settling my John" 011 . >j ew Zealand ; it was that I should r ~.-.n» » \ an .j obtftin t j ie amounts annually P"-.i'M() mc- * wa9 t0 give Mr ,Tonn ' to " g OV( , r , 1)e w holo of my property. »P°* e r .." 0 .,' s pr.ipos.tl was tha* he should ii J .j a | , . ,t !,' a nd t° Bet - le with th <' bep^ Lr r;,' ! !I!4TC r id £100 to Mr ctlier °*oa orV-unt of ft bill of sale over my Johns! 0 " ; , lIH . O ~|j „, v solicitor. tI TT% Honor-In my putiticm I verified J>L schedule wa« (.rreet. I was hoi th whether or not the £100 was paid. 1 &*? c ,L t the intention was to pay Mr belier< ! „ nut of the sale, the remainder was to JohnS ?he other creditors. Mr Cottrell, my ' g °,-^ n r obtained the money. I don't know goucuo > Q0 came f roal . The proceeds of * here tl wr-e to be devoted to the paying off £100 obtained from Mr Cottrell. t -R Johnston examined—At the com-«-«t of the present year I held a bill of meocement ° p^, B property for £100 and eß le over * off Qn fche 24th JanuarT) intOTe tid by Mr Cottrell. l X? T folA oppose*, on the ground that Jhtof the concurrent creditor was mthe deot feeen prove( j tnat B he was a the debtor, and that if the whole ■errant o hwJ been dufi , hej W£)u]d nof ftm t to the sum set down in the schedule. Segments made in the petition were also on behalf of the debtor, argued .» bad been shown to entitle the c of the usual order. graham stated the .tep. taken to , . the inonev to pay off Mr Johnston, charged by the latter being about n w»nt P pr a- nnumrrtflusualorderwas granted, a meeting of jdtors to be held for the appointment of a trustee. Stanley. Mr Nottidge, for the , SiTobtained leave to amend the schedule. SXiud order was granted. i 7.™ Joseph Beswick. Mr Nottidge applied r/rnadiournoient,Mr Wynn Williams, the Scitor on the other side, being willing to the «,noßid Hearing adjourned, it being underP tood that a deed under the 20th section of IL Act would be agreed to. In re A V 7 Ward. Dr Foster, instructed }, T Mr Cottrell for the petitioner, and Mr (irrick for an opposing creditor. Dr Foster asked for an adjournment until next Chamber day, as the brief had only been Jut into his hands within the past hourMr Garrick objected ; the case had already been adjourned. - His Honor decided that the case should be PT The debtor was examined by Mr Garrick on behalf of an opposing creditor. He stated— In the accounts furnished by mc severnl items wffl be found as paid away to the Building Society. I held four shares. 1 transferred them to my father when he became gecurityfor mc at the Bank The transfer took place in July or August, .1864. My father ceased to be my security at that time. At the time I gave the transfer I owed nothing to the Bank as an overdralt. I squared with the Bank that month. My father holds tho shares as security. I have written them off in my books at their value against my father's account. The books have been written up by myself and Mr Swift. They were written up before my sequestration. I saw no prospects of paying my father, and therefore I let the shares go. 1 credited my father with £44 4a 6d for board, and on the same day with £36 13s 6d, being my brother's salary for his assistance in the store. On November 1, I also credited my father with £6 3» 6d, a debt due to Mr Gee, in Christchurch, my father having a contra account against him. On August 23 I paid my father £5 15s, which I cannot explain without my cash-book. I paid my father £25 in August, it was on account of a loan. I had a safe on my premises; I sold it before I presented my petition to Mr lionnington. I cannot tell the exact amount of goods I let Bunker have; I can explain from my books By Dr. Foster—l. let Bunk or have flour in August, as 1 was then owing him money. I also paid him cash in September, amounting to £64 ; it was for bread supplied to enable mc to iuUil my contracts. It was not paid to meet a bill. The goods delivered in August were as a contra against bread supplied during that month. The goods consisted of flour' and general groceries. Ho asked mc for the goods. I had a heavy stock of flour at the time, and the flour market was falling. I let him have the goods at a small advance on what I had purchased them. I was a wholesale as well as a retail dealer. I did not sell the goods in the usual way. I did not sell on a three months' bill. He proposed to take the goods in place of cash. I charged a small profit j it was the customary profit on selling to wholesale dealers. In September I gave him goods to the amount of £59 9s 5d ; it was his proposal. He had them in tho same way as in the former transaction. Mr Bunker was not pressing mc for the accounts at the time he obtained the goods. Bunker wanted flour, and took it in place of cash. The safe cost mc £22. I sold it for £20 about the time I gave up business, as I had no further use for it. The proceeds were expended in paying email accounts. The value of the shares in the Building Society was something more than I paid in. My father gave mo a slight advance. My father bought the lease of the premises for mc; he paid £125 for it. He covered an overdraft at the bank of £92 after I gave him up the shares as collateral security. I was a Custom-house agent as well as a storekeeper. I commenced the agency business about a month after I began as a grocer. By Mr Garrick: After the flour transactions I did no further business with Bunker. By Dr. Foster : I did no further business with Bunker, although I paid him afterwards some money, and received from him in October £119s, which wound up our accounts. The last goods I obtained from Mr Davis was . in August, and I settled for them by bill on "the Ist September ; the bill was for £66 10s. 1 paid bills to the amount of £213 10s 6d in September to Mr Davis. My largest liabilities »are those due to Mr Davis. My accounts were made up with the assistance of Mr Swift, and they are a true and accurate statement. At the time I gave my - orders to Mr Davis my receipts from my busmen were rising. My receipts during April wore £452 5d ; in May, £509 8s lOd ; "J June, £474 17s ; in July, £590 5s 7d ; in August, £624 19s Id. Mr Davis in June advanced mc £120. My father advanced £34, and Mr Taylor £25. I have paid Tayler, and gate Mr Davis an acceptance, which was not Bit Ik amounts I im Mr Dam Cm sooda aro JBS6 and £±13 lGs. I cannot e"-e> =■ - =matb3. x haye -no liabilities except tliose iH *" HI I I wlUeli Appear upon my schedule. I was not P r SB< * d b?1 an y of m y creditors until October, Jfterl had called tho auction sale. I called it »r the purpose of meeting my liabilities. I found them, that owing to having lost the Govermnent contract, that my business was lifcely «> fall oi\\ and I determined to sell off my S r ° Cer - T stocfc, I filed my petition ° n the 11 ill December. I was not pressed by my creditors until after I sold off. I continued my business as a Custom-house agent until I filed my petition. I made about £70 profit from (lie Custom-house business during ™ y ear - r he Roods I sold at auction brought «w«t £150. The payment made to Armitage WJUiers was to meet a bill I had given them. '» t i a blii t0 -- ,r -Davis about the fame lime. * kept a dny-book, bill-book, ledger, and cashOOOfc. I j !o3te( J them up eve} 7 week< A]l wansactions were at once entered in the day- _ . Motr. The balance-sheet shown is taken from such entries. 1 took stock in August, 1866 ' f-A S USlml t0 hhhiWo backs once a year. I OKI not complete a balance-sheet, 1 merely *»* stoclc. The Customs business ia rather a Wmplicrtted one, and the books are therefore 2 to ttep. My brother assisted mc in the ™op- 1 hud at the time I sold off a consider•Me amount of Customs business. After the anion sale I again examined mv business. «na commenced to balance mv accounts. The goods I sold at auction had been in my the time 1 commenced business; lh g w «c principally dead stock. *£l m- ? ontended the manner in . w ««.n the insolvent had conducted his business

had been such as to warrant the withdrawal of the usual protection, and he (Mr Garrick) silso contended that undue preference had been !'iven to the insolvent's father. He hoped that the Court would express a decided opinion upon the rase. Dr Foster said that his client was a young uian, and had entered into business with n -n>:ill capitjil. tho fa!her b-comi"*2 security for tho son : unl he held tli.it during" the tima hi* client h.id been in busii;e«s that he had con duvted his business in a proper nr.d legitimate mnnnr-r. The loss on the Government coutract could no*; have been avoided ; it w;i3 tak?n at a time when the price would have proved a paying one, but owing to a rise in prices it had subsequently proved a losing one, and to this circumstance must be attributed his losses in business, and his consequently being compelled to pass through the Court. Mr Grsiham slated that the bookß had been well kept. His Honor stated that he would deliver his decision to-day, after Chamber business. In re C. C. Rookes—Mr Slater applied for an adjournment of this hearing, which was granted. SECOND m*iniXG3. In re T. D. Triphook ; Mr Cottrell solicitor A. meeting of creditors had been called, and Mr Graham stated that the estate would pay more than Gs 8d in the £—The final order was granted, and Mr Graham was appointed trustee. In re H. B. Huddlestone ; Mr Slater solicitor.—Final order granted, and Mr Graham appointed trustee. Inre James Swarm ; Mr Cottrell solicitor. — Final order granted. Relief suspended for six months. The Court wns then adjourned until eleven o'clock this mo.-ning, at his Honor's Chambers.