SUPREME COURT.

Press, Volume XVIII, Issue 2535, 16 June 1871, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

SITTINGS IN BANKRUPTCY. Thursday, June 15, 1871. [Before his Honor Mr Justice Gresson.] His Honor Mr Justice Gresson sat in bankruptcy yesterday, at 11 a.m., in the new ourt-house. RE H. C. F. LEU. Mr Graham applied to the Court for directions as to whether he or tho newly, appointed Provisional Trustee (Mr R. Willton) should have the sale of the property at Kaiapoi in the above estate, advertised to take place this day. Mr Wynn Williams produced a deed, in which Mr Graham was appointed the sole trustee in the estate. After some argument, it was arranged that the rule should be carried out, Mr Walton to join Mr Graham in such COnveyanco as might be advised. LAST EXAMINATIONS—NEW CASES. RE .MATTHEW LITTLE. Mr Slater applied on behalf of the bankrupt for order of discharge. In reply to questions from his Honor, tha bankrupt stated that he had lost nearly £100 by the bankruptcy of Messrs Pavitt and Co, He had started in flax dressing on his own account on a small scale, but the speculation was not- successful. Thero was no opposition on the part of creditors, and his Honor made the final order of discharge. RE JOHN MORRISON. The bankrupt in person applied for a final order of discharge. The Registrar called the attention of tho Court to the fact that the bankrupt had advertised the notice of his intention to applyto pass his last examination without his Willcock's) signature having been obtained. His Honor enquired why the bankrupt had omitted to obtain the signature of the Registrar. The bankrupt said he went to the "Press office to insert the advertisement with Mr J. McGregor, who told him that it was all • right. His Honor said the bankrupt had no right to attach the signature of the Registrar to the advertisement without his sanction. Tho Registrar said he had inspected tho original copy of the advertisement at the Press office. The bankrupt had merely cut out a notice appearing previously, and altered the names. His Honor said that Mr McGregor had been before the Court before, and on that occasion he was dealt with very leniently. From the handwriting of several statements which came before the Court, ho saw that he was frequently in the. habit of making out these documents for bankrupts, and so long as he confined himself to this the profession could not. complain. But it appeared that Mr McGregor gave advice respecting the practice of the Court. If he wero again brought before the ; Conrt he would certainly be dealt with far less leniently than before. Mr Jameson said that he had been trying for some time to get a case against this person, and he would take a note of this one. [Laughter.] His Honor said that on examination it appeared that in the accounts prepared by Mr McGregor, the accounts on both sides were almost always identical, even to a shilling. In the present case, he was not at all satisfied with the statement of accounts produced, and he should therefore adjourn the case until next sitting day The case was adjourned to July 13. RE.JO3EPH STONE. The bankrupt in person applied for a final order of discharge. ' In reply to questions from his Honor, tne bankrupt said he was a builder. With reference to the deficiency of £11G odd, he had been unable to procure workmen ana material to carry out the contract ofPync Bros., and it was.taken from him. He had £210 10s to receive when the contract waa finished. He had received £375 out of £585 10s, when the contract was taken from him. Mr Graham said that the bankrupt had put a fictitious value on bis property. The bankrupt said he had put the estate down at what it was worth to him. : Mr Graham said that there would not be a penny in the & for the creditors. Tho total'deficiency would really be £331 lis Bd. The bankrupt aaid that ho was not in the habit of keeping books in his business, but he could produce receipts to the trustee, except for wages. Mr'Strouts had taken the contract out of his hands, and left him without funds. His Honor suspended the final order for two months.

! RE WILLIAM MELVILLE BEYNON. The bankrupt in person applied for an ad- | journm'ent to the next sitting day, as he naa not been able to make out his accounts, m consequence of some papers being withheld by Mr McNicol. The papers, referred to were placed in the hands of Mr Lovel, who rented a house from Mr McNicol; the latter had distrained for rent, and refused to give the papers up to the trustee. , Mt Graham mentioned that hchad apP ll **} to Mr McNicol for the papers, but.he refused to deliver them up. . His Honor said the proper course would oe for Mr Graham to apply to the Court on affidavit for an order calling on Mr McNico. to deliver up the papers. ' , Mr Graham intimated that he would ta_c the course pointed out by his Honor. h . The case was adjourned until the fy » July. .

CHATTAWAY. r Mr Slater .applied on behalf of the bankrupt for a final order of discharge. - -There was ~uo oppositionrarni- ms * rionor granted the order. re henry sneyd glennie. Mr George Harper, on behalf of the bank- : rapt, applied for a final order of discharge. : Mr R. W. Walters, a creditor to the extent of £172, appeared to oppose. His Honor said he would adjourn the case ontil the 13th July, and he believed it would jtill further be adjourned, as in all probability be would be absent at the sitting of the Court of Appeal. '■'■ Adjourned accordingly. \ RE GEORGE MAY. ' -' The bankrupt in person applied for a final, order of discharge. Id reply to questions from" the Court, the bankrupt stated that he attributed his bankruptcy to rust in his crops and continued sickness in family. There was no opposition, and the final order was made. RE JAMES SWINDELL. ' The bankrupt in person applied for a final .order of discharge. His Honor—From the documents before j mc, .1 see that Mr M'Gregor has prepared your statement of accounts in this case. Bankrupt—Yes, your Honor. , .-. Mx .Graham said that the accounts made out by Mr M' Qre g or could not be relied upon. They were utterly unintelligible and unreliable. His-Honor enquired if there were any assets at all in the estate. Mr Graham replied in the negative. His Honor —From the final statement there does notappear to be a single sixpence of assets available. How long have you been in business ?. Baakmpt —Four years, your Honor. There was some jewellery of mine and cases sold by the trustee, which brought about £3 10s ; or £315s I believe.' His Honor—How iff it that you have not included that item in. your final statement of accounts as an asset ? . Mr Graham —I must again point out to your Honor that the accounts are most unsatisfactory and almost unintelligible. His Honor—l will adjourn this case until July 13. You must amend your final statement. Case adjourned accordingly. RE CHARLES JOHN MARTIN. Mr Slater, on behalf of the bankrupt, applied for a final order of discharge. In reply to questions from his Honor, the bankrupt said he attributed his bankruptcy to eickness in his family, both of himself and wife, and insufficiency of business. There was no opposition, and his Honor • made the final order. RE JAMES SWINDELL. Mr Graham said he desired to point out to " his Honor, in justice to Mr McGregor, that in Swindell's case the four days' statement contained an account of the jewellery, kc, referred to. His Honor said that Mr Graham was quite right in drawing the attention of the Court to the matter, He had not the statement referred to before him, hut the amount did not appear in: the final statement, so that the case must stand over to allow of the final statement being amended. RE EDWARD GOODACRE. Mr Slater applied on behalf of the bankrupt for a final order of discharge. His Honor said that the bankrupt had been through the Court a number of times. There was now a total deficiency of £437 12s 9d. The Court was not at all satisfied with the aspect of the case, and it would stand adjourned till July 13. It appeared to be far too easy a matter for Mr Goodacre to pass through the Court. - i RE JOHN LONAE REES. Mr H. A. Bamford, on behalf of the bankrupt, applied for a final order of discharge. In reply to questions from his Honor, the bankrupt stated that he valued his bouse, which was burnt, at £300. The amount of insurance on it was £100. so that it involved a loss of £200. He had received the £100 ior the insurance, and he expended it in kc Mr Garrick appeared on behalf of the trustee and supervisors, to examine the bankrupt, who, in reply to Mr Garrick, deposed as follows :—I paid Mr DOyly £60 on account of a bill of sale he held ; I paid £25 in wages to Kissling and Galloway ; and to Trimmer, for goods and labor, £6. I sold to Mr F. Jenkins thirty pairs of ash and hickory shafts. The invoice price of the shafts was 35s per pair. There were two acceptances for £27 or £28 due by mc to Mr Jenkins. One of these fell due on March 7, and the other, so far as I can recollect, was due one month afterwards. Both were paid ou the 7th March. I cannot say positively, as my books were lost in the fire; but 1 have no doubt but that both were met on the 7th of March. They were renewed bills. The/ had been renewed twice. I sold a second-hand " sociable ". to Mr Jenkins for £30, so that his claim was met.. He sent mc a letter saying that he would sue mc if his account was not paid within twenty -four hours. I received £2 odd from Mr Jenkins, the difference between our accounts. I agreed with Mr Alexander Johnson to finish a huggy he was building for Mr Mitchell, which had been commenced by him for £35. This amount was to be taken off his account. I owe Mr Johnson £102 now. . Mr Johnson sent an order for the buggy shortly before I filed, and I gave it up. I do not know whether be was aware that I was going to file. I never told Mr Johnson of it. . To the best of my belief I never mentioned it to any one. I gave Mr Fleming two bills. Three months before I filed my schedule I gave Mr Fleming my acceptance for £50.- I paid Mr Fleming £10 on that biU, nothing more. I stated to my creditors at the meeting just before filing, that if they allowed mc three months I could borrow some money from my friends, and -pay them 20s in the £, This was prevented by my being pushed by creditors. I lost £279 by the fire, including house, furniture, and carriage materials. Mr Garrick applied that the case might be adjourned to July 13, to enable him to communicate with the supervisors. His Honor acceded to the application, and adjourned the case to July 13. Adjourned Cases. re joseph beattie. This case had been adjourned for the amending of the six months' statement. The bankrupt in person now applied for the final order of discharge, the statement having been amended. There was no opposition, and His Honor made the final order of discharge. RE Wil. BORRETT. This was a similar case to the last, having been adjourned until this sitting, to allow of the six months' statement to be°amended. Mr Slater applied, for the final order of discbarge. In reply to His Honor, the bankrupt said that he went into business for himself about ; October or November last. His Honor said that there appeared to be a very large deficiency, £79, for so short a time. The bankrupt said it was owing to want of of trade, and losses by hot weather. His accounts had' been made out by Mr McGregor, y His Honor—Your accounts are totally Unintelligible to the Court, your solicitor, the Trustee, and yourself. Therefore I 6hall adjourn the case until the next sittings, on July 13th. RE JOSEPH BRUNT. In this case, which had been adjourned in order to allow of the Trustee examining the accounts, Mr Graham said he had gone through the accounts and wa3 satisfied With the correctness of them. His Honor said that taking into consideration the fact that no creditors appeared to oppose, and the Trustee's report, the Court would make the final order. . Order made accordingly. : RE GEORGE SHORLANf). 7 This case was adjourned in order that . certain money, the proceeds of »heep sold by i

13ieTbl_HlJTupt, and .depcgsea~by film ni the Bank, should he paid over to the trustee. „.„Mr Joynt appeared on hebalf-of .the bankrupt and applied for the final order of discharge. ■ The;Regist_3r said the money referred to had been paid over to the trustee. His Honor made the final order as applied for. RE HESET BARKER. The bankrupt (in applied for a final order of discharge. The case had been adjourned from last sittings for the purpose of the accounts being amended. His Honor made the order. RE JAMES -HOLDEN FAWCETT. Mr Joynt appeared on behalf of the bankrupt, and applied for the final order of discharge. ; The case had been adjourned from last sittings, to allow of a claim for wages made by the son of the bankrnpt, appearing in the six months' statement, to be struck out. Mr Graham said that this had been done, and he therefore withdrew his opposition. His Honor made the final order. | RE THOMAS HOLMES. i Mr H. A. Bamford appeared on behalf of the bankrupt, and applied for the final order of discharge. " . There was no opposition and his Honor made the final order of discharge. RE, JAMES PARKER. The bankrupt (in person) applied for a final order of discharge. Mr Graham said the accounts were perfectly unintelligible. His Honor said it appeared, from the statements before him, that the accounts were prepared by Mr McGregor. Mr Graham said that he had not accepted the accounts, as he could not do so. His Honor said that the accounts simply balance each side, and gave no information at all. They, were suspicious on the face of them. They simply balance each side to a penny, by a general statement of accounts, without giving items. The Court could noplace any reliance at all on the accounts as presented. The Court would adjourn the case to July 13th for the accounts to be amended. Order accordingly. RE OLIVER EWINGS: Mr H. A. Bamford, on behalf of the bankrupt, applied to have the petition dismissed. The bankrupt had, since the last sittings, made arrangements to pay the debt due to the Government for passage-money. The Government was the only creditor who had proved. His Honor granted the application. Petition dismissed accordingly. RE JACKSON AND ROBERTSON. Mr Slater, on behalf of the bankrupts, applied for a final order of discharge. Mr H. A. Bamford appeared on behalf of Mr Sanders, a creditor, to oppose. The case had been adjourned from last sitting, to allow, of Jackson filing an account of his separate property, situate at Hokitika, with liberty to file an amended statement verified by affidavit. The bankrupt Robertson examined by Mr Bamford. deposed—l was carrying on business with Jackson as auctioneers from April 1870 to the present time. I recollect Mr Sanders placing some butter in our hands for sale. I cannct say for certain the amount of butter, but there were about five kegs, to the best of my belief. Ido not recollect the price the butter fetched, as it went out with a miscellaneous cargo, We could not get the price for it required, and our clerk, Mr Smith, bought it on account of the firm from Mr Sanders. I think the clerk gave an account sales of the butter, but Ido not know. The mixed cargo sold was all on our account, and therefore we took no notice of what Mr Sanders' portion fetched. We did not pay anything for it, but the .price* I understood from the clerk' was to be lfd per lb. We have received the purchase money. Our clerk was in the habit of purchasing goods on our account. I do not know how long after we received the hutter that the account was presented. George Smith, examined by Mr Slater— I was clerk to.the bankrupts. I recollect a quantity of butter being sent for sale to them. It was offered for sale on several occasions. There was never a bid for it. I afterwards saw Mr Sanders, the person who placed it in for sale. I made an offer to him for the butter of lfd per lb. Some portions of it was sent to the " confectioners. It was only fit for tallow purposes ; it was rancid. He accepted my offer of lfd per lb. I think this would be about the first week in October. Mr Sanders called for payment for the butter. I saw him three or four times calling for money, and I had none to give him. He asked mc to make out the account of the butter, which I did.. The account produced is the same. After that account was sent in he called for payment more than two or three times. I 'threw «way some of the butter bought by the firm from Mr Sanders. I sold the residue. Some of it was sold at a.ld per pound, at 2d. and at 2£d. There would be an entry in j the book of the transaction by mc. There would be an. entry of the purchase of the I butter from Sanders in the books of the firm, and it was so entered as a purchase by Jackson and Robertson, at lfd per ponnd. Mr Sanders agreed to the purchase, and came for a settlement of accounts. The bankrupt Jackson gave corroborative evidence. The opposing creditor, Mr Sanders, denied the sale of the butter to the firm, and stated that it was placed in their hands for disposal. ' Mr Bamford said that the case was one which came under the section of the Bank- | ruptcy Act referring to fraud by trustee, as the butter had been placed in the hands of the bankrupts for sale, who had sold it, and pocketed the proceeds. Mr Slater contended that there was no case at all against the bankrupts. There i was the evidence of Smith and the bankrupts I against that of the opposing creditor. j His Honor said he would adjourn the case j to the next day in chambers, iv order to make reference to the entry in the book j of the firm spoken of by the witness Smith. I As the case stood at present the testimony was very conflicting. It was really Mr Smith's oath against Mr Sanders's ; and he J did nOt see there was any reason to believe that Mr Smith had any cause to say anything! but the truth. Case adjourned accordingly. RE WM. PAULING. Mr H. A. Bamford appeared on behalf of the bankrupt, and applied for the final order of discharge. Mr G. Harper appeared on behalf of the Church Property Trustees to oppose. The bankrupt, in answer to Mr Harper, deposed—l have been a tenant of the Church Property Trustees at a rental of £82 10s per year. At the time I filed I owed tlie Church Property Trustees £130 9s for rent. They distrained upon my farm for the rent. Tbe distraint was withdrawn on the understanding that Mr Pavitt, the Church Steward, should receive the money coming for wheat i delivered after paying a sum of £30 due to ! Mr John Grigg for advances. The order j produced on Mr John Grigg in favor of Mr j Pavitt is in my handwriting. It is an order to Mr Grigg to pay to Mr Pavitt what balance remained after he had deducted his advance. Mr Grigg had a lien on my crops. The date of that order was some time in March, and I filed in April. - I passed all my corn that was most marketable throngh Mr Grigg's hands. The remainder of the corn which was not marketable was sold to Mr Loe at 4s per bushel, to the amount of £34 7s« I owed Mr Loe on acceptance £70 Is Bd. I sold him the wheat in either March or April; lam not sure which. I think I sold him the wheat on the 28th March, and he took delivery orithe 30th. "I file?!" on the 4th April. This was after the order was given to the Church Property Trustees. I paid the threshing and other debts with the proceeds of the" remainder of the grain. I paid these debts about the 2Zth .or. 28th March. There were no horses or harness or "anything beyond the; grain on my farm belonging to mc at the time, thedistress was taken-out--

F. Pavitt, examined by Mr Harper—l am Steward Church Property Trustees. I put in a distress at thc-bankrupt'efarm for £130 9s.

about the s"4th~ March."" I withdrew the distress on the faith of a representation made to mc by the bankrupt that he had sold grain to Mr Grigg, to the amount of £ISO, after deducting the £30 due to Mr Grigg, Bankrupt told'me, before the distress was issued, that he had horses, harness, kc, to the amount of £104. I withdrew the distress on receiving an order on Mr Grigg. The bankrupt has never paid anything on account of our distraint.

By Mr Bamford—l withdrew the distraint because the bankrupt gave mc an order on Mr Grigg, to whom, he told mc, he had sold corn to the amount of £180, to pay over to mc all except £30 advanced by Mr Grigg to the bankrupt. That order was accepted by Mr Grigg's manager. The amount coming to mc, less the £30, would have covered our claim. Mr Crowley, Mr Grigg's manager, told mc he bad purchased 1000 bushels of grain. He told mc, I believe, that the price to be paid was Is lOd per bushel for oats, and 4s per bushel for wheat. I presented | the order to Mr Crowley, bat he told mc they had not received any more corn than would pay Mr Grigg's claim. This was after the distress was withdrawn. Frederick Crowley, examined by Mr Harper, deposed—l am manager for Mr Grigg. I bought the grain of the bankrupt about tlie 21st of March, and advanced him £30 on the same day. He told mc he had 1000 bushels of oats at Is lOd, and 450 of wheat at 4s, more or less as to quantity. I received 121 sacks, or 418 bushels of oats, but no wheat. The oats were not worth the advance, as they were damaged. We found him the bags. He sent the larger portion of them back. We did not receive sufficient to pay our advance. At Is 10d. there would have been £1 or £2 margin, but I did not think it worth that amount. I accepted the order produced, subject to delivery. J. Edwin Graham deposed—James Ferguson Douglas became bankrupt some two years ago, and Mr Twentyman was the petitioning creditor. He and I went up to near Leeston to Douglas' place, and found everything cleared out. Douglas filed a second time, and informed mc that Pauling, the present bankrupt, his brother-in-law, had taken over all his property. His Honor—Was that statement made in Pauling's presence ? Mr Graham —No, your Honor. His Honor said that Pauling could not be bound by what Douglas said in the matter. Mr Harper said that he thought the evidence showed very strong grounds for opposition. His Honor said he quite agreed with Mr Harper. The bankrupt had treated the Church Property Trustees in a very fraudulent manner by preferring his other creditors. Under these circumstances, he would make an order suspending the discharge of the bankrupt for six months, and withdrawing his protection. Mr Harper applied for the costs of opposition. His Honor granted the application. Before the rising of the Court, Mr John McGregor came forward and said he wished to make an explanation with regard to the remarks which had fallen from his Honor. He had acted for Mr Macgregor, the solicitor, at the time the bankrupt was in gaol, and in other cases all that he had done was to prepare the statement of accounts. His Honor said he did not see that Mr McGregor's explanation did him any good on that occasion ; but if the matter came before j the Court in another way he would be willing to listen to what he had to say in answer to the matter. The manner in which the accounts had been prepared had caused the adjournment of several cases. He had been before the Court on a former occasion, and had been dealt very leniently with, and it ought to have been a warning to him. The Court then rose.