FARMER'S FAILURE.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 17990, 6 February 1924, Page 5

FARMER'S FAILURE.

® A SURPLUS OF ASSETS. -Uic creditor? in tho bankrupt esiito of Donald Frederic Knight, farmer of Tinwa.d, met in the. cSco o: the. Deputy-OfEciai Assi-ncs \Mr J. B. Christian) yesUaday, A. K. Xorth. represented tho bankrapi £Ed itr H. Kennedy appeared, for "W. Stockaid, mortgagee, over part of tho land. T-io Deputy-Official Assignee- said ho .nought there would bo a. number of. alterations to tho nied document. The bankrupt thought he could pay 203 in tho £, bui he thought that it waa too good to bo *-rr.e. Bankrupt claimed thcro "would bo a surplus of £loai 15s -Id, but it appeared as ii this would not bo so.

Bankrupt made tho ioilowins Btaimont:— I took over the Tinwald farm of 390 ccrea in May, ISI7. I gavo my Mironan tana of 1-C5 acres in exenange and received £I4SS cash, when, tho deal was completed. The Tinwald iarm was valued for exchange ptrrposes at £10,'2-10, and tho Maronau farm at £15,150. Tho proceeds o: tho safe oi stock and plant at Maronan paid all my debts with the exception of my liability to tho Barji of Z\ew Zealand by way of overdraft, which was about £2200. Against this I he'd stock valued at about £300; an equity with my wife of about £2OOO in a. property at Allenton and insuranoo policies with a surrender value of £IOOO. I carried on mixed farming and dealing. I dealt fairly extensively in sheep and cattle. I dealt with the Fanners' Co-op. and they handled all my stock, etc., and made payments into iny account at the Bank of Hew Zealand, as required. At the end of 1319 tho bar.k pressed me to reduce my overdraft then standing at about i'2t':oo and we sold the Allenton properly and paid the bank £ISSB as a result. The property was my wife's—with the esc.'ptir.n of a few unimproved sections. I also raised £IOOO on my life insurance policies and thi~> also wont in reduction of tho bank overdraft. Mr interest payments had bern made requarly and about my only liability was £2IOO to tho Farmers' Co-op. Against this I had stock and plant worth £2300. I had been dealing fairly largely in slock and about hold my own. I met reverses in 1920. In May, 1921, the Farmers' Co-op. began to press me. I owed them about £IOOO. I owed probably £2OO crut--ido this sum. I gave the Farmers' Co-op security over stock and plant, valued at £517 10s and they refused to let me hnvo any mow stock until my brother in KK>? r>r>id £474 inlerest on mori-cago, which had fnl'en in (MTpar and the- Association carried m» on atrain. I ?ave up dentin? and bought stock for the farm through the Farmers' C'o-on. I had crone back considerably during- 1921 and 1922 on account of having no slock on ihe farm. T ra- iinnblr to meet tho interest payments due in 1923. My crops had been disappointing for somo years, owing to adverse weather conditions, and "tako all," which apiwaxcd every season bar tho first. In 132.'? jny returns from sheep wero sati-f actory a-nd profitable, - but were not sufficient to make up lost ground. Efforts to sell the farm to advantage wero unsuccess fid. Two creditors Bued mo in December, 1923, and not having the available cash 1 had to file. I attribute my failure to tho loss on sheep in 1920; to being stopped from buying .stock in 1921-2; anil to tho disappointing returns from crops. I employed a- married courjle on the farm for trw first two years (1917-18). but since then I have employed no outside labour (except harvest), my sons and myself doing all tho work. I had a definite understaiiding with mv fons (hat thev were to receive wages. Tho financial statement showed debts to secured creditors totalling £345712s sd, and to unsecured creditors £IOG9 7s 3d, a total of £10,520 IDs Sd. Under assets the value of security wns set down at £10,272 10s, stock in trade £1316, shares £2O 9s, a total of £11,608 IDs, leaving a surplus of £lOsl 19s 4d. The secured creditors were— T. McCallum and another, £3738 3s 8d (value of security £5925); Mrs J. Cow, £2783 9s sd; K.Z. Farmers r Co-op., £2300 (£547 10s), AVm. Stockdill, £63S (£800). The unsecured creditors were:—H.' H. Knight, Christchurch, £500; D. O. A. Knight, Tirnaru, £274 10s; O. M. A. Knight, Tinwald, £76 12s 6d; H. Holland, Tinwald, £SO; F. Greenall, Tinwald, £ls; Robilliard and Sons, Ashburton, £l6 Is 3d; County Council, £l2 13s 4d; Land Tax, £l3 5s 6d; Alfred Cass, Tinwald, £ll 19s 6d.; J. Cass, Ashburton, £10; Messrs Blackburne and Smith, Christchurch, £lO 8s sd; Longbeach Road Board, Ashburton,-£9 3a 2d; "W. H. Collins and Co., Ltd., Ashburton, £7 15s; H. Dunham, Ashburton, £6 14s; E. Staples, Ashburton, £6 2s; "Weekly Press," Ashburton, £5 15s; 8d; J. Donn and Son, Ashburton, £5 2s 8d; Russell and Co., Ltd., Ashburton, £5 12s Dd; H. E. .• Bonnington, Ashburton, £5; Messrs Maling and Co., Timnru, £2 10s; "Ashburton Mail and Guardian," Ashburton, £5 8s 9d; J. W. Bowden, Ashburton, £2 ss; Mercantile Gazette, Ltd., Christchurch, £2; Mr Kindy (preferential), Tinwald, £4 10s; J. Sutherland, Ashburton, £1 19s 6d; K. Totty, Ashburton, £8 17s 9d; total, £1069 7s 3d. In reply to a question put by Mr Christian, Mr T. J. Hunter Baidi ho thought the land would realise about £24 per acre, but it would bo hard to say. He claimed tho Farmers' Co-operative Association to bo a secured creditor, but the bankrupt disputed this.

It was finally decided to realise on tho property and other assets saleable, and that tho creditors meet later.