MEETING OF CREDITORS

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22921, 18 January 1940, Page 4

MEETING OF CREDITORS

AFFAIRS OF KAIKOURA SAWMILLER I INVESTIGATION BY ASSIGNEE j RECOMMENDED' The creditors of Brian Forbes Twiss, a sawmiller, made a recommendation that the Official Assignee should investigate with, a view to a prosecution when they met yesterday-morning. Mr G W Brown presided. Debts to unsecured creditors came to £709 against which were assets amounting to £lO3 10s making a deficiency Twiss made ho offer to the creditors. He is at present in Paparua prison, and he attributed his failure to the "untimely deprivation of his liberty. Twiss said that in June, 1939, he began negotiations for the purchase of f mill in the Jordan Valley, Puhi Puhi, Kaikbura. A verbal agreement was made that he should operate the mill for three months at a rental of 15s a week. At the end of that period he was to purchase the mill for £350, this amount to be satisfied by a payment of £IOO and 12 monthly promisssory notes covering the balance as collateral security to a hire purchase agreement. Twiss then outlined negotiations which he entered into to acquire a tractor. He was offered the hire of a suitable machine conditional on his agreeing to make a purchase at the end of two months. He felt justified in making this agreement. ■ < Later Twiss heard that the Hawke, Hills mill was in a precarious position owing to inefficient logging. Negotiations resulted in his securing the mill under an agreement for sale and purchase requiring him to pay £lO a week for three months and then pay a balance up to £2OO. The remaining £4OO was to be secured by hire purchase agreement. Hi-Timed Transaction

"This transaction proved to be illtimed," went on Twiss. "Apart from any other consideration it rendered my task of organising and starting both mills simultaneously a stupendous one, the distance between the two mills being approximately 40 miles and neither having any staff. "The delivery date for the tractor constituted a most important point in my plans, and I engaged labour to fit in with the date arranged, However, several hold ups occurred; and production was set back a fortnight." Twiss then explained difficulties he experienced in obtaining suitable logging gear. Heavy gear was smashed under the vigorous conditions obtaining. "On the morning of September 28 I arrived at the mill with suitable gear." he went on, "and I left for Christchurch with the idea pf securing an advance of sufficient money to enable me to pay the men their wages in accordance with an undertaking I had given them. "On my way I learned that a warrant for my arrest" and imprisonment for two months at Paparua was in the hands of the Kaikoura police. Realising that whatever action I took could ! now make no difference to the fact that complete collapse was only a matter of | hours, I decided to attempt to avoid arrest.

"This step,, once taken, inevitably precluded all possibility of my communicating with my creditors. The warrant was subsequently executed on November 18 in Westland, where I was employed as a bushman. lam still confident in the belief that I could; have operated my mills had I been able* to retain my liberty." .