LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 290, 1 September 1908, Page 2

LAW REPORTS.

SUPREME COURT. CRIMINAL SITTINGS. NEW TRIAL ABANDONED. The sittings of , the Suprdmc Court in its criminal jurisdiction were resumed yesterday, before Mr. .Justice Cooper. His Honour . said that only one case rehiaiiicd oh the calendar—the rd-trial of Wallace Herbert Stoivart 011 a cliargo of forgery altd uttering, -Tile Croivil lmd, however, dlitefed a iitille proSbijui in I'dspect of tlld case.

CIVIL SITTINGS. IMPRISONMENT CASE DISCONTINUED. The bnly civil action, set down for liearillg yesterday was that, of Elizabeth Greeil v. Kirkcaldie and Stains and Sidney Kirkcaldie, il claim for £1500 for alleged wrongful imprisonment. ~ ilia Honour said that this action had beeti discontinued. 'rite Cdurt tlieii adjourned until thismoriitng.

" BANKRUPTCY COURT. APPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGES, .... Three applications for.discharge! were considered at a sitting of the .Arbitration Court yestei'day. Ml*. JUstide CoopeV presided. W.'Gi TUSTIN-GRANTED HIS RELEASE, The first application dealt with was that of William Gdorge Tustiii, painter and decollator. . . Mr. Young, wild appeared in support of the application, suggested that bankrupt was now entitled to his discharge. It was. true that debtor had committed breaches of the Act, but he had sbrVed. .a. sentence for his misdeeds. He Was a. Iniddlo-agcd man, With a large family', and had iio prospects of of-; fOl-ing aiiy sdin by Way of composition. Applicant had, lid argUed, suffered tho penalties of bankruptcy to an uiiltsual extent. If he. obtained his discharge it would place hilri' in a better position ill respect of oiiipl&ytnoilt.. The Official As&igiice informed the Court that he did licit oppose tho application, neither, as far as lie was aware, did the dfeditbrsi His Honour held that he might properly grant.bankrupt his discharge, Had there becU 110 prosecution, and had bankrupt libt beeti punished for the dffelices Which, ho had cflhimitted, ho. Should liaVo suspended the application. Applicant's bailkfuptey had been a very bad one. Taking into consideration the fact that lie had been imprisoned, also the fact that thfere was no opposition oil the part Of tha cfdditofs to the discharge, and that the Official Assignee recpnlmended that it be graiitod, lie tfdtild approve bf the application The order for discharge was made accordingly.

UNFORTUNATE DEBTOR ALLOWED DISCHARGE. ' tVm. Henry saddler) Upper'Hutt. whoso application Was licit considered, did riot attend the Cetlrt. „' Tho Official Assignee Stated thftt applicant's non-atteiidnnce was duo to iiiabllity to meet tho travelling expenses to and from Wellington. ' The bankruptcy was only a siiiall one, tho liabilities aggregating only £78, and it was caused through illness and other mi&fortune. His Honour said that, ordinarily, a debtor ought to attend when his application was being dea.lt with as it might prove necessary to further »cxamine him. He would excuse debtor, but it must not be taken as a prectdent, as tlipi'O wore special circumstances ih his case. Baiikrii'pt lived lit a remote district, and all the necessary information had already been obtained from Jiim by . the Official Assignee) who recommended that the discharge bo granted. He "Would vmakc an. order'for discharge accordingly-.- •• . APPLICATION. BY A SYRIAN HAWKER.' Peter Stephen, draper' formerly of AVelliilgton, but now' of Hokitika, Who applied for his discharge, Was represented by Ml'.'' O'Kbgan, who was instructed by Mr. Ji' B. Lett'is, of Hokitika.., Counsel stated that -bankrupt, who was a Syi'iaii liaWkcr, was sentenced to a short tel-hi of imprisonment about five years ago for brea.ches of tho bankruptcy law. in 190(5 he applied for his discharge, but the application ■ was refused, because the' report Of tho Official Assignee was distinctly unfavourable, and debtor VVfts Uilablo to make any offer to his creditors! Bankrupt's posi-0 tion was,, lib submitted, rather an unfortuliato one. Ho was now in receipt of £2 10s. per Week, which Was a small salary for' a married ma.n with a family. As ho was anxious to got: his discharge, ho offered £25 towards the costs ifiourred through his bankruptcy. The real explanation why he was not present? was that lie had not the means to pay the expenses of.ebhiing to Wellington. Tll6 case Was not unlike tile. 0110 Which had just been' taken..' . His Honour: There is a difference between tli6 cases. In the last case tho'bankruptcy was due to misfortune; in this case the sum of £180 had to be expended in Colirtectioil with debtor's prosecution and the winding 'up of his estate, I understand that if bankrupt pays £100 to meet the expenses the Olucial Assignee Will withdraw his oppositibn to "the granting of tho discharge. 'Counsel: i can't say .anything, in palliation of tho fact just mentioned. All I can say is that debtor informs nie that he is unable to make a better Offer.

His Honour said that debtor had been unable to givo any explanation with reference to tho disappearance of goods worth £2000. Counsel: 1 am aware of that fact, but it is evident that bankrupt has not had any benefit out of the money. . After going into all tho facts, the Court sentenced debtor to six months' imprisonment, which he served. It would be unfair to refuse tlib application for ill time." ' ' Tho Official Assignee said that he had seen debtor within the past six weeks. When debtor first applied for his discharge, two of his creditors were in favour, but eleven were against it boing granted, l Tho view expressed at that timo was that debtor should not get his discharge at all, so that he might not enter into business again. A larger number of creditors were now in favour of the application being approved, provided dobtor paid part of the expense of tracing tho goods and making up his accounts. After dobtor obtained his release from gaol ha joined liis-brother oh the West Coast. There were throe brothers in business there under tho name of Stephen Bros., hut whether debtor was a member of tho firm ho could not say. One of the brothers was implicated in the bankruptcy to such an extent that' lie was prosecuted, tho result being that he was convicted, but granted probation. He (the Official Assignee) was not satisfied'that sdrilo of tho goods or money, in question did not go into the business of Stephen Bros. His Honour (to Mr. O'Regan): Would debtor consent' to judgment being entered against him for £100 under sub-Section D of section 127 of tho Act? If he did tho application oould bo granted. Counsel: As I would liavo to consult my client, I suggest' that an adjournment be granted. 1 His Honour (to tho Official Assignee): In tho event of anything intervening you will have tho power to withdraw your recommendation that tho application bo granted. The caso was then adjourned until next sitting day, Friday, October 2, at 10.30 a.m.'