A DUNEDIN BANKRUPTCY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 108, 8 May 1909, Page 9

A DUNEDIN BANKRUPTCY.

| BANKRUPT'S STATEMENT. ' J fPREBS ASSOCIATION.") ■I DUNEDIN, 7th May. 'j At a meeting of creditors in the es- | tate of Lewis Morris, clothing manufac- .', turer, whose total debts amount to 1 £5005 16s lid, and whose assets are J , estimated at £1900, the bankrupt's | statement was to the effect that he 'i started business about twelve years ago. jj Not very long afterwards, Mr. Baker 1 purchased another business, which they 3 carried on for about five years. Things * prospered until about the end of the S fifth year, when, as they considered i that there were not sufficient profits .3 for two partners, they dissolved, Mr. § Baker going to Invercargill. They had accountant on part time, who looked '-' after the affairs, and attended to the >! dissolution of partnership. Since the i dissolution, bankrupt had carried on ? business by himself, and the same ac'|countant had managed the whole of the 3 finance and accountancy. Bankrupt ati tended to the manufacturing part of 1 the business, and to obtaining orders. |The accountant insisted on having an "^agreement that bankrupt would not in,3terfere with the bookkeeping or finance ijof the business. The first real tighten,'fing of matters was when the Commer"iacial "Property Company intimated that ' jits account with them would be closed §on their going into liquidation, but - jbankrupt was assured that that diffiiculty would be got over by numerous |accounts coming from the North Island, ' |and private accounts owing for suits, •fete. The accountant and himself drew .|up an estimated balance-sheet ten ■ fmonths ago, which showed £1500 to . ithe good. The accountant received £260 jper annum. Bankrupt was assured that ' "everything was going smoothly, that * |business was showing good profits, and afchat the tightness of the money market, |and the debts due in the North Island, }S,vere the only causes of his having to , jfeel the money stringency. In order to . febviate this, he arranged to discontinue * fthe North Island trade. He could not *give the slightest idea as to the cause pf bankruptcy. \ I In a further statement, bankrupt ■ Isaid: "One cause of my getting into piy present position is my having been disappointed by one of my largest cus- < somers in giving to me a far less quan-,-fcity of work than he had undertaken " Jx> give, and that necessitated keeping ' pauds on who were not anything like ' Sully employed. I had to keep hands » pn during slack times, or they would * not have been available when rushes V pme " ' j It was resolved that tenders be called \ for the business as a goiny concern. '.' tt was a!so decided that the Official 'Assignee carry on tha business for seven .tiays, creditors to indemnify him " • igainst any loss during that time. It , .Was further resolved that the Official v -kssignee confer with Messrs. Bernstein , pd A.rkle, who should be appointed j ' supervisors in the estate without re- *, -puneration, and consider the advisability of getting the books made up ;* also , Ijo call a meeting, if necessary, and to 'lave full power to accept tenders. rrnESs associations TYPOGEAPHICAL DISPUTE. INVERCARGILL, 7th May. ■ . "i Mr. J. R. Triggs, Conciliation Com- .- lissioner for the South Island, presided . ~ p-day over a conference of delegates 1 employers and employees in 4i he typographical dispute. The delib- , * tations resulted in an amicable settle- * >ent without recourse to the ArbitraS'.fon Court. The agreement was based 1 .n the Otago award. The chief altera>i Jons are : — Wages of compositors, £3 '- ■ 4ir day and £3 5s for night work ; lino- ". ' ype operators, £3 6s for day work and * '*3 12s for night work; monolines, £3 • -br day work and £3 12s for night "•ork. Lesser rates were fixed for ' ' jjuntry offices. The agreement remains ' ' 1 force till 31st December, 1911. Mr. * „ ;rigps complimented the employers and . ,'tnployees or> the very friendly relations "sistinc " ■! ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. 1 GREYMOUTH, 7th May. ; \ * ' A man named Frank Brennan at-

tempted to commit suicide by cutting his throat and wrist with a razor. He was brought into the Hospital. His inI juries are not serious. He will be removed to the asylum in a few dayb. AWARD GIVES DISSATISFACTION. DUNEDIN, 7th May. Several proprietors of restaurants and tearooms to-day expressed to a reporter of the Otago Daily Times great dissatisfaction with tho Arbitration Court award affecting the wages of their employees. Mr. Scott, secretary of ' the Employers' Association, alleges that the award of the court in Wellington was on a high scale, because tho supineness of the employers there allowed the case to go by default, and that award became a precedent. One large employer averred that the award involved him in an additional expenditure of £350 a year, and ifc was impossible to recoup himself as a manufacturer could by increasing the price of goods. Other employers expressed similar views, but recognised that nothing could be done for 11 months, when the award would expire. TO THE MEMORY OF DEAD SOLDIERS. NEW PLYMOUTH, 7th May. Lord Plunket to-day unveiled the Marsland Hill Memorial — a handsome marble monument erected on a historic ominence in the town, in memory of the Imperial troops, colonial militia, and friendly natives, who 'fell during the Maori wars. The weather was dull, but the ceremony was carried out before a very large attendance of veterans of the war, volunteers, cadets,, and the general public. The monument is 30ft high, and is of Italian marble. It cost about £800. BOXING COUNCIL. CHRISTCHURCH, 6th May. Thft annual meeting of the Boxing Council to-night decided to withdraw from the Sports Federation. The old committee and officers were re-elected. A SERIOUS ASSAULT. CHRISTCHURCH, 6th May. On Thursday night a woman named Sarah Falloon, living in Creyke-street, Linwood, was the victim of a serious assault. Two men went to her house and accused her of being a police spy. After words, one of the men took up a kettle and hit the woman on the breast, while the other knocked her down with a flatiron. The two then further assaulted the woman. Then, finding a gun in the house, they loaded it and fired at the woman, but missed her, the shot entering the wall. The men then left. The woman was found in an tmconsciotks condition several hours later. Two men were arrested to-night on a charge of committing the offence. SUPPOSED BOATING ACCIDENT. NELSON, 7th May. On Tuesday morning, William Lightband, a resident of Brightwater, and a youth named Jackson, son of Mt,, Ralph Jackson, a well-known citizen, left Nelson in a Canadian canoe, intending to camp on Rabbit Island, about six miles from the city. They took with them a dog, the body of which was washed up at Tahuna last night. Fears are entertained that the canoe may have been upset, and the occupants drowned. The police and others have been out all day searching the island ; but up to the present nothing has been seen of either the men or the canoe, or any trace of the camp. The search is still proceeding. CHRISTCHURCH FIRES. CHRISCHURCH, 7th May. The Fire Brigade turned out twice last night to cope with fires in a house in Durham-btreet, Sydenham, occupied as tenant by Ernest Merriman. The first call came at 9.30. The motor chemical and horse chemical were quickly on the scene, but before the outbreak was suppressed the building was severely damaged. The fire is said to have originated in a cupboard under the stairs. When the brigade left, the fire was completely out, yet, to their surprise, they got another call at 4.45, when the building was again all ablaze. The flames were suppressed after the front uortion of the houSe had been destroyed. A strange feature of the second "outbreak is that the police visited tho building at midnight and again at 3 a.m., and on neither occasion saw any sign of fire. In addithion to this the cupboard where the first outbreak occurred and surrounding walls were thoroughly saturated with water by the firemen before they returned to the station. The house is insured in the Liverpool, London, and Globe office for £275.