BANKRUPT BUTCHER

Evening Star, Issue 20315, 25 October 1929, Page 4

BANKRUPT BUTCHER

CREDITORS DISSATISFIED WANT RACING WINNINGS ACCOUNTED FOR [’Special to tub ‘Star.’] AUCKLAND, October 24. Losses suffered as the result of severe competition and a fire were stated to be the causes of the bankruptcy of Edward John Wills, butcher, of Frankton, who met his creditors at Hamilton with a nominal deficiency of £1,189. There wore twenty-eight _ unsecured and one secured creditor. Bankrupt attributed his financial embarrassment tc losses suffered while he was in Otago, where he had gone to li re between 1924 and 1926, owirg to ill-health to severe competition, and the impossibility of conducting business on cash sales. Questioned concerning gambling habits, bankrupt said he occasionally invested small sums on racehorses. Creditors expressed themselves dissatisfied with' bankrupt’s statement, which failed to disclose any race winnings, or that he had won a considerable amount as owner of Ramblin’ Kid. A creditor (Mr J. A. Bell) described considerable investments h© said he had made ou racehorses for bankrupt. He had made four bets of a total amount of £l3O on his behalf, and the returns on these investments had totalled £351. # . Under examination, Wills admitted that he acquired a racehorse in 1926. Before the animal broke down and was sold, he won £2OO, half of which was ciear profit. Later he had raced a horse owren by his brother, and received £7OO as stake winnings. Of this amount about £SOO was profit. The Official Assignee: I want to know where these gambling winnings went. A creditor asked whether the horse at present being trained by bankrupt could not be raced for the benefit of the creditors. Bankrupt said it was probable that his brother would allow the creditors half the winnings. A Creditor: Is the horse racing at Cambridge next Monday ? Bankrupt: I think so. The Creditor: Ho thinks so! He is training the horse, and he does not know whether it is running. Bankrupt domed giving Bell money to invest horses at the Otahnhn and Te Aroha trots. Mr Bell alleged he bad proofs that ba-kmot had said tbe ho r se belonged to bis hrotW for tbe Inst twelve * v >'v-thp. and be had handed him the winnings. Tb'i Aqsi"noe said the creditors we”c -%-t't’"d to know bapne-red to tV ,vr,i-ev B - '-brunt ngre-d to bri~g a state n”d to anr—mb his with the object of han-T’nr' farther win'‘i"' T s fvor. +v.p horse the benefit of the cr"dPors.