W. M. WHISHAW.

Feilding Star, Volume III, Issue 822, 8 March 1909, Page 3

W. M. WHISHAW.

THE BANKRUPT'S RECORD. A UNIQUE STORY. AN EXTRAORDINARY SERIES OF TRANSACTIONS. TOLD CIRCUMSTANTIALLY. THE ART OF RE-FINANOING. MR. ROLLET, THE ARCADIA, AND BANKRUPT. SATISFIED HE HAD A LARGE MARGIN. BUT WAS HAMPERED. VALUE OF VESTING ORDERS. THE BAINESSE PROPERTY. THE MOTOR CAR TRANSACTIONS. The following i* the bankrupt's statement to be read to the meeting of the creditors in the estate of W. M. Whishaw, to be held in Feilding to-morrow : — j.<j»-ai*a m« «iiti vi iy<w *■ i«** jj'eiiding a*ter vie partuerfiiiijJ subsisting between* Mr ju. O. JdacKay ana myself was dissolved, and commenced business on my own account in Master ton. 1 carried on business lor atoout a year, and tnen went into partnership witn Mr A. Ji. fcrreennoid, 'and an olMce was secured iv Wellington, iius partnership lasted only a tew niontua, and 1 commenced land dealing on my own account. 1 was at this tune owner of a Decauvilie motor-car, and my first exchange was with one W. B. Geisen, in which 1 exchanged the car for two mortgages which he had, one affecting property in Tinakori road, Wellington, and tho other a property in Shannon-street, Wellington. Both these mortgages were subject to prior mortgages. I arranged then for the exchange of the mortgages for the interest of one Eberhard in the lease of the Royal Hotel at Bunnythorpe,' and also for his interest in a charge which he held unregistered affecting some Taonui property and which charge was estimated to be worth £400. The Taonui charge I exchanged for two sections, each with a building thereon situate in Emerson-street, Petone. The sections were numbered 9 and 13 respectively, and the hotel property 1 exchanged for a lease and tobacconist's business held by G. T. Witt in Feilding. The tobacconist's business V>d lease 1 exchanged with Mr Sorensen for a house and section in CamFeilding 3 Mr Sorensen paying me a sum of £200 by way of equality. I then exchanged the Camden-street house for a Darracq motor-car with Mr W. M. Bayley and had to pay him £100 cash. This was borrowed from Mr Harden. I had very great difficulty at this stage in seeing these exchanges ail through contemporaneously, especially an it was discovered that the encumbrances on the lesat of the Royal Hotel proved to be «*>nsiderably more than what they were estimated by Eberhard when the exchange was first agreed upon, and as I had so many subsequent dealings, all dependent upon the hotel exchange, it was necessary for me to go to the assistance of Eberhard in finding sufficient money to clear the further encumbrances; and this was done, Eberhard at the same time reconveying to me the second mortgage over the Tinakori-road property. 1 raised the amount by borrowing on the second mortgage I took over, and also on the second mortgage I had from Korth ; th» is referred to later. With one of the sections (No. 9) at Petone, and the Tinakori-road propery, I made an exchange with one Senn, at Palmerston North, for a block of small sections situate at Terrace End, in Palmerston North, and also for a 93-acre farm on the Mt. Stewart road near Sandon. The other section (No. 13) at Petone I sold to a man named Korth for £850, and he was to take over the present mortgage for £550, paying me, £25 in cash, and giving.me a second mortgage of £275. His cheque for fcbe £25 cash was dishonoured, and not only did I make a loss there, but I handed this cheque on to a commission agent for commission, and he in turn negotiated the cheque, and because it bore my endorsement, I was called upon to pay that amount. The second mortgage from Korth to me is sub-mortgaged for £150, and under the power of sale which I hold under the mortgage I have agreed for the sale of this property to Mr H. A. Wunsch, of , Feilding, receiving by way of consideration one small De Dion motor-car, and this car I have agreed in turn to sell to Mr Imlay Saunders, of Wanganui, for £75. I have put the car in my assets at this price. The Carnarvon farm 1 exchanged for 'the Church-street property, adjoining the Club Hotel, in Palmerston North, no equality passing, and the Terrace End sections I exchanged to one Whitehead for a cottage and section of land in' Fergusson-street, in Palmerston. This section I subsequently exchanged with E. A. Barton for a house and section at Terrace End, which was then subject to a heavy mortgage to the Palmerston North Building Society, receiving £50 by way of equality. I had an interest, in some shares in the Holmes and Allen patent trolley-head, and this interest I disposed of to Mr Col. beck, of Palmerston North, taking over a section in Fergusson-street, Feilding, which was the subject to a lien of £500 for unpaid purchasemoney to the Colonists' Land and Loan Corporation This section I sold td Messrs W. L. and J. A. Bailey, and with the cash I received over and above the lien, amounting to £600, I purchased a farm at Pohangina of 154 acres from Mr Henry Harris, and he took over the Darracq motor-car, giving me credit for £400, <nd I still had to find him another -.500. This further £500 came out of a deal which was arranged immediately after the Harris Pohangina deal, whereby 1 agreed for the sale of the Pohangina farm in exchange for a lease held by a man named Yule, and comprising some 330 odd acres situate at Reid's Line, near Bunnythorpe, and 1 also obtained in addition to the cash which was required to pay Harris, a cottage in Fergus-son-street, Palmerston North which I had formerly owned. This cottage in Fergusson-street I mortgaged for £300, and out of this £300 which I received on loan, I paid £210 to Mr F. J. Nathan on account* of the pur"chase of the De Dion car. I also paid a board account in Wellington, amounting to £25. I repaid a temporary loan I had of £30, and also paid £15 commission I owed to Orbell and Co., Palmerston North, and the balance was exhausted in travelling expenses and part remitted to my wife for household expenses at Masterton, where she was at this time living. I subsequently raised a further loan of £30 on this property. *I was, in October and November, 1908, called upon to connect the property with the sewerage system, this was estimated to cost £21, and a sum of £6 10s was required to effect several small repairs about the property and pending these being done no tenant could be obtained. I sold the property for £15 cash, the pur. chaser undertaking to pay the mortgages first and second, and comply with the demands of the Borough Council for sewerage connection and also pay a sum of £3 for i»tes, the liabilities amounting to £412, which, with the £15 I reoerfv4d, made » total of £417. In Jus*,

1908, I agreed for the sale of the Reid's Line lease to Mrs Murphy, taking for consideration her interest in a property at Riccarton, out of Christchurch, on which was standing the Black Horse Hotel. This was leased at £6 per week and I was to take over the same subject to a mortgage of £1500, the hotel property being valued altogether at £4600, and my equality in Reid's Line lease was considered at £3000. It was found, however, on searching the Black Horse Hotel property, that there was a mortgage to Messrs Ward and Co., Ltd., of Christchurch, given by Mrs Murphy, and which affected other properties, and Messrs Ward and Co. would not apportion their mortgage, and the negotiations fell through, but not until a great deal of work had been done and a great deal of time was spent in endeavouring to re-finance. One of the conditions in the agreement for the exchange was that I should find a sum of £JKK) for the purchase of stock on the Reid's Line property, and this was done and stock purchased to the value of £380 on account. The stock were taken delivery of by Mrs Murphy, who allowed the same to deteriorate vory much in value for want oT proper feedine; and care, and they were subsequently .sold wl realised about €150. # This loss fell on me. and I bnvo since threatenec 1 Mrs MnrnW with in action fnr riamarrofl +" Tor>Tnnense m<* for this losp fltif? nlf> for tfip loss on the wtoolo exchange : nnf from information T hnve. received T have fleemed it Jns»r?vipanl« at tlio present tn t.a'ro f<T»v «f«vns to enforep rnvnient. though negotiations were opened up with her solicitors, Messrs Findlay, T)ifaiell and Co.. with .i view of socorina a mortgage over some of her properties to secure such an amount as could be agreed upon to cover my loss iv the matter. The lease at Reid's i.ime, together with the house at Terrace Jfinu, Paiinerston .North, which was under mortgage to the .building Society, were botii subsequently exchanged during the partnership of Kollet and Whishaw to Mr George Wood for a lease of a section of 460 acres held under the West Coast Settlement Reserves Act from the Public Trustee and situate at Opunake, Taranaki. All the exchanges down to Sorensen and Bayly were arranged prior to September, 1907, and the Colbeck, Harris, Bailey Bros., und Yule exchanges were fixed up early in 1908. In June, 1908, I joined Mr Rollet in partnership. 1 put in all the properties I then had, comprising 3 roods, which I was holding under an agreement of purchase, from Mrs Bartholomew, of Feilding (l refer to this property later), the Church-street property in Palmerston North, the Fergusson-street property in Palmerston North, Reid's Line lease, my interest in lot 9, Emersonstreet, Petone, the Terrace End house, v Palmerston North, and Mr Rollet contributed £12,000 worth of shares in the Arcadia Company and also an interest which he held in some land purchased by him from one Loudon and situate in Kent Terrace, Wellington, the interest of Rollet in 30 acres being a piece of land in the town of Nelson and recently purchased under agreement from one Ingham and certain options which Rollet had to purchase over block of freehold and leasehold land known as the Halswell Estate Block situate in Kent Terrace, Wellington, it being understood that the partnership was to assume a liability of £2000 for debts of the said Rollet and £300 on my own account. We had very great difficulty, indeed, in completing the purchase of the Harwell Block, as it was found that Rollet had far exceeded" the time given for completion, and further premium had to be paid to keep the agreement alive; and he had also given an option for the sale of his shares in the Arcadia Company, which we had to get cancelled at a iost of £500. -Finally, we managed to save the Halswell Block property at a cost for the freehold and the leasehold interest of £10,846, which was made up by a first mortgage <A the lease £1250, a rent charge on the -lease of £1000, a second mortgage on the lease and a first «m the freehold of £3750, and! a further charge of £4846. We agreed for the sale of the Halswell Block at £17,000, together with Rollet's interest in the other property in Kent Terrace which he had! purchased from Loudon and on which there were mortgages amounting ±6 £4500 putting the value of that property at £7500 in exchange for Mr and Mrs Brightwel's properties which comprised 834 acres at Bainesse, which was taken at £16 10s per acre and which was sJubject to mortgages of £8100. A second mortgage which they held from one Couper, of £3000, and affecting some properties near Shannon and their interest in 505 acres at Taranaki in the Huirangi district which was taken at £5742 10s less mortgages first and second amounting to £3610, and in the treaty for the sale it was agreed that we should arrange to have £1850 of the £4846 owing on the Halswell Block left for two years at 8 per cent. Mrs Brightwell first of all refused to ratify the contract for sale made by her husband on his own and her account, and it necessitated an action being brought for damages under a warrant of authority against Brightwell, but before the action was set down for trial the parties agreed to go on with ifche deaSr When the deal was ready for settlement it was found that the total liabilities on Bainesse were only £7600, with an outstanding liability of £200 on a promissory note, and we had to arrange to have the proposed mortgage to be left on the islswell Block reduced to £1350. This then left a first sum of £3496 owing to Mr John Power, and subsequently we purchased from Mr Power Yule's mortgage affecting title 154 acres at - Ponangina, and which was also collaterally secured by a Bill of Sale over ibis stock. Advances to the value of £740 were made to us or on ouir behalf, aaul a sum of £72 116 2d represented accrued interest which made a total of £7827 which was the amount owing by us to John Power at the time of Rollet's bankruptcy. .This was secured by a mortgage on Bainesse which was subject to prior mortgages securing £7800 (including the £200 promissory note) Huirangi, which was subject to prior charges £3610. a mortgage of Yule's mortgage and bill of sale and a mortgage of the mortgage which we had taken from Brightwell and which was given by (Jouper. The amount due under this mortgage to John Power is somewhat altered now owing to the fact that interest has been running in the interim, and the mortgagee has paid interest and rates in connection with the Huirangi property and has also received some payments in reduction of prLncipaß) and interest from Yule. The amount now due is £3090 11s Id. Out of the amount secured under this large mortgage a considerable portion is productive, as Yule's mortgage secures approximately £3418 at 8 pei* cent.,, wnidh. is the rate of interest the large mortgage is bearing, and Couper's mortgage is producing interest at 5 per cent on £3000. \Ve then exchanged the Arcadia shares for 108 acres of suburban land at Wangaiaui and) two aores at the Wanganui sea beach. We raised a loan of £3600 on the Wanganui 108 aores, and this was expended m paying debts of Rollet's. and in olearisg the option on the shares. We than discovered that Rollet's private debts still amounted 1 to another £1000, and he was being pressed by his creditors and was compelled to file. A mortgage of £270 at a rate of 10 per cent, was given on the Wanganui sea beach section, comprising three acres, to pay £270 on account of commission payabfl© on the exchange of the shares for the Wanganui property. It was then ais« coveredtnafc a title could not be given to the three acres at Wangainui sea beach. An account, owing by Rollet to the Arcadia Company for board for himself and family, amounting to approximately £100, was wiped off, and we took the reduced area of 2 acres. This mortgage was arranged in August, 1908, and came due in November, 1908, and we were unable to find any money to pay the amount owing to the reduced area, and the bankruptcy of Mr Rollet whioh by this time had eventuated, and the mortgagee sold. Mr Rollet was adjudicated a bankrupt by a creditor's petition on October 90 and a first meeting of oredi-

tors was held on November 30. At this meeting a demand was produced which I had sent over calling upon the estate to at once meet the liabilities which were accruing and which had accrued for interest and rates on the various properties belonging to the partnership or else that the Deputy Official Assignee should disclaim, and as there were no assets in the private estate of Rollet to pay the outgoings, a resolution was passed disclaiming all interest in the partuership property. The bankruptcy of Mr Rollet completely put a stop to all my dealings, as i was unable to give anyone a title to any of the property and it was absolutely impossible to do anything with any of the properties until the disclaimer was registered. An application was prepared to give effect to the disclaimer and vesting orders drawn and sent to the Court at Nelson for sealing, but the Registrar there refused to have anything to do with them in the absence of the judge, and the judge, who was on circuit, also required that the papers should be dealt with at the next sitting of the Court in Nelson, which did not eventuate until the end of January. In the meantime, 1 left no stone unturned in the hope of a vesting order going through a an early date to make further sales so as to further improve the position. I was satisfied that there was a very large margin on the properties over' and abovo all the encumbrances and my accounts, and had I had a free hand in dealing and not been hampered with the delay which followed the bankruptcy I am quite confident I should not have been before you to-day. The following negotiations were all in train : Exchange of Wanganui pro. perty for a block of land in Hopper street in Wellington with J. H. J. Bowater, Mr Bowater to give me by way of equality a second mortgage on the Wanganui property amounting to £750. I had hoped to be able to realise on this second mortgage sufficient to pay the amount required for apportionments and some small charges on the Wanganui property over and above the first mortgage, but I was unable to do tin's, and the deal was not completed. The delay in the first instance was attributable solely to my inability to produce a title, and this was owing solely to the absence of the vesting order. I 'entered into an agreement with Alexander Broolrie to lease the Huirnngi property for five years for 14s per acre, with an increasing rental to 15s Gd for the last 1\ years, and with a right of purchase at £15 10s. The agreement also provided for considerable improvements being provided by the lessee. This agreement should have been completed on the Ist in.st., and as far as I know Brookie is still willing to complete. On the 9tfh December, I entered iinbo an agreement for the exchange of the Bainesse property to Mr William Dickson. Ho paying at the rate of £13 10s per acre, and taking over the mortgages (£7805), and I was to take over his property, comprising j the Railway Hotel, sit the Lower Hutt, subject to mortgage of £4500. Mr Dickson has refused to complete, alleging that his wife has an interest in the Hutt property, and she will not confirm liis agreement to the sale. 1 liiitciud into a contract i'or sale by way oi exchange of the Bainesse property for a large amount . oi township property in Shannon with Mr J. It. Stausell, and consider that 1 was making a very good deal, especially as 1 was unable to go on farming the Bainesse property and make it productive. I then arranged for the sale of my interest in the Shannon sections, and was taking a mortgageback for £3250, which mortgage 1 was exchanging for a property of Mr Ivey's outside New Plymouth of 451 acres, subject to mortgage of £2500. 1 then agreed for the sale of this property to Mr Wunsch, and to take a mortgage from him for £1,649 to secure the balance of the- purchasemoney. I had hoped to sell this mortgage, and also the Bowater mortgage, and raise sufficient to pay all charges owing oil tlio properties for interest. I rates, insurances, and other outgoings, and materially reduce my private liabilities. However, I was served with two bankruptcy petitions, and being considerably harrassed by the Court proceedings for small accounts, I was drivento file my petition. I should like to add that when the Areadiar Wanganui deal was fixed up, bills were given by Rollet and Whisbaw to W. A. Read for £300 in payment of 'the balance of his commission on the distinct understanding that the bills could be reduced from time to time if a portion thereof was paid off ; but Mr Read discounted the bills, and 1 have been very hardly pressed by the holders from time to time for payment. It is within the knowledge of all the creditors that money has been exceptionally dear and scarce during the past twelve months, and there has been practically no demand for hind ; but I have made almost superhuman efforts to get some of the lands sola on easy terms, but failed o liud a buyer,. I should like to point out the position with reference to the Feuding property which is now occu* pied by me. In June last I agreed to purchase the same from Mrs Bartholomew for £950, paying £25 cash, with £125 to be paid in six months, and the balance was to be left at interest. The second payment came due in January, right in the midst of my difficulties, and I was unable to find tho amount, and was served with a notice that I should have to leave the property, and my interest in same would be determined. However, I was allowed a further month, upon my finding the interest which had accrued, and this I borrowed from Mr Harden. 7 was still unable, when the further period of graco had elapsed, to tad the instalment, and agreed with Mrs Bartholomew to cancel the agreement for sale if I were let out of any liability. This was done, and Mrs Bartholomew then gave me the opportunity of occupying the property provided it w»b leased to my wife, lhis was done, the tenancy being created for twelve months at a rental of £1 a week with a purchasing clause of £950 exercisable at any time upon payment of £150 and the balance to remain on "mortgage. With reference to the motor car transaction, I should only like to state that when 1 owned the Darracq car. Mr Harden had a bill of sale over tho same for advances made to me and upon the sale of the Darracq car and my acquiring the De Dean car 1 gave Mr Jlarden a bill! of sale over the latter oar. 1 sold the De Deon car to Mr W. B. Giesen under an agreement whereby he was to give me promissory notes for £425, payable in three months, but reserving to him the right, if lie were desirous of so doing, of returning the car and receiving back his bills. I quite expected that if Mr Giesen did not himself retain the oar he would nave sold the same, and out of the proceeds of the sale I expected there, would be ample funds to pay the amount owing to Mr Harden and also a sum of £300 which I wished to pay to Mr Short or the Motor Company in respect of my transaction with them for a -Singer car. This Singer car was hired to me under a hire agreement on the sth August, and I was <to pay £100 down and £300 at the expiry of three months. These sums were not paid, and I arranged with Mr Short to take the De Deon car under which He has a full right to sell the same, and likewise I had myseflf, and he would fn the event of a sale receive £300 and credit) that amount against the amount due for hire. In January, Mr Harden was pushing me for a settlement of his account or else for possession of the car. and I gave him an order on Mr Snort, in whose possession the oar then was, to receive the car ; but I understand the order was not .presented. The following day, nob knowing that the order was not presented, 1 went to Mr Snort's farm at Cheltenham and obtained the oar, and tbanded the same over to Mr Harden. • < At this time there wtts every probability of the car being sola, and I anticipated that sufficient would be realised! to pay both Mr Short and Mr Harden. With reference to the Singer car, after the. accident which I met with in Palmerston through a collision with the express train, the remains of the Singer were brought to Feilding and taken prwwfan of

I by the Motor Company and the car ! 'has practically had to be re-built, and J though the terms of the hire agree- ! ment have not been adhered to by me I anticipate that if the £400 owing for hire and the amount of the account for repairs were paid the Company woulld not rely strictly on their position under the agreement but would allow the car to oome in as an asset. For the past few months the liainesse property has been unoccupied, though 1 have received a sum of £35 for tine sale of "a crop of oats thereon, and this has been expended in living and travelling expenses for the past three months. The Wanganui property has produced sufficient to pay the rates. The Church street j j3oj/perty has produced some rent, which Mellsop and Eliot have collected. They hold a second mortgage on this property, and they have also had to pay the last half-year's interest on the first mortgage and the amount of rates due to the Palmerston North Borough Council. A smalll amount has been received from the Huirangi property in the nature of royalties for timber cutting, and these have been received by the mortgagee in reduction of the -amount" which the mortgagee had to iind to pay interest on the nvst and second mortgages and rates. All my transactions have been recorded and the figures on each showing whatever cash has been received and the disbursements for costs apportionments and other outgoings js easily ascertaiuable. 1 have spent no money except what was absolutely necessary for the carrying on of my h/bme and travelling expenses and costs; and as far as books are concerned. 1 might state that books were kept when 1 was in partnership with Mr Mackay. 31 r Greenfield kept the books when I was in partnership with him, and whilst I was in business in Masterton, Mr 11. J. IJakor kept the books, which hooks have been taken over by Messrs Cochrane and Co., who purchased my M;jstf;rto?i business. Oil witoiinjf into partnership with Rollet it was intended to at once open a set of books, but the. bankruptcy came so quickly that there was no opportunity of doing anything of the kind, and sinco then 1 have not beon in a position to set out any of the dealings as 1 have had no properties to deal with pending the granting of the vesting order. Mad the sale.whiHi I had in contemplation been [>ut through, upon their <ompietion they would have all been recorded and a set of books opened. But, up to ihe present, there- has beon absolutely no opportunity since T went into partnership with Rollet of opening a s«v of books.