BANKRUPTCY.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 179, 6 August 1901, Page 3

BANKRUPTCY.

A LIVELY MEETING. A meeting of the creditors of George Searle, carpenter, was held yesterday afternoon at the office of the Assignee, Mr J. Coleman. There were also present : Messrs 0. B. Hubble, Evans, J. Whinray, T. Ritchie (for Mr Hall), C. A. DeLautour (solicitor for Mr Whinray), and E. J. IChrisp (solicitor for the debtor). The statement, already published in the Times, showed that there was an estimated deficiency of X 47 03. In reply to Mr Whinray, the Assignee stated that the accounts set down were as , given in by the debtor. In reply to Mr Hubble, debtor said that there was a .£7O piano in the house. It had been obtained from Messrs Chrisp and Son. Mr Hubble : How much has been paid on it ? Debtor : Only about £l2. Mr Hubble : Do you consider it belongs to you or to the creditors? Debtor : It belongs to me. The Assignee : I suppose if the creditors like to pay the balance they 4 can have it ? Debtor: Yes, I will willingly hand it

over to them. The Assignee : Why is it not included in the list ? Debtor : It is not mine until it is paid for.

The Assignee : Do you consider it is worth £l2 to you ? Debtor : Yes, but it is on the time payment system, and is not purchased until I it is all paid for. The Assignee: Then you have that besides the £25 worth of furniture ? Debtor: Yes. In reply to Mr Hubble, debtor said that the ground on which the house had been built had belonged to the Searle family, hut now it belonged to his wife. Mr Hubble : Then you have been hiding my chimney,'in your wife’s paddock ? Debtor: I asked for a little time to pay your account, and you consented, but the weather has been so wet that I have not been able to pay yet. I will see that you won’t he done out of it. The Assignee : How long has the house been built ? Debtor : About twelve months. Mr Hubble said that it was built in January. Was that twelve months? The debtor should be more precise in his statements.

The debtor : Was it January ? I am not sure. That is not twelve months. In reply to the Assignee, the debtor said that the section belonged to his wife ; it was, ho thought, in Whitaker street, Whataupoko. He had built the house ;

it cost from X2OO to X 250. The Assignee : Have you paid for it ? Debtor : I owe Mr Hubble £2 or £3, and Mr Hall .£2 or £3, and they know they will get their money. Mr Hubble : That is just where tho trouble comes in. I am afraid I won’t get it. Debtor: I only owe you £3. I asked you to wait. Mr Hubble: That is the trouble; I

would have waited two or threo years if I knew I would get it. The Assignee: Why did you not put the house down in the iist ? Debtor : Because it is not mine. Tho Assignee : You said you built it. Debtor : I built it with my labor. Mr Hubble : You were only working for your wife ? Debtor.: Yes. Mr Hubble: Then who was I working for —your wife ? Debtor : No, you were working for me, because I contracted to do it for so much money. T.. “ ~1.. _ A J j.l- _ *i

In reply to tho Assignee the debtor said that tho section belonged to his wife, that she borrowed tho money to pay for the timber, and that he built it. Ho had boon paid about X3O out of his wife’s money, and he used it as in an ordinary contract to pay for the material. His wife had borrowed about .£2OO, and ho had been paid about X3O. Tho house was worth about X 220. Mr Whinray: You just said j£3oo. Debtor: No, I didn’t. Continuing, debtor said that in saying the labor was only X3O ho was alluding to the carpenters’ labor. Ho had not been joined with his wife in tho mortgage. In reply to Mr DeLautour, who asked whether the section had been given to Mrs Searle at tho debtor’s request, debtor said that the land had been originally in his name for the family ; there were little ones coming on, and to protect them, there was a mortgage over it so that he should not do anything with it. At the time of the marriage the other members were willing to relinquish it if ho gave security for XGO, a bill of sale over the furniture. He had himself had an interest, a very small one, as ono of the family. When lie got tho interest out of the family ho put it into his wife’s name —that was about IS months ago. He was married about that time ; it was after tho marriage. It was some time before be bought the furniture from Mr Whinray. Mr Whinray : You had some 18 months ago.

Debtor : I paid you for that. Mr Whinray : No, you didn’t. Mr DeLautour : Did you tell Mr Whinray of the arrangement of putting the land in your wife’s name '? Debtor : No, I was not in debt. He had not told Messrs Hall or Hubble ; they knew that they would be paid. He had not been in anybody's -debt at the time. As to tho house in Wellington there had been a mortgage of 4)175 upon it ; all he got out of it was ,625 ; that was about two years ago. He did not see why he should answer questions concerning two years ago when he was not in Mr Whinray’s debt. If he did get £25 then he must have something to spend ; he could not live on daylight. He had not given Mr Harris £3O or any money for land.

Mr DeLautour: Everything that should go to the creditors went to your wife'? Debtor: No; she had property. Mr DeLautour: How much did she hove ? Debtor: It was not my business to ask her what she owed. Mr DeLautour: Not what she owed—what money did she have '! Debtor: I don’t know. Did she have £lO ? Debtor: She might have had £SO or £6o—l never asked her. Mr DeLautour: Where did she get the £6O to givo to Mr Harris '? Debtor: She borrowed it on the sections in her name. Mr DeLautour; The family property '? Yes.

Continuing, debtor said he had never had a trap and harness. He might have got the first lot of furniture from Mr Whinray in April, 1900, but it was paid for. His brother held security for £6O which he had lent him. He had had £2O cash.

Mr DeLautour : That does not appear on the instrument; you had £2O cash, and the family arrangement ? Debtor said” that they had trusted each

other, and there had been no necessity to enter into details. In reply to Mr Chrisp, debtor said that he was quite solvent when he married, also when he gave the bill of sale to ' 7 brother. The property had se ' ttled on his wife for was understood that wfls tQ be trans{erred t 0 her . —iO family trusted each other. He had reduced Mr Whinray’s account from £4O to £IS. He had offered Mr DeLautour £6 and a pro. note for a fortnight to stay proceedings. It had been refused. Mr DeLautour: Quite right; we would have nothing to do with promissory notes. Mr Chrisp: You paid £5 two days before he sued you ’?—Y'es. Continuing, he said that Messrs Kennedy and Evans and Mr HalL had not pressed him. He had no intention of cheating anybody, and hoped to pay all his creditors in a fewt months. It was his intention still to pay them. Mr Chrisp : Whatever your wife got she borrowed through me ? Y T es. All the amounts set down were current accounts—there were no dead ones. Mr Chrisp said he was sorry Mr Whinray had taken up the position, he had, of forcing this young man into bankruptey. No alternative had been left him, although he believed all would be paid in full.

Mr Whinray said he would put a different color on that statement. He had given the debtor every opportunity. A period of six months elapsed without his paying a penny. Last March there was X 23 owing, lie asked for a promissory note at three months, but debtor would not- give it. Debtor said, •' You wait a month,” but he waited three months without result. Then he sent a letter saying that if debtor did not call he (Mr 'Whinray) would take proceedings. No notice was taken of the letter, and he handed the matter over to his solicitor. In the meantime he came and paid £■>. but the ultimatum had then been given. For six months debtor had not paid a penny, and even declined to give a promise. Debtor said that Mr Whinray had told him it would be all right so long as he gav e him 80s a month ; and lie had given more, not each month, but £3 at

one time. Mr Whinray said the payments averaged 27s a month. Mr Chrisp : If all your creditors did as well you would not be badly done by. Debtor said the reason ho had not given a promissory note was that Mr M hinray wanted to charge ten per cent. He considered lie had already paid enough for the articles. He would have paid him sooner had not the wet weather thrown him back, lie had now got into constant work and would pay all. Mr Wliinrav saijl it was quite enough for him when he heard that debtor was paying .£BO bonus to step into another man's shoes for a five-aero section. Mr Chrisp : You have no right to make such a statement. Debtor : It has nothing to do with me. Mr DeLautour: Perhaps it is your wife's money again? Debtor : It is the family in "Wellington. Mr 'Whinray: Then the family had better take the responsibility. Mr DeLautour said it was quite clear that the. sections had not been settled on Mrs* Searlc. It was a very bad case in a small way where every kind of shuffling had been done to defraud the creditors. It was a carefully conceived scheme of evasion of debts. No discharge should be

lington. Mr Whinray: Then the family had better take the responsibility. Mr DeLautour said it was quite clear that the. sections had not been settled on Mrs* Searlc. It was a very bad case in a small way where every kind of shuffling had been done to defraud the creditors. It was a carefully conceived scheme of evasion of debts. No discharge should be recommended until Mrs Searlc, as trustee for her husband, paid the debts : in any case they should be paid in full. It was a small estate, and they did not want to use strong language against the debtor, but he had been very badly advised in entering into these family arrangements. Mr DeLautour went on to refer to the transactions in very strong terms. The Assignee : The hill of sale does not appear in order. Mr DeLautour: It is entirely wrong ; it would not stand for a It is very doubtful if £2O over passed; it is certain that ,£4O did not. lie did not suppose the creditors wanted to spend their money to press this young man, but on the face of it it was a discreditable transaction. Mr Hubble moved that the meeting be adjourned for a fortnight, lie said he agreed with Mr DeLautour. When he had gone to put the chimney up, debtor said, “ This is my house; lam going to build another one.” He advised Searlc to get the bricks on the ground for the second one, as they would be very scarce. Bv chance he (Mr Hubble) had managed to got 2000 bricks he (Mr Hubble) had sent there for the work. Now it seemed that even the first house was not Searlo’s. It seemed to him to be a swindle Debtor : For three pounds V Mr Hubble; The whole of us. Debtor : I was not in Mr Whinray\s debt before; I never offered to swindle anyone. Mr Hubble retorted strongly. The Assignee said those terms were not permissible, and Mr Chrisp advised the debtor not to make reply to Mr Hubble. Mr Evans said that the offer made by Mr Hubble was a liberal one, and he would second the motion. It would give Mr dearie sufficient time to make arrangements to meet his creditors. The Assignee; Ho says ho will pay them. Debtor : I don’t want to cheat them. The Assignee said that a verbal undertaking would not be sufficient for the creditors. Ho would adjourn the meeting for a fortnight to enable the debtor to make an offer. Mr Whinray asked whether it would not be necessary to tako charge of the property. The Assignee: Oh, no ; it will not run away.

Mr Hubble moved that the meeting be adjourned for a fortnight, lie said he agreed with Mr DeLautour. When he had gone to put the chimney up, debtor said, “ This is my house; lam going to build another one.” lie advised Searlc to get the bricks on the ground for the second one, as they would be very scarce. Bv chance he (Mr Hubble) had managed to got 2000 bricks he (Mr Hubble) had sent there for the work. Now it seemed that even the first house was not Searlo’s. It seemed to him to be a swindle Debtor : For three pounds V Mr Hubble; The whole of us. Debtor : I was not in Mr Whinray\s debt before; I never offered to swindle anyone. Mr Hubble retorted strongly.