IN BANKRUPTCY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 April 1925, Page 8

IN BANKRUPTCY.

ESTATE OF J. M. M ITCH ELLA, meeting of the creditors in the bankrupt estate of James McKinley Mitchell, snareinilker ox To Ivin, was held in rue on ire of the Deputy Official Assignee tMr. R. S. Sage; yesterday. lucre were six creditors represented, , m d .Mr. It, JS. baeyertz appeared in support of the debtor. Unsecured creditors’ claims totalled £IG9 14s. Ud. and those of secured ,reditors TOO ids. un the motion of Mr. Rodgers, seconded by Mr. i\ Fulton, debtor was allowed to retain his furniture. 'me oniy assets in the estate, therefore, was'money coming from a milk !>onns and proceeds Horn the sale ox pi«* ’ and m.lk cans, estimated in all u/'prou.,ce about £45. mere uas eonsexp.entiv a deficiency of about £t-o irankrupt’s written statement was ns follows: i ■ lowards the end ot 1921 i Mas a orbing at the Patea grading works. I was not well enough to stand hinny work, howtoer, so 1 had to leave. At that time 1 was aiso working on the wharf between times. But that was also heavy work, i was living m town and had to pay high rents. “When I left the Patea grading works 1 went into the country imu took on contract work. All the time l had to- keep on the tonm house foi mv wife and family, and had to ride six miles to and from work every nay. This went on for about fifteen months, until early in 1923. 1 could not get a cheaper house or one in the country. Some of the contract work paid and some did not. Aiter a time 1 went packing cheese at the Whenuakuru factory" at. 4d per crate. At that figure i made very little out of it and had to work long hours. I worked there till the end of April. “At that time I had a Medical Board examination at Patea, and as a result was sent to hospital at Wanganui for an operation in connection ! with a wound in the ivbs received at the war. 1 was at hospital three months, Imt got the. benefit of a pension or £2 10s per week while there. When I ielt hospital this pension was reduced to the usual figure, 10s per week. i'or six months after I left hospital mv wife got a small pension. While in iio.-vpital the home at Pate;, had to be kept going. My wife and three little children could not live aione, so my wife’s sister lived with her. ’ After leaving hospital 1 was a month out of work. 1 could not do heavy work, so decided to take on farm* work. 1 went to Normanby and worked on wages at £3 os per week, and we had to keep our employer out of that, and lie provided meat and vegetables. We were losing money, there, and I could not get ahead, chiefly owing to u lot of sickness. <4ur little' boy had whooping cough, ful.owed Ijv pneumonia, of which he died, and a Tittle girl had whooping cough very badly. . The doctors sent her to the* South' Island, to Nelson, for her health’s sake. I finished up at Notmanby in May. 1924, and took a contract grubbing gorse for the Hu worn County Council. Just be "ore completing the work I had the chance of taking on my present job, which was of a permanent nature, so I decided to leave the gorse grubbing to a Maori, Paui There was very little to finish, so ‘ 1 thought it would be all right: out the contract ended disastrously, .•nine other Maoris took over from Patu and did not finish up very satis fnctorily, ■ o the county had to do thei: work oier again. So 1 got very little out of it. ‘•'Phis season 1 have been milking for Mr, J. .1. Patterson o:i a farm oi Ids at Te Kiri. 1 get one-third share of the milk cheques and am milking on cows. I have made only a hare living out of this job. and 1 it has been a pt or seison. j cannot get ahead o. •ill; my- debts, and a judgment suiri--ndns issued against me has Forced me ;o lie.

“There will p nimbly be a small ivonus payable next year and there is let to be a squaring up for the pig which I had to buy. There will not br much coming from this-. Air. Patterin' ho!. od me to Imy the cart and ! orse for £■!") 10s (£in 10s. for the J ry -ird £25 for the' horse), and I am p-win >• him this amount under bill of • a!e Some of the furniture was

bought from Messrs Pratt by my wife in my name, and we are still owing id 8 nn !t to them The rest of the

furniture T bought with the assistance of the Repatriation Board, and 1 am owing them about £2O on it. A good deal has been paid off the furniture purchases. M.v own health is far from good owing to war service and may necessitate another operation. As far as I can see the only chance my creditors have is through the bonus and six milk cans which are mine and which I value at £2 10s. each, £ls in all.’’ Unsecured creditors’ claims were as follow: —Patea: Patea Butchery, £9 14s Id; D. Jones, plumber, £3; R. A. Adams, draper, £9; Gi'bert and Roots, grocers. £1 9s 2d-; G. O. Taylor, chemist, £2 ss; J. A. McKenna, for rent, £3 15s; Mr Gilbert, dentist. £4; Mrs E. Jones, grocer, £2; C. A. Larcombe, bootmaker. £3 Is; Mr Cooper, jeweller, £2: A. Partridge, bootmaker, £2; F. Williams, carrier, £2 15s; Gibson’s, Ltd., grocers, £1 : W. C. Glenn, earlier. £2 15s 3d ; T. J. Carter, butcher. Cl iOs. Hnwera: Dr. Young, £1; D. i-'oole, dentist, £1 os; Farmers’ Co-op., C2 3s Gd ; Messrs Pratt. furniture warehouse. £18; Dr. Buist, 10s Gd. Normanbv: Howie and Giles, bakers, £4 9s 6d • Mr Forbes, farmer, for rent, 01 15s: D. Stewart, for car hire. £3; Ga'lowav and Sons, grocers, £l9 10s Gd. Newton King, Ltd.. New Plymouth, £4 14s Gd : E. I. Rodger, Te Kiri, grower, £2B 12s: J. Neilson. Te Kiri, blacksmith. £1 13s Gd : Mr l.ethaby, 'Yanaan ti. umbrella- maker. 12s Gd ;A. L. Mitchell. Wanganui, barber, £3; Mr Patu Land otliersl. Okaiawa. farmer. £l2: • Messrs Treloar. Hamilton, milking machine makers. £2 Gs: Dia mood and Hart, Wellington, picture framers. 10s Gd; T. Hi’L Mokau, farmer £10; A. A. Bennett. Manain. solicitor. £3 Is; W. A. Parkinson and Co.. £1 ss.