BANKRUPT FARMER

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 3 May 1928, Page 10

BANKRUPT FARMER

statement of tits position. A meeting of creditors in the nanlcrupt estate of Ronald Alwyn Richter, farmer, of Mokoia., was held yesterday, Mr. R. S. Sage, D.0.A., presiding over a small attendance. Mr. A. K. North appeared on liehalf of bankrupt, and Mr: H. L. Spratt acted for Mr. T. E. Wilson, the principal creditor The liabilities of the estate were set down at £3041 4s 7d, whilst the assets were furniture and) ia third share in a motor car owned by the late Mrs. Richter, which were valued at £153 10s. leaving a. deficiency. of £2887 14s 7d, of which £589 4s 7d was owing to unsecured creditors. The list shows secured creditors to the amount of £7OOO, less estimated value of £4548. Stock and chattels are set down at £7OO. The secured' creditors are as* follow:

Mrs. E. J. Wood and J. H. Livingston £SOO, State Advances Department £2600. and T. E. Wilson £3900. The unsecured creditors are : Camphell Jackson (Stratford) £4OO, Stratford Loan and Deposit Co. £l3O, Newton King, Ltd. £23 13s, Westwood and Mclntyre (Hawera) £6 18s, Patea District Meat Company £5. M. Barraclough (Hawera) £1 14s lOd. Hallenstein Bros. (Hawera) £4 14s 3d, W. J. Bright (Hawera) £2 11s, Bennett and Sutton. (Hawera) £1 10s 9d, Dr. McCdiie £4 13s, W. A. Parkinson and Co. £3 9s 9d.

The bankrupt, in his personal statement said: fn August, 1922. I was aoproa'hcd hv Mr. I’. E. Wilson. of Waitotara. to go on a property of his at Mokoia consisting of 104 acres. When Mr. Wilson approached me I was- on a property at Kokuratahi, at the back of Stratford. At that time I was owing approximately £SOO to Newton King in connection with my property. Mr. Wilson proposed that he would pay this debt, that I should lease his property, receive £3 per week out of the milk money, and the balance would go to satisfy the rent and outgoings. I -leased the property for two years, Newton King Ltd. finding the stock and Mr. Wilson guaranteeing the same. He also paid the £SOO owing by me to Newton King as arranged. Tins was to go on to my debt to him. At the end of two yeat s it was- arranged that I should: take the title to the land and he would take a second mortgage to secure the amount owing to him, including the amount he had paid to Newton King on my account,. At this time, notwithstanding the fact that -all I got out of the place was the £3 per week, I owed him arrears of l-ent. This was due to the fact that the farm was in bad order, and it took several years to put it i n sufficiently good order to make it pay. £SOO was raised against the i stock from Mrs. Wood and Mr. Livingston, and Mr. Wilson took a second mortgage over the stock collateral with his security over the land. We have been running on on this arrangement ever since. T. have at no time received more than £3 a week, and Mr. Wilson has handled the whole of the j returns trom the property and paid the farm accounts. I have been told for .some years that the property was far too dear and that I could not possibly hope to make it pay. Mr. Wilson from time to time said that he would ma Ice it right for me. I, however. kept on until last month, when my wife was killed in an accident. I had then to -onsider my whole jjosiJtion, and after going carefully into it j with advice 1 realised that the amount j owing to Mr. “Wilson was. approx i--1 mutely, £2400 more than the property, stock and plant were worth. j acI cordingly approached Mr. Wilson to reduce my indebtedness to him as arranged. i offered to undertake to pay £SOO more than the present value of the farm and stock. J was prepared to do this because 1 recognised a moral as well as a legal responsibility in respect of the £SOO he had paid on my account. Mr. Wilson refused to I agree to any such proposition, and was not prepared to meet me in this reI spect, but offered me a reduction which .1 felt left me still in a hopeless position and I accordingly have been forced to file. 1 have put the whole of my time into the property, and am satisfied that the farm has been improved by at least £l2 an acre since I went there. I have been very much disappointed in the carrying capacity of the land, as Mr. Wilson informed me that it would carry 45 cows when put in order. However, I have never been able to carry more than 36 cows, notwithstanding that the property is now in good order, except the gullies. Had Mr. Wilson been prepared to reduce the on e of the land to the presentday value I would have !>een prepared to carry on and pay tlve present value for it. plus the £SOO that I owed him •on the debt he paid on my behalf. 1 am a widower with two children. I received a third interest in the motor car valued at £l2O. on which there is still £62 10s owing to Newton King Ltd.

In reply to Mr. Spratt, bankrupt said the farm carried 36 cows, but never more. Answering a further question, bankrupt said he bad approximately 60 sheep (ewes) and six or seven heifers at the same time, but the fences were that bad that they were constantly on neighbours’ property. When lie took the pin we over he milked 31 cows. In 1922 he had offered. Wilson £SOO more than the farm and stock were worth, but the offer had been refused, hut Wilson had offered to reduce his debt by £loof> if he (bankrupt) could get the cash for the balance immediately. This he could not do, and he was in a worse position than ever. 'Mr. Sprat 6: Are you honest about it. Are you not trying to vilify the farm ? “Certainly I am honest about it. I am not trying to vilify anything,” replied bankrupt. Mr. Spratt: The farm this season shows a profit up to now of £IBO. Bankrupt: That is the first time in seven years. I wanted to give up the place three years- ago.

Bankrupt further stated the only trouble between him and Wilson was over the price of the .property.

M|\ a. K. North intimated that an nrrnliention for discharge would he nmde. at the next sitting. On the motion of Air. Salmon, seconded hv Air. Wilson, it was de'"f]ed to allow bankrupt to retain the th"d share in the motor car. Tre meeting was adjourned sine die.