BANKRUPT FRUITERER

Hawera Star, Volume L, 26 August 1930, Page 6

BANKRUPT FRUITERER

MEETING OF CREDITORS. ACCOUNTS TO BE EXAMINED. , The affairs of a. bankrupt fruiterer, A. S. Rogers, of Hawera, were subjected to somewhat searching criticism by creditors at the. first meeting yesterday before, the Deputy Official Assignee! (Mr It. S. Sage). The statement .showed' a. deficiency ol ■Oll7, unsecured creditors totalling .£'slo and secured £1305, while assets were estimated at £393. Bankrupt’s written statement showed that he started in business 61 years ago on capital secured by mortgage over stock and fittings and after three years tried to secure more capital because of having to give more credit and keep more stock. He approached the mortgagee to. see if he could get more capita], on the security of his house, but though this was promised, he was forced to. give., a mortgage over the property as additional security to that over the stock or lie would have been forced to file. This bad put him no further ahead, but a personal friend guaranteed! him for £250 with his life policies as part security to the bank. He was ill advised to add a fruit department to liis business, because competition was so keen that it was a failure. The seed department, too, had declined and the floral department’s profits had been absorbed in the others. He tried to make liis business into a company and, had conditions been better, believed iie could have carried on successfully. During that time his wife had raised £IOO on .her furniture and put- it into the business. He attributed his failuae. firstly to a very high rent and poor entrance and unfair competition in fruit and seed trade. His business, lie added, had cost him his property anu arte insurance

policies and lie considered it fairer to all to file liis schedule, rather than to continue in an unprofitable business. He. regretted the position, which seiean-j ed to be unavoidable and was sorry he j could make no. offer, because liis land- j lord had distrained over the stock and J fittings for overdue rent. Bankrupt was represented by Mr T. A. Kininont, while Mr P. O’Dea was present on Behalf of Mr S. Moore and Air A. K. North lor Mir Blair. Creditors represented were the Farmers’ Co-operative (Mr W. A. Hewitt and Mr Bbyd), South Taranaki Power Board (Messrs Murdoch and Baigent). W. A, Parkinson and Co., Led. (Mr Page), Harrops Ltd. (Mr Harro.p), and Mr A. Blair. The list, of unsecured creditors was as follows: —Hawera : B. David £9 12s 6d. Farmers’ Co-op., £4 19s 3d, Gas Company £3 13s odl, South Taranalki Power Board, £4 os 4(3, Parkinson and Co., Ltd.. £57. .Johnson ;and Co., Ltd.,. £3 16s 9d, Harrops Ltd. £7 Is 6d, j Bennett and Sutton £5 6s, Box Co., j Ltd., £2O 2s, S. Moore. £4O. Welling-j ton: Bannatyne and Hunter £8 8g 2d, Waugh, and Sons £3 16s sd, Laery and

Co. £l4 10s 6d, H. G. Good £4 11s 4d, Coopers Ltd. £BS 7s 6d. New Plymouth: G-. Zumbact £2 2s 6d, Webster Bros. £2 Bs. Cock and Co. £7, Duncan aud Davies £5 Os 4d. Hastings: H.B. Fruitgrowers £lO 15s 6d, Webbs Ltd. £lB 7s lid. Palmerston North: B. H. Just £ll 13s 2d. .Scobie and Co. £lB os, H. L. Young £4 Is 4d. Auckland : Brown Bros. £l7 0s Bd, Mennie and Co. £lB 12s lid. Pople and Sons £57 8s 4d, Hea.rze Ltd. £9 17. s 2d, Farmers Ltd, £1 17s 2d. Aramobo: Benefields« £3 14s 6d, J. B. Watson £l2 7;s 6dl. j Masterton: H. L. Esau £1 4s 6d. Stratford: H. N. Phillips £8 Is. Christchurch : Cook and Go., £7 6s 9d. I j Eltham “Argus” £lO. I Secured creditors were: Adam Han- j nah, £6OO (security valued at £1000); B. C, Lysaght, £4OO (£40); A. | Blair, £lOl (£160); Commercial ißank,

guarantee, £283 14s Id (estimated value); total, £1305 2s Id (estimated value £1463 14s Id). The statement showed a.s below: — Liabilities, unsecured creditors, £5lO 7s 3d; assets, stock ip trade £2OO, book debts £96 6s (estimated to produce £9O), cash in hand £6 Bs, surplus from securities £97 17s lid; total, £393 5s lid; deficiency, £ll7 Is 4d. The D.O.A. explained that the stock and fittings had been distrained upon for rent by the landlord. In reply to- Mr. O’Dea bankrupt said lie had been in the habit of paying Mr. Moore every month for freights aiul cartages, hut for some reason the latter had allowed the account to accumulate for over five months and that then he had been unable to pay in full. The claim was mostly for money paid out to the railways. He said his wife was now carrying on a small iloral business, being financed by her parents. In reply to Mr. Hewitt, bankrupt said that Mrs. Rogers had sold the piano to buy the wireless plant, the piano fetching £45 —£20 being paid on the wireless. He had tried to get more capital into his business, which was till recently quite good, but in the last few months business in town bad been very bad. He wanted to a continue and try to clear all his debts. Mr. O’Dca said that Moore’s account should have been paid, because it wa.s for outgoings and Moore was, a working man. The D.O.A. detailed the takings for the past six months as £BB4 5s 2d. He also detailed the drawings of bankrupt according to the books during the past four years as £454, £525, £575 and £633, which were in eacli year more than the nett profits shown. Jt was evident unpaid creditors had not been brought into account Air. North said it appeared to him appalling that bankrupt had drawn over £6OO, more than many well-to-do men drew from their businesses.

In reply to Air. O’Dea, bankrupt said that a loan from Air. G. Larcom had been received and had “gone west. ” Air. North remarked that the losses had been accentuated by the drawings. • Bankrupt expained that his first car had been bought from and used for the business. When he bought the new car he paid £3O and traded in the old one. He made, also, six payments of £lO each. In reply to questions by Air. Hewitt, bankrupt said that he was 44 years old and had a family of two. He came over from Queensland and started with j no capital, but with experience in the business. He had kept up a, stock of < £4OO and his monthly turnover had j been £l2O to £l5O. He paid £4 os per week rent and 30s in wages. His | furniture had been got together, most- j lv at sales, by his wife, and himself. His wife had drawn no wages. He attended no race meetings and did not bet at all or play cards. AD. Hewitt said it wa.s evident that the business was all right and the expenses all wrong. He added that there were too many such cases and such men should not be allowed to “got away with it.” i

Bankrupt said in reply to a question that he had worked very hard and lived poorly. The furniture had been accumulated during twelve years and was insured in his wife’s name. Air. Hewitt maintained that the hooks should be -examined bv an accountant and the figures dissected to see details of the amounts drawn. He said it was a question of principle. It

was only right that, from a community point of view, a man should deal reasonably with his crediters. It was resolved that an «xamination of the. books and accounts be made by an accountant approved by -he D.0.A., the expense to be borne by the estate. The meeting was adjourned sine die,