A BANKRUPT’S DOINGS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 46, 6 February 1930, Page 4

A BANKRUPT’S DOINGS

MAGISTRATE’S STRONG COMMENT. A TERM OF IMPRISONMENT. Gisborne, Feb. 5. Strong comment- was made by the Magistrate, Sir Harper, in the Court to-day in imposing a sentence on Ellis Fenwick Martin, a bankrupt pastrycook. Martin had pleaded guilty to two charges: (1) That being bankrupt he did within three years of the commencement of his bankruptcy fail to keep such books of account as were usual and proper in the business carried on by him so as to set forth sufficiently his financial position and business transactions; (2) did incur a debt of £l9 10s 6d when he had no reasonable or probable expectation of being able to pay same or other debts. Tin- second charge related to the installation of fittings in a second shop urn by bankrupt, it having been arranged that bankrupt should pay cash. The Magistrate said it was a very grave breach of the Act. Accused started in business with little or no capital and from the first his business seemed to have been a complete failure. Instead of trying to curtail expenses as much as possible, however, accused launched out and opened another branch shop, from then on apparently living on credit obtained from tradesman and other creditors| In July last, when his position was quite hopeless, ho incurred a debt of £l9 19s 6d, which he promised to pay forthwith. He must have known he had no prospect whatever of paying this debt, and his action was tantamount to obtaining goods by false pre tences. “It seems to me, judging from the number of bankruptcies we read of in which it is shown that no books are kept and credit is obtained when hank rupts have no expectation of being able to pay debts, that the public have come to look upon the provisions of the Bankruptcy Act as a dead letter. This is not so. and I think the only thing I can do as punishment for the accused and as a warning, is to impose a short term of imprisonment.” On the first charge the accused was sentenced to fourteen days’ imprisonment with hard labour, and on the ■second charge ho was convicted and discharged.