MESSRS. HALSE AND ROY'S ESTATES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume III, Issue 249, 17 May 1882, Page 2

MESSRS. HALSE AND ROY'S ESTATES.

The report of the committee appointed to inquire into the affairs of the above estates contains the following : — " We find that the unsecured liabilities in the estate of Mr. Halse amount to £8868 19s. 4d., exclusive of Messrs. Halse and Roy's claim against the same estate of Bs. 2d., amounting together to £'19,542 2s. Gd., aud the assets to 9s. Id. Wo believe that very few, if any, liabilities in their estate havo beeD omitted or uu discovered. The assets have been carefully gone over. The valuation of the

landed property find of the personalty wd believe to be fairly correct, and the estimate of book debts bas been made with such great care and so largely discounted that we believe the amount recoverable may be realised." In the examination which followed, Mr. Eoy proposed to make an offer of a composition in a week or ten days. Mr. Standish pointed out that in tho investigators' report they had not intimated which set of creditors were in the better position — the private creditors of Mr. Halse or the creditors of the firm, and he did not know whether the investigators were in a position to say. Mr. Samuel admitted that the creditors did not know whether they were creditors against Mr. Halse or Messrs. Halse and Eoy. In justice to Mr. Roy, he stated that the books showed that the latter had invested £800, and had only drawn ,6700.

Mr. Tregear said he knew that one of the clerks had made certain bogus state* ments as to the trust moneys that had been misapplied. He did not know how the meeting could term the deficit in the estate liabilities : they were not liabilities, but defalcations.

Mr. Samuel, who was present only as a friend of Mr. Roy, stated that he had ascertained that no cash-book or ledger was kept, and, what was more, neither clerk, partner, nor any one else ever noted up the cheque-book, or knew anything of the deceased's receipts. Mr. Hulke asked were not some of the false statements made by a clerk ? Mr. Samuel : lam sorry to say that false statements have been made ; but I do not know whether it was from a false idea as to fidelity to an employer. . From the statements made by Mr. Halse himself I know that one of the clerks acted very unwisely in remaining in Mr. Halse's service, because of the necessity that he should act more or less falsely. He was bound to more or less screen his employer's shortcomings, although I am convinced that he did not know the misappropriations were fraudulent. I believe he thought that Mr. Halse was only a muddler, and that although he (Mr. H.) humbugged his clients yet he was solvent. This is my conviction in the matter, and I have also had the advantage of speaking to Messrs. King and Weston on the subject. Mr. Hnlke : I do not charge him with actual fraud, but be * was making false statements to cover the actions of bis employer in swindling the widows and the fatherless. I think he should not have stayed in Mr. Halse's service when he knew that widows and orphans were being swindled.

All creditors were requested to send in their accounts within a fortnight. — [Condensed from Taranaki Herald.]