MEETINGS OF CREDITORS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXX, Issue 10112, 10 August 1893, Page 3

MEETINGS OF CREDITORS.

J. J. MILLS. The first meeting of creditors in the estate of John James Mills, farmer, late of Prebbleton, now of Christchurch, was held yesterday morning. The debtor’s statement showed : Unsecured creditors, £163 4s ; secured creditors, £157 ; estimated value of securities, £SO; surplus fo contra £127. Total debts, £290 4s Id. fra sets'; nil. The unsecured creditors over [£% were— —P. IV. East, £B4 10s; J. Hastie, |j26 10s lOd; Howell Brothers, £io 16s 2d; ffiedhunter and Jennings, £10; A. H.

SLndcreon, £7; George King and Company, ®l4 16s 3d. The secured creditor was Johanna Mills. The debtor was examined M considerable length, and the meeting fad j earned for a week. | HARPER AND CO, i I A special meeting of the creditors, in .the Estate of Harper and Co., convened by Circular, by the Official Assignee, in response to a requisition, was held yesterday Siternocn, about twenty to thirty creditors Seeing present. T Nlr Greenwood, the Official Assignee, paid the meeting was a private one entirely, and therefore any gentleman not a creditor would please withdraw. ■ That, of bourse, applied to any member of the Press Mho was present. y Mr Joynt: Does that apply to representatives of the debtors ? , jj The Official Assignee: No, but it doss Jo tho reporters. Several gentlemen then left the room; the reporters still keeping their stats, f Mr Wilding: la this not a public meeting? I doubt very much if there is any mower, to prevent tho reporters from [iremaiuing. Can you exclude them ? j The Official Assignee: Not if it is a public meeting, of course. But I rule that i this is a private meeting. Mr Wilding : If the representatives of the Press like to assert their privilege and ’tffffiginr'can you exclude them ?, You rule that this is a private meeting. I presume that you have had advice upon that point. The Official Assignee: Yes, I have had advice upon that point. Mr IVikHag : There is this to say about this meeting. It has been pointed out. to mo that we have received no notification as to the business of the meeting, and wa do not know what yre are here for. The circular convening this meeting is not in accordance with the Act, and I doubt very much if anything wa proceed to do can bo legal.. I fail to sea how any business can be transacted at all. According to the schedule of the Act, the business to be transacted requires to be stated on iffie circular. This haa not been done—at all events, not upon the one I hold. I have the form here stated in the Act— Tho Official Assignee: But i! you will look in another portion of the Act you will find out Mr Wilding : Yes. I am aware of that; it is the ninety-fourth section. The Official Assignee: I have been asked to call this meeting, and I have done so. I will presently read the requisition which X received asking me to call this meeting. ’ ■ . ' . _ . ~ Mr Wilding; The form m No. 12 of the rules, which are part of the Act, requires that the business shall be stated, and there is no business stated on the circmsr which I hold, at all events. ' . . The Official Assignee: I do not think that the form requires that the business shall be stated. It says “business,” meaning that any business known shall be inserted. Mr Wilding: At any meeting of a public body the members must know all tho business that is to be transacted. Otherwise they will not trouble to attend, not knowing that anything important is to bs transacted. The Official Assignee : I do not think that that is essential. It is merely a matter of convenience. In this case I will presently read tho requisition on which I have called the meeting. I was unable to define the nature of the business which was to be brought forward, as you will understand when I read the requisition. Therein any particular business was not stated. Mr Wilding: Oh, we can see that you are not to blame in the matter. The Official Assignee: Do the representatives of the Tress object to comply with my ruling in this matter ? I see that they are still here, and I must ask them to comply witii my decision. A representative of the Press: Well, Mr Greenwood, if you tell us that it is a private meeting and that we must not stay,

of course we will go. Otherwise we elect to remain. Tho Official Assignee : Yes; I rule that it is a private meeting, and ask you to comply. Tho representatives of the Press then left the room. It is understood that no resolution was arrived at by the meeting.