Spent £2340 in One Year

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6621, 6 August 1931, Page 7

Spent £2340 in One Year

INCOME CEASED BUT EXTRAVAGANCE WENT ON. BANKRUPT WOOLBROKER SEVERELY CRITICISED. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, Aug. 5. A deficiency of £13,991 was disclosed in the bankrupt estate of Washhiging Irving Carney, farmer and woolbroker, who met his creditors? to-day. The financial statement showed the amount owing to secured creditors to be £9658, and to unsecured creditors £20,132. The securities were shown at £14,019. Bankrupt attributed his .position to the slump in wool. Bankrupt said that he had been engaged in wool broking since 1925, working on commission and on account. Until the season 1928-29, he was making a net income of £3OOO and upwards. Anticipating that favourable conditions would continue, lie bought a farm at Omihi. giving a mortgage of £SOOO. He had not may any profits from the farm, though he spent £7OOO in improvements, etc. On the 1929-30 season ho lost money in wool broking, and in 1930-31 the price of wool and farm products began to fall. He did everything possible to reduce expenses, but certain creditors began to demand payments and the second mortgagee threatened to sell tho farm, and just within the past few days ho had dono so. He had railed to get financial aid from America or Australia. , “The whole cause of my trouble was due to my thinking that the good conditions of 1925-28 would continue, and to the general slump. After creditors had voiced criticism regarding the bankrupt’s and his wife’s living expenditure, tho Oliicial Assignee said it was his duty to condemn in the strongest terms a lot of extravagance, which had been the contributing cause of the bankruptcy. A committee was set up to assist tho Assignee in the disposal of the assets. The Oftical Assignee said that in ono year bankrupt’s and his wife’s personal expenditure was £2340. “When a man comes into bankruptcy with debts of £13,991 and with the possibility of his creditors getting only Is or Is 6d in tho pound,’’ said the assignee, “then something should be said. Tho big creditors must have known what bankrupt had been doing, but there were numbers of small traders to whom bankrupt has not given A square deal.” Evidently bankrupt had at one time been enjoying a big income which he and his wife had been in the habit of spending.. Suddenly that income ceased and bankrupt and his wife, who movod among well-to-do people, instead of curtailing their expenditure incurred lots of debts. When bankrupt applied for his discharge it would be the Assignee's duty to place all the facts before the Court. It was his duty to condemn in the strongest possible terms a lot of the extravagance which had been the contributing cause to bankrupt’s position. Tho meeting adjourned.