INSOLVENCY COURT.

New Zealander, Volume XIX, Issue 1972, 14 September 1863, Page 3

INSOLVENCY COURT.

[Before His Honor Chief-Justice Arney.]

A sitting of the Insolvency Court was held on Saturday, at 11 o’clock. Be Samuel Worms.

Hr. Lee appeared for this insolvent, and applied for his final discharge. Hr, Anderton said only one creditor had proved (Mr. Bucholy for £32 Bs.),’ and nothing had been receded, nor was there any prospect of getting in the debts due to the estate.

His Honor said he could not grant a final discharge til 1 every endeavour had been made to collect the estate. All he could do, therefore, would he to grant Mr. Worms an enlarged protection for six months, within which time the necessary steps would probably have been taken.

Protection enlarged accordingly until the 12th of March, 1864. Be George Clode.

This estate was in a similar position to thnt of Mr. Worms, and enlarged protection was granted for three mouths.

Re J. W. Adlam,

This was a case in which the hearing had been adjourned, in order that the bankrupt might produce clearer accounts.

Mr. Brookfield appeared for the petitioner, and Mr. Beveridge for opposing creditors. Mr. Adlam, having been sworn, deposed : The accounts now put into court represent the true state of inv affairs on the 2nd February last. I believe the debts put down in the schedule as good debts were at that time good and recoverable. Examined by Mr. Beveridge : I kept no cash-book. The amount which I have drawn since the 2nd Feb. can be ascertained from my bank-book, journal, &c. I always banked all I received every week, and gave cheques for what I was going to pay, except when the amount was under £l. If 1 wanted money for household expenditure I always drew a cheque for it. Never gave cash for any amount above £l. Mr. Beveridge thought the accounts produced by Mr. Adlam were not satisfactory. His Honor said that Mr. Adiarn could not obtain his discharge till his accounts had undergone a thorough scrutiny by a competent accountant. Examination continued : I can’t exactly tell the cause of my becoming embarrassed. In 1862 I lost money by entering into a drapery and millinery business. I lost somewhere about £6OO by that business. I lost a great deal by the first stock I took, by moving three times, by the servants required, and also by sickness in my house. At the end of twelve months I found the business did not pay, and gave it up. 1 paid £l3O to £l4O for the original stock, and it would not sel! at all. I should say 1 lost £IOO on that alone. A person who came in and looked at it said he would not give me £2O for it. I left it to my wife and sister to choose. I lost about £IOO by fitting up two new shops in 1 purchased other stock besides the original stock- When I sold off last I suffered a loss of £3OO, the stock which I then sold for £IOO having coso £4OO. I have no accounts connected with that business. My sister worked the business, and she is now in Australia. She took away her books with her. The stock was sold after she had left. His Honor said it was a most extraordinary proceeding for a man’s sister to conduct an important business for him and take away the books with her to another colony. *' Examination continued : It was arranged between me and my sister that I was to pay the debts of that business. I should know what they were by the bills that were rendered. Some of the bills are at lume, and some of them were left on files in the shop when I made the assignment to Mr. Baker. I did not know when my sister left that I was going to sell off, nor that she had the books with her. I thinu she left in November last. I did not apply to her for the books. A short time before making the assignment I got a large quantity of tobacco from Messrs. Morrin and Co. There was about 100 lbs. of it. I sold about 90 lbs. of it to Messrs. Fleming and Stevenson, Onehunga, on April 25t'.i. The assignment was dated May 6th. I sold it at a profit. I arn quite sure of that. I gave 6s. 2d. a lb. for it and sold it at 6s. 4d. At the lime I sold it they owed me between £6O and £7O. That was paid me on the date of the assignment, and I handed over the cheque to the trustees. I had rendered my account to Fleming and Stevenson every month. I never asked them for money, because they generally came in and pai l about the Bth or 9th of the month. Up to the 28t'i the amount due from them was £75 for goods got during the month of April. I had transactions with them between December and April. I sometimes don’t transfer accounts from the journal to the ledger at all. There are accounts with the firm between those dates in the journal. J. S. Macfarlane and Co. have a claim against me for soap. I gave them a promissory note for it when I got it the day after. It was about the 20th April. The amount is £33 10s. I sent seven boxes of it to an auction room. There were 20 boxes originally. There was a profit of 4s. or "5s a box made on ii. I often send goods to auction when I think I can get a profit on them by so doing. The 40 acres of land down in the schedule is at the Waitakerie. I have not a Crown grant, but can get it at any day. I have the household effects still at my house in Freeman’s Bay. lam not. aware that I had any assets on the 2nd February, except what is mentioned in the balance sheet. I don’t think I have any claims at Coromandel now, I was paying into No. 3 claim, at Preece’s Point. Don’t know whether it was abandoned before or after the 2nd February. I also held half a share in Beeson’s claim at Kapanga. I think the two claims cost me about £2O altogether, f believe I have the receipts for all the money I have paid in. There are no entries in my book relating to it. 1 suppose I have a claim in Beeson’s still, if it is any good. Cross-examined by Air Brookfield : Beeson’s claim is not working just now. The assignment covers everything which I possessed at the date of it. It is a common thing for retail tradesmen to send goods to auction, if they see a rise in the market, or have a large stock in hand. I commenced the millinery business in Jan., 1862. Though I commenced five years ago without capital, I had up to that time (Jan., 1862,) been making monev. I had £SOO or £6OO to the good at that time. That business was carried on by tny wife and sister in-law jointly. My sister-in-law was accustomed to the business, and therefore I left the management to her. None of the debts in my schedule arc due to me on account of the millinery business. There are such debts remaining but I don’t know where to find them, my sister having taken the books away. It was only a few days before I gave up that I found myself in difficulties, and I even then thought, after examining my books, that I should be able to meet my liabilities. The books which I have produced arc the only books I have kept, except the waste book. For the sums under £l. which I paid in cash, I was in che habit of taking the receipts. The receipts are on the file now. The bill with Mr. Forsailh’s name to t was for goods bought by me of Morrin and Co. Mr. Forsaith got nothing for it, and I got nothing from him but his name. He would have been bound to meet the bill if I had not met it. I paid the note nr self.

;iis Honor thought this would probably turn out one of hose cases where a man, from his very system of in Jing without capital, had brought trouble on himself ; and the question would be simply whether there wt s anything in the transaction which could be visited crninally. Mr. Beveridge said he would not only oppose the bankrupt’s discharge, but till he gave a better statetmnt of his affairs ho would opj ose his having protection. Mr. Brookfield thought his Honor would hardly go th ; length of refusing protection, the bankrupt having assigned his estate and always been ready to give the trustees every assistance iu making out the accounts. Ho had answered all the questions which Mr. Beveridge had put to him without hesitation, ami as far as could be ascertained honestly ; and there could bo no charge

against him of anything but imprudence in not keeping his books properly. His Honor wished to know how the bankrupt stood with relation to the creditors. Were they willing to take an order from the Court to wind up the estate on the assignment, subject to the control of the Court ? Mr. Beveridge said the creditors were willing to take that course. Mr. Brookfield thought the least expensive plan would be to assign the estate in the usual way to Mr. Arderton.

His Honor then granted the bankrupt further protection to the 29th of this month, hoping that in the meanwhile he would give all the assistance he could to his creditors, in order to clear up the doubts which might exist. . An order relative to the esta f e was made similar to tin t made in Mr. Bellair’s case, in which also an assignment had been made. Further time was also gn.nted for proving debts.

Re William Parker

Ir. Brookfield appeared for the creditors in this

case. Mr. Beveridge appeared with the insolvent. The debts proved amounted to £l,lOO £748 Q s 6d. had been received from the Commissioner of Police, and £492 realised by the sale of effects, made at th“ request of the insolvent and a number of his creditors. The insolvent was then examined by air. lirookheld and stated: I was lately carrying on business as a carter in Auckland. In the month of August, and previous to that time, I did a great deal of work for «*lie Commissariat. On the llth August I received about £760 from them. £74B' 2s. 6d. of it is in the hands of the police. I paid one or two trifling debts with the balance. Did not pay my passage b} the schooner Dolphin out ot it. I did not pay my passage bv the Dolphin at all. I don’t know how I got, aboard the Dolphin , being the worse for drink. Don’t know who did put me on board. I found myself on board the next morning, and went away in her with this large sum of money on my person. I had got the cheque cashed in the afternoon on purpose to pay the carters next morning. I saw Mr. Rowe and several of the cartel’s that afternoon. Don’t know if I saw them after Bank hours. Don t recollect seeing him at the stand bv Copeland s about five o clock in the even in 01.o 1 . lie did not come to me at that time and piece and ask me if I had got the cheque cashed. 1 did see Joseph Harris in the evening. He did not ask me about the cheque. I told him 1 would pay him the following morning. I did not tell him I had not got the cheque cashed. When I came to my senses on board the Dolphin, I put the money in a small bag in the cabin of the Dolphin. Did not hide the bag at all. William Bray and a policeman overtook the Dolphin in the Lapwing. I did not shew Bray the money at fiist. They pot me into such confusion that I don’t know what I said. I did not give them the money. They sea’-ched the cabin. The policeman said he would search every place till he found it, so I let him search, I had not put the bag underneath the mattrass in the captain’s bunk. It was lying on the top of the mattrass. After finding it, they brought me and it back to Auckland. There are other monies owing to me. I have one hook at home. The Commissariat owes me £9, and James Foley £9. Mr. Cook owes me some £4 odd. I have not since my return collected any monies due to me from any person. Have not any property belonging to me except the household furniture, and the debts contained in the book I have mentioned. The total amount of those debts would be £SO or £6O. I believe the debts proved are more than I owe. I held my house on a short lease. Have no deed for it. I took it about four years back for thirteen years, I took the ground of Mr. Porter that used to drive the omnibus. I pay £lO a year rental for the ground. Have the receipt at home. The ground is situate in Chapel-street. 1 have since built a small house upon it. No one occupies that house now. It has never been let. I have not sold or mortgaged it. There is also a large weather boarded stable on the ground. It is not fitted up inside. When I went away there were one or two swinging poles, but the horses generally stood together. Another man put up the stable for the most part. He did not put it up for me. Cross-examined by Mr. Beveridge : After I came back I gave every assistance to my creditors to get the estate wound up, particularly Mr. Buck land, my detaining creditor. 1 don’t believe my debts amount to £1240, the amount of the assets put down. I am satisfied that my estate will more than pay my creditors.

Mr Brookfield said he did not oppose the insolvent’s discharge. Since his return he had really done everything to assist his creditors. He hoped his Honor would appoint an early day for final hearing. His Honor appointed Tuesday, the 29th inst., for final hearing, and Friday the 25th as the last day for proof of debts ; and ordered the estate to be assigned to Mr. Anderton, official assignee. Mr. Brookfield applied to have the expenses of the insolvent’s capture, and of subsequent proceedings, paid out of the estateMis Honor said that before he could grant a final discharge he must have some further evidence as to the manner of the bankrupt’s departure. Had the man been prosecuted and convicted, the policeman could not have recovered his expenses out of his estate, ami he (the Chief Justice)did not see how he could grant it now. Those who accompanied him were volunteers, and thought they ought to get their expenses, but it was not clear that the Court could order them. He might, perhaps, he able to order the costs of the detaining creditor, but would further consider the question before binding the Court to the precedent. He gave the counsel leave to mention the subject again. Before dismissing parties, he would recommend him to supply the Court with evidence relative to his being put on board the Dolphin, and relative to the cashing ot the cheque.