LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4302, 27 August 1875, Page 3

LAW AND POLICE.

SCriIEME COURT.-Lv Bankruptcy. Thursday, Auju.st 2G. [Before His Honor Mr. Justice Gillies ] The ordinary monthly sitting in bankruptcy -was Jield this morning, ami the following business disposed of :— Deeiis of Arrangement. —In the estates of k\ CJ. Browne and Franz Seberit', the deeds, all formalities having been complied with, were declared to have Ik-cq comiilotelv executod. . Rk Burgess Ciiables Menxirv.—The liabilities of this case were set down at £076; assets, nil. The bankrupt was net describedof any.trade or profession. JJis only means ,werc eaul to be an allowance made by hia brother in Ireland, to which the bankrupt sail he ho had no title, and which was entirely gratuitous on the part of his relative. The bankrupt said he had done everything he could to obtain work. He tried the labour of a "navvy," but could not succeed at it, the labour being more than lie could do. In ■tnswer to theCourt, he said that at the time a great faijey of these debts were contracted ho wWin receipt of money from his family,' ; and had expectations. Hu had entrusted, a large sum to a solicitor named Cox, who had embezzled it (£500), and absconded.. Ilis Honor said the bankruptcy Act was never intended to facilitate the "passage through tho Court of persons who did.no work and contracted debts upon "expectations/. As a great many of the debts weru of very remote date, and the statement appeared to be correct, ho did not sne hia way to refuse the bankrupt his discharge. His Honor made the usual order that thu ■ bankrupt had passed his lat-t examination, and was discharged. Pnoi-KssioNAL Sekvices.—llis Honor referred to the practice which appeared to have grown up in this district of putting dovyn'in tho bankrupt's schedule tho amount qf money paid by the bankrupt to his lawyer for professional services given to him while passing through tho Court. Ilis Honor had mentioned the matter on several occasions previously, and intimated hie intention of making inquiry as to the practice-iriiicb. prevailed in. other judicial dintricte jn^iSew

Zealand. The money.appeared to be taken ■ont of Ha estate by .the -bankrupt almost immediately before his making, bis declaration In thoso circumstances the banfcrupt had no right to take euch moneys out of his estate. His Honor had now made th« inquiry as to the practieo in other districts, and found that the course adopted was, with leave of the Court, to take the money necessary for professional services out of the estate after the bankrupt bad passed his last examination. Re Samuel Jlexjiy Webb;.—Mr. Rees appeared for the bankrupt; Mr. Hesketh for the opposing creditor. The bankrupt was formerly the lessee of certain property in Fort-street (Graham's Buildings) k and in respect to his rights under the alleged lease there is a lawsuit pending in the Supreme Court. An action was brought by the bankrupt against G. S. Graham in reference to another contract, but one result of that action was that the Court pronounced a decree adverso to the bankrupt. It-was on account of the liability for the costs of that action that the bankrupt was obliged to seek the benefit of the Bankruptcy Act. The right to the property referred to was set down as an aeset of the estate. The liabilities in July last were stated to bo £1793 7s 2d ; assets, £S2OS -Is 4d ; shewing a balance in favour of the bankrupt of £<i4S7 2s 10d. The bankrupt, after a visit to England,, camo to the colony in 1573 to his son, who was now the trustee of his estate. He attributed his "ruin" to two fires occurring in one year, namely, the iire in Fort-street,, aaid that of the "music sale-room " in Wellesley-street. Colonel Balneavis, in his capacity of administrator of certain native trust funds had a mortgage on the Fort-street building, and on the Wellesley-strert building, and got £1000- of the insurance on the first-mentioned building, and £300 of the insurance on the second. Thj» building in Fort-street was insured for £4000, of which Mr. G. S. Graham got £3000. The bankrupt had some property in Upper Welleslcy»treet West, and land at the Kaipara, which ho had made over to his sou. This property was subject to a mortgage by Mr. J. B. Russell for £500, and the equity redemption was given to his son when the bankrupt went to England in IS7I. For several years he lived with his sod, giving his son time and service in return for his board and residence. The liabilities in tho schedule comErised various accounts and creditors. The aukrnpt became for a time the lessee of the Waiwera Hotel at the " Hot Springs." Ho was indebted to his sisters in England, but with their consent he had sold the securities, paying them interest. The manner in which the surplus of assets was made out was tho following: They were expectations from the pending action referred to : tho claim for damage against the defendant, tho claim to the insurance money, and tho claim to the back rents accruing. The bankrnpt, in auswer to the Court, believed that these were assets, if not at present available they ■would shortly be so. He believed that he could advertise these claims, and get money for them.—Thomas-Henry Webb, tho bankrupt's son, and trustee of his estate, was examined at great length as to items of account and moneys received and disbursed for tho bankrupt's estate, the object being to elicit to whom the business belonged in respect to which the accounts were kept. The effect of the examination was that tho witness received moneys from his father to pay accounts, and when over the amounts required, the witness paid back what remained of the sum in cheques of his own. But some of the answers given by tho witness shewed that when he received money from his father he gave his fatu<.-r a cheque for the sum.—His Honor: It amounts to this, that when your father had money he handed it over to you, and when ho wanted money you paid him in cheque.— The witness said that his father and himself had an understanding that he (witness) was to have (:he equity redemption of the mortgage, valued at £500, as a return for services rendered. The witness said he had no records of transactions with his father, except a book that was kept.—His Honor pointed out to Mr. Rees that the final statement comprised a number of entries that wero made to balance.—The witness, in reply to the Court, said that he was eighteen years of age when his father wont to England. He had to manage his father's household affairs. He had not taken any steps to ascertain tho validity of the claim preferred by his father in the pending notion, except that ho had heard that his father had a good claim. I [ad made no special inquiries, lie was asked to be trustee by his father. Took no steps himself to be mado trustee of his father's estate, and could not say whether his father had done ao. The bankrupt was recalled, and said he had made a discovery during the adjournment of the Court that' his son had paid £.")0 more for him than was in the final statement.—His Honor said the statement must be amended, inasmuch as, according to the bankrupt, jt was incorrect, and the trustee must also amend his report. Mere possibilities were, not available assets.—The further hearing was adjourned to the next sittiugin bankruptcy. Re Okokoe Giles.—Tho bankrupt is a butcher carrying on business in Auckland. lie was opposed by the National Bank, upon whose petition he was adjudicated a bankrupt.—Mr. MacCormick appeared for the bankrupt ; Mr. Hesketh for the National Bank Company (Limited). The following is an abstract of the bankrupt's schedule. On July the 12th, 1574, his liabilities were .£l4B tis Id, with a surplus nf JL'S4S 3aT' His receipts from the 12th nf July, 1574, to July 20, lS7f>, were cash in bank, £77") 11s Id ; from Mr. Costley for insurance, £400 ; loans from O. IWley, £175; bill from J. Allender, £234: loan from Melanesian Mission, £">00; cash from J. Reid for bank shares, £100; loan from 11. Grattan, £800; loan from G. Clark, £100 ; cash from South British Insurance Company on account of the loss of the cutter Janet Grey, £2SO ; takings in business, £3301 : total, £GGGG Is Sd. The expenditure during the same year included £3303 paid to Mr. Alfred Auckland for stock, £043 IGs 2d to Hunter and Nolan, also for stock ; JEI2S4 to A. Watson for building new premises ; household expenses, £270. The liabilities on the 2!)Lh of July, 1575, were £3041. The assets at the same date, included book debts, £25G; land at Ponsonby, £72; 150 shares in the Winsor Castle Gold Mining Company, £1SO; 40 shares in the National Bank, £155; stock, tools, pony, and spring-cart, £24 ; leasehold property in Queen-street, £1300 ; deficiency, £921.—The report of the Provisional Trustee detailed the circumstances under which the bankrupt ■ sought the relief of tho Court. After the large fire in May, 1574, which destroyed his shop, he was obliged to take new premises. His buainesa fell off. The 'bankrupt stated that in August, 1574, the banks stopped his credit, and the loans from Powley and others were obtained in order to enable him to carry on his business. The bankrupt was examined at considerable length in respect to a number of chequus given to Mr. Allendcr, his' brother-in-law, which ho explained were repaid by Mr. Allcnder two or three days after. Thc.°c cheques di(J not i.ppcar in tho final statement. The bankrupt had a balance of £900 in bis favour '-at the date of the fire, with scarcely any liabilities. The bankrupt was described as unable to keep the books requisite, for the business, and the accounts had to be made up by rofcrenco to the sales of stock to the bankrupt by Messrs. Bucknnd, Hunter and Co., and others. Tho -bankrupt became responsible to the National Bank for a cash credit boi.d of £500 to.Mr. Allendor. The bank stopped the moneys of the bankrupt (£250) in the bank, and bank shares belonging to bauk'.The; dividends paid by Alleuder's estate were also taken by the ltauk, and ear ried to the credit of the cash credit boud. The examination related wholly to matters of -account."— His Honor thought that the information required upon the particular items could bo obtained from the trustee. The further hearing must be adjourned for the purpose of paving the statement amended. —MK Hcakcth thought that separate accounts of transactions between Allendor and tho bankrupt, also between R. Grattan and the bankrupt, should be furnished.—Tho further hearing was adjourned accordingly to ~ :. { ~ |

7 POLICE COURT.— THOBipfY. [Before E.'J«aace »nd J. Cosgrare, Etqa.,' Jtutleea.] Pruwkexness. —Six persons, for being guilty of this offence, were punished in the usual manner. Education Rate. — Judgment for the plaintiff was given against the following defendants, who were summonsed for the Education Rate, 1874 :—James D. Clarke Catherine Townsend, Elizabeth Morris, James Coglan, Peter McKenna, Thomas Maherty, and Charles Hazard. 'Cases against the following defendants were adjourned n" w-,?- 3rd o£ September:-Edward Dixon, William Chappell, Thomas Browne, Henry Adye, Jamus KavanagU, James Brennan, Thomas Short, Th<,mas Powley, R. J beltiis, Henry Justin, George Gold, and V iilaokgrove.