BANKRUPTCY ACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9773, 21 March 1895, Page 6

BANKRUPTCY ACT.

e • CHARGE AGAINST JAMES l WHITELAW. 8 The charge against James Whitelaw, • general merchant, Kamo, of having com- , mitted a breach of the Bankruptcy Act by s failing to keep proper books of account, » was continued at the Police Court yestorfc day afternoon before Mr. H. W. NorthJ croft, S.M. Mr. McAlister (Tole and Mc--6 Alister), instructed by the Official Assignee, 3 appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Hugh J Campbell for the defendant. The case had > been before the Court the previous day. The cross-examination of the witnesses was now j taken. 1 William Gray, accountant, re-called, said ' he desired to make a statement with refer--1 enco to his evidence the previous day. He ' hud since ascertained that the difference ' between the cash book and the bank book 1 was £3000 less than he had stated. The > bankrupt had been in the habit of taking ' money out of one bank and paying it iuto another. ' Cross-examined by Mr. Campbell, witness said that there were nearly 5000 entries in the cash book, and all were correctly posted. The credit sales book now before him extended over a period of ton months, and contained 14,000 entries. He could ' not impeach the correctness of any entry. He believed the entries were correct. The 1 journal (produced) contained about 5000 entries. As far as he knew they were correct. All the items referred to by Mr. Lawson the previous day showing a difference between the amount in cash-book and amount banked were correctly posted in the ledger to the banking accounb of J. Whitelaw. Mr. Campbell: Have you ever had under your observation books of a country storekeeper better kept? '■' Witness: I have. Mr. Campbell: On many occasions? Witness: Mo. Had the system upon which these books were opened been carried out, they would have been complete. Mr. Campbell then proceeded to deal with various items in the ledger, and different dealings with private firms as to the manner of business carried on between them. Asked by counsel as to his own opinion of the bankrupt's bona-fides, Mr. Grey said he did not caro to give an opinion. He was prepared to eive his evidence, and leave the Court to draw its own conclusions. The only thing he could say was that tli6ro were thousands of pounds received and expended, and he could not find out where it had gone. Mr. Campbell: It might have been transferred from one bank to another. ' Witness : I cannot say. By Mr. McAHster : There was over six thousand pounds withdrawn from the bank, and the same amount paid in, the source of which he could not find. Further hearing of the case was adjourned till next afternoon.