DEFICIENCY OF £26,269.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17889, 17 September 1921, Page 8

DEFICIENCY OF £26,269.

| W. A. HOPKINS' , ESTATE. OFFICIAL ASSIGNEE'S REPORT DIVIDEND OF ,7s OR'Bs IN £. 'A report on the bankrupt estate of William Allan Hopkins, land broker, was presented to a meeting of creditors in Christchurch on Tuesday, before the official; assignee, Mr. A. W. Eames. In the course of the meeting, he said he hoped all the secured creditors would be paid sooner or later-, and there was a possibility that 7s to 8s in the £ would be realised for the; unsecured creditors. As a result of his investigations, the official assignee estimated the' liabilities to unsecured creditors at £43,210 10s 2d, and to secured creditors at £39,120 Os §d,' the securities being assessed at £58,840 18a Id, leaving a surplus above the secured debts of £13,720 ' 17s 4d. Other liabilities were set forth as follows : —Realisation expenses, including Government commission, legal expenses, arid sundries, say £1000; rates and insurances, say £500; interest accrued, say £1000; making a total of £45,710 10s 2d. : Assets were estimated as follows: — Cash in hands of official assignee, £1401 18s 9d; shares estimated to produce £2500; ' book debts estimated to produce £1678 13s 2d; balance umiture, motorcar, etc, £140; surplus from securities, £13,720 17s 4d; total, £19,441 9s 3d. The estimated deficiency was ■ therefore £26,269 0s lid. The official list of secured creditors comprises 30 items, of which the largest are as follows: Bank of New Zealand, £8500; William Izard, £4450; Lord Clifford* £4553 12s 4d; Gibson Bros. (Auckland), £2000; the Bank of New Zealand Officers' Provident and Guarantee Fund, £7000; Misses A. and M. J. Campbell, £1125; Public Trustee (estate of J. R. TMggs), £1500. There are 138 unsecured liabilities on the official list, the largest amounts being as follows:—J. R. Belcher, £10,000; G. T. Booth and J. R. Belcher, £3391 14s; T. W. Belcher, Geraldine, £3092; Maximilian Cole, £2650; Joseph Thompson, Mount Somers. £2401 9s; W. Skerton, £1479 14s 3d; F. Tomlinson, £14734s 2d; Mrs. E. Todd, Waipara, £1072 Is 6fl; Mrs. It P. Belcher, £1093 14s Mrs. M. A. ■ Gunnell, £1030.

Unravelling Confusion. Mr. Eames said the bankruptcy took place on April 22, and at the-first meeting of creditors, on May 6, a statement based on book values showed an apparent surplus of £27,000. "It may seem that there has been delay in .calling this meeting of creditors," he continued, " but my explanation of this is that when I came to investigate the books and securities it at once became apparent that no reliance whatever could be placed on them. The ¥ Only course to adopt was to examine every account from the start, which in many cases meant going back from 15 to 20 years. . My difficulties were added to by* the fact some cases, ■ moneys paid into Hopkin's hands had not gone- through the bank at all. and incorrect entries had been put through the books to balance the bank account. "Another matter that has given considerable trouble is the method that was adopted by bankrupt of using banking accounts other than his own for the purposes of his business. In addition to his own private and trust accounts with the Bank of New Zealand, bankrupt was in the habit of using the account of the Imperial Oilskin Company, of which he was managing director, for his own purposes. Every one of these payments had to be carefully gone into, and the result has been that, although nob shown in Hopkins' books, his estate is indebted to the Imperial Oilskin Company for about, £1500—moneys drawn by Hopkins, while ' Messrs. Booth and Belcher, the guarantors of the Imperial Oilskin Company's acjcont, have claimed on bankrupt's estate for £3300, being the amount of bank .overdraft guaranteed by them,- and for which they nold an indemnity from Hopkins, As a result of bankrupts dealing with the Imperial Oilskin Company, the company has had to go into liquidation.

Old Kin as Nominee. "Another method used by "bankrupt that has caused considerable difficulty," Mr. Eames continued, "was to use a nominee of hisa gentleman named M. H. _ Elam—to cover up transactions ■in which bankrupt did not wish his own name to appear. Elam is an. old man, probably 85 years of age, who knew nothing whatever of business, and who would simply sign anything put before him. Property was transferred by Hopkins to Elam, and bankrupt then lent his clients' moneys thereon, in some cases himself guaranteeing the repayment. , Steps were at once taken by me to obtain ] an assignment from Elam of everything he owned. Elam in the assignment also admitted that he was simply bankrupt's ' nominee in all matters. The transfer of i Eam's properties was registered as far ! as possible, but in some cases I have not been able lo trace the titles."

Confidence in Assignee. Mr. Eames referred in detail to the steps already taken toward realising the assets, and to other matters. He then read a letter from a creditor complaining that the official assignee had deliberately flouted the wishes of creditors, but several solicitors, representing creditors, said they recognised the difficulties involved, and eulogised the work of Mr. Eames and his staff. A motion expressing "entire confidence" was. carried unanimously. Mr. Eames observed that he and his staff had worked on the case during the day and in tie evening, and had lain awake at nights considering it. No human machine could do more than that.

Subsequently the assignee said some of the creditors might ask why the assets had dropped since the first meeting. They were at first stated to be £103.177, but that represented book values only. There had been discovered a difference of £48,000 between the trustees' values taken from the books against his own, which had been based on evidence which could be produced. It was apparent from the state of the estate that bankrupt had about reached his borrowing limit. " I will give you one instance," said Mr Eames. " Th* homestead at New Brighton appears in the books at £811?. Tt was put up to auction, and the highest bid. was £4700. We have been trying since- to sell in private, and wo hope to get £5000. but have not been able to do so. Verbally, Mr. Hopkins stated thai the homestead was worth about £10,000."

Bankrupt in Hi-health. Explaining the steps taken to secure the attendance of the bankrupt at the meeting, the Crown solicitor, Mr. A. T. Donnelly, said that toward the end of August Mrs. Hopkins arranged with the assignee that Mr. Hopkins should go to Wellington to the address of a son-in-law, where he would be accessible when required. On September 3 information reached the assignee, indirectly that the bankrupt had left for Auckland. Mr Donnelly took steps under the Bankruptcy Act to have Hopkins arrested for breach of the Act in having left his address. Before the proceedings were completed for the obtaining of a warrant it was ascertained that he had returned to Wellington. The position in Wellington was investigated by the police, and it was ascertained that the bankrupt was there. A subpoena was then served on Hopkins calling on him to attend the meeting that day. Mr. Donnelly then received a medical certificate that Hopkins was unable to travel. That certificate was not regarded bv the assignee or himself as being satisfactory, and he caused the police in Wellington to make inquiries, and had Hopkins examined bv two medical men, and both reported that Hopiuns was utterly unfit to attend. In view, of the medical testimony it was impossible to arrange for him to be present.