INSOLVENT ESTATES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1107, 19 May 1893, Page 30

INSOLVENT ESTATES.

According to the statement with whioh William Dear, bricklayer, of Roseneath, Wellington, has furnished the Offioial Assignee, his liabilities (all unsecured) amount to £223 12s SJ, distributed among 24 oredi. tors, of whom 21 reside in the City of Wellington, two at Fetooe and one at Miramar, The largest creditors are the following:—South Pacific Loan Company, £4l ; Patching Brothers, brickmakers, Adelaide road, £34 143; Enoch Tonks. bookmaker, Webb street, £29 ; Wilkino and Field, ironmongers, Manners street, £2O 10s 6d ; James and Chapman, painters, etc., Cambridge terraoe, £l3 8s; William Murphy, brick maker, Taranaki street, £l2 13s 10(1 ; H. I). Crawford, farmer, Miramar, £ll ; A. Hoby, dentist, Willis street, £lO 10a; Rouse and Hurrell, coachbuilders, Courteuay place, £9 14s ; Rowe and Sons, corn dealers, Manners street. £8 10j. The assets consist of horse, oart and harness, estimated to bo worth £22 ; book debts, £6 7s; and furniture, £l7 ; making a total of £2B 7s, and leaving an apparent deficiency of £195 5s sd, bat of oourse the Act secures the furniture (being under the limit) to the bankrupt. His statement of the causes of his insolvency is so extremely brief that it may be given in full:—'My bankruptcy is due to loss of work,illheaith, and oontraots taken up by me resulting in farther lois.' John O'Halloran, labourer, of Martin street, Wellington, has supplied to the Assignee a statement of his assets and lia> bilities. The liabilities (all unsecured) are set down at £164 103 3d. divided among upwards of 40 craditors. The largest areJohn Beck, timber merohant £ls ; A. W. Crops, sawmill proprietor, Wairarapa, £lB 12s ;J. Ridley, sawmill proprietor, Wairarapa, £l7 l?e; A. J. Reid, Wellington, £8 12i Id ; Stewart, Dathie and Co., Wellington, £8 6j 31; sundry small aocounts in Wellington, Johnsonville and Wairarapa, £lO. There are no assets.

The meeting of creditors which was to have heen held, lapsed, none of the creditors attending. Under examination by the Assignee the bankrupt stated that he had a wife and three children. He had had a house and section of land in the Wairarapa, upon which he had spent L 350. He owed about L9O to Mr Cooper for the timber, and he left it in his hands to realise. He had never received a sixpence out of it. That was eight or nine years ago, and nearly all his debts had been incurred within the last seven or eight years. Messrs Waddell and Co. obtained a judgment summons against him for L 52 in respect of timber used tor repairs to a house he had leased in Nairn street. The land was claimed by a party other than the lessee, and the piesent bankrupt was turned out cf it. He had also been summoned by Messrs Stewart and Co He was now driving an express, which belonged to his son, who was » complete invalid through being injured in the mill. The bankrupt said his earnings did not average above 35s a week, WILLIAM LONG BATH. The meeting of the creditors of Wm, Long Bath, jeweller, of Wellington.lapsed on Monday morniqg for want of a quorum. The only oreditors represented were Messrs Jenness and Co. (by Mr J T. Rash) and Mr G. L. Jenness (in person). The debtor and his solicitor (Mr Wilford) were also present. An informal meeting was held. The Official Assignee, who presided, stated that nearly all the oreditors resided at Gisborne and Napier. Jennes3 and Co. were the only local creditors. Mr Wilford explained that Mr Naphtbali, of Napier (one of the creditors), was in Wellington, and intended to have been present to propose a resolution recommend- j ing the bankrupt's discharge, but unfortunately he was confined to his room at the Club Hotel, suffering from an affeotion of the heart. Under examination by the Official Assignee, the bankrupt stated that when he left Morton to go to Gisborne he had £l5O of a took, £BO worth of furniture, and

1 f between £3O and '£4o in cash. The only ' book he kept was a memorandum book, containing the aooounts of his creditors. When he took the Chandos Hotel, at Ormonde (twelve miles out of G sborne), he put down no money, but gave security by billsof-sala over his furniture (£80). and his stock (abont £120). He purchased the hotel for £350, and gave three bills bearing interest at 15 per cent. At the time he purchased the house was full, money was flying about all over the place, and th« takings were: represented to be about £SO a week. When hd'got In h« fonnd that the previous lessee/ in order to make an appearance of a roaring business, had actually given money to men to take to the hotel and upend id drink. [Mr Rash : Oh, that is quite a common occurrence ; it is an old trick.] His furniture was sold off for £42 10s. and he was still brought out a debtor for £22 10a, and as against that jewellery, valued at £l7 10s, was held in : pledge. Mr Cripps (aon-in«law of Mr j Townley) reoeiyed out of the proceeds of the j furniture sale £lO for legal expenses. No sooner did he get into the hotel than bills were sent in to him for all sorts of chines of whioh he had had no knowledge. They put; him into qnite a fog, and made him siok. He was'a married man. but had no fa-nily. He had.signed a great many bills, but he did not know what they were. Mr Rash : In fact, he might have signed his death warrant for all he knows. The Official Assignee : You seem to hava been buying a pig in a poke, and to have got neither pia nor poke. After some further questions had heen asked and answered, the Assignee said the debtor had brought all his troables, upon himself by . forsaking his own legitimate business in order to embark in one about whioh he knew nothing, In the belief that he was going to make a fortune, he seemed to have heen so careless of what he B'gned that he did not even know what rate of interest he was being dharged for the advances made to him until he was told by a creditor. The debtoT said he had always hitherto paid his wav, and that in the matter of this hotel he had been misled and deceived. Mr Naphthall who knew him well, hnd at any rate such oonlidenne in him that he had offered to advance him £IOO worth of goods to start him afresh. The Assignee s»id he would make enquiries with the view of saving what he could for the oreditors. WILLIAM BOLLARD. The meeting of creditors in the estate of William Collar-d, railway porter, convened for Monday afternoon, lapsed for want of a quorum. Most of the oreditors are Wan ganui tradesmen. The debtor attributes his position to sickness in his family, and failure to get employment.