BANKRUPTCY COURT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1199, 22 February 1895, Page 29

BANKRUPTCY COURT.

His Honor Mr Justice Richmond sat in bankruptcy on Monday. APPLICATION FOR ANNULMENT. Be Andrew Young, coach proprietor, Wellington.—ln this case the application was to confirm a composition of 6d in the. pound and to annul the bankruptcy. The case was adjourned till next sitting. APPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGE. Re ■ George Anderson, storekeeper, Masterton.—This case had been adjourned from last sitting in order that the debtor might appear in person. He was not now present, and the Official Assignee was not aware of his whereabouts. His Honor said the' debtor had been guilty of acts for which men got Sentences of two or three years, and the case was certainly one in which he should be disposed to suspend the order of discharge for a lengthened period.—The application was struck out. Re John Tasker, butcher, Wellington.— Mr Poynton appeared in support of the application for discharge. In answer to His Honor, the debtor said he had once before —420 years ago—passed through the Bankruptcy Court. He was now a married man and had one child. He had bfen in business as a butcher for seven or eight months prior to his present insolvency, but was boycotted. His Honor decided to grant the discharge upon the condition that the debtor confessed judgment for an amount equal to 5s in the pound, i.e., «£2O. Re Chas. Bolton, clerk, Wellington.— Mr Gray appeared in support of the application. The bankrupt admitted that he had been through the Court 12 years ago in Wellington. He was married and had a family of eight children. His friends at Home sent out money regularly for his wife 9.ud family. Mr Gray explained that these were purely voluntary payments. It was •incidentally mentioned in the course of the examination that the remittances from Home were at the rate of £175 per annum, and that the family lived rent free. His Honor decided to grant the discharge upon the debtor confessing judgment for £35.

Re Wm. Murphy, tailor, Wellington.— Mr Poynton appeared to support the application. In this case the Official Assignee stated that out of ,£l5O of book debts estimated to produce .£lO less than .£1 had been realised. The 'debtor explained that these book debts wotre the accumulation of eight years' business. One of the persons owing him money was " Nicholas Scott, Flying Squadron." His Honor said he would grant the discharge at the expiration of 12 months ; he would not, however, make any order against the debtor, as he had a wife and eight children to support. .Be, Emma Harriet Maule, grocer, Wellington.—The application was postponed from la.st sitting in order to enable the debtor to produce some missing books. She did not appear, and the case was therefore further adjourned until next sitting of the Court.

-Be Wm. Albert Tubnek, boilermaker, Wellington.—The bankrupt is working- at Wanganui, and the case was adjourned till i next sitting; Be Chas. Dowsett, wood and coal dealer, Tinakori road. —-There was no opposition, and the order of discharge was granted. ;. . Be Thos. • Edward Mclntosh, railway guard, Wellington.—Mr Bunny appeared in.support of the application. The Official Assignee ;.said there seemed to be a ctirkms practice airiOng railway employees to help each other with bills. Several cases of the. kind besides this one had come before him. His Honor remarked that guards ought to have nothing to do with bills. Mr Bunny pointed out that the current expenses of the man and his family absorbed all his earnings except 12s a month, out of wnich clothing had to be found. The debtor ex--1 plained that most of his liabilities were contracted before he obtained his present employment. His Honor granted an unconditional discharge. Be Daniel Mahony, architect, Wellington.—Mr J. P. Campbell appeared in support of the application, and stated that there was no opposition of any kind. The Official Assignee said the creditors h<),d given up to the bankrupt the whole of his furniture (worth .£l3O or .£14.0), and voted him a recommendation for discharge. "The discharge was granted. Be William Urqtjhart, builder, Wellington.—The Official Assignee explained that a footnote to his report stated that the bankrupt had not obtained a discharge from his previous bankruptcy through failing to pay £2 lis 2d. This sum the debtor had paid him that morning. His Honor remarked that the man had evidently paid his way with his butcher and baker, as the tradesmen who purvey the necessaries of life did not appear upon the schedule of |

liabilities. There seemed to be trade debts. On this occasion the failure was brought about by the. 'default of his partner, and he would therefore treat it as a case of misfortune. The order of disr charge was granted unconditionally. Be Walter Walsh, carter, Petone. — Mr Bunny appeared to oppose the application for discharge on behalf of the only creditor who had proved in the estate, viz., A. Te Puni, a Native, residing at Petone. He explained that the bankrupt and Te Puni happened to be at the Christchurch races together, and the latter, by request of the debtor, paid his hotel bill, £4 17s, for him. Failing to get payment, Te Puni then obtained judgment for the amount, and subsequently a judgment order was issued against the debtor. After this the debtor promised to raise money to discharge the debt, which, with accrued costs, now amounted to ,£6 4s, but instead of doing so he raised .£6 and filed with it merely to avoid payment of this one claim. That was the case from Te Puni's point of view. The bankrupt in his evidence given before the Assignee claimed to have lent certain moneys to Te Puni and his wife. His Honor said it was a debt evidently incurred in a very improper way. The man had no excuse for leaving his business to go on an excursion to distant races. The practice he had followed of allowing judgment to go by default against him. for the debt he had contracted was a very common one. He was glad to have the opportunity of making an order upon the bankrupt. His discharge would only be granted upon the condition that he paid Te Puni (the only creditor who had proved) 20s in the pound. The Court then adjourned until Monday, Ist of April, at 10.30 a.m.

In the Bankruptcy Court on Monday, Mr Justice Richmond remarked upon the unconcern with which people evaded payment,, of their just debts. It seemed to him that for every bankrupt who went through the Court there were at least ten persons who by some means or other escaped payment of what they owed to the insolvent estate. Too much appeared to be spent upon unnecessary luxuries, and there was at the same time too much indifference to one's just debts. The Official Assignee concurred in His Honor's opinion. In one estate which he had just been winding up there were .£250 of book debts which could not be recovered. In another estate which was before the Court the book debts were stated at ,£l5O, and the bankrupt estimated them to be worth only .£lO, and yet less than .£1 was realised from them. His Honor observed that the Fleet Prison and the Marshalsea of a past age were not pleasing institutions, and neither was the present state of things one we should be content with. There seemed to be a widespread indifference to pecuniary obligations. The Official Assignee said there was too much reckless credit given. His Honor agreed that that was on e side of the case; the other side was that there was too much reckless expense incurred. In a number of the cases which came before him for orders of discharge His Honor followed the practice which he has recently laid down for him of granting the discharge conditionally upon the bankrupt confessing judgment for a proportion of his liabilities—one-fourth, in fact—so that the creditors might have the prospect of obtaining a dividend of 5s in the pound. In making one of these orders His Honor said " I do not know how the plan will answer, but at any rate it is less immoral than an unconditional discharge/' The Court adjourned to the first of April, which His Honor drily observed was a very suitable i day