“BAD LUCK”

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11292, 18 August 1922, Page 5

“BAD LUCK”

LAND AGENT’S FAILURE SLUMP PERIOD SENDS HIM INTO BANKRUPTCY. INSUFFICIENT CAPITAL. “Bad luck.” With these two words the Official Assignee, Mr S. Tansley, dismissed the petition in bankruptcy of Alfred Thomas Trendle, auctioneer and land agent-, of Lower Cuba street, a meeting of whose creditors was held in the Dominion Fanners’ Institute yesterday. There was a good number of creditors present, Mr V . P. Pringle appearing for a Mrs Wilkinson, mentioned in -the bankrupt’s statement, while Mr J. O’Donovan represented the bankrupt himself. PROSPEROUS BEGINNINGS. Bankrupt, in his signed statement, stated that he had commenced, business in Wellington as an auctioneer and land and estate agent on May Ist, 1918. His capital had amounted to £195. He had a. monthly tenancy of his business premises in Cuba street at a rental of £l9 17s Cd per month. During the year 1918 he borrowed the sum of £45 from his stepson, a Mr M. Anderson, and did fairly well up to the business year ending on May Ist, 1919, his net profit for that year amounting approximately to £360, out of which lie had repaid the loan mentioned. For the year ending May Ist, 1919, his husiiees increased in volume : but his profits were not as great as in tho previous year, amounting only to £280; but during the next twelve months he made a net profit of approximately £SOO. HARD HIT BY SLUMP. The last year, on account of being forced to sell goods below actual cost, during the slump period, he made a loss of £456, and borrowed on his life policies the sum of £140; but lost tho sum of .£l5O on purchasing furniture in a house in Clyde quay, which he had agreed to rent from a Mrs Wilkinson. This, he had bought, he said, on the understanding that he should get a lease of the house which he anticipated he could sell with reasonable profit to himself, and in the meantime would provide him with a home at a cheap rental. After his being in possession for three months Mrs Wilkinson refused to give him a lease, saying that she required the place to live m herself, and he had to vacate it. He was obliged to sell tho furniture for £lls while he had bought it at £265 from a Mrs Poison. A DRAIN ON HIS BUSINESS. ,He attributed bis position principally to the slackness of business caused by the slump and the shortage (f capital on which he had to operate. In addition ho had been carrying on a land agent’s business until December 31st last, and this had proved an absolute drain on tho other side of his operations. Tho unsecured creditors totalled £304 7s 4d. Th© principal creditors were: —Macky, Logan and Caldwell £66 6e 2d; -B. L. Hart, £47 12s 9d; McCrae, Ltd., £44 19s lOd; O. W. Price, £2O; A. A. Corrigan, JBl9 17« 6d; British Dominions insurance Co., £l3 8s 8d; New Zealand Merchants’, Ltd., £l2 10s; “New Zealand Times,” £9; and E. Johnston, £8 13s 6d. Assets were represented by stock-in-trade, £80; hook debts, £150: cash at bank, £8 7s 6d; a total of £238 7s 6d. The deficiency was thus £65 19s lOd. ABOUT A BOND. In answer to a question by Mr Tansley, the solicitor for the bankrupt stated that a £3OO claim by the Government against the bankrupt’s estate was a bond which the bankrupt had executed and entered into on behalf of bis brother, for the purpose of procuring the discharge of the latter from the Expeditionary Force in England. The bankrupt alleged that he had been induced to enter into this by misrepresentation, and that had he understood the purport of the bond he would not have signed it. Tho bankrupt’s brother had been discharged at Home and the Government had had to. support fcss wife and family. Trendle maght or might not have a good defence against the Government’s claim which they now insisted on enforcing, and it was a matter for the creditors to say whether tho case should go to the courts. Three years ago, bankrupt had interviewed the Attorney-General on the matter and had been given to understand that the bond would not bo enforced. A creditor: Has the Government a prior claim? Mr Tansley!: I shouldn’t say so The bankrupt doesn’t admit the liability; it can he rejected and then the Government will have to prove it through the courts. I can’t see much of a dividend out of this estate if the claim is upheld. A SMALL DEFICIENCY. On the query of the Official Assignee it was resolved to hand back to bankrupt his land agent’s license. “To sell it would be too much like taking a woman’s sewing machine away,” remarked a creditor. “Well, nobody seems to want to question the bankrupt,” said Mr Tansley, after a short discussion of the probablo worth of the book debts. “1 don’t think that there is anything in this but had luck. The man seems to have been unfortunate and the deficiency is a very small one—only £65. I think that the best thing to do is to adjourn the meeting sin© die, and I will realise on tho asaets.”This was agreed to.