ROTORUA'S ROMEO

NZ Truth, Issue 507, 6 March 1915, Page 4

ROTORUA'S ROMEO

A Count of Small Account Acquitted of Fraudulent Bankruptcy Pa's Inadequate Allowances.

The tarring and feathering of the Romeo-Uke Count Rene de Montaigu ut Rotorua m November last, and the many subsequent incidents (not dmitting the famous meeting of somewhat angry and agitated creditors), were recalled more or less vividly at Hamilton both on Saturday and Monday when the Counbof small account faced the music, charged with two breaches of the Bankruptcy Act. Incidentally it says something for the swiftness ot Hamilton, when It is mentioned that the Count, who faced the magistrate on Saturday, was duly committed for trial to the Supreme Court, the sittings ot which commenced before Justice Cooper on Monday, and, on Monday, he faced the judge and Jury, and was acquitted by the Jury after hearing the evidence and after a short retirement for consideration, or a smoke, or TO DODGE BEING EMPANNELI2D m the next case. It will be remembered that when Rene' . De came a financial cropper at Rotorua, It whs set forth that the Count -owed unsecured -creditors. CB:i~> .- ■ ■

10k 7d. while his assets were set forth a I £1350. leaving v surplus of £5.24 l»s fid. The secured creditors had securities to the value of £550. It will be further remembered, that all the barney nt the famous meeting of creditors concerned the secured creditors who were local lawyers. Incidentally, a big part of the battle put up by Lawyer Dicky Singer was to recover for the ex -"Countess" Gladys a set of furs and other unconsidered trifles dear to the heart of women (single or otherwise). One of the unsecured creditors wns a Rotorua Jeweller, mimed Howden, and It was ln connection with tho Do Countess's dealings with Howden that this SCION OF THE OLD NOBILITY of Franco occupied tho dock at the Criminal Court at Hamilton on Monday. Crowu Prosecutor Olllles explained to tho jury the naturo of the charges against Reno De, which were to tho effect that ho had contracted a debt with Howden without having a reasonable expectation of paying the money ( ] U( » — £69 Is 6d. When the dobt was contracted tho Crown Prosecutor explained that the Count's bankruptcy had been brought about by his own extravagance. "And." said the prose- > cutlng lawyer, "what might appeur u> ■ the Jury as extravagance might not m> • appear to a man In accused's position, j but the point Is that the coat must l>e j CUT ACCORDING TO THK CLOTH. ' • Odlclal Assignee Waller Septinuu Kisher explained how Rene De had been adjudged bankrupt on his own petition and. though tho schedules of the estate showed a nominal surplus of £v'2A odd, the assets so far had realised only ft little ovor £108. The assets not realised would, In bin opinion, bring £300 nt the outside and there wss no chance of twenty shillings m the pound being paid. He believed

— , — --— „ ..... V1 , ... —A [that, the estate would pan out at 5s iln the £. The official assignee went j over the familiar ground so far as Rotorua: is cbncernefl, of how- Rene Da | was originally receiving £68 per I month from y his loving father m j France, .and of how, eventually, . his i patrimony was reduced to a beggarly 'pittance of £40 per month. He also | told of how Rene Be had not contrived i to keep . < - .-.-:;■■ i - ; THE WOLF FKOM THE DOOR !on a tenner a week, but had played (the giddy ox and other things at tho ■irate of about £200 per month.- OC course, when the crash came, and Rene De had to face the music, he announced quite disinterestedly that pa would pay up; but, though pa had been-ap-pealed to, she had cocked a deaf ear and Rene De. was m the souu. At any rate pa had failed to Come to light and settle up his son's debts with the tradespeople of Rotorua, < who, at the timfc, had, fallen over themselves to do homage to a real live "Countess." This Countess proved to be "Brummagem" and she also became very wild, when the Count cast her- off and installed as bis real Countesß a young lady more or less favorably known as a bath.Attendant, the daughter of a well-known Hamilton police officer. • Lawyer E. li. Northoroft; who appeared for the Count, at the famous meeting of creditors, wns again it*\ the Count's corner when, on Monday, hie faced the law and his defence. Tho story for the defence*' which De Count subsequently bore ou^in evidence on oath, was similar to that already told by. that nobleman at Rotorua. It was .explained 'that .the elderly Marquis had an income of anything ' FROM £ 60,000 TO £ 60.000---(per annum; and when, the elderly gent i pa.-tsed away, leaving a widow, sons and daughters, to mourn his loss, : the little estate would be cut up and each would his or her whacK, or whatever.the dividing business is called m la belle i l-'r.inco. How Rend De had always been ! In receipt of a somewhat tidy allowance : was explained, as was also the fact I that the Count had outrun the conI arable, and how pa had .paid debts runj uing into thousands. j It was also explained how the"'Wi- ;. fortunate Count had been packed oft to New Zealand for his own good bev?ni«", m England, he had incurred the • .;?.|>!eastirG of the Old man. Gambling, . ?! .r-imn, was De Count's besetting sin; Lot to say anything of . on r,i rNSATIBFIED AND UNSANCTIFIBD COUNTESSES, . , ..ml it was hoped by pa that when he got to New Zealand that he would r.dt iratnl'le or flirt, but would beoome? a inodcl young Count. With what mic-ee.-.s the Count has followed the old ■man's wish, events -have since proved. The Count assured a hard-headed Hamilton Jury that Blnce he "had been • m New Zealand ho had cut gambling : out and he still hoped to pay all his i creditors. . . The Crown Prosecutor, wheti putting ' ihe acid on the Count or small aocoXint, elicited ' the fact that, when m Engi id. tlio marquis allowed him £100 ; .lt month, and the reason why he came i to New Zealand was that Pa considered that living would be very cheap here, or, at any rate, cheaper than In England. Needless to remark, Rene De has been 'disillusioned on that point. ;Renc Dc pointed out that m New Zealand ho HAD NO BIG HOUSE, no motor-cars, no servants, as he had when m England, yet he found it very hard to exist In New Zealand. When questioned re his extravagances, the hero of the tar and tho feathers at Rotorua did not consider that the spending of one hundred "Jim" on a trip to Auckland was over the odds, but Rene Do explained that fifty of it went on an operation performed on the then presiding ''countess." Neither did ho -consider paying £33 for a diamond ring expensivo, when ho considered that, on ono occasion, Pa, m Gay Parse, paid £ 350 for a set of furs, whlbh suggests that Pa can go swift when the occasion warranted It. As, however, the official assignee had told the Jury that Rene De was paying over £20 out of his £40 per month, and thnt, generally, he seemed to be behaving tho good boy, It Is not to be wondered at that the jury decided to tell Reno De that he was "not guilty," but not to do it again.