THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1889.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8596, 11 September 1889, Page 2

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1889.

It is on the whole as well that the new Bankruptcy Bill was not proceeded with this session, for although the law urgently needs amendment in several important particulars, it is important that the commercial community should have ample opportunity of studying the new Bill, which is a consolidation as well as an amendment of three existing Acts, before it is passed into law. There are few branches of jurisprudence which are more complicated and difficult, as so many collateral questions are touched on in the administration of bankrupt estates, and greater care than is usually exercised in drafting our statutes is needful in dealing with this matter. If we" must have bankruptcy laws — and it is generally conceded that until we have reached the point of abolishing all recovery of debts by process of law they cannot be done without, —it is highly desirable that they should be effective in conserving the interests of creditors, affording relief to the honest debtor, and punishing the dishonest and reckless trader. The present Acts have not on the whole worked badly, except in the last particular, but in that there has been a complete breakdown, mainly through inefficient drafting. One main feature of the new Bill is that a new and more efficient means is provided for dealing with fraudulent and culpable bankrupts. The summary jurisdiction of bankruptcy judges, which they exercised with great reluctance, is swept away; the preliminary hearing before justices is made compulsory in every case; the assignee is to lay the information, but only under the advice of the Grown prosecutor; all the proceedings are to be at the expense of the Grown, unless the judges order payment out of the estate; and an assignee, acting on the advice of the Crown prosecutor, is protected from actions for malicious prosecutions. The justices may, by consent of the accused, act summarily and inflict a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, otherwise the case goes to trial in the Supreme Court in the usual way before a jury. The offences treated as misdemeanours, and liable to a penalty not exceeding two years' imprisonment, are 24 in number, and are mainly those embodied in the present Act, with the addition of

gambling where it is a cause of bankruptcy, and the giving away of sums of money to relations or others without good reason, though it may bo impossible to prove fraud. It is also made an offence, as in England, for an undischarged bankrupt to obtain credit for more than L2O without disclosing that he is such. This is a very salutary provision, and will render small traders far more anxious to obtain their discharge than they are at present. Various minor offences are made contempt of court, and render the offender liable to six months' imprisonment. We have known of a debtor under the jurisdiction of a District Court defying the summons of the court, but although the judge held him undoubtedly guilty of contempt he could do nothing, as there was no penalty provided by the Act. We believe, with somo verbal amendments, the new penal clauses will satisfactorily efl'ect a much needed reform of tho law, and the fishes who get into that net will not find it so easy to gfit out as they do at piesent. We cannot enter in detail into the numerous amendments in other parts of the Act. The principal points which we need notice are as follow :— Magistrates are in certain cases allowed jurisdiction in bankruptcy where the liabilities do hot exceed L3OO. This should be limited, and no doubt will be in practice, to up country cases where the sittings of the District Court are infrequent, and appeals should lie to the District Court in disputed points. The insolvent estates of deceased persons may be brought under the Act by the administrators or a petitioning creditor. The number of acts of bankruptcy on which a petition may be founded, and to which any actual bankruptcy may be held to have relation back, is greatly increased, there being ten sub-sections in the new Bill under this head instead of three, as in the present Act. This part of the Bill will need very careful consideration. The relation back clause is very clumsily framed, intending to make it apply to cases in which the debtor voluntarily files, as well as to cases of compulsory adjudication, but as worded it will not effect this object. There are here and there some curious verbal errors indicating some haste in preparation. There are now limitations as to preferential claims for rent, strictly confining the preference to six months, whether there has been distraint before bankruptcy or not. Bates will no longer be preferential at all, as it is held that the local bodies have full powers of recovering against the land. Wages, on the other hand, are made preferential for four moDths instead of three months. The order and disposition clause is considerably modified: the provisions as to the avoidance of bills of sale are made to apply to all securities given within six months of bankruptcy, but only as to past advances; future as well as contemporaneous advances are validated, and this is a point of doubtful policy. Voluntary settlements are made absolutely void if within two years of bankruptcy, and attackable within five years. Married women may be made bankrupt, and there are a number of minor points to which we need not refer more particularly. The Bill embraces most of the suggestions of the Chambers of Commerce, and should be carefully considered by the ■committees of the respective chambers sometime before the next session of Parliament, so that the Bill may be presented in as perfect a form .as possible. Telegraphic communication was only partially restored last evening, and we are again without full telegraph and cable news. For a short time in the early part of the evening the officers of the telegraphic department were able to establish communication with Ohristchurch by mean's of one wire, but this was interrupted again, but later in the evening was once more restored. A house in King street, occupied by Antonio Bitossi, an Italian ornament maker, had a narrow escape from being burned on Monday afternoon. Bitossi was sitting on the table smoking his pipe, when some turpentine, which he uses at his trade, and which was on the table, exploded in an unaccountable manner. Bitossi ran for blankets, which he threw on the flames and extinguished them before there was time for them to spread. Beyond the blankets being burned there was no damage done. ' | Messrs G. Fenwick and G. P. Farquhar, J.P's., presided at the City Police Court yesterday morning. For allowing cattle to wander on the Town Belt, Joseph Brown and Matthew Dormer were each fined ss, without costs; and for having unregistered dogs in their possession, Andrew Wood, Robert Hardy, Peter Dickie Pollock (who did not appear), Sarah Buele (who did not appear), Daniel Roberts, and George Macguire were each fined 5s without costs. A second charge of a similar nature against George Macguire was adjourned for a week, and charges against Hannah Woods, George Mills, and Charles Restieaux were dismissed. A meeting of employes of the -various firms of the city was held in the Coffee Palace last night, when it was agreed to form an early closing association. A committee, consisting of Meßsrs Howard, Chirm, Bellett, Burnard, and Miller, were elected to arrange for a larger meeting and to draw up a basis upon which to work. The late Hon. W. Robinson's Cheviot Hills estate consists of 84,248 acres, and is valued for property tax purposes at £300,000. The homestead and other buildings, which it now boasts, are some of the finest of their kind in the colony. A large quantity of the land has been broken up and sown in English grass, and an idea may be gathered of the value of a year's produce when it is stated that last year 2079 bales of wool were shipped from the estate. The monthly meeting of the Dunedin Horticultural Society was held in the Y.W.C.A. rooms last evening, Mr P. M'Gregor presiding. The resignation of Mr Dick as a member of the committee was received with regret. Mr T. K. Sidey was appointed treasurer and Mr G. E. Ward as a member of the committee. Arrange* mentß were made for the Spring show and judges appointed. Messrs Gordon Bros, and Mr H, Matthews exhibited somo pot plants and cut blooms which were greatly admired. Messrs Gordon Bros', collection comprised some polyanthus narcissu3, a novelty, omphalodes vernum, &c. Besides a fine grown specimen of primula obconica and other plants, Mr H. Matthews exhibited a new species of acephylla, found by him in the Hollyford Valley. The ladies of the Kaikorai Literary and Debating Society gave on entertainment on Monday evening at the Kaikorai Presbyterian Church. The entire programme was carried out by the ladies of the society, and the proceedings were presided over by Miss Bannerman. Some capital vocal and instrumental selections were rendered to a large and appreciative audience. A vote of thanks by Mrs Livingston to the mauy aud able performers terminated the proceedings. A Maori named Mark Tewerira, a young man if 23 years, had his arm torn off at Churchill Flax Mills, Raglan, Auckland, last week, and las died at the Waikatn Hospital. The steamer Alameda, which sailed from Auckland for San Francisco on Monday, took 32500 worth of gold from Auckland, shipped for ho Bank of New Zealand at 'Frisco. The ■esscl also had £330,000 worth from Sydney, 'rincipal Rainy was a passenger by her. The Christchurch Press has been informed hat the Bench of Bishops have accepted Bishop larper's resignation, to take effect on 31st larch next, and that the Bishop of Nelson, as euior bishop, has instructed the Dean of Ihristchurch, as commissary, to convene the lerical and lay members of the synod for the lection of Bishop Harper's successor.

The boy Huttou, charged with stabbing' another boy named Blorn, was brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Napier, on Monday, charged with unlawfully wounding, and was remanded until next Monday. The boy Blom is still alive, though in a critical condition. It may bo remembered that a man named Jas. Bradford was murdered at Waitahuna about tho 20th of May last, and that hia dog disappeared in a rather mysterious manner. It has now turned up in the possession of Mr Wm. Livingstono, a farmer at Waitahuua, who states that about two months ago hia sons were out rabbit shooting about four*mile3 from Waitahuua when they found tho dog in company with another, hunting by themselves. Tho dog returned home with them, and Mr Livingstone did uofc know { who it belonged to until Mr M'Caw, butcher, at Waitahuna, told him a few weeks ago that it was the one owned by Bradford. I At a meeting of Auoklaud volunteers the following motion was agreed to: —" That the Auckland voluutcors nre surprised to hear that tho Government intend to issue Martini-Henri rifles on payment only, and consider that competitors at tho Dunedin meeting should receive rifles free of cost on their companies becoming responsible for the same, as otherwiso many of the regular competitors will be prevented from taking part in tho meeting." A copy of this resolution is to bo suut to Major Hamlin, who is to be asked to bring it beforo the Government. The wreck of the Tararua, at Waipapa Point in 1881, will still be fresh in tho minds of tho public. She had on board a considerable number of silver coins withdrawn from circulation owing to their lightness or defacement. They were shipped at Auckland, and their value has been variously estimated. " Some Bay they were worth £3000; others say that they would bring £20,000 after re-issue from the mint. But it is believed a correct estimate of their value is £7000. Some time after tho wreck (says the Mataura Ensign), and at tho instigation of the insurance companies, a party with an experienced diver visited the spot and endeavoured to become possessed of the coins, but without success, for ttey found that the strong room in which they were contained was inaccessible, and there were other almost insurmountable objects in the way. The £7000 had almost been forgotten until last week, when Mr William Batsoni an experienced diver, arrived at Fortrose with half a dozen men determined to probe the bottom; and on Sunday the party proceeded in the Kakanui to the scene of the wreck, where they are prepared to remain in camp until the weather admits of an exhaustive examination of the wreck, which lies only a few dozen yards from the shore. At first the kelp will require to be cut away, and if a minute examination shows that the strong room cannot easily be penetrated the wholo wreck will be blown up by dynamite, a plentiful supply of which was taken down by the Kakanui. An exceptional yield of milk is recorded on behalf of tho Guernsey cow Pretty Dairy Maid, which won for her owner,Mr D. O. Le Patourel, of Guernsey, the champion cup for the best female of her breed at the recent Windsor show. In a test carried out by the Royal Guernsey Association during three days the cow was milked four times daily—at 5 a.m., 11 a.m., 4 p.m., and 10 p.m.—and gave Glib 2oz on the first day, 621b on the second day, and 521b Ooz on the third, when she was not in good health. The milk of the last two days was churned, and yielded 51b of butter, which is at the rate of 17ijlb a week. There was no special feeding, and the weather during the testing was unfavourable. In the action Baldwin v. Mutual Assurance Company of Victoria (heard last week in Napier before his Honor the Chief Justice and a special jury), brought to recover moneys payable under a policy on the life of the plaintiff's son, an important question was decided. The companydefeatletl the notion (says the New Zealand Heriilcl) oil ibe ground of concealment of material facts. Mr Lascelles, who apneared for the plaintiff, stated that he intended to show that the defendant's canvasser was aware that one of the questions put to the assured had not been correctly answered. Mr Downie Stewart, who appeared for the company, objected, as the canvasser had no authority to waive truthful answers, and that the plaintiff could not avail herself of a fraud to which the assured had been a party. His Honor concurred, and said that no company could be bound by any representations of its canvassing agents contrary to the company's expressed conditions of insurance as contained in their printed foims of proposals. Such agents were utterly irresponsible persons, and insurers must take care to see that they fully answered the questions, as every question at,!cul by an insurance company which might affect the risk of insurance was material. After a long trial judgment was given for the company, leave being given to the plaintiff to move to set it aside. From tho report of the Commissioners for Fisheries for New South Wales on the fisheries of the colony for tho past year, it appears the consumption of oysters during the period was 22,507 bags, or which quantity 13,318 bags were imported from Queensland and New Zealand, the balance being the produce of the colony. " This result," observed the commissioners, " exhibits a very unsatisfactory development of our own beds, and shows that oyster culture, during the year 1888, has not thriven. The decline in production ie attributed in a large measure to the very limited rainfall during 1888—the smallest on record. Owing the absence of a certain percentage of fresh water, upon the presence of which our best oysters absolutely depend for their development, the bivalves have been attacked by a very destructive disease, and the commissioners recommend, as the disease is becoming very common in some of the best of our rivers, that an examination should be made by an expert with the view of overcoming it." Mr T. B. Missen is gazetted as registrar of electors for ths Waihemo district, and Mr W. G. Filleul for the Oamaru district, A statement has been going round the press of the colony to the effect that an action could not be maintained against the Phcenix Assurance Company. This impression was caused by the proprietors successfully pleading in Sydney that not being a company the proprietors must be sued individually. It is officially announced that this is in no way applicable to New Zealand, as by a special act of the General Assembly the company can be sued in New Zealand. "New Babylon" was produced for the second time last evening by Mr Bland Holt's company to one of the largest audiences of the season. The performance passed off in first-class style, the scenic effects being greatly admired. Mr Bland Holt himself was selected by the audience as a special favourite, but the other members of the company, as on the previous night, rendered efficient support, and nearly all of them had to appear before the curtain at the conclusion of each act. The students of the University of Otago must2red very strongly, and at the conclusion of the entertainment gave three hearty cheers for Mr Bland Holt. The same piece will be played again this evening. Tho Green Island Literary Society held its usual meeting on Monday evening; the itev. Dr Watt in the cliair. Sir Joseph London gave an address on "The l'roper Sphere of Woman," which led to an interesting discussion on femalo employments, female suffrage, &c. Mr Loudou was highly complimented on his address, and was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. Messrs James Sanißon and Co. sell to-day, at their Monday, night 64th shares in the s.s Shag. Messrs E. O. lleyuolds and Co. sell to-morrow, at their rooms, household furniture and effects. Mr George Sumpter (through Mr Davies) sells on Saturday, at Oamaru, 105-acre farm and steading at Cave Valley. h The adjournedmeetingoftueMacandrewMemorial Fund subscribers takes place on Wednesday, 18th mat, at 4 p.m. Mr Thomas Johnßtou, a candidate for Leith Ward, invites the ratepayers to meet .him at the Albany street Hall this evening. A concert will be given to-morrow evening in All Saints' schoolroom, in aid of the funds of the North Dunedin Church. Thenamesofa uumberof popular vocalists and instrumentalists who have signified their intention of assistiug are given in another column. B. K. Smith, sharebroker, A. M. I. Buildings Telephone 370.-[Advt.] Valuable Discovkuy fob ihb Him.—if your hair is turning grey or white, or falling off, use " The Mexican Hair Kenewer," for it will positively tcstore in every case Grey or White Hair to its original colour without leaving the disagreeable smell of most" Jtestorem." It makes the hair charmingly beautiful, as well as pramuliug the Krowth of the iiair on bald spcts where the glandß are not decayed. Ask your Chemist for "The Mexican Hack Hutnswkh," 6old hy Chemista and Perfumers everywhere at Ho tjd per bottlo. Wholesale depot, 33 j'arriuKdon road. London.—[Advt.] While Mr John Fitzgerald, of Tuapeka Flat, was ploughing some rough land the other day Hie plough overturned aud pinned him to the ground. lie was (according to the Tuspeka Times) lor a long time in this position, and when assistance arrived he was found to have sustained very severe injuries, h'lß right arm being paralysed. TO PREVENT DISAPPOINTMENT. The public are iut'onccd that ifc is only in tin nvger-sized bottles of Wolfe's Schnapps that ihu £1 orders are placed. The agents report over 1600 having been cashed up to date, 29