MEETING OF CREDITORS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14580, 20 July 1909, Page 5

MEETING OF CREDITORS

IN* HE ('koiujk JCSTHKH. Wtt-rnlay aiiciiic-jti, Ivjfuic ih? oflicial \Mr \V. IS. i'i.viicr), a lucdiiig of V. JCii'.li- ,WIS held in eiiuh'.Jtiim with tho hankni..! e.-iaie of Iteorje Keller, of fJun•:,.!vi, Jimincial lureul. JtokiaptV linaucioi was staled by him to U> as lollov.-s:— L'li.-i-cuii'il trediK.,i, £3147 lfr Eil': a«s'-is, nil. The iirincipal ui.-t; ur-.d iTT'diiuis were: Ja-ms 1 .; [V-ike, i>'so: K. '1. (Waiiea). £180 lis 15(1; A. mill .1. MT'aihuie. £ili 15s; I iitiv. it, iv.viui;, in ill Co., yJ: J . V>; Tai-.i'i and l ! onii:.stih Mill: fciuuuly Company, £52: K. Ti. Ma«i.-sey, £42: Mendelsohn and Son, £09: Yi'illiam .Miller (commission a.'.tent), £154 'is: Y-, Pies. Iplmnhei's), m C--s 5:1: K. M'Kir.K, £10 Ifo; Jilackwecd Bros. (biitcli:'.'..-: 1 , £l(j l?s 10(1: K. Soilness (jeweller), £57 JO:.; IJ. ]!. Kst.ker ((lore). £1540: \V. S. Williams (Middlemsrcli), £10 6s 2d; A. P.ealon (butcher), £15 10-; C. .Shaw, £!8: 11. T. \V),c-_-!or. £10: .lames Brown. £15; John "Wat.-,on r-j.'vf■, £239 2s 2d. Sundry accounts were put <10-v.ii at £b5. Ih-ukrupt made ihe folic,viii« f-ta.te-mclit: " in 1883, when f went out of btisinres. n<:t owwiiif as-yUmi;?, 1 Eti'JeJ all my properties on my v.ile. In 1891 my wifo d'ied. leaving all her i»ropoitj- to liei- several children, with ;i lifo inlK-cst to mysol?, with fji:c-1: power to work the cslule as I tl-.ouo'n:!" advisable. I was at. lliat time abill broker, anil Ivul been working mi the i I iliil very well for so mo yearn, until my 'bookkeeper cleared out of the country ov,"ing mo over £2000. This considerably cramped ine, and a few ysars afierwu'ds Mr Ilayuo c;iil?d a nice-ting of liis crcu:!or.i. and ] Jo::" by him over £3000. Silica thou I have b.-en in groat trouble to curvy on m.v hisim.?;, Ihe Ukmorciiy properly fucking tho life's blood out of ma 1 lost at least £5000 with that properly. AVil.li tho assistance of my brother, ifr D. 13. Esther, of Uore, to whom I owe a. very laiv" ram, T mar.sMjjd to carry on. The Comaiwciial l'ropsrlv and Fiuaaieo Company, with whom I did a very large ImeiiKSS. unfortunately went into liquidation, ami my lm*ims was practicaHy ritii'ii'd. The bank tmis!ed on ii:e lEtUtcini< niv overdraft, and my brother found £1510 iltirim; ihe last _vo.it.i- lo a>si.-:t ine in dciiY.v so. I am now in a position of not lvuv'.i-. : » any ironcy. J W a:i made bankrupt by petition. Many of n !V enlitovs veftnlo olaii.i, ki:oH'iii!f I have no estate. I am, however, in this position: I have ft life in'eri-J in my children's estate, and' they aro ail williuj; that I should n.se this for t!:i l benefit of my creditor, luvcrv cent. I make oat of tfc& will go to a fund to pay my creditora, .and I feel ualisfied that within il'.o iwst two y.'-'ar:> I will bo in n portion to pay every elaim me." Mr \\'. 0. llacGVagov appeared! for bankrupt, and the followinjt crrditors were preti:i:t, cr re;:rai:iitcdD. R. lislher (Jfr .7. A. Cook), the C'umiiwrcial I'vopevtv Company (M.r ,T. F. V.'oL'dhotiio), John'CamoJ:.?II (Mr I". Moore), Taieri and Peninsula Mill; Supply Company, Ulackwood 1!.r05., John Wateon, Joseph Mondelsohn, U Wfljfhorn, J. I\ft''nriai:e, A. lleatou (Mr Jliuhml. John and W. Afilbr. Mr A\W.iO!ii« oxpla-iticd that tho Commercial rroiicriy Coiiioanv, for whom lie iipiiearal, h?!d but they had not proved yet, as they had not time to make up the-ir claim. Mr John AVatcon oxplained that of tho £203 odd «{ down as owm;,' lo him, £150 Walton, and w.ius tepa.rately proved. The Ollieiiii Afsigr.;e remarked that ho bad been informed l,y bankrupt that his capital, at the time he started in business, had amounted to £15,008. A further statement supplied by l-anknipt had shown thai he va'ited his propertu-s, v.-Jiicli were inejii'.kd in tba ivlist account, at. £3746, but ihat thc-i-3 (vera aga-init this liabililie; toiailiii? Miay> l-ls 6d. y'f oodhouse: Then, aceordiiifj to that, I iiie tviiit esiaie is all gono. There j s , w ! i {0 come lo she en-ditors from this Apkncs said that Mr Ksthev had sl:o:,n him al;o a copy of the will, .accordjnj 1,1 winch the e-taie li-vl been left, «< li-3 had said, lo ih.e children, while J>e was jfivsti a life inlenvt in if, and absoluiI'oy.a- 4o deal with ii, Mr iiundle said that tho ; ,s3«ts were ;I5 to tho trust estate while the lia':ilities were regarded as tier soual. Mr. Esther, on bis 'own showing V.os a trustee in ihe estate. Tho bankrupt Wi!S ~w orll| am ] Wfls aniuied by Mr Bundle. Have you any funds apart from the trus' luuds:—Absolutely nothing. JSverythiii"- . hitvG bolongs to llio children. j Then you were 'carryiniv o:i business will tho I rust funds?—yes, and with the ,-insist ; i-nce of my brother, with ihe bank, and wit! ihe L'ominereicl ,rr.>poi-ly—until ' it wen ; into ik.uida'.ion, of course. >Yill it l)o l".;i i'o-jl to say, (hen, that vol have betn carrying on your business orae iic.'iiiy as a trustee in your wife's estale?V'k, pl-iiclically. That is so. ' When did you siart. your account witl ' tho Cnion J^ink?—Perhaps Miroo or fou 1 years What account did you have before that ! —I der.lt with the Jlanb of Australasia fo many years. Was there any reason for the change?1 Yes; I did nut get on with tbo°ne\ ! '»««::?«. I deidt with the Dank of Am 5 tralasia for over 20 years. Then, having misuiiderstandiny, 1 left and went to "tb " Union liank. ' lr.it was the state of your account then' —Bankrupt said that , the bank bad pro- ' niised liiru £7503, and be handoil over as 5 sccunty bis interest in the estate, and his • brother also became security for him. He 3 went on to say that 12 months ago his 11 account at tho bank bad stood at about ? £6000, but tM-day, with the assistance of his brother, it bail been reduced to oome s £.1800. • tj What security does the bank hold at the '• present time?—. Bankrupt gave parlieulars. 0 Some two months ago the bank bad tried 15 io sell certain of tho property, but bad S failed to get an oll'er. At the present 2 iime it was almost impossible to sell proparly. a What is your property worth?— About o £5746. d Then the bank is not secured for the e full amount of your overdraft-?—Ob, no. is Havu you stated to anyone recently that }' the bank was secured for double tho a amount?— Probably. My brother anil my |3 daughter have stood security for me, and }' the;r guarantee far more tlnin covers the liability. . . The bank holds a lot of u bills but I may say that, although the io tolal is a largo sum, the bank does not Is value them at one penny piece. is But the creditors may think differently. - What is Ihe face value of those bills?—A r- good many thousands, but they are prac!.v tically valueless. 3? Then, as regards (he Commercial Pro.l- party Loniponv.Jiow does it stand? Has it -n any bills?— Bankrupt said that the com!v pany held all current bills, totalling' some r, £3000, and worth £2300. t- What is the amount due to the Compter's cia! Property Company?— About ."62600. 3i Well, what other bills are there beyond -n those held by ihe bank anil the company? x> —I have no others. Have you any property of any sort that is not mentioned in tho statemeni? What about T bi3 Clenorehy property?— That belo!!»:i to the estate. Why have you shewn those liabilities as J' 01 ! 1 ' own instead of against the estate, ;l ' s srxsiuw that, they were incurred in connection therewith?—lie-cause I hey are my liabilitics, and I have no estate. AifiT some fiti-rh:rr I'Aauiinalion, bankrupt I said: I have said before, and I say asain, , o me time and every liability shall be :.si' i.'il. lie proposed In work ine estate, and would make so much out of it. He _ bad not the slightest hesitation in snyinjr Ihci within two years everv debt sbotilil be f. Asked about the Rock and Pillar Sana-Ici-inm property, bankrupt said lis bad out that under his brother's name some 113 i'i momhs before, as some small security 5:1 f-vr the money he owed him. lie leased the place from his brother. li- would not be correct, to say that yon \ n ' ira-isfcrred thi-: propeity to youv brother fil just to save it for him?—Oh, no; it was a liiTe batraielle lo him. in To Mr V.'r.ou'noihe: lie considered, his e- mieu st i.i (lie '.'.Vet lv:tate as an asset. . U was £:o']o to tb.o liid. bill- he could worl: h? | .::: ii: ' accoim;. noiwiiii-ijuJing, co i To Mr Bu: llis was Insured to be . ti'.o «s;.;w > of son',? £1600. There were .ot'::r not on hh own life, amount- ■ !S ; : io -oii-.e fiiOOO. 1-u; ihey '.ve:'e all borM. ; iv' V.--ii on io iko iui! a.iriount. •o- i r Mi' Moore he hj.tl known Mr Either ■ a3 for a sjreat uiany years, und be had a!-

\v::y ;issnciii'-r<l wilh mjlfli, Ho was, i |>. I'-Diriilv, comem to tinsL the bankrupt, lie never ho;nheard <lebl\>r stand ii|) ilk-' that ,'Hid promise 1.1 pay 20s in the pound, .'u:il h ■ had known manv bankrupt-. !l was ;i very nico ihimr to come from Mi- Ivu'ior. lmt it vtas typical of ih* man who had for so loinr oeniiDied n i position in tin' communitv, and the man , who had so often pliih'd nn'ii out of t lie: r itifiieilllirs His offer wife a ino=( generous <,!!■>. ami lie hoped ail ilial. Mr' Esther premised would be accomplished. He was ijuii" rcrlsin that many of the creditors wouid Ik' glad to accept much I?SS. .Mi M'i'iu'hine asked bankrupt how he propped lo do all ho taid lie would do in Iv. o years. Bankrupt said lie would bp ahl? lo p.iy 2s in tin' pound before the first year was out and dui';n'.i tho ncxr year he would pay every three months just as much as ho could With the asM?t:ine« of hi; chiMvcn 111' i'.f.'i'/.'d to bo prsit-tioally clour at ti'.c end of two years. Many thingf might luppeu which would enable him to pay everyone sooner Jiau that; there w:w (lis possibility o,' a Icercy. Mi M'l'athine eaid their bejfc course wnul 1 b; to trusl Mr l-'sther and r.ccept his offer. If he was willing to piv 20s in tin) pound it was onlv fair that he should get. time io do it. He moved that tho oiedirors recommend that Mr Esther ho in mediately discharged from bankruptcy. Bankrupt said lie wonted his discharge. They might. I rust. him. If? had been 50 years in Dunedin, and. as they knew, hi» word had always been hi:-, bond. The discharge of these obligations would be a matter of honour with him. Mr Bundle esid he thought they were going too fast. Ife- wished for an adjournment ill order that, the a?si»n?o might have a chance of looking into mailers. The Assignee pointed out that there wcj'9 iki fltntU available from tlte estate with which he could engage an accountant, and he could r.ot go through all the books llimsoli. Air Watson, cpeakins: a-; a man who had known Mr Esther for 25 years, said lie was willing to trust hirn and was sure that ho would pay them all in his own gcc.l time. lift .ietonded t-li" motion. This was put, Mid carried. Mr Bunjle being the only dissentient. The meeting thc-i adjourned.