MEETING OF CREDITORS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21580, 27 February 1932, Page 3

MEETING OF CREDITORS

COMMISSION AGENT FAILS A meeting of creditors in the estate of Walter Paterson, commission and insurance agent, of Dunedin, was held before the official assignee (Mr J. M. Adam) yesterday. Bankrupt, in bis sworn statement, said that he was 66 years of age, married, with a grown-up family of_ one. For the past five years he had carried on business in conjunction with bis son as a general commission and insurance agent, but as this business was not returning him a living he was finally forced to go out oi business in July, 1931. If tbe property market were in a normal state, and he had been able to sell his George street property, he would have been enabled to pay his debts. At the present time there did not seem to be a reasonable prospect of selling this property and realising the equity that he ought to have in it of at least some £250. Mortgages totalling £I6OO had been raised on the property, whilst he had an overdraft of £3OO at the bank, this being secured on a third mortgage of £3OO. He regretted that owing to the present difficulty in realising on the property, and the poor state of his healtn, he could not submit any definite offer to his creditors. The amount owing to unsecured creditors totalled £205 18s 4d,_ the principal amounts being:—H. Halliday £47 13s 10d," estate of A. Bolwell £75, J. Findlay (Invercargill) £lO, Dunedin City Corporation £29 14s, George Gray £l2, Otago Hospital Board £lB 12s. The amount owing to secured creditors was £1754 10s, and the bankrupt’s assets were estimated at £2OOO. A perusal of bankrupt’s books showed that from 1924 until 1930 he had made no profits in his business, and a profit of £BOO odd in 1931 had been absorbed in settling back deficiencies. After some discussion, it was decided to leave the disposal of bankrupt’s estate in the hands of the official assignee, and it was also agreed that bankrupt’s discharge be facilitated.