THE J. G. WARD FARMERS' ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 30

THE J. G. WARD FARMERS' ASSOCIATION.

A CALL AUTHORISED.

Application was made to his Honor Mr Justice Williams, in Chambers on Tuesday, for authority to make a call upon the shareholders of the J. G Ward Farmers' Association (Limited), in liquidation. Mr Husking appeared on behalf of the Official liquidator in support of the application. There were no objectors present. Mr Hosking Baid the affidavit which had been filed was in support of a call of £i per share, and that was the sum for which the summons h&d been taken out. The only question was whether his Honor would make the call payable by instalments. There were a good many holdings of such numbers as two, three, and four share?, on which the amounts of the calls would be under £20. He did not propose to ask in these ca*es chat there should be liberty to pay in instalments, but he would ask that where the sum exceeded £50 or £100. In a mining case his Honor made a cill payable in instalments, and that was quite authorised, with the provision that if any instalment was Hot paid the whole call became enforceable. His Honor: How many instalments do you suggest ? Mr Hosking : It wculd be according to the amount. What I would suggest is that aDy sum of £20 or under should be paid within two months. His Honor : Why not in two instalments ? Because they are small people, a good m&Dy of them, and £20 is a big sum to pay in a lump. MxHoakii.g : We have no objection to that. His Houor : I should think it possible that there might be p scale. Why should not holders of two shares pay in two instalments, holders of a larger lumber of shares in three instalments, and of a still larger number in four, perhaps. Mr Hosking said if they made the instalments of email amounts payable in two or three ' months it might be its well to make the wbo'e sum payable at the t ime the last instalment would be payable. He might suggest thab earns of £20 or under should be payable within • three months, in two instalments, at two and ; three niontli3 ; turns up to £50, in two instal- j znents, at two and four months ; sums between ■ £50 and £100 in two instalments afc three and ! six months ; and Bums over £100 in instalments at three, six, nine, and 12 months. Or couive the liquidator had very little discretion about giving time, and th-re should be an instalment made payable within two months, mr- order that he might ficd out who wore likely to make default. : His Honor . There should be one instalment, i at anyrate. After some further discussion as to the nature of the instalments, His Honor made the following order :—: — , Accordingly ; £20 or under, in two instalments, two and four months ; from £20 to £100, three instalments, two, four, and six months ; from £100 upward?, four instalments, two, four, six, and eight mouths ; if any instalment unpaid, ( Ihe whole call to become due ; call to be paid ' either to official liquidator or to his account at the Bank of New Zealand at Invercargill ; further proceedings adjourned to tho 29th JnEe. The affidavit of Mr W. R. Cook, official liquidator of the association, in support of the application was as follows : — 1. I have in the schedule now produced and shown to me and marked with the letter A set forth a statement showing the amount due in respect of the debts allowed agairst the said association, and the estimated amount of the co^ts, charges, and. expenses of and incidental to the winding up the affairs thereof, and which seveial amounts form in the aggregate tho sum of £34,5(39 6s 7d, or thereabouts. 2. I have also in the said schedule marked A set forth in a statement showing the total amount of claims against the said association which have not yet been adjudicated upon, amounting to £62,461 15s <M, a lid which, together with the aggregate sum of £34,569 Ca 7d mentioned in the last preceding clause of this my affidavit, forms the total sum of £97,031 ]s lid. , 3. I have aleo iv the schedule set forth a state- | ment of the assets in hand belonging to the said ' association amounting to the sum of £55,238 8s Id j and no more. There are no other assets belonging to the said association except the amounts due from certain of the contributories of the said association, and to the best of my information and belief it will be impossible to realise in respect of the said amounts more than , the sum of £8450 or thereabouts. : 4. It appears by the registrar's certificate, dated ' the 2nd day of February. 18!>7. that 721 persons have bt en settled on the list of contributories of the said association in respect of 15,144 shares, and since that date 12 more persons have been settled on the said list in respect of 89 shares. 5. For the purpose of satisfying the several debts, the liabilities of the said association and of paying the costs, charges, and expenses of and in- • cidental to the winding up of the affairs thereof, ■ I believe that the sum of at least £33,000 will be requii ed in addition to the amount of the assets of the said association mentioned in the s*id schedule A and the said sum of £8450. 6. Iv order to •provide the said suni co required, it is necessary to make a call upon the several persous who have been settled on the list of con- j tributories as liefo:e mentioned, and having re- ! gard to the probability that some of such contri- | butories will partly or wholly fail to pay the i amount of such call, I believe that for the pur- j pote of realising the amount lequired as before mentioned it is necessary that a call of £4 per share should be made. The schedule appended to the affidavit ihowed the total amount of the claims against the association to be -made up in the followicg manner : — Cairns allowed against the association, including £20,000 of debetitures held by the Colonial Bank, which carry interest at C psr cent. £32,069 6 7 Estimated expenses of liquidation... 2,500 0 0 34,5r!9 6 7 Claims not yet ad judicated upon ... 62,46115 4 Total £97,031 1 11 The assets are thus stated :—: — Cash in the Bank of New Zealand — At Invercargill ... £18,860 IS 8 At Gore 5.879 9 10 £24,746 8 6 Value of stock and plant in hand, estimated to realise „ 1,900 0 0 Book debts, estimated to yield ... 20,000 0 0 46,646 8 6 Jn addition, amount which, if not allowed to be operated en by the official liquidator, would still go in reduction of liabilities — Bank balance, " trust " account £4,987 S 5 Bank balance, " special " account ... «. 3,599 16 2 — : 8,586 19 7 55,233 8 1 Value of the call on shares at £i per lhave, estimated to yield ... ... 8,450 0 0 £63,683 8 1 The Railway department advertise train arrangements for the Easter holidays elsewhere in this issue.