MEETINGS OF CREDITORS

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 38

MEETINGS OF CREDITORS

Re Moose and Roberts

The first meeting of creditors in the estate of Moore and Roberts (Edward Moore and Robert Roberts), oi Dunedm, butchers, was held in the office of the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy on -the 2Btl> Mr F. Z. Moore appeared for the bankrupts, Air Scurr for Samson Bros , and theie were about a dozen creditors present. The statement filed by bankrupts showed that they had unsecured creditors to the amount of £351 13s Cd, and assets, stock-in-trade (horses ar.d carts, shop fittings, etc.l, £•50; firm's book debts (estiunatcd to produce £70) , and Moore's book debts, £56 (estimated to realise £15): — total assets, £135, leaving a deficit of £216 13s 6d The principal unsecured creditors weie Donald Reid and Co.. £122 ; National Mortgage Company, JE49; Da!geiy and Co, £37; Otago Faimiers' Co-operative Association, £25 ; New Zealand Doan and Mercantile Agency Co , £30; Samson Bros., £26 ; G. Borting, £18 10s ; Scott Bros , £8 16s lOd ; Schlaadt Bros .£8 15s 6d ; Wright. Stephen=on, and Co , £5 6s 9d; R. B. Dennistor* p;io Co.. £5 11s.

Mr F Z Moore explained that a house had bcs.i bought by one of the bankrupts or the time payment system for £315, or which £48 had been paid, which drew from the Assignee the remark that there should be some value m that. He also remarked that Donald Reid and Co , who were~ the biggest creditors, seemed to have got the 'east of all.

The Hon. T. Fergus, repieseiitmg Donald Reid and Co , said that nii^e we^?ks ago, ■when the partnership between Moore aud Roberts was entered into, Moore was solvent, and now the firm was £300 to the bad.

Some recrimination then took place between the debtors as to the cause of thenpresent position.

Mr Feigus said Mi Moore's story boie the impress of honesty to a certain extent. He had been apparently- solvent when he took Jloberts into partnership, and the whole of the stock had been absorbed, and the money reoeived was not accounted for.

Mr Moore complained that the books should have been kept at the shop, and that he had never got a look at the day book except casually. He had never seen the ledger yet, and did not know who had paid aud who had not paid.

The Assignee said he would have to place the accounts in the hands of an expert accountant, and asked what ste\"'S creditors considered should be taken.

Mr Fergus trough t they should disposa of the stock to the best advantage, and should close up the shop at once. He would lil"e to see matters closely looked nito.

The Assignee said he would have the investigated, and would call the ■editors together again shortly.

Re "William C Pitches

An adjourned meeting of creditors in tho estate ot William C. Pitches, late of CKde, •iotelkeeper, was held on Friday, the official assignee (Mr C. C. Graham) presiding. Mr W. L. Moore appeared for -the bankrupt and Mr "W. R. Brugh represented the majority of the town and country creditors, of whom about a dozen were present. The following statement* by bankrupt was read: — "I started business in Clyde as hotelkeeper in November, 1899, and I was there till January, 1906. When I went into the hotel I tad of my own money £250, and I was financed for the balance, about JE2SO. I was doing «, good business after I went m. It was in the dredging boom, and I thought I had stepped into a good thing. I was just in a good way of going when I got a wire from the owner of the hotel to come and see him at once at Lawrence. I went, and found that he had two offers from Dunedin for the hotel— one for £1300 and one for £1400. (At the first I only had a three mouths' leas© •with the understanding that I was to get a longer lease.) He said seeing I was leasing the hotel, 'he would give me the first option to purchase at £1200, and I had no alterative but to say yes. I paid him some 'cash, and left the balance Gn mortgage. I used to pay £29 pel quarter interest. 1 was satisfied with, the bargain, and was getting a, food business when I got notice from the doensing Committee that if I did not put £800 repairs into tbe hotel or rebuild a license would not be granted. I decided to rebuild. I negotiated to raire £2000 and I got that from Mr Hart. I cilled for tenders. and let a contract for £2000. I had made enough nnney in the business to assist mo in furnishing the new house. About two months after the hotel was a going concern and doing a fair business I was burnt out by fire. The hotel was insured for £2000, and £750 on the stock and furniture. I settled with th© insurance company for £1900, and I got £710 for the furniture I called tenders again to rebuild, and the lowe^ tender was that of tho previous builder. His tender was £2450. The Btock and furniture m the house at the time of the fire was £1750 It was only a fluke I was insured at all as to stock and furniture. The Tuesday previous to the fire my father happened to be at my place, and on his asking me if my stock and furniture weie insuied I said no He advi°ed me to take out a policy for £1500. I said no, the premiums will be too heavy, I will take out a policy for £750. He said" he would fix up the policy. Mj' father, who was m Ophir, got acceptance of proposal on the Saturday night prior to the fire I was not aware »t the time of the fu-e that I was insured. As the piano was saved, 1 got £40 less than the amount for winch I wns insured. My losses through tbe fire and the difference in the cost of rebuilding was £1300. and also I lost a great deal of business during the n-ext 12 months through lack of convenient premises. I rebuilt and earned on business for three and a-half or foul year 1 -, anu the place ■was getting quieter, the boom having gone I found that with the drag of pa\mg laterest, and paying £5 a week rent, besides all rates, taxes, etc. thnt I was running the business ai a .loss I decided to find out the value of my property — i c , the stock furniture, horfe.», traps, etc. I went to the expense of payir.g a valuator, with the •understanding that he was to make a lowvaluation He valued the whole of the assets outside the freehold property at £4€50 I kn«w what my liabilities were, and I decided to place my hotel in an agrenfs hands. During the time I was in the hotel I had to make over the freehold to the mortgagee, and I paid £5 a week rent. When I went out of the hotel I pold the stock and furniture at valuation. The valuer for the purchaser was a much cleverer man for his client than my valuer, and the result of tho valuation was tha.t I got only £000 and £100 goodwill. I should have got at least £1600 for the stock and furniture. Had I got the amount I expected, and which I still consider I ought to have got, I would liavo been able to pay 20s in the pound to my creditors At the time the furniture and stock was moitga<»-<l I only received in cash a htlle o\c- 410n, v.bicii I paid out to my creditor I fieri called a meeting of my C editor.- I rfftiLcl fiem lvr luck debt 3, winch n-iio''.na to -g~>o aid all iry 1 clougiro« T\. iuro«a < i\ c niee tiiur at Cl-<le Tbe i,ext du\ t»i A'«^.,' Ii i cieS'iui, rc"pd •nothor meeting and i.-fu-cd l > r~ie- They #e;d 1 was to collect th.- <a-l/, n -c'.f and T)»y 20s in the pound. I put several ac-

counts into Mr Hutton's hands for collection. He was fairly suceesful in collecting, but sent me a big account, which brought me in debt £3 16s. After I went out of the hotel I took on a day's work when I could get it. I was two months out in the Bonanza water race contracting, but left in debt. I covild only rnnlsc 5s dd H. da} . Xuclier wa3 dear, and I had to keep up two homes I then did other work, but could not make enough to keep the house going. I sold the section I owned for '£19, and the proceeds went to keep up the house. I am nowmanaging an hotel for my father, but the business is very dull, and I get just sufficient to keep my wife and family. The property belongs 'to my father, and he does not even make interest out of what money he has in it " The Assignee said the list of accounts given him as beang due did not conic to any w here near £700.

Mr Mooi© said that the list only included the debts of persons who were considered as being able to pay.

The Assignee said he had sent notices to everyone on the list, and had not leceived a single response. Bankrupt, bjiiig sworn, deposed, under examination by Mr Brugh, that the statement he had put in was coirect m every respect. He had received £190 19s from his father, which the latter had had on fixed deposit He agreed to pay 8 per cent for the money, but his father would not accept any security. He also received a cheque for £39 Is from his father. He kept no ca=h book. All cash that he received he paid into the bank He did not know the date on which he got the £39 cheque. On March 1-2, 1906. he got another cheque from his father for £50. It was an accommodation. He subsequent^' received another £30 t-> assist him to meet bills. He paid £360 to Nash on going into the hotel at Ophir. That was his first transaction on going into the hotel, and very likely there would be no record of it m his books He bonowed £80 from his brother-in-law (Mr Donald M'Rae). and subsequently repaid the amount. In all at that time he borrowed £250. He was to pay Nash £1200 for the hotel property, and only paid a small sum to bind the agreement During the tirn-e he was m temporary premises after the fire, 'he would swear he did not purchase more beer than he had purchased m any other period of like duration He did not know he was insolvent until shortly before June last He had a valuation made by Mr John Sheean, of Alexandia. Mi Sheean was a, miner and fruit-giower At one time Mr Sheean was a paitnei with him in a mining venture He paid £4 4-s for the valuation It gave his value as £1650 He shortly after put his hotel in an agent's hands When the valuation was made for the sale au<? he got the figuies, he knew he could not pay 20s in the wound. He had disclosed all his propeity. There was a run standing m his name He had never put anything into it and had nevei got anything out of it. He had no mtere-t in the run It belonged to his father. He never owned n sheep, and had nev«»r paid any rent. He was aware for the last few months he was in business that he was not paying his way Theie was a faun of 3,-iO acres at the Lander which had been m lus name It first belonged to his mother, who ti an sf erred it to bankrupt, who in turn, iv June, 1906, tiansferied it to las father, who desired to make it freehold. His father paid him some money at the time of the transfer, but hp could not recollect what the amount w-as. He had no idea what the farm whs worth. His father must have paid to him the amount of money mentioned in the transfer, but he could not remember what the amount was. He speculated at races at times, but denied that he lost £20 at the Ophir races in 1907 and £30 at Cromwell

To a Creditor- It was not true that he sent away £20 last January on a horse called San Severo He sent £2, and it belonged to other people. He did rot give a man £2 to pui on Pietty Face. It was not true that he gambled away £20 in his own hotel nt Ophir on Januaiy 2 of this year .

By Mr Brugh The raeehoiae Flossie was never his — but his wife's. It was sold for £.30. He had interviewed some pe^nls in Duuerfm with leference to going into an hote' at Geraidine He told the people he could get £400 £200 was comiii? fiom friends and £200 from Mr George E=thei. who subsequently declined to advance- the money Ho deriecl that he told Mr Esther, when he went to him. that he had, oi could eet, £400 He h°.l no monej in the Snvmqi Bunk Mi Brugh said that t iie portion ot banklupt was moi-t unsatitfaeton Theie ws^ hardly a figure in the statement that Lad not been called m question. Ho hnd leceivcd £230 in June. 1906. ard the ciedituis certain! v wanted to know wheie that nionev wa«=. Thai sum was the amount of consideration shown m the tiar.sfer to Ins father Bankiupt had the colosf-al fiont to come to the meeting and say that he had got a small grazing run from the Land Beard on trust for °jmeone else Befoie he could get that run he had to make a declaration that it \vf>= foi himself and not for any other person, aiid theie was a se\ ere penalty firf i r making a fa'°e declination. The books- that had been 'produced were absolutely u=-eie=<* to them as a guide to where the money had gone. The creditors did not want to prefer any criminal charge Tliev wanted their money, and Mi Pitches would be well advised to pa}- the cieditors. apart from his father, 20s m the pound. Theie was not a transaction m the books but what had passed from lather to son and from brother to siotei Counsel suggested that tho run would have to bs leahsed at once for the creditors Theie was a buyer who was prejiared to give £300 for the' 320 acres as it stood just now Mr Moore said that Mr Pitches had answered every question put to him, and whs prepaied to stick to every vord he had said. He suggested that no resolution should be passed fit the meeting, but if more information was wanted anothei meeting could be held, at which Mi Pitch-c", sen., or any of the family could bo requested to attend for" examination. Mr T Cahill 1 ) said that binkiupt had given a mast unsatisfactory statement but he would move a motion to test the feeling of the meeting He moved — " That in view of the unsatisfactory statements given in evidence, bankrupt's discharge be opposed uiitil such time as he pays the sum of 20s in the pouud to th© creditors ; and, further, that it be a. recommendation to the assignee to assert kia right to the run at Ophir, a-nd al-o to inquire into the transaction with respect +o the form at Lauder." Mr Nieper secoi>d&d. On being put to the vote it was declared lost, cieditors to the value of £179 voting for it, and £453 10s 6d againpt. The meeting adjourned without any formal resolution being anived at.

A shark about 10ft long made a crui.=e round Oamaru harbour the other day (says fho Xoith Otago Time«), and paid particular attention, so our informant says, to the diedgp, but whether with an expert eye to it^ capacity for work or to the garbage tlu-t micht bo thrown o^eiboard, theie U no infoi motion..