MEETING OF CREDITORS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3247, 7 June 1916, Page 9

MEETING OF CREDITORS.

INVOLVED SAW-MILLING PARTNERSHIP. An adjourned meeting of creditors in the estate of John Harpur, sawmiller, of Tawanui, was field at the oiiieo of tho Official Assignee (Mr K. N. 11. Browne) on the 2nd inst. Mr Aspinall appeared : for the bankrupt, and several otner creditors were represented. Tho schedule showed that the debts owing : to unsecured creditors amounted to £234 <os sd. Un the other side, stock-in-trade I was set down at £55, book debts at £4-0, j and furniture at £lO, leaving a total dei iiciency of £179 3s sd. Tho principal ; creditors are: —James Wright (llouipapa), j £32; Wright, Stephenson, and Co., £3O; Harding (wages), £27; MehafFey (wages), ; £23 8s lid; B. Hauptfleish, £2O; Otago 1 Farmers' Co-operative Association, £lB l&s; | Anderson (wages), £l6 12s 6d; .J. Keen, I £l2 14s; Latta and Ayson, £ll lis; Williamson, £11; James Ahem, £lO 2s od. The bankrupt, in his statement, stated that he had .commenced sa.wmii'jmg in Tawanui in parnership with Mr J. Kerr. i They arranged to purchase mill and plant ; from Mr Henry Lyders and pay for it by | monthly instalments. They were unable to i keep these up, and Mr Kerr sold his I share to bankrupt's brother, Prosper Harj pur. Later, lour workmen were admitted | to equal shares in the business, with equal j liability for debts. The partnership did not run smoothly. The others seemed to wish to get rid of him, and all wanted to Ibe managers. They were pressed by I creditors. The ether five left work and I came to town and tried to get a fresh j arrangement with Mr Lyders. Prosper | Harpur went to the war, and all summonses were served on bankrupt. As other memj iiers of the partnership were collecting acI counts, he did not know what they did with | the money. They removed parts of the I mill plant, two saws valued at about £2O, land a horse. They refused to return these '■ or allow bankrupt to remove cut timber ito sell. He could have made a suitable ! arrangement with the present tenant to J work the mill, but the other partners and ! some of tho wages men refused to allow | him to work. lie felt sure the mill was a ! paying proposition, ami, had the partners j worked together, it would have given good ! results. Tho present tenants, he under- ! stood, were making good profits. The I wages book had been taken away from the oflice by some of the partners, and ho had ! never been able to get it. Tho Official Assignee said ho was placed j in a peculiar position, as he was asked to i deal with a certain partnership and certain | assets over which ho had no control. Before | they could have control they must have the | cihor partners adjudicated. In response to | a creditor, Mr Browne said that, so far as jhe could see, there was absolutely no i chance of getting any assets out of the j estate. All they could do was to examine j bankrupt and other members of tho part- ! uership as to the true position. Air Hay said that considerable quantities lof timber had been going out from the i mill, and yet this bankruptcy occurred. It | seemed to him there had been some fast-ancl-iooso dealing. If they eouid sheet it home to the responsible person, he would have to come before the proper court. Mr Ik '/j. Moore said his instructions were I that the estate had been squandered. The Assignee said that the information I to be obtained from the bankrupt's books ! was practically nil. He proceeded to ex- ! amine bankrupt as to the history of his i business. Harpur said he had joined John ! Kerr in partnership on February 1, 1914. ! There was no written partnership agreei merit. Neither lie nor Kerr paid over any

| deposit to Mr Lydcrs for the mill, but they | were to pay him £oo a month. Their work i at the mill was to cut and dress timber i for customers in the district. Kerr and he | were able to pay the wages pretty well. I Eventually Kerr agreed to sell out to ! Prosper llarpur for £3O, some of which 1 was "paid. The books showed the amounts '• received, but not the amounts owing. In ■ January. 1915, Lydersi stopped in. and I stopped the mill, llarpur Brothers wore i about £l5O in arrears with their payments ito him. At this stage William Harpur, sen., Charles Harper, James M'Donald, and j Harry Ferry agreed to forgo their wages for January and to come into the business jon equal shares. They borrowed money to help to pay £IOO to Lyde.rs. After ! that they carried on until about September, i 1915. The partners were each getting a j little money from time to time. In Sepj teniber Lyders re-sold the mill to John j Sharp. The partners had paid Lyders beI tween £4OO and £SOO. There was about i 40.000 ft of timber at tho mill now, some of j which was stiil saleable, and other plant of value. Under examination by Mr Hay, bankrupt said he was working at the mill for Hays, his brother-in-law, for lis a day. He had no share in the profits He had no idea how much Lyders got for tho mill when he re-sold. Since October last ho had collected £llO, and had paid this out, but ho had not kept any record of the transactions. Ho would bo surprised to know that the mill cut over £SOO worth of timber during August and September hist, Evidence was also given by William Harpur sen., who said that, as a partner, he was willing that all partnership assets bo applied to the discharge of partnership accounts. A. considerable sum of money was owing to him by the partnership. James M'Donald made a similar state- ' William Harpur said he had received only £lO all the time ho was with the firm. The cuttings averaged about £250 a month. He was not a partner. Charles Harpur, another partner, also stated that there was money owing to him by the business. 'The meeting was adjourned sine die, and. .Iho whole matter left in the hands of_ the Official Assignee for further consideration.