The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Friday, November 7, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 944, 7 November 1879, Page 2

The Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. Friday, November 7, 1879.

There is a very serious defect m the existing Debtors and Creditors Act of 1876, which demands an immediate remedy. The clause of the Act, and a subsequent clause which defines it, states that the appointment of a creditors' trustee must be decided by a majority m number and amount of the creditors entitled to vote at a meeting. Now, there was a case m point at the meeting of an insolvent's creditors yesterday afternoon. Two candidates had bean nominated and seconded for the trusteeship. One of these candidates received m number a majority of the votes of those px-esent, while the other candidate received votes from creditors which considerably exceeded the other side m amount. Here, then, there was a complete deadlock. The law, as it stands, demands that there shall be a majority m numbr and amount, and this could not be come at because the smaller amount had the larger number of voters, and the larger amount the fewest. It was eventually settled by a compromise. One of the trustees withdrew and another candidate was put ;ip m his place. By this means a majority m number and amount was obtained, and Mr. Carlaw Smith, an accountant m bankruptcy, was elected as creditors' trustee. But it was all very inconvenient, and caused considerable confusion at the meeting. The intention of the framer of the clause referred to was no doubt very good. It was meant to prevent one or two large creditors from swamping the smaller ones, and the smaller ones from swamping the votes of the few. Hence, the difficulty of the thing. We think were such a deadlock comes to pass, as was the case yesterday, that the Registrar or the Judge of the Court should have the right of election. This, or some other remedial measure, should be adopted, or we shall have no end of these inconvenient deadlocks. For instance, yesterday, the candidate who had the fewest votes represented about £1500, while the candidate who had the larger number of votes was only represented by about j£l7o. It can easily be imagined that one insolvent who wishes for a • particular trustee to work his estate can get a number of small claims proved against his estate, which will place the large creditors m a very unfair position. This portion of the T»-_l__.—J.™ A«4- r>+ '\nnnt- -nnarla vo.

Mr. Allan McDohald telegraphs this morning m the matter of the Native Lawsuits Bill, to the effect that when it was m Committee himself and Mr. Whitaker agreed to the amendments similar to those proposed by the Committee appointed at the meeting held last Saturday at Makaraka. The Bill containing the amendments had to be put into such a shape as to get it through the second reading without raising any debate. Mr. McDonald states that the Government and Mr Ormond are hard at work with him on the Bill, and there is no fear whatever but what it will pass m accordance with the wishes of the people of Poverty Bay.