A Dishonest Bankrupt.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5438, 30 March 1889, Page 3

A Dishonest Bankrupt.

Wellington telegrams the other day mentioned that a certain bankrupt, one Thomas Fitzpatrick, had been sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonment for obtaining goods just previous to his declaration of insolvency, and for representing his wife's property as Ilia own. We learn from our exchanges that Mr ?! ntcath, who appeared on behalf of soivk 1 > t lio creditors, asked the Court to cxer. oiimmary jurisdiction, on the ground that ihe bankrupt, at the time when he iuenrred certain debts, had no reasonable or probable expectation of being able to pay them. It was also represented that the debtor had kept no proper books of account, and that he had obtained credit by false pretences. In giving his decision His Honor the Chief Judge said this was another of those cases in which all the property that a man could scrape together was given to his wife, and the creditors were told thut it was not paid for with the husband's money. From some points of view this was a bad case, because the bankrupt could not have had reasonable expectation of being able to pay for the goods he received after the 13th August and especially the clothes he got from Huxley. He considered it manifest that the bankrupt had represented to Mr Pollock and the other creditors f that he owned this property at Hunterville ; to say that he used the word "we" was P entirely inconsistent with the account given by the creditors and that which the bank- ! nipt himself gave to the Official Assignee. With respect to the keeping of books, i i^ » Honor said he did not think there was mucl: ' blame in that respect, seeing that men in this i business did not usually keep proper books. He considered, however, that the bankrupt 5 should be punished on account of the good; lie obtained after the loth August, and alsc with rc&pect to the clothes obtained froiv ' Huxley. T lie Court-would be adjourned til next day at '2.30., and lie should then rathei for the sake of example toother debtors thai 3 otherwise, punish the bankrupt by senten 1 ring him to fourteen days' imprisonment witl hard labor.