A COMPANY CASE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13394, 30 May 1914, Page 8

A COMPANY CASE.

j /Per Press

" AUCKLAND, this day. Judgment was given by Justice, Ntringer in the Supreme Court in the claim by .William Dalton against a company called the Manures, Ltd., and it.« dire'e tors for the, return of £625, which amount was subsequently reduced to £500, alleged to have been invested in the company as allotment and applica'tion money in respect of S?500 shares. The defence was that the money paid over by Dalton \va,s a loan t(f Lyremain, the. main promoter in the floating of the 1 company. Evidence was given by Alfred Tayibr, J. S. Dickson, James G. Cuipaii, and John Rountree, directors, who each admitted having accepted 50 shares in, the. company for nothing, being* given an assurance that they would' have no responsibility whatever, Dickson «aid he consented after ■ declinir, r three or four times, and after signing the prospectus he heard nothing further about tho company. He was electioneering. The judg? said plaintiff had failed to. prove that £500 ■ had; '..been paid to some person with authority to receiveon behalf" of the prospective company. Moreover, he thought there could be no question that the trcusactiun was a* loan by Daltbn to Lyremain, and made. under such 'conditions that plaintiff would know the money would not get into the coffers of tho company. His Honor added, with reference to the application for shares, that the transaction had merely betMi engineered, by the, agent Hughes; in order to , -ret his own commission. Air though it was proved that the directors were not guilty of misconduct or negligence, it seemed to him that when gentlemen apparently of business expe'ri.. ence lent their names to a prospectus, and fiigued documents which might mislead the- public,, they were amity Vof grave misconduct .from tho public noint of view. Judgment was entered for the defendants.