CONVICTIONS ENTERED

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17179, 8 February 1930, Page 8

CONVICTIONS ENTERED

GOODS BOUGHT ON CREDIT BANKRUPTCY ACT BREACHES S.M. FAVORS PROSECUTIONS Severe comment upon the number of bankrupts throughout the Dominion who obtained credit when their position was hopeless was passed by Mr. P. H. Harper, S.M'., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday afternoon at the conclusion of the lengthy hearing of the case of the Official Assignee against Richard Galyer, shnremilker, of Mniiut n lie, a bankrupt. Galyer, who pleaded not guilty, was convicted of two breaches of the Bankruptcy Act, the charges being that he contracted a debt of £1 los with the Poverty Bay Garage, and that’he contracted a debt of £2 11s Dd with Walter Findlay when lie could not have had any reasonable or probable expectation of •being able to pay these and other debts. The Ciown Prosecutor, Mr. F. W. Nolan, represented the assignee, and Mr. A. A. Whitehead, with him Air. L. T. Burnard, appeared for Ihe accused. Under cross-examination, the accused told Mr. Nolan that he was now working for Mr. Black on wages,' but after he had been working for 02 days Mr. Black produced a statement showing that witness owed him £7. The. work had been bringing him in £9 a week, and yet Mr. Black maintained Unit witness was in debt to him. Mr. Nolan: I put it to you that you received that £O9 and purposely spent it all in places whore your creditors would no! know you wore spending if ? Witness: 1 bought foodslnils. Charles Blackburn, public account-1 ant, also gave evidence in connect inti j with the proposed deal between Afv. Black and the accused in respect to the car. “Despite the arguments of counsel: for the defence,” said the magis-. Irate, “I am satisfied from the evidence that when the debts were in-1 curred the defendant must have known; that his position was hopeless, and that he had no reasonable or probable, expectation of being able to pay thy, debts. It has been proved that in. October his debts amounted to £249 10s 3d.- The defence made a great, fuss about the £75 which he expected to receive from Black in connection, with the car, and about the £O9 which, lio did receive, but il seems very auspicious that he should have spent the whole of that money purchasing large) quantities of stores from persons with whom he not dealt before. j “As J remarked the other day,] there is a great deal too .much of this all over New Zealand. These men get into a hopeless position, and carry, uu without any hope of being able to pay their debts. In fact, Hum actions amount to obtaining goods, on. false pretences. It seems to me a pity that more informations are nor laid. The requirements of the Bankruptcy Act must be respected. “I take it that this case has been brought more as a warning than any thing else, and on ihe first charge the accused will be convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called on within three months; on the second charge he will lie convicted and discharged. ’ ’