A FARMER’S FAILURE

Southland Times, Issue 19345, 10 September 1924, Page 10

A FARMER’S FAILURE

HIGH LAND VALUES BLAMED. UNPROFITABLE VENTURE AT HEDDON BUSH. The excessive price paid for a farm of 455 acres in the Heddon Bush district was attributed by Joseph Brereton Harrison and Margaret Elizabeth Duffus Harrison as the sole reason for them being compelled to file a petition in bankruptcy, which was considered by the Deputy Official Assignee (Mr C. B. Rout) and a meeting of creditors held yesterday afternoon. The bankrupts were represented by Mr George Broughton, while only two creditors put in an appearance.

Bankrupt in his sworn statement said:— ‘T was a farmer, until recently, living at Heddon Bush. In January, 1922, I took up a farm at Heddon Bush consisting of 455'acres at £lB per acre in partnership with my wife. We paid £1650 cash—this was my wife’s money. There is a first mortgage of £4OOO to the National Insurance Company and a second mortgage to D. F. Clark of £BOO (in conjunction with the National Mortgage Company). The National Mortgage Company carried through the sale to us and later on we paid them £2OOO, being proceeds of sale of my wife’s property at Seaward Downs. This cleared off the balance of purchase money £1740 and helped to pay for stock. The National Mortgage Company had financed us for stock and plant and took a Chattels security. It was a sheep farm and we also did some cropping but we never had more than 400 sheep on the place. I could not get the stock I wanted from the National Mortgage Company. For 13 months of the time I only had 70 ewes on the property and these I bought from Wright, Stevenson and Company. Having sold us the farm at a very high price and got all our cash, £3650, and a bill of sale over everything we possessed, the National Mortgage Company would do nothing further for us. Having very little stock and no means of working the place properly the interest began to mount up. Latterly, the National Mortgage Company let me have 310 ewes but previous to that the place was running bare for about 14 months and this is what put us so far back. The farm would not carry much more than 400 ewes and is not fit for dairying and is no good for cropping, having been cropped out. The price we paid was far in excess of its value and I hear it is now on the market at £lO per acre. Latterly the National Mortgage would give us no assistance and would not pay out storekeeping accounts. My -credit was stopped and I had no means of even buying a loaf of bread so was forced to leave the farm. The two previous owners also lost everything they had but we did not know this when we took up the farm. The chief cause of our bankruptcy is our paying far too much for the farm. We have lost all we had, i.e. about £3650 in less than three years. I can make no offer to the creditors. We bought a motor car through the National Mortgage but this was included in their security although we understood it was to be paid for out of the £2OOO we paid them and we were to have the car clear. It was a Dodge car and cost about £3OO. All the tradesmen’s accounts are shown in my private statement. I did not know the National Mortgage would stop paying these accounts without notice or I would not have incurred them. I bought a piano for £199 10s from the Bristol Piano Company. We bought it on terms and paid £5O altogether but as we could not keep up the payments the Bristol took it back in January, 1923.” The statement of assets and liabilities in the partnership showed that the amount owing to secured creditors was £7170 and that the farm was valued at £5400 leaving a deficiency of £l7lO. No questions being forthcoming, the meeting was adjourned sine die.