DISTRICT GOURT.

Colonist, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8279, 20 June 1895, Page 2

DISTRICT GOURT.

YESTERDAY. [Before His Honob Judgb Bobinbon.] IN BANKKUPTGY. Tba Deputy Official Assignee (Mr Seaife) applied for and obtained release from the administration of the following estates, the report of the Audit Department being affixed to the several statements of accounts :— James Keen Little, brewer ; Andrew Brown, builder ; A.]T. P. Yercoe, shoemaker ; Biobard Handcock, stock manager ; Maadus Scott, tobacconist ; Alfred Nieman, farmer ; Charles Henry Warneford, draper ; Henry Page and Frederick Page, trading as Page Brothers, butchers; Charles John Bartlett, hotelkeeper ; Jacob William Miles, farmer ; Albert Karate d, storekeeper; Joseph Clark, plumber ; William Avery, carpenter ; J. E. L. Haase, carpenter ; and J. T. Bumbold, storekeeper. Be Charles John Sxkbvenb, photographer. Mr Harley appeared on behalf of bankrupt, who had applied for his discharge. Mr Harley said that he had only quite recently been instruoted, and found that bankrupt had not satisfied the claims for wages nor obtained any disoharge in respect of same. Under these ciroumßtanoes bankrupt was debarred under seotion 128 of the Act from obtaining his disoharge. He asked that the application should be adjourned for a month. Bankrupt had met with a severe aooident, and was now in Napier trying to get something to do. Mr Scaife said that he thought bankrupt should mike Borne arrangement for the payment of wagei. The matter was then adjourned to the 21st August. Be William IiOOKTEB, senr., cab proprietor. Mr Pitt appeared on behalf of the above mentioned bankrupt, who applied for his diaoharg?. Mr Magianity on behalf of oertain creditors opposed the application. Examined by Mr Magianity baakrapt stated on oath : The piano was paid for by my wife and daughters. My wife has a private income, 5s per waak rent from her own house, and 10s per week for an adopted child whioh we have kept for ten years. My wife receiver this money, and has on that account received £286 in all. This money she does not keep separate, it goeß into the house. I can't say what she kept out of this money. My wife keeps tha house going out of the money! I take home, I don't know that I have found all the money for that purpose. The 15s per week is the only source of income she has. She has also to pay into the Buiiding Society in respeot to the cottage Bhe owns £3 7s 6d per quarter, the rent received for the same time being £3 sa. This would leave the 10s for the child clear. 1 hand all my ear o ings over to my wife, who pays all the tradesman's accounts. I can't Bay how she paid for the piano, whether it came oat of the general fund or not, bat I know that the piano was paid for out of tha earnings of my wife and children. I don't know how it was paid for any more than yon. The money was all put into a box together. I don't know anythiag about the cash transactions beyond the shoeing of horses and othßr things pertaining to my business. The sulky paid for by my son cost £24. I never paid a penny for it If I had my book I could tell you what I took in 1893. I think I gave Mr Soaife the book. (The book in Mr Scaife's hands was for 1894 only). The grosg earnings of mysalf ani man in 1894 was £169 6a 6d, out of which I paid £140 14s 6d in respaet of my business. For the three months of 1895, np to the data of bankruptcy, the gross earnings wera £25 19s 6d, and the expenditure £24 7s Id. I paid thaie moneys away myself, out of the oommon fund ; all the money want into the one box. I never kept more than a pocket book. I bad sometimes three cabs running, sometimes two cabs ;

tbe men earned very little. I waß laid up for three months last year. In 1893 I had two c&bs running. When I was laid ap I had only one cab running. I bad a meeting of of editon in Maroh last, and <ihen offered 5a in the pound payable .within, three months, I never told any of my creditors Bhortly before bankruptcy that I could pay 20s in the pound, but I have said that I was worth 20a in the pound, and I consider go now that my property was worth more than 20a if my things had sold for their value. Seven or eigbt years ago I gave £120 for my landau. Mr Soaife said tbe landau was out of repair, it sold for £40, and two separate estimates by caachbailders for putting it id order were thai about £40, and £80 was a fair value for an old carriage. Bankrupt : It is very many years ago linoe I sold a cab. The sheaves from Coleman oame after I Lad sent him notice of a meeting |of creditors, and while I waa away from I home. I understand that Coleman was away at Camp. I did no: expect the sheaves t3 come alter I sent the notioe. I have not gone into debt whh anyone during ihe lsal twelve months. By Mr Pitt I I have been in business 28 yean. My wife rrever put thu 10s per week on one Bide, it went in household neoesaaries. I gave £120 for tha landau, 90 guineas for the cab, £250 for the property I occupied, whioh waa mortgaged for £300. Tbe dab Bold f«r £16, it waß as good ac the average on the rank. It was done up 3 or 4 years ago at a cost of £33. Horses coating £28, £18, and £9 respectively, fetohed £7 £10, and £4. I proposed to pay the ob in the £ to my creditors through my wife, who would have raised the money on her cottage. My daughter Maud helped to pay for the pianos she is at service. I csuld tell from the bock I kept what I took arid what I expended. I was pat to considerable expense for repairs to my stablo and landau from damage by a landslipIn reply to bis Honor, Mr Soaife said thai the piano was purohased in January 1893. • : : . . Bankrupt in reply to his Honor, said that his son and daughter paid the first £5 on the piano, 'ihe piano was at his home then, and was played by tbe child kept by them. He did not know anything about tbe payments oq tbe piano, except that the first £5 and last £3 were fouud by bis son aud daughter respectively. Mr A. A. Soaife examined by Mr Maginnity gave evidence that brankrupt hal kept an account of his takings and his expenditure. There was no record prior to 1894. He thought bankrupt might have kepi a more permanent record of hi 3 dealings, there was no checkings The c%b spoken of by bankrupt waß very delapidated. The horsa " Kate " was very old and brought £7 only with difficulty, there was a good attendance at the Bale. If bankrupt, shortly prior to bankruptcy had said that he could pay 20s in the £, he would be very much over valuing his assets. The book kept by bankrupt would not show bankrapt's position at any time. By Mr Pitt : Mr Look, who sold the pianoj had told witness that he never knew bank? rapt in tbe matter at all. In reply to his Honor Mr Soaife said tha* he had not felt justified in taking steps to Becare the piano on behalf of the oreditors. By Mr Maginnity; This was the first time that he bad beard any mention of a common fund. His Honor sail that bankrupt had not said tha'. he knew that payments for the piano came out of the oommon f and, what he had said was that there was a oommon fund into whioh his earnings and what his wife reoeivad were placed. Mr Maginntty pointed out thgt if the cost of the child's maintenance fell upon the creditors it would be unfair. He also drew attention to the la t paragraph of tbe Assignee's report whioh drew attention to a EU3pioion that bankrupt had made misleading statements as to his position. He also contended that the books kept by bankrupt were insufficient, and came under sub-section 4, eeation 137 of tbe Ac;. A pocketbook with penoil entries was not sufficient. The Assignee's report also drew attention to the uosatiaf aotory behavior of bankrupt throughout, and he (Mr Maginnity) submitted this was fully borne out. He aaaed tbat the Court should mark its displeasure of tbe bankrapt's conduct, and he suggested that under sub-Section D, Section 127, an order should be made for the payment of a certain amount to the oreditors. His Honor said that a bankrupt must first be found guilty of an offence before punishment was meted. Mr Maginnity submitted that this was a matter his Honor was then competent to find upon, and pointed out that the Act provided power to deal with bankrupt as he had suggested if ihe Court had reason to believe an offence had been committed. Mr Pitt submitted that bankrupt waa entitled to an immediate order for discharge. It waß a perfeotly honeat bankruptcy, and tha conduct of the Assignee throughout was consistent with this contention. Lookyer's was a case of misfortune. The realon for filing was that tha mortgagee was pressing and threatening to take possession, and bankrupt filed to proteot tha creditors to the extent of whatever there was in the equity of redemption. It was absolutely impossible for anyone to say that any of Lookyer's money went in payment of the piano. If the piano had bean seized ob behalf of tbe creditors the wife would have had a claim on tbe estate for whatever of her own m ;ney had beon taken. Ab regarded the keeping of the books, he contended that there waß nothing to show that the usual and proper books for the claßß of business engaged in bad not been kept. He (Mr Pitt) considered they were sufficient, and the proper course was for tha Assignee to lay tha oase before the Crown Proaeoutor. The whole opposition had arisen from a misunderstanding on the part of some of tha creditors of the wjrds üßed when bankrupt bad said that he was worth 20s in the pound. Bankrupt had had dealing* with his creditors for many yean, paying large sums of money to them, and his present liabilities were moßtly remnants of old aooounta, and he did not think it fa<r that credit >n Baould attempt to oppress debter, though they had of course a perfect right to get paid if thera was the wherewithal. His Honor said that the opposition, it appeared to him, had arisen from a misunderstanding regarding the piano to which bankrupt had probably contributed. As regarded the piano, it appsared dear that the greater part of tha money for the purchase of the same had been found by the son and daughter, and tha instrument was purohased in the wife's name, and she bad a rirfht to it, therefore the only way to attempt to disposMSi her, waß to bring a motion before the Court declaring that tbe property was that of fha estate, when sbe would be put upon the defence and her rightß, but tbe Assignee bad evidently found it hopeless to do this. Ac far as the evidence before him he attached no blame to bankrupt upon the piano transaction. Bankrupt had evidently until quite reoantly believed himself solvent, taking what be believed to ba a fair valuation of bia propsrty, but manifestly ha was quite mistaken in his valuation, it was, however, only reasonable for a borrower to consider tbat there was a margin of aseat when a lender evidently did so. As regarded the not keeping of proper books, it seemed from Mr Seaife's evidence that though it was not possible to get a perfect statement of bankrupt affaira from his books, he got a clear aooount of hit receipts and disbursements each month. The Court had to put a reasonable construction upon the expression about usual and proper books, and it was not to be expected that a man in debtor's position would keep suoh books as a tradesman would. It eeemei to him that the books kept by bankrupt, who wai not an educated man, ;and could not afford a clerk's assistance, w«re reasonable for his class of business. The order for discharge waa granted. Mr Maginnity said that he appeared for nine oreditora, representing £60 of proved olaims, acd he asked that the costs o.f the opposition thould be paid out of the estate. Mr Scsife asked that if this application was granted it should net form a preoedent, as any email section of creditors might oppose if costs wer> to be paid oat of the estate. His Honor said tbat there was reasonable ground in this oaie for investigation, and he would grant £2 2s coats out of the estate to opposing aounsel.