A FARMER’S FAILURE.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 February 1924, Page 9

A FARMER’S FAILURE.

SMALL DEFICIENCY SHOWN. MEETING OF CREDITORS. * The Deputy Official Assignee (Mr. J. S. S. Medley) presided yesterday at a meeting of creditors in the estate of Joseph Henry Wilson, the creditors present being Messrs. S. W. Pierce and A. Weir (for Mrs. Hannah Weir). A deficiency of £36 18s o£d was shown by bankrupt in his statement. Debt* to unsecured creditors were set down at £l2l 4s ojd, against this amount being shown book debts estimated to produce £72 ds, and furniture £l2, a total of £B4 te. The list of unsecured creditors was given as follows: Dr. P. E. Allison, Waitara, £4 14s 6d; Dr. H. A. Cooper, Eltham, £4 4s; J. W. Cox and Son, storekeepers, Fitzroy, £2 19s lid; J. W. Downs, storekeeper, Bell Block, £6 18s 8d; Hawera Hospital Board, £l5 15s 6d; W. A. Lind, storekeeper, Awatuna, £7 2s; S. W. Pierce, storekeeper, New Plymouth, £lO 18s 7id; Mrs. E. Pope, Awatuna, £2 10s; C. R. StCad, solicitor, Waitara, £l2 8s 6d; Mrs. Hannah Weir, ..Waiongona. £25; Mrs. James Weir, Allanton, £2O; R. E. Williams, butcher, Kaponga, £4 12s 9d; total debts £l2l 4s sid. BANKRUPT’S STATEMENT. “On the advice of my brother-in-law, Mr. Andrew Weir, I left Otago, where I had resided continuously and came to the North Island,” ran bankrupt’s statement. “I arrived at Waitara on July 13, 1922. Mrs. James Weir, my mother-in-law, advanced me £2O, which has not been repaid, to enable me to get here. I remained with Mr. Andrew Weir for three months, assisting him in the management of his farm at "Waitara. He was incapacitated for several months, having been gored by a bull. I received, no wages from Mr. Weir, who was at the time not in a position to pay same. “On October 13 of the same year I was engaged by Mr. C. R. Stead, solicitor, of Waitara, to manage his farm at Awatuna, where I remained until September 6 last. While I was with Mr. Stead my wages were £2 per week, without keep, and I was to receive 10 per cent, of the profits from pigs and 5 per cent, of the money received for milk and cream supplied. Apart from my wages, no other money, with the exception of £l, has been "paid to me. After leaving his employ I called at Mr. Stead’s office at Waitara and requested payment. We there had a heated discussion, and be finally paid me £l, above referred to, and "obtained from me a receipt that the same represented the balance of money due by him to me. EXPENSE FOR SICKNESS. ‘7 estimate the sum of £66 6s, approximately, is due by Mr. Stead to me as my share of the profits from pigs reared and milk sold. I had, on an average, two men under my charge during the term of my employment with Mr. Stead, who allowed me 10s a week for their keep. Mr. Stead stated he would increase the allowance if it proved inadequate, but although it was quite inadequate, no increase lias been paid to me. I found that the moneys received by way of wages and allowance for keep of men were sufficient to pay for articles of food only. “From July to September, 1923, my wife was seriously ill. being an inmate of the Hawera Hospital for a month. During my wife’s illness I found that, even allowing for the bonus money I was to receive from Mr. Stead, the remuneration I was receiving was insufficient to pay my way, and on September 6 last I left his employ, and then removed to M aiongona. “On October 5 last I was employed by Mrs. Weir on her farm at Bell Block at a wage of £2 10s a week. I received no wages from Mrs. Weir, as she was unable to pay me, and on December 1. it was arranged that I should take over the dairy herd, which was under a bill of sale to Mr. Stead, and that the wages due to me were to be applied in payment of the goodwill of the leasehold farm. Mr. Stead insisted that I should sign an order in his favour on the money that would come to me for cream and milk supplied. On the 19th inst., as I had received no money for the past four months and my creditors were pressing me for payment of their accounts. I wrote Mrs.’ Weir, stating that I could not carry out my agreement with her and requesting her to take possession of her stock, which she did. As my position was involved. I have no alternative but to apply to be adjudged a bankrupt. “I attribute my present position solely to the terms’ of employment under which Mr. Stead employed me.” Under oath, the bankrupt added that he was a married man with one child. He was now at Mrs. Weir’s. Waiongona, but was not in receipt of wages. He had accepted £1 from Stead in full payment because at the time he was short of money.

The D.O.A. questioned whether the accounts with Stead could be reopened. The bankrupt claimed that £66 was due from this source.

Wilson said his wife was still ill, having recently been under a serious operation. She was at present living with her mother at Allanton, Dunedin. Mrs. Weir leased Colonel Young’s farm of 84 acres at Bell Block, and the lease was to be transferred to him, but this was never done. He tried to farm the property, which had never been topdressed. and had blackberry, fern and gorse on it, but the place would not carry 16 cows. He started on December "1 and gave it up on January 17. NO BUSINESS EXPERIENCE. To Mr. Pierce, Wilson said he had no account with the Bank of New Zealand, although, on receiving a cheque from Stead he had intended opening an account. He denied that he had ever given Pierce the Bank of New Zealand as a reference. “I am not here to make a fuss, but I certainly think something should be done for the protection of storekeepers,” declared Mr. Pierce. “This sort of thing is going on too much, and we are continually being bitten.” Reverting to his relations with Stead, Wilson admitted he had had no business experience. Little could be done, the D.O.A. There were practically no assets in the estate, leaving little in the way of a fighting fund. It was unfortunate that Wilson had given a clearance to Stead, but there might be some way of getting Qver the difficulty. The meeting was adjourned sine die.