BANKRUPT PUBLICAN

Taranaki Daily News, 3 November 1934, Page 23 (Supplement)

BANKRUPT PUBLICAN

ASSETS LARGELY REAL ESTATE.

CREDITORS’ MEETING BUSINESS.

The first official meeting of the creditors of Edgar Owen Meredith, formerly a hotelkeeper of New Plymouth, who filed his petition in bankruptcy on October 5, was held at the office of the official assignee, Mr. J. S. S. Medley, New Plymouth, yesterday afternoon, when after hearing the statement of the bankrupt and having examined him, representatives of the creditors agreed that the assignee should file an application for relief regarding a first and second' mortgage held on the property “Blagdon,” held by Meredith, and that the assignee should rent or otherwise deal with the property. Two other motions were agreed to, that the assignee should ask the secured creditors, Hardwicke and Robertson, for a statement of accounts and that the assignee should be empowered to make the best arrangement he could to release assets in the estate of the bankrupt’s wife. Although a comparatively small nominal deficiency was shown in the statement of the bankrupt’s affairs, most of the valued assets were real estate held either by Meredith himself or in his wife’s estate in which Meredith was the sole beneficiary.

The total debts incurred as shown in the bankrupt’s statement, were £1122 Is lid and total assets were £1026 8s 2d, leaving a deficiency of £95 13s £d. Among unsecured creditors were Levin and Company, Hawera, Hawera Brewery Ltd., McCarthy’s City and Phoenix Brewery, C. O. Steffenson, W. De Malmanche, Mrs. L. Faber, L. A. Nolan and Co., N. Solomon, J. Davidson, Devine and Co., the New Plymouth Borough Council, and twelve others with accounts of less than £lO. Secured creditors were State Advances and Hardwicke and Robertson Ltd. Meredith stated that in 1928 he took a lease of the Terminus Hotel from Mrs. Faber for three years at an annual rental of £9lO and paid the sum of £750 in respect of goodwill for the license, £1239 6s 9d for the furniture, etc., and £312 14s 3d for stock-in-trade. He subsequently placed in the hotel an additional £5OO worth of furniture belonging to himself. On the expiration of the lease he renewed it for a further three years at the same rental. Under the terms of this lease the lessor agreed to buy from the lessee hotel furniture and effects and stock-m-trade at valuation. Accordingly these items were taken over by Mrs. Faber at £716 16s, subject to the security thereon in favour of Taranaki Breweries, and the stock-in-trade was taken over at £3B 13s lid. The balance due to the bankrupt was taken over by Mrs. Faber towards rent. Meredith stated that ■he believed his present position had been brought about by the economic conditions of the last few years. Although bar takings decreased considerably, he fully expected to be able to meet his liabilities in full on the termination of his lease out of the proceeds from the sale of hotel furniture to Mrs .Faber. He had not realised the tremendous drop in the value of second-hand furniture. He had lost everything he put into the hotel and was at present unemployed. He had an interest as sole beneficiary in the estate of his wife, Kathleen Annie Meredith, and was at present holding the property as executor and trustee. He had not yet been able to complete administration by paying the debts due by. the estate. The value of this interest was estimated at £541 Is 9d,