BANKRUPTCY COURT. THIS DAY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 7167, 10 September 1886, Page 2

BANKRUPTCY COURT. THIS DAY.

PIUDAY, September 10.— Before 0. Kennel!, Esq, D.O.A. IS KG B. t. UDMPHBIE3 AND SON, ' BANKRUPTS.

A meeting of creditors in the above estate was held in Mr. C. Rennell's office this rifternnon, ior tho purpose of codsidi ling the present position of the estate with re^.rdto Mr. W. Bayly's claim.

• Twenty creditors, representing chdmßto £2Ci)i Is. 2d., were present or represented.

Mr. Samuel, solicitor for the Assignee, was in attendance. He stuted that Mr. U.i.Jy's claim of £2628 had been xlcAt with by tho District Court, and its jejtcticn by* the Assignee had been appiovcd uud c'Lijfiimcd. Mr. 8.13 Jy's uppetil aguinbt the lej-iction had also been dismissed. Subs' fluently Mr. Bayly had prestntfd a proot upon the separate estate of William Ilumpbribs for £213 10s., being. t be amount which he had paid to the Bunk of New South Wales on account of W. Humphries. This claim had been admitted. After this Mr. Bayly presented another -pi oof o£ debt as trusteo for 'Vl rs Wiliiarn Humphries for a sum 6f £2.784 2s. 3-1., representing in fact the same amount as' he had previously attempted to prove for, together with interest accrued since the date o£ tbe bankruptcy. Tho Assignee, on Mr. Samuel's advice, had rejected this second proof ot debt on seveiat grounds. These grounds included tho whole of the grounds upon whicti tho proof of debt for £2628 had been r< j -cted, viz., that the firm had never been indebted to Alra. W. Humphries in nny huiu Whatever, and that the firm was iubolvent at the date; and on the additional prounrl t h it the judgment upom Mr. Ji.ijly'u proof of debt for £2028 was an tstopucl to his bringing forward the claim at: am. The (juestion of estoppel mis fully argued hbt Thursday week. At tho argument it wjib admitted tint the whole oi tli<- material issues had bttn disposed of in regard to the proof of debt for £2874, -.vh'-n Mr. 13 lyly'fa appeal against the Assignee was considered, but it was contends! on behalf of Mr. Bayly that iv the firm Ucisj liv had presented" the proof ot debt in his own mime, iurl tint, therefore, ho Wtj-a not bciorc the Court at iill as trustc. lor Alra. Humphries, and tint tlrj I-ict ol hi« being the Btinie jjuii-oii wan in-i'ely n coincidence; feccondly, that iilthou^li thebu itiutciial facts had been decided a^aiuut him in the liist trial they had only been decided collaterally. These urguinints had boon, he said, very übi'v sui'poitcd, and the Court accepted tlieiu, and decided that Mr. 13a} ly was not oUopptci, It was theieupon suggested that ct jl.iifi JHi»Ui 8-uhmil"! bu arranged and fixed lot ni.ll i.v i- j"O 5 .'"'l lhrtt> weeks fioui >cfat.r«i.i> '\ 'vi. U..011 upon as the date for tin: li.vi. At V > tA'nu iiint) it was I.U-".' • - .. .iHd r«o )•■' 't mrv i.i-"»ia!)iy by tli' i (»a , ih.tt it iiii^iii l.i .n s»-.il t1.,,i the •', ijol« pi>ic> cdin^h slio.i. i bu trausltrred to the S'ipreine Court, ho that inaltad of tli' cm bung tiled btiloiu v juiy ot tho Jbi-, ii 1 (Joint il cou.d In- ui<-il before a juij in tin- Huprenie Lourl. Mr. Humuel auttd thai lio bid inliuwiai to tho Court thtit it wub extremely probable that

the Assigned would bo instructed- to. 1 appeal against the decision that Air. B.iyly was n<it etttoppi'd. .Mr. Sdrnuol added that lie It 1 1 caiofully considered whut had UkiMi puiee, and whilst ho deemed that thtro was ii i;ooil doal to bo said and ur^ed in favor of thocontention -that _Mr." Bayly was not estopped he still retained tho same opinion that ho had before,- and thought that the decision of the Court j was wronsf. - Of -coarse-he was;Hable-to be-j niibUken. There wero points to bo argued ; \ indeed, he knew of no case so interesting iroiu ii lawyer's point of viow. Ho would advidt; f.he uppt.-al for several ccasons ; piiucipally, becauao ho thought it would be MicucsstuL Lt it \yue~it-wou}d stop all liti'Autiaur aui put, an end to cxpenso. Mr Samuel also pointed out that he himself was a largo creditor, and also the solicitor for tho Assignee. He would, for m.ivy reasons, sooner relinquish the solicitorship a,nd."pay his monoy A B aa ordinary creditor for another .solicitor to conduct tho case. Personally he w<ts in favour of continuing ko contest 'this claim so long as one sixpence was left, but, ho said, of courses his being solicitor uiada that a not-very magnanimous assertion on his part. He had no hesitation in saying that to abandon thoir opposition to the admission of this claim would be utterly unworthy of commercial men, and in fact Bhould not be thought of. • Mr. Corkill' rentorkei that "it wbs the wish of tho creditors he "tepresented to contest t^lio .claim while asixpense was loft. '' ( , ' [ Mr. B^erry alsospoke'in favor of poshing 'the objections to the utmost,.. , '-„ j . Mr. J. O. Duvies understood that there ' was a molio'n to that effect already passed. Mr. Weston.state.d that that was only a general resolution, and it, did not obviate , tho .necessity of, another .resoju^ipn; The creditors ho represented iwero strongly in .favor of.continuing the proceedings. As to Mr. Samuel withdrawing as aolicirof, ho was strongly against that, for such an ■ action would prejudice the whole case. . • The other creditors also urged that Mr. Samuel should retain his position as solicitor for the Assignee. • . , ! After further discussion it wtfs decided unanimously "That! ,tho Deputy Official Assignee be instructed to appeal .to the Supreme (Joint against the decision \if the District Court that Mr. Bayly is not estopped by the judgment already ?given against his claim;!' also " That Mr. Samuel be requested to continue to net as solicitor for the Deputy Official Assignee ";and the creditors, and be authorised to consent to " the removal of . the prooeedings in respect of -- Mr. Bayly's proof into the Supreme Court if he shall consider it desirablo, and to act in all respects in reference -to the same as ue shall consider expedient in the interest of the creditors." • The meeting then adjourned.

Mr. T. G. Waitt, who was Receiver of Land Revenue at Patea for the West Coast Land District, -has been -appointed Receiver for tho Taranaki and West Coast Land Districts, which are now combined. Mr. Waitt will be located in the Land Office in New Plymouth, and has already taken up his duties. Previous to Mr. Waitt's appointment Mr. Thompson, of the Custom? Department, New Plymouth, was the Receiver of Land Revenue for tbe New Plymouth Land District.

Owing to the large amount of cargo offering in Taranaki for Australia the Union Company have bean making enquirit-3 with the object of laying tho iii Kapo on from the Breakwater to Sydney as an extra boat. The Te Knpo is steamer ot 2350 tons — 553 tons more than the Wakatipu— and draws several feet mora thau the latter. It is understood that the idea of sending the Te Kapo will have to beabandoned as the berthing accomuudation is yet hardly equal to the requirements of such a large steamer. When tho wharf is constructed, however, the largest of the Union Company's- fleet will be worked with the greatest otiease.

The Police Department are having a wago.netto built by Mr. Denham, wheelwright. The.vehicle will be of sufficient capacity to convey small detachmenta of police about the district. It has been procured in order to meet any emergency without the delay which might occur if sole dependence was placed on' hiring a conveyance when required.

la addition to the 51,000 acre's of Crown Lands which will be open for Hale in the course of a week or two there will be a further area of 20,000 acres of fair land in tbe Ngatimam block, on the east side of tho Waitara river, ready for disposal in about six months. The Ngatimaru 'block contains considerably over 20,000 acres, but this is the quantity of land which is considered to be fairly good land and iit for occupation by farmers Much of it also is cleared of bush. This block, it may bo said, has been little known to Europeans, and probably not more than ten while people ever set foot upon, it up to two years ago ; and even since that it bus been by hardly anyone except surveyors. Thore were extensive cultivutiouß on the block during the last Maori war, and the natives used to retroat to it as a sort of fastness ufter being worsted or bein^ temporarily weary of fighting.