MEETING OF CREDITORS

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4741, 5 September 1893, Page 3

MEETING OF CREDITORS

\ John Isherwood. The first meeting of creditors in the estate of John Isherwood, storekeeper, Sydenham, was held this morning, a quorum being preasnt. The Official Aesigneo said the debtor's conduct had been very unsatisfactory. He had supplied no information until the last moment, and the documents had only just been hurriedly prepared. The creditors were all unsecured, the total amount of the debts being £64 lSa lod. The book debts amounted to £22 19s lid, and were estimated to produce that amount. Ihe deficiency waa .£4l 15a lid, there being no property and no stock. la his examination before the Official Assignee the debtor had Btated that he had only kept bookß showing what was owing to him. Fletcher, Humphreys and Co., to whom he owed .£lB 15a, had filed a petition against him. He had sold, just previous to the bailiff coming in, goods at cost price which fetched .£2B. Ho had been drunk on Saturday night week, and had lost £30. His wife wsb in Wellington with two children, and he had with him three others. He had quarrelled with his wife, and did not expect to see her again. He had not given her any money for fourteen weeks. He waa drunk when the bailiffs came. In reply to questions, the debtor said that he had sold goods which fetched £30 or .£4O, lotting some go at coat price. He had often turned over £50 in a week. The day before the bailiffs had come he sold neatly all the goods in the shop, and had got £43. He went to Lyttelton and came back, and never saw the money again, and had no idea where it had gone to. He muat have lost it. Several of his creditors had met and asked him to file hia schedule,, which he considered was most unwarranted, because he was perfectly solvent, and could have paid his creditors, which he intended to do. He had no banking account, and had carried about the £43 for the purpose of paying his creditors. He denied that- he had told his creditors that he would soon make his goods look email—or at least he did not think he had so eaid. Two travellers had visited his Bhop last month, and had valued the stock. His wife had money of her own, for which she had worked and saved. He had sold the horse, carb and harness for £10 to Mr Stevens, in the auction yard, three or four daya before he had sold the £43 worth of goodß. He would pay his creditors if he had work. If he were allowed a day or so he might telegraph to his wife and ask her to help him. Mr Bruges said the debtor had brought himself under sub-Section 18 of the Bankruptcy Act, and ninny others. The Official Assignee said the debtor had behaved most grossly throughout, and now had not brought all his papers. He had received the bailiff with threats and actual violence. Mr Bruges eaid that affidavits were before the Supreme Court, showing that the debtor had made very contradictory statements to the private meeting of creditors, and had threatened to do away with his stock, as he had now done. The representative of Mes3rs Fletcher, Humphreys and - Co. stated that Isherwood had called on the firm in July, ehowing by a statement that he was solvent ; asking for time topay his account because, he said, he had had to send his wife to Wellington, which had taken jBIO ; and promising to pay cash for his goods uutil he could liquidate his account. The firm's traveller had been sent down to the shop, and hia report caused a private meeting of creditors, at which leherwood had been asked to assign his utock for the benefit of his creditors* He refused either to do this or to pay, saying the creditors could do their best aact their worat. He had been warned that the creditors knew his assets and stock, and he had better not interfere with it in any way. He had previously offered to pay 5s in the £ down., and 5s in a month. The creditors were: Fletcher, Humphreys and Co., £18 ss ; E,. Harris and Son, £15 j Lascalleß and Glen, £25 10a. The matter was left in the hands of tie Official Assignee, to take whatever action might be found admissible.