BUSINESS FAILURE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 184, 6 August 1931, Page 7

BUSINESS FAILURE

A FARMER WOOLBROKER [ Per Press Association. I CHRISTCHURCH, Aug. 5. A deficiency of £13,991 was disclosed in the bankrupt estate of Washington Irvine Carney, a farmer and woolbroker, who met his creditors to-day. His financial statement showed an amount owing to unsecured creditors of £9658. and unsecured creditors £20,132. The securities were sh<wn as £14,019. Carney attributed his position to the slump in wool. Bankrupt said he had been engaged in woolbroking since 1925, working on a commission and on account. Until the season 1928-29 he was making a net income of £3OOO and upwards. Anticipating that favourable conditions would continue, he bought a farm at Oniihi, giving a mortgage of £5OOO. He had not made any profits from the farm, though ho had spent. £7OOO in improvements, etc. In the 1929-30 season lie lost money in woolbroking, and in 1930-31 the price of wool and farm produce began to fall. Hj did everything possible to reduce expenses, but certain creditors began to demand payments and the second mortgagee threatened to sell the farm, and just within the past few days had.' done so. He had failed to get financial aid from America or Australia. “The whole cause of my trouble was due to my thinking the good conditions of 1925-28 would continue and to the general slump.” After creditors had voiced criticism regarding bankrupt and his wife’s living expenditure, the Official Assignee said it was his duty to condemn in the strongest terms a lot of extravagance, which had been a contributing cause of bankruptcy. A committee was set up to assist the Assignee in the disposal of the assets. The Official Assignee said that in one year bankrupt’s and his wife’s personal expenditure was £2310. Assignee’s Strong Comment. “When a man comes into bankruptcy with debts of £13,991 and w’ith the possibility of his creditors getting only Is or Is 6d in the pound,” said the Assignee, “then something should be said. The big creditors must have known what bankrupt had been doing, but there were numbers of small traders to whom the bankrupt has not given a square deal.” Evidently bankrupt had, at one time, been enjoying a big income which he and his wife had been in the habit of spending. Suddenly that income ceased and bankrupt and his wife, who moved among well-to-do people, instead of curtailing expenditure, had incurred lots of debts. When bankrupt applied for discharge it * would be the Assignee’s duty to place all the facts before the court. It was his duty to condemn in the strongest po7ssible terms a lot of the extravagance which had been the contributing cause to bankrupt’s position. The meeting adjourned.