A QUESTION OF TRUST FUNDS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LIX, Issue 9934, 3 August 1908, Page 6

A QUESTION OF TRUST FUNDS.

A sequel to the defalcations ami bankruptcy of H. S. Izard was heard by Mr Justice Cooper m Chambers ou Friday afternoon. Mr Myers, with him Mr Robinson, appeared for the plaintiff, James Moncrieff, .iuur., accountant, Greytowu, the * present Trustee of the Mahnpuku Estate. Mr Brown appeared for Martha Mahupuku, now Mrs M'Gregor, the principal defendant; Mr You Haast for Mrs Grace; Mr Rothenberg for the Wairarapa Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ltd., one of the creditors in the Mahupuku Estate; and Mr Fitzgibbou for the Deputy Official Assignee in the estate of Henry Strattou Izard.

The object of the proceedings, as stated by Mr Myers, was by menus of an originating summons to raise a number of questions for the decision of the Court, and secure the re-state-ment of the trusts. Two estates were held in trust by Izard. of a total value of £28,000. There were, moreover, accnmulatious of interest ou these, for which Izard kept no separate account. A very considerable amount of money had disappeared, and with certain exceptions it was impossible to say to which trust the moneys belonged. The trusts had been mortgaged by the trustee. The questions the Court was called on to determine were: —(1) What was the extent of the interests of the defendants? (2) What orders should be made by the Court as to the manner in which the trust funds ware to be divided and allocated? (3) What proceedings the Court should direct for the purpose of following the moneys wrongfully taken by Izard out of the trust fund, and paid away to bookmakers or of further examining H. S. Izard in reference to these moneys

Mr Myers further explained that Izard attributed his bankruptcy to various causes, bub that there could be no doubt that one of them was gambling, and that a large proportion of these trust funds had found its way into the pockets of bookmakers, about whom Izard had not given the Official Assignee and the trustees of the Mahupuku Estate the full information to which they were entitled.

Application was also made for authority by the plaintiff to commence actions cm behalf of the trust estates against; the following defendants :—The Bank of New South Wales, Messrs Weston and Izard, W. O. Williams, Samuel Keedwell, Olive W. Fowler and Coustance B. Tully.

His Honour reserved judgment.— Post.