MEETING OF CREDITORS.

Western Star, Issue 895, 8 November 1884, Page 2

MEETING OF CREDITORS.

A meeting of creditors in tiro estate of John Hcsford, lessee of the Marino Hotel, was held in the Court House yesterday; Mr M'Leod, Official Assignee in B vnkruptcy for Southland, presiding. The requisite number of creditors having proved in the estate, the Official Assignee stated the unsecured debts amounted to £llß Ids, and the secured to £dl 7s on the furniture which was only estimated to produce £3O, leaving a deficiency of £ll 7s. The total liabilities being £l7B Ids. The hook debts were sot down at £SO, and estimated to produce nil. The other assets "were estimated at the same amount. The following statement was then read : Unsecured: Snrman and Co., £l3 3s; J. Haro, £dd 18s (Id ; Mofihtt and Co, £3O 15s ; J. W. Bridge, £1 3s ; J. B. Mills, £3O ; Moir, Johnston ami Co., £1 13s ; J. Fraser, £5 16s 9d ; Chun King, £3 2s ; Dr Young, £1 Is ; C. Campbell, £d 7s: E. Simpson, £3 3s; J. Reid, £3 9s ; J. Whitaker, £1; Wilson and Co., £8 Is ; Galloway and Burns, £7 3s 6d ; Ko.-cst and McCarthy, £7 10s ; Murdoch Bros., £3 ; Robertson Bro.. £ > His ; Woolf and Co., £1 ss; Yim W»li. £1 ds; A. P. Soohie, £1; K. Parry, 63 ; Miss Siugon, £ll ss. Secured : J. Parry, £d'.'ou portion of furniture, which was valued at £3O. The debtor was thou examined as follows, Mr O’Reilly appearing on his helm,lf .

Mr Edward Simpson; Why did you style yourself a laborer in your notice of bankruptcy ? The debtor : I did not stylo myself anything. Mr O’Reilly : I published tjie notice for

tho debtor. The word laborer was a printer’s error. It should have been hotelkeeper. In reply to the Official Assignee, the debtor stated that he had been in business for twelve months ; that he had a capital of £3O when he commenced ; that his book debts amounted to about £SO, but the greater portion of those were not recoverable, being for drink sold over the bar. He gave the bill of sale over his furniture to Parry last May. Including his license he paid a rent of £2 7s 6d per week. He accounted for the deficiency of nearly £2OO in less than twelve months principally to the dulncss of trade, his total takings for one particular day being 2s 6d, and his average takings for a considerable period being about 8s Gd per day, during the whole of which time he had to keep two servants ; also, to his credit having been damaged by some “ kind friends,” whereby he was compelled to get all his liquors in small quantities and at a very high rate. To retrieve his position he had accepted an engagement in Melbourne at his profession, leaving Mrs Hesford in charge of the house; bud his friends circulated a re pert that he had bolted, nnd bo had tin-own up his engagement to corns and disprove tho falsehood. These and a number of other adverse circumstances, had been the cause of tho la-go deficiency. He gave up an engagement at £7 per week to go into the business. He thought he was solvent when ho gave the bill of sale to Parry. The debt owing to John Hare was contracted about five months ago, and debtor did not know whether Hare knew of Parry having a bill of sale over the furniture.

The Official Assignee sail that there did not appear to be a cent, in the estate. The bulk of the furniture belonged to the house, and the rest- was secured. He thought it only just that there should he an alteration in the law in the matter of bills of sale—viz., move publicity given to such transaction*. The grantor should be compelled to advertise the bill of sale in a local paper, as the registration which was only published in the Mercantile Gazette was practically only known to a few, and it was not sufficient publicity. In the case of Hesford, it would simply be a warning to those who had been dealing wish him, to satisfy themselves that there were no bills of sale in existence when they gave credit again.