59

8.—5

47. Any borrower who neglects or fails to furnish the secretary-treasurer with the signed description of chattels purchased as hereinbefore provided, or who removes or disposes of the said chattels or any of them contrary to the terms of this Act, or who fails to account for and pay over the moneys received from the sale thereof as hereinbefore provided, unless the consent of the secretarytreasurer and of the lender has been obtained thereto in writing, shall be liable on summary conviction before a Justice of the Peace or Stipendiary Magistrate to a fine of not less than ten pounds nor more than twenty pounds and costs, and in default of payment thereof to imprisonment with or without hard labour for a period not exceeding six months nor less than one month. 48. A shareholder may, with the consent of the board of directors by resolution, retire from an association and withdraw the amount he lias paid on account of his share or shares, in cash or otherwise, without interest or dividend, provided that at the date of the said retirement all the loans made to him. up to that date, together with interest and costs, have been fully paid and satisfied, and provided that his retirement does not reduce the number of shareholders below the minimum required for the continuance of the association. 49. The lender or his agent, or any officer or director of an association endorsing a loan, may at any time before payment of the loan enter on the premises of the borrower in order to inquire into the manner in which he is carrying on such farming and other operations as are required for the purposes for which the loan was granted, or to ascertain how the terms of the loan are being carried out, or whether the security for the loan is in good condition and on the premises of the borrower. 50. In the event of the death, insolvency, or insanity of the borrower, or of his deserting the premises, or neglecting the property purchased or obtained through the proceeds of a loan, or of his failure to carry out the purposes for which the loan was obtained, the secretary-treasurer of an association under the direction of the board, or any three directors thereof, may apply to any Justice of the Peace or Stipendiary Magistrate for an order j>lacing the association or any person named by it in possession of all goods, animals, or property covered by any security or claim given under the provisions of this Act, and of any or all other property, real or personal, of the borrower which may be required for the proper care, use, or preservation of the security or claim, and such Justice of the Peace or Stipendiary Magistrate may, after such notice to the borrower as he may deem reasonable, or without notice, make an order for the purpose aforesaid, and authoxize the association or the person named on its behalf to carry out the provisions of such order. 51. No person who has obtained a loan under this Act, any part of which remains unpaid, shall dispose or attempt to dispose of, or charge or attempt to charge any of the stock, crops, or other chattels subject to the lien of a co-operative rural intermediate-credit association without the consent of the directors of the association, and no person shall acquire any title whatsoever to the said property under any such disposition or charge or attempted disposition or charge. 52. The borrower shall be personally liable for the payment of the amount of any loan granted under the provisions of this Act or any balance thereof, and for all interest, charges, or costs of collection, and, in addition to any other remedies provided herein, may be proceeded against by suit in any Court of competent jurisdiction. 53. It shall not be incumbent on the association or any lender making a loan under the provisions of this Act to see to the due application of the moneys loaned, and the misapplication or nonapplication of such moneys shall not affect the security of the loan. 54. The paid-up capital of any association shall be invested only in securities issued by the Government of New Zealand, or approved by the Fa.rm Loan Board, and all income derived therefrom shall be paid to the association. 55. (1.) The profits received by an association from interest or other sources shall be applied — (a.) In payment of the necessary expenses of the association : (6.) In accumulating a reserve which may, in the discretion of the Farm Loan Board, be invested in the same manner as the paid-up capital; (c.) In payment of a dividend on the paid-up stock held by subscribers of not more than seven per centum per annum. (2.) In the event of the dissolution of any co operative rural intermediate-credit association, any accumulated reserve shall be divided among the subscribers in proportion to the amount paid on the capital stock respectively held by them. 56. (1.) An association under this Act may be dissolved by consent of three-fourths of the members, testified by their signatures to an instrument of dissolution. (2.) The instrument of dissolution shall set forth the liabilities and assets of the association in detail, the number of members and the nature of their respective interests in the association, the claims of creditors (if any), the provisions to be made for their payment, and the intended appropriation or division of the funds or property of the association. (3.) A statutory declaration shall be made by the president and the secretary-treasurer of the association that the provisions of this Act have been complied with, and shall be sent to the Registrar of Joint-stock Companies with the instrument of dissolution. (4.) The Registrar shall cause a notice of the dissolution to be advertised at the expense of the association in the New Zealand Gazette and in some newspaper circulating in the district in which the head office of the association is situated. 57. In the case of a dissolution of a co-operative rural intermediate-credit association under this Act the association shall nevertheless be considered as subsisting, and be in all respects subject to the provisions of this Act, so long and so far as any matters relating to the same remain unsettled, to the intent that the association may do all things necessary to the winding-up of the business thereof, and may sue and be sued under the provisions of this Act in respect of all such unsettled matters.