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10

Heuheu-Grace Debenture Party. —This party holds £41,900 debentures in the company, carrying 5 per cent, interest, and there is owing to it at the present time over £62,000, principal and interest. I have been its trustee since 1911. Until the year 1919 my duties were merely nominal, but from then onwards I was actively engaged on the party's behalf. As you no doubt know, in the year 1919 the above company renewed its efforts to carry out its undertaking, and to that end it entered into successive negotiations with, inter alia, the Egmont Box Co., Messrs. Armstrong-Whitworth, Messrs. Cammell-Laird, Mr. Bertram Philipps, and finally in 1927-28 with the Duncan Syndicate. All these negotiations were spread over the period 1919-1928, and were long and protracted. In all of them I acted for the party and practically carried the entire responsibility of watching and protecting its interests, and of conducting the party's own negotiations with the persons mentioned. In the course of doing all this, I think I can safely claim that the party's interests never suffered in the slightest degree, and that, in all negotiations made on its behalf, it secured very favourable terms. For all these services rendered by me, over a period of ten years and more, I have not received a penny remuneration, though it was understood that I would be amply remunerated when and if the party's debt was paid ; and I am sure that, if this event should ever come to pass, the party will honour the arrangement. It is difficult to assess the amount of such a claim as this, but I think that on an application to the Supreme Court for the payment of trustee's commission the Court would, in all the circumstances of the case, probably award a commission of at least 2 per cent, to 3 per cent:, which on £60,000 would work out at £1,200 to £1,800. My Section of the Native Owners. —Towards the end of the year 1924 it became apparent that the affairs of the company had reached a critical stage. The negotiations with Messrs. ArmstrongWhitworth had already fallen through, and there was every prospect of the negotiations with Messrs. Cammell-Laird meeting with a like fate. On the other hand, there was in the field a local syndicate known as the Hope Gibbons syndicate. In these circumstances, a meeting was held of the leading members of the Heuheu-Grace party and of other leading owners who had no interests in the debentures, and the meeting finally resulted in my undertaking, actively, to engage myself in the direction of assisting the company float its venture. This arrangement necessitated my having to resign from my position on the legal staff of the Public Trust Office, and in which position I was drawing a salary of £400 a year. In pursuance of my undertaking, I, in 1925, placed my services at the disposal of the Hope Gibbons syndicate and I was associated with them over nine months as assistant organizer. This syndicate was a particularly strong one and would undoubtedly have succeeded in its venture and in placing the company's undertaking on a sound and satisfactory basis, but for the intervention of Mr. Bertram Philipps. This gentleman came on the scene in March, 1925, and in a very short time induced the company to give him an option over its rights. The syndicate, however, held on for some months in the hopes that Mr. Philipps would not exercise or carry out his option, but finally the syndicate was dissolved about September, 1925. As you know, Mr. Philipps failed to carry out his undertaking, but, on the other hand, he succeeded in tying up the company until the early part of 1927, when the company finally got free of him by undertaking to pay him some £29,000 and interest. As soon as the company was free of Mr. Philipps I associated myself with certain other gentlemen interested in the company in an effort to influence local support for the undertaking. We finally succeeded in our effort at the end of the year 1927, when we induced the Duncan syndicate to undertake the flotation of a new company, which would acquire the rights of the old company and place its undertaking on a sound and satisfactory footing. As soon as the syndicate was formed, I became associated with it as assistant manager and organizer to Mr. K. D. Duncan, and was so engaged during the years 1928 and 1929. This position I took up with the hearty approval of my debenture party and my section of Native owners. As in the case of the Heuheu-Grace party, I have not received any remuneration from any one for my services rendered to my section of owners, the arrangement being that I was to look to the purchaser of the company's rights for payment. Here, again, I have some difficulty in assessing the amount of my claim, but in view of the fact that up to the end of the year 1927 I was actively engaged on behalf of the section well over eighteen months, and on the basis of the £400 a year which I gave up in order to serve the section, I think the amount of this part of my claim could well be placed at £600 or £700. The Duncan Syndicate. —As already mentioned, I joined the syndicate as assistant manager and organizer, and was so engaged from the beginning of 1928 to last November, when the syndicate was dissolved. The terms of my engagement were that for my services to the syndicate I would be allotted £10,000 fully-paid-up shares in the new company projected by the syndicate, though it was understood that I would have no claim against any member of the syndicate if that company was not formed. In addition to this, the syndicate agreed that for my services to the Heuheu-Grace party and to my section of owners I would be paid by the new company the sum of £2,500, payable £1,500 in cash and £1,000 in 7-per-cent. debentures in that company. As you know, everything necessary to ensure the successful formation of the new company was done by the syndicate, and it was only prevented from carrying out its project by the final refusal, at the end of last year, of the Government to approve the project, although the Native owners, the Tongariro Co., and its creditors had either agreed, or were ready to agree to the project. Incidentally, I am aware that Mr. Duncan has already presented to you his syndicate's claim and that, in, doing so, he has claimed on my behalf a sum of £2,000 as compensation for the loss of my £10,000 shares. This he did with my approval, and lam prepared to accept the £2,000 in settlement accordingly.