Palmerston District Court.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 249, 25 April 1896, Page 2

Palmerston District Court.

Friday, April 24tb, 1896. (Before His Honor District Judge Kettle.)^ D.O.A. v. Sarah Goodwin. William Goodwin (recalled),— Some of his wife's stock was sold by auction at Bangiwahia by Mr Carr. The cattle were sold in witness' name. The purchaser knew that the cattle had belonged to Mrs Goodwin. Mr Fitzherbert contended that the bankrupt had within the specified time spent his money in improving his wife's property. Sarah Ann Goodwin deposed that she had a separate estate, and had owned cattle during the last twenty years ; Goodwin had no interest in these cattle ; had also horses and traps ; took seventeen head of cattle to Rangiwahia; had sometimes as many as thirty ; her husband had nothing to do with the cattle ; on an average made 10s per week by milk, butter, &c. ; also kept boarders, who paid 16s a week ; had sometimes five boarders j the building at Bangiwahia was erected at the end of 1894 ; while at Rangiwahia sold cattle to the value of about £100 ; the cattle were sold at various times as money was needed; all the milk money was given to Goodwin, except what witness required for clothing, &c, for herself and children ; Goodwin was paying his way up to the time of the accident ; during tbe past year witness had kept herself, her husband, and her two children on her own earnings from dairying, boarders, and the hall and stables ; the £30 which witness paid to Mr Dawn was the wages of two of her sons ; on arrival in the colony neither witness nor hws- ■ band had any property, nor had wit- ' ness received anything through the \ will of any person. [ His Honour quoted authorities to , show that under the circumstances the [ money paid by the wife into the joint account was, in the absence of evif dence to the contrary, a gift to the \ husband, and she was not by law en- : titled to recover it. It was clear that the husband's money had been ex- - pended in improvmg the property of the wife, and the property must be charged with a certain amount. In ' any case, if the amounts paid into the ! joint account by the wife were looked t upon as a loan, the wife, under the , Married Women's Property Act, had ; no claim to recover till the rest of the i creditors had received 20s in the £>. > Decision as to the amount to be charged on the wife's property would be reserved* Public Examination of E. T. Geanoe. Mr Reade for bankrupt. The bankrupt had been forced to file owing to pressure by a creditor whoheld a judgment summons against him. Filed in February of this year ; in 1893 called a private meeting of his, creditors, when his liabilities amounted to £116 ; at this meeting the creditors resolved that witness must within 14 days assign all his assets to a trustee or they would petition to have him adjudicated a bankrupt ; was not sure at this time whether he had obtained a section at Rangiwahia ; subsequent to the 1 893 meeting had sold a section at Bunnythorpe for £86 ; this money did not go to any of the creditors, but was expended in medical attendance on witness and in support of his family while he was unable to work : had felled 17 acres of' bush on the Bangiwahia section and grassed it ; was at present managing a farm in Pohangina at £70 per year • has to pay 15s in support of his two boys ; was willing to hand the section over to the creditors. The examination then closed.-— Standard. .