"MIGHT JOIN PAWELKA."

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 April 1910, Page 2

"MIGHT JOIN PAWELKA."

A LEVIN MAN'S BANKRUPTCY

Creditors in the estate of David Gypson Morgan, hairdresser and billiard saloon keeper, met at the Courthouse, yesterday afternoon, to go into the matter of the bankrupt-

sMr G. J. Scott, deputy official assignee, presided; Mr Park appeared as solicitor for the bankrupt; Mr Marker, of Barker and Vincent, was present as proxy for two wholesale houses, of Wellington, and there were three local creditors present..

Tho proved debts were not large, except in the cases of the Wellington warehouses, and of tho landlord, for rent.

Tn accordance with tho custom in the four chief cities and elsewhere, "Tho Chronicle" was desirous of publishing the list ol debts, and the bankrupt's written statements, for the information of the business community, but the deputy ollicial assignee refused to allow this to bo done. After the preliminaries had been settled, evidence was given by Mr Muir that l;e had kept bankrupt s books. There was no bank account kept. Bankrupt stated that Mr Muir had kept the books Ironi the beginning of tho business. _ The deputy official assignee: Was your business so complicated that you had to net, special bookkeeper? Bankrupt: No; but T thought I'd employ him. Raid him 2s 6d an, hour.

To Mr Muir: The payments to you would net have amounted, to more than five shillings per month on an average. Continuing, bankrupt said In boinrht into tho business. _ Therewas (inly a little tobacco in the place. Ho paid nothing for goodwill. Had not served an appieutieeship to hairdressing. but had been doing that sort of work before ho took over this business. Knew a little about the tobacconisttrade, but bad had no practical experience of it. Was not quite .it the mercy of travellers who came around; he bad -a. list their prices. Took over the business in April, 1909. _ _ The deput.v o.ocial assignee, ?ut»r remarking that there was a conflict of opinion between some oreduois and bankrupt as tn who owned tho tables, remarked that, it wouldl bo well to examine bankrupts father !irst, and to have- bankrupt out of fl-ie room at the time. Thomas Morgan, -a retired farmer, and father of the bankrupt, deposed thint lie pjiitl f»r everything t'vat had gone into the place run by his '>mi • t 1i 1 r Af Mr Park here explained that Air Morgan, senior, purchased land in 1908? for £208 17s. and put up a build-in o ". and installed tables in it (at a cost of £2nl 2s) which ho Vnmlit from Aleoek .and 0:>. Iho oreinisf-s and plant were leased to Air -"Morgan's sons, by turns a nicest fhem. One did poorly, -and then went to work on the wafer-race; Mi- other son took over the business 'lid worse than bis brother did, and fm-allv came before the Bankruptcy Court.. t , Mr Morgan, senior, then gave ( etails as to the cost of erecting the building and. furnishing them. TTo rented them to his son Henry tor £3 a week. The £3 per week" was paid f-r "rent of the building" only. This arrangement lasted for twelve months. Tlrvi business <mt very slack, and his son said lie could not pav £3 per week", and witness was obliged, then, to take \\h.)t he could get. It was !\s little as 30s a week sometimes. Afterwards witness' youngir sou took the business over at £2 per week. To Air Rark: Of course the £3 per week was tor the building and the billiard tables; not for the build, iiiig onlv. Witness bought lor the billiard' tallies, and he never sold them. There was _ never any Proposal, never any discussion, nor .a suggestion, that if the payment ol t:f per week went on for any time the tables would then become the property of bis s:v.i. The name ol "Mor'jan Brothers" referred to hi:? sons Harry and Stanley, who were in together; David (the bankrupt) was not in that firm. By ni.'.lv's the name should have been T. Morgan (witness' name); Morgan Brothers was put up without witness' authority. The rent of £3 was me-int to keep witness and witness' wife. Never discussed selling the billiard tables to his son David. He repeated that lie never had the slightest idea of selling them to any of his sons. Witness paid for tho billiard tables by his own cheque.

The witness wa.s cross-examined by .a creditor in the estate a.s to whether .£3 pur week was not an exorbitant rent to charge his sons with, if that amount did not provide I'rr the sons making the tables their own property when thev had been paying in ,£U per week lor a stated period. .Mr Park, as counsel for i);;ith parties, on liter/ted that twenty per cent rental was not exorbitant, on such perishable security as billiard tables ; and the witness reiterate* I that the payment of I'.S per week was purely for rent.

Bankrupt deposed that he went into the shop in April. !!)()!). The inangeinent between his father and hii'iv.ulf w:m that bankrupt was to look after the tables and take cvire

•;t them. Never dre.amt. of buying the billiard tallies from his lather, and nothing wa.s said ahout doing so at a.ny time. He was to pay C 2 :i week as rent. Jle was mat in the business a.s manager for his lather. Witness' gross takings in the business worked out at only Os 8:1 p:-r week. Thie goods ae"ount left only a profit of £18 1 :Js ; M. There bed been lesseis of stock I'iom the buihiir.gs. Intimation was made to the meeting that mi estimated value of C7I 3s Id was put upon the stock and fittings by an independent valuer. I ne deputy official assignee, when all the evidence had been giv-m, •ommented upon the fact that bankrupt lvid been drawing £2 J2s (id per week from his business, which was more than the. whole of the L-otal profits, and for seven months he had not paid his father a penny niece. Mr Scott, wont on to sav that such proceedings .as these, if they came, before Mr Justice Kdwerd.s, might result in bankrupt being "sent to join Pawelka." Bankrupt had been living literally, on tin* -■ale of goods from his simp, and "letting things sweat ahvg" ; playing fast and looso with other people's money, _ and absolutely living r.n his creditors. It was a. bad bankruptcy.

Mr Morgan, senior, was <|uestioned by Mr Scott as 'to whether he was prepared to make Any offer to tlie creditors in. the estate.

After some discussion, in tlie course of which bankrupt's solicitor said the creditor who had put tho bailiffs in tlio premises were responsible for the loss of an offer of 7s 6d in the pound which had been made on behalf of the bankrupt, Mr Park intimated that his client was willioiis to pay ;ls in the pound to the creditors in .'his son's <x?tate, conditional upon the assets in the estate being handed over to Mr Morgan senior, maker of the offer.

Tho offer was accepted unanimously, .and opinions were expressed that Mr Morgan senior had behaved magnanimously in the matter, seeing that his preferential claim for six months' rent would' have absorbed nearly the whole of the assets in the estate.

Before tho meeting' conclude:!, Mr Barker, on behalf of the ere:!iters, thanked: Mr Scott for the manver in which be had safeguarded the creditors' interests in the estate.