HELENSVILLE BANKRUPTCY

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, Volume LXI, 19 August 1915, Page 3

HELENSVILLE BANKRUPTCY

CASE OF J. McKENZII.

A yottjstg man named John Murray McKenzie appeared before Mr F. V. Fraser, S.M., at the Police Court, Auckland, on Friday, on three charges of contracting debts at Helensville, totalling £13b 5s lOd, while he was a bankrupt and had no reasonable expectation of paying the sume as well as all his other debts. Accused pleaded guilty.

Mr Selwyn Mays said accused was a carpenter by trade, and worked for wages at Te Kuiti. He subsequently took up small building contracts there aud when ho arrived in Hslensville hft owed £184. When he filed the preference claims amounted to £157, but the ordinary creditors who were owed £603 only received 3s 6d in the £. Apparently defendant undertook fresh liabilities before he had noticed the outcome of his previous contracts. He did not seem to hive a full sense of his responsibilities becauee he had put down his liabilities at Te Kuiti at: £75 and the proved claims amounted to £184. There was £250 withheld on one contract, and he attributed his failure to this fact.

Mr Hall Skelton, who appeared for accused, said accused took contracts at Helensville, including one for the building of a house. There was only a very little work to do to complete the latter when the lady for whom it was being constructed tock possession and refused to let him finish tha building. She withheld £250, the balance of the contract money, and as accused was depending on this for other work, the whole of his financial arrangements were upset. One creditor prevented him from getting his money and then forced him into the bankruptcy Court. Accused did not take the contracts with the idea of defrauding his creditors. He had been in gaol about three weeks awaiting trial, and counsel suggested that, as there was no fraudulent intention, justice would be met by ordering him to come up for sentence when called upon.

The Magistrate said there was no suggestion, that accused had wasted the money in drink or riotous living. He had been in gaol for three week 9, and this was sufficient punishment. He would be ordered to come up for sentence when called upon, provided he gave every assistance to the Official Assignee to straighten oat his affairs,