A VENTURESOME BANKRUPT

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3769, 29 August 1907, Page 4

A VENTURESOME BANKRUPT

tortes In Debt 4 „ The affai's of a y> ung married man were p.nt'y iuvisii; at cl in ;he Bankruptcy Court at We.nng - ton; on Monday, when I'iauU Albert Cooper, a coimv.er i 1 traveller, applied to Sir Stout, Chief Justice, for a discharge. The statement of i e Official Assignee showed liabili e 1 57 *7 S assets 1 3 l S yd ; but the assets lu.d ■ nneu irrecoverable. In addressing the Court, Mr Ashcroft said there was one unsatisfactory feature in the case ; apparently, while debtor was in difficulties, he got married. Hi wife had no. means, and natural y debtor’s expenses were increased. Id is Honour, after perusing the list of debts, . said that debtor s hotel bills were heavy, and asked him if thev were for drink. “ No, just for living expenses,” was the reply. His Honour:”! see you had a motor-car ?” Debtor: “Oh, no; that,was a motor-bicycle lent to me by the firm ; that account is for repairs.” “1 see you bought a gig. Where is that ?” “ I thought it would be better for me than the motor-bicycle. But it got smashed up in the Onga Onga River in Hawke’s Bay. Mr Ashcroft : “ The estate heard nothing about the horse.” “ I didn’t own it it was only hired,” remarked the debtor. His Honour commented., that though debtor was not married until December, 1905, there were drapery hills for earlier dates. Debtor answered that he had to keep his sister and nephew previously. In answer to his counsel (Mr Cook) the debtor stated that the majority of the debts were incurred over two years ago. He had been put to loss through inability to get his salary out of one firm for which he worked. He was out of employment for over four months. Lately be had been employed at £7 a week, but all his travelling and living expenses had to come out of that sura, and he gave the job up through inability to make‘it pay. At the present time he was working for the Colonial Mutual Life Insurance Company and his earnings only averaged about 30s a week so lar. The Official Assigne said it was unsatisfactory that a young man like this should get off the payment of debts totalling £l3O or hut at the same time it seemed little good suspending his discharge. Perhaps his Honour might make an order for payment of His Honour did not see how he could do that when debtor was earning only 30s a week, and had a wife to keep. Cooper had -been reckless in his trading, and had lived on anticipations, but if business people chose to give credit to people like debtor, they must stand the consequences. No creditors had appeared to oppose the discharge, and it would be granted.