MEETING OF CREDITORS.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 110, 24 January 1880, Page 2

MEETING OF CREDITORS.

A meeiingW6feaiior^it l the4n;^|nt estate of ;riiomas.,scadley A cgriveneTi^by the Tru4te*e, ' wa^li'rfd^ftr; Wednesday ', m the C l ourt-iJo.us§. J PaJnier^o«X There, was a very large ■'attehdance.-^'nP-Kfr foU lowing gentlemen, Tepresentingxjtheifc. own and others's claims being PA eient^.

Mr. W. D. Shaw, Wanganni .-, „ King, Bank of Australasia „ B. Loudon, Loudon, „ Haybittle*; Co \ „ F. Loudon, Foxteuy „ Macarthcr, Feilding- C,qrporation „ "W. Chamberlain; Feilding. „ John Tompkins, Halcombe „ T. V. Brown*, Feilding ...X „ Jackson, Feilding r „ Dungan, Palmerston „ Drummond, Feilding „ Humphries, Feilding- y . At the outset -some little difficulty was experienced m the selection of a Chairman. Mr. B.q___T Lotjdmt proposed that Mr. Shaw should preside, but Mr. Hawkins as solicitor to the Trustee, said that there was an objection to his doing so. Mr. Shaw stated that he was by no means ambitious for the position, m fact he shbuidVdechne to, accept at, but as the solictor had declared he was ineligible he would like to know upon what grounds such a statement was; made. Ifix. Hawkins explained that there <were two sets creditors— one who had proved their debts m the estate of the insolvent, Thomas Bradley, tod another for liabilities incurred by Mrs. Bradley, •about the claims of r which, by such creditors there was some difference of opinion. He believed. Mr. Shaw's claim of the latter character, and as the Meeting had been called for their ad--s^inwsion or' ' rejection, r he thought ft Tfpjfi^be scarcely correct to place him m jBRHFalse position he would occiipy as phairman. X~ ! . Mr. Shaw informed the solioit*pif appl the meeting that quiteVihdependentlyoE his claim, against. Elizabeth '■_'s padley, he was .also a pretty large creditor |n the insolvent estate' of Bradley. He didnot make his explanations X.qji Recount of the proposition which had just been made, as he should decline to preside under any circumstances but ip reply to what had fs}hm fron? the splj.pitor. Mr. Hawkins explained that he had not the slightest objection toMjr. Shaw personally, but as' "the^ meeting had been called for thhe express purpose pf dealing with the debts j-iot actually ]npnrred by the insolvent hii4sel£ ?he thought it woiildbe well to'hayo » ere-' 4jtpr presiding about whose $&\m t|jere could be no^dbubt whatever. lie thought Mr. Dungan would ho Tftost eligible person, *as certainly was ?o disputing the fact of 1$ feeing a ohafide creditor of the insolyent. Mr. Dungan, howeyer, begged respectively to decline the h^onfcjr, and Mr. William Chamberlaifl hgvjijg followed Buit, ]\fr. I)uNaAsr purposed, and Mr. Shaw seconded that — •• Mr. Francis Loudon take the chq.jr. M This'was carried unanimously, and , the business of the ineetihg ! then propeeded by tlje reading by* the Trustee pf the following

In the District Court of Wanganui, holdep at Bahgeiaton North. In the ; Debtors and Creditors Acts, and. In the bankruptcy, of TnoifAS Bradxey; of -■ Cheltenham, Storekeeper.* pnpoßESs Reeqet op Sylvester Cole- ' MAN, OEJPALMEESTOIf NQBTH,, CllEDltoes'Tbusteis m Bankruptcy o? THE PnOPEETr OB THE ABOVENAMED BANKRUPT-. CPp lay before the /Meeting qf Creditors called by Gazette Notice and Circular posted tfK all Creators m the Estate. who are returned as Creditors ii^ the Bankrupt's , Sltatenjent upon Qath taken before" the said. Trustee under powers, contained m 'th^-. 16,7 th Section of _ the £|ebtors ai^d pi-editors Act ; and sl«o Certain oth e^ claimants I, the undersigned; have to report as follows:— . . , 1. That I was appointed Trustee dv the Twenty-sevehth7day of August,' lß79, and on the same day m writing accepted the under my hand. 2. That _,\.at .once proceeded to take possession of. the. store at Cheltenham, aud the goods and niprchandise therein, from Robert Loudon, the. .Trustee appointed under a Deed of Arrangement dated on or about the Twtehty-sixth day of July, 1879, which Deed the. Creditors refused to assent ... Upon searching tbe. papers §le.d m Court Bankrupt, I found that no List of Creditor- or' List of peseta had heenj filed, and it became necessary to procure, such statement upon Qath frqaq thre BankruptI accordingly caused iv B^mmons to be issued under thei^67th Section of the Act-,; which wasyserYad. upon the. bankrupt, m pursuance of which the Bankrupt attended, and upon Qath deposed to the statement taken 29th. day d|: August, I^7^ filed m .. Court.' 7,., . X .'■-.' By the same, statement ijppn Qath it appeared that the tqta| debts sworn to by. Bankrupt amounted to about £lia4 IS|_. lid., andthe assets ahou,t £2144. It further appeared by the same swojsjjfltatement. that Bradley, the. Bankrupt,, while m difficulties had executed a Deed m favor of his i|-ife, , EUzabeth Bradley. The pro.perjty tlujs voluntarily conveyed and assigned consisted of certain freehold Und and bu.ildii^gs and T stock-in-trade of the Bankrnpt^being all the. property Bankrupt then possessed. A^ reference to the. fourth pag-e. of the original examination, TtjKsore fully di^clpse the. Btate or?- matters f-Tthe period o|- abput twelve months mediately preceding the "Bankruptcy. The disclosures made wera of such a nature that. I deemed it my..d.uty to ta^e. legal advice upon the matter, go/as to. guide me m performing. I was advised that under the. Gfoci Seoiion pf the. Act the. Dead executed- io, favor, ofthe wife' was void, and that thai -whole. o( the Feilding property— stbckrin-tmde, &c.— which the Bankrupt had excluded m his statement «f assets, belonged' to the estate., and that it was my du.ty to take ppssession of it. Accordingly, on or. r about the. Twentyeighth day of August, 1579, 1 plaojad the bailiffs m charge, with instructions to reali*o the stock jin the ufltyi\. course, of tra^e. for cash. "•"'' X ■■'.'"'.'.' About this. d*ate..the.E!ftt\ksiipt represented^ that he was negotiating -^ith some parties to make an Offer to pay a^ composition,' and Ske .th^^|^^^^o|^B^pkr^p|bcx lyid^r eed of : Ari*ngem > cn It,1 t, apd, it was suggested that und^ the ci^e'timataitces the f rade' ha,dV better be carried di\ as- usual for the. benefit pf the Estate, and 'prevent" mjurytai %he goodwill,, whioh 4 conisen.fce.d- to, provided rio lUbUffcies werelhou'rred, which* 1 - M Trustee cojdd not legally-allow.^i ;1 The business thus being preserved, and Tjho stock realised at retail prices, was pro-

ceeding satisfactorily.;, but on the: First day of September, 1879, forcible possession was taken of the premises' and stock,, the bailiffs, violently ejected, and adverse possession taken: by other at the instigation of the Bankrupt, the Bankrupt's wife, and others. > Under these circumstances I again sought legal advice; and caused to be issued summohses^for examination of Bankrupt, bis wife, and two men named Taylor and Anderson, who held possession m defiance of the Trustee. : *•*' In consequence of their refusal to attend and be examined; it "became necessary to apply to the Court at Wanganui for a warrant to take Mrs. Bradley into custody before the Court, also the Bankrupt aud the other parties, and for an order authorising me tp break open and recover possession of the Estate. , X ■ - . The Court granted a warrant against Mrs. Bradley, and ordered possession under 161 st Section. Re-possession was taken accordingly, and Mrs. Bradley was subsequently examined by the Court, when she admitted that the stock-in-trade voluntarily assigned by the Bankrupt to ber had been long since replaced by other goods ; ahd further, that she had treated her estate, as a separate estate, and had called a meeting of her separate Creditors, who had passed a resolution that her estate should be assigned to W. D. Shaw and W. C. Hay- ! bittle as Trustees, and a Deed had been j prepared accordingly. I .As tp claim of Mrs. Bradley to freelitold property at|Feilding under voluntary eon- ! veyance, and to stock m trade under voluntary bill of saleIt will be noted .that Mrs. Bvadley claimed the land and store at 'Feilding, and also the stock-in-trade, as her separate properly. With respect to this claim of Mrs. Bradley's, I have to report that on the Eighth day of September, last, a proposition was submitted to tne for a compromise. After the examination of Mrs. Bradley by the Court, and the taking possesion of the Feilding .property under Order of the Court, this proposition was renewed on behalf of Mrs. Bradley ; and m order to save expenses m litigation, I consented to a course proposed with some modification^ The correspondence marked "B" will disclose the nature of the arrangement. ■ With r 'reference to thia arrangement, should the Court be moved for a direction under : the powers contained m the Act, I am advised that it must of necessity be favorable to the Creditors, and will result m a large addition to the assets m the Estate. 'As to the collection and realisation of the. assets returned by the Bankrupt as belonging to the Estate at Cheltenham — 1 The stock-in-trade at Cheltenham was sold by auction on the Ninth day of September, 1879, and realised £638 6s. 2d. The land and store at Cheltenham was subiect to the payment of fifty pounds, balance of purchasce money, half of which has since, been retired by mo, and the other half will become due on the 15th instant. -This property realised £150, and a deposit of £.2Q per cent, was paid hy the pur? chaser, the balance m bills at three and six months, a portion no\y eqrren.fc. With regard to several chattels returned as assets, I found great difficulty m collecting them, and adverse cjajnjs -vpere made to them m gome ipstaqcas. *■' Mapy of the properties' returned as assets are Toneless because subject J;b payments and conditions hefcre they booome marketable. As. to stock-in-trade at Feilding— r Qn. the 6th September last I caused this to be sold, and ifc realised a gross sum of £230 3s, 9d., is placed to a separate accoqnt at thp bank, m pursuance qf the arrangement referred to. with Mrs. Bradley. As to the freehold at Feilding, No. 267, JLimbolton Koad — Upon' searching the registry, I find that this property was mortgaged by Bradley for £600 on tbe 14th of August, 1878, and the conveyance from Byadfey to his wife was executed on the 27th September, 1878, subject to the mortgage. As both these Ileeds are upon the Registry, I lodged a caveat on the 17th Septeml ej.*, 1870, against any '-r*^. dings' there? with, and, under advice, I liave taken every precaution to prevent auy dealings with the property by parties claiming under assignment for benefit qf J|rs. B.radley's separate creditors, or otbervvige. * ' j As to proofs — The statement marked "C" (Cheltenham) contain? a list of the: claims made against the Estate, moit of which are included m the list f urqished by-the Bank- ] rupt. Afer reeeiying these proofs it was ' thought advisable, to ggain examine the Bankrupt, aiso his late partner,- Mr. H. H. Jutland ; and upon perJUal of their sworn evicence. filed m Court, a doubt exists whefcben or not the Bankrupt-, and consequently the Estate, is not released from liability m respect of at least one security sought to he made a charge upep the Estate The security alluded to is — Promissory note . ... £435 10 0 interest ... 30 17 10 ; .' £iiS VlO which is. claimed by Messrs. Loudon, Haybittle & Co.' . ' ' ... The claim last mentioned \ h^vp rejected on yariqqs grounds stated m the notice of rejection, YVjth reference to this claim, Messrs. Loudon, Haybittle, '■ & Co. took action m the Court, whioh action has been sqcpqssfully opposed, and Messrs. Loudon, Hay brittle,. & Co. have been east m, arid haveJ lyrid $ha costß, amounting to £52 2s. Bd.vy :' . . yA.y-'. ' ' ' In addition tq the claims made against Bradley, there ara numerous claims sent 'in against I^ra. E. Bradley, and issues are now pesndir^g which, "mill ■ decide whether .these claims are. legally made against Bradley's estate, and whether. tj\a credits, given to Mrs. I^radley -m many cases represented by promissory notes signed by her— are valid documents, arid proyeable m the Estate of Bradley, If these claims ara allowed, the. dividend Yfill hq at least one-half . /jpha issues n,oyr the.' Court -flfill 'pjracfciea.lly the legal, question above UO^pd, and are aopointed V> be heard thq the eeis^ud of next inoi^th. The meeting is referred to. tbe balance- ' sheets, which, will be laid before them on the Twenty-first instant. The, meeting is also referred to the evidence of Thomas Bradley,- taken on the 17$h of Novembe*-, 1879, with} referance to , the claim of T. V.'Brown, which the Bank- | rypt denies to he due. J The Chaibhan said that he was of j opinion that the first business before ! the meeting was the settlement of question for which it was convened— the admission or rejection of certain claims. Acccrding. to. tha irtcb,e4ule. of lia,b.ili.bi,es just read there vr^s pne pi\tin by Messrs Loudon Haybittle. and' Co., wbich v it would b.e -nrell to. deal with, and h.e* thought nothing w0»u,14 help them, so well to a,rrive at"' a proper eonclusioji on that point a,s reading the evidence tal^en a.t previous, n^eet^ngs. Mr^ Hawkins, then read s.om,e pages of fooiscan a.t the. conclusion of which the ,cre.ditor« had . ; arrive^l tj,i il|e.4eci^o^t3ftt #^ against Mrs Sr^dl,ey"Vere re^bgnise^ 'against the ( estatel '" 'illr. DgNG^N i^oved*, a,nd Mr.

kins seconded, " That m the opinion of this meeting the estates of Thomas Bradley and Elizabeth Bradley are one and the. same, and that the Trustee be directed to recognise all legitimate claims against and to deal with the assets m Mrs. Bradley's estate as part parcel of ' the estate of insolvent." Mr. Shaw said he wished to ask the Trustee how ho could justify his harsh treatment of Mrs. Bradley. He had been informed that her bedding, furniture, aud sewing-machine had been taken possession of, and she was now reduced to the greatest straits. Mr. Coleman was happy to inform Mr. Shaw that he had been misinformed. The furniture was still intact, and it lay entirely with Mrs. Bradley when they would be handed over to her. With regard to her position, he did not wish to mention it, nor would he have done so were it not for the remarks of Mr. Shaw. Although he had not given any of the creditors' money away, he had put his hands m his pocket and given Mrs. Bradley £5 of. his own money. • The meeting was pleased to hear it and unanimously agreed that Mrs. Bradley should have her furniture and sewing machine. Mr Shaw said he had a resolution to propose, which he could have wished had been taken m hand by some body else. In the statement read by the trustee, it appeared that various sums, amounting to over £100 had been paid to Mr. Hawkins, while. they had been further informed that it was probable the legal expenses would reach another hundred. Then again it was stated that one portion of the estate had rea-, lised £360, while the actual expense incurred m the realisation was £300. He was of opinion that the trustee had recklessly frittered away the funds of the estate. He would therefore move that Mr. Coleman be at once relieved of his duties, and that he be requested to hand over all documents and monies to the Registrar of the Court. The resolution was not seconded, and consequently was not discussed by the meeting, but Mr. Coleman claimed the right of replying to the strictures of Mri Shaw, which he did at some length, pointing out the exceptional circum^tar^ces connected with the managing of the estate, and challenging that gentleman to point out one single item to which he could take exception. He certainly thought the remarks of Mr. Sh%w were uncalled for. as instead of reproaches he thought he deserved commendation. Mr. Shaw had already mentioned the one item of the lawyer's charges, which he maintained were excessiye, hut there were very many others. In fact, he considered the estate had been. Recklessly frittered away. The Chairman would like to draw the attention of the meeting to what would be the result if the proposed resolution were seconded and carried. At the present there would be a dividend of five shillings m the £, but sup t posing the trustee were deposed, that would be swallowed up m fresh proceedings. Mr. Tompkins" moved that— "The the trustee he directed to declare a dividend on or before 'Monday, the 26th, and that the estate be wound up with the utmost dispatch." j This was seconded by Mr.. Dungan, carried unaniqiously, and after some • further minor business, the meeting adjourned,