REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTANT IN BANKRUPTCY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 182, 1 August 1872, Page 4

REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTANT IN BANKRUPTCY.

- A recently published Government Gazette cenfains^the" fourth annual repprt ef.-tiliej/AccpuntantiJn Bankruptcy fcr the. celpny, a brief abstract pf which may n6t be altegether devoid 'of . interest to our readers . '.'" "" r "777^7 ' The^Accpuntant notes with satisfaction that the returns - shew ~ a considerable decrease in , the., fl umber of ; bankruptcies for the.?y ear -1871, but, at the same time, he; regrets that twp pfthe preducing classes, na'mely^.,l^ farihe?£7 and .settlers," aiid ''j^minex%" stUljCPntinue tp- furnish a large py^portfon of the, number pf :. persons- who Beek the pretectipfd^pf ; the Ceurt. The total number of bankruptcies which have taken .place annually since the present la,w 6 'ca-(ne) into. force have. been as follows :■ In 180*8; 7,!in \lsSs 520 • 1870, 715 ; and in 1871, 493, the last year, Nelson Stands; lowest on the list of provinces, only 21 having. taken place, while Otago and Shortland combined are nt "the head. with. the number" of 131. Of the total number , of, 2,0,22 ...f0r;' the four years above - mentioned, four classes, namely, : hotel .keepers, and publicans, storekeepers, farmers jaa d> settlers, and miners contributed in 1869 nearly one-half pf the insplvents who during that year sought relief .from the-Ceurt ; in. 1870 the proportion was three-eighths ; and in 1871 these four classes supplied 198 out pf the tPtaVpf.493. ; "lo 'addition to Ihe number of persons who have been .adjudicated bankrupts during the past four years," says the Accountant, " there have been upwards of. 750 declarations of insolvency, in which no further proceedings have been taken, the insolvents not proceeding to adjudication. Very few of those declarations have been followed by a, settlement with the creditors, the insolvents, I am informed, taking advantage of the interim protection allowed by the Act to realise what they could; and proceed to some other Province 1 or Golpny." It has been found, in practice, that the creditors do nut take advantage of the provisions of the law to continue the proceedings to adjudication. During the year ending November 30, 1871, the number of bankrupt estates wound up by division of funds was 14 ; the number of estates in which there were no assets, and which had been returned as closed, 192 ; number- of estates wound up by a composition or arrangement, 5 ; annulled, 2 ; remaining in dependence, 280. The ri number, of, discharges, granted during tne same year vri&s 341, of which five followed: on composition settlements, and the remainder were granted without composition. In 53 cases the final. discharge was suspended for perieds varying frpm one month to three years. The Accountant, it appears, has had to take action against several trustees, and in one case, where the Provincial Trustee was sole trustee in a large number of estates, bis position was brought under the notice:* of the Court, by which he was relieved of his j trust, a new Prpvisipnal Trustee; being appointed. In anether case tbe Accountant discovered a considerable deficiency in the balance at the Bank as compared with the amounts set forth in the bppks of the, trustee as due to bankrupt estates in his hands. The deficiency, however, was made good, and the trustee instructed to place. the trust funds in each estate to a distinct account, considerable confusion having arisen from making common cash of the proceeds derived from a nomber of separate estates. . To the report are attached ample returns which will convey the fullest infprmation to those sufficiently interested in the matter to ; study them. 7; 7