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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 235, 30 September 1873, Page 2

For certain reasons that will he obvious to most of our readers, ifc would at the presen t time be scarcely becoming on the part of this journal to make any retnaik upon the following statements recently made in the House by the Minister of Justice relative i to charges made by an agent in the Nelson Province for collecting ceruia intestate estates. Io moving the second reading of the Public Trust Office Bill, Mr Bathgate t said: — '• Ifc was very evident, that some ; striogent management was required in i this respect, because it was found that very serious expense had been incurred in collecting many of these estates. He held in his hand two accounts from the West > Coast of Nelson which would illustrate this. In the first instance, the value of the estate was £19 10s 9d. The first charge by the ageDt for collecting that amount was, " Commission, 19s 6J "; and , the second item, " Costs ancl charges, j taking possession of deceased's estate, inc eluding four day's horse-hire and travelling expenses, £107' This was the account > sent in by aMr George Donne for taking charge of an estate valued at £19 103 9.1, besides the Curator's commission of 5 per - cent. The same gentleman sent in auother account for realising nn estate in July last, which estate consisted of ten j scrip in the Alpine Qaartz Gold-mining Company, value £250. The House would know very well that, it would nnt require _ much expenee to collect such ao estate as that ; but on the debit side of the account appeared these charges : — " Fourteen days' horse hire, feed, and livery, £23 15s; personal travelline expenses, £l l; fourteen days' hire, at £1 per day, £14; commission, £12 lis 3d." In short, ovi-r £G0 for collecting ten scrip in the Alpine ' Qjarlz Gold-mining Company. Thtss lacts showed the absolute necessity for the "' whole of these estates being vested in a ' public department, wbich would try and ' realise them with some respect for propriety, and he might say decency,"