THE BANKRUPTCY OF MR. JAMES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5616, 29 March 1879, Page 3

THE BANKRUPTCY OF MR. JAMES.

A meeting of creditors was held at the Supreme Court yesterday. There was a large attendance, and Mr. L. Levy was . voted ,to the chair. : : , i; ; It having been mooted whether the reporters should be allowed, to remain, the Manager of the Bank of New Zealand said he would like -to see the-proceedings reported. -- 1 Mr. Tolhobst then made the following statement :—Mr._ James had a number of bills overdue for several months, and he (Mr. Tolhurst) had repeatedly endeavored to persuade him to provide for them. So far as ho could find,-; Mr. James took no steps to provide for the bills, and things went on until the bank was obliged to put a bailiff into possession;- Justbefore he filed, Mr. James come to thebonk to see if he could not make some arrangements relative to the bills, and ha was told that the bank would give him three months’ time, provided he could got some person able to administer his affairs, but the bank refused to retain his account. Mr. Quick subsequently .named one gentleman to undertake those responsibilities, and he (Mr. Tolhurst) assented to that name,-and the next thing he heard was that Mr. James had filed his schedule, Ho how knew that Mr. James had never returned to the gentleman named by him. Then Mr. James had permitted the statement to go forth through the newspapers, and had personally made the statement, that the bank ; had pressed him as to his overdraft, and forced him to file his schedule. No pressure, whatever was put upon him relative to his overdraft,’ but only to bills which were months overdue, and which he would take no steps to meet. , Mr. Quick had with Mr. James been endeavoring to straighten matters so as to satisfy the bank. They had not succeeded in putting things in such a position as to be able to meet the bank with a satisfactory proposal,, and the bank put in a bailiff. He thought that was unmistakeably pressure. The time had run out, and the bailiff had full power to ; selh the stock that afternoon if he liked, and he -.might have sold £IOOO worth to satisfy a bill for £2OO or £300., Mr. James could have paid the bank iin the three months , which Mr. , Tolhurst offered, but he could not have paid his other creditors in that time, and in their interest he was„ compelled to file. The bank ■ was not entitled to be placed in a better position , than any other creditor. When he named a gentleman to Mr. Tolhurst, it was merely ,to see whether the bank would accept him if he would consent to act. -, j

The Chairman said that the day before Mr. James filed he (Mr. Levy) and Mr. Nathan met him and. discussed his position. He (Mr. Levy) said that.though he would not go to the bank officially, he would, if he saw Mr. Tolhurst, speak favorably as regards Mr. James. ■During the morning Mr. Tolhurst came to see him, and an arrangement similar to that suggested by Mr. Quick was come to, but Mr. James filed his schedule. /. Mr. Booklet, as solicitor to the Bank of New Zealand, said he acted for the hank in this matter, and he gave express instructions to the bailiff not to take any action pending a settlement of Mr. James’s affairs. The'bailiff was there merely as a matter of form. ; _ Mr._ Tolhurbt had given similar instructions, independent of the orders given by Mr. Buckley, _ Mr. James : What Mr. Tolhurst said was right to a great extent, but he was not able to make the arrangements suggested. : One gentleman had promised him £SOOO, but after “ keeping him on the string” for about three weeks he said he had had some bills returned, and would have to break into his deposit to put himself right. He went frequently to sea Mr. Tolhurst, but always found others there five or six deep—(laughter)—waiting to, see shim, i He tried all ways to raise the money, but

could not do so, and he was compelled to file. It was quite true that the bank did.'hot press him 1 about his overdraft —it was about his overdue bills. Mr. Quick suggested that if the creditors proposed to take the estate out of bankruptcy it would be as well to appoint a trustee—it would not require anyone with any business aptitude—who would make over the estate to two assignees for the benefit of the creditors. With this in view he moved that Mr. G. Denton should be appointed trustee. _ The motion was seconded and carried. Mr. Quick, on behalf of the debtor, proposed that the estate be assigned to two or more trustees, to be nominated by the creditors; that the bankruptcy be annulled ; that the trustees have power to realise the estate, or such part thereof as they might think fit; to allow Mr. James to carry on the business as heretofore, so long as he did so to the satisfaction of the trustees, and dividends to be declared of ss. in the £, with interest added at the rate of 8 per cent., at intervals of not less than three months, until the whole of the debt, with interest, was paid, when the residue of the estate was to be reconveyed to the debtor. In the event of the dividends not being paid, a meeting of the creditors to be called. Mr. Capper moved, and Mr. Macdonald seconded,—-That the proposal be accepted, omitting the specific directions to the trustees, tho latter to be left free to the exercise of their own judgment in winding up the estate. Mr. Nathan thought that in a case like this, where the assets were largely in excess of the liabilities, the debtor was entitled to some consideration. He thought the proposition should be accepted as submitted. • After some discussion the proposition of the debtor was accepted. Mr. Nathan proposed, That Messrs. Smith, Thompson, and Ladd be trustees in the estate. This was seconded by Mr. Tolhurst and agreed to. It was also resolved that the trustees’ remuneration be 5 per cent, on the amount paid to the creditors. The debtor’s statement shows liabilities amounting to £9386, and assets (including contingent assets) to £26,822 7s. lOd.; balance of assets over liabilities, £17,455 19s. I Id. A vote of thanks to the chairman concluded the proceedings.