HIS WIFE'S GOLDEN EGG

NZ Truth, Issue 1178, 28 June 1928, Page 3

HIS WIFE'S GOLDEN EGG

Johnston Didn't Have A Feather To Fly With

" (From "N.Z. Truth's" Gisborne Representative.) If the allegation of the official assignee that she drero £1000 from the savings hank, *»lth the intention of disobeying an order of the court, is, correct, Catherine Young Johnston, wife of Charles William Johnston, a bankrupt, must feel rather foolish. V fATHERINE was charged before Mr. Lawyer Burnard hit another hurdle V> Justice Ostler, at Gisborne, with wheri he told his honor that he thought contempt of court, but although a mistake hafd been made m connecLawyer Len Burnard did his best to tion with the £1000. minimise the offence, Ms' honor made His Honor: "There is no mistake at no secret of his opinion of the matter, all. I ordered that she should pay over The bankruptcy of Johnston was of. the money, but she -drew it out of the interest principally because of his lm- bank and ignored the court. If she pecuniosity and his wife's comparative doesn't pay over, the money, she can wealth. take the consequences." •' Ttfhlle it is not unusual to find that When it was suggested that the bankrupts* wives, like those of Austra- money should be paid over to the aallan Labor politicians, are far better signee, to be held by him pending an off than their husbands, the case of the appeal, counsel again returned to the Johnstons was a little out of the ordln- question of notice-rand again was ary. knocked back. . ' principal trouble was that "She would not be prejudiced if Johnston had transferredjarge sums— the mone y were handed over," re-, or their equivalent— shortly before he ma rked the judge, "but the asfiled with practically no assets. si nee would be very muoh prejuThe details of how this money came dJced jf she gets . t j m e to get away to be owing to Catherine were far, from the moneVi " satisfactory. ; The assignee had little trouble at the Lawyer Pat Nolan, the assignee's previous session m obtaining an order representative, who/ so far, had little for Catherine to fork out £1000 m to say m the matter, pointed . out that hjard cash and to -• • this appeared to be transfer, a property the first time that m Auckland. r 9 f\j . „ section 166 of the But to get the I SI1l)1IPY S I JhiPCtiOTI Bankruptcy Act order an.d to get the J-MWy^r * KSUJCLUUn had been invoked . money were two ' __ The provisions of different things. the section were Catherine drew the £1000 from the 1 peculiar, but clear, and had been savings bank all right, but m the next strictly followed. . ' step she took the wrong turning. Lawyer Burnard started to submit The assignee's move turned out to be "that m the absence of precedent — ," quite a. shrewd one. Instead of fol- but he got no further., lowing what Is apparently the usual His Honor: "I don't want aprececustom and moving for. a, writ of derit if I've got statutory authority." attachment or something of that na- Counsel then diverted the defence to ture, he merely summoned the lady the question of an appeal from the for contempt of court, a procedure, previous order. • Which, apparently, is without prece- His Honor; "If they are honest m dent m court annals. v their appeal, then the way I. have sugThis fact provided a basis for the gested won't prejudice them.*' bulk of the argument. Lawyer Burnard. and his client flnr Lawyer Burnard raised a prelimln- ally gave up the ghost — or the £1000 — ary objection to the procedure and m- and agreed to lodge it with the assisted that he had not had time to go signee as suggested, into the matter, but all his objections The question of transferring .the received a very poor spin from the Auckland property, valued at approxlbench. mately £1000, , was then raised by Counsel submitted that it was unfair Lawyer Nolan, but his honor remarked to ask him to appear at twenty-four that this wasn't causing him much hours' notice m such a serious matter, anxiety. a i «hhf 1 ?d it be V^v°en ly reasOnable "You can look after that all U S. ti SJnX? lfl 4£t g w V ould. be reason- «t won^ run away but the able if it were a complicated matter, *IQOO might, he remarked, but the whole thing la as clear as day- The money and property are to be light. She was ordered to pay the transferred to the assignee and held money from the bank account but she by him pending the appeal, providing drew the money and withheld it, the latter is brought on at the October clearly disobeying the order." sitting. ,