RE ROBERT COOPER-BANKRUPT.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1367, 11 October 1883, Page 3

RE ROBERT COOPER-BANKRUPT.

R. Cooper applied in person yesterday, to be examined.—Mr Rees for the petitioners. Robert Cooper sworn—l did not pay Mr Maude the £BOO or any part, which I owed him in 1880. I owed him money in July, 1880. I cannot say if more or le*s than £BOO. I,now owe him perhaps or £4OOO. I have received money from Mr Maude since July, 1880. I cannot state how much. I have asked him to make up his account. All sums received from him have been by draft or cheque. I cannot give any idea of the amount received since fith July, 1880, from Mr Maude. He has "0 security whatever on me. I cannot say .What the ameuht is. I have had no set tienUnt with him for the last 2 years. We had a settlement prior to that. He has also paid accounts for me and has endorsed bills for

me. Prior to my first bankruptcy I cannot * say if Mr Maude always adhered to the same system of paying my cheques and drafts only. Mr Maude sometimes paid natives for me. • A* Mr Maude’s house, prior to tny bankruptcy; pre went through our Accounts and had a settlement. I did not receive an account from Mr Maude. We had disputes about some items, and interest. Mi Maude had the whole thing made up when I went up. From memory I saw that some things were wrong, I read the state* ment of my assets filed on the 4th instant I believe there are lots of accounts omitted, I keep no clerks. I have to make them up put of my own head. I don’t own Teat and Friar one shilling. I value my interest in Karaka.at L7OOQ. That h correct. .Waitangi Block, 2,824, L 2,000 is correct. The Man* gaooe and other blocks 1 have valued according to my opinion of their value. The extent of the Karaka Block I cannot say from memory. My interest in that Block is secured to Read’s trustees. I value my interest in the 1,070 acres of that block at £7,000. The values I have given are for my interests in .those blocks. I have paid no bibdey to Mr E, ff. Ward since 1880. I don’t know why I put him down as creditor for L 1,500 in my former and L7OO in my present statement. I think he told me the first time that I owed him about L 1,500 On going into the accounts 1 brought it down to L7OO. I have 'paid money to Common* Shelton and Co since my first bankruptcy, I should say about L9o= About 18 months ngc I squared with them, I do not now owe them a shilling. I may owe them something on a Taranaki law suit, of which I have had no account. With regard to the Hanomatuka Blocks, I find on account of the state of the deeds, etc, that my interest is reduced from £2,000 to L2OO in value. That is the tGasoil for the .difference. I know of no Other reason. I got a title for Hanrmatuka No 7, which I gave as security for an advance from the Bank of New Zealand of L 350, about two years ago, after my first bankruptcy. I sold it to pay off the Bank about four or five months ago for £350. I did not complete the title to No 4 Block. I have made a mistake in including No 7 in hiy statement of assets, ft a mistake oLthe clerk’s. I did not get No 4 completed also. The 7 included in this must be a mistake. It is not in my statement that I gave it to Mr Brassey. £15,000 is the value of my interest in the Waimaromia proper, 7,450. I l»ft my deeds with Read’s trustees for Skipworth to get signatures; The trustees kept them, Una are since getting the same signatures that I have previously got and purchased. They will have to account for them. I have soid my interest in the Mangoaoemu block, 4,800 acres, about two years ago, to Mr John Brown, who lives on the Mangoaoe, for £l2O. The shares cost me some £5O or £BO. The

value of my interest in the land would have been worth a good deal more if I could have dealt further with the Natives; I gave Mr Brown a conveyance of my interest about two years ago. That was not mortgaged to the. trustees iff Read’s estate. I got the £l2O from Mr Brown. I spent a little of it on this present action with Read’s trustee?, I did not agree to mortgage it to them. I agreed to Mortgage Mamgoaoe, Wainaromea and other blocks if they would advance me a further sum of £lO,OOO for the purchase of of 3,000 sheep and so many head of cattle. These blocks were not mortgaged because I Was not able to get this sum. The trustees were the present ones and J. S. McFarlahe, and Were those who agreed to advance the money. The J. Brown spoken of is in my list of creditors. The other Brown spoken of is a station manager at the Karaka. This debt to Brown at the Mangoaoe station was incurred about four years ago, at the Oil Springs station. He paid me the £l2O In full though I owed him £B5. Since my first bankruptcy I have only paid the Bank of New Zealand what they had security for, viz £350. I have not got them down as creditors now because I don't know what I owe, and I find that Read’s trustees are liable for the £1,400 which I put down at my last bankruptcy. Mr Brassey, at this moment, asked Mr Greenwood if he was sitting iu Chambers, or not.

Mr Greenwood said he wasjnot. Mr Brassey then wished to know why the meeting was being held in that room and not in the Courthouse, and allow the meeting open to the public. As it was, he objected altogether to the proceedings as they were going. Numbers of creditors had been down to the Courthouse, and had to go away again. Mr Greenwood replied that the meeting was a public one, anyone could come in that chose, no one had been turned out. Mr Brassey then left. Examination continued—l parted with my interest in Pa kepapa about 4 or 5 years ago to Mr Finlay, of Wellington. I conveyed no other portion of it to any other person. I have incurred no further liability to Messrs Graham & Co. since my former bankruptcy. There were certain transactions not wound up by us yet. They are a question of accounts. These accounts had nothing to do with land purchases. Some of the accounts I do admit, and some I do not. Since my last bankruptcy I have had dealings with the Waenaramea Block No 2. The second order of freehold tenure in my favor, for that block I know nothing about. In 1877 I sold e it to the Glasgow Bank. I don’t know what the purchase money was. With other blocks I think I get about £40,000. I don’t know the price of the Waenaramea Block No 2. I never saw any of the £40,000. The Union Bank of Australia and Kinross & Graham got it all. I was indebted to them for more than what I sold the land for. After the sale of that I became indebted to them to the extent of £33,000. Part of the purchase money was not witheld till the title was completed. I at least not more than 3 months, and that was to settle who the land was to be conveyed to. Within the last 12 or 18 months I have not been buying shares in Maori lands. Within 24 hours of receiving notice of this meeting I did not notify other creditors of the fact. I do not think I have parted wtih property or interests in property other than those mentioned by you since July, 1880. I think I sold my interest in some sections in Gisborne, to Mr W. Common, since 1880, and also sold some sections to Mr S. Locke. I cannot think of any other properties I have sold. Since July, 1880, I have paid several creditors. I have paid M Intosh, the butcher, something. There is a dispute between us of a certain sum of £5OO. I don’t owe him any other money besides that. His name appearing in my present list is a mistake. I have pail Combs

<fc Co., something of my old account under the old bankruptcy. lam indebted to him now for something, I have had monies from Mr Page, I cannot tell to jwhat extent, since the last bankruptcy. I have had a good few hundred pounds from him. I have not lodged any books or anything else with the Registrar. I have my records in pocket books. I can let you have a cart load of them. I can make up a list of book debts if you lend me a clerk for a week or a fort* night. Meeting of Cseditobs.

A meeting of creditors in the above estate took place in the R.M. Court yesterday afternoon. The legal profession was well represented in the persons of Messi’s H. E. Kenny, Ward, Shera, Rees, Whitaker, and Brassey, the latter gentleman representing the debtor. The Registrar handed in the proofs of debts with the remark that he had just looked through them and supposed they were all right, Mr Rees proposed, and Mr J. Coleman seconded, that Mr Whitaker bo chairman, Mr Cooper objected to Mr Whitaker, but was informed that he had no voice,

Mr Cooper said he had, as he was a creditor in the estate. (Laughter.) There being no other objection Mr Whitaker took the chair, and stated that there would be ample time in the future to raise any objections to proofs of debts. Mr Brassey said some of the accounts just handed in would be disputed, such as the one where Read’s Trustees had bought a debt from Mr Malcolm McDonald,

Mr Whitaker said no objection could be taken to that one, as the Registrar had juat said he had admitted those accounts.

Mr Brassey said he should not address him?elf to Mr Whitaker but to the Registrar. It was not for Mr Whitaker to rule in the matter. He did not suppose that Mr Greenwood had even read them.

Mr Greenwood said if he had to go through these accounts the business of the meeting would have to stand still for about two hours whilst he went into them. He did not think it his business to do so.

Mr Brassey said it certainly was Mr Greenwood’s business to investigate these claims before admitting them Mr Whitaker wished to know on what grounds Mr Brassey objected to the accounts mentioned

Mr Brassey (warmly) on the grounds of fraud

Mr Sherra proposed and Mr Rees seconded that Mr Carlaw Smith be elected trustee to the estate

Mr Cooper objected to Mr Carlaw Smith as trustee

Mr Whitaker said Mr Cooper had no right to speak at all The motion having been put to the meeting Mr Smith was declared duly elected trustee Mr C. Smith wished to know what amount of remuneration he was to receive

Mr Ward proposed and Mr Sherra seconded that the trustee receive five per cent on all accounts realised.—Carried

,Mr R. Cooper rose and asked what amount of allowance he was to receive. He thought he should have LlO per week, as he could hardly go about without a pound in his pocket—(much laughter) Mr Whitaker said this was not the time to bring the matter before the meeting, and he refused to entertain it Mr Cooper thought this matter had quite as muoh right to be oonsideied by tho meeting as the question of remuneration to the trustee. He would ask the Chairman to put the question—frenewed laughter) Mr Whitaker said he distinctly refused to do thia. On the minutes of the meeting being read over, Mr Cooper demanded that a note be inserted in the tame to the effect that he had pressed this matter, and that the Chairman had refused to put it to the meeting. Mr Whitaker had no objection to the entry being made, but advised Mr Cooper not to press the matter, as it might cause him to bo committed for contempt, Mr Cooper (ironically) thanked Mr Whitaker, and hoped the meeting would pass a vote of thanks to the Chairman, (Loud laughter), The Chairman declared the meeting dosed.