DISTRICT COURT.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2816, 3 April 1882, Page 2

DISTRICT COURT.

TIMARU-THIS DAY. (Before His Honor Judge .Ward.) CIVIL CASES. ' , ' Duval v Bank of Hew Zealand, claitl £llO 12s, for services rendered. Mr Ormsby for plaintiff, Mr C. T. H. Perry for defendants. ! Mr Perry, with consent of the other side, applied for a further adjournment on the ground that the Bank balance was now proceeding, . Adjourned to the :17th inst. ; IN BANKRUPTCY. : ■ | : He Jacob Henry Winkler. .This was. an application for an order of discharge, i His Honor asked for the • usual “ Gazette ” notice to be produced; The debtor said he had left the matter to his solicitor. Mr Austin, who now:failed to appear. He was himself unable to produce the notice. • His Honor adjourned the case to the next Court day, 17th inst. Be J. M. Shepherd, a debtor. . , Mr Perry applied for an order adjudging the debtor a bankrupt. The application, which was. made, in’ Chambers, was granted by His Honor. Be Janies Stewart, a debtor. Messrs White and Jameson and George Bolton to show cause why certain claims against the estate of the debtor, preferred by the executors of Reid, deceased, should not be allowed. 1

Mr C. Perry for the plaintiffs, Mr Tosswill for defendants. Mr Tosswill said he was prepared to show that the bill of sale to"J®SßP*ncfd' pray was given voluntarily. [Ail witnesses were here ordered out of Court.] James Stewart said he was . at this time in charge of a threshing machine, and in June last he was living near Temuka. He remembered buying a machine in 1879 from Reid andiGray.; He recognised the bill (produced) as the account for the raaehine. He also recognised certain other acco uuts - (produced) as those he had received' from l Reid and Gray. He did hot remember when he received the one dated June 1, 1881. In June last witness believed he had just finished threshing. He remembered coming in to Timaru a day or so before giving a bill of sale and he then saw Reid and Gray, and gave , them security on the machine. He* gave the security because though he had money enough to pay for- it, he could hot. get the money for a- time// In, giving a bill of sale to Reid and Gray, witness told the firm he had not money; enough just then to pay for it. His reason for giving the bill of sale.was,because they were the right owners of the machine. He had no other reason for doing so They had never bothered him r for money.: Witness . did not remember having stated any .other reason for giving the security. He had had a judgment summons put agaipst him then at the suit of Acroyd ; also the Brunner Coal Company had a summons out against him, He had other ‘ creditors pressing him prior to that. Witness did not pay Ackroyd, simply because he had no money, to. pay him with. He recognised his signature (produced) which: was a confession of judgment. Having confessed the claim, he came and arranged with Reid and'Gray, 5 because they were hie principal creditors.' ” To Mr Perry—The security I gave includes the chattels mentioned. I gave the bill of sale to’Reid and Gray afterwards. The engine was a Clayton'and Shuttleworth’s, 8 horse power. I had then a promissory note _ for £lO2 10s, and. £7O cash, at the time I gave, the bill of sale. ’ Reid and Gray were asking for money ; they did not exactly press tee. The Clerk : came to see me.- I gave the bill of sale on the Ist July. I do not remember . Drysdale pressing me to find the balance owing on the machine. Do not think I promised, 1 several times, to pay off the balance. When I gave the promissory note he wanted further security. Reid and Gray’s clerk, whose name Ido hot know, saw me a week or two before I gave the bill of sale. He, the clerk, asked me then to pay off the. balance. There was a note, for £135 then due and dishonored,. They did not say they would collect this if it were not paid at once. The clerk saw me twice, and he on the second occasion demanded the money, or a part. As they were pressing me, I went to see them and gave them this bill of sale. Re examined by MrTosswill—Witness when he saw Reid and Gray, had the promissory note .in. his pocket.- After offering it to Drysdale he offered it to Mendelsoh, He recognised this as being his list of goods Hied in the Bankruptcy Court. He did not intend “ doing ” any of his creditors—he would put everybody right. . , , His Honor considered the evidence of the witness had placed the defendants out of Court. Mr Tosswill submitted that this was a case of fraudulent preference. . . His Honor said that it was not. The English and the New Zealand law appeared in conflict on this point—and his Honor considered that a voluntar ■ surrender of his possessions to one creditor, not a surrender under pressure, constituted a fraudulent preference. Reid and Gray_ having pressed the witness, his making over the property to them was not really a fraudulent preference.

George Bolton, said he was trustee in the estate of James Stewart. The estate was all realised. Mr Jonas acted as auctioneer. The property was nearly all sold at Temuka. An entire horse was sold in Timaru. Witness was present at the sale and two or three things were sold in one lot. The hack fetched £6 10s. The entire horse fetched £l3, He was v an old beast. The livery charged was for the entire horse. [Witness here .certified-to the various items of the account sales.] • Mr Perry called Mr Drysdale to prove the_ prices realised, and’the manner in which the lots were made up, at the Temuka sale, but that witness, on being sworn, stated that he knew nothing of it, not havingheen present at the sale. }. His Honor by consent of counsel, helcl over the order till 12 o’clock to-morrow, the costs of. the application to be paid out of the estate.