MEETING OF CREDITORS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 268, 3 April 1911, Page 2

MEETING OF CREDITORS

THE DOINGS OF LAND AGENTS, j A meeting of creditors in the estate of Alexander Reid, laborer, Eltham, was held on Thursday moning at the office of the Deputy Official Assignee (Mr. A. ; Coleman). 1 The amount owing to unsecured creditors was £lO4 10s Od. i P. G. Nopps, Inglewood, land agent, was the only secured creditor, who had a claim of £IBO over a security valued at £4OO, leaving a balance of £219 15s, and an apparent final surplus in favor of r bankrupt of £25 4s Od. Bankrupt, in a statement, said that I four years ago he sold his farm at Whangamomona and came to Stratford. He bought the goodwill of a farm in Midhirst for £i]'oo and worked it for about two years. He exchanged this farm for a. property in New Plymouth, which left 1 him an apparent equity of £350. He was then thoroughly solvent, but from that time he began to get behi»d. He | was about ten months in New Plymouth, but there was not much work to be done. 'Bankrupt, his wife, son and daughter were taken ill at different times. The mortgagees sold him up and left him with nothing. Then he bought two sections in Eltham from Mr. Nopps, his wife paying £25 down, the balance standing on mortgage for three years. He had to build, and he understood from Mr. McVeagh that when the building was finished he could get an advance of £3OO from the Advances to Settlers Office; but Mr. Nopps, for some reason or other, would not consent to this. If uankrupt had known that it was necessary first to get the consent of Mr. Nopps lie would never have made the deal. Mr. McCluggage said the whole trouble seemed to be that when bankrupt exchanged his Midhirst farm for the New Plymouth property the New Plymouth property was inflated in value, while the value of the Midhirst farm was not inflated toy bankrupt. That seemed to be the start pf all his troubles. j The Assignee said there seemed only; two courses open to the creditors—to sell the security as it stood or to complete it and sell it. 111 reply to Mr. W. G. Malone the Assignee said that the £25 deposited on the Eltham section was paid by Mrs. Reid, who borrowed the money. Mrs. Reid had also advanced £25 for iron. 'Mr. Malone said it appeared that when bankrupt went to Eltham he had 110 means and no prospects. Why did he incur so many liabilities? Bankrupt said if he had got the advance lie expected he would have been solvent. The Assignee said bankrupt had, no doubt, relied on being able to create a margin of security by his own labor. "Mr, Malone said it was necessary to have a full enquiry into the position, so far a 8 the connection with a land agent was concerned. It seemed that bankrupt had been deluded in buying the New Plymouth property and had been roughly treated by being sold up. In answer to the Assignee bankrupt said several firms had been pressing him. The Assignee: Have any of them got judgment ? Bankrupt: No. The Assignee: It is the usual thing in Taranaki to put off filing until judgment is obtained. The Assignee said it seemed a pity to him that bankrupt had filed at all. It was finally decided that the estate be left in the hands of the Assignee to realise to the best advantage.—Post. '