SUPREME COURT

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 79, 23 September 1911, Page 2

SUPREME COURT

NEW PLYMOUTH SESSIONS. FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1011. (IBefore His Honor, Mr. Justice Sim.) ' IN BANKRUPTCY. Mr, Quilliam applied for an order for the discharge from bankruptcy of Charles Salmon Smith, tailor, of Hawera. The creditors recommended the discharge. An order was granted accordingly. • On the application of Mr. J. E. Wil- ' son, George Hodgkinson and Bernard Kama, builders, of Patea, were granted orders for immediate discharge. CATTLE-DEALER'S ESTATE. Thomas Reginald Surrey, of Hawera, cattle-dealer, applied for his discharge. Mr. C. H. Weston appeared in support of the application. The report of the D.O.A. was characterised by His Honor as being "not altogether favorable." He read from it that Messrs. Newton King, Vickers, and Young, Hoggs & Co., objected to the discharge, on the ground that the bankrupt obtained credit money from them, and used hia money for speculative purposes. Mr. Weston said that no money of the creditors was used in. speculation, but in the purchase of land for kis business, first as a milk vendor, and later as a cattle-dealer. The bankrupthad had a lot of sickness in his family, and had had to pay fairly heavy rates of interest. He had kept a book, but unfortunately his wife, in an excess of zeal, had burned it at Hawera.

Bankrupt, in evidence, said he was working for Mr. Marding, at Hawera, for £2 10s a week. His travelling expenses had to be paid out of his wages. His wife received £1 a week for looking after Harding's children. He lived in his employer's house rent free. He had one child of his own. Harding paid for the food of the whole household.

Bankrupt was put into the box »«4 examined by His Honor. The Bench: When did you incur this debt to Nops?—That is commission on an exchange of property. Bankrupt further said he had bought cattle from the three auctioneers at various times, extending over a long period. His Honor: You were going to the bad all the time?

Bankrupt also said he had kept one book, showing the whole of his dealings, but this was destroyed. His Honor saw no reason why an immediate order of discharge should not be granted, and the order was made.

A LAND AGENT'S TROUBLES,

I In the application of Percy Russell . Wilkinson, formerly of Hawera, land agent, for discharge from bankruptcy, Mr. Quilliam appeared for the, bankrupt, and Mr. R. G. Sellars (representing Mr. Haiti well, of Hawera) opposed the application on behalf of several creditors, amongst whom were Alexander and Greyillc, joint creditors for £4OO in the estate, an/l W. A., Parkinson £42. Questioned by Mr. Sellars, the bankrupt admitted that his deficiency at the time of his bankruptcy was £986 odd. When he started business as a land agent in Hawera in'l9o7, Alexander and (ireville guaranteed his account. Ho told them lie -wanted the money to set himself up in this business, but did not know whether he told them lie then i owed £7O. He was in business from I January, 1907, to June, 15)09, and his losses were £9lO, beiivg £9BO less £7O I owing when he commenced business. On I April 1, 1909, lie entered into an agreej ment with Alexander & Greville to mortI gage to them his life insufance poliey, I and to pay to them £2OO in eight quarterly instalments of t'2o. That was two months before he filed. He had always had prospects of retrieving his position right up to the end, but was com- j pelled to file, us he was being pushed. He employed a young fellow at £1 a week in the office, and had others working on a commission basis. He had to pay some of their expenses. His offic« rent waa £4O or £'so a year. Mr. Sellars: You lost" £91(1 in two years or so, £450 a year, £9 a week. Can you account for these heavy losses? —The travelling expenses were heavy. Bankrupt admitted that several of the claims on the estate were for personal loans, some of which were negotiated shortly before the bankruptcy. He had no recollection of any of his earnings by commissions. When he borrowed money, as shown, he did not tell I the lenders how much he owed, but they i knew he was pretty hard up. There was nothing in the suggestion that he did not attend closely to business. Mr. Sellars: Did you drink?— Very little. 1 Mr. Sellars: Did you gamble?—l have never gambled ten shillings in my life. He had never heard any suggestion before that creditors complained of his neglect of business, or that lie gambled. He was now an unlicensed assistant surT»yor in the Government employ, getting 12s (id a day, and his average earnings up to June 23 last were £3 3s j a week. He bad an annual allowance of £IOO from the Government for equipment, etc., but there was nothing m that. The, account was now in his debt, lie bad a wife and two children. His agreement with the (iovernment would terminate on January :H next, He was aware that the estate had paid no dividend. To Mr. Quilliam: He did not always receive the whole of the commissions earned. Expenses in the land agency business were heavy. There was a stringency in the money market all the time that he was in business, and this i sometimes prevented completion of purchases even after he had gone to considerable expense. He bad never heard it suggested before that lie was addicted to drink or gambling. His family was living in Nelson, and his work was a hundred miles south of Nelson. He had nothing when he left Hawera, and had to borrow money to enable him to go to Nelson. Shortly before the bankruptcy he had been to law over some commissions, out of which he expected some money

Mr. Sella rs: That was only £l5O, anyway. To Mr. Quilliam: Tlio fact that he was an undischarged bankrupt prejudiced Him in his appointment. ,Mr. Sellars asked that the order of discharge be suspended until such time as the bankrupt had discharged some of his liabilities, which, counsel emphasised, had been contracted by himself. Tie had not done his duty by' his creditors, particularly by Alexander & Greville, who had guaranteed his account. He suggested that an order should be made, conditionally upon the bankrupt agreeing to pay out of his earnings some portion of his debts. Mr. Quilliam said the only reason urged against the discharge 'was the amount of (he deficiency. This was inevitable in such a business, and especially in a time of financial stress as occurred just tlten. His Honor granted an order for immediate discharge. RK AVALTEK. WILKKS. Mr. Hutchcn. on behalf of the Taranuki District Law Society, applied for an order making absolute' a rule nisi to strike Walter Wilkes off the roll of solicitors, ; , . ,

J His Honor pointed out that only the l Court of. Appeal could strike a solicitor 1) off the roll. He could suspend him. Mr. Ilutclipn said it was not necessary to suspend Wilkw, as he was already \out of the Dominion. I His Honor said that, as he considered ' the rule should be made absolute, he f would reserve the matter for the Court \ of Appeal, in accordance with the proj visions of the Act. j REDUCING THE LIST.

On the application of Mr. Hutchen, on behalf of all the parties, further adjournments till next session were granted in the eases of Quin Bros. v. South Taranaki Winter Show Company. Ltd., and Robert William Bond and Bond's trustees, a claim under the Wages Protection and Contractors' Liens Act. 1908, for £486 16s 7d, and Bennett and Sutton v. the same, a similar claim for £303 12a 4d.

Mr, Johnstone, acting for plaintiff, intimated that the case of Frederick George Smith v. Elizabeth John Theobald (Mr. Spence), claim for specific performance of an agreement to exchange properties, had been settled out of Court, a« well as a counter-claim in this case.

Judgment for plaintiff by consent was entered in the case of the Public Trustee (Mr. Johnstone) v. Thomas Hastie and Jessie Eva Hastie, of Taurakawa (Mr. Roy), claim under a mortgage for the following moneys: £3014 7s principal; £784 17s 2d, moneys paid out for ground rent, taxes, etc., on the property comprising the security; and £llO6 Is 9d, interest to June 23 last; and also for interest from June 23 to the date of judgment. Mr. Roy applied for a stay of immediate execution, but this application was refused. Mr. Spence, for the defendants, stated that a settlement had been arrived at in the matter of the originating summons, Walter Rcvell Colson James (Mr. Quilliam) v. John Hurley and Michael O'Sullivan, a claim under the Family Protection Act, in the matter of the estate of the late Mary James, late of Hurleyville.. Plaintiff was deceased's husband, and the defendants are her trustees and executors. Plaintiff claimed that his wife made a will leaving him with inadequate support, and he asked for an order for £3 per week from the date of his wife's death, or for such order as the Court thinks fit. To allow the settlement (the terms of which were not announced) to be carried, the case was adjourned till next sessions.