SUPREME COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 293, 20 May 1915, Page 6

SUPREME COURT.

IX HAXKUUi'TCY. AiTi.!f.Vrc'.;s \-\n\. uiscHAilcr.. I I The S.inromo Curt was c'.ii* itiii"-! I opp.i-i! !>v Mr. .1. !!'. Qiiiliiiini act in;; i Oil helc.iir'lli' 'Messrs. NewtOU Kil'.o .Hal William liirdii'i','. Jiaokrupl. v.ho a. hutchm' at Weilava a! the lime of the bankruptcy, was iion bv .Vh\'\>:ii!!i-,im, he slated that hi'.] was milking Iweoly cows, and lb it lus biggest ueoah's elu.pm was Cih Tie was p.-ivirg CI per acre rent for ■>!>: acres, and emi'd make no oil'er. Th- discharge was granC'd. The appl'icition or .Bernard l.vni (Mr. !■'. V.. Wilson), which was objected to l.v Mr. A. U. Stamlish. on behalf of Mr. A. IS. Wahbe. and was adjourned '.u.'.il tic next, sittings of the Court m So,, (ember. The application of H. li. I'roV haw (Mr. A. K. Ntandisli) and W. F. D,avii!,!i! (Mr. F. K. Wilson 1, which ware iinop.poscd, were also granted. '!'!.! K lIAKDINC, CASKS. d. W. "Harding applied for his di„ibara". lie was reureseuied bv Mr .1. 11. tjiiilliaiii, and the application was oppo.-dl b.\ air. lb Spcncc, acting on beHanknipf v.-ns examined al, length by Mr. Spenco relative to (be transfer of pr-oeriiM (o hi, wife, which funnel flic subject of a Supreme Court action, tie Mated the.! (he Supreme Court held thai lie (r,.i;sier of the Norfolk Load and I'iakilio ]iroperfies to his wife was null ami void, but gave leave to appeal in forma pauperis. Older compromise villi the creditors his wife gave, up the ('takeho property and retained the Norfolk iload property. This latter was r><« acres, and he had valued it at £ii, though t'ne (!o\ eminent, valuation was

CM. His wife had half of this, (is tlio ' other hulf \v : '.s vested in the Public Trustee I'nr his children. It was niort-1 gaged for .C'ttilO. I Mr. Sncnco remarked that, bused on! !i valuation oi' €2O per acre, this lialt'i of 1 Isc property showed an equity of; CVM'i). j Witness said that, while In; had valued tin' property at Cr> per aero, the (,'ovornmont value of CI 1 would he. nearer the mark. He u,<.\y worked on the farm, hut did not manage it. His wife mostly bought slock through agents, though occasionally ho bought stock for her. Witness said that the Official Assignee had valued the. land at, Cl 4, but. this statement .Mr. Budge refuted. To Mr. Quilliam: He liail handed over to his creditors landed property, etc., which was not vested in his wile to the lalmi of £l,lOO. He stated that one property in which his equity was at the lowest .-CSdll had been handed back to the second mortgagee. He went iu(o his business arrangements as detailed at the bankruptcy. To Mr. Quillium: Leave to appeal was granted in forma pauperis, hut after the application had been lodged his wife had compromised with the. creditors, and a deed was drawn up, Ids wife handing over the Otakoho property, £•',()() cash, and her furniture, jfe estimated his equity in the Otakeho farm at the time of bankruptcy at ,€200(1, and this, with other realisable assets, would have paid Ids in the ,C. lie did not knew whv the (Itakeho property had not bom s.dd. Possibly it was 'the length of time occupied bv the litigation, and also the fact Unit the war hail made money tight. Witness stated that he had opened the trade for cow and bull beef, which had brought millions into the, country. He understood that some of his creditors had held a meeting, and had decided to oppose his discharge until he had paid 10s in the £. The Official Assignee had received ,€!)00, and hart the (Itakeho property to sell. Witness was examined by Mr. Spenr.e as to the statement submitted to the Bank of New Zealand, and which included the Norfolk Koad and Otakeho properties, lie held that he had withdrawn these by telegram and letter the same afternoon.

Clnis. Alfred limine, D.O.A. at Hawera. deposed that he had called tenders for the llawcra property, the equity of which had been mentioned at £BllO, but received no applications, and the property reverted to the second mortgagee Witness valued the Norfolk Road property at £l9 per acre. Witness valued the Otakeho property at £4O to £4:") per acre. Jt was not in good order, and the creditors considered it advisable to spend some money on it to put it in good order, so that it would sell to the best advantage at the beginning of next season. On this basis lie estimated the estate would pay ;is in the £. Cost of litigation and accountants had amounted to £BSO.

Mr. Quiliiam pointed out that at £45 per acre equity would amount to £l7tii, there having been in addition £047 other assets that would have enabled nearly 10s in the £ to be paid on the proved debts of £5017.

Mr. Spenee said that he relied on the mandatory clause, of the Act, which said that there should be no immediate, discharge if any oll'ence was committed or if there was any ground to belief that an oll'ence had been committed. lie held that as the result of an action held fraudulent by the Chief Justice, they had lost property the equity of which was £4(>(>2. He also referred to the statements given to the Bank of New Zealand and the Loan and Mercantile Company. His lienor pointed out that the creditors had made a compromise with the wife after the Supreme Court judgment. Mr. Quiliiam argued that bankrupt was shown to have handed over to the creditors snllicient assets to pay 10s in the ,£. A large amount had been spent in litigation. His Honor reserved his decision.

THE MOA MERGER. His Honor Mr. Justic Edwards gave judgment in the case, argued the previous day, in which J. Williams, a ratepayer of the Moa Road District (Mr. llutchen), made application to have a special order made by the Taranaki County Council (Mr. J. H. Quiliiam) merging part of ihe Moa Road District quashed. His Honor held that it was not open to any person to nullify the effect of the petition by withdrawing his signature on the simple grounds of misapprehension. He could do so' before the time expired, when the, ratepayers who opposed the merger could possibly obtain sullicient signatures to again make up the number. The petition was a simple one, and it was difli-

cii!(. Id midd'slaMd bow any one could Js:i--. f■ ;,!•,•!;;<l nishr a, i:ii--..ipj»i-i'lii-ii:-.jt.ii. .i.!,i-i;!CiiL was "!,.n i;i favor <if the ;.',:..; .'.0.0! ISoev-l, v.-tilt cn.ds li:: 12s. CiilMSVCii!':':!'!' s;'-^invs. Ivy i'ress A:-so.iaUon. Chvisl church, Mav l!l. Tn !.],<. Supremo (■..lift. (Veil C.orgc Farrow appeared lor soaleace for lliolt r.i moneys of t t;:■ l.vlt.'lion n.iroll-'i! (".iini.il. Mr. dir.tico l).nni-.!,,ii said he Was allowing I'.-irrov.- n chance lo ~<o li. (!:.■ w:ir v.-ilii II" artillery, because the commanding ofiiecr and the men () f !!:<• force iia.l s : "'nifi,„l (!!!'"■ willingness oliinVn.-, ..!' ;i Mrlli'ivni.'. .'firl.'.v that 111,. Kin,'/-, uniform ; hm,] f,,r Jiimr..{v and uprightness ;v; well ,':■. ]".■;■ valor.' lie had .<'.i!iti'.l',|..ir,ii('il will. his brother .rudgo~. who. he Ihotuiht, should he <>I'i" : "". i'di'tifii"! h- (!,<::<> opinion's ami v.'illi ilinl of ! ; ;>n„;v's comrades, lie ordered liim to come up for sciiten-o when called „n.