BANKRUPTCY.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3564, 29 May 1880, Page 1

BANKRUPTCY.

The following will show how erediton are often swindled. It is taken from the Napier Telegraph, the true names being suppressed:—John Smith, Trustee in the estate of William Brown, dr. to——, Solicitor.—Cost of obtaining Peed of Assign* ment.—Jan. 3— Adrising you re your affairs, and that yon should call a meeting of your creditors, 10a 6d; advising and attending you again when yon were to call a meeting of your creditors, this day week at 12 noon (and you paid me £13 on account of costs), 10s 6d; writing and sending nine notices of meeting and attending to deliver, £1 7s (as a matter of fact, of the nine notices only one was written, and the others were copied by the multigraph by the office boy. on post cards, the whole cost of which was 9d). s—Attending meeting of your creditors when a resolution was passed that you should assign your estate £1,15.; use of my office, £1 Is (the time occupied by this meeting whs under three quarters of an hour). 6—PrawiDg and engrossing a long and special deed £5 ss. (This long and special deed was an exact copy of dozens of others, and was copied by the clerk in. two hours, the only difference was the alteration of names). Carried forward, £9 15s. (It fray be noticed that; though, the account is made out in the name of the trustee, up to this (use it baa been a matter purely between solicit tor and' bankrupt, tbe former having already, received £13, of. which no notice is taken. The. actual cost out of solicitor's pocket up to this time is only 9d.)—Brought forward, £9 15s. Jan. 6—Attending on you for signature, also the trustee, 6s 8d; attend' ing Court to file deed, 6s 8d ; paid filing, £2. (First actual outlay.) Preparing four Gazette notices, £1. (Occupied exactly balf an hour.) Attending Clerk of Court to sign and fix date, 6s 8d; attending Herald with copy to insert, 6s 8d; paid £1; the like, Telegraph, 6vßd ; paid, £1. (These speak for themstlves, the amounts paid being only 12s each.) 7—Making copy of deed for Trustee,-£2 2s. (This deed only consisted of 24 folios, tbe ordinary copying price being 3d per folio, and would consequently amount to (is.) Making copy of assets and liabilities for trustee, £1 Is. (This consisted of . half sheet of foolscap, and.occupied the boy half an hour.) Copy for Court with affidavit, £110s 6d;. attending Court to file, 6s 8d; paid, 3s. (Third outlay, in all £2 13s) B—Preparing two fresh copies Gazette notice, as time given was too short, 19s 6d; paid each £1,£2; 'attending at Herald for notices to send creditors, 6s 8d ; paid, 3s. (Kntirely tbe error of the solicitor.) Postage, Is 6d; addressing notices and attending to post, 6s 8d; preparing affidavit of postal of notices, 10a 6d; attending to be sworn, 6s 8d; paid oath, 2s. (Solicitors make no charge for taking the affidavits of each other or of their clerks. This occupied the clerk just ten minutes to add 19s 2d

to his employer's bill.) 10—Attending meetiig of creditors for assent to deed, when same was assented to, £2 2s.' (Only occupied quarter of an hour.) 11—; Preparing copy of certificate of resolution assenting to deed, £1 Is ; copy for Court, 10s 6d; attending chairman for him to; sign certificate, 6s 8d ; attending Court to file same, 6s 8d; paid, 3s. 12—Preparing three Gazette notices to apply for order of complete execution, 15s; attending at Herald oitice with copy to insert, 6s 8d; paid, £1; the like at Telegraph, 6s 8d; paid, £1. (The same applies to this as in the previous case.) -Preparing.long affidavit as to chairman's signature, gazetting, <&c, £1 Is ; attend-. to be sworn, 6s 8d ; paid oath, 2s ; attend-: ing Court to file, 6s 8d; paid, 3s. 17— Attending Court for order of complete execution, same granted, £2 2s; preparing three Gazette notices re order being made, 15s ; attending at Herald office with copy to insert, 6s 8d; paid £1; the like at Telegraph, 6s 8d ; paid, £1; preparing order, £1 Is, copy for Court, 10s 6d; attending Court to seal same, 6s 8d; paid, 6s; attending trustee with copy of account, 6s Bd. 20— Attending on trustee, requesting him to fix date to tax, 6s . 8d; attending taxation, 10s 6d; attending | at my office to settle same, 6s Bd. Ac- j tually charged £1. 10s 6d to receive hii own money.)—£4s Is 6d. Adding the sum of £13 previously paid to the solicitor by bankrupt, £13—£58 Is 6d. Less amount taxeed off, £115s 6d—£s6 6s—which was the actual amount the solicitor received for two week's transactions with the bankrupt. He expended in cash for the various items charged £5 2s 6d; this leaves him a nett gain of £51 3s 6d. The whole estate consisted as follows:—Liabilities, £475 15s 6d ; assets, consisting of book debts, stock-in-trade, and effects, £390; which left as a deficiency, £85 15s 6d. And it was confidently expected that the estate would realise at least 12s 6d in the £ after paying all charges, but the result turned out as follows:—The stock-in-trade when sold at auction, though valued by the bankrupt at £95, only realised £35, which, after deducting the auctioneer's charges, 5 per cent, and expenses, and trustee's commission, 5 per cent, left £31. The book debts consisted of £200, of all sorts, several of the names having already been whitewashed. The trustee succeeded in recovering £40, but he had in several cases employed a solicitor to fight another lawyer, which cost the estate £10. He charged 10 per cent for collecting £40, which left £36, less £10 to the solicitor. Thus, out of the book debts, only £26 remained. The rest of. the assets were abandoned, as the bankrupt having already mortgaged and allowed ; the interest to fall so far in arrear, the trustee did not see bis way clear to pay-the same, inasmuch as the deed of assignment, which cost £7 7s, provided that the solicitor should be the first paid—put in purposely by himself. Thus the assets amounted to £61 instead of £590, which left the sum of £1518s 6d, after paying the solicitor, to be divided amongst the liabilities of £476 15s 6d, which gave a dividend of 7fd io the £.