J. D. CRUICKSHANK AND CO.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10140, 10 December 1910, Page 5

J. D. CRUICKSHANK AND CO.

A QUESIION OF LIQUIDATION. The Supreme Court. Mr Justice Cooper presiding, was occupied yesterday by the hearing of the petition of Johnston and Company, Ltd, of Weliington.asking that J. D. Cruickshank and Company, Ltd., of Masterton, be wound up by the Court under the provisions of the Companies i\ct, 1908. Mr H. D. Eell,"K.C, with him i Mr Johnston, appeared for petitioners, Mr CB. orison: for the respondent company, Mr H. F. Von Haast for forty-three opposing creditors, and Mr D. K. Logan- for sev- ! eral fully-paid shareholders. The petition sets out that the com- . pany was formed to acquire from. James Duff Cruickshank.the goodwill of bis business as a merchant and commission agent. No dividend has been paid by the company during its last three financial years, and it made a loss for the year ending 30th June, 1909, of £1343 15s Bd, and for the year following of £1268 18s Id. The company is indebted to "-.he Bank of New South Wales in a sum exceeding £22OU, which is partly secured by a mortgage upon the uncalled capital. .There wag also a debt of £3750 to George Henry Perry, alleged <o be secured by a mortgage debenture covering. the whole of the company's assets. There was owing to unsecured creditors on 30th June, 1910, the sum of £1143 2s Id. At the last annr.al meeting held on 24th August, the shareholders present or represented decided to accept an offer by Perry to take over the business as a going concern,, but petitioners, the registered holders of 100 fully paid-up shares, and some other shareholders dissented from the j proposals, as the effect of the proposed agreement is that the uncalled or unpatd liability of £1867 will be discharged, while the fully paid shareholders wiH receive nothing, and thereby the holders of shares upon which there is a liability will be preferred to those who have paid the full amount of their shares. After making considerable * allowance for depreciation of stock and loss by bad debts and expenses in liquidation there should remain a balance for distribution among the shareholders if liquidation were proceeded with in due course, and petitioners believe that a voluntary liquidation as proposed would result in a serious loss to the fully-paid shareholders, and in any event a serious loss injustice would be done them. (Proceeding).