MEETING OF CREDITORS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1943, 19 March 1885, Page 2

MEETING OF CREDITORS.

A meeting of Patrick Cookery's creditors was held at the old Court room yesterday. _ Mr Sellar, Deputy Assignee who presided, stated that this was an - adjourned meeting to enable the debtor to be present, The debtor has not filed a statement of assets and liabilities in conformity with the Act. The debtor was then sworn and in answer to Mr Bunny deposed, "I was adjudicated a bankrupt on the 9th." I held some time ago a bill of sale over Dixon & Jaques plant to secure £550. Mr Gawith now has poßsesaton of this bill of sale', ' 1 my power under the bill of sale and purohasecl the property at auction for £Boo.' I was the original possessor of the plant previously, I had it in partnership with W. Neill. I was in possession of the plant before having it sold. I sold the plant to Jacques & Dixon for £7OO. I afterwards sojd the plant to Neill when it came into my possession at the auction sale! Mr Skipper: "May I ask who you appear for, Mr Bunny?" Mr Bunny: "I appear for the Assignee. In what capacity do you appear Mr Skipper?" Mr Skipper: I am acting for the debtor!

Debtor, cqntimjed, \ sold my leasehold property also to tyeill, wuf the plant" fqr £4OO. NeUl gaye me a cheque for three hundred odd pounds and pajd'tjje rent due on the padded?, The rent was. due on the previous day. I had had a 'notice that the paddock would be relet if the ront was not paid. The amount was £3l for a year payable in advance. 1 believe the lease wag for fourteen years. It was for 100 acres of education reserve, I cannot say what the value of the leasehold property was, It is well situated, but the river is cutting the fence away, . The plant has decreased in value since I parted, with it to Dixon and Jams, A. 'bus had been added to it whicn coat £l5O, or rather a new body put on the top of my whoela I sold the plant for £4OO because I had notice from Mr Elkins to leave theBtables, and I was glad to. get rid of it, The plant remained on the same premises for Neill. I was prepared to sell for any price. I carried on business for NoM till he got the Empire stables, I kept an account of the takings and expenditure while I acted for Neill. The proporty I purchased under the bill of sale was worth £BOO, The amount of Neill's cheque to me was £369. leashed the cheque as soon as I got it. I did not hand the money back to Neill. M/r Bunny: M you not return some Qfthempneytqlifeill'f '■ • Debtor; Why should \ do sp ? Mr Bunny \ No portion of it ? DobtonNol

At the time you sold the property did you owe £l5O to Muir and Dixon ? They wanted me to pay them £150! Hadn't you backed a bill for that amount ? ■ Now you talk, I had backed one. Did you pay Dixon & Jaqueß the £BOO for which you purchaaed the property 1. No! Aveftey suing you for the balance due What was the ampunt qf the. balance J I cannot say! ' "' ''' ■ EifJyPHUPfgoMJieprjant? lnevertqpkjipnqticaqfit!' Was yfi W qbJ3pt jn dispppg pf fhp prp : . perty to get rid of Dixpn aild Jaqqes' claim? r No! Dixon and Jaques handed me the property and told me to do what I liked with it. Did you have a conversation with Mr McEwen about the property ? Not that I am aware of I Did you not offer it to McEwen ? . v .. I spoke to him .before Neill bought it. I told him I was prepared to sell and asked him if he would .buy it. Did you offerit to MpEwen, saying that you would give himbaik the cheque if he bought it? ,] , Nothing of the sort? 1

If I had got his cheque he would not have seen the money back! Have you. not returned to Neill any portion of that cheque you received, £369 ? No! I have had money dealings with him, but could not say what amount until I look at my little book, ' • ! State rouglily the amount you have paid back to him. ; ' '' I have paid backwards and forwards to him about £IOO. As a matter of fact, did you not give"'" him this property to keep for you ? No, I sold it to him! Did you not give him the money to hold? No! What have you done with the money ? I have paid lots of little bills. I can show you the receipts of what I did pay, I paid Elkins £4O, and others! What is the use of your looking at the receipts if you can't read and wrjte ? Somebody would tell me. /|lfiarejay I have paid away over £IOO a? well as £4O to Elkins.

That leaves £2lO. . What.,have you done with that?' I don't know; 1 have spent it travelling about. I have not handed it back to Neill. I have got £5 or £6 in hand. I believe Elkins got most of it for whiskey. Do you owe Elkins anything now? You must have stowed a lot of whiskey (' away ? \ I owe Elkins nothing! -'" Was the plant worth £1000?. You might say so, I should not 1 As a matter of fact did you not estimate the plant at £IOOO ? :: :! - [, No! It was not worth £2OO to any one thathad no place to put it I Did.you keep any hook of how you , spent thiß money ?' '" No! - Did you keep books before ? They were kept for me. I kept the business together till Neill got shelter, and I incurred liabilities for shoeing, &c, up to the middle of last month. „• Is Neill using the plant now I Yes! . Can you recognize that document 1 (sale note handed in,) Yes. That was- drawn up between flathaway, myself, and Neill 1 When was that drawn up ? The paper shows the date! When was it drawn up? Cannot say from memory; hut it was before I got the cheque | " • Where did Neil get possession of tho plant? . ';' At the moment he bought it'; I kept the business together for'him, I told jjMacara and Elkins and others: that Neill : had bought the plant. I thought there was a possibility of Neill getting the Club stables. When Elkins turned'me out I had to do something. Elkins turned me j out in the street and otherwise I should •' have worked and paid everybody in full. I did all I could to get Neill the stables, and if he had got them I should have paid everybody. Would you have j;one in partnership with Neill? No!

Are you not aware the plant would have fetched more at the auction than Neill gaye you ? I am doubtful. After you had got the money from Neil did you keep a banking account ? Yes! Did you pay all monies in to your account? No! Did you pay any of this money of Neill'sin? ...,:,' No ! It went away too quick.;■ . What was the £4O you paid Elkins 1 Rent! ' X . , Was it a bill? , ..: Yes. I borrowed £lO to make up 'the bill from Neill. Then you did not pay the £4O out of £369? . , ' • Well, it was Neill's money, I had sold to Neill before I paid Elkins. I.canriot say for certain whether it was : after or before.

Ab a matter of ;fact have you and Neill had money traction} together lately r ; Yes, for sbm'e ihbiiths we haye'acqojiVniodatod each other.'' ! '"' '' BU^'" ,•"' I)o you remember how long it wasßince Neill paid the £3l? ■■'•# No, I only know it was paid. Who cashed the cheque?. ,/. I did. Mr Hathaway was there,;!, counted the money." tcan tell the difference between a pp'und; : nojie and a ten pound note, but sometimes J giye away afiver m mistake for a powu}. " ."/ ". Did fiathaway/'gel any of" the money ? Yes, £l,l think:' ' ■ .••■... Did'it take you long to come to terms witiijpil "■ '•'•;"■- -7* 'No,' it'waa all done in/five mln|jtOf,; • Can ypu tell roughly what yp'ii' p'wefl aj, thetinjo? ' !.■ "£soqr£JiQ. ... fiut you pwed Ll5O to Mub; $ Dj jpn ? I don't know whether I owed jt,' | " • / have been sued for the amount and -' jud?mont obtained. ~ ; ,'• Do you know a warrant was Issued.. under that judgment ? ...-'■.' •• Yes, and I saw Mr Wardell take' pps- / . session of the property,. •The membra}.'.-.'. dum of sale wasiiot made, after that;? 1...' did not leave' Mastorton fprV ."'. after. .1 went to Wapgajvui and -triea to "'"' arrange for work or business.- - I -believe some of you sWoro that I hadleft-tho dV ./.: . trict, but you will heir, more ; of 'that' .•::• before long. ' • ••■ ' '•'•!>■ -' ! •':•'•'•• Did you make any enquiry of livery stablo keepers there as to business ?./ No, I wanted something better than . that. Whatwasitt ■;;; If I tell you, you will know .as much as!' myself. \ ' Did you endeavor to get,.a,bußiness ? I tried to get something to do. ' Now, what amount of money did. you ■.< tike with you? ' : ' ;. lam sure I couldn't say. ~.■'' '■ Did you take £200? .'."' '' ' " ' J I i}aie say I did, moreiqr less,. ' I JJaveybu^ot : ij;n(i'W " •' : ' .;.''. No, I have'apent il, lent it, am} pai4 some debts 1 owed in Wanganui. } pai| money to Slattery, £3 or £4. There were. /, different chaps I paid that I owedmoney •' to. '•'.'•' What are the names? '",' I don't remember. Many a pound I lend and don't knew the people's names. Can ym mention any amount you paid away and to whom? '. '•.- Johnßon, carrier, Wanganui, £6. :'.,'.. To whom have you lent money ? "...'.:. I don't know their names. . v, p. Dixon: You said you sold the pla£, , to P/iiiiiV'and Jacauea to your sorrow. Wh»t doysii njean'pytljatl =' ' t "!■'•'.' '" ■ •'■ MrSkippqrobjecte4toth.equestiQn^ l . '..'. ; • The Assignoe repeated the question, '■■■'•..- : - because. I'm no Scholar and'Kave lost,' '-'• everything, . - MrSellari How did you receive pay* ment? ■■■■:•■ £2OO cash, balance of bill of Bale, •:.,: .A £6OO, at eight per cent.. .They paid no. ...' -f l interest, rent, nor anytK&g efce, coilse- r qucntly I seized the ' ' •'■' "'"tV! ./;■.;'. E. Dixon : What did you dp with .the ■ ■ &' : &. money you took at thb' stables' 'after you'' : r! sold out? ':' . * 1 paid the wages, and what I wanted to ■• ■ get I bought. I took a horse of Neill'ato' ' go away and arranged to pay £1 a weeks' Did you get any communication while', you wore away?

No. Everybody know whoro I was going. I made no secret of it, Mr Bunny: Then you did not go to Wanganui to pay your creditors ? , No. 1 could not help paying them ■ when I met them and they asked me. You did not follow that line of conduct hero. No. I have not paid Neill for the horseliird yet. It. Brown: "Wliv did you not put the plant up to auction. Because I promised it to Neill. I can produce the paper signed by Dixon and tlaqucs giving me permission to sell the plant. . (t. Heron : As a matter of fact £520 .- was bid «t the sale and you bid £'Boo. A day or two after you sold to Neill for £3OO, How do you account for that? Because Elkins turned me out, Mr Rapp: Have you any offer to make the creditors. No, In answer to E. Dixon witness said the chaff cutter he sold was not-in the plant, Mr Bunny: Did you pay any money into Neill's account since December? ■ No!. &d you pay any money to Neill ? •'7p|, I can not say the amount. I told E. Dixon I would give him a cheque.: for the Ll5O if Elkins would let Neill have the stables, because I could have got more for the plant. Neill would have given me L7OO for the plant if he could . have got the Club stables, I did not offer the plant to Frank Hood. He did not • offer me L 7 00 for it, The reason I bid ] LBOO for the plant was because Neill had / offered to take it for L7OO. Mr Hathaway wished to ask a question ■ but the Assignee said it would show better taste on his part not to do so. Mr Hathaway said the Assignee was acting partially. ■ Mr Sellar told the debtor he would be required to produce all books and papers in three days. Mr Skipper said he would like the time extended to Monday, and he would hand over the books to the Deputy Assignee in . the meantime. Mr Sellar did not object, but stated permission would have to be obtained from the Clerk of the Court,