8.—9

The entry of the Public Trustee by that name in the register of shareholders of a company shalljnot constitute a trust. The company shall not be entitled to object to enter the name of the Public Trustee in its register of shareholders by reason only that the Public Trustee is a trustee or A is a corporation. In dealings with property the fact that the person or one of the persons dealt with is the Public Trustee shall not of itself constitute notice of a trust. This legislation has been of considerable assistance in enabling the Public Trustee to register transmission to shares which come under his administration and finally to dispose of them by sale. Most of the banks are now prepared to register the Public Trustee's title to any shareholdings of which he is legal owner. Some of the banking institutions, however, still consider that, notwithstanding the recent legislation, they are unable to register the Public Trustee's title in view of the express provisions of their articles of association. In such cases the dividends payable on the shares are credited to the Public Trustee, but his name does not appear on the share register. The attitude of the bank occasions no difficulty if the shares are being realized in the ordinary way. Where, however, the bank issues fresh capital and the existing proprietors have rights in the new issue, the fact that the Public Trustee is not registered as proprietor of the shares to which he is entitled occasions a serious difficulty. Businesses in Estates. 70. The Public Trustee is frequently called upon actively to run businesses oil behalf of estates under his administration. Furthermore, many of the estates under the Public Trustee's control have large interests in businesses of various kinds which are not actively run by the Public Trustee. Apart from directions in testators' wills, when estates come into the Office for administration the Public Trustee is often requested by the beneficiaries to carry on the business in which the deceased was interested. In these cases the Public Trustee is required to exercise the same supervision, judgment, and skill as was displayed by the deceased during his lifetime in the conduct of his business. The work entailed in this supervision and management is often arduous and difficult, but the organization of the Office and the large number of officers specially qualified in law, accounting, and general business practice, as well as the special knowledge acquired during long experience in the administration of estates, enable the Public Trustee to conduct this special work with success. In addition to the specially qualified officers, the Public Trustee has at his disposal the services of Farm Inspectors with special knowledge of farming and the management of stock. Furthermore, he retains the services of a Financial Adviser who is skilled in questions of finance, commerce, and general business. The Public Trustee devotes special attention to the [methods employed in businesses under his control to ensure not only that there will be a careful check upon the returns which are received, but also to enable complete and comprehensive statements of account to be prepared at regular intervals for the information of the beneficiaries and for the guidance of the Office in the administration of the estate. In these statements of account an endeavour is made to show the general position as clearly and concisely as possible. At the same time comparative statements are compiled so that the profits and the turnover from the business may be compared with the returns in preceding years in order to ascertain whether any particular business is progressing, and to discover how, if possible, the profits may be increased. As the Public Trustee administers such large numbers of estates, naturally the classes of business which he is called upon to control are of a very wide and varied nature. In addition to sheep, dairying, and agricultural farms, the Public Trustee has the management of- —Retail drapery-store, stationery and soft-goods shop, boot and shoe shop, grocery business, hairdressing and tobacconist business, sailmaking, plumbing, bakery, and brewery. Many of these businesses have been carried on for a number of years, and the Public Trustee's management has given satisfaction to the beneficiaries to such an extent that they have learned to repose trust and confidence in the Office administration, and have frequently entrusted the management of their own affairs to the Public Trustee.

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