Page 4 Advertisements Column 5

Gisborne Times, Volume X, Issue 1020, 13 October 1903, Page 4

s y A % % rim ir'x'i: h': am St? 4 V NOTHING LIKE THEM.

Ml Colley said the fact was that the firm had become bankrupt, anu Mr McConnochie had himself filed his schedule to get rid of debts due by the firm* Mr Stafford said that the building of the house was well forward before the partnership had been dissolved.

Debtor said that they had drawn any stated wages. His private drawings would on an age he about £2 per weelv used to draw between £2 10s £3. not own averThey and

Mr jygb'b : Should not Mrs Mc.Gonnocliie be required to have the property at least two years before it could be claimed as hers ? The Assignee That is a legal question. No settlement has been made on the wile, and I doubt if tile provisions referred to 1 will apP Mr Colley : Was the partnership dissolved when you got the- jjiaterial from our yards ? Debtor: No. I told you it was ■for my own bouse-i Mr Colley : Where is your house ? Debtor : I haven’t got it. Mr Colley : You promised to pay the amount yourself with the money you borrowed. Dejbbor : I do'nteiti remember that r. you do not bill me, but the firm.; I

had every intention of paying it. Mr Troup : You also told me you would square up, and instead of that you cleared away. .Debtor : You got half the money. Mr Troup : Yes, hut I wanted .the .whole of it. Mr Stafford said that debtor had got a cheque for £2uo from Mr Hall. He only accounted for £l9O of it—where was the balance ? Debtor : A good deal of it went in law costs. The Assignee : When did you first find out that you were insolvent ? Debtor : After I had been in busi-

ness nine months. That, he continued, was when his partner had cleared out. They lost on most of their contracts. They had three or four contracts on hand at the one time, and did not keep separate accounts for each one. Mr Stafford : When you dissolved

.partnership, you knew that you were hopelessly insolvent, and yet you went on land- o.onrpltetpd the house.' “ I was not bankrupt,’'- the debtor replied. “Why,” said Mr Troup, ‘‘you were bankrupt in Auckland before you started in Gisborne.- It is very strange for a nnan to go- into business ini that way, using other people’s money, and taking contracts at a loss.” Mr Colley said that his firm took many contracts, hut kept them all separate.; If they did not do that, he did not know where they, would be. “ Every job of ours is kept separate,” added the senior partner of Webb and Sons/ “ Even a. chimney is kept separate.” Mr Evans said that the wages account showed that McConnochie and MeGillivray had each been drawing £3 per week. “It seems,” said Mr Stafford to debtor, “ tli’at you have paid I-lall and Clayton /the firm’s debts out of our money ; paid them in full, at the expense of the creditors. You have diddled us to pay them.- “ I do not understand the moaning of the word ‘ diddled,’ replied the debtor. .“ We are minus our money, while you have paid one creditor in full,” said Mr Stafford. Mr Colley: That is the most annoying thing. If lie had been dealing with me, and I had taken the same amount of money; as Clayton and Hall, I would not have minded.

but when he came to me, bankrupt, ■and begged for £SO worth of material, I get nothing—that is the hard part of it. Mr Lysnar said that Mr Hall had by no means a cheap house. It was incomplete, and he accepted the liability of the lawsuits. “ .Didn’t you say that you would not take IDs 6d in the pound ?” the debtor asked Mr Colley. “ You offered me 10s in the pound, Where did you hope to get the money ?” 'asked Mr Colley? “ I was borrowing it,” the debtor replied. “ It is monstrous !” exclaimed Mr Stafford. It is. downright robbery,” said

Mr Colley, with emphasis. “If they call those proper books, I don’t. He comes and gets material at a time .when lie knows that lie is insolvent.” “ Jie has,” added Mr Stafford. “ been paying away our money to meet the drill’s liabilities. Both of them should be brodglit into it.” Mr Troup : It looks as it the ■books have been made up all at the one time. I

If we let Hi is case slip,” said Mr Colley, warmly, “it will be a disgrace on us as citizens of the town. Other citizens have to he protected.” Mr Stafford said that on Mr MciConnochie coming to him he had told him his debts were £l5O. lie advised debtor to “ buck in to work, and pay it off.” That was what he himself would do in similar circumstances, #■* hut not so McConnochie,” lie added. De.htor replied that he was 'always willing to work when he could get Mr Lysnar said that debtor had placed things fairly before them ; he admitted having taken contracts too low, and thus got into difficulties. His’ partner had gone, and left the burden for him to bear. Ihe Gisborne debts, incurred in the twelve months, amounted to £l6O. He did not think' the debtor had done anything very bad. .The Assignee said there was no suggestion that assets had not been disclosed.i< Any man forced into bankruptcy, would he liable,” said Mr Lysnar “to he charged with robbing Peter to pay Paul, by paying some at the expense of others.” “It is always so,’ said the As signee, speaking from the experience of his office.- v There is no suggestion that McGillivray took away assets.” , . „ r Mr Stafford said that McGillivray had paid his debts. The meeting he considered should be adjourned to ascertain if any offer would be made. Debtor explained that he had now no hope of getting the money. Mr Troup acknowledged that a lair statement had been made. ‘ lhe man has nothing—the money has uuuii siieiiu. , “ What grieves me.” said Mr Webb “is that the oilier fellows got dOs in the pound.” It was agreed to adjourn the meeting for a month.