The Kenilworth Advertiser. — 1879-07-05 (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England)

IMPORTANT BANK RUPTCY PROCEEDINGS.  In the matter of Frederick Browett and Co., trimming manufacturers, an application was made on behalf of the Trustee of the estate for the direction of his Honour on a resolution passed by a majority in amount, not of creditors, recently held. —Mr. Slubbins, barrister of the Midland Circuit. appeared for the Trustee; Mr. Nathan, of 112 e same circuit, for several creditors; Mr. Williams, of the South-Eastern Circuit, fur Mr. Leopold Saloman, of London, also a creditor; and Mr. T. Browett, solicitor, as the largest unsecured creditor, also watched the proceedings.—From the statements made by the learned counsel, it appeared that the debtors at a meeting of their creditors held early in May, offered a composition of ss. in the 2, but that sum was rejected mainly through the opposition of Mr. Saloman. On the eth June, a meeting of creditors was held in London, called by Mr. Pitt, one of the Committee of Inspection, to consider a proposition made by Mr. Salomans, for the purchase of the whole estate of the debtors, Mr. Saloman agreeing to pay sa. in the .2, as a composition, and pay all the costs of the liquidation t to that time. That arrangement was agreed to by a " majority " in amount, but not of numbers of creditors, but Mr. Stubbins now objected to itKon the ground that several of the amounts in the pronin of claim were wrong by some hundreds of pounds, and that against the names of three creditors who were entered as "6, 7, end 8," and who voted against the•resolution, no amount whatever was fixed against their names. He also contended that as no advertisement of the meeting was published in the London Gazette or local paper, the proceedings were not valid. On those grounds he submitted that the resohition was one that the Trustee could not act upon, and he accordingly came to the Court for directions. Mr. Nathan and Mr. Browett followed, both gentlemen strongly opposing the resolution on the ground that if it was entertained, and Mr. Saloman paid the composition, there would be left a surplus of something like £3,000., by which Mr. Saloman alone would benefit, instead of the general body of creditors. The Trustee had very rightly come to the Court for directions as to whether or not be ought to entertain the offer, his own opinion, being against it, and his opinion being supported bye vest majority of creditors. They were summoned there as creditors to assist the Court, and they felt that , the offer, from every point of view, ought to be rejected. The estate was worth more than was offered, and that was the real reason of the opposition. Mr. Williams, in supporting the resolution arrived at, replied at great length, main- ' taMing that the proceedings were taken under Section 20 of the Bankruptcy Act, and not Section 28, as his friends wished to persuade the Court. He contended that no advertisement was required to be published of the meeting, and said he should be greatly surprised if it was laid down that notice of every 'meeting of creditors was to be given in the Gazette or local paper. Mr. Saloman held a security upon the separate estate of one of the debtors, that security being, as he understood, the premises where the business of Messrs. Browett and Co. were carried on; and, when the Court looked at the assets which the Trustee had to deal with, it would be found that those assets con- , sisted in part, at all events, of machinery, ' which was fit to be used on the premises, of which Mr. Sideman was the mortgagee. The learned counsel then mentioned the state of affairs of the debtors in November, 1878. The liabilities then were £28,384, and the estimated value of the assets £10,258. At the end of March of the present year, a fresh estimate of the assets were placed before the creditors, and there was a depreciation in the value of a sum considerably over £7OO. The offer, therefore, of Mr. Saloman was in no way a "scheme" or " arrangement " of any kind, but simply a marketable transaction. Mr. Williams proceeded to read the affidavits of several creditors, and amongst them those who were now opposing the resolution, to show that at the meetings of the debtors in May the Trustee pressed on the creditors in every possible manner to accept the offer of the debtors, as the money which they offered would be more than, in his onion, would be realised by auction. The creditors also expressed themselves as being satisfied, and thought the offer a very handsome one. Mr. Saloman, had every reason to give a good price, and one of the matters the Court 'riad to deal with in considering whether this was a sale or scheme was whether this was a good one or not. He submitted, taking all things iuto consideration, that it was, and that the creditors ought to be thankful that they could find a purchaser for the business at a moment's notice. It was nothing more or less than an ordinary sale of the whole estate of the debtors, and he hoped his Honour 'would consent to it.—Mr. Stubbins here said that the Trustee was anxious to obtain liberty to add additional statements and to file further affidavits.— His Honour said he had no desire to shut out anything, and would give the desired leave.—Mr. Stubbins said it would be utterly impossible to conchide the case that day, and after some discussion his Honour adjourtied the fur ther bearing until th next Court at Rugby.   A gipsy, named Esther Bister, is in custody, at Dorking, on the charge of having murdered her child and afterwards attempting to commit suicide.