New Zealand Gazette – 1872 – No. 34

Page 607

✨ Bankruptcy Statistics Report



SUPPLEMENT.

THE
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
Published by Authority.

WELLINGTON, MONDAY, JULY 15, 1872.

FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ACCOUNTANT IN BANKRUPTCY.

To their Honors the CHIEF JUSTICE and JUDGES of the SUPREME COURT OF NEW ZEALAND.

THE Accountant in Bankruptcy begs respectfully to lay before the Court his Fourth Annual Report,
applicable to the year ending 30th November, 1871.

The following notes are submitted as containing the general results which have been deduced
from the information before the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

From the returns attached, it will be seen that there has been a considerable decrease in the
number of bankruptcies for the past year. It is with satisfaction that the Accountant draws atten-
tion to this desirable result; at the same time he has to regret that two of the producing classes,
namely "Farmers and Settlers" and "Miners" still continue to furnish a large proportion of the
number of persons who seek the protection of the Court.

The following is a comparison of the number of bankruptcies which have taken place annually
since the present law came into operation in December, 1867 :—

NUMBER OF ADJUDGED BANKRUPTS.

Province or District. 1867-68. 1868-69. 1869-70. 1870-71.
Auckland 25 71 187 94
Canterbury 68 134 123 90
Nelson 10 20 21 21
Otago and Southland 82 120 148 131
Wellington 23 48 81 51
Taranaki and Hawke's Bay ... ... ... ...
Westland North—Greymouth ... ... ... ...
Westport ... ... ... ...
Westland South 86 118 148 86
Total 294 520 715 493

Decrease for the year 222, or over 31 per cent.

This shows the total number of bankruptcies for four years to have been 2,022, or an average of
over 500 per annum.

Of this number, four classes---hotel-keepers and publicans, storekeepers, farmers and settlers,
and miners-contributed in 1868-69 nearly one-half of the insolvents who during that year sought
relief from your Honorable Court.

For the year ending 30th November, 1870, the proportion was over three-eighths ; and for the
past year there was a similar average—the four classes enumerated supplying 198 out of a total of
493 bankruptcies.

In addition to the number of persons who have been adjudicated bankrupts during the past four
years, there have been upwards of 750 declarations of insolvency in which no further proceedings
have been taken, the insolvents not proceeding to adjudication. Very few of these declarations have
been followed by a settlement with the creditors, the insolvents, I am informed, taking advantage of
the interim protection allowed by the Act to realize what they could, and proceed to some other
Province or Colony.



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✨ LLM interpretation of page content

⚖️ Fourth Annual Report of the Accountant in Bankruptcy for 1871

⚖️ Justice & Law Enforcement
15 July 1872
Bankruptcy statistics, Insolvency, Supreme Court, Annual report, Comparative data, Provincial totals
  • Accountant in Bankruptcy
  • Chief Justice
  • Judges of the Supreme Court of New Zealand