one sum on the 21st October, 1871, with $255 interest. That was the only deposit. Pay. ments have been made by the Bank to Mr. Huffam on account of the estate of Lyall, Still, and Co. On the 8th May, 1868, $35.18 was paid, and on the same day $4,979.62; that was the balance of an account due to the estate. Be- yond these the Bank has had no transactious wi' Mr. Huffam for the estate of Iyall, Still and Co.
Mr. H. E. Wodehouse, chief clerk in the Colonial Secretary's Office, said--I am not aware Mr. Huam applied for leave in August last. I should have been aware of it, if in the ordinary course of business the application and passed through the office, I heard he left the colony on the 17th August. I am aware a correspond. ence took place with the Governor of Macão on the subject.
By Mr. Francis-It is customary for persons in the civil service to go to Macao from Saturday to Monday without asking special leave. There is a Colonial Office regulation requiring persons entrusted with the custody of public money to give security. I believe Mr. Huffam has not given security as official assignee.
The Attorney-General said he would submit that that would amount to nothing, the proposi. tion that because a public officer was required to give security and did not give security he was not a public officer.
His Lordship said there were a great many who had not been called upon to give security until very lately.
Mr. Francis said it might form a link in the chain.
Mr. J. A. Carvalho, cashier in the Treasury, said he had charge of the money paid in by the Supreme Court. He produced receipts for money paid in on account of the estate of Iyall, SAÏ and Co., amonating altogether to $33,247.30. The two last payments were made by the Official Assignee. The first order for payment out waS dated 11th December, 1867, for $13,005.
Mr. Francis said that was paid to Mr. Alexander.
The Attorney General said in Mr. Buffam's accounts his Lordship would see an item of $13,005 received from the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Francis said that would not make it ovi. dence,
The witness said the next payment was made on the 5th February, 1868, to Mr. Huffam, and was one of $641. He gave the details of further payments made at varions times to Mr. Huffam, the whole amounting to $32,090.50, leaving a balance of $1,157,50.
By Mr. Francis-For each of those payments there is an order of the Chief Justice or Acting Chief Justice or a warrant of the Governor. There was an account called judicial deposits account. Moneys connected with suits were kept in this account. For this particular estate there was a separate account kept. For a great many years now it has not been nenal to pay moneys connected with the Court not being revenue into the Treasury, Fees and things of that kind have been paid in monthly. The official assignee. siuce 1855, has never rendered any account of his receipts and payments as official assignee into the Treasury, and the Treasury exercise no control over him as such. I don't think the
ndit Office ever took note of his accounts.
Mr. Plunket, recalled, said he had made up an account of the money he received from Mr. Auffani. As fficial Administrator he received deposit notes for $38,131,85. and as fficial Trustee $11,827.46. which with the cash in haud amounted to $55,918. These amounts related to thirty-seven accounts. I was a witness for the Crown at the Police Court. The Crown was the prosecutor as I understood. I did not swear any information against Mr. Huffam,. nor did I give instructions to any one to initiate theso proceedings.
By the Attorney-General-I considered the sirenlars which have been put in related only to revenue or unclaimed balances. I cannot say what has been the practice with respect to the custody of large amounts paid in bankrupt estates; I have had no large bankruptcies. In the small bankruptcios I have had the money has been lodged in the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. When I arrived there was $4,591 in the office, but I have not kept more than $200 or $300 and latterly not $100.
Mr. W. W. Toller, solicitor, and member of the firm of Sharp, Toller, and Johnson, said-- My firm has been acting for several of the creditors of Lyall. Still and Co.'s estate, repre- senting about $800,000. The liabilities were
Every large and there was a great deal of litigation, tand several appeals to the Privy Council, so that it was impossible for some years to say what belonged to the estate and what to parti- cular creditors. It became in a more settled stata in 1872 or 1873. After that we made fro queut applications to prisoner to make up the asmă counts and declare a dividend. We were unable to get him to do so before he went home. He always made excuses. The excuses were not satisfactory, but we did not take proceedings although we threatened to apply to the court. I was absent from the olony for some time. After my return in February I made a joint ap- plication with creditors represented by Mr. Wot- ton. We both wrote to the prisoner and shortly afterwards a dividend meeting was ad- vertised in the Guzeffs. The meeting was to ho hold on the 25th June. It was adjourned by another notice in the Gazette nutil the 3rd July, I was not present at the meeting. From what I heard of what passed at the meeting I went to see the prisoner at his office on the 8th August. I said to him," Mr. Huffam, is not this the day the cheques for Lyall. Still and Co.'s dividend wore to be given He replied "No, the 18th." I made a memorandum of the date, and on the 13th went to his office but found he was not there. I made inquirios after him and found be did not attend at all and my firm wrote to bim at his house. We had a reply from Mrs. Huffam. I have received no payment on ac- count of this estate, nor have I had a copy of the account current. As solicitors for Liebert we got a judgmont against the Official Assignee. A portion of it was paid, and there was a balance of a little less than $5,000. On applying to the prisoner for the balance he said he really had not the money in hand to pay it. I replied that it was a judgment and must be paid, and I said "I suppose you have money on deposit in the bank." He said he had, but the deposit was not due. I said that was of no con- sequence as I could easily arrange with the bank to cush it before the due date. He then handed me a deposit note for $25,000 on the Hongkong Bank and I took it to the bank and made arrange. ments for cashing $5,000 of the amount. I paid the amount of the judgment, and handed to Mr. Huffam the balance and also the deposit receipt with an endorsement of what had been done. One of the documents produced by Mr. Smith is ondor- The sed by me and refers to this transaction, remaining sum of $20,000 ran on to its due date. By Mr. Francis-1 have been in the Colony since 1867, off and on, practising as a solicitor. During the absence of Mr. Alexander, Mr. Hufam discharged the duties of Registrar and Deputy Registrar. A dividend meeting was advertised in 1868, and we wrote on behalf of some clients objecting to a meeting being held while the litigation in England-was going on. I, don't remember our doing so on any subsequent"
casion, I think Mr. Huffam showed me his counts before the meeting. I knew that there ought to be about $50,000 in hand, that was all. In 1874 we wrote on behalf of some clients asking what amount of money there was ¡on deposit and in what banks. We got no written answer, and I cannot say we got a verbal one. We never made any application to the court as to the investment of this money. We represent · ereditors whose claims amount to about three lacs of rupoos. None of the creditors have in. stitated those proceedings, or aro we acting for them in them. The letter produced dated De- cember, 1873, is from my firma,. (The letter gave the prisoner notice that Henderson and Co., of Manchester, claimed to prove against the estate.) By the Attorney-General-A dividend might have been declared notwithstanding those two letters, reserving sufficient to cover the utmost We could prove,
By His Lordship--I was in the Colony at the time of the bankraptoy. Mr. Notley, of the firm of R. S. Walker and Co., and Mr. Kay, of the Chartered Bank, were appointed, and the official assignee was to be at liborty to confer with them. I know they were consulted with reference to the sale of some private property of G. F'. Mclean, They may have done other things that I don't know of, but I don't think they did very much.
Mr. W. Wotton, solicitor, said-I represent Mr. Brereton, who is soliciter for certain creditors of the estate of Lyall, Still and Co., represcute- ting claims to the amount of $900,000. No payment has been made by the Official As- signee. Some time previously to the 9th May I had been pressing the prisoner to call a mesting, For some time he merely put me off, saying he was making upthe accounts and as soon as things
301
*