PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
wwimmimC.O. 885
24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGREENOT TO
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(10) The Official Receiver, Manager of the German Kali Works. (11) Mr. H. C. Ghent, Manager of Messrs. A. S. Laing & Co. (successors). (12) Mr. M. J. Leotaud, Receiver and Manager of the cocoa estates of
Messrs. Max Reimer and P. F. Collignon.
(19) Mr. James Wilson (Tertius), Manager of the estate of Mr. Joseph
Spaett.
6. Up to the end of March 34 meetings of the Committee had been held, and during that period 544 decisions were given on particular questions of varying degrees of importance.
7. The managers were given specific instructions as to the course they were to follow with regard to the sale of stock-in-trade. They were instructed not to sell wholesale without first obtaining the approval of the Committee to any offers received by them, and they were, as far as possible, to secure current market prices.
8. Very soon after they had begun operations the managers were summoned to a meeting of the Committee and examined closely to ascertain whether the instruc- tions given them were being carried out. In every case they reported that they had got fair prices for the goods sold, and the Committee were satisfied that nothing had been sacrificed.
9. Attached is a statement showing the apparent assets (8762,832.04) taken in the liquidations in respect of each firm, exclusive of any real property, the realizations ($234,066.80), the apparent uncollected assets ($504,365.02), the cash (8116,404.58) in the banks, and the liabilities discharged and outstanding on the 31st of March.
10. It will be observed that the stock-in-trade of all the firms, excepting a small amount belonging to Messrs. P. H. Scheerer & Company and Messrs. Schjolseth and Holler, has been sold out, and that the assets remaining to be realized are made up of the debts. But for the settlement of the claims of the foreign creditors mostly all Germans the liquidation of the English Pharmacy (A. S. Laing & Company, successors) would be complete.
11. The liquidation of the business of Messrs. P. H. Scheerer & Company was suspended for some time in consequence of the representations made by Mr. Harold T. Edwards, an American lawyer, on behalf of Mr. Paul H. Scheerer, the senior partner of the firm; but since the resumption, on the 20th February, of the liquida- tion proceedings, almost the entire stock-in-trade has been sold and some mortgages
have been called in.
12. Besides the stock-in-trade, the assets of the businesses in liquidation con- sisted of secured and unsecured debts-i.e., mortgages, judgments, promissory notes, and current account debta for goods sold on credit and moneys advanced.
13. The firms had been accustomed to grant indulgent treatment to their debtors, and the Committee considered that the object of the Proclamation and Ordi- nance under which they were appointed was not to operate to the disadvantage of honest and industrious British subjects.
14. A large number of the debtors were shopkeepers carrying on their business on current accounts, and they could not, without the serious pecuniary loss usually incidental to a forced liquidation, immediately discharge their liabilities to the Committee. Other debtors were planters who had advances against their crops and who, in order to maintain their cultivations, had, from other firms to whom they pledged their produce, suddenly to obtain fresh financial aid. The Committee care- fully investigated each case submitted to them, and sanctioned such arrangements for the satisfaction of debts as in the particular circumstances appeared desirable to avert avoidable hardship.
15. Mortgages, as they expire, are called in, and the stipulated interest is col- lected on those running, but, of course, a considerable time will elapse before all the mortgage debts can be realized.
16. The managers have been instructed not to take action at law for the recovery of debts or for any other purpose until directed so to do by the Committee.
17. The judgment debts have not yet been considered.
18. The cocoa estates are being managed by a receiver and manager, to whom specific instructions have been given. Among other instructions given to him, the receiver and manager has to report to the Committee at stated periods on the con- dition of the estates, the expenses incurred, and the proceeds of the crops. He has, in fact, generally to act as a receiver directed by a committee in bankruptcy.
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19. The managers have furnished bonds for the due performance of their duties as follows:
The Manager of Messrs. P. H. Scheerer & Company, £2,000.
The Manager of Messrs. Schjolseth and Holler, £2,000.
The Manager of Messrs. Wessels Brothers and von Gontard (Port of
Spain), £2,000.
The Manager of Messrs. Wessels Brothers and von Gontard (San Fer-
nando), £500.
The Manager of Mr. S. E. Jacobson, £300.
The Manager of Mr. Max Reimer, £300.
The Manager of Messrs. A. S. Laing & Company (successors), £300.
The Manager of Mr. Hugo Hoffman, £300.
The Manager and Receiver of Mrs. J. A. A. Scheerer's house properties,
£100.
The Manager and Receiver of the cocoa estates of Messrs. Max Reimer and
P. F. Collignon, £500,
20. As regards the remuneration of the managers, the Committee decided to pay a commission of 5 per cent. in respect of the amount realized from the sale of the stock-in-trade and unsecured debts collected. They decided also to pay a commis- sion of 24 per cent. to the receivers of cocoa estates on the proceeds of the crops, plus out-of-pocket expenses for travelling. The remuneration to be paid in respect of secured debts collected has not yet been fixed, but it is under consideration, and the intention at present is to have it based on a sliding scale.
21. In fixing the remuneration of the managers, the Committee followed what, from their commercial experience, they considered to be the recognized commission allowed for work of the kind which the managers were required to do, and appointed as managers persons of local standing trained in business and of well-known integrity
22. The Governor, at the request of the Committee, was pleased to appoint the Crown Solicitor their legal adviser, with permission to charge against each estate in respect of which his services are rendered the usual fees of a private practitioner.
23. The Committee appointed Messrs. Fitzpatrick, Graham, & Company, char- tered accountants, auditors, and early in the liquidation proceedings they rendered reports on the businesses taken over.
24. Mr. Rufus Garcia, seventh clerk in the Treasury, was, at the request of the Committee, seconded by the Governor to be their secretary for a year,
if neces- sary. His salary, £300 a year, now paid out of an advance account, will ultimately be recovered from the proceeds of the businesses and estates in liquidation.
25. The Committee, all extremely busy men of affairs, have been unsparing in devoting their valuable time and wide commercial experience to the conscientious, and, I venture to think, satisfactory, solution of the numerous complicated questions which have arisen in connexion with these liquidations. Not only have they attended the ordinary meetings with remarkable punctuality, but they have also formed sub-committees to investigate matters that required special detailed con- sideration, and, however busy, none of them has ever murmured to afford me indi- vidual advice or assistance concerning any matter of which I was in doubt and that demanded prompt action.
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D. SLYNE, Receiver-General, Chairman, Liquidating Committee.
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