CO129-535-5 N.I. Brewer- transcript of trial and evidence 1-1-1929 - 31-12-1931 — Page 72

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being one half of what I stood to make had these contracts gone through to the United States as was intended.

and yet, there I have already got in my pockets far more than I hoped to make over many years.

For the benefit of the firm, I allowed them to withdraw from the Winding agreement that they had entered into and repaid 55,000.00.

If I had had any other wish than the good of the firm I would never have agreed to refund that 55,000.00. ---- Also invested my own money in the instone ank, I did not come and ask for free shar es. i made nothing out of the promption of this company. Mad I wished to defraud it, I was in an admirable position to do so. I made out the Memorandum and Articles of Association. I made out my own contract as President and fixed my ow salary. i did not in fact "squeeze" anybody. I invested my own money in shares, I never sold any one of those shares. I still possess them, for what they are worth. ad my intentions be en fraudulent, I would have got rid of my shares while the public believed the Company to be doing well, that would have been the time for me to sell.

The

Both my wife and myself were depositors in the Bank. we still are. we saw the crash coming to the Bank, we saw the Canton and Shekki crash. Bank owes us money because although we saw the liquidaş tion coming, we knew the Bank was a sound proposition and we fully believed the Bank would carry on and would pay all creditors, therefore we did not draw out the money.

If the books had not been systematically kept or records were missing this would have been adduced against me and would have been a strong point, but we have had expert opinion that the books were in excellent condition. The records were all intact and were kept with great care. The expenses of the firm were kept low, everything was done with a view to building up a permanent firm, not a "bucket shop" or "Fly-by-night". Mr. Brewer was trusted by his shar holders.- un as a m

After the Canton and hekki Trouble a unanimous resolution was that the unforeseeable troubl s were not the fault of the management. In spite of the heavy blow the shareholders went out of their way to express their confidence in the management.

I was proposed and passed unanimously as one of the liquidators, at the finish I was proposed voluntary liquidator, and as such I did my best to show myself deserving of their trust, and the first thing did was to call in Messrs. Lowe, Bingham & Matthews to go through our books, to find exactly how things stood. That was not the action of one who had fraud to conceal.

I gave them every information and every assistance possible, and was enabled to put through an agreement with the Singapore people to carry on the k business, in which everything in respect of the ank was clearly set forward and without any attempt at distortion.

when the compulsory liquidation came into effect, I at once produced voluntarily a Balance Sheet, showing exactly how the firm stood. I gave every possible explanation and information that I could both to the Official Receiver and to the special manager and also when I was publicly examined, there was no attempt to hold back about 40 odd pages of words spoken by me, not