BANKRUPTCY EXPERIENCES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 124, 26 May 1911, Page 6

BANKRUPTCY EXPERIENCES.

The late Mr. James Ashcroft had a humorous vein. In some reminiscences of his position as Official Assignee, published in the Mew Zealand "Times" a iew years ago, he wrote: A trader once said to mc, "'The only fault we have with you, Mx. Ashcroft, is that you aTe too kind to the bankrupts." Well, I lave no pleasure in kicking a man when he is down. 1 have arrived at the conclusion that two-thirds of the bankrupts are honest bankrupts and such as the Act is designed to relieve. They may be all sorts of fools, but not rogues. The other third includes a nice assortment of very doubtful characters. Now and then I have had to show severity, "pour e.ncoirrager les autres," as Napoleon said when lie had an offender shot. But a good many have slipped through, mainly because it takes a very strong case to get a conviction. Jurors have that "fellow feeling" which "makes us wondrous kind." As to bad 'bookkeeping, they know they don't keep proper books themselves. The cheeTful element has often been very useful in dealing with creditors, and I have often sent them away laughing. I remember once at the close of a meeting-, where a

good many were present, representing various classes of Wellington traders, I said, "Before you go, gentlemen, I will tell you a story." A man once was in the habit of using a set phTase, and used it so often that he did not quite know when he used it. Tho phrase was "such as it is." He would ask his friends to dinner, and say, "Will you have a bit of my mutton, such as it is," or "Win you have a glass o£ wine, such as it is." One day he was parting with his guests, and smiling benignly, he said, "Well, good-bye, gentlemen, I thank you for your company, such as it is—such as it is." The retiring creditors duly applied the story and retired smiling. On another occasion, when things had got pretty hot, and there was a good deal of cross firing between irate creditors, I said, "Gentlemen, I'm going to smoke a cigarette, and if youVe got your pipes you might follow my example." This was at once acted upon and for a few minutes we were all puffing the weed, when everything cooled down and all went off smoothly

till the close of the .meeting. I have had more trouble with irate women than with men, but generally .by a little tact, coraIVmed with firmness I bave been able

to smooth things over. As a rule creditoTS are wonderfully patient, and take their losses philosophically and sometimes let off the 'bankrupt quite easily. Once I had a country carter, who, as one cause of bankruptcy, stated he had lost within a shcrrt period four valuable horses, worth from £40 to £50 apiece. I said. "Well, jzontlrmf-n, -wo all know it's hard enough to ivork out one dead horse, let alone four." And they let him off.