Balancing Day.
We take the following extract from jthe Timaru Herald ;— " In the Flowery 'Land, creditors have a very summary method of , squaring accounts with 'debtors. 'New Year's Day is the date fixed by law for a settlement of all debts, and a person who fails' to come up to time gets no mercy. Reeently, in Foo Chow, one who did not pay up was set upon by his indignant creditors and drowned. The Foo Chow Herald states the officials rarely interfere in these cases/ and according to Chinese ethics there is no reason why they should. In his native counry a China- : man who cannot meet his New Year settlements is expected to commit suicide, and by failure to follow this custom he forfeits the respect of his fellows, and becomes an outlaw. How would such a custom as this answer in New Zealand? We are afraid that if it were legalised, and the present bankruptcy laws repealed, thsre would be a good deal of all round Kilkenny-cat play going on at the end of the Timaru Breakwater on New Year's Day."
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MS18830516.2.16
Bibliographic details
Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 136, 16 May 1883, Page 2
Word Count
183Balancing Day. Manawatu Standard, Volume 4, Issue 136, 16 May 1883, Page 2
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