A GENIAL ASSIGNEE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14690, 26 May 1911, Page 4

A GENIAL ASSIGNEE.

THE LATE MR. ASHCROFT.

Tkk fact that the late Mr. Jos. Ashcroft, one time official assignee at Wellington, bad a humorous vein, is referred to by the New Zealand Times. In some rcminiscenses of his jwsition as official assignee, published in the Times a few years ago, lie wrote: A trader once said to me, "The only fault wo have with you, Mr. Ashcroft, is that you are too kind to the bankrupts." Well, I have no pleasure in kicking a man when he is down. I have arrived at the conclusion that twothirds of the bankrupts arc 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 encourager les nutres," as Napoleon said when he 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 cheerful 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, 1 said, "Before you go, gentlemen, I will tell you a story." A man once was in the habit of using a set phrase, and used it so often that he did not quite know when he used it. The 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 "Will you have a glass of wine, such as it is." One day he was parting with his guests, and smiling benignly, ho 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 you've got your pipes you might follow my example." This was at once acted on, 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. 1 have had more trouble with irate women than with men, but generally by a little tact, combined with firmness, * I have been able to smooth things over. As "a rule creditors are wonderfully patient, aad take their losses philosophically, and sometimes let off the bankrupt quite easily. Once I had a. country carter, who, as one cause of bankruptcy, stilted he had lost within a. short period four valuable horses, worth from £40 to £50 apiece. J said, " Well, gentlemen, we all know it's hard enough to work out one dead horse, let alone four." And they let him off.