COMMERCIAL MORALITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19607, 8 April 1927, Page 10

COMMERCIAL MORALITY.

An interesting little discussion waf precipitated by the official assignee yesterday when he suggested, from his experiences, that business morality was at a low ebb in Auckland. It was quite rightly said in answer that the instances he viewed and handled were not a fair criterion. They cannot be. It would be as reasonable for a health officer to assess the health of the community solely from contemplation of those who were ill, without any regard to the number who enjoyed good health. A far sounder view was expressed by the creditor who suggested that it was because merchants doing credit business found the majority of their clients deserving of trust that the few had an opportunity of abusing the confidence so extended. As long as the credit system endures there will be traders prepared to take risks, hoping to profit from them in the long run. Their doing so does not disprove the existence of others who prefer safety and certainty to long odds. While these conditions exist there will also be people ready to a.ccept credit without stopping to consider whether they can safely bear the obligations so undertaken. The creditors will range from those who occasionally make a mistake because nobody is infallible, to those who are constitutionally reckless. The debtors similarly will include people genuinely unfortunate, or guilty of nothing more than an honest error of judgment, as well as those who are gaily irresponsible or criminally heedless. There will always be good and bad among those whose affairs come into the hands of the official assignee. If the number of bad cases seems to be increasing, it must be remembered that Auckland's population is growing in size and variety. It is fairer to attribute the circumstances' Mr. Morris mentions to these factors than to a retrograde movement in general commercial morality.