THE GENUS BANKRUPT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 846, 28 July 1879, Page 2

THE GENUS BANKRUPT.

" (Irom the Bruce Herald.) \ The frequency of insolvencies, and> the 3 apparent increase of commercial frauds _. m this colony, is a subject which attracts I not only the attention of business 3 people, but that of thinking men of all 3 denominations. Bankruptcies, and . swindles of all kinds, although unfor--1 tunately too common, have so varied an 3 aspect and throw so much light upon t commercial morality, that it is almost impossible for any man of average intellect to refrain from speculating and philosophising upon the causes and effects , of such delinquencies. There is the little tradesman, who starting business upon' nothing — most probably m debt — induces some obliging merchant to supply him with the necessary stock ; » carries on business for a year or two, | becomes deeply involved, and then, when creditors begin to press, quietly ' accepts the inevitable, and meanders through the Bankruptcy Court. There s is the commission agent — an occupation 1 which, although filled by many honorable men, is too often the resort of the needy and unscrupulous —who, m the course of his business, is the confident , agent of his constituents, and is frel quently entrusted with monies for mrr vestment and many other purposes. This species of bankrupt is, as a rule, the most dangerous, and his failure often the most hurtful " to all . classes. He is often found a seeming ornament to society, a most exemplary j church goer, and goodness knows what r else. These respectable cloaks, j. Disguising oft the wretch of human kind, " Studied m arts of hell, m wickedness refined, * enable him — capital is almost unneces- | sary— to swindle his fellow citizens right and left, to rob hard working men and . women of their Bavings, and m , time to get hopelessly into debt. At ' that interesting stage of his affairs, perhaps some constituent may be mll quisitive enough to enquire about an ' y investment this disciple of fraud has ? been entrusted to make ; or perhaps . some creditor, bolder than his fellows, j- refusing to be put aside by promises, I , writs him for his money, and then at i last the truth ekes out, and the animal — r for there can be little human, except the name and appearance, about such a j man— is run to earth. Generally, however, he will seek that haven of refuge, the Bankruptcy Court, without being compelled. There is also the gentleman of light genteel employment, , such as Government clerkship or a bank accountantship, who simply lives ex- ' travagantly and beyond his means or ( salary. This debilitated specimen of the insolvent, as a rule — although often > elegant to look. at — quickly gets head p over ears m debt, and " comes down at > the run." Generally he will either i commit embezzlement, or seek safety m flight, but he is often obliged to file to '. save his— we were nearly writing credit '_ — skin from being hardened m her Majesty's gaol. He is of the feebler ( kind of the genus bankrupt. He has l none of the strong lines of character [ which mark the true swindler. He will only borrow money from his friends, and they and his tradesmen only suffer . by his downfall. Again, there is the , unfortunate trader, who, through hard [ times, and no fault of his own, becomes unable to meet liis engagements with his creditors, and is forced to compound with them or file. This last is a rara avis. These are but few of the different characters who seek the sheltering wings , of the Bankruptcy Court ; yet we are ! continually seeing and hearing of so many specimens of each, barring the last, that we would exclaim with Hamlet, "Ay, sir, to be honest as this world goes is to be one picked out of ten thousand." The bankrupt, however, can be viewed m a better light than when his shadow darkens the threshold of the Court. After liis unclean raiment has been purified, and made, if it were possible, like unto the " clean biled rag " so often alluded to by Artemus Ward, the transformation is truly wonderful, and one who has marked the foul stains which taint the linen which enters the great laundry of the Bankruptcy Court is apt to wonder at the marvellous quickness with which the dirty torn rags become spotless and whole. He starts business again with ' wonderfjl celerity, and, if possible, more assumption ; obtains credit, and, m short, appears to the world once ' more a model of uprightness, honesty, ' and respectability. This is the time to look at, and, as some are apt to do, 1 admire him ; and if he does not return 1 to his old crooked ways, we admit that . m the eyes of his fresh creditors at least i he should be an estimable object. But j it is not m that narrow circle that the^ j character of him who has robbed his" < fellows should be weighed. It is not 1 by them that his past transgressions i should be forgiven and forgotten. We t hold that the ban ofj society at large c should be cast, and its gates shut, upon 1 persons of this class, who, without the t slightest compunction betray the trust t confined m them, and callously misappro- 1 priate or embezzle the cash of those who s have helped them. We have time after j time heard of bankrupts concealing pro- a perty, and we have not the slightest j doubt that m a great number of the 1 insolvencies which occur this is done, c and m nine cases out of ten the defaulter 1: escapes scot free with his booty. Most I frequently, of course, it is cash alone which is thus misappropriated, and yet i somehow or " other creditors get so

apathetic that the affairs of the debtor are rarely subjected to even the shadow of an investigation. We once heard- a story of a merchant who failed. He possessed a fine ihigh-spirited mare, which disappeared shortly before he filed. A short time after this genius had received his discharge, a creditor met him driving his gig, and thinking it strange to see the same mare, exclaimed, " Hilloi, I say : I thought you went through the Bankruptcy Court?" "Yes, my friend, * I did," replied he of the whitewash ; " but the mare went round." The story illustrates the malpractice to which we wish to draw attention, and- we venture to say that unless some strong examples are made, the evil, will increase, and the property, of debtors continue to perform its circumambient course, while the debtor himself slips m, as it were, at one door of the Bankruptcy Court and out at the other, to meet and resume the enjoyment of a considerable portion of his property. We have dwelt longer on this subject than we had intended, but it is one of the highest importance to all classes of the community, and as such should not be lightly put aside. Our heartfelt wish is that commercial morality may yet be established on a firmer basis, and that it will long before we again hear of such heartless swindles as have lately been prepetrated m Otago.