PAYMENT OF DEBTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19140, 8 October 1936, Page 14

PAYMENT OF DEBTS

DEPRESSION DIFFICULTY ; _; ; ASSIGNEE'S VIEWS The opinion that* the proposed bask wage was; not sufficient to allow a man to pay back debts incurred in such » period as the country had gone through in recent years was expressed by.'Mr. O. o'. Pratt, official assignee, during the examination of a bankrupt at Hawera. Mr. Pratt suggested thai it would 'be far better for a man ti> obtain a fresh start by filing his petition in •bankruptcy, and paying cash foi future requirements. lie> nail no chauct of paying, his accounts unless he was. left some money, and no magistrate would make an order in court for their payment. "The Bankruptcy Act is there to re lieve a man of his obligations in that respect, but it is also there to punish him for extravagant living," said Mr. Pratt, "although the terms of the Act are not as severe as they might be in the .latter respect. If a man's income is not sufficient to pay his- back debt.after paying rent and reasonable living expenses, he should file his petition anc not cause his creditors a lot of expensi in trying to recover debts. Notwitli standing-the fact that- a man may g<. bankrupt, I. have .power to secure an order in the Supreme Court for him t<. pay his debts by instalments. Where n marl has sufficient income to do so, Ik may also make voluntary payment, but we ,have no power to force him to do so.'""

Mr. .Pratt said that, during! the tin* a nian was on relief work he was pro video* with a certain quantity oi rations 'by • the Citizens' Relief Commit tee.'

Bankrupt: But the trouble is thai when a man gets on his feet, all his creditors .want their money at once. Pratt: The unemployed owe something to the business community whose generosity enabled them to live When they were out of work. It does not seem to. bo the rule for people in difficulties to go round and tell people their troubles. They go into shops and get-credit without doing so. Bankrupt said he was now paying cash for everything he bought.