THE LATEST BANKRUPTCY.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 374, 7 November 1889, Page 2

THE LATEST BANKRUPTCY.

THE bankruptcy of Mr Andrew Graham calls for attention because of the large amount involved and the peculiar circumstances connected with the case. It is impossible to help feeling sympathy for Mr Graham in the humiliating position in which he is now placed, and with the other matters for which he must be held blameable the fact is proved that he continued to drag on from bad to worse, and perpetuating that evil system which has been so harmful to the district, Ry his. statement it appears that he has been virtually insolvent for years, but continued the struggle in the hope of regaining his position. It is astonishing to observe how some men, whether through obstinacy orwant of foresight, refuse to make use of the most bitter lessons in the past for the guidance of their course ip the future. Mr Graham himself says that fie is only going through the same experience which nearly all the old merchants have had to submit to, a statement which forcibly reminds tis of the reckless gambling of the past, gnd proves the rank folly of delaying the clearing up process in the hope of a revival of the "good old days.” It would have been more ia Mr Graham's favor, jn outward appearance, if he had left unsold the greater portion of what he uttered at hfs creditors’ meeting, for the more closely it is studied it will be seen to bristle with points that turn to Mr Graham’s disadvantage instead of in his fav.pr. A man that has lost thousands and thousands of pounds in times that were considered exceedingly prosperous can hardly hope to urge that fact as a justification for his continuation of such a reckless career, 'rake for example the Oxenham contract, wh’ch is said to have been the final blow, It must be plain to anyone that the undertaking of work in such a foolish way meant the closing of the field to those contractors who made tbejr estimates on a legitimate basis. It is not only no consolation to know that money has been squandered in lhA way Mr Graham

admits it has been, but it is a matter for much regret that those who worked on sound principles should have to submit to such competition. Indeed the whole statement made by Mt Graham is one of self condemnation, and discloses the most unbusiness-like conduct. Still, though we can say nothing but what is unfavourable in regard to Mr Graham’s foolish business transactions, it must be allowed that the folly has not been tainted with motives that were not honorable. The intention all through has evidently been to clear off the liabilities, though anyone of ordinary business capacity ought to have known that after becoming involved in that way there was only the one thing for it. Many men with whose kind Gisborne is not unacquainted would have taken care to feather a little nest of their own before the crash came, but we honestly believe Mr Graham states what is the truth when he says that he has given over everything to his creditors, and we believe, further, that if he is given the opportunity he will do his best to pay his debts. That he has striven hard and unceasingly worried himself over his position there can be no doubt, and though his conduct cannot be excused, we think, considering the whole of the circumstances, the creditors will be acting in a way that will commend itself to the community generally if they give the debtor every reasonable facility to make a fresh start. As Dr Pollen, said the case appears to be an exceptional one—-at any rate it is so in as far as his conduct in the final chapter is concerned—and though creditors are often to be blamed for being inactive when they have been made the victims of most flagrant cases, the circumstances in regard to Mr Graham are very different. He has been guilty of extraordinary foolishness, but not of improving his own position at the expense of the Ci editors.

A startlingeonfessipn which Mr Graham made, though he did not seem to regard it as such, is deserving of the attention of the electors of the district. It is a matter which has little to do with the bankruptcy, but its importance cannot be lost sight of. When Mr Graham was announcecl as a candidate for the East Coast he was publicly accused by a newspaper which is now defunct, the Independent, with having for his object the clearing up of some of the Assets Company’s titles. The accusation was strongly resented by .the Harald, which was the mouth-pieee of Mr Graham's party. But now we have the humiliating confession made by Mr Graham himself. In other circumstances we might have some strong comments to make on this unpleasant truth ; the confession by the ex-member of the East Coast electoral district that one of the principal reasons that induced him to stand for Parliament was the hope that he would be able to further the interests of the Assets Company, and that he had been to an extent sticcessfni. The lesson is one that should not be lost upon the .electors, and it proves not only the utterunreliability of a certain newspaper that Still exists, but also that it is capable of attempting the most scandalous deception. The matter is one that will not soon be forgotten.