T. E. R. BLOOMFIELD.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 166, 25 June 1884, Page 2

T. E. R. BLOOMFIELD.

The insolvency of T. E. R. Bloomfield is, perhaps, one of the most disgraceful that has ever been placed upon the bankruptcy records of Poverty Bay. Here we have a young man placed in possession of a large sum of money and property, who in a few months has squandered the whole of it, having at the same time given preferential cl lims to creditors at a time he must' have known he was hopelessly to the bad. We trust that, in the interests of commercial morality, the Official Assigne will do his duty and bring those clauses of the Bankruptcy Act to bear upon the insolvent, which if we mistake not, should assume the character of a very strong information. We ask our readers to peruse the report of this Bloomfield’s examination at a meeting of his creditors which was held yesterday; and then pronounce what steps should be taken in the first instance to protect the unsecured creditors, and in the next place to bring condign punishment upon the man who has deluded so many into giving him credit to enable him to indulge his craving for reckless extravagance. It was presumed that Bloomfield had all the means and thousands to spare to meet his large expenditure, but his financial difficulties were concealed to the last, and until concealment was no longer possible. We have no doubt but what if the assignee performs his duty as it is expected he should, that many of the preferential claims will be set aside, and that the unsecured creditors will be fully protected as far as the realization of the estate will permit. The new Bankruptcy Act must be a weak piece of machinery indeed if in such a case it fail in sheeting home a charge of commercial fraud against this reckless, thriftless, and unconscionable young man Bloomfield. We notice by returns which come before us week by week that in almost every instance of insolvency it has been proved that the debtor has been obtaining credit or trading when his knowledge of hopeless bankruptcy cannot but have been apparent to him. So long as this is permitted to continue how can we ever hope to be, commercially, in prosperous circumstances or preserve our credit to the outside world.