EIGHT HOURS MILL. THAT WRIT. MR FIRTH AGAIN INTERVIEWED. MORE TO COME. Auckland, May 11.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 368, 15 May 1889, Page 4

EIGHT HOURS MILL. THAT WRIT. MR FIRTH AGAIN INTERVIEWED. MORE TO COME. Auckland, May 11.

On reading in last night's Stak that Mr Firth had been successful in having set aside tho writ issued against him at the instance of the Now Zealand Loan and Mercantile Ctmpany, a reporter from this journal lose no time in seeking another interview with the worthy miller, who, he felt, would have something frosh to say. Mr Filth was found in his private room at the "Eight Hours Mill," calmly cutting up tobacco with which to fill a well-u&ed briarwood pipe that lay at hand. " C4ood afternoon, Mr Firth : must congratulate you on having won your battle," began tho reporter. " Now are you in a position to give me some information about things that you refused to me last time ?" " Well, yo&," observed Mr Firth, a quick glanco of satisfaction lighting up hi* face. <% This matter having been decided by tho Court, 1 do not see any impropriety in your asking or my giving some little information that will enable the public to understand the position of a Hairs rather better than by a mere nakod report, of the law case as it appears in the paper to-day." "By-the-bye, this i? a question of a writ," interjected the pressman; "is this the writ that you &poke of at our last interview ?'* " Yes, that is tho writ." " Why do you call it arbitrary?" queried the reporter. " For the same reason that I call a spade a spade. Let me explain. 1 have nothing to conceal about my af lairs, thciefore 1 shall frankly give you my opinions on the matter. This wiit, which 1 term an 1 arbitrary writ,' was issued in this way. By airangrment entered into some time ago, I undertook to give a bill of sale to the Loan and Mercantile Company o\ei my book debts and stock for the amount ]t was indebted to them, my liabilities beitng covered by more than £2,000. About the 15th of April the Loan and Mercantile Company put a person in possession, ami with the assistance of my clerks have been f-ince diligently selling the stock and realising on the book debts. Though a veiy large sum had been collected in this way, and though the collection was going on steadily, and would have before long extinguished the entire indebtedness, the Loan Company suddenly issued a writ, ostensib'y to make me pay a portion of my indebtedne-s, for which they had already i*ot security for double the .amount in mj stock and book debts and which they wtiro steadily reali-ing, as> I belore. This wiit was issued under what I may call the twelve-days sy&tom, which means that unless a judge will certify that you have a defence the sheriff can at the expiration of twelve days issue execution and sell the very beds from under your wife and children. I understand thus paiticular law under w hich the twelve-day& writ was issued was intended mainly to apply to rogues who intend to leave the country and so defraud their ci editors. I have lived too long in this country, love it too well, and have worked too hard in it, to justifyanyonein having suspicions tlnitl am capable of committing such a thing. Thanks to the high legal acumen of my solicitor Mr Ed>vin Hesketh, who found the flaw in the writ, and i&o the admirable way in which my other legal adviser, Mr Theo. Cooper, has* conducted the business in Wellington, the writ has been quashed, and for the time being lam again a free man; Neither I nor my friends were able to underl stand why this act was perpetrated upon me, until one of tho parties interested informed us that the real object was to promptly get execution, make me bankruj *;, and so shut my mouth"." "What do you mean by shutting your j mouth ? ' questioned the puzzled reporter, I " Well, I mean this. 1 ' replied Mr Firth. "The Bank of New Zealand and the Loan and Mercantile Company have, I claim, bioken engagements entered into with me, thereby entailing \eiy heavy losses upon me. This is the distinct cause of the stoppage of the mill and of the sacrifice of my trade. I intend to commence actions tor heavy damages in both cases, and I am informed upon authority that it is intended to made me a bankrupt.' 11 That seems a very arbitrary course to have pursued," sympathised the Stak ropresentativo '* Yes ; but I am rapidly beginning to bo aware that the old saying that ' the boi rower is servant to the lender' is still as true as it was in olden times, with the addition that instead ot being a servant the man who mortgages his property in these days is little better than a slave, in fact, though we have during the last hundred years or so got rid of many tyrannies, it is perfectly evident to me that we haie got a tyrant more remorseless, more terrible, than any feudal noble or despot king,, and that is Capital, which, by the law of England and by oho law of this country as ib stands, is nothing less than a despot, whilst man is nothing more than a slave." "The power to issue such writs certainly looks as if that were lrue,"said the reporter. " But what about those actions in regard to which you say they seemed to be so anxious to stop your mouth?" " I don't know whether the time has arrived tor my fully explaining them. There is a good deal in them all through, but that will all come out in time," replied Mr Firth. "But still," persisted the reporter, "still for the reason ] have before said, that the public is taking very great inteiest in these affairs of yours, you might give me even an outline. You mentioned that the Bank of New Zealand was concerned'?" " Yes," Mr Firth replied. "If I have to fight, I have not only to fight the one institution, but both." " I suppose you are aware that you will have in these companies very powerful antagonists?" queried the pressman. " J fully recognise that. I understand perfectly that the Bank of New Zealand, with its ten millions of borrowed money, and the Loan and Mercantile Company, with its four millions of borrowed money, are a trifle dangerous," Mr Firth quietly replied. " Don't you think that it would be better to negotiate and settle matteis amicably instead of going into a fight of which no man can &cc tho end ?" suggested our representative. " You are right," agreed the miller, "but having exhausted every possible means of negotiation, even to the extent of offering to give up all my property fora full acquittance from my liabilities to these two institutions', and having been met with a tacit refusal and a suggested charge that T have hidden monoyaway, there is nothing left for me but to fight." " That seems a hard case — " " Yes, it is a 'hard case," said Mr Firth. " I was perfectly willing to be stripped of every shilling fin tho world, and to begin again even at my time of life, but I was not willing to*be stripped ,of all I would have left to me — my honour. " " I suppose you fully, recognise the power wielded by all financial' institutions ?" ''Yes. I- fully recogriise it and I recoghise further that in Parliament, in the Go-

vernment, and all through the country, that that influence haa been felt. In good times some banks and loan companies are lo be found who force money on people right and left, which in an oyil hour for their own fortunes men of enterprise -who believe in the country are only too ready to uocept. Then when low puces and bad times como pressure is applied, and the pound of flesh is demanded. If instead of the wholesale ruin which such institutionscause they would only pursue a wise, forbearing, and considerate policy, they would probably not only not lo^o a shilling but allow some of the best men of the country to retrieve their own fortunes, and to ad /anco the prosperity of the country at large." With this Mr Firth thought he had said quite enough, and gentle hints from the reporter only brought out replies to the ellect that all would be made public in time, so bidding him good-bye the pressman took his leave.