ROYAL LAWSUIT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 149, 24 June 1911, Page 17

ROYAL LAWSUIT.

KING .LEOPOLD'S .WILL. BELGIAN STATE SUED. /The proceedings in. the famous legal euit —or, rather, suixs—hetween Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Leopold IL, and the .Belgian State began on May b, iv .Brussels, in the second chamber of the Civil Court, presided over by Judge Drion. (The litigation is not confined to Princess Louise and the Belgian State. King Leopold's other nest-01-kin —his two younger daughters, Countess Lonyay (i'rincess Btephaniej and Princess Oeinentine, now the wife of Prince Vittor Kapoleou, are also parties to the dispute, although it had been reported that their claim had been disposed of privately.

It should be recoiled that King Leopold's will bequeathed to his daughters only the 15,000,000£. he had himself inherited from his father, Leopold I. A much larger part of his fortune had been handed over, at the latter end of his life, to the Belgian iState, as representing the assets of the Congo colony. On the King's death, however, It was suspected that another large part of his estate had been made over by him to the Baroness Vaughau and others. It was actually shown in fact that what had been termed "the Niederfullbach foundation," the iSociete dcs Sites, and the Societe de la Cote d'Azur, iv -which King Leopold had vested about £4,000,000 or £3,000,000, were o£ 'the nature o£ bogus, or at least illegally-constituted, concerns, to which the aged monarch had, under the names of different friends or official servants, made over certain property, probably gained by his Majesty from his Congo

transactions. When this became known, the Belgian State immediately laid claim to all estates of the kind. Its contention was that this part of the late King's possessions represented part of the Congo revenue, which should have figured in the Congo colony's assets. It is not, however, alleged by the Helgian Government :that hi ooncealing these moneys and valuables the late King ■ had been guided by purely selfish motives. Princess Louise, on behalf of the King's next-of-kin, contends, on the other hand,' that there is nothing to prove that this "foundations money" was derived from the management of the Congo, and that It was part of the King's private fortune, which he only concealed with the idea of disinheriting, in opposition to the law, the daughters who had incurred his enmity.

CONCEALED PROPERTY. Tie existence of other -disguised" Koyal property has recently been revealed by the Barons Goffiuet, official and private secretaries of the late King, who have of their own accord Mated that several valuable ibuildiugs, purchased in their names, were in reality purchased tiy King Leopold for his own purposes, and must revert to his legitimate heirs, whoever they may be. The claim of the King's daughters for this supplementary portion of Leopold's estate ihas been merged into the present suit, while 'the claim concerning properties alleged to have been made over to the Baroness Vaughau will form the subject of another trial later on.

The Socialists openly express, in their newspapers, their hope of making political capital out of 'these proceedings, or rather out of the scandalous revelations which may be brought out in the course of the hearing.

Me. Jaspar. on behalf of Princess Louise, delivered the opening speech, and estimated the sum at present iv litigation, and deposited at the Brussels National Bank, at 54,000,000f (about £2,160,000). lie contended that the Belgian State, by claiming 'this sum, was accusing the late King of having embezzled 54,000,000f of otter people's money. Princess Louise, by claiming the 54,000,000f, as the King's personal property, was avenging her father's memory against and protecting it from an nnmerlted public insult.

The 15,000.000f inherited by King Leopold from his own father would have at his death have represented, at 4 per cent, a capital of 84,000,000f. This had been reduced to 54.000,000f by King Leopold's original sacrifices for the Congo and by private gifts. He did not conceal the extent of the amount from the Belgian State, ■but from his daughter*, whom he had often expressed his intention of disinheriting.

Me. Jaspar disputed the report that Princess Louise was claiming the money under the pressure of her creditors or of greedy and unscrupulous friends of hers. He complained that the Belgian State had Tefused to deliver np certain documents which would prove the justness of Princess Louise's claim. He added that the King had personally burnt the records of his money, so that when the Belgian State claimed as Congo assets the Niederfullbach money it did so without a single proof.

Incidentally, Mo. Jaspar alluded ito some secret fund -which King Leopold drew upon for Congo purposes. Counsel also hinted that Princess Stephanie <wouid introduce a sensational element into the present proceedings, and he also referred to the fact that three large trunks containing Royal valuables had at the King's death been conveyed from the Palace to the residence of P.aroness Vaughan, King Leopold's morganatic wife. One of the counsel for the Belgian State, Me. Bonnevie, replied that the King's personal attendants would produce evidence as to the contents and destination of the trunks. At this stage the proceedings were adjourned. Fourteen barristers are engaged in the case.