CHANCERY MILLIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 58, 7 March 1912, Page 8

CHANCERY MILLIONS.

HiLCSORY HOPES. ,;» BY A CHANCERY AUDITOR. Life would be but a* poor thing for many of us if it was shorn of its illusions; and when the illusion combines romance with the glowing possibilities, however remote, of wealth "beyond the dreams of avarice," it becomes quite a precious possession. Such is the dream of the "unclaimed millions'' in Chancery which is the •cherished heritage of thousands of poor families, who are convinced that "if they toad their rights" they would be lolling a* ea-o in luxurious carriages instead of tramping daily to long hours of ill-paid toil. The dream is a pleasant one, inviting the drab present with the hues of romance; and as tbe illusion n often harmless it seems cruel to shatter it. But, as tiiere are many cases in which it leads to loss and disappointment, it is well to turn the searchlight of truth on it. CHASERS OF "RAINBOW GOLD." Day after day throughout the year, of pilgrims, chasers of this "rainbow gold," make their way to the Uw Courts in London—rustics in their Sunday best, poorly-elad women of aH ages, sailors ruddy of face and confident of mein. country parsons—a heterogeneous collection of humanity, all •bearing the mark of the small purse, ail eager to vlaim their share of the millions awaiting them, and little dreaming that their 'joal is disillusion.

All have some romantic story to .tell of large sums of money to which they arc the rightful heirs, but which, long years ago. have gone into the greedy maw of Chancery. There are strange, romantic stories of wills that have mysteriously disappeared, of deeds inadvertently destroyed or burnt—of a hundred accidents that have robbed them of their heritage.

"My grandfather's father," says one, "was seized by the press-gang, and we know he died some years later abroad, after amassing a large fortune, which was seized by Chancery." "A relative of mine," says another, "was one of the unfortunates placed in the Black. Hole ot Calcutta, and was among the first to die therein. He left a considerable amount of money, which was placed in Chancery." ROMANTIC CLAIMS. A third tells a story of an ancestor who eloped to Gretna Green. "She was an only child and lived with her parents in a large mansion, surrounded by its own grounds. Her parents, who were very rich, disapproved of her marriage. I have heard ray mother say that the family diamonds and jewellery were in the custody of the <k>urt of (.Jbaneery. My sister had possession of a medallion and valuable papers relating to the family, but she allowed her husband, in a drunken fury, to throw them on the fire and they were totally destroyed." So the stories run —each as firmly believed as Holy Writ. They have been handed down, probably, from generation to generation, until a-t last some enterprising member of the family decides to secure tbe golden prize that has so long dangled before his eyes, and makes the pilgrimage to London to cla-im it. He has been told that Chancery has at least £ 100.000.000 awaiting claimants like himself, so that there is a large board from which to draw his share. And thus it is with confident Step that he makes his way along the eastern corridor on the ground floor of the great Temple of Law in London to lay his ease before the authorities. WHAT THK LIST RKV'EALS.

But, aLrs! disillusion awaits him at the very threshold. He is directed to a list of all the Chancery accounts which have not been dealt with in recent years; and turning over its well-thumbed pages, he searches, probably in vain, for the name he seeks —the name that is to open the portals of wealth to him. If by chance he finds the fateful name, he is probably no nearer his goal; for he is told that "the mere fact that the claimant beans the same surname as that of the 'person named in an account is not sufficient." And a further inquiry almo« surely reveals the fact that the. person who figures in the particular account has no more connection with his ancestors than with the man in the moon. Nor can the officials throw any light on his difficulty. They may listen courteously to his story, but have to -jonfese that they know nothing of the persons concerned or the facts alleged. Another disconcerting discovery he speedily makes. So far from the Chancery Court holding £iIOOjBOO,OOO of unclaimed money, the actual amount which lacks owners is lens than a million; and this sum is distributed over quite 3000 accounts, representing thus an average of little over £330 for each. More than this, it is clearly stated that fully halt of these accounts have credit balances that do not reach £150; and in many cases the balance is so small that it would scarcely pay a claimant's expenses in travelling to London to secure it; while not one account in twenty is worth ae much as £IOOO. NOT MANY FORTUNES. Thus, in a few moments, the dream of riches is dispelled into thin air. Of the solitary million pounds, half is in such small amounts that -they are not worth the trouble and expense of establishing a title to them; and there are scarcely a score of sums available which, by any stretch of fancy, could be magnified even into a small fortune. In nineteen cases out of twenty the money sought, if it ever existed at all except in family legend, has certainly never found its way into the Chancery ledgers; and in the twentieth case it is either not worth claiming or the title to it would be so difficult to prove that the cost would far exceed the sum recovered.