PLOTS IN HUNGARY,

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 13, 16 January 1926, Page 9

PLOTS IN HUNGARY,

FORGERY OF BANKNOTES. MONARCHIST RISING PLANNED. COUNTERFEITERS AT WORK. (By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyrigbt.i LONDON, January 15. The Budapest correspondent of the Central News Agency reports that the police w-ho were searching the castle of Prince Windischgraetz are alleged to have found a complete plan for a Monarchist rising in Hungary. The object was to establish the Archduke Albrecht on the throne. The papers discovered included a list of politicians who are supposed to have been sounded as to their acceptance of office. The French Minister to Hungary has demanded the arrest of MM. Groemboes and main, members of the Hungarian Chamber of Deputies. He alleges that they acted as go-betweens in the banknote frauds. Although a communique which was received from Budapest on Saturday announced the conclusion of the police investigations into the note forgeries it appears that the Hungarian authorities have resumed their inquiries. SECRETS OF THE CASTLE. The belated discovery at Prince Windischgraetz's castle was probably due to a combination of pressure from France and the extraordinary nature of the structure of the castle. The latter contains innumerable apartments and secret hiding-places, as well as subterranean passages, French newspapers comment on the fact that when the Hungarian police were searching the castle no incriminating discoveries were made until French detectives insisted upon a more extensive investigation. The printing press was then found. The British attitude is that the forgeries case is a domestic affair as to which the Hungarian Premier, Count Bethlen, is discharging his duty. It is considered, however, that the arrest of Bartha, who was not only the principal private secretary of the Regent, Admiral Horthy, but was related to the latter by marriage, is bound to create fresh suspicions. TONS AND TONS OF PAPER. The French view of the affair is that the conspirators had a double object. The first was the acquisition of large sums of money for the purpose of financing the Monarchist manoeuvres. The second was to discredit France's currency, particularly among the nations of the Little Entente. It is believed that the face value of the forged banknotes it was intended to circulate was £1,200,000,000. It was hoped they would pass unnoticed in consequence of the increased note circulation of the Bank of France. "Le Matin" publishes details from Holland and from Germany of statements made by the arrested men, Markovics, Marsovsky, Jankovics and Olchvary. According to Jankovics Prince Windischgraetz had been engaged for a year in experimenting in forgeries. On November 30 the Prince showed Jankovics a pile of forged notes hidden in a wardrobe. FALSE BOTTOM TRUNKS. These notes were subsequently sealed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Emissaries, including Jankovics, then set out to circulate the notes in Holland, Sweden, Denmark and Italy. Olchvary, when he was arrested at Hamburg, had among his luggage trunks with false bottoms. In these were 10 envelopes belonging to French banks filled with bogus notes. The Hamburg police also intercepted a telegram from Budapest informing Olchvary of the arrest of the other conspirators at Amsterdam. The message was in pre-arranged words, namely, "Jankovics failed in stock exchange." The police at Budapest have been reinforced, especially in the vicinity of the prisons. The city is being patrolled by mounted guards. There are rumours that the Fascists have planned the liberation of Prince Windischgraetz and the ex-chief of police, Nadorsy. — (A. and N.Z. Cable.)