MYSTERIOUS MILLIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 171, 21 July 1928, Page 7 (Supplement)

MYSTERIOUS MILLIONS.

FORTUNES GOING A-BEGGING. I OWNERLESS WEALTH IN BANKS. i DOTIMAXT BALAXt ES. During the Mar public attention was Qrawn to tho unclaimed deposits in banks", and a demand was made that they should l»e confiscated by the State. A bill was introduced into Parliament with that object; but after a select commit tro bad been appointed and had issued a report, the matter was shelved. Jn the form of -i-rip. shares and plate, jewellery and other valuables alone there are doubtless many unclaimed deposits in banks. Some, years ago a certain peer, while in Sydney, heard for the first time of some plate belonging to him that had been lying in an Irish bank for mure than a century. On returning to Britain lie claimed it, and it was at orice given tip to him. But most, of the unclaimed deposits in banks consist of dormant balances, which arise through many circumstances. A common causc of the non-withdrawal of e balance is the keeping of accounts in fictitious namc=. While, fnr instance, a certain chemist was on his death-bed, lie gave his wife a note, signed in such fL name, "K. X. Pepper"' (obviously a phonetic rendering of "cayenne pepper'), authorising her t<» draw his money from a certain bank. She accordingly applied j 1 o the bank alter hi- death, and it refused to <_'i\e up the balance on grounds of insufficient identification. \Vh«n. however, she brought an action against Ibe bank, a verdict was given in her favour. Now if her husband bad died suddenly, she would not have known anything about the money standing lo the credit of "K. X. Pepper." ■Agn in, when, as often happens, a man keeps two accounts in his real name, one of them is likely to be overlooked cit his death. Here is a case in point. A Scottish captain in the mercantile marine who traded between Bombay and Calcutta, left money in both those places. His family received the fund of one of them, but not that in the other. Twenty years afterward® somebody discovered the existence of the dormant balance, and informed the solicitor who had •wound up the estate, remarking tliat there would he £400 more for the widow. , "Oh. we've had the money." said the legal gentleman, in a tired voice. "Xo, you haven't," was the reply. "You've had the Bombay account, but there is another at Calcutta." So there was, and in the end the widow was actually enriched by about *400. List of Names Not Published. An important factor in the accumulation of unclaimed money in these and other circumstances is that bankers are Under no obligation to search for the owners, nor are they even required to publish a list of their names. In practice, inquiries arc sometimes made, but seldom is any action whatever taken yrith a view to restoring money. If bankers did search for the owners 'ot unclaimed deposits, there can be no quftetidn that the result would be nearly practically identical with that of an investigation which took place concerning the ownership of a certain fund. In 1832 two sums of £125 16/ and £94 7/ were paid into a certain bayk to the credit of one of its customers. There they remained, and interest was added periodically until 1907, when the bank amalgamated with another. The matter then Cfttne to light, and an inquiry was directed. As a result, it was found in J914 that a Worcestershire vicar was entitled to tho fund, which in 80 years had grown to £1400. In trustees' savings banks also there (ire many unclaimed balances. About two years ago a clerk in one of these institutions transferred a deposit account for £500, that had not been touched for 40 years, from the dormant ledger into tho active ledger, and then drew on it a cheque for £125, which he applied to his own use. He manipulated other dormant accounts in a similar way, embezzling altogether more than £1500. Balances remain unclaimed in ban' s this class largely through the same causes as operate in connection with ordinary banks. The dodgery in keeping two or more accounts is common in both kinds of banks, and the object in the one 5s usually identical with that in, the other —evasion of the law. A typical instance of a widespread trick in connection with savings banks came to light not long ago. After the death of a certain man his wife found a scrap of paper which caused her to institute a search of his effects, and in a box belonging to him she discovered two bank books—one in his own name, and the other in tlie name of Tom Fox, whose address was given as 56 (a number nonexistent since 1897), Oldfield Road. Salford. Tom Fox could not be discovered, nor could anything be gleaned concerning him. So, as tlie two balances amounted in all to £340 1/2, it practically certain that the deceased kept his savings a secret for the sake of the old-age pension, which he had drawn at Ihe full rate for some years. Both balances were paid to his widow.

Material for Novelists. Perhaps, however, the total value of all unclaimed deposits in banks is small in comparison to that of the unclaimed (lovernment stock and dividends held by the Bunk of England. A glimpse of the ownerless wealth accruing from this .source was given us when Mr. Goschen s conversion scheme was carried out in ISS7. Jn tbe course of his great financial operation it was disclosed that dormant. funds were entered to no fewer than 10.IWW) accounts, in which were included 40 exceeding £10,000 each, and one of £JB7,">».X. There is enough romance linked with Filch fund.- as these, to provide a do/.eu novelists with Ftock-in-trade for life. Some, vears.Hgo u French lady invented £200.00tMn the funds, and then forgot till about it. When, more than thirty Tears later, its existence was brought to her knowledge, she was really amazed. Another fund was found to lie in the name of a city clergyman. As he was still alive, the finder —a solicitor —told him in person of his windfall (for such it was), whereupon he expressed the greatest incredulity, stating that he had not invested the money, nor, as far as he knew, had anybody else done so for him. Nevertheless, he got it. In the end he catne to the conclusion that a parishioner had put it in Government stock for him, and had forgotten to leave it to him in his or her will. In a third case the owners of about £200 worth of unclaimed stock proved to be two sisters, in whose mother's name it stood. They also were incredulous when thev heard of their good fortune. Their father—a clergyman—tod, tuej

stated, been very poor, and both he and their motlier had died in absolute want. \\as it conceivable, then, that the poor woman should all the time have had 1200, plus dividends? The thing was very difficult, certainly, but there was no question that this fund was in her name, and that her daughters were entitled to jt. A remarkable fact concerning unclaimed stock and dividends is that no Jist of owners is issued. The Bank of England is under a legal obligation to publish such a list; but no penaltv is prescribed for default, and. as jt 'does not choose to comply with the law, nothing is done in tlie matter. If a list were published periodically, the amount of stock unclaimed would soon be preatlv reduced. c