WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD

Evening Star, Issue 19942, 11 August 1928, Page 23

WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD

£90,000 CHILD BORH FORTUNE FROM WOMAN. At Vryheid (South Africa) on April 23 a daughter was born to Mr and Mrs Guy Martin Slatter, of Burlington Grange, Vryheid. Around the birth of this child there is quite a romance, Jn August last year the death occurred in Australia of the then head of .ho family, Miss Sarah Slatter, at the age of 72 years. She left estate valued at £90.000 in trust for the issue of her nephews and nieces (Mr Slatter ? his brother, and six sisters) apportioned as follows: —One-quarter to the potential offspring of each of the nephews and one-twelfth to those of each of the six nieces, the parents to enjoy the interests of their respective portions allotted to them during their lifetime, but with no power to touch the capital which would become the property of their children on their demise. In the event of any of the nieces dying without issue it was provided that the portions willed to their respective branches of the family be divided equally between those of the two boys, while in the event of one of the latter dying childless his portion is to revert to and be added to the amount held in trust for the family of the surviving brother. CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.

At first glance there seems nothing really remarkable about such an arrangement, but when one becomes enlightened to the fact that neither the six sisters nor the one brother of Mr G. M. Slatter have issue the peculiar circumstances of the case will be appreciated, as on the deaths of these their portions of the legacy will automatically revert to this lucky child, until, ;n the course of time, the estate will become again intact in the sole possesion of a second Miss Sarah Slatter, the first child to be born to any branch if the family for thirty-two years. Another curious incident in conncc iu.l with this birth is that it was discovered that the doctor in attendance, a German ex-officer, had directly opposed Mr Slatter, who was a captain in the New Zealand Army, in a certain fight on the Somme. This tune, howfever, the two cx-officers met under happier: circumstances.