RANCH IN BRAZIL

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 April 1929, Page 2

RANCH IN BRAZIL

MAN’S ROMANTIC CLAIMS.

Romantic claims to noble and distinguished Portuguese descent were made by a barrister who secured his acquittal at the Old Bailey a few week? ago. Of swarthy complexion, with black, painted beard, and long, twirling moustache, accused, Martin Sebastian Saldanha, aged 65, was a picturesque figure as he stood in the dock. He conducted his own case with great fluency and considerable ability.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Mr. Gerald Dodson, explained that Saldanha was charged with fraudulently obtaining from Mr. Arthur Walton, a man in comparatively humble circumstances, three sums of money amounting to £lO, and lodging from Mrs. Lydia Mackway. Mr. Walton was a glazier, and he came into contact with Saldanha casually in the street while going to his work. Saldanha told him he was a Portuguese count with a large estate in Brazil, on which 400 meh were employed, and .from which money was coming to him, but it was held up owing to a rising of the natives. He also said King Alfonso of Spain, was his cousin, and was giving him £lO,OOO, and declared he had given £ 250 to a cathedral. Saldanha, said counsel, wrote to Mr, Walton saying that, in order to meet a* disbursment in connection with his action at law, he .was forced to wire to the. agent of his ranch in Brazil for £lOO, arid asking Walton for a loan of £2 10s to cover the cost of the cablegram. Mr. Waltori was rather impressed and advanced £3. Later, there were other loans. Regarding Mrs. Mackway, counsel stated Saldanha went to lodge at her house. He declared that he came from Brazil, and was engaged on a case due for hearing in the House of Lords. It was a claim for £65,000 against the liquidation of the Lee Bevan .companies, he stated, and he actually took Mrs. Mackway and her niece to the House of Lords, and pointed out the place where he said he would stand to conduct hjs case. One day he returned to his lodging and joyfully announced that he had won his case, and had been given judgment for the £65,000. He paid the rent for his lodging up to September 25; and after that-, it was alleged, he obtained lodging and various small sums of. money by false pretences.

Saldanha, who entered the witnessbox,. declared that he had no intention to defraud, and, in support of this contention, he stated he offered Mr. Walton a deed as security until he repaid the money. Walton did not refer to the loans until one day he came up to him very excited, in the street, and called him all sorts of names. He denied that he said anything about receiving £lO,OOO frOm the King of Spain, that he had litigation pending in the House of Lords, or that he was a Portuguese count and was a colonel in the Spanish' cavalry. He did say that on account of improper conduct on the part of one of the directors of the Lee Bevan companies he lost £43,0.00 between 1916 and 1922. He had paid about £l2 in disbursements in connection with this case; He telegraphed to his agent- in Brazil for £lOO. His ranch came to him on the death of his uncle.

The judge: Are you a relative of the King of Spain?—Saldanha: No, sir, I am relative of John o’ Gaunt. Judge: What right have you to the rank of colonel 1 ? —Accused: I used to be a colonel, and fought for the Royal ists in 1912.

Replying to a further question by the judge, Saldanha stated' he was of Portuguese descent’, but a British citizen. He was born in Gibraltar and christened in Southern India, where his father, Salvador Saldanha, was a landed proprietor. He had a coffee plantation. His father was a brother of the second Duke Saldanha, who was related to the' king of Spain, and was the right-hand man of the Duke of Wellington and an ambassador in England. The jury found! accused not guilty, and he was discharged.