TWENTY MILLIONS

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 58, 5 February 1927, Page 14

TWENTY MILLIONS

CLAIM TO A FORTUNE. WANGANUI MAN’S INTEREST. In a recent issue there appeared a messago from Christchurch in which it was stated that four people of that city named Tabley believed they were entitled to valuable estates in the Old Country estimated to be worth £20,000,000. In an interview, Messrs R. p. and L. E. Tabley said that in the first instance, tho information with reference to tho claim was received from an indirect source. They learned that a man named Horrocks in Australia had gone to England making claim to a share in the estates. Tho Tableys, no doubt says the Wanganui Herald), gained their information from the same source as did a Wanganui man, who, two years ago communicated with the Herald, with tho result that the following jiarngraph was inserted in this paper on February 2, 1925: — “A cable message from London yesterday stated that the brothers Alexander and Jack Horrocks, from Fremantle, are at present in England proseouting their claims to an estate in Wigan, said to bo worth millions. It will interest our readers to know that a direct descendant of tho Horrocks family, who can trace his descent hack to IGBB, and whose parents resided at Wigan, is a resident of Wanganui. Ono of h:s uncles went to Australia in the forties, and none of the relatives (including his parents) has ever heard of him since. The inference is that the claimants now in London are cousins of the local resident. Another cousin is resident in the Waikato, and the two latter know of the existence of tho estate, which is in Chancery, but have hesitated to advance their known personal interests because of' tho expense entailed and the knowledge 'that a great number of relatives aro involved in the estate.”

Interviewed, the Wanganui man, whoso identity is to remain unknown, states tho Herald, said that there was no doubt that be was a direct descendant of the Horrocks whoso estate was now being claimed by tho Tableys, of Christchurch. For ].TO years lils family had known of tho vast sum held in Chancery, but with the knowledge that from £200,000 to £250,000 would ho spent in litigation, no claim had been established. His family also realised that anyone establishing a claim would bring ill hundreds of others.

Our informant supposes that the Tableys aro descendants of tho Horrocks family on the female side and states that the will stipulated that the estate should descend only to those oil the male side of tho family. He was not disputing the Tableys claim, liowevter, and wished them every success in establishing it successfully.

The interested Wanganui man said that 40 years ago it was predicted that the lost estate would not return to the family until the fifth generation. iThis generation was now in existence. Tho main estate which is being claimed is situated in tbe Preston and Wigan districts and is known as Allerton Hnll. The Horrocks, who for two years has been collecting hundreds of documents to prove his claim, is a cousin of our informant. Unlike Horrocks, who is prepared to spend £20,000 to establish his claim, the Wanganui descendant states that if ho were fortunate enough to possess that sum ho would not risk it in such a venture.