BARONESS BURDETTCOUTTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13847, 9 March 1907, Page 9

BARONESS BURDETTCOUTTS.

PERSONALTY SWORN AT £63,000. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright, LONDON, March 7. Tiie personalty of the lato Baroness Burdett-Coutts, who died oil December 20, was sworn at £63,000. There liavo been many misconceptions about tho fortuno left lo the Baroness liur-dett-Contts under tho will of the Duchess of St. Albans. All tho property of Mr Coutts, tho banker, was left to his widow absolutely. The duchess ,luul been Miss Mellon, tho actress, and married as her second husband tho Duke of St. Albans, w hn was much younger than she was. ' Their marriago was not the happiest, and the duchess left her husband only £20,000, but gave a life interest in nil Iho property sho bad received under (he will of Sir Coutts to tho youngest grandchild of her first husband, who was tho Baroness Bur-dett-Coutts. Tho fortune then included' a half-share in Coutt's Bank and all iiis real property, including Holly Lodge. Tho duchess's will further set out that if iho baroness had no issue t.he property was to go to the second youngest grandchild or her children, and so on, backwards as it- were, till the son was reached, Sir Robert, Burdott. Tho son did not marry, and it was not till rather late in life that the eldest daughter entered wedlock. She married the Rev. Mr Money, and had ono son, Mr Francis Coutts—for he adopled the old name. It is this nephew of the baroness who is her heir under the will of the Duchess of *.'t. Albans, and Incomes automatically under the trust a partner in Coutt's Bank. The share now amounts to about one-third of tho partnership. Mft Trevelyan, another sister of the baroness, .had no children, she also, like her sisters, marrying very lalo in life. , But for Iho birth of Mr Francis Coutts. it is a remarkable fact that the present Lord Twoedmonth would ham been tho heir to the estate and share in tho bank. Mr Marjoribanks, who founded the family, was Mr Coutt's junior partner, and under ilic. trust his descendants would have inherited' the money. Figures woro given estimating the value of tho Coutls's estate when it fell to the late baroness at £1,800.000 and it has come to be believed, (hat that amount awaited her in ready money. As a matter of fa.ct, the savings of Mr Coutts, as apart from tho properly, were represented by a few hundred thousands—a large fortune, but not so great as supposed. The Baroness Burdett-Coutts had, of course, a largo income, but she did not invest much of it. She preferred to spend her money in charity, and has thus accumulated no great funds.