THE PAGE MILLIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14245, 20 June 1908, Page 9

THE PAGE MILLIONS

«&. A FRUITLESS CLAIM. Press Association.—By Telegraph—Copyrigkt, SYDNEY, June 19. (Received Juno 19, at 11.35 p.m.) At a meeting of shareholders in the" Page-Morris Company, which was formed 1 for the purpose of pusmng the Australian 1 claimant's interests .in the Page millions,. Mr Jobson, who was sent to England to inquire, detailed the fruits of his mission. He said lie found that Page did nol die intestate, but that he left his estate to his lawyer. Even if he had died ! intestate tho Statute of Limitations would have barred the company's claims. Couneel advised Mr Jobson that the further prosecution of the claim would be useless and an unprofitable waste oi the company's assets. " The meeting decided to ask tlie shareholders to consent to the voluntary winding up of tho company. Tho Page estate dates back to tho days of Henry VIII. Sbmewhere about 1535 tho King suppressed the monasteries in Eng- ; land, and Mr Page, who was & commoner, 5 was given the Kilburn Priory, of which [ ho took possession upon the expulsion of . tho nuns. This was the, foundation of tho present great estate. The family gradually accumulated a vast tract, until tho estates covered 60 squavo miles, which now comprise a large part of Middlesex, with soveral suburbs of London and many historic properties. The last direct heir died in 1829, and the estate has since been hold by trustees. Since 1829 tho Page millions have accumulated. According to one London paper the estate yields an income " of £2,000,000, and its capital value is variously estimated at from £50,000,000 to £150,000,080. Of course, the trustees could give an approximate estimate of its value, • but presumably they do not give away more information to the public and to possible claimants than can bo helped. From the sixteenth century down to 1829 the . family lineage was unbroken. Tho olai- • mant mentioned in the cablegram is George ' Horton Morris. He' is an Englishman, by ■ birth, but ho resided some time in Australia, whence he went last year on bohalf j of a syndicate entitled the Pase;Morris Company (Ltd.), which was iormed in Sydney, with a capital of £10.000, to prosecute his claims. Morris says he is a grandson of a brother of Henry Page, who is believed to have been the last holder of the estate, and that as such he is entitled to at least a half-share in tho Pago property. Ho claims that Henry Page did not die without an heir-at-law, and that, by reason of tho ■■ decease of tho various members of tho family intestate and without issue, he, as a descendant of Henry Page's brother, is i entitled to this portion of the vast estate, -, if not more. Morris is by no means tho , only claimant to the estate, and the British Government itself is claiming it on bohalf of the nation, tho Attorney-general having decided to declare it escheat to the Crown. Owing to the vory large number of influen-' tial people who have held portions of tho estate for years, an attempt on the part of the court to sift out the actual title would have in it all the elements necessary 1 for a cause celebrc.