Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-08-14
Funds still in Chancery.

The list of unclaimed funds in chan
Gerry which appears as supplement to
the London Gazette will provide some
interesting reading and convey little
information to that large class of the
community which is constantly expect
ing to come across some hidden find,
either in a forgotten legacy or in the
still more usual form of surviving next
of kin. This list appears triennially, in
accordance with the provision of 1.-THE
Court of Chancery funds act of 1872. =
and the present issue VII compare
most favorably with that which pre-
coded it in 1881, as regards both method
of arrangement and copiousness of in
formation. Whereas the earlier pub
LEGATION only gave the names. and them
in the most fragmentary way, without
any attempt at alphabetical arrange
ment-reali. ing what the French wit
said of metaphysics: Liar de s'egarer
avec methode." the present list tells its
own story in a mple, straightforward
and convenient fashion. The arrange
ment of the names is, in the first place,
strictly alphabetical. and, in the second.
the names of all parties concerned in
the different plants and cases are given
with cross references. In addition to
this essential information the year of
opening each account is recorded, while
in another column appears the date of
the latest transaction in each case.
Those who may imagine that they
possess legal claim to me of these
dormant funds are thus provided with
certain amount of information in q
highly accessible form, and quite suffi-
Gent in most cases to enable them to
institute the preliminaries toward es-
tablshing their rights. One important
item, to which we shall refer later on,
is, indeed, omitted, as the sums of
money at stake are in no case pub
lished; but by the nature of the enact
ment the minimum amount of the cases
included in the list is ESQ. 1t is also
confined to those funds which have lain
dormant for hfteen years.
Very few persons have any concep-
ton of the enormous sums of money
which pass through the hands of the
paymaster-general IN chancefy. and of
which very considerable proportion
remains permanently under his control
through the decease of the parties inn
medately interested and the absence of
their next of kin. So far as the Court
of Chancery was concerned. it could do
nothing toward restoring to their right
full owners those properties which. from
various causes, had been placed and
had remained in its Golfers as the high
est repository of absolute security and
public faith. So long as the actual liti-
giants, trustees, or wards survive there
is always the guarantee of the etfectual
discharge of an onerOus trust, and with
it the comforting on the public of an
enormous, and, in many cases, a quite
inestimaDle. obligation. But once a
case IS dormant, from whatever cause,
the court can take no initiative, and
the funds or property originally con-
fided to it in trust remain practically
inaccessible to those who would be its
righful owners. The publication of
these triennial lists is the first step yet
taken toward facilitating the discovery
and recovery OF these funds, which rep
resent certain and increasing per
centage of the chancery returns. Those
returns show steady and continual
growth, and although there are no
published data to reveal the exact
amount of dormant funds, there is no
doubt that it swells in proportion to the
total payments into the chancery ex-
chequer. The latest official returns of
CustuCtEH pay ttuo T6CctpkS SNOW
tnat, whereas in February. 1873, there
was balance in hand of E65, 800, TAI,
this sum had risen at the end of Feb
to III, 693, 769 (say, 1888, 100, 00O) rep
resenting an increase of more than
100000 in that portion, of the Ma
tionaI capital which. if not absolutely.
unfructifying, is still inoperative foxI
hlso 70
t12. ZOO, QUO a certain per .centage Nili.
whole Ell, 200, 900 thatwere onsbalance.
short of tl,0oO,0OO comes under fhe
category of, and is included ii. the.
present list that is to say. each sep.
arate case relates TOT sum Of more than
LOO which has lain dormant for the.
space of fifteen years. sss'ss g
On the occasion of q sdebste id TIL;
House of Commons on the lame sob
ject two years ago we pointed OUT
desirable twas that all the infornat
should be given that would e1able IN
sutton to read over the list himself and
either discover what he looked for
or become disillusioned of the idea of q
baseless claim. The present list, with
its well-ordered arrang ment of more
than six thousand names, taken from
all ranks of life, is an immense inn
provement on its predecessor, and, un-
like those which have preceded it,
seems to betoken desire on the part
to facilitate the discovery OF forgotten
rights, and to discharge to the fullest
extent the trust originality reposed in
it. But it is still deficient in as me
still consider-its most Important item.
No amounts are published, although
the Attorney General promised Mr..
Stanley Leighton last year that the sum
standing to the redit of each suit
should be included inthe future lists.
The reader is consequently left in ignor-
ance of the amount involved in each
case, and may institute proceedings or
fee a solicitor before he knows whether
1.-THE game is worth the candl Wore
information can be SO easily supplied It
is unnecessary to withhold it. far the
that there is danger infhe
fullest publicity will not stand thee east
or teal examination. The resptai.
bility of protecting these funds aga 1sa.s
the advances of improper applic3hts1
and, as they ale professionally called.
sporting solicitors, rests on the shoulders
Of the officials of the court, and we are
sure thai they would ha, & no difficulty
in depressing the opportunities and
battling the best laid plots of doubtful
INQUIRIES All the acts of Parliament |
in connection with this subject are in |
favor OF publicity, and the dictates of |
simple honesty render it specially obi
gatory on q great pubic department |
nof RI conceal tho facts rofaffpor ~, |