Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-11

out giving a receipt. The same system
prevails with banks and safe deposit
companies regarding plate, jewels, Sc
curities, tin boxes and other articles of
value intrusted to them by their ell
ents. They give no receipts, and the
owners have nothing to show for their
property.
Coutts & Co. Have 100000.
1t is believed that the bank Of
Coutts & Co on the Strand, near
Trafalgar Square. which for near
ly two centuries has been the ia
vorite banking house of the nobility
and the trustee for rich widows. or
phans and prominent people who reside
outside of England, has more than
$1O.00O.0OO in securities fled away in
its vaults which were deposited there
by persons now dead and by persons
who have not been heard from for
years. 1t is asserted that the books OF
Coutts & Co. will show deposits of cash
of a similar character amounting to
more than $5.OOO,OOO, and no one can
even conjecture the value of the con-
tents of the unclaimed chests, caSkets
and boxes which are locked and sealed
and have been lying undisturbed for
years. Their contents are unknown
even to the managers of the bank.
A certain earl, member of the pres
ent cabinet and a man of great wealth,
to be deposited in one of the most
prominent banks in London. The man
ayers refused to give him receipt
and informed him they were not In the
habit of doing so. In order to accom-
plish the same purpose he addressed
letter to the bank stating that he had
deposited these three chests on a GER
tain date. The receipt of mis- letter
was acknowledged, but no allusion was
made to it's contents. A year later he
called at the bank to inquire after his
property. and left written request
that it should be delivered at his resi-
dence Four chests were delivered in
stead of three, and all of them bore
discovered that the fourth chest han
been deposited by his grandfather who
bore the same name, more than Sixty
years previous and its existence was
not known to any member OF the ram
lily. The officers of the bank where the
late earl and his son and grandson had
kept their accounts for generations
gave him no receipt: the men VINO were
in charge at the time the chest was
deposited were dead; there was no rec
ord of 1t on the books of the bank and
it was merely an accident that the por-
ter in charge of the vault sent the
fourth chest with the other three be-
cause it bore the earls name.
Carloads of Forgotten Valuables.
1t is believed that carloads of chests
and trunks containing similar valu-
ables are now lying forgotten in the
vaults of the banks of London and
other cities of England, Scotland and
Wales, the existence of which is un-
known to the persons to whom they
rightfully belong. The banks give no
receipts for such deposits; they do not
even enter them upon their books. This
practice is due to their desire to avoid
responsibility. The packages are left
at the risk of the owner
1t is customary for banks in every other
country to write of deposits that remain
unclaimed certain number Of years. and
in England never.
No one. not even the officers of tho
bank, has any right to open these pack
ages, or to search for the owners. but
parliament may pass law conierrins
such authority upon commission or
board of trustees The pending bill pro-
ever a reasonable inquiry fails to find the
legal owner. that the property In question
shall be disposed of for the benefit OF
the state. The banks are not making
any objections: most Of them would be
glad to be relieved of trusts which are
troublesome and bring no profit. The un-
claimed deposits. of course, are equivalent
to so much surplus. but the conservative
metnOOS OF DdHhlHS ludI piCNdi III LuS-
land require that the banks shall always
be ready to pay the depositors That
makes il necessary to keep on hand a
sufficient amount of funds to meet de-
mands that may never be made.
Will Advertise for Claimants.
1t is proposed by the bill to advertise
for claimants; to publish in the official
newspapers a list of all property that may
be surrendered by banks. trustees and
other custodians and make such publica-
ton final notice to all whom it may con-
Germ If no one appears with proof of
ownership within reasonable time, the
money will be turned into the treasury
and the property sold for the benefit OF
the state. 1t is believed the treasure
would realize many millions of pounds
by such legislation.
A similar bill has been pending for
many years to compel the ancient guilds
of the city of London to turn over to the
government an enormous amount of prop
erty held in trust by them for various
objects that no longer exist. But the
guilds have been sufficiently influential
thus far to prevent such q ''coudscation."
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