Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-14
American Embassy in London
Overwhelmed With Letters
From the States.
TRAVELLER IN AFRICA
TELLS OF STRANGE TRIBE
Peculiar Customs Of Southern Nj
gerians Related by P. A. Talbot.
Balfour in Irish Issue.
Foreign Correspondence of The Star.

Foreign Correspondence Of The Star
LONDON, March 5, 1914.
The missing estate swindle Is evidently
again being worked extensively in the
United States. The embassy here Is
overwhelmed with letters from American
heirs" asking how best to secure estates
due them Some letters indicate that vic
Tins were induced to part with all their
property to pay expenses OF pseudo rep
resentatives Of the chancery court.
Ten years ago the State Department at
Washington received SO many requests
about missing estates in chancery that a
special investigation was made by Henry
White. then first secretary of the Ameri-
can embassy here. He reported that it |
would be practically impossible for any |
American to secure an estate from the |
court Of chancery. The report showed
that the large estates constantly spoken |
of as dormant in chancery,'' or await |
ing claimants i'll the Bank Of England
were purely imaginary, and usually the
invention of swindlers, who obtain money
for the prosecution of claims to fictitious
fortunes.
Funds in chancery open to claim are
few, averaging less than 81. 800 each, two
only approaching $4,000 and most Of
them inevitably would consume their own
value in the expenses of recovery.
Last year, when one of these swindlers
| persuaded a number of alleged descend
| ants in America that the estate Of their
ancestor, Sir Francis Drake, was ready
! for distribution by the court OF chancery,
| the swindle was widely exposed by the
! American newspapers, with the result
that the inquiries practically ceased until
| within the past few weeks.
| p. Anaury Talbot. of the Nigerian po-
| litical service. who has Travelled much
| tribes says the Ibibios. natives of south
ern Nigeria, who are of such a low type
| that they are called "mudf1sh,' rank
| among the most ancient of southern Nj
gerian tribes. and speak different dialects
Of very old and primitive tongue.
| Witch Doctors Dominate Natives.
! Witch doctors dominate the life Of the
race. AS a protection against farm thefts.
certain spells are rected over the long
hoe used for breaking up the ground, and
a medicine poured over it, after which
| it is given back to its owner, to be hung
| up in some conspicuous place on the plan
| tation. No sooner does the thief creep
| over the boundary than the magic hoe
springs to his hand. Unconsciously his
| fingers clasp themselves around the haft.
\ resisting. and finds himself forced against
his will to hoe and hoe.
Not for moment can he pause even
| to straighten his back, SO long as sin
gle weed remains on the farm, single
yam needs banking single clod would
| be the better for breaking. So long must
| the evildoer continue to work for the man
| he had intended to rob. Only when the
! owner arrives on the scenei should he SO
wish, can the magic hoe be released from
| the hand of the thief. 1t Is not said
| whether the magic has ever worked.
| Quaint burial customs prevail. Slaves
| are frequently sacrificed at the death of
| a chief and buried with him. Until pro-
| hibited by the government, chiefs were
buried in their houses with strange ritual
and sacrifice. A burial chamber was pre-
pared underneath one of the rooms, and
! in this the chiefs body was placed His
| best loved wife and two of the most
| beautiful of his slaves entered the room
| and seated themselves at table opposite
their lord. After some ceremonial all
but the women withdrew, the chamber
was sealed up and the unfortunate
| women were left to lingering death.
petition in favor of the plumage bill
| to be presented to the house of commons
has been signed by 21,5S3 persons who
visited the bird court Of the exhibition of
| Australian manufacturers last fall. So
strong is Australian opinion In favor Of
| the bill that 1t is stated in official circles
that had the petition been circulated pub
| licly it would undoubtedly have been
signed by e5 per cent Of the population.
Adaptability Of the Oyster.
The interesting discovery has been
| made, according to consular report
from Algeria, Of the adaptability of the
oyster to change in it's surroundings. The
inspector of fisheries in the Arzew dis
trict states that he found that as the
result of the slow closing of the mouth
of the River La Macta by a sand bar the
edible oyster had almost completely
adapted itself to an existence in fresh
water.
Oysters were found thriving in parts
of the river. entirely devoid Of salt. It
| would seem from this, adds the inspector,
that the adaptablity of the oyster 10
changes in its neutrality-suspicious.
this takes place slowly-is very great, a
fact that augurs well for the success of
oyster farming.
Arthur Balfour. once prime minister
and also formerly unionist leader in the
house Of commons, is to take very
prominent part in the negotiations for
the settlement Of the Irish question. He |
acquired a very extensive knowledge OF |
the situation during his term as chief
secretary for Ireland. and he has had |
experience in the handling Of delicate /
political problems. not the least Of which
was that arising over the split in the
unionist party over tariff reform.
When an agreement on the Irish ques-
ton was first mooted last year Bonar
Law, the present unionist leader. immedi-l
ately called Mr.. Baifour to his assistance.
Soon after the opening of parliament Mr..
Balfour had a long audience with the
king and has been keeping in close
touch with the leaders at Westminster.
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