Evening star., 1923-08-13
German Grand Duke Has Sequestered
Huge Fortune in Dutch East Indies
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FoNTENoY.

BY THE MARQUIsE DE FONTENOY.
At the instance of Prince Henry of
The Netherlands. the German consort
, of Queen Wihelmine. his nephew, the
former Sovereign Grand Duke of
Mecklenburg- -Schwerin. has been un-
dertaking an extended tour of the
Dutch East Indies, nominally for
pleasure, but in reality for the pur-
pose of profitable investment in
neutral country of portion of his
very large private fortune, which. as
long as 1t is left in Germany. is
amenable to any laws of taxation and
even partial confiscation, which may
be enacted by the German or Neck
lenburg governments of the day. For,
while the present Berlin regime is
largely dominated by industrial mag
mates by great captains of commerce
| and OF finance. whom it shields at
| the expense of the remainder or the
| population, we may witness, at any
| time. the advent to power there of
a really socialist or even communist
! government. which, not content with
placing the burdens of taxation upon
| the rich instead of upon the poor
may consider II necessary to decree
| a levy upon or even confiscation of
| all capital and large fortunes.
/ The ex-grand duke has always been
enormously rich, perhaps one OF the
| richest of all the soVereisns or .ne
! monarchical states embraced in the
confederation known as the German
! Empire Unlike many of his brother
| rulers he was on excellent terms with
/ his subjects, especially with the masses
For they were aware that he was bent
upon endowing them with all kinds of
| popular rights and with most liberal
| constitution. and that If he was unable
to put his cherished policies into execu-
! ton, it was because of the vigorous
opposition of the intensely reactionary
| old territorial arstocracy of his two
/ grand duchies. who would not hear
! Of any tailment of their prerogatives
and immunities, which they had en-
joyed for many hundreds of years.
x y X X
| When the monarchies were over
thrown in Germany, as the result OF
her defeat by the great powers of the
| entente in November 1918, he expressed
his readiness to abdicate and to give
| his allegiance to the republic, and the
| result was that the republican govern
ment and legislature of the new free
| state of MeckIenburg- -Schwerin pro-
| ceeded to make an agreement with the
ex-grand duke whereby he was con-
/ firned in the possession of all his
| nrivate property and fortune, and was
| Granted. by way of indemnity for the
! loss of his prerogatives and rank as
! sovereign, s3.000,000 in ready money.
| eenerous provisions for relatives and
denendents. his ancestral palace of
| Schwerin. also the ancient country resi-
dence of his predecessors on the throne,
where they had held court and made
| the seat Of the government during the
| late summer and autumn months, ana
/ a large portion of the So-called state
lands and forests, making him. in this
| fashion, the largest and richest landed
proprietor in the new free state. More
| over, his fellow countrymen continued
| to show TO him and to his wife (who.
| though reared in Austria as the sister
| of the ex-Duke Of Brunswick, was mar
! ried to him as princess OF Great
Britain and Ireland, receiving huge
dowry from her father, the Royal Duke
of Cumberand) every sign s,so OF respert, sptis
| faction that they should have continued
| to make their home among them in
stead of following the example OF 50
many other ex-rulers in transferring
their residence abroad. ,,,,,,o,
Schwerin, the former Wends or Van
| dals, could not conceive of the idea
| of their former grand duke, who still
/ remains their friend, making his real
/ home anywhere else Sos1san,, than IN tn. the
\ the fortunes of his family are, by old
time national superstition, bound up
| with those Of the palace. Certain
| portions of 1t date back twelve hun
| dred years, and well nigh every CEN
tury since that time is represented
in it's architecture. Standing on an
| island between two picturesque lakes,
| it has repeatedly been attacked by
fire. But on each occasion only por-
ton has been destroyed and the re-
| mainder, instead Of being pulled
| down, was retained to form part of
the reconstruction. Indeed. there is
| a VERY ancient Mecklenburg legend
| to the effect that If ever the palace
is entirely destroyed the grand dukes
family, which traces its ancestry back
| to Niciot Prince of the Vandals,
more than a thousand years ago,
! would disappear.
| The fortunes Of the grand dukes
| family and of this fairylike palace
! are specially confided to the care and
I protection of a familiar spirit or
| banshee, who appears spectrally on
l the eve of the death Of any member