Evening star., 1924-05-18

Paris, May s.
HRINCESS MARIE CLOTILDE
- BONAPARTE was twelve
years old last month and her
middle name is Eugene. The
ex- empress of the French. Eugene,
from whom she has the name, made
her heir of the property she left in
France. This once imperial property
was settled by the French courts at
93471o2 francs, which was once
equivalent to s1,S60,0o0-a very
comfortable fortune for little girl,
even though she be a princess.
The natural protectors of the little
princess-her father. Prince Victor
Napoleon, who inherits the name and
rights of the empire. and her mother.
Princess Clementine. who is the
daughter of the last king and first
cousin of the present king of the
Belgians-have just found out that
to cash in her inheritance, she will
| have first to cash out 3,23S.753 francs
more than she will receive. Isn't
that d dainty dish to set before d
| princess who may some day marry
and be a queen" 1t is one of the
property puzzles which happen nova
days to kings and queens and princes
in exile.
When she died over two years ago
Empress Eugene owned in France
houses and lands and other good
property. some of it coming from her
own Spanish family, some from her
husband. Emporer Napoleon III.
and some from her dead son.
the prince imperial 4,354544 francs
altogether. Then there was the still
unpaid civil list of her husband as
emperor. that is. something like the
| salary and expenses of our President
at the time when the empire went
out of legal existence - 1892 ,55S
francs. This latter sum was recog-
nized as due from the French state
! to the ex-empress in a judgment of
the French courts in 1S99-twenty-
eight years and more after the empire
republic. In fact. the French repub-
lie does not dispute its debt.
Therefore little Princess Clotilde
i has really and truly an inheritance of
9,347,102 francs waiting for her in
Francois nobody can deny
Here trouble begins. French inheri-
tance taxes, property transfer taxes
and all the rest are levied on the
whole inheritance and must be paid
in lump before the inheritance can
be cashed. Now these taxes in these
dreadful after-war times amount to
1882 francs and few cents more
and nothing shorter.
! This would leave Princess Clotilde
a few cents more than 1853, So4 francs
all her own-if it were not for one
thing. The debt of the French state
to Empress Eugene has to be count
ed in the money which must be paid
down in taxes before any part of
the inheritance can be handed over to
the heir. 1t is valid debt; the
French state, which is the debtor, is
solvent and moreover collects the
taxes; and the debt is a part of the
inheritance. But
1t is the French treasury that pays
the debts of the French state-and
the treasury has only the money
which is voted for it by Parliament
in the yearly budget. Now since the
judgment of the court in 1899, Parlia-
ment has never voted money to pay
this debt and there is no prospect
of Parliament doing so now when
reconstruction is not yet finished and
Germany has not paid and England
and the United States are reminding
France of her war debt to them.
What are they going to do about
it? If the Princess Clotilde, that is,
her parents and guardians, should
pay the taxes-7,593,297 francs and
few cents she will receive 1884,
544 francs and no cents. And she
will have paid out in the taxes 3,23S,-