Weekly News. — 1891-01-29 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

QUEEN'S JEWELS.  A very curious action has just been concluded in the Court of the Recorder of Rangoon. The plaintiff was one of the wives of Mindoon Min, King of Burmah, Thebaw's father and predecessor, and is known as the Limban Queen, and she claimed, as sole heiress of her daughter, the Sawlin Princess, to be entitled to a large amount of jewellery deposited with the defendants in 1878 under unusual circumstances. The Princess, it seems, was a great favourite with her father, King Mindoon Min, who made her large and frequent presents of gems and jewellery of all kinds. In 1878 Mindoon Min was on the point of death, and it was known that confusion in the palace would follow on that event. It was apparently foreseen that his successor, Thebaw, would, as in fact he did, murder most of his relatives at once, and while the King lay dying special measures for guarding the palace were taken. The Limban Queen and her daughter, the Sawlin Princess, dreading what the near future had in store for them, concerted measures to get the jewels of the latter out of the palace to a place of safety where they would be accessible in case of need later on. For this purpose they took into their confidence certain bazaar dealers who had access to the ladies quarters to sell their wares, and by their aid succeeded in getting out all the jewels, packed to look like sweetmeats. These dealers and one Aga Khorasani, a Mohommedan merchant, were the defendants. They absolutely denied any deposit of the kind, but the 'Recorder found against them on the facts, and decided that about 3,000 precious stones, which were specified by weight and value in a list made at the time in the palace, and retained ever since by the Queen, had in fact been placed in their charge immediately prior to Mindoon MM's death and in anticipation of that event. Soon after the jewels were smuggled out in the manner above described, Mindoon MM died, Thebaw ascended the throne, and opened his reign with the murders of almost every one of his father's family. The Limban Queen and Sawlin Princess were spared, though the Queen's son was murdered, but were removed from their apartments and placed in strict confinement within the palace. The Princess emerged from this only to enter a convent, when she died a few months after, but the Queen, her mother, remained in prison until the British troops occupied Mandalay in 1885, when she was, of course, released. All this time she heard nothing of the jewels, for she had no opportunity of doing so, and obviously did not desire to have them returned. The dealers with whom they were deposited left Mandalay soon after Thebaw began to reign; but on her release the Queen inquired after them and found them in Rangoon, when, as already stated, she was met by a blank denial that such jewels had ever been deposited with them. But here the judge found against them, and a decree of restitution was made against all the defendants except one, in regard to whom the action was held barred by the Statute of Limitations. Subsequent to her release from imprisonment, the Queen was prevented from suing for five years ill consequence of her poverty.