MADAGASCAR CASE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1102, 15 April 1911, Page 5

MADAGASCAR CASE.

JUDGMENT CONFIRMED. By Tclesrajh-Press Association-Copyrielit London, April 12. The judgment of the High Court in the Madagascar concession case, in which William Burdett sued a man named Home and Mrs. Home (a leading spiritualist, known as "The Queen of Madagascar"), alleging that the pair defrauded him of £3500 in connection with concessions in Madagascar, represented to bo worth ten million pounds, hasr.connrmed the previous judgment; .: Last month the jury found that Home's judicial separation was a ruse to evade liability, and gave a verdict for the amount claimed. Judgment was reserved pending decision on a leal point. AN AMAZING STOEY. William Surdetr, a jobmaster, of Hampstead, sued Elizabeth Home and lur husband, Frederick Walters Home, lor damages for alleged fraudulent representations by the woman in relation to Madagascar concessions, whereby the plaintiff •and his friend were induced to part with _£3o!W. Mrs. Home, who did not, appear, by her defence denied am- representations, and her husband pleaded that he was separated from his wife and was not liable.

Mr V E Smith, E.C., in opening tho case before Mr. Justice Lawrence and a special jnry, said the plaintiff was a jobmaster at Hampstead, and the defendant ■™J'« husband used to live at Greencroft Gardens, South Hampstead. Mr« Home was the daughter of a majorgeneral in tho British Army and the sister of a former B lS hop in Auckland, New Zealand, and a woman of remarkable personality, who had made herself very active- in religions and philanthropic luarters -She held spiritualistic meetings at her house, which were opened with plaintiff had been to one of' these meetings. Among his friends was a Mr. George H. Djan, who was no doubt actin- as agent for Mrs. Home. Dean asked the plaintiff if ho would like to put (Dean) had put his own money in it. He said it related to a concession in Madagascar, and that the Homes were connected with it. Dean said that Mr" Home who was known as (he "Queen" Ot Madagascar, would give him ten ,61 tT S n €Verj , £ l he put in the Company Dean asked for three shares out o every ten as commission, and the f,,r A , C0 T n r Sented, Xhe T'luiatiS then ;™ J , lr f-, Horn?, who unfolded a very remarkable story. She said she had done ™ tIT f ° r a flear frien(l ««"W TM« a,o, anjl he was now in a position to show his appreciation. The friend had on nnn " concession in Madagascar of ®&- , S( l u » re , «"I«s. which was rich in £i° e ™ 1 -V tu ? ber .' an(l diamonds. She ™%\Z I s t0 l ? tm a c °mP'-my with a »?« t s m r ? ns hatl deci(Je d to put Ins nW ° n tbe , marlcet at - ei ° ««»•, ion- TT S?■ W °, rkl , nf? Capltal of tcn mil " lions. Her friends had only made one condition, and that was that the people who were, to hare the inestimable privilege of ra.s,n K the money should be good God-fear ng Christians, who would do t th n tl ?, mone J" wl "ch would come to them. After several interviews with drew fS^V 01 "^ 1 I con . tiM «l > Plaintiff ior himself and his relations untU Mm" i™- hh r , got °™ r £sm from him. In 190r articles appeared in a Lonnfn mK f P T r n M ' ns att «lion to the d °'?S. s . of J rs - norne. This caused the plamtift and some of his friends to make further inquiries, and they insisted on seems the friend" who was arrnnein" for the concession. The plaintiff wa ' taken to South Kensinston. and shown a. man named Bunn, who now, counsel Mid, he behoved was earning a precarious living selling bootlaces. (Laughter.) ThU man posed as (he mysterious "friend " He was also used by Mrs. Home "under other aliases. Ironi beginning to end tho thing was a swindle. There was not a yard of land in Madagascar flint this woman was entitled to. They could not lell what had become of the money Mr< Home had said she lost her passbook! and she did not appear to assist the jnrv but it was known that she sst up a yacht' which was supposed to be large enough to cruise in the Mediterranean. "