ONLY £4,000,000

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 60, 4 December 1920, Page 10

ONLY £4,000,000

A WELLINGTON ROMANCE

MODEST CLAIM BY DESCENDANTS

OF OLD SOLDIER

A MAORI WAR VETERAN'S

LAND GRANT

A few weeks ago a cable message informed us that Mr. William Cordon Low, a Scotsman, hud discovered that a Croivn land grant, Riven to his father for service in the Maori wars, and regarded then as of little value, had since been settled on, and formed part of the city of Wellington. It was further stated that the value of the property was estimated to bo Jif.OOO.COO, and that the descendants of the original grantee had advanced a claim for this sum. Here, for what it is worth, is the full story as published in "The I'eoples' Journal of Fife and Kinross, of October 9.

Romance, wit'h a dazzling fortune of four million pounds sterling at the end of it, has como to Mr. William Gordon Low. a Scotsman, whoso father was a native of 'Edinburgh. Sir. Low lias just arrived in London to take the preliminary steps in regard to settling his claim.A close personal friend of Mr. Low related to me the whole of tho amazing romance, the outcome of which has asj tonished tlie_ fortunate claimant as much as any of his friends. "The story has its beginning in the.lato sixties," said my informant. "Mr. Low's grandfather, Mr. AVilliam Gordon Low, left Scotland, and, going tV» New Zealand, fought in the Maori wars there. In a sense lie was a soldier of fortune, inasmuch as he unconsciously laid the foundations of huge wealth, which is now fxpected to benefit his descendants. "After the fighting, Captain Low, as he then was. was given as a reward of his share a largo tract of land. It was not his ambition to remain in New Zealand for the rest of liis life, and after inspecting his gift ho left ii: in disgust. It appeared to him to be nothing more than a huge swamp. It was a gift he could not: take away, and it offered 110 temptation to him t/o try and cultivate it, and altogether lie decided he liad no tiso for it.

Site of a City. "Accordingly, ho left it, and, after his return to Scotland dismissed iliie memory of his land gift from his mind. -Now and again he ivould recall it as the topic of a liumorous anecdote when relating to his friends the' story of his experiences in Now Zealand, 'lhe thing, he never failed to impress upon his hearers was tha fact liliat his 'reward' ivas a valueless swamp, useless to man or beast. Ho had come to regard tho incident as a.

"Captain Low eventually scßled m London, where he died in 18'-■ .l'i'om that time, and without his kiiowinff it, something in the nature of a miracle was happening in far-off New Zealand. The valueless swamp first became absorbed in tho site of a rapidly growing little township, and tho land lie had declared 'useless to either man or beast gradually began to assume a new and unexpected importance. "With the passing of years, the trnnt of land lic'Tiad neglected became tho site on which the flourishing and highly important 'town of Wellington liojv stands. .. "Tho neSt step was not .taken until quite, recently, when Captain Low s son, tho faflior of the present claimant, Mr. Gordon William Low, decided to take a long shot and'send out somebody to 'look into matters.' AU the necessary papers were supplied to the 'explorer' to enable him to locate his tract, but so emphatic had been its recipient oil its ■utter worthlessncss that small .hopes were entertained that it might have improved and become worth talcing up as a piece of private propertf.

A Straightforward Claim. "A shock was awaiting tho explorer after his arrival. The, plans and particulars supplied to him led him straight to tile town of Wellington. To make suro he had not made a big mistake, tho inquirer traced tlie local history of tho town back to the period of tho 'sixties. Slowly but surely lie amassed all t.hu information he needed, and than cabled tho news of his great 'discovery' to JLr. Low in London.

"It was decided to take no steps iu tlie matter until the return of' the 'exElorer' so that all the information he ad cleaned could be studied. "His arrival in London was a great occasion for the family. You see, it does not happen every day for somebody to arrive with incontestable proof that you are the inheritor of a fortune worth at least four million pounds! "The proofs and particulars then placed before Mr. Low put the matter beyond any further doubt and provided a straightforward claim. Instead of tho land being a swamp, as some members of tho family persisted in believing rightto the last, ifTiiai tweomo transformed into a colossal fortune.

"Prdofs of tho claim ore so clear that it is /hot anticipated that there will be any insurmountable diliiculty in getting the New Zealand Government to accept it. Tho claim is now being prepared for submission to tho Commissioner for New Zealand in London, and little doubt is held that the claim will not be contested." "Once the whole circumstances connected with the land and its ownership have 'been fully dealt with tho rilKculties in the way of its transfer from'tlie State of New Zealand to tho descendant, of Captain William Gordon Low will melt away," the claimant Bald. "It is a curious thing," ho added, "hut I have always had a feeling that a fortuno was coming to me from somewhere or other. I had lio cspecial reason for supposing this, but the feeling has been there that one day I slimild be rich. It

was a great shock in its way when I learnt for the first time that'the old swamp out in Now Zealand was going to represent this fortune. "Of course, four million pounds i 9 rather a lot of money, but I shall not let it make any difference to me in my pro'ossion as musical director of revue companios—l lovo it too well. When I got Ihe money I am going to use it in getting theatres, and I am already in negotiation for one. , "Jfv pot ambition for a long time'has linen "to buy several theatres, and now there seems to be some prospect of my being able to do something in this direction beforo long. Tho acquisition of this fortune will not make any difference to my wife either. Wo are naturally very pleased, but we are both going to stick {-) tho : business." In a later interview Atr Low states that he had heen in comnninication with the New Zealand authorities, and was now preparing to embark for that country to enter preliminary negotiations regarding his claim.