£300,000 LOST IN A DAY.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 April 1921, Page 10

£300,000 LOST IN A DAY.

CAPTAIN DUPED BY FRIEND. AMAZING STORY OF TRUST. The romantic story of a wealthy Army capta/irj, w'ho parted with £300,000 to a “friend,” who promised to make him a financial magnate, and then disappeared, was revealed in the Lord Chief Justice’s Court in London recenltly. The central figure in this drama of real life, Captain Henry Kidd, was described by Mr. Patrick Hastings, K.C„ as “a singularly trusting individual, where money was concerned, and in financial matters he is a child.” “Captain Kidd comes of a good family,” said Mr. Hastings, “and he' and his wife, J.-ady Mary Kidd, occupy a prominent in the counties of Not'tiughams»hire and Gloucestershire, and have a host of friends. In 1907 he was persuaded by a friend that he possessed an aptitude for finance. He thereupon parted with £ 34)0,000, which he lost. After this he handed £300,000, which belonged to himself, his wife, and his relations, to a man who professed Ito be able to make him a financial magnate in the City. This man one day announced (that he was going to France for a holiday. He went instead to South America, and has not been seen or heard of since. Captain Kidd has not scan his £300,000 since. If you ask him where it went, he will tell you that he has not the slightest idea.” (Laughter.) SALE OF SHARES.

The £300,000, however, was not the subject of the present action, which was a claim for £50,000 damages against Mr. William Pepper Cross, of Northampton, and the Glazed Kid Company, Ltd., for alleged fraud and misrepresentation, in consequence of which Captain Kidd’s trustee had sold 23,000 shares in the company at a much lower price than their true value. “When Captain Kidd’s affairs became continued Mr. Hastings, “everything he could save out of the wreck was handed to his solicitor, Mr. Powell, who acted as trustee. One of the things that had beeft saved was a block of Chrome Company shares, and they were assigned to a Mr. Raymond Barker on 'behalf of four friends, who had guaranteed money to Captain Kidd. The Chrome Company was formed years ago, and reconstructed in J 909 with 28,000 shares. Captain Kidd’s holding was 22,910 of that number. - The directors were. each entitled 'to £lOO a year as fees, with 10 per cent, of the profits to be divided among them. I think there were three directors, one of whom was Mr. Cross. When the war broke out the shares became of great value. Then Mr. Cross and hia codirectors conceived the brilliant idea of getting enormously increased commission for themselves, a fact that would have the effect of reducing the value of the shares. COMMISSION. “The three directors were allowed to divide 23 per cent, of the profits as remuneration. There were no shareholders to object, except Mr. Raymond Barker, who held Captain Kidd’s shares, and he apparently did not worry ' so long as the shares stood , good. In the following years the <lirecft|Drs took £20,000 as their commission, in addition to £7OO as salaries. “The company one yea¥ recently showed a net profit of £25,800, the 1 ' directors having taken £22,000 as commission and remuneration. Eventually’, through some manoeuvre, Captain Kidd’s shares were obtained by Mr. Cross for £3 each, a price much below their real value. The trustee was persuaded that this price was a fair one by 'the state of the cojnpany’s balance-sheet, which showed the company to be less beneficial to shareholders, because of the big sums taken by the directors as remuneration. When Captain Kidd tried to buy back the shares and asked Mr. Cross to let him have them for £70,000 and ‘something for ibis trouble/ Mr. Cross asked for profit of £50,000.” £90,000 LOAN. Captain Kidd stated in evidence that he was a landowner in comfortable circumstances, and had been deputy lieutenant of a county in Scotland. It was a fact that he lent £90,000 to a gentleman named Gluck, who was connected with a firm of skin merchants, and received the Chrome Company shares as security. He lost 'the £90,000. It was also a fact that, telling a Scottish solicitor of his misfortune, he was persuaded to agree to pay that gentleman £l5OO a year and act as a sleeping partner in a business which would make him wealthy, and he put into the concern about £300,000 of money belonging to himself, his wife, friends, and relations.

Mr. Hastings: Y T ou lost that money —Yes; £BO,OOO belonged to my sister. The solicitor disappeared. The last I saw of him was when he flashed by in a taxicab. I have never got any of the money back. The Lord Chief Justice held that Captain Kidd’s claim failed, as there was no evidence of fraud or misrepresentation. He could see no evidence that Mr. Powell had been induced to part with the shares on an inaccurate or fraudulent balance-sheet.