“ROYAL EMBEZZLEMENT. ”

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3199, 21 April 1911, Page 3

“ROYAL EMBEZZLEMENT. ”

MORE TROUBLE FOR KING ALFOiv SERIOUS CHARGES BY A DEPUTY. An unusual sensation is shaking, the whole of society, and ,indeed, the whole of Spain. Speaking from the floor of the Cortes Deputy Ursaiz, a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a leading Conservative, virtually accused King Alfonso of a gigantic scheme of embezlement of public funds in connection with the redemption of the National Debt-. Toward this end the Premier, Sen or Canalejas, has been steadfastly striving. The seriousness of the charges was hardly appreciated at first, but the Republicans are now busv disseminating talk upon the matter, and the effects are likely to be more serious to- the royal house than years of Radical campaigning. In brief, the deputy s charges are these—The Government a- little while ago submitted a proposal to redeem, at par, bonds that had originally been sold at a very low figure. If t-lris proposal were ratified it would mean that the holders would clear over £1,000,000, most of which would, it appears, fall to King. ‘This suggestion,” declared Ursaiz, “is immorality and embezzlement, and it is the King who proposes it. It is nothing more nor loss than a crime.” The progressive newspaper “Espana Neuva,’ follows up this dramatic statement by printing a list which shows that to the King a sum of 19,445 pesetas has already been paid, to his eldest son 1368 pesetas, to his wife 1250, to his mother 1 694, to his aunt Isabel 694, to his aunt Eulalia 418, to his aunit Paso 418 and to his sister Maria 418, making a total of 24,705 pesetas, or nearly £IOOO. In sarcastic vein the paper adds: “In return for; this the King; attended mass took pact in a polo match and in equestrian tournaments, but we know of no donations that he has made to charity.”