The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-07-11
QUEEN VICTORIA'S INCOME

Queen Victoria either is or ought
to be a wealthy woman. Her in
come was at the beginning of her
reign fixed at G385,O00 a year.
This sum, it was understood, would
with the exception of &c.,
900 year, be divided between the
lord chamberlain and the master
of the horse, the two great func-
tionaries of the royal household
OF the residue, 100000 were to
be paid over to the queen for her
personal expenses, and the remain
ing f36,OO0 were for "contingen-
cies.'' 1t is probable, however,
that the above arrangements have
been much modified, as time has
worked changes. During the hap
Ply days Of the queens married
life the expenditure of tn. court
was very much greater than it has
been since the princes death. EN-
perors and kings were entertained
with utmost splendor at Windsor.
During the Emperor of Russia's
visit, for instance, and that of
Louis Philippe, one or two hun
dred extra mouths were in one way
or another fed at her majesty's eX-
pense. The stables, too, were
formerly filled with horses-and
very fine ones they were-whereas
now the number is greatly reduced,
and many of those in the royal
news are 'Jobbed"--i. e., hired by
the5week or month, as occasion re-
quires, from livery stables. This
poverty of the master of the horse
department excited much angry
comment on the occasion of the
Princes Alexandria's state entry
into London. But besides the
previous mentioned 100000 a
year, and what residue may be I'M
spent from the rest of the civil
list, as the f3S5,O00 is called,
Queen Victoria has two other
sources of considerable income.
She is in her own right Duchess of
Lancaster. Her revenue from this
source has been steadily increas-
ing. Thus in 1865 it was f26,000;
in 1867, f31, 600; in 1872, 100000.
The largest of these figures does
not probably represent fifth of
the receipts of John of Gaunt,
but the Duchy of Lancaster, like
that of Cornwall, suffered for
long time from the fraud and ra-
pacity of those who were suppos-
ed to be it's custodians. Managed
as it now is, it will probably have
doubled its present revenue before
the close of the century. The
other source is still more strictly
personal income On the both Of
August, 1852, there died gentle
man aged 70, of the name of John
Camden Neild. He was a son of
James Neild, who acquired large
fortune as a gold and silversmith.
He received every advantage in
the way of education, graduated
NJ. A. at Trinity college, Cam
bridge, and was subsequently,
called to the bar. He proved,
however, the very reverse of his
benevolent father. He was a mi
ser born, and hid all his talents in
napkin, making no use of his
wealth beyond allowing it to ac-
cumulate. From the date of the
death of his father, who
left him f250,O00, besides
real estate, he had spent but a
small portion of his income and
allowed himself scarcely the nee
essaries of life, He usually dressed
in blue coat with metal buttons.
This he did not allow to be brush
ed, inasmuch as that process
would have sworn the nap. He
was never known to wear an over
coat. He gladly accepted invita-
tions fIom his tenantry, and would
remain on long visits, beca use he
thus saved board. A few days
before his death he told one of
his executors that he had made a
most singular will, but that he had
a right to do what he liked with
his own. When the document
was opened it was found that with
the exception of a few small lega-
| cies, he had left all ito Her Most
Gracious Majesty, Queen Victory,
begging Her Majesty's most gra-
cious acceptance of the same, for
her sole use and benefit and that
of her heirs" Probably vanity
dictated this bequest. To poor
housekeeper, who had served him
20 years, he left nothing; to each
of his executors, fIOO. But the
queen made handsome provision
for the former, and presented
f1, 900 to each of the latter; and
she further raised memorial to
the miser's memory. The proper
ty bequeathed to her amounted to
upward of f5OO, 900; so that sup
posing Her Majesty to have spent
every penny of her public and
duchy of Lancaster incomes, and
to have only laid by this legacy
and the interest on il, she would
from this source alone now be
worth at least e., 200, 900. Be