The Robesonian. [volume] (Lumberton, N.C.) 1870-current, 1873-08-20
QUEEN VICTORIA.
Her Private F0rtssEle and What
She Wishes to do with 1t.
PropOse Alteration Of the
CFGvn-PrzyafeE Estates act.

Upon the subject of their private
fortunes, the soverigns of England,
from Henry VIII to Victoria, have
always preserved curious rcticence
and secrecy Not long age, a gentleman
went to Doctors Commons, and. after
rendering the usual fee, demanded per-
mission to examine the wills Of the
kings aad queens from Henry VIII
down. JIe was told that not one of
tssiesc wis Yrs or inc NE there, ana
that they were in the custody Of the
Archbishop of canterbury. The gentle
man crossed the river to Lambeth, found
the Archbishop, and made his request
to him. But the Archbishop replied
that he was not in possession of any Of
the will, and had not the slightest idea
where they we're. After the death Of
George I, when George II first received
his ministers, the Archbishop Of Can
terbury produced the will of the de-
ceased monarch, but George II instant
ly took the parchment and put it in his
pocket, and nothing more was ever
heard of il. The wills Of all subjects
must be proved and recorded at Doctors
Commons; but the will Of an English
sovereign is always kept secret, and
whether its provisions are executed or
not, seems to depend wholly On the
pleasure of his successor. Now Prince
Albert was not u sovereign, but his will
has been kept secret to this day, and
no one knows what it contained. The
rumor is that the Prince left everything
to the Queen, and that he also laid in
functions upon her not to convert any of
the property into money for the purpose
Of giving the money to tie Prince Of
Wales. That young gentleman. it may
be remembered, was in disgrace with
his papa at the time of the latter's death
indeed, the death itself was the con-
sequence of cold caught on a sudden
journey to Oxford, whittier Prince Al
bert had been summoned in haste to
get bis son out of a disgracefuI and dan
gerous scrapc ii which he was inyofved.
No one, at the present day, knows ez-
actly what are the private estates " Of
the Queen. The estate Of Balmoral
and the Oabore estate are unknown, and
their value can be estimated; but there
are in addition the {" Kensington es-
tates," ofwhich no one but the Queen anC
her private agents know anything. Wher
the plan for the construction Of th,
South Kcnsington Museum was frs
devised, there we're miles of unoccupie.
land lying around the spot chosen for tn
great collection Of buildings now know,
as the Exhibition, the Museum an'
Albert Hall; and there were other mile
Of streets only partly built, and havin
for the most part cheap and poor bus
ness houses upon them, A littl
"ring" was formel-prince Albert, NJ
Dixie, afterwards Sir c. W. Dixie
and two or three others composed it
/ and by this ring the greater part Of TIL
property was quietly bought up befor
the plan for the Museum, SC, W.
made public. This was more tha
twenty years ago. The whole of tn;
region is now densely covered with fin
houses, and what cost only few hui
; dred thousands Is now worth many mi
l lions. Prince Albert's share Of this
now property of the Queen, and tho<
" Kensington estates are in tn emselv(
$ a very large fortune. Altogether,
money and landed property, to So
a nothing of the jewels, her Majesty
!, supposed to possess something like eG
: 600, ,0G5~ sterling, while no one real
:, knows how much she has; and IL
G amount may be G10,000,oO0, or eve
d 960,00O,O0O, for aught any one c;
l. show to the contrary.
&c Now it happens that there is Ia
i called :" the Crown Private Estates ac
r "a law So fearfully and wonderful
ir made that no two lawyers can be fou,
IF to agree as to what it really means o.
l. Of its provisions, it appears, forbids t
Of Crown bequathing to the heir appare
&c any of the private estates of land,
lie though these estates may all be sold a
is the money received for them may
g given him; and another provision p'
hibits the Grown from disposing of a
ar of these estates privately" althou
n the lawyers are at variance with ca
K other as to what privately" III
a mean. Be all this as it may, it see
of that the Queen wishes to do somethi
he with some of her private estates, a
that the law is supposed to stand in
way Of the doing Of this thing. I
st Majesty prabably wishes to give sol
or thing to the Duke Of Edinburg NJ
so his approaching marriage, or perh
st. she has some other design. AT
be events she has consulted her nriv