National Republican., 1873-05-24
yrcronIA,s WEALTH.
fhe fnesrse eftho oaeen Of Ensiand-Ths
stsry efa strunGe Gift 10 Her MsIesty.

TIE fneenie eftho Qaeen Of Rnaiand-The
stsry ef n strange ON 10 Her Majesty.
A writer In the May number Of Lippincotrs
believes the Queen either H. or ought TO be,
/. very wealthy woman, and In support Of bis
belief presents some interesting facts and the
story Of a peculiar bcquest. In addition to
the property mentioned In the extract given
below, the crown property includes a large
strip Of the best part Of London. An tic
clubs In Pail Mall, which pay tho highest
rents In the city, stand on crown land. But
this property suffers much from the fact that
II can not be sold. The whole Of the New
Forest ls crown land, and II Ia estimated that
n u could be sold II would fetch millions,
whereas Il IL now nearly yaluelcss. OF the
Queens income from various sources the
writer says
Her income was at tho beginning Of her
reign E8S5,C10 year. This sum, u was
understood, would, with the exception Of
fpe, 900 year, he divided between the lord
steward, the lord chamberlain and the master
Of the horse, the three great functionaries Of
the royal household. on the residue, eco, 600
were 10 be paid over to the Queen for her
personal expenses, and the remaining
G36,000 were for "contlngenclcs.' II Il
probabie, however, that the above arrange
ments have been much modified, as time has
worked changes.
The Prince Consort had an allowance Of
ESQ, 900 year. The Queen originally wished
him TO have El00, 900, and Lord Melbourne,
then Prime Minister who had Immense In
suadlng her that this sum was out Of the
question, and gaining her consent to the
Governments proposing E5O,tJl year to
the House OF Commons which, to Her
Majcsty's lnluitc chagrin, cut the sum down
nearly one half.
During the happy days Of her married life
the expenditure Of the court was very much
greater than II has been since the Princes
death. Emperors and kings were entertained
with utmost splendor at Windsor. During
the Emperor OF Rusa'a's visit, for Instance,
and that Of Louis Philippe, ono or two hun
drcd extra mouths were In one way or an
other fed at her Majesty's expense. The sta
bles, too, were formerly nlled with horses
and very ine ones they werc-whercas now
the number Is greatly reduced, and many Of
those In the royal news is "Jobbcd-L o.,
hired by the week or month. as occasion re-
qulres, from livery stables. This poverty Of
the master Of the horses department excited
much angry comment on the occasion Of the
Princess Aiexandras state entry Into London.
But besides the previously mentioned
coo, 900 year, and what residue may be un-
spent from the rest Of the "civil Tist, as the
E3shO00 Is called, Queen Victoria has two
other sources Of considerable income. She IL
In her own right Duchess Of Lancaster. Her
revenue from this source has been steadily In
creaslng: Thus in 1886 II was f2aOoo In
sscoo6 sc apg,.s IN ,s y u sSr.V s0rn, ,s is Sos.
not probably represent 9Th Of the receipts
Of John Of Gaunt, but the Duchy Of Lancas-
ter, like that Of Cornwall, suffered for q long
time from the fraud and rapacity Of those
who were supposed to be Its custodians.
Managed as It now Is, II will probably have
doubled its present revenue before the close
Of the century.
The other source Is still more strictly per-
sonal income. On the 30th Of August 1859,
there died gentleman, aged -, OF the name
OF John Camden Nelld. lie was a son Of
Mr.. James Nelld, who acquired q large for.
tune rs a gold and silyersmith. He received
every advantage In the way OF education,
bridge, aud was subsequently called 10 the
bar. lie proved, however, the very revere
Of his benevolent father. He was mlscr
born, and hid all his talents IN napkin,
making no use Of his wealth beyond allowing
II 10 accumulate. From the date Of the
death Of his father, who left him f2jO,O
besides real estate, he had spent but small
portion Of his income, and allowed himself
scarcely the necessaries OF life. lie usually
dressed In blue coat with metal buttons.
This he did not allow TO be brushed, inasmuch
n that process would have worn the nap.
lie was never known 10 wear an oycrcoat.
He gladly accepted Invitations from his ten
antry, and wolld remain on long visits, be-
cause he thus saved board. A few days be-
fore his death he told one Of his executors
that he had made most singular viii, but
that he had right to do what he liked with
his own. When the document was opened Ii
was found that, with inc exception OF few
small legacies, he had lcft oil 80 Her Most
Gracions MaiesiI Queen liclo1c esggtlS
that Of her heirs" Probably vanity dictated
this bequcst. To poor old housekeeper,
who had served him twenty-slx years, he left
nothing, TO each Of his EXECUTOR, flC). But
the Queen made q handsome provision for the
former and presented 81, 900 TO each Of the
latter; and she further ralsed memorial TO
the miser's memory. The property be-
queathcd to her amounted 10 upward Of
f5oo 900; 80 that supposing Her Majesty to
have spent every penny OF her public and
duchy of Lancaster incomes, and 10 have
only laid by this legacy and the interest on II,
she would from this source alone now be
worth at least fi,t 5000. Be this as Il may,
even that portion Of the public which survive
her VIII probably never Know the amount Of
her wealth, for the Wills Of kings and queens
are not proved; so that there will be no en-
llghtenment on this head In the pages Of the
IRusirdt d london Netna.
Both o. borne house, In the Isle OF Wight,
aud BalmOral were bought prior to Mr.. Ne.ld's
bequest. These places aro the personal prop
erty Of her Majesty, and very valuable; prob
ably the two may, with their contents, be
valued ut $500, &c. at the lowest. The build
ing and repairs at these palaces arc paid for
by the Queen herself, but those Of all the pal
aces Of the crown arc at the expense OF the
country, and about si 900, 900 has been cr-
pended on buckingham prlaee and Windsor
Castle during the present reign.