New-York tribune., 1896-11-29
VAST WEALTH.
.r.,,rRr 1T CAME FROM AND ITS PROB
ABLE DISPOSITION UNDER HER
NEW WILL.


..h,e DISPATCHES sent TO this country. to the ef-
,,., that she is about to make new will, is cal
..,o,od 70 excite widespread interest-an inter-
, extending this side of the Atlantic. since 1t
s known that no inconsiderahe portion OF Her
,,oiasty's wealth is invested in the United States
Tho will now in existence was made more than a
ro-+sr Of a century ago. Since then the numer-
.rs births and deaths that have taken place in
Aha rival family have rendered necessary the ad-
.,,or of such a large number Of codics and al
..-o,ions 10 the original document that but little
=, the latter remains With the object. therefore,
~ simplifying Her Majesty's testamentary dispo-
.,;ons an entirely new will is about to be made.
which however, will never be made public. For
ruropean royalty possesses over ordinary mortals
Ala advantage of being exempt from all taxes Of
succession and probate dues while their Wills are
rosarded as State secrets. and therefore unfit for
,uhlcation State secrets are. however always
haa,y kept. and hence. while no official publica-
tim Of royal wills is ever made. their tenor Is
usual,v matter Of common knowledge. espe-
ca,lv in c0ur, circles.
Queen Victoria enjoys the distinction Of being
the first English sovereign who has ever had any
thing 10 leave. All of her predecessors upon the
throne beaueathed to their successors nothing but
dsh,s which Parliament was called upon to pay
While the Queen permitted the nation thus to
sa,,le the liabilities Of her uncles. King George
w and King William ". she made a point i'm
r,ediately after her succession to pay off in full
the very large debts contracted by her father.
the Duke Of Kent who had died while she was in
the earliest infancy This. the portioning of her
daughters we'll as some of her granddaugh-
tors who have in each case received from her
dowry OF 100000 on marrying and the settle
rent on one occasion of some very pressing la
hlitjes OF the Prince of Wales. may be said to
have constituted the only very heavy expenses
which the Queen has been called upon to meet
since she ascended the throne in 1887.
AN ENORMOUS NET REVENUE.
From that time forth until the present day she
has been in receipt Of a civil list amounting TO
close upon S3OO0.000 year. OF this the major
portion is assigned TO definite heads Of royal ex-
pendi,ure. But 100000 per annum is devoted to
what Is called the Queens privy purse. and con-
slitutcs her pocket-money, OF which no account
is ever asked. Besides this. she has at her dis
posal the net revenues Of the Duchy of Lancaster
which have amounted on an average to S3OO,00O
q year more. From this IL will be seen that after
having all the expenses of every conceivable char
aoter down to her very charities and servants
wages betrayed out Of the civil list she has
sum of at least $500. 900 each year dispose of
she lists and which she is known to have set
aside This in Itself. when added up. represents
of S36 600 900, and. when 1t is remem-
bered that the revenues of the Duchy of Lam
caster are all the time increasing the net reve
la baip lesc or
$3.50. .esO. as compared with 100000. or 100000.
ten years ago. and that, moreover. the Queens
sa wings have been most judiciously invested, for
the most part in land which has increased almost
,enfold in value during the last half century. 1t
kno exaggeration 10 estimate the present fort
une of Her Majesty from these sources alone as
In the neighborhood of S1O0000.OOO.
In addition to this 1t must be borne in mind
that all the savings out Of those particular
branches Of the civil list that are assigned the
various departments of the royal household are
turned over to the Queen. These savings are es-
trnated on Parliamentary and expert authority
10 have amounted. since the death Of the Prince
Consort deprived the Court Of st. James Of 50
much of its old-time splendor. to some S2oO,OW
per annum. Both the late Lord Brougham and
the present Sir Charles Dixie have questioned in
the National Legislature the constitutional pro-
prety Of appropriating these civil list savings TO
the private fortune Of Her Majesty But, thanks
% the support Of Mr. Gladstone. Parliament de-
slined 20 interfere in the matter The Prince
Consort died in 1851. and. estimating these saw
ings on the assigned portion Of the civil list at
S250.OOO for thirty-lvc years. one arrives at the
respectable figure Of SS.150OO0 which at COM
pound interest has, OF course increased to a much
larger sum.
THE PRINCE CONsORTS BEoCEsT.
The Prince Copsort is known to have left will
bequeath.ng his entire fortune to the Queen. al
though 1t was never admitted TO probate or off,
cally divuged. During the twenty-three years
that had intervened between his marriage and
his death he had received from the English
Treasury annuity OF S1500O0. besides which he
had private fortune of his own which yielded
MIN about $4,000 a year more. AS the Queens
husband ne had practically no expenses Of any
Kind 10 meet since they were all betrayed like
those Of Her Majesty out Of the assigned portions
OF the CIVIL list and IL is known that he able
TO set aside and invest at least 100000 a year
throughout his married life This amounts net to
s-'3coOo0 The major portion Of this was most
Juuclously Invested in land at South kensngton.
"hlch was at that time little else than waste
ground, but which to-day is covered with the
most costly and luxurious mansions In London.
ana Is worth far more for the square foot than
IL was forty years ago for the acre. The fortune
oequeathed by the Prince Consort to his widow
s estimated 10 have attained at the present day
the minimum value Of S25 0OOOOO
lhere seems 10 be a general impression that
'ne crown still retains It's former rights to treas
ure 'roves. TO the connscatcd estates. and to the
property OF felons. outlaws. etc. well as
70 wrecks iiotsam. etc. These rights. which In
FORMER years Yielded as much as S1J0.OOO a year
70 The Crown. were surrendered to the nation by
queen Vctorias uncle and immediate prede-
ckkEnr M N,iLia,rn ri.xhtc Of this