The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-08

Jubilee Draws Attention to VictOria's
Income and Its Source.

Philadelphia RECORD.
Jubilees have their inconvenience, even
for Queens; and one from which Victoria
is suffering is that the curious attention or
the world is converged upon her-and she
has been, this year at least, the most con-
spicuous of personages. The public curios-
ity is being appeased in a somewhat start
ling way; for protested members OF the
royal household' are selling to the news
paper press the results of their obserVa-
lions. OF course, such things are to be eX-
pected in America, where the interviewer
f1ourishes; and yet it would be hard to
find any interference with private affairs
in more wretched taste than the sop now
being given TO mankind concerning the
habits and affairs of the Queen. 1t Is said
that the maids of honor and ladies OF the
court are under a special pledge not to
diVulge anything that they may see or
learn while lin waiting" because on their
fidelity to such a pledge depends the free
dom and repose of royal personages. Yet
now one might suppose the pledge Htted,
and Notwithstanding, private secretaries
and cooks busy revealing what goes on at
court. Much of what is told is harmless,
If not silly; but 1t is very Snobbish, ana
one would think it necessarily offensive to
the Queen, no matter if it be datterirg.
One thing of public interest is discussed
If little he divtilged-c0ncering her Males
ty, and that is her wealth. The public in-
1 terest in her estate arises from the general
impression that the nation has been taxed
to create it, and there is a natural claim
to know how crowned people, having no
other means of making money than their
trade as rulers, manage to make fortunes
out of their incomes. In America when
public man becomes a millionaire in the
service of the people 1t IS suspected that
some trust has corrupted him. Is there
some other way TO account for the princely
fortunes made in Europe by royalties, so
that since the days of the bourgeois Louis
Philippe kingcraft has been seen to be
highly lucrative trade? However they
may have come by their possessions, 70
far it has not been the fashion to suspect
crowned heads of any indirect or improper
way of maying money. Yet they do make
it; and there is not a monarch in Europe
to-day who is not rich. King George was
a poor cadet of one of the poorest royal
families when he went from Copenhagen,
thirty-four years ago, to Athens to play
the useless part of a constitutional king
among a people who do not understand
what 4 constitution is. He gets $3.50 900 a
year, of which $4,000 comes in equal shares
from Great Britain, France and Russia
This is all he is known to have had, and yet
to-day he is man of independent wealth.
1t is said that he made money specializing
in stocks; for he surely could not have
maintained his royal state bringing up a
half dozen princes. and have saved out of
his small income a large estate. However,
he comes of prudent family.
There is a general belief that Queen Vic
toria is very rich-not ranking in fortune,
perhaps, with Rothschild or a Duke of
Westminster or an Astor, but at all events
rlvaling Jay Gould or c. p. Hunting
ton and magnates of the second degree.
Yet she was rather cOnspicuously poor for
q princess, and people have spoken pitt
fully of her narrow lot in her early days.
Her Civil List is far from being excep-
tionally great; and moreover, it is so par
celed out that she has but small control
Of it. The sovereigns of Austro-H Hungary,
of Italy of Prussia, of Russia and even
of Spain have larger incomes from the pub
lie treasury than she. While 100000 is al
lowed for her privy purse and S65 900
for her charities. about 81 800 600 of her
nominal income from the State is appro-
priated to her household expenses. More
over, she has been unfortunate in not COM
ing of a rich family, so that her estates
might be built up by inheritance, as is the
case with continental monarchs; and she
has had many poor relations to provide for.
1t is said that the Prince Consort left an
estate of $1,000 900. in which the Queen
shared largely; and the Saxe-Coburg fam
lily is far from being in need. But in 1885
her private secretary, Sir Henry Ponsonby,
who ought to be a good authority, said of
the Queens private affairs She has in
vested no money in ground rents, nor does
she possess Il million to invest" There
must be some evasion here for the for
tune she received from the Nield estate,
have given her a million in that year. She
Lancaster, which has grown from $120 900
now; also for the eighteen years of his
minority she had the custody of the Prince
of Waless Cornwall estates She owns
1882 acres of fairly productive lands in
Great Britain, and possesses considerable
property in Germany. But all these known
facts will not provide the enormous estate
with which she is credited. The probabili-
ties are that her wealth has been exag-
gerated; but what it is will never be
known, as her last testament will never be
probated