The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-01-07
TIE SAVINGS OF R0YALTY

Aaohey oestlAeo LOT her use. But Alex
ander we'll knew at, the time that once
money had been credited in .ferSname In
the Bank OF England nothing short Of a.
decree obtained from an English court of
justice, after a full trial and careful re-
view of all the circumstances OF the case
couid prevent her from the enjoyment
OF the possession OF the property.
Even since Queen Christina has henn
regent of Spain she has kept the greater
part OF her money in the Bank OF Eng.
land. This fact was brought to light q
few weeks before the war. began by the
robbery of one of the confidan t3al oo,,..
couriers between the frontier station at
Irun and Madrid. BY some means or an
other the reserved compartment in which
he was travelling was entered while the
train was going at full speed, and he was
chloroformed, nothing being taken from
him excepting the sealed bag containing
her majesty's bank book. as we'll as re-
ce1pts for the money and securities which
he had Just deposited for her. in the Bank
Of England. The thief remains unpun.
ished to this day. But the very fact that
he should have neglected to take either
the money or the other valuables of the
courier tends to the belief that he was
acting In behalf of some of the numerous
foes Of the unfortunate regent,-who We're
anxious to ascertain the disposition Of
her fortune The latter Is very consider
able, though but little Of 1t is derived
1rom the Spanish treasury She was one
VI the largest legatees under the will of
her uncle. Archduke Albert, generalissimo
OF ire Austrian army, and probably the
rlchest. royal parsonage Of his day in
europe. l doubt, indeed, whether she
1n ,s.i, 9 10 eccnomize anything from the
civil INST conceded by the treasury for the
maintenance Of the court, and with a
view OF dolnd1ishing the financial burdens
that Cypress the people of her adopted
country she has declined, ever since she
became widow thirteen years ago, to
az" Single cent OF the annual allow
allce OF l,OOo.oOO francs per annun which
IS due to her as the widow Of a Spanish
sovereign. Sc - - - "'
rope Plus TX. was In the habit of de-
posting the funds Of the papacy in the
nank OF england; bu, whether his sue
lessor stlll adheres to this plan is I'M
known, and while some of the Vatican
authorities declare tina. rnis is the case
tnere are others who ailege that most
OF the money is now intrusted to conti-
mental institutions. The general impres-
SION. however, is that it is the Bsnl, OF
England which remains the principal, de-
posltory OF the papai -uIds :, Nor is it
oIiy european soveretgns who make use.
OF the Bank of England for this purpose.
Nhen, Tor instance. old Khedive Ismail
o! EGYPT became aware that the hour of
Els oeposatlon was drawing nigh he trans
terrcd colossal sums. of money, estimated
~ several millions sterling, topthe Bank
OF england, convinced that it was about
the only place where the property would
De SAFE from the greedy grasp Of his
suzera1n, the sultan, and from the fury
OF OF the disappointed creditors of Egypt.
= be~s ssasa n aFds the greater portion of
MS money in hiding places in CONSTANT
liopie, although, like every other reigning
sovereign, he has large sums on deposit
IN the Bank Of England against a rainy
DAY The king and queen of Italy each
OF them has a big account at the Bank
OF England, while during the three
months that Emperor Frederick reigned
over Germany ne made use of the time
70 PROVIDE Tor the future of his widow by
deposlt1ng considerable amount Of prop
erty In the Bank of England for her bene-
MT. The late Emperor Napoleon ILL.,.
when he felt his throne tottering in the
latter part of 1869 and in the spring of
1870, managed to transfer a considerable
sum Of money to the Bank of England,
and it is thanks to this precaution alone
that his -consort, Empress Eugene, re-
mains to-day one Of the wealthiest of
royal WIDOWS South American dictators,
such as Cen GuZman Blanco Of Vene.
zuela, and others of the same stripe. fol.
low this general rule and there is prob
ably no banking institution in the world
that has on it's books SO many customers
of royal rank and SO many rulers, past
and present, as the Old Lady of Thread
needle Street. Curiously enough, almost
the only sovereign who does not bank
there Is Queen Victoria herself, who
keeps her money at Coutt's bank
The resources Of the Bank Of England
are practically unlimited, as it may be
said to have behind it the financial back
ing of the entire British empire, upon
which. like that of Emperor Charles w.,
the sun never sets. Six hundred millions
of dollars is the average amount of coin
and securities usually held by the bank,
which covers a space Of less than four
| acres, and it may be doubted If there is
anywhere else in the world place where
| Such an aggregation of actual and poten-
tial wealth Is gathered together within
| so small an area. 49,
Perhaps it is on this account. that the
Bank of England alone among kindred
institutions is provided by the govern
ment with a strong military guard. the
soldiers assigned to this service being
! a company of the same regiment of foot
guards that furnish the sentinels of Buck
fngham palace, St. James palace and
Marlborough, house The company on
duty at the bank is under the command
of subaltern, and Is reliever every
twelve hours, the so-called bank company
being the only force of the regular army
that has the right to march through the
streets OF the city Of London without o b.
! tanning previous permission from the lord
mayor and corporation of the city. Bank
| OF England duty is by no means disliked
by officers and men of the brigade OF
guards, for the subaltern ON duty receives
from the bank gratuity of a guinea for
his twelve hours duty, in addition to
which the bank furnishes most elabor,
ate luncheoniin the middle OF the day and
an equally elaborate dinner at 8 O'Clock
in the evening, with first-class wine.
Each soldier of the guard receives In fhe
same way a shilling gratuity for his
twelve hours duty jt-a and a square meal,
| with a pint OF ale the ,din1inutive bugler
| being obliged to content himself with six
( pence and a half pint. * . :, '<s r
| This military guard for the Bank of
| the last tury,f when the Old Lady OF
| Threadneedle street was threatened by
| the fierce and savage mob which spread
| such havoc and devastation on every side
| that even to this day the mention Of the
| terrible Gordon riots excites a shudder in
| the breast of the worthy citizens of the
! British metropolis. 4 The rifles of the sol.
! diers are loaded with ball cartridge, but
| Ishave never known the Tommies to have
| any occasion to use their firearms, al
! though only ten days ago the services OF
| their bayonets were invoked to reduce to
| subjection a maniac who was threatening
| totdestrey the bank. Ofacourse, there are,
besides the military guard, detachments
i OF hremen, private detectives, watchmen,
| as well as a squad Of city policemen as
| signed to the duty Of protecting the bank.
/ But they are all supposed to be under
/ the orders of the young subaltern Of the
| guards, to whom is intrusted the respOn.
l sibialty of safeguarding the Bank OF I'm
gland, with al Its savings OF foreign roy
atty.
] The C1nr an His People.