The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-08
ouching the money destined for her

! nef name IN the Bank IF England moth
| ing short of a decree obtained from an
! English court of justice after a full
! trial and careful review CT all the cir
cumstances of the case. could prevent
her from the enjoyment of the posses
I sion of the property
| Ever Since Queen Christina has been
| regent of Spain, she has kept the
| greater part of her money in the Bank
| of England. This fact was brought to
| light few weeks before the war be-
gan, by the robbery of one of the con-
hdential court couriers between the
| frontier station at Irun and Madrid
BY some means or another, the reserved
compartment in which he was travelling
was entered while the train was going
! at full speed, and ne was chloroforned
! nothing being taken from him except
| ing the sealed bag containing her ma
| jesty's bank book as well as receipts
| for the money and securities which he
| had just5deposited for her in the Bank
of England.
| The thief remains unpublished to this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 were
anxious to ascertain the disposition of
| her fortune. The latter is very con-
siderable, though but little of it is de-
rived from the Spanish treasury. She
was one of the largest legatees under
the VIII of her uncle, Archduke Albert.
| generalissimo of the Austrian army.
and probably the richest royal person
age of his day in Europe | DOUBT.
! indeed. whether she manages to econo-
| fnlZe anything from the civil list con-
coded by the treasury for the mafnte-
nance of the court and with a view of
diminishing the financial burdens that
| Cypress the people of her adopted coun-
try, she has declined ever since she be-
came a widow, l3 years ago. to draw a
single cent of the annual allowance of
| l,00O,OOO francs per annum which is due
TO her as the widow of a Spanish sover-
| eign.
Pope Plus IN was in the habit of
depositing the funds of the papacy in
the Bank of England; but whether his
successor still adheres to this plan. is
unknown, and while some of the Vati-
can authorities declare that this is the
case, there are others who allege that
most of the money is now entrusted in
stead TO continental Institutions The
general impression. however. is that it
| is the Bank Of England which remains
the principal depository of the papaI
FUNDS. Nor is it only European sover-
elgns Who make use of the Bank of
/ england for this purpose
When. tor instance, old khedive Is
mail of Egypt became aware that the
hour of his deposition was drawing
nigh be transferred colossal sums Of
money, estimated at several millions
sterling, to the Bank of England. con-
WINGED that it was about the only mace
where the property would be safe from
the greedy grasp of his suzerain, the
sultan, and from the fury of the dis
appointed creditors of Egypt. The sui
tan boards the greater portion of his
money in hiding places in CONSTANT
nople, although, like every other reign
ing sovereign. he has large sums on de-
rainy day.
The king and queen of Italy each of
them has big account at the Bank of
England while during the three months
| that Emperor Frederick reigned over
germany ne made use of the time to
provide for the future of his widow by
deposlting considerable amount of
property IN the Bank of England for
| her benefit. The late Emperor Napo-
leon III. when ne felt his throne tot
| terlng 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
| TINS precaution alone that his consort,
Empress Eugene, remains today one Of
| the Wealthiest of royal widows. South
american dictators, such as General
Guzman Blanco of Venezuela and 9TH
| ers of the same stripe follow this gem
eraI rule, and there is probably no
| banking institution in the world that
mas on its books so many customers of
! royal rank and so many rulers, past and
| present as the Old Lady of Thread
needle street. Curiously enough. al
most the only sovereign who does not
oank there is Queen Victoria herself.
who keeps her money at Coutts Bank.
Inc resources of the Bank of Eng
! land are practically unlimited as il
may be said to have behind it the fin
ancial backing of the entire British en-
pre-, upon which, like that of Emperor
Charles V, the sun never sets Six
hundred millions of dollars is the aver
age amount of coin and securities usu-
| ally held by the bank. which covers a
| space of less than four acres. and il
! may be doubted if there is anywhere
else in the world a place where such an
/ aggregation of actual and potential
wealth is gathered together within so
small an area.
Perhaps it is on this account that the
/ Bank of England alone among kindred
/ institutions is provided by the govern
! ment with strong military guard
! the soldiers assigned to this service be-
| ing company of the same regiment
! OF foot guards that furnishes the SEN
! tries of Buckingham Palace, st. James
Palace and Marlborough House The
! company on duty at the bank is under
/ the command of a subaltern. and is re-
| lieved every u 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 obtaining pre-
vious permission from the lord mayOr
! and corporation of the city Bank OF
| England duty is by no means disliked
| by officers ara men of the brigade of
guards, for the subalteln on duty re-
celves from the bank a gratuity of a
| guinea for his II hours duty. in ad-
| dition to which the bank furnishes a
most elaborate luncheon in the middle
/ OF the day and an equally elaborate
! dinner at o'clock liz the evening, with
! flrst-class wine. Each soldier of the
guard receives in the same way a shil-
/ ling gratuity for his ~ hours duty. and
( a square meal. with a pint of ale the
dlminutive bugler being obliged to con
/ tent himself with siXpence and half a
pint.
This military guard for the Bank
| OF England dates back to the latter
I part of the last century, when the Old
/ Ladyof Threadneedle street was threat
! ened by the fierce and savage mob
/ which spread such havoc and devasta
I ton 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. The rifles of the soldiers
are loaded with ball cartridge, but
/ nave never known the Tonlmies to
I nave any occasion to use their firearms
! although only ten days ago the serv-
ices of their bayonets We're invoked ia
reduce to subsection maniac who was
! threatening to destroy tho bapl, Sr