The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-04

this pretension on the part of the British
treasury, and denounces the demand la
connection with the Empress fortune as
a breach of the rule governing interua-
uonal comfy taking the ground that
foreign soNereigns, ike their ambaSSa-
doris, possess eNtra-t territorial privileges.
eNempung them as well as their property.
from the jurisdiction of the native courts.
az well as from local taxation.
Very much the same question arose
at the death Of the late car. who lett
a sum amounting TO several millions of
dollars deposited i'm the Bank of Eng
land. An attempt was made by the rev
enue authorities to collect English sue
cession duties on the property i'm ques-
ton But in Difference TO the protests
of the Russian ambassador, Baron Gle
St7al, SIR William Vernon Harcourt.
then chancellor of The exchequer. gave
way, ana agreed to remit the duties the
understanding bens al the time that the
funds IN question constituted legacy
from the late Gar to his sister-in-law,
the Princess of Wales. to whom he was
deeply attached. Members of the reign
| ing house of Great Britain are cousG-
tutionally exempted from every species
of taxation, and thus the plea of The Rus
sian ambassador for The, exemption of mis-
dead masters property in The Bank of
England acquired additional force In the
eyes of Sir William, who is one of the
! foremost of British experts in interua-
uOnal law. But at this epoch the Iouse
of Lords had not given its finaI
| Judgment in the question of the treat
mcnt of property in England belonging
to foreigners, and it is exceedingly doubt
| fun under the circumstances whether the
Bank Of England viii consent TO release
| the Austrian Empress fortune conhded
! 10 iis charge until the issue between the
| English courts and revenue officials on
the one side and the London foreign of
! flee and Austrian embassy on the other
hand has been decided, either by means
| of a compromise or in a British court of
law. Thore is every reason, however, to
believe that the difficulties which have
| been raised by the British authorities in
| connection with the disposal of the prop
erty of the late Empress of Austria, as
well as of Car Alexander HI VIII
have the result of checking the practice
| which foreign monarchs and royal per
! sonages have been following for the last
| hundred years or so of depositng their
savings for safe-keepng in the Bank of
England which, in their eyes, apparently
is the only institution of its kind in the
world by reason of its solidity and meal
culable resources, that offers a sufficient
| degree of security against loss.
Empress Elizabeth and Alexander III
have been by no means the only crowned
| customers of the Old Lady of Threadnee-
die street. When Car Alexander II wished
| to provide for the future of his morganatc
wife, Princess Jourieffska, and of his Tie
! climate children, he deposited sum
/ amounting it is stated, to about $40 0O0,-
| 600 in her name in the Bank of Engldud
firmly convinced that in no other instilu>
ton would this large fortune be secure
| either from seizure by his successors on
! the throne or from disappearance through
| the collapse of the bank. Had the money
in question been placed, for instance. IN
| the BauQue de France, or in any analog-
Gus establishment in Vienna, Berlin or
| Amsterdam, the local registration of de-
| cree of injunction, obtained by the Russian
| crown from the Muscovite courts would
have been perfectly sufficient to debar the
| widowed Princess Jourieffska from touch-
| ing the money destined for her use. But
! Alexander well knew at the time that once
money had been credited in her name in
| the Bank of England nothing short of de-
| cree obtained from an English court of
| justice after a full trial and careful review
| of all the circumstances Of the case. could
prevent her from the enjoyment of the
possession 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 Eng
| land. This fact was brought to light a
| few weeks before the war began, by tie
| robbery of one of the confidential court
| courtiers 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 handbook as well as re-
! ceipts for the money and securities whien
| he had pust 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 vauables 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 it is derived
! from the Spanish treasury. She was one
| If the largest legatees under the will Of
| her uncle, Archduke Albert, general
| issino Of the Austrian army, and prob
| ably the richest royal parsonage of the
| aav in Europe / doubt indeed, whether
! she manages to economic anything from
! tho civil list conceded by the treasury
| For me maintenance of the court, and
! With a view of diminishing the financial
burdens that oppress the people Of her
2donied country she has declined ever
einne she became a widow, thirteen years
400 TO draw a single cent Of the annual
aiowance of 100000 francs per annum
which is due 10 her as the widow of a
! Spanish sovereign
Pope Plus TX was in the habit of de
Nesting the funds of the papacy in the
Banlx of England; but whether his success
! sor sin adheres 10 this plan is unknown,
| and while some Of the vatican authorities
! declare that this is the case, there are
! others who alege that most of the money
| 10 now intrusted instead 10 continental in
| etituttons. The general impression, how
| over is that it is the Bank of England
which remains the principal depository OF
! The papal funds. Nor is it only European
| sovereigns who make use of the Bank OF
| england. for this purpose. When, for in
! stance. old KhediVe Ismail OF Egypt be-
| came aware that the hour of his deposit
ton was drawing nigh, he transferred CO.
lossaI sums Of money, estimated at sew
eral millions sterling, to the Bank Of Eng
land, convinced that il was about che only
! Nv Ia f.,