The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-05-21

ING MANUEL of Portugal and
his mother, Queen Amelie, made
such heavy pecuniary sacrihces
during the few months follow
pie of years ago in order to clear off
the liabilities of the murdered King to
the national treasury and to his other
creditors, that it seems very hard that
they should be once more confronted
by court scandals of a monetary char
acter, of which the Republican and
anti-dynastic press and party are max
ing the utmost capital 1t seems that
the sugar monopoly of the island OF
man of the name of Hinton. who after
having secured the grant, made most
indiscreet boasts of the fact that If he
had obtained the concession 1t was
through the, influence of certain hish
officials of the Kings household, whom
he had, In his own. words. bought
cheap" These boasts are now being
made the subject of Legislative inves-
tigation, which is inflicting no end OF
injury upon the reigning house.
To make matters worse. one OF the
leading dry goods firms of Lisbon has
just become bankrupt, and its mana
gers ascribe their ruin to their inablli-
ty to collect bill from Queen Pia for
some $4,000. 1t has been running for
years. and now the receiver In the
bankruptcy has Instituted proceedings
against the royal lady for the payment
of the sum, which she herself cannot
pay and which her relatives declare
it to be Impossible for them to settle.
Unfortunately this is not the only in
stance of Lisbon tradespeople having
become involved in difficulties through
having accorded too expensive credit
to queen Pia But this is particularly
| ilagrant case.
Queen Pia is the grandmother of the
present King of Portugal, sister OF
| King Humbert of Italy. and the only
one of the late King Victor Emlnan-
uel's children who inherited his incon-
| ceivable recklessness and extravaganza
| in money matters. In fact. the greater
| part of Humbert's reign was spent in
paving off his fathers debts, a particu-
| larly big creditor, though a generous
one, being Khedive Ismail of Egypt.
Humbert also repeatedly came to the
assistance Of his sister Pia. paying her
debts. But her nephew, the present
| King of Italy, is of a more economical
character, and declines to continue to
| furnish large sums OF money over ana
above her Italian allowance to be
spent, not in his dominions, but eth
er in Portugal or in Paris.
Not long before her sons tragic
murder 1t was claimed in the national
| Legislature at Lisbon that money had
from the national treasury by the
1 Queen Mother in order to settle some
Of her more pressing debts, and these
i charges were confirmed in the legis-
cession of the present king. He sue
ceedcd in effecting settlement Of the
/, amount which she owed to the State
but now finds it beyond his power e
attend to her private debts; the more
so as she seems to have no conception
| whatsoever of the value of money.
! 1t has been frequently urged thai
she should leave the Kingdom and make
her home In Italy, since her presence
! at Lisbon constituted a source of weak.
/ ness 10 her grandson, whose position
4 on the throne is by no means secure
| But she has turned deaf ear to al
| circumstances, and was SO broken nS
the murder of her son and eldest sranu.
| son that during the year following tne
tragedy the matter was allowed e
| drop, Now, however, the demand fol
her virtual Punishment is being revlV-
ed, and she may be compelled 70 Leave
In order to safeguard Dom MahuelS
| crown
Portugal during the forty -eight years
that have elapsed since she came e
Lisbon at the age Of fifteen as queer
Consort, and wife of monarch Whon
/ having been welded by proxy to hin
before leaving Italy, Her husband
4 King Louis was easy going, apathetic
4 never having entirely recovered from
on him some months prior TO his ac'
4 ccsson, and was content to leave thu
rnins of government almost wholly II
< her hands. quite as masterful and i'm,
y perious In her way as her father, tht
IRE Gallant uomo" OF Italy, she rulet
Portugal With a high hand, brookint
no opposition, and even after her sons
4 the lato Don Carlos's, accession, man
aged to retain much of her influence
\ especially that of social character
!. Whether she used this power wisel.
ar nnt is a matter on which great di