The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-26


 W wrote a chronicler of the middle ages; and there is little doubt, If he could revisit the glimpses Of the moofi' this coming summer and see the grand total of the bill for the coronation of his gracious Majesty King George V, he would gasp with amazement' ana
 would declare that he never wrote truer words in his life. Already the stream of gold is beginning to flow; and before
 if ceases, some months hence, the total, if ii could be exactly ascertained, will in
 deed be staggering.
 The expenses of the coronation cere-
 monies and the festivities immediately as- sociated with it will alone come to goodly sum. The current estimates con tain a provision for an expenditure of
 e1S5,O 600, in addition to a substantial avail able balance in the hands of Lord Beau
 champ, who is the national host; and
 King George himself will, it is estimated, spend at least e100,0OO out of his own purse. Thus we arrive at starting item of close on e300,000.
 For every pound spent on royal cere- monies and banauets scores will be law
  over the seas on this carnival of rejoicing. From every corner of the wide world Vis- | itors are about to flock to shores, with purses well filled, eager to have good time." and reckless of the expense. From the United States alone, it is said, at least 100000 are coming, many of them mil- lionaires, to whom a few thousands TOT a holiday jaunt are no more than the cost | of a trip to Margate to the average man. One palatial liner will come over crowd ed to its last cubic foot of accommoda- ton with these transatlantic Croesuses. Every berth in every boat that will cross | the .'herring pond' from now to the lat | ter part of June has long been taken. In fares alone our United States guests Will spend at least s2.000,00O. a small install ment of the gold they bring with them to leave in British pockets.
 l Assuming that, on an average, each or | these 100000 Americans spends only &50 | fan absurdly modest sum) on his holiday, we have an item of f50Oo,Ooo to add to our bill. Canada Is sending 5000 of her peo- ple to the motherland Australia looo, | and so on through the long list of those who will voyage to us over the seas At l a low estimate, London during coronation
 week will play the hostess to 100000 guests hailing from every remote part of the earth; and they will return home rlcher by the experience of lifetime. and poor | CT by at least fS.oOo,0oo.
 | For the privilege of sightseeing alone | 1t Is easy to calculate that a sum running | far into seven figures will be paid. Fapu- | lous amounts have already been paid TOT houses and flats in Mayfair. St. James 1 and Belgravia, in South Kensington, and | the purlieus of Hyde park. For the day | of the coronation procession itself 1000 guineas is the cost of a fiat in Pail Mall; and on the following day-the day of the royal progress-5oO guineas will be dis- | bursed for the same fiat; 150o guineas TOT | two days-at the rate of over s2S7,OOo year The lowest price asked by one agent for solitary window overlooking inc nrocessional route is 35 guneas, and single seats range from.5 to 20 guneas. | The millionaire who wants a house to himself, say, in Queens Gate, must pe prepared to pay something like 4SoOO TOT if Tn fact one rich American has al- ready secured a mansion in Upper Gros- vener street for 400O guineas, and is quite
 pleased with his bargain; while another Croesus has paid 35OO guineas for house in Grosvenor square. It is true that such rents cover longer period than the coro- nation festivities but as the coronation ia the attraction which fixes the prices. they may fairly be put down to it's ac- 1 count. | Hundreds of flats in St. James street and similar places of vantage are being
 let for sums ranging from f10o to 9bOo
 for the coronation day alone. the lucky tenants thus paying the years rent and pocketing a substantial sum in addition
 for vacating their quarters for single day.
 Ard practically all his expenditure, so
 far. is confined to the metropolis alone. What about the money lavished not only
 the provinces of the United kingdom' put
 in our far-spreading colonies all the worid
 over, from Canada to Ceylon, where loy- alty is at least as rampant as at nome
 It is but poor town in England wnich l is not already committed to spend al least | e1Oo0 in public rejoicnss. This maybe
 nut down as an average expenditure for
 town of 3o0o0 inhabitants. Such cities as Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow will probably spend from 10 to 20 times this
 amount, and not grudge a penny of it.
 Provincial public celebrations Tn the United Kingdom will run away with at least a1000,ooo and private disbursements will come to twice as much. We cannot put down less than fa.ooo,ooo for provincial