Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-04
ience of The Star.
LONDON. June "a. 1911;

LONDON. June "a. 1915.
E7HAT his majesty King George
draws income from many
strange sources is recalled by
q the fact that the department
which looks after one portion of the
royal estate, or crown lands" as they
are called. has just got a new head.
This department is known as the
Duchy of Lancaster. and the new
chancellor of the duchy. as he is called,
is. Of course. no other than the half
American Winston Churchill. who has
just taken the job over from the pre-
vious holder, the Hon. Edwin Samuel
Montagu, after having been sacked"
more or less ANONYMOUSLY from his
former proud post of Ruler of the
Kings Navee," W. S. Gilbert called
IL. otherwise that of first lord of the
admiralty.
King Georges property in the United
Kingdom. which comprises hundreds of
thousands of acres. brings in an annual
income of quite a bit more than two
million and half dollars a year. One
of the queer sources of this tidy
squat little cylinders on top of the
chimneys in this country which amuse
American visitors SO much and which
give such a picturesque appearance to
SoS shy line Ol LOHOOu.
-
The function of the chimney-pot. as
many as four or f1ve of which may be
beheld on some chimneys. is. of course.
TO provide better draught for the (by
Americans) much condemned British
open CRATE From any second or third
story window whole vistas of Chin
and there throughout the United King
dom there Is one of these quaint con-
trivances which help his majesty King
George TO keep the wolf from the door.
Other queer kinds of property which
help to enrich the king, though the re-
eeipts from some of them are ridicu-
lously small. are certain patches of the
seashore. including the seashells and
the very pebbles on the beach; chunks
OF various persons private gardens,
certain police stations and coal mines.
hotel sites and even sewer pipes an
Gent watch towers and goodness
knows how many other queer things
AS irst civil lord OF the admiralty
Winston Churchill got s22.500 a year.
As chancellor of the Duchy of Lam
caster he Will get $4,000. which is
somewhat different. The duties of the
duchy CHARACTERISTIC. however, will not
add many years to his age The post.
In fact. is sinecure. and is intended
to be. When, some years ago. Prime
Minister Asquith was asked in parlia-
ment why a special cabinet minister,
At a high salary. was necessary Tor a
post whose duties could easily be dis
charged by some vastly less dis
tinguished and. incidentally, less ex-
pensiye person, the premier replied
that IL had been found by recent gov
ernments advantage to possess
minister whose departmental work is
sufficiently light to enable him to at
tend more closely to other parlia-
mentary and ministerial duties"
The chancellor of the Duchy of Lam
caster. in fact. is sort of handy man"
or maid of all work to the government
He is the assistant of any minister
who happens to be hard pressed for
the time being. Thus e. F.. G. Master
man. when specializing on the insur-
ance act as first lieutenant TO Lloyd
George. was appointed to the office.
with unfortunate results to himself
For when he offered himself for re-
election to parliament, as is necessary
when member OF the cabinet takes a
new post, he failed-failed three times,
in fact and has not been able to get
back into parliament since. AS for
Winston Churchill he is known to