'The Prince of Wales' Affairs.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 21, 3 December 1874, Page 5

'The Prince of Wales' Affairs.

*•* — - - . - It is sometimes the most prudent 'course for Prinfces as well as for other people to put an end to gossip, whenever that is possible by the fullest disclosure 'of facts, and we therefore welcome with satisfaction the statement which the 4 Times' made on Thursday, presumably on good authority, with reference to the Prince of Wales' affairs. In any case the announcement would baVe been timely and well-advised how that rumor has for some time been so busy with the Prince's Supposed embarrassments; but in the present case it is particularly -bo, inasmuch as it -proves that those embarrassments do not really exist. So far from his being L600,000 in debt, as has been confidently stated in 'certain journals, English and foreign, the •unpaid claims before the Prince's 'controller amount to little mo*re than a third of his annual income, and* "with the exception of •one or two accounts unsettled from peculiar circumstances, there is at present no bill on the list of more than one year's standing.' We are further told that the payments-, which are periodically 'audited by Sir William Anderson, '" are regulated by the balances in the banker's hands, and the balance on tbe l*st October will be more than -sufficient to meet every 'Claim on the Prince." This atatement of course disposes altogether of the idea of indebtedness, at any rate in the sense of embarrassment. A person in enjoyment 'of a fairly good -'.'■ income, whose debts did not amount to more than one-third of it, would certainly not be described as in embarrassed circumstances, and there is no longer, therefore, yl any excuße for the idle gossip which haS ?i& lately crept from the clubs into the newtr- ?t| papers. '^ At the saute time, 'there is another as- 7$ pectofthe matter which ought not to be ? left unnoticed. Though the Prince's *ex- yy peneiture has not seriously exceeded his | income, it is still tbe fact that it haa 'ex- y ceeded it, and has done so annually fot J some years past. Tbe LIOO.OOO a-year i] which the Prince derives from the annual yy grant made trader the authority of Par- r:y liament and from the revenues of the 'X Duchy of Cornwall, he has found insuf- | ficient to meet the various callß upon him-, i and a sum of LIO.OOO br L20.000 has been, '| annually required to meet the deficit. This y is obtained by drawing upon the accumula- y tions df the revenue of tbe Duchy of Corn- % wall, which accrued during the Prince's i>. minority, so 'that in fact he is supplement- ;.;| ing his income by living upon his capital. :;? Such an expedient is, of course, not finan- 777 cially "Commendable, though it is of Course better than allowing the annual deficit* to '-. !o| mount up in the shape of an aggregation yy of debt-; and it would be more -satisfactory yyi if the annual debtor and creditor account '':*s. could be made to balance each other out 0$ * ;J| income alone. We have no doubt, how- ll| ever, that this Result ia difficult of attain- aS| ment under existing 'Circumstances. Eco- ?l nomy is, of course, a virtue which we have '-iM a right to expect from Princes as. from yM other people; but it must be borne -in ~-f| mind that a Prince cannot economise on ;| the same scale as other people, or at least p i that he can only do so at ; a ; 'cost in other 'M : respects, political as well -as personal, which f|| is not to be measured by money: And if, -.\SM as we are told is the' case, and as indeed ' : ;fi might haVe been presumed, the anhual de- || ! ficit is largely due to the expenses incurred |f| by the Prince in representing ;the^Queen, 'ym and in defraying the eost of tbe h6spifali^i3 ties which he 'dispenses to foreign poteh- 3 fates in that capacity, retrenchment would be even undesirable. We cannot Well^rfrbrd :3 either to limit the number of these hospi- IM talkies, nor ;can it be' suggested; that) the J|j Prince should dispense on a scale .'nn^^ befitting the digmtiy:6t -lira^ositionV^!Bjft:)'^ : the cost. -of discharging^ these dutieslin%^^ fitting manner-is clearly iiot |ustlyCc]aif^iable upon an income which waß settlei^ witbout any reference to such -duties;^ani4<^ it would, therefore, be'desuablej^^^ submit, ;i^ „ 'Bho'uld^ej^in'ade'? wh^e^y*^eßeV^spe^^^| ; be met out of funds^appTd^ruwd'tp^l ,* " the *j>nr^oße.=^ 4 Pall Ma& Budget. : ; ; - f-zWSt