BRITAIN'S NOBLE FAMILIES, AND HOW THEY BECAME RICH.

Hastings Standard, Volume XIII, Issue 4310, 13 November 1909, Page 2 (Supplement)

BRITAIN'S NOBLE FAMILIES, AND HOW THEY BECAME RICH.

THE DL'KE OF PORTLAND

Royalty knew how to treat their favourites well in the old days, even though they were in the habit of beheading tJiose who fell into disgrace. Take the case of the founder oi" the house of Portland, for instance. He was but a page-boy to William Prince of Orange, his name being Hans William Bentinck. Ultimately he became confidential adviser to the Prince, and earned the latter's gratitude by nursing him through an attack of smallP px - Royalty, it has been said, have f,hort memories for services rendered, but in tfris case the saying was belied. For after the Prince's accession to the British throne he proceeded to bestow lands and titles on his former page with such lavish generosity that at last the Commons stepped in and insisted that some of the gifts should be cancelled. In spite of this, however, the former pageboy maraged to secure nearly a dozen manors, which formed the nucleus of the 183.C00 acres which the present Duke of Portland owns, the Scottish portion of which, 10*>, 1 ~>o acres, brinifr? in a rental ot close upon £7Q,o*>o. A STRIKING RECORD William 111 created hi s favourite successively a baron, a viscount, and an «rrl, and when the latter died in 17(JO lie was worth £BOO.OOO, and was believed thanks to the generosity of the King, to be the riche-t subject in England. This i« but 200 years ago, and no •other noble house can claim to have acquired such rank and possessions iu mo short a space of time. Successive marriages with great heiresses have increased the wealth of the Bent i neks enormously, not the least interest ng < f the a being that oi the second Duke to Lady Margaret Harley, who. in addition to thousands of acres of land in Derby hire, possessed Bolsover Castle and the famous Welbeek Abbey; while by another marriage with the heiress of General Scott, of Fifeshiro. they acquired 81.605 acres in Caithness. THE DE WALDENS. Fonr yeans before the death, which occurred in 137!.). of the e c ntrio fifth Duke—the man who p'a<- d Welbeek "Abbey in the builder's hands for close upon twenty years, and spent a fortune constructing underground rooms and passages—his income was estimated at £300.000 a ye>r. and it was increasing every day." Kxartlv what the income the present Duke is, it is doubtful it he himself knows. But it is probably nearer £*-100.000 than £•*'!'>.- TOO. in spite of the fact that the late Dulse left his London property, the manor of Maryiebone. which includes all these valuable ground-rents whi«-h may be located by the names of Welheck Stieet. Cavendish Square. Portland Place. Great Portland Street, and CI rear Titehfieid Street, to his sisters, fche Dowager Lady Ossington and the "Dowager Lady Howard do Walden. The latter was the grandmother of the n resent Lord Howard de Walden. the r"ch<\-t bachelor in England : for in addition t • *292 acres in London, which foriiiH him in an annual rental of lie pc&aes- es much property in Ayrshire*, also inherited from his grandmother and he is ground landlord of practically the whole town of

Kilmarnock, with its flourishing carpet factories and iron foundries. SOME GOOD SALARIES. In addition, however, to wealth derived from Innd gained in the ways indicated, the Bent-nicks have drawn huge sums from the country in the way 01 salary for official positions which members of the family have held at one time or another. They certainly knew tho art of getting well-paid posts. The third Duke held in succession no fewer than fourteen public offices, while a younger ?nn of the same house was (lovernoi -General of India—salary about £'3!U!o(} a year and perquitites : Clerk of the Pipe, salary £1.131, and Colore! of Dragoons, salary £2,511 a year law of the "Duke held places worth £"2,0o0 a vear, a nephew places worth £5.000 a year; while positions at good salaries have always been found for | other members of the family who wisli--1 ed to augment their income-.