THE INCOMES OF KINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2840, 19 August 1908, Page 83

THE INCOMES OF KINGS.

ConsicLerable interest will be created by the forthcoming discussion in the Prussian Parliament, qr Landtag, of the Kaiser's request for an iffcreaee of salary. Wilhelm 11, as' German Emperor, receives a a annual grant of only £130,000 from the State. His salary as Bong of "Prussia is more in keeping with hie needSj the amount being £770,554. During the 20 years of his reign the German Emperor has received many legacies from wealthy subjects. In this respect be is the. luckiest of all monarchs, foT he has benefited to the extent of nearly a- million'Tpounde in hard cash, and, in.';addi_tion, several fine estates haye been left'toTiim. The Kaiser's mode of living is one of unparalleled magnificence. He is a connoisseur in the art of choosing appaTel and in the art of wearing it to the best advantage, and his tailor's bill Tuns into thousands of pounds. His Majesty possesses sufEciont castles, palaces, and country bouses to enable him to live in a different one each week of the year, if he ehould feel so disposed. When he travels, nothing that may lend splendour and im-pi-essiveness to his progress is overlooked, and here many Germans &cc an opportunity for their Kaiser to eeonomiee; they would prefer him to omit wme of the pomp and- ceremony which' surrounds him when journeying in his own realm. One of the disadvantages uflder which the German Emperor labours is j>hat he must provide for his family out of his own income. In England, each member of the Royal Family receives a yearly jgrant of £3,00,000 or r over from the State^ while

King Edward himself gets £470,000. Of this sum barely one-fourth goes into hii Majesty's- own purse, as he defrays the .salaries and expenses in, connection with the and also "provide* pensions for hie superannuated servants. Sir 3Sigel Kingscote draws -a cheque foi .£BO,OOO each quarter for the two first* mentioned items, and vouchers are sup* plied for everything, as no professional" audit is kept. ,The pensions list, the regular grants to charities , and the other "numerous^ewrds aTe looked " after by Lord Knollys, who notifies the Paymaster of the Household as the amounts fall due, and the payments are usually sent out with a printed slip bearing simply th< words,- **By His Majesty's "Command." 2*- vrould naturally be impossible for King Edward to live in a manner befitting his exalted rank on an income of £120,000 or so. .There are miscellaneous revenues from invested funds and other private sources which help to swell the • privy purse, besides an annual amount of about £63,000 from the Duchy of Lancaster. An. additional parliamentary grant 'of- £20,000 a year provides for repairs to the royal "id

residences. ■ -- • - - ■ -$■ The*' JCzar^is^-tlie richest monarch, in th« Teorl(l.J" Inf-bis, case tha 'Crown properties -actually belong to him. These imperial domains include more than 20,000,000 acres' of- cultivated lands and improved forest, as well , as several Siberian mines. A "State grant of £1,500,000, added to hia ■other revenues, brings the CzaT's gross income up to £80,000,000 a year. Out oS this sum, however, he has to bear all tha expenses of his lands and mines, as well as of his great estates. No data of any kind are available regarding the 'amount! of clear profit which the Czar reoeives, but he has i at. least £5,000,000 a year for ,his private use. " member of the Spanish royal family is well provided for, and certain of King Alfonso's household expenses are : aisoCpaid i 'by the Government, bo that the 'annual sum- of £357,500 granted to his Majesty is practically all his own, \o do ac -he likes with. Compared, however, with the vast amounts received by the old Spanish kings in "the days when Spain was at the zenith of her greatness, Kmg Alfonso's income ;e; c small.