COST OF ROYALTY.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13180, 12 February 1936, Page 7

COST OF ROYALTY.

THE GROWN ESTATES. LARGE SURPLUS SHOWN. Although the cost of the Royal Family to the people of Britain, in taxation and revenue from Crown estates, is in the neighbourhood of £700,000 a year, this charge is much more than balanced by a revenue exceeding £1,250,000 a year from the estates mentioned, together with £20,000 a year which is made available for charities and other purposes. The question was raised in a cablegram from London a few days ago, and an explanation of the wayin which British Royalty is maintained should be of some interest. The provision for the support of the Royal household is rather complicated and has undergone revision at various times. For many centuries the Crown possessed extensive land revenues in the United Kingdom, but -most of these were surrendered by- George HI. on his accession in 1760, and have since been collected on the public account in return for a fixed annual payment known as the Civil List. The amount of this is settled at the beginning of each reign Land revenues which the Crown lias not surrendered are those of the Duchy and County Palatine of Lancaster, which are payable to the King, and those of the Duchy of Cornwall, which are payable to the Heir Apparent. As there is now no Heir Apparent, the Duke of York being Heir Presumptive, the disposal of the Cornwall revenues raises legal questions of considerable interest. .STATE’S LARGE REVENUE. The Crown Lands, which are administered by a board of commissioners brought in a revenue of £1 - 902.000 in the year ended March 31, 1934, the last period ior which figures are available. This sum included £122,000 from mines. The expenditure, including property tax allowed, was £629,000. The net amount of £1,230,000 was paid into the Exchequer as “surplus revenue.” i lor many years the Chancellor of the Exchequer lias budgeted for more than £1,000,000 annually from this source. .Gn, the scale fixed at the accession of King George V., the present Civil List amounts to £470,C00 a year for the use of the King, with a further sum of £124.000 for other members of the Royal Family. However, King George decided in September/ 1931, in view of the financial position of the country to reduce his own Civil List by £09,000, and this deduction appears to have been maintained until his death. ANNUITY FOR. WIDOWED QUEEN. The original sum of £470,000 a y-ear was allocated as follows: Their Majesties’ Privy Purse, £110,000; salaries of household, £125.800- expenses ot household, £193,000 - works, £20,000, Royal Bountv, £13,2<MJ ; unappropriated, £BOOO The Civil List Act of 1910 also piovuled that Queen Mary, in the event of her surviving the King, should receive an annuitv of £7(_bXo income was set' apart for the 1 mice oQ V ales, but it was provided that ii he should marry the * s °i Males was to receive LIO,OOO a year, to be increased to £30,000 in tile event or her surviving biin The other sons of the Kin«* wc i e co receive £IO,OOO a vear on leaching 21, with an additional £15,odO a year on marriage. Princess Mary was allotted £6OOO a year-on le i2 1 * lln S 21, or on her marriage. The following annuities are also a charge upon the Consolidated Fund: I lie Duke of Connaught, uncle of t the late King, £25,000; Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and Princess Beatrice, aunts of the late Kmg. each £6000; Queen Mary of £6000? ’ "" r ° J ' th ° Ki^'

THE TWO ROYAL DUCHIES. Ihe Duchy ot Cornwall was created by Edward ill. for the support pi his eldest son, and its revenues ever since have provided th© income oi the Heir Apparent. The estate includes a large area of land in Konnington, London. The revenue *n 1920, tlu i last year ior wl ich complete figures are available, was £246,000. Of this, £66,000 was paid t<> the Prince of Wales, £15,000 in ; l.owances. donations and charities, ami £39,000 to the Government, the remainder being ab.sci bed in expenses of management and outlay ior the benefit qf the estate, The King in i93:l received £82,000 Ironi the revenues ot ihe Duchy Of Lancaster, the gross total being -140,000. A sum ol £4BOO was expended in allowances, donations and chanties, alter necessarv expenses had been met.

Queen Victoria and King Edward ' * 1 - 11 :I kirge private ortunes, the greater part ol which, it is believed, was inherited hy George A' Although the King’s income from all

sources whs very large, the expense ot maintaining the Koval establishments at Windsor, Buckingham Pai- . iv. St. -Tallies Palace, Balmoral and Sandringham, the last of which uas the King s private projx-rtv, «as necessarily immense. In fact at various times, King George was forced to make considerable retrenchments. It is vortliv of note (that in the Great War period he paid into the Exchequer a sum of £IOO,OOO as a ]iersonal contribution to the’ cost of meeting the national emergency.

The present King, who as Prince o Wales also inlierittd a considerable private fortune, is stated to have largely increased it bv judicious jin vestments. He has taken a very keen interest in the management ot iais Keimington estate, which includes a large amount of house property tenanted hy working people. I he estate is general)-? considered to ho a model of its kind. It includes the famous cricket ground, the Kennmgton Oval, which is preserved for its present use at a heavy sacrifice of revenue which would be obtained il the land were used for building