EMPEROR WILLIAM'S SALARY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5656, 29 August 1896, Page 7

EMPEROR WILLIAM'S SALARY.

Emperor William receives his salary quarterly in advance. The money is thrice counted by difl'erent functionaries at the national treasury, and is afterwards placed in a number of strong boxes and carried to the royal mail waggon, waiting at the door between a troop of mounted gendarmes. After the load has been placed in the vehicle the ministers of finance of the empire and of the kingdom place the seals of their respective offices upon the door and accompany the minister of the royal household in his carriage to the palace, the mail waggon with its escort of gendarmes following immediately behind. Not until the money is actually deposited in the vaults of Emperor William's Berlin palace does the minister of the household sign the receipts, which are made out in the name of "Wilhelm Eex" and "William Imperator," respectively, one-half of the sum being derived from the treasury of the kingdom of Prussia and the other from the treasury of the German empire.

Two days afterwards the court functionaries receive their pay, but although the emperor receives his salary in advance, not one of the employes is similarly favoured, so that the Emperor is practically always three months behind in the pay list of his household. The only exception which the Emperor makes is in favour of his consort, whose personal allowance of 250,000d0l per annum is paid to her quarterly, and in advance.

At no great court in Europe are the sajaries so low as at that of Berlin, the socalled great dignitaries having to satisfy themselves with a pittance of 2,000d0l a year, while the minister himself receives but 3000dol. This is not surprising when the enormous number of persons who figure on the pay roll is taken into consideration. For instance, there are no less than 500 housemaids and 1800 liveried footmen. Every servant, high and low, is entitled to a pension after working in the royal household for twenty years.

Over and beyond the civil list received by the Emperor from the treasury of the empire and that of the kingdom he draws from the department full salaries for the different military commands he assumes. As com-mander-in chief of the army he is continually appointing himself colonel-in-chief of this or that regiment, which has thereupon the right to style itself the "leib," or body regiment of his majesty. Whenever one reads in the gazette that he has thus honoured a regiment in the army, one may take it for granted that it entails an addition to his income in the shape of a colonel's pay and allowances.

Out of this civil list the Emperor is expected to pay the allowance of the various members of his family. But this is not a heavy drain on his purse. His brother, Prince Henry, and his brother-in-law, Prince Frederick Leopold, have each inherited immense private fortunes and are practically independent of any allowance, while the only other princes of his house, Prince Albert of Brunswick, the crazy Prince Alexander, and the eccentric yet talented Prince George, all three elderly men, are exceedingly wealthy. Indeed, they figure among the richest princes of the blood in Europe.— Chicago Record.

Mrs Edgar's Souvenir Concert. — A meeting of the Committee of the Souvenir Concert given to Mrs Edgar was held at the Cafe de Paris last night, Mr G. Bonnington in the chair. The balancesheet of the concert was presented, and showed that after paying all expenses, there was a sum of .£25 to be handed over to that lady. The balance-sheet was adopted. Votes of thanks were passed to the ladies and gentlemen who had taken part in the concert, to Mr P. Arenas for his kindness in placing rooms at the disposal of the Committee, and in facilitating their work in other ways, and to Mr J. P. Kelly for bis services as secretary.