Little as Victoria appreciated her Prime Minister's attitude towards her, she found that it had its uses. The popular discontent at her uninterrupted seclusion had been gathering force for many years, and now burst out in a new and alarming shape. Republicanism was in the air. Radical opinion in England, stimulated by the fall of Napoleon III and the establishment of a republican government in France, suddenly grew more extreme than it ever had been since 1848. It also became for the first time almost respectable. Chartism had been entirely an affair of the lower classes; but now Members of Parliament, learned professors, and ladies of title openly avowed the most subversive views. The monarchy was attacked both in theory and in practice. And it was attacked at a vital point: it was declared to be too expensive. What benefits, it was asked, did the nation reap to counterbalance the enormous sums which were expended upon the Sovereign? Victoria's retirement gave an unpleasant handle to the argument. It was pointed out that the ceremonial functions of the Crown had virtually lapsed; and the awkward question remained whether any of the other functions which it did continue to perform were really worth L385,000 per annum. The royal balance-sheet was curiously examined. An anonymous pamphlet entitled "What does she do with it?" appeared, setting forth the financial position with malicious clarity. The Queen, it stated, was granted by the Civil List L60,000 a year for her private use; but the rest of her vast annuity was given, as the Act declared, to enable her "to defray the expenses of her royal household and to support the honour and dignity of the Crown." Now it was obvious that, since the death of the Prince, the expenditure for both these purposes must have been very considerably diminished, and it was difficult to resist the conclusion that a large sum of money was diverted annually from the uses for which it had been designed by Parliament, to swell the private fortune of Victoria. The precise amount of that private fortune it was impossible to discover; but there was reason to suppose that it was gigantic; perhaps it reached a total of five million pounds. The pamphlet protested against such a state of affairs, and its protests were repeated vigorously in newspapers and at public meetings. Though it is certain that the estimate of Victoria's riches was much exaggerated, it is equally certain that she was an exceedingly wealthy woman. She probably saved L20,000 a year from the Civil List, the revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster were steadily increasing, she had inherited a considerable property from the Prince Consort, and she had been left, in 1852, an estate of half a million by Mr. John Neild, an eccentric miser. In these circumstances it was not surprising that when, in 1871, Parliament was asked to vote a dowry of L30,000 to the Princess Louise on her marriage with the eldest son of the Duke of Argyle, together with an annuity of L6,000, there should have been a serious outcry[*].
同类推荐
Last Days in a Dutch Hotel
本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
故事会(2018年10月下)
《故事会》是中国最通俗的民间文学小本杂志,是中国的老牌刊物之一。先后获得两届中国期刊的最高奖——国家期刊奖。1998年,它在世界综合类期刊中发行量排名第5。从1984年开始,《故事会》由双月刊改为月刊,2003年11月份开始试行半月刊,2007年正式改为半月刊。现分为红、绿两版,其中红版为上半月刊,绿版为下半月刊。追妻无门:女boss不好惹
青涩蜕变,如今她是能独当一面的女boss,爱了冷泽聿七年,也同样花了七年时间去忘记他。以为是陌路,他突然向他表白,扬言要娶她,她只当他是脑子抽风,他的殷勤她也全都无视。他帮她查她父母的死因,赶走身边情敌,解释当初拒绝她的告别,和故意对她冷漠都是无奈之举。突然爆出她父母的死居然和冷家有丝毫联系,还莫名跳出个公爵未婚夫,扬言要与她履行婚约。峰回路转,破镜还能重圆吗? PS:我又开新文了,每逢假期必书荒,新文《有你的世界遇到爱》,喜欢我的文的朋友可以来看看,这是重生类现言,对这个题材感兴趣的一定要收藏起来。快穿攻略反派boss别惹我
南曦发誓,她本来真的只是想做一个安静的女汉子,奈何反派大boss太凶残。南曦抓狂:你就不能放过我吗?某妖孽男笑道:放过?不存在的。三千位面是你,十里红妆也是你,你挣脱得了吗?Ps:男女主为1v1蒙古帝国空前绝后四百年2
蒙古帝国和成吉思汗,是人类历史上最具影响力的伟大帝国和伟大历史人物,从政界领袖到军事强人,从历史学者到商界精英,持续地受到世界范围的关注、研究和阅读。蒙古帝国和成吉思汗所引领的法则,至今仍在深刻地塑造着我们今天的现状。《蒙古帝国空前绝后四百年》中,著名元史专家孙钥洋在新近权威历史资料和研究成果基础上,以历史事件和历史人物为主线,并加入了小说的笔法,权威、全面、立体地再现了历史上最庞沛的帝国--蒙古帝国空前绝后四百年的历史,也即成吉思汗黄金家族的兴衰史。