PRICE OFPRINCELY DECORATIONS

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 696, 5 July 1870, Page 4

PRICE OFPRINCELY DECORATIONS

l> [EXAMIkER.j I We must congratulate the House of Commons on its fine 1 'assumption of official gravity. Any one who reads the report of the brief debate on certain sums voted in the Supplementary Estimates will be grateful to see that, with tempting opportunities for sarcasm lying on every hand, the House scarcely relaxed into a- smile, and finished off its business in a highly decorous and formal manner. There was a, little laughter, of course, when Alderman Lusk complained of the sums wanted for " Garters and peculiar things of that sort ;" and Mr Gladstone for a moment assumed the jocoseness of Lord Palmerston in advising My Kinnaiid to keep a sharp eye on Government " after midnight and at other times;" but, on the whole, the debate was marked by that admirable reserve and composure which the House loves to affect. Let us see what were the items orithi3 Supplementary Estimate which might have provoked a less respectful assembly into some exhibition of fun. To begin with, one hon. member thought it compromised the character of ■Parliament to have in this Estimate a charge of L 393 34s Id If or the conveyance of the Prince of Wales/Prince Christian, and other distinguished persons between 'Dover and Calais. •If it bd the character of Parliament which is compromised by the country paying for the passage of those illustrious persons across the Channel, it is clearly on the ground that a certain meanness is apparent in mentioning odd shillings, and pence. We ought to have made it L 394 or L4OO, instead of provoking curious people to ask how, and by whom the odd penny was spent, or to suggest that the silver and coppers remaining out of the: last pound might have been given to the steward of : the post office packet. The next peculiar item mentioned is L 296' for fees 'on the admission of Prince Arthur to the Order of the Thistle. < ; Theri we have L 552 for fees on the installation of Prince Leopold as Knight of the Garter, and again we have the sum of L 5968 for expenses connected with the installation of the Prince of Wales as a knight of St. Patrick. Three-fourths of the last sum, Mr Gladstone explained, had gone in fitting up St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, for the ceremony, so that only a fourth of it; or about L 760, was consumed in acquiring , fbr the Prince the honor of becoming a Knight of St. Patrick. Now, there are some ingenious theorists on the subject of taxation who point out that the , upper classes pay far more taxes, than is supposed, in the shape of incidental expenses on luxuries, and also in the shape of taxes oh personal property, as in the case of probate dutieß. We should be glad to know whether the decorations mentioned above are luxuries ; and, .if so, on what ground the country, instead of the person receiving these honors, should have to pay for the conferring them. To the latter part of this question some sort of reply was granted by the Minister. Mi* Kinnaird had maintained that such decorations were either given ior merit and distinction, or they were not. li given for any peculiar merit ox the part of the recipient, it was clearly unfair to make him pay for the honor. If a man's services to the country were such as to entitle him to some mark of distinction, it is surely hard that you should make him defray the ■< cost of presentation, as has occjisionally been done in Jess .exalted spheres, by persons anxious to give themselves a piece of plate at their own expense. •" If a poor fellow had the Thistle given to him, he had to pay L 269," remarked Mr Kinnaird. Mr Gladstone's answer was so far satisfactory. He said that the aim in granting these decorations was to charge nothing for such honors as were bestowed by the public for distinguished services. " Fbr example," he said, "in the case of honors like those of the Bath, which were usually given for distinguished services, J no charge was made to the individual, and such charges as could not be avoided in conferring these honors were ordinarily paid; by the public; but the ( G;arter ; ,was usually conferred for eminence of position and high character rather than for, distinguished public' services.'' 1 We are glad' to be set right on one point. The Garter was given to Prince Leopold, not for distinguished public services, but .for. eminence of position and high cWqicter. Was; it on. the. .same ground that Prince Arthur "had the Thistle given to him?" We are fay from even suggesting that their Roya;l Highnesses have not rendered distinguished services to the public;;; but% ; think; the inference is, that they received these, honors rather for high character and eminent position, tocuiote Mr Gladstone's words. - $Cere, occurs the'dilsmma. /^These very hor|6rs. |ig|thjp|B4|t|^ich, Movding to Mr Gladstone, the recipient ought

to pay. The expenses are not tci be defrayed on the ground that 'the country, hi rewarding distirig'uiahed services, must nlake [a' free gift of its honors; " 'On j the contrary, suc^ decoration^, are aJuxuijy — ' a legacy subject; to duty ; and the incipient of the Thistle or Garter must -pay the piper. These are necessary aud obvious conclusions from the Premier's own wcrds ; and, that being so, we jare somewhat at a loss to ,v understand why these j'sumß"; )iejve^He]tess appear in 'the Supplementary Estimate. We do kiot say that we grudge them. We dojiot, ask Prince Leopold to refund that L5J52, but y*P should like, to ; hkve) some jßxSaftaJ ti6h^a« mite tifiti and wliy of tlie appearance of these figures in Mi Stanafield's scheme. Who suggested that Prihce jArthur should ;have^ : the TSiiftle, or iiitim)ited that Pri^ifce Leppold^was worthyj of the Garter? and was any arrangement made for the payment of the expenses usually incurred by suchxeremonieaf As for the;Priiice\of Walesis little; till |of L 2968, it seems to us that Dublin might !:have ; paid Mrhis reception there oufcof I her own pocket, rather than hand over ! the matter to the Commissioners of Public I Works. One could not wejl expect the Prince pi Wales. i;o pay the' cost of an entertainment got. up :in honor as His Royal Highness might i have grave doubts aT?out the play tje^ng^worjth.the candle. ■ "i'" 1 : ""' '"'"' .'''_',. \ ' ■■.'. „.. [