OWNING THE EARTH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 130, 23 May 1908, Page 3

OWNING THE EARTH.

ll'Voin Answer,.) >' A well-known music-hall manager recently look ii lease ol (li,' AllMiiil.rn J f"''" 1 ;'. I '' 1,1 Bruasd*. Vl .r, cxI' traordinury in that; but what is « wliut remarkable i s |]„. f .„ t ,] liU leas« was by .Meyers, .fo-n,!, iUli l AiUiur ClianiberJaiii. a* owner,-. ,' e z'r. r ,,le . 1,,, v i tod ol wliat an juiint'ii'-c amount oi" hrWish eupilal is invito,! j„ |-, jro i irJt countries, as ii[)nrt from our own onies, iiinl what huge ari';i» ol' land abroad an. in tin- Jiun.ls ol' Jiriiish owners. About a year a S o, little Crown Irinee Oluf of Norway received a preSl '"t o£ i" 1 on. tin: coast of t] K . country over which he will probablv some day rule. This islaml was not {.'iveil to hnn l.y one of lii s father's MillMeets.. lmt by an Knglish ladv—.Miss Ada -Musgroyo. The island, which is known as J'ortm ]!ras, or .Siinbeani Island, lies ill the famous (iorto Wound, in the mid-:, of exquisite scenery. Many of the finest sites in | country of l.eauliful views and exoui„:i, clinuite, the Kiviera, are owned liv Knlish lieojile. Miss Alice liothschiid. for instance, has a house at tlrassc.'and gardens which produce exquisite flowers at a time when winter still rules our the whole of these northern island. • while .Mr. Arthur Wilson has bought land for building near villcfi'anchc. I 111 Italy you will find a great ileal of land ill the ownership of English pcop'.\ The Dowager Lady Carnarvon spend- 1 much time in a villa built bv her l:i- . lui::land at Kapallo; while Lord li,Mbery lias near Naples a propeilv ol' which lie is very fond. Jjord West-bury is another peer who owns Italian sail. His estate is in Florence. Down i;i

.Sicily Lord Bridport possesses a hum and beautiful vineyards which have been in his ! family's possession ever since they were originally granted to his famous ancestor, Lord Xelson, alter the Hattle of the Kile. The name of thin place is the (,'astello di Maniace, and till! wine sometimes known as "Bronte." and rather resembling a madeira, and a great favourite with connoisseurs both here and abroad, is grown there. Speaking of grants of foreign land, the present l>nke of Wellington has inherited the Spanish property which a grateful nation gave to the Iron Duke lifter the Peninsular campaign. This is 1 at sSoto de Kuma, near (.iranada, and consists of four thousand acres, which give a revenue of something like 12,00(1 a year. The Duke of Wellington is Duke of Cindad Kodrigo in the Peerage «f >.i l; .

An immense amount of British money is invested in Spain. We now draw ;i very large propor!ion of liutli our iron anil copper tire from that country. 'J'lie whole (own and district of liio Tinto. in the province of Jluelva, is in the hands of a groat Jlritisli syndicate, who bought the copper and sulphur leines for "Oinelliinn; like four million pounds. aud who employ over ten th(nir-,;inil hnuk Tlia-i- mines were nvrntly partly Hooded, and dreadful damage was done to Ihe town.

I here is no European country in Kn'glish people do nut own lurg.' a Fully half of tin' valuvWl'. 1 petroleum lands on tlu' Ca>pi:in are in l-u; hands of British companies, and so i, 5 a great deal of t!n' famous JJonetz tU-M, which covers leu thousand sqmire miles, hi lS!t!) a second llritish compuin- the Pawsian Collieries Company—began operations in this district. So imporLiiH has British ownership Income lo Ku.-sia that M. di' Wilte recently modified Hiexisting law of hind ownership »;<r.clv en their behalf. Even in Mich distant couutri'.'-. as Egypt and the Holy Land you will lind English pi-opli; owning properly, both land ami houses. The laie l,onl lime, who was devoted io Palestine, and. whose heart was buried 011 the Mount of (Hive.-, bought land anil house property in .lenisalem. which has now passed to his daughter. Uuly Margaret Crichlon Stewart. In lOgvjit, Lord Wil-

liam Cecil the elder—not the brother of the present . Lord Sali-lmry—bought a tract of land containing ruins and tombs, lie and Lady Cecil have spent much lime digging and delving among these relics of the ancient Pharaohs. The aggregate land owned by Englishmen in the United Slates and Mexico would make an island as large st& ire-

Lord Caithness is the owner of a large e.-tate in Southern Dakota. The ranch of the lion. Oliver Wallop, brother of Lord Portsmouth, is at liig Horn, in Wyoming, and is the largest and most prosperous in Sheridan County. Its owner married a Chicago lady, and lives on his American property. Jin t the list is endless. In the Argentine. in Peru, and Chili, thousands of sipiare miles are in British hands. Even the i-laml* of Ihe sea are bought up when climate or commercial resources promise plea-ure or pi'olit. Sir Alfred .lone., for instance, has bought a large tract in the Canaries, where he grows banana.'. Indeed, the present prosperity of these islands may lie said to be entirely due 10 Ill's enterprising llritish steamship owner.