n. next following, the Prince
vouchsafed an answer to the Vestry, in which he denied his liability _in
toto_, acting on the advice of the Attorney and Solicitor General, and
Sir Thomas Wilde; and, after crushing the poor vestry, the letter winds
up thus: "And His Royal Highness feels himself at liberty to take the
course which is most satisfactory to his own feelings, and to pay, as a
voluntary contribution, a sum equal to the rate which would have been
annually due, had the legal liability of His Royal Highness been
established. It is also His Royal Highness's intention that the payment
of the sum referred to should commence from the year 1841."

And so it has continued to the present day, if we may credit the
authority quoted in the accompanying cutting from the _Globe_ of 8 June,
1901: "HOW THE KING PAYS TAXES.--It is not generally known (says the
_Free Lance_) that the King pays taxes under protest--that is to say, His
Majesty, like Queen Victoria, claims to be exempt from impost, and yet is
willing to contribute, without prejudice, to the rates. For instance,
part of the Windsor farm land lies within the radius of the borough. The
municipal authority issues demand notes for the rates. The Royal
officials respond by paying a sum just under the amount requested, and
the collector is satisfied. There is no question of going to law, for
how can the King be summoned in his own Courts?"

On 31 Oct. Lieut. Waghorn practically demonstrated the feasibility of his
"Overland Route" to India. The regular Mail and his Express arrived at
Suez by the same steamer on 19 Oct. The Express was given to a man on a
dromedary, who, stopping nowhere, entered Alexandria on the 20th. The
Express was delivered to Mr. Waghorn, who started at 11 o'clock. He had
been waiting on board an Austrian steamer, which had remained in
quarantine, so that he arrived at Trieste in free _pratique_. He landed,
however, at Divina, twelve miles nearer London than Trieste, and hurried
through Austria, Prussia, Baden, and Bavaria, with a passport ready
_vised_ by the representatives of those countries. He reached Mannheim
in 84 hours, proceeded by a steamer to Cologne, thence by special train
to Ostend, by boat to Dover, to London by railway, and arrived at 4.30 in
the morning of the 31st. The news from India thus brought, was published
in all the London papers, which were in Paris before the Mail from
Marseilles was on its way to London.