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ACCUMULATED TREASURE

CIIAP. VIII.

Governments which chiefly depend on a mili-tary force are compelled to store up large sumsof ready money to meet emergencies that maysuddenly occur. This was the case with themore provident of the Roman emperors, someof whom owed their elevation, and most of whomwere indebted for the retention of it, to havingalways at command the means of gratifying orpreventing the clamours of their troops for payor for donations. The same necessity existedamong the several princes of India , till the over-whelming power of our East India companyreleased the greater part of them from the fearof attacks and incursions, so sudden as to leaveno time for defensive preparations being col-lected. Even in recent times, Buonaparte issaid to have kept a great mass of treasure inreserve ; and it is commonly believed that upto the present day the military monarch ofPrussia, the only one of the European sove-reigns supposed to be exposed to sudden attacks,has deemed it necessary to keep in his treasurya large sum in ready money, amounting, ac-cording to some accounts, to near two millionssterling 1 .

1 These reports from various quarters, which corroborateeach other, though none are strictly official, yet are entitledto credit. It lias been said that a part of this treasure hasbeen lately drawn forth to buy up some of the funded debt,and thereby to raise its prices, and enable the government toreduce the interest on the remainder of the debts.