Note 898 — Chapter IX
T. G. (Thomas George) Bonney translation
To show the sums received by the reverend Franciscan Fathers of the Holy Land, I think it will prove interesting if I give the following account published in a pamphlet,
L'Eco Francescano
, printed at Madrid in the year 1854. It is an authentic statement of the sums sent by the Catholic states to the Holy Land between the years 1650 and 1850. I do not add the details of the manner in which the amount was expended, because I have not the necessary papers; but I do not exaggerate when I say that those who have derived the greatest advantage from it have been the ministers of the Ottoman Porte and their dependents.
Spanish Reals.
Spain sent146,362,280
The Austrian States (Lombardy and
Venice are not distinct)18,361,680
France2,499,420
Naples14,091,560
Portugal39,685,480
Sicily5,275,000
Rome2,205,660
Tuscany3,290,800
Island of Sardinia1,137,700
Island of Malta1,439,360
Piedmont5,578,120
Total 239,737,060
About 11,996,883 francs, nearly half a million sterling, of which not a centime remains.