Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/561

Rh of the residence of the Order in Malta, of which the figures are forthcoming, as given by the commander Ransijat:— —making a total of £136,475. The reader may perhaps be inclined to smile at the idea of a revenue as small as this. It must, however, be borne in mind that these figures only represent the amount available for expenditure at Malta, and even then without including the civil list of the Grand-Master, which was derived direct from the commanderies. It will be seen that the whole of the provincial property of the Order only contribiited £47,000 to the exchequer. This was the balance available for that purpose after the due maintenance of all the members of the fraternity not at the convent, including the provincial dignitaries. The gross income of the fraternity must probably have reached nearly a million sterling.

The European property was divided in the following manner:—

The langue of Provence consisted of the two grand-priories of St. Gilles and Toulouse and the bailiwick of Manosque. The grand-priory of St. Gilles contained fifty-three, and that of Toulouse thirty commanderies.

The langue of Auvergne consisted of the grand-priory of Auvergue and the bailiwick of Lyons, the priory containing fifty-two eommanderies.

The langue of France consisted of the three grand-priories of France, Aquitaine, and Champagne, the first containing fifty-eight, the second thirty-one, and the third twenty-four cornmanderies.

The langue of Italy comprised seven grand-priories and five