Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/564

530 £500 a year was also spent in the purchase of slaves from members of the Order.

11. Aqueducts.—The maintenance of the public aqueducts, cisterns, fountains, etc., caused a charge of £300.

12. Postage.—The postage of letters for those persons who were exempted from such payments, cost the treasury £2,000. The persons thus privileged were the Grand-Master, his receiver- general, his three secretaries, the inquisitor, the members of the ordinary chamber, six in number, the commissioner of the post-office, and all the ambassadors of the Order resident at foreign courts.

13. Pensions.—The pension list, chargeable to the treasury, varied greatly at different periods. At the close of the eighteenth century it had been reduced to £1,100.

14. Loans.—The interest of loans contracted by the fraternity amounted to £5,000. This interest was at different rates, commencing at 2 per cent., and rising to 2¼, 2½, 2¾, up to 3 per cent., which was the highest paid for any loan.

15. Stores.—The establishment for stores was chargeable to the amount of £18,000. There were also sundry minor charges which swelled the total to a sum ranging between £120,000 and £130,000, thus nearly balancing the income.

The next point of interest in connection with the Order was its Hospital establishment, and as regards this it will be necessary to’ enter into some detail. As the fraternity originally owed its existence to the Hospitaller functions established by the charitable merchants of Amalfi, and as it was to the exercise of hospitality they owed their name, it was but natural that it should take a high place amongst the duties inculcated by their statutes. We find it thus spoken of under the heading of Hospitality:—“It is very certain that by common consent of all Christian people, hospitality holds the first place amongst works of piety and humanity as that which embraces all others. If, therefore, it be thus observed and revered by all well-disposed persons with such zealous care, how much the rather ought those to practise it, who honour themselves with the title of knights Hospitaller, and who wish to be regarded as such? Since the thing of all others which we ought to