The Government gave the preference to Count Cesare Mattei, one of the Pope's Chamberlains, who asked two per cent.

So this piece of favouritism costs the city L800 a year.
The following is the mode in which the revenue (after the abstraction of one-third in the course of collecting it) is disposed of.
L1,000,000 goes to pay the interest of a continually accumulating debt, contracted by the priests, and for the priests, annually increasing through the bad administration of the priests, and carried by the priests to the debit of the nation.
L400,000 is devoured by a useless army, the sole duty of which has hitherto been to present arms to the Cardinals, and to escort the procession of the Host.
L120,000 is devoted to those establishments which of all others are the most indispensable to an unpopular government: I mean, the prisons.
L80,000 is the cost of the administration of justice.

The tribunals of the capital absorb half the amount, because they enjoy the distinction of being for the most part composed of prelates.
The very modest sum of L100,000 is devoted to public works.

This is chiefly spent in embellishing Rome, and repairing churches.
L60,000 goes in the encouragement of idleness in the city of Rome.

A Charity Commission, presided over by a Cardinal, distributes this sum among a few thousand incorrigible idlers, without accounting for it to anybody.