The Grand Mastership was also weakened by the practice of electing very old men to the post, as the short tenure of the office and the feebleness of its holder meant a lax control over the turbulent Knights.  This practice became very common in the last two centuries of the Order’s existence.  But many of the Grand Masters, though over seventy at the time of election, disappointed expectation by living till eighty or even ninety.

We possess detailed accounts of the financial system of the Order in the work of two Knights, Boisgelin and Boisredon de Ransijat, accounts which agree almost entirely.

The average revenue of the Order before the French Revolution was L136,000 per annum—­i.e., the revenue which definitely reached Malta.  It is to be remembered that this sum only represented the residue which was sent to the chef-lieu.  The Knights possessed over 600 estates throughout Europe, each of which, besides sending contributions to Malta, maintained several members of the Order, gave a liberal income to its commander, and contributed towards the revenues of the Grand Priory in which it was situated.  The chief items of the above sum were: 

1.  Responsions.

A proportion of the net income of each commandery fixed by the Chapter-General and liable to increase in case of need—­L547,520 per annum.

2.  Mortuary and vacancy.

On the death of a commander all the net revenues from the day of his death to the following May 1 went to the Treasury:  this was the mortuary; the whole revenue of the succeeding year was also sent to Malta:  this was called the vacancy—­L521,470 per annum.

3.  Passages.

These were sums paid for admission into the Order, and were especially heavy for those who wished to enter the Order at an age earlier than that laid down in the Statutes—­L520,324 per annum.

4.  Spoils.

These were the effects of deceased Knights, who were only allowed to dispose of one-fifth of their property by will, the remainder going to the Treasury—­L524,755.

These made up about five-sixths of the total revenue, the remainder being small sums accruing from various sources, such as the proceeds from the timber of the commanderies (which went entirely to the Council), rents from buildings in Malta, and so forth.

At the height of their prosperity the Knights derived a very considerable revenue from their galleys, and just as Algiers, Tunis, or Tripoli throve on piracy, even so the wealth of the East contributed largely to the splendour of Malta.  But during the seventeenth century various Christian Powers, such as Venice or France, insisted on restricting the Knights’ claims to unlimited seizure of infidel vessels and infidel property on board ship.  As early as 1582 the Pope had forbidden the Order to seize in a Christian harbour Turkish ships or Turkish property on Christian ships, and, despite the strenuous opposition of the Knights, enforced his commands.