character references in parameter values

I have just noticed that when I pass in a text string as a parameter on the 
command line, any character references are escaped. For example:

   ‡

becomes

   ‡

In my output, I get the literal string "‡" instead of my special 
character.

This seems to be the case with both xsltproc and saxon.  If the parameter 
is defined inside the stylesheet, then the ampersand is *not* escaped and 
the character is properly interpreted.  This seems inconsistent, but maybe 
I'm missing something.

Does anyone know of a way to pass in a text string as a parameter on the 
command line without escaping the ampersands in the character references?

Bob Stayton
Sagehill Enterprises
DocBook Consulting