IN THE "HONOURS LIST."

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 129, 3 June 1930, Page 8

IN THE "HONOURS LIST."

POINTS ABOUT THE PEERAGE.

NOBILITY AND ITS PANOPLY.

(By HORACE WYNDHAM.)

Every six months (at the New Year, and again on the King's • birthday) an anxiously looked-for list of names is issued from . Downing Street. This is the • half-yearly "honours list"; and its publication definitely settles the vexed question as to who has, and who has not,, had his .merits recognised by being elevated .to the peerage, or selected for some lesser distinction. As may be imagined, there is a good deal of heart-burning (and, it is whispered, wire-pulling) in connection with this matter. "How on earth did So-and-So manage to get on the list?" and "Why is So-and-So left out?" are the questions put in club smoking-rooms when the names of the recipients are officially notified.

Degrees of Peerage. The system of granting honours and l'ewards for political services is nowadays (since 1922) entrusted to a committee of- the- Privy Council. The members of this body forward such names -a +l>ov "nm-ove-+n the Prime Minister,, and the Prime Minister then submits them to the King. If all is, well (and it is only in the rarest instances that the Royal sanction is withheld) the "faithful subject'" is notified by letter of the particular "honour" accorded him. Then (and not until then) is it safe for him to get measured for his coronet.

The peerage is divided into five grades, with dukes at the top of the ladder, barons at the foot of it, and marquises, earls, and viscounts on the intervening rungs. Still, all peers, whatever their degree, are held to be the equal of one another.

A fresh dukedom is very sparinglygranted, except to relatives of the Sovereign. Thus, in four and a half centuries there have been less than a dozen dukes created who started life as "commoners." Richard 11. made five in one day, and William 111. (who worked less rapidly) took a fortnight to create the same number.

, The first step in turning an untitled individual into a peer of the realm is to make him a baron. At one time this could only be done by . a "writ of summons." The modern practice, however, is to issue "Letters Patent" from theCrown.

According to their degree,'peers have different titles, official, addresses, Tobes, and coronets. Thus, while'\ barons, viscounts,, and earls are "right honourable," marquises are "most able,"' and dukes are "most noble," In official correspondence from the Crown a baron is "our right trusty and well-beloved"; a viscount or earl is "our right trusty and well-beloved cousin"; a marquis is "our right trusty and entirely-beloved cousin"; and a duke is "our right trusty and right entirely-beloved cousin." v

Privileges of Peerage. To set him apart from the common clay, as it were, a peer of the realm is invested with certain privileges. Except for an indictable -offence,' he is free from arrest. Then too, if charged with a felony, he can only be tried by his fellow peers, and, in such cases,.he is acqtiitted or condemned by the verdict of the majority. This verdict is not given on oath, but in the special form, "guilty"' (or "not guilty," as the decision may be) "upon my honour," pronounced by each member of the House of Lords individually, beginning with the youngest baron present, and proceeding upwards to the senior duke or Prince of the Blood Royal. . When the Earl of Cardigan was being tried in this fashion for fighting a duel, the Duke of Cumberland rather upset the authorities by insisting on his opinion being recorded as "not guilty legally." '

As to other privileges which they enjoy, peers cannot be "bound over to keep the peace"; and it is held that tinware exempt from serving on juries. It they like to do so, they may sit covered in . a Court of Justice. Some of their old privileges, however, have, with the march of time, fallen into abeyance. Among such is the right of killing two of the King's deer in a royal park, of "franking" letters, and of recording a vote by proxy. , i

While a. peerage of the United Kingdom confers on the recipient a seat in the House of Lords, Scottish and Irish peers have, as a rule, to be elected to that assembly. For this purpose, the Scottish peers meet at Holyrood to elect sixteen of their number to represent them at Westminster whenever a fresh Parliament is summoned.. .

Cost of Coronets. The expense of accepting a peeragS runs into cash. A good deal of casi, as it happens, for the pu rve y° rs ., . coronets ancl "robes" and all the ° paraphernalia submit substantial mus for "services rendered." To begin wi , the Crown itself demands tribute. Thus, a Duke has to write a cheque for » and each of the other ranks one of less on account of "fees." Coronets, too, are a costly item. T 8 Court jewellers who _ supply tlwj articles have no "bargains," and w an average of £1000 for the silver „ circlet with silver balls complete, ar,a crimson velvet cap and gold tassel, > a coronet stands a lot of hard usage, can always be handed down from a to son. There are,- however, varieties of coronets, and each step in the peer p means acquiring a fresh pattern. _ • a Baron has to be content with six si ver balls until he becomes a V 18 ? 0 ®! when he is advanced to the dig lll 7 , sixteen; and Earls, Marquises, • Dukes have "strawberry leaves altera • ting with gold balls. In addition to nis coronet (which he wears on v, a _ _ coronation), a peer requires a e cap. It also lasts a long time, since jw wears it only when he first takes seat in the House of Lords. . The really expensive items in a JPW" official attire are his robes. Untx beginning of the century, these ha good deal of wear and tear, as they to bo worn at every sitting oi Upper House. Nowadays, their use restricted to coronations and the op ing of Parliament at each new sessi .» The robes of a peer consist ot 3" ermine-trimmed mantle of scarlet c » lined with taffeta, and embellished wi bars of gold lace, and fastened at left shoulder with white ribbon. * or , coronation, however, the mantle "^ s . be of crimson velvet, with an eim cape and a "surcoat." There are several ladies who a< "peeresses in their own right," inherited the dignity, or else had 1 specially conferred on them. Among such are Princess Arthur of Connaug (Duchess of Fife), Countess Roberts, Viscountess Wolseley, and "Viscounty Rhondda. Some of the peeresses hav male heirs who will eventually 6^ cce , e them and thus sit in the House of Loi'a& Peeresses have coronets, resembling those of peers, but smaller, and mantles trimmed with miniver and bars 0 ermine. The number of bars and leng of train vary with' the rank of _ti wearer. A peeress in her own ngj' retains her title on marriage, but s« e cannot confer that title on her liusban . Yet it may be inherited by her soil ° r daughter.