CORONATION HONOURS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1239, 22 September 1911, Page 6

CORONATION HONOURS.

, INVESTITURE AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE, ON DOMINION DAY. On Monday next (Dominion Day) all those gentlemen belonging to New Zealand who were mentioned in Coronation honours, are to be formally invested with their new dignities by his Excellency the Governor.. The ceremony will take place in the vice-regal ball-room at 12.30 p.m., and at the conclusion of tho function tho recipients of honours, together with the members of tho Ministry, will partake of luncheon with his Excellency. Tho list of those who were honoured is as follows :—

Sir Joseph Ward, IC.C'.M.G., Prime Minister, created a baronet. Sir John G. Findlay, Attorney-General, and Sir James Carroll, Native Minister, created Knights Commanders. Sir Joshua Williams, Senior Puisne Judge of the Supremo Court, and Sir Arthur Guinness, Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives, created Knights I3achclor.

Lieutenant-Colonel R. ,T. Collins, 1.5.0., V.D., Comptroller and Auditor-General, and Dr. F. Fitchctt, Public Trustee, created Companions. Mr. H. J. H. Blow, Undcr-Secretary for Public Works, and Mr. Edward Tregear, late Secretary for Labour, invested with the Imperial Sorvico Order. The Baronetage. On the subject of Baronetage, "Whittaker's" says: "It has no political privileges attached, and consequently there have been until lately scarcely any means, as there are with Peers, for ascertaining the direct succession, the consequence being that spurious, not to say fraudulent, assumptions of baronetcies havo cropped up, and postered' ns year after year. In 1000, however, a Commission was appointed to consider what steps should be taken to safeguard the status of holders of Baronetcies, and in consequence of its recommendations, the Homo Office issued on February 11,- 1910, a warrant from tho King dealing with the rules relating to his hereditary degree of Baronets. In this it is ordained that an official roll of Baronets shall bo prepared and kept in tho Home Department. That no person whose name is not mentioned on ' tho official roll of Baronets shall be received as a Baronet or shall be addressed or mentioned by that title in any civil or military commission, letters patent, or other official document. The roll is to be prepared in consultation with one or other of the Kings of Arms. Any person whose nanie does not appear, but who considers that ho is entitled shall be nt liberty to petition the (Sovereign, through the Some Secretary. It is also appointed that the Home Secretary shall appoint an officer of that Department to be Registrar of the Baronetage, and that every person who succeeds to the title of or who is created a Baronet shall Day to the Homo Secretary, a fee of .£5, to be paid into the Exchequer. In addition, every Baronet created since 1783 is required to register his pedigree and to receive a certificate of one from the 'Royal College of Arms. . . . The rank has been greatly enlarged both as to actual numbers and lowering of'.qualifications, whilst the money payment has.wholly ceased, though to -preserve the ancient form of warrant a tally is- struck. at the Exchequer, and handed to the new Baronet by way ~o{ receipt. A Baronet has no coronet or robes. Knights Commanders. The title which has been conferred upon Sir James Carroll and Sir John Findlay is the second degree in the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St George (Knights Grand Cross is the highest degree in this order, and is limited to 100 members). This order was established in 1818 to commemorate tho placing of the lonian Islands under the protectorate of Great Britain. It was first limited to natives of those islands and Malta. iuul was not made applicable to the colonies generally until some years after the foundation of the "Star of India" In 1532 its thTeo classes were fixed at the numbers of fifteen, twenty, and twenty-fivn respectively, but it was enlarged succes--Rivcly in ISGB, 1877, 1879, and 1887 until it has become assignable to any person who has rendered valuable services in either colonial or foreign affairs. The de co-rations are the Badge. Star, Collar, Kibbon, Mantle, and Chapeaii The star of Knight Commanders has four rays of silver with narrow ones of gold between, mid is smaller than that of tho Knights of the Cross. The Collar is mado up of crowned lions, Maltese Crdsws, and ciphers of the letters S.M. and S.G., with a crown in front of tho centre, all gold except the crosses, which are of white enamel. The •ribbon is of'saxon blue with a scarlet stripe, and is worn by the three classes. The Mantle and Chapeau are of blue satin lined with soarlet silk, the latter, surmounted with white and black ostrich feathers. ' Knights Bachelors. In strict terms tho honour awarded to Sir Joshua Williams and Sir Arthur Guinness do not constitute an Order. It is usually held that the word Bachelor in this usage is a corruption of "has chevalier, as implying a lower rank of knights than thoso who had received the honour under tho royal baaner. Mention has . been made of the systematic sab of this and.other honours by James I, who dur- !££ , th ? , secontl >"«"• of his reign created M knights. In the ense of this decree he even outdid his achievements in the scale of baronetcies, till, it is related, that a satirical placard was fixed to the door of St. Paul's Cathedral, offering to teach a new art of memory to enable people to bear in niiiid the names of the nowly-ereated title-bearers; indeed, tho King himself became so humiliated by his own doings that upon one occasion when a new knight showed embarrassment at his own lack of prestige, James exclaimed, "Hold up your head, man, and spare your blushes; I havo more cause to be as.ham.ed than you have." A rather . back-haaded piece of consolation, surely. There is no decoration for this honour, and no limit to its numbers. . The Lord--Lieutenant of Ireland may even create Knights Bachelors. ' . . Companions. While Knights Commanders may affix the letters K.C.M.G. (Knights Commander of St. Michael and St. George), Companions 'use the letters C.M.G.. This is the third class or degree of the Order mentioned, aiid with little variation, the decorations are similar to those of the Knights Commander. ■ Tho number .of Companions in this Order is limited to GOO. Dr. F. Fitchctt and LieutenantColonel K. J. Collins will be invested with this honour on Monday. Imperial Service Order. This order, bestowed on Messrs. Ed. Tregear and H. J. H. Blow, is restricted to members of the administrative or clerical branches of the Civil Service, and is restricted to 475 in the Homo and 225 in the colonial service. Those of Home must have served 25 years, and in the colonies 16 years, but the. rules are somewhat, elastic. The' badge is a medallion, to bo worn on the left breast, bearing on one. side the Royal cipher and on the other the words: "For Faithful Service," the lettering being in blue enamel upon a shield of gold, girt with a laurel wreath, and surmounted by a crown. Tho ribbon is a stripe of blue between two of crimson.