CLAIM TO PEERAGE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18079, 2 May 1922, Page 9

CLAIM TO PEERAGE.

a *- e THE BOLINGBROKE TITLE. j _ 0 INQUIRY BY COMMITTEE. y 6 1 QUESTION OF A M ARE I AC! E. The Committee for Privileges at the . House of Lords recently considered the e i claim of Vernon Henry St. John to be e | Viscount Bolingbroke, Viscount St. John, i-I Baron St. John of Lydiard Tregoze, and f I Baron St. John of Battersea. Mr. Harold v Morris, K.C., and Mr. G. W. Wolhiston | anneared for the claimant, and the f Attorney-General and Mr W. A. Greene 0 for the Crown. s The petition stated that from about s 1869 till 1885 the late Viscount lived in London .with one Ellen Medex, and they were known as " Mr. and .Mrs. Morgan. ' P- her ho had onl- one child who survived infancy, a daughter. The claimant alleged that there was no marriage be--3 i tween them, and that tho Viscount marr ricd for the first timo on January 5, 1893, t! Mary Emily Elizabeth, daughter of ? J Robert Howard, and that by this mars j riage he had one son onlv, the claimant, > j born in 1896. * In a report the Attorney-General said " i that there was considerable evidence that J ! the Viscount and EDen Medex were mar--1 , ried. In the certificate of death of Ellen 3 Medex she was described as Viscountess > I Bolingbroke, while in tho lato viscount's > | marriage certificate ho was described as a i ■ widower. It appeared, however, that in . j 1887 he wrote to tho editors of certain ; I peerage publications that ho had been i, married to Ellen Medex of Brussels, and i that there had been issue of this marriage ; Henry Mildmay born in 1830, and Charles, > born in 1883, the former being put for- : I ward by the lato Viscount as tho heir to • tho peerage. v It was highly probable, declared tho , report, that these were not tho sons of . j Ellen Medex, but were the sons of tho , ' lato Viscount by Miss Howard before their I marriage. It appeared from the statutory i declaration of Lady Bolingbroke that previous to the marriage sho and Lord Bolingbroko lived for many years at Bath, whero they were known as " Mr. and Mrs. Wilson." She h:.d two sons, Henry ' Mildmay, born in 1882, and Charles Reginald, born in 1885, and it was alleged j that Lord Bolingbroke did not register the 1 births of either of the children. Mr. Harold Morris said that neitber of these sons made any claim to the peerage. Counsel added that the editor of De- ! brett's Peerage was suspicious and wrote I asking for the birth certificates, but Lord i Bolingbroke refused, saying that tho ■ editor must take his word. No certificates had ever been forthcoming. Viscountess Bolingbroke stated that her early life was spent at Lydiard Tregoze, and when she was about 20 she became | housekeeper to Lord Bolingbroke. The ; first time she heard of Miss Medex was ; in 1885, when sho died, and Lord Bolingbroke said sho was being buried at High- ! gate under tho name of Viscountess Boli ingbroke. Tho Viscount took a great interest in •I his son Vernon, whom he always regarded las his heir. He was christened in 1899, i the ■ year of Lord Bolingbrokc's death. j Lord" Bolingbroke was then 79. He made I a will leaving everything to witness, knowing that she was conversant with his wishes in regard to his children. .She was to hand the estate to Vernon when he came erf age. Neither of the sons, Henry or Charles, had made any claim to the Viscounty. Regarding the entry in ! " Debrett," Lady Bolingbroke gave as his i reason that at than time he wanted to '< make Henry his heir. ! Mr. Arthur G. M. Hesilrige, editor of | " Debrett," stated that, in reply to his request for the birth certificates, the Via- | count stated that the certificates remained I in' his possession, and he was surprised ! that " Debrett" should not have chosen !to accept his information. In cotiso- | quence, the particulars of the marriage | with Miss Medex and the birth of his i sons were omitted from " Debrett." ! Mr. Green said the view the AttorneyI General took of the case was that the | facts were very peculiar, and it was a ; proper ms.tter to bring before the com- ! mittee, but ho did not think he could ask their Lordships to dTaw any different inference from the facts than that submitted j by the petitioner. '■ Tho Earl of Donoughmore, the chairman, announced that the committee would report in accordance with t.he petition.