NEW BARON LANGFORD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20793, 9 February 1931, Page 11

NEW BARON LANGFORD.

A WANDERING CAREER,

SINGER AND FUR TRADER#

BIRTH IN NEW ZEALAND.

Tiy Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright, MELBOURNE. Feb. 7. After years of wanderings in many countries, rubbing shoulders with humanity in its crudest state, sharing husks, sleeping in the cold and eating scantily, CJotwortby Wellington Edward Thomes Rowley, 7th Baron Langford of Summerhill Hall, County Meath, Ireland, finds himself to-day in the tantalising position of nob knowing whether he is a wealthy man and owner of entailed estates, or merely the owner of a barreh title.

He is awaiting in Melbourne the re* suit of inquiries sent to Ireland. He has not yefc been officially informed by the estate lawyers of the death of his late uncle, and his own accession to the title.

Behind that uncertainty lies a story rather reminiscent of an early Victorian novel in which the young master wanders round the world the victim of a vindicr tive relative.

I talked at length with the new baron, yesterday. "He is rather under average height, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses. He is clean-shaven, a man of 45 who looks younger, rather nervous ancl uncertain in manner. Father Settles in Dominion. His father was the younger brother of the 4th Lord Langford. . He went to Netfr Zealand many years ago as one of the hopeful George Vesey Stewart settle* ment, which was to do such great things on the land. Like most land schemes ifc failed, and Randolfe Thomas Rowley failed with it. The £SOOO with this younger son meant to fight the fates and , woo fortune in the colonies went in New Zealand. B.e met an Irish girl, Fletcher, daughter of a distinguished zoologist of Dublin, who was living at Katikati, New Zealand. When an Irishman is in the process of ruin, an Irishwoman always hopes to arrest the process by marrying hiin,. and Rosetta was a traditional daughter of Erin. The present baron was the only child of the marriage. Son Returns to Ireland. The family reluctantly came to the rescue of the pair, and Randolfe Thomas left the land to take up business. When young Clotworthy Wellington Edward was a year old, the family left New Zealand and returned to England, where for 10 years the youngster remained. When he was 11 they all returned to New Zealand, but at 20 the boy again left for the land of his fathers, to continue his education.: He encountered the suspicions of relatives, and his friendship with his uncle, the 4th baron, which was sincere, seems to have been spoiled by his feud vnth the second Lady Langford, who lost no opportunity, according to the story,' of poisoning the uncle's mind against his nephew. Back to New Zealand went Clotworthy, until he enlisted and went, to Egypt, where he transferred to the artillery, led by his love of horses and hunting, gained a,s a youth in Ireland. He later went through two battles of the Somme and, with tbe Army of Occupation, he went from Abbeville to and was demobilised. ■ The war had brought him a step nearer the barony. He decided to go to Dublin to try his luck in Ireland. There he married, but finding civil life dull, he tried to persuade Ihis wife to accompany him to another country. She' refused, preferring to stay in Dublin with her; family. Trapping with the Eskimos. It was to Canada that this scion of an old family decided to emigrate, as so many scions had done before him. Fo? three months he was harvesting. Ha had a voice, so he went on a singing tour. With a. few,friends he went into Hudson Bay territory after the elusive silver fox* " I lived with the Eskimos under condi* tions I would have thought, impossible at one time,"' he said. "You would think ifc would be freezing to live in a round ice house, but it's hot, while out* • side is many degrees below zero, and yon know what cold means.

The young man lived through a trap* ping season in this region, getting chinchillas and fox, and selling the- skins afc Montreal. He then felt homesickness coming over him, so he determined to go home. " I had a bit of money saved up from my concert tour and fur ex* peditions, but I did not feel like paying any more fares for travel. I heard there was a cattle boat going from Portland# Maine, to Liverpool. I applied for tha job of valet to the cattle and got it. "At Liverpool I disembarked. I helped to get rid of the cattle, and set out for London once again. I heard of a boat sailing for Australia, and I got a job on her as assistant steward. From Australia I decided to keep on moving, so I signed on as assistant steward on one of the Port boats, and went through the Panama Canal to America. I was a couple of days in New York and Boston, then we squared away for England."

When onco more in Australia Lord Langford heard unofficially of his ancle's death and of his own accession. He had no money beyond what he made by singing and in other ways. He waited to learn the circumstances of the estate* These are even yet obscure, and so are his plans. The new peer is not likely to assume the use of his title unless he has sufficient money. Even then he is not sure what ho will do.