RANCHER AND PEER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21224, 2 July 1932, Page 2 (Supplement)

RANCHER AND PEER.

LATE EARL OF EGMONT. VICTIM OF SOCIAL SNOBBERY. SACRIFICE TO HELP SON. MOST INTERESTING CAREER. The death of a remarkable man. the Ea.l of Egmont, "the rancher peer," occurred on' May 16 He. succeeded to the title only three years ago. His death was the result of a motor accident. \Yh*n the Eail of Egmont died his only sou. Viscount Perceval, reared on a Canadian ranch, was made head of an ancient house, and the loneliest boy of 18 vears in the whole wide world. c and his father were true friends. They had no near relatives. They had very few close acquaintances Mrs. erceva died, when the new earl was a year ol .

Lord Egmont's career was a most remai kable ' one. Three years ago he was Mr. Frederick Perceval, an unknown ranchor, living with his son in a log cabin at Priddis, near Calgary, Alberta. Here he lived the hard life of the plains, working from dawn to dusk. He was born at Acocks Green, Birmingham. 59 years ago, but his chances of succeeding to thfi peerage seemed infinitesimal, and he was taken to Canada at tho age of eight. He married a Canadian woman in Montreal in 1911 In 1929 a distant cousin, the ninth Earl of Egmont, died, and the Alberta ranchet inherited the title as tenth earl, his son becoming Viscount Perceval. His title was disputed by two other claimants, an optician and a baker, but after a six months' inquiry Mr. Justice Eve decided in „ favoui of the rancher. Secluded Life 1 11 tha Castle.

So Egmont camo from the prairies to take up the life and duties of an English peer, residing in the stately family home, Avon Castle. Ringwood, Hampshire. The castle is surrounded by o,n estate of 1500 acres. Troubles over the disputed succession, laige death duties, nrui the management of the estate had to be faced at first. "1 am so worried/' the earl declared, " that 1 wish i was Lack chopping wood on the ranch Finally the earl and his son dispensed with the greater part of the staff, locked the j:ark gates, and lived a secluded life in the cr.stle. of 43 rooms, cooking their own meals and attend.ng to all their own neeJs as they had done in their happy days oil the Canadian ranch. Viscount Perceval, the new earl, who is now .18, is a sturdy, feailess youth, able to rope, throw and brand a steer, or break in a horse.

From time to time pictures and other property had to be sold to help to keep things going; Avon Castle itself has been lor some time in the market. Cole} " County " People.

The hearts of the people of Ringwood go out to the lonely young earl to-day. Ringwood does not know him very well. The " county " never called, and father and aon were too unpretentious to call on the " county." About once a week they would walk into Ringwood, and they re-sponded-to the friendly talk of the villagers. But, on the whole, they remained an isolated and rather pathetic pair.

The gates of Avon Castle were opened cn the day of the earl's death to but two callers, the agent of the estate and the representative of a firm of solicitors. When a journalist telephoned the call was answered by the young early himself. With a perceptible tremor in his boyish yoico he said no one could see Lord Eginont, The inquirer did not tell him that he recognised his voice. The click of the receiver as he hung it up seemed to emphasise his loneliness. 1 The death of Lord Egmont, says the 'Daily Express, has put an end to a drama of ca,lions social snobbery that has been played out here in the past three years. The facts should bring a blush to the 'cheek of English " county " hospitality. Cruel Indiffersnce. From the time that the rancher earl and his youthful son arrived at their ancestral home, Avon Castle, from their Calgary ranch in 1929 they were regarded by county- society with an indifference morei than cruel in the eyes of those who, like the earl and his son, placed neighbourliness next to godliness. The barren plains of the most northern part of their own Albertan province were not more cold than the gentry of Hampehire to this new and unassuming member of their aristocracy. Yet Frederick Joseph Trevelyan Perceval was -not a foreigner. He had the blood of a Prime Minister of England in his veins. He was born in Birmingham. His chief fault as a native Englishman and as a descendant of peers was that he had become an Empire-builder. He and his son—a motherless boy—had become " colonised " to superficial appearance by long sojourns in the Canadian prairie. So Hampshire " county " people, on the principle that a man who looks like a man cannot be received into polite society, left father and son severely alone. The pair were made to feel intruders. That is the real tragedy of the late earl, s neighbourly man, who wanted to live in a simple and friendly manner with his neighbours, but was defeated by the cold reserve of the well-bred rural Engl sh. In b way the earl gave his life for his son. It was for the boy that he left the ranch, where he was happy, for Hampshire, where he. was not. Son Idolised By Father. The late earl idolised his son. The title and the rank he had inherited appealed little to him, but he wished his son to be fitted for the position that .awaited him With that' end in view he was prepaid to'endure the discomforts that conversion and class distinction bring to a jpnn who has spent the befit part of his life in getting rid of such encumbrances. " I have nu use for that kind of thing," be had said

Although not a lover of conventional isefi society he wa s surprised at the lack of 01 dinary neighbourliness displayed toward him and his son. As a result they dwelt for a time in complete isolation. For two years they lived the lives of comparative hermits at Avon Castle. They cama little lo Ringwood because hero, again, class distinction defeated them The ■villagers, decent friendly people, ins sled Upon treating the earl like a " lord," and made him uncomfortable by calling him f sir."

The earl's chief occupation was the education of his son. He had little faith in public schools. He believed that the

manly virtues were of most account. He taught the boy lo ride, to shoot, to breakin a horse and to herd cattle

In the last few months of his life Lord Egmont and Lis son made some casual acquaintances and even a fow friends. Mr. and Mrs. L. Herbert, of Ringwood, were the most intimate friends the earl possessed in England. ■Mr Herbert is a wine merchant. He and his wife weie with the earl iri the car at the time of the fatal accident. "A finer, straighter man you could never meet." Mr. Herbert says. If there were tnoio like him in this country or anv other i'v would be a better plate. I looked upon his friendship as a sacrerl trust, and I hope something will be ( one for the boy, who is left completely alone with such responsibilities." One of Lord Egmont's favourite places nf rail was tiio corn and coke shop of Mr. Brockley al Ringwood. He would sometimes sit there and talk wistfully of his life on his ranch and the freedom of existence on the open prairie. At the inquest on Lord Egmont a verdict of " accidental death " was returned, tuul the coroner expressed the vcw that the county authorities should do something to minin ise the loss of life at the place whore the accident occurred, lie explained that main roads crossed the s,j)ot, which had been the subject of many inquiries reeaid ng road tragedies. Mr. John I'-anny, of New Inn, Ringwood the driver of the car in which the , P arl was riding, who was formally warned by the coroner before !.e gave evidence, said that the car went over the cross roads at between fifteen and twenty miles nn hour. "It happened like a flash of lightning," ho added. Mr. Ira Jack Lithauer. of Maida Vale, a wireless dealer, the driver of the other car. who was also warned by the coroner, isaid that on approaching the cross-roads llio slowed down to twenty-five miles an hour.