TITLES FOR CASH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15962, 3 January 1914, Page 10

TITLES FOR CASH.

HOW HONOURS ARE SOLD,

The sound of a title has a great effect upon ccrtain persons; it does not matter if it is merely a foreign one; it does not matter even if there is a doubt as to its genuineness a« long as it is a, title of some descrintion. There are individuals who are so fascinated by the sound of a highflown prefix to a name that they are perfectly ready amd willing to purchase for cash what they can never hope to inherit by birth. A foreign title can always be obtained, and so can an English one; but an English title is an expensive luxury, and can only be bought by a multi-million-aire.

Not long ago the following advertise ment appeared in the columns of a Lon don morning daily: —

FOREIGN TITLE O.F BARON.-Oppor-tunity to Purchase Above; highest reference required.

We do not reflect in any way upon the genuineness or otherwise of that transaction. There is no doubt, however, that a large number of people in various parts of Europe are using titles to which they have no right by birth, or as a reward for public service.. Some of these are purchased for cash, but a good many worthless titles are assumed without payment. It is estimated that at least 120 British subjects are the holders of foreign titles, acquired in an honourable way, although they are not recognised in this country as conferring any privilege or precedence. Lord Nelson, for example, is Duke of Bronte, and Lord Dundonald is a marquess in Brazil.

—Bogus Titles. — Scores of men and women, howeveT, use worthless titles unblushingly, and nowadays it is the rule rather than the exception for them to be adopted without even the authority of a dubious piece of parchment. A few weeks ago a well-known French writer produced a book in which he poured scorn upon some of the spurious noblesse of modern Paris. Some of these aristocrats derive their titles from agents of the Vatican, in return for liberal contributions to the Papal exchequer. Thus a well-to-do tradesman in • the Riviera, eight years ago, blossomed out into a duke. Another plebeian bought up a ruined castle in Luxembourg, and on the strength of it claims the same rank. A Mr and Mrs , with the authority of the Vatican, describe themselves as Prince and Princess de , although the Republican Government do not, of course, admit their right to the title so far as the French nobility is concerned. Scores of such instances might be mentioned, and in addition, to them it would not be difficult to compile a still longer list of "nobler men" flaunting their self-assumed titles in French society who have not even this questionable right. They have calmly changed their name, sometimes by giving it a respectable air by adding "de," and sometimes by annexing that of a family of ancient lineage which has died out. The last Napoleon, it is said, was always ready to sell the title of a baron for a mere £150, and under the Republic there was a time when the Legion of Honour was. bartered by the then President's son-in-law. But all this has changed, and the coveted riband is to-day as much above reproach as the Victoria Cross has always been.

—The German Way.— It is fair to the German Emperor to say that, ever since the Franco-Prussian war, the Imperial Government has steadily held itself aloof from the sale of decorations, and people who assume titles to which they have no right are liable to very rigorous prosecution. ' When a title of nobility is conferred the fees paid to the Chancellery are six times as much as those paid for peerages of equal rank in Great Britain, and it 's said that Prince Bismarck never took up the dukedom conferred upon him by nis grateful Emiperor for the simple reason that he did not wish to part with the fees. Whether the petty kings and grand dukfes of the Fatherland are as much above suspicion in these matters is a point upon which I should have some doubt. Certainly the sovereign ol one of the German kingdoms used to drive a bargain now and then when he was travelling in other parts of the Continent, but his successdr has not followed his example, and since the end of the fast century most of the European Courts have become far more conservative, or have found that the demand is not so keen as it used to be.

—Dukedoms for £800.— If one may believe the dealers, there are Italian dukes now living who came by their titles for a cash payment of £800, and others who sport the knightly dignity of the Isabella la Cattolica of Spain in virtue of having paid £300 cash down. But the foreigner who should proceed to Madrid or Rome in the hope of picking up a patent of nobility would meet with the same treatment as an Ahierkan if he walked into St. James's Palace and asked the net price of a British earldom. Now and then an impecunious holder of an ancient pedigree in Italy or in Eastern Europe ie tempted to dispose of his ancestral estates to a parvenu, and does not object to part with his title, which 'is there and then assumed by the purchaser. Almost invariably the transaction is ignored by the sovereign, but this does not prevent the new noble from using the title m Paris or at Monte Carlo. Still, in the haunts of luxury, tradespeople are nowadays too wily to be imposed upon by a mere title as such; and the swell criminal has learned to his cost that the mere assumption of a high-sounding name is a disadvantage. People who use bogus titles are, as a general rule, more fool than knave, and the most" they can hope for is a dubious hour of social triumph.

—Costly British Titles.— Even in this country titles can be purchased for cash. It is no secret that both the great political parties are prepared to secirre recognition for men who subscribe liberally to party funds. There is, at the present time, an M.P. who has never distinguished himself in the House by speeches (for he seldom speaks), but who, nevertheless, possesses a title. Asked by a friend on one occasion in a smoking room at St. Stephen's what he had done to earn the honour, he drew his questioner aside, and smilingly patted his pocket. But for a British title a man must pay heavily. A quarter of a million for a peerage ! This wa-s the price which,, according to a fearless politician not in Parliament, was paid in connection with a comparatively recent creation. But not everyone can buy a British title. A certain wealthy publicist espoused a cause with all the' ardour of which he was capable. Of course, he expected a title as a reward. But, alas! he got nothing. And so his ardour cooled down, and he and his good deeds were heard of no more.