The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-31 00:00:00

MORTALITY IN VIE PEERAGE.

IteteTrkg to the mor'al ty tu the peerage. the Daily New
writes :

It is somewhat remarkabls that while, in the Parlia-
ment whith has jast been dissolved, only 55 members
should have been removed by death from the Douse of
Corm:none—an assembly numbering more than 650—
the House of Lords, a body c nitainfing 200 fewer mem-
bers, has witnessed the less of 108 peers. The moortality in the peerage has, therefore, been actually
double that in the Commons, and proportionally more
than double. In the first year of the existence of the
Parliament-1869—the number of peers whose deaths
were recorded was 32. These included men of all ages,
from the venerable Bishop of Exeter, who was 91, to
the Earl St. Maur, the only surviving eon of the Duke
of Somerset, who was tak-n away when only 33.
Besides the Bishop of Exeter, the prelates who died in
that year were the Bishops of Carliele, Manchester,
and Salisbury. The Bedl of Radnor, a Liberal before
the down of the present century, was removed at the
great age of 90. Lord Gough, the well-known Indi.o
warrhsr, WWI but one year younger. Lords Broagliton
end Taunton, known to the politicians rd a f irmer
generation as Sir John Cara Hotshots., and Mr.
Labonchere respectively, died within a few weeks of
each other, and their titles became extinct. The
deaths of the Earl of Derby, three times Prime
Minitter, and of the Mathois of Westminst,r, were
announced almott together, and this took from he
Hume of Commons the two tellers agsimit the second
easing of Mx. Glwlstone's Franchise BM, on the 27th
of Akril, 1866, 7iZ Lcrd Stanley and Earl Groover or.
year also witnessed the deaths of Qs Earl of

Glasgow, well-known all a patron of the turf ; Lord
S-anley of Alderley, Postmaster-General in the Ca. Met
of Lord Palmerston ; and the fifth and sixth Earls of
Kingston, one aged 69, and the other Si. Lord Hawke
also died, and his brother and successor to the title
followed him before the expiration of the Parliament,
and in teed wilt us very few month*.
In 1870 the House of L Ads loot twenty of its mem-
bers. Amongst these were the Marquis of Cholmon-
deley and Lord Willoughby d'Eresby, Joint Heredi-
tary Great Chamberlains; the Bishop of Chichester ;
the Earl of Clarendon, the Foreign Secretary; the
Earl of Roden, whose name will occur to many in con-
nection with Lord Clarendon's tenure of the Lord-
Lieuttnency of Ireland in 1843 ; Viscount Midleton, a
former Dean of Exeter: Lord Auckland, who had
resigned the bishopric of Both and Wells ; the Marquis
of Hertford ; the Earl of Aberdeen, who was drowned
: at sea, at the age of 23, while serving WI an ordinary
sai:or, under the name of George Osborne ; and the
Earl of Onelow, the "father" of the House, at the ad-
vanced age of 93.
The year 1871 saw the deaths of twelve peers only.
Triese included two well-known Irish noblemen— the
Marquis of Westmeath and Lord Plunket ; another
Earl of Kingston; lord Chnrston, for many years
a member of the House of Commons as Sir John Yardee
Boller ; and the Earl of Edenborough, President of the
Board of Control in the Tory Cabinet of 1858. Loire
Htiok tinge died at the age of 49, and a few months al'ear-
wards his brother and successor to the title was also
removed.
In 1872 the deaths of 19 members of the House of
Lords were announced. There were amongst these the
Dukes of Bedford al. d Leo-dc; the Marquises of Camden
and Londonderry ; the Earle of Clancarty, Carysfort,
Kellie, Lonedale, and Moray; and Lord Palling and
Bulwtr, better known as Sir Henry Bulwer. Ho had
been called to the peerage only in tie previous year,
and at his death the title became extinct
Of the numerous peers who died in 1873 the names
of two eminent men will at once occur to the memory
—Bishop Wilberf,tree and Lord Weetbury. The
death-roll also included Lord Lytton ; Viscount
Oreington, for 15 years Speaker of the House of Com-
mons, and whose title is extinct ; the Earl of Zetland,
Lord Maj rribanke. who enjoyed his peerage only a
few days ; Lord Wolverton, Lord Athlumoey, better
known as Sir William Somerville ; Lord Lyveden ; and
Lord Annaly.
This year, so far, three peers have died—Lord De
Roe, whore title dates from the same year as the crea-
tion of the barony of Ilastiogs-1264; Lord Blayney, and
Lord Stuart de Deems. But fr the d6itolution the
spoceseion of the Hon. Henry Viliere Stuart to the
title of the latter would have created a vacancy in the
representation .1 Waterford county.