The Sun.
London, England, 1838-08-05 00:00:00

PiiIIVIiO6EI`;IITUitE.

By the " aticlent la is Mid institutions" of this country, when a
Nobleman dies without leaving a male heir, but several daughters, his
hereditary estate must be divided, share and share alike, among those
daughters ; and no greater benefit could be conferred on the realm if
the same law were applied to sons as well as daughters; as, without in.
dieting injustice on any one, it would give substantial justice to every
son, whilst it would break up those vast masses of property, the posses.
sum of which in few hands produces such vast evils, not only to families
but also to the nation at large.
It is singular that Constantine the Great cautiously guarded himself
and successors against the establishment of a permanent body of Nobi-
lity, regarding such a body dangerous to the Princt ; whilst in
England atitither policy ha§ been and still is pursiled—to establish a
body of hereditary Nobility, which is become so strong as to be
able to deride the power of the Throne, to take possession of the
great mass of what was formerly Church property, and, also, as
each day's experience proves, to set at defiance the most solemn deter-
minations of the Representatives of the nation. The right of the
eldest son to take possession of the hereditary estates bad some counte.
nance given to it by the laws of feudalism ; but the whole of that mili.
tary web has long been worn and torn to tatters, so that there is not a
pretext for continuing the unjust and atrocious practice ; and it is not
improbable but that some day, when the younger sons of great Aristo-
cratic families get choked-off from the 13tibliC purse, they Will be&onie
the mist clamorous and determined of any to abolish a prinCiplt of
iniquity, which, whilst it renders the eldest a Peer, reduces the other
children of the same parent to a condition that even a peasant might
despise.

The advantage of a sub-division of land is exemplified in a re-
markable degree in this country; especially in Lewes and Brighton.
At the Conquest the Barony of Lewes, which had belonged to Harold,
became the property of the Conqueror, who gave it, as the dowry of his
fourth daughter, Gundred, to Lord de Warren of Normendy, who sub.
sequently resided at Lewes, the remains of the Castle and Priory of
which mark the princely state in which he lived. With some changes
the Barony ultimately came into the hands of ,the Earl of Arundel and
Surrey, who, dying without issue, that portion of his numerous pos.
sessions which was annexed to the Earldom of Surrey was divided
among his three surviving sisters, Elitabeth (Duchess of Nortblk),
Joanna (Lady Abergavenny), and Margaret (Lady of Sir Rowland
L;iniil3l). The Barony dills became divided among these families, .aftef
which the Castle, as none could claim exclusive possession of it,becaMe
neglected and fell to ruins. The inhabitants, no longer awed by the
presence of an imperious Lord and his insolent suite, began to taste of
the first fruits of independence, scanty as it was. Many of the neigh.
bouring gentry, no longer fearful of the feudal nobility, chose the town
as their place of residence, and purchased fragments of the severed Ba-
rony. On a further partition of the Barony, in 1483, between
the Howards and the Berkleys, Lewes and her lords became more es.
tranged, and the policy of Henry VII. soon afterwards facilitating the
alienation of landed property, the industrious burghers and others pur_
chased manors and farms in the vicinity, and hence arose numbers of
respectable freeholders and copyholders. Similar"operation had been
going on for centuries throughout the Barony, and, instead of this rape
being pestered, as In some parts the inhabitants are, by the paramount
and oiretwhelming iniluehce and poWer Of a great ford or dutte, a great
body of independent men and independent minds has been established,
who will, if occasion require, act for themselves. It is our wish that
every great barony in the kingdom was broken up in the same way,
and this might be done without injury to any, by compelling an equal
division of hereditary estates among as sons among females.—Corre-
spondent of the Brighton Herald.