The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-24 00:00:00

[NICIE 4D. STAMPED 50 .]

fusion ; and we could only strain our eyes to tee
the' last of the noblest spectacle of its kind that
England or any other country bas had to show.
All have now gone down the horizon, and only their
and shadows remain. Not only
men will fill their praeei3, but a different kind
of power will occupy their:throne ; a less learned,
if a more alert wisdom will sit at their council board.
track
A new period is setting in ; and the morning is a
chill and cloudy one. Whatever the new day may
turn out, the coming time can hardly bo so remark-
able, so dignified, EC) exemplary in a constitutiobal
%MEC, and so distinctive as a nation2l glory, as that
which expires with the extinction of the East In' 'a
Company.
—2

LAW INTELLIGENCE.-July 23.

HOUSE OF LORDS.
COMMITTEE OF PRIVILEGS -THE BERKELEY PE.R-

AGE.
The House of Lords assembled this day as a com-
mittee for privileges, on the claim of Sir Maurice
Frederick Fitzhardinge Berkeley, K.0.K., of *r-
keley Castle' in the county of Gloucester, apd
Vice-Ad.eiral of the White, to the title, honour,
and dignity of Baron Berkeley. -
Amongst the 'noble and -learned lords preslnt
were Lord Redesdale, chairman ; the Lord Chan-
cellor, Lord St. Leonardo, Lord Cranwerth, &c.,'
. Mr. Fleming was counsel for the petitioner. _L -
The Attorney-General, with whom was Mr.
Bentiuck, watched the case on behalf of the Crown.
Mr. Fleming, in epetaing the case, said be had
the honour to appear at their. lordships' -bar as coun-
sel for the petitioner; Sir Maurice Berkeley, wbo
preyed their lordships to acknowledge him as
Baron of. Berkeley, and grant him a writ of siu-
mons.- This was a claim by prescription, the peti-
-Honer being seised as tenant for life in possession
of-the Castle of Berkeley and of the manors and
hereditaments avbich had. from tine beyond me-
mory constituted the b;rony, and by the tenure of
which his ancestors had enjoyed.the title.' . If 6'0.1
prescription could be once establ'shed, the, claimant
Foal be clearly entitled, unless the prescription
as contrary to law, had been ortinguished by l a ,
tote, or lost . by usor. In condtieting
eia ~
case be should have a:. great advin-
p 1 s
ta:. This illustrious and pre-eminently his-torical family had c irefully preserved all their
recordsesd that -be shOtild be able, 'aS it Were, i to.
produce before their lordships' house every Baron-
of Berkeley, and to make him declare that be held
the title by tenure, and as such was entitled to it
in Parliament as a baron of the realm. The pe i-
tionea"s predeeessors had held the castle and mallet's
pCrlesai-thaiAet. Robert Fitz-flardieig having dis-
tinguisCeilhirnself, the barony of Berkeley, and all.
Berkeley Het nesse; was granted to him and his son
Maurice by Henry H. Jtobert _ Fitz Harding was
succ,eded by his sera Maurice who boi &the name
of Berkeley. It Would be proved by a charter.
dated Oct. 31), in: the •fiist year of the reign of her
rem King Roharcl 1.,. Queen Eleanor, acting on his
behalf, granted and confirmed' to Maurice and Ids
heirs Berkeley and all B rketey. Hernesse, to in
held in barony, as testified by the charters of her
hand, Krigelienry, and her. son King Richard._
Ho died. in 1193, and was succeeded by his Seri
It .bert Fitz Maurice de Berkeley; who gave 1,000/.
for livery of his inheiitanee. On Riehard',; return
to Engl led., lie confirmed to Robert a charter which
directed that he and his heirs(should held the here-
ditainents therein mentioned as peaceably and fully
as they were bell in the time of King Henry, tin
great grandfather of the King.. R bert de Berke,-
ley died without is ue in the 4th year 6f Henry 111.,
and was eu ceeded by h:a I rather Thomas, who, On
payment of 1001., which, according to the then
state of the -law, was the relief payable by a
baron, bad livery of all his lands save the
Castle of Berkeley. But en giving hostages for
the safe keeping of the castle it was restored to
him. In 1241 he Was ' summoned to wtend
the King into Giscony, but was excuse.' on the
payment of fin 3 and on sending his eldest son and
other knighta to take part in the expedieion. He
was sacceeaed in 1231 by his east s.m, Maurice,
who did homage for his inheritance, and was sum-
moned with the ea .1s and harms airi °Thera owing
service to the Kiug to at end him in his -war against
the Scots. He was also succeeded by _his eldest son
Thomas de Berkeley; who was summaned to Parlia-
ment in the 23d of Edward theFiret, and in all
mice ceding Parliaments. 11) was also summoned
to the coronation of E award the Second, and it
was admitted by the Attorney-General in cerain.
proceedings, on a quo warranto, taken in the
King's behalf, against Thomas de Berkeley, that he
hell the castle of Berkeley, and his other inherit-
ance, per haroniam ; and so it was found by inqui-
sition taken after his death. Ho left isiue his son
and heir Maurice, who was sunaintn d to Parlia-
ment during his father's lifetime, and who did
homage for the lands. Oa the 12th of November,
in the 15 h year of the reign of E Award the Second
Maurice and other peers received a royal mandate
commanding them not to attend a Parliament
called by the E irl of Lancaster to meet at Don-
caster. He disobeyed this prohibition, and took
up arms in the Earl's cause, whisk was not success-
ful, and the King having seized on the person of
Maurice, sent him a prisoner to the Castle of Wal-
lingford, where he died in 1326, and was succeeded
by his son Thomas, who did homage and obtained
livery of his inheritance in the Ist year of the
reign of Edward 111. This Thomaseby a fine,
entailed the castle and all the hereditaments.
Before he made it, and sifter wards, he was sum-

moned, and was on several occasions present as a
peer of Per meat. In 1361 ho was succeeded by
his son Maurice, who obtained livery of the estates,
which, in certain proceedings held in the Court of
Exchequer in Hilary Term, 37 Edward 111., were
found to constitute the barony of Berkeley. Ho
was reg.ilarly summoned to Parliament until the
po iod of his death. He had two sons, Thomas and
James, and was succeeded by the former, who had
livery of his inheritance. He was summoned to
Parliament from the sth of Riehard 11. to sth
Henry V., and sat on several occasions in the House
of Lards. He married Margaret, daughter and
heir of Warine do Lisle, of Kingston Lisle, and
succeeded in her right to very large estates. By
her he bad issue ono child, Riz abaft, who in her
father's life time married Richard Beauchamp,
Eerl of Warwick. She succeeded to all her father's
estates, and took possession of Berkeley Castle.
The right heir was James Berkeley, the son of
James, brother of Thomas Lord Berkeley, but the
influence of the Earl and Ceuntess of Warwick kept
him out of possession until the 9th of Henry the
Fifth, when he obtained livery of the lands as heir
iu tad, and was summoned to Parliament. He mar-
ried Isabella, daughter of Th3rna? Mowbray, Duke
of Norfolk, and had issue by her, William and
Maurice. James Lord Berkeley died in 1463, and
was succeeded by his eldest son, William. He was
summoned to Parliament, and was created VI-
count Berkeley in the 22d Edward the Fourdi.
On the accession of King Richard the Third
he was created Earl of Nottiegham. In 1485
he was made Earl Marshal of Eng'aud, and in 1488
he was created Marquis of Berkeley, with limita-
tion of those dignities to the heirs male of his
body. Having taken a dislike to his brother and
heir presumptive, Maurice, he settled the castle and
I hereditamen.s, on failure of his own issue, upon
King Henry and the heirs male of his body, with
remainder to his own heirs. On the death of the
Marquis without issue in 1491 the castle and here-
ditaments constituting the barony devolved on the
King, so that Maurice Berkeley, the brother and
heir of the Marquis, continued to be, and acted in
every respect as, a commoner. Thia proved that
the title depended on the possession of the castle
and estates. So his son Maurice was a commoner,
and at the coronation of Henry VIII was made a
knight of the Bath. The King having
summoned
a Parliament to meet at Westminster,
sterin 1523,
created Sir Maurice Berkeley a peer. fele was suc-
ceeded by his brother, Thomas Berkeley, who was
admitted to he a peer, and in 1532 was appointed
by the King constable of Berkeley Castle. He was
succeeded by his son and heir, Thomas, who left
issue Henry Lord Berkeley, who, on the death of
King Edward VI. became entitled to the castle and
barony of Berkeley and the prescriptive peerage
enjoyed by his predecessors. He died in 1613,
and was succeeded by his grandson, then 12 years
of age, who subsequently took his se at in Parliament.
In the roll of the nobility of England of 1621 he
was placed next to the Lord Delaware. He
died in 1658, and was succeeded by his eldest
surviving son, George, who presented a petition
to the Kine claiming precedi nee over Lord
Delawarr. The question thus raised was Lot
brought to an issue, owing to Lord Berkeley's
elevation as Viscount Dursley and Earl of Ber-
keley.. The castle and barony descended in direct
succession to Frederick Augustus, Earl and Baron
of Bede! ley, 'the petitioner's fatbe-, who died in
August, 1810, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
who claimed tha title of Baron Berkeley, but wbo
having in 1861 been created Lord Segrave, and sub-
quently gird Etzbardinge, did not prosecute the
eltitu. He died unmarried en the 10th of October
last, and on h's death the castle and hereditanieuts
coustitu ing the barony devolved on the petitiver.