The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1858-03-11

proceeding was thought exceptiOnable, ever
when the Sovereign was 10 straits, and thu
applicant gentleman Of fair estate.
For q long time our creations have beer
all Of unimpeachsble propriety, and in the
last few weeks, indeed, the events in the
East have induced many to wish that such
honors were somewhat less sparingly be.
slowed. Lord Macaulay, the youngest Bar.
on, represents, perhaps, the single instance
In which literary excellence has opened q
path TO the House Of Lords, and even in his
case the reputation Of the historian was sup.
ported by the "reminiscences OF political ser.
vice and active official career. For the rest
the dignity Of the Chancellorship provides,
as it were, q peerage in perpetuity as prize
for the profession Of the bar the army and
navy have each their chances the diplo-
matte service is INDUCED with ith turn, and
success or exhaustion in the great strife OF
politics may be attended with similar re-
wards. There is no occasion, however, at
the present day for regarding peerage az
synonymous with retirement. In the Datu-
raj course Of things, this, the highest honor
which can be reached, would usually be OBJ
tanned only when considerable portion Of
life had been consumed in the struggle, but
It certainly need not be said of any living
statesman, as it was once said of Pulteney,
that he "sank into insignifcance and an
Earldom." The House OF Lords offers abun-
dant scope for political exertion, and the op-
portunities, az our report shows, are by no
means lost. 1t may very safely be assumed
that ut no period 10 the annals of Parlia-
ment has the Upper House been more care
fully or more serviceably recruited than dur
ing the last 80 years. The patents of our
peers may In many cases be Of modern date
----of s,ich, indeed, ss would Ctill keep the
pdssessor excluded, according to the fantas-
tic doctrines Of old German genealogists,
from some Of the prerogatives Of established
nobility, but the order represents genuine
merit and active power, and it's perpetual
renovation gives it perpetual vitality.
A famous writer said, O few wears ago,
that If our aristocracy was real aristocra-
cy 1t should take the lead in all things, and
that noble Lords ought to be Chairmen OF
Railway Companies. The condition, though
Q singular one, has not remained unsatisfied.
1t Is not, however, to be expected that q class
which must OF necessity be born to compe-
tence should be as generally enterprising as
those which have their fortunes to make /;
nor can peerage like our own be presumed
to furnish 80 many individual specimens Of
superiority as a peerage in which the mem-
bers are appointed only for life. Every de-
sccndant in line Of Kings cannot be con-
queror like the first. The founder Of the
family does the great work, and certain
number Of these characters, US the roll be.
fore us shows, will always be found in the
list Of peers. After, this, the chances Of
excellence will depend upon the resources,
the opportunities and the excitements which
IN elevated position conveys, and our House
OF Lords map certainly be appealed to, as q
body, in proof that such advantages are not
commonly thrown away.
With reference to the above, although we
in no way endorse the extravagant opinion
Of large portion Of the European Press in
favor Of their hereditary aristocracy, thee
Is no doubt but that the whole body in Eng
land has been vastly improved by the stimu-
lus given by new creations. All the i'm.
provement and progress has come about
through outward pressure u.s. with few
exceptions the aristocncy of England,
as in other countries, were ignorant to de-
gree. The education and talent of the mid
die classes forced the higher orders to edu-
cate themselves, and il is now fact, there
Is a. much talent in the House Of Lords as
amongst the Commons Of England. With
reference to the paragraph in the Times ar
ticle relative TO noble Lords being Chairmen
OF Railway Companies, we may mention
from our own knowledge, that the Marquis
Of Cbandos, the heir TO the Dukedom OF
Buckingham, is not only Chairman Of a
Railway Company, but one Of the best in
England, and who earns right fairly the sala-
ry the Company pay him.
In the reign Of Charles the Second, how.
ever, there was kind of feelove mania.
not disguised under religious mask in any
way, as in the present day, and if but halt
the anecdotes in the witty, racy, and withal
somewhat prohgate memoirs of the Count
px GRaxxoSr he true, no few OF the arts.
tocracy Of the present day might be puzzled
to determine to what families they belong
that is to say, on the paternal side.