The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-08-12
LITTLE PEERS
The Aristocratc Small Fry
Of England.
TITULAR NOBILITY on ITS LAST LEGS.
The Baneful Law of
Entail.
Political Extinction in the House
of Lords.
TITULAR NOBILITY ON ITS LAST LEGS
THE GENUINE PEERS, EDITORS.

PARIS, July 20. 1879
LITTLE PEERS, BARONs AND vIsCoUNrs.
Titular nobility Is on its last legs in England. 1t
will die hard, but it has been long time dying
already, and is now almost extinct. 1t has only
been kept outstanding by the custom OF entail and
the habit which prevails among the titled classes
ofinvesting their property In land and settling the
bulk OF their estates upon their eldest sons. But
the new land laws will bring many great families
topping down, for the practice OF entailing estates
had several notable disadvantages. In the first
place 1t could not altogether stne natural feelings
! and the
ENrAILED ESTATES
were generally charged with annuities, dowers
ana mortgages without end so that 1t commonly
happened that man Of title, whose nominal
rental was seventy or eighty thousand year, had
never Ave pound note to spend and was forced
to have recourse to the bill discOunters and to
forestall his life interest In his entaied property
before he could pay taor's bill or buy carriage.
Then very disastrous state OF things came about.
| great deal or land was In the hands OF titled
pauper who had no real control over
It.. His woods and his farms got
into the power OF trustees, and they managed
everything In the immediate interests OF the bill
dscounters, who, feeling that their titled debtors
life was not more certain than their untitled
debtors life, and that when the breath was once
| out Ofhis body they would never get sXpence from
his heirs, fastened to make the most OF their bar
gain. For this purpose they let farms at nominal
rents, on long leases, taking heavy premiums; they
cut down woods and left the estate as bare az
bald mans head before they had done with it. No
| improvements In agriculture were possible under
such men; they would not spend shilling on
drainage manure, and they contrived to make
only one blade of grass grow where two had grown
| before.
DETERIORATION OF THE SOIL.
Many large tracts or fertile ground in the best
parts OF England lay waste and exhausted, and
nothing could save nobleman who once got into
difficulties but the discovery Of coal mine on his
property, or the advent OF q railway company who
came armed with an act OF Parliament to buy their
| way through his park and gardens. The English
nobility has indeed no ratson d'etre now; 1t has
| absolutely no meaning. seat In the House OF
Lords means political extinction, and confers no
social advantages Since Mr.. Pitt inaugurated the
practice OF selling coronets to pawnbrokers and
money lenders every successive Premier has fol-
lowed II, and the peerage is no longer school OF
honor nor OF manners. Loutish lords, who have
neither education nor Importance abound; and
these are
PEERS WHO ARE MONEY LENDERS ToUTs,
| who are the decOy ducks OF bubble COM
! panies, sharpers at cards, welchers on the turf,
morse nOtel keepers, partners In OBSCURE
gaming houses and peers so poor that they
glad to take the leavings Of another mans dinner
at their club.
The fortunes OF the English nobility moreover
bear comparison with the incomes of the cotton
spnners of Manchester, the shipOwners OF Liver
pool, the iron masters OF Wales and the large con-
tractors for public works 1t is also to be observed
that these commercial men have no claims upon
them, no hereditary charges to support no courts
and castles to keep up. They can, therefore,
eclipse the titled classes wherever they meet. A
sensible man, indeed, will no longer accept peer
age, being conscious that it will make him more
ridiculous than respected; and an honest man will
not take q title because 1t Is generally understood
| that no favor can be obtained from any English
| government by creditable means. Therefore, an
! Official recognition Of a politicians merits IL
| merely looked upon as payment for some party job.
TITLES OF NOBILITY
| In England have ceased to have any signiacation
| at ALL Duke means leader; but what and who Is
| led by man like the Duke OF Mohtrose or the
! Duke Of Newcastle MARQUIS means warden OF
| the marches or frontiers Of the country, and the
| absurd nickname not long ago given to Lord
| Ripon Tor making political bunder. Earl means
chief OF a county, say some; others assert that 1t
means elder or gray beard. In any case Lord
Winchester cannot be supposed to rule over Noting
BAN from the Bankruptcy Court and there are
earls still in their cradles. The title or
vscount or vicecount is equally devoid Of
common sense at present, and no public duty OF any
| kind is now attached to any title. Some heredi-
tary court Offices are still held by certain families.
but they have become slnecures, and the very men
who hold them could moi tell what they have to
Thus the Duke OF st. Adams is Hereditary Grand
| Falconer; but there are no falcons now kept by
the Sover eign The late Lord Willou2hby D'Eresby,
| q very queer customer, WAS also Hereditary Grand
| Chamberlain, but Lord Sydney Is Chamberlain de
.6tcto and even his CHIEF duties are performed by
| man of letters (Mr. Donne) not very widely known
| to fame and whose very name is ignored by nine
tenths Of the people. The title OF
HEREDITARY GRAND CHAMBERLAIN
| ia now In allegiance between two ladies' The real
lords and princes OF the English people are
THE NEWSPAPER EDITORS
| and some half dozen writer's who form and guide
| public opinion. They are not, indeed recognized
as SUCH but they soon Will be. No baron In the
Kingdom not even Lord Robartes, one OF the latest
and richest OF the banker peers, Yields such nnu.
encc as Mr.. Carlyle from his small house IN CheL
sea. The late Mr.. Mill, too, was, as q matter Of
fact the most potent OF Englishmen. George Eliot
the novelist, Is very influential SO Is Mr.. Ward, tRe
editor Of the saturday Revieo, The Times il
rather out OF date and has long ceased tc
| produce any eject en- public opinion. The
same observation applies to the Daily Ners and in
! lesser degree to the Standeru The Moraing Posi-
though honestly conducted, is q class paper, tn,
organ Of polite society; hut the conductors OF IN,
Spectator are important people, and perhaps thu
leader writer's the Pau Nal Gazette take the first
rank among the teachers and leaders OF troughtfu
men. No petty lordling comes up the heel ofthese
the real nobility Of the time Then 10 a secondar
place, but still puissant, stand MIR. Tennysou
Mr.. Vernon Harc0urt and few poets an
psmpheteers. They have quite superseded TIL
nobility in the national esteem, and II two oppC
site statements OF fxct were put forward, the on
signed by Lord Demanley and the other by an
known man Of Letters, His Lordship's account {
the transaction would not DO credited Tor
mQment.