Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-02-22
PRECEDENCE.
The English Coronation's
Most Difficult Problem.
The Tact and Judgement Of the King
Put to the Test.
A Question Over Which Britain is
Much Stirred.

Of all the words in the English
language there is none which implies so
much envy, hatred, malice, pride and
every form of Observation-Disclosures as
precedence" 1t is the cause of never
ending dispute. of parting of old
friends. as we'll as of near relatives,
and of the intensest bitterness. Pre-
cedence. in word, is the bugbear of
the entire social system and has been
SO from the very earliest times down to
the present day.
Great wars have been fought, con-
tinents devastated, the prosperity of
nations destroyed, and millions of lives
lost. all for the sake of mere prece-
dence.
1t brings to light an element of
weakness in many of the grandest
characters of past and present ages,
and. indeed, there is scarcely a man or
woman who is exempt from the wor
ries and vexations in it's train.
The approaching coronation in Eng
land has led to a proposal, nay even a
demand for the revisal of the table"
of precedence in England. OF all the
questions that have confronted King
Edward since his accession to the
throne there is not one that will make
such demands on his diplomacy, his
tact and his judgment as this. That
the TIA ble'' needs revision is obvious,
but any attempt to alter its provisions
will meet with all sorts of obstacles,
many of statutory nature, and with
a perfect storm of protests on the part
of those who. in the words of the Scrip
ture. are asked by the King to take
lower seat at the board" 1t is difficult
enough to repeal laws in Great Britain,
especially when they are of ancient
origin. But the difficulties entailed
thereby are as nothing compared to
those entailed by an attempt to modify
old-established usages and customs,
which have become part and parcel of
the social system.
Precedence in England is based
partly on statute and partly on that
still more formidable foundation
known as unwritten law. The statutes
bearing on the subject date from the
reigns of King Henry VIII. Q593) and
King George l. 0714, and since then
have undergone no change whatsoever.
The result is that they are eXtraordi-
narily out of date, numerous offices
having been created since then for
which no provision has been made.
Thus, far down on the table Of prece-
dence,'' below viscounts. the younger sons
Of dukes and of marquesses and all Eng
fish bishops, comes the official known as
the Kings chief secretary NOW, tne
Kings chief secretary is not his private
secretary, as might be imagined from Els
I'M 9 the secretary of state. Form
erly there was but one secretary OF state,
who bore the title of the Kings Secre-
tary" But as the administrative WORK
increased and became more arduous other
secretaries of state were created IN
fact, there are at the present moment
near half a dozen of them. There IS, 10"
instance. the secretary of state for wa",
the secretary of state for the colonies,
the secretary of state for foreign aHalrs,
the secretary of state for INDIA ana tit
secretary OF. state for the home depars-
one and the same office, that is to say,
that of the kings Secretary" and it is
as such that they figure at the present
moment on the table of precedence.
At the head of the table of precedence
comes the Lord high steward of Eng
land, an Office which is only temporarily
filled by means OF royal warrant on the
occasion of q state trial or of corona
tion. The young Duke of Roxburghe is
to act as Lord high steward at the forth
coming coronation and as SUCH Will there-
fore take precedence OF every non-royal
personaee Next follows the archbishop |
of Canterbury, then the aged Lord high |
chancellor who is the Earl of Haisbury; |
then the archbishop OF York. .,at
There is no Lord high treaS Jul o that
mission of which Arthur Balfour is head. |
Following the Lord high treasurer comes
the Lord president of the privy council
who is the duke Of pevons shn Il r tnGa
of Salisbury, and after him the Lord
Great Chamberlain of England, an office
which is now claimed by four peers-the
Duke of Atholl, the Marquis of ChOlmon-
deley and the Earls of Ancaster and Of
Darlington, whose rival pretensions will
be determined before Easter by the House
Of Lords. sitting as the supreme tribunal
OF the realm.
Next on the table of precedence comes
the Lord High Constable, an office which
is vacant but which was temporarily
filled by the great Duke of Wellington
on the occasion of the last three corona
lions and which will probably be intrust-
ed to Lord Roberts as commander-in-
chief at the coronation OF King Edward;
After him follows the Earl Marshal of
the Realm, whose office is hereditary ana
held by the Duke of Norfolk.
There is at present no Lord High Ad-
those of the Lord high treasurer, by
means of a commission. The last Lor
High Admiral was King William ~
prior to his accession to the throne.
Tnen tOilOWS tHe l1oru stewart VI tiS
Kings household, who is the Earl of
Pembroke; the Lord Chamberlain of the
household; who is the Earl of Clarendon.
and the Master of the Horse, who is the
Duke of Portland. After that come dukes
according to the seniority of their crea
ton, then marquesses, then dukes ED
est sons, then earls, then the eldest sons
of marquesses. followed by the younger
sons of dukes. Viscounts follow in their
wake, after them the eldest sons of earls
and the younger sons of marquesses; then
the bishops having seats in the House of
Lords. headed by the bishops of London,
of Durham and of Winchester.