Evening star., 1902-03-17
STRUGGLE FOR PLACE
British Nobility All Stirred
Up Over Coronation.
THE BARONETS' PLANT
ENGLISH PRESS AMUSED AT RE-
cEPTIoN OF PRINCE.
Proposed Changes to Be Made in
British Museum-London
News and Gossip.
Ep"clsl Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Ei"clsl Correspondence OF The Evening star
LONDON. March ). 1902.
People on this side have been laughing
lately at the scramble Of Americans to
gee and shake hands with Prince Henry,
end the English newspapers have been full
OF sly jokes. not maievolent, however,
about the fuss over the kaiser's royal mes
sanger made everywhere but in Washing
ton where functions OF all kinds are of
frequent occurrence.
The bare announcement, though. that the
prince was 10 visit Canada set all things in
& futter here. and England and Germany
were. almost made friends that same
day" We have here the same scramble
and heart burnings over who shall be pres
<nt at the cororation ceremony now draw
ing near.
The latest announcement that the king
has acceded to the request of the Honora-
bic Society of the Baronetage to be repre-
sented at the coronation has caused a
thrill OF pleasure among members OF that
ancient degree. The baronets have had
many grievances. and the Honorable So
rety of the Baronetage was called into ex-
istence FIVE years ago, when Queen victoria
granted TO the children of life peers the
rank and style of honorable and decreed
that they should rank in front of baronets
IN defiance of an express ordinance OF
James l.
The baroncts could not remain silent un-
der the new indgnity They yainly pro-
tested and formed themselves into So
ciety. with one Of their own order as stand
Ing counsel Among other grievances
which the society ventilated was the
breach of condition when the order was
first established by King James in 1911.
that 1t should not contain more than 200
members, At the beginning of Queen Vic
trria's reign this number had swollen to
t0o. 1t is now about 1.NO The premier
baronet. who will doubtless represent the
tlA ion ia m a n
Beckett Bacon of Thonock Hall, Gainsbor-
ough. whose ancestor, Sir Nicholas Bacon
OF Redgrave, Suffolk, knight, was created
q baronet on the 22d Of May, 1911
Jealousies Among Notables.
The battle between distinguished persons
whose privileges are in question, such as
that of the lord great chamberlain. for
which post there are four noble or ducal
claimants. goes merrily and the duch-
esses are waging war on each other with a
yfgor which only women intent on assert
Ing their rights can show.
The Duchess of st. Adams. If she insists
upon her privileges, will cut the most dis
tinguished figure Of any peeress at the coro-
nation She is entitled to the services or
the junior baroness in the peerage to carry
her train at this great solemnity. Her dress
she can also deyiate somewhat from the
lines laid down by the queen. She Is al
lowed to wear diamond falcon on her
shoulder. This is emblematic of the office
Of hereditary grand high falconer held by
the Duke of Adams. For this sinecure the
Dukes Of st. Adams. who are descendants
of a natural son of Charles II by the
charming Nell Gwynne. received 1865 per
auuun for nearly 300 years. A few years
ago the emolument salary was commuted
for sum representing about thirty years
purchase. The capital sum paid by the
treasury was settled so as TO descend with
the aukedOm.
That the route of the coronation process
SiS ha decorated
saying: but it Is refreshing to note a gem
eral desire to achieve something novel on
this occasion. There is among the various
public bodies concerned q disposition to OBJ
tain expert advice in devtsing schemes OF
decoration. and this. it is hoped, will do
away with the 'vistas of Venetian masts.
linked by flags and streamers, which have
hitherto held the field" One suggestion is
that the griffin at Temple Bar should be
temporarily replaced by city gate, guard
ed by Cog and Magos. and that from the
towers girls, In medieval costumes. should
shower roses on the king and queen. The
conception Is bold and picturesque, and
there is project on foot TO reproduce the
main features of of the triumphal
progresses Of Henry on his return to his
country and capital from his French con-
quests. The West End not unnaturally Is
selecting more modern models for imitation,
and St James street, for example. will for
the time reproduce the famous Vauxhall
gardens of century ago.
Proposed Change at British Museum.
An important step in the development and
extension of the British Museum has been
decided upon For some time the question
of providing accommodation for the ever
increasing numbers Of newspapers which
daily arrive at the copyright Office of the
E.useum from all parts Of the united king
dom and the colonies has been under the
serious consideration tf the authorities.
The room available at Bloomsbury was.
practically exhausted four or five years ago,
and the difficulty finally became acute. Now
excellent arrangement has been made
which. while maintaining the national coi-
lection of newspapers intact. will enable
those persons who desire to consult the
files. to do so under the same regulations
as at present in vogue. on giving day
two's notice. Land in Bloomsbury is very
valuable and the cost OF acquiring sufa-
cient area in the near neighborhood of the
museum for the erection of store building
would I'm these days have been perhaps
more than the chancellor of the eXchequer
would be prepared to agree to- An excel
lent and convenient site has been acquired
by the trustees of the British Museum at
Hendon. about five miles out. some five and
half acres I'm extent for the erection OF
large building capable of storing news
papers for many generations to come. The
total estimated cost. including site. Is stated
to be f1S.cOO. An idea OF the rate of in
crease OF the collection OF newspapers, for
which storage room Is at present
gently wanted. may be had when l state
tHat the numoeF OF papers puDtfSneO IN the
united Kingdom alone received at the mu-
scum in year, under the provisions OF
the copyright act. Is 300. comprising 30
3s2 single numbers. while :.26 sets contain
Ing 30.39S numbers OF foreign and colonial
newspapers are presented annually and
seventy-three sets containing twelve vol
umes and 13.140 numbers of current for
eign and colonial newspapers represent the
papers purchased In a year.
War on the Patent LAWS.
The patent law In this country has always
been rigid deterrent to inventors and. like
some other British institutions Of cherished
memory. has constituted q real hIndrance
to advancement along certain lines War
Is now being waged against the antiauated
regulations. ana numerous people are
enxiously awaiting development
At the meeting Of the Society of Engi-
neers last evening a paper was read by Mr..
BENJAMIN Thwaite. C. E. on British Patent
Law versus American Patent Law Practice
Engineering. In the course Of his paper
Mr.. Thwaite pointed out that the progress
of American manufacturing and engineer
Ing industry was directly due to the en-
cOuragement held out to inventors by the
successive United States governments from