The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-05-26
OF THE TERRACE.
CASES INVOLVING BRITISH IT,
 TILES AND ESTATES.


 De OiIva's Suit AgaInst Lord saekvIIIs
 -Butier Against Lord MountEarFet-
 The Drucs cass-The Fla nous Berkeley
 Pesrage-LOrd Avonmore's Wife, and
 the vanishing Wicklow Baby.
 The romance of the British peerage revealed by the action begun by Henry de 0liva otherwise called West, against his father, Baron Sackville, is not un- like several other romances of former dimes. There is no doubt that De Ol- iva is Lord Sackviile's son; he is be- ginning suit not to prove his relation ship, but to prove his legitimacy.
 Lord Sackville's story is that the young man is his son by a Spanish wO- man, who lived with him for many years, but having a husband, though a bad one, could not and did not marry him legally. The son has applied for a commission to perpetuate testimony in Spain, to use after his fathers death in proving his legitimacy and trying to get the Sackville title and estates.
 The court issued an order for the ap- pointment of the commission, but gave Lord Sackville the right to appeal. It is reasonably certain that Lord Sack vile will appeal, for he is said to dis like his son; and if the delays in the case of Mrs. Druce against the Duke of Portland offer any precedent, it is req sonably certain also that all that mon ey and influence can do to prevent the perpetuation of the testimony will be done. e4
 Mrs. Druce, it may be remembered, alleges that the Duke of Portland mar ried her under an assumed name, and she applied for permission to exhume his body, and>have it identified, if pos sible, as that of her husband. The duke was famous for his eccentricfties, and disappeared. from time to time from his dueal haunts-just about at the times that Mrs. Druce undertakes to prove that her husband was living with her. Her husband left her from time to time, too, just about the times that the duke was seen in his favorite places.
 But she has not obtained the desired permission from the courts, the present duke fighting successfully every at- tempt on her part to settle the matter on it's merits. So probably Lord Sack vile will fight his sons attempts.
 Tn 1854 there was a romance of the peerage which is now almost forgotten, but at the time was described as sur passing any imaginary romantic story; the case of Butler against Viscount Mountgarret, tried in the Irish courts before a jury,
 The eleventh viscount died, leaving four sons; Edmund, who succeeded, as twelfth viscount, and was made Earl of Kilkenny, and died insane in 1S46; Somerset, Henry and Pierce, all of whom died before that date. On the death of Lord Kilkenny the earldom expired but the viscountcy went to the nearest heir, Henry Edmund, son of Henry,
 In 41S54, his cousin Pierce Somerset Butler, son of Pierce Butler, brought suit to set aside his cousin as illegiti- mate. His case was briefly as follows:
 Henry Butler, the third son of the eleventh viscount, having run away with and deserted married woman, in 1908 became the lover of a widow, Mrs. Colebrooke, described as one of the loveliest and most fascinating wo- men of the day. She had an income conditioned on her not marrying again. One child was born to them which died.
 In 1S11, in Scotland, John Taaffe be- gan to share Mrs. Colebrooke's affec- tions with the Hon. Henry Butler; and one night the latter broke into Mrs. < Colebrooke's house in Edinburgh while Taaffe was there. The lady in the case locked Taaffe in a room, and at Buffers desire, called three of her servants, and in their presence, she and Butler de- elared themselves man and wife, this declaration making them legally mar ried according to Scots law.
 Taaffe meanwhile was ringing for help and kicking at the door in vain. The Irish lawyer in the case said it was a lovely performance in every way; but their was no real ruction.
 Five months later Butler married Miss Anne Harrison at the parish church in Harrowgate; and later Mrs. 8Colebrooke married according to Scots law and finally released MT. Taaffe. The son of Butler and Anne Harrison as- stunned the title of viscount in 1S46, and Pierce Somerset Butler tried to unseat him in 1854.
 He won the case before the jury, the Wiscount being illigitimate on the ground of former marriage But the verdict was set aside on appeal, and the matter was not pushed further, so that the Viscount Mountgarret of 1S46 held the title: and estates until his death, three years ago. Pierce Somerset But 5er's son, however, is the second heir to tfe title now, so there is chance that the peerage will go to the line of the man who fought for it half century ago.
 The Berkeley peerage case is the most famous romance in England, having lasted for nearly a century and having clements of interest apart from it's lon- gevity. In 17S5 Augustus, fifth earl of Berkeley, formed an alliance with Miss Mary Cole and to them were born four sons, William, Maurice, Augustus and Francis. In 1796, believing himself tc be dying the ear formally married Miss Cole.
 He recovered, however, and became the father of three daughters and three more sons, Thomas, Grantly and Crav- en. He died in 1910 and then the TO- nance got into court.
 1 William Berkeley applied for sum- mon as Earl of Berkeley, and, some