New-York tribune., 1905-11-11
A SWIFT ROMANCE.

and Of Parma
A SWIFT ROMANCE
- ,,s,opntv or barony of Carlingford is to be
,s IN the list of British and Irish peerages now
). existence and the suit shch is engaging the
..en+fou OF the Supreme Court of ireland al DuD-
~ and which has developed into cause ceieore,
c,n,ot therefore be described as peerage case IL
= 1,,,b+ nv = man who claims TO be the legiu-
,,a son Of the late Goodwin Pratt Swift against
bie half-brother, who inherited from his faIneF
Foulksrath Castle and other valuable estates IN the
couuties Of Kilkenny and Carlow II is true taaa
the defendant. named Goodwin Butler Meade swift.
,se owner Of the valuable Swift property claims
,iLe bis father before him the title and dignity OF
.svtscount Carlingford." But he has never SIG
cee5ed in establishing his rights to the peerase III
question TO the satisfaction of the Committee OF
privileges Of the House Of Lords and OF the crown
and consequently he has had to remain content
with the prestige and precedence Of the ONCE OF
high sheriff Of the county of Kilkenny, which gave
him the pas" every peer and commoner IN
the shire excepting the Kings Lieutenant
The viscounty OF Carlingford, which he claims.
vas created in 1927 and conferred upon Barnum
svdft Of Foulksrath Castle County Kilkenny. But
he is believed to have died without issue In 1894 and
the title is understood 10 have become extinct
in consequence. Another member Of the family. the
Rev Thomas Swift q devoted adherent or
the stuarts whom he accompanied into exile lie
married a granddaughter of John Dryden. the poet
Jonathan Swift the famous dean Of st. Patrick's
and the author of 'Gullivers Travels. came OF
the same stock and in his account OF The FANNY
of Swift he has much TO tell OF the romantic
loraltv OF his grandfather to the cause OF the
stuars the original manuscript OF the witty deans
work being preserved in the library OF Trinity Col
lege. Dublin.
The title of Lord Carlingford has never been
legally borne by any member of the Swift family
since 1884. But Il conferred in 1874 by queen
Victoria upon Chichester Fortescue. Secretary for
l,zg 20 &Fa
rank of Lord Privy Seal. He the husband Of
the famous Frances. Countess of Waldegrave. of
Strawberry Hill, and their union remained
without issue the Carlngford peerage Of the Vic
torian creation became extinct once more at his
death some ten or fifteen years ago.
The father of the present owner Of the Swift
tates in Carlow and Kilkenny was. like his son. a
claimant to the Carlingford viscounty created by
King James. and OF rather romantic turn
OF mind. having married no less than three times.
The plaintiff is OF the second union. and the
defendant and owner of Foulksrath Castle is the
eldest son of the third marriage The defendant
repudiates the pretensions OF his half-brother on
the ground that. his father having first wife who
Austrian Baroness Wetzler. still living
at the time when he married the plaintiffs mother.
Miss Hopkins. his union with the latter was neces-
sarly invalid. and the which she bore him iIle
gitimate.
II seems that when the late Lord Carlingford"
married Miss Hopkins he made no secret CT his
position with regard to the baroness but insisted
that his marriage with that lady was of legal
value. and a mere matter of form gone through
satisfy the scruples OF the mother OF the baron
ess- The latter bore him son, who received the
name Of Ferdinand and who survives his father
Some years ago he, too, put forward claim to the
Swift estates. but was unsuccessful in his suit on
account of his inability to TO the satisfaction
Of the courts that his mother and his father were
legally married that he himself was legitimate
II is on the strength of this that the present suit
is being brought. For, If the first OF the three mar
riases. namely. that with the baroness was Illegal
then the second marriage with Miss Hopkins was
lawful and her eldest son. the present plaintiff is
entitled TO the estates and the third marriage, to
Miss Jane Clark of County Tipperary, was neces-
sssas invalid. her illestimate. and therefore in
wrongful possession Of his fathers property.
The father after his third marriage declined to
nave much 70 do with his children by Mary Hop
klns and when he died his third wife and widow
cut herself completely adrift from her three step
cnoFen on the ground that they Were illegitimate.
one of the boys became policeman, fell into bad
heaitn and eventually died OF brain trouble in the
%orkhouse at Dublin. The other son, and present
cslmaHt TO the estate, George Swift. has been
sailor before the mast for the greater part Of his
-l2, and insists that his stepInother used every
ei7'' when he was boy TO ger him indenfured on
eofln snip, which lost at sea on the very
text voyage
Isl me ada that the marriage OF the father Of the
-A-i' ane Of the defendant to Baroness WetzIar
iFaHo ewing 70 the fact that he being
''lesl2nt and she n Catholic the ceremony under
'e ihen existing statutes OF ireland should have
Ota s'ie'unized by Protestant clergyman where
as Il Eas pe-fo--,,7 t..st..,7 =, , -, -.
priest ''i'-o
SUI Is exciting great deal OF popular atte--
80 II ireland n view OF :he romantic features Of
.-e case OF the IerEe amount of property involved
- - % lie preter:s:oEs the part OF both the
sA-ll!H and Of th- defendant - the ancient I:isA
Fisoounty OF Carlingto-d.