The Washington herald., 1907-12-22
By EX-ATTACHE.

By EX-ATTACHE.
| Copyright, 1897. by the brentwood Company. Al
rights reseryedl
Few British peerages are immune from
the pretensions of claimants. Even those
Of quite modern creation, such as for in
stance that of the late Lord Brampton.
who was raised 10 the House of Lords as
recently as 1899, are made the subject OF
appeals to law, but above all TO popular
sentiment. by people who imbue them
/ selves and others with the conviction that
they are entitled to the honors in ques-
tiOp.
OF course. the more ancient the digni-
( ties, and the more remote their origin.
the more numerous are those who believe
/ that they are wrongfully debarred from
! enjoyment thereof, while the Oldest
/ peerages of all, that is 70 say. the Eng
/ lish Baronies by writ and the Scottish
! peerages, which, like them. descend
/ through the female line as we'll as
/ through the male side Of the house, and
which. instead of being limited by
prmogeniture 70 legitimate masculine
/ descent. fall to what are known as the
heirs general furnish. by reason Of the
complicated nature Of their genealogies.
most of the claimants TO historic names
and illustrious titles
A very large proportion Of these claim
ants hail from the United States, where
/ in spite of the prevalence of Republican
I doctrines and OF the principles OF equal
I ity. the pride of ancestry seems quite as
| strongly developed as in most monarchi-
/ cal countries Every white citizen OF
America is descended more or less re-
motcly from European forbears
Il is perfectly natural that they should
! like TO regard the latter as personages
of distinction in the Old World. a dis
position for which in a great many cases
/ there is excellent foundation. II IS more
/ agreeable. especially for those who have
acquired along with wealth. some social
/ eminence. 10 imagine that they are de-
1 scended from mobiles rather than from
/ binds. Among their immediate ancestors.
either in America or in Europe. it - al
ways easy to ind some one bearing a
name identified with the patriciate. This
/ becomes the basis of a claim 10 blood
/ relationship with the ayistocracy.
I Claims Are Futile.
! From that 10 a pretension TO the owner
ship of a title, in existence or dormant.
! belonging to the noble house in question.
there is but step. and il is fortunate
when people content themselves with the
( mere prctension, and do not permit them
! selves TO be persuaded by scheming law
I yers 10 waste money in efforts TO establish
t
/ ship Of these titles. and 10 the estates
] that are supposed TO belong thereto.
/ Not but what there are some bona fide
/ heirs to British peerages and baronetcies
/ in the United States. who. through ig-
norance, through lack Of means. or
through preference for the status and
/ privileges OF American citizenship 20 no
/ hillary honors in the Old World. refrain
/ from taking any steps to enforce their
rights. These heirs are to be found
chiefly among the descendants Of those
/ younger sons Of the aristocracy who came
( 70 this country in its early colonial days.
either 10 seek a fortune in the New
World or else because their room was
preferred TO their company at home.
Page after page Of the standard works
Of reference dealing with the British
! peerages and baronetcies, and giving
! their genealogies, will show instances of
members thereof who are mentioned as
/ having emigrated 20 America, where all
trace OF them has been lost by their
/ family on yonder side Of the Atlantic
/ Before mentioning some OF these IN
stances. and referring to a few Of the
most remarkable Of the pretensions which
( have been put forward by citizens of the
/ United States to nObiliaTy dignities OF the
! United Kingdom, II may be as well to
state that in the first place these claims,
even if proved are always Of a somewhat
barren character. since in no case do
/ they carry with them the possession OF
! the family estates.
! No matter how unjust. illegal and even
criminal, the origin OF the usurpation OF
! the estates may have been. the possession
| thereof by the usurper for a period rang
! ing from twenty to forty years, accord
| ing to circumstances. establishes their
/ legal proprietOrship thereof beyond re-
cOvery by the lawful heir. So that when
/ lawyers either here or in England induce
people 20 advance money for the prosecu-
/ tion of pretensiOns 70 estates which have
been for more than forty years In the
possession of any one party. they are
either deliberately swindling their clients
or else are most lamentably ignorant Of
Old World law.
Lords Hear All Cases.
Then, too, the claim to peerage can
not be prosecuted in the ordinary course,
but only before a commission of the up
e