The Washington herald., 1907-12-22

Plantagenet Hastings. younger brother Of
the fifth earl who died as far back as
1sn.
The Countess OF Moira. fearing that il
the claimant proved his title 10 the earl
dom he would likewise exact possession
Of the estates, put up rival claimant 10
the peerage. paying all his expenses in
connection with the establishment of his
pretensiOns. on the stipulation that he
should leave her in undisturbed enjoy
ment CT the estates. As she was one Of
/ the greatest social powers IN London at
the time, and her husband. Lord Mora.
perhaps the most influential member os
the committee Of privileges Of :hc House
OF Lords. which had to sit n Judgment
on the question, il is not astonishing that
the committee should have pronounced
in favor Of Lady Moira's candidate as
descendant from the second Earl of Hunt
ingdon. and against the rival claimant.
who based his application on descent
from the fifth earl.
That is why the present Earl OF Hunt
ingdOn has none Of the Huntington es-
/ tates, and is more or less deOeadent ON
] his rich wife's fortune. The defeated
claimant, completely ruined. emigrated 10
America and settled in Brooklyn. where
his heirs. now well-to-dO, have, il is said.
recently placed their interests in tac
hands of lawyers. with the object Of es-
tablishing their rights.
Lord Howe. whose large fortuna IS
derived from the marriage OF TIE first
| Lord CurZOn 10 the niece and hei-ess CT
Charles Jennings, an enormously wealthy
Birmingham ironmaster. has so many
pretensions put forward 10 his non0rs,
and above all to his estates. that he as
serts that he makes a point IF keeping
table ready spread at all times. both at
/ Gopsall House, his place in Leicester
shire, and at Penn House, his country
seat in Buckinghamshire. for the enter
tainments of the claimants that are con-
stantly appearing upon the scene. many
Of them from America and Canada.
Furnished Plot for Dickens.
The prolonged legal proceedings which
| ensued before the Curzon Earls Howe
were finally confirmed in the possession
of the Jennings fortune are stated to
have furnished to Charles Dickens the
inspiration for his Jarndyce versus Jarn-
dyce, in BLEAK House" But in spite
of the celebrity Of the case people are
constantly cropping Up who imagine that
they have right 10 the fortune. and
there is no knowing how many credulous
people of the name of Jennings in this
country, or blessed with an ancestor OF
the name OF Jennings. have been induced
10 part with good American dollars for
the alleged purpose Of enabling more or
less honest lawyers 70 prosecute mythical
claims to the Jennings estates, the un-
fortunate plaintiffs being usually led 10
believe that the estates carry with them
the Howe earldom and the Curzon Wis
county.
1t would occupy far too much space
were I 10 attempt to enumerate here all
the British peerages which have been
subjected to claims from people on this
side of the Atlantic. or to give even the
briefest indication of the nature of their
pretensiOns- There are merely two things
which / would wish to point out in con-
cluson. as bearing upon the subject
treated II. this letter The first one is
that while claims to British peerages
| have to be passed upon by the costly
J and typercritical tribunal known as the