The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-08-14
TIE COST OF TITLES.
The Price of Sellers Patent Comes
High in England.

HiSii iu TJbSitflQ.
The elevation of Mr.. John Morley
and Sir H. H. Fowler to the peerage
| is probably as pleasing to themselves
as it is to their thousands of admir-
ers; but each of the gentlemen So
honored will have to pay a fee Of
| at least 5000 for tie privilege OF
adding the title of "viscount" to their
| names, which is the cost of letters
patent for viscounty of the United
Kingdom
For higher rank the fees amount 10
more. The new Duke of Devcnshire.
for instance, when he comes to take
the necessary letters patent which
will fully entitle him to his own will
have to pay $3.50 for the same. in
addition to paying away an immense
fortune in the shape of death duties.
If the change had been that of a mar
quessate the fee would have been
$500. A newly-made earl pays $3.50,
baron e150, and baronet e100.
These fees, however, are only part
of the expense entailed by man who
is honored with a title. The cost of
investiture, heraldry, etc., consider
ably augments the amount. 1t may
be remembered that when Lord Roo
erts accepted his earldom i'll 1901,
and was subsequently given the Gar
ter, he was presented with bill for
s1750, which at first he strongly OBJ
jected to pay.
To the average reader it will prob
ably seem absurd that when such re.
wards for serving the country are
granted the recipient should so suffer
in pocket. 1t is not SO bad nova
days, however, as in the time of
James l., who mulcted his baronets
pretty heavily for their privileges.
They were obliged to each maintain
thirty soldiers for defense purposes,
or pay into the Exchequer an equiv
alent sum, which amounted to s1O95
per year. Furthermore. to be quail
fed for the honor in those days, one
had to be "a gentleman born" and
have clear estate of $1,000 per an.
mum.
Originally the fees were paid 20
certain officers of the State connected
with the business of investing a man
with his title. but they are now more
in the nature of duties. and are paid
into the Exchequer, thus helping to
swell the revenues of the country.
Recently it was proposed that a
further tax on titles-s10 per annum
for knight, 800 for an earl and
$4,000 for duke-should be i'm.
posed, and some irresponsible people
have even dared to suggest that these
titles should be put up at auction and
sold to the highest bidder.
AS illustrating the curious demands
made upon a man who becomes
titled parsonage, it might be men,
toned that at the beginning of the
year 200 celebrities, who within the
last four years have been granted the
privilege of prefixing their name with
Sir" each received a letter from the
Walker Trustees, Edinburgh, asking
for sum of Sc 6s. 3d., which, it was
said, was due in respect of each gen.
tleman's creation as Knigh. of the
United Kingdom. In the c,se Of
baronet s5 was demanded. When
! inquiries were made it was found that
the Walker Trustees, of whom very
few of the titled gentlemen had ever
heard, had purchased the rights of the
Heritable Usher of Scotland, one of
the many functionaries scattered
about the United Kingdom who were
entitled to perquisites in the shape OF
fees from persons whom the King
honored by comforting titles upon
them
Practically all the office-holders
who were entitled to these perquisites
surrendered their rights to the late
Government in return for an annual
allowance. The Heritable Usher Of
Scotland, however, declined to do so.
and consequently the Walker Trus.
tees, as holders of that Office, sent
out their much discussed requests for
fees to newly made knights and baro-
I n..-