New-York tribune., 1908-07-13
KING EDWARDS NEW PEERS.

OF the four new peers created by King Edward
on the Recommendation of his Premier. Herbert
AsQuith, in connection with the recent official
celebration of his birthday, two of them are manu-
facturers, of great wealth. Sir Angus Holden is
the head of the great Bradford firm Of wool comb
ers l. Holden & Sons while George Whiteey is
of the leading cotton spnners of Yorkshire
Mr. WhiteIey has obtained his peerage in a rather
amusing fashion. and owes his good fortune IN
measure to a mistake. When it became necessary
on the accession to power Of the Liberals TO find
q chief whip for the party in succession to Her
bert Gladstone who had been selected by the lSe
Sir Henry Campbell -Bannerman for the post Of
Secretary Of State for the Home Department, 1t
was decided TO appoint in his stead j H Whitley,
Liberal Member for Halifax, who had already
been of a good deal Of assistance TO Herbert Glad
stone during the Balfour administration as Junior
whip. Unfortunately, by some clerical error the
letter containing the appointment as chief whip
and as patronage Secretary of the Treasury went
to George WhteIey the Member for Pudsey, a
recent convert from Conservatism who was
an entirely different kind Of man. For not only
had he no experience as whip. but ne was as
pompous, self-important as aggressive and as
inperious as the Member for Halifax was cour-
teous genial. pleasant spoken and winning George
Whiteey represented too big a constituency to
admit of his being driven back into the Conserva-
tive camp by cancelling the appointment, Whlch
he had accepted and proclaimed as soon as ever
received and by telling him that Il was a mis-
take. But he has rendered hlHIsel1 so uhpopuIdi
and altogether impossible chief ministerial whip
nv his domneering manner that the government
has been forced in sheer self-protecuon to shelNt
him by means OF "a transfer from the House of
Commons to the House of Lords as "A peer OF the
realm.
AS for the third Of the peers. John Wynford
Phillips. he Is member OF the bar, has married
Jewish heiress. is the eldest of a baronet of
very old creation-the baronetcy dates from 1871
and will enjoy the distinction OF being quite the
taest man in the House of Lords, as he has been
In the House of Commons his stature surprising
even that OF Lord Pembroke, of Lord Dunmore
and OF the Duke OF Somerset being slightly over
six six. His brothers. two of whom still sit
in the House Of Commons. nearly tall and
when he stil in the lower chamber II was
calculated that he and his two brothers there rep
resented between them a total length OF nineteen
feet two inches. His father is the Rev. Sir James
bury and the family is OF very ancient and prince
~ Welsh descent of the earliest proved ances-
tors having been knight I'm attendance on Rich
ard Occur de Lion In the Holy Land. while Sir
John Phillips created by Edward | chief Jus
tice of Ireland.
The fourth peer is Sir Antony Macdonnel who
has Just resigned the post OF Under Secretary for
Ireland, and who governor OF great Indian
dependency before being summoned by reason OF
his administrative ability take charge
of the permanent chieftainship of the Irish secre
tary's office Dublin. He In the United
States last year, and guest for some time at
the British Embassy Washington. There
few men who stand higher in the esteem and
gard OF the King than Sir Antony Macdonnell and
sympathy with his sovereigns wishes in his phO-
Irish attitude that kept in office during the
Balfour sdministratio despite his political views
being opposed TO those OF the then Cabinet.