Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-08-28
BRITISH PRECEDENCE.
Some Of Its Delicate Points and n
Few Dilemmas.

Few Dilemn,as.
a writer in the London Express
gives some interesting pointers on
social and official precedence in
England and calls attention to
Llw of the many delicate dilemmas
iue to questions of rank and sta
ton.
"In the first place." he says, ~
may mention that it is common
error to suppose that all peers take
precedence of all commoners. Not
only is this untrue in the case of Of
fetal precedence, but it is equally
untrue Of personal precedence.
Thus a dukes eldest son would pre-
cede all earls and a dukes younger
son and a marquis eldest son all
viscounts, while the eldest sons of
earls and the younger sons of mar
quises have precedence over all
bishops and barons.
"Again, in the matter of peers
themselves it is not right, as is so
often said, to range peers of the
same degree in the order of the
date of. their patents. Before this
test is applied there has to be a
preliminary marshaling of them by
the class of their creation-peers of
England preceding those of Scot
land, and both preceding those of
Great Britain, while peers of Ire
land and the United Kingdom fol-
low after. ......
"Certain high officers of state
precede all peers, and this is why
their offices are so much coveted by
great mobiles. When the late Lord
Salisbury, a marquis, became lord
privy seal he at once passed over
the heads of all marquises and
dukes Saving royal dukes) and
stood in order eighth from the
kings nephew. Again, judges of
the high court are almost invariably
knighted, but not for their own
sakes, for judge of the high court
takes precedence long before a
knight, but it is to give their wives
special precedence that the custom
has obtained. Thus the late Mr..
Justice Wright was a bachelor when
elevated to the bench, and it was
not until he married that he accept
ed knighthood.
"Men, indeed, are often careless
of their own claims, but their wives
have q habit of being particularly
observant of such points, and it is
from the women that the reckless
or ignorant hostess will hear of her
disregard of their rank. Nor are
such offenses readily forgotten or
forgiven. Now, there seems to be
a general idea that the wife of a
peer takes precedence of the dow
ager peeress-usually but not, of
course, always her mother-in-law.
As a matter of fact, the dowager
precedes the reigning- peeress on
the ground that she is senior in dig
nifty, her husband being nearer the
succession. On the other hand, but
on the same ground, the sons of the
reigning peer take precedence of
those of the late peer. ~:
"If a. woman is peeress in her
own right her position is secure, and
she cannot derogate from her dig
nifty, though she may add to it by
marrying into higher rank.
another point is sometimes for
gotten---the position of the wives
of the sons of peers. The wife of
the eldest son of duke goes in be-
fore countesses and all other peer
esses of lower rank. So, too, does
a dukes daughter. The wife of the
eldest son of a marquis, the wives
of the younger sons of dukes and
daughters of marquises precede vis-
countesses.
GAS to the lower title, the wives
Of baronets rank according to their
husbands class and date of crea-
ton, but with this exception-the
baronets. of England, Scotland,
Great Britain and Ireland rank
only according to the dates of crea-
ton. Daughters of baronets nat.
urally precede the daughters Of
knights, and between them come
the wives of the eldest sons Of
knights. The daughter of a knight,
be it noted, takes precedence of the
wives of the younger sons; of bar
onets and, as consequence, of the
wives of the younger sons of
knights.
"Finally there is no social prece
dence between the professions, as
such, but colonel in the army and
a captain in the navy are esquires
by right of that position, and they
would rightly be preceded by
clergyman who happened to be, let
me say, the son Of knight"