The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-11-11

ID
ORD DEVON, who is now engaged
in selling all his property in the
Limerick town of Newcastle. OF
which he has been hitherto the
principal owner. and who has managed
during the past two years to dispose
of some $4,000 acres elsewhere In the
country to his tenants under the Irish
land act, has been placed thereby once
more on his financial feet, his earl.
dom having been greatly impoverished
by the twelfth earl, who squandered
nearly all his fortune and terribly en-
barrassed the entailed propertyi He
was addicted to a most peculiar form
of gambling, namely. that of spider
racing. which he played with the last
Marquis OF Hastings and the eighth
a spider which was placed upon the
table, and then the latter was gently
heated from underneath. The warmth
caused tho insect 10 run. and the
But spiders are curious creatures. and
1t would frequently happen that a
spider which was near the edge and
looked like winning would double
back, traverse the table in all direc-
tions. and lose It's hacker the thousands
OF pounds so nearly won.
Lord Devon, Lord Hastings and the
Duke of Bedford each of them squan-
dered enormous sums on this game.
which contributed in no small degree
TO the Ol lHe Two lOIlIItE.
twelfth earl was twice bankrup,ed. and
his cousin, the thirteenth earl. and the
latter's grandson. the present and four
teenth holder OF the peerage. have been
compelled TO rent their ancestral homes.
which include Powderham Castle. near
Tavistock, both in Deyonshire.
The present earl has for some time
past made his headquarters In Ireland,
near Newcastle, in County Limerick.
~ yt h hnsy \
park, he has excluded from the sale
OF the remainder of his Limerick prop
erty. and is retaining in his own
hands. The late and thirteenth earl
was. indeed. dependent upon his stipend
as village rector while his son and
earned his living as an inspector OF
the Government Board Of Agriculture;
en Office which brought him in about
$4,000 year In salary. The present
War. and showed good deal of sense
by declining. after his fathers death,
to assume the latter's courtesy title OF
Lord Courtenay. being known as Mr.
courtenay" until his .srandfathers de-
mise left him no alternative but 10
assume the dignity of Earl Of Devon
His people, and especially his father
the late Lord Courtenay were. put to
no end of trouble and ANNOYANCE some
years ago by the frauds of a swindler
III lNlS COUNTY,, WHO pdoSGu .IlIllSC4l Sii
everywhere as Lord Courtenay, and
who, possessing well bred manners and
appearance, succeeded n borrowing
large sums of money from people who
entertained him here. which they sub
sequently endeayored to recover from
poor old Lord Devon, that Is to say
from the late earl
There are many people who are o.
the opinion that Lord Devon holds his
earldom by virtue of an error perPe-
Il 7 y, ~
1t seems that in the patent creating
the present Earldom Of Courtenay
dated 3rd September 1863, granted BY
Queen Mary, the customary words o.
de corpore suo" We're through some
error omitted in the phrase detlnins
was made to read "et .heredibus suis
masculis In perpetuum." In this way
the patent came TO read as Ito ms
laterals, instead of only ITO the heir:
male of his body"
This first Earl of Devon OF the pres
ent creation was an extremely hand
some youth, and owed his peerage tt
the fact that Queen Mary had faller
in love with him. He. however. slight
ed her for the sake of her sister, Prin,
cess afterwards Queen Elizabeth, and
discovered IN a conspiracy to place tn
latter on the throne in lieu of Queer
Mary, he was sent to the Tower, an I
intervention of Philip of Spain, through
whose influence. on the occasion (, 9
the marriage of Queen Mary 70 tn
King, he was restored to liberty
Devon left England, and died IN eNll'
at Padua. unmarried and his earldon
was therefore supposed to have pc
come extinct.
But in 1881. that is to say, 275 years
later, the earldom was claimed by VII
| liam Courtenay, third Viscount Courte
nj a va mi Castle EXC
ter, on the ground that he was de
that Earl Devon who had been tn
lover Of Princess Elizabeth The CLAIM
Privileges Of the House Of Lords; whicl
allowed itself to be wrongly advised Q,
Brougham, then Lord High Chancellor
who knew absolutely nothing abou
ney- General, Sir Thomas Denman. VIII
knew still less, The crown thereupor
on the recommendation Of the Com
mittee OF Privileges. Of Lord Hlg.
Chancellor. Brougham and OF Attorney
! the Earldom Of Devon IN favor Q
1 William. Yiscount Courtenay. and one
this had been done the revival of tn
honor and the summons Of the crow
issued to William Courtenay as Ear
/ not be revoked. a,E
| When. however some time after
wards the late Colonel scrope, Q
Dandy, claimed the Earldom OF Whites
on precisely similar grounds, that
to say, of collateral descent, owinl
to 1.-The omission of the words sd
\ corpore suoN from tho patent, the Com
/ mittee OF Privileges Of the House Q
4 Lords, advised by another Lord Hig
|Chancellor and by another Attorney
General, rejected the claim, on TIL
ground that the'Latin phraseology oftn