The Washington herald., 1911-06-12
How Baronets Were Made


nation Of King George and Queen Mary
N England, the unveiling of the great
Victoria memorial, the festival OF the en-
pire, the imperial conference, ana the
''debaele'' OF the House OF Lords, also
is fated to celebrate the tercentenary OF
the first creation of British baronets' As
the name implies, the new disnitarles
were intended to form a class OF MINOR
barons, and they owe their existence 10
the suggestion of the Earl of Salisbury.
James I, whose desperate need OF
money was chronic, urged the earl Tor
another and yet another supply Lofo
Salisbury, at his wits end, proposed the
creation of 200 new peers in consideration
OF their contributing e1,0O0 each to the
treasury. The King expressed sonis
fear that such a step might give onehse
to the existing high aristocracy' Where-
upon Salisbury replied:
'Tush, sire. You need the money, II
will do you good and 1t will do the genury
little harm"
The baronets were created, but II was
taken good care to name only such Who
were landed pPopFietors, with an income
of more than thousand POUNDS O
year.
The Paris Figaro on the occasion or the
unveiling of the memorial to queen VIC
toria published some quite interesting
"reminiscences of her majesty from the
pen OF NJ. Poali, a former speclal
police commissioner appointed by the
French government to look after royal
visitors to France.
NJ. Paoli describes the sympathetic ana
bility of the late Queen, who, whenever
he met her majesty at Cherbourg, always
used to say with a smiling face, Always
faithful to your post, my dear Paoh'
Her majesty, says NJ. Paoli, did not like
her visits to be disturbed by politics. AT
the time OF the Fashoda affair 1t had
been arranged that the venerable SOW
ereign should go to Nice. The proposed
visit was deprecated by a section Of the
press, but as the result of inquiries 1t
was considered more indispensable than
ever that her majesty should go to
France that year.
A few days afterward the Queen, says
Nj. Paoli, remarked to the Empress Eu-
genie, with whom she was conversing
about the Anglo-French dispute, then in
its acutest phase. IF war were to break
out between France and England. I
should ask God to be so merciful as to
let me die first"
NJ. PaoIf gives many interesting details
Of the Queens daily life on the Riviera
He mentions that great care was taken
to keep from her any publications that
might displease or grieve her, and he as
signs this as a reason for her "imper-
turbable and candid optimism"
Her kind-heartedness had made the
Queen very popular in Nice, and she had
to be guarded at every turn from beg
ging letter writer's. Sometimes when M.
Paoli told her that some person that she
was going to help was only a vulgar
swindler ST. would say:
II know l am exploited sometimes, but
l would sooner make a mistake by CIV
ing than one by not giving. And who
knows! This begging letter writer has,
perhaps, wife or a child who will bene-
mt indirectly"
India is ruled by the British, but only
part of it is governed by them directly.
OF the 1,766,642 square miles of India,
$4,000 still are under the rule of the ma
tive princes. So are 100000 out of a
total of 800, 900 900 Inhabitants. There are
some 5000 native chiefs, big and little,
from the great Nizam Of Hyderabad. the
first Indian ''yassar' at the coronation
with its population of 100000, a terri
tory of S2,69S square miles, and its reve-
nues of some S12,O0O,O0O, down to a petty
chief with but a few square miles of
territory and a paltry few thousands a
year of revenue.
There is as much variety in their
breeding and bearing as in their terri
tories and revenue. Some of them in
reality trace their ancestry straight back
TO the first conquerors from the north
the Tartars and Mongols). Others are
descended from Arab or Afghan invaders
Still others are the offspring of court
favorites, and their ancestral right to
rank is as ilIegitimate as some of the
proud names in England or France. Then
there are those who are the heirs of
rough soldiers who grabbed what they
could and were tenacious and courageous
enough to hold 1t when the great
''Mughal' (MoghaD empire went to
smash.
Some of these Indian rulers are highly
educated, others are ignorant, very ig-
norant. Some are Anglicized; others ab-
hor England and all the Franks" Gu
ropeans). Some are polite Parisians and
devote very much time to polo, croquet,
or racing. A number make the grand
tour of Europe If permitted by custom
and religion to mingle with the "giaours."
There are fine gentlemen among them,
chiYalrous and proud as any noble In
Europe. Some are extremely naughty.
Quite number Of them have the welfare
and progress of their domain at heart,
and spend their income on schools, col
legesr museums; no irrigation work, or
tramways; on good roads and bridges; on
courts and prisons; on the fine showing
and discipline Of their detachments OF the
imperial troops.
Yet there are many of them still who
throw away many thousands upon motor
cars, jewels, dancing girls, or favorite
wines, or upon hideous Brummagem fur
niture and pictures. Others are burly,
gross featured, who look like carica-
lures, others are 1.-THE, muscular fellows,
fit for a tussle with a tiger. All show
their breeding or lack of It at a first
glance, and Americans who will witness
the coronation festivities will have a
good chance to enlarge their knowledge
of the Orient considerably by walk and
talk with those men OF the little-known
fairyland, where flows the treacherous
Indus and the holy Ganges rivers.
FLANEUR-
Copyright, 1911. BY court Gossip syndicatsl
Senator Poiudexter Appreciated.