The Washington herald., 1911-12-31
HOW PEERAGES ARE BOUGHT
AND BESTOWED IN GREAT BRITAIN

mess. Still it became evident that he
was extremely ambitious. 1t was com
mon talk among clubmen that not only
had he given secretly to the party In
power E100, 900, but that also he had paid
a commission running into the thousands
TO young scion Of the nobility VINO had
arranged the affair" Rumor even went
further, and it was stated that difficulties
having arisen, a certain lady possessing
great influence In high quarters received
a little gift of E2o,0 600 Be this as 1t may,
it is a pity that a state Of affairs exists
which makes such tales possible.
And here is a good story that VIII
amuse my readers. A well-known man
about-town in London, who describes
himself as journalists, but who In real
ity is himself one Of these private IN
vestigation agents, recently was ap-
preached by another agent known TO
have confidential dealings with one OF
the great political associations. The lat
ter was anxious to ascertain Whetner
this Journalist" knew certain man
of great wealth who lived a very retired
life and was reputed to be quite unap-
proachable. 1t happened that he was one
OF the few who had access to the man OF
money. Then came this proposition. he
was to approach him and hint diplo-
matically. and of course quite unofficial
ly, that the party war chest was in need
Of funds, and that a suitable contribu-
ton would probably be followed by
knighthood in the near future!
The man was not unwilling to open
negotiations, but very naturally inquired
where he came in. The answer was that
valuable services never went unrecog-
nized. This. however, was rather too
vague, and then the word commission
was mentioned. But as they could not
agree upon terms, the affair fell through
and the name of the wealthy individual
was not to be found in the next Inst
1t is significant in this connection that
in most lists the new knights VIII be
found to be men of genuine distinction
in various walks of life, while the bar
onets are more apt to be men Of wealth.
when the baronetcy was instituted by
James I in 1911, the rank was openly
bought and sold. The price was s1.oSO.
and the proceeds were supposed to sup
port the English and Scottish coloniza-
ton of Ulster Nowadays the rank is not
thus sold, and as consequence 1t costs
more.
The recent shipwreck on the Moorish
coast of North Africa, wherein the Brit
ish princess royal. the Duchess Of Fife
(sister to King Georgel, nearly lost her
life by being thrown into the tumultuous
breakers by the capsizing of the Hfeboat,
when she was swept OF by the strong
undertow. recalls other royal shipwrecks.
The last instance was that of 1907, when
the Russian imperial yacht, the STANDARD,
with the Car, his Empress and their
children on board, struck on hidden
rock in the Gulf of Finland. Archduke
Ludwig Of Austria was wrecked on the
coast of Tunis, while his brother, Arch
duke Johann, was shipwrecked with
his vessel, the Margherits, on his journey
from La Plata for Valparaiso, twenty
years ago. King Edwards brother, Duke
Of Edinburgh, who died as the ruler OF
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, suffered ship
wreck on board his flagship, the Sultan,
which toundered near Malta.
Queen Victoria while crossing the So
lent from Osborne to Gosport. on her
steam yacht. the Alberta, was run into
by the yacht Mistletoe, three lives being
lost. The Alberta sustained relatively
little injury, but the Queens escape was
q narrow one. Duke Frederick William
of Mecklenburg-Schweri brother Of the
prince consort Of the Netherlands, was
drowned when the German torpedo de-
stroyer which he commanded foundered
in the Baltic. He was affianced at the
time to the youngest sister of the Ger
man Empress, Princess Fedora OF
Schleswig- -Holstein, who refused all SUBJ
sequent offers of marriage.
King James II Of England was ship
wrecked on tue COAST VI ENOIlOih' anu NaS
rescued with difficulty. His cousin,
Prince Maurice of Bohemia, who, after
the execution of his uncle, King Charles
of England, led the life Of a buccaneer,
Ferished in a shipwreck. King Richard
the Lion Heart was wrecked on the coast
of Dalmatia on his way home from the
Holy Land. and was held in captivity in
Austria for many years until rescued by
his minstrel, BIondel; while the only son
of Henry 1. Prince William, was drowned
with a number of his mobiles, while on his
way from Normandy to England In 1lls.
FLANEUR.
Copyright. 1911, by Court Gossip syndicats)