The Washington herald., 1911-07-18

ton in an administration and have
proved failures. Accordingly, in order
to get rid Of them they were kicked
upstairs" Hence. it comes to this: The
majority of peers are ennobled because
they are either rich and place their
purses at the service of their party, or
because they are political nonentities
with a following at the polls.
Occasionally 1t happens that some man
who has done signal service to his coun-
try or government, or who is distin-
guished as light in science or literature.
is raised to the peerage. But, even then,
why should the title descend to his son,
who has done nothing to deserve the
distinction?
Inheritance of titles Is survival of
the feudal system. Titles went with es-
tates granted by the Crown for certain
services. mostly of the most personal
kind. Finally. those feudal mobiles got
to be more powerful than the Crown
which had created them. and were able
to insist on estates being granted them
and their families, which meant more
titles.
Circumstances in modern times are al
together different. Then why should
that system still be adhered to when no
estates are granted with titles, and when
the titles either are bought for party
services or are granted as rewards for
individual merit. 1t may meet with
great difficulties to interfere with the
inheritance of titles already granted, but
1t seems contrary to all reason that
whenever new titles are being granted.
they should be made hereditary.
AS to baronetcies, they appear A de-
gree more ridiculous even That branch
OF the British nobility was invented by
James I, who sold such titles for. R5,0O0
to fill his empty Golfers. They also are
obtained by a payment to a party fund.
just like peerages. A good many, how
ever. are secured in this manner: A
member of Parliament, who has been
properly subservient TO the whips of his
party, asks for a knighthood, and, II he
is sufficiently perservering. he gets It.
Once a knight, his aim is to become
baronet, and this, too. he Is apt to OBJ
tain by the same method that Sc
cured for him the knighthood. If can
didate for Parliament were to give a
voter a pound or less to vote for him. It
would invalidate his election. Conse-
quently. II is difficult to understand why
1t should be lawful and honorable for
a ministry to buy a member of Parlia-
ment. or such a one to sell himself to a
ministry.
Half a century ago few persons In
England had titles. There were only
few decorations that entitled their pos
SCISSORS to put the prefix Sir" before
their names. Britons were wont to look
with something akin to contempt upon
the counts and barons which were so
plentiful in Continental Europe They
can do so no longer, for there is probably
no other nation where the traffic in
titles is so open as in Great Britain.
What the exact number Of decorations
is in England I do not profess to know.
Few do. Every few years a new one Is
created. and a Briton with a taste in
that direction easily can manage TO
exhibit himself covered with medals and
bits of ribbon, something like a prize
winner at agricultural exhibits. Such
embellishments may fiatter the vanity
Of their wearers, but they hardly increase
the respect for a certain class OF English
men. FI.ANEUR
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