New-York tribune., 1912-02-29
LORD PENTLANO
Exchanges Seat in the Cabinet
for GovernorShip of Madras.

Sinclair spent several years on this slde
Of the Atlantic as secretary TO the Earl oi
Aberdeen when the latter was Governor
General Of Canada, has just exchanged
seat Ia the Cabinet as Secretary for scot
land for the Governorship Of Madras, 1t is
hecause he is very far from being rich
man. and that, whereas. the Secretaryship
nj Scotland, which he has held since the
Iiberals came into power at the end OF
,s05 carries with ii a salary OF 500"
wear. which is very little on which 10 sup
nort peerage. the Governor OF Madras
enjoys a salary Of $4,000 year. with al
Iowances and perquisites amounting TO as
much more.
The Governor of Madras is not called
,,pon 10 entertain nearly so much as the
Governors Of Bombay and Bengal or as
the Viceroy of India, and is usually able
70 lsy aside about $40 600 or s25co0 year
As he is appointed for term Of five years
this constitutes quite a handsome nest
egg on his return 70 England, and the only
very serious drawback TO the office is that
IT carries with it an obligation TO remain
in India until the conclusion of his term OF
Office The same obligation is incumbent
upon the generalissimo of the troops IN
India. and upon the generalissimo IN chieI
command Of the military forces Of bonn
bay and Madras. respectively. In TACT
when the Duke Of Connaught, now Gov
.-ror General Of Canada, commanded the
troODs at Bombay the government OF lhe
dsv lad TO secure the passage OF speclal
act OF Parliament in order 10 enable him
70 return home TO attend the Jubilee cele-
bration of his mother Queen Victoria.
II is no secret that Lord Pentland sspired
10 the Viceroyalty Of India, which is worth
more than twice the amount Of emoiu-
ments OF the Governorship of Madras, But
the late King Edward was so firmly con
vinced that Lord Hardinge was the best
man for the iob-a conviction shared by
King George-that the governments was
Obliged 10 yield TO the sovereign and 10
ACCEPT the contention Of tine Crown, that
the Viceroyalty was question Of Imperial
Importance rather than Of party spoils, and
70 consent to the nomination OF the wholly
bipartisan Lord Hsrdinge.
Lord Pentland is a grandson of Sir John
Sinclair. the sixth Baronet OF Dunbeath,
and q cousin, therefore, of the present
holder of the baronetcy. Indeed, Lord
Pentland is the third heir 10 this dig
ritv. and 10 the entailed estates around
q Wick, in Caithnesshire, He is son Of the
late Captain George Sinclair, of the Indian
army, saw active service as 4 captain Of
the 9Th Lancers in the Egyptian war OF
1852 and again in the SOudan expedition
Of 1886. and was in turn private secretary
10 Sir Henry Campbell -Bannerman when
Secretary Of State for War. to the Vice
roy of ireland, and 10 the Governor Cen
he ho6 10
fortune to give great satisfaction TO his
various chiefs. For Lord Aberdeen gave
him his eldest daughter, Lady Marjorie
Gordon, in marriage. while Sir Henry
Campbell -Bannerman, when he tormed his
Liberal administration, in 1905, gave him
seat in the Cabinet as Secretary for Scot
land. Moreover when Sir Henry died, 1t
vas found that he had designated his for
u1er private secretary not only as the
executor Of his will, bat as tho legatee Of
all his official and private papers and cor
respondence It was Asquith who. on be-
coming Premier, nominated him for peer
age
Lord Pentland, like his cousin, Sir John
Sinclair, Of Dunbeath. like old Sir John
Tollemache Sinclair. Of Ulbster. and like
Lord Sinclair, is a member Of that great
ana historic house OF Sinclair OF which
{ ne seventeenth Earl OF Caithness is the
chief II is a family that traces its an
cestry to the middle Of the ninth century
and figures prominently on almost every
page Of Scottish history. In fact, there
ere few names with more sanguinary as
sociations than that Of Sinclair The fourth
peer Of the line was perhaps the worst
Of his race With the assistance Of his
cousin, Lady Isabel Sinclair. he contrived
10 poison the Earl and Countess OF Suth-
erland a a supper which he gave in their
honor He then coolly denounced his ac-
" complice. testified against her and wit
messed her execution. He next kidnapped
young Lord Sutherland, who was only If
teen years old, and forced him TO marry
his homely daughter, q lady Of uncertain
age and Of more than questionable reputa-
ton His son, Lord Berriedae. Master Of
Caithness. is on record as having strangled
his younger brother. william In TACT, the
annals OF the house OF Sinclair in the
middle ages constitute one long list Of
tragedies plots and counterplots.
In olden times the estates Of the Earl
dom Of Caithness embraced the entire
northern part Of Scotland. from sea 10 sea,
and included the Orkney Islands, which
we're then subject 20 the suzerainty OF the
Norwegian crown. But owing TO the fact
that for the space of little over a hun
Gred years no less than four collateral
branches nave come to the succession all
the estates were by degrees alienated from
the earldom. and when the present Lord
Caithness succeeded as seventeenth Earl,
in 1891, he found himself without a single
rood Of land in Scotland, all his property
consisting Of his Latokah ranch in North
Dakota, whore he has made his home for
the greater part OF his life, only visiting
the United Kingdom at intervals until a
couple Of years ago, when he inherited
from maternal aunt the castle of Auch-
macoy. in Aberdeenshire, along with its
park and a considerable amount OF landed
property, besides an income to the amount
of $4,000 a year. He has never married, is
low about fifty-three years OF age. and
his next heir IS his brother. the Hon. Nor
man Sinclair, lawyer, and after him an
other brother, the Rev. Charles Sinclair, a
Gloucestershlre village rector.
Lord Pentland's grandfather. the late
Sir John Sinclair of Dunbeath, will be re-
mcmbered by ornithologlsts In connection
with his attempt 10 introduce nlghtingales
into Scotland. lie commissioned a Lon
don dealer 10 purchase hundreds Of night
ingales' eggs, at the liberal price OF a
shilling each. They were well packed in
wool and sent to Scotland by mail coach.
number OF Trustworthy men had pre-
Nlously been engaged TO take especial care
Of all robin redbreasts' nests where the
eggs could be Matched In safety The