New-York tribune., 1912-02-18
nut;es of Lord Chamberlain at
Court of St. James's Are
Manifold and His
Post Important.


=. 1ames's there Is none that offers a
ser amount Of difficulty in the selec
s,or of a suitable incumbent than that
:, lord Chamberlain, to which Lord
s.rdburst has just been appointed. 1t
=, office that must not be confounded
.,,,h that of Lord High Chamberlain.
rnA latter. although of higher rank, is
- far less Importance, his duties being
..s,r,cted 10 relatively rare attendance
rron the sovereign at Westminster, in
oonrection with coronations, state
funerals and the opening Of Parliament.
,doraoyer. it is a dignity that is heredi-
tary.
The office of Lord Chamberlain of the
household is entirely different, and is
included in the administration Of the
Marty in power. That is to say, the Lord
chamberlain of the Household, although
raceiying his appointment from the SOW
o,egn. is nominated for it by the
p,suier must remain in political SYM
nathy with him and resigns when the
Cabinet is overthrown. Moreover, he
must De a peer VI llAC lSoiAiAs WIN "a SSeNN
in the House of Lords.
Now, although there are plenty of
candidates for the post whenever 1t be-
comes vacant, even among the relatively
small minority of Liberal members of
the upper house of the national legis-
l.ture, il is not an easy matter TO find
among them one who, besides being per-
sonaIy we'll known and agreeable to the
sovereign and TO his consort, possesses
all the peculiar qualifications required
for this office. In the first place he must
he an expert in all matters of court
ceremonial and royal etiquette. some of
which are based on ancient tradition,
some on international comfy and some,
too. on statute. 1t is TO him that the
monarch and the entire court look for
direction and arrangement of all the
thousand and one details connected with
state functions, to determine the prece-
dcnce and to see that all are treated
and placed in accordance with their
rank. He must have also very thor
ough knowledge of the foreign rulers,
no matter whether monarchical or repub-
lican, as well as of the ceremonial by
which they are enyiToned and the digni
taries constituting their official entour-
age on the occasion of their state visits
to England there is always the danger of
their taking umbrage at any shortccm-
ing in the matter of etiquette and of
their constituting it in the light Of an
affront, TO themselves personally and to
the country which they represent.
OTTOMAN PRINCE ANGERED.
International relations have been af-
iected by incidents of this kind in very
serious and lasting manner, and as an
Illustration of this / need only call at
tenton TO the fact that Englands
friendly relations with Turkey have been
much impaired by the failure to accord
the proper attention to the Ottoman heir
apparent at the coronation last sum-
mer, when he became so angered by
what he chose to consider as affronts
that he left England long before the
celebrations were at an end and with
cut waiting for the departure OF the
other royal and imperial guests. More
over. much of the bitter enmity now
prevailing between Austria and Italy,
despite their joint membership of the
Triple Alliance-an enmity which bids
fair to involve the two nations in war
on the death of the venerable Emperor
Francis Joseph--is due to personal ami
mostly between Victor Emmanuel Ill
and Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the
next heir TO the throne of the Dual En-
pire originating in silly quarrel for
precedence in London on the occasion
OF the jubilee of Queen Victoria, and
which could readily have been avoided
by,a little more care on the part of the
late Lord Latham, who was Lord Cham
berlain at the time. From this it will be
seen how much depends in political
sense upon the efficiency, the tact and
the discretion of the Lord Chamberlain.
Another very important qualification
extensive knowledge of English society,
for his duties comprise what may be de-
scribed as a censorship thereof. 1t Is
Incumbent upon him TO determine on be-
half Of the sovereign the presentations at
court, to prevent admission TO the latter
Of any persons who may for one reason
or another be undesirable and TO keep
track of tho behavior of those who are
already on the court list as having been
presented This list undergoes periodi-
cal revision by the Lord Chamberlain,
assisted by the controller, or permanent
deputy chief, of his department, Colonel
Sir Douglas Dawson. And from time to
time the Lord Chamberlain has to un-
dertake the delicate and extremely un-
pleasant mi .slon of quietly intimating to
men and women, sometimes Of the high
est rank, that their presence at court
and at entertainments which royalty
may attend is no longer welcome.
SCANDAL NOT ALWAYS INVOLVED.
These intimations are not necessarily
The result Of any public scandal. They
are sometimes a manifestation OF royal
disapproval of conduct and Of indiscre-
lions that are known TO relatively very
iew There are plenty of things which
never reach the ears Of the public, which
never get into court, but which never
ueless are sufficient to bar people from
court For instance. what may be de-
sersbed as social conspiracies, ''ro-
nahees' In which money is allowed 10
pay part, neglect Of payment OF debts
y honor the social promotion OF unde-
snaDie people in return for cash, etc,
sooner or later-generally sooner