Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-03-07
WOMAN AMONG THE LORDS.
Lady Rhonnda Has tho Distinction OF
Winning the First Seat.

London, March 2-The. victory over
tradition won by Viscountess Rhonn-
da, who will sit in the house of lords as
peeress may change completely that
ancient house Of mobiles. The house
may be amazed some day to find twen-
ty-six women in its midst.
81 am delighted with my victory"
said the viscountess when the result OF
her petition to sit with the upper par
lamentary chamber was announced.
She left London Immediately for the
country ''for good rest" before re-
turning to plunge into her legislative
work. ,..l" f..
The government has always been
chary of granting peerages to the
wives and daughters OF mobiles. Only
when a royalty is concerned, or when
for the, sake Of tradition it is deemed
necessary to perpetuate the title and
there are no male heirs to assume 1t, is
the dignity conferred And in the past
there has been no assumption that thu
title carried with it the right to sit
with the lords. r... .-
Lady Rhonnda goes back to the dim
ages for precedent. Until the time of
the first Edwards. peeresses had sat
with their equals in a few cases, and
lady abbesses, ranking with bishops,
also participated in the debates of the
upper house. Since the Middle Ages,
however, the custom was abandoned.
The viscountess also based her claims
on the "sex-d disqualification act of
ls19," which provides that sex or mar
riage shall not disqualify a person from
the exercise of public functions or ap-
pointment to civil or judicial office.
Her counsel pointed out that women
are admitted to the house Of commons.
Citing the viscountess' war service
her counsel declared that such matter
depended upon the will Of the crown
and that nothing prevented his ma
iesty from. forming a regiment of
Amazons if he desired. I
The attorney general did not oppose
the petition, which was granted.
Lady Rhonnda is popular figure In
British life. She is 3S years old, an
energetic worker for public welfare
and a keen business woman.
She owes her title to Lord Rhonnda,
her father, who during the war was
food controller Before receiving the
peerage, Rhonnda was plain Mr.. D. A.
Thomas, a Welsh coal and shipping
magnate. Since he had no sons, the
title was made hereditary either by
males or females. Except for this fact;
Niscountess Rhonnda would merely be
Margaret Haig MacWorth, the wife OF
Sir Humphrey MacWorth. MacWorth
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Lady Rhonnda, during her fathers
exhaustive work as food controller, as
sisted in the management Of his COM
mercial enterprises, and upon his death
assumed the entire control Of his great
business. She visited America in 1915,
was on the torpedoed Lusitnaia, and
was picked up unconscious clinging to
a packing case, after the ship disap-
peared
In addition to running her fathers
enterprises during. the war she did
valiant service in women's work.
Among other peeresses who may
Row be admitted to the lords axe Her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Fife,
wife of Prince Arthur Of Connaught;
the Countess Roberts Of Kandahar.
widow of Lord Roberts, and the CO.
year old Baroness de Ros, who holds
the oldest barony in the list, granted
originally to Simon De Montfort in the
year 1864.