Evening star., 1923-11-20
Sees Usual Chase for Honors
Featuring British Election
BY THE MARaUIsE DE FONTENoY.

BY THE MARQUISE DE FONTENOY.
election which is now about to take
place In Great Britain. IS the in
evitable chase for honors. If the pres
ent conservative government is de-
| feated at the polls there will be a
distribution of honors by the crown
at the instance of the outgoing pre-
mier by way of reward to the principal
supporters of his administration, and
this would inevitably be followed by
| g. further distribution Of honors
through the new prime minister, in
order to reward those who have
helped him to win the victory. and
also to those prominent supporters
of his for whom he has been unable
to find any suitable office in his cabi-
net. II, on the other hand, Stanley
Baldwin carries the day and emerges
with victory from the appeal to the
nation, he will be obliged TO reor-
EaniZe his cabinet, according COM
pensation to those whom, he has been
obliged to shelve, and also consoling
those trusted adherents who have
failed to secure reelection to parlia-
ment at the polls.
Thus 1t Is that there are. at the
present moment, hundreds, nay, thou
Welsh people whose one thought and
one preoccupation in as to the place
in whirh they will figure in the rain
of honors incidental to all general
natural that they should be pulling
every string within reach and bring
ing every available influence to bear
upon the furtheranco of their hopes
and ambitions in this connection. In
the past, their labors in this direc-
tion have been of the most barefaced
and open character. and were facilf-
tated by more or less authorized
agents of the various political or
ganizations, who held out assurances
of hereditary hnnors and titles In re-
turn for more less heavy subscrip-
tions to the election campaign funds
of the party In question. But. in view
of the public airing in parliament
and in the press last summer, and OF
the scandals brought to light in con-
great deal more discretion and diplo-
macy Is being observed in making
these deals than in the past.
1t might be imagined that, with the
relative frequency of general parlia-
mentary elections and with the nu-
merous changes of the administration.
the roster of the peerage would be-
come so overloaded as to exceed the
seating accommodations OF the house
of lords But the mortality among
the peers has always been rather
heavy, presumably IN consequence of
the fact that most of the peerages
bestowed are upon men well advanced
| in years and who are nearing the end
of their more or less useful and non
orable careers. Few peerages are
suit is that the mortality In the upper
chamber is heavy and far surpasses
that of the house of commons. Many
of these newly created peers are
| either unmarried or are without male
issue, and thus it happens that
| than 120 peerages have become ex-
| tinct through the defAu1t Of male Is
sue, while within the last zoo years
no less than 400 peerages have become
extinct. Since last January Lords
Seaforth, weardale, Sanderson, Rowe
and Breadalbane have passed away
without leaving any heir to their
| honors, while, last year there were
| about a dozen more whose names and
! dignities thus disappeared from their
lords.
Sir Edward Nightingale, whose
marriage to Alice, daughter Of the
late Robert Mackay Sutherland OF
Solgirth, Kinrothshire, has just been
announced, is the tenth holder OF q
| baronetcy created by Charles In the
early part Of the seventeenth century
| served with distinction in the great
war, and Is only very remotely con.
nected with Florence Nightingale
who may be said to have been the
real founder and originator Of the
| present system OF woman army
nurses. AS the Lady of the Lamp OF
the military hospitals In the Near
| East, during the Crimean war OF
| 1886, she is revered almost as 9
i saint in England, where statues have
been erected to her memory. and hei
| name is honored among military men
Of every kind Ard coHntry. 1t aoes