Evening star., 1924-02-11
Lady Bathurst, Now in Trade
in u. S., Has Relatives Here

Presle in the department OF the Sein.
ct Marne. and who is a member OF
the. the Joekey es "a and Of Of, all the lsadiHg
London. where he is quite as much
at home in society as on the banks .
of the Seine. being head OF an old
Roman Catholic family. found that
the refusal Of the Catholic Church
ito recognize her first marriage as
having been, sundered by divorce.
Frederick Bathurst. had contracted
another matrimonial alliance. She
therefore remained single until the
which she did splendid Red Gross
service in France, when she finally
bestowed her hand upon Capt George
Peckham of the royal navy, whom,
badly wounded, she had nursed back
Strictly speaking she is now the
Hon. Mrs. George Peckham, and
though it has been quite customary
in England for women whose mar
riages have been sundered by divorce
to retain the surname and the titles.
of their first husbands, yet the prac-@
tice is not sanctioned by the court
Of st. James nor yet by English law.
Since she is earning her living in
trade here in America, in a manner
that deserves every encouragement,
she finds it preferable for business
purposes to remain as Lady Bathurst
instead of styling herself the Hon.
Mrs. Peckham. Let me add that she
has American relatives, since her
half-brother, Col. the Hon. Murrough
O'Brien, while military attache OF
the British embassy in Washington
married Margaret, daughter OF the
late William Lewis of New York.
Col. O'Brien was also equerry for ..
time TO the royal and widowed
Duchess of Argyle. the most gifted
of the aunts of King George.
Mention of the Bathursts calls al
tention to the fact that during the
past week one of the members of the
family the former Sir Charles Bath
urst. now Lord Bledisloe. heretofore
leading conservative and one OF thu.
pillars of the Carlton Club, London.
has Joined the labor party: and will
help Lord Parmoor. Lord Chelmsford
the Earl of Haldane and the newly
created Lord Olivier to represent tho
Macdonald labor government in the
house OF lords: Lord Bledisloe. per
Of British agriculture. enjoys in =.
very marked degree the favor and
good will of King George. When
Lord Bledisloe withdrew his support
from the Baldwin conservative cab
met by way of protest against its
repeal Of the embargo on the impor-
tations of live stock from Canada.
the antipodes and from British
Africa, the monarch picked from, that
particular moment to appoint him to .
be member of his council Of his Duchyf
of Lancaster. which is his entailed
tary control aud interference The
Duchy of Lancaster, which embraces
property all over the United King
dom, large holdings in the metropolis
estate formed by King, Henry ",
so that in the event of his family
ever losing. control and the crown
property. that family. namely. the
eenaed OF from the roy woh john s de Of
Gaunt. should still remain in pos
Session of this huge estate, OF which
the reigning sovereign is the life
Of Great Britain. but as Duke OF
Lancaster.
Lord Bledisloe won his peeraEe by
his services under the nanae or
Charles Bathurst as food controller
and vice president OF the state agri-
cultural council in the great war
He has long been regarded In both
houses Of parliament as the best
representative Of the interests of
those who live on and by the land.
and at one time he endeavored Sto
create an agricultural party in beth
houses of parliament which would an
brace members of all tho political
factions for the purpose of further
ing and defending the interests of
agriculture. In no ways discouraged
by his failure in this connection. he
is now. carrying on intensive farm
| ing as a business at Lidney Park. for
800 years in his family and one of the
most beautiful places in Gloucester
up the celebrated Lidney golf links,
in order to prove that agricultgre
can be made to pay in England 1de-
spite all the handicaps to which 1t is
subjected. Lord Bledisloe's conyer-
sion from the conservative party to
labor constitutes a valuable accession
to the lattsr,s forces IN pariisnsnS 4