Page:Dod's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage etc. of Great Britain and Ireland.djvu/42

18 PRECEDENCE 34a. Master of the Horse, when of the rank of a marquess ; vide No. 23o. 35. Marquesses of England created before the Scottish Union.— Of this class there is only one now in existence, viz. the Marquessate of Winchester. 36. Marquesses of Scotland. — Of these tlie Marquess of Huntly is the senior, and the Mar- quess of Lothian the junior. In conformity with the 23rd article of the Treaty of Union, all Scottish marquesses whose patents are dated antecedently to that event (1707) take precedence of all others of like degree, excepting those English marciuesses whose patents are of earlier date. 37. Marquesses of Great Britain. — This class of peers enjoy titles which are dated between the years 1707 and 1801 ; and the oldest marquessate, viz. that of Lansdowne, follows the last of the Scottish Marquesses. 38. Marquesses of Ireland. — The Act of Union (passed in 1800) between Great Britain and Ireland declares, that all peers of Ireland shall thenceforward be peers of Great Britain, and take precedence next after those of a like degree. The Marquess of Bute is the junior of those British marquesses whose patents were granted before the Irish union, he therefore pre- cedes the senior Irish marquess ; there then follow seven Irish marquesses, of whom Lord Ely is the last. 39. Marquesses of the L'nited Kingdom. — The several peers of this degree whose titles were created subsequent to that of the Marquess of Ely, viz. after the Irish Union, constitute the marquesses of the United Kingdom ; and they occupy this position in the general scale, while inter se they rank according to the dates of their respective patents, whether their peerages belong to Great Britain or to Ireland ; the Act of Union declares that all peers of Ireland, whose titles shall be created after the statute came into force, shall take rank and precedence as if they were peers of the United Kingdom, and had seats in the hereditary branch of the legislature. 40. Dukes' Eldest Sons. — This class of nobles rank above earls, and take precedence amongst each other according to the dates of their fathers' patents. The place thus assigned is not granted in conformity with the provisions of any Act of Parliament, but in compliance with established usage, which can be distinctly traced to the year 1399. All the complex relations which subsist between dukes of England, of Scotland, of Great Britain, of Ireland, and of the United Kingdom, are equally in force as regards their issue ; and in order to ascertain the exact position of an indi- vidual member of No. 40, it is only necessary to fix the position of his father among dukes ; and then it will be seen that the eldest son of any given duke will follow all eldest sons of such other dukes as his father himself follows. Thus the paternal rank is the regulating influence among the different members of this class, and has already been detailed, while as a body they occupy the position which the number at the head of this article denotes. The scale of precedents which places a duke's eldest son after all marc[uesses is in strict analogy with the limitations affecting the assumption of courtesj' titles ; for the former usiially enjoys by courtesy the title of marquess, which the latter possesses in his own right, and even when there exists in the duke's family no marquessate for the sons to assume, nevertheless (although perhaps only a titular baron) he is a courtesy marquess as far as precedence is con- cerned. 41. Lord Great Chamberlain, when of the rank of an earl ; vide No. 18. 42. Lord High Constable, when of the rank of an carl ; vide No. 19. 43. Earl Mabshal, when of the rank of an earl ; vide No. 20. 44. Lord Steward of the Household, when of the rank of an earl ; vide No. 22. 45. Lord Chamberlain of the Household, when of the rank of an earl ; vide No. 23. 45a. Master of the Horse, when of the rank of an earl ; i-ide No. 23a. 46. Earls of England. — This class includes all earls whose patents are dated antecedently to 1707, the period of the imion with Scotland. Of these the Earl of Shrewsbury is the first, and Earl Poulett the last. 47. Earls of Scotland. — By the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland, all Scottish peers became peers of Great Britain, with rank next after English peers of the hke degree, but taking precedence amongst each other according to the dates of their patents. The Earl of Craw- ford is the first of this class, and the Earl of Hopetoun the last. The patent of the Earl Poulett bears date in 1700, and that of the Earl of Crawford in 1398 : the effect, however, of the imion has been to give precedence to the former over the latter ; but all earls created since 1707 follow the whole body of the Scottish earls, and of course take rank amongst each other in the usual manner, according to the dates of their respective patents. 48. Earls of Great Britain are those created between 1707, the year of the Scottish Union, and 1801, when that with Ireland took place. In the scale of precedence, they follow the whole of the Scottish earls, and precede all the Irish earls. Of this class the Earl Ferrers is the first, and the Earl of iMalrnesbury the last. 49. E.ARLS of Ireland are of two classes ; one created before the Union (1801), and the other since that event. By the Act v,-hich uiited the two countries it was declared that peers of Ireland should bo peers of Great Britain, and should take rank in England next after those of a like degree, enjoying precedence amongst each other accord- ing to the usual rule — date of patent. The first of this class is the Earl of Cork ; he therefore, in the scale of precedence, comes next to the Earl of IMalrnesbury, who is the junior of the British earls. The most recently created of the Irish earls at the time of the IJnion was the Earl of Kenmare ; he is, therefore, the last, and the Earl of Cork is thefirst of the body of Irish earls whom the Act of Union added to the earls of Great Britain. The earls of Ireland created since the Union come into the next class. 50. Earls of the LTnited Kingdom are those created since England, Scotland, and Ireland formed one United Kingdom ; the Earl of Rosslyn being the first, and the Earl of Liverpool the last. Within that period, however, twelve Iri^h earl- doms have been created, the possessors of which do not rank amongst the body of older Irish earls, existing previous to the Union, but are, according to dates of patents, intermingled amongst the United Kingdom earls, all of whom, as already mentioned, were created within the present century. The difference between an earl in the peerage of Ireland and one in the peerage of the LTnited Kingdom is, that the latter has a seat in the Upper House, and the other has not, at least in right of his earldom, though he may possess that advantage if he be likewise a British viscount or baron, or a representative peer. As regards precedence, all peers, whether of Ireland or of the United Kingdom, if created since the Union, take rank amongst each other according to the dates of their respective patents. 51. Younger Sons of Dukes of the Blood Royal. — When these do not happen to fall within the provisions of the act of Henry VIII, which refers to the brothers, uncles, grandsons, and nephews of the reigning Sovereign, they must rest for their precedence upon usage, which can be distinctly traced, by a record of great authority (now preserved in the College of Arms), as far back as the year 1485, and which gives them the place here assigned under the number 50. 52. Eldest Sons of Marquesses. — The pre- cedence of the eldest son of a marquess does not