Page:Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage.djvu/69

 TITLES, ORDERS, AND DEGREES OF PRECEDENCE AND DIGNITY. XXXI OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY. Tlie rank and position of these are defined in the general " Tables of Precedence." The clauses of the Royal Marriage Act pro- hibiting the marriage of personages connected with the Blood Royal without the sanction of the Sovereign, but considerably modified by a con- ditional proviso, or door of grace, do not enter into the specific subject of this notice. THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTER- BURY* Is the first peer of England next to the Royal Family, preceding not only all Dukes, but all the great officers of the Crown. The Bishop of Lon- don is his provincial Dean, the Bishop of Lincoln his Chancellor, and the Bishop of Rochester his Chaplain. " It belongs to him to crown the King ;" and the Sovereign and his or her Consort, wher- ever they may be located, are speciales domestiti ARCHBISHOP'S MiTRE.t parochiani Arch. Cant, (parishioners of the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury). The ecclesiastical and secular power of the Archbishop of Canterbury was formerly enormous, especially when he held the office of Lord Chan- cellor ; and instances are not few in which the influence of the Archiepiscopal see was formidable to the throne itself. Since the Reformation, the Archbishop's secular influence may be said to have altogether ceased. The Archbishop of Canterbury is Primate of all England, is entitled to the prefix of " Your Grace,'' and styles himself" By Divine Providence, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury." President of the Supreme Court of Judicature, and discharges in the House of Lords functions analogous to those of the Speaker of the House of Commons. THE LORD CHANCELLORS MACE. For many years the Lord High Chancellor when not of Baronial rank) has been invariably created a peer concomitantly with his appointment. THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK Is the third peer in the Kingdom, and precedes all secular peers, except the Lord High Chancellor. He is " Primate of England," has the privilege ot crowning the Consort, and is her perpetual chaplain. He is entitled to the prefix of "Your Grace," styles himself " By Divine Permission, Lord Archbishop of York," and possesses within his own province powers nearly equivalent to those exercised by the Archbishop of Canterbury within his. THE NOBILITY.* The nobility of this kingdom is divided into two orders the greater and the less the former consisting of all the degrees from a Baron upwards and inclusive ; the latter of the baronets, knights, esquires, and gentlemen. Practically, however, the only recognised noblemen among us are the peers spiritual and temporal, and those who by courtesy bear titles in virtue of their immediate connection with noble houses. To illustrate the meaning of courtesy-titles, reference may be made to the terms in which a Royal Commission is issued. The first Earl Russell, a younger son of the sixth Duke of Bedford, was, before his elevation to the peerage, designated by courtesy Lord John Russell, whereas, strictly, he would have been simply "John Russell, Esq.," but for the prefix of " right honourable," derived from his political offices. In Parliament and society he was invariably spoken of as "Lord John Russell," and addressed as " My Lord," but in Royal proclamations and other documents his designation was "The Right Honourable John Russell, commonly called Lord John Russell." Practically, the degrees of the nobility in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland are five viz., Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons to which may be added a sixth viz., those Archbislwps, Bisliops, and Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, who are entitled to a seat in the House of Peers, and possess all the faculties and privileges of Peers of Parliament during the time the}' hold office. The ceremony of admitting a peer into the House _ TT _, T .-.T.T-. TTT/-.TT ^ -r T. T ^ T-, T -r ^-VT, ' cedwice of British peers of the same rank created THE LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR I since the Union with Scotland and Irish peers j created before the Union with Ireland, in like manner, take place of British peers created since. Irish peers of later creation than the Union, rank according to the dates of their patents, among the peers of Great Britain and Ireland. Peers holding only Scotch or Irish titles do not sit of individual right in the House of Peers, but only as representatives of their fellow-peers. Irish .Representative Peers are elected by their fellow-peers for life. Scotch Representative Peers are elected by their fellow-peers for one Parliament only. I Irish peers (not being representative peers) are per- 1 mitted to represent English constituencies in the I House of Commons, but cannot sit for Irish counties or boroughs. Scotch peers are not entitled to sit in the House of Commons. Is, in virtue of his office, the second peer in the Kingdom, and alone authorises all patents, writs and grants, by affixing the Great Seal thereto. He collates to the ecclesiastical benefices in the gift of the Crown, is Keeper of the great Seal, head of the Legal Profession in England, and Chancellor, and the Archbishop of York, constitute a kind of distinctive belt of separation between the Royal Family and general nobility; but the wives and children of Archbishops have not any social precedence. t An Archbishop impales his arms with thse of his See, but does not bear crest, supporters, or motto.
 * SCOTCH AND IRISH PKERS. Scotch peers take pre-
 * The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord High