Writ of Acceleration
A Writ in Acceleration , commonly known as Writ of Acceleration , was a subspecies of a Writ of Summons , which enabled the heir apparent of a holder of several peer titles, under a subordinate title of his father's member in English to later become British House of Lords or Irish House of Lords. This procedure made it possible to lower the average age of the House of Lords and to increase the number of capable members, which initially only consisted of several dozen families, later a few hundred families, without increasing the effective size of the peerage and thus the exclusivity of the Watering down nobility titles.
The Writs of Acceleration procedure was introduced by King Edward IV in 1482. The procedure was used only rarely, a total of 98 times in over 400 years. The last Writ of Acceleration to date was issued in 1992 to Conservative Party politician and close associate of Prime Minister John Major , Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne , eldest son and Heir Apparent of the Marquess of Salisbury . He was appointed with the paternal subordinate title of Baron Cecil , of Essendon in the County of Rutland, rather than the courtesy title of Viscount Cranborne . The procedure was abolished with the House of Lords Act 1999 , as the right of the hereditary peers to a seat in the House of Lords lost.
Procedure
A Writ of Acceleration was only granted if it was a minor title rather than a major title and the beneficiary was the current owner's Heir Apparent. The successor was not always appointed to the courtesy title under which he was previously known, but in the vast majority of cases to a paternal barony . For example, William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington , heir to William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire , was called to be Baron Cavendish of Hardwick . With regard to titles in the Peerage of Scotland , no Writs of Acceleration were issued even after the Act of Union 1707 , since Scottish titles were not firmly linked to a seat in the British House of Lords until the Peerage Act 1963 . Even after the Act of Union 1801, titles of the Peerage of Ireland never entitle them to a seat in the British House of Lords, but until 1801 to such a seat in the Irish House of Lords - with regard to this, between 1608 and 1736 a total of eight writs of acceleration were made displayed.
The successor took the protocol rank in the House of Lords , which was due to him after the original award date of the transferred title. For example, Viscount Cranborne had precedence over all baronies created after that date through his Barony Cecil, created on August 13, 1603. However, he had to give priority to all Viscounts, although his courtesy title Viscount Cranborne was the second oldest Viscount title.
If the successor died before his father, the barony went to his Heir Apparent, according to the mode established when the title was created. If there was no such title, the title went back to the father. For example, Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan, the eldest son of the 2nd Earl of Cork and 1st Earl of Burlington , was called to the paternal barony of Clifford of Lanesborough in 1689 , died before his father. As a result, his son, the earl's grandson, received a Writ of Summons for the barony.
A Writ of Acceleration can also affect the numbering of the titles. Suppose the first Earl Z and Baron X have two sons and the first son receives the barony early. If the second Baron X dies, his brother will become the second Earl Z and third Baron X after the death of the father.
Notable cases
Three writs of acceleration were particularly noteworthy, as a procedural error created a new title of nobility ( Barony by writ ).
In 1628 James Stanley, Lord Strange , heir to William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby , was called to the old Barony of Strange (created 1299), a title ascribed to his father. The House of Lords later decided that the 6th Earl was not the holder of the title, but the daughters of the 5th Earl. As a result, with the appointment of James Stanley, a second Strange barony was created.
The second case of note in 1717 was Charles Paulet, Marquess of Winchester, heir to Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton , who was to be called to Parliament as Baron St John of Basing . Due to a procedural error, he was appointed Baron Pawlett of Basing and a new title of nobility was created. Since he had no sons he remained the only baron and his brother became the 4th duke.
At the early appointment of Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory in 1666, the title Baron Butler, of Moore Park was replaced by the paternal title Baron Butler, of Lanthony (created 1660).
Alternatives
If the eldest son of a peer was to be appointed as a member of the House of Lords, a new title could be created for him as an alternative to the Writ of Acceleration. For example, in 1832 Edward Smith-Stanley, Lord Strange , son and heir to Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby , was bestowed the new title Baron Stanley, of Bickerstaffe . Two years later he succeeded his father as the 13th Earl. His son Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby , however, was appointed Baron Stanley, of Bickerstaffe in 1844 with a Writ of Acceleration. Another example is Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford , who, after the defeat in the British general election in October 1974 , became a life peer as Baron Balniel , of Pitcorthie in the County of Fife, and thus before the death of his father, David Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford , joined the House of Lord in 1975. George Younger was named Life Peer Baron Younger of Prestwick , of Ayr in the District of Kyle and Carrick in 1992. With him no Writ of Acceleration was possible because his father only had one title, Viscount Younger of Leckie .
Another option for sons of peers who have neither received a Writ of Acceleration nor a new title to get a seat in Parliament is to run for election as MPs in the House of Commons . Historically, this variant has occurred much more frequently than that of the Writ of Acceleration or the award of a new title. Prior to the 20th century, it was very easy for those upper-class people with a corresponding political inclination to find a constituency that was willing to vote for them. Sometimes there were constituencies that had fewer than 30 eligible voters.
Writs of Accelerations in the English later British House of Lords
Writs of Accelerations in the Irish House of Lords
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lords Hansard Test for May 11, 1999 . May 11, 1999. Retrieved November 13, 2006.
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- ↑ London Gazette . No. 15899, HMSO, London, March 15, 1806, p. 342 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 15971, HMSO, London, November 1, 1806, p. 1438 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 16018, HMSO, London, 11 April 1807, p. 449 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 16018, HMSO, London, 11 April 1807, p. 449 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 16583, HMSO, London, March 14, 1812, p. 497 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 18310, HMSO, London, December 1, 1826, p. 2834 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ a b c London Gazette . No. 19003, HMSO, London, December 11, 1832, p. 2709 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 19228, HMSO, London, January 9, 1835, p. 42 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 19629, HMSO, London, June 26, 1838, p. 1445 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 19633, HMSO, London, 6 July 1838, p. 1533 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 19712, HMSO, London, March 1, 1839, p. 460 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 20015, HMSO, London, 7 September 1841, p. 2248 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 20392, HMSO, London, October 8, 1844, p. 3452 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 21429, HMSO, London, 8 April 1853, p. 1028 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 21900, HMSO, London, July 11, 1856, p. 2409 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 22260, HMSO, London, May 6, 1859, p. 1866 ( PDF , English).
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- ↑ London Gazette . No. 26747, HMSO, London, June 9, 1896, p. 3381 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 35054, HMSO, London, January 24, 1941, p. 489 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 39127, HMSO, London, January 19, 1951, p. 363 ( PDF , English).
- ↑ London Gazette . No. 52911, HMSO, London, May 5, 1992, p. 7756 ( PDF , English).