44°18′26″N 69°46′54″W / 44.307138°N 69.781586°W / 44.307138; -69.781586
96-650: Minority Vacant The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature , the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine . The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than 31 nor more than 35". Unlike the lower House , the Senate does not set aside nonvoting seats for Native tribes. Because it
192-601: A British peerage from being held by a foreign citizen (although such peers cannot sit in the House of Lords, while the term foreign does not include Irish or Commonwealth citizens). Several descendants of George III were British peers and German subjects; the Lords Fairfax of Cameron were American citizens for several generations. A peer may also disclaim an hereditary peerage under the Peerage Act 1963 . To do so,
288-824: A Legislative Council prior to joining Canada , as did Ontario when it was Upper Canada and Quebec from 1791 (as Lower Canada ) to 1968. Nebraska is the only state in the United States with a unicameral legislature, having abolished its lower house in 1934, while the Senate of Nebraska , the upper house prior to 1934, continues to assemble. The Australian state of Queensland also once had an appointed Legislative Council before abolishing it in 1922. All other Australian states continue to have bicameral systems, though all members are now directly elected (the two self-governing territories, along with Norfolk Island until 2016, have always been unicameral). Like Queensland,
384-462: A bill so that it does not fit within the legislative schedule, or until a general election produces a new lower house that no longer wishes to proceed with the bill. Nevertheless, some states have long retained powerful upper houses. For example, the consent of the upper house to legislation may be necessary (though, as noted above, this seldom extends to budgetary measures). Constitutional arrangements of states with powerful upper houses usually include
480-425: A child born legitimate, not legitimated by a later marriage. An example of this can be seen in the film director Christopher Guest , who bypassed his older half-brother Anthony to became the 5th Baron Haden-Guest as the 4th Baron Haden-Guest was not married to Anthony's mother at the time of his birth. Normally, a peerage passes to the next holder on the death of the previous holder. However, Edward IV introduced
576-471: A course of descent are invalid, though the same is not true for the letters patent creating peers in the Peerage of Scotland . The House of Lords has ruled in certain cases that when the course of descent is not specified, or when the letters patent are lost, the title descends to heirs-male. It is generally necessary for English patents to include limitation to heirs "of the body", unless a special remainder
672-483: A hundred Irish peers left). In the early 19th century, Irish creations were as frequent as this allowed; but only three have been created since 1863, and none since 1898. As of 2011, only 66 "only-Irish" peers remain. The law applicable to a British hereditary peerage depends on which Kingdom it belongs to. Peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom follow English law; the difference between them
768-572: A limitation on the Crown's power. It sought to permit no more than six new creations, and thereafter one new creation for each other title that became extinct. But it did allow the Crown to bestow titles on members of the Royal Family without any such limitation. The Bill was rejected in its final stage in the Lords, but it was passed in the Lords when it was reintroduced in the next year. Nonetheless,
864-407: A means to resolve situations where the two houses are at odds with each other. In recent times, parliamentary systems have tended to weaken the powers of upper houses relative to their lower counterparts. Some upper houses have been fully abolished; others have had their powers reduced by constitutional or legislative amendments. Also, conventions often exist that the upper house ought not to obstruct
960-670: A month after the death of his father Frederick, Prince of Wales . The Dukedom of Cornwall is associated with the Duchy of Cornwall ; the former is a peerage dignity, while the latter is an estate held by the Duke of Cornwall. Income from the Duchy goes to the Duke of Cornwall, or, when there is no duke, to the sovereign (but the money is then paid to the heir to the throne under the Sovereign Grant Act 2011 ). The only other duchy in
1056-478: A peerage. The last instance of a man being summoned by writ without already holding a peerage was under the early Tudors; the first clear decision that a single writ (as opposed to a long succession of writs) created a peerage was in Lord Abergavenny 's case of 1610. The House of Lords Act 1999 also renders it doubtful that such a writ would now create a peer if one were now issued; however, this doctrine
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#17327877031691152-436: A procedure known as a writ of acceleration , whereby it was possible for the eldest son of a peer holding more than one peerage to sit in the House of Lords by virtue of one of his father's subsidiary dignities. A person who is a possible heir to a peerage is said to be "in remainder". A title becomes extinct (an opposite to extant , alive) when all possible heirs (as provided by the letters patent) have died out; i.e., there
1248-543: A rank something more than an earl and something less than an earl, respectively. When Henry III or Edward I wanted money or advice from his subjects, he would order great churchmen, earls, and other great men to come to his Great Council (some of these are now considered the first parliaments ); he would generally order lesser men from towns and counties to gather and pick some men to represent them. The English Order of Barons evolved from those men who were individually ordered to attend Parliament, but held no other title;
1344-505: A request from the king for a personal loan ( benevolence ). Which men were ordered to council varied from council to council; a man might be so ordered once and never again, or all his life, but his son and heir might never go. Under Henry VI of England , in the 15th century, just before the Wars of the Roses , attendance at Parliament became more valuable. The first claim of hereditary right to
1440-461: A result of the Peerage Act 1963 , all peers except those in the peerage of Ireland were entitled to sit in the House of Lords . Since the House of Lords Act 1999 came into force only 92 hereditary peers, elected from all hereditary peers, are permitted to do so, unless they are also life peers. Peers are called to the House of Lords with a writ of summons . Not all hereditary titles are titles of
1536-723: A seat in the House of Lords. Since the start of the Labour government of Harold Wilson in 1964 , the practice of granting hereditary peerages has largely ceased except for members of the royal family . Only seven hereditary peers have been created since 1965: four in the royal family (the Duke of York , the Earl of Wessex , the Duke of Cambridge , and the Duke of Sussex ) and three additional creations under Margaret Thatcher 's government (the Viscount Whitelaw [had four daughters],
1632-410: A writ comes from this reign; so does the first patent , or charter declaring a man to be a baron. The five orders began to be called peers. Holders of older peerages also began to receive greater honour than peers of the same rank just created. If a man held a peerage, his son would succeed to it; if he had no children, his brother would succeed. If he had a single daughter, his son-in-law would inherit
1728-404: A writ, what constituted proof of sitting, and which 13th-century assemblages were actually parliaments. Even a writ issued in error is held to create a peerage unless the writ was cancelled before the recipient took his seat; the cancellation was performed by the now obsolete writ of supersedeas . Peerages created by writ of summons are presumed to be inheritable only by the recipient's heirs of
1824-593: Is a part-time position, members of the Maine Senate usually have outside employment as well. The Senate meets at the Maine State House in Augusta . Members are limited to four consecutive terms with each term being two years but may run again after a two-year wait. Unlike many U.S. states , the Senate's leader is not the lieutenant governor , as Maine does not have a lieutenant governor. Instead,
1920-486: Is applied retrospectively: if it can be shown that a writ was issued, that the recipient sat and that the council in question was a parliament, the Committee of Privileges of the House of Lords determines who is now entitled to the peerage as though modern law had always applied. Several such long-lost baronies were claimed in the 19th and 20th centuries, though the committee was not consistent on what constituted proof of
2016-417: Is by the rules of male primogeniture , a mechanism whereby normally, male descendants of the peer take precedence over female descendants, with children representing their deceased ancestors, and wherein the senior line of descent always takes precedence over the junior line per each gender. These rules, however, are amended by the proviso whereby sisters (and their heirs) are considered co-heirs ; seniority of
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#17327877031692112-399: Is created Prince of Wales ; at the same time as the principality is created, the duke is also created Earl of Chester . The earldom is a special case, because it is not hereditary, instead revesting or merging in the Crown if the prince succeeds to the Crown or predeceases the monarch: thus George III (then the grandson of the reigning monarch) was created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester
2208-420: Is determined by the method of its creation. Titles may be created by writ of summons or by letters patent . The former is merely a summons of an individual to Parliament and does not explicitly confer a peerage; descent is always to the heirs of the body , male and female. The latter method explicitly creates a peerage and names the dignity in question. Letters patent may state the course of descent; usually, this
2304-402: Is nobody in remainder at the death of the holder. A title becomes dormant if nobody has claimed the title, or if no claim has been satisfactorily proven. A title goes into abeyance if there is more than one person equally entitled to be the holder. In the past, peerages were sometimes forfeit or attainted under Acts of Parliament, most often as the result of treason on the part of
2400-550: Is only to male heirs, but by a special remainder other descents can be specified. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 regulates acquired gender and provides that acquiring a new gender under the Act does not affect the descent of any peerage. A child is deemed to be legitimate if its parents are married at the time of its birth or marry later; only legitimate children may succeed to a title, and furthermore, an English, Irish, or British (but not Scottish) peerage can only be inherited by
2496-450: Is similarly affected. No further hereditary peerages may be conferred upon the person, but life peerages may be. The peerage remains without a holder until the death of the peer making the disclaimer, when it descends normally. A title held by someone who becomes monarch is said to merge in the Crown and therefore ceases to exist, because the sovereign cannot hold a dignity from himself. The Dukedoms of Cornwall and of Rothesay , and
2592-482: Is sometimes seen as having a special role of safeguarding the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom and important civil liberties against ill-considered change. The House of Lords has a number of ways to block legislation and to reject it; however, the House of Commons can eventually use the Parliament Act to force something through. The Commons will often accept amendments passed by the Lords; however,
2688-473: Is specified (see below). The limitation indicates that only lineal descendants of the original peer may succeed to the peerage. In some very rare instances, the limitation was left out. In the Devon Peerage Case (1831) 2 Dow & Cl 200 , the House of Lords permitted an heir who was a collateral descendant of the original peer to take his seat. The precedent, however, was reversed in 1859, when
2784-684: Is that peerages of England were created before the Act of Union 1707 , peerages of Great Britain between 1707 and the Union with Ireland in 1800, and peerages of the United Kingdom since 1800. Irish peerages follow the law of the Kingdom of Ireland , which is very much similar to English law, except in referring to the Irish Parliament and Irish officials, generally no longer appointed; no Irish peers have been created since 1898, and they have no part in
2880-642: Is the British House of Lords . Under the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 , the House of Lords can no longer prevent the passage of most bills, but it must be given an opportunity to debate them and propose amendments, and can thereby delay the passage of a bill with which it disagrees. Bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month. The House of Lords
2976-577: Is through the male line only. Some very old titles, like the Earldom of Arlington , may pass to heirs of the body (not just heirs-male), these follow the same rules of descent as do baronies by writ and seem able to fall into abeyance as well. Many Scottish titles allow for passage to heirs general of the body , in which case the rules of male primogeniture apply; they do not fall into abeyance, as under Scots law, sisters are not treated as equal co-heirs. English and British letters patent that do not specify
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3072-642: The British royal family . The most recent grant of a hereditary peerage was in 2019 for the youngest child of Elizabeth II , Prince Edward , who was created Earl of Forfar ; the most recent grant of a hereditary peerage to a non-royal was in 1984 for former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan , who was created Earl of Stockton with the subsidiary title of Viscount Macmillan. The hereditary peerage, as it now exists, combines several different English institutions with analogues from Scotland and Ireland. English earls are an Anglo-Saxon institution. Around 1014, England
3168-815: The Dukedom of Albany (together with its subsidiary peerages, the Earldom of Clarence and the Barony of Arklow ), the Dukedom of Cumberland and Teviotdale (along with the Earldom of Armagh ) and the Viscountcy of Taaffe (along with the Barony of Ballymote ). Under the Titles Deprivation Act, the successors to the peerages may petition the Crown for a reinstatement of the titles; so far, none of them has chosen to do so (the Taaffe and Ballymote peerages would have become extinct in 1967). Nothing prevents
3264-607: The Earldom of Carrick , are special cases, which when not in use are said to lapse to the Crown : they are construed as existing, but held by no one, during such periods. These peerages are also special in that they are never directly inherited. The Dukedom of Cornwall was held formerly by the eldest son of the King of England, and the Dukedom of Rothesay, the Earldom of Carrick, and certain non-peerage titles ( Baron of Renfrew , Lord of
3360-501: The Earldom of Roberts (to a daughter and her heirs-male), the Barony of Amherst (to a nephew and his heirs-male) and the Dukedom of Dover (to a younger son and his heirs-male while the eldest son is still alive). In many cases, at the time of the grant the proposed peer in question had no sons, nor any prospect of producing any, and the special remainder was made to allow remembrance of his personal honour to continue after his death and to preclude an otherwise certain rapid extinction of
3456-599: The Empress Matilda , nine earls were created in three years. William the Conqueror and his great-grandson Henry II did not make dukes; they were themselves only Dukes of Normandy or Aquitaine . But when Edward III of England declared himself King of France, he made his sons dukes, to distinguish them from other noblemen, much as royal dukes are now distinguished from other dukes. Later kings created marquesses and viscounts to make finer gradations of honour:
3552-517: The German state of Bavaria had an appointed second chamber, the Senate of Bavaria , from 1946 to 1999. The Senate of the Philippines was abolished – and restored – twice: from 1935 to 1945 when a unicameral National Assembly convened, and from 1972 to 1987 when Congress was closed, and later a new constitution was approved instituting a unicameral Parliament. The Senate was re-instituted with
3648-422: The House of Lords Act 1999 it was possible for one of the peer's subsidiary titles to be passed to his heir before his death by means of a writ of acceleration , in which case the peer and his heir would have one vote each. Where this is not done, the heir may still use one of the father's subsidiary titles as a " courtesy title ", but he is not considered a peer. The mode of inheritance of an hereditary peerage
3744-671: The Marquess of Salisbury . (Viscount Cranborne succeeded to the marquessate on the death of his father in 2003.) There are no Scottish peerages created by writ; neither can Scottish baronies go into abeyance, for Scots law does not hold sisters as equal heirs regardless of age. Furthermore, there is only one extant barony by writ in the Peerage of Ireland , that of La Poer , now held by the Marquess of Waterford . (Certain other baronies were originally created by writ but later confirmed by letters patent.) More often, letters patent are used to create peerages. Letters patent must explicitly name
3840-481: The Viscount Tonypandy [had no issue] and the Earl of Stockton [with issue]). The two viscounts died without male heirs, extinguishing their titles. Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton received the earldom customarily bestowed on former prime ministers after he retired from the House of Commons . As for the practice of granting hereditary titles (usually earldoms) to male commoners who married into
3936-552: The 13th century, and Irish parliaments began later in the same century; until Henry VIII declared himself King of Ireland, these parliaments were small bodies, representing only the Irish Pale . A writ does not create a peerage in Ireland; all Irish peerages are by patent or charter, although some early patents have been lost. After James II left England, he was King of Ireland alone for a time; three creations he ordered then are in
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4032-481: The 2014 primary and general elections, were only in effect for 8 years rather than the usual 10 as Maine adjusted its legislative redistricting cycle to conform with most other states. ↑ denotes that the Senator first won in a special election Upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature , the other chamber being the lower house . The house formally designated as
4128-705: The British House of Lords until 1999 and in the Japanese House of Peers until it was abolished in 1947. It is also common that the upper house consists of delegates chosen by state governments or local officials. Members of the Rajya Sabha in India are nominated by various states and union territories, while 12 of them are nominated by the President of India. Similarly, at the state level, one-third of
4224-404: The Crown. A writ of acceleration is a type of writ of summons that enables the eldest son of a peer to attend the House of Lords using one of his father's subsidiary titles. The title is strictly not inherited by the eldest son, however; it remains vested in the father. A writ may be granted only if the title being accelerated is a subsidiary one, and not the main title, and if the beneficiary of
4320-530: The House of Commons rejected the Peerage Bill by 269 to 177. George III was especially profuse with the creation of titles, mainly due to the desire of some of his Prime Ministers to obtain a majority in the House of Lords. During his 12 years in power, Lord North had about 30 new peerages created. During William Pitt the Younger 's 17-year tenure, over 140 new peerages were awarded. A restriction on
4416-426: The House of Commons. Prior to the House of Lords Act 1999, a hereditary peer could not disclaim a peerage after having applied for a writ of summons to Parliament; now, however, hereditary peers do not have the automatic right to a writ of summons to the House. Irish peerages may not be disclaimed. A peer who disclaims the peerage loses all titles, rights and privileges associated with the peerage; his wife or her husband
4512-474: The House of Lords decided in the Wiltes Peerage Case (1869) LR 4 HL 126 that a patent that did not include the words "of the body" would be held void . It is possible for a patent to allow for succession by someone other than an heir-male or heir of the body, under a so-called special remainder . Several instances may be cited: the Barony of Nelson (to an elder brother and his heirs-male),
4608-564: The House of Lords deemed invalid the clause intended to keep the Barony of Buckhurst separate from the Earldom of De La Warr (the invalidation of clause may not affect the validity of the letters patent itself). The patent stipulated that if the holder of the barony should ever inherit the earldom, then he would be deprived of the barony, which would instead pass to the next successor as if the deprived holder had died without issue. Letters patent are not absolute; they may be amended or revoked by Act of Parliament . For example, Parliament amended
4704-651: The Irish Government. Scotland evolved a similar system, differing in points of detail. The first Scottish earldoms derive from the seven mormaers , of immemorial antiquity; they were named earls by Queen Margaret. The Parliament of Scotland is as old as the English; the Scottish equivalent of baronies are called lordships of Parliament . The Act of Union 1707 , between England and Scotland, provided that future peerages should be peers of Great Britain , and
4800-581: The Irish Patent Roll, although the patents were never issued; but these are treated as valid. The Irish peers were in a peculiar political position: because they were subjects of the King of England, but peers in a different kingdom, they could sit in the English House of Commons, and many did. In the 18th century, Irish peerages became rewards for English politicians, limited only by the concern that they might go to Dublin and interfere with
4896-502: The Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland ) by the eldest son of the King of Scotland . Since those titles have been united, the dukedoms and associated subsidiary titles are held by the eldest son of the monarch. In Scotland, the title Duke of Rothesay is used for life or until ascension. In England and Northern Ireland , the title Duke of Cornwall is used until the heir apparent
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#17327877031694992-462: The Senate chooses its own president , who is also the first in the line of gubernatorial succession. Districts are currently numbered starting with 1 from north to south. While this is often reversed in the decennial redistricting, it was not reversed in the redistricting which occurred in 2021 and which went into effect beginning with the 2022 primary and general elections. The previous district lines, which were drawn in 2013 and were first used in
5088-461: The Sovereign create one new Irish peerage for each extinction. There were no restrictions on creations in the Peerage of the United Kingdom . The Peerage continued to swell through the 19th century. In the 20th century, there were even more creations, as Prime Ministers were again eager to secure majorities in the House of Lords. Peerages were handed out not to honour the recipient but to give him
5184-466: The United Kingdom is the Duchy of Lancaster , which is also an estate rather than a peerage dignity. The Dukedom of Lancaster merged in the Crown when Henry of Monmouth, Duke of Lancaster became King Henry V. Nonetheless, the Duchy of Lancaster continues to exist, theoretically run by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (which is normally a sinecure position with no actual duties related to
5280-472: The Weatherill Amendment to the House of Lords Act 1999 , which preserved 92 hereditary peers in the house. Compromise and negotiation between the two houses make the Parliament Act a very rarely used backup plan. Even without a veto, an upper house may defeat legislation. Its opposition may give the lower chamber a chance to reconsider or even abandon a controversial measure. It can also delay
5376-474: The abolition, while the centrist Fianna Fáil was alone among major parties in supporting the retention of the Seanad. Hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom . As of November 2024, there are 801 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses , 189 earls , 109 viscounts , and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary titles ). As
5472-464: The beginning of each new parliament, each peer who has established his or her right to attend Parliament is issued a writ of summons. Without the writ, no peer may sit or vote in Parliament. The form of writs of summons has changed little over the centuries. It is established precedent that the sovereign may not deny writs of summons to qualified peers. By modern English law, if a writ of summons
5568-691: The body. The House of Lords has settled such a presumption in several cases, including Lord Grey's Case (1640) Cro Cas 601 , the Clifton Barony Case (1673), the Vaux Peerage Case (1837) 5 Cl & Fin 526, the Braye Peerage Case (1839) 6 Cl & Fin 757 and the Hastings Peerage Case (1841) 8 Cl & Fin 144. The meaning of heir of the body is determined by common law. Essentially, descent
5664-449: The business of government for frivolous or merely partisan reasons. These conventions have tended to harden with a passage of time. In presidential systems, the upper house is frequently given other powers to compensate for its restrictions: There are a variety of ways an upper house's members are assembled: by direct or indirect election, appointment or a mixture of these. Many upper houses are not directly elected but appointed: either by
5760-468: The chosen representatives, on the other hand, became the House of Commons . This order, called a writ , was not originally hereditary, or even a privilege; the recipient had to come to the Great Council at his own expense, vote on taxes on himself and his neighbours, acknowledge that he was the king's tenant-in-chief (which might cost him special taxes), and risk involvement in royal politics – or
5856-462: The county; they gradually became honours, with a stipend of £ 20 a year. Like most feudal offices, earldoms were inherited, but the kings frequently asked earls to resign or exchange earldoms. Usually there were few earls in England, and they were men of great wealth in the shire from which they held title, or an adjacent one, but it depended on circumstances: during the civil war between Stephen and
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#17327877031695952-603: The creation of new peerages, the Royal Warrant of 2004 , explicitly apply to both hereditary and life peers. However, successive governments have largely disowned the practice, and the Royal Household website currently describes the King as the fount of honour for "life peerages, knighthoods and gallantry awards", with no mention of hereditary titles. In 2024, the Starmer Labour government announced in
6048-545: The creation of peerages, but only in the Peerage of Ireland, was enacted under the Acts of Union 1800 that combined Ireland and Great Britain into the United Kingdom in 1801. New creations were restricted to a maximum of one new Irish peerage for every three existing Irish peerages that became extinct, excluding those held concurrently with an English or British peerage; only if the total number of Irish peers dropped below 100 could
6144-579: The duchy and is used to appoint a minister without portfolio ). The Duchy of Lancaster is the inherited property that belongs personally to the monarch, rather than to the Crown . Thus, while income from the Crown Estate is turned over to the Exchequer in return for a Sovereign grant payment, the income from the duchy forms a part of the Privy Purse , the personal funds of the Sovereign. At
6240-454: The dukedom was allowed to pass to the Duke's daughters; Lady Henrietta , the Countess of Sunderland , the Countess of Bridgewater and Lady Mary and their heirs-male – and thereafter "to all and every other the issue male and female, lineally descending of or from the said Duke of Marlborough, in such manner and for such estate as the same are before limited to the before-mentioned issue of
6336-496: The earldom reverted to the Crown, who might re-grant it (often to the eldest son-in-law); in the 17th century, it would not be inherited by anybody unless all but one of the daughters died and left no descendants, in which case the remaining daughter (or her heir) would inherit. After Henry II became the Lord of Ireland , he and his successors began to imitate the English system as it was in their time. Irish earls were first created in
6432-535: The end of the Wars of the Roses , which killed many peers, and degraded or attainted many others, there were only 29 Lords Temporal; but the population of England was also much smaller then. The Tudors doubled the number of Peers, creating many but executing others; at the death of Queen Elizabeth I, there were 59. The number of peers then grew under the Stuarts and all later monarchs. By the time of Queen Anne's death in 1714, there were 168 peers. In 1712, Queen Anne
6528-402: The family lands, and usually the same peerage; more complex cases were decided depending on circumstances. Customs changed with time; earldoms were the first to be hereditary, and three different rules can be traced for the case of an earl who left no sons and several married daughters. In the 13th century, the husband of the eldest daughter inherited the earldom automatically; in the 15th century,
6624-550: The head of state, by the head of government or in some other way. This is usually intended to produce a house of experts or otherwise distinguished citizens, who would not necessarily be returned in an election. For example, members of the Senate of Canada are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. In the past, some upper houses had seats that were entirely hereditary, such as in
6720-470: The holder. The blood of an attainted peer was considered "corrupted", consequently his or her descendants could not inherit the title. If all descendants of the attainted peer were to die out, however, then an heir from another branch of the family not affected by the attainder could take the title. The Forfeiture Act 1870 abolished corruption of blood; instead of losing the peerage, a peer convicted of treason would be disqualified from sitting in Parliament for
6816-411: The letters patent creating the Dukedom of Marlborough in 1706. The patent originally provided that the dukedom could be inherited by the heirs-male of the body of the first duke, Captain-General Sir John Churchill . One son had died in infancy and the other died in 1703 from smallpox . Under Parliament's amendment to the patent, designed to allow the famous general's honour to survive after his death,
6912-406: The line is irrelevant when succession is through a female line. In other words, no woman inherits because she is older than her sisters. If all of the co-heirs but one die, then the surviving co-heir succeeds to the title. Otherwise, the title remains abeyant until the sovereign "terminates" the abeyance in favour of one of the co-heirs. The termination of an abeyance is entirely at the discretion of
7008-566: The members of the State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad) are nominated by local governments, one-third by sitting legislators, and the rest are elected by select members of the electorate. The United States Senate was chosen by state legislatures until the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913. The upper house may be directly elected but in different proportions to the lower house - for example,
7104-474: The peer must deliver an instrument of disclaimer to the Lord Chancellor within 12 months of succeeding to the peerage, or, if under the age of 21 at the time of succession, within 12 months of becoming 21 years old. If, at the time of succession, the peer is a member of the House of Commons , then the instrument must be delivered within one month of succession; meanwhile, the peer may not sit or vote in
7200-400: The peerage in most of the United Kingdom are, in descending order of rank, duke , marquess , earl , viscount and baron ; the female equivalents are duchess, marchioness, countess, viscountess and baroness respectively. Women typically do not hold hereditary titles in their own right, except for certain peerages in the peerage of Scotland. One significant change to the status quo in England
7296-411: The peerage. For instance, baronets and baronetesses may pass on their titles, but they are not peers. Conversely, the holder of a non-hereditary title may belong to the peerage, as with life peers . Peerages may be created by means of letters patent , but the granting of new hereditary peerages has largely dwindled; only seven hereditary peerages have been created since 1965, four of them for members of
7392-502: The peerage. However, in all cases the course of descent specified in the patent must be known in common law. For instance, the Crown may not make a "shifting limitation" in the letters patent; in other words, the patent may not vest the peerage in an individual and then, before that person's death, shift the title to another person. The doctrine was established in the Buckhurst Peerage Case (1876) 2 App Cas 1 , in which
7488-601: The period of imprisonment. The Titles Deprivation Act 1917 permitted the Crown to suspend peerages if their holders had fought against the United Kingdom during the First World War . Guilt was to be determined by a committee of the Privy Council ; either House of Parliament could reject the committee's report within 40 days of its presentation. In 1919, King George V issued an Order in Council suspending
7584-412: The possible exception of those given to members of the royal family, would be created if not upon the advice of the prime minister . Many peers hold more than one hereditary title; for example, the same individual may be a duke, a marquess, an earl, a viscount, and a baron by virtue of different peerages. If such a person is entitled to sit in the House of Lords, he still only has one vote. However, until
7680-415: The present governance of the United Kingdom. Scottish peerage law is generally similar to English law, but differs in innumerable points of detail, often being more similar to medieval practice. Women are ineligible to succeed to the majority of English, Irish, and British hereditary peerages, but may inherit certain English baronies by writ and Scottish peerages in the absence of a male heir. The ranks of
7776-457: The recipient of the title and specify the course of descent; the exact meaning of the term is determined by common law . For remainders in the Peerage of the United Kingdom , the most common wording is "to have and to hold unto him and the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten and to be begotten". Where the letters patent specifies the peer's heirs male of the body as successors, the rules of agnatic succession apply, meaning that succession
7872-533: The restoration of a bicameral Congress via a constitutional amendment in 1941, and via adoption of a new constitution in 1987. A previous government of Ireland (the 31st Dáil) promised a referendum on the abolition of its upper house , the Seanad Éireann , during the 24th Seanad session. By a narrow margin, the Irish public voted to retain it. Conservative-leaning Fine Gael and Left-leaning Sinn Féin both supported
7968-543: The royal family, the latest offer of such peerage was in 1973 to Captain Mark Phillips (husband of The Princess Anne ) who declined, and the most recent to accept was the Earl of Snowdon (husband of The Princess Margaret ) in 1961. There is no statute that prevents the creation of new hereditary peerages; they may technically be created at any time, and the government continues to maintain pro forma letters patent for their creation. The most recent policies outlining
8064-539: The rules covering the peers should follow the English model; because there were proportionately many more Scottish peers, they chose a number of representatives to sit in the British House of Lords. The Acts of Union 1800 changed this to peers of the United Kingdom , but provided that Irish peerages could still be created; but the Irish peers were concerned that their honours would be diluted as cheap prizes, and insisted that an Irish peerage could be created only when three Irish peerages had gone extinct (until there were only
8160-425: The said Duke, it being intended that the said honours shall continue, remain, and be invested in all the issue of the said Duke, so long as any such issue male or female shall continue, and be held by them severally and successively in manner and form aforesaid, the elder and the descendants of every elder issue to be preferred before the younger of such issue." The number of peers has varied considerably with time. At
8256-404: The same form by both houses. Additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as "perfect bicameralism" or "equal bicameralism." The role of a revising chamber is to scrutinise legislation that may have been drafted over-hastily in the lower house and to suggest amendments that the lower house may nevertheless reject if it wishes to. An example
8352-599: The senates of Australia, Brazil and the United States have a fixed number of elected members from each state, regardless of the population. Many jurisdictions once possessed upper houses but abolished them to adopt unicameral systems, including Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , Hungary , Iceland , Iran , Mauritania , New Zealand , Peru , Sweden , Turkey , Venezuela , many Indian states , Brazilian states , Canadian provinces , subnational entities such as Queensland , and some other jurisdictions. Newfoundland had
8448-561: The two houses have sometimes reached a constitutional standoff. For example, when the Labour Government of 1999 tried to expel all hereditary peers from the Lords, the Lords threatened to wreck the Government's entire legislative agenda and to block every bill which was sent to the chamber. This standoff led to negotiations between Viscount Cranborne, the then Shadow Leader of the House, and the Labour Government, resulting in
8544-550: The upper house is frequently seen as an advisory or a "house of review" chamber; for this reason, its powers of direct action are often reduced in some way. Some or all of the following restrictions are often placed on upper houses: In parliamentary democracies and among European upper houses the Italian Senate is a notable exception to these general rules, in that it has the same powers as its lower counterpart: any law can be initiated in either house and must be approved in
8640-422: The upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. A legislature composed of only one house (and which therefore has neither an upper house nor a lower house) is described as unicameral . An upper house is usually different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects (though they vary among jurisdictions): Powers: Status: In parliamentary systems
8736-413: The writ is the heir-apparent of the actual holder of the title. A total of ninety-four writs of acceleration have been issued since Edward IV issued the first one, including four writs issued in the twentieth century. The only individual who recently sat in the House of Lords by writ of acceleration is Viscount Cranborne in 1992, through the Barony of Cecil which was actually being held by his father,
8832-406: Was called upon to create 12 peers in one day in order to pass a government measure, more than Queen Elizabeth I had created during a 45-year reign. Several peers were alarmed at the rapid increase in the size of the Peerage, fearing that their individual importance and power would decrease as the number of peers increased. Therefore, in 1719, a bill was introduced in the House of Lords to place
8928-517: Was divided into shires or counties, largely to defend against the Danes ; each shire was led by a local great man, called an earl; the same man could be earl of several shires. When the Normans invaded England , they continued to appoint earls, but not for all counties; the administrative head of the county became the sheriff . Earldoms began as offices, with a perquisite of a share of the legal fees in
9024-466: Was in 1532 when Henry VIII created the Marquess of Pembroke title for his soon-to-be wife, Anne Boleyn ; she held this title in her own right and was therefore ennobled with the same rank as a male. In the Scottish peerage, the lowest rank is lordship of Parliament , the male holder thereof being known as a lord of Parliament . A Scottish barony is a feudal rank, and not of the Peerage. The barony by tenure or feudal barony in England and Wales
9120-460: Was issued to a person who was not a peer, that person took his seat in Parliament, and the parliament was a parliament in the modern sense (including representatives of the Commons), that single writ created a barony , a perpetual peerage inheritable by male-preference primogeniture . This was not medieval practice, and it is doubtful whether any writ was ever issued with the intent of creating such
9216-446: Was similar to a Scottish feudal barony , in being hereditary, but is long obsolete, the last full summons of the English feudal barons to military service having occurred in 1327. The Tenures Abolition Act 1660 finally quashed any remaining doubt as to their continued status. Peerage dignities are created by the sovereign by either writs of summons or letters patent . Under modern constitutional conventions, no peerage dignity, with
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