82

ORDER OF THE THISTLE.

[GENERAL REMARKS.

to the Order, and while the Marquesses of Lothian have received it for fiveconsecutive generations, others of great rank and antiquity have rarely, if ever,been selected for the Distinction. Of the House of Murray, there have beenseven; of Hamilton and Gordon, six; and of Scott and Douglas, five each ;of Campbell, and Stewart (Earls of Moray), four; and two, respectively, ofDrummond, Colyear, Cathcart, Hay, Stewart (Earls of Galloway), andErskine.

Ten Knights of the Thistle have been Elected into the Garter; but nomore than three of them, the Duke of Hamilton in 1712, the Duke of Rox-burgh in 1812, and the Duke of Clarence in 1782, were permitted to retainthe Thistle. His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, is the only instance ofa Knight of the Garter having been Elected a Knight of the Thistle. Althoughthe Statutes of the Thistle are not so anomalous and inconsistent as those ofthe Garter, they are by no means adapted to the present state of the Order.By the original Statutes of Queen Anne, the number of Knights was limitedto Twelve, whereas they have since been permanently extended to Sixteen.The Insignia directed to be worn has been altered, and a conspicuous part ofit, the Jewel, is no longer used. The Ceremonial prescribed, differs from thatwhich is actually performed. No Ecclesiastical Officer is mentioned; andthough a Chancellor, and a Great Seal of the Order, are contemplated, theformer has not been appointed, and the latter has never been made. Noallusion occurs to the Fees or Salaries of the Officers; and in some othertrifling points, the existing practice is either not authorized by, or differs ma-terially from those Ordinances.

It is remarkable that a provision should not occur for the Precedency ofthe Knights, collectively or individually; so that when a claim was made byone of them, who was not a Peer, to attend a Coronation, no place couldbe given him; * 2 and if the Order were to be conferred upon a person, whohad no Precedency by birth or Office, it would be impossible to assign aposition to him, either in public Ceremonials, or in private Society. Upon

Election, he was created Duke of Clarence and Saint Andrews in Great Britain in 1789; and that allthe Knights of the Thistle, promoted in the Peerage since the Union with Scotland, were Peers of GreatBritain. Lord Erskine and the Earl of Fife, though not Peers of Scotland, were descended fromScottish families; and Lord Erskine was a Scotsman by birth. The Order was extended in 1820from Twelve to Sixteen Knights.

2 Vide pp. 43—45, antea.