THE LAW AND CUSTOM OF PRIMOGENITURE 365 



It is well known that in families which maintain the practice 

 of entailing, the disparity of wealth between the eldest son and 

 younger children is, almost invariably, prodigious. The charge 

 for the portions of younger children, when created by a marriage 

 settlement, is created at a time when it is quite uncertain how 

 many such children there will be. It is rarely double of the 

 annual rental, and often does not exceed the annual rental ; 

 indeed, in the case of very large estates, it may fall very far 

 short of it. In other words, supposing there to be six children, 

 the income of each younger brother or sister from a family 

 property of ^5000 a year will consist of the interest on a sum 

 of ;^iooo or possibly ;!^2000 ; and even if there were but 

 one such younger child, his income from the property would 

 probably not be more than one-twentieth or one-thirtieth of 

 his elder brother's rental. Nor does this represent the whole 

 difference between their respective shares of the family endow- 

 ment ; for the eldest son, who pays no probate duty, finds a 

 residence and garden at his disposal, which he may either 

 occupy rent-free or let for his own private advantage. Of 

 course, where a father possesses a large amount of personalty, 

 he may partially redress the balance ; and there are exceptionally 

 conscientious landowners who feel it a duty to save out of their 

 own life incomes for younger children. But it is to be feared 

 that accumulations in the funds are too often employed not 

 exclusively nor mainly to increase the pittances allotted for 

 portions, but, on the principle of "to him that hath shall be 

 given," to relieve the land of some outstanding incumbrance 

 and to aid the eldest son in conforming to a conventional 

 standard of dignity. The same imaginary obligation to pre- 

 serve that degree of state and luxury which is expected of 

 country gentlemen with a certain status and acreage, offers 

 an obstacle to saving, which the majority find insuperable. 

 Besides, nine out of ten men who inherit their estates burdened 

 with charges for their father's widow and younger children 

 would think it Quixotic to lay by out of their available in- 

 come, as men of business would do, for the benefit of their 

 own younger, children. Hence the proverbial slenderness of a 



