A clause in this Act reads as follows:

"If any person accepts (or gives, or agrees or proposes to give) or
agrees to accept or attempts to obtain from any person, for himself or
for any other person, or for any purpose, any gift, or money or
valuable consideration as an inducement or reward for procuring or
assisting or endeavouring to procure the grant of a dignity or title
or honour to any person, or otherwise in connection with such a grant,
he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour".

Those found guilty could go to prison for two years or pay a fine of £500.

Only one person, Maundy Gregory, has ever been convicted under this
Act and he was given two months' imprisonment, followed by a pension
for life (provided he lived in exile).

Now, Answerfinder, with your money and my brains, let's bring a few
private prosecutions ...

This should be great fun, don't you think?

Bryan the Stirrer

---

Clarification of Question by probonopublico-ga on 26 Mar 2006 20:38 PST

Many thanks for your Comment, A/F, which disposes of this Question.

All the Best

Bryan

Yo - the 1925 act
- and Bliar (sic) has admitted responsibilty

In relation to the current situation, the Metropolitan Police are
already looking into possible breaches of the 1925 Act.

Bryan,

This is not worthy of an answer, so I?ll place this as a comment.

I?ve been reading all about Gregory in some contemporary news
articles. Strikes me that in the later days he was just an out and out
con-man. Looks as if he was doing a good line in honours from the
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Patriarch_of_Jerusalem

Interesting to see that his reported going rates for honours in 1933
were as follows:
£10-12,000 for a knighthood.
£30,000 for a baronetcy.
£50,000 - 100,000 for a peerage.

Now, taking, let?s say, £80000 as a middle figure, I put that through
the retail price index historical calculator and it comes to the
present day value of £3,782,972.58. Strikes me that a certain current
political party is a little cheaper than that.

It is interesting that even his accountant got in on the act. He was
convicted of blackmail after Gregory abandoned the country. He had
written to some of Gregory?s former clients threatening to reveal them
in a book.

As for private prosecutions, I think the CPS might spoil your fun.
http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/communications/fs-privatepros.html

answerfinder-ga

Thanks A/F ...

If you had answered in the affirmative, I was going to ask you how
many sets of handcuffs we would require. (Wholesale quantities, no
doubt.)

Gregory had always been a con man and he had made a very good living for a while.

Would you believe that he even had Sir William Horwood, the
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, in his pocket?

All the Best

Bryan