Eight years have passed since the issue of the last edition of the British Volume of the "LANDED GENTRY," and the changes during that period, no less than the fact that the supply of that edition is now exhausted, have necessitated the production of a new edition. Probably no similar period in the past has witnessed so many changes in the subject matter of "BURKE'S LANDED GENTRY." Birth, marriage and death are always with us, and only those responsible for the recording of such details, and the changes consequent thereupon, can form any idea of the labour involved, or the many thousand alterations which are required.

But other factors are at work which pile up the number of alterations. There is the constant change in the ownership of land, the rapid growth of fortunes, the loss of fortune, and the frequent advancement of men to hereditary honours. I find myself chasing the details of some new landholder only to see him pass on into the hands of my colleague, Mr. Ashworth Burke, for the Peerage Volume, before I have had the opportunity of using the family in the "LANDED GENTRY." Things move so rapidly nowadays. The constant change of ownership is at the present time very marked. The vicious and crushing burden of the taxation levied upon the land, dictated by a hatred of the landowner rather than by the necessities of Imperial finance, and the nightmare of the Death duties, have converted the holding of land from an investment into a luxury to be maintained from extraneous sources. One by one our ancient families, whose sole resources have been the land, are squeezed out of their ownership, and their places in the country are taken through lease or purchase by a new class. The extent to which this change has taken place may be appreciated from the fact that of the families included in the "LANDED GENTRY" so recently as 1863, not fifty per cent. remain in the present edition. I have been very reluctant to omit any of the historic families merely because their lands have been sold, because, although individual importance may be lessened, they are nevertheless still knit with the ties of blood and kinship to the class to which they belong, and the mere possession of broad acres is no longer the criterion of social status that was once the case. We have in our midst a growing landless aristocracy consorting with and accepted on an equality by those of the highest rank, and from the point of view of "BURKE" it has been difficult to know what to do with them. The solution which is contemplated - the volume is now in pre-paration - is a separate book, which shall include those families which have parted with their lands and those who have never owned land, but have won their way to distinction and position in the service of the King and in other ways.

It is with no disrespect to my learned predecessors in the Editorship of the "LANDED GENTRY" that I say that the character of the genealogies which are published has greatly changed since the book had its beginning under the title of "BURKE'S COMMONERS." Then I should imagine the responsibility for the accuracy of the pedigrees and arms was left to the members of the families from whom the details were obtained. The responsibility has been gradually fastened upon the Editor, and if mistakes are discovered, he it is towards whom criticism is directed. For that reason I am bound to reserve to myself the decision as to what I will publish. Judging from my correspondence, my decisions often meet with disfavour, but how can one trust, for example, the genealogical accuracy of a correspondent who supplies a descent for which a few months later he substitutes an entirely different one. To those whom I have offended by my omissions I plead for pardon. I would urge, in extenuation of my offence, that in these critical days vague tradition must give place to definite and ascertained fact. I do not think the "LANDED GENTRY" now contains much for which tradition is the only authority. The constant scrutiny and criticism of skilled genealogists is ever upon the pedigrees in the book, and during the recent revision for the purposes of the present edition, so much of the book has been methodically examined and checked that I am hopeful it may be justifiably regarded as thoroughly reliable. Every coat of arms has, in addition, been most carefully examined. For all of those which remain, I believe proper authority can be shown.

I had hoped to have been able to bring this volume of the "LANDED GENTRY" into line with the Peerage and the Irish volume by illustrating the whole of the coats of arms, and it will be noticed that the illustrations are not far short of this; but I found it impossible in the time at my disposal to complete my efforts, and in a number of cases I have been compelled to leave this until the next edition. There are, however, many hundred new illustrations in the present volume, which I hope may prove an added attraction to the book.

I have to express my sincerest thanks to my many thousand correspondents for the great assistance they have afforded me by the supply of information within their own knowledge and by the revision of proofs. My predecessor and I have been at pains to obtain and include many postal addresses of cadet members of the various families included in the book. Not only has this proved a very useful and valuable feature, but it has this added importance, that we are thereby enabled to and do send additional proofs for correction to every cadet member whose address is given. By this means the pedigrees in the "LANDED GENTRY" are steadily becoming much fuller in detail. No space is grudged to amplify a pedigree by the insertion of properly authenticated details, but let me say quite frankly that a mere statement is not accepted on any matter which is outside the limits of the personal knowledge of the person making it. I am not bringing any widespread accusation of deliberate intention to mislead (although even this I sometimes meet with), but one cannot help the conviction that sometimes the desire to believe has led to the belief in some most unconscionable rubbish.

I have to acknowledge also, which I do with grateful thanks, the constant and continuous assistance from almost all of the Officers of Arms at the College of Arms, in Lyon Court and in Ulster's Office. Without that assistance the preparation of the "LANDED GENTRY" would be almost impossible, and without cataloguing the names of individual officers, may I say that in no instance in which I have asked for assistance or information has it ever been refused.