It is a striking and peculiar feature in the constitution of England, that men who render themselves eminent in the liberal sciences, in the arts, or in commerce, frequently find their pursuits conduct them to a high degree of rank and estimation in the state; and the sovereign has, in numerous instances, conferred the honour of the Peerage on certain individuals, who have contributed by their abilities to enlarge and promote the manufactures and commerce of the nation. Among the families whose ancestors have deserved well of their country, and who owe their elevation to the Peerage to their forefathers having been engaged in trade, the following are honourable instances. The EARLS OF COVENTRY are descended from John Coventry, son of William Coventry, of the city of that name. The former was an opulent mercer, and resided in London, of which city he was Lord Mayor in 1425, and one of the executors of the celebrated Whittington. He was a resolute and determined magistrate, and was highly commended for his spirited interference in the dreadful quarrel between Humphrey Duke of Gloucester, and the insolent Cardinal Beaufort, which he successfully quelled. The family of RICH, Earls of Warwick and Holland, arose from Richard Rich, an opulent mercer, sheriff of London in the year 1441. His descendant, Richard, was distinguished by his knowledge of the law; became Solicitor General in the reign of king Henry the eighth, and treacherously effected the ruin of Sir Thomas More; was created a baron of the realm in the reign of Edward the sixth, and became Lord Chancellor by the favour of the same monarch. The HOLLES’S, Earls of Clare, and afterwards Dukes of Newcastle, sprung from Sir William Holles, Lord Mayor of London in 1540, son of William Holles, citizen and baker. His great-grandson was the first who was called to the House of Peers, in the reign of James the first, by the title of Lord Haughton, and soon after was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Clare. The fourth peer of that title was created by king William, Duke of Newcastle; but the title became extinct in his name in 1711. Sir THOMAS LEIGH, Lord Mayor of London, in 1558, furnished the Peerage with the addition of two. He was the son of Roger Leigh, of Wellington, in Shropshire. Sir Thomas’s grandson, Francis, was created by Charles the first, Lord Dunsmore, and afterwards Earl of Chichester; and Sir Thomas’s second son, Sir Thomas Leigh, of Stoneleigh, had the honour of being called to the House of Peers by the title of Lord Leigh, of Stoneleigh. The PLEYDELL-BOUVERIES, Earls of Radnor, descend from Edward De Bouverie, an opulent Turkey merchant, who died in 1694.