Sixty Years a Queen Part 48

[Sidenote: Gift of a Battles.h.i.+p.]

On Sat.u.r.day, July 10, a dinner was given at the St. George's Club, Hanover Square, in honour of the Colonial Premiers, five of whom were present. A distinguished company a.s.sembled; but the occasion would not have merited mention in a history of the Queen's reign, had it not been for a speech made by the Right Hon. G. J. Goschen, First Lord of the Admiralty. In language, the very simplicity of which riveted attention from the first--coming as it did from the most eloquent member of Lord Salisbury's Cabinet--Mr. Goschen announced that he had that day received a battles.h.i.+p from Sir J. Gordon Sprigg, representing the Government of Cape Colony! His actual words were:--

"To-day I have had an interesting scene, a simple scene, but one which will come home to all of you. I received the present of an ironclad at the hands of a British Colony. (Loud cheers.) There was no ceremonial, there was no great reception, there was no blare of trumpets; but Sir Gordon Sprigg simply came to the First Lord of the Admiralty and told him that the Cape Colony was prepared to place an ironclad of the first-cla.s.s at the disposal of the Empire. (Cheers.) I thank him on behalf of the English nation, I thank him on behalf of the Government, and I thank him also on behalf of the Empire at large, of which the Cape Colony is so distinguished a part. That offer of a first-cla.s.s battles.h.i.+p is accompanied by no conditions; but it is proposed that that s.h.i.+p shall take its place side by side with those sister s.h.i.+ps, paid for by the British taxpayer, which many of you have seen at Spithead. (Hear, hear.) No conditions attach to it; it is a free gift intended to add to the power of the British Empire." (Cheers.)

This statement evoked expressions of great enthusiasm from the gentlemen who dined at the St. George's Club that night; the next morning it thrilled the entire nation. The zenith of the Jubilee celebrations of 1897 was reached; a self-governing Colony had come forward and presented to the Crown the most magnificent gift of which history has any record!

Jewels and gold and the richest products of Oriental looms have been showered on our Empress-Queen until her palaces have become museums of priceless offerings; but that of the Government and people of Cape Colony outvalued these as much as they outvalue the treasures of ordinary men. Not so much the gift itself, however, but the spirit of the givers touched the heart of the British people. Not in their most visionary dreams had Imperialists contemplated such a consummation as this. Sentiment, so often and so thoughtlessly derided, had triumphed over the cold calculations of the "practical" politician, and the foundation-stone of a united Anglo-Saxon Empire had been laid.

[Ill.u.s.tration:

A. Prince of Wales.

B. Duke of Coburg.

C. Duke of Connaught.

D. Princess of Wales.

E. Duke of Cambridge.

_S. Begg._} {_By permission of the proprietors of the "Ill.u.s.trated London News."_

PRESENTATION OF JUBILEE MEDALS BY H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES TO THE COLONIAL TROOPS IN THE GROUNDS OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE, July 3; THE NEW SOUTH WALES LANCERS FILING PAST THE ROYAL PARTY.]

[Sidenote: The Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund.]

There are a few other features of the Jubilee celebrations which demand notice before this narrative is brought to a close. Chief among these is the Prince of Wales's scheme for establis.h.i.+ng the London hospitals on a firm financial basis--the greatest charitable project in a year made memorable by many such undertakings. So far back as February 6, when a thousand Jubilee plans were being discussed, a statement of the Prince's own wishes in the matter had appeared in the newspapers. His Royal Highness began by saying that the Queen herself had no wish to express an opinion as to the form any celebrations might take. In the absence of any declaration on the part of Her Majesty, His Royal Highness felt at liberty to lay before the inhabitants of London a scheme very dear to his heart. Briefly explained, they were that such a sum of money should be secured, in the form preferably of annual donations, as should suffice to free the London hospitals of debt for ever. An additional annual income of from 100,000 to 150,000 was necessary.

At the time of sending these pages to press, it is not known how far His Royal Highness's wishes have been realised; but it is stated that a sufficient amount has been collected to relieve the hospitals permanently of some of their more pressing needs. A device, characteristic of the age, was resorted to to swell the proceeds of the fund. Two Hospital Stamps were issued under authority, and sold at 2_s._ 6_d._ and 1_s._ each, the more expensive one being of a red colour and the less expensive blue. An artistic group representing Charity, after Sir Joshua Reynolds, occupies the centre of each stamp. The legend "1837: The Queen's Commemoration, 1897" runs along the top, and at the bottom appear the words, "Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund, Albert Edward, Prince," the signature being a facsimile of His Royal Highness's handwriting. The sale of these must have been prodigious, but until the Hospital Fund's accounts are made up it will be impossible to judge how far philatelists all over the world availed themselves of the opportunity to add these unique specimens to their collections. The dies from which the Hospital Stamps were printed were subsequently destroyed in the presence of the Duke of York at the Bank of England. Another happy idea was the publication of an official programme, authorised by the Prince of Wales, of the Jubilee Procession. The programme, which was sold at a s.h.i.+lling a copy, was admirably ill.u.s.trated. The entire profits were devoted to the Hospital Fund.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Thiele, Chancery Lane._

DEFENDERS OF THE EMPIRE.

The following forces are represented by the above group: Borneo Dyak Police, Sierra Leone Force, Victoria Mounted Rifles, Hausas (Sergeant of).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Lafayette._

THE RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN FORREST,

PREMIER OF WEST AUSTRALIA.

Born near Bunbury, W.A., 1847, educated at Perth, entered Survey Department 1865, and has commanded several expeditions into the interior besides surveying much of the Colony. Commissioner of Crown Lands, Surveyor-General and Member of Executive and Legislative Councils 1883-1890, Premier and Treasurer of the first Ministry under responsible government 1890.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Elliott & Fry._

THE RIGHT HON. SIR EDWARD BRADDON,

PREMIER OF TASMANIA,

Is a Cornishman. Born in 1829, and educated at University College. In his eighteenth year he went to Calcutta and made himself famous as a tiger-hunter. In the Mutiny he served with a regiment he had himself raised, and was mentioned in despatches. He held many offices in India, and in 1878 retired on a pension and went to Tasmania, where, twelve months later, he entered the Colonial House of a.s.sembly. He was Leader of the Opposition in 1886-87, and Minister of Lands, Works, and Education, 1887-88. He was for six years Agent-General for Tasmania, and in 1894 became Premier of that Colony. Miss M. E. Braddon, the novelist, is his sister.]

[Sidenote: The Jubilee Medals.]

The commemoration medals struck to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee were eagerly bought up by all cla.s.ses of Her Majesty's subjects. They were, perhaps, the most artistic things ever issued from the Royal Mint, though the small size of some of them interfered sadly with the effect of the design. The prices were as follows:--Large gold, 13; small gold, 2; large silver, 10_s._; small silver, 1_s._; and large bronze, 4_s._ It was a happy idea to give on the reverse of the medals the Queen's head, by W. Wyon, as it appeared on the coinage for 1837 to 1887. The choice of the motto--"Longitudo dierum in dextera ejus et in sinistra gloria"--could not have been bettered if the whole of literature had been searched through. The head, by Brock, on the obverse, first used in 1892, is undoubtedly the most satisfactory likeness of the Queen that has appeared on the coinage. In the gold medals the metal was unpolished, and the large silver ones were covered with a thin coating of platinum, the burnished appearance of newly-stamped coinage being thus avoided, much to the advantage of the design. In both cases the metal was of the purest quality, and it is interesting to note that there was actually 12 15_s._ worth of gold in the 13 medal.

Innumerable publications relating to the Jubilee were issued from the Press. The _Ill.u.s.trated London News_' special number was a triumph of colour-printing; the "Golden Number" of the London _Daily Mail_ was, as its name indicates, printed entirely in gold, and found a ready sale at 6_d._ a copy.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Hughes & Mullins, Ryde._

HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN THE DRESS WORN BY HER IN THE DIAMOND JUBILEE PROCESSION.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by H. N. King._

THE THRONE ROOM, BUCKINGHAM PALACE.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by H. N. King._

THE WHITE DRAWING ROOM, BUCKINGHAM PALACE.]

Reviewing the Jubilee celebrations as a whole it is impossible not to be struck by the leading characteristic of them all--their complete success. The Sovereign Lady in whose honour everything was done, was delighted with all; her subjects throughout the Empire enjoyed themselves hugely; not a single accident dimmed the happiness of Jubilee Day in London; the Procession was the most splendid ever witnessed; the Review at Spithead transcended in magnificence anything of the kind recorded in the annals of our navy; and the Review at Aldershot was a triumph for our brave little army. Almost as remarkable was the exaltation of national sentiment manifested at this time. It seemed as if we had suddenly discovered that we belonged to a very great Empire, and were overjoyed at the thought of it. When we saw the Colonial Premiers and the Colonial soldiers, we realized for the first time that we were co-heirs with them to a hundred Empires, and our imaginations were kindled. Our political views widened out to the furthest horizon and we were Conservatives and Liberals no longer, but Imperialists. We wanted but a sign from the Colonies themselves to declare ourselves Imperialists for ever, and we received a hundred signs. The offer of a battles.h.i.+p from the Cape Colony was the greatest of these signs, but it was only one of many. The Colonial Prime Ministers came to us bearing messages of affection from the great new Britains they represented, and in one or two instances their proposals shadowed forth measures of great advantage to us and to them. Canada, in particular, offered a considerable reduction of the tariff in return for the reception of Canadian goods on terms which have hitherto been rendered impossible by the existence of commercial treaties between this country and Germany and Belgium. She asked, in fact, for liberty to trade with this country on terms specially advantageous to both ourselves and Canada; and in promptly giving notice to terminate the treaties referred to, Lord Salisbury's Government accorded to Canada the honour of taking the first practical step towards solving the fiscal difficulties which stand in the way of Imperial federation. The exhortation of the great bard who represents so strongly the spirit of the Victorian age seemed now for the first time to have come right home to the heart of the nation:

"Sons, be welded each and all, Into one imperial whole; One with Britain, heart and soul!

One Life, one Flag, one Fleet, one Throne."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Lafayette._

THE RIGHT HON. H. Es...o...b.., Q.C.,

Premier of Natal.

Born in London in 1838 and educated at St. Paul's School. He went to Natal in 1859, and entered the Colonial Parliament in 1872; nominated to Executive Council, 1880. Attorney-General, 1893. Prime Minister, Attorney-General, and Minister of Education, 1897.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _From Photo_} {_by H. N. King._

A BLACK V.C.

Sergeant W. J. Gordon, 1st West India Regiment, obtained the Victoria Cross for interposing his body and receiving a bullet intended for his superior officer.]

It is well that this first great reunion of the Anglo-Saxon race should have taken place on the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Commemoration. Let us hope that she may live to see another and even greater Jubilee, another gathering together of the scattered members of her Empire!

G.o.d SAVE THE QUEEN.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE JUBILEE MEDAL (FULL SIZE).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: O King of kings.

THE JUBILEE HYMN.

APPOINTED TO BE USED IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS