Speeches and Addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales: 1863-1888 Part 24

COLONIAL BANQUET AT THE MANSION HOUSE.

_July 16th, 1881._

The Lord Mayor of London entertained the Prince of Wales, President of the Colonial Inst.i.tute, and a large company of representatives of the Colonies, with other distinguished guests, at dinner, at the Mansion House, on July the 16th, 1881. Seldom has there been such an a.s.semblage in the Capital of the British Empire. Governors, Premiers, and Administrators of so many countries were present, that one might almost wonder how affairs went on in their absence. But rulers as well as subjects must have holiday rest, and the facility and rapidity of travel allow easy access from all parts of the world to "the mother country."

The Lord Mayor (Sir William McArthur, M.P.), after the toast of "The Queen," said that they were honoured with the presence of an unexpected but very distinguished guest, the King of the Sandwich Islands. It was the first time that His Majesty had visited Europe, and he naturally wished to visit the land which first made known to the world the islands of the Pacific. "Having once visited the Sandwich Islands," said the Lord Mayor, "I was charmed not only with the beauty of the scenery and the fertility of the soil, but with the good order which everywhere prevailed. His Majesty reigns over a very prosperous and a very happy people."

The toast being duly honoured, the King of the Sandwich Islands expressed his high sense of the graciousness of the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the other Royal and distinguished persons he had met, and would carry back to his country the most grateful and pleasant recollections of his visit.

Tho Lord Mayor next gave "The health of the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and the other members of the Royal Family." In response to the toast, the Prince arose amidst great cheering, and said:--

"My Lord Mayor, your Majesty, my Lords and Gentlemen,--For the kind and remarkably flattering way in which you, my Lord Mayor, have been good enough to propose this toast, and you, my lords and gentlemen, for the kind and hearty way in which you have received it, I beg to offer you my most sincere thanks. It is a peculiar pleasure to me to come to the City, because I have the honour of being one of its freemen. But this is, indeed, a very special dinner, one of a kind that I do not suppose has ever been given before; for we have here this evening representatives of probably every Colony in the Empire. We have not only the Secretary of the Colonies, but Governors past and present, ministers, administrators, and agents are all, I think, to be found here this evening. I regret that it has not been possible for me to see half or one-third of the colonies which it has been the good fortune of my brother the Duke of Edinburgh to visit. In his voyages round the world he has had opportunities more than once of seeing all our great colonies. Though I have not been able personally to see them, or only a small portion of them, you may rest a.s.sured it does not diminish in any way the interest I take in them.

"It is, I am sorry to say, now going on for twenty-one years since I visited our large North American colonies. Still, though I was very young at the time, the remembrance of that visit is as deeply imprinted on my memory now as it was at that time. I shall never forget the public receptions which were accorded to me in Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, and if it were possible for me at any time to repeat that visit, I need not tell you, gentlemen, who now represent here those great North American colonies, of the great pleasure it would give me to do so. It affords me great gratification to see an old friend, Sir John Macdonald, the Premier of Canada, here this evening.

"It was a most pressing invitation, certainly, that I received two years ago to visit the great Australasian Colonies, and though at the time I was unable to give an answer, in the affirmative or in the negative, still it soon became apparent that my many duties here in England would prevent my accomplis.h.i.+ng what would have been a long, though a most interesting voyage. I regret that such has been the case, and that I was not able to accept the kind invitation I received to visit the Exhibitions at Sydney and at Melbourne. I am glad, however, to know that they have proved a great success, as has been testified to me only this evening by the n.o.ble Duke (Manchester) by my side, who has so lately returned. Though, my lords and gentlemen, I have, as I have said before, not had the opportunity of seeing these great Australasian Colonies, which every day and every year are making such immense development, still, at the International Exhibitions of London, Paris, and Vienna, I had not only an opportunity of seeing their various products there exhibited, but I had the pleasure of making the personal acquaintance of many colonists--a fact which has been a matter of great importance and great benefit to myself.

"It is now thirty years since the first International Exhibition took place in London, and then for the first time colonial exhibits were shown to the world. Since that time, from the Exhibitions which have followed our first great gathering in 1851, the improvements that have been made are manifest. That in itself is a clear proof of the way in which the colonies have been exerting themselves to make their vast territories of the great importance that they are at the present moment. But though, my Lord Mayor, I have not been to Australasia, as you have mentioned, I have sent my two sons on a visit there; and it has been a matter of great gratification, not only to myself and to the Princess, but to the Queen, to hear of the kindly reception they have met with everywhere. They are but young, but I feel confident that their visit to the Antipodes will do them an incalculable amount of good. On their way out they visited a colony in which, unfortunately, the condition of affairs was not quite as satisfactory as we could wish, and as a consequence they did not extend their visits in that part of South Africa quite so far inland as might otherwise have been the case. I must thank you once more, my Lord Mayor, for the kind way in which you have proposed this toast.

"I thank you, in the name of the Princess and the other members of the Royal Family, for the kind reception their names have met with from all here to-night, and I beg again to a.s.sure you most cordially and heartily of the great pleasure it has given me to be present here among so many distinguished colonists and gentlemen connected with the colonies, and to have had an opportunity of meeting your distinguished guest, the King of the Sandwich Islands. If your lords.h.i.+p's visit to his dominions remains impressed on your mind, I think your lords.h.i.+p's kindly reception of His Majesty here to-night is not likely soon to be forgotten by him."

The Duke of Manchester, in responding to the toast of "The House of Lords," said that he took much less part in the proceedings of that august body than many of its members. He had, however, lately visited some of our colonies--and that was, perhaps, the reason why he was called upon to respond to that toast. Having given some remarkable statistics of progress in Australia, he said, "It was calculated that Australians and New Zealanders, per head, man, woman, and child, consumed 8 10s.-worth of British goods, while France only rated at 7s.

8d. per head, and the United States at 7s. per head. These were facts showing that, if for no other reason, there were very forcible financial reasons why we should consolidate, encourage, and promote in every way the prosperity of the British Colonies."

The Speaker, in returning thanks on behalf of the House of Commons, said he was one of those who had a great faith in the future of the English people throughout the world. Wherever Englishmen set their foot they grew and prospered; they had learnt the habit of self-government, and were well acquainted with the forms of government, and they carried with them English customs, English habits, English inst.i.tutions. Thus we had a great Colonial Empire firmly compacted together of colonists from the old country, all loyal subjects of the Crown. He trusted and believed that that state of things would long continue, and he hoped that the bonds between those colonies and the mother country would become closer and closer from generation to generation.

The Lord Mayor then proposed the toast of the evening, "The British Colonies," to which the Earl of Kimberley replied, concluding with these words: "This is a representative a.s.sembly, and one of the most remarkable ever gathered together in this Metropolis. I congratulate you, my Lord Mayor, on the happy notion of bringing together this a.s.sembly, which must have an equally happy effect in promoting good feeling both here and in the Colonies, inasmuch as it is a type of the union which ought to bind us together."

The Prince of Wales then proposed the Lord Mayor's health in a brief speech, in the course of which he said that it must be especially gratifying to his lords.h.i.+p to preside at such a dinner, seeing that he was well acquainted with the colonies, being a colonial merchant of high repute, and having visited, if not all, at any rate most of our great colonies.

The Lord Mayor briefly acknowledged the compliment, and said this meeting was one of the most gratifying incidents of his year of office.

CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON INSt.i.tUTE.

_July 18th, 1881._

Of many movements originated by the late Prince Consort, and carried forward by the Prince of Wales, the advancement of technical education is one of the highest national importance. Without going into past history, it is sufficient to say that of late years some of the Guilds of the City of London have been awakened to a sense of their duties in training artisans, for which purpose they were at first mainly founded.

The Corporation of London has aided the movement, but in a more limited way. At first the efforts were directed to the encouragement of technical education in existing schools and colleges by pecuniary grants. But subsequently the Inst.i.tute has been enabled to establish schools of its own, and to a.s.sist in development of technical instruction, not in London only, but in many large provincial towns.

The Inst.i.tute had been incorporated in 1880, and in May of that year the late Duke of Albany laid the foundation stone of the Finsbury Technical College, the first building in the Metropolis exclusively devoted to this practical training. In Lambeth and other districts similar schools have been inst.i.tuted; but it was thought advisable to found a Central Inst.i.tute for systematic teaching the practical applications of science and art to the trades and industries of the country. Hitherto the training of artisans has been mainly dependent on the customs of apprentices.h.i.+p in the various handicrafts; upwards of twenty of the City Companies, including nine out of the twelve greater Guilds, had subscribed largely, and had entered the a.s.sociated Inst.i.tute, when the Prince of Wales was invited to become the President. By the influence of the Prince, as President of the Royal Commissioners of 1851, a site for the proposed central College was granted at a nominal rent, on the estate at South Kensington. To lay the foundation stone of this building, the Prince, accompanied by the Princess of Wales, came on the 18th of July, 1881.

An address having been delivered by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Selborne, Chairman of the Committee of the Inst.i.tute, the Prince of Wales delivered the following speech, which more clearly presents the whole subject, and brings out its national importance:--

"My Lord Chancellor, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--I thank you for your address, and beg leave to a.s.sure you that it gives me much satisfaction to attend here to-day to lay the foundation stone of an inst.i.tution which gives such forcible expression to one of the most important needs in the education of persons who are destined to take part in the productive history of this country.

"Hitherto English teaching has chiefly relied on training the intellectual faculties, so as to adapt men to apply their intelligence in any occupation of life to which they may be called; and this general discipline of the mind has on the whole been found sufficient until recent times; but during the last thirty years the compet.i.tion of other nations, even in manufactures which once were exclusively carried on in this kingdom, has been very severe. The great progress that has been made in the means of locomotion as well as in the application of steam for the purposes of life has distributed the raw materials of industry all over the world, and has economized time and labour in their conversion to objects of utility. Other nations which did not possess in such abundance as Great Britain coal, the source of power, and iron, the essence of strength, compensated for the want of raw material by the technical education of their industrial cla.s.ses, and this country has, therefore, seen manufactures springing up everywhere, guided by the trained intelligence thus created. Both in Europe and in America technical colleges for teaching, not the practice, but the principles of science and art involved in particular industries, had been organized in all the leading centres of industry.

"England is now thoroughly aware of the necessity for supplementing her educational inst.i.tutions by colleges of a like nature. Most of our great manufacturing towns have either started or have already erected their colleges of science and art. In only a few instances, however, have they become developed into schools for systematic technical instruction.

This building, which is to be erected by the City and Guilds of London, will be of considerable benefit to the whole kingdom, not only as an example of the inst.i.tute devoting itself to technical training, but as a focus likewise for uniting the different technical schools in the Metropolis already in existence, and a central establishment also to which promising students from the provinces may, by the aid of scholars.h.i.+ps, he brought to benefit by the superior instruction which London can command. While studying at your inst.i.tution, they will have the further advantages that the treasures of the South Kensington Museum and the numerous collections in the City may bring to bear on the artistic and scientific education of future manufacturers.

"Let me remind you that the realization of this idea was one of the most cherished objects which my lamented father had in view.

After the Exhibition of 1851, he recognized the need of technical education in the future, and he foresaw how difficult it would be in London to find s.p.a.ce for such museums and colleges as those which now surround the spot on which we stand.

It is, therefore, to me a peculiar pleasure that the Commissioners of the Exhibition, of which I am the President, have been able to contribute to your present important undertaking, by giving to you the ground upon which the present college is to be erected, with a sufficient reserve of land to insure its future development.

"Allow me, in conclusion, to express the great satisfaction which I experience in seeing the ancient guilds of the City of London so warmly co-operating in the advancement of technical instruction. I am aware that several of them have for some time past in various ways separately encouraged the study of science and art in the Metropolis, as well as in the provinces; and it is a n.o.ble effort on their part when they join together to establish a united inst.i.tute with the view of making still greater and more systematic endeavours for the promotion of this branch of special education. By consenting at your request to become the President of this Inst.i.tute I hope it may be in my power to benefit the good work, and that our joint exertions, aided, I trust, by the continued liberality of the City and Guilds of London, may prove to be an example to the rest of the country to train the intelligence of industrial communities, so that, with the increasing compet.i.tion of the world, England may retain her proud pre-eminence as a manufacturing nation."

After this address, the ceremony of laying the foundation stone was completed. A medal to commemorate the event had previously been struck at the Royal Mint.

It is stated in the Times of October 20th, 1888, that "in the last ten years several of the Companies, in conjunction with the City Corporation, have together given something like a quarter of a million to the City Guilds of London Inst.i.tute--the amount including gifts of 46,000 from the Goldsmiths, of 43,000 from the Drapers, of 37,000 from the Clothworkers, of 34,000 from the Fishmongers, of 22,000 from the Mercers, of 10,000 from the Grocers, and of 11,000 from the City Corporation. Besides this, to mention the more salient examples, the Drapers have given some 60,000 to the People's Palace, the Goldsmiths have promised an annuity of 2,500, equivalent to a capital sum of 85,000, to the New Cross Technical Inst.i.tute, the Mercers propose to devote 60,000 to the establishment of an agricultural college in Wilts.h.i.+re, and the s.h.i.+pwrights' Company is taking the lead in a movement for the formation of a college of s.h.i.+pbuilding in connection with a Technical Inst.i.tute at the East-end."

Besides all this, the people of South London are preparing to establish three Technical Inst.i.tutes, with the help of the Charity Commissioners; and, if possible, to secure the Albert Palace for a Battersea Inst.i.tute.

A similar movement has begun in North London. These local Technical Schools are independent of the City Guilds of London Inst.i.tute at Kensington, but the impulse was given by its establishment.

THE INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS.

_August 3rd, 1881._

The seventh meeting of the International Medical Congress was formally opened by the Prince of Wales, on the 3rd of August, 1881. It was the first time the Congress had been held in England. The great room of St.

James's Hall was nearly filled, 3000 members being present. No lady pract.i.tioners were admitted, although at least 25 women, practising medicine, were then on the English Medical Register, and a protest against the decision of the Council had been signed by 43 duly qualified medical women. At previous meetings of the Congress in foreign countries women were not excluded.

The Prince of Wales, on his arrival, was received by Sir W. Jenner, Sir William Gull, Sir James Paget, Sir J. Risdon Bennett, and other members of the Committee. The Honorary Secretary having read the report of the Executive Committee, the Prince of Wales, who was accompanied by the Crown Prince of Prussia, the late Emperor "Frederick the n.o.ble," rose and said:--

"Your Imperial Highness and Gentlemen,--I gladly complied with the request that I should be patron of the International Medical Congress of 1881, and among many reasons for so doing was my conviction that few things can tend more to the welfare of mankind than that educated men of all nations should from time to time meet together for the promotion of the branches of knowledge to which they devote themselves. The intercourse and the mutual esteem of nations have often been advanced by great international exhibitions, and I look back with pleasure to those with which I have been connected; but when conferences are held among those who in all parts of the world apply themselves to the study of science, even greater international benefits may, I think, be confidently antic.i.p.ated, more especially in the study of medicine and surgery, for in these the effects of climate and of national habits must give to the pract.i.tioners of each nation opportunities, not only of acquiring knowledge, but of imparting knowledge to those of their _confreres_ whom they meet in Congress.

"I venture to think, gentlemen, that the Executive Committee have acted wisely in inst.i.tuting sections for the discussion of a very wide range of subjects, including not only the sciences on which medical knowledge is founded, but many of its most practical applications, and I am very happy to see that so great scope will be granted for the discussion of important questions relating to the public health, to the cure of the sick in hospitals and in the houses of the poor, and to the welfare of the Army and Navy. The devotion with which many members of the medical profession readily share the dangers of climate and the fatigues and dangers of war, and the many risks which must be encountered in the study of means, not only for the remedy, but for the prevention of disease, deserves the warmest acknowledgment from the public.

"I have great satisfaction in believing, in seeing this crowded hall, that I may already regard the Congress as successful in having attracted a number never hitherto equalled of medical men from all parts of this kingdom, as well as from every country in Europe, from the United States, and from other parts of the world. The list of officers of the Congress, including as it does the names of those distinguished in every branch of medical science, shows how heartily the proposal to hold the meeting in London has been received. I think it speaks well for the good feeling of the profession that there should have been so warm a response to the invitations. How cordially the proposal has been received may be seen not only in the large number of visitors, but in the fact that they include a large proportion of those who enjoy a high reputation not only in their own countries, but throughout the world. I sincerely congratulate the reception committee on this good promise of complete success, and I trust that at the close of the Congress they will feel rewarded for the labour they have bestowed upon it. The report which the secretary-general, Mr. MacCormack, has read will have explained how great have been his labours. He will hereafter he well repaid, and I am sure Mr. MacCormack is sensible that he will be recompensed even for his great exertions by the a.s.surance that the progress of the important science of medicine has been materially promoted, for any addition to the knowledge of medicine must always be followed by an increase in the happiness of mankind."

There was general cheering at the close of the speech, and Sir James Paget, as President of the Congress, then read the inaugural address; after which the meeting resolved itself into sections for special subjects. Professor Virchow, of Berlin, delivered an address in German at one of the sections.

MEMORIAL TO DEAN STANLEY.

_December 13th, 1881._