Chapter I: Declare This Dock Now Open, and That Henceforth It Is to Be (7)

"There are now between 11,000 and 12,000 cabmen, and the amount
of the expense in cab fares comes to a most colossal sum,
something between £4,000,000 and £5,000,000 sterling. With
regard to the remark I made as to the honesty of cabmen, it may
perhaps be not out of place if I mention an anecdote which was
told me to-day. A gentleman drove in a cab to a shop, left the
cab, and entered the shop. On coming out of the shop, he was not
in so quiet a frame of mind as when he entered it; it was
evident to the passers-by that he was dissatisfied with the
shopman; he left the shop and went away. The shopman threw a
case into the cab. The gentleman had forgotten it. But the
cabman immediately drove to Scotland Yard and delivered the
case, which was found to contain jewellery worth £2300. This
will give you some idea of the honesty of these men, for whom we
are endeavouring to do much. Some considerable good was done
only four years ago by a philanthropic and noble lord whose name
is known to you, who started cabmen's shelters. There are now
twenty of these, and they shelter 2000 cabmen, doing much to
alleviate the discomfort of the men, who sit so many hours of
the night suffering from the inclemency of the seasons.

"When I see this large assemblage I feel I shall not call in
vain, and I call upon you to augment the capital which already
exists. With this toast I have great pleasure in associating one
who is treasurer of the Association, Lord Richard Grosvenor (now
Lord Stalbridge), member of a family well known in works of
charity and philanthropy. I thank you for the kind way in which
you have listened to my imperfect remarks, and now I must ask
you to drink with enthusiasm 'Success to the Cabdrivers'
Benevolent Association!'"

It is pleasant to find from the latest published report that the Institution, which the Prince of Wales so warmly commended, is in a prosperous condition. The annuities have been raised to £20, and there are 40 annuitants now on the books. The receipts in 1887 were £2191, and the funded property was £10,000. Temporary relief was given to upwards of 200 cabmen. Upwards of 1200 members contribute 5_s._ annually, but this is a small proportion of the whole number of cabdrivers, more of whom ought to be persuaded to join as members, as they alone receive the benefits of the Association. The applicants for loans, on the prescribed terms, were 89. The cabmen have been fortunate in the chairmen at the festivals and annual general meetings. The Prince of Wales is patron of the Association. The honorary secretary is G. Stormont Murphy, Esq., and the office is at 15, Soho Square.

THE PRINCESS HELENA COLLEGE.

_May 23rd, 1880._

The Prince of Wales presided at Willis's Rooms at a dinner in aid of the funds of the Princess Helena College, on the 23rd of May, 1880.

After the customary proceedings and toasts of the evening, and speeches by the Duke of Cambridge and Lord Sydney, the Prince rose and proposed the toast of "Prosperity to the Princess Helena College." He said:--

"At many of the dinners at which I have the pleasure of taking
the chair, the charities in support of which they are given
require more words to bring them to the notice of those who
attend than the present one does. But though the specific nature
of this institution relieves me from the necessity of entering
upon any lengthened advocacy of its claims, it is not the less
deserving of your hearty support in every respect. As you are
aware, the Princess Helena College was formerly called the Adult
Orphan Institution, and it has for its object the bringing up of
daughters of officers of the Army and Navy and of clergymen. Its
first meeting took place as far back as 1818, and in 1820 the
institution was built. As Lord Sydney told you, it originated
with a relative of his own. It was founded by her, and by my
grand-aunt, Princess Augusta of Gloucester. King George IV. also
took great interest in its welfare, allotting the plot of ground
in the Regent's Park where the College now stands.

"The object of the institution is not only to provide a
thoroughly good education for the daughters of officers and
clergymen, but to send them forth into the world in a useful
capacity; and I think you will agree with me that in the
capacity of well-qualified governesses they go forth in the most
useful manner. In the days when it was first instituted so much
attention was not given to education as in our time, and you
can therefore easily understand that as more highly efficient
education is needed now for these young ladies there is a
proportionate increase of expense. Like many other institutions,
its expenditure has been greater than its receipts, and, as a
consequence, it has been found necessary to somewhat alter its
rules by admitting a certain number of paying students as
boarders, and also by establishing day classes for the daughters
of gentlemen. In order to fit the institution for this new
sphere of operations it has been necessary to enlarge the
building, and though, no doubt, the effect of this arrangement
will be to increase receipts, the enlargement of the building
has naturally entailed great cost, and in order to meet that
charge I have to call upon you, gentlemen, to do all you can, by
a most liberal contribution to-night, to enable the committee to
meet their pecuniary difficulties. The best proof you can give
me of the real interest you take in the welfare of this
excellent institution will be to subscribe as handsomely as it
is in your power to do. I am informed that a distinguished naval
officer is acting as steward here to-night in gratitude for the
benefit his daughters have derived in their education from a
governess who was brought up at the Princess Helena College. I
have mentioned before that the Queen is its patron. Her Majesty
subscribes £50 a year to its funds, and on this special occasion
she presents 100 guineas. The interest taken by my sister, the
Princess, in its welfare is sufficiently proved by the fact that
she is President of the Council of the College, and I have great
pleasure in stating to you that it is by her express wish and
recommendation that I am here to-night. I will, in conclusion,
again ask you to let me feel by the liberality of your
contributions that I have not failed in my duty as your
Chairman."

The Secretary then read a list of donations and subscriptions, which, including those from the Queen and 100 guineas from the Prince of Wales, amounted to over £2060.

The College still flourishes at Ealing, a populous district, where day boarders are also admitted to the classes of the institution.

NEW HARBOUR AT HOLYHEAD.

_June 17th, 1880._

To possess the best possible packet service between England and Ireland is a matter of national importance. In the old days of sailing ships the perils and uncertainties of the passage across the Channel were notorious. When steamships carried mails and passengers, and when the bridging of the Menai Straits for railway traffic had been achieved, it was necessary to provide improved harbour accommodation, and other works, both for convenience and safety, at Holyhead. These works included a spacious harbour, and a breakwater securing the additional space of a sheltered roadstead. The length of the North Breakwater is nearly 8000 feet. The harbour and deep-water sheltered roadstead are together between six and seven hundred acres in extent. It took twenty-five years to carry out the design, at a cost of about £1,500,000. This outlay included the works and buildings for Government use in the postal service. The engineer-in-chief was Mr. James Rennel, and on his death, in 1856, Mr. afterwards Sir John Hawkshaw.

To celebrate the completion of the works, the Prince of Wales visited Holyhead on the 19th of August, 1873, when he declared the Breakwater complete and the Harbour of Refuge open. The Duke of Edinburgh, Master of the Trinity House, Sir Frederick Arrow, Deputy Master, and many distinguished representatives of various departments of the public service assisted at the ceremony. Near the Lighthouse a gun-metal plate records the fact that the Breakwater, "commenced in 1845, was on August 19th, 1873, declared complete, by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales," in whose public life the proceedings of the day form a memorable event.

But there was yet much to be done for the Anglo-Irish route, viâ Holyhead. The communication had so increased that the North Western Railway Company found enlarged harbour accommodation a necessity for the benefit of their own traffic.

It is not often that Royal sanction is given to the undertakings of shareholding companies; but the new harbour at Holyhead, while it was constructed at the cost and for the benefit of the London and North Western Railway Company, has so much importance for commerce and traffic, as to make it a national object. The Prince of Wales was accordingly asked to inaugurate the new harbour, and a large number of distinguished and official persons were invited by the Directors to be present on the occasion. At the luncheon, the Chairman of the Company proposed the usual loyal toasts, and the Prince of Wales responded in the following terms:--

"Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--I am deeply flattered by
the kind manner in which this toast has been proposed and
received in this large and distinguished assemblage. I feel it a
matter of the greatest pleasure, and at the same time the
greatest pride, to be among you here to-day. It is a matter of
pride, ladies and gentlemen, to be connected with this
Principality, and it has afforded me the greatest pleasure to
accept the invitation of the Chairman and Directors of the
London and North Western Company to inaugurate this new harbour.
It is not the first time, as you are aware, that I have had
occasion to come to Holyhead. Seven years ago I had the pleasure
of inaugurating your breakwater, which I am glad to see is now
successfully terminated and is of the greatest possible utility.
The sunshine we have enjoyed to-day may be taken as a good
augury for the success of the London and North Western Railway
Company in their new undertaking. This undertaking has cost them
a very large sum of money, but it will, I am sure, be of the
greatest benefit to commerce, and will tend to make the Holyhead
route still more than it is a connecting link between England
and Ireland. Before sitting down I have a toast to propose,
which I feel sure you will drink with the greatest pleasure; it
is 'The Health of the Chairman, Mr. Moon, and Success and
Prosperity to the London and North Western Railway Company.' I
also desire to declare the new harbour open."

Both on land and water there were many loyal demonstrations; and gentlemen representing all the leading railway companies, French and Irish, as well as English and Welsh, were entertained by the Directors of the London and North Western.

The opening sentences of a leading article in the _Times_ on the following day, form a tribute due to the Prince for his part in the ceremony:--

"The representative duties of Royalty in this country are heavier than the private functions the hardest-worked Englishman has to perform. Only the other day we were recording the part played by the Prince of Wales in an ecclesiastical pageant in Cornwall. On Wednesday he was introducing a foreign Sovereign to the Corporation of London. Straight from that ceremonial he had to take flight across the island to open formally the new harbour at Holyhead. In these scenes and a hundred like them a Prince's functions cannot be discharged satisfactorily unless he be at once an impersonation of Royal State and, what is harder still, his own individual self. He must act his public character as if he enjoyed the festival as much as any of the spectators. He must be able to stamp a national impress upon the solemnity, yet mark its local and particular significance. In presenting a King of the Hellenes to the citizens at the Guildhall the Prince of Wales had to remember that his guest and the guest of the City was both a near and dear relative and the embodiment of an illustrious cause. In laying the first stone of a cathedral at Truro he had to be both Duke of Cornwall and the Heir of England. In presiding yesterday at Holyhead he had to recollect the provincial associations connected with the title he bears, and not forget the imperial importance of a work which creates a new link between two great divisions of the United Kingdom. That he achieved his task successfully was a matter of course. No apprehension ever touches those who are present at a scene of which the Prince of Wales is the centre, that he may chance to chill by lack of interest, to choose his words of admiration inopportunely, or to praise without sympathy. The work he came, as it were, to sanction by national approbation is a grand engineering undertaking, and is grander yet in its probable moral consequences. The Prince of Wales understood and expressed its significance from both aspects."

NEW COLOURS TO THE ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS.

_August 16th, 1880._

The Royal Welsh Fusiliers (or Twenty-third Regiment of Foot in the old Army Lists) received the more familiar name from having been first raised in Wales in 1714, and in honour of the Prince of Wales of that day. Their nationality is further betokened by the Prince of Wales's plume, with the motto "Ich Dien," which, together with the Rising Sun, the Red Dragon, the White Horse, and the Sphinx, they bear on their colours. The regiment is one of the oldest and most famous in the Army, and the proud words, "Nec aspera terrent," which are emblazoned on its regimental silk, it has amply justified by its gallant conduct from the Battle of the Boyne, in 1690, to the Indian Mutiny, in 1858, including Egypt, Corunna, Martinique, Albuera, Badajoz, Salamanca, the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Waterloo, Alma, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and nearly fifty other engagements which are not recorded on its colours.

It was peculiarly fitting that the duty of presenting new colours to this brave and distinguished Welsh regiment should be undertaken by the Prince of Wales. This he did on the 16th of August, 1880, coming from Osborne for the purpose, when the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Fusiliers, above nine hundred strong, including officers, was embarking for India from Portsmouth.

The colours, exchanged for new ones on that day, had been presented in 1849 by the late Prince Consort, the battalion at the same time receiving from the Queen the first of those Royal goats, which have always since marched at the head of the regiment. When the gallant "Nanny Goats," as the Twenty-third are nick-named, first had the regimental pet is not exactly known, but since 1849 a Royal goat has been received from Windsor whenever a vacancy occurs.

The colours replaced by the new ones in 1880 had a history of their own, and the regiment took pride in them, although in such a tattered condition that they could not be unfurled. The Queen's colour was that which was carried by Lieutenant Anstruther, who was killed when planting it on the Great Redoubt at Sebastopol. Twelve officers and half the rank and file fell in that terrible rush, but the Royal Welsh had the honour of first entering the enemy's stronghold. No fewer than seventy-five bullets passed through the colours, and the pole of one of them was shot in two, and had to be tied up with a cord. Sergeant O'Connor, though dangerously wounded, carried the Queen's colours till the end of the battle, and was rewarded by a commission in the regiment, receiving the Victoria Cross at the close of the war. He rose to be Colonel of the 2nd Battalion, and was present, with his breast covered with well-earned decorations, when the Prince of Wales came to present the new colours at Portsmouth. The colours were afterwards carried through the Indian Mutiny, where Colonel Elgee and several of the officers had the honour of serving under them. The ragged relics were relegated to the honourable obscurity of Wrexham Church.

The ceremony of removing the old colours and presenting the new was an imposing spectacle, witnessed by an immense assemblage, and amidst great enthusiasm. The old colours having been placed in front of the saluting post, were afterwards sent to the rear, the band playing "Auld Lang Syne." Then the new colours were presented by the Prince, with whom was the Princess of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar. Having received the colours from the Majors, the Prince presented them separately to the Lieutenants, and then turning to the Colonel, spoke as follows:--

"Colonel Elgee, officers, and non-commissioned officers and men
of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers,--I consider it a very great
privilege to have been asked to present your regiment with new
colours on the eve of its departure for India. It occurs to me
in presenting these colours that they are to replace those which
were given to you about thirty-one years ago by my lamented
father, and which through three campaigns your regiment has
carried with honour and success. You will in a few years
celebrate your 200th anniversary, and during that time your
regiment has served in nearly every quarter of the globe, and
seen as much or more service than any regiment in the Army. You
have served at Corunna, Salamanca, the Peninsula, Waterloo,
Alma, Inkerman, Sebastopol, Lucknow, and, coming down to more
recent times, Ashantee. I feel sure that there will always be
the same emulation among those who serve in your ranks as there
has been in the past, and that the good name of your regiment
will always be maintained as prominently as it is now. You are
now on the eve of departure for India, and nobody wishes you
'God-speed' more sincerely than I do. I feel sure that, whatever
your services may be, they will be such as will bring credit to
your regiment, and will add additional proofs of the valour for
which it is so justly celebrated."

Colonel Elgee made a suitable and soldierly reply, thus concluding: "I am sure that wherever the colours are carried--whether before an enemy or in the performance of our duties at home in times of peace--the regiment will always maintain the high reputation it has won. On the eve of our departure for India, we beg to express our heartiest wishes for the health and happiness of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, your Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales, and the remainder of the Royal Family."

The line having been reformed, His Royal Highness had the whole of the officers drawn up on each side of the drums, and as they saluted and passed to their posts, each was individually presented to the Prince and Princess by the Colonel. A few more movements, and the ranks were closed, the line broke into columns to the right, and marched past to the jetty, where they embarked on board the _Malabar_. After luncheon, the whole party from the Royal yacht, including the Princess Beatrice, who had arrived in the _Alberta_ to receive the Empress Eugénie and take her to Osborne on a visit to the Queen, proceeded on board the _Malabar_, where they stayed three-quarters of an hour and made a thorough inspection of the ship, where they were welcomed with much enthusiasm. When at length the ship drew away into the stream, followed by the Royal yacht _Osborne_, the band of the Royal Marines ashore played "The March of the Men of Harlech," and "Cheer, Boys, Cheer," while the troops responded by singing "Auld Lang Syne."

THE ROYAL HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

_May 24th, 1881._

This Hospital, which is the oldest of its kind in London, is situated in Waterloo Bridge Road, in a populous and poor district. It contains now about 50 beds. The number of out-patient attendances averages 3000 a month, and upwards of 250 visits each month are paid by the house-surgeon to sick children at their own homes. The ordinary receipts are about £3000, and the funded property £6500. It is a well-managed and useful charity, and just such a one as would gain the good will of the Prince of Wales, who presided at the festival dinner, in Willis's Rooms, on the Queen's Birthday, May 24th, 1881.

After the customary loyal and patriotic toasts, the Royal Chairman briefly but earnestly pleaded the cause of the charity. He said that--

The largeness of the gathering on that occasion was evidence of
the interest taken in this great and important charity. During
the last few years, he remarked, we had suffered from both
agricultural and commercial depression, and institutions of a
charitable kind, especially those which owed their existence and
maintenance to voluntary contributions, must naturally feel a
depression, which prevented many persons from coming forward to
their support; but still he did not despair of the results of
the appeal which he had to make that evening. This institution
had now been in existence for seventy-one years. It was situated
in a very populous and very poor district, its object being the
cure of sick children and women. He might remark that many of
his family had taken considerable interest in this hospital. His
grandfather, the Duke of Kent, presided at the first anniversary
dinner, and his great-uncle, the Duke of Sussex, took a deep
interest in it. Only four years ago his sister, the Princess
Louise, visited the institution, and, being much gratified with
what she saw, gave her name to one of the wards. Unfortunately,
the institution was not so flourishing financially as it ought
to be. The ordinary income was £2000 a year less than was
required to meet the expenditure. It was also most important
that the hospital should be enlarged. The freehold of the
surrounding property had been obtained from the Duchy of
Cornwall at an expense of £3000. Several years ago that great
philanthropist, Lord Shaftesbury, presided at a dinner in aid of
this charity, when a sum of nearly £3000 was raised. If the same
amount could be made up that evening all who were interested in
the institution would be deeply gratified. Mentioning that since
the foundation of the Hospital as many as 400,000 children had
been relieved, His Royal Highness said that patients were
received not only from all parts of this country, but also from
the Continent, and medical and surgical treatment was afforded
them gratuitously. The report of the Hospital Saturday Fund
stated that the institution stood among the first for efficiency
and economy.

Before concluding his speech the Prince of Wales proposed the health of the Lord Mayor, who is by virtue of his office President of the institution. Mr. Kestin, the Secretary, read a list of donations and subscriptions which, including 100 guineas from the chairman, exceeded £2000.

AT KING'S COLLEGE.

_July 2nd, 1881._

The Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Princess, distributed the principal prizes of the year at King's College, London, on the 2nd of July, 1881. The Rev. Canon Barry, D.D., the Principal, received the Royal visitors, and at the opening of the proceedings, said: "it will always be a day in the annals of the College to be marked with a white stone, when the Prince and Princess of Wales had come for the first time among them, and on the jubilee day of the institution." After the distribution of the prizes and decorations, the Prince acknowledging a vote of thanks for his presence, proposed by the Duke of Cambridge, and seconded by the Bishop of Gloucester, said:--

"Mr. Principal Barry, Ladies and Gentlemen,--For the very kind
words in which the illustrious Duke has proposed the vote of
thanks, the kind way in which it has been seconded by the Bishop
of Gloucester and Bristol, and the cordial manner in which you
have all been good enough to receive this vote, I ask you to
accept my most sincere thanks, and also the thanks of the
Princess of Wales for the kind way in which her name has been
alluded to to-day.

"It would have been a gratification to me on any day to come to
this college and present the prizes to the successful
competitors, but as this day is your jubilee day, your fiftieth
anniversary, it makes it still more interesting to me to come
here to-day and give away the prizes. After all that has fallen
from the lips of your Principal, and after perusing, though I
admit somewhat cursorily, the annual report, but little is left
for me to say; but all those who take an interest in the success
of this college will have every reason to be satisfied with the
state of the college, and with the report which I hold in my
hands. Everything connected with this institution is on a most
satisfactory and excellent footing.

"In these days, when education is so much thought of, and when
meetings in every part of the kingdom are continually taking
place for the purpose of getting still higher standards of
education, it is naturally difficult for institutions of old
date to keep up with the times; but I do not think or fear that
this college will have any reason to fear competition from
others, as it already stands as one of the second or third great
educational colleges in the kingdom. The prizes which have been
given to-day for the different subjects in this list embrace
nearly every possible subject of education which may be of use
to those young men who are going out into the world.

"This college justly claims to be one which has done very much
for the higher education of men; and it affords me, and I know
it affords also the Princess of Wales, great gratification to
learn that it will be extended also towards the education of
women. This year, since the Principal and the Council received a
memorial signed by various distinguished persons, they have very
wisely adopted that memorial, by enabling women already to
receive education by way of listening to lectures from
distinguished teachers and professors in this college.

"It has been already stated that some of our children have
received education from some of the professors of this college.
It is very gratifying to us that such has been the case, and we
have every hope that they will derive benefit from the
instruction they have received.

"Before concluding I wish to congratulate those young gentlemen
to whom I have presented these prizes to-day on having received
these proofs that the education they have received here has not
been thrown away. As most of them are about to leave the
college, I sincerely hope they will allow me to offer them my
best wishes, and to trust that in their future career they will
continue to do credit to themselves and those by whom they have
been educated. I again express the pleasure which both the
Princess and myself have felt in coming here to-day, and say
that we most cordially wish continued and lasting prosperity to
King's College."

COLONIAL BANQUET AT THE MANSION HOUSE.

_July 16th, 1881._

The Lord Mayor of London entertained the Prince of Wales, President of the Colonial Institute, 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 assemblage 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 assured 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
accomplishing 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 noble 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 assure 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 lordship's visit to his dominions
remains impressed on your mind, I think your lordship'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 institutions. 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 assembly, 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 assembly, 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 lordship 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 INSTITUTE.

_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 Institute has been enabled to establish schools of its own, and to assist in development of technical instruction, not in London only, but in many large provincial towns.

The Institute 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 instituted; but it was thought advisable to found a Central Institute 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 apprenticeship 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 associated Institute, 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 Institute, 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 assure you that it gives
me much satisfaction to attend here to-day to lay the foundation
stone of an institution 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 competition 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 classes, 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 institutions 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 institute 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 scholarships, he
brought to benefit by the superior instruction which London can
command. While studying at your institution, 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 space 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 noble effort on their part when they join together to
establish a united institute 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 Institute 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 competition 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 Institute--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 Institute, the Mercers propose to devote £60,000 to the establishment of an agricultural college in Wiltshire, and the Shipwrights' Company is taking the lead in a movement for the formation of a college of shipbuilding in connection with a Technical Institute at the East-end."

Besides all this, the people of South London are preparing to establish three Technical Institutes, with the help of the Charity Commissioners; and, if possible, to secure the Albert Palace for a Battersea Institute. A similar movement has begun in North London. These local Technical Schools are independent of the City Guilds of London Institute 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 practitioners 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 Noble," 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 anticipated, more especially in the
study of medicine and surgery, for in these the effects of
climate and of national habits must give to the practitioners of
each nation opportunities, not only of acquiring knowledge, but
of imparting knowledge to those of their _confrères_ whom they
meet in Congress.

"I venture to think, gentlemen, that the Executive Committee
have acted wisely in instituting 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 assurance 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._

In the ancient Chapter-house, Westminster Abbey, a meeting was held on the 13th of December, 1881, for promoting a scheme for raising a fitting memorial to the lamented Dean Stanley. The Very Rev. Dr. Bradley, the new Dean, presided, and was supported by the Prince of Wales, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Marquis of Salisbury, Earl Granville, the Duke of Westminster, and many eminent persons in Church and State. There were also some ladies, and the representatives of Working Men's Clubs and Institutes, the purpose being to honour the memory of Dean Stanley, not merely as a high ecclesiastic, but as the helper of many good and beneficent objects in social life. The proposed tribute was to take the form first of a monumental memorial in the Abbey to the Dean, and also to his wife, Lady Augusta Stanley, and to establish a Home for Training Nurses at Westminster, an object in which Lady Augusta had taken deep interest. The present meeting, however, was only to set on foot the movement, and the first resolution was: "That the genius, the character, and the public services of the late Dean of Westminster eminently entitle him to a national memorial." This was moved by the Prince of Wales, who said:--

"Mr. Dean, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--In proposing the first
resolution, which has been committed to my care, I desire to
express the very sincere pleasure, though I must call it the sad
pleasure, which I feel in being asked to move this resolution. I
do so with feelings of sorrow, owing to the long friendship and
acquaintance which I had with the late Dean of Westminster; and
yet with pleasure, as I have the satisfaction of proposing to
you a national memorial to which I am convinced the late Dean
was so thoroughly entitled. The loss which the death of that
eminent man has caused to this, and, I may say also, to other
countries, is indeed great. That loss was deeply felt by my
beloved mother the Queen, who bore for the late Dean the
greatest possible friendship and affection, and also by all the
members of her family.