Chapter I: Declare This Dock Now Open, and That Henceforth It Is to Be (9)

"General Higginson, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--The Princess begs me
to return her warmest thanks for the very kind words in which
you have expressed your thanks to her on behalf of the brigade
for taking part in the ceremony which we have just witnessed. I
know I am only expressing her views when I state that it has
given her sincere pleasure to be here, and that she shares with
me an interest in everything which concerns the brigade of
Guards. After what has fallen from you, General Higginson, and
after the reading of the report, there is little left for me to
say beyond congratulating those who founded this institution and
those who so ably maintain it, upon the highly satisfactory way
in which it is managed and upon the creditable manner in which,
as we know, every detail connected with its working is
conducted. We sincerely hope that those young ladies who have
to-day received prizes will go forth to pursue their avocations
in life with credit both to themselves and to the instruction
they have received in this institution. We trust that having
reached its 21st anniversary--the coming of age of the Guards'
Industrial Home--the institution will ever continue to flourish.
For my own part, I may say, General Higginson, that I think all
the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the
Household Brigade are aware of the deep feeling which I
entertain towards them, and that I have not forgotten my
association with them three-and-twenty years ago. That feeling
of kindliness towards them, and of interest in all that concerns
them, will continue to the day of my death."

After the ceremony was over, there was an amateur theatrical performance, to the great amusement not only of the young folk, but of the crowd of spectators who filled the hall.

ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION.

_March 15th, 1884._

The Prince of Wales presided, not for the first time, at the annual meeting of the Lifeboat Institution, which was held at Willis's Rooms on the 15th of March, 1884. The Secretary, Mr. C. Dibdin, having read the report, the Prince of Wales said:--

"Ladies and Gentlemen,--Before calling upon the noble duke (the
Duke of Argyll) to move the first resolution, I wish to say a
few words. You have all of you, I feel convinced, heard with the
greatest interest the report which has just been read by the
secretary, and I think we must all be unanimous in the opinion
that that report is highly satisfactory as regards everything
connected with this institution.

"The National Lifeboat Institution, having been founded in 1824,
has now reached its sixtieth anniversary, and I think you will
all agree with me that there is no institution throughout our
country which is of greater importance or more demands our
sympathy and assistance. From our geographical position as a
sea-girt isle, and from the immense colonies which we have
acquired, the mass of ships that travel to and fro and reach our
islands is almost too vast to enable us even to realize what
their number can actually be. Those vessels naturally encounter
tempests, the results of which are shipwrecks and loss of life.
The risks especially which that valuable and important
community, the fishermen on our coasts, have to run from the
beginning to the end of the year must be well known to you all.
It is especially to save their lives, and not only theirs, but
the lives of all who travel on the sea, that this great national
institution has been founded. Strange to say that
notwithstanding the great improvements which have been effected
in navigation and in the different scientific inventions which
have been made, there is no doubt that an increase of shipwrecks
annually occurs.

"I may mention that it must have been of interest to those of
you who visited the Fisheries Exhibition last year to notice all
the models of boats, contrivances for fishing, and apparatus for
saving life which were there shown to you. It must be patent to
everybody that a society of this kind is an absolute necessity.
Look at what it has done. Since its foundation nearly 31,000
lives have been saved by its instrumentality. Already this year
up to now--the middle of March--300 lives have been saved, and
last year the total number was nearly 1000. The institution has
now 274 lifeboats, and no doubt you are fully aware, through the
medium of the Press, of the gallantry which has been displayed
by the coxswains and crews of those boats. This is so well known
to you, I am sure, that I need not engross your attention by
dwelling upon the topic. Of one thing, however, I must remind
you. I must impress upon your minds the fact that, although we
admit this to be a national and most important institution, it
is at the same time entirely supported by voluntary
contributions. Therefore I most urgently ask you to ponder well
over this fact, and impress upon you the great necessity which
exists for keeping it up and maintaining it in a state of
efficiency with adequate funds. A large annual income is, of
course, required for this purpose. To maintain a lifeboat
station in a good state £70 per annum is needed.

"Allusion has been made in the report to the fact that the
Princess of Wales has become a vice-patroness of this
institution, and I need hardly tell you that she shares with me
all the views that I hold in relation to it. It was a great
gratification to her quite recently to present medals to two of
the most deserving coxswains who had distinguished themselves
in saving lives. Upon the utility and merits of this
institution one might speak for hours, but our meeting to-day is
for business, and not merely for the purpose of delivering
addresses; so I will now call upon the Duke of Argyll to move
the first resolution."

Speeches having been made by the Duke of Argyll, Admiral Sir H. Keppell, Lord Charles Beresford, and the Lord Mayor (Fowler), and resolutions passed, the Duke of Northumberland proposed a vote of thanks to the Prince of Wales for presiding, who in responding said:--

"I assure you it has been a source of sincere gratification to
me to take the chair on this occasion. I assure you also that
nobody more cordially wishes this institution continued success
and prosperity than I do. It is a thoroughly national and useful
institution, and if it is only as ably managed and conducted in
the future as it has been in the past, I feel convinced it will
continue to flourish. I know how much we ought to feel grateful
to those who have undertaken the arduous duty of managing this
institution, for giving their valuable time and assistance, and
bow much our hearts ought always to go with those I brave and
gallant men who seek to rescue the lives of their
fellow-countrymen in all weathers, and in all times by day or
night."

THE HEALTH EXHIBITION.

_June 17th, 1884._

The lamented death of the Duke of Albany on the 28th of March, 1884, prevented the Prince of Wales from taking active part in the preparations for the Health Exhibition of that summer. He had before arranged, along with the Executive Council, of which the Duke of Buckingham was Chairman, the general plan of the Exhibition, in the designs of which Prince Leopold had taken deep interest. On the 17th of June the Prince formally inaugurated the work of the international juries, a necessary and important part of the whole undertaking. It was the first occasion in which His Royal Highness had taken part in public affairs since the death of his brother. The meeting took place in the Albert Hall, and a great assembly had gathered, including many distinguished foreigners.

The Duke of Buckingham, on behalf of the Executive Council, expressed the great gratification they felt at the appearance of His Royal Highness among them, as to him was due the inception of the undertaking. Sir James Paget, the Vice-Chairman of the Council, delivered an elaborate and eloquent address on the purposes and the importance of the Exhibition. He was followed by Sir Lyon Playfair. After these addresses Lord Reay presented to His Royal Highness, the Foreign Commissioners, and the Chairmen and Jurors for the different sections. The Prince then said:--

"Your Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--Owing to a very sad
cause I was unable to open the Health Exhibition. But I am
particularly glad to have had this opportunity of being present
to preside here to-day on the occasion of the assembling of the
international juries. It has given me great pleasure to have
made the personal acquaintance of all those distinguished
gentlemen who have come from the Continent, and who, no doubt at
considerable inconvenience to themselves, have so kindly
consented to come over here to decide on matters appertaining to
the Health Exhibition. It is particularly gratifying to me to
have been here to receive them, and I sincerely hope that their
labours will be crowned with success. That the Exhibition has up
to the present time been successful so far as numbers are
concerned we have evidence to show, but I hope at the same time
that for scientific and educational purposes the public at large
may derive even greater benefit from it than they can get by
merely coming here to enjoy the Exhibition as a place of
recreation.

"After the address from the Duke of Buckingham, and the long,
able, and most interesting one from Sir James Paget, which was
commented upon by Sir Lyon Playfair, it would be perfectly
superfluous for me to detain you but for a few moments on any
subject relating to health. These addresses, which you have all
listened to with such great interest, will, I trust, have proved
to you what an important consideration the matter of health is.
This Exhibition, under the able chairmanship of the Duke of
Buckingham and those gentlemen of the Executive Council who have
worked under him, has, I think, been brought to a remarkable
degree of perfection. They have done everything they can do to
make it pleasing to the eye; but still I hope that those who
visit the Exhibition will remember that there are greater and
more important objects at stake--that they will go home
impressed by the study of those objects as well as by the
pleasure they may have derived from the wonderful inventions and
methods of showing them. I wish to tender my thanks to the Lord
Mayor and the great City Companies for their kind co-operation
in this Exhibition, and I am sure we are all much gratified at
the success of what is called Old London. Before concluding I
would beg to ask the Chairmen and Jurors at the close of the
proceedings to constitute their juries and select their
secretaries."

The French Ambassador, in moving a vote of thanks to the Prince of Wales for presiding, referred to His Royal Highness's readiness on all occasions to give his time and to devote his energies to any cause which might advance the welfare of the people of this country. He called on them to thank His Royal Highness, not only in the name of those present and of the foreigners who had contributed to the Exhibition, and more particularly those of France, but in the name of thousands upon thousands of the poor and disinherited of the earth, of children and the helpless, whose benefit would ultimately be promoted by this Exhibition.

The Lord Mayor seconded the motion, which was agreed to with acclamation. The Prince, in closing the proceedings, tendered his warmest thanks to the French Ambassador and his colleagues for their presence on that occasion and for their continued co-operation in the Exhibitions with which he had been connected. His Royal Highness, in concluding, thanked the Lord Mayor, as representative of the City of London, for all that the City and the Guilds of London had done to promote the success of the Exhibition.

OPENING OF GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE.

_June 25th, 1884._

The building, of which the foundation was laid nearly three years before, was completed within the time originally contracted for, and the Prince of Wales came to open it on the 25th of June, 1884. Again the Lord Chancellor read the report, and on behalf of the Governors and Council of the City and Guilds of London Institute, thanked His Royal Highness for his continued interest, and his presence that day. Touching allusion was made to the death of the Duke of Albany, who had laid the foundation stone of the Finsbury Technical College in May 1881. "As years roll by, and when the connection between the technical education of the people and the commercial prosperity of the country becomes as well understood and appreciated here as it is abroad, the year 1880, in which the City and Guilds of London Institute was incorporated, and the year 1884, in which this central institution was opened, will stand out as epochs in what we hope may be an unbroken record of industrial progress; and we sincerely trust that the remembrance of this day's proceedings may ever furnish to your Royal Highness a pleasing and satisfactory thought, enabling you to associate the endeavours of your illustrious father, dating back more than thirty years, to improve the arts and manufactures of the country, with the work of this Technical Institute, over which your Royal Highness so graciously presides."

The Prince of Wales, in reply, said:--

"My Lord Chancellor, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--I have listened
with attention to your address, and I assure you it gives me
great pleasure to be able to preside at the opening of this
important institution, the first pillar of which, in company
with her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, I set nearly
three years since. I thank you for your very feeling reference
to the severe loss which the Queen, and each member of Her
Majesty's family, has sustained by the untimely death of my late
brother. His interest in every movement calculated to humanize
and to elevate the people of this country will, I am quite sure,
cause his loss to be felt far beyond the circle of his immediate
friends.

"I have been gratified that the City and the Livery Companies of
London have so generously responded to the letter which, as
President of the Institute, I addressed some few months since to
the Lord Mayor and to the Worshipful Masters of the Livery
Companies of London. This Institute, which owes its origin to
the liberality of the City and of the Guilds of London, is an
illustration of the excellent work that may be done by united
action, which could not possibly be accomplished by individual
efforts. Conformably with the traditions of these ancient
Guilds, there is, perhaps, no purpose to which they could more
appropriately devote their surplus funds, and none which would
be of more practical advantage to the country at large than the
promotion of technical education. The altered conditions of
apprenticeship, and the almost general substitution of machine
for hand labour have made the teaching of science, in its
application to productive industry, a necessary part of the
training of all classes of persons engaged in manufacturing
pursuits.

"There never was a time, perhaps, when the importance of
technical education was more generally recognized than now, and
I am gratified to learn from the report of the Royal
Commissioners appointed to inquire into the subject to which
your lordship has referred, that, although we are still behind
many of our foreign neighbours in the provision of technical
schools of different grades, the encouragement afforded by the
State to the teaching of science and of art, supplemented as it
now is by the Institute's assistance to the teaching of
technology, has placed within reach of our artizan population
facilities for technical instruction which have already
influenced, and which promise to influence still more in the
future, the progress of our manufacturing industry.

"As president of this Institute, I have noted with much
satisfaction the rapid development of the work which the Council
have initiated, and which they so successfully control. I am
anxious to take this opportunity of expressing in public what is
already known to you, my Lord Chancellor, and to the members of
the Council, the obligations which we are all under to Mr.
Philip Magnus, our able director and secretary, for his
unwearied exertions in having so successfully accomplished the
organization of the practical work of the institution. I have no
doubt that the opportunities for advanced instruction, which
will be afforded in the well-arranged laboratories and workshops
of this building, will enable the managers and superintendents
of our manufacturing works to obtain more readily than hitherto
that higher technical instruction which is so essential to the
development of our trade and commerce.

"But it is especially as a training college for teachers that
this institution will occupy an important place in the
educational establishments of this country. The demand for
technical instruction has increased so rapidly during the last
few years that the supply of teachers has not kept pace with it,
and I have noticed with satisfaction that in the scheme for the
organization of this school due prominence is given to the
provision of gratuitous courses of instruction for technical
teachers from all parts of the kingdom. I shall be glad to see
other corporations and individuals follow the example of the
Clothworkers' Company, by establishing scholarships which shall
serve to connect the elementary schools of this country with
this institution. Hitherto, all schools have led up to the
Universities, and literary training has been encouraged to the
disadvantage of scientific instruction. Manufacturing industry
has, consequently, not been able to attract to its pursuits its
fair proportion of the best intellect of the country. The
foundation of scholarships in connection with this institution
will enable selected pupils from elementary schools to enter
schools of a higher grade, and to complete their education
within these walls.

"As president of the International Health Exhibition, I am glad
that the Council of this Institute have been able to place at
the disposal of the Council of the Health Exhibition a portion
of this building for the exhibition of apparatus and appliances
used in technical and other schools. I have no doubt that we
shall find in that exhibition, which I hope to be able presently
to visit, much that is generally instructive, and that the
foreign sections will contain exhibits which will prove of great
interest to the educational authorities of this country. To the
Corporation and to the Livery Companies of London, the Council
of the International Health Exhibition are indebted for much
valuable assistance, and I thank them for it.

"It now only remains for me to declare the Central Institution
of the City and Guilds of London Institute to be open, and to
express the warmest hope that the important educational work to
be carried on in this great national school of technical science
and art will help to promote the development of our leading
industries, and that the City and Guilds of London, which have
so liberally subscribed funds for the erection and equipment of
this institution, will maintain it with efficiency, and will at
the same time continue their support to all other parts of the
Institute's operations."

After short speeches by Lord Carlingford, Mr. Mundella, and the Lord Mayor, the Prince inspected the various parts of the Institute, including the rooms where specimens of the work of students of the Finsbury College, and where exhibits from foreign technical schools were displayed.

ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY MEETING IN GUILDHALL.

_August 1st, 1884._

One of the most important meetings presided over by the Prince of Wales, and one of the most memorable gatherings for many a year past seen in the City of London, was that held in the Guildhall, on the 1st of August, 1884. The object was to celebrate the Jubilee of the Abolition of Slavery in the British Colonies, to recall the work of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society during the last half-century, and to consider the position and prospects of the slavery question at the present time throughout the world.

It was in every respect a most remarkable meeting. The great Hall was densely crowded from end to end. On the platform were assembled large numbers of distinguished persons, of different creeds, and opposite political parties, but all united in the cause which had brought them together that day. The names of a few of those present will show how various were the classes thus represented. The Lord Mayor (Alderman Fowler, M.P.), and the Chief Magistrates of London, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Cardinal Manning, Earl Granville and the Earl of Derby, Sir Stafford Northcote and Mr. W. E. Forster, Mr. Sergeant Simon. Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Mr. T. R. Potter, Mr. Henry Richard, and many other leading members of Parliament, sat together on the same platform. There were present a few of the veterans who had taken part in the anti-slavery struggles fifty years before, such as Joseph Sturge and Sir Harry Verney, M.P. Descendants of the early champions of the cause, bearing the honoured names of Wilberforce, Lushington, Buxton, Pease, Forster, showed that the spirit of their fathers was maintained in a new generation. Among the ladies on the platform were the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, Miss Gordon, the sister of General Gordon, of Khartoum, and some members of the Society of Friends, always abounding in good works.

The Secretary of the Society read a list of names of those unable to be present, but expressing warm sympathy with the purpose of the meeting. There were letters from the Chief Rabbi, from Lord Salisbury, the Duke of Norfolk, the Duke of Sutherland, the Duke of Argyll, Lord Carnarvon, and other men of distinction. The most touching communication was from the venerated Earl of Shaftesbury, who had promised to attend, but was obliged to dictate a letter from a sick-bed, in which he expressed the satisfaction he felt in having lived to see such changes in regard to slavery during the past fifty years. On the daïs behind the platform were busts of Granville Sharp, and of Clarkson, decorated with flowers, and in front were exhibited massive wooden yokes and iron chains, such as are used for the gangs of slaves in the journey to the coast of Africa.

Well might Lord Granville express his delight on "looking at this assembly of eminent men in all the walks of life in this country, of different professions, of different pursuits, of different religious denominations, of different political parties, all absorbed by one philanthropic idea, and presided over by the illustrious Prince, the Heir-Apparent to the Throne." How the Prince came to occupy this position, it may interest many readers to know. Mr. Allen, the Secretary of the Society, and Mr. W. E. Forster, went to ask him to preside at the meeting. Mr. Forster, for whom the Prince had high personal esteem, reminded him that his father had made his first public appearance as chairman of a meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society. The Prince did not need to be reminded of this, but at once most cordially assented to preside from his own interest in the subject, and if Mr. Allen would give a few necessary dates and facts he would do the best he could. With this assurance the success of the meeting was secured.

The Lord Mayor, according to civic custom, having taken the chair for an instant, then vacated it, and invited His Royal Highness to preside over the meeting. The Prince then rose, amidst enthusiastic cheers, and said:--

"My Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--At the express wish of the
Lord Mayor I am asked to preside on this auspicious occasion. I
need hardly tell you that in such a cause it gives me more than
ordinary pleasure to occupy the chair at so great and
influential a meeting as this. I confess I had some reluctance
in presiding to-day, feeling that others could accomplish the
task far better than I should. But I also felt that possibly I
might have some slight claim to occupy the chair on such an
occasion, as so many members of my family have presided over
former meetings in connection with Anti-Slavery movements. In
the years 1825 and 1828, my uncle the late Duke of Gloucester
presided at meetings of the Society, which were numerously
attended. The Duke of Sussex did so in 1840; and you are well
aware of the interest they took in promoting the objects of the
Society by bringing forward questions concerning it in
Parliament. In the same year my lamented father occupied the
chair at a very large and crowded meeting at Exeter Hall; and I
believe that occasion was the very first on which he occupied
the chair at any public meeting in this country. Let me say that
my excuse for standing before you to-day may be given in words
used by him forty-four years ago. They were these--'I have been
induced to preside at the meeting of this Society from the
conviction of its paramount importance to the greatest interests
of humanity and justice.'

"This is a great and important anniversary. To-day we celebrate
the jubilee of the emancipation of Slavery throughout our
colonies; and it is also a day which has been looked forward to
with pleasure and satisfaction by this excellent Society, which
has worked so hard in this great cause of humanity.

"We may be all proud, ladies and gentlemen, that England was the
first country which abolished negro Slavery. Parliament voted,
and the nation paid, twenty million pounds to facilitate this
object. Our example was followed by many other countries, though
I regret to say that in Brazil and Cuba slavery still exists, as
well as in Mohammedan and heathen countries. It is a very
natural temptation that, in newly-peopled countries, and
especially when the climate prevents Europeans from working,
forced labour should be introduced. The Duke of Gloucester very
properly said that 'The Slave-trade can only be thoroughly
abolished by the abolition of Slavery; that while there is a
demand, there will be a supply; this is the keynote of the
Society during its existence.'

"Principally owing to the indefatigable exertions of the
undaunted Thomas Clarkson and his great Parliamentary coadjutor,
William Wilberforce, the Slave-trade and the untold horrors of
the Middle Passage were, as far as Great Britain was concerned,
put an end to in the year 1807. The majority, therefore, of the
Slaves in the West Indian Islands who received the benefit of
the Emancipation Act were descendants of those Africans who had
been originally torn from the forests of Africa. Speaking of the
proclamation of the emancipation of the Slaves in the colonies,
Mr. Buxton said:--'Throughout the colonies the churches and
chapels had been thrown open, and the Slaves had crowded into
them on the evening of the 31st of July, 1834. As the hour of
midnight approached they fell upon their knees, and awaited the
solemn moment, all hushed, silent, and prepared. When twelve
o'clock sounded from the chapel bells they sprang upon their
feet, and through every island rang glad sounds of thanksgiving
to the Father of all, for the chains were broken and the Slaves
were free.'

"I may mention that I have within a short time ago received a
telegram from the President of the Wesleyan Methodist Conference
in session at Burslem, congratulating me and you on the meeting
of to-day, and stating that it was during the session of the
Conference in 1834 that the abolition of Slavery in the West
Indian Colonies became an accomplished fact--a consummation for
which, as Wesleyan Methodists, they had universally prayed and
laboured. They cannot therefore, but profoundly rejoice at the
jubilee of the great event, with its incalculable benefits, not
only to the West Indies, but to all other peoples throughout the
world.

"It may not, perhaps, be generally known to you that Slavery was
abolished in India in 1843 by the simple passing of an Act
destroying its legal status, and putting the freeman and Slave
on the same footing before the law. The natural result took
place, and millions of Slaves gratuitously procured their own
freedom without any sudden dislocation of the rights claimed by
their masters. A plan similar to this would be found a most
effectual one in Egypt and other Mohammedan countries. This
example was followed by Lord Carnarvon in 1874 on the Gold Coast
of Western Africa, where he was able to abolish Slavery without
any serious interference with the habits and customs of the
people. Under the influence of England, the Bey of Tunis issued
a decree in 1846, abolishing Slavery and the Slave-trade
throughout his dominions, which concluded in the following
simple and forcible terms:--'Know that all Slaves that shall
touch our territory by sea or by land shall become free.'

"In connection with this there are two names which I cannot do
otherwise than allude to to-day--that of Sir Samuel Baker, and
one which is on everybody's lips--that of General Gordon. You
are well aware that during the term of five or six years that
they were governors of the Soudan their great object was to put
down the Slave-trade on the White Nile. They were successful to
a great extent, but I fear they had great difficulties to
contend with, and when their backs were turned much of the evil
came out again which they had found on their arrival.

"I will now turn to Europe. The great Republic of France in
1848, under the guidance of the veteran Abolitionist M. Victor
Schoelcher and his colleagues, passed a short Act abolishing
Slavery throughout the French dominions: 'La République n'admet
plus d'esclaves sur le territoire Français.' In Russia the
emancipation of twenty millions of serfs in 1861 by the late
Emperor of Russia must not pass unchronicled in a review of the
history of emancipation, although, strictly speaking, this form
of Slavery can scarcely be classed with that resulting from the
African Slave-trade. In the United States of America in 1865 the
fetters of six millions of Slaves in the Southern States were
melted in the hot fires of the most terrible civil war of modern
times. Passing on to South America, and looking to Brazil, it
may be noted with satisfaction that all of the small republics
formerly under the rule of Spain put an end to Slavery at the
time they threw off the yoke of the mother country. The great
Empire of Brazil has alone, I regret to say, retained the curse
which she inherited from her Portuguese rulers. At the present
moment she possesses nearly a million and a half of Slaves on
her vast plantations, but arrangements are made for their
gradual emancipation.

"Now, having taken this glance at the condition of Slavery
to-day, I will add, in the words of the Society, that 'the chief
object of this jubilee meeting is to rekindle the enthusiasm of
England, and to assist her to carry on this civilising torch of
freedom until its beneficent light shall be shed over all the
earth.' The place in which this meeting is held, the character
of this great meeting, and the reception these words have
received, assure me that I have not done wrong in stating freely
these objects. One of the objects of the Society is to circulate
at home and abroad accurate information on the enormities of the
Slave-trade and of Slavery, to give evidence--if evidence,
indeed, be wanting--to the inhabitants of Slave-holding
countries of the pecuniary advantages of free labour, and to
diffuse authentic information respecting the beneficial result
to the countries of emancipation. The late Duke of Gloucester,
in the course of a speech made by him in 1825, said that 'his
family had been brought to this country for the protection of
the rights and liberties of its subjects, and as a member of
that family he should not be discharging his duty towards them
if he did not recommend the sacred principles of freedom by
every means in his power.' Most heartily and most cordially do I
endorse his words.

"I rejoice that we have on the platform the eminent sons of two
eminent fathers in the work of abolishing the Slave-trade and
Slavery. Lord Derby and Mr. Forster, whom I rejoice to see here,
have a hereditary connection with emancipation. The late Lord
Derby, then Mr. Stanley, was Colonial Secretary to the Liberal
Government of that day, which had set before it the task of
carrying through Parliament a measure which was to put a term to
Slavery in all the dependencies of the United Kingdom. Mr.
Forster's father, having taken his full share of the agitation
which led to the abolition of colonial Slavery, went to
Tennessee on an Anti-Slavery errand and died in that State.
There are glimpses, ladies and gentlemen, in Mr. Trevelyan's
'Life of Macaulay,' of the devotion with which this great
movement was carried on. Zachary Macaulay, father of our great
historian, was one of the chief workers in the cause, and it is
said of him that for forty years he was ever burdened with the
thought that he was called upon to wage war with this gigantic
evil. In some of the West India islands the apprenticeship
system produced worse evils than the servitude of the Slave. The
negroes were theoretically free, but practically Slaves. The
masters had been paid for their emancipation, but still held
them to service. In a year or two the term of apprenticeship was
shortened, and soon afterwards public opinion at home demanded
and effected its complete abolition. There were four years of
disappointment, trouble, dispute, and suffering in all the West
Indies, except the island of Antigua, where the planters had
preferred to make the change from Slavery to freedom at a single
step. Full emancipation of the colonies had to be enforced in
1838 by another Act, which abolished the transition stage, and
proclaimed universal and complete emancipation. This Act Only
completed the work which 1833 began. The battle in which so many
noble spirits had been engaged was practically won when the name
of Slavery was abolished. The negroes of the West Indies look
back to the 1st August, 1834, as the birthday of their race. The
Emancipation Act, which on that day came into force, spoke the
doom of Slavery all round the world.

"I have ventured on this occasion to touch on different topics
and dates which I thought would be of interest, but it is not my
wish to weary you with longer details. Allow me to thank you for
the kind way in which you have listened to the remarks I have
made, and to assure you how deeply I am with you on this
occasion, both heart and soul."

It was no formal compliment when Earl Granville, who followed the President, said, that "the illustrious Prince, following the example of his noble father, and of other members of the Royal Family, not only presided on this occasion with dignity and grace, but had spoken with earnestness and power on this great question." He also paid a generous tribute to the memory of Lord Palmerston, under whom he had begun his own official life, and who had laboured long and zealously in the anti-slavery cause.

The speakers who succeeded, without exception, rose to the height of the great argument. Sir Stafford Northcote, the Lord Iddesleigh of after years, closed his speech with a noble peroration: "They had deep reason to be thankful for the position which England had been allowed to take in this great controversy. They knew what that great position was; they knew how it astonished the world, and how it astonished ourselves, that this island had spread itself in its intentions and designs over so large a portion of the world's surface, and what responsibility it had taken upon itself in consequence. This position had brought us into communication with every portion of the globe where Slavery prevailed. It gave us great opportunities, and we must see that they are not neglected. England's mission was not to magnify herself and speak of the greatness she had achieved: it was rather to look to the happiness and the advancement of the world. There were lines written by a great poet which were originally applied to the great Empire of Rome, but which were applicable to England. They spoke of that which became an Imperial race, and of the aptitude of other nations for other arts and pursuits. It was the Imperial position and the boast of England to release the captive, and set free the Slave; and, in the words of the poet to whom he had referred, he would say: 'These are Imperial arts, and worthy thee.'"

The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke of the duty of the clergy to promote and direct public feeling on this question. Lord Derby, then Foreign Secretary, in referring to direct action by England, said that international diplomacy set limits to carrying out all that they might wish in regard to foreign slavery. "The English Act of 1834 had practically given the death-blow to slavery throughout the world. I do not think this is saying too much, for we know the force of public opinion." He concluded by saying that "the slave trade, although somewhat checked, will never be thoroughly got rid of till Slavery dies out in Asia, and in partially civilized countries. How this is to be effected, when it can be done, and through what agencies, are questions not to be settled by an off-hand sentence at a public meeting. But that it ought to be done--that it can be done, and that in time it will be done--are matters about which I entertain no doubt; and, that being so, I have much pleasure in proposing this resolution."

The resolution ran as follows:--"That this meeting, while fully recognising the great steps made by nearly all civilised nations in the path of human freedom, has yet to contemplate with feelings of the deepest sorrow the vast extent of Slavery still maintained among Mohammedan and heathen nations, producing, as its consequence, the indescribable horrors of the Central and East African Slave-trade, as fatal to human life on shore as the dreadful Middle Passage formerly was at sea; in view of this appalling state of things, this meeting pledges itself to support the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in its efforts to urge the Governments of all Slave-holding countries to put an end to Slavery as the only certain method of stopping the Slave-trade."

Mr. Forster said that this resolution had been drawn with a temperance of language which he feared he would not have been able to command. He thought that the services which England had rendered to some nations still encouraging Slavery and the Slave-trade, entitled her voice to be raised with great authority. But he recognised the difficulties, which should nerve them to greater earnestness in strengthening public opinion in this country on the subject. "I greatly rejoice," said Mr. Forster, "to see this meeting, and I believe this means a new departure, and a determination to carry on the work, and to strengthen the hands of this Society for what it has yet to do."

Cardinal Manning, in an earnest and eloquent appeal, also urged the claims of the Society. "The reports published by it, as to the actual state of Slavery and the Slave-trade, are too sadly true. We are told that Livingstone, whose name cannot be mentioned in this hall or anywhere without awaking the sympathy of all Christian men, has left it on record as his belief that half-a-million of human lives are annually sacrificed by this African Slave-trade. This horrible traffic runs in three tracks, marked by skeletons, from the centre of Africa towards Madagascar, towards Zanzibar, and towards the Red Sea. Also, we are told, that of those who are carried away by force, some are so worn by fatigue as to die, others falling by the way are slaughtered by the sword, so that of this great multitude only one-third ever reaches the end of their horrible destination. It would seem to me that never in the Middle Passage was murder and misery so great."

What was thus said by Cardinal Manning has been since confirmed by his Eminence Cardinal Lavigerie, Archbishop of Algiers and Carthage, when recently in London, engaged in a righteous crusade to be preached by him in all the Capitals of Europe. This African prelate, from his own knowledge, during the last thirty years, as missionary and as prelate, gave terrible details of the slave trade, as the curse of that dark continent. The Cardinal says that the traffic can never be stopped, except by force, and if the Governments of Europe cannot effect this, he advocates a voluntary crusade of men, ready to form armed colonies of blacks to protect the missionaries of religion and civilization, and to defend the slave regions from the murderous raiders who invade them. The success of Emin Pasha who has for ten years kept the whole of his great Equatorial province free from the ravages of the slave-hunters shows what can be done. But for the shameful abandonment of Gordon at Khartoum, the slave trade would at this time have been almost at an end, and the grand desires of Livingstone for the peace and welfare of Africa would have been accomplished. Let us hope that Cardinal Lavigerie's visit may not be in vain so far as England is concerned. He came quietly and went quietly, only paying two visits after his public appearance at Prince's Hall, one to the Marquis of Salisbury, and the other to the Prince of Wales.

To return to the Guildhall, the loyal and hearty thanks of the meeting were offered to His Royal Highness, on the motion of the Lord Mayor, seconded by Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, and carried by acclamation. The Prince, in reply, said:--

"I am not likely to forget this important day, and most
sincerely do I hope that important results may accrue from it.
We have to-day celebrated the past, but we have the future to
look to, as many speakers have said, and I cannot do better than
agree with my right hon. friend on my left (Mr. Forster) that we
must act with caution. But with due caution, and with the advice
and good example which have been set, I feel sure that in time
all countries will follow in the footsteps of England. The best
chance of a complete abolition of Slavery will lie in
civilisation, in opening up those great countries, Asia and
Africa, many parts of which are now known to but few Europeans,
and in disseminating education. In time people will see that
they have derived no benefit from having Slaves, that the
freeman will do his work far better than the one who is forced
to labour. I mentioned, in first speaking, the names of many men
connected with the subject on which we have met to-day. I will
now add the name of one who was taken from us a few months ago,
and who always had the deepest interest in this Society--I
allude to the eminent and much regretted statesman, Sir Bartle
Frere. And on this occasion his widow, Lady Frere, has sent to
us these slave irons [pointing to the chains in front], which
were brought some years ago from Zanzibar by Sir Bartle Frere,
and you will, by looking at these implements of the slavers, be
convinced more, perhaps, than by anything else, of the cruelty
and hardships which slaves in this part of Africa had to
undergo. I will not detain you longer, but I must thank you once
more for the kind support you have given me to-day, and also
those gentlemen, many of them old and valued friends of my own,
who have addressed you in such eloquent and exhaustive
speeches."

The Prince vacated the chair, which was then taken by the Lord Mayor, and His Royal Highness left, amid loud cheers. His Royal Highness afterwards graciously consented to become Patron of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.

VISIT TO IRELAND IN 1885.

_April 9th-17th._

Seventeen years had passed since the Prince and Princess of Wales had been in Ireland, and had been received with generous and loyal enthusiasm. It was feared by many that the spirit of loyalty in the Irish people had died away and could never be revived. The selfish and treasonable agitators who had long stirred up hostile and disloyal feelings were vexed and angry when they heard of another Royal visit. They used every means that a malign ingenuity could suggest to repress the generous impulses of the Irish race, and did all in their power to prepare for the Prince and Princess of Wales a reception different from that which had been given on their former visits. When they found that the mass of the people looked forward with joyful anticipation to the coming of the Prince and Princess among them, they recommended, on the part of what they called the national party, to maintain a "dignified neutrality," and to abstain from joining in the loyal demonstration with which it was evident the Royal visitors would be welcomed. The design proved a failure. From the moment of landing at Kingstown to the day of their departure, not in Dublin only, but in the progress through the south of Ireland, the feeling of disaffection and disloyalty was overborne by the spontaneous and hearty enthusiasm of the people.

The first manifestation of loyal feeling was displayed at Kingstown, when an address was presented by the Commissioners of the township. The reply of the Prince shows how the spirit of the address was appreciated:--

"Mr. Chairman and Town Commissioners of Kingstown,--It has given
me great pleasure to receive the address with which you have
greeted me on my first landing in Ireland after some absence
from your shores, and I am grateful to you for the welcome which
you have accorded to the Princess of Wales and myself. I value,
I can assure you, very highly the expression of loyalty and
attachment to the Crown which your address contains, and I will
not fail to communicate to the Queen the sentiments of loyalty
and of devotion which you express towards Her Majesty. Most
certainly do I hope that this may not be the last visit which we
shall pay to a country where we have always been welcomed by
kindness, and where the hospitality which we have invariably
received on all former occasions has left so many pleasant
recollections impressed on our minds."

On arriving at Dublin the first address was presented by the City Reception Committee, the citizens having, with the hearty co-operation of all classes, undertaken to pay the common courtesies of welcome, which rightly should have been done, and on former occasions were done, by the Lord Mayor and Corporation. An address was at the same time presented by the Chamber of Commerce. To both addresses the Prince thus replied:--

"Mr. Martin, Mr. Guinness, and Gentlemen,--On behalf of the
Princess of Wales and myself, I thank you heartily for the
address you have read to me, and I am very grateful to the
citizens of Dublin who through you have welcomed me to their
city. It gives the Princess and myself much gratification once
more to visit a country where we have received so much kindness,
and I regret the length of the interval which has elapsed since
we last were in Ireland, and fully appreciate your sentiments of
loyalty to the Throne and Constitution, and I will take care to
communicate to the Queen your expressions of devotion and
attachment to Her Majesty. It will give me much pleasure to
renew my acquaintance with Dublin and see the results of the
civic and private enterprise to which you refer. The furtherance
of the welfare of all classes of the realm is an object which is
dear to me, and I trust that the efforts of the Commission of
which I am a member will tend to the improvement of the
dwellings of those who contribute by their labour to the
prosperity of our great towns, and will thus add to their public
utility as citizens as well as to their private and domestic
happiness. I hope to visit many parts of Ireland and see much of
the work, as well as share some of the amusements, of the Irish
people. The kindness with which you have greeted me encourages
me to look forward with pleasure to my visit to a country where
courtesy and hospitality have ever been the characteristics of
the people."

One passage in the address of the Chamber of Commerce the Prince did not refer to, but it is of great importance. After the warm expressions of loyalty to the Throne and the Constitution, and of devotion to the Queen and the Royal Family, the address continued, "We earnestly desire that your present visit may be productive of so much pleasure to your Royal Highnesses that you may feel encouraged to honour Ireland hereafter by visits of more frequent occurrence and of longer duration. We venture to assure you that it would be a great gratification to Her Majesty's loyal subjects in Ireland if a permanent Royal residence should be established in our country, and if some members of the Royal Family should see fit to make their home among us for some part of every year." About the permanent Royal residence in Ireland, the Prince kept a judicious silence, for it is a point which involves financial as well as political questions. But the opinion of the best Irish, of all classes, may well be considered, if the proposal is brought before Parliament.

The address of the Royal Dublin Society when the Royal party visited the Agricultural Show elicited another appropriate speech from the Prince. After acknowledging the expressions of loyalty to the Throne, and of personal kindness in the welcome given, the Prince said:--

"The proceedings of your society have ever been a matter of deep
interest to me, as they were to my lamented father; and, having
been fortunate enough on many occasions to be a successful
exhibitor at agricultural shows, I am able to appreciate the
service rendered to agriculture generally, and to the rearing of
cattle and horses especially, by your labours. In your attitude
towards the geographical survey I rejoice to see a determination
which proves to me that the promotion of those objects which you
consider to be for the best interests of your country is
paramount in your minds. I most sincerely trust that success may
attend each and all of your important undertakings, for they
are designed to promote the prosperity of a people who, quick to
grapple with the difficulties of science and always ready to
take advantage of the benefits of commerce, are necessarily
dependent to a large extent on highly taught and scientific
agriculture."

Later in the day the Prince went to see for himself the condition of some of the poorest parts of the city. His kindly sympathetic, manners towards the poor, and the minute acquaintance which he showed with the whole subject of the housing of the labouring classes, in all the details of construction and sanitation, were the theme of universal surprise and admiration. Of this inspection of the "slums" a reporter at the time said, "The visit of the Prince to these parts of the city was not publicly announced. But the people were not long in discovering who their visitor was. He had come among them with his eldest son, unattended by any guard, and the event showed that his confidence was not misplaced. Cheers and welcomes and every outward demonstration of loyal good feeling attended him along his whole course. It was a reception which had been well earned, and it will certainly not be the least pleasant recollection which the Prince will carry back when his Irish visit is at an end."

The proceedings on the 10th of April were as many and as laborious as those of the preceding day. The first duty was the reception of addresses from various public bodies. There were no fewer than thirty different addresses, presented by deputations of five persons for each. They were received by the Prince, who wore the Order of St. Patrick. The Princess of Wales was on his left, and Prince Albert Victor on her left. All the addresses were handed in succession to the Prince, without being read, which would have occupied too much time, and then the deputations were requested to approach the daïs, when the Prince, in dear expressive tones, read the following reply:--