Chapter II: Part 2

* * * * *

[Sidenote: The Prince too much interested in too many things.] It has been said that, if we knew any man’s life intimately, there would be some great and peculiar moral to be derived from it—some tendency to be noted, which other men, observing it in his career, might seek to correct in themselves. I cannot help thinking that I see what may be the moral to be derived from a study of the Prince’s life. It is one which applies only to a few amongst the highest natures; and, simply stated, it is this—that he cared too much about too many things.

[Sidenote: His craving for perfection.] Moreover, everything in which he was concerned must be done supremely well if it was to please and satisfy him. The great German, Goethe, had the same defect, or rather the same superabundance. He would take inordinate pains even in writing a short note, that it should be admirably written. He did not understand the merit of second-best; but everything that was to be done must be done perfectly. It was thus with the Prince. In the choice of a jewel, in the placing of a statue, in the laying out of a walk, in the direction of a party of pleasure, his reasoning mind must be satisfied; and he longed that everything that was to be, should be the best of its kind.

[Sidenote: Strain upon the health.] Now men of this nature, with an abiding aspiration towards what is beautiful, and such an inordinate appreciation of what is reasonable, require also to have an extraordinary stock of health,[1] otherwise they make extravagant demands upon their powers of thought and attention, and thus upon the primary elements of life.

Footnote 1:

And the Prince had very good health. At any rate he had begun with a
fine constitution. Every one of the chief organs of life was well
developed in him, with the exception of a heart that was not quite
equal to the work put upon it; so that he mostly had but a feeble
pulse. It was upon the nervous energy that this constant stress of
work, and this striving after excellence in everything, must have
told, as such demands do tell upon all men of that high nature.

The man who insists upon having a good reason for everything he thinks and does, has set himself a task which it requires almost superhuman energy to master. With a boundless appetite for knowledge, the Prince declined to be superficial in anything; and whatever question was brought to him, he set to work at it with a resolution to give his best attention to solve it. All men, when they find such a mind to lean upon, delight to bring their difficulties to it; and in the Prince’s case his extraordinary good nature and prompt sympathy forbade him to ignore any question which interested his fellow-men. I cannot help thinking that, but for this peculiarity in his nature—a peculiarity which, regret it as we may, we cannot but love and admire—he would have lived for many years longer, to be, as he had always been, the worthiest and ablest supporter of the Throne, and the foremost advocate of all that held out a promise of increasing the welfare of the people.

It may here be well to remind the reader that the Prince was only forty-two years of age when he died; and that the sagacity and prudence for which he gained a just renown, were manifested at an age when many other men, even of the brightest sort, are far from showing maturity of judgment. This early death, too, makes the great amount of knowledge that he had acquired all the more extraordinary. And, altogether, we may say that seldom has there been compressed into a life more of thought, energy, and anxious care, than was crowded into his. His death appears especially premature at a period when we are accustomed to have great soldiers, lawyers, and statesmen distinguishing themselves, and almost showing new faculties, after they have reached the threescore years and ten so pathetically spoken of by the Psalmist. If the Prince had lived to attain what we now think a good old age, he would inevitably have become the most accomplished statesman and the most guiding personage in Europe—a man to whose arbitrement fierce national quarrels might have been submitted, and by whose influence calamitous wars might have been averted.

* * * * *

So subtly are men constituted, and so difficult is it, even from a careful enumeration [Sidenote: The gentleness of the Prince.] of their qualities, to get at the result of their nature, and to understand the men themselves, that it would be possible, notwithstanding all that has been justly said in praise of the Prince, that he might still have failed to be a very loveable character. You meet with people against whom nothing in dispraise can well be urged, and for whom high-sounding panegyrics might justly be written, who yet are not pleasant, amiable, or loveable. It was not so, however, with the Prince. The mere enumeration of his high qualities and his good tendencies would fail to give a just representation of his peculiarly gentle, tender, and pathetic cast of mind. Indeed this kind of character is rather German than English, and had always been much noted as a prevailing character in the Prince’s family. Though eminently practical, and therefore suited to the people he came to dwell amongst, he had in a high degree that gentleness, that softness, and that romantic nature, which belong to his race and his nation, and which make them very pleasant to live with, and very tender in all their social and family relations.

[Sidenote: The abiding youthfulness of men of genius possessed by him.] Finally there was in the Prince a quality which I think may be noticed as belonging to most men of genius and of mark. I mean a certain childlike simplicity. It is noticed of such men that, mentally speaking, they do not grow old like other men. There is always a playfulness about them, a certain innocency of character, and a power of taking interest in what surrounds them, which we naturally associate with the beauty of youthfulness. It is a pity to use a foreign word if one can help it, but it illustrates the character of such men to say that they never can become “_blasés_.” Those who had the good fortune to know the Prince, will, I am sure, admit the truth of this remark as applied to him; and will agree in the opinion that neither disaster, sickness, nor any other form of human adversity, would have been able to harden his receptive nature, or deaden his soul to the wide-spread interests of humanity. He would always have been young in heart; and a great proof of this was his singular attractiveness to all those about him who were young.

One gift that the Prince possessed, which tended to make him a favourite with the young, was his peculiar aptitude for imparting knowledge. Indeed, the skill he showed in explaining anything, whether addressed to the young or the old, ensured the readiest attention; and it would not be easy to find, even among the first Professors and Teachers of this age, any one who could surpass the Prince in giving, in the fewest words, and with the least use of technical terms, a lucid account of some difficult matter in science which he had mastered—mastered not only for himself, but for all others who had the advantage of listening to him.

The one of his children who was most capable of judging of what his conduct had been to all his children as a father and a friend, speaks thus of him:—

“But in no relation of life did the goodness and greatness of his character appear more than in the management of his children. The most judicious, impartial, and loving of fathers, he was at once the friend and master, ever by his example enforcing the precepts he sought to instil.”

The Prince’s marriage was singularly [Sidenote: The Prince’s marriage.] felicitous. The tastes, the aims, the hopes, the aspirations of the Royal Pair were the same. Their mutual respect and confidence went on increasing. Their affection grew, if possible, even warmer and more intense as the years of their married life advanced. Companions in their domestic employments, in their daily labours for the State, and, indeed, in almost every occupation,—the burthens and the difficulties of life were thus lessened more than by half for each one of the persons thus happily united in this true marriage of the soul. When the fatal blow was struck, and the Prince was removed from this world, it is difficult to conceive a position of greater sorrow, and one, indeed, more utterly forlorn, than that which became the lot of the Survivor—deprived of him whom She Herself has described as being the “Life of Her Life.”

To follow out his wishes—to realize his hopes—to conduct his enterprizes to a happy issue—to make his loss as little felt as possible by a sorrowing country and fatherless children:—these are the objects which, since his death, it has been the chief aim and intent of Her Majesty to accomplish. That strength may be given her to fulfil these high purposes, is the constant prayer of her subjects, who have not ceased, from the first moment of her bereavement, to feel the tenderest sympathy for her; and who, giving a reality to that which in the case of most Sovereigns is but a phrase, have thus shown that the Queen is indeed, in their hearts, the Mother of her people.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: How the Prince was mourned for.] It is a matter of history that, at the untimely end of the Prince, the sorrow of the whole nation went with him to his grave. That was due to his great public qualities: but, within a narrower circle, the endearing qualities of his nature called forth a deeper anguish and a more abiding affliction. Never was there a man more mourned by his family, by his friends, by those of his household, and by all persons who had come into contact or connection with him. This is perhaps the most favourable trait, the most undeniable proof of goodness and of greatness of heart, that can be brought forward of any man; for though we read upon tombstones of the undying regret of family and friends, it is in reality given to few amongst the sons of men to leave a blank in the lives of many other persons, which refuses to be filled up—a fond and passionate regret which may be soothed, but which, in their devoted hearts, can never be effaced.

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NOTE.

It must be obvious to the reader of this Introduction that the
writer has received the most valuable and important aid from
those who, by their constant intercourse with the Prince
Consort, could best appreciate the high qualities which shone
forth in his domestic life—from persons in the Royal Household
who saw him daily—from Members of the Royal Family—and
especially from the Queen Herself. To Her Majesty the writer is
indebted for a view of the Prince’s character in which a loving
and profound appreciation is combined with the most earnest
desire for exact truth and faithfulness. There is not any one
who could have been cognizant of all the various traits of the
Prince enumerated in this Introduction, unless he had been
instructed by Her, who alone saw, with the full light of a
complete affection, into the whole beauty and merit of the
character of this remarkable Man.

LONDON,

_October, 1862_.

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THE OFFICE

OF

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.

The foregoing is simply an Introduction to the Prince Consort’s Speeches, with some outlines of the Prince’s character. It is in no respect meant to anticipate the publication of his Life; and, consequently, no documents have been inserted, or even alluded to, which would be required for the illustration of that life.

One exception, however, to this rule the Queen has graciously consented to make. Amongst the manuscripts left by the Prince, there is a memorandum in his own handwriting on a subject of great importance in itself. But now, alas! the memorandum is of more importance still, as illustrating, in a remarkable manner, the Prince’s character and conduct. In this document he clearly defines his own position, and lays out as it were the main scheme and purpose of his life. His words on this occasion are like a lamp raised up high on a vessel, which casts long lines of light upon the waves before and after, showing the course which has been passed over, and that which will be passed over, as the ship speeds right onwards through the dark waters of the uncertain sea.

* * * * *

In the Introduction a character has been drawn, which might be cavilled at from its having so much that is bright in it, and so little that affords any contrast whatever of darkness. The Prince is there depicted as a most self-denying man. Those who lived with him knew that it was so; they knew that the habit of self-denial pervaded his whole life. But it might be difficult for the rest of the world to be assured of the full extent of this self-denial.

After reading the document in question, there will no longer be any doubt upon this point. It can hardly be imagined that anything could be more tempting to a young man, placed as the Prince was, than to have almost within his grasp such a grand and distinct position as that of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. Throughout the memorandum it is evident that the Prince felt the temptation deeply while he abjured it. It was not the cold refusal of a person indifferent to what was offered to him; but it was the stern self-sacrifice of one who, abounding in noble ambition, would dearly like to take the honour and the labour which he feels it his duty to decline.

The circumstances portrayed in the memorandum are very dramatic, and are exceedingly interesting, if only on that account. We cannot but picture to ourselves the tender wife already but too justly anxious for her Consort’s health; the aged Duke, with his well-known and long-tried devotion to the Throne, urging, in his decided manner, upon the Prince the acceptance of this much-coveted post; and the Prince modestly and decisively putting it from him as a thing he must not have. There was wisdom in the motives which led the old warrior and statesman to make the proposal. But there was a higher wisdom in those of the young Prince who steadily refused to entertain the offer: a wisdom not proceeding from a nice perception of what was safe for self-interest, or from a skilful balancing of consequences, but from an instinct of goodness cultivated by chivalry into the highest self-devotion.

The resolution which the Prince announces in this memorandum—to sink his own individual existence in that of the Queen—had long been acted upon by him even then, and was never afterwards departed from. It was not repented of: it gave a colour to his whole career: it sustained him in long days of wearisome, commonplace labour: it became a part of his being; and he never surrendered it but with his last breath.

Many a reader of the foregoing Introduction, not having met with anything like the Prince’s character in ordinary life, might naturally imagine it to have been drawn by too partial a hand. But this thought will vanish, when he sees the Prince unconsciously depicted by himself, and thus learns, from undoubted authority, what was the object, what the meaning, and what the settled purpose of his well-spent life.

* * * * *

In allowing this Memorandum of the Prince to be published, the Queen is also actuated by another motive in addition to those which have already been mentioned. It affords Her Majesty a fitting opportunity for expressing, in the most clear and ample manner, that which for many years she has desired to express. During the Prince’s life, the Queen often longed to make known to the world the ever-present, watchful, faithful, invaluable aid which she received from the Prince Consort in the conduct of the public business. Her Majesty could hardly endure even then to be silent on this subject, and not to declare how much her Reign owed to him. And now the Queen can no longer refrain from uttering what she has so long felt, and from proclaiming the irreparable loss to the public service, as well as to herself and to her family, which the Prince’s death has occasioned.

The position of Her Majesty, for many years accustomed to this loving aid, and now suddenly bereft of it, can with difficulty be imagined to the full extent of its heaviness and its sadness. Desolate and sombre, as the Queen most deeply feels, lies the way before her;—a path, however, of duty and of labour, which, relying on the loyal attachment and sympathy of her people, she will, with God’s blessing, strive to pursue; but where she fears her faltering steps will often show they lack the tender and affectionate support which, on all occasions, Her Majesty was wont to receive from her beloved husband, the Prince.

* * * * *

The circumstances which preceded the drawing up of this Memorandum by the Prince, are as follows:—

On the death of Sir J. Macdonald, the Adjutant-General, in
March, 1850, a suggestion was made to amalgamate the two offices
of Adjutant and Quartermaster-General under a single head, to be
called Chief of the Staff. The Duke of Wellington was in
consequence summoned to Windsor, and several conversations
ensued, in the course of which the Duke proposed that
arrangements should be made with a view to the Prince’s
ultimately succeeding himself as Commander-in-Chief.[2]

Footnote 2:

The circumstances narrated above, and the conduct of the
Prince Consort upon them, were related by Earl Russell very
succinctly and accurately in his speech in the House of
Commons, Jan. 31, 1854.

The following are extracts from the minutes made by the Prince of those conversations, as far as they related to that proposal:—

Windsor Castle, April 3, 1850.

I went yesterday to see the Duke of Wellington in his room
after his arrival at the Castle, our conversation soon turning
to the question of the vacant Adjutant-Generalship. I asked the
Duke what he was prepared to recommend. He said he had had a
letter on the subject recommending the union of the two offices
of Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General, and he placed his
answer to it in my hands. He then proceeded to say that he
thought it necessary that we should cast our eyes a little
before us. He was past 80 years, and would next month enter upon
his 82nd. He was, thank God! very well and strong, and ready to
do anything; but he could not last for ever, and in the natural
course of events we must look to a change ere long. As long as
he was there, he did the duty of all the offices himself.... To
form a new office by uniting the duties of Adjutant-General and
Quartermaster-General in the person of a Chief of the Staff, as
was the practice in some foreign armies, would be to appoint two
different persons to do the same duty, which would never answer.
The Chief of the Staff would again have to subdivide his office
into an Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General’s Department,
and nothing would be gained.

However, the Duke saw the greatest advantage in having a Chief
of the Staff, if, after his death, that arrangement should be
made which he had always looked to, and which he considered the
best, viz. _that I should assume the command of the army_.

He was sure I could not do it without such a Chief of the Staff,
who would be responsible before the public, and carry on the
official communications with the other Government Departments.
For this contingency he was prepared to organize the machinery
now, and he would answer for its success....

I answered to the Duke that I should be very slow to make up my
mind to undertake so great a responsibility—that I was not sure
of my fitness for it, on account of my want of military
experience, &c. (to which the Duke replied, that with good
honest intentions one could do a great deal, and that he should
not be the least afraid on that score)—whether I could perform
the duties consistently with my other avocations, as I should
not like to undertake what I could not carry through, not
knowing what time or attention they would require.

The Duke answered, that it would certainly require both time and
attention, for nothing could be done without my knowledge, or
without my order, but that the detail would be worked out by the
Chief of the Staff. He had thoroughly considered that, and would
make it work.... He always stood up for the principle of the
army being commanded by the Sovereign; and he endeavoured to
make the practice agree with that theory, by scrupulously
taking, on every point, the Queen’s pleasure before he acted.
But, were he gone, he saw no security, unless I undertook the
command myself, and thus supplied what was deficient in the
constitutional working of the theory, arising from the
circumstance of the present Sovereign being a lady. Strictly
constitutionally I should certainly be responsible for my acts,
but before the world in general the Chief of the Staff would
bear the responsibility, and for that office the man of the
greatest name and weight in the army ought to be selected. He
repeated that he thought this the most desirable arrangement,
and would at once work it out to the best of his ability.... I
begged him to leave me time to consider the proposal.

In the evening the Queen gave the Duke of Wellington an
audience, I being present. After having set out by saying he was
most anxious to let the Queen know and feel all he knew and felt
about it—in fact, to _think aloud_—the Duke repeated what he had
said to me in the morning, and we discussed the question
further. I said that there were several points which still
required to be considered.... The offer was so tempting for a
young man, that I felt bound to look most closely to all the
objections to it, in order to come to a right decision.... The
Queen, as a lady, was not able at all times to perform the many
duties imposed upon her; moreover she had no Private Secretary
who worked for her, as former Sovereigns had had. The only
person who helped her, and who could assist her, in the
multiplicity of work which ought to be done by the Sovereign,
was myself. I should be very sorry to undertake any duty which
would absorb my time and attention so much for _one_ Department,
as to interfere with my general usefulness to the Queen.... The
Queen added, that I already worked harder than she liked to see,
and than she thought was good for my health,[3] which I did not
allow—answering, that, on the contrary, business must naturally
increase with time, and ought to increase, if the Sovereign’s
duties to the country were to be thoroughly performed; but that
I was anxious no more should fall upon her than could be helped.

Footnote 3:

The anxiety of the Queen lest the Prince should injure his
health by his excessive attention to public business,
naturally continued to increase.

In 1860, when the Society of Arts renewed the proposal for
holding a second International Exhibition, the Queen wrote to
Lord Granville, without the knowledge of the Prince,
expressing Her earnest hope that he (Lord Granville) would do
all that in him lay to prevent the responsibility and labour
of conducting the undertaking being thrown in any way on His
Royal Highness.

The Queen felt deeply the necessity for averting any addition
to the heavy work already entailed on the Prince by the
assistance and support (every day more needful to Her) which
he gave Her in the transaction of all public business; and Her
Majesty was convinced that he could not again undertake the
labour he had gone through in conducting the first Exhibition
to its successful termination, without injury to that health
which was not only most precious to Herself and his family,
but to the country, and even to the world.

The Duke seemed struck with this consideration, and said he had
not overlooked it, but might not have given it all the weight it
deserved, and that he would reflect further upon it.

We agreed at last that this question could not be satisfactorily
solved unless we knew the exact duties which had to be
performed; and the Queen charged the Duke to draw up a
memorandum in which these should be detailed, and his general
opinion explained, so that we might found a decision on that
paper. This the Duke promised to do.

Windsor Castle, April 6, 1850.

After a good deal of reflection on the Duke of
Wellington’s proposal, I went to pay him a visit yesterday
morning in his room, and found him prepared with his memorandum,
which he handed to me. After having read it, I said to him that
I must consider my position as a whole, which was that of the
consort and confidential adviser and assistant of a female
sovereign. Her interest and good should stand foremost, and all
other considerations must be viewed in reference to this, and in
subordination to it. The question then was simply, whether I
should not weaken my means of attending to all parts of the
constitutional position alike—political, social, and moral—if I
devoted myself to a special branch, however important that might
be; and that I was afraid this would be the consequence of my
becoming Commander-in-Chief. It was quite true that the
Sovereign being a lady naturally weakened her relation to the
army, and that the duty rested upon me of supplying that
deficiency, and would do so still more when the protection which
the Duke afforded to the Crown should be unfortunately
withdrawn. But I doubted whether this might not be accomplished
without my becoming especially responsible for the command of
the army. There was no branch of public business in which I was
not now supporting the Queen, &c. &c.... The Duke replied he
quite saw that my position ought to be looked at as a whole. He
felt the extreme difficulty and delicacy of it, and was kind
enough to add that he approved of, and the public did full
justice to the way in which I had hitherto maintained it. I
begged him to leave me a little time for consideration, that I
wanted to study his memorandum, and would finally write to him
upon the subject.

Two days afterwards the Prince wrote to the Duke a letter, of which the following are extracts:—

MY DEAR DUKE,

The Queen and myself have thoroughly considered your proposal to
join the offices of Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General
into one of a Chief of the Staff, with a view to facilitate the
future assumption of the command of the army by myself.... The
question whether it will be advisable that I should take the
command of the army or not, has been most anxiously weighed by
me, and I have come to the conclusion that my decision ought
entirely and solely to be guided by the consideration, whether
it would interfere with, or assist, my position of Consort of
the Sovereign, and the performance of the duties which this
position imposes upon me.

This position is a most peculiar and delicate one. Whilst a
female sovereign has a great many disadvantages in comparison
with a king, yet, if she is married, and her husband
understands and does his duty, her position, on the other
hand, has many compensating advantages, and, in the long run,
will be found even to be stronger than that of a male
sovereign. But this requires that the husband should entirely
sink his _own individual_ existence in that of his wife—that
he should aim at no power by himself or for himself—should
shun all ostentation—assume no separate responsibility before
the public—but make his position entirely a part of hers—fill
up every gap which, as a woman, she would naturally leave in
the exercise of her regal functions—continually and anxiously
watch every part of the public business, in order to be able
to advise and assist her at any moment, in any of the
multifarious and difficult questions or duties brought before
her, sometimes international, sometimes political, or social,
or personal. As the natural head of her family, superintendent
of her household, manager of her private affairs, sole
_confidential_ adviser in politics, and only assistant in her
communications with the officers of the government, he is
besides the husband of the Queen, the tutor of the Royal
children, the private secretary of the Sovereign, and her
permanent minister.

How far would it be consistent with this position to undertake
the management and administration of a most important branch of
the public service, and the individual responsibility attaching
to it—becoming an Executive Officer of the Crown, receiving the
Queen’s commands through her Secretaries of State, &c. &c.? I
feel sure that, having undertaken the responsibility, I should
not be satisfied to leave the business and real work in the
hands of another (the Chief of the Staff), but should feel it my
duty to look to them myself. But whilst I should in this manner
perform duties which, I am sure, every able General Officer, who
has gained experience in the field, would be able to perform
better than myself, who have not had the advantage of such
experience, most important duties connected with the welfare of
the Sovereign would be left unperformed, which nobody _could_
perform but myself. I am afraid, therefore, that I must discard
the tempting idea of being placed in command of the British
Army.

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SPEECHES

OF

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS

THE

PRINCE CONSORT.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

SPEECHES.

--------------

AT A MEETING FOR THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.

[JUNE 1ST, 1840.]

-------

I have been induced to preside at the Meeting of this Society, from a conviction of its paramount importance to the great interests of humanity and justice.

I deeply regret that the benevolent and persevering exertions of England to abolish that atrocious traffic in human beings (at once the desolation of Africa and the blackest stain upon civilized Europe) have not as yet led to any satisfactory conclusion. But I sincerely trust that this great country will not relax in its efforts until it has finally, and for ever, put an end to a state of things so repugnant to the spirit of Christianity, and the best feelings of our nature.

Let us therefore trust that Providence will prosper our exertions in so holy a cause, and that (under the auspices of our Queen and Her Government) we may at no distant period be rewarded by the accomplishment of the great and humane object for the promotion of which we have this day met.

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LITERARY FUND, 1842.

-------

1.

I propose the health of the Queen, who highly appreciates the tendency of this Institution, and sincerely interests herself in its welfare.

“THE QUEEN, OUR MUNIFICENT PATRON.”

2.

I return you my warmest thanks for the great kindness with which you have received this toast. It will always be most gratifying to my feelings to contribute in the smallest degree towards the welfare of any of the excellent Institutions which so prominently distinguish this country.

3.

The toast which I have now to propose to you is the Prosperity of this Institution.

It stands unrivalled in any country, and ought to command our warmest sympathies, as providing for the exigencies of those who, following the call of Genius, and forgetting every other consideration, pursue merely the cultivation of the human mind and science. What can then be more proper for us than gratefully to remember the benefits derived from their disinterested exertions, and cheerfully to contribute to their wants?

I conclude with the ardent wish that the object for which we have this day met will be answered in the most ample and generous way.

“Prosperity to this Institution.”

4.

I am sure you will all gladly join me in drinking the health of our worthy President the Marquis of Lansdowne. He would not wish me to enumerate his merits as a patron of the Arts and Science, so well known to this assembly; but it is a satisfaction to me to have an opportunity of expressing how much I esteem them.

“OUR PRESIDENT.”

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THE CORPORATION OF TRINITY HOUSE.

-------

With much sincerity I return you my best thanks for the toast which has just been drunk.

I feel a pride in the cause which makes me a guest this day with the Corporation of the Trinity House, to whose exertions in the discharge of your important duties this great country is so deeply indebted.

That these exertions, upon which not only the good of the Mercantile Marine depends, but which have so essentially contributed to the welfare of the Navy, may in their various and important branches be always crowned with success, I warmly wish; and I cannot refrain from expressing how happy I should feel if by my admission into your Corporation I should ever be afforded the smallest opportunity of forwarding any of your objects.

The distinguished honour conferred upon me this day, an honour aspired to and prized by eminent men of every age, will always be held in my most lively remembrance.

* * * * *

[When the heart flies out before the understanding, it saves the judgment a world of pains.]

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AT THE MEETING OF THE

SOCIETY FOR IMPROVING THE CONDITION OF THE LABOURING CLASSES.

[MAY 18TH, 1848.]

-------

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,—

When four years since this Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the Labouring Classes was first established on its present footing, I accepted with great pleasure the offer of becoming its President.

I saw in this offer a proof of your appreciation of my feelings of sympathy and interest for that class of our community which has most of the toil, and least of the enjoyments, of this world. I conceived that great advantage would accrue from the endeavours of influential persons, who were wholly disinterested, to act the part of a friend to those who required that advice and assistance which none but a friend could tender with advantage.

This Society has always held this object before its eyes, and has been labouring in that direction. You are all aware that it has established model lodging-houses, loan-funds, and the system of allotments of ground in different parts of the country; but it has been careful only to establish examples and models, mindful that any real improvement which was to take place must be the result of the exertions of the working people themselves.

I have just come from the model lodging-house, the opening of which we celebrate this day; and I feel convinced that its existence will, by degrees, cause a complete change in the domestic comforts of the labouring classes, as it will exhibit to them, that with real economy can be combined advantages with which few of them have hitherto been acquainted; whilst it will show to those who possess capital to invest, that they may do so with great profit and advantage to themselves, at the same time that they are dispensing those comforts to which I have alluded, to their poorer brethren.

Depend upon it, the interests of classes too often contrasted are identical, and it is only ignorance which prevents their uniting for each other’s advantage. To dispel that ignorance, to show how man can help man, notwithstanding the complicated state of civilized society, ought to be the aim of every philanthropic person; but it is more peculiarly the duty of those who, under the blessing of Divine Providence, enjoy station, wealth, and education.

Let them be careful, however, to avoid any dictatorial interference with labour and employment, which frightens away capital, destroys that freedom of thought and independence of action which must remain to every one if he is to work out his own happiness, and impairs that confidence under which alone engagements for mutual benefit are possible.

God has created man imperfect, and left him with many wants, as it were to stimulate each to individual exertion, and to make all feel that it is only by united exertions and combined action that these imperfections can be supplied, and these wants satisfied. This presupposes self-reliance and confidence in each other. To show the way how these individual exertions can be directed with the greatest benefit, and to foster that confidence upon which the readiness to assist each other depends, this Society deems its most sacred duty.

There has been no ostentatious display of charity or munificence, nor the pretension of becoming the arbiter of the fate of thousands, but the quiet working out of particular schemes of social improvement; for which, however, as I said before, the Society has only established examples for the community at large to follow.

The report of the proceedings of last year will now be laid before you.

I must say—I hope I may say—that the Society has proceeded satisfactorily towards the accomplishment of its objects; and that is owing particularly to the kind feelings, the great experience, and undoubted zeal of Lord Ashley.

The next step which we contemplate taking is the erection of a model lodging-house for families. I have no doubt that the meeting will enable us to carry out that step, and that the attention of the public will be more generally directed to the objects which we have in view.

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AT THE MEETING OF

THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

[HELD AT YORK, JULY 13TH, 1848.]

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GENTLEMEN,—

I have to thank you most sincerely for your having drunk my health with so much cordiality. It has been a great satisfaction to me to have been able this year to pay an old debt in appearing at this interesting and useful meeting.

All I have seen to-day exhibits a bright picture of the progress of British agriculture, and for much of this progress the country is indebted to this Society.

Agriculture, which was once the main pursuit of this as of every other nation, holds even now, notwithstanding the development of commerce and manufactures, a fundamental position in the realm; and although time has changed the position which the owner of the land, with his feudal dependants, held in the empire, the country gentleman with his wife and children, the country clergyman, the tenant, and the labourer, still form a great, and I hope united, family, in which we gladly recognize the foundation of our social state.

Science and mechanical improvement have in these days changed the mere practice of cultivating the soil into an industrial pursuit, requiring capital, machinery, industry, and skill, and perseverance in the struggle of competition. This is another great change, but we must consider it a great _progress_, as it demands higher efforts and a higher intelligence.

Conscious of these changes, we Agriculturists of England assemble together in this annual meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, in order to communicate to each other our various experiences, to exhibit the progress that some may have made in the applications of science, and others in the adaptation of machinery, or in the successful rearing of animals.

Feeling, as I do, a great interest in these noble pursuits and their paramount importance, and having myself experienced the pleasures and the little pangs attending them, I feel highly gratified that it should have been confided to me to propose to you the toast of the day, “Success to the Royal Agricultural Society of England;” and I trust that you will heartily respond to it.

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AT THE LAYING OF THE FIRST STONE

OF THE

GREAT GRIMSBY DOCKS.

[APRIL 18TH, 1849.]

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MY LORD,[4]—

I thank you most sincerely for the kind terms in which you have proposed my health, and you, gentlemen, for the cordial manner in which you have received it.

Footnote 4:

The late Earl of Yarborough, Lord Lieutenant of the county of Lincoln.

The act which has this day been performed, and in which you were kind enough to desire that I should take the chief part, could not but make a deep impression upon me.

We have been laying the foundation not only of a Dock, as a place of refuge, safety, and refitment for mercantile shipping, and calculated even to receive the largest steamers in Her Majesty’s Navy, but it may be, and I hope it will be, the foundation of a great commercial port, destined in after times, when we shall long have quitted this scene, and when our names even may be forgotten, to form another centre of life to the vast and ever-increasing commerce of the world, and an important link in the connection of the East and the West. Nay, if I contemplate the extraordinary rapidity of development which characterizes the undertakings of this age, it may not even be too much to expect that some of us may live yet to see this prospect in part realized.

This work has been undertaken, like almost all the national enterprises of this great country, by _private_ exertion, with _private_ capital, and at _private_ risk; and it shares with them likewise that other feature so peculiar to the enterprises of Englishmen, that, strongly attached as they are to the institutions of their country, and gratefully acknowledging the protection of those laws under which their enterprises are undertaken and flourish, they love to connect them, in some manner, directly with the authority of the Crown and the person of their Sovereign; and it is the appreciation of this circumstance which has impelled me at once to respond to your call, as the readiest mode of testifying to you how strongly Her Majesty the Queen values and reciprocates this feeling.

I have derived an additional gratification from this visit, as it has brought me for the first time to the county of Lincoln, so celebrated for its agricultural pursuits, and showing a fine example of the energy of the national character, which has, by dint of perseverance, succeeded in transforming unhealthy swamps into the richest and most fertile soil in the kingdom. I could not have witnessed finer specimens of Lincolnshire farming than have been shown to me on his estates by your Chairman, my noble host, who has made me acquainted, not only with the agricultural improvements which are going on amongst you, but with that most gratifying state of the relation between Landlord and Tenant which exists here, and which I hope may become an example, in time to be followed throughout the country. Here it is that the real advantage and the prosperity of both do not depend upon the written letter of agreements, but on that mutual trust and confidence which has in this country for a long time been held a sufficient security to both, to warrant the extensive outlay of capital, and the engagement in farming operations on the largest scale.

Let me, in conclusion, propose to you as a toast, “Prosperity to the Great Grimsby Docks;” and let us invoke the Almighty to bestow His blessing on this work, under which alone it can prosper.

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AT THE PUBLIC MEETING OF THE

SERVANTS’ PROVIDENT AND BENEVOLENT

SOCIETY.

[MAY 16TH, 1849.]

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GENTLEMEN,—

The object for which we have assembled here to-day is not one of charity, but of friendly advice and assistance to be tendered to a large and important class of our fellow-countrymen.

Who would not feel the deepest interest in the welfare of their Domestic Servants? Whose heart would fail to sympathize with those who minister to us in all the wants of daily life, attend us in sickness, receive us upon our first appearance in this world, and even extend their cares to our mortal remains, who live under our roof, form our household, and are a part of our family?

And yet upon inquiry we find that in this metropolis the greater part of the inmates of the workhouse are domestic servants.

I am sure that this startling fact is no proof either of a want of kindness and liberality in masters towards their servants, or of vice in the latter, but is the natural consequence of that peculiar position in which the domestic servant is placed, passing periods during his life in which he shares in the luxuries of an opulent master, and others in which he has not even the means of earning sufficient to sustain him through the day.

It is the consideration of these peculiar vicissitudes which makes it the duty of both masters and servants to endeavour to discover and to agree upon some means for carrying the servant through life, safe from the temptations of the prosperous, and from the sufferings of the evil day. It is on that account that I rejoice at this meeting, and have gladly consented to take the chair at it, to further the objects of the “Servants’ Provident and Benevolent Society.”

I conceive that this Society is founded upon a right principle, as it follows out the dictates of a correct appreciation of human nature, which requires every man, by personal exertion, and according to his own choice, to work out his own happiness; which prevents his valuing, nay, even his feeling satisfaction at, the prosperity which others have made for him. It is founded upon a right principle, because it endeavours to trace out a plan according to which, by providence, by present self-denial and perseverance, not only will the servant be raised in his physical and moral condition, but the master also will be taught how to direct his efforts in aiding the servant in his labour to secure to himself resources in cases of sickness, old age, and want of employment. It is founded on a right principle, because in its financial scheme there is no temptation held out to the servant by the prospect of possible extravagant advantages, which tend to transform his providence into a species of gambling; by convivial meetings, which lead him to ulterior expense; or by the privilege of balloting for the few prizes, which draws him into all the waste of time and excitement of an electioneering contest.

Such are the characteristics of several institutions, upon which servants and many of our other industrial classes place their reliance. And what can be more heartrending than to witness the breaking of banks, and the failure of such institutions, which not only mar the prospects of these unhappy people, and plunge them into sudden destitution, but destroy in others all confidence in the honesty or sagacity of those who preach to them the advantages of providence?

Let them well consider that, if they must embark in financial speculations, if they like to have convivial meetings, if they claim the right of governing the concerns of their own body, they must not risk for this, in one stake, their whole future existence, the whole prosperity of their families. Let them always bear in mind, that their savings are capital, that capital will only return a certain interest, and that any advantage offered beyond that interest has to be purchased at a commensurate risk of the capital itself.

The financial advantages which this Society holds out to servants rest upon the credit of the country at large, upon the faith of the Government, and are regulated by an Act of Parliament, called “the Deferred Annuities Act.” They are shortly these: “According to published tables, which I have before me, persons, whose fixed income is below 150_l._ per annum, can, by small instalments, purchase annuities deferred not less than ten years, but beyond that limit to commence at any period the depositor may name. One annuity cannot be more than 30_l._, but he may purchase distinct annuities for his wife, or for his children on having attained to their fifteenth year. Should he at any time wish to withdraw his deposits before the annuity has commenced, they will be returned to him; should he die before that period, the deposits will be returned to the heirs. In such cases the only loss will be the interest upon the money deposited.”

Although this wise and benevolent measure has been enacted so long ago as the third year of the reign of King William IV., I find, to my deep regret, that, during that whole time, only about 600 persons have availed themselves of its provisions. I can discover no other reason for this inadequate success, but that the existence of the Act is not generally known, or that people are afraid of law and Acts of Parliament, which they cannot understand on account of their complicated technical wording. I have heard another reason stated, to which, however, I give little credit, namely, that servants fear lest a knowledge that they are able to purchase annuities by savings from their wages might induce their masters to reduce them. I have a better opinion of the disposition of employers generally, and am convinced that, on the contrary, nothing counteracts more the liberality of masters than the idea, not wholly unfounded, that an increase of means, instead of prompting to saving, leads to extravagance.

It is one of the main objects of this meeting to draw public attention to this “Deferred Annuities Act,” and the main object of this Society is to form a medium by which servants may acquire the benefits proffered by it free from risk, cost, or trouble.

The other objects are: to provide a home for female servants out of place, the usefulness of which hardly requires a word of commendation; to provide respectable lodgings for men-servants not lodged by their masters; and to establish a Registry for domestic servants generally, which will form as well a place of advertisement for their services, as a record of their characters, from which they can be obtained upon application.

Any one who is acquainted with the annoyances and inconveniences connected with the present system of “characters to servants,” will at once see the importance of the introduction of a system by which the servant will be protected from that ruin which the caprice of a single master (with whom he may even have lived for a short time only) may inflict upon him, and the master from the risk to which a character wrung from a former weak master, by the importunities of an undeserving servant, may expose him. Nor is it a small benefit to be conferred upon the servant, to enable him, by appealing to a long record of former services, to redeem the disqualification which a single fault might bring upon him.

Should we only succeed in inducing the public at large to consider all these points, we shall have the satisfaction of having furthered the interests of a class which we find recorded in the Report of the last Census as the most numerous in the British population.

I shall now call upon the Secretary to lay before you more in detail the points which I have slightly touched upon.

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AT THE ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN BY

THE MERCHANT TAILORS’ COMPANY.

[JUNE 11TH, 1849.]

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GENTLEMEN,—

I thank you sincerely for your expressions of kindness and cordiality towards me.

Although I have on former occasions met you in this room, it has always been for some charitable purpose, witnessing with delight the readiness with which this, and indeed all the great corporations of London, open the doors of their magnificent Halls at the call of charity. To-day I am here as a Brother Freeman of your Corporation, fulfilling a promise made from the time that you received me into your body. I am ashamed to own how long ago. I beg you not to measure, by the tardiness of my appearance, the value which I attach to the honour which you then conferred upon me, by electing me a Freeman of the Merchant Tailors’ Company.

I remember well with what regret, when, shortly after I came of age, the Companies of the Goldsmiths and of the Fishmongers offered me their freedom, I found myself compelled to decline this honour, being informed that, identified as they were by historical tradition, and still representing two opposite political parties, I could make a choice only of one of them, and, fully sensible that, like the Sovereign to whom I had just been united, and to devote my whole existence to whom it had become my privilege, I could belong only to the nation at large, free from the trammels and above the dissensions of political parties.

I well remember, too, how much pleased I was when the two Companies, waiving some of their statutes, finally agreed both to receive me amongst them; and my satisfaction is heightened when I consider that I owe to that decision the advantage of finding myself associated with you also.