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

Sir Charles Reed, son of the Rev. Dr. Andrew Reed, founder of the Institution (as he was of other important charities), conducted the Royal visitors to the gate of the Asylum, to which they had driven from the station. From the Board Room a procession was formed, to the place of laying the stone. Here another address was read, in reply to which the Prince said: —

"My Lords and Gentlemen, – I thank you for the kind expressions contained in your address. I cannot but rejoice that my presence should be considered an encouragement, and conducive to the prosperity of an institution that lays claim to our warmest support. Apart from all other considerations, the fact of my lamented father having taken so active a part in the early formation of the society would, in itself, be sufficient to enlist my sympathy and interest in its welfare. The necessity for affording more extended accommodation, in consequence of the increased number of applicants, is the best proof of the success which has followed your first efforts. We must all appreciate the comprehensive principle which regulates, without regard to social or religious distinction, the admission of all classes of our fellow-creatures suffering under an affliction which reduces them to one common level. Finally, I have to assure you, gentlemen, how sincerely I feel your expressions of devotion and attachment towards the Queen, the Princess of Wales, and the Royal family. I am persuaded they, equally with myself, will watch with increasing interest the success of an institution this day enlarged under such hopeful circumstances."

The Treasurer then handed to the Prince a silver trowel, and Sir Charles Reed, M.P., presented the mallet, which had been used by the Prince Consort on laying the first stone of the "Infant Orphan Asylum" at Wanstead, and which His Royal Highness had afterwards given to Dr. Andrew Reed. A good supply of mortar having been brought to the Prince of Wales in a mahogany hod, His Royal Highness spread a sufficient quantity to make a setting for the stone. Then, amid cheering, the stone was slowly lowered, and the Prince tapped it with the mallet, tested it by rule and plumb, and amid a flourish of trumpets, followed by the National Anthem, pronounced it to be well and truly fixed. The Archbishop of Canterbury then offered an appropriate prayer, which was followed by a hymn, of which there was an instrumental performance by the hand of the Grenadier Guards, while the words were sung by the entire company.

The Prince and Princess then took their seats, and, to the March of King Christian IX., of Denmark, there was an interesting and, for the charity, a most gratifying procession. It was one of ladies, who to the number of 380 in single file ascended the daïs where the Prince sat, and deposited in all 400 purses. The Prince had previously, immediately after fixing the stone, handed to the Treasurer, a check for a hundred guineas. A déjeuner followed, and planting of memorial trees and other festivities.

THE ALEXANDRA DOCK AT LYNN

July 7th, 1869

Six centuries ago Lynn was, next to London, the chief port on the east coast. It is nearer than any other port to Holland and North Germany. In course of time the foreign trade of the place had fallen into decay, and the town itself was outstripped in business by Hull, Grimsby, Yarmouth, and other eastern seaports. A time of revival having come, it was considered that the prosperity of the ancient borough would be secured by the formation of docks and accommodation for foreign trade, as the manufacturing districts of the Midland Counties might be brought into connection with Lynn as the shortest route to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Texel, and Hamburg. In hope of benefiting the trade and industry of the town, the Lynn Dock Company was formed, and obtained from Mr. Brunlees, C.E., the plans for a great dock, which in due time was completed, and was inaugurated by the Prince and Princess of Wales, on the 7th of July, 1869.

Arriving from London, by special train of the Great Eastern Railway, the Royal visitors were received, with great ceremony, in the Council Room of the Town Hall of Lynn. An address was presented by the Recorder, in which gratification was expressed at their Royal Highnesses having selected an abode in the neighbourhood of the borough, and in showing their interest in its welfare by having graciously undertaken to inaugurate their new dock.

His Royal Highness made the following reply: —

"Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, – I thank you for this address, for the loyalty and attachment you express towards the Queen, and for the kind welcome you offer the Princess and myself. It is peculiarly gratifying to us to visit you on an occasion like the present. The revolutions of time and science would have had the same effects upon King's Lynn as upon other commercial ports but for the energies of the inhabitants. Without them its ancient name would have become interesting only for its antiquity. But in the century in which we live it is permitted neither to town nor to community to rest quiet or to stand still. The energies I have referred to, I have learned to appreciate from living in your neighbourhood, and, indeed, I have been called on to participate in them as regards the navigation of your waters. I fervently pray that the Dock we are about to open this day, may, under the fostering auspices of a beneficent Providence, open out new sources of wealth and commerce, shedding the blessings which are derived from them on your town, and contributing to the prosperity of our beloved country."

The Royal party then visited the Grammar School, where the Prince received and responded to an address from the Masters and Scholars, and presented to the successful competitor the gold medal, given annually, through the munificence of the Prince, as a prize for classical and modern languages in alternate years. The Prince presented the prize, saying: —

"I have great pleasure in presenting you with this medal. On a former occasion I presented it at Sandringham, but it is more pleasure to you to receive it among your schoolfellows. I hope this medal will contribute to your success in future life, and that it may be a stimulus to you for further exertion."

On arriving at the Dock, the circumference of which was densely crowded, the Royal visitors were greeted with cheering, bell-ringing, and every demonstration of welcome. When it came to the ceremony of declaring the dock open, an agreeable surprise was added by the terms in which the announcement was made: —

I declare this Dock now open, and that henceforth it is to be called The Alexandra Dock.

The announcement was received with vociferous acclamation. The Prince's intention had been signified to the Chairman of the Dock Company only a few minutes before, and was quite unknown to the mass of the spectators, who expressed their delight by repeated salvos of cheering.

At a banquet afterwards given, when the toast of the Royal visitors was given, by Mr. Jarvis the President, the Prince said that he regarded King's Lynn as his country town, and should always feel the deepest interest in its welfare.

VISIT TO MANCHESTER

July, 1869

The annual show of the Royal Agricultural Society was held in 1869 at Manchester, which the Prince of Wales visited on the 29th of July, accompanied by the Princess of Wales.

There are some who remember the first visit of the Queen and Prince Consort to Manchester in 1851. The Royal party then proceeded along the canal to Worsley from Patricroft, where the wonderful engineering works of James Nasmyth were inspected. In 1869, the Prince and Princess of Wales were conducted along the same canal, but in reverse direction, the barge going from Worsley, through Patricroft, to Old Trafford. The Prince and Princess, with their host and hostess, the Earl and Countess of Ellesmere, drove from the Hall to the stage where the royal barge was waiting. A large flotilla of boats followed as a guard of honour, including some of the Manchester Rowing Clubs. It was a strange and picturesque canal scene, the barges being towed by horses ridden by postillions, and the towing path all along the route, for five or six miles, being kept clear by mounted patrols in livery. It was a great gala day in those densely peopled regions.

In passing through Salford an address was presented by the Mayor, Aldermen, and burgesses of that borough, in the Reading Room of the Royal Museum. The address expressed the great pleasure experienced by this, the second visit of the Prince to their town, enhanced by the presence there, for the first time, of the Princess of Wales: "We cherish a lively and affectionate remembrance of the visit of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen to Peel-park in the year 1851, when she witnessed the assemblage of 80,000 Sunday-school scholars, and listened, not unmoved, while they sang the National Anthem. This event was commemorated by the erection of a marble statue to Her Majesty in the park, which was publicly inaugurated by the late and much revered Prince Consort, who on that occasion inspected and manifested a deep interest in the free museum and library in the park. We deeply deplored the loss of the late Prince Consort, and erected a marble statue to his memory, in close proximity to that of the Queen, and near the spot where he stood when inaugurating the statue of Her Majesty."

The Prince made the following reply: —

"Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, – The Princess of Wales and myself thank you very cordially for your address, and for the sentiments you are good enough to express towards us. It is very gratifying to us to have the opportunity of paying you a visit, and to observe the evidences of the growing wealth and population which have raised Salford to the position she now occupies in the Empire. It will be highly satisfactory to the Queen to learn how deeply engraven on your hearts is the recollection of the visit she paid you in 1851, and how cherished and beloved is the memory of my lamented father. On my own part, I can but acknowledge the kindness of the terms in which you have alluded to my past years. For those which are to come I can only say that it will be the one effort of my life to merit the good opinion of the people I am so proud to call my fellow-countrymen."

In driving through the park the Royal visitors had been conducted past the white marble statues of the Queen and the Prince Consort, and those of Richard Cobden and Joseph Brotherton. Leaving the park, the streets and ways being everywhere densely thronged, they reached the Manchester Town Hall, where another address was delivered, expressing joyous welcome from the loyal citizens, and especially the feelings of satisfaction at the presence of the Prince, as President of the Royal Agricultural Society, "believing the same to be an evidence of the deep interest manifested by your Royal Highness in the success of all movements which have for their object the advancement of art and science and the progress and welfare of the people of this great empire. It has been the special privilege of your Royal Highness to an unusual extent to visit and personally to become acquainted with other Courts and countries, and with distant portions of Her Majesty's dominions, and we rejoice to believe that the valuable experience thereby acquired gives to all classes of Her Majesty's subjects an assurance that your Royal Highness will ever be foremost in all efforts to extend true liberty and civilization, and to develope those free institutions which are the pride and glory of our country."

To which address the Prince replied: —

"Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, – I thank you for the kind expressions of loyalty and devotion towards the Queen, the Princess of Wales, and myself contained in your address. I have gladly availed myself of the opportunity afforded me, in the fulfilment of my duties as President of the Royal Agricultural Society, to visit a city second to none in the Empire in commercial importance, to become better acquainted with its history, its locality, and the sources of its prosperity. The wise provision of my lamented father and of the Queen, my dear mother, has secured for me at an early age the advantages of visiting the centres of the world, the most remarkable and the most deserving of study for their interest and for their development of the elements of wealth. In admiring, and, I trust, appreciating, the successful result that has distinguished foreign exertions, I have also learnt to look with increased admiration on those wonderful works of human ingenuity, perseverance, and industry, the products of the heads and hands of my own countrymen, and especially of those who now surround me. May we all be grateful, gentlemen, to a superintending Providence, which has blessed the efforts of our commercial enterprise and the free institutions of our country, – themselves a pledge of our future prosperity."

The Prince presided at a general meeting of the Council of the Society, and opened the proceedings by a brief speech which was loudly applauded. He also received in his own marquee a numerous deputation from the Agricultural Society of France. At the close of the meeting the Royal visitors drove to a station on the Manchester South Junction line, where a train was waiting to take them to Brough, near Hull, viâ Normanton; the Prince having engaged to be at Hull in the afternoon in order to inaugurate the new Western Dock at that town.

The principal object of the Prince's visit was to see the Royal Agricultural Show, the members mustering in great force for the occasion from all parts of England. At the midday luncheon the Chairman, the Earl of Sefton, gave the toast of "The Queen," who was deeply interested in the agricultural affairs of the Kingdom, and set the practical example of being an exhibitor at the present Show. The Chairman next proposed "The Health of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales." He said the present toast should be the last. He had to ask them to drink to the health of the President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, coupled with the toast of Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales. He had looked forward to this meeting for a long time, and it was with the greatest pride they learnt that it was to be held under the presidency of His Royal Highness. The reception their Royal Highnesses met with the day previous and that day sufficiently testified to the loyalty and attachment of the people of this country to the Crown. It was difficult to allude to the good qualities of His Royal Highness, but he was ever foremost in the furtherance of works of charity and usefulness. They also experienced the warmest attachment and the truest loyalty towards the Princess.

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in replying, said: —

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the kind way in which you have received this toast. My health has been proposed twofold – first for myself, and also in my position as President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. I can assure you it was great honour that was conferred upon me when I was asked to assume this presidency, and my only regret is that this office has been a mere nominal one, and that I have not been able to be of so much use as I should have liked. At the same time I feel a pride in being President of a Society which has existed for so long, and which is one of the greatest agricultural societies anywhere, always helping forward improvements in agriculture. It was a great satisfaction to this Society to hold one of its annual meetings at Manchester, one of the greatest manufacturing towns of England. It is my duty as President of the Society to return, in the name of the Society, our most cordial and our warmest thanks for the extensive and liberal way in which the local committee have made their arrangements. It is to them we owe this magnificent entertainment in this fine tent, and also the excellent arrangements which we see before us. Lord Sefton told us not to make many speeches or long ones. I will, therefore, not make any further remarks, but, before sitting down, allow me to thank you in the name of the Princess for the kind way in which you have received her. I can assure you it has given her great pleasure to be present at this second visit to the Royal Agricultural Society, and this her first visit to Manchester. We both feel deeply grateful for the kind and hearty welcome which we have received, not only from Manchester, but from the inhabitants of Lancashire."

THE PEABODY MEMORIAL.

UNVEILING OF THE STATUE IN THE CITY OF LONDON

July 23rd, 1869

The best memorials of George Peabody, American citizen and philanthropist, are the piles of buildings which stand as monuments of his generous liberality, and of his desire to advance the physical and moral welfare of the poor of London. He received from the Queen of England, and from many public and official bodies, warm recognition of his beneficence. But it was also fitting and right that in some public place a Statue should be erected, to perpetuate his name and his likeness, as well as to commemorate his good deeds. The citizens of London, headed by all the leading men of the Metropolis, subscribed for the Statue, which now adorns the site on the east of the Royal Exchange. The Prince of Wales, having consented to perform the ceremony of unveiling the Statue, was received at the Mansion House by the Lord Mayor, where a distinguished company had assembled. In response to the toast of his health, the Prince said: —

"I thank you for the compliment you have paid me in drinking my health. I assure you it is always a pleasure to me to be present here at the Mansion-house. It is not, indeed, the first time I have received the hospitality of the Lord Mayor and of the City of London. We are assembled to take part in a great ceremony, and I accepted with much pleasure the invitation and the privilege of unveiling the statue of Mr. George Peabody. After the appropriate remarks the Lord Mayor has made concerning him I have little to say except to indorse what has been so well expressed by his Lordship. He is a man whose name will go down to posterity as a great philanthropist, and you, my Lord Mayor, and the citizens of London in particular, can never be sufficiently grateful to him for what he has done."

After the luncheon His Royal Highness was escorted to the site of the memorial. Here Sir Benjamin Phillips, Chairman of the Committee, addressed the Prince, concluding with these words: – "Let us hope that this statue, erected by the sons of free England to the honour of one of Columbia's truest and noblest citizens, may be symbolical of the peace and goodwill that exist between the two countries, and that a people springing from the same stock, speaking the same language, and inspired and animated by the same love of freedom and progress may live in uninterrupted friendship and happiness. Your Royal Highness may remember the language so beautifully expressed by George Peabody, in the letter that accompanied his last noble gift, when, speaking of America he said, 'I will pray that Almighty God will give to it a future as happy and noble in the intelligence and virtue of its citizens as it will be glorious in unexampled power and prosperity.' Your Royal Highness, these are the sentiments uttered by a man of ripe age, and alike applicable to the land of his birth and to the country of his adoption. May they inspire us, may they animate us, and may they find an echo throughout the length and breadth of our own free and happy homes."

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales than presented himself to speak, and was hailed with enthusiastic cheers. He said: —

"Sir Benjamin Phillips, my Lord Mayor, Ladies, and Gentlemen, – I feel sure that all those who have heard the words which have just been uttered cannot but be gratified with what has been said. Allow me to say to you that among the many duties which I have to perform, and which I have the privilege of performing, none could have given me greater pleasure than to assist and take part in the unveiling of this statue on this occasion. The name of George Peabody is so well known to all of you that really I feel some difficulty in saying anything new of that remarkable man; but, at the same time, it affords me the deepest gratification to join in paying a mark of tribute and respect to the name of that great American citizen and philanthropist – I may say, that citizen of the world. England can never adequately pay the debt of gratitude which she owes to him – London especially, where his wonderful charity has been so liberally distributed. For a man not born in this country to give a sum, I believe, more than a quarter of a million of pounds sterling for purposes of benevolence is a fact unexampled. His name will go down to posterity as one who, as Sir Benjamin Phillips so justly remarked, has tried to ameliorate the condition of his poorer fellow-citizens, and especially to benefit their moral and social character. I have not yet had the opportunity of seeing the statue which is about to be unveiled, but having had the privilege of knowing the sculptor, Mr. Story, for a space of now about ten years, I feel sure it will be one worthy of his reputation, and worthy also of the man to whom it is dedicated. Before concluding the few imperfect remarks which I have ventured to address to you, let me thank Mr. Motley, the American Minister, for his presence on this occasion, and assure him what pleasure it gives me to take part in this great and I might almost say, national ceremonial of paying a tribute to the name of his great and distinguished countryman. Be assured that the feelings which I personally entertain towards America are the same as they ever were. I can never forget the reception which I had there nine years ago, and my earnest wish and hope is that England and America may go hand in hand in peace and prosperity."

At the conclusion of His Royal Highness's address the Statue was uncovered, and at a signal from the Lord Mayor a loud and prolonged cheer was raised on its being exposed to view.

His Excellency, the American Minister, then addressed the vast audience. He said, towards the close of his speech, "It is a delightful thought that the tens of thousands who daily throng this crowded mart will see him almost as accurately as if in the flesh, and that generations after generations – that long, yet unborn, but I fear, never ending procession of London's poor – will be almost as familiar in the future with the form and features of their great benefactor as are those of us who have enjoyed his acquaintance and friendship in life."

Mr. Story, the sculptor, having been called on, said he had no speech to make. He added, significantly pointing to the Statue, "That is my speech," – a remark which occasioned much merriment and cheering.

The ceremony was then brought to a close, and the Prince took his leave. His Royal Highness, as he did so, was repeatedly cheered.

THE SCOTTISH HOSPITAL

November 30th, 1869

The Scottish Corporation is commonly called the Scottish Hospital, but this is rather misleading as to the uses of the charity. Its objects are to assist, by pensions, poor aged natives of Scotland living in London, to afford temporary relief to Scotchmen in distress, or to aid them to return to their own country; and also to educate poor Scottish children. The last-named object is also carried out by a kindred institution, the Royal Caledonian Asylum, which receives some children of indigent Scotchmen in London, although its main purpose is the maintenance and education of children of soldiers, sailors, and marines, natives of Caledonia. The Scottish Hospital possesses funded property to the amount of £40,000, and the annual receipts are about £5000. In trust to the Scottish Hospital there is also attached the "Kinloch Bequest," for granting pensions to Scottish soldiers and sailors, resident in the United Kingdom, who have been wounded or have lost their sight in the service of the country, and whose incomes do not exceed £20 from other sources.

The anniversary festival of the Scottish Corporation is always held on the 30th of November, St. Andrew's day. In 1869 His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales presided at the dinner. The guests at this festival are mostly Scottish, and a large muster of Highland Chiefs and Lowland Lairds, as well as prosperous Scotchmen of London, supported the Royal chairman upon this occasion. Prince Christian and other distinguished visitors were also present. Many of the stewards wore the garb of old Gaul, and the tartans, scarves, flags, and decorations made the Hall of the Freemasons' Tavern assume a national appearance. The "bagpipes" were also in honourable use, the Prince being conducted to the chair to the tune of the Highland laddie, played by the Queen's piper, the Prince's first piper, and the piper of the Royal Caledonian Asylum. The Prince had previously been received by a guard of honour of the London Artillery, whose band played the National Anthem, while the band of the London Scottish Volunteers performed a selection of Scotch music during the dinner. The three pipers also, at intervals, paraded the hall, and regaled the guests with their stirring strains.