KNIGHTHOOD AND FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL.
Some two years after the conclusion of my Mayoralty, in 1883, Mr.
Gladstone, the Prime Minister, wrote to me stating that it would give
him pleasure to submit my name to the Queen for the honour of a
knighthood.
I attended a special Council at Windsor to receive the "accolade." We
were entertained at luncheon, and after waiting about in the corridors
for some time we were ushered one by one into the oak dining-room. The
gentleman who preceded me, being lame, could not kneel, and the Queen
knighted him standing. When I entered the room there was no cushion to
kneel upon. Her Majesty noticed it at once, and exclaimed, "Where is the
cushion?" and A.D.C.'s flew in all directions in search of one. Meantime
I was kept standing, feeling not a little nervous; the Queen apparently
thought it was a good joke, and laughed, for it appeared from the time
occupied in finding a cushion that cushions did not abound at Windsor.
I received through Lord Claud Hamilton a very kind message of
congratulation from the Prince of Wales, who had evidently been greatly
impressed by his visit to Liverpool.
Although the honour of knighthood was ostensibly bestowed in connection
with the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the opening of
the new docks, I was semi-officially informed that it was really a
recognition of my work in connection with the Fenian movement.
HONORARY FREEDOM OF LIVERPOOL.
Much as I valued the honour of knighthood, I still more greatly esteemed
the distinction conferred upon me by my fellow-citizens when they
bestowed upon me the freedom of the city--the greatest honour any man
can receive. Other honours are conferred for political and other
services, all more or less meritorious; but to be singled out by those
among whom you have lived all your life in order to receive the greatest
distinction it is in their power to offer is an honour worth living for,
and particularly when its bestowal is so jealously safe-guarded and kept
so entirely free from political bias as it is in Liverpool. It then
becomes doubly precious. It is easy in a great community to make
enemies. Even the very success which may crown one's efforts to do good
may produce them. A unanimous vote of a large City Council is,
therefore, not an easy thing to obtain, and is in itself a great
compliment. I may perhaps be pardoned if I venture to insert a short
account of the proceedings of the Special Council when the Freedom was
conferred, taken from the _Liverpool Post and Mercury_:--
"In the presence of a large and distinguished assembly of ladies and
gentlemen, the freedom of the city of Liverpool was yesterday afternoon
presented, in the Council chamber at the Town Hall, to Sir William
Forwood, the father of the City Council. Sir William was first elected
to the Council as a representative of Pitt Street Ward in November,
1868, and nine years later, in 1877, he was promoted to the aldermanic
bench, of which he is still a member. He was Mayor of the city in
1880-81. He is also a member of the city bench, of the county bench for
Lancashire and Cheshire, chairman of the Liverpool County Quarter
Sessions, and a deputy-lieutenant for Lancashire. The Lord Mayor
(Alderman Charles Petrie) presided, and, preceded by the city regalia,
he was accompanied into the Council chamber by Sir Thomas Hughes, Mr.
John Brancker, and Mr. B. Levy (freemen of the city), Mr. R. A. Hampson,
Mr. R. D. Holt, and Mr. T. Burke (the mover, seconder, and supporter of
the resolution of the City Council in favour of conferring the freedom
on Sir William Forwood), Sir William Tate, Sir John A. Willox, M.P., Mr.
A. Crosthwaite (ex-Lord Mayor), Mr. John Williamson, and many other
prominent citizens. There was also a very large attendance of members
of the City Council. Alderman W. B. Bowring sent a telegram regretting
his inability to be present through indisposition.
"The Lord Mayor, in opening the interesting proceedings said: I have
much pleasure in asking the Recorder, Mr. Hopwood, kindly to read the
resolution of the Council conferring the honorary freedom of the city
upon Sir William Bower Forwood.
"The Recorder: My Lord Mayor, I read the minute of the Corporation. 'At
a meeting of the Council of the City of Liverpool, holden on Wednesday,
the 4th day of June, 1902, under the Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act,
1885, present the Right Hon. Charles Petrie (Lord Mayor), and a full
Council, it was moved by Councillor Hampson, seconded by Councillor R.
D. Holt, supported by Councillor Burke, and resolved unanimously that,
in pursuance of statute 48 and 49 of Victoria, chap. 29, entitled an act
to enable municipal corporations to confer the honorary freedom of
boroughs upon persons of distinction, the honorary freedom of the city
be conferred upon Alderman Sir William Bower Forwood, in recognition of
the eminent services he has rendered to the municipality throughout his
membership of the Council, extending over a period of thirty-three
years, during the course of which he has filled the office of chief
magistrate and other public positions with credit to himself and benefit
to the community, and especially for the deep interest he has taken in
the establishment of libraries and reading-rooms in the city.'
"The Lord Mayor: Sir William Forwood, ladies and gentlemen, it is not
often we meet in this chamber as a Council under such happy auspices as
we are met to-day. We are gathered here with one accord to do honour to
one of our number whom we are pleased to term the Father of the Council,
Sir William Forwood. Not that he is by any means the oldest man amongst
us, but he happens to have been in the Council longer than any other
member. It is now nearly thirty-four years since Sir William was first
returned as member for Pitt Street Ward, on the 2nd November, 1868, and
ever since then he has held a seat in the City Council, and, as you all
know, he has served upon nearly all the important committees of the
Council--for instance, the Finance, Estate, Watch, Water, Library,
Museum and Arts, and Parliamentary Committees. As chairman of the
Parliamentary Committee he rendered very valuable services in the
opposition to the Manchester Ship Canal, and also with regard to railway
rates. But for many years past Sir William has unstintingly devoted his
time and his great ability to the Library, Museum, and Arts Committee.
And I am sure the city is very greatly indebted to him for the valuable
work that that committee has done."
The Lord Mayor proceeded to enlarge upon Sir William's services to the
city, and in conclusion said:--"I have now great pleasure, Sir William,
as chief magistrate of the city, in asking you on behalf of the
citizens to accept this illuminated resolution of the Council and also
this casket, and I am sure I am only echoing the sentiment of everyone
here to-day, and not only those here, but those outside, when I say that
we wish you long life, health, and happiness to continue in the honour
which you hold. I will now ask you to sign the roll of honorary freemen.
"The scroll on which is inscribed the freedom of the city is designed
and illuminated by James Orr Marples (Mr. Rutherfoord), Liverpool and
London Chambers, Exchange. The vellum is bound and backed with royal
blue silk and attached to an ivory roller. At the top of the composition
is the Liver crest and tridents between the arms and supporters of the
city, and a view of the Town Hall. Below, on the left side, beautifully
emblazoned, are the armorial bearings of Sir William B. Forwood, with
the crest and knight's helmet, the steel visor raised. On a scroll
beneath the shield is the motto 'Fide virtute et labore.' The civic
regalia and the port of Liverpool occupy the bottom of the design.
Pendant by a broad blue ribbon from the scroll is the official seal of
the city of Liverpool.
"The scroll was enclosed in a handsome silver-gilt box, decorated with
panel pictures of the Town Hall, Free Libraries, and Museum, in enamels.
"Sir William Forwood, having signed the roll, said:--My Lord Mayor,
aldermen, councillors, and ladies and gentlemen,--Believe me it is most
difficult, indeed it is well nigh impossible to find words adequately to
convey to you all the gratitude which fills my heart, to tell you how
deeply I appreciate and value the very great honour and distinction you
have so very generously and graciously conferred upon me, or to thank
you, my Lord Mayor, for the very eloquent, kind, but sadly too
flattering terms in which you have made this presentation. The honorary
freedom of the city of Liverpool, guarded by this Council with so much
jealousy, and bestowed with such a frugal hand, is the greatest honour
which this city can confer--it is a unique order of merit, it is not
conferred by the favour of a monarch or minister, but by the spontaneous
and unanimous voice of a great representative assembly, and as such is
not surpassed by any similar order in this country. It is justly
esteemed and valued by distinguished statesmen and philanthropists, and
not less by successful soldiers who in the hour of their country's great
anxiety have turned defeat into victory. How much more, then, must I
prize it, the freedom of my native city, as one born in Liverpool, and
who has spent his life in your midst, and whose only claim to this great
honour is that he has endeavoured to be of some use to his
fellow-citizens. How imperfect this service has been, how much more I
might have done, no one is more conscious of than I am; but you in your
great kindness and generosity have been good enough to overlook my
shortcomings, and are content to recognise only my long services and my
desire at all times to the best of my ability to promote the welfare of
this important community. I thank you most sincerely and with all my
heart; my children and my children's children will, I am sure, look upon
this beautiful casket and the record which it contains with feelings of
pride and gratification. It is an added charm to the presentation which
you have made to me that I am permitted to associate with it the memory
of my late brother, who gave to this city the best of his life, the best
of his thought and work, and died in their service. His memory will be
long cherished by all those who witnessed his public spirit, his long
and his unselfish devotion to the interests of the people of Liverpool.
I remember well the first time I entered this Town Hall. As a boy I had
spent my summer holidays at the Edge Lane entrance to the Botanic
Gardens, obtaining signatures to a petition to the Town Council asking
them to purchase the land adjoining the Botanic gardens for a park. I
obtained 62,000 signatures. I brought the petition down in a cab. I
remember it was too bulky to carry, and it had to be rolled through the
vestibule to the Town Clerk's office, which was then in this building.
That petition was successful, and the Wavertree Park was the first of
those beautiful parks which now girdle the city. My next appearance
within these walls was as the proud representative for Pitt Street Ward.
It serves to mark the flight of time when I call to mind that of the
members of the Council when I entered it in 1868 only three now
survive--Mr. Samuel Greg Rathbone, Mr. Philip Holt, and myself. Mr.
Rathbone is already a freeman, and our roll of freemen would be greatly
enriched if we could add the name of Liverpool's anonymous and great
benefactor. Of the members who have since entered this Council, many
have fallen by the wayside, many have retired into private life, some
have gone forward to the Commons House of Parliament to bear their part
in the government of the country; but a goodly number have, I am glad to
say, remained faithful to the municipal government of the city,
recognising that they can undertake no more noble or useful work.
Municipal work is many sided: it is full of interests; it is very
attractive, and even fascinating; and it brings with it its own reward
in the satisfaction of feeling that you are doing good. It may lack the
glamour and prestige of the Imperial Parliament, but it has this great
advantage: the City Council affords greater opportunities of initiating
and carrying into effect measures for the benefit of the people among
whom we live, and we have the added advantage of seeing the growth and
fruition of our work. Who can compare the Liverpool of to-day with the
Liverpool of thirty years ago without feeling thankful for what has been
done, and proud that he has been privileged to take part in the doing of
it? It seems only the other day we were wrestling with such an
insanitary condition of things that the unhealthiness of Liverpool was a
byword, and the prevalence of drunkenness and crime caused this city to
be alluded to as the 'black spot on the Mersey.' Great social and
sanitary problems had to be solved, which for years defied all attempts
at their solution--it was only when broader and more enlightened views
of municipal responsibility and duty came to the front, supported by a
healthy and more vigorous public opinion outside, that these problems
were grappled with, with such intelligence and determination that the
Liverpool of to-day can challenge comparison with any city in the
world--not only in the excellence and efficiency of its municipal
government and administration but in its enlightened policy in dealing
with insanitary property, housing the poor, the treatment of infectious
disease, and last but not least, in the suppression and prevention of
drunkenness and crime. You have, my Lord Mayor, alluded to the work done
by the Library, Museum, and Arts Committee over which it is my privilege
to preside. This may not bulk very largely in the public eye, but
nevertheless it is very real, and is doing much for the intellectual and
moral welfare of the people, and helping to make their lives brighter
and happier. When we get those additional funds which I hope the
generosity of the Council will give to us at no distant date, our work
must progress by leaps and bounds. While the freedom of Liverpool which
you have so very generously presented to me is the symbol of the highest
honour conferred by a great city, whose ships cover the seas and whose
commerce fills every corner of the globe, it is more than all this--it
is the kind expression of goodwill and approval of friends with whom it
has been my high privilege to work for so many years--an expression
which I greatly value and appreciate, and for which I return you once
again my most sincere and heartfelt thanks."