seeing you here assembled again, and that is, the painful remembrance
that one is missing from amongst us who felt so warm an interest in our
scheme and took so active a part in promoting its success, the last act
of whose public life was attending at the Royal Commission; my
admiration for whose talents and character, and gratitude for whose
devotion to the Queen, and private friendship towards myself, I feel a
consolation in having this public opportunity to express.
Only at our last meeting we were still admiring his eloquence and the
earnestness with which he appealed to you to uphold, by your exertions
and personal sacrifices, what was to him the highest object—the honour
of his country; he met you the following day, together with other
Commissioners, to confer with you upon the details of our undertaking;
and you must have been struck, as everybody has been who has had the
benefit of his advice upon practical points, with the attention, care,
and sagacity with which he treated the minutest details, proving that to
a great mind nothing is little, from the knowledge that in the moral and
intellectual, as in the physical world, the smallest point is only a
link in that great chain, and holds its appointed place in that great
whole, which is governed by the Divine Wisdom.
The constitution of Sir Robert Peel’s mind was peculiarly that of a
statesman, and of an English statesman: he was liberal from feeling, but
conservative upon principle. Whilst his impulse drove him to foster
progress, his sagacious mind and great experience showed him how easily
the whole machinery of a state and of society is deranged, and how
important, but how difficult also, it is to direct its further
development in accordance with its fundamental principles, like organic
growth in nature. It was peculiar to him, that in great things, as in
small, all the difficulties and objections occurred to him first; he
would anxiously consider them, pause, and warn against rash resolutions;
but having convinced himself, after a long and careful investigation,
that a step was not only right to be taken, but of the practical mode
also of safely taking it, it became to him a necessity and a duty to
take it: all his caution and apparent timidity changed into courage and
power of action, and at the same time readiness cheerfully to make any
personal sacrifice which its execution might demand.
Gentlemen, if he has had so great an influence over this country, it was
from the nation recognizing in his qualities the true type of the
English character, which is essentially practical. Warmly attached to
his institutions, and revering the bequests left to him by the industry,
wisdom, and piety of his forefathers, the Englishman attaches little
value to any theoretical scheme. It will attract his attention only
after having been for some time placed before him; it must have been
thoroughly investigated and discussed before he will entertain it.
Should it be an empty theory, it will fall to the ground during this
time of probation; should it survive this trial, it will be on account
of the practical qualities contained in it; but its adoption in the end
will entirely depend upon its harmonizing with the national feeling, the
historic development of the country, and the peculiar nature of its
institutions.
It is owing to these national qualities that England, whilst constantly
progressing, has still preserved the integrity of her constitution from
the earliest times, and has been protected from wild schemes whose chief
charm lies in their novelty, whilst around us we have seen unfortunately
whole nations distracted, and the very fabric of society endangered,
from the levity with which the result of the experience of generations,
the growth of ages, has been thrown away to give place to temporarily
favourite ideas.
Taking this view of the character of our country, I was pleased when I
saw the plan of the Exhibition of 1851 undergo its ordeal of doubt,
discussion, and even opposition; and I hope that I may now gather from
the energy and earnestness with which its execution is pursued, that the
nation is convinced that it accords with its interests and the position
which England has taken in the world.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AT THE
DINNER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY.
[MAY 3RD, 1851.]
-------
MR. PRESIDENT,
MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,—
You have been very kind in responding with so much warmth to the toast
which your President has just proposed to you, and he will allow me to
thank him very cordially for the flattering expressions which he used
towards myself in introducing to you that toast.
I shall feel very happy if the future should prove that the Great
Exhibition, to which all nations have so generously contributed, should,
amongst other advantages which I firmly hope will result from it,
likewise tend to assist in the promotion of the Fine Arts in this
country, of which you are the representatives; and I feel proud that we
can show to the many foreigners who are now visiting our shores
specimens of British art such as these walls display.
Although I have, since my first arrival in this country, never once
missed visiting the Exhibition of the Royal Academy, and have always
derived the greatest pleasure and instruction from these visits, it is
but seldom that my engagements will allow me to join in your festive
dinner. I have, however, upon this occasion, made it a point to do so,
in order to assist in what may be considered the inauguration festival
of your newly-elected President, at whose election I have heartily
rejoiced, not only on account of my high estimate of his qualities, but
also on account of my feelings of regard towards him personally.
It would be presumptuous in me to speak to you of his talent as an
artist, for that is well known to you, and of it you are the best
judges; or of his merits as an author, for you are all familiar with his
works, or at least ought to be so; or of his amiable character as a man,
for that also you must have had opportunities to estimate: but my
connection with him, now for nine years, on Her Majesty’s Commission of
the Fine Arts, has enabled me to know what you can know less, and what
is of the greatest value in a President of the Royal Academy—I mean that
kindness of heart and refinement of feeling which guided him in all his
communications, often most difficult and delicate, with the different
artists whom we had to invite to competition, whose works we had to
criticise, whom we had to employ or to reject.
Gentlemen, the production of all works in art or poetry requires, in
their conception and execution, not only an exercise of the intellect,
skill, and patience, but particularly _a concurrent warmth of feeling_
and a free flow of imagination. This renders them most tender plants,
which will thrive only in an atmosphere calculated to maintain that
warmth, and that atmosphere is one of _kindness_—kindness towards the
artist personally as well as towards his production. An unkind word of
criticism passes like a cold blast over their tender shoots, and
shrivels them up, checking the flow of the sap, which was rising to
produce, perhaps, multitudes of flowers and fruit. But still criticism
is absolutely necessary to the development of art, and the injudicious
praise of an inferior work becomes an insult to superior genius.
In this respect our times are peculiarly unfavourable when compared with
those when Madonnas were painted in the seclusion of convents; for we
have now on the one hand the eager competition of a vast array of
artists of every degree of talent and skill, and on the other, as judge,
a great public, for the greater part wholly uneducated in art, and thus
led by professional writers, who often strive to impress the public with
a great idea of their own artistic knowledge by the merciless manner in
which they treat works which cost those who produced them the highest
efforts of mind or feeling.
The works of art, by being publicly exhibited and offered for sale, are
becoming articles of trade, following as such the unreasoning laws of
markets and fashion; and public and even private patronage is swayed by
their tyrannical influence.
It is, then, to an institution like this, gentlemen, that we must look
for a counterpoise to these evils. Here young artists are educated and
taught the mysteries of their profession; those who have distinguished
themselves, and given proof of their talent and power, receive a badge
of acknowledgment from their professional brethren by being elected
Associates of the Academy; and are at last, after long toil and
continued exertion, received into a select aristocracy of a limited
number, and shielded in any further struggle by their well-established
reputation, of which the letters R.A. attached to their names give a
pledge to the public.
If this body is often assailed from without, it shares only the fate of
every aristocracy; if more than another, this only proves that it is
even more difficult to sustain an aristocracy of merit than one of birth
or of wealth, and may serve as a useful check upon yourselves when
tempted at your elections to let personal predilection compete with real
merit.
Of one thing, however, you may rest assured, and that is the continued
favour of the Crown. The same feelings which actuated George the Third
in founding this institution, still actuate the Crown in continuing to
it its patronage and support, recognizing in you a constitutional link,
as it were, between the Crown itself and the artistic body. And when I
look at the assemblage of guests at this table, I may infer that the
Crown does not stand alone in this respect, but that its feelings are
shared also by the great and noble in the land.
May the Academy long flourish, and continue its career of usefulness!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AT THE THIRD JUBILEE OF
THE INCORPORATED SOCIETY
FOR THE
PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN
PARTS.
[JUNE 16TH, 1851.]
-------
MY LORDS, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN,—
We are assembled here to-day in order to celebrate the third jubilee of
the foundation of the “Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
Foreign Parts,” incorporated by Royal Charter, and one of the chief
sources of the spiritual aid which the Church of England affords to our
extensive colonial dependencies.
We are not commemorating, however, an isolated fact which may have been
glorious or useful to the country, but we are thankfully acknowledging
the Divine favour which has attended exertions which have been
unremitting during the lapse of one hundred and fifty years. We are met
at the same time to invoke the further continuance of that favour,
pledging ourselves not to relax in our efforts to extend to those of our
brethren who are settled in distant lands, and building up communities
and states where man’s footsteps had first to be imprinted on the soil,
and wild nature yet to be conquered to his use, those blessings of
Christianity which form the foundation of our community and of our
state.
This Society was first chartered by that great man William the Third,
the greatest sovereign this country has to boast of; by whose sagacity
and energy was closed that bloody struggle for civil and religious
liberty which so long had convulsed this country, and who secured to us
the inestimable advantages of our constitution and of our Protestant
faith.
Having thus placed the country upon a safe basis at home, he could
boldly meet her foes abroad, and contribute to the foundation of that
colonial empire which forms so important a part of our present
greatness; and honour be to him for his endeavour to place this
foundation upon the rock of the Church.
The first jubilee of the Society fell in times when religious apathy had
succeeded to the over-excitement of the preceding age. Lax morals and a
sceptical philosophy began to undermine the Christian faith, treating
with indifference and even ridicule the most sacred objects. Still this
Society persevered in its labours with unremitting zeal, turning its
chief attention to the North American continent, where a young and
vigorous society was rapidly growing into a people.
The second jubilee found this country in a most critical position: she
had obtained, by the peace of Amiens, a moment’s respite from the
tremendous contest in which she had been engaged with her continental
rival, and which she had soon to renew, in order to maintain her own
existence, and to secure a permanent peace to Europe. Since the last
jubilee, the American colonies, which had originally been peopled
chiefly by British subjects who had left their homes to escape the yoke
of religious intolerance and oppression, had thrown off their allegiance
to the mother country in defence of civil rights, the attachment to
which they had carried with them from the British soil. Yet this Society
was not dismayed, but in a truly Christian spirit continued its labours
in the neighbouring North American and West Indian settlements.
This, the third jubilee, falls in a happier epoch, when peace is
established in Europe, and religious fervour is rekindled, and at an
auspicious moment when we are celebrating a festival of the civilization
of mankind, to which all quarters of the globe have contributed their
productions, and are sending their people, for the first time
recognizing their advancement as a common good, their interests as
identical, their mission on earth the same.
And this civilization rests on Christianity, could only be raised on
Christianity, can only be maintained by Christianity! the blessings of
which are now carried by this Society to the vast territories of India
and Australasia, which last are again to be peopled by the Anglo-Saxon
race.
Whilst we have thus to congratulate ourselves upon our state of temporal
prosperity, harmony at home, and peace abroad, we cannot help deploring
that the Church, whose exertions for the progress of Christianity and
civilization we are to-day acknowledging, should be afflicted by
internal dissensions and attacks from without. I have no fear, however,
for her safety and ultimate welfare so long as she holds fast to what
our ancestors gained for us at the Reformation—_the Gospel and the
unfettered right of its use_.
The dissensions and difficulties which we witness in this as in every
other Church arise from the natural and necessary conflict of the two
antagonistic principles which move human society in Church as well as in
State; I mean the principles of _individual liberty and of allegiance
and submission to the will of the community_, exacted by it for its own
preservation.
These conflicting principles cannot safely be disregarded: they must be
reconciled. To this country belongs the honour of having succeeded in
this mighty task, as far as the State is concerned, whilst other nations
are still wrestling with it; and I feel persuaded that the same earnest
zeal and practical wisdom which has made her political Constitution an
object of admiration to other nations will, under God’s blessing, make
her Church likewise a model to the world.
Let us look upon this assembly as a token of future hope; and may the
harmony which reigns amongst us at this moment, and which we owe to
having met in furtherance of a common holy object, be by the Almighty
permanently bestowed upon the Church.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AT THE
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY’S SHOW.
[WINDSOR, JULY 16TH, 1851.]
-------
MY LORD DUKE,
MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,—
I am very sensible of the honour which you have done me in proposing my
health; and I can assure you, gentlemen, that the kind way in which you
have responded to the toast will never be forgotten by me.
Some years have elapsed already since I last dined with you in this
migratory pavilion, and I am glad that you should have pitched it this
day under the walls of Windsor Castle, and that I should myself have an
opportunity of bidding you a hearty welcome in the Home Park.
Your encampment singularly contrasts with that which the barons of
England, the feudal lords of the land, with their retainers, erected
round old Windsor Castle on a similar mead, though not exactly in the
same locality. They came then clad in steel, with lance and war-horse;
you appear in a more peaceful attire, and the animals you bring with you
are the tokens of your successful cultivation of the arts of peace. King
John came trembling amongst his subjects, unwillingly compelled to sign
that Great Charter which has ever since been your birthright. Your
Sovereign came confiding among her loyal and loving people; she came to
admire the results of their industry, and to encourage them to persevere
in their exertions.
And the gratification which the Queen has felt at the sight of your
splendid collection must, I am sure, be participated in by all who
examine it. I am doubly pleased at this success, not only because it is
witnessed by the many visitors from foreign lands now within our shores,
whom every Englishman must wish to inspire with respect for the state of
British agriculture, but also because I feel to a certain degree
personally responsible for having deprived you of one generally most
interesting feature of your show: I mean the field-fruits and the
agricultural machines and implements. Though separated from your
collection, they are seen to great advantage in another Royal Park; and
you will have been glad to hear that, “whatever the difficulty may be in
deciding upon the superiority of the works of industry and art sent to
the Crystal Palace by the different nations of the earth, the British
agricultural implements are acknowledged by common consent to stand
there almost without a rival.”
Let me now use the privilege which your President has allowed me to
enjoy, in proposing to you, as a toast, “Prosperity to the Royal
Agricultural Society.” To its exhibitions, the means of comparison which
they have afforded, and the emulation which they have stimulated, we owe
to a great extent the progress which British agriculture has made of
late. To this Society belongs the honour to have been one of the first
to appreciate the value of such exhibitions, and to have from the
beginning liberally and fearlessly admitted all competitors without
restriction.
I drink, “Prosperity to the Royal Agricultural Society.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
AT THE
BANQUET AT THE TRINITY HOUSE.
[JUNE 4TH, 1853.]
1.
Wherever Englishmen meet at a public dinner they make it their pride to
take no proceedings without first drinking to the health of “The Queen.”
The Corporation of the Trinity House yield in feelings of loyalty to
none of Her Majesty’s subjects.—Gentlemen!
“THE QUEEN!”
2.
The toast I have now to propose to you is that of the Royal Family.
It is a blessing attending the monarchical institutions of this country,
that the domestic relations and the domestic happiness of the sovereign
are inseparable from the relations and happiness of the people at large.
In the progress of the Royal Family through life is reflected, as it
were, the progress of the generation to which they belong, and out of
the common sympathy felt for them arises an additional bond of union
amongst the people themselves. I have often been deeply touched by the
many proofs of kindness, and, I may say, almost parental affection, with
which the Prince of Wales and the rest of our young family have been
welcomed on their earliest appearance. May God grant that they may some
day repay that affection, and make themselves worthy of it by fulfilling
the expectations which the country so fondly cherishes!
3.
I am sure that you could not have entered this room without feeling a
pang at missing from the chair, which I am this day called upon to
occupy, that great man whose loss we still find it almost impossible to
realise. It would be repugnant to our feelings to take another step in
the proceedings of this evening without paying a mournful tribute to his
name. Let us drink in solemn silence to the memory of the great Duke, to
whom this Corporation, as well as the whole nation, are so deeply
indebted.
4.
I have now to invite you to drink to the British Army and Navy, and in
doing so I would add to the toast the names of the two distinguished men
who preside over them, the General Commanding-in-Chief and the First
Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Hardinge and Sir James Graham.
It is under the protection of these two great services that this country
has attained an extent of power, wealth, and territory, without a
parallel in history.
We are rich, prosperous, and contented, therefore peaceful by instinct.
We are becoming, I hope, daily more civilized and religious, and,
therefore, daily recognizing more and more, that the highest use to
which we can apply the advantages with which an all-bountiful Providence
has favoured us, is to extend and maintain the blessings of Peace. I
hope, however, the day may never arrive which would find us either so
enervated by the enjoyment of riches and luxury, or so sunk in the
decrepitude of age, that, from a miserable eagerness to cling to our
mere wealth and comforts, we should be deaf to the calls of Honour and
Duty.
5.
The Health of Her Majesty’s Ministers is the toast which I now ask you
to drink.
The Brethren of the Trinity House have at all times been anxious
cordially to co-operate with Her Majesty’s Government, by whomsoever
conducted; they know no politics, but feel that the responsibility which
is imposed upon those men who are intrusted with the care of the
multifarious interests of this vast empire is an awful one, requiring
every assistance which it may be in the power of individuals or public
bodies to afford. They are convinced also, that, however party violence
may separate public men from each other, they are all equally influenced
by one sole consideration, the good of their country.
The Earl of Aberdeen and Her Majesty’s Ministers.
6.
I am very grateful to you, gentlemen, for the kindness with which you
have received the toast proposed by the Deputy Master,[5] and beg to
thank him for the obliging terms in which he has proposed my health.
Footnote 5:
The late Captain Shepheard.
When this important Corporation elected me as their Master, I was well
aware that I did not owe this to any personal merit of my own, giving me
a claim to such an honour, and I might well have paused before I
undertook to succeed, in any task or position, that great Man whom few
can hope to equal in talent, energy, and wisdom; but I saw in the choice
of the Brethren a desire to mark their attachment to the Throne, and, in
my own acceptance, a means for the Queen to testify through me her
interest and solicitude for British Commerce and Shipping, and for the
British Seaman. This Corporation has had, since King Henry the Eighth,
one of the high functions of administration delegated to it by the
State, that, namely, of lighting the coast, piloting vessels, and
tendering aid and assistance to the merchant seaman worn out by the
toils and the privations of his adventurous life. The world bears
testimony to the manner in which this duty has been discharged; and I
can refer to none which can be more satisfactory to the Corporation than
that which has been only recently borne by our brethren on the other
side of the Atlantic.