Artillery; afterwards dining with the officers of his regiment.
* * * * *
The Prince of Wales being Colonel of the Norfolk Artillery Militia, has
occasion to visit Great Yarmouth more frequently than he might otherwise
do. At the time of the inspection in 1887, advantage was taken of his
presence for laying the foundation of the new hospital, the old one
having been in use since 1838, and being too small, and unsuitable for
the increased requirements of the borough. The foundation stone of the
new edifice was laid with masonic ceremony on the 18th of May, 1887. The
Prince was accompanied by Lord Charles Beresford, and a large muster of
the brethren of the Craft assembled to meet the Grand Master. An
imposing procession proceeded from the Town Hall to the site of the
Hospital. The crowds in the streets were great, and the ceremony excited
much interest in the town. To an address from the Corporation, the
Prince replied in gracious terms; expressing his gratification at being
able again to visit the ancient borough, and to assist in so good a
work; adding, that though it was his sixth visit, he hoped it would not
be the last, as he always looked forward with the greatest pleasure to
coming to Great Yarmouth.
THE SCHOOL DRILL REVIEW.
_July 25th, 1872._
The Horticultural Gardens at South Kensington had seen many
vicissitudes, and been turned to many uses, before it ceased to be the
head-quarters of the science and art of gardening. But the ground was
never turned to better use than when it was lent for the Annual Review
of the thousands of boys belonging to the Training Ships and the Pauper
Schools of the Metropolitan District Unions. Two of these annual reviews
had been held, under the auspices of the Society of Arts, when in 1872,
on the 25th of July, the Prince of Wales was asked, as President of that
Society, to take the leading part in the proceedings of the day.
About 4000 boys in all mustered, each little regiment marching on the
ground with its own band playing and banner flying. The Greenwich Royal
Naval School, of 700 boys, were conspicuous in their nest sailor
uniforms. The lads of the _Warspite_, _Goliath_, and _Chichester_
training ships also made a good appearance. The Greenwich boys, having
the advantage of more thorough training and instruction, were excluded
from the competition in the drill exercises for which other schools
entered.
Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar watched each school at drill under its own
inspector, and adjudged the prizes to be afterwards distributed by the
Prince of Wales. A Serjeant-major of the Guards was in charge of the
parade, and of the march past the saluting point. The arrangements of
the day had been chiefly organized by Major Donelly, R.E., to whom great
praise was due.
The boys had been at work for some hours, when at 4 P.M., the Prince and
Princess of Wales arrived on the ground, accompanied by their two eldest
boys in sailors' costume. The prizes were distributed in the Royal
Albert Hall. The Princess went to the Royal box, but the Royal princes
went with their father to the daïs, where they were welcomed with great
clapping of hands, by the thousands of boys, and the thousand adult
spectators of the scene. Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar had adjudged the
first prize to the boys of the _Goliath_; the second to the boys of the
Shoreditch School at Brentford; and the third to the Lambeth School at
Lower Norwood.
After a short address by General Sir Eardley Wilmot, speaking in the
name of the Council of the Society of Arts,--
The Prince of Wales rose, and in an excellent impromptu speech
"assured the members of the Council and the boys (addressing the
latter in kindly way as 'you, my young friends'), of the
pleasure it gave the Princess, his two sons, and himself to be
present. Congratulating the schools on their excellent marching,
and on the favourable report just read, His Royal Highness added
that he hoped the boys had been up to the mark in their studies
as well as their drill."
Two boys of each prize school came in succession to the daïs, and
received the prize banners from the Prince's hand. The Prince and his
sons then joined the Princess in her box, and it was a striking scene
when, after some bars of prelude, the words of 'God Bless the Prince of
Wales' were taken up by a thousand young and clear voices, the Prince
and Princess and the two lads standing in the front of the box while it
was sung. The last of the programme was then fulfilled by the bands
playing a selection of music.
The sight altogether was most gratifying. Here were 4000 boys, most of
them paupers, many of them orphans, receiving an excellent education, a
training in physical aptitudes and habits of obedience as well as in
mental studies. The Greenwich School is composed of the children of
seamen being educated for the sea, but the three thousand and more boys
of the other schools must in large part be looked upon as so much
material reclaimed to humanity. In fact, these three thousand and more
boys may, in the words of a paper put forth by the Society of Arts, "be
beheld with confident satisfaction as victims rescued from 'the bad,'
and preserved for the good as honest, self-supporting producers, and
worthy members of the community."
WEYMOUTH AND THE PORTLAND BREAKWATER.
_August 11th, 1872._
On the 11th of August, 1872, the Prince of Wales went from Osborne in
the Royal yacht _Victoria and Albert_, to inaugurate the completed
Breakwater and Harbour of Refuge at Portland, and to pay a visit to
Weymouth, the favourite resort of the Prince's great-grandfather, George
III. A magnificent fleet of ironclads, headed by the _Minotaur_, bearing
the flag of Admiral Hornby, and many other vessels, were in attendance
for the ceremony, of which fifteen were first-rate ironclad ships of
war.
The weather was stormy, and the sea had been too disturbed for the
comfort of the Civil Lords of the Admiralty; but the Prince showed no
signs of suffering from the rough voyage, and manfully went through the
proceedings of the day. The stone being laid, prayers were said by a
clergyman, plaster was spread on the surface on which the last of seven
million tons of Portland stone was to find a firm resting-place, the
usual glass bottle containing newspapers, coins, and a chart of the
island and the breakwater was laid in the groove prepared, and, when the
Prince himself had spread some mortar, the great block was lowered into
its place. His Royal Highness then struck three blows upon it with an
ivory mallet, tested it with a silver level, and completed a very short
but sufficient ceremony, by saying, "I now declare this stone to be well
and truly laid and this great work to be complete." At the concerted
signal of a lowered colour, the guns of the fort began to fire a salute,
and the spectators raised a cheer. The inscription on the stone read as
follows, the concluding quotation having been added, it is stated, by
the Prince himself:--
"From this spot, on the 25th of July, 1849, His Royal Highness
Prince Albert, Consort of Queen Victoria, deposited the first
stone of this breakwater. Upon the same spot, on the 10th of
August, 1872, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, laid this last
stone, and declared the work complete."
"'These are imperial works, and worthy Kings.'"
At the end of the ceremony the Royal yacht steamed towards
Weymouth, and after a rather uncomfortable passage, through a
choppy sea and over the bar, in the Royal barge, the Prince landed
at the end of the pier. Here the Mayor and Corporation presented
an address, which declared that "His Royal Highness had added
one more link to the golden chain of favours already conferred by
Royalty on this ancient borough." A luncheon was given by
Mr. Hambro, the senior member for Weymouth. The streets were
gaily decorated, and the people were loud in their loyal and joyful
demonstrations. The Royal yacht returned to Osborne late in the
evening.
VISIT TO DERBY.
_December 17th, 1872._
The tidings that the Prince and Princess of Wales were coming to Derby
from Chatsworth, where they were on a visit to the Duke of Devonshire,
caused great excitement in the district. Trains brought crowds from
Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, and Chesterfield, to
swell the populace of Derby.
It was on the 17th of December, 1872, not far from the anniversary of
the gloomiest time of the illness of the previous year, that the visit
to Derby was made. There were several loyal addresses--from civic,
municipal, and other bodies, including one from the Freemasons of
Derbyshire. The object of the Royal visit was mainly to present the
prizes at the Derby Grammar School, one of the most flourishing of
provincial middle-class schools. The procession of carriages passed
through streets crowded with people, with brilliant escort of troops,
and decorations everywhere on the route. On arriving at the school Lord
Belper delivered an address referring to the foundation and history of
the institution, and the high scholastic standard aimed at. The Head
Master, the Rev. W. Clark, having thanked the Prince and the Princess
for coming, added that His Royal Highness had kindly said he would write
his name in each of the prize-books in remembrance of the occasion:--
His Royal Highness, on rising, said,--"Mr. Clark, Ladies, and
Gentlemen,--I beg you to accept from the Princess, as well as
myself, our cordial thanks for the very kind words that have
been addressed to us. I can assure you that I have come here
with feelings of the greatest pleasure, and we are glad we
accepted the kind invitation of the noble duke to visit
Chatsworth, and that we have had the pleasure and advantage of
visiting the ancient town of Derby. I have had great pleasure in
presiding to-day and distributing the prizes to the successful
competitors of the Derby school. This school, as you know, is
one of the oldest in the kingdom, though I am afraid one of the
poorest endowed. Still it has always borne the highest
reputation, which I feel convinced it will continue to maintain.
To the young men to whom I have had the pleasure of distributing
prizes allow me to offer my most hearty congratulations, and I
trust they may continue to go on as they are doing now. If they
do so they will be successful in whatever profession they enter.
I will not detain you longer, but thank you once more for the
kind reception you have given us this day, and also tender to
the Mayor our cordial thanks for the hearty reception we have
received in our progress through Derby."
It may be added that the invitation to Derby was first suggested by the
Trustees of the Grammar School, who in their petition, sent to
Chatsworth, represented that this school, reputed to be one of the
oldest in the kingdom, was also one of the most poorly endowed. This was
an appeal which at once secured the goodwill of the Prince. Nor has he
forgotten the school. On the 14th of November, 1888, he went to see "the
Prince of Wales's Class Rooms," erected as a memorial of his visit in
1872. In response to a petition presented by the captain of the school,
the Prince obtained from the Head Master a promise of making November 14
a perpetual holiday in remembrance of this visit.
RAILWAY BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION.
_March 27th, 1873._
On the evening of March 27, 1873, His Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales, who had in the morning visited several artists' studios, and in
the afternoon went to the House of Lords, presided at the annual dinner
in aid of the Railway Benevolent Institution, at Willis's Rooms. After
dinner and grace the Royal Chairman gave the usual first toast, the
health of Her Majesty the Queen, Patroness of the Railway Benevolent
Institution. The Duke of Buckingham then proposed the health of the
Prince and Princess of Wales; and in so doing took occasion to say that
it was not the first time His Royal Highness had taken interest in the
Institution, and now he had done it the honour to preside at its annual
festival. The toast being duly welcomed, the Prince said:--
"My Lords and Gentlemen,--Although it is very unusual on a
public occasion of this kind for the health of the Chairman to
be given so early in the evening, yet mine has been proposed so
kindly by the noble Duke and so well received, and has,
moreover, been so kindly coupled with that of the Princess and
the rest of my family, that I think it my duty to rise at once
and respond to the toast. The noble Duke has been kind enough to
say that my family and myself do what we can for the support of
the great charitable Institutions of the country. I am very much
flattered by those remarks. I can only assure you--and I think I
may speak for the other members of my family--that it is one of
our chief objects to come forward as often as we possibly can in
support of Institutions which are so beneficial and so necessary
to the well-being of the country, and which are always so
munificently supported by all classes of the community. I thank
you once more for the honour you have done me, and assure you
that it is a great pleasure and gratification to me to take the
chair here this evening."
Other toasts being proposed and acknowledged, the Prince rose and
said:--
"My Lords and Gentlemen,--The toast I have now the honour to
propose is a bumper toast, and I know it will be received as
such. It is that of 'Prosperity to the Railway Benevolent
Institution and Board of Management.' When I look around me
this evening and see how numerous is the assemblage before me, I
feel convinced that you have come here intending to do honour to
that toast, and to do your utmost in every way to support the
Institution which to-day has reached its fifteenth anniversary.
It is difficult for me, especially before you, who are so well
acquainted with the merits of the Institution, to say anything
new concerning it. Still I think it my duty, as your chairman,
to mention a few facts by way of an appeal to your
consideration.
"The objects of the Railway Benevolent Institution may be
briefly mentioned under six heads. First, it has for its object
the granting of annuities of from £10 to £25 to the distressed
railway officers and servants incapacitated through age,
sickness, or accident; second, to grant small pensions to
distressed widows; third, to educate and maintain orphan
children; fourth, to grant temporary relief until permanent
relief can be afforded; fifth, to induce railway officers and
servants to insure their lives by dividing the payment of the
premium into small periodical sums, and by granting a
reversionary bonus of 10 per cent. out of the funds of the
institution; sixth and lastly, to grant small sums not exceeding
£10 to the families of those who are injured or killed in the
performance of their duties.
"When I look at the list before me I must say it is indeed a sad
one; but at the same time it must be a gratification to us, who
wish well to the Institution, to see that from the 16th of
November, 1871, to the 16th of November last as many as 1067
cases were relieved out of the casualty fund. I may also mention
that the officers of the railway companies subscribe half a
guinea and the servants 8_s._ a year. In fact, I may say that
the railway companies give this Institution in every way their
official support, and they may indeed well do so, because there
is no institution which more heartily deserves our support than
this.
"There is, however, one curious fact which I should like to
mention. I believe I am correct in saying that the number of
officers and servants employed on railways in the United Kingdom
amounts to something like 300,000, but only 35,000 of them are
subscribers; and in Ireland there is not a single subscriber. I
am sorry to have to make this fact known; but all the more
reason is there that we this evening should be liberal with our
purses, as I am sure we shall all be when we consider how often
we travel by railway. Not a day goes by but most of you travel
once--probably twice. In stepping into a railway carriage, do
you not think of the risks you may run? An accident may happen
to anybody, though every possible security and guarantee may be
given that no accident shall occur.
"Well, if we as passengers run risks, how much more so the
officers and servants of the companies; and that not every day,
but every hour and minute of their lives? We may be sure it is
the earnest desire of the managers and directors--many of whom
are here this evening--to do all in their power to guarantee the
safety of the passengers and of those to whom are entrusted the
care and management of the trains. I feel sure I cannot impress
on them too strongly the necessity for their still using every
effort in their power to prevent accidents, which are,
unfortunately, too frequent. It is not for me in the presence of
so many great railway authorities to say what plan may be best
devised to lessen accidents--whether it may be that there are
too many railways, whether the immense network which exists in
this country comes too closely together at different stations,
or the trains follow each other at intervals too short. These
are questions with which I do not feel myself competent to deal;
but at the same time I feel that the question of railways, and
especially the frequency of accidents, are brought more
distinctly under our notice when we consider the claims of the
Institution we are brought together this evening to promote.
This is a theme about which one might talk for a long time; and
I know, on occasions of this kind, it would be out of place on
my part to give you a long oration; yet, though I but feebly
express what others would much better have laid before you, I
hope you will believe that nobody feels more deeply for this
Institution than I do, that nobody advocates its claims more
ardently than I, and nobody will continue to take a greater
interest in everything connected with our great railways.
"To show you that I am not using mere stereotyped phrases, I may
tell you that no week elapses without my travelling once or
twice at least by train. I have therefore the opportunity of
seeing, as well as anybody can see, how admirably our railway
system is worked; not only the managers and directors, but the
officers and servants have my warmest admiration for doing their
utmost in the execution of their duty, and also for their
unvarying courtesy and attention. I will now ask you once more,
in conclusion, to open your purses as freely as you can in
support of the Railway Benevolent Institution."
The Secretary afterwards announced subscriptions to the handsome amount
of £5000, which included a second donation by His Royal Highness of 100
guineas.
UNVEILING THE ALBERT STATUE ON HOLBORN
VIADUCT.
_January 9th, 1874._
On the 9th of January, 1874, the Prince of Wales visited the City for
unveiling the equestrian statue erected at the western entrance of the
Holborn Viaduct, in memory of the late Prince Consort. At the site an
address was read, containing a description of the memorial, and an
account of its origin. The ceremony of unveiling over, the Prince was
driven in the state carriage of the Lord Mayor to the Guildhall, where
between 700 and 800 guests, including many distinguished persons, were
invited to luncheon. After the first loyal toast, "The Queen," had been
received with all honours, the Lord Mayor said: "I now raise my glass to
the memory of the late Prince Consort. 'He being dead yet speaketh.'"
The words were spoken with emotion, and the company rising in a body,
drank the toast in silence and with every mark of respect.
The health of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the other members of
the Royal Family--including the Duke of Cambridge, who was
present--having been given, the Prince responded.
He expressed his grateful sense of the cordiality of his reception, and
the satisfaction he had in coming for such a purpose as the inauguration
and unveiling of a statue to his lamented father. He also acknowledged
the debt of thanks to the donor of the statue, whose name he knew, but
who wished it not to be made public. "To the Corporation of London I
have to express my thanks for having contributed a part of the
statue--namely, the pedestal; and I am sure that the work which we have
inaugurated to-day will long be an ornament to the City of London."
THE BRITISH ORPHAN ASYLUM FESTIVAL.
_March 25th, 1874._
The number of institutions for helping fatherless and orphan children is
considerable, but the purpose of the British Orphan Asylum, at Slough,
is distinct from most charities of the class. The orphan children here
admitted are the sons and daughters of persons once in prosperous
circumstances, but who have been unable to make provision for their
families. Clergymen, naval and military officers, members of the legal
and medical profession, are often in this position. Commercial men are
also liable to sudden misfortune, and children are afterwards left in
poverty, who were once accustomed to ease and prosperity. The frequency
of such cases led to the establishment, in 1827, of a special Asylum for
the orphans of such persons. The honorary secretary at present is the
Rev. Canon James Fleming, whose name is alone sufficient guarantee for
the excellent object and good management of the Asylum.
At the anniversary festival, in 1874, held at Willis's Rooms, on March
25th, the Prince of Wales presided. After the toast of "The Queen,"
proposed by the Chairman, the Marquis of Hertford gave the health of
"The Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal
Family," among whom was now included the Duchess of Edinburgh. The
Marquis said: "It gives us all the greatest pleasure to see His Royal
Highness again among us as one of the Royal Family taking part in the
sacred cause of charity. We who belong to the British Orphan Asylum have
the greatest reason to be pleased and thankful to His Royal Highness for
having come among us this evening."
Other toasts having been disposed of, the Prince rose and said:--
"It is now my duty, as your Chairman, to call upon you to drink
the toast of 'Prosperity to the British Orphan Asylum.' I am
satisfied you will do so most heartily, when I see around me so
numerous an assembly prepared to do honour to the occasion, and
to assist us in our work. I feel some diffidence in proposing
this toast in the presence of so many who know far better than I
do the excellence of this institution, and understand its
working. At the same time it gives me the greatest pleasure to
propose the toast, and to be here this evening advocating so
excellent a cause. It is always a pleasure to advocate the cause
of charity, and there is no other appeal that comes so home to
the hearts of all classes of the community.
"I have a special interest in this Asylum. It is now nearly
eleven years since the Princess and myself visited and
inaugurated the present building near Slough; and when I pass by
Slough, as I frequently have to do in the course of the year, it
always gives me pleasure to look at that building, and to think
how many children are here provided for and educated. It is now
very nearly half a century since this institution was founded,
and it is different from all others in this respect, that
children of parents who were once in prosperous circumstances
are there educated. In it there are children of officers of the
Army, of the legal, medical, and naval professions, and the
proof of its usefulness is that after they have grown up they
frequently write letters to the managers of the Asylum
expressing their gratitude for the excellence of the practical
education they have received, and which has been so profitable
to them in their different avocations.