January last it contained within four of 200 children. You will
perhaps ask, if this institution is in so prosperous a
condition, why have this dinner? Why call so many people
together? And why am I to ask you, in as civil a manner as I
possibly can, to subscribe towards its support? My answer is,
that the net income of the Asylum is £3000 a year, but that the
increase in prices of all the necessaries of life is so
enormous, that to meet the deficiency that exists as much as
£1500 has been sold out of their funds; and I feel that in order
to make that deficiency good, I shall not call upon you this
evening in vain. There are points which I might bring before
your notice, but I think that on this occasion brevity is best,
for you all know what a good institution it is, and I am sure
you will drink with me 'Prosperity to the Institution,' and try
to make it still more prosperous for the future. I beg to couple
with the toast the health of the treasurer, the directors, the
hon. secretaries, and medical officers of the institution."
The subscriptions announced during the evening amounted to upwards of
£2400.
BANQUET TO SIR GARNET WOLSELEY.
_March 31st, 1874._
The Lord Mayor of London, as chief magistrate of the City, has always
been ready to honour men distinguished for naval and military service
rendered to the country. A grand State Banquet was given on the 31st of
March, 1874, to Lord Wolseley, then Major-General Sir Garnet Wolseley,
on his return to England after the triumphant Ashantee Expedition. The
dinner was served in the Egyptian Hall at the Mansion House. Covers were
laid for 260 guests, among whom were His Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales, Prince Arthur, and the Duke of Cambridge. All the officers of the
Staff, and others who had taken part in the Expedition, with many
eminent persons in civic or official life, were present.
The Lord Mayor, having given the usual loyal toasts, the Prince of Wales
rose to respond to that of the Royal Family, saying:--
"My Lord Mayor, your Royal Highness, my Lords, Ladies, and
Gentlemen,--I beg to tender you my very warmest thanks for the
kind way in which the Lord Mayor proposed this toast, and for
the cordial manner in which the company now assembled have
received it. This is not the first time I have had the honour of
an invitation to be present at the Mansion House and receive the
hospitality of the Lord Mayor of the City of London. But I can
assure him that however much pleased I may have been to be
present on former occasions, on no occasion did it afford me
greater pleasure to be here than on this evening, when he has
given a banquet to welcome back those gallant officers who have
so lately returned from the Gold Coast to England. The gallant
officers and men of that Expedition had the opportunity
yesterday of seeing the Queen, and the Queen had the opportunity
of seeing them, and of expressing her approval of everything
that has occurred. Yesterday afternoon, also, both Houses of
Parliament unanimously accorded a vote of thanks for the manner
in which that difficult though short campaign was conducted.
This evening, again, the Lord Mayor takes the opportunity of
welcoming those gentlemen who are here as the representatives of
the troops that formed that Expedition, in the hospitable manner
which is so well known in this Hall. On a question of this kind
it would be unbecoming in me and out of place to make any
remarks with regard to that Expedition which has been so
successfully closed. But I cannot sit down without taking the
opportunity of saying how much I rejoice--if I may say so as a
soldier and a comrade of those I see around me--that this
Expedition has ended in so successful a manner. English officers
and English troops have kept up their reputation. They have not
only displayed great courage--that they have done on all
occasions--but they displayed extraordinary endurance, owing to
the fearful climate and country they had to contend with. I am
glad to have the opportunity of welcoming home the gallant
General on my right, and congratulating him on the great success
of his expedition. Once more I thank you for the honour you have
done me in drinking my health, and on the part of the members of
my family, for the kind way in which you have spoken of them."
In responding to the toast of "The Army and Navy," the Duke of Cambridge
referred to the review of the troops of the Expedition on the previous
day, at Windsor, before the Queen. "The distinguished officer who
conducted this war knew the task he undertook, and how to undertake it;
and he was well backed by the officers and men placed at his disposal."
The speech of Sir Garnet Wolseley was admirable in tone and feeling, and
with clear soldier-like statement of the chief events and results of the
Expedition. He thus concluded: "The military world has learnt many
military lessons in recent years, but the most valuable to us as a
nation that has been taught us by the Abyssinian and Ashantee Wars is
that when you have to appoint an English General to command any military
undertaking it is necessary to trust him; to supply him with all he asks
for; and, above all things, to avoid the error of severing the military
command from the diplomacy necessarily connected with the operations. I
have no hesitation in saying that had my operations been encumbered by
the presence with me of a Civil Governor, or of an Ambassador authorised
to give me orders, I do not think I should ever have reached Coomassie.
Upon my arrival at Cape Coast Castle, at the beginning of last October,
I found it in a state of siege. A large Ashantee army threatened both it
and Elmina; a panic and demoralisation had seized upon all classes; the
people from the surrounding districts had flooded into the towns on the
Coast, where they soon suffered from disease, owing to their crowded
condition; trade had almost ceased altogether, and a large proportion of
the people depended upon the Government for their support. When I left
Cape Coast Castle, at the beginning of this month, I left there a
prosperous population, enjoying the blessings of peace and the
mercantile advantages attendant thereon. I found upon my arrival on the
Coast the _prestige_ of England at its lowest ebb, but before I
departed, I left our military fame firmly established on a secure base,
consequent on the victories so gallantly won by the troops under my
command. My Lord Mayor, I have to thank you most sincerely for the
manner in which you have alluded to me personally and to my military
services, and I have to thank you, in the name of all ranks composing
the expeditionary force, for the warm reception and the noble
hospitality you have accorded to us this evening."
ROYAL MEDICAL BENEVOLENT COLLEGE.
_April 22nd, 1874._
The Royal Medical Benevolent College, at Epsom, was founded in 1851, for
the education of sons of medical men. There are at present about two
hundred boys, fifty of whom, on the foundation, are educated, boarded,
and entirely maintained at the expense of the institution. The education
is of the highest class, and the charge, to those not on the foundation,
is fifty guineas, if the pupils are above fourteen, with slight
reduction for those under that age. There is accommodation in the
College for twenty-four pensioners, who have comfortable quarters, and a
pension of twenty guineas a year. There are also twenty-six non-resident
pensioners, with the same annuity of twenty guineas.
In support of the funds of the College, the eighteenth festival, at
Willis's Rooms, was presided over by the Prince of Wales, supported by
the Duke of Teck, Earl Granville, as President of the College, and a
large number of the leading men of the profession. The usual loyal and
patriotic toasts having been given, the Royal Chairman gave the toast of
the evening, saying:--
"My Lords and Gentlemen,--I feel both some difficulty and some
diffidence in proposing the toast of 'Success to the Royal
Medical College,' because, in the first place, I wish the task
had fallen into abler hands than mine, and, in the second place,
many of you must in any event know more upon the subject than I
do. It may not be out of place, however, on this occasion for me
to give you a few statistics connected with the Royal Medical
College. No doubt many of you will be well up in the subject,
but others will be reminded or informed. This College was
founded by Mr. Propert, a medical gentleman of high eminence;
and its object is, in the first place, to assist aged medical
men and the widows of qualified practitioners, and, in the next
place, to educate the children of such persons. In 1853 the
first stone was laid at Epsom; in 1855 the institution was
opened by my lamented father, who took the deepest interest in
its welfare; and I had the opportunity, as a boy, of
accompanying him on that occasion. I have therefore been
acquainted with the institution, which we have come here to do
honour to, for nineteen years. There were then five pensioners'
houses and a school for 150 boys. There are now, including the
three about to be elected, fifty pensioners, each of whom
receives £21 a year, and twenty-four of whom are also resident
in the College. The school contains 200 resident pupils, the
sons of medical men, fifty of whom, being foundation scholars,
are educated, boarded, clothed, and maintained at the expense of
the institution, while the remainder are charged from £48 to £51
a year.
"A gentleman who is present (Sir Erasmus Wilson) has just built
a house to hold forty more boys. I offer him our sincere thanks
for the great benefit he has conferred upon the institution. The
school has always been full, but we are anxious to increase its
funds, and, as each foundationer costs £60 a year, you will see
that we want money.
"It will not be out of place for me to remind you what a
difficult profession is that of medicine--what uphill work it is
to some, unlike those whom I see around. Some who would have
attained high positions may be struck down by illness or by some
great sorrow, and for them provision should be made. There is
also the case of the eminent man making a large income, but cut
off suddenly, before he has made provision for a wife and family
now left destitute, though the husband and father may have led a
life of usefulness in his profession. Our object is not to make
long speeches, nor, I hope, to bore any of those who are
assembled here, but you may be assured that, however imperfectly
I may have spoken, what I have said I mean most heartily, and
when I call upon you this evening to give your support--your
liberal support--to this charity I feel sure I shall not call in
vain. I now propose 'Success to the Royal Medical Benevolent
College.'"
The subscriptions and donations announced by the secretary amounted to
£1780, the list being headed by the Prince of Wales with 100 guineas.
Sir James Paget, in proposing the health of the president, officers, and
members of the Council of the College, said that they were to be
congratulated on the prospects of the institution, and on their having
"induced His Royal Highness to leave Sandringham at this season, to add
grace and dignity to the celebration of the twenty-first year of the
College."
The Prince of Wales, it may be added, besides his kindly interest in all
charitable institutions, has uniformly shown courtesy and respect to the
medical profession, members of which he has from early life honoured
with his personal friendship.
AT THE MIDDLE AND THE INNER TEMPLE.
_June 11th, 1874._
On the opening of the new Library in 1862, His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales was made a Bencher of the Middle Temple. On the 11th of June,
1874, the Treasurer and Benchers of the Middle Temple entertained the
members of the Inn, and a large number of distinguished guests, at
dinner, according to ancient custom, on "the great grand day" of Trinity
Term. The Prince of Wales, being a Bencher, was present not as a guest,
but as one of the hosts, in the grand old historical Hall. This Hall,
the erection of which commenced in 1562, was completed in 1572, and is
one of the most famous relics of old London. This was the second time of
the Prince of Wales visiting it. On three prior occasions, at least, it
has been visited by Royalty--namely, by Queen Henrietta, the consort of
Charles I., Peter the Great of Russia, and William III. There is also a
tradition of the Inn that Queen Elizabeth was present at a rehearsal
there of the _Midsummer Night's Dream_, in which Shakespeare himself
took part, and that in the course of the revel Her Majesty danced with
her Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton. The splendid oak screen and
music gallery at the eastern end were erected in 1572. The Hall is
graced by one of the three genuine paintings by Vandyck of Charles
I.--the other two being at Windsor and Warwick Castles--and by portraits
of Charles II., James II., William III., Queen Anne, and George III. A
bust of the Prince of Wales is also conspicuous, and a portrait of His
Royal Highness, by Mr. Watts R.A., has since been added.
The Treasurer, Mr. Runyon, Q.C., presided at the dinner, when no less
than 430 members of the Inn, Benchers, Barristers, or Students were
present, and many illustrious guests. On the right of the chair was the
Master of the Temple (the Rev. Dr. Vaughan), and next to him the
Archbishop of Canterbury; on the left the Prince of Wales, and next to
him the Lord Chief Justice. The Prince wore the silk gown of a Queen's
Counsel, and the riband of the Garter. On his health being proposed,
after that of the Queen, it was to give "respectful and hearty welcome
to Master His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales."
The Prince on rising to respond was loudly cheered, and said:--
"Master Treasurer, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--I beg to tender to
you and to my brother Benchers my sincere thanks for the kind,
hearty, and cordial manner in which you have received this
toast. I cannot feel that I am quite a stranger among you,
although it is now nearly thirteen years since I had the honour
of being enrolled as a member of this Inn. My relations with you
are, unfortunately, of an almost entirely honorary character,
but I can assure you that I consider it a very high honour to be
connected with this Inn. It is, I am sure, a good thing for the
profession at large and for the public in general that I have
never been called to the Bar, for I must say that I could never
have been a brilliant ornament of it. I can assure you that I
esteem most highly the honour of dining with you and my brother
Benchers this evening, and with those distinguished men whom I
see around me right and left. I entirely agree with every word
that has fallen from the lips of our Master Treasurer, and I
sincerely hope that this gathering may tend to much good and to
bring forward those important results in legal education which
you, Sir, have advocated so admirably. I thank you for the kind
way in which you have received me, and I can only assure you
that it has afforded me the greatest pleasure and satisfaction
to meet you here this evening in this ancient Hall, where, I am
told, Queen Elizabeth once danced with Chancellor Hatton. I am
afraid that now-a-days the duties of the Chancellor are more
arduous than they were then, and that they do not allow him much
time to acquire the art of dancing. I cannot help thus reminding
you of one of the great historical events which this Hall has
witnessed, and I thank you once more for the great honour you
have done me in proposing my health and for the cordial
reception you have given me."
"The Queen" and "The Prince of Wales" were the only two toasts given at
the banquet.
The Treasurer and Benchers of the Inner Temple, on the 18th of May,
1870, had entertained with much splendour His Royal Highness the Prince
of Wales, His Royal Highness the Prince Christian, the Lord Chancellor,
the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chief Justice of England,
the Judges in Equity and at Common Law, the Queen's Counsel, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and a very distinguished company, to
celebrate the inauguration of the new Hall, which had been formally
opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise a few days before.
The two Royal visitors sat at the right and left hand of the Treasurer,
Mr. Percival Pickering. Grace was said by the Master of the Temple, Dr.
Vaughan. After due justice had been done to the dinner, the Treasurer
humorously described some of the strange scenes which had been enacted
in the old Hall, which had been removed to make room for the present
magnificent structure. He then proposed "The Health of the Queen," which
was received with loyal enthusiasm. That of "The Prince of Wales and the
other members of the Royal Family" was felicitously acknowledged by the
Prince of Wales. The Archbishop of York returned thanks for the Church,
Sir William Codrington for the Army, and the Colonel of the "Devil's
Own" for the Volunteers. Mr. Gladstone proposed "The Health of the
Treasurer," whose speeches throughout the evening had been seasoned with
an amount of humour which rescued even those proposing the conventional
toasts from the imputation of being commonplace. "The Health of the
Architect," Mr. Smirke, concluded the proceedings; and the principal
portion of the company then adjourned to the drawing-room, where not
only was coffee served, but--strange novelty in such an
assemblage--cigars were introduced--an innovation which did not seem
unwelcome.
NEW GUILDHALL AND LAW COURTS, PLYMOUTH.
_August 13th, 1874._
The new Guildhall, Municipal Offices, and Law Courts at Plymouth were
opened by the Prince of Wales, on the 13th of August, 1874. On landing
at the Royal Victualling Yard, the Prince proceeded in a State carriage
for Plymouth. At the entrance to the borough he was received by the
Mayor and Corporation; the procession proceeding through dense crowds to
the Guildhall square, where the Prince was formally received as Lord
High Steward of the Borough, and presented with his rod of office. An
address having been read by the Recorder, the Prince made the following
reply:--
"Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,--I rejoice at again being able to
renew my acquaintance with your ancient borough, and I return
you my grateful thanks for the expressions of goodwill which you
have paid me. The sentiments of loyalty conveyed in your
address are most gratifying proofs of the feelings which animate
the inhabitants of Plymouth towards Her Majesty the Queen and
the members of the Royal family. I have frequently visited your
borough, but never on so important an occasion as the present,
when a work of no ordinary magnitude has been completed. As High
Steward of the Borough, I cannot but take an especial interest
in all that relates to its welfare or adds to its embellishment,
and it gave me peculiar pleasure to accede to the request that
was made to me that I should open this magnificent building. In
conclusion, let me congratulate most heartily all those who have
been concerned in the undertaking on the success which has
attended their labours, and, connected as I am with your town, I
feel proud to think it has been the result of local genius,
perseverance, and energy."
An elegant silver key was then presented by the Mayor with which the
Prince opened the new Guildhall. A banquet followed, at which, in
response to the toast of the Prince and Princess of Wales, His Royal
Highness spoke as follows:--
"Mr. Mayor, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--I beg to return
you, Mr. Mayor, my most cordial thanks for the manner in which
you have been kind enough to propose my health, and to you,
ladies and gentlemen, for the kind way in which you have been
pleased to receive it. This is by no means my first visit to
your ancient town. I have on frequent occasions spent some very
agreeable days here; but among all the different visits that I
have paid none will have been more interesting to me than the
present one, nor more vividly impressed on my memory. I assure
the Mayor and citizens of this town that great pleasure and
gratification was afforded me in opening this magnificent hall,
all the more so as my name is connected with your town as your
High Steward. I esteem it a great honour to have that title,
though the duties are certainly very slight; and if those duties
consist only in coming here and being so kindly and cordially
received by you all, I think I have every reason to congratulate
myself. I congratulate those gentlemen who have built this hall,
and who, I think, have every reason to feel satisfaction with
its appearance and its prospects of future success. To you, Mr.
Mayor, who have taken such pains during the last five years, as
Chairman of the Guildhall Committee, it must be very
gratifying; and allow me also to have the pleasure of offering
my sincere congratulations to the Mayor of Devonport, as one of
the architects of this Guildhall. I again beg to thank you for
the kind reception which you have given me to-day, and, in
conclusion, I beg also to thank you, Mr. Mayor, for the kind way
in which you have proposed the Princess of Wales's health, and
to assure you how deeply she regrets that she was unable to
accompany me on the present occasion. She is now on her way to
Scotland to meet her father, the King of Denmark, who is
returning that way from his visit to Iceland."
Afterwards the Prince proposed the health of the Mayor, thanking him for
his reception, congratulating him upon the good order maintained in the
streets, and requesting him to convey to the citizens his sense of the
pleasure and gratification afforded him by the artistic decorations of
the town.
VISIT TO BIRMINGHAM IN 1874.
_November 3rd, 1874._
The Prince and Princess of Wales paid their first visit to Birmingham on
the 3rd of November, 1874. When the Mayor and Corporation of the midland
capital heard of the intended visit, they resolved to give their Royal
Highnesses a right loyal and hearty reception. Those who remember, or
have read of the early visits of the Queen and of the Prince Consort to
the town, will not be surprised at the enthusiasm with which the Prince
and Princess of Wales were welcomed on this occasion. Prince Albert came
to Birmingham for the first time in 1844. He was a guest of Sir Robert
Peel at Tamworth, and expressed a wish, as he was so near, to see the
place so famous in various arts and industries. But the town was at that
time as famous for its political independence, to use the mildest term.
In fact it was regarded as the centre and seat of democratic radicalism,
and the turbulence of Chartist times was yet fresh in remembrance. Fears
were entertained that Prince Albert might have a cool if not hostile
reception. The result proved how groundless were these suspicions. The
young Prince was welcomed with the utmost enthusiasm, not only as the
husband of the Queen, but on account of his own moral and intellectual
excellence. He was there again in 1849, to inspect the exhibition of
arts and manufactures held in Bingley Hall; and a third time in 1855 to
lay the foundation stone of the Midland Institute. In 1858 the Queen
herself came to open the public Park and Hall at Aston. Nor was this the
only visit. Few places in her dominions have been more favoured, and
nowhere has there been shown more devoted loyalty.
The advanced radicalism of Birmingham was not less marked at the time of
the Prince of Wales's visit, and the Mayor of that year, Mr. Joseph
Chamberlain, had the reputation of holding not merely democratic but
republican views. All this made the more marked the cordial reception of
the Royal visitors, both by the authorities of the town, and by the
masses of the people. The words of the _Times_ of November 4th, in its
record of the visit are worthy of being recalled, especially in what it
said of the Mayor: "Whatever Mr. Chamberlain's views may be, his
speeches of yesterday appear to us to have been admirably worthy of the
occasion, and to have done the highest credit to himself. We have heard
and chronicled a great many Mayors' speeches, but we do not know that we
ever heard or chronicled speeches made before Royal personages by
Mayors, whether they were Tories, or Whigs, or Liberals, or Radicals,
which were couched in such a tone at once of courteous homage, manly
independence, and gentlemanly feeling, which were so perfectly becoming
and so much the right thing in every way as those of Mr. Chamberlain."
To the address of the Corporation, read in the Town Hall, by the
Recorder, the Prince made the following reply:--