advantage of the occasion to give official welcome to the Royal
visitors, and to present an address, which the Prince signified his
readiness to receive on board the Royal yacht, _Osborne_. Thither the
magistrates repaired in the forenoon. The picturesque estuary of the
river Dart never had displayed so festive an appearance. The
_Britannia_, and her attendant yacht the _Sirius_, the Royal yacht, the
Admiralty yacht, which had brought the Lords of the Admiralty, several
ships of the Plymouth fleet, under Admiral Sir Thomas Symonds, besides a
large flotilla of yachts, steam launches, and all sorts of boats, were
covered with gay bunting, while flags floated from every point of the
shore and the town.
The Town Clerk having read the Address from the ancient borough, which
was first incorporated by a charter of Edward III., in 1342, and had
figured in subsequent history, especially at the time of the Spanish
Armada, the Prince, in reply, said:--
"On behalf of the Princess of Wales, as well as on my own
behalf, I offer my sincere thanks to you for your address and
for your cordial welcome to us on our visit to this ancient and
beautiful town. The salubrity of the climate of Dartmouth and
the excellence of your sanitary arrangements have long been
known to me, and I can appeal to no better proof of my entire
confidence in them than that afforded by the step I have taken
in sending our two sons to be educated on board the _Britannia_.
I beg to assure you that with that step both the Princess and
myself are perfectly satisfied. I trust you will continue to
devote your attention as you have done in the past to the
improvement of the sanitary arrangements of the town. I thank
you again for the kind wishes you have expressed towards the
Princess, myself, and our family."
The Prince also congratulated the Mayor, Sir Henry Seale, on the
splendid effect of the illuminations of the previous evening.
Accompanied by the Municipal authorities, and by the Duke of Connaught,
Prince Louis of Battenberg, and a numerous retinue, the Prince and
Princess then proceeded to the _Britannia_ for the distribution of the
prizes. They were received by Mr. W. H. Smith, then First Lord of the
Admiralty, and the other Lords; by the Commander-in-Chief of the
Plymouth division of the Channel Fleet; and Captain Fairfax of the
_Britannia_. Between 500 and 600 of the friends or relatives of the
cadets, and other invited guests, among whom were Lord and Lady Charles
Beresford, Sir Samuel and Lady Baker, were assembled on the
quarter-deck, sheltered from the sun by a canopy of flags, surmounted by
the flag of Denmark, and the white ensign of England.
The distribution of the prizes took place, a report on the state of the
training having been previously read by Dr. Hirst, director of studies
at the Greenwich Naval College, who had superintended the examination of
the cadets.
After the distribution, the Prince of Wales, standing on the deck in the
uniform of a captain of the Royal Naval Reserve, said:--
"My Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--Permit me to express to you
the great pleasure it has given the Princess to present the
cadets who are about to leave the _Britannia_ the prizes which
they have so successfully won, and to express to you on my own
part as well as on that of the Princess the very great pleasure
it has given us to be here to witness and take part in these
interesting proceedings. From Dr. Hirst we heard a most
interesting and exhaustive speech regarding the studies of the
cadets and their merits. I can only wish those who are about to
leave the _Britannia_, and who have now fairly entered that
noble service for which they have been trained, all possible
success. Let me hope that the tuition they have received here
will not be thrown away upon them, and that they may all emulate
those bright examples to be found in English history and of
which every naval officer must be proud. To those cadets who
still remain on board this ship I can only recommend strict
assiduity to their studies and strict obedience to discipline,
and all of them to try to pass out of the _Britannia_ as highly
as they can, remembering, above all, that saying which one of
our greatest admirals has handed down to posterity--'England
expects every man will do his duty.' A personal interest which
the Princess and myself take in this ship and the confidence we
have of its being an excellent practical school for boys have
been testified by the fact that we have sent our two sons among
you to be educated. For myself, my only hope and trust is that
they may do credit to the ship and to their country."
Mr. W. H. Smith, M.P., First Lord of the Admiralty, thanked their Royal
Highnesses for their welcome presence, and called upon the cadets to
give three cheers for the Prince and Princess of Wales. The cheers were
prolonged to three times three, caught up in row-boats around, and
echoed by the high banks of the Dart. The chief captains of the cadets,
who are mainly responsible for discipline and occupy a place of honour
in the ship's mess-room on the main deck, were presented to the Prince
and Princess, and the proceedings came to an end. Captain and Mrs.
Fairfax had the honour of entertaining the Royal personages and a select
party at luncheon. Later in the day the Prince of Wales paid a visit to
Captain Zirzow, on the German Imperial frigate _Niobe_, and drank a
glass of wine to the health of the Emperor of Germany. Captain Zirzow
telegraphed at once to the Emperor that the Prince of Wales had called a
health to him.
When the Prince and Princess arrived at Dartmouth on Tuesday they were
rowed to the _Britannia_, one of their sons steering and the other
pulling the second bow oar. They left the ship in a boat rowed by
full-grown sailors, and with their two sons, who were going home for
their holidays, sitting in the stern sheets. From the _Britannia_ to the
landing-place, which was brightly draped with crimson cloth, hawsers
were stretched and thus a clear lane was kept among the crowd of craft
for the passage of the Royal boat. Tho cadets of the _Britannia_ sat in
their blue coats with tossed oars, and cheers were raised by those on
the boats, yachts, the many little steam launches, and the shore. Little
girls threw flowers before the Princess as she stepped upon the landing
stage. A special train was waiting to meet the ordinary mail from
Penzance and Plymouth.
So ended a visit which formed an interesting incident in the family life
of the Prince, and the events of which will long be remembered in South
Devon.
CABDRIVERS' BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION.
_May 5th, 1879._
The objects of the Cabdrivers Benevolent Association are: 1, to give
annuities of £20 a year; 2, to grant small loans; 3, to give temporary
assistance in cases of urgent distress; 4, to assist the widows and
orphans of cabmen. This is an institution the benefits of which are so
obvious, and for the help of a class of men so hard-worked, so
uncertainly paid, and so useful to the public, that we are not surprised
at the readiness with which the Prince of Wales assented to preside at
one of its annual festivals, and at the hearty earnestness in which he
made an appeal on its behalf. It was at the festival dinner on the 5th
of May, 1879. On coming to the toast of the evening His Royal Highness
said:--
"There is, I think, no class of our fellow-countrymen that
deserve more of our consideration than the cabdrivers of this
great city, and it has already been truly expressed to you that
one cannot think without pity of those poor men sitting on their
cabs in the cold east winds with which we are, alas! so well
acquainted, and in the rain and snow which have been our lot now
for so many months.
"They are as a rule, I believe, a class honest, persevering, and
industrious. For them I have to plead to-night, and for this
excellent institution, which has for the last nine years
rendered to them such great benefits.
"The objects of this Cabdrivers' Benevolent Association are, as
you are aware, threefold--first, to give annuities at the rate
of £12 each to aged cabdrivers or to those who from infirmity
are unable to earn their living; secondly, to grant loans
without interest to members requiring such aid, and to give
temporary assistance to those who may be in distress through
unavoidable causes; and, thirdly, to give legal assistance to
members who may be unjustly summoned to the police courts. It is
hardly possible to conceive that any benevolent institution of
this kind is more deserving of support, not only by the large
assembly who are gathered here, but by the inhabitants generally
of our great Metropolis. There are a thousand cabmen who are
members of this Association, and they pay 5_s._ a year. Pensions
of £12 are granted now to old and indigent cabdrivers, but it is
our great wish to augment that sum to £16" (now £20). "The
system of loans seems to have answered admirably in every
respect; £600 has been granted to the members without interest,
and these loans have, I understand, been always most regularly
and most punctually repaid. Two hundred and thirty-three cabmen
or their families have been assisted by this society in various
years since its formation, and its existing capital is more than
£3000; but this we hope to augment still further.
"One statement I may make which may be of interest to those
present here this evening. I mentioned that as a class the
cabmen are thoroughly honest. As a proof of that I have
statistics here before me which state that last year there were
between 16,000 and 17,000 articles left in cabs, amounting in
value to about £20,000, which have been punctually returned. I
believe, at least it is the popular belief, that there is only
one article a cabman never returns, and this is an umbrella, and
I think that is, we may consider, quite fair. A gentleman having
an umbrella may not want a cab, but without an umbrella he will
be compelled to take a cab if the rain comes on!
"There are now between 11,000 and 12,000 cabmen, and the amount
of the expense in cab fares comes to a most colossal sum,
something between £4,000,000 and £5,000,000 sterling. With
regard to the remark I made as to the honesty of cabmen, it may
perhaps be not out of place if I mention an anecdote which was
told me to-day. A gentleman drove in a cab to a shop, left the
cab, and entered the shop. On coming out of the shop, he was not
in so quiet a frame of mind as when he entered it; it was
evident to the passers-by that he was dissatisfied with the
shopman; he left the shop and went away. The shopman threw a
case into the cab. The gentleman had forgotten it. But the
cabman immediately drove to Scotland Yard and delivered the
case, which was found to contain jewellery worth £2300. This
will give you some idea of the honesty of these men, for whom we
are endeavouring to do much. Some considerable good was done
only four years ago by a philanthropic and noble lord whose name
is known to you, who started cabmen's shelters. There are now
twenty of these, and they shelter 2000 cabmen, doing much to
alleviate the discomfort of the men, who sit so many hours of
the night suffering from the inclemency of the seasons.
"When I see this large assemblage I feel I shall not call in
vain, and I call upon you to augment the capital which already
exists. With this toast I have great pleasure in associating one
who is treasurer of the Association, Lord Richard Grosvenor (now
Lord Stalbridge), member of a family well known in works of
charity and philanthropy. I thank you for the kind way in which
you have listened to my imperfect remarks, and now I must ask
you to drink with enthusiasm 'Success to the Cabdrivers'
Benevolent Association!'"
It is pleasant to find from the latest published report that the
Institution, which the Prince of Wales so warmly commended, is in a
prosperous condition. The annuities have been raised to £20, and there
are 40 annuitants now on the books. The receipts in 1887 were £2191, and
the funded property was £10,000. Temporary relief was given to upwards
of 200 cabmen. Upwards of 1200 members contribute 5_s._ annually, but
this is a small proportion of the whole number of cabdrivers, more of
whom ought to be persuaded to join as members, as they alone receive the
benefits of the Association. The applicants for loans, on the prescribed
terms, were 89. The cabmen have been fortunate in the chairmen at the
festivals and annual general meetings. The Prince of Wales is patron of
the Association. The honorary secretary is G. Stormont Murphy, Esq., and
the office is at 15, Soho Square.
THE PRINCESS HELENA COLLEGE.
_May 23rd, 1880._
The Prince of Wales presided at Willis's Rooms at a dinner in aid of the
funds of the Princess Helena College, on the 23rd of May, 1880.
After the customary proceedings and toasts of the evening, and speeches
by the Duke of Cambridge and Lord Sydney, the Prince rose and proposed
the toast of "Prosperity to the Princess Helena College." He said:--
"At many of the dinners at which I have the pleasure of taking
the chair, the charities in support of which they are given
require more words to bring them to the notice of those who
attend than the present one does. But though the specific nature
of this institution relieves me from the necessity of entering
upon any lengthened advocacy of its claims, it is not the less
deserving of your hearty support in every respect. As you are
aware, the Princess Helena College was formerly called the Adult
Orphan Institution, and it has for its object the bringing up of
daughters of officers of the Army and Navy and of clergymen. Its
first meeting took place as far back as 1818, and in 1820 the
institution was built. As Lord Sydney told you, it originated
with a relative of his own. It was founded by her, and by my
grand-aunt, Princess Augusta of Gloucester. King George IV. also
took great interest in its welfare, allotting the plot of ground
in the Regent's Park where the College now stands.
"The object of the institution is not only to provide a
thoroughly good education for the daughters of officers and
clergymen, but to send them forth into the world in a useful
capacity; and I think you will agree with me that in the
capacity of well-qualified governesses they go forth in the most
useful manner. In the days when it was first instituted so much
attention was not given to education as in our time, and you
can therefore easily understand that as more highly efficient
education is needed now for these young ladies there is a
proportionate increase of expense. Like many other institutions,
its expenditure has been greater than its receipts, and, as a
consequence, it has been found necessary to somewhat alter its
rules by admitting a certain number of paying students as
boarders, and also by establishing day classes for the daughters
of gentlemen. In order to fit the institution for this new
sphere of operations it has been necessary to enlarge the
building, and though, no doubt, the effect of this arrangement
will be to increase receipts, the enlargement of the building
has naturally entailed great cost, and in order to meet that
charge I have to call upon you, gentlemen, to do all you can, by
a most liberal contribution to-night, to enable the committee to
meet their pecuniary difficulties. The best proof you can give
me of the real interest you take in the welfare of this
excellent institution will be to subscribe as handsomely as it
is in your power to do. I am informed that a distinguished naval
officer is acting as steward here to-night in gratitude for the
benefit his daughters have derived in their education from a
governess who was brought up at the Princess Helena College. I
have mentioned before that the Queen is its patron. Her Majesty
subscribes £50 a year to its funds, and on this special occasion
she presents 100 guineas. The interest taken by my sister, the
Princess, in its welfare is sufficiently proved by the fact that
she is President of the Council of the College, and I have great
pleasure in stating to you that it is by her express wish and
recommendation that I am here to-night. I will, in conclusion,
again ask you to let me feel by the liberality of your
contributions that I have not failed in my duty as your
Chairman."
The Secretary then read a list of donations and subscriptions, which,
including those from the Queen and 100 guineas from the Prince of Wales,
amounted to over £2060.
The College still flourishes at Ealing, a populous district, where day
boarders are also admitted to the classes of the institution.
NEW HARBOUR AT HOLYHEAD.
_June 17th, 1880._
To possess the best possible packet service between England and Ireland
is a matter of national importance. In the old days of sailing ships the
perils and uncertainties of the passage across the Channel were
notorious. When steamships carried mails and passengers, and when the
bridging of the Menai Straits for railway traffic had been achieved, it
was necessary to provide improved harbour accommodation, and other
works, both for convenience and safety, at Holyhead. These works
included a spacious harbour, and a breakwater securing the additional
space of a sheltered roadstead. The length of the North Breakwater is
nearly 8000 feet. The harbour and deep-water sheltered roadstead are
together between six and seven hundred acres in extent. It took
twenty-five years to carry out the design, at a cost of about
£1,500,000. This outlay included the works and buildings for Government
use in the postal service. The engineer-in-chief was Mr. James Rennel,
and on his death, in 1856, Mr. afterwards Sir John Hawkshaw.
To celebrate the completion of the works, the Prince of Wales visited
Holyhead on the 19th of August, 1873, when he declared the Breakwater
complete and the Harbour of Refuge open. The Duke of Edinburgh, Master
of the Trinity House, Sir Frederick Arrow, Deputy Master, and many
distinguished representatives of various departments of the public
service assisted at the ceremony. Near the Lighthouse a gun-metal plate
records the fact that the Breakwater, "commenced in 1845, was on August
19th, 1873, declared complete, by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales," in
whose public life the proceedings of the day form a memorable event.
But there was yet much to be done for the Anglo-Irish route, viâ
Holyhead. The communication had so increased that the North Western
Railway Company found enlarged harbour accommodation a necessity for the
benefit of their own traffic.
It is not often that Royal sanction is given to the undertakings of
shareholding companies; but the new harbour at Holyhead, while it was
constructed at the cost and for the benefit of the London and North
Western Railway Company, has so much importance for commerce and
traffic, as to make it a national object. The Prince of Wales was
accordingly asked to inaugurate the new harbour, and a large number of
distinguished and official persons were invited by the Directors to be
present on the occasion. At the luncheon, the Chairman of the Company
proposed the usual loyal toasts, and the Prince of Wales responded in
the following terms:--
"Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--I am deeply flattered by
the kind manner in which this toast has been proposed and
received in this large and distinguished assemblage. I feel it a
matter of the greatest pleasure, and at the same time the
greatest pride, to be among you here to-day. It is a matter of
pride, ladies and gentlemen, to be connected with this
Principality, and it has afforded me the greatest pleasure to
accept the invitation of the Chairman and Directors of the
London and North Western Company to inaugurate this new harbour.
It is not the first time, as you are aware, that I have had
occasion to come to Holyhead. Seven years ago I had the pleasure
of inaugurating your breakwater, which I am glad to see is now
successfully terminated and is of the greatest possible utility.
The sunshine we have enjoyed to-day may be taken as a good
augury for the success of the London and North Western Railway
Company in their new undertaking. This undertaking has cost them
a very large sum of money, but it will, I am sure, be of the
greatest benefit to commerce, and will tend to make the Holyhead
route still more than it is a connecting link between England
and Ireland. Before sitting down I have a toast to propose,
which I feel sure you will drink with the greatest pleasure; it
is 'The Health of the Chairman, Mr. Moon, and Success and
Prosperity to the London and North Western Railway Company.' I
also desire to declare the new harbour open."
Both on land and water there were many loyal demonstrations; and
gentlemen representing all the leading railway companies, French and
Irish, as well as English and Welsh, were entertained by the Directors
of the London and North Western.
The opening sentences of a leading article in the _Times_ on the
following day, form a tribute due to the Prince for his part in the
ceremony:--
"The representative duties of Royalty in this country are heavier than
the private functions the hardest-worked Englishman has to perform. Only
the other day we were recording the part played by the Prince of Wales
in an ecclesiastical pageant in Cornwall. On Wednesday he was
introducing a foreign Sovereign to the Corporation of London. Straight
from that ceremonial he had to take flight across the island to open
formally the new harbour at Holyhead. In these scenes and a hundred like
them a Prince's functions cannot be discharged satisfactorily unless he
be at once an impersonation of Royal State and, what is harder still,
his own individual self. He must act his public character as if he
enjoyed the festival as much as any of the spectators. He must be able
to stamp a national impress upon the solemnity, yet mark its local and
particular significance. In presenting a King of the Hellenes to the
citizens at the Guildhall the Prince of Wales had to remember that his
guest and the guest of the City was both a near and dear relative and
the embodiment of an illustrious cause. In laying the first stone of a
cathedral at Truro he had to be both Duke of Cornwall and the Heir of
England. In presiding yesterday at Holyhead he had to recollect the
provincial associations connected with the title he bears, and not
forget the imperial importance of a work which creates a new link
between two great divisions of the United Kingdom. That he achieved his
task successfully was a matter of course. No apprehension ever touches
those who are present at a scene of which the Prince of Wales is the
centre, that he may chance to chill by lack of interest, to choose his
words of admiration inopportunely, or to praise without sympathy. The
work he came, as it were, to sanction by national approbation is a grand
engineering undertaking, and is grander yet in its probable moral
consequences. The Prince of Wales understood and expressed its
significance from both aspects."
NEW COLOURS TO THE ROYAL WELSH FUSILIERS.
_August 16th, 1880._
The Royal Welsh Fusiliers (or Twenty-third Regiment of Foot in the old
Army Lists) received the more familiar name from having been first
raised in Wales in 1714, and in honour of the Prince of Wales of that
day. Their nationality is further betokened by the Prince of Wales's
plume, with the motto "Ich Dien," which, together with the Rising Sun,
the Red Dragon, the White Horse, and the Sphinx, they bear on their
colours. The regiment is one of the oldest and most famous in the Army,
and the proud words, "Nec aspera terrent," which are emblazoned on its
regimental silk, it has amply justified by its gallant conduct from the
Battle of the Boyne, in 1690, to the Indian Mutiny, in 1858, including
Egypt, Corunna, Martinique, Albuera, Badajoz, Salamanca, the Pyrenees,
Nivelle, Orthes, Toulouse, Waterloo, Alma, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and
nearly fifty other engagements which are not recorded on its colours.
It was peculiarly fitting that the duty of presenting new colours to
this brave and distinguished Welsh regiment should be undertaken by the
Prince of Wales. This he did on the 16th of August, 1880, coming from
Osborne for the purpose, when the 1st Battalion of the Welsh Fusiliers,
above nine hundred strong, including officers, was embarking for India
from Portsmouth.