1849 by the late Prince Consort, the battalion at the same time
receiving from the Queen the first of those Royal goats, which have
always since marched at the head of the regiment. When the gallant
"Nanny Goats," as the Twenty-third are nick-named, first had the
regimental pet is not exactly known, but since 1849 a Royal goat has
been received from Windsor whenever a vacancy occurs.
The colours replaced by the new ones in 1880 had a history of their own,
and the regiment took pride in them, although in such a tattered
condition that they could not be unfurled. The Queen's colour was that
which was carried by Lieutenant Anstruther, who was killed when planting
it on the Great Redoubt at Sebastopol. Twelve officers and half the rank
and file fell in that terrible rush, but the Royal Welsh had the honour
of first entering the enemy's stronghold. No fewer than seventy-five
bullets passed through the colours, and the pole of one of them was shot
in two, and had to be tied up with a cord. Sergeant O'Connor, though
dangerously wounded, carried the Queen's colours till the end of the
battle, and was rewarded by a commission in the regiment, receiving the
Victoria Cross at the close of the war. He rose to be Colonel of the 2nd
Battalion, and was present, with his breast covered with well-earned
decorations, when the Prince of Wales came to present the new colours at
Portsmouth. The colours were afterwards carried through the Indian
Mutiny, where Colonel Elgee and several of the officers had the honour
of serving under them. The ragged relics were relegated to the
honourable obscurity of Wrexham Church.
The ceremony of removing the old colours and presenting the new was an
imposing spectacle, witnessed by an immense assemblage, and amidst great
enthusiasm. The old colours having been placed in front of the saluting
post, were afterwards sent to the rear, the band playing "Auld Lang
Syne." Then the new colours were presented by the Prince, with whom was
the Princess of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and Prince Edward of
Saxe-Weimar. Having received the colours from the Majors, the Prince
presented them separately to the Lieutenants, and then turning to the
Colonel, spoke as follows:--
"Colonel Elgee, officers, and non-commissioned officers and men
of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers,--I consider it a very great
privilege to have been asked to present your regiment with new
colours on the eve of its departure for India. It occurs to me
in presenting these colours that they are to replace those which
were given to you about thirty-one years ago by my lamented
father, and which through three campaigns your regiment has
carried with honour and success. You will in a few years
celebrate your 200th anniversary, and during that time your
regiment has served in nearly every quarter of the globe, and
seen as much or more service than any regiment in the Army. You
have served at Corunna, Salamanca, the Peninsula, Waterloo,
Alma, Inkerman, Sebastopol, Lucknow, and, coming down to more
recent times, Ashantee. I feel sure that there will always be
the same emulation among those who serve in your ranks as there
has been in the past, and that the good name of your regiment
will always be maintained as prominently as it is now. You are
now on the eve of departure for India, and nobody wishes you
'God-speed' more sincerely than I do. I feel sure that, whatever
your services may be, they will be such as will bring credit to
your regiment, and will add additional proofs of the valour for
which it is so justly celebrated."
Colonel Elgee made a suitable and soldierly reply, thus concluding: "I
am sure that wherever the colours are carried--whether before an enemy
or in the performance of our duties at home in times of peace--the
regiment will always maintain the high reputation it has won. On the eve
of our departure for India, we beg to express our heartiest wishes for
the health and happiness of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, your
Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales, and the remainder of the Royal
Family."
The line having been reformed, His Royal Highness had the whole of the
officers drawn up on each side of the drums, and as they saluted and
passed to their posts, each was individually presented to the Prince and
Princess by the Colonel. A few more movements, and the ranks were
closed, the line broke into columns to the right, and marched past to
the jetty, where they embarked on board the _Malabar_. After luncheon,
the whole party from the Royal yacht, including the Princess Beatrice,
who had arrived in the _Alberta_ to receive the Empress Eugénie and take
her to Osborne on a visit to the Queen, proceeded on board the
_Malabar_, where they stayed three-quarters of an hour and made a
thorough inspection of the ship, where they were welcomed with much
enthusiasm. When at length the ship drew away into the stream, followed
by the Royal yacht _Osborne_, the band of the Royal Marines ashore
played "The March of the Men of Harlech," and "Cheer, Boys, Cheer,"
while the troops responded by singing "Auld Lang Syne."
THE ROYAL HOSPITAL FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
_May 24th, 1881._
This Hospital, which is the oldest of its kind in London, is situated in
Waterloo Bridge Road, in a populous and poor district. It contains now
about 50 beds. The number of out-patient attendances averages 3000 a
month, and upwards of 250 visits each month are paid by the
house-surgeon to sick children at their own homes. The ordinary receipts
are about £3000, and the funded property £6500. It is a well-managed and
useful charity, and just such a one as would gain the good will of the
Prince of Wales, who presided at the festival dinner, in Willis's Rooms,
on the Queen's Birthday, May 24th, 1881.
After the customary loyal and patriotic toasts, the Royal Chairman
briefly but earnestly pleaded the cause of the charity. He said that--
The largeness of the gathering on that occasion was evidence of
the interest taken in this great and important charity. During
the last few years, he remarked, we had suffered from both
agricultural and commercial depression, and institutions of a
charitable kind, especially those which owed their existence and
maintenance to voluntary contributions, must naturally feel a
depression, which prevented many persons from coming forward to
their support; but still he did not despair of the results of
the appeal which he had to make that evening. This institution
had now been in existence for seventy-one years. It was situated
in a very populous and very poor district, its object being the
cure of sick children and women. He might remark that many of
his family had taken considerable interest in this hospital. His
grandfather, the Duke of Kent, presided at the first anniversary
dinner, and his great-uncle, the Duke of Sussex, took a deep
interest in it. Only four years ago his sister, the Princess
Louise, visited the institution, and, being much gratified with
what she saw, gave her name to one of the wards. Unfortunately,
the institution was not so flourishing financially as it ought
to be. The ordinary income was £2000 a year less than was
required to meet the expenditure. It was also most important
that the hospital should be enlarged. The freehold of the
surrounding property had been obtained from the Duchy of
Cornwall at an expense of £3000. Several years ago that great
philanthropist, Lord Shaftesbury, presided at a dinner in aid of
this charity, when a sum of nearly £3000 was raised. If the same
amount could be made up that evening all who were interested in
the institution would be deeply gratified. Mentioning that since
the foundation of the Hospital as many as 400,000 children had
been relieved, His Royal Highness said that patients were
received not only from all parts of this country, but also from
the Continent, and medical and surgical treatment was afforded
them gratuitously. The report of the Hospital Saturday Fund
stated that the institution stood among the first for efficiency
and economy.
Before concluding his speech the Prince of Wales proposed the health of
the Lord Mayor, who is by virtue of his office President of the
institution. Mr. Kestin, the Secretary, read a list of donations and
subscriptions which, including 100 guineas from the chairman, exceeded
£2000.
AT KING'S COLLEGE.
_July 2nd, 1881._
The Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Princess, distributed the
principal prizes of the year at King's College, London, on the 2nd of
July, 1881. The Rev. Canon Barry, D.D., the Principal, received the
Royal visitors, and at the opening of the proceedings, said: "it will
always be a day in the annals of the College to be marked with a white
stone, when the Prince and Princess of Wales had come for the first time
among them, and on the jubilee day of the institution." After the
distribution of the prizes and decorations, the Prince acknowledging a
vote of thanks for his presence, proposed by the Duke of Cambridge, and
seconded by the Bishop of Gloucester, said:--
"Mr. Principal Barry, Ladies and Gentlemen,--For the very kind
words in which the illustrious Duke has proposed the vote of
thanks, the kind way in which it has been seconded by the Bishop
of Gloucester and Bristol, and the cordial manner in which you
have all been good enough to receive this vote, I ask you to
accept my most sincere thanks, and also the thanks of the
Princess of Wales for the kind way in which her name has been
alluded to to-day.
"It would have been a gratification to me on any day to come to
this college and present the prizes to the successful
competitors, but as this day is your jubilee day, your fiftieth
anniversary, it makes it still more interesting to me to come
here to-day and give away the prizes. After all that has fallen
from the lips of your Principal, and after perusing, though I
admit somewhat cursorily, the annual report, but little is left
for me to say; but all those who take an interest in the success
of this college will have every reason to be satisfied with the
state of the college, and with the report which I hold in my
hands. Everything connected with this institution is on a most
satisfactory and excellent footing.
"In these days, when education is so much thought of, and when
meetings in every part of the kingdom are continually taking
place for the purpose of getting still higher standards of
education, it is naturally difficult for institutions of old
date to keep up with the times; but I do not think or fear that
this college will have any reason to fear competition from
others, as it already stands as one of the second or third great
educational colleges in the kingdom. The prizes which have been
given to-day for the different subjects in this list embrace
nearly every possible subject of education which may be of use
to those young men who are going out into the world.
"This college justly claims to be one which has done very much
for the higher education of men; and it affords me, and I know
it affords also the Princess of Wales, great gratification to
learn that it will be extended also towards the education of
women. This year, since the Principal and the Council received a
memorial signed by various distinguished persons, they have very
wisely adopted that memorial, by enabling women already to
receive education by way of listening to lectures from
distinguished teachers and professors in this college.
"It has been already stated that some of our children have
received education from some of the professors of this college.
It is very gratifying to us that such has been the case, and we
have every hope that they will derive benefit from the
instruction they have received.
"Before concluding I wish to congratulate those young gentlemen
to whom I have presented these prizes to-day on having received
these proofs that the education they have received here has not
been thrown away. As most of them are about to leave the
college, I sincerely hope they will allow me to offer them my
best wishes, and to trust that in their future career they will
continue to do credit to themselves and those by whom they have
been educated. I again express the pleasure which both the
Princess and myself have felt in coming here to-day, and say
that we most cordially wish continued and lasting prosperity to
King's College."
COLONIAL BANQUET AT THE MANSION HOUSE.
_July 16th, 1881._
The Lord Mayor of London entertained the Prince of Wales, President of
the Colonial Institute, and a large company of representatives of the
Colonies, with other distinguished guests, at dinner, at the Mansion
House, on July the 16th, 1881. Seldom has there been such an assemblage
in the Capital of the British Empire. Governors, Premiers, and
Administrators of so many countries were present, that one might almost
wonder how affairs went on in their absence. But rulers as well as
subjects must have holiday rest, and the facility and rapidity of travel
allow easy access from all parts of the world to "the mother country."
The Lord Mayor (Sir William McArthur, M.P.), after the toast of "The
Queen," said that they were honoured with the presence of an unexpected
but very distinguished guest, the King of the Sandwich Islands. It was
the first time that His Majesty had visited Europe, and he naturally
wished to visit the land which first made known to the world the islands
of the Pacific. "Having once visited the Sandwich Islands," said the
Lord Mayor, "I was charmed not only with the beauty of the scenery and
the fertility of the soil, but with the good order which everywhere
prevailed. His Majesty reigns over a very prosperous and a very happy
people."
The toast being duly honoured, the King of the Sandwich Islands
expressed his high sense of the graciousness of the Queen, the Prince of
Wales, and the other Royal and distinguished persons he had met, and
would carry back to his country the most grateful and pleasant
recollections of his visit.
Tho Lord Mayor next gave "The health of the Prince of Wales, the
Princess of Wales, and the other members of the Royal Family." In
response to the toast, the Prince arose amidst great cheering, and
said:--
"My Lord Mayor, your Majesty, my Lords and Gentlemen,--For the
kind and remarkably flattering way in which you, my Lord Mayor,
have been good enough to propose this toast, and you, my lords
and gentlemen, for the kind and hearty way in which you have
received it, I beg to offer you my most sincere thanks. It is a
peculiar pleasure to me to come to the City, because I have the
honour of being one of its freemen. But this is, indeed, a very
special dinner, one of a kind that I do not suppose has ever
been given before; for we have here this evening representatives
of probably every Colony in the Empire. We have not only the
Secretary of the Colonies, but Governors past and present,
ministers, administrators, and agents are all, I think, to be
found here this evening. I regret that it has not been possible
for me to see half or one-third of the colonies which it has
been the good fortune of my brother the Duke of Edinburgh to
visit. In his voyages round the world he has had opportunities
more than once of seeing all our great colonies. Though I have
not been able personally to see them, or only a small portion of
them, you may rest assured it does not diminish in any way the
interest I take in them.
"It is, I am sorry to say, now going on for twenty-one years
since I visited our large North American colonies. Still, though
I was very young at the time, the remembrance of that visit is
as deeply imprinted on my memory now as it was at that time. I
shall never forget the public receptions which were accorded to
me in Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward
Island, and if it were possible for me at any time to repeat
that visit, I need not tell you, gentlemen, who now represent
here those great North American colonies, of the great pleasure
it would give me to do so. It affords me great gratification to
see an old friend, Sir John Macdonald, the Premier of Canada,
here this evening.
"It was a most pressing invitation, certainly, that I received
two years ago to visit the great Australasian Colonies, and
though at the time I was unable to give an answer, in the
affirmative or in the negative, still it soon became apparent
that my many duties here in England would prevent my
accomplishing what would have been a long, though a most
interesting voyage. I regret that such has been the case, and
that I was not able to accept the kind invitation I received to
visit the Exhibitions at Sydney and at Melbourne. I am glad,
however, to know that they have proved a great success, as has
been testified to me only this evening by the noble Duke
(Manchester) by my side, who has so lately returned. Though, my
lords and gentlemen, I have, as I have said before, not had the
opportunity of seeing these great Australasian Colonies, which
every day and every year are making such immense development,
still, at the International Exhibitions of London, Paris, and
Vienna, I had not only an opportunity of seeing their various
products there exhibited, but I had the pleasure of making the
personal acquaintance of many colonists--a fact which has been a
matter of great importance and great benefit to myself.
"It is now thirty years since the first International Exhibition
took place in London, and then for the first time colonial
exhibits were shown to the world. Since that time, from the
Exhibitions which have followed our first great gathering in
1851, the improvements that have been made are manifest. That in
itself is a clear proof of the way in which the colonies have
been exerting themselves to make their vast territories of the
great importance that they are at the present moment. But
though, my Lord Mayor, I have not been to Australasia, as you
have mentioned, I have sent my two sons on a visit there; and it
has been a matter of great gratification, not only to myself and
to the Princess, but to the Queen, to hear of the kindly
reception they have met with everywhere. They are but young, but
I feel confident that their visit to the Antipodes will do them
an incalculable amount of good. On their way out they visited a
colony in which, unfortunately, the condition of affairs was not
quite as satisfactory as we could wish, and as a consequence
they did not extend their visits in that part of South Africa
quite so far inland as might otherwise have been the case. I
must thank you once more, my Lord Mayor, for the kind way in
which you have proposed this toast.
"I thank you, in the name of the Princess and the other members
of the Royal Family, for the kind reception their names have met
with from all here to-night, and I beg again to assure you most
cordially and heartily of the great pleasure it has given me to
be present here among so many distinguished colonists and
gentlemen connected with the colonies, and to have had an
opportunity of meeting your distinguished guest, the King of the
Sandwich Islands. If your lordship's visit to his dominions
remains impressed on your mind, I think your lordship's kindly
reception of His Majesty here to-night is not likely soon to be
forgotten by him."
The Duke of Manchester, in responding to the toast of "The House of
Lords," said that he took much less part in the proceedings of that
august body than many of its members. He had, however, lately visited
some of our colonies--and that was, perhaps, the reason why he was
called upon to respond to that toast. Having given some remarkable
statistics of progress in Australia, he said, "It was calculated that
Australians and New Zealanders, per head, man, woman, and child,
consumed £8 10s.-worth of British goods, while France only rated at 7s.
8d. per head, and the United States at 7s. per head. These were facts
showing that, if for no other reason, there were very forcible financial
reasons why we should consolidate, encourage, and promote in every way
the prosperity of the British Colonies."
The Speaker, in returning thanks on behalf of the House of Commons, said
he was one of those who had a great faith in the future of the English
people throughout the world. Wherever Englishmen set their foot they
grew and prospered; they had learnt the habit of self-government, and
were well acquainted with the forms of government, and they carried with
them English customs, English habits, English institutions. Thus we had
a great Colonial Empire firmly compacted together of colonists from the
old country, all loyal subjects of the Crown. He trusted and believed
that that state of things would long continue, and he hoped that the
bonds between those colonies and the mother country would become closer
and closer from generation to generation.
The Lord Mayor then proposed the toast of the evening, "The British
Colonies," to which the Earl of Kimberley replied, concluding with these
words: "This is a representative assembly, and one of the most
remarkable ever gathered together in this Metropolis. I congratulate
you, my Lord Mayor, on the happy notion of bringing together this
assembly, which must have an equally happy effect in promoting good
feeling both here and in the Colonies, inasmuch as it is a type of the
union which ought to bind us together."
The Prince of Wales then proposed the Lord Mayor's health in a
brief speech, in the course of which he said that it must be
especially gratifying to his lordship to preside at such a
dinner, seeing that he was well acquainted with the colonies,
being a colonial merchant of high repute, and having visited, if
not all, at any rate most of our great colonies.
The Lord Mayor briefly acknowledged the compliment, and said this
meeting was one of the most gratifying incidents of his year of office.
CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE.
_July 18th, 1881._
Of many movements originated by the late Prince Consort, and carried
forward by the Prince of Wales, the advancement of technical education
is one of the highest national importance. Without going into past
history, it is sufficient to say that of late years some of the Guilds
of the City of London have been awakened to a sense of their duties in
training artisans, for which purpose they were at first mainly founded.
The Corporation of London has aided the movement, but in a more limited
way. At first the efforts were directed to the encouragement of
technical education in existing schools and colleges by pecuniary
grants. But subsequently the Institute has been enabled to establish
schools of its own, and to assist in development of technical
instruction, not in London only, but in many large provincial towns.
The Institute had been incorporated in 1880, and in May of that year the
late Duke of Albany laid the foundation stone of the Finsbury Technical
College, the first building in the Metropolis exclusively devoted to
this practical training. In Lambeth and other districts similar schools
have been instituted; but it was thought advisable to found a Central
Institute for systematic teaching the practical applications of science
and art to the trades and industries of the country. Hitherto the
training of artisans has been mainly dependent on the customs of
apprenticeship in the various handicrafts; upwards of twenty of the City
Companies, including nine out of the twelve greater Guilds, had
subscribed largely, and had entered the associated Institute, when the
Prince of Wales was invited to become the President. By the influence of
the Prince, as President of the Royal Commissioners of 1851, a site for
the proposed central College was granted at a nominal rent, on the
estate at South Kensington. To lay the foundation stone of this
building, the Prince, accompanied by the Princess of Wales, came on the
18th of July, 1881.
An address having been delivered by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Selborne,
Chairman of the Committee of the Institute, the Prince of Wales
delivered the following speech, which more clearly presents the whole
subject, and brings out its national importance:--
"My Lord Chancellor, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen,--I thank
you for your address, and beg leave to assure you that it gives
me much satisfaction to attend here to-day to lay the foundation
stone of an institution which gives such forcible expression to
one of the most important needs in the education of persons who
are destined to take part in the productive history of this
country.