information afforded so full and complete, that it seems
scarcely necessary that I should detain you with many
explanatory remarks.
"You will remember that the last occasion on which I had the
pleasure of meeting you was on the eve of the opening of the
Exhibition by Her Majesty the Queen. You are all aware of the
success of that opening, and you, I am sure, appreciated the
keen interest which the Queen took in the Exhibition, both by
performing that imposing ceremony, and by the frequent visits
which Her Majesty afterwards paid to the various Sections.
"The great importance attached to the objects of this Exhibition
was evidenced by the striking manner in which it was visited by
the public. You will have seen by the Report that it was
attended by no fewer than 5,550,745 persons. Of this number, a
large proportion were admitted under schemes in which I took a
deep personal interest, by means of which admission was granted
to provincial and metropolitan artisans, with their wives and
families, at greatly reduced rates.
"It may safely be asserted that a vast amount of public good has
arisen from the holding of this Exhibition. No one can have
failed to notice the earnest attention paid by all classes of
the visitors to the contents of the Exhibition; and the
instruction which was derived from an examination of the varied
objects displayed therein cannot but tend to a better knowledge
of the outlying portions of the Empire, among the inhabitants of
the mother country.
"At a previous Meeting I referred to the appointment of the
Finance Committee, to its enlargement, and to the manner in
which its labours were being conducted, and I would now
specially draw your attention to the Report they have presented
to me. The accounts now before you, which have been circulated
for your information, have been subject to a continuous and
careful audit. They have been made up at the earliest possible
day consistent with the proper realization of the assets
belonging to the Royal Commission, and with the settlement of
the many and varied claims presented after the close of the
Exhibition, and which the Finance Committee had necessarily to
adjust. You will see that the fullest information in ample
detail is given under appropriate heads of the entire receipts
and expenditure of the Royal Commission up to the 23rd April,
and I am sure that you will share my satisfaction at the
gratifying result of a substantial surplus of £35,235 7_s._
8_d._ remaining in the hands of the Royal Commission.
"I am anxious that the appropriation of this surplus, and the
objects to which it should be devoted, should be in harmony with
the wishes of the entire body of the Royal Commission. I desire,
therefore, to draw your attention to a paragraph in the Report
of the Finance Committee, to the effect that in view of the fact
that this Exhibition, and those which preceded it, have to a
certain extent been considered as one series, consideration
might be given to the requirements of any former Exhibition, the
financial results of which have been less satisfactory than
those of the present undertaking. In this recommendation I
entirely concur, and a Resolution in that sense will be
submitted for your approval.
"I would also suggest to you the advisability of retaining for
the present a certain sum for the purpose of meeting any
unforeseen contingencies; which sum should for the next few
years remain vested in the names of trustees, but should
ultimately be applied to the same purpose as that to which the
residue is devoted.
"As regards the balance of the surplus, I would commend to your
consideration the propriety of transferring it to the funds of
the Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the Colonies, and
India (in the promotion of which the Queen and I both take so
warm an interest), the more especially as we may regard the
Institute, to a certain extent, as the outcome of the Exhibition
which was closed in November last.
"Before moving resolutions to this effect, I would wish to
express to you my deep gratitude for the support which you have
at all times given to me in the duties which I, as your
Executive President, have had so much pleasure in performing;
and I am sure you will join with me at this our last Meeting in
expressing most heartily our appreciation of the co-operation
which the Royal Commission received from the Colonies and India,
and of the exertions of the gentlemen representing these
Governments, which tended in so marked a degree to the success
of the past Exhibition.
"The enthusiastic manner in which the proposal for holding this
Exhibition was received in all portions of Her Majesty's Empire,
the energy displayed in realising the views of the Royal
Commission, and the continued support rendered to us by the
Colonial and Indian Governments and their representatives in
London, resulted in the achievement of a work of which all those
who participated in it may be justly proud, and which formed a
fitting prelude to an undertaking intended to commemorate the
Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign, by permanently gathering
together in one building the varied productions of the whole of
the British Empire, in the interchange of which its past
prosperity is so much due, and by which its future development
may be promoted.
"In closing these observations, I would desire to convey to the
gentlemen composing the Finance Committee, my warm personal
acknowledgments for their unremitting attention, and the great
services they have rendered, at so much sacrifice to their time
and convenience. I equally desire to acknowledge the admirable
and efficient arrangements made throughout by the Executive
Secretary, and to return my thanks to the whole staff employed
on the Exhibition. Their zeal and readiness at all times to
promote its success demand special recognition at our hands. In
all this, I feel assured I give expression to the sentiments of
every member of the Royal Commission."
In the speeches of those who moved and seconded the resolutions
submitted to the meeting, reference was repeatedly made to the permanent
Imperial Institute, of which the Indo-Colonial Exhibition seemed the
precursor. The Prince, in acknowledging the vote of thanks at the
conclusion of the meeting, said:--"I most truly hope that the words
which fell from Lord Derby and Lord Kimberley with respect to the
Imperial Institute may come true. If I may use the allegory, now that we
have, as it were, burnt the late Exhibition to-day, I hope the Imperial
Institute may be a Phoenix arising out of its ashes. I trust that it
may be a lasting memorial, not only of that but of the Jubilee of Her
Majesty the Queen."
The Exhibition was opened by Her Majesty on the 4th of May, and those
who were present will not readily forget the impressive nature of the
proceedings on that memorable day. The Official Report of the Royal
Commission (printed and published, as all the Exhibition Reports have
been, by W. Clowes & Sons) is a most valuable manual on all matters
relating to the Exhibition--the most imposing and interesting of any
since that of 1851. It was also the most successful as to finance, there
being a surplus of no less than £35,285 7_s._ 8_d._ Of this £25,000 was
voted to the Imperial Institute fund, and the remainder applied to
liquidate the debt remaining from the Inventions Exhibition, and the
formation of a reserve fund connected with other Exhibitions.
THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTE.
_January 12th, 1887._
The Imperial Institute, while it will be the grandest and most enduring
memorial of the Queen's Jubilee, will also be associated in history with
the name of the Prince of Wales. It was by him that the idea was first
entertained, and the proposal first made; and to his zealous and
persevering efforts the successful carrying out of the project is due.
There had been various circumstances preparing this way for the great
undertaking, but it was the success of the Indo-Colonial Exhibition,
held in 1886, that led to the proposal of a permanent Imperial
Institute. It would be a visible emblem of the unity of the Empire, and
a place for illustrating its vast resources; a museum for exhibiting its
manifold products and industries; a centre of information and
communication for all the countries throughout the world under the
British sovereignty; and be helpful to the increase and the distribution
of the wealth of the nation. It would co-operate and not conflict with
older institutions of tried utility, such as Colonial museums and
exchanges, emigration societies, technical colleges, and other
organizations for the welfare of the people. The scheme was worthy of
being adopted as a national memorial of the Jubilee of the Queen's
reign, and was fittingly inaugurated by the heir apparent to the throne.
Of the progress of the movement, and of the home for the Institute at
South Kensington, it is not necessary here to speak, but the following
speech of the Prince of Wales, at St. James's Palace, on the 12th of
January, 1887, gives the best summary of all that is designed and
expected in regard to the Imperial Institute.
Letters had been sent out inviting many influential persons to meet His
Royal Highness as chairman, and the members of the organizing committee
of the Institute. The banqueting room at the old Palace was filled with
an audience such as has rarely been brought together on any occasion in
recent years. Many of the most distinguished men in all departments of
public life, the Lord Mayors of London and York, with nearly 200 Mayors,
Provosts, and Chief Magistrates of English and Scottish boroughs,
Masters and Wardens of City Companies, and Directors of great corporate
bodies and societies were present. The Prince of Wales, on entering the
room, accompanied by Prince Albert Victor, was warmly received; and thus
he addressed the meeting:--
"My Lords and Gentlemen,--You are doubtless aware of the general
feeling on the part of the public that some signal proof of the
love and loyalty of Her Majesty's subjects throughout her widely
extended Empire should be given to the Queen when she celebrates
the fiftieth year of her happy reign. In order to afford to the
Queen the fullest satisfaction, the proposed memorial should not
be merely personal in its character, but should tend to serve
the interests of the entire Empire and to promote a feeling of
unity among the whole of Her Majesty's subjects. The desire to
find fitting means of drawing our colonies and India into closer
bonds with the mother country, a desire which of late has been
clearly expressed, meets, I am sure, with the Queen's warmest
sympathy. It occurred to me that the recent Colonial and Indian
Exhibition, which presented a most successful display of the
material resources of the colonies and India, might suggest the
basis for an institute which should afford a permanent
representation of the products and manufactures of the whole of
the Queen's dominions. I therefore appointed a committee of
eminent men to consider and report to me upon the best means of
carrying out this idea.
"Upon the report of the committee being submitted to me, and
after giving every clause my full consideration, it so entirely
met with my approval that I accepted all its suggestions, and I
therefore directed that a copy of that report should be sent to
each of you. As I trust you have mastered the suggestions of
that report, I do not purpose re-stating them to you in detail,
but I would remind you that I propose that the memorial should
bear the name of the Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom,
the Colonies, and India, and that it must find its home within
buildings of a character worthy to commemorate the Jubilee year
of the Queen's reign.
"My proposals also are that the Imperial Institute should be an
emblem of the unity of the Empire, and should illustrate the
resources and capabilities of every section of her Majesty's
dominions. By these means every one may become acquainted with
the marvellous growth of the Queen's colonial and Indian
possessions during her reign, and will be enabled to mark by the
opportunities afforded for contrast how steadily these
possessions have advanced in manufacturing skill and enterprise
step by step with the mother country. A representative institute
of this kind must necessarily be situated in London, but its
organization will, I trust, be such that benefits will be
equally conferred upon our provincial communities as well as
upon the colonial and Indian subjects of the Crown. It is my
hope that the institute will form a practical means of
communication between our colonial settlers and those persons at
home who may benefit by emigration. Much information and even
instruction may beneficially be imparted to those who need
guidance in respect to emigration.
"You are aware that the competition of industry all over the
world has become keen, while commerce and manufactures have been
profoundly affected by the recent rapid progress of science and
the increased facilities of inter-communication offered by steam
and the electric telegraph. In consequence of these changes all
nations are using strenuous efforts to produce a trained
intelligence among their people. The working classes of this
country have not been slow to show their desire for improvement
in this direction. They wish to place themselves in a position
of intellectual power by using all opportunities offered to them
to secure an understanding of the principles as well as of the
practice of the work in which they are engaged. No less than
16,000,000 persons from all parts of the kingdom have attended
the four exhibitions over which I presided, representing
fisheries, public health, inventions, and the colonies and
India, and I assure you I would not have undertaken the labour
attending their administration had I not felt a deep conviction
that such exhibitions added to the knowledge of the people and
stimulated the industries of the country.
"I have on more than one occasion expressed my own views,
founded upon those so often enunciated by my lamented father,
that it is of the greatest importance to do everything within
our power to advance the knowledge as well as the practical
skill of the productive classes of the Empire. I therefore
commend to you as the leading idea I entertain that the
institute should be regarded as a centre for extending knowledge
in relation to the industrial resources and commerce of the
Queen's dominions. With this view it should be in constant
touch, not only with the chief manufacturing districts of this
country, but also with all the colonies and India. Such objects
are large in their scope, and must necessarily be so, if this
institute is worthily to represent the unity of the Empire.
"To some minds the scheme may not be sufficiently comprehensive,
because it does not provide for systematic courses of technical
instruction in connection with the collections and libraries of
the proposed institute. I would be the last person to undervalue
this suggestion. I am well aware that the advantages we have
enjoyed in the competition of the world by the possession of
fuel, combined with large mineral resources and by the maritime
habits of our people, are now becoming of less importance, as
trained intellect has in other countries been more and more
applied to productive industry. But I know that this truth has
already penetrated our centres of manufacturing activity, for
many of the large towns have founded colleges and schools of
science and art to increase the intellectual factor of
production. London, also, has taken important steps in the same
direction. The Imperial Institute should be a supplement to, and
not a competitor with, other institutions for technical
education in science and art both at home and in the colonies.
At the same time, I trust that the institute will be able to
stimulate and aid local efforts by directing scholarships for
the working-classes into suitable channels, and by other similar
means.
"Though the institute does not engage in the direct object of
systematic technical education, it may well be the means of
promoting it, as its purpose is to extend an exact knowledge of
the industrial resources of the Empire. It will be a place of
study and resort for producers and consumers from the colonies
and India when they visit this country for business or pleasure,
and they, as well as the merchants and manufacturers of the
United Kingdom, will find in its collections, libraries,
conference and intelligence rooms, the means of extending the
commerce and of improving the manufacturing industries of the
Empire. I trust, too, that colonial and Indian subjects visiting
this country will find some sort of social welcome within the
proposed building. This institute will thus be an emblem, as
well as a practical exponent, of the community of interests and
the unity of feeling throughout the extended dominions of the
Queen.
"From the close relation in which I stand to the Queen, there
can be no impropriety in my stating that if her subjects desire,
on the occasion of the celebration of her fiftieth year as
Sovereign of this great Empire, to offer her a memorial of their
love and loyalty, she would specially value one which would
promote the industrial and commercial resources of her dominions
in various parts of the world, and which would be expressive of
that unity and co-operation which Her Majesty desires should
prevail among all classes and races of her extended Empire.
"My lords and gentlemen, I have invited you to meet on this
occasion in order that I may appeal to you to give me your
assistance in establishing and maintaining the Imperial
Institute. If you approve of the views I have expressed, I am
certain I may rely upon your strenuous co-operation to carry
them into effect. I admit that it has not been without anxiety
that I resolved to make the propositions I submitted to you, but
confidence and support have come to me in the knowledge that I
can appeal to you, and through you to the whole country, to give
your aid to a work which I believe will be of lasting benefit to
this and future generations."
Resolutions were proposed and speeches made by Earl Spencer, the Lord
Provost of Edinburgh, Viscount Hampden, the Lord Mayor of London, the
Mayor of Newcastle, and the Marquis of Lorne, approving the scheme, and
promising hearty support. The Lord Mayor proposed a vote of thanks to
the Prince, who tendered his thanks for the attendance at the meeting,
and the approval given to the proposal.
"I am glad, gentlemen, to have this opportunity of expressing to
you collectively and individually my deep feelings of gratitude,
in seeing you all here to-day at a time of year when travelling
is neither easy nor pleasant, considering the distances which
you have had to come; and also for the kind response which you
have made to my appeal. It augurs well for the future, and I
feel convinced you will do all in your power to assist me in
making this Imperial Institute worthy of the name of our Queen
and of her Empire. The promotion of this scheme is with me a
labour of love, and it must, I am sure, strike you all that,
apart from wishing to do honour to the name of my beloved
mother, nobody is more desirous than I am that a monument, if I
may use the term, may be erected worthy of her Empire."
A public meeting was held the same day at the Mansion House, attended by
a large number of the most influential men in the City. The Lord Mayor
(Sir Reginald Hanson), Earl Granville, Mr. Plunket, M.P., Mr. Mundella,
M.P., Mr. Goschen, M.P., and Lord Rothschild, were among the speakers,
and resolutions were passed with an enthusiasm which gave good augury
for the success of the Imperial Institute.
THE LONDON ORPHAN ASYLUM.
_March 12th, 1887._
The London Orphan Asylum, for the maintenance, clothing, and education
of Fatherless Children, is one of the oldest and best charities of its
class. The Prince of Wales presided at the Jubilee Festival, at the
Hôtel Métropole, on the 12th of March, 1887. Among the numerous friends
of the charity present were the Duke of Abercorn, the Earl of Clarendon,
Sir Donald Stewart, Sir Dighton Probyn, and many distinguished men. The
Prince, in giving the toast of "The Queen," said it was the first public
dinner at which he had presided in the Jubilee year of the Queen, and
this was also the jubilee of her connection with the London Orphan
Asylum, of which she had been for fifty years its patron. The toast was
received with more than usual enthusiasm.
Alderman Sir R. N. Fowler, M.P., in giving the next loyal toast said
that the charity had been already deeply indebted to the Prince of
Wales, who had, along with the Princess of Wales, laid the foundation
stone of this Asylum at Watford.
Other loyal and patriotic toasts having been given, the Prince rose to
propose the toast of the evening. He said:--
"My Lords and Gentlemen,--The London Orphan Asylum is an old
institution; it was founded in 1813, two years before the battle
of Waterloo; and it owed its origin to a distinguished
philanthropist of the time, Dr. Andrew Reed. Of course it began
on a very small scale, for the old proverb applied in this as in
so many other cases that you must cut your coat according to
your cloth. It commenced in the first year of its organization
with only three children; but in 1822 there were as many as 126
children in the school. Twenty years later there were as many as
326; twenty years later still there were 414; and now it affords
me the greatest pleasure to announce to you that we have upwards
of 500 children.
"The first subscription list contained the names of 255
subscribers, and among them was my grandfather. He was the first
patron and headed the list with 50 guineas; and in 1823 my
grand-uncle, the late Duke of York, laid the foundation stone of
the institution at Clapton; while two years later the late Duke
of Cambridge, who was always foremost in all great charitable
undertakings in this country, presided at its annual festival.
The institution continued to grow and more children had to be
admitted, until at last there was not sufficient room in the old
home. A new one was, therefore, instituted at Watford, and in
1869 the Princess and myself were asked to lay the foundation
stone of your present home. Having taken part in that ceremony,
it gives me much gratification to learn in what a flourishing
condition the institution now is, which is exemplified by the
presence of upwards of 500 in the home. And when I look at the
young ladies and the boys before us I think you will come to the
conclusion that the management of the institution is thoroughly
good. During the 74 years of the existence of the asylum
something over 5000 orphan children have been maintained,
clothed, and educated.
"The great Duke of Wellington took very great interest in the
institution, and I believe I am not wrong in stating that he
presided at its festivals on five different occasions. A
remarkable and very important fact in connection with the
institution is that those who have received education and aid
from the society are those who do all they can to give it
support at the present time, and part of the institution at
Watford was built by subscriptions of the old scholars, and I am
told that there are as many as ten old pupils of the institution
in one commercial house in the City, while many are present here
to-night who are prepared to give liberal donations. The
education they receive is a thoroughly sound and practical one,
and when they leave every effort is made to find them
situations, and they are sent out with proper clothing. As a
proof that it is managed on economical principles I need only
say that the cost per head in the past year amounted to little
over £30. The amount disbursed in the 74 years since its
foundation has reached the large sum of £700,000--all of this
large sum, with the exception of £1000 a year which you can rely
upon, having been derived from voluntary contributions.