members of our family who may be present to come to this annual
gathering of the Royal Academy, and we greatly regret when any
cause arises to prevent us being present. It is a matter of
great interest not only to be surrounded by all that is finest
in modern art, but also to meet so distinguished an assembly,
although we who come year by year find that gaps are made which
we must all deeply regret. One of the most recent of these has
been occasioned by the death of the great statesman just taken
from us, who but two years ago made in this room one of his most
eloquent speeches, which must be in the memory of all who were
then present, many of whom are here to-night. I will not allude
to the late Earl of Beaconsfield further than to say how
gratifying it is to see that fine portrait of him in the next
room, executed by one of our first artists, Mr. Millais. I might
also allude to the removal from among us of the late Lord Chief
Justice of England, opposite to whom I had often the pleasure of
sitting at this table. The Academy, I am sure, also deplores the
loss of Mr. Elmore, and Mr. Knight, who was many years
Secretary, and we must all sympathise with the Academy for the
loss they have thus sustained.
"It is not for me on this occasion to offer any criticism on the
pictures which adorn these walls. I have only had the
opportunity of taking a very cursory glance at them, and even if
I were able I should not indulge in any critical remarks. But I
will say this--neither the President nor the members of the
Academy have any reason to deprecate fair and just criticism.
One of the greatest pictures in the Exhibition is the portrait
of the President, painted by himself. In this he has only
followed the example of some of the great masters, who painted
their own portraits. As there are so many more speeches to be
made--some of the greatest possible interest--I will not weary
you with more words. I will only again thank you, in my own
name, in the name of the Princess, and of my brothers who are
present, for your very kind reception."
The Duke of Cambridge said the Artists' Corps was one of the smartest
and most efficient in the Volunteer Army, and he was glad of the
opportunity of paying this tribute to them.
_1885._
At the banquet of 1885, the Prince of Wales was accompanied for the
first time by Prince Albert Victor. In the speech in reply to the usual
toast from the Chair, the Prince referred to his being accompanied by
his son in a very different place from the Academy of Art.
"You, sir" (addressing the President), "have kindly alluded to
our late visit to Ireland. I can only assure you that, if that
visit was a labour at all, it was a labour of love. We had for a
long time past looked forward to a fitting opportunity for once
more visiting Ireland, and we were glad to avail ourselves of
the opportunity recently afforded us. I was sure that on going
there we should meet with a kind and hearty reception, and such
was the case with very few exceptions. We received as kind and
loyal a reception as it could be the good fortune of any one to
meet with. You, sir, have touched upon a subject of interest to
us. My son and I had the opportunity of visiting, although the
time allowed us was too short to do all that we could have
wished to do, those districts of the town of Dublin in which the
houses, although they might have picturesqueness, were certainly
not calculated to promote the happiness and welfare of their
inhabitants. This reminds me that I have had the honour of
serving for upwards of a year on the Commission which has for
its object the improvement of the dwellings of the poorer
classes of this country. I will not anticipate our first report,
which will be shortly issued. I will only say before sitting
down that not only has it been to me a sincere pleasure and
satisfaction to have aided so important and valuable a work, but
I have had the advantage of working with some of the most
distinguished of my countrymen, some of whom are here to-night."
The Duke of Cambridge made touching reference to the death of General
Gordon. "I feel that the remarks of the President call for a sympathetic
sentiment on my part and that of the Army. The allusion to General
Gordon is one that touches the heart of every English soldier, from
myself down to the youngest soldier of us all. I can only deplore the
fact that he is no longer among us, and that his brilliant career is now
over."
_1888._
At the banquet of 1888, the President, Sir Frederick Leighton, after the
toast of "The Queen," in proposing "The Prince and Princess of Wales and
the rest of the Royal Family," referred to this year being the "Silver
Wedding," and also alluded to the anxiety then darkening the home of
"the Princess Royal of England," the Empress of Germany.
The Prince, in reply, said:--
"Mr. President, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--This toast has been
proposed in far too flattering terms, but the words which have
fallen from Sir Frederick Leighton have not failed to touch me
deeply, as they also will touch the Princess. I thank you,
therefore, Mr. President, for the kind manner in which you have
given the toast, and you, gentlemen, for the way in which you
have received it. My coming here this evening marks, as it were,
a double anniversary. This is not only the year of my silver
wedding, which your President has kindly referred to, but it is
now just a quarter of a century ago since I first had the
pleasure and gratification of accepting the kind hospitality of
this great Academy. There have, no doubt, been many changes
during that interval in this body. Many illustrious and
distinguished members of the Academy have passed away; but,
while we cannot but regret them, we know that there has been no
lack of others to fill their places. When one thinks of the old
buildings in which we used to assemble, which are now devoted to
the purposes of the National Gallery, and when one sees this new
edifice, which has existed now for nineteen years, and the
beautiful objects that adorn its walls, one can form some idea
of the great progress that has been made in art in this country.
It is a remarkable fact that, although many new galleries are
constantly springing up, there appears to be no difficulty in
adorning their walls and filling them with pictures and
sculpture. In 1869, 3000 works of art were offered for
acceptance by this Academy; but this year, I am told, no less
than 9300 were sent in. Unfortunately, of that number upwards of
7000 had to be returned, because you have only room for 2000
odd. The responsibility which rests upon the President, and
especially upon that most hard-working and perhaps I may say
also best-abused body, the hanging committee, is very great, and
their labours increase as years go on. They, of course, cannot
give satisfaction to everybody; but those distinguished artists
who must be disappointed at not seeing their works upon these
walls may perhaps find some consolation in observing how very
high is the general standard of excellence attained by their
more fortunate brethren whose works have been accepted.
"Before sitting down I wish to acknowledge on behalf of my
sister and her husband the kind sympathy which you, sir, have
expressed to-night in such feeling words. I wish it were
possible for me to give on this occasion greater hopes of the
life of one so near and dear to me, of one of such value, not
only to his own country, but, I maintain, to the world at large.
The recent news which we have received has been rather more
favourable, and God grant that such news may continue. At any
rate, as long as there is life there is hope. I thank you once
more, Mr. President, for the cordial terms in which you have
proposed my health and the kind way in which you have alluded to
the members of my family."
The Duke of Cambridge, who has the pleasurable duty every year of
responding to the toast of the Army, must naturally feel increasing
difficulty in varying the subject of his discourses. He was, however,
never more happy in his remarks than at the banquet of 1888. "Every year
that I come here," said the Duke, "I feel more at home among you, and
for this reason, because I believe that there is great sympathy between
artists and military men. It has been said that the services seem to
some extent out of place in a company composed of artists, because
artists are concerned with art and science and peaceful pursuits; but I
believe, on the other hand, that artists derive a great advantage from
observing our profession, because it supplies them with many subjects
which they love to portray. And the military sentiment among artists is
by no means to be considered as effaced. When I see what a splendid
corps of Volunteers the artists supply, I think I may claim them as one
of the elements of strength which we should use should any emergency
arise. God forbid that it should ever arise; but, if it should, may the
services be in a condition to prevent danger from approaching this
country." These last words form the burden of most of the wise and
patriotic speeches which the Duke of Cambridge delivers at the Academy
and elsewhere.
ROYAL BANQUETS AT TRINITY HOUSE.
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ROYAL BANQUETS AT THE TRINITY HOUSE.
_July 2nd, 1866._
The Corporation of the Trinity House received its first charter in 1514,
from King Henry VIII. It was then a guild or brotherhood for the
encouragement of the science and art of navigation, and was first
empowered to build lighthouses and erect beacons by an Act passed in the
reign of Queen Elizabeth. This has gradually come to be the chief duty
of the Corporation, and a very important one it is to a nation with such
vast commerce. The Scottish coasts are under a separate Board, but all
others are under the charge of the Trinity House. The Mastership of the
Company has in recent times been an honourable post, held by Princes and
Statesmen. Lord Liverpool was Master in 1816, and was followed by the
Marquis Camden, the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., the Duke
of Wellington, the Prince Consort, and Lord Palmerston, since whose
death the office has been held by the Duke of Edinburgh. The post was
offered to the Prince of Wales, but was declined by him, in behalf of
his sailor brother, "with graceful delicacy and characteristic
manliness," as Sir Frederick Arrow, the Deputy-Master said, in proposing
his health at the first banquet where he was a guest.
This first festival meeting after the election of the Duke of Edinburgh
as Master took place on the 2nd of July, 1866. Among the guests were the
King of the Belgians, the Prince of Wales, the Premier and several
members of the Cabinet, the Lord Chief Justice, the Lord Mayor, and
other distinguished persons. The guests were received by the Elder
Brethren in the Court Room of the Corporation, a stately apartment,
adorned with portraits of Royal personages and of former Masters.
His Royal Highness the Master proposed the health of "Her Majesty the
Queen," and then that of the "King of the Belgians," who in his reply
warmly thanked a Corporation which rendered important services to all
maritime and commercial nations. In giving the toast of "The Prince of
Wales, the Princess of Wales, and the other members of the Royal
Family," the Master said: "It has never before been my pleasing duty to
propose the health of my brother in his presence, and I should feel very
shy if I were to make any remarks farther than that, as Master of your
Corporation, and as his brother, I beg you to give him a most hearty
welcome."
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales said:--
"May it please your Majesty, your Royal Highness, my Lords, and
Gentlemen,--Under any circumstances it would have been a source
of gratification to me to be present on such an occasion as
this, but more especially when I have been invited by my own
brother and have the pleasure of supporting him on the first
occasion of his taking the chair as Master of this Company.
Perhaps you will allow me on this occasion merely to mention
that, after the death of that distinguished and lamented
statesman whose loss we must always deplore, the office of
Master was most kindly offered to me by the Brethren of this
Company. I begged to decline--at least, I begged to offer the
suggestion that the office should be offered to my brother, who
was far more fit to undertake its duties. Among the
distinguished personages who are present on this occasion it is,
you will allow me to say, very gratifying to have the honour of
the presence of his Majesty the King of the Belgians. After the
very kind manner in which he has spoken of his attachment to
this country, which I know is a real attachment, and not merely
a form of words, because I have often heard the same sentiment
expressed by him in private--after such expressions from his
Majesty I think I may say that we as Englishmen feel a strong
attachment to his country--a country distinguished in its own
position among the nations of the Continent, and a country for
which his ever lamented father did so much. I beg to thank you
for the honour you have done me in drinking my own health in
connection with the health of her Royal Highness the Princess of
Wales and the other members of the Royal Family."
_July 20th, 1868._
At the banquet of 1868, on the 20th of July, the Prince was formally
installed as one of the "Younger Brethren" of the Trinity House, the
oaths having been administered by the Duke of Edinburgh, as Master. In
proposing the usual loyal toasts, the Master said it gave him much
satisfaction to be supported by his brother, who, however, on this
occasion was present as a member of the Corporation. The Prince, on
speaking to the toast, said:--
"Your Royal Highnesses, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--I return my
best thanks to my illustrious relative for the kind way in
which he has proposed this toast, and for coupling with it the
health of the Princess of Wales and that of the other members of
the Royal Family. I am very grateful for the reception which has
been accorded him in this room, and I have great pleasure in
being here this evening. This is not the first time I have been
present at the hospitable board of the Trinity House. It is the
second time I have supported my brother, and I come here now in
a double capacity, for I have the honour of being present to-day
as a member of this Corporation and as his 'younger brother.' I
am sure I may say even in his presence that it is a source of
the greatest satisfaction to me to be present at the first
dinner at which he has presided since his return from Australia.
I know I am only speaking his wishes when I say that, although
the season is now far advanced, he thought, consistently with
the duties he had to perform on board the _Galatea_, now off
Osborne, he could not refrain from taking the chair at the
anniversary dinner of this ancient Corporation, of which he has
the honour of being the Master. I thank you for the kind way in
which this toast has been received."
The Duke of Richmond, as President of the Board of Trade, acknowledged
the great services to the Mercantile Marine rendered by the Trinity
House. Lord Napier of Magdala, in response to the toast of "The
Visitors," spoke of the efficient manner in which the Transport Service
had been carried out during the Abyssinian Expedition.
_July 4th, 1869._
In 1869 the Duke of Edinburgh was absent, and the Prince of
Wales undertook the office of presiding at the dinner on the 4th of
July. Sir Frederick Arrow, Deputy Master, and the Elder
Brethren, among whom were Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone,
honorary Brethren, received the invited guests, among whom were
Prince Arthur, Prince Christian, Prince Teck, Prince Edward of
Saxe Weimar, and numerous men of high distinction in public life.
The Prince having proposed "The Health of The Queen, the
protectress of this ancient Corporation," Sir Frederick Arrow gave
"The Health of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the rest of
the Royal Family." The Deputy Master referred to the sympathy
of the Prince with naval service in all departments, and especially
his love of yachting. He also referred to his tour in the East,
since they last assembled at their annual festival. The Prince
replied:--
"Your Royal Highnesses, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--I am gratified
by the honour you have done me in drinking my health and that of
the Princess of Wales and the other members of the Royal Family.
I can assure you it has given me great pleasure to be present on
this occasion, but I feel I have hardly any right to occupy this
chair. The last time I was here I was elected a younger member
of your Corporation. To-day I have become an elder member, and
Sir Frederick Arrow asked me to take the chair in place of my
brother, the Master, who is now in a far distant land. You may
be sure that I shall always be ready to assist in every way I
can to promote the good of this excellent institution. Sir
Frederick Arrow has been pleased to allude to my yachting. It is
true I am fond of yachting, but I cannot claim to be either a
nautical or a naval man. You may, however, always reckon upon
any services I can render in any way in which you may think I
can be useful to your Corporation."
Other customary toasts were then given, and responded to. To the toast
of "The Master of the Corporation," his Royal Highness the Duke of
Edinburgh, "wishing him a happy, prosperous, and safe voyage from the
Southern hemisphere, and a quick return home," the Prince of Wales
replied:--
"Your Royal Highnesses, my Lords, and Gentlemen,--I feel I am in
rather a difficult position in having to return thanks for one
who is absent. At the same time, I feel assured my brother would
be gratified by my thanking you for the manner in which his
health has been proposed and welcomed. According to the French
proverb, '_Les absens ont toujours tort_.' But I hope you will
think differently, seeing that my brother is a post captain in
Her Majesty's Navy, and is visiting one of Her Majesty's far
distant colonies. I am sure if he knew you were drinking his
health at this time his heart would be with you. Before I sit
down I have the honour of proposing to you a toast--the
principal toast of the evening. I call upon you to drink,
'Prosperity to the Corporation of Trinity House.' It would be
almost superfluous in me to make any remarks on the Corporation
or its present or future development. It has existed since the
time of Henry VIII., and ever since that time to the present the
community has taken the deepest interest in its prosperity. It
has also been connected through its honorary Brethren with some
of the most distinguished men, and many of those honorary
Brethren are present here this evening. Its object is to protect
our ships and our sailors, and that object is never forgotten.
As the First Lord of the Admiralty has just said, while the Navy
is called upon to protect our commerce, the Corporation of
Trinity House is called upon to protect our sailors and our
ships. The first electric light put up in this country was that
at Dungeness, and the great Wolf Rock, which has long been the
terror of our sailors, will before long cease to be so. This
will show you that the Trinity House authorities are anxious to
do their duty and to maintain their great name, which I am sure
is honoured here and in other countries. Before I resume my seat
I give you 'The Health of Sir Frederick Arrow, the Deputy
Master,' and I am sure you will drink it with enthusiasm,
knowing as you do how justly he merits your applause. He has
done his duty in every way to maintain the interests of the
Corporation, and I think the honour was eminently due which his
Sovereign conferred in making him Sir Frederick Arrow. I call
upon you to drink 'Prosperity to the ancient Corporation of
Trinity House,' coupling with the toast the name of Sir
Frederick Arrow."
Sir Frederick Arrow, having briefly responded, gave the toast of "Her
Majesty's Ministers," saying that, although politics are unknown at the
Trinity House, it was their duty to mark their respect for the
Government of the day. Mr. Gladstone responded. The toast of "The
Maritime and Commercial Interests of the Country," was coupled with the
name of Mr. Bright, as President of the Board of Trade. Mr. Bright made
an eloquent reply, discoursing on the benefits to this nation, and to
all nations, of the works of the Trinity House Corporation. He said that
he believed that "at this time the merchant ships of England are equal,
or nearly equal--I have heard it said they surpass--in number and
tonnage the seagoing merchant ships of all other countries in the world.
This is an extraordinary thing, if it be true. But, whether it be
exactly true or not, there can be no doubt with regard to foreign
commerce--with regard to ships on the ocean--this country has a position
at this moment which I believe it never held before, and one I think we
may fairly be proud of. I delight, therefore, to dilate on the grandeur
of our merchant navy, and I agree with Mr. Cardwell in hoping that the
time is coming when the resources of this country may not be expended to
an extravagant extent in maintaining our military establishments."
In dilating on the magnitude of British commerce and the number of
British merchant ships, it probably never occurred to Mr. Bright that in
case of war, a few swift armed cruisers would make these ships fly, like
doves before hawks, and the seas be cleared of our now countless
merchant steamers. The _Alabama_ and a few swift rovers speedily swept
all the commerce of the United States from the sea; and the same would
be the fate of the vaster commerce of Great Britain, if there are not
armed vessels, swift, powerful, and numerous, to protect our mercantile
navy in every region of the globe. There is no political question in
this, but the common prudential principle of insurance against possible
peril and disaster. Our coasts may be adequately defended, but there is
need of a naval volunteer service as well as of volunteer riflemen and
gunners on land. It may be one of the future national services rendered
by the Prince of Wales to get the yachting men of the day to form
themselves into naval volunteers, in case of the protection of swift
armed cruisers being needed for protecting the fleets of merchantmen on
which the people of England depend for supplies.
After Mr. Bright's speech, the toast of "The Honorary Brethren" was
responded to by Mr. Disraeli, who was followed by Sir Stafford
Northcote, Sir R. Phillimore, and Sir John Burgoyne. Seldom has the
banqueting hall of the Trinity House been honoured by the presence of so
many illustrious and eloquent guests.
_June 24th, 1871._
In 1871, the Duke of Edinburgh, Master of the Trinity House, had
returned to England, and on the 24th of June took his place as President
at the annual banquet. The Prince of Wales was present, and a
distinguished company.
In proposing the health of the Prince of Wales, the Master thanked him
for having performed the duties of the Mastership during his absence.
Three years before he had jocularly called the Prince his younger
Brother. He had since become an Elder Brother, but, in respect of the
Trinity House, he, as Master, was still the eldest brother. The Prince,
in reply, said:--
"It is a great pleasure to me to have my health proposed by my
brother in the kind manner in which he has proposed it. He has
been pleased to allude to what I call the small duties which I
have had to perform at the Trinity House in his absence. I think
all the Brethren are well aware that it gave me great
satisfaction to be able to do anything during my brother's
absence; and I only regret that I had not more to do; but the
real duties were, in fact, performed by a gentleman who now sits
on my right (the Deputy Master), and I have to thank him and
all the Brethren for the assistance they rendered during the
interregnum. My brother is now on half-pay, but the time may
come when he will again have an important command. In that event
I shall be glad again to be of any service during his absence,
and the Trinity House may always count upon my placing myself at
their disposal."
The usual toasts were given, and responded to. His Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales gave Her Majesty's Ministers, saying:--
"To whatever party they belonged, so long as they performed
their duty to the Crown and upheld the dignity and honour of the
country, they were entitled to the compliment he now asked the
company to pay to them, and he had great pleasure in coupling
the toast with the name of his noble and learned friend the Lord
Chancellor."