Speeches and Addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales: 1863-1888

WEST NORFOLK HUNT

Among the many memorial gifts of the Silver Wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales was one which would have delighted Sir Roger de Coverley or the Squire of Bracebridge Hall. The members of the West Norfolk Fox Hunt presented a handsome silver figure of Reynard in full gallop, mounted on a dark mahogany stand. A beautifully bound morocco album contained the names of the subscribers. The presentation was made on the 8th of April, the day of the Annual Steeplechase at East Winch, near Lynn. A marquee had been erected, and a large company assembled. The Prince and Princess of Wales and all the family were present.

Mr. Hamond, for many years Master of the Hunt, made the presentation, he having been the Chairman of the Committee who had carried on the Hunt during the past two years, in the temporary absence of the Master, Mr. A. C. Fountaine. He believed that the West Norfolk were the first pack of hounds that the Princess hunted with when she came to England. The Prince and Princess had entered into the sports and recreations of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects, and the sport which the members of the Hunt had enjoyed with their Royal Highnesses and their sons and daughters would long be remembered. He asked the acceptance of their gift by the Prince and Princess.

The Prince of Wales said: —

"Mr. Hamond, Ladies, and Gentlemen, – I can assure you that no present which has been offered for our acceptance has been received by us with more pleasure than the one which you have given us to-day – a model of the wily animal that we are all to fond of following. Norfolk has always been considered to be a shooting county; that may be so to a great extent, but I feel convinced that the hunting is quite as popular, and I sincerely hope that it will long remain so. There may be difficulties in preserving foxes, but I feel sure that where there's a will there's a way. For twenty-five years we have enjoyed hunting with the West Norfolk Hunt – both the Princess and myself; and our children have been brought up to follow that Hunt. I sincerely hope that for many long years we may be able to continue to do so. We have grateful memories of the mastership of one whose loss we all regretted, the late Mr. Villebois, and also of Mr. Hamond, then Mr. Fountaine, and next of the gentlemen of the Committee who have of late ably carried on the Hunt, whilst Mr. Fountaine was unfortunately away. Most sincerely do I thank you again, in the name of the Princess and myself, for the kind terms in which you have presented us with this handsome and appropriate gift, and most sincerely do I wish prosperity to the West Norfolk Foxhounds, which, I trust, may long continue to exist in this county."

AT BLACKBURN

On the return from opening the Exhibition at Glasgow, it was arranged that the Prince and Princess of Wales should visit Blackburn, for laying the foundation-stone of the new Technical and Trades School in that flourishing Lancashire town. The borough was in high festival, the more so as it was the first time on record that it had been honoured with the presence of royalty. At the entrance of the town, the Mayor and Corporation met the Royal party, and conducted them to the marquee which was to be the scene of the ceremony. Here the Prince was presented with the freedom of the borough – being the first honorary freeman – and with an address, to which he replied: —

"Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, – I can assure you that the Princess of Wales and myself feel very great pleasure in accepting your address, and we thank you warmly for the kind and cordial words of welcome with which you have received us on the occasion of our first visit to the important borough of Blackburn. We thank you most sincerely for your congratulations on our Silver Wedding, and we desire to take this opportunity of publicly stating how infinitely we have been touched by the affectionate tokens of attachment and regard which have universally been shown towards us throughout the whole country on the occasion of that event. We appreciate very highly your allusions to the interest which we take in all things related to the progress and welfare of the kingdom, and more especially to the interest we have taken in the subject of technical education; and I rejoice, therefore, to find that I am able to come here to-day to lay the foundation-stone of an institution which I trust will afford material assistance in maintaining and advancing the industries and commercial enterprise of your town. I have very much gratification in complying with your request that I would accept the honorary freedom of your borough, and I shall experience a feeling of pride in signing my name as the first honorary freeman of a town so loyal and prosperous, and that, I am persuaded, has so great a future before it as Blackburn."

To another address by the Freemasons of Blackburn the Grand Master expressed his sense of the compliment paid him by their words of fraternal friendship, and gladly acceded to the wish that the first stone of so important and useful an institution should be laid with Masonic honours, – which was done accordingly.

The Mayoress of Blackburn then, on behalf of the ladies of Blackburn, presented the Princess of Wales with a magnificent diamond brooch representing Industry. Her Royal Highness said a few happy words in acknowledgment. The Prince, it should have been mentioned, received the roll of freedom enclosed in a very handsome gold casket. The Royal visitors wore afterwards entertained at luncheon in the Town Hall, where numerous guests were present. In responding to the loyal toasts the Prince said: —

"You may be assured that we are not likely to forget our visit to Blackburn. The cordial and enthusiastic manner in which you have received us, the beautiful way in which your streets and houses have been decorated, and the wonderful order that was kept throughout will not be forgotten by us. It will afford me, also, great gratification and pleasure to acquaint the Queen with the loyalty which has been shown to the Princess and myself, who are the first members of the Royal families of England who have visited your borough. The objects we have had in view in coming here are, we are sure, excellent ones; and we rejoice that there has been afforded to us the opportunity of laying the foundation-stone of an institution which is likely to do so much good. As the Mayor has said, I do take a sincere interest in all that concerns technical instruction, because I feel convinced that, in a vast country like ours, where so many trades and different manufactures exist, nothing is of such great importance to the well-being of its manufactures and trades as a good sound technical education. We cannot erect too many schools or institutions of the kind in the various parts of the country. The school the foundation-stone of which we have laid to-day has been properly started as a remembrance of the Queen's Jubilee, and, as the special object of it is for the technical education of the operative classes, I sincerely hope that they also will show that they take a great interest in it, and will thoroughly support it. I am glad to hear that there is already existing in this borough a Technical and Art School, which for two years has been in existence. I am told that there are as many as 300 students, and those students who have gone up to London to be examined by the Technical Institute have, I understand, passed the very highest and best examinations. The interest which this town takes in the subject of technical education is a very gratifying one. You must remember that improved talent for the production of more varied and artistic designs in the staple manufacture is essential for the continued prosperity of the town, and the more artisans learn what is necessary to beautify the trade to which they belong, and vary the different specimens which they bring forward, the more likely the town is to flourish. Before sitting down I have a toast to propose to you, 'The Mayor and Corporation of Blackburn, and success to the Blackburn Technical School.' In proposing this toast I am glad to have this opportunity of thanking the Mayor for his kind hospitality and the cordial welcome he has afforded us. He may be assured we shall never forget the kind reception we have received at Blackburn."

The Mayor briefly responded to the toast. The Royal party afterwards proceeded to the Blackburn Railway Station, and left for London.

THE ANGLO-DANISH EXHIBITION

The Anglo-Danish Exhibition at South Kensington had not the official origin of some other similar displays, but the nationality of the scheme, and the promise of its proceeds being applied to a charitable object, secured the patronage of the Prince and Princess of Wales at its opening. This ceremony took place in the Albert Hall, on the 14th of May, 1888.

Their Royal Highnesses were accompanied by the Princesses Louise, Maud, and Victoria of Wales, the Princess Mary of Cambridge and her daughter the Princess Victoria, Prince Karl of Denmark, Prince George of Greece, the Danish Minister, and many distinguished persons. They were received by Lord Amherst, Chairman of the Committee, who presented an address, to which – after the musical and other ceremonies, and the formal opening of the Exhibition by the Princess of Wales – the Prince replied: —

"Lord Amherst, Ladies, and Gentlemen, – In your address you have expressed the hope that the Exhibition will be a success. We most sincerely hope it will be a success in every sense of the word. The objects, as you are well aware, are, first, to pay a compliment to us in respect of the twenty-fifth anniversary of our wedding-day; and, secondly, to aid an institution which is much in need of funds, and one which is most meritorious and useful. You are anxious that money should be obtained in order to build a new Home for Incurables. Very appropriately this Exhibition has been connected with the institution which was the first with which the Princess became connected when she came to this country. I sincerely hope that the endeavours you have made will be successful, and that the Exhibition will be instructive, agreeable, and useful. It must be gratifying to you to see that the King of Denmark has sent over one of his war ships, manned by all those fine young men who are around us, and it is gratifying to all of us, I am sure, to welcome these ladies whose costumes lend such picturesqueness to the scene. We thank you for your very kind reception of us, and I can only assure you that it has given us the greatest pleasure to take part in this very interesting ceremony, and that we wish the Exhibition the most thorough success."

In the evening, the Duke of Cambridge presided at a special festival, in aid of rebuilding the British Home for Incurables at Clapham, which was held in the Conservatory of the Anglo-Danish Exhibition. There was a numerous attendance, and the donations to the building fund amounted to nearly £5000. This Institution, founded in 1861, provides home with every comfort for hopelessly incurable sufferers (except the idiotic, insane, and the blind, for whom there are other asylums), and also gives pensions to out-patients of £20 per annum.

GREAT NORTHERN HOSPITAL, HOLLOWAY ROAD

The Prince of Wales performed the ceremony of opening the new buildings of the Great Northern Hospital, at Islington, on the 17th of July, 1888. He was accompanied by the Princess of Wales, and by the Princesses Louise, Victoria, and Maude. The event caused much interest in the northern part of London, and vast crowds filled the streets and roads. The Rev. W. H. Barlow, Vicar of Islington, and many of the clergy, Mr. Murdoch, M.P., Chairman of the Hospital, and other official persons, received the Royal visitors in a gaily decorated tent. Their Royal Highnesses, however, were attired in deep mourning, on account of the death of the Emperor Frederick of Germany. An address was read, in which it was stated that Islington is the largest parish in England in population. At the beginning of the reign of the Queen it had 40,000 inhabitants, now it has 320,000. The Great Northern Hospital was established in 1857, but in 1882 it was resolved to erect a building more suitable for the increased population. The wish was to make the new hospital a thanksgiving memorial of the Jubilee year.

The Prince of Wales, in replying to the address, said: —

"Ladies and Gentlemen, – I am most anxious, in my own name, and also in that of the Princess, to acknowledge the most cordial and kind words of the address which we have just heard read by the Vestry Clerk, and also for the kind expressions which have fallen from Mr. Murdoch. We are very glad to be able to take part in so interesting a ceremony as this, and we are glad to think that in so large and ever-increasing a population as this in the North of London is, the project of commemorating the Queen's Jubilee should have been so appropriately celebrated by the building of a hospital. We shall shortly have an opportunity of visiting the wards, and I have little doubt that we shall find everything in the most admirable and efficient state. Amongst the many duties we have to perform, none, I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, gives us greater gratification and pleasure than such a function as this, where we come to give our assistance and support to a philanthropic object, and to a cause the object of which is to alleviate the sufferings of our fellow-creatures. I can only express the pleasure it has given us to have it in our power to open this hospital to-day. You are well aware how much we regretted that it was not in our power to come here and open the hospital on the date originally fixed. You are also aware of the cause, and I well know how much you all sympathise with us and the other members of our family in our sorrow and grief. I am glad to have the opportunity of saying, on this public occasion, that my sister has felt deeply that, although thirty years have elapsed since she left this country, her compatriots have not forgotten her, and that they have sympathised with her, that they have felt for her, in the great and overwhelming sorrow which it has pleased God to inflict upon her, I beg to thank you once more for your kind reception of us to-day, and again to assure you of the sincere gratification it has given us to be present."

The Prince resumed his seat amidst loud cheers, and a number of children and young ladies then presented purses to the Princess, the names of the donors being announced by the Secretary. The total of these subscriptions was £1050. This ceremony being finished, their Royal Highnesses left the pavilion to visit the hospital.

The opening of the new Northern hospital in London was the last public function performed by the Prince of Wales before his autumn visit to Austria and other regions of Southern Europe. With it our record of his presence at charitable institutions must close. It has been necessary to make only a selection of his speeches on such occasions. The Hospital for Sick Children, the Chelsea Hospital for Women, Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital, Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, the Holloway Sanatorium at Virginia Water, the Cottage Homes at Weybridge, St. Mary's Hospital, University and King's College Hospitals, the Fever Hospital; these, and many other institutions for the help of the poor or the suffering, have had the advantage of the Prince's advocacy.

There have been also many occasions where he has assisted by his presence or his voice other institutions for educational and philanthropic objects, such as the Marine Society's ship "Warspite," and the training-ship "Worcester," the Windsor and Eton Albert Institute, the Church for the Deaf and Dumb, the Dwelling Houses for working people in Soho, the Alexandra Home at Kensington for Pupils at the Schools of Art and Music; besides more important educational and charitable establishments, such as the St. Anne's Schools at Redhill, for children of the Clergy, and of others whose means are not equal to their position in life. To have given an account of the proceedings, and reports of the speeches on all these occasions would have required the space of two volumes instead of one.

For the same reason it is with regret that the Editor has to omit descriptions of many important and interesting functions both in the Metropolis and throughout the country. The truth is there are few parts of England, certainly few of the great centres of population and industry, which have not been visited by the Prince, generally accompanied by the Princess of Wales, for some purpose of local and often of national utility. Now it is at Birmingham, to open a new Hospital or an Art Gallery. Now it is at Sheffield to open the Park, which was the munificent gift of its Mayor, Mark Firth. Now it is at York, for opening the New Institute. Now it is at Leeds, for inaugurating the Art Exhibition; and at Leeds the Prince addressed an audience which included the Lord Mayors of London and York, and the Mayors of almost every town in Yorkshire, in the Town Hall, opened many years before by the Queen and the Prince Consort. Another year there was a Royal visit to Lancashire, where a new Infirmary was opened at Wigan, an institution praised by the Prince as due as much to the gifts of the working classes as to the liberality of the employers of labour in that great mining district. At Bolton, for the first time in its history honoured by a Royal visit, the Prince opened the Town Hall, one of the finest edifices of the kind in the provinces. At Hull the new Albert Dock was opened, and new docks at Grimsby. Another time the Prince is among the agricultural people, at Dorchester for a Cattle Show, or at Hunstanton for opening a Convalescent Hospital. Or he is at Newcastle, opening the Coble Dene Dock for the Tyne Commission. Or he is at Southampton laying the foundation-stone of a new church for Canon Wilberforce. Another time he is at Worcester, admiring with the Princess of Wales the splendid Porcelain Works, as well as the Cathedral and antiquities of the loyal city. Many other expeditions have been made during these twenty-five years, and it is noteworthy that in places supposed to be the most democratic and independent, as Birmingham and at Sheffield, the reception of the Royal visitors was the most hearty and enthusiastic. Opening the Victoria Hall at Ealing on December the 15th was the occasion of the latest public appearance in 1888. It adjoins the Parish building, and the Free Library, to which the Prince alluded in his brief speech.

Reference has not been made to occasions of a private kind, such as Regimental and Club Dinners, where the presence of the Prince is always welcomed, and what he says is remembered, though not reported. Perhaps it is right to mention the Savage Club, of which many Press reporters are members, and where the Prince made one of his genial addresses, and drew from the Club very acceptable aid towards founding the Musical Scholarships in which he was then interested.

Any one who could see the engagement book of the Prince of Wales during a season would think there is little exaggeration when it is said he is one of the most busy and hard-working of public men. If it cannot be said nulla dies sine lineâ, there are few days on which some important business has not to be attended to, besides his personal or private affairs in town and country. In one of his early addresses, he said that, being excluded by his position from taking active part in political life, he would devote his time to "duties connected with works of charity and of public utility." How far this resolution has been carried out, the readers of this volume have the means of judging.

In many of his speeches the Prince has, in grateful and touching terms, referred to the useful and beneficent services rendered by his revered and lamented father, whose example he desires to follow. That example also influenced the character and the life of the late Emperor of Germany, "Frederick the Noble." In the introduction to the brief biographical memoir of 'Frederick, Crown Prince and Emperor,' recently published by Mr. Rennell Rodd, the widowed Empress – our own Princess Royal – expresses a hope that the book will make his name better known to the English public, and give him a place in their affections beside that of her father, the Prince Consort, "for whom he had so great love, admiration, and veneration." The words of Lord Tennyson are thus recalled with new power: —

"Dear to thy land and ours; a Prince indeed

Beyond all titles, and a household name

Hereafter through all times – Albert The Good."

SPEECHES AT ROYAL ACADEMY BANQUETS

The first appearance of the Prince of Wales at the annual dinner of the Royal Academy, with the short speech made on the occasion, has been given under the date, May 4th, 1863. In many subsequent years the Prince has been a welcome and honoured guest, and has been called to address the company. Instead of giving these speeches in the years when they were delivered, it seems better to group them together. The guests at the banquet are in the main the same year by year. After the Royal and official personages, and notable public men always present, and the Academicians and their friends, there remains not much room for variety in the invitations. If any very distinguished stranger is in London at the time, or some hero of the day, he is pretty certain to be invited, and the speech of such a guest is a distinctive feature in the yearly record of the banquets. There is also effort made to secure some eloquent speakers to reply to some of the toasts given from the Chair. But on the whole there is considerable sameness in the reports, the same toasts being always given, and often the same speakers responding. The Prince of Wales has been more than once complimented for his being able to find fresh material for his speeches at these dinners. The simple art in effecting this is that he takes some topic which is before the public at the time, or refers to his own public acts, which interest the audience on account of his personal popularity. We cannot give all the speeches on these occasions, but the following show the general spirit of them, and the variety of subjects touched by him.

At the banquet of 1866, on the 5th of May, the President, Sir Francis Grant, then recently elected, for the first time occupied the chair. In proposing the health of the Prince of Wales, Sir Francis wished to his Royal guest, "amidst the cares and labours of his exalted station, all the soothing influences of a love of art. He inherits the enlightened appreciation of art, which had distinguished both his illustrious parents. But the title of artist is not confined to the subjects which occupy the Royal Academicians. In England, especially in the Midland counties, a gentleman who particularly distinguishes himself in riding across country after hounds is popularly called an artist. Gentlemen," continued the President, himself an artist of high repute in both senses of the word, "I am able to assure you from my own personal observation, and I feel sure his Grace the Duke of Rutland will bear me out, that His Royal Highness in his recent visit to Leicestershire, in two very severe runs across the Vale of Belvoir, proved himself a first-rate artist in that particular department of art. Since His Royal Highness has proved himself in one sense an artist, may I, if His Royal Highness will forgive my boldness, claim his sympathy for his brother artists of the brush? Allow me to add, the brush is an important element in both departments of art. I beg to say on the occasion alluded to His Royal Highness was most deservedly presented with the brush. I have the honour to propose 'The health of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales and the other members of the Royal Family."