Speeches and Addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales: 1863-1888 - King of Great Britain Edward VII

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of their Royal Highnesses the pupils sang the old Hundredth Psalm, the National Anthem having been previously played by military bands as the procession moved towards a daïs, beneath a marquee on the lawn. An Address was read, concluding with the expression of a hope that the Prince and Princess would allow their names to be enrolled as Vice-Patron and Vice-Patroness of the Asylum, of which the Queen is Patron. The Prince made the following reply:—

      "It has given the Princess and myself great pleasure to be present at the opening of your most excellent Asylum, and to have been invited to take part in so good a work. The benevolent purposes of this widely-extended institution speak for themselves. It is one in which the Queen and my lamented father, the promoter of every scheme for the relief of the miserable, evinced a warm interest, and the details which you have given of its formation and progress furnish another appeal for aid from those whose highest enjoyment it is to give a home and education to the fatherless and destitute. It is a privilege, I assure you, that the Princess and myself value greatly to have our names associated with the British orphan Asylum."

      The Prince then formally declared the building to be for ever dedicated to the purposes of the British orphan Asylum, and also announced the munificent gift of £12,000 from Mr. Edward Mackenzie to the building fund. The Bishop of Bath and Wells offered prayer; a choral was sung, and many purses were presented in the offertory. Trees were also planted in commemoration of the day.

      Eleven years later, the Prince presided at the anniversary festival of the Asylum. He then said that he felt a special interest in the institution, which he had visited along with the Princess of Wales so many years before. In his speech at that festival he spoke more fully of the objects and merits of the Asylum, as will be seen in the report under the date of the festival in May 1874.

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      July 8th, 1863.

      After the visit to Guildhall, the common hall of all the City Guilds or Companies, the civic event of most importance was when, on the 8th of July, 1863, the Prince went to the City to take up his freedom in the Mercers' Company, and to enroll his name on their records.

      It was a fitting thing thus early to show his attachment to ancient Guilds and Corporate Constitutions. The Mercers' Company is the first in rank, and the most ancient of all the great City Guilds, and its roll of members is one of the most illustrious. Its existence as a Metropolitan Guild can be traced as far back as the year 1172, and the Company received its incorporation in 1392 from Richard II., who conferred upon it the honour of becoming one of its brethren. Besides the Royal names of King Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth, the Company can boast those of Sir Richard Whittington, William Caxton the Printer, Sir Thomas Gresham, and Dean Colet, the founder of St. Paul's School. The address to the Prince was read by the Master Warden, the Rev. Markland Barnard, who had the distinction of representing the fourteenth generation of his family, who had been freemen or wardens of the Company ever since the third year of Henry IV.

      To this address the Prince listened with marked attention, and then replied, in a clear and pleasing tone, which those who heard it said he inherited from his Royal mother:—

      The Prince then subscribed the Oath of the Company, with its quaint old phraseology, affixing his usual signature, Albert Edward, P.

      The Clerk then presented His Royal Highness with the formal document which enrolled him as a Freeman, enclosed in a massive gold casket of exquisite design and workmanship. The numerous visitors who had witnessed the ceremony afterwards had a déjeuner in the Banqueting Hall, the Prince with a small number of select guests being at the same time entertained in the Council Room.

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      May 18th, 1864.

      In the last annual Report of the Royal Literary Fund, for 1888, it is said: "The anniversary of 1864 was memorable as the first public dinner presided over by the Prince of Wales, to whose presence in the chair the Institution is indebted for a success altogether unprecedented in the history of its anniversaries."

      The annual Report for 1864 contains a detailed account of the proceedings at that meeting, the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Institution. It was natural that a large number of eminent men should assemble to support the youthful Chairman, whose illustrious father had presided at the fifty-third anniversary, in 1842. In the long list of Stewards, in 1864, appear the names of almost all those most distinguished at that time, not only in Literature, but in Art and Science, and in every department of the public service. Upwards of four hundred attended, and the special donations to the fund at the dinner amounted to £2328 17s., a sum then far in advance of any profit of former anniversaries. This amount has only once since been exceeded, when the King of the Belgians presided, in 1872.

      In commemoration of Prince Albert's presidency, Her Majesty was graciously pleased to grant to this Institution the privilege of bearing the Crown as an addition to its Armorial bearings, and the style of the Institution was thenceforth that of "The Royal Literary Fund." Her Majesty confers upon it the sanction of her name as its Patron, and has shown her interest by an annual benefaction of One Hundred Guineas, ever since the year of her Accession.

      By the donations and subscriptions of members of the Corporation, with the addition of legacies, and the profits obtained at the anniversary festivals, the Royal Literary Fund has been enabled, since its foundation in the latter part of the eighteenth century, to dispense upwards of £105,000 to needy persons of the literary class.

      The importance and the benefits of the Institution will more clearly appear from a brief statement of the proceedings at the Festival over which H.R.H. the Prince of Wales presided. The dinner was served in St. James's Hall on Wednesday, May 18th. Grace was said by the Lord Primate of Ireland. After the removal of the cloth, and the singing of the "Deum Laudate," the Prince rose to propose the first toast:—

      "The first toast I have the honour to propose is 'The health of Her Majesty the Queen, our munificent Patron;' a toast which I feel sure will be drunk with the enthusiasm which it elicits on all public occasions. Although the Queen is now compelled, to a certain extent, to withdraw from public life, still her interest in every institution of this country, and particularly in charitable institutions, remains undiminished. Gentlemen, I give you 'The Queen.'"

      The next toast was proposed by the Marquis of Salisbury, "The health of Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family." The toast was drunk with all the honours and responded to by His Royal Highness the Chairman. "The Church" having been proposed by the Rt. Hon. Edward Cardwell, and responded to by the Archbishop of Armagh, H.R.H. the Chairman proposed the toast of "The Army, Navy, and Volunteers," saying:—

      "This is a toast which it gives me especial pleasure to propose from the circumstance of my having served for a time with both infantry and cavalry. Short as my service was, it has been long enough to impress me with the conviction of the efficiency

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