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

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СКАЧАТЬ of July, 1867, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales inaugurated this institution, established under the auspices of the International Education Society. Some years previously a Committee, of which Mr. Cobden and M. Michael Chevalier were members, proposed the formation of an International College, having four principal establishments, in England, France, Germany, and Italy. The pupils were to pursue their studies at each branch in succession. It was to inaugurate the English branch of this institution, at Spring Grove, under the direction of Dr. Leonard Schmitz, formerly Rector of the High School of Edinburgh, that they assembled this day.

      After inspecting the building and grounds, the visitors assembled at luncheon, the chair being occupied by Mr. Paulton, the treasurer of the College, having on his right the Prince of Wales, and on his left the Duc d'Aumale. The Prince de Joinville and the Comte de Paris were also among the guests. On the health of the Prince of Wales being proposed, he replied as follows: —

      "Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen, – I beg to thank you for the kind manner in which you have drunk my health, and for the feeling and touching sympathy you have evinced for the Princess of Wales. I can assure you it gives me the greatest gratification to be present to-day to inaugurate this College under the auspices of the International Education Society. I sincerely trust that this propitious weather and the goodly company I see around me may be omens of the future of this institution. The site of this College is all that can be desired, and I know that its management will be so administered as to fulfil to the utmost the anticipations of its promoters. There is now room for 80 pupils within its walls, and when the new wings are completed it will be capable of accommodating twice, probably treble, that number. There are, I understand, two sister institutions abroad – one in Germany, and the other in France; and after the pupils have completed their studies here they can avail themselves of the advantages of these institutions to perfect themselves in modern Continental languages.

      "I am not going to discuss the relative claims on our attention of the living and dead languages; but I believe it to be most important that modern languages should form one of the principal subjects of study on grounds of practical utility. No persons were ever more deeply impressed with this fact than my late lamented father, and another man whose name is now celebrated through England, Richard Cobden. I have travelled a great deal on the Continent, and I am confident that I should have found my sojourn in these countries far less pleasant than it was if I had not possessed a considerable knowledge of the vernacular of the people.

      "I thank you again sincerely for the manner in which you have drunk my health, and I shall convey to the Princess the deep sympathy you have evinced for her in her illness, the enthusiastic affection with which you have received her name, and your warm good wishes for her speedy restoration to health. Before sitting down I beg to propose a toast, which I am sure you will receive with every demonstration of approbation. It is "Success to the London College of the International Education Society." With that toast I beg to couple the name of Dr. Schmitz, whose pupil, I am proud to say, I once was while studying in the city of Edinburgh."

      The toast having been received with great enthusiasm, Dr. Schmitz, in reply, said he had to thank His Royal Highness for the kindness of heart with which he had spoken of his humble name, and hoped that the College so happily inaugurated would have a prosperous issue. The distinctive feature of the institution was that in it the study of modern languages and natural sciences were to be largely pursued. The dead languages, however, were not to be ignored. They protested only against the exclusive study of classical literature. He had himself devoted his life to letters, but at the same time he fully recognized the claims of the modern continental tongues and the natural sciences, by which the civilization and progress of the world were unquestionably advanced. Professor Huxley then proposed the "Health of the Committee of Management," coupling with it the name of the chairman. The Chairman having briefly replied, the meeting broke up, and the visitors dispersed throughout the grounds for promenade.

      THE VICEROY OF EGYPT, ISMAIL PASHA, AT THE MANSION HOUSE

July 11th, 1867

      Among the many illustrious rulers of foreign nations who have been entertained by the Lord Mayor of London, have been three Viceroys of Egypt. On the 11th of July, 1867, at a banquet at the Mansion House, a distinguished company assembled to meet his Highness the Viceroy, Ismail Pasha. Twenty-one years previously, the father, and on a subsequent occasion the brother of the Viceroy had been similarly honoured in the capital of the British Empire. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Teck, Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, many of the ambassadors of foreign powers, and the most eminent men of all shades of political opinion were among the company.

      The reply of the Viceroy, to the toast, given by the Lord Mayor, was responded to in his native tongue, and interpreted by Nubar Pasha in French: "If Egypt had rendered services to England, chiefly in facilitating communication with India, his country was only acknowledging the debt due to this country for the benefits received in promoting the material and the moral progress of his people."

      The next toast was the health of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the other members of the Royal Family, to which the Prince thus responded: —

      "My Lord Mayor, your Royal Highnesses, my Lords, Ladies, and Gentlemen, I beg to thank you most warmly and sincerely for the kind manner in which you, my Lord Mayor, have proposed my health and that of the Princess of Wales, and the other members of the Royal Family; and to thank the company here present for the way in which it has been received. I need not assure you, my Lord Mayor, that to have been invited here this evening has been a source of great pleasure to me. Under any circumstances I always feel it a great compliment to be invited to the hospitable board of the Lord Mayor and the Corporation of the city of London.

      "But this evening we have been invited here to do honour to a guest, and that guest the Viceroy of Egypt. As the Lord Mayor has very truly remarked, England and Egypt, though far distant from one another, though very different from one another in religion and in habits, are countries which have been, and will continue to be, closely allied to one another. We have every reason to be grateful to the Viceroy and to his Government for the means he has afforded us of visiting that country, and for the great hospitality that he has shown to us on all occasions. I myself received distinguished marks of kindness under the rule of his brother, the late Viceroy, in 1862. Nothing could exceed the kindness and courtesy with which I was treated, and the facilities with which I was enabled to visit that most interesting country. We are also indebted to the Viceroy and the Egyptian Government for the great facilities he has afforded our troops in their transit to India.

      "Egypt, as has been remarked, is a country that is fast improving in every way. Manufactures are rising on all sides – especially the manufacture of cotton. I myself visited a very important sugar manufactory, and it was interesting to find that there were English, French, and German workmen employed in that manufactory.

      "I do not wish, my Lord Mayor, to take up more of your time this evening, knowing that there are other toasts to be proposed. I will, therefore, conclude by again thanking you once more for the honour you have done me in drinking my health, and for the very kind expressions you have used towards the Princess of Wales. I know I only express her feelings when I say that she has been deeply touched by that universal good feeling and sympathy which has been shown to her during her long and painful illness. Thank God she has now nearly recovered, and I trust that in a month's time she will be able to leave London and enjoy the benefits of fresh air."

      FESTIVAL OF ST. PATRICK

March 17th, 1868

      On various occasions, the Prince of Wales has shown on Irish soil, his sympathy with the people of the Sister Isle, and has been always welcomed with warm and loyal feeling by the mass of the population. He has given practical proof of his good feeling for the Irish nation by being a patron and supporter of the Benevolent Society of St. Patrick, in the schools of which the children of poor Irish parents residing in the Metropolis receive education and other benefits.

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