THE PRINCE AND THE PRINTERS.

Evening Star, Issue 14117, 21 July 1909, Page 2

THE PRINCE AND THE PRINTERS.

Speaking at the annual dinner of the Printers' Pension Almshouse and Orphan Asylum Corporation on May 21 last at the Hotel Cecil, H.R.H. tho Prince of Wales said : —"lt is with feelings of sincere gTati--1 tude that I rise to return thanks for the most enthusiastic reception which you have given to the toast which has just been proposed by my friend tho Duke of Marlborough in such kind and sympathetic terms. lam su-io that the Queen and the Princess, and, indeed, all our family, are ever ready to identify themselves in supporting charitable undertakings, which as the Duke truly says, is an essential feature of our public life.—(Cheers.) He was good enough to allude to the visits which the Princess and I made last week to the establishments of the King's Printers and to the office of the ' Daily Telegraph.' It was most interesting to have these glimpses into the gTeat printing world. Wo were astonished at the wonderful mechanical appliances, both in the work of the compositor, in the stereotyping, and in the actual printing machinery, and it was a pleasure to see tho favorable conditions and surroundings'under which all this work is carried out.—(Cheers.) As to myself, the Duke was far too flattering an his' allusions to whatever I have been able to do in the discharge of my public duties.— ("No, no.") I should "like to take this opportunity of expressing my warmest thanks to tliis very large .and representative assembly for so kindly coming here to-night to give me their valuable support! —(Cheers.) And I can only assure you how happy I ami" "to be associated with you ;dl in helping a charity on behalf of tlio.se from whose labors we derive some of the most precious blessings of life. In proposing the toast of prosperity to the Printers' Pension, Almshouse, and Orphan Asylum Corporation, I recall tho names of those to whom this duty has been en'.rusted in the past. I have already mentioned that the King presided at tho dinner in 1895.—(Cheers.) Lord John Russell did so at the first festival in 1828, and among his many distinguished successors were Mr Disraeli, Mr Gladstone, Charles Dickens, Tom Taylor, Dean Stanley, and my uncle the late Duke of Cambridge. They gladly came to plead the cause of this important charity. And is it not one which has claims upon us all? The printer is tho invisible friend of all who have written, all who have read '.'he printing press is the source of the life-blood of the civilised world—stop its pulsations, md collapse, social, political, .and commercial, must inevitably follow.

—The Art of Printing.—

The noble are of printing has been the generous giver of knowledge—religious, scientific, and artistic ; it has been the instntmont of truth, liberty, and freedom.— (Cheers ) It has added to life comfort, recreation, and refinement. And yet, how comparatively recently in the world's history did mankind become possessed of this priceless gift. In 1637, we are told, the Star Chamber limited the number of printers in England to twenty. Fifty yeans later, except in London and at the two Universities. Oxford and Cambridge, there was scarcely a printer in the kingdom ; the only press north of the Trent was at York. In 1724, there were tlrirtyfour counties, including Lancashire, in which there were no printers. In 1901, the census showed that in England and Wales over 107,000 men and nearly 11,000 women wero employed in the printing and lithographic trades'.—(Cheen?.) Until the License Act was abolished in 1695 there was only one newspaper in these islands—the 'London Gazette.'—(Laughter.) Its total circulation was 8,000 copies—much less than one to each palish in the kingdom—and no political intelligence could be published in it without the King's license. Since 1760 the 'London Gazette' has been printed by the house of Harrison. —(Cheers.) The head of »the firm is present to-night—(cheers)—and is the fourth direct descendant of the original founders of the business.' To-day there are some 1,300 daily, weekly, and •monthly publications issued in London alone.(Cheers.) In 1771 the House of Commons issued a proclamation forbidding the publication of debates, six printers who defied it were summoned'to the Bar of the House. To-day 'The Times' supplies us with almost, a verbatim report of the parliamentary debate? by five o'clock' the next morning. In 1852 w'e are told in the ? Life of Delano' that the daily issue of "The Times' was 40,000; the ''Morning Advertiser' rame next, with 7.T00, the remaining principal London papers .averaging s-lichtly over 3,000. —(Laughter.) To-day the printing machines of many of the London morning papers turn out upwards of 20,000 copies per hour; so that within rather more th;m half a century the circulation of the Ixmdon daily Press has increased from tens to hundreds of thousands.— (Cheers.) In the colonies and in India there has been a corresponding development in the art of printing. The official account of our visit to .India in 1905 was published in Bombay, and in all details was the result of Indian work, and would, I imagine, bear comparison with the best of our home productions. —The Printer's Life.— With regard to the printer's life—while legislation and the general advance of civilisation have done much, both regarding lus wages, hours of work, and his surroundings—it is probable that keen com[wtition and modern requirements render it more strenuous than ever. The profession is to be congratulated upon still maintaining the old system of apprenticeship for a term of seven years—(cheers)—wiule, thanks to the excellent cbsses termed in the technical institutions both in London and in the provinces, the apprentices are able to supplement the knowobtained in the workshops, where the work is becoming every year more and more specialised. I hope it will not be considered out of place if I remind my friend the American Ambassador—(cheers) —who has been kind enough to support me this evening, that the great Benjamin Franklin worked as a printer for nearlv two ye.n.rs in London, and the printing press which he used is now in the possession of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. It is an interesting fact that various circumstances have combined to remove, to a considerable extent, book printing from London to the counliy. But besides the. daily and weekly newspapers, most of the magazines and periodicals axe still printed in London, and as all, or nearly all, the daily papers go to press after midnight, we may say that, practically, London sleeps while her printers are working..—(Cheers.) And while we regard it as a matter of course that our newspapers are on the breakfast table, do we realise the industry, thought, attention, and accuracy which has been bestowed on those pages, not only by the printer, but by the correspondents and reporters?— (Cheers.) —Public Men and Newspapers.—

Members of Parliament and public men are, I imagine, quick to recognise with gratitude the consideration with which their utterances arc dealt with in the columns of our newspapers. Sir Robert Peel, the Prime Minister, speaking on this subject, once said : " We ought to consider ourselves greatly indebted to the gentlemen of the Press. For who of us, as We sit at our breakfast table of a morning, would like to see our speech of the previous night reported verbatim?"—(Laughter and cheers.) Perhaps I have said enough to recall what we owe to those on behalf of whom this charity was founded moro than eighty years ago, a charity incorporated by Royal Charter in 1865,_ and comprising the three factors of pensions, almshouses, and orphanage. Its work is excellent, and, in my humble opinion, it possesses one special characteristic which should appeal to the charitable public—it is provident—(cheers) —it is based upon self-help, and therefore encourages thrift. Every member contributes 5s annually, and the pensions are fixed according to the number of years of membership. At the fame time the funds of the institution are largely supported by those who are not candidate's for its assistance—l mean the general public. At the present moment a sum of £6,868 is distributed annually among 418 recipients—-

tho almshouses accommodate thirty-two 'inmates free of charge, while orphan children of printers are supported, clothed, and educated in selected schools. Two days ago the Princess and I had the pleasure of visiting the almshouses at Woodgreen, and can testify to the bright and comfortable homes in which the inmates pass the declining days of their lives.— (Cheers.) The past year has been a successful one, but there is still much to be done; more than 100 deserving cases—many of them over seventy years of age—still remain upon the candidates' list. A most prominent feature of the year has been the continued issue of ' Printers' Pie' by Mr Hugh Spottiswoode. Apart from the substantial sums which it has brought to the funds, its issue has been of the greatest benefit in bringing the work of the corporation before the benevolent public.—(Cheers.) But the success of the corporation is largely due to that host of helpers who sacrifice valuable time and work to assist in its administration and management. To these gentlemen, to those who have generously acted as stewards of this festival, and to Mr Mortimer, the corporation's excellent secretary—(cheers)—l ask you to join with me in expressing our most heartfelt thanks. May I refer to one of our guests present here to-night, Mr J. R, Haworth—(cheers)— who worked for many years as a compositor in London? He has founded a pension, and in other ways contributed generously to the funds. I trust he will forgive me for mentioning the fact that he is in his eighty-ninth year. Ho is one of tho oldest bell-ringers in the Kingdom, and rang at Westminster Abbey at the Coronation of Queen Victoria, at every subsequent anniversary of the birthday of Her Majesty, and at the King's Coronation. We rejoice that he is with us here to-night, and in the enjoyment of good health.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I feel that I have but imperfectly described the history, the aims, the achievements of this splendid institution. So, in conclusion, I will quote the beautiful words witlf which Dean Stanley, seven and thirty years ago, appealed on its behalf, tie said : "Those of us who have read the endless works which ccme from the teeming press of our day must remember that behind the innumerable sheets and the vast mountains of type, and the constant whirl ot machinery, there stands an armv of living, unknown, unseen friends, through whoso close, attentive eyes and ever-busy fingers the light of God, the light of the world, the light of knowledge, the light of grace streams out in countless rays to every corner of our streets and home's. It is lor us to repay that anxious labor, that straining care that wasting vicilanee, and to see hat, when they are dead and gone, hen also, into the dark corners of their bereaved homesteads, ..shall flow the Unlit of consolation, of cheerfulness, and of comfort. -(Cheers.) I wish to apologise for Haying trespassed so long upon your patience. 1 now have the pleasure of riving vou the toast of " Continued Prosperity to the Printers' Pension. Almshouse, and Orphan Asylum Corporation." and in coupling with it the nam* of Mr James Fenn fw'ti "T ? f the Cpuncil - J trust that the result of this year's festival will ♦ hi. m Sll ! >S j antla ! inc , rca « to the funds of this most deserving charity.-(Loud cheers.)