LEGACY WORTH WHILE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 258, 1 November 1932, Page 5

LEGACY WORTH WHILE

MOST ROMANTIC VENTURE FAMOUS EXPOSITION BENEFITS TO POSTERITY In a quiet room in Afarlborough House there takes place every year a board meeting of one of tho most iomantic ventures of tho modern world. In the chair is the Prince of Wales and among his fellow directors are such distinguished figures as Lord Macmillan and Sir Richard Glazebrook. Behind this simple but important meeting, says the News of tho World, there lies the remarkable story of an exhibition which started over 80 years ago, paid handsomely, and still continues to pay. It has been the means of giving hundreds of young men great changes which otherwise would have been denied them. To this amazing institution, which goes under the odd title of “The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851,” they owe their foothold on the ladder of international success.

There is a wonderful air of romance woven round tho great exposition held in London in 1851, and of which Queen Victoria in a letter to the then King of the Belgians wrote: “Dearest Uncle, —I wish you could have witnessed ATay 1, 1851, the greatest day in our history, the most beautiful and imposing and touching spectacle ever seen, and the triumph of my beloved Albert.” A Prince at the Head. A small body of distinguished men, including tho Prince Consort, sat down and thought out how they touid spend tho profits of tho exhibition. Eventually they devised th e novel and successful scheme which survives to this day. There was a surplus fund of nearly £200,000, and, headed by the Prince Consort, a Royal Commission was appointed to deal with it. The Commission included such famous men as Earl Russell, Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Granville. By supplemental charter these commissioners were given the widest powers to deal with the fund in any way most likely to promote the knowledge of science and art. With business-like acumen and initiative the commissioners got down to work and exhaustive inquiries. According to their official report everything pointeik-to “the inadequate and whollv unorganised character of the efforts of both private and public bodies in furthering the interests of science and arts.” The plan eventually proposed was to provide a “locality” where, by the establishment of central institutions working in co-operation with provincial interests, it would be possible to develop a systematic organisation of forces in promoting education in industry. Stroke of Financial Genius. proposal acted upon and the Commission eventually purchased the estate of Kensington Gore. On this estate have been built several museums and colleges. There is, too, the Royal Albert Hall, although the Commission disclaim association with the Albert Alemorial. The stroke of financial genius happened this way. On tho land bought by the Commission were built huge blocks of houses and flats, and thy income from these was applied with care and discrimination in tho best and safest of investments. At the present day it would be a conservative estimate to put the value of the Commission’s contributions to public purposes at nearly £2,000,000. The actual work of the Commission is to give bursaries and scholarships to anyone and everyone with ambition and a willingness to apply himself to study. A miner’s son and a dock labourer’s son have chances equal to those more fortunately placed in life. Tho official records of tho Commission tell many wonderful stories of success—how young men have risen from tho humblest circumstances to positions with four-figure incomes. Hero is an example: About seven years ago tho son of a North Country miner was nominated for a scholarship. What practical en•

gineering he had he improved with technical training. Thon, through tho Commission, he went back to the practical side and started specialising. In a very short time he was offered a position at £2OOO a year. Progressive Prosperity On its art side tho Commission is responsible for the foundation of the British School in Rome, which has turned out some of Britain’s most brilliant artists. Housed in an unpretentious but artistic building in South Kensington, tho Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 is not, as many passers by reading the name-plate might suppose, a semi-obsolete concern, but an up-to-date and prosperous business run by a young and enthusiastic staff. Since the Prince Consort first, conceived the plan of utilising tho surplus funds of the 1851 exhibition, tho concern has been always carefully watched over by Royalty. King Edward, ns Priwce of Wales, evinced a keen interest, and King George, when he was president of the Commission, played an equally active part in th 0 work. Today the Prince of Wales is not only the president but tho Commission’s chief counsellor and friend.