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1887. NEW ZEALAND.
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. (CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO THE ORIGINATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME.)
Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency .
No. 1. The Agent-Genebal to the Colonial Tbeasueee. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 19th June, 1886. At the request of the Duke of Manchester I transmit herewith copy of a letter addressed to me by His Grace on the subject of a permanent Colonial Museum in this country. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure in No. 1. Eoyal Colonial Institute, Northumberland Avenue, Sir,— London, W.C., 17th June, 1886. On behalf of the Council of the Eoyal Colonial Institute I beg to address you on the subject of the establishment of a Colonial Museum in London. As will appear by their annual reports, the Council have long been deeply impressed with the paramount importance of the establishment of a Colonial Museum in London. The Exhibition now open affords an opportunity which will never again present itself for the formation of such a museum, wherein the resources, products, and manufactures of the various colonies may be preserved for public inspection and instruction. In furtherance of these views the Council hope that you will, at the earliest possible opportunity, bring this matter under the notice of the Government of the colony you represent, and they trust that you may be authorized to confer with the High Commissioner for Canada and the several AgentsGeneral in London, so that a combined and strenuous effort may be made to prevent the dispersion at the close of the Exhibition of the magnificent display now on view at South Kensington. The Council have expressed their readiness to co-operate, as far as lies in their power, in carrying out any well-considered plan for the accomplishment of this important object. A similar letter has been addressed to the Secretary of State for the Colonies with a request that the Crown Agents may be instructed to join with the High Commissioner for Canada and the several Agents-General in any conference they may hold on the subject. I have, &c, Sir F. Dillon Bell, K.C.M.G., . Manchester, Agent-General for New Zealand, Chairman of the Council. 7, Westminster Chambers, S.W.
No. 2. The Agent-Genebal to the Colonial Tbeasukee. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 15th July, 1886. The question "of the formation of a permanent Colonial Exhibition or Museum in this country, and the alternative of continuing the present Exhibition for a time, have lately attracted much attention and interest, and various suggestions have been made as to the steps that ought to be taken to carry out the project. It was felt on all sides, however, that as the idea of a permanent Colonial Exhibition had been brought before the respective Governments by the Prince of Wales in his circular despatch of November, 1884, the initiative for any project now could only come from His Eoyal Highness. Several meetings have been held of members of the Eoyal Commission, at the instance of the Prince, the first being on the 22nd June, to receive a message from His Eoyal Highness. I. transmit to you herewith some confidential notes of the proceedings. I—A. 9.
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The discussion at that meeting led to the idea that it might be possible to continue the existing Exhibition almost in its present shape by resorting to the method of guarantee. It is supposed that there will be a surplus of nearly £50,000 from the present Exhibition, which would form an initial fund of perhaps adequate amount. A further meeting took place yesterday, when a communication was made to us from His Eoyal Highness to the effect that if there was a prospect of the movement being carried out by means of a guarantee he would willingly place himself at its head, and communicate to the respective Governments his view of the best steps to take now. A long discussion ensued, and I hope by the next mail to be able to give you more complete information than I am to-day. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
No. 3. The Peemiee, New South Wales, to the Peemiee. Sib, — Treasury, New South Wales, Sydney, sth August, 1886. I have the honour to forward you a copy of a letter received from the Agent-General of this colony enclosing a copy of a communication addressed to him on the subject of the proposed establishment at the close of the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of a Colonial Museum. Assuming that similar representations have been made to you on this subject, I shall be glad if you will, at as early a date as may be convenient, favour me with an intimation of the course which your Government intends to pursue with regard to it. I have, &c, (No signature) The Hon. the Premier, New Zealand. Peemiee. [Note. —Enclosure same as in No. I.]
No. 4. The Peemiee to the Peemiee, New South Wales. Sib,— 6th September, 1886. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth ultimo asking for an intimation of the course this Government intends to pursue with regard to the proposed establishment of a Colonial Museum in London at the close of the present Indian and Colonial Exhibition. I have now the honour to inform you that, after giving the matter the utmost consideration, this Government have reluctantly arrived at the conclusion that at present it is not in its power to assist in the establishment of such a museum. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Sydney, New South Wales. Eobeet Stout.
No. 5. The Agent-Genebal to the Colonial Teeasueee. Bib,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 27th July, 1886. In continuation of my letter of the 15th instant, No. 890, I transmit herewith the minutes of what took place at the second meeting there mentioned, together with a circular memorandum by the Prince of Wales, as Executive President of the Eoyal Commission, bringing before the respective Colonial Governments the views of His Eoyal Highness respecting the continuance of the present Colonial and Indian Exhibition, and the conditions on which he would himself be willing to retain the executive presidency. These conditions are, I believe, what the members of the Eoyal Commission and others who were present at the meetings had always understood the Prince considered necessary, with one exception—namely, that of an annual grant by the respective colonies. The proposal discussed at the second meeting was for a continuance of the Exhibition by means of a renewal of the existing guarantee fund, and the opinion which then seemed to preponderate was certainly adverse to an annual grant by the colonies in addition to the guarantee. When, therefore, His Eoyal Highness's memorandum was received by the Commissioners, this point seemed to me so important that I suggested to Sir Phillip Owen to have another meeting, as it was obviously undesirable for any proposal to come from the Prince which was not likely to be accepted by the colonial Governments; but he replied that the condition of an annual grant could not be altered. The whole question is now placed before the Governments for their decision, and the Prince asks that this decision may be communicated to him by telegram before the close of the present Exhibition in October; but I hardly see how this can be done if an annual grant remains one of the conditions, as the Australasian Parliaments may not be in session. I have, &c., The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
No. G. The Chief Seceetaby, Queensland, to the Peemiee. The Hon. Premier, Wellington, New Zealand. What action, if any, do you propose to take with respect to the suggestion to continue the Indian and Colonial Exhibition. We are prepared ta let our exhibits remain and supplement them from time to time, and perhaps also to continue guarantee, but are not disposed to make annual contribution to expenses. Brisbane 13th September, 1886. Chief Seceetaey.
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No. 7. The Pbemieb to the Agent-Genebal. Agent-General, London. Wellington, 17th September, 1886. Exhibition proposals. We are communicating with other colonies enable us to learn their views.
No. 8. The Peince of Wales to His Excellency the Goveenob. Governor, Wellington. Eefeebing to suggestion already communicated as to permanency of present Exhibition, I now propose that memorial of Queen's Jubilee should take form of permanent Imperial institution of colonies and India, comprising display of colonial and Indian resources. Contributions in aid institution to be solicited from Governments and public here, and all parts of Empire to be vested in Board. Trustees appointed by Sovereign, under permanent presidency heir-apparent Throne. Glad to be favoured with your views by cable, and to hear whether your Government prepared recommend annual grant for certain number years, or, if preferred, sum down. London, 20th September, 1886. Peince of Wales.
No. 9. His Excellency the Goveenob to His Eoyal Highness the Peince of Wales. Prince of Wales, London. 22nd September, 1886. My Government heartily thank your Eoyal Highness for so gratifying a proposal as that of permanently associating the colonies with the celebration of the Queen's Jubilee by the foundation of an institution to enduringly record their progress. My Government will join the Governments of the neighbouring colonies in taking the steps necessary to give effect to the proposal. Goveenob.
No. 10. The Acting Colonial Seceetaey, Western Australia, to the Pbemieb. The following reply has been this day sent by Governor Sir Frederick Broome to His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales's telegram of the 19th instant, proposing the formation in London, in celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee, of a permanent Imperial Institute of the colonies and India : " Eeplying to your Eoyal Highness's telegram beg to state that Legislature of this colony has voted £5,000 for celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee, on condition I appoint commission to consider best method of spending the money. I will at once appoint the commission and lay your Eoyal Highness's telegram before it, and am communicating with other Governments of Australia with view to harmonious action. If other colonies come forward in proportion to their means as Western Australia has done, any project decided on can be nobly carried out. Will telegraph immediately decision has been arrived at." Sir Frederick Broome would be glad to learn at the earliest possible moment the method of proceeding you propose to adopt in dealing with this matter in your colony. You will no doubt agree that it is desirable that the action of Australian and New Zealand Governments should be united and harmonious, and it is suggested that the contribution of colonies to the proposed Institute should be in proportion to population. We shall be glad to learn your opinion, and should you decide to contribute, to be informed to what amount, and in what manner, whether annually or by a lump sum. Perth, 21st September, 1886. Acting Colonial Seceetaey.
No. 11. The Chief Secbetaey, Queensland, to the Peemiee. Hon. Chief Secretary, New Zealand. I have advised administrators to reply to Prince of Wales's telegram as to the proposed institution, to convey to His Eoyal Highness the thanks of this Government for the proposal, and to assure him that the colony willingly co-operate with the other Australian colonies in giving effect to it, but that they are unable to state what recommendation they will make to Parliament on the subject until they are in possession of more detailed information as to the probable cost of the proposed institution, and have had an opportunity of consulting tho other colonial Governments on the matter. Brisbane, 23rd September, 1886. Chief Seceetaey.
No. 12. The Peemiee, Tasmania, to the Peemiee. The Premier, Sumner. Queen's Jubilee memorial. This Government will recommend Parliament to make adequate contribution, but await further information and as to cost before taking definite action. 25th September. Peemiee, Tasmania.
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No. 13. The Peemiee, Victoria, to the Peemiee. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. Peoposed permanent Institute in London. I have telegraphed to Agent-General for fuller information as to cost, &c. Will communicate with you receipt of his reply. Melbourne, 28th September. D. Gillies, Premier.
No. 14. The Peemiee, Victoria, to the Peemiee. The Hon. the Premier, New Zealand. Be proposed Colonial Institute in honour of Queen's Jubilee. Western Australia has already voted £5,000 for celebration of Queen's Jubilee. If the other six colonies are willing to grant £20,000 collectively for the proposed institution, I will recommend to Parliament that this colony contribute its. proportion on basis of estimated population. Will you kindly say if this proposal meets your views. Melbourne, sth October. D. Gillies, Premier.
No. 15. The Peemiee to the Peemiee of Victoria. Premier, Melbourne. Wellington, sth October, 1886. Peoposed Colonial Institute. Your proposal agreed to by this Government. Will recommend Parliament accordingly. Eobeet Stout, Premier.
No. 16. The Peemiee to the Agent-General. Sie,— Premier's Office, Wellington, 7th October, 1886. Eeferring to the telegrams, &c, that we have received about the proposal to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee by the founding of the Colonial and Indian Institute in London, I think it right to enclose for your information the telegrams that have passed between His Excellency the Governor, His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, and the Premier of Victoria and ourselves. You will observe from them that we concur in the proposal that has been made to aid in the founding of such an Institute, and that we have agreed to the proposal made by the Premier of Victoria. I have, &c, Sir F. Dillon Bell, K.C.M.G., C.8., Agent-General. Eobeet Stout.
No. 17. The Peemiee, New South Wales, to the Peemiee. Eefeeeing to the proposed establishment in London of Queen's Jubilee Memorial Institute, which is to comprise display of resources of colonies and India, and to take the place of the proposed permanent Colonial Exhibition, I would suggest that in view of the great advantages which would accrue to these colonies from the successful carrying out of the proposal, and also having regard to the formation of the proposed Institute, a joint contribution, by way of a sum down, of say thirty or forty thousand pounds, be made by the Australian colonies and New Zealand, in aid of the establishment of such Institute. The contribution might be borne by the colonies either equally or in proportion to population. If considered necessary, a meeting of representatives of different Governments might be held to interchange views and decide upon the most appropriate manner of giving effect, as far as these colonies are concerned, to the proposals. The amount of the suggested contributions might hardly seem to warrant such a meeting, but when it is remembered that upon the way [sic], by the colonies as a whole, the success of the proposed Institute materially depends, a meeting may not appear to be altogether out of place. There can be no doubt that the colonies would benefit to a very large extent by the establishment of the proposed Institute, and while the benefit obtained by its means would be just as valuable, if not more so, than would be secured by the establishment and maintenance of an expensive permanent Colonial Exhibition, it would be obtained at much less cost. Please favour me with your views at your earliest convenience. Sydney, 14th October. P. A. Jennings, Premier.
No. 18. The Peemiee to the Peemiee, New South Wales. Impeeial Institute. Eeply your telegram. Government already agreed proposed Victorian contribution twenty thousand rateably divided. If other parts British dominions subscribe similarly immense sum will result. Whilst Institute great compliment to colonies, meant comprehend whole Empire, and ostentatious donations might offend other parts. Besides, Governments should not discourage colonists who have amassed great wealth from following liberal instincts. Colonies also will be at yearly cost. Therefore think these "colonies better adhere proposed contribution ; but, if you still think inadequate, graceful action your colony as oldest, and because of great size and wealth giving special donation besides contribution. As regards conference, one probably desirable later, when management under consideration. E. Stout, Premier.
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No. 19. The Peemier, Victoria, to the Peemiee. Premier, New Zealand, Dunedin. Be Jubilee Memorial Institute. Eeferring to my telegram of sth instant, to Sir Patrick Jenning's suggestion, that our contribution should be thirty thousand or forty thousand pounds, before coming to final conclusion, perhaps it would be well to await result of interview between Prince of Wales and Agents-General, which Press telegrams announce to be held. Will have better idea then as to what is required. Melbourne, 21st October. ___^_ m _ - ______________. B- GILLIES > Premier.
No. 20. The Agent-Geneeal to the Colonial Teeasueee. Sie, — 7, Westminster Chambers, S.W., 22nd September, 1886. I received in due course your telegram of 17th instant, stating that you were communicating with the other colonics in order to ascertain their views on the suhject of the proposals for a permanent Colonial Museum, which were recently renewed by the Prince of Wales. Since then, the matter has assumed a somewhet different shape, His Eoyal Highness having proposed to commemorate the Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign by the establishment of an Imperial Institute, to represent the arts, manufactures, and commerce of the Queen's colonial and Indian Empire. I transmit to you herewith a print of the correspondence which has just taken place between His Eoyal Highness and the Lord Mayor, explaining the proposal, together with a telegram which the Prince has sent to the Viceroy of India and the Governors of the colonies, inviting their co-operation in the project, and asking whether their respective Governments would be prepared to make an annual grant to such an Institute for a certain number of years, or to give a sum down. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosures in No. 20. His Eoyal Highness the Peince of Wales to the Loed Mayoe. Dear Loed Mayoe,— Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.W., 13th September, 1886. My attention has been frequently called to the general anxiety that is felt to commerate in some special manner the approaching Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign. It appears to me that no more suitable memorial could be suggested than an Institute which should represent the arts, manufactures, and commerce of the Queen's colonial and Indian Empire. Such an institution would, it seems to me, be singularly appropriate to the occasion, for it would illustrate the progress already made during Her Majesty's reign in the colonial and Indian dominions, while it would record year by year the development of the Empire in the arts of civilization. It would thus be deeply interesting to Her Majesty's subjects, both within and beyond these Islands, and would tend to stimulate emigration to those British territories where it is required, to expand the trade between the different British communities, and to draw closer the bonds which unite the Empire. It would bo at once a museum, an exhibition, and the proper locality for the discussion of colonial and Indian subjects. That public attention has already been forcibly directed to these questions is sufficiently proved by the remarkable success which is attending the Colonial and Indian Exhibition at South Kensington, and I confidently anticipate that arrangements may be made whereby the more important collections, which have so largely contributed to this success, will be placed at the disposal of the institution. I have much satisfaction in addressing this letter to your Lordship as Chief Magistrate of the capital of the Empire, and to invite your co-operation in the formation of this Imperial Institute of the colonies and India, as the memorial of Her Majesty's Jubilee by her subjects. Should your Lordship concur in this proposal, and be willing to open a fund at the Mansion House, I would suggest that the contributions received be vested in a body of trustees, whom the Sovereign would be asked to nominate, and I would further suggest that the institution should be under the permanent presidency of the heir-apparent to the Throne. I have, &c, The Eight Hon. the Lord Mayor. , Albeet Edwabd P.
The Loed Mayor of London to His Eoyal Highness the Peince of Wales, E.G. Sir,— The Mansion House, London, E.C., 17th September, 1886. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Eoyal Highness's letter of the 13th instant, and in reply to express the great pleasure it will afford me to give the heartiest co-opera-tion and aid in the formation of the proposed Imperial Institute of the colonies and India as the memorial of Her Majesty's Jubilee by her subjects. Your Eoyal Highness truly states that general anxiety is felt to commemorate in some special manner the approaching Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign. There will, lam sure, be an universal desire to give expression in a suitable and, if possible, adequate way, to the deep attachment, veneration, and loyalty which the Queen's subjects in all parts of her vast dominions entertain for a Sovereign whose long and illustrious reign has been productive, under Providence, of many blessings to her people, and been rendered memorable by the striking progress in civilization and prosperity developed throughout the Empire.
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Difficult as it may be to signalize in a commensurate way the feelings which are thus naturally emphasised at the approach of the Jubilee of Her Majesty's reign, I am convinced that the proposal which your Eoyal Highness indicates, and which has the support of your influence, will be considered singularly appropriate. It will, therefore, give me much satisfaction to open a fund at the Mansion House for the receipt of contributions, as suggested by your Eoyal Highness. I have, &c, John Staples, His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, K.G. Lord Mayor.
The Prince of Wales to all Governors of Colonies, to Viceroy of India, and to Governors of Madras and Bombay. (Telegram.) With reference to my suggestion as to permancy of present Exhibition, papers concerning which were transmitted to you on the 21st July, I now propose that memorial of Queen's Jubilee should take the form of a permanent Imperial institution of the colonies and India, which would comprise display of colonial and Indian resources. Contributions in aid of institution to be solicited from the Governments and public, both here and in all parts of Empire. Funds to be vested in Board of Trustees appointed by Sovereign. Institution to be under permanent presidency of heirapparent to Throne. Shall be glad to be favoured with your views on this subject by cable, and to hear whether your Government is prepared to recommend an annual grant for certain number of years, or, if preferred, a sum down.
No. 21. The Agent-Genebal to the Colonial Tbeasueee. Treasurer, New Zealand. Exhibition. Cunliffe Owen accepts charge behalf Prince Wales whatever exhibits, either given or lent, and colonies relieved further working expenses ; shall therefore make temporary provision accordingly. London, 6th November.
No. 22. The Agent-Genebal to the Colonial Teeasueee. Treasurer, New Zealand. London, 18th November, 1886. Institute. Position suddenly changed. Prince now decides no reopening June, and new committee cannot receive exhibits. Am therefore arranging until instructions received. Information necessary to enable Government to decide is being sent by to-clay's mail.
No. 23. The Agent-General to the Premier. To Premier, New Zealand. London, 3rd December, 1886. Institute. Joint Agents-General telegram gone Adelaide for repetition. " Prince's committee in communication with Agents-General, and concurrence of Prince have remodelled basis of Institute. Name, ' Imperial Institute for United Kingdom, Colonies and India.' Half entire space in no way inferior to other half reserved for colonies and India. Each colony to have control of its section, and colonies to have fair share in general management. Also contemplated to have from time to time exhibitions of specific industries and products. Buildings constructed before opening. We have stated colonies contributing lump sum no further grant for administration can be expected from them. On your approval being received scheme will be definitely adopted."
No. 24. The Premier to the Agent-General. To Agent-General, London. Wellington, 14th December, 1886. Institute modifications approved.
No. 25. The Agent-General to the Colonial Treasurer. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 2nd November, 1886. The Prince of Wales assembled the Executive Commissioners of the Exhibition on the 24th October and delivered^an address to them, of which a report is enclosed herewith. I also send some notes of the first meeting of the Commissioners, held to consider the address; a second meeting was held yesterday, the report of which is not yet in print; and a third meeting will be held at the end of this week. The proposal for the creation of the Imperial institution has now reached a somewhat embarrassing stage. When His Eoyal Highness called the Executive Commissioners together last
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June and July to explain the outline of his plan, the new institution was to be based upon a continuance of the existing guarantee fund; the surplus from the present Exhibition, then estimated to be £50,000, was to be devoted to it, and it was to be self-supporting. The plan was more fully defined in His Eoyal Highness's circular memorandum of the 21st July, together with the conditions on which he would place himself at the head of the institution. This memorandum was immediately sent out by us to our Governments, 'with His Eoyal Highness's request that their answer should be sent to him by telegraph before the end of October. Thus the matter stood until the Prince proposed to the Lord Mayor to establish the institution as a special memorial of the Jubilee of the Queen's reign. Immediately afterwards, on the 15th September, His Eoyal Highness sent a telegram to the Viceroy of India and Governors of colonies, asking them either to give an annual grant to the institution, or (if they preferred it) a capital sum down. Whatever is given, I suppose it may be taken for granted that it will be in the form of a sum down, and not an annual grant. Now the Prince calls the Commissioners together again and repeats the same questions he put before. He still asks that the exhibits should not be allowed to be dispersed, but be retained as a nucleus for the permanent collection at the new institution ; that the Governments should give their own exhibits, and try to induce as many private exhibitors as possible to do the same; and that the exhibits should still be under the "personal and continued superintendence" of the Executive Commissioners until the organisation of the institution is completed. They will be housed as they are in the respective courts after the Exhibition is closed, a small staff being retained by the Eoyal Commission to look after them and arrange for their safety; and as the permanent structure must take a long time, the present buildings will have to represent it for the time being, the courts being practically reopened as they are next year by the Queen. Further, His Eoyal Highness asks the Executive Commissioners, as the details of the practical arrangements to be made must surely have engaged their attention during all this time, to give him their ideas as to what plan would most conduce to success, and be most acceptable to the Governments—collectively if possible, if not, then separately. Now, as to the exhibits, His Eoyal Highness's questions are practically answered. Canada, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, New Zealand, the West Indies, and the Cape will all place their Government exhibits (or others as good) at his disposal; South Australia wants hers back for her own exhibition; Tasmania is sure to send some; India and the Crown colonies will no doubt give whatever of theirs is unsold. Most of the Canadian private exhibits will also be left for the reopening, and in a short time answers can be got as to the private exhibits of the other colonies. For the present, therefore, a good necleus for the institution is ensured. But all this does not advance us any nearer to the answer that must be given to the Prince about continuing the superintendence of the Commissioners over their respective courts, and preparing for the reopening next year. The Governments cannot be expected to say what they will do until they know what they will be committed to in the way of cost, and up to this time none of us have been able to tell our Governments what the cost will be. On the other hand, it is impossible to expect that the Prince can be in a position to make up his mind yet about the details of his scheme. Everthing- depends on the amount of the general fund he is able to raise. It may be a very large one, in which case the English subscribers will of course have a right to a potential voice in its disposal; or it may be so small that the project cannot be carried out at all. No one can tell until the amount of the subscriptions, English and colonial, is known. But in the meantime His Eoyal Highness can say what he intends about the expense connected with the reopening of the courts; and I think we might on our parts say this to him: " Our Governments have got together a great collection. The total sum represented by what they have done is very large. If they now give you their own exhibits, and induce private exhibitors to do the same, that of itself will be a great contribution to your project. They are willing to give, in addition, a capital sum in money down to your general fund; they will continue to give you the most cordial assistance in any work you want done, whether for the care of the exhibits till next year, or for the reopening of the Exhibition, or for the supervision of the courts during 1887; they will renovate their courts and put them in order for the reopening, and will afterwards keep them replenished with new exhibits from time to time, doing their best to make a continually improving show of their products and industries. But as to everything else, the new executive authority must take charge. The staff, the expenses, in short, the entire permanent responsibility for the scheme, must devolve upon that authority. The colonies cannot keep up a separate staff and organization of their own for each court, nor can they promise any annual grant for the support of the institution. They have elected for the second of the alternatives you proposed in September, and are going to give a sum down to your general fund. All future expenses after the reopening must be met out of that fund and out of whatever receipts the institution will get, whenever you shall have settled all the details of the scheme." I trust that this general idea will be in accord with the views of the Government. Hitherto there has been nothing but desultory discussion at the meetings of the Commissioners, and while many opinions have been expressed, nothing has been done to decide the 'matter which is immediately pressing, nor has any Executive Commissioner yet been in a position to tell his Government what was really intended, especially as to expense. A vast number of questions connected with the organization of the new institution have yet been settled, about which plenty of time for consultation must be allowed; but, while these are being considered, the immediate question cannot wait any longer, and I accordingly propose to move, at the adjourned meeting of the Commissioners this week, the series of resolutions of which a copy is transmitted herewith. In the meantime, the Prince of Wales has written a letter to the Lord Mayor containing further explanations of the Queen's wishes and his own, which will be made public in a few days. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington, F, D. Bell.
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No. 26. The Agent-Geneeal to the Colonial Treasurer. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., sth November, 1886. It is announced to-day that the Prince of Wales has appointed a committee to consider the best way of carrying out His Eoyal Highness's proposal respecting the Imperial institution. I annex a communique, on the subject which appears in this morning's papers. I also transmit a report of the proceedings at the meeting of Executive Commissioners on the Ist instant, which was not issued when I wrote yesterday. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure in No. 26. [Extract from the Times, Friday, sth November, 188C.J His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales has thought it advisable to request a number of public men to form themselves into a committee for the purpose of assisting in framing a scheme upon which to found the proposed Imperial institution for the colonies and India. Such body will confer with the official colonial representatives, and will endeavour to lay down lines for the constitution of the institution which shall be acceptable to the Queen's subjects at Home and abroad. The labours of the committee will be confined to action of a preliminary character, and it is not intended that the committee should be regarded as representing the governing body of the institution when established. The following are those to whom the request to form such committee has been made : The Earl of Carnarvon, Lord Eevelstoke, Lord Herschell, Lord Eothschild, the Eight Hon. G. J. Goschen, the Eight Hon. Sir Lyon Playfair, K.C.8., M.P.; the Eight Hon. Sir Henry James, M.P.; the Eight Hon. H. H. Fowler, M.P.; the Eight Hon. Sir Henry Holland, G.C.M.G., M.P.; the Eight Hon. C. T. Eitchie, M.P. ; the President of the Eoyal Academy (Sir F. Leighton), the Hon. Sir Ashley Eden, K.C.5.1.; Colonel Sir Owen Burns, K.C.5.1.; the Eight Hon. the Lord Mayor of London, the Governor of the Bank of England (Mr. J. B. Currie), the President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom (Sir Bernhard Samuelson, M.P.), the President of the London Chamber of Commerce (Mr. J. H. Tritton), Mr. Nevile Lubbock (representing the Eoyal Colonial Institute), and Mr. H. Broadhurst, M.P.
No. 27. The Agent-General to the Premier. Sie, —■ 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 19th November, 1886. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th October, enclosing copies of the telegrams that had passed between His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales and His Excellency the Governor respecting the proposal to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee by the foundation of the Imperial Institute. In my letters to the Hon. the Treasurer of the 2nd and sth instant I mentioned what had taken place since the meeting between the Prince and the Executive Commissioners on the 24th October, and especially the appointment by His Eoyal Highness of a new committee of advice. I now transmit the notes of a further meeting of the Executive Commissioners on the 6th instant, when I brought forward the resolutions of which I had given notice. You will see that it was then settled that the exhibits placed at His Eoyal Highness's disposal, either as loans or gifts, were to be taken charge of by Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen on behalf of His Eoyal Highness, and that the colonies were to be relieved from further working expense. In order to prevent any mistake, I said at the close of the meeting that I should send you a telegram to that effect. Since then a great change has taken place and everything that was supposed to be settled has been rescinded. The new committee have had two conferences with the various Executive Commissioners, and have announced that the Prince had now decided there shall be no reopening of the courts next year after all; that there had been some misapprehension of His Eoyal Highness's intention on the part of Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen; and that the committee could not undertake the charge of the exhibits at all. Under these altered circumstances a complete change has become necessary in the arrangements I had made with Sir Julius Von Haast. I think all the Australasian Commissioners have come to the same conclusion as myself, that it is now out of the question to keep our exhibits in the present buildings, and that the best way will be to return them to our colonies. We are accordingly dismantling our courts as fast as possible, and I have requested Sir Julius Von Haast to proceed immediately with the repacking of all the New Zealand exhibits except minerals and other things which are not perishable. I sent you a telegram yesterday informing you of what had taken place, and saying that I should make arrangements pending the receipt of further orders. I expected to have sent you particulars by to-day's mail, to enable you to give me definite instructions, but I have found it impossible to do so. Another conference it to be held this afternoon with the Prince's committee, with a view of further considering a number of questions, and it will be better for me to postpone what I have to report until after that meeting. But you may look upon it as certain now that the institution will no longer possess the distinguishing feature which the Prince had attached to it, and that instead of its being a place where only the arts and industries of the colonies and India should be represented, it will be one where those of the whole Empire will be brought together. I annex a paragraph from to-day's Times, containing the latest rumour of what is likely to be done, and a notice relating to the accounts of the four exhibitions that have been held at South Kensington. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
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Enclosure in No. 27. [Extract from the Times, Friday, 19th November, 1886.] The Impeeial Institute. As a result of the meetings which have been held of the Prince of Wales's committee on the proposed Imperial Institute, of the colonial representatives and of the Exhibition Commissioners, we hear that though the Queen will lay the foundation stone of the Imperial Institute next June it will probably not be opened for three years, as it will take at least that time to get the buildings ready. It has been decided that the Exhibition will not be reopened next year in any form. Most of the Commissioners are rapidly dismantling their courts and returning exhibits, as they could not be left in sheds for three years. If possible, the buildings lying between the new public offices in Whitehall and Great George Street, Westminister, which belong to Government, will be pulled down and the Institute established there. It is suggested that the colonies should occupy the ground floor and the Mother-country the floor above, the Agents-General also being located in various parts of the buildings, which will have an area of 400,000 square feet. In this case the city scheme will be united with the Prince's. If this ground cannot be obtained, then a purely exhibitional arrangement will probably be made at South Kensington, and a commercial museum in the city. It is understood that none of the present Exhibition staff will be retained. The estimate of the cost of the building is £300,000. A sub-committee of the Imperial Institute committee met yesterday afternoon, and had a long conference with the Executive Commissioners representing those colonies which are not represented by the Agents-General.
No. 28. The Agent-Geneeal to the Peemiee. 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 19th November, 1886. Impeeial Institute. I gather from the Hon. the Premier's letter of the 7th October that in future letters on the subject of the Imperial Institute of the Colonies and India are to bo addressed to him, and I propose to follow this course unless otherwise instructed. F. D. Bell.
No. 29. The Colonial Seceetaey, Western Australia, to the Peemiee. Premier, New Zealand. Of the five thousand pounds this colony has devoted to celebrating Jubilee two thousand will be contributed to Imperial Colonial Institute and the remainder will found and begin a public library in Perth. Perth, 22nd December. M. S. Smith.
No. 30. The Pbemieb of New South Wales to the Peemiee. Hon. Premier, Wellington. Eefeeeing to my circular telegram or the 13th October last I shall be glad if you will inform me at your convenience what course your Government, in the light of the recent joint cablegram from Agents-General, purpose pursuing with reference to the proposed lump sum contribution to the Imperial Institute. We are still of opinion that contribution from Australia and New Zealand should not be less than thirty-five or forty thousand, either in equal sums or on basis of population. When the question of the contribution is settled the joint cablegram can then be dealt with. Sydney, 24th December. P. A. Jennings, Premier.
No. 31. The Premier of Victoria to the Premier. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. Approve generally of the proposals contained in joint telegram on Imperial Institute from AgentsGeneral, but it is not quite clear what is meant by the statement that as the colonies are contributing a lump sum no further grant for administration can be expected from them. Can it be that other money contributions than for administration may be required seeing that each colony is to have control of its section and the colonies generally to have a fair share in the general management. Some annual contribution would appear necessary. What is your view on this point ? If my surmise be correct, we should be informed of this probable cost. lam disposed to think that the colonies might stretch the lump sum contribution to say thirty or thirty-five thousand pounds if all agreeable, subject, of course, to the approval of Parliament. Melbourne, sth January. D. Gillies, Premier.
No. 32. The Agent-General to the Premier. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 2nd December, 1886. I go on with the story of what has taken place in connection with the Imperial Institute since my letter of the 19th November (No. 1538). 2—A. 9.
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The further conference which I then mentioned as about to take place that day with the Prince of Wales's committee, led to a long and friendly discussion, in which the committee and the representatives of Canada, Australasia, and the Cape freely exchanged their views. The first conference has shown us plainly what would be the general principles guiding the committee in their advice to His Eoyal Highness. We knew that the real difference between their plan and tho one originally proposed by His Eoyal Highness last July lay in their wish to show the arts and industries of the United Kingdom side by side with those of the colonies ; and perhaps it was impossible not to concede that, from the moment His Eoyal Highness asked the Lord Mayor to open a general fund here for gifts to the Institue as a memorial of the Queen's Jubilee, the donors had a right to a potential voice in the determination of the scheme. As soon as that voice was for a united Institute, the Prince made up his mind to accept the change of plan, and that being done, all the rest was mere detail. At the conference of the 19th November we were all agreed that whatever difficulties might attach to the change, the colonies, at any rate, would not let these bring any embarrassment upon the Prince; and in accordance with the promises telegraphed to His Eoyal Highness by nearly all the Governments, we did not hesitate to assure the committee that whatever shape His Eoyal Highness decided upon for the Institute, the colonies would take their part in it as a commemoration of the Jubilee. At the same time, we pointed out that it was little, after all, that any Government could do, and that the success of the scheme must be in proportion to the enthusiasm which might be evoked for it among Her Majesty's colonial and Indian subjects. The cordiality of the response made by the colonies to the original proposal had been due, in no slight measure, to the appreciation of the true insight shown by His Eoyal Highness in the idea of celebrating that great march of colonization, which had so signalized Her Majesty's reign, in building up powerful communities across the sea, expanding British commerce all over the world, and strengthening the Empire and the Throne. This was an "Imperial" object in the highest and best sense of the word, and the same cordiality could only be created for the changed plan if the colonies were sincerely recognized in the new Institute, and were not relegated to a secondary place. Immediately after the conference of the 19th Lord Carnarvon and Lord Herschell went up to Sandringham to report what had passed, and on their return we received from the committee the memorandum enclosed herewith, containing the outline of their new scheme, which had now " received His Eoyal Highness's entire concurrence and approval." Thereupon we consulted again among ourselves and on the 29th November we wrote to the committee asking for further information on some points which were not mentioned in their memorandum. Last night another long conference took place with the committee, and the following points were settled : (1) The name is to be " The Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the Colonies and India " ; (2) the site is to be at South Kensington ; (3) the foundation stone of the Institute is to be laid by the Queen next June, but as the building will take, at any rate, three years, no exhibits will be wanted till then; (4) the space is to be equally divided between the United Kingdom and the colonies and India, half to England and half to us ; (5) the colonial and Indian Courts are to bo under the control of the respective Governments ; (6) the colonies aud India are to have a share in the general as well as financial administration of the Institute ; (7) we are to send a joint cablegram to the Governments containing an outline of the scheme and asking whether it receives their concurrence generally, whereupon, if it does, the Prince will send a message in his own name to the Viceroy and Governors, as he did in July and September, finally announcing the new scheme as now proposed. Our cablegram is being prepared and will, after being submitted to the committee, be sent off as soon as possible to all the colonies. Sir Fredrick Abel, C.8., has been appointed Organizing Secretary on behalf of the committee, and has been placed in communication with the representatives of all the colonies. Before long, therefore, you may expect to receive the plan in a more matured shape. I have, &c. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
No. 33. The Colonial Teeasueee to the Agent-General. Agent-General, London. Waiwera, 21st January, 1887. . Impeeial Institute. Correspond Treasury.
No. 34. The Agent-Genebal to the Pbemieb. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 3rd December, 1886. In continuation of my letter of yesterday (No. 1595), 1 transmit you herewith copy of a joint telegram from the Agents-General respecting the Imperial Institute, which has just been sent to Adelaide for repetition to^the respective Governments. I have added a brief message of my own in anticipation of the one you will receive later on from the South Australian Government. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
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No. 35. The Agent-Genebal to the Pbemieb. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 14th December, 1886. I have received your telegram of to-day informing me that the modifications in the scheme of the Imperial Institute, as telegraphed by the Agents-General in their joint message to the colonies, had received the approval of your Government. I immediately informed the Prince of Wales's committee of this. Yours is the first reply that has yet been received to the new proposals. * # ■% & .'fi >£ I have, &o. The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosures in No. 35. "Extract from the Times, Monday, Oth December, 1880. The Impeeial Institute. Melbourne, 4th December. A joint telegram has been despatched by the representatives of the Australian Colonies to the various colonial Governments communicating the scheme for the Imperial Institute. It states that the Prince of Wales's committee has recently been conferring with the Agents-General of the colonies on the subject, and have, with His Eoyal Highness's concurrence, remodelled the basis of the arrangements upon which the scheme for an Imperial Institute is to be carried out. The name of the building is to be " The Imperial Institute for the United Kingdom, the Colonies and India," and the foundation stone of the building is to be laid next year at South Kensington. One-half of the entire space is to bo devoted to the United Kingdom, while the other half, which will be in no way inferior as regards position, will be reserved for the colonies and India. Each colony is to have control of its own section, and the colonies and India are to have a fair share in the general management. It is also in contemplation to hold in the building from time to time exhibitions of specific industries and products. The colonies which may contribute a lump sum towards the maintenance of the Institute will not be called upon for any further grant for administrative expenses. The despatch concludes by stating that on receipt of the approval of the colonies the amended scheme will be definitely adopted.
[Extract from the Times, Tuesday, 7th December, 188G.] We are requested to state that the communication of the Agents-General to their respective Governments in reference to the Imperial Institute relates to the proposal to modify the original scheme by including the United Kingdom in the organization of the Institute. The details of the scheme, and especially of that part of it relating to the United Kingdom, are now under the consideration of the committee. No final decision in regard to the site has been taken. The Secretary of State has sent a circular letter to the Governors of the colonies under responsible government which will arouse widespread interest. The interest will not be confined to this country, nor to the colonies ; it will extend to many another country where Great Britain is admired and envied. The proposal of Mr. Stanhope is that, early next year, there shall be held in London, under the presidency of the Secretary of State, a conference of representatives of the principal colonies, convened for the purpose of discussing two groups of questions of great Imperial interest. Of these political federation is not one. That question, Mr. Stanhope thinks, is not yet ripe for formal discussion at such a conference, for no colony has yet pronounced definitely upon it, and to raise it in conference would probably do more harm than good. But there is enough to discuss without approaching this " very difficult question." Mr, Stanhope prescribes two branches of the inquiry on which the conference will bo engaged : the defence of the colonies and the means of improved communication between themselves and the Mother-country. These things are certainly in a fit state for discussion, and we may expect that a thoroughly practical conference, like that contemplated by Mr. Stanhope, will come to the consideration of them furnished with the means for really useful conclusions. The Secretary of State, as we have said, is to preside, and the representatives of the colonies will be the Agents-General, together with any other " leading public men who may be at liberty to come to England." As the conference will be purely consultative, Mr. Stanhope points out, there will be no need to insist on the proportional representation of the different colonies; the numbers will be elastic, and if Victoria or Canada choose to send two or. three special delegates no doubt they will be welcomed. What is important is that the conference shall be made as representative as possible. The Agents-General have a recognized official position, and if they are supported by men of authority coming fresh from the colonies, and prepared to speak with the full weight of their respective colonies, the resolutions of the conference will have a force and validity that the world in general will recognize. It is right and wise that political federation is not to be discussed. It will be enough if the delegates privately exchange views on the vast and complicated problems which this great idea suggests, and if these private discussions prepare the ground for a future full consideration of the question. With colonial defence the case is very different. It is pressing, it is not a new question, it has been under examination by Lord Carnarvon's committee, and already not a little has been done towards the solution of it both by the Mother-country and the colonies. The little navy of Victoria is no inconsiderable possession. The fortifications of Sydney Harbour are a work of time, but they are as creditable to the colony as they are undeniably necessary. In these days, when action follows upon the declaration of war as the thunder follows the lightning, a quarrel with a great naval Power would infallibly mean an instant attack upon some one or other of our colonies,
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It is of the first importance that the colonies should be able to protect themselves, if not against a siege, at all events against a coup de main. Mr. Stanhope states that he will be prepared with suggestions on the whole question of colonial defence ; and, indeed, it is quite time that some measured and systematic scheme should be adopted. That the colonists can turn out fine bodies of fighting men we I now from the experience of the Soudan campagin, and from the efficiency of the New South Wales contingent. We know also that the colonies are ready to come to the defence of the Empire in its hour of need, and that they have not been inclined to look at their relation with the United Kingdom as a one-sided relation, they getting all the defence and we making all the sacrifices. We hope and believe that a serious and businesslike discussion, such as is sure to take place when these experienced colonists come together in London, will lead to the best results in respect to this question of colonial defence. The Mother-country must show that she is not niggardly in the supplies of officers and military material that she is willing to provide, and the colonists must show themselves willing to fortify, to build the necessary gunboats or guardships, and to find the men to work them. Scarcely less important is the second head of Mr. Stanhope's programme. The means of communication between all portions of the Empire are very faulty. We want more cables —it is said that a new one is just about to be laid from Australia and Now Zealand across the Pacific—and we want a cheaper post. Mr. Henniker Heaton will rejoice when he sees the Colonial Secretary hinting in so broad a way at his own pet scheme of an intercolonial penny postage. No one denies that such a postage is eminently desirable, or that it would do a very great deal towords the " drawing closer of the bonds which unite the various portions of the Empire." It is not for us at this moment to suggest the means by which it might be carried out without great loss —perhaps without any loss—to the revenue. It is enough to recall Mr. Heaton's calculations, which would show that the estimated increase in the number of letters and the alteration in the mode of carrying them would probably raise rather than lower the Post-office receipts. This is a matter for the impartial investigation of the conference, and we trust that such an investigation would lead to the adoption of a scheme of penny postage throughout the Empire. No celebration of the Jubilee year could be more appropriate than the holding of the first conference of the representatives of the British Empire—of that Empire which has grown during the fifty years of the Queen's reign from a scale so comparatively humble to a scale so gigantic. To show that the Empire, instead of becoming unwidely with all this growth, has grown in force and in the power of concentration, will be a work of incalculable importance from the point of view of our international position. The conference will be one method of bringing about this desirable end ; the establishment of a well-contrived Imperial Institute will bo another. We are glad to find, from the authorized communication which we print this morning, that there were serious inaccuracies in yesterday's news from Melbourne. According to that the South Kensington site had been definitely fixed upon, and it suggested the possibility of carrying on the South Kensington Exhibitions to which we have been of late years accustomed in and about the building. We learn this morning that nothing of the kind has yet been decided ; and that the only modification of the original scheme which is as yet determined on is the admission of the United Kingdom to a share of the building, side by side with the colonies and India. This, of course, is a concession, and a wise concession, to the claims of the home manufacturers and merchants, who were naturally jealous of a display of goods from colonies which tax their productions and which yet wish to compete untaxed in the English market. It is only fair that Englishmen should have the the opportunity of showing visitors that they can do as well as colonists, or perhaps better. For the rest, nothing has been determined ; and we can well imagine that the difficulty which the Prince of Wales and the committee have to face are very considerable indeed. What funds will be at their disposal and how are they to be got ? Will the public really take to the notion of an Institute and loosen its purse-strings to call the building into being? Clearly this question is one of the most fundamental importance; but, as yet, as far as Great Britain is concerned, there seems to be no clue to the answer. We can hardly imagine, however, that a scheme which was felt to be a good one for the Empire, and which was known to be dear to Her Majesty, could meet with anything but very wide and generous support in the year of her Jubilee.
No. 36. The Agent-Genebal to the Pbemieb. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 30th December, 1886. On the 23rd instant the Prince of Wales's committee sent in their report to His Eoyal Highness containing the new scheme now proposed for the Imperial Institute. The committee thought it essential to make it public, without waiting for an answer from the Australian Governments, much as they would have wished to wait. I enclose herewith some copies of their report, and also extracts from the Times and other newspapers, from which you will perceive that the scheme has been well received. It now remains to be seen what amount of money will be subscribed for it. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure in No. 36. REPORT OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE, APPOINTED BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRESIDENT. To His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, K.G., &c. The Committee appointed by your Eoyal Highness to frame a scheme for an Imperial Institute intended to commemorate the fiftieth year of Her Majesty's reign, beg leave to submit to your Eoyal Highness the following Eeport : —
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They do not fail to remember that the scheme which your Eoyal Highness indicated in your letter of the 13th September last, to the Lord Mayor of London, had its origin in the remarkable interest excited by the recent Exhibition, by which not only the material products, resources, and manufactures, but the loyal feeling of the great colonies and possessions of Her Majesty's Empire were illustrated in a most signal manner. The object, therefore, which naturally suggested itself to the committee was the development, with some necessary modifications, of your Eoyal Highness's idea of creating a permanent representation of the resources and progress of the colonies and India. On pursuing, however, the consideration of the subject, the committee became persuaded that . memorial really worthy of the Jubilee year of Her Majesty's reign could not be confined in its objects to any one part or parts of Her Majesty's Empire, and that it must in some form and degree also comprehend a representation of the United Kingdom. Their desire, therefore, in the following outline of the scheme which they recommend, is to combine in a harmonious form, and with a view to some practical and useful purpose, a representation of the colonies and India on the one hand, and of the United Kingdom on the other. They submit that this object will be best indicated by giving to the memorial the title of the Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the Colonies, and India. They think that the Institute should find its home in buildings of such a character as worthily to commemorate the Jubilee year of the Queen's reign, and to afford accommodation suitable for an institution combining the important objects which they now proceed to describe. It is obvious that several departments of the Institute, such as the hall, conference rooms, &c, which will be found described under the colonial and Indian section and the United Kingdom section respectively, will be common both to the colonies and India and to the United Kindom; but as others have special relation to a particular portion of Her Majesty's dominions, it will be found convenient to make the following division : — A.—Colonial and Indian Section. The object of the colonial and Indian section will be to illustrate the great commercial and industrial resources of the colonies and India, and to spread a knowledge of their progress and social condition. To this end provision should be made for—(l.) The display in an adequate manner of the best natural and manufactured products of the colonies and India, and in connection with this the circulation of typical collections throughout the United Kingdom. (2.) A hall for the discussion of colonial and Indian subjects, and for receptions connected with the colonies and India. (3.) The formation of colonial and Indian libraries, and establishing in connection therewith reading, news, and intelligence rooms. (4.) The incorporation in some form into the proposed Institute of the Eoyal Colonial Institute and Eoyal Asiatic Society, if, as is hoped, it be proposed to bring about such a union. (5.) The collection and diffusion of the fullest information in regard to the industrial and material condition of the colonies, so as to enable intending emigrants to acquire all requisite knowledge. Such information might be advantageously supplemented by simple and practical instruction. An emigration officer of this character should be in correspondence with the provincial towns, either through the free libraries or by other means, so that information may be readily accessible to the people. These objects would be greatly facilitated if, as may be hoped, the Government should consent to the transfer to the buildings of the Institute of the recently formed Emigration Department, which would, by a close connection with the institute, largely increase its usefulness. Facilities might be afforded for the exhibition of works of colonial and Indian art. It is also considered desirable that means should bo provided, not for a general exhibition, but for occasional special exhibitions of colonial and Indian produce and manufactures. At one lime a particular colony or portion of the Empire may desire to show its progress ; at another time a general comparison of particular industries may be useful. Whilst the permanent galleries would exhibit the usual commercial or industrial products of the several colonies and India, the occasional exhibitions would stimulate and enlist the sympathies of colonial and Indian producers, and keep up an active co-operation with the industrial classes of this country. B.—United Kingdom Section. The leading objects of this section will be to exhibit the development during Her Majesty's reign and the present condition of the natural and manufactured products of the United Kingdom, and to afford such stimulus and knowledge as will lead to still further development, and thus increase the industrial prosperity of the country. We submit that these objects may bo carried out by making provision for the following purposes: (1.) Comprehensive collections of the natural products of the United Kingdom and of such products of other nations as are employed in its industries, with full scientific, practical, and commercial information relating thereto. (2.) Illustrations of manufactured products, typical of their development and present condition, of trades and handicrafts and their progress during the Queen's reign, including illustrations of foreign work when necessary for comparison ; together with models illustrating naval architecture, engineering, mining, and architectural works. (3.) A library for industrial, commercial, and economic study, which should contain standard works and reports on all subjects of trade and commerce. It will be desirable also to include a library of inventions of the Empire, and as far as possible of the United States and other countries. (4.) Beading and conference rooms supplied withFnglish, colonial, and foreign, commercial, and technical periodicals, and a fully-equipped map-room for geographical and geological reference. The conference rooms would be of value for meetings of chambers of commerce and other bodies of a kindred nature. (5.) The promotion in affiliation with the Imperial Institute of commercial museums in the City of London and in the commercial centres of the provinces. To these the Institute would contribute
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specimens, samples, and exhibits of the commercial products likely to be specially valuable in particular localities. There should also be an organization to connect the Imperial Institute with the provincial centres, by lectures, conferences, the circulation of specimens, and other means. It is hoped that the Institute may lead to the organization of high Schools of Commerce, such as are now established in the chief commercial towns of most continental countries, but which have as yet, unfortunately, no existence in the United Kingdom. (6.) The building will also advantageously afford accommodation for (a) comparing and examining samples by the resources of modern science, and (&) the examination of artisans under the various schemes already existing for the promotion of technical education. Space should also be provided for occasional exhibitions of separate industries, or of the special industries carried on in great provincial centres ; for example, there might at one time be an exhibition of iron manufactures, at another of pottery, at another of textile fabrics, &c, which would tend to stimulate improvement in the different departments of industrial life. This object might be assisted by separate exhibitions of the handiwork of artisans. The committee, having detailed the general nature of their suggestions under these heads, desire to add that they do not anticipate the exhibits in the collections remaining unchanged. They contemplate that as improvements are made from time to time, the later and better results would displace those out of date. They have had to consider how the space should be distributed between the United Kingdom on the one hand and the colonies and India on the other, and they recommend that whatever portion of the buildings is not required for purposes manifestly common to both should be allotted to the two sections fairly in equal parts. C.—Government of Institute. The committee recommend that a new body, entirely independent of any existing organization, should be created for the government of the Institute. This body should be thoroughly representative of the great commercial and industrial interests of the Empire. The colonies and India should have a fair share in the government of the Institute, and each colony should have special charge of its own particular department, subject of course to the general management of the entire institution. The method of carrying this out would be prescribed by the charter after full consideration by Her Majesty in Council. D.—Site. The committee being fully conscious of the advantage of a central position for the Institute, have considered the various possible sites, and have, as far as has been within their power, obtained estimates of their cost. To carry out the several objects which the committee have indicated, a large space is necessary. The committee have been unable to find any such suitable site in the central parts of London, except at a cost which, looking at the probable amount of subscriptions, would, after the purchase of the ground, leave a sum wholly inadequate for the erection and maintenance of the buildings, and for carrying out the objects of the Institute. The site of about five acres recently secured for the new Admiralty and War Offices is valued at £820,000, or rather over £160,000 per acre; that now vacant in Charles Street, opposite the India Office, is less than an acre, and would cost at least £125,000 ; probably another acre might be secured by private contract, so that the value of a limited site in this position would not be less than £250,000. It lias been suggested that a single acre not far from Charing Cross might bo obtained for £224,000. Two and a half acres on the Thames Embankment have been offered for £400,000; and it is stated that six acres may be procured from Christ's Hospital at £600,000. Another good central position has been suggested consisting of two and a half acres, which has been valued at £668,000. It is, of course, probable that these sites might be obtp.ined at somewhat less than the prices asked; but, allowing for this, it is obvious that the purchase of any adequate area would involve the expenditure of a quarter to half a million. The committee have therefore been forced to abandon the hope of obtaining a central site within the limits allowed by any probable subscription. The attention of the committee was then drawn to the property at South Kensington belonging to the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851. This property was bought out of the profits of that Exhibition with the express object of offering sites for any large public buildings which might be required for the promotion of science and art. Under these circumstances, the committee submit to your Eoyal Highness that the Imperial Institute may well establish a claim for the grant of a site of sufficient magnitude of property bought and reserved for public institutions of this character. Though sensible of the objections that may be urged against the situation at South Kensington the committee think that the advantage must be obvious of obtaining a sufficient site virtually free of cost, so that the whole of the subscriptions may be devoted to providing a building for and establishing and maintaining the Institute. The committee, whilst guided in the recommendation of a site by the considerations they have indicated, think it right to add that there are some incidental advantages connected with that at South Kensington. In that locality are combined the City and Guilds Technical College, the Eoyal College of Music, and the Government Museums and Schools of Science and Art which ought to be in immediate proximity to an Imperial Institute of the character which we have described. The technical character of the collections and exhibitions of the Imperial Institute has a natural connection with collections of science and art in the Government museums. E.—General Observations. An Imperial Institute for the United Kingdom, the colonies, and India would fail in its chief object if it did not constantly keep in view that it ought to be a centre for diffusing and extending knowledge in relation to the industrial resources~and commerce of the Empire. The necessity for technical education is now fully appreciated, because the competition of industry has become in a great measure a competition of trained intelligence. The committee, hcwever, do not recommend
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that the Imperial Institute should aspire to be a college for technical education. Many of the large towns in Great Britain have recently established colleges or schools of science and art. The Imperial Institute might serve to promote technical education in these, and to unite them with colleges of larger resources which have been founded or formed branches for the purpose in the metropolis. It is too much to hope that an active co-operation of this character between the provincial centres and London could be at once undertaken by the Imperial Institute ; but the committee bear in mind that in their last report the Commissioners of 1851 have indicated an intention to assist in carrying out such a scheme. If the Commissioners would contribute three or four thousand pounds annually it would be possible to establish scholarships which might enable promising candidates of the working-classes to attend the local institutions, and even, when it was desired, to complete their technical education in colleges of the metropolis. In addition to this aid the Imperial Institute might be able in other ways to promote the foundation of scholarships both in connection with the colonies an I provincial centres, in the hope of still further extending these benefits to the working-classes. In conclusion, the committee subm that an Imperial Institute such as they have sketched on broad outline, would form a fitting merco'v'al of the coming year, when Her Majesty the Sovereign of this Empire will celebrate the JubiLe of her happy reign. It would be an emblem of the unity of the Empire, embracing as it does ail parts of the Queen's dominions, and tending to promote that closer union between them which has become more and more desired. It would exhibit the vast area, the varied resources, and the marvellous growth, during Her Majesty's reign, of the British Empire. It would unite in a single representative act of the whole of her people; and, since both the purpose and the effect of the Institute will be to advance the industrial and commercial resources of every part of the Empire, the committee entertain a confident hope that Her Majesty's subjects, without distinction of class or race, will rejoice to take part in offering this tribute of love and loyalty. Herschell, Owen T. Bubne. Chairman. Eeginald Hanson, Caenarvon. Lord Mayor. Eevelstoke. J. Pattison Currie, Eothschild. Governor of the Bank of EngG. J. Goschen. land. Lyon Playfaie. John Staples. Heney James. Frederick Abel, Henry T. Holland. Vice-President of the Society of H. H. Fowler. Arts. C. T. Eitchie. J. H. Tritton, Fred. Leighton, President of the London ChamPresident of the Eoyal ber of Commerce. Academy. Nevile Lubbock. Ashley Eden. Henry Broadhurst. 20th December, 1886.
No. 37. The Agent-General to the Peemiee. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 14th January, 1887. I transmit to you herewith the Times report of the meeting held at St. James's Palace two days ago, when His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales assembled a large number of influential men and announced his approval of the scheme for the Imperial Institute framed by his committee of advice; and of the subsequent meeting the same day at the Mansion House, at which resolutions were moved by Lord Granville, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Goschen), Lord Herschell, Lord Lome, and others, pledging the meeting to support the plan. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure in No. 37. St. James's Palace, Wednesday, 12th January, 1887. Eeport of the Proceedings at an Assembly of the Eepresentatives of County and Municipal and other Local Government Authorities of the United Kingdom ; also the Presidents, Secretaries, and other Officers of the principal Scientific, Commercial, and Artistic Institutions of the Country. His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, who was accompanied by His Eoyal Highness Prince Albert Victor of Wales, took the chair at a quarter to one o'clock, and was supported by the following members of the Organizing Committee: —Lord Herschell (Chairman), the Earl of Carnarvon, KG.; Lord Eevelstoke, Lord Eothschild, the Eight Hon. Sir Lyon Playfair, K.C.8., M.P.; the Eight Hon. Sir Henry James, Q.C., M.P.; the Eight Hon. Sir Henry T. Holland, Bart., M.P.; the Eight Hon. Sir John Eose, Bart., G.C.M.G.; the Eight Hon. H. H. Fowler, M.P.; Sir Frederic Leighton, Bart. (President of the Eoyal Academy); the Hon Sir Charles Tupper, G.C.M.G., C.8.; Sir Saul Samuel, K.C.M.G., C.8.; Sir Lothian Bell, Bart., F.E.S.; Sir Edward Guinness, Bart.; Sir Ashley Eden, K.C.5.1., CLE.; Sir Owen T. Burne, K.C.5.1.; Sir Eeginald Hanson (Lord Mayor of London), Mr. J. Pattison Currie (Governor of the Bank of England), Sir
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John Staples, K.C.M.G.; Sir Frederick Abel, C.8., D.C.L., F.R.S. (Organizing Secretary of the Imperial Institute); Mr. W. H. Houldsworth, M.P.; Mr. J. H. Tritton (President of the London Chamber of Commerce), Mr. Nevile Lubbock, and Mr. A. Waterhouse, R.A. The following noblemen and gentlemen were also present: The Duke of St. Albans, the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, G.C.5.1.; the Duke of Beaufort, E.G. ; the Marquis of Bristol, the Earl of Bandon, the Earl of Bradford, the Earl of Caithness, the Earl of Cork, K.T.; the Earl of Cawdor, the Earl of Ducie, the Earl of Dysart, the Earl of Dartrey, Earl Granville, K.G.; the Earl of Howe, the Earl of Uchester, the Earl of Lanesborough, the Earl of Lucan, the Earl of Lovelace, the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, the Earl of Strafford, Earl Spencer, K.G.; the Earl of Verulam, Viscount Hampden, G.C.8.; Viscount de Vesci, Lord Ilothfield, Lord Hemes, Lord Harlech, Lord Kensington, Lord Rayleigh, Lord Wantage, V.C., K.C.8.; Lord Maurice Fitzgerald, the Right Hon. A. J. Mundella, M.P.; the Right Hon. Sir Robert Peel, the Right Hon. Sir G. F. Bowen, Sir James Paget, Bart.; the Right Hon. Sir Thomas Clark, Bart. (Lord Provost o" Edinburgh) ; the Lord Provost of Glasgow, the Right Hon. J. Terry (Lord Mayor of York), the Right Hon. Spencer Walpole (Governor of the Isle of Man), Sir J. R. Bailey, Bart.; Sir J. McGarel-Hogg, Bart., K.C.8.; Sir Henry W. Acland, Bart., K.C.B. ; Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P. ; Sir J. E. Millais, Bart. ; Sir Edward Colebrooke, Bart.; Sir H. Dashwood, Bart.; Sir Frederick Bramwell, D.C.L., F.R.S.; Hon. J. C. Dundas, Lieutenant-Colonel Edward H. Cooper, Mr. H. R. Hughes, Mr. C. W. Townley, Professor Huxley, Professor Tyndall, the Master of the Clothworkers' Company, the Master of the Mercers' Company, the Prime Warden of the Fishmongers' Company, the Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company, the Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company, the Master of the Skinners' Company, the Master of the Grocers' Company, the Master of the Ironmongers' Company, Colonel Hambro, M.P.; Professor Michael Foster, Sir Somers Vine, the Mayors of Arundel, Andover, Abingdon, Ashton-under Lyne, Beverley, Bristol, Beccles, Bishops' Castle, Birmingham, Boston, Bideford, Bradford, Brecon, Bridport, Burslem, Barnsley, Bacup, Basingstoke, Barnstaple, Blandford, Bridgwater, Bury, Banbury, Blackburn, Brighton, Chippenham, Chorley, Cheltenham, Carlisle, Clitheroe, Croydon, Calne, Coventry, Canterbury, Crewe, Colchester, Chichester, Cardiff, Cambridge, Daventry, Darlington, Droitwich, Derby, Dudley, Dewsbury, Darwen, Devonport, Exeter, Eastbourne, Evesham, Flint, Folkestone, Gloucester, Guildford, Godalming, Grantham, Gravesend, Harrowgate, Hull, Hythe, Hanley, Huddersfield, Halifax, Huntingdon, Harwich, Hereford, Hartlepool, Hastings, Ipswich, Kingston-on-Thames, Keighley, Kidderminster, King's Lynn, Leamington, Lowestoft, Lostwithiel, Leeds, Llanfyllin, Lincoln, Longton, Louth, Lancaster, Lydd, Liskeard, Luton, Launceston, Leicester, Lews, Malmesbury, Maidenhead, Margate, Middleton, Maldon, Macclesfield, Mossley, Manchester, Maidstone, Montgomery, Norwich, Newport (Mon.), Newport (Isle of Wight), Nottingham, Northwich, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Newcastle-under-Lyne, Oxford, Plymouth, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Poole, Preston, Pembroke, Penzance, Queenborough, Ripon, Richmond (Yorkshire), Romsey, Rotherham, Reigate, Rye, Reading, Sheffield, Scarborough, Sunderland, Saltash, Southampton, Sutton, Coldfield, South Molton, Sandwich, St. Albans, St. Ives, Stamford, Stoke, Stafford, St. Helens, Salisbury, Stockport, Salford, Sligo, Stratford-on-Avon, Swansea, Saffron Walden, Totnes, Torrington (Great), Truro, Taunton, Tiverton, West Ham, Walsall, Winchester, Wokingham, Wilton, Wallingford, West Bromwich, Worcester, Wigan, Wolverhampton, Wareham, Windsor, Warwick, Wednesbury, Wexford, Weymouth, Yeovil, and Yarmouth (Great); the Deputy - Mayors of Chrstchurch, Rochester, and Yeovil; the Clerks of the Peace for several counties; the Provosts of Dumfries, Greenock, Haddington, Peterhead, Stirling, and Stranraer; the Town Clerks of Birkenhead, Bury, Brighton, Bradford, Devonport, Edinburgh, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham, Norwich, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Preston, Sheffield, Salford, Sunderland, Wolverhampton, and West Ham; and a large number of chairmen of the urban authorities of different parts of the kingdom, the meeting numbering altogether nearly five hundred persons. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales : My Lords and gentlemen—You are doubtless aware of the general feeling on the part of the public that some signal proof of the love and loyalty of Her Majesty's subjects (throughout her widely extended Empire) should be given to the Queen when she celebrates the fiftieth year of her happy reign. In order to afford to the Queen the fullest satisfaction, the proposed memorial should not be merely personal in its character, but should tend to serve the interests of the entire Empire and to promote a feeling of unity among the whole of Her Majesty's subjects. The desire to find fitting means of drawing our colonies and India into closer bonds with the Mother-country, a desire which of late has been clearly expressed, meets, I am sure, with the Queen's warmest sympathy. It occurred to me that the recent colonial and Indian Exhibition, which presented a most successful display of the material resources of the colonies and India, might suggest the basis for an Institute which should afford a permanent representation of the products and manufactures of the whole of the Queen's dominions. I therefore appointed a committee of eminent men to consider and report to me upon the best means of carrying out this idea. Upon the report of the committee being submitted to me, and after giving every clause my full consideration, it so entirely met with my approval that I accepted all its suggestions, and I therefore directed that a copy of that report should be sent to each of you. As I trust you have mastered the suggestion of that report, I do not purpose re-stating them to you in detail, but I would remind you that I propose that the memorial should bear the name of the Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the Colonies and India, and that it must find its home within buildings of a character worthy to commemorate the Jubilee year of the Queen's reign. My proposals also are that the Imperial Institute should be an emblem of the Unity of the Empire, and should illustrate the resources and capabilities of every section of Her Majesty's dominions. By these means everyone may become acquainted with the marvellous growth of the Queen's colonial and Indian possessions during her reign, and will be enabled to mark, by the opportunities afforded for contrast, how steadily these possessions have advanced in manufacturing skill and enterprise step by step with the Mother-country. A representative Institute of this kind must necessarily be situated in London,
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but its organization will, I trust, be such that benefits will be equally conferred upon our provincial communities as well as upon the colonial and Indian subjects of the Crown. It is my hope that the Institute will form a practical means of communications between our colonial settlers and those persons at home who may benefit by emigration. Much information and even instruction may beneficially be imparted to those who need guidance in respect to emigration. You are aware that the competition of industry all over the world has become keen, while commerce and manufactures have been profoundly affected by the recent rapid progress of science, and the increased facilities of inter-communication offered by steam and the electric telegraph. In consequence of these changes, all nations are using strenuous efforts to produce a trained intelligence among their people. The working-classes of this country have not been slow to show their desire for improvement in this direction. They wish to place themselves in a position of intellectual power by using all opportunities offered to them to secure an understanding of the principles as well as of the practice of the work in which they are engaged. No less than sixteen million persons from all parts of the kingdom have attended the four Exhibitions over which I presided, represanting fisheries, public health, inventions, and the colonies and India, and I assure you I would not have undertaken the labour attending their administration had I not felt a deep conviction that such Exhibitions added to the knowledge of the people and stimulated the industries of the country. I have on more than one occasion expressed my own views, founded upon those so often enunciated by my lamented father, that it is of the greatest importance to do everything within our power to advance the knowledge as well as the practical skill of the productive classes of the Empire. I therefore commend to you as the leading idea I entertain that the Institute should be regarded as a centre for extending knowledge in relation to the industrial resources and commerce of the Queen's dominions. With this view it should be in constant touch, not only with the chief manufacturing districts of this country, but also with all the colonies and India. Such objects are large in their scope, and must necessarily be so, if this Institute is worthy to represent the unity of the Empire. To some minds, the scheme may not be sufficiently comprehensive, because it does not provide for systematic courses of technical instruction in connection with the collections and libraries of the proposed Institute. I would bo the last person to under-value this suggestion. lam well aware that the advantages we have enjoyed in the competition of the world by the possession of fuel, combined with large mineral resources, and by the maritime habits of our people, are now becoming of less importance as trained intellect has in other countries been more and more applied to productive industry. But I know that this truth has already penetrated our centres of manufacturing activity, for many of the large towns have founded colleges and schools of science and art to increase the intellectual factor of production. London, also, has taken important steps in the same direction. The Imperial Institute should be a supplement to, and not a competitor with, other institutions for technical education in science and art both at home and in the colonies. At the same time, I trust that the Institute will be able to stimulate and aid local effort by directing scholarships for the working-classes into suitable channels, and by other similar means. Though the Institute does not engage in the direct object of systematic technical education, it may well be the means of promoting it, as its purpose is to extend an exact knowledge of the industrial resources of the Empire. It will be a place of study and resort for producers and consumers from the colonies and India when they visit this country for business or pleasure, and they, as well as the merchants and manufacturers of the United Kingdom, will find in its collections, libraries, conference and intelligence rooms, the means of extending the commerce and of improving the manufacturing industries of the Empire. I trust, too, that colonial and Indian subjects visiting this country will find some sort of social welcome within the proposed building. This Institute will thus be an emblem, as well as a practical exponent, of the community of interests and the unity of feeling throughout the extended dominions of the Queen. From the close relation in which I stand to the Queen, there can be no impropriety in my stating that if her subjects desire, on the occasion of the celebration of her fiftieth year as Sovereign of this great Empire, to offer her a memorial of their love and loyalty, she would specially value one which would promote the industrial and commercial resources of her dominions in various parts of the world, and which would be expressive of that unity and co-operation whichller Majesty desires should prevail among all classes and races of her extended Empire. My Lords and gentlemen, I have invited you to meet on this occasion in order that I may appeal to you to give me your assistance in establishing and maintaining the Imperial Institute. If you approve of the views I have expressed, lam certain I may rely upon your strenuous co-operation to carry them into effect. I admit that it has not been without anxiety that I resolved to make the propositions I have submitted to you, but confidence and support come to me in the knowledge that I can appeal to you, and through you to the whole country, to give your aid to a work which, I believe, will be of lasting benefit to this and future generations. The Right Hon. the Earl Spencer, K.G. : May it please your Royal Highness, my Lords and gentlemen —It is a great honour for me to have received your Royal Highness's request to move the first resolution at this very important meeting. I wish, your Royal Highness, that I had eloquence and power of speech adequate to express what I ought to say on this very important occasion. It has been customary in this nation and in others to mark in the history of individuals, of nations, and of institutions particular epochs constituting standpoints from which we may review the history of the past. They are always, even on ordinary occasions, interesting, but the one to which this particular occasion relates, is, I will say, of national importance. We have not now to consider the celebration of the jubilee of a private person. We have to celebrate the jubilee of an illustrious personage, beloved and revered over the whole Empire—the head of our nation, tho Sovereign of an Empire which contains millions of human beings in every quarter of the globe. I need not dwell, Sir, on the personal considerations "connected with this subject at any length, but I feel I should not be carrying out my duty if I did not refer in a very few words to Her Majesty herself. We all feel what a great debt this nation and the Empire owe to the Queen, not only for the bright example which she has set to all men and women who are her subjects—an example which 3—A. 9.
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must have had great effect and influence in society all over the world—but also for the manner in which she has performed her duties as a constitutional Sovereign, showing in this respect an example to all other Sovereigns in the world, without which we should not be now celebrating the fiftieth year of her reign in the manner which we are about to do. Passing to general considerations, I am sure that there has been nothing more remarkable during the fifty years of Her Majesty's reign than the rapid development and growth of the population, and the wealth and the commerce of the Empire. A most interesting feature is the great and growing interest which all people in this kingdom take in the affairs of the most distant parts of tho Empire. We have witnessed an immense accession of wealth and commerce. We have seen education diffused and improved in a most remarkable way. Happily this has been accompanied by a diminution in crime, and, though much remains to be accomplished, we have experienced an immense improvement in tho material happiness and prosperity of the working-class of this country. Altogether, I think I may say that there never was a time when the people, as a whole, rallied more heartily and generously in support of the Crown and the constitution. In India, though we had to mark sad events years ago, We may congratulate ourselves on the importance of the results which have followed the assumption of the direct government "of that immense empire by the Queen's Ministers. That, I believe, has increased the benefits conferred by government upon millions and millions of people who dwell in that land. The colonies have developed, as Your Royal Highness has said, step by step with the Mother-country. We have seen nations of our own race and blood rising up and developing, we see them governing themselves by responsible government, and yet cherishing the most intense devotion, nay, enthusiasm, for the Crown and for the Mother-country. We had a notable illustration of that a few years ago when our colonial brethren volunteered to aid us in Africa with their men and means. As, with such considerations as these presenting themselves, we look back upon the fifty years, of Her Majesty's reign, we are impelled to try and find some memorial worthy of Her Majesty and of the affection which wo feel for her, to mark the great events which have passed during her reign. Your Royal Highness has been kind enough to take great pains with regard to this, and you have proposed to the country a scheme. It is to consider that scheme that we have met here to-day, and I venture to say that there is no memorial that could bo more appropriate or more worthy of Her Majesty, and of the glorious history of her reign than that proposed by Your Royal Highness. Sir, in this country we are often unfortunately divided by party feeling. It may be sometimes by religious feeling, sometimes by political feeling, but we all of us cherish one alike— a patriotic feeling in favour of the unity and strength of the Empire. We all have local interests, and part of the strength of this great Empire has been built up by the development of local interests. But we have the higher interests which attach to our citizenship of the great Empire over which the Queen reigns. It is not often that we have the opportunity to unite, in unanimity of feeling, to promote the welfare of that Empire. This is one of the occasions, and we cannot more worthily apply our energies than by coming forward to assist this Imperial Institute which will constitute such a noble emblem of the unity and strength of the Empire. This Institute, as Your Royal Highness has said, is to be placed in London. Now, London is the metropolis of a great Empire. It is not merely to promote a local Institute that we place this Institute hero ; we select London as the only place fitting to be the seat of a memorial not only for the United Kingdom, but for the Queen's dominions in India and in the colonies at large. Wo wish, as Your Royal Highness wishes, that the influence of this Institute should spread to every part of the United Kingdom as well as to the colonies. My Lords and gentlemen, as His Royal Highness told us, he wishes that there may be meetings held to exchange views on a variety of subjects. I understand that the idea is also entertained to have schools of commerce throughout the country, and that technical education should be assisted in many ways. Those are all matters of the greatest importance. They are all matters which directly concern the provinces as well as London. But, Sir, I fear I have already trespassed too long upon the time of this meeting, and I will now close by moving the first resolution, which I think in a proper way sets forth the objects which we have at heart to-day. I beg to move " That this meeting is of opinion that the foundation of an Imperial Institute for the United Kingdom, the colonies and India, would, as an emblem of unity of the Empire, and as an exponent of its industries, and commercial resources —be a national memorial fitting and worthy to commemorate the completion of the fiftieth year of Her Majesty's reign." The Right Hon. the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, (Sir Thomas Clark, Bart.) : Your Royal Highness, my Lords and gentlemen—l have the very greatest pleasure in seconding the resolution which has been just moved by Lord Spencer. As the chief magistrate of the metropolis of Scotland, my duty is more to listen and to report than to say much, but I am quite sure that such an object as this —an object of such universal interest—emanating from your Royal Highness and supported and welcomed by Her Majesty the Queen, whom we all love and revere —will carry with it the greatest possible weight in Her Majesty's northern dominion. In no part of the Empire is the Queen more beloved than in the northern kingdom ; and although tho Scotch people are slow to move, when once they are thoroughly convinced of the utility of the scheme, with that proverbial fervour that characterises the Scottish nation, they will throw themselves into this most important matter. I have very great pleasure in seconding this resolution. His Royal Highness the Peince of Wales then put the resolution to the meeting and declared it to have been carried unanimously. The Right Hon. the Lord Viscount Hampden, G.C.B. : May it please your Royal Highness, my Lords and gentlemen —I rise very willingly to propose the resolution which has been placed in my hands. At the same time I feel very painfully that the subject being so very large, I may not be able to do justice to it. There are some things which we must take as accepted; and among them this point—the loyalty of the English people. Having passed the best part of a long life in Parliament, I naturally look at the events of the past half century from the point of view of a Parliament man. The quality for which Her Majesty has been pre-eminently conspicuous during that long period has been her fidelity to the constitution. At all times Her Majesty has called to
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her counsels those advisers whom she had reason to believe represented the public opinion of her people. In so doing she has trusted her people and her people have trusted her. In that mutual trust between the Sovereign and the pecple lies the secret of the popularity of the Queen. But apart from these considerations cf the constitutional action of the Sovereign, the popularity of Her Majesty with the millions of her subjects through all parts of the globe is due in a great measure to the experience which her people have had of the domestic life of the Queen. They have witnessed her career as our Sovereign—first as a wife and mother, the light and life of a happy, wellordered English home-- and they have seen her subsequently bowed down by the sorrow arising from the death of the Prince Consort of honoured memory. Since that event the heart of her people has gone out to the Queen in sympathy with her and her sorrow and affliction The resolution which has been placed in my hands invites an appeal to all the subjects of Her Majesty throughout her dominions in support of the object which His Royal Highness has now brought to our consideration. We must bear in mind that with the large extent of the dominions of the Queen, beginning with Canada on the west, with India and Australasia on the east, with the Cape in the south, and with islands in almost every sea, we have an extent of Her Majesty's dominions which surpasses even the extent of the old Empire of Rome. It has been said that in area the Queen's dominions cover one-fifth of the habitable globe. We have no very certain statistics with regard to the population subject to the Queen's sceptre, but I shall be within the rank if I put it at upwards of three hundred million souls. These figures show at once the magnitude of the responsibilities of this great Empire. The resolution which I shall have the honour to propose to you invites you to make an appeal to all the subjects of Her Majesty in these wide dominions. lam persuaded of this, that distance does not affect the loyalty of the Queen's subjects. We shall find as much loyalty at the antipodes and at the extremities of the Queen's Empire as we find even in this chamber. It is no part of my duty to invite you now to consider the organization by which this appeal shall be made ; but I think one result of an organization properly constituted should be that every household throughout the Queen's dominions should be invited to respond to this appeal. I was delighted to hear from His Royal Highness that the organization contemplated by this Institute would be extended to provincial communities, and I gathered from the observations of His Royal Highness that ample provision was being made for that object. And now, my Lords and gentlemen, it remains for me to submit to you the resolution which has been placed in my hands. It is in these words : "That an appeal be made to the subjects of the Queen throughout Her Majesty's dominions to give a generous support to the establishment and maintenance of such Imperial Institute." The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor of York (J. Terry, Esq., J.P.) : May it please your Royal Highness, my Lords and gentlemen —The applause of those in this room who have attended this morning I fully interpret as being a most significant manifestation of their perfect accord with the elaborate statement which has proceeded from your Royal Highness. As an individual I feel very thankful that a suggestion has been made in this distinct and complete form. The subjects of Her Majesty, in their devoted love and loyalty, are seeking day by day to perpetuate this glorious year of her reign. The trouble and difficulties connected with the selection of a suitable emblem of their loyal devotion are removed by the conception of this most pleasing proposition. No scheme in my mind could approach this in completeness, and as a sequel to those great Exhibitions that have been held under your Royal Highness's auspices. The Exhibition of last year exceeded those of the previous years in importance, and was most gratifying in its results as exemplifying, I think, in a striking manner the very great progress made in all parts of Her Majesty's dominions. It is certainly most desirable that, upon the attainment of Her Majesty to this important period of her reign, the history of this progress should be perpetuated by an Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the Colonies, and India. Whatever loyalty may be manifested in England and in the United Kingdom, I know, by a close friendship and acquaintance with far-off lands, that the subjects of Her Majesty there have a loyalty as devoted and an affection as warm as our own. lam pleased and delighted at the manner in which the proposition has been accepted by this largo representation of the municipalities of the United Kingdom. It testifies that it is most earnestly desired that the municipalities should move in a distinct way and with one mind, and that the proposal of this organisation will be commended and will be taken up and promoted in such a manner as will render it efficient and complete. We may therefore shortly realize that the manifestations of loyalty on the part of Her Majesty's subjects —a loyalty which is most unmistakable — will result in the permanent establishment of an institution that will draw together, in mutual good-will, not only the immediate subjects of Her Majesty, but those of distant colonies and of the Empire of India. I think, your Royal Highness, the resolution in every way is commendable to our judgment and to our loyalty, and I have the greatest pleasure in seconding it. His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales then put the resolution to the meeting and declared it to have been carried unanimously. The Lord Mayor of London (Sir Reginald Hanson, Kt., F.S.A.): Your Royal Highness, my Lords, and gentlemen—l have been honoured by the suggestion that I should propose the next and the last resolution, and it is one which needs no words on my part to recommend to your notice, because lam quite certain that you will receive it with acclamation. It is " That the best thanks of this meeting be expressed to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for his exertions in framing and presenting the scheme of an Imperial Institute, which, in the opinion of this meeting, will, if established, confer great and important benefits on the subjects of the Queen." Now, we know very well how much time^how much thought, and how much labour the Prince of Wales has given to the conception and the maturing of this scheme in which he is so much interested. We know it is the natural outcome of the Exhibitions which he has told us he has presided over during the past four years, and which have been of so much advantage to the many millions of Her Majesty's subjects. lam quite certain that the presence of so many representatives of the municipal authorities, both of town and country coming from all parts of Great Britain, shows the
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immense interest which is taken in this proposal, and also shows that we believe that the Imperial Institute which His Eoyal Highness has suggested, will, "if established"—l would not myself say "if" established—confer great and important benefits on Her Majesty's subjects. But we think their presence shows also something more —namely, that if it is established you are quite prepared to carry through the scheme which His Eoyal Highness has proposed, and over which he has expeuded so much thought and so much time. One thing only I might venture to add, and that is, supplementing a little what two or three previous speakers have said. I hope that the results of this meeting and the meeting which presently, in the afternoon, I propose to hold at the Mansion House will be that the funds should by no means be confined to the metroplis. Other centres have been already mentioned, and I trust—and I hope I am not anticipating the resolutions which maybe arrived at by the Organizing Committee—l do trust there will bo a large subscription to the funds, and every gentleman that I see in this room may establish a centre for a fund which will tend to increase the amount to be placed at the disposal of the committee which will be intrusted with carrying out this Imperial Institute, so that long before the end of the year matters may be so advanced that we may undoubtedly consider that in the Jubilee of Her Majesty the scheme for the Institute has been put on a thorough and secure basis. I have tin honour of proposing the resolution. The Mayor of Newcastle-on-Tyne (B. C. Browne, Esq., J.P.) : Your Eoyal Highness, my Lords, and gentlemen—lt is with very great pleasure that I have the honour of seconding the present motion. I believe that in all the action that your Eoyal Highness has taken, which has had so wonderful an effect in cementing the good feeling between England and her colonies, that you have in every case acted in advance of the general opinion of the people of England; and we beg to assure your Eoyal Highness, without flattery, that the public of England recognises the wisdom of the steps which you have taken. I fully believe that when this scheme of the Colonial Institute is understood, it will be found to be not only a worthy monument of Her Majesty's reign, but also that the practical effect of it will be felt far more generally than has been anticipated. Speaking as I do, as a representative of one of the large centres of industry, where the problem of how to find work for the people is becoming harder and harder every year, I believe that this is one of those movements to which we may look forward as likely to give us great relief. In these days when we are so closely competing with foreign countries we all of us feel that the most important element in the development of our industries has been the closer trade with our colonies, and I believe almost every business man will agree with me how very difficult it is to get information with regard to the colonies as to what their requirements are, so that we may know exactly what to supply them with. I believe that in the same way, if we could get the colonists to be in complete sympathy with the business men of England, this would create and foster trade and provide work for our people at homo. If we may imagine a place to be provided where we can go at once, and in the course of a few hours ascertain the position of any industry by going from one department to another, and find out from each one, according to our business, all that we want to know, such an institution would facilitate our trade enormously ; because I have no hesitation in saying that there is at present no place in England where the business man can have resort to and really find any reliable representation of the relation and the position in which his trade stands in the various colonies. To have such an Institute would, I think, bo of the greatest advantage, and in order that we may get the benefit of it I am glad to see something about its connection with local centres. Whether it bo connected with our public libraries or chambers of commerce, or whether independently, is a detail; but in this direction, I believe, lies a good opportunity for aiding the great work of emigration. It is apparent to my mind, and I think it will be to the minds of all of us, with the annual increase of population, that we must look to some far wider and sounder system of emigration than we have seen before—emigration not only of labour but also of capital. The colonies for many years past are hungering for that capital of which there is a plethora in England ; if we had good information as to the colonies, if we could get year by year full information as to all that is being done there, and if we could bo as familiar with what is being done there as we are with what is done in the parts of England where wo happen to live it would facilitate the flow of capital, and I think the flow of labour. A business man may always go and find what he wants; with the poor man it is different. He goes to the country town whenever he wants to know what openings there are for men of his particular business. I certainly believe that of all the things for which wo are indebted to his Eoyal Highness there will be none in the future for which he will earn more the gratitude of the whole Empire than this movement, and I must say myself that I look forward to the completion of it with the very greatest hope and enthusiasm, and I have much pleasure, therefore, in seconding the vote of thanks which has been proposed. The Lord Mayor of London then put the vote of thanks to the meeting, and it was carried by acclamation. His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales : My Lords and gentlemen—Although our business here to-day is now concluded, I feel it would be unbecoming in me if I were not to rise to tender my cordial thanks for the very kind way in which the Lord Mayor of London and the Mayor of Newcastle have brought this resolution to your notice, and the kind and unanimous way in which you have received it. lam glad also, gentlemen, to have this opportunity of expressing to you collectively and individually the deep feelings of gratitude with which I see you all here to-day, for the kind response which you have made to my appeal, and for your presence at a time of year when travelling is neither easy nor pleasant, especially bearing in mind the great distances that you have had to coine. It augurs well for the future, and I feel convinced that you will do all in your power to assist me in making this Imperial Institute worthy of the name of our Queen and of her Empire. To me the promotion of this scheme*has been a labour of love, and that, as lam sure, it must strike you all, apart from wishing to do honour to the name of my beloved mother, our Queen; and nobody is more desirous than lam that a monument, if I may use the term, may
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be erected worthy of her Empire. Before sitting down, lam anxious, on this occasion, to tender my thanks—my sincerest thanks—to Lord Herschell and those gentlemen who have given so much time and labour, and have acted as my council of advice in framing this scheme. lam anxious to tender them my best thanks for what they have done, and to you all once more, gentlemen, for the honour you have conferred upon me, and once again to thank you for coining so numerously on this occasion. I only hope that it may be convenient for most of you to attend the meeting which has been called by the Lord Mayor this afternoon at half-past three. The proceedings then terminated.
Mansion House. Eeport of the Proceedings at a Public Meeting held in the Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House, in the City of London, on Wednesday, 12th January, 1887. More than a thousand citizens and others were present. The Eight Hon. the Lord Mayor (Sir Eeginald Hanson, Kt., F.S.A.) took the chair at half-past three o'clock, and was supported by a large number of noblemen and gentlemen. The Lord Mayor : Gentlemen—lhis is a meeting principally I think of citizens, but of all who are interested in the Imperial Institute of the United Kingdom, the colonies and India, of which his Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales is the president. I have had very groat pleasure as Lord Mayor in acceding to the request which has been made to me to have this meeting held in the Egyptian Hall. You know very well the history of the institution which we are met to support, how the Prince of Wales some few months ago addressed a letter to my predecessor, Sir John Staples, how, after that, he appointed an Organizing Committee to advise him on the best way of carrying into effect the views which ho entertained with reference to the celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee, and I have asked those of you who entertain the same views to be here present to-day for the purpose of furthering the interests of this national memorial. Now I may say at the outset that this is by no means the only memorial of Her Majesty's Jubilee which has been contemplated, but I think that whilst particular localities may very properly each and all have their own Jubilee memorial, there should be one especially for the whole of the Kingdom and the whole of the Empire to show the feelings which they profess, and which I believe they all have, of gratitude for the benefits we have received during the fifty years of Her Majesty's happy reign. Gentlemen, I had the pleasure to-day of being present at the meeting held at St. James's Palace, where His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales was in the chair, and many of those whom I see here now were present. One can understand how difficult it is for one of the members of the Eoyal Family to express the views of the Sovereign —but in reading between the lines we can well understand, what is Her Majesty's view on the subject. The Prince said this: "From the close relation in which I stand to the Queen, there can be no impropriety in my stating that if her subjects desire, on the occasion of the celebration of her fiftieth year as Sovereign of this great Empire, to offer her a memorial of their love and loyalty, she would specially value one which would promote the industrial and commercial resources of her dominions in various parts of the world, and which would be expressive of that unity and co-operation which Her Majesty desires should prevail among all classes and races of her extended Empire." I think wo can gather from that pretty clearly what Her Majesty's views would be if she felt at liberty to express them, and therefore we may take it that in this particular form, our gratitude to the Queen can be shown in the way which will most sufficiently satisfy Her Majesty herself. Of course, no doubt, there are objections to the details of this scheme as there are objections to the details of every scheme which has ever been propounded, or that ever will be propounded by human ingenuity of any jubilee which has over been or ever will be called into existence for any purpose whatever. Some plans have been put forward even as regards this particular undertaking, but I would just remind you, especially with regard to one objection which I have hoard made, that if the memorial is to be a spontaneous expression of our love and affection for the Queen, it must come from ourselves, and from our own pockets, and it must be offered freely, because a gift which is extorted loses half its value ; therefore any scheme which would necessitate application to Parliament for funds either in aid of it, or which would necessitate the sustentation to bo largely or entirely supplied by Parliament, would fail in the canon which I have ventured to suggest to you, namely, that it must be a freewill offering of the people. Anything which is taken from the taxes would be anything but a freewill offering, and therefore I should be sorry to recommend it, and I am quite sure Her Majesty the Queen would be loth to accept it. I will be very brief and not take up your time unnecessarily. I have had letters and telegrams of sympathy from a great many gentlemen, I will just road a few of their names, it will take too long to read the letters at length, but it will show you the vast interest which has been taken on this subject, and with reference to this particular meeting, because they are addressed to me by men of distinction from all parts of Her Majesty's dominions —the Duke of Eichmond and Gordon, the Duke of Athol, the Duke of Westminster, the Marquis of Eipon, the Marquis of Hartington (who has written me a very long letter expressing his extreme regret that he is not able to come here), the Earl of Elgin, Earl Stair, Lord Carnarvon, Earl Strafford (the Lord Lieutenant of this County), Lord Northbrook, Mr. Chamberlain (who also wrote me a long letter in which he was equally cordial as to the objects of the meeting), the Lord Advocate, Mr. Joseph Cowen, Mr. Thomas Burt, and a great many others. I will now ask Earl Granville to move the first resolution. Earl Granville : My Lord Mayor, my Lords and gentlemen—l with very great pleasure accepted the honour imposed upon me of taking a part in these proceedings; but while I feed I owe something of an excuse to you for doing so, that excuse ought to be stronger in consequence of the absence, I presume from the delay of a train, of an old personal friend of mine, a political opponent, but for whose character both in public and in private I have the highest possible respect, I moan Lord Iddesleigh. The resolution which I have been called upon to propose to you is to this effect: " That this meeting, desiring to express its grateful recognition of the blessings which have been
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afforded to this country during Her Majesty's reign, resolves that a memorial worthy to record the completion of fifty years of that reign should be erected by means of the voluntary contributions of the Queen's subjects throughout her dominions." Now I am quite aware of what tho object of this meeting is. The object of it is not to give an opportunity to Londoners—to born Cockneys like myself—to make long speeches. The object of it is that we should have that intercommunication with the representative of every part of the United Kingdom on a subject which we think worthy of consideration; and you may depend upon me that I shall be very brief on this occasion. My Lord Mayor spoke really in support of this first resolution with great force and with great clearness, and I agree in all that he said. I believe that there can be no doubt whatever in the minds of any one here present that it would be a mere work of supererogation to press upon you the desire which is universally felt in the United Kingdom and in all Her Majesty's groat colonies and dependencies, to celebrate in a worthy manner the accomplishment of the fifty glorious years which have constituted her reign. Now, in this country we refuse to be absolutely bound —and we wisely refuse—-by precedents, but we like to hear what the precedents are, to consider them, and in some degree to guide our course by them. Last year, in consequence of a question which was put by a noble friend of mine, Lord Braye, to the then Government, and also some private inquiries which he addressed to me as a member of the Government with regard to the question of tho Jubilee, I looked into the matter myself. I communicated with the Privy Council Office and with the Home Office, and I consulted some of the historical records on tho subject. I found that really the records of the jubilee of George the Third were very meagre, and perhaps I may add that this is accounted for by the fact that there was not very much to record on the matter. At that time tho King was very popular. There was no doubt a most pleasing ebullition of affection and of loyalty to the Sovereign. Guns were fired, bells were rung, anthems were sung, processions were formed, sermons were preached, speeches were made, and an enormous quantity of food and drink seems to have been consumed ; and they even had recourse to what would be out of the question now, because the class happily does not exist—a certain number of that unfortunate class who were imprisoned for small debts were released from their confinement. But whilst the general feeling does not appear to have approached in the slightest degree the intense feeling which exists now on the subject, there was another remarkable circumstance that there seemed to have been no proposals whatever and no notion of doing that which, while it reflected honour on the character of the Sovereign at the same time conferred a lasting benefit to the nation and to this great Empire. Now, with regard to this proposal of doing honour to the Queen, I have one little complaint to make of the committee who have been called upon by the Prince of Wales to report on this subject —very much the same complaint that I, when very young, heard that Mr. Creevey had made of Lord Brougham. Mr. Creevey was a great friend of Lord Brougham's (at that time Mr. Brougham). He was contesting with him the representation of Liverpool, an event which may possibly arise within a few days of this time —and he made a great complaint of Mr. Brougham, He said that Mr. Brougham, in his speeches, always speaking first, so entirely exhausted all the political subjects that he (Mr. Creevey)—was left without anything to say. Lord Brougham promised to pay great attention to this remonstrance at the next meeting, and at that meeting he spoke upon every possible subject of interest at that time, but at the end of three hours he suddenly stopped and he said he was called upon to stop because he knew that his friend Mr. Creevey was full of matter which he was desirous of imparting to so distinguished an audience, and that he would not say one word more to postpone their pleasure in hearing him. I have a little bit of that feeling with regard to this report, because Lord Herschell and his colleagues appear to me in so clear and so condensed a form to have stated the object and reason for celebrating the Jubilee of Her Majesty, and in explaining the particular mode in which that best could be done, that I have really absolutely nothing to say. You will all read that report. It points very clearly to the establishment of an Imperial Institute for the United Kingdom, the colonies, and of India, and the members of the committee will correct me if I am wrong in saying that the pith of the report is this, that it is desirable to establish buildings worthily to celebrate these fifty years of Her Majesty's most prosperous reign, and that, at the same time, those buildings should be fit for the carrying out of the plan which they go on to describe. Now the object of this Institute appears to me as designed by them clearly to be this, to bring much more closely together the interests generally, but particularly the commercial interests of the Mother-country, and of the colonies and dependencies of the Sovereign. I am speaking in this great commercial city, and I am speaking in the presence of some of the most eminent representatives of commerce in all parts of this kingdom, and I believe tho peculiarity of this plan is that it is not to be an isolated metropolitan institution, but that each of the provinces should have their own centre, although in the most friendly communication with the central body. I venture to appeal to them whether it is not a fact that there is a great deal of ignorance, and lamentable ignorance, with regard to the unbounded resources of the large Empire which now belongs to the Queen. It is most desirable that it should be brought home both to our colonies and ourselves, as to the progress which is being made at Home, and especially to us at Home, whether we intend to emigrate or to send capital to those dependencies, or whether we mean to enter into commerce with them, that perfect information should be obtained on this point. Together with this important subject it will give means of intercommunication of all sorts, and indirectly will, I hope, very much contribute not only to the diffusion of knowledge, but to the promotion of that technical education to which it may be so usefully adapted. I believe —and you will contradict me if I am wrong—but I believe that there is a vast amount of capital in this country ready to flow into tho colonies and into India. I believe that in India and the colonies there is a great desire to receive that capital, and to make the best use of it, and it would be indeed lamentable if mere ignorance should create an obstacle to the fullest development of such an int ermutual exchange of services. The Lord Mayor spoke aixrat the character of this plan being of a voluntary character. I entirely agree with what he has said, and I think the essence of it is tha tit should be a voluntary offering from all classes of Her Majesty's subjects to that Sovereign for whom they
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have such an affectionate and devoted love. I think that, with regard to the question of applying to Parliament, that should be avoided. lam not a member of the Government, as you know, and therefore Ido not know whether the Government would wish to aid it. Perhaps the Chancellor of the Exchequer would be hardly prepared so soon to give an opinion on that important point, and I am quite sure that neither he nor I could give any very decided opinion as to whether Parliament would be ready or would not be ready annually to make such a vote; but what I say is, we particularly do not want the occasion to arise. We wish this to be a spontaneous and voluntary offering from the people to Her Majesty the Queen. I have only one more word to say, and that is that I entirely agree with the concluding words of the committee's report, that is, if it is carried out, it will be a striking emblem of the unity of the whole Empire which has grown so enormously during the fifty years of Her Majesty's reign, which we are now celebrating. I believe that object will add most forcibly to the strength and to the elasticity of those silken cords, which, year by year, I might almost say day by day, are uniting the whole Empire into one compact body. The Eight Hon. David Plunket, M.P. :My Lord Mayor, my Lords, and gentlemen —I assure you that I feel it is a great honour as well as a great pleasure to be permitted in this great centre of the wealth and commerce of this country to take part for a very few moments only in the proceedings of to-day. I perhaps might not have had to do so were it not for the fact which we all most deeply regret, that my noble friend Lord Iddosleigh has been prevented from coming here. Nothing, I am sure, would have prevented him from being present here but circumstances which he could not control, and I am sure we should have been all most glad to have had this meeting addressed by one who has for so long a period of the fifty years of the present reign of Her Majesty shared in the counsels of our Sovereign with so much honour to himself and so much advantage to the country. I am very glad, indeed, to take part in these proceedings, and to stand amongst so many distinguished men who represent the different institutions and different interests of this country, and, I may say, of very varying views on political questions, as I dare say some of us will have good reason to know in another place before many days are past. But, my Lords and gentlemen, we are assembled for a common purpose. We are assembled here to-day to lay the foundations of and to take the means for erecting a memorial and a monument which shall not only be, as this resolution declares, a record of the prosperity and of the happiness which we have enjoyed during the reign of the present Sovereign, but which shall also be a bond of union in the future for all the various races and all the various interests which go to make up our great Empire. My Lords and gentlemen, it would be impertinence on my part to attempt in the few minutes that I am happy to have at my disposal for the purpose of addressing you, any description of the great public and private virtues which we have seen in the person of our beloved Queen. Early in her reign they were summed up by the great English poet of the present day, when he wrote— Her court was pure, her life serene, God gave her rest, her land repose ; A thousand claims to reverence close In her as Mother, Wife, and Queen. Thirty-seven years have passed away since those words were written by Lord Tennyson, but every day of all those years has brought fresh proof of the truth of the lines, and those claims—those thousand claims to reverence —have been allowed again and again, and are enshrined in the deepening devotion of her subjects. My Lords and gentlemen, these are feelings which we are are proud to entertain within the limits of these islands, but in this Jubilee year we cannot but know that these feelings are shared by millions of our kinsmen, and of our fellow-subjects who are not our kinsmen, throughout the wide dominions of this Empire. I say that it was a great and a noble thought that inspired His Eoyal Highness, when he proposed to take advantage of this Jubilee occasion, to draw into one common centre all those feelings of devotion and affection for the Queen, and to weave them into a common bond of strength and of unity for the Empire in the future. This resolution, my Lords and gentlemen, proposes that the memorial should be erected by means of voluntary contributions of the Queen's subjects throughout all her dominions. I feel confident that our fellow-subjects beyond the seas will not bo slow in responding to this appeal. They have given over and over again proofs that, though they have changed the skies under which they have lived, they have not changed their hearts and minds as Englishmen. In their new homes beyond the ocean they call their children and their places by English names. They have ever turned back their minds to the old country, and they have endeavoured to frame for themselves in the new lands institutions as like to those which they have left behind them here as the circumstances in which they lived would admit of; aye, and not long ago, they have proved their willingness to share the dangers and the risks of war in the hour of difficulty and of anxiety with the Mother-country. My Lords and gentlemen, this trophy which we now propose to raise is not one so much to communicate the glories in war of this country hi which the colonies were so willing to share, as to commemorate the peaceful triumphs of commerce and of civilization, and I am well assured that our fellow-countrymeii abroad will readily join with us to make closer the bond and to seal the record "with such a symbol as is now proposed, by their willingness to tread along with us the paths of peace and prosperity in the future as one nation. But after all, my Lords and gentlemen, this institution has been started in the old country, and it is in the old country that it ought to be (even if there .were ample resources coming from abroad) mainly supported; and, therefore, lam glad indeed to be permitted to take a humble part in the proceedings of to-day, and to appeal to the citizens of London, that at the very outset of this undertaking they should give earnest and practical proof of their enthusiasm for the cause which this memorial is in future to represent. I say the beginning ought to be made to-day vigorously and handsomely. The wisdom and energy with which His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales and the committee over whom he presides have already conducted this business to its present point, afford, I think, to all of you, guarantees that it will be well and ably managed in its future course. Therefore, my Lords and gentlemen, as I do not wish to trespass upon your time, I will conclude by calling
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upon all those who are here to-day to give a practical proof of their earnest enthusiasm with regard to this memorial, by making handsome contributions to this fund, and so make a good beginning to the great work which we have already taken in hand. The Lord Mayor : The resolution proposed by Lord Granville, and seconded by Mr. Plunket, is as follows : " That this meeting, desirous to express its grateful recognition of the blessings which have been affordetl to this country during Her Majesty's reign, resolves that a memorial, worthy to record the completion of fifty years of that reign, should be erected by means of the voluntary contributions of the Queen's subjects throughout her dominions." The resolution was put to the meeting and carried. The Loed Mayor : Gentleman—l am sorry to say I have a telegram from Lord Iddlesleigh from the Foreign Office saying that he is prevented from attending the meeting owing to a sudden indisposition. You will all agree with me that we verv much regret his absence and the occasion of it. The Eight Hon. G. J. Goschen (Chancellor of the Exchequer): My Lords and gentlemen —All of us must deeply regret the absence of Lord Iddlesleigh on this occasion, having heard the cause of his detention ; but, besides that, we have every occasion to deplore that we have not his advocacy of the cause which we are here to-day to promote. Personally, I must say that I regret that his absence has put me in a position where otherwise I should not have been, of having to propose an important resolution—for it is a most important resolution, if I may say so—the business resolution of to-day. Now, gentlemen, there has been a much greater accord and unanimity hitherto, upon the subject that the Queen's Jubilee ought to be celebrated in a most worthy manner, than in the earlier stages of these proceedings with regard to the best method of carrying out our wish to celebrate that Jubilee. As was very natural, a very large number of persons thought that this Jubilee was a most excellent opportunity to combine the promotion of some cause which they had specially at heart with the celebration of the Jubilee itself ; and so various plans have been proposed, and there are many localities in which gentlemen seem to wish to have local celebrations of the movement. I am sure no one would wish to discourage local celebrations, but I believe everyone would wish that no support of the local celebrations should diminish the possibility of giving one great national Imperial mark of the way in which the Empire at large wishes to celebrate this Jubilee. What is the main idea which has influenced His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales in proposing this plan ? It is this, to have a plan in which not only Great Britain and Ireland should take a part, but in which all parts of the Empire should bear a share, and it is certain that enthusiastically as the celebration of the Jubilee has been taken up at home, the enthusiasm of the colonies and their loyal desire to do honour to the Queen on this occasion is equal to that of any part of the Empire; and therefore, one of the first conditions of the problem was this : what methods were there to combine all the parts of the Empire in one great national effort ? What methods were there ? Then there came the idea that this should be done by a great Imperial Institute, in which India and the colonies, as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland, should take part, and I have seen no other plan that combines that which I consider to be an essential condition of a truly national celebration. Now, I think it will be proved—it has been proved I trust by the report of the committee which has been appointed to deal with the matter —that while we have been anxious to give effect to a natural and a powerful sentiment, at the same time we have been anxious to put it in a practical and useful form. Personally, I should not have been sorry to have heard the speech of five minutes which was proposed to be made by a gentleman in this room, because I saw the point that he had in his mind was this : that in time of great national distress there should be no great expenditure of wealth, as he put it, upon this Institute. But those who have studied this proposal, those who have gone into these plans, believe that, while at the same time they are going to do honour to the Queen, they are going to promote an institution which will be most favourable to the industrial, to the commercial, and to the social interests of this country as well as of the colonies. I venture to say the Prince of Wales is one of the first in this country who looks to the interests of the working-classes. If he had sought out the best means by which he could promote some celebration of this joyful Jubilee which should at the same time promote the interest of the masses in this country, he would have fixed upon an Institute where you are going to bring together the colonies and the subjects of the Queen who live in Great Britain and Ireland, so that we at home may see what the colonies W 7ant, and the colonies may know what they can get from the Mother-country, what they can get not only in the way of material assistance, not only by the export of produce, but by seeing that the desire for emigration which exists in many parts may be wisely and happily directed, and that great outlet for our national activity may not be destroyed, or may not be weakened by any imperfect organization. I trust that for the purposes of this Institute there will not only be great and powerful subscribers in this City of London, but I trust that the working-classes may take up this question, and that they, with their pence and their shillings, may bear their share also in this great national demonstration, as we may hope it may be. There is some sentiment, no doubt, which has guided those who have promoted this plan, and we ought not to be ashamed that on an occasion like this sentiment should play some part. Sentiment has often provoked cruel wars, but let sentiment also take its part in the development of great works of peace. We are not ashamed of sentiment, or of the sentimental ties, as they are sometimes called, which bind the colonies to the Mother-country. It often happens that in the history of families there comes a moment when the relations between the father and the sons which were first parental are afterwards exchanged for what may be called a frank friendship upon almost equal terms. We have arrived at that period during the last fifty years. If the Queen looks back to the beginning of her reign and thinks what the colonies were then, arid contemplates now those vast possessions, flourishing as they are and loyal as they are, which have so largely added to the power and to the magnificence of her Empire, she must see what a difference of tone and what a difference of sentiment animates it now to what was the case many years ago. There was a period, perhaps,
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when there was some cooling of the sentiments between the colonies and the Mother-country ; but that time has passed, and year by year during the last five or ten years we have seen, stronger and stronger and stronger every day, the feeling of the colonies that they will rest on the Mother-country, and the feeling of the Mother-country that she will stand by the colonies. Therefore, to-day, the Prince of Wales and the promoters of this plan feel that they can come forward with a plan such as this, knowing that they will appeal to a growing sentiment in all parts of the Empire, and, at the same time, that they are inaugurating a scheme which will assist the commerce and the industrial development of the Empire. Now, I have been told that some of the chambers of commerce fear that, through the Central Institute, their local museums might not receive the necessary support; but I venture most humbly to suggest that it is by having a strong Central Institute—which intends to promote the formation of local museums —that they may best arrive at that which they desire, and which all must desire —namely, a far greater distribution over the whole of the country of collections which will guide the manufacturing and the working-classes in their labour and in their trades. Gentlemen, I ought not to detain you by any description of the objects of this Institute. That description has been given in the report of the committee. It only remains for me to ask you who are here to-day—and not only those who are here to-day, but all Her Majesty's subjects—to support this as a national institution and to support it by voluntary contributions. Lord Granville was perfectly correct in saying that the great grace of this gift to Her Majesty, if one might call it so, would spring from the voluntary contributions. It might be that at the particular moment Parliament would vote certain sums, but we all know how afterwards you have haggling over estimates, and you have painful discussions even upon matters of great national interest. It would be, lam sure, derogatory to the scheme ;it would hurt its acceptance generally over the Empire at large if it were made the subject of a Parliamentary debate instead of the spontaneous action of all classes of Her Majesty's subjects. Through your spontaneous action, I trust that this Institute may be made worthy of the Jubilee which we desire to celebrate and worthy of the objects which it is intended to promote. The Right Hon. A. J. Mundella, M.P.: My Lord Mayor, my Lords and gentlemen—The displacement of the first speaker, whose absence we all sincerely regret to-day, has placed me unexpectedly in the position of being called upon to second this resolution now. My right honourable friend who moved that resolution, in a speech of so much ability —and I must say, as he is leaving the room, with the consciousness of the responsibility of a Chancellor of the Exchequer already upon his shoulders—did not read the resolution which it is my duty to submit to you. It is as follows: " That this meeting is of opinion that an Imperial Institute constituted in accordance with the plan framed under the directions of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, will form the best means of carrying out the preceding resolution." Now, Sir, in common with my right honourable friend, I regret that the single voice that we have heard to day, which is not in accord with the general sentiments of this meeting, was not allowed to address to this audience the words which he desired to say in deprecation of expenditure. But I gathered from the resolution which that gentleman read, that in this time of distress he deemed it inadvisable to spend wealth in commemorating the Sovereign's Jubilee. Now, I should like to say this, and lam quite sure that all the citizens of London will agree with me in what I am about to say, that there is not a man in this room or out of it who does not sympathise with the working-classes and with our industrial population, and if the wealth which is about to be expended was the expenditure of a foolish and wasteful character, I believe the citizens of London would be the first to deprecate it; but I can conceive nothing that can be more in the interests of the working-classes of this country than that the great captains of industry, and that the armies of industry who serve under them, should have a closer knowledge and connection and touch with our great colonial Empire. Much of the distress which arises to-day, arises from the fact that our working people do not know how great is their inheritance, how vast is the scope, how wonderful the field for their energies in that Empire over which our Sovereign reigns to-day. Why sir, when I consider that we are increasing our population in a town like Birmingham every year at the rate of something nearly approaching forty thousand, and that the sole employment for our industrial people is industrial occupations, when we know that the land instead of employing more and more of our people every year, is employing less and less, where shall we look for a field for the great and increasing and intelligent population of this country, except in those vast colonies which only await industry and capital for the development and for the employment of our citizens at Homo. Gentlemen, I may say—and if my friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been in his place I would have said the same—that so long as he is Chancellor of the Exchequer, or anybody succeeding him in the House of Commons, I shall advocate a large and increasing expenditure upon technical institutions in order that the artisans of this country shall be as well qualified for their pursuits as their own class in any other country in the world. But this movement, this very institution, when called into existence will be affiliated to the technical institutions of the country, which will make us better acquainted with what our colonies will require. It will bring us into closer touch with them ; it will show to our artisans how they must fit themselves, and how they may achieve success in those colonies, and I believe it will do more to promote the success of our working-classes than almost any other institution that could have been called into existence and that properly could commemorate the glorious reign of our Queen. Ido not feel myself at liberty to detain the audience any longer, but I should like to say in conclusion that I trust this will be so liberally supported that it will be a fitting monument not only to the viytues of the Sovereign, but to the loyalty of her people and to the magnitude of our great Empire. The Lord Mayor then put the resolution tq_ the meeting and declared it to be carried with only one dissentient. Lord Rothschild : My Lord Mayor, my Lords and gentlemen —The resolution which has been put into my hands to propose is so short and so concise, and expresses, I am sure, so well the feelings of this great meeting, that I cannot do better than read it to you at once. It is, " That 4—A. 9.
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this meeting pledges itself to take all practical steps to assist in the formation of the Imperial Institute and to support it when brought into existence." Although that resolution lam sure expresses your feeling, I hope you will excuse me if I detain you for a very short time at this late period of the afternoon. My Lord Mayor, the reading of that resolution makes it quite clear to all that you have not summoned this great meeting of the citizens of London to consider steps and to devise modes and methods for celebrating Her Majesty's Jubilee. When the day comes for that auspicious event, you, my Lord Mayor, and the Sheriffs of London will be true to the traditions of this historical corporation, and the hospitality of the City of London will be extended far and wide, to rich and poor alike, and if Cornhill and Fleet Street do not flow as of old with sack and other wines, and if Smithfield is not illuminated with bonfires, it will be because you have devised better modes of entertainment for your fellow-citizens. The object of the meeting to-day is to found an institution which will be commemorative of the gratitude of Her Majesty's loyal subjects for her fifty years of a glorious reign. If we look back in the annals of history, we shall be inclined to boast of the reigns of two of Her Majesty's predecessors, namely, the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and Queen Anne, but our successors as well as ourselves will joyfully acknowledge that the reign of Queen Victoria is greater. When the Queen ascended the Throne fifty years ago, the inhabitants of this country enjoyed a not inconsiderable amount of freedom and of liberty. Those liberties have been increased, and with the increasing liberties the love for the Throne has augmented. Fifty years ago Canada was an agglomeration of separate colonies ; it is now a great dominion traversed from one end to another by a net-work of railways, and one of the greatest agricultural-producing countries in the world. Australia was hardly known, and was then probably only a mass of convict settlements ; it is now a great kingdom of Englishmen and Englishwomen. These acquisitions of territory, and these conquests have not been made by war and by the sword. They have been made by men and women who have left their country of their own free will to found a new England which shall be attached to the old England and to their Sovereign. What can be more natural, gentlemen, than that a grateful and a loyal people should wish to commemorate fifty years of a glorious reign, fifty years in which the genius of a free nation has made great strides in all those arts and sciences which civilization requires, by founding an institution which shall at all times draw to its shelter the products of the Mother-country and of the provinces, which shall be the nucleus of those great commercial museums which you all require, not only in this city but throughout the provinces, which shall be a symbol of the link which unites England to her colonies, and which I hope will be worthy of the Queen in whose honour we intend to found it? Professor Huxley :My Lord Mayor, my Lords and gentlemen—l propose to take a step which I believe to be a very impolitic one on the part of any speaker, and it certainly is one which I have rarely been in the habit of taking myself, and that is, to crave your indulgence; but my reason for doing so is one which you I think will all easily apprehend, and lies in these facts : that at breakfast time this morning I received an intimation that I should have to speak to one of these resolutions and I adjusted my mind accordingly; but on reaching my place I found that was a mistake, and that I should have to speak on another resolution, so that I made a new adjustment. But, unfortunately, I was still under a misapprehension, and it turned out that yet another adjustment would have to take place, and I should have to speak to that which has just been read to you. Now it is a very good thing to have a flexible mind, but one's mind is not altogether like a reversible paletot, and I am afraid under these circumstances that my observations may be a little mixed, and may have more or less reference to all three of the several topics to which I have had occasion to direct my attention. But, if it should be so, it will be the more excusable, as all three are logically connected together. The resolutions have been drawn up with great skill, and if you grant the first Ido not see any very clear or logical escape from those which follow. It is somewhat unfortunate for me that the resolution with respect to which I have to address you is one of a specially practical character, and which could be dealt with advantageously only by persons who are acquainted with the disposal of the resources of the country in a manner which it does not fall to a man of science to deal with, and the remarks which I wish to address to you —in fact, the only raison d'etre of my being here, I take it, is that I have been more or less connected with science during my life —the remarks that I wish to address to you will be conceived from that point of view. It may not be within the knowledge of all my hearers that the last fifty years, tho epoch of Her Majesty's reign (not, let us hope, by any means co-extensive with it), is remarkable above all corresponding periods of human history that I know anything about, for two peculiarities ; the one is, the enormous development of industry, and the other is the no less remarkable and prodigious development of physical science, which two developments indeed have gone hand in hand. The opinion which lam now expressing to you is not one formed ad hoe for the purposes of this meeting; it is one which I expressed two or three years ago when I was taking leave of the Royal Society ; and it is a matter which is perfectly obvious to any person who has paid attention either to the history of science or to the history of industry, that there has been nothing, not only in any period of fifty years, but in any century, in the slightest degree comparable to the magnitude and the importance of the growth of those two branches of human activity which has taken place since the year 1837. Now my memory goes back far enough to call to my mind with great vividness a period when industry, or at least the chiefs and the leaders of industry, looked very askance at science. The practical man prided himself on caring nothing for it, and making a point of disbelieving that any advantage to industry could be gained by the growth of what he was pleased to call abstract and theoretical knowledge. But within the last thirty years more particularly, that state of things has entirely changed. There began in the first place a slight flirtation between science and industry, and that flirtation has grown into an intimacy —I may almost say a courtship, until those who watch the signs of the times say that it is high time that the yeung people married and set up an establishment for themselves. Gentlemen, this great scheme which is before you, from my point of view is the public and ceremonial marriage of science and industry; it is the recognition on the part of those persons who are best able to judge of what are the wants of the industry of the time that, if they
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are to be developed in a way proportionate to their importance, they must be developed by scientific methods, and by the help of a thoroughly scientific organization. A great distinction is very commonly drawn by some philosophical friends of mine, between what they call " militarism " or military organization and what they call "industrialism," very much to the advantage of the latter. Iby no means dispute their position, but I would ask any of you who is cognizant of the facts of the case, and who has paid any attention to what is the meaning of modern industry pursued by the methods which are now followed, whether after all it is not war under the forms of peace. It is perfectly true that the industrial warfare is followed by results of a far more refined character than those which follow in the track of military warfare. It does not break heads and it does not shed blood, but it starves the man who succeeds in the war of competition, and the nation which succeeds in the war of competition beats the other by starvation. It is a hard thing to say, gentlemen, but it is the plain, simple fact of the case, that industrial competition among the different peoples of the world is a warfare which must be carried on by the means of warfare. Now, in what respect does modern warfare differ from ancient warfare ? It differs because it has allied itself with science ; because it will have organization and discipline as its foundation, and not mere mass and number; because it takes advantage of every scientific discovery by which the weapons of offence and defence can be perfected; and because it requires the highest possible education and the most extensive means of information on the part of those who conduct that warfare. The peaceable warfare of industrialism, if it is to succeed, must follow exactly the same methods; your system, your methods, must be organized. You must call to your aid, as industry is already doing, every possible help which is to be gathered from science, and you should all know what help science is now giving to you. Not only so, but those who conduct your operations should be trained and disciplined in these difficult branches of human knowledge which deal with the needs and wants of nations, and with the distribution of commodities. This country has dropped astern in the race for want of the education which is obtained elsewhere in the higher branches of industry and of commerce. It has dropped astern in the race for want of that instruction in technical education which is given elsewhere to the artisan, and if you desire to have any chance of keeping up that industrial predominance which is the foundation of the Empire, which, if it fail, would cause the whole fabric of the State to crumble—if you desire particularly, as the gentleman who desired just now to move an amendment did —to see want and pauperism less common than they have been, unhappily, and are at present, remember —let me say more modestly, the conviction of a man who looks at these things scientifically is, that it is only possible by the organization of industry in the manner that we understand organization in science, and by the straining every nerve, to train the intelligence which is concerned in industry to the highest point, and to keep the industrial products of England at the head of those of the markets of the world. Now, gentlemen, it is because I look upon this Institute as the first formal recognition, whether conscious or unconscious I know not, but as the first formal recognition of this great fact: that our people are at length becoming alive to the necessity of organization, of discipline, of knowledge ; it is upon that ground that I venture to support the proposition. As I have said, if the first of these propositions is granted, if it is indeed a worthy and fitting memorial of Her Majesty's reign that you would create an institution which permanently represents that which is the great characteristic feature of the period, that which will mark the Victorian epoch in history, as the Augustan epoch or the epoch of Pericles was marked in ancient history—if you desire to do that, an Institute having such objects and purposes as are defined in the papers which are put before you appears to me to be a monument not only more lasting than brass, but one which for centuries and centuries to come will be working, will be before the people, an image of the objects after which they ought to strive, and as a means of organizing their activities to such results as will lead to their perennial welfare. If this be so, and Ido not know that the judgment which I express to you can be warped—l certainly have never felt the enervating influences of capital—l certainly have had as much to do in my way in endeavouring to the best of my ability to raise the working-class to that level of intelligence to which it is capable of attaining, so that as far as I know, if we are to have these horrible divisions among us, I belong rather to the mass than to the class, whatever that may be. But that is my deliberate judgment about the matter, and, such being the case, I venture to commend to you the resolution which has been read to you by Lord Eothschild. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P.: My Lord Mayor and gentlemen—ln this city we are always ready to obey the summons of the Lord Mayor, but I think that you will agree with me that, after the speeches that we have heard, any remark of mine with reference to the resolution would be a work of supererogation. Lord Granville, in his interesting opening remarks, alluded to an unfortunate candidate who had to follow Lord Brougham. If I were to speak in support of the resolution, I should have to follow half-a-dozen Lord Broughams. I think that in this city we all feel great confidence in the judgment and the sagacity of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of Lord Eothschild, of Lord Granville, and in the scientific knowledge of my friend who has just sat down; and in following their lead and that of the committee I think that we all of us feel that we are not likely to go far wrong. Other monarchs who have reigned long have left behind them monuments in the shape of pyramids of slone, and sometimes, what is even worse, of mountains of debt; but if I were to criticise what we have heard to-day at all, it would be just to say that I think this Institute which we are about to form is not so much a memorial of Her Majesty's reign as it is of our gratitude and affection. The true memorial of Her Majesty's reign is, I think, engraven in the hearts and in the affections of Her Majesty's subjects, and nowhere, my Lord Mayor, I am sure more deeply graven than in the hearts of the loyal and patriotic citizens of her metropolis. The resolution was then put to the meeting and carried with only one dissentient. The Marquis of Lorne : My Lord Mayor and gentlemen—The resolution I have the honour to propose is one voting the thanks of this meeting to the Prince of W Tales for having originally suggested the idea which has been shaped by the representative committee, I shall certainly not
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repeat the observations which have been made as to the good which I believe will be effected all round—not to one class, but to every subject of Her Majesty throughout the Empire—by some such institution as that which we are met here to consider and to discuss to-day. You have all heard from the representatives of the committee on tin's platform the good which they believe it will do to the Empire, and more especially to those at Home. Having lately been in touch with one of our colonies, I wish to say one word, and only one word, because I shall be followed by a gentleman much more capable of speaking on that subject than I am —namely, Sir Charles Tupper —and that is this: that I think this proposal will find a very wide and a very general acceptance amongst our colonial brethren and fellow-subjects. I believe this because it will be a great good to those countries to have the opportunity of showing wdiat they are made of in this great highway of the world's commerce and wealth. They will have, as I believe, from having read the plan, that which they so much value in their homes—they will have space, and they will have liberty ; they will have space to show what they are capable of, and what they have produced; and they will in the space so allotted to them, and subject to certain general rules for the good and the guidance of the institution at large—they will have the liberty of doing within those limits what they choose. This is exactly what they want, and what will do them good all round. This is no question as between one class and another, as will be told to you by my friend from Canada—nor, as one gentleman has suggested here, is the scheme conceived in the interests of those who belong to the moneyed classes. I think one special instance, which I recall to my personal recollection of the proceedings of this year, will show what good this kind of international exhibition of manufacture and of products does, and that instance may be multiplied a thousand-fold in the future—it is only one' —and it is this : I know one of our exhibitors got an order this year from a British manufacturer for no less than £7,000 of raw woods—Canadian woods —which, of course, would be manufactured in England. I think that instance speaks for itself, and, considering how much of that kind of thing we are likely to have in future from a greater knowledge of each other, we may safely say that an Institute such as that proposed will do good to the old country and to all its children around it. I beg now to read the resolution: " That the thanks of this meeting be conveyed to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales for having suggested a national memorial worthy to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Her Majesty's reign." Sir Charles Tupper, G.C.M.G., C.8., High Commissioner for Canada: My Lord Mayor, my Lords and gentlemen—l have great pleasure in seconding the resolution which has just been proposed by Lord Lome. At this moment I may say, as a colonist, that the heartfelt gratitude of the colonists of all portions of the Empire is especially extended to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. There is no colonist, there is no person who is interested in the colonies who does not know that the great success which has attended the great Colonial and Indian Exhibition, which has just closed, was due in a great measure to the devotion of His Royal Highness as the executive head of that undertaking, and it is an additional claim upon the gratitude of colonists that His Royal Highness has now carried out a design, long since contemplated, of founding a permanent colonial and Indian institution in the heart of the British Empire. I may say that, if during the last fifty years the Mother-country has witnessed a very great and very grand advance in everything that constitutes progress and prosperity, the colonies equally have enjoyed the same. In the great dominion of Canada, in tho great provinces of Australasia, evidences are to be seen of the marvellous progress and prosperity that has attended the glorious fifty years of Her Gracious Majesty's reign, and there is no proposal that could be made that will commend itself more heartily to the people of this country, or to their fellow-citizens throughout the outlying portions of the Empire, than that to perpetuate by a suitable memorial and a suitable monument the gratitude of the nation, whether at Home or abroad, to Her Majesty for the great and inestimable blessings that this Empire has enjoyed during the past fifty years. I feel therefore the special pleasure of having the honour of seconding this vote of thanks to His Royal Highness for having initiated this movement. I believe the movement is one which is not only worthy of the heir-apparent to the Throne, but is worthy of the gracious Sovereign for whom, in the colonies as in this country, there is the most devoted and loyal affection, due to her as a Sovereign from the hour she ascended tho Throne down to the present moment. I have great pleasure in seconding this resolution. The resolution was put to the meeting and carried unanimously. Lord Herschell :My Lords and gentlemen —I have to propose a resolution to which I think there will be no amendment, and that is, " That the thanks of this meeting be given to the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor for presiding to-day." It has always been one of the honourable traditions of the Chief Magistrate of the City of London that he has been amongst the foremost to take part in promoting and assisting every work which is likely to benefit his fellow-citizens, and I am sure that you will feel that that tradition is not likely to be lost during the tenure of office by the present Chief Magistrate of the City of London, and that we are grateful to him for his presence to-day, and for the firmness and dignity with which he conducted the proceedings on this occasion. Perhaps I may be allowed, as I have the honour of being chairman of the committee which His Royal Highness was good enough to appoint, to say a word or two, and they will be only two or three words literally, apart from the resolution which I have just proposed to you. I desire first to say this : that if I believed that the institution, which we are about to found, was going to be anything like an empty formality, I should not care to take the slightest trouble about it. It is because I believe that it is likely to be of very great use and importance that I am determined to do what I can to render it any assistance in my power, and if I believed that it was being organized solely for the benefit of the wealthy, I should not care to devote a moment further of my time to it. If its purpose was only to make the wealthy wealthier, and to improve the condition of those who are well-to-do, I should consider that I had a much better use to which to put my time than to take any further trouble about it. My interest in it arises from the fact that I believe it will benefit, above all, the classes who unfortunately have now little or nothing to do, and it is in that belief that I am desirous of seeing it established; and I should like to say one other word, and it is this: that although the seat of
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this Institute is to be in the metropolis—it must be somewhere—yet it is no part of the design of those whom the Prince of Wales has called into consultation with him, it is neither any part of His Eoyal Highness's design, nor of their desire, that it should be a metropolitan institution although it is to be situated here. Its purposes and its objects are intended to be as wide as are the dominions of the Queen, and one of the matters which must engage the most earnest attention of the committee in their further deliberation, before the matter passes from their hands into the hands of those who will govern the institution, will be this : how best they may carry out the proposal of this Imperial Institution so as to bring it into the closest contact and touch and co-operation with all the centres of industry in the United Kingdom. I can only say this: that we should be but too happy to receive the suggestions of any of the bodies interested in commerce in any of these centres to aid us in working out the scheme in that direction. I will not detain you further. I thought I might venture just to say those few words in inviting the assent of the meeting to the resolution which I move —"that the hearty thanks of the meeting be given to the Lord Mayor for presiding on the present occasion." Mr. George Shipton (Secretary of the London Trades Council): My Lord Mayor, my Lords, ladies, and gentlemen—l rise to second this resolution with considerable pleasure on two grounds —first because I believe that the proposed Imperial Institute will be a benefit to labour, and next because I have been invited here to take part in this meeting not on any personal ground, but on the ground that I belong to the industrial population myself. I regretted exceedingly just now that our friend, who professed to speak in the interests of labour, did not wait a little longer, and conduct himself with a little more moderation, in order that I might have had the opportunity of saying a word or two which he might have agreed with. My Lord Mayor, I sincerely trust—l not only trust but I believe—that the gentlemen who have initiated this movement will not forget the just claims, and the just claims only, in respect of that which is due to labour. We can talk, and do talk occasionally with truth, of the glory and immensity of the British Empire. My Lords and gentlemen, we have read the records of histories which tell us that we have had great Empires before our own, the intellectual Empire of Greece, and the more material Empires of Borne and of Spain, whose power at one period girdled the world. All of them have gone to nothing! Why? It was because their industrial populations were neglected and forgotten. I hear a gentleman say " Oh!" but they have gone, and there is the fact. I believe there is a greater solidity of the British Empire because we see reconciliations of all classes under this roof to-day, but there is no doubt that the neglect of the industrial population brought about the decay and took away the life of those other Empires to which I have referred. lam here to-day taking my humble part in promoting this institution, because I believe we have never had an opportunity of paying an affectionate tribute to our gracious Sovereign that is so well deserved—a tribute arising spontaneously and representing the feelings of the entire people, forming part of this great Empire, throughout the world. W Te hear on the other hand too about the loyalty of the people, and I trust I am not going to say anything which will give the slightest offence to anybody, be their political proclivities or their sentiments what they may; but I say you may look through the history of the world in vain for a nobler or truer loyalty on the part of the people to the Sovereign, or for a Sovereign who has shown such attention to the decision, to the wishes, and to the verdict of the people as expressed by their responsible Ministers, as our Sovereign Queen Victoria, who, whether the Conservative or Liberal parties have been in power, has always acted according to the advice of the principal Minister of the day. The Queen has always acted loyally within the pale of our Constitution, and it is because of this mutual resolution of loyalty to the Sovereign on the part of the people, and of duty on the part of the Sovereign to the wishes of her subjects, and to the Constitution, which has made the British Empire what it is. If we are only loyal in this sort of way in the future, we shall go on and prosper, and we shall have a true reconciliation of all interests and of all classes. I shall, my Lord Mayor, have very great pleasure in seconding the resolution, and I hope we shall have a future opportunity of talking on the labour side of the question; but it is on the grounds I have stated that I most respectfully support the resolution and give my cordial support to the objects of the institution. The resolution was put to the meeting and carried unanimously. The Lord Mayor :My Lord Herschell, my Lords and gentlemen—l thank you very much for the vote you have just passed. I have been asked to announce several donations which have been made during the progress of the meeting : The Governor and Company of the Bank of England £1,000, Messrs. Eothschild and Sons £1,000, Lord Eothschild £500, Sir James McGarel Hogg, Bart., £1,000 ; Sir William Clarke, Bart., £1,000 ; Messrs. J. and. S. Morgan £1,000, Messrs. Marshall and Snellgrove £1,000, the Clothworkers' Company £2,500, Messrs. Baring Brothers £1,000, and Lord Eevelstoke £500. Now these are large gifts, and very noble gifts. I want to impress upon you, and I wanted to do so before the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke, that, although we are so very much obliged to these princes of commerce, these great establishments, and this great company for the noble donations which they have given, yet we do not desire and of course we do not expect that every one will or can follow in their wake. I agree in what the Chancellor of the Exchequer said when he intimated that he hoped the working-classes would give their pennies and their shillings ; he knows that " every mickle makes a muckle," and he knew that if the working-classes would give their pence, and shillings, and sovereigns, and five-pound notes, that that would be of great benefit and advantage to the movement. If people contribute according to their wealth there will be very little difficulty in raising the necessary funds, and we shall in a very short time have sufficient means in hand to establish this Imperial Institute on a thoroughly satisfactory footing. My Lords and gentlemen, I thank you. The proceedings then terminated. The two meetings held yesterday to promote "the Imperial Institute ought to insure its success, if that were ever doubtful. At the meeting over which the Prince of Wales presided the representatives of very many of the great towns of the kingdom were present to approve of the foundation
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of such an institution as symbolical of the unity of the Empire and as a fitting memorial of the Jubilee year of Her Majesty's reign. At the other, over which the Lord Mayor presided, the city had an opportunity of making known its approval. No dissentient voice, or none worth listening to, was raised at either. There was nothing but unqualified approbation, of the project, and the realizing of it on a worthy scale ought now to be certain. At an earlier stage we took exception to some points of detail. Our criticisms have not been without effect. The scheme as it emerged from the committee was free from objections which might bo fairly urged against some of the plans for giving effect to the Prince of W Tales's suggestion, and we are glad to find that the scheme in its latest form is in so fair a way to triumph. It will be surprising if, after meetings so representative and important as those of yesterday, funds fail to come in. The speeches were, on the whole, worthy of the occasion. There was no attempt to magnify unduly the enterprise, to belittle it, or to invest it with an air of mystery. An institution which is to depend on voluntary offerings and subscriptions must have at least two qualities—it must have an intelligible object and be comprehensive enough to inspire pride and interest. Both belong to the scheme explained by the Prince of Wales at St. James's Palace. Every one understands, and can be proud of, an Institute emblematic of the unity of the Empire, illustrative of its diverse resources, the outward and visible sign of the greatness of the Empire in all its parts—which will be an industrial museum and much more; a centre of information and communication regarding our Indian possessions and the colonies and much more ; fairly representative of the industries of the Mother-country, and yet not conflicting with older institutions of tried utility. Such is the conception described by the Prince of Wales and other speakers, and it must strike every one that such a project is likely, as the Prince predicted, to be of lasting benefit to this and future generations. At times of jubilee the invention of loyal people is not always very happy or fruitful. Their sincerity is unquestionable; but the felicitous suggestion which would give a fit direction to sentiment is often wanting. The noisiest and the wildest plans may meet with undue favour because nothing better is suggested. Often accident determines the form in which loyal subjects give expression to their satisfaction and joy; and so large sums are unintelligently spent in dreary festivities or in building some erection which nobody wants and which posterity would rather be without. It matters not whether the occasion be the jubilee of a Sovereign or of a great man of letters, there is generally a deplorable lack of opportune ingenuity. Lord Granville complained in his speech at the Mansion House of the meagreness of the records of the jubilee of George 111. It is perhaps as well that there is little, at least in stone and lime, to recall it; the memorial would too probably either have been a monument of bad taste or have lacked appropriateness and novelty. Singing of bells and making of speeches, though all very well in their way, are not satisfying ; and now that we have no debtors to release what were we to do to symbolize an auspicious event? We owe to the excellent suggestion of the Imperial Institute not merely a useful work, but also in all probability immunity from some scheme which would not have worthily recorded a great era —great, so far as people can judge of things near and around them, in many qualities and diverse ways. It was right and seemly that speakers should dwell,"as most of them did both at St. James's Palace and at the Mansion House, on the suitableness of the memorial, which will be the counterpart of no existing institution. If worthy of the conception, the home of such an institution ought to take away a reproach which colonists are quick to mark. Where in London can a stranger come upon an edifice which would remind him that this was the capital of an Empire encompassing nearly one-fifth of the habitable globe ? What has architecture or art of any kind done to give form to the sentiment which binds together the different parts of the Empire ? This is a want not to be thought lightly of, and it was well that much should be said of the fitness of London containing a meet memorial of the unity of the Empire, never more apparent than in the Queen's Jubilee year. But there is another side to the matter. More than one speaker, including Professor Huxley and Mr. Mundella, made out a strong case for such an institution, as likely to be of signal practical utility. The former supported the Institute "as the first formal recognition of this great fact—that our people were becoming alive to the necessity of organization and discipline of knowledge." Mr. Mundella looked at the practical aspect of the undertaking when ho said, with reference to some ill-timed interruptions in the harmony of the meeting, that " much of the existing distress arose from the fact that our working people did not know how great was their inheritance and how vast was the field for their energies in the Empire over which their Sovereign ruled." The Chancellor of the Exchequer took the same view when he spoke of the expediency of seeing that the desire for emigration be " wisely directed, and that thal great outlet for our national activity may not be destroyed or weakened by an imperfect organization." At both meetings this argument was pressed, and there is much weight in it. Trade, we are beginning to find, is not so automatic as we have assumed. Goods do not go of themselves to the places where they are really needed; their owners must have the requisite knowledge. Customers mUst be created, taste must be educated, prejudices must be broken down. The maxim that "Trade follows the flag " expresses the truth, which the English producer and merchant begin to understand, that people in other lands are not born with a conviction of the excellence of English goods. And what is also beginning to be comprehended as it never was before is that neither the artisan nor his master can dispense with cultivation if he is to hold his own. Professor Huxley made some weighty remarks on the truth that knowledge is power in industry as elsewhere. "We had dropped astern," he said, "in the race for want of instruction in technical education which was given elsewhere to the artisan, and if they desired to have any chance to keep up that industrial predominance which was the foundation of the Empire, and which, if it failed, would cause the whole fabric of the State to crumble—if they desired to see want and pauperism less common than, unhappily, they were at present, they must remember that it was only possible by the organization of industry in the manner in which they understood organization in science, by straining every nerve to train the intelligence." . The Imperial Institute will not accomplish all this; such a transformation must be the work of time and many agencies. But the scheme will be no unimportant aid in the necessary education; and it
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may ever be thought a felicitous circumstance that the jubilee year of a reign remarkable in the history of industry was commemorated by founding an institution full of promise for our industrial future.
No. 38. The Agent-General to the Colonial Treasurer. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 21st January, 1887. Since writing to the Hon. the Premier on the 14th instant (No. 30), I have received the commands of the Prince of Wales to join the temporary committee formed by His Eoyal Highness in connection with the proposed Imperial Institute. I annex a copy of Sir Francis Knollys' letter. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure in No. 38. Dear Sir F. Dillon Bell, — Sandringham, Norfolk, 20th January, 1887. I am desired by the Prince of Wales to express a sincere hope that you will be so good as to afford him the benefit of your services by kindly consenting to join the temporary committee which he has formed in connection with the proposed Imperial Institute. His Eoyal Highness hopes he may receive a favourable reply from you. Believe me, &c, Francis Knollys.
No. 39. The Agent-Genebal to the Colonial Treasurer. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 27th January, 1887. Since writing to the Premier on the 14th instant (No. 30), I have received your telegram of the 21st, directing me to correspond with the Treasury on questions relating to the Imperial Institute. I have now to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th December. The letters you will have since received from me will have kept you informed of all that has been done during the last three months in connection with the Institute ; and I now enclose copy of a circular letter from Sir Francis Knollys, K.C.M.G., C.8., by desire of the Prince of Wales, suggesting that the time has come when serious efforts should be made for collecting contributions in all the colonies. I also enclose several copies of a pamphlet just issued by the Prince's committee, containing the official report of His Eoyal Highness's meeting at St. James's Palace, and of the Lord Mayor's meeting, the Times account of which I sent by last mail. It is difficult to form any correct opinion yet on the question whether sufficient money will be subscribed to give full effect to the scheme. I confess I am surprised that no greater response has been made to it here up to the present time; but, I hearon all sides that people are hanging back to see what will be subscribed by the colonies possessing responsible government. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure 1 in No. 39. Sir,— Marlborough House, Pall Mall, S.W., 24th January, 1887. I am directed by His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales to inquire of you whether, in your opinion, that time has not arrived when you could, with prospect of advantage to the Imperial Institute, communicate with the Government of New Zealand, suggesting that steps should at once be taken for setting on foot an organization in that colony for the purpose of collecting contributions from the inhabitants towards the national memorial of the Queen's Jubilee. I may perhaps be allowed to suggest that this object might probably be most effectively promoted by the adoption of some such system as that which is at the present moment being set in motion in the United Kingdom for the systematic collection of contributions simultaneously in the various counties or districts, through the agency of district or general committees, who will co-operate with local committees presided over by the heads of townships or the chairmen of local governing bodies. I am to add that Sir Frederick Abel, the Organising Secretary of the Imperial Institute, will be prepared to furnish you, on application, with copies of a pamphlet comprising the report of the Organising Committee, the address delivered by His Eoyal Highness at the St. James's Palace meeting, the speeches made at that and the Mansion House meeting, and instructions relating to subscriptions; and will be happy to afford you any further information which you may desire. I have, &c. Sir Francis Dillon Bell, K.C.M.G., C.8., Francis Knollys. Agent-General for New Zealand.
« Enclosure 2 in No. 39. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 26th January, 1887. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th instant, asking, by desire of His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, whether I thought the time had not arrived when I could communicate with my Government with respect to setting on foot an organization in New Zealand for collecting contributions towards the national memorial of the Queen's Jubilee.
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I am forwarding a copy of your letter to my Government by the outgoing mail, together with a number of copies of the pamphlet just issued, and I feel sure they will take whatever steps may be best calculated to secure the co-operation of all classes in the colony in the establishment of the Imperial Institute. I have, &c, Sir Francis Knollys, K.C.M.G., C.8., &o. F. D. Bell.
Enclosure 3 in No. 39. [Extract from the Times, Thursday, 20th January, 1887.] The Imperial Institute. Sir, — 19th January. Notwithstanding the full statement of the objects of the Imperial Institute by the Prince of Wales at St. James's Palace, the subsequent speeches at the Mansion House (for one of which I am responsible), and the report of the committee appointed by His Eoyal Highness, the public mind does not appear to have attained that condition of enlightenment as to the aim and purpose of the Institute which is desirable. In the course of the last few days I have been repeatedly questioned respecting the intentions of the propounders of the scheme, and somewhat closely catechized as to what I meant by my own speech. With respect to the first inquiry, I found an easy refuge in the plea of absolute ignorance, except in so far as the means of forming a judgment which are open to all the world have been accessible to me. In regard to the second question, I could, of course, give a more satisfactory answer; at any rate, I knew what I meant to say, however much physical inability to address a large audience properly, and some other difficulties, may have interfered with my power of making my meaning clear to my auditory. Unauthorative as these notions of mine may be, I feel responsible to the public for having given utterance to them, and I shall be greatly obliged if you can afford me so much space as may suffice to remove any ambiguity that may cling to them. It may help to clear the ground if I begin by saying what I did not mean. I had no intention of expressing any enthusiasm on behalf of the establishment of a vast permanent bazaar. lam not competent to estimate the real utility of these great shows. What Ido see very clearly is that they involve difficulties of site, huge working expenses, the potentiality of endless squabbles, and, apparently, the cheapening of the honour of knighthood. Neither had I any intention of advocating the adoption of the South Kensington site, proposed in the report. In fact, there was nothing officially before the meeting in regard to that matter, and the resolutions which were passed commit nobody to it. The arguments used in its favour in the report would be conclusive if the dry light of reason were the sole guide of human action. But I have never had a doubt that the selection of this position for the Institute would thoroughly alienate a number of powerful and wealthy bodies which are, or ought to be, connected with industry, and which, under other circumstances, might have proved the mainstay of the Institute. Those who are as well acquainted as I am with the history of the " Central Institution " of the City and Guilds Technical Institute, which looks so portly outside, and is so very much starved inside, will be able to estimate the warmth of the affection which the city is likely to entertain for a new birth at South Kensington. That with which I did intend to express my strong sympathy was the intention, which I thought I discerned, to establish something which should play the same part in regard to the advancement of industrial knowledge which has been played in regard to science and learning in general, in these realms, by the Eoyal Society and the Universities. I do not presume to say that such a plan is demonstrably contained in the documents before the public. Perhaps I have only read it into them ; but whether it is there, or is only a dream of mine, it is the idea I had in my mind while I was speaking at the Mansion House. I pictured the Imperial Institute to myself as a house of call for all those who are concerned in the advancement of industry ; as a place in which the home-keeping industrial could find out all he wants to know about colonial industry, and the colonist about home industry; as a sort of neutral ground in which the capitalist and the artizan -would be equally welcome ; as a centre of intercommunication in which they might enter into friendly discussion of the problems at issue between them, and, perchance, arrive at a friendly solution of them. I imagined it a place in which the fullest stores of industrial knowledge would be made accessible to the public ; in which the higher questions of commerce and industry would be systematically studied and elucidated ; and where, as in an industrial University, the whole technical education of the country might find its centre and crown. If I earnestly desire to see such an institution created it is not because I think that or anything else will put an end to pauperism and want —as somebody has absurdly suggested—but because I believe it will supply a foundation for that scientific organization of our industries which the changed conditions of the times render indispensable to their prosperity. I do not think I am far wrong in assuming that we are entering, indeed, have already entered, upon the most serious struggle for existence to which this country has ever been committed. The latter years of the century promise to see us embarked in an industrial war of far more serious import than the military, wars of its opening years. On the East, the most systematicallyinstructed and best-informed people in Europe are our competitors ; on the West, an energetic offshoot of our own stock, grown bigger than its parent, enters upon the struggle possessed of natural resources to which we can make no pretension, and with every prospect of soon possessing that cheap labour by which they may be effectually utilized. Many circumstances tend to justify the hope that we may hold our own if we are careful to "organize victory;" but, to those who reflect seriously on the prospects of the population of
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Lancashire and Yorkshire—should the time ever arrive when the goods which are produced by their labour and their skill are to be had cheaper elsewhere—to those who remember the cotton famine, and reflect how much worse a customer famine would be, the situation appears very grave. I thought —I still think—that it was the intention of the Prince of Wales and his advisers, recognizing the existence of these dangers ahead, to make a serious effort to meet them, and it was in that belief that I supported the proposed Institute. If lam wrong, all I can say is that lam very sorry to have misled myself and other people. 1 have, &c, The Editor of the Times. ____________________________^^ T- H- Huxley.
No. 40. The Colonial Treasurer to the Various Local Bodies in New Zealand. •Sir,— Treasury, Wellington, 24th March, 1887. I have the honour to inform you that, at a large meeting, presided over by His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, of representative men from all parts of the United Kingdom and from various parts of the Empire, the following, amongst other resolutions, was carried unanimously : " That an appeal be made to the subjects of the Queen throughout Her Majesty's dominions to give a generous support to the establishment and maintenance of such Imperial Institute." Following this resolution, an inquiry has been made by the Prince of Wales of the Agent-General, asking him whether " the time has not arrived when you could, with prospect of advantage to the interests of the Imperial Institute, communicate with the Government of New Zealand suggesting that steps should at once be taken for setting on foot an organization in that colony for the purpose of collecting contributions from the inhabitants towards the national memorial of the Queen's Jubilee." A further suggestion was thrown out that the organized assistance of local bodies should be sought. Under these circumstances it has been decided by the Government that the Treasury should make an appeal to all the local bodies in the colony to aid in procuring subscriptions. In placing the matter before you it becomes the duty of the Government to refer to it from the twofold point ■of view of its relation to the commeration of Her Majesty's Jubilee and of the value and importance of the Imperial Institute itself. As regards the first point, it is to be observed that this is the only commerative memorial of the Queen's Jubilee which Her Majesty has been pleased to accept ; and not only has she accepted it, but she has allowed it to be understood through its author, the first subject of the realm, the Prince of Wales, that such memorial will give her great pleasure. Supposing it were intimated on behalf of the Queen that the memorial most pleasing to her would be a purely local institution in some part of the United Kingdom, it appears to me that, though regret might be felt at a choice which so specialized a small part of the Empire, yet there would bo millions of Her Majesty's subjects throughout her wide dominions who would consider that the first object to be thought of was to give pleasure to the Sovereign in whose honour the memorial was to be raised. If lam right in this conjecture, the feelings of those who wish to show 7 their appreciation of Her Majesty's virtuous and happy reign will be to defer to the Sovereign's own wishes as to the shape the celebration shall take, and it must be a source of unmixed gratification to them that the Queen has approved of a monument so comprehensive as to include in its purposes every portion of her dominions. There is no other project proposed, that I am aware of, much less one accepted by Her Majesty, which includes a participation of the whole Empire in giving it effect and in subsequently enjoying its use. As regards the value of the institution, I would first call your attention to a letter of Professor Huxley written after he had made a speech in favour of the Institute. The learned gentleman appeared to be under the impression that he had not sufficiently defined in his speech the objects of the Institute, and to set himself right wrote the letter in question. The Organizing Committee accepted the letter and published it in a pamphlet, with the statement that Professor Huxley " clearly defined the functions of the Imperial Institute as recognized by the propounders of the scheme, in the following words :" — " That with which I did intend to express my strong sympathy was the intention which I thought I discerned to establish something which, should play the same part in regard to the advancement of industrial knowledge which has been played in regard to science and learning in general, in these realms, by the Eoyal Society and the Universities. " I pictured the Imperial Institute to myself as a house of call for all those who are concerned in the advancement of industry ; as a place in which the home-keeping industrial could find out all he wants to know about colonial industry, and the colonist about home industry; as a sort of neutral ground in which the capitalist and the artisan would be equally welcome; as a centre of intercommunication in which they might enter into friendly discussion of the problems at issue between them, and, perchance, arrive at a friendly solution of them. I imagined it a place in which the fullest stores of industrial knowledge would be made accessible to the public ; in which the higher questions of commerce and industry would be systematically studied and elucidated ; and where, as in an industrial University, the whole technical education of the country might find its centre and crown. If I earnestly desire to see such an institution created it is not because I think that or anything else will put an end to pauperism and want —as somebody has absurdly suggested —but because I believe it will supply a foundation for that scientific organization of our industries which the changed conditions of the times render indispensable to their prosperity. " I do not think I am far wrong in assuming that we are entering-—indeed, have already entered —upon the most serious struggle for existence to which this country has ever been committed. The latter years of the century promise to see us embarked in an industrial war of far more serious import than the military wars of its opening years. -On the east, the most systematically-instructed and best-informed people in Europe are our competitors ; on the west, an energetic offshoot of our own stock, grown bigger than its parent, enters upon the struggle possessed of natural resources to 5—A. 9.
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which we can make no pretension, and with every prospect of soon possessing that cheap labour by which they may be effectually utilized. Many circumstances tend to justify the hope that we may hold our own if we are careful to ' organize victory.' But to those who reflect seriously on the prospects of the population of Lancashire and Yorkshire—should the time ever arrive when the goods which are produced by their labour and their skill are to be had cheaper elsewhere—to those who remember the cotton famine, and reflect how much worse a customer famine would be, the situation appears very grave. I thought—l still think—that it was the intention of the Prince of Wales and his advisers—recognizing the existence of these dangers ahead—to make a serious effort to meet them, and it was in that belief that I supported the proposed Institute." It is unnecessary to add anything to this lofty conception of what the Institute as a whole may be capable, but a few words may be devoted to the consideration of the value of the Institute from a New Zealand point of view. I take it that whatever may be decided as to the general management of the Institute, it will be open to each colony to manage the details of its own portion of the building, and to renew its exhibits as it sees fit. On this assumption it would be constantly possible to place before an enormous number of people samples of what the colonists can produce and maufacture. As a means, then, of making known the resources of the colony it will be of great value ; but, in my opinion, oven yet greater benefit may in time arise from the aid it will give to improving the manufactures and productions of the colony. The day is rapidly approaching when a visit to Europe, both as respects the cost and the time it will occupy, will be open to persons of very moderate means. The Institute is therefore likely to bo visited by a large number of New Zealand colonists. The information they will gather as to the progress of industrial pursuits in other parts of the Empire will be of great service. The climate and water-power of New Zealand, combined with the general education of the people, must in time give the colony exceptional advantages in the way of producing and manufacturing. It cannot, then, be a matter of indifference to this distant portion of Her Majesty's possessions that the memorial of the Queen's Jubilee is to take a shape which will give those engaged in industrial pursuits opportunities and advantages which Great Britain, the colonies, and India have never before enjoyed. You will observe that the pamphlet treats of various sorts of donations. It will rest with you how far you may wish to adopt the distinctions suggested. In my opinion it is not the amount only, but the number of subscribers, which will attest the desire of the colonists to do honour to an object so acceptable to our gracious Sovereign. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, Colonial Treasurer. P.S.—I forward some copies of the pamphlet; more can be sent you if you require them.
No. 41. Extract from the New Zealand Gazette of 24th March, 1887. "Colonial Secretary's Office, Wellington, 16th March, 1887. " His Execllency the Governor directs it to be notified that he has received a telegram from His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales, who hopes that the Governor will organize measures for collecting, in the colony, contributions for the Imperial Institute in London. The organization is proceeding throughout the United Kingdom, and Her Majesty the Queen has published her approval of the scheme. " In reference to the above, it is hereby notified for general information that subscriptions for the object in question will be received by the Postmasters throughout the colony. "P. A. Buckley."
No. 42. The Agent-General to the Colonial Treasurer. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 11th February, 1887. The Organizing Committee appointed by the Prince of Wales in connection with the Imperial Institute were anxious that His Eoyal Highness should telegraph to the Governors of colonies inviting them to take steps for beginning the collection of contributions in India and the colonies, and I have now the honour to enclose a copy of the telegram sent on the 3rd instant by His Eoyal Highness to the Governor of New South Wales for communication to the Australasian Governments. You will see that the Queen's approval of his scheme is announced. I am glad to say that fair progress is being made here, a number of meetings having been held in support of the Institute. There was some difficulty about the City of London, but this has fortunately been settled. It was desired, by many intending city subscribers, to make a condition that a part of the general fund should bo devoted to the erection of a museum in the city, besides other concessions ; and a deputation met the Organizing Committee to discuss these proposals, when we came to an arrangement allowing city subscribers to designate some part, not exceeding 30 per cent, of their subscriptions as being specially dedicated to the city museum. A sub-committee has been appointed to obtain designs for the Institute. Sir Frederick Leighton, President of the Eoyal Academy, was good enough to propose that I should serve on this sub-committee, but I did not think I could be of enough service in a matter requiring such professional knowledge and artistic taste. Other sub-committees are busily engaged in a variety of details requiring careful attention. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. F. D. Bell. [Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, nil; printing (1,400 copies), _522 12b, Od.J
Authority: Geobge Didsbuky, Government Printer, Wellington.—lBB7.
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Bibliographic details
IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. (CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO THE ORIGINATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME.), Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1887 Session I, A-09
Word Count
35,334IMPERIAL INSTITUTE. (CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO THE ORIGINATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SCHEME.) Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1887 Session I, A-09
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