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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