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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.