Speeches and Addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales: 1863-1888. King of Great Britain Edward VII
of the thorough efficiency of the hospital; but there is still wanting a convalescent hospital. True, there is the Samaritan Fund, out of which you aid patients when they are dismissed; but still, when they are nearly well, you wish to send them into the country to recruit their health, so that they may return to their homes thoroughly convalescent. When this question is mooted I shall take the greatest interest, and do all I can to promote the establishment of the additional hospital. I have the greatest pleasure in coupling with this toast the name of the Treasurer, and no one will more heartily drink his health than I shall. He has been called upon to act as Treasurer to Christ's Hospital too, and, although he will conscientiously serve it, he will not forget his first love – St. Bartholomew's."
Mr. Foster White, the Treasurer, in responding, said that such had been the demand upon the resources of the hospital during the past year that its income had been exceeded by £4,000, which was owing, however, chiefly to the high price of provisions. At the time of the Clerkenwell explosion he was prepared, if it had been necessary, to make a ward of the dining-room, feeling sure the Governors would have supported him. The Governors of this hospital and the Merchant Taylors' Company were in communication, with the object of erecting conjointly a convalescent hospital, at an expenditure of £45,000 each corporation. In conclusion, the Treasurer denounced with some warmth the taxation of charities.
The Royal President proposed "The Medical Staff," coupling the toast with the names of Dr. Frederic Farre and Mr. Paget. To the latter he tendered his heartfelt recognition of the services he had rendered during the severe illness of the Princess of Wales.
Dr. Farre and Mr. Paget having responded, the "Corporation of London" was proposed from the Chair, and responded to by Mr. Alderman Finnis, and this terminated the proceedings.
This 13th of May was a day of special interest in connection with Metropolitan Hospitals, the Queen having in the morning, with great state ceremony, laid the foundation stone of the new St. Thomas's Hospital, when the Prince and Princess of Wales were also present.
The informal visit paid to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, referred to by the Prince in his speech, was on the 17th of February of that year, when he was accompanied by the Princess of Wales. The Princess had long wished to see the Hospital, and attention was then recalled to it by the announcement of the reception there of the sufferers from the Fenian outrage at Clerkenwell. They were conducted over the whole establishment by the Treasurer and principal surgeons. The Royal visitors had the opportunity of seeing all the Clerkenwell sufferers and of expressing their sympathy with them. Before leaving, they inspected the beautiful little church of St. Bartholomew the Less, which stands within the walls of the Hospital, and is, in fact, the Hospital chapel. The informal visit of their Royal Highnesses, which afforded great gratification to the authorities of the institution, lasted about an hour and a half.
The visits of the Prince to St. Bartholomew's have been frequent in subsequent years, one interesting occasion being on the presentation of a testimonial to Sir James Paget in 1871, on retiring from the post he had long held.
LAYING FOUNDATION STONE OF NEW BUILDINGS, GLASGOW UNIVERSITY
Whatever else Scotland may have to boast of, she may point with pride to her parish schools and her universities. These have contributed largely to raise her among the nations, and laid the foundation of much of the enterprise, energy, and success in life, which have long characterized the Scots at home and abroad, and given them an honourable place in letters, science, and commerce.
Next to St. Andrews, and later only by a few years, Glasgow is the oldest of the Scottish Universities. It owes its origin to the Church in pre-Reformation times, being founded A.D. 1450, and was at first connected with the Cathedral. The buildings did not assume their collegiate form till after the Reformation. The front and gateway facing the High Street were not erected till 1660. Many still remember the dingy-looking old building, with its quaint barred windows, and projecting balconies over the gateway, surmounted by the Royal Scottish Arms, in the style and period of the last of the Stuarts. The visitor passed through the four open courts, on to the handsome modern building, the Hunterian Museum, containing the valuable collection of Dr. William Hunter, bequeathed by him in grateful remembrance of his connection with this University.
The venerable old College, having served its purpose through successive generations, for more than three centuries, the Senate of the University and the citizens of Glasgow determined to provide new buildings, upon a site and on a scale more suited to the requirements of the time. Subscriptions, in response to the appeal of the Senate, were obtained, to the amount of over £160,000; and this being supplemented by the money for the sale of the old building and the old site, with a parliamentary vote of £120,000, gave a total of £440,000.
The site chosen for the new buildings was the rising ground called Gilmore Hill, on the west of Kelvin Grove. The plans were prepared by Gilbert Scott, and all the world knows how the magnificent structure in due time rose, to be the pride and ornament of the western capital of Scotland – in wealth and population the second city in the United Kingdom.
It was an imposing spectacle when the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Princess of Wales, laid the foundation stone of the new building, on the 8th of October, 1868. A vast concourse of people witnessed the ceremony. An address was presented by the Lord Provost and Corporation, the Prince having previously received the freedom of the city.
Another address was then presented by the Principal and Senate of the University, in replying to which the Prince said: —
"It affords me the highest satisfaction to become a member and graduate of your University, and at the same time to visit a city the close connection of which with you has been so beneficial to both, as well as to the interests of learning and knowledge. The presence of so many of all classes of the citizens of Glasgow around me, and their liberal subscriptions for the prosecution of the work, the value they attach to its completion, and their sense of the advantages they and the people of Scotland derive from our institutions, the interest which my lamented father took in the advancement of every branch of science and education, would stimulate me to follow his example, and promote by every means in my power the success of your University and the objects for which it has been founded. We may confidently expect that the eminent men educated here in times past are only the precursors of a long train equally to be distinguished by every scientific acquirement. The Princess of Wales rejoices in the opportunity afforded her of taking part in this day's ceremony and cordially thanks you for your kind wishes."
FOREIGN TOUR, 1868-1869
There is a long break in the record of proceedings or speeches on account of the Foreign Tour on which the Prince started in November 1868, returning in May 1869. Of this time of travel it is not necessary to say much here, as the chief events and incidents are before the public in various works. Full reports appeared in the Times, and other journals, during the movements of the Royal party on the Continent, in Egypt, and Palestine. Reference is made to this interesting and memorable tour in several of the speeches made by the Prince after his return; and at a later time, as when he spoke at the meeting about the neglect of the Crimean graves, and at that for the memorial to Dean Stanley.
Only one incident of the tour, and the one of greatest historical interest, may be mentioned, the visit to the Cave of Machpelah and the Sepulchres of the Patriarchs. In this event, not only the personal interest, but the national importance of the Prince's Eastern Tour, may be said to culminate. Never before had Christian pilgrims, since the days of the Mohammedan conquest, or of the Crusades, been allowed to see so much of the holy tombs of the Patriarchs. The sanctity with which the Mussulmans have invested the place is a living witness of the unbroken veneration with which men of Jewish, Christian, and Mohammedan creeds have honoured the memory of Abraham, the father of all the faithful. Hebron is known among the native population by no other name than El-Khalil, the Friend of God.
It was the high position of the Prince of Wales, as son of Queen Victoria, that obtained for him the rare privilege of access to this sacred spot. Nor was it obtained for him without some difficulty. Mr. Finn, the English Consul at Jerusalem, prepared the way by requesting an order from the Porte; and the reply of the Grand Vizier left the matter very much to the discretion of the Governor,