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Leader (1850-1860), 7th June 1856, Edition 1 of 2, Page 533, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      mittee on account of some incorrect charges by Mr . Albano , the architect . Considerable opposition was offered by Mr . Williams to the vote of 7 , 338 £ for the ex pense of the pclice at the Aldershott camp . He contended that the soldiers should protect themselves ; but Lord Palmerston explained that a camp always draws -about it an erratic and disreputable company , whom it is necessary to keep in check by the police , in order to secure the peace of the neighbourhood . The Sleeping Statutes Bill was read a third time , and passed . The House adjourned at half-past one o ' clock .

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      THE WELLINGTON COLLEGE . Monday saw the performance by the Queen of an interesting ceremony , connected by sentiment with the name of the illustrious Duke who restored England to the rank of a great military power , and by matter-offact with the army which the Duke left behind him for the work of later days . On an eminence , situated midway between the village of Sandhurst and the Military College , the highest Lady of the realm has laid the first stone of an institution to be called the Wellington College , the object of which is to rear and educate the orphans of soldiers . Towards this design , 12 0 , 000 / . have been subscribed , of which sum 80 , 000 / . were in the first instance set apart as an endowment fund , while the residue has been appropriated for the erection of the building . The site has been chosen by Prince Albert . The adjacent neighbourhood is a rather bleak moorland ;

      bnt wooded knolls rise here and there , and on one of them the new College has been planted . Thick groves of firtrees protect the house and grounds from the east ; the soil is gravelly ; a rapid stream , rising a few miles above Aldershott , courses by ; and a handsome sheet of water , designed to cover a surface of twenty acres , will be formed in the surrounding grounds , which are one hundred and twenty-five acres in extent , and command a distant view of the Sydenhara Palace , Hampstead , JTighgate , Harrow , and the vast , dark cloud of London , divided by the shining pathway of the Thames . The design of the edifice is a handsome Palladian elevation , forming a quadrangular block . Hows of windows run along the roof , and the whole will be surrounded with an iron railing . It is anticipated that the total expense will exceed the sum in hand by 15 , 000 / ., which will doubtless be made up by subscriptions .

      The weatheflbon Monday was exquisite . The sun shone forth with a glad and unexpected lustre ; a southwest wind fluttered among the trees ; the country glowed forth in its young greenness ; and the bright costumes of the ladies , the lines of white tents , and the thick masses of scarlet presented by the soldiers , gave life and colour to the scene . The quadrangular enclosure was covered with a white awning , decorated with flags and laurel branches ; and a Turkish pavilion was erected at the south end for the Queen . The seats for visitors were erected in tiers one above another . A detachment of Grenadier Guards lined the inner circle of the enclosure , in the centre of which was erected a dais , and near it a canopy suspended over the block which was to form " the first stone . "

      The Queen arrived at half-past one o ' clock , heralded by the voice of trumpets and cannon . Her Majesty was accompanied by Prince Albert , the Prince of Wales , Prince Alfred , the Princess Koyal , the Princesses Alice , Helena , and Louisa , Prince Arthur ( "his first appearance on any stage , " as the play-bills say ) , Prince Frederick William of Prussia , the ltegent of Baden , and a large gathering of the aristocracy . The governors of the college that is to be having ranged themselves in a semicircle , the Earl of Derby , Vice-President of the college , read an address , of which the most interesting passages arc the ensuing : — "It is believed that the building about to be erected on the site on which we stand will be visible from the domuin which a nation's gratitude bestowed in perpetuity on the illustrious Duke ; and his descendants will have before their eyes at once a memorial of the greatness of their

      distinguished ancestor , and of their country ' s recognition of his unequalled services . It is our anxious hope that ¦ within these walls , at no distant period , two hundred orphans of officers of your Majesty ' s and of tho East India Company's service may be lodged , boarded , riartlally clothed , and provided , between the ages of eleven and sixteen , with the elements at least of such a religious , moral , and intellectual education us may fit them for their future career in life , whatever that career may be ; and , if not gratuitously , at least at a scale of expense furbelow what any other institution could afford them . The admissions will be regulutcd by strict attention to the claims of tho deceased officer ami the circumstances of tho surviving purent , without requiring uny further disclosure of such circumstances tliuii may servo to allow that the total provision for tho family , if equally dividedwould not exceed n given amount . "

      , To this address the Queen returned tho following reply , which she received from tho hands of Sir George-Grey . - — "I have received with sincere gratification the addresH ^ rhich you have this duy presented to inc . It afloruMmo the greatest satisfaction to avail myself of this occasion

      to testif y anew my warm and heartfelt participation in the general feeling of affection and veneration for the memory of the illustrious man whose name will be associated with the institution which we are met to inaugurate . That satisfaction is enhanced by the character of the monument which you propose to raise to the lasting memory of the Duke of Wellington , and also by the circumstances of the time selected for its erection . There could not be a more worthy record of a country ' s gratitude to its greatest soldier than a permanent endowment for the protection and education of the orphans of brave men whose lives have been laid do-wn in the service of which he was the chief ornament and pride . Nor could there be a more appropriate time for raising such a monument to his memory . While gratefully admiring

      the gallantry and devotion which have been so conspicuously displayed by my army in the late war I have deeply sympathized with the domestic sorrows and privations ( the inevitable result of war ) which have made so many mourners . I feel that we cannot better celebrate the re-establishment of peace than by laying the foundation of an institution , which , while it will tend to soothe those sorrows and to mitigate the severity of those privations , will hold up to the imitation of all . those who share its benefits the example of a disinterested patriotism , of an unceasing devotion to his country ' s service , of an honesty of purpose , and of a determination in the performance of his duty by which the long and brilliant career of the Duke of Wellington was so eminently distinguished .

      " I can express no better wish for my own son who bears the name of that great man , than that he should take as his guide through life the example of one with whom it will ever be his high distinction to have been connected . " I heartily join with you in commending this infant institution to the Divine blessing , and in praying that , with its increasing prosperity , the benevolent intentions of its founders may be fully realized . " In reading this reply , it was remarked that the Queen ' s voice wavered in pronouncing the allusion to her own son , and his connexion by name with the deceased Duke . The family of the late Field Marshal were also visibly afFected . The Duchess of Wellington shed tears , and a touching spectacle was presented by Lord Charles Wellesley leaning forward in his blindness that he might catch every word that was being uttered .

      1 'he Archbishop of Canterbury having offered up a prayer , the ceremony of laying the stone commenced . " The stone , " says the Morning Post , " was a massive slab of polished red granite . Beneath it was a deep recess , in which her Majesty placed a glass tube , containing specimens of the current coins of the realm , with an elaborately-engrossed inscription on vellum , recording the ceremony . The stone was now covered with cement ; and her Majesty , taking an elaborate silver-gilt trowel , beautifully chased with a design of the building , spread it out smoothly . The upper stone was then lowered into its place , so as to enclose the coins and scroll ; the Queen struck it three blows with an ebony and ivory mallet ; then , taking the silver plumb and rule , tested its accuracy , and declared it ' well and duly fixed . ' As the Avoids were uttered , the guns of the artillery again broke forth , and Lord Derby , raising bis hat , gave the signal

      for the tremendous cheers which followed . Again the bands played , and again the troops presented arms . " The Royal party then lunched ; after which , Princo Albert claimed the trowel , mallet , and p lumb . A review of the troops ( among whom were some regiments of militia and some of tho German Jilgers ) followed ; and her Majesty and suite left the ground a little before five o ' clock . " The troops , " adds the account from which we have already quoted , " then set off on their long and weary march to Aldershott , which must have tried numbers most severely . Ere they quitted tlie ground , it was said they had been almost fourteen hours under arms , and nearly all showed unequivocal signs of fatigue and distress . " According to tho Times , thr « e riflemen fainted during tho review , and it was asserted that one fell dead on the field .

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      A Sthanokks' IIomk koii East Inihanh . — Princo Albert , on Saturday afternoon , visited the Wont India Dock-road , and laid the foundation-stone of the Strangers' Home for the natives of India , the East , and Africa . The Maharajah Dhulccp Singh was present , and , addressing the Prince-Consort in English , thanked him for tho interest lie had taken in the institution . In accordance with Oriental custom , bouquets of flowers were then presented to Prince Albert and the gentlemen of liia smite by noino of tho more distinguished natives of Hand

      India , China , and Africa , who were present . - kerchiefs , having tho elevation of the Strangers' Home imprinted on thorn , were- also presented . —In connexion with this institution , tho Itnjah of Coorg has published in the daily papers a letter from hiinHelf to the President , apologizing for absence from tho ceremony on tho ground of ill health ; suggesting n nubscription in India ; and regretting that , "in consequence of Uiu denial of his just cluims by a powerful corporation , " he is unable to send a sum eoninicnsuruto with his rank or tho extent of hia richer , and can only subscribe f >/ .

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      CHARITABLE FESTIVALS . Fanct Bazaar at Wellington Barracks . The committee of ladies , who during the last two years have been occupied in the praiseworthy task of assisting and providing employment for the wives and children of Guardsmen on foreign service in the East , having ascertained that a nursery and . infant school were much needed , wherein the younger children of the Brigade oi Guards might be tended and instructed during their mothers' daily absence at work , a subscription has been opened with a view of carrying out that object , and a sufficient sum has already been collected to justify the trustees , Colonels Thornton , Keppel , Steele , MoncriefT , Kingscote , and Carleton , in entering into a negotiation for the purchase of a proper site for such an establishment , close to the Victoria Lodging-house for married Guardsmen . The Queen and Koyal family have promised to support the institution .

      The Royal Westmikster Ophthalmic Hospital ^ and the Royal Caledonian Asylum , had their annual festivals on Tuesday evening . In tho one case , the Marquis of Westminster presided ; in the second , the Duke of Cambridge took the chair . On the same day , the National Society fob the Education of the Poor in the principles of the Church of England , held a " choral festival" at Westminster Abbey , and on the following day had its annual meeting , when the Archbishop of Canterbury presided ; the Marine Society celebrated its centenary festival ; the bazaar in behalf of the Hospital for Consumption was opened in the grounds of the Toxophilite Society iu Regent ' s Park ; and the annual dinner of the British Beneficent Institution was eaten ( under the auspices of the Marquis of Clanriearde" ) at the London Tavern .

      The Governesses' Benevolent Institution . —The anniversary festival of this admirable institution was celebrated on Monday at the London Tavern ; the Earl of Harrowby in the chair . The suspension last year of the annual dinner had not been beneficial to the charity , and the experiment was therefore not continued . The subscriptions on the present occasion amounted to nearly 1700 / . St . Mary ' s Hospital . —The London Tavern on Saturday evening provided the annual banquet of this institution , which is designed for attending to the necessities of the diseased and infirm poor of Paddington . In the course of the after-dinner speeches , it was strongly urged that the accident -ward , -which is now only capable of receiving fourteen persons , should be enlarged , and that there should be an additional accident ward for women . About 1500 J . were subscribed .

      The charity children from the various free schools of the metropolis ( fifty-six in number } had their usualJune meeting in St . Paul ' s Cathedral on Thursday . Among the congregation was observed the Lord Mayor of London —a fact to which , for reasons superfluous to explain , more than ordinary consequence was attached .

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      THE CONVICT PALMER . Endeavours are being made to afford Palmer a last chance by means of a further analytical examination of the body . Mr . John Smith , the convict ' s solicitor , haa written a letter to the daily paper s suggesting that a commission of inquiry should be held , with a view of testing the truth or fullacy of the theory propounded by Dr . Taylor on the trial . He argues , in the first place , that what that gentleman stated about perfect absorption , is " new and hypothetical , " and totally unwarranted by experience ; and , secondly , that , not having been proved by any roliable experiment , the whole theory may be false . " Thirdly , " continues Mr . Smith , " if strychnine is not absorbed and decomposed , ahd can be found under similar circumstances to those which existed and now exist in the case of the late John

      Parsons Cooke , then my client will have been the victim of un erroneous conviction if strychnine cannot now be discovered in the remains of the body of tho deceased Hour after hour , I receive communications from professional gentlemen of the first eminence in direct antagonism to Professor Taylor's doctrine . " Tho writer next alludes to tho two recent cases of commutation of sentence for murder , but adds that he doea not ask for pardon , nor even a commutation of sentence , in the case of hia client . " I only u » k , " be writes , " that William

      Pahner ' H life ahould bo spared until a commission of inquiry should test , in such manner as may be thought most expedient , the soundness or fallacy of Dr . Taylors theory . " If the result should be c < nnrinutory of the convict ' h guilt , " in Cod ' a niune , let tho law take itu roui-HC " Mr . Smith concludes by observing that , mhiB opinion , such a commission ought to be appointed bybovcrnmuiit to decide whether Palmer be innocent or guilty ; for , if he be innocent , it wouhl be gratify ing to know that " life had not been sacrificed to an apparent scientific dogma ; " mid , if K «» ty , although tho criminal would bo in no way benefited by the inquiry , it would prove highly

      useful to medical science . It will bo recollected that , after the charge delivered l , y Lord Campbell , the jury were absent from tho court one hour and ten minutes before they returned , and their foreman pronounced the verdict " Omlty . From

      Untitled Article

      June 7 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER , ^ 533

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), June 7, 1856, page 533, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2144/page/5/