SIR BARTLE FRERE'S STATUE.
June 5th, 1888.
Among the memorials of illustrious men in the gardens of the Thames Embankment, no one will be honoured more than the statue to Sir Bartle Frere. It was erected by public subscription, in memory of his private virtues and of his public services. The grand bronze figure of the patriotic Englishman is much admired. The likeness is good, and the whole monument, with its pedestal of Cornish granite, imposing. Many distinguished men were present to witness the unveiling of the statue by the Prince of Wales on the 5th of June, 1888. He was accompanied by the Princess, and their two daughters, the Princesses Maud and Victoria. Among the company were the Duke of Cambridge, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Napier of Magdala, and Sir Richard Temple, M.P., who asked the Prince of Wales to perform the ceremony. The Prince said:—
"Sir Richard Temple, Ladies, and Gentlemen,—It gave me great pleasure, after the lamented death of Sir Bartle Frere, to accept the post of President of the Committee, especially when we found that a Memorial like this statue was to be erected to the memory of a great and valued public servant of the Crown, and at the same time to a highly esteemed and dear friend of myself." His Royal Highness then briefly recounted the chief points in Sir Bartle Frere's long and distinguished career in India and Africa, a career with which all present were doubtless acquainted. Continuing, His Royal Highness remarked:—"For his services in India, whither he first went in the year 1834, in the service of the East India Company, Sir Bartle Frere twice received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. On his return home he successfully conducted negotiations with the Sultan of Zanzibar for the suppression of the slave trade, and, later, I had the good fortune to have his services during my journey to India in 1876. The last, but no means the least, important of Sir Bartle Frere's duties was as Governor-General of the Cape of Good Hope and Lord High Commissioner to South Africa. There is much more that I might say, but the facts are known to history, and I will, therefore, in conclusion, merely express my thanks for having been asked to perform this ceremony, and remind those present that, on this very day four years ago, when the late Sir Bartle Frere was laid to his rest, the procession passed by the spot where the statue now stands."