THE HEALTH EXHIBITION.
June 17th, 1884.
The lamented death of the Duke of Albany on the 28th of March, 1884, prevented the Prince of Wales from taking active part in the preparations for the Health Exhibition of that summer. He had before arranged, along with the Executive Council, of which the Duke of Buckingham was Chairman, the general plan of the Exhibition, in the designs of which Prince Leopold had taken deep interest. On the 17th of June the Prince formally inaugurated the work of the international juries, a necessary and important part of the whole undertaking. It was the first occasion in which His Royal Highness had taken part in public affairs since the death of his brother. The meeting took place in the Albert Hall, and a great assembly had gathered, including many distinguished foreigners.
The Duke of Buckingham, on behalf of the Executive Council, expressed the great gratification they felt at the appearance of His Royal Highness among them, as to him was due the inception of the undertaking. Sir James Paget, the Vice-Chairman of the Council, delivered an elaborate and eloquent address on the purposes and the importance of the Exhibition. He was followed by Sir Lyon Playfair. After these addresses Lord Reay presented to His Royal Highness, the Foreign Commissioners, and the Chairmen and Jurors for the different sections. The Prince then said:—
"Your Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen,—Owing to a very sad cause I was unable to open the Health Exhibition. But I am particularly glad to have had this opportunity of being present to preside here to-day on the occasion of the assembling of the international juries. It has given me great pleasure to have made the personal acquaintance of all those distinguished gentlemen who have come from the Continent, and who, no doubt at considerable inconvenience to themselves, have so kindly consented to come over here to decide on matters appertaining to the Health Exhibition. It is particularly gratifying to me to have been here to receive them, and I sincerely hope that their labours will be crowned with success. That the Exhibition has up to the present time been successful so far as numbers are concerned we have evidence to show, but I hope at the same time that for scientific and educational purposes the public at large may derive even greater benefit from it than they can get by merely coming here to enjoy the Exhibition as a place of recreation.
"After the address from the Duke of Buckingham, and the long, able, and most interesting one from Sir James Paget, which was commented upon by Sir Lyon Playfair, it would be perfectly superfluous for me to detain you but for a few moments on any subject relating to health. These addresses, which you have all listened to with such great interest, will, I trust, have proved to you what an important consideration the matter of health is. This Exhibition, under the able chairmanship of the Duke of Buckingham and those gentlemen of the Executive Council who have worked under him, has, I think, been brought to a remarkable degree of perfection. They have done everything they can do to make it pleasing to the eye; but still I hope that those who visit the Exhibition will remember that there are greater and more important objects at stake—that they will go home impressed by the study of those objects as well as by the pleasure they may have derived from the wonderful inventions and methods of showing them. I wish to tender my thanks to the Lord Mayor and the great City Companies for their kind co-operation in this Exhibition, and I am sure we are all much gratified at the success of what is called Old London. Before concluding I would beg to ask the Chairmen and Jurors at the close of the proceedings to constitute their juries and select their secretaries."
The French Ambassador, in moving a vote of thanks to the Prince of Wales for presiding, referred to His Royal Highness's readiness on all occasions to give his time and to devote his energies to any cause which might advance the welfare of the people of this country. He called on them to thank His Royal Highness, not only in the name of those present and of the foreigners who had contributed to the Exhibition, and more particularly those of France, but in the name of thousands upon thousands of the poor and disinherited of the earth, of children and the helpless, whose benefit would ultimately be promoted by this Exhibition.
The Lord Mayor seconded the motion, which was agreed to with acclamation. The Prince, in closing the proceedings, tendered his warmest thanks to the French Ambassador and his colleagues for their presence on that occasion and for their continued co-operation in the Exhibitions with which he had been connected. His Royal Highness, in concluding, thanked the Lord Mayor, as representative of the City of London, for all that the City and the Guilds of London had done to promote the success of the Exhibition.