UNVEILING ALBERT STATUE AT CAMBRIDGE.
January 22nd, 1878.
The election of His Royal Highness Prince Albert to the Chancellorship of the University of Cambridge, was one of the honours of which he was most justly proud. He was only twenty-eight years of age, and had not yet been eight years in England. But during these years he had won the respect and admiration of all that was highest and best in the nation. When the Chancellorship of Cambridge became vacant by the death of the Duke of Northumberland, on the 12th of February, 1847, application was made to the Prince, on the next day, by Dr. Whewell, the Master of Trinity, to allow himself to be put in nomination for the office. The request was separately made by the Marquis of Lansdowne on the same day. A letter from the Bishop of London (Blomfield) conveyed the assurance that the Prince's acceptance of the office would be regarded by many of the leading members of the University, with whom he had conferred, as "honourable and advantageous to the University." The Prince replied, through Mr. Anson, to whom the bishop's letter was addressed, that he would be gratified by such a distinction, if it was the unanimous desire of the University.
Unfortunately there was another candidate proposed, and an election took place, the Prince obtaining a large majority. Of 24 Professors who voted, 16 gave their votes for the Prince; of 30 Senior Wranglers, 19 were on his side; while of the resident members 3 to 1 voted for him. Notwithstanding this strong expression of opinion, the Prince felt inclined to refuse the office, but was induced to accept it, on the reasons of the opposition being explained to him, and on the assurance that the contest would be forgotten after a few months, and that he might then count on the confidence and goodwill of the whole Academical body.
Fortunately he accepted, and the assurances of his supporters were more than verified. On the 24th of March the ceremony of inauguration was gone through at Buckingham Palace, when the Letters-Patent ware presented to the Prince by the Vice-Chancellor, accompanied by the most distinguished officials, and about one hundred and thirty members of the University. How soon and how powerfully his influence was felt in advancing education at Cambridge, is matter of history. The following simple entry in his Diary, on the 1st of November, 1848, shows the result of his first efforts: "My plan for a reform of the studies at Cambridge is carried by a large majority." To the enlightened and judicious plans of the Prince the subsequent advances and extension of education in England have been largely due. Nowhere was this more gratefully acknowledged than at Cambridge.
During his life he was honoured, and after his death a statue was erected to his memory, chiefly by subscriptions from the University. The site chosen was in the Fitzwilliam Museum, a memorial worthy of the noble benefactor, who bequeathed to the University his valuable collection of pictures and books, with a sum of £100,000 to be spent in providing a building suitable for their reception. The statue of Prince Albert was here fittingly placed. It was one of the best works of Mr. Foley, in his later years, and is universally admired as a striking and worthy representation of the illustrious Chancellor.
It was for the ceremony of unveiling this statue that the Prince of Wales visited Cambridge on the 22nd of January, 1878. He was met at the gate of the Museum by the Chancellor, the Duke of Devonshire, the Lord High Steward, the Vice-Chancellor, and a distinguished company. On entering the vestibule an address was read by the Chancellor, setting forth the services to the University of the Prince Consort, during his fifteen years' tenure of office. The address thus concluded:—
"This memorial of the Prince Consort cannot but serve to remind us also as Englishmen of the signal benefits conferred by His Royal Highness upon our Queen and country by his wise and far-seeing counsels, his never-wearying vigilance and attention to the public welfare, and his entire devotion to the duties of his exalted station at the sacrifice of all personal interests and objects.
"We thank your Royal Highness for the distinguished honour conferred upon the University by your presence among us this day. It remains only for us to prefer our request that your Royal Highness will now be graciously pleased to uncover the statue. To no one does this honourable office more appropriately belong."
The Prince of Wales returned the following reply:—
"My Lord Duke, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, Members of the Senate, and Gentlemen,—I thank you for your address. I feel that it is hardly necessary for me to assure you what pleasure it affords me to be present on this occasion for the purpose of unveiling the statue of my illustrious father and your late Chancellor, in compliance with the special desire and invitation of the Chancellor and the Members of the Senate of the University. But, apart from the performance of this duty, I must express my great satisfaction at having an opportunity of revisiting Cambridge as a member of your University, and recalling to my mind the agreeable recollections which I have always retained of my undergraduate's days. The interest which the Prince Consort took in everything relating to the welfare of the University is well known to us all, and it is a source of deep gratification to me to witness the respect which the members of the University show to his memory by the erection of this fine statue. I will now proceed to execute the task imposed upon me of unveiling the statue."
The Prince then walked up to the Statue, and having pulled a string, it stood unveiled before the assembly, who contemplated it for a few moments in silence.
The Chancellor again addressing the Prince, thanked him for the honour which he had done the University in being present on so interesting an occasion. It was, however, a source of regret to him that so many had passed away who had the best means of becoming acquainted with the views and thoughts of the Prince Consort—such as Professor Sedgwick and Dr. Whewell—who, if they were alive, would gladly have borne testimony to his great virtues that day. There were, however, many now in that hall who, he had no doubt, entertained the liveliest recollections of the deep interest which was taken by His Royal Highness in the work in which the University was engaged.
The Earl of Powis also bore testimony to the unwearied interest which was taken by the Prince Consort in the development of new studies in the University, even amid the weighty cares of State.
Dr. G. Paget, Regius Professor of Physic, spoke in highly eulogistic terms of the Prince Consort's love of science and art, observing that it was under his auspices that the Moral and Natural Science Triposes had been established, to the great advantage of teaching in the University.
The ceremony in the entrance-hall was thus brought to a close, and the Prince of Wales, the Chancellor, and their respective suites proceeded to the picture gallery, where His Royal Highness held a levée, which was very numerously attended. After the levée he returned to Trinity College. It was several years since the Prince of Wales had paid a visit to Cambridge of any duration. He spent some time there as an under-graduate, and made with the Princess of Wales a stay of three days in 1864, when he had the degree of LL.D. conferred upon him.
Another memorable visit was paid on the 9th of June, 1888, when the Prince of Wales, accompanied by the Princess and their three daughters, witnessed the conferring of an honorary degree on Prince Albert Victor. Other notable graduates honoris causâ were on the list that day, including the Marquis of Salisbury, the Earl of Rosebery, Lord Selborne, Mr. Balfour, Mr. Goscheu, and Professor Stokes. At the luncheon afterwards given in the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Prince of Wales said it was seven and twenty years since he was first connected with the University. "They were happy days," he added, "and I always look back to them with the greatest pleasure and satisfaction."