His Excellency then, after a few preliminary remarks, said:—
He must express the very great pleasure which he felt in being present on such an interesting occasion, when the whole community were testifying their appreciation of the noble Library which had been founded for their benefit. Indeed he felt it a great honour to have been asked to present these handsome portraits to Messrs. Guille and Allès. It would not be necessary for him to dwell at any length on the antecedents of these gentlemen, who were well-known in the island. Many years ago Mr. Guille went to the United States, and there he found the advantages which accrued from having access to a good library. He then conceived the idea of one day bestowing a similar boon upon his own native island, and this project he had been happily spared to carry out. During his exile the thought had remained ever with him; he had not allowed business to engross all his attention; and now that he had returned once more to settle down in the little rock-bound island-home of his youth, he was reducing to practice the beneficent plans of earlier years. He was not content to lead a life of ease with the produce of his industry, but he had founded an institution of incalculable value for the moral and intellectual welfare of the isle. Then there was another large-hearted Guernseyman, Mr. Allès, who determined that his old friend Mr. Guille should not be left to carry out his noble scheme alone. They had long been associated in business enterprises, and they were now linked in the higher bond of a common desire for the well-being of their fellow-citizens. All honour to them for it. The Library told its own story and needed no encomium. All it wanted was constant readers and plenty of them, and he could not too strongly impress upon the people—and especially upon the rising generation—the immense advantages they would derive from availing themselves of its literary treasures. In conclusion, it simply remained for him, on behalf of the Committee and the Subscribers, to ask Messrs. Guille and Allès to accept these paintings, which would show to future generations of Guernseymen the form and features of two public benefactors who had deserved so well of their country and their kind.
Mr. Guille, in response, gave a very interesting address in English, and Mr. Allès followed with an equally appropriate and practical speech in French, both gentlemen being received with prolonged applause, and listened to by the numerous assembly with the most interested attention.
Brief complimentary addresses were then delivered by Edgar MacCulloch, Esq., F.S.A., Bailiff (Chief Magistrate) of Guernsey, and by F.J. Jeremie, Esq., M.A., Jurat of the Royal Court, and the proceedings terminated with a hearty vote of thanks to the Lieut.-Governor, proposed by the Very Rev. Carey Brock, M.A., Dean of Guernsey.
A brass plate attached to Mr. Guille's portrait bears the following inscription:—
Presented to Thomas Guille, Esq.,
by his numerous friends, in recognition of the great
benefit he has conferred upon the inhabitants of his
native Island as one of the Founders of the
Guille-Allès Library.
Guernsey, 17 December, 1884.
A similar plate, bearing the name of Mr. Frederick Mansell Allès, is attached to his portrait.
Note.—The Assembly Rooms were built by private subscription in 1782, at a cost of about £2,500, and had therefore been in existence exactly a century when they passed into the hands of Messrs. Guille and Allès in 1882. During this long period they were the fashionable foyer of the Island's festivity and gaiety, and formed the scene of many a brilliant gathering.