The Secretary then read a list of subscriptions, including fifty guineas from the Prince of Wales. The Lord Mayor said that the Prince always showed his interest in education, and he had lately been present at the opening of the City of London School. This College gave more advanced and practical teaching than was given at that School.
Mr. Clarke, Q.C., M.P., said he had been a student of the College twenty-six or twenty-seven years ago, and the education he there received had been most valuable to him. Mr. Prebendary Mackenzie having supported the resolution of a vote of thanks to their Royal Highnesses, the Prince returned his warm thanks and added:—
"So much has been said with regard to this College that I should only be taking up your time if I were to allude to it further than to say that I feel convinced—and it is our earnest hope—that this College, which has been so successful hitherto, will continue to prosper in the new building. Most cordially do we wish it all success. A greater proof cannot be given of the excellent character of the education which the students here receive than that given by the seconder of the resolution, Mr. Clarke, who has not only attained a high position in the profession he has adopted, but who has also become a member of Parliament. I thank you again for your kind reception of us to-day, and for the pleasure it has given us to inaugurate this very handsome building."
HOUSING OF THE POOR AND THE WORKING CLASSES.
February 22nd, 1884.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is not infrequent in his attendance in the House of Lords, but he has very rarely addressed the House. It is natural that he should avoid even the appearance of being mixed up with political controversies, or touching points that might bear a party construction. But on questions of a social or patriotic bearing to which he is known to have given personal attention, the voice of the Prince would be always heard with pleasure, and his opinions carry due weight. It was so in the matter of the Housing of the Poor, which was brought before the House on the 22nd of February, 1884.
The Marquis of Salisbury moved an Address to Her Majesty for the appointment of a Royal Commission to inquire into the housing of the working classes. Lord Carington seconded the motion, after which the Prince of Wales rose, amidst cheers from both sides of the House. He said:—
"My Lords,—The speeches which have fallen from the lips of the noble Marquis who introduced this subject, and from the noble Lord who has just sat down, cannot fail to have been heard with the deepest interest by your Lordships. I feel also convinced that your Lordships, in common with all classes of Her Majesty's subjects, will be gratified to learn that the noble Marquis has asked for a searching inquiry to be made into that great and momentous question with regard to the housing, and the amelioration of the dwellings, of the poor and the working, classes, and that Her Majesty's Government have already appointed a Commission for that purpose.
"My Lords, it is not my intention to trouble your Lordships with many remarks, though I take the keenest and liveliest interest in this great question. Still, I confess I have not gone sufficiently into the matter for me to venture on giving an opinion, especially after what has fallen from the noble Marquis and the noble Lord. At the same time, I can assure you, my Lords, that I am deeply flattered at having been appointed a member of the Royal Commission. The subject of the housing of the poor is not entirely unknown to me, as having acquired a property in Norfolk now for twenty years, I have had something to do in building fresh dwellings for the poor and working classes. On arriving there I found the dwellings in the most deplorable condition, but I hope now that there is hardly one on the estate who can complain of not being adequately housed.
"I quite endorse what has fallen from the noble Marquis and the quotation which he made from the letter of Mr. Williams which appeared in to-day's newspapers. A few days ago I visited two of the poorest courts in the district of St. Pancras and Holborn, where, I can assure you, my Lords, that the condition of the people, or rather of their dwellings, was perfectly disgraceful. This in itself proves to me how important it is that there should be a thoroughly searching inquiry. As your Lordships are aware, there have existed now for some short space of time several private societies organised for the purpose of inquiring into this very question. I am sure that we ought all to be grateful to these gentlemen for giving up their time to so important a subject, and I feel that the Royal Commission can in nowise clash with the efforts of these private individuals.
"In conclusion, my Lords, I wish to say that I cherish an earnest hope, which I feel will be shared by your Lordships, that the result of this Royal Commission will be a recommendation to Parliament of measures of a drastic and thorough kind, which may be the means of not only improving the dwellings of the poor, but of ameliorating their condition generally."
His Royal Highness was followed by Lord Shaftesbury, the Bishop of London, and others, but nothing was added in the debate of a practical nature, and the motion of Lord Salisbury was unanimously carried.