The Press. — London, England, 1856-06-07 00:00:00

638 THE PRESS. SATURDAY, number of foreign ladies were to be noticed. The " first stone " consisted of a large square piece of polished porphyry, to be laid on another of a similar material and form, an interstitial space being lett between the two for the usual deposit of coins, Sc. On the stone was engraved an inscription to the effect that the first stone of the Wellington College, founded in honour of the memory of " Die Great Duke," and intended for the education of the orphan sons of officers in the royal army and the East India Company's service, was laid by her Majesty Queen Victoria, on the 2nd June, 1858. Over Vie stone was a pagoda-shaped canopy, covered with scarlet cloth, and gaily paroisi, and around the stone a carpeted dais for the accommodation of the Queen, while at the back stood the royal pavilion erected for the special service of the Queen and Court. A profusion o' flags and streamers decorated the whole quad , Tangle, and the interior was lined all round by the Grenadier Guards. A' may be imagined from these details, the ensemble, including the brilliant company, the military display, and the occas'onal decorations, all lighted up by the brightest sunlight that has been seen since the commencement of the present summer, was extremely brilliant and effective, and the climax was produced when, a little after one p.m., amid the thunders of a royal salute, the folds of the pavilion were thrown open, and the inaugural pro cession came forth, headed by the architects, the high sheriff, the governors, the great officers of State, with the Queen and Royal Family, among whom (for tie first time on a state occasion) was seen the y )ung Prince Arthur, in the centre, and the ladies and gentlemen of the Court bringing up the rear. As soon as the Queen had reached the dais, the Earl of DERBY, as vice-president of the college, advanced and read an address thanking her :)lajesty for the unfailing support and encouragement with which she had honoured the institution from the first idea of its establishment : When, upon the death of the late illustrious Duke of Wellington ( continued the Earl of Derby ), the country was anxious to testify its deep veneration for his memory, an I only doubtful how best to give effect to the general feeling, your Majesty was graciously pleased at once to aJopt (if, indeed, it may not be truly said that the meat originated in your Majesty's own mind) the suggestion of combining with a building, of which the architectural character should be worthy of the occasion, an institution which should perpetuate the name of the great deceased la conjunction with a permanent endowment iu favour of the service to which he owed his fame, and on which he has conferred imperishable lustre. Surrounded by all the blessings of domestic life, which your Majesty well knows how to prize far above tLet splen dours of a throne, your Majesty's maternal heart could sympathise with those less fortunate mothers whose lot it might be to look with anxiety upon a rising Wilily, orphaned in their country's service, and doomed to struggle with all the evils of severe, and, above all, un adulated poverty. An institution which should mitigate these evils, should soothe these anxieties, should shelter, protect, and educate these orphans, was the monument which your Majesty invited the country to raise to the lasting memory of the Great Duke. The noble earl in the address then alluded to the desired objects of the institution, and expressed a hope that the still insufficient funds of the college would before long be in a position to carry out the plan of the founders to the fullest extent : It is our anxious hope that within these walls, at no distant period, two hundred orphans of officers of your Majesty's and of the East India Company's service may be lodged, boarded, partially clothed, and provided, be tween the ages of eleven and sixteen, with the elements at least of such a religious, moral, and intellectual educa tion as may tit them for their future career in life, what. ever that career may he ; and, if not gratuitously, at least at a scale of expense far below what any other institution could afford them. The admissions will be regulated by strict attention to the claims of the deceased officer and the eircutust races of the surviving parent, without rerptir ing any further disclosure of such circumstances than may serve to show that the total provision for the family, if equally divided, would not exceed a given amount. his counny's service, of an honesty of purpose, and of a determination in the performance of his duty by which the long and brilliant career of the Duke of Wellington was so eminently distinguished. I can express no better wish for my own son, who bears the name of that great man, than that he should take as his guide through life the example of one with whom it will ever be his high distinction to have been connected. To this tidiress the Queen read a most gracious reply, acknowledging her sincere satisfaction at the terms of the address : While reading the two last paragraphs the voice of the Queen became tremulous, and the Duchess of Wellington was deeply affected. At the conclusion of her Majesty's reply the Arch bishop of Canterbury offered up a brief prayer, and the foundation stone was "well and duly laid" by the Queen. The Earl of Derby then gave the signal for three cheers, which were given with a warmth and heartiness to be heard only in England, and the ceremony ended. Her Majesty then lunched at the pavilion, afterwards reviewed tho troops, and returned to town a little before five p.m. The situation chosen for the erection of the college is in a sheltered spt't, a short distance from the Reading and Reigate branch of the South-Eastern Railway, just within the borders of Berkshire, about two miles from Sandhurst. The funds at present possessed by the governors amount to 11`5,000/., of which 80,0001. is invested for the keep of one hun dred orphans. The cost of the building will be 55,000/, so that a deficiency exists of some 26,0001. (adding interest), exclusive of the annual sum re quired to support 120 more boys, the building being designed for 220 pupils. --, Throughout the evening the city and colleges were brilliantly illuminated. That satisfaction (continued her Majesty) is enhanced by the character of the monument which )on propose to raise to the lastiiht memory of the Duke of Wellington, and also by the circumstances of the time selected for its erection. THE HOLYHEAD BREAKWATER AND HARBOUR OP REFUGE are being pushed forward with great activity. The works are more than half done. Six thousand of the 7,000 feet forming the northern breakwater are finished in eight fathoms at low water. The superstructure is now being commenced. Au eastern breakwater of 2,500 feet will inclose a harbour of some 300 acres, at four fathoms low water, while the roadstead under the other break- water will consist of 400 acres, with easy acce , s at all times. Upwards of 5,000,000 tons of stone have already been used. This stone is obtained from quarries close at hand. Ninety thousand tons were displaced at one blast a short time since. The cost of the entire works is estimated at 1,000,0001.; 500,0001. has been expended already. THE MANCHESTER ART EXHIBITION SCHEME COD tinues to progress, and among the latest contributors to the fund is the Lord Mayor of London, with the sum of 5001. The offers of land as sites for the pro posed building have been numerous, and several leading contractors have visited Manchester with a view of making offers for the erection of a building. The guarantee fund is to be raised to 100,0001., if possible, with the view, if it shall appear desirable, of extending the objects of the exhibition beyond the limits originally indicated. A BODY OF MANCHESTER BRICKLAYERS last week struck work for higher wages, and commenced seri ous attack; upon their fellow-workmen and masons who refused to join the strike. Several severe tilhts have occurred, and the men been seriously injured and sent to hospital. The men on the strike have not yet returned to work. Tun MAILS FOR THE WEST INDIES AND PACIFIC will in future be made up in Southampton on the days of the departure of the Royal Mail steamers, and tie mail for Southampton will be made up at various points iu the West Indies and Pacific. 'ibis important arrangement is to come into operation on the 17th instant, and has arisen from a representa tion to the Duke of Argyll from the Southampton Chamber of Commerce. THE EXETER PEACE REJOICINGS were of a sub stantial kind, for a public dinner was given to ten thousand people. The higher and lower markets were devoted to the dining of the poor of the city, with the exception of those of Trinity parish. The length of the tables in both markets was 8,500 yards. The quantity of beef and mutton, 10,000 lbs.; plum pudding, 5,000 lbs.; bread, 9,850 loaves, each weigh ing lb.; beer, 2,250 gallons. Upwar sof four thousand children, under ten years of age, were treated with coffee and buns in the lower market in the afternoon A DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA occurred in Aber canaid, South Wales, last week. A miner, one Jahn Davies, as he returned home from Merth3r, *as bitten by a dog he attempted to caress. In the course of the same evening Davies complained of giddness, and could not sleep at night. During the week be suffered much from pains in the limbs, and a feeling of suffocation. On Saturday, getting worse, a doctor was called in. Davies, however, continued to grow worse, and underwent dreadtul suffering, begging his friends to let him have fair play, and not to smother him. If be attempted to speak, or any one ventured to touch him, he was thrown into a violent paroxysm At length he began to foam at the mouth, his arms and hands turned literally black, and he ultimately sank under the violence of his symptoms. LORD • ALFRED PAGET, while making a passage on Wednesday evening in his yacht Alma, from Col chester to the Isle of Wight, was run down a little before midnight, off the South Foreland, by the Be!. gian mail-packet Diamond. Ttie Alma went down, all standing, in a few minutes after the collision; and Lord Alfred, with his crew, bad barely time to lauch their longboat and escape being drowned with her. In writing to a friend, Lord Alfred describes the collision.— The night was beautifully clear and bright starlight. When oil the South Foreland, about four miles from the lighthouse, as I was coming up the companion-ladder, I heard the men on deck shouting to a steamboat to "stop her !" I was on deck in an instant, and saw • steamer making straight for us at full speed. In about a couple of minutes she struck us in the starboard bow, causing the yacht to reel almost under water and propelling us forward some distance, as, strange to say, her paddles were not stopped even when she struck us. The shock was terrific, and when the steamer did stop and get clear it became evident that the yacht was fast sinking by the bead. One of my men jumped on board the steamer, and entreated the captain to stay by our sinking vessel and send a boat to save us. His request was, after some hesitation, com plied with; but in the meantime we had managed to launch our longboat, and had just time to get into her when the yacht went down with all her sails set. Neither nor any of the crew had time to save an article of any kind. I requested the officer in charge the steamer's gig to take us on board and tow us to the land, but this he refused to do, saying he had despatches on board ; so we bad a long and hard pull against the tide, running out ea! There could not be a more worthy record of a country's gratitude to its greatest soldier than a permanent endow. ment for the protection and education of the orphans of brave men whose lives have been laid down in the service of which he was the chief ornament and pride. Nor could there be a more appropriate time for raising such a monu ment to his memory. While gratefully admiring the gallantry and devotion which have been so conspicuously displayed my truly in the late war, I have deeply sympathised with the domes tic sorrows and privations (the inevitable result of war) which have made so many mourners. I feel that we cannot better celebrate the re-establish. ment of peace than by laying the foundation of an institu tion, which, while it will tend to soothe those sorrows and to ming ite the seventy of those privations, will hold up to the imitation of all those who share its benefits the example pf a disinterested patriotism, of an unceasing devotion to THE OXFORD COMMEMORATION. THIS commemoration, held during the week, has been brilliantly attended. The weather was fine, and the boat-race, flower-show, concert, and illuminations, in addition to the usual academical forms and cere monies, have all gone tiff with great eclat. On Wed- nesday, the great day, the excitement was at its height. The Sheldonian Theatre was filled in a few minutes after opening, and the usual uproar and fun took place, the undergraduates cheering or groaning at. anything or every one which pleased their fancy or who was disagreeable to their taste. His Royal Highness Prince Albert, accompanied by the Prince Regent of Baden, and Prince Frederick William of Prussia, arrived at the theatre from town shortly after eleven a.m., and the royal visitors were received with such hearty cheers as completely drowned the National Anthem. When the applause had subsided, the Chancellor (the Earl of Derby) rose and read the diplomas of convocation, confer ring the degree of D.C.L., honoris caust, upon the Prince of Prussia and the Prince Regent of Baden ; the announcement was received with renewed cheering. The degree of D.C.L. was then conferred on the following distinguished personages :—H is Excellency Musurus Bey, Ambassador from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire ; his Excellency Count Von Bern storif, l'russian Minister Plenipotentiary; the Mar quis of Aliercorn, K.G. ; the Right Hon. the Earl of Clarendoc, K G., G.C.8.; the Right Hon. the Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, K.T.; the Right Hon. Lord Ashburton; Admiral Sir Edmund Lyons, Bart., G.C.8., K.C.H.; Rear-Admiral the Hon. Sir R. Saunders Dundas, K.C.8.; Sir Henry Holland, Bart., M.D., F.R.S.; Major-General Sir Harry D. Jones, R.E., K.C.B , Governor of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; Sir W. Williams; Sir Cohn Campbell ; Humpbry Sandwith, Esq., M.D.; Dr. Henrich Barth. The mention of the names of Sir W. F. Williams, of Kars, and General Sir Colin Campbell, elicited the most enthusiastic acclamation. The Earl of Elgin and Admiral Sir E. Lyons were also much cheered in coming to receive the degree in the cus tomary manner. The name of Dr. Sandwith afforded an op' ortunity for paying a tribute of re spect to Gentral Mouravieff, which was not lost by the Regius Professor of Civil Law. Then followed the recitation of the prizes. The first in order was the Latin poem, by Mr. Edward C. Wickham, of BAHit)! College. It was entitled " Mors Socratis." To this succeeded the English essay, " The reciprocal action of the physical and moral condition of countries upon each other, - by Mr. J. H. Renolds, fellow of Brasenose College ; the Latin essay, by Mr. H. Robson, scholar of Balliol College, and the Stanhope essay, by Mr. R. W. Hen. derson, of University College. The Newdegate poem of Mr. W. P. James, of Oriel College, was the concluding piece. At half-past twelve o'clock the proceedings terminated, and shortly afterwards the concert took place. Haydn's Creation was per formed, in which Mme. Jenny Lind Goldschmidt and Mme. Viardot sang. In the afternoon the Prince Consort visited the city and colleges, and received an address from the city, which he replied to as follows : I beg to thank you for the address which you hare pre sented to me, and I assure you that it atf.rds me sincere satisfaction again to visit your ancient city. I have had the pleasure of taking part in the proceedings of this morning, and, in company with my two honoured guests, have spent a very happy day.