The Sun.
London, England, 1855-10-29 00:00:00

OPENING OF THE COMMERCIAL
TRA-
FELLER,S' SCHOOL, PINNER.

On Saturday last the beautiful edifice which the libe-
rality
of the commercial travellers of Great Brtain has
erected close to the Pinner station of the North-Western
Railway, as at once a home and a school, for the orphan
children of the less fortunate members of their body, was
publicly opened by his Royal Highness Prince Albert,
to whom the chairman and committee of the institution
had the honour of presenting an appropriate address.
The day was beautifully fine, and the consequence was
the presence of an unusually large number of
Ithe friends
and supporters of the institution, so that the whole pro-
ceedings went off with quite an unexpected eclat. The
new school house, which has been erected at an expense
of several thousand pounds, is a handsome and commo•
dious edifice in the Tudor or Elizabethan style, now so
fashionable, and is replete with every convenience, and
almost luxury, that could be required in a public school.
Indeed it is very much to be questioned whether the
pupils in the neighbouring and more aristocratic in-
stitution at Harrow are half so well lodged and
' cared for as the orphans of the commercial tra-
vellers. The home is situated in the centre of a
piece of park-like ground, nicely clumped with trees,
and, as seen from the station, forms a very p'omi-
cent and perfectly harmonious feature in the charac-
teristic Englislee landscape. On Saturday last the
building was decked out in its gayest in honour of the
illustrious guest expected. The principal school-room,
in which the address was to be presented, was profusely
decorated with evergreens, and the girls schoolroom, in
which the banquet was laid out, was quite a forest of
greenery, interspersed with dahlias and geraniums taste-
fully arranged, so as to give quite a summer aspect to
the entertainment, save when the sharp wind rushing
through a suddenly opened door roughly reminded the
guest that he was on the threshold of bleak Novem-
ber. The most sanguine of the stewards bad not
expected more than three hundred visitors, but the
fineness of the day, the contemplated presence of
royalty, and the deep interest taken by the commercial
community in the institution, combined to swell the
company to nearly double that number ; so that, as
the dinner hour approached, something very like short
commons was apprehended by the more hungry of
the visitors. That calamity was, however, happily
avoided, through the elasticity of the commissariat de-
partment, which was found quite equal to the unexpected
inroad, and sent every one back to town perfectly satis•
fled with the entertainment. His Royal Highness Prince
Albert arrived shortly after one o'clock from Windsor,
and the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor nearly at the same
time from town, his lordship having determined upon
giving this eminently commercial institution all the sanc-
tion to be derived from the presence of the chief magis-
trate of the first commercial city in the world. The
Prince, who was accompanied by General Grey and Col.
Seymour, was, on his arrival, received at the principal
entrance by the board, the treasurer, Geo. Moore, Esq.,
the various officers of the institution, and lastly the Lord
Mayor, who was accompanied by Mr. Philipps, his lord-
ship's secretary. A procession was then formed to the
large school-room, at the upper end of which a raised
dais had been erected, covered with crimson carpeting,
and on which was placed a handsome chair of state for
the accommodation of his Royal Highness. At this time
the room was densely thronged with company, the whole
of the front seats being filled with young ladies and gen-
tlemen, each provided with a purse variously filled, but
in no case with less than five guineas, as his or her con-
tribution to the building fund. The children of the
school filled the gallery, in the front of which was sta-
tioned a military band, and the two in combination gave
a very creditable delivery of the National Anthem and
the Old Hundredth Psalm, the moment his Royal High-
[Jess appeared on the dais. The members of the board
and the stewards then formed the semicircle, from which
Mr. Roberts (of the firm of Longman and Co., the emi-
nent publishers) came forward and read the following
6 addrese, embodying a succinct outline of the origin and
progress of the institution :
" We, the president, treasurer, and other officers of
' the Commercial Travellers' Schools for Orphan and
' Necessitous Children, desire to approach your Royal
Highness with feelings of unfeigned respect. As the
consort of our beloved Sovereign, we tender you the
homage of our sincere affection and esteem ; and as the
patron of all that is philanthropic, 'pure, and of good
report,' we hail your presence amongst us with sincere
joy, and would express our heartfelt gratitude that your
Royal Highness has been pleased to confer the honour
and advantage of your countenance on this interesting
occasion. It may not be displeasing tb your Royal
Highness to hear a few brief particulars respecting the
institution wile which, by your gracious act of this day,
your Royal Highness is so kindly identified. Under the ap-
pellation of CommercialTraveller-i, there is in this country
a large and important class of persons, whose business it
is constantly to travel for commercial purpo.es, and by
whose exertions the internal commerce of the country is
principally sustained. It v'as deemed fitting that an
asylum should be established for the distressed orphan
children of this large body of individuals, so peculiarly
exposed, by the nature of their calling, to accident and
danger. Deeply impressed with this feeling, a few ener-
getic commercial men commenced this society, in 1345.
Before they appealed for assistance, either t,) principals
or to the public, they manifested the earnestness and
sincerity of their convictions by raising amongst them-
selves, and in their own body, 2,0001. towards the pro-
secution of the object they had in view, and the work
thus commenced has, with the Divine blessing, steadily
progressed and prospered. In 1847, a large mansion was
rented at Wanstead, into which 20 children were at first
received. This number was gradually augmented, until
at last it was found that the charity was fast outgrowing
the dimensions of the premises in which it was located.
And after many expedients and much deliberation it
was resolved that the site on which this building now
stands should be purchased, and an edifice expressly de-
signed for the charity erected thereon. With great la-
bour and anxiety, involving an outlay of up wards of
f. 0,000/., towards which between 5,0001. and 6,000/,
have yet to be raised, this substantial building has been
completed. To the cultivated taste of your Royal High-
ness the edifice may present many architectural imper-
fections and defects, but the consideration that it has
been erected to succour and educate the helpless
will doubtless give it a charm in the estimation of
your Royal Highness which a greater architectural
di-play might fail to excite. Between two and three
hundred young persons, from seven to fifteen years
of age, have been or are now being carefully trained by
this charity for a useful and honourable career in
afterdife, who, but for this institution, might have been
growing up in neglect and indolence, contracting vicious
habits and maturing in immorality. The board of ma-
nagement refer with much gratification to the fact that
so exemplary has been the conduct of the pupils of this
institution during the location of the establishment at
Wanstead, that the clergy and gentry of the neighbour-
hood have expressed in the strongest terms their regret
at the removal of the institution. It is true that this
establishment, from its very nature, can never be distin-
guished in the higher branches of education and learn-
ing, still it is hoped that, in all those qualities which
constitute moral excellence, the scholars of this institu-
tions may vie in honourable rivalry with the noblest in
the land ; and although this school may never, like a
neighbouring seat of learning, send forth poets, philoso-
phers, and statesmen, to give lustre to their age and
country, and to aid in the councils of their Sovereign, it
will produce, it is hoped, a succession of those hardy sons
of commerce, equally essential to the existence of a com-
mercial nation, and who, by their loyalty to their mo-
narch, their reverence fur the laws, and their industry
and integrity, shall contribute to the stability of the
throne and the material welfare of the empire. May your
Royal Highness ever have occasion to look back with
satisfaction on the part you have condescended to take in
the proceedings of this day. May you live long to exer-
cise your beneficent influence as the patron of every insti-
tution which has for its object the mitigation of human
woe, and as the promoter of every work calculated to ad-
vance the welfare of the people. May your august con-
sort, our beloved Queen, long be spared to hold her vir•
t tubeoupsreesnedutbeeniriegunlwtaayeeozorf tthhies
tromiigehstyasernalpsioreihae futurendmay
events of her reign, be
oveeirsu\lled by a'n all-wise and all- '
merciful-Providence, to h
and to the , permanent securityjeastnyd's ppreorsspoenraitlywoeflfahree;
dominions."
thisinio ns.z:
ddress, which was read with a most judicious
land impressive elocution by Mr. Roberts, hie Royal
' Highness listened with marked attentionmrhliand was pleased
to deliver the following reply :
tlernen, accept my best thanks for your address,
the very gratifying expression of your loyalty and n and
dG
fe n •
adn or
affec-
tionate attachment to the Queen anbcl3,heraryf apmryiel!ae.na
elehhaevr
affectinging the Welfare and
most had much satisifnacteiovneryinthminargk
on this occasion, the interest felt b the Queen as well
hasapbpyinmesysseelef; any class of her subjects ; arid
sin-
cerely do I congratulate you on the success which has so
far rewarded your spirited and praiseworthy exertions to
secure an asylum for the orphan children of members of
your body. Nor can I doubt that the most sanguine ex-
pectations of those who anticipate from the increased
means of accommodation which have now been provided
a corresponding amount of benefit wiilberealiassedi
At the conclusion of this reply, which was loudly
cheered, Dr. Vaughan, /lead Master at Harrow, offered
a prayer, and his Royal Highness declared the building
to be opened.
The young ladies and children the„pnadretp,onstitepdouthr la
purses, " God save the Queen," and
Syrie," were sung by the children, accompanied by the
band, after which his Royal Highness retired to the
board-room, where a refreshment table, elegantly deco-
rated, and provided with the most costly delicacies, had
been piepared for his Royal Highness's entertainment.
After luncheon his Royal Highness made a moat minute
seaxnaination of the entire building expressing his entire
pariteder wnwiiatdhaotee aTrrhaengperimnennetsiaasndloinmdimyendhiaeeterelyd de-
for Windsor- arrival and depr-arture, both by the company within
tt
if it
ee
day
hadbuilding,andalbev.Jd
to assemble outside.
TllShortly after three o'clock B l
Ncltuhler-fo henteral company as•
sembled in the thee' school room, d
afteerdaeclaortalticemns
fr.! which we have before allrided, an
sion caused by the. unexpected influx of visitorseall sat
down comfortably to an elegant and substantial enter-
tainment, ove r which the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor
presided, supp ortecl right and left by the members of the
board and their friends, Mr, George Moore, the tree.