The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-24 00:00:00

RAILWAYS.

Cash. Account.
Orleans 975 --•
• 975
Northern
Lyons and Mediterranean 1010
Now ditto ............ 918 75
Geneva ............
Southern
Western ......
Eastern .......... , 508 75 .. 508 75
Sardinian
Austrian
Lozybard .... ..
562 50 .. 562 50
Sara
North of Spain ... 542 50 .. 541 25
gossa
Ditto to Barcelona 342 50 .. 345

Election of the Prince of Wales as Presiden.
of the Society of Arts,

lingtou House,
Oil
hgeunrsedral aymafeteetrinn
ogootif. thieljeemm be
merbseorfsthasesseoracbielteyd waatsßhuelrd.
toh_eTTthchairmanisannualthe
lamentedthe meeting by your attention to the fact that at
death of the Prince Consort, it was stated in the council's
report that we hoped to have the honour and advantage of
the presidency of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
so soon as a fitting time had elapsed since the death of his
father. In the interval we elected as our president one of
our oldest and most respected vice-presidents, Wm. Tooke,
and he has filled the office until recently, when by his death
it became vacant. We then thought it right to take steps
for ascertaining whether the Prince of Wales would accept
the presidency, if elected by the members; we, therefore,
sought for and obtained the honour of an interview with his
royal highness, and presented an address, whic:s, with his
loyal highness's reply, I will now read to you:—
" To RIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES.
„‘ ‘ May it please your royal highness,—We, the Council
ofthe Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufac-
tures, and Commerce, humbly approach your royal high •
ness to ask that you will be graciously pleased to become a
member of the society, with the view
of being elected to the
office of its president. The council can never forget the
obligations of the society to your illustrious father, who,
for a period of 18 years presided over its proceedings with
se much advantage, not only to the society, but to the coun-
!rcoun-
tryat large. Th estabdshment of international exhibi-
tions, and the comprehensive designs for connecting edu-
cation in science and art with productive industry, were
among the many thoughtful endeavours of his royal high-
ness to promote the welfare of his adopted country. The
council believe that your acceptance of this office will be a
means of enabling your royal highness to promote and ex-
tend the enlightened views of your lamented father for the
advancement of arts and manufactures, and the benefit of
her
Majesty's subjects.—On behalf of the council,
" 'WILLIAM HAWES, Chair Man."
His Royal Highness was graciously pleased to return the
following reply :
" Gentlemen,—l thank you for your address. It is not
without much diffidence that I venture to take on myselt
the office that has been offered to me in so flattering a man-
tan
the Queen's wish, being
ner, feeling that there are so many better qualified for it
I can pretend to be. But it is
herself precluded from taking part personally in the pro-
ceedings of your society, to mark, through me, the interest
sbe feels in a body of which her beloved husband was so
long the head. On my own part lam led to entertain the
hope that, by accepting the situation of your president, I
may be better able to promote the great and beneficent ob-
jects which my dear father had so much at heart, and in
which he was so zealously supported by your society. En-
"waged by this hope, and having no dearer wish than to
assist in any way in my power towards the success of his
great designs, I cannot refuse to accept the position so
kindly offered to me."
I eta sure you will all feel that the terms in which his royal
highness has expressed the feelings of her Majesty, as well
as his own, towards this society are most gratifying. W©
cannot see the son of so distinguished and illustrious a
parent succeed to the chair which the Prince Consort filled
with such distinction and such usefulness, without looking
back to the progress of the society, and recalling to mind
the various presidents who have preceded him. We have
had the honour of being presided over in succession by
members of the Royal family. H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex
was for many years president, and during his presidency
the Prince Consort was vice-president. lie succeeded to the
chair at the death of the Duke of Sussex And now, having
unfortunately lost this illustrious prince, after he had pre-
sided over us for so long a period, we have come here to
elect as his successor a young man, comparatively untried,
but whose education has been such that we have every rea-
son to believe that he inherits from his father the same de-
sire to promote the encouragement ofa it in connection with
manufactures, and the same anxiety to make himself really
useful, sad to follow in the footsteps of his father as an
earnest promoter of arts, science, and literature ; and we
hope that some years hence we shall be as proud of his pre-
sidency as I believe we all are of the presidency of his illus.'
trious father. Immediately upon receivinz his Royal High-
ness's answer the council summoned this meeting. By the
ordinary rules of the society, before a member can be elected
he must be proposed, and his name suspended for a certain
period, We felt sure that you would ageee with us that to
pass his Royal Highness through such an ordeal as that,
after the answer which I have just read to you, would not
be respectful to him, or in accordance with your feelings.
Wo therefore thought it right to call you together, and ask
you at once to suspend all the bylaws relating to the elec-
tion of members and officers, and to submit his name to you
to be at once elected a member of the society. Having done
p
that it will be my duty to bring forward another proposition,
that he be elected our resident.
their own, did not consider they In that again the council,
bearing in mind the feelings of all the members as well as
would be doing their duty
if they used the powers given to them by the by-laws
to elect a president till the next annual meeting. 1 hey,
therefore, thought it due to you that
you should exercise
your power, that the whole body of members should have
an opportunity of expressing how cordially they appreciate
the very kind and flittering terms used by his royal high-
ness in the reply which I have just road, and also the gra-
titude we owe to her Majesty for her gracious expression of
sympathy with the proceedings of
this society. The first
this occasion the by-laws relating to the election of mem-
step to be taken is the purely formal ono of suspending for
bers and officers. I will therefore propose :—" That the
by-laws relating ;to the election of members and officers
be suspended for this meeting."
This having been unani-
mously passed,
The CHAIRMAN proposed—" That his Royal Highness
the Prince of Wales be elected a member of this society,"

This resolution having also been passed unanimously,
The CIIAIRMA.N said he would neat propose—" That his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales be elected president

of this society." This was passed by acclamation.
A vote of thanks to the chairman was then proposed by
Mr. JOSEPH PAYNE, seconded by Mr, TEULON, and car-
ried unanimously,