The Sun.
London, England, 1866-09-28 00:00:00

Visit of the Prince and, P incess of Wales
t) Dunrobin Castle.

-~

GOLSPIE, Tuesday Evening.

The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at Dunrobin
Castle yesterday evening. A visit of Royalty to this part
of the country had been long promised, but the disappoint-
ments were so frequent that the accortplishmentof the pro-
mise began to be despaired of. When intimation was first
given this season that the visit was to take place the nor-
thern public waited fo'r further confirmation before placing
much credence in the report, and wean it was again de-
ferred by authoritative announcement they regarded it as
an event which was to have been expected. The surprise,
therefore, was all the more agreeable when it came to be
known that the engagement was really to be fulfilled, and
that the day of the visit was positively fixed.
Their Royal Highnesses were conveyed by special train
from Aboyne to Bonar-bridge, the terminus of the Highland
Railway system, and they proceeded thence in an open car-
riage to the seat of their noble entertainer. In attendance
on the Prince of Wales were General Knollys and Colonel
Ke ppel ; and the Hon. Mrs Coke attended on the Princess
Prince Victor and Prince George were also of the party.
At all the halting-places from Aboyne to Dunrobin pre-
parations had been made for giving them a suitable wel-
come. The Inverness station, where they remained for
about half an hour, was gaily decorated, and the Prince was
presented by the Provost and magistrates with the freedom
of the burgh. At Bonar-bridge two splendid arches of ever-
greens were erected, bearing the inscriptions, "Welcome to
Sutherland." From this place: to Dunrobin the distance is
25 miles, and the road lies through most picturesque High-
land scenery. At Clashmore, where they arrived a little
before 7 o'clock in the evening, the party made a halt of
ten minutes for the pmpose of changing horses. The
Dor•noch company of Volunteers, numbering 74 men,
were drawn up as a guard of honour-under Major W. S.
Fraser, and a great crowd of country people had colleefed
at the spot, who cheered loudly as the carriageS approached.
The Duke of Sutherland, who met his visitors at Keith,
presented the folloWing gentlemen to the Prince while the
party remained at Clashmore :—Major Fraser and Captain
Taylor, Dornech ; Mr. Fordyce, sheriff of the counties of
Sutherland and Caithness, and Sheriff Fraser, Fort William.
Their royal highnesses acknowledged the cheering most
courteously, and bowed to the crowd as the carriages drove
off. At Golspie, the village in the immediate vicinity of
Dunrobin, the inhabitants had exerted themselves to give
the royal party as magnificent a reception as their limited
resources would permit. A range of steep hills rises in rear
of the village, and on the highest peaks huge bonfires had
been piled—one on Cambusrnore another on an emi-
nence locally known as the Silver Rock, and a third on Ben
Braggie, on the summit of which stands the statue of the
grandfather of the present Duke of Sutherland. These were
lighted as soon as night came on, and from their command-
ing situations they had a most brilliant effect. Golspie boasts
of only one street, but the houses are neat and clean, and
the decorations were all tastefully got up. The ingeeuity
of the population had been expended on an arch in the
centre of the village, and a strong structure of pine saplings
adorned with heather had been the result. Coloured lights
were hung thickly upon the columns, some of them forming
the letters "A.A.," and other graceful designs. The windows
of the houses were illuminated, flags were flying at all con-
spicuous points, and the eye was greeted on every side with
inscriptions such as " Long live the Prince and Princess of
Wales," "Welcome to Britain's future King," &c. There
were no decorations on the approach to the castle, but late
in the evening a number of men were placed in pairs at
regular intervals for more than half-a-mile, each with a
torch in his hand, which ho was instructed to light as soon
as the royal party approached. The Sutherland Rifle
Volunteers also turned out, under command of Major
Weston, and the Artillery, under command of Captain
Loch. Great crowds had assembled to obtain a glimpse of
their Royal Highnesses in passing through the village. The
carriage drove up about 8 o'clock, and as it approached the
Artillery began to fire a Royal salute with pieces that bad
-been taken from his Grace's yacht the Undino. Hats were
off in an instant, and loud cheers welcomed the Royal
visitors, demonstration's which were acknowledged in the
most gracious manner. The horses proceeded at a rapid
pace through Golspie and along the approach to the Castle,
the blazing torches which lighted their passage giving a
peculiarly striking effect to the whole scene. The Rifle
Volunteers, under Major Weston, formed a guard of honour
at the Castle.

The following distinguished persons aro the guests of the
Duke and Duchess of Sutherland:—His Royal Highness the
Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and the Princess of
Saxe-Weimar, Earl Spencer and the Countess Spencer, the
Earl of Shrewsbury, Lady Adelaide and Lady Gertrude
Talbot, and the Hon. Reginald. Talbot, Lord Ronald leve-
son Gower, Lord Archibald ,Campbell, Mrs. Hay Mackenzie
(mother of the Duchess of SUtherland), Hon. E. Coke, Mr.
and Mrs. Summer, General Knollys and Colonel Keppel, in
attendance on the Prince of Wales ; Hon. Mrs. Coke, Lady
in Waiting to the Princess ; and Lieutenant Haig, Gentle-
man in Waiting to the Duke of Edinburgh. Several other
noblemen are expected.
To-day (Tuesday) the statue of the late duke was inaugu-
rated. Some apprehension was felt lest the statue shuuld
not be ready in time, but the sculptor (Mr. Noble, London)
finished, it with an effort,. and it arrived at Dunrobin on
Monday at noon. The cost including the pedestal is
£2,000, of which half has been subscribed by the tenantry
and half by the Duke.

The statue, on which Mr. Noble has been engaged for
the last year, is of bronze, 10 feet in height, and is said
to be a good likeness of the late Duke. A fac-simile
in marble has been taken for the Duchess Dowager.
The figure rests on 0, pedestal of grey granite
very similar to that used on the Thames Embankment.
The height is 13 feet. Tho lower step of the base of
the pillar is a huge mass of granite, nine feet square
and 19in. thick, being the finest block used for such a pur-
pose in the kingdom. It is erected on the north side of
the Castle, and the end of the road forming the approach,
and is directly in front of the principal entrance. Its erec-
tion was superintended by Mr. Fowler, architect. The
chairman of the committee of subscribers was Mr. Sidney
Hadwen, of Ballblair, and Mr. Gray, banker, Golspie, was
secretary. There is no inscription upon the monument.
Tho ceremony of unveiling the statue took place at 12
o'clock on Tuesday. At that hour the party came up from
the Castle. The Princess of Wales was dressed in purple
velvet, and the Duchess in. blue silk, with white silk trim-
mings. The Prince was dressed in full Highland costume
as Colonel of the Suthorlandshire Volunteers, and tho Duke
was in the same uniform, the trews in his case, however,
being substituted for the kilt. The Duke of Edinburgh had
a kilt of Stuart tartan. The ceremony was commenced by
the Rev. Mr. Macmillan, of Loth, who offered up an appro-
priate prayer. Mr. Hadwen, who was dressed in the uni-
form of a deputy-lieutenant, then stepped forward and read
the following address :

"My Lord Duke,—The sincere respect and regard enter-
tained towards your late noble father, the Duke of Suther-
land, during his lifetime by all classes in this country are
well known, and no sooner had his lamented death occurred
than there was expressed at once an earnest and general
desire to possess some permanent memorial of him. Of his
virtues I need not hero speak further, perhaps, than to say
that they were such as to cause him to be known and spoken
of by all as the good Duke. It was the unanimous wish of
the subscribers that the particular form of the memorial
should be determined by her in whose sorrow they so deeply
sympathise, and she having given her decision the memo-
rial has taken the form of the statue now about to be un-
veiled, and which, in the name of the subscribers, it now
only remains for me to hand over to your
Grace and your family as a lasting memorial of their
attachment. Wo deeply regret that her Grace the
Duchess Dowager is unable to be present here this day to
witness a ceremony in which she must feel so deep an in-
terest. I beg that I may be also permitted to express the
sincere gratification which we all feel that we should have
on this occasion the high honour of the presence among us
of their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales
and the Duke of Edinburgh."
The Duke of SUTHERLAXD returned thanks in appro-
priate terms, expressing his sorrow that the Dowager
Duchess was unable, from ill health, to attend, as she had
fully intended to be present.
The rivering was then removed, and the bronze figure
exposed to view.
The link() then presented Mr. Noble to the Prince and
Princess of Wales, both of whom complimented him on the
manner in which his work had been completed.
The statue and the party in front were afterwards photo-
graphed by Mr. James, Golspie.
Cheers wore then given for the Queen, the Prince and
Princess ef Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke and
Duchess of Sutherland, and for the children of the Prince
and Princess, after which the party returned to the Castle
to luncheon.
The afternoon was spent by the party in deer-stalking
on Ben Braggie.

The return issued by the Bank of France shows
a decrease of £20,000 in the bullion, but there is also
a diminution of £256,000 in the notes in circulation,
and £24,000 in the advances on stock. The bills
discounted have run off £360,000, and the current
accounts £776,000. The Treasury balances are
£746,400 larger.

It has been announced that a general meeting
of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and
China will be held on the 17th October, for the
purpose of declaring an interim dividend for the
pat year.