CHAPTER XXXV. Great Exhibition of 1851 projected by Prince-His Dislike of Personal Praise-Anxiety for Welfare of Working Classes-Death of Mr. Anson-Prince attends Opening of Coal Exchange-Illness and Death of Queen Adelaide. IN the celebrated Frankfort Fairs of the sixteenth century may be found the germ of the Industrial Exhibitions of our own era. Of what these were, the great Greek scholar, Henri Estienne, has left an animated description in his Francofordiense Emporium, published in 1574. 'So great,' he says, 'and so diversified is the wealth of this market, that it in a manner comprises all others within itself, and they seem to be derived from it as rivers from their source, and as Rome was formally called the Compendium of the World, so, methinks, I should speak within bounds were I to say that the Fair of Frankfort ought to be called the Epitome of all the Markets of all the World.' All the Industrial products of Europe, those that ministered not only to the necessities but also to the refinements of life-books, pictures, sculpture, tapestry, the masterpieces of the armourer's, the goldsmith's, and the jeweller's art-were drawn together to this convenient commercial centre from all parts of the Continent of Europe. Every invention in machinery that could make one pair of hands do the work of many, or do work better than it had been done before, was sure to find its way there. It was a field where ingenuity of all kinds was certain of recognition. Great machines or simple devices to make domestic life easier or more comfortable were equally welcome. Estienne turns away from the mention of machines of exceeding ingenuity and worthy of Archimedes himself, and numberless instruments adapted for use in the different arts,' to speak with 1 This very interesting brochure has been reprinted, with a translation, by M. Isidore Lisieux, under the title La Foire de Frankfort (Exposition universelle et permanente au XVIe Siècle) par Henri Estienne. Paris, 1875. 1849 THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851 PROJECTED. 187 admiration of an invention for roasting, which would supersede the services of a human turnspit. The French were the first to adopt the idea of bringing together great public collections of works of art and industry with a view to the improvement of both. Exhibitions of this nature were held on a very considerable scale in Paris in 1798, the sixth year of the first Republic, and again in 1801, 1802, 1806, 1819, 1823, 1827, 1834, 1844, and 1849. Our own Society of Arts held several Exhibitions of the same kind upon a smaller scale. These had produced very beneficial results in raising the quality of our manufactures; and it seemed to the Prince that the time had come, when an Exhibition might be attempted, which would afford the means of showing what every country was able to produce in the shape of raw materials, in machinery and mechanical inventions, in manufactures, and also in sculpture, in plastic art, and generally in art as applied to manufactures. Such an Exhibition, if successfully carried out, could not fail to produce results of permanent benefit in many ways. To put the argument for it on the lowest grounds, it would enable the active spirits of all nations to see where they stood, what other nations had done and were doing, what new markets might be opened, what new materials turned to account, how they might improve their manufacturing processes, and what standards of excellence they must aim at in the general competition which steam and railroads, it was now seen, would before long establish throughout the world. At a meeting in Buckingham Palace on the 30th of July, 1849, the Prince propounded his views to four of the most active members of the Society of Arts, Mr. Thomas Cubitt, Mr. Henry Cole, Mr. Francis Fuller, and Mr. John Scott Russell. He had already settled in his own mind the objects of which the Exhibition should consist, and in these no material change was subsequently made. The Government, with whom the Prince had previously taken counsel, had offered the area within Somerset House for the purposes of the Exhibition. This was obviously too contracted, and various other sites were suggested; but that in Hyde Park, which was ultimately used, was proposed by the Prince even thus early, as affording advantages which few other places. might be found to possess.' It was accordingly resolved to apply for it to the proper authorities; and the application met with the approval of the Government. 6 188 THE GREAT EXHIBITION OF 1851 PROJECTED. 1849 The first step to be taken manifestly was to ascertain whether such an Exhibition would be regarded with favour by the great body of manufacturers throughout the kingdom. Mr. Cole, Mr. Fuller, and Mr. Digby Wyatt undertook the necessary inquiries. They were soon able to report—the two former coming to Balmoral for the purpose-that the idea was taken up with warm interest wherever they went, and that no jealousy or distrust was likely to lead to the withholding from the Exhibition any of the great discoveries in industrial machinery, which were especially looked to as likely to give distinctive value to the Exhibition. Means were taken to enlist the sympathies of our Colonies, and the East India Company were among the first to promise their active assistance. Communications were also opened with the Continental States; since upon the way they viewed the scheme much of its success would necessarily depend. In such matters a strong example does much, and this was set by France. So early as September of this year Lord Normanby was able, in writing to Colonel Phipps, to announce that the Prince President was much pleased with the idea, and entered into it heartily. Lord Normanby wrote, 'As these are matters to which the President has always given much of his attention, one may be sure, if the idea is matured, of his doing all in his power to ensure its success so far as France is concerned.’ As the arrangements went on this proved to be the case. The Prince was scrupulously anxious that his project should make its way upon its own merits. He shrank at all times from notoriety, but he shrank still more from any suspicion that his high position was used to influence opinion, which, if left to itself, might run in an opposite direction. He was, therefore, somewhat annoyed by finding that his name had been prominently put forward at a public meeting in Dublin in September as the chief mover in the project. The time for What had been said of public meetings had not yet come. him at Dublin was no more than the truth, but he would have preferred that the scheme should have been discussed purely on its own merits. Mr. Cole, in developing the objects of the proposed Exhibition, had said that the various and conflicting interests of parties had been debated by the Prince with great ability, bearing on the question whether English, Irish, and Scotch manufacturers would be served or injured by confining the competition to the United Kingdom, or throwing it open to the manufacturers of the whole world. The Prince 1849 THE PRINCE'S DISLIKE OF PERSONAL PRAISE. 189 was not moved to these inquiries by any man or body of men. It was his own spontaneous act, irrespective of external influences.' Mr. Fuller had followed this up, on the same occasion, by the remark, that among all the men Mr. Cole and himself had met in their inquiries at the great manufacturing towns of England and Scotland, in which they had heard the opinions of the most eminent men in trade and manufacture, 'the best informed man they came in contact with on all the points of their inquiry was the Prince himself.' In forwarding the report of the meeting to the Prince, Colonel Phipps had spoken strongly of his dislike to hearing the Prince's praises, however just, so loudly sounded by persons going about under an authority granted' by the Prince. 'One mischievous person,' he said, 'in even the best disposed meeting, might make this a foundation for much that would be disadvantageous to the plan, and disagreeable to your Royal Highness.' He then went on to deprecate, as premature, the notion which had been mooted of a public meeting in London, adding, 'A meeting in a private room of some of the leading manufacturers and practical men of science, for the purpose of ample discussion, is, of course, a different thing altogether.' In reply the Prince wrote as follows: 'Balmoral, 14th September, 1849. 'My dear Phipps,-I have to acknowledge three letters. from you. I shall begin with the last in answering them, viz. Exhibition. You are quite right in the view you take about public meetings, and I would beg you to remind Mr. Cole that the strictest privacy was originally observed, and to caution him not to be drawn away by degrees from the original position. Praising me at meetings looks as if I were to be advertised and used as a means of drawing a full house, &c. &c. Mr. Cole excused himself about Dublin, and calls it an unexpected occurrence that newspaper reporters should have been present, and says the proceedings were incorrectly reported. In London additional caution will be required. Your letter to the Lord Mayor is quite right.' The letter then diverges to a topic which, at all times, occupied much of the Prince's attention. The active interest which he had shown in all measures for raising the condition of the working classes was, by this time, so fully recognised, that his advice and countenance were 190 PRINCE'S ANXIETY FOR WELFARE 1849 sought in the formation and management of every society which had this object in view. The improvement of their dwellings he regarded as the first essential. Give them homes, he thought, to which they may be drawn by cheerfulness and comfort, and the boon will tell in improved health, sobriety, and domestic peace. It is to one of the societies devoted to this object (The Labourer's Friend Society) that the Prince refers in the conclusion of the same letter: 'Now to the working classes. The report is not so unsatisfactory as the items you have marked would make it appear. The Society professes to establish models only. These have been completed and have answered. Though the subscriptions for the general fund are very small, those for the different lodging-houses are large and have nearly covered the expense. The allotments are certainly too dearly managed. To improve the lodgings of the poorer classes in London, however desirable, just now would clearly be impossible for any society. I feel like you that it is dreadful to see the sufferings at this moment, and to know that there is a society which professes to work improvement, and to see none performed. I don't see what can well be done. When we get home I might see Lord Ashley and talk the matter over with him.' A few days afterwards the Prince recurs to the subject: My dear Phipps,-. . . Now to the working classes (so called). The improvement of their condition can be aimed at practically only in four ways: '1. Education of the children with industrial training 3. Grant of allotments with the cottages. '4. Savings' Banks and Benefit Societies (if POSSIBLE, managed by themselves), particularly on sound economical principles. I shall never cease to promote these four objects wherever and whenever I can, and you need not be afraid of urging the subject with me. I am just considering what can be done here, where the cottage accommodation borders on the Irish. The price allowed for a cottage is 157.!! Osborne 2 At Balmoral, as well as on the other Royal estates, the cottages are models of fitness, convenience, and comfort. Mr. Chadwick long ago said of them :'If all the cottage property in the United Kingdom were maintained in the same |