TRE PRINCE OF WALES AT SAORNCLIFFE.
When the 100th,. or Prince of Wales's Royal Regiment, arrived in 3Angland, just complaint was made that Liverpool had somehow over- looked their landing, and had not received them as the first colonial regi- ment should have been received. ' It was suggested at the time that if not the Queen, at least one of her sons, should present the regiment with its colours. On Monday, the Prince of Wales, on his way to the continent, stopped at Shorncliffe. He was accompanied by the Com- mander-in-Chief. The 100th regiment and the staff of the district were paraded, and the Prince presented the regiment with its colours, making at the time, the following, his first public speech- " Lord Melville, Colonel de Rottenberg, and Officers and Soldiers of the 100th Regiment—It is most gratifying to me that, by the Queen's gracious permission, my first public act since I have had the honour of holding a commission in the British army should be the presentation of colours to a regiment which is the spontaneous offering of the loyal and spirited Cana- dian people, and with which, at their desire, my name has been specially associated. The ceremonial in which we are now engaged possesses a pe- euliar significance and solemnity, because in confiding to you for the first time this emblem of military fidelity and valour I not only recognize em- phatically your enrolment into our national force, but celebrate an act which proclaims and strengthens the unity of the various parts of this vast empire under the sway of our common Sovereign. Although, owing to my youth and inexperience, I can but very imperfectly give expression to the sentiments which this occasion is calculated to awaken with reference to yourselves and to the great and flourishing province of Canada, you may rest assured that I shall ever watch the progress and achievements of your gallant corps with deep interest, and that I heartily wish you all honour and success in the prosecution of the noble career on which you have entered."
After this graceful act the Prince of Wales drove to Dover and there embarked for Ostend.
Previous page
