ions
congenial. The central events, aside from his promotion of the Fisheries
and other Exhibitions, were the visit to Ireland in 1885, the support
given to an Empire policy by his patronage of the Imperial Institute and
similar concerns, his active connection with the Masonic Order and his
conduct of the Jubilee of 1887. The International Fisheries Exhibition
grew out of a comparatively small affair at Norwich in which the Prince
of Wales had taken an active interest. In July 1881, as a result of his
initiative, a meeting was held in London, a committee was formed and the
preliminary work done. In February 1882 a second meeting occurred and
further organization was effected with the Queen as Patron, His Royal
Highness as President and the Duke of Richmond as Chairman of the
General Committee. The Exhibition was finally opened on May 13, 1883, by
the Prince of Wales, who had around him most of the members of the Royal
family, the Foreign Ambassadors, Her Majesty's Ministers and other
distinguished persons, His address defined the reasons for the
enterprise in a sentence: "In view of the rapid increase of the
population in all civilized countries, and especially in these sea girt
kingdoms, a profound interest attaches to every industry which affects
the supply of food; and in this respect the harvest of the sea is hardly
less important than that of the land." In results he thought the
Exhibition should enable practical fishermen to acquaint themselves with
the latest improvements in both their working craft and life-saving
systems. It was a great success. The total visitors numbered 2,703,051
and there was a financial surplus of L15,243. Of this, two-thirds was
put aside to assist the families of fishermen who had lost their lives
at sea, and L3000 was used to organize a Fisheries Society in order to
keep up the interest in the subject and encourage the study of ways and
means to help the fishermen.

THE PRINCE ENCOURAGES EXHIBITIONS

In replying to an address from the Executive Committee at the closing of
the Exhibition, on October 31st, the Prince had suggested that other
Exhibitions might very well be held dealing with the three great
subjects of Health, Inventions and the Colonies. The first subject dealt
with was that of Health. Owing to the death of his brother, the Duke of
Albany, on March 28th, 1884, the Prince could not do much more than
initiate the project but it was carried on by the Duke of Buckingham as