the site which the Executive Committee unanimously selected, and in asking your Excellency this day to unveil the Statue of the good Sir Arthur, they, on behalf of the public, trust that as the head of the Government, your Excellency will accept this public monument for present and future colonists, and direct that it may be protected as a lasting memorial of a just, honourable, and beloved Administrator. (Applause)
His EXCELLENCY said—Mr. Jackson, ladies, and gentlemen, I have had a real pleasure in acceding to the wishes of the Committee that I should come here to-day for the purpose of unveiling this statue of Sir Arthur Kennedy and thus joining the people of this colony—whose interests I hope ever to make my interests—in a public expression of feeling which I regard as in a high degree creditable to them as a community. And when I say that the feeling which has its ultimate expression in the ceremony of to-day is gratifying I say so deliberately. For the feeling of gratitude is rare enough under any circumstances, but is rarer still when it is without a large element of selfish hope, and is rarest of all when divorced from all baser motives as being shown towards one who has gone from amongst us and from whom and whose belongings all expectation of favour is for ever passed away. But while fully appreciating and sympathising with this honourable feeling, as I did not know Sir Arthur Kennedy in life, while sympathising with this feeling I cannot share it, and for this reason, when I look round about me and see faces of many of those who had the advantage of knowing Sir Arthur Kennedy, and loving him, and some of whom will no doubt look upon this monument with the feeling which has been so well expressed in the words
O for the touch of a vanish'd hand, And the sound of a voice that is still!
I cannot but for a moment feel that another might better have discharged the function which you have been kind enough to assign to me to-day. But on the other hand there is no doubt a certain fitness that on the day of the celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee, honour should be done to a late representative of Her Majesty by one who, however unworthily, fills the same office. And there is, moreover, another and more important consideration, that inasmuch as the subscriptions which have procured this statue have been contributed, as I am informed, voluntarily, by persons of all classes, creeds, and races represented in the colony, from that fact alone it is evident that Sir Arthur Kennedy's virtues and character are sufficiently known here not to need any enumeration or description from me. It will possibly, therefore, be sufficient for me to say that he gained the general, aye, I may say with truth, the universal respect and affection with which his name is held here not merely by the uprightness, faithfulness, and race impartiality displayed in the discharge of the duties of his high office, but by his habit of continually giving way to the impulses of an eminently good and kindly heart, and moreover by an example of private and domestic life, which, while desirable everywhere in high places (but not always, unhappily, seen there), is especially desirable in this Colony as a counterpoise to the enervating and consequently demoralising influences of our tropical climate and surroundings. It is owing to this aspect of Sir Arthur Kennedy's character which no doubt largely contributed to the name by which Mr. Jackson has called him, and which he appears to have earned here the name of "Good Sir Arthur;" it is owing to this that I regard as having a peculiar appropriateness the selection of this day for doing honour to his memory, it being not the least part of the greatness of our beloved Queen, whose Jubilee we are to-day celebrating, that she has preserved a purity of court and household which has been universally recognised and respected throughout the world. In doing honour therefore to Sir Arthur Kennedy we do honour to Her, whose example he has so worthily followed, and I have not the least doubt that when I convey to Her Majesty an account of these two days' proceedings and tell her of the remarkable and lavish display of loyalty which has marked the celebration of Her Jubilee in this distant outpost of her dominions, she will have special pleasure in learning that we have seized the occasion to pay a public tribute of respect and honour to the memory of one who was one of the most faithful and loyal and devoted of her servants. (Loud applause). Nothing further now remains for me to do but to fulfil the task you have assigned to me and unveil the statue.
His Excellency then, amidst loud applause, unveiled the statue. The Statue, which has been placed at the top of the broad walk leading up from the fountain in the Gardens, is a fine bronze cast of Sir Arthur, colossal size, and stands on a pedestal of Hongkong granite which was cut and prepared in the Colony. The face and head were modelled from a front face photograph, and the uniform is the old Colonial Governors' uniform, which Sir Arthur used to wear, lent to the sculptor, Signor Raggi, by Miss Kennedy. The statue is an excellent likeness of the well-beloved Sir Arthur.
After the ceremony of unveiling had been performed, before the gathering broke up, Mr. J. H. Stewart-Lockhart, at the request of Mr. T. Jackson, started "Auld Lang Syne," which was quickly taken up by those immediately round the Statue, and directly afterwards by those further off, all present joining heartily in the singing of the first verse of that ever popular and heart-stirring song.
THE JUBILEE BALL.
The Ball on Thursday evening, the closing function of the Jubilee celebration, was marked by the same success that has attended the other demonstrations. There was a large attendance, and amongst those present were His Excellency the Governor, Sir William Des Voeux, K.C.M.G., Major-General Cameron, C.B., and Mrs. and the Misses Cameron; a large number of Naval and Military officers, and a number of Naval and Military officers and civil officials from the neighbouring colony of Macao. The Governor, who was accompanied by his Private Secretary, Mr. Slingsby Bethell, was received by the Jubilee Committee, the usual guard of honour being stationed at the entrance. His Excellency wore full uniform—blue coat with gold lace, white knee breeches, and silk stockings. Mr. Slingsby Bethell wore his Secretary's uniform, similar to that of the Governor with the exception of the lace. His Excellency danced the opening quadrille with Miss Cameron, the other couples composing the set being the General and Mrs. Belilios, Hon. J. Bell-Irving (Chairman of Jubilee Committee) and Mrs. Hancock, and Mr. J. H. Stewart-Lockhart (Secretary of Jubilee Committee) and Miss Bessie Cameron. The dance programme was as follows:—
QuadrilleValse ValsePolka. LancersValse... SchottischeValse... GalopLancers... SUPPER. Valse..Valse. Valse.Schottische. ValseGalop LancersValse PolkaValse. PolkaValseGalop St. Ronan.My Queen.Estudiantina.Sea Breeze. Mikado.Happy Thoughts.Dawn of Day.Chantilly.Lightning. London.Jubilee.Pedora. Sweethearts........Royal.The Bells. Von haus za haus,Dorothy.Blue Danube.Bric à Brac,Cloisters. .......F. and 0. Bid me good bye.John Peel.The music was supplied by the Band of the Northamptonshire Regiment conducted by Bandmaster Moran. A new departure was made in regard to the supper arrangements. The attendance at balls has of late years become too great to allow of the whole company sitting down to supper at one time. On this occasion the fiction was abandoned. Supper was served continuously from twelve o'clock nominally until two, and dancing was continued in the ballroom meanwhile without interruption. The arrangement was certainly conducive to comfort, as it did away with the scramble to get in to the first sitting down, and it was also appreciated by the waltzers, who had the satisfaction of finding the room less crowded during the time supper was on.
The catering was done by Mr. Dorabjee Nowrojee, of the Victoria Hotel, and the viands were of the best.
The Governor took in Mrs. Ackroyd to supper, the General Mrs. Belilios, Hon. J. Bell-Irving, Mrs. Storer, and Hon. E. J. Ackroyd, Mrs. Forbes. The early retirement of some of the principal guests, we understand, interfered with the arrangements as to the constitution of the party at the Governor's table.
The Hall was brilliantly decorated and illuminated outside, as already described in our account of the general illuminations. The internal decorations, though not elaborate, were very effective. The entrance hall had the pillars decked with moss and foliage, not wreathed, but following the fluting. Between the pillars were field pieces, and the balustrading of the staircase was dressed with foliage. The wall on the first landing was covered with a solid mass of foliage up to the ceiling, giving an appearance of massiveness.
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