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1897. 
IN  HONOUR 
OF 
THE  QUEEN. 
sHEN  her  Majesty  the  Queen  had  occupied  the  Throne 
for  the  remarkable  period  of  fifty  years  great  were  the 
rejoicings  among  the  millions  of  her  loyal  subjects. 
On  that  auspicious  occasion  no  section  of  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  the  kingdom  was  more  anxious  to  do  honour 
to  the  event  than  that  which  is  composed  of  horticulturists.  Many 
there  are  who  still  remember  the  great  devotion  of  the  late 
Prince  Consort — a  patron  of  all  that  was  good — to  the  art  of 
gardening,  and  how  effectively  he  was  assisted  and  encouraged 
by  his  Royal  help-meet,  who  is  still  happily  our  gracious  Queen. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  when  the  great  leader  in 
gardening — for  such  he  was — was  called  away  the  whole  heart  of 
the  nation  went  out  to  the  Royal  mourners.  The  Throne  and  the 
People  were  felt  to  be  very  near  together  then  ;  and  there  has 
been  no  separation.  The  same  deep-seated  love  and  loyalty 
remain,  but  strengthened  by  time,  and  the  fact  asserts  itself  in  a 
manner  which  cannot  be  mistaken  on  the  occasion  of  any  event 
that  marks  an  epoch  in  the  nation’s  life. 
When  such  events  are  of  a  nature  to  evoke  feelings  of 
thankfulness  and  joy  these  find  spontaneous  expression,  not  in 
words  alone,  but  worthy  acts.  This  was  so  in  1887,  and  now  we 
have  history  repeating  itself  in  1897,  but  in  still  more  emphatic 
form.  The  event  is  greater,  rarer,  unparalleled,  and  hence  unique. 
Sixty  years  a  Queen !  and  such  a  Queen !  surely  the  kindest  and 
No.  887.— Vol.  XXXIV.,  Third  Series. 
the  best,  and  certainly  the  ruler  of  the  greatest  monarchy  in  the 
whole  wide  world. 
What  wonder  that  her  subjects  should  rejoice  ;  that  they  should 
gather  together  from  the  ends  of  the  earth — swarthy  sons  of  the 
empire  from  Africa  and  Asia,  hardy  and  enterprising  subjects  from 
North  America  and  far-distant  Australasia  ?  At  home  all  classes 
and  creeds,  representative  of  all  art*  and  crafts  and  sciences,  each 
and  all  in  their  own  way  doing  honour  to  the  great  occasion  and 
homage  to  the  head  of  all — their  noble  Queen.  Scattered  as  may 
be  the  dominions  under  her  sway,  the  spirit  of  unity  breaks  through 
the  bonds  of  distance,  and  races  are  drawn  together  under  the 
magnetic  force  of  a  great  personality — the  embodiment  of  freedom 
and  justice,  with  all  the  attributes  that  have  made  the  British 
Empire  what  it  is  to-day — stronger,  richer,  and  better  than  it  has 
ever  been  before  in  all  the  annals  of  its  long  and  stirring  history. 
Returning  to  our  immediate  domain,  two  incidents  may 
be  first  noted  which  are  known  to  be  in  precise  accordance  with 
her  Majesty’s  aspirations  —  namely,  that  where  practicable  the 
rejoicings  of  the  present  year  shall  be  in  the  form  of  strengthening 
public  charitie*,  or  relieving  distress.  We  have  a  noble  charity  in 
the  gardening  world  that  has  done  truly  noble  work  during  almost 
the  whole  period  of  her  Majesty’s  marvellous  reign,  and  of  which 
the  Queen  has  been  Patroness  for  forty-five  years.  This  is  the 
Gardeners’  Royal  Benevolent  Institution.  Since  its  establishment 
No.  2543.— Vol.  XOVI.,  Old  Seeies. 
