The Cruise of the “Bacchante”

Abstract

TO us the chief interest of these two bulky volumes lies in the fact that they are the record of what we may call the technical education of our future King and his brother. It was a right and proper thing for the Prince of Wales to do to see that his sons should become personally acquainted with the leading sections of that great Empire with the conduct of which they will in the future have so much to do. Indeed, in these times, when our colonies are coming so conspicuously to the front, when their affairs are regarded as of Imperial importance, it might be a good thing to insist that our Colonial Secretaries should follow the princes' example, and that no one should be considered qualified for the post of Minister for the Colonies who had not studied their affairs on the spot. Technical education is considered essential nowadays to any one occupying a responsible position in even the humblest of callings; but we fear that statesmanship is still beyond the pale of science.

The Cruise of Her Majesty's Ship “Bacchante” 1879 82.

Compiled from the Private Journals, Letters, and Notebooks of Prince Albert Victor and Prince George of Wales, with Additions by John N. Dalton. Two Vols. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1886.)