A Present to His Royal Highness - The Prince of Wales — Page 4
4 INTRODUCTORY Noble Prince! before I make this present to you, I would desire to make it clear that those, on whose behalf it is being presented are no common men, nor is it presented to secure any worldly benefit. This present is being offered on behalf of a community which has proved by its conduct that it constitutes the most loyal and yet the most unselfish section of His Majesty’s subjects. Nay, if wealth alone is not the criterion of respectability and honour, and if any worth attaches to the possession of a true and righteous heart, I can assert that this present is being made to you on behalf of the most respectable and the most honoured from among the subjects of Your Royal and Imperial Father. No doubt their pockets are not full of silver and gold, but it is not silver and gold alone by which a man is made rich: it is the word of God that enriches. True, their names are unadorned by titles of honour, but titles bestowed by God are more worthy of honour than those conferred by man. They do not own large estates, or possess fertile tracts, but no estate can compare in its vastness with a heart that is full of faith, and no tract can be more fertile than the mind of one who is consumed by the love of God. Your Royal Highness has already received numerous presents and addresses of welcome from the great men of the country, but I truly say that those that are least in the kingdom of Heaven are greater than these great men. Honoured Prince! this present is made to you on behalf of a community which has for over thirty years suffered various descriptions of hardships and persecutions on account of its loyalty and devotion to the crown and