View report page

191
ask His Grace's acceptance of a gold key as a memento of the
occasion. He might add that the members of the Council who had
been associated with the work of the Library from its commencement,
had looked forward with a great deal of pride and pleasure to
its completion. They felt pleased and delighted with it, and
His Grace's presence there would add to their pleasure. (Applause.)
The Duke of Argyll, in reply, thanked the Mayor for the
present. They had been told, he continued, to "owe no man
anything," but in regard to Mr. Carnegie that was certainly
impossible, for almost every county in Great Britain owed a great
deal to him. He was the greatest giver of all time. Though he
went from Scotland and became a citizen of the United States, he
had not forgotten the old land; he was just as keen as ever to do the
old country good, and he believed he had condescended to buy an
estate there. Famous men certainly had lived at Hammersmith, but
he hoped those who were to respond to the call for portraits of
celebrities would not forget the famous women. Many famous
women had been associated with Hammersmith, and at one time
Brandenberg House was a centre of re-union for the fashionable
world. Lady Craven, who became the Margravine of Anspach,
was also one who dispensed hospitality there, and had the habit
of writing plays. Many other historical recollections had been
given him. After referring to the connection with Hammersmith
of Sir S. Morland, J. M. W. Turner, Sir C. Wheatstone (the
electrician), Captain Marryat and other eminent persons, His
Grace declared the building open.
The Mayor announced that a letter had been received from
Mr. Carnegie's Private Secretary, who wrote:—"Mr. Carnegie
thanks you for your repeated invitations to attend the opening
ceremony, but regrets that previous engagements make it impossible
for him to accept."
The Chief Rabbi (the Rev. Dr. Adler) said he esteemed it a
great privilege to have been called upon to voice the gratitude of
that assembly, and of all the inhabitants of Hammersmith, to
Mr. Andrew Carnegie for his very munificent contribution towards
the erection of that splendid library. It might be of interest to
some to hear how it was Mr. Carnegie had devoted his life and his
fortune more especially to the endowment of free libraries. It
might be within their recollection that in 1890 an article appeared
in one of the reviews by Mr. Carnegie on the gospel of wealth, and
at his request he (the speaker) joined a symposium with Mr. Gladstone,
the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, and others, on the subject of
irresponsible wealth. Mr. Carnegie, in his article, said it was the
great duty of the man of wealth to set an example of unostentatious
living without display or extravagance, and to provide moderately