Sir William Bower Forwood

“ The honorary freedom of the city of Liverpool, guarded by this Council with so much jealousy, and bestowed with such a frugal hand, is the greatest honour which this city can confer—it is a unique order of merit, it is not conferred by the favour of a monarch or minister, but by the spontaneous and unanimous voice of a great representative assembly, and as such is not surpassed by any similar order in this country. ”

“ Fashionable Liverpool still dwelt in the large Georgian houses fringing Everton Hill, which looked down upon one of the loveliest views imaginable. In the foreground were the trees and woods which ran along what is now Netherfield Road; beyond these the river flowed; in the distance the Wirral peninsula stretched out, backed by the Welsh hills. But the town of Liverpool was pushing its way up to Everton, and San Domingo Road was ceasing to be fashionable; while Aigburth, Prince's Park, and Edge Lane were rapidly becoming the most popular suburbs of the fast-rising seaport. ”

“ Events move so rapidly, the men and circumstances of to-day are crowded out and their memory obliterated in the new interests of tomorrow, that no man's work or influence can be said to have exercised more than an evanescent power; yet Liverpool has been built up—its commerce, its municipality, and its charitable and philanthropic work—by leaders of men who have found their work lying at their hand and have done it, and have done it well. ”

“ Life is said to be short, but when I look back upon the events which have crowded into mine I seem to have lived a long time, and one cannot but reflect that if the prospect had always looked as long as the retrospect, how much more patience and deliberation might have been thrown into the ordering of one's affairs, and how entirely this might have altered the course of events and changed the goal of one's endeavours. It is perhaps a merciful and wise ordinance that no man can reckon beyond the day that is before him, and therefore each day should be so lived as to be typical of our life ”

“ Other honours are conferred for political and other services, all more or less meritorious; but to be singled out by those among whom you have lived all your life in order to receive the greatest distinction it is in their power to offer is an honour worth living for, and particularly when its bestowal is so jealously safe-guarded and kept so entirely free from political bias as it is in Liverpool. It then becomes doubly precious. It is easy in a great community to make enemies. Even the very success which may crown one's efforts to do good may produce them. ”

“ It is justly esteemed and valued by distinguished statesmen and philanthropists, and not less by successful soldiers who in the hour of their country's great anxiety have turned defeat into victory. How much more, then, must I prize it, the freedom of my native city, as one born in Liverpool, and who has spent his life in your midst, and whose only claim to this great honour is that he has endeavoured to be of some use to his fellow-citizens. ”

“ It may lack the glamour and prestige of the Imperial Parliament, but it has this great advantage: the City Council affords greater opportunities of initiating and carrying into effect measures for the benefit of the people among whom we live, and we have the added advantage of seeing the growth and fruition of our work. Who can compare the Liverpool of to-day with the Liverpool of thirty years ago without feeling thankful for what has been done, and proud that he has been privileged to take part in the doing of it? ”

“ Life viewed in retrospect down the vista of half a century of activity, presents many lessons which may be both interesting and instructive—lessons from one's own experience, lessons derived from watching the careers of others, of those who have made a brilliant success, of others who have made a disastrous failure, and of the many who have lived all their lives on the ragged edge between plenty and penury. ”

“ In no department of Liverpool life has more distinct progress been made than in its social regeneration. Liverpool was always liberal and generous in her charities, but there was an absence of enlightenment in her municipal administration, and an utter failure to realise the social degradation in which so many of her people lived; her streets in the 'sixties were not fit places for respectable people after dark, while the neighbourhood of the Sailors' Home at all times of the day was a place to be avoided. Liverpool was known as the "black spot" on the Mersey, and well earned that title. ”

“ India awakens within us such a sense of vastness and distance, and so strongly appeals to our imagination, that one is much tempted to write at length that others may enter into our enjoyment of a country and a people so great, so picturesque, and so remarkable. It was this feeling which prompted me, while in India, to write a series of [Pg 245] letters to the Liverpool Daily Post. These letters are too long to be reproduced here, and I must, therefore, confine myself to a brief résumé of our impressions of India. ”

“ In the wide realm of philanthropy Liverpool has had many active workers, for the most part unknown to fame, who plod away day after day in our slums, with no prospect of reward, save the satisfaction of doing something to ameliorate and brighten the lives of others. Recently a short paragraph in a newspaper told us of the death of a clergyman who had a distinguished university career, and who for twenty-four years lived and worked unknown in the by-ways of Liverpool, attached to no church, but doing what he could to uplift those around about him—and there are many such. ”

“ Perhaps no one obtains such a full insight into the charitable and philanthropic work of the city as the Lord Mayor. He is called upon to preside over annual meetings of some ninety of our charities, and is brought into close contact with the many smaller societies, doing what they can for bettering and brightening the lives of the people. Whatever may have been the shortcomings of Liverpool in other respects, her people have always liberally supported her charities, and these have been far-reaching and generous in the benefits they have conferred upon the community. ”

“ Many things are forgotten, and cannot be found when wanted. How much better it would be for ourselves and for the world at large if we could live with more [Pg 263] deliberation, if we could specialise more, be more intense within a more limited range of thought and activity, less casual, more thorough in the commonplaces of life. Life would not lose in interest or picturesqueness, and it would gain in symmetry and value. It may be said that while it might add to the effectiveness of life, it would deprive it of much of its colour and romance ”

“ The Liverpool of to-day is a city very different from the Liverpool of the 'sixties and 'seventies, indeed it is difficult to recognise them as being one and the same; the streets remain, but they are widened and improved, and their inferior and often squalid surroundings have disappeared; and if our modern architecture is not always of the best, our new buildings at least impart dignity and importance. ”

“ The old New York liners, sailing ships, loaded in the Bramley Moore dock; and the docks further north, the Canada being the most northerly, were filled with steamers trading to the Mediterranean, and the Cunard and Inman lines of steamers.
To-day one may hunt from one end of the docks to the other without finding a dozen sailing ships larger than a schooner. With the exit of the sailing ship much of the romance has been taken out of the life of Liverpool. ”

“ But there is a wide gulf separating speculation from the enterprise of the genius that foresees and devises new methods of trade, or anticipates, as the result of careful observation and calculation, changes in the market value of securities and commodities.
Enterprise degenerates into speculation when the dictates of caution and prudence are set aside. To use the words of an old and much respected Liverpool merchant, who recently passed away, "Commercial success requires the concurrence of two contrary tendencies, caution and enterprise. ”

“ You have, my Lord Mayor, alluded to the work done by the Library, Museum, and Arts Committee over which it is my privilege to preside. This may not bulk very largely in the public eye, but nevertheless it is very real, and is doing much for the intellectual and moral welfare of the people, and helping to make their lives brighter and happier. When we get those additional funds which I hope the generosity of the Council will give to us at no distant date, our work must progress by leaps and bounds. ”

“ I fear this is a national weakness, for I have found that the German clerk excels in accuracy; he may be wanting in initiative, but he is accurate and reliable in his work. Englishmen have, however, remarkable gifts for a business career, if they are properly trained and educated. A good English man of business is the best in the world, he has great initiative, the power of getting through work, the talent to observe and to form a rapid judgment, but he is not born with these accomplishments, they are largely the result of education and training. ”

“ No doubt in time a reaction will take place. Art might sleep but it could never die. It was not thinkable that a love for pictures could for long be dormant; but in the meantime they must appeal to the Liverpool public for a generous support to the efforts made by the Art Committee to bring to their doors every year the very best pictures produced in this country.
"In looking back over the past eighteen years," remarked Sir William in conclusion, "I feel very proud of the excellent work done by these institutions. ”

“ We hate the grind of sustained effort, it bores us, and we long for something new. This dislike of prolonged application, and desire for change, has made more shipwrecks of business careers than perhaps any other cause. In its craving for change and excitement, it leads to speculation as a possible road to wealth without effort. ”

“ Ramsay Muir's interesting History of Liverpool: "Thus, on all sides and in many further modes the city government has, during the last thirty years especially, undertaken a responsibility for the health and happiness of its citizens unlike anything that its whole previous history has shown, and if any full account were to be given of what the city as a whole now endeavours to do for its citizens much ought also to be said of the extraordinary active works of charity and religion which have been carried on during these years." ”

“ The church is broader, has a wider mission, and it stands upon a higher pinnacle in men's minds. We recognise that men are differently moulded in temperament and thought, that a national church must within limits provide the means of worship suitable to all; and that while the simple conventicle may to some present the most suitable temple of God, others are happier if their prayers are winged to His Throne amid beautiful surroundings and to the sound of choral music.
The nonconformists have always been active in Liverpool, and have had many able ministers. ”

“ One cannot review the past trade of Liverpool and its present economic surroundings, without feeling some anxiety for the future. Not only have the trades which so long made Liverpool their headquarters been to some extent diverted, but the efforts of rival ports (in many cases railway ports or ports which have little or no concern as to the payment of interest on the money employed [Pg 51] in their construction) are directed to the capture of our trade; in this they are still being actively assisted by the railway companies, who grant to them preferential rates of carriage. ”

“ It is a wonder that people were as virtuous as they were: there was nothing to hope for, and men might reasonably have concluded to make the best of the present world, as heaven was impossible of attainment. ”

“ These rivers come down from the mountains when the snows melt and rush along in mighty torrents, scooping out water courses, until they finally lose themselves in the burning sands of the desert. As we got away from the mountains, the desert began to look more and more like the ocean, with its clean-cut horizon all round, the hummocks of sand reminding one of Atlantic seas. ”

“ It is not merely that one has the opportunity of seeing the pictures of the year, but also to hear the views of the artists; men who lead lives of their own, in their art, and for their art, and whose views upon art matters open up new avenues for thought, and continually suggest new methods of action. Mr. Philip Rathbone was our first chairman of the Art Sub-Committee, and he did a great work in popularising our Autumn Exhibition in London. ”