Illustrated London News (21/Jun/1873) - Huddersfield Statue of Peel

The following is a transcription of a historic newspaper article and may contain occasional errors. If the article was published prior to 1 June 1957, then the text is likely in the Public Domain.

HUDDERSFIELD STATUE OF PEEL.

An Engraving last week showed the design of Mr. Theed's colossal statue of the late Sir Robert Peel, which has been erected in the town of Huddersfield. We now give an Illustration of the ceremony of unveiling this statue — an act performed by Lord Houghton, on Tuesday, the 2nd inst, in the presence of a large assemblage of the townspeople. In his speech upon the occasion, Lord Houghton referred to the commercial policy of the great statesman. He compared the statistics of our cotton, wool, and iron manufactures at the present time with what they were in 1842 ; some of the amounts being now triple the former sum, others live times as large, or more ; while upwards of twenty-five millions sterling of customs and excise duties had been remitted, yet the revenue was more prosperous than ever, it was just twenty-three years since Sir Robert Peel died ; and he well deserved to be kept in remembrance, for he had done more than any other Minister to increase the profits and wages of industry, and to augment the comforts of the labouring man's home and family. Every father or mother in that manufacturing town of Huddersfield should be prepared to tell their children, when they looked at the statue, what they owed to Sir Robert Peel.

This was Lord Houghton's way of putting the subject before them. The Illustration is from a photograph by Mr. H. Lord.