PRESENTATION OF JUBILEE MEDALS BY H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES TO THE COLONIAL TROOPS IN THE GROUNDS OF BUCKINGHAM PALACE, July 3; THE NEW SOUTH WALES LANCERS FILING PAST THE ROYAL PARTY.] [Sidenote: The Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund.] There are a few other features of the Jubilee celebrations which demand notice before this narrative is brought to a close. Chief among these is the Prince of Wales's scheme for establishing the London hospitals on a firm financial basis--the greatest charitable project in a year made memorable by many such undertakings. So far back as February 6, when a thousand Jubilee plans were being discussed, a statement of the Prince's own wishes in the matter had appeared in the newspapers. His Royal Highness began by saying that the Queen herself had no wish to express an opinion as to the form any celebrations might take. In the absence of any declaration on the part of Her Majesty, His Royal Highness felt at liberty to lay before the inhabitants of London a scheme very dear to his heart. Briefly explained, they were that such a sum of money should be secured, in the form preferably of annual donations, as should suffice to free the London hospitals of debt for ever. An additional annual income of from £100,000 to £150,000 was necessary. At the time of sending these pages to press, it is not known how far His Royal Highness's wishes have been realised; but it is stated that a sufficient amount has been collected to relieve the hospitals permanently of some of their more pressing needs. A device, characteristic of the age, was resorted to to swell the proceeds of the fund. Two Hospital Stamps were issued under authority, and sold at 2_s._ 6_d._ and 1_s._ each, the more expensive one being of a red colour and the less expensive blue. An artistic group representing Charity, after Sir Joshua Reynolds, occupies the centre of each stamp. The legend "1837: The Queen's Commemoration, 1897" runs along the top, and at the bottom appear the words, "Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund, Albert Edward, Prince," the signature being a facsimile of His Royal Highness's handwriting. The sale of these must have been prodigious, but until the Hospital Fund's accounts are made up it will be impossible to judge how far philatelists all over the world availed themselves of the opportunity to add these unique specimens to their collections. The dies from which the Hospital Stamps were printed were subsequently destroyed in the presence of the Duke of York at the Bank of England. Another happy idea was the publication of an official programme, authorised by the Prince of Wales, of the Jubilee Procession. The programme, which was sold at a shilling a copy, was admirably illustrated. The entire profits were devoted to the Hospital Fund. [Illustration: _From a Photograph_} {_by Thiele, Chancery Lane._ DEFENDERS OF THE EMPIRE.