The Express.
London, England, 1864-04-16 00:00:00

GARIBALDI AT BRDIPORD.

Within a short distance of the Bedford Station
ef the Midland Railway an almost palatial edifice
of the Italian style arrests the eye of the passing
traveller. If it stood in the middle of a noble park,
surrounded by " tall ancestral trees," it might pass ,
very well for one of the country seats of the old
nobility." But it has been raised close to a town,
Las °bunnies taller, and, as a general rule, more
smoky than is consistent with the picturesque,
whilst through its open portals incessantly come
the deep hum of steam-power and the more varied
I sounds of human industry. tis the factory of the
Messrs. Howard, devoted to the construction of
agricultural implements of every kind, but more
especially of steam ploughs, for which those gentle-
men have obtained many medals and high repute-
tioo. It was this factory and these famous steam
ploughs which General Garibaldi went down to
see yesterday morning, a special train having
been placed at his disposal by the directors of the
Midland Company.
The party, consisting of General Garibaldi, his
two sons, his Grace the Duke of Sutherland, Lord
A. L Gower, Lord Alfred Paget, Mr. M'Connel,
Colonel Pearl, General Eber, Alderman Mechi,
and one or two other friends, were received on the
King's-cross platform by Mr. Allport, general
manager of the Midland line, and were imme-
diately accommodated in saloon carriages, which
Mr. Mills, the station-master, had provided ready
for their reception. The train, which consisted of
three saloon carriages, and one or two ordinary
first-elare carriages for the reporters and railway
officials, started at thirteen minutes past ten o'clock,
and arrived at Bedford at eighteen minutes past
eleven, having performed the whole distance, 491
miles, in an hour and five minutes. The engine,
being gaily decorated with evergreens, attracted
the attention of various groups of rustics along the
route, but beyond the pause necessary for slaking
the thirst of the iron horse, there was no stoppage
between London and Bedford. At the latter place it
was found that the Messrs. Howard had erected a
special platform opposite their own works for the
Generals' visit, and this was most elaborately deco-
rated with all the foliage of the spring. A tre
mendous piece of bunting stretched across the top,
with the motto, " Welcome Garibaldi the brave
and good," and flags of the Italian tricolour com-
pleted the decorations. Messrs. J. and R. Howard,
the proprietors of the works, the former the
Mayor of Bedford, received General Garibaldi, and
as soon as the latter could get away from his local
friends, conducted him to the works. We mention
local friends, for it soon appeared that the public '
enthusiasm in favour of the General was quite as '
strong in the little town of many grammar schools '
as it had previously been shown to be in the great
metropolis. The platform was occupied with ladies
And gentlemen of both town and country, and out-
side the road was densely filled by a crowd which
evidently looked upon cheering as the great buil-
nem of life. The men on the platform were forbear-
ing enough as to the hand-shaking persecution, but I
the ladies were not so easily put off, but insisted one '
and all upon shaking hands with the General, and I
many of them seemed as if they would willingly
have gone the length of a more affectionate saluta-
tion.
Not a few of the younger ones were particular 4
in their inquiriee as to " which was the Duke of
Sutherland," and on his grace being pointed out to
them, &profuse waving of white handkerchiefs broke 1
out all over the platform.
A full hour was devoted to the inspection of the .
factory interior, and it was a remarkable proof of
the discipline maintained there, or of the good taste
of the men or loth, that not one of the whole five
hundred artisans employed by Messrs. Howard
raised his head from his bench, or interrupted his
work for a moment, to stare at the passing General, ,
or to seek to wring his hand, London fashion. ,
Everything was shown to him, and to everything he
paid minute attention, asking pertinent questions,
and otherwise exhibiting great interest in the work. ,
He watched the smiths, and the joiners, and the
moulders, and whilst looking at the latter he had ,
explained to him Mr. Howard's new and ingenious
system of moulding, which is a great practical
improvement on the plan hitherto in use.
He did not ask many questions, but was ,
especially curious as to the rates of wages, first in
the works, and then in the surrounding agricultural
districts. When told that Messrs. Howard's men ,
earned from 30s. to 50s. a week, whilst the
labourers of the country districts had to be content
with 12e., he made one or two animated observa-
tions in his native language to the Indiana who
stood near him. When the inspection was finished,
the carriages drew up at the door, and the party
proceeded to the residence of Mr. James Howarl,
the mayor, where a luxurious luncheon had been '
prepared. The crowds in the t.treet were now I
greater than ever, and it seemed as if the whole •
15,000 people of which the population of Bedford
consists had turned out to greet the Liberator of
Italy. It is well known that one of the brightest fee-
tuns in General Garibaldi's character, and thatoue
which especially endears him to the representatives
of the press, is hie abhorrence of long speeches. His
words are few, although always to the purpose, and
be not only practices brevity himself, but also
infuses what is most truly stated to be " the soul
of wit" into others. At the luncheon the elder Mr.
Howard, the father of the two enterprising brothers
of the factory, expressed, in few but touching
words, his admiration of Garibaldi as the friend of
liberty, wished him every earthly blessing, and
stated how proud he was to have lived to see such
a compliment paid to the General by his (Mr.
Howard's) sons. An adjournment was then moved
and carried to Mr. James Howard's model farm at
Hoo, the General going in the Mayor's carriage,
followed by a number of other carriages ; then a smart
cavalcade of horsemen, and lastlytbe whole popula-
tion of the town, who evidently would never tire of
cheering and following Garibaldi. En ?vete to the farm
the cavalcade had to pass under a triumphal arch,
which had exhausted all the skill of the local deco-
rators, and here the illustrious visitor was pre-
sented with the borough address, which was read
by the Mayor, his worship and the Corporation all
wearing their municipal robes. The G0131,1.1'1
curiously inspected the stock at the farm, and then
proceeded to the field where the steam plough,
Messrs. Howard's great speciality, was at full
work. In order that he might follow the plough
up and down the furrows, which it was making so
well and rapidly and with such mathematical accu-
racy, he was provided with a small pony, which of
course will be "Garibaldi" for the rest of its
natural life, and thus mounted he made himself
master of all the working details of the invention.
The programme of the visit being now exhausted,
General Garibaldi and his friends returned to the
railway platform, where the gaily-decorated engine
was snorting its impatience, and the train was all
ready to convey him back to town. The crowd
still gathered round and cheered more vociferously
than ever, the last shout given, just as the train
moved away, being " Three cheers for the Duke of
Sutherland."
At King's-cross, both on the arrival and de-
parture of General Garibaldi, every avenue leading
to the railway station was thronged with people,
and the anxiety to see and shake hands with the
General was demonstrated with much less reserve
by the London public, than was exhibited down at
Bedford, where the townspeople were considerate
as well as enthusiastic, and did not seem to expect
Garibaldi to be a sort of modern Scsevola, ready
to sacrifice his right hand merely as a patriotic
demonstration.
Garibaldi returned to Stafford-house at 5 o'clock,
and a couple of hours later proceeded, in company
with the Duke of Sutherland, Lord Albert Leveson
Gower, and General Eber, to the residence of
Mr. Panizei, at the British Museum, where he
dined with that gentleman. The following were
present to meet the general :—The Earl of Shaftes-
bury, Lord Wo&house, Lord Frederick Cavendish,
the-Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Sir John

In consequen3a of the announcement in several
of our contemporaries that General Garibaldi
would visit the Houses of Lords and Commons
Let evening, a large number of persons congre-
gated in the expectation of seeing him. Many
were, however, doomed to disappointment, for the
rumour 1/1118 without foundation.

This evening the general will dine with Viscount