Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-17 00:00:00

THE QUEEN'S RETURN.
FROM BALMORAL.

Her Majesty, the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales,
the Princess Alice, Prince Arthur, Princess Helena,
Princess Louisa, and suite, left Balmoral on Thursday
morning, about nine o'clock.

The royal party posted by Ballater and Aboyne to
Banchory, a distance of forty- miles, and left Banchory,
by special train at 12.30, arriving in Aberdeen about
one o'clock. The royal train_ only stopped a few
minutes at Aberdeen, and .about thirty-five minutes
past one o'clock reached Stonehaven. The Queen and:
court had luncheon in the station at, Stonehaven, sup-
plied by Mr. Douglas, of Douglas's Hotel, Aber-
deen The train left Stonehaven at -five minutes past
two, and reached the General Railway Station at Perth
• exactly at four o'clock p.m. The platform was much
crowded. Among those present were the Earl of Mans-
field, the Earl of Elgin, John Grant, Esq., of Kilgras7
ton, and Sheriffs Gordon and Barclay. The Lord
Provost and magistrates, a detachment of the 71st
Highlanders, acted as a guard of honour. The royal .
train changed engines, which occupied thirteen minutes,,
during which time the Queen and the Prinee Consort
entered into conversation with the Earls of Mansfield
and Elgin. The royal party left the station for
Edinburgh amid enthusiastic cheering, which her
'Majesty graciously acknowledged.
The royal party arrival, in Edinburgh, at St. Mar-
garct's station, at twenty-three Minutes past six, being
within a minute of the appointed hour. The station
was handsomely decorated and lighted, as on former
occasions. The customary arrangements were made for
the reception of her Majesty. 'A guard of honour of
the 1314 Light Dragoons was in waiting at the station,
to escort her Majesty to Holyrood, and the route from
St. Margaret's through the Queen's Park to Holyrood
was lined with the Royal Artillery, the West York
Rifles, and the 13th Light Dragoons, one detach-
thent of the latter being nearest the station, and
another nearest the palace. In front of the palace
was stationed the band of the West York Rifles, and
there wire also in waiting at FlolyroOd to receive -her
Majesty the high constables of Holyrood, under their
moderator, Mr. Kerr, and the high constables of
Edinburgh, under their moderator, Mr. Banks. The
weather being fine, a large crowd had assembled in the
park to witness the arrival.

Among those in waiting at the station to receive her
Majesty were the Duke of Buccleuch, attired in his
military uniform, Lord Melville, Sheriff Gordon, the I
Lord Provost, Colonel ITLeverty, Captain Jones, Captain
Tennyson D'Eyncourt (of H.M.S. Edinburgh), Mr.
Maitland, Sheriff Clerk, and a number of the directors
of the North British Railway. There were also several
ladies on the platform. On the arrival of the train at
the station a royal salute was fired from the castle, and
the band of the 13th Light Dragoons, which was stationed
outside, struck up the National Anthem.
On the stoppage of the train her Majesty and the
Prince Consort stepped out of the royal carriage, and,
after a cordial greeting to -Lord Melville and the Duke
of Buceleuch, ascended the staircase, followed imme-
diately by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Alice, and
the junior members of the Royal family. Her Ma-
jesty, as well as all the members of the royal family,
appeared, so far as could 'be judged by a passing
glance, to be in excellent health and spirits ; and
the Queen and the Princes's Alice wore shawls
of Royal Stuart tartan. The band of the
13th Light Dragoons struck up the Queen's An-
them as the royal family entered a number of close
carriaorres and drove through the park to Holyrood, while
a royal salute boomed from the castle guns. A guard.
of honour of the West York Rifles was mounted in front
of the palace, and presented arms -as her Majesty ap-
proached, while the Royal Anthem was played by the
band of the same regiment.'
The Queen, Prince Consort, and Princesses Alice and
Helena left Edinburgh at ten on Friday morning, to visit
the Trossachs and Loch Katrine, and open the new Glas-
gow Waterworks. The day was dull, with frequent rain,
and the beautiful scenery of the district was half enveloped
in the mountain mists; but the roval party, nevertheless,
seemed greatly to enjoy the visit. The ceremony of opea-
ing the aqueduct, which is to convey the water of Loch
Katrine to Glasgow, a distance of 37 miles, passed off
well in presence of a large concourse. Her Majesty
reached the tunnel upon, the loch a little after two
o'clock. She was accompanied by the Duke of New-
castle, and was - received by the Lord Provost and
magistrates of Glasgow, the Dukes of Montrose and
Atholl, the Earl of Mansfield, &c. •
The secretary to the Water Commission read an
address from the corporation, to which the Queen made
the following reply :
" I accept with great satisfaction your loyal and
affectionate address, and thank you sincerely for the
-
expression of your attachment to my throne and person,
and for the cordial welcome with which you have
received me.
" It is with much gratification that I avail myself of
this opportunity of inaugurating a work which, both in
its conce?tion and its execution,, reflects so much credit
upon its promoters, and is calculated to improve the
health and comfort of the vast population which is
rapidly increasing round the great centre of manufactur-
, big iddustry in Scotland. Such a work is worthy the
spirit of enterprise and the philantrophy of Glasgow,
and I trust that it will be blessed with complete success.
I desire that you will convey to the great community
which you represent my earnest wishes for their continual
prosperity and happiness."
After prayer had been offered up by one of the city
clergymen, her Majesty touched the tap which admitted
the waters of Loch Katrine to the tunnel ; and the
signal of the completion of the work having been made
by telegraphic wire, the guns of Edinburgh and Stirling
Castles, and of the battery at the Trosachs; announced
the gratifying fact, while-to the citizens of Glasgow the
news was communicated by the ringing of the bells.
The event, of course, created in those around a thrill of
great delight, and as her Majesty declared the water-
works open, a loud huzza burst forth on every side.
Her Majesty returned to Holyrood at seven o'clock.
The new water works for Glasgow, which have been
thus happily inaugurated, are on a scale which makes
them important as an engineerine; feat 'even in' these
days of Great Easterns-and Saltash 'Viaducts. Between
Loch Katrine and Glasgow there are thirteen miles of
tunnelling, 31-miles of iron piping, and 91 miles of
aqueduct. There are in the whole work 70 distinct tun-
nels, upon which 44 vertical Shafts •haVe been sunk for
facilitating and expediting the completion of the work.
The first tunnel commences immediately upon the aque-
duct leaving Loch Katrine. It is 2,32:5 yards in length, 600
feet below the summit of the hill, and has been worked
in addition to the open ends by 12 shafts, five of which
are nearly 500 feet deep. This tunnel is in gneiss and
mica slate. The last tunnel 'is at the southern extremity
of the aqueduct, just before it enters the service reser-
voir. It is 2,650 yards in length, almost wholly through
whinstone, at a depth of 250- feet below the summit of
the hill. Besides these, which are the two longest
tunnels, there are, at intermediate places, others of 700,
800, 1,100, and 1,400 yards in length. The rock tun-
nelled through was in most parts of the most obdurate
description. For several miles along the side of Loch
Chon, where the work 'passed through a succession of
ridges of mica slate largely mixed with quartz veins, the
progress did not exceed three lineal yards in a month,
although the work was c arried on day. and night. In
the Loch Katrine tunnel, and generally in the mica
slate, the ordinary average progress was about five
yards in a month. In .drilling the holes for blasting
the rock with gunpowder,_ a fresh drill or chisel was li
required for every inch in depth-upon the average. Not
to speak of smaller constructions, there are 24 important
iron and masonry aqueducts , over rivers and ravines,
some 60 and 80 ft. in height, with arches of 39 ft.; 60 and
90 ft. in span ; and in addition to about 46 miles of new
pipes within the city, for distributing the water to the
inhabitants, there are about twenty miles of large cast-iron
pipes of three feet, three feet six inches and four feet in
diametkr for conveying the water to the city. No' less
than fifty-nine million gallons will be obtained per day.
The lakes appropriated to the purposes of the water-
works, and for the supply of the mill-owners, fisheries,
and Other interests on the rivers from which water
will be abstracted are Loch Katrine, eight or
nine mike in length, with a surface of three thousand
acres ; Lock Venacher, four miles in length, with an
area of 9,000 acres ; and Loch Drunkie, with an area
at about 150 acres ; having altogether a water surface of
upwards of 4,000 acres, and containing within the limits to
which they maybe raised or lowered about 1,600,000,000
cubic feet of water. The drainage area of Loch Katrine
is 22,800 acres, and of Loch Venacher and Loch Drunkie
23,000 acres, making a total of 45,800 acres. On this
the average fall of rain is between 70 and 80 inches per I