The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-10 00:00:00

the line may be regarded as the great engineer-

ing triumph of the day. We have from time to
time described the works as they progressed. We
may only now add that among the many gentlemen
who were yesterday present at the formal inaugu-
ration of the line but one sentiment was expressed,
that, notwithstanding the extraordinary difficulties
which had to be encountered, Mr. Fowler's genius
and the energy of the contractors, Messrs. Jay,
Smith, and Knight, had triumphed over them all.
At one o'clock, between 600 and 700 ladies and
gentlemen who had been invited by the directors
assembled at the Bishop's-road station, Padding-
ton, and proceeded in two trains, after a short
interval spent at each of the intermediate stations,
to Farringdon-street. The various stations were
much admired, being alike commodious and elegant.
The ingenious contrivances for obtaining light and
ventilation were also deservedly commended. The
two trains were drawn each by two engines, so con-
structed as to emit neither smoke nor steam. The
first was conducted by Mr. Myles Fenton, the gene-
ral manager of the company ; and the second by
Mr. Tanner, the Great Western Company's super-
intendent of the line. The carriages were lighted
with gas. The smoothness of the line and the com-
fort of the carriages were beyond all praise ; while
nothing could be more satisfactory than the simple
and yet effective operation of the new railway sig-
nals, the perfecting of which had somewhat retarded
the opening of the line.
At three o'clock an elegant deleuner was given
to the large company invited by the directors at the
Farringdon-station. For this purpose the arrival
and departure platform was enclosed, the sides and
roof being tastefully draped with scarlet and white,
ornamented with numerous flags and banners. The
upper table, at which were seated the more distin-
guished guests, was placed on a raised platform,
and at right angles there stretahed three rows of
tables, where covers were laid for 630.
The chairman of the company, Mr. W. A. Wil-
kinson, presided, having on his right the Lord
Mayor, Sir Rowland Hill, Col. Sir J. Hamilton,
Mr. H. Lewis, M.P., Mr. Gilpin, M.P., Mr.
W. Wood, M.P., Mr. Scott Russell, Mr. Ayrton,
M.P., and on the left Lord Harris, the Right Hon.
Robert Lowe, M.P., Viscount Torrington, Sir M.
Peto, Mr. Malins, M.P., Sheriff Jones, Professor
Owen, M. Du Chaillu, Aldermen Wilson, Sydney,
Humphety, Sir G. Moon, Abbis, Dakin, Carter,
Besley, Gibbons, &c.
The entertainment was provided by the Messrs,
Staples, of the Albion, and did ample credit to that
far-famed establishment.
Mr. Harker was toastmaster, and after the cloth
had been removed, and the usual loyal toasts duly
honoured and responded to,
Sir M.Pwro replied for "The House of Commons.'
The CHAIRMAN then called upon
o
M.P.,
who, on
Mr. LOWE, rising to propose the
next toast, was loudly cheered. The right hon.
gentleman said,—Mr. Chairman, my Lords and
Gentlemen, you have conferred upon me the dis-
tinguished honour of being allowed to propose to
this company prosperity to an undertaking the com-
mencement of which we are met this day to inau-
gurate. The traffic of London has long been a
reproach to the most civilised nation of the world,
and the opprobrium of the age. Dr. Johnson used
to say that if you wanted to see the full tide of
human life you must go to Charing-cross; but Dr.
Johnson would have to raise his estimation of the
full tide, or rather of the Gloss jam of the full tide
of human life, many hundred per cent. before he
could arrive at the state which the traffic of Lon-
don has now reached. It has always been felt to
be absolutely necessary that some step should be
taken to reduce this growing evil. The railway
system has been of enormous advantage to the whole
country that has received it, but for the inte-
rior of London it has been a positive
injury in
many respects. It has added some more to that
which was already too much, and made the traffic
of the streets, before extremely difficult, almost en-
tirely impossible. Under these circumstances eight
years ago—eight long years since—Parliament gave
permission to the present company to construct a
railway through one of the most crowded and most
difficult districts of London to relieve that traffic. I
have said a long time has elapsed since the com-
pany received their Parliamentary powers, but we
must consider the difficulties with which that com-
pany has had to deal. They had to descend into the
underground life of London, if I may so speak. A
great town is like a forest—that is not the whole of
it you see above ground. The company has had to
find its way through obstacles which those only
can truly appreciate who have had to contend with
them. They had to make their way through
gas pipes and water pipes and sewers, and that
greatest of all obstacles, that modern dragon, which
Mr. Fowler, the modern St. Ge)rge, has four times
vanquished—the Fleet ditch—(cheers)—indeed I
know not that he should not therefore put in his
claim for that office recently become vacant—the
Admiral of the Fleet. (Cheers and a laugh.) This
task was one of no ordinary difficulty, and we who
were fortunate enough to pass over the line to-day
had the pleasure of seeing how
admirably and effi-
ciently all its difficulties have been surmounted.
The task has been a most wonderfully difficult one,
because this railway differs from all others I ever
saw in this,—that wh( reas on the other railways
yea sccornmodate the circumstances around it to the
re ; l way, in this case the company have been Obliged

to accommodate the railway to those circumstances.

(Cheers.) They have had to take the level of the
street for their guide, and to deal with, fficulties
having nothing to do with enginee:,ng con,

siderations. The line has had to worm its

way through a complicated and in•licate laby-

rinth under difficulties almost insuperable, and I do
heartily congratulate the company on /laving
brought the enterprise to the present fortunate and,
I believe, successful termination. (Cheers.) One

great difficulty of such an undertaking consists very
much in this, among other things—that in a tunnel
or in a deep cutting it is almost impossible to find

space for jour stations and for the necessary en-
gineering machinery connected with the railway;
but every one who observed carefully to-day
have seen how admirably this difficulty had been
dealt with and overcome—(cheers)—how, even inmust
this dull and dismal day, darkness wa s
line e penetrated
ec tarr ar ee
by the light of heaven—(cheers)—how a
d
among drains and sewers and throughwaassoyiel
yet totally
by the use of gas for so many years
free from all odour, and how tandromnigrahbalylovnegnttiulantned.
el
and underground it was so
(Cheers.) All this will, no doubt, in the course of
a matter of course ; but those who first
ydeeavriasedseseuni ch a scheme, and carried it out in spite of
so many difficulties, are justly entitled to the highest
praise. (Cheers.) I speak thus warmly on the sub-
ject because I have no possible pecuniary interest in
the undertaking—(cheers)—but I feel that such an
enterprise is an honour to the country, and a solid
advance worthy of civilisation. Nor ought we to
under-estimate:the:advantage of bringing into easy
connexion so many lines which, with the timidity
which often characterises great companies, at first

led them to plant their stations in the outskirts

rather than venture into the sacred precincts of the

city. (Laughter.) In a short time, unless I am
much mistaken, this line will form the nucleus of
what may become a circle by which to connect all

the great railways in one continuous chain. (Cheers.)
For these and many other reasons, which I will not

detain you by mentioning, I call on you to drink a

bumper to the success of the Metropolitan Railway.

(Loud cheers.)
The toast was drunk with all the honours, and
briefly acknowledged by the Chairman.
The next toast was " The Corporation of the City
of London," which had subscribed £200,000 to the
capital of the company, proposed by the deputy-
chairman, which was drunk with much cordiality.
The LORD MAYOR returned thanks. He con-
sidered himself very fortunate in being chief magis-
trate of the city of London on that auspicious occa-
sion, because he had always taken a deep interest
in the enterprise and had supported the proposition

,hat the corporation should embark a portion of their

rands in the construction of this railway. They had

done so, contrary to their usual custom of not em- 1
barking in any speculation ; but they were deeply I
impressed with the necessity of the present day of
doing something which should relieve the constantly
growing difficulty they felt in regard to the street
traffic of London. (Cheers.) And, certainly, he
believed this line would largely contribute to its re-
lief. The growing commerce and intercommunica-
tion which was brought about by our railway sys-
tem had resulted in making the city of London and
London generally almost impassable ; and this was
one of the great undertakings which had for its
object the remedying of that state of things. He
therefore believed the corporation had done wisely
when they embarked part of their property in the
undertaking. He quite agreed that the engineer
had great difficulties to contend against—he had
performed a:work such as no other engineer had ever
attempted; but, unless the means had been sup-
plied, even the gigantic resources of their engineer
and the contractors would have failed. He there-
, fore felt the honour done to the corporation of

the city of London on the present occasion
was a becoming tribute to their merits—(cheers)
—and he trusted the scheme, which was a
great ,engineering success, would be commer-
cially successful, so that the corporation
might participate in the results. (Cheers.) He felt
no doubt upon this point, for one great argument
of their friend the late Mr. Pearson was that the
great element of railway success was not the cheap-
ness of its construction, but the population that was
to use it. (Hear.) He did not care what the rail-
way cost, or what difficulties had to be encountered
in its construction, if they had only a sufficient po-
pulation to employ it ; and in that respect it could
certainly not be denied that they had all the ele-
ments of success for the Metropolitan Railway;
(Cheers.)
Lord HARRIS proposed the next toast. If there
was one body of men to whom England was in-
debted more than another, they were the civil en-
gineers—(cheers)—and he felt it a high honour to
be allowed to propose the health of one who had
shown such eminent talent, genius, and energy as
his friend Mr. Fowler—(loud cheers)—which had
placed him in the front rank of the civil engineers
of his country. (Cheers.) He hoped he would live
to carry out as successfully the other part of the
scheme—the extension of the line to Finsbury-
circus. (Loud cheers.)
The toast was drunk with all the honours.
Mr. FOWLER, who was loudly cheered, said,—
Mr. Chairman, my lords, ladies, and gentlemen, I
am much obliged to Lord Harris for the kind and
flattering terms in which he has proposed my health
as the engineer of the Metropolitan Railway, and
to you, ladies and gentlemen, for the cordial manner
in which you have responded to it. I confess I can-
not but feel proud of the result of this day's pro-
ceedings. Your journey over the Metropolitan Rail-
way from Paddington to the present city station, in
which we are now assembled, has brought to a suc-
cessful completion a great public work of a novel
character in which a large measure of the responsi-
bility has necessarily devolved upon me. The line
over which our journey to-day has extended may
be said to form the first section of the Metropoli-
tan Railway in its course eastward, and the station
in which we are now assembled must be considered
only a provisional city station. The next step will
be to carry out the authorised extension to
Smithfield and Finsbury-circus, or Moorgate-
street, where a large permanent station will be con-
structed. Cheers.) The Metropolitan Railway
was originally designed as a line from Edgware-
road to King's-cross, where it was proposed to join
a project for a railway and large terminus in the
Fleet valley, promoted by our late distinguished
friend, Mr. Charles Pearson, the city solicitor
(Cheers.) Mr. Pearson took great pains for several
years in drawing public attention to his own vast
and comprehensive scheme, which comprised a large
central railway station extending down the valley
of the Fleet to Farringdon-street with a wide road-
way on the top of it. The pains taken by Mr.
Pearson at this time, combined with his great
energy and perseverance, prepared the public mind
for the Metropolitan Railway as a public necessity,
though ho did not succeed in obtaining the requisite
amount of support for his own particular scheme.
The Act for the first Metropolitan Railway, or the
Eldngwthaere-farlolaad Kiwtion
gynega'sr-,crhoossw,
ewvaesr
passe
d 1
te scheme for the Metropolitan
(1854), a complete instalment
in lBf from
by Parliament, commenc-
RillagilwatayPwadadsisnagntocntr oppositee
the Great Western
hotel, with a junction
along the Old Wharf-road for
goods, and extending to the General Post-office,
only to the
with a `branch for Post-office purposes .
this
London and North-Western Railway. Up to
time the idea of the promoters was to make the
Metropolitan Railway an isolated line
without
junctions with any other line for passenger traffic.
In consequence of this anticipated isolation, one of
the modes of working the line which was then COl4-
sidered was the atmospheric ; and it appeared to be
a favourable opportunity of successfully applying
this principle of locomotion ; but after fully inves-
tigating the question in all its bearings, with the
assistance of my late able friend, Mr. Brunel, I
advised the directors to adopt locomotive en-
gines. After the passing of the Act in 1854
difficulties of various kinds arose, but chiefly of
a financial nature, for which the Russian war
was held to be chiefly responsible; and, except
an act for a trifling deviation, and for a junction
with the Great Northern Railway, no steps were
taken to carry out the undertaking until 1859.
During this interval, however, it became evident
that the original expectation of an isolated metro-