The Sun.
London, England, 1863-02-19 00:00:00

The Marriage of the Prince of Wales.

The great reception to be given to the Prince's
bride on her arrival in this country promises, as
each day developes fresh preparations, to be one of
the most spontaneous and magnificent popular wel-
comes ever given in England. Along the whole
length to be traversed by the Princess, from Graves-
end to Windsor, there is not a municipality or cor-
poration which has not its thoughts fixed just now
on how best to welcome and do honour to the caval-
cade while passing through its boundaries. There
is not an important space along the entire route
which has not been already marked out as the scene
for some display, and the sites which have not yet
been definitely allotted have many eager claimants
from different bodies, all more or less qualified to
occupy them with credit and effect.
The efforts made by the people of Gravesend to
do honour to the departure of the Princess Royal
have led to high expectations of what the Corpora-
tion would do on the arrival of another royal bride.
As on previous occasions, the portions of the town
through which the procession will pass are to be
given over from roof to basement to a professional
decorator, Mr. Snelling, whose designs for the ap-
propriate and harmonious adornment of all the
thoroughfares were accepted yesterday. This
arrangement insures a completeness of effect and a
harmony of parts to the whole that are impossible
when the work is left to individual efforts, which on
this occasion will only be suffered to expend them-
selves in the side streets off the main route. The
principal features of the decoration will be a kind of
light garlanded arch, bearing banners, with the
arms of the Prince and Princess, surmounted in the
centre with the Prince's coronet and plume, and
having handsome winged Victories on either side
extending chaplets of flowers. The greater portion
of the line of procession will be roofed in as it were
by these light structures, which are to be erected
at intervals of every 40 ft. along Harmer-street, at
the top of which a massive triumphal arch will be
erected, with its four ribs meeting in the centre,
over the intersection of the roadways. Here, also,
will be a richly decorated stand for visitors. All
along the New-road to the railway station similar
decorations will be continued, so as to form one con-
tinned vista of arches and garlands throughout. The
station itself will be beautifully adorned by the Com-
pany, and the Terrace-pier, on which the Princess
will land, by the Corporation. Under the awning
of this pier are to be seats for 1,200 visitors, for
which seats there are already nearly 4,000 appli-
cants clamouring for tickets which really belong to
the ratepayers, at whose expense the whole wel-
come is given, and whose claims the Corporation
have most properly determined to consider first.
The Danish man-of-war Slesvig, with the Princess
on board, and escorted by two Danish frigates and
the English ships, is expected to arrive off the pier
a little before noon. The naval portion of the de-
monstration, will, it is probable, be increased from
the Nore by several gunboats, manned by the officers
and men -of the Naval Reserve of the port of
London, who have petitioned the Admiralty to be
allowed the honour of thus forming part of the river
escort—a petition which, we believe, the Admiralty,
have already acceded to. The military commandant
of the district will furnish the guard of honour on
the pier from Chatham, and the West Kent Yeo-
manry, one of the finest bodies of cavalry in the
kingdom, will form the escort, under the command
of Major the Earl of Darnley. The Prince of Wales,
with the Danish Minister and other distinguished
personages, will, it is expected, go on board the
Slesvig to welcome the Princess, and her landing
is to take place, with all the Royal ceremonies of
salutes and manning yards, at one o'clock. On
landing, Mrs. Sams, the wife of the Mayor of
Gravesend, wiil present the Princess with a bouquet
in a richly-jewelled case, which has been purchased
by general subscription by the ladies of Gravesend.
As on the occasion of the Princess Royal's depar-
ture, 60 young ladies, dressed alike in red and blue
and white—the colours of England and Denmark—
will be stationed along the Terrace-pier, 30 on each
side. Each of these young ladies will be provided
with ample, though pretty, baskets filled with
violets and roses, which they will strew along the
path as the Princess advances. Viscount Sidney,
as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent, will receive her High-
ness at the upper end of the pier, and present the
Mayor and the other members of the Corporation.
An address will be presented by the town-clerk,
but, following the admirable rule which has lately
come into fashion on these State occasions, it will
be presented only, and not road.
The Royal party and their suites will then enter
their State carriages, and proceed in procession
through Gravesend by the route we have already in-
dicated to the railway station, the whole extent of the
lino from pier to railway being kept by the Kent-
ish Volunteer Artillery and the various Kentish
rifle corps. The Royal train is expected to arrive at
the Bricklayers' Arms Station soon after 2 o'clock.
It is understood to be the wish of Sir George
Grey, the Home Secretary, that the Royal progress
should be facilitated as much as possible from the
Bricklayers' Arms Station to that of the Great
Western, at Paddington, in order to spare the Prin •
cess unnecessary fatigue. Originally Sir George de-
sired that the Royal procession, after passing along
London-bridge, should proceed by way of Cannon-
street to Temple-bar, an arrangement which would
have materially abridged the distance ; but on being
told that a large number of the principal citizens in
King William-street, about the Royal Exchange
and the Mansion-house, in Princes-street, the Poul-
try, and Cheapside would be deprived of the pleasure
of seeing the pageant, he yielded the point, and so
from London-bridge to Temple-bar the procession
will follow the more circuitous route of King Wil-
liam-street, Cheapside, St. Paul's Churchyard, Lud-
gate-hill, and Fleet-street. An endeavour will be
made to keep the civic retinue within reasonable
limits, and to that end it will probably be composed
of representatives of the different branches of the
corporation, rather than of the whole body itself.
It will consist chiefly of the Lord Mayor and the
Sheriffs of London and Middlesex; the members of
the Reception Committee, about 40 in number, com-
posed of Aldermen and Common Councilmen ; a de-
putation from the Court of Lieutenancy ; the mestere
and wardens of the 12 principal livery companies ;
gffioc e rns os
tf a
tt eaCnod r pt
ho e
rest of the civic authorities in carriages -
—open, if
raantdi
o Tministerial rwiaill
will
probablyhe Lothrde
the day be fine. The members of
the Court of
Lieutenancy will be in uniform; the Aldermen,
Sheriffs, and Councilmen will wear their official
robes, as will also the officers of the Corporation
and the masters and wardens of companies.
A grand triumphal arch is to be erected, by the
authority of the Corporation, near Fishmongers'-

PRICE..... -..4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

hall, at the entrance to the city, and London-
bridge will be decorated throughout its entire
length with flags and trophies. In front of the
Mansion-house a gallery for 400 people will
be constructed, and the portico of the build-
ing appropriately ornamented. The whole of
the open space within the enclosure on the
east, south, and west sides of St. Paul's Cathedral
will be occupied by seats, rising tier over tier, and
with canopies, for the accommodation of about
10,000 people, including the Dean and Chapter,
the governing bodies of the whole of the livery
companies, nearly SO in number, with their
friends, and about 700 boys from the City of Lon-
don School and the Orphan School. Tae whole of
this vast amphitheatre of seats will be erected in
the most substantial manner, under the direction
of Mr. Bunning, the city architect, and some notion
may be formed of the care which will be bestowed
upon the work with a view to the public safety
when it is stated that, with the exterior decora-
tions, it will probably cost about £7,000. The ex-
pense will be borne jointly by the Corporation and
the livery companies. Temple•bar is also to be
elaborately decorated, and on the evening of the
nuptial day it and the Mansion-house, and probably
Guildhall, will be illuminated. Yesterday the
Court of Lieutenancy held another meeting at
Guildhall to make their arrangements, and the
Reception Committee will meet again on Saturday
to forward the work.

Along Pall-mall the windows and balconies of
the clubs will be draped, and this fine thoroughfare
will on this occasion present a really magnificent
appearance. Perhaps, however, the great centre
of attraction will be in Hyde Park, where not only
will there be an immense concourse of spectators, but
from 18,000 to 20,000 of the finest of our Metropoli-
tan Volunteers will be massed, so as to give the
Princess a fair idea of the strength of that second line
of defence within which she is in future to dwell.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE.

The adjourned half-yearly meeting of this com-
pany was held on Tuesday at the London Tavern
to receive a report from the scrutineers, as to
the result of the poll demanded on Friday and
for the transaction of the remaining business of
the half-yearly meeting. Mr. T. Broderick, the
chairman, presided,
The CHAIRMAN stated that the poll had closed at
2 o'clock on Saturday, and the result was that
78,749 shares, representing 19,055 votes, were re-
corded in favour of the adoption of the directors'
report, and that 56,164 shares, representing 15,214
votes, were recorded in favour of Mr. Anderson's
amendment; consequently there was a majority of
22,585 shares, representing 3,841 votes, in favour
of adopting the report of the directors.
Mr. WATKIN objected to that mode of stating the
result of the poll, and required the chairman to read
the report of the scrutineers, from which it appeared
that there was a majority of 5,535 ordinary shares
in favour of Mr. Anderson's amendment, and a
majority of 28,120 preference shares in favour of
the motion proposed by the directors. Deducting
the majority of ordinary' shares, 6,535, from the
28,120 preference shares, left the majority for the
directors' motion, 22,585 shares representing £3,841
votes.

Mr. WATKIN thought the directors ought to con-
sider that the holders of ordinary shares, who were
most interested, had voted against the adoption of
the report, and in favour of Mr. Anderson's motion.

On the motion of the CHAIRMAN the report was
received, and a dividend at the rate of 31 per cent.
per annum on the ordinary shares of the company
for the half year ending the 31st Dec. last, less in-
come tax, was declared, payable on the 28th inst.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed that all the ordi-
nary shares of the company, upon which the sum
of £lO 13i. 4d. per share had been paid up, be con-
verted into a capital stock of the company,
Mr. GoEz thought that it would be better to give
the shareholders a small bonus by consolidating the
shares as £2O each.
The CHAIRMAN said the secretary had suggested
the repayment to the shareholders of odd shillings
and pence, which would simplify the conversion into
stock, and would only amount to a few shillings and
pence per share.
Mr. BURCHELL explained that the act authorised
the company to raise £3,200,000 on shares, and if
they adopted Mr. Goez's suggestion they would have
a larger amount of share capital than Parliament
had authorised.

The motion of the chairman was then agreed to.
Mr. ANDERSON said the result of the poll was
most gratifying to him, giving a majority of 5,500
ordinary shares in favour of the amendment. He
considered that the preference shares had no imme-
diate interest in the increase of the dividend. The
preference shares were secured their dividend of 5
per cent. by £4,000,000 of stock. He hoped the
holders of preference shares in future would refrain
from voting against measures intended for the im-
provement of the ordinary dividend. Although the
preference shareholders had defeated him on that
occasion, he would not slacken his efforts to reform
the board.

Mr. GOES said they had now 13 directors, and
they had power to elect 24 directors. He would
propose that Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Watkin, and Mr.
Leith be elected to seats at the board, and he
hoped the directors would receive the sugges-
tion in a friendly spirit. Ile then gave notice
that at the next meeting he would propose that a
similar by-law to that passed at the Great Western
meeting be adopted by this company.
L Ird A. PAGET suggested that Mr. Anderson and
Mr. Leith be elected directors.
Mr. GoEZ proposed that Mr. Watkin be elected a
director.

The CHAIRMAN could not agree to the election of
Mr. Watkin.

After some farther observations,

Mr. Anderson and Mr. Leith were elected mem-
bers of the board, and the proceedings terminated.

LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE.

The half-yearly meeting was held yesterday at
Manchester.

Mr. H. W. WicKnAm, M.P., the chairman, ex-
pressed his regret that owing to the continued de-
pression of trade in the cotton districts, the income
of the company had suffered severely, but he be-
lieved there were slight symptoms of improvement,
and those who looked at the traffic returns for the
last five or six weeks would see that there was
some increase as compared with the corresponding
week of last year. The falling off in
owing to the cause referredf 2 to, had been
er cent
x;130,000, equal equal to a dividen o
pared with the half-year ending Depeember,. 1860.
The receipts of the last half-year were less than
those in the corresponding half of 1861 by £78,000,
and that amounted to about 8 per cent. on the whole
but he was glad to say that the directors had also
been able to make a saving in the working expenses
during the same period equal to 7-1 ptr cont. He
moved the adoption of the report and accounts.
Mr. G. WILSON, dGputy•chait wan, seconded the
motion.

The motion was unanimously adopted.
The CHAIRMAN then moved the declaration of the
guaranteed dividends on preference and other stock,
and 2 per cent. on the ordinary stock fox the half-
year, payable on the 2d of March.

Mr. ANDUS seconded the motion and expressed a
hope that, from the state of the traffic, next half-
year instead of paying a dividend of 4 per cent. per
annum they should be able to pay 41 per cent.
The motion was passed.
Mr. Andus and Mr. Fielden, directors retiring by
rotation, were then re-elected. Mr. Ilarpur was
also re-elected.
The CHAIRMAN then moved that the directors be
authorised to expend not exceeding £lOO,OOO on the