The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-08 00:00:00

think this was a great day in the annals of the country ;
and he hoped that the inhabitants of Dover, and parti-
cularly those who were likely to be benefited by the
establishment of the hotel—for there was room for all
—would act in a spirit of friendship and cordiality, and
try and pull together in order to promote the general
interests of the town. The princely hospitality which
they had extended to their friends on the present occa-
sion would be a sufficient guarantee for the liberal and
efficient manner in which the establishment would be
conducted for the future. (Hear.)
The toast was responded to most enthusiastically.
The CHAIRMAN—I feel greatly flattered by the man-
ner in which my hon. friend has spoken of the company,
but at the same time the truth compels me to say,
that we have endeavoured to do our best to promote the
interests of the company, and to do justice to the pro-
prietors, and considering the magnitude of our interests
and the complexity of our affairs, it is perhaps not asto-
nishing if we have not met every requirement, or worked
out our resources to the extent we may have expected.
I believe that the county of Kent is deeply indebted for
its prosperity to the enterprise of the South-Eastern
Rail way Company. (Hear). I may be permitted to say, as
far as I myself am concerned, that the man who has the
management of so large an undertaking, has no common
labour to discharge. I envy not the individual who
dares to say that he can produce results which will differ
much from those we have presented to the public. On
rietary of which, by the
the one hand we have a prop
by, I am myself a striking emblem, which likes to
wring all it can, from what after all is a somewhat
ill-paying property- I confess lam one of those who
participate in the disappointment that has been expressed
as to the result which has attendedthe arduous labours of
theee
t_ directors.an dwe have
m doneon tshoe
liketh men—theer hd, w ewhaanvt es ho
of
thed to
public, who say, "let not your dividends interfere with
those enjoyments and that luxury and safety which we
demand of you ;" and likewise be it remembered we
have had to carry out a system which 10 years ago was
in its infancy ; for at that time we were comparatively
ignorant as to the exact arrangement and strength of
platforms, and the proper construction of locomotives ;
but there is one thing I can say without difficulty and
without fear of contradiction, and it is this—that if, in
praising the directors, my hon. friend alluded to their
good intentions he has done them no more than
justice, and has not over-estimated their deserts. The
picture
which he has presented to you in that respect
is not one to which I find any difficulty in replying, for
our intentions, have been most sincere and honest, our
sole object being to advance the interest of the South-
Eastern Railway. (Hear, hear,) My hon. friend has
alluded to the advantage of having the co-operation of
the inhabitants of Dover, where the Lord ViardenHotel is
situated. Now it is gratifying to me to be able to state,
that in spite of all competition—in spite of the vast
stock of boats on the Thames—and, I will add, in spite
of the town of Folkstone, which for some time has been
looked upon here as a kind of bug-bear—the traffic to
and from Dover has doubled during the last 10 years.
(Hear, hear.) This fact no man can deny, for it is
proved by evidence which has been adduced before the
House of Commons. There can be no doubt that Dover
has one most important advant rage over all othe towns
in the kingdom. It possesses, so to speak, the key to
all the Continental traffic, for it is naturally the nearest
point of approach to the continent. There is now a rail-
way, 365 miles in length, from Paris to Bordeaux, which
is on the confines of Spain, and to this the town of Dover
is the key. In a few days the Northern of France Rail-
way will be opened to Switzerland, vid Strasburg and
Basle—a distance of 400 miles—and to this line also
Dover will be the key. I may mention, also, that there
is in the course of completion a line which will perfect
the communication between Dover and Marseilles, only
100 miles remains to be constructed, and when that is
done. that communication between the two ports will
be immediate. (Hear.) lam quite satisfied that if we
receive the prompt and ready assistance of the towns-
people, Dover will continue to retain the pre-eminent
position which it now holds with regard to the conti-
nental traffic. That is a matter, however, which very
much depends on the facilities which Dover chooses
to give. (Hear, hear.) I regret, however, to be obliged
to say that delays are interposed at Dover which a
spirit of liberality might exclaim against. I allude to
the difficulties which have been thrown in the way of
forwarding luggage direct to London without examina-
tion by the Custom-house officers at Dover. (Hear,
hear.) Notwithstanding the Lords of the Treasury
and the Commissioners of Customs have given directions
that the luggage of passengers from the continent might
be examined at London, I have only heard of two in-
stances in which persons have been able to avail them-
selves of the privilege. (Hear.) Among the guests invited
to this entertainment, was my hon. friend, Mr. James
Wilson, the Secretary of the Treasury. A hope has
been expressed that the arguments used by him and the
rest of the Government may have had mime effect on
my mind. (A laugh.) Now, I candidly confess they
have had this effect upon me—they have convinced me
of the sincerity of those who advanced them. (Hear.)
For my friend, Mr. Wilson, I entertain the greatest
respect. If he were now present, I might allude to him
at greater length ; but this I will say, that he has ac-
complished a far more extens*.ve reform in the depart-
ment of the customs than has ever yet been effected in
this country. He has relieved the Customs of those
tedious forms and antiquated rules which were of no use
whatever, for they only created delay and annoyance ;
and if the authorities of Dover had only acted with
the same spirit—for as many asloo clauses were passed in
less than twenty minutes, so great was the attention and
consideration the bill received before it was presented
to the House of Commons—we might now boast of more
satisfactory arrangements with regard to the luggage of
passengers along the South-Eastern Railway. (Hear.)
Let it be recollected that the baggage of passengers in
the French boats which run from London, is examined
during the voyage along the Thames, and that an im-
provement equally satisfactory has been effected relative
to passengers arriving at Folkstone. It will, therefore,
rather puzzle the public to find out a reason why an
obstacle should be interposed at Dover to facilitating the
traffic, especially as the company has received the co-
operation of the Customs and the cordial assent of ti?e
Treasury. The result of such an arrangement as we
propose is now to be seen at Folkestone. We have now
tidal trains from London to Paris every day ; they per-
form the journey in ten hours, and the consequence is
the hotels at Folkestone are so full that they are unable
to accommodate all the visitors who arrive there. I have
not the least hesitation in saying that if the authorities
of Dover would come forward in a frank and liberal
spirit, and afford the same facilities for traffic, the in-
crease in the number of passengers here would take
place to a much larger extent. I may observe, in con-
clusion, that I never entertained the slightest doubt that
the establishment of the Lord Warden Hotel would be
the means of conferring a great benefit, and not, as some
might suppose, an injury on the other hotels in the
town. (Cheers.)
Mr. RICE, M.P. for Dover, proposed the health of the
chairman, and passed a high eulogium upon him for the
assiduous attention which he had devoted to his Parlia-
mentary duties, but he was sure he had, by mistake,
taken his seat on the wrong side of the House of Com-
mons. (A laugh.) It was unnecessary to speak of him
in his other capacity, for they were all aware of the effi-
cient manner in which he presided over the affairs of
the South-Eastern Company. The confidence reposed in
him by the shareholders was a convincing proof upon that
point, and he trusted he would long continue to occupy
a position which he so worthily and ably fulfilled.
The CHAIRMAN observed, in reply, that if any man
ought to feel flattered by having confidence reposed in
him in periods of difficulty, he was that man. Looking
at the difficulties with which he had to contend, it was a
marvel to him that he had been able to secure the good-
will of the proprietors for the last nine years. Railway
property had been too long ill-used by the owners of it,
and by the Legislature ; but he believed the time had
arrived for a beneficial change, and that the system at
length adopted by the Legislature for dealing with it
would tend very much to restore it to prosperity. The
hon. gentleman concluded by proposing " Prosperity to
theeo
mmNpr
a. onTryti,hs
as of Fr
An NdDei
expressed
pnR
ree es
returnedsßae
d i l
twhaey
otthhrhateahpn epfCompany.rrkiislesosn h
be(
el (Hear,
felteaal
fr hear.)
nof
that
being
friendly no; d yF understandingrance aiy
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ht o
existed give an assurance
between t
h e ofN
Company and the South-Eastern Company.
The CHAIRMAN next gave the toast of "The Visitors,"
coupling with it the name of Sir John Kirkland, his
predecessor in the chair of the company, whom he
eulogised in warm terms as a most honourable and up-
right man, and as one whom, of all others, he should be
disposed to set up as an example for his own imitation.
He was generous enough to become a director of the
company during the time of its greatest embarrassment,
and they were all greatly indebted to him for the ser-
vices he then rendered. (Hear, hear.)
Sir JOHN KIRKLAND briefly acknowledged the com-
pliment. He was bold enough to say now that a good
prospect of success was before them, and he should be
glad to find that anything he had done had in any de-
gree conduced to such a result ; but he thought he took
a step most conducive to the interests of the company
when he vacated the chair for so efficient a successor as
Mr. M'Gregor.
The " health of the Recorder of Dover" (Mr. Lone-
dale) was next drunk, and replied to by that learned
gentlemen.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed "The Press," in a
complimentary speech, in which he alluded to the almost
omnipotent power which it possessed in this country,
coupling with the toast the name of Mr. Murdo Young,
the senior member of the fourth estate present at the
meeting.
Mr. MURDO YOUNG, in responding, observed that a
free people would always have a free press, for the one
could not exist without the other. (Cheers.) Indeed,
the press was but the mirror of public opinion, and
would always reflect the virtues as well as the vices of
the age. The people had only to be true to them-
selves, and they might surely depend on the
support of an honest and independent press. It
might occasionally fall into error, but that arose more
from accident than intention, for it was seldom guilty of