The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-03 00:00:00

PROPOSED-- PUBLIC DINNER TO
THE DIRECTORS OF THE LONDON AND
BRIGHTON RAILWAY.
(From the Brighton Gazette.)
A most respectable meeting, convened by the High
Constable in pursuance of a requisition, was held on
Monday at the Town Hall, for the purpose of taking into
consideration the propriety of manifesting some pub-
lic token of attention and respect to the Directors of the
London and Brighton Railway Company by inviting
them to a public dinner, or otherwise, on the important
occasion of opening the said Railway from London to
Brighton.
Mr. E. H. Creasy, in the absence of the High, Consta-
ble, who was too unwell to attend, having been called to
the Chair, said he had great pleasure in taking
part at a meeting for the purpose of celebrating an
event which, in his humble opinion, was of the greatest
importance to this highly-favoured town.—(Cheers.)
Mr. SEYMOUR then rose to move the first resolution,
and said—The object is to present some testimonial of
kindness and regard, and attention to those who have
taken the leading part in that which, I believe, we shall
all consider to be, in the most essential degree, condu-
cive to
.the future prosperity of this town. It may be
said that when persons adventure upon speculations,
they adventure for their own interests, and therefore are
entitled to nothing beyond what those speculations may
bring them ; but I, for one, am quite of a different opinion,
and all experience runs the other way. When our great
Captain returned to this country from the wars, covered
with laurels, we did not say to him, " You are paid, and
we give you no thanks," but we said, " We will give
you wealth and dignity, as a testimony that you have done
that which, although only your duty, has aggrandised
the country to the greatest possible extent."—(Cheers and
an expression of disapprobation from one or two persons
in the meeting.) The same thing has occurred with re-
gard to other persons. We are at this moment, through..
out Great Britain, erecting monuments to the memory of
Sir Walter Scott • yet that man, by his works, made
more than a hundred thousand pounds, and persons who
were niggardly would say that was an enormous sum.
The fact is, that when you call in a physician who cures
the patient, you do not say, "You are paid for what you
have done, and that is sufficient," but the recovered
patient and his family almost bow down and worship the
person who has saved him, to be the joy and honour of
his family, and perhaps an ornament to his country. I
consider, therefore, that nothing could be more nig-
gardly or more discouraging to those who make great
attempts, than to tell them that they are engaged in
a speculation, and that they must therefore expect no
praise,_ ito thanks, whoever may be benefited by that
speculation that run no risk. I consider that the pre-
sent work is one that we ought to admire, as a victory of
mind over matter.—(Cheers.) It is one that, I think,
we may fairly say will be known and estimated by the
whole world ; for there is nothing of this description
but must connect itself with every part of civilized
Europe.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to ourselves, it
might be comprised in a single sentence—the benefit
which it confers on Brighton. It has made us a part of
London—(Hear, hear)—a part of the great metropolis
of the world, and its increasing prosperity must be pro-
portioned accordingly. The fact is, that London, that
great metropolis, abounding in wealth, and intellect, and
rank, and station, wanted only one thing, and that thing
which we have to give them,—namely, health,—the sea-
coast, the nearest to the metropolis. It is not• a benefit
conferred upon Brighton, merely by the transit of pas-
sengers ; a benefit will be found from the railway bring-
ing to us permanent inhabitants. People cannot help
coming to reside here.—(Hear, and continued cheers.)
I said so from the beginning; when my opinion
was asked as to what was likely to be the. consequence to
Brighton of the formation of the railway. I stated
then, as I state now, that the advantages which' the
town offered were so great that a large portion of Lon-
don must come and permanently reside here. The, fact
is, that there is no blessing without health, and the me-
tropolis is so large, the population so dense, the fogs so
great, and the smoke so intense, that it is utterly impos-
sible for persons to dwell there, for a length of time, par-
ticularly the female part of the creation and their chil-
dren, without incurring disease. If they come to
Brighton, they need not wait till they are sick; let
them come when they are well, in order to preserve
their health. And it is to be remembered that when I
say health, I do not mean the mere muscular power of
moving the limbs, but a sound mind in a sound body.
Now Brighton would not have been in a situation to
receive all the benefits of the railway, if like, Eastbourne,
.
it were a mere terminus or a means of proceeding to
the Continent; but the fact is, that we are in a situation
to receive London, for we are as like London as two peas
are to each other. We have a resident aristocracy, we
have an abundance of the three learned professions, we
have great capitalists as contractors, bankers, merchants,
and tradesmen of all descriptions ; our beautiful shops
rival those of the Palais Royal, and as for Vanity Fair,
we have shops which beat even Howell and James's.
These things are to us comparatively trivial, but to
the wealthy they are necessaries. For if you make
a railway to a desert, you will not carry inhabitants
to the ,terminus. We have also all the improve-
ments that have been made in London ; we have the town
lighted with gas, we have the water laid on, which is hardly
the case in any other maritime town in the kingdom, so that,
in all respects, we are prepared to receive the benefits
likely to arise from the enormous influx of persons residing
in. London, who will use the railway ; and it is my firm
belief that large families will come to reside here per-
manently, because the heads of those families will be
enabled, by means of the railway, to go to London to
transact those concerns that may be necessary, without
being alienated from their families, as is now the case,
while their families are at Brighton, owing to the transit
between this town and London by coach not being suffi-
ciently rapid. These are some of my reasons for think-
ing that Brighton will be greatly benefited by the rail-
way. In order to close this part of my case, I will re-
mark, that although we may give health, we cannot give
life eternal; and if our visitors die here, we are prepared
with the prettiest burial-ground in all the kingdom.—
(Laughter.) All this I have been saying about ourselves;
but the object for which we are met is to say something
about the Railway Company, and I assure you that I
entertain the warmest approbation and admiration of
their great efforts. When they first proposed to bring a
railroad to Brighton, no man said, " Don't come ;" but
it became a matter of competition who should come, and
how they should come, and in the course of that competition
there was no objection upon the face of the plan, or that
could be raked out or imagined, that was not raised up
in evidence against the possibility of carrying it out.
Nature, it was said, presented such obstacles, that it was
impossible : so that, in point of fact, we are met, not to
congratulate the Company for having conquered great
difficulties, but for having accomplished impossibilities.
There are many in this room who heard testimony, upon
oath, in the House of Lords, that the line was impos-
sible. Well, they succeeded at last in obtaining their
Bill. They set about their work, and then their difficul-
ties may be said to have been begun. Every step they took.
they were obliged to buy with gold ; avarice was against
them; there was blame attached to them upon alloecasions
for what they began, and what they did not begin, they
were slandered, they were blamed, they were intimidated;
they had law against him; they had every affliction almost .1
that can attach to mortal man, they had enemies amongst
themselves; but, notwithstanding all this, by the opera-
tion of science, by' ceura,ge,'"hy judgment, discretion,
'zeal, and' perseverance, 'llll tare' arrived at the town of
Brighton.—(Cheers.). Are riOl such. Men to 'be praised
and encouraged ? •Are..westO be so stoical as to say,
." It is all for your own benefit that yOu have done this,
'and we don't thank you?" If so, we should have a right
to say, " 'Would You praise a man for doing his duty ?"
It becomes every man to do his duty; but when a man
has done his duty .through life, and he is assembled
amongst his fellow men, will you not praise him for
what he has done? If not, you, withhold. that meed
of praise which forms the motive for many a
noble action, and incites to unwearied and beneficial
exertion. We are all deeply interested in the progress
of mind. There are in nature many things which may
be said to stand still ; there are the blue sky, the vivid
lightning, the majestic thunder, there is the sea. All
these may be said to be still ; but the mind of man is ad-
vancing, and we should endeavour to promote its pro-
gress in every way in our power.—(Cheers.) It may be
said, how are you to show this kindness to the Directors
of the Company ? They don't seek money ; but they
would be less than men if they did not wish for the ap-
probation of their fellow men; and, therefore, it was pro-
posed that we should meet them in the old English way,
and give them an English dinner. I believe this plan
will be universally approved throughout the town, and
the only difficulty Nvi 11 be (which may be left to a Com-
mittee) how to do this in the best manner; and
although there might be a wish that the dinner
should be
'et
xe rp
eanss very popular and extensive, that will be
utterly
impossible if you give the Directors such a din-
b e
You respectful cu ts ft u
notl to them, as the dinner must be
you must not invite the Dirgeievteor
them
teoma a
cold cold
dinrneecre.ptTiohnat;
would be throwin
g Director
water upon their steam, and to
nollaihvay
I think
Die in moving the resolution have now said sufficient to justify
t,tiwlisould that be acceptable.—
(Laughter.)which I hold in my hands—
nleintghaot of
nhteeLt‘i
inhabitants
o n suchof anßr
iigmhpt impor-
tant " That in the opinion of
London and Brighton
tiatanitlitvvaeyn,tiatsistlyesiorpaeh
npgnorneeratt,h, bee
tow
nt
in order to show their high sense
s
which that that splendid work will confetrhdeil
should invite the Directors to a Public
Gentlemen, I conclude with what I began.
I feel greatly
obliged to my fellow-townsmen for
having selectedm
me
to make this proposition, because it was
demonstrated to
me, not that they eltected I should do it with sufficient
ability, but that theyisave had sufficient experience of
me in this town to knoil thiat I am ever anxious for its
prosperity.—(Cheers.)
Mr. F. COOPER said the ho4ndenr of seconding the re-
solution had been entrusted to him ; and had it not been
for the eloquent speech which had beendelivered to
the meeting by the Honourable mover, lie should have
found great difficulty in presenting it in such,4i as
yi%
its merits deserved. He was relieved ofthatcl
to difficulty
by tth'C
by the very able manner in which the advantages
town from the formation of the railwaycehepader)befeelnt,
pointed out by Mr. Seymour. He (Mr.
that the opening of this railway would be one of the
most important events that had ever occurred to the
town of Brighton. It must necessarily increase its pros-
perity, and produce advantages to every individual lo-
cated amongst them. He agreed in almost every thing
that had been said by Mr. Seymour, who, however,
went a little too far when he said the Directors had
overcome impossibilities. The fact was, that al-
though Mr. Rastrick knew it could be done, it was stated
upon honour and upon owl, in the Houses of Parliament,
that his project was not (nig impracticable, but that the
idea amounted to an absta "ty. They had now the re-
port of the Government cugineer that that which was
stated, upon oath and declaration, to be almost an ab-
surdity and an impossibility, had not only been effected,
but that it had been completed in the most masterly
style, so much so that the railroad to Brighton was re-
presented to be one of the most perfect in the kingdom.