The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-19 00:00:00

THE EX-RAILWA Y RING.

Sunderland held a hero-worshipping revival on Satur-
day night. A banquet was given to Mr. George Hudson,
the ex-Railway King, by the inhabitants of Sunderland,
in recognition of the public services which he had ren-
dered to that town. The Mayor presided, and Messrs.
Laing and Hudson, of the Wear Commissioners, were
vice-chairmen. Among the company present were Earl
Vane, Mr. Candlish, M.P.,•Mr. George Elliott, M.P., Mr.
Hugh Taylor, and the principal magistrates, merchants, and
tradesmen of the town and neighbourhood. The Mayo-,

in proposing the health of Mr. Hudson, said that the
north country owed a deep debt of gratitude to Georga
.Hudson. But for him the resources of the north would
never have been developed as they have been. He
referred especially to the projection of Jarrow and Sun-
derland Docks, and the High Level Bridge. Mr. Hudson
in replying, was greatly cheered. He thanked the com-
pany for the enthusiastic manner in which they had re-
ceived him. It was 30 years since circumstances placed
him in a position of being able to render services to the
town in the projection of different enterprises. When
he first entered the district it possessed two millions of
railway property which was not remunerative ; but he
was enabled by some foresight to place these railways in
a profitable position. George Stephenson never took any
part in any great work in the district without doing
him the honour of consulting him. Mr. Hud-
son referred to the offers made to him to carry
the railway communication some miles from New-
castle, but he persevered, and succeeded in carrying
it through that town. The next great work which he
was connected with in the district was Sunderland Dock.
He had been told that he had jobbed that dock, but this
he indignantly denied, and said he felt that Sunderland,
as well as Newcastle, required facilities for developing its
trade. At that time he had the monopoly of the district
in his bands, and he was offered thousands of pounds, but
he never touched for himself a single shilling. Many of
his projects which were condemned at the time had since
been carried out ; amongst them was Jarrow Dock, for
which he entered into the contracts. He would not
say where the credit had been taken for carrying out
what had been such immense benefit to the district. It
was satisfactory to know that the projects which he felt
necessary for the trade of the district had been carried
out literally and entirely. He claimed for himself the
credit of being the first to adopt that which had been of
the greatest advantage to railways, namely, amalgama-
tion, which was first suggested by him to the Midland
and Derby, and Birmingham, and which was further
carried out in the purchase of numerous branch
lines to the north, which were dead bodies, but which
afterwards became living souls. He would not say
that he had not suffered, but he bad always preserved his
courage, and in his deepest distress some kind friend
always dropped in and helped and cheered him on his
way. Sunderland always stood firmly and kind by
him. He referred to the great progress made by the Tyne,
and urged Sunderland and the towns of the Wear to
imitate her example. He next referred to the successful
manner in which he opposed the introduction of the
atmospheric system between Newcastle and Berwick.
If that system had been introduced, and all their money
spent upon it, it would have been many years
before they would have got the locomotive. He initiated the
amalgamation of Newcastle and Carlisle with the North
Eastern, and leased it at 7 per cent., but it had since paid
dividends of 9 and 10 per cent. This showedtheprinciples
he laid down were right, and it was unjust to repudiate
the agreement for which he suffered pecuniarily. Many
of the charges made against him were now almost anti-
' quated. It was of no use speaking of them now. When
the hurricane blew over him he was not heard, and could
only bow his head and allow it to pass ; but he conscien-
tiously asserted that he never supported a project which
he did not believe to be right. • He had thousands and
thousands at his feet ; he might have recouped himself by
buying shares of railways he recommended to amalgamate,
but he did not, and he now wondered at his moderation.
He, no doubt, had committed errors, but they were
those of the head, and not of the heart., When he pur-
chased some lines he had to spend large sums in re-stocking
them, and he charged this to capital. It was laid against
him that he paid dividends out of capital, but this he had
since frequently heard was the correct principle. After
all the miserable straining of matters against him,
out of dividends of a million and three-quarters
only fifty thousand was claimed to be overpaid.
Mr. Hudson entered at considerable length into the ex-
planation and defence of a contract for rails, which he
afterwards sold (York and Berwick) below the market
price, and which he had to repay. He contended
that the policy of law in those extreme cases was
bad. In conclusion, he expressed the hope that the
rest of his life would be spent in peace and edjoyment.
Mr. Hudson resumed his seat amidst loud and hearty
cheers.

Neither the Daily News nor the Telegraph, which com-
ment on this subject, are flattering in their remarks. The
former, without desiring to raise old questions, says that
Mr. Hudson's place in history will resemble that of Law,
the originator of the South Sea Bubble. The Telegraph
observes :—" Mr. Hudson touched gently on the sins im-
puted to himself personally ; he could easily have com-
mitted more, he observed, and, looking, back, he was
' astonished at his own moderation '—using, no doubt
unconsciously, Lord Clive's very words. Well, on the
whole we too are astonished. Thirty years ago Mr.
Hudson seemed very black ' • but at that date we did not
yet know the emperors of finance who floated concerns
like the Imperial Land Company of Marseilles. Compared
with them, Mr. Hudson now deserves a Monthyon prize
—for ' disinterested virtue.' "