The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-10 00:00:00

r Committee and the equerries in attendance, and fJI-
ilowing upon the royat party were the ladies to wait-
ing, Earl Grey, the Earl of Carlisle, the Earl and
Countess of Sdton, and the members of their youth-
ful family. As soon cs the Queen emerged from the
closed corridor, and passed under the awning, a shout
of welcome was raised by all the spectators on the
platforms running along the landing-stage. For the
moment each appeared to forget the pitiless waging
of the elements, and hats were raised and handker-
chiefs waved in every direction. Her Majesty very
kindly and graciously acknowledged the royal a.-
ceptun which greeted her at this place, and pass( d
slowly on to the Fairy royal yacht, on board of which
she was conducted by Cap!ain Lord Adolphus Fitz-
clarence.
The engines were presently in motion, and the
Fairy moved gracefully off in a southern direction.

THE ROYAL CRUISE ON THE MERSEY
At ten o'clock we proceeded to take our station on
board the Trafalgar, one of the three steamers placed
at the disposal of the dock committee, to enable the
members of the committee and their friends to ac-
company the royal yacht round the course marked out
for the progress round the river. If the scene was
cheerless on land, It was still more so on the river. It
is true that a number of steamers and other vessels
were moored in the centre of the river, displaying the
colours of all nations ; but still they looked dull,
every person on board of them being either out of
sight or closely enveloped in dreadnoughts. Shortly
after eleven o'clock, the three steamers, Trafalgar,
Albania and Commodore, left their moorings at the
Waterloo Parade, and preceded to take up their sta-
tions opposite the (xeorge, s landing stage, where
her Majesty's steamer I airy was moored, waiting to
receive the Royal party. As we steamed up along-
side the Prince's Dock, a few stragglers covered by
umbrellas—among whom the ladies were few and far
apart as angels' visits—presented themselves to our
view on the various standings which had been
erected. Approaching the landing-stage, the
numbers increased—and the landing-stage, with
its gay display of various flags, gave us an idea of
festivity which our own comfortless position made
us envy—but which we fear none of those even in
the covered stands could appreciate. The only relief
to the cheerlessness of the scene was the good
humour with which the persons on board the
various vessels regarded their position—the few ladies
present braving the pitiless storm with much greater
courage and determination than their more hardy
companions. At half-past eleven a royal salute au-1
nounced the arrival of her Majesty, and, as if by
magic, the decks of the vessels, which a few minutes
before were entirely deserted, appeared teeming, not-
withstanding the rain, which still poured in torrents,
with individuals anxious to catch ever so distant a
glance at her Majesty. About twenty minutes to
twelve the royal standard was hoisted on the Fairy,
showing that the royal party was on board. It almost
immediately, with its attendant vessels, got under
weigh, amidst the cheers of the company assembled ;
but what are cheers upon a wet day ? It is impossible,
however the heart may prompt, for the voice to give
due effect to the feelings. The royal cortige pro-
ceeded over the destined course, which is thus de-
scribed by a local paper :
In sailing up the river from the landing-stage the
first dock passed is George's Dock, which is in a great
measure concealed by the Baths erected on George's
Pier. It was formed in the reign of King George
the Third.
The Canning Dock, formed during the regency,
comes next.
The Albert Dock, opened by the illustrious Prince
whose name it bears, is next. The warehouses which
surround it are the best built and most commodious in
Liverpool.
Next (but pertly concealed by the warehouses of
the Albert Dock) is the Salthouse Dock, formed in
the reign of King George the Second, but greatly
enlarged and improved during the last five years.
The King's Dock and the Queen's Dock, formed in
the reign of King George the Third, and so named in
honour of that good King and his excellent Qurn,
are next in order. The Brunswick Dock is the
furthest dock (of any magnitude) to the south—in a
finished state. It was opened about the year 1826,
and is used chiefly for the timber trade. The Har-
rington and Herculaneum Docks, not yet completed,
lie further to the south.
The Sloyne (as it is called), where the large Halifax
and New York steamers ride, is the beat anchorage in
the river. The water is deep, and the position sheltered
by the high grounds from the prevailing westerly
winds.
The view of the southern part of Liverpool, from
the Sloyne, is one of the best on the river.
Before the discovery of steam navigation, Birken-
head contained exactly 500 inhabitants. It now con-
tains from 25,000 to 30,000 inhabitants, end the whole
of the population of the Cheshire shore is at least
50,000.
The central part of the town is well seen opposite
the end of Woodside Pier.
The north part of the town is well seen from Egre-
mont and New Brighton.
The lighthouse, at the entrance of the river, is one
of seven lighthouses which exist within the limits of
the port. There are also three floating lights, and a
powerful bell which rings incessantly by the action
of the wave, and of course loudest in stormy weather.
The port of Liverpool extends from the entrance to
the river Dee to the entrance of the river Ribble.
There are five life-boat stations within the port of
Liverpool, and numerous steam-tugs, ready to proceed
at a momet's notice to the assistance of any vessel that
may be in danger.
The whole of the great sea wall, from Bootle Bay
to within a few yards of the landing-stage, has been
built during the lifetime of her Majesty, and all the
docks which it shelters have been formed in the same
time. The oldest of these docks, the Prince's, or
Prince Regent's, was formed during the latter part of
the regency of his Royal Highness, George, Prince
of Wales, and was open on the day on which he was
crowned as King George the Fourth. All the docks
nearer to the mouth of the river have been formed
since then ; and the greater part of them during the
reign of her present Majesty.
The dockgate at the entrance of the Huskisson
Dock is eighty feet wide. There is no other dock-
gate of equal magnitude in the world. It is built to
admit paddle-wheel steamers of 2,500 or 3,000 tons.
Three others of the docks have gates seventy feet
wide.

The Huskisson, the Trafalgar, the Clarence, and
the Coburg, are the four steam docks of Liverpool.
The tonnage of the steamers which entered this port
in the year ending June 25, 1851, was 1,080,000
tons. In the year 1819, the year of her Majesty's
birth, there were only two sea-going steamers in the
port of Liverpool, the Robert Bruce, plying to
Greenock, and the Waterloo, to Dublin, both of
which began to run, for the first time, in the summer
of that year.
Of her Majesty's actual progress little description
can be given, owing to the very unfavourable state of
the weather—indeed, as far as we could see, it pos-
sessed no variety—the people assembled at the various
points loudly cheering the royal yacht throughout its
progress, and the children of the Liverpool national
school, who were gathered together at the Queen's
docks, attempted to sing the National Anthem, but
the unfavourable state of the weather rendered it al-
most impossible to hear their voices on board the
royal or attendant vessels. About half-past twelve
her Majesty landed at the stage from which she had
departed only about an hour previously, amidst
the most cheerful scene of the day—the halms of
the people, the firing of cannon, and the ringing
of the bells of the various churches of Liverpool.
During the royal progress an incident occurred,
which might have been attended with disastrous
consequences to one of the vessels of the dock
committee following in the royal course. When
abreast of the King's-dock the Trafalgar, not easing
her steam as the captain of the Commodore requested
she should do, ran into the latter vessel—the Trafal-
gar's jib-boom coming into contact with the mizen-
halyard of the Commodore, and causing the loss of the
Commodore's top-gallant mast. Considerable confu-
sion resulted on board for a short time, but the extent
of the injury being found to be but trifling, confidence
was restored among the passengers of the Commodore,
who were landed almost immediately after those of
the royal yacht.

HER MAJESTY AT THU TOWN-HALL.
The Queen disembarked onH to the landing-stage at
half-past twelve o'clock. ow'eliethekt.he same
which had marked her arrival oneMenajt
Majesty
ysiastic loyalty
upon her
Passing from the royalwas greeted
the
Majestylanding stage.
pro-
ceeded up a corridor at yacht,
tb her now . e southern end of the stage,
to the royal carriage, which was in waiting to receive
her. The procession then returned over St. George's-
bridge, the
Queen'sprogress into the carriage
town, by being
tbe Mayorpreceded,
in hisas
suponstate
her
coach. The next point of interest was the
Town-hall, -. otherwise known as Exchange-
buildings, where the Queen was to receive
the Corporation address. The most direct route
from the river to the landing-stage was not
taken by the royal party, as such a proceeding would
have deprived a very large portion of the inhabitants
of the borough of the opportunity of seeing her Ma-
jesty. The course taken by the royal cortege on its
return from the river to the Town-hall was as fol-
lows :—Along Goree-Strand-street, round the south
front of the Custom-house, passing the Sailors'
Home, thence up Castle-street, atl.onjgohLwosrd Lord-street,
Church-street, Parker-street, and Lime-street, t the
east front of St George's Hall, and, without, ailitho in
ht
in her carriage, pass down s
Manchester-street and Dale street to the 11
r ' lagen'
eug
epd
Her Majesty's progress along this route°lvn-"a".
scarcely be said, was one continued ovation. Every
h point from whence a view could e obtained Was