The Sun.
London, England, 1856-10-24 00:00:00

LONDON, Fid[DAY EVENING, OCTOBER 245 1856.

OPENING OF TM TYNE SAILORS' 1102VE.

NORTH SHIELDS, Tuesday Night.—ln consequence of
the opening of the Tyne Sailors' Home by the Duke of
Northumberland the two large seaport towns of Shields
kept a general holiday to-day, and about 40,000 persons
have been out in the streets to witness the procession
formed to meet his grace, and escort him to the opening
of that building. The corporations of North and South
Shields, at special meetings of their respective councils,
had adopted addresses, which the mayors and town clerks
were deputed to present ; and to-day about noon an im-
mense procession, consisting of the mayors and corpora-
tions of North and South Shields, Newcastle, and
Gateshead, the members for the boroughs and county,
the Mayor of Sunderland, a great Dumber of the leading
shipowners, coalowners, and merchants on the Tyne, and
other leading persons connected with the trade of the
district, with a large body of seamen and fishermen,
Aeaded by bands, banners, &c., marched to the railway
station to meet the duke, who reached Shields about
half-padt twelve o'clock, in his carriage, accompanied by
Sir T. Herbert, M.P, and Mr. Bartleman, the chair-
man of the committee of the Sailors' Home. His Grace
was received ,by the large concourse of people with im-
mense cheering, and the procession proceeded to the
Sailors' Home amid the ringing of the church bells and
the firing of cannon from a large fleet of merchant ves-
sels in the river, which, from an early hour in the morn-
ing, had been decorated with flags. The Home is
situated on the New:quay, and commands a very fine
view of Shields harbour. It is admirably located as a
home and place of accommodation for seamen, and is
a truly noble structure. -It will cost the Duke of
Northumberland between 8,0001. and 9,0001., and,
as has been before stated in .754 Slot, ie a free gift to
itor-port, the merchants, shipowners, and other inhabi-
tants of the district contributing 3,000/. to its endow-
ment; thus enabling the managers of the institution to
offer better accommodation, at a lower rate, to the sea-
men than the crimps and publicans who have heretofore
taken in sailors to lodge; and in too many instances
"done " fpr them, in the miserable low streets of the
town, a sort of Tyne Wapping. The basement storey of
the building is occupied as a shipping-office, sailors'money-
order•offtce, and saving-bank, the two latter established
by the Board of Trade. There are also in the same range
a largekitchen for cooking dinners fur 150 seamen, baths,
Auden extensive laundry, fitted up in a superior manner.
The other storeys of the building contain large dining
rooms, smoking rooms, a long room for meetings, a
reading room, a hospital for the sick, a navigation school,
a large warehouse for storing seamen's effects, and dor-
mitories for 150 men. It is fitted up with every regard
to the comfort and convenience of the class for whom
it is intended, and the establishment is the result of
the most comprehensive effort that has yet been under-
taken in the north-eastern ports to improve the social
habits of the seafaring population. But for the munifi-
cence of the Duke of Northumberland the erection of
such a building might not have been accomplished for
some yeure to came.

Shortly after the procession reached the Home the cor-
porate bodies and other leading inhabitants met in the
Long-room by invitation of the committee, and several
addresses were presented to his Grace.
The whole of the addresses having been presented,
His GRACE advanced to the front of the platform,
and was saluted with immense cheering. He said—
Gentlemen, when I was invited to take the chair at
this meeting I certainly was prepared fur a statement
from the executive committee as to the proceedings of
the Sailors' Home, and an expression of their satis-
faction at the happy completion of this part of their
labours—(cheers)—but I was not prepared for an ad-
dress from the Mayor and corporation, nor that from
the Mayor and corporation of South Shields, nor
for the address I have just received from Cullercoats. I
can only say to you, gentlemen, collectively and indivi-
dually, that I offer to you my most sincere thanks and
acknowledgments, not only for the honour conferred
upon me, but also for the manner in which your appro-
val has been expressed. (Cheers.) As to this building
and the accommodation which it may afford to seamen,
you have an opportunity of examining and judging for
yourselves. It appears that it will hold 150 seamen,
and, although only 60 cabins are now ready, others may
be got ready as required. (Cheers.) I have heard with
great eaustaction -the stateincas or sue executive el-inc.:
mittee as to the rapid increase in the tonnage registered

in the Tyne, amounting to 406,350 tone within the

year 1855, being 1-11th of the tonnage of the United

Kingdom, and, as expressed by the Mayor of Tyne-
moutb, nearly equal to half the sailing tonnage of
Scotland, and more than the whole of Ireland.

(Loud cheers.) It is also a matter of very great
surprise that there are 216 steam vessels in the
Tyne. In the year 1814 the first steamvessel was
built upon the Tyne, and I think upon Ascension-
day it was launched in honour of the procession of the

conservators of the river. We must not forget either the
great increase in the foreign trade of this port. In the
year 1855 of our staple commodity, coals and coke, there
were exported foreign 1,577,975 tow, while in 1840, 15
years before, only one•third of that quantity was ex
ported. Besides other advantages there are now between
these important towns of North and South Shields three

steam ferries, and railway communication was completed
in 1839 with Newcastle, and thence to the whole king-
dom. Gentlemen, I trust that all the improvements of
the Tyne will continue— (cheeo —that the improvements
which are now taking place at the mouth of the Tyne
by the formation of piers, the deepening of the channel
of the river, and the proposed docks upon its banks, wild.
facilitate and increase material advantages to all. (Loud
cheers.) But to revert once more to this institution, and
to its intended inmates, I am sorry to say that the
sailor, who exhibits his skill, perseverance, and daring
on board, and overcomes all the difficulties of the
seafaring life, when he comes on shore falls too often
into the hands of those who wish him ill. He is careless
of his earnings, and to him is not inapplicable that line
of Dryden'e,—
" Saved from the sea, but shipwrecked on the shore."

,Applause.) It has been wisely determined to establish

in connection with this institution a savings-bank, where
the seaman may deposit his earnings, and remit them to
his family as be thinks fit. There are also schools esta-
blished under the patronage of the Government, but
there is one thing more. While we look after the sailor's
comfort, his health, and his pecuniary affairs, let us not
forget that which is of more essential importance—his
religion and morals. (Applause.) I wish to bring that
point particularly under your notice. It is quite certain
that we should leave men not only happier, but better
than they were before ; for this is'the only principle of
doing good. In that, by the blessing of God, we shall suc-
ceed, as we have in founding this institution. And now
I have only to declare that the Sailors' Home is open
to the sailors of vessels entering the port of Tyne.
(Loud cheers.)
The meeting concluded with three times three for the
Duke, and one more for the Duchess. The procession
then re-formed and proceeded to the Albion Assembly-
rooms, whore a dinner in honour of the event was given.
Precisely at three o'clock his Grace the Duke of
Northumberland entered the rooms, where he was greeted
by vociferous cheering from the 500 gentlemen who sat
down to partake of the repast provided. The rooms were
beautifully decorated with evergreens, floral designs, and
naval emblems ; at one end was stationed the band of
the Northumberland Yeomanry Cavalry, which at inter
vale enlivened the proceedings with numerous martial
airs, while the piper attached to Alnwick Castle paraded
the apartment and excited a good deal of interest. His
Grace presided, supported by Mr. Alderman Bartleman,
Mr. Robert Ingham, M.P.,
Mr. W. S. Lindsay, M.P.,
Mr. T. E. Headlam, M.P., Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart.,
and on the left by the Mayor of Tynemouth, Mr. H. G.
Liddell, M.P.,. Mr. Hugh Taylor, Sir Walter B.
Riddell, Bart., Capt. Hall, of H.M.S. Blenheim.; and the
vice-chairs were occupied by Mr. Alderman Pow, Mr.
J. Dryden, and Mr. J. Straker.

The cloth having been removed, and the usual loyal
and patriotic toasts having been disposed of,
Mr. Alderman BARTLEMAN rose and expressed regre
that the railway arrangements prevented the noble chair.
man's further stay among them, and returned thanks on
the part of the inhabitants of the town of Shields for the
honour they had received by his Grace's visit and for his
liberality in corning forward to support an institution
litre that they had just oponed for the benefit of the sea-
men entering the port. He concluded by proposing his
grace's health, which was drunk with three times three.
The noble CHAIRMAN, in reply, said—Gentlemen, I
sincerely thank you for the kind reception you have
given me here, in this your town, to-day. Indeed, I will
not waste words t 3 express to you what I feel ; but it
has been a source of great gratification to me to-day to
see the way in which all classes have met to show their
sympathies with and appreciation of the British sailor,

and to support his welfare. (Applause.) For myself, it
is enough to say I was born and bred a sailor—(hear)--
and I have but one feeling, and that is in favour of sea-
men. I have experienced their conduct, .and I know
them to be as loyal to their Sovereign as they are de-
voted to their country; and I owe to them a deep debt
of gratitude for their good conduct in every ship I have
commanded. Gentlemen, I will not talk about their skill
and daring in danger, but I will give you the words of
a great man, Lord Collingwood—(laud cheers)—who,
after the battle of Trafalgar, said of his seamen, " Every
man appeared a hero, on whom the honour of his coun
try depended." Gentlemen, it is for these men that we
have built the Sailors' Home ; it is these men we wish
to encourage,—men who do their duty in every situ.
ation in which they are placed. It is their cause I re.
commend to you, and with all the advantages we have
had to-day in the presence and support of the mayors
of the different towns in the neighbourhood, not only
those of North and Smith Shields, but also those
of distant towns, in this instanci, distance lends enchant-
ment to the cause, and I believe I leave it in good keep-
ing.

The noble Duke then vacated the chair,• and pro-
ceeded to the railway station, on his return to Alnwick
Castle, amid immense cheering.
Mr. Alderman BARTLEMAN, the chairman of the
Sailors' Home Committee, having been called upon to
supply the vacant post of
.chairman, proposed—" Our
foreign Alliances in all Parts of the World," coupling
with it the name of the Emperor of the French.
The French Consul at Newcastle.:on-Tyne briefly re-
sponded.

Sir W. B. ilmjezrar, proposed "Success to the Sailors'
Home." In doing so he alluded -to the present meet-
ing having assembled under the auspices of the noble
founder of the home so successfully and pleasantly in-
augurated in the morning, under as bright a sun as one
could expect at this season of the year. He trusted that
not only for years, but for centuries to come, that home
might be successful, useful, and prosperous, and that the
proceedings of that day might be recollected among the
seamen of the borough and port of Shields as a peaceful
commemoration of the day celebrated as the anniversary
of the battle of Trafalgar. No day could have been
better selected for opening a home for seamen than the
day which was still familiar to the hearts of all of them,
and upon which they all looked for a holiday. He could
not propose the toast which had been intrusted to him
without shortly adverting to the circumstances of its
foundation. When the Duke munificently proposed to
erect a Sailors' Home upon his grounds a subscription
was set on foot, to which he proposed largely to contri-
bute, and to which subscriptions were solicited from the
various merchants in the port. In this way 1,500& was
collected.' When that was done the noble Duke said, "I
wilt build the home, provided that you. will endow it
with the money you have collected." This was done,
and the home was built. It next became necessary to
provide for the comfortable furnishing of the home. The
Duchess of Northumberland subscribed liberally towards
this object, and, he believed, another 1,5001. was col-
lected. His Grace then said, "I will furnish the home
if you will add the additional subscriptions to the endow-
ment fund"—(loud applause)—and then, as if his muni-
ficence had no limits, he took another step ; when the
committee found that in all probability the expenses of
providing a superintendent and steward for the home
would more than exhaust their means his Grace gene-
rously undertook, for a time at least, that these officers
were to be paid by him. (Hear.) He (the speaker) be-
lieved their sympathies would assure him he was not
wrong, for in proposing the toast he should not have
done justice to it if he had not adverted to these circum-
stances. He concluded by proposing the toast, with
thanks to the executive committee, coupling with it the
name of the chairman, Alderman Bartlewan.
Sir M. W. RIDLEY gave " Her Grace the Duchess of
Northumberland," which toast was received with all the
honours.
Tbe‘CHAIRMAN gave "The Mayors and Corporations
of the neighbouring boroughs, which was responded to
by Mr. Stainton, mayor of South Shields.
The Hon. H. G. LIDDELL, M.P., proposed "the trade
and port of Tyne, especialiy the shipping and seamen
connected therewith." He said he was born and bred
upon the Tyne, and could,sa,p-with tritti.that- ea long.as,
the great interests which were confided to his. charge
were continued be woula watete with fatherly affectib-a
over the interests of the port of Tyne. He could dilat
upon this subject, for it was a fruitful theme, bat if that
great assembly wanted proof of the importance of the
Tyne he could refer them to the different import and ex-
port lists. This had been a very memorable day in the
history of Tynemouth. They bad seen an institution
erected, supported, and opened under the patronage of
that noble duke who had just left the room, and perhaps
in his absence he might be allowed to say one word, and
add one slight.tribute of praise to his conduct upon this
occasion. He might sum up the character of the noble
duke in a few words. He was a man who thought
little of himself and much of others--(applause),—and he
was of opinion that his behaviour that day had shown
them that he was ready at all times to sacrifice his own
comfort for the welfare of others. The noble duke had
presided at the opening of that great work, and the recep-
tion they had given him must have been very highly grati.
fying to him, and he (Mr. Liddell) could only say that he
deserved it. (Applause.) These were the actions which
ennobled our nobility—(applause)—and these were the
ties by which the higher classes of this country had con-
nected themselves with and endeared themselves to those
who belonged to the less favoured classes of our fellow.
countrymen. They lived in remarkable times, but if there
was one sign of these times which was more gratifying
than another it was the growing sympathy which existed
between different sections of society. Charity and bene-
volence, those great ornaments of the human character,
had discovered that it was no Langer their duty to con-
fine themselves merely to the relief of the necessities of
society; it was no longer considered enough to pro-
vide schools for the young, prisons for the criminal, or
almshouses for the indigent; they now went a step further,
and they opened out, day after day, schools for the old,
where they might improve the education they had com-
menced when young. They built industrial schools, and
taught trades by which the young might sustain them-
selves in after lite. Even the thief had his refuge, and the
felon had his home. (Loud cheers.) Now, for those who
were more immediately concerned, those who went down
o the sea in ships and did business in great waters, this
, duke, and those benevolent men who were connected with
him, discovering that it was not sufficient to give alms-
houses and pensions to those who had grown grey in
their country's service, had considered their unprotected
case when ashore, and built the magnificent house of re•
sort which they bad just opened. He had said that this
was a pleasing sign of the times, and so long as this
sympathy continued to exist among the higher classes
they would have union in place of envy, and England
would remain, what she had long been, that nation to
which ne other country could furnish a parallel. (Loud
applause.) The hon. gentleman concluded by proposing
the toast, coupling with it the name of Mr. John Dry-
den.

Mr. DRYDEN briefly acknowledged the toast. In the
course of his remarks he said,:as a person connected with
Northumberland, that every Northumbrian's heart must
beat with joy when he knew that the noble institution
they had just inaugurated emanated from the noble house
of Percy. (Applause.) After they had all passed and
gone that noble institution would exist, a monument to
the great man who had just left them. He had im-
mense wealth, and, what was better, he had a heart to
dispose of it. If there was one shipowner in that room
who had not yet given his mite to he Home, let him do
so at once, and he would never rue the day ; and after
he had ,ceased his earthly career his children and his
children's children might look upon that splendid insti-
tution and say, "My father, or my father's father, sub-
scribed to that institution." (Loud cheering.)
Mr. JOSEPH STRAKER, a Commissioner of the Tyne,
proposed "The' health of Mr. W. Lindsay, M.P. for
Tynernouth, and the other members of Parliament pre-
seat," which having been duly honoured,
Mr. LINDSAY responded. After some preliminary re-
marks upon the duties of a member of Parliament he
expressed peculiar pleasure in being present at the meet-
ing, he being himself a sailor, a shipowner, and the re-
presentative of a port which he was more proud to repre-
sent than he would be any other in the country. Iu his
position be felt more than ordinary interest in the day's
proceedings, hut trained as he had been in the fore-
castle of a Lliip, and knowing the sailor on the sea and
on the shore as he did, one or two remarks which fell
tram the noble duke struck to the very bottom of his
heart and caused the tears to trickle down his cheeks.
It was a worthy rctitark to fall from the head of the
old house of Percy—it was a worthy remark to fall
from one who had himself commanded a ship and
had been First Lord of the Admiralty--" Jack

saved from shipwreck at sea, is too often ship-
wrecked on shore." (Applause.) The Home which he
had nobly founded was placed there for the sole object
of saving poor Jack on shore—to save him from those
dens of vice and iniquity into which he was plunged,
robbed, and then turned homeless, penniless, and friend.
less upon the streets. But they had now to get their
sailors into the Home. There were many who did not de-
sire that the sailor should take up his abode in such a
building. There were lodginghouse keepers and crimps
whose interest it was to get a picking out of the pocket
of poor, poor Jack, and they persuaded him that he had
better remain with them. They would require to work
together to maintain the Home, for they could net carry
it out unless they got their sailors to patronise it. Mr.

Lindsay then urged the necessity of the shipowners

pressing the claims of the Home upon the men, and read
some conditions drawn up by himself with a view to the
benefit of the sailors, telling these that if they showed
an interest in Jack Jack would show an interest in
them. It had once been said by a diAtinguished
" Woe betide the country which forgets its sol-
diers ;" and he might say "Woe betide England tha day
that she forgets her sailors." Loud cheers.) Wbat
were we compared to the continent of Europe ? We
could not maintain large armies, it was useless to think
of it; our power was in the navy.
"Britannia needs no bulwarks,
No tower along the steep.
Her path is on the mountain wave,
Her home is on the deep ;"

land the day they neglected their maritime interest Eng-
land would begin to move in a retrogressive character.
'attar.) Uttar.)" was by means Of our Sailors that we were to
i • •
!maintain our maritime supremacy; it was by their
,means that the flag which bad " braved a thou Sand years
the battle and the breeze" should continue to be the har-
binger of peace and civilisation throughout the world.
(Loud and prolonged applause.)
Mr. INGHAM, M.P., having been loudly called on, also
made a fsw remarks in acknowledgment of the toast.
Alluding to the purely social and domestic habits of the
sailor, as evinced by his staying till destitute at the first
house he came to, he expressed a sanguine hope that the
honest tar would resort to the Sailors' Home as affording
him the least hurtful means of indulging his social dis-
position,

Mr. HEADLAM, M.P., then rose and expressed a hope
that all rivalry between the neighbouring towns would
speedily be brought to an end. He had recently returned
from the continent, and had witnessed .the feelings of
admiration, approaching to reverence and worship, with
which the Germans looked upon their rivers. They all
knew how the classic nations of old taught the worship
bf river gods, and though he did not wish to inculcate
Paganism, yet he had some feelings of enthusiasm to•
wards Old Father Tyne, and they would unite one aed
all, from the sea high up to the mountains from which it
sprung, in an earnest and fervent wish for the prosperity
pf all those who lived upon its banks. (Applause.)
The Hon. H. G. LIDDELL also responded to the toast,
and after " the vice-presidents," " the guests," and " the
ladies" had been duly honoured, the meeting separated.
During the afternoon about 100 seamen, many of
them old men•of-war's men, were entertained in an ante•
room of the Sailors' Home at the expense of his Grace
the noble founder of the institution. For the evening a
grand display of fireworks was announced, but the pro-
gramme was not carried out.