The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-26 00:00:00

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-promised, as regards wo..
given period, should be accomplished. An,
who know him it is not necessary to add-t_
promise was fully redeemed. The circumstances
were these : The importance of the Victoria-bridge
to the Grand Trunk Railway soon became so appa-
rent, as the mileage of the road began to be opened
and worked, that the directors determined upon giv-
ing the contractors a bonus of £60,000 if they would
deliver the bridge to the company, completed, a
year before the date fixed in the contract ; and the
sicboelenotbnruacetmtcoears, with that spirit of enterprise for which
Messrs. Peto, Brassey, and Betts are so universally
known, and their knowledge of the man in whom
gitehseydihreacdtetdornt,trust, at once undertook to complete the
bridge so as to be ready for traffic in December,
:,3:y3,lheoeBerasefl,:tainsitsgnhpssatathisneamnudle.axot
next to
stipulated
ini
impossible,
.piaeotssinbi olen,
contract.tahn odf
so
This following
appare
arrange-
ment
ttoh
be. wasu concluded
tah(i r slloolagteesini t 1858 that
ot o all,
pe
aamin•
nhd,o
anhnoadtd.
totono
lt3dh,
beduwitvoet rhrkeo,sheliosoofbkeeasdlt
euiniv)eohrno.
his
l
o kAn thingsott,
sts
winter
tecii
hubse
ent time
eac rscommenced,
nt., then:e
ecn coceffeden,
rt
dra
aen tube,md s
under
d ceo:f
thethe
tneelnwpsotraatrey of
w
were no longer of any service,
appliances for
,aasndthtehutusbheawdansewto
be erected during the
as the foundation of the works, months, with the ice
arrangements, to meet the new phase of the case
to be devised and matured with no loss of time. Nor'
were the difficulties of this unexpected and novel
situation lessened by the fact that in former years
instances were known of the ice moving early in
March, and in just such seasons as that year pro-
mised to be—viz., a mild winter ; and that, in the
event of such a contingency happening on the pre-
sent occasion, it would utterly preclude the possi-
bility of the completion of the bridge, and be at the
same time pregnant with disaster to life and pro-
perty. So much risk, indeed, surrounded the pro-
position to place the tube of 771 tons and 330 feet
in length at an altitude of nearly 50 feet from the
surface of the ice, which was to be the foundation of
the temporary staging in situ within a couple
of months, and this, too, in the depth of a Canadian
winter, that few men would have ventured on the ex-
periment at all; but Mr. Hodges was just the man for
such a task in an emergency. He revelled in the idea
of having a difficulty to surmount, and bravely did he
set himself about it. On the 31st Ten. the staging was
ready to receive the floor of the tube, when the first
rivet was driven, and the 26th of March saw the
tube in place completed, the whole having been
done in 47 days. Right willingly did all employed
to produce this result toil day and night; and every-
thing during the first half of the period, during
which time more than half the work to be donewas
accomplished, went " merry as a marriage bell."
The men's hearts were in their work, as each one
felt it to be a feature in his life's history to have
assisted in the erection of such a structure, and the
more particularly when they knew that on their
efforts solely depended the promised opening of the
bridge. They wrought indeed with a will. De-
terred by no adverse circumstances, they strove
bravely on ; and when it is remembered that they
were working in the open air, the thermometer fre-
quently 10, 15, and 20, aye, and even 30 degreeo
below zero of Fahrenheit, it will be admitted that
the men were working with no common zeal, and
that the influences which kept them there under
such circumstances were of no ordinary character.
Mr. Hodges, who has just given to the world a
history of the construction of the Victoria-bridge,
thus pays tribute to the exertions of his workmen
in connection with the erection of the centre tube.
He says :—" Indeed, every man employed seemed to
imagine that success depended upon his own indi-
vidual exertion, and all worked with this feeling as
if for very life, irrespective altogether of remunera-
tion. I have frequently witnessed in cases of emer-
gency great enthusiasm displayed by a few men,
but with such numbers as were here employed I
never saw anything so universal or so continued as
upon this occasion." And their labours triumphed ;
and though for 48 hours just preceding the termi-
nation of their task it was supposed the ice was in-
capable, from its rotten condition, of holding to-
gether much longer, such was the faith of the men
in their master's calculations that not one left his
labour until the centre tube rested on its stone
foundations. In a few hours afterwards the
ice moved, and parted in the centre of the river,
carrying with it a large portion of the temporary
staging, of which time had not permitted the re-
moval ; and thus was completed, within seven
weeks, an amount of work which has no parallel
in the history of engineering. This tube in place,
the remaining work to complete the bridge was
easy of accomplishment ; and, therefore, within the

lishmen a most extraordinary kind of performance.
(Laughter.) It did seem most extraordinary that a
man who was the king of a country, and ruler over
so many people, had not the pluck to strike one blow
for himself, and could not get his subjects to
strike one for him. (Hear, hear.) All-they could
hope was that the great struggle for freedom,
for a better government, for better institutions,
which was now going on in Italy, and with which
we as Englishmen really had nothing to do —all
they could hope was that the right might prevail,
whatever that right was. (Cheers.) The great
Italian struggle did not affect this country, so long
at least as we kept our hands clear of it; and he
hoped that those who had the best right would win
the day. (Cheers for Garibaldi.) He hoped still
more that, in this struggle to obtain liberty, the
sacred interests of justice, of humanity, and of
truth, might not suffer; and that men who were
endeavouring to gain advantages which we our-
selves possessed, and which we could net but rejoice
at other nations possessing, would never forget that
there were still higher and more holy interests to
be considered, and that good was not usually to be
attained through bad means. (Loud cheers.)
Colonel North, M.P., also returned thanks, ob-
serving that he concurred generally in the advisi-
bility of excluding politics from such meetings as
the present, and he agreed entirely in what had
fallen from his right hon. friend respecting the
struggle which was now going on in Southern
Italy.

great meeting by more than a single sentence.
But as an old student of the University of Glas-
gow--(cheers)—l cannot forget that, some thirty-
five years ago, I heard the same voice to which
we have listened with admiration to-night, when,
like a trumpet call, it stirred the youth of Scotland
to action, and left the impress of its mighty power
upon all the years that have since passed over our
heads. (Cheers.) And it is a delightful feeling to
hear again in this great commercial capital of
Scotland the same man, with the same principles,
the same enlarged beneficence of nature, the same
intense enthusiasm for all that is good and virtuous
and noble, again, in his honoured age, commanding
the attention, the admiration, and the gratitude of
vast multitudes of his countrymen. (Cheers.) To
him,,therefore, I do most cordially concur in offer-
ing the Tribute of our respectful, and, I would add,
oar affectionate gratitude, not only for the kindness
that prompted, and the sagacity and wisdom that
characterised, the address to which we have
listened, but for the whole course of that great,
honourable, and useful life of his—to him, as the
pioneer in every great movement, .as the advocate
of every noble cause, as the champion alike of
liberty and of law, of stable government and of
popular progress, as, at all times and amid all
changes, the friend of civil and religious liberty,
the friend of popular education and the friend of
universal emancipation, I beg to tender my most
humble and cordial thanks, and I know this meet-
ing will echo these thanks with the utmost enthu-
siasm. (Loud applause.) I, therefore, with great
pleasure, and most cordially, second the proposal
that now, as with one voice and one heart, this
great meeting tender to Lord Brougham—the fore-
most man of his country and of his age—their
hearty thanks. (Great cheering, the assemblage
rising en masse and greeting the noble lord in a
most enthusiastic manner.)
Lord BROUGHAM, in reply, said—l can only use
the little that remains of my voice this evening,
most gratefully, though humbly, to thank you for
the very kind reception you have given me.
Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON -- According to the
usages of this evening, it is graceful and becoming
not only to tender our thanks to the president on
this occasion, but also to the president who has
directed the association during the preceding year.
I have great pleasure in thinking that the noble
lord who presided over this association at its last
meeting, and directed its movements during the
past year, is one whose name bears with it the
fullest recommendation. When I mention the name
of the Earl of Shaftesbury—(hear, hear)—l ten-
tion one who is entitled to the warmest admiration
of the whole body of the people—a man who has
devoted the energies of his powerful mind and of
his active life to the great cause of philanthropy—
a man who perhaps has done more to bring prac-
tical benefit to the labouring classes of this country
than any other man with the exception of our noble
chairman. (Cheers.) I rejoice to think that what
has occurred tonight affords us the best illustra
tion of the wisdom with which the proceedings of
that noble lord have been directed during the past
year. We see this vast assemblage, consisting of
2,500 members, and we have heard from the re-
spected secretary that the proceedings of these
meetings have excited attention even in the distant
wilds of Russia.

SICILY, NAPLES, SYRIA, &c
GE keAT GLOBE, Leicester-square. • •
NEW DIORAMAS of the CAMPAIGNS in ITALY.—The
War in China—The Tour of the Rhine—A Tour through
British India, Japan, &c.—Special Lectures on Syria, Ancient
and Modern, Sicily and Naples—Popular and Physicil Geo-
graphy, &c.-
Model of the Earth. Open from Ten a.m, till Ten p.m.
Admission to the whole building, One Shillinik.

science. It must be learned and studied
if they
far-
mers would turn their land to profitable
account ifthev
would desire to win or keep their place in the race
of competition, in that country, and in which
against themselves and the rest of the world
were engaged. 30, 40, or 50 years ago they might
have left their farms unimproved, dirty, and half-
cultivated, yielding merely that poor return which
would satisfy the rent, and leave perhaps some
meagre subsistence besides for the owner. At
that time, that state of things was unfortunately
a common course, and did not occasion surprise,
or afford room for a contrast. Now, how-
ever, the case was changed. They had made
strides in art, in science, in manufactures, in com-
parison with which all former progress was almost
nothing. They had seen steam the slave of man,
and lightning his messenger, and they had seen ob-
servation, and experiment, and scientific skill
applied to the cultivation of the land, and resulting
in a large increase in the productiveness of the
soil, and that combined with greater cheapness and
economy in the course of production, There were
two courses open to them. They might either
choose to avail themselves of those improvements,
or choose to despise and refuse to adopt them. But
they might depend upon it, if they did not avail
themselves of them, the result would be to them the
same which would happen to any millowner or
manufacturer who persisted in sticking to old
fashioned and cumbrous machinery, and declined
to adopt those improvements which would contri-
bute to the promotion of his interests. He "would
be undersold in the market, and his mill or manu-
factory would be thrown a loss upon his hands. He
would desire now to point out, in a word, the pe-
culiar advantages which they, the tenantry on that
estate, seemed to him to possess for the purpose of
rising to that higher view of the duty and calling
of a farmer of the present day. There were many
tenants, holders of small farms upon small pro-
perties, who, from circumstances, had not the ad-
vantages to enable them to develop the capacity of
farmers, but they had the good fortune to be con-
nected with one not more conspicuous in her exalted
rank than for the liberality with which she had
fostered every project that tended to promote the
moral and material happiness of the tenantry.
andwsTkeh ir They had
hho agentrea tda alsooshfadmiration o oret
ftha e
time
tinahmideoevou advantage
estate,
ehnt:ca
eeg rwey ohomfenrt
rehe almoste
they
e hx
eiopy inaccessiblel
seperan ; and he experienced
oby
andvbere
e
would her, remind them that in that district of the
country,
either land or water carriage, they had now got on
the land sites, intersecting their farms, roads which
them, and raised as if by magic, and the harbour
able to import their supplies and ship their pro-
duce stock. Now, with these advantages which they
possessed, if they only added to them, on their part,
industry and an honest desire to do the best in their
power, he thought they might not only drink pros-
perity to agriculture,but, with God's blessing, their
prosperity and success were in their own hands.
Just as in their moral and Christian life they would
be asked by those whose healths they had drunk
to, and who were their spiritual advisers, to consi-
der what progress they had made in the applica-
tion to their conduct of the great truths in the
principles of Christianity, so also with reference to
their worldly concerns, the annual recurrence of a
festival like the present might be well made an
opportunity for each of them asking himself what
was the use he had made of the worldly advantages
and opportunities which he had enjoyed—had his
farm been better laboured, better stocked, or more
productive this year than last ? Was his cottage
more tidy, clean, and comfortable ? Lady London-
derry had referred to the education of their chil-
dren. That might also be an important question
for them to ask each other. Were their children
better educated this year than last year ? Now,
they would forgive him if he, a guest and almost a
stranger, took the liberty of reminding them of the
importance of these qnestions, and he did so because
he was persuaded that upon the return of an occa-
sion like the present, a favourable answer to a
question like that would be the source of the best
pleasure to those who were the guests of her lady-
ship, and the greatest happiness to her whose hos-
pitality they enjoyed.
Sir E. MACNAGIITEN responded to the toast. lie
said no one could understand farming better than
Sir Hugh Cairns, and if they only attended to the
lessons which he had given, he had not the slighte:t
doubt that they would succeed in their profession,
lle expressed a pleasure he felt in being present,
and paid a high compliment to the tenants for the
good behaviour and general quietness which they
exhibited on their way home from the previous en-
tertainment. It was well known that good land
lords would make good tenants. Irish landlords, in
years gone by, were certainly not a model to all
the world. They were a grasping set, contriving
to get as much as they could from the tenants.
They forgot that the concerns and interests of one
were the concerns and interests of the other, and
their only object was to extort as much as they
could. Now, however, Irish landlords were very
different, and they had found that their success de-
pended upon the success of the tenants.
The CHAIRMAN next proposed "The Tenant
Farmers," and in the course of his observations
stated that if the wish of his mother could carry
the realization of the toast, he was certain that her
feelings were in favour of all their interest and
happiness.
Mr. DAVID WILSON responded to the toast, and
concluded by proposing the health of Mr. Richard
Wilson, the agent of the estate, who replied, in his
turn, suitably.
" The Visitors," " The health of the Chairman,"
and " Our Next Merry Meeting," were also given
and duly responded to, after which the proceedings
terminated, and the tenantry returned to their
respective homes in a peaceable and orderly manner.
—Belfast Daily Mercury.

Dn. KAHN'S MUSEUM., opposite the Hay-
market, OPEN DAILY from 12 to 5, and from 7 to 10.
POPULAR LECTURES at 3 and 8. Admission, Is.
Dr. KAHN'S "TREATISE on the PHILOSOPHY of
MARRIAGE" sent post free for thirteen stamps from the
Author.—AdCrcss 17, Harley-street, Cavendish-square, W.

A RGYLL ROOMS, lAndmill-street, Piccadilly
171. RE-OPENED for the WINTER SEASON for PRO-
MENADE CONCERTS, with the followine: powerful cast,
consisting of selections from Il Trovatore, Martha, Lurline,
ITuguenots, L'Etoile du Nord, etc. Dancing- at Ten o'clock.
The Original Band, established ten years. Conducted by M.
LAMOTTE. Admission, Is.

?THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ROOMS,
I_ HIGH HOLBORN.—The above popular and splen-
didly-appointed BALL ROOM, with its various elegant re-
freshment rooms, is NOW OPEN for the Season. The re-
cent elaborate decorations and improvements have rendered
this the most fashionable and popular rendezvous of the
metropolis. Mr. W. M. Packer's celebrated Band performs
nightly selections from favourite operas and the latest and
most fashionable waltzes, &c. Doors open at eight o'clock.
Admission, is.

Several toasts of a local character followed, and
he proceedings terminated.

ANNUAL ENTERTAINMENT BY ME
MARCHIONESS OF LONDONDERRY.

The annual entertainment given by the Dowager
Marchioness of Londonderry to the tenantry on
her estate took place yesterday in Carnlough, under
most favourable circumstances. The prosperous
and thriving little town was decorated with flags,
banners, &c., and several vessels which lay at
anchor in the harbour had their colours hoisted in
honour of the occasion. The weather during the
day kept up fine, and a large number of persons
from the surrounding districts availed themselves
of the opportunity of being present and enjoying
the amusements. A band was in attendance, and
contributed greatly to the pleasure of the pro-
ceedings.
About two o'clock her ladyship, accompanied by
Lord Adolphus Vane Tempest and Lady Vane Tem-
pest, Sir Hugh Cairns, M.P.,Sir E. Macnaghten,
Capt. Claxton, Mr. H. H. PNeile, &c., &c., ar-
rived from Garron Tower, and were loudly cheered
by all classes of the tenantry.
The entire proceedings were of the most interest-
ing and pleasing character.
The dinner took place in the Town Hall, which
was, as usual, very tastefully fitted up for the occa-
sion. Banners representing the several townlands
on her ladyship's estate were erected on three lines
of tables, which extended the entire length of the
room.

At her ladyship's table sat Lady Londonderry,
Lord Vane Tempest, Lady Susan Vane Tempest,
Sir Hugh Cairns, M.P., Sir David Wood, Sir
Edmund Macnaghten, Major Thompson, Captain
Claxton, R.N. ; Mr. Montgomery, Mr. H. M'Neile,
Rev. Mr. Betheun; Rev. Mr. Courtenay, Thomas
Johnson, Esq.
The croupiers were—R. Wilson, Wm. Orr,
Ballymena; R. Cassidy, Belfast; Rev. John Wil-
son, Rev. Mr. Starkley, P.P. ; Rev. Hugh Waddle,
Hugh Martin, Edmund O'Neill, R. Halloran.
The chair was occupied by Lord Adolphus Vane
Tempest. After the usual loyal toasts,
The CHAIRMAN, in a very effective speech, pro-
posed " The Army and Navy." After referring to
the political state of affairs in France, he proceeded
to show the necessity of this country being at all
times fully prepared to maintain that position in
Europe, and those liberties which had always been
her glory to maintain. He concluded by referring
in eulogistic terms to the gallant and heroic deeds
of both services.

Sir JOHN LAWRENCE, who Was honoured with
quite an ovation, said—l will only, in one brief
moment, second the address of my honourable
friend who has just sat down. Lord Shaftesbury's
name is known not only through all England, but
throughout the world. Wherever the English
language is spoken, wherever Englishmen have
travelled, that name is known and revered. (Loud
cheers.) To every class of his countrymen, high
and low, rich and poor, and above all, to that class
who have few friends, who are wretched, im-
poverished, and degraded, he has ever extended the
hand of sympathy and good office. (Applause.)
Gentlemen, T beg to second the resolution that the

cordial thanks of the association be conveyed to the
Earl of Shaftesbury for his conduct as President
during the past year. (Load cheers.)
Lord BROUGHAM—I believe it is hardly necessary
that I should put the resolution to the meeting, as
I have the firmest dependence that it will be carried ;
I think it right to add to what the hon. baronet who
moved the resolution, and to what Sir John Law-

Sir D. -Woos returned thanks for the army, and
Capt. CLAXTON on helia..f of the navy.
Mr. THOMPSON (one of the tenants), in proposing
" The health of the Marchioness of Londonderry,"
said he felt satisfied that it required no argument
on his part to insure for the toast that cordial re-
ception which the kindness and justice of her
ladyship so well merited.
The toast was drunk with enthusiasm.
Lady LONDONDERRY, who on rising was received
with loud applause, said—Once more, my friends, I
bid you welcome, and it is a great pleasure to me to
do 30, though I always fear every year may be our
last, because, as years roll on and my health de-
clines, each effort of crossing the sea and coming
among you is greater than the former. Still, how•
ever, I am permitted again to redeem the pledge I
gave you six years ago, that while my life was
spared and strength allowed me, I would never
shrink from paying you my annual visit. (Ap-
plause.) Since I arrived I have not had time, even
if the weather had permitted, to go over the estate
and visit you as usual, but I gladly hear from our
mutual friend (my respected and valued agent), Mr.
'Wilson' that you are making great exertions, and
although I fear that the severity of the season may
delay your crops from coming to maturity as early
as in other years, I trust that ultimately you will
reap the reward of your toil and industry.
(Cheers.) It is satisfactory to sane to limn that
you have greatly increased your cultivation of the
flax crop, and I believe you will do wisely in ex-
, tending this still further, and diminishing the
quantity of land you give to the potato. (Hear,
hear.) I know you kindly attach value to my
words, and you do me the justice to believe,
whether I speak to you in a strain of praise or
censure, I can have but one object, and that is an
anxious desire to advance, as far as my humble
abilities go, your prosperity and weal, and thus I
fearlessly and disinterestedly give you the best
advice in my power. (Cheers.) Now, there is one
subject on which I much wish you to allow me to
offer you some counsel, and that is the education of
your children. -With the assistance of the National
Board, there are now good schools all over the es-
tate. I)o you avail yourselves of them for your
children ? I)o you sufficiently consider the solemn
duty of training them up in the way they should
go, or do you, when there is farm work to be done,
make them assist you, and neglect their attendance ?
My friends, it is my duty, after what I have heard,
to put these questions before you, and leave you to
ask your conscience to answer diem. I have an-
other observation to make. There have been some
changes of tenantry on the estate, where the tenant
holding at will was permitted, according to the cus-
tom of the country, to sell the good-will or tenant
right at twelve or fourteen years' purchase. Now,
in some instances, the incoming tenant has been
obliged to borrow a portion of the purchase money,
and, consequently, on obtaining possession of the
farm has not only heavy interest to pay, but has no
capital to stock or cultivate his farm. To remedy,
this, which would bring things to a state of pau-
perism if continued, it must be understood that no
new tenant can be accepted unless he has really
sufficient capital to pay the purchase-money, and
afterwards to stock his farm and cultivate it pro-
perly. (Loud applause.) I have now the agree-
able task of reading the names of the successful
competitors, and acknowledging with gratitude the
trouble taken by Mr. Martin and Mr. O'Neill, who
have kindly gone over the estate and acted as
judges :—Her ladyship, having read the list of
names, then added—l have detained you long, and
it only remains for mo to thank you sincerely for
the affectionate manner in which you have drunk
my health, and also to express my gratitude
to the visitors who have so kindly attended here
to-day. I am sure you must all unite with me in
feeling it a great honour that they should leave
concerns of so much greater magnitude to come to
this little, humble meeting. This is not the. first
occasion that I have had to acknowledge Sir E.
M'Naghten's great kindness, and I'deeply
compliment Sir Hugh Cairns has paid in being feet the
pre-
sent, and to all I return my best thanks, and with
every wish for your health and prosperity, I will
conclude. (Loud cheers.)
Sir HUGH M. CAIRNS, M.P., said
he rose in happy
obedience to her ladyship's command to propose as
the next toast, " Prosperity to Agriculture and the
b
Irish Landlords ;" but when e had said that, he
might, perhaps, say no more. He knew that they
were anxious to hear and to speak a"out farming,
and he, unfortunately, was no farmer. He could
not presume to follow the eloquent accents of af-
fectionate advice and encouragement with which
their noble hostess had addressed them, much, less
could he hope to anticipate the counsels and sug-
gestions of mature wisdom which they would hear
from his friend Sir Edmund M'Naghten. And yet
something he would desire to express feebly and
briefly of those sentiments which upon the annual
assembly of the tenantry upon an estate even a
guest or a bystander might be supposed to entertain.
In the first place he would remind them that agri-
culture was every day becoming less and less of a
mere manual occupation, and more and more of a

rence who in so touching a manner seconded it,
have said, by stating that Lord Shaftesbury's ab-
sence from this Congress—which he greatly laments
—arises from the necessity of his attending, as lord-
lieutenant of the county of Dorset, a great meeting
in connexion with the volunteer movement, in which
he takes, as all rational men do—(loud cheers and
laughter)—a very great interest. (Loud cheers.)
This terminated the proceedings, and the vast
assemblage slowly dispersed.

time agreed upon, under the arrangement above
referred to, the Victoria-h,idge was opened for
traffic, through the exertions of the man whose
name heads this sketch.

Mr. Hodges was born on April (3, 1814,.in Queen-
borough, in the county of Kent, where he was edu-
cated at the grammar-school of that town. After
going through the scholastic duties of a grammar-
:chool of that day, he was removed, in order to ro•
eeive a Government appointment which some of his
Patiamentary friends had promised, but which
promise was never redeemed. After waiting until
his patience was exhausted he apprenticed himself,
at the age of 17, to a builder residing at Brompton,
near Chatham. Having served four years in this
trade, he commenced his. railway practice under
Mr. John Rowland, the agent of Macintosh, the
contractor of the Greenwich Railway, his first essay
in railway work being the centring for the arches.
After this he went to Shard,ami, at the age of 22,
had charge of the building of the union-houses of
that place. These finished, his next work was at
the Shakspeare Tunnel, Dover, which he superin-
tended at first as the agent of the contractor, Mr.
Rowland, but on his death Mr. Hodges assumed the
charge of the work in concert with the resident
engineer of the South-Eastern Railway ; and it is not
a little remarkable that every ounce of gunpowder
used in the large blasts was deposited in its place
s
by his own hands. During the progress of this
work he attracted the attention of Sir
then engineer-in-chief of the South Eastern li '
I stated
way, to whom Mr. Hodges has frequently .
rid . he is more indebted for his subsequent
other
itn, The
s in his profession than to any o.fil_e
W. Cubbitt,
_a
l -
of a very
pupil jn this case is a worthy disciple
worthy master.
it was this, that, if
untilan the age of 35 for
maldtewb-ays
yaotufrnigisHtoimdgeest,hat
da curious resolve was
spared, he would workern
remuneration others might
whatever amount
name the price at which be think his labour
ob-
tained.woorftlinerdbtuihhmtiesaefssttteeherraivstdiheipealyestrtwikiomeedrpeeothftlhsnhisopulrilofde- And to thisthe
o• superintended the
driving of
the Abbotts Cliff, Seaham, and Archcliif Fort tun-
gwraess pro-
gressing, ,h so that
with the blasting of the Roundown Cliff and
tun-
nels, and the erection of the Shakespeare Viaduct,
Lit
reached—having
~, _
saelvnenrgal other works in that neighbourhood, as well
as the erection of swing bridges at Norwich, Need-
ham, and Somerleyton, as the agent cf Sir Morton
fete, Bart.,
"with
resolvew h
wasoll about this
no
timeon he
he e baeicra mono
acquainted—his
castle
in
his part, but a firm determination to
work up by
hard industry and integrity to the point which he
himself had chosen, and which he attained within
the time he had
testimonial from 0 himself specified. A handsome
01/1 Sir Wm. Cubbitt at the termina-
tion of their business relations as to his worth gave
him a fresh in -
start as it were his
upward ten-
dency, and the next appointment he filled was
that of resident engineer, under Mr. G. P.
Bidder, on the Norfolk Railway. The trammels of
daily routine, and on so limited a scale, were not
in consonance with his feelings, and, retiring from
that position, we next find him as engineer of the
Low( stoft harbour • after which, in connexion with
Mr. James Peto, the brother of Sir Morton, he con-
tracted for and built 50 miles of the Great Northern
Railway, on behalf of his principals, Messrs. Peto
and Betts.
After so many years of active life, under which
his health suffered to some considerable extent, Mr.
Hodges determined on retiring into private life,
and, with that view, purchased a small estate, near
Bagshott, Surrey ; but no sooner had he completed
his arrangements, in 1853, for enjoying his Otifinj
CHM dignitate than the organisation of the Gl:g.i.nt,
Trunk Railway Company, with its Victoria-byte
across the St. Lawrence, afforded him, as t,hrewaterk,
of the contractors who had undertaken
wtriiv
to
the opportunity opportunity of handing his name dow_ich
will
terity associated with an undertakiNi;
was not,
last through all time. Such an oppnet:t
enial tempt.,
to be lost sight of by the active ,
latonce embraced,
rament of such a mats, and it.ii7l.(si
af his labours
The good good he has done in ti),,,
__,Airmay be summed
tween t hat time and the p_rFst,Cp` u -'
of Monti eal, who
up in the words of thespont
of the workmen in the
spoke them on the
pocectoa
and Betts erecting a stone
employ of Messrs. Peto
„-eighing 30 tons, taken
—a granite boulder,
river—to preserve from dese.
from the bed et the
emigrantwhich remains of 6,000 s were
cration the the foundations of some of the
found in digging_
Nailway works. The rev, gentle-
man Grand Trunk
there because
le r
~
• ~ He was iere
Id :
sand
tribute of his personal
liPay the
.respect to Mr.
odges, to testify his high sense of that gentle.
man's integrity, and of the Christian principle with
which he had always acted towards all employed
under him. He had for provided their
and educational superv. • ision ; and his otherwise
high moral principles, his Christian philanthropy,
and his munificent liberality to the charities of their
city would remain
, on perpetual record."

111R.11ENLEY, ON THE STRUGGLE

IN SOUTHERN ITALY.

WOODSTOCK, TUESDAY.

The annual meeting of the Woodstock Agricul-
tural Society took place to-day at the Town Hall in
this town, when about 100 of the principal gentry
of the county and farmers dined together, under
the presidency of Lord Alfred Churchill, M.P.
Among those present were Mr. Henley, M.P., Col.
North, M.P., Capt. Thornhill, Major Cowper, the
Rev. Mr. Sharpe, &c.

After drinking the usual loyal toasts, the Chair-
nidn proposed " The Army and Navy," refehing
especially to the volunteer movement, which be
said had been most successful in Oxfordshire.
Colonel NORTH, My., in responding, said that
owing to the last session of Parliament having been
of so protracted a nature, he had been prevented
taking any part whatever in the movement until
lately ; but from he had seen of the different corps
in that county, he believed that they fully deserved
all the praise which had been bestowed upon them.
(Cheers.) He had had many opportunities of con-
versing with old soldiers upon the volunteer move-
ment, and he had uniformly found that they had
been lost in admiration at the extraordinary pro-
gress which the volunteers had already made, and
at the manner in which they had conducted them-
selves when acting together in large bodies.
Hitherto the movement had been pronounced by all
military men a perfect success, and if their dis-
cipline kept pace with their general capability for
the performance of all military duties, he doubted
not- but they would form a most effective defensive
force, and be of essential service to the regular
army. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN having proposed " The County
Members," which was drunk with loud cheering,
Mr. HENLEY returned thanks. He observed
that the wise rule of excluding politics at their an-
niversary dinner meetings having been adopted, he
had but little to say with respect to the proceedings
of the day further than it had been an uncommonly
wet and disagreeable morning, so much so that he
had been unable to face the ploughing-field ; for
he knew if he did so he would have been half way
up to his knees in mud, which would be a very un-
comfortable state for an old gentleman to sit down
to dinner in (laughter). He had, however, heard
front competent judges that the ploughing which
had taken place that day was excellent, and he was
glad of it, for he believed good ploughing to be at
the bottom of all agridultural improvements. If
land was not properly ploughed in the first in-
stance, no subsequent care in its cultivation would
enable it to yield its full fruits for man's enjoyment
(hear, hear). It was one of the greatest advantages
of these societies, that they encouraged a spirit of
emulation among the ploughboys, who although
beaten one year were led on to hope to obtain a
prize the next, and so a generally improved system
of labour was the result (hear), and which was a
result that tended to the common benefit of the
whole country. Every one who visited the poultry-
yard must have been struck with the excellent
quality of the poultry exhibited, and indeed the
geese were so fat and so fine, as to insensibly
lead him to reflect upon the near approach
of Michaelmas, when he might hope to have a
cut at some of them (laughter). As far as our
own domestic affairs were concerned he was most
happy to say that we were at peace with Europe,
and had nothing whatever to agitate our minds one
way or the other. Everything also seemed to be
going on smoothly in the country, if they could only
get a little better weather in which to gather in
the harvest, for he believed if that harvest was
safely gathered in it would be found one of plenty
and abundance. While, however, they had reason
to' rejoice at the calmness which prevailed in our
happy country, they could not but look with deep
anxiety at what was going on in other countries,
for mcst assuredly people did not enjoy peace and
quietness in the south of Europe. They found, in-
deed,
the most extraordinary events taking place
there day by day. They beheld one day the king
of a great nation, the sovereign of millions, sitting
on his throne in the midst of his capital, and the
next day they beheld another man, who was termed
a dictator, and who was undoubtedly a great man
also—(cheers)—coming to that capital with scarcely
anybody in his train, and the result was that the
King walks away and the Dictator comes in.
(Loud cheering.) That certainly did seam to Eng-

DIR. BODGES, BUILDER OF THE

VICTORIA-BRIDGE.

(From the London Illustrated News.)

We have much pleasure in presenting to our
readers the portrait and the following sketch of the
life of Mr. James Hodges, the gentleman who
superintended the construction of this the greatest
engineering work of the age. The antecedents of
Mr. Hodges constitute him another striking illus-
tration of " self-help." To his own indomitable
perseverance alone, coupled with the strictest
integrity of character and honourable conduct, does
he owe his present high position in the engineering
world—a position which did not fail to attract the
notico of his future King on the occasion of the lay-
ingh of the last stone of the Victoria-bridge
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on the 215_3;haso.jet
last month. Of the many claimants thathave
sprung up, both here and in Canada, theforr
of being the originator or designer of the lionour
Victoria-
bridge, it is not our intention to speak;euce a name in
at the present time about to i but we are
connexion with this stupend.ounisttr.stFrurectmurtehewhhoiuchr
well deserves the record
give
es
laid until the last
in which the first cofferdtwe
lamoNmpleted the Victoria-
rivet was driven thec presiding genius was
bridge as it now stands,
Mr. Hodges, as the
engineer of the contractors,
Messrs. Peto, Brassey,andhßriedtgtse.,
which is nearly
two miles in length, a
That the plans
of
the
nd which occupied from 1853
to 1860 in its construction,
j.iewsserrse.
BSlitpepphlieendson by
and
engineers of the company,
Ross, all who know anything of. such works are well
aware; but, the mode of carrying them out being
left entirely in the hands of Mr. Hodges the whole
of the
appliances used in the temporary works
necessary for the erection of the bridge were
from his own models and designs ; and these, when
the novelty of the situation and the extremes of heat
and cold incident to the climate of Canada are con-
sidered, it may be readily inferred, were of no ordi-
nary character. Indeed, if none but a master-mind
could plan the Victoria-bridge, it required no less a
master-mind to carry the designs into execution ;
and, to afford some idea of the task undertaken in
this respect, it is only necessary to mention that the
whole of the temporary stagings, and works gene-
rally, had to be removed every autumn prior to the
ice taking, and then re-erected in the following
summer when the ice had departed ; so that, in rea-
lity, the labour at the masonry at the bridge in its
earlier construction could only be carried on be-
tween the months of May and November; and, as
all engagod in the ironwork were inexperienced as
to the rigours of the Canadian winter and its effects
upon that metal in erections of this nature, the
anxieties of him upon whom devolved the manage-
ment of such an undertaking, and amid such per-
plexities, will be easily understood. But during the
whole time that these vast works were in hand no
emergency ever happened (and many emergencies
did happen) that Mr. Hodges, with his intuitive
genius and energetic action, was not ready to meet
and to vanquish ; and never will the writer forget
the incessant labour and watchful anxiety disi'idayneodt
in the winter of 1858-9 by that gentlemafne,xaarnpie,
only by him, but, as showing the forceke!
by the hundreds of men who were_ w.orr,
tasks
owned
at a time when the performance of Owl 1"
ing for him