The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-19 00:00:00

Yesterday, a large party, consisting of the directors of
the Sotith-Eastera Railway, and their friends, left the
London-bridge Station by special train for Maidstone,
their object being the formal opening of the last link in
the North Kent branch of the South-Eastern line. The
ceremony was of deep interest to an important series of
towns, hitherto almost excluded from the advantages of
railway communication, and was also important as show-
ing by the demonstration of joy and welcome with which
the iron cavalcade was received along the border lands
of the Thames, the change that had taken place in pub-
lic opinion in those regions since the first projection of
the South-Eastern line. When the scheme of a railway
from London to Dover was first promulgated, the whole
of the landowners and townspeople in the county of
Kent were up in arms against it, and so strenuous was
the opposition that, in order to avoid the hostile towns,
a circuitous route was adop.ed, entailing great additional
expense on the shareholders, and proportionate inconve-
nience on the public. But now nous areas change tout
cela—towns and districts in all quarters are petitioners
for railways, and the whole of the inhabitants of the dis-
trict traversed by the North Kent line turn out, with
flags flying and drams beating, to welcome the once-
offensive intruder into their territory. The public are
aware that the line has long since taken in Greenwich,
Woolwich, Ertth, Gravesend, and Strood, and the por-
tion which was formally opened yesterday completes the
communication from Strood to Maidstone, and thence
by Padduckwood to the main line, thus giving to the
inhabitants of the hitherto see!uded North Kent dis-
trict a complete circulation to Canterbury and the
Cinque Ports. It is only about eleven miles in length,
but has been exceedingly costly in construction. The
original estimate was for 250 0001., but it will be ex-
ceeded by the sum of 100,0001., mainly in conse-
quence of the exorbitant demands of the landowners
on the line. It will hardly be credited that the average
price of the land necessary for the railway has been
no less a sum than 12,0001 a mile. The line is well and
solidly constructed, principally of Kentish rag, with a
small portion of chalk, and all the stat,ons are of neat I
design and great stability of structure. The country
which it passes is luxuriant with ver lure and cultivation.
Amongst the party who came down from Landon were
the Hon. J. Byeg, chairman of the South-Eastern Coin
pang, and Messrs. Kay, J. Cross, Teuton, Beattie, and
C. Child, directors; and Mr. Smiles, secret sry to the
company. The journey was performed without any
casualty, if we except the bursting of a water pipe at
Woolwich, which emulous of the debut of the Crystal
Palace fountains, performed numerous jets-d'eau over the
train, and from the moment we entered upon the new
territory was one continued ovation. At Strood a most
praiseworthy attempt had been made to get up trium-
phal arches, and feux-de joie were fired from successive
old muskets in dangerous proximity to the carriage win-
dows. The country through which the train passed
looked beautiful in its rich summer mantle of that bril-
liant green which is only to be found in lowland pastures,
presenting all the features of a first-rate pleasure line.
Pleasure seekers are already familiar with the features of
the route by Charlton and on to Erith, and have no
doubt frequently admired the splendid view of the
Thames which accompanies them all the way down until
they strike inland to cross the Med way. The dark and
dismal tunnel that has to be pierced before that point is
reached prepares the eye admirably by contrast, to ad-
mire the high opposite banks of the river crowned with
Rochester Castle, one of the finest ruins between Lon-
don and Dover. A great poet has celebrated the mar-
riage of the Medway and the Thames, but the Medway
has now got another spouse, the rail, which has already
achieved wonders enough to awaken the spirit of poetry,
if haply it yet lingers in any corner of the land, in these
hard-working, commercial, money getting, prosaic times.
The new bridegroom rushes through a series of quiet-
looking antediluvian towns and villages, the inhabitants of
which gazed on his fiery flight yesterday pretty much as
the Indians may be supp ,sed to have stsred at the first
steamer that passed up the Hudson. There was Cux-
ton, with its little church, built a thousand years ago,
once edified by the preaching of Bishop Odo, the brother
of William the Conqueror, and Haling, a still quieter
and smaller place, the inhabitants of which seemed as if
they had got on very tranquilly and without much
change of habits since the time when King Robert was
dividing their lands amongst his clergy. From thence,
through rich meadows and teeming valleys, we came to
a place of greater pretensions, rejoicing in the euphouous
appellation of Snodland, where aro immense lime works,
from which the metropolis is almost wholly supplied,
and which will no doubt contribute a c insiderable
amount of goods traffic to the new line. The last and
most picturesque feature on the route is the fine old
village of Aylesford, famous as the scene of, the defeat
and death of Horsa the Saxon, and recently very much
beautified by Mr. Betts, the eminent contraet2r, whose-4
palatial rasidence stands almost within a stone's throw of
the village. From Snodland the train passed at an easy
pace into Maidstone, where the opening of the line was
being celebrated quite as a festival. The Mayor and
Corporation met the directors at the station, which had
been tastefully decorated for the occasion, and returned
vith them for a short excursion to &rood, in order that a
municipal guarantee might be given for the safety of the
line. On their return, the whole party proceeded to the
Town-hall, in which an abundant and elegant luncheon
had been prepared for their refection by Mr. Spencer,
the enterprising host of the Mitre. Much champagne
was drunk to the success of the new line, and several
appropriate toasts were eloquently given by his Worship
the Mayor, who made a most efficiens chairman. In
giving "Prosperity to the line," his worship dilated on
the advantages that might be expected to result from
the work, the completion of which they were met to
celebrate, but impressively warned the South-Eastern
directors that their great hope of commercial success
must lie in their making the fares as low as possible.
Mr. Byng acknowledged the toast, and very much
aroused the company with some details of Kentish tra
yelling in the olden time, promising at the same time
that as much moderation in tariff as was co.isistent with
a healthy state of dividend would be practised by the
company of which he was the head.

Some otber toasts were then disposed of, and the di-
rectors and their friends returned to town. The day's
eotertainment was varied by some excellent singing from
Miss Poole and some local professionals,

DINNER OF TLL & BALLOT SOCIETY.