The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-21 00:00:00

.11.4NQUET TO THE DIRECTORS OF
TBE GREAT EASTERN.

On Wednesday night a grand banquet was given
by the chairman and directors of the London and
North-Western Railway Company to testify their
admiration of the splendid monument of the en•
gineering genius of the lamented Brunel, now
floating in the waters of Holyhead, and also to
evince their goodwill and best wishes towards the
owners and managers of this colossal ship. The
dinner took place in the grounds of the Royal
Hotel at Holyhead, where a spacious and elegant
pavilion, specially fitted up and decorated for the
occasion, had been erected by Messrs. Doveston,
Bird, and Hull, of Manchester. The company pre-
sent, which included several distinguished members
of the House of Commons, as well as many eminent
persons connected with railway and engineering
enterprise, together, of course, with most of the
directors and principal officers of the big ship, ar-
rived at Holyhead by early trains, and spent the
first part of the day in a personal inspection of the
Great Eastern. Those invited guests to the dinner
who had taken the precaution to reach the scene a
day beforehand to prevent all accidents were cer-
tainly not rewarded for their toil and pains.
Everything like hotel accommodation which the
town affords had been hired for days in advance,
and beds or refreshments were not to be had for
love or money. Holyhead may be able to boast of
the presence of the his. ship, but it certainly makes
no pretensions to catering'' for the comfort of the
concourse of visitors who are drawn to see it. In-
deed, its sleepy inhabitants have evidently no taste
for this invasion of escurient strangers, and seem to
regard the living influx as intruders who ought to
be sternly discouraged.
A steamer belonging to the London and North-
Western Railway Company was set apart for the
conveyance of the Marquis of Chandos, his brother
directors, and their friends, and the party left the
quay to repair on board the gigantic vessel at 11 in
the forenoon. Here, however, they. found them-
selves anticipatedby crowds of eager sight-seers from
far and near, whose numbers gradually swelled as
the day wore on, making the huge upper and lower
decks, capacious as they are, swarm with life and
bustle. Throughout the day the streets of Holyhead
were thronged like a fair, consequent on the arrival
of trains from various parts of England in quick
succession, pouring in constant streams of visitors,
who were seen hastening in all directions towards
the tiny craft which were incessantly engaged in
carqing fresh reinforcements to the centre of at-
traction lying in the roadstead. The Great East-
ern's band:played Great Eastern music; picturesque
groups of spectatorswere made the subject of Great
Eastern stereoscopic views by enterprising Great
Eastern artists ; and the day being beautifully fine,
the scene on board the monster vessel was altoge-
ther one of a very animated and exciting character.
But while we leave the promiscuous and ever-
increasing concourse freely to indulge its greedy
curiosity in ransacking every nook and corner of
the stupendous ship, we must not forget the select
few who are privileged with the entree to the din-
ner at the Royal Hotel Pavilion.
The guests, to the number of from 150 to 200, as-
sembled at half-past 5 o'clock. Among them were
The Marquis of Chandos (in the chair), Right Hon.
W. E. Gladstone, M.P., Bishop of Bangor, Sir J.
Pakington, Lord C. Paget, Lord Mayor of Dublin,
Sir R.•Bulkeley, Hon J. Ross (Canada), Mr. G. C.
Glyn, M.P., Sir W. W. Wynn, lion. W. 0. Stan-
ley, Mr. T. Bazley, M.P., Lord Stafford, Hon. A.
Kinnaird, Mr. J. Chapman, Sir E. M‘Don-
nell, Hon. A. F. Egerton, M.P. on. C. S. Cle-
ments, Sir A. Hoare, Col. Bidduipb, Mr. S. Beale,
M.P., Sir It. M. Bromley, Sir E. K. James, Capt.
Calton, Mr. J. J. R. Campbell (chairman of the
Great Ship Company), and a number of directors of
the Great Ship Company ; also Capt. Huish, Mr. H.
Booth, Capt. Harrison, Mr. C. E. Stewart, Mr.
Cawkwell, and other officers of the North-Western
Railway and the Great Ship Company; Mr. E.. B.
Denison, chairman of the Great Northern Railway
Company ; Mr. S. Clarke, Sir C. Roney, Captain
Walker (Board of Trade), Mr. W. Dargan, Mr. S.
Parry, Col. Hogg, Capt. ends, and Capt. Priest.
Grace having been said, the usual loyal and pa-
triotis toasts were given from the chair, and duly
honoured by the company.
The noble CHAIRMAN then rose to propose the
toast of the evening. He said :—Few travellers
visiting that corner of our island could have failed to
remark the many works of engineering skill scat-
tered over the 80 or 100 miles of railway between
that port and the city of Chester, and in which the
ingenuity and perseverance of man had triumphed
over the difficulties interposed by nature. Al con-
nected with the London and North-Western Rail-
way could not on such an occasion help reverting to
what had befallen since the invitations to that dinner
had been issued, or could not fail to remark that
they had, alas! no longer a Stephenson arnon gthem.
(Hear, hear.) It was that marvellous man's genius
which had devised the means of passing the rugged
straits of Menai, and of carrying galleries through
those rocks and shores of Wales which had long de-
fied, until the days of Telford, the engineering skill
of this country. Those who had' known Robert
Stephenson had lost a dear friend, while England
had lost one of her children who had raised the
name of a humble family to a position not only of
British, but of European reputation. (Cheers.)
But they had also to mourn the untimely end of
another son of genius, whose fame was equally dif-
fused throughout the Continent, and the completion
of whose magnificent conception they had then met
to celebrate. Did not every Englishman feel it as it
were a part of the national honour that that noble
ship should succeed, and was it not a source of grief
in every household throughout the land when her
first trip from the river was attended with an unfor-
tunate mishap? Sometimesthe schemes of our great
engineers appeared to be in advance of their age;
but it should be remembered that locomotives were
now careering over the land at a speed which in the
memory of many living men was regarded as fabu-
lous. He could not but think that the step taken
by the Great Easternompany would before long
be crowned with success, and would place Eng-
land in the first rank among nations in `ship-
building as she was in every other art. The bonds
of commerce and mutual interest were the strongest
securities for peace between different countries;
and what more potent auxiliary for developing our
intercourse with our own colonies, as well as with
foreign lands, could be found than the employment
of the best, the largest, and swiftest of vessels ?
The. time ass not remote when it was thought a
yisisnary scheme to send out the Sirius, the Great
Western, and the Great Britain, and the other large
steamers which now performed the transatlantic
passage almost with the certainty and regularity of
a railway journey. Why should not the Great
Eastern supplant the smaller class of ocean steamers
as railways had supplanted other modes of commu-
nication on land ? The Great Eastern Company
had already solved a great part of their problem
their ship had moved, she had undergone the ordeal
of dangerous inland navigation, she had encoun-
tered the troubled seas of that coast, and he under-
stood that experienced officers had pronounced her
certainly as handy a ship as had floated on any sea.
(Hear, hear.) He was convinced there was not an
Englishman who did not heartily wish to see the
Great Eastern prove a perfect commercial success
to her owners, while she also showed to surround-
ing nations that England claimed the same rank in
naval architecture as she undoubtedly held in com-
mercial enterprise. (Cheers.) The noble marquis
concluded bygiving "Success to the Great Eastern!'
The toast was received with much enthusiasm.
Mr;CAMPBELL said that on his own behalf and
on that of his colleagues and fellow shareholders—
which now meant the people of this country, as the
vessel was really the people's ship, her proprietors
being upwards of 3,500 in number, who from that
feeling of national pride and p striotis:n which was
common to Englishmen had rallied round the Great
Eastern in all its difficulties—he begged to return
their most grateful thanks for the handsome man-
ner in which the toast was proposed and received.
Considerable misapprehension had existed from the
period of the company's formation as to the design
of the Great Eastern, her purpose, and object. No
misgivings had, however ever been entertained
by those who, whether
_in an engineering or a com-
mercial point of view, had associated themselves
with the enterprisee' Theysaw before them a most
successful company in operation
• route, with all the difficultieseration on the overland
of transhipment and
landing, and with the possibility under' which that
, company laboured, owing to the smallness
of of their
ships, of ever becoming the carriers merchandise.
They saw that the greatest want of the age in re-
ference to our distant possessions in India, China,
and Australia was the combination of carrying
power and speed. They saw that the anaua in-
crease in in the carrying trade of' India, Chins, and
representi
ng a population of M 0,000,000,
or near) y one-half the human involved re-
. • quire:l:lents which were very inadequately met by
the existing service. Tev h saw also that; whereas
at the commmencement of their undertaking ly
a monthly communication was carried ix: ith
India, at the present moment that cournuni-
cation had bc'exne weekly. 'they were fortified
by the opinions of the most practicAA merchants of
this country, who said that if they could insure
the delivery of the goods simultaneously with the
commercial intelligence they
could secure the mar-
kets. This fact had indeed been conclusively esta-
blished, that since the introduction of the overland
route all the calculations of the merchant had be
been
baffled. but
baffled. He ordered his goods to-day;
• months [afterwards 50 times the quantity he had
ordered was represented in the market by means of
•'ens in te arket
aclvices. So that all such fiuctuati
were anticipated by that intelligence which in these

days was equal to the aetual presence of the goods.
(Hear, hear.) Now, the aim of the Great Ship
Company was to do for India, China, and Aus-
tralia what their lamented friend the late Mr.
Brunel did for America 20 years ago. He first
connected America with this country by steam
navigation without stoppage over a distance of
9,800 miles, and at a speed of nine knots an hour.
Now, too, India, China, and Australia were
to be connected with this country, over a distance
of 12,000 miles, at a speed which, it was hoped,
would average more than 13 knots, or 40 per cent.
quicker than the previous rate. To prove the
soundness of their views they now found that,
while ships like the Great Western were only 1,500
tons burden, there were ships now trading with
America of from 3,500 to 4,000 tons, which bore the
same relative proportion to the Atlantic voyage
that 20,000 tons bore to the Indian voyage. They
had been told by the Times that vessels of 3,500
tons could perform the passage to Australia in
nearly the same time as the Great Eastern. But,
inasmuch as a vessel of 3,500 tons represented only
one-sixth of her tonnage, and consumed ' 150
tons of coal per day, while the big ship with six
times their tonnage would consume only 300 tons,
the latter could accomplish the journey to Australia
in 36 days with 24,000 tons less fuel than six of the
smaller vessels. This, too, she would achieve -with
no stoppage on the way, and, moreover, she would
land 10,000 tons of goods; whereas he defied the
3,500 ton vessels to land a single ton of goods and
carry their coal more than half the way. Indeed,
unaided by Government subsidies, all the existing
steam navigation for ocean voyages had hitherto
proved a failure, and must continue to do so with-
out the introduction of a combination of speed and
carrying power. Now, if the Government -were
alive to their own interests, a million per annum
might easily be saved to the taxpayers in the shape
of these subsidies. (Hear, hear.) That company
hoped to be able to do for the British public what
successive Chancellors of the Exchequer had failed
to do. (A laugh.) The result of the subsidising
system had been that afterrae
of speed by thetheyhadexistea for
many years the average r
t
over-
land route was only ten knots an hour, while cap-
tains had actually been fined for exceeding the re-
gulated speed upon the subsidised passages. (A
laugh.) The object of the Great Eastern Company
was to secure for the Government a monthly ocean
communication by means of three vessels, of which
the monster ship now at Holyhead was the first,
thus providing a trunk line to India, China,
and Australia, which Ivo,ild deliver at the
Cape to a feeding steamer for Australia passen-
gers and goods destined for that colony ; then,
proceeding to Trincomalee—one of the finest ports
we possessed in India—it would be met in
turn there by feeding steamers from Hong Kong,
Shanghai, Singapore, Calcutta, Madras, and Bom•
bay. They would thus supply all the requirements
of 600,000,000 of the human race, taking in ex-
change for the commodities we exported the most
valuable raw productions in the world, which could
afford to pay almost any freight, and which were
now paying £2O per ton. The calculation made as
to freight several years ago for that route was that
the exports from this country to those markets
amounted to 50,000 tons per month. They had
now risen to 100,000 tons, the gradual increase
being equal to 12 per cant. per annum. So that
three such ships as the Great Eastern would, after
all, only meet the natural increase upon the exist-
ing trade, although they could always rely on
having the pick of the more valuable portion of the
100,000 tons, on the principle that a clipper which
could only give a probable saving-of from sto 10
per cent. on the voyage now commanded the pre-
ference for all the freight offering on the day she
was loading. (Hear, hear.) Such, then, had been
the object and origin of the Great Eastern. Mis-
conceptions had prevailed as to their ever being
able to construct her. Then, when constructed, it
was said she would never be launched, and when
launched in the river it was said she would never
leave it. (A laugh.) Well, they had launched
her, and had sailed her. (Cheers.) But they were
now told that she was "a mere show ship." Now,
they were on a commercial cruise •, they had met
with an accident, it was true ; and they were look-
ing out for a good port. Holyhead was a very fair
port, and they hoped that next time they visited it
it would be still better. Considering the very hos-
pitable reception they had met with from the chair-
man and directors of the London and North-Wes-
tern Railway Company, he had no doubt they would
do all in their power to make that the best port in
England. Politically speaking, the use of the
Great Eastern might be thus exemplified :—We
had 450,000 troops- maintained in our various
colonies and dependencies ; and we knew that
Indian mutinies were possible. (Hear, hear.) Now,
a fleet of such ships, if they were left to stand
merely' on their commercial merits, as he trusted
they would be, without the assistance of Govern-
ment subsidies, would be prepared to run a fair race
with all existing lines. As long as subsidies
did exist, however, that company would claim its
share • but, if the Government were to cancel them
all, the Great Eastern would bo in a position to
make a fair start, and he maintained that the late
Indian mutiny, by which an empire was nearly
lost, might have been spared to this country if we
had been in possession of such powerful ships,
which might have taken out masses of troops in
less than 40 days. (Cheers.) In conclusion, Mr.
Campbell gave " The Health of the Chairman and
Directors of the London and North-Western Rail-
way—the pioneers of the most gigantic railway-
enterprise in England, as the Great Eastern Com-
pany were of steam navigation on a scale of equal
magnitude." (Cheers,)
The CHAIRMAN briefly returned thanks, and
next proposed" The House of Commons," which
was drunk with the usual honours.
Sir J. PAKINGTON rose and
.said, —I esteem it a
great honour to be called upon to respond in the
name of the great assembly comprised in your toast,
on an occasion so interesting as the present, when
I am surrounded by men of the highest intelligence,
almost all of whom are connected with the highest
and most important :nterests of England, and who
have met to celebrate—or perhaps I ought rather
to say to inaugurate—one of the greatest experi-
ments that has ever resulted from the energy and
enterprise, the liberality and scientific skill of this
progressive age. I am well aware that I speak now
as the representative of men of almost every po-
litical section in the House of Commons, and I
trust that no word will fall from me to which any
one of those gentlemen can take exception. Indeed,
I believe that I shall be only uttering their senti-
ments if I give some expression to deep convictions
which I cannot repress when I am of necessity re-
quired to advert to the House of Commons. The
character and honour of that body are dear to every
man in this country who values our institutions. I
feel confident that I say no more than men of all
parties will assent to when I express a hope th it
the day is not distant when they will combine to
adopt such measures as may be necessary, however
stringent, to put an end to that system of electoral
bribery and corruption with which the columns of
every newspaper are now teeming, and which, if I
mistake not, the British public will still be reading
for weeks and months to come. (Hear.) lam sure
that all will agree with me in saying that this vile
system is demoralising to the people, discreditable
to our whole representative institutions, and ren-
ders an appeal to the people not a test of enligh-
tened opinion on any matter of public policy, but a
mere question of who may have the largest purse or
the most unscrupulous partisans. (Cheers.) Hoping
that you will forgive me fur touching, in connection
with this toast, on a subject which must have struck
deep into the feelings of the country, I will now
pass to a topic more germane to the object for
which we are assembled. It is impossible for any
reflecting man to have seen the works which we
have this day had an opportunity of inspecting
without being impressed with the endless variety
and importance of the functions devolving on mem-
bers of the House of Commons. No doubt the
House of Commons, as my noble friend in the chair,
speaking feelingly, has hinted, does from time to
time deal with railway companies in a manner
which the directors do not quite like. (A laugh.)
Yet, as a disinterested person, never myself having
had a railway share in my life, I am disposed on
the whole to think that that assembly treats those
bodies in a spirit of justice, liberality, and propriety.
(" Hear, hear," and some expressions of dissent.)
But other subjects besides those relating to railways
are forced upon our attention. We cannot come to
Holyhead and look upon its great and noble har-
bour without recollecting that that harbour has
arisen from the grants voted by the House of Com-
monsa:,
hs ei
em ;
bb assembly dvo
shnuooiptmentaent
h\dle.
amtnrtliaistnt that that legislative
gthiislipatohme
moment, of
dpurtoy
.
riding harbours for England. (Cheers.) Ido not
believe that any more important steps could be
taken for promoting the naval strength, the na-
tional defence, and the commercial prosperity of
England than the erection of those two noble
harbours of Portland and Holyhead. (Cheers.) I
It was my duty to visit this port a year ago
officially. I was then in a different p)sition
from that which I now occupy—(a laugh)—bA I
'was delighted to hear that it often happens during
the gales of winter that from 200 to 300 vessels,
which would otherwise be bufreted about at great
risk to life and property in St. George's Channel,
find shelter at one time within the harbour of -Holy-
head. I (rust, then, that the liberality of the House
of Commons will not be restricted in this great item
of public expenditure ; and I cannot help appealinf,
not only to my brother members in general, but to
my right hon. friend the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer in particular, if it is not unfair to do so, on the
subject of the report not long since presented to

Parliament and the public by the Commission on
Harbours of RefugfJ. I had the honour of appoint-
ing Admiral Hope to preside over that commission,
and I did so because I believed then, as I believe
now, that be was a,. man not only of distinguished
gallantry, but of professional skill and ability. The
report presented justifies that opinion. It recom-
mends an extension of the system of harbours of re-
fuge ; and I now repeat my hope that the House of
Commons will deaf liberally with that subject.
(Hear, hear.) I believe I also speak the sentiments
of every member of the House of Commons when,
from the bottom of in,: heart, I wish success to the
Great Eastern. (Cheers.) I have watched this ex-
periment from its commencement with the deepest
interest, and have never despaired of its success.
We hear many reasons given why it cannot succeed.
We are told, for example, that the speed attained is
not what it ought to be. My own belief has been
that the great principles of naval architecture have
no other limit in their application except that of
convenience. I do not see why those principles are
not as applicable to a vessel of 20,000 tons as to one
of 500. I have no doubt whatever, therefore, on the
score of its nautical success. Its commercial success
may indeed be less certain, but of this I am sure, that
the Great Eastern is one of the most magnificent
conceptions of thin age ; one of the noblest applica-
tions of that great power, steam, which has worked
such a revolution in the affairs of the world, and, like
all other eximples of material progress, eminently
deserves to prosper. (Hear.) I was glad to hear the
just tribute so feelingly paid by my noble friend to the
memory of those great men, Stephenson and Brunel ;
and it is painful to reflect that poor Brunel was not
spared to witness what I trust is the certain success
of this splendid example of his genius. (Cheers.)
In a national point of view is there not reason to
believe that the day may not be distant when we
shall be thankful to have a Great Eastern by which
to transport our troops ? (Hear.) I have heard it
said, indeed, in answer to this opinion, that no
prudent Government would ever place so many eggs
in one basket. (A laugh.) But, if lam not greatly
mistaken, in the months of August and September,
1857, when the mutiny was raging in India, and
there was too much reason for us in England to be
apprehensive of the issue, the Government of that
day would have been only too glad to have had
such a basket to put as many eggs in as they could

get. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN said they were honoured with
the presence of a man who held one of the most im-
portant offices in the State, and had an European
reputation for his talents and his eloquence. In his
right hon. friend's hands the fortunes of political
parties and the choice of Parliament had placed the
conduct of the national finances ; and every true-
hearted Englishman, whatever his political creed,
must heartily wish that success might attend the
exertions of the Governinent of the day, whether
they were composed of Liberals or of Conservatives.
(Dear, hear.) The chairman then gave the health
of the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, which was
drunk with great cordiality. •
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and
said—Gentlemen, you have been pleased to receive
the proposal of my health in a manner which com-
mands my warmest gratitude; but, at the same
time, I am quite aware that the office I am called
upon to hold is one of the deepest interest to you,
for upon the mode in which its duties are discharged
depends much that belongs to your prosperity,
happiness, and comfort. Let me, however, on this,
as on every occasion, remind a company of Eng-
lishmen that the manner in which the duties of that
office are to be discharged itself depends not so
much upon the individual who fills it as upon the
sentiments which animate the mass of the people.
(Cheers.) If the mass of the people are disposed to
adhere to the principles of thrift and economy in
the administration of finance, then it is alike the
duty and the pleasure of the Finance Minister to
become their instrument and organ in giving effect
to those principles ; but if, on the other hand,
whether through an increase of wealth, a long
continuance of prosperity, an apprehension of dan-
ger, or from whatever other cause, a change passes
over the temper of the public mind, and we find at
every turn a prevalence, not of the sentiments
which governed the successive Administrations of
the Duke of Wellington, Lord Grey, Sir R. Peel,
and Lord Melbourne, but a disposition to recom-
mend right and left the large effusion of public
money for every object of utility, then I must tell
you, and tell the English public, that it is vain to
look to a Chancellor of the Exchequer to stem such
a tide of feeling. He may indeed do what he can
to control it ; yet this is a country of which it is in
some respects the danger, but upon the whole the
safety and the glory, that it is governed by its own
convictions, and that the manner in which its affairs
are conducted depends, not upon the inclinations or
abilities of any individual, but upon the tendencies
and feelings of the people of England themselves.
(Cheers.) Therefore the person who may fill the
office which I have now the honour to hold is alto-
gether an insignificant item in the public adminis-
tration. That which truly determines bis course
and conduct is what is felt by the mass of the com-
munity, and especially by those intelligent and
really governing classes of whom we have here an
important portion. Let me say in very few words
that, in my opinion, the position of a public man in
England, although it may be in many respects one
of care and difficulty—for we have a vast, perhaps
too vast, an empire to administer—it yet -in many
other respects is a position of singular felicity. For
we serve a Sovereign whom it is a delight to serve
(cheer); and if in her we have a noble mistress, we
have likewise a noble master in the British nation.
(Renewed cheers.) I have ever felt,under whatever
vicissitudes of public affairs, that we live in a coun-
try where no sincere and honest efforts' of a Minister
to perform his public duty in the long run fail to
meet with adequate and ample justice •, and that it
is far more likely that his errors will be overlooked
and unperceived than that they will ever be visited
with an undue severity. (Cheers.) Passing from
the subject of the toast which you, my lord, have
proposed in terms of such peculiar kindness, I avail
myself of the permission I have obtained from you
to submit a toast which has little connexion with
my own personal existence. I have to suggest that
you should drink " Prosperity to the Trading and
Manufacturing Interests of this Connery." (Cheers.)
That prosperity has, as I have said, little to do
with my personal existence, but it has a great deal.
to do with my official existence. (" Hear," and a
laugh.) And the comfort of that official existence
—I have lived long enough to know very well—
depends mainly upon the condition of these inte-
rests. I venture to tell you that the last quarter's
revenue presents a return the most satisfactory that
we have witnessed for several years past; and if
you ask me why, I apprehend it was in a very
great degree owing to the activity of trade, that
activity of trade being in turn in a great measure
founded on the very great moderation of the prices
at which the people are procuring their provisions.
(Hcar, hear.) We have lived in times of a diversi-
fied character—times in which much has occurred
that may be of a doubtful complexion, but which
on that very account the mind rests with the greater
comfort and satisfaction on all that betokens real
progress in what concerns the interest of mankind.
I do believe that in the whole history of the world
an instance can be found either of an age or a na-
tion in which it has been graciously conceded to a
Legislature to do so much for the benefit of the
people committed to its charge as it has been given
the British Parliament to do in the present era by
the changes which it has circumspectly and wisely,
but baldly and effectually, introduced into the
whole of our commercial policy. (Cheers.) Per•
mit me to quote a few lines written a century
and a-half ago, in a spirit truly prophetic, by
one of our distinguished national poets—l allude
to Pope. In an early work of his termed " Wind-
sor Forest," he penned words which might well
be taken as indicating his prescience of the repeal
and fundamental reconstruction of our navigation
system. He says :
" The time shall came when free as waves or wind,
Unbounded Thames shall flow for all mankind—
Whole nations enter on each swelling tide,
And seas but join the regions they divide ;
Earth's distant ends our glory shall behold,
And the New World launch forth to seek the Old 1"
(Cheers.) That which tht 'poet thus predicted we
have seen completely realised ; and of that change
in the commercial system of the country, so fir as
its laws were concerned, we have beheld this day in
the harbonr of Holyhead the most remarkable and
conspicuous result. (Hear.) No doubt before these
changes were made it was open to both honourable
and intelligent men to questson what their precise
effect might be. But now that they have been con-
summated it is, at all event, beyond all dispute that
since their introduction your commercial marine has
made a progress far more extended and far more
daring than had ever before been dreamt of. (Cheers.)
It has assumed a novel character, and it is hardly
possible to describe as a mere change in degree the
change which has taken place in the whole scale
and construction of shipbuilding, and in the manx or
in which our maritime service is conducted. I am
old enough to recollect when the lavrest ship that
sailed out of the port tlf Liverpool for a long sea
voyage over the Atlantic was only about one-fortieth
part of the sizi, of the Great Eastern now floating
on your waters. (Cheers.) I trust that those who
have with such noble and lofty enterprise entered
upon this great undertaking will receive the reward
of tl:eir labours in an adequate commercial success.
But of this I am quite certain, that they will feel
that their daring has been beyond the measure of
all ordinary daring, and in that very fact they
have at once borne testimony to the character of our
national spirit, and have themselves deliberately
chosen to become one of its most striking illustra-
tions on record. (Hear, bear.) It has been said
that " the age of chivalry is gone," but there is