The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-21 00:00:00

ZO.RD PALMERSTON ON _RAILWAYS.

Yesterday Lord Palmerston cut the first sod of
the Andover and Redbridge Railway at Romsey,
in the presence of a numerous assemblage of the '
landowners of the district and others interested in
the undertaking. The line—which is intended
ultimately to effect a communication between South-
ampton and the coalfields of South Wales and the
manufacturing districts of the North, by means of
the Great Western system—is formed by the con-
-version of the old Andover canal into a railway ;
for the canal having been purchased, and the water
drained off, it is along its bed, for the most part,
that the rails will be laid. Commencing near the

bead of the Southampton-water at Redbridge,
which is about three miles from Southampton, and
running up the valley of the Test, it proceeds in a
direction nearly due north, through Romsey,King's-
Sombourn, Stockbridge, and the Chatfords, to An-
dover, where, for the present, it terminates. It will
be 23 miles in length, and the estimated cost from
Suit to last is £130,000, Mr. Hattersley, the con-
tractor, having undertaken to execute the whole as
designed for £lOO,OOO, which is little more than at
the rate of £4,300 per mile.
It is proposed hereafter to effect the ultimate
connection of Southampton with the Great Western
line, by short extensions from each of the present
termini ; that from Andover, of about 14 miles in
length, to join the proposed Berks and Hants ex-
tension near Pewsey, and that from Redbridge, of
about three miles, to Southampton. The engineer
to the line is Mr. J. S. Burke ; Mr. Pierce is the
surveyor, and Messrs. Deacon and Manning, of
Southampton, the solicitors. The ceremony took
place,ja a field about a mile from the town of Rom-
soy, add not very far from Lord Palmerston's house
at Ertadlands. The company assembled at two
o'clock in a space staked out for the occasion, and
decorated with flags and devices of every colour and
nation. Among those present were Mr. Etwall,
chairman ; Mr. Alderman Cubitt, M.P., with
other directors of the company, Lord E. Bruce,
M.P. Sir J. Jervoise, M.P., Mr. Willcox, M.P.,
Mr. Dutton, M.P., Mr. W. Cowper, M.P., Sir
J. Oliffe, General Vanderburgh, Mr. J. R.
Croskey, and the Mayors of Southampton, Andover,
and Romsey. Lady Palmerston, Lady Jocelyn, and
a large number of ladies were also spectators. The
proceedings were opened by a short speech from the
chairman of the company, Mr. Etwall, describing
the purposes of the line, and concluding with a re-
quest to Lord Palmerston to turn the first sod. His
lordship accordingly took spade in hand, and, with
a dexterity which gained him great commendation,
cast three or four shovelsfull of earth into a hand-
some barrow of mahogany provided for the occasion,
then amid loud cheers wheeled it along a plank
some dozen yards in length—emptied his load and
trotted back between the shafts with all the air of
a practised "navvy." A salute of 14 guns announced
this practical commencement of the undertaking.
Lord PALMERSTON then said—l congratulate you
all on the commencement of an undertaking which
will not only be beneficial to this district but also
to other parts of the United Kingdom, and I con-
gratulate those who promote this undertaking on
their success, and on their perseverance, which is
the peculiar characteristic of the British people, and
which, when devoted to a laudable object, can never
fail of success. You all know that a scheme for con-
necting Southampton with the port of Liverpool
was set on foot so long ago as 1846. It failed, then,
and remained dormant for some time, but in 1857
it was again revived. It failed again, but the energy
and determination of those who advocated it were not
damped by repeated failures, and they have now
the satisfaction of being actually at the commence-
ment of the practical part of the work, and I sin-
cerely
i trust that they will meet with no impedi-
ment n its completion. There are undoubtedly
many circumstances to recommend this line. It is
pre-eminently free from all engineering difficulties,
and even in the limited extent to which you
now propose to form it it will confer the greatest
benefits on the district which it traverses. We
who are here have seen with regret that the
canal from Redbridge to Andover has not been
turned to that account which its projectors ori-
ginally.intended ; but we may readily hope that
the various facilities offered by the railway now
about to be constructed will be of greater advant-
age to the public than the canal has hitherto proved
to be. But I have no doubt that a much more ex-
tensive future lies before us, and that we shall see
this line forming an important link in the commu-
nication between Southampton and other districts
of the country. It is needless to point out the na-
tural advantages of Southampton for the purposes
of commerce between England and other parts of
the globe. It has the advantage of being, I believe,
the safest port that can be found in the world. The
whole of the Southampton river may be said to be
one great dock, free from rocks or any of the dan-
gers which beset other ports, and needing no arti-
ficial. means of protection. It is situate midway
between the two extremities of the south coast of
England. It is in a position favourable for mari-
time communication with the Baltic on the one
hand, and with the other parts of the world with
which the Atlantic communicates on the other.
LHear.) It possesses a rapid communication with
ondon, and now you propose by this line to con-
nect it with the great manufacturing districts, and
with the coal mines of South Wales. It is impos-
sible to doubt that such a scheme is founded on
sound views of national interests, and that it must
be conducive not only to the development of the re-
sources of the district through which it passes, but
also to the ultimate great advantage of the other
parts of the country which it connects together.
Gentlemen, I return you my sincere thanks for the
honour you have done me in asking me to cut the
first sod of this line, and I wish it every success.
(Loud cheers.)
After a suitable prayer for the success of the un-
dertaking from the vicar of Romsey, the company
adjourned to a dejeuner set out in a large marquee
erected in the park in front of his lordship's house.
Here the usual loyal and patriotic toasts having
been drunk,
The CHAIRMAN proposed the health of Lord Pal-
merston, which was drunk with loud and prolonged
cheers.
Lord PALMERSTON in reply said—l return you my
most sincere thanks for the kind manner in which
my health has been proposed and received. It is
said with regard to English proceedings, that no
business of a public nature can be transacted hero
without a dinner. (Laughter.) The directors of this
intended railway have certainly conformed most
laudably to the good old English rule. (Cheers.)
But it must not be supposed that this rule implies
that the English nation are such gluttons as not to
be able to turn their minds to any important mat-
ter without previously filling their stomachs. The
reason why dinners and feats of this nature are the
usual concomitants of public business is, in the first
klace, that they bring together neighbours who
now each other and who understand each other's
value, and next, that it gives opportunities to those
who do not happen to be neighbours for an inter-
change of opinions and ideas, and for communica-
tion as to their mutual interests. Therefore, these
material feasts are, in fact, intellectual interchanges
of conversation which rot only contribute to im-
prove and advance the civilisation of the country,
but also tend to render more useful those meetings
which are intended to promote the material pros-
perity of the country. (Cheers.) Of all the improve-
ments in modern times the introduction of railways
is perhaps the 'one which has done most for the
prosperity of this country, and I may say of all coun-
tries in which they have been established. (Hear.)
If we look at the wonderful augmentation which
has taken place in this country within the last 20
years it must strike us that it has sprung in a great
measure from the multiplication of the means of
communication. (Hear.) In business we all know
time is worth money, and if it be true with regard
to money that a penny saved is a penny got, the
days and weeks saved by the introduction of rail-
Way accommodation must be worth to the manu-
facturing and commercial interests vast annual
sums of money. (Hear.) It therefore gives me the
greatest pleasure,--whether in my individual and
local character or as a member of the Government—
to assist at meetings
nof the object of which is to lay
the foundatio rin es ofrailwaycommunication such
as this, which I think will be of the greatest bene-
fit, of
only t
to he d strictthrough which it is at pre-
sent intended tops, b
commercial community in the
but ultimately to the manufac-
turing and
England. (Hear.) To the southern district theo
completion of this line of
communication will be of
vast immediate importance. (near, hear.) One of
private enterprise
of
enterrisethe most remarkable features of theri,
Eng-
land is the manner in which p
countries re
,
accomplishes works which in other
quire the aid and assistance o fGovernm,nt. (Hear
hear.) We admire the remains of the
works of the
Romans, but I venture to assert that no works re-
main as memorials of the greatness and capacity of
that nation which can for a moment compare
with the works erected by private enterprise in
different parts of this country for commercial pur-
poses. Long may that spirit of enterprise animate
the people of this country, and long may it not only
manifest the amount of wealth possessed by this
country, but also lay the foundation for the rapid
increase of that wealth and the augmentation of
our national prosperity. (Cheers.) I cannot say,
speaking from general impression, what may be the
amount of capital now invested in railway enter-
prise. We all know that the capital represented
by the national debt—though it has been very
lightly described not long ago by one who is well
able,to judge of the proportion between the re-
sources and the wants of the country—would have
been deemed two centuries ago as a fabulous sum
to be equalled only by the stories in the Arabian