The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-10 00:00:00

Institution of Civil Engineers.

The annual dinner of this society was held last
evening at Willis's Rooms. There were from 200 to
260 gentlemen present, and the banquet was of an
unusually elegant description. The flowers, the
fruits, the wines, and the decorations were the best
the Messrs. Willis could supply, and the brilliant
appearance of the hall was considerably heightened
by a large collection of magnificent plate, including
the gold Demidoff service valued at £20,000, which
was lent to the Government to adorn the naval fetes
at Portsmouth last year. These valuable works of
art were lent for the occasion by Messrs. Hancock,
of New Bond-street. Some instrumental music was
performed during dinner under the direction of Mr.
Coote. Mr. John Fowler, the president of the insti-
tution, was in the chair, and amongst the guests
were the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred (accompa-
nied by Earl Spencer and Major Teesdale), Prince
Teck, the Duke of Buccleuch, Lord Redesdale, the
Duke of Sutherland, the Marquis of Salisbury,
Lord Stanley, Lord Caithness, Lord Colville, Gen.
Sir J. Burgoyne, the Hon. Mr. Cowper, Lord Grey,
Lord R. Grosvenor, Sir 11. Holland, Gen. Knollys,
Lord Llanover, Sir E. Landseer, Professor Owen,
Mr. R. Lowe, M.P., Baron Marochetti, Lord Ox-
mantown, Lord A. Paget, Sir J. Pakington, Lord
Stanley of Alderley, Lord Vane, the Hon. E. Yorke,
Sir J. Rennie, Sir W. G. Armstrong, Mr. Samuda,
'M.P., Mr. S. Russell, Mr. Hawksley, Dr. W. Fair-
bairn, and about 200 members of the profession.
The usual loyal toasts were given by the PIiESI-
DENT. In proposing the " Health of the Prince and
Princess of Wales and the rest of the Royal Family,"
he referred to the fact that the Prince of Wales was
an hon. member of the institution.

The Prince of WALES, in responding, said :—Un-
der any circumstances it would have afforded me
sincere pleasure to have been present here this even-
ing at a meeting of so distinguished a body as the
civil engineers of Great Britain, but it is still more
agreeable to me to find myself here in the position
of one of your honorary members. (Hear.) I thank
you for the manner in which you have mentioned
my name, and for considering me as one of your-
selves. I feel proud to think that my lamented
father was also an honorary member of this distin-
guished institution. (Cheers.) It is, indeed, a diffi-
cult task for me to address so eminent a body, and
more especially to speak in terms of eulogy. Yet I
cannot avoid adverting to the names of two of your
most distinguished men. I allude to Mr. Brunel and
Mr. Stephenson—(cheers)—whose names are not
obliterated from our memories, while the important
works they have bestowed upon this country can
never be forgotten. (Cheers.) We cannot but be
proud of the works which are completed, or are in
course of completion, in this country. Let us look
for a moment at them. It is useless, perhaps, for
me to remind you—although it is right I should do
so on this particular occasion—of the vast exten-
sion of our docks all over the country ; of the great
improvements in our electric telegraph, in our steam-
ships, and, in fact, in our general steam navigation.
Let us look at home—by which, I mean, let us look
at this metropolis. (Hear.) No one can walk over
Westminster-bridge without being struck with those
magnificent quays on either side commonly called
the Thames Embankment, which we must admit is
one of the most important works of our day.
(Hear, hear.) Then I must also refer to the Metro-
politan Underground Railway—works which we
owe to the exertions of your distinguished Pre-
sident, and which, though not entirely corn-
pleted, has been in use for nearly three years, and
which has to a considerable extent diminished some
of the traffic in our streets. (Cheers.) Look also
to our colonies, and to the many important works
which our engineers have there constructed. There
is one in which I am especially interested, namely,
the celebrated bridge built over the St. Lawrence,
called the Victoria, going to Montreal, and erected
by Mr. Stephenson, one of your most renowned en-
gineers. `(Cheers.) I had the honour of inaugurat-
ing that bridge in the name of her Majesty the
Queen. (Cheers.) I have to be thankful in many
ways to you all, and to Mr. Stephenson, for having
built such a bridge, for probably I should never
have had the opportunity of visiting our northern
coionies and a portion of the United States, if I had
not had the invitation to inaugurate that celebrated
bridge. His Royal Highness, in conclusion, re-
peated his thanks for the compliment paid to him
as an honorary member, and to the Princess of
Wales. (Loud cheers.)
The PRESIDENT then gave the toast of " The
Navy, Army, and Volunteers."
Prince ALFRED, in responding for the navy, said
—I need scarcely tell you with what pleasure I rise
to respond to this toast, nor how proud I feel to
hear my name associated with the royal navy.
(Cheers.) Within the last few years the navy has
become more connected with civil engineers than it
ever was before. All the later improvements in the*,
navy we owe to civil engineers. There is only one
thing they have not succeeded in doing—they do
not make us look more beautiful than they did be-
fore. (Laughter.) In fact we have rather deterio-
, rated in the matter of appearance. (Laughter.) I ,