The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-13 00:00:00

execution of more than a third of the various lines
in the country. Father and son were consulted as
to the Belgium system of railways, and obtained
from King Leopold the Cross of the Legion of
Honour in 1344. For similar services performed in
Norway, which he visited in 1846, Robert Stephen-
son received the Grand Cross of St. Olof. So also
he assisted either in actually making or in laying.
out the systems of lines in Switzerland, in
Germany, in Denmark, ix Tuscany, in Canada, in
Egypt, and in India. As the champion of loco-
motive in opposition to stationary engines, he re-
sisted to the uttermost the atmospheric railway
system, which was backed with the authority of
Brunel, and had at one time n considerable re-
pute, although it is now nearly forgotten. In
like manner he had to fight with Mr. Brunel the
battle of the gauges, the narrow against the broad
gauge, and it is superfluous to say that he was suc-
cessful here as in all his undertakings. In the sphere
of railways he has been since the death of his
father the foremost man, the safest guide, the most
active worker.
Of his railway doings we have spoken in very
general terms, only mentioning the great Kilsby
tunnel incidentally. It is, however, in this tunnel
and in the bridges which he erected for railway-
purposes that his genius as an engineer is most
strikingly displayed, andby these it is that he will
be best remembered. Of his bridges, of course, we
refer to the high level one at Newcastle, constructed
of wood and iron, to the Victoria-bridge at Ber-
wick, built of stone and brick, to the bridge in
wrought and cast iron across the Nile, to the CoWs
way and the Britannia bridges over the Menai;
Straits, and to the Victoria-bridge over the St. Lersv-`
rence. Those who care to examine then:letterman,'
closely will find a full account of most of these
works in an article on iron bridges contributed by
Mr. Stephenson himself to the Encyclopedia Bri-
tannic& They are all splendid works, and have
made his name famous over the world. The idea
of the tubular bridge was an utter novelty, and, as
carried out at the Menai Straits, was a grand
achievement. Considering the enormous span of a
bridge placed across these straits; the immense
weight which it has to sustain, and the height to
which it must be raised in order that great ships
may pass beneath, the undertaking seemed chime-
rical, and he must have been a man of great daring,
as well as of no common experience, who could
think of conquering the difficulty. Robert Stephen-
son, however, fairly faced the difficulty, and threw
bridges of 460 feet span from pier to pier across
this formidable gulf. It was the first thing of the
kind ever attempted, and the success was so
triumphant that under Mr. Stephenson's auspices
it has been repeated more than once. In the
Egyptian railway there are two tubular bridges,
one over the Damietta branch of theolkllle, and the
other over the large canal near Besket-al-Saba;
but they have this peculiarity, that the trains
run not, as at the Menai Straits, within the tube,
but on the outside upon the top. It is with this
method of tubular bridging that Stephenson's name
is peculiarly identified, and by which he will pro-
bably be best known to posterity as distinguished
from his father, who has almost the entire credit of
the railway system.
It will not be supposed that Mr. Robert Stephen-
son's labours were confined to the construction and
survey of railways. We have reports of his on the
London and Liverpool systems of waterworks. In
1847 he was returned as member of Parliament for
Whitby, in the Conversative interest. He took a
great interest in all scientific investigations, and
was a member of more than one scientific society.
As a specimen of his liberality in the cause of
science, it may be mentioned that he placed his,
yacht the Titania—and it is said he had the best
manned yacht in the squadron—at the disposal of
Professor Piazzi Smyth, who was sent out with very
limited means to Teneriffe to make sundry scientific
observations, and thus materially assisted the.
researches of that gentleman. In the same spirit
he came forward in 1855, and paid off a debt
amounting to £3,100, which the Newcastle Literary
and Philosophical Society had incurred, his motive
being, to use his own phrase, gratitude for the
benefits which he himself had received from it in
early life, and a hope that other young men might
find it equally useful. It was like the man to do
so, for, as we have already suggested, his heart was
worthy of his head, and in one form or another he
was always doing good.

MIS DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

IMPERIAL WEEKLY AVERAGES. Wheat, 42• 5d ;
barley, 35s 8d; oats, 21s 7d; rye, 29s 10d ; beans, 39•
3d; and peas, 38s Od.
TUE Six WEEKS' AVERAGES. —Wheat, 42s 6d ;
barley, 35s Id ; oats, 22s 2d ; rye, 30s fkl ; beans, 408 8d ;
peas, 38s 4d.

ENGLISH GRAIN SOLD LIST WEEK.—Wheat, 121,187 ;
barley, 49,319 ;:oats, 13,090 ; rye, 333 ; beans, 6,592 ; peas,
2,263 quarters.

METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.

About an average time-of-year supply of beasts was on
sale hero to-day, as to number ; but the general quality of
the stock was inferior. The beef trade ruled steady, at
fully Monday's advance in the quotations. We were but
moderately supplied with sheep, and all breeds sold steadily,
at prices quite equal to those realised on Monday. Calves,
the supply of which was rathor limited, were in active re-
quest, at an improvement in value of from 2d. to 4d. per
81bs. There was rather more doing in pigs and milch cows,
at extreme rates.

Per Sibs. to sink the offal.

s. d. s. d.
Crse. &inf. beasts 2 10 3 0
Second quality do. 3 2 3 6
Prime large oxen 3 8 4 6
Prime Scots, &c. 4 8 6 0
Crse. &inf. sheep 3 2 3 4
Second quality do. 3 6 4 2
Suckling calves, 19s to 22s
20s to 265.

s. d. u. d.
Primecrs-wool do. 4 4 4 6
Pme. S'thdowndo. 4 10 6 2
Large crse. calves 3 10 4 0
Prime small do 4 8 6 0
Large hogs 3 4 3 6
Small porkers
; and quarter •old store pigs,