The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-22 00:00:00

~ .~ ..

[PRICE

O.PE G_ 0 t -s§:UT!IDERL AiNVe

This:vaat undartakitig; whose opening was • celebrate]
on Thursday last. in respecr, in 'itself, a work of
the'llighest taientific and mechanical excellence, effected
by immense corporeal labour, day and night, through
every season and, period of a northern year, in its probanle•
results to this great and increasing port,:is dale highest
conceivable impOrtance. • '-
At an early hour, the feeling of the whole town was
manifested by atith crowded streets—trowded, in every
district; by. dense assemblages of well-dressed and well-
conducted persons-as we have never before witnessed;
and the morning. was, providentially, in the happiest
union with the joyous and genial oceitaion.: Light
clouds tempered the heat of rhe• sun, Without lessening
materially the brilliance and gaiety which' every well-
wisher to Sunderland and bfr new docks cordially, de-
sired' ?should 'give due splendour .and joyoustieSs to the
scene. The bells of,. the different churches rang out
accordant peals, giin-s—Were:fired -at interial4, end
the. high-street presented the most, itepoting• -as-
pect, the pavernents;y windows; 'parapets, and roofs
of every • Wading: • 'being densely 'crowded with
anxious • and. linpitient • spectators: M a quarter-
past ten tote spaqe in •front of the i Dock-office,
West Sunniside, Bishopwearmotith, was occupied
by all the official peradits, municipal. and maritime, whose
presence Was together svith'the bend of
the 33d Regiment....! 416,things were in unison; on every
hand differences-Of feeling and opinion in other respects
were laidaside altogether;-;•a wise and good, impression'
seemed to prevail that there are times, seaktnii, and oc-
casions, when " party";and,its:virulentspirit should be
sent " to the right4bout," and men of opinions and
politic's should forget the :turbulent 'peat in the genial
and kindly present.'
The procession;that is to say the, Corporation (headed
by its Mayor), and other public bodies and functionaries,
began to move almost instantly alter being joined by, the
Chairman, :Mr. George. Hudson, M.P., ,and proeeeded
through the crowded High-street, Which we' believe
never presented a Seesie - at once•itOjeyetis and impres-
sive, certainly never one so justly joyous and impressive
as on this memorable occasion. Guns Bred, banners
'waved, sbouts-ce acclamation arose;, the . bells of the
different churches rang out merrily, and, with; these
pleasant .ste.eopipe.t4mentS' the -precession reached the ,
river aide,' at the old, `4 Ferry-boat Landing;" andem-
barked in various *easels, put in requisition for the
parpose.
_ _

-7fhe .Lord Durbamwtis the first steamer which. entered
the dock, with gay colours flying,: as were all that fol-
lowed; it was preceded:by the two life-boats of the port,
four steam-vesse4, officially:engaged, came next' and in
the following order The • Widiain and 'John,
with the Mayor: (William Ord, Esq.) and Corporation
of the Borough.. • .2nd,•• the' Seahorie, with the Com-
missioners of the River Wear; 3d, the Pilot; 4th, the
Firebrand, with the Directors of the Dock Company;.
and sth, the Earl of Sunderland, from Seaham Har-
bour, with crowded decks, on which the band of the
Most Noble the. Marquis of Londonderry stood in full
costume, and as the Sunderland boats went a-head,
played the genial air of "Auld lang syne,",with a
mingled good taste, good feeling, and good musical ex-
ecution. • • •

The river itself. was studded with every variety of
craft that human beings could crowd into it;. and every
vessel of every description, afloat or on the stocki,'Was
radiant above with gay :flags, and :below with happy
faCes- and' . holiday -garbs. The banks, , 'the -'quays,
the' windows, • roofs; parapets,- and chimneys of
every building :::overlooking. , the river (even to
the. very platform of the church- towers)„ were
so .densely crowded, that a feeling of 'surprise`_ naturally
arose *here the immense residue of-zipeetatOrs' in other
parts Could possibly hfiVe proceeded.from.. .This. feeling
deepenedas the 'vessels advanced "slowly to:.their desta-:.
nation; guns firing, bells-. ringing, all ;the rainbow-heed
flags of all vessels.(Union-Jack and " Marz:iott's Code ".
included)faily flying froth all itestheadianaiiegibgst
and every:conceivable' place of footing for butuan'heings;:
on both sides of the river, thronged, with gailydressed
spectatOrs. A- little befpro, reaching the. point apposite
'the River ComMissionera' Office,' Sir. H.' 'Williamson,
Balt, M 2., carne 'on board the Corporation steam yes-.
The entry into.thetreat dock, the excitensenttkf
the -thousands that densely lined its banks of massive
masonry, and the erithrisiasm with which the first vessels
'that ever entered its magnificent basin,were ballet:1;0n
every side, .was a 'scene never to- be fdrgOtten--za:soent,
indeed, equal to anything
.of a corresponding nature
which has been witnessed in this empite—as the great
ek itself is eqnal to anything w!hich the annals of ma
•.
rit an boast of. v
landed, and sat.down along with
a n ge of ladies and gentlemen to lunch
in a erstructure on the coal jetty. The
chair-Was taken by George Hudson, Esq., M. P„ sup-
ported by Mrs. Bramwell and Mrs. Robinson Robinson;
among those present wo observed Sir Hedworth Wil-
liamson. the mayor, Christopher Bramwell, Esq., John
Scott, E:q., David Jonassohn, James Hartley, E:q.,
-Nicholas Wood, Esq.. John Murray, Esq., Dr. Brown,
John Denton, Esq.,- Mayor of Hartlepool. Joseph Simp-
son, Esq., Alderman Allison, the Rev. Mr. 'Peters, the
for. Air. IVallice, Rey. A.-Bethune, Scalitun, Rey. J. H.
Brown, Dalton, the officers of the 33d Regiment, Capt.
Allen, Blackwell ;Messrs. G. W. Wright,. J. J.
Wright, George Spark, T. B. Ord, &c.. '1 here could
*not have been fewer than 700 or 800 present.

Due justice having beelidone .to the ttniptingdelica-
ciei—under the.weight of which the tables almost lit3r-
ally groaned—the-Chairman of the Dock, Company, Mr.
Hudson, who presided ..at the ,luncheon, rose awl pro-
posed the health.of.her. Majesty,, which was drunk with
all the honours.

The other usual loyal and patriotic toasts having been
-also drunk,
.The CHAIRMAN rose and said—Ladies and gentlemen,
—I will now crave your attention for a few minutes
While I mike a .few 'observations in giving what May.be
fairly celled
.the.toast of the day.—(Cheers.) I shill
endeavour, _if 'possible, to make. myself heard in every
part of the room, and I hope that the toast I am about
to propose will' be received and responded to in a
manner worthfof the importance . of the great work,
the completion of which, or rather, I should say,
the completion of whiCh to a certain extent we
have this day met to celebrate and 'rejoice over.—
(Cheers.) Indeed I am sure it will be so received, as 'you
have already .evinced* your feelings by the manner in
which you responded to a few well-tithed observations
which fell from, the Hen. Gentleman who last addressed
.
you
.and returned thanks for the-toast of " The'Arniv"
(Capt. Digby), and therefore my task becomes- compa-
ratively an easy.one.- I cannot but regret teat I have
not the abilitiecto do -justice to. the toast, the import'
tance of which, I can assure you, I feel from my heart
Ilad I consulted- my own ease—had I' acted in accord=
ante • with my own-feelings—l should. have wished the
toast to have been • entrusted to some 'other -gentleman;
but.tny colleagues have - honoured me, by leaving it in
my hands, and I will _ therefore endeavour to justify
their confidence, :end, 'as far as `possible,' 'do justice
to a toast the importance of which, as I have just
stated; I most deeply and-- heartily feel.—(Cheers).
The Rev. Gentlenlarg. Who acknwledged the , toast of
" The 'Church!! (the Rev. Mr. Peters, rector of
Sunderland); Whoa& address, I fear, from the crowded
state of the room; Wai only heard by com-
paratively few of 'us, in the course of his admirable ob-
seevations, said that nothing could •be successful unless
it had the blesing Of that diVine and ,heneficent Being.
to whose will we must all bOvi. -I am itiftgfied, as I
have no doubt you will* all be, of the truth of these
, cords. • , Indeecl, I feel that the blessing of God has
rested_pectiliarly en" this undertaking, for there was
never so great and magnificent a work carried out with
fewer accidents or less expenditure. of human
Cheers.) When-the promoters undertook the execution.
of this great work, they did so with the utmost diffi-
dence, anxiety,-- and doubt—doubt even of its success.
heir engineer'hacl.propoied a novel plan "of contieing.
Neptune within proper limits, and recovering from the
aea that 'which he had taken from us; and this day you
tied, the inhabitenti of Sunderland have had an oppor-
tunity of witnessing our'success.—(Cheers.) I can as-
sure you,gentlemen, that during the progress of these
works I have felt the greatest anxietyfor the:result; but
I, have been sustained:* all my anxieties by the kindly
feeling always evinced, by My brother ,directors and the
.
inhabitants of the town towards me.—(Cheers.) What-
ever differences in political feeling may exist amongst us, I
am sure that there-can be no difference of opinion relative-
to the importancepf the great work we have Accomplished,
and no one can doubt that it is likely to prove most be-
neficial to -the interests of the town and port of Sander-•
land.—(Cheers.) Ladies and Gentlemen, in carrying
out this great work by private enterprise, unaided b the
Government, we.have set a nohlbaaleebxteoamenaple to the world.
-,-(Chneri.)- While Other nations, if they want te. o 11.
e
to their Go-
etruct a great national work,
PePiLYbled to com-
rivate enterprise, to
pt el
er lePliehnistad for
rk
bs assistance,
st
ouran owne'v
by, any extraneous assistance whatever.—(Cheers.) No-
thing astonishes foreigners mere; and I.; know it from
haying hadconsiderableintereourstrwith them, than to
see Abe grtlet,l4aPig--04, and silendid, works which in
this country, are projected and carried out by, private
enterprise; and iliete IS none' of thde works of which
We have greater reaioh to be proud 'than these docks,.
the, construction of -which reflects the greatest credit 011
1(1;1' engineers, being at once orwmeptal, ,Eolid, and
useful. As 'I have 'said before, we' have bid considerable
difficulties to ecinf end' with; but krowing that-we had a
tistinnal work in -hand, and that it must-eventually
remunerate us for our outlay,
WO, proceeded steadily in
one undeviating course, without looking ,either to the
right o 1-(e)ut tr,
aecomp
, this day-(Cheers)--spa
-odrktheasretsoulbtoi.as'bitehattewo6pehnaTtehesodofeikr
I am sure the day. must be a
proud one, not only for us, but for, the inhabitants of
Senderland.—(Cheurs.) It was observed by the iiallant
officer; Who returned thanks for the navy (Captain
h -e was
inßead,
RN.), in an early part of our proceedings; th
glad to see that,
iosteid of, wasting your money, in the
horrors of war, that you were now spending it in useful
works, , which would remain as monuments of your
energy and your enterprise to ' after ages. And lam
sure that.any man has reason to feel
,proud of the monu=
went which we have raised, by the constructieu of our
dock In the present day we are essentially a travelling
people; but few in at home; and no 'doubt you have all
54,5, theAloeke remiiinin other .towns,: and I ask you can-'
didly whether, in the course of your travels, you ever saw