The Sun.
London, England, 1868-06-25 00:00:00

ABANDONMENT OF THE IIOOSAC
T UZti NEL.

This is one of the world-renowned undertakings,
to which Massachusetts fondly hoped one day to
point as the best evidence of her skill, enterprise,
and judgment. But vain are the hopes of men ! Still
should Massachusetts lay the Hoosac Tunnel lesson
to heart, it may not be without its value. If Mr.
Walker's elaborate report and opinion be adopted
and the work abandoned, it will remain as a stu-
pendous instance of Massachusetts folly. Not long
since we gave a full account of the progress of this
mighty work, which has already cost $1,708,110 in
gold, and the lowest computation sets down the
total cost at $13,735,199. The question is, and
ought to have been before the commencement,
What is to be obtained for this stupendous outlay?
Boston thought that by shortening the road to the
West it might make its port the Atlantic terminus of
the trade supplanting New York. Mr. Walker says,
" I regard the construction of this line of railway,
at this late day, as a mistake, and in this opinion
I am supported by all the best authorities on the
subject of western transportation. It strikes the
borders of New York at too low a point; it crosses
the waters of that inexorable river ' which always
will flow downwards to the sea ;' it seeks to enter
into a fruitless and unavailing competition with
navigable waters, and the attractions of a greater
market." It is unpleasant for Boston to have
its hopes thus dashed, but it would be wise in
Boston, in common with the whole State, if
what Mr. Walker says be true, not only to re-
cognize, but to act on the truth which that gen-
tleman thus represents : —" If these conclusions are
just, the sentiment which would persist in an enter.
prize, the friends of which concede that its comple-
tion must cost nine millions additional of the
people's money, merely because the State has entered
upon it, is a false and foolish pride, to be anything
but proud of. The face of the civilized world is
scarred all over with abandoned enterprizes; so is the
life of man. Shall the State be wiser than the aggre-
gate wisdom of its people, and what prudent man is
there who would continue a business adventure after
he had found every day's continuance in it to be a loss?"
And he thus concludes his speech—" Can we in=
crease this burden —on the contrary, must we not
lighten it ? I believe we must, and I see no mode
so feasible as by stopping this unpromising enter-
prise of the tunnel. I would complete the railroad,
and then I would put all the tunnel work and ma-
chinery under hatches till I could take the sense of
the people on a continuance of the expenditure,
and until I could investigate the alternative pro-
positions to which I have called the attention of the
House."

7HE POET LONGFELLOW IN ENGLAND.

The Times last Monday remarked :—" Mr. Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, the American poet, who
arrived in Liverpool on Saturday week, in the
steamer Russia, paid a visit to the English lakes on
Tuesday and Wednesday, and on Thursday night
proceeded to Carlisle on a visit to Mr. Robert Fer-
guson, of Morton, near that city. On Friday the
distinguished visitor, who is accompanied by three
daughters, Miss Longfellow, Miss Edith Longfel
low, and Miss Annie Longfellow, and also by his
brother-in-law, Mr. Appleton, paid a visit to Corby
and Wetheral, with their host and some other
friends, lunched with Mr. P. 11. Howard, of Corby
Castle, and made a tour through the picturesque
grounds of Corby. On Saturday morning the
committee of the Carlisle Literary, Scientific, and
Mechanics' Institute had the privilege of present-
ing an address of welcome to the poet at Morton.
The committee was introduced by klr. Ferguson,
who is president of the institute. Mr. Davidson,
banker, vice-president of the institute, said that on
behalf of the Carlisle Literary, Scientific, and Me-
chanics' Institute, he and his colleagues of the com-
mittee of management had the honour of appearing
to present an address, in which they wished to offer
Mr. Longfellow a hearty welcome to the ancient
city of Carlisle, and to express their high admira-
tion of his great snd distinguished talents and
labours in the field of literature, and to assure
him that the heart of the old country beats
with genuine affection towards the people of
the great American Republic. Mr. Charles P.
Hardy, a member of the committee, added a few
words, expressing the hope that the pearls of litera-
ture which had been profusely cast over this
country by Mr. Longfellow might be found bril-
liantly set in the hearts and judgment of those who
had the pleasure of reading them. Mi. John Sewell
then read an address of welcome, which was beauti-
fully illuminated upon vellum. Mr. Longfellow,
upon receiving the address, said :—" Mr. President
and gentlemen, being more accustomed to speak
with the pen than with the tongue, it is somewhat
difficult for me to find appropriate words now to
thank you for the honour you have done me and
the very kind expressions you have used. Coming
here as a stranger, this welcome makes me feel that
I am not a stranger ; for how can a man be a
stranger in a country where he finds all doors and
all hearts open to him ? Besides, I myself am a
Cumberland man. I was born in the county of
Cumberland, in the State of Maine, 3,000 miles
from here, and you all know that the familiar name
of a town or country has a home-like sound to all
ears. And yet there is much strangeness in this
now, when I come to the laud of my fathers and
find in it no trace of my family or name. If I am
to find them at all, it will not be in the streets or
towns or on the outside of the houses of the living,
but in the grave-yard and on the doors of the dead.
You can think, then, how very grateful it is to me,
how very pleasant, to find my name has a place in
your memories and your affections. For this kind-
ness I most heartily thank you, and I reciprocate all
the good wishes which you have expressed for the
perpetuation of the tics of amity between our two
nations." The members of the committee were then
introduced individually to Mr. Longfellow, who
shook hands with them all. The proceedings then
terminated. On Saturday afternoon Mr. Longfellow
visited Sir George Musgrave, at Edenhall, the
scene of the legend of " The Luck of Edenhall."
At Cambridge, last Tuesday, Mr. Longfellow was
admitted to the honorary degree of LL.D. in the
presence of a large and distinguished audience.
The Public Orator, the Rev. W. G. Clark, de-
livered an appropriate Latin speech, in the course
of which he mentioned the visit of the American
bishops, the cordiality with which they were re-
ceived, and the fact that all Englishmen feel it a
duty to show especial honour to Americans, who on
their part regard England as their fatherland, our
great men as their great men, and the places trod-
den by the footsteps of the great men of old or hal-
lowed by their tombs, as holy places to which they
(the Americans) make pilgrimages. Mr. Long-
fellow (he observed) was entitled to especial
honour as a poet he was as much valued here as

in his own country. Mr. Longfellow was an am-
bassador sent from the American people to help In
carrying out the work begun by Mr. Adams, and
to be finished (it was to be hoped) by the no/
Minister, Mr. Reverdy Johnson ; that was to say,
doing away with all grounds of quarrel between the
two countries, and strengthening the bonds of good-
will .which should bind together two nations of the
same blood, the same language, and the same litera-
ture. The Public Orator thanked the _Americans
for their cordial reception of our Ambassador,
Charles Dickens, and ended Nvith the remark:—
" Those nations which God and nature have joined
together let no man put asunder."

THE NEW CATHOLIC COLLEGE LN

BROOKLYN.

A Lrge number of Catholic institutions have
been erected daring the past two years in the city
of 13rooklyn, which for size and beauty will pro-
bably rival any in the United States. There are at
the present time a number in course of construction,
which will be completed within a year, and will be
quite superior, in an architectural point of view, to
any yet constructed.

b. May 28th the ceremony of breaking ground
for the new Catholic college, to be known as "Mary,
Queen of the Isles," took place i❑ the presence
of between two and three thousand persons. The
structure will cover an area of 200 by 750 feet,
while the grounds embrace five acres, or an entire
block, bounded by Willoughby-avenue, Hart-street,
Stuyveysant, and Lewis-avenues. The cost of the
structure is estimated at $1,010,000. The entire
ground had been enclosed by a high board
fence, and an admittance fee was charged for all
entrance to the enclosure. There were three or
four tents within the enclosure, besides the speak
ers' stand, and at some of these refreshments of
all kinds might be obtained. A large number of
flags of different nationalities were flying from
the tents, and from long lines stretched from
one part of the grounds to the other. The spade
used for breaking the ground rested upon a sm all
table in front of the speakers' stand and was an
object of considerable curiosity. It was hand-
somely painted, and had a silver plate on the
handle, bearing the following inscription
"Mary, Queen of the Isles. On the 28th of May,
1868, this spade was used in the ceremony of break-
ing the ground for the Institute. Pius IX., rope
Andrew Johnson, President United States ; Right
Rev. John Loughlin, D.D., Bishop of Brooklyn
Hon. M. Klabfleish, Mayor."
At half-past three o'clock Father M,Namara
called the attention of the assemblage to the fact
that the hour for the commencement of the cere-
monies had arrived. Bishop Loughlin, of Brooklyn;
Bishop M'Farland, of Providence ; Bishop Elder, 01
Natchez, and Fathers Haden, Mooney, and Ryan'
then ascended the speakers' stand. Father Ryan
then made a speech upon the object of the enterpriye•
They had come out for the purpose of inaugurating
the work of breaking the ground for the new Catho-
lic college for the city of Brooklyn, and he thought
if they had spades enough of the kind they were
about to use they might dig the foundation this
evening, for even the ladies would be inclined to go
to work. (Laughter.) They had met for the se-
lemu inauguration of a work important to society
and religion—a work of deep interest to the cam-
muuity, and which they knew how to appreciate.
Now that they had been called upon to contribute
towards the erection of a Catholic college, it was n°
wonder that Brooklyn was festive on the occasion•
After Father Ryan had concluded his address the
ceremony of breaking the ground was performed 131
Bishop Loughlin and others.
Remarks were then made by several of the local
clergy, after which the spade used for breaking the
ground was sold at auction. An oration was then
delivered by Governor Lowe of Maryland, and
after some music by the bands, the assemblage dis"
persed.