The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-30 00:00:00

rilE_ SUN, LONDuN, WEDYESDAY MOnNING, OCTOBER, 30 1844.

Viscount ADARE, M.P., then rose to propose the
first resolution. After the statements that had been

last made, it was unne3essar;Tx:—'hirii to enier into
the question whether a railway was necessary fbi•
SJulh Wales. On that sulliect he apprehended therti
could not be a seeond °Viren. lie felt particularly
gratified at two things: —first, at the good opinion
which such a company as the Great Western seemed
to entertain of the project ; and, secondly, at the nume-
rous and highly influential meeting which, by its pre-
sence, concurred in the proceedings of the day. This
was particularly understood to be the age of great
undertakings. It was essential to their progress that
unanimity should govern their proceedings, and he
was happy to state that unanimity was the distin-
guishing feature of the present meeting. The most
sceptical on the subject—those who did not belong to
the company, and proposed taking no part in the spe-
culation, nevertheless hailed it as a measure of wis-
dom—as the means of connecting the metropolis of
England with the south of Ireland, and as productive
of those happy results which must proceed from such
an intercourse. The Noble Lord concluded by mov-
ing the folowing resolution:—" That the formation of
a railway in connection with the Great Western Rail-
way, through Newport, Cardiff, and the agricultural
districts of Llantrissant, Cowbridge, Bridgend, and
Pyle, thence to Neath, Swansea, and Fishguard,
thereby both connecting the metropolis of England
with Ireland, and giving scope to the development of
the vast and various resources of this rich country,

cannot fail to be productive of the greatest advantage
not only to tha country at large, but especially to the
respective districts which it will traverse."
The Right Hon. J. NicrioLL, M.P., said ,he had
the honour and gratification of seconding the resolu-
tion just moved by the Noble Viscount. It had been
well said that any project that had for its object the
establishment of a communication between this coun-

try and the metropolis must be of advantage to Wales.
When he said that the projected line would be in
connexion with the Great Western Company, he
meant to say that it would be in connexion with the
greatest and best line of railway that had ever been
constructed in this or any other country, or that had

yet been called into existence. He begged to con-
gtatulate the meeting that it received so great an
amount of support; and he hoped that the town of
Cardiff would show its sense of the proposed boon—
of its interest in the undertaking, not by the sub-
scriptions of single persons, but of numbers. It was

not the wish Of the Great Western Company, nor
was it necessary that gentlemen alone should come
forward in support of the railway with large sub-
scriptions. It was essential that names should be
numerous as well as influential, and thus prove that
the town of Cardiff, with the county at large, felt an
interest in the undertaking. He would not detain
the meeting further than to bid the undertaking go

forward and prosper.—(Cheers.)
The question on the resolution was then: put from
the chair and carried.

Sir J. GUEST, Bart., M.P., said, that the following
resolution had been put into his hands :—" That com-
mittees be appointed for the purpose of obtaining
subscriptions, and otherwise promoting the under-
taking, and, from time to time, conferring with the
provisional committee and the Great Western Rail-

way Company in furtherance of the measure." After
the interesting explanation given by Mr. Barlow, it
was quite unnecessary for him to say anything, ex-
cept merely in discharge of the duty he felt imposed
on him to call on them to put down their names.
He would only add, with respect to the commercial
prospects of the railway, that as the present line
would be the connecting link between England and
Ireland, much commercial advantage might be in-
ferred. It should not be forgotten, that in this
country they had a profusion of metals, which were
manufactured in the heart of England. If the pro-
jected line were now laid down, the facilities of
transit would be so great, that the produce of their
copper would be sent there, the English hardware
would find its way into this country, and in their
turn they would be able to send into the heart of
England the various metals with which their hills
abounded ; and it was not too much to anticipate that
the trades and manufactures which now flourished in
England would in the course of a few years, find
their way to the hills, and be established among them.
—(Cheers.) As a voucher for this speculation, he
could refer to Professor Buckland, who, he was glad
to see among them. [The Learned Gentleman thus
appealed to, sat opposite Sir J. Guest, and by a nod,
intimated his assent.] That Learned Gentleman
could satisfy them of the abundance of coal on their
hills, and its probable duration. He (Sir J. Guest)
was happy to see that day,—he had long anticipated
it, and the success of the undertaking was what he
had at heart for many years.—(Cheers.)
The Rev. ROBERT KNIGHT said he had been se-
lected for seconding the resolution just now submitted
to them. He could do so with great pleasure. They
had heard of the advantages that would arise from the
proposed undertaking, by joining the two extremities
of the United Kingdom. If they looked nearer home,
they would find in the county of Glamorgan that ma-
terials which lay for many ages unexplored and unde-
veloped, would by the contemplated line be made
available for the uses for which a wise Providence
originally intended them, and make business at both
extremities of this county as active as ever it had been
at the centre of it. He would not detain them longer
than to congratulate the county generally on the
happy prospects held out, and the deputation of the
Great Western Company for the flattering reception
which it had everywhere experienced.
The High Sheriff of the county, J. B. PRYCE, Esq.,
said that the accomplishment of the present under-
taking would be productive of the happiest results,
and was certainly the most important that could be
undertaken. A few days ago he observed stakes
driven into a portion of the bank of the Ely, on which
part of his property lay. He was glad to perceive
that his land could afford such a slight facility for
the commencement of this great undertaking, and
he would be glad to find that the best land of
his in the county could serve a similar purpose.
He had the pleasure of bringing with him to
the meeting two of the most distinguished
gficieolßogeivs.tsmrof .c tohneybeaagree, Professor
.Hevirasqußucitedkellaignd delighted
to
see those gentlemen unfold their maps and display
the treasures of the mineral world, which they ,anti-
cipated from this display. He concluded by moving
the following resolution :—" That the best thanks of
the meeting be given to the deputation of the Great
Western Railway Company, for their attendance this
day, and the information so readily given,by them,
respecting the prospects of the undertaking.
T. W. BoottEa, Esq., said he had the high honour
of seconding the resolution which had been just pro-
posed. In doing so, he could not help congratulating
the deputation of the Great 'Western Railway Com-
pany on the very flattering circumstances under
which they appear before the public. There was a
period, and not a remote one, in which the near ap-
proach of a railway line was regarded by the landed
proprietary with horror. " What,' said they, " shall
we have our parks cut up by your railways—our
very kitchens and pantries tunnelled by your boring ?
—(Laughter.) You will not let the country alone,
but tormenting aad cutting it up into the most fan-
tastic shapes and forms disfiguring the face of
nature. You will not leave one beauty free
' To sink or swell as Heaven pleases.' "
This might at one period form the ground of com-
plaint with many well-meaning gentlemen; but time
and circumstances are changed, and what at one
period was looked upon with jealousy and consterna-
tion, was now regarded with tolerance, if not com-
placency. Mr. Brunel too, like other artful seducers,
kept out of the people's way, and by a retiring and
delicate reserve, enhanced the value of his presence,
and made people but wish the more for his company.
—(Laughter.) He could not help observing that it
augured well for the success of the undertaking to
find that the South Wales Railway would have less
in amount to pay for compensation for land than other
lines. This circumstance brought him to the railway
itself. In the few observations he felt it necessary to
make, he would avoid treading on tender ground, or
hazarding an observation that would for a moment
disturb the unanimity that so happily prevailed. He
would, in all courtesy, beg to put some questions to
the deputation, to which, from the frank and explicit
manner elsewhere shown, he was sure satisfactory
replies would be given. He could perceive that
from Cardiff the railway passes by the valley of
Ely through a rich agricultural district adjacent
to Llantrissant, Cowbridge, Bridgend, Porth Cawl,
and Pyle, the produce of which would thus be
rendered available towards the supply of the sur-
rounding manufacturing population. Passing thence,
the railway runs through the centre of the great
copper and tin-plate works, situate at Cwm-Avon,
Neath, and Swansea, where it is estimated that three-
fourths of all the copper raised in Great Britain are
smelted, and a great portion is now exported at a very
considerable cost, to London and the north. This
produce from the shorter route, and the greater faci-
lity of transport offered by the proposed means of com-
munication, would necessarily be secured to the rail-
way, and thus speedily and more economically find its
way to the metropolis and all the interior parts of the
kingdom. Leaving Swansea, the course of the rail-
way would be such as to secure to it the entire traffic
of the counties of Carmarthen and Pembroke and a
large portion of that of Cardigan. Some distance be•
yond Cormarthen it is proposed that the railway
shall divide into two branches, the one proceeding
southward to Pembroke and Milford Haven, and
the other in a southward direction to Fishguard,
whence a communication with the South of Ire-
land would be effected within five hours. The
length of way wes computed to be 148 miles ; the
capital to be expended 2,500,000/. ; and 17,0001.
per mile was the estimated cost. Now, as the
gentlemen were in town most conversant with these
details, people would naturally expect the most
explicit declarations on ' these 'subjects. Would
Mr. Brunel say whether the estimated expenditure

of 17,0001. per mile was correct? 'or his part hPt
did net anticipate. the failure of the project for wantof funds; and he rhight be alldwed,to hope that the
projectors were prepare to inetitral,iied, if pot oVercOrael
eVerY oPPosition that might be offered. It is proposea
that the railway shall cross the Severn below Glouces-
ter. Respecting this the meeting was aware of the
formidable opposition to be encountered. He would
therefore have no reserve, and he Was dnlioti§ to get
the mast specific declarations on the subject to pre-
vent any mistakes. A meeting had been recently
held in Gloucester. The interference of the South
Wales Railway with the navigation of the Severn had
been freely alluded to. Lord Hatherton attended the
meeting, and he would beg to state what his expres-
sions were on that occasion. He expressed the fullest
conviction that the fair interests of the creditors of the
Severn would be protected by Parliament.—(Cheers.)
Parliament had refused to make the river a joint-stock
property. It had preferred appointing a commission to
execute the improvements in a prescribed manner, and
had given to the creditors of the commission the secu-
rity of certain tolls to pay them their interest and to re •
pay them their capital, and he was satisfied that it
would never (before a shilling of revenue to repay the
larger expenditure had been ta;sed), sancion any body
of speculators in the establishment of an almost paral-
lel line, to carry off the entire of the traffic from the
improved navigation—(Cheers)—and it was remarka-
ble that it was on a commercial traffic that the railway
projectors seemed to rely, for little or nothing was said
about passengers ; but what was the case ? IA 1837
the House of Commons considered the grand con-
nexion scheme, which took a line very similar to that
proposed to be taken now. A certain amount of traffic

was then exhibited as likely to be accommodated by
such a line. That line, howevei, the House of Com-
mons rejected; but, since that period, he might say
that three other lines had been opened for the accom-
modation of Birmingham, Wolverhampton' and South
Staffordshire. The Birmingham and Gloucester
Railway had been opened, and was carrying at an
incredibly small rate of tonnage. The Birmingham
and Worcester Canal, running in exactly the same
direction, had been so greatly improved by deepening
and ample reservoirs, as to render it almost a new

canal, and its tonnages had been reduced to the lowest

practicable rate. Then, on the other side, the com-
pletion of tho works on the Severn, which would be
perfect to below Worcester in five weeks, would ren-
.

der the line of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire

Canal, from Wolverhampton down to the Severn, and

on to Worcester, serviceable to the local and
general trade to an extent never before known.

Here were three lines, then, that might be eon-
sidered as newly opened since the House of Com-
mons pronounced the proud connexion scheme unne-

cessary in 1837. But the importance of the Severn im-
provement would not stop here. If Parliament would
protect its revenue, the future amount of which was
still doubtful, the commission would, he was satisfied,
institute immediate inquiry into the means of ex-
tending the improvements down to the Bristol
Channel. The execution of the works for the deep -
ening the river, under Mr. Cubitt and Mr. Williams'
direction, by embanking, dredging, &c., below Wor-
cester, left no doubts whatever of the facility with
which those operations might be extended below
Gloucester ; and until the channel was opened up
from the mouth of the river, they should never see
that accomplished which Sir R. Peel had expressed
in the House of Commons—his desire to witness the
" sea brought up to Worcester."—(Cheers.) The
immense importance of steam navigation between Ire-
land and the south-west of England on one side and

the centre of England on the oilier could not be over
estimated. Railways were no doubt most important,
but he doubted whether there was now any one
national object of the sort unaccomplished so import-
ant as the establishment of a perfect steam-boat navi-

gation between the Bristol Channel and the centre of
England. He should never rest satisfied till that was
accomplished.—(Cheers.) But for such an object
the revenue of public creditors must be protected, or
Parliamentary commissions would remain powerless
for ever.—(Cheers.) Mr. Booker felt in common
with them all, how deeply they were indebted to the
deputation, and he felt there was every propriety in
putting these questions to the deputation.
Mr. BRUNEL said he came there that day quite un-
prepared to make any specific doclarations, but with
respect to the questions put by Mr. Booker, he was
quite ready to give the fullest information. With
respect to the first point, the estimated amount of the
line, he should say that gentlemen would bear in
mind the comparative expenditure of lines constructed
in the present day, and those laid down eight or ten
years ago. Some of these cost much more than was
at first contemplated. There were various reasons for
this discrepancy between the estimated and actual
amount of construction. Without troubling the
meeting with all the reasons, it would, perhaps, be
enough for his purpose to state that various circum-
stances determined the relative amount—the period
of time when they were made—the cost of materials,
and possibly the want of precision in the estimate.
The same fallacy in the estimates that private gen-
tlemen are subject to in building their mansions,
occasionally governs railways. Railway directors
when they see what has been done—when new vistas
of commerce open to their views, generally extend
their lines, and necessarily incur an expense to which
the new improvements subject them. The circum-
stances under which the Great Western Railway
was constructed were very different from those which
govern railways of the present day. He would in-
stance a few particulars, by way of illustration. The
Box tunnel of the Great Western Railway cost 100/.
per yard. The tunnel on the Exeter Railway cost
but 531. The Cheltenham tunnel in connexion with

the Great Western Railway was estimated at 1361.
per yard ; it cost but 341. per yard. To show the re-
duction in this department alone, he might mention
that, within the last three weeks, he had contracted
for tunnelling at 281. per yard. The comparative
expense must, of course, depend on a variety of cir-
cumstances—the nature of the material to be worked
upon, and the accessibility of materials, with other
matters which he could not just now go into. The
estimate of the railway proposed to be brought before
Parliament was considerably less than that of lines laid
down even in 1836. About 2,500,000/. was the esti-
mate of the South Wales line—about 15,000/. per mile
—and then a surplus would be left available for the
exigencies of the Company. The line of railway pass-
ing through the Stroud valley, at one period deemed
impracticable,and in consequence given up, was taken by
the Great Western Company, and that cost but 15,0001.
a mile on the average. Now, he would say that the. South
Wales line ought not to average more that 12,0001.
or 13,0001. per mile. So far as to the comparative
expense of construction. Respecting other points he
would say there was no mystery—there was no effort
at concealment; but explicitness of detail with re-
gard to leading features was quite consistent with
some reserve on other points. With respect to the
Severn navigation, he should say it was proposed to
improve that river up to the city of Worcester; and
the parties interested in that improvement must have
contemplated a railway to give effect to that improve-
ment. He had been in communication with the
Severn Navigation Company, and he would not hesi-
tate to state to that body his belief that the contem-
plated railway would considerably advance the im-
provement of that river.
Mr. BARLOW briefly returned thanks. He would
have great pleasure in stating to his colleagues in town
the gratifying unanimity which prevailed at the pre-
sent meeting, and the cordiality with which the depu-
tation had been received. They might rest assured
that the 'confidence reposed in them would not be
misplaced, and that they would do all in their power
to justify that by promoting the interests of the line.
There would be an identity of views and interests
between them. So great was the confidence already
ous vote was come to, ap-
to the Company.
rwepaolseesduinoatrhde,ma,nthuantaantima recent meeting of the South
on the Chair-
man of the Great Western Company, and, in terms
p:firn.tuinagrloAwlrc.
to the Marquis of Bute for the liberality of his
views and support of the projected of warm eulogy, moved the thanks of the deputation
oßnculsusdeleld ashy Cahnairman encomium
ability and impartiality with
railway, and the

chair:
A contention of a very amicable nature here took
place between several gentlemen in the vicinity of the
chair for the honour of seconding the resolution.
Prominent among these was the distinguished Pro-
fessor Buckland, to whom, by common consent, was
awarded the honour.
Dr. BUCKLAND then rose, and was warmly cheered.
He rose, he said, with heartfelt pleasure, to second the
proposition which had been just made. Though not
an inhabitant of that county, it was his lot to be oc-
casionally connected with it for many years, and,
therefore, he had some pretensions to second the mo-
tion which had been made. These were matters of
which he was professionally cognizant, and which he
might, with propriety, detail to the present meeting,
and which it was important for them they should
know. The foundation of their present prosperity
mainly rested on the article of coal. Had not this
existed, he believed he was correct in stating that
their population would have been less than it was at
present by 5,000,000, and their commerce less by
one-third. He need not dwell on the advantages to
be derived from locomotives. They all had appa-
rently prospects of long life before them, and they all
might learn the facilities of encouragement railways
gave the multiplication of the means of life, and the en-
hancement of its highest and most intellectual enjoy-
ments. Next in importance to coal, as an important
staple of their country, stood iron. It was preferable
to either gold or silver—seeing that to her mines of
gold and silver, Spain has been indebted for her ruin
as a nation. The Learned Professor here entered into
details respecting the opinions of several members
of the House of Commons, who had peeuliar and ob-
stinate notions on the subject of coal, amounting to
monomania. Some of these were haunted with the
apprehension that the coal of the country was in a

rapid state nf cnirmiziptien; arid the quantity for Mt
mantifactiliing purposes *a., The Legrned
gentleman ridiculed the idea and demonstrated the
suPpl4r,in many placeii to be adequate to any contin-
geni, demands. In other partimilatly in wha
was termed the Upper Russell vein, the exhaustion
coal was rapidly progressing, and would have been
completed in that district had not another vein in that
vicinity been found. Opinions as to the durability of
even the best veins of coal in England varied. Some
said that fifty or sixty years would exhaust them,
other said two hundred years. He then alluded to
the practice resorted to by coal owners and merchants
of deteriorating the quality of coal at the mouth of the
pit, by reducing it to fragments for the purpose
of increasing the bulk with a view of getting a
bonus allowed by Government. Several hundred
thousand chaldrons of coal were now destroyed
this way, fully amounting to one-third of the supply
brought to the mouth of the pit. London merchants
did the same, and became, in consequence entitled to
the reduction of duty. From certain data, it might
be affirmed that the coal of Newcastle would be gone
in a century, and their posterity would see the great
manufacturers of England obliged to come into Wales
and settle down on their hills. He was able to state
that there was little fear of exhausting their home
supply. The coal fields of this and the neighbouring
counties had abundance of store, and when the coal
fields of England were exhausted, those of the county
of Glamorgan would survive.—(Cheers.)
The Marquis of BUTE said he was anxious in the
discharge of his duty as Chairman to return his
very sincere thanks for the honour they had con-
ferred on him by the present resolution, so kindly
proposed by his friend Mr. Barlow. He thought it
not inconsistent with that duty to permit the learned
Professor Buckland to address the meeting. He
had, on all occasions, been too much accustomed
to expressions of kindness and partiality in that
room to be surprised at its manifestation just now.
There was another circumstance which afforded him
much satisfaction—it was the expression of unanimity
in that room. He might be allowed to say that,
accustomed as he was to gratifying exhibitions of that
nature, there was none that ever afforded him so much
pleasure as that which he enjoyed at the present
meeting. On occasions similar to the present, when
he attended, it was only to preside at meetings, com-
posed exclusively, perhaps, of the inhabitants of Car-
diff. Unanimity at such meetings might be expected,
but on the present occasion, when the meeting was
attended by not only, the inhabitants of this town, but
of other towns and counties, an expression of unani-
mity in the proceedings f the day was the more
acceptable. His Lordship then vacated the chair,
and the meeting, which it is no exaggeration to say
was most respectable and influential, separated.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

NEWMARKET, MONDAY NIGHT.

The result of the Cambridgeshire was a surprise, and
not a very agreeable one, we believe, to Lord Strad-
broke, his Lordship, on the strength of a trial in which
his horse was defeated, having laid against him at long
odds, and materially reduced the value of the stakes.
The race was run at a great pace, Walpole leading five
or six. lengths, followed by Evenus, Counsellor, The
Cure, and some of the light weights, Foig-a-ballagh
lying behind them. At the Duke's stand Evenus had
taken up the running, and at the distance the favourite
was at his heels—Walpole, The Cure, Counsellor, and
Algernon, following them. In this order the race pro-
gressed and finished, Evenus winning easy by a couple
of lengths, Walpole a very bad third, The Counsellor
fourth, The Cure fifth, and Algernon sixth—the last
three running home close together. Walpole was placed
third. The settling is likely to be harmless. _

In the race for the Criterion Miss Elis and Lord
Glasgow's colt laid in front all the way ; the Turquoise
colt waited on them to the cords, quitted them half-way
up, and won cleverly by a length—Miss Elis, who
swerved upon Lord Glasgow's colt about a distance from
home, losing the second place by a head.
The only Derby bets after the race were-28 to 1 agst
Fitz Allen, 1,000 to 30 agst Brother to E 0, 40 to 1 agst
Young Eclipse, and 45 to 1 agst Cabin Boy.

ENTRIES FOR TUESDAY.

Fifty Pounds Plate—Last three miles of B. C.

Vibration, 5 yrs—Priscilla Tomboy, 5 yrs—Scalteen,
5 yrs—Pug, 2 yrs—Maria, 2 yrs—Emma colt, 2 yrs—
Mainstay, 2 yrs—Deodara, 2 yrs—The Correct Card,
2 yrs—Tisiphone, .2 yrs—Wild Roe, 2 yrs—Sister to
Canadian, 2 yrs. . _

Sweepstakes of 10 sous. each, for two-years-old ;
- - -

winner to be sold for 200, &c. D. M.
Jessie Hammond, f by Hornsea out of Gameless—
Matilda c by Emilius, out of Rint—Hedgehog.
Sweepstakes of 10 sovs. each, winner to be sold for

801., &c. Last half of Ab. M.
Dahlia, aged—Sangoree, 5 yrs—Five-Times-Five, 4
Ts—Prince of Wales, 3 yrs—Teresa, 3 yrs.

Handicap Plate, D. I.—Winesour, 4 yrs, Sst 91b—
Vibration, 5 yrs, Bst—Mickey Free, 3 yrs, 7st 71b—
Wee Pet, 4 yrs, 7st 71b—Scalteen, 5 yrs, 7st 61b—
Johnny, aged. 7st 41b—Jamie Forest, aged, 7st—Pha-
raoh, 4 yrs, 6st 101b—Plantagenet, 3 yrs, Est 31b—
Glossy, 4 yrs, 6st 11b—Crosby, 3 yrs, sst 51b—Mania,
4 yrs, 7st 91b, paid.
Handicap Sweepstakes of 15 sous. each, 5 ft, T.Y.C.—
Sorella 3 yrs, Bst 101b—Sir Abstrupus, 4 yrs, Bst 91b—
Sir Edward, 5 yrs, Bst 41b—Porto Bello, 4 yrs, Bst
Great Mogul, 3 yrs, 7st 61b—Cockfighter, 3 yrs, Est 11113.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

71t.031 TIIE DAILY rs.trqi.ns 07 YESfERDAY.
IqiUBS.-"It is now near three centuries since not 1
the least illustrious in a long and splendid line of
sovereigns bestowed the name and iopress of royalty
chi the hentral seat of British commerce. To the
opening vision and entel*rrise of that era it seemed a
memorable day; and, though the interening period
has net been barren of events, the day is memorable
still. That] (Sori-trt!cree whose interests Elizabeth
so solemnly identified with the glory of her crown,
adds daily fresh lustre to the history of its early
struggles. Vast changes since have been; the great
of the earth have been laid low ; empires have de
cayed, fleets disappeared, and crowded ports gone
back to desert strands. That ambitious power
which menaced the universal liberty of man, which
claimed a new world as the smallest of its dowries,
and concentrated against this island the utmost
of its strength and fury, instantly and con-
tinually from that time has sunk to nothingness
and shame, and now is scarcely told among
the nations. Meanwhile the British merchant
has gradually and peacefully won the prize fur which
conquerors vainly contended. Small beginnings, ge-
nerous ambition, steady perseverance, equal rights,
and social duties, have raised him to be the head who
was the tail ; and in the busy Exchange we now see
not merely the seat of a thriving trade, but the real
source and centre of the greatest and most beneficial
earthly dominion. The day will not be. less memo-
rable on which Victoria has renewed, with tenfold
significance, her predecessor's auspicious act. In the
comparative infancy of commerce, a wise policy or a
noble condescension might have induced the Tudor
Queen to lend it her presence and her name. It is
no longer a prophetic sense, or a patronage of weak-
ness. Commerce is now but another name for British
strength and greatness. Merchants have grown to
merchant Princes, and are the chief feoffees of
the Crown. To them it owes that a seventh of
the human kind obeys and loves the British rule;
to them and to their inexhaustible means it
owes a power of peace and war beyond the
faculty of armies; to them the respectful homage
of every realm that ocean laves. The Queen of
merchants does but close intuitively and inevitably
with her high calling, when she holds her court in
the Merchants' Hall. In a palace worthy of the oc-
casion, and worthy to be called her own, she yester-
day presided, not merely the Sovereign of a powerful
nation, but the head and governor of a; social fabric
which has filled the earth with its blessings. She
there was seen, as it were, in the most intimate pre-
sence of her own peculiar empire. And of all merely
human occasions what can compare with that when
a Sovereign is publicly invested with the most sub-
stantial and abiding of earthly powers, and crowned
with the truest and most innocent of human prosperi-

ties ? The extorted homage of conquered princes, the
unwilling obedience of injured or of humbled realms,
are but a base triumph—the unreal advantage of one,
purchased by the real calamity of many. In those
petty conflicts it is impossible but that one must lose
what another gains, and one must fall for another to
rise ; but in that field of honourable rivalry where our
Sovereign yesterday sat triumphant, the case is con-
spicuously otherwise. There to be great is to impart
greatness ; pre-eminence shows the greater benefactor;
the blessings of giving and receiving are indissolubly
connected ; honour is the invariable test of utility,
and no one rises upon his fellow-men, but only with
them. So it is with the Sovereign—with the whole
empire—with every subject. Her Majesty appeared
the foremost tenant of earthly thrones, because
her rule is the greatest interchange of benefits—the
largest communication of Heaven's bounties. She was
surrounded by subjects who are prosperous because
they have augmented the prosperity of their species,
and whose wealth is only their fair and modest pro-
portion out of the public wealth which theiringe-
nuity and enterprise have created and diffused.
Service in that system is the rule of rank. lie
stands highest who works most truly and indus-
triously under the Author and Giver of all good
things. Every benefit there denotes another. If all
other climes and veople toil for us, it is because we
toil for them. If they pour in their tributes, it is
the equivalent return for our subsidies. Such is the
reign of kindness, of mutual help and encouragement,
of combined progress, and of common victory, in
which our Sovereign yesterday placed her throne, the
most favoured, most loved, and most beneficent of
earthly potentates. It is seldom that great acts can be
repeated with equal greatness. A singularity, a once
fur all, stamps every higher occasion of history, de-
terring the boldest imitator, and humbling the most
rightful successor to its honours. Second foundations
are lost in the brightness of the first. Thus, the pre-
carious heroisms of a rude and barbarous age will
often eclipse the greater, the wiser, the more impor-
tant, and more deliberate achievements of maturer
times. Probably, however, it occurred to no one
who witnessed the scene of yesterday, that it was
liable to such a disparagement, any more than the
acts of the child can detract from the originality of
the man. The royalty of Britain has not merely been
augmented, it has become something new, since the
days of Elizabeth. So, also, its commerce. In their
glorious and most necessary union they now consti-
tute a work of the perfecting of this earth's strength
and beauty, and the improvement of universal man,
for which, excepting only what is heavenly, the all-
superior economy of Grace, we shall find no earthly
parallel. No empire, or alliance, or mutual under-
standing of empires, can pretend either equal or like.

This has slowly dawned upon us, but is now manifes
and uncontradicted. We saw yesterday the solemn
recognition of this awful trust. Whatever Elizabeth
did for commerce was but a beginning of begin-
nings. It belonged to a different era from ours.
But little community had her double-farmed cus-
toms, her bought and sold monopolies, with that
free spirit which since her day has created another
London on the mud-banks of the Mersey. There
is nothing effete or decayed, no lingering ghost
of prosperity, no, senility either of power or of mo-
rals, no obduracy of prejudice, no invincible barriers
of private interest in British commerce, as we have
lived to see it. To us it is young again, glowing
with hope, full of bursting energies, rejoicing in
strength unmeasured, prospect unlimited, contented
with nothing short of the earth for its field, and sub-
mitting to nothing lower than Heaven for its law.
Nor will it ever be content so long as aught remains
to be done. To us British commerce is as full of
mysterious anticipations as if it were new born, never
seen or told before. In the successive fabrics which
have arisen at Cornhill in fresh and increasing splen-
dour on the site and ruins of their predecessors, we
see an image of the elastic and bounding growth of
the system. Its best friends are its enemies, its ruin
its restoration, its difficulties its triumphs. Through
losses, through spoliations, through fire and sword, it
lives and prospers. Driven into the ocean it emerges
grander still. Exiled, it finds a foreign home.
Whether menaced by an armada, or encompassed
with iron-closed ports and shores, it has bounded over
the petty circumvallations of its enemies. They
thought it crushed under their feet, and saw it over
their heads. Surrounding, they found it had mean-
while surrounded them. Beleaguered by a continent,
it occupied the world. There is much to make men
scrupulous even beyond the suggestions of common
feeling, and the calculations of ordinary prudence,
how they depreciate or check so strange and mighty
a growth of time as the present commercial position
of this empire. Are there not the tokens of Heaven
in it ? Look at the majesty of these realms ; turn
from her who sat yesterday as its visible representa-
tive, and expand the ken of space and time to the
whole natural eircumstance and providential story of
England. Nursed in the lap of ancient Europe,a mar-
vellous child,—for a time the jealousy of nations, but
now superior to envy,—enforcing the admiration of
all by the manifest transcendancy of her achievements
for the universal good, she stands upon the very point
of power and enterprise, at the very mid line be-
tween land and ocean, old and new, the things that
have been, and the things men hope for. On a sacred
soil, open to every friend, inviolable by any foe at
once a fortress and a refuge, she maintains a terrible
yet gracious state. Here she guards a neutrality
amid petty dissensions, a liberty for great designs.
Safe on her charmed rock, she despises the threats or
intrigues of nations, and allies herself with the
wondrous powers of nature and the merciful dispen-
sations of Providence,—faithful to tread the waters at
the heavenly call. And who can mistake her errand?
What has the Ocean Queen before her but to pacify
universal sea and land, to conciliate divided realms,
and lead all men to their own best interests ? It is
hers to draw from every coast its own contributions to
the general weal, to elicit the virtues of nature and
the virtues of men, to make the wilderness smile with
abundance, and savage men with gratitude. It is bets
to people every shore with the friends of human kind,
and teach them to pile at every port, and interchange
with every fellow-man, the manifold gifts of Heaven.
For every message of love, for the communication of
every blessing, she is singularly provided, and sin-
gularly ready. Who can foretell the end of such a
destiny ? It is evident that we only see the begin-
ning. Hence the solemn import of yesterday's in-
auguration.
CHRONICLE. The magnificent scene pre-
sented by the metropolis yesterday, claims more at-
tention and suggests more matter for reflection than
courtly or civic celebrations usually do. The peace-
ful and decorous assemblage of such vast multitudes,
preserving order, as it seemed, from a kind of in-
stinct, and giving way to no excitement but that of
enthusiastic gratulation towards a beloved Sovereign,
was a spectacle which might well excite wander and
admiration in a stranger ; but it was one by no means
new in the reign of Queen Victoria. Her Majesty is
familiar with the sight of congregated masses. The
imposing aspect of a collected people, and the shout
of loyal welcome bursting from the lips and the hearts
of all, have met her eye and ear too often to excite in
her own or in any other mind emotions not experi-
enced before. The solemnities of yesterday, grand,