The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-10-29 00:00:00

in that corner of the county—in that corner where no
docks, but tail chimneys are the order of the day—let me
tell you that we feel no slight interest in the progress and
success of this undertaking. We have been told, on high
authority, that " we are all for ourselves in this world" (a
cry of " Aldermen Brooks," and snouts of " hear") but,
gentlemen, the individuals who projected this great na-
tional work look upon it as one of the greatest advantages
to the rapidly increasing commerce or this country, and
on motives of self-interest alone we look with anxiety to
the success and rapid execution of these measures. Be-
lieve me, gentlemen, it is a matter of no slight interest to
our master manufacturers, and to the great masses we see
in our corner of Cheshire—many of whose representatives
1 am happy to see arcund me to-day—it is to them a mat-
ter of no slight importance to see the delay of their vessels
in ihe Mersey for a period of from Ito 14 says. We are
told that punctuality is the .s,,ul of business, and our ma-
nufacturers know that it will not answer for them, when
they receive orders—ay, and when they have executed
theta—not to he able to forward them to their correspond-
cots. I say, then, that upon national grounds, and upon
every other ground, we look with great interest on the un-
dertaking. As one more particularly connected with this
district, I bid you God speed. I sincerely trust that Cie
work which we have to-day commenced so auspiciously
will be auspiciously finished. I see scarcely any limit,
lloking into futurity, to the growing greatness and pros-
perity of this town. You have seen what your neighbours
have done on the other side of the water. I can only say.
as one who has had long dealings with the authorities of
Liverpool, that I sincerely trust—that I wish—they would
hold out to you the right hand of fellowship—that all dis-
cords will be forgotten—that you will try to rival them,
and only in that, in your punctuality, in the extent of your
commerce, and the accommodation of yoar docks; and I
can assure you, as one of the reprerentatives of this
county, as one who has tried to be the representative of
the country, and not of the county, it shall always he my
endeavour to CO operate in any MCA, ure that will promote
the prosperity of this town. (Lung and protracted cheer-
ing)

The CHAIRMAN then rose to propose another toast. lie
Proposed the " Health r f the Earl of Essex, Lord Litford,
Lord Bateman, and a the other distinguished guests who
had that day honoured Birkenhead with their presence."
The Earl of EESEX.-1 have been roost deeply gratified
by the interesting ceremony which we have witnessed. It
has given me a roost exalted idea—but that, indeed, I did
not want—of the energy and the power of those connected
with the commerce of this country ; and when I consider
the talent and foresight that were necessary to conceive
this great enterprise, the wealth and energy necessary to
carry it into execution, arid the extraordinary results to
follow from its success, I cannot but think that the men
of Birkenhead are richly deserving of that noble title
which was borne by the first merchants of the world—
thoe of Tyre—whic-h then descended to the equally cele-
brated merchant of Venice, and now so worthily devolves
on your shoulders,—" the merchant princes" of Great
Britain. (Much cheering.) lam sure I most heartily
hope•and pray that success may attend your noble under-
taking—that it may conduce iet every respect to the hap-
piness and welfare of yourselves and your fellow-towns-
men—that it: may spread still further and wider your al-
ready great name and the great commerce of tt,is country,
and that, thou h last, not least, she may, with this assist-
ance and God's blessing, carry into the' very remotest
part of the world the b'essings of civilization and of Chris-
tianity. (Loud and long-continued•applause.)
Toe Bon. E. J. STANLEY said, they had laid the foun-
dation of the great civilization of the town by areparing a
system of drainin4—by preparing that system which. he
believed, would do more to banish vice and misery from
the walls of a town than almost anything they could have
undertaken. (Hear, hear.) He would speak also of that
which re dounded to their honour—he meant the noble at-
tempt they had made in setting apart a great space for the
recreation of their poorer and humbler brethren (hear,
hear), and that, not in !-ome obscure corner of their vi-
cinity, but in tee very heart and centre of that great town
—land worth in value, by the inch and yard, they had
given by the acre for the recreation of all the poorer in-
habitants. (Loud cheers.) And while he mentioned this
as a great means, he believed, for the civilization and im-
provement of the coranaun,ty, he mentioned it also as one
which would materialiy tend to lighten the labours of the
magistiacy. (Hear, hear.) Whale he praised them for
this. lie would add. that in this, as in other cases, the
best, the most hoiiest, and the roost merciful and humane
policy was also to be witnessed; and he believed that the
iehmitants of the township would experience ate advert-
tege from what had been rife( ted, not only in the superior
moral character of the people, but in the real additional
value they would find conferred on all the property in the
neighbourhood. (" Hear, hear," arid loud cheers)
Mr. POTTER said, the Liverpool merchants could not
he the opponents of the Birkenhead dock measure, for
they had felt too severely all the isks attendieg the former
state of affairs, and the losae, attending the delay to a hick
their trade was subjected, partly from physicall circum-.
stances, and partly from the trade of the country having
ioe:cased to a degree beyond what any ordinary foresight
could be esptcted to provide for. Therefore, while asso-
ciated in the Birkenhead measure, he was not only dung
that which could advance the trade of Liverpool and this
trade of the wort!, but ho was also thing that which -would
meet with the encouragement and approbation of some of
the most eminent merchants in Liverpoel—so many, that
to name them would be quite invid•cus. (Hear, hear.)
-11t4 had felt that the measure was due to the trade and
canon., aft of aptaly eXCe,tl,ng all Inc eroviaviiis
made for its tioneeniance, and ti at it was al,o due to that
great hive of maeufacturing industry on the other side,
knowing that the extension of commerce was the true
basis of the prosperity of the estuary of the Meisey.
(Hear, hear.) tie bogged to propose, "The town and
trade of Liverpool." (The toast was very warmly
received.)
Mr. DUNCAN GIBB responded to it.
The Hon. Sir E. Cost. 'n prcposing the health of the
Commissioners of Birkenhead seid.—l she 1 very shortly
indeed repeat those two or three 6rcuaistances which have
been mentioned alread—those, tor instance, named by
the Hon. Mr. Stanley,—and which certainly display a
most remarkable example of the wisdom, sagacity, and
f rres:glit of these who took the Lad U 1 this town, in lay-
ing out the suburbs of the town for the benefit ef the
poorer population. I believe that this is an instance of
feeling towards the poorer population wholly unexampled
in any town in this or the other hemisphere; for enor-
mous streets have been projected and duly sewered, pre-
pared for water, and all the !unities that modern refine-
ment could conceive, being all prepared before a singe
house had been erected on the land. This is an instance
of sagacity very unusual indeed in any public undertaking,
and it is also an instance of activity which is very rare in
any public functionaries—qualities which must, to a re-
markable extent, exalt the character of the commissioners
of Birkenhead. The noble market now in course of erec-
tion, the various and numberless work* every day pro-
jeeted, and, last, though not least, that mighty work
which we hive seen to-day commenced, are all works in
themselves so unusually great, that they world very justly
entitle any set of men to a high plies in public estimation
lot their individual nets; bat, whin United, they ready
form a very considerable a laim on the public gratitude.
The t7ast was received with rapturous acclamations.
and Mr. J. D. CASE responded to it.
Mr. W. POTTER said, they ought not to forget him from
whom the plan of the docks proceeded. (Hear, hear.)
Ife y were indebted to the genius of that gentleman, as
well for his readmess to answer all otj:ctions, to undergo
the rigorous cross-examination of numerous counsel, and
to corroborate all his assertions. as to Vie capabilities of
tithe pool.
lc,cammercial purposes. He would net be
ns
erefdor till
to c trespassed Iv when he bettged
e
prop:.se the " Heal hof Mr. Retitle:, the engineer." ("Me
toast was rapturously received.)
Mr. REN DEL was perfectly satisfied of this. that tie
dees of which they lied been lay na the foundation-scone
that day were not designed, neither would they be, in a
spirit of rivalry to those vet y magnificent works which
they saw so gloriously across the river (41 the very fine
day with ahich they were blessed for their ceremony.
He was quite certain that they a ere altogether of a dif-
feteet deecriptien from a rive; establishment. (Hear,
hear.) TI ey a-e intended to provise adlnional necoin-
modaticn in the port of the 111ereey, which. favoured as
Liverpool was, it did not afford facilities for the construe-
don of. (Hear, hear.) If that fite Mr. Laird had lived
till 1814, and seen the numerous steamers which traversed
the Atlantic with the reeularlty almost of a locomotive,
he would have said " Let me have a low-water basin for
those vessels ;" and this was really the only difference
between Mr. Laird's conception and the shadowing of
that conception which he (Mr. Rendel) had been fortu-
nate enough to lie called upon to earry out. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. J. HARDEN !hen propost d "The Press."
Mr. J. SMITH ta:lrlled thanks.
The last toast on the list was "Tine Cheshire Witches,"
which was enthusiastically drunk.