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

FESTIVITIES AT BIRKENHEAD.

We have already given, in our last publication, each
details of the preparations and programmein anticipation, of
the proceedings-and festivities at Birktmhead, on occa-
sion of laying the, foundation stone of the new docks in
that locality, that we do not deem it necessary, now that
nearly a week has elapsed, to furnish more than a con-
densed sketch of the events of the great slay, more espe-
cially as the very full accounts of our intermediate con-
temporaries, several of them accompanied •by plans
or illustrations, have already put nearly the whole read-
ing comumnity in possession of the principal facts.
The day was one of the finest that could be hoped for•
at this advanced period of the autumn.. the sky being
c!oudless throughout, the sun bright. and the breeze just
sufficient to produce a. coolness highly grateful to all en-
gaged in the active movements of the occasion. The
previous day having been also floe, and the night clear and
inclined to frost, the streets and roads were in prime or-
der for the procession, being at once dry, and from the
humidity of the previous dew, free from dust. Weather
equally favenrable could scarcely, indeed, have been
found even in the middle of summer, and its exhilarating
effect was visible in the happy countenances and general
good feeling and fellowship of the- thousands who at-
tended. As early as six o'clock in the morning the
sound of cannonading was heard reverberating for miles
along both shores of the Mersey, rousing those of our
citizens, not yet astir, front their slumbers, to prepare
for the pleasures of a holiday, to which vast numbers had
made arrangements to devote themselves. The piss-
bead, from an ear!yr hoar, presented an unusual scene of
bustle and anitnat!oa. Crowds of well-dressed indivi-
dinals of both sexes wended their way to embarking steps
and slips. The- Woodside; Monk's Ferry, and Brken-
head steamers, were gaily decot=ated with flags, as were
-most of the vessels in the river ; and the who'e line of
opposite shore from the Black Rock, north, to the Royal
Mock Ferry on the south,-was enlivened at every point by
flags and evergreens, fluttering in the breeze from all the
lefties, the new works along the shore, the public and
many of the private buildings, the masts and yards of
vessels, large and small, and, in fine, from nearly every
eminence whence they c,,uld be displayed. At Wood-
side ferry, and also round the site on which the founda-
tion stone was to be depo4ited, long lines of flags of all
kinds and colours were hung on ropes ex'ending hori-
zontally from spar to spar, forming immense wreaths or
-valances, at once gay aid graceful in elect. From
Gleave's and the Monks' Ferry Hotels, a profusion
of flags was also displayed. Her Majesty's steam ten-'
der, 'Redwing, lay at her anchorage gtound, and was
literally covered tvith ensigns, union jacks, and signal
flags. Contrasted with the previous day, though the
shore even then presented a cheerful, busy, and interest-
ing appearance, -the result of the improvements and new
was going on, the whole coa4t and town now assumed
a different and more liVely aspect : it was peopled by
thousands and thousands, and dressed up, if we may so .
express ourselves, in new and profuse holiday attire.
Many of the vessels in the Liverpool docks were also
gaily ornamented with flags, indicative of the friendly
feeling entertained by the owners or captains towards
the new enterprise oem the opposite side Seven s'eam-
boats plied regularly during the whole day betwei,n this
town and the Woodside and Monks' Ferries, and their
commanders and others on hoard paid every possible at-
tention to the comfort and safety, in lanifng or embark-
ing, of the passengers, which the great re qaisitiou these
conveyances were in would admit. The George's Pa-
rade was so crowded, that it at !wily peiiods of the day
required some perseverance and nerve to obtain a place
on hoard. So extraordinary a rush was not eapected,
and there was at first a want of a sufficient police force
to maintain order and avert danger. This was after-
wards remedied, and, happily, no serious accident, so far
as we have heard, took place, though on some occasions
in the forenoon, females, from alarm, relinquished their
intention of c ossing.

With regard to the interior of the town and township
of Birkenhead and its adjuncts, Tranntere,
Oxton, Cla,ughtor, Didston, &c., similar demonArations
of rejoicing were everywkere conspicuous. In Hamil-
ton-street, in the immediate vicinity of the Town-hall,
the point whence the procession was to start, the scene
was one of more than ordinary splendour and gaiety.
Almost from every windox were displayed new and
handsome flags, and each person seemed to. vie with his
*neighbour in enthusi ISM. At the north-eastern corner
Of Hamilton-square, and also at the entrance to the
platform, triumphal hurel arches were erected. It wcu'd
be an endless, if not an invidious task, !o attempt, parti-
cularly, to enumerate the various houses from which ele-
gant devices and colours were displayed. Suffice it to
say, that the whols of the buildings in the town seemed
to be decked in holiday dreSs. The streets were lined
with thousands of the residents, and by perhaps treble
thousands from this town, Chester, &c., all apparently
resolved to be plea,ed and to please. The 'shops and
markets were al! elos ani there was a general cessa-
tion from labour, each man having not only the privilege
of a holiday, but tie boon of his day's wages. A large
body of the I iverpol police, under the command of Mr.
Miller, was in attendance. He was assisted' by super-
intendents Leverett sod McDonald, and several insiec-
curs who had the immediate cii.vomitinn of the officers of
the police force, and the arrangements were such as,
under the circumstances, reflected great credit upon all
parties concerned.

The out-door a-rangewentg, including the cannon, the
flags, &c. were under the superintendence of Mr. Morti-
mer, to whom the press are especially indebted for the
readiness with which he furnished theni with every possi-
ble information. •