THE PRINCE OF WALES'S TOUR.
Sonic further accounts of the reception of the Prince of Wales at Mon- treal may prove acceptable, although somewhat late.
The Prince on landing was met by the members of the Canadian Go- vernment, the Mayor and Council of Montreal, the C01:1131113, and the Commander-in-chief. The Mayor presented an address to which the Prince made this reply- "Gentlemen—The address TOU have just presented to me, in which you proclaim your loyalty to the Queen and attachment to the British Crown, demands my warmest acknowledgments. " The impression made upon me by the kind and cordial reception which has been accorded to me on this first visit to Canada can never fade from my mind ; and deeply will the Queen be gratified by the proof which it affords, that the interest which she takes in the welfare of this portion of her em- pire, and which she has been anxious to mark by my presence anion g you, is met on their part by feelings of affectionate devotion to herself and fetidly. 4' For myself I rejoice at the opportunity which has been afforded me of visiting this city—a great emporium of the trade of Canada—and whom growing prosperityollers 80 striking an example of what may be effected by energy and enterprise under the influence of free institutions. " That this prosperity may be still further enlarged is my earnesthope ; and there can be little doubt that by the completion of that stupendous monument of engineering skill and labour which I have came in the name of the Queen to inaugurate, new sources of wealth will be opened to your citizens and to the country, new elements of power developed, and new links forged to bind together in peaceful cooperations the exertions of a wide spread and rapidly increasing population.' Among those present also were a detachment of Boston Fusiliers, con- sisting of several "well dressed and well drilled companies," who had come to do honour to the Prince; and also the Montreal Volunteer Cavalry, "and -bettor troops it would be difficult to sec." After, the address the Prince was esteemed to his temporary home at the house of Mr. Rose, Commissioner of Public Works, with all duo ceremonye the chief figure in a stately procession. But the Legislative Assembly, strange to say, would not walk in the procession. Neither woulil they do so at Quebec.
But the Prince had no sooner got home than he was carried off again, and in succession he opened the Montreal Exhibition—somewhat prema- turely—and then the grand bridge which bears his mother's name. This bridge has well been styled the greatest engineering work in the whole world ; fire times longer and bigger than the biggest bridge ewer yet constructed.
"Its total length is very needy two miles (P.500 feet) ; its height from the'water little over 100 feet. It is composed of 25 tubes joined in lengths of two tubes, each about 270 feet, with a centre one of 330 at the highest part above the river. In weight of iron it is very little over a ton per (rot in length (the lightest bridge of its kind ever made-with the same wren:ph), and the construction and expansion of the whole make a difference iii its length between summer and winter of more than 10 feet, which Is ef course,- properly allowed for in its construction. The piers, which are 24 in num- ber, and eonain some - 3,000,000 =hie feet of masonry, were .forreel by forcing down coffer dams of wood in the exact places where the foundations. were to be laid, then driving rows of piles round these, and filling in between the two with wads of clay, forced down till they were watertight. The water inside the coffer-dam was then pumped out by steam pump; and the work of clearing out. the gravel and mud, and laying the masonry down on the very rock, commenced. Quicksands let in the water to such an extent that 330 pumps could keep the coffer-dams empty, and tiers upon tiers of piles had to be driven all round them till the subterranean communication was cut off at last. At other times huge boulders were in the way, and divers had to be employed for months in the bed of the river securing chains to these rough masses before they could be hooked up and taken away. When all was clear and progressing well the mere force of the swift current would sonsetimes destroy the dams, and masses of floating ice in one short winter's day laid waste the labour of a whole summer. It may give your renders some idea of the varied and overwhelming nature of the obstacles contended against, when I state that some piers were destroyed by ice and quicksands as often as six or seven times year after year, and that on the average of the whole twenty-four piers the works of each one were ac- tually destroyed thrice. Only the genius of Stephenson and Ross, and only the unconquerable nerve and readiness of Mr. Hodges, to whom the entire work of the building was intrusted, could have overcome such obstacles, and persevered in the face of such apparently hopeless reverses. At last the piers got above water, and were faced towards the set of the current with a long massive wedge of granite masonry, strong aud sharp enough to divide even the ieefields of the St. Lawrence. Gradually, and only working in the sum- mer, they were built to the required height, and then the labour of eon- stnieting the tubes commenced. The dangerous rapidity of the stream made it impossible that the tubes could be built on shore, floated out on rafts, and then raised to their positions in one piece as was the ease with the bridge at Menai. So the whole tube was first actually built in England, and sent out piecemeal, with every plate bar and angle iron numbered with such minute exactness that, as far as putting together was concerned, there was no more difficulty than with a child's toy. Thus, with the assistance of a temporary scaffolding, stretched between the piers, tube after tube was slowly built acroas to the centre, where the great span of 350 feet comes. As may be imagined, the work of building this across with no supports from below prgptati-seties of engineering difficulties, such as have never yet been gaV countered in any piece of ironwork that was ever put together." The Prince of Wales laid the last stone" of the bridge, and clenched the last, a silver rivet.
"The ceremony was nothing to describe, though it would have made a fine picture. The two workmen wielding their tremendous hammers with a din that was awful, the rich uniforms of the Prince and suite, half-hidden in the gloom, and softened down by the wreaths of thick wood-smoke which curled from the funnel of the engine in the background—the little glimpse through the opening into the bright sunlight, the St. Lawrence far be- neath—the daunting decorations and shining roofs of Montreal beyond the river—all made a striking subject for a picture. The Prince turned a look of humorous inquiry on the Duke of :Newcastle as he saw the process of riveting going forward, which said, as plainly as look could 'speak, I shall never be able to use those hammers that way. His turn soon came. The last iron rivets were fixed, and the last of all, a silver one, was inserted. The Prince took the hammer, and, heavy as it was, prepared to wield it stoutly—of course, with the wrong or big end foremost, which any one but a professional smith would think was the right one to use. He laughed, and rectified the mistake when pointed out. Mr. Hodges adjusted the silver knob, and with some stout, sounding blows, the Prince finished the last rivet in the Victoria Bridge."
Then the train carried the party to the other side of the river, where "Mr. Blackwell, in the name of the Grand Trunk Railway Company, presented the Prince with a beautiful gold medal, executed by Wyon, commemorative of the occasion. The suite were presented with similar ones, but in silver." The car then returned to one of the workshops of the Company, where lunch was eaten and where the Prince made a speech to the railway workpeople. In the evening Montreal illuminated, and the Prince drove out incognito, but was recognized, followed, and cheered.
The railway workmen handed to the Prince a bronze medal for the Queen, and the Prince thanked them in the following terms-
" Gentlemen—I accept with peculiar pleasure an address of artisans and working men, who have, by the sweat of their brow and skilled labour of many a hard day's toil, contributed to erect this monument to the greatness of their country—a structure scarcely less honourable to the hands which constructed it than to the minds which conceived it. I mourn with you the loss of Robert Stephenson. In your sregrets, you bring to mind that it was from your class that his eminent father sprueg—let me further remind you that England opens to all her sons the prospect of success to genius, combined with honest industry. All cannot attain the prize, but all may strive for it, and in this race victory is not to the wealthy or the powerful, bat to him whom God has given intellect, and has implanted in the heart the moral qualities which are required to constitute true greatness. I con- gratulate you upon the completion of nett work, and earnestly hope it may prosper ; and to you who have raised it to its present grandeur, and to your families, I heartily wish every happiness." On the evening of the 27th ultimo, there was a grand ball at Montreal ; it was held in a building erected for the special purpose, and was at- ttituled by 6000 persons. The Prince and his suite arrived at ten o'clock, and the Prince opened the ball with Mrs. John Young; Lady Franklin, General Williams (of Kars), and the Marquis and Marchioness of Mendes were present. The Prince stood up in twenty dances, omit- ting only one, and returned at four o'clock in the morning. On Tuesday, the 28th, the Prince and suite proceeded by train to Dick- son's Landing, up the St. Lawrence, returning by boat, and running all the repids, in time to attend the musical festival at Montreal in the evening. One hundred and fifty performers took part in it. Over 8000 persons were Bi attendance, and the performance lasted five hours. The Prince was greeted with great enthusiasm. Lady Franklin was present. On the 30th, the Prince paid a visit to St. Hyacinthe, Sherbrooke, and other places, re- eeived and answered addresses, and returned to Montreal in the evening. At Sherbrooke he created the greatest enthusiasm among the people by re- mitting the sentence of a naval court-martial passed many years ago upon a ZUSID named Felton, and restoring him to his former rank of signal mid- shipman, which he held on board Nelson's flag-ship at the battle of Trafalgar. On the 31st, the Prince left for Ottawa. The passage up the Ottawa river is reported to have been very pleasant, in spite of occasional showers. Every village along the banks of the river was decorated with flags, end the population fired salutes and rung bells in his honour. At the mouth of Gatineaua river, two miles below the City of Ottawa, his Royal Ilighnees's boat was met by six steamers dressed with flags and banners and crowded with passengers. He was also met by the novel sight of a flotilla of 150 bark cantle; manned by 1200 lumber men, who closed up in two lines and escorted him to the city as an aquatic procession. Two thousand per- sons were assembled at. the landing place. When his Royal Highness landed the enthusiasm became wonderful. Themayor presented an address, hut a sudden shower coming on. spoiled the effect of the ceremony. The
y volunteer cavalry;
On the 1st instant Arliament 'Building ..-ds were present. The Prince afterwards went down to a timber shoot, on g raft, and then went in a canoe to witness the canoe races of the lumbermen air'd Indians. The greatest activity prevails at New York among those w,ho intend to aid in rendering homage to the Prince. Great preparation' are already under weigh, and they have been undertaken by gentlemen 'who will not hesitate at any expense necessary to invest the occasion welth an interest worthy of its object. As announced, he will only remain thee days in New York. 3 Prince entered the town in a close carriage, escorted the streets were decorated and beautiful arches erected. his Royal Highness laid the corner stone of the new at Ottawa. The weather was fine, and immense cro
Previous page
