which have been displayed by all those who have contributed to bring this work to a happy and a triumphant termination. Let me convey to you, in conclusion, gentlemen, at the special request of the Princess of Wales, the expression of her deep and unfeigned regret at having been unavoidably prevented from accompanying me here to-day. She begs me to assure you that nothing but the imperative orders of the physicians would have precluded her from sharing the gratification which I experience at taking part in the proceedings which celebrate the consummation of your most arduous task." When the cheers which greeted the Prince's speech had subsided, the Mayor of Birkenhead, Mr. John Laird, was introduced to His Royal Highness, whom he asked to receive an address from the Corporation of that town. The Recorder then read the address, which remarked--"The communication between Birkenhead and Liverpool has hitherto been by a ferry, one of the most ancient and important in the kingdom, first established at a very early period, and conferred by King Edward III., in the year 1332, on the Prior and Convent of Birkenhead. It is a happy coincidence that your Royal Highness should be present to open this new connecting link between the county from which your Royal Highness derives the title of Earl of Chester and the Royal Duchy of Lancaster." His Royal Highness made an appropriate reply, in which he said:-- "Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen,--It has given me, I assure you, unfeigned pleasure to have been able to comply with your request to receive an address from the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the borough of Birkenhead, and I am confident that though you may be one of the youngest of the corporate bodies, you equal the oldest in loyalty and in devotion to the Queen and the Royal Family. The completion of the work which I am about to declare open will mark an important era in the history of this district, for it will not only afford an improved line of communication between two towns of so much consequence and increasing prosperity as Birkenhead and Liverpool, but it will likewise supply the means of easy and ready access to the principality of Wales, with its places of picturesque beauty and interest, and its numerous health resorts. The utility of the undertaking cannot therefore be over-estimated."