Mr. Brunel rarely made any changes in the _personnel_ of his office. Mr. Brereton had become one of his assistants in 1836; and his secretary, the late Mr. Joseph Bennett, came to him in the same year. * * * * * The Great Western Railway retained its early place in his affections, and among his most valued friends were members of the Board of Directors, Mr. Saunders the Secretary, and other officers of the company. When in the last year of his life he was obliged to go to Egypt for his health, it was a matter of deep anxiety to him lest his absence from England should cause any alteration in his relations with the Company, and it was a source of great pleasure to him that no such consequences followed. * * * * * Mr. Brunel’s position as confidential adviser of so large a number of railway companies gave him frequent opportunities of acting as mediator between contending parties; and his decisions were always received with respect, for he was known to be scrupulously just. Besides the more friendly task of reconciling opponents he had a large practice as a referee under Acts of Parliament and orders of the superior courts; and displayed in these matters great judicial abilities. In all the causes and parliamentary contests affecting the various companies of which he was engineer, Mr. Brunel was a very important member of the preliminary consultations, and during the proceedings counsel relied with confidence on his suggestions. * * * * * One of the most arduous parts of his duty, as engineer of the Great Western Railway Company, was connected with the conduct of the great cases of Ranger and MacIntosh. To the former of these reference is made in the letter printed below, at p. 478. The MacIntosh case, which was commenced shortly after the opening of the line, was not concluded before Mr. Brunel’s death. He was compelled to devote a considerable portion of his time to it, even after his return home in the evening, during the launch of the ‘Great Eastern.’ * * * * * Mr. Brunel had a very high reputation as a witness. Mr. St. George Burke, Q.C., has communicated a memorandum on this subject. ‘As a witness he could always be relied on as a perfect master of the case he had to support, and he had the rare quality of confining his answers to a simple reply to the questions put to him, without appearing as an advocate. He was, however, extremely particular as to the questions which should be put to him in his examination in chief, and was therefore never satisfied to entrust the preparation of his proof to the solicitor, without revising it himself. ‘In his cross-examinations he was generally a match for the most skilful counsel, and by the adroitness of his answers would often do as much to advance his case as by his examination in chief.