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."

The Royal party then re-entered the train, and after inspecting the
works at the station the train entered the tunnel, and in four minutes
reached the James Street Station on the Liverpool side. They were raised
to the street level by a hydraulic lift, and the Prince being conducted
to a dais in the waiting hall, said, "I declare this station opened."
Prolonged cheering greeted the announcement, which was continued
throughout the route as the Princes drove to the Town Hall. In the
Council-chamber an address was read by the Town Clerk from the
Corporation, to which the Prince replied, acknowledging cordially the
welcome given to him, and the kind references to his family, adding:--

"You rightly observe that I am deeply interested in every
movement that is calculated to tend to the advantage and
well-being of the people of this country, and it is a great
satisfaction to me to think that my name will be associated with
the memorable enterprise which by completing a connecting link
in our railway system supplies a wa