| By Author | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Title | [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z | Other Symbols ] |
| By Language |
|
Download this book: [ ASCII ] Look for this book on Amazon Tweet |
Title: The history of steam navigation
Author: Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald)
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The history of steam navigation" ***
NAVIGATION ***
Transcriber’s Note
Italic text displayed as: _italic_
Bold text displayed as: =bold=
THE
HISTORY OF STEAM NAVIGATION.
[Illustration: LIVERPOOL IN 1837.]
THE
HISTORY
OF
STEAM NAVIGATION.
BY
JOHN KENNEDY.
_WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS._
_PUBLISHED BY_
CHARLES BIRCHALL, LIMITED,
7 & 9, VICTORIA STREET, LIVERPOOL.
1903.
C. TINLING AND CO.,
PRINTERS,
VICTORIA STREET, LIVERPOOL.
PREFACE.
[Illustration: Decoration]
The historical information contained in this volume has been
in a large measure collected from the Press of the period, and
chiefly from the _Times_, _Liverpool Mercury_, _Glasgow Herald_,
and _Chambers’ Journal_. Lindsay’s “_Merchant Shipping_,” a most
admirable work, has also been consulted, as well as other works of
a similar nature. The name of the authority quoted has been given
in most cases, but, where I have been unable to do so, I trust this
general acknowledgment will suffice.
Some of the chapters in Part II. were contributed in 1901 to the
_Journal of Commerce_, as part of a series of articles on “Historical
Steamship Companies.” Chapter XXII. in Part I. was published in the
May number (1903) of the _Wide World Magazine_, under the title of
“The Strange Case of the FERRET.”
I take this opportunity of thanking the Directors, Managers, Agents,
and other officials of the various Steamship Companies referred
to, by all of whom, and at all times, I have been treated with the
utmost courtesy. I desire also to express my appreciation of the
uniform kindness and assistance received from the Librarians of the
Bootle, Glasgow, and Liverpool Libraries in placing at my disposal
publications, some of which were printed nearly a hundred years ago.
JOHN KENNEDY.
LIVERPOOL, _20th November, 1903_.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.—Inventors and Alleged Inventors prior to 1807.—De Garay
(1543)—Papin (1690)—Savory, Newcomen (1705)—Hulls (1736)—Abbé
Arnal and the Marquis de Jouffroy (1781)—Fitch (1783)—Miller and
Taylor (1788)—Symington (1801)—The CHARLOTTE DUNDAS (1803)—Bell
(1803) 1
CHAPTER II.—Fulton (1807)—The CLERMONT (1807), the first passenger
steamboat in the world—Narrative of her first voyage—Steam
Navigation in Canadian waters—First steamers on the St.
Lawrence—The ACCOMMODATION (1809)—SWIFTSURE, CAR OF COMMERCE
(1813)—QUEBEC (1817) 7
CHAPTER III.—1812 to 1815—Steamboats on the Clyde—THE COMET,
INDUSTRY and ARGYLE—First Irish Steamer, CITY OF CORK
(1815)—Ireland’s honourable position in the annals of steam
navigation—First London Steampackets, MARJORY, DEFIANCE and
THAMES 11
CHAPTER IV.—The year 1815—Arrival of the first steampacket on the
Mersey—Narrative of the voyage of the THAMES from Glasgow to
London 15
CHAPTER V.—1816 to 1818—London packets, the DEFIANCE, MAJESTIC,
REGENT—Loss of the REGENT (1817)—Liverpool and Eastham
Packet, PRINCESS CHARLOTTE (1816)—Liverpool and Tranmere
Packets REGULATOR, ETNA (1817)—Parkgate and Bagillt Packet,
ANCIENT BRITON (1817)—Loss of the REGULATOR (1818)—First Spanish
Steamer, ROYAL FERDINAND (1817)—Siberian Steamboats (1817)—David
Napier—The ROB ROY, HIBERNIA (1816) 23
CHAPTER VI.—Early Clyde Steampackets—The first steamer to cross
the English Channel, CALEDONIA—First steamer on the Rhine
(1816)—Season contract tickets issued (1816)—Stranding of the
ROTHESAY CASTLE (1816)—Steamship passengers’ fares on the Clyde
in 1818—DUMBARTON CASTLE steams round North of Scotland (1819) 27
CHAPTER VII.—1819 to 1821—The first steamer to cross the Atlantic,
the SAVANNAH—Arrival at Liverpool of the first cross-channel
steamer, WATERLOO—The ROBERT BRUCE—Curious accident to the
MORNING STAR—The TRITON—CONDE DE PATMELLA—SNAKE—Cattle
ventilators suggested—The TOURIST—London and Leith
steamers 32
CHAPTER VIII.—The St. George Steampacket Co.—Steam Yacht
HERO—Liverpool steampackets highly commended in Parliamentary
Report—AARON MANBY, first iron steamer—First steamer Hull
to Continent—City of Dublin Steampacket Co.—Dublin and Liverpool
Steam Navigation Co.—H.M.S. LIGHTNING—General Steam
Navigation Co.—Belfast Steampacket Co.—Keen competition on
the Glasgow and Belfast station—Advertising extraordinary—Messrs.
G. & J. Burns commence business 1825—Messrs.
MacBrayne’s Highland Service—Competition in the Liverpool and
Dublin trade—First steamer London to Hamburg—First steamer
England to India; rapid increase of steampackets—Hostile meeting
at Swansea—The ERIN—Admiralty Mail Steampacket Service
between Liverpool and Kingstown established—City of Dublin
Steampacket Co. establish a service between the United Kingdom
and Bordeaux 37
CHAPTER IX.—Routes to India and the East—The ENTERPRIZE—Lieut.
Johnston, R.N.—Lieut. Waghorn, E.I.N.—East India Co.’s Bombay
and Suez Service—The Peninsular Steam Navigation Co. (1834)
altered to Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (1837)—Sketch
of the Company’s career—Suez Canal opened (1869)—Calcutta
and Burmah Steam Navigation Co. (1855)—Title changed
to British India Steam Navigation Co., Limited (1862)—Bibby
Line 45
CHAPTER X.—Steam on the Pacific—The TELICA (1825)—Mr. Wheelwright—The
Pacific Steam Navigation Co. incorporated (1840)—Pioneer
steamers CHILI and PERU—Sketch of the Company’s history 58
CHAPTER XI.—French expedition to Algiers (1830)—Civil war in
Portugal—Loss of the RIVAL (1832)—Mutiny on board the LORD
BLANEY (1831)—Loss of the LORD BLANEY (1833)—Arrival of the
BIRMINGHAM with news of the total defeat of Don Miguel (1833)—The
MARGARET, first screw steamer trading from Hull; lost 1845 63
CHAPTER XII.—Pioneers of Transatlantic Steam Navigation—Valentia
Transatlantic Steam Navigation Co., incorporated 1828—Scheme
revived 1835—Dr. Lardner’s famous speech—His disclaimer, 1851—The
ROYAL WILLIAM (of Canada), 1833—Dr. Julius Smith—British
Queen Steam Navigation Co., 1836—BRITISH QUEEN (1838)—SIRIUS
(1838)—ROYAL WILLIAM (City of Dublin Co., 1838)—LIVERPOOL
(1838)—British and American Steam Navigation Co.’s steamer
PRESIDENT, launched 1839—Lost 1841 66
CHAPTER XIII.—British Government and the Atlantic Mail Service—Mr.
Samuel Cunard—Formation of the Cunard Line—The GREAT
BRITAIN, launched 1843—Leaves Bristol for London—Inspected by
H.M. Queen Victoria—Leaves London for Liverpool—First voyage
to New York (1845)—Stranded Dundrum Bay (1846)—Re-floated
(1847)—Sails to New York (1832) 78
CHAPTER XIV.—Steam communication with the West Indies—The
Royal Mail Steampacket Co. (1841), commences with a fleet of
fourteen steamers—Generous concessions from Government—Rapid
increase of trade—The “TRENT affair”—First screw steamers for
Company—The Imperial Direct West India Mail Service, Limited,
established 1901 84
CHAPTER XV.—Early American Transatlantic Steamships—MASSACHUSETTS
(1845)—WASHINGTON (1847)—The Collins Line—General
description of steamers—Arrival at Liverpool of pioneer steamer
ATLANTIC—Description of—Accident to ATLANTIC—Loss of steamers
ARCTIC and PACIFIC and collapse of the company 91
CHAPTER XVI.—The loss of the Collins Liner ARCTIC 101
CHAPTER XVII.—Steamship companies of the past (defunct or
absorbed)—The Inman Line, 1850—Galway Line, 1859—National
Line, 1863—Guion Line, 1866—Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation
Co. 106
CHAPTER XVIII.—Liverpool and Glasgow Steamers—The ORION
wrecked off Portpatrick, 1850—The steamer NEPTUNE—A second
Grace Darling 115
CHAPTER XIX.—The Eastern Steam Navigation Co.—Proposal to build
a line of Leviathan steamers—GREAT EASTERN—Contracted for—Attempts
to launch—Finally successful—Description of—Enormous
loss to shareholders—Sails for New York—Carries troops to
Canada—Lays Atlantic Cable—Is ultimately bought by “Lewis” for
exhibition purposes, and finally broken up[1] 119
CHAPTER XX.—Steam to Australia—SOPHIA JANE—GREAT BRITAIN—GOLDEN
AGE—ROYAL CHARTER lost, 1859 129
CHAPTER XXI.—Steamships in Chinese waters—SCOTLAND (1860)—ROBERT
LOWE[2] (1863)—Alfred Holt Line, 1865 134
ERRATA.—
CHAPTER XXII.—Remarkable History of the Glasgow Steamer FERRET 137
CHAPTER XXIII.—Anglo-Canadian Steamship Companies—McKean,
McLarty and Lamont—Allan Bros. & Co.—Canadian Pacific
Railway Co.—Dominion Line 147
CHAPTER XXIV.—Railway Companies as steamship owners—South
Eastern and Chatham Railway—London Brighton and South Coast
Railway—London and South Western Railway—Great Western
Railway—London and North Western Railway—Lancashire and
Yorkshire Railway—Stranraer and Larne Service—Caledonian
Railway—Glasgow and South Western Railway—North British
Railway—Great Central Railway—Great Eastern Railway 152
CHAPTER XXV.—Turbine Steamers—TURBINIA—KING EDWARD—QUEEN
ALEXANDRA—QUEEN—EMERALD—Allan Liners 157
PART II.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.—Elder, Dempster & Co. 161
” II.—African Steamship Co., Limited 166
” III.—British and African Steam Navigation Co., Limited 171
” IV.—Imperial Direct West India Service, Limited 174
” V.—City of Dublin Steampacket Co., Limited 178
” VI.—British and Irish Steampacket Co., Limited 195
” VII.—Bibby Line 203
” VIII.—Cork Steamship Co., Limited 207
” IX.—Cunard Steamship Co., Limited 221
” X.—Houston, R. P., & Co. 237
” XI.—Houlder Bros. & Co. 244
” XII.—Laird, Alex. A., & Co. 251
” XIII.—Langlands, M., & Sons 261
” XIV.—Little, Jas., & Co. 268
” XV.—MacBrayne, David 274
” XVI.—MacIver, David, & Co. 282
” XVII.—MacIver’s Liverpool and Glasgow Steamers 287
” XVIII.—Sligo Steam Navigation Co., Limited 290
” XIX.—Waterford Steamship Co., Limited 293
” XX.—White Star Line 300
” XXI.—Adelaide Steamship Company, Limited—John Bacon,
Limited—R. Burton & Sons, Limited—Fletcher,
Woodhill & Co.—T. & J. Harrison—W. S.
Kennaugh & Co.—Lamport & Holt—H. & W.
Nelson—R. & J. H. Rea—John S. Sellers—Henry
Tyrer & Co. 315
FOOTNOTES:
[1] On page 127 read 1886 instead of 1896.
[2] On page 134 this vessel is called the ROBERT BRUCE in error.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PART I.
PAGE
Liverpool in 1837 _Frontispiece._
Ferry Steamer on the St. Lawrence 10
Early type of African Coasting Steamer 28
INVERARY CASTLE P.S. 38
COLOMBO S.S. 46
P. & O. Liner (Early type) 47
P. & O. Liner (Modern Steamer) 47
SICILIAN S.S. 57
PERU P.S. 59
ORELLANA S.S. 61
SIRIUS S. at New York 66
ROYAL WILLIAM S. in Mid-Atlantic 74
GREAT BRITAIN S. 80
CLYDE R.M.S. 86
NILE R.M.S. 87
PORT ANTONIO R.M.S. 89
BRITANNIA R.M.S. 93
ASIA R.M.S. 97
GREAT EASTERN 120
The FERRET S.S. 140
Arrest of Conspirators 143
TUNISIAN R.M.S. 148
ARUNDEL S. 153
GLEN SANNOX P.S. 154
LUCY ASHTON P.S. 155
PART II.
PAGE
Sir Alfred L. Jones _Frontispiece._
W. J. Davey, Esq. ”
JEBBA R.M.S. 166
TARQUAH R.M.S. 170
PORT ROYAL R.M.S. 174
ULSTER R.M.S. 178
ROYAL WILLIAM P.S. 185
Holyhead Mail Steamer 187
Wm. Watson, Esq. 192
LADY ROBERTS S.S. 196
LADY WOLSELEY S.S. 201
Bibby Liner 204
Ebenezer Pike, Esq. 210
SIRIUS P.S. 212
RISSA S.S. 218
Joseph Pike, Esq. 220
Liverpool Landing Stage 222
EUROPA and AMERICA R.M.S. 224
SCOTIA R.M.S. 226
RUSSIA R.M.S. 228
ETRURIA R.M.S. 232
LUCANIA R.M.S. 234
HYDASPES S.S. 238
OSWESTRY GRANGE S.S. 244
BEACON GRANGE S.S. 246
HORNBY GRANGE S.S. 248
ROSE S.S. 250
Alex. A. Laird, Esq. 254
OLIVE S.S. 258
PRINCESS MAUD S.S. 262
PRINCESS ROYAL P.S. 264
CLAYMORE R.M.S. 274
COLUMBA R.M.S. 280
CLODAGH S.S. 294
T. H. Ismay, Esq. 300
OCEANIC (first) 305
TEUTONIC R.M.S. 307
OCEANIC (second) 311
CELTIC R.M.S. 312
CYMRIC R.M.S. 313
HIGHLAND BRIGADE S.S. 318
THE
History of Steam Navigation.
Part I.
ITS ORIGIN AND EXPANSION.
CHAPTER I.
Inventors and alleged Inventors prior to 1807.
There is not a more fascinating page in history than that which tells
of the growth of the Mercantile Steam Navies of the World. It is a
record of the triumphs of Science and Art in Marine Architecture; of
bold enterprises—not always carried to a successful financial issue;
of deeds of “derring do” as romantic as the older stories of the
Vikings. It is a page brightened by stories of true heroism, where
men have bravely faced death, not in the lust of battle, but in calm
devotion to duty, or in unflinching determination to save the lives
of those weaker than themselves.
It is not possible, nor would it answer any useful purpose, to
discuss fully the various claims which have been put forward for the
honour of having invented the first Marine Steam Engine. It will be
sufficient to refer briefly to the inventors, or alleged inventors,
prior to the year 1807.
In the Appendix to Señor Navarette’s “History of the Four Voyages
of Columbus,” are copies of certain documents which the historian
vouches to be authentic extracts from the series of Spanish Records
preserved at Simancas. These documents narrate “that in the month of
May or June, 1543, Blasco de Garay, a naval captain in the service
of the Emperor Charles V., conducted at Barcelona, a series of
experiments upon the applicability to ships of a certain propulsive
force, which he alleges he had himself discovered.” De Garay
describes the mechanism he employed as consisting of two wheels, one
attached to either extremity of a movable axis which traversed the
vessel’s waist, and was connected with a large caldron of boiling
water. The experiments, it is alleged, were conducted in the presence
of several persons of high birth, deputed by the Emperor to witness
them, and amongst whom were many naval commanders. It is further
alleged that De Garay succeeded in taking to sea a vessel of two
hundred tons burthen, without the aid of sail or oar, and that her
speed was about one league per hour.[3]
Rear-Admiral Geo. Preble, U.S.N., author of a “History of Steam
Navigation,” gives the names of several persons who have searched
the documents referred to, none of whom have been able to trace any
mention of steam; he, therefore, concludes that the account of De
Garay’s invention is a Spanish legend. [4] Papin, who was driven from
France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and was elected
F.R.S. in 1681, describes, in 1690, a steam cylinder in which a
piston descends by atmospheric pressure, and, as one of its uses, he
mentions the propulsion of ships by paddle wheels. Towards the close
of the 17th century, or the beginning of the 18th, Papin made the
acquaintance of Thomas Savory, one of the most ingenious men of his
times, and of Thomas Newcomen, a working blacksmith, of Devon. Savory
designed a marine engine, which was greatly improved by Newcomen in
1705, and was used by Papin to propel a steamboat on the Fulda.
Thirty years later (1736), Jonathan Hulls, of Berwick-on-Tweed,
received a patent for the first steamboat of which there is any
authentic record from George II., which recited as follows:—
[5]“Whereas our trusty and well-beloved Jonathan Hulls hath by his
petition humbly represented unto our most dearly beloved Consort,
the Queen, that he hath, with much labour and with great expense,
invented and formed a machine for towing ships and vessels out of,
or into any harbour or river, against wind or tide, or in a calm,
which the petitioner apprehends may be of great service to our
Royal Party and merchant ships, and to boats and other vessels, of
which the petitioner hath made oath that he is the sole inventor,
as by affidavit to his said petition annexed.
“Know ye, therefore, that we, of our special grace, hath given and
granted to the said Jonathan Hulls our special license, full power,
sole privilege and authority during the term of fourteen years, and
he shall lawfully make use of the same for carrying ships and other
vessels out to sea, or into any harbour or river.
“In witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made
patent.
“(Witness) CAROLINE,
“Queen of Great Britain, &c.
“Given by right of Privy Seal at Westminster, this 21st day of
December, 1736.”
In the description of his invention, Hulls states that, in his
opinion, it would not be practicable to place his machine on anything
but a tow-boat, as it would take up too much room for other goods
to be carried on the same vessel with it, and it could not “be used
in a storm, or when the waves are very raging.” Hulls’ vessel is
stated to have been a stern-wheeler, a type of steamboat which is now
extensively used for navigating shallow rivers in the Southern States
of America and in India. The steam tow-boat brought its inventor
nothing but ridicule, and he died in London in almost destitute
circumstances.
Next in chronological sequence come the Abbé Arnal and the Marquis
de Jouffroy, of France, who, in 1781, made experiments to show the
practicability of applying steam power to vessels.
Two years later (1783), a Mr. Fitch tried a species of steam boiler
on board a small nine-ton vessel on the Delaware River in America,
propelling the vessel by paddles. [6]“In 1787 he built another boat,
45ft. by 12ft., and fitted her with a 12in. cylinder. With this
vessel he is reported to have made the trip from Philadelphia to
Burlington at an average rate of seven miles per hour. In 1790 he
completed another and a larger boat.” But all his plans failed, and,
like Hulls, his contemporaries deemed him to be crazy. He died in
1798.
[7]About this period (1780 to 1788) there resided in Edinburgh a
banker, of aristocratic birth and connection. Patrick Miller, the
banker referred to, was a man of an active and ingenious mind,
and, having realised a large fortune by banking, he used it as a
means of enabling him to work out schemes for the benefit of the
public. Having purchased an estate in the beautiful valley of the
Nith, from which he derived the title of Laird of Dalswinton, he
retired thither to solve the problem of navigating a vessel by
some more certain means than oars and sails. He had (prior to
this)[8]“exhibited a triple vessel at Leith, having rotatory paddles
in the two interspaces, driven by a crank and wrought by four men. He
determined one day to try its powers against a fast sailing Customs
Wherry, between Inch-colm and the harbour of Leith, a distance of
six or seven miles. He beat his opponent by several minutes, and was
very well satisfied with the result. His boys’ tutor, a Mr. Taylor,
who had taken his turn at the crank, and realised how violent was
the necessary exertion, was convinced that without a more staying
power than manual labour the invention would prove practically
useless. He stated his objections to Mr. Miller, and they had
frequent discussions on the subject. At length, one day, Taylor said
‘Mr. Miller, I can suggest no power equal to the steam engine, or
so applicable to your purpose.’ The result of this suggestion was
that Mr. Miller decided to fit up a new double boat, which he had
recently placed on the lake at Dalswinton for the amusement of his
family. Taylor made the necessary arrangements under the direction of
an ingenious mechanic named William Symington. The engine was a very
small one, having four-inch brass cylinders, made by George Watt,
brassfounder, Edinburgh. On the 14th October, 1788, several hundreds
of people assembled on the banks of Dalswinton Loch to witness the
trial trip of the twin steamboat, which was entirely successful.
Mr. Miller was so pleased with the success of the experiment that
he resolved to repeat it on a larger scale. The following year he
fitted a twin vessel 60 feet long, belonging to himself, with an
engine of 18in. cylinders. This vessel steamed at the rate of seven
miles an hour on the Forth and Clyde Canal, in the presence of a vast
multitude of spectators. It had been Mr. Miller’s wish to try a third
experiment with a third vessel, in which he should venture out on to
the ocean, and attempt a passage from Leith to London. Unfortunately,
he became dissatisfied with Symington, and, being vexed at the
cost of fitting up the second vessel, which was much greater than
he anticipated, as well as by a miscalculation, through which the
machinery was made too heavy for the hulls, he hesitated to make
further trial.”
“Taylor being poor, and a scholar, not a mechanician, could do
nothing without Mr. Miller’s assistance. Symington was the only one
of the three who persevered. He deserves credit for having done
so, but not for the manner in which he did it, for without any
communication with Messrs. Miller and Taylor, the true inventors, he
took out a patent for the construction of steamboats in 1801. Through
the interest of Lord Dundas, he was able, in 1803, to fit up a new
steamboat for the Forth and Clyde Canal Co., and this vessel, called
the CHARLOTTE DUNDAS, was tried in towing a couple of barges upon
the canal with entire success, except in one respect, which was that
the agitation of the water by the paddles was found to wash down the
banks in an alarming manner. For this reason the Canal Co. resolved
to give up the project, and the vessel was, therefore, laid aside.
It lay on the bank at Lock 16 for many years, generally looked on,
of course, as a monument of misdirected ingenuity, but, as we shall
presently see, it did not lie there altogether in vain. Meantime
Symington had been in communication with the Duke of Bridgewater,
with the object of introducing steam towage on the Bridgewater
Canal, and had actually received a trial order, when, unfortunately,
the Duke died, and the project was closed. Here Symington vanishes
likewise from the active part of this history. Miller died in 1815, a
comparatively poor man, having exhausted his fortune by improvements
and experiments. It has been stated by his son that he spent fully
£30,000 in projects of a purely public nature. Taylor died in 1824,
in straitened circumstances, leaving a widow and daughters, to whom
the Government granted a pension of £50 a year.”
“The experiments at Carron, in 1789, had been witnessed by a young
man named Henry Bell, a working mason originally, as it appears,
afterwards a humble kind of engineer in Glasgow, and later an hotel
proprietor at Helensburgh. Bell never lost sight of the idea, and
when Symington ceased experimenting in 1803 he took up the project.
At the same time an ingenious American, named Fulton, comes into
the field. He, in company with Bell, visited the CHARLOTTE DUNDAS
in 1803, and Bell gave to Fulton drawings of the machinery which
he (Bell) had obtained, partly from Mr. Miller and partly from
Symington.”
[Illustration: Small sailboat]
FOOTNOTES:
[3] “Chambers’ Journal.”
[4] Hy. Fry, ex Pres. Dominion B/T. Canada and Lloyd’s Agent at
Quebec, author of a “History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation.”
1896.
[5] “Chambers’ Journal.”
[6] Hy. Fry.
[7] “Chambers’ Journal.”
[8] “Chambers’ Journal,” 1857.
CHAPTER II.
Fulton (1807).—The CLERMONT, the first Passenger Steam-boat in the
world.—Narrative of her first Voyage.—Steam Navigation in Canadian
Waters.—The first Steamers on the St. Lawrence.—The ACCOMMODATION
(1809).—SWIFTSURE and CAR OF COMMERCE (1813), and the QUEBEC (1817).
The United States of America has the honour of having built the first
passenger steam-boat in the world, and she held the monopoly of the
steamship passenger traffic for a period of about two years. She owes
this honourable position in the commercial world to the energy and
perseverance of Robert Fulton, who in spite of ridicule and active
opposition, and want of capital, succeeded in building, in 1807, a
paddle steam-packet, which he named the CLERMONT. Shortly after her
trial trip, she was advertised to run from New York to Albany, and,
as soon as she could be got ready, the CLERMONT sailed on her first
voyage up the Hudson.
The following extract from a letter, written by an eyewitness on that
occasion, tells how the people along the river were excited by the
passage of the steam-boat on her voyage from New York to Albany:—
“It was in the early autumn of the year 1807 that a knot of
villagers was gathered on a high bluff, just opposite Poughkeepsie,
on the west bank of the Hudson, attracted by the appearance of
a strange-looking craft, which was slowly making its way up the
river. Some imagined it to be a sea-monster, whilst others did
not hesitate to express their belief that it was a sign of the
approaching judgment. What seemed strange in the vessel was the
substitution of a lofty and strange black smoke-pipe rising from
the deck, instead of the gracefully tapered masts that commonly
stood on the vessels navigating the stream, and, in place of
the spars and rigging, the curious play of the working beam and
piston, and the slow turning and splashing of the huge and naked
paddle-wheels, met his astonished gaze. The dense clouds of smoke,
as they rose wave upon wave, added still more to the wonder of the
rustics.
“This strange-looking craft was the CLERMONT on her trial trip to
Albany; and, of the little knot of villagers above mentioned, the
writer, then a boy in his eighth year, with his parents, formed a
part; and I well remember the scene, one so well-fitted to impress
a lasting picture upon the mind of a child accustomed to watch the
vessels that passed up and down the river.
“On her return trip, the curiosity she excited was scarcely less
intense—the whole country talked of nothing but the sea-monster,
belching forth fire and smoke. The fishermen became terrified and
rowed homeward, and they saw nothing but destruction devastating
their fishing grounds; whilst the wreaths of black vapours, and
rushing noise of the paddle-wheels, foaming with the stirred up
waters, produced great excitement amongst the boatmen, until it was
more intelligent than before; for the character of that curious
boat, and the nature of the enterprise she was pioneering had been
ascertained.”
Several accidents occurred to the machinery of the CLERMONT during
her first season, but none of them caused any loss of life. There
were, however, so many of these mishaps that the incredulous were
encouraged in the belief that she was a failure. But the misfortunes
of the boat were not limited to accidents to machinery and other
legitimate mishaps. They included wilful attempts at her destruction
on the part of those who felt that their business was about to be
injured by this new system of navigation. Vessels ran foul of her
intentionally, and so determined were the sloop owners and others to
rid themselves of this dangerous competitor, that it became necessary
for the Legislature to interfere. But in spite of all opposition,
Fulton forced his way onward and upwards. He replaced his first
steamer by a second and larger one, also named the CLERMONT, and, as
the passenger trade developed, other steamers were added to the line.
American capitalists in different parts of the United States followed
his example. Steamers were built so rapidly to ply on the American
Atlantic Seaboard, and on the Mississippi and other rivers, that in
1823 (that is sixteen years after the first passenger steamer in the
world was built) there were 300 steamers plying on American waters.
The St. Lawrence is the chief dividing line between the United States
and Canada. It forms the great summer highway for the traffic of
British North America. By it the commerce of Europe is brought into
the country, and on its bosom is borne outwards the wealth of the
forests and the surplus agricultural produce of the Dominion.
On the Canadian side of this great river are situated the two
important cities of Quebec and Montreal. Two years (1809) after the
building of Fulton’s CLERMONT, and three years before the first
European steamer began to ply on the River Clyde, the steamboat
ACCOMMODATION ran on the St. Lawrence, maintaining a passenger
service between Quebec and Montreal.
The following account of this vessel, and of her first voyage,
appeared in the “Quebec Mercury” of that date:—
“On Saturday morning at eight o’clock arrived here from Montreal,
being her first trip, the steamboat ACCOMMODATION, with ten
passengers. This is the first vessel of the kind that ever appeared
in this harbour. She is continually crowded with visitants. She
left Montreal on Wednesday, at two o’clock, so that her passage was
sixty-six hours, thirty of which she was at anchor. She arrived at
Three Rivers in twenty-four hours. She has at present berths for
twenty passengers, which next year will be considerably augmented.
No wind or tide can stop her. She has 75 feet keel, and 85 on deck.
The price for a passage up is nine dollars, and eight down—the
vessel supplying provisions. The great advantage attending a vessel
so constructed is, that a passage may be calculated on to a degree
of certainty, in point of time, which cannot be the case with any
vessel propelled by sails only. The steamboat receives her impulse
from an open double-spoked, perpendicular wheel, on each side,
without any circular band or rim. To the end of each double spoke
is fixed a square board, which enters the water, and by the rotary
motion of the wheel, acts like a paddle. The wheels are put and
kept in motion by steam, operating within the vessel. A mast is to
be fixed in her for the purpose of using a sail when the wind is
favourable, which will occasionally accelerate her headway.”
In 1813 two new steamers were placed on the St. Lawrence, called
respectively the SWIFTSURE and the CAR OF COMMERCE, and, after a
further interval of four years, a fourth steamer, the QUEBEC, began
to ply between Quebec and Montreal.
The first of these steamers, the SWIFTSURE, was 140 feet over all,
with a beam of 24 feet. On her maiden voyage she made the passage
from Montreal to Quebec in twenty-two and a half hours, in the face
of a strong easterly wind all the way. Notwithstanding that she “beat
the most famous of the sailing packets on the line (fourteen hours in
a race of thirty-six hours), her owners do not seem to have been very
confident of her movements under all circumstances, or of the number
of passengers who would patronise her, for she was advertised to sail
‘as the wind and passengers may suit.’”[9]
[Illustration: Terry Steamer St Lawrence]
FOOTNOTES:
[9] Lindsay’s “Merchant Shipping,” folio 59.
CHAPTER III.
Steamboats on the River Clyde, the COMET, INDUSTRY, ARGYLE.—On the
Thames, the MARGERY and the THAMES.—The first Irish Steamer, the CITY
OF CORK.
Without, in the slightest degree, detracting from the credit due to
the inventors referred to in the earlier pages of this history, it is
indisputable that the River Clyde is the birthplace of European Steam
Navigation.
For many years the CHARLOTTE DUNDAS (a success from an engineering
point of view, but a failure commercially), lay idle and corroding
at Lock 16 on the Forth and Clyde Canal. She was regarded by the
majority of those who saw her there, as a monument of Symington’s
folly—the embodiment of a “fad.”
Bell, however, throughout these years, retained his faith in the
ultimate success of the Marine Steam Engine. There seemed to be no
probability of steam being utilized as a motive power for vessels
in British waters, but the Americans were more enterprising, and
Fulton, who accompanied Bell to inspect the CHARLOTTE DUNDAS in 1803,
gave the latter to understand that he had influential friends in
America, whom he could induce to build steamers. Bell had good reason
to consider himself badly treated by Fulton in this matter, yet,
undoubtedly, indirectly Bell was benefited by Fulton’s success. It
is more than probable that during the five years that succeeded the
building of the CLERMONT, frequent reports regarding both this vessel
and her successors in the United States and Canada, reached Scotland.
And as a consequence of the success of these boats, Bell succeeded
in getting a small steamer built to trade on the River Clyde. The
following is a copy of Mr. Bell’s advertisement of the sailing of his
steamer:—
“The COMET, between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh, for
passengers only. The subscriber having at much expense, fitted up
a handsome vessel to ply upon the River Clyde, between Glasgow and
Greenock, to sail by the power of wind, air, and steam, he intends
that the vessel shall leave the Bromielaw on Tuesdays, Thursdays,
and Saturdays, about mid-day or such hour thereafter as may answer
from the state of the tide; and to leave Greenock on Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays, in the morning to suit the tide. The terms
are fixed for the present at 4s. for the best cabin, and 3s. for
the second; but beyond these rates nothing is to be allowed to
servants or any other person employed about the vessel.”
The COMET was a steamer of 25 tons burden, 40 feet long, and 10 feet
6 inches broad, and she steamed about 5 miles per hour.
A correspondent of the “Steamship” (1st January, 1883), relates
regarding one Dougal Jamson, a Clyde skipper, of the time of the
COMET, that whenever the steamboat passed his slow going sloop, he
invariably piped all hands—a man and a boy—and bade them “Kneel down
and thank God, that ye sail wi’ the Almichty’s ain win’, an’ no’ wi’
the deevil’s sunfire an’ brimstane, like that spluttery thing there.”
The following year there were three additional steamers constantly
plying on the Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock. One of these was
probably the steamer (whose name has not been recorded), which came
from the Clyde to Liverpool in 1815. The second of this trio was the
INDUSTRY, whose remains were to be seen more than half a century
later at Bowling. And the third was the steamer ARGYLE, afterwards
re-named the THAMES.
All these boats were faster than the COMET, and were twice as large,
being 75 feet long and 14 feet broad. Against such competitors
the COMET could not compete successfully. In his later years Bell
received a small annuity from the Clyde Trustees, who, after his
decease, erected an obelisk to his memory, which may still be seen
standing on a rock a little below Bowling.
For two or three summers Glasgow was the only City in Great Britain
or Ireland whose citizens enjoyed the advantages of steam packet
communication with the coast. But, in the summer of the year 1815,
the citizens of London and of Cork were given equal facilities.
Ireland has always occupied a most honourable position in the Annals
of Steam Navigation. Cork had a steamship service certainly as early
as Liverpool; the pioneer of the Liverpool coasting steamship trade
was a Belfast steamer; from Cork, sailed the first steamer with
passengers from Europe to America; the first Trans-Atlantic Liner
from Liverpool was a Dublin steamer; and in this year of grace 1903,
the steamers built in Belfast, which carry the White Star flag across
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, have a reputation unsurpassed by
any steamships afloat. But Cork anticipated Belfast in shipbuilding
and ship-owning. Messrs. Michael O’Brien and Christopher Owens, of
Cork, were the first to introduce steamers to the merchants and
travelling public of the South of Ireland. They built, in 1815, the
river steamer CITY OF CORK. She was a wooden paddle steamer of 50
tons register; and of slightly larger dimensions than the Clyde-built
steamers referred to, being 86 feet long, 13 feet broad, and 9 feet
deep.
The steam fleet of the Thames consisted at this date of the three
steam-packets MARJORY, DEFIANCE and THAMES, which steamers plied
between London and Margate. The DEFIANCE, probably a locally built
vessel, was commanded by William Robins, and sailed from near Summer
Quay, Billingsgate, every Sunday and Wednesday morning, at 7 o’clock,
returning from Margate every Tuesday and Friday morning.
“The THAMES, steam yacht,” (says the London “Times,” of the 8th
July, 1815), “from London to Margate, starts from Wool Quay, near
the Custom House, Thames Street, every Tuesday and Saturday at 8
o’clock a.m., precisely, and leaves Margate on her return to London
every Monday and Thursday at the same hour. This rapid, capacious
and splendid vessel lately accomplished a voyage of 1,500 miles, has
twice crossed St. George’s Channel, and came round the Land’s End
with a rapidity unknown before in naval history, and is the first
steam vessel that ever traversed those seas. She has the peculiar
advantage of proceeding either by sails or steam, separated or
united, by which means the public have the pleasing certainty of
never being detained on the water after dark, much less one or two
nights, which has frequently occurred with the old packets. Against
the wind, the tide, or in the most perfect calm, the passage is alike
certain, and has always been achieved in one day. Her cabins are
spacious, and are fitted up with all that elegance could suggest, or
personal comfort require; presenting a choice library, backgammon
boards, draught tables, and other means of amusement. For the express
purpose of combining delicacy with comfort a female servant attends
upon the ladies. The fares (which include Pier Duty) are in the
Chief Cabin 15s., and in the Fore Cabin 11s., children half price.
No articles or goods will be taken, except the luggage accompanying
passengers; and the proprietors will not be answerable for any of
the above, unless delivered into the care of the Steward, nor to the
amount of more than £5 value, except entered and paid for as such.”
A narrative of the remarkable voyage of this steamer from the Clyde
to the Thames, referred to in the above quotation from the “Times,”
will be found in the following chapter.
[Illustration: Sailboat near land]
CHAPTER IV.
“The Year 1815.”
To the student of British history, the year 1815 is one of the most
remarkable of the nineteenth century. In June of that year was fought
the Battle of Waterloo—a victory for the British which effectually
destroyed the power of the first Napoleon, and delivered Europe from
the terror of a military despotism. The merchants of the “good old
town” of Liverpool were determined that the famous victory should
never be forgotten by their descendants, and so they perpetuated
the name in the “Waterloo Road,” the “Waterloo Dock,” and their
latest seaside suburb “Waterloo.” Another event occurred in that
same eventful month of June, 1815, an event unheralded at the time,
but whose results have been more widely spread and more beneficent
than those which resulted from the Battle of Waterloo. This was the
arrival from the Clyde of the first steamer ever seen on the river
Mersey. The following brief and unsatisfactory paragraph appeared in
the “Liverpool Mercury” of the 30th June:—
“Liverpool Steamboat.—On Wednesday last, about noon, the public
curiosity was considerably excited by the arrival of the first
steamboat ever seen in our river. She came from the Clyde, and
in her passage called at Ramsay, in the Isle of Man, which place
she left early on the same morning. We believe she is intended to
ply between this port and Runcorn, or even occasionally as far as
Warrington. Her cabin will contain about one hundred passengers.”
This is one of the most tantalising paragraphs ever printed. If “the
public curiosity was considerably excited,” the reporter certainly
took no pains to gratify it. The name of the vessel is not given,
nor any particulars of her dimensions, or of her power and speed. The
daring mariners who navigated her are nameless, and the incidents of
this pioneer voyage are left unrecorded.
“The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones.”
Fortunately we are able, from other sources, to gather some idea of
the size and appearance of the vessel, and of the impression she
made on the minds of the spectators. She was presumably one of the
three steamers built on the Clyde in 1813, as competitors against the
COMET, for passengers between Glasgow and Greenock; the other two
were the ARGYLE and the INDUSTRY. There was only a difference of five
feet between the smallest and the largest of these three steamers, so
that a description of the ARGYLE will answer for the others as well.
The ARGYLE was a packet steamer of 70 tons register, measuring in her
keel 79 feet, with 16 feet beam, paddle wheels 9 feet in diameter,
and engines 14 h.p. Her smoke was carried off by a funnel, which also
did duty as a mast, being rigged with a large square sail. A gallery,
upon which the cabin windows opened, projected so as to form a
continuous deck, interrupted only by the paddle boxes, an arrangement
which had the further effect of making the vessel appear larger than
she really was. On the outside of the gallery eighteen large port
holes were painted, which, with the two she displayed upon her stern,
made the ARGYLE look so formidable to those to whom a steamer was a
novelty, that it was stated in a Committee of the House of Commons,
by several naval officers, that if they had met her at sea they would
have endeavoured to reconnoitre before attempting to bring her to.
After plying for twelve months between Glasgow and Greenock, the
ARGYLE was sold to a London firm, who changed her name to the THAMES.
In consequence of this change of ownership, this vessel made one of
the most remarkable voyages ever accomplished by any steamer. An
interesting narrative of the voyage, from which these particulars are
taken, was published in “Chambers’ Journal” on the 25th April, 1857.
The task of bringing the little steam-packet round by sea from the
Clyde to the Thames, was intrusted to an ex-naval officer named Dodd,
a man of considerable and diverse abilities. He projected the Thames
tunnel, proposing to carry it across from Gravesend to Tilbury, at
an estimated cost of under £16,000. According to an account of the
voyage which Dodd himself published in the “Morning Chronicle” of
the 15th June, 1815, and afterwards embodied in his evidence before
a Committee of the House of Commons, Dodd sailed from Glasgow about
the middle of May with a crew of eight persons—a mate, an engineer,
a stoker, four seamen, and a cabin-boy. His voyage at first was far
from auspicious. The weather was stormy, the sea ran high in the
strait which separates Scotland from Ireland, and either through
ignorance or negligence, the pilot during the night altered the
course of the vessel, so that it ran a great risk of being wrecked.
Dodd had given orders that the steamer should be steered so as to
gain the Irish coast by the morning; but at break of day a heavy
gale was blowing, and it was discovered that, instead of being off
the coast of Ireland, they were within half-a-league off a lee
shore, rock bound, about two miles to the north of Port Patrick.
Relying entirely upon the efficiency of his engine, Dodd at once
laid the vessel’s head directly to windward, and ordered the log
to be kept constantly going. The plan succeeded. The THAMES began
slowly to clear the shore, going direct in the wind’s eye at the
rate of something more than three knots an hour. On the 24th of May
the voyagers arrived safely at Dublin, where they were joined by a
Mr. Weld and his wife. Mrs. Weld has the proud distinction of having
been the first lady passenger to cross the St. George’s Channel on a
steamboat. Mr. Weld kept a journal, from which the following is an
extract:—
[10]“On the 25th May, 1815, I heard by accident that a steam-vessel
had arrived at Dublin. I immediately went to see her, and found her
on the point of starting with a number of curious visitors upon an
experimental trip in the bay. I was so much pleased with all that
I saw and heard concerning her, that, having previously intended
to proceed to London, I determined to request Captain Dodd to
receive me as a passenger, and to be permitted to accompany him
throughout the voyage. He at once consented, and my wife having
resolved on sharing the dangers of the voyage with me, we proceeded
to make the necessary arrangements for our departure. On the 28th
of May, being Sunday, we left the Liffey at noon. Many persons
embarked with us from curiosity, but only to cross the bay as far
as Dunleary (now Kingstown), where they landed. Unfortunately, the
sea was very rough, which occasioned the most violent sea-sickness
amongst the passengers. Several naval officers were on board, who
were unanimous in declaring it to be their firm opinion that the
vessel could not live long in heavy seas, and that there would
be much danger in venturing far from shore. I deemed it right to
inform my wife of this opinion, but, although she suffered greatly
from sea-sickness, she persisted in her intention of accompanying
me, and that evening, after having passed some hours on land
at the house of a friend, the vessel put to sea, we being the
only passengers. The shore was covered with several thousands of
spectators, who cheered and wished us a prosperous voyage.
“The sea was comparatively calm as the vessel steamed into the
Bay of Dalkey, and the passengers calculated on a pleasant voyage
during the night, but, when beyond the shelter of the coast, they
found it to be as rough as ever. The THAMES again proved her
admirable sea-going qualities, bounding so lightly over the waves
that her passengers were not once wetted, even by the spray.”
She soon left behind her all the vessels which had sailed from Dublin
with the same tide, and about nine o’clock next morning arrived
off Wexford. The dense smoke which issued from its mast chimney
being observed from the heights above the town, it was concluded
that the vessel was on fire. All the pilots immediately put off to
its assistance; and nothing could exceed their surprise, mingled
with disappointment, when they saw that the ship was in no danger
whatever, and that their hopes of salvage were at an end.
The weather had now become so stormy, that Captain Dodd determined to
put into port, his great object being to navigate the vessel safely
to London, rather than, by using great dispatch, to expose her to
unnecessary risk.
At two o’clock on Tuesday morning, 30th May, Dodd left Wexford and
sailed for St. David’s Head, the most westerly point of Wales.
During the passage across St. George’s Channel one of the blades of
the starboard paddle wheel got out of order. The engine was stopped
and the blade cut away. Some hours after a similar accident befell
the port wheel, which was remedied in the same manner. The loss of
one blade in each wheel made no apparent difference in the speed
of the vessel. Fortunately when the accidents occurred the sea was
very calm. After a voyage of twelve hours duration, the steamer
arrived at the Pass of Ramsay, between the island of that name and
St. David’s Head. There the adventurers remained for three hours
to oil the engine, and to give the stoker, who had not quitted his
post for an instant since leaving Wexford, a little rest. There,
too, as at Wexford, boats put out from different parts of the coast
to the assistance of the vessel, which they believed to be on fire.
Leaving Ramsay, the THAMES steamed through the straits and across St.
Bride’s Bay. The weather had again become unfavourable, and a heavy
sea had arisen in the bay. So high indeed were the waves, that, when
ingulphed between them, the coast, though lofty, could not be seen;
but the little craft held her way most gallantly over all.
On the south side of St. Bride’s Bay, between Skomar Island and the
mainland, there is a dangerous passage called Jack Sound. The pilot
warned the captain against attempting this passage, except under
favourable conditions as to wind and water, but Dodd, who knew the
power of his engine, insisted on going through the sound, in order
to save five hours, and to avoid another night at sea. The dangerous
sound was safely navigated, and the voyagers reached Milford Haven.
As they were steaming up the harbour, they met the Government mail
packet proceeding from Milford to Waterford, with all her sails
spread. They had passed her about a quarter of a mile, when Captain
Dodd determined to send some letters by her to Ireland. The THAMES
was immediately put about, and in a few minutes she was alongside
the packet ship, and sailed round her, although the latter continued
under way. The captain and passengers wrote a few letters, put them
on board the packet, sailed round her once more, and then continued
their course to Milford.
The two following days were spent in satisfying the curiosity of
numerous naval officers who were anxious to see the THAMES, and to
examine her engine, as well as to test her sailing powers. It became
necessary also to clean out the boiler, which had not been done since
leaving Glasgow. Late on the evening of the 31st May, she sailed
in company with the MYRTLE, sloop-of-war, whose captain (Bingham)
and a company of ladies were aboard the steamer, anxious to see how
she would behave in a rough sea. The MYRTLE was obliged to hoist
royals and studding sails to keep up with the THAMES, and at last by
crowding all sail, she got a little ahead. But the great superiority
of steam was yet to be shown. Dodd gallantly determined to carry the
ladies back to Milford, instead of transferring them to the MYRTLE
in an open boat. Accordingly he steamed back to Milford, leaving
the sloop of war far behind, and when he was again outward bound,
he found the sloop had anchored, being unable owing to the failure
of the wind to regain her former station. Next morning (Friday) the
voyagers found themselves mid-way across the Bristol Channel, with no
land visible on either side, but towards evening the Cornish coast
was sighted. The weather, however, had again become threatening, and
the pilot did not consider it would be prudent to attempt to round
the Land’s End that night, and Dodd accordingly decided to put into
St. Ives. As the THAMES approached the shore, a fleet of small craft
was seen making towards her, with all possible speed by means of
sails and oars, in the belief (as at Wexford) that the THAMES was a
ship on fire making for the port. When they discovered their mistake
they tacked about and endeavoured to out-sail each other. All the
rocks from which a view of St. Ives could be obtained were crowded
with spectators, to whom the appearance of the THAMES created as
much surprise as the ships of Captain Cook produced amongst the
islanders of the South Sea. The harbour of St. Ives affording no
shelter from gales from the North East, Dodd took his vessel to the
sheltered port of Hayle, four miles distant, where she lay in perfect
safety. It had been represented to Mr. and Mrs. Weld that rounding
the Land’s End was the most difficult and dangerous part of the
voyage, and they had in consequence crossed the neck of land to the
South coast with the intention of remaining there until the steamer
arrived. On further consideration, however, they resolved, instead
of waiting for the THAMES, to return to Hayle, and to brave with the
steamer’s crew the dangers of doubling the Land’s End. The weather
having moderated they re-embarked at 4 o’clock on Monday afternoon,
5th June, and the steamer at once proceeded on her voyage.
As the little vessel rounded Cornwall Head, the more northerly of
the two great promontories which terminate England on the west, a
tremendous swell from the Atlantic met her, whilst the tide, which
ran strongly down St. George’s Channel, combining with the swell,
raised the waves to such a height as to render her position in the
highest degree alarming. Dodd would not put back, and after a night
of severe struggle, the adventurers succeeded in rounding the Land’s
End, and found themselves in a comparatively tranquil sea. Next day
the sun shone with great brilliance, and revealed the beauties of
the South Coast as they steamed along it towards Plymouth, which
they reached at eleven o’clock in the morning. As the THAMES passed
the various ships at anchor, the sailors on board ran in crowds to
the sides of their vessels or climbed the rigging for a better view.
The harbour-master, who had never seen a steam vessel before, was
as much excited when he boarded the THAMES as a child is in getting
possession of a new plaything.
The whole of the following day (Wednesday) was occupied in showing
the capabilities of the steamer to the Port-Admiral and to the naval
officers who went on board.
The THAMES left Plymouth at noon on Thursday for Portsmouth, where
she arrived at 11 o’clock on Friday morning, having steamed 155 miles
in twenty-three hours. At Portsmouth she created a greater sensation
than at any of the ports she had visited. Tens of thousands of
spectators assembled to gaze at her; and the number of vessels that
crowded around her was so great, that it became necessary to request
the Port-Admiral to assign the voyagers a guard, in order to preserve
some degree of order. The THAMES steamed into the harbour in the most
brilliant style, travelling with the aid of wind and tide at the rate
of between twelve and fourteen knots an hour. A court-martial was
sitting at the time on board the GLADIATOR frigate, but the novelty
of the steam-boat presented an irresistible attraction, and the
whole court went off to her (except the president). At an early hour
next morning (Saturday), the Port-Admiral, Sir Edward Thornborough,
sent his band and a guard of marines on board, and soon afterwards
followed in person, accompanied by three admirals, eighteen
post-captains, and a large number of ladies. The morning was spent
very pleasantly in steaming amongst the fleet, and running over to
the Isle of Wight. The Admiral, and all the naval officers, expressed
themselves delighted with the THAMES.
From Portsmouth the steamer proceeded to Margate, which was reached
on Sunday morning. She remained at Margate until the following day,
when she started on the final portion of her voyage at half-past
eight in the morning, and reached her destination (Limehouse), about
six o’clock the same evening, having accomplished the ninety miles
run from Margate in about nine hours. The THAMES carried fifteen
tons of coal, her consumption being, on the average, a ton for every
hundred miles. So ended this memorable voyage, practically the first
ever attempted by a steamboat on the open sea.
Dodd’s after career was a most melancholy one. Talented, enterprising
and courageous though he undoubtedly was, yet he never succeeded in
his enterprises. And in his later years, instead of seeking that
divine help which would have enabled him to meet his disappointments
with fortitude, he sought to forget them in intemperance, and almost
literally died a beggar in the streets.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] “Chambers’ Journal,” 25th April, 1857.
Chapter V.
1816 to 1818.—Rivals to the THAMES, the DEFIANCE (1815),
MAJESTIC and REGENT (1816).—Loss of the REGENT (1817).—Liverpool
Steam-boats: the RUNCORN PACKET, the PRINCESS CHARLOTTE, Liverpool
to Eastham (1816). REGULATOR and ETNA, Liverpool to Tranmere
(1817).—Parkgate to Bagillt, N.W., the ANCIENT BRITON (1817).—First
Spanish Steamer, ROYAL FERDINAND (1817).—Siberian Steam-boats
(1817).—Loss of the REGULATOR (1818).—David Napier.—Greenock
and Belfast Steamer, ROB ROY.—First Steamer between England and
Ireland, the HIBERNIA (1816).
The successful voyage from the Clyde to the Thames achieved by
Captain Dodd, and the less-known one by the Runcorn Packet from the
Clyde to the Mersey, gave a great impetus to steam-packet building,
and created active opposition, especially on the London and Margate
service. The THAMES, after being refitted, opened the service in
July, 1815. She had a monopoly of the station for about three months,
when the DEFIANCE was put on in opposition. The following year saw
the MAJESTIC placed on the River Thames, and this vessel was probably
the first steamer employed in towing ships. She towed, on Wednesday,
28th August, 1816, the large Indiaman, the HOPE, from Deptford to
Woolwich at the rate of three miles per hour against the wind.
On the 29th June of the same year, a new steamboat, named the REGENT,
was tried on the Thames. She was built under the supervision of
the eminent engineer Brunel, by Maudsley (founder of the famous
engineering firm of Maudsley and Field). Her burden was 112 tons, and
she was propelled by engines of 24 horse power. On her trial trip she
steamed from Blackfriars Bridge to Battersea Bridge in 30 minutes,
and back through London Bridge in 52 minutes. Her machinery was
remarkably light. Her engines, paddle-wheels, and all connections
necessary to give and convey the motive power, weighing only five
tons. The REGENT had a very short existence. On the 2nd July, 1817,
she left London for Margate, with between 40 and 50 passengers on
board. Although it was blowing a gale, all went well until the vessel
arrived off Whitstable, about 18 miles from Margate. The REGENT was
keeping well out in mid-channel, and was about three miles from land,
when she was discovered to be on fire amidships. The force of the
wind had carried away the funnel, and the wood-work at the bottom
of the funnel (nearly breast high from the deck for the protection
of the passengers), caught fire. The vessel’s life-saving equipment
consisted of one small boat, barely sufficient to accommodate her
crew; and the only available means of extinguishing the fire was by
hand buckets, dipped overside. To add to the alarm of the passengers,
the buckets one after the other were either broken against the
side of the steamer, or carried away by the turbulent waves. The
passengers bore themselves bravely, as Britons should in the face of
danger, and did not give way to panic. Perfect discipline appears
to have been maintained amongst the crew. Seeing that he had no
means of keeping the fire under, the Captain collected all the
passengers forward and headed the REGENT for the nearest shore with
the intention of beaching her. This he succeeded in doing without
the loss of a single life, but the vessel herself was almost totally
destroyed.
On the Mersey, also, progress had been made since the arrival of the
first steamer, the PACKET, to and from Runcorn.
In July, 1816, the steam-packet PRINCESS CHARLOTTE commenced the
Liverpool and Eastham service, and continued to sail twice each way
daily. The fare charged to Eastham and back was 1s. At Eastham the
steamer connected with coaches to and from Chester, Shrewsbury,
Holyhead, and many other places.
The Liverpool and Tranmere Steam Ferry was opened by the steam-packet
“Etna” sailing from the West-side Queen’s Dock. She was shortly
afterwards opposed by the steam-packet REGULATOR, running in
connection with coaches from Tranmere to Parkgate, thence by
steam-packet ANCIENT BRITON to Bagillt, North Wales. During a
gale on Monday, 12th January, 1818, the REGULATOR was sunk near the
Liverpool Pierhead, but all on board were rescued.
[Illustration: INTERNATIONAL CODE FLAGS.
Answering Pennant.
A
B
Powder Flag.
C
Assent—Yes.
D
Negative—No.
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
Cholera, Yellow Fever, or Plague Flag.
N
O
P
Blue Peter.—About to proceed to Sea.
Q
Quarantine Flag.
R
S
I require a Pilot.
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
] [Illustration:
AFRICAN S. S. CO.
ALLAN BROS. & CO.
AMERICAN LINE.
ANCHOR LINE.
ADELAIDE S. S. CO.
JOHN BACON.
BATES & SON.
BELFAST S. S. CO.
BOOTH S. S. CO.
BIBBY LINE.
]
Meantime other continental nations were awakening to the advantages
of steam navigation.
On the 30th May, 1817, there was launched at Seville the ROYAL
FERDINAND, the first steamer built in Spain. And, about the same
date, Mr. Wesewelodsky, a man of great wealth, and owner of several
rich mines in Siberia, built two steamers for navigating the River
Kama. These vessels were 51 feet and 100 feet long, respectively. Mr.
Wesewelodsky travelled with his steamers from his mines to Casan, a
distance of 1,000 versts, and accomplished the voyage in 105 hours.
[11]“England owes to David Napier the establishment of deep-sea
communication by steam-vessels, and of Post Office steam-packets.
As a first step, he endeavoured to ascertain the difficulties
to be encountered. For this purpose he took passage at a stormy
period of the year on a sailing packet, which formed one of a line,
and the only means of intercourse between Glasgow and Belfast; a
passage which often required seven days to accomplish what is now
done by steam in as many hours. The captain of the packet found
a young man, whom he afterwards knew as Mr. Napier, during one
of his winter passages to Belfast, constantly perched on the bow
of the vessel, fixing an intent gaze on the sea when it broke on
the side of the ship, quite heedless of the waves and spray that
washed over him. He only ceased from this occupation at intervals,
as the breeze freshened, to ask the captain whether the sea was
such that it might be considered a rough one, and, when told that
it was by no means unusually rough, he returned to the bow of the
vessel and resumed his study of the waves breaking at her stem.
When the breeze began to freshen into a gale, and the sea to rise
considerably, he again enquired of the captain whether the sea
might now be considered a rough one, and was told that as yet it
could not be called very rough. Disappointed, he returned again to
his station at the bow, and resumed his employment. At last he
was favoured with a storm to his contentment, and when the seas,
breaking over the vessel, swept her from stem to stern, he found
his way back to the captain and repeated his enquiry, ‘Do you call
it rough now?’ The captain replied he could not remember having
faced a worse night in the whole of his experience, a reply which
delighted young Napier, who muttering, as he turned away, ‘I think
I can manage if that is all,’ went down to his cabin. Napier saw
then the end of his difficulties, and soon satisfied himself as to
the means of overcoming them. His next enquiry was as to the means
of getting through the water with least resistance. To determine
this, he commenced a series of experiments with models of vessels
in a small tank of water, and soon found that the round full bluff
bow adopted for sailing vessels was quite unsuited for speed with
mechanical propulsion of a different nature. This led him to adopt
the fine wedge-like bows by which the vessels built under his
superintendence were afterwards so distinguished.”
Napier established regular steam-packet communication between
Greenock and Belfast by means of the ROB ROY, a vessel of 90 tons
burden and 30 horse power. After plying for two years between these
ports with great regularity and success, the ROB ROY was transferred
to the English Channel as a packet between Dover and Calais.
Cross-channel steamboats between England and Ireland were first
introduced in 1816, when the steam-packet HIBERNIA was built by a
company to carry passengers between Holyhead and Howth. The HIBERNIA
was 112 tons burden, 77 feet keel measurement, and 9 feet draft. She
was lugger rigged, and capable of making the passage by sails only.
Her average passage, Holyhead to Howth, was about seven hours, and
her passengers frequently had the satisfaction of arriving in Dublin
considerably in advance of the Mail packets.
[Illustration: Paddlewheeler ship]
FOOTNOTES:
[11] “History of Steam Navigation,” Adm. Prebble, U.S.N.
Chapter VI.
Early Clyde Steam-packets.—Season Tickets issued, 1816.—First
steamer to cross the English Channel.—DUMBARTON CASTLE steams
round North of Scotland, 1819.—First serious Accident to a
Steam-packet.—Clyde Passenger Fares, 1818.
Many circumstances combined to make the Clyde the birthplace and
the home of the Marine Steam Engine. Coal and iron mines were in
close proximity, and skilled labour for the construction of engines
and of ships was abundant. The beautiful Firth, with its numerous
lochs and islands, constituted an ideal locality for the employment
of steamboats while yet the art of steamship building was in its
infancy. And on the shores of the River, or within easy distance of
it, dwelt a large industrial population, eager to take advantage of
the facilities for travel which steamboats afforded.
Under these circumstances it is not surprising that steam-packets
on the Clyde increased with marvellous rapidity. In 1812 the COMET
first began to ply between Glasgow, Greenock and Helensburgh, and
she was, in fact, the only steamboat then sailing on British waters.
Three years later (in 1815) a fleet of seven steamers, viz., the
GLASGOW, BRITANNIA, DUMBARTON CASTLE, CALEDONIA, ARGYLE, PRINCE OF
ORANGE, and PRINCESS CHARLOTTE, sailed regularly from Glasgow to
Largs, Ardrossan, Troon and Ayr, southwards; and Rothesay, Tarbert,
Lochgilphead and Inverary, westwards. No agents’ names are given
in any of the press advertisements of this or previous years, but
the sailings were advertised on boards placed outside the agent’s
counting houses, and exhibited in taverns and other places of public
resort. In 1816 and subsequent years the owners’ or agents’ names are
appended to the press notices of the various steam-packets.
[Illustration: Early type of African Coasting Steamer.]
In May of the year named, the steamboats BRITANNIA and (new) WATERLOO
were advertised to sail between Glasgow and all the watering places
on both sides of the Clyde.
“Families wishing to agree for the season may know particulars
by applying to Mr. Lewis MacLellan, Gallowgate, Mr. Wm. Smith,
Bromielaw, and the Masters on board.”
These small steamers were the pioneers of the magnificent fleet of
Channel steamships, sailing from Glasgow, and known as the “Laird
Line.” A grandson of the Mr. Lewis MacLellan here referred to, and a
nephew, are still (1903) connected with the Company as directors. The
steamer ALBION was advertised in the same paper in similar terms, and
on the 9th July following the agents of nine steam-packets sailing
from Glasgow, gave notice that the issue of season tickets was
discontinued for the remainder of the season.
Hence it appears that the issue of season contract tickets, popularly
supposed to be a modern institution of the railway companies, is
found to be a common practice amongst the steamship owners of Glasgow
more than three-quarters of a century ago.
Mr. W. S. Lindsay, in his admirable book “The History of Merchant
Shipping from 1816 to 1874,” quotes Mr. Muirhead’s “Life of Watt,”
as stating that “In April, 1817, Mr. James Watt, Jun., purchased the
CALEDONIA, and having re-fitted her, took her in October to Holland
and up the Rhine to Coblentz; having thus been the first to cross the
English Channel in a steamboat. The average speed he obtained was
seven and a half knots an hour.”
Either Mr. Muirhead was in error in the dates given, or he was wrong
in assuming that the CALEDONIA was the first steamer to cross the
English Channel. A correspondent of the “Glasgow Chronicle,” in a
letter to that Journal, dated Cologne, 16th June, 1816 (_i.e._,
sixteen months prior to the date mentioned by Mr. Muirhead as the
date on which the CALEDONIA crossed the Channel), says:—
“To-day, about noon, we enjoyed a sight equally novel and
entertaining, a pretty large vessel without a mast ascending the
Rhine, and proceeding with astonishing rapidity, arrive before this
city. All the vessels stationed on the Rhine in this neighbourhood
were in a moment covered with spectators, to see the arrival of
this vessel, which is a steamboat coming from London, and bound for
Frankfort. Everybody was eager to view the progress, the motion,
the organisation of this masterpiece of art. The vessel left
Rotterdam on the 6th inst. The passengers affirm that it can go 25
leagues in a day.”
The DUMBARTON CASTLE (Captain Thomson) was advertised to take
passengers for a trip from Glasgow round Ailsa Craig on the 7th
August, 1816. She was the first British steamboat (the THAMES
excepted) to take passengers on a deep sea trip, and she was also the
first steamer to sail round the North of Scotland, which she did in
1819, in consequence of being sold for employment between Leith and
Grangemouth.
The first serious accident to a Clyde steamboat of which there is
any record, occurred in the early part of the year 1816. The new
steam-packet ROTHESAY CASTLE, while entering the harbour of Tarbert
on her return voyage from Inverary, struck on a reef of sunken
rocks. All her passengers were rescued by fishing boats, which also
landed the luggage. One of the fishing boats was also despatched to
request the Master of the ARGYLE (which was to leave Inverary four
hours later than the ROTHESAY CASTLE) to call at Tarbert. This was
accordingly done and the shipwrecked passengers were taken on to
Rothesay and Greenock the same evening. The steamer was subsequently
got off the rocks and taken to Port Glasgow for repairs.
It may interest citizens of Glasgow and dwellers on the coast to
compare, by means of the following table, the steamship Passenger
Fares of 1818 with those of the present day.
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
| | Port |
To Renfrew. | Dunglass. |Glasgow or | Gonrock.
| | Greenock. |
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
| | S | | S | | S | | S
| | t | | t | | t | | t
| | e | | e | | e | | e
From. | C | e | C | e | C | e | C | e
| a | r | a | r | a | r | a | r
| b | a | b | a | b | a | b | a
| i | g | i | g | i | g | i | g
| n | e | n | e | n | e | n | e
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.
Glasgow | 1 0 | 1 0 | 2 0 | 1 6 | 4 0 | 2 6 | 4 0 | 3 0
Greenock | 3 0 | 2 0 | 2 0 | 1 6 | | | 1 0 | 0 6
Largs | 6 6 | 4 0 | 5 6 | 3 6 | 3 6 | 2 6 | 3 0 | 2 0
Ardrossan | 9 0 | 6 6 | 8 0 | 6 0 | 6 0 | 5 0 | 5 6 | 4 6
Rothesay | | | | | | | |
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
| | |
To Rothesay. | Largs. | Millport. |Ardrossan.
| | |
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
| | S | | S | | S | | S
| | t | | t | | t | | t
| | e | | e | | e | | e
From. | C | e | C | e | C | e | C | e
| a | r | a | r | a | r | a | r
| b | a | b | a | b | a | b | a
| i | g | i | g | i | g | i | g
| n | e | n | e | n | e | n | e
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.
Glasgow | 7 6 | 5 0 | 7 6 | 5 0 | 8 6 | 6 0 |10 0 | 7 6
Greenock | 3 6 | 2 6 | 3 6 | 2 6 | 4 6 | 3 6 | 6 0 | 5 0
Largs | 1 6 | 1 0 | | | 1 0 | 1 0 | 2 6 | 2 0
Ardrossan | | | 2 6 | 2 0 | 1 6 | 1 0 | |
Rothesay | | | | | | | |
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
| | |Campbelton
To Troon. | Ayr. |Helensburg.| or
| | | Inverary.
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
| | S | | S | | S | | S
| | t | | t | | t | | t
| | e | | e | | e | | e
From. | C | e | C | e | C | e | C | e
| a | r | a | r | a | r | a | r
| b | a | b | a | b | a | b | a
| i | g | i | g | i | g | i | g
| n | e | n | e | n | e | n | e
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.|s. d.
Glasgow |11 0 | 8 0 |12 0 | 9 6 | 4 6 | 3 0 |12 0 | 8 6
Greenock | 7 0 | 6 0 | 8 0 | 6 6 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 9 0 | 6 6
Largs | 3 6 | 2 6 | 4 6 | 3 6 | | | |
Ardrossan | 1 6 | 1 0 | 2 6 | 2 0 | | | |
Rothesay | | | | | | | 7 6 | 5 0
————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————
Young persons 8 to 14 years of age—half-price. Below eight years of
age at the discretion of the Master.
These rates were fixed by a Conference consisting of the proprietors
of the following steamboats:—ALBION, ARGYLE, BRITANNIA, CLYDE,
DEFIANCE, DUKE OF WELLINGTON, DUMBARTON CASTLE, GLASGOW, MARGARET,
MARQUIS OF BUTE, NEPTUNE, PRINCE OF ORANGE, ROTHESAY CASTLE, and
WATERLOO, who agreed that the Fares taken from passengers travelling
by any of the boats named should be according to the above table,
and that no engagements should be entered into with families or
individuals at rates below these fares. Passengers were allowed 28
lbs. of luggage free, excess luggage was charged at the rate of
10d. per cwt. from Glasgow to Greenock, and proportionately for any
further distance.
Chapter VII.
1819 to 1821.—The SAVANNAH the first steamer to cross the
Atlantic.—Arrival at Liverpool of the WATERLOO, the first Irish
Channel steamer.—Sailing of the ROBERT BRUCE, the first steamer
trading between Liverpool and the Clyde.—Curious Accident to
the steamer MORNING STAR.—The TRITON.—The CONDE DE PATMELLA,
first European steamer to cross the Atlantic.—Cattle Ventilators
suggested.—The TOURIST.—Steamers between London and Leith.
Prior to the introduction of marine steam engines, the United States
of America had no inconsiderable share of the world’s ocean traffic.
No swifter ships raced with cargoes of tea from China to the Thames
than the famous Baltimore clippers. No finer vessels crossed the
Atlantic than the celebrated New York Packet Liners. It cannot be
supposed that a people so enterprising as the Americans would make no
attempt at ocean steam navigation. On the contrary, as they were the
first to build a coasting passenger steamer, so were they the first
to build a steamer to cross the Atlantic.
During the latter part of the year 1818, and the beginning of 1819,
there was, in process of building at New York, a beautiful little
ship of about 320 tons burden. Whilst on the stocks it was suggested
to convert her into a steamer, which was accordingly done. After she
was launched, the SAVANNAH, that being the name given to her, sailed
from New York to Savannah, and thence, about the 25th May, 1819, she
sailed to Liverpool, en route to St. Petersburg. It was reported at
the time that she was a present from the Americans to the Emperor
of Russia. Although she did not steam the whole of the voyage from
Savannah to Liverpool, which occupied twenty-six days, she was the
first steamer that ever attempted to cross the Atlantic. British and
Canadian authors have contended that she was not entitled to this
honour, as her steam power was merely auxiliary, but the contention
is somewhat ungenerous, and, if allowed, would debar later vessels,
notably the SARAH SANDS and the GREAT BRITAIN, from claiming the
title of steamships. The SAVANNAH reached Liverpool on Sunday, 20th
June, 1819, after a voyage of twenty-six days duration. Shortly after
leaving Savannah it began to blow hard, and the following entry
appears in the Captain’s log book:
“Stopped the engines, and brought the paddle-wheels in-board in
thirty minutes.”
When off the Irish coast, the coastguard, seeing a huge volume of
smoke proceeding from a ship at sea, reported it to be a vessel on
fire. A Government cutter from Cork put out to render assistance,
and were much surprised on boarding her to learn that she required
no assistance, except a Channel pilot, and that she had come from
America. Her arrival at Liverpool was witnessed by great crowds of
people, who had assembled to watch her entering the Mersey. After her
visit to St. Petersburg she re-crossed the Atlantic, her engines were
taken out of her, and, as a sailing packet, she traded between New
York and Savannah, until she was wrecked off Long Island.
A month later, or to be exact, on the 22nd July, 1819, the first
cross-channel steamer that ever entered the port, arrived at
Liverpool from Belfast, after a passage of twenty-four hours. This
steamer was the WATERLOO, owned by Messrs. Langtry, of Belfast,
who were also the owners of a fleet of smacks which traded
regularly between the two ports. The WATERLOO was a schooner-rigged
paddle-steamer of 201 tons burthen, propelled by a pair of
low-pressure engines of 80 h.p. each. Her length was 98 feet, and
her breadth on deck was 37 feet. She had a dining room capable of
accommodating all the cabin passengers at one sitting, a separate and
neatly decorated cabin for ladies, and two staterooms for families.
She carried sleeping accommodation for 22 cabin passengers, in
addition to steerage passengers. The fares charged for a single
passage between Liverpool and Belfast were, cabin £1 11s. 6d.,
steerage 10s. 6d. The WATERLOO made two round voyages per week
during the season, sailing from Liverpool every Monday and Friday.
She was intended to carry passengers only (the cargo trade being
maintained by the smacks), and cost her owners nearly £10,000.
On the 29th July of the same year, the first steamer that traded
between Liverpool and Glasgow was advertised in the following terms:—
“Safe and Expeditious Travelling between Liverpool
and Glasgow.
The elegant new Steam-Packet Boat,
ROBERT BRUCE,
Captain John Patterson,
will sail for Glasgow on Monday, 2nd August, at Seven
o’clock in the morning, from George’s Dock, Pierhead.
The accommodations for passengers are most excellent,
and she is expected to perform the passage within 30
hours.
“The Fares in the Cabin, 40s.; Steerage, 21s. Passengers
will be accommodated with Provisions on
moderate terms. For passage apply to Captain
Patterson, or to
John Richardson.”
From this date (1819) the expansion of the British steam coasting
trade was most rapid. Within a very short time regular services were
advertised between Liverpool and Isle of Man, Whitehaven, Dumfries,
the Clyde Ports, Belfast and Dublin. Nor were these pioneers of the
steam trade permitted to be monopolists of their respective stations.
Frequently two, and in some cases three companies advertised steamers
sailing for the same ports, of which some account will be found in
the succeeding chapters of this volume.
An extraordinary accident is reported by the “Berwick Advertiser”
(September, 1819), as having occurred to one of the local
steam-packets. The MORNING STAR, while on her usual passage from
Alloa to Leith, suddenly stopped. On investigation it was discovered
that a salmon had entered and completely obstructed the condensing
water pipes, and thus stopped the machinery.
In the fall of the following year (1820) steam communication between
the Ports of London and Hull was projected.
Across the Channel the steam-packet TRITON, built at Bordeaux,
maintained a passenger service, three times each way per week,
between Havre and Rouen. The passage occupied about nine hours, and
the fares charged were 8s. first class, and 4s. second class.
On the 5th October, 1820, the steamer CONDE DE PATMELLA, Captain
Silva, sailed from Liverpool for the Brazils. She made a remarkably
rapid passage to Lisbon, arriving there in four days. This is
probably the first steamer that ever crossed the Atlantic Ocean from
Europe.
Perhaps one of the most remarkable steamers ever launched was a small
steamboat, named the SNAKE, built at Bombay, and launched in 1820.
She was the first steamer on the Indus or on any river in India. Her
engines were designed and built by a Parsee, and were the first ever
manufactured in India. How well they were constructed is evidenced
by their lasting power. After a notable career of 60 years, she was
broken up in 1880.
Above the initials “W. P.,” a correspondent of the “Liverpool
Mercury,” in a letter dated 25th October, 1820, suggests the use
of iron ventilators, to supply fresh air to the holds of steamers
carrying cattle across the Channel, for, of course, at that date,
steamers to carry cattle across the ocean were unthought of. He
describes the ventilators suggested as “iron funnels with movable
vane tops, which could be constructed by any mechanic at a cost of
about £3 10s. each.”
In the spring of 1821, a new steamboat, named the TOURIST, was
launched at Perth. When launched she was the largest steamer in the
United Kingdom, being 128 feet long by 40 feet broad. She was rigged
as a three-masted schooner, with a clipper bow and bowsprit, and was
propelled by two engines of 40 h.p. each. She was intended (as her
name implies) for the passenger trade between Leith and the Northern
Ports of Scotland, and her owners claimed that communication between
the ports named “will thus be effected in one-third less time,
and for one-sixth of the expense incurred by the present mode of
travelling.” After running for a short time in the Leith and North of
Scotland trade, she was placed on the station between Newhaven and
London, on behalf of the London and Edinburgh Steampacket Co.
In May of the same year two steam vessels of upwards of 400
tons burden each, were built for the Leith and London passenger
service. These steamers were not intended to carry cargo, but they
had sleeping accommodation for one hundred passengers. They were
propelled by engines of 100 h.p., and were expected to make the
passage in about sixty hours.
[Illustration: Bridge in London]
Chapter VIII.
St. George Steam-Packet Co. incorporated, 1822.—Swift passage of
the HERO, steam yacht.—Liverpool owned steamers highly commended
in Parliamentary Report, 1822.—AARON MANBY, iron steamer.—First
steamer between Hull and the Continent, 1823.—City of Dublin
Steam-Packet Co. founded, 1823.—H.M.S. LIGHTNING.—General
Steam-Packet Co. and the Belfast Steam-Packet Co. established,
1824.—Keen competition, Glasgow and Belfast service,
1825.—Advertising extraordinary.—G. & J. Burns commence business,
1825, as steamship owners.—Competition on the Liverpool and Dublin
station.—First steamer from the Thames to Hamburg.—The ENTERPRIZE
sails for Calcutta.—Rapid growth of Steam Navigation.—Sailing ship
owners petition Parliament, 1826.—The ERIN.—Liverpool and Kingstown
Royal Mail Service.—City of Dublin Steam Packet Co. establish a
Passenger Service between England, Ireland and France, 1827.
The year 1822, witnessed the first operations of what was destined to
become one of the most famous of the early Steam-Packet Companies.
Projected the previous year, the St. George Steam-Packet Company
immediately contracted with Mr. Thomas Wilson, of Liverpool, for two
large and powerful steamers, the ST. PATRICK and the ST. GEORGE. The
former was intended to trade between Dublin and Liverpool, and Dublin
and the Bristol Channel; and the latter between Liverpool, the Isle
of Man, and the River Clyde, Mr. Alex. A. Laird, the founder of the
well-known firm of Alex. A. Laird & Co., being the agent at Greenock.
The ST. PATRICK was launched at 10-30 a.m. on the 21st April, 1822.
This event excited great interest in the town of Liverpool, as she
was, if not the first steamer ever built in the port, certainly the
finest specimen of the ship-building craft produced there up to that
date. Her sister ship, the ST. GEORGE, launched the following day,
rapidly won for herself a reputation for comfort and speed. After
running about six months she made a voyage from Dublin to Liverpool
in 11½ hours, the shortest time on record. Eighteen months later
she made a passage from Liverpool to Dublin in 10 hours 40 minutes,
beating her previous record by 50 minutes. The third steamer was the
PRINCE LLEWELLYN, to ply between Liverpool, Beaumaris, Bangor, and
Carnarvon. The St. George Steam-Packet Co. continued until 1844,
when it was re-constructed, the Cork Steamship Co. taking over its
various services and seven of its steamers.
[Illustration: Mr. David MacBrayne’s Steamer, INVERARY CASTLE. See
Paragraph page 43.]
The steam-yacht HERO is credited with a phenomenal speedy voyage on
the 26th July, 1822. She is reported to have steamed from London to
Margate in 6½ hours, being at the rate of 14 miles an hour.
A report relative to steam navigation was laid before the House of
Commons (August, 1822). All the steam-packets belonging to Liverpool
were named in a manner highly honourable to their owners, commanders
and constructors.
“On Thursday, 9th May, 1822, a large party of distinguished naval
officers, engineers, &c., embarked at Parliament Stairs, London,
on board the AARON MANBY, iron steamboat, which immediately got
under weigh and proceeded to Battersea Bridge; she then descended
to Blackfriars, and manœuvred for several hours between the two
bridges in a very superior style. This steamboat was built at the
Horsley Iron Works, near Birmingham, by Mr. Manby, and put together
at Rotherhithe. She is the most complete specimen of workmanship in
the iron way that has ever been witnessed, and draws one foot less
water than any steamboat that has ever been built. She is 106 feet
long and 17 feet broad, and is propelled by a 30 h.p. engine and
Oldham’s revolving bars. This boat will leave London in a few days
for Paris, the first instance of a direct communication between
the capitals of France and England. Amongst the gentlemen present
were Admirals Sir William Hope, Sir Pulteny Malcomb and Sir James
Wood Gage; Captains Dundas and Napier; Mr. Manby, the inventor;
Mr. Williams, the patentee of the revolving bars, &c.”—“London
Courier,” 15th May, 1822.
On or about the 24th March, 1823, the steam-packet YORKSHIREMAN
arrived at Hull from Antwerp, and was only 31 hours on the passage.
This vessel is noteworthy as being the first steam vessel to sail
from Hull to the Continent.
In the month of February of this year (1823) Mr. C. W. Williams,
of Dublin, placed an order with Mr. Wilson, of Liverpool, for the
pioneer steamer of the future famous City of Dublin Steam-Packet
Company, the CITY OF DUBLIN, a vessel of 130 h.p. It was an express
stipulation with the builder, that this steamer should be constructed
of such materials, and in such a manner, as to withstand the
severity of the winter navigation. The CITY OF DUBLIN differed from
her competitors in two respects, (1) in carrying general cargo in
addition to live stock and passengers, and (2) in maintaining the
service uninterruptedly throughout the twelve months.
A month later, Mr. Wilson was again applied to, to build a second
vessel for the company, but in consequence of his having that very
morning (5th March, 1823) contracted to build the steam-packet HENRY
BELL for the Liverpool and Glasgow trade, it was not till some days
later the contract was signed for building the TOWN OF LIVERPOOL, to
be commenced as soon as the HENRY BELL was launched.
The CITY OF DUBLIN sailed from Dublin on her maiden voyage to
Liverpool on Saturday, the 20th March, 1824. She anticipated, by
about six months, the operations of the Dublin and Liverpool Steam
Navigation Co., whose first steamer, the LIFFEY, 305 tons burthen,
and 110 h.p., did not sail until the 13th September following. In
December of the same year (1824) the MERSEY joined the LIFFEY, and
in the July following the COMMERCE was added to the Navigation Co.’s
fleet. The COMMERCE was considerably larger than either of her
predecessors, and was launched from the yard of Messrs. Grayson and
Leadley, Trentham Street, Liverpool.
Her (late) Majesty’s steamship LIGHTNING sailed from Algiers for home
on the 27th July, 1824, calling at Gibraltar and Lisbon. She remained
at Lisbon two days taking in coal, and finally arrived at Plymouth
nineteen days after leaving Algiers. The LIGHTNING was one of the
first vessels in the British Navy to be supplied with steam power.
Two still existing and influential Steamship Companies were
established this year. The General Steam Navigation Co., of London,
and the Belfast Steam-Packet Co., afterwards merged into the Belfast
Steamship Co., Limited, of Belfast.
The competition between the Steam-Packet Companies engaged in the
Scotch and North of Ireland passenger trade had become so keen, that
in the summer of 1825 the steamers from Belfast to Glasgow lowered
their fares to 2s. for 1st cabin, 6d. for 2nd cabin, and carried deck
passengers for nothing.
On the Dublin and Liverpool station competition was nearly as severe,
one steamer sailing in the autumn of 1825 with upwards of 700
passengers carried at 6d. each.
Under these adverse circumstances, the proprietors of the Dublin
and Liverpool Steam Navigation Co. deemed it prudent to make terms
with their more powerful competitor, the City of Dublin Steam-Packet
Co. The managers of the latter company, early in the following year
(1st February, 1826), purchased the Navigation Co.’s steamers, and
increased the capital of their own company to £250,000, in shares of
£100 each.
The Press communications exchanged between the owners of the rival
steam-packets must have been extremely entertaining to the citizens
of Glasgow of that period. The following extraordinary literary
effusion, from the owners of the steamboat SWIFT, was published in
the “Glasgow Herald,” of the 30th June, 1825:—
“The great superiority of the SWIFT over the Cock Boat that is
puffed off as sailing direct from the Bromielaw is now so well
known at Glasgow and Belfast as scarcely to require to be noticed
in this advertisement, but for the sake of strangers coming from
a distance it may be proper to state that her power and size are
double, and her speed so much greater, that when the two vessels
start together the SWIFT runs the other out of sight in five or
six hours. Her hours of sailing are so adapted to the tide, as to
ensure the shortest possible passage, by arriving at Greenock and
Glasgow about high water, and at Belfast as soon as there is water
up to the quay.”
The following crushing reply of the owners of the steamer referred to
as “the Cock Boat,” appeared in the next issue of the same newspaper.
“The fine new Steam-Packet GEORGE CANNING continues to sail for
Belfast every Tuesday and Friday. She is the only Steam-Packet
that sails direct from Glasgow, therefore, her passengers are not
subjected to the delay, inconvenience and risk, attending change of
vessel and transhipment of luggage.
“The GEORGE CANNING has crossed the Channel upwards of 60 times,
and has in every instance accomplished her passage without putting
into any intermediate ports.
“If the writer of a contemptible article in the SWIFT’S
advertisement of Friday last, means the GEORGE CANNING, he has
the merit of stating a gross falsehood, knowing it to be such;
and, therefore, written for the express purpose of deceiving the
public!!!
“The author of the paragraph alluded to is challenged to produce a
single instance of the SWIFT having ever accomplished her passage
from Belfast in so short a period as the GEORGE CANNING.
“The public will be surprised to learn, after reading the SWIFT’S
advertisement, particularly ‘strangers coming from a distance,’
that the SWIFT and the CANNING have never yet sailed together
either from Belfast or Glasgow; therefore, the author of the
SWIFT’S advertisement is left to state when and where the SWIFT ran
the vessel alluded to out of sight.”
The rivalry between these two steamers terminated the following year,
when the SWIFT was sold to the London, Leith and Edinburgh Shipping
Company, and sailed for Leith, via Oban, Fort William and Inverness,
on the 27th June, 1826. The GEORGE CANNING was offered for sale by
auction in June, 1831, but was evidently withdrawn. She appears to
have been sold subsequently by private treaty, and sailed, after
repairs, for St. Malo, Brittany, in June, 1833.
The well-known firm, G. & J. Burns, of Glasgow, commenced business
as steamship owners in 1825. The style of the firm at that time was
James and George Burns, and their offices were at 45, Miller Street,
but in February, 1842, they changed the style of the firm to G. & J.
Burns.
The first steamer employed by this firm was the new steampacket AYR,
of 76 tons, built by John Wood & Co., of Port Glasgow, and having
two engines of 30 h.p. each, by John Nelson, Glasgow. The AYR was
employed in the Glasgow and Ayrshire and Galloway trade. On the 20th
March following (1826) Messrs. Burns despatched their first steamer
from Glasgow to Belfast. She was a new steamboat named FINGAL. Her
length was 116 feet, her beam 21 feet 6 inches, and her depth 12 feet
4 inches. She had two engines of 50 h.p. each. She could accommodate
thirty passengers with sleeping berths, had several horse boxes on
deck, and carried 180 tons of cargo. The rates for passage were,
in the cabin, 20s., and on deck, 3s.; and the days of sailing from
Glasgow, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Three years later (March, 1829) Messrs. Burns began their Liverpool
and Glasgow service. The pioneer steamer of this service was the
GLASGOW, a small steamer, 120 tons deadweight, and fitted with two
engines of 30 h.p. each. The Messrs. Burns have ceased for many years
to have any connection with the Glasgow, Ayr and Galloway trade,
but on the other two stations, Belfast and Liverpool, they have
maintained continuous services for nearly eighty years. They were
also largely interested in the Glasgow and West Highland Passenger
Services, but sold their interests in 1851 to Messrs. David Hutcheson
& Co. These services are now conducted by the fleet of splendid
steamships owned by the Messrs. MacBrayne of Glasgow.[12]
On Saturday, the 30th June, 1825, a steam-packet sailed from the
Thames for Hamburg, the first that had ever made that voyage.
The following month (16th August) the first steamer sailed from
England (Falmouth) to Calcutta, via the Cape. This was the wooden
paddle-steamer ENTERPRIZE, 470 tons burthen, 120 h.p. Further
particulars of this vessel are given in Chapter IX. (Steamship Routes
to India and the East).
Some idea of the marvellously rapid growth of steam navigation may be
gathered from the fact that in the year 1825, just ten years after
the arrival of the first steamers on the Thames and Mersey, there
were 44 steam vessels on the stocks at Liverpool of from 250 to 500
tons each; while in London no less than 45 companies had been formed
to establish steam-packets in every quarter of the globe. Owners of
sailing ships became alarmed for their future, and at a meeting held
in Swansea, on the 14th December, 1826, a resolution was passed to
send a petition to the House of Commons, praying for the intervention
of Parliament to protect sailing vessels against the further increase
of steamers.
Amongst those steamers referred to as building at Liverpool was the
ERIN, the largest steamer (up to date of launching) ever built in
Liverpool. Her principal dimensions were, length 161 feet, breadth
44 feet. Her tonnage was 500 tons gross, and she was propelled
by engines of 180 h.p., by Fawcett and Co. She was launched from
Mr. Rathbone’s yard in February, 1826, and was intended to trade
regularly between London and Belfast, calling at Southampton,
Plymouth and Falmouth. Her owners were the Belfast Steam Navigation
Co., and she cost £20,000.
Her (late) Majesty’s Steam-Packets, for the conveyance of mails and
passengers between Liverpool and Kingstown, commenced sailing on the
29th August, 1826. Captain John Emerson, R.N. (late Commander of the
ST. GEORGE steam-packet), was appointed Captain of one of these Royal
Mail Steamers, of which there were four, all built at Liverpool, and
each of 300 tons burthen.
The City of Dublin Steam-Packet Company commenced a regular steamship
passenger service between England, Ireland and France in June, 1827.
The route was from Belfast to Dublin, thence to Bordeaux. Passengers
from the North of England were carried by the Company’s steamers
between Liverpool and Dublin, connecting at the latter port with
the steamer to France. The pioneer steamer of the service was the
LEEDS, which sailed on her first voyage from Belfast on Sunday, 17th
June, and from Dublin on the following Wednesday, continuing to
sail at fortnightly intervals during the season. The venture was so
successful that the Directors of the Company, the following April,
added the steamers SHEFFIELD and NOTTINGHAM to the service, and
increased the sailings to the 1st, 10th and 20th of each month.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] For a special account of this Firm, see Part II. of this Volume.
Chapter IX.
Steamship Routes to India and the East.—Lieut. Johnston.—ENTERPRIZE
purchased by Indian Government.—Renders important service during
Burmese War.—Thomas Waghorn.—Regular steamship service established
between Bombay and Suez.—Peninsular Steam Navigation Co.
(1834).—Altered to Peninsular and Oriental S. N. Co. (1837).—First
P. and O. steamer to India, 1842.—Services extended to Ceylon,
Penang, Singapore, and Hong Kong, 1844.—And to Australia, 1852.—P.
and O. steamships engaged as troopships during Crimean War.—S.S.
MOOLTAN (1861) and other later steamers fitted with compound
engines.—Suez Canal opened, 1869.—Mails transferred to Canal route,
1888.—Calcutta and Burmah S. N. Co. (1855).—Steamers engaged as
transports during Indian Mutiny.—Title changed to British India
Steam Navigation Co., Ltd. (1862).—Bibby Line.
Soon after steam navigation began to attract attention in Great
Britain, a public meeting was held in London (1822), for the purpose
of forming a steamship company to trade between England and India. It
was the intention of the promoters of the meeting that the packets
should proceed to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope, the route by
which the bulk of the trade of Europe with the East had been carried
since the time of Vasco da Gama. At this meeting it was decided that
Lieut. (afterwards Captain) Johnston should proceed to Calcutta,
with a view to interesting the East India merchants in the proposed
undertaking.
Lieut. Johnston proceeded to India _via_ Egypt, and although he
was commissioned to advocate the Cape route, he was convinced on
this journey of the greater advantages of the route by Suez, and
afterwards became one of its most ardent supporters. Several meetings
were held in Calcutta after his arrival there, at one of which, held
on the 17th December, 1823, it was announced that the Governor, Lord
Amherst, cordially approved of the proposal to establish steamship
communication between England and India, and that he was prepared
to recommend his Council to grant as a premium[13] “a gift of 20,000
rupees to whoever, whether individuals or a company, being British
subjects, should permanently, before the end of 1826, establish a
steam communication between England and India, either by the Cape of
Good Hope or the Red Sea, and make two voyages out and two voyages
home, occupying not more than seventy days on each passage.”
[Illustration: COLOMBO carrying Xmas gifts to the troops in the
Crimea.]
An additional 80,000 rupees were raised in India for this object, of
which amount the Rajah of Oude subscribed 12,000. On receipt of this
gratifying news in London, another meeting of those interested was
held, at which sufficient capital was underwritten to justify the
promoters in ordering, as an experiment, the ENTERPRIZE, the first
steamer destined to double the Cape of Good Hope.
Johnston, having accomplished his assigned task, embarked on board
the Indiaman ELIZA for England. On his arrival in London he found the
ENTERPRIZE two-thirds completed, and on completion he was appointed
captain.
[Illustration: P. & O. Liner. Date about 1850 A.D.]
[Illustration: P. & O. Liner. Date 1900 A.D.]
The ENTERPRIZE was a paddle-steamer, built of wood, by Messrs.
Gordon & Co., Deptford, at a cost of £43,000. Her length of keel
was 122 feet, beam 27 feet, and she registered 479 tons. She had
a copper boiler in one piece, which weighed 32 tons, and cost
£7,000. Her engines were 120 horse power, capable of propelling her
in calm weather at the rate of 8 knots per hour. She sailed with
17 passengers from London for Calcutta on the 16th August, 1825,
and arrived at the latter port on the 7th December following. She
occupied 113 days on the passage, partly under steam and partly
under sail, and inclusive of ten days stoppages for the purpose of
obtaining fresh supplies of fuel. She did not return to England, but
was purchased by the Indian Government for £40,000, the East India
Company being at that time engaged in the first Burmese War. She was
employed carrying despatches between Calcutta and Rangoon, and on the
occasion of the Treaty of Malwa, she saved the Government six lacs
of rupees by reaching Calcutta in time to prevent the march of troops
from the upper provinces.
When the ENTERPRIZE arrived at Calcutta from England she was piloted
by a young man, a mate in the Bengal Pilot Service, named Thomas
Waghorn.
Mr. Waghorn was born at Chatham in 1800, and was, consequently, in
his twenty-sixth year when he acted as pilot for the ENTERPRIZE.
He had served four years in the Royal Navy, and was afterwards for
twelve years in the service of the East India Company as pilot,
subsequently rejoining the Royal Navy, in which he remained until he
obtained his commission as Lieutenant. He was selected in 1827, by
the Indian Government (Calcutta Steam Committee), for the purpose of
establishing steam navigation between England and India. He visited
London, Liverpool, and Manchester, but could not obtain sufficient
financial support for a regular service of steamers _via_ the
Cape of Good Hope. Hearing that it was the intention of the East
India Company to despatch the ENTERPRIZE to Suez, he offered his
services as Courier to the East to Mr. Lock (Chairman of the East
India Company), and to Lord Ellenborough (President of the Board of
Control). His offer of service was accepted, and he left London on
the 28th October, 1829, taking the overland route, _via_ Trieste, to
Alexandria, where he arrived on the 27th November. His instructions
were to proceed with his despatches for the Governor of Bombay (Sir
John Malcolm), by the steampacket ENTERPRIZE from Suez, but owing
to a breakdown of her machinery, the steampacket was not at Suez to
meet him. There being no steamer to take him on to his destination,
Mr. Waghorn embarked on an open native boat, and sailed down the Red
Sea, being subsequently picked up by the East India Company’s sloop
THETIS, which had been sent to meet him, and which brought him to
Bombay. The day previous to the arrival of Mr. Waghorn at Bombay, the
East India Company had despatched the steamer HUGH LINDSAY to Suez
to take up the sailing of the disabled ENTERPRIZE. The HUGH LINDSAY
continued to make one round voyage between Bombay and Suez annually
until 1836, during the north-east monsoons, not being sufficiently
powerful to make the passage during the south-west monsoons. In 1836
the Court of Directors of the East India Company decided to place
on the station two new and more powerful steamers. These were the
ATALANTA, of 616 tons burthen and 210 horse power, built in 1835 at a
cost of £36,652; and the BERENICE, of 664 tons and 230 horse power,
built the same year at a cost of £40,124.
While a regular steamship service was thus being established
between the Isthmus of Suez and Bombay, the British Government
had established a service of Admiralty packets between Falmouth
and Cadiz, Gibraltar, Malta, and Corfu. From Malta the mails were
conveyed to Alexandria by other of H.M. ships. Prior to 1830 the
Admiralty packets were all sailing brigs, but on the 5th February
of that year the METEOR, the first of the steampackets, sailed from
Falmouth to the Mediterranean. She was followed by the steampackets
AFRICAN, CARRON, COLUMBIA, CONFRANCE, ECHO, FIREBRAND, HERMES and
MESSENGER.
About 1834 Messrs. Bourne, of Dublin, the principal owners of the
Dublin and London Steampacket Company, were induced by the Spanish
Minister in London to start a line of steamers between London and the
Peninsula. They placed the management of the steamers in the hands
of Messrs. Willcox and Anderson, a London firm with whom they had
had some previous transactions. Messrs. Willcox and Anderson were
well acquainted with the trade to the Peninsula, having been engaged
in it, at first with sailing vessels, and afterwards with chartered
steamers. The new line was called the Peninsular Steam Navigation
Company, and Mr. James Allan, then a clerk in the Dublin Office of
the Dublin and London Steampacket Company, was sent to London to
assist Messrs. Willcox and Anderson in the management.
The first steamer of the service was probably the ROYAL TAR,
belonging to the Dublin and London Steampacket Company, which had
been chartered in 1834 to Don Pedro, and subsequently to the Queen
Regent of Spain, Messrs. Willcox and Anderson being the chartering
brokers. The “Graphic” Xmas Number for 1901 states the WM. FAWCETT
was the first P. & O. steamer, and the “P. & O. Pocket Book” (1900
edition) heads the list of the past and present fleet of the company
with the name of the same vessel, built in 1829. It is only necessary
to say here that neither the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company
nor the P. & O. Steam Navigation Company were in existence at that
date. The WM. FAWCETT was certainly built that year by Caleb Smith,
and engined by Fawcett and Preston, both Liverpool firms. For some
time she was engaged as a ferry boat on the Mersey, and in the early
thirties she was employed as a regular trader between London and
Dublin. She probably was chartered for a short time to the Peninsular
Steam Navigation Company in 1835 or 1836, as she does not appear in
the company’s advertised sailing list for 1838.
In the latter year the fleet consisted of the following vessels, from
London to Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz and Gibraltar:—TAGUS, 800 tons gross,
300 h. p.; ROYAL TAR, 650 tons gross, 264 h. p.; BRAGANZA, 650 tons
gross, 264 h. p.; IBERIA, 690 tons gross, 200 h. p.; LIVERPOOL,[14]
500 tons gross, 160 h. p.; CITY OF LONDONDERRY,[14] 500 tons gross,
160 h. p. Branch steamers, PENINSULA, GUADALQUIVER, ESTRELLA and SOL.
In 1837 the Government advertised for tenders from steamship owners
for the conveyance of the mails between Falmouth and the Peninsula,
which up to that time were conveyed by sailing brigs which left
Falmouth for Lisbon every week, “wind and weather permitting.”
In response to this advertisement two companies, the British and
Foreign Steam Navigation Company, and the Peninsular Steam Navigation
Company, sent in tenders. The former company having failed to show
that it had adequate means for the efficient performance of the
Postal service, the Government concluded a contract, on the 29th
August, 1837, with the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company, by which
that company agreed to convey monthly the whole of the Peninsular
mails for an annual subsidy of £29,600, afterwards reduced to
£20,500. The first steamer to be despatched under this contract was
the IBERIA, in September, 1837, calling at Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon and
Cadiz, on its passage to and from Gibraltar.
The British Government in 1839 entered into an arrangement with
the French Government to send letters to and from India through
France by way of Marseilles. The mails were conveyed between
Marseilles and Malta by an Admiralty packet, and between Malta and
Alexandria by another Admiralty packet. This arrangement did not
work satisfactorily, and the Government advertised for tenders for a
line of steamers, to run direct from England to Alexandria and _vice
versa_, touching only at Gibraltar and Malta. The steamers were to
be of sufficient power to perform the voyage in not more than three
days beyond the time then occupied in the conveyance of the mails
_via_ France, and the cost was not to exceed the amount required for
the maintenance of the small and inefficient Admiralty packets then
employed.
Four competitors tendered for the contract, but that of the
Peninsular Company was accepted, it being the lowest (£34,200), and
containing also an offer to convey at a reduced rate all officers
travelling on the public service, and _bona fide_ Admiralty packages
gratuitously.
At this time much pressure was brought to bear on the Government to
induce it to subsidize a proposed line of steamers between Falmouth
and Calcutta _via_ the Cape of Good Hope. These steamers, according
to the “Times” of the 11th November, 1838, were to make the passage
in thirty days.
The GREAT LIVERPOOL, of 1,540 tons and 464 horse power, built by Sir
John Tobin, of Liverpool, and intended for the Liverpool and New York
trade; and the ORIENTAL, of 1,600 tons and 450 horse power, were the
steamers offered by Messrs. Willcox and Anderson, and approved by the
Admiralty, to convey mails between England and Alexandria, calling
at Gibraltar, and combining the two mail services of the Peninsular
and the Oriental, thus constituting the Peninsular and Oriental
Steam Navigation Company. Subsequently, the company was requested to
provide two steamers, one to be not less than 250 horse power, and
the other to be 140 horse power, for the Malta and Corfu branch of
the mail service, which was done at a cost to the country of £10,712
per annum, less than the cost of maintaining the Admiralty packets
previously employed.
In September, 1842, the P. & O. Company obtained a contract for
carrying the mails between Calcutta and Suez. The contract was
granted very reluctantly by the East India Company, and only after
much pressure had been brought to bear on it by the Home Government.
On the 24th September, 1842, the P. & O. Company despatched its
first steamer to India _via_ the Cape of Good Hope. She was the
paddle-steamer HINDOSTAN, of 2,017 tons gross and of 520 horse power.
On her arrival at Calcutta she was placed on the service between
Calcutta, Madras, Ceylon and Suez. Other steamers were despatched
speedily from England, and in 1844 the company was in a position to
enter into another contract with the Government for a monthly service
from Ceylon, to Penang, Singapore, and Hong Kong. For the premier
service (Suez-Calcutta) the company received £115,000 per annum, or
at the rate of 20s. per mile, and for the Ceylon-Hongkong service
£45,000, or at the rate of about 12s. per mile.
In connection with the Eastern services, coaling stations, docks,
store establishments, and in such places as Suez and Aden, even
fresh-water supplies had to be, and were, provided and organised.
At this period, and until the completion of the Railway from
Alexandria to Suez, the passengers and cargo carried by the P. & O.
steamers were conveyed across Egypt in a somewhat primitive manner.
The Mahmoudieh Canal enabled the company to transport its passengers
and cargo from Alexandria to the Nile, whence they proceeded by
steamer to Cairo, and thence through the desert on the backs of
camels, a distance of less than 100 miles, to Suez.
As it was notorious that the mail service between Suez and Bombay was
conducted by the East India Company at a cost of upwards of 30s. per
mile by steamers vastly inferior in speed and accommodation to the P.
& O. steamers, which maintained the mail services to India and the
principal ports of China at an average rate of about 17s. per mile,
the public naturally demanded that the Suez-Bombay service should
be taken out of the control of the East India Company, and placed in
the hands of those competent to work it more efficiently and with
greater economy. The demands of the public, although confirmed by the
Parliamentary Committee of 1851, were successfully resisted by the
Court of Directors until 1854, and it is questionable if even then,
they would have given up the service if (in consequence of the East
India Company having no steamer ready for them at Suez) the Bombay
mails had not been lost in a native sailing craft into which they had
been transferred at Aden.
The P. & O. Company were applied to by the Government, and undertook
this service for the sum of £24,700 per annum, or at the rate of 6s.
2d. per mile, resulting in a decreased expenditure of about £80,000
per annum, as compared with the expense incurred by the far less
efficient East Indian Navy.
In 1852, the P. & O. Company extended its operations to Australia, by
means of a branch line of steamers from Singapore. The following year
saw an addition of no less than eleven steamships to the company’s
fleet. Amongst these was the celebrated troopship HIMALAYA, which
continued in active service until near the end of the century. At
the time of her launch she was the largest steamship afloat, and of
extraordinary speed. She cost £132,000 when fully equipped and ready
for sea. Her length was 340 feet, beam 44 feet 6 inches; her gross
tonnage was 3,438 tons, and her engines indicated 2,050 horse power.
Another famous steamer built for the P. & O. in 1853 was the COLOMBO
(steamship), which was engaged as a Government transport during
the Crimean War. Even Santa Claus himself could not have been more
eagerly welcomed than was the COLOMBO when she arrived off Sebastopol
on Christmas Eve, 1854, with provisions for the wounded soldiers
and sailors. She was originally a vessel of 1,864 tons gross, but
in 1859 she was lengthened amidships, and her tonnage increased to
2,127 tons. The HIMALAYA and the COLOMBO were two, out of eleven, P.
& O. steamships chartered to the Government as transports during the
Crimean War, and these vessels conveyed during the continuation of
hostilities 1,800 officers, 60,000 men and 15,000 horses.
The first steamer of the P. & O. Company fitted with compound engines
was the MOOLTAN (steamship), of 2,257 tons, built in 1860-1. Several
succeeding steamers were fitted with the same type of engines, but
although the consumption of fuel was decidedly less, the engines
themselves proved so unreliable that they were taken out of all the
ships and replaced by the old style of engines. “It was not until
1869” (says Sir Thomas Sutherland, in the “P. & O. Pocket Book,”
1900) “that the company succeeded in building a steamer with high
and low pressure machinery which could be considered thoroughly
successful.”
On the 17th November, 1869, the Suez Canal, the greatest engineering
work of the 19th century, was formally opened by the Empress Eugenie,
in the presence of numerous distinguished men from all countries.
While the benefits conferred upon the world of commerce by the
opening of this canal can hardly be over-estimated, its influence
upon the fortunes of the P. & O. Company was at first almost fatal.
The whole of the company’s business had to be re-organised, and as
speedily as possible a new fleet obtained adapted to the changed
requirements of the company’s services. This transitory state
continued for a period of five years, from 1870 to 1875, by which
date the company’s re-organization was sufficiently accomplished
to enable them to transfer their services from the Overland to the
Suez Canal route. The accelerated mails sent _via_ Brindisi were
still carried by the Egyptian Railway between Alexandria and Suez,
and continued to be so carried until 1888, when they also were
transferred to the Canal route.
It is interesting to compare the earlier vessels of the company’s
fleet with the later. The INDIA, built in 1839, was a vessel of
871 tons, and with engines of 300 horse power. Her namesake, built
in 1896, is a steamer of 7,911 tons, with engines of 11,000 horse
power. The PERSIA, built in 1900, has a slightly larger register
(8,000 tons), with engines of the same power. In 1901 four twin-screw
steamers were added to the fleet, the SYRIA, SOUDAN, SOMALI and
SICILIA, each of 6,600 tons gross, with engines of 4,500 horse
power, while 1903-4 witnesses the addition to the Company’s list of
the MARMORA and MACEDONIA, 10,500 tons and 15,000 horse power, and
the MOLDAVIA and MONGOLIA, 10,000 tons and 14,000 horse power, as
well as several cargo steamers of immense tonnage.
During the war in the Transvaal, as at the time of the Crimean War,
many of the steamers of the P. & O. Company were engaged by the
Government as transports.
The following figures indicate the extensive operations of the
company:—In 1899 the mileage traversed by the steamers of the fleet
during the year was about 3,000,000 miles. The consumption of coal
during that period was 625,000 tons. The dues paid to the Suez
Canal Company exceeded £272,000, while the sum expended in wages to
officers and crews amounted to £362,000.
In 1855 the Directors of the East India Company advertised for
steamers to carry the mails between Calcutta and Burmah, a
service inaugurated by the ENTERPRIZE (see ante) in 1826, and
afterwards conducted by various vessels of the East Indian Navy.
Messrs. McKinnon & Co., of Glasgow, tendered in response to this
advertisement, and their tender having been accepted, they despatched
the two steamers BALTIC and CAPE OF GOOD HOPE to fulfil their
contract. These vessels were small and unsuitable for the intended
service, and the result would have been a serious financial loss to
their owners, had they not, soon after their arrival in India, been
engaged for transports on the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny.
The new company traded under the title of the Calcutta and Burmah
Steam Navigation Co., its first operations being confined to the
ports of Calcutta, Akyab, Rangoon and Moulmein. One of the two
pioneer steamers, the CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, collided with a P. and
O. steamer and sunk in the Hooghly. Another, the CALCUTTA, of 900
tons, was totally lost off the coast of Wicklow, when on her first
voyage from the Clyde to Calcutta. A fresh contract was entered into
in 1862 with the Indian Government, and in the same year the title
of the Company was changed to the British India Steam Navigation
Co., Limited. The terms of the new contract included the transport
of troops and stores at a mileage rate; a mail service every
fortnight between Calcutta, Akyab, Rangoon and Moulmein; also a
monthly service via the two latter ports to Singapore; a similar
service to Chittagong, and one to the Andaman Islands; as well as
one between Madras and Rangoon; a fortnightly service between Bombay
and Karachi; and a service, once every six weeks, to various ports
in the Persian Gulf. New vessels were built and despatched for these
various services, and the traffic of the Company developed with great
rapidity.
The career of the Company was, however, not an unchequered one. In
addition to the two steamers referred to as lost during the first
year of the Company’s existence, must be added the wreck of the
BURMAH on the Madras coast, the loss of the BUSSORAH on her voyage to
India, and the foundering of the PERSIA on her voyage from Rangoon
to Calcutta, during one of those fearful cyclones which periodically
sweep the Indian Ocean.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which for a time adversely
affected the fortunes of the P. and O. Co., proved beneficial to
the British India Steam Navigation Co. The directors of the latter
Company at once took advantage of the facilities which it offered,
and their steamer INDIA, requiring new boilers, was despatched to
England, and was the first steamer to arrive in London with a cargo
of Indian produce via the Suez Canal. Since that date the Company has
added steamer to steamer until at the present date (1903) its fleet
(inclusive of the British India Association steamers) numbers upwards
of 120 vessels.
In July, 1891, Messrs. Bibby Brothers, of Liverpool (a firm which
was founded in 1807), established a direct service of first-class
and swift steamers between the United Kingdom and Burmese ports. For
half a century prior to 1901 Messrs. Bibby had maintained steamship
communication between Liverpool and all the principal ports of the
Mediterranean. Prior to the construction of the Suez Canal, cargo
from the East was carried by the P. and O. to Suez, thence by rail
to Alexandria, where it was transhipped to the Bibby steamers, which
loaded in Alexandria for Liverpool.[15]
[Illustration: Early Bibby Liner SICILIAN (1859), the first steamer
built by Messrs. HARLAND & WOLFF.]
FOOTNOTES:
[13] Lindsay’s History of Commerce, page 339.
[14] Chartered Steamers belonging to the City of Dublin Co.
[15] A sketch of the history of this important Firm will be found in
Part II. of this Volume.
CHAPTER X.
Steamers on the Pacific.—The TELICA (1825).—P. S. N. Co.,
1840.—Compound Engines adopted, 1856.—Service extended from West
Coast, South America, to the River Plate (1865), and to Liverpool,
1868.—The P. S. N. Co. and Messrs. Anderson Anderson & Co.,
1878.—Gulf Line of Steamers between Great Britain and West Coast,
South America.
The first steamer to trade along the Pacific Coast of South America
was a small steamer, named the TELICA, in 1825. She was owned and
commanded by a Spaniard bearing a Russian name, Mitrovitch. The
venture proved a failure, chiefly owing to the scarcity of fuel,
and the unfortunate man, in a fit of despair, fired his pistol into
a barrel of gunpowder, and blew up his vessel in the harbour of
Guayaquil, destroying himself and all on board, except one man.
The next person to attempt to establish steamship communication along
the Pacific Coast was an American citizen, Mr. William Wheelwright,
born in Newburyport, Mass., U.S.A., in 1798, and appointed United
States Consul at Guayaquil in 1824. Mr. Wheelwright, notwithstanding
the tragic fate of the TELICA and her owner, was convinced of the
importance of steam communication to the development of the rich
resources of the western side of the South American Continent,
spent six years in arranging plans for steam communication between
the different Republics, and at last obtained from the Peruvian,
Bolivian, and Chilian Governments the privilege of establishing and
maintaining a steamship service along their respective coasts for a
period of ten years. In pursuance of this object he came to England,
and secured the co-operation of several wealthy merchants, and on the
17th February, 1840, a charter was obtained for the establishment
of the undertaking known as the Pacific Steam Navigation Company,
together with a small subsidy for the conveyance of the mails. It was
not the intention of the founders of the company to trade elsewhere
than along the Pacific Coast, and for this purpose a capital of a
quarter of a million pounds was thought to be sufficient. The capital
consisted of 5,000 shares, £50 each. Only the amount required to
build two small steamers was called up. These steamers were the CHILI
and PERU, each of about 700 tons gross register, with engines of
about 150 horse-power nominal. They were brig-rigged paddle steamers,
built of wood, by Charles Young and Co., Limehouse, London, and
engined by Miller & Ravenhall.
[Illustration: PERU. Pacific Steam Navigation Co., Ltd.]
Owing in great measure to the scarcity of fuel on the coast, the
company, during the first five years of its existence, sustained a
loss of four-fifths of its paid-up capital, but the shareholders
courageously resolved to persevere with their undertaking. The seat
of management of the company was, however, transferred from London to
Liverpool (1846), and the late Mr. William Just appointed Managing
Director. The following year (1847), the Directors were for the first
time able to declare a dividend, a modest two-and-a-half per cent.
In 1850, having obtained an extension of the Government Postal
contract, the Directors ordered four steamers, at a total cost of
£140,000. These steamers were named the LIMA, SANTIAGO, QUITO and
BOGOTA, and were each of about 1,000 tons gross and 300 horse-power
nominal.
In 1856 the company’s service was re-organised by Mr. Just, who
visited the West Coast specially for that purpose. During the same
year the compound type of engines was adopted in the company’s
steamers, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company being thus one of the
earliest ocean steamship companies to use this type of engine.
A supplemental charter was obtained in 1865, extending the operations
of the company, and authorising steamship communication between the
West Coast of South America, and the River Plate on the East Coast.
As the profits of the company had been steadily increasing for a
number of years prior to 1867, it was resolved at a meeting of
shareholders, held in December of that year, to establish a monthly
line of steamers from Liverpool to the West Coast of South America,
_via_ the Straits of Magellan, and to increase the capital of the
company to £2,000,000.
The first new steamer of the new service was the PACIFIC, 1,630 tons
gross register, 1,174 tons net, with engines of 450 horse-power.
Her principal dimensions were, length 267 feet, beam 40 feet, depth
17 feet. She was built on the Clyde in 1864, by Randolph Elder &
Co., and cost £61,855. After trading for about three years on the
Pacific Coast, she sailed from Valparaiso for Liverpool in May,
1868, as the pioneer steamer of the new mail service. During this
year five steamers of about 3,000 tons each, specially built for the
maintenance of this service, were added to the company’s fleet. These
were the JOHN ELDER, MAGELLAN, PATAGONIA, ARAUCANIA and CORDILLERA.
So profitable was the Liverpool trade to the West Coast, the
Directors determined in 1870 to make the sailings fortnightly, and
in that year they added the steamers CHIMBORAZO, CUZCO, GARONNE,
LUSITANIA and ACONCAGUA to the fleet.
In December, 1871 they recommended a further increase of the
company’s capital to £3,000,000, with a view of making the service
from Liverpool a weekly one. During the year they had greatly
increased the number of the company’s ocean steamers, having built
in 1871 seven steamers, each of about 4,000 tons gross, viz., the
SORATA, ILLIMANI, COTOPAXI, GALICIA, CORCOVADO, PUNO and POTOSI.
In July, 1872, the capital of the company was raised to £4,000,000,
and the steamers VALPARAISO and BRITANNIA were added to its fleet,
and in the following year the IBERIA and LIGURIA.
[Illustration: ORELLANA. Pacific Steam Navigation Co., Ltd.]
In addition to the above steamers, which were all built for the
Liverpool to West Coast service, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company
built during the years 1869 to 1873 inclusive, eighteen steamers for
its Pacific Coast service.
The IBERIA and LIGURIA were the last of the barque-rigged,
clipper-bow type of steamer built for the Pacific Steam Navigation
Company. The succeeding vessels of the fleet have as a rule four pole
masts and a straight stem.
Although the trade between Liverpool and the West Coast of South
America had increased with marvellous rapidity, the increase in the
company’s tonnage had more than kept pace with it. It was found that
the combined passenger and cargo trade would not support a sailing
each week, and the sailings were reduced to two each month. As a
consequence of the reduced number of sailings, as many as nine of the
company’s steamers were at one time laid up for want of employment.
In 1878 the Directors were fortunately able to charter four of their
vessels, the CHIMBORAZO, LUSITANIA, CUZCO and GARONNE, to Messrs.
Anderson, Anderson & Co., who in that year founded the Orient Line
of steamers from London to Australia. In 1882, when the latter
company decided to double its sailings, the Pacific Steam Navigation
Company made arrangements to employ several additional steamers in
the Australian service. Although the Pacific Company was the first
to establish steamship communication between Great Britain and the
West Coast of South America, it has had to share the traffic in
later years with the Gulf Line of steamers belonging to the Greenock
Shipping Company, and with the steamers belonging to Messrs. Lamport
& Holt.
[Illustration: Ships in harbor]
CHAPTER XI.
French-Algerian Expedition, 1830.—Civil War in Portugal.—Loss of the
steamer RIVAL.—Mutiny on a Transport.—Loss of the LORD BLANEY.—The
MARGARET, first screw passenger steamer trading from Hull.
Early in the year 1830, the French Government, fitted out an
expedition against the Dey of Algiers, and an agent of the former
was instructed to contract with the City of Dublin and the St.
George Steam-Packet Companies for the employment of some of their
first-class boats as transports in the expedition. The vessels
chartered were ordered to proceed immediately to Toulon to embark
French troops for service in North Africa. This was the first
instance of steam vessels being extensively engaged in warlike
expeditions. At this date, Portugal was engaged in a prolonged and
sanguinary civil war, in the course of which vessels belonging to
both of the famous Liverpool steamship companies were again employed.
Don Miguel (surnamed the Usurper) had about the year 1826 assumed
the government of Portugal. It is calculated that in the short space
of five years he imprisoned 26,270 of his beloved subjects; 16,000
were transported to various places; 13,000 were forced to fly from
his paternal government; 13,700 perished on the scaffold; and 5,000
were either in concealment or wandering about the kingdom to avoid
a similar fate. Finally, Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, on behalf of
his daughter Donna Maria of Portugal, took active measures to recover
the throne. A number of British steamers were engaged as transports
or privateers in the civil war that ensued. Amongst other vessels was
the “ill-fated steamer”[16] RIVAL, which sailed from Greenock on the
22nd December, 1832, bound for Oporto, with about 400 volunteers for
Dom Pedro, and foundered in Galway Bay, with the loss of nearly 500
lives. Some spars, bedding, and ship’s papers were washed ashore, but
as not one of the passengers or crew escaped, no particulars can ever
be known of the circumstances attending the fatal disaster.
The LORD BLANEY was one of several of the St. George Steam-Packet
Company’s vessels chartered for the same service. It appears from a
record of magisterial proceedings (August, 1831) before Mr. H. Leach,
of Milford, that the agents employed by Dom Pedro hired 200 seamen at
Liverpool, and induced them to ship on board the LORD BLANEY, under a
pretext that they were merely wanted to navigate British transports
across the Atlantic, to convey some regiments of Portuguese from Rio
de Janeiro to Europe; but no sooner had the LORD BLANEY got fairly
into the Irish Channel than the officers threw off the mask, and
acknowledged their destination to be Belle Isle, for the purpose of
manning Dom Pedro’s fleet. Finding themselves thus entrapped, the
seamen exhibited signs of mutiny, and a violent gale of wind having
forced the steamer into Milford Haven for shelter, the whole body
of tars went ashore with bed and baggage, declaring their intention
not to fight under any flag but that of England. After completing
her engagement with Dom Pedro, the LORD BLANEY was placed on the
Liverpool and Newry service, and on the 18th December, 1833, she was
lost with all hands (45) whilst on a voyage from Newry to Liverpool.
A subscription list was opened for the benefit of the families and
relatives of the crew and passengers. The City of Dublin Steam-Packet
Co., although in active opposition to the St. George Steam-Packet
Co., headed the list with the handsome donation of £100. Two, at
least, of the City of Dublin Steam-Packet Co.’s vessels took part in
the Portuguese war, the LEEDS and the BIRMINGHAM. The latter steamer,
under the command of Captain Beazley, arrived at Falmouth about the
15th July, 1833. She brought despatches from Lagos which contained
intelligence of the most important and decisive nature, nothing less
than the complete defeat and capture of the fleet of the Usurper.
The news was received with the utmost satisfaction in England as well
as Portugal.
The MARGARET steamship sailed from Hamburg to Hull on Friday, 19th
October, 1845, with a number of passengers and a full general cargo.
Shortly after leaving the Elbe she encountered a north-west gale,
and after beating against it for two days, she was driven on to a
dangerous bank called the Memmett, near Juist, at the entrance to the
river Memm. The moment she took the shoal, the sea, which was running
very high, swept several overboard. The long boat was launched and
an attempt made to reach the shore, but owing to it being crowded
it capsized, and every soul in it perished. From advices received,
it appears that altogether sixteen of the passengers and three of
the crew were lost. Those who remained on board the vessel, after
severe privations, were rescued. The MARGARET was owned by Mr. Pimm,
of Hull; was several years old; was about 250 tons burthen, and
was rigged as a three-masted schooner. She was worked by a screw
propeller, and was the first vessel of that description engaged in
the passenger trade from the port of Hull.
[Illustration: Steamship]
[Illustration: Arrival of SIRIUS P. S. at New York, 23rd April,
1838.]
FOOTNOTES:
[16] There is some doubt as to whether this vessel was a steamer or a
sailing brig. “The Liverpool Mercury” speaks of her as the “ill-fated
steamer, RIVAL”; but the “Glasgow Herald” only refers to her as the
“brig RIVAL.”
CHAPTER XII.
Pioneers of Transatlantic steam navigation.—Valentia Transatlantic
S. N. Co. incorporated, 1828.—Dr. Lardner’s famous speech on
Steam Navigation.—The ROYAL WILLIAM, first steamer from Canada
to England, 1833; sold to Spanish Government and re-named YSABEL
SEGUNDA.—The British Queen S. N. Co.—Launch of the BRITISH QUEEN,
1838.—SIRIUS, first passenger steamer from Europe to America,
1838.—GREAT WESTERN, 1838.—Arrival of both steamers at New York on
same day.—The ROYAL WILLIAM, first Atlantic liner from Liverpool to
New York, 1838.—The LIVERPOOL.—The PRESIDENT launched, 1839; lost,
1841.
A Quarter of a century had elapsed since the launch of Bell’s COMET
on the Clyde. In the interval, all the chief ports of Great Britain
and Ireland, and several of the continental ports, had been connected
by steampacket services. So early as 1828 it had been proposed
to establish steam communication between the West of Ireland and
America, and an Act of Parliament for incorporating the Valentia
Transatlantic Steam Navigation Company was obtained. The proposed
capital was £24,000, in shares of £50 each. The first steamer was
estimated to cost £21,000. She was to be a vessel of about 800 tons
burthen, driven by engines of 200 h.p., and was expected to make
six round voyages per annum. She was to accommodate 50 cabin and
50 steerage passengers, and to carry 200 tons cargo, exclusive of
bunkers. It appears from the following extract from the “Liverpool
Albion” of the 14th December, 1835, that although the projectors of
the Valentia Company advertised in 1828 that the company was “to
commence immediate operations,” its first sailing had not taken place
seven years later. The scheme fell through for want of support,
but in 1835 it was started afresh in conjunction with the railway
from London, the Post Office Packets, and the Valentia Railway.
The extract is valuable also as containing Dr. Lardner’s famous
dictum concerning the possibility of direct steam navigation between
Liverpool and New York:—
“Steam Communication with America.
“Dr. Lardner then proceeded to observe that one of the grandest
projects which had ever occupied the human mind was at present in
the process of actual accomplishment. He meant that of constructing
a great highway for steam intercourse between New York and
London—between the capital of the New World and that of the Old.
Part of the highway was in process of formation. It consisted of
several stages—that of the railroad from London to Birmingham;
that from Birmingham to Liverpool, and the steam intercourse with
Dublin; but there was another stage—that from Dublin to Valentia,
which had as yet hardly been thought of. Ireland was a country
which, with all her political disadvantages, was blest by nature
with a vast number of physical advantages, and amongst the rest
he might reckon a vast number of excellent harbours. No country
in the world could boast of so many fine and spacious ports, bays
and roadsteads. She had many harbours on her west coast which
would serve admirably as stations for steam conveyance across the
Atlantic; but Valentia had been selected as the extreme westerly
point suitable for that purpose. It was a fine anchoring ground
by an island of that name on the coast of Munster. The distance
from Dublin to this point was under 200 miles, which might be
traversed in about 8 hours. The nearest point on the continent
of North America to this point of Ireland was St. John’s in
Newfoundland. The distance between the two was about 1,900 miles;
thence to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, there would be another run
of 550 miles, and from that to New York would not exceed the
admissible range; but touching at Halifax would be desirable for
the sake of passengers. The only difficulty would be as to the
run from Valentia to St. John’s; and the voyage from Dublin to
Bordeaux and back, a distance of between 1,600 and 1,700 miles,
with the same stock of coals, came very near this distance. It
must be observed that westerly gales blew almost all the year
round across the Atlantic. They were produced by the trade winds
being the compensating cause that restored the balance which these
served to destroy, according to that beautiful principle in nature
which always provides a remedy for any derangement in the deranging
cause itself. As a last resource, however, should the distance
between Valentia and St. John’s prove too great, they might make
the Azores a stage between, so that there remained no doubt of
the practicability of establishing a steam intercourse with the
United States. As to the project, however, which was announced
in the newspapers, of making the voyage directly from New York
to Liverpool, it was, he had no hesitation in saying, perfectly
chimerical, and they might as well talk of making a voyage from New
York or Liverpool to the moon. The vessels which would ultimately
be found the best adapted for the voyage between this country and
the United States would be those of 800 tons, which would carry
machines of 200 horse-power, and would be able to stow 400 tons of
coal. To supply a 10 horse-power daily required an expenditure of
a ton of coals, and, consequently, 200 horse-power would require
20 tons of coal daily; but if the vessel carried 400 tons of coal
only, it would not be practicable to undertake a voyage which would
require the whole of the quantity. They must make an allowance of
100 tons for contingencies. Thus, in reckoning the average length
of the voyage which might be undertaken by such a vessel, we might
safely calculate upon 300 tons of coal, which would be sufficient
for 15 days, and it might fairly be concluded that any project
which calculated upon making longer voyages than 15 days without
taking in a fresh supply of coals, in the present state of the
steamboat, must be considered chimerical. Now, the average rate of
speed of the Mediterranean packets was 170 miles per day, and the
utmost limit of a steam voyage might be taken at 2,550 miles; but
even that could not be reckoned upon.”
In justice to the memory of Dr. Lardner, it is only fair to state
that, in the eighth edition of his “Steam Engine, &c.,” 1851, pp.
294-309, he denies that he ever stated that “a steam voyage across
the Atlantic was a physical impossibility.”
During the winter of 1832-3, the Quebec and Halifax Steam Navigation
Co. built at Quebec a steamer, which they named the ROYAL WILLIAM.
She was a vessel of 1,370 tons B.M.; length over all, 176 feet;
breadth, outside paddle-boxes, 43 feet 10 inches; inside, 27 feet;
depth of hold, 17 feet 9 inches; draught laden, 13 feet. Her
engines of 180 h.p., constructed in Birmingham by Boulton & Watt,
were forwarded to Canada, and fitted on board the ROYAL WILLIAM
at Montreal, whither she had been towed by the steamboat BRITISH
AMERICA. After trading for several months between Quebec and Pictou,
Nova Scotia, the station for which her owners had built her, she was
advertised to sail for London. In accordance with this announcement
she was despatched from Quebec on the 5th August, 1833, and after
calling at Pictou, N.S., where she took on board a further supply of
coal at 15s. per chaldron, she proceeded direct to Cowes, Isle of
Wight, accomplishing the voyage of about 2,500 miles in seventeen
days. This voyage is remarkable as being the first instance of a
vessel crossing the Atlantic from America by the use of steam only.
After the completion of her trans-Atlantic voyage, the ROYAL WILLIAM
was sold to the Spanish Government, who changed her name to the
YSABEL SECUNDA, and fitted her up as a man-of-war carrying six guns.
She took part in the first Carlist war and, finally, was totally
wrecked on the rocks off the harbour of Santander, Spain.
After strenuous and prolonged efforts, Dr. Julius Smith succeeded
in organising (1836) a Transatlantic Steamship Company, bearing the
title of the British Queen Steam Navigation Co. The capital of the
Company was fixed at £1,000,000 sterling, and its secretary was the
celebrated Mr. MacGregor Laird. The shares were promptly subscribed
for, and the Directors placed a contract with Messrs. Curling and
Young, Blackwall, London, to build their pioneer steamship, the
BRITISH QUEEN. The order for the engines was placed with a Glasgow
firm, Messrs. Claude Girdwood & Co. This firm, however, before
they had finished the work entrusted to them, became bankrupt, and
a new contract was made with Mr. Robert Napier, the famous Clyde
engineer, to supply the engines. It was at first the intention of
the Directors (as stated in their prospectus) to build a vessel
of 1,862 tons burthen, but before the completion of the ship they
decided to increase her size to 2,400 tons. Although contracted for
in the summer of 1836, it was not until 24th May, 1838, that the
BRITISH QUEEN was launched. This unfortunate delay, caused by the
bankruptcy of Messrs. Girdwood & Co., enabled a rival company at
Bristol to build and equip their steamer, the GREAT WESTERN, before
the BRITISH QUEEN could be got ready for her service. In order to
save the prestige of their Company the Directors of the BRITISH
QUEEN chartered from the St. George Steam-Packet Co. the steamer
SIRIUS, and advertised that she “would leave London for New York on
Wednesday, the 28th of March, 1838, calling at Cork Harbour; and
would start from thence on the 2nd April, returning from New York
on the 1st of May.”[17] The sailing from Cork Harbour was, however,
delayed, waiting the arrival of the steampacket OCEAN from Liverpool
with the mails and passengers, until the morning of the 4th of April.
She started on this memorable voyage at 9 o’clock on the morning
of the date named, having on board 94 cabin passengers. Three days
later (7th April, 1838)[18] she was followed across the Atlantic
by the GREAT WESTERN, from Bristol for New York, with goods and
passengers. As the dates of the intended sailings of both steamers
had been conveyed to New York, their arrival at that port was eagerly
looked for. They both arrived on the same day, the SIRIUS early in
the morning of Monday, the 23rd April, and the GREAT WESTERN in the
afternoon. The excitement which prevailed on the arrival of these
steamers was described as follows by the New York Press: —
“At 3 o’clock p.m. on Sunday, the 22nd of April, the SIRIUS first
descried the land, and early on Monday morning, the 23rd, anchored
in the North River immediately off the Battery. Nothing could
exceed the excitement. The river was covered during the whole day
with row-boats, skiffs, and yawls, carrying the wondering people
out to get a close view of this extraordinary vessel. While people
were yet wondering how the SIRIUS so successfully made out to cross
the rude Atlantic, it was announced about 11 a.m. on Monday, from
the telegraph, that a huge steamship was in the offing. ‘The GREAT
WESTERN!—the GREAT WESTERN!’ was on everybody’s tongue. About 2
o’clock p.m. the first curl of her ascending smoke fell on the eyes
of the thousands of anxious spectators, and a shout of enthusiasm
rose on the air.... Thus the grand experiment has been fairly and
fully tested, and has been completely successful. The only question
now in the case is that of expense. Can steampackets be made to
pay?”
[Illustration: BRITISH & AFRICAN S. N. CO.]
[Illustration: BRITISH & IRISH STEAMPACKET CO.]
[Illustration: BRITISH INDIA S. N. CO.]
[Illustration: T. & J. BROCKLEBANK.]
[Illustration: G. & J. BURNS.]
[Illustration: R. BURTON & SON.]
[Illustration: CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.]
[Illustration: CAYZER, IRVINE & CO.]
[Illustration: CITY OF DUBLIN STEAMPACKET CO.]
[Illustration: CORK STEAMSHIP CO.]
[Illustration: CUNARD LINE.]
[Illustration: DONALD CURRIE & CO.]
[Illustration: ELDER, DEMPSTER & CO.]
[Illustration: J. R. ELLERMAN.]
[Illustration: FLETCHER, WOODHILL & CO.]
[Illustration: GREENOCK SHIPPING CO.]
[Illustration: T. & J. HARRISON.]
[Illustration: ALFRED HOLT.]
[Illustration: SAMUEL HOUGH.]
[Illustration: HOULDER BROS.]
During the early part of her voyage westwards, the SIRIUS experienced
strong head winds, during which she only steamed 4 to 5 knots per
hour. During the latter portion, the weather was favourable, and she
made good progress, averaging 9½ knots. She sailed from New York
as advertised on the 1st of May, and reached England on the 18th
idem after a voyage of sixteen days. The GREAT WESTERN left New
York on the 7th of May and arrived at Bristol on the 22nd, being
fourteen days on the passage. There was a remarkable difference in
her consumption of coal on the two voyages, accounted for, probably,
first by the stormy weather referred to as experienced by the SIRIUS
on her outward voyage, and secondly by the prevailing westerly winds
on the homeward run. On the voyage Bristol to New York, the GREAT
WESTERN averaged per day 208 knots, or 8·2 knots per hour, with a
total consumption of 655 tons of coal. On her homeward voyage she
averaged 213 knots per day, or nearly 9 knots per hour, with a total
consumption of only 392 tons of coal. Fuller details of the SIRIUS
will be found in the History of the Cork Steamship Co. in Part II.
of this work. It is but fair to state that she was only half the
size, and had only half the power of her famous rival. The principal
dimensions of the two vessels were as follows:—
Gross
Length. Breadth. Depth. Tonnage. Engines.
GREAT WESTERN 236 ft. 35·4 ft. 23·3 ft. 1340 750 h.p.
SIRIUS 178 ft. 25·6 ft. 18 ft. 703 320 h.p.
They were both paddle-steamers, built of wood, the former designed by
Brunel, and engined by Maudsley, Sons & Field, and the latter built
by Menzies, of Leith, and engined by Wingate & Co., of Glasgow. For
upwards of eight years the GREAT WESTERN continued to sail regularly
between Bristol and New York, on which station she was very popular
with passengers. She was sold in 1847 to the Royal Mail Steampacket
Co., in which service she was also a favourite for several years. In
1857 it was the opinion of the Directors that she could not compete
profitably with modern boats, and she was therefore broken up at
Vauxhall.
About the date of the despatch of the SIRIUS from Cork, the Directors
of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Co. had under consideration the
formation of a Transatlantic Steam-Packet Co., with sailings to
and from Liverpool. The steamers of this Company were amongst the
largest and most famous afloat. A meeting of Directors was held in
the Committee Room, Water Street, Liverpool, at which it was decided
to open up the new service by the despatch of the P.S. ROYAL WILLIAM
as soon as she could be got ready for the voyage. The ROYAL WILLIAM
was practically a new steamer, having been built in 1836, being
one of four steamers built to compete with the Admiralty steamers
for the mail service between Liverpool and Kingstown. She proved
herself to be faster than any of the Government mail steamers, and
when placed on the Dublin and London station, made a passage from
Falmouth to Kingstown, 260 miles, in 23 hours. She was built by
Wilson, of Liverpool, and engined by Fawcett & Preston, of the same
city. Her length was 175 feet (being 3 feet less than the SIRIUS),
beam 27 feet, depth of hold 17 feet 6 inches. Her capacity was 817
tons burden, and she was propelled by engines of 276 h.p. Her coal
consumption was about 17 tons per 24 hours, and in fairly smooth
water her speed was 11½ knots per hour. She had cabin accommodation
for eighty passengers. She sailed from the Prince’s Pier on Thursday
evening, 5th July, 1838, having on board thirty-two passengers.
Sixty-four years afterwards the present author had several interviews
with Mr. Brownrigg, the City of Dublin Co.’s Customs Clerk, who took
out the Customs clearance for the ROYAL WILLIAM, and who in spite of
his great age remembered clearly the appearance of the vessel as she
steamed down the River Mersey on that midsummer evening so long ago.
Although she carried no cargo on that voyage, she was so deeply laden
with coal for fuel—coal that filled her bunkers, her holds, and even
her well-deck—that her paddles were buried six feet, her sponsons
were submerged, and it was possible by leaning over the bulwarks to
wash one’s hands in the water that surged at the vessel’s sides.
Naturally it was an event in which the townspeople of Liverpool and
the residents on the Cheshire side of the river took the deepest
interest. As she began to move she was greeted with enthusiastic
cheers from thousands of spectators who crowded the piers and lined
the river side, whilst cannon were fired from Woodside, Monks Ferry,
Rock Ferry, and from the steamboats on the river. The ROYAL WILLIAM
completed the passage from Liverpool to New York in nineteen days,
and the homeward passage in fourteen and a half days.
[Illustration: ROYAL WILLIAM P. S. in Mid-Atlantic, 12th July, 1838.]
Amongst those who were present at the meeting held in the Water
Street Committee Room was Sir John Tobin, who had a large steamer
nearing completion on the stocks. It was agreed that this vessel
should sail alternately with the ROYAL WILLIAM between Liverpool
and New York. At her launch, Sir John Tobin’s steamer was named
the LIVERPOOL. She was a vessel of 1,150 tons, with engines of 404
h.p. She started on her first voyage on the 20th October, 1838,
but experienced such bad weather that she put back to Cork on the
26th, after having accomplished about one-third of her voyage. She
remained at Cork for ten days, and again proceeded to sea on the
6th November, arriving at New York on the 23rd, after a passage of
sixteen and a half days. It was on board this steamer that Mr. Samuel
Cunard crossed the Atlantic, for the purpose of inducing British
capitalists to take up his scheme of mail steamers between Liverpool,
Halifax and Boston.
After making a few voyages to and from Liverpool and New York, the
LIVERPOOL was lengthened, her capacity being increased by 393 tons,
and at the same time her name was changed to the GREAT LIVERPOOL. Her
new owners, the P. and O. Co., employed her in their mail service
between Southampton and Alexandria. Her career as a Royal Mail
steamer was a short one, as she was lost off Cape Finisterre on the
4th February, 1846.
The first great disaster in the Transatlantic steamship trade
occurred in the spring of 1841. On the 12th March of that year, the
steamship PRESIDENT sailed from New York, bound for Liverpool, with a
full list of passengers. She was a new steamer, having been launched
fifteen months previously (7th December, 1839) by Messrs. Curling &
Young for account of the British and American Steam Navigation Co.,
of Bristol. The PRESIDENT was one of the largest and most powerful
steamships of her day, her register tonnage being 2,366 tons, and
her engines indicated 540 horse-power. On her first voyage, she
sailed from Liverpool for New York at 2 p.m. on the 1st August,
1840, arrived at New York 2 p.m. on the 17th idem; sailed from New
York 2 p.m. on the 1st September, and arrived at Liverpool 2 p.m.
on the 17th of the same month, being exactly sixteen days on both
her westward and her eastward passage. She apparently lay up for
the winter, and resumed her sailings in the spring of the following
year. She left New York for Liverpool on her third homeward voyage on
the 12th March, 1841, having on board 136 passengers. After leaving
New York she disappeared, with all her living freight, from human
ken. As day after day passed, the utmost anxiety arose, both in the
mercantile world and amongst the relatives of the passengers and
seamen, as to the cause of her detention. Other steamers and ships
reported very heavy weather in the Atlantic, and the presence of
unusual quantities of ice in very low latitudes. The newspapers
of the period were filled with references to the ill-fated vessel,
with suggestions that her engines had broken down, and that she had
drifted out of the track of homeward bound steamers. Multitudinous
and conflicting rumours passed into circulation of her wreck having
been seen in various places, and a thousand speculations as to the
cause and certainty of a catastrophe, and the subsequent fate of
those on board, kept alive the agony of those interested in her. Her
fate remains one of the sad mysteries of the ocean, as no trace of
her wreck was ever discovered, nor a single survivor from the tragedy.
[Illustration: New Brighton Lighthouse River Mersey]
FOOTNOTES:
[17] The “Annals of Liverpool” section in “Gore’s Directory”
erroneously states: “1838. The steamship SIRIUS sailed from London to
Cork, 27th March, and from Cork to New York, 2nd April.”
[18] This date is incorrectly quoted in “Gore’s Liverpool Directory”
as the 8th April.
Chapter XIII.
Mr. Cunard’s tender for the carriage of the British and North
American Mails accepted, 1839.—GREAT BRITAIN launched, 1843.—Sails
from Bristol for London, 23rd January, 1845.—Visited by H.M. Queen
Victoria.—Sails for Liverpool, June, 1845.—For New York, July,
1845.—Stranded Dundrum Bay, September, 1846.—Floated off, August,
1847.—Sails to New York, 1852.
In October, 1838, the British Government, being convinced of the
superiority of steamships over sailing brigs, advertised for tenders
for the conveyance of the North American Mails by steamers.
Amongst the tenders sent in, that of Mr. Samuel Cunard, of Halifax,
was accepted as being the lowest, and in many other respects the most
favourable for the public.
With a view of carrying out his scheme for establishing a mail
steamship service between England and North America, Mr. Cunard
came to London and called upon Mr. Melville, Secretary to the East
India Company, to whom he was personally known. From Mr. Melville
he received a letter of introduction to Mr. Robert Napier, the
celebrated Clyde engineer and shipbuilder, by whom he was introduced
to Mr. George Burns, of Glasgow, and Mr. David MacIver, of Liverpool.
Both these gentlemen favourably regarded the proposals of Mr. Cunard,
and interested themselves so energetically in the matter that in a
very short time the whole of the requisite capital for the formation
of the Trans-Atlantic Mail Steamship Company was subscribed. A sketch
of the history of this famous Company (afterwards known as the Cunard
Company) will be found in the second part of this volume.
Although the BRITISH QUEEN had proved an entire success, and was a
great favourite with transatlantic travellers, her owners resolved
to build a second ship, which would not only exceed her in size,
but which should also include all the latest improvements the art
of naval construction could then command. This was the famous GREAT
BRITAIN. She was the first Western Ocean steamship constructed of
iron, and the first and only one for several years that was propelled
by a screw propeller instead of paddle-wheels. She was considered
a colossal steamer in her time, and excited quite as much public
interest as did the GREAT EASTERN at a later period. Her principal
dimensions were, length of keel 289 feet, between perpendiculars
296 feet, over all 322 feet, her breadth was 51 feet, depth of hold
32 feet 6 inches, her measurement 2,984 tons, and her engines 1,000
h.p. She originally carried six masts, two of which were forward
and four aft of the funnel. She was built at Bristol, from plans
furnished by Mr. Patterson of that City, who also had designed
the GREAT WESTERN. Her engines and boilers were constructed in,
and fitted on board the vessel at, the Company’s own works, as no
outside engineers would undertake the contract. But, owing to an
extraordinary oversight on the part of the consulting Engineer, it
was then found that she was imprisoned in the dock, being so deeply
immersed by the weight of her machinery as to be unable to pass out.
Although she was launched on the 19th July, 1843, owing to the above
unfortunate mistake, she was not ready for sea until December of the
following year. On her passage from Bristol to London she encountered
a severe storm which thoroughly tested her seagoing qualities, and
through which she passed triumphantly. Her arrival in the Thames was
awaited with great interest by the public, whose curiosity had been
excited by the numerous references to the vessel published in the
daily and illustrated papers. A long and interesting account of this
trial voyage, from which the following particulars are taken, was
published in the “Illustrated London News,” under date of the 1st
February, 1845. From this article it appears that the GREAT BRITAIN
left Bristol for London at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 23rd January, 1845.
At the time the ship got under weigh, it was blowing a fresh breeze
from the S.S.W., which at 3 a.m. on Friday had veered to the N.W.
and increased to a gale, and there was a counter swell from the
Irish Channel, causing a disagreeable and heavy cross sea. The
gale continued to increase, and was for a considerable time on her
starboard bow; yet, notwithstanding this, in the face of the gale,
and a heavy head sea with a strong ebb tide, she made five and a half
knots per hour. At twenty minutes past twelve, when about fifteen
miles to the westward of Lundy, she was struck on the starboard bow
by a tremendous sea, which must have contained two or three thousand
tons of water. The shock for a moment seemed to paralyse the vessel
and to bring her to a standstill; this, however, was but for one
moment; the vessel recovered the shock instanter, and continued to
brave the gale as though nothing had happened to check her progress.
Some idea of the force of the concussion may be formed from the
damage done to the vessel. Three of her starboard bulls eyes were
stove in, together with their frames, the diagonal bends of her
forecastle deck were bent, the woodwork started two inches upwards,
a portion of the carved figurehead carried away, also the wooden
fittings of her bulkhead, the iron sheathing of both bows split
above deck in two places. The gale continued until 5-30 p.m., when
it became more moderate. At 8-45 p.m. the GREAT BRITAIN rounded the
Land’s End, and at 10-40 was off the Lizard proceeding up the Channel
at the rate of 10½ knots per hour. The Captain (Lieut. Hoskin, R.N.),
was of opinion that neither the GREAT WESTERN, nor any other Royal
Mail (Paddle) Steamer, could have made such headway under the same
circumstances by at least from one to one and a half knots per hour.
[Illustration: GREAT BRITAIN S.S. (1845), from an old Engraving.]
On Saturday, 25th January, at 12-10 a.m., she was abreast of
Falmouth, and proceeded up channel, with light winds from the S.W.
at an average speed of 12 knots per hour. At 12-45 p.m. she entered
the Needles passage, and when off Cowes, at 2-15, the engines were
stopped to land despatches. At 2-18 again proceeded on her course.
Upon arriving at Spithead, Captain Hoskin took his vessel under the
stern of H.M.S. APOLLO, fired a gun, and gave her three cheers, which
were returned by the crew and troops on board. At 1-40 a.m. on Sunday
(26th), the GREAT BRITAIN came to an anchor in the Downs, having ran
from the time she rounded the Land’s End, three hundred and fifty
miles at an average speed of twelve knots per hour.
At 7-45 a.m. the vessel was got under weigh again from the Downs, and
upon rounding the North Foreland, and steering through the Queen’s
Channel, encountered a stiff gale from the W.N.W. The GREAT BRITAIN,
however, met it in gallant style, and made nine and a half knots
against it. As she steamed up the river, the crews of every vessel
she passed ran on deck to obtain a view of her, her great length, and
her singular appearance with six masts, rendering her an object of
considerable attraction. She arrived at Woolwich at 3-30 p.m., and
at Blackwall a few minutes later. At both these places there was an
immense concourse of people assembled to witness her arrival.
She remained at her anchorage at Blackwall nearly five months, during
which period she was inspected by many thousands of the public. On
the 22nd April H.M. Queen Victoria, accompanied by Prince Albert and
suite, paid her a visit.
The GREAT BRITAIN left Blackwall on Thursday afternoon, 12th June,
1845. On passing Woolwich it seemed as if the whole population had
turned out to behold her. The Dockyard was lined with the Naval
and Military officers connected with that depôt, whose cheers were
loud and continued. She had on board about eighty passengers, who
had embarked for a trip round the coast. After calling at several
ports she arrived in the Mersey about 9 o’clock on the evening of
Thursday, 3rd July, on which occasion she was anxiously looked for
by thousands, the pierheads and every available point on the river
being densely crowded. The GREAT BRITAIN sailed on her first voyage
from Liverpool to New York on Saturday, 26th July, at 3 o’clock in
the afternoon, taking forty-five passengers, and arrived out on
the 10th August, at noon. On her return voyage she left New York
on the 30th August, having on board fifty-seven passengers and 600
tons general cargo, and arrived at Liverpool on the 15th September,
at 8 a.m. She continued to trade regularly between the two ports,
her passenger list steadily increasing, until the 22nd September,
1846, when she stranded in Dundrum Bay, Ireland. She was, at the
time of the stranding, on a voyage from Liverpool to New York with
185 passengers. Fortunately the mishap was accompanied by no loss
of life. The cause of the disaster is explained by the following
resolution passed by the Directors of the Company:—“With respect
to the occurrences which preceded the stranding of the unfortunate
ship, as explained now by Captain Hoskin, and by the Report of
Captain Claxton to the Secretary, the Directors are of opinion that
the ship was stranded in consequence of an error in judgment, into
which it appears the Captain was betrayed through the omission of a
notice of St. John’s light in the chart of this year, by which he
was navigating, and of the want of knowledge on his part of such a
light having been established, it being to the Directors obvious that
had the light been laid, Captain Hoskin would have known that the
judgment which led him at 8 o’clock to put his ship in the proper
course for the North Channel, ought to have been persevered in.”
The GREAT BRITAIN remained stranded for over eleven months, but on
the 25th August, 1847, she was floated off and towed to Liverpool
for repairs. After the completion of the repairs she lay in the
Liverpool Dock for about five years, and then made one trip to New
York, sailing from Liverpool on the 1st May, 1852. She sailed from
New York on the 5th June, and after a rapid passage of 10 days 23
hours arrived in Liverpool on the 16th of that month. From that date
she ceased to be connected with the Transatlantic Trade, and her
subsequent history is sketched in the chapter devoted to the account
of steam communication with Australia.
[Illustration: Sailboat near land]
CHAPTER XIV.
Steam communication with the West Indies.—Royal Mail Steampacket
Co. incorporated 1841.—Commences with a fleet of fourteen
steamers.—Heavy loss of first year’s working.—Generous concession
from Government.—Rapid increase of trade.—The “TRENT affair.”—First
screw steamers for Company, the TAGUS and MOZELLE.—The
TASMANIAN.—Gross tonnage of present fleet.—The Imperial Direct West
India Mail Service, Ltd., established 1901.
Nine months after the despatch of the first Cunarder from Liverpool
to Halifax, the Admiralty accepted a contract from a newly-formed
steampacket company, to convey the mails between England, the West
Indies, and the Gulf of Mexico. This company, which bore the title
of The Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., had an authorised capital of
£1,500,000, in fifteen thousand shares of £100 each. It commenced
operations on an exceptionally large scale, no less than fourteen
large and powerful steamers being at once ordered to be built for
the service. The steamers were to be each of 400 horse-power, and
to be capable of carrying guns of the largest calibre then in use
on H.M. war steamers. Like all other ocean steamers of the period,
they were constructed of wood, and were propelled by paddle-wheels.
Upon the complete delivery of these vessels to the Company, the
contract required one of them to sail twice in each calendar month
from England via Corunna and Madeira to the various islands in the
West Indies, specified in the contract, and back “to such port in
the British Channel as the said Commissioners of the Admiralty shall
direct.” The scheme also embraced other places in the West Indies,
the Spanish Main, and the United States, for which mails were to be
carried. For the performance of these services, the Company was to
receive a subsidy at the rate of £240,000 per annum in quarterly
payments, the contract to commence on the 1st December, 1841, or if
possible earlier, and to continue in force for ten years, subject
to twelve months’ notice from either party for its termination.
Notwithstanding this large subsidy, the operations of the Company
during the first year resulted in a heavy loss, the Directors’
balance-sheet, presented at the first meeting of the shareholders,
showing a deficit of £79,790 16s. 8d. Before this meeting was held,
one-half of the capital had been paid up, and another call of £10
per share was sanctioned at the meeting; but as it was found that
even this was insufficient for the requirements of the Company, the
Directors appealed to Government for further assistance. In response
to this appeal the Government generously consented to reduce the
annual mileage to be traversed by the Company’s ships, which by the
original contract was 684,816 miles, to 392,976 miles, without any
reduction of the annual subsidy of £240,000. This liberal concession
was estimated by the Directors to effect a saving to the Company
of £125,000 per annum. Unfortunately during the second year of its
existence, the Company lost two valuable steamers, which more than
counterbalanced the bonus it had obtained from Government. Trade,
however, increased so rapidly and profitably, that in the following
year (1843) the Company had recouped its losses, and had a surplus
of receipts over expenditure amounting to £94,210, and in 1844 to
£147,749.
In 1850 the Government made a fresh contract with the Royal Mail
Steam Packet Co. for a further term of ten years from the 1st
January, 1852, the subsidy being raised to £270,000 per annum, but
the Company were required to undertake the additional expense of a
monthly service to the Brazils, which increased the mileage to be
performed annually from 389,448 to 547,296 miles, and at the same
time reduced the mileage from 12s. 3d. to 9s. 10d. per mile. The
Company was also required to increase the speed of its steamers on
the West Indian line from 8 knots to 10 knots per hour, and to add
five new steamers to its fleet, each of 2,250 tons burden and 800
horse power. This second contract was altered in 1857, and its period
of currency extended two years, one condition introduced being of
an extraordinary nature. It had reference to an amalgamation with
the European and Australian Mail Company, for the conveyance of the
mails via Egypt, to and from Australia. This arrangement proved a
great failure, owing to the complete collapse of the latter Company.
A second condition required the acceleration of the mails between
England and Rio de Janeiro. The Company was also required to provide
three new steamers of 3,000 tons burden and 800 horse-power for the
Atlantic West India service, and a fourth of smaller dimensions to
ply between Rio and the River Plate.
[Illustration: CLYDE. Royal Mail Steampacket Co.]
In 1864 the second contract expired, and fresh arrangements were
made, reducing the annual subsidy to £172,914. At the same time it
was stipulated that the speed of the steamers in the West India
Transatlantic service should be increased to 10½ knots per hour.
The postal contract was again renewed in 1874; but in consequence of
adverse articles and letters which had appeared in the public press,
and because several members of Parliament had insisted that the
service should be thrown open to public competition, the Directors
of the Royal Mail Steam-Packet Co. found themselves compelled either
to abandon the service altogether, or to accept a much smaller
subsidy than they had hitherto received for carrying the mails.
They adopted the latter alternative, and undertook the conveyance of
the West India mails for an annual payment of £84,750—being about
one-third of the amount of the first subsidy. The company in addition
received the sum of £2,000 per annum to cover the cost of the
steamers calling at Plymouth to land the mails instead of carrying
them on to Southampton, the final port of destination.
[Illustration: NILE. Royal Mail Steampacket Co.]
On and from the 1st of January, 1875, the mails were carried on
an entirely fresh basis. The contract with the Government was for
a service twice a month from Southampton: payment to be according
to the weight of postal matter conveyed by the steamers, and the
contract was terminable by six months’ notice given by either party
to the contract.
Although on the North Atlantic screw steamers had been employed
in rapidly increasing numbers since 1850, it was not until twenty
years later that the Directors of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.
substituted screw steamers for paddle-wheel steam packets in their
service.
The first fleet of the Company consisted of vessels built of wood,
but so indeed were the pioneer steamers of the Cunard, P. & O.,
and other historical steamship companies. The course taken by the
Company’s vessels was free from the dangers from ice and fogs, such
as are encountered by steamers engaged in the North Atlantic trades,
yet during the first eight years of the Company’s operations it lost
no fewer than six of its steamers. The ISIS struck on a reef off the
coast of Bermuda and sank on the 8th October, 1842. The SOLWAY was
lost 20 miles west of Corunna on the 15th April, 1843. The MEDINA was
wrecked on a coral reef near Turk’s Island on the 12th May, 1844. The
TWEED was totally lost on the 12th February, 1847; and in 1849, the
FORTH was wrecked on the same reefs that had caused the destruction
of the TWEED. The ACTÆON was lost in 1850 on a shoal near Carthagena;
and in 1852 there was lost by fire the AMAZON.
[Illustration: R.M.S. PORT ANTONIO leaving Avonmouth for Kingston,
Jamaica.]
An event occurred on the 8th November, 1861, which occasioned
considerable public excitement, both in Great Britain and in the
U.S.A. It was during the struggle between the Northern and Southern
States, and two of the Commissioners of the Confederate States were
forcibly removed from the Royal Mail steamer TRENT, while on their
way to Europe, by the officers and crew of the Federal man-of-war
SAN JACINTO. This high-handed action, which was not repudiated by
the Federal Government, was inexcusable, and the tone adopted by a
great portion of the press of the Northern States was ludicrous, and
unworthy of a great people.
In 1871 there was launched from the yard of Messrs. John Elder & Co.
two splendid screw steamers to the order of the Royal Mail Co. These
steamers were the TAGUS and the MOZELLE, both steamers being 3,252
tons gross register and 600 nominal horse-power. On her official
trial trip the TAGUS attained an average mean speed of 14·878 knots
per hour, a result which was slightly surpassed by her sister ship
the MOZELLE, the average mean speed of the latter on her trial trip
being 14·929 knots per hour.
At the same time Messrs. Elder & Co. effected an extraordinary
improvement in the TASMANIAN, an iron screw steamer the Royal Mail
Co. had purchased from the unfortunate European and Australian Steam
Navigation Co. This vessel was fitted with compound engines, and on
her first voyage afterwards from Southampton to St. Thomas, occupying
14 days 2 hours, she consumed 466 tons of coal, against her former
consumption of 1,088 tons on a voyage occupying 14 days 13 hours.
Since that date all the additions to the Company’s fleet have been
screw steamers, and it now (1903) consists of 22 ocean steamers,
with a gross tonnage of 87,855 tons, in addition to 9 coast steamers
employed as feeders to the mail services.
In the first year of the present century, Messrs. Elder, Dempster
& Co. established a service of mail steamers between Bristol and
Jamaica. A detailed account of this service, which is known as the
Imperial Direct West India Mail Service, Limited, will be found in
the second part of this volume.
CHAPTER XV.
International rivalry in the Transatlantic.—The Collins Line and the
Cunard Co.
For upwards of nine years Great Britain had held a monopoly of the
transatlantic steamship business. America could and did build sailing
vessels that were unsurpassed by those belonging to any other nation;
her Baltimore clippers, Boston packets, and New York liners were all
of them vessels of the highest class and reputation. But apparently
Americans could neither build, nor own ocean steamers that were
capable of successfully competing with British owned steamships.
At least, it is a matter of history that from 1838 to 1847 all the
steamships that crossed the North Atlantic sailed under the British
flag, with one exception.
On the 15th September, 1845, Messrs. Forbes & Co. despatched from New
York their auxiliary steamship MASSACHUSETTS. She was practically
a full-rigged ship, 751 tons O.M., fitted with an engine of 170
horse-power. This engine had two cylinders each 3 feet stroke and
26 inches diameter. Steam was generated in two “waggon boilers,”
each 14 feet long, 7 feet wide and 9 feet high. Her propeller was
made of composition metal, and could be raised out of the water when
not required. Her engine room, boilers, bunkers, &c., were situated
in the lower after hold, and occupied a space equal to one-tenth
of the cubic capacity of the ship. Her engines were capable of
driving her in smooth water at the rate of about 8 knots per hour,
on a consumption of 9 tons anthracite coal per 24 hours. The length
of the MASSACHUSETTS was 161 feet, her beam 31 feet 9 inches, and
her depth of hold 20 feet. She had a full poop, extending to the
mainmast (and consequently forward of the funnel), in which there
was accommodation for 35 first-class passengers. Her entire cost
with machinery complete in all respects was £16,000. She made two
round voyages between New York and Liverpool, and in June, 1846,
was chartered to the U.S. Government to carry troops to the Gulf
of Mexico. The Government were so well pleased with her that they
afterwards purchased her, and she took part in the siege of Vera
Cruz. Subsequently her name was changed to the FARRALONES, and she
continued in the U.S. Navy until about 1870, when she was again sold.
Her new owners removed her machinery and renamed her the ALASKA.
Obviously the MASSACHUSETTS was not intended to compete against
full-powered ocean steamships, and it was not until 1847 that the
first American line of steamers to Europe was established. This was
a line of steamships to run between New York and Bremen, calling
at Southampton. The pioneer steamer of the line, the WASHINGTON,
sailed on her first voyage from New York for Southampton on the
same day (June, 1847) that the BRITANNIA, belonging to the Cunard
Company, sailed for Liverpool. This was the first ocean race between
American and British steamships. Theoretically the American steamer
was incomparably superior to the other. She was much larger and had
double the power; she was new, while her rival had been buffeted
by the Atlantic billows for seven years. Quoth the editor of the
“New York Herald”: “We have to say that if the BRITANNIA beats the
WASHINGTON over (and they both, we understand, start the same day),
she will have to run by the deep mines, and put in more coal.” The
BRITANNIA did not “run by the deep mines and put in more coal,” but
she won the race by two full days.
Great pressure was subsequently brought to bear on Congress in order
to obtain a subsidy for an American mail service to Great Britain.
Those in favour of the subsidy argued that it was humiliating
to their pride as a great maritime people, that foreigners and
commercial rivals should wrest from them the virtual monopoly
of ocean steam conveyance, especially between the United States
and Europe, and they complained that the ocean mails along their
southern coasts had been placed in the hands of foreign carriers,
sustained and protected by the British Government under the forms of
contract to carry the British mails; while the Cunard Line, between
Liverpool and Boston, via Halifax, constituted the only medium of
regular steam navigation between the United States and Europe.
[Illustration: BRITANNIA. Cunard Steamship Co.]
It may be appropriate to state here, that in addition to carrying the
British mails from Liverpool to North America, the Cunard Company,
early in 1850, obtained a contract from the British Government for
the conveyance of the mails between Halifax, New York and Bermuda.
The steam packets employed in this service were the ALPHA, BETA
and DELTA, small vessels each of 350 tons and 80 horse-power, and
fitted with a proper space for mounting an 18-pounder pivot gun. The
arrangements for carrying on the service were as follows:—Twenty-four
hours after the arrival of the packet from Liverpool, one of these
vessels left Halifax for Bermuda; at the same time another left
for St. John’s, while the third conveyed the mails monthly between
Bermuda and New York. The payment for these services amounted to
£10,600 per annum, equal to 3s. per mile, while on the main line it
was 11s. 4d. per mile. The following year the British Government made
another contract with the Cunard Company for a monthly conveyance
each way of the mails between Bermuda and St. Thomas, upon such days
as might be fixed by the Admiralty, the one vessel engaged in it
being in all respects similar to those engaged in the Halifax and
Bermuda service. The amount of subsidy was £4,100 per annum, or equal
to 4s. per mile. This service connected the West Indies with the
United States and the North American provinces.
Following the example of the British Government, the United States
Congress resolved to subsidise a line of American steamships between
New York and Liverpool. The steamers were to be of the highest
class, possessing great speed and superior passenger accommodation,
and capable, besides, of being converted at a small expense into
war steamers. The responsible task of establishing the line was
undertaken by Mr. E. K. Collins, of New York, after whom the line was
named. Mr. Collins had had considerable experience as a shipowner,
being well-known as the head of the Collins Line of sailing packets
between Liverpool and New York. Associated with Mr. Collins in his
later enterprise were many influential American citizens, and their
proposals were favourably received by the American Government, and
ultimately an agreement was entered into, by which Mr. Collins and
his colleagues undertook to provide five first-class steam vessels
and to maintain a weekly mail service between New York and Liverpool,
each vessel performing twenty voyages annually, for which service
they were to receive $19,250 per voyage. It is evident that the
United States Government were prepared to pay most liberally for the
performance of the ocean mail service. At par the subsidy represented
£4,010 8s. 4d. per voyage. Assured of this substantial income, Mr.
Collins sought the assistance of the most competent shipbuilders
and engineers of the United States, and on the completion of the
contract, arrangements were entered into for the construction of four
vessels, to be named the ARCTIC, BALTIC, ATLANTIC and PACIFIC, each
to be about 3,000 tons register and of 800 horse-power. The principal
dimensions of these celebrated steamers were—Length on main deck, 282
feet; depth from the main deck, 24 feet; depth under the spar deck,
32 feet; breadth of beam, 45 feet. They had rounded sterns, three
masts with suitable spars; four decks, viz., lower, main, spar, and
orlop deck, extending from the engine room forward and aft. They were
built chiefly of live oak, planked with pitchpine, and were equal, if
not superior, in strength to any wooden steamers afloat. The timbers,
which were solid and bolted to each other, were further strengthened
by a lattice work of iron bands. All the four steamers were beautiful
models, and the ARCTIC, which was esteemed the finest of the fleet,
was familiarly known as the “clipper of the seas.” She was built by
Mr. W. H. Brown, of New York, under the superintendence of Mr. George
Steers, who modelled the famous yacht America. Her equipment was
complete, and of the highest order, while her cabin accommodation
surpassed in comfort and elegance any merchant steamer Great Britain
then possessed. The engines of the ARCTIC and her sister ships were
of the “side-lever” type, the cylinder having a diameter of 95
inches, with a 9 feet stroke. The boilers of the ARCTIC and BALTIC
were peculiar to the Collins Line, and were designed by Messrs.
Sewell and Faron, chief engineers of the United States Navy. The
latter of these two gentlemen acted as chief engineer of the Company.
The boilers were arranged with double furnaces, and lower water
spaces connected by a row of vertical tubes, around which the heated
gases circulated, with a hanging bridge or plate, which checked their
otherwise rapid flow to the funnel, and rendered the combustion more
perfect. The average consumption per 24 hours by the ARCTIC was 83
tons anthracite coal, attaining an average speed of 316·4 knots per
day. Her maximum consumption was 87 tons, with a speed of 320 knots
in 24 hours.
These vessels were constructed so utterly regardless of expense that
to complete them it was found the cost would be very greatly in
excess of the estimates. The Government was therefore appealed to for
assistance. The appeal was generously responded to. The United States
Government not only made an advance to the Company while the ships
were being built, but also released it from its obligation to build
a fifth vessel as originally contemplated, and increased the subsidy
from $19,250 to $33,000 per voyage. But for these benefits increased
speed was demanded. “We must have speed,” declared Mr. Bayard, during
the debate in Congress, “extraordinary speed—a speed with which they
(the Collins steamships) can overtake any vessel which they pursue,
and escape from any vessel they wish to avoid; they must be fit for
the purpose of a cruiser, with armaments to attack your enemy (if
that enemy were Great Britain) in her most vital part, her commerce.”
Happily the contest was a commercial and not a national one, and
the Collins steamers were never required for the purposes of Mr.
Bayard’s hypothesis. They did, however, engage (and for a time with
apparent success) in a great contest with the Cunard Company for the
commercial maritime supremacy of the Atlantic.
The ATLANTIC, the first of the Collins Line of steamers to cross
the ocean, arrived at Liverpool on the 10th May, 1850. The breadth
of beam of this vessel and her sister ships was so great that they
were unable to enter any existing docks at Liverpool, and a dock
at the north end of the port was constructed specially for their
accommodation. The arrival of the ATLANTIC excited very great
interest, which was increased rather than lessened by the presence
at Liverpool of the ASIA R.M.S., just built for the Cunard Line, and
which left for New York on the following Saturday week.
[Illustration: ASIA. Cunard Steamship Co.]
The following description[19] of the interior decorations of the
ATLANTIC may be taken as a general description of the whole of the
Collins steamers, and will be read with interest:—
Her saloon is 67 feet long by 20 feet wide. Her interior fittings
are truly elegant, the woodwork being of white holly, satinwood,
rosewood, &c., so combined and diversified as to present an
exceedingly rich and costly appearance. In the drawing room the
ornaments consist of costly mirrors, bronze-work, stained glass,
paintings, &c. Between the panels connecting the staterooms are
the arms of the different states of the confederacy painted in the
highest style of art, and framed with bronze-work. The pillars
between are inlaid with mirrors, framed with rosewood, and at the
top and bottom are bronzed sea-shells of costly workmanship. In
the centre of each are allegorical figures representing the ocean
mythology of the ancients, in bronze and burnished gold. The ceiling
is elaborately wrought, carved and gilded. The cabin windows in the
stern are of painted glass, having representations of New York,
Boston and Philadelphia painted on each. There is in addition
another apartment equally beautifully arranged and ornamented, for
the exclusive use of ladies. Both apartments are heated by steam,
an improvement now for the first time introduced in steamships.
The dining room (60 feet long) is furnished in an equally elegant
style with the drawing room. The staterooms, which are light and
airy, are beautifully furnished and ornamented, and combine every
convenience that practical science and experience could suggest. It
would occupy more space than can be spared to detail the magnificence
of the furniture of the ATLANTIC; the carpets are of the richest
description; the table-slabs are of Brocatelli marble. Each
stateroom has an elegant sofa; the berths are of satinwood, and the
curtains of rich damask.
The ATLANTIC left New York on the 27th April, 1850, with nearly
a hundred passengers, and a valuable cargo, under the command of
Captain West. Shortly after leaving Sandy Hook she got entangled
amongst some drift ice, which did considerable damage to her floats.
This mishap was a serious drawback to her, inasmuch as the engines
had to be worked at a reduced rate to prevent the floats from being
torn from the wheels altogether, and the weather was too boisterous
to admit of them being repaired. During the five succeeding days, the
noble vessel continued to prosecute her voyage to the satisfaction of
her captain and all on board. On the 3rd May, however, an accident
of a more formidable nature occurred, one of her condensers giving
way. After a fruitless attempt to adjust the machinery, the vessel
having been hove to forty hours, Captain West decided to pursue his
course, the steam being kept at a low point in consequence, which
considerably retarded the vessel’s progress during the remainder of
her passage.
The American steamers were swifter than their British rivals, and for
a few years were the favourites with the travelling public. According
to a return published in the “New York Herald” on the 1st January,
1853, the number of passengers carried during the eleven months
January to November (inclusive), 1852, were:—
By Collins Line, New York to Liverpool 2,420
” Cunard Line do. do. 1,783
” Collins Line, Liverpool to New York 1,886
” Cunard Line do. do. 1,186
It will be noticed that the majority of passengers carried were from
New York to Liverpool, the explanation of this unusual circumstance
being that it was at the time of the great rush to the Australian
goldfields, when it was no uncommon thing for a Melbourne packet
to sail from the Mersey with from five to six hundred passengers.
Nor were the receipts from passage money the only source of revenue
available for the Collins steamers. They were loyally supported by
American shippers and importers, and the receipts from freight were
large, although the rate on fine goods had been lowered from £7 10s.
to £4 per ton.
Notwithstanding the large income derived from these sources, the
service was only maintained for a period of about ten years. The
heavy disbursements and the numerous casualties which befell the
steamers, especially the loss of the ARCTIC (as narrated in the
following chapter) and of the PACIFIC, with all on board, led to the
collapse of the company.
[Illustration: R.M.S. “Umbria” in Mid-Atlantic]
FOOTNOTES:
[19] “Illustrated London News,” 18th May, 1850.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Loss of the Collins Liner ARCTIC.
On Wednesday, 27th September, 1854, about noon—Cape Race bearing
S.W. by W., 65 miles distant—the steamship ARCTIC, on her passage
from Liverpool to New York, while running through a very thick fog,
was struck on the starboard bow about 60 feet abaft the cutwater by
an iron steamer. The force of the impact made three large holes in
the ARCTIC—two below the watermark, one of which was about 5½ feet
in length and about 1½ feet broad. The fog was so dense that neither
vessel saw the other a minute before they collided.
The passengers on the ARCTIC were at lunch when their vessel was
struck, and they immediately rushed on deck. Through the dense fog
could be seen very indistinctly on the starboard bow a screw steamer,
which was afterwards found to be the French merchant steamer VESTA.
No apprehension of danger was felt by those on board the ARCTIC, and
a boat in charge of the chief officer was sent off to the rescue
of the passengers and crew of the other steamer. On board of the
VESTA no hope was entertained of her ultimate safety, the crew and
passengers relying upon being taken off by the crew of the ARCTIC.
When the collision occurred there were several men on the bow of
the VESTA, presumably on the lookout, one of whom was killed and
the others severely wounded. As it was feared that the steamer was
sinking, a rush was made for the boats, and two were launched. The
first boat was swamped, but the second boat floated, and was at
once boarded by several of the passengers and two of the crew, who,
ignoring the captain’s orders to return on board, cut themselves
adrift, and abandoned their shipmates. While these occurrences were
taking place on the deck of the VESTA the ARCTIC had disappeared
in the fog, those on the VESTA still hoping, however, that she had
not deserted them. Meantime, the officers on board the ARCTIC had
discovered that there was little hope of saving their vessel. Mrs.
Collins, the wife of the managing owner, with their daughter and
son, were passengers, and the captain’s first thought was for their
safety. They and several ladies were placed in a lifeboat, but while
it was being lowered one of its tackles gave way, and all, with the
exception of one lady who clung to a sailor holding fast to the
boat, were cast into the sea and drowned. A second boat was lowered
successfully, and stored with provisions. It was soon filled with
passengers—ladies and gentlemen—but by a strange oversight on the
part of the officer in charge none of the crew accompanied them.
The difficulty and danger of lowering the boats was greatly increased
in consequence of the impossibility of stopping the ship for that
purpose, the pumps having been attached to the main engines in the
attempt to keep the vessel clear of water, which was pouring into
her through the breaches in her side. Cape Race being within about
four hours steaming distance, she was headed in that direction, but
after running about fifteen miles the water had risen so high in
the stoke-hole as to extinguish the fires, and, in consequence, the
engines ceased to work. Almost immediately after the ship stopped,
the remaining lifeboats left the ship. There was one large boat on
deck, which was capable of carrying fifty persons, but there were not
sufficient seamen left on board to launch her, and it is supposed
that she was filled with passengers in the hope that she might float
off when the steamer sank.
In the Annual Register for 1854, it is stated that Captain Luce and
most of his officers exerted themselves with firmness and energy
while a hope remained, and the former probably owed his life to his
remaining at his post. When his steamer sank he clung first to some
floating wood, and afterwards got on a floating paddlebox, on which
eleven others had taken refuge, of whom nine were swept away by the
sea, the three survivors being rescued by the CAMBRIA, of Glasgow.
The captain’s son was killed in his father’s arms by a piece of wreck.
The conduct of Captain Duchesne, of the VESTA, was most praiseworthy.
Finding that the ARCTIC had disappeared in the fog, and that his
own vessel had not sunk under him, he, with the utmost promptitude,
took measures for saving his ship and passengers. He noticed that,
although the steamer’s bows were completely shattered, the forecastle
bulkhead had not given way, and this afforded some hope of safety. He
at once gave orders to lighten the vessel by the head, by throwing
overboard all the fish, cargo, passengers’ luggage, &c., which was in
the forepart of the ship, all of which orders were promptly obeyed,
and by means of which the vessel’s bows were raised considerably. Her
head was raised still more by cutting away the foremast, which had
been damaged by the collision. The captain next ordered about 150
mattresses, palliasses and other effects belonging to the crew and
passengers to be placed abaft the forecastle bulkhead, over which
were thrown sails, backed by boards and planks, the whole being
secured by cables firmly wrapped round all.
These operations occupied two days, after which Captain Duchesne
proceeded under easy steam for the nearest port (St. John’s), which
was entered on the 30th September. Most providentially, considering
the disabled condition of the VESTA, she entered the harbour of
St. John’s before the rising of a severe gale, which sprang up on
the same day. The energy, unwavering perseverance, and superior
seamanship exhibited by Captain Duchesne in bringing his vessel into
port, elicited the admiration and praise of all who visited the ship.
The American Consul at St. John’s made every exertion to procure
vessels to go at once in search of the ARCTIC or her boats. He
succeeded in obtaining the brigantine ANN ELIZA, whose owners
(Messrs. Warren Bros.) generously gave her without charge. She sailed
from St. John’s on the 2nd October, with instructions to cruise in
the vicinity of the catastrophe for three days.
The Right Rev. Dr. Field also promptly placed at the disposal of the
American Consul his yacht, the HAWK, for the same purpose.
The last moments of the ARCTIC are thus graphically described[20] by
Mr. Baahlam, the second officer of the steamer:—
“In about thirty minutes all the lower fires were out, and, at the
least, there were six feet of water in the ship fore and aft. By
this time the confusion amongst the passengers was very great, but
they used all efforts to assist the crew to keep the pumps going,
and in lightening the ship forward for the purpose of getting at
the leak from the inside, which we found to be useless, and numbers
of them got into the boats, which were still hanging to the davits.
In forty-five minutes after the collision I came up from the
forehold, and informed the captain that the water was on a level
with the lower deck beams, and that it was impossible to get at
the leak. I then asked him what he thought would be the probable
fate of the ship, when he stated his belief to me that there was no
hope of saving her. He then told me to see to my boats. On going
to those on the port side I found them completely filled with men
and women, and no possibility of getting near them. I immediately
went to the starboard side and ordered two of the crew to lower
the guard boat, and asked the captain what his intentions were,
who replied that the ship’s fate would be his. I then asked him if
he would not allow his son to go with me, as I intended to take a
boat, but he returned me the answer that he should share his fate.
I then jumped into the boat, and was ordered by the captain to cut
away the tackle falls, and drop under the stern. I did so; at which
time about twenty persons, as I suppose, jumped overboard, of whom
seventeen or eighteen were picked up. I fell in with another boat
which had been lowered from the other side, and lightened her of
part of her complement, leaving nineteen in her, and twenty-six
in my own boat. The last sight we had of the ship her guards were
level with the water, and the surface of the sea strewed with human
beings, who had jumped or fallen overboard—to whom, however, it was
impossible for us to render any assistance; and we soon lost sight
of all, as the fog continued very dense. I then asked the boat’s
crew whether they were willing to be governed by me, which was
unanimously approved, and I was put in complete command of both
boats.
“We were then about sixty miles S.E. of Cape Race. Deeming it my
duty, for the safety of all, I took the nearest course for the
land, and, after pulling forty-two hours, with nothing to guide
us but the run of the sea, which I took to be heaving from the
southward, and in a thick fog which lasted all the time, we reached
Broad Cove, some twelve miles North of Cape Race.”
The ARCTIC, when she sailed from Liverpool on this ill-fated voyage,
had 365 souls on board, of whom only 87 were saved. The hull,
machinery, and equipment of this steamship were insured for £115,000,
as follows:—Underwritten in the United States, £55,000; in London,
£40,000; and in Glasgow, £20,000.
The VESTA, which sailed from St. Peter’s the day previous to the
collision, had 197 persons on board, viz., a crew of 50 men and 147
passengers; of these 13 were reported missing when she arrived at St.
John’s.
[Illustration: Setting Sun]
FOOTNOTES:
[20] “Illustrated London News,” 21st October, 1854.
CHAPTER XVII.
Steamship Companies of the past.—Inman Line.—National Line.—Guion
Line.—Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Co.
In the early spring of 1850 Messrs. Tod and MacGregor, iron
shipbuilders and engineers, Glasgow, launched the iron screw steamer
CITY OF GLASGOW, a vessel of 1,600 tons and 350 horse-power. During
the spring and summer of that year she made several voyages between
Glasgow and New York, but in the latter part of the year she was
purchased by the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship
Company, and sailed from Liverpool to Philadelphia on the 17th
December, 1850. This vessel was the pioneer of what is better known
as the “Inman” Line. This ill-fated vessel left port on 1st March,
1854, with four hundred and eighty persons on board, and was never
again heard of. In 1851 the Inman Company purchased the steamship
CITY OF MANCHESTER, built also by Tod & MacGregor. Her registered
tonnage was 2,125 tons; her length 274 feet, and her breadth 38 feet.
She had a clipper bow and bowsprit, four masts square rigged on the
fore and main masts, with her funnel between the main and mizzen
masts. Other iron screw steamers, all having the beautiful clipper
bow for which this line was noted, were quickly added to the fleet,
comprising the KANGAROO, CITY OF BALTIMORE, CITY OF WASHINGTON, CITY
OF BOSTON, CITY OF BRISTOL, CITY OF LIMERICK, CITY OF LINCOLN, CITY
OF LONDON, CITY OF DURHAM, CITY OF NEW YORK, CITY OF PARIS, CITY OF
ANTWERP, CITY OF BROOKLYN, CITY OF BRUSSELS, CITY OF MONTREAL, CITY
OF CHESTER, CITY OF CHICAGO, CITY OF RICHMOND and CITY OF BERLIN.
During the first five years of its existence, the Inman Company
maintained a fortnightly service between Liverpool and Philadelphia,
but in 1857 it enlarged the area of its operations by making New
York one of its ports of arrival and by establishing a fortnightly
line thither. On the collapse of the Collins Line, Mr. Inman at once
assumed their dates of sailing, and increased the service to once
a week, and was appointed to carry the United States mails between
England and America. Nor were the Inman steamers, though screws, less
swift than their predecessors. Their later steamers far surpassed the
swiftest steamers of the Collins Line, and one of these, the CITY OF
PARIS, in 1869 conveyed H.R.H. Prince Arthur to America in six days
twenty-one hours, the quickest passage (up to that date) ever made to
any port of the New World from Cork.
Mr. Inman specially directed his attention to the conveyance of
emigrant passengers across the Atlantic, and he and Mrs. Inman,
greatly to their credit, made a voyage in one of their earliest
emigrant steamers, expressly for the purpose of ameliorating the
discomforts and evils hitherto but too common in emigrant ships.
The following table shows how successful he was in catering for the
emigrant passenger trade:—
PASSENGERS LANDED AT NEW YORK FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM
IN 1870:—
Cabin
Line. Trips. Passengers. Steerage. Total.
Inman 68 3,635 40,465 44,100
National 56 2,442 33,494 35,736
Guion 55 1,115 27,054 28,569
Anchor 74 1,637 23,404 25,041
Cunard 70 7,638 16,871 24,509
Of the vessels named in the preceding page the CITY OF WASHINGTON and
CITY OF BOSTON met with the sad fate that overtook the PRESIDENT and
the PACIFIC. They sailed, but never reached the desired haven, and in
course of time were posted “missing.” Two of them, the CITY OF LONDON
and the CITY OF LIMERICK, were sold to Messrs. W. H. Ross & Co., and
sailed for some time between London and New York. The CITY OF ANTWERP
was purchased by Messrs. William Johnston and Co., who changed
her name to THANEMORE and employed her for several years in their
Liverpool and Baltimore trade. By a strange fatality, each of the
three steamers last named, sailed from its respective port and was
never afterwards heard of. The first two disappeared in 1881, and
the third in 1890. The CITY OF RICHMOND was sold to a firm who were
the first to employ ocean liners for ocean pleasure cruising, and
for two or three summers she sailed from Newcastle to the Norwegian
fjords.
Upon the death of Mr. William Inman, which occurred in 1881, the
management of the line was taken over by Messrs. Richardson, Spence &
Co. Since then it has undergone several changes. Its title of Inman
Line was discontinued, and that of “American” Line adopted, and its
British headquarters transferred from Liverpool to Southampton. It is
now (1903) one of the group of Atlantic steamship companies included
in the “Morgan” combine.
In 1863, a number of Liverpool merchants and shipowners, anticipating
a large trade would arise between this country and the Confederate
States of North America on the termination of the civil war then
raging, formed themselves into a company under the title of the
National Steam Navigation Co., with a capital of £700,000. It was
the intention of the promoters of the company to establish a regular
service of first-class steamships between Liverpool and the Southern
States. The requisite capital was quickly subscribed, and three
steamships were promptly acquired; but, alas! the hoped-for peace
did not arrive as soon as the promoters anticipated. Under these
circumstances the Directors decided to enter into competition with
the Cunard and Inman Companies for a share of the passenger and
goods trade to and from the Northern States. The pioneer vessel of
the new company was the LOUISIANA, which vessel sailed on her maiden
voyage from Liverpool to New York in the year 1863. She was followed
by the VIRGINIA and the PENNSYLVANIA, each of these vessels being
between 3,000 and 3,500 gross tonnage, and consequently they were the
largest cargo carriers afloat at that time. During the following year
(1864) three new steamers of still larger tonnage were added to the
fleet. These were named respectively THE QUEEN, ERIN and HELVETIA.
So successful were these vessels that twelve months later (1865) two
more steamers were built for the Company, viz., the ENGLAND and
DENMARK, both of 3,723 tons gross, and these were followed in 1866 by
the FRANCE, a vessel of about the same tonnage.
A great advance in the size of the Company’s steamers was made in
1868, when the ITALY, a steamer of 4,300 tons, was placed on the
line. Not only was the ITALY the largest transatlantic liner at that
date, but she was also the first in which compound engines were
fitted. A somewhat smaller steamship, the HOLLAND, of 3,847 tons
gross, was built in 1869. The following year two very large and
powerful vessels were added to the fleet. These were the EGYPT, of
4,669 tons gross, and the SPAIN, of 4,512 tons; both steamers were
built on the Mersey, the former by the Liverpool Shipbuilding Co.,
and the latter by Messrs. Laird, of Birkenhead.
The Company now possessed a sufficiently large fleet to maintain a
regular weekly service between Liverpool and New York, sailing from
Liverpool every Wednesday, and from New York every Saturday; and a
fortnightly service from London to New York, via Havre.
The steamships of this line were good, roomy, comfortable boats,
with lofty ’tween decks. They carried immense cargoes of cotton,
grain, provisions, and other American produce from the United States
to Great Britain, and though they could not compare with the Cunard
or Inman liners in the elegance of the accommodation provided for
saloon passengers, yet they were well adapted for the conveyance
of emigrants, of whom they carried large numbers. As they did not
specially cater for saloon passengers, and carried no mails, they
were not driven at the high rate of speed maintained by the premier
transatlantic steamship companies. It is true that for a time the
National Line held the “Blue Ribbon” of the Atlantic, but this
honourable position was held for a very short time only, and the
vessel by which it was gained was sold to the Italian Government. The
steamer referred to was the AMERICA, built and engined by Messrs. J.
& G. Thomson, Glasgow, in 1883. Her gross tonnage was 5,528 tons,
with compound engines of 1,064 horse-power nominal. Her length was
441 feet 8 inches; breadth, 51 feet 2 inches; and her depth 36 feet.
In less than twelve months from the date of her launch, she was
purchased by the Italian Government, by whom she was equipped as an
armed cruiser, and renamed ITALIA. Prior to the construction of the
AMERICA, the Company had increased its fleet by the addition of the
steamers GREECE and CANADA. On the 31st December, 1889, the ERIN
sailed with seventy-two persons on board, and disappeared without
leaving a trace.
After trading successfully for a number of years, the National
Steamship Company got into financial difficulties. Its vessels were
dispersed; the Liverpool service to New York was abandoned, and
only that from London retained. When the nineteenth century closed
the only steamers sailing under its flag were the AMERICA, EUROPE
and MANHATTAN. These three steamers are built of steel, and each
carries four masts. They are all driven by triple-expansion engines,
and the last-named vessel is a twin-screw steamer. The respective
measurements are as follows:—
AMERICA, 5,158 tons gross, built and engined by Gourlay Brothers &
Co., Dundee, in 1891, is 435 feet long, 46 feet 3 inches broad, and
25 feet 2 inches deep, with engines of 516 nominal horse-power.
EUROPE, 5,302 tons gross, built and engined by Palmers, Limited,
Newcastle, in 1891, is 435 feet long, 46 feet 4 inches broad, and 25
feet 2 inches deep, with engines of 545 nominal horse-power.
MANHATTAN, 8,004 tons gross, built and engined by Harland and Wolff,
Belfast, in 1898, is 490 feet 5 inches long, 56 feet 3 inches broad,
and 25 feet deep, with engines of 478 nominal horse-power.
The National Line, like the Inman Line, has now been absorbed by the
American combine.
For several years prior to 1863, Mr. Stephen B. Guion, of New York,
had established a line of clipper ships between that port and
Liverpool. Finding it impossible to contend against screw steamers in
the ocean trade, he entered (in the year named) into an arrangement
to supply, through his old connections and agents in America, the
Cunard and National Companies with steerage passengers and cargo for
their steamers. This arrangement held good until 1866, when Mr.
Guion, in co-partnery with others, formed a steamship company whose
official title was “The Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Co.,”
but which was popularly known as the Guion Line. The first steamer of
the new line was the iron screw steamer MANHATTAN, which sailed from
Liverpool to New York in August, 1866. This steamer was still afloat
in 1903, being then the property of Messrs. W. H. Ross & Co., by whom
she was renamed the CITY OF LINCOLN. The fleet of the Guion Line was
speedily sufficiently numerous to maintain a regular weekly service
from Liverpool to New York, and within six years of the formation of
the Company it possessed eight first-class iron screw steamships,
each of about 3,000 tons burthen. They were named after the Western
States of America, viz., MANHATTAN, NEBRASKA, MINNESOTA, COLORADO,
IDAHO, NEVADA, WISCONSIN, and WYOMING. In 1874 the MONTANA, of 3,500
tons, was added to the fleet, which was further increased in 1875 by
the addition of the DAKOTA.
None of the vessels named had distinguished themselves by their
extraordinary speed; but in 1879 there was built for the Guion Line,
by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, the steamer ARIZONA. She was
an entirely new type of vessel. The older ships, though differing
in their models, might be described generally as brig rigged screw
steamers carrying a single funnel amidships, and having their saloons
aft. The ARIZONA carried four masts, of which the fore and main were
square rigged, and two funnels between the main and mizzen masts. The
saloon was situated amidships, and was superbly furnished. The length
of the ARIZONA was 450 feet, her breadth 45 feet, and her depth 35
feet. She sailed on her first voyage from Liverpool to New York on
the 31st May, 1879, and is at the present date (1903) employed as a
troopship by the U.S. Government, her name having been changed to the
HANCOCK.
A sister vessel to the ARIZONA was built by the same builders
in 1881. She was larger and more powerful than the ARIZONA, and
increased the reputation for speed which that steamer had created.
The ALASKA left Liverpool on her maiden voyage on the 29th October,
1881. On the 12th September, 1882, she sailed from New York, and
completed her voyage to Queenstown in 6 days 18 hours and 38 minutes.
This rapid passage was, however, excelled by the same Company’s
steamer OREGON, which sailed from Liverpool to New York on the 6th
October, 1883, and made the passage from Queenstown to Sandy Hook in
6 days 10 hours and 9 minutes. The OREGON was also built and engined
by the Fairfield Shipbuilding Co. She was 501 feet long, 54 feet 2
inches broad, and 38 feet deep. Her gross tonnage was 7,375 tons; and
her engines developed 13,500 horse-power, giving a speed of 18 knots
per hour. Her career was a brief but brilliant one. Built in 1883,
she sank after a collision with an American schooner on the 11th
March, in 1886.
These three celebrated steamers, the ALASKA, ARIZONA and OREGON were
popularly known as the “Greyhounds of the Atlantic.” As has been
stated, the OREGON was lost after collision, the ARIZONA is still
afloat, and the ALASKA was sold in 1902 for the purpose of breaking
up. After the decease of Mr. S. B. Guion, which occurred on the 19th
December, 1885, the steamers of the fleet were gradually disposed of
to various purchasers. The firm, however, of Guion & Co. is still in
existence, as passenger agents, the business being carried on by Mr.
Frank Ramsden and Mr. I. O. Roberts.
The Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Company, better known as the
“Galway Line,” was established by a number of English and Irish
gentlemen, who in January, 1859, proposed to the British Government
to carry H.M. mails from Galway to Portland, Boston, or New York, via
St. John’s, Newfoundland, or otherwise, for the sum of £3,000 on the
round voyage. They further offered “to convey telegraphic messages
from the United Kingdom to British North America and the United
States in six days, casualties excepted.” As the Atlantic cable was
not then in existence, the Government was favourably disposed to the
scheme, and on the 21st April, 1859, a contract was entered into with
the said company, based on the terms of the proposals made to the
Government.
On the 10th June following, the Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation
Company contracted with Messrs. Palmer, of Newcastle, for the
construction of two steamships, the cost of each to be £95,000; and
five days later (15th June) they concluded a similar contract with
Messrs. Samuelson, of Hull, for two steamships, to cost £97,000 each.
As the date of the commencement of the postal service, according to
the Government contract, was fixed for June, 1860, the contract with
the builders stipulated for delivery of the vessels within eleven
months from the date of the agreement. It was also a condition of the
contracts, that the ships were to be built according to lines, plans,
and specifications approved by the Admiralty. The four steamships
referred to were almost uniform in model, measurement and equipment.
Each measured about 2,800 tons, with engines of about 850 nominal
horse-power. Their principal dimensions were—Length 360 feet, beam
40 feet, and depth of hold 32 feet. Those built by Messrs. Palmer
were named CONNAUGHT and HIBERNIA, and those by Messrs. Samuelson,
COLUMBIA and ANGLIA. A clause in the Company’s contract with the
builders specified “that each of the said vessels when completed was,
on a fair and proper trial thereof, to accomplish a speed at the
rate of 20 statute miles per hour in smooth water, and to consume
not more than 8,800 pounds of fuel per hour.” In the case of the
CONNAUGHT this condition was not complied with, for on her trial trip
the Government Inspector reported that the speed of this “vessel was
about thirteen knots.”
From its commencement the Company was in difficulties. The second
steamer, the HIBERNIA, on being surveyed by the Government
Inspectors, was found to be leaky. None of the vessels were
delivered within the time agreed upon, and in order to keep faith
with the Government the Company was compelled to charter a steamer
to inaugurate the service. They accordingly hired from the Messrs.
Malcomsons, of Waterford, one of their Liverpool and River Plate
steamers, the PARANA, which sailed from Galway on the 27th June,
1860, and arrived at St. John’s in seven days thirteen and a half
hours, or one day thirteen and a half hours beyond the stipulated
time for delivering the telegraph messages at St. John’s.
The second steamer to sail from Galway was the CONNAUGHT, which
sailed for Boston direct on the 11th July, and was twenty-two and a
half hours over contract time in arriving at that port. This steamer
was totally lost on her second voyage in October of the same year.
The third steamer of the Company sailed from Galway on the 9th April,
1861, and returned in May following in a disabled condition, having
met with ice on the passage. She made the slowest passage outwards
of any of the fleet, having taken ten days seven and a half hours to
reach St. John’s, and seventeen days twenty and three quarter hours
to reach Boston.
As two of their own steamers were unavailable, the one being lost
and the other disabled, the Directors found it necessary to take up
outside steamers. They therefore chartered the PRINCE ALBERT, and
purchased the ADRIATIC, one of the latest and most famous of the
Collins Line. She appears to have been the only vessel belonging
to the Company capable of carrying out the terms of the Government
Contract. She completed the run from Galway to St. John’s in the
specified time, six days, and to New York in one day fifteen hours
and fifteen minutes less than contract time. On her return she made
the passage from St. John’s to Galway in five days nineteen hours
and three quarters, the shortest passage on record from port to port
across the Atlantic. It is impossible to state what would have been
the result had the steamers built for the Company been equal to the
ADRIATIC, but she was secured too late to retrieve the fortunes of
the Company. Unable under such adverse circumstances to raise fresh
capital, the managers of the Company had no course left but to
abandon their undertaking, and they terminated their contract in May,
1861. This unfortunate enterprise entailed a loss to the Government
of about £15,000, while it is probable that the loss incurred by the
shareholders of the Company was not less than £150,000 during the
short period of its existence.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The ORION wrecked off Portpatrick, 1850.—The steamer NEPTUNE.—A
second “Grace Darling,” 1852.
One of the most convincing proofs of the splendid management of
the several steamship companies which trade between Liverpool and
Glasgow, of the skill and honest workmanship put into the vessels,
and of the great care exercised by the officers who navigate these
ships, is the fact that for upwards of eighty years there has been
but one disaster accompanied by loss of life on this station.
The disaster referred to was described at the time as “a disaster
occasioned by the most culpable carelessness.” It was, unfortunately,
attended with frightful loss of life. The ORION, a splendidly fitted
and powerful steamer, sailed from Liverpool for Glasgow, on Monday
afternoon, 18th June, 1850, with about 170 passengers in addition to
a crew of 40 all told. It was an ideal summer trip; the night was
fine and clear, and the sea perfectly smooth. All went well with the
steamer and those on board until, about a quarter past one on the
Tuesday morning, the sleeping passengers were rudely awakened by the
concussion, as the ship struck violently on the rocks, close to the
Lighthouse at the entrance to Portpatrick Harbour. The vessel, which
was steaming at full speed at the time, filled instantly, and sank in
a few minutes. The night was so tranquil that many of the passengers
had slept on deck, but the majority were asleep in the cabins below
when the catastrophe occurred. The scene of horror and dismay which
followed can be but faintly conceived. A wild rush of crew and
passengers was made to the boats. The first boat lowered to the water
was so crowded instantly with panic-stricken passengers, that she
capsized, and all who were in her were drowned. A second boat was
launched, in which some ladies were placed, and these reached the
harbour safely. One redeeming feature in this tragic narrative is the
splendid heroism displayed by many of the gentlemen passengers. The
second boat when launched was in the first instance filled by men,
but when the officers of the ship suggested to them that their first
duty was to save the women and children, most of the men instantly
left the boat, and assisted females to occupy the places they had
surrendered, who were thus happily preserved.
Shortly after this boat got away the ill-fated ORION sank, and all on
board either went down with her, or were left floating on the surface
of the water, or clinging to floating portions of the wreck.
The Ardrossan and Fleetwood steamship FENELLA passed the scene
immediately after the disaster occurred, and the Captain at once
stopped his ship, lowered his boats, and rendered valuable assistance
in saving lives. The Lighthouse keepers and Coastguards had also
observed the vessel coming too close in shore, and, anticipating
a catastrophe, had awakened the local boatmen. Owing to this,
numerous boats had instantly put off, and these picked up a large
number of those floating. By the continued efforts of the FENELLA’s
crew, and the Portpatrick boatmen, about 150 persons were rescued.
This dreadful catastrophe carried mourning into many of the most
respectable families in Liverpool and Glasgow. Amongst those who
perished were Captain McNeil (brother of the Lord Advocate), his wife
and two daughters; Dr. Burns, one of the most popular men in Glasgow,
professor of Surgery at the University, and brother to the Managing
owners in Glasgow; Miss Morris, his niece; and Master Martin, a
son of one of the Liverpool owners. The trial of the Captain, and
first and second mates of the ORION, for the “culpable bereavement
of the lives of the passengers” who were lost by the wreck of that
steamer, as before narrated, took place at Edinburgh, before the
High Court of Justice, on the 29th August, 1850. It was proved that
during the second mate’s watch, the vessel approached closer to
the shore more than was usual by upwards of a mile, and that this
course was maintained notwithstanding the warning exclamations of the
experienced seamen who were on the look out.
It was further proved that the Captain had come on deck several
times during the second mate’s watch, and each time had observed
both the compass, and the ship’s proximity to the shore, which could
be clearly seen, and yet did not countermand the second mate’s
instructions.
The charge against the first mate was withdrawn, but at the end of
the trial, which lasted two days, the Court sentenced the Captain
to be imprisoned for eighteen months, and the second mate to be
transported for seven years.
It is a relief to turn from this sad story to an incident connected
with the steamer NEPTUNE,[21] of which the heroine was a young
Norwegian girl, who has been appropriately termed “A second Grace
Darling.” During the 25th, 26th and 27th November, 1852, a strong
gale prevailed in the North Sea. About midnight on the last date
the NEPTUNE arrived off the Lighthouse at the entrance to Flekke
Fjord, Norway. She was bound from London to St. Petersburg, and had
the pilot flag flying at her masthead. Just at daybreak the steamer
was observed by a young girl, who immediately called up two of the
boatmen, who, however, were not apparently inclined to respond to the
call.
The girl, however, realizing the urgency of the appeal for a pilot,
reproached the men with being afraid of the weather, and under
the pressure of her taunts they got their boat out to go to the
assistance of the NEPTUNE, the girl accompanying them. When they
got near the ship they found that, owing to the heavy surge, it was
impossible to get close to the ship’s side. A rope was thrown to
them, and caught by the girl, who twisted it round her waist and arm,
then jumped into the sea and was hauled on board the steamer; the two
men thereupon followed her example. This help was most welcome, and
the Captain was the more pleased to receive it owing to his cargo
having shifted. With the assistance of the Norwegians the rest of
the voyage was safely accomplished. There were eight lady passengers
on board the NEPTUNE, who made much of the Norse “Grace Darling,”
provided her with dry clothing, and gave her a handsome donation in
cash. The seamen and firemen also contributed three pounds (£3) for
the same purpose, and on the return voyage she was put ashore at the
place where she embarked, most fortunately with a considerable amount
of cash in her possession, as her master refused to permit her to
return to his service.
[Illustration: Steamship]
FOOTNOTES:
[21] For further particulars respecting this steamer, see the History
of the Waterford Steamship Co. in Part II.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Eastern Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., and the GREAT EASTERN,
steamship.
In the year 1851 a steamship company was promoted in London, under
the title of the Eastern Steam Navigation Company, Limited, for the
purpose of establishing a direct line of leviathan steamers between
England and India, _via_ the Cape of Good Hope.
The services of the most distinguished engineers of the period were
secured, Mr. I. K. Brunel being appointed the consulting engineer
of the company. An order was placed with Messrs. Scott Russell &
Co. for the pioneer steamer, which it was at first the intention of
the company to call the LEVIATHAN, but that name was subsequently
abandoned in favour of GREAT EASTERN. She was to be propelled by
paddle wheels and a propeller. Mr. Scott Russell designed the lines,
and constructed the hull of the vessel, as well as the engines of
1,000 h. p. nom. to drive the paddle wheels. Messrs. James Watt &
Co., of Soho, designed and constructed the engines, of 1,500 h. p.
nom., to drive the screw propeller. As a matter of course, some
considerable time was occupied in preparing the plans for so gigantic
a ship—one which was not only the largest ever built up to that date,
but which remained the largest steamer built to the end of the 19th
century. The necessary plans, specifications and yard preparations
were completed during the spring of 1854, and on the 1st of May
of that year, the construction of the GREAT EASTERN was commenced
by Mr. Scott Russell in his shipbuilding yard at Millwall, on the
north side of the Thames. She was built with a double hull from the
keel to the water line, the inner and the outer skin being of equal
thickness of iron, with a space between of 34 inches. If required
for ballasting purposes, this space could be filled with 2,500 tons
of water. The length of the GREAT EASTERN was 675 feet, her breadth
83 feet, and her depth 60 feet. She was divided into 60 watertight
compartments, each 60 feet long. She carried six masts—the mizzen
mast of wood, and the remaining five of hollow wrought iron. Three
of these masts carried square sails, the other three were fore and
aft rigged. She had five funnels, two of which were placed forward
of the paddle boxes and three aft. Her hull was constructed of
30,000 plates of iron, weighing 10,000 tons, and joined together by
3,000,000 rivets. “Her cylinders, the four largest in the world ...
(each) 18 feet long, 6 feet in diameter, and 28 tons weight, were
successfully cast at the Engineering Works of Messrs. Scott Russell &
Co., Millwall.”[22]
[Illustration: GREAT EASTERN S.S.
_Copied by permission of Messrs C. W. Kellock & Co._
]
In her equipment were included twenty large lifeboats, and it was
intended that she should carry in addition two small steamers, each
100 feet long, to be used for landing and embarking passengers or
luggage.
She was designed to carry 10,000 troops or 4,000 passengers, viz.,
800 first-class, 2,000 second-class, and 800 third-class, in addition
to a crew of about 400, and she was capable of stowing 12,000 tons of
coal.
Although, nominally, the engines which drove the paddle wheels were
of 1,000 h. p., they were capable of working up to 5,000 h. p.,
while the screw engines worked up to 6,000 h. p., or with combined
paddle and screw her engines could develop 11,000 h. p., which it was
estimated would enable her to maintain at sea a speed of 20 knots per
hour, and to accomplish the voyage between England and Australia in
30 days.
“It is a question of much interest to determine what amount of
speed this power will impart to the vessel. Messrs. James Watt &
Co.’s anticipation is that the speed of the vessel will be about
seventeen miles per hour, and from that to eighteen miles seems
to be about the limit engineers have hitherto predicted. But we
believe that these anticipations fall very short of what the real
speed will be, and which we do not hesitate to predict, will turn
out to be between twenty-four and twenty-five miles per hour.”
(“Illustrated London News,” 23rd May, 1857).
On Tuesday, 3rd November, 1857, the first attempt was made to launch
the GREAT EASTERN. The hour named for commencing the launching
operations was 11 o’clock, and was kept fairly punctually. The chief
machinery for moving the hull was boxed off, and nearly altogether
out of sight. The vessel’s name, LEVIATHAN, was given by Miss Hope
(who afterwards became the Duchess of Newcastle), the daughter of
the Chairman of the Great Eastern Steam Navigation Company, and the
name displayed upon a board; the change of name from GREAT EASTERN to
LEVIATHAN occasioning a good deal of surprise. After the customary
bottle of wine was smashed against the vessel’s bow, a “fortissimo
obligate” of sledge hammers resounded above and around—then ceased.
The great ship moved for a few feet, then stopped. The congregated
thousands waited in suspense, when suddenly a terrific report was
heard. One of the powerful drums used in the launch had cracked. An
order had been misunderstood; the after-winch handles were turned the
wrong way; the heavy iron handles revolved wildly, striking down the
men, fracturing their arms and legs, and with a fatal result in one
instance.
A second attempt was made to launch the LEVIATHAN on Thursday, 19th
November, 1857, but the efforts were even less successful than on the
first occasion, for despite all the mechanical power brought to bear
on her she would not move an inch.
On Monday, 11th January, 1858, launching operations were resumed at
Millwall, and the monster ship was moved riverwards to the extent of
20 feet. On Tuesday a further advance was made until a little after
3 o’clock in the afternoon, when, having moved 16 feet 10 inches
aft, and 15 feet 1 inch forward, it was thought desirable to suspend
operations. At high water on the latter day the ship was water borne
to the height of 7½ feet, which had the effect of diminishing the
resistance to the extent of 4,000 tons. The yard and river banks were
crowded with spectators on the following day (Wednesday), in the
expectation that the ship would float, but she was only moved another
2½ inches. On Thursday the LEVIATHAN was pushed down the full extent
of the ways, and there left for the next spring tides.
The completion of the launch of this stupendous and beautiful vessel
took place on Sunday, 31st January, 1858, under the most favourable
circumstances, and unattended with a single accident, the high tide
lifting the vessel clear off the ways.
It is incomprehensible how so eminent an engineer as Brunel should
have made such a mistake as to attempt to force so huge a fabric
broadside on into the river. The costly experiment added £120,000 to
the cost of the ship, and practically ruined the company.
From the commencement of the company’s operations, the directors
were hampered by the failure of many of the shareholders to meet
the calls upon their shares when due. To add to these difficulties,
Messrs. Scott Russell & Co. (the builders of the ship), in 1855,
found themselves unable to meet their obligations, and to complete
the construction of the GREAT EASTERN.
At the half-yearly meeting of the company, held on the 15th February,
1856, the chairman reported that the failure of Mr. Scott Russell
would be a cause of some delay, and of some increased cost in
the completion of their vessel, which would be undertaken by the
company’s engineer, Mr. I. K. Brunel. Twelve months later it was
announced that calls to date amounted to £606,000, of which nearly
£200,000 remained unpaid, owing to a number of other shareholders, in
addition to Mr. Scott Russell, having become insolvent.
The opening months of 1858 saw the GREAT EASTERN successfully
launched, but the Great Eastern Steam Navigation Company had not the
funds necessary for her equipment. During the year the company was
wound up by the sale and transfer of the ship to a new company for
the sum of £160,000—
“All the capital had been expended, the public refused to advance
any more money, and if the directors wished their ship to be
anything but a helpless, unfinished carcase on the waters £300,000
more must be found to make her ready for sea. To the exertions
of Mr. Campbell (the present chairman of the Board), and to
Mr. William Jackson (the eminent and well-known contractor of
Birkenhead), we believe is greatly owing the pleasant result of
our being at length able to announce that the GREAT EASTERN is
ready for sea. But one still more remarkable aid was forthcoming,
and which we could hardly believe, only that we have it on the
best authority—it was a subscription of no less than £50,000 of
the supplementary capital, in sums of £1 to £5, by persons in
the humblest ranks of life (domestic servants, costermongers,
greengrocers and labourers)—who tendered their money avowedly
without any expectation of profit, but solely that they might hear
of the great ship, which they looked upon as the pride of England,
being fairly afloat on the deep waters. Such a fact at once took
the vessel out of the category of mere commercial undertakings,
and more than anything else stimulated the brave men who were her
projectors to renewed exertions for her ultimate completion.”
(“Illustrated London News,” 13th August, 1859).
The sum of £300,000 having been subscribed for the new undertaking,
the directors had, after paying for the vessel, a surplus of £140,000
to complete her equipment and make her ready for sea. Her new owners
took possession of her early in 1859, but it was not until September
of that year that she was sufficiently complete to make her first
trial trip. While on this trip, and when off Hastings, a shocking
accident occurred, through the explosion of one of the funnel
casings, causing the death of six men, injuring several others, and
virtually wrecking the grand saloon. As no further damage was done to
the hull or machinery, she proceeded to Portland, and the necessary
repairs having been completed at an outlay of £5,000, she resumed her
voyage to Holyhead on the 8th October. She started on her return
trial trip from Holyhead to Southampton on the 2nd November, 1859,
where she remained until the 17th June, 1860.
The GREAT EASTERN was advertised to leave Southampton on her first
voyage to New York on Saturday, 16th June, 1860, but, in consequence
of bad weather on that date, the sailing was postponed until the
following morning. She carried only 36 passengers, including several
ladies, on this trip. The voyage across the Atlantic occupied eleven
days. The greatest speed attained was 14½ knots per hour, and the
greatest distance run by her in any one day was 333 miles. Immense
crowds assembled to witness her arrival in New York Harbour, and she
was welcomed with great enthusiasm. She passed the battery at 4-30
p.m. on the 28th June, 1860.
The promoters of the Great Eastern Steam Navigation Company were very
sanguine that the Government would frequently employ their vessel for
the conveyance of troops, of which they estimated she could carry ten
thousand. The Government very wisely never risked so great a body of
men in one vessel.
The only occasion on which the GREAT EASTERN was made use of as a
troopship was during the threatened rupture between England and the
Federal Government of America, in connection with the “Trent Affair.”
She made her first entry into the port of Liverpool on the 4th June,
having made the passage from New York in 9 days 11 hours. She had on
board 212 passengers and a large cargo. On Thursday, 27th June, 1861,
she sailed out of the Mersey on a voyage to Quebec, with troops to
reinforce the Canadian garrisons. The day was cloudless, there was
brilliant sunshine, and the piers and dock walls for five miles, as
well as the landing-stages, were lined with spectators, who, as the
great ship passed them, responded most heartily to the cheers raised
by the soldiers who thronged the upper deck and the lower portions of
the rigging.
As she passed the landing-stages she fired salutes, and also on
passing the Rock Battery. There were on board the GREAT EASTERN, not
10,000 troops as her promoters anticipated, but 2,125 men of all
ranks, accompanied by 159 wives and 244 children of the soldiers.
There were also about 40 civilian passengers in the saloon.
She left Quebec on her return voyage on the 6th August, arriving in
Liverpool on the 15th idem, and resumed her sailings to New York.
She sailed from Liverpool for New York on the 10th September, under
the command of Captain Walker, having on board 175 cabin and 193
steerage passengers. On the following Thursday she encountered a
heavy gale, during which, when about 280 miles westward of Cape
Clear, her steering apparatus became deranged and broken, and five
of her lifeboats were carried away. For two days and nights she lay
helpless, exposed to a terrific sea. Her internal fittings were in
consequence seriously damaged, and her passengers greatly alarmed for
their safety. The Captain decided to abandon the voyage and put back
to Queenstown, arriving in the harbour on the Tuesday following. The
passengers, when once more on _terra firma_, relieved their feelings
by publishing some very angry letters in the Press, in which they
reflected very severely on the managers of the company, but gave
unqualified praise to Captain Walker for the manner in which he had
handled the great ship in her disabled state.
The laying of submarine cables, commenced in 1865, offered employment
for which the GREAT EASTERN was specially suitable, and in which she
was constantly engaged for a period of ten years.
Shortly after noon on the 30th June, 1866, the GREAT EASTERN left
the Medway, having on board the second Atlantic cable. She was
convoyed by H.M.S. ADDER as far as the Nore. As she steamed past
Garrison Point she was loudly cheered by a vast concourse of people
who had gathered there. She proceeded direct to Berehaven, in the
extreme South-West of Ireland, which was to be her starting point
for laying the submarine cable. Four weeks later, or to be exact,
about 5 o’clock (English time) on the 27th July, this great task was
successfully accomplished. One of the earliest messages transmitted
by the cable was the following from H.M. Queen Victoria to the
President of the United States of America:—
“The Queen congratulates the President on the successful completion
of an undertaking which she hopes may serve as an additional bond
of union between the United States and England.”
President Johnson suitably acknowledged the Royal despatch, and
reciprocated the good wishes contained in it. [A most interesting
diary of the Atlantic Telegraph Expedition is published in the Annual
Register for 1866.]
In 1867 her cable-laying services were interrupted by a charter to a
French company, who employed her between Brest and New York, carrying
passengers to and from the great French Exhibition. For this service
she was fitted with new boilers for the screw engines, and her
saloons were altered and redecorated.
After the completion of her charter with the French company, she was
taken up by the Telegraphic Construction and Maintenance Company,
in whose service she remained for seven years. During this period
she succeeded in laying the cable between Brest and Duckburgh, near
Boston, Mass., in 1868; between Aden and Bombay in 1870; between
Valentia and Heart’s Content, in 1873 and 1874; completing her
charter to the Telegraphic Construction Company in July, 1875. The
amount received for charter was at the rate of £20,000 per annum,
nett form.
The last years of this noble vessel were ignominious. She was
chartered in 1886 by “Lewis’s,” who used her for a couple of years as
a huge floating advertisement on the Mersey. She afterwards went to
several Ports as a “show” ship, and finally returned to the Mersey to
be broken up on the 20th November, 1888. Her owners at this time were
probably the only persons who ever realized a handsome profit out of
her during her varied career. The following is a list of the prices
obtained at the sale of the various parts of the hull and equipment:—
Eleven-ton Trotman’s anchor, 33 guineas, in addition to a number of
other anchors, which realized £3 to £7 15s. per ton; oak lifeboat, 2
guineas; cutter, 30s.; iron masts, £9 to £17 10s. each; copper steam
piping, £2,960; gun metal, £6,400; scrap yellow brass, £1,760; sheet
lead, £367 10s.; lead piping, £367 10s.; iron plates forming the
hull, £12,600; iron beams, £2 13s. per ton; scrap rivets, £2 6s. per
ton; boiler tubes, £49 7s. 6d.[23]
So ended the career of the most celebrated ship of the 19th century.
[Illustration: Steamship and sailboats]
FOOTNOTES:
[22] “Illustrated London News.”
[23] The above figures are obtained from “Donaldson’s Engineers’
Annual,” 1900, by permission.
CHAPTER XX.
Steam to Australia.—SOPHIA JANE, first steamer from Great Britain
to Australia, 1831.—The steamship GREAT BRITAIN sails for
Melbourne, 1852.—Sketch of her after career.—The GOLDEN AGE.—The
auxiliary screw steamer ROYAL CHARTER.—Sails on her maiden voyage,
1856.—Totally lost, 1859.
The first voyage by a steamer ever made between Great Britain and
Australia was in 1831 by the SOPHIA JANE, a small vessel of 256 tons
burthen and 50 h.p. (see reference to this vessel in the History of
the Cork Steamship Co., Limited).
Twenty-one years later the owners of the GREAT BRITAIN, the Liverpool
and Australian Steam Navigation Co. (Messrs. Gibbs, Bright & Co.,
Managers), induced by the great rush of emigrants to the newly
discovered Australian goldfields, decided to supplement their “Eagle”
Line of Packets by the addition of screw steamers and issued an
advertisement as follows:—
“Steam from Liverpool to Australia, forming part of the ‘Eagle’
Line of Packets.
The GREAT BRITAIN, S.S., 3,500 tons and 500 h.p., B. R. Matthews,
E.N., Commander, will be despatched for Melbourne and Sydney,
N.S.W., calling at the Cape of Good Hope for coals, water and
fresh provisions, on Saturday, 21st August, 1852, at 1 p.m. This
magnificent ship, fitted up with every possible convenience,
has just performed her trial voyage to New York in the most
satisfactory manner.
“Fares:—After Saloon, to Melbourne, 70 guineas and upwards. Five
guineas extra to Sydney, N.S.W.
“To Cape of Good Hope, 50 guineas.
“Loading Berth, Wellington Dock.
“Apply to Gibbs, Bright & Co., Liverpool.”
The result must have been exceedingly gratifying to the owners, as
the GREAT BRITAIN sailed on this her first voyage to the Antipodes
with upwards of 600 passengers. Ten days later the ship ALBATROSS
arrived with the first importation into Liverpool of gold from
Australia, being 20,000 ozs. consigned to Messrs. Gibbs, Bright & Co.
On the 23rd November following, her sister ship, the EAGLE, arrived
in the Thames with 150,000 ounces of gold valued at £600,000. The
ship DIDO was expected to arrive in a few days, having on board ten
and a half tons of the precious metal, of the enormous value of
£1,120,000.
The GREAT BRITAIN arrived at Melbourne on the 10th November, 1852,
after a splendid run from the Cape of Good Hope of 24 days, her
average speed having been 284 miles per day. Her engines behaved
splendidly, and there was no occasion to stop them during the whole
of the time. One death occurred on board, that of a Chinaman who
embarked at St. Helena.
Owing to the difficulty of obtaining labour to discharge and load the
ship at Melbourne, she was detained at that port for three months,
and sailed on her return voyage about the end of January, 1853. On
her arrival at Cape Town she re-filled her bunkers from the REBECCA,
a ship which had been sent from Liverpool with a cargo of coal for
that purpose, and resumed her voyage northwards on the 20th February.
She continued to trade with varying success between Liverpool and
Australia as an auxiliary steamer for 40 years, and in 1882 was
sold to Messrs. Anthony Gibbs, Sons & Co., who took out her engines
and converted her into a sailing ship. Originally she carried six
masts, two of which had been taken out of her when she was placed on
the Anglo-Australian station, and when Messrs. Anthony Gibbs, Sons
& Co. purchased her they took out a third mast and rigged her as a
full-rigged sailing ship. In order to strengthen her hull, they also,
at a very great expense, completely sheathed her frame with wood,
in October, 1882. She sailed on her last voyage from Liverpool in
1886, and put into the Falkland Islands so battered with her battle
with wind and waves that she was abandoned to the Underwriters as a
constructive total loss. She was sold by the latter to the Falkland
Islands Co., who used her as a coal hulk.
One of her earliest competitors was an American steamer named the
GOLDEN AGE. She was the property of the New York and Australian Steam
Navigation Co., and was intended to ply between Australia and Panama,
and eventually to extend the service to San Francisco. This splendid
vessel excited great interest in Liverpool, at which port she lay for
about two months prior to sailing for Melbourne.
She was very similar in outward appearance to the Collins steamships,
being barque rigged with a straight stem, and having her paddle boxes
situated very far aft. Her dimensions were as follows: length 285
feet, beam 43 feet 6 inches, and depth 32 feet; 2864 tons register.
She had a beam engine of somewhat peculiar construction, with a
cylinder of 85 inches diameter, and 12 feet stroke. The boilers
constituted the chief peculiarity; they were each 40 feet long, and
fitted with furnaces at each end, the smoke funnel ascending from
the centre. By this arrangement it was claimed that economy both in
space and fuel was gained. The hull of the ship was built by Mr. W.
H. Brown, New York. The lower frames were of live oak, and the top
frames of locust and cedar. The entire hull was double diagonally
braced with iron bars, five inches wide, by three quarters of an inch
thick and four feet apart.
The GOLDEN AGE had accommodation for 1200 passengers of all classes,
the steerage being fitted up for 600. There were three saloons, one
above the other, two of which were panelled in rose, satin, and zebra
woods; with crimson and gold plush and rich hangings, and adorned
with mirrors. In the upper saloon the same general arrangement
prevailed, except that instead of satinwood panelling, the sides were
finished in white and gold. In this saloon were two “family rooms,”
one finished in gold, the other in blue. A brief reference to this
steamer is made in the “Annals of Liverpool” (Gore’s Directory), in
which it is stated: “The GOLDEN AGE(s.) sailed from Liverpool, 5th
December, 1853, and arrived at Melbourne in 47 days steaming time.”
On the 31st July, 1855, there was launched at Sandycroft, on the
River Dee, a large clipper ship fitted with auxiliary steam power.
She was built to the order of the Liverpool and Australian Steam
Navigation Co., the owners of the celebrated GREAT BRITAIN. Her
owners were of opinion that steamers relying entirely upon their
engines, could not be worked so economically as vessels with
auxiliary steam power, and sailing vessels trusting only to their
sails could not be relied upon to make their passages with regularity
and despatch, consequently they determined to combine the two motive
powers and give their vessel the benefit of both.
The ROYAL CHARTER, the name given to the new ship, was designed and
built by Mr. Paterson, the builder of the GREAT BRITAIN. She was
235 feet in length over all, 41 feet 6 inches beam, and 26 feet 6
inches depth of hold; 2720 tons burden; could spread 15,000 square
feet of canvas; and had a pair of direct acting trunk engines of
200 h.p. nominal, constructed by Messrs. Penn, of Greenwich, for
working an auxiliary screw, so arranged that when not wanted it
could be completely lifted out of the water, and even (if necessary)
placed on deck. She had excellent accommodation for passengers. Her
chief saloon was 100 feet long and beautifully fitted up; and the
ladies’ cabin, with its large poop windows, and elegant furniture,
was admirably adapted for its purpose. There were two large bath
rooms for the use of the after saloon passengers, and one three
times as large as either of these two for the use of the ’tween deck
passengers. She had seven watertight compartments and tanks capable
of holding 64,000 gallons of water.
The ROYAL CHARTER, independently of her steam power, was a
full-rigged ship, and was the first English vessel to adopt the
American plan of double topsails on each mast. On her trial trips she
averaged a speed of nine knots per hour with her propeller; and under
canvas only, with a light N.N.E. wind, made fourteen knots per hour.
She was well armed, carrying eight guns—four 18 pounders and four 24
pounders; besides a large swivel gun on the forecastle, and a good
number of Minié rifles for the saloon.
She left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to Melbourne on the 16th
April, 1856, and accomplished the passage in 59 days. She had but a
short career, for on the 26th October, 1859, this noble ship was
totally wrecked on the coast of Anglesea. She had almost reached
her home port, inward bound from Australia under the command of
Captain Taylor, and having on board about 500 persons including
passengers and crew, and a valuable cargo, including gold to the
amount of £400,000. She had called at Queenstown, where thirteen of
her passengers disembarked. On her passage up channel she was caught
in a terrific northerly gale, which, driving the current in the
large bay between the Ormes Head and Point Lynas, swept the vessel
from her course and drove her upon the rock-bound coast off Moelfra
Head, Red Wharf Bay. She struck during the night when no assistance
from the shore could be obtained. From 30 to 35 persons only were
saved out of the 500 on board, and these mainly through the heroic
efforts of Joseph Rodgers, who swam ashore with a line round his
body. In recognition of his devoted courage, this intrepid seaman was
presented with a gold medal and £5 by the Royal National Lifeboat
Institution at a meeting held at the Sailors’ Home, Liverpool, on
the 16th November, 1859, on which occasion the Board of Trade also
presented him with a silver medal and £10.
[Illustration: Rowboat near shore]
CHAPTER XXI.
China and Steam Navigation.—Opening of the Treaty Ports,
1860.—Auxiliary Steamers first employed.—The SCOTLAND.—The ROBERT
LOWE.—The Holt Line.
The treaty ports of the Yang-tse were for the first time opened to
the ships of the “barbarian nations of the West” in February, 1860.
The first foreign merchant vessel to load a cargo at Shanghai for
Hankow was the auxiliary screw steamer SCOTLAND, belonging to the
late W. S. Lindsay, the well-known author of the “History of Merchant
Shipping.” She was a vessel of about 1,100 tons gross register, and
was commanded by Captain A. D. Dundas, R.N. She sailed from Shanghai
with a full cargo in June, 1860, her draft being 17 feet. She was
subsequently sold to the Prince of Satsuma, the same purchaser having
previously, in 1861, purchased her sister ship, the ENGLAND, from
Messrs. W. S. Lindsay & Co.
It was not until 1863 that any English steamer loaded a cargo direct
from Hankow for Great Britain. The third vessel to sail was the
auxiliary screw steamship ROBERT LOWE, also belonging to Messrs.
Lindsay. She was a vessel of 1,250 tons gross, with engines of only
80 nominal horse power. Her average speed between Shanghai and
Hankow, a distance of 608 miles, was 60 miles per day, but one day
was lost in changing her propeller, and she anchored every night.
She sailed from Shanghai on the 8th May, 1863, and came to an anchor
off Hankow on the 18th idem. On the 10th June her cargo arrived
alongside, and on the 23rd June she sailed for Shanghai and London.
She traversed the distance between Hankow and Shanghai in 57 hours,
the current being with her. Her cargo for London consisted of 9,568
chests, 234 half-chests, and 2,064 boxes of tea; 535 bales of cotton
and 192 packages of sundries. Her freight amounted to the respectable
sum of £10,315, in addition to which she earned £480 passage money.
In 1866 Mr. Alfred Holt, of Liverpool, started a line of steamers to
trade between England and China, _via_ the Cape of Good Hope. Mr.
Holt was a practical engineer. Having served his apprenticeship, he
was appointed inspecting engineer to several steamship companies,
and about 1850 commenced as steamship owner with a small coasting
steamer, the ALPHA. This steamer was succeeded by the CLEATOR and
DUMBARTON YOUTH, sailing between Liverpool, Cumberland Ports, and the
Bristol Channel.
Upon the outbreak of the Crimean War, Mr. Holt secured several
remunerative charters from the Government, and in 1855 he inaugurated
the first line of steamers between Liverpool and the West Indies. His
first steamer in this trade was only 535 tons burden, but she was so
well supported that in a short time a monthly line of steamers of
larger capacity and greater power was established.
In 1863 Messrs. Leech, Harrison and Forwood, and Messrs. Imrie
and Tomlinson, entered into the same trade, and it was considered
desirable to form a public company to amalgamate these three
undertakings. A company, under the title of the West India and
Pacific Steam Navigation Company, Limited, was consequently formed
for this purpose, with a capital of £1,250,000, which was at once
subscribed.
Mr. Holt now directed his energies to the Far East, and in 1865
despatched his first vessels in the China service, the AGAMEMNON,
AJAX and ACHILLES. These were the first steamers to apply the
principle of compound engines to long over-sea voyages. These engines
were in use in the ships of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company
prior to this, but only in those steamers employed on the Pacific
coast. The performances of the Holt steamers had been hitherto
considered impossible, and even now in the twentieth century would
be considered remarkable with boats of a similar size. Starting from
Liverpool, they steamed down the South Atlantic, rounded the Cape of
Good Hope, and so on to Mauritius, a distance of 8,500 miles without
stopping. From thence they proceeded to Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong
and Shanghai.
These three pioneers of the Anglo-China trade were each of 2,270
tons gross and 1,550 tons net register, with engines of 300 nominal
horse power, and their principal dimensions were—length, 309 feet;
beam, 38½ feet; depth of hold to spar deck, 28½ feet. On July 16th,
1869, one of them (the ACHILLES) sailed from Foochow for London _via_
the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived on the 16th September, having
been under steam 58 days 9 hours, during which time she travelled
13,552 miles, maintaining an average speed of nearly 9¾ knots
throughout the whole voyage. This was one of the last voyages made
by the Holt steamers round the Cape, as two months after the arrival
of the ACHILLES at London the Suez Canal was formally opened for
the merchant steamers of all countries, and from that date all the
steamers of this company have passed through that waterway on their
voyages to and from China.
The earlier steamers of the fleet were square-rigged on the fore and
main masts, a good rig when it was desired to take advantage of the
favourable trade winds and monsoons, which can always be depended
upon for a voyage round the Cape, but found to be unsuitable when the
route was altered to the Suez Canal. The square sails of the three
steamers named were, therefore, removed, and the subsequent steamers
have been constructed with pole masts only.
Although the fleet is styled the Ocean Steamship Company, it is
popularly known as the Holt, or “Blue Funnel” Line, and has only
recently been formed into a limited company.
The Holt Line steamers do not carry passengers between Great Britain
and China, but they are great favourites with the Moslem pilgrims, of
whom they carry large numbers on their journeys to and from Mecca.
About 1891 the Ocean Steamship Company established a monthly service
of mail and passenger steamers between Singapore and West Australian
Ports, and in 1901 a direct service of steamers from Glasgow to
Australian Ports was opened by the despatch of the steamer ORESTES.
A controlling interest in the China Mutual Steam Navigation Company,
Limited, was purchased by, and the fleet of that company transferred
to, the Holt Company on the 1st July, 1902, with which addition to
the “Blue Funnel” fleet extended operations were undertaken.
[Illustration: R. P. HOUSTON & CO.]
[Illustration: ISLE of MAN STEAMPACKET CO.]
[Illustration: W. S. KENNAUGH & CO.]
[Illustration: LAMPORT & HOLT.]
[Illustration: JAMES LITTLE & CO.]
[Illustration: RICHARD HUGHES & CO.]
[Illustration: WM. JOHNSTON & CO.]
[Illustration: ALEX. A. LAIRD & CO.]
[Illustration: M. LANGLANDS & SONS.]
[Illustration: LIVERPOOL & NORTH WALES STEAMPACKET CO.]
[Illustration: DAVID MACBRAYNE.]
[Illustration: DAVID MACIVER & CO.]
[Illustration: H. & W. NELSON.]
[Illustration: PACIFIC S. N. CO.]
[Illustration: F. H. POWELL & CO.]
[Illustration: C. MACIVER & CO.]
[Illustration: JAMES MOSS & CO.]
[Illustration: J. J. MACK & SONS.]
[Illustration: P. & O. S. N. CO.]
[Illustration: R. & J. H. REA.]
CHAPTER XXII.
REMARKABLE HISTORY OF A GLASGOW STEAMER.
[Illustration: The FERRET s.s. chartered by Henderson & Co.—Sails
for the Mediterranean and disappears.—BENTON s.s. sails with a cargo
of coffee from Santos, and also disappears.—Seizure of INDIA s.s. at
Melbourne.—Proved to be missing steamer FERRET, _alias_ BENTON.]
Decidedly the most dramatic incident ever recorded in the annals
of steam navigation was the theft of the steamer FERRET and the
piratical seizure and sale of her cargo of coffee.
The FERRET was a screw steamer measuring 170 feet 9 inches in
length, 23 feet 2 inches beam, and 12 feet 7 inches depth; builders’
measurement 439 tons, with a probable carrying capacity of 400 tons
deadweight cargo, in addition to coal in bunkers. She had compound
engines of 90 h.p. nominal, and her reputed speed was 12 knots per
hour. She was built on the Clyde in 1871, by the well-known firm of
J. & G. Thomson, for Messrs. G. & J. Burns, of Glasgow, from whom
the Highland Railway Co. purchased her for their mail and passenger
service, and she held a Board of Trade certificate for 200 passengers.
The conspirators who succeeded in stealing this vessel, laid their
plans with great care and attention to details, and carried them out
with marvellous audacity. One of them took an office in Gracechurch
Street, London, and obtained a supply of printed stationery,
describing himself as “Henderson & Co., Ship Brokers, &c.” He also
opened an account with the ... Bank, in the name of “Smith,” taking
care until his plans were perfected to keep a respectable balance to
his credit.
Early in October, 1880, the plot had ripened, and one of the gang,
representing himself to be “Mr. Walker, purser of the FERRET S.S.,”
called at the office of Douglas & Co., Union Street, a leading
ship-chandler’s firm in Glasgow, and ordered a large quantity of
expensive ship-stores. The stores were for the account of Mr. Smith,
who was referred to as a relative of Mr. W. H. Smith, late First Lord
of the Admiralty.
Naturally references were required and were freely given. Mr. Smith
had chartered from the Highland Railway Co. the steamer FERRET for a
six months’ cruise in the Mediterranean, his wife having been ordered
by her doctor to take a long sea voyage. The FERRET was then in J. &
G. Thomson’s yard, being overhauled preparatory to the cruise. Both
of these firms could be referred to, as well as Mr. Smith’s bankers,
and Messrs. Henderson & Co., Ship Brokers, Gracechurch Street,
London. The bankers were written to, and replied that Mr. Smith had
an account with their bank. Henderson & Co. were also applied to, and
of course gave a very favourable account of Smith.
The merchants being satisfied with the result of their enquiries,
supplied the stores, which included an excellent selection of
first-class wines specially brought from London. The account, which
amounted to £1,490, was presented to Walker, who gave a bill at three
months endorsed by Smith. It is to be presumed that the first-half
month’s charter was paid as customary in cash in advance, because the
conspirators having got possession of the FERRET were in no violent
hurry to get her out of British waters.
About the 20th October, William Griffin joined the steamer at
Greenock as chief engineer. Although Griffin was not placed on trial,
yet it is to be noted that he had a prior acquaintance with Walker,
who had introduced him to Smith. It is also undeniable that without
the assistance of Griffin and the ship’s carpenter, the alterations
which were made in the steamer could not have been effected.
From Greenock, the FERRET sailed in charge of a crew of “runners” to
Cardiff, Robert Wright, alias Carlyon (a confederate) being master,
and Walker, alias Wallace, acting as purser. The steamer arrived at
Cardiff on the 22nd October and remained there for three days, taking
in a cargo of coals for ship’s use. The coals, of course, being paid
for by valueless bills on London. At Cardiff the “runners” were
discharged and a fresh crew, strangers to the FERRET, were shipped.
Smith (otherwise Henderson) also embarked at Cardiff, accompanied by
“Mrs. Smith.”
The FERRET sailed from Cardiff on the 25th October and put into
Milford Haven, probably from stress of weather, where she remained
for about a week. She left Milford on the 1st November, ostensibly
for Marseilles. In pursuance of this report, she passed through the
Straits of Gibraltar on the morning of the 11th of the same month,
and showing her number, requested to be reported.
Having steamed out of sight of the signalling station, the crew were
set to work to change the colour of the funnel from white to black,
and of the boats (with the exception of two) from blue to white, and
at night, with her lights screened, the FERRET returned westwards
through the straits. While passing through, the two boats that had
not been altered, some empty casks, several life-belts, and other
articles, all having the steamer’s name painted on them, were thrown
overboard, for the purpose of making it appear that the vessel had
foundered. So evident did this seem that as a matter of fact the
underwriters paid the Highland Railway Co. their claim for the total
loss of the steamer.
That same night all the crew were sent aft to the saloon, where Smith
made a speech to them, in which he stated that he was a political
refugee from the United States; that he had purchased the FERRET to
use partly as a yacht, and partly for trading; that after he had
traded for some time he would sell the boat, and make it worth their
while to keep his secret; but on the other hand, if any of them
disclosed anything they saw or heard on board, he would blow their
brains out. The crew, when arrested, alleged that it was the fear of
this threat which prevented them giving information, when in port, of
what they knew to be suspicious actions.
[Illustration: FERRET S.S.]
Avoiding the Canary Islands, presumably as being too much frequented
by British shipping, the conspirators kept away to the southward
until they reached St. Vincent, C.V. Entering the harbour, they
anchored there for several days, during which they took in fresh
water, and a supply of pigs, poultry, fruit and vegetables, paying
for them in their usual manner by means of worthless bills.
The “Times” (23rd June, 1881) Sydney correspondent states that after
leaving St. Vincent the vessel’s name was altered to the BENTON. But
this seems most improbable, as it would be apparent that the FERRET
did not founder in the Mediterranean, and further it would have left
a clue by which she could easily have been traced. The truth probably
is, that the alteration was made immediately she got clear of the
Straits of Gibraltar. Be this as it may, the BENTON arrived at
Santos on the 26th December.
At Santos, Smith went on shore and lost no time in opening
negotiations with the local shipping agents, to whom he stated
that the BENTON was from Cape Town in ballast, bound for England.
The negotiations resulted in the shipment of 3,992 bags of coffee,
consigned to various consignees at Marseilles. Having obtained this
cargo, the BENTON sailed from Santos on the 11th January, 1881, but
instead of proceeding to Marseilles she steamed direct to Cape Town.
While the BENTON was steaming across the South Atlantic, the Glasgow
holders of the bill for £1,490 received some information which
made them uneasy, and on presentation of the bill when due, it was
dishonoured. The account was closed, the balance had been withdrawn,
and the acceptor’s whereabouts were unknown. The holders then
applied to Henderson and Co., but the letter was returned—addressees
“gone, no address.” They then wrote to the Highland Railway Co., and
received a reply from the Secretary to the effect that the Highland
Railway Co. had already done all in their power to trace the FERRET,
in their own interests, having received no charter money from the
charterers since the vessel sailed from the Clyde. They had been
in communication with Lloyd’s and the Board of Trade, and through
British Consuls and Lloyd’s agents, enquiries had been made all over
the world. About ten days before the receipt of the merchants’ letter
the Highland Railway Co. had heard that the FERRET had arrived at
Malta, but on cabling there had received a reply denying the report.
They had cabled a second time, ordering the vessel to be seized at
Malta in the event of her putting in there.
Meanwhile the BENTON was nearing Cape Town, laden with coffee shipped
at Santos. During the voyage further changes had been effected in
the appearance of the vessel, and the name INDIA was substituted for
BENTON. The original name (FERRET) had previously been filed off the
ship’s bell, and now, as a further precaution the ship’s number on
the main hatch combings was altered to 77,942. The INDIA put into
Cape Town on the 29th January, and at once began to discharge her
cargo.
The conspirators had provided themselves with a printing press, and
had all necessaries on board, as well as Revenue Stamps of various
nations, by which they were able to manufacture the vouchers and
documents necessary to the success of their frauds. At Cape Town,
Smith produced an invoice with a printed heading, purporting to be an
invoice for 3,992 bags coffee sold by coffee planters at La Guayra
(a small port in Venezuela) to C. S. Henderson & Co., and with it
a receipt for the amount duly stamped. He succeeded in selling the
cargo, and realised by the sale of it about £11,000. He had to accept
in part payment bills to the extent of £8,000, drawn on the Standard
Bank, Clement’s Lane, London, payable nine months after date. It
is satisfactory to know that the frauds were discovered before the
bills matured, and payment of them was stopped. After the discharge
of the cargo, Smith tried to sell the steamer, but not succeeding in
his attempt, he shipped a quantity of coal, and sailed on the 14th
February for the Mauritius. The conspirators arrived at Mauritius on
the 1st March, but did not succeed in getting any plunder there, and
so they “cleared out for Guam.”
The next port they entered was Port Albany in Western Australia,
from whence they steamed direct to Melbourne. Here Wright and
Walker offered the steamer for sale, but received no offers. While
in Melbourne, several circumstances made the Customs officers and
the Harbour Police suspect that there was something wrong about the
vessel. It was observed that the fires were always banked so that
steam could be got up at the shortest notice. Captain Wright never
left the steamer, and none of the crew (except Walker, the purser)
were ever allowed “shore leave.” The Customs authorities instructed
one of their officers to make a special investigation of the matter,
and he reported that there was no steamer of the tonnage given
registered at Lloyd’s in the name of INDIA, but that the particulars
of tonnage and dimensions corresponded with the register of the
missing steamer FERRET.
[Illustration: The Arrest.]
Noting all these suspicious circumstances the Customs authorities
determined on prompt action. Requisitioning two crews of the Water
Police, as it was feared there might be violent opposition on the
part of the steamer’s crew, the Commissioner of Customs, on the
27th April, seized the vessel. Fortunately their anticipations as
to resistance were not realised, the crew surrendering without
opposition. Although the authorities had been extremely cautious in
their enquiries, it is evident that the conspirators became aware of
what was being done, for when the steamer was seized, Smith, “Mrs.
Smith,” and Captain Wright had fled. The previous day Smith and Mrs.
Smith removed from their cabin a number of articles, and amongst them
two heavy iron-bound boxes which were never traced. Smith succeeded
in getting away from Melbourne to a distant township, but was
arrested. Mrs. Smith, who had disappeared for a time, when she heard
of his arrest reappeared and visited him in prison. The object of
her visit may be surmised from the fact that shortly after her visit
Smith tried to escape by filing through one of the bars of his prison
window.
Captain Wright had found a retreat in a Melbourne sailors’
lodging-house, but having got drunk and quarrelled with his landlady,
he was thrown out, and arrested for being drunk and disorderly. When
the charge was being booked at the police station, he was recognised
as the missing master of the steamer, for whom the police were
searching.
Confirmation of the suspicions which induced the Commissioner of
Customs to seize the steamer was speedily obtained. Traces of fraud
were quickly discovered on the ship’s hull and appointments, and
in the ship’s books and papers—some of the latter being found in
very unusual places of deposit. Between the leaves of the log-book
a seaman’s “advance note” was found with the name of the FERRET
on it. There was also found a MSS. cypher code, by means of which
communication might be made between those in the vessel and others
on shore. It also serves to show the unscrupulous character of the
criminals and the extreme length to which they were prepared to go.
One or two quotations will illustrate the truth of this assertion:—
“Accept charter referred to and lose vessel before you arrive in
port. Don’t fail.”
“Get out of port the best way you can, but sink the ship, before you
allow them to stop her.”
“Destroy all papers, &c., and sink ship if possible, or burn her, and
get away. Make best of your way over here.”
“Things going wrong. Mate not to be trusted; shall get rid of him.”
“Things going wrong with some of the crew; must get rid of them.”
“Things going wrong with the whole of the crew; must get rid of them.”
“Lost vessel; landed here to day; all hands forward lost.”
“Game is all up; all discovered; destroy or hide everything, and make
yourself scarce; communicate with me through the arranged channel.”
Among the papers seized was a card of a Dr. Bonefin. Now a swindler
of this name—not a common one—shortly before the arrival of the
FERRET, was convicted for obtaining goods under false pretences
from a number of Melbourne jewellers, and was sentenced to a term
of imprisonment in Pentridge Gaol. In the cypher code referred to
Melbourne figures as 51, so that it is extremely probable that
Bonefin was one of the conspirators on shore.
A Cabinet Meeting of the Victorian Government was held on the 9th
May, and on the following morning the opinion of the Attorney-General
was published as follows:—
“The Government of Victoria seized the FERRET, which entered this
port (Melbourne) as the INDIA, in the interests of the rightful
owners, domiciled apparently in Great Britain. At the present time
no one in Victoria is in a position to show this Government such
a title to the FERRET as would clear the Government from possible
liability. It appears to me that the Hon. the Commissioner of
Trade and Customs should hold the FERRET till proper papers are
produced in Melbourne by a legally authorised agent of the actual
owners, whose title should be clearly proved by the needful papers
from England. This being done, and delivery charges paid, the ship
should be delivered. If it is deemed desirable to expedite delivery
of the ship, this Government is entitled to require that the Board
of Trade of London should give a certificate as to the owners.
Such certificate, along with an indemnity to pay all costs, and an
indemnity by the owners, should be deposited with the Agent-General
for Victoria, London, who should telegraph any instructions the
owners may wish to give as to the way they desire the ship to be
dealt with, and this Government should then act accordingly. At the
same time it would be well to learn whether the Imperial Government
wished to take proceedings against any of the offenders, and if
so, what course it intended to take. All necessary documents and
evidence should be transmitted without delay. The master, also the
person who represents himself as the owner, and another person are
charged here with forging the register of the ship, that offence
having been committed with a view to a fraudulent sale.”
Eventually the three criminals arrested, viz.:—Smith (alias
Henderson, alias Benard), Wright (alias Carlyon) and Walker (alias
Wallace), were indicted on three counts:—
1st. Conspiracy to defraud the owners of the FERRET, the Highland
Railway Co.
2nd. Conspiracy to defraud intending purchasers of the FERRET in
Melbourne; and
3rd. Conspiracy to deceive the Commissioner of Trade and Customs, by
entering the vessel in a false name, and to obtain a certificate of
sale under which the vessel could have been sold in that port.
They were all acquitted on the first count, but convicted on the
second and third. Smith and Walker were each sentenced to seven
years’ penal servitude, and Wright to three and a half years.
This result is most remarkable. No mention is made of the frauds
perpetrated at Glasgow, Cardiff and St. Vincent, C.V.; nor of the
steps taken (if any) to secure the confederates on shore.
As for the unfortunate crew, who had received no wages, they obtained
a temporary refuge in the Melbourne Sailors’ Home. The after history
of the FERRET is briefly told. She was purchased in 1885 by the
Adelaide Steamship Company, Currie Street, Adelaide, South Australia,
and is at the present date employed by that company in the Australian
coasting service.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Anglo-Canadian Steamship Companies.—Allan Line.—Canadian Pacific
Railway Co.—Dominion Line.
Following the example of the Imperial Government the Government of
Canada advertised in June, 1852, for tenders for the conveyance of
mails between the United Kingdom and Quebec and Montreal in summer,
and between the United Kingdom and Portland, Maine, in winter. The
contract was secured by Messrs. McKean, McLarty and Lamont, of
Liverpool, who formed a company, and despatched their first steamer,
the GENOVA, a small vessel of 500 tons register, in the spring of
1853. The sailings were continued, but with no great regularity,
for about eighteen months. In addition to the steamer named, the
CLEOPATRA, of 1467 tons, the OTTAWA, and two chartered steamers, one
the CHARITY, built for the African Steamship Co., and the other the
CANADIAN, chartered from Messrs. Allan Brothers, were engaged in the
service. On the outbreak of the Crimean War the OTTAWA and CHARITY
were taken off the Canadian service for the conveyance of troops to
the Crimea, and in 1855 the CLEOPATRA was despatched from London to
Melbourne.
The Anglo-Canadian Mail Service proving unprofitable—a natural result
from the way in which it was conducted—it was transferred to the
Messrs. Allan, who undertook to build a fleet specially for this
trade, and to maintain a fortnightly service to Quebec in summer,
and a monthly service to Portland, Maine, in winter, for the annual
subsidy of £24,000. The Allan mail service to Canada commenced
in April, 1856. A weekly service was instituted in 1859, and has
been continued until the present day. The first four steamers of
the line were built by Messrs. Denny, Dumbarton, and one of them,
the ANGLO-SAXON, made a passage in nine days five hours—which was
considered a record in those days. The HIBERNIAN, built in 1861,
was the first steamer in the Atlantic trade to have a spar deck,
covering the main deck from stem to stern, affording shelter for the
passengers in heavy weather, and found to be so advantageous that it
has been adopted by all the other first-class Atlantic companies.
[Illustration: R.M.S. TUNISIAN. Allan Line.]
The time on passage was further reduced by the POLYNESIAN in 1872.
On her first voyage this steamer made the passage between Quebec and
Londonderry in seven days eighteen hours and fifty-five minutes.
In 1877 the BUENOS AYREAN made her appearance. This vessel is
remarkable as being the first Atlantic liner constructed of steel,
the material of which all ocean-going steamers are now built.
In 1881 the PARISIAN was launched, a steamer which has always been
a favourite on the route. She has accommodation for 200 first, 100
second, and 500 third-class passengers, and is popularly known as the
“ladies’ ship,” a title bestowed upon her because she is credited
with having carried a larger proportion of lady passengers than
any other line. The three crack boats of the present fleet are the
twin-screw steamers BAVARIAN, TUNISIAN, and IONIAN. The first of
these sailed on her maiden voyage to Canada in August, 1899, and she
was followed by the TUNISIAN in April, 1900. The IONIAN, the latest
addition to the passenger fleet, is a twin-screw steamer of 9,000
tons. So far as outward appearance and internal arrangements go these
are sister ships, though the TUNISIAN is 10,576 tons, against the
9,000 tons of the IONIAN.
The dimensions of these magnificent steamships are as follows:—length
520 feet, beam 60 feet, and depth 43 feet.
All the passenger vessels of the Allan fleet are lighted by
electricity, and they are being fitted with the Marconi system of
wireless telegraphy.
The new ship (to be named the VICTORIAN), now being built for the
line in Belfast is to be supplied with Turbine Engines. She will be
the first transatlantic liner to be fitted with marine engines of
this type.
By its recent purchase (1903) from Messrs. Elder, Dempster and Co.,
of fifteen large and full-powered ocean steamships, the Canadian
Pacific Railway Co. has placed itself in the front rank of steamship
owners. Prior to this deal, it owned the steamers ALBERTA, ATHABASKA,
MANITOBA, MICHIGAN, and ONTARIO, all of which plied on the great
inland lakes of Canada as adjuncts to its train services. These
steamers ranged from 498 tons net register to 2,768 tons.
In 1891, the Naval Construction and Armaments Co., at Barrow, built
three magnificent mail and passenger steamers for the Canadian
Pacific Railway. These steamers, the EMPRESS OF CHINA, EMPRESS OF
INDIA, and EMPRESS OF JAPAN, are almost identical in measurement,
capacity and speed. They are each 455 feet 6 inches in length; 51
feet 2 inches beam; and 33 feet 1 inch depth of hold. They are
propelled by twin screws driven by a pair of triple expansion engines
of 1,167 horse power. These three steamers have maintained since
1891, a regular mail service between Vancouver, B.C., the Pacific
terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and Japan and China.
The steamers TARTAR and ATHENIAN, two smaller and less powerful boats
are despatched, as intermediate steamers, at regular intervals.
From Liverpool to Hong Kong—over sea and over land—the Canadian
Pacific Railway Co. stretches a long unbroken line nearly 12,000
miles in length.
In 1870 Messrs. Flinn, Main & Montgomery despatched the ST. LOUIS
from Liverpool to New Orleans. She was the pioneer steamer of a
Company promoted by the firm named for the purpose of trading between
Liverpool and New Orleans, and called the Liverpool and Mississippi
Steamship Co. The views of the promoters becoming enlarged, they
changed the name of the Company in 1872 to the Mississippi and
Dominion Steamship Co., and entered into the Canadian trade. For many
years the steamers of the Line sailed only between Liverpool and
Quebec and Montreal, but about 1891 a second service was established,
with sailings to and from Bristol and the ports on the St. Lawrence.
In 1894 Messrs. Flinn, Main & Montgomery retired, and the two
sections of the business were taken over—the Liverpool service by
Messrs. Richards, Mills & Co., and the Bristol service by Messrs.
Elder, Dempster & Co.; the former continued to be known as the
“Dominion Line,” but the latter service was merged into the Beaver
Line, and as such formed part of the fleet purchased by the Canadian
Pacific Railway Co., referred to in a preceding paragraph.
In 1902 the Dominion Line was acquired by the American Shipping
Combine, and in October, 1903, a further change was made by the
transference of the latest and best steamers of the fleet to the
White Star flag.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Railway Companies as Steamship Owners.—South Eastern and
Chatham.—London, Brighton and South Coast.—London and South
Western.—Great Western.—London and North Western.—Lancashire and
Yorkshire.—Stranraer and Larne.—Caledonian.—Glasgow and South
Western.—North British.—Great Central.—Great Eastern.
There are in Great Britain, as well as in the United States of
America, many steamship lines which are either owned or controlled
by railway corporations. On the south coast of England, from Harwich
to Falmouth inclusive, almost the whole of the Anglo-continental
passenger traffic is held by the great railway companies, who have
made the various ports along that stretch of coast their termini.
In the North Country, both on the east and west coasts, with a few
important exceptions, the cross-channel and over-sea traffic is
operated by steamship companies, which, while running in connection
with the railway systems of their respective ports, are entirely
separate and independent undertakings.
The South Eastern and Chatham Railway Co. has now running between
Dover and Calais, the new turbine steamer THE QUEEN, and the fast and
large paddle steamers EMPRESS, VICTORIA, DOVER, CALAIS, LORD WARDEN,
LE NORD, and LE PAS DE CALAIS.
In connection with the same Company’s service via Folkestone and
Boulogne, the fast and powerful steamers MABEL GRACE, PRINCESS OF
WALES, and DUCHESS OF YORK are employed.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Co. has also added this
year (1903) a turbine steamer to its fleet of fast steamers plying
between Newhaven and Dieppe. In addition to the turbine steamer
referred to, the fleet at present includes the following powerful
21-knot vessels:—ARUNDEL, CALVADOS, PARIS, ROUEN, and TROUVILLE.
[Illustration: ROYAL MAIL S. S. CO.]
[Illustration: T. B. ROYDEN.]
[Illustration: ALFRED ROWLANDS & CO.]
[Illustration: J. S. SELLERS.]
[Illustration: SLIGO S. N. CO., LTD.]
[Illustration: HENRY TYRER & CO.]
[Illustration: WATERFORD S. S. CO., LTD.]
[Illustration: WHITE STAR LINE.]
[Illustration: THOS. WILSON, SONS & CO., LTD.]
[Illustration: YEOWARD BROS.]
[Illustration: STOTT & CO.]
[Illustration: J. & P. HUTCHINSON.]
[Illustration: LEYLAND LINE.]
[Illustration: ORIENT-PACIFIC LINE.]
[Illustration: PALGRAVE, MURPHY & CO.]
[Illustration: P. HENDERSON & CO.]
[Illustration: N. B. RY. CO.]
[Illustration: TURBINE STEAMERS LTD.]
[Illustration: WARREN & CO.]
[Illustration: J. H. WELSFORD & CO.]
The London and South Western Railway Co. has a large fleet of about
twenty powerful steamers, with which it maintains daily services
between Southampton and Havre and tri-weekly services between
Southampton and Cherbourg, and Southampton and the Channel Islands.
The Great Western Railway Co. from its southern terminus, Weymouth,
runs the Mail Steamers ANTELOPE, GAZELLE, IBEX, LYNX, REINDEER, and
ROEBUCK, to the Channel Islands and Brittany; and from its western
terminus, Milford, the Mail Steamers GREAT WESTERN, LIMERICK, and
WATERFORD, to Waterford.
[Illustration: ARUNDEL. London, Brighton and South Coast Ry. Co.]
From Holyhead the London and North Western Railway Co. maintain
passenger services to Dublin and Greenore. It is also interested with
the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Co. in the Mail Steamers sailing
nightly between Fleetwood and Belfast.
In 1902 the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Co. purchased from the
Drogheda Steampacket Company, for the sum of £80,000, the entire
fleet of the latter Company, consisting of five paddle steamers
engaged in the Liverpool and Drogheda Service. The Drogheda
Steampacket Company was one of the oldest Irish steampacket
companies, having maintained a steampacket service between Liverpool
and Drogheda for upwards of sixty years. The Lancashire and
Yorkshire Railway Co. is also a partner in the Fleetwood and Belfast
Mail Service, and has recently extended the sailings of the Fleetwood
steamers to Londonderry.
A Joint Committee representing several railway companies operate a
Mail Service between Stranraer and Larne. The paddle steamer PRINCESS
VICTORIA or PRINCESS MAY sails twice daily during the summer months,
and once daily during the winter months to and from Stranraer and
Larne, making the passage each way in about two hours.
[Illustration: GLEN SANNOX. Glasgow and South-Western Ry. Co.]
On the Firth of Clyde the Caledonian Railway Co. are interested
in the handsome steamers of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. These
vessels carry a cream coloured funnel, and sail from Ardrossan to
Gourock and Wemyss Bay. All the watering places on the Firth are
served by the respective fleets of the various railway companies.
The Glasgow and South Western Railway Company owns, and works from
Prince’s Pier, Gourock, a fleet of swift steamers distinguished by
their slate coloured hulls, with red funnels and black tops. The
fleet includes the GLEN ROSA, GLEN SANNOX, JUNO, JUPITER, MARS,
MERCURY, MINERVA, NEPTUNE, and others.
The North British Railway Company is the premier Railway Company of
Scotland; its mileage amounts to 1,303 miles. In conjunction with
the Great Northern and North Eastern Railway Companies it forms the
“East Coast Route” from England to Scotland, and the fastest booked
“Railway run” in the Kingdom is on this route. As an important
adjunct to its railway system, the North British Railway Co. employ
on the Firth of Clyde (making Craigendoran the headquarters), the
well-known paddle passenger steamers LADY CLARE, LADY ROWENA, LUCY
ASHTON, RED GAUNTLET, TALISMAN, WAVERLEY, and others; and between
Silloth and Liverpool the screw cargo steamers ALBATROSS and
KITTIWAKE.
[Illustration: LUCY ASHTON. North British Ry. Co.]
No Railway-owned steamers ply on the east coast of Scotland, but from
Grimsby the Great Central Railway Co. have a large fleet of passenger
and cargo steamers sailing regularly to various continental ports.
In July, 1865, this Company (then known as the Manchester, Sheffield
and Lincolnshire Railway Co.) purchased the Anglo-French Steamship
Co.’s fleet of boats, and started running steamers from Grimsby to
Hamburg. The following April the Railway Company commenced a service
of steamers between Grimsby and Rotterdam, and in August, 1867,
the service was extended to Antwerp. At the present time the Great
Central Railway Co. possesses a fleet of fourteen powerful steamers
trading regularly between Grimsby and the continental ports named.
The railway company remaining to be mentioned as a steamship owning
company is the Great Eastern Railway Company—the Royal British Mail
Route to Holland.
The steamers of this Company have been especially built for the
Continental service. The Royal Mail steamers AMSTERDAM, BERLIN,
CHELMSFORD, DRESDEN, and the VIENNA, run on the Harwich-Hook of
Holland route. They are powerful twin-screw ocean-going ships of
5,000 indicated horse-power, capable of steaming 18 knots an hour,
each with two distinct sets of engines, so that in case of accident
to one set the vessel can proceed with the other.
The passenger accommodation is similar to that on the latest Atlantic
Liners, a special feature being the large number of private cabins
for two passengers. The ships are fitted with electric light, and all
latest passenger comforts, including dining, smoking, and ladies’
saloons, and separate sleeping berths.
The vessels running on the Harwich-Antwerp route are similar to those
on the Hook of Holland service.
In common with all Railway Companies’ steamers, the Company’s vessels
sail under the British flag, and are subject to the British Board of
Trade stringent regulations as to safety and life-saving appliances.
[Illustration: Steamship]
CHAPTER XXV.
Turbine Steamers.—TURBINIA.—KING EDWARD.—QUEEN ALEXANDRA.—The
QUEEN.—The EMERALD.
THE latest development of the marine engine is the Marine Steam
Turbine, the invention of the Hon. C. A. Parsons, F.R.S., brother of
the present Earl of Rosse, and a son of the builder of the famous
“Birr” telescope, the largest reflecting telescope ever built.
The first vessel ever fitted with the new type of engine was
appropriately named the TURBINIA. This vessel is only 100 feet long
by 9 feet beam and of a total displacement of 44½ tons, but she is
some ten knots faster than any boat afloat of the same dimensions.
Although the weight of her main engines is only about 4 tons, and
the total weight of machinery, screws, and shafting, tanks, etc., is
only 22 tons, she develops the enormous power of 2,100 I.H.T., being
almost 100 H.P. per ton of machinery.
Prof. Ewing, in April, 1895, made some trials of the TURBINIA on the
Tyne, the highest speed then recorded being 32·75 knots, but in June
of the same year a speed of 34½ knots was obtained at Cowes.
Three turbines are used for driving the vessel—high pressure,
intermediate and low pressure. Each turbine driving direct on to a
separate propeller shaft. Reversing is obtained by means of one or
more separate turbines connected to the same shafts as the propelling
turbines and working in a vacuum when the boat is going ahead.
Several torpedo destroyers and three yachts have been fitted with
Parsons’ turbine engines. The first mercantile vessel to be so fitted
was the KING EDWARD, built by Messrs. Denny Brothers, Dumbarton, in
1901.
On her trial trip she attained a speed of 20½ knots, and during her
first season on the Firth of Clyde (1901) she sailed 12,116 knots
in 79 days on a coal consumption of 1,429 tons, at an average speed
of 18½ knots per hour. So satisfied were her owners with her, that
they gave an order to the same builders and engineers for a somewhat
larger vessel for the following season.
The new (1902) turbine steamer is the QUEEN ALEXANDRA, a three-deck
passenger steamer intended also for the Firth of Clyde passenger
service. She is 270 feet long, by 32 feet beam, and depth 11 feet 6
inches. She has two funnels, but only one pole mast. Her main deck
is completely covered in from the bow to aft of the engine room, and
above the spar deck she carries a shade deck 100 feet in length, to
which passengers have access, and under which shelter is provided in
wet weather.
Like her sister vessel, the KING EDWARD, the main engines of the
QUEEN ALEXANDRA consist of three separate turbines, each driving
its own shaft, the centre turbine being high-pressure, and the two
side turbines low-pressure. The velocity of the centre shaft is
about 700, and of each of the side shafts 1,000 revolutions per
minute. On account of the high velocity at which the shafts revolve
it is necessary to increase the number of propellers driven, and
the turbine steamers, therefore, have five small propellers each,
one on the centre shaft, and two each on the outside shafts. On the
builders’ trials the QUEEN ALEXANDRA exceeded the speed of the KING
EDWARD by a knot and a quarter. Her actual speed was 21·63 knots,
equal to about 25 miles per hour.
Two Channel steamers designed to carry passengers and mails, and to
be fitted with Parsons’ marine steam turbine engines, are now (1903)
being built on the Clyde by Messrs. Wm. Denny and Brothers.
Of these, one, the QUEEN, is to the order of the South Eastern and
Chatham Railway Co. She will be 310 feet long and 40 feet broad; and
she is to maintain a speed of at least 21 knots. The average time
occupied at present on the passage between Dover and Calais is 65
minutes, but the new vessel is expected to reduce the time to 50 or
even 45 minutes.
The mode of propulsion is practically the same as that on the QUEEN
ALEXANDRA, namely, three shafts carrying five propellers.
The other Channel steamer referred to as being built is intended for
the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Co.’s service between
Newhaven and Dieppe. Her dimensions are, length 280 feet, beam 34
feet, draft 22 feet; with a gross tonnage of 1,100 tons.
The EMERALD, one of the three yachts referred to at the beginning
of this chapter, is the first vessel fitted with turbine machinery
that ever crossed the Atlantic. She arrived at New York, after
encountering tempestuous weather on the passage, on the 6th May,
1903. Her qualities as a sea-boat were severely tested during the
voyage, with entirely satisfactory results. She was built for Sir
Christopher Furness, M.P., by Messrs. Alex. Stephen & Sons, Limited,
of Linthouse, and fitted with machinery by the Parsons Marine Steam
Turbine Co., Limited, of Wallsend-on-Tyne, and it was found that
when the yacht was steaming at the rate of 15 knots per hour, the
machinery ran with an absence of vibration and noise.
The EMERALD is a vessel of 756 tons, yacht measurement, and was
chartered by Mr. Geo. Gould, of New York, for six months from the
15th April, 1903. Mr. Gould sent over to this country Captain Tod
to navigate her across the Atlantic, with instructions to further
experiment on her steaming capabilities at sea, and to carefully
observe her behaviour compared with the other large steam yachts of
which he has had charge. On the termination of the voyage, Captain
Tod reported that the yacht behaved splendidly; that there was no
racing of propellers, and no vibration; and that the coal consumption
was moderate, considering the weather.
There have been several rumours to the effect that the new steamers
for the Cunard Mail Service are to be fitted with turbine engines,
but these rumours have not been officially confirmed. In any case
these steamers could not be completed in time to take from the
Allan Line the distinction of being the first Company to own a
Transatlantic Mail Turbine Steamship.
[Illustration: Sir ALFRED L. JONES, K.C.M.G. and W. J. DAVEY, Esq.]
THE History of Steam Navigation.
Part II.
HISTORICAL STEAMSHIP COMPANIES.
CHAPTER I.
MESSRS. ELDER, DEMPSTER & CO.
The firm of Elder, Dempster & Co. was founded in the year 1868 by
Messrs. Alexander Elder and John Dempster, two gentlemen intimately
acquainted with the working of the African Steamship trade. For 11
years they were the sole partners, but in 1879 they admitted Mr. (now
Sir Alfred) Jones into the firm, and Mr. W. J. Davey was also taken
into partnership. The original partners, Messrs. Elder and Dempster,
retired from the firm in 1884. Mr. Alexander Sinclair, who became a
partner in 1891, having retired in 1901, the sole partners at the
present date are Sir Alfred L. Jones, K.C.M.G., and Mr. W. J. Davey.
The firm is one of the largest commercial houses in the world, and
in all the various branches of commerce in which it is interested
it takes a foremost position. As steamship owners it controls the
largest fleet of steamers in Great Britain. The business of the firm
extends so rapidly, and new steamers to meet the necessities of the
several trades are so frequently being added to the fleet, that it
is impossible to give a list of the vessels owned, or under the
management of the firm, which will not in a short time be obsolete,
but according to the official sailing list issued 28th March, 1903,
the following steamers were sailing under the triple flags of Messrs.
Elder, Dempster & Co.:—
ABEOKUTA.
ACCRA.
ADANSI.
AKABA.
AKASSA.
ALBERTVILLE.
ANCOBRA.
ANDONI.
ANVERSVILLE.
ANGOLA.
ASABA.
ASHANTI.
AXIM.
BAKANA.
BANANA.
BATHURST.
BATANGA.
BENGUELA.
BENIN.
BIAFRA.
BIDA.
BOMA.
BONNY.
BORNU.
BOULAMA.
BURUTU.
CABENDA.
CAMEROON.
COOMASSIE.
CONGO.
DAHOMEY.
DEGAMA.
DELTA.
DODO.
EGGA.
EGWANGA.
EKO.
EKURO.
ELMINA.
ETHIOPIA.
ETOLIA.
FANTEE.
FORCADOS.
HAUSSA.
IDDO.
ILARO.
ILORIN.
JEBBA.
KANO.
KWARRA.
LAGOON.
LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
LAKE ERIE.
LAKE MANITOBA.
LAKE MEGANTIC.
LAKE MICHIGAN.
LAKE ONTARIO.
LAKE SIMCOE.
LEON-Y-CASTILLIO.
LOANDA.
LOANGO.
LYCIA.
LLANDULAS.
MADEIRA.
MANDINGO.
MAYUMBA.
MELVILLE.
MEMNON.
MILWAUKEE.
MONMOUTH.
MONROVIA.
MONTAUK.
MONTEAGLE.
MONTEZUMA.
MONTREAL.
MONTROSE.
MONARCH.
MONTCALM.
MONTENEGRO.
MONTEREY.
MONTFORT.
MOUNT ROYAL.
MOUNT TEMPLE.
NIGERIA.
NYANGA.
OLENDA.
ORON.
PEREZ GALDOS.
PHILLIPEVILLE.
PORT ANTONIO.
PORT MARIA.
PORT MORANT.
PORT ROYAL.
PRAH.
ROQUELLE.
SANGARA.
SANSU.
SEKONDI.
SHERBRO.
SOBO.
TARQUAH.
TENERIFFE.
VIERA-Y-CLAVIJO.
VOLTA.
WARRI.
YOLA.
YORUBA.
As proving the difficulty of stating the number of steamships under
the control of this firm, and at the same time illustrating the
gigantic nature of its commercial operations, it may be stated that
while this volume was in preparation for the Press, it sold to the
Canadian Pacific Railway Co. an entire fleet, consisting of fifteen
large ocean liners. The despatch of the last Elder-Dempster liner
under the Beaver flag, on Wednesday, March 31st, 1903, was quite
an historic event. She carried with her the first portion of the
Rev. J. M. Barr’s colony, numbering about 2,000 souls. Thousands
of spectators lined the stage, and as the liner sheered away cheer
after cheer rent the air. Sir Alfred Jones, Mr. W. J. Davey, Mr.
David Jones, the Revs. Canon Russell (Manchester), R. O. Greep,
Dr. Lightwood, S. Gasking and H. M. Braithwaite, as well as many
well-known personages in shipping and commerce, were present.
The band of the 1st Liverpool Volunteers played inspiring music,
including tunes reminiscent of home and friendly associations, first
on the stage and afterwards on the ship.
Sir Alfred Jones expressed his regret, as he witnessed the multitude
on board the Lake Manitoba, that he had consented to sell his
Canadian fleet to the Canadian Pacific Railway. He said his firm had
worked hard to develop Canadian colonisation, and the full fruit of
their efforts was only becoming visible now when they had left the
business. He commended the object of the expedition, and hoped for
its success. A completely equipped colony of 2,000, with thousands
more to follow in due course, was, he considered, a novelty.
Reference has been made to the three flags borne by the
Elder-Dempster steamers. The Beaver flag no longer exists. The other
two are (1) the white swallow-tail flag with a red St. George’s cross
(gold crown in centre) of the African Steamship Co.; and the blue
swallow-tail flag, with a white St. George’s cross, of the British
and African Steam Navigation Co. A brief sketch of the history of
both of these important companies, as well as of the Imperial Direct
West India Mail Service Limited, will be found in the succeeding
pages of this volume.
The management of any one of these fleets would be considered ample
employment for most mercantile firms, but they are only units in
the business conducted at that large hive of commerce, African
House, Water Street, Liverpool, which is, by the way, shortly to be
transferred to Colonial Chambers, now in course of being erected. In
addition to the services mentioned, Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co.
maintain a service of Mail Steamers between Antwerp and the River
Congo, under the title of the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo,
an inter-insular Mail Service at the Canary Islands, and a Coastal
Service at Jamaica. They do also a large Ocean Tramp business, being
prepared to carry cargo, when sufficient inducement offers, to and
from any port in the world.
It is the existence of such splendidly managed mercantile fleets,
such as the Elder-Dempster Line, that enabled Great Britain to
astonish the world by the rapid and safe transport of troops and
munitions of war during the progress of the late War in South Africa.
Many years of experience in the management of steamships have enabled
the company to design and construct a magnificent fleet of fast cargo
liners, having lofty ’tween decks, and fitted with anti-rolling
keels, electric light and every modern improvement. Several of
these were chartered at an early stage of the war by the British
Admiralty, and retained for voyage after voyage as transports.
Nine steamers, of an aggregate gross tonnage of 52,000 tons, were
requisitioned in this way. In addition to these, the firm’s steamers
carried with remarkable success some 26,000 horses and 21,000 mules
from New Orleans to the Cape, and some 5,000 horses and 3,000 mules
from Canada, Hungary, the River Plate, &c. It may also be mentioned
in this connection that the Elder-Dempster Liner MONTEREY conveyed
“Strathcona’s Horse,” the MILWAUKEE the “Royal Canadians,” and the
MONTFORT the Canadian contingent of Baden-Powell’s Police from
Halifax, N.S., to the Cape. The MILWAUKEE was the transport selected
to convey General Cronje, his family, and over 500 Boer prisoners
to St. Helena. The Elder-Dempster transports had the good fortune
on several occasions to be able to render material assistance to
other transports which had met with mishaps. Thus they came to the
assistance of the CARINTHIA a few days after she stranded at Aux
Cayes, and, taking off her cargo of mules, carried them on to their
destination. The MONTROSE turned up just in the nick of time to save
the crew when the ill-fated MEXICAN foundered off the Cape, and when
the SUFFOLK stranded it was again an Elder-Dempster liner, the LAKE
ERIE, that came to her assistance, and did all that was possible to
rescue the crew.
In the summer of 1902 Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co. commenced running
the luxuriously appointed ocean liner LAKE SIMCOE on pleasure cruises
to the Norwegian Fjords. Those persons who have had the pleasure
of travelling by this vessel are most enthusiastic in their praise
of the ship, her officers and her equipment, and of all who are
responsible for the comfort and enjoyment of the passengers. The LAKE
SIMCOE is probably one of the largest pleasure steamers trading to
the Norwegian Coast, but her rates of passage money are by no means
commensurate with her size. It is an opportunity of visiting the Land
of the Midnight Sun in comfort and even luxury which ought not to be
missed. The fact that a large proportion of the commanders, officers,
engineers, seamen and firemen serving under the firm are Royal Naval
Reservists renders the Elder-Dempster fleet additionally valuable to
the nation.
[Illustration: Steamship]
[Illustration: R.M.S. JEBBA. African Steamship Co. Limited.]
CHAPTER II.
THE AFRICAN STEAMSHIP COMPANY.
Two years (1852) prior to the outbreak of the Crimean War, the
African Steamship Company was incorporated by Royal Charter with
limited liability. The initial capital was £250,000 in 12,500
shares of £20 each. The first directors of the Company were—Sir
John Campbell, K.C.H. (Chairman), James Hartley, Esq. (Director
of the P. and O. Co.), John Black, Esq., Henry William Schneider,
Esq., Macgregor Laird, Esq., Henry William Currie, Esq., William Law
Ogilby, Esq., and Charles William Gregory, Esq. Bankers, Messrs.
Currie & Co., Cornhill.
The prospectus of the company, as published in the “Times,” 13th
July, 1852, was as follows:—
“This Company is formed to carry out a contract with H.M. Government
for the monthly conveyance of the mails to Madeira, Teneriffe,
and the principal ports and places on the West Coast of Africa,
viz., Goree, Bathurst, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cape Coast Castle,
Accra, Whydah, Badagny, Lagos, Bonny, Old Calabar, Cameroons and
Fernando Po; and to establish a line of steam communication between
Sierra Leone and the British West Indies as soon as satisfactory
arrangements are made with the Government.
“The contract for the mails was taken by Mr. Macgregor Laird in
December last, and is for a term of ten years from the 1st September
next. The annual payment by the Government commences at £23,250, and
diminishes at the rate of £500 yearly during the continuance of the
contract, making an average payment of £21,500 per annum.
“Five iron screw steamships for this service are in the course of
construction by Mr. John Laird, of Birkenhead, with engines by
Messrs. George Forrester & Co., and Fawcett, Preston & Co., of
Liverpool.
“The first of these vessels is to be launched on the 3rd July, and
will be ready to commence the mail service in accordance with the
terms of the contract on the 1st September. Two of them have capacity
for 700, two of them for 1,000, and one for 250 tons cargo, with
excellent accommodation for first-class passengers. The company are
also to have Mr. Laird’s services as Managing Director. A negotiation
is going on with the Portuguese Government for an extension of the
line from Fernando, the valuable African possession.
“Plymouth will be the first port of arrival, and the last port of
departure for the company’s vessels, but the voyage will terminate at
and commence from London.”
The steamers referred to were the FORERUNNER, FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY,
and NORTHERN LIGHTS.
The trading operations between London and Africa not being
profitable, the Board of Directors (about 1860) proposed to wind up
the company.
On the solicitations of Messrs. Fletcher & Parr, of Liverpool, they
were induced to try the trade from Liverpool to the West Coast of
Africa. The result of the trial was extremely satisfactory, and
Liverpool became the home-port of the fleet. The business of the
company increased rapidly, and the shareholders received their
dividends for some time with gratifying regularity, but unfortunately
about ten years after the change from London to Liverpool, the
relations between the Board of Directors at the former port and the
managing agents at Liverpool became somewhat strained.
In spite of a great financial loss, caused by the defalcations of the
Secretary; of a small and inefficient fleet; and a policy on the part
of the Directors which was decidedly peculiar, the company maintained
a struggling existence until 1891, when it passed into the management
of the firm of “Elder, Dempster and Co.” Under the vigorous and
successful management of this firm, the African Steamship Company
started on a new and prosperous career. Instead of, as in 1875,
possessing a fleet of seven ocean steamers and two coast vessels,
the company now owns thirty-three modern, large and powerful ocean
steamers, ranging from 1,000 to 5,200 tons each, and six branch
steamers, four of which are 1,000 tons each.
An Express Service to the Coast has been established by means of a
fleet of fast steamers of the JEBBA type, which reach Sekondi, the
centre of the new gold mining industry, in 15 days. They have been
specially constructed for the trade in which they are engaged, and
no skill has been wanting nor expense spared to make them the most
perfect of their kind. The passenger accommodation has received
special attention. The saloons are spacious, the staterooms lofty and
well ventilated, while extensive promenade and bridge decks enable
passengers to enjoy the invigorating sea breezes secure alike from
sun and rain.
The company grants special facilities for visiting the beautiful
islands of Madeira, Teneriffe and Grand Canary, issuing special
holiday tickets, which include first-class passage out and home,
and a fortnight’s board and accommodation at the Hotel Metropole,
Las Palmas, for £15. Passengers have also the option of returning
_via_ Barcelona or Genoa, by the steamers of “La Veloce Navigazione
Italiana a Vapore” (The Italian Express Steam Navigation Co.).
The Royal Mail Steamers of the African Steamship Co., conjointly with
the steamers of the British and African Steam Navigation Co., sail
from Liverpool thrice a week for the Canary Islands and the West
Coast, from Hamburg and Amsterdam weekly, and from Antwerp (Cie Belge
Maritime du Congo) for Teneriffe, Sierra Leone and Congo Ports every
third week.
[Illustration: Sailboat near rocky shore]
[Illustration: R.M.S. TARQUAH. British & African Steam Navigation
Co., Ltd.]
CHAPTER III.
THE BRITISH & AFRICAN STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY, LIMITED (1900).
This Company was projected in 1868 by a number of gentlemen
practically acquainted with the trade of the West Coast of Africa.
Amongst these were Mr. Alexander Elder and Mr. John Dempster who in
that year founded the firm of Elder, Dempster & Co., a firm whose
ramifications during these later years, under the guidance of Sir
Alfred L. Jones, K.C.M.G., and Mr. Davey, may be said to extend
throughout the civilized world.
Three steamers of about 1,300 tons gross each, were specially built
to the order of the new company, by Messrs. Randolph Elder & Co.,
of Glasgow, for the West African trade, and were named the BONNY,
ROQUELLE, and CONGO.
The Pioneer steamer, the BONNY, sailed from Liverpool in January,
1869, and thereafter a monthly service was maintained between
Glasgow, Liverpool and the West Coast of Africa. After several years’
employment in this trade, the ROQUELLE was sold to Messrs. P. M.
Tintore & Co., Barcelona, and is still sailing from the Mersey under
the Spanish flag.
So successful were these steamers that in 1869 it was decided to add
three more to the fleet.
The new steamers were the LIBERIA, LOANDA and VOLTA, also specially
built for the trade by the late Mr. John Elder, the distinguished
brother of Mr. Alexander Elder, whose early death towards the end of
1869 was so much deplored by the ship-building and engineering world.
The gross tonnage of these three vessels was increased to about 1,500
tons each.
It was considered desirable during the same year to register the
Company as an Incorporated Company. The Registered Office of the
Company was in Glasgow, but Mr. Alexander Elder and Mr. John Dempster
conducted its operations in Liverpool.
With the six steamers the Company now possessed the sailings were
increased to fortnightly.
In 1874 the sailings from Glasgow were abandoned, cargo to and from
that port being transhipped at Liverpool.
As the trade expanded, additions were regularly made to the fleet,
and in 1879 sailings between Hamburg and the West Coast of Africa
were commenced. In 1883 the Company was registered as a limited
company, at which time its fleet had increased to 20 steamers and 2
hulks with a gross registered tonnage of 30,753 tons.
The following year (1884) Mr. Elder and Mr. Dempster retired from
the firm of Elder, Dempster & Co., which since 1879 had consisted of
these gentlemen and Mr. (now Sir A. L.) Jones, and Mr. W. J. Davey.
Messrs. Elder and Dempster, however, remained Managing Directors of
the Company until 1900, Mr. Elder having for some years previous to
this date occupied the position of Chairman.
In 1900 Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., purchased the entire business
and assets of the British and African Steam Navigation Co., Limited,
and with the addition of 9 large steamers, suitable for outside
trades, formed a new company with a share capital of £1,000,000,
and Debenture Stock of £800,000. The new company has a fleet of 35
steamers with a total gross registered tonnage of 107,000 tons.
While the bulk of its operations continue to be in connection with
the West Coast of Africa, several of its steamers are employed in the
North Atlantic and other trades.
The contrast between the first steamer, the BONNY, and the latest,
the BURUTU, built in 1902, will be seen by the following comparison
of their respective dimensions:—
BONNY, length 261·0 feet, beam 30·2 feet, depth 23 feet. Gross 1,326
tons.
BURUTU, length 360·0 feet, beam 44·2 feet, depth 26 feet. Gross 5,200
tons.
In the later steamers of the fleet, the vessels of the BURUTU type,
traders and other travellers reach Sekondi, the centre of the new
gold mining industry, in about 13 days from Liverpool. No skill
has been wanting nor expense spared to make these vessels the most
perfect of their kind, and exactly suitable for tropical trade.
A special feature of the steamers is the system of overhead trunk
ventilation, by which an imperceptible current of fresh air is kept
continually circulating through the lofty and well lighted state
rooms, making them cool and agreeable in the hottest weather.
Passengers by the Royal Mail Steamers belonging to the British and
African Company, are granted special facilities for visiting the
beautiful islands of Madeira, Teneriffe and Grand Canary. The Company
issues a special holiday ticket for £15, which includes Saloon
passage out and home, and a fortnight’s board and accommodation at
the Hotel Metropole, Las Palmas. Passengers by these steamers who may
wish to visit the Mediterranean, have also the option of returning
from the islands via Barcelona or Genoa, by the steamers of the
Italian Express Steam Navigation Co.
The Royal Mail Steamers of the British and African Steam Navigation
Co., conjointly with the steamers of the African Steam Ship Co., sail
from Liverpool three times a week for the Canary Islands and the West
Coast of Africa, and from Hamburg and Rotterdam weekly.
[Illustration: Sailboat in harbor]
[Illustration: R.M.S. PORT ROYAL. Imperial Direct West India Mail
Service, Ltd.]
CHAPTER IV.
IMPERIAL DIRECT WEST INDIA MAIL SERVICE, LIMITED.
For years the Island of Jamaica, the Pearl of the Antilles, had
been decadent, its planters cast down and despairing because it was
impossible, owing to the heavily subsidized continental beet sugar,
to grow cane sugar at a profit. And, although physicians in the
United States were sending their patients to seek renewed health
and energy “from the balmy breezes laden with health giving ozone
which blow over the island,” British Life Insurance offices placed a
black mark against Jamaica, and demanded an additional premium from
their policy holders for permission to visit its shores. But the
dark commercial cloud is passing, and the island has entered upon an
era of prosperity which bids fair to be greater and more permanent
than even the golden days of the sugar planter. It is an open secret
that for this the Jamaicans are indebted in great measure to the
enterprise of Messrs. Elder, Dempster and Co., who have practically
created the demand in Great Britain for Jamaica grown fruits, and who
have established a service of swift steamers, specially built for the
trade. This Line of steamers, which is known as the Imperial Direct
West India Mail Service although only established in the first year
of the present century, has already achieved a remarkable success. In
addition to bringing to England over 50,000 bunches of bananas per
month, as well as other West Indian fruits, tobacco, coffee, sugar,
rum, and other varieties of tropical produce, the steamers carry a
large and increasing number of passengers each voyage between Great
Britain and the colony.
The home port of the steamers is Avonmouth, near Bristol, from which
a fortnightly sailing is maintained throughout the year to Kingston
(Jamaica), but it is probable that the service will soon be increased
to a weekly one. In recognition of the invaluable services rendered
by these steamers both to the Empire and to the colony, their
Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit of
inspection to the R.M.S. PORT ROYAL, at Avonmouth, on the 5th March,
1902.
The vessels at present engaged in the direct Mail Service were all
built in 1901, and are named, the PORT ROYAL, PORT ANTONIO, PORT
MORANT, and PORT MARIA. The first two steamers named are sister ships
and are identical in measurement, viz., length 382 feet, beam 46
feet 6 inches, and depth 32 feet. Each is propelled by twin screws,
and fitted with triple expansion engines capable of maintaining a
speed of 14 knots per hour, and carries about 5,000 tons cargo. They
can each accommodate 100 first-class passengers and 50 second-class
passengers. The saloons and staterooms are handsomely decorated, and
are fitted so as to secure a maximum of comfort for the passengers.
The cuisine and the appointments generally being those appertaining
to a first-class mail and passenger steamer.
A new mail steamer of considerably larger dimensions than any of the
preceding steamers of the fleet, is now in course of construction and
is expected to make her first voyage early in 1904. It is proposed to
call her the PORT KINGSTON.
These steamers sail from Avonmouth Dock, Bristol, every alternate
Saturday, and make the voyage as a rule in from 12 to 14 days. The
rates for passengers are:—Saloon (single) £18 to £25 pounds; (return)
£32 to £40, according to the position of the stateroom, and number of
persons occupying same. In the second saloon the charge is £14 for
the single passage, and £25 for the return.
The DELTA, belonging to the same Company, makes a trip round Jamaica
every week; she has first-class accommodation for passengers, and
affords a splendid opportunity of seeing the coast and towns around
the Island. The charge for first-class passengers is £3 for the round
trip.
Arrangements have been made with the Hamburg-American Line, running
between Kingston (Jamaica) and Central American Ports, to carry
passengers booked by Imperial Direct West India Line of Steamers to
the following Central American Ports, viz., Savanilla, Cartagena,
Port Limon, and Greytown, at an inclusive first-class fare between
Kingston and any of the above Ports of £6 3s. per adult. Passengers
travelling on these tickets will be accommodated on special terms
at the Myrtle Bank Hotel (Kingston), during the time between the
arrival of the Mail Steamers and the departure of the Steamer of the
Hamburg-American Line. There is also a good service from Kingston to
Cuba. The Cuba steamer leaves Kingston the day after the arrival of
the mail steamer from England.
Passengers can also be booked through, via the Colon and Panama
Railway, to the principal ports on the Chilian Coast. The steamers
of the Pacific Mail Co. and Campania Sud-Americana Co. leave Panama
weekly for the South, reaching Callao in about nine days and arriving
at Valparaiso in about 21 days. Seeing that for years past the
climate of Jamaica has been libelled as unhealthy, it cannot be too
strongly affirmed, that from a medical point of view, the wonderful
air of the hilly districts is unrivalled; it being in every way equal
to that of the better known European winter resorts, to which it bids
fair to become a serious rival.
[Illustration: Sailboats in harbor]
[Illustration: R.M.S. ULSTER. City of Dublin Steampacket Co.]
CHAPTER V.
THE CITY OF DUBLIN STEAMPACKET COMPANY.
In the summer of the year 1822 Mr. C. W. Williams, of Dublin, crossed
over to Liverpool with the object of inducing the merchants to
take shares in a line of steampackets he proposed building for the
Liverpool and Dublin trade. Except to the most sanguine, the time
did not appear to be favourable for such a scheme. A large fleet
of sailing smacks maintained daily communication (subject to the
weather) between the two ports, carrying all kinds of goods, and even
cattle. The steampackets WATERLOO and BELFAST sailed with passengers
only every alternate day from each side. Both these vessels had
already won for themselves a reputation, the former being the first
steampacket to ply regularly between England and Ireland, and the
latter having made a passage in the then remarkably short time of
12½ hours. Besides this, “The Original Steampacket Company,” a new
company (with powerful Government influence), including amongst its
shareholders Lord Blaney, Major-General Preeth, Sir John Tobin, &c.,
and trading under the title of the St. George Steampacket Company,
had in April preceding launched two of the largest and most powerful
steampackets that had yet been built, viz., the ST. PATRICK and the
ST. GEORGE. This latter vessel on the 13th September made a passage
from Dublin in 11½ hours, thus making a record which she herself
broke on the 23rd April, 1824, by making a passage from Liverpool to
Dublin in 10 hours 40 minutes. In addition to the already established
steam and sailing lines, a third local steampacket company, supported
by the traders, the “Dublin and Liverpool Steam Navigation Company,”
was in course of formation. It is not, therefore, surprising under
these circumstances that Mr. Williams, a stranger in Liverpool,
failed to obtain the financial support to his scheme which he
desired. It is the more to his credit that, though disappointed in
Liverpool, he persevered with his project in Dublin with so much
success that he was enabled to return to Liverpool in February of the
following year (1823) and place an order with “Frigate” Wilson for
the pioneer steamer of the future famous City of Dublin Steampacket
Company, the CITY OF DUBLIN, a vessel of 130 h.p. It was an express
stipulation with the builder that this steamer should be constructed
of such materials and in such a manner as to withstand the severity
of the winter navigation. The CITY OF DUBLIN differed from her
competitors in two respects—(1) in carrying general cargo in addition
to live stock and passengers, and (2) in maintaining the service
uninterruptedly throughout the twelve months.
A month later Mr. Wilson was again applied to to build a second
vessel for the company, but in consequence of his having that very
morning (5th March) contracted to build the HY. BELL for the Glasgow
trade, it was not till some days later the contract was made for the
building of the TOWN OF LIVERPOOL, to be commenced as soon as the HY.
BELL was launched.
The CITY OF DUBLIN made her maiden voyage on Saturday, the 20th
March, 1824, and Mr. Samuel Perry, of 16, Water Street, was appointed
agent to the company. She anticipated by about six months the
operations of the traders’ company (the Dublin and Liverpool Steam
Navigation), whose first steamer, the LIFFEY, 305 tons burden, and
110 h.p., did not sail until the 13th September following. From the
outset the managers of the City of Dublin Company seemingly did not
regard the Original Steampacket Company as formidable opponents,
but they determined either to vanquish or acquire the other two
companies, the greater of which was the St. George Steampacket
Company. The second company was well supported by the Liverpool
merchants, and kept its sailings (with goods and passengers)
throughout the year. In December of the same year (1824) the MERSEY
joined the LIFFEY, and in the July following the COMMERCE, one
of the largest steampackets (up to that date) built in this port,
was added to the fleet. This company’s packets proceeded direct
to Dublin, and discharged at Custom House Quay. On Saturday, 5th
February, 1825, the third vessel belonging to the City of Dublin
Steampacket Company was launched from the yard of Dawson and Pearson,
South Shore, and on the 22nd April succeeding the managers issued the
following public notice:—
“The City of Dublin Steampacket Company announce to the public that
in consequence of the many complaints hitherto made of want of
storage room in Dublin for goods going and coming by their steam
vessels, they have taken the lot of ground immediately opposite
the Packet Station on the North Wall, and are about to erect a
convenient and commodious store on the same for the accommodation
of the merchants and traders of Dublin. The Company have increased
their capital to £100,000, and are proceeding with every possible
expedition in completing their number of vessels, by which means
they will shortly be able to despatch one daily from Dublin and
another from Liverpool. The trustees have reserved the remainder of
the shares now unappropriated exclusively for the accommodation of
shippers and importers. Their vessels, the CITY OF DUBLIN and TOWN OF
LIVERPOOL, continue to ply as usual. Their third and fourth vessels,
the HIBERNIA and BRITANNIA, are nearly complete, and the fifth and
sixth will be ready by the end of the year.”
During the summer of 1825 the City of Dublin Company despatched
their new steamer HIBERNIA on the same day and at the same hour
as the ST. GEORGE. They were careful to inform those interested
that this was done “not with a view of opposition, but for the
purpose of establishing her (the HIBERNIA’s) character for speed
and seaworthiness.” They were equally careful to point out that
“the HIBERNIA has already made six voyages in company with the ST.
GEORGE, and has on all occasions proved herself an extremely safe
and fleet vessel, and not inferior to that well-known steampacket.”
They also mentioned the inconvenience, delay and expense of landing
by boats at Kingstown, all of which might be avoided by taking their
magnificent steampackets direct to North Wall.
The St. George Company replied to this courteous announcement by
also informing the public that the companionship of the HIBERNIA
was unsought for and undesired by them. It was not to be expected
that the Liverpool companies would permit a strange company to take
a lion’s share of the trade, and not make a practical protest.
Consequently, in the autumn of 1825, the fares from Liverpool to
Dublin were reduced to 5s. cabin and 6d. steerage, and on Monday,
September 5th, one of the steamers sailed with upwards of 700
passengers at 6d. each. Early the following year (1st February, 1826)
the managers of the City of Dublin Steampacket Company purchased
the Dublin and Liverpool Steam Navigation Company, and increased
the capital of the company to £250,000, in shares of £100 each.
Shareholders, in addition to their share of the profits of the
undertaking, were offered the following advantages:—
(1) Free passage by all the company’s vessels.
(2) Free storage for a limited time in the company’s stores.
(3) Special accommodation in the payment of freights and charges.
The company having grown with a rapidity probably without a parallel,
decided to extend its sailings to Belfast and Waterford, and, if
desirable, to other ports. It had now a fleet (afloat or building)
of fourteen new and powerful steamers, viz., CITY OF DUBLIN, TOWN
OF LIVERPOOL, HIBERNIA, BRITANNIA, LIFFEY, MERSEY, COMMERCE, MONA,
LEEDS, GIPSEY, MANCHESTER, BIRMINGHAM, SHEFFIELD and NOTTINGHAM. On
the 29th August, 1826, the Government established a mail service
between Liverpool and Kingstown, with most injurious results to the
existing steampacket companies. The managers of the City of Dublin
Company interviewed the Secretary to the General Post Office in order
to obtain some modification of the opposition, but without being able
to do so. They thereupon published the result of their negotiations,
and appealed to the public for support against the unjustifiable
action shown by the Government. “The Post Office having now
established packets on the station, have, with a view of covering the
heavy expenses incident to the same, endeavoured to engross the trade
in passengers, carriages, horses, &c., to the great injury of this
and other companies; while at the same time they are exempt from the
payment of port dues and other charges ... which are already a tax
on this company to the amount of £10,000 per annum. Under terms so
unequal and disadvantageous, it is evident this opposition has none
of the ingredients of fair opposition, were such even justifiable,
where Government on the one hand, and private shipowners on the
other, are the competitors.”
At this period (1827) there was considerable friction between the
Mersey Dock Board and the company, the managers of the latter
considering greater facilities ought to be given for the working
of their traffic in view of the fact that they annually spent in
Liverpool £100,000 in outfits and repairs. To meet the Government
opposition the company purchased the sailing brig TYNE, which they
loaded fortnightly with rough goods, and towed to sea by their own
tug MARS. In 1828, in addition to their daily service to Dublin,
the company had a twice-weekly service to Belfast, and once a week
to Drogheda. A fortnightly service between Dublin and Bordeaux was
commenced on the 20th June, 1827. The BALLINASLOE, built in 1829,
was furnished with a powerful blast cylinder to ventilate the holds,
being the first steamer to be so fitted. The same year the MANCHESTER
and the BRITANNIA were both wrecked, but fortunately without loss of
life.
The steampacket CITY OF LONDONDERRY, built in 1827 for a local
company, was sold by auction on the 8th October, 1829, and purchased
by the City of Dublin Company. Her new owners took up the station
vacated by the Derry Company, and maintained a weekly service between
Liverpool and Londonderry for a number of years. The Clarence Dock
having been opened in September, 1830, the City of Dublin Company
were allotted loading and discharging berths in it on the 25th March,
1831, which berths they have used continuously to the present date
(1903), a period of over seventy years, when they were transferred to
the Nelson Dock.
It will be remembered that in the early history of the company their
most powerful trade competitors were the St. George Steampacket
Company. One of the steamers of the latter company (the LORD BLANEY),
while on a voyage from Liverpool to Newry, was lost with all hands.
With a chivalry unusual in commerce (ignoring the fact that the
vessel belonged to a rival company) the City of Dublin Company headed
a list for the benefit of the relatives of the drowned seamen and
others with a subscription of one hundred pounds. Civil war had been
raging in Portugal for a number of years, the leaders being Don
Miguel (the usurper) and Dom Pedro, on behalf of his daughter, Donna
Maria (Legitimist). Two at least of the company’s steamers, the LEEDS
and BIRMINGHAM, were chartered as transports to Dom Pedro; and it
was the latter vessel, under the command of Captain Beazley, which,
on the 16th July, 1833, brought to England the news of the complete
defeat and capture of the fleet of Don Miguel. On the 6th November,
1834, the LEEDS struck on Furlong Rock. No lives were lost, the crew
and passengers being taken off by the company’s steamer COMMERCE. The
LEEDS having got off the rock, sank inside the jetty at Holyhead, but
was subsequently raised.
In 1836 the company built four steamers to compete against the
Government mail steamers. They were the QUEEN VICTORIA, DUCHESS OF
KENT, ROYAL ADELAIDE, and the famous ROYAL WILLIAM. In June of this
year (1836) a bill in Parliament for increasing the capital of the
company was read three times and passed.
About this time the directors of the company had under consideration
the establishing of steam communication between Liverpool and New
York. A meeting was held in the company’s office in Water Street,
there being present, amongst others, Sir John Tobin. Sir John had on
the stocks a large steamer, and it was decided that the Transatlantic
service should be established, the pioneer vessel to be the ROYAL
WILLIAM, to be followed by the LIVERPOOL (Sir John Tobin’s new
steamer) as soon as she was ready for the service. In accordance
with these arrangements, the ROYAL WILLIAM sailed from the George’s
Pierhead on July 5th, 1838, for New York, and the LIVERPOOL followed
her on September 20th. These steamers have the honour of being the
first passenger liners between Liverpool and New York. The ROYAL
WILLIAM proved to be too small for the Transatlantic trade, and in
1839 she resumed her sailings on the Liverpool and Kingstown station.
[Illustration: ROYAL WILLIAM P. S. (1836) City of Dublin Steampacket
Co.]
On and from the 20th June, 1839, the Government determined that
a mail steamer should be despatched every morning and evening
from Liverpool to Dublin, _via_ Kingstown, on the arrival of the
respective mail trains from London. The Government steam packets were
appointed to sail with the morning mails, and the City of Dublin
steam packets with the evening mails. The directors of the City of
Dublin Company were determined that their steamers should surpass the
Government boats, and in December, 1840, they contracted for two new
steamers for the mail service to be superior to any seagoing steamers
afloat, and to do the passage from Liverpool to Kingstown in nine
hours. Three years later (15th April, 1843) the company commenced
their Liverpool and North Wales service with the new iron steamer
ERIN-GO-BRAGH. The steamer AYRSHIRE LASSIE was placed on the station
the next season (May, 1844), followed in 1845 by the PRINCE OF WALES,
and later by the PRINCE ARTHUR, which two steamers maintained a
daily service throughout the summer season for many years, and until
the station was transferred to the present North Wales Steampacket
Company.
In conjunction with the North Lancashire Railways, the City of Dublin
Company instituted, in 1844, a steamship service between Dublin
and Fleetwood, the first steamer employed being the HIBERNIA. The
Company’s trade between England and Ireland had increased so rapidly
that in 1845 the directors placed orders to build eight vessels,
viz., five paddle steamers and three auxiliary screw schooners.
[Illustration: Holyhead and Kingstown Royal Mail Steamships—ULSTER,
MUNSTER, LEINSTER, and CONNAUGHT.]
The long contest between the Admiralty and the company for the
carriage of the English and Irish mails came to an end in 1850,
when the Lords of the Admiralty determined to withdraw their
steamers from the Irish mail service. The City of Dublin Co. had now
a new competitor in the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, who
had steamers in connection with their railway service. The former
company, who recognised the great importance of placing vessels on
the Holyhead station, put in a tender in response to the Admiralty’s
invitation, which tender was actually accepted. No tender was put in
by the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, who, it was believed,
did not suppose anyone would compete with them and that they could
obtain their own terms. Before the Admiralty’s acceptance of the
City of Dublin Company’s tender was confirmed by the Government the
railway company got notice of what was being arranged, and pressure
was brought to bear upon the Government to prevent the City of Dublin
Company’s contract from being ratified. The move was successful, with
the result that tenders were again asked for. The City of Dublin
Company were most unfairly treated, for the figure at which they had
tendered was made public, and consequently the railway company were
able to under-cut it. In anticipation of this course being adopted
the managing director of the City of Dublin Company recommended a
tender to be put in at a very diminished figure, the great importance
of securing a footing on the Holyhead station being fully perceived
by him. The City of Dublin tendered at £25,000 per annum, which was
£5,000 a year less than the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company’s
offer, and the result was that the City of Dublin Company obtained
the contract. They purchased from the Admiralty two of the mail
boats, the ST. COLUMBA and the LLEWELLYN, and in May, 1850, took over
the mail service, running the steamers at the same hours as they
were run by the Admiralty. A strong effort was made by the opponents
of the company to deprive them of their contract, and a select
Parliamentary Committee was appointed, which reported in favour of
what had been arranged. This report made it clear that the company’s
first offer was a reasonable one, and subsequent events proved the
wisdom of the company’s directors determining to hold the contract at
all hazards. The contest, it will be seen, was between the City of
Dublin Company and the Chester and Holyhead Railway Company rather
than with the Lords of the Admiralty—indeed, so strong was the
feeling some time afterwards that the railway company refused to book
passengers by the mail steamers, or advertise their sailings in the
railway time tables, which only showed the sailings of the railway
company’s steamers.
But if the City of Dublin Company was thus happily relieved from
rivalry on the Holyhead mail station, it speedily found itself
involved in the most serious struggle which probably ever occurred
in the steamship coasting trade. Yielding to the solicitations of
the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway Company, the directors of the
City of Dublin Company agreed to place a steamer on the Liverpool
and Waterford station. The Waterford Company and the Cork Company
immediately began a daily service to and from Liverpool and Dublin,
and despatched a steamer twice a week to Belfast. Entering into an
alliance with the British and Irish Steampacket Co., the City of
Dublin Company and its ally responded by opposing the Cork Company
on the Liverpool and Cork station, sailing the DUCHESS OF KENT,
EMERALD, ROSE, &c., every Tuesday and Friday from Liverpool and from
Cork. After a keen contest, lasting over twelve months, a conference
took place between Mr. Malcomson, representing the Waterford and
Cork Steamship Companies, and one of the directors of the City of
Dublin Company. No reference was made at this conference as to the
cause of the contest, nor to the conduct of any of the parties during
its continuance, the sole object being to suggest the most speedy
mode of restoring peace, and the following arrangement was finally
decided upon:—The City of Dublin Steampacket Company agreed to sell
their claims on the London line to the British and Irish Steampacket
Company, this line to be worked by the vessels of the latter company
and of Messrs. Malcomson; the City of Dublin to transfer their
Liverpool and Belfast service to the Cork Steamship Company; the
entire sea traffic between Holyhead and Dublin to be assigned to the
City of Dublin Company. This agreement has been honourably adhered to
by all the companies concerned, amongst whom a most friendly feeling
exists, but time has wrought its changes on the various lines.
Malcomson’s steamers have long since ceased to run between Dublin
and London, the Cork Company’s steamers were withdrawn in 1854 from
the Liverpool and Belfast service, and the London and North Western
Railway Company have a large fleet of passenger and cargo steamers
plying daily between Dublin and Holyhead.
At the close of the year 1854 a better feeling prevailed, and the
Chester and Holyhead Railway Company, together with the London and
North Western Railway Company, entered into negotiations with the
City of Dublin Company, and, with the approval of the Government, an
Act of Parliament was obtained in order to bring about an improved
passenger and mail service between London and Dublin, via Holyhead
and Kingstown. Considerable delay took place in the subsequent
negotiations. However, at the end of 1858 matters were settled, and
in January of the following year the Postmaster-General entered into
a contract with the two railway companies and the City of Dublin
Steampacket Company, who jointly undertook the sea service, and with
the two railway companies, who undertook the land transit. By private
agreement, however, with the railway companies, the City of Dublin
Company became solely responsible for the sea service, and provided
the four steamers. This service gave the greatest satisfaction to
the travelling public; the contract was for fourteen years certain,
and then from year to year, terminable by twelve months’ notice, the
subsidy being £85,900 per annum for the sea service, and £50,000 per
annum for the land.
Twelve years after this service had been commenced, the London and
North Western Railway Company, who had by that time absorbed the
Chester and Holyhead Railway, commenced a rail connection between
the harbour of Dublin and three of the principal Irish railway
companies, which connection was completed in 1876, and the London and
North Western Company began to run a service of steamers in direct
opposition to the mail route. Under the terms of their agreement
with the City of Dublin Company, the railway company had the power
of fixing the fares by the mail route, which it exercised by
maintaining the high fares by the mail and charging low fares by the
railway steamers. The competition increased in intensity every year,
with the result of largely diverting the passenger traffic from the
mail route, the ultimate object of the railway being to bring about
the abandonment of the Kingstown service, and to secure all the
traffic for the railway boats to Dublin. In 1881 the City of Dublin
Company brought the London and North Western Railway Company before
the Railway Commissioners, who ordered a reduction of the mail fares.
Immediately after this order was made, the Post Office authorities
intimated their intention of terminating the existing mail contract,
and of asking for fresh tenders for the service between Holyhead
and Kingstown. In 1882 the City of Dublin Company put in a tender.
Months were allowed to pass, and in January, 1883, it was announced
that the Government had accepted a tender of the London and North
Western Railway Company. It then transpired that the railway company,
as well as the City of Dublin Company, had tendered for the Holyhead
and Kingstown service, and that the latter company’s tender was the
lower of the two, but the Government, instead of accepting it, had
negotiated a contract for the throughout service with the railway
company, which would have enabled them to convey the mails and
passengers in the railway steamers to Dublin instead of to Kingstown.
[Illustration: WILLIAM WATSON, Esq. (late Chairman City of Dublin
Steampacket Co.).]
It can well be understood that the public, who were well pleased to
have the two lines of steamers, had no intention of being deprived
of the Kingstown route, and a storm of indignation arose over the
country. The Government professed that in making the new arrangement
they were acting with economy, but this was shown to be a mere
subterfuge, for they had agreed to pay the railway company £106,000
a year—only a trifling amount less than they would have paid if the
steampacket company’s offer had been accepted and the railway payment
continued as before. To quote the words of a prominent member of
Parliament: “The Government were giving an opulent railway company
not only a monopoly of the passenger traffic, but a large subsidy
besides, for merely carrying the mail bags on their established
line of passenger steamers.” So powerful was the agitation that
arose, that the Government discovered they would not be able to get
the contract confirmed by the House of Commons, the Irish members
to a man being determined to vote against it. The result was the
contract was not brought forward for confirmation, and new tenders
were asked for the Holyhead and Kingstown sea service, special
provision being made for the passenger traffic, which the Government
had ignored on the previous occasion. Greater speed being desired,
the City of Dublin Company tendered for improved steamers; but the
railway company, who had no intention of going to Kingstown, did not
compete, and the City of Dublin Company were successful in obtaining
a contract for twelve years certain, the subsidy being £84,000 per
annum. The four mail packets—the ULSTER, LEINSTER, MUNSTER, and
CONNAUGHT—were provided with new boilers and improved machinery, and
their passenger accommodation was remodelled and greatly enlarged.
The new service began on the 1st October, 1885, with this most
remarkable result, that vessels after twenty-five years’ service
had their speed increased by an average of 2½ knots per hour. A
new steamer was added to the fleet—the IRELAND, a vessel capable
of steaming 20 knots an hour, being the fastest paddle steamer
ever built for cross-Channel service. The new service gave much
satisfaction to the public, and the passenger receipts steadily
increased. In 1893 the company decided to build a new type of
passenger and cargo vessel, and in the following year the LOUTH,
a screw steamer of large tonnage and great power, was put on the
station; she was found so satisfactory, her performance being so
regular, and her sea-worthy qualities so good, that she dispelled
the great prejudice which up to that time had existed against screw
steamers for cross-Channel trade (especially the cattle trade), and
the company decided to replace their fleet with steamers of this
class. While this re-construction was going on an attempt was made
to deprive the company of their position on the Holyhead station.
Owing largely to the efforts of the company, Kingstown had been put
in direct communication with all the Irish railway companies, and the
one blot on the Kingstown service removed. It was stated, however,
that the boats were not fast enough, and the Government were urged to
terminate the mail contract and seek for new tenders.
Most extravagant ideas seemed to prevail as to what could be done;
accelerations were suggested by land and sea which could not have
been accomplished except at very great expense. However, the City
of Dublin Company were not behindhand, and they put in a variety of
tenders, and offered to build boats of the very largest class. No
other company tendered in accordance with the advertisement. The Post
Office, however, did not accept any of the tenders, and subsequently
entered into negotiations with the company, and settled the
existing contract. The company undertook to build four twin-screw
steamers, which, although not so large as those originally proposed,
are superior to anything up to the present time attempted for
cross-Channel purposes, and being twin-screws, their accommodation is
far greater than had they been paddle steamers of the same size. They
all realised a speed of 24 knots on their trial trips, which up to
the present time has not been surpassed by any passenger steamer.
The new service commenced on the 1st April, 1897, and passengers are
conveyed between all parts of England and Ireland at a very high rate
of speed, and perform the journey with a degree of comfort that would
have been thought incredible a few years since.
The fleet of the company now consists of the following high-class
powerful screw steamers, replete with everything necessary for the
comfort of passengers, as well as being equipped with the most
modern appliances for the safe carriage of cattle and the rapid
handling of cargo:—The ULSTER, MUNSTER, LEINSTER, and CONNAUGHT,
sailing twice each day from Holyhead and from Kingstown with the
mails and passengers. The CARLOW, KERRY, WICKLOW, LOUTH, and CORK,
sailing every evening to and from Liverpool and Dublin, with goods
and passengers, as well as a morning service from both ports, with
passengers and fast traffic. In the present year (1903) the Company
has placed the KILKENNY on the station, a vessel of an entirely new
design, one of the finest passenger and cargo steamers which has
ever been built for the Irish cross-Channel trade. A service is also
maintained three times a week between Dublin and Belfast by the
company’s steamers.
For upwards of three-quarters of a century this grand old company has
faithfully served the public, with an immunity from loss of life as
remarkable as it is gratifying to those chiefly concerned.
CHAPTER VI.
THE BRITISH AND IRISH STEAM PACKET COMPANY, LIMITED.
The oldest deep-sea steamship passenger trade in Europe is that
between Dublin and London. The distinction of having been the first
persons (other than the crew) to cross the Irish Sea by steam
vessel is shared by Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Weld. Mr. Weld, who was the
Secretary—or brother to the Secretary—of the Royal Society of Dublin,
embarked with his wife on board the steampacket THAMES, Captain Dodd,
which vessel sailed from Dublin at noon on the 28th May, 1815, bound
for London.
The sailing of this, the first, steamer between Dublin and London,
was an event of the greatest interest to the citizens of the former
city, who assembled in thousands to witness her departure. It was not
intended that the THAMES should ply between the two ports, and, as a
matter of fact, it was not until after an interval of eleven years
(1826) that a regular steampacket service was established between the
Metropolis of England and that of Ireland. In the latter year, two of
the City of Dublin Steam Packet Co.’s steamers, the THAMES (not the
THAMES of 1815) and the SHANNON commenced to trade regularly between
Dublin and London.
Amongst other famous steamers, employed on this station, may be
mentioned the WILLIAM FAWCETT, which traded between London and
Dublin during the summer of 1829. This steamer afterwards became
the property of the Peninsular Steam Navigation Co., and is stated
in Whitaker’s Almanac (and elsewhere) to have been the pioneer
steamer of the “P. & O. Co.” In August, 1830, the steampacket CITY OF
LONDONDERRY, built in 1827 for the Liverpool and Londonderry trade,
and purchased in October, 1829, by the City of Dublin Co., was
placed by her new owners on the London station. These three steamers,
the THAMES, SHANNON and CITY OF LONDONDERRY, were described in the
Company’s advertisement of the period as being amongst the largest
steamers afloat, and all of the same capacity and power, viz., 513
tons burthen, and 160 h.p. each. These steamers maintained a regular
weekly service (one of them sailing from London every Sunday, calling
at Plymouth), and were due at Dublin in ordinary weather, in 80 hours
after leaving London.
[Illustration: LADY ROBERTS. 1464 Tons. Speed 13 Knots.]
Travelling at that period was expensive, as shown by the rates
charged by these small wooden steamers, compared with those now
charged by the magnificent modern steamships of the B. and I. Co. of
1,400 to 1,500 tons each.
Cabin. Steerage.
THAMES, SHANNON, &c. 2 16 0 1 14 0
LADY ROBERTS, LADY WOLSELEY, &c. 1 5 0 0 11 0
The present British and Irish Steampacket Company was established
in 1836. The list of the earliest Directors contained the names of
several of the best known citizens of Dublin, the following being
the names of the Directors for the year 1838, viz.:—Messrs. James
Ferrier, John MacDonnell, William Williams, Francis Carleton, Joseph
Boyce, John Jameson, and John Ennis. The Company’s first fleet
consisted of three wooden paddle steamers, named respectively, CITY
OF LIMERICK, DEVONSHIRE, and SHANNON.
A very ingenious robbery from the Company took place at the St.
Katherine’s Docks. Two boxes of gold dust, of a gross value of
£5,245, were landed at Falmouth, ex H.M. Packet SEAGULL, from the
Brazils. From Falmouth they were shipped per B. and I. steamer
CITY OF LIMERICK to the Company’s Wharf, London, consigned to the
Brazilian Mining Co. At noon on Monday, 29th April, 1839, a person
claimed the two boxes, and presented an order for them, apparently in
the same handwriting as the letter of advice received with the two
boxes from Falmouth. The advice stated that the boxes were only to be
delivered to a gentleman who would call on Monday with a letter in
the same handwriting. The “gentleman” accurately described the marks,
and took away the boxes; but two hours afterwards, another person,
connected with the Brazilian Mining Co., came for the boxes, and
the fraud was then discovered, for the genuine documents and letter
addressed to the Company by the Falmouth Agent were produced.
Two months later, the whole of the criminals concerned were in
custody, and charged with their offence at the Central Criminal
Court. Two of them, Moss and Solomons, turned Queen’s evidence. Lewin
Caspar (who had been for eighteen months in the service of the B.
and I. Co. as General Superintendent), was detained in custody until
sentence was pronounced, 3rd February, 1840, and was then acquitted,
owing to a flaw in the indictment. His father, Ellis Caspar, and
Emmanuel Moses, were each sentenced to be transported for 14 years,
and sailed for Sydney on the 20th October, 1840, on the convict
transport, LORD LYNEDOCH. Alice Abrahams (daughter of Emmanuel Moses)
was also convicted of being an accomplice, and was sentenced to
four months’ imprisonment. Mr. James Hartley (founder of the firm
of James Hartley & Co., London) rendered very valuable service to
the proprietors by his energy and skill in tracing and successfully
prosecuting the thieves. Mr. James Hartley was elected a Director in
1838, and for his services in connection with the prosecution of the
gold dust thieves, he was presented with a valuable piece of plate.
In 1842, the steamship DUKE OF CORNWALL was built, and added to the
fleet in order to meet the increased demands of the trade. Like her
sister ships, she was a wooden paddle steamer, and the last of this
type of craft employed in the service.
The British and Irish Steam Packet Co. were amongst the first
steamship owners to recognise the advantage (now universally
admitted) of the screw propeller over the paddle wheel as a means for
propelling steamships, and in 1845 they introduced into the London
and Dublin trade two schooner-rigged auxiliary screw steamers, one
of which was called the ROSE, and the other the SHAMROCK. Three
years later the B. and I. Co. had to encounter a fierce and powerful
opposition, engineered by the Messrs. Malcomson, of Waterford, but
which involved nearly all the leading Steamship Companies on the
East Coast of Ireland; the B. and I.; Belfast (Langtry’s); City of
Dublin; Cork; and Waterford Steamship Companies all taking part in
the contest. The Waterford Steamship Company placed steamers on the
London and Dublin station, and the Directors of the British and Irish
Steam Packet Company retaliated by placing steamers on the Waterford
and London, Waterford and Liverpool, and London and St. Petersburg
lines. The opposition lasted until April, 1851, when an arrangement
was come to, whereby the Dublin and London traffic was divided
between Messrs. Malcomson (Waterford Co.) and the B. and I., and at
the same time the City of Dublin Co. withdrew from their official
connection with the latter Company. In the meantime, several steamers
had been built of iron (notably the GREAT BRITAIN), and had proved by
the severest tests the great merits of that metal as a material for
shipbuilding. So convinced were the Directors of the B. and I. of the
advantages to be gained by the substitution of iron for wood, that
they purchased in 1850 the first iron paddle steamer of the fleet.
This steamer was named the FOYLE, and was one of the finest vessels
afloat in her time.
The following year witnessed an extension of the Company’s
operations, a regular service being established between Liverpool,
South of England ports, and London; and also between Limerick and
London. The latter was maintained by the auxiliary screw steamer
ROSE, and when this vessel was sold in 1852, the service was
discontinued.
To meet the increased requirements of the trade, two large screw
steamers, the LADY EGLINTON and the NILE, were added to the fleet in
1852.
On the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, two of the B. and I.
steamers, one of which was the new steamer LADY EGLINTON, and the
other the FOYLE, were chartered by the Government for the conveyance
of troops and stores. In consequence of the withdrawal of these two
steamers from the Company’s service, and of the loss of the NILE off
the Cornish Coast, the Liverpool to London sailings were abandoned.
In addition to her Government service in the Black Sea, the LADY
EGLINTON, in 1858, was employed for a short time as a Trans-Atlantic
liner, making, in this capacity, two trips from Galway to Quebec and
Montreal. In 1865, this famous steamer was placed in the hands of
Messrs. Walpole, Webb & Bewley, shipbuilders, Dublin, by whom she was
lengthened thirty feet.
Prior to the declaration of War between the Northern and Southern
States of America, in 1861, the B. and I. Co. had maintained a
regular service between Dublin and Wexford. The vessel employed in
this service was a small paddle steamer named the MARS. In 1863 the
MARS was sold, crossed the Atlantic, and began the exciting career of
a blockade runner.
Two years later (1865) the LADY WODEHOUSE was built in Dublin, for
the Company, by Messrs. Walpole, Webb and Bewley, and in 1869 the
same builders launched another B. and I. liner, the COUNTESS OF
DUBLIN. The year 1870 saw an important and advantageous change in
the fortunes of the Company, who purchased the interest and steamers
of Messrs. Malcomson’s London-Dublin line, since which time the sea
trade between Dublin and London has been entirely in the hands of
the British and Irish Company. The vessels purchased from Messrs.
Malcomson were the AVOCA and CYMBA. In 1879, the B. and I. Company
was registered as a Limited Company, and a new steamer, the LADY
OLIVE, 1,096 tons, was added to the fleet. The LADY OLIVE was the
last iron vessel built for the Company, and the last of the compound
engine type of steamer. All her successors—the present vessels of
the fleet—are built of steel, and fitted with triple-expansion
engines. The first ship of the new type was the LADY MARTIN, of 1,356
tons gross register, built in 1887 by Messrs. Workman & Clark, of
Belfast. Her carrying capacity is much greater than that of any of
her predecessors, and further increase of tonnage has marked all the
vessels added to the fleet since. Her principal dimensions are—Length
269 feet 6 inches, beam 34 feet 2 inches, and depth of hold 16 feet 4
inches.
[Illustration: S.S. LADY WOLSELEY leaving Falmouth.]
She was followed in quick succession by the LADY HUDSON-KINAHAN,
built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, in 1891; the
LADY WOLSELEY, built by the Naval Construction and Armaments
Company, Barrow, in 1894; and the LADY ROBERTS, built by the Ailsa
Shipbuilding Company, Troon, in 1897. The last-named four steamers
now carry on the trade between the two capitals, the LADY OLIVE
acting as stand-by ship. In their main features, all the vessels are
very similar, and vary only slightly in size and power, from the LADY
MARTIN, of 1,365 tons, to the LADY ROBERTS, of 1,462 tons. It will be
seen from the particulars given, that the steamers of the B. and I.
Co. are amongst the largest coasting vessels in the United Kingdom.
The average berthing accommodation of each vessel is—120 saloon and
50 second cabin, in addition to steerage passengers. Each vessel
is fitted up on the most approved plan, and electrically lighted
throughout. Deck cabins and state rooms can be secured at a small
extra charge. Smoking rooms are also provided, as well as bathrooms.
In the summer season pianos are put on board, and a full complement
of stewards and stewardesses is carried. Under ordinary circumstances
the vessels average 13 knots per hour, which is quite fast enough for
the requirements of the trade; and it may be mentioned that they are
well able to hold their own with the majority of channel steamers.
Any person travelling by these steamers will find that very few
vessels will pass them, and those which do are probably some crack
mail packets running short passages.
The ships of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company are as
well-known at Falmouth, Plymouth, Southampton, and Portsmouth as
they are at the terminal ports of London and Dublin. Being so
well-found, roomy, comfortable, and up-to-date, and calling in at all
the principal southern ports, it is but natural that they should be
favourites with the holiday-making and touring public. So favourably
are they held in this respect that during the “fine weather”
months they seldom leave port without having a full complement of
passengers, of whom (as has been stated) they are designed to carry a
large number.
[Illustration: Steamship]
CHAPTER VII.
THE BIBBY LINE.
Reference has been made, in a previous chapter of this work, to
this old-established firm. It was engaged in shipping in 1807, five
years before the first British steamboat was launched. At that
early date the fleet consisted of small sailing vessels, but in
1821 a regular line of ships to the East Indies was established.
Of the old Liverpool shipowning firms which had their flag signal
posts on Bidston Hill, only three now remain, viz., Messrs. Bibby,
Brocklebank, and Sandbach Tinne.
In 1851 the firm, then under the guidance of the late Mr. James J.
Bibby, went into the steam trade, their first boats, the TIBER and
ARNO, being built on the Clyde by John Reid and Co.
Mr. Bibby, in 1859, commenced entrusting the building of the steamers
of the line to Messrs. Harland and Wolff, and from that date every
succeeding vessel has been constructed by the same firm. It may be
interesting to recall that the late Sir Edward Harland, who was
the son of a personal friend of Mr. Bibby, commenced operations at
Belfast with the order for the SICILIAN, VENETIAN and SYRIAN.
Mr. Bibby adopted the system of building his boats on commission, a
system which ensures the greatest co-operation between builder and
owner, and by which he secured the greatest advantage wherever his
interests were concerned.
The three boats last named were followed by the EGYPTIAN in 1861.
All of these vessels carried clipper bows with figure heads and
bowsprits, but the succeeding ships were built with straight stems,
an innovation, the credit of which (and of many other improvements
now generally adopted) is due to Mr. Bibby. The IBERIAN, ILLYRIAN and
ISTRIAN, all built in 1867, were the first of the fleet to carry the
new type of bow, and they were followed by a long succession of
well-known names, leading up to the present steamers on the Colombo
and Rangoon and Southern Indian route.
[Illustration: Modern Bibby Liner.]
This service, which was established in 1891, quickly became prominent
among the fast passenger services, and, as such, was early recognised
by the Government and placed on the list of the special lines
available for officers, etc., returning at the expiration of their
leave.
The pioneer vessel of the new service was the YORKSHIRE, and her
sister ship the LANCASHIRE (though both somewhat smaller than the
later boats), still holds the blue ribbon of the route, having
steamed from Liverpool to Rangoon in the fastest time yet on record.
The CHESHIRE and SHROPSHIRE, which were the next steamers added to
the fleet were each about 1,500 tons larger than their immediate
predecessors. They were provided with two entirely distinct and
separate sets of engines and propellers, a fact which at once
arrested attention in the East, and greatly added to the popularity
which their other arrangements justified. Intending passengers will
be interested to know that with only one propeller in use, they are
capable of making as good progress as an ordinary trading steamer.
After an interval of two years (1893) the twin-screw steamer
STAFFORDSHIRE was built, and in her was embodied every improvement
which experience and money could provide. She was at once generally
acknowledged to be the most comfortable and the best ventilated type
of steamer placed on the Eastern route.
In October, 1897, the twin-screw steamer DERBYSHIRE was added to the
fleet. She is designed on the same lines as the STAFFORDSHIRE but
being 7 feet longer and 3 feet broader, her staterooms are somewhat
larger. An important addition was made to the fleet in 1902, when the
twin-screw steamer WARWICKSHIRE was built. Her advent on the line was
looked forward to with much interest, and she has amply fulfilled
all anticipations, and has secured a preference over any other
steamer for first-class passengers between Ceylon and Europe. Her
large size admits of 200 berths being fitted, and the Main Saloon,
Drawing room, Smoke room, Bath room, etc., are all increased in their
proportions.
By an ingenious arrangement (which is quite novel) every stateroom
has a port opening to the outside of the ship, and all the rooms
are equally light and airy, while many of the rooms provided are
fitted up for the accommodation of one or two passengers only. The
WARWICKSHIRE has marked a new era in the equipment of large passenger
steamers, and the above mentioned Bibby Patent Stateroom is now being
adopted by the principal Mail Lines in the construction of new boats.
A twin-screw steamer, to be named the WORCESTERSHIRE, is now under
construction at Belfast. She is designed closely on the lines of the
WARWICKSHIRE, and is expected to be completed in good time to enable
her to take her place in the Autumn sailings of 1904.
The steamers of the Bibby Line sail on alternate Thursdays from
Liverpool, calling at Marseilles to embark the overland passengers
on the following Thursday. Circular tickets in connection with these
sailings are issued for £15, which are available for a passage both
ways by any steamer of the fleet, or if passengers prefer it, they
will receive, free of additional cost, a first-class Railway ticket,
via Paris, for the journey one way overland to or from London.
Travellers to and from Egypt, Palestine, etc., whether journeying
round Spain or using the Marseilles route will find these steamers a
convenient and luxurious means of conveyance.
The public will be glad to know that passages can be secured for £3
3s. for the fortnightly runs round from London to Liverpool. The
steamers usually leave Tilbury on Friday, and arrive in Liverpool on
the following Monday morning, thus affording a very pleasant week end
trip.
The present fleet consists of the following modern fast Mail
Steamships:—
LANCASHIRE 4244 Tons.
YORKSHIRE 4261 ”
CHESHIRE 5775 ”
SHROPSHIRE 5785 ”
STAFFORDSHIRE 6005 Tons.
DERBYSHIRE 6636 ”
WARWICKSHIRE 7966 ”
WORCESTERSHIRE (Building) 7966 ”
CHAPTER VIII.
THE CORK STEAMSHIP COMPANY, LIMITED.
The Cork Steamship Company, as successors to the St. George Steam
Packet Co., may justly be considered to be one of the oldest existing
steamship companies in the world. The original company (the St.
George), was formed in the Autumn of the year 1821, its headquarters
being in Liverpool. An announcement concerning it appeared in the
Liverpool “Mercury,” of the 12th October, 1821, stating:—
“A company has been formed here (Liverpool) for establishing steam
packets.... Two vessels of large dimensions are already contracted
for, and are now building by two experienced ship-builders in
this town, the machinery for both to be fitted by an engineer of
eminence; and the proprietors, we learn, are determined to spare no
expense in the equipment of the vessels to contribute to the safety
and comfort of the passengers.”
In accordance with this announcement the pioneer steam packet of the
Company, the ST. PATRICK, was launched from the yard of Mr. Thomas
Wilson, Liverpool, at 10-30 a.m. on the 21st April following.
This event created quite a sensation in the town, as she was, if
not the first steamer ever built in the port, certainly the finest
specimen of ship-building craft up to that date constructed there. So
great was the interest displayed that every wall and pier from which
a view of the launch could be obtained was crowded with spectators.
This steamer ran for about two years between various ports in England
and Ireland, and having in that time established a reputation for
speed and seaworthiness, she was purchased by a London Company to
trade between London and Lisbon. She was replaced by a second ST.
PATRICK, a vessel of 300 tons burthen and 120 h.p., built by Clarke
and Nickson, Liverpool, and launched from their yard on the 19th
August, 1825. In the interim between the dates of the launch of the
first and second ST. PATRICK, the Company had built or purchased
quite a number of steamers. They had also established themselves in
Cork, and had built the premises situated on Penrose Quay, where
to-day is carried on the business of the City of Cork Steam Packet
Co., Limited.
The first three steamers employed by the St. George Co. in trading
to and from Cork, were the LEE and SEVERN, both built in Liverpool
in 1825 (the former for the Liverpool trade and the latter for the
Bristol trade), and the SUPERB, built by Mr. William Evans, London.
The St. George Co. extended its operations with marvellous rapidity,
until its steamers were to be found in almost every port in the
United Kingdom, and in the chief ports of Holland, Denmark, and
Russia. It owned several famous steamers, one of which, on the
authority of Jeffry in “A Century of our Sea Story,” made the first
steam voyage between Great Britain and Australia. This was the SOPHIA
JANE, a vessel of 256 tons and 50 h.p., built by William Evans,
London, and first employed between London Bridge and Gravesend. When
first placed on this station, her owners were involved in an action
at law to prove their right to navigate the river. They won their
action from the Watermen’s Company, and soon the first Gravesend
Steam Ferry was started. The SOPHIA JANE plied on the Thames until
1828, when she began to make longer voyages, running for some months
between Portsmouth and Plymouth, afterwards under the St. George
flag, between Liverpool and Douglas (Isle of Man), later between
London and Calais, and finally made her great voyage from England
to Australia. She arrived at Port Jackson Heads in May, 1831, three
months after leaving the Thames, thus making the first steam voyage
between Great Britain and Australia, and the longest voyage under
steam down almost to the fifties.
Unfortunately the management of the St. George Co. was not all that
could be desired, and the late Mr. Ebenezer Pike, of Bessborough,
Blackrock, County Cork, convened a meeting of the shareholders which
was held at Cork on the 17th February, 1843. Prior to the meeting,
Mr. Pike had forwarded to each shareholder a copy of a circular in
which he proposed (_a_) to form a Company with a capital of £50,000
in 1,000 shares of £50 each; and (_b_) to build a new steamer of 500
to 600 tons burthen and 300 h.p.
The circular was discussed at the meeting, but no definite decision
was arrived at. Mr. Pike, however, did not allow the matter to
rest. In October following, so far as Cork was concerned, the title
“St. George” was dropped, and the title “City of Cork Steamship
Co.” (afterwards shortened to “Cork Steamship Co.”) was adopted in
its stead. Mr. William Wilson, the founder of the firm of Wilson,
Son & Co., was the first general manager at Cork, and Mr. McTear
the Liverpool agent. Nor did Mr. Pike abandon the idea of the new
steamer, for on the 26th September, 1843, Messrs. Thomas Vernon & Son
built to his order the steamship NIMROD.
The following year the Company was virtually re-constructed, and the
Cork Steamship Co. was formed with a capital of £170,000, in 1,700
shares of £100 each. The first Directors were, Messrs. Ebenezer
Pike, John Gould, James Connell, Joseph Hayes, and William Lane, all
merchants belonging to Cork.
At the date of the re-construction of the Company, the St. George
Steam Packet Co. owned about 20 steamers. Most of them were disposed
of to various buyers, the new management retaining seven, viz., the
LEE, SEVERN, TIGER, JUPITER, VICTORY, OCEAN, and SIRIUS.
The LEE and SEVERN have already been referred to. The TIGER was a
steamer of 389 tons, built at Hull in 1838. She was 156 feet long,
by 26 feet beam, and 18 feet deep. She was rigged as a two-masted
schooner and had a tiger figurehead. Originally she was intended for
the St. George Hull and Hamburg service; was taken over by the Cork
Steamship Co. in 1844, and sold by them in 1851 to London buyers.
The JUPITER was a vessel of 360 tons, built at Greenock in 1835.
Transferred to the Cork Steamship Co. in 1844, and sold by them to
London buyers in 1847.
The VICTORY was a Liverpool built steamer of 256 tons, built in 1832.
The Cork Steamship Co. did not retain possession of her long, but
sold her in 1846 to the Malcomsons of Waterford, who employed her in
their Limerick and London service.
[Illustration: Mr. EBENEZER PIKE, J.P. (late Chairman Cork Steamship
Co.).]
The OCEAN was a steamer of 300 tons, her principal dimensions
being 154 by 22 by 15. She was built on the Mersey in 1836, and in
1838 made a record passage from Liverpool to Cork in 23 hours. She
was intended for the general Coasting Service of the St. George
Co., and had the honour of acting as tender to her more famous
sister-ship the SIRIUS, on the occasion of the latter’s historic
voyage to New York. Six years later when she had become the property
of the Cork Steamship Co., she rendered valuable service to the
Steampacket VANGUARD, belonging to the Dublin and Glasgow Steam
Packet Co. During a gale on the 14th December, 1844, the VANGUARD,
inward bound with a valuable cargo and a number of passengers, was
forced on to the rocks about a quarter of a mile inside of Roche’s
Point Lighthouse. This occurred about 4 a.m., and soon afterwards
the OCEAN, inwards from Bristol to Cork, passed the spot. The
VANGUARD’s signals of distress were noticed, and the Captain of the
OCEAN (Caldbeck), in spite of the heavy sea that was running, at
once launched his boats, and succeeded in rescuing the VANGUARD’s
passengers. The steamer was afterwards towed off the rocks and taken
to Passage for repairs. The OCEAN continued in the service of the
Cork Steamship Co. until 1853, when she was purchased by the Chester
and Holyhead Railway Co. The remaining steamer transferred from the
St. George Co., was the famous SIRIUS. The SIRIUS was built in 1837
by Menzies & Co., Perth, and engined by J. Wingate & Co., Glasgow;
and cost £27,000. Her length was 208 feet, her breadth 25 feet,
and her depth 18 feet. She had two masts and one funnel, and a dog
figure-head, holding between the fore-paws a star, representing the
dog-star Sirius, after which the vessel was named. On the occasion
of her memorable voyage to New York, she sailed from London on the
28th March, 1838, under the command of Lieut. Richard Roberts, R.N.,
and called at Cork Harbour to coal and to embark the mails and
passengers. The OCEAN arrived from Liverpool on the 3rd April with
mails and passengers to be transferred to the SIRIUS. Next morning
at 10 o’clock the SIRIUS got under way, being accompanied as far as
the entrance to the harbour by the OCEAN. There, a brief stoppage was
made while the OCEAN went alongside the SIRIUS to bring off a number
of ladies and gentlemen who had been permitted to accompany their
friends thus far, the steamers exchanged salutes, and then the SIRIUS
continued her course, being watched with keen interest until she
disappeared beneath the horizon. She arrived at New York at 10 p.m.
on the 22nd April, and thus brought to a successful termination the
first voyage ever made by a passenger steamer from Europe to America.
She made two Trans-Atlantic voyages, and afterwards returned to
the Home and Continental Services. When she became the property of
the Cork Steamship Co. she was employed in the Glasgow, Dublin and
Cork Service, in which she continued until 1847. On the evening of
the 15th June of that year, she sailed from Dublin to Cork with a
general cargo, and forty passengers. All went well until 4 a.m. on
the 16th, when she encountered a dense fog, and went on the rocks in
Ballycotton Bay. Twelve passengers and two seamen were unfortunately
drowned by the capsizing of a boat which had been launched, but the
rest of the passengers and crew were saved by means of a rope which
was passed from the ship to the shore. The vessel itself went to
pieces on the 22nd June.
[Illustration: SIRIUS P. S. Cork Steamship Co.]
Nearly all the steamers retained by the new management were sold to
various owners within a few years from the reconstruction of the
Company, and new and more powerful vessels substituted for them. The
first of these, the NIMROD, was the first iron steamship owned in
Cork. She was built by Thomas Vernon & Son, Liverpool, to Mr. Pike’s
order in 1843, and was 177 feet long, 25 feet beam, and 16 feet deep.
Her tonnage was 583 tons, and she had two masts, a clipper bow, and a
huntsman (Nimrod) figurehead.
The AJAX, a vessel of about 600 tons, was added in 1845, and the
PREUSSISCHER ADLER, of 563 tons, also built in 1845, was purchased
by the Company. The latter steamer was designed as an armed yacht
for the late King of Prussia. She was built at Liverpool, and
cost £32,000. She was a broad-beamed paddle-boat, having a beam
of 28 feet, her length being 185 feet, and her depth 17 feet. She
was rigged as a two masted schooner, with a cutwater, an eagle
figurehead. The Company, after purchase, added to her length, and for
this purpose placed her in the Rushbrook Dry Dock, Cork, belonging
to the Channel Dry Docks and Engineering Co.; the PREUSSISCHER ADLER
being the first steamer to enter this dock. As originally designed
her paddle-boxes were so constructed as to be capable of being turned
down over her sides, in order that two large swivel guns which she
carried on deck, might have a free range all round.
She remained in the service of the Company until 1884, when she was
broken up in London.
In 1846 Messrs. R. and J. Lecky, of Cork, built a small screw
steamer to the order of the Cork Steamship Co. She was named the
BLARNEY, and was only 118 feet long, 19 feet broad, and 11 feet deep.
Notwithstanding her diminutive size, she ran for a number of years
between Liverpool and Havre, and was eventually sold to a Liverpool
firm in 1854. It is noteworthy that the BLARNEY was the first
cross-channel steamer built in Cork by R. & J. Lecky, and was the
first screw steamer built for the Cork Steamship Co.
The year 1850 saw the Cork Steamship Co. involved in the most serious
struggle which probably ever occurred in the coasting steamship
trade. It began by the City of Dublin Co., at the solicitation of
the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway Co., running opposition steamers
to Waterford. The City of Dublin Co., in addition to their Liverpool
and Dublin Service, had maintained for many years a regular service
of steamers between Liverpool and Belfast. Mr. Joseph Malcomson
(Waterford Steamship Co.) was a Director of the Cork Steamship Co.,
and his firm had a large financial interest in that Company. It was,
therefore, to be expected that these two Companies would form staunch
allies in any struggle, the more so, when the City of Dublin Co.,
in conjunction with the British and Irish Steampacket Co., extended
the opposition to Cork. The Cork and Waterford Steamship Companies
carried the war into their opponents’ territory. They put a steamer
on the station between London and the South and East of Ireland once
a week, between Liverpool and Belfast twice a week, and between
Liverpool and Dublin, daily. The City of Dublin Co. offered to make
contracts with merchants in Cork and Waterford, undertaking to carry
their traffic freight free for three months, in response to which the
Waterford Co. threatened to place two steamers on the Holyhead and
Dublin station in conjunction with the Chester and Holyhead Railway
Co.
The struggle between the various companies was fiercely maintained
for over twelve months, until in April, 1851, upon the suggestion of
Mr. Malcomson, an interview took place between a Director of the
City of Dublin Steam Packet Co. and himself (as representing the Cork
and Waterford Companies), at which meeting the companies concerned
arrived at an amicable basis of settlement.
In this settlement the City of Dublin Co. agreed to transfer their
Liverpool and Belfast service to the Cork Steamship Co. This
arrangement held good until 1854. On the 14th January of the year
named a deputation from the Cork and Belfast Companies met in
Dublin. There were present, Mr. Pike (Managing Director) and Mr.
Glover (Secretary), of the Cork Steamship Co.; Mr. W. R. S. Lepper
(Chairman) and Mr. Valentine, of the Belfast Co. The meeting was
conducted in a most friendly manner, and it was arranged that the
TELEGRAPH (Belfast Co.’s steamer) should be at once withdrawn from
the Liverpool and Cork service, and the MINERVA (Cork Co.’s steamer)
from the Liverpool and Belfast service. The year 1854 witnessed a
great stream of emigrants from Cork. According to a paragraph in the
“Cork Constitution” of that date:—
“On Saturday, 1st April, the MINERVA left with 467 adult emigrants,
79 children, and 8 infants, besides other passengers. The vessel
was so crowded she had to leave 200 passengers behind. The NIMROD
leaves every Wednesday, and is freighted with emigrants to a similar
extent. This continual stream of emigrants has been going on for a
considerable time.”
While the war cloud was gathering over Europe, which in bursting
produced the Crimean War, the Cork Steamship Co. had on the stocks
a steamer, afterwards named the CORMORANT. In the equipment of this
steamer a novel feature had been introduced, viz., iron masts.
These masts, of which she carried three, were exceptionally tall
and graceful, and so well buckled that not a joint was visible. The
whole appearance of the vessel was so smart that she excited general
admiration, and was selected by the Government as a transport. While
she was lying at Portsmouth, after the embarkation of the 13th
Lancers for the seat of war, Her (late) Majesty Queen Victoria,
accompanied by the Prince Consort, came on board to inspect her
before sailing. After inspecting the troopers’ quarters, and
admiring some of their horses, Her Majesty discovered that the
ship’s masts were not wood but iron. She was so impressed with their
graceful appearance that she gave instructions for full particulars
of them to be taken by the Dockyard officials.
Two other steamers of the Company—the DODO (nicknamed the rolling
Dodo) and the ALBATROSS—were also engaged by the Government as
transports. At the Crimea, as well as at home, the CORMORANT’s masts
excited great interest. One day a Turkish Admiral came on board, and
a quartermaster was told off to show the distinguished visitor round
the ship. The Admiral came to the mainmast, examined it, tapped it,
and turning to his attendant, said:—
“I-ron?”
“Yes, your Excellency.”
“Sō-lid?”
“No, you blithering fool; it’s hollow,” was the reply, except that
the adjective used was more forcible than the one we have given.
Amongst the vessels which were at the Crimea at this time was an
American schooner, the captain of which was very proud of his craft,
and was continually boasting of her beauty and of the lofty masts she
carried. He “challenged creation to find her ditto.” One day when he
was boasting in his usual strain, Captain Byrne, who was present,
said quietly, “What might the height of your masts be, captain?”
“Every inch of 90 feet, I guess,” replied the American. “Well,” said
Captain Byrne, “I can show you a ship with taller masts than that.”
“Where?” “In this harbour, on my ship.”
To settle the dispute the two captains proceeded to the CORMORANT.
Now it must be confessed that the CORMORANT’s masts had not been
scraped for some time, and were so streaked with paint and grease
that they might easily be mistaken for pine. The American captain
came to the foot of the mainmast and looked up. “Great Cæsar! What
height do you call that?”
“120 feet,” replied Captain Byrne.
“Is it all one piece?” asked the other.
“There’s not a splice in it from heel to truck,” was the reply.
“I calculate that timber was raised in Oregon,” said the American.
“No, it was not.”
“Well, do tell, where did it grow?”
“That, sir,” quoth Captain Byrne, “was raised in Cork.”
A collision occurred on the 10th July, 1866, resulting in the total
loss of H.M.S. AMAZON and the Cork steamship OSPREY, with a number
of passengers, chiefly ladies. The OSPREY was outward bound from
Liverpool to Antwerp, with a general cargo. She was under the command
of the late Captain Bertridge, and carried a crew of 14 hands. When
off Portland, at 1 o’clock in the morning, the look-out reported a
steamer approaching, which proved to be H.M.S. AMAZON. By a fatal
error of judgment (for which he was dismissed the service) on the
part of the officer in command, the AMAZON crashed into the OSPREY.
While the vessels were locked together the crew of the Cork steamer
scrambled over the bows of the man-of-war, leaving to Captain
Bertridge the task of saving his family (who were on board) and
passengers. These he placed in one of the boats belonging to the
OSPREY, cut the lashings, and had barely done so when his steamer
sank, dragging the boat into the whirlpool as it sank, and drowning
all in it, except the captain and one passenger. The captain’s wife
had previously jumped into the sea from the boat, and was rescued and
taken on board the AMAZON. The latter vessel was so injured by the
collision that she also sank about four hours later, but all on board
took to the boats and were landed at Torquay.
About this period the question of the Company’s house-flag began
to be agitated. The CORMORANT, under Captain Croft, was lying at
Penrose Quay, with her house-flag floating from the masthead. A
section of the Channel Fleet happened to be in port at the time, and
Captain Croft was surprised to receive a message from the Admiral
commanding, asking why the CORMORANT was flying his (the Admiral’s)
flag. Captain Croft replied that the flag he carried had been his
Company’s house-flag for the last twenty years, and of his Company’s
predecessor for over twenty years before that. To this the Admiral
very courteously replied that he personally would not interfere
with the use of the flag, but that as the Government had adopted it
as an Admiral’s flag, it was possible that some difficulties might
arise later.
[Illustration: RISSA S.S. Cork Steamship Company.]
The question of the flag was next raised at Bussorah, in the Persian
Gulf, on the 7th November, 1882. The DOTTEREL had finished loading,
and was getting ready for sea, when a message came from H.M.S. DRYAD,
which was in the roadstead, asking why the DOTTEREL dared to carry
the Admiral’s flag, and stating it must be pulled down at once.
“Tell your commander,” said Captain Dobson, “that that flag is
my Company’s house-flag, and that I will not lower it without
instructions from my owners.”
The boat went back with this message, and Captain Dobson immediately
sent a man aloft to grease the backstays and the masthead, having
first nailed the flag to it.
In a short time the boat returned with a petty officer, whose
instructions were, if the master of the DOTTEREL did not lower the
flag, he was to send one of his men aloft to do so. “All right,” said
Captain Dobson. “I shan’t pull my flag down; you can do what you
please.” The officer turned to his men and gave his orders. One tar
after another tried to shin up the mast without success, and after
several attempts the officer had to return and report the failure of
his mission, and the DOTTEREL proceeded to sea.[24]
The commander of the man-of-war having reported to the Admiralty, a
correspondence ensued between that Department of the Government and
the Cork Steamship Co., resulting in the Company placing a blue star
in the centre of the St. George’s Cross on a white ensign, which now
constitutes the distinguishing house-flag of that Company.
In 1871 the business of the Cork Steamship Co. had increased to such
an extent, it was considered desirable to separate the coasting from
the foreign services, and to form two distinct companies. This was
accordingly done, the former being registered under the title of the
City of Cork Steam Packet Co., Ltd., and the latter under the style
of the Cork Steamship Co., Ltd. Mr. Ebenezer Pike died in the year
1883, and was succeeded by his son, Mr. Joseph Pike, of Dunsland, co.
Cork, as Chairman and Managing Director of the Company.
When the Manchester Ship Canal was opened in 1894, one of the first
foreign trading steamers to pass through the canal was the IBIS,
belonging to the Cork Steamship Co. The Cork Steamship Co.’s steamer
LESTRIS was the first steamer to enter Flushing Docks on the 8th
September, 1873, being locked in with the King of Holland’s yacht.
[Illustration: Mr. JOSEPH PIKE, J.P., D.L., Chairman Cork Steamship
Co.]
The later years of the Company have been unproductive of historical
incidents, perhaps not altogether to the regret of the shareholders.
The older steamers have been disposed of from time to time, and
replaced by modern steamers of larger tonnage and greater power.
Instead of steamers of 500 to 600 tons, the fleet at the present time
(1903) consists of 16 powerful vessels, varying from 1,000 to 2,400
tons.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] Another account which bears the stamp of authority states that
Captain Dobson did not carry off his flag in the manner stated. He
lowered it under protest, and it was carried on board the man-of-war,
but afterwards returned to the Company, and is now retained at the
Head Office, Cork.
CHAPTER IX.
THE CUNARD STEAMSHIP COMPANY, LIMITED.
It seems incredible that less than three-quarters of a century
ago steamers were unknown on the Atlantic. The mail-boats of that
date were wretched old Government 10-gun “coffin brigs,” slow and
uncertain in their passages. But there were men, even in those
days, who dreamed of a time to come when steamers should cross the
ocean with the regularity, though not with the speed, of railway
trains. Amongst these enthusiasts was Mr. Samuel Cunard, a shipowner
of Halifax, Nova Scotia. For years he had striven to realise his
idea, but not having sufficient capital of his own, and not being
able to induce his friends to invest in his enterprise, he had to
wait his opportunity. At last the long-waited-for opportunity came,
and he seized it. The British Admiralty issued a circular stating
that the mails would be transferred to a steam packet service, if a
satisfactory tender were sent in. When this circular came into the
hands of Mr. Cunard he again appealed to the merchants of Halifax
and others for assistance; and being unsuccessful in his application
he came to Britain and fortunately became acquainted with Mr. R.
Napier. Mr. Napier introduced him to Mr. George Burns who, in his
turn, introduced him to Mr. David MacIver, of Liverpool. In the
course of a few days, chiefly through the influence of Mr. Burns,
the requisite capital, £270,000, was obtained, and soon afterwards a
contract for seven years between the Government and Samuel Cunard,
George Burns and David MacIver was signed, and the Cunard Steamship
Co. was launched. Before their arrangements were finally adjusted,
the Admiralty re-modelled the agreement, requiring that the service
should be performed by four suitable steamers (instead of three,
as originally stated), and that fixed dates of sailing should
be adhered to, but in consideration of the increased services the
subsidy was raised from £60,000 to £81,000.
[Illustration: R.M.S. CAMPANIA (Cunard Steamship Company) at
Liverpool Landing Stage.]
The official title of the Company was “The British and North American
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.,” but this unwieldy title soon gave place
to one of world-wide reputation, “The Cunard Line.”
The first steamer despatched by the co-partnery was one of Messrs.
Burns’ Liverpool and Glasgow steamers, the UNICORN. She sailed from
Liverpool for Halifax and Boston, under the command of Captain
Douglas, on Saturday morning, 16th May, 1840. She carried the mails
and a limited number of saloon passengers, the passage rates being—to
Halifax £30, to Boston £33 each. The BRITANNIA, the pioneer steamer
of the British and North American Steam Packet Co., was despatched
on the 4th July, 1840, being the first of four wooden paddle-wheel
steamships, the others being the ACADIA, CALEDONIA and COLUMBIA.
These vessels were uniform in size and power, being 207 feet long,
34 feet 4 inches broad, and 22 feet 6 inches deep. Their gross
tonnage was 1,154 tons, and their engines of 740 I.H.P. drove them
at an average speed of 8½ knots per hour. The reception given to the
BRITANNIA on the termination of her maiden voyage by the citizens of
Boston was most enthusiastic. Nor was the goodwill of the merchants
confined to banquets and complimentary speeches for, when the
BRITANNIA was ice-bound in Boston Harbour, in February, 1844, they
liberated her by cutting a canal through the ice, seven miles long
and 100 feet wide.
[Illustration: EUROPA and AMERICA. Cunard Steamship Co.]
In 1843 the Company added to their fleet the HIBERNIA, and in 1845
the CAMBRIA, each of 1,040 I.H.P. and of 1,422 tons gross, with an
average speed of 9¼ knots. On the expiration of the Postal Contract
the Government stipulated that the existing mail service should
be doubled, that the steamers of the Company should be capable of
carrying guns of the largest calibre, and that a steamer should
leave Liverpool every Saturday (calling at Holyhead if required)
for New York and Boston alternately; the Boston steamer to call at
Halifax, and the New York steamer to do so also, if required by the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. In consideration of these
augmented services the annual subsidy was increased to £173,340, at
which figure it remained for twenty years (1847 to 1867). To meet
the new requirements, the AMERICA, NIAGARA, CANADA and EUROPA, of
1,825 tons, and 2,000 I.H.P., with an average speed of ten and a
quarter knots, were built and added to the fleet. A few years later
the Collins Line, heavily subsidised, was started with the avowed
object of “sweeping the Cunarders off the Atlantic.” This opposition
lasted until 1858, when, having lost two ships, and being refused
any further subsidy by the United States Government, the Collins
Company collapsed, and the remaining ships were withdrawn. During the
continuance of this opposition the Cunard Company added steadily to
their fleet larger and more powerful steamers. The ASIA and AFRICA
were built in 1850, and were each 266 feet by 40 feet by 27·2 feet,
of 2,226 tons gross, with engines of 2,400 I.H.P., and of an average
speed of 12·5 knots. These were followed in 1852 by the ARABIA, the
last of the wooden paddle steamers. She was 285 feet long, 40 feet
8 inches broad, and 29 feet deep. Her engines indicated 3,250 H.P.,
and her average speed was 13 knots per hour. Three years later, 1855,
the first iron mail steamship was built for the Cunard Company. She
was named the PERSIA, and was nearly one hundred feet longer than the
largest of her predecessors. Her principal dimensions were—Length 376
feet, breadth 45 feet 3 inches, depth 31 feet 6 inches. Her gross
tonnage was 4,000 tons, and her engines indicated 4,000 H.P., giving
a speed of 13·8 knots per hour. In 1853 the Company established
(primarily as auxiliaries to their Atlantic service) branch lines
between Liverpool and Havre, and Liverpool and the principal ports in
the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Levant, Bosphorus, and Black Sea. For
these branch lines the screw steamers SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN, ANDES and
ALPS were built in 1852, followed by the JURA in 1854 and the ETNA
in 1855. War having been declared against Russia the four last-named
steamers, in addition to the CAMBRIA, NIAGARA, EUROPA and ARABIA,
were engaged by the Government as troopships. The Cunard Company had
in 1854 purchased the steamer EMEU, and she was immediately chartered
to the Government. The EMEU was the first troopship to arrive out
at the commencement of the Crimean War, and in the seventeen months
following she conveyed upwards of 17,000 troops to the Crimea. A few
years later (1862) the famous SCOTIA (the last of the paddle-wheel
steamers) was built. In 1878 she was sold to the Telegraph
Construction Company, who converted her into a screw steamer. The
same year (1862) the Cunard Company ordered their first screw steamer
for the Atlantic trade. This was the CHINA S.S., now converted into
a four-masted barque and named the THEODOR. She was followed in 1864
by the CUBA, in 1865 by the JAVA, and in 1867 by the RUSSIA, of 2,960
tons gross and 3,100 I.H.P. After sailing for many years under the
Cunard Flag, the RUSSIA was sold to the “American Line.” Her new
owners lengthened her, gave her a fourth mast, and altered her name
to the WAESLAND. She finally sank off Holyhead, after colliding with
the S.S. HARMONIDES, on the 5th March, 1902.
[Illustration: SCOTIA. Cunard Steamship Co.]
The Company’s Postal Contract having expired on the 31st December,
1867, a new contract was entered into with the Postmaster-General for
one year, whereby the Cunard Company undertook to despatch a steamer
from Liverpool to New York, calling at Queenstown, returning from
New York every Wednesday, also calling at Queenstown. The payment
for this service was £80,000, which sum was further reduced the
following year to £70,000 per annum for several years. Under the last
contract, which was for the period named, the Company guaranteed
to sail a steamer from Liverpool (calling at Queenstown) to Boston
every Tuesday, in addition to the mail service from Liverpool to New
York every Saturday. The last-mentioned contract expired on the 31st
December, 1876, on which date a new system of postal remuneration
came into operation based on the amount of correspondence carried
per voyage, under which system the Cunard Company has carried the
mails to the present time. It will thus be seen that the continuity
of their mail service has continued unbroken for upwards of sixty
years. The invention of compound engines was the latest evolution of
marine engineering engaging attention in 1869-70. The Directors of
the Cunard Company quickly realised that the saving effected by the
use of compound engines was so considerable, without reduction of
speed, that their adoption was an imperative necessity. This decision
was arrived at too late to furnish with the new style of engines the
ABYSSINIA and ALGERIA, each of about 3,300 tons and 2,480 I.H.P.,
just completed by Messrs. J. & G. Thomson, and placed on the New
York station; but the BATAVIA, then on the stocks to the order of
another company, was purchased and supplied with machinery on the
new principle; and an order was given to the same builders (Messrs.
Denny, Dumbarton) for a similar vessel of rather larger tonnage to
be named the PARTHIA. A further extension of the Company’s business
took place in 1872, by the establishment of a direct line of steamers
between the Clyde and the West Indies. The TRINIDAD and the DEMERARA,
two sister ships of about 2,000 tons each, were built that year,
and placed on the station, but after about twelve months’ trading
they were withdrawn, and sent to supplement the Company’s service
in the Mediterranean. During the succeeding six years the fleet was
increased by the addition of seven large steamers, all fitted with
compound engines, the last and largest of which was the GALLIA, of
4,809 tons and 5,300 I.H.P.
[Illustration: RUSSIA. Cunard Steamship Co.]
In 1878 it was considered expedient to consolidate the interests
of the partners by registering the Company under the Limited
Liability Acts, and a Joint Stock Company was formed with a capital
of £2,000,000, of which £1,200,000 was issued and taken up by the
families of Cunard, Burns and MacIver. No shares were offered to the
public until 1880, when a prospectus was issued intimating that “it
was now proposed to issue the balance of the capital.” The available
shares were rapidly subscribed for, the representatives of the three
founders retaining a large financial interest in the Company. About
this period steel was engaging the attention of shipbuilders as a
substitute for iron. The Cunard Directors were so convinced of the
superiority of the former, especially where speed was a desideratum,
that they ordered a steel steamship from Messrs. J. & G. Thomson,
to be larger and more powerful than any steamer previously built,
the GREAT EASTERN alone excepted. This monster vessel, which was
named the SERVIA, was completed in 1881. Her dimensions were—Length
515 feet, breadth 52-1/10 feet, depth 37 feet. Her gross tonnage
was 7,392. Her engines were compound—with seven steel boilers—and
developed 10,000 I.H.P., producing a speed of 17 knots per hour.
She was fitted in the most substantial and beautiful manner for the
accommodation of 480 cabin and 750 steerage passengers, and embodied
all the most modern appliances conducive to comfort and safety. She
was the first of the Cunard Fleet to be equipped with incandescent
electric lamps. The same year, the CATALONIA, 4,841 tons and 3,200
I.H.P., was built for the Boston service, and two more for the same
service in the following year. These were the PAVONIA, of 5,587
tons and 4,000 I.H.P., built by Messrs. J. & G. Thomson; and the
CEPHALONIA, 5,517 tons and 4,000 I.H.P., by Messrs. Laird Brothers,
Birkenhead.
A second steel steamship was built in 1883 for the New York Mail
Service. This was the AURANIA, built by Messrs. J. & G. Thomson,
and her dimensions are 470 feet by 57-2/10 feet by 37-2/10 feet.
Her tonnage is 7,269, and she is fitted with compound engines of
9,500 I.H.P., and attaining a speed of 17½ knots per hour. She was
taken up by the Government as a transport in October, 1899, and
so valuable did she prove for this service that she was retained
until the early part of 1903. In 1884 the Directors purchased the
celebrated iron steamship OREGON, built by Messrs. John Elder & Co.
She was 501 feet by 54-2/10 feet by 38 feet, and of 7,375 tons and
13,500 I.H.P.; speed 18 knots per hour. On her first and second
voyage she did not distinguish herself, but on her third voyage she
made the passage from Queenstown to New York in 6 days 10 hours 9
minutes, thereby excelling all previous records, and earning for
herself the title of “The Greyhound of the Atlantic.” Towards the
close of 1884 the UMBRIA—the first of two steel steamships ordered
from Messrs. Elder—was delivered, and she was followed early in 1885
by her sister ship the ETRURIA. The following description of the
ETRURIA applies also to the UMBRIA: Length 501-6/10 feet by 57-2/10
feet by 38-2/10 feet; gross tonnage 7,718 tons. The promenade deck,
which extends over the full breadth of the ship for nearly 300
feet amidships, is reserved for the sole use of the first-class
passengers. The vessel easily accommodates 550 first-class passengers
and 800 third-class. The state rooms are replete with all the
fittings usual in first-class vessels of the most modern type, and
a number of them are arranged en suite for family use. The hull is
divided into ten watertight compartments, and most of the bulkheads
are carried to the upper deck, while they are fitted with waterproof
and fireproof doors, which afford access to all parts of the ship.
The engines indicate 14,500 H.P., and are compound, having three
inverted cylinders—one high-pressure 71 in. in diameter and two
low-pressure, each 105 in. in diameter. The average speed of both
steamers may be set down at 18½ knots per hour. The fastest passage
of the ETRURIA was when she established a new record by making the
passage from Queenstown to New York in 5 days 20 hours 55 minutes,
the UMBRIA’s best record being 5 days 22 hours 7 minutes. The next
important addition to the fleet was the CAMPANIA, launched from the
yard of the Fairfield Shipbuilding Co., Govan, on the 8th September,
1892. Five months later—February, 1893—there was launched from the
same yard her sister ship the LUCANIA. From the official description
of the CAMPANIA, it appears that her length over all is 620 feet,
extreme breadth 65 feet 3 inches, depth from upper deck 43 feet,
gross tonnage 12,950 tons. The bulkheads are sixteen in number, and
they will enable the vessel to float with any two, or in some cases
three, of the compartments open to the sea. Although fitted with
twin screws, there is an aperture in the stern frame similar to that
in a single screw steamer. This is provided that the propellers may
work freely, though they are fitted close to the centre line of the
ship, in order to prevent damage to or from the quay walls. In the
accommodation for passengers all the latest improvements are to be
found, and everything calculated to render ocean travelling more
comfortable and enjoyable is introduced. The grand saloon, drawing
room, library and smoking rooms are noble in their proportions, and
suggest the stately chambers of a palace rather than accommodation
within the steel walls of a ship. It is worthy of special notice
that comfort has been studied in every detail, and perhaps nothing
exemplifies this more than the fact that in all the principal rooms
there are coal fire-grates, the first that have ever been used on
board ship. There are four sets of generating plant, capable of
supplying throughout the ship 1,350 16-candle power incandescent
electric light, and in addition a powerful searchlight, for
facilitating the navigation into port, &c. Wire to the length of 40
miles runs through the ship. The grand saloon is a magnificent hall
in the modified Italian style, 100 feet long by 63 feet broad, with
seats at table for 430 passengers. In the centre, a great crystal
dome rises through the two decks above to a height of 33 feet.
[Illustration: R.M.S. ETRURIA. Cunard Steamship Company.]
Three classes of passengers are carried by the CAMPANIA, viz., first,
second and third class; and roughly speaking there is accommodation
for about 1,400 passengers and 400 crew. While the hulls of both
vessels are almost unrivalled in size and in the accommodation they
afford, the machinery by which they are propelled is almost unique in
magnitude and skill in construction. The two sets of triple-expansion
engines in each ship develop the enormous amount of 30,000 I.H.P. The
funnels of the CAMPANIA and LUCANIA from their lowest section are 120
feet high, or about the height of the Eddystone Lighthouse, and their
diameter 20 feet.
The CAMPANIA has maintained an average speed for twelve months, on
her eastward runs, of 21·88 knots per hour, while the LUCANIA for the
same period shows an average speed of 22·01 knots. The Mediterranean
service has within the last few years been greatly improved by the
addition of four new steel steamships, each of about 3,000 tons
burthen. These are the PAVIA (1897), TYRIA (1897), CYPRIA (1898)
and VERIA (1899). The Boston service also comprises the following
modern steel twin-screw steamships:—IVERNIA and SAXONIA, built in
1900, the ULTONIA in 1898, and the SYLVANIA in 1895. The IVERNIA and
SAXONIA are practically alike, and call for some special notice. They
are the largest ships carrying passengers and cargo to Boston. The
principal dimensions of the ships are—Length 600 feet, beam 64 feet 3
inches and depth 41 feet 6 inches. The gross tonnage is 14,027 tons,
measurement capacity 20,000 tons, while the displacement is no less
than 25,000 tons. In their ordinary work across the Atlantic they
carry 200 first, 220 second, and about 1,900 third-class passengers.
If engaged in trooping, each ship could carry 200 officers and
3,500 men, together with 10,000 tons of stores. The features of the
ships, next to their huge size, are the spaciousness and comfort of
their passenger accommodation and their steadiness, which is most
remarkable, and which makes sea sickness almost impossible. Aerial
telegraphy is in regular operation on board these two vessels. The
Cunard was the first steamship company to systematically adopt this
latest development of electrical science. It was in the LUCANIA
that Mr. Marconi’s system was first set up, and so pleased were the
Directors with the results that they at once decided to adopt the
invention in their other steamers, the CAMPANIA, LUCANIA, ETRURIA,
UMBRIA, CARPATHIA, AURANIA, IVERNIA and SAXONIA all being now thus
equipped.
[Illustration: R.M.S. LUCANIA. Cunard Steamship Co.]
In October, 1903, the LUCANIA was the medium selected by the inventor
for further experiments in wireless telegraphy, and on the voyage
from New York to Liverpool completed on October 10th, Signor Marconi
successfully accomplished a wonderful feat, and a newspaper with
real news fresh from the Marconi stations at Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia, and Poldhu, Cornwall, was published every day. Messages were
transmitted over a distance of 2,000 miles as accurately as over the
same number of feet or yards, so that passengers on board the LUCANIA
had their printed newspaper, the “Cunard Bulletin,” every day of the
voyage, containing the most interesting events on both continents.
Just before arrival in Liverpool a larger edition of the “Cunard
Bulletin,” a weekly issue, was printed giving an epitome of the news
recorded in the six daily publications during the voyage, and marking
a fresh era in oceanic journalism.
The CARPATHIA, the latest addition to the Cunard fleet, represents
a new departure in Atlantic trade, being designed exclusively for
second and third-class passengers, all of whom are accommodated in
rooms containing two and four berths. The dimensions of the CARPATHIA
are—Length 560 feet, breadth 64 feet 3 inches, depth 40 feet 6
inches, and the gross tonnage is 13,555 tons. She started on her
maiden voyage May 5th, 1903, and being built on similar lines to the
IVERNIA and SAXONIA shares their reputation for remarkable steadiness
at sea even in the stormiest weather.
A recent item of interest in connection with this famous company is
the agreement made in August, 1903, with the British Government,
by which the Cunard Company are to build two new steamers of an
average speed of not less than 24½ knots, which, along with all
other Cunard ships, are to be at the disposal of the Admiralty for
hire or purchase whenever they may be required. To help them in
this undertaking, such fast ships being unprofitable for commercial
purposes, the Government lend the Company £2,600,000 to build the
ships, and grant them a subsidy of £150,000 a year.
In October, 1903, the Cunard Company started a new Winter Passenger
Service from New York to the Mediterranean ports, calling at
Gibraltar, Algiers, Naples, Palermo, Venice, Trieste and Fiume. The
AURANIA and CARPATHIA, carrying only two classes of passengers,
were chosen for this new service, which opens up a round of most
interesting travel to the great travelling public of moderate means.
Passengers by these steamers may land at any of the ports named and
visit at leisure places of interest in Spain, France, Italy, Germany,
Sicily, Austria or Hungary, continuing their journey overland to
England to return to New York by Cunard steamer from Liverpool; or,
if they prefer to do so, they may remain in the ship all the time
and return in her to New York; or, as a third course, they may make
a stay in any of the countries named and rejoin a subsequent Cunard
Mediterranean ship at any of her calling ports.
CHAPTER X.
HOUSTON LINE.
This well-known line of steamers was established about a quarter of
a century ago by the present senior partner of the firm, Mr. R. P.
Houston, Member of Parliament for the Toxteth Division of Liverpool.
Like many other undertakings which have grown to gigantic dimensions
from small beginnings, this firm started in a modest manner with one
small steamer. This was the steamer ATHLETE, followed in the year
1881 by a larger steamer, the HERCULES, built by the Whitehaven Ship
Building Co., and engined by Messrs. J. Jones & Sons, of Liverpool.
She was a vessel of 742 tons net register, and 1,155 tons gross
register, her principal dimensions being, length 212 feet, beam 34
feet and depth 16 feet 6 inches. Her engines, which were of 150
nominal horse-power, were compound. These two vessels were not
engaged in any regular trade, but ran wherever profitable freights
could be obtained, and chiefly to Java and Eastern ports. Becoming
too small for Messrs. Houston’s requirements, they were sold. All the
succeeding vessels of the fleet, of which there have been a great
many, have been named after Greek mythological deities or Roman
celebrities, each name beginning with the letter “H.”
Although already very busily engaged with large contracts for the
conveyance of material to the Panama Canal Co., and the West African
Co., Mr. Houston, believing there was ample room for a new line of
steamers to the River Plate from Liverpool, decided to enter upon
that trade in the year 1884. New steamers were designed and built
specially for this trade, and so energetically and successfully was
the trade worked that, although severe opposition was encountered
at first from the existing lines, in a short time not only were
Messrs. Houston’s steamers fully occupied, but many steamers had to
be chartered to meet the rapidly increasing traffic, since which time
the Houston Line has assumed very large proportions.
[Illustration: HYDASPES S.S. Houston Line.]
The first steamer engaged in this trade was the HERMES, built on the
Clyde in 1882, and engined by Messrs. J. Jones and Son, Liverpool.
She was a much larger vessel than the HERCULES, her gross register
being 2,175 tons, and her principal dimensions 290 feet in length by
40 feet beam and 22 feet depth.
After a short interval more steamers, each of about 2,000 tons
gross, were added to the fleet in 1884. These were the HELLENES,
built by Richardson, Duck & Co., and engined by G. Clark, of
Sunderland—length 270 feet, beam 40 feet, and depth 18 feet 7 inches;
and the HESPERIDES, built by R. & J. Evans & Co., and engined by
George Forrester & Co., Liverpool—length 286 feet, beam 38 feet, and
depth 24 feet. The following year (1885) a larger boat than any yet
built for the firm was added to the fleet. This was the HELIADES,
built by Richardson, Duck & Co., Stockton. She was 320 feet long,
and of proportionate beam and depth. Her gross register was about
3,000 tons, and she was fitted with triple-expansion engines by T.
Richardson & Co., of West Hartlepool, with which class of engines all
the succeeding steamers have been fitted. A sister ship, but having
more powerful engines, the HERACLIDES was launched for the firm in
July, 1886. She was followed in 1889 by the HIPPOMENES, built at
Belfast by Workman, Clark & Co., and the HYDARNES and the HELLOPES,
built at Port Glasgow by J. Reid & Co. These steamers, like their
immediate predecessors, were each of about 3,000 tons gross register,
and were all practically of the same dimensions. The whole of these
four steamers are fitted with refrigerators for the carriage of
frozen meat from the River Plate.
Mr. Alfred S. Collard, a gentleman with a large and varied experience
in the River Plate trade, and one thoroughly conversant with the
working and requirements of an important steamship line, joined Mr.
Houston as partner in 1893.
During the closing years of the last and beginning of the present
century the quantity of railway rolling stock and plant for shipment
to the River Plate was so great that it was not an uncommon event
for the Brunswick Station of the Cheshire Lines Railway to be almost
entirely blocked with wagons of railway material consigned for
shipment by the Houston Line. So large were some of these packages,
they could only be brought through from the manufacturers on Sunday,
it being impossible to convey them on the railway while the ordinary
traffic was being carried on. In 1898 Messrs. Russell & Co., of Port
Glasgow, built two sister ships of over 3,500 tons gross register for
Messrs. Houston. These were the HERMINIUS and the HORATIUS.
The year 1899 was an important one in the firm’s history. In that
year the trade between New York and the River Plate was entered, and
since that time a regular service has been maintained, the pioneer
steamer being the HERMES (the second of that name). She was a steel
built steamer of 3,400 tons gross, driven by triple expansion engines
of about 2,500 horse-power effective. She was launched at Sunderland
in January, 1899, and is of the following dimensions:—Length 350 feet
2 inches, beam 47 feet, depth 17 feet. She was the first of a fleet
of seven similar vessels which were launched to the order of the
firm during the course of that year, the others being the HONORIUS,
HORTENSIUS, HYADES, HYDASPES, HYLAS, and the HYANTHES.
The following year, the last of the 19th century, saw one more
steamer, the HOSTILIUS, added to the Line.
Frequent as were the additions to the Houston Fleet, they were not
sufficient to keep pace with the expanding trade, which increased
so rapidly that many outside steamers had to be chartered. When
ex-President Kruger sent his fateful ultimatum to the British
Government, which resulted in the South African War, Messrs. Houston
& Co. were amongst the first to offer their steamers to the
Admiralty for the conveyance of troops, horses, mules, fodder, &c. It
was of the greatest importance that ships should be fitted up for the
transit of troops and animals for transport purposes as quickly as
possible, and this was carried out by the Houston Line with eminent
satisfaction to H.M. Government. The principals and the staff worked
night and day, and spared no efforts in despatching quickly the men,
horses and stores so urgently required at the seat of war. Large
numbers of horses, mules and stores were carried by the Houston
steamers from the United Kingdom, the Continent and the United States
to the various South African ports with a gratifying immunity from
loss.
It may be stated here that the senior partner of the firm is an
expert engineer, and that all the steamers built for his firm, and
which have been so remarkably successful, have been built from
specifications and designs drawn up by him.
As has been stated, many of the steamers are fitted with
refrigerating machinery for the conveyance of frozen meat, and are
regularly employed in this trade. These steamers are favourably known
for the excellent condition in which they deliver their cargoes,
and in order that the live stock should be landed in the very best
possible condition, the steamers were fitted up with permanent cattle
fittings, and made in every way suitable for successfully carrying
live stock.
The Houston Line River Plate steamers take cargo from Glasgow,
Liverpool and New York for Monte Video, Buenos Ayres, Rosario, &c.,
without transhipment, which is a very important matter in the opinion
of shippers.
It is a matter of common knowledge that a very serious fight is
being waged (1903) in the South African shipping trade, owing to
the entrance therein of the Houston Line. In July, 1902, sailings
from Glasgow, Middlesbrough, Bristol, Liverpool and London (as well
as from New York) to Cape Town, Algoa Bay, East London, Durban and
Delagoa Bay were announced by the Messrs. Houston. The Steamship
Lines then engaged in the trade had formed a Conference or “ring.”
The members of this “ring” are the Union-Castle Line, the Clan Line,
the Bucknall Line, the Harrison-Ellerman Line, J. T. Rennie & Co.,
and Bullard, King & Co., forming the strongest shipping ring ever
known. It is this shipping “ring” that the Houston Line is opposing.
Great public interest in the struggle has been excited by the many
angry and strongly worded letters from shippers which have been
published from time to time in the current Press regarding the _modus
operandi_ of the “ring.” Tactics of such a character have been
adopted by the “ring” as will, we understand, form a subject of an
action in the Courts of Law, as they have already provoked discussion
and protest in various Chambers of Commerce, and have even been
discussed in the House of Commons.
From present appearances the Houston Line is growing steadily in
favour of shippers to the Cape ports, and having now been in the
trade for over twelve months it must have secured a firm foothold.
Certainly shippers and merchants generally welcome and support this
“Line” as having a beneficial influence upon the trade between this
country and our South African Colonies.
The latest built and largest steamers of the fleet are engaged in the
Cape service. Amongst them are HYACINTHUS, HALIZONES, HYDASPES and
HYPATIA, with an average dead weight carrying capacity of about 9,000
tons each.
We understand several large carrying steamers are in course of
construction for the firm.
As showing the great increase in the size of the firm’s vessels, it
may be interesting to compare the dimensions of one of the earliest
and of one of the latest built ships.
The HERCULES was 212 feet long, 34 feet broad and 16 feet 6 inches
deep.
The HYPATIA is 452 feet long, 52 feet 2 inches broad, and 28 feet 3
inches deep.
The gross registered tonnage of the former was 1,155 tons, while that
of the latter is over 5,600 tons.
The growth of the Houston Line has been a remarkably rapid one, and
shows what ability and energy combined can do.
The fleet now consists of 25 steamers of a gross registered tonnage
of over 90,000 tons, and with a dead weight carrying capacity of over
130,000 tons.
HOUSTON LINE STEAMERS.
HALIZONES.
HARMODIUS.
HARMONIDES.
HELIADES.
HELIOS.
HELLENES.
HELLOPES.
HERACLIDES.
HERMINIUS.
HERMIONE.
HESIONE.
HESPERIDES.
HILARIUS.
HIPPOMENES.
HONORIUS.
HORATIUS.
HORTENSIUS.
HOSTILIUS.
HYACINTHUS.
HYADES.
HYANTHES.
HYDASPES.
HYLAS.
HYPATIA.
HYPERIA.
[Illustration: Lighthouse]
[Illustration: OSWESTRY GRANGE. Houlder Bros. & Co.]
CHAPTER XI.
HOULDER LINE.
The Company was founded by the late Mr. Edwin Savory Houlder in
London in 1849, and he was subsequently joined by his brothers
Messrs. Alfred and Augustus Houlder. At first the business was
confined to sailing-ships, a fleet of Clipper Packets sailing
under the firm’s flag between the home ports and Australia being
established. As the business increased, the firm became in turn
interested in the South African and South American Trades, the
development of their steam fleet receiving a large amount of
attention, until, at the present time, it includes some of the
largest and most successful frozen meat carriers afloat.
The principal services now maintained are between the United Kingdom
and South America, between South America and the Cape ports, between
Australia and New Zealand and the Cape ports, and from New York to
Australia and New Zealand, although many other trades of the world
claim the Company’s attention and for these trades a large amount of
tonnage is chartered annually.
The Headquarters are in London, with Branches at Liverpool, Glasgow,
Sydney, N.S.W., Cape Town and Buenos Aires; also sub-offices at
Rosario and La Plata.
With one exception, the steamers of the Fleet are distinguished
by the affix GRANGE. The first were the HORNBY GRANGE (3,750 tons
burthen) and OVINGDEAN GRANGE (3,520 tons burthen), launched in the
opening months of 1890, both vessels being insulated throughout for
carrying frozen meat, as are all the other steamers of the Line. They
were followed in 1894 by the URMSTON GRANGE, designed to carry 5,420
tons. In 1896 two important additions were made in the shape of the
steamers LANGTON GRANGE and DENTON GRANGE, each having a deadweight
capacity of 9,200 tons, and like the earlier steamers insulated in
the most efficient manner for carrying frozen meat. In the meantime
two more steamers were acquired, the ELSTREE GRANGE and the SOUTHERN
CROSS, the latter being placed in the Australian trade in company
with the LANGTON GRANGE and DENTON GRANGE, whilst the former was
taken into the River Plate service which had grown to such an extent
as to justify the addition of two further vessels, larger and faster
than any of the earlier ships in the trade. These were the ROYSTON
GRANGE and BEACON GRANGE, each 6,400 tons burthen, and capable of
making the passage between England and the River Plate in twenty-two
or twenty-three days.
[Illustration: BEACON GRANGE. Houlder Bros. & Co.]
For the Australian trade the RIPPINGHAM GRANGE, a sister ship to the
LANGTON GRANGE, was added in 1898.
At this juncture, the various steamers comprising the fleet were
amalgamated into one Company under the name of the Houlder Line,
Limited, this step being taken in order to consolidate the business
generally, and to ensure more systematic and economical working.
Previous to this, however, the firm of Houlder Bros. & Co. was
converted into a Limited Company, the partners in the old firm
becoming Managing Directors of the new Company, Mr. Edwin Savory
Houlder acting as Chairman until his death in 1901.
To return to our description of the fleet. To replace the DENTON
GRANGE (unfortunately lost at Las Palmas) the Company contracted for
the DRAYTON GRANGE, a fine four-masted, twin-screw steamer of 10,000
tons burthen, launched in December, 1901, and also for a sister ship,
the OSWESTRY GRANGE, launched a few months later. Both of these
steamers, and, in fact, the other large vessels of the fleet, did
excellent service during the South African War.
[Illustration: HORNBY GRANGE. Houlder Bros. & Co.]
The fleet, at the present time, consists of fourteen steamers, three
boats having been added since the launch of the OSWESTRY GRANGE, as
the following list will show:—
TONS BURTHEN.
Hornby Grange 3,750
Ovingdean Grange 3,520
Urmston Grange 5,420
Langton Grange 9,200
*Drayton Grange 10,000
Elstree Grange 6,000
Royston Grange 6,400
Beacon Grange 6,400
Rippingham Grange 9,200
*Oswestry Grange 10,000
Thorpe Grange 6,350
Haversham Grange 11,200
*Everton Grange 11,000
Southern Cross 7,300
* Twin screw.
giving a total of 105,740 tons.
It is interesting to compare the smallest vessel, the OVINGDEAN
GRANGE, with the largest and most recent, the EVERTON GRANGE, the
difference being not only in the increased size but also in the great
improvements in the propelling machinery, refrigerating machinery,
passenger accommodation, appliances for handling cargo and other
points too numerous to mention in detail:—
LENGTH. BEAM. DEPTH. TONS.
OVINGDEAN GRANGE 309 ft. 40 ft. 21 ft. 4 in. 3,520
EVERTON GRANGE 490 ft. 56 ft. 35 ft. 6 in. 11,000
Special provision has been made for the Company’s passenger service,
the boats being provided with every requisite to make a long sea
voyage as comfortable as possible.
[Illustration: New Brighton Lighthouse River Mersey]
[Illustration: ROSE S.S. 1363 Tons. Messrs. Alex. A. Laird & Co.]
CHAPTER XII.
LAIRD LINE.
THE GLASGOW, DUBLIN, AND LONDONDERRY STEAM PACKET CO., LTD.
This important company, which claims (on very strong evidence) to be
the oldest steamship company in the world, was originated in 1814—two
years after the launch of Bell’s COMET—by Mr. Lewis MacLellan and
others. Its history is a most varied one, the several firms of Alex.
A. Laird & Sons, Thos. Cameron & Co., and MacConnell & Laird, having
become unified during its existence of nearly a century into the one
large concern known throughout the kingdom as the “Laird Line.”
It has been the great pioneer of the steamship trade of the Clyde,
not merely by reason of its long standing, but also because of the
varied and extensive sphere of its operations.
The first steamer owned by the founder of the company was the
BRITANNIA, a small paddle-wheel steampacket, built, like all the
vessels of her time, of wood.
The second steampacket was the WATERLOO, built in 1816. A reference
is made to both these steamers in the sixth chapter of the first
part of this volume. They plied between the Bromielaw (Glasgow) and
Greenock, Gourock, Rothesay, Tarbert, Lochgilphead, and Inverary.
Even in these early days of steam navigation, it was the avowed
policy of the manager of these steampackets to make all things
subordinate to safety, and, in accordance with this policy, the
masters of the steamers were instructed “not to contend with other
boats so as to endanger the vessels, or alarm the passengers,” This
sound policy, which has been continued by Mr. MacLellan’s successors
to the present day, has, in large measure, contributed to the
popularity and success of the firm.
It is interesting to note that over eighty years ago passenger season
tickets were in force on the steampackets of this company. Those who
are desirous of verifying this statement can do so by referring to
the “Glasgow Chronicle” of the 23rd May, 1816, in which they will
find the following advertisement:—
“The steampackets, BRITANNIA and WATERLOO, sail regularly from the
Bromielaw to all the watering-places on both sides of the Clyde.
Families wishing to agree for the season will learn the terms
by applying to the masters on board, or to Mr. Lewis MacLellan,
Gallowgate.”
The BRITANNIA, in the year referred to, opened up for the first time,
steam communication between Glasgow and Campbeltown, and in the early
summer of 1820, she made her first trip from Glasgow to the Giant’s
Causeway.
She was commanded on that voyage by Captain Wyse, whose death in 1851
was the occasion of the following paragraph, which appeared in the
“Glasgow Chronicle”:—
“Captain Wyse (whose decease we announce) was the first to carry
his steamer, the BRITANNIA, on a pleasure trip from the Clyde to
the Giant’s Causeway, with an illustrious and distinguished party.
The astonished inhabitants in thousands crowded the hills and
promontories, all along the shores of Antrim, to see a ship with a
smoking funnel, and a band of music on board, sailing against wind
and tide. Out of this pleasure trip sprung up the present lucrative
trade between the ports of the Clyde and the North of Ireland,
from which great advantages have unquestionably arisen to the
inhabitants of both kingdoms.”
As time advanced, the river traffic was discontinued by the Company,
and the cross-channel trade developed. After running excursions to
the Giant’s Causeway for two seasons, the BRITANNIA was placed on the
Glasgow and Londonderry station, sailing from each port once a week.
Mr. Alex. A. Laird (after whom the line is named) was a well-known
shipbroker in Greenock at the beginning of the last century, and
when the famous St. George Steam Packet Company commenced operations
in 1822, the first steamship service it established was between
Liverpool and Greenock, and Mr. Laird was appointed agent for the
Company at the latter port.
The St. George Company did not continue for any length of time its
direct service between the Clyde and the Mersey, but in the following
year (1823) a new steam packet company was formed, to trade only
between Liverpool, Greenock and Glasgow, calling at Douglas (Isle of
Man) and Portpatrick. Mr. Laird was the manager of the new company,
and opened a branch office at 25, York Street, Glasgow, under the
style of Alex. Laird & Co.
The pioneer steamer of the new service was the HENRY BELL, built by
Mr. Thomas Wilson, a celebrated Liverpool shipbuilder, in 1823. She
was considered a very smart craft in those days, was fitted with
two engines of 30 horse power each, and carried about 120 tons all
told, on a draft of about 8 feet. She continued on the Glasgow and
Liverpool station until 1831, when she was purchased by Messrs. James
Little & Co., for their Glasgow and Newry trade.
The original intention of the proprietors was that the HENRY
BELL should sail to and from Glasgow, but it was found there was
not sufficient water in the Clyde to enable this to be done with
regularity, and Greenock was, consequently, made the port of arrival
and departure. The deck fare by this steamer was 6s. per passenger,
the steerage fare by the mail packets (MAJESTIC and CITY OF GLASGOW)
being 21s.
The late Mr. Alex. A. Laird commenced his apprenticeship under his
father in 1824, and the same year a second vessel, the JAMES WATT,
was placed on the Glasgow and Liverpool station. She was slightly
larger, and had engines of greater power than the HENRY BELL.
The following year Messrs. Laird established a fortnightly service
between Glasgow and Inverness; the steampacket employed was the
STIRLING, which made her first voyage on the 11th May, 1825, and
continued to sail thereafter on alternate Wednesdays from Glasgow
and Inverness. Fortnightly sailings proving insufficient for the
traffic, the sailings were increased to weekly on and from the 20th
September, 1826.
During this year the WILLIAM HUSKISSON was added to the Liverpool and
Glasgow service, and sailings were maintained three times per week
from each port.
The WILLIAM HUSKISSON was a very much larger vessel than either of
her predecessors, her deadweight capacity being 350 tons, and her
engines 120 horse power.
[Illustration: The late Mr. ALEX. A. LAIRD.]
For the Campbeltown and Londonderry trade the steampackets CLYDESDALE
and LONDONDERRY were built, and were advertised to sail from Glasgow
to both ports, with goods and passengers, every Tuesday, Thursday
and Saturday. In addition to these sailings, the MAID OF ISLAY was
despatched every Tuesday morning from the Bromielaw to Stranraer and
Islay. Messrs. Laird’s connection with Dublin dates also from this
year, the pioneer steamer being the TOWN OF DROGHEDA, which sailed on
her first voyage from Greenock to Dublin on Monday, 7th June, 1826.
The new steampacket SOLWAY was added to the Liverpool and Greenock
fleet in 1828, and the sailings increased to four per week from each
port. The steampacket CLARENCE acted as tender, and sailed from the
Bromielaw at noon on the sailing dates of the Liverpool steampackets
from Greenock.
In 1834 the firm extended its operations to Newry, the steamers
employed being the ERIN and ST. DAVID. Mr. James Bruce was admitted
a partner in the Glasgow house this year, and the office was removed
to 69, Oswald Street, where the business was conducted under the
style of Laird & Bruce. This partnership was dissolved on the 14th
February, 1835; Mr. Bruce retaining the Stranraer trade. The title of
Mr. Laird’s firm was changed to Alex. Laird & Sons, and the Glasgow
office removed to Ewing Place, corner of York Street.
One of the steamers, for which Mr. Laird was agent, was named the
CUMBERLAND. This vessel took an active part in the Spanish Expedition
of 1835, as a transport, making three voyages to Spain during this
year, with recruits from the West of Scotland for the service of
Donna Isabella. Some of these recruits enlisted in the course of
drunken frolics, or after quarrels with their friends or masters, and
their military ardour speedily cooled. The period during which they
had to wait on the receiving ship at Greenock until the transport was
ready to receive them afforded frequent opportunities of deserting,
of which they did not fail to avail themselves. Scarcely a day passed
but some of them succeeded in escaping by means of the boats which
visited the receiving ships in the evenings. One youth from Glasgow,
failing to get away in this manner, determined to drop into the sea
and swim ashore, a distance of about two miles, to a spit where
female friends would be waiting to assist him. He had nearly reached
the shore when he was discovered, and pursued by the guard boat.
Making a final effort, he succeeded in landing, and, though fatigued
with his long swim, continued his flight.
When the guard boat’s crew landed, the women got round them, and so
hampered them in their movements that the fugitive got out of sight,
when, of course, it was useless to attempt to follow him.
The CUMBERLAND, after performing the three voyages referred to,
returned to her station between Glasgow and Dublin.
In 1844 Messrs. Laird & Sons (then at 101, Union Street) were
appointed agents at Glasgow for the Dundalk Steam Packet Co., the
first steamer from Glasgow, the FINN MACCOUL, sailing on the 30th
November, 1844.
For a period of forty years, from 1827 to 1867, Messrs. T. Cameron &
Co. had maintained steamship services between Glasgow and Greenock,
and ports on the North and West coasts of Ireland, and from 1843
until 1867 a weekly service between Liverpool and Sligo. In 1867 the
Glasgow services were conducted by the joint firms of Messrs. T.
Cameron & Co. and Alex. A. Laird & Co., but the following year, owing
to the decease of Mr. Cameron, the business was entirely taken over
by Messrs. Laird.
Messrs. Cameron’s steamers were named after flowers and plants (with
two exceptions, referred to later), the first steamer of this class
being the SHAMROCK, built in 1847, followed by the THISTLE in 1848,
ROSE in 1851, MYRTLE in 1854, and the GARLAND in 1857.
At the time of the change of firm, Messrs. Cameron & Co. had been
opposed on the Glasgow and Sligo and Liverpool and Sligo stations,
for ten years, by a local company, the Sligo Steam Navigation Co.
This was subsequently settled amicably, Messrs. Alex. A. Laird &
Co. retired from the Liverpool and Sligo trade, and the Sligo Steam
Navigation Co. withdrew from the Glasgow trade, and having purchased
the opposition steamer GARLAND, renamed her the GLASGOW.
The two exceptions in class of name, to which reference has been
made, were the NORTHMAN and IRISHMAN, trading as the Glasgow and
Dublin Screw Steam Packet Co. They were amongst the earliest iron
screw steamers built, the former having been launched in 1847 and the
latter in 1854. These two steamers retained the colour of the old
St. George Co. on the funnel, viz., a white funnel with a black top.
The IRISHMAN was the last steamer so distinguished, all succeeding
steamers carrying what is now the recognised “Laird” funnel—white and
red in equal proportions, with a black top.
In 1869, to meet the requirements of the West Coast of Ireland
trade, the Company purchased the steamer SCOTIA, and renamed her the
LAUREL. Two steamers were added to the fleet in 1878. These were the
steamships AZALEA and CEDAR. These ships are identical in measurement
and capacity, each being 217 feet long, 30 feet broad, and 15 feet
deep, with a gross register of 750 tons, and with excellent saloon
accommodation for seventy passengers.
An important addition was made to the fleet in 1879, when
the magnificent and fast steamship SHAMROCK was built. She
was considerably in advance in point of capacity, speed, and
accommodation of any steamer previously built for the firm. She
measures 231 feet 2 inches in length, 31 feet 3 inches in breadth,
and 15 feet 5 inches in depth; and her gross register is 864 tons.
She is certified to carry eighty saloon passengers, and is equipped
with every modern convenience for their comfort.
After an interval of three years (1882) the BRIER was built, a
somewhat similar vessel, but slightly smaller than the preceding
steamer, her dimensions being 209 feet by 30 feet by 15 feet.
Her gross register is 728 tons, and she has berthing and saloon
accommodation for sixty passengers. She was quickly followed by the
THISTLE and ELM, both built in 1884, and the GARDENIA in 1885. They
are all beautiful specimens of marine architecture, the first a large
steamer of 822 tons gross register, and the latter considerably
smaller.
In 1893 a further advance was made in the size of the Company’s ships
by the construction of the splendid screw steamer OLIVE, 1,141 tons
gross register, one of the fastest and finest steamers crossing the
channel. She is 260 feet long, with a beam of 33 feet 1 inch, and a
depth of 15 feet 8 inches. She has always been a particular favourite
with passengers, of whom she carries a large number, being certified
to carry one hundred saloon passengers, in addition to 1,000
steerage.
[Illustration: OLIVE S.S. 1141 Tons. Messrs. Alex. A. Laird & Co.]
The DAISY and the LILY were the next steamers built, the former
in 1895, and the latter in 1896; and in the closing year of the
nineteenth century the FERN (second of the name) was launched.
The latest addition to the fleet is a magnificent vessel constructed
after the most modern type of passenger steamships. She is named
the ROSE, was launched in June, 1902, is built of steel, and is 250
feet long, 36 feet 2 inches broad, and 15 feet deep. She is fitted
with electric light in the saloon, staterooms and holds. Her saloon,
which is a handsomely furnished and spacious apartment, is situated
amidships forward of the engine room. The great breadth of the vessel
makes her a remarkably steady sea boat, while her engines, which are
triple-expansion and of great power, are capable of propelling her at
the rate of 15½ knots per hour. She is nearly 1,400 tons gross, and
carries 140 saloon passengers, in addition to those in the steerage.
In 1885 it was considered desirable to consolidate the several
interests concerned, by forming this old-established business into a
limited company, the title of the Company being The Glasgow, Dublin
and Londonderry Steam Packet Co., Limited; but it is much better
known by the short name of the “Laird Line.” Mr. William MacConnell,
son of the late Mr. MacConnell, of the firm of Thomson & MacConnell,
is the Managing Director.
The company’s steamship services are not confined to those to and
from Glasgow, although we have shown that they have a very large
share of the Clyde traffic, maintaining regular and frequent sailings
between Glasgow and Greenock and Dublin, Londonderry, Coleraine,
Sligo, Ballina and Westport; also during the tourist season a daily
daylight service between Ardrossan and Portrush.
In connection with the Midland Railway Company of England a service
of powerful steamers is maintained between Morecambe and Dublin, the
steamers sailing from the respective ports on alternate days, and
making the passage in about 10 hours.
Early next year, it is proposed to transfer the service from
Morecambe to Heysham, and to maintain daily sailings to and from the
latter port and Dublin.
The “Laird” steamers also sail in connection with the same railway
company from Morecambe to Londonderry every Tuesday and Saturday,
returning from Londonderry every Monday and Thursday.
From Fleetwood, in connection with the Lancashire and Yorkshire, and
London and North-Western Railway Companies, a weekly service had been
maintained for many years by the company’s steamers between Fleetwood
and Londonderry, but in September, 1903, Messrs. Laird & Co. retired
from this service.
From Liverpool also, steam communication is maintained with Larne,
Coleraine and Westport. The fixed sailings are once a week from each
port, but extra steamers are despatched according to the requirements
of the trade.
The company’s fleet at the present date (1903) consists of 12
first-class powerful steamships, having an aggregate gross tonnage of
9,164 tons, and named as follows:—
Gross Tonnage.
AZALEA 748
BRIER 728
CEDAR 750
DAISY 565
ELM 521
FERN 503
GARDENIA 491
LILY 668
OLIVE 1141
ROSE 1363
SHAMROCK 864
THISTLE 822
[Illustration: Steamship]
CHAPTER XIII.
LANGLANDS’ LINE.
Glasgow AND Liverpool Royal STEAMPACKET Company.
Prior to the year 1839 all the steampackets plying between Liverpool
and Glasgow were built of wood, and these wooden steamers had
established for themselves a reputation for speed and luxurious
travelling not surpassed nearly three-quarters of a century later.
It was, therefore, a bold thing to do on the part of the proprietors
of the Glasgow and Liverpool Royal Steampacket Company to enter into
competition with these famous and tried vessels, and to introduce
into the trade steamers constructed not of wood but of iron. The
pioneer steamer of this company, the ROYAL SOVEREIGN, sailed on
her maiden voyage from Liverpool on Monday, 18th March, 1839. The
company despatched their steamer twice a week from each port, and
continued to do so until the end of August of the same year, when
the second steamer, the ROYAL GEORGE, was placed on the station,
and the sailings were increased to four times per week each way.
The established lines were naturally indisposed to share the trade
with an outsider, and to discourage the new enterprise they reduced
the rates of freight on fine goods to 1d. per foot, and on steerage
passengers to 1s. each. The Royal Steampacket Company maintained,
in spite of this endeavour to drive them out of the trade, their
advertised sailings, and grew in popularity with the travelling
public. They decided in 1841 to increase their fleet by the addition
of a third steamer, and it being evident that they had come to stay,
their competitors, Messrs. MacIver and Messrs. Burns, entered into a
friendly and honourable alliance with them, and uniform rates were
adopted by the three lines to Glasgow.
[Illustration: PRINCESS MAUD. M. Langlands & Sons.]
A tradition exists in the Royal Company that when their third
steamer was on the stocks the first birth in her late Majesty’s
family was anticipated, and the proprietors proposed to call their
new steamer the PRINCE OF WALES. The event, however, proved the
name to be inappropriate, and PRINCESS ROYAL was substituted, a
name which has been perpetuated by different steamships to the
present day. The following paragraph respecting this steamer, which
appeared in the “Glasgow Chronicle” of the 1st June, 1842, will be
read with interest:—“The PRINCESS ROYAL. We feel much indebted to
the agent (Mr. M. Langlands) of this splendid steamer for putting
us in possession of the ‘Morning Chronicle’ of yesterday morning
three hours before the arrival of the ‘London Mail’ containing the
details of the attempted assassination of Her Majesty. Copies of the
‘Chronicle,’ ‘Times,’ and other London journals were, the moment
the train arrived from Greenock, forwarded to the different public
reading rooms in town, and altogether the public are much indebted
to the proprietors and agents of the vessel at Liverpool and Glasgow
for their public spirit and enterprise. The passage from Liverpool to
Greenock was made in the astonishing space of 16½ hours.”
The PRINCESS ROYAL referred to was built by the eminent firm of
Tod and M’Gregor, who in 1849 projected a line of steamers to run
between Glasgow and New York. Accordingly they built and equipped
the barque-rigged screw steamer CITY OF GLASGOW, and appointed Mr.
M. Langlands agent. She was a vessel of 1,087 tons register, with
engines of 350 horse-power, and was manned by about 70 of a crew.
In the Art Palace at Kelvingrove, Glasgow, there is a watercolour
drawing (No. 2,018, by S. Bough) representing the departure of
this the first steamship for New York from Glasgow harbour, in
April, 1850. After making several very successful voyages, Tod and
M’Gregor sold her to Richardson Bros., of Belfast, who ran her in the
Liverpool and Philadelphia trade, and this vessel and the steamship
CITY OF MANCHESTER were the nucleus of what became afterwards the
well-known Inman line.
[Illustration: Paddle Steampacket PRINCESS ROYAL. M. Langlands &
Sons.]
In view of the high reputation the PRINCESS ROYAL had earned, it is
not surprising that she was selected for experimental purposes by a
Committee of the House of Commons (appointed in 1842) for the purpose
of inquiring into the conveyance of the mails between England and
Ireland. From the “Liverpool Mercury” of that date we learn that “The
fine new iron steamboat called PRINCESS ROYAL, at present on the
station between this port and Glasgow, started from Clarence Dock on
Sunday morning last (19th June) for Dublin. She arrived there in 9
hours 5 minutes, beating H.M. mail steampacket MEDUSA by 1 hour 45
minutes. On Monday morning she left Dublin for Holyhead, and arrived
there in 4 hours 45 minutes, returning to Dublin the same day in 4
hours 28 minutes. In the evening she started for Liverpool, which she
reached in 9 hours 35 minutes. The vessel had a head wind nearly all
the way.”
The PRINCESS had now established beyond dispute her claim to be one
of the fastest Channel steamers leaving the port. The ensuing winter
she proved herself to be also one of the best sea-boats. The terrible
gale of January 20th to 22nd, 1843, was one of the most severe
that ever visited these coasts. The MONA’S ISLE, from Liverpool
to Douglas, was 24 hours on the passage. At Cork the posts on the
quays were carried away. The PRINCESS was at sea during this storm,
and fully proved her excellent qualities as a sea-boat. She left
Greenock at 11-30 p.m. on Friday, and arrived at Liverpool at 5 p.m.
on Saturday without the slightest damage. This celebrated steamer was
replaced in 1856 by a second PRINCESS ROYAL, also a paddle steamer.
After running in the Liverpool and Glasgow service for about four
years, PRINCESS No. 2 was sold to the General Steam Navigation
Company, of London.
The third PRINCESS ROYAL, built in 1861, was a screw steamer, the
first screw owned by the Glasgow and Liverpool Royal Steampacket
Company. In 1861, civil war broke out in the United States. The
Federals (Northerners) established a strict blockade of all the
Southern ports on the Atlantic seaboard. A cotton famine ensued, and
fast steamers were in great demand for blockade running. Amongst
other Liverpool steamers purchased for this purpose was the new
PRINCESS. She was sold in 1862, and her new owners changed her
name. We are informed that she was captured on her first trip as a
Confederate blockade runner, and converted by her captors into a
Federal cruiser. Her immediate successor, the fourth PRINCESS ROYAL,
after running for a number of years between Liverpool and Glasgow,
was sold to a firm to trade in the West Indies. For the present the
Royal Steampacket Company is without a PRINCESS ROYAL, the fifth
steamer of that name having been sold in 1901 to foreign buyers.
The service is meantime maintained by the PRINCESS LOUISE, or other
steamer of the fleet.
About the year 1870, the Royal Company opened up a new steamship
service from Liverpool to the West Highlands, North of Scotland,
and east coast ports. Owing, in large measure, to the natural
attractions of the route, and the excellence of the accommodation and
cuisine provided on the steamers, this is every year becoming a more
popular and favourite trip. The first steamer employed on the West
Highland and east coast route was a small cargo steamer, but in a
very short time it was found necessary to place the PRINCESS ALICE,
a much larger steamer, carrying passengers as well as cargo, on the
route. The earlier vessels on this service were steamers of 300 to
400 tons, with limited accommodation for about 20 passengers, but
now the steamers employed have accommodation for 100 to 140 saloon
passengers, and an average cargo-carrying capacity of nearly 1,000
tons each. Some idea may be gained of the growth of the passenger and
cargo traffic, by comparing the earlier vessels with the new PRINCESS
MAUD, built in 1901. This steamer is of steel, and her dimensions
are:—Length, 256 feet 6 inches; breadth, 36 feet 6 inches; depth, 17
feet 1½ inches. Gross tonnage, 1,450 tons. The vessel is handsomely
fitted up for passengers, the large dining saloon being furnished in
solid oak, artistically carved. One hundred first-class passengers
can dine at one sitting, and there is sleeping accommodation in deck
rooms and state cabins for 140 passengers. The steamer is fitted
throughout with electric light, patent berths, sea-water baths,
ample lavatories, and every modern convenience that can contribute
to the comfort of passengers. The PRINCESS MAUD was placed on the
service early in 1902, and will no doubt enhance the reputation in
which this line is held by tourists. In addition to the bi-weekly
service between Liverpool and Aberdeen, Leith, and Dundee, the
Royal Steampacket Company run a regular service of steamers between
Aberdeen, Newcastle, Hull, and other east coast ports, and Bristol,
Cardiff, and Swansea, calling also at Southampton and Plymouth.
During the summer months this service embraces a fortnightly trip
round the United Kingdom with one of the larger passenger steamers,
and this has now become a favourite cruise for summer holiday
seekers, occupying as it does about twelve days.
When the Manchester Ship Canal was opened in 1894, the Royal Company
began at once to despatch their steamers from Manchester to Glasgow,
as well as to the west, north, and east coasts of Scotland. In
addition to having the management of the various services mentioned,
Messrs. Langlands have, for a great many years, been the agents
of Messrs. Alex. A. Laird and Co. as regards the steamers trading
between Liverpool, Larne, and Westport.
The agency of the company’s steamers at Glasgow, Liverpool,
Manchester, Leith, Dundee and Hull, is in the hands of Messrs.
M. Langlands and Sons, who have been closely identified with the
development of the company’s business, and are largely interested in
its success.
[Illustration: Decoration]
CHAPTER XIV.
Messrs. James Little & Co.
Towards the end of July, 1819, Messrs. James Little & Co., who had
commenced business seven years previously, despatched from Greenock,
on her maiden voyage to Liverpool, the first passenger steamer that
ever sailed from the Clyde to the Mersey. Her name was the ROBERT
BRUCE, and she was described in her advertisements as being “an
elegant new Steam Packet, having most excellent accommodation for
passengers.” As a matter of fact, she was a small wooden paddle
steamer, 98 feet long, or about twelve feet longer than the Cluthas
that ply up and down Glasgow Harbour, but with twice their beam.
She called at Portpatrick and Douglas (I. of M.) on her voyages
to and from the Clyde, and occupied about thirty hours on the run
from Greenock to Liverpool. The following letter from the Captain
(Patterson) to Messrs. Little, written on the 1st September, 1819,
indicates how different are the conditions under which passengers
travel by steamers at the present date and those which existed in the
early stages of steam navigation. Captain Patterson dated his letter
from Troon, and stated:—
“I have to inform you that we were taken with a heavy gale of wind
from the N.W. yesterday about two o’clock, just as we had got outside
the Cumbraes, with a heavy sea; about six o’clock the sea came more
to the westward, and, from the very heavy sea on our beam, we made so
much lee-way that we could not stand out-channel nor fetch Lamlash.
I, therefore thought it best to bear up for this port, and got in
safe last night with the loss of our bowsprit, but no other damage.
Our engines worked very well, only the wheels had little effect
owing to the heavy sea. It has continued to blow a gale all night,
and still looks very bad. The ship NEREUS got here an hour before us,
dismasted. I will get another bowsprit as soon as possible, and will
proceed when it moderates. The passengers were all sick, but are now
well.
“I am, &c.,
“JOHN PATTERSON.
“P.S.—The ROBERT BRUCE behaved under her sails, double reefed, as
well as any ship I was ever in.”
The rates of passage money were:—Cabin, 40s.; steerage, 21s. A second
steamer, the SUPERB, was placed on the station during the same
season, and in 1820 a larger steamer, the MAJESTIC, was added to the
service.
An interesting and valuable painting of the latter steamer in 1820
is in the possession of Messrs. Little & Co., at their office, 46,
Leadenhall Street, London.
A curious intimation appears in the Glasgow papers of the 19th
July, 1822, with reference to the same vessel. It appears that on a
recent trip the Duke of Athol and suite had embarked on board the
MAJESTIC at Greenock, for conveyance to Douglas (I. of M.), where his
Grace had a seat (Mona Castle). As well as being accompanied by the
members of his suite, His Grace had with him several carriages and a
quantity of luggage, all of which took some time to land. Some of the
Liverpool passengers complained of the detention of the steampacket
for this purpose, and, on the complaint being submitted to the
managers of the steamer, they not only expressed their regret for the
delay, but they also donated the amount of freight they received from
the Duke of Athol to the fund for the relief of the starving Irish.
A fourth steamer, the CITY OF GLASGOW, was added to the fleet on the
21st June, 1822. The ROBERT BRUCE having become too small for the
Greenock and Liverpool service was transferred to the Liverpool and
Douglas station, and the three larger steamers were appointed to
carry H.M. mails to and from Greenock and Liverpool. The wretched
condition of the destitute poor in Ireland was not the only charity
that appealed to the managers of these steamers. Finding that the
Committee of the Greenock Hospital and Infirmary were in urgent need
of funds, they placed the R.M.S. CITY OF GLASGOW at the Committee’s
disposal for one day, for the benefit of the Institution named. The
Committee of Management of the Hospital accordingly arranged a cruise
per that steamer around Ailsa Craig, on Saturday, 19th July, 1823,
tickets for which were 7s. 6d. each. The CITY OF GLASGOW continued
to trade between Greenock and Liverpool until 1831, when she was
purchased by the late David MacIver, who was then forming the City of
Glasgow Steam Packet Co. Although Messrs. Little’s connection with
Belfast is not of such long standing as with Liverpool, yet it is
approaching three-quarters of a century. In January, 1828, the new
steamer FROLIC began to trade between Glasgow, Greenock and Belfast.
She differed from the steamers of the Liverpool route in carrying
cargo as well as passengers. The previous year, Messrs. Little had
obtained the agency in Greenock of the Glasgow and Dublin Shipping
Company. The pioneer steamer of this line was the ERIN, which sailed
from the Clyde on her first voyage in March, 1827. A second steamer,
the SCOTIA, a vessel of 300 tons burden, was added to the service
in January, 1828. The steamer WATER WITCH, built for this trade by
Messrs. James Little & Co., and contracted for with Messrs. Denny &
Co., of Dumbarton, was the first screw steamer built on the Clyde.
In addition to their several channel steamers, Messrs. Little owned,
in 1850, the steamers DUNOON and HELENSBURGH. These two steamers
plied with passengers between Greenock and coast towns, connecting
with the Glasgow and Greenock Railway (now the Caledonian Railway),
and they were the first steamers on the Clyde to run in connection
with a Railway Company.
In 1872 this firm purchased from the owners of the Anchor Line
steamers the steamer DOM PEDRO, a screw steamer engaged in the
Glasgow and Peninsular service. The DOM PEDRO was the first
screw steamer with compound engines, built by the famous Clyde
shipbuilding firm, Randolph and Elder, now known as the Fairfield
Shipbuilding Co. Subsequently, Messrs. James Little & Co. owned a
fleet of steamers bearing Greek classical names, _e.g._, APOLLO,
ACHILLES, &c., and to be in accordance with these the name of the DOM
PEDRO was changed to the ARIADNE in the year 1875. She has now for
a number of years been running on the Barrow and Liverpool station.
In the year 1866, Messrs. Little ran the paddle steamer HERALD
between Glasgow and Campbeltown. The HERALD proved herself when on
the Campbeltown route to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest,
steamer on the Clyde. She was withdrawn the following summer (1867)
from the Glasgow and Campbeltown station, to open the Barrow and
Isle of Man trade. The latter traffic is now maintained during the
summer months by the magnificent steamers, MANX QUEEN, DUCHESS OF
DEVONSHIRE, or DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH. The MANX QUEEN is a large steel
paddle steamer, with a gross register tonnage of about 1,000 tons,
built and engined on the Clyde by Messrs. J. and G. Thompson. Her
principal dimensions are—length, 278 feet 9 inches; beam, 29 feet 7
inches; depth, 14 feet, and her speed is about 16 knots per hour.
The DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE is a steel twin-screw steamer, built and
engined in 1897 by the Naval Construction and Armaments Co., Barrow.
Her gross register tonnage is 1,265 tons; her length is 300 feet;
beam, 35 feet 1 inch; and depth, 15 feet 7 inches. Her engines are
capable of driving her considerably over 18 knots per hour, and she
is, therefore, one of the fastest steamers in the cross-channel trade.
The DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH is a steel paddle steamer, with a gross
register tonnage of 804 tons, built and engined in 1888 by the
Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Glasgow. Her length
is 256 feet 1 inch; beam, 29 feet 1 inch; and depth 14 feet, and her
speed is about 18 knots per hour.
The route _via_ Barrow to Douglas gives the shortest sea passage from
England to the Isle of Man, the average passage being about three
hours. In consequence of this, and of the first-class accommodation
provided in these splendid steamers, the Barrow route is a favourite
one to the Island, and each year sees an increase in the number of
passengers carried.
Messrs. James Little & Co., in conjunction with the Midland and
Furness Railways, established, in 1867, a service of mail, passengers
and cargo steamers between Barrow and Belfast.
For the conduct of the business connected with this service, Messrs.
Little opened a branch office in Belfast, and, as they had also
started the Barrow to Douglas trade that same year, they opened an
office in Barrow. The first steamers employed on the Barrow and
Belfast station were the paddle-steamers ROE, TALBOT, and SHELBURNE.
In 1870 a larger and faster paddle-steamer, the ANTRIM, was added to
the fleet.
The service is now maintained by the swift and powerful Royal Mail
Steamships CITY OF BELFAST, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, MANX QUEEN or
LONDONDERRY. The DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE has already been briefly
described. Her sister vessel in the service, the CITY OF BELFAST, is
slightly smaller. Her gross register tonnage is 1,055 tons.
These powerful steamers leave Belfast every evening at 8-30, Irish
time, and arrive in Barrow about 6 o’clock on the following morning,
in time to connect with the early morning Midland trains to all parts
of England and Scotland. The steamers leave Barrow daily (Sundays
excepted) on arrival of the through trains from London, Bristol,
Leeds, &c., that is about 8-30 p.m., and arrive in Belfast about 5-30
the following morning (Irish time).
In 1873 Messrs. Little opened a branch office in Glasgow, and in
1883 one in Liverpool. In addition to the mail and other steamship
services on the West Coast of Britain, Messrs. James Little & Co.
have a regular service of steamers from London to Terneuzen, in
Holland, and for the efficient working of this service they, in
conjunction with Mr. J. W. Johnston, opened an office in London
in 1886, the name and address of the London firm being Little &
Johnston, 46, Leadenhall Street, who also have a sub-office in
Terneuzen.
They have also several ocean steamers, not built for any special
trade, but of large carrying capacity, under the management of their
Glasgow house.
The fleet of this firm at the present date (1903) consists of
fourteen full-powered steamships, having a gross registered tonnage
of 25,279 tons, and named as follows:—
ANN WEBSTER 792 tons gross.
ARIADNE 292 ”
BORDERER 2983 ”
BORDER KNIGHT 3730 ”
CITY OF BELFAST 1055 ”
DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE 1265 ”
DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH 804 ”
HALLING 777 ”
HERMISTON 4383 ”
INDIANAPOLIS 2464 ”
LONDONDERRY 736 ”
MANX QUEEN 989 ”
RIVERDALE 4206 ”
RIVER LAGAN 803 ”
———
25,279
[Illustration: DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH. James Little & Co.]
[Illustration: R.M.S. CLAYMORE. David MacBrayne.]
CHAPTER XV.
MR. DAVID MACBRAYNE’S WEST HIGHLAND STEAMERS.
In the early part of last century Messrs. Thomson and MacConnell,
of Glasgow, held a large financial interest in several of the
steampackets then plying on the River and Firth of Clyde. One of the
earliest of these steamers in which they were interested was the
BRITANNIA, built about two years after Bell’s COMET. The citizens of
Glasgow were quick to avail themselves of the advantages of steam
navigation: thus, while in 1812 the limit of steam navigation was
Dunoon, in 1815 it was extended to Inverary, and in 1822 Fortwilliam,
Tobermory and Skye were included in the ports of call of the
steampacket HIGHLANDER.
Passengers were also carried by the same steamer to the Island of
Staffa, the fare for the return passage being £3 3s.
Steam communication between Glasgow and Inverness _via_ the Crinan
and Caledonian Canals was established in the spring of 1824, the
pioneer vessel being a small steamer named the BEN NEVIS.
About 1830 Messrs. J. Martin and J. & G. Burns advertised the
steamers INVERNESS, ROB ROY and HELEN MCGREGOR to sail regularly
between the Clyde and Inverness, Skye and Stornoway. The HELEN
MCGREGOR was described as having “a splendid cabin, panelled with
landscapes descriptive of the scenery through which she passes.”
She had upwards of 30 sleeping berths for cabin passengers, and an
excellent steerage.
In 1841 the SHANDON, described as “an elegant vessel,” was placed,
by the same firm, on the route now taken by the R.M.S. COLUMBA. Her
passengers were carried through the Crinan Canal on track boats drawn
by horses ridden by postillions in brilliant scarlet uniforms, and at
Crinan were transferred to the steampacket BRENDA, which conveyed
them to Oban. The latter steamer belonged to Messrs. Thomson and
MacConnell, as did also the TOWARD CASTLE, MORVEN and STAFFA, and
later (1846) the EDINBURGH CASTLE and MAID OF ISLAY. The two firms
had been engaged in friendly competition both on the Glasgow and
Liverpool trade and the Glasgow and West Highland service from the
year 1831, but in 1841 an arrangement was arrived at, by which the
West Highland traffic was managed conjointly.
Her late Majesty Queen Victoria visited the Highlands in 1847, and in
“Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands,” Her Majesty
wrote:—
“The light on the hills was beautiful as we steamed down Loch
Fyne. At five we reached Lochgilp, and all landed at Lochgilphead
(Ardrishaig). We and our people drove through the village to the
Crinan Canal, where we entered a most magnificently decorated
barge, drawn by three horses ridden by postillions in scarlet. We
glided along very smoothly, and the views of the hills—the range of
Cruachan—were very fine indeed.”
To meet the requirements of an ever-increasing traffic, the elegant
saloon steamer LINNET was built, which is capable of comfortably
accommodating double the number of passengers that the old track boat
could.
The Messrs. Burns, who prior to that date had controlled a large
portion of the River Clyde and West Highland traffic, in 1851 decided
to confine their energies to “deep sea” steamers, and accordingly
sold off their smaller craft, and Messrs. Thomson and MacConnell
parted with their steamers of the same type. These vessels were
acquired, and the West Highland trade taken over, by Messrs. David
Hutcheson & Co. (the company including Mr. David MacBrayne, the head
of the present firm), whose address at that date was 14, Jamaica
Street, Glasgow.
Messrs. Hutcheson had, previous to the purchase of the steamers
referred to, five steampackets named CYGNET, LAPWING, DUNTROON
CASTLE, PIONEER and DOLPHIN, so that in 1851 they controlled a
fleet of about a dozen steamers. These steamers maintained a
bi-weekly service (in addition to other sailings) between Glasgow
and Inverness, sailing from Glasgow every Monday and Thursday, a
service which has been maintained uninterruptedly for upwards of half
a century. The CYGNET and LAPWING were built with their paddle boxes
flush with their hulls, to enable them to pass through the Crinan
Canal.
Two new steamers, the CHEVALIER and MOUNTAINEER, were added to the
fleet in 1854. The following year (1855) the CLANSMAN was built for
the firm. The same year the IONA (the first of the name) was built,
and maintained her reputation as a “crack” Clyde steamer until 1863,
when she was purchased by an agent of the Confederate States, to run
the blockade during the American War. She, however, never crossed the
Atlantic, being sunk, as the result of a collision, before she got
clear of the upper firth.
She was promptly replaced by IONA (second of the name), launched the
same year, which, after running for one season only, was also sold to
run the blockade, but is supposed to have been lost with all hands
off Lundy Island. The second IONA differed from her predecessors in
having a saloon on deck.
Prior to her starting on her Atlantic voyage, this saloon was removed
and placed on IONA the third. This steamer for many years bore the
reputation of being the swiftest, as well as the most luxuriously
appointed, steamer on the Firth of Clyde. The engines, which work
with almost incredible smoothness, are of 1,625 horse-power, and are
capable of propelling her at the rate of 18 knots per hour.
In connection with this vessel, the writer remembers a very amusing
incident. Many years ago he was travelling by steamer from Liverpool
to Glasgow, and in conversation a fellow-passenger stated that he had
in the early part of the same summer sailed in the famous IONA from
Glasgow to Ardrishaig.
“What do you think of the Kyles of Bute?” I asked.
“The Kyles of Bute,” he replied; “I never saw them.”
The subject was dropped, until a little later he again spoke of his
trip to Ardrishaig.
“And what do you think of the Kyles of Bute?” I again queried.
“The Kyles of Bute; you asked me that before. I never saw them.”
“But you say you sailed to Ardrishaig in the IONA?”
“Yes.”
“Then you must have seen the Kyles—you could not possibly have gone
to Ardrishaig without seeing them.”
He seemed astonished, but after a moment’s thought a bright idea
struck him, and he exclaimed—
“Ah! yes, I remember now, I saw a red board with gilt letters ‘Kyles
of Bute’ on it; but I didn’t go ashore—I never saw them.”
Fortunately all men are not so unobservant; and so we find tourists
from Great Britain and Ireland; from Canada and the United States;
from South Africa and the Antipodes, journeying to enjoy not alone
the beauties of the Kyles of Bute, but also the grand and beautiful
scenery of the Western Highlands, now so easy of access by the
splendid steamers of the MacBrayne fleet.
In 1862 was built the first of the trio of handsome screw steamers
which sail regularly round the Mull of Cantyre to Stornoway and
the far North. She is named the CLYDESDALE. A larger steamer, the
CLANSMAN (second of the name), was built in 1870, and one still
larger, the CLAYMORE, in 1881.
Mr. David Hutcheson retired in 1876, leaving his partner, Mr. David
MacBrayne, sole control of the business, which has since grown
steadily, necessitating from time to time the addition of new
steamers.
In 1878 the Royal Mail steamer COLUMBA was built by Messrs. J. &
G. Thomson (now John Brown & Co.), of Clydebank, who were also the
builders of the IONA. She is the largest passenger steamer on the
Firth of Clyde, and few, if any, cross-channel steamers exceed her
in length. According to the official description of her, she is 316
feet in length, 50 feet in breadth (inclusive of paddle boxes), and
9 feet in depth. She is built entirely of steel, and is fitted with
two oscillating engines of 220 nominal horse-power, but capable of
working up to 3,000 indicated horse-power.
Two years previously the R.M.S. COLUMBA was refitted by Messrs.
Hutson & Sons, Limited, with two large tubulous boilers of the
haystack type, made entirely of steel, and with twelve furnaces. When
working at full pressure, she attains a speed of 22 miles per hour,
and she is certified to carry over 2,000 passengers. The COLUMBA is
steered by a steam steering engine, has the novelty of a set of steam
bits at bow and stern by which the vessel is warped into piers, and
has all the modern improvements introduced on board.
The upper saloon is very luxuriously fitted up, and in the interior
are reading table, writing desk and lounges. The large square windows
are carried round the sides and stern, affording a fine view of the
scenery through which the steamer passes.
The breakfast and dining saloon, which is 8 feet high and well
ventilated, has a series of separate circular tables, and meals are
served at any time. The dining saloon (forward) for steerage or
fore-cabin passengers is light and airy.
The ladies’ and gentlemen’s cabins are elegantly fitted up with the
usual hand-basins and other conveniences.
There is a shampooing and hairdressing establishment, with a supply
of every toilet requisite; a splendid bathroom, affording passengers
who have travelled during the night the luxury of a salt-water bath,
and a cloak room where they can leave hand-bags and other small
articles. There are in addition a book stall and a fruit stall for
cabin passengers, and for steerage passengers, a ladies’ cabin
forward and several stalls (fruit stalls, &c.) are provided.
The only floating post office in the kingdom is to be found on board
the COLUMBA, and in it is transacted a larger amount of business than
is transacted in many a provincial town. In it letters, telegrams
and parcels are received, stamped, sorted and distributed at every
calling place, for transmission to all parts, and it is of immense
convenience to tourists and the inhabitants along the route. Upwards
of 100,000 letters pass through this office in a month, of which a
large proportion are local letters passing between the coast towns
and villages at which the steamer calls. Over 450 telegrams were
handed in, and upward of £70 received for postage and telegraph
stamps in one month. The most sanguine expectations of the
Post Office Department being more than realised, has induced the
Postmaster-General to add to the staff. Three post office officials
travel with the COLUMBA. Postal orders can be purchased, and those
issued at other offices in the kingdom cashed on board this steamer.
[Illustration: R.M.S. COLUMBA. David MacBrayne.]
In 1902 Mr. David MacBrayne assumed as partners his two sons,
Mr. David Hope, and Mr. Laurence MacBrayne, the name of the firm
remaining unchanged.
Messrs. MacBrayne’s steamers navigate every sound and loch between
Port Ellen in the Island of Islay, off the South-west coast of
Scotland, and Thurso in the extreme North, and visit almost every
island between those two points.
The new steamer LAPWING, built in the early part of the year 1903,
proved very successful, and the firm have in course of construction
another fine steamer, which is expected to be ready for the service
early next year (1904). The fleet at present consists of thirty-one
screw and paddle steamships, named as follows:—
Horse Speed.
Power. Knots.
COLUMBA 3000 19
IONA 1625 18
FUSILIER 900 15
GRENADIER 1050 16
CHEVALIER 1200 16
GONDOLIER 600 12
CARABINIER 400 12
MOUNTAINEER 500 15
GAEL 1500 16
GLENGARRY 350 12
GLENCOE 700 12
GAIRLOCHY 500 12
LOVEDALE 1200 14
LOCHAWE 95 12
LOCHNESS 420 12
CLAYMORE 1450 15
CLANSMAN 1250 14
CLYDESDALE 1000 13
CAVALIER 1200 12
FLOWERDALE 1200 13
GLENDALE 1400 15
STAFFA 350 12
HANDA 250 11
ETHEL 375 11
FINGAL 325 11
LOCHIEL 410 12
LINNET 45 10
MABEL 35 10
TEXA 250 10
COUNTESS 95 8
LAPWING 500 12
CHAPTER XVI.
MESSRS. DAVID MACIVER & CO.
The firm of Messrs. David MacIver & Co. was originally founded by the
late Mr. David MacIver and his brother Charles, in 1835. Mr. David
MacIver had some four years prior to this date formed a steamship
company to trade between Liverpool and Glasgow, which he called
the City of Glasgow Steampacket Co. The pioneer steamer was named
the CITY OF GLASGOW, and sailed on her first voyage from Liverpool
on the 25th April, 1831. Three other steamers were quickly added
to the fleet, viz., the SOLWAY, VULCAN and JOHN WOOD, the latter
steamer being named after a celebrated shipbuilder of Port Glasgow.
In 1835 the CITY OF GLASGOW (second) was added to the fleet, and the
same year Mr. Charles MacIver joined his brother, and the style of
the firm was altered to Messrs. David MacIver & Co., from that of
the City of Glasgow Steampacket Co. On the 1st of June, 1837, the
celebrated steamer COMMODORE was launched by Mr. John Wood, and made
her first voyage, sailing from the Prince’s Pierhead, Liverpool, on
the 6th March, 1838. The COMMODORE was at that time considered to be
the most powerful, most comfortable, and fastest sea-going steamer
afloat. The sister ship of this splendid steamer, the ADMIRAL, was
launched in the beginning of the year 1840, and proved a faster
vessel than her consort. On her trial trip on the 2nd April, 1840,
with a full deadweight cargo, she ran 16 miles in 56½ minutes, being
five minutes less time than it was ever done by any other steamer.
In 1840 a Mail Steamship Service between Liverpool, Canada and the
United States was established, the respective agents being Mr.
Samuel Cunard, Halifax; Messrs. J. & G. Burns, Glasgow; and Messrs.
David and Charles MacIver, Liverpool, the latter being the practical
managers of the company. This service, which afterwards acquired a
worldwide reputation as the “Cunard Line,” was modestly inaugurated
by the despatch of the Liverpool and Glasgow steamer UNICORN (Captain
Douglas), which sailed from Liverpool for Halifax and Boston on
Saturday morning, 16th May, 1840. After she completed her outward
voyage, she continued to ply between Pictou and Quebec, in connection
with the British and North American Royal Mail Steamers.
In 1850 was instituted the steamship service between Liverpool and
Havre, the pioneer steamer being the COMMODORE, the well-known and
favourite Liverpool and Glasgow steampacket. The coasting services
were then carried on in the name of Charles MacIver & Co. About the
same date, steamship services to the Mediterranean were begun. The
Havre and the Mediterranean business was conducted in the name of
Burns and MacIver.
The elder of the two brothers (the founders of the “MacIver”
steamship business), Mr. David MacIver, died unmarried in 1845. His
brother, the late Mr. Charles MacIver, of Calderstones, then became
the head of the firm, which position he held until his decease in
1885. In 1863 Mr. Charles MacIver admitted his eldest son, Mr. David
MacIver, the present M.P. for the Kirkdale Division of Liverpool,
into partnership. Mr. David MacIver remained a partner in the firms
of D. & C. MacIver, Charles MacIver & Co. and Burns & MacIver for
eleven years, when he retired from all three firms, and established
an entirely separate steamship business, resuscitating the old title
of David MacIver & Co. The first steamer built under the new regime
was the TUSCANY. She was built in 1876 by Messrs. J. & G. Thomson,
Glasgow, and engined by the same eminent firm. After running in
Messrs. David MacIver & Co.’s service for a number of years, she was
purchased by Portuguese owners, and she is believed to have again
changed owners and to be now sailing under the Spanish flag as the
MARGARITA.
The SICILY, the second steamer of the fleet, was built and engined by
Messrs. Laird, Birkenhead, in 1876, and was sold to the Cullum Steam
Shipping Co., of London.
The following year (1877) the THESSALY and BARBARY were built for
the firm by the builders of the SICILY. The latter steamer was sold,
first to Messrs. Booth & Co., who changed her name to the CLEMENT,
and subsequently to the Cia de Cabotagem do Grão Para, by whom she
was named the MARAJO, and placed under the Brazilian flag.
After an interval of five years, the ALBANY was contracted for,
also with the Messrs. Laird, of Birkenhead. Mr. David MacIver’s
connection with Birkenhead is one of very long standing, and he has
always laboured to promote its welfare and prosperity. In recognition
of his services, he was the elected representative of the Borough
from 1874 to 1885. The ALBANY was considerably larger than any of
her predecessors, her principal dimensions being—Length 300 feet 7
inches, breadth 39 feet 2 inches, and depth 26 feet 4 inches; with a
deadweight capacity of about 3,500 tons. She was purchased by Messrs.
T. W. Lunn & Co., of Newcastle-on-Tyne, by whom she was re-named the
WILLOWDENE.
A reference to the list of steamers built for Messrs. David MacIver
& Co. will show the distinguishing characteristic of the names to
be the terminal letter Y. An amusing incident occurred in this
connection during the building of the steamer ALBANY. A firm of north
country shipowners, whose steamers were named after British dukes
(omitting the prefix “Duke of”), had selected “ALBANY” for a vessel
then under construction, and they made the cool request to Messrs.
David MacIver & Co. to change the name of their steamer. It is
needless to say they were unable to comply with this request.
For the first few years, the steamers named were not employed in any
regular trade, though originally designed for the Mediterranean—hence
the names TUSCANY, SICILY, BARBARY, THESSALY, &c.—but traded, as
inducement offered, to the Mediterranean, the Danube, the Black Sea,
and elsewhere. They have formed part of the Anchor Line to Bombay,
and of the Hall Line to the same port; and they have operated in the
North Atlantic in the service of Messrs. Richardson, Spence and Co.,
between Liverpool and Philadelphia.
In 1883 Messrs. David MacIver & Co. despatched their first steamer
to the River Plate, and two years later they established a regular
service between Liverpool and Buenos Ayres, Montevideo and Rosario.
In 1893, Mr. Charles Livingston, who had been associated with Mr.
MacIver for two years previously, became a partner in the firm.
Mr. Livingston takes a very active part in the management of the
steamers, and he has devoted himself with great energy and success
to the development of the River Plate trade with Great Britain. The
five steamers named having become too small for the requirements of
the service in which they were engaged, were disposed of, as stated,
to various buyers and replaced by modern steamers of greater capacity
and higher speed. These later steamers have all been designed
specially for the River Plate trade, and although large carriers, are
of remarkably light draught, thus enabling them to ascend to Rosario,
without putting consignees and shippers to the risk and expense of
transhipping cargo.
In 1894 contracts were placed with Sir Raylton Dixon & Co.,
Middlesbrough, for three steamers of exactly similar dimensions and
engine power. The first of these was the SAXONY, launched December,
1894. She is a steel screw steamer of 3,500 tons deadweight, and
fitted with triple-expansion engines (constructed by Blair & Co.,
Ltd., Stockton) working up to about 1,500 horse-power effective. The
following month (January, 1895) her sister ship, the NORMANDY, was
delivered, and February of the same year witnessed the completion of
the third vessel, the LOMBARDY.
The steamer which succeeded these was 1,000 tons larger. She is named
the BRITTANY, and was built in 1898 by Messrs. Richardson, Duck &
Co., Stockton. She is a steel screw steamer, 330 feet long, by 43
feet beam and 16 feet 6 inches depth, with a deadweight carrying
capacity of 4,500 tons. She is, like all her sister ships, propelled
by triple-expansion engines constructed by Blair & Co., Ltd.,
Stockton.
The opening of the 20th century was marked by a further and an
important advance in the carrying capacity of the firm’s steamers.
Contracts were placed with Messrs. Richardson, Duck & Co. for three
steamers, two of which are each of about 6,500 tons, and the third
of about 5,500 tons deadweight. The first of the trio, the BARBARY
(second of that name) was delivered in May, 1901, and the TARTARY
in July following. Both these vessels are practically identical as
regards size and power. They are each 370 feet long, with a beam of
48 feet 1 inch, and a depth of 19 feet and a half. Their engines
(triple-expansion) develop 3,000 horse-power. In November of the
same year the BURGUNDY, a vessel of somewhat smaller dimensions, was
completed.
The fleet of Messrs. David MacIver & Co.’s line to the River Plate at
present consists of seven full-powered steamers, but before the close
of the present year an eighth steamer, the ARABY, now in course of
construction, and of about the same dimensions as the BURGUNDY, will
be placed on the service. Formerly the steamers were each registered
as a single ship company, but in 1900 they were all incorporated in
David MacIver, Sons and Co., Ltd.
The Directors of the Limited Company are David MacIver, Esq., M.P.,
his son Charles MacIver, Esq., and Charles Livingston, Esq. The
steamers of Messrs. David MacIver and Co.’s line are deservedly
popular with shippers and consignees in the River Plate trade, who
are able to depend upon them for regularity of service and careful
handling of their goods, and with underwriters for their freedom from
serious accidents. All the steamers are comparatively new, and are
fitted with the most modern and perfect appliances for the rapid and
effective loading and discharging of general cargo.
Special attention has been given by the Company to the transit of
cattle to and from the River Plate, and each of the steamers is
fitted with permanent fittings for the conveyance of live stock. The
headquarters of Messrs. David MacIver and Co.’s line are, and have
always been situated in Liverpool, from which port it maintains a
regular fortnightly service to and from Buenos Ayres, Montevideo and
Rosario, throughout the year.
CHAPTER XVII.
MACIVER’S LIVERPOOL AND GLASGOW STEAMERS.
In the autumn of 1826 the New Clyde Shipping Company advertised
that their steampacket ENTERPRISE (Captain M’Farlane) would sail
weekly between Liverpool and Glasgow. She was a very small steamer,
being only 210 tons burthen, and the owners announced that, in
consequence of her light draft, she would proceed direct to Glasgow,
and not transfer her passengers to river steamers at Greenock, as
the larger steamers had to do. The first agents of the company were
Messrs. M’Nair and Brebner, 33, Water Street, but in January, 1829,
the agency was transferred to Mr. David MacIver, 18, Water Street.
A few months later the Glasgow and Liverpool Shipping Company was
formed, and in 1831 that company acquired the Mersey and Clyde Steam
Navigation Company’s steampackets HENRY BELL, JAMES WATT, and WM.
HUSKISSON, as well as the ENTERPRISE. The New Clyde Shipping Company
having ceased operations, Mr. MacIver formed a new steamship line of
his own, which he called the City of Glasgow Steampacket Company. The
pioneer steamer was named the CITY OF GLASGOW and sailed on her first
voyage from Liverpool on the 25th April, 1831. Three other steamers
were quickly added to the fleet, viz., the SOLWAY, VULCAN, and JOHN
WOOD, the latter steamer being named after a celebrated shipbuilder
at Port Glasgow. In 1835 the CITY OF GLASGOW (second) was put on the
station, and the sailings were increased to three per week from each
port. Mr. Charles MacIver joined his brother this year, and the style
of the firm was changed to D. MacIver & Co.
In 1837 the celebrated steamship COMMODORE was built, followed in
1840 by her equally famous sister ship, ADMIRAL.
All the steamers engaged in the Liverpool and Glasgow trade prior to
1839 were built of wood, but in that year a new steamship company
entered into competition with the existing companies, and placed the
ROYAL SOVEREIGN, an iron steamer, on the station., The immediate
result was a heavy drop in passenger and freight rates. Steerage
passengers were carried for 1s. each, and boxes and bale goods for
1d. per foot measurement. The following year (1840) a mail steamship
service between Liverpool, Canada, and U.S.A. was established, the
respective agents of the company being D. and C. MacIver, Liverpool;
J. and G. Burns, Glasgow; and Samuel Cunard, Halifax. This service,
which afterwards acquired a world-wide reputation as the “Cunard
line,” was modestly inaugurated by the despatch of the Liverpool and
Glasgow steampacket UNICORN (Captain Douglas). This vessel (the real
pioneer of the Cunard line) sailed from Liverpool for Halifax and
Boston on Saturday morning, 16th May, 1840. After she completed her
outward voyage, she continued to ply between Pictou and Quebec in
connection between the British and N.A. Royal mail steamers. Although
there were three perfectly distinct steamship companies trading
between Liverpool and Glasgow, yet so friendly were the respective
owners towards each other that in 1846 they issued a joint sailing
bill, which included the whole of the sailings for all the companies.
This arrangement continued unchanged for seven years (1853), at the
end of which period the PRINCESS ROYAL was advertised separately.
At this date the quickest, cheapest (although the fares were double
what they now are), and most comfortable mode of travelling between
Liverpool and Glasgow was by steamer. The steamers were large, swift,
and luxuriously furnished, and so numerous were the passengers that
the joint companies maintained a daily service. From the year 1853
the two services, the MacIver and the Burns, were amalgamated, the
joint line being represented in Liverpool by Chas. MacIver & Co., and
in Glasgow by G. and J. Burns. In 1850 Messrs. Chas. MacIver & Co.
instituted the steamship service between Liverpool and Havre, the
pioneer steamer being the COMMODORE, the well-known Liverpool and
Glasgow steampacket. About the same date the steamship services to
the Mediterranean were begun by Messrs. MacIver, under the style of
Messrs. Burns and MacIver. Until the year 1853 no distinctive class
of name had been adopted for the coasting steamers of the MacIver
line, but in that year the ELK and STAG were built, followed by the
LYNX and STORK. These were the last of the paddle-steamers built
to run between Liverpool and Glasgow. In 1855 the owners decided
to place screw-steamers on this station, and accordingly built the
screw-steamers OTTER, BEAVER, and ZEBRA. The ZEBRA was a large and
powerful vessel, and was amongst the earliest of the steamers taken
up by Government for transport duty during the Crimean war. All the
succeeding steamers have been of the same type, and have been named
after animals or birds. The joint service remained in force for
nearly half a century, until (in 1895) Messrs. G. and J. Burns opened
an office in Liverpool, and placed the steamers MASTIFF, POINTER
and SPANIEL on the station. The elder of the two brothers (the
founders of the “MacIver” steamship business), Mr. David MacIver,
died unmarried in 1845. His brother, the late Mr. Charles MacIver,
of Calderstone, then became the head of the firm, which position he
held until his death in 1885. The long connection of the “MacIvers”
with the Cunard Company was terminated in 1883, and they retired from
the management. Messrs. Charles and Henry MacIver (the younger sons
of the late Mr. Charles MacIver) retain the old styles of D. and C.
MacIver (for their foreign trades) and Chas. MacIver & Co. for the
steamers trading between Liverpool and Glasgow.
[Illustration: Sailboat]
CHAPTER XVIII.
SLIGO STEAM NAVIGATION CO., LTD.
During the first half of the last century Messrs. Middleton and
Pollexfen, of Sligo, owned a large fleet of sailing vessels. Some of
these vessels were barques which traded to foreign ports, but others
were swift, staunch schooners which traded regularly between Sligo
and Liverpool, and Sligo and Bristol Channel and Glasgow. But the
schooners laboured under one serious disadvantage—the uncertainty
of the duration of the passage. With favourable weather it might be
accomplished in a few days, but with adverse gales or fogs it might
occupy as many weeks. It is self-evident that, in competition with
steamers, schooners have no chance of success, so in 1856 Messrs.
Middleton and Pollexfen decided to employ steam in their Sligo and
Liverpool trade, and for this purpose built a small steamer, which
they named the SLIGO. The following year (1857) they put the SLIGO
on the Sligo and Glasgow station in opposition to Messrs. Cameron
and Co. Five years later (1862) a company was formed with the title
of the Sligo Steam Navigation Company, Limited, which took over the
steamship business of Messrs. Middleton and Pollexfen, and which has
continued to flourish, financially and otherwise. The company in
1865 built a larger steamer than the SLIGO, and named her LIVERPOOL.
The opposition in the Sligo services began under the _regime_ of
Messrs. Middleton and Pollexfen, continued for some years after the
formation of the Sligo Steam Navigation Company, but was finally
settled amicably. Messrs. Alexander A. Laird and Co. (successors to
Messrs. Cameron and Co.) retired from the Sligo and Liverpool trade,
and the Sligo Company withdrew from the Glasgow trade, purchasing
the GARLAND, which they renamed the GLASGOW. Having disposed of the
SLIGO, the company purchased a swift Clyde-built cargo and passenger
steamer, to which they transferred the name. The LIVERPOOL was sold
in 1892 to Preston buyers, but has been for several years, and is
now, employed by the Cunard Company to maintain their Liverpool
and Havre service. The same year the largest steamer yet built by
the company was placed on the Liverpool and Sligo station. The
new vessel (the LIVERPOOL) was constructed by Messrs. John Jones
and Sons, of Liverpool, and was built to the specifications and
under the supervision of Mr. H. H. West, the naval architect for
the Sligo Steam Navigation Company. She is a smart-looking boat of
the following dimensions:—Length between perpendiculars, 206 feet;
breadth, moulded, 29 feet; and depth, 15 feet 3½ inches. Her gross
register is 700 tons, and net 332 tons. The carriage of cattle being
a very important feature of the trade, careful consideration has been
given to the cattle fittings. Being a larger vessel than any of her
predecessors, increased accommodation is also provided for saloon and
deck passengers, as the trade is increasing in this direction very
considerably. The saloon and cabins are fitted up in a substantial
and comfortable manner. The engines (triple expansion), also
constructed by Messrs. Jones and Sons, are of 1,000 indicated h.p.
On her trial trip the LIVERPOOL attained a speed of 13 knots, being
a knot in excess of contract speed. The ship is lighted throughout
by electricity. The loading berth for the company’s steamers was,
originally, in the Trafalgar Dock, but is now on the east side of
the Clarence Basin, a berth they have occupied since about 1867.
The company despatches the LIVERPOOL or SLIGO once a week between
the two ports, sailing from Liverpool every Tuesday, and from Sligo
every Saturday. In addition to this, its main service, the company
has a Government contract, on which the steamer TARTAR is employed.
This steamer sails twice a week in winter, and three times per
week in summer, from Sligo to Belmullet, calling at Rosses Point,
Ballycastle, and Belderrig, to land and embark passengers. It is a
favourite tourist route in summer, affording a splendid view of the
wild coast scenery of the West of Ireland. The distance run is about
70 miles, and the time occupied about six hours. The steamers of
the Sligo Steam Navigation Company, sailing between Liverpool and
Sligo, are exposed to all the force and fury of the Atlantic gales,
as they steam along the north and north-west coasts of Ireland. It
is, therefore, an eloquent testimonial to the strength of their
construction, as well as to the ability with which they are managed,
and navigated, that they sail with unfailing regularity in winter as
in summer, and with a most gratifying freedom from accidents.
[Illustration: Sunset]
CHAPTER XIX.
WATERFORD STEAMSHIP COMPANY.
Early in the year 1836 several Waterford merchants determined to
run steamers between Waterford and Liverpool in opposition to the
steamers owned by the Messrs. Pope, of the former port. Accordingly,
on the 11th January, 1837, there was launched from Mr. John Laird’s
yard, Birkenhead, the DUNCANNON, a small iron paddle-steamer of
200 tons burthen, to the order of the Waterford Commercial Steam
Navigation Company, represented in Liverpool by Archer, Daly & Co.,
of 2, Cook Street. Three years later (1840) a second steamer, the WM.
PENN, was added to the service. The new company was so successful in
its venture that in a short time the Messrs. Pope either abandoned
the trade, or were absorbed by their rivals, who thereupon appear
to have adopted the title of the Waterford Steamship Company. There
had been for years keen rivalry between the St. George Steampacket
Company and the City of Dublin Steampacket Company, and when the
business of the former was transferred to the Cork Steamship
Company, the directors of the City of Dublin Company were by no
means favourably disposed to the new management. This unfriendly
feeling was extended to the Waterford Steamship Company, because
Mr. Joseph Malcomson (chairman of the latter company) was offered,
and accepted, a seat on the board of the Cork Steamship Company,
and his firm (Messrs. Malcomson Brothers) invested largely in the
Cork Company’s shares. The following year the Waterford and Kilkenny
Railway was opened from Waterford to Thomastown. The directors asked
the Waterford Steamship Company to change their loading berth from
the south side of the River Suir to the north side, adjacent to
the railway company’s terminus. This the steamship company refused
to do. In consequence of this refusal, the Waterford and Kilkenny
Railway Company induced the City of Dublin Company to put on steamers
between Waterford and Liverpool. But, as the City of Dublin Company
had no steamers of their own available, they chartered steamers
from the British and Irish Steampacket Company, which they placed
on the Liverpool and Waterford station. Meantime, the Waterford
Steamship Company had not been idle. The late Liverpool agent of the
company (Mr. George K. Payne) was detailed to organise an opposition
to the railway company, with emphatic instructions not to permit
a single passenger to be carried by the railway company between
Waterford and Thomastown, or _vice versa_. The distance was only
twelve miles, and an efficient car service was at once established
between the two towns. Not only was the service an efficient one,
but, rather than permit passengers to travel by the railway company,
the drivers of the cars would take them for nothing. Of course,
there were not wanting those who prophesied that the Waterford
Company and the Messrs. Malcomson (who had acquired the whole of
the steamship company’s shares) would be ruined by the opposition.
Malcomson Brothers, however, referred inquirers as to their stability
to Messrs. Overend, Gurney & Co., then at the zenith of their power,
whose reply was:—“We guarantee Messrs. Malcomson Brothers to the
extent of two million pounds sterling.”
[Illustration: CLODAGH S.S. (new 1903). Waterford Steamship Co., Ltd.]
Equally fierce was the opposition in the cross-channel service.
Passengers were frequently carried without charge between Liverpool
and Waterford, as well as between Liverpool and Dublin. A story
is told of a passenger going into the Dublin Company’s office in
Waterford, and asking what the cabin fare was to Liverpool. He was
told he would be taken for nothing, to which he replied, “That is
not good enough; you must feed me as well.” A similar tradition
exists with regard to the Liverpool and Dublin service, namely, that
when one of the rival companies advertised its willingness to carry
passengers for nothing, and to give them a loaf of bread, the other
company capped the offer by the addition of a bottle of Guinness’
stout. Not content with carrying the war into the enemy’s country by
running horsecars between Waterford and Thomastown, the Waterford
Steamship Company placed their steamer LION on the Liverpool and
Dublin station, and chartered a steamer from the Cork Steamship
Company to run in opposition to the British and Irish Company between
Dublin and London. Thereupon, the British and Irish Company chartered
a steamer from Langtry’s Belfast Steamship Company to run between
Liverpool and Cork, and the Cork Company, as a counter move, placed
their steamer MINERVA on the Liverpool and Belfast station. The
opposition was maintained with unabated fierceness for about three
years, at the end of which time the City of Dublin Company and the
Waterford Company arrived at an amicable settlement, each company
agreeing to cease opposing the other. The Belfast Steamship Company
and the British and Irish Company having now to bear the brunt of the
opposition, without the support of the City of Dublin Company, deemed
it wise to make the best terms they could with their opponents.
Accordingly, the Belfast Company divided the Liverpool and Belfast
trade with the Cork Company, and the British and Irish Steampacket
Company shared their London and Dublin trade with the Waterford
Steamship Company. The Cork Company continued to run steamers between
Liverpool and Belfast for several years, but were eventually bought
off by the Belfast Steamship Company. The Waterford Company ran two
steamers regularly between London and Dublin until the year 1870,
when they also were bought off by the British and Irish Steampacket
Company. Prior to the City of Dublin Company’s opposition, the
Bristol Steam Navigation Company and the Waterford Steamship Company
had maintained a joint service between Waterford and Bristol. The
Bristol Company’s boat left Waterford on Tuesday to catch the Bristol
cattle market, and the Waterford Company’s boat left Waterford on
Friday. As a consequence of the low rates which were in force during
the opposition, a great deal of traffic was diverted from the Bristol
route to the Liverpool route, and the Bristol Company suspended their
sailings to and from Waterford. The Waterford Company thereupon took
up the Tuesday sailings to Bristol. When the Liverpool opposition
ceased, the Bristol Company wished to resume their Tuesday sailings
from Waterford. The Waterford Company, however, refused to withdraw
their Tuesday steamer, but agreed to let the Bristol Company have
the Friday sailing. The close and friendly relationship which
had formerly existed between these two companies became somewhat
strained, and ultimately ended in so wide a breach that the Waterford
Company purchased the paddle steamer VICTORY from the Cork Steamship
Company, and placed her on the station between Bristol and Dublin, in
opposition to the Bristol Steam Navigation Company. This opposition
was withdrawn upon the Bristol Company undertaking to pay the
Waterford Company an annual sum of £1,000, which sum they continued
to pay for a great many years. About the year 1847, Malcomson
Brothers (the owners of the Waterford Steamship Company) purchased
the steamer DUBLIN, for employment in one of their London trades. She
was the first screw steamer owned by any Irish company or firm, and
she proved so successful that her new owners had all their subsequent
steamers fitted with screws, except one boat for a special trade.
Being shareholders in the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation
Company, Malcomson Brothers induced the directors of that company
to introduce screw steamers into their fleet. It was also by the
advice of Messrs. Malcomson that Richardson Brothers, the promoters
and first managers of the Inman line, built screw steamers for the
Atlantic. The Messrs. Malcomson were no mere theorists in steamship
construction; they decided to build the steamers they owned. For
this reason they established (in 1847) an iron shipbuilding and
engineering works at Waterford, under the style of the Neptune Iron
Works. They were fortunate in securing for their manager a talented
shipbuilder, the late Mr. John Horn, who was succeeded by his son,
Mr. Andrew Horn, an engineer of very exceptional abilities, and
who is the present superintendent engineer of the company. About
40 steamers were built at the Neptune Iron Works before they were
closed, several of which became famous, and all of which were noted
for their strength of hull and engines.
In 1849 the Waterford Steamship Company (Malcomson Brothers) built
at their Neptune Iron Works, Waterford, the steamer MARS. Her
original plans, which were for a paddle-boat, were altered while she
was on the stocks, and she was launched a screw steamer. She was the
first screw steamer placed on the Liverpool and Waterford station,
and at first the cattle shippers did not like the idea of shipping
by her, especially as on one of her early voyages she heeled over on
leaving Waterford Quay, and killed a large number of cattle; but the
late Captain Burns was put in command, and she proved herself to be
a safe carrier, and speedily became a favourite boat in the trade.
Two years prior to this date (1847) Malcomson Brothers built at the
same yard the steamer NEPTUNE—this was the first steamer built at
the Neptune Iron Works, and she was also the first steamer to run to
St. Petersburg. It happened in this way. The Russian Government were
very anxious to get a line of steamers established between England
and St. Petersburg, and made overtures on the subject to Malcomson
Brothers. As a result, the latter agreed to start a line from London,
of which the pioneer steamer was wrecked in the Baltic on her first
outward voyage. The NEPTUNE was then despatched. When she arrived
at Cronstadt the Mayor of St. Petersburg came on board in state,
and as she steamed up the Neva, H.I.M. the Czar Nicholas met her in
his state barge; the forts and warships fired salutes of honour,
and all the merchant ships were covered with flags. To commemorate
this important event, his Majesty the Czar commanded that whenever
the NEPTUNE came to St. Petersburg she was to be free of port and
pilotage dues.
At the time of which I write, it was impossible to over-estimate the
influence of Malcomson Brothers in the commercial steamship world. We
have seen how they were consulted by the directors of the P. and O.,
and by the promoters of the Inman line. In addition to their coasting
fleets they had steamers in the Eastern trade, one of which—the
UNA—was one of the first steamers to pass through the Suez Canal.
They were also the pioneers of the Liverpool and River Plate trade,
and were, I believe, the predecessors of Lamport and Holt. Amongst
the large fleet of steamers built for the Waterford Steamship Company
at their own shipbuilding and engineering works was a screw steamer,
the WILLIAM PENN. This steamer was sold by the Waterford Steamship
Company, and her new owners, having lengthened her and given her a
fourth mast, renamed her the EUROPEAN. As the EUROPEAN she ran for a
number of years in H. N. Hughes and Nephew’s line between Liverpool
and Bombay. She afterwards was transferred to, or chartered by, Geo.
Warren and Co., and while in their Boston and Liverpool service,
in the early seventies, she had the proud distinction of being the
first steamer to bring to Liverpool an importation of American live
cattle, consigned to Geo. Roddick and Co., Chapel Walks. Since the
withdrawal of the Malcomsons from the active control of the company,
the management of the Waterford Steamship Company has been vested in
Mr. C. Morley, under whose able management the steamers have been
maintained in a state of thorough efficiency and up-to-dateness. The
fleet of the company at the present date consists of the following
powerful steamers, which make their passages to and from Liverpool
and Waterford with unfailing regularity in about 18 hours, summer and
winter, viz.:—LARA, COMERAGH, REGINALD, DUNBRODY and MENAPIA.
The DUNBRODY has a complete installation of electric light,
including the holds, and her lower holds for the entire length form
a refrigerator. A further and larger addition, the CLODAGH, now
building, will shortly be added to the fleet, embracing all the above
improvements, with an increased speed, and increased first-class
passenger accommodation.
The Waterford Steamship Company were amongst the first steamship
owners to discard the bowsprit and figure-head, and to adopt the
straight stem. They were also amongst the first owners to build
steamers with saloons amidships, and it is their proud boast that in
the Liverpool and Waterford service, extending over sixty years, they
never lost a ship or a human life.
[Illustration: The late T. H. ISMAY, Esq.]
CHAPTER XX.
WHITE STAR LINE.
The White Star Line was founded about the middle of the last century
by the owners of a line of smart clippers sailing between England
and Australia. The great rush of adventurers to the Australian gold
diggings in the “fifties” gave a great impetus to the trade between
Great Britain and the Colonies. In the course of seven years the
White Star, Black Ball and other lines carried about half a million
passengers to the Antipodes. The “White Star” boats, even in those
days, were the largest of their class, and amongst them were the
famous wooden clippers GOLDEN ERA, CHAMPION OF THE SEAS, BLUE
JACKET, and WHITE STAR, vessels of from 3,000 to 4,500 tons gross.
An important change took place in the destinies of the line in 1867,
when the managing owner retired, and the late Thomas Henry Ismay
took over the flag. Two years later came the great event in the
history of the White Star Line, when Mr. Ismay induced some friends
to join him in the formation of the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company.
It was an enterprise boldly conceived, and carried out with great
judgment. Boldly conceived, for there were already four companies
each maintaining a regular weekly service between Liverpool and New
York. Nor were these small companies, or of indifferent reputation.
There was the Cunard Company, established about thirty years
previously; the Inman Line, with a fine fleet of clipper passenger
steamers; the Guion Line, with its large American connections; and
the National Line, with its fleet of huge cargo carriers. In spite of
this, Mr. Ismay was confident that there was room for a high-class
Trans-Atlantic passenger service, and the shares in the new company
(£1,000 each fully paid) were at once privately taken up by the firm
of T. H. Ismay & Co. and their friends, amongst whom were some of
the most substantial names in England. The following year Mr. Imrie
(of the late firm of Imrie, Tomlinson & Co.) joined Mr. Ismay, and
the style of the firm was altered to Ismay, Imrie & Co.
The first step taken by the managers of the Oceanic Steam Navigation
Company was to arrange with the celebrated shipbuilders, Messrs.
Harland and Wolff, Belfast, for the construction of a fleet of
high-class steamships, expressly for the American passenger trade.
The pioneer vessel of the line (the OCEANIC) was launched on the
27th August, 1870, and started on her maiden voyage under the White
Star flag on the 2nd March, 1871. After running for several years
between Liverpool and New York, this steamer (OCEANIC, the first),
along with her sister ships, GAELIC and BELGIC, were chartered to
the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company, of San Francisco, to
maintain a mail service between that port and the Orient. The OCEANIC
was quickly followed on the Liverpool-New York service by the BALTIC,
REPUBLIC, ADRIATIC and CELTIC, and weekly sailings from both ports
were instituted. These steamers were all of the one type, straight
stems, four masts, single funnel, and saloon amidships. They proved
themselves to be equal in speed and superior in accommodation to any
ships then afloat. Four more steamers were added to the fleet in
1873, viz., the ASIATIC, TROPIC, GAELIC and BELGIC. A great advance
on the earlier steamships was made in 1874, when the BRITANNIC was
launched, followed by her sister ship, the GERMANIC, in 1875. Prior
to the formation of the White Star Atlantic Fleet, the passage
between Liverpool and New York had averaged 9½ or 10 days, the
OCEANIC and her consorts reduced it to about 8½ days, whilst the
BRITANNIC and GERMANIC brought the time down to about 7½ days.
These vessels, with the exception of the two last named which were
larger and faster, were almost uniform in size and speed. These,
and the later vessels of the fleet, were designed and built to
attain the three-fold purpose of safety, speed and comfort, and
their performances have certainly realised the expectations of their
owners. Speed has been an important, but a secondary, consideration,
as is shewn by the following extract from the “Book of Regulations”
of the White Star Line of steamers:—
“The commanders must distinctly understand that the issue of the
following instructions does not, in any way, relieve them from
entire responsibility for the safe and efficient navigation of
their respective vessels; and they are also enjoined to remember
that, whilst they are expected to use every diligence to secure a
speedy voyage, they must run no risk which might by any possibility
result in accident to their ships. It is to be hoped that they
will ever bear in mind that the safety of the lives and property
entrusted to their care is the ruling principle that should govern
them in the navigation of their ships, and no supposed gain in
expedition or saving of time on the voyage is to be purchased at
the risk of accident. The company desires to establish and maintain
for its vessels a reputation for safety, and only looks for such
speed on the various voyages as is consistent with safe and prudent
navigation.”
Not content with giving this general regulation, the managers have
issued to the commanders of the respective ships of the fleet a
special autograph letter, laying special emphasis on the supreme
importance of extreme and unvarying caution and prudence in the
navigation of the company’s vessels. The concluding paragraph of this
letter is as follows:—
“Under all these circumstances of paramount and engrossing interest
to the company, whose property is under your charge, we invite
you to dismiss from your mind all idea of competitive passages
with other vessels, the advantage of success in which is merely
transient, concentrating your whole attention upon a cautious,
prudent, and ever-watchful system of navigation which shall lose
time, or suffer any other temporary inconvenience, rather than run
the slightest risk which can be avoided.”
The BRITANNIC when she first came out was fitted with a novelty in
the shape of a “lifting propeller.” This propeller was a patent of
the late Sir Edward Harland, senior partner of the firm by whom the
BRITANNIC was built. In long ships the pitching in a heavy sea, and
the vertical motion of the waves, tend to expose the upper portion
of the propeller, the evil effects arising from this being the
“racing” of the engines and its attendant dangers, together with a
diminished speed. Sir Edward Harland believed that a propeller which
could be worked at any depth, and which did not require the stoppage
of the vessel whilst it was being raised or lowered, would reduce
these risks to a minimum, if it did not entirely remove them. In
actual practice, however, it was found that the advantages of the
new principle did not compensate for its disadvantages, and, after a
fair trial had been given to it, it was abandoned in favour of the
old style of screw. In a letter, dated 3rd December, 1874, addressed
to the late Mr. W. S. Lindsay, Messrs. Ismay, Imrie & Co. state:—“The
average speed of the BRITANNIC is fifteen knots per hour on a
consumption of 75 to 80 tons of coal per day, and her approximate
cost, built without contract, is £200,000.”
From 1873 until 1884 the White Star Line maintained its position as
the fastest fleet on the Atlantic, a result to which the BRITANNIC
and GERMANIC contributed in no small degree. In September, 1890, the
BRITANNIC eclipsed her own previous record of 7 days 9½ hours, by
crossing from New York to Queenstown in 7 days 6 hours 55 minutes,
at an average speed of 16·80 knots. The following year (September,
1891) she surpassed even this rapid passage, by making the run from
New York to Queenstown in 7 days 6 hours 52 minutes. While employed
by H.M. Government to convey troops during the late war in South
Africa, she made the run from Queenstown to the Cape in 19 days, a
speed surpassed by few of the transports engaged. In August, 1891,
the GERMANIC following in the track of her sister ship, travelled
from New York to Queenstown in 7 days 7 hours 37 minutes, at an
average speed of 16·10 knots per hour. When it is remembered that
this high speed (nearly nineteen statute miles per hour) was attained
by vessels over 20 years old, with their original compound engines
and boilers, it will be acknowledged that, having regard to their
small coal consumption and large carrying capacity, the BRITANNIC and
GERMANIC have given results unattainable with the fastest ships of
the present day.
The GERMANIC in 1895 received new engines and boilers, and had her
passenger quarters entirely remodelled on the plan of the MAJESTIC
and TEUTONIC. In July of that year she crossed from Queenstown
to New York in 6 days 23 hours 45 minutes, and in August of the
year following in 6 days 21 hours and 38 minutes, thus showing a
substantial increase of speed.
After the launch of these two famous steamers, there was an interval
of six years during which no new vessels were added to the fleet.
The next additions were the ARABIC and COPTIC, for the Trans-Pacific
trade, in 1881. In the same year Mr. W. S. Graves, son of a
well-known former M.P. for Liverpool, became a partner.
[Illustration: OCEANIC (1870). White Star Line.]
In 1883 the IONIC and DORIC were built for the New Zealand trade—the
Shaw, Savill and Albion Line from London. In 1885 the GAELIC and
BELGIC—replacing the two older ships of the same names—were built
for the Trans-Pacific trade. A new type of steamer for the cargo and
cattle trade between Liverpool and New York was introduced in 1888,
the two first steamers of the new type being the CUFIC and RUNIC.
These vessels were the last single screw ships ordered for the White
Star Line, all the succeeding vessels being of the twin-screw type.
The CUFIC and RUNIC proved successful enough to warrant the company
in forming a complete service of cargo and cattle steamers. After
doing very efficient service as cattle carriers, the CUFIC was sold
to a Liverpool firm, who changed her name to the MANXMAN, and the
RUNIC, also sold to a Liverpool firm, is engaged in the West Indian
trade under the name of the TAMPICAN.
In January, 1889, was launched the TEUTONIC, the first of the
celebrated pair of twin-screw mercantile armed cruisers (TEUTONIC and
MAJESTIC), each 10,000 tons, which have since made for themselves a
great reputation in the New York mail and passenger service. The keel
of the TEUTONIC was laid in March, 1887. The vessel was launched 22
months later, and she left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York
on the 7th August, 1889. Prior to going on to her regular station,
she was present, armed with eight quick-firing guns, at the naval
inspection by the German Emperor at Spithead in the beginning of
August, 1889. On that occasion she astonished nautical critics with
her splendid proportions, and was honoured by a special visit from
H.I.M. the Kaiser, and H.R.H. the Prince of Wales (now H.M. King
Edward VII.). She was again present with a large party of guests at
the Diamond Jubilee Naval Review in June, 1897, when she carried an
armament of 16 guns. Her sister ship, the MAJESTIC, was launched on
the 29th June, 1889, but did not start on her first voyage until the
2nd April, 1890.
The length of time occupied in the building of these great ships is
sufficient evidence, if any were needed, of the great care bestowed
on their construction, and the builders, Messrs. Harland & Wolff,
have their reward in witnessing the successful work which is being
performed by two of the finest vessels the world has ever seen. These
two beautiful vessels quickly lowered the record on the Atlantic.
In July, 1891, the MAJESTIC steamed from Queenstown to New York in
5 days 18 hours and 8 minutes, the fastest passage then on record,
but even this was eclipsed by the TEUTONIC the succeeding month by a
passage of 5 days 16½ hours duration.
[Illustration: R.M.S. TEUTONIC. White Star Line.]
On January 1st, 1891, Mr. Ismay’s two elder sons, Mr. J. Bruce Ismay
(previously the company’s agent in New York) and Mr. James H. Ismay,
were admitted members of the firm. After 40 years’ business life Mr.
T. H. Ismay, on the 31st December, 1891, retired from the firm of
Ismay, Imrie & Co., but he continued to fill the position of chairman
of the White Star Line until his decease in November, 1899.
A large and handsome twin-screw passenger and mail steamer, the
GOTHIC, of 7,755 tons, was added to the company’s New Zealand fleet
in 1893, and four years later (1897) the DELPHIC, 8,273 tons, a
twin-screw cargo steamer, with accommodation for one class of
passengers only, was placed in the New Zealand service.
Recognising that very considerable numbers of passengers are
willing to sacrifice speed to comfort and safety, the managers of
the White Star Line determined to make an innovation by building
a twin-screw cargo steamer of exceptional size and power, fitted
with accommodation for a limited number of saloon and third-class
passengers. The new steamer which was called the CYMRIC, commenced
work in the Liverpool and New York trade in 1898. Her tonnage is
13,096 tons gross. Her passenger accommodation in both classes is
excellent, and she has proved a very attractive ship.
The autumn of 1899 was the most eventful period in the history
of the White Star Line. The Company, having sold all its sailing
ships formerly employed between England and Australia, determined
upon replacing them by a line of high-class steamships, and the
first steamer of the new line—the Medic, 11,984 tons—sailed from
Liverpool for Australian ports on the 3rd August. She was followed
by the AFRIC, PERSIC, RUNIC and SUEVIC. All these five vessels
are approximately of the same size, propelled by twin screws, and
maintain a regular monthly service between Liverpool and Australia,
via the Cape. The first return voyage of the MEDIC was taken
advantage of by the Australian Government for the conveyance of the
first contingent of Colonial troops and horses to the Cape. Intense
public interest was excited by the arrival, in the Mersey from
Belfast of the OCEANIC, the second, on Saturday, 27th August, 1899,
but almost at the moment of their greatest triumph the White Star
Line suffered the irreparable loss of the founder of the Company. Mr.
T. H. Ismay passed away, after a severe illness lasting three months,
on the 23rd November, 1899. The extent of the loss caused by his
death to the community at large, was very feelingly expressed by the
“Times,” in its issue of the following day.
The second OCEANIC sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New
York on the 6th September, 1899. The following description of her
appeared in the “Liverpool Daily Post” of 31st August, 1899:—
“Big as she is, the OCEANIC appeared nothing remarkable as she lay
yesterday in the Canada Dock, while coal was being poured into her
bunkers from eight grimy barges lying alongside. This was because
the Liverpool docks are themselves gigantic. It was only when,
from the bridge of the OCEANIC, 66 feet above the water-line,
one looked down upon the whole length of the vessel and upon the
expanse of docks and sheds, that her size was realised. On the
opposite side of the dock was the CYMRIC, from the depths of which
a horde of labourers were discharging cargo. Now the CYMRIC is
the largest cargo steamer in the world, 2,500 tons larger than
either the MAJESTIC or TEUTONIC. But from the OCEANIC’S bridge she
looked positively like a coaster. One looked down upon her busy
decks as one might look from the roof of a house into a street.
Why the bulk of the OCEANIC is not the first thing that strikes
the attention, is because her lines are graceful. She is huge,
but she is not elephantine. Her masts, even at the point where
they enter the top mast or spar deck, are nearly three feet in
diameter, that is, they are as high and as thick as patriarchal
oak; but from a near distance they look slim and tapering. The same
may be said of the ship’s boats which are as big as barges. The
fact is, that everything about this latest creation of shipping
enterprise is proportioned so beautifully that the mere hugeness of
it all is only apprehended by remembering such facts as, that her
rudder and stern frame weigh 150 tons; that 100 tons of cable lie
coiled on her foc’sle deck; that she is composed of 17,000 steel
plates, many weighing from two to three and a quarter tons; that
her promenade deck is 400 feet long; and that her monster engines
can move with the power of 28,000 horses. To look down into the
engine room from the big sky-light on the top deck is to have a
glimpse into a world that to people not used to shipping is one of
strange activity; a world where diminutive human ants are moving in
a tropical atmosphere across narrow bridges, busy preparing this
Brobdignagian apparatus for its first struggle with the forces of
the wide Atlantic, which the OCEANIC is to cross with the speed and
certainty of an express train—the conquest of the mighty force of
matter by the mighty force of mind....
“But much has been written already of the ship as a triumph of
science; the more immediate purpose here is to speak of her as a
triumph of art, as the last thing, so far, in the way of floating
hotels.... State rooms in scores to the right and to the left; now
mahogany, now oak; now satinwood; now a mixture of any two or three
of them, until the lavishness of everything became surfeiting,
notwithstanding that the Louis Quinze style succeeded the Queen
Anne, and the Queen Anne gave place to something ‘too utter’ in
decadent sumptuousness. Three decks of these apartments, with
lavatories of costly marble, suites of baths, and every other
appurtenance of physical comfort placed conveniently here and
there. It is the literal truth to say that the OCEANIC is a Hotel
Cecil afloat.”
It would serve no purpose to weary the reader with a decorator’s
specification, but the following are the dimensions of the OCEANIC,
and of the principal apartments on board:—
The library, on the promenade deck, has a length of 53 feet and a
width of 40 feet.
The saloon is 80 feet by 64 feet. The central glass dome is 21 feet
square, and is divided up by golden ribs and filled in with white
ground glass of a pearly appearance.
[Illustration: R.M.S. OCEANIC (1899). White Star Line.]
The length of the ship over all is 705½ feet; the length between
perpendiculars, 685 feet; breadth, 68 feet; depth, 44 feet; gross
tonnage, 17,274 tons; load displacement, 28,000 tons; engines, 28,000
I.H.P.
[Illustration: R.M.S. CELTIC. White Star Line.]
Mr. Harold Arthur Sanderson, who had occupied the position of general
manager to Ismay, Imrie & Co. for five years, was admitted a partner
on the 1st January, 1900. The CELTIC, a monster steamer of 20,904
tons gross, was added to the fleet in 1901. A sister ship to the
CELTIC was launched at Belfast on the 21st August, 1902. The new
vessel is named the CEDRIC, and has the distinction of exceeding in
size anything afloat, British or foreign. Like the CELTIC, she is
classed as an intermediate ship, not so fast as the OCEANIC, but yet
speedy. Her length is 700 feet and her beam 75 feet, with a gross
tonnage of 21,000 tons. She sailed on her first voyage from Liverpool
on the 11th February, 1903.
[Illustration: R.M.S. CYMRIC. White Star Line.]
In 1902 Mr. J. P. Morgan succeeded in welding into one huge
commercial undertaking, with a capital of £32,000,000, several of the
principal Transatlantic steamship companies, including the famous
White Star Line. The purchase money for the latter alone exceeded ten
millions sterling, three millions of which was payable in cash on
the 31st December, 1902, and, as a matter of fact, was actually paid
at the offices of Messrs. J. P. Morgan & Co., in London, on the 1st
December, 1902.
It was a sincere satisfaction to the British public when it was
officially intimated that the White Star flag was still to be
retained, and that Mr. J. Bruce Ismay and Mr. Pirrie (the senior
partner of the celebrated Belfast shipbuilding firm) were to be on
the directorate.
The latest addition to the New York service of the White Star Line is
the ARABIC, 15,800 tons gross register, which sailed on her maiden
voyage, June 26th, 1903, and in the autumn of 1903 the four latest
steamers built for the Dominion Line, the COLUMBUS, COMMONWEALTH, NEW
ENGLAND and MAYFLOWER, were transferred to the White Star flag, and
renamed the REPUBLIC, CANOPIC, ROMANIC and CRETIC. With the addition
of these vessels, a new service has been announced of sailings
between Boston and the principal ports in the Mediterranean, and,
in conjunction with the other steamships, the CYMRIC is intended to
maintain a Liverpool-Boston service.
A monster steamer of no less than 24,000 tons (an increase of 3,000
tons upon the CEDRIC’s tonnage) is approaching completion at the yard
of Harland & Wolff. She is to be named the BALTIC, and will probably
be ready early in the summer of 1904.
CHAPTER XXI.
Adelaide Steamship Co., Limited.—John Bacon, Limited.—R. Burton &
Sons, Limited.—Fletcher, Woodhill & Co.—T. & J. Harrison.—W. S.
Kennaugh & Co.—Lamport & Holt.—H. & W. Nelson.—R. & J. H. Rea.—J.
S. Sellers.—Henry Tyrer & Co.
The following firms hold a prominent position in their respective
trades—Foreign and Coastwise—and most of them have been established
for many years:—
The =Adelaide Steamship Co., Lim.=, was established in October, 1875,
its nominal capital being £100,000. In November, 1882, the capital
of the Company was increased to £300,000, and in December, 1900, a
further reconstruction of the Company occurred, the capital being
increased to £750,000. The first two steamers built for the Company
were the SOUTH AUSTRALIAN and the VICTORIAN. Each was slightly over
400 tons register, making a total of 900 tons; whereas the present
capacity of the Company’s fleet (consisting of 25 steamers) is about
50,000 tons. The steamers, on their various routes, trade to and from
nearly every port on the Australian seaboard. Amongst the vessels
owned by the Adelaide Steamship Co. is the FERRET, whose romantic
story is told in the first part of this volume. (See ante, page 137).
=John Bacon, Lim.=—This firm was established about the middle of the
last century by the late Mr. John Bacon. Mr. Bacon died in 1886, and
three years later the business was formed into a Limited Company. The
fleet of the Company at the present date consists of the steamers
EDEN VALE, EDITH, HEPTARCHY, PRESTONIAN, STUART, SUNLIGHT, TALBOT,
TUDOR, VIGILANT, and WEXFORD. These steamers maintain regular
sailings between Liverpool and Wexford, Liverpool and the Bristol
Channel Ports, &c.
=R. Burton & Sons.=—The firm of R. Burton & Sons was founded by
the late Mr. R. Burton, of Newport, Mon., over one hundred years
ago, and since 1840 has been carried on by his three sons. In 1898
the business was transferred to a Limited Company, with a capital
of £100,000, the major portion of the shares being retained by the
Messrs. Burton. The Company maintains regular services between
Liverpool and various ports in the Bristol Channel, a daily service
between Bristol and Cardiff, and a daily service between Bristol and
Newport, Mon.
=Fletcher, Woodhill & Co.=—This firm was established at Manchester,
in 1893, by Mr. H. A. Fletcher (of Liverpool) and Captain T. J.
Woodhill (of Sunderland). Since the opening of the Ship Canal Messrs.
Fletcher, Woodhill & Co. have taken an active part in the steamship
business of the port of Manchester. Their present services are
between Manchester and France; Manchester, Portugal and Spain; and
Manchester and Italy.
=T. & J. Harrison.=—This important Steamship Company maintains
regular sailings from Liverpool to Calcutta, New Orleans, Galveston,
Brazil and West Indies, and South of France; also joint sailings
of Ellerman-Harrison Line from Glasgow and Liverpool to South and
East Africa. The fleet at the present date (1904) consists of 36
full-powered steamships, exclusive of two steamers building, with
an aggregate gross tonnage of 179,166 tons:—ACTOR, BARRISTER,
CAPELLA, CHANCELLOR, CIVILIAN, COGNAC, COLLEGIAN, COLONIAL, COMEDIAN,
COUNSELLOR, CRAFTSMAN, CUSTODIAN, DICTATOR, DIRECTOR, ELECTRICIAN,
EXPLORER, HISTORIAN, INVENTOR, JARNAC, LOGICIAN, MAGICIAN,
MECHANICIAN, MIRA, MUSICIAN, NAVIGATOR, ORION, PATRICIAN, POLITICIAN,
SENATOR, STATESMAN, TACTICIAN, TRAVELLER, WANDERER, WAYFARER,
WORKMAN, YEOMAN.
=W. S. Kennaugh & Co.= commenced business of steamship owners at
a time when sailing vessels were being displaced in the general
coasting trade by steamers. The first boat built for the firm was the
SCALE FORCE, famous in her day for her large carrying powers on a low
net register. She was designed by a brother of the senior partner of
the firm, by whom all the succeeding steamers have been designed. The
names of the steamers at the present date owned by this firm are the
AIRA FORCE, BIRKER FORCE, HOLME FORCE, and STANLEY FORCE.
=Lamport & Holt Line.=—The Liverpool, Brazil and River Plate Steam
Navigation Co., Limited, better known as the “Lamport & Holt” Line,
was formed in 1865, the first Managers of the Line being the late
Mr. William James Lamport, and Mr. George Holt. This Company is one
of the largest of the Steamship Companies of Liverpool, at which
Port its headquarters are situated. It owns a fleet, of thirty-nine
full-powered modern cargo steamers, ranging from 1,671 tons to 6,508
tons, the average per steamer being 3,375 tons and the aggregate
tonnage 131,654 tons gross register, representing a total dead weight
carrying capacity of about 200,000 tons.
The Company has given special attention to the transit of cattle
to and from the River Plate, in which trade it has nine steamers,
specially built for this service, having permanent fittings for the
conveyance of live-stock.
These vessels have a most satisfactory record for the carriage of the
cattle shipped by them. Live stock are also carried between New York
and Manchester by boats specially adapted to the requirements of the
North Atlantic Trade.
All the steamers of the Lamport and Holt fleet are fitted with the
most modern appliances for the rapid and effective handling of
general cargo. The operations of the Company are varied and extensive
and comprise the following regular services:—From Glasgow, Manchester
and Liverpool to Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Santos, fortnightly. From
London and Antwerp to Rio de Janeiro and Santos, every ten days. From
New York (carrying first and third-class passengers) to Pernambuco,
Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and Santos, fortnightly. Also to the River
Plate from Liverpool, fortnightly; from Glasgow, monthly; from London
and Antwerp, fortnightly; and from New York at frequent intervals.
A regular monthly service is also maintained between Liverpool,
Glasgow, and West Coast ports in Chili, Peru, and Ecuador.
The steamers of this Line have always been very popular with
shippers, who are able to depend upon regularity of service, and
careful handling of their goods.
=H. & W. Nelson, Limited.=—This remarkably successful Company was
founded in 1889, by Messrs. Hugh and William Nelson.
The pioneer steamer of the fleet was the steamer SPINDRIFT, now the
HIGHLAND SCOT, which sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage on
the 12th December, 1889.
[Illustration: HIGHLAND BRIGADE S.S. H. & W. Nelson, Limited.]
A few months later (May, 1890) the second steamer of the line, the
HIGHLAND CHIEF, was launched, and the following year three additional
steamers were built for the Company, and named respectively the
HIGHLAND GLEN, HIGHLAND LASSIE and HIGHLAND MARY.
Since that date, nine vessels (including three now building) have
been added to the fleet, which consists of fourteen powerful modern
steamships of large carrying capacity. These steamers are all very
similar in design (though several are much larger) to the HIGHLAND
ENTERPRISE, of which particulars are given below.
The HIGHLAND ENTERPRISE was launched in January of the present year
(1903). She is 385 feet long, between perpendiculars; with 45 feet
beam, and draft laden 23 feet 6 inches. She has a carrying capacity
of 6,500 tons. Like her sister ships, she is insulated throughout
for carrying frozen meat, and fitted with the latest type of
refrigerating machinery, as well as the most up-to date appliances
for the effective handling of general cargo. Accommodation has been
provided amidships for about a dozen passengers. Her engines, which
are of the triple-expansion type, propelled her on her trial trip at
a speed equal to 13¾ knots per hour.
In addition to a regular fortnightly service between Liverpool and
Monte Video, Buenos Ayres and Rosario, the steamers of the Nelson
Line sail at regular monthly intervals from London and Newport (Mon.)
to the River Plate.
FLEET.
TONS REG.
HIGHLAND BRIGADE 5,640
HIGHLAND CHIEF 2,640
HIGHLAND CORRIE 4,050
HIGHLAND ENTERPRISE 4,500
HIGHLAND GHILLIE 3,935
HIGHLAND GLEN 2,974
HIGHLAND HARRIS 5,500
HIGHLAND HEATHER 5,500
HIGHLAND HOPE 4,500
HIGHLAND LAIRD 4,116
HIGHLAND LASSIE 2,488
HIGHLAND MARY 2,974
HIGHLAND SCOT 3,060
HIGHLAND WATCH 5,500
TOTAL 57,377 TONS.
=R. & J. H. Rea.=—In 1872 Mr. Russell Rea (the present M.P. for
the City of Gloucester), commenced business as a coal merchant in
Liverpool. After a lapse of seven years (1879), he admitted his
brother, Mr. James Rea, into partnership, and the style of the
firm was altered to R. & J. H. Rea. The firm own a fleet of five
powerful modern coasting steamers, each having a capacity of about
2,500 tons dead weight, and named respectively the BANGARTH,
CALGARTH, DALEGARTH, GATESGARTH, and THROSTLEGARTH. In addition to
these vessels, the firm possesses five steam tugs and about 200
lighters. Messrs. R. & J. H. Rea have offices at London, Liverpool,
Southampton, Bristol and Cardiff.
=John S. Sellers.=—Mr. Sellers commenced business as a steamship
owner at Liverpool in the early nineties, the first steamer acquired
by him being the TIMBO. Although for a short time employed as a
“tramp” she was soon placed in a regular general cargo trade, and
during the past ten years she has maintained, with every satisfaction
to shippers and consignees, the service between Liverpool and
Preston. Mr. Sellers has also established a regular trade between
Harlingen (Holland) and Liverpool, and since early in 1900 he has
built up a regular weekly service between Glasgow and Preston, which
is well served by the THURSBY and other steamers.
=Henry Tyrer & Co.=—Mr. Henry Tyrer, the sole partner in this firm,
commenced business in 1878, in Liverpool, and in 1892 opened a branch
office at Preston. The Albert Edward Dock at Preston, was opened by
the late Duke of Edinburgh in June of that year, and immediately
after the opening ceremony, the steamer LADY LOUISA, chartered by
Messrs. Henry Tyrer & Co., commenced discharging, being thus the
first steamer to unload in Preston Dock. This firm has continued from
that date to be closely associated with the steam trade of Preston.
In 1899 Messrs. Henry Tyrer & Co. built the steamer PRESTONIAN,
the first steamer to bear that name, shortly afterwards disposing
of her to Messrs. John Bacon, Limited, in whose service she is
still employed. The following year (1900) Messrs. Henry Tyrer & Co.
purchased the steamship HERMANN, of about 1,300 tons deadweight,
which is regularly employed in the firm’s wood pulp trade from Baltic
ports. The small steamer PRINCESS was purchased the same year for
employment in the firm’s regular London and Preston general cargo
trade. In 1901 the steamer PRESTONIAN, the first, was replaced by a
new steamer of 1,600 tons deadweight, also named the PRESTONIAN, and
which, like the HERMANN, is regularly engaged in the firm’s wood pulp
trade.
During the present year (1903) the firm bought the steamer MINTERNE,
and re-named her the NANCY LEE. She is a large steamer of about 4,750
tons deadweight, and has proved herself to be an excellent sea boat.
A remarkable incident in connection with this ship is, that she has
been chartered for six years, to run consecutive voyages between the
Saguenay River (Canada) and the U. K., at a fixed rate of freight
covering the whole period. In addition to their offices at Liverpool
and Preston, Messrs. Henry Tyrer & Co. have also branch offices at
London and Manchester, in connection with their extensive and largely
developing wood pulp trade.
[Illustration: Steamship]
INDEX.
AARON MANBY (1822), first iron steamboat, 39
Abbé Arnal and Marquis de Jouffroy (1781), 8
ACCOMMODATION, first Canadian steamboat, 9
ACHILLES (Holt Line), Remarkable steaming powers of, 136
Adelaide Steamship Co., Limited, 315
ADRIATIC (Collins Line), 114
African Steamship Co., 167
ALASKA (Guion Line), 111
ALASKA (ex FARRALONES, ex MASSACHUSETTS), 92
ALBION (1816), Clyde Steampacket, 29
Allan, James (Messrs. Wilcox & Anderson), 49
Allan Line, 147
AMERICA (National Line), 109
ANCIENT BRITON (1816), 24
ARCTIC (Collins Line), 95
ARCTIC (Collins Line), Loss of, 101
ARGYLE (1813), re-named THAMES, 12
ARIZONA (Guion Line), 112
ASIA (Cunard Line), 98
ATALANTA (1836), 49
ATLANTIC (Collins Line), 95, 96
Bacon (John), Limited, 315
BALTIC (Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Co.), 55
BALTIC (Collins Line), 95
Belfast, First steamer to and from Greenock and, 26
Belfast, First steamer to and from Liverpool and, 33
Belfast Steampacket Co., established, 40
Bell, Henry, present at Mr. Miller’s experiments in 1789, 6
—— gives Fulton the plans of the CHARLOTTE DUNDAS, 1803, 6
—— employs the steamer COMET on the Clyde, 1812, 11
—— Clyde Trustees grant Annuity to, 12
—— —— Erect Obelisk in memory of, 12
BERENICE (1836), 49
Bibby Bros. & Co., founded 1807, 56
Bibby Line, 203
BIRMINGHAM (City of Dublin Co.) brings news of defeat of Don
Miguel, 64
Bourne, Messrs., establish steamship service to the Peninsula, 49
BRITANNIA, pioneer Cunard Liner, 92
BRITANNIA (1815), Clyde Steampacket, 27
BRITANNIA (1815), Season tickets issued for, 29
British and African Steam Navigation Co., Limited, 170
British and Irish Steampacket Co., Limited, 195
British India Steam Navigation Co., 55
British Queen Steam Navigation Co., 70
BRITISH QUEEN (steamship), 71
BURMAH (British India Co.), 56
Burns, G. and J., commence business as steamship owners, 42
—— first steamer AYR, 1825, 43
—— despatch steamer FINGAL, Glasgow to Belfast, 1826, 43
—— enter the Liverpool and Glasgow trade, 1829, 43
—— sell their West Highland steamers, 1851, 43
—— joint founders of the Cunard Line, 1840, 78
Burton, R. and Sons, Limited, 316
BUSSORAH (British India Co.), 56
CALCUTTA, Loss of, 55
Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Co., 55
CALEDONIA, Clyde Steampacket, 27
CALEDONIA, Clyde Steampacket (Quotation from “Life of Watt”), 29
Caledonian Railway Co., 154
Canadian Pacific Railway Co., 150
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, Loss of, 55
CAR OF COMMERCE (1813), 10
Cattle ventilators on steamers suggested, 1820, 35
CHARLOTTE DUNDAS (1803), 5
CITY OF CORK, first Irish steamboat, 13
CITY OF DUBLIN (1823), pioneer steamer of the City of Dublin Co., 40
City of Dublin Steampacket Co., established 1823, 40
—— establish regular steampacket service between England, Ireland
and
France, 1827, 44
—— History of, 179
CITY OF GLASGOW (Inman Line), 106
CLERMONT, first passenger steamer in the world, 7
—— Eye witness’s account of first passage of, 7
—— Wilful attempts to destroy, 8
Collins Line, 94
COLOMBO (P. & O. Liner), 53
COMET, first European passenger steamer, 11
—— Advertised by Henry Bell, 12
—— Dimensions of, 12
—— Amusing anecdote relating to, 12
CONDE DE PATMELLA, probably the first steamer to cross the Atlantic
from Europe, 35
Cork Steamship Co., Limited, 207
Cunard, Samuel, crosses the Atlantic in the LIVERPOOL, 78
—— tenders for British and North American Mail Service, 78
—— conjointly with Messrs. Burns & MacIver, founds the Cunard
Line, 78
Cunard Line founded in 1840, 78
—— obtains Mail Contract, Halifax, New York and Bermuda, 94
—— History of, 221
DEFIANCE (1815), Thames Steampacket, 13, 23
DE GARAY (1543), Alleged invention by, 2
Dodd, Captain, 17
Dominion Line, 150
Dublin and Liverpool Steam Navigation Co., established 1824, 40
—— purchased by City of Dublin Co., 41
DUMBARTON CASTLE, Clyde Steampacket, 27
—— sails round Ailsa Craig, 1816, 30
—— sails round North of Scotland, 1819, 30
Eastern Steam Navigation Co., 119
Elder, Dempster & Co., 90, 151, 161
EMERALD (Turbine S.Y.), 158
ENTERPRISE, first steamer from England to Calcutta, 43, 47, 48
ERIN (1826), 44
ETNA, first steam ferry boat between Liverpool and Tranmere, 24
FARRALONES, ex MASSACHUSETTS, re-named ALASKA, 92
FENELLA (Ardrossan and Fleetwood Steamer), 116
FERRET, Remarkable history of steamer, 137
Fitch, Mr. (1783), uses steam boilers on American Rivers, 4
Fletcher, Woodhill & Co., 316
Flinn, Main and Montgomery, 150
Franco-Algerian Expedition, Steamers chartered for, 63
GEORGE CANNING (1825), and the Rival Steampacket, 42
Glasgow Steampackets in 1815, 27
—— in 1818, 31
Glasgow Steampacket passenger fares, 1818, 31
Glasgow and South Western Railway Co., 154
GOLDEN AGE (steamship), 131
GREAT BRITAIN (steamship), in the Atlantic trade, 81
—— in the Australian trade, 129
Great Central Railway Co., 155
Great Eastern Steam Navigation Co., 119
GREAT EASTERN (steamship), 119
Great Eastern Railway Co., 156
GREAT LIVERPOOL, ex LIVERPOOL, 51
Great Western Steamship Co., 71
GREAT WESTERN (steamship), 71
Great Western Railway Co., 153
Guion Line, 110
Harrison, T. and J., 316
HERO (steam yacht), 39
HIBERNIA (1816), first steamer between England (Holyhead) and Ireland
(Howth), 26
HIMALAYA (P. & O. Liner), 53
HINDOSTAN (P. & O. Liner), 52
Holt Line, 134
Houlder Line, 244
Houston Line, 237
HUGH LINDSAY (East India Co.’s steamer), 48
Hulls, Jonathan (1736), first patentee of a steamboat, 2
Hutcheson, David, & Co., 43
Imperial Direct West India Service, Limited, 90
—— History of, 175
INDIA, first steamer with Indian produce via Suez Canal, 56
INDUSTRY (1813), Clyde Steampacket, 12, 16
Inman Line, 106
Inman, William, 107
Irish steamers, 13
Johnston, Lieut. (1822), 45
Kennaugh, W. S. and Co., 317
KING EDWARD (Turbine Steamer), 157
Laird, Alex. A., 37
Laird Line, 29, 37, 251
Lamport and Holt, 317
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Co., 153
Langlands Line, 261
Lardner, Dr., on steam communication with America, 68
LEEDS, pioneer steamer between Belfast, Dublin and Bordeaux, 44
LEVIATHAN (_see_ GREAT EASTERN), —
LIGHTNING (one of the first steamships in the British Navy), 40
Lindsay, W. S., author and shipowner, 134
Little, James, & Co., 268
LIVERPOOL (_see also_ GREAT LIVERPOOL), 76
LIVERPOOL (first steamer ever seen on the Mersey), 15
Liverpool steamers highly commended in Parliamentary Report, 1822, 39
Liverpool and Kingstown Mail Service established, 44
London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Co., 152
London and North Western Railway Co., 153
London and South Western Railway Co., 153
LORD BLANEY, Mutiny on board, Loss of, 64
MacBrayne, Mr. David, partner in David Hutcheson & Co., 43
MacBrayne’s West Highland Steamers, 275
MacIver, David, & Co., 282
MacIver’s Liverpool and Glasgow Steamers, 287
McKean, McLarty and Lamont, 147
McKinnon, Frew & Co., 55
MAJESTIC (1816), Thames Steampacket, 23
Malcomson Bros., 113
MARGARET (first screw steamer belonging to Hull), Loss of, 65
MARJORY (1815), Thames Steampacket, 13
MASSACHUSETTS (Auxiliary steamer), 91
Miller, Patrick (Banker), 1780 to 1788, 4
—— builds a triple vessel propelled by manual labour, 4
—— launches (1788) a twin steamboat on Dalswinton Loch, 5
—— places (1789) a larger steamboat on the Forth and Clyde Canal,
5
Miller dies (1815) having exhausted his fortune by experiments, 6
MOOLTAN (P. & O. Liner), 54
MORNING STAR (1819), Extraordinary accident to, 34
Napier, David, 25
—— establishes steampacket service between Greenock and Belfast, 26
National Line, 108
Nelson, H. and W., Limited, 318
NEPTUNE (steamship), 117
Newcomen, Thomas (1705), 2
North British Railway Co., 155
Norwegian Grace Darling, A, 117
OREGON (Guion Line), 112
ORIENTAL (P. & O. Liner), 51
ORION, Loss of steamer, 115
PACIFIC (Collins Line), Loss of, 100
PACIFIC, first Mail Steamer between Liverpool and Valparaiso, 60
Pacific Steam Navigation Co., 58
PAPIN (1681), 2
PARANA (Malcomson Bros. Line), 113
Peninsular Steam Navigation Co., established 1834, 49
—— title changed to P. & O. Steam Navigation Co., 1838, 51
—— history of Company, 49
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. (_see_ Peninsular Steam
Navigation Co.), 49
PERU, pioneer steamer of the Pacific Steam Navigation Co., 59
PRESIDENT, Loss of Steamship, 76
Portugal, Civil war in, 63
QUEBEC (early Canadian steamboat), 10
QUEEN (Turbine steamer), 158
QUEEN ALEXANDRA (Turbine steamer), 158
Rea, R. and J. H., 319
REGENT (1816), Description of, 23
—— destroyed by fire, 24
REGULATOR (1818), early Liverpool and Tranmere Ferry steamer, 25
ROBERT BRUCE (1819), first Liverpool and Glasgow steamer, 34
ROBERT LOWE (Auxiliary screw steamer), 134
ROB ROY, first steamer between Greenock and Belfast, 26
ROTHESAY CASTLE (1816), Clyde Steampacket, 30
Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. (Galway Line), 112
ROYAL CHARTER (Auxiliary Steamship), 132
ROYAL FERDINAND (1817), first steamer built in Spain, 25
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., 84
ROYAL TAR, pioneer steamer of the Peninsular Steam Navigation Co., 49
ROYAL WILLIAM (City of Dublin Co.), first Liverpool and New York
Liner, 73
ROYAL WILLIAM (of Quebec), first vessel to cross the Atlantic by steam
power only, 70
SAVANNAH (Auxiliary steamship), 32
Savory, Thomas, 2
SCOTLAND, first foreign vessel to load at Shanghai, 134
Season Contract Tickets (1816), issued per steamers, 29
Sellers, John S., 320
SIRIUS, first passenger steamer from Europe to America, 71
Siberian Steamers, The first two, 25
Sligo Steam Navigation Co., 290
SNAKE (1820), first Indian steamer, 35
SOPHIA JANE, first steamer from England to Australia, 129
South Eastern and Chatham Railway Co., 152
ST. GEORGE (Steampacket), 37
St. George Steam Packet Co., established, 37
St. George Steam Packet Co., re-constructed 1844, 39
ST. PATRICK (Steampacket), 37
Suez Canal opened by Empress Eugenie, 1869, 54
SWIFT (1825), Extraordinary advertisement by owners of, 41
SWIFTSURE (1813), Canadian Steampacket, 10
Symington, William, 5
Taylor (1780 to 1788) suggests steam power to Mr. Miller, 4
TELICA, first steamer on the Pacific, 58
THAMES, ex ARGYLE (1813), 12
—— London “Times,” Notice of, 13
—— Description of, 16
—— narrative of voyage from Glasgow to London, 17
Tod and MacGregor (shipbuilders), 106
TOURIST (1821), 35
TRENT R.M.S., Arrest of confederate Commissioner on board of, 90
TRITON (1820), Havre and Rouen Steamer, 35
TURBINIA, first Turbine Steamer, 157
Tyrer, Henry and Co, 320
Valentia Transatlantic Steam Navigation Co., 67
VESTA collides with Collins Liner ARCTIC, 101
VICTORIAN, first Transatlantic Turbine Steamship, 149
Waghorn, Lieut., 48
Waterford Steamship Co., Limited, 293
WATERLOO (1819), first Liverpool Cross-Channel Steamer, 33
Wesewelodsky, Mr. (1817) builds two steamers in Siberia, 25
White Star Line, 300
Wilcox and Anderson, 49
WM. FAWCETT (1829), Steampacket, 50
Wm. Wheelwright, promoter of steam navigation in the Pacific, 58
YORKSHIREMAN (1823), first steamer from Hull to the Continent, 39
C. TINLING AND CO., PRINTERS, VICTORIA STREET, LIVERPOOL.
ADVERTISEMENTS.
THE LARGEST FIRE OFFICE IN THE WORLD.
FIRE. LIFE.
ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDINGS,
1, NORTH JOHN STREET,
LIVERPOOL.
[Illustration:
ROYAL
INSURANCE
COMPANY
]
ROYAL INSURANCE BUILDINGS,
28, LOMBARD STREET,
LONDON.
Total Funds over £12,000,000.
_FIRE DEPARTMENT._
Insurances of every description effected at moderate rates of
premium. Claims promptly and equitably settled. Risks inspected
and rates quoted free of charge, and every assistance rendered in
arranging and revising insurances.
_LIFE DEPARTMENT._
Large participation in profits. Independent valuations by the most
stringent tables. Profits divided every five years. Last Reversionary
Bonus declared, £7 10s. per cent. Large intermediate bonuses and
liberal surrender values. New non-forfeiture conditions. Low ratio of
expenditure. _=Special facilities for meeting Death Duties; immediate
payment to the Crown without probate.=_
ABSOLUTE SECURITY. MODERATE RATES OF PREMIUM. LIBERAL POLICY
CONDITIONS.
_Proposal forms and every information may be obtained of the Head
Offices, Branches, and numerous Agencies of the Company._
_Manager_—=CHARLES ALCOCK=,
_Sub-Manager_—=GEO. CHAPPELL.=
_Asst. Secretaries_—=WM. ROPER=; =J. J. ATKINSON=.
_Secretary in London_—=JOHN H. CROFT.=
ALLIANCE ASSURANCE COMPANY, LIMITED,
WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED
THE IMPERIAL INSURANCE COMPANY, LIMITED.
ESTABLISHED 1824.
Head Office:—BARTHOLOMEW LANE, LONDON, E.C.
Authorized Capital— Invested Funds exceed—
£5,250,000 Sterling. £10,000,000 Sterling.
DIRECTORS—
_Chairman_—The Right Hon. Lord ROTHSCHILD, G.C.V.O.
CHARLES EDWARD BARNETT, Esq.
Right Hon. Lord BATTERSEA.
FREDERICK CAVENDISH BENTINCK, Esq.
FRANCIS A. BEVAN, Esq.
PERCIVAL BOSANQUET, Esq.
Hon. KENELM PLEYDELL BOUVERIE.
T. H. BURROUGHES, Esq.
FRANCIS WILLIAM BUXTON, Esq.
JOHN CATOR, Esq.
VICTOR C. W. CAVENDISH, Esq., M.P.
Colonel the Hon. EVERARD C. DIGBY.
Major-gen. Sir ARTHUR ELLIS, G.C.V.O., C.S.I.
JAMES FLETCHER, Esq.
JOHN HAMPTON HALE, Esq.
ALEX. LAWRIE, Esq.
FRANCIS ALFRED LUCAS, Esq., M.P.
EDWARD HARBORD LUSHINGTON, Esq.
Hon. HENRY BERKELEY PORTMAN.
Hon. LIONEL WALTER ROTHSCHILD, M.P.
HUGH COLIN SMITH, Esq.
Right Hon. Lord STALBRIDGE.
Lieut.-Col. F. ANDERSON STEBBING.
Right Hon. The EARL OF VERULAM.
Sir CHARLES RIVERS WILSON, G.C.M.G. C.B.
ROBERT LEWIS, _General Manager_.
Liverpool Branch:—=30, EXCHANGE STREET EAST=.
=LIVERPOOL BOARD—=
FREDERIC NORTH, Esq., _Chairman_,
MORRIS P. JONES, Esq., J.P., _Deputy-Chairman_.
ALFRED TYRER, Esq.
FREDK. W. FRODSHAM, Esq.
R. L. GREENSHIELDS, Esq.
R. ALFRED HAMPSON, Esq.
WM. BARTLETT, Esq.
FRANCIS J. WELD, Esq.
GEORGE DAVISON, Esq.
H. T. OWEN LEGGATT, _Secretary_.
W. E. C. HUTTON, _Fire Superintendent_.
=Branch Establishments also at Birmingham, Bristol, Bury St. Edmunds,
Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-on-Tyne,
Nottingham, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Wrexham, Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Dublin and Belfast.=
LIFE DEPARTMENT.
Moderate Rates of Premium.
Large Bonuses, including Interim Bonuses.
Unclaimed Surrender Values applied in keeping Assurances in force.
Claims paid immediately after proof of death, age, and title.
Except in, special cases, New Policies are Whole-World and
Indisputable.
=DEATH DUTIES.=—In order to enable the owners of Property to provide
for the payment of the =ESTATE DUTY=, Special forms of Policies
have been prepared under which the Policy moneys (or such portion
thereof as may be required for the purpose) will be paid direct to
the Inland Revenue Office without waiting for the production of
Probate. A Prospectus containing full particulars will be forwarded
on application.
FIRE DEPARTMENT.
Fire Insurances Granted at Current Rates.
LEASEHOLD AND SINKING FUND POLICIES.
are granted (on terms which may be ascertained on application),
enabling Leaseholders to recoup their expenditure by a small Annual
Premium, or by a single Payment in advance.
=The Directors are open to entertain applications for Agencies from
parties who are in a position to introduce business of a high class.=
Full Prospectuses and Statements of Accounts may be had on
application to the Head Office of the Company, or to Liverpool
Branch, 30, Exchange Street East.
Manufacturers
OF
ALL KINDS
OF
FLOUR
FOR
EXPORT
AND
HOME
USE.
[Illustration:
Joseph Appleby & Sons
Limited.
BLACKBURN
FRONT VIEW
BLACKBURN
CANAL VIEW
BOOTLE
LIVERPOOL
ENFIELD
Millers at
ENFIELD, BURNLEY, BLACKBURN, BOOTLE & LIVERPOOL
]
AND OF
APPLEBY’S
SSSS
LILYWHITE
SNOWFLAKE
SSS
SS
S
CHOICE
FINES.
Telegrams—“LIGHTERAGE.” Telephones:—Liverpool—1133.
” 8147.
Bootie—333.
Garston—143.
LIVERPOOL LIGHTERAGE CO.,
LIMITED,
Drury Buildings, Water Street,
[Illustration: Decoration] LIVERPOOL.
[Illustration: Sailboat]
_Every Description of Lighterage_
... _UNDERTAKEN BETWEEN_ ...
HIGH LEVEL LIVERPOOL DOCKS, BIRKENHEAD TIPS, GARSTON,
WIDNES, ST. HELENS, WESTON POINT,
SALTPORT, ELLESMERE PORT, NORTHWICH,
MANCHESTER.
=Steam and Sailing Flats to all usual Coastwise Ports.=
HENRY BLOOR,
_Manager and Secretary_.
WATSON PRICKARD,
_(Combining the business of J. H. KNIGHT & CO.)_,
SHIRT TAILOR,
GENTLEMEN’S COMPLETE OUTFITTER,
_16, NORTH JOHN STREET_,
[Illustration: Decoration] LIVERPOOL.
Telephone—5808. Telegrams—“Burnaby.”
BURNABY & CHANTRELL,
ESTABLISHED 1875.
LIVERPOOL.
[Illustration: Decoration]
Importers and Manufacturers of ...
Lubricating Oils and Greases.
CYLINDER.
ENGINE.
SPINDLE.
LOOM.
GAS ENGINE.
DYNAMO.
MOTOR.
LAMP.
SOLIDIFIED OILS.
GREASES.
COTTON WASTE.
PACKING, ETC.
Price Lists and Samples on Application.
JOHNSON & SILVER,
DUKE’S DOCK, LIVERPOOL.
_Best prices given for Californian Lining Boards._
Dunnage Wood supplied at fair rates.
Telephone 5833.
COCHRANE & SONS,
SHIPBUILDERS AND ENGINEERS,
[Illustration: Decoration] SELBY, Yorks.
Builders of Steam and Sailing Passenger and Cargo Vessels,
Steam Trawlers (a speciality), Steam Herring Drifters,
Steam Tugs, Barges, &c., &c.
Transcriber’s Notes
pg xiii Changed Chapter XIII page number from 84 to 78
pg xv Changed: Glensannox p.s. 154
to: Glen Sannox p.s. 154
pg 5 Changed period to comma after: which was much greater than he
anticipated
pg 33 Changed: and two state-rooms for families
to: and two staterooms for families
pg 77 Changed: filled with references to the illfated vessel
to: filled with references to the ill-fated vessel
pg 81 Changed: The Captain (Lieut. Hoskins, R.N.)
to: The Captain (Lieut. Hoskin, R.N.)
pg 105 Changed: a crew of 50 men and 147 pasengers;
to: a crew of 50 men and 147 passengers;
pg 119 Changed: engineers of the period were secured, Mr. J. K. Brunel
to: engineers of the period were secured, Mr. I. K. Brunel
pg 122 Changed: less successful than on the first occcasion
to: less successful than on the first occasion
pg 123 Changed: by the company’s engineer, Mr. J. K. Brunel.
to: by the company’s engineer, Mr. I. K. Brunel.
pg 127 Changed: She was chartered in 1896 by “Lewis’s
to: She was chartered in 1886 by “Lewis’s
per: Errata on page xiii
pg 134 Changed: The ROBERT BRUCE.
to: The ROBERT LOWE.
per: Errata on page xiii
pg 137 Changed: capacity of 400 tons dead-weight cargo
to: capacity of 400 tons deadweight cargo
pg 176 Changed: according to the position of the state-room
to: according to the position of the stateroom
pg 207 Changed: year 1821, its head-quarters
to: year 1821, its headquarters
pg 213 Changed: and the Preussicher Adler, of 563 tons
to: and the Preussischer Adler, of 563 tons
pg 213 Changed: the Preussicher Adler being the first steamer
to: the Preussischer Adler being the first steamer
pg 216 Added period after: to be taken by the Dockyard officials
pg 227 Changed: returning from new York every Wednesday
to: returning from New York every Wednesday
pg 295 Changed: carried by the railway company betwen Waterford
to: carried by the railway company between Waterford
pg 328 Changed: Swiftsure (1183), Canadian Steampacket, 10
to: Swiftsure (1813), Canadian Steampacket, 10
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The history of steam navigation" ***
Copyright 2023 LibraryBlog. All rights reserved.