NORTH ATLANTIC STEAMSHIP COMPANIES.
THE COLLINS LINE.
The earliest formidable rival to the Cunard Line was the famous
Collins Line, founded in New York in 1848, and which derived its name
from Mr. E. K. Collins, its chief promoter, who had previously been
largely interested in sailing ships, and more particularly in the
splendid line of New York and Liverpool packets, popularly known as the
Dramatic Line. The Collins Line started with a fair wind, so to speak.
It was launched by a wealthy company, amid an outburst of national
applause, and was liberally backed by the Federal Government, with an
ill-concealed determination to drive the Cunarders from the seas. But
the illusion was destined to be soon dispelled, for, as Charles MacIver
put it in writing to Mr. Cunard, “The Collins Line are beginning to
find that breaking our windows with sovereigns, though very fine
fun, is too costly to keep up.” Disasters ensued. In ten years the
losses had become stupendous, and the enterprise culminated in a total
collapse.
The Line began with a fleet of four magnificent wooden paddle-wheel
steamships, the _Atlantic_, _Arctic_, _Baltic_ and _Pacific_, each
282 feet in length, and of 2,680 tons burthen. They were built by
W. H. Brown, of New York, and combined in their construction and
machinery the then latest improvements. The passenger accommodation
was far superior to that of the Cunard steamers of the period. Each
of them cost $700,000, an amount so far exceeding the original
estimate that the Government had to make the company an advance. The
credit of the country being in a sense at stake, provision was made
for a liberal subsidy. $19,250 per annum had been the original sum
specified for a service of twenty round voyages, but that was found
to be totally inadequate, and the Government eventually agreed to
increase the subsidy to $33,000 per voyage, or $858,000 per annum for
only twenty-six voyages, which was more than double what had been paid
to the Cunard Company for a like service. The Collins Line, however,
promised greater speed than their rivals, and that counts for much in
popular estimation.
[Illustration: THE “ATLANTIC,” OF THE COLLINS LINE, 1849.]
The Line soon came into favour, and its success seemed to be assured.
The first voyage was commenced from New York by the _Atlantic_, April
27th, 1849. The _Arctic_ followed, making the eastward voyage in 9
days, 13 hours and 30 minutes; and the westward, in 9 days and 13 hours
from Liverpool. Thus they had broken all previous records for speed
which, added to their luxurious appointments, caused them to be loyally
patronized by the Americans. For a time they carried 50 per cent. more
passengers from Liverpool to New York than their opponents. The last
addition to the fleet was the _Adriatic_, in 1857, by far the finest
and fastest vessel afloat at that time. She was built by Steers, at New
York: was 355 feet long, and 50 feet broad; her gross tonnage being
3,670. Her machinery, which was constructed at the Novelty Iron-Works,
New York, consisted of two oscillating cylinders, each 100 inches in
diameter, working up to 3,600 indicated horse-power, with a steam
pressure of 20 lbs. to the square inch. Her paddles were 40 feet in
diameter, and, at seventeen revolutions per minute, gave her a speed of
thirteen knots on a daily consumption of eighty-five to ninety tons of
coal.
Owing to financial embarrassments, resulting from losses by shipwreck,
the company soon after broke up, and the richly-endowed fast line, that
was to drive the Cunarders off the ocean, itself came to grief. The
_Adriatic_ was laid up after making a few fine voyages, and finally
came to an ignominious end as a coal-hulk in West Africa. In September,
1854, the _Arctic_ collided with a small steamer, the _Vesta_, off
Cape Race, in a dense fog, and sank, with the loss of 323 lives.
Captain Luce went down with his ship, but rose again to the surface,
was picked up by one of the boats and landed in safety. Among those
who were drowned were the wife, the only son, and a daughter of Mr.
Collins, and many other prominent Americans. The loss of the _Pacific_,
which followed two years later, proved the death-knell of the Collins
Line. She sailed from Liverpool on June 26th, 1856, in command of
Captain Eldridge, with forty-five passengers and a crew of 141, and was
never afterwards heard of. The _Atlantic_ and _Baltic_ were sold and
converted into sailing ships.
Mr. E. K. Collins was a native of Massachusetts, where he was born in
1802. When a youth he went to sea as supercargo. Some years later he
joined his father in the general shipping business, and eventually
became head of the New York firm, celebrated for its magnificent line
of sailing packets. He died in 1878.
[Illustration: “CITY OF PARIS,” 1889.
Now (1898) a U. S. armed cruiser and renamed _Harvard_.]
THE INMAN AND INTERNATIONAL LINE.
This famous Line took its name from William Inman, a partner in the
firm of Richardson Bros., Liverpool, in connection with whom he founded
this steamship service in 1850, under the title of the Liverpool, New
York and Philadelphia Steamship Company. The line began with only two
steamers—the _City of Glasgow_ and _City of Manchester_—both screw
steamships, built by Messrs. Tod and McGregor, of Glasgow. These boats
having proved successful and profitable, and especially popular with
emigrants, their shipping port was changed from Philadelphia to New
York in 1857. In the meantime a number of high-class steamers had been
added to the fleet, each improving upon its predecessor, until the line
became famous for speed and comfort. The _City of Brussels_, launched
in 1869, was the first on the Atlantic to reduce the voyage to less
than eight days. This fine ship came to grief through collision with
another vessel off the mouth of the Mersey during a dense fog, January
7th, 1883. The Inman Line met with a number of other heavy losses. The
_City of Glasgow_, with 480 persons on board, and the _City of Boston_
both disappeared mysteriously in mid-ocean; the _City of Montreal_ was
burned at sea, but all hands were saved; the _City of Washington_ and
_City of Philadelphia_ were wrecked on the coast of Nova Scotia; the
first _City of New York_ and the _City of Chicago_ became total wrecks
on the Irish coast, the one on Daunt’s Rock near Queenstown, the other
on the Old Head of Kinsale in the same neighbourhood.
The _City of Berlin_, which came out in 1875, proved a great success,
but later additions, culminating in the new _City of New York_ and
_City of Paris_, gained this line for a time undisputed supremacy.
These twin-screw ships, built by J. & G. Thomson, of Glasgow, are
over 500 feet in length, rated at 10,500 tons, and 18,000 indicated
horse-power, and have developed a high rate of speed. The _Paris_,
as she is now called, made her maiden trip in May, 1889, in 5 days,
22 hours, 50 minutes. Her fastest westward trip was made in October,
1892, viz., 5 days, 14 hours, 24 minutes—the fastest ever made up to
that time. The _New York_ for some time held the record for the fastest
voyage from Southampton to Sandy Hook, made in September, 1894—6
days, 7 hours, 14 minutes. Both ships have met with mishaps: the _New
York_, going east, had one of her engines disabled, but completed the
voyage with the other, actually running 382 knots in one day with only
one engine at work. The _Paris_ had a much more alarming accident.
The breaking of one of her main shafts set the engine a-racing, and
before it could be stopped a rent was made in the ship’s hull, the
longitudinal bulkhead separating the engine-rooms was broken and both
engine-rooms were flooded. The other bulkheads, however, did their duty
and kept her afloat until a passing steamer towed her into Queenstown,
where the water was pumped out and she proceeded to Liverpool
unassisted. Her escape from destruction was marvellous: as it was, the
damage to the ship and machinery was enormous. On another occasion the
same ship’s rudder became disabled in mid-ocean, but by means of her
twin screws she was kept on her course and brought safely to port.
Since then she has limped across the Atlantic with one engine, owing to
a broken shaft.
[Illustration: “CITY OF PARIS”—HER TWIN SCREWS.
From “Our Ocean Railways.”]
[Illustration: “CITY OF PARIS”—DINING ROOM UNDER THE DOME.]
The Inman Line was the first to introduce the twin-screw in the
Atlantic service. It was also the first to place the comforts and
conveniences of steam navigation within the reach of emigrant steerage
passengers, and by so doing made a distinct advance in the cause of
humanity. In 1856-57 they carried no less than 85,000 emigrants.
The Inman Line passed from its founders in 1875, and became a private
limited company, which, in 1886, entered into negotiations with the
American International Navigation Company, better known as the Red
Star Line. At that time the fleet consisted of the _City of Berlin_,
_City of Chester_, _City of Chicago_, _City of Richmond_ and _City of
Montreal_. The _New York_ and _Paris_ hoisted the American flag in
1893, but the change consequent on their new registration and their
re-christening made no change in the name of the company.
In 1892 the company secured a contract for carrying the United States
mails, weekly, from New York to Southampton, in consideration of a
subsidy, amounting to about $750,000 a year. Southampton was preferred
to Liverpool as being much nearer London and as having exceptionally
good harbour facilities. The sea voyage, however, is about 200 miles
longer than from New York to Queenstown. In terms of their contract,
two magnificent twin-screw steamers have recently been added to the
fleet,—the _St. Louis_ and _St. Paul_, built on the Delaware by
Messrs. Cramp and Sons, of Philadelphia. They are claimed to be the
embodiment of the finest American skill and workmanship. Over 6,000
tons of steel were used in the construction of the hull of each ship;
their length over all is 554 feet, breadth 63 feet, depth 42 feet;
their gross tonnage is 11,000 tons and their engines are of 20,000
horse-power. They are designed to carry 320 first-class, 200 second,
and 800 steerage passengers, and the arrangements for each class are
unsurpassed. The main saloon is 110 feet long by 50 feet wide, with
seats for all her cabin passengers at one sitting. It is handsomely
decorated and finished in white mahogany, and is well lighted from the
sides and a lofty dome overhead. The drawing-room is in white and gold
and luxuriously furnished. The staterooms are roomy, well ventilated
and fitted up with every convenience necessary to comfort; there are
also suites of rooms, comprising bedroom, bath-room and sitting-room,
all elegantly furnished. These ships can carry enough coal, cargo being
excluded, to cross the Atlantic and return at their highest speed; and
at the ordinary cruiser’s speed of 10 to 12 knots, they can steam for
66 days without recoaling a distance of 19,000 knots.
[Illustration: “ST LOUIS.”
Now (1898) a U. S. armed cruiser.]
Although these fine ships have already suffered several vexatious
accidents, none of them have been attended with serious results. They
have not yet taken the laurels from the _Campania_ and _Lucania_, and
are not likely to do so, but they have made very good time on the
Atlantic. The _St. Louis_ made the voyage from New York to Southampton
in August, 1895, in 6 days, 13 hours, 12 minutes. The _St. Paul_[17]
made the run from Southampton to Sandy Hook, in August, 1896, in 6
days, 57 minutes. Their estimated speed in ordinary weather is 21 knots
an hour.
The entire Inman fleet consists of twenty-two ships—all of a high
class. They retained the graceful overhanging bow and ship-shape
bowsprit with its belongings to the last, but the new steamers of
the American Line conform in this respect to the prevailing fashion
of the straight stem, first introduced by the Collins Line as being
economical of space and every way handier in port. The use of sails
in full-powered steamships has been gradually declining for years,
and they will soon be a thing of the past. Heavy masts and yard-arms
seriously interfere with the motion of a twenty knot steamship, and
except in the case of a breakdown of machinery are seldom of any use,
and that contingency has been reduced to a minimum by the introduction
of the twin-screw.
THE RED STAR LINE,
originally owned by a Belgian company, is now incorporated with the
American and International Navigation Company, and maintains a weekly
service between New York and Antwerp and a fortnightly line from
Philadelphia to Antwerp. The fleet consists of nine steamships of from
3,000 to 7,000 tons each—the largest being the _Friesland_, built by
Thomsons, Glasgow, and rated at fifteen knots’ speed.
THE ANCHOR LINE.
This was the first successful line of steamers running from Glasgow to
New York, established by Messrs. Handyside and Henderson, of Glasgow,
in 1856, though it was not until 1863 that this branch of their
business assumed much importance. Since then the trade has developed
rapidly, giving employment to a weekly line of steamers, and in summer
twice a week. The ships have large carrying capacity, from 3,000 to
5,000 tons and upwards, with good accommodation for passengers at
very moderate rates. Among these are the _Furnessia_ and _Belgravia_,
of over five thousand tons; the _Devonia_, _Anchoria_, _Bolivia_ and
_Circassia_, upwards of four thousand tons each, not to speak of the
_City of Rome_, a host in herself. This is one of the handsomest
ships afloat, and of large dimensions, being 546 feet long between
perpendiculars, and 600 feet over all; her width is 52 feet 4 inches,
and her displacement at 25 feet draft of water, 13,500 tons. She is
driven by three sets of inverted tandem engines of 10,000 horse-power;
her single screw is 24 feet diameter, and the screw shaft 25 inches.
She has ample accommodation for 270 cabin passengers and 1,500
steerage: was built in 1881 for the Inman Line at Barrow-in-Furness,
Lancashire, where all the above-named ships were also built, but as she
did not come up to the requisite speed she was left in the builders’
hands, and was taken over by the Anchor Line. She is not a slow ship,
having made 18½ knots on her trial trip, and has crossed the Atlantic
in 6 days, 20 hours, 35 minutes. From whatever cause, outsiders look
upon her as a sort of “white elephant,” unable to compete successfully
with the more thorough-paced ocean greyhounds. The entire Anchor Line
fleet consists of some thirty-five steamers. The company has had its
own share of losses by shipwreck, and more than its share of lives
lost. One of the most appalling marine disasters was the sinking of the
_Eutopia_ of this line in the Bay of Gibraltar, in 1891, from collision
with a man-of-war lying at anchor, resulting in the loss of 526 lives.
THE NATIONAL STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY.
Although the National Line has not entered into competition with the
“greyhounds,” it is deserving of notice. It has been in existence since
1863, and has owned some fine ships, and at least one of high speed—the
_America_, built on the Clyde in 1883—a ship of 5,500 tons and 7,350
horse-power. She broke the record in June, 1884, making the run home
from New York in 6 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes.[18] She was soon after
sold to the Italian Government for a transport. The ships of this line
were among the first to have compound engines, and the first to have
refrigerators for the reception of dead meat, and among the first to
carry large shipments of live cattle. Years ago they brought out more
emigrants than any other line, but they seem to have gone out of that
business now, and the ships are run as freighters to London. Four of
the company’s ships have been lost—one lies submerged near Sandy Hook,
one foundered off Cape Finisterre, one was burned at sea, and the
fourth, the _Erin_, disappeared without anything having been heard of
her. The present fleet consists of eight ships, ranging from 3,750 to
5,300 tons.
THE GUION LINE.
As when a meteor shoots athwart the skies, emitting a blaze of light,
and quickly disappears, so was it with the Guion Line at the zenith
of its brief and brilliant career. It began in a modest way in 1866,
its promoters being Messrs. Williams and Guion, of New York—with a
branch firm in Liverpool—these being the owners of the famous Black
Ball Line of ships, built especially for carrying emigrants. They had
steamers built for themselves with marvellous rapidity, beginning with
the _Manhattan_ of 3,000 tons—an iron screw steamer built on the Tyne.
In 1872 there was added to the then existing fleet of eight powerful
ships, each having accommodation for 1,000 steerage passengers, a
pair of larger vessels, the _Montana_ and _Dakota_. Neither of them,
however, proved to be “record-breakers,” and both of them were
eventually wrecked on the Welsh coast, near the same place, in 1877 and
1880 respectively. The next additions to the fleet were the celebrated
_Arizona_ and _Alaska_, that for a time took the shine out of
everything else afloat. These marvellous ships were built by John Elder
& Co., of Glasgow. The former was over 5,000 tons and the latter nearly
7,000. Their engines, respectively 6,000 and 10,000 horse-power, are
said to have been the finest ever constructed up to that time; their
speed was then accounted quite phenomenal—seventeen and eighteen knots
an hour—reducing the time from Queenstown to New York to 6 days, 21
hours, 40 minutes. That was in 1883. The last ship built for the Guion
Line was still larger and faster than these. The _Oregon_ was 500 feet
long, of 7,375 tons, and 13,300 horse-power. In 1883 she still further
reduced the record to 6 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes. Soon after this the
company became involved in financial difficulties. “Record-breaking”
had not proved to be a paying business. The _Oregon_ passed into the
hands of the Cunard Company, and went to the bottom of the sea as
already stated; the _Alaska_ and _Arizona_ have lain rusting at their
moorings in the Gareloch for years past.
THE WHITE STAR LINE.
The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, Limited—better known as the
White Star Line—commenced in 1869, and now occupies a position in
the front rank of the great steamship enterprises of the world.
It originated with Mr. Thomas Henry Ismay, of Liverpool, who had
previously been manager of the White Star Line of sailing clipper ships
in the Australian trade. In 1870 Mr. William Imrie, of the late firm
of Imrie, Tomlinson & Co., became associated with Mr. Ismay in the
management, when the firm took its present name, Ismay, Imrie & Co.
Mr. Ismay retired from the firm in 1891, after forty years of active
business life, but is still chairman of the White Star Line. Having
the financial support of a number of influential shipping men, plans
that had been long maturing took effect in 1869, when negotiations were
entered into with Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, to build a
fleet of steamships which should combine the latest improvements, the
best possible accommodation for passengers, with a speed that would
assure fast and regular voyages. How well those conditions have been
secured all who have travelled by the White Star Line can testify.
[Illustration: “OCEANIC,” FIRST OF THE WHITE STAR LINE, 1871.]
The first ship of this line to appear in the Mersey was the _Oceanic_,
in February, 1871. It was at once seen by her graceful lines that she
was “a clipper.” Her machinery was the best known up to that time.
A new feature was that the main saloon and passengers’ berths were
placed as near midships as possible, and separate revolving chairs were
introduced in the dining-room (a great boon to passengers); a number
of other innovations served to attract the notice of the travelling
community, while admirable management on shipboard and ashore inspired
confidence in the line.
The original fleet consisted of six ships—the _Oceanic_, _Baltic_,
_Atlantic_, _Republic_, _Celtic_ and _Adriatic_—all about the same
size, close upon 4,000 tons each. In 1874 and 1875, two remarkable
vessels, as then accounted, were added to the fleet—the _Britannic_
and _Germanic_—by the same builders, with engines from Maudslay,
Son & Field. These boats are 468 feet long, of 5,000 tons and 5,000
horse-power. They easily made sixteen knots an hour, burning only 110
tons of coal per day, and were in every way so satisfactory they became
very popular. No higher compliment can be paid them than the statement
made in 1894 that “they had now been running regularly for twenty
years, giving complete satisfaction to the owners and to the public,
having still the same engines and boilers with which they started.”[19]
In those twenty years these two ships carried 100,000 cabin and 260,000
steerage passengers.
[Illustration: “MAJESTIC,” WHITE STAR LINER, LAUNCHED IN 1889.]
In the meantime the new Cunard steamers, _Umbria_ and _Etruria_, had
outrun the White Star clippers. Again an order was given to Harland
& Wolff for a pair of larger, finer and faster boats than they had
yet built. The magnificent twin screw steel ships, _Teutonic_ and
_Majestic_, filled the bill. The _Teutonic_ was launched in January,
1889. On the 7th of August she left Liverpool on her maiden voyage to
New York, having in the meantime taken part in the naval review at
Spithead, where she was inspected and admired by the German Emperor and
H. R. H. the Prince of Wales. She crossed from Queenstown to Sandy Hook
in 6 days, 14 hours, 20 minutes, then the quickest maiden passage on
record. The _Majestic_ was launched in June, 1889, and made her first
voyage to New York in April following, lowering the record to 6 days,
10 hours, 30 minutes.
These fine ships are each 582 feet in length over all, 57 feet 8
inches in width, and 39 feet moulded depth. Their gross tonnage is
10,000 tons, all to a fraction. They are twin-screw ships, each having
two sets of triple cylinders, 43 inches, 68 inches, and 110 inches
diameter, respectively, together working up to 18,000 horse-power. The
screw-propellers are 19 feet 6 inches diameter, and so fitted that they
overlap 5 feet 6 inches, the starboard propeller being six feet astern
of the other. They have each twelve double-ended and four single-ended
boilers, containing in all seventy-six furnaces. The steam pressure
is 180 pounds to the square inch. The piston stroke is five feet, and
the average revolutions seventy-eight per minute. About four thousand
tons of coal are consumed on the round voyage. Not only do these ships
combine in their construction and equipment all that is best in modern
improvements, but some of the most valuable of these improvements
originated with their builders, and have been largely imitated by
others.
The whole service, food and attendance included, is unexceptionable.
There is ample accommodation for about 300 saloon, 170 intermediate
and 1,000 steerage passengers. As to speed, they “must have swift
steeds that follow” them. The _Teutonic_ has made the western voyage
in 5 days, 16 hours, 31 minutes. The _Majestic_ has done it in 5 days,
17 hours, 56 minutes. In ordinary circumstances the passenger who
embarks at Queenstown may safely calculate that six days will land
him in New York by either of these ships. They are not quite so fast
as the _Lucania_, but to gain the difference, say, of ten hours in
crossing the Atlantic, the Cunarder requires an enormous increase of
driving power—no less than 12,000 horse-power over and above that of
the other. The _Teutonic_ and _Majestic_ are under contract with the
British Government to be used as armed cruisers whenever their services
may be required, the company receiving an annual sum of £14,659 10s.
as a retainer.[20] Each of these steamers has accommodation for one
thousand cavalry and their horses, or for 2,000 infantry. They could
easily reach Halifax from Queenstown in five days, Cape Town in
twelve and a half, and Bombay, _via_ the canal, in fourteen days from
Portsmouth. They could even steam to Bombay, _via_ the Cape, 10,733
knots, in twenty-three days without stopping to coal.
The White Star fleet at present consists of nineteen ocean steamers,
ranging in size from 3,807 to 10,000 tons and upwards. Five of these
steamers are employed in the Atlantic weekly mail service, three keep
up a monthly line to New Zealand, four ply monthly from San Francisco
to Japan and China, the remainder are cargo boats of large carrying
capacity. A number of vessels built for this company have been sold to
other lines and are still running. The _Oceanic_, pioneer ship of the
line, after a few years in the Atlantic service, was transferred to the
company’s trans-Pacific line. On her sixty-second voyage in October,
1889, she crossed from Yokohama to San Francisco in 13 days, 14 hours,
4 minutes, the fastest voyage then on record across the Pacific. Having
completed twenty-five years of successful work she was sold and broken
up in 1896. But the name is to be perpetuated by the magnificent new
steamer now building at Belfast, which in point of size and speed is
designed to surpass any vessel at present afloat. The new _Oceanic_ is
longer than the _Great Eastern_.
Only two ships of this line have been lost. The _Atlantic_ was wrecked
on the coast of Nova Scotia, April 1st, 1873. She had left the Mersey
on March 20th, with 32 saloon, 615 steerage passengers, and a crew of
143—790 in all—of whom about 560 perished, including all the women
and children. What made the disaster even more deplorable, it was not
satisfactorily accounted for. The morning was dark and boisterous, but
not particularly foggy. Captain Williams had mistaken his reckoning,
and was rushing his ship incautiously too near the land.[21] The
_Naronic_ was a fine new cargo ship of 6,594 tons. She left Liverpool,
February 11th, 1893, bound for New York; but she never arrived there.
Two of her boats were picked up on March 4th, but no clue was ever
found to the mysterious disappearance of the ship.
* * * * *
Thomas H. Ismay, recently retired from business, has all along been
recognized as the manager-in-chief and moving spirit of the White Star
Line, and a man of exceptional gifts and graces. Conspicuous alike by
his enterprise and culture, Mr. Ismay has given proof of true greatness
in declining honours that were easily within his reach. He might have
been chairman of the London and North Western Railway Company—the
greatest railway company in the world—but he would not. Several times
he might have been returned to Parliament, but he declined. His name
was confidently mentioned in connection with the Diamond Jubilee
honours. Sir Thomas Ismay would have sounded well, but he begged to be
excused, choosing to remain plain Thomas Ismay, of Liverpool, where
his beneficent character is known and appreciated at its full value.
The same may be said of the genial ex-captain of the _Majestic_, and
commodore of the fleet, Captain Parsell, in whose personality were
combined the culture of a gentleman and all the qualifications of
a good sailor. Captain Cameron, of the _Teutonic_, has been in the
service of the White Star Company nearly thirty years, having commenced
his career in the sailing ships. He is one of the most popular
commanders on the route.
* * * * *
Messrs. Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, the builders of all the steamers
of the White Star Line, are one of the largest ship-building firms in
the world. They employ between seven thousand and eight thousand men
in their establishment. Sir Edward J. Harland, late head of the firm,
was a Yorkshireman by birth. He served an apprenticeship to engineering
at Newcastle, and studied the art of ship-building in the drawing
office of Messrs. J. & G. Thomson, Glasgow. He was a man of noble
presence, fine ability, and great enterprise. He had been Chairman of
the Harbour Board, Mayor of Belfast, High Sheriff of County Down, a
Justice of the Peace, and a member of Parliament. He was made a Baronet
by the Queen, in 1885, on the occasion of the visit of the Prince and
Princess of Wales to Belfast. Sir Edward died at his home, Glenfarne
Hall, County Leitrim, December 23rd, 1895, aged sixty-four years.
* * * * *
The rates of passage by the Cunard, the White Star and the American
Line are nearly identical, and, all things considered, they are not
unreasonable. They are cheaper than the fares by the sailing packets
of sixty years ago. The ordinary rates for first-class passengers,
in summer, vary from $75 to $150, according to the location of the
stateroom, and the number of berths in it; from $40 to $50 for the
second-class cabin, and from $20 to $27 in the steerage. The winter
rates are somewhat less, say, from $75 to $150 in the steamers
_Lucania_ and _Campania_, and from $60 to $150 in other fast boats.
When the rush of travel is in full swing, say, from May to October,
rooms must be secured months in advance. Tickets may then be held at
a fictitious value, and those who will have _special_ accommodation
(suites of rooms, etc., etc.) must pay for it. A fellow-passenger with
me, in one of the New York liners, not long since paid—so, at least,
I was credibly informed—$3,000 for the single voyage for himself,
his wife, two daughters, and two servants. The difference between an
outside and an inside stateroom, in the busy season, may be $135 and
upwards. At such times a room to yourself is a luxury that means money.
What about ocean steamers racing? The question was raised in the
British House of Commons a few years ago, and elicited the answer that
there is no law in the statute book forbidding it. Are not these ocean
greyhounds built and subsidized with a special view to speed? Other
things being equal, the fastest boat draws most passengers. A competing
ship may be in sight or out of sight; it makes little difference.
There is a race going on all the same, and the palm is awarded to the
one that lands the mails in London or New York, as the case may be,
in the fewest number of hours and minutes. Probably ninety-nine out
of every hundred passengers on board the _Majestic_ on a certain day
in May, 1894, if placed in the witness-box, would swear that on that
day an exciting race took place on the high seas, which ended in the
SS. _Paris_ outrunning the _Majestic_, and dashing across her bows in
dangerous proximity! It was an optical delusion. Both ships, no doubt,
were doing their level best, and had they continued their respective
courses much longer, there is no saying what might have happened,
but, at the proper time, Captain Parsell blew off steam, slowed his
ship, put his helm down, and crossed the stern of the _Paris_. It was
beautifully done.
* * * * *
And how about these so-called lifeboats, hanging in the davits, so
prettily painted, so neatly encased in canvas, and so firmly secured
in their places? That they are useful sometimes, the writer knows
from personal observation. On a recent voyage from Liverpool to New
York we ran into a dense fog off the Banks of Newfoundland. The steam
whistle gave forth its dolorous sounds all hours of the night, but
the ship rushed on at her accustomed pace. At 4.20 a.m. most of us
were awakened out of our slumbers by a violent shaking of the vessel.
Had we been near land we might have fancied that the ship was grating
along a pebbly bottom, but that could not be. Presently the engine
stopped, and a loud roar of steam from the funnels brought most of the
passengers on deck. It was a raw, damp morning, about daybreak, with
fog as thick as burgoo all around. You couldn’t see half the length of
the ship. Everything on deck appeared to be at sixes and sevens. Where
the after-boats had been ropes and tackles were swinging to the roll of
the ship; orders were being given from the bridge in peremptory tones,
a few sailors were hurrying here and there, yelling out their ready
“Aye, aye, sir!” Down goes another boat. Three or four had already
left the ship and disappeared in the mist. What is it all about? “Oh!
we have run down a fishing schooner and smashed it to smithereens.”
Listen! voices of men in distress are heard; they shout louder and
louder, and are answered, call for call, by the steam whistle. The
ship had overshot the scene of the disaster, but was brought back to
the spot by the instant reversal of her twin-screws—it was that that
shook the ship as if it would have shaken her to pieces. The boats came
in sight one by one, each to be greeted with a hearty cheer. Seven of
the eight fishermen have been rescued! One had left the spar to which
he had been clinging, thinking to swim for the ship, but he quickly
went under and was seen no more. The longboat came first with two of
the survivors; the life-boat came last, strange to say, full of water.
She had struck a piece of wreckage and stove in her bow, but the men
sat up to their waists in water—every sea washing over them—and plied
their oars as merrily as though nothing had happened. They brought two
of the fishermen, one of whom was too weak to grasp the rope ladder
hanging over the ship’s side, and was hoisted up by a cord passed
round his body, a pitiful object. Reaching the deck they took him up
tenderly and carried him below—to die in a few minutes. The remaining
six, some of them badly bruised, were well cared for. A subscription on
their behalf, added to the proceeds of a concert in the second cabin,
realized about £380 sterling, which would cover the loss of their
vessel and its cargo. The whole time occupied in the rescue was one
hour and three-quarters. It was cleverly done: and the ship sailed on.
A fine instance of coolness and sound judgment in a sudden emergency
has been related of Captain E. R. McKinstry, Lieut. R.N.R., of the
SS. _Germanic_, which collided with the steamer _Cambrae_ entering
the Mersey in a dense fog. The _Germanic_ had cut deeply into the
broadside of the other ship, and filled the opening she had made like
a wedge. Had the order been given to reverse the engine the result
would have been disastrous, for the damaged ship must have filled
and sank immediately, but with rare presence of mind the engines of
the _Germanic_ were kept moving slowly ahead, effectually preventing
the rush of water until every soul on board was rescued. Captain
McKinstry is a young man to have reached the top of his profession, and
has already given many proofs of his gallantry and pluck. On several
occasions he has risked his life to save that of others, notably during
the naval review at Spithead, in 1887, when he jumped from the deck of
the _Teutonic_ to rescue a drowning sailor. Another instance of fine
seamanship occurred recently on board the _City of Rome_, Atlantic
liner, which had a narrow escape from destruction by fire on her voyage
to New York with a large number of passengers on board. The coolness
and skill of Captain Young on that occasion merited the highest praise.
Mr. Wonham, of Montreal, one of the passengers, after describing the
steps taken to subdue the flames, and to provide for the safety of the
passengers and crew, concluded his narrative by saying, “I’m like the
American who came to Montreal to enjoy a toboggan slide. He would not
have missed the experience for a thousand dollars, but he wouldn’t go
through it again for ten thousand.”
* * * * *
Leaving out of the count innumerable “tramps,” there are many lines
of steamships besides those already mentioned, keeping up regular
sailings between Britain and United States ports. The Wilson Line, of
Hull, has a fleet of about eighty steamers trading to all parts of the
world, with weekly services from Hull and London to New York, and
fortnightly from Newcastle and Antwerp. They also have a fortnightly
service from Hull to Boston. The State Line, now incorporated with
the Allan Line, has a weekly service from Glasgow to New York. The
_State of Nebraska_ and _State of California_ are large and fine
ships with excellent accommodation for passengers at low rates. The
Atlantic Transport Line, with its fine fleet of twin-screw steamers,
connects New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore with London every week.
The North American Transport Company has also a numerous fleet plying
between Norfolk, Va., and New York to Liverpool, Glasgow, Leith,
Rotterdam and Hamburg. The Arrow Line runs from New York to Leith; the
Manhanset Line, to Bristol and Swansea from New York. The Hill Line
plies between London and New York, and the Lord Line between Baltimore
and Belfast. The Chesapeake and Ohio Steamship Company sail their
ships from Newport News and New York to London and Liverpool. The
Blue Flag Line has regular communication with Baltimore and Glasgow,
Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast and Rotterdam. The Lamport and Holt Line
plies between New York, Liverpool and Manchester; the Bristol City
Line weekly between New York and Bristol, while another line makes its
terminus at Avonmouth. Barber & Co.’s steamers run regularly from New
York to Leith, and from Norfolk, Va., and Newport News to Liverpool
and Antwerp. The United States Shipping Company send their ships from
Norfolk to Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Leith and Hamburg.
Besides these there are many lines of steamships leaving New York at
regular intervals for Bermuda, West Indies, Trinidad, New Orleans,
South American ports, Mexico, Central America and San Francisco, via
the Isthmus of Panama.
CONTINENTAL LINES.
The great volume of emigration from the continent of Europe, and
especially from Germany, has developed a correspondingly large
steamship passenger traffic. France and Germany have, for many years,
vied with each other as well as with the British shipping companies, in
providing accommodation suitable to the demand. The result is several
fleets of magnificent steamships little inferior in speed and luxurious
appointments to the British and American lines.
THE HAMBURG-AMERICAN PACKET COMPANY,
established in 1847, is the oldest of the German lines, and has now
attained large dimensions. It began with a small capital and a fleet of
three sailing ships. The average of their westward voyages from Hamburg
to New York was about forty days, and eastward about thirty days; and
they were accounted among the fast ships of their day. In 1867 the
company owned a fleet of ten large transatlantic steamers, several
smaller craft, a considerable amount of real estate and a commodious
dry-dock. In 1872 the fleet had increased to twenty-five steamers, and
a regular weekly service was maintained between Hamburg and New York.
The operations of the company at this time also extended to the West
Indies, South America and Mexico: but 1888 was the _annus mirabilis_ in
the company’s history, for it was then that a new departure was made,
by the construction of twin-screw steamers destined to rival in speed
and elegance the finest steamships afloat. In 1895 the company owned a
fleet of seventy ocean steamers and fifty-one river steamers, having
a combined tonnage of 339,161 tons. Among its steamers there are no
less than eighteen twin-screw passenger ships, all employed in the New
York service. The four express boats of the line at present are the
_Fürst Bismarck_, _Normannia_, _Augusta Victoria_ and _Columbia_, all
twin-screw ships of from 7,578 tons and 13,000 horse-power, to 8,874
tons and 16,000 horse-power.[22] Two of these were built at Stettin,
Prussia, one at Birkenhead, and one, the _Normannia_, by John Elder
& Co., on the Clyde. They have also a fleet of five large twin-screw
steamers, especially adapted for live stock and fresh meat. In ten
years, from 1881 to 1891, the Hamburg-American Line conveyed 525,900
passengers to New York, which was 50 per cent. more than either the
Cunard or White Star Lines during the same period. The capital of the
company is about $7,000,000, and its affairs are said to be exceedingly
well managed. It has paddled its own canoe without State aid from the
commencement, the only addition to its freight and passenger revenues
being a moderate compensation from the American Government for carrying
the mails from New York to Hamburg. The amount received for that
service in 1896 was $30,030.75. being at the rate of about 44 cents
per pound for letters and post cards, and 4½ cents per pound for other
postal matter.[23] The company is said to have in its employment a
permanent staff of six thousand employees.
[Illustration: THE “NORMANNIA,” 1890.]
The _Augusta Victoria_, on her first voyage, made the fastest maiden
trip then on record between Southampton and New York—7 days, 2
hours, 30 minutes. She has since made the run in 6 days, 19 hours,
19 minutes. The _Normannia_ has done it in 6 days, 10 hours, 45
minutes, and the _Fürst Bismarck_ in a few minutes’ less time. The
_Normannia_, built in 1890, was at that time claimed to be one of the
finest steamships afloat. She is 520 feet long and 59 feet wide. On her
trial trip she showed a speed of twenty-one knots. In addition to her
main triple expansion engines, she makes use of fifty-six auxiliary
ones, and is provided with a deck boiler, by which steam is secured
for her pumps in case of the main boilers being rendered useless by
such an accident as befell the _Paris_ a few years ago. Her passenger
accommodation is unsurpassed. The music room is described as a “marvel
of elegance.” The decorations throughout are by the best European
artists.
[Illustration: “AUGUSTA VICTORIA.”]
The line has not been exempt from marine disasters and loss of lives.
The _Austria_ was burned in 1858, when only sixty-seven were saved of
the whole ship’s company of 538. By the wreck of the _Schiller_ on the
Scilly Islands, in 1875, 331 persons perished. In 1883 the _Cimbria_
was sunk off the coast of Holland, with the loss of 389 persons. The
_Normannia_, on a recent trip, narrowly escaped collision with a huge
iceberg, but thanks to her good “lookout” and her twin screws, she
sheered off from the towering monarch just in time.
This company has recently added to its fleet one of the largest
freight-carrying steamers afloat. The _Pennsylvania_, built and engined
by Harland & Wolff, Belfast, has a carrying capacity of 21,762 tons,
with accommodation for 200 first-class and 1,500 steerage passengers.
Her length is 585 feet; breadth, 62 feet; draught of water when fully
loaded, 30 feet. She has two balanced quadruple expansion engines,
with five boilers, and carries a working pressure of 210 pounds of
steam. Her three-bladed twin screws, each weighing 9½ tons, make 76
revolutions per minute, developing a speed of fifteen knots an hour.
The _Pennsylvania_ left New York on her first voyage with a cargo of
18,500 tons measurement, said to be the largest cargo ever taken out of
New York in one ship, if not the greatest that any ship in any part of
the world has ever carried.
THE NORTH GERMAN LLOYD COMPANY.
This company, founded in 1857, has its headquarters at Bremen, and
is also a very large concern, owning a fleet of eighty steamships,
with a total tonnage of over 225,000 and 200,000 indicated
horse-power. Among these are a number of very fine express steamers,
mostly Clyde-built and fitted up with all the latest improvements
in machinery and decoration. The _Kaiser Wilhelm II._, the _Havel_,
_Spree_, _Lahn_, _Trave_ and _Fulda_ are all well-known and favourite
ships on the Atlantic route. Besides maintaining a weekly service
between Southampton and New York, this company has a regular line
running direct from New York to Genoa, Naples, Alexandria and other
Mediterranean ports, and also lines running to India, China, Japan
and Australia. A sad disaster was that which overtook the _Elbe_ of
this line in January, 1895, when she was struck amidships by a trading
steamer, the _Crathie_, and sank in a few minutes, with the loss of 332
lives, only twenty-seven of the whole ship’s company being saved. In
December, 1896, the _Salier_, of this line, while on her voyage from
Bremen to Buenos Ayres, foundered off the coast of Spain, when every
soul on board perished, numbering about three hundred persons.
[Illustration: “PENNSYLVANIA,” HAMBURG-AMERICAN LINE.
The largest cargo steamer afloat.]
[Illustration: “KAISER WILHELM DER GROSSE,” NORTH GERMAN LLOYD LINE.
The largest passenger steamer afloat; holds the Blue Ribbon for the
fastest voyage from Southampton to New York, the highest average speed,
and the greatest day’s run.]
Eight gigantic steamships are being added to the already numerous
fleet. Some of these have already been launched at Stettin, Germany.
The largest of these leviathans is the _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_,
which arrived in New York on September 26th, 1897, having made her
maiden voyage from Southampton in 5 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes, the
fastest on record. Her average speed was over twenty-one knots an
hour, and her daily runs as follows: 208, 531, 495, 512, 554, 564,
186; the total distance run was 3,050 knots. Not only has the biggest
ship beaten the Southampton record, but on her maiden trip she has
made the fastest single day’s run. This she did on the nautical day
ending at noon on the 26th, when she reeled off 564 knots. At times she
developed twenty-two knots. Her coal consumption, however, was heavy,
being nearly five hundred tons a day. She was commanded by Captain H.
Englebart. Her return voyage to Plymouth was made in 5 days, 15 hours,
10 minutes; her average speed was about 21.40 knots, and her daily runs
were 367, 504, 500, 507, 510, 519, 55; total, 2,962 knots.[24]
The _Kaiser der Grosse_ is 649 feet in length, 66 feet in width, and
43 feet in depth. She is rated at 14,000 tons burthen and 30,000
horse-power. She has quadruple expansion engines, working at a steam
pressure of 213 lbs., and turning her mammoth twin screws at the rate
of seventy-seven revolutions per minute, and is otherwise conspicuous
by her four funnels. Even the _Pennsylvania_ is thrown into the shade
by this new-comer. She is designed to carry 20,000 tons of cargo, and
from 1,500 to 2,300 passengers. She is the largest steamship afloat
at the present time, having larger carrying capacity than the famous
_Great Eastern_; but her supremacy will be short-lived, for the new
_Oceanic_, of the White Star Line, is still larger, and may prove
faster. To load this great ship entirely with wheat would require the
produce of a field of 40,000 acres, at sixteen bushels to the acre;
and to supply her full complement of passengers would depopulate a
good-sized town. The _Kaiser_ is essentially a new type of ocean
steamship—a magnificent experiment, which will be watched with great
interest in shipping circles everywhere, and one that is not unlikely
to set the fashion for ships of the next decade.
THE COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE,
commonly known as the French Line, entered the lists of competition
in 1862, and has developed into a first-class marine service. The
early ships of this company were iron paddle-wheel steamers, which
were built by Scott & Company, of Greenock, but, owing to the
prohibitory duty imposed on foreign-built vessels, it was found to be
more advantageous to have them built in France, the more so as the
Government had introduced the system of giving large “construction
bounties.” This French company has now a magnificent fleet, comprising
upwards of sixty steamships. The Atlantic service employs six very fine
express steamers, _La Touraine_, _La Bourgogne_,[25] _La Bretagne_,
_La Champagne_, _La Gascogne_, _La Normandie_, all of them built in
France except the last named, which was built at Barrow-in-Furness,
in 1882. The _Touraine_ was built at the company’s building yard, at
St. Nazaire, in 1890. She is a steel twin-screw ship of 10,000 tons
net, and 14,000 horse-power. Her length is 520 feet, breadth 56 feet,
and depth 34½ feet. She has triple expansion engines, and is classed
as a nineteen-knot boat. She has made the voyage from Havre to Sandy
Hook (in July, 1892) in 6 days, 17 hours, 30 minutes, the fastest on
record between these ports, the average speed being 19.63 knots, and
the best day’s run, 501 knots. The company’s capital is said to be
$8,000,000, and its credit is good. The line is largely subsidized
by the French Government, and receives compensation from the United
States for carrying the mails from New York to Havre, the amount thus
received in 1896 being $32,806.86. Until the loss of the _Bourgogne_,
the most serious disaster that had overtaken the line was the wreck of
the _Ville de Havre_, in November, 1873, from collision with an iron
sailing ship, the _Lochearn_, which involved the loss of 226 lives,
eighty-seven being rescued. Besides the American business, which is
very large, the company has extensive trade connections with the
Mediterranean and the West Indies.
THE NETHERLANDS LINE,
officially styled the “Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvart
Maatschappig,” of Rotterdam, has a fleet of thirteen steamers, most of
them from the shipyard of Harland & Wolff, Belfast, and ranging from
3,000 to 4,000 tons each. They are very fine boats of their class, and
have attracted a fair share of the passenger traffic between New York
and Amsterdam and Rotterdam, sailing alternately for these ports every
week, calling at Boulogne-sur-mere. They carry the United States mails,
which do not seem to be very weighty, as the _pay_ only amounted to
$165.03 in 1896. The latest addition to the fleet is the _Spaarndam_,
formerly of the White Star Line (the _Arabic_), a fifteen-knot ship,
of 4,368 tons and 3,000 horse-power. The company, which commenced this
business in 1872, has a capital of $1,680,000.
THE THINGVALLA LINE,
dating from 1879, is a Danish enterprise, with a regular service
between Copenhagen and New York, consisting of five ships, the largest
of which is the _Amerika_, of 3,867 tons, formerly the _Celtic_,
purchased from the White Star Line in 1893. This line came into
notoriety in 1889 through the foundering of one of their vessels, the
_Danmark_, in mid-ocean. She had on board 735 souls. On April 5th she
was sighted by the British steamship _Missouri_, Captain Hamilton
Murrell. On April 6th, though a heavy sea was running, by an act of
heroism almost unparalleled, Captain Murrell threw some of his cargo
overboard, and in four and a half hours saved every soul by means of
boats and lines, landing some at St. Michael’s, Azores, and the rest at
Philadelphia. The gallant rescue was suitably acknowledged by public
testimonials from Britain and America to the captain, his officers and
crew.[26]
FOOTNOTES:
[17] The _St. Paul_, _St. Louis_, _Paris_ and _New York_ have all been
taken over by the United States Government and fitted up as armed
cruisers, the names of the last two being changed to _Harvard_ and
_Yale_.
[18] Fry’s “History,” p. 193.
[19] The _Germanic_ has since been overhauled and has now a set of
triple expansion engines, making her a seventeen-knot boat. In July,
1895, she crossed from Queenstown to New York in 6 days, 23 hours, 45
minutes.
[20] Fry’s “History,” p. 180.
[21] A missionary of the Church of England, who ministered to a few
poor fishermen at Terence Bay, at the imminent risk of his life put off
to the wreck in a small boat and succeeded in saving the life of the
first officer of the ship after all hope of further rescue had been
abandoned, and when even the hardy fishermen forbade the rash attempt.
Mr. Ancient had formerly been attached to the British navy, and during
this heartrending scene acted the part of a hero in his efforts to save
life and to relieve the sufferings of the survivors. Captain Williams
was severely censured, and had his certificate suspended for two years.
[22] This was written before the Hispano-American war began; since
then several of these vessels have been employed by the United States
Government with a change of nomenclature.
[23] “U. S. A. Report on Navigation for 1896,” p. 104.
[24] Last April the great _Kaiser_ surpassed her previous record,
making the voyage from New York to Southampton (3,065 knots) in 5 days,
17 hours, 8 minutes, showing an average speed of 22.35 knots per hour.
[25] THE “BOURGOGNE” DISASTER.—Since the sinking of the _Eutopia_ in
Gibraltar Bay in 1891, no such marine disaster has occurred as that
which recently befell the SS. _Bourgogne_—a, tragedy in some respects
the most appalling that has ever been recorded. This vessel of 7,795
tons—one of the finest of the French line of steamers—sailed from
New York for Havre on the 2nd of July, 1898, with a ship’s company,
including passengers and crew, of 726 souls. Early on the morning of
the 4th, when about sixty miles south of Sable Island, during a dense
fog, and while running at the rate of some eighteen knots an hour, she
came into collision with the British sailing ship _Cromartyshire_, of
1,554 tons, and in a very short time foundered, carrying down with
her about 520 persons. Had it not been for her collision bulkhead the
_Cromartyshire_ must have sunk, too. As it was, she was badly damaged,
but hove to all day in the hope of picking up survivors. In the
meantime the Allan SS. _Grecian_ came up to the scene of the disaster,
the rescued passengers were taken on board, and the disabled ship
was towed into Halifax harbour. The survivors were the purser of the
steamship, three engineers, thirty of the crew, and 170 passengers—204
in all. Of the seventy-two ladies in the first cabin only one was
saved. Captain Deloncle, commander of the _Bourgogne_, was a lieutenant
in the navy, and a knight of the Legion of Honour, having under him a
competent staff of officers who appear to have done what they could
to save the lives of others. All of them went down with their ship
into the sailor’s grave. The loss of life was appalling, but even more
heartrending were the accounts given of the barbarous conduct of some
of the steerage passengers and sailors in the terrible struggle for
self-preservation.
[26] Fry’s “History,” p. 309.