CHAPTER XXV.—Turbine Steamers—TURBINIA—K_The history of steam navigation

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.

Powder Flag.

Assent—Yes.

Negative—No.

Cholera, Yellow Fever, or Plague Flag.

Blue Peter.—About to proceed to Sea.

Quarantine Flag.

I require a Pilot.

] [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

————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————

| | |

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 | |

————————————————————————+———————————+———————————+———————————

| | |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.

CHAPTER XXV.—Turbine Steamers—TURBINIA—KING EDWARD—QUEEN