Chapter XII.

Pioneers of Transatlantic steam navigation.—Valentia Transatlantic S. N. Co. incorporated, 1828.—Dr. Lardner’s famous speech on Steam Navigation.—The Royal William, first steamer from Canada to England, 1833; sold to Spanish Government and re-named Ysabel Segunda.—The British Queen S. N. Co.—Launch of the British Queen, 1838.—Sirius, first passenger steamer from Europe to America, 1838.—Great Western, 1838.—Arrival of both steamers at New York on same day.—The Royal William, first Atlantic liner from Liverpool to New York, 1838.—The Liverpool.—The President launched, 1839; lost, 1841.

A Quarter of a century had elapsed since the launch of Bell’s Comet on the Clyde. In the interval, all the chief ports of Great Britain and Ireland, and several of the continental ports, had been connected by steampacket services. So early as 1828 it had been proposed to establish steam communication between the West of Ireland and America, and an Act of Parliament for incorporating the Valentia Transatlantic Steam Navigation Company was obtained. The proposed capital was £24,000, in shares of £50 each. The first steamer was estimated to cost £21,000. She was to be a vessel of about 800 tons burthen, driven by engines of 200 h.p., and was expected to make six round voyages per annum. She was to accommodate 50 cabin and 50 steerage passengers, and to carry 200 tons cargo, exclusive of bunkers. It appears from the following extract from the “Liverpool Albion” of the 14th December, 1835, that although the projectors of the Valentia Company advertised in 1828 that the company was “to commence immediate operations,” its first sailing had not taken place seven years later. The scheme fell through for want of support, but in 1835 it was started afresh in conjunction with the railway from London, the Post Office Packets, and the Valentia Railway. The extract is valuable also as containing Dr. Lardner’s famous dictum concerning the possibility of direct steam navigation between Liverpool and New York:—

“Steam Communication with America.

“Dr. Lardner then proceeded to observe that one of the grandest projects which had ever occupied the human mind was at present in the process of actual accomplishment. He meant that of constructing a great highway for steam intercourse between New York and London—between the capital of the New World and that of the Old. Part of the highway was in process of formation. It consisted of several stages—that of the railroad from London to Birmingham; that from Birmingham to Liverpool, and the steam intercourse with Dublin; but there was another stage—that from Dublin to Valentia, which had as yet hardly been thought of. Ireland was a country which, with all her political disadvantages, was blest by nature with a vast number of physical advantages, and amongst the rest he might reckon a vast number of excellent harbours. No country in the world could boast of so many fine and spacious ports, bays and roadsteads. She had many harbours on her west coast which would serve admirably as stations for steam conveyance across the Atlantic; but Valentia had been selected as the extreme westerly point suitable for that purpose. It was a fine anchoring ground by an island of that name on the coast of Munster. The distance from Dublin to this point was under 200 miles, which might be traversed in about 8 hours. The nearest point on the continent of North America to this point of Ireland was St. John’s in Newfoundland. The distance between the two was about 1,900 miles; thence to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, there would be another run of 550 miles, and from that to New York would not exceed the admissible range; but touching at Halifax would be desirable for the sake of passengers. The only difficulty would be as to the run from Valentia to St. John’s; and the voyage from Dublin to Bordeaux and back, a distance of between 1,600 and 1,700 miles, with the same stock of coals, came very near this distance. It must be observed that westerly gales blew almost all the year round across the Atlantic. They were produced by the trade winds being the compensating cause that restored the balance which these served to destroy, according to that beautiful principle in nature which always provides a remedy for any derangement in the deranging cause itself. As a last resource, however, should the distance between Valentia and St. John’s prove too great, they might make the Azores a stage between, so that there remained no doubt of the practicability of establishing a steam intercourse with the United States. As to the project, however, which was announced in the newspapers, of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was, he had no hesitation in saying, perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making a voyage from New York or Liverpool to the moon. The vessels which would ultimately be found the best adapted for the voyage between this country and the United States would be those of 800 tons, which would carry machines of 200 horse-power, and would be able to stow 400 tons of coal. To supply a 10 horse-power daily required an expenditure of a ton of coals, and, consequently, 200 horse-power would require 20 tons of coal daily; but if the vessel carried 400 tons of coal only, it would not be practicable to undertake a voyage which would require the whole of the quantity. They must make an allowance of 100 tons for contingencies. Thus, in reckoning the average length of the voyage which might be undertaken by such a vessel, we might safely calculate upon 300 tons of coal, which would be sufficient for 15 days, and it might fairly be concluded that any project which calculated upon making longer voyages than 15 days without taking in a fresh supply of coals, in the present state of the steamboat, must be considered chimerical. Now, the average rate of speed of the Mediterranean packets was 170 miles per day, and the utmost limit of a steam voyage might be taken at 2,550 miles; but even that could not be reckoned upon.”

In justice to the memory of Dr. Lardner, it is only fair to state that, in the eighth edition of his “Steam Engine, &c.,” 1851, pp. 294-309, he denies that he ever stated that “a steam voyage across the Atlantic was a physical impossibility.”

During the winter of 1832-3, the Quebec and Halifax Steam Navigation Co. built at Quebec a steamer, which they named the Royal William. She was a vessel of 1,370 tons B.M.; length over all, 176 feet; breadth, outside paddle-boxes, 43 feet 10 inches; inside, 27 feet; depth of hold, 17 feet 9 inches; draught laden, 13 feet. Her engines of 180 h.p., constructed in Birmingham by Boulton & Watt, were forwarded to Canada, and fitted on board the Royal William at Montreal, whither she had been towed by the steamboat British America. After trading for several months between Quebec and Pictou, Nova Scotia, the station for which her owners had built her, she was advertised to sail for London. In accordance with this announcement she was despatched from Quebec on the 5th August, 1833, and after calling at Pictou, N.S., where she took on board a further supply of coal at 15s. per chaldron, she proceeded direct to Cowes, Isle of Wight, accomplishing the voyage of about 2,500 miles in seventeen days. This voyage is remarkable as being the first instance of a vessel crossing the Atlantic from America by the use of steam only.

After the completion of her trans-Atlantic voyage, the Royal William was sold to the Spanish Government, who changed her name to the Ysabel Secunda, and fitted her up as a man-of-war carrying six guns. She took part in the first Carlist war and, finally, was totally wrecked on the rocks off the harbour of Santander, Spain.

After strenuous and prolonged efforts, Dr. Julius Smith succeeded in organising (1836) a Transatlantic Steamship Company, bearing the title of the British Queen Steam Navigation Co. The capital of the Company was fixed at £1,000,000 sterling, and its secretary was the celebrated Mr. MacGregor Laird. The shares were promptly subscribed for, and the Directors placed a contract with Messrs. Curling and Young, Blackwall, London, to build their pioneer steamship, the British Queen. The order for the engines was placed with a Glasgow firm, Messrs. Claude Girdwood & Co. This firm, however, before they had finished the work entrusted to them, became bankrupt, and a new contract was made with Mr. Robert Napier, the famous Clyde engineer, to supply the engines. It was at first the intention of the Directors (as stated in their prospectus) to build a vessel of 1,862 tons burthen, but before the completion of the ship they decided to increase her size to 2,400 tons. Although contracted for in the summer of 1836, it was not until 24th May, 1838, that the British Queen was launched. This unfortunate delay, caused by the bankruptcy of Messrs. Girdwood & Co., enabled a rival company at Bristol to build and equip their steamer, the Great Western, before the British Queen could be got ready for her service. In order to save the prestige of their Company the Directors of the British Queen chartered from the St. George Steam-Packet Co. the steamer Sirius, and advertised that she “would leave London for New York on Wednesday, the 28th of March, 1838, calling at Cork Harbour; and would start from thence on the 2nd April, returning from New York on the 1st of May.”[17] The sailing from Cork Harbour was, however, delayed, waiting the arrival of the steampacket Ocean from Liverpool with the mails and passengers, until the morning of the 4th of April. She started on this memorable voyage at 9 o’clock on the morning of the date named, having on board 94 cabin passengers. Three days later (7th April, 1838)[18] she was followed across the Atlantic by the Great Western, from Bristol for New York, with goods and passengers. As the dates of the intended sailings of both steamers had been conveyed to New York, their arrival at that port was eagerly looked for. They both arrived on the same day, the Sirius early in the morning of Monday, the 23rd April, and the Great Western in the afternoon. The excitement which prevailed on the arrival of these steamers was described as follows by the New York Press: —

“At 3 o’clock p.m. on Sunday, the 22nd of April, the Sirius first descried the land, and early on Monday morning, the 23rd, anchored in the North River immediately off the Battery. Nothing could exceed the excitement. The river was covered during the whole day with row-boats, skiffs, and yawls, carrying the wondering people out to get a close view of this extraordinary vessel. While people were yet wondering how the Sirius so successfully made out to cross the rude Atlantic, it was announced about 11 a.m. on Monday, from the telegraph, that a huge steamship was in the offing. ‘The Great Western!—the Great Western!’ was on everybody’s tongue. About 2 o’clock p.m. the first curl of her ascending smoke fell on the eyes of the thousands of anxious spectators, and a shout of enthusiasm rose on the air.... Thus the grand experiment has been fairly and fully tested, and has been completely successful. The only question now in the case is that of expense. Can steampackets be made to pay?”

British & African S. N. Co.British & Irish Steampacket Co.
British India S. N. Co.T. & J. Brocklebank.
G. & J. Burns.R. Burton & Son.
Canadian Pacific Railway.Cayzer, Irvine & Co.
City of Dublin Steampacket Co.Cork Steamship Co.
Cunard Line.Donald Currie & Co.
Elder, Dempster & Co.J. R. Ellerman.
Fletcher, Woodhill & Co.Greenock Shipping Co.
T. & J. Harrison.Alfred Holt.
Samuel Hough.Houlder Bros.

During the early part of her voyage westwards, the Sirius experienced strong head winds, during which she only steamed 4 to 5 knots per hour. During the latter portion, the weather was favourable, and she made good progress, averaging 9½ knots. She sailed from New York as advertised on the 1st of May, and reached England on the 18th idem after a voyage of sixteen days. The Great Western left New York on the 7th of May and arrived at Bristol on the 22nd, being fourteen days on the passage. There was a remarkable difference in her consumption of coal on the two voyages, accounted for, probably, first by the stormy weather referred to as experienced by the Sirius on her outward voyage, and secondly by the prevailing westerly winds on the homeward run. On the voyage Bristol to New York, the Great Western averaged per day 208 knots, or 8·2 knots per hour, with a total consumption of 655 tons of coal. On her homeward voyage she averaged 213 knots per day, or nearly 9 knots per hour, with a total consumption of only 392 tons of coal. Fuller details of the Sirius will be found in the History of the Cork Steamship Co. in Part II. of this work. It is but fair to state that she was only half the size, and had only half the power of her famous rival. The principal dimensions of the two vessels were as follows:—

Gross
Length.Breadth.Depth.Tonnage.Engines.
Great Western236 ft.35·4 ft.23·3 ft.1340750 h.p.
Sirius178 ft.25·6 ft.18 ft.703320 h.p.

They were both paddle-steamers, built of wood, the former designed by Brunel, and engined by Maudsley, Sons & Field, and the latter built by Menzies, of Leith, and engined by Wingate & Co., of Glasgow. For upwards of eight years the Great Western continued to sail regularly between Bristol and New York, on which station she was very popular with passengers. She was sold in 1847 to the Royal Mail Steampacket Co., in which service she was also a favourite for several years. In 1857 it was the opinion of the Directors that she could not compete profitably with modern boats, and she was therefore broken up at Vauxhall.

About the date of the despatch of the Sirius from Cork, the Directors of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Co. had under consideration the formation of a Transatlantic Steam-Packet Co., with sailings to and from Liverpool. The steamers of this Company were amongst the largest and most famous afloat. A meeting of Directors was held in the Committee Room, Water Street, Liverpool, at which it was decided to open up the new service by the despatch of the P.S. Royal William as soon as she could be got ready for the voyage. The Royal William was practically a new steamer, having been built in 1836, being one of four steamers built to compete with the Admiralty steamers for the mail service between Liverpool and Kingstown. She proved herself to be faster than any of the Government mail steamers, and when placed on the Dublin and London station, made a passage from Falmouth to Kingstown, 260 miles, in 23 hours. She was built by Wilson, of Liverpool, and engined by Fawcett & Preston, of the same city. Her length was 175 feet (being 3 feet less than the Sirius), beam 27 feet, depth of hold 17 feet 6 inches. Her capacity was 817 tons burden, and she was propelled by engines of 276 h.p. Her coal consumption was about 17 tons per 24 hours, and in fairly smooth water her speed was 11½ knots per hour. She had cabin accommodation for eighty passengers. She sailed from the Prince’s Pier on Thursday evening, 5th July, 1838, having on board thirty-two passengers. Sixty-four years afterwards the present author had several interviews with Mr. Brownrigg, the City of Dublin Co.’s Customs Clerk, who took out the Customs clearance for the Royal William, and who in spite of his great age remembered clearly the appearance of the vessel as she steamed down the River Mersey on that midsummer evening so long ago. Although she carried no cargo on that voyage, she was so deeply laden with coal for fuel—coal that filled her bunkers, her holds, and even her well-deck—that her paddles were buried six feet, her sponsons were submerged, and it was possible by leaning over the bulwarks to wash one’s hands in the water that surged at the vessel’s sides. Naturally it was an event in which the townspeople of Liverpool and the residents on the Cheshire side of the river took the deepest interest. As she began to move she was greeted with enthusiastic cheers from thousands of spectators who crowded the piers and lined the river side, whilst cannon were fired from Woodside, Monks Ferry, Rock Ferry, and from the steamboats on the river. The Royal William completed the passage from Liverpool to New York in nineteen days, and the homeward passage in fourteen and a half days.

Royal William P. S. in Mid-Atlantic, 12th July, 1838.

Amongst those who were present at the meeting held in the Water Street Committee Room was Sir John Tobin, who had a large steamer nearing completion on the stocks. It was agreed that this vessel should sail alternately with the Royal William between Liverpool and New York. At her launch, Sir John Tobin’s steamer was named the Liverpool. She was a vessel of 1,150 tons, with engines of 404 h.p. She started on her first voyage on the 20th October, 1838, but experienced such bad weather that she put back to Cork on the 26th, after having accomplished about one-third of her voyage. She remained at Cork for ten days, and again proceeded to sea on the 6th November, arriving at New York on the 23rd, after a passage of sixteen and a half days. It was on board this steamer that Mr. Samuel Cunard crossed the Atlantic, for the purpose of inducing British capitalists to take up his scheme of mail steamers between Liverpool, Halifax and Boston.

After making a few voyages to and from Liverpool and New York, the Liverpool was lengthened, her capacity being increased by 393 tons, and at the same time her name was changed to the Great Liverpool. Her new owners, the P. and O. Co., employed her in their mail service between Southampton and Alexandria. Her career as a Royal Mail steamer was a short one, as she was lost off Cape Finisterre on the 4th February, 1846.

The first great disaster in the Transatlantic steamship trade occurred in the spring of 1841. On the 12th March of that year, the steamship President sailed from New York, bound for Liverpool, with a full list of passengers. She was a new steamer, having been launched fifteen months previously (7th December, 1839) by Messrs. Curling & Young for account of the British and American Steam Navigation Co., of Bristol. The President was one of the largest and most powerful steamships of her day, her register tonnage being 2,366 tons, and her engines indicated 540 horse-power. On her first voyage, she sailed from Liverpool for New York at 2 p.m. on the 1st August, 1840, arrived at New York 2 p.m. on the 17th idem; sailed from New York 2 p.m. on the 1st September, and arrived at Liverpool 2 p.m. on the 17th of the same month, being exactly sixteen days on both her westward and her eastward passage. She apparently lay up for the winter, and resumed her sailings in the spring of the following year. She left New York for Liverpool on her third homeward voyage on the 12th March, 1841, having on board 136 passengers. After leaving New York she disappeared, with all her living freight, from human ken. As day after day passed, the utmost anxiety arose, both in the mercantile world and amongst the relatives of the passengers and seamen, as to the cause of her detention. Other steamers and ships reported very heavy weather in the Atlantic, and the presence of unusual quantities of ice in very low latitudes. The newspapers of the period were filled with references to the ill-fated vessel, with suggestions that her engines had broken down, and that she had drifted out of the track of homeward bound steamers. Multitudinous and conflicting rumours passed into circulation of her wreck having been seen in various places, and a thousand speculations as to the cause and certainty of a catastrophe, and the subsequent fate of those on board, kept alive the agony of those interested in her. Her fate remains one of the sad mysteries of the ocean, as no trace of her wreck was ever discovered, nor a single survivor from the tragedy.

FOOTNOTES:

[17] The “Annals of Liverpool” section in “Gore’s Directory” erroneously states: “1838. The steamship Sirius sailed from London to Cork, 27th March, and from Cork to New York, 2nd April.”

[18] This date is incorrectly quoted in “Gore’s Liverpool Directory” as the 8th April.