The Allan Line.
The failure of the Liverpool firm to fulfil their contract opened the way for Canadian enterprise, and the man who was destined to see it carried out to a successful issue was already awaiting his opportunity. That man was Hugh Allan (the late Sir Hugh), a man of intense energy and force of character. The Allans came honestly by their liking for the sea and ships. Their father, Alexander, was a ship-owner, and himself the well-known captain of the Favourite, one of the most popular vessels then sailing from the Clyde to the St. Lawrence. The five sons were born at Saltcoats, in sight of the sea. Two of them, James and Bryce, followed the sea for a number of years and reached the top of their profession. Alexander took up the shipping business established by his father in Glasgow, where he was afterwards joined by his eldest brother, James, under the firm name of James and Alexander Allan. Bryce, on retiring from the sea, became head of the shipping house in Liverpool. Hugh, the second son, became a partner in the well-known firm of Miller, Edmonstone & Co., afterwards changed to Edmonstone, Allan & Co., Montreal. His brother Andrew joined the firm some years later, when its name was changed to that of Hugh and Andrew Allan. The three firms, in Glasgow, Liverpool and Montreal, had become the owners and agents of a large fleet of sailing ships; but the time came when it was evident that mails and passengers must be carried to Canada, as elsewhere, by steam power.
CAPTAIN McMASTER.
The opening of the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railway between Montreal and Portland in 1852 was one of the most important events in the commercial history of Canada. It gave Montreal a winter port; for as yet neither Halifax nor St. John had any railway communication with the western provinces. Given a good winter port, there seemed to be no reason why a line of steamships should not be established to ply between Liverpool and Montreal in summer, with Portland for the winter terminus. The Allans, seeing that the time had come for a new departure, succeeded in forming a joint stock company, under the name of the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company. As its name implied, it was virtually a Canadian enterprise. The principal shareholders, besides the Allans, were Messrs. William Dow, John G. Mackenzie and Robert Anderson, of Montreal; George Burns Symes, of Quebec, and John Watkins, of Kingston. A few years later the Allans became sole owners of the concern, which then became known as the Allan Line.
The first two steamers of the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company were the Canadian and Indian, built by the famous Dennys, of Dumbarton. They were pretty little iron screw steamers, of about 270 feet in length, 34 feet wide, and of 1,700 tons burthen each. The Canadian made her first voyage to Quebec in September, 1854, but the Crimean war having commenced, steamers of this class were in demand, and these two were taken into the service and profitably employed as government transports as long as the war lasted. In 1874 the Sarmatian and the Manitoban of this line were similarly employed to convey troops to the west coast of Africa, to take part in the Ashantee campaign. On both occasions they did excellent service.
When the Canadian Government next advertised for tenders for carrying the mails, an agreement was made with the Allans by which they were to receive £25,000 a year for a fortnightly service in summer and a monthly one in winter. Two other boats, similar to the Canadian and Indian, were built by the Dennys—the North American and Anglo-Saxon. The new service was commenced in April, 1856, by the SS. North American, which arrived in the port of Montreal on the 9th of May. Two years later it was decided to establish a weekly service, the Government promising an increased subsidy of $208,000 per annum. This implied double the number of ships; accordingly, four others were built, the North Briton, Nova Scotian, Bohemian and Hungarian, all after the same model as the pioneer ships, but 300 feet long and 2,200 tons register. Their speed was from 11 to 13 knots in smooth water, and even in heavy weather they seldom fell short of 8 knots an hour. Their average passages westward from Liverpool to Quebec were 11 days, 5 hours; eastward, 10 days, 10 hours. The quickest passage eastward was made by the Anglo-Saxon, in 9 days, 5 hours, and westward, by the Hungarian, in 9 days, 14 hours. In the same year (1859) the Cunard Line to Boston averaged 12 days, 19 hours going west, and 10 days, 15 hours eastward. The average speed of the Canadian steamers during the entire season of the St. Lawrence navigation in that year was 9½ knots. At this time there were already twelve different lines of steamships plying across the Atlantic, affording almost daily communication between England and America by steam.
In 1859 the company represented that, owing to the depression in trade, they were unable to continue the service, without further assistance. The Canadian Government stood by this Canadian enterprise, and doubled the subsidy in consideration of the increased service, which was admitted on all hands to be a complete success. The new ships were beautiful models and well adapted to the trade; but the company had to learn from bitter experience how hazardous that trade was. To say nothing of minor accidents, up to the year 1885 no less than fourteen of their steamers had come to grief. Since that time, singularly enough, none of this line has been lost, though many belonging to other lines have been wrecked.
The Canadian, Captain Ballantine, on her first trip to Quebec, in June, 1857, through the negligence of her pilot, was stranded on South Rock, off the Pillar Lighthouse, forty-five miles below Quebec. No lives were lost, but the ship defied every effort to float her. The Indian, Captain Smith, bound for Portland, in December, 1859, struck a rock off Marie Joseph Harbour, seventy-five miles east of Halifax, and went to pieces. Every effort was made to save the lives of the 447 persons that sailed in her, but twenty-three perished. The Hungarian, Captain Jones, on the night of February 20th, 1860, during a blinding snow-storm, struck on the South-West Ledge near Cape Sable Island, 130 miles east of Halifax. Every soul on board, to the number of 237, perished with the ship. The cause of this sad disaster is not correctly known. The captain was one of the best seamen in the Allan Line, but it has been stated that the light upon Cape Sable was not exhibited that night, in consequence of the sickness of the lightkeeper, who is said to have confessed this on his death-bed.