Part II.
HISTORICAL STEAMSHIP COMPANIES.
Chapter I.
MESSRS. ELDER, DEMPSTER & CO.
The firm of Elder, Dempster & Co. was founded in the year 1868 by Messrs. Alexander Elder and John Dempster, two gentlemen intimately acquainted with the working of the African Steamship trade. For 11 years they were the sole partners, but in 1879 they admitted Mr. (now Sir Alfred) Jones into the firm, and Mr. W. J. Davey was also taken into partnership. The original partners, Messrs. Elder and Dempster, retired from the firm in 1884. Mr. Alexander Sinclair, who became a partner in 1891, having retired in 1901, the sole partners at the present date are Sir Alfred L. Jones, K.C.M.G., and Mr. W. J. Davey.
The firm is one of the largest commercial houses in the world, and in all the various branches of commerce in which it is interested it takes a foremost position. As steamship owners it controls the largest fleet of steamers in Great Britain. The business of the firm extends so rapidly, and new steamers to meet the necessities of the several trades are so frequently being added to the fleet, that it is impossible to give a list of the vessels owned, or under the management of the firm, which will not in a short time be obsolete, but according to the official sailing list issued 28th March, 1903, the following steamers were sailing under the triple flags of Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co.:—
| Abeokuta. | Cameroon. | Lake Megantic. | Mount Royal. |
| Accra. | Coomassie. | Lake Michigan. | Mount Temple. |
| Adansi. | Congo. | Lake Ontario. | Nigeria. |
| Akaba. | Dahomey. | Lake Simcoe. | Nyanga. |
| Akassa. | Degama. | Leon-y-Castillio. | Olenda. |
| Albertville. | Delta. | Loanda. | Oron. |
| Ancobra. | Dodo. | Loango. | Perez Galdos. |
| Andoni. | Egga. | Lycia. | Phillipeville. |
| Anversville. | Egwanga. | Llandulas. | Port Antonio. |
| Angola. | Eko. | Madeira. | Port Maria. |
| Asaba. | Ekuro. | Mandingo. | Port Morant. |
| Ashanti. | Elmina. | Mayumba. | Port Royal. |
| Axim. | Ethiopia. | Melville. | Prah. |
| Bakana. | Etolia. | Memnon. | Roquelle. |
| Banana. | Fantee. | Milwaukee. | Sangara. |
| Bathurst. | Forcados. | Monmouth. | Sansu. |
| Batanga. | Haussa. | Monrovia. | Sekondi. |
| Benguela. | Iddo. | Montauk. | Sherbro. |
| Benin. | Ilaro. | Monteagle. | Sobo. |
| Biafra. | Ilorin. | Montezuma. | Tarquah. |
| Bida. | Jebba. | Montreal. | Teneriffe. |
| Boma. | Kano. | Montrose. | Viera-y-Clavijo. |
| Bonny. | Kwarra. | Monarch. | Volta. |
| Bornu. | Lagoon. | Montcalm. | Warri. |
| Boulama. | Lake Champlain. | Montenegro. | Yola. |
| Burutu. | Lake Erie. | Monterey. | Yoruba. |
| Cabenda. | Lake Manitoba. | Montfort. |
As proving the difficulty of stating the number of steamships under the control of this firm, and at the same time illustrating the gigantic nature of its commercial operations, it may be stated that while this volume was in preparation for the Press, it sold to the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. an entire fleet, consisting of fifteen large ocean liners. The despatch of the last Elder-Dempster liner under the Beaver flag, on Wednesday, March 31st, 1903, was quite an historic event. She carried with her the first portion of the Rev. J. M. Barr’s colony, numbering about 2,000 souls. Thousands of spectators lined the stage, and as the liner sheered away cheer after cheer rent the air. Sir Alfred Jones, Mr. W. J. Davey, Mr. David Jones, the Revs. Canon Russell (Manchester), R. O. Greep, Dr. Lightwood, S. Gasking and H. M. Braithwaite, as well as many well-known personages in shipping and commerce, were present. The band of the 1st Liverpool Volunteers played inspiring music, including tunes reminiscent of home and friendly associations, first on the stage and afterwards on the ship.
Sir Alfred Jones expressed his regret, as he witnessed the multitude on board the Lake Manitoba, that he had consented to sell his Canadian fleet to the Canadian Pacific Railway. He said his firm had worked hard to develop Canadian colonisation, and the full fruit of their efforts was only becoming visible now when they had left the business. He commended the object of the expedition, and hoped for its success. A completely equipped colony of 2,000, with thousands more to follow in due course, was, he considered, a novelty.
Reference has been made to the three flags borne by the Elder-Dempster steamers. The Beaver flag no longer exists. The other two are (1) the white swallow-tail flag with a red St. George’s cross (gold crown in centre) of the African Steamship Co.; and the blue swallow-tail flag, with a white St. George’s cross, of the British and African Steam Navigation Co. A brief sketch of the history of both of these important companies, as well as of the Imperial Direct West India Mail Service Limited, will be found in the succeeding pages of this volume.