She was commanded on that voyage by Captain Wyse, whose death in 1851 was the occasion of the following paragraph, which appeared in the “Glasgow Chronicle”:—
“Captain Wyse (whose decease we announce) was the first to carry his steamer, the Britannia, on a pleasure trip from the Clyde to the Giant’s Causeway, with an illustrious and distinguished party. The astonished inhabitants in thousands crowded the hills and promontories, all along the shores of Antrim, to see a ship with a smoking funnel, and a band of music on board, sailing against wind and tide. Out of this pleasure trip sprung up the present lucrative trade between the ports of the Clyde and the North of Ireland, from which great advantages have unquestionably arisen to the inhabitants of both kingdoms.”
As time advanced, the river traffic was discontinued by the Company, and the cross-channel trade developed. After running excursions to the Giant’s Causeway for two seasons, the Britannia was placed on the Glasgow and Londonderry station, sailing from each port once a week.
Mr. Alex. A. Laird (after whom the line is named) was a well-known shipbroker in Greenock at the beginning of the last century, and when the famous St. George Steam Packet Company commenced operations in 1822, the first steamship service it established was between Liverpool and Greenock, and Mr. Laird was appointed agent for the Company at the latter port.
The St. George Company did not continue for any length of time its direct service between the Clyde and the Mersey, but in the following year (1823) a new steam packet company was formed, to trade only between Liverpool, Greenock and Glasgow, calling at Douglas (Isle of Man) and Portpatrick. Mr. Laird was the manager of the new company, and opened a branch office at 25, York Street, Glasgow, under the style of Alex. Laird & Co.
The pioneer steamer of the new service was the Henry Bell, built by Mr. Thomas Wilson, a celebrated Liverpool shipbuilder, in 1823. She was considered a very smart craft in those days, was fitted with two engines of 30 horse power each, and carried about 120 tons all told, on a draft of about 8 feet. She continued on the Glasgow and Liverpool station until 1831, when she was purchased by Messrs. James Little & Co., for their Glasgow and Newry trade.
The original intention of the proprietors was that the Henry Bell should sail to and from Glasgow, but it was found there was not sufficient water in the Clyde to enable this to be done with regularity, and Greenock was, consequently, made the port of arrival and departure. The deck fare by this steamer was 6s. per passenger, the steerage fare by the mail packets (Majestic and City of Glasgow) being 21s.
The late Mr. Alex. A. Laird commenced his apprenticeship under his father in 1824, and the same year a second vessel, the James Watt, was placed on the Glasgow and Liverpool station. She was slightly larger, and had engines of greater power than the Henry Bell.
The following year Messrs. Laird established a fortnightly service between Glasgow and Inverness; the steampacket employed was the Stirling, which made her first voyage on the 11th May, 1825, and continued to sail thereafter on alternate Wednesdays from Glasgow and Inverness. Fortnightly sailings proving insufficient for the traffic, the sailings were increased to weekly on and from the 20th September, 1826.
During this year the William Huskisson was added to the Liverpool and Glasgow service, and sailings were maintained three times per week from each port.