In connection with the building of the "Campania," I have a pleasing recollection of a visit to Castle Wemyss, on the Clyde, the residence of the then chairman of the Cunard Company, Mr. John Burns. Mr. Burns took me to call upon his father, Sir George Burns, who resided at Wemyss House. He was then a very old man, over 90 years of age, and as he lay upon his bed he looked very picturesque, with his handsome aquiline features and his snow-white locks resting upon the pillow. He told me with evident pride of the early days of the Cunard Company, of which he was one of the founders, the others being Mr. Cunard of Halifax, Mr. Charles MacIver of Liverpool, and his brother Mr. David MacIver; and he narrated his recollections of the old sailing brigs which used to convey the mails to Halifax, before the days of steamships. Sir George died soon after my visit, and was succeeded in his baronetcy by his son, Mr. John Burns, who at the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen, in 1897, was created a Peer (Lord Inverclyde). He died in 1901, and was succeeded by his son George, who died in 1905, after holding the title only a few years, and was succeeded by his brother James, the present Peer. The second Lord Inverclyde, who was also chairman of the Cunard Company, was a man of conspicuous ability, with a big grasp of affairs. It was he who carried through the agreement with the Government, which resulted in the building of the "Mauretania" and "Lusitania." During these negotiations he displayed so much energy, tact, and knowledge of shipping, that had he lived he was marked out for high position in the Government. It has been my privilege during the twenty-two years I have been a director of the Cunard Company, to serve under five chairmen—the first Lord Inverclyde, Mr. Jardine, the second Lord Inverclyde, Mr. Watson, and Mr. Booth.
The Liverpool and Mediterranean Trade.
Sir George Burns' reference to the making of the Cunard Company brings to my mind the story told by my father-in-law, William Miles Moss, of the beginnings of the Mediterranean steamship trade, which has made for Liverpool people so many great fortunes. He said that his firm, James Moss and Co., Vianna Chapple and Co., and John Bibby and Sons, were engaged in the Mediterranean trade, which they conducted with sailing schooners and brigs. In 1848 he thought the time had arrived to replace these by steamers, and his firm chartered a paddle steamer, which traded to the Isle of Man, for an experimental voyage to the Mediterranean. She made a most successful voyage to Genoa, Leghorn, etc., and he was so encouraged that he made a contract to build a screw steamer for the Egyptian trade to cost £21,000. Mr. Moss invited the heads of the firms I have named to dinner at his house, in Lower Breck Road, and told them what he had done, and asked them to take shares in his new venture, and then passed a paper round the table that they might write down the interest they were willing to take. It was returned to him with only £12,000 subscribed. He said, "I told them they were a shabby lot, and that I would take the balance." This was the first steamer built to trade between Liverpool and Alexandria.
Mr. Moss was a very shrewd, long-sighted man, and for years was the moving spirit in the Mediterranean steamship trade, being largely interested in Bibby's as well as being the principal owner of the fleet of James Moss and Co. He was for many years a member of the Dock Board, in which he was followed by his son and his grandson.
The White Star Line.
The "making" of the White Star Line must always remain an interesting incident in the history of our commerce. In the 'sixties the Atlantic trade was in the hands of the Cunard, the Inman, the National, and the Guion Companies. At this time the Bibby line of Mediterranean steamers had been most successful. One of the principal owners in these steamers was Mr. Schwabe, whose nephew, Mr. Wolff, had just started in business as a shipbuilder in Belfast, in partnership with Mr. Harland. Mr. T. H. Ismay had recently formed a partnership with Mr. William Imrie, and had taken over the business of the White Star Line, then engaged in owning sailing ships employed in the Australian trade. The story at the time was that during a game of billiards at Mr. Schwabe's house, in West Derby, Mr. Schwabe proposed to Mr. Imrie that his firm should start another line of steamers to New York, adopting as their type the models which had proved so very profitable in the Mediterranean trade, and offered if they were built by Messrs. Harland and Wolff to find the greater part of the capital. The scheme thus inaugurated quickly took shape. Mr. G. H. Fletcher associated himself with the project, and the first White Star steamer, the "Oceanic," was built, followed quickly by the "Celtic," "Baltic," "Germanic," and "Britannic." The steamers were the first vessels constructed with their cabin accommodation amidships, where there is the least motion and vibration. This proved a very attractive feature. Mr. Ismay also took a personal interest in studying the comfort of the travellers by his line, which quickly became very popular. Mr. Ismay lived to see the début of his masterpiece, the "Oceanic," the second of this name, but had passed away in 1899 before the White Star Line became a part of the great American steamship combine.
Mr. T. H. Ismay.
Mr. Ismay was a remarkable man. He was of a very retiring disposition, but had great strength of character, with an aptitude for organisation, he was able to select good men to assist him, and to obtain from them the best of their work. Mr. Ismay was one of the ablest men of my time. He declined all honours, and found his pleasure in surrounding himself with beautiful pictures and objets d'art in his home at Dawpool, and he was not unmindful of others, for he founded the Seamen's Pension Fund, to which he was a large contributor.
To commemorate the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, and Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, grand reviews of the fleet took place at Spithead. Mr. Ismay invited a large party of his Liverpool friends on board the "Teutonic" on both of the occasions to see the reviews. At Spithead the "Teutonic" was joined by a large and very distinguished company from London, comprising many of Her Majesty's Ministers, the leaders of the opposition, and men renowned in literature, science and art. At the first review the German Emperor and the Prince of Wales came on board, and spent some time inspecting the ship, and especially her armament. Other Atlantic liners had on board the members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. These reviews were very successful, the great array of battleships being imposing and impressive, although we could not avoid remarking their small size compared with the "Teutonic," "Campania," and other liners present.