[202] The comparative cost of driving a steamer on the average of 7 knots up to an average of 9 knots is very small compared to what it would be to increase the speed from 9 to 11 knots an hour, and it becomes enormous when that rate is increased (as the resistance increases with the square of the velocity), but my readers must take the very large sum mentioned as the extra cost of one extra day’s saving of time with very considerable qualifications, as the statement was made in Congress with the object of obtaining for the Collins line further assistance either in the shape of a vote of money or an enhanced annual subsidy.
[203] From a return which appeared in the New York Herald on the 1st of January, 1853, the number of persons carried in the course of eleven months, January to November inclusive, 1852, was:
| By Collins line to Liverpool, | 2,420, | to New York, | 1,886. |
| By Cunard line to Liverpool, | 1,783, | to New York, | 1,186. |
[204] The dimensions of the Africa, built of wood by Messrs. Steele and Company, of Greenock, were as follows:
| Builders’ Measurement. | Ft. | In. | |
| Length of keel and fore rake | 267 | 0 | |
| Breadth of beam | 40 | 6 | |
| Depth of hold | 27 | 6 | |
| Tonnage | 2128 78-94ths | ||
| New Measurement. | |||
| Length on deck | 265 | 0 | |
| Breadth on ditto at midships | 37 | 2 | |
| Depth of hold at ditto | 27 | 2 | |
| Tonnage | 2226 24-100ths | ||
She had a pair of side-lever engines, by Robert Napier of Glasgow, of 814 horse nominal power. Diameter of cylinders, 96 inches by 9 feet stroke; paddlewheels, diameter, extreme, 37 feet 7 inches, and 30 feet 10 inches effective; twenty-eight floats, 9 feet 2 inches by 3 feet 2 inches, three sets of twenty-eight arms, eight floats in the water at 19 feet draft of water. Four flue boilers, twenty furnaces; bunkers to hold 890 tons of coals; thirty-eight hands in the engine-room. The Africa was built of the best British oak, and planked double outside and inside, and the space between the frames was filled up, from the keel to the gunwale, with rock-salt, to preserve the vessel from the dry rot. The number of her berths enabled her to carry 180 passengers. She was manned by a full crew of chosen men, giving about one-third to each department. She was estimated to carry 900 tons of coal; and she had capacity for the transit of 600 tons of cargo, not including the stores of ship and passengers. Fitted up for carrying guns, the Africa could at any time be transformed, from the peaceful original, into an Admiralty ship of war. The saloons and berths were fitted with an evident regard at once to elegance and utility: there was nothing the most refined taste could desiderate, as there was nothing wanting which could add to the comfort, convenience, and pleasure of the passengers.
[205] See [Appendix No. 8, p. 601]. I give the authorities from whom these returns were obtained, and all the figures on both sides of the question, so that my readers may judge for themselves, but, having had the log-books of the Cunard Company examined with great care, I can vouch for the accuracy of the conclusions in my text.
[206] Mr. C. B. Stuart computes the power of the Asia at eight hundred and sixteen H.-P., and the Atlantic and Pacific at only eight hundred each. On further comparing these steamers it will be found that for each square foot of immersed section the Atlantic had 110100 horse-power; the Pacific, 112100; and the Asia, 126100, thereby giving the latter an important advantage over the others. In the judgment of the Americans, therefore, whatever superiority may have been exhibited in their vessels over those of the British in speed, is justly ascribed to their models, effective boilers, and ability in their preparation.