power were made by Fawcett, Preston & Co., of Liverpool. She made several successful passages, and was our first passenger steamer. The Transatlantic Steamship Company, which had chartered the “Royal William” afterwards built the “Liverpool,” of 1,150 tons, and 464 horse power. She made several voyages, averaging 17 days out and 15 days home.

Mr. Maginnis in his very useful and excellent work “The Atlantic Ferry,” claims for the “Sirius” the honour of inaugurating the Atlantic steamship service. She was owned by the British & American Steam Navigation Company, of which Mr. John Laird was the Chairman. She was 703 tons, and sailed on the 5th April, 1838, making the passage in 16½ days, maintaining an average of 8½ knots, on a consumption of 24 tons. About the same time the “Great Western,” of 1,340 tons, sailed from Bristol, making the outward passage in 13½ days.

SS. “Great Western,” 1838

The British & American Steamship Company encouraged by the successful voyage made by the “Sirius,” built, in 1839, two sister ships, the “British Queen” and the “President.” They were 1,863 tons gross register, and 700 horse power. The “British Queen” sailed from Portsmouth, July 12th, 1840, and the “President” on July 17th, 1840. The “President,” after sailing from New York, on March 11th, 1841, with a small number of passengers, was never again heard of, and in consequence of this disaster the British & American Steamship Company ceased to exist.

We cannot omit from our brief review of the early history of the steamship, an allusion to the “Great Britain,” the first large iron steamer. She was 3,270 tons, and was launched at Bristol in 1843. For very many years she was our largest ship, and considered to be one of the wonders of the day. She was placed in the Liverpool and New York trade, and sailed on the 26th July, 1845, on her first voyage. I remember seeing her pass down the Channel off Seaforth. Her six masts greatly impressed my child intelligence. She was wrecked the same night on the Irish Coast, but she was afterwards got off, and had a very varied and chequered career, and underwent many changes. Her six masts were reduced to four, then to three. She had new engines, and was placed by Gibbs, Bright & Co., in the Australian trade. Then she was converted into a full rigged sailing-ship, and in 1883 was condemned at the Falkland Islands as no longer seaworthy, and remained there for many years as a coal hulk.

It cannot be said that these early endeavours to establish a steamship trade were very encouraging, and the great scientist of that day, Dr. Lardner, stated that he had no hesitation in saying that the project announced in the newspapers of making a voyage directly from New York to Liverpool was perfectly chimerical. They might as well talk of making a voyage from New York to the moon.

All the more honour to those pioneers who had the courage and the prescience to go ahead; and to Mr. Samuel Cunard and his partners the steamship trade must be for ever deeply indebted, for to them we owe the first serious and successful effort to establish a steamship service across the Atlantic. They built, in 1840, the “Britannia,” “Acadia,” “Columbia,” and “Caledonia,”—the first ships of the now celebrated Cunard Line.

The Inman Line was founded in 1850, the Guion Line in 1866, and the White Star Line, which now shares the great Atlantic trade with the Cunard Company, was established in 1870.

SS. “President,” 1840

The evolution from sail to steam involved changes in the design of the hull of a ship. At first it was considered that to turn a sailing-ship into a steamer it was simply necessary to fit a hull designed for a sailing-vessel with a steam engine. It was soon, however, discovered that the fine lines and deep keel required to carry sail were not required in a steamship, and in course of time full-bodied hulls with square bilges without keels were adopted.

An iron steamer is but a rectangular girder or tank with the ends sharpened, the co-efficient of fineness varying from 62 to 78 degrees, according to the speed or deadweight capacity required. In 1860 Sir Edward Harland, with a view to easy propulsion, introduced steamers into the Mediterranean trade with a length of ten times their beam. These were so successful that when he built the fleet for the White Star Line he carried out the same principle, thereby also securing steady sea boats. He also introduced central passenger saloons and cabins, which speedily made the White Star ships very popular. Cabin accommodation placed in the centre of the ship has now become general. Some further modifications in design have taken place; ships have, relatively, now less length and more beam, and the cabin accommodation is built up citadel fashion in the middle of the ship.

The most notable evolution has, however, been in size and speed. The “Britannia,” built in 1840, was 1,200 tons, with 8½ knots speed. She was followed by the “Great Britain,” in 1843, 3,270 tons; she was, however, too large for the times, and did no good. The “Great Eastern,” built in 1855, was of 18,915 tons, and 12 knots speed, and was also a failure, although if she had been given sufficient power she would probably have hastened the era of large and fast vessels.

The demand for speed was for some years the governing feature in the design of steamers in the Atlantic trade, and to a smaller extent in the Eastern trades, in which the carrying of coal for long voyages has also to be considered. The increase in power required to obtain high speeds necessitated the adoption of twin screws, and with the still higher powers required by the “Mauretania,” “Olympic,” etc. (60,000 h.p.), four propellers are found necessary.

In the Atlantic trade, the “Arizona,” built by John Elder & Co. for the Guion Line, was the first of the “Atlantic greyhounds.” She was quickly followed by the “Alaska” and the “Oregon,” the latter being built in 1882, with a speed of 19 knots. She was the fastest ship of her time, and became the property of the Cunard Company. She was again eclipsed by the Cunard ships “Umbria” and “Etruria,” in 1885, with a speed of 19½ knots. In 1888 the “City of Paris” and “City of New York” had attained a speed exceeding 20 knots. For some years no improvement in speed was obtained until the advent of the “Campania” and “Lucania,” in 1893, with a tonnage of 12,900 and a speed of 22 knots.