CHAPTER III
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THE BRITISH & AFRICAN STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY, LIMITED (1900).
This Company was projected in 1868 by a number of gentlemen practically acquainted with the trade of the West Coast of Africa. Amongst these were Mr. Alexander Elder and Mr. John Dempster who in that year founded the firm of Elder, Dempster & Co., a firm whose ramifications during these later years, under the guidance of Sir Alfred L. Jones, K.C.M.G., and Mr. Davey, may be said to extend throughout the civilized world.
Three steamers of about 1,300 tons gross each, were specially built to the order of the new company, by Messrs. Randolph Elder & Co., of Glasgow, for the West African trade, and were named the BONNY, ROQUELLE, and CONGO.
The Pioneer steamer, the BONNY, sailed from Liverpool in January, 1869, and thereafter a monthly service was maintained between Glasgow, Liverpool and the West Coast of Africa. After several years’ employment in this trade, the ROQUELLE was sold to Messrs. P. M. Tintore & Co., Barcelona, and is still sailing from the Mersey under the Spanish flag.
So successful were these steamers that in 1869 it was decided to add three more to the fleet.
The new steamers were the LIBERIA, LOANDA and VOLTA, also specially built for the trade by the late Mr. John Elder, the distinguished brother of Mr. Alexander Elder, whose early death towards the end of 1869 was so much deplored by the ship-building and engineering world. The gross tonnage of these three vessels was increased to about 1,500 tons each.
It was considered desirable during the same year to register the Company as an Incorporated Company. The Registered Office of the Company was in Glasgow, but Mr. Alexander Elder and Mr. John Dempster conducted its operations in Liverpool.
With the six steamers the Company now possessed the sailings were increased to fortnightly.
In 1874 the sailings from Glasgow were abandoned, cargo to and from that port being transhipped at Liverpool.
As the trade expanded, additions were regularly made to the fleet, and in 1879 sailings between Hamburg and the West Coast of Africa were commenced. In 1883 the Company was registered as a limited company, at which time its fleet had increased to 20 steamers and 2 hulks with a gross registered tonnage of 30,753 tons.
The following year (1884) Mr. Elder and Mr. Dempster retired from the firm of Elder, Dempster & Co., which since 1879 had consisted of these gentlemen and Mr. (now Sir A. L.) Jones, and Mr. W. J. Davey. Messrs. Elder and Dempster, however, remained Managing Directors of the Company until 1900, Mr. Elder having for some years previous to this date occupied the position of Chairman.
In 1900 Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., purchased the entire business and assets of the British and African Steam Navigation Co., Limited, and with the addition of 9 large steamers, suitable for outside trades, formed a new company with a share capital of £1,000,000, and Debenture Stock of £800,000. The new company has a fleet of 35 steamers with a total gross registered tonnage of 107,000 tons.
While the bulk of its operations continue to be in connection with the West Coast of Africa, several of its steamers are employed in the North Atlantic and other trades.
The contrast between the first steamer, the BONNY, and the latest, the BURUTU, built in 1902, will be seen by the following comparison of their respective dimensions:—
BONNY, length 261·0 feet, beam 30·2 feet, depth 23 feet. Gross 1,326 tons.
BURUTU, length 360·0 feet, beam 44·2 feet, depth 26 feet. Gross 5,200 tons.
In the later steamers of the fleet, the vessels of the BURUTU type, traders and other travellers reach Sekondi, the centre of the new gold mining industry, in about 13 days from Liverpool. No skill has been wanting nor expense spared to make these vessels the most perfect of their kind, and exactly suitable for tropical trade.
A special feature of the steamers is the system of overhead trunk ventilation, by which an imperceptible current of fresh air is kept continually circulating through the lofty and well lighted state rooms, making them cool and agreeable in the hottest weather.
Passengers by the Royal Mail Steamers belonging to the British and African Company, are granted special facilities for visiting the beautiful islands of Madeira, Teneriffe and Grand Canary. The Company issues a special holiday ticket for £15, which includes Saloon passage out and home, and a fortnight’s board and accommodation at the Hotel Metropole, Las Palmas. Passengers by these steamers who may wish to visit the Mediterranean, have also the option of returning from the islands via Barcelona or Genoa, by the steamers of the Italian Express Steam Navigation Co.
The Royal Mail Steamers of the British and African Steam Navigation Co., conjointly with the steamers of the African Steam Ship Co., sail from Liverpool three times a week for the Canary Islands and the West Coast of Africa, and from Hamburg and Rotterdam weekly.
[Illustration: Sailboat in harbor]
[Illustration: R.M.S. PORT ROYAL. Imperial Direct West India Mail Service, Ltd.]
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