CHAPTER VI

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THE BRITISH AND IRISH STEAM PACKET COMPANY, LIMITED.

The oldest deep-sea steamship passenger trade in Europe is that between Dublin and London. The distinction of having been the first persons (other than the crew) to cross the Irish Sea by steam vessel is shared by Mr. and Mrs. C. R. Weld. Mr. Weld, who was the Secretary—or brother to the Secretary—of the Royal Society of Dublin, embarked with his wife on board the steampacket THAMES, Captain Dodd, which vessel sailed from Dublin at noon on the 28th May, 1815, bound for London.

The sailing of this, the first, steamer between Dublin and London, was an event of the greatest interest to the citizens of the former city, who assembled in thousands to witness her departure. It was not intended that the THAMES should ply between the two ports, and, as a matter of fact, it was not until after an interval of eleven years (1826) that a regular steampacket service was established between the Metropolis of England and that of Ireland. In the latter year, two of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Co.’s steamers, the THAMES (not the THAMES of 1815) and the SHANNON commenced to trade regularly between Dublin and London.

Amongst other famous steamers, employed on this station, may be mentioned the WILLIAM FAWCETT, which traded between London and Dublin during the summer of 1829. This steamer afterwards became the property of the Peninsular Steam Navigation Co., and is stated in Whitaker’s Almanac (and elsewhere) to have been the pioneer steamer of the “P. & O. Co.” In August, 1830, the steampacket CITY OF LONDONDERRY, built in 1827 for the Liverpool and Londonderry trade, and purchased in October, 1829, by the City of Dublin Co., was placed by her new owners on the London station. These three steamers, the THAMES, SHANNON and CITY OF LONDONDERRY, were described in the Company’s advertisement of the period as being amongst the largest steamers afloat, and all of the same capacity and power, viz., 513 tons burthen, and 160 h.p. each. These steamers maintained a regular weekly service (one of them sailing from London every Sunday, calling at Plymouth), and were due at Dublin in ordinary weather, in 80 hours after leaving London.

[Illustration: LADY ROBERTS. 1464 Tons. Speed 13 Knots.]

Travelling at that period was expensive, as shown by the rates charged by these small wooden steamers, compared with those now charged by the magnificent modern steamships of the B. and I. Co. of 1,400 to 1,500 tons each.

Cabin. Steerage. THAMES, SHANNON, &c. 2 16 0 1 14 0 LADY ROBERTS, LADY WOLSELEY, &c. 1 5 0 0 11 0

The present British and Irish Steampacket Company was established in 1836. The list of the earliest Directors contained the names of several of the best known citizens of Dublin, the following being the names of the Directors for the year 1838, viz.:—Messrs. James Ferrier, John MacDonnell, William Williams, Francis Carleton, Joseph Boyce, John Jameson, and John Ennis. The Company’s first fleet consisted of three wooden paddle steamers, named respectively, CITY OF LIMERICK, DEVONSHIRE, and SHANNON.

A very ingenious robbery from the Company took place at the St. Katherine’s Docks. Two boxes of gold dust, of a gross value of £5,245, were landed at Falmouth, ex H.M. Packet SEAGULL, from the Brazils. From Falmouth they were shipped per B. and I. steamer CITY OF LIMERICK to the Company’s Wharf, London, consigned to the Brazilian Mining Co. At noon on Monday, 29th April, 1839, a person claimed the two boxes, and presented an order for them, apparently in the same handwriting as the letter of advice received with the two boxes from Falmouth. The advice stated that the boxes were only to be delivered to a gentleman who would call on Monday with a letter in the same handwriting. The “gentleman” accurately described the marks, and took away the boxes; but two hours afterwards, another person, connected with the Brazilian Mining Co., came for the boxes, and the fraud was then discovered, for the genuine documents and letter addressed to the Company by the Falmouth Agent were produced.

Two months later, the whole of the criminals concerned were in custody, and charged with their offence at the Central Criminal Court. Two of them, Moss and Solomons, turned Queen’s evidence. Lewin Caspar (who had been for eighteen months in the service of the B. and I. Co. as General Superintendent), was detained in custody until sentence was pronounced, 3rd February, 1840, and was then acquitted, owing to a flaw in the indictment. His father, Ellis Caspar, and Emmanuel Moses, were each sentenced to be transported for 14 years, and sailed for Sydney on the 20th October, 1840, on the convict transport, LORD LYNEDOCH. Alice Abrahams (daughter of Emmanuel Moses) was also convicted of being an accomplice, and was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment. Mr. James Hartley (founder of the firm of James Hartley & Co., London) rendered very valuable service to the proprietors by his energy and skill in tracing and successfully prosecuting the thieves. Mr. James Hartley was elected a Director in 1838, and for his services in connection with the prosecution of the gold dust thieves, he was presented with a valuable piece of plate.

In 1842, the steamship DUKE OF CORNWALL was built, and added to the fleet in order to meet the increased demands of the trade. Like her sister ships, she was a wooden paddle steamer, and the last of this type of craft employed in the service.

The British and Irish Steam Packet Co. were amongst the first steamship owners to recognise the advantage (now universally admitted) of the screw propeller over the paddle wheel as a means for propelling steamships, and in 1845 they introduced into the London and Dublin trade two schooner-rigged auxiliary screw steamers, one of which was called the ROSE, and the other the SHAMROCK. Three years later the B. and I. Co. had to encounter a fierce and powerful opposition, engineered by the Messrs. Malcomson, of Waterford, but which involved nearly all the leading Steamship Companies on the East Coast of Ireland; the B. and I.; Belfast (Langtry’s); City of Dublin; Cork; and Waterford Steamship Companies all taking part in the contest. The Waterford Steamship Company placed steamers on the London and Dublin station, and the Directors of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company retaliated by placing steamers on the Waterford and London, Waterford and Liverpool, and London and St. Petersburg lines. The opposition lasted until April, 1851, when an arrangement was come to, whereby the Dublin and London traffic was divided between Messrs. Malcomson (Waterford Co.) and the B. and I., and at the same time the City of Dublin Co. withdrew from their official connection with the latter Company. In the meantime, several steamers had been built of iron (notably the GREAT BRITAIN), and had proved by the severest tests the great merits of that metal as a material for shipbuilding. So convinced were the Directors of the B. and I. of the advantages to be gained by the substitution of iron for wood, that they purchased in 1850 the first iron paddle steamer of the fleet. This steamer was named the FOYLE, and was one of the finest vessels afloat in her time.

The following year witnessed an extension of the Company’s operations, a regular service being established between Liverpool, South of England ports, and London; and also between Limerick and London. The latter was maintained by the auxiliary screw steamer ROSE, and when this vessel was sold in 1852, the service was discontinued.

To meet the increased requirements of the trade, two large screw steamers, the LADY EGLINTON and the NILE, were added to the fleet in 1852.

On the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854, two of the B. and I. steamers, one of which was the new steamer LADY EGLINTON, and the other the FOYLE, were chartered by the Government for the conveyance of troops and stores. In consequence of the withdrawal of these two steamers from the Company’s service, and of the loss of the NILE off the Cornish Coast, the Liverpool to London sailings were abandoned.

In addition to her Government service in the Black Sea, the LADY EGLINTON, in 1858, was employed for a short time as a Trans-Atlantic liner, making, in this capacity, two trips from Galway to Quebec and Montreal. In 1865, this famous steamer was placed in the hands of Messrs. Walpole, Webb & Bewley, shipbuilders, Dublin, by whom she was lengthened thirty feet.

Prior to the declaration of War between the Northern and Southern States of America, in 1861, the B. and I. Co. had maintained a regular service between Dublin and Wexford. The vessel employed in this service was a small paddle steamer named the MARS. In 1863 the MARS was sold, crossed the Atlantic, and began the exciting career of a blockade runner.

Two years later (1865) the LADY WODEHOUSE was built in Dublin, for the Company, by Messrs. Walpole, Webb and Bewley, and in 1869 the same builders launched another B. and I. liner, the COUNTESS OF DUBLIN. The year 1870 saw an important and advantageous change in the fortunes of the Company, who purchased the interest and steamers of Messrs. Malcomson’s London-Dublin line, since which time the sea trade between Dublin and London has been entirely in the hands of the British and Irish Company. The vessels purchased from Messrs. Malcomson were the AVOCA and CYMBA. In 1879, the B. and I. Company was registered as a Limited Company, and a new steamer, the LADY OLIVE, 1,096 tons, was added to the fleet. The LADY OLIVE was the last iron vessel built for the Company, and the last of the compound engine type of steamer. All her successors—the present vessels of the fleet—are built of steel, and fitted with triple-expansion engines. The first ship of the new type was the LADY MARTIN, of 1,356 tons gross register, built in 1887 by Messrs. Workman & Clark, of Belfast. Her carrying capacity is much greater than that of any of her predecessors, and further increase of tonnage has marked all the vessels added to the fleet since. Her principal dimensions are—Length 269 feet 6 inches, beam 34 feet 2 inches, and depth of hold 16 feet 4 inches.

[Illustration: S.S. LADY WOLSELEY leaving Falmouth.]

She was followed in quick succession by the LADY HUDSON-KINAHAN, built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, in 1891; the LADY WOLSELEY, built by the Naval Construction and Armaments Company, Barrow, in 1894; and the LADY ROBERTS, built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, Troon, in 1897. The last-named four steamers now carry on the trade between the two capitals, the LADY OLIVE

## acting as stand-by ship. In their main features, all the vessels are

very similar, and vary only slightly in size and power, from the LADY MARTIN, of 1,365 tons, to the LADY ROBERTS, of 1,462 tons. It will be seen from the particulars given, that the steamers of the B. and I. Co. are amongst the largest coasting vessels in the United Kingdom. The average berthing accommodation of each vessel is—120 saloon and 50 second cabin, in addition to steerage passengers. Each vessel is fitted up on the most approved plan, and electrically lighted throughout. Deck cabins and state rooms can be secured at a small extra charge. Smoking rooms are also provided, as well as bathrooms. In the summer season pianos are put on board, and a full complement of stewards and stewardesses is carried. Under ordinary circumstances the vessels average 13 knots per hour, which is quite fast enough for the requirements of the trade; and it may be mentioned that they are well able to hold their own with the majority of channel steamers. Any person travelling by these steamers will find that very few vessels will pass them, and those which do are probably some crack mail packets running short passages.

The ships of the British and Irish Steam Packet Company are as well-known at Falmouth, Plymouth, Southampton, and Portsmouth as they are at the terminal ports of London and Dublin. Being so well-found, roomy, comfortable, and up-to-date, and calling in at all the principal southern ports, it is but natural that they should be favourites with the holiday-making and touring public. So favourably are they held in this respect that during the “fine weather” months they seldom leave port without having a full complement of passengers, of whom (as has been stated) they are designed to carry a large number.

[Illustration: Steamship]

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