CHAPTER XIV

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Messrs. James Little & Co.

Towards the end of July, 1819, Messrs. James Little & Co., who had commenced business seven years previously, despatched from Greenock, on her maiden voyage to Liverpool, the first passenger steamer that ever sailed from the Clyde to the Mersey. Her name was the ROBERT BRUCE, and she was described in her advertisements as being “an elegant new Steam Packet, having most excellent accommodation for passengers.” As a matter of fact, she was a small wooden paddle steamer, 98 feet long, or about twelve feet longer than the Cluthas that ply up and down Glasgow Harbour, but with twice their beam. She called at Portpatrick and Douglas (I. of M.) on her voyages to and from the Clyde, and occupied about thirty hours on the run from Greenock to Liverpool. The following letter from the Captain (Patterson) to Messrs. Little, written on the 1st September, 1819, indicates how different are the conditions under which passengers travel by steamers at the present date and those which existed in the early stages of steam navigation. Captain Patterson dated his letter from Troon, and stated:—

“I have to inform you that we were taken with a heavy gale of wind from the N.W. yesterday about two o’clock, just as we had got outside the Cumbraes, with a heavy sea; about six o’clock the sea came more to the westward, and, from the very heavy sea on our beam, we made so much lee-way that we could not stand out-channel nor fetch Lamlash. I, therefore thought it best to bear up for this port, and got in safe last night with the loss of our bowsprit, but no other damage. Our engines worked very well, only the wheels had little effect owing to the heavy sea. It has continued to blow a gale all night, and still looks very bad. The ship NEREUS got here an hour before us, dismasted. I will get another bowsprit as soon as possible, and will proceed when it moderates. The passengers were all sick, but are now well.

“I am, &c., “JOHN PATTERSON.

“P.S.—The ROBERT BRUCE behaved under her sails, double reefed, as well as any ship I was ever in.”

The rates of passage money were:—Cabin, 40s.; steerage, 21s. A second steamer, the SUPERB, was placed on the station during the same season, and in 1820 a larger steamer, the MAJESTIC, was added to the service.

An interesting and valuable painting of the latter steamer in 1820 is in the possession of Messrs. Little & Co., at their office, 46, Leadenhall Street, London.

A curious intimation appears in the Glasgow papers of the 19th July, 1822, with reference to the same vessel. It appears that on a recent trip the Duke of Athol and suite had embarked on board the MAJESTIC at Greenock, for conveyance to Douglas (I. of M.), where his Grace had a seat (Mona Castle). As well as being accompanied by the members of his suite, His Grace had with him several carriages and a quantity of luggage, all of which took some time to land. Some of the Liverpool passengers complained of the detention of the steampacket for this purpose, and, on the complaint being submitted to the managers of the steamer, they not only expressed their regret for the delay, but they also donated the amount of freight they received from the Duke of Athol to the fund for the relief of the starving Irish.

A fourth steamer, the CITY OF GLASGOW, was added to the fleet on the 21st June, 1822. The ROBERT BRUCE having become too small for the Greenock and Liverpool service was transferred to the Liverpool and Douglas station, and the three larger steamers were appointed to carry H.M. mails to and from Greenock and Liverpool. The wretched condition of the destitute poor in Ireland was not the only charity that appealed to the managers of these steamers. Finding that the Committee of the Greenock Hospital and Infirmary were in urgent need of funds, they placed the R.M.S. CITY OF GLASGOW at the Committee’s disposal for one day, for the benefit of the Institution named. The Committee of Management of the Hospital accordingly arranged a cruise per that steamer around Ailsa Craig, on Saturday, 19th July, 1823, tickets for which were 7s. 6d. each. The CITY OF GLASGOW continued to trade between Greenock and Liverpool until 1831, when she was purchased by the late David MacIver, who was then forming the City of Glasgow Steam Packet Co. Although Messrs. Little’s connection with Belfast is not of such long standing as with Liverpool, yet it is approaching three-quarters of a century. In January, 1828, the new steamer FROLIC began to trade between Glasgow, Greenock and Belfast. She differed from the steamers of the Liverpool route in carrying cargo as well as passengers. The previous year, Messrs. Little had obtained the agency in Greenock of the Glasgow and Dublin Shipping Company. The pioneer steamer of this line was the ERIN, which sailed from the Clyde on her first voyage in March, 1827. A second steamer, the SCOTIA, a vessel of 300 tons burden, was added to the service in January, 1828. The steamer WATER WITCH, built for this trade by Messrs. James Little & Co., and contracted for with Messrs. Denny & Co., of Dumbarton, was the first screw steamer built on the Clyde.

In addition to their several channel steamers, Messrs. Little owned, in 1850, the steamers DUNOON and HELENSBURGH. These two steamers plied with passengers between Greenock and coast towns, connecting with the Glasgow and Greenock Railway (now the Caledonian Railway), and they were the first steamers on the Clyde to run in connection with a Railway Company.

In 1872 this firm purchased from the owners of the Anchor Line steamers the steamer DOM PEDRO, a screw steamer engaged in the Glasgow and Peninsular service. The DOM PEDRO was the first screw steamer with compound engines, built by the famous Clyde shipbuilding firm, Randolph and Elder, now known as the Fairfield Shipbuilding Co. Subsequently, Messrs. James Little & Co. owned a fleet of steamers bearing Greek classical names, _e.g._, APOLLO, ACHILLES, &c., and to be in accordance with these the name of the DOM PEDRO was changed to the ARIADNE in the year 1875. She has now for a number of years been running on the Barrow and Liverpool station. In the year 1866, Messrs. Little ran the paddle steamer HERALD between Glasgow and Campbeltown. The HERALD proved herself when on the Campbeltown route to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, steamer on the Clyde. She was withdrawn the following summer (1867) from the Glasgow and Campbeltown station, to open the Barrow and Isle of Man trade. The latter traffic is now maintained during the summer months by the magnificent steamers, MANX QUEEN, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, or DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH. The MANX QUEEN is a large steel paddle steamer, with a gross register tonnage of about 1,000 tons, built and engined on the Clyde by Messrs. J. and G. Thompson. Her principal dimensions are—length, 278 feet 9 inches; beam, 29 feet 7 inches; depth, 14 feet, and her speed is about 16 knots per hour.

The DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE is a steel twin-screw steamer, built and engined in 1897 by the Naval Construction and Armaments Co., Barrow. Her gross register tonnage is 1,265 tons; her length is 300 feet; beam, 35 feet 1 inch; and depth, 15 feet 7 inches. Her engines are capable of driving her considerably over 18 knots per hour, and she is, therefore, one of the fastest steamers in the cross-channel trade.

The DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH is a steel paddle steamer, with a gross register tonnage of 804 tons, built and engined in 1888 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd., Glasgow. Her length is 256 feet 1 inch; beam, 29 feet 1 inch; and depth 14 feet, and her speed is about 18 knots per hour.

The route _via_ Barrow to Douglas gives the shortest sea passage from England to the Isle of Man, the average passage being about three hours. In consequence of this, and of the first-class accommodation provided in these splendid steamers, the Barrow route is a favourite one to the Island, and each year sees an increase in the number of passengers carried.

Messrs. James Little & Co., in conjunction with the Midland and Furness Railways, established, in 1867, a service of mail, passengers and cargo steamers between Barrow and Belfast.

For the conduct of the business connected with this service, Messrs. Little opened a branch office in Belfast, and, as they had also started the Barrow to Douglas trade that same year, they opened an office in Barrow. The first steamers employed on the Barrow and Belfast station were the paddle-steamers ROE, TALBOT, and SHELBURNE. In 1870 a larger and faster paddle-steamer, the ANTRIM, was added to the fleet.

The service is now maintained by the swift and powerful Royal Mail Steamships CITY OF BELFAST, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, MANX QUEEN or LONDONDERRY. The DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE has already been briefly described. Her sister vessel in the service, the CITY OF BELFAST, is slightly smaller. Her gross register tonnage is 1,055 tons.

These powerful steamers leave Belfast every evening at 8-30, Irish time, and arrive in Barrow about 6 o’clock on the following morning, in time to connect with the early morning Midland trains to all parts of England and Scotland. The steamers leave Barrow daily (Sundays excepted) on arrival of the through trains from London, Bristol, Leeds, &c., that is about 8-30 p.m., and arrive in Belfast about 5-30 the following morning (Irish time).

In 1873 Messrs. Little opened a branch office in Glasgow, and in 1883 one in Liverpool. In addition to the mail and other steamship services on the West Coast of Britain, Messrs. James Little & Co. have a regular service of steamers from London to Terneuzen, in Holland, and for the efficient working of this service they, in conjunction with Mr. J. W. Johnston, opened an office in London in 1886, the name and address of the London firm being Little & Johnston, 46, Leadenhall Street, who also have a sub-office in Terneuzen.

They have also several ocean steamers, not built for any special trade, but of large carrying capacity, under the management of their Glasgow house.

The fleet of this firm at the present date (1903) consists of fourteen full-powered steamships, having a gross registered tonnage of 25,279 tons, and named as follows:—

ANN WEBSTER 792 tons gross. ARIADNE 292 ” BORDERER 2983 ” BORDER KNIGHT 3730 ” CITY OF BELFAST 1055 ” DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE 1265 ” DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH 804 ” HALLING 777 ” HERMISTON 4383 ” INDIANAPOLIS 2464 ” LONDONDERRY 736 ” MANX QUEEN 989 ” RIVERDALE 4206 ” RIVER LAGAN 803 ” ——— 25,279

[Illustration: DUCHESS OF BUCCLEUCH. James Little & Co.]

[Illustration: R.M.S. CLAYMORE. David MacBrayne.]

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