Reminiscences of a Liverpool Shipowner, 1850-1920. Forwood William Bower

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СКАЧАТЬ been said that the improvements made in British shipping from the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the Victorian era were so gradual as to be perceptible only when measured by centuries.

      When we speak of the ships of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, we cannot but be surprised to find how slight were the improvements made during these three hundred years. During the latter half of the eighteenth century the finest ships were constructed in France, and at that period the best ships in the British navy were those captured from the French.

      The treaty of peace between the United States of America and Great Britain, signed in 1814, marks the beginning of a new era in the history of shipping. The progress, however, for some years was slow; design and construction were hindered by our obsolete tonnage laws, which encouraged the building of a very undesirable type of ship. Meanwhile America was going ahead. Not only did she produce more ships, but they were well designed and equipped, and it was the general opinion that the American ship was superior to the British ship. When, in 1832, the monopoly of the East India Company came to an end, and the commerce of the Orient was thrown open to all British ships, there was at once an effort made to establish British shipping on a broader and more substantial basis. The opening of the China and East India trades gave rise to that competition which had been so long dormant, and without which there can be little incentive to improvement.

      The American trade gave the first and great impetus to shipowning in Liverpool. The famous New York packets, the pioneer Black Ball Line, were established in 1816. This Line consisted at first of vessels of from 300 to 500 tons register. These little ships with their full bodies and bluff bows made wonderful passages, averaging 23 days outwards and 43 days homewards. They were for many years the only means of communication between this country and the United States. The “Dramatic” Line was started in 1836, with vessels of about 700 tons, and it is noteworthy that the “Sheridan,” of 895 tons, built the following year for this Line, was found to be too large for the Liverpool trade; but the trade rapidly grew and the packet ships gradually increased in tonnage. In 1846 the “New World” was built, of 1,400 tons. As a child I recollect being taken down to the dock to see this ship, as being the largest sailing-ship in the world; and many still living will remember the “Isaac Webb,” the “Albert Gallatin,” the “Guy Mannering,” and the “Dreadnought.” The ships of the “Black Ball” Line and the “Dramatic” Line were grand ships, and made many wonderful passages.

      There are three outstanding events which greatly contributed to the improvement of British shipping, and may be said to mark the beginning of our great maritime position – the establishment, in 1834, of Lloyd’s Register; the founding, in 1846, of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade; and, in 1849, repeal of the Navigation Laws. These laws, devised originally for the protection of British shipping, and to secure for it a certain monopoly of the carrying trade, had become antiquated, and a hindrance to its development. It was not, however, until we found the commerce of the world was largely being carried by American ships, which were faster and better built, that an agitation was started to abolish those laws.

      There was considerable opposition to their repeal, and the first result was not encouraging; there was a decrease in the tonnage of British ships entering our ports, and a large increase in foreign tonnage, especially of American; and although this created a feeling of despondency, and gave rise to the fear that we had lost for ever our premier position in the overseas carrying trade, it really proved a great stimulus to enterprise, and renewed exertion, and not many years elapsed before we had regained, and more than regained, our position in the shipping world.

      To America belongs the credit of introducing the clipper ship, which was specially designed to make rapid passages. The discovery of gold in California created a great rush, and there was a gigantic movement of human beings by land and by sea. The land journey across America was long and hazardous, and this gave rise to a large emigration by sea, and the necessity for providing a class of ship which would be able to make rapid passages. This the old-fashioned frigate-built ship was unable to do.

      The era of the clipper ship may be said to date from 1848, when gold was first discovered in California. The building of these ships in America proceeded rapidly, and in four years one hundred and sixty were built. They were the swiftest ships the world had ever seen, making the voyage from New York to San Francisco in from 100 to 120 days. They were remarkable for their fine lines, lofty spars, and great sail-carrying capacity.

      The discovery of gold in California in 1848 was quickly followed by the discovery of gold in Australia in 1851, and a rush of emigration immediately set in, which had to be carried by sailing-ships. The regular traders were small vessels with very limited passenger accommodation; so shipowners very quickly turned their attention to the clipper ships built in New England and in New Brunswick, which had been so successful in the Californian trade.

      The first clipper ship constructed for the Australian trade was the “Marco Polo,” of 1,622 tons. She was built in 1851, at St. John’s, for James Baines & Co., of Liverpool, and she was the pioneer of the famous Australian Black Ball Line. The “Marco Polo” was a handsome ship, built with a considerable rise of floor and a very fine after end, and carrying a large spread of canvas. She made some remarkable passages under the command of Captain Forbes, who did not hesitate to shorten the distance his ship had to travel by sailing on the great circle, and going very far south. The “Marco Polo” may be said to have set the pace in the Australian trade. She was quickly followed by such renowned ships as the “Lightning,” the “James Baines,” the “Sovereign of the Seas,” and the passages of these ships created as much public interest as those of our Atlantic greyhounds do to-day. We had also the White Star Line of Australian clippers, which owned the “Red Jacket,” the “Blue Jacket,” and the “Chariot of Fame.” The “Red Jacket” made the record passage of 64 days to Melbourne, and was one of the most famous of the American built clippers.

      Although America can claim to have introduced the clipper ship, our English shipbuilders were not much behindhand. The tea trade with China offered great rewards for speed, and the ship landing the first cargo of the new teas earned a very handsome premium. The competition was, therefore, very keen. These tea clippers were very beautiful vessels of about 800 to 1,000 tons, of quite an original type; and, unlike the American clipper, they relied for their speed more upon the symmetry of their lines than upon their large sail area. They had less beam and less freeboard than the American clipper, and as their voyages necessitated a good deal of windward work, this was made their strong point of sailing, and probably they will never be excelled in this. The names of the “Falcon,” the “Fiery Cross,” the “Lord of the Isles,” will still dwell in the memory of many.

      In 1865 a memorable race took place between ten celebrated tea clippers, and the evenness of their performances was remarkable. The times of the passages of the first five, from the anchorage in China to Deal, varied from 99 to 101 days, and the prize, 10s per ton, was divided between the “Taeping” and the “Ariel” – the one arriving first at Deal, and the other being the first to dock in London. There were similar races every year, which always aroused great interest.

      The greatest development in sailing-ships was brought about by the substitution of iron for wood in their construction. The iron ship, among other advantages, could be of larger size, was more durable, and less costly in maintenance; and in 1863 a notable further improvement was made when, in the Liverpool ship “Seaforth,” steel lower masts, topmasts, and topsail yards, and also standing rigging of steel wire were introduced, and about the same time double topsail yards were adopted.

      We are apt to make light of the great increase in American shipping since the late war, and think that the competition of America will not last and will not be serious. We should, however, not forget how large a proportion of the world’s carrying trade by sea was done by America prior to her civil war in 1863, and the excellence of her ships. The tariffs she imposed after this war killed her shipping and made shipbuilding, except for her coastwise trade, impossible. The result of the late war has been to make the cost of shipbuilding nearly as great in this СКАЧАТЬ