Buch lesen: «Reminiscences of a Liverpool Shipowner, 1850-1920»
PREFACE
The following sketches were contributed to the Liverpool Press (Liverpool Daily Post, Liverpool Courier, Journal of Commerce), and they are now published at the request of many friends. Advantage has been taken of the opportunity for revision, and to add further reminiscences.
A chapter has also been added descriptive of the part played by the British merchant seaman in the war; and another, published in 1917, portraying the attitude and work of the British shipowner during the war.
To do adequate justice to the history of our shipping during the past sixty years would occupy several volumes. In the following pages all that has been attempted has been to outline the principal events in the fewest possible words, in the hope that they may serve for future reference; and also keep alive that interest in our mercantile fleet which is so essential to the prosperity of our Country and the welfare of our people.
Bromborough Hall, Cheshire,
August, 1920.
Chapter I
THE PASSING OF THE SAILING-SHIP
The old sailing-ship, with all the romance which surrounds it, must long linger in the affectionate regard of all British people as the creator of our great overseas trade and the builder-up of our commercial prosperity. The sailing-ship was the mistress of the seas for centuries. She founded our maritime supremacy, was the conveyor of the first fruits of our manufacturing industry to the ends of the world, and enabled us to train a race of sailors unequalled for their skill, courage, and patriotism, who in times of national peril have protected our homes and safeguarded the freedom of the world.
Liverpool owes her greatness as a city and her position as the first port in the world to her shipping. Possessing the only deep-water haven on the West Coast, she naturally became the port of shipment for the manufactures of Lancashire and Yorkshire directly our export trade began to develop. The beginnings of the shipping trade were small, for in 1751 there were only 220 vessels belonging to the port. The opening up of the American trade in 1756 gave a great impetus to shipping. It was destined, however, to receive a serious check by the world-wide war which started in 1756, and was waged almost continuously for sixty years.
The first of this long series of wars known as the Seven Years’ War (1756-1761) was followed by twelve years of peace, and it was during this time that our trade with America made its greatest headway. The War of Independence with America, which broke out in 1773, proved most disastrous to Liverpool. It paralysed our trade and there was dire distress in the town. It is recorded: “Our docks are a mournful sight, full of gallant ships laid up and useless.” This unhappy war lasted seven years.
But perhaps the most terrible period for our shipping was in 1810, when America, feeling herself “crushed between the upper and the nether millstone of Napoleon’s mastery on land and England’s supremacy by sea,” declared war and threw her strength into privateering. The result to the trade of Liverpool was most disastrous. The number of ships entering the port fell from 6,729 in 1810 to 4,599 in 1812. When, in 1815, peace was again brought about, there was a most rapid recovery in business in every direction.
Our British arms which had been victorious in the great war on the continent of Europe had also made our country supreme at sea; foreign shipping had almost disappeared, and our shipping trade reaped an enormous advantage, our tonnage rapidly increasing.
The period from 1815-1860 may be termed the halcyon days of the British ship, and the period from 1850-1880 witnessed the “passing” of the sailing-ship. With the “passing” of the sailing-ship we have lost many interesting and attractive features. The attitude of the shipowner has entirely changed. His quiet, leisurely occupation has gone, and with it much that was picturesque and gave pleasure and enjoyment. With the advent of the steamer a new era opened up, characterised by the hustle of increased activity. Speed is the criterion aimed at, calling for constant and strenuous work.
The shipowner of the olden days had time to take a deep personal interest in the upkeep of his ship. He strolled down from his office almost daily to the dock where she was lying. Of the sixty-four sixty-fourth shares into which the ownership was divided he probably owned at least one-half; this gave him a very real concern in his ship’s welfare. He watched and supervised her construction with the same solicitude as he would the building of his own house. And when completed and she took up her loading berth in the Prince’s or Salthouse Dock, all fresh painted, the rigging tarred down, the ratlines all taut and evenly spaced, every rope and hawser carefully coiled down and in its place, it was excusable if the owner viewed his ship with some pride. A large poster displayed in the ship’s rigging announced the port for which she was taking cargo and the date of sailing – a date which was never kept. She remained in dock week after week while her cargo gradually trickled down.
This long delay involved a loss of interest and earning power, and also a serious loss of interest to the owners of cargo shipped by her. Mr. Donald Currie, when he left the Cunard Company, made up an ownery for five or six ships for the Calcutta trade, and was anxious that Jardine, Skilmer & Co., of Calcutta, should take the agency at that port. But they had suffered so much from the delay of their cargoes that they made it a condition of their acceptance that Mr. Currie should strictly adhere to his advertised dates of sailing; and certainly he had no cause to regret it, for practically Jardines loaded his ships with their own goods, and Mr. Currie’s fleet rapidly increased. This was the beginning of fixed days of sailing from Liverpool, which are now almost universal.
Although the pleasure of a shipowner was more personal and greater in the days gone by, it was accompanied by much anxiety, and the risks were greater than those of to-day. A wooden ship was liable to decay, and the periodical surveys by Lloyd’s were times of much concern. They might expose some defect which might involve the stripping and rebuilding of the part affected. The highest class at Lloyd’s A1 for thirteen years, soon ran out, and the continuation of the class always involved many repairs.
The preparation of a captain’s instructions prior to the commencement of a voyage entailed much thought; every contingency had to be provided for; there were no “cables” by which subsequent instructions could be sent, or the owner consulted.
Cargoes at the loading ports were uncertain, and the change of ports in ballast had to be provided for. The most carefully-worded instructions often failed to provide for the very contingency which happened, or more frequently the captain did some stupid thing. The owner was in dread lest his ship should find no homeward cargo and have to shift ports, or lest she be damaged or dismasted, and put into some remote port not contemplated in his instructions. He had visions of heavy repair bills and bottomry bonds.
Sailing-ship owning was profitable to those who possessed high-class ships, but I cannot recall many fortunes made out of soft wood ships, the cost of their maintenance and repair being so heavy.
In a brief résumé of the history of the sailing-vessel it is not necessary to pass in review the early steps taken in the evolution of a ship, for shipowning did not assume a position of any importance before the year 1600, when, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the East India Company was founded.
The East India Company’s first ships were vessels of from 300 tons to 600 tons. They were all heavily armed, and only conveyed the cargoes belonging to the Company. The “John” Company was highly successful, and at the close of the eighteenth century had not only a large fleet of ships, but also possessed a large portion of the continent of India. The ships of the Company were remarkable vessels; they were frigate built, large carriers, and stately looking, but badly designed, very slow, required a large quantity of ballast, and their cost was about £40 per ton. Improvement in design and equipment was very slow; there existed no incentive to improvement; the profit made was derived mainly from the cargoes they carried; and it has 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 country as in America, and she will certainly make a serious bid for her share of the trade.
With the passing of the old sailing-ship we have lost much that was picturesque and much that appealed to sentiment. The river Mersey at the top of high water filled with sailing craft of all kinds, from the great Australian clipper down to the Dutch galliot or the British sloop with her brown sails, presented a panorama which has no equal to-day, and called forth thoughts of adventure and perils by the sea which a great Atlantic liner or even the modest coasting steamer fail to suggest, although they may speak to us in the spirit of the times – of that security and speed which has brought the very ends of the earth together.
This short sketch of the old sailing-ship days would be incomplete without alluding to the position of the sailor, which was far from satisfactory. His life was hard and very rough. He usually lived in the forecastle, which was close and damp. The chain cables passed through it to the chain lockers below, the hawse-pipes had often ill-fitting wooden plugs, and when the ship plunged into a head sea the forecastle was flooded. There was no place for the men to dry their clothes, and no privacy. Their food was salt tack, and it was no wonder that they enjoyed their noggin of rum. These were, however, days before we had the luxury of preserved provisions or ice-houses. But the old British tar came of a hardy, good humoured race. I have seen them when off Cape Horn take marling-spikes aloft to knock the ice off the topsail, and merrily singing one of their chanties while they tied in a close reef.
The pay of a sailor was small – £3 a month for an A.B.; and when they returned home from a voyage they were pounced upon by the boarding-house keepers, who did not let them out of their clutches while they had any money left. The neighbourhood of our Sailors’ Home was a perfect hell, a scene of debauchery from morn to night. The sailor had no chance, and when he sailed again he had no money to buy any decent or warm clothes. Thanks to such philanthropists as the late Samuel Smith, Alexander Balfour, and Monsignor Nugent, this reproach to Liverpool was, after a great and long fight, removed, and the interests of the sailor are to-day safeguarded in every way by the Board of Trade, and greater interest is exhibited in his welfare by the shipowner. While thus recording the conditions of a seaman’s life we must not forget that the conditions of life generally were much harder and rougher than those of to-day, and the sailor had many compensating advantages when at sea. It was while he was in port that he required safeguarding.
