CHARLES ORlrPlN & COMPANY'S UM\ ( AL SERIES UC-NRLF SB 7E3 LEV ■ ME'RCANTiLE ; MARINE LIBRARY OF THE University of California. Class THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. GRIFFIN'S NAUTICAL SERIES. Edited by EDW. BLACKMORE, Master Mariner, First Class Trinity House Certificate, Assoc. Inst. N.A. ; And Written, mainly, by Sailors for Sailors. In crown 8vo. With Illustrations and Plates. "A very useful Series."— Nature. "This admirable Series." — Fairplay. "The volumes of Messrs. Griffin's Nautical Series may well and profitably be read by all interested in our national maritime progress."— Marine Engineer. "Every Ship should have the whole Series as a Reference Library. Hand- somely and strongly bound, clearly printed and illustrated."— Liverpool I ournal of Commerce. The British Mercantile Marine ; An Historical Sketch of its Rise and Development. By the Editor. Elementary Seamanship. By D. Wilson-Barker, Master- Mariner, F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S. With Numerous Plates, two in Colours, and Frontispiece. 5s. Practical Algebra and Trigonometry: For the Young Sailor, &c. By Rich. C. Buck, of the Thames Nautical Training College, H.M.S. Worcester. Ocean Meteorology : For Officers of the Merchant Navy. By William Allingham, First Class Honours, Navigation, Science and Art Department. Navigation : Theoretical and Practical. By D. Wilson-Barker, Master Mariner, &c. and William Allingham. 3s. 6d. " Precisely the kind of work required for the New Certificates of competency in grades from Second Mate to extra Master. . . . Candidates will find it invaluable." Dundee Advertiser. KnOW Your Own Ship: A Simple Explanation of the Stability, Con- struction, Tonnage, and Freeboard of Ships. By Thos. Walton, Naval Architect, Lecturer to Ships' Officers, Government Navigation School, Leith. With numerous Illusi rations. Second Edition. 5s. ** Mr. Walton's book will be found very useful." — The Engineer. " Will attain lasting success . . . exceedingly handy."- Shipping World. Latitude and Longitude: How to find Them. By W. J. Millar, M.Inst.C.E., late Sec. to the Inst, of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland. 2s. "Cannot but prove an acquisition to those studying Navigation." — Marine Eneineer. "Young Seamen will find it handy and useful, simple and clear." — The Engineer. Practical Mechanics : Applied to the requirements of the Sailor. By Thos. Mackenzie, Master Mariner, F.R.A.S. 3s. 6d. "This excellent book . . . contains a large amount of information." — Nature. " Well worth the money . . . exceedingly wvlvpxh.."— Shipping World. "No Ships' Officer's bookcase will henceforth ne complete without Captain Mackenzie's ' Practical Mechanics.' Notwithstanding my many years' experience at sea. it has told me how much more there is to acquire."— Letter to the Publishers from a Master Mariner. A Medical and Surgical Help for Shipmasters and Officers in the Merchant Navy. Includu g Fir^t Aid at Sea. By Wm. Johnson Smith, F.R.C.S., Principal Medical Officer, Sea»> an's Hospital, Greenwich. With Illustra- tions and Coloured Plates. Handsome Cloth, 6s. 11 Sound, judicious, really helpful." — The Lancet. London : CHARLES GRIFFIN & Co., Limited, Exeter Street, Strand. THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE: A SHORT HISTORICAL REVIEW, INCLUDING THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF BRITISH SHIPPING AND COMMERCE; THE EDUCATION OF THE MERCHANT OFFICER; AND DUTY AND DISCIPLINE IN THE MERCHANT SERVICE. BY EDWARD BLACKMORE, MASTER MARINER J ASSOCIATE OF THE INSTITUTION OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS ; FORMERLY A RESIDENT JUSTICE OF THE PEACE FOR THE COUNTY OF RENFREW, N.B. J AND A MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS AND SHIPBUILDERS IN SCOTLAND. OF THE ^ UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: CHARLES GRIFFIN AND COMPANY, LIMITED, EXETEE STREET, STRAND. 1897. [All rights reserved.] GENERAL THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS Dedicated TO THE MEMORY OF PETEE DENNY, LLJD., A DEPUTY-LIEUTENANT AND JUSTICE OF THE PEACE FOR THE COUNTY OF DUMBARTON, SHIPBUILDER AND SHIPOWNER, WHO, EMINENT IN HIS PROFESSION AND MAGNANIMOUS AS AN EMPLOYER, WAS DISTINGUISHED BY A CAREFUL SOLICITUDE FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE YOUTH OF HIS NATIVE TOWN, AS WELL AS OF THOSE IN HIS EMPLOY, WHOM HE, MOREOVEE, AIDED BY GENEROUS ASSISTANCE. AS A SINCERE FRIEND AND A SAGACIOUS ADVISER HIS LOSS WILL EVER BE REGRETTED BY ALL WHO, WITH THE AUTHOR, ENJOYED HIS LIFE-LONG FRIENDSHIP AND BENEFITED BY THE WISDOM OF HIS COUNSEL. 166947 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/britishmercantilOOblacrich PREFACE. The following pages are founded upon a Series of Papers written for, and read before, the Shipmasters' Society of London. As these papers were well received by the Members of that Society, it was more than once suggested to me that they should be collected and published as a volume. Being diffident of their possessing sufficient value for wider dissemi- nation, however, I from time to time waived the idea until the present " Nautical Series" of works, intended by the Pub- lishers as an Educational Series for young sailors, opportunely presented itself. This little book does not, of course, pretend to be in any way exhaustive of the history of the British Mercantile Marine ; nevertheless, it is hoped that it will afford a suffi- cient outline of its Past and Present to be both interesting and instructive to those who care to know anything of the rise and progress of our Merchant Navy. In full detail this is not to be found in any less important work than Mr. W. S. Lindsay's " History of Shipping," a book which is both too expensive for the general reader, and, moreover, was written fully twenty years ago. The principal works referred to in the following pages, in addition to Mr. Lindsay's, are : Anderson's and Macpherson's "Histories of Commerce"; Prof . Thorold Eogers' "Industrial VUl PREFACE. and Commercial History of England"; Tooke's " History of Prices "; H. Zimmern's " Hansa Towns " {Story of the Nations Series); various articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Americana, and the Nautical Magazine ; to- gether with the Blue-books and Departmental Papers of the Board of Trade; to all of which, as well as to many other sources of information, the author acknowledges his indebtedness. The love of the sea which fascinated our ancestors, and enabled them to surmount obstacles with which, in these days, we are totally unacquainted, still holds its own among the British race. /The difficulties which our sailors now have to encounter are not those which met their ancestors, who battled with the elements in small shallops no bigger than a modern fishing- smack, amid the dangers of unknown and unsounded seas. Rather is the modern difficulty that of dealing with the splendid instruments of commerce now in vogue, and the immense increase in traffic, especially in the narrower seas — conditions which require in those who have the responsibility a higher scientific training and a greater alertness in the avoidance of accidents than was needed at any previous period of our history/ Rush ! is the order of the day ; and there seems to be no time for the ordinary old- fashioned precautions which used to be taken in order to keep ships clear of the rocks or of each other. To meet such a state of matters, the officers of the Mercantile Marine require a higher education to quicken their mental capacity, and a higher sense of responsibility to endow them with greater readiness and wariness of action, than was perhaps needed in the " good old seaman " of former days. If, in dealing with the subject of Education, the author may seem to have taken a somewhat pessimistic view of its PREFACE. IX past, or even its present state, let the reader be assured that his desire is to improve, not to detract from the position of the Mercantile Marine. Among its members we already number men of high scientific training. Let us not rest satisfied till all attain the same standard ! With a view to affording the Merchant Officer an oppor- tunity for self -training and cultivation, the Publishers have promoted their " Nautical Series " of works treating of the various sciences with which it is absolutely necessary that the modern Merchant Officer should be acquainted. These works will speak for themselves. Should the present volume be in any way conducive to the stimulation of further inquiry into the History of our Merchant Navy, or to the progress of education, it will be a great and sufficient reward for any trouble or pains taken in its compilation. EDWARD BLACKMORE. CONTENTS. PART I. HISTORICAL. CHAPTER I. FROM EARLY TIMES TO i486. Early Population of England — Ancient Britons' knowledge of Shipbuilding — Alfred the Great — Athelstan rewards Foreign Adventurers — Edward the Confessor creates the Cinque Ports — Richard the First's Fleet — Les Roles d'Oleron — Hanseatic Laws — Trade in the reign of Edward the First — Rivalry between the Cinque Ports and the French — Letters of Marque— King Edward the Third's Fleet— Sea Fight off Sluys— Increase of English Exports — The Hanse Towns — The Flemings in London — Wat Tyler's Rebellion — Richard the Second's Act of Protec- tion for English Shipping — State of England — The Kings of England and the Hanseatic League — Henry the Fifth — Improvement in Ship- building—The King of Sweden's large Ship — Enterprise awakening in European Countries — The Road to India — The Portuguese double the Cape pp. 1-9 CHAPTER II. PROGRESS UNDER HENRY THE EIGHTH. State of Arts and Commerce — Christopher Columbus and Henry the Seventh — Sebastian Cabot discovers Labrador and Newfoundland — Henry the Eighth builds a Royal Navy and founds Dockyards — Sir Edward Howard and the King's Fleet — English Commerce hampered by the Hanse Towns — London Merchant Adventurers — Froude's pic- ture of the English People pp. 10-14 Xll CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. FROM HENRY THE EIGHTH TO THE DEATH OF MARY. New Activity and Intelligence — Henry the Eighth sends Cabot and Sir T. Port on a new Voyage of Discovery — Their return — Cabot retires to Spain — The Reformation — Henry prepares for Defence by Sea — English Mariners — Trade with Newfoundland — West of England Fishermen — Will Hawkins — Edward the Sixth and the Russian Ambassador— Oppressive Measures of the Hanseatic League — Sir Richard Chancellor discovers Archangel — The London and Muscovite Company — Queen Mary succeeds and marries Philip of Spain — Mary's attempts to restore the Roman Catholic Supremacy disturb the Country — Philip's influence — English rovers— Mary's death . . pp. 15-20 CHAPTER IV. THE MERCANTILE MARINE DURING ELIZABETH'S REIGN. Effect of British Protection — Elizabeth repeals Navigation Laws— Her general Policy — She curtails Hanseatic Privileges — Treaty of Com- merce with Hamburg — The Hansa Power broken — Seymour and his Allies — Quarrel between Elizabeth and Philip— The Inquisition — The Queen supports Holland — John Hawkins sails to the Gold Coast — Drake's Surveys of the West Indies — The Queen commissions Drake — He sails round the World — Portugal friendly to England — Philip determines to crush England — Elizabeth's Self-confidence — Her Fleet — The Spanish Armada— Drake and his Privateers — The Armada reaches the English Channel— Off Plymouth meets the Fleet and Drake's Ships— The Duke de Medina tries to separate them— The superior sailing qualities of the English Ships now seen — A worrying Fight up Channel— The Spaniards chased into Calais Roads and the North Sea — A remnant of the Armada returns to Spain . pp. 21-28 CHAPTER V. MERCANTILE PROGRESS UP TO THE REIGN OF WILLIAM THE THIRD. Chaucer's Seaman— The English People— West of England Mariners- Judge Prowse's History of Newfoundland and Trade— Art School of Shipbuilding — Tobias' Letter to the Queen — Fishing industry, a school for Sailors— Trade with Portugal— The Russian and Levant Companies —The East India Company, its first Fleet — James the First forbids Piracy — Encroachments of the Dutch — Van Tromp and Blake — CONTENTS. Xlll Cromwell's Act— Dutch Trade in the English Colonies — Charles the Second's Navigation Laws — Sir Joshua Child's opinion — Other Navi- gation Laws — Bounty for building large Ships — Progress of Trade — William the Third encourages the Marine — Success of the East India Company — Tonnage at the commencement of the Eighteenth Century pp. 29-38 CHAPTER VI. PROGRESS TO END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Queen Anne — South Sea Company — Bubble Companies— State of Shipping — Trade of American Colonies— Newfoundland — Supply of Seamen — American Smuggling in the West Indies — Naval Operations there — Survey of the St. Lawrence by James Cook — Revolt of the States — Their Independence achieved— Effect of the War on British Shipping — French King's proposals for reciprocal Trade — Convict Colony in New South Wales —Trade of Liverpool — Renewal of E. I. Charter — State of Navigation— Reward offered by British Government for the best method of determining Longitude at Sea — John Harrison's Time- keepers—Government grants for Lunar Tables— Nautical Almanac PP- 39-49 CHAPTER VII. PROGRESS DURING EARLY PART OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Nineteenth Century — The Slave Trade — Hampering effect of Legislation — Scarcity of Seamen — Advantage of Americans as Neutrals — The right of search a cause of another American War — Shannon and the Chesapeake — East India Trade thrown open — Depression in Shipping — The Reciprocity Acts — Laws regulating Emigration — General re- vision of Marine Acts in 1825— Low state of Tonnage — China Trade thrown open in 1833 — Reform Bill and its effects — Shipping Acts, 1834 and 1835 — Compulsory Apprenticeship — Increase of American Ships — Conduct of British Shipmasters — Public meetings on Ship- wrecks, &c. — Royal Commission of 1836 — Report of Commissioners — W. S. Lindsay's opinion of British Officers — Past training of Seamen and its effects upon Character — Proposed remedies — Mr. Silk Buck- ingham's Bill — Opposition of the Shipowners — The defeat of the Bill — Further Commissions of Inquiry — Mr. Murray's Letter to Consuls abroad as to the conduct of British Shipmasters — Act of 1844 — Mr. Poulett Thompson's idea of Voluntary Examinations — State of Marine Officers compared — East India Company's Officers — Ordinary Ship- masters and Officers — London Passenger Ships and their discipline — Education of British and Foreign Seamen compared . pp. 50-67 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. INSTITUTION OF VOLUNTARY AND COMPULSORY EXAMINATIONS. Unsatisfactory condition of the British Marine — Voluntary Examinations for Masters and Mates instituted by Order in Council, 1845 — Boards of Examiners — American competition and its effects — Repeal of the Corn Laws — Shipowners fight for Protection — Decline in English Shipbuilding— Navigation Laws repealed, 1849 — Effect of the Volun- tary Examinations — Compulsory Examinations instituted, 1851 pp. 68-79 CHAPTER IX. THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF STEAM PROPULSION. Rise and Progress of Ship Propulsion — Blasoo Garay — James Watt — Newcomen's Engine— Henry Bell— The Comet — The Bob Boy— The Enterprise reaches Calcutta — Iron as a material for Shipbuilding — The Leviathan class of Steamers — Dr. Lardner and Steam across the Atlantic — The Sirius and the Great Western cross successfully — Francis P. Smith's Screw Propeller — New Steamship Companies — The Cunard and other Lines — The Great Britain — The Screw Propeller superior to the Paddle — Collins Line — The advance of Steam steadily progressive pp. 80-92 CHAPTER X. DEVELOPMENT OF FREE TRADE. New Departure under Free Trade — Mr. Richard Green and the Americans — Iron and Steam — Goldfields of California and Australia — Increase of Shipping— Speed of American Ships— China Trade — British Tonnage Laws— Mr. Moorsom's Plan of Measurement becomes the basis of Legislation in 1854 — Improvement in Ships — Parliament relieves burdens upon Shipping — Effect on British Seamen — Coasting Trade thrown open, 1854 — American Coasting Trade — Shipping Laws con- solidated, 1854— Apprentices — Russian War— High Freights— Indian Mutiny — Glut of Shipping in Eastern Seas -Increase of Foreign Ship- ping in British Ports — Competition in the China Trade — Thermopylae and Sir Lancelot — French Bounties— Conclusions . pp. 93-100 CONTENTS. xv CHAPTER XI. SHIPPING LEGISLATION, 1862-1875. Shipping Legislation, 1 862 — Engineers'Examinations — AmericanBlockade — Origin of the Suez Canal — Canal condemned by the English — Increase of Steam Trade to India through the Canal — Mr. Plimsoll and Loss of Life at Sea — Mr. Fortescue's Act, 187 1— Marine Department of Board of Trade invested with full control of British Shipping — Mr. Plimsoll's Book— Lord Carlingford's Bill — Ships sold to Foreigners — Royal Commission, 1873— Mr. Plimsoll's Bill, 1874 — Report of the Commissioners — Sir Charles Adderley's Bill, 1875 — Mr. Plimsoll's conduct — Painful incident in the House — "Stopgap" Act, 1875 — Excitement amongst Shipowners pp. loi-m CHAPTER XII. "LOCKSLEY HALL" CASE— SHIPMASTERS' SOCIETIES- LOADING OF SHIPS. Farther Legislation, 1876 — Wreck Commissioner — Lochsley Hall case — Unjust Sentence on Captain Barnes — Shipmasters and the Prime Minister — Formation of Shipmasters' Society of London — Court of Appeal for Inquiry into Shipping Casualties — Serious Losses at Sea — Stowage of Grain Cargoes — Mr. Martell's paper on Losses at Sea — Port of Montreal — Capsizing of the Daphne— Inquiry by Sir Edward Reed and his Report — Detention of Overladen Ships — Loadline Com- mittee—Royal Commission of 1 884 " On Loss of Life at Sea " — Wreck Reports pp. 112-119 CHAPTER XIII. SHIPPING LEGISLATION, 1884-1894. Mr. Chamberlain's Bill — Opposition of the Shipowners— Depression in Shipping, 1885 — Full Report of the Commission in 1887 — The effects of late Legislation described — Its apparent inability in preventing Loss of Life — Papers by Professors Elgar and Jenkins — False Competi- tion and careless Stowage — Amount of Shipping Legislation pp. 120-127 CHAPTER XIV. STATISTICS OF SHIPPING. Board of Trade Return* — British Tonnage — Its increase compared with Foreign — Steam Tonnage— Fluctuations in Shipbuilding — Gradual XVI CONTENTS. decrease in number of Ships since 1865— Increase in size of Ships and decrease in Crews — Large Vessels in 1850 — And 1884 — Shipbuild- ing in 1895 — Comparison of the largest Steamers in existence — North German Lloyd's new Steamer — Increased competition in building in Foreign Countries— Causes of British success — Speculation — Improve- ment in economy of Engines — Principal sources of foreign opposi- tion in Shipping pp. 128-140 PART II. PERSONNEL OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE. CHAPTER I. SHIPOWNERS. Shipowners— Tenure of Shipping Property— Sixty- fourths — Different kinds of Companies — Limited Liability Acts — Mr. Thomas Gray's opinion of them in connection with Ships — Reasons for adoption by Ship Managers pp. 141-145 CHAPTER II. THE MARINERS, OR THE EMPLOYED. The Mariners— Master Mariner — The Mates — Their qualifications — Petty Officers, &c. — Able Seamen — Apprentices — Engineers and Firemen — Cooks, Stewards, &c. pp. 146-149 CHAPTER III. THE DUTIES OF THE PERSONNEL., Early years of Commerce — Duty of the Shipowner — Master and Owner Effect of rapid communication on Master's position — Master's Duties — Limitations— Duties of the Mates— Relation between Masters and Officers — Owners and Seamen — Result of the abandonment of com- pulsory Apprenticeships — Engineers and Engine-room Crews— Neces- sity of true Discipline pp. 150-161 CONTENTS. XVll CHAPTER IV. THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE PERSONNEL. The Mercantile Marine Service not a homogeneous one— Its division into Classes — The Shipowner — Company Directors— Private Ship Managers — Effect of high competition in Shipbuilding and Owning — Merchants and Shippers— Home Trade — Shipmasters — Their respon- sibility — Position decaying — Number of Certificated Masters unknown — Annual Passes in the various Grades — Competition of Aliens — Reasons for employing Foreigners — First Mate, his Duties and Posi- tion — Junior Officers— Ocean Tramps — Want of consideration in Masters — Seamanship less required than formerly — Engineers, their improved Position and Education — Remuneration — Experience valu- able both at Sea and on Shore — Advantages of Engineers greater than those of Sailors . . pp. 162-173 PART III. EDUCATION OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE. CHAPTER I. BACKWARD STATE OF EDUCATION. Deficiency of Education in the early part of the Century — Recommenda- tion of the Royal Commission re Nautical Schools — Apprentice System as a means of Education — Its failure — What has the Board of Trade done to promote Education? — Action through Board of Education's Science and Art Department — Grants to Nautical Schools — Alteration in 1862 fatal to Nautical Education — Schools in connection with South Kensington — Results of their Teaching — Honours Examinations — Another change in 1892— Falling off of Scholars in consequence — Divergence of Board of Trade and South Kensington Examinations — Why has the Government not done more for Nautical Education ? — Mr. Bolam's Evidence pp. 174-181 CHAPTER II. GENERAL RESULTS OF THE SYSTEM OF EXAMINATIONS. Results of the Voluntary Examinations— Lowering of the Standard for Compulsory Examinations — Its effect — Promise nf the Board to raise the Standard — System of Examination productive of Cramming — b xvm CONTENTS. Evil results adverted to in 1870 by a Writer to Lloyds — Board of Trade's recommendation to Officers to Educate themselves never acted upon — Neglect of the Primary Sciences in Board of Trade Examinations — Comparison with Foreign Nations — Men of fifty years ago — System rendered Shipowners and Masters careless of the Education of Young Sailors — Passports to Service, their intention — Promotion, an Owner's question pp. 182-187 CHAPTER IIL OUR YOUNG SAILORS. Attractions to a Sea Life— The different classes of Lads who go to Sea- Changes in Life at Sea — Age of going to Sea — Advice to Parents — A special Education the first necessity for any Profession pp. 188-191 CHAPTER IV. A SEAMAN'S EDUCATION : WHAT IS EMBRACED IN IT. What a Seaman's Education should be — Changes from Sail to Steam — Qualifications of a Seaman— The Science of Navigation— What it requires — How to acquire the necessary Knowledge— The Law silent on this point — Difficulty attending Education — Various types of Officers pp. 192-195 CHAPTER Y. THE PRESENT MEANS OF EDUCATION. Education as a Seaman — Training Ships— Education as Navigators — Where to be found — Christ's Hospital — Endowed Nautical Schools — Liverpool Nautical College — College of Navigation at Liverpool — School Ships Conway and Worcester — Deficiency of Schools in London — The Drapers' Company — Evils of the present System . pp. 196-201 CHAPTER VI. HINTS ON EDUCATION. Elements to be acquired — The first five Rules — Course recommended — To be tested by Preliminary Examinations— Worcester Examinations — The Nautical Colleges Conway and Worcester— Little assistance given by Government, &c. to Young Sailors — New Regulations for CONTENTS. XIX Examinations — New element in Extra Master's Examination — What will be its effect ? — Tt will be a dilettante exercise — The true meaning of the Fifth Rule of Arithmetic — The two methods of Education — Shipmasters' and Officers' Memorial for Honours Examinations — Opinions of Shipowners — Adverse to theoretical Education — Officers' Duty as to Education — " Survival of the Fittest" . . pp. 202-210 PART IV. DISCIPLINE AND DUTY IN THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. {A Paper on "Duty and Discipline" as read to the Shipmasters* Society.) Discipline and Duty — Relation between the Shipowner and the Crew — Between the Master and Crew — Duties of Mates, Petty Officers, and Seamen, Engineers and Engine-room Crew — Mutual respect enjoined pp. 21 1-23 1 POSTSCRIPT.— The Serious Decrease in the Number of British Seamen, a matter demanding the Attention of the Nation . . pp. 232-236 APPENDIX : (A) A List of the Ships forming the Fleet of King Edward the Third — (B) Description of the Shipman from Chaucer's Prologue — (C) An Abstract of the Passes and Classes of Masters and Mates under an Order in Council, 19th August, 1845, prior to December, 1849 — (D) Apprentices in the Mercantile Marine — (E) List of Navigation Classes in British Isles— (F) Passes in connection with South Ken- sington Classes — (G) Educational Standard required by various Mari- time Powers for Masters and Mates .... pp. 237-243 INDEX . pp. 245-248 OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE PART I. HISTORICAL. CHAPTER I. FROM EARLY TIMES TO i486. Contents. — Early population of England — Ancient Britons' knowledge of shipbuilding — Alfred the Great — Athelstan rewards foreign adven- turers — Edward the Confessor creates the Cinque Ports — Richard the First's fleet — Les Roles d'Oleron — Hanseatic laws — Trade in the reign of Edward the First — Rivalry between the Cinque Ports and the French — Letters of Marque — King Edward the Third's fleet— Sea-fight off Sluys — Increase of English exports— The Hanse Towns — The Flemings in London — Wat Tyler's rebellion— Richard the Second's Act of Pro- tection for English shipping — State of England — The Kings of England and the Hanseatic League— Henry the Fifth — Improvement in Ship- building — The King of Sweden's large ship — Enterprise awakening in European countries— The Road to India— The Portuguese double the Cape. Early Population of England. — The bulk of the population of the sea coasts of Great Britain, especially on the eastern side of the Island, is for the most part of Saxon origin, with a consider- able mixture of the Danish or hardy Norseman blood ; on the western parts it is more purely British with a strong intermixture of the Saxon. The Danes never penetrated into Cornwall, Devon, or Wales, so as to settle there and largely affect the population, as on the East. After the Norman conquest the followers of William the Conqueror became the great landowners of England, but the Saxons, &c, remained the trading and farming bulk of the population, and retained their peculiar characteristics. Ancient Britons' Knowledge of Shipbuilding. — The know- ledge of maritime affairs possessed by the ancient Britons must have been very slight, and their coasting voyages in " coracles " A 2 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. could not have afforded much room for seamanship. Whatever knowledge of actual shipbuilding — i.e., of planked and framed vessels — they had must have been derived from the Romans during their occupancy of the Island. In after years they were no match for the Saxons, who easily possessed themselves of the coast lines, and with them the command of the sea. The Saxon Angles in their turn fell a prey to the superiority of the hardy Norsemen, sea dogs from their cradles. It was to these mingled races, with their sea-roving instincts, that the Englishmen of succeeding ages owed that confidence on the rocking element, and delight in the amphibious life of a seaman, which has made him the " natural master of the vessel and the wave.'' Alfred the Great. — During the Saxon period many attempts were made to encourage a race of mariners. Notably, Alfred the Great, after he had conquered the Danish invaders and restored peace to his kingdom, fostered foreign adventure and trade, even as far as the Mediterranean and the Levant, then the furthest limits of the European world, by building and hiring vessels to merchant adventurers, and even supplying them with means for the purpose of trading. Athelstan. — Thirty years after his death his successor Athel- stan urged his subjects to foreign voyages, by ordaining a that every merchant who made three voyages to the Mediterranean on his own account should be raised to honour, and enjoy the privileges of a gentleman." Edward the Confessor creates the Cinque Ports. — A hundred years later Edward the Confessor gave protection to the mariners of Kent and Sussex, by enfranchising the Cinque Ports — Sandwich, Hythe, Dover, Romney and Hastings — and conferring privileges upon their seamen. After the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror, in 1066, that monarch con- firmed these privileges and extended them, by granting these ports a kind of Palatine jurisdiction under " gardiens," or wardens, in each port, the whole being supervised by a superior named the Lord Warden, and thereby freeing them from the civil and military administrations of the counties of Kent and Sussex. This was for the purpose of creating and fostering ship-building and -owning, as well as a race of mariners for the protection of the shores of these counties, which were the key of the kingdom, against foreign invasion. After the Norman conquest a gradual fusion of the various races, Norman, Saxon, and Danish, took place, and they became in time one people, speaking the same language and governed by the same laws; and we then begin to find further traces of foreign adventure. LES BOLES D'OLERON AND HANSEATIC LAWS. 3 Bichard the First's Fleet. — Richard the First, an illustrious warrior and traveller, did much to encourage seamen. In 1197, when he raised a great fleet to take part in the third Crusade, English shipbuilding must have reached some perfection, for Geffre de Vinisauf, who was with the expedition, says, that "the people of Messina in Sicily where the English and French Fleets rendevouzed, never saw, or ever will see, on their coasts so great and so fine a fleet as that of England." Each vessel was manned by 15 sailors, 14 rowers, and 40 soldiers with their horses. The entry of this fleet into Messina, with colours flying and trumpets blowing, is painted in vivid colours by the old chroniclers. It is to be feared that none of all that fleet ever reached home again, for Richard returned a wanderer, and alone, after enduring many hardships and long imprisonment. lies Roles d'Oleron and Hanseatic Laws. — He is said to have been the author of the celebrated laws, for the guidance of shipping affairs, entitled " Les Roles d'Oleron," but his claim is doubtful. The people of Rhodes, who are mentioned by Homer in the " Iliad " as a powerful maritime race, flourished exceedingly 200-300 B.C., and excelled all other nations as jurists. Their excellent laws relating to navigation were introduced into the Roman Code, and, without doubt, formed the foundation of the " Roles d'Oleron " attributed to Richard, as well as of our system of maritime law, which was brought to such perfection by Lord Mansfield in the middle of the last century. As some of the provisions of the " Roles " throw considerable light upon maritime manners and customs of that day, one or two, relating to Masters and Mariners, are quoted. The 12th Article enacts: "That the master, having hired his crew, was to be invested, in the first place, with the duty of keeping the peace," that is, the law gave him magisterial authority. "If any man gave the lie to another at table, where there was bread and wine, he was fined four deniers ; but if the master himself offended in that way, he had to pay a double fine. /"*"" If any sailor impudently contradicted the master, he was finecT^) f eight deniers, and if the master struck him he was required to / / bear that blow ; but if the master struck more than one blow, the \ sailor might defend himself ; whereas, if the sailor committed the / y first assault, he was fined 100 sous, or condemned to lose his Vhand." ( ) """It would appear that " the master might call the sailor opprobrious names," and in such case the sailor was advised " to submit, or to hide himself in the forecastle out of sight ; " but if 4 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. the master " followed the sailor, he might stand upon his own defence — for the master ought not to pass into the forecastle." Article 13 enacted: "That if a difference arose between the master and the seaman, the former ought to deny the seaman his mess thrice before he turned him out of the ship ; if the latter offered satisfaction, and was refused, and then turned out of the ship, he could follow the ship to her port of discharge and claim full wages \ " and " The master not taking any seaman in his stead, in such case rendered himself liable for any damage occurring." The Hanseatic laws required the master " not to give the seaman any cause to mutiny ; " nor " to provoke him by calling him names," "nor wrong him, nor keep from him that which was his ; but to use him well, and pay him honestly that which was his due." There were also some curious laws as to meals. The custom of serving out a specified allowance seems very ancient. The "Roles" enacted: "That the seamen were to have one meal a day, and wine allowed them ; but if there were no wine, then two meals were to be served." " Pilots causing loss of life, or ship, from ignorance or other- wise, with no power to make it good, were to lose their heads, and the masters had power to inflict the penalty ! " The laws against piracy were very severe, and " pirates caught red-handed might be hanged upon the spot." These laws breathed a spirit of simple, if rough, justice to all alike. The laws of ownership and the regulation of freight, wages, &c, were complete prototypes of those which have been in force down to this century — details have been multiplied, particulars have been added from time to time — but the general principles remain the same, forming the nucleus of the existing laws of nations regarding shipping. The officers of the vessels referred to in the " Roles " are the Master or Pilot, the Mate, another officer who gave the word to the rowers and served out the provisions, and a fourth whose especial duty it was to look for shoals and rocks, and to direct the ship with long poles. The usual course of the voyage was by creep- ing along the land in daylight, and anchoring at night ; hence the duties of the above-named officers are easily understood. Without compass, or chart, navigation was a matter of experience or experiment, and, as the sounding was performed by a pole, the vessels could have had no great draft of water. Rigid discipline was maintained, and those who failed in their duty were often punished with great severity. The punishment EDWARD THE THIRD'S FLEET. 5 of keelhauling, not unknown in the English service, dates back to this period, and perhaps earlier. The crews, as detailed in Richard's fleet, were divided into sailors and rowers, whose duties were quite distinct ; the sailors never being compelled to labour at the oars except in cases of emergency. Trade in the Reign of Edward the First, 1294. — In King Edward the First's reign commerce seems to have gained ground, notwithstanding his numerous wars. In addition to the trade with the Hanse towns * and Norway, there was a large trade in wool, which was exported to Flanders, and large quantities of wine and other produce were imported from Gascony and Guienne, the principal port of which was Bordeaux. A fast increasing com- merce was maintained with Italy and Spain. Ships were now being gradually transformed from galleys impelled by oars, and the occasional use of sails, into decked vessels fitted with suitable masts and sails. Rivalry between Cinque Ports and French. — An intense rivalry existed between the Cinque Ports seamen and the French of the opposite shores. This in Edward the First's reign culminated in open warfare, and a sea fight took place between them, in which it is said 8000 Frenchmen were slain. This being the case, the Cinque Ports must have been very powerful, and the seaman population very considerable. The king desiring to avert an open war with the French, threatened the men of the Cinque Ports with pains and penalties, and a withdrawal of their privileges. This they resented, and, with much independence, said, " Be the King's Majesty and council well advised, that if any wrong or grievance be done them in any fashion against right, they will sooner forsake wives, children, and all that they have, and go seek through the seas where they shall think to make their own profit." An unveiled threat of open piracy ! Notwithstanding all the king's efforts, the dispute with the French continued, and was one of the causes of the celebrated hundred years' war between the two countries. Letters of Marque. — Letters of marque are said to have been first issued by Edward, who, finding his efforts at peace unavail- ing, made use of the valiant Cinque Ports seamen, and gave them licence to prey upon the French. Edward the Third's Fleet. Battle off Sluys.— In the reign of Edward the Third the war still continued, and he, assembling a great fleet from all parts of the kingdom, proved the British naval superiority in an engagement off Sluys, on the 22nd of June, 1340, by completely routing the French fleet. It must be remembered * A combination of towns in the north of Europe for purposes of trade and self -protection. 6 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. that the ships employed were ordinary merchants' vessels,* there being no Royal navy in existence. In addition to the crews of the vessels, soldiers were put on board to do the fighting. It will be observed from the list of Edward's fleet that London, although undoubtedly the largest emporium of British trade, sent fewer ships than many of the out-ports to join him. Increase of English Exports ; Hanse Towns ; Flemings in London ; Wat Tyler's Rebellion. — Although English com- merce had increased, and Edward obtained a revenue of ;£8o,oob a year from the export duty on wool, it did not bring a corres- ponding benefit to the London shipowners. The reason of this was, that the trade in wool and other exports was in the hands of the Germans of the Hanse towns. These towns were scattered all over the North of Europe, and had banded themselves into a league, and, from the twelfth century to the reign of Queen Elizabeth, monopolised and controlled the trade of Europe. Soon after the Norman conquest the Flemings had settled in London in considerable numbers. They had warehouses on the north side of the Thames, on a spot now covered by the Cannon Street Railway Station, around which grew up a German colony, which controlled the exports and imports of London to the detriment of the native merchants ; and as they employed the ships of the Hansa instead of those of the English, it was to the detriment also of the native shipowner and mariner. Of this competition the London citizens complained bitterly, and it was one of the leading causes of Wat Tyler's Rebellion, in which the foreigners were attacked by the mob, and many of the houses of the German quarter, known as the Steel Yard, were burnt. Richard the Second's Act of Protection. — To allay the anger of the citizens the first step was made towards the protection of British shipping, for by the Act 5 Richard the Second, c. iii., it was enacted : " That for increasing the shipping of England, of late much diminished, none of the king's subjects shall hereafter ship any kind of merchandise, either outward or homeward, but only of the ships of the king's subjects, on forfeiture of ships and mer- chandise ; in which ships also the greater part oftkecrevjs shall be the king's subjects." Such an enactment as this, a sufficiently provident one, in a state commercially weak but politically strong, was hardly suit- able to the Germans of the Steel Yard, or the Frenchmen of the Vintry, in whose hands were largely both the export and import trades of the country, and who, of course, preferred to use ships of their own. To carry out such a measure was necessarily diffi- cult, as English ships were scarce, and trade was consequently * See Appendix A, HANSEATIC LEAGUE. J hampered, to say nothing of the opposition of these foreign merchants, who were disgusted at seeing the trade, of which they had reaped most of the profits, taken out of their hands. It would appear that Parliament itself felt the difficulty, for in the very next year we find an enactment (6 Richard the Second, c. viii.) which re-opened to them the door, and which " permitted the merchants, where no English ships were to be had, to export or import in foreign ships." Nine years subsequently we find what must be called a New Act of Navigation. "All English Merchants were bound to freight only in English ships " always provided " that the freight was reasonable and moderate " ; a very just precaution, but one very difficult to work. State of England. — When we reflect upon what has occurred in our own day, it is curious to note the efforts of a small and growing people to attract and keep trade within its own grasp. England up to this time had been a fertile country, with a sparse population, producing food and cattle more than sufficient for its own wants. Its flocks of sheep were large, and its wool famous and plentiful. Such a country does not fly readily to manufac- tures for a living. The wool was exported into Flanders and came back woven into cloth. Naturally the Flemings, as manufacturers, would send their merchants here to buy their wool in the cheapest possible market, and, having woven it, send it back for sale in the dearest. To do this, it was necessary to keep the traffic in their own hands, and in their own ships. The English rulers, constantly engaged in Continental wars, felt the want of a navy, both for fighting and transport, for which they were wholly dependent upon the Mercantile fleet ; and the English merchants grudged the foreigners their immense profits ! How, then, could they help themselves but by some sort of protective legislation % And in time it bore fruit, but slowly. For a time this effort at protection had little success. The resources of the English were not sufficiently advanced to main- tain the traffic ; trade suffered and with it the King's revenues, and this close protection had to be relaxed. Hanseatic League. — During the succeeding reigns of the house of Lancaster, the country, disturbed and harassed by the Wars of the Roses, had little opportunity of fostering commerce. The Hanseatic League, favoured by the Kings, who found in the Germans a ready means of providing funds for carrying on their wars and lenient bankers who did not press for repayment, as long as their privileges remained intact, grew in power and importance. Notwithstanding many efforts to repress this power it continued to prevail until the Elizabethan period. 8 THE BKITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Henry the Fifth's Navy. — In the year 141 7 Henry the Fifth seems to have made a serious attempt at the creation of a Royal Navy. Three large vessels, the Trinity, the Grace de Dieu, and the Holy Ghost, were built at Southampton to enable Henry to compete with the large vessels hired by the French from the Genoese and the Spaniards. He also built two Eoyal Yachts, the King's Chamber and the King's Hall, which were sumptuously fitted internally, and had sails of purple silk, whereon were emblazoned the Arms of England and France. This was evidently a great advance in naval architecture, and these vessels were no doubt looked upon with wonder and astonishment by the good people of Southampton. Improvements in Shipbuilding. The King of Sweden's Large Ship. — The art of shipbuilding was making great strides in the northern countries of Europe as well as in England. In 1455 the Swedish King sent a large ship of 1000 tons to England, with a request that she might be permitted to trade and reload with lawful merchandise. This is supposed to be the largest ship ever seen in England at that time. Henry the Sixth did much to encourage shipbuilding, and rewarded the patriotism of John Taverner of Hull in building a vessel "as large as a carrack; " and, for Taverner 's encouragement, he was permitted to load her free of dues. Wm. Comyngs of Bristol possessed ships of 400 and 500 tons burthen and one of even 900 tons. These vessels he probably purchased from the Baltic men, as, if they had been built in England, such notice would hardly have been taken of Taverner's ship. Enterprise awakening in European Countries. — The spirit of enterprise and discovery was now rife in all the maritime states of Europe, especially in Portugal. The loss of trade with India via Egypt, which had been closed to the Christian States by the Saracens, vexed them sorely ; and the great question of how to reach India by sea was filling the minds of the Portuguese navigators. The Road to India. The Portuguese double the Cape. — Whilst England was absorbed in domestic strife, the Portuguese, under the patronage of their enlightened Prince Henry the Navi- gator, were struggling down the coast of Africa to find, around it, a way to the East. After many rebuffs from bad weather and sickness, in i486 a.d. Bartholomew Diaz rounded its southern point, and saw the land trending to the NJS. That point, from the difficulty he had had in reaching it, he named the Cape of Storms ; but on his return the King of Portugal named it " El Cabo d'Esperanza" (The Cape of Good Hope). Eleven years THE ROAD TO INDIA. 9 after, another expedition, under Yasco di Gama, doubled the Cape and reached India. In the meantime Columbus had discovered, not a road to India across the Atlantic, but a new world. These two events had an unprecedented effect upon the trade of the world, and opened up to its mariners a field of adventure and discovery before unknown, in which those of England were destined in the future to take their full share. The defeat of Richard the Third, of the House of York, by Henry, Duke of Richmond, of the House of Lancaster, on the field of Bos worth, in 1485, put an end to the Wars of the Roses, which had deluged the country with blood, injured its trade and resources, and the nation had peace to pursue its commercial avocations. ( io ) CHAPTER II. PEOGEESS UNDEE HENEY THE EIGHTH. Contents.— State of Arts and Commerce— Christopher Columbus and Henry the Seventh— Sebastian Cabot discovers Labrador and New- foundland — Henry the Eighth builds a Eoyal Navy, and founds dock- yards — Sir Edward Howard and the King's fleet — English commerce hampered by the Hanse Towns — London merchant adventurers — Froude's picture of the English people. State of Arts and Commerce. — Leaving behind us a period of internecine struggle for victory, whether in conquest or com- merce, we now arrive at one of great change and progress in the world's affairs. The invention of the art of printing had revolutionised learning, and rendered the communication of ideas easy ; and the invention of gunpowder had completely changed the art of warfare, making it no longer a struggle of hand to hand combat. The progress of these arts was slow but sure. The former had been brought to England by Caxton in the reign of Edward the Fourth,and one of its first patrons was Richard, Duke of Gloucester, the king's brother, who, whatever his faults, was an enlightened prince, and during his short reign fostered English commerce by several enactments. The art of shipbuilding had grown by slow degrees, and ships had passed from the stage of mere galleys, partly propelled by oars, into stately vessels fully rigged and dependent upon sail power for their navigation. The perfection of the mariner's compass enabled the navigator to find his way from point to point without closely hugging the inter- mediate shores ; and improvement in the sciences of astronomy and geodesy afforded a lantern to his path. The north star and the rising and setting sun were no longer the only beacons by which he might direct his course. The settlement of the true form of the earth as a sphere, and the invention of the astrolabe, a graduated circular rim with sights attached for taking altitudes of the heavenly bodies, paved the way for reliable astronomical observations. The latitude of many places had been fairly settled, but the relation of various parts of the world in distance east and west was still vague, as position by longitude was in a very incomplete condition. CABOT DISCOVERS LABRADOR AND NEWFOUNDLAND. II Hitherto charts had been only roughly conceived, and grotesque maps of land and sea, sketched by the imagination rather than by science, were useless for purposes of navigation as understood in more modern times. Timekeepers or watches were still un- known. The world was, however, waking to new ideas in both science and practice, and their fruits were soon to be seen in new discoveries. Christopher Columbus. — Whilst the Portuguese had been struggling to get round Africa on the road to India, Christopher Colon, or Columbus, was endeavouring to obtain assistance to carry out his great project of trying to proceed to the Indies and Cathay by a westerly route across the Atlantic. Foiled in Portugal and Italy, he sent his brother to England to try and secure the good offices of Henry the Seventh. That monarch listened to his story, and although not wanting in intelligence enough to make him see the advantage of success in such an undertaking, dallied with it until too late. Columbus finding aid in Spain, before Bartolomeo's return, had discovered the New World, and all the benefits derived from it fell into the lap of the Spanish monarch instead of that of the English king. Sebastian Cabot discovers Labrador and Newfoundland. — Henry, finding too late what he had lost, and willing to aid his subjects in the discovery of unknown lands, gave to John Cabot, of Bristol, and his sons, Sebastian and another, a patent of dis- covery and conquest. In the beginning of 1497 Sebastian sailed from Bristol in a ship named the Matthew, and on the 24th of June sighted the coast of North America, supposed to have been the coast of Labrador, in about 5 6° of north latitude ; he is said to have explored the coast southward as far as Florida. He also discovered Newfoundland. These discoveries were long thought to have had little effect upon British trade and commerce, but the researches of Judge Prowse, of Newfoundland, of which the results are to be found in his lately published history of that island, ' have thrown an entirely new light upon them. The failure of one or two attempts to colonise the island in the sixteenth century may have given rise to the idea that it was of little value to us ; but Judge Prowse has fully proved that this was quite beside the truth. John Cabot was a native of Venice, and may therefore well be supposed to have had an acquaintance with Italian literature, and speculations as to a western passage to India. He knew of the Spanish discoveries, and the latitude in which Columbus had struck land, and the idea occurred to him that he might get round that land to the north; but finding himself blocked there, he 12 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. steered south, hoping to find a passage through until he reached Florida, and found it impossible. That this idea was in his mind we shall see hereafter. Henry the Eighth builds a Royal Navy and founds Dock- yards. — The idea of a royal navy, adapted for fighting purposes, was further promoted by Henry the Seventh, who built the Great Harry, a three-masted vessel, and the earliest war vessel of any size. His successor, Henry the Eighth, a monarch zealously devoted to the aggrandisement of England, following his example, built several large vessels, notably the Harry Grace a Dieu, of iooo tons burthen, and 80 guns, in 15 15. This ship was fitted with port-holes, which were invented by a native of Brest named Deschayes. The dockyards of Portsmouth, Deptford, and Woolwich were created by Henry. He was himself fond of shipbuilding and made quite a study of the art. At his decease he left a fleet of fifty ships manned by 8000 seamen. He also settled the ranks of the officers of the navy, dividing them into admirals, vice-admirals, and captains, &c, and it was in his reign that ships began to be reckoned by tons burthen and the number of their guns. Sir Edward Howard and the King's Fleet. — As a curiosity of history, and to show the manner in which fleets were managed in that day, it may be related that in 15 12 Henry the Eighth fitted out a fleet of about thirty ships and 3000 men, the former being from 100 to 1000 tons burthen, to join the King of Spain in guarding the seas against the French. The command of this fleet he gave to Sir Edward Howard, who contracted with the King to manage and provide for it on the following terms, viz., A salary of ten shillings per diem for himself, and one shilling and sixpence per diem for the captains; the sailors, soldiers, and gunners were to receive five shillings per month as pay, and the same for victuals. The King was to have half of all the prize-money, and the other half, in due proportion according to rank, was to be distributed amongst the officers and men of the fleet. Taking the value of money as being from four to five times what it is now, this pay appears small, and therefore prize-money must have formed a considerable part of the remuneration for service in the King's ships. English Commerce hampered by the Hanse Towns. — As to trade and commerce, the English were making slow pro- gress, the principal part of it being still in the hands of the Hanseatic League. During the reign of Henry the Seventh their privileges had been well maintained, and Henry the Eighth confirmed and even extended them for political reasons. London Merchant Adventurers. — The citizens of London were now bestirring themselves in earnest, and a number of FROUDE'S PICTURE OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE. 1 3 merchants formed themselves into a company somewhat upon the principles of the Hansa, which was named "The Merchant Adventurers " ; and on their part carried on their business with almost as much arrogance as the " Hansa " itself, which begot them the name of the " New Hansa." The Hanseatic League was still strong, and the Germans of the Steel Yard having most of the London trade, the company of " The London Merchant Adventurers " had a hard struggle to make way against them. Wheeler, writing in defence of that company in 1601, drew a very poor picture of London shipping. He says : " That about sixty years before he wrote there were not above four ships (beside those of the Royal Navy) that were above 120 tons each within the River Thames." Whatever progress British shipping had made was in the out-ports rather than in London. Froude's Picture of the English People, — The spirit of foreign adventure had not yet filled the English with any very serious aspirations. Mr. Froude, writing of the English people in 1530, gives a vivid picture of them as traders of that period. He says : " Until the fall of Wolsey, the sea-going population of England, with but few exceptions, moved in a groove, in which they lived from day to day with unerring uniformity. The wine brigs made their annual voyages to Bordeaux and Cadiz ; the hoys plied with such regularity as the winds allowed them between the Thames and the Scheldt. Summer after summer the ' Iceland Fleet ' went north for cod and ling, which were the food of the winter fasting days; the boats of Yarmouth, Rye, Southampton, Poole, Brixham, Dartmouth, Plymouth, and Fowie fished the Channel. The people themselves, though hardy and industrious, and though as much at home upon the ocean as their Scandinavian forefathers, or their descendants in modern England, were yet contented to live in an unchanging round, from which they neither attempted, or desired, to extricate them- selves." " The officials of the London companies ruled despotically in every English harbour ; not a vessel cleared for a foreign port, not a smack went out for the herring season, without the official licence ; and the sale of every bale of goods, or hundredweight of fish, was carried on under the eyes of the authorities, and at prices fixed by Act of Parliament." To such a people, careful of protecting home industries, and happy in doing as their forefathers had done, there was little room for expansion and less desire for it. To them the rich trade of the East or the El Dorados of the West were a vain tempta- tion, But the succeeding age will unfold a different picture. 14 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. In the earlier days of English commerce and shipping the people had been confined in leading-strings which largely affected freedom of action; they were dependent upon the will of the Sovereigns, who regulated affairs for their own ends, and granted monopolies to such people as suited themselves — not considering the general welfare of the nation, but their own revenues. No monopoly was granted that did not procure them a large revenue, or give them ample return in services compulsorily rendered in case of the King's need. In this manner succeeding monarchs gave monopolies to foreigners, such as the Hansa, who retained their privileges by means of large bribes, to the great disadvan- tage of the nation's own merchant adventurers ; and this continued more or less until the time of Elizabeth. CHAPTER III. FROM HENRY THE EIGHTH TO THE DEATH OF MARY. Contents.— New activity and intelligence — Henry the Eighth sends Cabot and Sir T. Port on a new voyage of discovery— Their return— Cabot retires to Spain — The Reformation — Henry prepares for defence by sea — English mariners — Trade with Newfoundland — West of England fisher- men — Will Hawkins — Edward the Sixth and the Russian Ambassador — Oppressive measures of the Hanseatic League — Sir Richard Chan- cellor discovers Archangel— The London and Muscovite Company — Queen Mary succeeds and marries Philip of Spain — Mary's attempts to restore the Roman Catholic supremacy disturbs the country — Philip's influence — English rovers — Mary's death. New Activity and Intelligence. —The reign of Henry the Eighth was a period of transition from old ideas and customs to a new activity and intelligence. The new learning, aided by the print- ing press, was having an influence on the minds of men to whom learning had before been a sealed book. In connection with navigation and discovery, the travels of Amerigo Vespucci, a competitor with Columbus for the discovery of America, were widely read. Cabot had written an account of his voyage ; Sir Thomas More his Utopia, or ideal commonwealth, which he tells us was suggested by a conversation with a sunburnt sailor, whom he accidentally met in Antwerp, and who proved to have been a companion of Amerigo Yespucci in those voyages to the New World, " that now be in print, and abroad in every man's hand." Voyage of Cabot and Port. — In the early days of Henry's reign the trade of India and America was in the hands of Spain and Portugal, protected by the Pope's bulls ; therefore open commerce by the English with these countries was forbidden. The king, desirous of fostering the merchants of England, in the year 15 17 employed Sebastian Cabot to proceed on another voyage of dis- covery to find a north-west passage to India, in company with Sir Thomas Port (or Perte). During this voyage Cabot seems to have again visited Newfoundland, and penetrated Hudson's Bay to the latitude of 67!° N. ; but of this voyage, as of many others, no details have been preserved. It is known, however, that he* 1 6 THE BEITISH MEECANTILE MARINE. was compelled to return through the ill-will of Sir Thomas Port, who behaved very spitefully towards him, and the mutinous con- duct of his crew. On his return Cabot, in disgust, gave up the English service and entered that of Spain. The Reformation. Henry prepares for Defence by Sea. — Henry the Eighth's quarrel with the Pope and the Roman Catholic monarchs of Europe, caused by his adoption of the Re- formation, opened up a new vista for thought and action in the minds of English mariners. Henry, himself threatened with the vengeance of these formidable foes, had to look to his defences ; and naturally thinking that with command of the sea he could keep them at bay, turned his mind to the creation of a fleet of ships more fitted for war than those in existence. The art of shipbuilding had been a favourite study of Henry's, and the dock- yards of Woolwich and Deptford, in which the best foreign naval architects were employed as teachers, became great schools of the art, producing such ships as had never before been seen in England. English Mariners and the Cod Fishery. — The English mariners caught the spirit of the times, and new expeditions were set on foot. Withheld from trespassing on the shores of Africa and America by the fear of offending the monarchs of Spain and Portugal, backed as they were by the power of Saint Peter's suc- cessors at Rome, the English had sought for adventure in other directions. The enormous quantity of fish to be found on the shores and banks of Newfoundland had been reported by Cabot, and of this immediate advantage was taken by the fishermen of the West of England, who had been in the habit of yearly visiting Iceland for the cod fishing to be found there. The shipbuilders of the west found the vessels for this trade, and the ships of Bridport, Bideford, Dartmouth, and many other western ports became famous. The cod fishery, pursued by the men of Devon and Cornwall, first in Iceland, and then to a much greater extent at Newfoundland, made them hardy sailors. No wonder, then, that we find them the first to stretch further south when the way seemed opened. Will Hawkins. — Will Hawkins, of Plymouth, " armed out," says the quaint language of the times, " a tall and goodly ship," and sailed for the Gold Coast in 1530. Thence he crossed to the Brazils and opened a trade, which was continued principally by the merchants of Southampton with much success until 1580, when Portugal fell under the Spanish crown. Hakluyt remarks "that Hawkins' ship, being of 250 tons, was thought exceedingly large." A large trade was also kept up by the shipowners of the West of HANSEATIC LEAGUE. 1 7 England with the wine ports of Spain, Portugal and the Canaries. In this occupation Hawkins had been brought up, and therefore had an opportunity of knowing the kind of trade they were doing in Africa and America. Another voyage was made by him in 1532 with great success. At this time also the London merchants sent ships (one, it is said, of 300 tons, carrying one hundred persons) to Sicily, Candia and Chio, and sometimes to Cyprus, Tripoli and Barrutti (Beyrouth in Syria). The voyage usually occupied a year, and the journals of those old voyages show that they were considered " exceedingly difficult and dangerous,'' no doubt from the depredations of the Barbary corsairs, as well as the dangers arising from the poor vessels and the meagre instruments of navi- gation then in use. Edward the Sixth and the Russian Ambassador. Hanseatic League. Sir R. Chancellor. — In 1547 Henry the Eighth died, leaving his throne to his young son, Edward the Sixth. In the first year of his reign there came a Russian ambassador to the English Court bearing kindly messages from the Tzar Ivan, with whom Edward concluded a treaty of peace and amity between the two nations. This was one of the first blows to the trade of the Lubeckers and the Hansa, who had converted the Baltic Sea into a secluded inland lake, carefully excluding the English as well as all other foreigners from entering its portals, or having any communication with either their own ports or those of any other nation on its shores ; but the days of the League were numbered. After severe fighting the Scandinavian nations had freed themselves from its grip, and their vessels traversed the Sound without let or hindrance. The League had governed the whole of Russian trade, forcing themselves as far as Novo-^ gorod. They bound it down by severe and offensive laws ; a German creditor was to be paid before a Russian ; they kept a close watch that no non-Hanseatic should learn Russian, and they permitted no Russian to live in their provinces. The English treaty, and the subsequent discovery of a passage into Russia by way of Archangel, was such a check as they never before received. The discoverer of this new ocean route was Sir Richard Chancellor, who, with Sir Hugh Willoughby, had been sent by the London merchant adventurers to discover a way to China by the northern icy sea, in three ships, named the Bona Esperanza, the Bona Confidential and the Edward Bonavmtura. At the North Cape, the last, which was com- manded by Chancellor, got separated from the others and never saw them again. Sir Hugh, with his crew, penetrated to a harbour in Lapland, where they all perished from cold and starvation. More fortunate, Sir Richard Chancellor reached B i 1 8 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Archangel, whence he travelled to Moscow, and was well re- ceived by the Tzar Ivan. He then returned to England with a letter from that monarch to King Edward, desiring more intimate relations between the two countries. The London and Muscovite Company. — The English, tak- ing advantage of the terms of trade offered, formed a com- mercial company to trade with Russia, which was entitled " The London and Muscovite Company." Sebastian Cabot, who had returned to England, and had been named " Grand Pilot " by Edward, was made the first governor of this company. He was a shrewd far-seeing man, and sought to make England a grand entrepot for all kinds of foreign produce. Commerce under Queen Mary. — Before the arrangements were complete the young king died, and his sister Mary had come to the throne. Edward the Sixth had strongly supported the London merchants, and curtailed the privileges of the League in England, which Mary at first restored, Philip of Spain (whom Mary had married) being at that time at amity with the League. Not a long time, however, was taken to prove the oppressive nature of these privileges upon the citizens of London. A re- turn at the time showed that the League exported from England 36,000 pieces of cloth as against 1100 by the English. The League's representatives were summoned before the queen in Council and a long list of grievances put before them, one of which was that their action was prejudicial to the English navy, because they refused to employ any vessels but their own. The council decided that the Hansa should abstain from importing English cloth into the Netherlands, with many further restric- tions; and it was further informed that any infraction would result in loss of all their privileges. Even the influence of Philip, who did everything to stifle British trade in favour of Spain and the Netherlands, was insufficient to make the Queen of England and her council cut the throat of her commerce by maintaining such outrageous privileges to foreigners. The Hansa retaliated by threatening to withdraw from all intercourse with England, but quickly discovered that that would have ended their days there, and that even their power over their own towns was not what it had been. Such, then, was the state of English commerce at the end of Mary's reign. External influences had tended to keep native shipping, except in fishing and coasting craft, at a very low ebb in- deed. Manufacturers had increased, especially in those branches which found their supply on the native soil — viz., those of woollen and linen cloth. Tin and lead, sheep and rabbit skins, were, in addition to wool, still the chief exports. The chief imports were ENGLISH ROVEftS. 1 9 iron and horses from Spain and Portugal ; and from France came wines, in which English shipping participated; velvets, linen, and line cloths from the Flemish manufacturing towns ; herrings, pitch, furs, and timber from the Baltic ; the silks, velvets, and glass from Italy were imported by foreigners. Throughout the Middle Ages a Venetian fleet annually visited our shores, bring- ing silks, satins, fine damasks, and cottons ; also the rare Eastern spices, camphor and precious stones. English vessels did not penetrate the Mediterranean until the sixteenth century, and it is a sign that our commerce had increased when we find that the last visit of the Venetians occurred in 1532, such visits being no longer profitable. From some cause our trade with the Levant was suspended from 1553 for about twenty-five years, and was not resumed until the middle of Elizabeth's reign. The fact that most of our ships of burden were bought from the east country- men on the shores of the Baltic proves that the building of such ships had not taken place in England, except for war or under special circumstances, such as have been mentioned. Attempt to restore the Roman Catholic Supremacy. — As external influences were not favourable to the progress of British commerce, so the internal affairs of the kingdom during Mary's reign were little conducive to it. The queen, always sincerely Catholic, had never approved of her father's or brother's support of the Reformation, and on her accession im- mediately proceeded to restore the Roman supremacy. In the foregoing years great numbers of the English people had, how- ever, become as sincerely Protestant, and looked upon a return to the Roman communion with aversion. The marriage of Mary, early in the second year of her reign, to Philip of Spain, a bigoted Catholic, accentuated her own religious feelings, as well as her power; and induced her to determine upon wiping out the Protestant faith and restoring that of the Church of Borne in its integrity. This threw the country into the convulsion of a re- ligious civil war, and many of the Protestants, refusing to change their religion, chose rather to suffer persecution, which Mary was not slow to use. Amongst these were some of the best families in the kingdom, especially in the south and west of England. English Rovers. — Flying from the Marian persecutions and irritated by the cruelties practised by the Inquisition upon the crews of English ships in the ports of Portugal and Spain, whither they resorted for the purpose of peaceful trade, numbers of young Englishmen became roving chiefs. With small handy vessels built in the western ports, they roamed the channels, and preyed upon the ships of Spain and the Netherlands as their natural enemies. In this they were joined by Huguenot Frenchmen, 20 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. who suffered a like persecution at the hands of the Duke of Guise, an ardent Catholic, who was now all-powerful in France, and so they jointly revenged themselves upon their persecutors. So far indeed did these lawless rovers carry their schemes, that at one time Sir Thomas Seymour, one of their principal leaders, formed an intention of seizing the Scilly Islands, there to form an independent State and secure a place of safety for their vessels and their prizes. Failing this, and not being able to bring their prizes into English ports, they either took them to Ireland or, what was worse, having plundered the vessels of all their valuables, both ships and crews were destroyed ! A striking picture of the lawlessness of the times ! Mary's Death. — Under such conditions of life commerce was stifled — trading became difficult and dangerous ; and as long as Mary lived, Philip, whose influence was predominant, did all he could to destroy it in favour of that of Spain and the Netherlands, his own dominions. Fortunately Mary's reign was short, or England might have sunk into such a state of appanage to Spain as Philip intended, and wished it to be. At her death in Novem- ber 1558, her sister Elizabeth, as staunch a Protestant as Mary had been a Catholic, succeeded to the throne. Seizing the reins of government with a firm hand, she restored the Protestant faith, and the nation awoke to new life and enterprise. ( 21 ) CHAPTER IV. THE MERCANTILE MARINE DURING ELIZABETH'S REIGN. Contents. — Effect of British protection — Elizabeth repeals Navigation Laws — Her general policy — She curtails Hanseatic privileges — Treaty of commerce with Hamburg — The Hansa power broken — Seymour and his allies — Quarrel between Elizabeth and Philip — The Inquisition— The Queen supports Holland — John Hawkins sails to the Gold Coast- Drake's surveys of the West Indies — The Queen commissions Drake-— He sails round the World — Portugal friendly to England — Philip determines to crush England— Elizabeth's self-confidence — Her fleet — The Spanish Armada — Drake and his privateers — The Armada reaches the English Channel — Off Plymouth meet the fleet and Prake's ships — The Duke de Medina tries to separate them — The superior sailing qualities of the English ships now seen — A worrying fight up Channel — The Spaniards chased into Calais Roads and the North Sea — A rem- nant of the Armada returns to Spain. Effect of British Protection. — A system of protection for British ships and merchants having been inaugurated by Richard the Second, this policy was pursued by succeeding monarchs down to the period at which we have now arrived, with very varying and doubtful success. Jealous of the action of the British rulers, those of foreign States retaliated by shutting their ports against British vessels and traders. Navigation Laws repealed. Elizabeth's Policy. — This had made unpleasant changes in the old system of navigation and commerce, and when Elizabeth came to the throne, she, with un- usual sagacity, saw the effect it had upon British commerce. With the consent of her Parliament she, by the Act i Eliz. c. 13, repealed all the restrictions of her predecessors, and allowed all merchants to use whatever ships they pleased, subject only to the necessity of their paying aliens' duty if they used the ships of an alien. In this she was not neglectful of British interests, but sought, by such a measure of liberality, to disarm foreign opposition ; at the same time she reserved the coasting trade to British ships. Always averse to war, it was her policy to gain her ends by diplomatic cunning rather than by attempted force. Indeed, she was at times induced to carry this policy too far almost for safety, as will presently be seen, 22 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Hanseatic Privileges curtailed ; Treaty made with Ham- burg and Hansa Power broken. — Almost immediately on her accession the Hansa approached her, demanding a renewal of their ancient privileges. She received them graciously, but soon let them see that the interests of her own subjects and realm were with her paramount. The merchant adventurers in their turn made their claim, which was the destruction of the Hanseatic privileges and freedom of trade for themselves with Europe. By this time the cohesive force of the League was much weakened ; many of the towns, grown rich, were becoming independent of such a " mutual protection " society, and ambitious of their own especial welfare. The Queen, backed by her trusty minister, Wil- liam Cecil, Lord Burleigh, insisted upon her subjects being put upon an equal footing with those of the Hansa. She restored all Edward the Sixth's tariffs, and claimed free admission for her ships into their ports, and, when they refused, curtailed their export to 5000 pieces of cloth in the year. When the Hanseatic towns found her obdurate, they attempted retaliation, which had no effect. Quar- relling with each other for a share of the London trade, the astute Queen and her Minister played with them in turn, and it ended by Hamburg making a treaty with the London merchant adven- turers^ for ten years. The Hansa League bitterly opposed this, but their power was broken. As their power waned, so did the influence of England increase, until in 1598 they were expelled from London. After some years the Steel Yard was restored to them, but they were traders only on sufferance— their privileges were gone for ever. And so we may bid them adieu. Seymour and his Allies. Quarrel between Elizabeth and Philip. — On Elizabeth's accession Seymour and his semi-piratical allies returned to their allegiance, and by her were taken into favour. The country being at peace with both France and Spain, their semi- warlike depredations were for a while stayed, but this did not last long. Philip, regretting the death of Mary, and still more his hold upon England, offered marriage to Elizabeth ; but this honour the Queen declined. Her mind was bent upon re- establishing the Reformation, and Philip, who was at this time endeavouring to bring back the Netherlands under the power of the Inquisition, would have been an unsuitable husband ; their quarrels were thenceforth incessant, although war was not actually declared. For years a sort of unacknowledged warfare was carried on between the two kingdoms. British mariners, notwithstanding, undauntedly maintained their trade with Spain and Portugal, fear- less of the terrors of the Inquisition, which lost no chance of im- prisoning the heretics upon the slightest pretence. The presence of a Bible in a ship was a sufficient conviction of heresy. The West JOHN HAWKINS SAILS TO THE GOLD COAST. 23 of England men revenged themselves for such cruelties by pounc- ing upon every stray Spaniard they could lay their hands on, and confiscating his property as a lawful prize. The Queen, supporting the Reformers of Holland by every means in her power but open warfare, quietly shut her eyes to the proceedings of her subjects. She encouraged trade with the rebellious Lowlanders, supplying them with means to carry on the war, and even went so far as to impound some Spanish vessels carrying money and stores to the Duke of Alva, Philip's general in the Netherlands. Philip stormed and raved ; and his ambassadors prayed and besought the obdurate Queen to alter her policy ; but she, fully aware of Philip's pretence to the throne of England, and knowing full well that the defence of Holland was the defence of England and her own throne, pursued the even tenour of her way — flattering and cajoling the Spanish ambassador at one moment, placing him at open defiance the next ; and so the struggle went on for years. Up to the middle of the fifteenth century Bruges had been the great entrepot in the Lowlands for British trade, but, on its fall in 1482, caused by the cutting of the canal which connected it with Sluys, by the Emperor Maximilian, in revenge for a rebellion in which the Liegois took part with Ghent and other towns, Antwerp had risen into importance and remained without a rival as the medium of European trade, until the period at which we have now arrived in our history. In the war raging between Philip and the Lowlanders, Antwerp was taken, and sacked, by Alva, and the best of the trade was transferred to London ; numbers of the persecuted Flemings, flying thither to find a home, received encouragement from Elizabeth, and her sagacious Minister, Cecil. Besides aiding our manufacturers they materially aided our commerce, and London became the general mart of Europe. John Hawkins sails to the Gold Coast. — In 1562 the West of England men entered with zest upon foreign trade. John Hawkins set on foot another expedition to the Gold Coast. Assisted by the subscriptions of sundry gentlemen, he fitted out three ships (the largest being 120 tons and the smallest 40), and having learned that negroes were a very good commodity in Hispaniola, he sailed to the Guinea Coast and took in a cargo of them ; proceeding to Hispaniola he sold his negroes and English commodities, then loaded his vessels with hides, sugar, ginger, and precious stones, and, returning home in 1563, finished a profitable voyage. This seems to have been the first slaving voyage performed by Englishmen ! Hawkins made another voyage in 1564 successfully, but during the next, in 1567, he got into collision with the authorities in the 2 4 THE BEITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Spanish main, and losing many of his ships returned to England with two only, after suffering great hardships. In this voyage Hawkins had been joined by Francis Drake ; but Drake had no love for the " blackbird " trade and never entered upon it again. This was Hawkins' last voyage in that trade, but by no means his last act of service to his country. The Queen conferred upon him the post of Superintendent of H.M. Dockyards, in which it will hereafter be seen he did good work. Drake's Surveys of the West Indies. — Francis Drake, descended from a good Devonshire family, was a seaman from his boyhood, and had taken part in many of the frays in the English Channel with the ships of Alva and Spain. Twenty- five years of age when he joined Hawkins in that last unfortunate voyage, he lost all his property. Bringing the vessel he com- manded safely back to Plymouth, he had gained a character for courage and ability. Filled with desire of revenge upon the Spaniards, he gathered about him a company of sea adventurers, who found sufficient money to fit out another vessel, and with them made several voyages to the Spanish West Indies, intent upon learning the navigation of those parts and gaining useful intelli- gence, combined with picking up such riches as fell in his way, of which, we read, he obtained " much store," by " playing," says Camden, " the seaman and the pirate." Elizabeth commissions Drake. Drake's Voyage round the World. — The Queen, meeting the plots carried on by Philip and the Catholics against her crown and life, by counter- plots and undeclared warfare, granted a commission to Drake to "sail the seas," and he started in 1577 upon what proved to be his famous voyage round the world, the first ever per- formed. His fleet consisted of five ships, the largest of which was 100 tons, and the smallest only 15. Making his way down the east coast of South America and passing through the Straits of Magellan, he proceeded up the west coast to Chili, Peru, and Panama. On the way many a rich galleon, ignorant of the presence of an enemy, fell into his clutches ; amongst them the immense carrack, the Cacafuego, filled with gold, silver plate, and " great store of diamonds, emeralds, and pearls." With full ships he attempted to sail northwards and find a passage that way into the Atlantic, not daring to return as he came by the Straits of Magellan, as the Spaniards were now on the alert and he feared capture. At last he sailed west from California, and feeling his way through the Moluccas and by the north coast of Java, passed through the Straits of Sunda, and round the Cape of Good Hope, reaching home on the 26th September 1579. He was graciously received by the Queen, who created him a Knight ELIZABETH'S SELF-CONFIDENCE. 2$ upon the deck of his own ship. For years afterwards he was employed upon expeditions against the Spaniards all over the world. These buccaneering expeditions did not commend themselves to Cecil, Elizabeth's cautious Minister, who could not persuade himself that any good would come of these " water thieves " as he called them, and " believing that piracy was detestable and could not last, he tried hard to persuade Elizabeth to withdraw her covert support;" but she was poor, and her cupidity (for she was a partner in almost every adventure) and the very times were too strong for him ; yet buccaneering, combined in an irregular manner with trade and religion, became the very source of England's power at sea. However unwise and indefensible were the deeds of Drake and his companions, we cannot but be conscious that it was their hardy prowess and daring valour which fostered in the nation that obstinate disdain of external control which was so soon to be needed and sorely tried ! Portugal friendly to England. — Although such was the state of matters between Spain and England, the Portuguese had on the whole been more friendly towards us. In 1 5 7 2 a treaty of peace had been concluded with Portugal ; freedom of trade to the Gold Coast and the Brazils had been secured, and all former disputes adjusted. This was taken advantage of by our Southern ports, especially Southampton, whose merchants carried on a flourishing trade with the Brazils, until 1580, when Portugal became joined to the Spanish crown. Philip determines to Crush England. — Philip, now all- powerful in Europe, the whole of the Spanish peninsula, Austria, the Netherlands, and a great part of Germany being under his sway, with the whole power of the Papal Court at his back, determined to make an effort to maintain his claim upon the English crown, and put Elizabeth and her truculent subjects under his feet. The attacks of Drake upon the West Indies, the looting of so many valuable carracks, and the burning of the ships in Cadiz Harbour, stung the Spanish nation to the quick. Philip and Elizabeth were both averse to open warfare, but the Pope, filled with rage at the loss of England, urged Philip on by every possible means to attack her, and at last the slowly moving Emperor prepared a fleet of overwhelming force to make the attack. Elizabeth's Self-confidence. — Elizabeth, confident in her own power of cajoling both monarch and ambassadors, would scarcely believe Philip, after the failure of oft-repeated threats of vengeance, to be in earnest ; amused by diplomatic efforts for a treaty of peace between herself, Philip and the Netherlands, she 26 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. would not accept the possibility of war, and even went so far as to restrain Drake from any further acts of piracy, and apologise for the attack upon Cadiz ; absolutely without fear and swayed by her penurious disposition, she dismantled her own fleet and ordered it to be laid up at Chatham ; she even went so far as to enter into a treaty of amity with Philip. Burleigh, in despair and knowing well the preparations Philip was ma,king, advised her to send out Drake to the Azores and put him in fear for his gold ships, but she would not listen. "She was," says Mr. Froude, " in one of her ungovernable moods." " Never," said Lord Howard, the English High Admiral, " since England was Eng- land, was such a stratagem made to deceive as this treat}^. We have not hands left to carry the ships back to Chatham." The Spanish Armada. — At last, in the spring of 1588, news came that the Armada was about to sail — a mighty force of 130 ships, from 700 to 1300 tons each, with 30,000 fighting men, which seemed irresistible. Alva had also prepared a fleet to land an army from the Netherlands. All this time Elizabeth was obdurate ; she refused to supply money, men or victuals. To her advisers she seemed bent upon destruction. In the end she was forced to yield. Her fleet, of which she possessed only ^8 ships, she reluctantly ordered to be prepared. Fortunately some of these had been built by Hawkins, an able shipbuilder, pirate and slave hunter though he had been, who, using his experience, built them upon new principles ; the usual high sterns and fore- castles were made lower, and the vessels themselves longer on the keel and of fine lines. The older seamen shook their heads, and foretold disaster ; but the wisdom of Hawkins was seen when the fight came. To meet the immense Armada, which was now undoubtedly coming, Lord Henry Seymour was left with five ships to watch the Dover Si 1 aits and the Netherlands contingent, and Howard joined Drake at Plymouth with eighteen sail. The western privateers headed by Drake, their chosen chief, lay in Plymouth Sound, making about forty sail of light craft, but well armed and manned. On July 23, after many false starts and misadventures, the Armad 1 sailed from Corunna with undiminished numbers. After a somewhat stormy passage they were off the Lizard, sailing up the Channel in fighting order. Off Plymouth Howard was discovered with eleven ships, and Drake inside with about 40 sail, which seemed the whole British force. The Spanish Admiral, the Duke di Medina Sidonia, despising this apparently small force, offered battle, and endeavoured to divide the two fleets of Howard and Drake. The effect of the new style of ship was now seen. Howard's ships, close-hauled, passed easily to windward of A WORRYING FIGHT UP CHANNEL. 27 the Spanish ships, out of range of their guns, and joining Drake, the whole English fleet passed close-hauled in line behind the Spaniards, raking them with their guns of longer range at a safe distance with deadly effect. The great ships of the Armada and their crews were thrown into disorder and completely demoralised. The Duke, seeing he could do nothing with the wasps of ships, which both out-sailed and out-cannoned him, bore away and sailed up the English Channel, the English fleet following. Two of the largest ships, the Santa Gatalina and the Capita?ia, getting into difficulty fell a prey to Drake and his privateers, proving a rich booty, and, what was of more importance to Drake, well supplied with gunpowder. The Spanish officers, furious at this loss, besought Medina to attempt a rescue; but it was growing dark, the heavy lumbering Spaniards could not get near the English ships, and he sailed away leaving them to their fate. Off Portland on the Monday the fight was continued with the same result, the Spaniards being out-sailed and badly manoeuvred. At the end of this day the English powder was exhausted, but the authorities on shore were now aroused from their slumber, and fresh priva- teers poured out from the Dorsetshire ports bringing supplies of every kind. A Worrying Fight up Channel. — The Duke di Medina observing that his enemies were growing numerous, had made up his mind to run for the Solent, land his 10,000 troops, take the Isle of Wight, and then wait for news from the Prince of Parma in the Netherlands. Now he must fight another battle. On the Wednesday the two fleets lay becalmed, the English taking in their supplies. The next day the Duke hoped by the help of his galliasses to bring the English to close quarters ; but this hope failed him. The wind rising brought up Drake again, and again the terrible cannonade ensued. The Spanish shot flew high over the low English privateers, whose every shot told upon the Spanish hulls ; the very guns seemed to the helpless Spaniards heavier than before. The Duke's ammunition began to fail ; he had counted upon one fight, he had now fought three. Losing heart, he gave up the attempt to make for the Solent, and sailed away to Calais roads, where at least he might find safety. During the Friday he sailed on without interruption from the English, and on Saturday at dusk dropped anchor in Calais roads. The English fleet, from which he hoped now to be clear, to his intense disgust he saw also anchor within half a league astern of him. And so passed from the shores of England that fine fleet which Philip had provided to carry out the decrees of Pro- vidence. But Providence takes no account of, nor aids, weak and ignorant commanders, and the Duke, although a Spanish grandee 28 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. of the finest water, was ill fitted for the command of so well pro- vided and powerful a fleet ; and well for England that it was so. Dispersal of the Armada. — We have not space to linger upon the after events — of how Howard and Drake drove the Spaniards from Calais roads into the North Sea — of how Providence, in the shape of severe storms, completed the work so well begun and so valiantly carried out — of how in a few weeks that formidable Armada was scattered to the winds, and only 54 ships with about 9000 to 10,000 men returned to the ports of Spain, to relate such disasters as had overtaken them at the hand of God as well as man. So ended the vainglorious dream of Philip — so ended the last real attempt of a foreign enemy to plant a foot upon the English land ! Had it not been for Drake and his merchant fleet what would have happened] England might have become an appanage of Spain ; America, a Spanish province ; the United States never have existed, and the Inquisition have been triumphant over the world ! Most happily for England it was otherwise. The failure of that last great attempt upon our land and liberty left her free to pursue that course of Mercantile and Maritime adventure which has proved to her such a source of wealth and power, and given her that sovereignty of the seas which has never since been taken from her by force, though frequently challenged by the Spaniard, Dutch and French in turn. ( 2 9 ) CHAPTER V. MERCANTILE PROGRESS UP TO THE REIGN OF WILLIAM THE THIRD. Contents. — Chaucer's seaman — The English people — West of England mariners — Judge Prowse's History of Newfoundland and Trade — Art school of ship building — Tobias' letter to the Queen — Fishing industries, a school for sailors — Trade with Portugal — The Russian and Levant Com- panies—The East India Company, its first fleet— James the First forbids piracy — Encroachments of the Dutch — Van Tromp and Blake — Crom- well's Act — Dutch trade in the English colonies— Charles the Second's Navigation Laws — Sir Joshua Child's opinion — Other Navigation Laws — Bounty for building large ships— Progress of Trade — William the Third encourages the Marine — Success of the East India Company — Tonnage at the commencement of the eighteenth century. Chaucer's Seaman. — In describing the course of English commerce and shipping in the foregoing pages, we have been able to say little of the actual people engaged in it, for little is left to tell us of the mariners of those early days, but a characteristic glimpse may be got from the description of a seaman in Chaucer's prologue, written in the latter half of the fourteenth century, and in the reign of King Edward. The character, drawn so quaintly, roughly resembles his descendants ; he is ready to join any expedition, a good seaman and pilot, and yet not over nice or scrupulous about the manner of obtaining his desires.* Character of the English People. — Speaking of the English people in the early part of Elizabeth's reign, Mr. Froude says : " In the English nature there were and are two antagonistic tendencies ; on the one hand, a disposition to live by rule and precedent, and to maintain with loving reverence the customs, convictions, and traditions which have come down from other generations ; and, on the other hand, a restless, impetuous energy, pressing forward into the future, regarding what has been done as only a step, or landing place, leading upwards and onwards to higher conquests." West of England Mariners. — This description was clearly illustrated by the men of Elizabeth's day. Hawkins, Raleigh, * See Appendix B. 30 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Drake, Seymour, and their followers, were men filled with the love of their country as well as of adventure — tinged, possibly, with the superstition of the times — and, however unwise and indefensible appear to us, in these days of more freedom and enlightenment, to have been many of their deeds, they were fully determined to act upon their own responsibility ; it was their hardy prowess and daring valour which stretched forth the arms of English commerce and paved the way for England's subse- quent greatness. Had it not been for the assistance of these west of England mariners, where would Elizabeth have been in her extremity ? How — the question arises — how was it the west of England could, in the emergency, have produced such mariners? In what school had they been taught, and where had they gained their experience ? This is a question that seems to have been passed over by historians in a marvellous manner. Even Mr. Froude says little on the subject. The solution must be sought for in the fisher folk, who, from the discovery of Newfoundland, and its valuable fisheries, went forth year after year in increasing numbers to fish for cod upon its shores and banks. It had been the custom of the fishermen of the West from Bristol, Bideford, Dartmouth, &c, to join the fishermen of the East coast in the cod-fisheries of Iceland ; but henceforth the Iceland fishery, although not all at once abandoned, was forsaken for those of Newfoundland, in which they were joined by fishermen from the ports of Northern Spain, France and Portugal in great numbers. Judge Prowse's History of Newfoundland and Trade. — " These traders," says Judge Prowse, " escaped the notice of kings and chroniclers ; their humble calling insured their safety for the first half-century. In Newfoundland they carried on, besides the fisheries, a great free trade : oils, wines, and fruits of France, Spain and Portugal, were exchanged for English cutlery and West of England cordage, cloth, hats, caps and hosiery. The business was most profitable all round ; it built up the west of England. ... It appears quite clear that taking one year with another, twenty years before Gilbert's time, at least fifty English vessels engaged in the transatlantic fishery, and from 2500 to 3000 men were employed in this business." St. r John's was the great rendezvous long before there was any settled Government, and there the various commodities were exchanged. Besides the fishing vessels there were larger vessels, built with a view to speed, to enable them to escape " the sea rovers," and to carry the salt, fish, and wines, with other articles of trade, between Devonshire, Newfoundland and Spain, &c. These vessels were built at Bideford, Bridport, Dartmouth, and Plymouth, and it was for that class of vessel these ports remained FISHING INDUSTRY. 3 1 celebrated until the middle of this century. In the fishing season the fishermen chose an admiral from amongst their number, and as the English vessels were the largest, and the Englishmen the strongest, he was usually selected from them. Once invested with power, he administered justice with a rough and ready hand. The idea entertained by historians, that, after its discovery by Cabot, Newfoundland was lost sight of and deserted for nearly a century, has been ably disposed of by Judge Prowse, who laughs at the idea " that the most pugnacious and pertina- cious race in all the three kingdoms would enter upon a profitable business and then give it up." Art School of Shipbuilding. — Here then was the school in which for a century before the day of the Armada, the West of England seamen were toughened and gained their experience, and were ready at the call of Hawkins, Drake and Gilbert in the day of need. Here was the art school in which were perfected the building and the lines of naval architecture found in the ships, which with ease walked like greyhounds round the lumber- ing galleons of Spain in the famous year of 1588, and sent them to their doom. In no other way can it be accounted for, that there were such ships and such men.* Tobias' Letter to the Queen. — Providentially escaped from such an attempted blow at its liberty, the nation became, hence- forth, convinced that its only safety lay in its ships and its sailors. The necessary duty, then, of all succeeding Governments was to foster and sustain the commercial marine, as the only source whence her defenders could be drawn. To press this home upon the Queen and the nation, among many others, one Tobias, gentleman, fisherman, and mariner (as he styles himself), published a pamphlet, entitled " The Best Way to make England the Richest and Wealthiest Kingdom in Europe," in which he recommends the encouragement of the fish- ing trade by the construction of a "thousand busses upon a national design, in order to compete with the Dutch." A " Busse " was a fishing or coasting vessel of about sixty to eighty tons burthen, and cost about £500. Fishing Industry. A School for Sailors. — He appeals to the patriotism of the large city companies and other wealthy bodies to do this, and asks them to consider " the advantage it would be in the hour of need to have ready for service lusty fed younkers, bred in the busses, who could furl a topsail or a spritsail, * De Witt, the great Pensionary of Holland, says, a The navy of Eng- land became formidable by the discovery of the inexpressible rich fishing bank of Newfoundland." 32 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. and shake out a bonnet in a dark and stormy night, and not shrink from their duties like the surfeited or hunger-pinched sailors, who made the southern voyages." Even then, as now, our best sailors were bred m our fishing- boats, and our coasting-smacks and brigs. Trade with Portugal. — It must not be forgotten, however, that there was another trade in which the southern and western ports had always been well engaged, and that was with the Portuguese. During the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries a great friendship existed between the two nations. Numerous fleets bound for the Holy Land had rendezvoused at Lisbon filled with the flower of English chivalry. These, on passing, had greatly assisted the young kingdom of Portugal in its wars for independ- ence against both Moors and Castilians ; and a friendship was cemented which was not disturbed until, in the early part of the sixteenth century, the Inquisition which had been established in Portugal, waged a holy war against all heretics, amongst whom the English Reformers were included. The disruption was com- plete when Portugal fell under the Spanish crown in 1580. English ships could not visit the ports of the Peninsula without peril, and then it was that the traffic between the two countries was maintained by the peaceable fishing fleets meeting on the shores of Newfoundland. a The years which followed the defeat of the Armada," says Mr. Froude in his History, " were rich in events of profound national importance. They were years of splendour and triumph. The flag of England became supreme upon the seas; English commerce penetrated to the furthest corners of the Old World, and English Colonies rooted themselves on the shores of the New." Russian and Levant Companies. — In addition to the Russian Company, which now possessed a valuable trade^the Levant Com- pany had been formed for trading with the East through the ports of the Levant, and it was securing an important share of the lucrative business which had in former ages been in the hands of the Italian merchants. Elizabeth had made a commercial treaty with Turkey, which placed her subjects on as favourable a footing as those of any other nation. A charter was granted to this company in 1581. Tooke, in his " History of Prices," tells us that it was computed that in 1582 the Mercantile Marine of England comprised 135 ships, many of which were over 500 tons, but that twenty years later it had increased to 400 ships. Bast India Company. — By far the most important event after the defeat of the Armada, was the formation of an associa- tion of merchant adventurers for the purpose of trading to the JAMES I. FORBIDS PIRACY, 1603. 33 East Indies. After much debating and squeamish reluctance on account of the jealousy shown by Philip of Spain, the Queen granted the company its charter upon the last day of the year 1600. The company was formed by a number of noblemen, aldermen, and councillors of the City, and other gentlemen, headed by the Earl of Cumberland, who is said to have been the first British subject who built in England a ship of 800 tons burthen. Under Elizabeth's sanction two expeditions had been sent to India; one in 1582, commanded by Edward Fenton, and the second in 1589, under George Raymond. Both were failures. The first came back without doubling the Cape, and the second lost all its three vessels, as well as its commander, and most of the crews. Captain Lancaster, the second in command, found his way home overland, and arrived in a miserable plight, after many sad adventures. The Company's First Fleet. — The first fleet belonging to the Company consisted of the Red Dragon, 600 tons, and 200 men; the Hector, 300 tons, and 100 men; the Ascension, 200 tons, and 80 men ; the Susan, 240 tons, and 80 men ; and a pinnace of 100 tons and 40 men — in all 1500 tons and 500 men. With a selected cargo for trading, and twenty months' provisions, this fleet sailed from Woolwich on February 13, 1601, under the command of Captain Lancaster. It returned in 1603, but Elizabeth did not survive to see it. The profit was large, but as usual in those days, a very considerable part was derived from the capture of a Portuguese ship fully laden. Fleets followed each other in rapid succession, and the first seven or eight voyages were full of encouragement, returning as much as 150 to 200 per cent. James the First forbids Piracy, 1603. — James the First succeeded, and declaring himself at peace with all the world, put a stop to privateering, and called in all the privateers. To please the Spanish monarch, he stained his fame by behead- ing Sir Walter Raleigh, on his return from a voyage on which he had permitted him to go. From this time forward there was no more open buccaneering. Piracy existed, it is true, but no longer received the sanction of crowned heads. From the days of the Norsemen downwards, the race was to the swift and the battle to the strong, A foreign vessel weak enough to be captured seemed to be fair game, but it was a strange morality which allowed Elizabeth to sanction such a course of action as she did. With regard to her acts towards Spain, doubtless there was cause given. When we consider the imprisonment of English crews, and the c 34 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. torture practised upon them in the ports of Spain, on account of their religion, we can hardly be surprised at the fearful reprisals made by Drake and his followers upon Spanish crews when occasion offered. Under James, who concluded a treaty of peace with Spain soon after he came to the throne, these religious asperities were somewhat abated, and an improved condition of trade existed between the two countries. Encroachments of the Dutch. — In 1642 (Charles the First now being king), the East India Company employed about 15,000 tons of shipping. Its great rival, the Dutch East India Com- pany, had grown immensely in power, and added largely to the riches of the Republic. With its riches had grown its insolence, and it had assumed a " Sovereignty of the Seas." Van Tromp and Blake. — The Dutch had seized upon all the fishing grounds adjacent to our coasts, and in 16 18 were said to have 3000 fishing- vessels and 50,000 men in this business, from which they attempted to drive our fishing vessels by force. Their audacity at last became unbearable, and the minds of the English people were filled with alarm and disgust. The unfortunate Charles was unable to protect his people, but Cromwell, when in full power, in 165 1, carried through the Hump Parliament another Act of Navigation which stopped their trade with England, and declared their presence on the fishing-grounds illegal.* This was so serious a blow to the Dutch that war en- sued, and the Dutch Admiral, Yan Tromp, paraded the English Channel with a broom at his masthead swearing he would sweep the English from the seas. At first he seemed to be succeeding, as our fleet was completely beaten, but Admiral Blake, recruited with more and better ships, in a few years gained a succession of brilliant victories, which crushed the naval power of Holland, and it never again rose to its former height. In 1606, the first colony had been founded in North America by Captain Smith. He was followed in 1620 by the Pilgrim Fathers in the Mayflower, and our colonial trade soon became an important business. Religious difficulties at home drove many * Act passed by the Rump Parliament : — "That no merchandise either of Asia, Africa or America, including also our own plantations, should be imported into Britain in any but English- built ships and belonging to English or English plantation subjects, navigated also by an English Commander, and three-fourths of the sailors to be Englishmen ; except- ing, however, such merchandise as should be imported directly from the original place of their growth or manufacture, in Europe solely. More- over, no fish should thenceforward be imported into England or Ireland, nor exported from thence to foreign parts, nor even from one of our own home ports to another, but what shall be caught by our own fishers only.'' This is commonly called Scobele's Act. SIR JOSHUA CHILD'S OPINION. 35 out of the country, and these were followed by a large number of Dutch and Swedes. Cromwell's Act. — Cromwell in 1655 threw open the trade to India, hoping thereby to damage the Dutch East India Company, but, finding this did not answer, he re-established the monopoly again in 1657, and restored the English Company. Prior to Elizabeth's reign many ineffectual attempts at estab- lishing secure navigation laws had been made, but Elizabeth, as we have seen, repealed them all, and threw the trade of the country open to aliens under certain restrictions. The laws from her time until the Commonwealth very much resembled what is to be seen in many foreign countries at the present time, in carrying out ideas of reciprocity. Dutch Trade in the English Colonies. — In the meantime Dutch commerce had largely increased. Antwerp was once more the emporium of Europe, and the Dutch were the carriers of the world. They had established a large trade with the English Colonies, in the ports of which were to be seen forty Dutch ships for one English. Cromwell never rested until he had driven the Dutch from the English fishing-grounds, and then out of the Colonies. As the Colonies had sided with Charles against the Parliament, this legislation was intended to punish both. It was, indeed, rigorous, perhaps injurious, but effectual, for it gave to Dutch commerce a blow, which, followed by the success of Blake, destroyed it, and from which it never recovered. Charles the Second's Navigation Laws. — Henceforth the navigation laws took a new direction — viz., the preservation of the trade between the colonies and the mother country, for the benefit of British shipping. In 1660, an Act, 12 Charles the Second, c. 18, was passed, adding still further to the protection of British and Colonial shipping j this has since been called " The Maritime Charter of England." 1662. — Another Act, 14 Charles the Second, c. 11, enacted "that no foreign built ship should have British privileges, although owned by Englishmen," and further privileges and exemptions from duties were added to encourage the building of ships of large tonnage. These Acts were so effective, that at the peace of 1667 the Dutch struggled hard to get them rescinded, as they had destroyed their commerce, but without avail. The war which this peace concluded had principally been brought on by the quarrel between the English and Dutch merchants on the coast of Guinea, but this was really only one feature of the contest waged between the two nations for mercantile supremacy. Sir Joshua Child's Opinion. — The Acts were not passed without great diversity of opinion— the mere merchant buyers 36 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. and sellers would naturally be opposed to them, and there were not wanting many who affirmed that they would be destructive of commerce. Sir Joshua Child, who wrote " Discourses on Trade " in 1666 to 1668, writes : M Without these Acts we had not now been owners of one half of the shipping, or the trade, nor should have employed one half of our seamen." Anderson, in his " History of Commerce," supplements this in 1776, by saying : " So vast an alteration had these Acts brought about, that in a few years we were at length become in a great measure what the Dutch once were, that is, the great carriers of Europe, especially within the Mediterranean Sea." Other Navigation Laws. 1664. — Another Act, 16 Charles the Second, c.6, compelled "British seamen to fight the Barbary pirates and defend their ships." The cause of this Act was the cowardice of many shipmasters and crews in giving up their vessels on condition of their lives being saved by the pirates. It is not pleasant to think that British seamen could have behaved so, but when we think of the crowds these pirates carried in their Xebecques, there may have been some excuse for poorly-manned and ill-armed vessels. 1685. — 1 James the Second, c. 18, imposed a duty of five shillings per ton upon foreign vessels in our coasting trade. The statistics of shipping in the seventeenth century are meagre enough, but it is stated* that at the Restoration in 1660 the tonnage cleared outwards amounted to 95,266 tons, and at the accession of William and Mary, twenty-nine years after, it was 190,533, or exactly double; and, from other sources, that the tonnage of merchant ships in 1688 was exactly double what it was in 1666, but no figures are given. These statements, at all events, prove substantial progress. Bounty for building large Ships.— In 1694, a bounty of one-tenth of the tonnage and poundage duty was granted to builders of vessels having at least three decks, and of 450 tons burthen, and armed with 32 guns, and built within the next ten years. This to be allowed upon the first three voyages only. Progress of Trade. — The population of England, which after the Conquest, as shown in the Domesday Book, only amounted to about 2,000,000, had risen in Elizabeth's time to 5,000,000, and the junction of Scotland with England by the accession of the King of Scotland to the English throne, brought peace and security hitherto unknown. The colonisation of Virginia by Sir Walter Raleigh, and the opening of trade to India by the East India Company, gave employment to an increased number of British ships * Colliber's " History of English Naval Affairs." SUCCESS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 37 and seamen, and the greatest industrial progress in England was in the direction of foreign trade. James suppressed piratical adventure, but was too timid to declare war against Spain, which throughout his reign, as well as that of Charles the First, maintained their monopoly of trade with their West Indian and American possessions. Cromwell, however, was no sooner safely in posses- sion of the government than he at once demanded free trade with the Spanish colonies, and religious freedom for English settlers in them. When this was refused he immediately declared war, and his fleets seized Jamaica, which gave the English a secure footing in the West Indies. The Dutch had arrogantly attacked our fishing- grounds, and almost destroyed our east coast fisheries and fishermen. Cromwell, with a zealous care for his people, drove the Dutch from our coasts, and then protected our fishermen and our seamen by stringent laws. William the Third encourages the Marine. — The accession of William and Mary secured peace between the two countries, and to a certain extent consolidated their aims and interests. This did not, however, make William neglect English interests; on the contrary, he evinced a fostering care for them, and, following the traditions of the nation and former rulers, he encouraged the marine by establishing a registry office for 30,000 seamen as a force to be relied upon for the defence of the country. As one of the inducements to the mercantile mariners to register, he granted them all the privileges of Greenwich Hospital and its pensions, in common with the seamen of the Royal Navy. " This Act," says Anderson, in his " History of Commerce," "was unfortunately repealed by an Act of Queen Anne a few years after/' Success of the East India Company. — During the seven- teenth century the operation of the East India Company was one of the chief factors in the progress of shipping and commerce. In 1676 so flourishing we learn was its trade that its dividends amounted to 300 per cent. This success raised the cupidity of others who were not included in the monopoly, and various attempts were made to raise up opposition companies, and conse- quently the original company was not permitted to enjoy its charter in peace. Company after company was formed, the rivals only helping to kill each other, and it was not until 1708, when the two companies then existing (the original London company, and the new English company which had been empowered by the 9th William the Third, c. 44) were united into one grand Company, that henceforth the trade was carried on under propitious circumstances, with the three settlements of Bombay, Madras, and Fort William (now Calcutta) under one rule. Trade with America prospered, especially after the taking of New Amsterdam, now New York, 38 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. in 1664, during Charles the Second's short war, which added to the consolidation of the New England colonies. The Hudson's Bay Company had received their charter in 1670, and very soon de- veloped a profitable trade in furs, &c, with the Indians of that cold and inhospitable region. Tonnage at the Commencement of the Eighteenth Cen- tury. — In 1 701-2 we have the first authentic account of the tonnage registered in British ports, which was obtained in reply to questions addressed to the Commissioners of Customs through- out the kingdom. The total is returned as 3281 ships, estimated to measure 261,222 tons, and manned by 27,196 officers and men. Of these London possessed 559 ships, 84,882 tons, 10,065 men j Bristol, 165 ships, 17,338 tons, 2359 men, followed by Yarmouth, Exeter, Hull, Whitby, Liverpool, and Scarborough, in order averaging from 9000 to 7000 tons, and the remainder scattered over the minor ports of the kingdom ; the crews of these aver- aging one man to every eight tons, and the ships averaging 80 tons burthen. From this we see that London possessed rather more than a sixth of the ships, and a fifth of the tonnage of the whole. And yet how slow the growth of commerce up to this date has been after all the fostering care bestowed upon it ! Does it not strike us with surprise when we see what rapid strides it made later on ? ( 39 ) CHAPTER VI. PROGRESS TO END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Contents. — Queen Anne — South Sea Company — Bubble Companies — State of Shipping — Trade of American Colonies — Newfoundland — Supply of seamen — American smuggling in the West Indies — Naval operations there — Survey of the St. Lawrence by James Cook — Revolt of the States — Their independence achieved— Effect of the War on British shipping — French King's proposals for reciprocal trade — Con- vict colony in New South Wales — Trade of Liverpool — Renewal of East India Charter — State of Navigation— Reward offered for the best method of determining longitude at sea — Harrison's timekeepers — Government grants for lunar tables — Nautical Almanac. Queen Anne. — In the beginning of 1702 a.d., William the Third lost his life by an accident — a fall from his horse — and was suc- ceeded by Anne, youngest daughter of James the Second, who, like her sister Mary, had been brought up in the Protestant faith. Just before William's death the country had become once more em- broiled in a war waged between England, Holland, and the German Emperor, on the one side, and France and Spain on the other. This has been commonly called the " War of Suc- cession," and lasted through nearly the whole of Anne's reign. It was in this war that John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, won his laurels, and gave such a deadly check to the power of France. South Sea Company. — The commerce of England pursued its accustomed tracks. The two East India Companies, the English and the Dutch, now allies instead of enemies, carried on an increasing and valuable trade, and the trade between England and the American plantations grew year by year. Several Acts of Parliament were passed in aid of the latter and for the encouragement of the colonists. Regarded from a commercial point of view, the principal Act of Anne's life was the union between England and Scotland, which brought solidity to the trade of the two countries, and was the cause of future wealth and prosperity. Well would it have been for the country if all the Acts of her reign had been equally successful. The continued wars had accumulated an enormous amount of floating debt, bear- 40 THE BKITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. ing high interest, which the Government were anxious to provide for by creating a funded debt for its relief. To do this, and give a greater seeming security to subscribers, the Earl of Orford, then Prime Minister — in a.d. 1711 — created the famous " South Sea Company," which was to take over the outstanding debt of nearly ^10,000,000 sterling, to which Parliament guaranteed interest at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum, upon the credit of certain duties on spirits, tea, and other commodities. As an allurement to the subscribers a monopoly was granted to the Company of all the British trade with the coast of America, from the Orinoco southwards, round Tierra del Fuego, and up the west coast to the extreme north ; but, as the monopoly of all the coasts of Asia was in the hands of the East India Company, the South Sea Company was forbidden to send its ships further into the Pacific Ocean than 300 leagues from the American coasts. Besides this monopoly the Company's charter provided for its entering upon whale and other fisheries, and their improve- ment ; and indeed provided an open door for speculation of any kind, which in later years was carried on with such disastrous results. For the South Sea trade several large ships were built, and also a fleet of twenty-four or twenty-five whaling ships. As a security for the trade on the south and west coasts, an " assiento," or contract for the supply of slaves to the Spanish West Indies, was entered into with the Spanish monarch, who in return granted the Company protection. This proved of little service, as the people of the Spanish colonies hindered the Company's trade in every possible way, and at last went so far as to seize the great ship Prince Frederick with a valuable cargo, and confiscate all the Company's property at Yera Cruz. When peace was made with Spain in 1728 the Prince Frederick was restored and returned to England with a valuable cargo, but it was insufficient to pay for the losses incurred. Of all the voyages made by the four great ships, of which we have record, only one is said to have returned a profit. The whaling ships went out year after year for about eight years without success. This was hardly to be wondered at, see- ing that all the officers, harpooners, boat-steerers, (fee., had to be obtained from Holstein at a very heavy expense, the English seamen not knowing, or, from neglect, having lost the art of whale-fishing. This art was deemed so valuable to the nation, that, notwithstanding the failure of the South Sea Company to make it a successful business, a bounty of from £1 to £2 per ton burthen was offered by Parliament to those who built and sent out ships for the purpose, under certain conditions that in- TKADE OF AMEHICAN COLONIES. 4* sured its proper application and use. As the century progressed it became an established and valuable trade. Bubble Companies. — As a trading company the South Sea Company was a failure ; in fact, it never properly recovered from the discredit brought upon it by the crazy speculation of 1720, when fraudulent directors, by inflated promises of abnorma profits, caused such a run upon the shares as in a very few weeks sent them up to ^1000 per share, by which the directors and their friends realised enormous fortunes. This sent the whole nation frantic, and bubble companies of all kinds and descriptions were set afloat. This did not suit the directors of the South Sea Company, and they prosecuted some of these speculators for infringing their rights. Once in the law courts their own proceedings were thrown open to public gaze, and alarm became general. It did not take long for this to have an effect upon the Company. A scrutiny being made, its affairs were found to be in an absolute state of rottenness. The shares immediately fell from 1000 to 300, and thousands of persons were reduced to ruin. On an inquiry by a committee of both Houses of Parliament, the corrupt practices of the directors were brought to light, involving some of the highest personages in the land, and it was found that ^1,000,000 of fictitious stock had been created for the purpose of bribery. The estates of the directors were confiscated, and every means taken for recovery 3 but, on winding up, it was found that there was only about 33 per cent, of the subscribed capital to divide between the legitimate shareholders. Parliament came to their aid, and by sundry schemes of adjustment the pressure of loss was distributed over as large an area as possible. For many consecutive years the Parliament Roll was filled with South Sea statutes. Such was the end of an unfortunate system of financing then new to the world, which has had many suc- cessors, down even to the present day. State of Shipping. — In spite of these untoward circumstances the general shipping trade increased. It is reported that, in the six years preceding a.d. 1729, English tonnage had increased by 238,000 tons. It is difficult to reconcile such a statement with another, of about the same time, which tells us that London possessed only 141 7 ships of from 15 to 750 tons burthen, amounting altogether to 178,557 tons and 21,797 men of which there were only 213 above 200 tons. At Liverpool, on an Act being sought in 1739 to give powers to build docks and levy dues, it was stated there were 211 ships above 30 tons — from 200 to 400, seven ships — from 100 to 200, 78 ; and the remainder 90 tons and downward. 42 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Trade of American Colonies. — Again in 1731 the trade with Virginia and Maryland seems considerable, for it is said to have employed 24,000 tons that year in bringing home 60,000 hhds. of tobacco, lumber, furs, walnut wood, boards, &c. Pennsylvania was building 2000 tons of ships yearly and employed about 6000 tons. New York sent fewer ships home than the other colonies, but their cargoes were richer in furs and skins. The freight on tobacco was J£io per ton. Newfoundland. — Newfoundland, although but sparsely in- habited, was of great use asa" breeding ground " of able seamen in its fisheries. The trade of the colonies in the aggregate was said to be worth at least ;£ 1,000,000 per annum to Great Britain. Supply of Seamen. — In 1740 it is computed that there were at least 200 British ships in the trade to Maryland and Virginia. In consequence of the war which had broken out with France, mainly in consequence of trade jealousies, seamen became scarce and the protective Acts were relaxed by the Act 13 George the Second, c. 3, in favour of the employment by our merchant men of foreign sailors, who were now admitted to the extent of three-fourths, instead of one-fourth, of the crews of British ships. An induce- ment also was offered to the foreigners, whereby, after two years' service in the Royal Navy, they became naturalised Englishmen. By the same Act British seamen over fifty-five years of age or under eighteen were free from impressment, and any persons following the sea were free for the first two years at any age. Notwithstanding all inducements, legislative or otherwise, the demand for seamen was always outrunning the supply. The extension of the colonies and the constant wars created a drain which could not well be met. The King's service was not popular with seamen of the Merchant service. The length of time men had to serve without relaxation, and the rough discipline, did not suit those who were accustomed to the easy habits of the coasting-schooner, or the fishing-smack, and, whatever their hardships otherwise, to a frequent return to the village and the fireside. The difficulty of finding men for the navy caused the impress- ment of merchant sailors by King's officers. This often led to acts of violence and oppression, but its worst consequence — how- ever legal it was, and that has never been doubted — was, that the best of our sailors fled the country to escape from it, and even the Merchant service became denuded of its sufficient number of seamen. The American colonies formed an asylum into which it was diffi- cult for men of war to follow them, although the right of impress- ment was as freely used there, when occasion served, as at home. SURVEY OF ST. LAWRENCE BY JAMES COOK. 43 In 1742 an Act, 15 George the Second, c. 31, was passed which required all Colonial as well as British ships to be registered as British, and yet more strictly provided against the intrusion of any foreign ships in the trade between Britain and America or on their coasts. A very strong attempt was at this time made to upset the East India Company's Charter and throw open the trade ; but the Government thinking it would be unsafe to do this, as, in face of constant war, private traders would not be able to maintain themselves like the powerful ships of the Company in the face of the enemy, it was in 1744 a.d. renewed for another fourteen years. American Smuggling in the West Indies. — During the war between England and France and Spain, the Colonies of America, thinking more of their own gain than loyalty to the mother country, carried on a strong illicit trade with the French West Indies and the Spaniards on the Mississippi, and the Mobile, under flags of truce, in contravention of the British Acts of Parliament ; and all the endeavours of the Home Government, and any attempt the Colonial governors made to put a stop to it, failed to have any effect. The expanse of coast was too extensive to watch closely, so the smugglers slipped in and out without let or hindrance. This was the beginning of a contention between the parent country and its offspring which was doomed to beat hereafter with a stronger pulse. Naval Operations there. — A considerable portion of the naval warlike operations were carried on in the West Indies, where, before the end of the war, the Havannah had been stormed by Admiral Pococke, and the Rermione, a Spanish ship from Cuba with bullion and rich merchandise, which fetched half a million of money, had been taken by two sloops of war. In the East, Manilla was taken by General Draper and Admiral Cornish, with a force despatched from India, when a galleon worth another half-million fell a prize to the captors. Canada had fallen before the sword of General Wolff. Survey of the St. Lawrence by James Cook. — In 1763 the combatants, fully worn out, were glad to make peace ; and a treaty was concluded at Paris. France ceded Canada, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and all the islands at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain. Shortly afterwards James Cook, R.N., made a survey of the coasts of Newfound- land, Labrador and the Saint Lawrence. Cook was born in 1727 at Whitby in Yorkshire, where he was apprenticed to a linen- draper, but disliking that business he engaged himself for nine years to the master of a collier. In 1755 he joined the navy, 44 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. where by his personal merit he soon found his way to the quarter deck. Here, in the midst of warlike operations, he found time to study Euclid, and otherwise make up for a deficient education. There is reason to believe that he never attempted to draw a chart before he began the survey in 1759, which he completed to the entire satisfaction of the Admiralty. This was the Captain James Cook who afterwards became famous for his circumnaviga- tion of the world and his many discoveries. Revolt of the States. Their Independence Achieved. — After the close of the war the British Government attempted to carry out the Navigation Laws, by trying to put down the contra- band trade with the Spanish colonies with a strong hand. This was borne with a bad grace by the colonists, but might not have gone further had not an attempt been made to lay direct taxes upon them for the benefit of the mother country, who naturally thought that her offspring ought to help her out with the debts which she had contracted partially, at least, in their defence. The unfortu- nate Stamp Act of a.d. 1765, and the taxes on tea, glass, paper, colours, &c, of A.D. 1767, set fire to the match of popular indigna- tion which lit a blaze never to be quenched. A sullen endeavour to control, by a Ministry unaccustomed to rebellion and a monarch who thought himself absolute, was met by energetic defiance on the other side. The Ministry so far gave way as to repeal all the duties except that on tea, but that was not sufficient ; any tax at all was deemed by the excited colonists a badge of slavery, and to be resented as such. In a riot, blood was drawn in the streets of Boston ; overt acts of rebellion took place in quick succession, and in less than two short years the Twelve States proclaimed their independence on the 4th of J uly, 1776. For nearly eight years a desultory war was carried on, in which the colonists were aided by France, Spain, and Holland, each and all with a grievance against Great Britain, and only too glad to assist at what they believed would be the dismemberment of its empire. Fleets of American privateers covered the ocean and even ventured into the narrow seas, to the great detriment of English and Irish trade. As the war progressed the commerce of England was almost destroyed ; every ship was employed by Government either as a transport or a privateer, and it became almost im- possible to find means for the export of the English corn, which was very plentiful. It was therefore provided that neutral ships should receive half the bounty paid to the nation's own vessels for its export. The struggle was protracted until 1783, when the British nation, tired of its losses, and fearing the entire destruction of EFFECT OF THE WAK ON BRITISH SHIPPING. 4$ its commerce, almost forced the Government to give up the contest. Peace was proclaimed in September, and the States gained their freedom. Our country, although depressed to a remarkable degree, came out of the war in better plight than the other nations. During the war the French merchant shipping was destroyed and the merchants thrown into bankruptcy. Communication with the French West Indies was kept up by neutral ships, and the Spaniards were in the same plight. The French navy, dependent upon the West India trade for its supply of seamen, must have been laid up if the war had lasted another year. Effect of the War on British Shipping. — The loss of the American colonies to the mother country has been variously estimated, but perhaps on the whole it was a gain. It relieved the British Government of many costly charges and bounties granted in aid of the colonies ; and perhaps one of the most important benefits was the restoration of shipbuilding in the British shipyards, which had in a measure been sacrificed to the zeal for colonial prosperity. During the war the British yards had been well employed, and yards had been opened in Wales and other parts, which utilised the fine timber grown on the spot, and, as they could produce ships cheaper than on the Thames by from 10s. to 30s. per ton, they found plenty of customers, especially those who had been accustomed to use the cheap ships of the colonies. In addition to the utilisation of the excellent timber of these parts of the kingdom, it gave employment to numbers of young men, who were encouraged to apply them- selves to a trade upon which the prosperity of the country so much depended. To show how this had operated during the eight years of the war, Mr. Anderson gives a table showing that, at the commence- ment, the proportions of British and American-built ships on the British Registry was .2 to 1, whilst at the end of the war it was 7 to 2 ; with a total loss of about 45,000 tons on the whole ; but apparently this loss was more than compensated for by the large number of ships still in Government employ which were not included in the above figures, the average total tonnage being about 950,000 tons. It is, however, difficult to reconcile these figures with another statement at the end of the year in which it is said that the total number of ships belonging to the ports of Great Britain was 8342 of only 669,802 tons, and that the total entries of the year a.d. iy83were 1,135,674 inwards and 1,039,045 outwards. No doubt a great many ships would have been taken off the register and transferred to the United States, but these could hardly have accounted for so much as 300,000 tons. It is 46 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. very evident that all the statistics of those times were only approximations, and liable to considerable error. That the peace brought increased vitality to British trade is very evident, for the returns, commenced in 1783 and continued every year, in 1790 show the number of British ships to be 15,015 of 1,460,823 tons, having 112,556 seamen, or more than doubled in the seven years. French King's proposals for Reciprocal Trade. — At this period a curious incident occurred, foreshadowing principles which have since found a home in Britain, if no where else as yet. Louis XVI. of France began his reign in 1774 with en- lightened ideas as to necessary reforms, both constitutional and commercial, which, had he been able to put them into execution, might have saved the revolution of 15 years later that cost him his crown and life ; but the cliques of aristocrats who had enjoyed power so long were too strong for him. After the peace of 1783 he made a proposal to the British Government and others, to abolish exclusive trade, which meant not quite Free Trade as we now understand it, but a measure of reciprocity, which would admit of free intercourse between the nations. The English Ministry declined an answer to this until an answer was received from the Empress of Russia. This appears to have had no result, for two years after, when British manufacturers had made such way in France that the merchants wrote over their doors " Warehouse for English Goods," the French manufacturers and traders craved protection. The French monarch, in replying to his people's wishes, said in a most liberal spirit, that nothing could be more agreeable to his own wishes than a general liberty of trade which should permit the free circulation of the produce and manufactures of all nations, making them, as it were, but one nation in point of trade. " But," he continued, " until such a liberal system could become universally and reciprocally established, he must consult the interests of his kingdom by prohibiting the importation of white calicoes, stuffs of cotton and woollen mixed, handkerchiefs, dimities and nankeens, except those imported by the (French) East India Company's vessels licensed by a late decree." Bitterly must the English Ministry have felt their indecison in not complying with the King's desire for free trade, for this decree half ruined the English manufacturers and caused great distress to their work- people. A better feeling was allowed to prevail in a year or two, and a most liberal treaty of commerce was entered into on the 26th September 1786 at Versailles, between Mr. Eden (Lord Auckland) on behalf of England and M. de Reyneval on the part of France. This did not last long enough to prove its STATE OF NAVIGATION. 47 value to both nations, for the French Eevolution, ensuing almost immediately, upset the whole business, and such complete amity between the two nations has never been since regained. Convict Settlement in New South Wales. — The year 1787 was signalised by the settlement of a Convict Station at Port Jackson (Sydney) in New South Wales, of which Capt. Arthur Phillips was appointed the first Governor. Botany Bay had been the chosen spot, but when Phillips arrived there it was found so unsuitable for the purpose that he determined to explore the coast further to the North, and discovered the lovely harbour of Port Jackson, in which all the fleets of the world might ride in safety. This was the commencement of a colony, which has proved and will still prove invaluable to Great Britain as long as the parent and child walk together in harmony, which we may hope will be for a long period yet. Trade of Liverpool. — The trade of Liverpool had grown so great during the century, that whereas at its beginning the place was not much more than a village, it had now become the second port in the kingdom, taking the place so long held by Bristol. Between them these two towns had absorbed most of the trade with Africa, and with it the slave trade to the West Indies, upon which their merchants and shipowners had grown wealthy. Liverpool also had a large share of the American trade, and, backed by the manufacturing interest of Manchester and Lanca- shire generally, had no difficulty in outstripping her rival. Renewal of E. I. Charter. — About this period (1792) Liverpool merchants were anxious about the slave trade, which had already aroused the sympathies of Clarkson and Wilberforce, who, with their friends, were agitating for its abolition. Fearing the loss of business, and looking round for means of employing capital which had been invested in the slave trade, the merchants of Liverpool turned their attention to the East, and thought themselves entitled to an East India Company of their own ; but these wishes were not realised. The declaration of war by the French Republic against both England and Holland engrossed the attention of the nation ; the slave trade had a respite for another ten years, and the East India Company enjoyed its privileges for another twenty. For the rest of the century the war found plenty of employment for British sailors in the Royal navy, as well as in hosts of privateers. The navigation laws were once more relaxed, and foreign seamen employed in great numbers. State of Navigation. — In 1799 the number of ships returned by Anderson as belonging to the United Kingdom and its Colonies was 17,879 of 1,752,815 tons, manned by 135,237 seamen ; and the ships built in that year, 858 of 98,044 tons. 48 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Before leaving this period, it will be as well to show the progress made in the art of navigation as well as of its shipping. At the commencement of the century, the Cross staff, or its improved model the Back staff, were still the only instruments in use for the determination of altitudes at sea. Position in latitude had been fairly ascertained for the most prominent parts of the known world, but position in longitude was still in its infancy, consequently the art of cartography was in a hazy con- dition, although improvements had been slowly made. Indeed, until the middle of the eighteenth century, charts built upon the Ptolemaic principle were still in existence. The consequence of all this was that ships in finding their way about the world were dependent upon dead reckoning for their presumed differences of longitude, and it was not at all uncommon on a passage across the Atlantic for a man-of-war even to find herself five or six degrees out in longitude. The difficulty, therefore, of making the land or preserving security was precarious to the last degree, and required extreme carefulness. It was this which rendered our seamen observant of wind and weather, the signs of approach to land by discolouration of water, the presence of land birds, &c, whereas in the present state of the art of navigation, with perfect instruments and charts, little or no notice is taken of such incidents as indicators of position. Reward offered for the best Method of Determining Longitude at Sea. — In 1687 Sir Isaac Newton published his (i p r incipia," in which he developed the law of gravitation, and laid the foundation of modern astronomy ; at the same time the study of the art of navigation attracted considerable attention. The Government, acting upon the advice of Sir Isaac Newton (then President of the Royal Society) and others, passed the Act, 12 Anne, c. 15, which offered a large reward for the discovery of a correct mode of ascertaining the longitude at sea. Several schemes had been proposed — it had been attempted, e.g., to solve the problem by means of a watch or astronomical observations — but the difficulties attending these projects rendered them useless for sea purposes. As Sir Isaac Newton explained in the House of Commons " it was necessary that a watch should keep strict time, but that by reason of the motion of the ship, the variations of heat and cold, of moisture and dryness, and the difference of gravity, such a watch had never been found.'' He also explained " the difficulties of observing the occupation of Jupiter's Satellites, and the moon, &c," but concluded that the offer of such a reward would be a proper thing to pass. The offer of so high a reward as ^2 0,000 for the discovery was distinct testimony of the value placed by the Government and GOVERNMENT GRANTS FOR LUNAR TABLES. 49 the nation upon any means of meeting the much-felt want of security in navigation. Harrison's Timekeepers. — At the time when this reward was offered there lived in Yorkshire a man named John Harrison, who was, as an old writer terms him, " a heaven-born clock-maker/' then just twenty-one years of age. Stimulated by the reward, Harrison worked on laboriously for twenty years, when in 1735 he took his first machine to London and laid claim to the reward. This was sent on board a ship of the navy to Lisbon, and was found accurate enough on the return voyage to correct a degree and a half error in longitude by D.K. After making further improvements and several trials to the West Indies and back, under rigid surveillance, Harrison produced a timepiece which was accounted sufficient to meet the demands of the Act of Queen Anne, and in 1767, when over seventy years of age, he received the full reward of ^2 0,000. Government Grants for Lunar Tables. Nautical Al- manac. — It may be mentioned that the Commissioners had been empowered to expend ^2000 in experiments and that power was continued for various sums up to ^5000 until 18 18 when the last Act was passed, which continued in force until 1828, when it was repealed as no longer required. Under these Acts several sums were granted for experiments and several rewards, notably ^3000 to the widow of Professor Mayer, of Gottingen, for his improvements in Lunar Tables, and ^500 to Professor Euler of Berlin, for his assistance in the con- struction of Mayer's Tables. A Mr. Witchell also received ;£iooo to enable him to prosecute his work in the construction of a set of marine tables for the calculation of the longitude by the lunar method. That gentleman was also appointed with four others to compute an ephemeris to be published for promo- ting the sciences of Astronomy and Navigation. This was the foundation of the Nautical Almanac which was first published by Dr. Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal, in 1767, and it re- mained under his editorship for forty years. Since that it has been published under sanction of an Act of Parliament by the Lords of the Admiralty. ( 5o ) CHAPTER VII. PROGRESS DURING EARLY PART OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Contents.— Nineteenth century — The Slave trade — Hampering effect of legislation — Scarcity of seamen — Advantage of Americans as neutrals — The right of search, a cause of another American war — The Shannon and the Chesapeake — East India trade thrown open — Depression in shipping — The Reciprocity Acts — Laws regulating emigration — General revision of Marine Acts in 1825 — Low state of tonnage — China trade thrown open in 1833 — Reform Bill and its effects — Shipping Acts, 1834 and 1835 — Compulsory apprenticeship — Increase of American ships — Conduct of British shipmasters — Public meetings on shipwrecks, &c. — Royal Commission of 1836 — Report of Commissioners — W. S. Lindsay's opinion of British officers — Past training of seamen and its effects upon character — Proposed remedies — Mr. Silk Buckingham's Bill — Opposition of the shipowners — The Defeat of the Bill — Further Commissions of Inquiry — Mr. Murray's letter to Consuls abroad as to the conduct of British shipmasters — Act of 1844 — Mr. Poulett Thompson's idea of voluntary examinations — State of Marine officers compared — East India Company's officers — Ordinary shipmasters and officers — London pas- senger ships and their discipline — Education of British and foreign seamen compared. Nineteenth Century. — We now enter upon the nineteenth century, during which the progress of shipping and commerce has been phenomenal. It would take volumes to write its history, which is impossible in the space of a work like this ; therefore only the salient features which have led up to the present condition of prosperity can be given. For the first fifteen years the country was engaged in a war fought to sustain the liberties of Europe against the ambition of one of the greatest military tyrants the world had ever seen, in which our commerce was tried to its utmost limits. The Slave Trade. — One of the first important events was the suppression of the African slave trade in English ships, and by English crews. In 1807 it was abolished by 47 Geo. III. c. 36, but as by this Act only a money penalty was exacted from offenders, it had little effect. The trade was too profitable to be stopped by a mere money penalty, so in 1 8 1 1 an Act was passed declaring its pursuit by British subjects " a felony," punishable SCAKCITY OF SEAMEN. Si by fourteen years transportation or imprisonment with hard labour. In course of time even this was not sufficiently deterrent, and in 1824 the act of trading in slaves was pronounced a " piracy " and punishable capitally if committed within the Admiralty jurisdiction. The British conscience was not yet (except in the breasts of the few philanthropists, who, by their earnest pleadings at last convinced the nation of its utter wrong- fulness) taught to look upon it with abhorrence. Many of those who had been engaged in the trade gave it up with reluctance, especially when they saw other nations continuing the lucrative, though detestable, traffic. Hampering Effect of Legislation. — As an instance of the manner in which trade was hampered by legislation and monopolies, when our shipowners who engaged in the whale fishery found it profitable to proceed into the Pacific Ocean in search of fish, it was found necessary in 1802 to pass an Act of Parliament to free them from the objections made by the East India Company and the South Sea Company. During the war merchantmen were strictly forbidden, even although they were willing to run the risk, to sail without convoy. To avoid this many vessels which were good sailers and were well-manned, in the West India trade especially, took letters of marque, which enabled them to sail how and when they pleased. Large fortunes, from the high rate of freight, were made in this way, from ^20 to ^30 per ton being no uncommon rate, and at times even higher. At the same time there was a large amount of unproductive voyaging in consequence of the Navigation Laws, which was brought about by what has been called the " sole market " theory ; this was a doctrine which taught the nations to make the attempt of keeping all their own trade in their own hands, and to confine all foreign imports to their own ships, by refusing to receive the products of other countries in the ships of those countries. As long as the American colonies were a portion of the British empire, English and American vessels sailed freely between Eng- lish and American ports ; but after the separation of the States their ships were treated as foreign vessels and fell under the same restrictions. As a set off against this the young republic in 1790-2 framed their own navigation laws upon the same basis, and English ships were prevented from importing British goods into the United States. Matters continued thus until after the American War of 1812-15. Scarcity of Seamen. — The necessities of the English Naval Service during the French war created a demand for seamen which was supplied with difficulty, and impressment was enforced 52 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. without stint. Every measure was taken to encourage the in- crease of persons following the sea as a profession. The rule as to three-fourths of the crew of an English ship being Englishmen was once more relaxed, and masters and apprentices of fishing smacks were freed from impressment, as long as the number of apprentices fixed by law was maintained in each vessel ; the master was also to carry one seaman for every ten tons in his vessel free from seizure by the press gangs ; and any landsman, above 18 and under 30, who might be actually employed in fish- ing, was also free for two years. But legislation had little effect. The revolt of the American colonies had raised up an independent maritime nation, speaking the same language, ruled by the same laws and governed by the same restless energy as ourselves. What wonder then that numbers of our best seamen sought shelter, from what they deemed oppression, in the country of their cousins across the water, who, having plenty of employment for them, received them with open arms ? Advantage of Americans as Neutrals. — Moreover as both English and French ships during these years were subject to capture, it gave an immense advantage to vessels sailing under the American flag, which was largely taken advantage of in England, and much English money was invested in American ships. At home shipbuilding timber was getting scarce, and consequently ships were dear to build. Notwithstanding these diffi- culties, our own shipping had never been employed better or at higher freights, but its increase during the war was less than it had been during the immediately preceding years. This may be accounted for by extra war risks, yet, although the price of ships was very high in England, the demand was constant. In 1809 freights were as much as ^30 per ton for hemp, and other articles in proportion. Insurances amounted to 40 or even 50 per cent. The Right of Search, a Cause of another American War. — The English Government, annoyed by the wholesale deser- tion to the American ships, insisted upon their right of search for British subjects. English men-of-war overhauled them wherever met, and took out those sailors who could not make good their claim to American citizenship ; this became a prominent cause of the war declared in 181 2. This war was indeed largely fought be- tween Englishmen in the naval engagements ; in some cases brother against brother, and father against son. The " Shannon " and the " Chesapeake." — It was a calami- tous war on both sides. American commerce was temporarily destroyed, and its effect was so severely felt that the New England States, which had never favoured the war, threatened to secede EAST INDIA TRADE THROWN OPEN. 53 if peace was not made. In the course of the war several English men-of-war were taken, but in every case by vessels of much greater weight, both in men and guns. The English Government evidently undervalued the strength of their opponents, and met them with light undersized vessels, which stood little chance against the modern American ships, which outsailed and out- weighted the English on every point ; but when better ships were sent into American waters, the honour of the old flag was more than maintained. The ever memorable fight between the English frigate Shannon, and the American Chesapeake, in sight of Boston Harbour, when the latter was taken after one of the severest hand to hand fights ever known, turned the tables. In December 1814, both sides being sick of what had been a naval duel rather than a war, peace was signed.* The battle of Water- loo settled the French war six months after, and the nations laid down their arms to recruit their exhausted strength in a length- ened peace of forty years. The result of the peace with America was that the navigation laws of both countries were, as far as concerned the trade between them, mutually rescinded ; the ships of both countries were placed upon the same footing, and all discriminating duties abandoned. This was the first approach to reciprocity of trade granted by the English Government for centuries. East India Trade thrown Open. — About this time also one of the great shipping monopolies was abandoned. When the East India Company's charter was renewed in 1793, the large commercial towns, especially Liverpool, already referred to, strenuously opposed the continuance of the monopoly, and in- sisted upon the trade being thrown open, but the Government, with the commencement of a war upon its hands, of which nobody foresaw the end, carried its point, and the Company's charter was renewed for another twenty years. A sop was indeed thrown to the complainants by compelling the Company to reserve a certain amount of tonnage in their ships for private enterprise, but the limited quantity so allotted, and the high freights charged, caused such dissatisfaction that it was foreseen that in any new charter much greater concessions would have to be made. Accordingly, when the charter was renewed in 1813, by the Act 53 Geo. III. c. 155, the trade to India, under certain restrictions, was thrown open to all parts of the East except the trade with China, which, with the tea trade, was still strictly reserved to the Company. Private ships trading to the East Indies were confined to the three * This war proved ruinous to American trade, its foreign commerce being reduced from fifty to four millions in the three years. 54 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. ports of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, of all those parts subject to the government of the East India Company. Trade to the coasts and minor ports of India required a special licence from the di- rectors, and no ships under 350 tons were to be thus employed. This referred to British ships trading between the home ports and India ; but in the next year trade was opened between the East India Company's settlements and ports in North and South America (not being British plantations), Madeira, the Canaries, Cape de Verde Islands, St. Helena, and the Cape of Good Hope, but this was strictly confined to British bottoms. In 181 5 Indian country built ships were admitted to the British register. At the same time Lascars were permitted to be carried in Indian ships as long as the European part of a crew amounted to seven men for every hundred tons burthen. In 1 81 6, when the convention of reciprocity was carried out between England and the United States, ships of the latter were permitted to clear out of English ports for places in the East Indies, which permission was to last as long as the convention. In the next few years the restrictions upon trade between the English possessions were gradually relaxed, and their ships per- mitted to pass freely between them. Thus the barriers created by the "sole market'* theory were being broken down, and a door opened for freer trade everywhere. The East India Company continued to run trading ships to India for a few years longer, but at length the trade proved un- profitable, and it was abandoned to the Free Traders, as the private ships were termed. The Company maintained their own ships for military and store purposes to India and in the trade to China. Residence in India had been strictly reserved to the Company's own officers and servants, but now private traders were permitted to reside in the presidencies under licence from the Company, and the great London and Liverpool merchants soon established branch firms there. Depression in Shipping. — The effect of peace and of the American convention was to depress British shipping, so that tonnage was absolutely at a standstill for many years. There were several reasons for this ; in the first place, the accession of peace threw upon the market a large amount of tonnage which had been employed by the Government ; and, in the next place, both British and American ships, which had been travelling the Atlantic in ballast, were now getting cargoes both ways, and not nearly so much tonnage was required ; and the curious fact is seen that American tonnage was for years in the same position. On the other hand, the shipping of the British colonies, prin- cipally in Canada, doubled itself in twenty years. GENERAL REVISION OF MARINE ACTS IN 1825. 55 The Reciprocity Acts. — Another circumstance now occurred which no doubt had some effect upon shipping. In 1823 Prussia, seeing the effect of the American protest against the doctrine of exclusiveness, also retaliated and shut up her ports to British ships. This led to the passing of the Reciprocity Acts (4 Geo. IV. c. 77, and 5 Geo. IV. c. 1), which empowered the King in Council to grant reciprocity to such nations as • would place us on the same footing. Thus the back of our navigation law was broken, although it survived for some years longer. Laws regulating Emigration. — After the peace the rage for emigration once more set in, and hundreds of poor people sailed for America and Canada. It is related that their sufferings were very great, not only from ignorance of the country they were going to, but also from the brutality with which they were treated by those who undertook to take them across the ocean to their destination. Stories are told of the unfortunate passengers being cheated in every possible way, and of their being landed at places far from their desired haven. Anderson, in his history of commerce, relates how one hundred such emigrants were taken on board a sailing ship on the Clyde, landed on the Island of Rathlin in Ireland, and robbed of the five guineas paid for their passage, their clothes, and their provisions. This was quite worthy of a slave-trading age. No government supervision was extended to passengers until 181 7, when an Act — 57 Geo. III. c. 20 — was passed, forbidding ships to take more persons on board than one for every one and half tons of the registered ton- nage, including the crew \ it also provided that passengers should be landed at the place contracted for (evident proof of the fore- going tales), and that proper provisions and water should be sup- plied. In 1825 and 1826 that Act was extended, and a certain space allotted to each passenger. These Acts also provided that in vessels of only one deck, if cargo was carried in the hold, it should be platformed over, and a height of not less than $\ feet under the main-deck left for the accommodation of pas- sengers. Such a provision is itself a proof of what had been going on — viz., that the unfortunates had been tumbled down below, treated as so much more cargo, and left to shift for themselves as they best could. Can one now imagine the scene ? "What an idea it leaves on the mind of the character of certain classes of shipowners and seamen in those days ! No doubt such men thought themselves unjustly treated, and their legitimate business interfered with by Government care and supervision. General Revision of Marine Acts in 1825. — A general re- vision of all the Navigation Acts took place in 1825, when all 56 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. former Acts were repealed and summed up in a new Act — 6 Geo. IV. c. 109. In this Act the restriction as to British crews was maintained — viz., three-fourths of the crew to be British seamen ; but if one British seaman for every 20 tons was carried the rest of the crew might be foreigners. Low State of Tonnage. — This year the tonnage was at a very low ebb, much less than in 1 815, but this seems to have been the turning point. In the Atlantic trade the American ships were fast gaining the pre-eminence. Built for sailing as well as carrying, they ran off with the bulk of the passenger trades, making their passages in a much shorter time than the British built ships* With the peace the British shipowner hoped his troubles were at an end, but it was a delusive hope. He soon began to find that the dear ships built at home contrasted badly from an economical point of view with the cheaper ships of America, or the colonies ; the former he was forbidden to purchase, and the timber of Canada was very inferior to that of the States. The profits of the Indian trade enabled him to purchase and employ the first-class " river-built " ship, as those constructed on the Thames were termed, which still held their own in the eyes of Indian shippers, but in the American trade they could not compete. China Trade thrown open in 1833. — In 1833, tne East India Company lost their China Trading Charter, and henceforth the China trade was thrown open to all British subjects for ever. Their ships were all sold in the following year, and the fine old fleet of double-banked ships soon disappeared. The passenger trade from London to India was carried on by several fleets of fine passenger ships, owned by such well-known and honoured names as the Wigrams, Greens, Dunbar, Tindall, and many others ; and a few single ships which maintained their standing for some years. We now pass on to a period of growing energy and vitality. Reform Bill and its Effects. — Hitherto the landed interest of the country had been the ruling one in Imperial politics, but the growth of manufactures and of the manufacturing popula- tions, in towns and districts, was enabling traders, day by day, to compete more unmistakably with the landed proprietors and agri- culturists for power. In 1832, after a long struggle, the famous Reform Bill was passed, which threw more of that power into the hands of manufacturers and traders, and renovated the country. Intellectual activity kept pace with the political, and movements were begun which have not seen any termination, but are CONDUCT OF BRITISH SHIPMASTERS. 57 going on with ever widening circles on the ocean of life in our own day. In this enlargement of activity the Mercantile Marine partici- pated, and in the next twenty years nearly doubled itself, while the ships grew rapidly in size and number. Shipping Acts, 1834 and 1835. — In 1834, an Act, 3^4 Will. IV. c. 54, was passed, re-asserting and restricting the qualification for a British shipmaster to the natural born subjects of the Empire, or to persons naturalised by process according to law. Compulsory Apprenticeship. — Another Act, 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 19 (1835), consolidated the law relating to merchant seamen, the main features of which were a declaration that a British ship should be considered duly navigated if she had one seaman for every twenty tons of her registered tonnage, the regu- lation and binding of apprentices, and the manner of binding them to the sea service, and making it compulsory for every vessel to carry a certain number according to tonnage, that is to say:— Vessels of 80 tons and under 200 tons, one. Vessels of 200 tons and under 400 tons, two. Vessels of 400 tons and under 500 tons, three. Vessels of 500 tons and under 700 tons, four. Vessels of 700 tons and upwards, five. And for every apprentice deficient a fine of ^10 was to be inflicted. It also provided that Justices of the Peace should adjudicate upon complaints as to ill-usage, or charges of assault, &c., com- mitted on board ship by any member of a crew. This is the first Act which made the carriage of apprentices as part of a crew compulsory. By this Act also a registry of seamen was established, which is still in existence. It has fallen into dis- use, but has never been repealed, although it has been somewhat modified. Increase of American Ships. — The distressed and low con- dition of our shipping continued, and nothing seemed to avail for its restoration. The American " marine," aided by every natural advantage, except a sufficiency of native-born seamen, increased by leaps and bounds, and it appeared as if we were to be beaten upon what we proudly conceived was our own ground. Conduct of British Shipmasters. Public Meetings on Shipwrecks, &c. — Our shipowners complained of loss of trade from the undue and increasing competition of foreign ships. Our sailors complained of ill-usage, bad food, and miserable quarters ; underwriters, of the increasing and abnormal losses, which they attributed to the incompetency and recMess carelessness of those 5 8 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. in charge. Philanthropists complained of undue loss of life by shipwreck, and of brutality exercised by masters and officers upon their crews ; indeed, the whole of the British maritime world was in a state of complete unrest, and the minds of shipowners, mariners, and the benevolent public were alike exercised to find a remedy. Public meetings were held throughout the country, notably in Edinburgh, and Parliament was inundated with peti- tions to inquire into the causes of such increased loss of life. The seamen and public of Sunderland did the same, specially referring to badly constructed and worn-out ships ; marine insurance and its abuse ; and the incompetency of masters as the prevailing causes — and inter alia prayed the House of Commons to " appoint an experienced nautical committee to examine vessels, their storey, the number of their crews and their berths, and into the ability of commanders and officers" The humanitarian feelings, which had up to 1834 been fully expended upon negro slavery, were now directed with full force upon the state and condition of our fellow countrymen who " go down to the sea in ships." In that same year, at the Annual Dinner of the Royal Humane Society, Captain Hyland, after saying that " prevention of loss of life " was the text upon which their society was founded, referred " to the great loss of life at sea caused by the ignorance of shipmasters, who were entirely ignorant of the use of the sextant or chronometer ; and also by the difficulty of getting soundings from neglect of using the best instruments in- vented for the purpose." Such an expression of opinion in the City of London by one who spoke with some authority created an animated controversy. Letters were written pro and con, in attack or defence, and articles appeared in the " Edinburgh Review" and other journals of the day. Public opinion was much divided. The general public blamed the shipowner "for buying and owning imperfectly built ships and carelessness of loss being protected by over insurance ? ; the underwriter for " slack- ness of survey and gambling insurance, the greater the risk the greater the premium " ; and the masters for " ignorance, careless- ness, and insobriety." The shipowners, on the other hand, denied with vigour the allegations brought against them, and declared that the statistics upon which they were founded were erroneous ; laid all their own difficulties which prevented profitable trade at the door of foreign competition and unrestricted reciprocity (which latter had been forced upon them by the peculiarities of American trade, and in which Prussia and other European nations followed suit), and deprecated any Governmental interference with themselves in the general management of their business, or with their sole control over their masters or crews. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 59 The passing of the Act 5 and 6 Will. IV. cap. 19 (1835), rather added to than allayed the acrimony of the dispute. The ship- owners, who had begun to look upon the system of apprenticeship as an unnecessary burden, resented the compulsory system, and their advocates wrote very bitterly against it — a system which appeared to the Government the only mode of keeping up the supply of seamen for H.M. service. Royal Commission of 1836. — The consequence of this state of matters was the appointment of a Royal Commission in 1836 to consider the whole subject, and to inquire into and answer such statements and complaints as were now made respecting our Mer- cantile Marine, viz., # " That the wreckage of British ships was largely on the in- crease and, consequently, loss of life. " That foreign ships were being preferred in foreign ports to British ships, and were commanding better freights. " That the reason for this was : " That foreign ships were better built. "That foreign shipmasters were better educated and more careful; and, that L the ships were better manned than our own." A terrible indictment for the ships and the men of the first maritime nation in the world — if true ! Report of Commissioners. — After hearing voluminous evidence on the subject the Commissioners state : " That the abnormal amount of loss of life and British ships was due : — " 1 st. To a bad system of classification, which depended upon the age of the ship and not her inherent worth. " 2nd. To competition with foreign shipowners, who were able to build and sail their vessels much more cheaply than we could. " 3rd. To the bad form of ships in consequence of the bad system of measurement. " 4th. To incompetency of masters and officers. "5th. Drunkenness of officers and crews. " 6th. The system of marine insurance. " 7th. Want of harbours of refuge. " 8th. Imperfection in charts." The replies of the Commissioners referred chiefly to the question of wreckage ; but the charges against the personnel of the British marine are brought in incidentally, yet in no measured tone. Shall we say that, in regard to the charges against the British sailor, the verdict was — guilty ? One is reluctant to admit it. And yet such a Committee could hardly have come to such a con- 60 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. elusion, at least with regard to a large section of British shipmasters and officers, without just cause shown. W. S. Lindsay's Opinion of British Officers.— Even Mr. W. S. Lindsay, in discussing this subject in his History of Shipping, cautiously says : " Although it can scarcely be said that the character of British seamen degenerated from the time of the Declaration of Independence by the American colonies till towards the close of the first half of the present century, there is no doubt that those of other nations were making rapid strides in advance of them ; " and then, with his well-known " free trade proclivities, he adds, u Indeed, many causes had combined to raise alike the position of the shipowners and seamen of foreign nations, not the least of these being the protection afforded to our shipowners by the Navigation Laws ; as under that protective system, they felt it less necessary to exert themselves to contend with the foreigner as keenly as, under other circum- stances, they would surely have done." Past Training of Seamen and its Effects upon Character. / — Protection had little or nothing whatever to do with the moral degradation of either shipowner or mariner, but, if a cause must be sought, it will be found in the low state of education then existing throughout England, and the fact that too many took to a sea life to escape from books and tutors, imposed upon by the idea that, for a sailor, book learning was unnecessary. ' Throughout the preceding ages the life of the sailor was quite as much that of a fighter as of a trader. Harassed by an almost continual state of war, ships of every sort were more or less armed and crews kept upon the alert for defence against not only ships of the enemies' navies, but also a swarm of privateers and semi-piratical vessels. Armed merchantmen in their turn made use of the licence of the times and preyed upon the traders of other countries which were weak enough to be attacked. / The slave trade, in which numbers of our merchantmen engaged from the days of Hawkins onward, was not calculated to improve the habits or the morals of the men engaged in it. During the long wars a very large number of our traders carried letters of marque to enable them to prey upon the stray vessels of the enemy. The life of the sailor was one of continued excitement, ill calculated to tend to the intellectual or moral advancement of those who followed the profession. The ship- master and his officers under such circumstances were petty tyrants whose word was the law of the moment, and he who hesitated or disobeyed was at once triced up to the triangle and received his punishment, or was cut down as a mutineer whose fate no one cared for or inquired into, In such a life the steady PROPOSED REMEDIES. 6 1 eye and the strong arm were of more value than a cultivated intellect, and the latter, when found in an uncultivated state, only gave the possessor the greater power of command or even tyranny. Recovery from such a state of life could by no possibility be sudden. / Those to whom it did not commend itself, turned, like John Newton, from it in horror and disgust When wars ceased and privateering come to an end, it was difficult for the men brought up in such a school to weigh the moral effect of conduct upon themselves or their crews, and therefore an overbearing and licentious habit, incompatible with peaceful trading, for a long period after all necessity, if such there had been, for such conduct had ceased, was not only permitted, but continued to be practised until the light of reason dawned upon it, and efforts were put forth for its correction. / Another and more prevailing cause for the want of moral tone and intellectual cultivation in our seamen, was doubtless the fact that lads went to sea at a very early age with little or no education or moral training, and but few found opportunity of acquiring them in after life. There were good seamen in plenty, as seamanship — that is, the handicraft of a sailor's work, and coasting pilotage — can be acquired without much book knowledge. But the deeper parts of a navigator's art, and a thorough knowledge of the sciences upon which it is founded, as also general courtesy of behaviour and sobriety of conduct, are seldom attained without polite education and literary ability, the want of which had stamped the British sailor in the eyes of foreign nations with contempt and gave rise to the terrible revelations of his conduct as displayed in the reports of consular agents in foreign ports. /'The consequence of this was said to be shown in the fact that 4he good name of the British ship was lost ; hence foreigners everywhere got the preference for security in the handling and transmission of cargoes, and the British shipowner was fast losing his trade. /The position and character of the British sailor was the result of training rather than deliberate choice, and the immediate question which the Commissioners answered was, how were these to be improved. ' Proposed Remedies. — The evils being admitted, what were the remedies proposed by the Commission ? Inter alia, these, as affecting the mariner, viz. : (i) The formation of a Mercantile Board to regulate the affairs of the Mercantile Marine. (2) The formation of a standard of acquirement for officers by the establishment of examinations. (3) Savings Banks for seamen. 62 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. (4) Asylum for worn-out seamen. (5) Registry Offices, at which seamen's characters shall be recorded and kept. (6) Nautical Schools. (7) Courts of inquiry into shipwrecks, with power to censure and power to reward by money, medals, or otherwise. (8) Tribunals for speedy settlement of disputes. (9) Discouragement of drinking on board ship. And, lastly, attention was called to the vast superiority in officers, crews, and equipment, and consequent superior success and growth of American shipping. Mr. Silk Buckingham's Bill : Opposition of Shipowners. ■ — With the view of carrying out the proposed remedies, Mr. Buckingham, Chairman of the Committee, in 1837, brought in a Bill embracing in detail all the proposals of the Committee, which, although it received the strongest support from Mr. Joseph Hume (himself the son of a shipmaster); who at that time was posing as a "financial reformer" and the "people's friend," Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, and many others, offered a policy which was not only revolutionary in character, but too cumbersome and expensive in its working clauses. Its advocates strongly urged that it could, if read a second time, be altered in Committee ; but the Government looking askance at it, its success, as a private Bill, could hardly be hoped for. It received the uncompromising opposition of all the shipping members of the House, especially of the member for Sunderland, notwithstanding the petition of the mariners of that port, and their friends in favour of its principle. Defeat of the Bill. — Mr. Poulett Thompson, the President of the Board of Trade, in moving the rejection of the Bill, expressed the Government's sympathy with much of its intention, but could not support its details, "which," he said, "were so hopelessly bad that, in his opinion, not a clause of it would survive its com- mittal," and therefore it would be useless to take up the time of the House. In the course of his speech he threw out a hint, which, as we shall see, was not altogether lost sight of ; it was to this effect, that " he thought that it might serve a good purpose if the authorities of the Trinity House of Deptford Strond would institute voluntary examinations for shipmasters and officers." The Bill, being pressed to a division, was lost by 176 votes to 28. The debate had displayed some curious feelings. One maritime gentleman opposed the Bill because nothing was said in it as to the cause of shipwrecks. A second would not permit any examination because a great many masters would be found un- ACT OF 1844. 63 trustworthy! — and the third declared the Bill a legislative monstrosity I Further Commissions : Mr. Murray's Letters. — Mr. Buck- ingham and his friends were defeated, but neither did their opponents conquer, for between them they raised a " Franken- stein n which has outlived all its creators. The controversy con- tinued, and inquiries by the Commissioners were furthered in 1839 and again in 1843 w ^ n varied success; but the general result was to emphasise the recommendations of 1836, especially as to the education and examination of officers in the Marine. It was in 1843 tnat Mr. Murray, of the Foreign Office, issued his now famous letter of inquiry to the British Consuls in Foreign ports, as to the qualities and conduct of British shipmasters when within their jurisdiction, and especially in regard to their com- parison with foreign shipmasters. Act of 1844. — After the reports of 1836, 1839, and 1843 ignorance of the facts could no longer be pleaded, and it was plainly the duty of the Government to try and set matters right, if possible, and so alleviate the evils complained of ; yet the only answer at that time vouchsafed was the Act 7 & 8 Yict. c. 1 1 2 (1844), which further enforced the carrying of apprentices in proportion to tonnage ; required every seaman to have a register ticket ; and gave power to punish crime on board ship. In this Act the Government did not see their way to legislate decidedly upon education and examination. The thought of it was still apparently working in their minds, but the difficulty was how to do it. To make it the duty of a Governmental De- partment seemed too autocratic a proceeding towards persons not in Government employ, and to leave it in the hands of the local shipowners seemed fruitless. After the loss of the Bill of 1837, the Sunderland shipowners and masters took the law into their own hands, instituted exami- nations for themselves, and enforced regulations which had been utterly opposed by their own member in Parliament. It was also proved on evidence that private firms had instituted examination of masters and officers for themselves. One firm, Messrs. Daniel k Co., of Mincing Lane, whose ships had been remarkably free from casualties (they having lost only one ship in twenty years), attributed their success to such a plan. The Sunderland Board does not appear to have been so successful as might have been hoped, for they were accused of being " a mere pilot board for Yarmouth Boads, Hasborough Gat, and up Swin," rather than paying attention to the higher arts of navigation and nautical astronomy ; and also of favouritism towards those who presented themselves for certificates. 64 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Mr. Poulett Thompson's Idea of Voluntary Examina- tions. — The idea thrown out by Mr. Poulett Thompson in 1837 was now, however, about to bear fruit, as in August 1845, the Lords of the Privy Council for Trade issued their order establish- ing the voluntary examination of masters and mates in the Mer- cantile Marine. State of Marine Officers Compared. — Before proceeding further, and to gain a right understanding of its position, it will be necessary to take a slight survey of our mercantile marine as it had come down to us at this date. Prom the Elizabethan age there was a very evident difference between two sections of the mercantile marine — viz., those engaged in the service of the East India Company, and some few of the other great chartered com- panies on the one hand, and those employed in the ordinary trading vessels of the country generally, on the other. East India Company's Officers. — The officers of the East India Company held a unique position, second only to that of the Royal navy in importance. They were governed by special regu- lations, and almost from the commencement were entrusted by Parliament with the power of exercising military discipline ; they were also enabled to hold their own courts for the punishment of offences against discipline or crime. During the whole of the Company's trading wars were continued, and the ships were fully armed — equal in some respects to men-of-war — for even trading was only maintained by the strong hand. The officers were usually men of birth and standing, and fully as well educated as king's officers. The service was popular, and often preferred to the king's service by the sons of merchants and the gentry. They usually commenced their career as cadets or midshipmen. A fourth mate had to be twenty years of age, and must have performed one round voyage of, usually, three years as a mid- shipman. A third mate, must have sailed two round voyages and be not under twenty-one years of age. A second mate must have sailed a voyage as third or fourth mate and be not less than twenty-two years of age. Chief mates must have served one voyage as second or third mate, and be not less than twenty- three years of age. Every Commander was required to be twenty -five years of age, and must have performed one round voyage in the regular service of the Company, as chief or second mate, or have com- manded a ship in the extra service. Every officer was put through a strict examination before taking each step in pro- motion, The nominal pay was small, even of the commanders, but it was enhanced by so many privileges that their position was a LONDON PASSENGER SHIPS AND THEIR DISCIPLINE. 6$ very lucrative one. A certain amount of space in each ship was reserved for the commander, officers and petty officers upon a recognized scale, the commander getting the lion's share of some- thing more than one-half of that space; and so on in proportion to rank down to the very lowest. Ordinary Shipmasters and Officers. — In the ordinary merchant vessels, very few of which exceeded 500 tons, the simple role was that of master, mate and second mate or boat- swain (carpenters were frequently second mates also), seamen and apprentices. All commenced life before the mast and served an apprenticeship of five to seven years. It was not uncommon then for lads to go to sea at twelve years of age. There were no statutory regulations for the maintenance of duty or discipline, but the common law recognized an unbounded authority in the master over his crew. The discipline was paternal rather than military, and the rope's end was as freely used on refractory sailors as the father's rod or the schoolmaster's birch. No doubt such power was sometimes abused when out of the reach of the secular arm of the law, but on the whole it bred a race of noble and brave seamen, who, if somewhat coarse in language and manner, were always ready at duty's call, and who learnt to command through learning to obey. As a race they were not the best educated of men, although many by sheer force of character and self-education raised themselves above the crowd. It was the ignorant and careless amongst them who, by their vicious life and conduct, brought such shame upon the whole race of sailors as was displayed in consuls' letters from abroad and in evidence before the House of Commons' Committees. London Passenger Ships and their Discipline. — Such was the position of matters in regard to the personnel in the various branches of the Merchant Service up to the termination of the Company's Charter and exclusive trade to India. This had been the one principal passenger trade from London to the east, and the discipline maintained was semi-military under the sanction of Acts of Parliament. The other considerable passenger trades were those to the American continent, in which London divided the trade with Liverpool, Bristol, &c. In these the discipline was that of the ordinary merchant vessel. When the London passenger trade to the East fell into the hands of private owners whose ships were termed " Free Traders r ' in contra- distinction to those of the East India Company, many of which were commanded and officered by men who had previously served in the chartered ships of the Company and also by naval officers, thrown adrift at the end of the war in 181 5, the traditionary discipline of the Company was maintained. The ships were well E 66 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. officered and manned, and care was taken to educate young officers as midshipmen. Of course the discipline was no longer maintained by Acts of Parliament as in the Company's ships, but esprit de corps remained, and was successful in preserving it intact ; and although the officers were no longer invested with the powers of punishment accorded to the Company's officers, the moral force of character remained and had its due effect upon the crews ; for the observance of due respect and modes of discipline in the officers, as between themselves, had the effect of impressing the same upon the men, and abetter state of discipline was maintained than in the ordinary merchantman. By this it is not intended to convey the idea that there was no discipline on board the ordinary merchant ships, but it was not of so punctilious a character as in the better class of passenger ships. It was a rougher style of discipline and more readily enforced by brute strength, when supposed to be necessary, than by moral power. This difference is still to be traced in the different classes of British ships. Education of British and of Foreign Seamen. — As a comparison had been drawn between the British sailor and his foreign competitor, which appeared so much to our discredit, let us now take a glance at foreign countries, and see how matters stood with regard to their merchant officers — premising that nothing had ever been done in this country by the Government to educate our merchant sailors, or to improve their general in- telligence in any way whatever ; to bind him to serve an appren- ticeship was the utmost stretch of our national wisdom. Long before we thought it necessary to institute any test of the capability of our officers, a most perfect system, not only of examination but of education, had been in use in nearly all, if not all, the countries of Europe. In Denmark no seaman could undertake the command of a Danish vessel until he had made two foreign voyages as mate, or before he had passed an examination of the severest order. He had to prove himself an intelligent navigator by dead reckoning ; by a knowledge of astronomy, and the motions of the sun, moon, and stars, and how to find their positions ; by a knowledge of tides and currents, and a perfect knowledge of general seaman- ship. In Norway and Sweden, they had to undergo a similar examina- tion, and were required to have a general knowledge of ship's business, some knowledge of shipbuilding and the various parts of her construction, and an ability to measure a ship's capacity. In Hussia and Prussia an equally severe examination was made ; and in addition to a competent knowledge of their own language, EDUCATION OF BRITISH AND OF FOREIGN SEAMEN. 6/ and the ability to write it with accuracy, there was required some knowledge of English and French. In the Dutch ships the qualification for both masters and mates was considerable. Gentlemen of good families and superior education entered the Merchant Service of that country, and masters and mates of long- voyage ships were subjected to a severe examination. But France had gone beyond all other countries in this respect. The combination of her naval and mercantile services is very com- plete, as the officers and masters of her foreign-going ships not only pass similar examinations as the lieutenants and sub- lieutenants of the Government service, but also thereby acquire substantially the same rank. In all these countries schools had been set up in all the larger seaports, where not merely the rudiments of navigation were taught, but considerable attention was also paid to moral and in- tellectual improvement. In France, before one could obtain a certificate entitling the holder to command a foreign-going vessel, he had to attend a full course of study for at least six months at a Naval College, and not until then might he become a " Capitaine de long cours." " In America," says Mr. Consul Peter, in a report made by him upon the American Marine, " a lad intended for the higher grades of the Merchant Service, after having acquired (in addi- tion to the ordinary branches of school learning) a competent knowledge of mathematics, navigation, ship's husbandry, and generally French, is commonly apprenticed to some respectable merchant, in whose counting-house he remains a couple of years, or at least long enough to make him familiar with exchanges, and other commercial matters. He is then sent to sea as a junior mate, and gradually rises to the position of captain." He also adds : " An ignorant American native seaman was scarcely to be found"; and further " Cases of disputes between native born Americans and their captains have ever been less frequent, both in this country and abroad, than between British masters and seamen, owing in great measure to the superior education, and the more vigorous discipline, on board American ships." In the face of such educational advantages, was it any wonder that the foreign merchant sailor was a better educated man than the British, who was dependent entirely upon his own resources, and left to pick up his knowledge as best he could, unless indeed he, as sometimes happened, was a fairly well educated young man before he ever thought of going to sea ? ( 68 ) CHAPTER VIII. INSTITUTION OF VOLUNTARY AND COMPULSORY EXAMINATIONS. Contents. — Unsatisfactory condition of the British Marine — Voluntary examinations for Masters and Mates instituted by Order in Council, 1845 — Boards of Examiners — American competition and its effects — Repeal of the Corn Laws — Shipowners fight for protection — Decline in English Shipbuilding — Navigation Laws repealed, 1849 — Effect of the voluntary examinations — Compulsory examinations instituted, 1837. Unsatisfactory Condition of the British Marine. — From the preceding chapters it will be seen that the Mercantile Marine, in part at least, was evidently not in a satisfactory condition, either in respect to its ships, shipowners, or mariners. The heart of the nation had been stirred to the very bottom by the terrible cost of life incurred ; commission after commission had inquired without satisfactory results, and the Government seemed para- lysed in its actions, finding the questions involved difficult to approach, and the remedy for acknowledged evils still undis- covered. The Bill which Mr. Silk Buckingham had introduced in 1837 might have formed a good ground for legislation, although some of its details were hypercritical and unsuitable — perhaps unwork- able — but the Government of the day, backed up by the ship- owners, who, disliking any interference in the management of their property, and stating that any Government interference could only be partial and therefore unjust, opposed the second reading of the Bill and it was consigned to oblivion. The ques- tion was not, however, settled in this cavalier-like manner, and the agitation still went on. Even in 1844 the Government had not the courage to face the position, and left all reference to the education and examination of masters and officers out of the Bill of that year, which eventually passed as the Act, 7 and 8 Vict. c. 112. This Act repealed the former Act of 1835, DU ^ re-enacted most of its provisions with additions. Agreements with the crews, payment of wages, the supply of medicines, punishment of desertion, BOARD OF EXAMINERS— VOLUNTARY. 69 were strictly enforced ; it maintained the registry of all seamen, and the compulsory apprenticeship according to tonnage, regu- lated the punishment of assaults committed on board ship, and provided for a survey of provisions upon the complaint of three or more of the crew. The debates upon this Act had aroused in the minds of the Government a sense of the propriety, as well as the necessity, for taking some action in the question of the education and super- vision of officers in the merchant service, but instead of immediate legislation they fell back upon Mr. Poulett Thompson's idea of the institution of voluntary examinations, and determined to set on foot a scheme for carrying that idea into effect. Voluntary Examination for Masters and Mates Insti- tuted. — In 1845 the first step was taken in connection with the officers. Under an Order in Council, dated August 19, 1845, the Board of Trade made arrangements and regulations for examining masters and mates in the Merchant Service who should voluntarily offer themselves for examination. These regulations acknowledged only the two classes, masters and mates, and to each was allotted three divisions or classes, evidently intended to apply to the class of vessel in which the recipients of the certificates were supposed to serve. To masters who showed higher attainments than those demanded to satisfy the first class, a certificate marked " Class I. — Extra," was to be supplied. The examination for mate3 was to be based upon items required for masters of the same class, permitting them, under certain contingencies, to become substitutes for the masters. Board of Examiners. — The Boards appointed to conduct the examinations (which service was performed voluntarily) were the Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Stroud, for London ; the Branch Boards, consisting of the Sub-Commis- sioners of Pilotage, at Beaumaris, Gloucester, Milford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Great Yarmouth; the Corporation of the Trinity House at Hull, Newcastle, and at Leith ; the Board for licensing pilots at Glasgow and Liverpool ; and the Ballast Board of Dublin. At Dundee and Shields (North and South), committees of competent persons were appointed. The actual examiners were to be members of the Boards, or proper persons appointed or employed by them respectively. A curriculum of the conditions and subjects of examination was laid down by the Order in Council, and it was then left to the Boards to conduct their examinations in their own manner. JO THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. In London the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House appointed four of their number examiners, who were assisted by a very able mathematician, Boulter J. Bell, as scientific examiner. This example was followed by most of the other Boards ; but some appointed nautical, as well as scientific, examiners — some none at all. Under the regulations addressed by the Board of Trade to the Boards of Examiners, we find that the examinations were divided into three classes for both masters and mates, and were evidently intended to apply to the officers of three distinct classes of vessels, although not expressly so. First class. — To ships engaged in the Indian and other oversea voyages south of the Equator. Second class. — To ships engaged in over-sea voyages north of the Equator, the Mediterranean, &c. Third class. — Coasting voyages, the north of Europe, and the Baltic. In this, to a certain extent, the same course was pursued as was found in practice in other European maritime countries, and it was undoubtedly relevant to the then existing state of the Marine, which was still comprised principally of sailing ships, and certainly to the general state of education found in the officers of these separate classes. It must be remembered that at this time there was no single department with control over mercantile naval affairs, so the carrying out of the order was entrusted in the principal ports to such bodies, or marine corporations, as were in existence. Of those who presented themselves for examination, masters were " to be 21 years of age, and must have served at sea not less than six years,'' and mates were " to be 19 years of age, and to have served four years." In the first order nothing was said as to the capacity in which the candidates had served for the stipulated periods ; but on the 1st of May, 1849, it was ordered that the can- didates for mastership must have served at least one year as first mate or two years as second mate ; satisfactory certificates of service had to be produced for these periods, and particular stress was laid upon evidence of habitual sobriety. On proceeding to examination the first requirement for every candidate was " that he must be able to write a legible hand and understand the first five rules of arithmetic." All were to be examined as to their knowledge of seamanship, ,. the rigging of vessels, the stowing of holds, &c. &c, and in navigation and nautical astronomy ; those who were to be ad- mitted to the lowest class of masters, viz., the third class, were " to be able to correct the courses steered by compass for varia- BOARD OF EXAMINERS— VOLUNTARY. 7 1 tion, leeway, etc. ; to work what is termed a day's tvork ; to prick off the vessel's place on the chart, either by the calculated latitude or longitude, or by the bearings of the land by compass; to under- stand the use of the quadrant or sextant ; to observe the sun's meridian altitude, and therefrom determine the latitude ; to work the tides by the age of the moon from the known time of high water at full and change ; " or, so much of the art of navigation, ifec, as would be required in practice on the voyages which took the navigator off the coasts for very short periods or distances. The second class examination was about on a par with those of the present ordinary master, as far as related to seamanship, navigation, and nautical astronomy, but was not so complete in magnetism, compass deviation, &c, as at present known. * The first class was equal to that of the present master extra, and the candidates were required " to show proficiency in all the practical branches of nautical astronomy, and also in seamanship in such cases as called for a higher order of resources ; " but further, they were also to have " a competent acquaintance with geometry and plane trigonometry ; they were to understand the construction of Mercator's charts so as to be able to correct any errors they may detect in those they possess ; and also to have a knowledge of mercantile book-keeping at least by single entry" In the event of a candidate for a first class master's certificate " proving himself to have still higher attainments, such as being well versed in great circle sailing (then being used more exten- sively, especially in southern voyages), spherical trigonometry, marine surveying, and a more extensive knowledge of astronomy, it was to be noted on the certificate, and entitled the bearer to first class extra. " The examination of mates in each class was to be on the same lines as those for masters, but extreme proficiency was not so rigorously exacted. Although not specified in the Board of Trade regulations, the Trinity House authorities exacted an examination in the pilotage, lights, and soundings of the English and the mouth of the St. George's channels, as had been customary in the examination of officers in the Honourable East India Company's service. Beyond issuing the order, the Lords of the Committee for Trade made no further attempt to interfere, but left each Board of Examiners to carry out the order in the manner they deemed most suitable ; each scientific examiner formulating his own scheme of examination to suit the order in each case. On the promulgation of the order of 1845, many of the various bodies addressed appointed examiners and set earnestly to work to carry it out. The van was led by the London Trinity House, 72 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. with Dundee close upon its heels; followed early in 1846 by Plymouth, South Shields, and Newcastle; with Portsmouth, Glasgow, Leith, and Liverpool later on in the year. " These regulations," says the Registrar-General of Seamen in the introduction to The Mercantile Navy List (then an official publication) " are called for, not only by the very general expres- sion of opinion that those in charge of life and property should possess the qualification necessary for so important a trust, but in order the better to enable masters of British vessels to compete with foreigners for freight in the markets of the world, by the pro- duction of satisfactory credentials as to their competency." Notwithstanding the value of such intentions the order was not so warmly received or acknowledged by the shipping community as it might have been. As for the shipowners, any interference with their power of appointing whom they pleased as their servants was the last thing they desired ; and for the masters and officers themselves, they, with few exceptions, contemned the whole business — " as if seamen could be proved by examina- tion ! " The candidates for examination did not come forward quite so freely as the promoters had hoped, and the Government soon felt that external pressure was needed. By the end of 1846 not quite 200, in the various ranks and classes, had passed — about one half of that number in London, and the remainder in the out-ports — so at last the whip was applied. The Admiralty issued an order u that on and after the 23rd of March, 1847, no vessel shall be taken up as a transport, convict ship, or freight ship unless the master and mates have obtained the required certificates ; " and this regulation was soon extended to vessels carrying H.M. mails, transports and others over which the Government exercised control. This had a visible effect upon the number of candidates, as in 1847 nearly 400 presented them- selves and passed, and there is no doubt that all who felt them- selves capable were doing so in London and some of the ports at least. The numbers increased as the years passed on, and at the end of 1850 more than 3000 had passed, including almost all of the officers holding the higher positions in the mail and other contract Government services. There were several of these who had passed two examinations, but according to Mr. Murton there were in existence at the end of that year 2610 who exchanged their old certificates for new ones granted by the Board of Trade, in which were retained the classes under which the holders had passed the voluntary examination. Out of that number there were just 500 who held 1st class and 1st class extra, and 1530 second class (of whom several took the master extra subsequently AMERICAN COMPETITION AND ITS EFFECTS. 73 under the new regulations) and the rest were 3rd class masters and officers. The standard of examination at the Trinity House was of a very high order, whatever it might have been at the out-ports, requiring a very considerable mathematical training and know- ledge. The examinations were conducted in such a manner as not only to test the accuracy of the candidates, but also their ex- perience ; and it need hardly be said that scarcely a man went up to pass these examinations who had not been putting into practice all the subjects, more or less, upon which he was to be examined, and needed little or no special training. Before passing from this subject it may be useful to review the work done by the Voluntary Boards, as a " Mercantile Navy List" for June 1850, affords the required information. As already stated, the matter and manner of the examinations were left to the discretion of the various local boards so long as the general curriculum was fulfilled. A table, showing all the passes at the various ports in each year down to the end of the year 1849, will he found in the Appendix.* The result is very curious, and would seem to show that the London men were far behind those of many of the out-ports. But this was really not the case. The explanation is that men were passed as extra masters at the out-ports upon a much lower standard of ex- amination. An example of this may be given. A master of a first class mail-line (no board of examination at the port from which he hailed having been established, when the Admiralty promulgated the order that all masters of mail and contract ships must pass and receive certificates of competency), was sent to London to pass. He did so, but could only get a first class certificate, not being able to pass the Trinity House extra first examination. Upon this coming to the knowledge of the owners of the line immediate steps were taken to set up a Board of Examiners at that port, and every other master in the service was passed as a first class extra master right away. This had the effect of attracting the attention of the Board of Trade authorities, who soon put their own value upon it, and when the examinations became compulsory they took care that they should be as nearly as possible upon the same lines in all the ports, although from what came to light in later years it was not easily attained. American Competition and its Effects. — At this period the reciprocity laws were in full swing with most European countries as well as America, and the effect is visible in the growing pro- portion of foreign clearances — 29 per cent, in 1845. * Appendix C. 74 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. The Americans, with unlimited supplies of timber at hand, built finer and cheaper vessels than were produced in England, and soon after the opening of the trade between the two countries placed upon the Atlantic a splendid line of packets, which per- formed the passage in several days less than ours, and carried off a very large share of the trade. Our shipowners felt the pinch of the foreign shoe more than ever, and unrest prevailed ; complaints were made that the Eng- lish ships were not what they ought to be. Foreigners were everywhere being preferred to British vessels, as being better handled and delivering their cargoes in better condition. Dissatisfaction reigned supreme at the thought that we were being beaten out of the field we fondly hoped was our own. Royal commissions enquired into wrecks, the management and manning of ships, and everything connected with the Mercan- tile Marine. Seamen were said to be scarce, and certainly large numbers were joining American ships (who were the pick of our men), in w T hich, although the work was hard, the pay, food, and treatment on the whole were superior to our own. To provide for this and to increase the number of sailors an Act was passed (7 & 8 Yict. c. 112) — compelling ships to carry apprentices in proportion to their tonnage, and authorising parish authorities to bind as apprentices to the sea such pauper boys as they wished to get rid of. Besides this, all sorts of nostrums were prescribed, without much effect, and were soon followed by the most drastic measures. Repeal of the Corn Laws. — The manufacturing interests now became exceedingly powerful, and the manufacturers, led by Cobden and Bright, clamouring for cheap bread to enable them to keep down wages, succeeded in having all restriction upon corn withdrawn, and in 1846 the Corn Law r s were repealed. Having got in the thin edge of the wedge, and setting their faces against all protection, they set on foot an agitation for the repeal of the Navigation Acts, to get cheap carriage for their wares, and cheap cotton for their mills. Shipowners Fight for Protection. — The shipowners fought hard for protection, conscientiously believing that their very existence depended upon it. Their great objection was that ships could be built much cheaper in many foreign parts than was possible in Britain, viz., in Dant- zig f cr jQ 1 o per ton, in the States for ^12, and in Canada for less ; whereas a British ship could not be built for less than ^15. Decline in English Shipbuilding. — In fact the returns show that there were fewer vessels built in England in 1845 than in 1835 by thousands of tons. No less than forty shipbuilders had EFFECT OF THE VOLUNTARY EXAMINATIONS. 75 failed in Sunderland between 1841 and 1847. English wooden shipbuilding was killed by the cheap foreign and colonial timber, and it was not until the sound of the adze was replaced by the sound of the hammer that Sunderland recovered her trade. Navigation Laws Repealed. — Despite all the opposition and outcry of the shipbuilders and shipowners, the Free Traders bore all before them, proclaiming loudly that when foreign nations dis- covered beyond all doubt that England was advancing on the path of Free Trade they would gladly follow the example, and com- merce would reign throughout the world free and unshackled ! The spirit of the times was in their favour, and in 1849 the nay i- gation laws were repealed, and our foreign trade thrown open to the world. Effect of the Voluntary Examinations. — Reference has already been made to a letter written by Mr. Murray, of the Foreign Office, to consuls abroad relative to British shipmasters. The answers to it revealed a state of matters not at all pleasant to contemplate. To cite them here would involve too lengthened a space, but it will suffice to say that they were laid before Parliament in 1848, together with Mr. Murray's report which states his conclusions, as follows : " 1. That the character of British shipping has declined, and that of foreign shipping had improved. " 2. That there was not sufficient control over British ship- masters either at home or abroad, while foreign vessels were subject to considerable control. "3. That there was no system of regular education for the merchant service of Great Britain, but that in foreign countries this matter was much attended to. "4. That the sort of education w T hich a British subject receives when training for the higher grades of the merchant service, does not suffice to qualify him to represent with advantage the mer- chant by whom he may be employed in that merchant's interest, and that he may often neglect those interests, and the merchant not be aware of the fact. " What was wanted," he continues, "was not merely a study of navigation and seamanship, but a thorough knowledge of ship's husbandry, and of the stowage of cargoes, of exchanges, and other commercial information which would qualify the master to act if necessary as the representative of his employer in the character of merchant ; the commander of a ship being, in law, considered the representative of the owners of the property on board." When the report was published, the .shipowners strongly objected to it, and alleged that Mr. Murray's letter was couched in unfair language, as it seemed to put words into the mouths of 76 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. the Consuls, which would naturally direct their answers partially and unfairly — that it had the effect of drawing attention to the bad features in the character of British mariners to the neglect of the good. We cannot sum up that matter better, perhaps, than in the words of Mr. Lindsay, who may be looked upon as an impartial authority, especially from the shipowners' point of view. " Strong objections," he says, " were, however, raised by the shipowners against any Government interference, on the ground that it would be partial, and, consequently so far, unjust; these objections being naturally strengthened by the manner in which Mr. Murray had set about the inquiry of 1843. " It was, nevertheless, but too evident that, however much British shipowners might deprecate the assistance or interference of Government, a large proportion of their ships were com- manded and navigated in a manner reflecting discredit on our national intelligence, and injurious to the interests of Great Britain ; that the persons placed in command of them were too frequently unfit for their duties, and that while many of them were so habitually addicted to drunkenness as to be altogether incompetent for their position, not a few of them were almost without education." Mr. Lindsay's summing-up of the evidence is most valuable, for not only were his sympathies largely on the side of the ship- owner, as evidenced through his whole life work, but, as he had raised and educated himself from being a poor cabin-boy up to the proud position he afterwards attained, literally by his own exertions, he could also witness to the trials and difficulties inherent to the position of the British mariner, officer, and master, and sympathise with them. There was humour in him, too, for he says in a note : " In my own time I remember a ship- owner saying to me that he never would have a * scholar ' in command of any of his vessels, because education taught him how to make up false accounts and the art of cheating ; while another whom I knew only retained one ' educated ' master in his service, because he was flattered by being invariably addressed as Mr. Joseph Perkins, Esquire ! " Compulsory Examinations Instituted, 1851. — Judged of at this distance of time, there can be no doubt that these consular reports must have applied to a portion only of British ship- masters, at the same time they left no doubt in the public mind as to the necessity for regulating the education and qualification of shipmasters and officers in a manner that had not been hitherto attempted. Consequently, the Government, encouraged by the success of the voluntary examinations so far as they had gone, COMPULSORY EXAMINATIONS INSTITUTED, 1851. 77 and with the opposition of the shipowners disarmed by Mr. Murray's report, had no difficulty in passing the Act 13 & 14 Vict. c. 93, during the session of 1850, which made the exami- nation of mercantile marine officers, who sought appointments higher than those they had previously held, obligatory after the 1st of January, 185 1. This Act formulated the system of examinations and accepted the certificates that had already been granted by the voluntary boards as valid, but recalled them, and new certificates were issued by the Board of Trade, which stated the class for which they were exchanged. Finding from the experience of the attempt to make many of the older shipmasters pass an examination, in response to the Admiralty orders in regard to Government contract vessels, their inability or unwillingness to do so, the larger number of those already serving were granted certificates of service. All idea of the classification of ships and officers was abandoned, and it was settled that all the future officers of foreign-going ships, irrespective of voyage or service, should be examined as for "second mates," lc first mates," or " masters," to whom the appellation of " ordinary " was applied in contradistinction to the " master extra," to which step any master might voluntarily pro- ceed. The requirements for any " ordinary master's " certificate were placed on about a par with those for a master of the second class in the voluntary scheme of examination ; and that for the " master extra " with what had been required for the " first class master," with this exception — that no reference was made to geometry or trigonometry, plane^or spherical — that is to say, all reference to the sciences upon which the art of navigation is founded were dropped out of sight, and have never since been revived. There was no regulation making the "extra" in any sense compulsory, although a faint attempt at classification seemed to be foreshadowed in the regulations as to extra masters, which said " it was intended for such persons as are desirous of obtaining command of ships and steamers of the first class." This kind of hinting regulation became a dead letter, as an ordinary master's certificate carried him all over the world, in all classes of foreign-going ships \ and to navigate the Baltic (which is little better than a coasting voyage) required, and still requires, as stiff an examination as for long over-sea voyages to India, China, or the Pacific seas and coasts. The effect of this change was not to bring up the education of the former, but to degrade the standard of the latter. The owners of first-class vessels may demand the extra or not, as they please, the Government does not interfere. 78 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE, Let us now, for a moment, consider the necessary qualifications of age and service which entitles the candidate to apply for examination. From the printed regulations of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, we find that a second mate must have served four years actually at sea (the breaks between the voyages not counting), and such service must be proved from his record in the office of the Registrar-General of Seamen and Shipping. He must also have certificates of ability and good conduct, and particularly of habitual sobriety from his former masters or employers. In respect to the foregoing rule regarding actual sea service, there are two exceptions to be noted — the first is in regard to indentured apprentices for the term of four years or more in one employ, when four-fifths of that time is actually served at sea ; and the second is applicable to time served on board training ships, part of which is to count as sea service not exceeding one year. It is not, however, compulsory that the four years be served as a seaman, or seaman apprentice, for by Rule 24* the time may have been spent as a cook, steward, or carpenter, &c, as long as the Board of Trade or a Local Marine Board is satisfied that the party applying has a good knowledge of seamanship. This (the regulation says) " may possibly be proved by the production of satisfactory certificates from masters whom the applicants have served." Failing that, the applicant may be called upon to per- form additional service in the capacity of " able or ordinary sea- man." Now, when we consider that no man is entitled to the rating of A.B. unless he has served " four years before the mast " (see 43 & 44 Victoria, cap. 16, sec. 7), we are landed in the intricacies of a considerable puzzle; and the qualification for second mate, may, from a seaman's point of view, be something less than that for an A.B. Service in an engine-room excludes from the rank of deck officer (see Regulation 27). In addition to the limitations of service, there is also one of age. No person can apply for a second mate's certificate until he is seventeen years old. To make this of any value to the appli- cant he must have gone to sea before he was thirteen. A first or only mate must be nineteen years of age and have served five years at sea, one of which must have been as second mate, or as third or fourth mate, if he has had charge of a watch * Of the regulations of 1888. Since this was written, by the newer code of 1894, time as a steward is not allowed to count, and for the cook, car- penter, or sail maker, six years' service is required instead of four. Cooks not serving as seamen are precluded. COMPULSORY EXAMINATIONS INSTITUTED, 1351. 79 during the required period, and been in possession of a second mate's certificate the whole time. A master must be twenty-one years of age, and have served six years ; one as first mate, and one as second ; or six years and a half at sea, two and a half of which must have been as second mate, during the last twelve months of which he must have been in possession of a first mate's certificate, &c. By the same Act the Marine Department of the Board of Trade was created, and to it was entrusted the power of carrying its provisions into force. Local Marine Boards were appointed at all the prominent ports, the members of which were partly appointed by the Crown, and partly chosen by the registered ship- owners. The municipal authorities were also acknowledged by making their mayors or provosts ex officio members, and the judicial courts by the appointment of the stipendiary magistrates or sheriffs in the same manner. The public bodies, Trinity Houses, Ballast and Pilot Boards, &c., by whom the examiners under the Order in Council had been appointed, were set aside, and these duties were hereafter, with many others now for the first time created, entrusted to the semi- representative local marine boards, acting, however, under the central control of the Board of Trade, who issued regulations for general guidance. In doing this it became a serious consideration as to the standard which could possibly be maintained. Guided by the light of the past five years' experience, it was very evident that such examinations as had been enforced at the Trinity House, and elsewhere, could not be maintained with immediate success ; so the new regulations for the guidance of the local marine boards and their examiners were a decided step down from those which were issued under the Order in Council of 1845. The officials of the Marine Department seemed to deplore the necessity for this, for the warning was issued at the same time that " it is the inten- tion of the Board of Trade to raise the standard from time to time, whenever, as will no doubt be the case, the general attain- ments of the officers of the merchant service shall render it possible to do so without inconvenience ; " and these gentlemen evidently thought that an educational renaissance would be begun, and bear fruit, to enable them to do so by the mere warning. We shall see, by-and-by, how far their sanguine hopes have been justified. ( 8o ) OF THE ^ UNIVERSITY ) CHAPTER IX. THE KISE AND PROGRESS OF STEAM PROPULSION. Contents. — Rise and progress of ship propulsion — Blasco Garay — James Watt — Newcomen's engine — Henry Bell — the Comet — The Bob Roy — The Enterprise reaches Calcutta — Iron as a material for Shipbuilding — The Leviathan class of steamers — Dr. Lardner and steam across the Atlantic — The Sirius and Great Western cross successfully — Francis P. Smith's screw propeller — New Steamship Companies — The Cunard and other lines — The Great Britain — The screw propeller superior to the paddle — The Collins line— The advance of steam steadily progressive. Rise and Progress of Ship Propulsion. — In the early ages the chief mode of propelling vessels was, undoubtedly, the oar, or paddle, and we may suppose that the inception of the use of sail- power would arise from some tired rowers sticking up an oar, or paddle, and spreading upon it a handy garment, to help them along over some lazily- flowing stream. From this, man would, step by step, be encouraged to make further use of the winds of heaven as a means of propulsion, and sail-power grew in general perfection and adaptability from the one mast with its almost square-headed sail, fitted only for taking advantage of a wind which was fair, up to the magnificent rig of the modern ship, with its three or four masts, numberless yards, and wonderful cloud of canvas, capable of doing almost anything but proceed in the eye of the wind. For long ages men's brains were puzzled in attempting to over- come this difficulty, and attempts were evidently made, very early in the Christian era, to accomplish ship propulsion by means of wheels hung over the ship's side, and attached to hand- gear with- in the vessel. This is proved by several drawings handed down to us from the Middle Ages. Blasco Garay. — The first really important attempt, of which we have any account, was made by a Spaniard, one Blasco Garay, who made some experiments on a vessel with paddle wheels, in the harbour of Barcelona, in the middle of the sixteenth century. The vessel he employed was one of about 200 tons, named the JAMES WATT. 8 1 Trinity, and the trial was made on June 17, 1543. It has been asserted that the power he used was steam, and that he had a boiling cauldron on board, but he would not permit any one to see his machinery. On the face of it, it could hardly have been steam power that was used, as a boiler, or cauldron, large enough to generate steam sufficient to move a vessel of 200 tons, could hardly have been put on board without being seen, although some writers have confidently stated that it was so. The archives of Spain have been well ransacked for proof of the assertion, but none is forthcoming. There is abundant evidence that Garay made some experiments with paddle-wheels, and whatever the power employed, the attempt was deemed worthy of reward by the Spanish Government, although nothing more came of it at the time. The idea of paddle-wheel propulsion slept for more than two centuries, waiting for the evolution of that present handmaid of the world — the power of steam. James Watt. — The very mention of this power raises before our eyes visions of that wonderful man, James Watt, mathe- matical instrument maker to Glasgow College, working in his little room within the college precincts — boiling his kettle, and studying the properties of latent steam — manufacturing model engine after model engine — until he, as it were by an inspiration, lit upon the condensation of steam in a vessel separate from the cylinder. Newcomen's Engine. — This had been done in Newcomen's engine by injecting water into the cylinder itself at each stroke, but the alternate heating and cooling of the cylinder, and all its parts, created such wastefulness of fuel that the cost was almost prohibitory of its useful application. It was said to have required 12 to 14 lbs. of coal to produce an effective horse- power. In 1763, Watt was supplied with a model of Newcomen's engine, the defects in which soon became apparent to him, and he brooded over his experiments with it for many a day. Walk- ing one Sunday afternoon upon Glasgow Green, in the spring of 1765, his thoughts were running on his experiments, when like a ray from heaven the idea of the separate condenser flashed upon him and the difficulty was solved. At last the world had presented to it a workable steam engine, and its practical application to ship propulsion was brought to a successful issue by Fulton in America, and Henry Bell in Scotland. Many attempts were made by others, but without any very practical results. Henry Bell. The " Comet." — Some time in 181 1 Henry Bell, who, although not a mechanic himself, had pursued the 82 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. idea of steani propulsion for ships for some years, entered into negotiation with Messrs. John and Charles Wood, of Port Glasgow, to build for him a vessel to be propelled by steam- power, and the Comet was built and launched in 1812. Her dimensions were 40 ft. keel, 10 ft. 6 in. beam, and 25 tons burthen. The engine was made by John Robertson, of Glasgow, and the boiler at the works of Messrs. Anderson, Campbell and Co., of Greenock, of which firm Messrs. Caird & Co. are the legitimate successors.* Many difficulties had to be overcome, principally from mechanical and practical inexperience, before the Comet was finally ready "to ply, by the combined powers of air, wind and steam," as Henry Bell's advertisement quaintly puts it. These were, however, at last subdued, and the Comet began her voyages between Glasgow and Greenock. The venture was successful, and, as steamers are now fast superseding sailing- ships all the world over, so, from the moment she started, the days of the old-fashioned " fly-boats " of the Clyde were numbered. She was the forerunner of a new era, and the commencement of a silent' revolution destined to have more effect upon the wealth and comfort of mankind, and the civilization of the world, than all the efforts of the greatest conquerors from Alexander the Great downwards — more than all the discoveries of Galileo or Newton — or the physical researches of Bacon, or Des Cartes, and a host of followers ; — a revolution which has brought man into touch with his brother man all the world , over, and helped on that grand ideal which, although to our eyes yet far distant, shall teach men " to beat their spears into pruning-hooks and their swords into ploughshares." The Comet began to ply in 181 2, and several steamers were built in 1 81 3-14. The oldest steamer in existence, the Industry, was built in 1 8 14 — it is said at Fairlie on the Clyde — and her engine was . made by Thompson of Glasgow. She continued to ply as a luggage-boat, between Glasgow and Greenock, down to the year 1862. The original spur-wheel gearing, coupling the main-shaft to the paddle-shafts, was in use to the last. Her hull is still lying at Bowling, on the Clyde. Another boat built in this year was the Marjory, by William * The Comet's engine is supposed to be the one shown as hers in the South Kensington Museum. There is also another at the Stoboross Engine Works, Glasgow, which claims the honour. As to which it is really due, we must leave the respective owners to decide, but it is hardly worth much controversy, as, in the main, they are counterparts of each other. THE "ROB ROY." 83 Benny, of Dumbarton. Her dimensions were 63 ft. long by 12 ft. breadth of beam, and her engine was a single side lever of 10 H.P., by Cook, of Glasgow. She is principally to be noted as the first steamer put upon the Thames, where she encountered a very violent opposition from the " watermen," always a notoriously conservative body. She plied successfully with passengers between London and Margate for a number of years. The " Rob Roy." — The next most interesting vessel was the Rob Roy ', built at Dumbarton in 1818, by William Denny, and was the first steamer built for over-sea trade. She was 90 tons burthen, and had an engine of 30 H.P., constructed by the afterwards celebrated engineer, Mr. David Napier, of Glasgow and London. The Rob Roy was the first steamer that plied between Glasgow and Belfast. After remaining in this trade for some time, she was transferred to Dover, and, renamed the Henri Quatre, was the first mail steamer which plied between that port and Calais. It is said that Mr. David Napier, before deciding upon building this steamer, crossed in a sailing-ship to Belfast in a heavy breeze, with the intention of watching the effect of the waves upon a vessel at sea, and became convinced that steam-power could be employed to overcome them. He then made several experiments upon model boats, and as a result, determined to give his proposed steamer a sharper entrance than had been usual in the river steamers. In 18 1 9, Mr. Napier had built, by Messrs. Wood, of Port Glasgow, the Talbot, of 150 tons, which was fitted with a pair of his side lever engines, of 30 H.P. each. She was the first vessel placed upon the station between Holyhead and Dublin, and appears to have been an efficient vessel. In the same year Mr. Napier established the first steam traffic between Glasgow and Liverpool, with the Robert Bruce, a similar vessel to the Talbot. The first steamer entered in Lloyd's Book was the James Watt, 146 ft. long, and 25 ft. beam, built by the Messrs. Wood, in 1822. She was entered there as of 294 tons, but another authority describes her as of 448 tons. Her engines were by Messrs. Boulton and Watt, of Soho Foundry, Birmingham, and of 50 H.P. each. Her speed was said to be 10 miles per hour. Lloyd's officials, apparently, did not take upon themselves any interference with, or supervision of, the building of the early steamships; but the extension of the coasting lines, and the necessity for insurance brought them under their surveillance, 84 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. and it soon extended. In 1830, we find no less than 81 steamers in Lloyd's book, and in 1832, 100. The " Enterprise " reaches Calcutta. — In 1825 there was built upon the Thames a steamship named the Enterprise. She was built for the purpose of attempting the voyage to India, and sailed from Falmouth in the month of August, in that year, under the command of a Captain Johnson. Her tonnage is stated to have been 500, and she was propelled by engines of 120 H.P. Captain Johnson navigated her successfully to Calcutta, and received a gratuity of ;£ 10,000 from the Govern- ment for doing so. Iron as a Material for Shipbuilding. — Another change of great importance took place about this time — viz., the use of iron as a material for shipbuilding instead of wood. So far back as 1809, Richard Trevithick and Robert Dickenson had proposed a scheme for building large ships " with decks, beams, and sides of plate iron;" and in 18 15 Dickenson patented an invention for " boats to be built of iron, with a hollow water-tight gunwale." The first iron steamer, the Aaron Manby, was built in parts at Horsley in 182 1, then taken to London, rebuilt and launched there. She was owned by Mr. Manby and Captain (afterwards Admiral Sir) Charles Napier, R.N"., and by the latter was taken to France, and sold to the French. The Shannon Steam Packet Company were the first to employ iron steamers in river navigation in 1824. In 1832 Laird built the Elburkah for the Niger. The use of iron did not find favour at the outset, and progress in iron shipbuilding was slow, for it was not until the year 1837 that a vessel built of iron is noted in Lloyd's book. This was the steamer Sirius, of 1 80 tons, which was built in London for French owners at Marseilles. In the same year, Messrs. Laird & Co., of Liverpool, constructed the first iron steamer owned by the General Steam Navigation Company — the Rainbow, 185 ft. in length, and 25 ft. beam ; of 600 tons and 180 H.P. These examples were not very rapidly followed. The late Mr. Scott Russell has left it on record that, talking once to an eminent naval architect, the head of one of her Majesty's royal dockyards, about the prospects of ships being built of iron for war purposes, he replied, with some indignation, "Don't talk to me of iron ships; it's contrary to nature ! " The danger of explosion in steamships seems from a very early stage to have caused alarm ; so much so, that the House of Com- mons in 1 8 1 7 appointed a Committee of the House to inquire into it. Upon their report legislative action ensued. It required all steamers to be registered and provided for the inspection of their DR. LARDNER AND STEAM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. 85 boilers, which were to be constructed of copper, or wrought iron, and fitted with two safety valves. All boilers were to be tested to three times their working pressure, which was on no account to be more than one-sixth of the ultimate strength of the boiler. This regulation with some modification still exists. The Leviathan class of Steamers. — In 1826 the first of the so-called " Leviathan class of steamers," The United Kingdom, was built by Messrs. Robert Steele & Co., of Greenock, for the trade between London and Edinburgh. She was t6o ft. by 26^ ft. and had engines of 200 H.P., by David Napier, of Glasgow, The value of steam-power had now been fully proved, and, early in the fourth decade of this century, all the principal coast routes of the United Kingdom were supplied wdth steamship lines, a great impulse being given thereby to communication between all parts of the Kingdom. But matters were not long to rest there, as attention was very soon paid to the possibility of extending the use of steam-power to over-sea voyages. The communication between America and Britain, which was most important to both countries, had hitherto been chiefly in the hands of American sailing-packets, but the desirability of shortening the passage was felt by all concerned in this trade, and it was much discussed. Dr. Lardner and Steam across the Atlantic. — Dr. Lardner, then one of our most learned scientists, delivered a lecture on the subject in Liverpool in December 1835. After speaking of the great projects in hand in connection with rail and steamship, and advocating the approach to America by certain stages which he pointed out, taking the shortest distances between land and land, Dr. Lardner said : "As to the project, however,"* which was announced in the newspapers lately," i.e., of making the voyage directly between New York and Liverpool, " it was, he 1 had no hesitation in saying, perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk about making a voyage from New York or Liverpool to the moon ! " Dr. Lardner then went on to contend that it^ must be a commercial failure, as no steamers could carry sufficient cargo, and at the same time sufficient fuel, for the voyage to make it profitable./ He had apparently fixed upon 800 tons and* 9 knots, as the ultimatum of size and speed ; but how he should have been led to that conclusion, in face of the great relative increase which had already taken place in the size of steamers, it is now impossible to imagine. He little dreamed how soon he would be shown to be a false prophet — and when afterwards he was rather scorned for having uttered such a dictum, he declared 11 that he never stated that it was a physical impossibility" seeing that steamships have already proved it feasible. The first which had made the attempt was the Savannah, of 300 86 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. tons, in the year 1819, sailing from New York to Liverpool. She made the voyage in 3 1 days, partly sailing and partly steaming. In 1829 a steamer named the Curacoa of 350 tons and 100 N.H.P., was built in London for Dutch owners, and made many successful voyages between Holland and the Dutch West Indies. And a third, the Royal William, of between 400 and 500 tons, was built at Three Rivers, in Canada, and was fitted with engines which had been constructed in England, and sent out to Saint Mary's foundry, at Montreal, where they were put on board. She sailed from Quebec on the 18th of August, 1833, and arrived at Gravesend on the nth of September, following. It was not, how- ever, attempted to send her back. She was sold to the Portu- guese, and plied from Lisbon for some years. The " Sirius " and " Great Western " cross successfully. — It did not take long to test Dr. Lardner's opinion, for in 1837 the Great Western w T as built by Patterson, at Bristol, for an Eng- lish company, under the superintendence of Mr. (afterwards Sir) I. K. Brunei, and of course of wood. Great pains were taken to make her strong enough to brave the storms of the Atlantic ; her frame timbers were as heavy as those of a first-class line of battle ship, and placed so close that they were caulked outside and in before the planks were put on. Her dimensions were 212 ft. keel, by 35 ft. 4 m. beam, and 23 ft. 2 in. depth of hold, and she was fitted with a pair of side lever engines by Maudsley and Field, having two cylinders each, 74 in. diameter by 84 ins. stroke of piston. Paddle wheels of radial type, 28 ft. diameter, and having each twenty-eight floats. Pour boilers with return flues carrying a working pressure of 5 lbs. to the square inch. Her wheels made ten to eighteen revolutions according to their immersion, and her average passage between Bristol and New York was fifteen days. Her consumption of Welsh coal was about 8 lbs. per I.H.P. per hour. - Although the first vessel built in England for the Atlantic, she was not permitted to have the honour of being the first vessel to cross it, for a rival company chartered the Sirius of 450 tons -register, 700 tons burthen, and of 320 H.P., which had just been built for the London and Irish trade of the Saint George Steam Navigation Company, by Menzies,of Leith, and engined by Thomas Wingate, of Glasgow. She started from London a few days before the Great Western from Bristol, and arrived in New York a couple of days before her. The safe arrival of these two steamers in New York was hailed with immense acclamation. The Great Western continued for some time on this route, but was afterwards employed for some years by the Poyal Mail Company in their West Indian Service. The Sirius being found too small for the THE CUNARD LINE. 8/ Atlantic, returned to the home coasting trade, and was wrecked in 1847. Smith's Screw Propeller. — The year 1837 saw the dawn of another change — the introduction of the screw-propeller. In this year Francis P. Smith built the Archimedes, and fitted her with his patent screw propeller. She was so far successful that others followed, and in the fifth decade of this century several small screw-steamers were built, but it took many years for the screw- propeller to gain such a victory over the paddle-wheel as it event- ually did, and which we shall have to refer to again in due course. New Steamship Companies. — This year also saw the origin of a Steamship Company, which commenced its operations by trading first to the ports of the Spanish Peninsula, and has since extended its operations to the furthest confines of our Eastern Empire and China. This will be recognised as the now familiar and well appreciated Peninsular and Oriental Company. The Peninsular Company commenced with a couple of small paddle- steamers, and was the first steam company which entered into a contract with the Government for the carriage of foreign mails, viz., to Oporto and Lisbon. The foreign postal service had for long years been carried on from Falmouth by a number of Government ten-gun brigs, which sailed regularly to Halifax, the West Indies, Lisbon, Gibraltar, and Malta. This was a fine service in its day as regards its personnel, and was the breeding-place for seamen forH.M. Service. The vessels were miserable craft, which received the apt cognomen of " ten-gun coffins," and tried the resources of their officers and crews to the utmost. Few men would have been found to go on year after year risking their lives as these men did but the true British sailor. Falmouth in those days was a famous and flourishing port, which, as these postal packets were displaced, one after the other, by the various steam lines, fell into decay, from which it has but scarcely recovered. The Cunard Line. — The success of the Sirius and Great Western in their trips across the Atlantic opened the road for further adventure in that direction. Shortly after Mr. (after- wards Sir) Samuel Cunard, convinced of the advantage which would accrue to both countries from the adoption of a regular communication by steam, came over from America, and was introduced to Messrs. Burns, of Glasgow, and Messrs. Mclver, of Liverpool, who had been engaged for years in the Liverpool and Glasgow, and Glasgow and Belfast steam trades. He made such arrangements with them as enabled him to compete for and obtain a contract for the conveyance of the mails between Liver- 88 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. // tool and New York. For this service they built first three steamers, to which almost immediately a fourth was added, viz., Britannia , Acadia, Caledonia, and Columbia — each about 207 ft. long, of 1 156 tons B.M. and 425 II. P., and having a speed of 8|- knots — a very modest attempt we should now say — and the working pressure of steam was advanced upon that of the Great Western by 2 lbs., making it 7 lbs. pressure. These vessels made an average passage of 1 2 to 1 3 days each way, and established the fame of a company which has never since wavered, for, spite all opposition, it still continues the favourite line with passengers on both sides of the Atlantic; and can make the proud boast of never having lost a life or a letter through default of either ship or officers. In 1844 they built the Cambria and Hibernia, of 1422 tons, 500 H.P. Speed q\ knots. In 1848, the America and Niagara, Europa and Canada, of 1820 tons and 680 H.P., 10J knots, and pressure on the boilers now advanced to 13 lbs. In 1850 the Asia and Africa, of 267 feet by 40 feet 6 inches, by 27 feet 6 inches and 2128^ builder's measurement; 265 feet by 37 feet 2 inches by 27 feet 2 inches and 22 2 6 T 2 T / TF new measurement: N.H.P. 814, cylinders 96 inches by 9 feet, wheels 37 feet 7 inches diameter, 30 feet 10 inches effective. Four flue boilers, 20 furnaces, W.P. about 15 lbs. They had an average speed of 303 miles a day, or i2f knots. These are given somewhat in detail, as they were about the best type of ocean steamer built up to the latter date, and show the rate of progress that had been made in the decade. M Royal Mail Company. — In 1841 the Royal Mail Company, having contracted for the carriage of the West Indian mails, com- menced its business with greater pretensions than any other Com- pany had previously done. By this time the Government, having begun to build small war steamers for themselves (in 1838), saw the advantage of being able to command the services of as many steamers fit for war as possible, and laid this Company under heavy restrictions as regards the construction of their vessels. They were compelled to build them of a sufficient scantling to carry the ordinary guns then used in naval warfare, and also with their paddle-box tops fitted to be removable, and used as boats for conveyance of troops, &c. There were fourteen steamers built, and put upon the line from Southampton to Saint Thomas as the central point, and thence supplementary branches were carried to the principal West India Islands, and afterwards as far as Chagres. Thence the mails were carried overland to Panama, and so down the West Coast of South America, to Peru and Chili. SCREW STEAMERS. 89 Peninsular and Oriental Company. — In 1842 the Pen- insular and Oriental Company sent the Hindostan, Bentinck and Precursor to India, and their overland service was commenced by the arrival of the Hindostan at Suez with the Calcutta mails in February, 1843, the homeward half of the service to and from Alexandria being served by the Oriental and the Great Liverpool. The " Great Britain." — In 1843 the first large iron steamer, the Great Britain, was built at Bristol by Patterson, for the Great Western Company. Her dimensions were 289 feet length of keel, 51 feet beam, and 32 feet 6 inches depth of hold, tonnage 2984 N.M. She was fitted with a pair of screw-propeller engines of 1000 H.P., and fully established that mode of propulsion for large sea-going steamers. She sailed from the Mersey on July 26, 1845, for New York, arriving there on August 10. Unfortunately, on her second voyage from Liverpool, she was run ashore in Dun drum Bay, Ireland, and lay there stranded for nearly two years. By the strenuous efforts of Messrs. I. K. Brunei, and Bremner, she was eventually floated off on August 27, 1847, taken to Liverpool, and repaired. This gave a convincing proof of the strength of iron ships, which soon led to the building of large fleets of iron screw steamers. When the demand for large passenger vessels to the Australian colonies took place, her six masts were removed, and she was fitted as an ordinary three- masted auxiliary steamship. In that trade she ran for some years with great success, and was broken up only a few years ago at Barrow. Screw-Steamers. — In 1845, Messrs. Robert Napier & Sons built the first screw- steamer constructed on the Clyde — the Fire Queen, of 135 tons and 80 H.P. One of the first screw-steamers for foreign trade was the Dumbarton Youth, of 238 tons and 34 H.P. nominal. She was built at Dumbarton by William Denny & Brothers, and her engines were by Caird & Co., of Greenock. She made many successful voyages to the Mediter- ranean. In 1850, the first iron screw-steamer for the Liverpool and Glasgow trade was the Princess Royal, built by Messrs. Tod & Macgregor. In the same year they also built the City of Glasgow, screw-steamer of 1609 tons for the trade between Glasgow and New York, but she was soon transferred to Liverpool, and became the pioneer of the now famous Inman Line of steamers. The Screw Propeller superior to the Paddle. — The estab- lishment of this line of screw- steamers may be said to have sealed the doom of paddle-steamers for over- sea purposes. The power of the screw propeller proved itself superior to the paddle for many reasons. The great difficulty of the paddle-steamer was 90 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. the varying immersion of the paddle-wheels with the varying draft of water. When the vessel was deep laden they were so much immersed that the wheels were choked, and the engines could not get away at a proper rate of speed, which, consequently, was slow at the beginning of a voyage and gradually improved, as the fuel became exhausted and the draft of water thereby lessened, allowing the wheels fairer play. The screw-propeller overcame this difficulty, and with this advantage, that the deeper it was immersed the more effective it became, and the only differ- ence in a screw-steamer's speed on a long voyage is that simply due to the different measures of displacement of the vessel's body, with fuel in or out. It was also found to be more economical, first because the slip of the propeller is less than that of the paddle, and con- sequently the effective power of every pound of coal much greater; and also because greater advantage could be taken of sail power when possible, especially with the wind abeam. It was long objected that the screw-propeller was unfit for passenger steamers, as the motion of a screw-steamer was so much more unsteady than that of the paddle-steamer, and for a long time this notion so far prevailed as to maintain the position which the paddle-steamer held in all the principal mail lines. This idea was also backed by the Government, who for years would not permit the use of screw-steamers on the mail routes. Under this pressure the steam companies sailing under mail contract still continued to build paddle-steamers. In 1852 the Cunard Co. built their last wooden steamer, the Arabia, 2400 tons and 938 H.P. ; in 1855 their first iron steamer, the Persia, 350 ft. by 45 ft. by 30 ft., 3766 gross registered tonnage, and 3600 J.H.P. The Persia attained an average speed of 13 knots, and proved a successful competitor with the American Collins line of steamers. In 1862, their best paddle-steamer, the Scotia, was built ; her dimensions were 366 ft. by 47 1 ft. by 30 J ft. The average passage was reduced by her to 9 days. The Government in that year gave way, and permitted the use of the screw-propeller, which is now universal, except for rivers or inland navigation, or short channel routes. With heavy subsidies the mail lines did not so much feel the want of economy in fuel, but to those lines which opposed them without subsidy, the screw-propeller and its greater economy was the only lever they could depend upon for pros- perity. Year by year, as larger and larger screw steamers were built prior to 1862, their speed increased until they were quite a match for the paddle-steamers, when these fell into disuse, THE COLLINS LINE. 9 1 and were quickly given up. Several of the last Cunard paddle- steamers had their machinery taken out and were converted into useful sailing-ships. The Scotia, converted into a twin-screw, is now a cable steamer in possession of the Telegraph Maintenance Company. The Collins Line. — We must here briefly allude to the last shadow of opposition offered us in the Atlantic trade by our American cousins. They did not view with content the loss of a trade, which had, at one time, been so completely in their own hands in the old sailing-packet days. In the end of the forties, Mr. Collins, of New York, who had been largely interested in the packets, determined to oppose the Cunard Company on their own ground. He formed an American company, which, after much thought, and enquiry into our shipbuilding and engineering practice, constructed four splendid paddle-steamers, the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Baltic. These were well designed upon the famous clipper lines, and larger and more powerful in every way than the Cunard boats then in existence, or building, which the Asia and Africa then were, and their pro- posed dimensions and power well known to Collins. It need hardly be said that they w^ere successful in beating the Cunarders. The older boats were much inferior to them, and the new Asia and Africa barely maintained their own. On the 20th of May 185 1, the whole of Liverpool was thrown into excite- ment upon learning that the Pacific had reached Holyhead from New York in 9 days 19 hours and 25 minutes, then an unprecedented passage. And so once more our American cousins had lowered the British flag and beaten the record. This successful opposition lasted a few years, but it was carried on at such a cost that it became its own Nemesis, and was eventually terminated in 1858. The terrible losses of the Arctic and Pacific, with many lives, and the success of the new Cunard iron steamship, Persia, succeeded in turning the tide once more in favour of Great Britain. To this end, perhaps, another cause had a determining effect. The American packet owners, finding their trade gradually slipping out of their hands, raised an outcry against the employment of steam, and little thinking how futile was such an opposition, prevailed upon the American Government to with- draw its mail subsidy from their own steamers, which left the field clear for their British opponents. This is another clear instance of the futility of opposing scientific progress. The immediate effect was the investment of American money in many lines of steamers sailing under the English flag, which redounded to the profit of British masters and crews, as well as that of 92 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. the steamship managers in Britain, and gave an immense spurt to her nominal tonnage. This has been largely accentuated since the Civil War in America, and its subsequent adoption of highly protective legislation. The Collins opposition had had one considerable effect upon the rate of freight in favour of the merchants and traders, for before the opposition the Cunard Company were getting ^7 i os. per ton for fine goods, and two years after it fell The Advance of Steam steadily Progressive. — We have treated thus fully with the Cunard Line and Collins Line steamers because it was on the Atlantic only that our ships and steamers had found any real opposition. From the date of the abrogation of the Navigation Acts of this country, the advance in steam became so imminent that it need not be treated of further as a separate branch of the Marine. It will also be seen that that advance has been the one great cause of the present eminence of this country in the maritime progress of the world, of which proof will be found in the chapter on statistics. ( 93 ) CHAPTER X. DEVELOPMENT OF FREE TRADE. Contents. — New departure under free trade — Mr. Richard Green and the Americans — Iron and Steam — Goldfields of California and Australia — Increase of shipping — Speed of American ships — China trade — British tonnage laws — Mr. Moorsom's plan of measurement becomes the basis of legislation in 1854— Improvement in ships — Parliament relieves bur- dens upon shipping — Effect on British seamen — Coasting trade thrown open, 1854 — American coasting trade — Shipping laws consolidated, 1854 — Apprentices — Russian war — High freights — Indian mutiny — Glut of shipping in Eastern seas — Increase of foreign shipping in British ports — American civil war — Its consequences — Drop in American ship- ping in British ports — Competition in the China trade — Thermopylae and San Lancelot — French bounties — Conclusion. New Departure under Tree Trade. — We now enter upon a new departure for the British shipowner. The Free Trade prin- ciples of the Lancashire manufacturers had been triumphant. Freed from the Corn Laws they hoped to reduce wages. Freed from the Navigation Laws they hoped for increased and cheap transport for their wares. The shipowner, despondent at being deprived of his privileges, sought relief by agitating for the reduction of all taxes upon shipping and relief from all imposed burdens. Foreign competition was pressing upon him in every direction ; but there was still some pluck left, and all did not despond. Although American clippers were stealing into all our valuable trades, the British shipbuilder determined to do his best to compete. Mr. Richard Green and the Americans. — There is a story told of Mr. Richard Green, the eminent shipbuilder, of Black- wall, and owner of some of the finest ships in the Eastern trades, who, being present at a public dinner in 1850, and having to reply to a speech by the Secretary of the American Legation, said : " We have heard a great deal to-night about the dreary prospects of British shipping, and we hear, too, from another quarter much about the British lion and the American eagle, and the way in which they are going to lie down together. Now, I don't know 94 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. anything at all about that, but this I do know, that we British shipowners are at last sitting down to play a fair and open game with the Americans, and, by Jove, we'll trump them." And he did trump them ; for he shortly after built the Challenger to match the American ship Challenge, which had been carrying all before her in the China trade, and thoroughly eclipsed her. Iron and Steam. — But all our shipbuilders were not so buoyant as Mr. Green, who was a builder as well as an owner of ships. For some years prior to 1850 our shipbuilders seemed to be at their last gasp. Wood shipbuilding in Britain was fast disappearing, and our builders of wood ships, unable to compete with the cheaper ships of the colonies, the United States, and the Baltic, were fail- ing everywhere. This despondency did not last long, for with true British foresight, they turned their attention to iron as a material for shipbuilding, and especially for steamships, which, aided by the success of the screw as a propeller, soon found ample employment for them, and the ruined yards of the Tyne, the "Wear, and the Tees, which had suffered most, sprang into new life at the sound of the rivetting hammer on their banks. Thus, when all seems lost, Providence supplies compensations. Gold Fields of California and Australia. — The opening of the gold fields in California, and its cession to America in 1850, and the discovery of gold in Victoria the year after, created an immense demand for shipping. Increase in Shipping. — The rush from the Eastern States to California found an opening for the American ships which were now being beaten off the Atlantic by our steamers ; as there were no railways across the American continent within hundreds of miles of California, passengers and goods had to be transported thither by way of Cape Horn, and American shipping reaped a fine harvest. Speed of American Ships. — On our side, the rush to Victoria employed every ton of spare shipping that could be found, and freights increased enormously. As much as ^7 per ton was paid from London to Melbourne, and the demand for ships was not easily satisfied. London and Liverpool vied with each other for the greatest share of the immense emigration going on. The former transferred the most of the fine passenger ships which had been employed in the Indian trade, and the latter purchased some very fine American vessels. The fastest ships got the pick of the passengers, and the excitement in Liverpool was intense, when the news came home that the American built ship Marco Polo had made the voyage to Melbourne in 75 days, a feat unparalleled in those days. The London ships all made long passages, their average in 1852 being 123 days as against Liverpool's 110J. In CHINA TRADE. 95 1854, the Americans sent across two splendid ships, the Red Jacket and the Lightning, built by the famous Donald McKay, of New York. The latter ship made still quicker passages — in 65 and 63 days out to Melbourne, and home in 64. From the first settlement of the British American Colonies down to the War of Independence, their trade with Britain was carried on with freedom of intercourse as between the two coun- tries, and upon a footing of equality 5 but their trade with other colonies, whether of Britain or of Spain, was rigidly restrained by the navigation laws of both countries, and their ships were much molested by the English and Spanish cruisers exercising the right of search. Many of these colonies, both British and Spanish, were excellent markets for the fish and agricultural produce of the English American Colonies, but they could not lawfully trade with them. To get over this difficulty, the American shipowners chose to risk their vessels in carrying on a clandestine trade, rather than lose it. In such a business good sailing qualities were neces- sary, and it gave rise to the building of those " Baltimore Schooners " which afterwards became so celebrated for their speed and consequent freedom from capture when employed in the smuggling business. Necessity is the mother of invention, and it was the necessity of their position which compelled the Americans to use their in- ventive powers in shipbuilding, and taught them those principles in the art which, many years after, placed and kept them at the head of the field in the ocean races. At that time, for ourselves, there was no such necessity. Pro- tected by stringent laws, we feared no rivals, and there was no stimulus for improvement. Embroiled in war, as we almost con- stantly were during the eighteenth century, our merchant's fleets sailed under convoy, when the slowest ship ruled the race, and there was little inducement to build fast ones. The day of competition and ocean racing had not then begun, but when it did the advantage was with our rivals. The lines of the Baltimore clippers told a tale, and the English ships were nowhere in the race. China Trade. — In the China trade the same thing was occur- ring. From the time of America's independence she had im- ported her own teas from China. Tea is a delicate article to transport, and loses fast in flavour and quality in a ship's hold. To meet this contingency, the Americans began, in 1842, to build at New York those clipper ships which were to become so famous. In 1844, John W. Griffiths designed the Sea Witch (ijo'' 3" x 33'*n" x 19'), 907 tons register, and carrying a China cargo of 1 1 00 tons. With her the long sharp bow and fuller after-end 96 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. came into permanent use the world over for fast ships of the merchant service. After the China trade was thrown open in 1833 the tea trade fell into the hands of the merchants in China, many of whom had been formerly connected with the East India Company, such as Jardine, Matheson & Co., the Dents, &c. There were many good ships in the trade, notably the John c> Gaunt, Euphrates, Foam, and others, but they could not compare with the American ships for speed. No sooner was trade open in this country than the Americans took advantage of it, and they were peculiarly well situated to do so. The ships from New York to San Francisco had mostly had to go back in ballast, but now many of these vessels ran on from Frisco to China, and competed with our ships in the carriage of teas to England. For years our merchants had given a premium to the first ship home in the fall of the year with the new season's teas, and the Americans now entered the race. With such vessels as the Americans had built, our ships of that day could not compete, but such men as the partners of Jardine, Matheson & Co., were equal to the occasion. That firm, determining not to be outdone, ordered Messrs. Hall, of Aberdeen, to build the Stornoway, and the Chrysolite followed. These vessels were constructed more or less upon the new wave-line principle, but although very fast vessels, did not succeed in beating the Americans. In 1853 the race was run by the following ships : — Canton to Deal, American ship Challenge, 105 days. ,, „ „ Surprise, 106 ,, Canton to Liverpool, British ship, Chrysolite, 106 ,, „ Deal „ Stornoway, 109 ,, ,, ,, ,, Challenge, 113 ,, Shanghai to Deal, American ship, Nightingale, no ,, The Americans had still the best of it for a few years, and it was not until the Lord of the Isles, built by Scott & Co., of Greenock, and commanded by Captain Maxton, beat two of the fastest American clippers in 1856, that British fame became re-established. The character of the American ships had how- ever been failing, notwithstanding their speed ; for they were weakly constructed, and damaged their cargoes badly, which the better built English ships did not do. British Tonnage Laws. — The tonnage laws of Great Britain, based upon false principles, had given rise to an unwholesome, slow and feeble type of ship, as only length and breadth to the exclusion of depth entered into the calculation for tonnage. The IMPKOVEMENT IN SHIPS. 97 Americans, bound by no such absurd rules, and with freedom to build as science dictated, outstripped us with vessels of greater burthen, more beam, and finer lines. As early as 182 1 a Commission was appointed to inquire into the tonnage laws, and again another in 1833, both of which reported upon them, recommending a system of internal measure- ment. Based upon these recommendations the Act 5 and 6 William IV. c. 56, was passed, but the system adopted was imperfect, found easy of evasion, and incapable of yielding just and satisfactory results. A third Commission was appointed in 1849, which issued a report in 1850 in favour of external measurement, but so little satisfaction did this afford that it was allowed to remain a dead letter. Moorsom's Plan of Measurement. — Mr. George Moorsom, a member and honorary secretary of the late Commission, aided by the great practical skill of Mr. Joseph Horatio Ritchie, one of the surveyors to Lloyd's Registry of Shipping, perfected a plan of internal measurement which was received with general appro- bation, and became the basis of a new law embraced in the Act 17 and 18 Vict. c. 104. This, with some amendments in matters of detail, has since controlled the measurement of British ships for tonnage, and has given scope for the introduction of a superior class of vessel, of greater speed, stability, and carrying capacity. Improvement in Ships. — It is a curious fact that on com- parison of some of the vessels built under the new law with a fair average number of those built under the old law the actual tonnage was not seriously affected ; in fact the new measurement was found to be slightly in favour of the shipowner in regard to carrying capacity. The great benefit derived was from the fact that it gave a greater elasticity to the builder in regard to design and dimensions, and the result was an infinitely better and more seaworthy type of ship. Parliament relieves Burdens upon Shipping. Effect on British Seamen.— In 1853 an Act was passed relieving the shipowner from further burdens by modifying light dues and other dues on shipping which seemed to press heavily upon him in comparison with foreigners ; it also repealed all the restrictions as to British masters and seamen permitting the employment of foreigners indiscriminately, and admitting them to equal rights with the British seamen of all classes. Thus were the interests of the British seaman sacrificed to those of the shipowner, the evil effect of which has been clearly shown by the current of events in the subsequent years. Coasting Trade thrown Open, 1854. American Coast- ing Trade.— In 1854 the Act 17 and 18 Yict. c. 5, repealed the G 98 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. last fragment of protection, and threw open our coasting, as well as our foreign trade, to the world. To accomplish this the argu- ment used by the Free Traders of the Manchester school was that when other nations saw the immense benefit which we, as a nation, should derive from this act of generosity, they would become generous and reciprocate; especially would this be the case with the United States of America. To this end negotiations were entered upon, and our Free Traders were beguiled with soft speeches and fair promises, until our legislation was completed. The Americans indeed opened their ports to foreign trade, but when it came to the American coasting trade, they refused to accede to their wishes, and replied by declaring that the long sea voyage around Cape Horn from the east to the west of America was included in their coasting trade, thereby shutting out our ships from participating in a trade which was a mine of gold to American shipowners, and became an immense aid in their com- petition with us in the China trade in after years. So much for the vain dream of reciprocity ! This action of the Americans was a bitter pill for our Free Traders to swallow. Shipping Laws Consolidated. — In this same year the Merchant Shipping Acts were consolidated into one, by the Act 17 & 18 Yict. c. 104, by which the former Acts were not only consolidated but' entirely recast; and the laws of registry and measurement of tonnage of British ships, and the law relating to wrecks and shipowners' liabilities, were revised. It also provided summary remedies for the recovery of wages J for the punishment of breaches of discipline on board ship, &c. Apprentices. — At the time of the passing of this Act con- siderable alarm was felt in many quarters at the extraordinary falling off in the number of apprentices, and the consequent education of seaman. A proposition was made, that a clause should be inserted in the Act " Making it once more compulsory upon shipowners to carry a certain number of apprentices ; " but the shipowners, unable to see the justice or propriety of such a course, made such strong protestations against it, that it was abandoned. Russian War : High Freights. — The outbreak of the Eussian war in the autumn of 1854 created a heavy demand for transport from the French as well as ourselves, especially for steamers. Our shipbuilders were fully employed at very high prices, but after the landing of the troops in the Crimea the demand for sailing ships ceased, and the glut in the Australian market threw a large amount of sailing tonnage out of employment. Steamers were, however, in full demand, and transport freights high in consequence. Amongst the sailing-ship owners who had bought AMEKICAN CIVIL WAR. t 99 heavily and dearly to meet the Australian demand a great crash came, and there were many heavy failures. Indian Mutiny. Glut of Shipping in the East. Foreign Ships in British Ports. — Through 1855 and 1856 freights were fairly well maintained, but the cessation of the war in 1856 threw all the vessels which had been engaged in transport into the market, and the Indian Mutiny, which broke out in 1857, com- pletely paralysed trade in India. This latter had the effect of creating a momentary demand for transport of troops and stores to India, but the ships were only engaged for the voyage out, and, this work finished, hundreds of thousands of tons of shipping found themselves in Indian and other ports without employment. This continued for months, and shipowners were in despair. Foreign shipping in British ports had increased from 30 per cent, in 1845, to 35 per cent, in 1850, and to 41 per cent, in 1855. The old discussion upon Protection versus Free Trade broke out virulently, and continued almost until the American war in i860 put a stop to it. The Rubicon once passed cannot be repassed, and Protection has passed away perhaps for ever for this country — that is for food and freight. American Civil "War. — In i860 broke out the disastrous Civil War in America, which cost the States ^600,000,000 in money, and thousands of valuable lives. No doubt great prin- ciples were at stake ; and this war is only an example of the fact that when the time comes, and human thought and intelligence demand it, nothing can prevent institutions which have passed their period of usefulness, and are not in accordance with the progress of the times, from being swept away for ever, no matter at what cost. Such was American slavery. Its Consequences. — The effect of the war was to break the back of the American shipping trade, as an opponent to us, and it no longer affects the progress of our own. Drop in American Shipping in British Ports. — There can, however, be no doubt but that the cheapness with which we can produce iron ships and engines has been a great factor in our present success. After the war, the Americans in their distress, and confident in their internal resources, new to protection of their manufacturing interests, and laid heavy duties upon those of other countries, including our own. Unable to build ships and engines cheaply themselves, they refused to take what we could so well have supplied, and the consequence is that the American foreign carrying trade between Europe and the States is largely done in British ships and under the British flag. Showing how large a factor the American shipping had been in our foreign clear- ances, they immediately fell from 43 per cent, in i860, down TOO THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. to 33 per cent, in 1865, to 28 per cent, in 1885, and in 1888 were only 26^ per cent., i\ per cent, more than they were in 181 5. Competition in the China Trade. " Thermopylae " and " Sir Lancelot." — From that day our progress has been by leaps and bounds. Only one thing more will be referred to in connec- tion with sailing ships from i860 onwards, and that is, that we did not forget the lessons in shipbuilding which had been forced upon us by so much opposition and many reverses. The China competition was kept up by amicable rivalry amongst our own owners and merchants, and a splendid fleet of clippers were pro- duced one after the other, such as the Thermopylae and the Sir Lancelot, two of the fastest vessels, perhaps, ever built. The former, designed by the late well-known and much-respected Secretary of Lloyd's Registry, Bernard Way mouth, and built by Hood, of Aberdeen, for Messrs. George Thompson & Sons ; and the latter by Messrs. Robert Steele & Co., of Greenock, for the late Mr. John McCunn, of Greenock. In the race of 1869 the Thermopylae was the first ship home, making the passage in ninety-one days, followed by the Sir Lancelot, which sailed a few days later, but performed the passage in eighty-nine days. The opening of the Suez Canal a few days later put a stop to this interesting race. Out of a long list of these clippers only four remain : the Thermopylae, Sir Lancelot, Titania, and Leander. French Bounties. — The only scare we have of late years had, was when the French granted bounties to their builders and owners ; but we need not have alarmed ourselves, as the object has not been attained, and the effort to sustain and encourage French shipping by such means has fallen flat and profitless — it has not injured us in the least. American foreign tonnage has fallen off ever since i860, and in 1880 it was not much more than half what it was in i860. In connection with our Mercantile Marine, difficulties and opposition have beset us in many ways. Conclusions. — But for the hostility and cruelties of Spain we should never have reared the ships and the men which helped to preserve us as a nation by defeating the Spanish Armada; but for the opposition and insolence of the Dutch we might never have been so self-dependent in character and so successful as seamen as we have been ; but for the rivalry of America, with her forests of building timber and splendid spars at her back, and the progress in the art of shipbuilding which necessity taught her, and then made her such a dangerous rival to ourselves on the ocean, we might still have been building tea-boxes, and float- ing over the ocean with the same tortoise-like speed. Competition has been our salvation and the cause of all our later successes. ( ioi ) CHAPTER XL SHIPPING LEGISLATION, 1862 TO 1875. Contents. — Shipping legislation, 1862— Engineers' examinations — Ameri- can blockade — Origin of the Suez Canal — Canal condemned by the English — Increase of steam trade to India through the Canal — Mr. Plimsoll and loss of life at sea— Mr. Fortescue's Act, 1871 — Marine department of Board of Trade invested with full control of British shipping — Mr. Plimsoll's book — Lord Carlingford's Bill — Ships sold to foreigners — Royal Commission, 1873 — Mr. Plimsoll's Bill, 1874— Report of the Commissioners — Sir Charles Adderley's Bill, 1875 — Mr. Plimsoll's conduct — Painful incident in the House — "Stop-Gap" Act, 1875 — Excitement amongst shipowners. Shipping Legislation, 1862. — The consolidation of the Shipping Acts having been completed in 1854, there was for some years a period of rest from shipping legislation. The war with Russia from 1854 to 1857, succeeded by the Indian Mutiny in the' latter year, withdrew public attention from all other subjects. Shipping of all classes was remunerative, and as long as this is the case, grievances or difficulties, from which relief is sought by legislation, remain in abeyance. The first appear- ance of renewed legislation is found in the Act 25 and 26 Vict, c. 63, which instituted examinations for engineers, made further provision for wreck inquiries, and in the power of local boards, defined the master's powers in connection with the misconduct of passengers and others on board ship, and issued " Rules for the prevention of collisions at sea," under the joint recommendation of the Admiralty and the Board of Trade, which, by this Act, was henceforth to be associated with the Admiralty in framing or altering the said Rules. Daring the dozen years prior to this Act, a very considerable increase in the steam tonnage of the kingdom had taken place, as also in the size and power of the marine engines employed, and it had become a question as to whether it would not be prudent to inquire into the experience and capacity of the engineers employed on board steamers going on foreign voyages. Prior to this there was no guarantee that the men in charge of marine 102 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MAEINE. engines had any experience as tradesmen, many of them having been bred from the ordinary firemen. Such men answered the purpose well enough in coasting or home trade steamers, which, in case of accident, were not far from engineering assistance, but as the voyages became extended, and the engine driver likely to be thrown more upon his own resources and tradesman-like ability for repairs, # quality of British seamen, as a cause of loss at sea. IIO THE BEITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Finally it was resolved to request an interview with the Prime Minister prior to the meeting of Parliament, to enable them to state their feelings more fully on the question, with a view to relief from further harassment, and to appoint a deputation to meet him. This deputation was received by Mr. Disraeli a few days after, to whom they were introduced by Mr. Goschen, M.P., who, while deprecating anything like special pleading for ship- owners, said that he, to some extent, sympathised with them on the ground of the " state of uncertainty which had for some time past materially interfered with that great trade, and if Govern- ment with the aid of the legislature could complete the work of Merchant Shipping Legislation a great advantage would be gained." Lord Eslington, in stating the case for shipowners, referred to the series of resolutions, and said that "the recent changes in legislation had been most inconvenient and harassiDg to ship- owners — that it had been fragmentary and ill-considered — but the shipowners were willing to accord their support to any well- considered measure for saving life at sea. " That there should be local appeal against arbitrary decisions of the Board of Trade surveyors in the various ports. " That they entered * a protest against Clause 4 of the Act of 1875 (^ t° unseaworthy ships), which imposes on shipowners a responsibility hitherto unknown in the jurisprudence of the country.' " That a large proportion of casualties, &o, 9 were caused by the inefficiency, intemperance, and negligence, or insubordination of crews." Also " a protest against section 2 of the same Act which per- mitted a ship to be detained upon complaint of one-fourth of the crew." And " against a hard-and-fast load-line." " The shipowners," he said, H were desirous to give their best assistance to the Government in passing necessary legislation, but they trusted that they would have means afforded them of making known their opinions." The Prime Minister assured them the Government had no desire to do anything w T hich would militate against so vast and important an interest, and that what had been done seemed necessary. He reminded them that the Merchant Shipping Act would have been consolidated any time within the past seven years had it not been for the opposition raised not only by ship- owners, but in many other quarters. That he would take care that their resolutions had the careful consideration of the Govern- ment prior to any future legislation, but that he could not EXCITEMENT AMONG SHIPOWNERS. Ill promise to deal with the Merchant Shipping Acts, as a whole as it would take up too much time, to the detriment of other im- portant matters. In one point alone did the shipowners make their influence felt. Courts of appeal were appointed to deal with surveys. On the other points there was no withdrawal, as will be seen in what follows. ( U* ) CHAPTER XII. LOCKSLEY HALL CASE.— SHIPMASTERS' SOCIETIES.— LOADING OF SHIPS. Contents. — Further legislation, 1876 — Wreck Commissioner — Locknley Hall case — Unjust sentence on Captain Barker — Shipmasters and the Prime Minister— Formation of Shipmasters' Society of London — Court of Appeal for inquiry into shipping casualties — Serious losses at sea — Stowage of grain cargoes — Mr. MartelPs Paper on Losses at Sea — Port of Montreal — Capsizing of the Daphne — Inquiry by Sir E. Reed and his report — Detention of overladen ships — Load-line Committee — Royal Commission of 1884 on loss of life at sea — Wreck reports. Further Legislation, 1876. — In 1876 an Act, 39 and 40 Vict, c. 80, was passed, making the sending of an unseaworthy ship to sea a misdemeanour, with further stringent regulations as to surveys, and appointing courts of appeal to decide cases ; making the rules as to overloading applicable to foreign ships loading in British ports ; regulating the carriage of grain and deck loads of timber ; and insisting upon a maximum load draft being marked on the vessel by the owner ; appointing a wreck commissioner, or commissioners, not exceeding three, and determining their duties as to inquiries into shipping casualties, &c. ; enforcing the regis- tration of the managing owner ; or, if no such owner, a ship's husband, or other person having the management of the ship, with his address in the United Kingdom. This Act repealed certain sections of the Acts of 1854, 187 1, 1873, and the whole of the Act of 1875 bearing upon these subjects. Wreck Commissioner. — The appointment of a judge in the capacity of a wreck commissioner was a new departure. At first it was contemplated to appoint three such commissioners for the North and South of England and Scotland ; power was moreover given to appoint one for Ireland, if found necessary, and these appointments were placed in the hands of the Lord Chancellor. Shortly after the passing of the Act, the first commissioner of wrecks was appointed by the nomination of Mr. H. C. Rothery, Q.C., an experienced Admiralty Court lawyer. Although local magistrates might still be called upon to act upon courts of SHIPMASTERS AND THE PRIME MINISTER. 113 inquiry, the creation of this office dispensed with their services to a large extent. Locksley Hall Case — Unjust Sentence on Capt. Barnes. — A circumstance occurred this year which must now be referred to, as it clearly displays the effect of an abnormal sentimentality upon the minds not only of the public who sympathised with Mr. Plimsoll, but upon the minds of magistrates in their admin- istration of the law, in regard to shipmasters and their treatment of seamen who were guilty of insubordination. Captain Barnes, of the ship Locksley Hall, brought a seaman named Allen before Mr. Paget, at the Thames Police Court, and charged him with assaulting the chief officer on the high seas, and gross and con- tinued insubordination and refusal of duty. The seaman, on the other hand, brought a charge against the captain for illegal assault by placing him in irons. The magistrate admitted that the captain's case was fully proved, but in passing judgment said " he had taken into consideration what Allen had already suffered " (by having been confined in irons on board). " For the refusal of duty he inflicted a nominal punishment of one day's imprisonment, and for the assault another day's imprisonment." The " quality of mercy " was surely strained in this case, for the punishment provided by the Act was imprisonment for any period not exceeding twelve weeks, and also at the discretion of the court to forfeit, for every twenty-four hours of such disobedience or neglect, a sum of six days' pay. But on the other side there was no straining of mercy ; for the admitted placing of the man in irons, the captain was condemned, ostensibly under the common law procedure, to be imprisoned for twenty-one days without the option of a fine. This sentence was so unjust — so contrary to law — that it raised a storm of indignation throughout the shipping world of London. Shipmasters and the Prime Minister. — A strong deputation waited on the Prime Minister and laid before him an unanimous protest against such injustice. There was no doubt that the magistrate erred in his law as egregiously as he did in his sympathy for such a case as Allen's was proved to have been. The result of the appeal was the Home Secretary's intervention, and the release of Captain Barnes. The judgment could not be sustained. To sustain such a judgment would imperil the necessary discipline of a ship in toto. The power to maintain discipline and exact obedience to his orders has been placed in the master's hands by the Law of the Sea from the days of the Rhodians downwards, and anything which has a tendency to weaken it would react most injuriously upon the master's power to exact obedience to lawful commands, and performance of duty H 114 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. by the crew in the prosecution of a voyage. Such a reading of the law as was given by the Thames police magistrate in Captain Barnes' case would render it impossible for shipmasters to use the commonest restraint on any member of a crew guilty of mutinous conduct or assault. In the excitement of the moment a deputation of shipmasters and others again waited upon the Prime Minister, Mr. Disraeli, and craved an alteration of the law to prevent the recurrence of such a judgment, and to establish the authority of the masters. The Prime Minister, in reply, told them " that the law gave the shipmaster full power on board his ship at sea. What could they want more ? " He more- over explained that in Captain Barnes* case it was not the law that was at fault, but the judge, and expressed his disapproval of Mr. Paget's judgment. " An error had been committed, and would be remedied." And so it was — by Captain Barnes' release and Mr. Paget's subsequent removal from the Thames Street Police Court. All power is in the hand of the master, but he must use it wisely and with discretion. Formation of the Shipmasters' Society of London. — The strong feeling in the shipping world caused by the Locksley Hall case found its expression in several meetings of both shipowners and shipmasters, notably in London, where a society of ship- masters, supported by the shipowners, was formed for mutual defence against unjust legislation and legislative action. A Ship- masters' Society had been in existence since 1857, whose head- quarters were at Liverpool. This society was incorporated in 1862 by Act of Parliament as the "Mercantile Marine Service Association," and it ought to have been one great and undivided society of shipmasters for Great Britain and Ireland as was at first intended, but unfortunately dissensions arose at the very outset between the London, Southampton and Liverpool branches of the proposed Society, with the result that a most uncompromis- ing split occurred. The London and Southampton Societies died a natural death in a year or two, whilst Liverpool proceeded quietly on its course and formed a national society sanctioned by Parliament. The re-awakening m London to the absolute need of such a society resulted in the formation of the " Shipmasters' Society," now in active life. The general objects of the society are, the mutual protection and advancement of the general interests of the members, and to assist in defraying legal expenses which may be incurred in defending the interests of members who may be brought before a Court of Inquiry, and may appear to the com- mittee of management to require such aid. There are several other societies representing other districts of the kingdom which have been formed for the same purpose. SEKIOUS LOSSES AT SEA. US Four of these societies, viz., the Mercantile Marine Service Association, the Scottish Shipmasters' Association, the Ship- masters' Society, and the British Shipmasters' Protection Society (North-east Coast), are now joined together, for consultative, legal, and other purposes, in a federation, which is governed by a council elected by the several societies. Its business is principally to watch legislation which may have a tendency to injure the position of shipmasters and officers, and to promote such as may be for their benefit. Court of Appeal for Inquiry into Shipping Casualties. — The circumstances of the Locksley Hall case, and the excite- ment attending it, had the effect of making shipmasters and their friends review their position in connection with the legis- lation of the past twenty-five years, and especially in regard to the proceedings and procedure of Courts of Inquiry — their constitution and the want of a Court of Appeal in doubtful cases. This want became so apparent as time passed on that in 1879 the Government brought in and passed an Act, 42 & 43 Vict., c. 72, which created a Court of Appeal for the re-hearing of any case in which " new and important evidence which could not be produced at the investigation has been discovered, or if for any other reason there has been in their (the Board of Trade's) opinion ground for suspecting a miscarriage of justice." This was a measure of justice, but it stopped short of what was actually required, which was put off for a more convenient season. In compliance with the requirements of this Act, the Lord Chancellor made new rules as to assessors on Courts of Inquiry, which placed their appointment in the hand of the Home Secretary. These rules also ordained that where the certificate of any officer was in question there should not be less than two assessors having experience in the merchant service ; and in the case of an engineer, one at least was to be an engineer holding a first-class certificate and of at least five years' sea service. In 1880 new rules were added, principally applying to the re-hearing of cases in Courts of Appeal. Serious Losses at Sea. — Stowage of Grain. — Mr. Martell's paper on Losses at Sea. — In addition to the discussion as to seaworthy ships, another feature leading to unseaworthiness was now seriously exercising the minds of owners and others con- nected with merchant shipping, and that was the very serious number of vessels (principally steamships) which, grain-laden, were lost and missing. As, in most of these cases, the crews disappeared with the ships, it was very difficult to obtain evidence as to the momentary causes. In a most valuable paper addressed Il6 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. to the Institution of Naval Architects in April, 1880, Mr. Martell, the Senior Surveyor to Lloyds, discussed the probable causes. Inter alid, the " want of proper care in loading," and a ''want of initial stability" in certain classes of vessels, were prominently adduced. The latter was a question for Lloyds and naval architects to deal with ; the former could only be properly dealt with by legislation. Accordingly, the Govern- ment introduced and passed the Act, 43 & 44 Yict. c. 43, in which stringent rules were laid down in reference to the stowage of grain cargoes, under heavy penalties. Beyond the two causes stated above, Mr. Martell, while laying no undue blame on either, referred to acts of management as being partially responsible for bad stowage. First, the hasty despatch required by owners. " The greater original cost, and the expenses in working steamers, as compared with sailing ships, have also made rapid despatch in port a question of greater importance ; the consequence of this has been that too little attention has been given to the stowage of cargoes," &c. &c. Secondly, of the masters, after giving credit for increased education and intelligence, he says, " When we come to consider other causes of loss arising from overloading and improper stowage, it will be impossible to acquit shipmasters of all blame ; but it must be remembered of them that, whatever their faults of omission, or of commission, they always risk, and too often have to pay the penalty with, their lives for their mistakes, whether they arise from ignorance or inadvertence." Port of Montreal. — As a proof of recklessness or carelessness, he refers to what had occurred at Montreal, than which port none had suffered so many losses of grain-laden ships prior to 1873. The Port Warden of that port was charged with seeing all grain ships properly laden under certain rules laid down by the port authorities. The fine upon any shipmaster for non- compliance was $40. " This fine was so ridiculously low that the shipmasters paid it as a matter of course, loaded their ships as they liked, and numerous losses used to ensue." In that year the fine was raised to $800 for evading the Port Warden's regulations, and since that time not a single grain-laden vessel from the Port of Montreal has foundered at sea. This story tells its own tale and teaches its own lesson to shipmasters. Whatever they may choose to risk for themselves, they have no right to imperil the lives of their crews. How many lives have they sacrificed, as well as committed moral suicide them- selves, to satisfy the greed of unscrupulous owners 1 A small fine was paid with a light heart, but when it was made heavy enough to make it no longer worth while to risk it, the evil was cured. DETENTION OF OVERLADEN SHIPS. 1 17 Capsizing of the "Daphne." — Inquiry by Sir Edward Reed and his Report. —The capsizing of the Daphne S.S., in course of her launch upon the Clyde on Friday, July the 4th, 1883, accentuated the fears in regard to the stability of vessels generally. The Home Secretary appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of the Daphne's disaster, which was presided over by Sir Edward Reed, the eminent naval architect. Its cause and the general question of stability were exhaustively treated. The Report is too long to be dealt with here, but Sir Edward's concluding remark may very well find a place as interesting to shipmasters and officers. He says, " I venture to add (in view of the relation of this case to the general question of stability) that with the large number of ships afloat possessing so little stability as to make their safety at sea dependent upon the judicious stowage of cargo, arrange- ment of coal and use of water ballast, it would appear to be high time that some knowledge of the elements of a ship's stability was imparted to the officers of the Mercantile Marine, and required of them by the Board of Trade examiners. I must be excused for further adding that the recent legislation of Parliament has, in my opinion, been much less efficient in preserv- ing life and property at sea than it might have been had the Board of Trade understood and recognised the very large extent to which this question of stability of necessity enters into the design, con- struction, stowage, load line, freeboard, and almost every other subject with which the Board has to deal in regulating merchant shipping matters." Detention of Overladen Ships — Load-line Committee. — The course of legislation had made it incumbent upon the Govern- ment officers to prevent overladen ships from proceeding to sea, but an absolute answer as to what was an overladen ship never having been given, left the question surrounded by difficulties. The various types of vessels that had sprung into existence, espe- cially steamers, filled the judgment as to the meaning of the term " overladen " with ambiguity. With a view to the solution of the question a Departmental Committee was appointed by the Board of Trade in January 1884, which consisted of thirteen of the most eminent Government officials, professors of naval archi- tecture, and practical shipbuilders, to consider "Whether it is now practicable to frame any general rules concerning freeboard which will prevent dangerous overloading without unduly inter- fering with trade," &c. un d the shipping trade in a state of great depression, and the amount of tonnage building had dropped to about one-half of what it had been in 1883 ; perhaps it was not so much depression as a return to a normal state, after the excitement of 1882-3. There was one noticeable feature in that excitement which led to the building of at least- one-fourth more tonnage than even in the years 1873-4, and more than has been quite reached since, and that was, the elevation of prices either of ships or material did not reach any- thing like the point of those years, the manufactories of both iron and steel being better able to meet the demand upon their resources. The labour market was the one most benefitted. Freights had gone up to a small extent, but now had fallen lower than ever. The volume of trade was little, if at all, diminished, but prices were less in every direction. Pull Report of the Commission in 1887. — At the end of 1885 the Royal Commission on the Saving of Life at Sea issued a resume of the evidence taken throughout the session, but without making any recommendation, as the inquiry was not finished. Parliament having been dissolved in November, and the old Com- mission superseded by a new one, under the chairmanship of Mr. Shaw Lefevre, in the beginning of the session of 1886, its labours were continued until 1887, in which year, on the 27th of August, its full Report was issued. The Effects of late Legislation described. — After reviewing 122 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. the legislation of late years, the Commissioners said : " When we look at the general results of the legislation thus referred to, upon the loss of life and property at sea in British vessels, it is most unsatisfactory to find no sensible effect has been produced in reduc- tion of their loss." Its apparent Inutility in preventing Loss of Life.— "From the returns laid before this Commission by the Board of Trade, the substantial accuracy of which has not been questioned, it appears that from 1874 to 1883 inclusively, there was a marked increase in the losses of British ships, and of the lives of those employed in them The most serious losses occurred in respect of vessels (excluding fishing vessels) reported as missing. No less than 699 vessels, with 8475 nan ds onboard, were reported as missing during this period of nine years, the cause of whose loss was unknown." Mr. Thomas Gray and the shipowners differed as to the number of seamen employed and consequently as to the average percentage of loss ; " but," says the Report, " whichever method of comparison betaken, the proportion of deaths from drowning of seamen was very high, and had undoubtedly increased during the period under consideration — viz., from 1 in 81 in 1875, to 1 in 56 in 1883." . . . To outside observers there is no reason to suppose that Mr. Gray was actuated by malice towards the shipowners, and that he wished to exaggerate the truth ; whereas it is very evident from the course of the evidence that, by every device possible, they endeavoured to minimise the truth, and to show that the ordinary perils of the sea alone were responsible for the loss, and not, as was alleged, from preventible causes. "It should be borne in mind," continues the Report, "in con- sidering this subject, that besides the lives actually lost at sea, very many more have been endangered, and only preserved by the means of safety so largely provided by Government aid and by private philanthropic effort." " From the tables prepared by the Board of Trade for nine years ending June 30, 1883, no less than 96,494 lives were saved at home and abroad, chiefly by lifeboats, rocket apparatus, ships' boats, &c. " The statistics above referred to were the latest available in the earlier inquiries of the Commission in 1885. Since then the statistics of three additional years have been obtained." .... Loss of life fell from 2019 in 1883 to 1181 in 1884 — 1190 m 1885 and 1067 in 1886 — a reduction of 42 % in those three years from the average for the previous three years Mr. Gray referring to this diminution, says, " he believes there have been three operating causes. In the first place there has REPORT OP THE COMMISSION. 1 23 been, on the whole, comparatively favourable weather ; in the second place there has been a marked, almost a general, decrease in the value of ships in policies of insurance ; and in the third place, the attention bestowed on the depth of loading and the general seaworthiness of ships has had effect." The Commission did not coincide entirely in Mr. Gray's views, but came to the conclusion that, " To whatever cause this diminution of loss of life during the years 1884-86 maybe due, it cannot be contended that it was in any way the result of the legislation of 1875-6 ; and the fact remains indisputable that, in spite of all the provisions made by Parliament, and the great increase of the staff of the Board of Trade, entailing a very large charge upon the country, there was not only no diminution in the loss of life at sea in merchant vessels in the years following upon this legislation, and up to the year 1883, but a considerable increase." .... In considering this conclusion of the Commissioners, it must not be forgotten that the aim of Mr. Plimsoll, and those who supported him, was to bring every ship of whatever class or description under the notice of a Board of Trade surveyor prior to sailing. On the other hand, the immense cost of such close surveys must not be lost sight of ; it had been shown that the annual charge for surveyors had risen from about ^12,000 per annum to over ,£50,000, and the question for the Commission was, Had the country received value for the increase ? And was it right that that should to any great extent be added to ? Although the action of increased strictness in survey had not been able to prevent an actual increase of loss, yet, without it, might not the loss have been a great deal more ? " The action of the surveyors," says the Report, " led to the breaking up of a considerable number of vessels of the lowest grade, .... and if these vessels had not been interfered with, it might have been that the loss of life would have been greater even than it proved to be On the other hand, it is equally clear that the surveyors of the Board of Trade were unable to prevent a large number from going to sea in a state which undoubtedly contributed to, if it was not the immediate cause of, disaster and loss." In connection with Mr. Chamberlain's proposed Bill, Mr. Forwood's letter to the Nautical Magazine has been quoted. The line of argument he adopts with regard to British shipmasters and officers was persistently followed by many of the shipowning witnesses, and with such full effect that the Commissioners came to the conclusion that, " Of all the vessels lost by strandings and by collisions, it is undoubtedly the fact that a very great number 124 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. of losses were due to the misconduct, or neglect, or error of judgment, of the officers or persons in charge of the ships ; and we are satisfied that in a large proportion of these cases the loss was due not to mere error of judgment, but to the neglect by the master or officers of the most ordinary rules and precautions of navigation. We notice habitual neglect of the use of the lead, and omission to slacken speed in fog. We think, however, owners may do much to prevent this class of accident by a careful selection of officers, and by insisting on the strict observ- ance of recognised rules and precautions, especially as masters undoubtedly feel the pressure of the demand for quick passages ! We also think that the neglect of the lead is sometimes attributable to an insufficient number of hands in the watches, and that this also sometimes affects the character of the steering and look-out, and has thus a bearing upon both strandings and collisions." The Report goes on to state the difficulty of bringing home responsibility to shipowners, and that " the very important provision of the Act of 1876, which made it a misdemeanor for the owner or manager to send a ship to sea in an unseaworthy condition, in consequence of the legal and other difficulties attending its enforcement, have been such that it has almost become a dead letter." . . . . " The alternative procedu repro- vided by the Acts of 1875—6, viz., that by which the Board of Trade is empowered to detain vessels which are unseaworthy, and to prevent them from going to sea, is attended with the utmost difficulty, and in practice has proved inefficacious." Mr. Gray, in his evidence, went very largely into the reasons for that failure, and the Commissioners conclude that they " do not see that any good results can be got from the extension of the system of surveys and from the increase of power of detention It would almost necessarily result either in the surveys becoming mere formalities, as in the case of France, or in the management of ships and everything connected with them being transferred from the owners to Government officials It would tend still more to level down, than to level up, the average condition of vessels, &c." The only alternative policy is to make shipowners more directly responsible in their civil relations to underwriters, charterers, and the officers and men employed in the vessels ; and on these points they make some recommendations. In regard to the condition and efficiency of officers and men, they were " unable to come to the conclusion that there was any just foundation for the allegations that British seamen have deteriorated in quality," and " in view of the facts of the case," PAPERS BY PROFESSORS ELGAR AND JENKINS. 1 25 they say, " we are unable to advise any interference by law with the employment of foreign seamen," stating further, " it is almost universally admitted by the witnesses that these men from the north of Europe are excellent seamen." They do not recommend reverting to the system of compulsory apprenticeship, which " system had to be abandoned in 1849 owing to the abuses it had given rise to," and say " that in the present day there would be far greater difficulty in re-establishing such a system." They recommended " that a simple professional examination should be required for the ratings of carpenter and boatswain," and " that seamen with the rating of A.B. should be required to have continuous records of their services." To any one who has the leisure to do it, a perusal of the evidence and full report will be instructive, but the meagreness of the result of two years and a half inquiry will undoubtedly be apparent. The great decrease in loss of life in the three years 1884-6 must have been due to some cause, but to what cause the Commission seemed unable, or unwilling, to attribute it. The result of all such inquiries, notwithstanding the evidence brought forward, seems to be a miserable and unsatisfactory compromise of the truth. Nevertheless, some good resulted, for it set many of our shipping authorities, naval architects, and others upon the alert. Papers by Professors Elgar and Jenkins. — In the autumn of 1886, at the meeting of the Naval Architects at Liverpool, during the Liverpool Exhibition, Professor Elgar presented a most valuable paper on "Losses at Sea in 1881 to 1885," * n which he treated the question very exhaustively, and accom- panied it by a set of admirable tables and drawings. A reference to these tables shows that a very large number of the vessels which disappeared were by no means old vessels, but of most modern build and type ; also that by far the larger number were either coal or grain laden, and the conclusion arrived at was that they foundered from shifting their cargoes, or, especially in steamers of the then fashionable narrow-beamed three-decked type, from absolute want of stability. This paper was followed in the spring of 1887 by another paper, contributed by the late Professor Jenkins, " On the Shifting of Cargoes," in which he treated the action of various cargoes under stress of weather and rolling and heeling motions of the ship, and what would undoubtedly take place under various degrees of shifting whether of coal or divers kinds of grain. u Notwithstanding the enforcement of the stringent regulations (of the Grain Acts of 1876 and 1880) .... the annual loss of life continues to be very large. During the three years ending 1877, 93 grain-laden British vessels foundered or were missing, 126 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. the number of lives lost being 833. In the next three years the number of vessels so lost rose to 1 1 1 and the lives to 946 ; but in the next triennial period, during the whole of which the Carriage of Grain Cargoes Act (1880) was in force, the numbers were reduced to 74 ships and 854 lives." The Professor then goes on to show that notwithstanding all the precautions taken, grain laden in bulk is a dangerous cargo. False Competition and Careless Stowage. — He touches also on coal-laden ships. " Vessels carrying cargoes of coal are subject to no restrictions as to stowage similar to those enforced in the grain trade Statistics appear to show that they need it quite as much. During the three years ending 1877, 200 coal-laden British vessels foundered or were missing, and with them were lost 991 lives. During the three following years the numbers of vessels so lost fell to 184 and the lives to 912 ; but in the triennial period ending 1883 the number of vessels rose to 314, and the lives reached the melancholy total of 1849, or mor e than twice as many as were lost during the same period from grain-laden vessels The subject," he says in concluding a most interesting paper, "is one that has no doubt received the attention of the Royal Commission now sitting on * Loss of Life at Sea ; ' and it is to be hoped that that body will not fail to recommend some plan under which the annual loss of life result- ing from the shifting of cargoes will become much reduced." This hope was never fulfilled, and the stowage of coal cargoes remains in a most disgraceful state for want of even the very common precaution of trimming properly. The coal is literally poured into the ships from shoots and staithes, and the moment the lading is finished the vessel is hustled off to sea, neither the owner, master, or charterer taking the least care of proper trim- ming or stowage, each party trying to throw the blame on the other, and so between them valuable lives are lost, the master too often sacrificing his own with those of the crew. As Admiral De Horsey remarked, "With unskilled stevedores, and fully in- sured ships and cargoes, the safety of the ship appears to be a matter of very secondary importance" and there can be no doubt that morally the possibility of full insurance of ship and cargo is, notwithstanding all the owners may say against it, a very im- portant and undeniable cause of loss. The false competition of managing owners makes it imperative to save expense in the treatment and loading of cargoes, and although their great outcry is for seamen to command their ships, seamen are useless to pre- vent this dangerous practice of taking ships to sea improperly stowed, and all their experience stands for nought as against this cruel saving of expense. AMOUNT OF SHIPPING LEGISLATION. 1 27 The recommendations of the Commission on many points has been a dead letter, the general outcome of their inquiry being the "Life-Saving Appliances Act of 1888," which does not touch the root of the evil, but only makes provisions for the saving of life when accidents do occur. In 1888 an attempt was made to extend the Liability of Employers Acts to seamen. In the Bill introduced into Parlia- ment in that year Clause 14 extended the liability not only to the owners, but to the masters also. The manifest injustice of this aroused strong feeling throughout the profession, and the shipmasters' societies made such valid representations to the Government that there is no doubt the Bill would have been altered. The Bill, however, was dropped for want of time to carry it through in that session, and it has not since been revived. Amount of Shipping Legislation. — The extraordinary amount of legislation relative to the affairs of the merchant service which had taken place in the past half-century now rendered the codification of the Mercantile Marine Laws a matter of absolute necessity. There were no less than eighty-one separate A.cts referring to merchant ships entered in the Statutes in fifty- four years, i.e., from 1840 to 1894, which made it difiicult to ascertain what the law really was. In 1894 the Government set about this work, and by avoiding anything like new legislation or the introduction of such controversial matter as had wrecked the attempts of former Governments, it succeeded in passing the grand Act (57 & 58 Yict. c. 60) of that year. By it all the former Shipping Acts were repealed, and with a few minor exceptions it contains the whole law of merchant shipping and its personnel. The subject is one which touches so many in- terests that it is doubtful how long it will remain the single and undivided code ; already there are Bills before Parliament intro- duced by the separate interests, owners, officers and seamen, but they are all of so controversial a nature that it is difiicult to say whether all, or any, will become law. This brings to an end the history of the legislation affecting the Mercantile Marine and its varied interests, a history of which no British sailor ought to be ignorant. The material progress of the marine in wealth and volume has not been included in these last chapters, as it was thought best to give it a place by itself in the concluding portion, which will be found in the chapter on Statistics. ( 128 ) CHAPTER XIV. STATISTICS OF SHIPPING. Contents. — Board of Trade returns — British tonnage — Its increase com- pared with foreign — Steam tonnage — Fluctuation in shipbuilding — Gradual increase in number of ships since 1865 — Increase in size of ships and decrease in crews — Large vessels in 1850 and 1884 — Ship- building in 1895 — Comparison of the largest steamers in existence- North German Lloyds' new steamer — Increased competition in building in foreign countries — Causes of British success — Speculation — Improve- ment in economy of engines — Principal sources of foreign opposition in shipping. Board of Trade Returns. — For some years the Board of Trade has compiled from the returns of custom-houses and other sources in the various countries of Europe, our Colonies, the United States of America, &c, very elaborate statistics of the shipping of the world, which are year by year laid before Parlia- ment. Without such returns it would be impossible to gauge the progress of British shipping, or form an estimate of the commerce of the world, and thereby obtain a satisfactory knowledge of our own progress as compared with that of other nations. Sufficiently meagre at first, these returns have improved year by year until they have obtained a considerable degree of com- pleteness, and could we obtain from foreign countries full and regular returns, there would be little left to be desired. Since 1870 complete returns of tonnage owned, and of port entries and clearances, have been received from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the German Empire, France, Holland, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the United States of America. From Russia, Finland and Greece they have been irregular, but sufficient to afford an approximate yearly estimate. From Portugal the returns of entries and clearances only have been obtained, and from Spain none whatever. During the past fifteen years China and Japan have acquired fleets of ships built in Europe, and are now constructing warships and mercantile steamers on European models themselves. From those countries we have returns since 1880. BRITISH TONNAGE AND ITS INCREASE. 1 29 British Tonnage ; its increase compared with Foreign. — From the Progressive Tables relating to British and Foreign Shipping, presented to Parliament on the 17th day of June, 1895, the increase of the merchant navy of the British Empire appears to have been continuous from 1840 to 1885, during which period the tonnage was very nearly trebled, having amounted in the former year to 3,311,538 tons, and in the latter to 9,323,615 tons. Between 1885 and 1888 there was a serious lull in shipbuilding, and the registered tonnage had lost about 200,000 tons in 1887. From that date forwards the addition of tonnage has been pro- gressive, and the amount possessed by the Empire in 1894 was 10,512,272 tons.* This increase is more than accounted for by large additions to the steamers of the Empire, amounting during the seven years to no less than 1,967,334 tons, the total amount of steam tonnage being 6,377,337 tons, which, if we omit the coasting, river, and lake steamers of the United States of America (seeing that no competition exists between these steamers and those of other countries), is very nearly twice as great as the steam tonnage of all the rest of the world. The drop in British tonnage, 1885 to 1888, had its counterpart in all the other maritime countries, except in regard to the coast- ing trade of the United States of America, the two German ports of Hamburg and Bremen, China and Japan, the tonnage of these countries having increased continuously, apparently not experienc- ing the glut in shipping reached everywhere else. The great increase of foreign shipping in British ports from 18 1 5 to i860 has already been referred to. This will now be further illustrated. In 1840, whilst the navigation laws were in full force, the foreign entries in British ports were 31*25 % of the whole entries, leaving 6875 for British vessels. In 1850, when Free Trade had just begun its course, the foreign entries amounted to 34*9 %, and after a further ten years, in i860, to 43*65 %. Up to that year the United States had been one of our most serious competitors. In 1840 the proportion of vessels entering British ports flying the American flag as compared with the British was 15*89 %, and about the same in 1850; in i860 it amounted to 21*43 %i or 31*35 % of the total foreign entries. From that period the proportion dropped to 5 % in 1870, 2*43 % in 1880, and -54% in 1890, or practically nil for all competitive purposes, t At the same time foreign entries dropped * The tons referred to in these returns are the registered tons — gross tonnage would largely add to this amount. t As an illustration of this, in 1855 American vessels carried 76^6 per cent, of their foreign trade. In 1885 they carried less than 10 per cent., and in that year not a single American vessel left New York loaded with I 130 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. from 43*65 in i860 to 31*58 % in 1870 and 28*23 % in 1880. During the past five years it has been about 27 %, at which it seems stationary. To take another view of British commerce, reference is now made to the shipping entries in the ports of the principal European countries and the United States. In all these countries the pro- gress of British commerce is more than satisfactory ; in Russia in Europe British shipping entries increased in the years between 1880 and 1893 ( tne l as k y ear °f completed returns), from 40 % to 53-8 % ; in Norway, from n*8 %to 13 % ; in Sweden, from 13*5 % to 20 % ; in Germany, with slight fluctuations it has been 38% ; in France, from 40 % to 46*7 % ; in Italy, from 34*3 % to 44*8 %, and in the United States it has been fairly regular from 5 1 % to 52 % ; in Holland, the same at about 50 % ; Portugal is the only country in which there is a falling off in British shipping entries, viz. : from 63 % to 50 %. The foregoing items are sufficient to show the enormous preponderance of British shipping in the ports of the world, and there is little doubt but that in those countries from which the information received is slight and irregular, it would be found greater still. Steam Tonnage. — When reference is made to the steamship commerce of the world, some curious facts are discovered. In ports of the United Kingdom the entries of British steamers stood at 1,800,000 tons in 1850; in 1893 they were 49,893,628 tons, an increase of more than 1,000,000 tons per annum. Foreign steamship entries in 1850 w T ere 406,892 tons; in 1893, 13,776,504, or an average increase of 310,921 tons per annum. Although the increase in British steam tonnage entries is so much greater than that of foreign, the absolute percentage is slightly reduced from 81*5 % in 1850, or 88*5 % in 1870 (when it was highest) to 78% in 1892 (when it was lowest), that year being the highest for foreign steam entries with 22%. In 1893 the British steam entries were 49,893,628 tons, or 78*4 %, and foreign, 13,776,504 tons, with 21*6 per cent. In 1894 they were respectively 54,413,130 tons, or 78*7 %, and i4,745>5 1 5 ? . or 2i*3 %, the increase in the total steamship entries in the United Kingdom being no less than 5,488,513 tons in the year 1894. In Russia the percentage of British steamship entries in 1893 was 58*6; in Holland, 51*8; in Portugal, 52; in the United States, 55*9; in Germany, 41*1 ; in Italy, 45; in Sweden, 26*3; and in Norway, 20-8 ; but when the actual tonnage is taken into consideration it will be found that more than one-half of the steam commerce of the world is under the British flag. grain, although 1098 steamers and 93 sailing ships cleared from that port during the year, principally British. STEAM TONNAGE. 1 3 1 The steam tonnage owned by the British Empire in 1880 was 2,949,282 registered tons; that of all other foreign nations, 1,263,930 (omitting American coasting and inland vessels, which are strictly protected) ; in 1893 it was 6,149,188 and 3,164,131 tons respectively. From this it will be seen that while the in- crease in foreign steam merchant navies has been 1,901,201 tons in the thirteen years, that of the British Empire has been 3,199,906 tons. We now return for a moment to the total tonnage of the world, sail and steam combined. The total British tonnage in 1880 was 8,447,171, and in 1893 10,365,567. That of foreign countries from which we have regular returns, in 1880 — again omitting the enrolled coasting fleet of the United States, but allowing the approximate tonnage of 1,000,000 tons for those countries giving no regular returns, judged from what is to be found in odd years — was 8,569,516, or slightly more than the British; in 1893 ^ was about 8,632,616, showing very little in- crease. Now whilst all other countries had increased their steam fleets more or less, the increase of actual tonnage in any of them was but small ; in several there was an actual decrease. The most notable increase was in the tonnage of the German Empire, amounting to 340,533 tons, but still more notable is the increase in the steam fleets of Hamburg and Bremen — the former having 473,984 in 1894, more than five times the amount it possessed in 1880, very closely approaching the total steam tonnage owned by the French, which for several years has averaged 500,000 tons. Hamburg and Bremen possess 1,091,438 tons of shipping between them, or about one-twentieth of the whole world. These two cities are our severest competitors in the long steam routes of the world. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, China and Japan have gained, but in Italy, France, Austria-Hungary and the United States tonnage has declined — the latter most seriously, but her loss is compensated for by a large increase in her pro- tected coasting trade. The tonnage of Greece has improved since 1880, and it may be presumed that of Russia also, at least of steam tonnage, to which she has lately added largely. The steam tonnage of China is very regularly increasing, but still more that of Japan, a wonderful country, as she of late has proved herself in her struggle with China. From the foregoing figures we arrive at the conclusion that during the past fifteen years there has been added nearly 2 5 per cent, to British tonnage, whilst all the rest of the world has collectively been at a standstill. Fluctuation in Shipbuilding. — So far then as the nominal amount of tonnage shows the progress of British shipping we 132 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. ought as a nation to feel very proud of the position we occupy at the head of the world of commerce. As a shipbuilding nation our position is more remarkable still ; in forty years the average annual additions to tonnage have more than trebled. In 1854 the amount of tonnage built was about a quarter of a million tons, whilst in that year the United States of America built over half a million tons, a higher limit than they have since reached. Since 1854 there have occurred four well-marked cycles in British shipbuilding ; and singularly enough the same thing has occurred in America, but with increasingly different results. In 1864 we reached the first summit with 460,833 tons; a sudden drop occurred three years after to 305,979 tons. In that year also the United States reached its summit with 415,741 tons, dropping gradually year by year, until in 1872 it was only 209,052. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, went on in- creasing its output, until in 1874 it reached the second summit of 603,867 tons. In the same year America made also another spurt with 432,725 tons, and this increase was absorbed entirely by its coasting and inland trade. The over-sea trade had been ruined by the Civil War, and in the years succeeding the war she sold no less than 800,000 tons of her foreign-going ships to foreigners. In 1883 we reached another summit with 892,216 tons, and in 1889 another with 854,799 tons. In 1874 a great plethora of tonnage was created, and this was felt by the sudden drop in the output two years after to 378,020, not two-thirds of that of 1874. In 1883 the highest point was reached, and so great had been the effort and excitement that in two years it fell to only about one-third of the amount, showing that the output had been considerably overdone, and yet for the four years, 1889-92, there was added new tonnage to the amount of over 800,000 per annum. Where it all finds employment is one of the marvels of this age of iron and steam. Gradual Decrease in Number of Ships since 1865. — There is another statistical view of shipping and tonnage which must not be overlooked. In the discussion of the foregoing figures, it must be remembered that tonnage alone has been dealt with ; we must now refer to the number of ships in relation to tonnage, and we shall find this part of the discussion of more interest to sailors as affecting their employment, for this is regulated more by the number than the tonnage of the ships, especially as regards masters and officers. Increase in Size of Ships and Decrease in Crews. — In 181 5, at the close of the French and American wars, we possessed 21,869 ships, of 2,477,831 tons (of these about a dozen were small steamers), and 163,817 men, the average size of ship being 113 INCREASE IN SIZE OF SHIPS. 133 tons, and the average number of men 6*6 to every hundred tons. In the twenty following years this number absolutely decreased, and in 1835 we had only 20,300 ships of 2,360,303 tons, and 144,978 men, a reduction of 1569 ships, 117,528 tons, and 18,844 men ; and the curious fact is also seen that the American shipping decreased in the same, if not greater proportion, whilst the ship- ping of the British plantations increased from 203,445 tons to 423,458 tons, or more than double. As Australia was still in its very infancy, this shows the great prosperity our North American colonies enjoyed on the accession of peace, which also made room for the 18,000 seamen we could not employ at home. In that period the average size of ship had increased to 1 1 6 tons, and the average number of men to every hundred tons was reduced to 6*2.* In the next twenty years — 1835 to x ^55 — we ^ n( ^ an increase of 9648 ships and 1,989,031 tons (rather better than 80 per cent.), and 71,395 men, about 50 per cent, more than in 1835, which gives in 1855 29,948 ships of 4,349,334 tons, and 216,368 men. In this same period American shipping had quadrupled, and then stood nearly level with our own ; that of our colonies had again more than doubled — now exceeding 900,000 tons. British ships averaged 145 tons, with 4*95 men to every hundred tons. In 1865 the number of ships was 21,626, of 5,408,451 tons, and 197,643 men; which gives an average of 250 tons a ship, and 3*65 men for every hundred tons. In 1875 there were 20,191 ships, of 5,891,692 tons, and 199,667 men, the ships averaging 292 tons, and the number of men 3*4 for every hundred tons. In 1885 there were 18,791 ships, of 7,209,163 tons, and 198,781 men, the ships averaging 377 tons, and the number of men 2*75 per hundred tons. * A very interesting statement is to be found in Lloyds' Annals, relative to the tonnage of the United Kingdom in 1830. It gives the number of ships and their tonnage, classified as under : — 50 tons and under 6452 vessels 50 „ to 100 tons . 5212 „ 100 „ to 300 „ . , 5890 „ 300 „ to 500 ,, 1298 „ 500 „ to 800 „ no „ 800 „ to 1000 „ 15 ;* 1200 ,, and upwards . 43 11 Total . 19,110 As this total is only a trifle under the Government returns, it may be taken as correct. The 43 ships of 1200 tons and upwards may be taken, with few exceptions, if any, as belonging to, or chartered by, the East India Company. 134 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. In 1894 there were 16,547 ships, of 8,716,285 tons, and about 224,000 men, of whom 26,175 were Lascars; which gives the average size of ship at 527 tons nearly, and 2*56 men per hundred tons. The foregoing statistics and the averages calculated from them refer to net register tonnage of the total number of British ships, including coasting and home trade vessels. Another view may now be taken, in which the foreign-going ships and those partly engaged in the foreign trade may be considered to represent the number of vessels requiring certifi- cated masters and officers. Tn 1849 there were 861 1 of these ships, of which 8509 were sailing vessels and 102 were steamers. The ships averaged 273 tons, with 4^5 men to every 100 tons. The steamers averaged 531 tons, with 7*38 men to every 100 tons. In 1865 the foreign-going ships, &c, had increased to 9914, of which 9047 were sailing ships and 497 steamers. The sailing ships averaged 432 tons, with 3 men to every 100 tons; and the steamers 653 tons, with 5*4 men to every 100 tons. In 1894 our foreign and partly foreign-going ships had decreased to 6030, of which 2091 were sailing vessels and 3939 were steamers. The sailing ships averaged 11 09 tons, with 1 '7 men nearly to every 100 tons ; and the steamers 1,400 tons, with 2*25 men to every 100 tons. If we take the foreign-going ships alone, w T e shall have sailing ships, averaging nearly 1,240 tons, with i*6 men to every 100 tons, and steamers 1,462 tons, with 2.24 men to every 100 tons.*' It will be evident from the foregoing figures that one of the most remarkable features is the increase of the size of the vessels since 1865, the ships now averaging three times the size they did at that time. On the other side we have a decrease of fully 39 % in the number of ships, and so employing an equivalently less number of masters and officers. No wonder the masters have felt the severity of the times as compared with a generation back. The striking increase in the generation before gave employment to masters and officers as fast as they could be bred ; but now the reverse is the case. In the past thirty years more than 100 masters have been thrown out of employment every year in con- sequence of the reduction in the number of vessels ; this more especially applies to the masters of sailing vessels, who are 7823 fewer than they were in 1865, so that an average of 260 must * The average number of hands in steamers includes the crews of the large passenger steamers with their numerous stewards and servants, all of whom count. As a fact there are many cargo steamers sailing on long voyages with less than one man for every ico tons gross, seamen and engineers all told. SHIPBUILDING IN 1895. 1 35 have lost employment every year. The effect of this will be referred to later on. Large Vessels in 1850 and 1884. — Although the means of employment have decreased so largely, the responsibility of masters has largely increased, In 1850 there was not a vessel on the regis- ter of 2000 tons. In 1884 there were afloat or building 138 vessels of over 4000 tons ; one, the Great Eastern (now no more, having been broken up), of 18,915 tons; the City of Rome 81 41 tons; the Etruria and Umbria, 7718 tons; the Servia, Oregon (since lost) and Aurania, each over 7000 tons ; 31 over 5000 tons, Ac. Shipbuilding in 1895. — The shipbuilding returns for 1895, compiled by Lloyds' Register, show that the total output from the shipyards of the United Kingdom during the year was 638 vessels, of 1,099,078 tons, consisting of the following classes : — Merchant and other vessels, steam. 526. 904,991 gross sail 53 45,976 „ Warships, steam — At Government yards . . 8 70,370 D.S. At private yards 5i 638 77,741 Total . 1,099,078 tons. The output of the year in the United Kingdom is less than that of 1894 by over 95,000 tons, but the proportion of steam tonnage to the total launched has been much higher. In 1892, sailing tonnage formed no less than 24 % of the output; in 1893, 14 % ; in 1894, 8 % ; and in 1895 it has formed less than 5 %. The warship tonnage launched in 1895 has exceeded that launched in 1894 by upwards of 115,000 tons displacement. If these figures be included in the comparison, the output of 1895 nas exceeded that of 1894 by 20,000 tons. The increase of the merchant tonnage of the United Kingdom, after accounting for purchases and sales abroad and losses by wreck, is 129,000 tons, produced by an increase of steam tonnage, and a decrease of sailing tonnage of 108,000. The net increase of the United Kingdom, compared with the total output of new tonnage, is unusually small, and this is accounted for by the larger number of sales and of building orders from abroad. Comparison of the largest Steamers in existence. — The largest steamers which have been launched in the United Kingdom during 1895 are the following : — Georgia 10,077 gross tonnage Armenian . . . 8,765 Cestrian . • 8,765 Victorian . • 8,677 American , , 8,196 136 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. The largest sailing vessel is the Iranian, 2958 tons gross. In the United States of America the s.s. St. Paul and St. Louis, of 11,629 tons, have been launched, but no other steamer over 6500 tons is included in the returns from abroad. Germany has launched the five-masted barque, Potosi, 4027 tons; and France the four -masted barque, Wulfrau Puget, 3062 tons. The total output for the world of merchant tonnage is computed at 1,2 18, 000 tons, and deducting losses, &c, the net increase is 518,000 tons, produced by the growth of steam tonnage, over- balancing a net reduction of 306,000 tons of sailing vessels. According to Lloyds' Register for 1895-6, the United Kingdom possessed 114 steamers of 5000 tons and over; Germany, 12; Spain, 4 ; Russia, 3 ; Holland and Belgium, 3 ; France, 1 ; and America, 2, to which she has added 2 more. Of steamships over 8000 tons, the United Kingdom possesses 16; America, 4; Germany, 2 ; and France, 1 . The two largest steamships now afloat are ohe Cunard steamers, Lucania and Campania, of 12,950 tons each, and the Americans have the two next, the St. Louis and the St. Paul, of 11,629 tons each. The American steamers, New York and Paris, transferred from the British register, are of 10,508 tons. Then come the White Star British steamers, Teutonic and Majestic, of 9984 and 9965 tons respectively. These vessels are all twin screws, and have a speed of 20 knots or over, but the Lucania and Campania broke the record with voyages completed at 2 1 knots and over. North German Lloyd's new Steamers. — The North German Lloyd is generally supposed to be taking a leap in the dark by entrusting the construction of their new 22-knotter to a firm which previously has built nothing bigger than torpedo boats. A demand for high speed and a desire to foster home industries have, no doubt, prompted the company to fix on Elbing for the building of a ship which is to put the Cunard and White Star Lines in the shade. Increased Competition in Building in Foreign Countries. — This is mentioned to show the gradually increasing competi- tion of foreigners in the building of large steamers, for which they have hitherto been dependent mainly on British shipbuilders, and it does not require much argument to show that as more and more capital is invested in tools and plant in foreign countries, and the cost of production more equalised, the greater will that competition become, and the less able shall we, as a country, be to maintain our present superiority in tonnage and our position as the carriers of the world. Causes of British success. — It has been said that you can make figures prove anything, but . it requires no unreasonable CAUSES OF BRITISH SUCCESS. 137 stretch in this case to show that our position in the over-sea carrying trades of the world is a very proud one. The out-and out free trader still imagines that free trade has done all this for us (and, strange to say, when we remember the opposition free trade received at his hands forty years ago, our shipowner has become in many, if not all, cases our most out-and- out free trader); but, in following our history, other circum- stances seem to have had quite as powerful an influence in placing us in our present position as free trade itself — in fact, these have become so intimately woven together with it that it is difficult to separate them. The American War occurred almost simultaneously with the transition from sail to steam, and from wood to iron in the construction of ships. As long as we were confined to timber for their construction, America and the Baltic countries could beat us ; but when our Watt, our Symington, and our Napier had shown us the road to steam power, and our Trevethick, our Dickenson, and our Laird had demonstrated the possibility of using iron as a material for our hulls, we began a race which, aided by a plentiful store of cheap iron, coal, and labour, ended in more than victory, and must have done so, all other circumstances notwithstanding. The American War, ending in the destruction of America's fine fleets of wooden vessels, accentuated the position, but did not create it ; and free trade did not do much for us, except open a door for unlimited competition . prior to that war. One thing we know — America had tried to compete with us for the steam trade between the two countries and signally failed. Again, America's protective policy, produced by the determination to foster her internal resources, caused her refusal to purchase the ships and steamers we could have supplied her with so cheaply, and left the field still more open to us. May we not conclude then that our remarkable facilities for the production of cheap steamers and ships of the modern type have done more for us than all the other fortuitous circumstances put together, and as long as we can maintain this cheapness of production the pre-eminence must remain with us, and our position as the great carriers of the world be secure ? Were it not for the intense fluctuations caused by over-production on the one hand, and ruinous depression on the other, British shipping would be a secure and valuable property. Speculation. — The slightest lift in freights seems to create a speculation in shipbuilding, and a corresponding increase in tonnage, which is thoroughly unwarranted by the real necessities of trade, however much it may be by a desire to conduct it economically. The progress of science, and in the arts of ship- 138 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. building and engineering, have made such wonderful strides not only in economy of construction, but also in the cost of working steamers, that the new vessels are completely superseding the older, and can really make a fair living at freights, which it is beyond the power of the older vessels to do. Hence the desire to build vessels of the newer type beyond the actual tonnage wants of the day. Improvement in Economy of Engines. — Of vessels with the old-fashioned direct acting engines, burning at the rate of three to four pounds of coal per indicated horse power per hour, very few are left. The highest steam pressure employed in these seldom exceeded 30 pounds per square inch. When we consider that the compound engine was only introduced into commercial steamers generally about 1870, it follows that the whole commercial steam fleets of the world have been revo- lutionised within the past twenty-five years. First, by compound two-cylinder engines with pressures ranging from 60 to 90 pounds, replacing the old direct expansion engines, which in their turn are being fast superseded by triple and quadruple cylinder expansion engines with pressures ranging from 140 to 180 pounds. The most favoured ones at present being triple expansion cylinders on three cranks with about 160 to 200 pounds pressure. There is no doubt but that the three cranked engine can give many points to the two cranked engine, and that the only improvement in using higher pressures as far as the cylinders are concerned, will be attained by placing three small high pressure cylinders over the present three cranked engines, which has been done in a few instances. We have now to add the system of forced draught, with or without superheated air, as a further economiser. By this means the boiler power is said to be obtained with little more than half the firegrate and heating surface otherwise necessary, and the saving of room is so great that owners can afford to give up the 32 per cent, reduction from the gross for net register tonnage, and be content with the allowance of the actual engine and boiler space occupied, plus (in the case of screw steamers) three-fourths of that space, according to the Shipping Acts. Every improvement makes a percentage of improved profit in the owner's favour, and the rate at which cargoes can now be moved about the world is astonishing to us of the older regime. A ton weight of cargo can be taken to or from Bombay, in a modern cargo steamer, at a cost of less than five shillings per ton for fuel, crew, and stores, at the average cost of fuel, wages, and victualling on such a voyage. Principal Sources of Foreign Opposition in Shipping. — In considering our present position we must not overlook the FOREIGN OPPOSITION IN SHIPPING. 1 39 foreign competition which some of our friends look upon with so much dread. Referring to the statistics it does not seem as if we had much to fear, tonnage alone considered. Take the German Empire, usually thought to be one of our most prominent opponents, and we do not find that its tonnage has increased so very largely in the past fourteen years, as that increase has only been 340,533 tons, as compared with the United King- dom's increase of 2,381,668 tons in the same period. What we do find is that the German ports of Hamburg and Bremen have in- creased their fleets by 636,950 tons, whilst the other ports of the Empire have lost proportionately. The greatest opposition then we have to encounter from the Germans is in the increase of the fleets of mail steamers running across the Atlantic and to the Eastern seas from these two German ports, which steamers, principally, and until of late years, built in the United Kingdom, compare very favourably with our own. The steady stream of emigration from Germany to the United States, and elsewhere, accounts in great measure for the production of these fleets, and it would have been more than human if such a country as Germany had neglected such an opportunity, and per- mitted their people to be dependent upon British lines of transit in their exodus from the Fatherland, as they formerly, to a great extent, were. In the same way and upon the same lines we have opposition by the French, but this is not an increasing quantum, although largely bounty- fed. Russia also runs its lines of steamers to the East rid the Suez Canal, but they can scarcely be called competitors, as they are entirely the creation of the State, and would not live for a year if left simply to commercial resources. The Italians also have made desperate efforts to maintain over- sea trades, but, if we may judge from the persistent decrease in Italian tonnage, with very poor results. Then again we hear of Norwegian and other Northern opposi- tion. We are told that our timber trade has fallen into their hands, and, perhaps, the rough timber trade did for a time, when they purchased our used-up fleet of timber ships — legislated out of our hands by our prudent precautions against loss of life, which had become serious in these fleets. But what proof have we that this opposition is very serious after all ? Norwegian tonnage in 1894 was only some 270,000 tons in excess of what it was in 1875, and we have also this fact apparent, that a great portion of the timber which used to be sawn in this country is now sawn, and to a certain extent worked, where it is grown, into such portable stuff that it is brought to this country in steamers mainly our own. Our 140 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. saw-millers and joiners have suffered from this change more than our shipowners. There is one branch in which the Norwegians have succeeded in great measure in supplanting us, and that is in the trade between the United States and the West Indies, where at one time a goodly number of British steamers were employed ; and one reason given for this success is the fact that the Norwegian crews are more docile, and stick better to their ships when employed so far from home than the British, and being more thrifty are able to save more money to take back to their own homes out of less wages ! Certain it is that at the end of 1889 there were about 30 steamers belong- ing to Norway so employed, and since that time many others have been built in this country for Bergen owners for the same trade. All things considered there is not much reason to complain. The bulk of the carrying trade of the world is still in our hands, and we are far more indebted to our constant periods of over-building than to outside opposition for our periodical measures of unsuc- cessful trading. All the world's trade is not ours, and we cannot expect that it should be. PART II. THE PERSONNEL OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE. CHAPTER L SHIPOWNERS. Contents. — Shipowners — Tenure of shipping property — Sixty-fourths — Different kinds of companies — Limited Liability Acts — Mr. Thomas Gray's opinion of them — Reasons for adoption by ship managers. Having dealt with the general history of the Mercantile Marine, a description of the persons connected with it, their position, duty, and powers, will appropriately follow. The Personnel may be divided into two principal classes : the one being the owners of ships, and the other those who navigate them, who are usually termed Mariners. Shipowners. — The shipowner is one who invests his capital in ships with a view to profit, whether he has any knowledge — that is, technical knowledge — of ships or not, or of the business connected with their management. There are two modes recognised by law by which such investments may be attained ; either by investing in shares in vessels managed by private individuals, or by investing in a joint-stock company holding property in, or in owning, ships. Tenure of Shipping Property ; sixty-fourths. — The former mode of holding individual property in ships has been rigidly regu- lated by law. For the purpose of defining or registering such pro- perty a ship is divided into 64 parts or shares. If a ship belong to one individual, he is registered as the owner of 64-64^ shares ; but if there be a number of co-owners, each is registered as the owner of so many 64ths, according to the value of the interest held. Until 1880 there could not have been more than 32 persons registered as owners in any one ship, but in that year the number was extended to 64. For the encouragement of small investors, a number of persons, not exceeding five, may be registered as joint owners of a 64th share, but such joint owners are deemed one person, and the 142 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. property must be dealt with as a whole, and not in severalty (57 tk 58 Vict., cap. 60, sec. 5). The power to hold such 64th shares is strictly confined to British subjects, or to foreigners who have been duly naturalised according to law, and shall have taken an oath of allegiance to the British Crown and Constitution. Either must reside within the British dominions, or be a partner in a firm carrying on business within them; for instance, an Englishman resident in Paris, with no business in the British dominions, cannot own a British ship under this law (57 & 58 Vict., cap. 60, sec. 1). The responsibility of the management of ships so registered rests upon the combined owners, but for convenience it has been the practice for them to appoint one of their number as managing owner, or ship's husband, who can only be displaced by the vote of a majority of 64th shareholders, by whomsoever held. The managing owner must be registered at the registry office in which the ship is registered, and he is, in law, held responsible for all acts of management. If one of the co-owners be not appointed, then some other person must be registered as manager, and he will be subject to the same liabilities as if he were the managing owner. If this is not done, the co-owners are liable in proportion to their interest in the ship to a fine, not exceeding in the whole, of one hundred pounds each time the ship leaves any port in the United Kingdom (57 & 58 Vict., cap. 60, sec. 59). Under this tenure a shipowner's liability is not limited, but the managing owner remains, to a certain extent, under the control of his co-owners, and he can only contract debt on their behalf to the extent of necessary repairs, or the outfit necessary for a proposed voyage. He cannot perform any work upon the ship which may be held to be a new construction, alteration, or addition, without the several consent of the registered owners. Moreover, he cannot deal with the property of a minority of co-owners against their consent. For instance, if he proposes to send the vessel upon a voyage of which they disapprove, the court may be instanced to compel him to find security against loss on such a voyage. Different kinds of Companies. — On the other hand, " a cor- poration " (such as a joint-stock company) " may be registered as owner by its corporate name " (57 and 58 Vict., cap. 60, sec. 5 [v]); but an officer of the company must be authorised, under the common seal of the company or corporation, to perform the regis- tration and all other acts required by the Merchant Shipping Act. In connection with shipping, bodies corporate may be included under two general heads, viz. : LIMITED LIABILITY ACTS. 143 First, those companies which are incorporated, and hold their rights and privileges under Royal charters, or by special Acts of Parliament. Second, those companies which are incorporated under the Joint Stock Companies Act of 1837, or the Joint-Stock Com- panies Act of 1862, &c., commonly called the Limited Liability Acts. Instances of the first date back to the sixteenth century, and are exemplified in the charters granted to the Russian, Levant, East India, Hudson's Bay, and other trading Companies which carried on the greater part of the British foreign trade for over two centuries. All these have passed out of existence as trading companies except the Hudson's Bay Company, which still owns a few ships. They have been succeeded by the great chartered Steam Ship Companies of modern days, many of which have become enormous establishments, owning splendid fleets of immense tonnage, such as the Peninsular and Oriental Com- pany, the Royal Mail, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, and others. Of the second there are many gradations, ranging from fleets as large and important as those of the Chartered Companies, as, for example, the Cunard S. S. Co., (Ld.), (formerly a private company), the British India S. N* Co. (Ld.), the Union Steamship Co., etc., down to single ship companies of all sizes. Limited Liability Acts. — Under the Joint-Stock Companies Act 1862, &c, a company may be limited or unlimited, but there is no restriction as to the nationality of the shareholders, and the company may consist for the most part, if not entirely, of foreigners. Any person may form a British company, and hold British ships as the property of the said company, bounded only by the restriction that the office of the company must be within the British dominions. Some Single-ship Joint- Stock Companies are carried on under the unlimited powers of the Acts, these having been formed for the express purpose of the admission of foreign shareholders. By far the greater number, however, are enrolled under the limited liability principle, and these are largely increasing, as they afford the best field for speculative ship managers. It is very doubtful whether the Limited Liability Acts were originally intended to apply to individual ships, and it appears that about fourteen years elapsed after the passing of these Acts before they were so applied ; and, seemingly, the vast changes in ship- owning and management brought about by it were not contem- plated by the legislature, or intended in any sense to override the old method of holding ships in sixty-fourths. 144 THE BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE. Mr. Thomas Gray's opinion on the Limited Liability- Acts. — Mr. Thomas Gray, the Assistant Secretary of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, gave some remarkable evidence of what he deemed the evils of the system, and the reckless speculation and mismanagement to which it gave rise. He attri- buted the invention to one of the largest shipowners of Liverpool, who adopted the system with a view to escape the legal liability of one ship belonging to a shipowner being seized to answer for the default, by damage or otherwise, caused by another ship belonging to the same owner. Each individual ship belonging to a separate Company, although under the same actual manage- ment, could not be so attacked \ and so by separating the interests involved the shipowner escaped this liability. Reasons for Adoption by Ship -managers. — The possi- bility of owning ships in this manner attracted the attention of the speculative ship-manager, and it was soon brought into use, as it afforded a much larger distribution of shares — to him a ^10 shareholder was as good as a ^iooo one, as long as he could get enough of them. The reasons for a ship-manager preferring to form a company even for the holding of a single ship are obvious : First, a speculative investor is much more easily induced to take a share or shares when liability is limited to the sum men- tioned. A second reason is, that a foreigner may be a shareholder in a company, and advantage has been largely taken of this loophole by the modern ship-manager to strengthen his own particular connection in foreign countries. A third is, that the ship-manager, who wishes to possess un- divided or autocratic power, can so manipulate the Articles of Association that he obtains the indefeasible right to manage the ship just as he pleases, and very possibly succeeds in placing himself above all responsibility to his shareholders, except the paying of such dividends as may accrue, and sometimes even so far as to prevent the shareholder withdrawing his capital out of the company for ever. The result of the law as it stands is, that it lands us in the curiously anomalous position of having two exceedingly diverse modes of holding property in ships called British ; by the one it rigidly restricts ownership to British subjects, and, by the other it throws it open to the world. Each system has its ad- vocates, but probably in a few years the private shipowner will be a thing of the past — the company system will have obliterated him. The management of ship companies under limited liability is REASONS FOR ADOPTION. 145 so generally lucrative without entailing personal responsibility, that it is not to be wondered at that so many have entered upon it, and thereby created a competition which has proved well-nigh fatal and forced freights down to such a low ebb as to make it almost impossible to provide for the due depreciation of shipping property, which takes place rapidly, and the consequent loss of capital. ( 146 ) CHAPTER II. THE MARINERS, OR THE EMPLOYED. Contents. — The Mariners — Master Mariner— The Mates— Their qualifi- cations—Petty Officers, &c. — Able Seamen— Apprentices— Engineers and Firemen— Cooks, Stewards, &c. The Mariners. — The terms mariners, sailors, or seamen, have been indifferently applied to those who make up the navigating crew of a ship ; but by way of distinction the term " seaman " has been used as meaning more than mariner or sailor and as signify- ing a " skilful or experienced mariner." Master Mariner. — The head or chief mariner in each ship is termed the master mariner, and, in law, he holds a special place as distinguished from all the others. By courtesy, when addressed he is styled " Captain," but legally, the " Master." He must be an experienced seaman and navigator, appointed by the owner to take charge of and navigate his vessel, and to perform all the duties required for its profitable employment, conduct, and safety. The law gives him almost unlimited power and authority over the crew, and at the same time places upon him many responsibilities, with regard to his ship and them. He must be 21 years of age, and have served six years at sea, one of which must have been passed as a mate in charge of a watch, and in possession of a first mate's certificate ; he must also have passed an examination by the Board of Trade and obtained a Certificate as an Ordinary, or Extra, Master, to qualify him for an appointment as Master by the owner of any foreign-going vessel under the British Flag. In the Home Trade the Master does not require a certificate unless the vessel is licensed to carry passengers, in which case the master must possess a Home Trade certificate, unless he pos- sesses a foreign-going one. If an officer proceeds to sea as master without a certificate of the rank in which he is employed, both he and the owner are liable to forfeit ^50 (57 k 58 Vict. c. 60, s. 92 [2]). The Mates.— Their Qualifications. — The first mate is the next officer in command ; he must be at least nineteen years of PETTY OFFICERS, ETC. 1 47 age, and have served five years at sea, one of which must have been as second mate, or as a junior mate in charge of a watch, in possession of a second mate's certificate, for twelve months at sea. The second mate ranks next, and must be seventeen years of age, and have served four years at sea, as an apprentice or before the mast as a seaman, and produce certificates from his employers for good conduct and sobriety, especial stress being laid upon the latter. Since the increase of steam shipping the regulations require that at least one year of the four must have been passed in a square rigged sailing ship,* if the future service is to be in sailing vessels. The law has nothing to say to a sailor in respect of the manner of his education ; this is left entirely to individual effort ; but a certificate applies to sailing vessels as well as steamers, and there- fore a certain amount of sailing ship experience is required. There are, however, exceptional certificates applying to steamers only, for those who have had no sailing ship experience, and wish to apply for them, which we believe is rarely the case. The number of mates carried in any ship is dependent upon the will of the owner. The law would perhaps insist upon one only ; for, although, by the granting of two classes of certificates (first and second) two are contemplated,t yet this is not compul- sory. A ship of any size may therefore proceed to sea with only a certificated master, and a single mate, and there are many instances in which sailing vessels and steamers do so. In the better class of vessels, especially steamers, as many as four, five, or even six mates are carried, and in that case the first and second mates must possess certificates of competency as such. Practically in all the mail lines these officers are required to have masters' certificates, and the third,