CHAPTER V.

STEAM TO INDIA AND THE EAST.

During the earlier years of commerce with India, the route from Britain was by the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Caspian, through Persia, reaching India at its northern extremity. The sea route, _via_ the Cape of Good Hope, was discovered by the Portuguese in 1497, and continued to be the great highway of commerce to the East until our own times. Although circuitous, the Cape route was infinitely preferable to that of inland seas and deserts infested by hostile tribes, to say nothing of the advantage of reaching destinations without transhipment.

The importance of India as a field of British enterprise began with the incorporation of the East India Company in the year 1600. From a small trading company it gradually became a vast aggressive monopoly, with a large standing army at its back, and a numerous fleet of ships that served the double purpose of carrying merchandise and fighting the French, or any other covetous enemy. In 1811, when the company had reached the zenith of its power, it owned sixty-seven ships, each armed with from 30 to 38 guns; thirty-one ships of from 20 to 28 guns, and fifty-two ships of from 10 to 19 guns. The sea route to Calcutta was over 13,000 miles, and not unfrequently a whole year was occupied in making the round trip. In the days of clipper ships, however, the single voyage was sometimes accomplished inside of one hundred days.

Lieutenant Thomas Waghorn, R. N., an English naval officer, applied to the British Government for assistance in carrying out a project he had conceived of opening communication by steam between Britain and her great East Indian Empire. The result of his labours was the opening up of the overland mail route, as it was called, consisting at first of a steam service from Marseilles to Alexandria, thence by camel and Nile steamer to Cairo, a caravan across the desert to Suez, and steamers _via_ the Red Sea to Bombay and Calcutta. The next improvement was the substitution of a railway for “The Ship of the Desert,” in 1858, and the transmission of the English mails to Brindisi instead of Marseilles, and finally, the construction of the Suez Canal by Ferdinand Lesseps, the French engineer, at a cost of sixty million dollars. The canal is ninety-nine miles long with a width of 327 feet for 77 miles and 196 feet for the remaining 22 miles; the depth was originally twenty-six feet throughout, but the canal is undergoing progressive enlargement and deepening. The British Government in 1875 acquired by purchase shares in the enterprise to the value of £4,000,000 sterling. By a convention signed in 1888, the canal was exempted from blockade, and vessels of all nations, whether armed or not, may pass through it in peace or in war.[27] The North German Lloyd SS. _Frederick the Great_, of 10,500 tons register, which passed through the canal a few months ago _en route_ for Australia, is the largest vessel that has passed through it. The canal was first opened for traffic in 1869.

By the overland route the distance from London to Bombay has been reduced to 5,221 miles, and to Calcutta, 6,471 miles. The contract time for the transmission of mails is 16½ and 18½ days respectively. Sir Douglas Fox, engineer of the railway from Acre to Damascus, speaking of the proposal to extend that road to the mouth of the Persian Gulf, prophesied that in a few years the journey from Charing Cross to India will be covered in eight days! It will be accomplished in about the same length of time, _via_ Russia, when the great trans-Siberian railway is completed. When that is accomplished, the actual running time of an excursion around the world may possibly be reduced to thirty days or even less.

* * * * *

In preceding pages reference has been almost exclusively made to the development of steam navigation on the North Atlantic; a brief allusion must now be made to the effects produced on the commerce of other parts of the world by the introduction of steam power. The Atlantic steamers were probably the first to bridge the ocean; they are, perhaps, the most numerous to-day; certainly they include some of the largest and most magnificent specimens of marine architecture in existence, but they are only a wing of the world’s fleet of steamships. There are other great lines of ocean steamers performing services of equal importance elsewhere, though with their history and their “records” we are less familiar. An excellent summary of the lines of communication with India, and the East generally, is given in “Whitaker’s Almanacks” for 1896 and 1897, under the caption of “Our Ocean Mail.” Mr. Macdonald, in “Our Ocean Railways,” devotes a couple of chapters to an interesting survey of this branch of our subject.

THE PENINSULAR AND ORIENTAL COMPANY,

commonly known as the “P. & O.” Co., is the second oldest steam-packet company in existence. It had its origin in a small steamship undertaking, started in 1836 under the name of the “Peninsular Company,” to trade between Falmouth and Lisbon. Their first vessel was the _William Fawcett_, a paddle-steamer of 206 tons, built in 1829. The first steamer despatched for India by this company was the _Hindostan_ of 1,800 tons and 250 horse-power, about the year 1842. From that time until now the history of the company has been a continuous record of progress and prosperity They now carry the mails not only to India, but to China and Australia, having in their service a magnificent fleet of over sixty steamers, ranging from 2,500 tons to 7,560 tons, and aggregating some 220,000 tons. The SS. _Caledonia_ is at present the largest and fastest vessel employed in the Indian trade, and has succeeded in landing her mails in Bombay within 12½ days of their despatch from London. Their contract time for the delivery of mails in Shanghai is 37½ days, and 35½ days to Melbourne, Australia. Over $35,000,000 have been expended on the fleet of the P. & O. Company in the last twenty years, and they are now building several steamers of 8,000 tons for the mail service. Among the larger boats of the fleet at present are the _Arcadia_, 6,670 tons; _Australia_, 6,901; _Himalaya_, 6,898; _Oceanea_, 6,670, and the _Victoria_, 6,527 tons. During the Crimean war, and at the time of the Indian mutiny, this company rendered important services to the Government in the rapid conveyance of troops and stores. The regularity with which the mail service has been conducted is remarkable when the length of the routes is considered. It is seldom that the mails are even an hour late in being delivered. The ships combine all the latest improvements in their construction, machinery and internal fittings.

The P. & O. steamers leave London every Saturday for India, and fortnightly for Australia and China. The first-class ordinary fare to Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta by this line is £55 sterling; second-class, from £35 to £37 10s. To Adelaide, Melbourne or Sydney, Australia, first-class, £60 to £70; second-class, £35 to £40. To China and Japan, first-class, £73 10s.; second-class, £42. The rates for special accommodation are, of course, considerably higher.

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The Orient Steam Navigation Company was formed in 1877 by two well-known shipping firms—Anderson, Anderson & Co. and F. Green & Co. The first steamer to leave London under the flag of the Orient Line was the _Garonne_, acquired by purchase, and followed by the _Chimborazo_, _Lusitania_ and _Cuzco_. Two of these are now used on exclusively pleasure cruising voyages in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, while a number of large and powerful ships have been built for the mail line. The _Orient_, built by Robert Napier & Sons, Glasgow, in 1879, was the largest steamer constructed on the Clyde up to that time. She was 400 feet long, 5,365 tons register, and with engines of 6,000 indicated horse-power. Her speed was seventeen knots on her trial trip. The latest additions to the fleet are the _Ophir_, 6,057 tons; _Orizaba_, 6,077; _Oroya_, 6,057, and the _Ormuz_, 6,031 tons. The _Ophir_ is 482 feet long, 53 feet beam, and 37 feet moulded depth. She is fitted with triple expansion engines and twin screws, and all the other modern improvements which go to make up a “floating palace.” The company receives a subsidy from the Imperial Government of £85,000 sterling per annum for carrying the mails, which are despatched fortnightly from London calling at Plymouth, Gibraltar, Naples, Port Said, Suez, Colombo, Albany, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, Australia.

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The British India Steam Navigation Company dates from 1855, when the East India Company first took steps to establish a mail service between Calcutta and Burmah. In 1862 the name was changed from the Calcutta and Burmah Steam Navigation Company to that which it now bears. Since then the business has greatly increased, and it now boasts of having more steamers than any company trading to the East. Its fleet consists of 106 vessels with a total tonnage of about 270,000. They are nearly all called by Eastern names, such as the _Golconda_, 6,036 tons; _Matiana_, 5,000 tons; _Okhla_, 5,283 tons; _Onda_, 5,272 tons, and _Obra_, 5,456 tons. The distance annually travelled by ships of this line counts up to 5,000,000 miles. The sailings are about fortnightly from London to Colombo, Madras and Calcutta. The fares to Madras and Calcutta are from £47 10s. to £52 10s., according to accommodation. The first steamers of the line—the _Cape of Good Hope_ and the _Baltic_—were despatched to India _via_ the Cape. The _India_ of this line is said to have been the first steamer to pass through the Suez Canal. In 1872 a contract was entered into with the East India Company for a monthly service from Aden to Zanzibar. Then a coast line was established from Bombay to Calcutta, calling at eighteen intermediate ports, with a branch line running up the Persian Gulf. In 1880 arrangements were made with the Government of Queensland for a mail service that soon developed into a large trade. At the breaking out of the mutiny in 1857, a detachment of the 35th Regiment was brought up from Ceylon to Calcutta by one of the ships of this line most opportunely. Again, in 1863, thirteen steamers of this fleet were taken up by the Government in connection with the Abyssinian expedition.

Some years ago the _Quetta_, of this line, on her voyage from Queensland, struck a rock in Torres Straits and sank in a few minutes with the loss of 133 lives. Among the survivors was a plucky young lady, a Miss Lacy, who, after having spent twelve hours upon a raft, attempted to swim ashore, and kept afloat in the water for twenty-four hours without a life-belt or support of any kind, until she was picked up by a boat from a passing steamer.

The Clan Line, established in 1878, has a fleet of some thirty-five ships, all rejoicing in the prefix of “Clan” to their names. They are comparatively small vessels, the largest of them being the _Clan Grant_, 3,545 tons; _Clan MacArthur_, 3,934; _Clan MacIntosh_, 3,985; _Clan MacPherson_, 3,921, and _Clan Matheson_, 3,917 tons. They run from Glasgow and Liverpool to Bombay; from the same ports to Colombo, Madras and Calcutta; also to Cape Colony and Natal, Delagoa Bay, Beira and Mauritius. The saloon fare by this line from Liverpool to Madras or Calcutta is £45; second class, £30.

The Bibby Line has long been famous on the Mediterranean. It is now the direct route to Burmah, and controls a large share of the trade with Ceylon and southern India. It employs five of Harland & Wolff’s first-class steamships—the _Staffordshire_, _Shropshire_ and _Cheshire_, twin screw ships of 6,000 tons; and the _Lancashire_ and _Yorkshire_ of 4,260 tons each. This line is the recognized route for officers returning from India at the expiry of furlough. The sailings are from Liverpool to Egypt, Colombo, southern India and Rangoon. Only first-class passengers are carried. Fare to Rangoon, £50.

The Shaw, Savill & Albion Company, formed some thirteen years ago, has been very successful. It has five fast mail steamers—the _Arawa_, 5,026 tons; _Doric_, 4,786; _Ionic_, 4,753; _Tainui_, 5,031, and the _Gothic_, 7,730. Besides these they have a large number of cargo steamers and sailing ships. The _Gothic_ is said to be the largest steamship employed in the Australian trade, and the _Arawa_ the fastest, having made the run from Plymouth to New Zealand in 38 days, 30 minutes; and from New Zealand to Plymouth in 35 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes—the fastest on record.

The Union Steamship Company of New Zealand advertises to take passengers from Auckland to England, _via_ San Francisco, in _thirty-one_ days! Saloon fare, £66; steerage, £32 11s. 7d.

The Anchor Line has two services to India: (1) from Liverpool to Bombay and Kurrachee; (2) from Liverpool to Calcutta. The sailings in each case are about once a fortnight. Though chiefly adapted for freight, they carry a considerable number of passengers at low rates, say, to Bombay or Calcutta, first-class, £45, and second-class, £30. The City Line has also two distinct services, the same as the Anchor Line, to Bombay and Kurrachee and to Calcutta. The fares are the same. This line has a fleet of fourteen steamers, among the largest of which are the _City of Bombay_, 4,548 tons; _City of Vienna_, 4,672 tons; _City of Oxford_, 4,019 tons; _City of Calcutta_, 3,906 tons.

The Hall Line, from Liverpool to Kurrachee and to Bombay, calling at Marseilles, sails about once in three weeks. The ships are all about four thousand tons. The fare from Liverpool to Bombay is, for first-class, £47 10s., and for second-class, £30. The Henderson Line has sailings from Liverpool to Rangoon every three weeks, with accommodation for second-class passengers. The New Zealand Shipping Company has a fine fleet of steamers, from four thousand to six thousand tons, sailing once in three weeks from London to New Zealand ports, Tasmania and Australia. Fare to Auckland, £68, and to Melbourne or Sydney, £72. The North German Lloyd Line has a monthly service from Southampton to China and Japan, and also to Australia. Holt’s Line has sailings once a fortnight to China, Japan and Australia from Liverpool.

There are various other lines of steamers in the Eastern trade, but the above-named are the most important, unless we include the _Messageries Maritime_ and the _Rubattino_ Lines, both of which are formidable competitors for the freight and passenger traffic. The former is a French line, which has been in existence since 1852, and has attained a high rank. The fleet numbers about sixty vessels, many of them very large, handsomely fitted and fast. They are noted for their elaborate _cuisine_, which attracts a certain class of travellers, and though their rates are somewhat higher than the other first-class lines, they have long been very popular. The line to India has sailings from Marseilles and Trieste once a fortnight. The Messageries Company receives a very large subsidy from the French Government. The _Ville de la Ciotat_, built for the Australian trade, is a magnificent ship of 6,500 tons and 7,000 horse-power. The _Rubattino_ is an Italian line, which has a numerous fleet of steamers, chiefly adapted for the Mediterranean trade; but they have also a number of large vessels sailing at regular intervals from Genoa and Naples to Bombay.

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The Eastern trade is enormous. The total exports from and to India, Ceylon, the Straits, Labuan and Hong Kong amounted in 1889 to $1,031,000,000. The exports and imports to and from Australia amounted in the same year to nearly $526,000,000.[28] The net tonnage which passed through the Suez Canal in 1894 was 8,039,105 tons.

STEAMSHIP LINES TO AFRICA.

The African Steamship Company is one of the oldest and largest shipping concerns in the African trade. It originated in 1832 as a private expedition by MacGregor Laird, of Liverpool, for the purpose of exploring the Niger River. In 1852 the company received its charter, and agreed to perform a monthly mail and passenger service to West Africa in consideration of an annual subsidy of £30,000. The pioneer ships were the _Forerunner_, _Faith_, _Hope_ and _Charity_. Year after year numerous fine vessels were added to the fleet, among which are the _Leopoldville_, 3,500 tons; _Assaye_, 4,296 tons; _Mohawk_, 5,658 tons, and the _Mobile_, 5,780 tons. In 1891 this company amalgamated with the Elder, Dempster Company of Liverpool, and now have regular services from Liverpool to South-West Africa; from Hamburg and Rotterdam to West and South-West Africa; and from Antwerp to South-West Africa.

The Union Steamship Company was first formed in 1853, with a fleet of five small collier steamers. In 1857 a contract was obtained for a mail service to the Cape for five years at £30,000 a year. The service proved so satisfactory that the contract was renewed and extended. The Union Line now carries the English mail to the Cape and Natal, and also from Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Southampton to Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Natal, making calls at Madeira and Teneriffe. The _Scot_, built for this company by the Dennys of Dumbarton, is a fine ship of 6,850 tons, and has made the shortest voyage on record from Southampton to Cape Town, viz., 14 days, 11 hours. The _Norman_, of 7,537 tons, one of Harland & Wolff’s steel twin-screw ships, is the largest vessel employed in the South African trade. The _Guelph_, _Greek_, _Gaul_ and _Goth_ are also twin-screw ships, close upon 5,000 tons each.

The Castle Line, founded by Sir Donald Currie in 1872, has attained a front rank in shipping circles. Since 1876 this line has carried the Royal mails between England and South Africa. The fleet numbers some fourteen or fifteen powerful steamers, of from 3,600 to 5,636 tons, such as the _Tantallon Castle_, _Dunottar Castle_, _Roslin Castle_, _Doune Castle_, etc. The voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, which used to occupy from thirty to thirty-four days, is now accomplished by the Castle Line in half that time. Until recently this company enjoyed an enviable immunity from marine disasters, not having lost a single life through mishap of any kind; but one dark and hazy night in June, 1896, one of the best-known ships of the line—the _Drummond Castle_—while attempting to sail through the perilous channel between the Island of Ushant and the mainland, struck a sunken rock, and almost immediately went to pieces, only three persons out of a ship’s company of 250 having survived to tell the tale.

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The British and African Steam Navigation Company, established in 1868, conveys passengers and mails from Liverpool to the west coast of Africa. It has a fleet of twenty-four steamers, and maintains seven distinct services. It is under the management of Elder, Dempster & Co. The ships are from 2,000 to 3,000 tons register, and derive their names from the rivers and ports which they frequent, _e.g._, the _Bakana_, _Batanga_, _Loanda_, _Boma_, _Calabar_, etc.

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The Natal Line, from London to Natal, Delagoa Bay, and other East African ports, was founded by Messrs. Ballard, King & Co. in 1879. They employ a fleet of ten steamers, ranging from 1,600 to 2,750 tons—larger vessels being unable to cross the bar at Natal. They have also a colonial service under contract with the Government of Natal, from Cape Colony and Natal to Madras and Calcutta. There is also the Aberdeen Line from London to Natal direct; the British and Colonial Steam Navigation Company from London to South and East Africa; the East African mail service of the British India Line, and the German East African Line. The fares from London to Delagoa Bay vary according to the class of ships, from 35 guineas by the Natal Line, to £67 10s. by the British India Line.

WEST INDIES AND PACIFIC LINES.

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the ships of which line sail from Southampton to the West Indies, Central America, North and South Pacific, Brazil and River Plate, was founded in 1839, and has a large fleet of powerful steamers. The _Danube_, _Nile_, _Clyde_, _Thames_, _Magdalena_ and _Atrato_ are all over 5,000 tons, with engines of from 6,773 to 7,500 indicated horse-power. Among the smaller ships is the _Trent_, a namesake of the historic vessel which was boarded by the United States cruiser, _San Jacinto_, in 1861, when the seizure of Slidell and Mason nearly provoked a war with Great Britain. The West India and Pacific Steamship Company, with a fleet of seventeen steamers, keeps up a good line of communication between Liverpool, the West Indies, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean seas. The _American_ and _European_ are each 7,730 tons; the _Barbadian_, _Cuban_, _Jamaican_, _Mexican_ and _Tampican_ are from 4,020 to 4,500 tons.

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The Pacific Steam Navigation Company, incorporated in 1840, conducts a line of mail steamers from Liverpool to Brazil and River Plate, continuing the voyage to the west coast of America _via_ the Straits of Magellan. This company are the pioneers of steam navigation along the southern shores of the Pacific, and between Europe and the West Coast. They have also running in the Orient Line, from London to Australia, four of their largest steamers, viz., _Orizaba_, _Oroya_, _Oruba_ and _Orotava_, all over 6,000 tons. They have a large fleet of other ships, such as the _Orissa_, _Orcana_, _Potosi_, _Liguria_, _Iberia_, ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 tons each, and they are building others of large dimensions.

Messrs. Lamport and Holt have a fine fleet, consisting of over sixty steamers, running from Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, London, Antwerp and New York, to Brazil, River Plate, and the west coast of South America. A large percentage of their steamers are capable of carrying between 5,000 and 6,000 tons of cargo, and have a speed of from 10½ to 12 knots at sea. They also carry a limited number of passengers. The largest of their steamers are the _Canova_, 5,000 tons; _Cavour_, 5,500 tons; _Cervantes_, 5,000 tons, and the _Horace_, 4,000 tons. The Wilson Line—Thomas Wilson, Sons & Co. (Limited), Hull—in addition to their North American lines of steamers, have a fortnightly service to Bombay and Kurrachee, a monthly service to Australia, and a line of steamers running to River Plate ports, to suit the trade.

The fare from Southampton to the West India Islands runs from £25 to £35; from New York, by the Atlas Line, $50; and to Bermuda, by the Quebec Steamship Company, sailing from New York every Thursday, $25.

THE CANADIAN TRANS-PACIFIC STEAMSHIPS.

The idea of connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean by a railway through British territory had long been a cherished vision of British and Canadian statesmen, railway engineers, and travellers in the far West; but owing to the vastness of such an enterprise for a people of four millions, a “baseless vision” it continued to be until after the confederation of the provinces in 1867. Twenty years before that time, Major Carmichael Smyth, writing to “Sam Slick,” advocated the construction, by convict labour, of a trans-continental railway through British territory, and prepared a map on which the possible route of such a railway was marked—almost identical with that of the Canadian Pacific Railway.[29] Hon. Joseph Howe, in course of a speech made at Halifax in 1851, said he believed that many of his auditors would live to hear the whistle of the steam-engine in the passes of the Rockies, and to make the journey from Halifax to the Pacific in five or six days. Hon. Alexander Morris, in his lecture, “Nova Britannia,” delivered in 1855, predicted the accomplishment of such an enterprise in the near future. Judge Haliburton, Sir Edward Bulwer, Sir George Simpson and other _savans_ had all prophesied after the same manner. Sure enough, it was one of the earliest measures that came to be discussed in the first Parliament of the new Dominion. Preliminary surveys were commenced in 1871 by Sandford Fleming, chief engineer, and the work of construction by the Government followed soon after. But it early became apparent that Government machinery was ill adapted for successfully dealing with a work of such magnitude, and one unavoidably leading to political complications. It was therefore resolved to have the road built by contract. Finally, in 1881, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was organized, the prime movers of the enterprise being Messrs. George Stephen and Donald A. Smith, of Montreal. At this time the Government had under construction 425 miles between Lake Superior and Winnipeg, and 213 miles in British Columbia. This company undertook to complete the railway from Quebec to Vancouver, a distance of 3,078 miles, within ten years, for which they were to receive $25,000,000 in money, and twenty-five million acres of land, together with the sections of railway already under construction by the Government, the entire railway when completed to remain the property of the company. Such was the energy of the contractors and the skill of their engineers, the railway was completed in one-half of the time stipulated; for on the 7th of November, 1885, the last rail was laid on the main line, and by next midsummer the whole of the vast system was fully equipped and in running order. The opening of the Canadian Pacific Railway was followed by an immense development of traffic.

The natural outcome of this was the inauguration of a line of steamships from the western terminus of the road to Japan and China, as well as to Australia. Sooner than might have been expected, three very fine twin-screw steel ships were built at Barrow-on-Furness for the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, under contract with the Imperial and Dominion Governments for carrying the mails to Japan and China. The ships are named the _Empress of India_, _Empress of China_ and _Empress of Japan_.

The inauguration of the “Empress Line” was of the nature of a magnificent ovation. The maiden trips of the three sisters were largely advertised in connection with an all-the-way-around-the-world trip, _via_ Gibraltar, Suez, Colombo, Hong Kong, Yokohama and Vancouver, and thence by the Canadian Pacific Railway across the continent and home again by any of the Atlantic liners, all for the modest sum of $600. The proposal took readily, with the result that the three ships had a full complement of cabin passengers, all of whom expressed themselves as delighted with the arrangements which had been made for their comfort. The first steamer, the _Empress of India_, with 141 saloon passengers, reached Hong Kong on the 23rd of March, 1891, under easy steam, in forty-three days from Liverpool; leaving Hong Kong on April 7th, she reached Yokohama on the 16th. She left on the 17th, and, although encountering a very heavy gale, reached Victoria, B. C., in 10 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes, an average speed of 406 miles a day, or just 17 knots an hour. The regular monthly service from Vancouver to Japan and China commenced in the autumn of the same year. For this service the company receives an annual subsidy of $300,000, and an additional subvention of about $35,585 to secure their services to the British Government whenever the vessels may be required as transports or cruisers. The three ships are all just alike. They are painted white and are beautiful models, with raking masts and funnels, and graceful overhanging bows. They are each 485 feet in length, 51 feet moulded breadth, and 36 feet in depth; gross tonnage about 6,000 tons each. They have triple expansion engines of 10,000 indicated horse-power, which with 89 revolutions per minute, and a consumption of only 170 tons of coal a day, drive the ships at an average speed of 17 knots an hour. The arrangements and fittings for passengers are of the most complete and even luxurious description. The saloons and staterooms are tastefully decorated, handsomely furnished, and brilliantly lighted by electricity. They have ample accommodation for 180 first-class, 32 second-class, and 600 steerage passengers, with capacity for about 4,000 tons of cargo. They cost about $1,000,000 each.

The distance from Vancouver to Hong Kong is 6,140 nautical miles; the average passage is about twenty-two days. Yokohama is 4,300 knots from Vancouver, and the average passage is from eleven to eleven and a half days; but in August, 1891, the _Empress of Japan_ made the voyage in 9 days, 9 hours, 39 minutes, the shortest time on record, being at the rate of eighteen and a half knots an hour. After a fairly quick railway run across the continent to New York, and close connection with a swift Atlantic greyhound, her mails were delivered in London in the unprecedentedly short time of 20 days, 9 hours from Yokohama. This feat astonished London, and gave rise to speculations of rapid communication with the East hitherto undreamed of. Even with existing facilities, it is now not only possible, but it is easy to go round the world by this route in less than seventy-five days, and to do it in palatial style for less than $1,000!

In connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway a line of steamers commenced a monthly service in 1893 between Vancouver and Australia, calling at Shanghai, Sandwich Islands, Brisbane, Queensland and Sydney, N. S. W. The pioneer ships are the _Warrimoo_ and _Miowera_, of about 5,000 tons each, which have so far given a very satisfactory service. They receive a small subsidy from the Canadian and Australian Governments as a means of developing trade and commerce between the two countries, and as forging another link in the chain that binds the colonies to the Mother Country. A third steamer, the _Aorangi_, has recently been added to this line. The distance from Vancouver to Sydney, direct, is 6,832 knots, and the voyage has been made by the _Miowera_ in 19½ days, showing that with a fast Atlantic service and close connections the quickest route from England to Australia will be _via_ Canada.

Still more recently, the unprecedented rush of adventurous gold-seekers to the Klondike has induced the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to inaugurate another line of steamships to ply between Victoria and Vancouver and ports on the northern Pacific coast. Two very fine Clyde-built steamers have been placed on this route, the _Tartar_ and the _Athenian_, of 4,425 and 3,882 tons, respectively. These vessels are fitted up in first-class style, with excellent accommodation for large numbers of passengers. With the exception of the Empress Line of steamships to Japan and China, they are said to be much the finest steamers on the North Pacific coast.

George Stephen, now Lord MountStephen, was born at Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland, June 5th, 1829: came to this country in 1850, when he entered into business in Montreal, and was the pioneer of the woollen manufacturers in Canada. He became President of the Bank of Montreal and also of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which was completed mainly through his Lordship’s energy. Sir George Stephen, Baronet—so created in January, 1886—was elevated to the British peerage in May, 1891.

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Donald A. Smith, now Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, who was associated with Lord MountStephen in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, was born at Archieston, Morayshire, August 6th, 1820. He came to Canada in 1839 on the Hudson’s Bay Company’s staff, and eventually became Governor of that corporation. He has represented the city of Montreal in the Dominion Parliament, is President of the Bank of Montreal, and Chancellor of McGill University. He succeeded Sir Charles Tupper as High Commissioner for Canada in London in August, 1896. He received the honour of knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in May, 1886, and was raised to the peerage on the occasion of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, in 1897. The gifts of both these gentlemen for educational and philanthropic purposes have been upon a princely scale, running up into millions of dollars.

FOOTNOTES:

[27] “Whitaker’s Almanack,” 1897, p. 543.

[28] “Our Ocean Railways,” p. 119.

[29] “Statistical Year-Book, 1896,” under Railways, p. 20.