It may be possible to fill a ship with
boilers, and to save a few hours in the passage from Liverpool to
New York by a tremendous expenditure of coal; but whether that
will answer the purpose of any body of shareholders must be left
for the future to determine.
"Brute force" may be still further employed. It is quite
possible that recent "large strides" towards a more speedy
transit across the Atlantic may have been made "in the dark."
The last ships we have constructed for Ismay, Imrie and Co. have
been of comparatively moderate dimensions and power--the Arabic
and Coptic, 430 feet long; and the Ionic and Boric, 440 feet
long, all of 2700 indicated horse-power. These are large cargo
steamers, with a moderate amount of saloon accommodation, and a
large space for emigrants. Some of these are now engaged in
crossing the Pacific, whilst others are engaged in the line from
London to New Zealand; the latter being specially fitted up for
carrying frozen meat.
To return to the operations of the Belfast shipbuilding yard. A
serious accident occurred in the autumn of 1867 to the mail
paddle-steamer the Wolf, belonging to the Messrs. Burns, of
Glasgow. When passing out of the Lough, about eight miles from
Belfast, she was run into by another steamer. She was cut down
and sank, and there she lay in about seven fathoms of water; the
top of her funnel and masts being only visible at low tide.
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