In 1883 we launched thirteen iron and steel vessels, of a
registered tonnage of over 30,000 tons. Out of eleven ships now
building, seven are of steel.
Such is a brief and summary account of the means by which we have
been enabled to establish a new branch of industry in Belfast.
It has been accomplished simply by energy and hard work. We have
been well-supported by the skilled labour of our artisans; we
have been backed by the capital and the enterprise of England;
and we believe that if all true patriots would go and do
likewise, there would be nothing to fear for the prosperity and
success of Ireland.
Footnotes for Chapter XI.
[1] Although Mr. Harland took no further steps with his lifeboat,
the project seems well worthy of a fair trial. We had lately the
pleasure of seeing the model launched and tried on the lake
behind Mr. Harland's residence at Ormiston, near Belfast. The
cylindrical lifeboat kept perfectly water-tight, and though
thrown into the water in many different positions--sometimes
tumbled in on its prow, at other times on its back (the deck
being undermost), it invariably righted itself. The screws fore
and aft worked well, and were capable of being turned by human
labour or by steam power. Now that such large freights of
passengers are carried by ocean-going ships, it would seem
necessary that some such method should be adopted of preserving
life at sea; for ordinary lifeboats, which are so subject to
destructive damage, are often of little use in fires or
shipwrecks, or other accidents on the ocean.
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