The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-01-29 00:00:00

THE _ROYAL MAIL STEAM-SHIP

PERSIA.

Tars magnificent new steam-ship sailed on Saturday for
New York, under the command of Capt. Judkins, commodore'
of the celebrated Cunard fleet. Although the present is' a
period of the year at which the passenger traffic between
Great Britain and America is at the lowest point, the Persia
started with seventy passengers, the; greater portion of whom
were first-class. She also carried out the usual mails, and,a,
_were
and valuable—cargo. The very fine lines and stately
appearance of this noble vessel, combined with her great steam
power, have induced much speculation as to the probabilities
of her performance, expectation running very high as to the

great speed and the comfort to the passengers which her very

efficient finding and p'oWer will afford, many parties well
qualified to form a judgment on such matters maintaining
that she will complete the voyage from Liverpool to New
York within the short period of seven days.
On Wednesday, the Persia, having been completed with the
additional fittings which were not supplied by her builders,
Messrs. Robert Napier and Sons, of Glasgow, was hauled out
of dock, and taken to her moorings in the Sloyne. A select
party of gentlemen connected with the various public depart-
ments of Liverpool had been invited by. Messrs. D. and C.
Mac Iver, managers for the Cunard Company, in this town, to
witness her departure from the Huskisson Dock; and for those
gentlemen a tasteful and bounteous luncheon was prepared on
board. The gentlemen invited included his Worship the Mayor,
(John Stewart, Esq.) and the magistrates of Liverpool ; the
commander of forces for the district, and for Liverpool; the
members of Parliament for the county and the borough ; the
chairman and members of the Dock Committee; the chairman
of the Pilots' Committee ; the chairman of the Underwriters'
Association • the American, French, Sardinian, and Turkish
Consuls ; Commander Bevis, R.N., Admiralty Agent ; Captain
Schomberg, R.N., Government Emigration Agent ; C. B. Ban-
ning, Esq., Postmaster for Liverpool ; the Collector and Con-
troller of the Customs; and several others, heads of commer-
cial associations connected with the port.
The parties invited having been comfortably embarked, pre-
cisely at eleven o'clock the hawsers were thrown off, and the
magnificent ship was hauled out of dock. From her great
weight and length, much caution was required, and altogether
this was an operation of some difficulty, and it occupied nearly
an hour from the commencement of the proceedings to the
period when, completely emancipated from the intricacies of
the dock, she got fairly into the river. She immediately pro-
ceeded to her moorings in the Sloyne, where she remained till
the time of her departure for New York, on Saturday, about
noon.

Immediately on the vessel reaching her moorings, the com-
pany adjourned to the maim saloon, an apartment of great
elegance and substantial beauty. It is 60 feet long, 20 feet
wide, and 8 feet high in the ceiling, affording ample accom-
modation to dine 170 individtails. The whole length of the
noble cabin is panelled, the framing being of bird's-eye
' maple beautifully varnished and polished, and ornamented with
twisted pillars. The panels are filled in with artistically-
executed vases and baskets of flowers, painted in distemper
on a pale and cool stone-coloured ground, which displays the
delicate and warm tints of the floral groups with fine effect,
and conduces greatly to the airy and elegant appearance of the
saloon ; this being still further enhanced by the elaborate
but not profuse introduction of gold mouldings and ornaments
in the ceiling, and other portions of the fittings. The seats
are covered with rich crimson velvet, and the window curtains
are crimson satin damask, edged with gold. The fore, or
midship end of the saloon, is fitted up with large and beautiful
mirrors ; the after end being devoted to a handsome book-
case well filled with a select collection of books :: in the centre
of the bookcase are folding doors, which open into the smoke-
room. The skylight is filled with stained glass of simple and
unobtrusive design, the chief features of which are two oval
pictures containing representations of Persians, one male the
other female. These, like the other pictorial devices which
ornament the saloon and the other cabins, are artistically pure
in their taste, aiming at truth and elegance rather than great
power and effect; similar characteristics of design prevailing
throughout the whole of the internal arrangements of the
ship, in which every effort has been devoted to secure comfort
combined with elegance.
On the occasion referred to the saloon presented a gay and
animating appearance, being occupied by about eighty gentle-
men. The chair, in the absence of Mr. Charles Maclver, was
occupied by Mr. Donald Currie, who was supported on the right
and left by W. Brown, Esq., M.P., and Francis Shand, Esq.,
deputy-chairman of the Dock Committee ; Captain Judkina
acting as vice-president. After partaking of the dejetnaer,
numerous toasts appropriate to the occasion were proposed by
the chairman, vice-chairman, and other gentlemen, and duly
honoured by the company. Among these were, of course, the
" Queen," and the other loyal and constitutional toasts. In
returning thanks for the " Navy," Captain Schoenberg made
happy allusion to the great service rendered to the govern-
ment and the country during the present war by the mercan-
tile steam marine, conspicuous in which service the noble
steamers of the Cunard fleet had been prominent.
In responding to the toast of " The Dock Committee," Mr„
F. Shand, as deputy-chairman, said the Dock Committee were
at all times desirous of doing the utmost that lay in their
power to forward the interests and provide for the wants of
the shipping interests of the port. No parties connected with
those interests were more straightforward and intelligible in
stating their requirements, which he admitted to be great, or
more liberal, candid, and decided in meeting the Dock Com-
mittee in reference to those requirements than the owners
of this beautiful vessel. Indeed, he felt justified in saying,
that no small share of the enterprise in Liverpool was
prompted by the sagacity and wisdom of the Canard Com-
piny, and by the energy and perseverance of Mr. Maelver,
their Liverpool manager. These remarks by Mr. Shand
were received with loud cheers by the company.
To the toast of " Success to the Collins' Line, as Com-
petitors on the Atlantic," Mr. Brown, M.P., the Liverpool
agent for the Messrs. Collins, said his own conviction had
long been that iron ships were superior to wooden ones ; and
he was glad to find that his intelligent and enterprising friends
of the Cunard Company had come over to that opinion, and,
had constructed the noble specimen of marine architecture in
which the gentlemen present were now assembled, of iron. Is
conclusion, he proposed " The health of Mr. Maclver, and that
of his family." The toast was drunk with great enthusiasm ;
as were also those of the Hon. Mr. Cunard, of the Messrs.
Burns, of Glasgow, and of the Messrs. Napier, of the same
city.

In returning thanks for his health, which had been proposed
in highly eulogistic terms by Mr. Harold Littledale, Captain
Judkins remarked that, as allusion had been made to the
expected speed of this noble vessel, he should make no farther
comment on that topic beyond saying that he should endeavour
to lose no time ; but he certainly considered that safety was
an element of higher consequence than even speed; and he
should endeavour as far as possible to combine them, giving,
however, a decided preference to safety.
Several other toasts followed, and, after spending an hour
or two of unalloyed pleasure, the company embarked on board
the tender Satellite, and were conveyed to the landing-stage,
where they disembarked.