The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-05-04 00:00:00

THE PACKET STATION

The question as to the most suitable port as a station for
the West India packets being now open, as opportunity is
afforded for putting forward the claims of this port to the
award—claims which have been, in a most unaccountable
manner, overlooked heretofore. In the Glasgow memorial,
indeed, they were recognised ; the several intelligent and
disinterested judges, who signed that paper, acknowledging
that " in looking with impartiality for the most desirable
port of departure, Liverpool occurs at once, not only as being
the most central, but as most accessible to every part of the
kingdom ;" but no adequate means have been used to second
that recommendation.

The good people of Bristol, we perceive, have started for
the prize, and have had their claims advocated with much
zeal and ability by their representatives, particularly by the
senior member, Mr. M. Berkeley ; but we do not conceive
that their port would make a very formidable rival to Liver-
pool ; indeed, it has been already rejected in such a way by
the contractors as to render its renewed entrance for the
prize quite a hopeless business. In looking over Mr. Ber-
keley's enumeration of the attractions of Bristol, however,
we were gratified to perceive that there was no one men-
tioned by him in which Liverpool could not compete, whilst
many of importance in such an affair he was altogether silent
about, of which Liverpool can boast the possession in an
eminent degree. " Bristol," he alleged, " represents one-
sixth of the whole West Indian interest of Great Britain."
We are not quite sure upon that head, but we are satisfied
that Liverpool's share in the representation is not at all in-
ferior. " Bristol affords the advantage of a plentiful supply
of coals." So does Liverpool, and coals also of the very
best quality. " The merchants of Bristol have given proof
of their ability in building steam-ships." So, we appre-
hend, have the merchants of Liverpool. "No city had such
ample means to build and repair steam-ships as Bristol."
We cannot concede this unparalleled advantage to Bristol,
whilst Liverpool possesses such an iron-foundry as Fawcett's
—such splendid docks and shipbuilding yards, which have
turned out such a number of magnificent vessels. "As re-
garded the Post-office, Bristol was closely connected with
Ireland by the ports of Cork, Waterford, and Dublin,—the
immediate outlet of South Wales, connected by railway with
the midland counties, and nearer by admeasurement to Bar-
badoes than either Portsmouth or Southampton." But as
regards the Post-office, Liverpool is not only as much con-
nected with Ireland, but much more so—Belfast and Derry
being included in her ports of communication ; and in all
other respects possesses advantages the most marked and
transcendent, which at once suggest themselves upon a mere
inspection of the map. And, moreover, Liverpool "is by
admeasurement" considerably nearer to Antigua (which the
Glasgow memorialists have recommended as the port of
rendezvous across the Atlantic) than either Portsmouth or
Falmouth is to Barbadoes. But, having received a commu-
nication from an intelligent correspondent, who has made
this matter a subject of much and attentive consideration,
we shall waive any further observations of our own for the
present. Our purpose is to call the attention of the great
mercantile body of Liverpool to the subject; and the several
points contained in the following paler will, we think, along
with others which will readily suggest themselves, suffice for
that purpose :

The grounds on which Liverpool seems to me entitled to
the preference as the packet station for the West Indian
steamers, may be classed under the heads of—
I. Advantage to the public at large ; and,
11. Advantage to the shareholders of the company, and
the local interests of Liverpool.
The first is a consideration of a general nature, and one
that will be widely felt. The other is necessarily more con-
fined in its operation ; but what it wants in extent of applica-
tion, is amply made up in importance to individual interests.
No one, ,I think, will deny that for the whole of Scotland,
the Northern and Miiland Districts of England, and the
whole of Ireland, Liverpool is the most centrally, and, there-
fore, more: advantageously situated than any of the ports in
the English Channel; and this, with the facilities of com-
munication she possesses with all parts of the kingdom, point
her out as peculiarly well adapted for the purpose in view.
The respective advantages set forth by each of the ports of
Dartmouth, Falmouth, and Southampton, seem to me to be
combined in a very high degree by Liverpool, in addition to
other grounds of preference, in which she stands unrivalled.
Falmouth claims the distinction, because the nearest port
in England to the open sea; but this, though certainly a
great advantage when sailing vessels were employed, loses
much of its force in the case of steamers, and is entirely
neutralized by the long and expensive land journey to be per-
formed by 99 out of every 100 passengers, going by that
route to the West Indies, as is already abundantly mani-
fest by the very small number who subject themselves to
such an inconvenience. On the other hand, Southampton
founds its pretensions on its convenient situation and rapid
communication with the metropolis ; however, the commis-
sioners do not seem to have attached a great deal of weight
to this circumstance, inasmuch as the sunshine of their fa-
vour appears to have lighted on the port of Dartmouth, pro-
bably on the principle, that in mediis tutissimus ibis.
Facility of getting to sea is possessed in a higher degree by
Falmouth—rapidity of communication with the metropolis,
belongs in an especial manner to Southampton ; yet Dart-
mouth, though considerably more distant from London by
time than even Liverpool, (having no railway communica-
tion,) very nearly as distant trom the point of depar-
ture in the West Indies as Liverpool ; possessing no suitable
dock accomodation, nor any of the other local advantages
in which leiverpool is so pre-eminent, has been preferred,
for no other reason that I can learn, but because the harbour,
from its depth of water, is said to be accessible at all times
of tide : but allowing this, its full force, let us examine the
extent of the comparative inferiority of Liverpool in this re-
spect. Our bar can be crossed by ordinary steamers at the
lowest water of spring tides, and by the largest steamers at
two or three hours' flood ; and in case of their arrival in the
offing just at that particular time, which is nearly always com-
municated by telegraph, small steamers are always in readi-
ness to convey her letter-bags ashore. Is not the regularity
of the arrival and departure of the Halifax steamers, which is
quite proverbial, a sufficient answer to the objection?

At Dartmouth, too, the expence of the formation and sup-
port of a post-office packet establishment would have to be
incurred, while here the arrangements already in force for the
Halifax mails are capable of being easily made amply suf-
ficient for this additional service, to say nothing of the advan-
tage of centralization and simplification in so important a
branch of our domestic economy.
I will just allude to one other point on this part of the sub-
ject—it is that so clearly pointed out in the Glasgow memo-
rial to government, where it:is shown that by adopting either
of the E. Channel Ports as the station, London will have the
undue advantage of being able to answer letters by the return
packet, while all the rest of the kingdom will have to wait for
the succeedinc, one,—for, as shewn by the prospectus of the
Mail Steam Packet Company, a steamer leaving the English
Channel on the Ist or 2d June, may be expected to return on
or about the 29th July, and letters by her would be in Lon-
don on the 30th, which would enable the merchants there to
write in reply by the mail made up on the Ist August, while
the rest of the kingdom would be too late. The plan sug-
gested. by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce provides
against this unjust preference of any particular locality, and
affords time for every part—of any consequence—in the king-
dom to answer their letters by the return packet.
2. I come now to the enumeration of the particular ad-
vantages to the shareholders, and the public of this town,
which would result from its being fixed on as the packet
station ; and, as I have already occupied no much space, I
shall be very brief in stating them. One of these is the ex.
cellent dock accommodation now afforded here to vessels of
the largest size, both for the ordinary purposes of loading
and discharging, and for the occasional but indispensable sur-
veys and repairs of :the halls and machinery, an advantage,
particularly in the latter case, which neither of the three ports
already alluded to can afford.
Another obvious advantage presented by this port, is the
abundance and cheapness of that all-important element of
consumption, coal, for which, in the Channel ports deptits
of the article, brought at a great expense from the northern
coll'eries, would have to be formed, causing an enhancement
of price on so large an item of the expenditure, as most seri-
ously to detract from the expected profits of the undertaking.
With regard also to all sorts of stores necessary for the out-
fit of the steamers, and supplies for the passengers, none of the
English Channel ports, with the exception of the great naval
arsenals of Plymouth and Portsmouth (which, however, seem
not too have been contemplated as packet stations) can at all
compete with a port in which steam navigation forms such a
leading feature as in Liverpool. The fact that the vessels of the
Peninsular and Oriental Company, though under engagement
with government to take their departure from Southampton,
actually come round here to take in their supplies of coals
and other stores, and undergo the needful refit, is a convin-
cing 'proof of the superiority of Liverpool in this respect.
The recent change in the " British Queen's" port of arrival
and despatch is also a fact worthy the shareholders' notice.
[Surely with such advantages as these, and more might be
enumerated, it is worse than criminal to overlook the inte-
rests of Liverpool. Is there no association to take this mat-
ter up ? Are the claims of Dartmouth, Bristol, Falmouth,
and other places, to be pressed upon the government, and
those of Liverpool not?]