, 1890-09-06

polIcg anu ny untIr friendly arrangements
with Germany, and he trusted he would be-
able 10 say in u few days by friendly az
engagements with Portugal. They had also
settled the African difficulty in a manner
which would open that continent more and
more to the of this country. One
OF the most practical speeches of the day
was made by MIR. I. r.. Tufnell, the Deputy
Chairman OF the Royal Mail Steam Packet
Company, III reply to the toast of THE
Shipping Companies' After referring to
the progress which southampton had made
during the last hall century, he went on to
state that that progress was not in excess
of that made in the same time by steam
navigation generally, and he illustrated
this by one or two facts respecting the
company with which he has been associated
almost from its commencement
The Royal Mail Company received its
charter of incorporation in 1899, but Il va
rIety OF Ca HcS Intertered with the com
mencemeut of ill., ser vice, occasioned in
great measure by The complex connpc.
tons III the West Indies, and he first shin
did not start on her route till January 3.
1912. She sailed from Falmouth, but re-
turned to southampton, and from that day
to this SOUTHAMPTON has been the port of
departure for the Company s mail steamers.
The first transatlantic steam line, the
Cunard, had crossed to New York only a
short time before this, and the other great
company which has since obtained a world
wide celebrity, the Peninsular and Oriental
as such, was not then in existence. The
steamers which initiated the service were
the Thames, clyde, and Medcau, all of
betWeen l,S0O and 1900 tons burthen aul
43J los. hoISe power. History, they say,
repeats itself, and the company still boasts
a Thames, ued3cdy, and Il Clyde, but two of
these are vessels Of 1850 tons. with LOO
horse power, and one (the MedpdV) of 1869
tons, with $50 horse IDwer. The contract
speed at which til" service was at first per-
formed was 9 knots per hour; it is now l3.
AID that speed is, being constantly exceeded,
me aggregate tonnage OF our ships at first
was $4,000 tons. and it is now nearly 81 1000.
But | shall he reminded that the service
then was to the West Indies only, and not
to the BrazilS. That is tue, but it will
almost provoke "A smile when | tell YOU
that tor some years after We commenced
that service it was performed with only
three steamer OF 100 tons each, running
between this country and Rio, and one
smaller steamer carrying on the mails
passengers, and cargo to the River Plate.
Last year the aggregate tonnage Of the
vessels employed upon the line was $1,000
tons, and this year we have added two
other steamers OF 5 $500 tons each 1.-THE
Thames and C}ydeh built expressly fr that
service. The whole carrying capacity of
our steamers at the outset was "uder 5 900
tons. 1t is now about 10000. there is
Just one other matter to which | would re.
fer. | have shown you how much less the
speed, the tonnage, and the carrying capa-
city of our steamers was ut the outset than
it is now. Well, just about in the same
proportion as 'heSe have increased our
Government sill bSidy has diminished, aud
for the whole service we now perform we
receive from Her Majesly's Government
only a comparatively small proportion of
what we did at first. | hope | have not
wearied you with these detEils, but 1
thought this was not an uniting occasion
to mention them, considering that from
first to last the Interests of the Royal Mail
Company have been SO completely bound
up with the port Of Southampton.
Sir w. MackinnOn and Mr.. Alfred Giles,
Mp, also responded to the toast. What
should thave F~really been the ItoaSt of the
afternoon. ct he Dock Company and Sue.
cess TO the New Dock" was placed last but
one on the list, and was proposed by the
Mayor Of Southampton and responded to
by the Chairman, when nearly the whole
of the guests had cleared from the table to
take up their positions for the royal cere-
mony. 1t was ) O'Clock precisely as the
yacht Alberta hove i'll sight, and a few min