David Napier by David Napier and David Bell: Chapter VIII
Chapter VIII: Parliamentary Report on Steam Navigation
In their Fifth Report, dated 12th June, 1822, the Select Committee appointed by Parliament to report upon the Mail Service between England and Ireland stated that they had prosecuted an inquiry "into the important subject of Steamboats." After alluding to the patent of Jonathan Hulls in 1736 for the construction of a steamboat, and to the early experiments of the Duke of Bridgewater, Miller of Dalswinton, Symington and others, the Report proceeds— "Still no practical uses resulted from any of these attempts . . . the whole merit of constructing these boats is due to natives of Great Britain. Mr. Henry Bell of Glasgow gave the first model of them to Mr. Fulton," etc. Bell's efforts to introduce steam navigation with the Comet and other steamers, and the successful employment of steamboats in various places, are referred to, "but," it is added, "it was not till the year 1818 that a steamboat was made use of to perform regular voyages at sea. In this year the PS Rob Roy, of ninety tons, built by Mr. Denny of Dumbarton, and with an engine of thirty horsepower made by Mr. Napier of Glasgow, plied regularly between Greenock and Belfast, and proved the practicability of extending the use of the steam-engine to Sea Navigation."
"In the year 1819, the Talbot, of one hundred and fifty tons, built by Messrs. Wood, with two thirty horse-power engines made by Mr. Napier, plied daily between Holyhead and Dublin throughout the whole summer and autumn, and successfully encountered many severe gales. In the year 1820, the Ivanhoe, of one hundred and seventy tons, built by Mr. J. Scott, with two thirty horse-power engines made by Mr. Napier, was established on the same station; and in 1821 the Postmaster General introduced steamboats at Holyhead and Dover for the conveyance of the Mails. During these three last years the Belfast, Robert Bruce, Waterloo, Eclipse, Superb, Majestic, and Cambria were constructed, of large tonnage and with engines of great power, for conveying passengers between Greenock and Belfast and Liverpool, between Liverpool and Dublin, and between Liverpool and Bagilt in Flintshire. All these vessels except the Cambria and Belfast were constructed on the Clyde."
It should be noted here that of the ten vessels named above as having successfully inaugurated sea navigation, nine were the productions of David Napier (the last named, Cambria, 1821, was engined by Fawcett and Littledale); and in his letter of 25th May 1822, which follows, four other vessels are mentioned as having been built and fitted with his engines "for the open sea." The leading position thus taken by Napier as the promoter of over-sea traffic he continued to hold for many years; and it is noteworthy, as indicating his progressive views, that throughout this important period his engines were of larger size than those made by other engineers. Some observations of the Committee, in summarising the evidence submitted to them may be added, as bearing upon the work that David Napier had accomplished prior to 1822. Thus the Report states that
"The experience of what steamboats have performed is fully sufficient to place beyond all doubt their safety even in the most tempestuous weather. The Rob Roy plied two winters between Greenock and Belfast, and last winter between Dover and Calais; the Eclipse plied the whole of last winter between Glasgow and Belfast; and the Cambria been Liverpool and Bagilt, . . . but the trial which the Holyhead steamboats went through during the last tempestuous winter, from the nature of the service requiring them to go to sea at a fixed hour every day, proves that steamboats, when properly constructed, are able to go to sea when sailing vessels could not." "On referring to the list of steamboats in the Appendix, the Talbot and Ivanhoe on the Holyhead Station, and the Belfast, Eclipse, Superb, and Majestic on the Greenock and Liverpool passage, will be found to be the first strong and powerful boats which were built, and they were the first that completely succeeded." . . . "The merit of first applying steam-engines to sea navigation is certainly due to the skill and enterprise of the engineers and shipbuilders of the Clyde, for it was unquestionably the success of their steamboats on the Holyhead Station which led the Post Office to establish their boats for keeping up the communication between the two countries."
This reference to the "engineers and shipbuilders of the Clyde " applied, at this date, only to David Napier, and the shipbuilders he employed in constructing the hulls of his vessels. The special commendation of the Holyhead steamers amply confirms the observations in Napier's Memoir. The success of these vessels created much greater confidence in the possibilities of ocean navigation than had hitherto existed, and gave a powerful impetus to its extension. In prosecuting their enquiries, the Select Committee issued a schedule of questions to a number of engineers, shipbuilders and others. As David Napier's replies and letters are of historic interest they are here quoted:
GLASGOW, May 10, 1822.
SIR,
I take the liberty of addressing you relative to a Report which has just now been put into my hands, of a Committee of the House of Commons, dated April 2nd, of which you are Chairman. The evidence therein contained being erroneous does not at all convey to the Committee the information required; and as I am the maker of all the steam-engines, with the exception of the Tartar's, denominated in the Report "Scotch ones," I trust you will readily excuse me for troubling you on the subject. I beg leave to state that I was the first that successfully established steam packets in the open sea from all the ports of England and Ireland they are at present plying from, as from Glasgow to Belfast, Dublin and Holyhead, Greenock and Liverpool, Dover and Calais, London and Leith. It is stated in the evidence that the Sovereign and Meteor are the only boats that have plied or could ply during the winter. This is not the fact; for the Eclipse, which began to run about the same time with the Sovereign and Meteor, not only plied the whole of the last stormy winter between Glasgow and Belfast, without even once missing her hour of sailing from either side, but has sailed ever since she started without ever missing her hour, or any accident whatever occurring to her machinery, although she was from the month of June to November every day at sea, and four whole nights every week of that period; and the sea in that part of the Irish Channel is fully as rough as anywhere, the tide running very rapidly, which is the cause of one place being more rough than another of equal exposure. She is not singular; the Rob Roy has plied these three successive winters — she is at present at Dover — and I understand none of the Post Office packets there can sail with her in bad weather. The Superb is now plying the third year between Greenock and Liverpool, and not a single article of her machinery has ever given way, although she has been out in the worst of weather; it would tire your patience enumerating the whole, several others being similarly circumstanced. I can say with certainty that the Superb and Majestic, presently plying between Greenock and Liverpool, are far superior in every respect to the Sovereign and Meteor, and will out-sail them in any kind of weather; as a proof of this, the Sovereign was at Liverpool the other day and sailed along with the Superb, when the latter out-sailed the former fully one mile in five. I observe Captain Rogers states the Ivanhoe and Talbot consume nearly double the actual quantity of coals they really do; this I do not think is a wilful mistake, he having too much of the English sailor in him to say anything but the truth, but just gave it as he was told. The Talbot is at present here getting some repairs, but before she goes away I will ascertain that point to a nicety; and I would like much the person who gave that information was here to see them weighed and burned. The same cause that burned the Robert Bruce would burn the Sovereign and Meteor or any other steamboat, that is, by keeping fire in the boiler when empty of water; one of the Holyhead boats, I am informed, has been on fire from this very cause. The whole drift of the evidence would appear to be to set forth Mr. Watt's engines, to which I could have had no objection had it been done with due regard to the actual truth respecting the several packets whose engines I have made. The truth is, I have made nearly double the number of engines for boats going to sea that Mr. Watt has, and their machinery has not in a single instance been so far deranged as to prevent them from making their passage in a reasonable time, although some of them are of two and three years standing; and to the best of my knowledge Mr. Watt has not made one but has had the misfortune of breaking down, although none of them is of more than one year's standing. I am sorry that I have been obliged to be so personal, but I do not see how I could avoid it. I have only one request to make, that is, an opportunity of producing a boat in competition with Mr. Watt. If countenanced by Government I will produce a boat that will sail between Howth and Holyhead in opposition to the best boat that is or will be there this season. Government will not be required to pay one penny for her until she has sailed the whole winter through, and not then, unless she has proved herself the best boat in all respects on the station. I beg it to be distinctly understood that I do not make this request with a view to be employed by Government, but for the mere ends of justice. As a proof of what is herein stated, I will produce the most satisfactory evidence, if required; but for brevity's sake I refer to Henry Monteith, Esq., member for the Lanark district of boroughs.
I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
DAVID NAPIER.
To SIR HENRY PARNELL, BART., M.P.
GLASGOW, May 25th, 1822.
SIR,
I had the honour to receive your letter dated the 14th inst., and would have replied to it sooner had I not been every day expecting the Talbot finished with her repairs, that I could have inserted her exact consumpt of fuel. This I have not yet been able to accomplish, but will in a few days, when I will send it to you; it will be no guide to you regarding the comparative consumpt of fuel betwixt the Scotch engines and Mr. Watt's. I do not believe there are two Scotch boats of the same power that burn the same quantity of fuel, that being a point not paid the least attention to here; fuel being so cheap, not one of them can tell the exact quantity they consume, but merely by guess. There is still a greater difficulty in making that comparison; it is from the contents of the cylinder of the engine that the power is calculated, and I know to a certainty of boats, both on the Thames and Clyde, the cylinders of which vary considerably in size, still the boats are called the same number of horses power, so arbitrary is that mode of christening them; in fact it is a matter of no moment, as any person at all versant with the business can easily make a boiler that will give the utmost effect to a given quantity of fuel. Before answering the queries you have sent me, I beg leave to notice a little further the Report I took the liberty of finding fault with in my letter to you of 10th instant. All the improvements proposed to be introduced by the evidence of said Report will be found in the Ivanhoe (now in the possession of the Post Office) and every other steam vessel I have made to go to sea, viz., the proportion of the vessel, the breadth of paddles, placing the boiler and engine in the bottom of the vessel, and the introducing of the water from the boiler to the sea through the side of the vessel.
Query 1.—With what steam vessels are you acquainted, whether used in rivers or in the open sea?
Answer. The Rob Roy, Talbot, Waterloo, Robert Bruce, Ivanhoe, Superb, Belfast, Mountaineer, Majestic, Eclipse, City of Glasgow, and Rapid; all of these are used in the open sea.
Query 2. By whom were they built, and by whom were the engines made?
Answer. The engines of all of them, with the exception of the Waterloo, were made by me; hers by Mr. Cook of this town. The builders are, of the Rob Roy, William Denny, Dumbarton; Talbot, John Wood & Co., Port-Glasgow; Waterloo, Robert Bruce, Ivanhoe, and Superb, John Scott & Sons, Greenock; Belfast, Ritchie, Belfast; Mountaineer, Cornwallis, Greenock; Majestic, John Scott & Sons, Greenock; Eclipse, Robert Steele, Greenock; City of Glasgow, Scott & Sons; Rapid, Cornwallis, Greenock.
Query 3. What is their respective tonnage, and what the respective power of the engines?
Answer. The Rob Roy is about ninety tons, thirty horsepower; the Talbot, one hundred and fifty tons, sixty horsepower; the Waterloo, two hundred tons, sixty horse-power; the Robert Bruce, one hundred and fifty tons, sixty horse-power; the Superb, two hundred and forty tons, seventy horsepower; the Belfast, one hundred and ninety tons, seventy horse-power; the Mountaineer, one hundred and ninety tons, seventy horse-power; the Majestic, three hundred and fifty tons, one hundred horse-power; the Eclipse, one hundred and forty tons, sixty horse-power; the City of Glasgow, three hundred tons, one hundred horse-power; the Rapid, one hundred and forty tons, sixty horse-power; the Ivanhoe, one hundred and seventy tons, sixty horse-power; these measurements are inclusive of engine room, - some of them may not be quite exact, but are all within ten tons of the true measurement.
Query 4. Have any of these vessels performed winter voyages at sea?
Answer. The whole of them, except the City of Glasgow and Rapid, they being this year's production.
Query 5. Supposing the length of voyage to be twenty leagues from port to port, across a sea exposed to strong tides and heavy gales, how many vessels, in your opinion, would be necessary to be maintained so that two should sail every morning, — that is, one from each port throughout the whole year, except on days when a strong cutter, one hundred tons burthen, would be obliged to put three reefs in her mainsail?
Answer. I would consider three sufficient.
Query 6. What description of vessel, as to tonnage, form, strength of building, masts and sails, in your opinion, is the best for sea navigation?
Answer. For the passage alluded to in the fifth query, I would suppose a vessel from one hundred and fifty to two hundred tons most suitable; of such a form as will give her most speed, and not be injurious to her seaworthiness; of such strength as will resist the shocks of the sea in the heaviest weather without sustaining injury; no more masts and sails than will be necessary for such a vessel in a gale of wind without machinery.
Query 7. What description of engine, as to power, materials, and general form and arrangement, and what description of boilers and paddles, in your opinion, are the best?
Answer. This is rather a difficult question to answer.
Query 8. In what parts do engines most frequently get out of order, or break?
Answer. There should no part go out of order or break; if there was a part more liable than another, that liability should be immediately removed.
Query 9. Can you suggest any improvements in the present plan of building steam vessels, and constructing their engines, boilers and paddles?
Answer. This is another question of some difficulty to answer.
Query 10. Can you suggest any plan for enabling a steam vessel to use sails so as to be able to beat to windward, in case her engine should be out of order, at the same time offering but little impediment to her steaming power?
Answer. This can be easily accomplished.
Query 11. In a gale of wind with a heavy sea what is the best mode of managing a steam vessel?
Answer. Steer direct for the port intended, and if she does not make headway try her to beat to windward with sails and machinery combined; failing both of them, a proper constructed vessel will lie-to like a duck.
I have the honour to be, Sir, your most obedient servant,
DAVID NAPIER."
Extract from a Third Letter.
REPORT ON STEAM NAVIGATION
GLASGOW, June 4th, 1822.
SIR,
I have the honour of sending you the enclosed certificate of the Talbot's consumption of coals, on a trial made with her on Friday last, which I witnessed. I do not send this as a criterion of what the Scotch boats burn, but for the purpose of correcting the error in the Report I formerly had occasion to allude to. The above trial was made under unfavourable circumstances; the Talbot being the first steam vessel on the Holyhead Station, and from want of experience of the people under whose charge she then was the boiler was considerably injured, on which account during the trial on Friday it leaked a good deal, which leakage had to be kept up by a continual supply of colder water, consequently a greater consumption of fuel than if the boiler had been tight.
The Talbot leaves Greenock to-morrow for London; when there you will have a more convenient opportunity of sending some person on board to witness the correctness of the within certificate; and with good English coal the consumption will be found to be considerably less.
DAVID NAPIER.
(Enclosure.)
"I this morning took on board the Talbot, at Glasgow, three tons twelve cwt. of common Scotch coal, and at 10 h. 49' a.m. left the former place; at the same moment commenced using the above coal; arrived at Greenock 1 p.m., left Greenock at 1 h. 57' 30", and proceeded round the Cumbra Islands; returned to Greenock at 7 h. 15' 30", sailing in all a distance of 75 miles; the residue of the 72 cwt. of coal taken on board at Glasgow weighed 15 cwt. 2 qrs. 14 lbs. Including the time we remained burning coal at Greenock before starting from that place, the exact consumpt was, during the trial, as near as possible 7 cwt. per hour. The Talbot has at present the same boilers and engines as she had in 1819 when first started, at which time I commanded her.
ROGER LANGLANDS,
Lieutenant R.N.
GREENOCK, 31st May, 1822.
It will be observed that, in his letter of May 25th, Napier abstained from pronouncing on what he considered the best description of engine, boilers and paddles for the service in question. His unequalled experience at this time in marine engineering led him, doubtless, to have very definite opinions on these points; and equally clear ideas as to possible improvements. Professional interests however, and probably trade rivalries, were involved; and he therefore could scarcely be expected to publish his views in the manner suggested by the Committee's questions. The replies as here given to the eighth and eleventh queries are noteworthy, and very characteristic of the man "aye ready" to deal with difficulties in the most direct way.
See Also
- David Napier by David Napier and David Bell
- David Napier by David Napier and David Bell: Chapter VII