In one essential feature the service of the new line differed from those of its old-established competitors. The _Australia_ and the _America_ were ordinary cargo boats, but, in addition to a moderate amount of cargo, they also carried steerage passengers. They thus had not much in common with the usual passenger steamers by which both cabin and steerage passengers were carried. The advantage of the new type to the emigrants was that it gave them much more space than was at their disposal on the older boats. Whereas on the cabin steamers they were practically confined to a very small part of the boat, the Carr Line steamers made no restriction whatever as to their movements on board; all the available space, especially on deck, was thrown open to them. This type was not entirely a novelty, the sailing vessels of the older period used for the emigrant traffic being run on similar lines. The advantages accruing to the owners from their new type of steamers were obvious. The arrangements for the accommodation and provisioning of the emigrants, compared with what was needed in the case of cabin passengers, were of the simplest kind, and thus the cost price of the steamers was considerably less than that of vessels of the usual type. This also meant a saving in the wages bill, as it led to a reduction in the number of hands on board; and since the speed of the new boats was also less than that of the older ones, the working expenses were reduced in proportion. The financial results of the service, therefore, were better, in spite of the low rates charged to the steeragers, than those obtainable by running cabin steamers with steerage accommodation, and than those obtainable by running cargo steamers without any passenger accommodation.