The _Sirius_ made on an average about 161 miles a-day, or slightly less than seven miles an hour. She apparently, however, had been originally built for plying between London and Cork; while the _Great Western_, which had presumably been especially built for the transatlantic traffic, was both larger and more powerful. Her average speed was about 208 miles a-day, that is between eight and nine miles an hour; while returning, the speed was a little better, averaging about 213 miles per day. The return voyage of the _Sirius_ was also better than her outward passage. The engines of the _Great Western_ were side-lever, and were built by Messrs. Maudslay & Field, of London. The cylinders were 73½ inches diameter, and the pistons had a big stroke of seven feet. The wheels’ diameter was no less than 28¾ feet, while the steam was generated in four boilers. Her tonnage was 1340—the largest Maudslay’s had yet engined, with 750 indicated horse-power. She voyaged many times across the Atlantic, her fastest eastward passage being 12 days, 7½ hours. The variation in her coal consumption was very remarkable. Thus, on her first voyage 655 tons were burnt, but on her return journey she consumed 263 tons less. No doubt this was owing to the greater use she was able to make of the wind. The proprietors of the two vessels soon began to build others. The owners of the _Great Western_ laid down the _Great Britain_, and the proprietors of the _Sirius_ began the _British Queen_. She had paddle wheels of 31 feet diameter, and her piston stroke was the same as the _Great Western_, 7 feet. Her engines were 500 horse-power, and her cylinders 77½ inches in diameter. She was 275 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 27 feet deep. From Portsmouth to New York she crossed in 14 days, 8 hours. Satisfactory as these results were, the pecuniary returns unfortunately were not so favourable. The _Great Western_, it is said, continued running at a loss, but others were withdrawn. Something seemed wanting to make the venture a commercial success. What was it? Meantime Willcox & Anderson’s steamers plied with remarkable regularity to the Peninsula, and this regularity aroused some attention. The Government of the day applied to the proprietors to submit a scheme for carrying the mails. It seems that previously Willcox & Anderson had proposed this, but it had come to nothing. The end of the matter was, however, that the first mail contract was signed with them, the 22nd of August, 1837. To carry out their bargain, Captain Richard Bourne and Messrs. Willcox & Anderson founded the Peninsula Company, and three years later it was expanded to the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company—popularly known as the P. & O.—and incorporated by Royal Charter. The mail service was the keystone of the enterprise.