When the success of vessels of the size of the _Arizona_ and the _Gallia_ was made apparent, it was decided by the Cunard Company to build a larger and faster ship than previous ones. Accordingly, in the autumn of 1880, specifications were issued to some of the leading shipbuilding firms, asking them to tender for the construction of a vessel of 500 feet in length, 50 feet beam, and 40 feet depth. At the suggestion of Messrs J. & G. Thomson, who were successful in securing the contract for this remarkable vessel, the dimensions were increased to 530 feet by 52 feet by 44 feet 9 inches. With these dimensions, and with mild steel as the constructive material, the new vessel—the _Servia_—was thereafter proceeded with in Messrs Thomson’s establishment. The Guion line, not to be left behind, placed the order for a vessel of the dimensions first proposed for the _Servia_, with Messrs John Elder & Co., but, in order to be faster than the _Servia_, the weight-carrying was considerably reduced, and the boiler power much increased. The wisdom of this step has been justified by the now generally received opinion that these fast steamers should not carry such heavy cargoes as the slower ones. This new vessel for the Guion line was the _Alaska_, now justly noted for her fast runs across the Atlantic. The Inman Company also decided not to lag behind, and as soon as the conditions of the design of the _Servia_ had been fixed, they placed the order for a ship—the _City of Rome_—with the Barrow Shipbuilding Company, intended to be larger, finer, and faster. Expectations as to speed and carrying powers were not in her case fulfilled, and the result of the dissatisfaction which this occasioned, was, that the _City of Rome_ changed ownership, Messrs Henderson Brothers, of Anchor Line fame, coming into possession. In the hands of its new owners, the _City of Rome_ was re-arranged internally, and her boiler power was considerably augmented, while her engines also were thoroughly revised. When first built, the vessel was fitted with engines of 8500 horse-power. As revised, they indicate 12,000 the acquisition being largely due to the fitting of four additional boilers. The results which have accrued from the extensive alterations made are such as to have firmly established the vessel in a foremost place in the Atlantic service. The performances of the vessels named have been the subject of considerable interest to all concerned in shipping affairs, and to the public generally. The following table of fast passages accomplished during the past two years by these vessels has been compiled from published records, and from information supplied by the shipowning companies:—