7--The SS. "Great Britain" " " 24 8--The SS. "Scotia" " " 26 9--Portraits--Charles MacIver, William Inman, Thomas H. Ismay, Sir Edward Harland " " 30 10--The SS. "Oregon" " " 34 11--The SS. "Umbria" " " 38 12--The SS. "Oceanic," No. 1 " " 42 13--The SS. "Nile" " " 44 14--Portraits--Sir Thomas Brocklebank, W. Miles Moss, F. R. Leyland, Sir Alfred Jones " " 46 15--The Sailing-Ship "Aracan" " " 50 16--The SS. "Aquitania," with Convoy " " 56 17--The SS. "Oceanic," No. 2 " " 60 18--The SS. "Mauretania" " " 66 19--The SS. "Olympic" " " 70 20--The Sailing-Ship "Red Jacket" " " 88 21--The SS. "Great Eastern" " " 100 22--The SS. "Aquitania" " " 114 REMINISCENCES OF A LIVERPOOL SHIPOWNER CHAPTER I THE PASSING OF THE SAILING-SHIP The old sailing-ship, with all the romance which surrounds it, must long linger in the affectionate regard of all British people as the creator of our great overseas trade and the builder-up of our commercial prosperity. The sailing-ship was the mistress of the seas for centuries. She founded our maritime supremacy, was the conveyor of the first fruits of our manufacturing industry to the ends of the world, and enabled us to train a race of sailors unequalled for their skill, courage, and patriotism, who in times of national peril have protected our homes and safeguarded the freedom of the world. Liverpool owes her greatness as a city and her position as the first port in the world to her shipping. Possessing the only deep-water haven on the West Coast, she naturally became the port of shipment for the manufactures of Lancashire and Yorkshire directly our export trade began to develop. The beginnings of the shipping trade were small, for in 1751 there were only 220 vessels belonging to the port. The opening up of the American trade in 1756 gave a great impetus to shipping. It was destined, however, to receive a serious check by the world-wide war which started in 1756, and was waged almost continuously for sixty years. The first of this long series of wars known as the Seven Years' War (1756-1761) was followed by twelve years of peace, and it was during this time that our trade with America made its greatest headway. The War of Independence with America, which broke out in 1773, proved most disastrous to Liverpool. It paralysed our trade and there was dire distress in the town. It is recorded: "Our docks are a mournful sight, full of gallant ships laid up and useless." This unhappy war lasted seven years.