Other lines which have played a conspicuous part in the North Atlantic trade are the State, the Beaver, and the National Lines, all of which owned some very fine steamers. The last named was founded to run a line between Liverpool and the ports of the Confederate States when the war should terminate, but it proved a financial failure and the promoters then decided to enter the Liverpool and New York trade. Its three vessels, _Louisiana_, _Virginia_, and _Pennsylvania_, were the largest cargo-carriers on the ocean, being of nearly 3500 tons gross. Three larger steamers, _The Queen_, _Erin_, and _Helvetia_, were added in 1864, and three more in the next two years. The _Italy_, of 4300 tons, was regarded as a wonderful ship on account of her size, and is stated to have been the first of her type in which compound engines were fitted. Other and larger steamers were added to the fleet to meet its extensive requirements, until it sustained not only a weekly service each way between Liverpool and New York, but also had regular sailings from London to New York, calling at Havre. Its steamers were not beautiful or fast, but were very steady, made cargo-carrying a feature, and conveyed a great number of emigrants. Then the National Line surprised every one by bringing out in 1884 one of the most beautiful and graceful steamers ever seen on the Atlantic, and certainly the fastest of her day--the _America_, which, as she was built of steel, belongs properly to a later period of ship construction. She was 5528 tons gross, built and engined by Messrs. J. and G. Thomson, and was sold in a few months to the Italian Government. Some years later the line began to decline and it is now a part of the “Combine,” only two or three vessels being under its flag. [Illustration: THE “AMERICA” (NATIONAL LINE, 1884).] The first mail steam-ship line between Liverpool and Canada was started by McKean, McLarty, and Lamont of Liverpool in 1852 under contract with the Government, but the effort was a failure, and in the next year H. and A. Allan undertook the work. Their first steamer was the _Canadian_ in 1853, followed by the _Indian_, _North American_, and _Anglo-Saxon_, and as the Grand Trunk Railway was completed next year to Portland, this town became the winter terminus of the line and Montreal the summer terminus. Upon the completion of the intercolonial railway in 1876, connecting Quebec with Halifax, the Nova Scotian port became the winter terminus of the Allan Line. By 1882 the service had increased to such an extent that the sailings were made weekly instead of fortnightly. In 1862 the Allans established a line between Glasgow and Montreal; a few years afterwards sailings were made between London and Canada, and more recently still Continental calls were added.