The first screw steamer to be employed in the Channel Islands mail and passenger service was the steam yacht _Griffin_, purchased in 1865 from a Mr. Beard, a Scotch iron-master. The _Diana_ was the first of the new screw boats built for the company and was launched in 1877, and in 1881 was supplemented by the _Ella_ and in 1882 by the _Hilda_. Nine years later these vessels, together with the paddle-steamers _Brittany_ and _Southampton_, were in their turn superseded by the twin-screw steamers _Lydia_ and _Stella_. The latter had a very successful career until March 30, 1899, when she foundered on the Casquets, her sailings being taken by the _Alberta_. A further change was made in 1894, the _Southampton_, _Brittany_, and _Wolf_ being replaced by the _Columbia_ and _Alma_, which were faster and more up-to-date boats. In 1896 the _Princess Ena_, a twin-screw vessel, was launched to replace the _Hilda_, and the _Vera_ was also purchased as an auxiliary boat for the Channel Islands and Havre routes. Numerous additions have since been made by the company to their fleet, which now numbers twenty-six vessels. These are the _Ada_, _Alberta_, _Alexandra_, _Alma_, _Atalanta_, _Bertha_, _Cherbourg_, _Columbia_, _Duchess of Albany_, _Duchess of Connaught_, _Duchess of Edinburgh_, _Duchess of Fife_, _Duchess of Kent_, _Ella_, _Frederica_, _Guernsey_, _Honfleur_, _Laura_, _Lydia_, _Lymington_, _Princess Ena_, _Princess Margaret_, _Solent_, _South-Western_, _Vera_, and _Victoria_. These steamers all carry sufficient coal for the out and home trip, with an additional quantity to meet any contingency that may arise. GREAT WESTERN RLY. CO. Another important south-coast mail and passenger service is carried on by the Great Western Railway Company from its southern terminus at Weymouth to the Channel Islands and Brittany. Formerly this company also conveyed mails and passengers between England and Ireland by their line of steamers from Milford to Rosslare. This has since been discontinued in favour of the Fishguard-Rosslare route. GREAT EASTERN RLY. CO.