In 1834 a merchantman of 1,000 tons was considered a big craft, the largest on Lloyd’s register for that year being 1,500 tons, upon which there was not much advance until the “fifties” and “sixties,” when all the adventurous of England’s manhood were irresistibly attracted to the goldfields of Australia, and vessels of large tonnage began to be laid down on the stocks. Of such were the _British Empire_, 2,676 tons; the _Donald McKay_, 2,636 tons; _Red Jacket_, 2,000 tons; and many others of from 1,000 to 1,800 tons registered tonnage. These in their turn gave place to iron “sailers” of immense capacity, the tendency being to build them bigger and still bigger--“five-masters” of from 3,000 to 4,000 tons--it having been found that they are worked more economically than smaller craft, and are able to compete with the larger vessels of other countries, and with the syndicates that threaten to monopolise the nation’s carrying trade. Foreign examples are _La France_, 3,624 tons, and the _Preussen_ (biggest in the world), 4,700 tons. In steamers the development of size has been great, and astonishingly so since the universal adoption of the screw-propeller. For instance, the paddle-wheel _William Fawcett_, that pioneered the P. and O. Company, built in 1829, was but 74 feet long; the Cunard _Britannia_, that took Charles Dickens to Boston, was a paddle-boat of 1,154 tons, and 207 feet long; the _Great Britain_ (1843) was 3,400 tons register, and regarded as phenomenal. Presently the shipping world arrived at the awakening period of its history, when steamers of from 350 to 500 feet long, and of from 4,000 to 7,000 tons, began to be common; but old stagers shook their heads, and asked where and when this enlargement was going to stop. Time went on, and splendid mail boats, such as the Cunard _Scotia_ and _Persia_, in their day considered perfect, were looked upon as obsolete, and even their successors, the _Servia_, 7,392 tons and 515 feet long, the _Etruria_, 7,718 tons and 502 feet long, and others of similar dimensions, soon ceased to be wondered at. This was eighteen years ago. Then, by leaps and bounds, so great was the competition between the different Atlantic liners, and so strong the demand for speed, that 10,000 tons was soon reached in the White Star Company’s _Majestic_ and _Teutonic_, and exceeded by the Cunarders, _Campania_ and _Lucania_ (1893), of 13,000 tons each, 620 feet in length, and over 65 feet in beam.