io8 Transactions of the Canadian Institute. [vol. ix 



father of steamboat enterprise in Canada. The "Accommodation" 

 made her maiden trip from Montreal to Quebec, in the year mentioned 

 1809. 



The first vessel to cross the Atlantic under steam power was un- 

 doubtedly ' ' The Royal William ". This vessel was built by a joint stock 

 company at Quebec in 1831. The hull when constructed was towed to 

 Montreal to receive the machinery; and on being fitted for sea, her first 

 voyage was to Halifax. Before setting out for England she traded for 

 two years between Quebec, Halifax and Boston. The "Royal William" 

 left Quebec for England August 5th, 1833, called at Pictou, Nova Scotia, 

 to be replenished with coal. She re-started from Pictou August i8th. 

 The passage from Pictou to Cowes, Isle of Wight occupied nineteen and 

 a half days. The "Royal William" did not return to Canada, she en- 

 tered the service of Dom Pedro as a troop ship, was sold to the Spanish 

 government, converted into a war steamer and renamed the "Isabel 

 Secunda." After an eventful service she was laid up in Bordeaux 

 where her Canadian hull remained. The machinery made in Montreal 

 was transferred to a new hull and formed a second "Isabel Secunda" 

 which afterwards was wrecked on the coast of Africa. 



The record incontestably goes to establish that the Canadian built 

 "Royal William" was the pioneer of Atlantic Ocean Steamships. 



Bearing on the subject and vouched for by Mr. Croil, the following 

 facts are submitted in chronological order. 



In 1833 the "Royal William" — 363 tons, made the voyage from 

 Canada to England in less than twenty days, the first ship to cross the 

 ocean under steam. 



In 1838 the "Sirius" — 700 tons, crossed from London to New York 

 in seventeen days. 



In 1838 the "Great Western" — 1340 tons, from Bristol to New 

 York, in fifteen days. 



In 1839 the "British Queen" — 1863 tons, from Portsmouth to New 

 York in seventeen days. 



In 1840 the "Britannia" first of the Cunard line, from Liverpool to 

 Boston, in fourteen days and eight hours, including detention at Halifax. 



In 1845 the "Great Britain" the first to introduce screw propulsion 

 3270 tons, crossed to New York — was stranded the following year in 

 Dundrum Bay, Ireland. The "Scotia" of the Cunard line in 1862 

 (withdrawn in 1875) was the last of the ocean paddle wheel steamers. 



In 1849 the "Atlantic" of the Collins line, from New York to Liver- 

 pool. 



In 1850 the "City of Glasgow" of the Inman Hne — 1610 tons, 

 Liverpool to Philadelphia. 



