348 REPORT—1863. 
The cost of the four ships to be provided, in accordance with the contract, 
was £75,000 each. The actual cost has, however, greatly exceeded the 
amount agreed to be expended by the Company, in consequence of the size 
of the vessels having been enlarged to upwards of 2000 tons, and the en- 
gines in about the same proportion ; a change which has obtained increased 
accommodation for the public, and probably a superior performance of the 
vessels at sea. ; 
One of the principal peculiarities, which render these vessels of so unique 
a class, is the post-oftice fitted for sorting letters during the passage. The 
space occupied for this purpose extends across the entire breadth of the ves- 
sel, and for the length of 30 ft., between the first and second class cabins. It 
is divided into two rooms, one for letters, and the other for newspapers. In 
these rooms the sacks are opened, the contents taken out and arranged by 
eight or ten sorters, under the direction of a head superintendent. The letters 
are stamped with the post-office packet brand, the postage label cancelled, 
and all the operations completed, so that the letters are ready for delivery, or 
to be forwarded to their destination, on the arrival of the vessel at Kingstown. 
About two hours are thus saved in the transmission of the mails, in conse- 
quence of their being made up on board, instead of after their arrival at the 
General Post Office in Dublin. Besides the gain in time thus secured for 
postal purposes, the main object to be attained was regularity ; while for 
passengers, accommodation was perhaps even more to be valued than extreme 
speed. To fulfil all these conditions, it was necessary to have very large 
vessels, such only obviously allowing the requisite extent of accommodation ; 
and experience had shown that the larger the vessel, when provided with 
adequate power, the less was the difference in the length of the passage at 
sea caused by severe weather. 
The contract with the Postmaster-General had appointed January 1861 
for the commencement of the improved service. But the vessels being in 
readiness some months sooner, it was commenced, by mutual agreement, in 
October 1860, and has since been continued without interruption. When 
two of the vessels, the ‘ Leinster’ and the ‘ Ulster,’ were completed and ready 
for duty, it was thought advisable to make a trial with them, by way of 
practice, in the performance of the old contract. Each performed the distance 
between the lighthouse on Kingstown Pier to the lighthouse at Holyhead, 
upwards of 651 statute miles, in nearly the same time on the average, namely, 
the ‘ Leinster’ in three hours and thirty-one minutes, and the ‘ Ulster’ in 
three hours and thirty-two minutes, being respectively thirteen and twelve 
minutes less than the shortest monthly average of the ‘ Banshee’ in 1848-49, 
and twenty and nineteen minutes less than the ‘ Llewellyn, when the 
distance between the lights was one mile less than in 1860—the Holyhead 
breakwater not having then been in existence *. The gain in speed realized 
by the new vessels was therefore at the rate of from 1:2 to 1-7 mile per hour. 
From what has been already stated, with regard to the speed of each of 
the vessels on their trial trips, when, as is usually the case on such occasions, 
the utmost power of the engines is exerted during the short time required for 
the run of a few miles, it may be readily seen that, for actual daily duty, the 
difference between the four vessels is inappreciable, a matter of paramount 
importance to a mail service. The extreme difference in the rate of speed on 
trial appears to have been about half a mile an hour, which would add but 
* The courses are laid down on the plan of Holyhead Harbour attached to this com- 
munication. : 
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