'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎138] (157/622)

i
HISTORY OP THE INDIAN NAVY,
Company's steamers is the 4 Victoria/ a beautiful teak ship,
built in Bombay in 1840, commanded by Captain Ormsby,
and which has hitherto beat every vessel in the packet service
in her voyages to and from Suez with the overland mails. The
4 Auckland ' and ' Sesostris ' are steam frigates, with no great
power of engine for the size of the ship, but with a fine schooner
rig for canvas; this is also meant to be the case with the
'Semiramis.' The 6 Sesostris' and the 'Cleopatra' are the
finest vessels under sail, making on a wind, if it blows fresh,
from nine to ten knots an hour, and beating most sailing vessels
that come in their way. The same is expected to be the case
with the ' Auckland ' and the 4 Semiramis/ The steamers at
present are mostly in a state of very high efficiency, with the
exception of the 4 Hugh Lindsay,' 4 Zenobia,' and 4 Berenice,' of
which the last only requires some repairs in her sheathing, and
a general overhaul, she having been literally knocked off her
legs with hard and incessant work. With the exception of the
4 Hugh Lindsay,' which is old-fashioned and slow, and the
frigates 4 Auckland,' 4 Sesostris,' and 4 Semiramis,' the other
steamers are mostly employed in the packet service to Suez, a
voyage out and in of 5,984 miles, commonly performed, all
delays included, in thirty-eight to forty days, the stay at Suez
being about four days, that at Aden thirty-six hours. These
steamers consume from 600 to 700 tons of coal each voyage,
the expense of which is about £3 per ton; it is computed,
however, that taking wastage into account, the cost of that
employed in raising steam must be upwards of £4 ; so that the
coaling alone costs from ^82,500 to ^3,000 for each voyage up
the Red Sea. The cost of coal for the Bombay steam flotilla
amounts annually to upwards of <£30,000. The greater part of
this is contracted for in England, and costs about ^£3 per
ton when landed at Bombay ; a considerable portion has of late
been purchased at Bombay, and has cost somewhere about
£1 16s. per ton. At Suez, about 1,500 tons are required an
nually, cost, including salary of agents, £5 lOs. per ton. The
number of passengers of all descriptions for two years preceding
May 1840, was, from Suez 234, for Suez 255 ; these included
servants and children. The fare of first class passengers betwixt
Suez and Bombay is £80, of which £30 goes to the commander
of the vessel for table money, and £50 into the Government
Treasury. The gross receipts for passengers in the periods
just alluded to have been somewhat above £30,000; of which
about £12,000 has gone to the commanders for table money,
and <£18,000 to the Treasury."
In March, 1841, Captain Moresby, who had proceeded to
England early in 1838, on the cessation of the surveys, after
ten years' continuous service in this department, finally retired