Show I CLYDE SHIPBUILDING An Unprecedented Activity with American Trade as the Chief t Cause of It m There is at least one industry which in these times ol general duilaess is prosperous in a degree never reached before in times of general prosperity we mean shipbuilding on the ulyde The most casual passenger on a river steamer on the Clyde on not fail to mark the unusual stir in the yards along its banks while statistics sta-tistics show that the launches of the first five montha of 1873the highest year hitherto nave already been exceeded ex-ceeded by the first five months of 1881 to the extent of 13000 tonsand there are indications that before the close of the year the proportion in favor of this year will be even grater The causes that have brought about such an outburst of activity in the shipbuilding trade are certainly I worth investigating Undoubtedly chief of all the pauses of the present large shipbuilding is the American trade Almoa every great company at present engaged in the carrying trade tD America is getting built on the Clyde or elsewhere vessels of a class which they never possessed before be-fore The giganlio yet moat graceful Seraia now approaching completion in the dock adjoining Messrs Thom Eond yard at Dalmuir shows tbe scale at which the Canard company have measured the requirements of the future but she though the i largest is yet only one of several vessels ves-sels all larger than any they possessed possess-ed before that are now building for the Atlantic trade The Inman tine have replied to the challenge of the Cunard line by the Oily of Rome which though not built on the Olyde may be mentioned here as she certainly cer-tainly would not have been designed on so large a scale but for the work dane on the Clyde The Allan line have already contributed their quota this year to the list of immense ocean steamers built on the Clyde by the Paris which has already al-ready proved herself the fastest as she is the finest of seamera crossing the Atlantic to Canada find hur success has induced the rival Dominion line to contract for a steamer On the Clyde of 5700 tons which may be expected to hold her own with the Parisian The North German line which but a few years ago remodeled their line with steamers which were then thought the ne plus ultra of speed and accommodation ac-commodation fifO now back on the Clyde with the same purpose for they too find that their fleet must consist of steamers of over 5000 tons The Seroia and City of Rome will find a worthy rival in the Alaska of the Guion line of 6400 tom whose beautiful proportion as she sits in the stocks of the yard of Elder Co attract attention from ul passers by And while such preparations are being be-ing made for the human not less gigantic gi-gantic is the ecale on which vessels tire being prepared for bovine passengers pas-sengers Steamers of a tonnage that would not have been dreamed of for any service twenty years ago are being built for tbe cattle carrying trade and there are many indications that in future the orders for this class of vessels will be on a scale even larger still And the American trade though the principal is not tbe only enterprise which is calling for steamers steam-ers of the largest class Two steamers ol 5000 tonsthe Rome and the Carthaje AiQ almost ready at Green ock for the Peninsular and Oriental Company wnile their great rivals to Australia the Orient Line are following up their success with the Orient by building for Australia Austra-lia a steamer even larger and faster than it and icr the Union Line to tbe Cape the largest vesaels they have yet possessed are under construction at present on the Clyde In whatever way we may explain the present largelyincreased activity of ehip building on the Clyde it certainly indicates in-dicates that shipowners are alive to therequirements of tbs time and I that whenever the expansion of trade may call for additional facilities of transport they will be ready on the most extensive scale When we com pare our position with that of America on the one hand where the shipbuilding ship-building enterprise that once seemed likely to rival our own country is utterly ut-terly dead and with France on the other where attempts are being made by a system of bounties to foster a sickly life we may well be proud of our hardy homebread shipbuilding enterprise Dacdee Advertiser |