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Obituary. Robert Napier, 1791-1876

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Obituary. Robert Napier, 1791-1876 226 MEMOIRS. and it was these high qualities which gained for him such uni- versal respect. Mr. May was elected a Member on the 3rd of May, 1864. XR. ROBERT NAPIER, Engineer and shipbuilder, of Glasgow, late Presidentof the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and Commander of the Order of Danneborg (First Class), wasborn at Dumbarton on the 18th of June, 1791, hisfather being a blacksmithand a respected burgess of thattown. In 1807 he was apprenticed to his father for five ycars; from 1812 to 1815 he wrought in Edinburgh and in Glasgow as a black- smith and mechanic, working for a short time under Mr. Robert Stevenson, M. Inst. C.E., in the former city. In 1515 Mr. Kapier received 550 from his father, with S45 of which he bought the tools and thegood-will of a small blacksmith’s shop in theGallow- gate, Glasgow, leaving 55 of working capital, with which sum he started in business, employing at first only two apprentices. In 1821, the business having increased, he engaged in iron-founding and engineering at Camlachie, at the east end of Glasgow, where, in 1823, he made his first marine engine for the “ Leven ” steam- boat, built to ply between Dumbarton and G1asgow.l The success of this engine ledso rapidly to other orders for marine engines that he found it necessary, in 1828, to remove to larger and more con- ’ The following is a list of the vcssels either engined or built, or both engined and built, by Mr. Napier. His usual practice was to contract both for hull and engines. When, in the earlier days of his career, the vessels were of wood, the hulls were built by sub-contract, generally by the late Mr. John Wood, of Port Glasgow, with whom he worked amicably for many years. Name. Year. Name. Year. Name. Year. ‘L Leven ” 1823 l “ Glow-worm” “ Shandon” “Ben Lomond” “ Queen Adelaide’! I ‘(Robert Napier ” ” NewDumbarton’ 1831 ~’ “ Vulcan ” ~ %Iona’s Isle 9’ “Lady of thelake’ “ Windsor Castle ” 1832 1) “ Dundee ” 1834 “ Helensburgh” ,’ “ City of Glasgow” ,, I’ “ Perth ” ‘(Aimwell ” ,, i~ L‘ Albert ” “ St. Andrew ” ‘‘ Mona ” i “Duchessof Suther. “ Ardincaple ” “ Hero ” i land ” “ Clarence” ‘I Water Xitch” 1 (‘Isabella Napier ” “ Stirling Castle” ‘l Castle Finn ” l ‘‘ Queen of the Isle’ “ Victoria” ‘ “ Tamar” , ‘‘ St. Columb” ‘(Tulliallan ” “ Elbe ” Engine for South ~ “ ” Sultan ~ 1 ‘l Maid of But; ’’ America ‘‘ Greenock ” l “ Isle of Bute “ Bernice ” 183G l i‘ Nile >) I‘ Arran Castle” ‘l London ” ‘‘ Menai ” 1830 ’ j ‘I Superb * Zenobis ” , 1457 Downloaded by [] on [11/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. ilIEXOIRS. 247 venient premises in Washington Street, adjoining the harbour of Glasgow, and in 1835 he added to these the engineering works at Lancefield, and, in 1841, the shipbuilding yard at Govan, about 1 mile from Glasgow. At this yard Mr. Kapier (ad subsequentlJ- the firm of Messrs. R. Napierand Sons) builtmany first-class steamers of all sizes for the mercantile marine and for war pur- poses, for various countries, employing at times upwards of three thousand workpeople. Mr. Xapier’s early connection with steam navigation deserves to be specially noticed. In 1830 he was associated with the City of Glasgow Steam Packet Company, and engined most of their X-essels running between Glasgow and Liverpool. The succcss of that line led to his being applied to, in March 1633, by a com- pany in .London (Mr. Patrick Tl-allnce being his correspondent) for his opinion on the practicability of successfully navigating t,he Atlanticwith steam-vessels betweenLiverpool and New York. His report was decidedly favourable, but thescheme was ultimately abandoned for want of funds. In 1834 the steam-ships “Dundee,” ‘‘ Perth,”and London,” belongingto the Dundee and London Shipping Company, were contracted for and engined by him; the Name. Peer. Name. Year. Xame. Pear. ’ “ Commodore ” 1 1837 1) India, No. 2 l841 ‘‘ Prince, of Wales’’I ‘‘ Victoria ” ,, ‘l Acbar ” ,, , “ Thetis ” i‘ Engines for Tnrk-11 ‘1 Palermo ‘9 ,, “FireQueen”No.l ., ‘. Brim Boiroimhe” ment (3 pairs) Fin McCoul” 1842 :,Engine for East\ ‘‘ Sovereign ” ,, ’ India Co. ‘. Tartar ” I ‘‘ King Orry ” ,, Eugines for Turk- I‘ Rover ” i, “ Thunderbolt” ish Govern- *& Circassian” il “ Hibernia ” I ldi3 I ment (4 pairs) ‘.Duke of Rich-: Engine for Eio de 1 (‘Copenhagen ” mond ” 1 Janeiro ]! ” 1 ‘‘ Tyuwald” ” ” Viceroy ” ‘’ Hobart Town 1 1838 ‘l :: Vanguard ,, ,, “lslc of Arra;,” ’ , Dnndalk ” 1 ,, “Duke of Suther-\ .‘New sultan I .,“Watercllre” I ._ l! land” I ‘‘ Stromboli ” “Admiral ” ‘* Britannia ” Acadia ” “ Caledonia” ,, “ Europa” l ., I ,, “Canada” 1848 ,, l‘ Gimoom ” India, No. 1 I :, Downloaded by [] on [11/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. 248 MENOIRS. hulls,by Mr. John Wood, of Port Glasgow, beinglong noted for their fine finish,for keepingtheir sheer so well when compared withother vessels, and for greatregularity in sail- ing. In 1836 hesupplied the Honourable EastIndia Company withthe “ Bernice.” In 1839 he provided the machineryfor thesteam-ship ‘‘ British Queen,” builtto ply between this countryand New York, which machinery was constructed to work either with the common jet-condenser, or with the late Mr. Samuel Hall’s patent surface condenser. He also, aboutthis time, built the steam paddle yacht “Fire King,” for the late Mr. Thomas Assheton Smith, which vessel was the first of any size with fine hollow lines. Shewas built from Mr. Smith‘sown model, and on trial proved thefastest vessel then afloat. In thisyear also (1839) Mr. Napier, besides subscribingliberally t,owards the trial voyage of the “ Sirius,” from GreatBritain to America, contracted with the Hon. SamuelCunard for three steamers of 1,000 tons and 300 H.P. each, to ply between Great Britainand North America withthe mails. Mr. Napier being, however, convinced that vessels of this size were too smallfor such a trade, induced Mr. Cunard, after a time, to adopt his views; Name. Year. Name. Year. Name. Year. ” “ Bolivia L849 I I‘ Arabia ” 1852 ~ “ Garland” “ Hamburgh ” Malvina ” 1853 1 ‘‘ Twilight” “ Robert Napier” 1250,, ’ :‘D;?,$Welling-“ Lady Eglinton” 17 AquillaImperi-‘ “City ofWorces-‘ I 1 “ ale ,, ter ” ’7 I “ Progress0 ” ‘‘ Asia ” “ WibOurg ” ,) 1 ,, ’j “ Goromandel ” ‘* Victorit” (1) ,, “ ColomF ” ,, (‘Fethia ” “ Africa ,, 1“Emeu ‘‘ Packi Zafer ” ‘‘ Rose ” ,, 1 “ Messina ” 1g54 “ Niger ” L‘ Wizard ” ,, ’ “ Black Swan ” ,, “ Napoleon 111.” I‘ Concordia ” ” ,, ‘‘ Malta (1st) ,, “ Queen Victoria ” “ Grecian ” ,, ‘(London ” ,, ‘‘ Erebus ” Wide Ayke” Dredger for Ayr ,, “ Seiue etRhone” Arabian “ ” ‘‘ 1&1 Vulcan ,, “ Terror ” “ Santiago” “ ” ,, Her Majesty ,, L‘ Medeah ” “ Sea Serpent” ‘ ,, “ Queen ” ,, “ Senator” “ Metropolitan ” ,, , “ Bilbao ” ,, “ Gaywan Bahri” “Lima ” ,, .. I “Louis XIV.” “ Shandon ” ‘‘ Transit ” 1 “ Lanccfield ” ‘‘ Quitu ” 1&2 1 I‘ Albury ” “ Bogota” ,, “ Gundagni ” “ /I “ Thilia”” ‘‘ Haiti ” ,, “ Fiery Cross ” 1;55 “ Trebizond” “ Magdalena ” ,, I ‘L Emerald ” ” Cosmoylitan” ,, , “ Earl of Erne” “ Spray I binow “ Miranda ” India Co. (2 ,, ‘Enginesfor Ham-’ “ La Plata” 1 burg (3 pairs) , ‘‘ Laniston ” ,, 1 ‘(Lady Head ” Olaf” ,, ,: “ Islesman” Downloaded by [] on [11/09/16]. Copyright © ICE Publishing, all rights reserved. NEMOIRS. 249 and, although the vessels originally contemplated had been com- menced, what wasdone was put aside, and in their placefour vessels of 1,200 tons and 400 H.P. were laid down, to meet the extra cost of which vessels, Mr. Napier, at Mr. Cunard‘s request, got some of his friends, Messrs. Burns, Messrs. Thornson, and M‘Connel, Mr. M‘Iver, and a few others, to join him in the contract. From this originated the nowcelebrated Cunard Company, the great success of which was mainly due to .the business character of Mr. Cunard, to the sound advice given, and to the honest, careful, a.nd substantial work turned out by Mr. Kapier, and to the superior mannerin which the vesselswere managed and officered by Messrs. Burns and M‘Iver. In 1853 Mr. Kapier took his sons James and John into partner- ship ; the former retired a few years after, when the business was carried on by Mr. Napier and his younger son. For a considerable time before his death Mr. Kapier took very little act’ive charge ; but in the earlystages of steam navigation, when so much of the success of steam companies depended on sound and correct views, he spared no pains, but went most carefully into all calculations for the size, power, carrying capacity, working expenses, &C., of Name. Name. Name. Year. 4i Shadia ” “ Cormorant ” l‘ Endymion ” 1 Gunboat (East In- ‘I Racehorse ” “ Queen of Orwell ” dia Co.) “ Serpent ” “ Clan Alpine” Gunboat ,) “ Star ” Wolf ” Gunboat ,, ‘‘ Eclipse ” “ Stirling Castle ” Gunboat ,, l1 Lily ” “ Warwick Castle ” Gunboat ,, ‘’ Torch ” “ Rolf Krake ” Gunboat ,, ‘‘ Plover ” “ Roslin Castle ” EmperorAles- ’I Lee ” “ Pembroke Castle’ ander ” ‘l Mullet ” “ Osman Ghazy ” ‘<Vladimir ” ’ ‘l Penguin ” ‘I Abdul Aziz ” Hamburg Tug “ Dart ” “ Ella ” ‘‘ Aerolith” ‘l Steady ” ‘l Charlotte ” *‘ Victorin” (2nd) “ Pllilomel ” ‘‘ Emily ” “ Douglas ” Snipe l‘ Carolioe” ‘l Mercnr ” l‘ Cygnet” “ Maude Camp-: ‘‘ Lucifer ” I‘ Griffon ” bell ” l Burmese Yacht l‘ Sparrow ” “ Imogene ” *l Fifeshire ” “ Chinsurs ” Florence ” “ Malta” (2nd) ‘l Foam ” “ Orkhan ” ”Jeddo ” Orestes ” l‘ Verona ” “ Shannon ” :‘Black ,F ‘ Pereire ” ‘l Chevy Chase ” c‘ Scotis ’‘ Vllle de Paris” ‘‘ Kedgeree ” ’‘ Bristol ” ‘ Agitator ” Oleg ” :‘Dryad” (Lt) ,‘ Dryad ” (2nd) “ Royal ylliam ” :‘ China” ’‘ The MLeod”
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