ROYAL MAIL PACKET "LA PLATA." This noble vessel, the last new ship of the Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company, arrived in Southampton Water on the 18th instant, from the West Indies, under melancholy circumstances; seven of her crew having died on the passage from yellow fever, including her commander, Captain Allan, a gentleman universally esteemed for his high integrity and his talents as a seaman. La Plata was built in the Clyde for the Messrs. Cunard, the contractors of the British American Mail. Finding their last new vessels, the Asia and Africa, unable to cope in speed with those of the Collins' line (though the difference only amounted to a few hours), the Messrs. Cunard ordered two ships to be built of such power as should enable them to outrun their rivals. For this purpose the Arabia and Persia were planned and built; but on the loss by fire of the Amazon, of the Royal Mail-Packet Company, arrangements were entered into by them with the Messrs. Cunard, and the former vessel was sold to the Royal Mail Packet Company, and took her place among their fleet, fresh named La Plata, at a cost of £125,000. The performances of this vessel have exceeded the most sanguine expectations. On her passage from the Clyde to Southampton, she ran from Greenock to the Bell Buoy, at the mouth of the Mersey (a distance of 201 miles), in fourteen hours, at a speed of 14.28 knots, or fully fifteen miles an hour; and from Liverpool to Southampton, 461 miles, including stoppages to receive and discharge pilots, in thirty-six hours, at an average speed of fourteen miles an hour. She made her last voyage out to St. Thomas in 12} days, and returned from that place, in spite of bad weather the greater part of the passage, in 13 days; and has been pronounced, by the most competent authorities, to be the fastest ocean steam-ship in the world. The plan of cabin arrangements is totally different from that of the other ships of this company; instead of their spar-decks, she has a deck round-house, extending the whole length of the ship. Her dimensions and power are as follow:
Burthen in tons .. .. .. 2292.42.94
Length between perpendiculars .. 285 feet
Breadth of beam ... ... 41 ft. 6 in.
Depth of hold ....... 27 ft. 8 in.
Horse power .. .. .. 940
Diameter of cylinder .. .. .. 103 inches
Diameter of paddles .. .. .. 36 ft. 10 in.
Stroke .. .. .. .. 9 feet
Average speed .. .. .. 14 1/2 miles per hour.
At Southampton, La Plata was boarded and inspected by the Health Officer of the port; who withheld pratique, and refused to allow the landing of the mails. A report was handed to him of the health of the persons on board; from which it appears, that besides the nine who have died, there were " twenty-one invalids ill during the voyage, including the doctor;" and that they had no disinfecting fluid but chloride of lime. The collector of Customs then determened to permit La Plata to remain at anchor in the river, but debarred from any communication whatever with the shore, till a report of the circumstances of the case had been forwarded to the Commissioners of Customs; in the meantime, the collector consented to the mails being placed in a boat, in charge of Lieutenant Gardner, the Admiralty agent of the ship, and towed down to the lazaretto at the Motherbank, there to be fumigated and returned to Southampton for transmission to the General Post-office. On Saturday morning, Sir William Pym, the Superintendent-General of Quarantine, arrived from London, and having inspected the crew and convalescents of the vessel, and finding that the latter were progressing most favourably, and having ascertained that there had not been any fresh cases of yellow fever for the last seven days, released La Plata from quarantine. Permission was accorded to enter the docks and discharge her cargo, &c.; but the quarantine officers deemed it prudent previously to give orders that she should take a trip of about eight miles down the river to bury the dead on board, in preference to landing their remains at Southampton. Accordingly, about noon, La Plata hauled down the quarantine flag, got under way, and steamed into the open water, where the ceremony of committing to the deep the bodies of the unfortunate men who had died was performed with due solemnity; the funeral duties being impressively performed by the Bishop of Sydney. After this La Plata headed towards Southampton, and entered the docks about four o'clock, the passengers' baggage being immediately landed and cleared by the customs and dock authorities.
Volume: 21 , Issue: 593, 594