Aberdeen "clippers." construct for them a ship, with lines as sharp as those of any American, but of superior strength. The Stornoway, commanded by Captain Robinson, formerly of the John of Gaunt, was the first of the "Aberdeen clippers." The Chrysolite, commanded by Captain Enright, followed. But, though these vessels proved very fast for their size, they were still no match for the Americans, which were double their dimensions. However, the Cairngorm, also built by Hall for Messrs. Jardine, proved equal in speed to any of her foreign competitors, and, by delivering her cargo in superior order, obtained a preference.
It was not, however, until 1856, when the Lord of the Isles, built by Scott, of Greenock, and commanded by Captain Maxton, in a celebrated race for the first delivery of the new teas from Foo-choo-foo in London, beat two of the fastest American clippers, though of nearly double her tonnage, delivering her cargo without one spot of damage, that British ships regained their ascendency in a trade which their American rivals bade fair to monopolise. From that time, British sailing ships, as I shall hereafter show, gradually gained a complete ascendency over the Americans in the China trade, and carried all before them, until they, in turn, were supplanted by British screw-steamers.
In the meantime, however, our Shipowners were suffering heavy losses in the ordinary branches of commerce, with little prospect of any permanent improvement. It was, therefore, not surprising that many of them contemplated abandoning the business in which they, as well as their forefathers for many generations, had been engaged. To obtain a restora-
