We spoke, also, some time back of what were known as “hereditary bottoms,” by which it was meant that an owner who had been accustomed to charter one of his ships to the Company had a proprietary right to supply other ships when this one had been worn out. Thus one finds, for instance, a ship called the _Brunswick_ built on the bottom of the _Atlas_, the _Hindostan_ built on the bottom of the _Grosvenor_, and so on. This went on for year after year, so that you could make out a kind of genealogical tree of East India ships. It was a very clear instance of eighteenth-century monopoly which would be hard to beat. But this principle of perpetuity came to an end on 6th February 1796, when open competition was introduced. There can be no question that this decision, together with that of abolishing the sale of commands, was all for the good of the service. The Company themselves recognised that it was the only way in which they could have an efficient fleet, always ready and consisting of vessels built on the best principles, inspected during construction by the Company’s own surveyors, and commanded by officers “of acknowledged character, talents and experience,” and various by-laws were passed to this effect. The following list will afford the reader some idea of the size and dimensions of these East Indiamen ships at the close of the eighteenth century. The difference between the burthen tonnage and the chartered tonnage is noticeable:—
Name of Ship Length Beam Burthen Chartered Tonnage Tonnage ft. in. ft. in. Ganges 149 0 43 6 1502 1200 Hope 144 0 43 6 1471 1200 Neptune 144 0 43 6 1468 1200 Hindostan 144 0 43 6 1463 1248 Walmer Castle 144 0 43 6 1460 1200 Warley 144 0 43 6 1460 1200 Earl of Abergavenny 144 0 43 6 1460 1200 Royal Charlotte 144 0 43 6 1460 758 Coutts 144 0 43 6 1451 1200 Cirencester 144 0 43 0 1439 1200 Arniston 144 0 43 0 1433 1200 Glatton 144 0 43 0 1432 1200 Thames 144 0 43 0 1432 1200 Ceres 144 0 43 0 1430 1200 Cuffnells 144 0 43 0 1429 1200 Earl Talbot 144 0 43 0 1428 1200 Nottingham 130 0 40 0 1152 1152 Dorsetshire 134 0 42 0 1200 1200 Alfred 134 0 41 0 1221 1189 David Scott 134 0 42 0 1257 1200 Alnwick Castle 133 11½ 42 0 1257 1200 Exeter 132 0 41 0 1265 1200 Carnatic 132 0 40 6 1169 1169 Boddam 128 0 38 6 1021 1021 Albion 125 0 38 0 961 961 Royal Admiral 120 2 37 10 914 914 Belvidere 123 0 38 8 986 987 Earl Howe 117 10 37 4¾ 876 876 Sulivan 116 0 35 0 876 876 Middlesex 116 0 35 0 852 852 Princess Charlotte 102 0 33 6¾ 610 610 Earl of Wycombe 101 10¾ 34 5¾ 643 655 Princess Mary 93 11 34 5¾ 643 462