Mr. John Mills
John Mills has devoted a good portion of his life
towards the documentation of steamships. The result is a unique source
of information that will be of use to researchers well into the 21st
century. Such a task is not easy. The preparation needed to exercise
good judgement and a consistently high standard to the work demands a
familiarity with nautical history, reporting conventions and the arcane
world of government documentation processes.
This edition, available in hard copy through the
museum, adds considerably to the first edition published by the
Steamship Historical Society in 1971. All of the entries have been
reviewed and there are well over two thousand new additions. I have
found the New Mills List an invaluable companion in my work and the
provider of answers for the many individuals who make use of our
archival and library research facilities.
John was the 'greater equal' in a team of individuals
who all provided support in this project. His patience and attention to
detail is astounding. Other members of the team include Earl Moorhead,
long serving museum registrar; Jonathan Moore who supervised the initial
conversion from hard copy to digital format, the president Doug Fell who
worked closely with John to move the project along and Gene Clevenger
who resolved the many problems associated with specialized formatting.
Finally a special thank you to Dr. Gordon Shaw, a Patron of the first
rank.
Maurice D. Smith,
Curator,
Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston.
October 21, 1999.
The Mills Lists is regarded by researchers as a
important resource for those interested in Canadian steamships. To make best use of this
data base readers are advised to read the introduction that follows by Mr. Mills.
(Sailing
ships are listed in the Wallace List).
Mr. Mills has given the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes
permission to create an electronic version of his list. His generosity is appreciated.
Introduction by Mr.
Mills
This list has been compiled over many years as a personal research project. An informal
preliminary version was published some years ago in the name of the Toronto Branch of the
World Ship Society, but the present List is a complete reworking with a large amount of
new material. Its aim is to include all inland and coastal steam and motor vessels over 75
feet in length, registered in Canada from the beginning down to 1930. By that date almost
all the early, poorly-documented vessels had ceased to exist, and information on later
ones is readily available elsewhere. The following are excluded: yachts, sailing ships
with auxiliary power where sail was the main means of propulsion, warships, ships used
exclusively in trans-ocean services, and highly specialized non- commercial craft such as
dredgers, ice-breakers, lightships, etc. In some cases no clear distinctions can be made,
and arbitrary decisions have occasionally been necessary.
Registration in the
Early Days
Registration in the early days was rather haphazard and some steamers in distant
areas were never registered, though they are shown here with such particulars as are
available. Throughout the nineteenth century little distinction was made between Canadian
and British register, other than the location of the Port of Registry, and the concept of
an independent Canadian register developed rather slowly until the First World War.
For some time there were two forms of registration: under
regulations based on the Imperial Merchant Shipping Act of 1854 applicable to any vessel
deemed "Seagoing," or under an Inland Navigation Act of the Province of
Canada (as it then was) which was based on an earlier Imperial act and applied to the Great
Lakes and Upper St. Lawrence River. Montreal was the boundary between "seagoing"
and "inland," and ships could be registered there under either Act, depending
(in theory) on their intended use. Registration under the Inland Act was limited to
Canadian-built vessels, however, and it was the custom to register foreign-built craft at
Montreal under the Imperial Act regardless of where they were located. For reasons that
are now obscure, a handful of vessels (probably less than a dozen) were registered under
the Imperial Act at Kingston, Ontario.
Maintaining Records
Records were maintained at the various Ports of Registry rather than at a central
point. For registrations under the 1854 Imperial Act, and under its predecessors at ports
on tidewater, duplicate records were sent to London starting in 1818, but were not
normally made for ports above Montreal. Unfortunately, the Canadian records for these
ports have survived in only a few cases.
This is by far the greatest problem in Canadian shipping
research, and what little information can be given comes from unofficial and often
inexpert sources.
Tonnage and
problems with Numbers
As a further complication, it should be noted that the basis of tonnage computation
has changed several times. Frequently in early years it was little more than a
"guesstimate" and might vary wildly in different sources for the same vessel.
During the period of dual registration (i.e., Imperial or inland) it was computed on
different formulae by the two authorities, the "inland" figures being
considerably smaller. The new Dominion of Canada after 1867 rationalized the chaotic
registry arrangements, adopting the standards of a new Imperial Act under which tonnage
was calculated on much the same basis as it had under the 1854 Act. Starting in 1874, all
newly-registered vessels came under the uniform system, and in 1877 and 1878 those
registered under earlier systems were resurveyed, sometimes with startling effects on
their official particulars (the tonnage of some passenger vessels almost tripled).
The arrangements adopted at that time have been continued in
principle until recent years, with Official Numbers assigned from blocks in the U.K.
series set aside for the purpose. The use of Official Numbers began in 1855 and it should
be noted that vessels transferred from British to Canadian register retained their British
numbers without change. The Inland Act authorities did not use numbers; when these vessels
were incorporated into the unified Canadian register no numbers were assigned to them,
except in some cases where a resurvey was required because of rebuilding. However, no
consistent policy appears to have been followed in this regard.
The 1877-78 period was in fact a general
tidying-up, and in the process some vessels were found to have ceased to exist and were
removed from the register. Others were found to be running under names different from
those under which they were registered, and had either to revert or to make formal change;
an attempt has been made here to show these irregular name changes.
A working draft of this List was reviewed by Rev. E.J. Dowling,
S.J., Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, John L. Lochhead, Daniel C. McCormick, Robert W. Parkinson and
William Thomas, whose many constructive suggestions have been extremely valuable.
With the exception of Archives material, almost all the author's
research for this List was done in the University of Toronto library system, and it is
appropriate to acknowledge here the excellence of this enormous collection.
John M. Mills
Toronto
The Mills List is now available in hard copy. Over 300 pages,
spiral bound. Order through the Marine Museum Shop.
An
Amendments to the Mills List dated February 2003
