Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1903, Part 1 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland ... (Royal National Directory of Scotland.) With ... map, etc

716 DUNDEE,
FORFAKSHIEE.
[slater's
art Act of Parliament; but by an Act passed in June, 1830,
fche control was transferred to trustees, elected annually, the
provost, bailies and dean of guild to be perpetual trustees, in
virtue of their office. The total expenditure for maintaining
the harbour from July, 1815, to May 31, 1903, inclusive of
interest on debt, amount credited to sinking, depreciation and
reserve funds, was £2,756,104 3s. Id. The total cost of harbour
and property up to same date amounted to £1,218,966 2s. Id.
The debt due by the Dundee Harbour on the 31st May, 1903,
amounted to £413,528 10s.
The number of British sailing and steam vessels that entered
the port with cargoes (including Perth) in 1902 was 224, of
226,680 tons, and of foreign vessels 100, of 136,441 tonnage.
The number cleared was 72 British, of 38,526 tons, and 5
Foreign, of 1,617 tonnage.
In the general coasting trade (also including Perth) 929
-vessels entered, of 257,404 tons, and 1,126 cleared, of 456,042
tons. In the intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland
16 entered, of 4,417 tons, and 53 cleared, of 16,954 tonnage.
The number of vessels registered as belonging to the port
mnder Part I. of the " Merchant Shipping Act, 1894," on De-
cember 31st, 1902, was 129, of the aggregate register of 103,156
tons. The whale fishery employs several ships from this port.
Steam navigation is conducted by the Dundee, Perth, and
.London Shipping Company, whose vessels ply to London twice
a week and to Hull weekly. There is also regular steam
communication with Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Ham-
iburg, Rotterdam, Belfast &c. besides several large steamers
engaged in the coal trade. Direct steam communication is
carried on with New York at irregular intervals. The number
â– of fishing boats registered at Dundee on December 31st, 1902,
under Part IV. of the " Merchant Shipping Act, 1894," was 194,
aggregate tonnage, 2,094, employing 597 bands. In 1902, 14
vessels were built; registered tonnage, 13,755.
The earliest? articles produced in the town seem to have been
soap and glass, which engaged a number of hands ; and the brew-
ing of ale was carried on to some extent. The glass manufacture
has died out, as has also the sugar refining, which was once carried
on. In 1866, however, linseed crushing was established, and has
since been carried on to a moderate extent. The manufacture of
.boots and shoes and tanning and currying is carried on by
.Messrs. Henderson on a very extensive scale. The
wholesale shoe trade, which at one time flourished in
this town, has been revived, and there are two large factories,
•employing a considerable number of persons. The manufacture
of marmalade has for many years employed a large number of
hands, Dundee marmalade being famous throughout the world.
iMessrs. KeiHer and Sons' establishment is probably the largest in
the kingdom, and there are other firms extensively engaged in
the trade. At an early period the wants of shipping led to the
introduction of the manufacture of cordage, which still remains a
'branch of commerce, but not to such an extent as formerly.
The manufacture of cotton was once tried, and had the appear-
ance of forming an important branch in the trade of Dundee,
having at one time seven companies engaged in it; but at length
it declined, and finally died away, in favour of Glasgow. The
production of woollen cloths was next attempted, but met with no
success. Out of these failures arose a spirit for manufacturing
goods from flax ; and as an encouragement to this branch in its
infancy, a bounty was given by the Government on all linen ex-
ported, and a heavy duty laid on the importation of foreign
linen?. Whatever the effect of these enactments, the trade of
Dundee continued to increase, and since the introduction of the
jute manufacture, the progress of the city has been very great.
The total value of the imports of flax in 1902 was £505,476.
Jute was first brought into notice at Dundee by the late Thomas
Neish â– esq. bub as the fibre was hard and difficult to work, it did
not attract much attention at first ; improved machinery, how-
-ever, and the discovery of the means of softening the fibre, caused
jute to gradually grow more in favour, until the outbreak of the
civil war in America, producing a stoppage of the cotton supply,
.gave; the trade an impetus which has continuously increased, owing
to the cheapness at which cloth can be produced from the fibre,
•and its usefulness for various important purposes. At first the
fibre was imported in small quantities to London and Liverpool,
and thence trans-shipped to Dundee; but as the trade grew in \
importance, manufacturers imported direct from Calcutta, and :
the direct imports now greatly exceed those into London. Most
of the jute received in Liverpool and London also finds its way to '
Dundee. In 1849 the imports (exclusive of coast-ways) amounted
to 8,176 tons; in 1850, 8,127 tons were received. In 1902 the ;
total value of the imports of jute was £3,183,009.
The total value of all articles imported in 1902 was £4,594,994.
The exports of manufactured goods from the harbour by no
means represent the extent of business done in the town," the
larger portion of the manufactured goods being sent by' rail
to Glasgow and Liverpool for export to the United States, 'South
America, Australia &c.
Other imports from foreign countries to which attention may
be directed are timber and whale and seal blubber, the former
â– being about 50,000 loads annually, and the latter varying accord-
ing to the success or failure of the fishing, but probably averaging
not less than 2,500 tons each season. The oil produced from "this
â– blubber is chiefly used for "batching" the jute in its raw
state, in order to soften the fibre and facilitate the various
operations of preparing and spinning.
The value of the principal articles of British and Irish
produce exported in 1901 was: — jute varn, £225,382; jute piece
-goods, £176.678: line varn, £53,583; 'bags and sack3 £75,147-
-potatoes, £54,429; machinery and mill work, £29,531; new
shins and boats (not registered as British), with their machinerv,
£1*0,900; total value of all articles, £906,183.
The total value of the exports of Foreign and Colonial mer-
chandise in 1902 was £66,269.
Originally there were only four steam spinning mills; there
are now probably above 1U0, including spinning and weaving
factories, where thread is woven into osnaburghs, sheetings,
baggings, sailcloth, sacking, dowlas &c. At the commencement
of the civil war in America, as has been said, the trade of
Dundee increased to a- most extraordinary extent, fabrics of
jute and linen being in great demand to take the place of
cotton. The manufacture of machinery, steam engines, boilers
and millwright work is in a flourishing condition and carried
on extensively by several eminent firms, among whom may be
mentioned Messrs. James Carmichael and Co. Limited, Ward
foundry ; Thomson, Son and Co. Limited, Douglas foundry ;
Urquhart, Lindsay and Co. Lim. Blackness foundry; the Caledon
Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Limited, Lilybank foundry;
Gourlay Brothers and Co. Dundee foundry ; and Eobertson and
Orchar Limited, Wallace foundry. Iron ship building and marine
engineering are also important features in the general prosperity
and industry of the city, and give employment to a large number
of artisans. MessrB. Gourlay Brothers and Co., The Dundee Ship
Builders Co. Limited and the Caledon Shipbuilding and En-
gineering Co. Limited, are the principal firms engaged in these
important industries. There are also several extensive saw
mills and timber yards, the principal of which belong to Messrs.
Bell and Sime Limited and Messrs. Fleming and Barry Limited.
Descriptive Sketch. — Although Dundee is not conspicuous for
architectural beauty, it contains several handsome streets. In the
central portion is a wide oblong area, called the High street, on
the south side of which stands the Town Hous«. Directly south of
this street lie the Docks, and to the south-west the terminal
stations of the North British and Caledonian railways, and north-
ward various streets lead to Barrack Park and the high ground
known as Dundee Law. The Clydesdale Bank, at the east end
of High street, is also a good building. Dock street runs from
the railway stations along the line of Docks, and from the west
end of Dock street, Union street forms a communication with
the Nethergate ; it contains excellent shopB ; running north from
the centre of Dock street, Commercial street is a splendid
thoroughfare, lined on either side by elegant shops and houses,
and the old and narrow thoroughfares called Murraygate and
Seagate have given place to wide streets. Whitehall street,
completed in 1893, runs from the Nethergate southwards; at the
lower end it curves semi-circularly towards South Union street
on the west, and Green market on the east. In Meadowside new
premises were completed and opened in 1899 by the Scottish
Provident Institution, the Pearl Life Assurance Co., and the
Prudential Assurance Co. The Albert Institute, completed in
1889, is t» the south-east of the High school, the western portion
was treet^d from designs by the late Sir Gilbert Scott R.A. and
the eastern and northern portions from others by Mr. Mackenzie,
a local architect, and Mr. Alexander, the city architect: the
cost of the entire building was about £50,000, exclusive of the
site, which cost £8,000. It comprises a large hall (used as the
reference library), libraries, reading room, museum, and fine
picture galleries. These are free to the public, the town having
38 years ago adopted the Free Libraries Act. Adjoining are
the Victoria Art Galleries, opened by the Marquess of Lome on
October 26th, 1889. In the grounds in front of the Albert In-
stitute is a bronze statue, modelled by Mr. Steel of Edinburgh,
of George Iunloch, the first representative of the burgh in
the first reformed Parliament; in the south-west corner of the
grounds i3 a bronze statue of Burns, also by Steel. There is
also a statue by John Hutchison 11. S. A. of the late James
Carmichael, the inventor of the fan blast; opposite the principal
entrance is a splendid colossal statue in bronze of Her late
Majesty Queen Victoria, by the late Harry Bates A.R.A. erected
a3 a Jubilee memorial in 1887, and unveiled by H.B.H. the
Duke of Connaught. A fountain, erected at considerable cost,
faces the west front of the Institute. The Royal Exchange
and Chamber of Commerce. Panmure street, erected in 1852, at
a cost of about £10,000, is a building in the Flemish-Gothic
style of the 14th century, with a fine tower. To the south of
the Albert Institute stand a Club House, in the Venetian style,
the Free Gaelic church, and the National Bank buildings. The
Royal arch, in the centre of Dock street and spanning
the north end of the Mid quay, raised to commemorate
the landing near this spot of H.M. Queen Victoria, on her first
visit, is a structure, with a wide central arch, and two of smaller
dimensions at the sides; each front is richly sculptured, and
octagonal turrets rise from the summit. The Custom House,
in Dock street, is a building with a Classic portico. The Sailors'
Home, opened by the late Earl of Dalhousie, 16 December, 1881,
at a cost of upwards of £12,000, is designed 1 in the Elizabethan
style, and has sleeping room for about 100 seamen. The offices
of the Mercantile Marine Department are in the same building.
The Public Hall, in Bank street (for which the inhabitants of
Dundee are mainly indebted to Lord Kinnaird), is a building in
the Italian style; the hall itself is an apartment 130 by 60 feet,
and 42 feet 6 inches high, with room for about 2,500 people.
The organ, provided in 1864, cost £1,500. The orchestra will
accommodate some 280 performers, and there is a gallery
holding 200 persons. The Court House, in which the assizes are
held, is a building in the Classic style, upon the pediment of
which the Royal arms are boldly sculptured; adjoining it is the
gaol. The Post Office, in Meadowside, opened in 1898, is a
building of stone, in the French Renaissance style, and cost
£21,366.
The Eastern Club is in Albert square; the New Club, in
Commercial street, established in 1901, has about 200 members;
the Liberal club is in Reform street, and there are several other
smaller clubs.
The Corporation Public Baths and Washhouses, in Constable
street, were opened in 1902.
Ecclesiastical.— The " Old Steeple," in the Nethergate, a little
west of High street, is a fine solid tower, built, probably, the
early part of the 15th century; it is 156 feet high, with walls
8 feet thick, and formerly contained 2 bells, the larger recast
in 1819 and the smaller 'bearing date of 1693; but when the
" Steeple " was restored in 1872, under the superintendence of
the late Sir Gilbert Scott, 6 more bells were provided, being
gifts from various citizens, and the whole 8 were rehung in the