The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-10-09 00:00:00

EMIGRATION TO AMERICA.

The Times publishes a letter from a New York oorre-
spondent from which we make the following extracts :

The steamer was the Adriatic, of the White Star
Line. From Liverpool we had over 400 emigrants.
We left there on the 7th of September, and on the
Bth, while waiting off Queenstown for the last mails,
we shipped nearly 100 more. The emigrants were
composed of Norwegians' Swedes, Germans, English,
Welsh, and Irish; but the foreigners and the Irish
were very largely in the majority. We were af-
forded an excellent opportunity of forming a judg-
ment as to the class of people now emigrating from
Ireland. In one of the discussions on the subject Lord
Emly told the House of Lords that he had made a visit
to Queenstown, and seen that the Irish emigrants
were of the "bone and sinew of the land," and were
carrying away money as well as industrial power with
them. On inquiry in Liverpool I found that Lord'
Emly's impression was concurred in by those who have
had the best means of knowing. To the various English
Transatlantic Steam Companies this has been a profit- •
able emigration year. On qiie of her trips the Adriatic
carried as many as 900 elliigrants to New York ;
and the superiority of the Irish emigrants over
those of former years has been so striking as to
attract the marked observation of those concerned
in shipping them. But as the panacea of emigration
assisted by our Government had been so strongly
urged by Lord Dunaaven an others, I determined not
to depend on seoond-hand information, however good,
and therefore I closely watched the embs.rcation of
the emigrants we took in at Queenstown, and, subse-
quently, during the voyage, went about among and
conversed with the steerage passengers. Now, know-
hie, Ireland well, from the Giant's Causeway to Cape
Clear, I can assert that a more decent set of Irish
peasants could not easily be found than those who
were aboard our ship. Their appearance and conduct
were alike respectable. When seeing it put on board at
Queenstown, I was struck with the clean and sub-
stantial character of the bagggge of the emigrants
whom we took in there. They had their large and
strong boxes with their names painted on the lids or
fronts, straw beds in new ticking for the voyage, and
new tin cooking utensils for use in the country of their
adoption. The greater number of the whole body of
emigrants on board were young or middle-aged men
and women, but in some cases the old people were
coming with their sons and daughters, and it need
scarcely be observed that, among the Irish • contingent
especially, there were many young children
It used formerly to be remarked by the officers of
emigrant ships that the Irish emigrants were slovenly
and idle. In that respect there has been a marked
change. . . . The men could do but little on board,
but many of the women employed themselves In knit-
ting stockings and making and mending clothes. Now
this was what in former emigration seasons was rarely
or never witnessed. Again, the Irish emigrants of
both sexes were well dressed and kept themselves
clean and tidy. The two elements which I suggest
as having some, though not the main, share in con-
tributing to this gratifying result are the good
example of the Norwegian, Swedish, and German
emigrants, and the superior accommodation now pro-
vided for emigrants as compared with what was
thought good enough for them only a few years ago.
These Transatlantic mail steamers are immense float-
ing hotels, with the most elegant appointments and
menu for the saloon passengers and substantial
comfort for those of the steerage." We had 130
saloon and over rioo steerage passengers, and 140
of a crew, officers and men all told. The sleeping
accommodation for the married couples and single
women and young children of the emigrants was on
the under deck at the steerage end ; that for the
single men forward, at the other end of the ship. But
all the emigrants, as well as the saloon passengers
were free of the entire length of the main deck, which
for some 20ft. at the bows is covered in by an iron
hurricane deck, the only deck" reserved from them
being the upper deck, raised over the saloon and the
slain deck, which was devoted to the exclusive use of
the saloon passengers. On the main deck the steerage
passengers promenaded, worked, played at games
and basked in the sun. The foreign emigrants had
musical instruments with them, and every evening
they performed while znal,ching in military form. The
Swedes and Norwegians often sang hyms with a devo-
tional pathos that was appreciated by everybody on
board. Thion there was dancing, and there were Irish
and German ballaas, to which the ladies and gentle-
men listened and applauded from the upper deck ;
and when dancing and singing were indulged in by
the saloon passengers the emigrants expressed their
pleasure as sitctators and hearers. On the Sunday a
large number of both classes of passengers attended
Divine service in the saloon. In industry the Nor-
wegian and Swedish women set all their fellow-emi-
grants an excellent example.
- - - -

After a voyage in which there was nothing but good
humour and a reciprocity of kindly feeling, the emi-
grants were 1-anded here on the morning of the 17th of
September, just in time to witness the great torch
light processsions and other incidents of the Pi esi-
dential campaign, which has put New York Republi-
cans and Democrats in a ferment of excitement.