The Express.
London, England, 1858-03-31 00:00:00

MIGRATION OF WORKMEN.

A public meeting wu held het evening at the
Great School-room of the Whitechapel Society, St. Mary's-
street, Whitechapel, convened by the Rev. W. W. Champ-
neys, M.A., rector of Whitechapel and Canon of St. Paul's,
for the purpose of forming • committee to raise and apply
funds towards assisting workmen of good character, belongMg
to the " British Workman's Emigration Association for
Facilitating Emigration," with loans to enable them to
emigrate to suck of the British colonies as may afford
openings for their employment.
The Rev. Mr. CHAMPIII2II on taking the chair, opened
the meeting with prayer; la• then proceeded to explain the
object of the meeting. is said it was evident that then was
a large surplus of labour in this country, which was much
needed in the colonies ; if, therefore, any means of promoting
the emigration of workmen could be devised, the men them-
selves would be benefited, the labour market of this
country would be relieved, and the colonies provided with
that labour which they so much needed. The question was,
how that could be effected? He took it for greeted,
that there was an honesty of spirit and an independence in
the British workman of good character which would lead him
to support any plan which proposed to send him out not as a
pauper but as an independent man, who was determined to
repay by his labour the money advanced to him. (Hear.)
The plan was this. First of all, the wealthy public required
some tee that the money given by them should be
ap ' to the best advantage; that guarantee would be found
in the fact that one nobleman and several gentlemen bad
consented to act as trustees of the fund. In the second place,
• number of gentlemen in the district, well known to him, in
whose judgment he had the most entire reliance, had con-
sented to act as a committee to distribute the funds. The
third point was to secure that the men sent out by the com-
mittee should be of the right kind. They would send only
men of thoroughly good character; these were the most
worthy; the colony would not thank them to send
any other, and men who were at all liable to be
overmans by drink would do no good in any colony.
To secure thegood character of the men the committee would
connect themselves with the British Workman's Emigration
Amociation, and thus insure that the men aided by them
would be those whose characters had been thoroughly sifted.
For the future, this association would be • kind of benefit
society ; men would be admitted on the payment of a small
weekly sum towards the expenses of the society, and a fur-
ther weekly payment towards their emigration. When it came
to a man's turn to be sent out, he would get credit towards
his expenses of all the money be had paid on his card.
Mr. ALEXANDIR RIDGWAY moved the first resolution.
" That this meeting is convinced that a plan by which work-
men of good character could hs enabled to emigrate to a
colony requiring their labour would not only confers good
benefit on those workmen themselves but on the mother
country, by relieving the over-crowded labour mar-
ket at home, and on the colony by impo:Nng
the class of labour there especially required.' He
dwelt on the fact that there was room in the colonies for
everybody. In this country there was not an acre of waste
ground which a man could take possession of, but in the
colonies they could get as much land as they wanted for 10e.
an acre. With the rate of wages now current in the colonies
it would not take long to earn 104. There could be no ques-
tion but that emigration was necessary. What a position
they would now be in in this country if all the thousands
who had emigrated of late years bad still remained here
So convinced was he of the necessity of emigration that he
had always advocated a compulsory rate in aid to assist it.
(Hear, hear.) lie was more immediately interested in the
colony of New Zealand, and he could assure them that any
sober man must do well there.

Mr. GANN seconded the resolution, and bore testimony
to the great success that had attended all emigrants to New
Zealand. It would be necessary however that the association
should be in communication with some parties in the colonies
as to the peculiar kind of labour required from time to time,
The greeter number of the meeting were skilled artisans, end
if they went out they must be prepared to fall back on the
land if the demand for labour fell off.
The resolution WM then adopted.
Mr. firasw proposed and Mr. ELLIOTt secretary to the
British Workman s Association, seconded the nest resolution
"That this meeting being convinced that English workmen
of good character would not only prefer to emigrate through
the help of loans, to be repaid by themselves, rather than by
monies given to them as paupers, but would be the class of
persona most likely to repay each loans with faithfulness,
rejoice to hear that the Right lion. Lord Ebury, John La-
bouchere, Esq., Robt. Heathery, Esq.. M.P., for Middlesex,
and theßev.CanonChempneys, have consented toga es trus-
tees for any monies that may be subscribed for that purpose,
end that the following gentlemen be an association to carry
out the emigration by loan,,in concurrence with the committee
of the British Workman's Emigration Association—The
Rev.W.W. Champneys, M.A.. Mr. Craven, Mr. Straw, Mr.
Fellinglaam, Mr. R.Windle, Mr. Richardson, Rev. T. Prim-
colt, Mr. E. Adkin, (3. Turner, Eeq., solicitor, mesentery ;
and that W. I). Asperse, Esq., manager of the East London
branch of the London and Westminster Bank, be the
Inseam. '_ . _

I'in...rm lotion wu carried.
Alter a vote of thanks to the chairman, the meeting sepa-
rated.

THENIGHTINGALEFuNo.--In some correspondence
between Miss Nightingale and Mr. Sidney Heroert, which
has been published Miss Nightingale writes Dear Mr.
Herbert,—l have been for some time hesitating as to the
course I ought to take with regard to the large fund which is
called by my name, and which was so generously placed in
my bands for the purpose of being applied to a most useful
and beneficent object. After allowing a time to elapse fully
sufficient for forming a judgment, I find my health so much
impaired and I am, consequently, so unequal to begin a
work which, to be properly performed, will require great
exertion and unceasing attention, that I feel it incum-
bent upon me and due to the contributors to beg you
to communicate to the trustees and council my inability to
undertake the task." Mr. Herbert, on the part of the com-
mittee, replies—" We cannot but trust that with diminished
labour you will regain your health, and that without undue
fatigue or exertion you will be enabled to give a general
superintendence to the plans you may devise for the applica-
tion of the fund. I am, therefore, desired by my colleagues
to storms their earnest hope that you will postpone your
final decision until further time shall enable you to judge.
what degree of superintendeoce you will be enabled to bestow
on the work which is identified with your name, and which we
still earnestly hops will derive its organisation from your
hands." Miss Nightingale, in reply, assents.
DEATH OF ME. J. H. BAziow.--Yeeterday at
his residence in Francis-street, Newington, died Mr. John
Henry Barrow, a gentleman for some time connected with
this journal, and previously with the Timed, Horning Herald,
and Sum newspapers. Mr. Barrow as, however, hem, known
as the editor of the "Mirror of Parliament," a series of ori-
ginal reports of the parliamentary debates, which ha started in
oppoeitionto "Hansard," and which for some yews maintained
• successful contest with that compilation. He wee also the
author of " Emir Malice and one or two other work' of
fiction in prose and in verse.
BIRTHS AND DEATHS IN LONDOL—Under the
influence of fine weather the mortality is much reduced. The
deaths in London were in two previous woke 1,487 and
1,431; last week they fell to 1,268. The present return is
so far favourable, that it shows the number of deaths less by
71 than that which the average rate of mortality towards the
end of Much would have produced. Last week the births of
1,000 boys and 924 girls, Ina 1,924 children, were registered
in London. In the ten corresponding weeks of the years
1848-67 the avenge number wee 1,616.
THE CHARGE OF SHOOTING AT A DA8R1A11.....-A1
the Dublin police-court, on Saturday, Captain Buchanan, of
the Soots Greys., &wired with shooting at &cabman, was
again brought up. The partloulars of this singular case sp.
purl in our paper a few due ego. It was now stated and
admitted that - the gun was only a toy gun. and the matter
I had been cetuteeeehled by the tePtele's giving the cabmen
1004 and his ley comb.