The Express.
London, England, 1850-02-13 00:00:00

Idea regardieg them. They will, of course, judge for
Ihemeiveso we, atter a dispassionate and leisurely
sseutlny, are convinced that the following averments
ass proved beyood the possibility of contradiction.
Oa one masks the captain of the "Indian "
supplied liquor fee a jollification among the puen-
rre le hewer of a birth-day in his own fancily. A
MIN ARNOLD remarked subsequently that the party,
mr ffrmm.l them, "were the worse for wine when
up." NE this remark Mime ARNOLD was
seamaseed to the forecastle, and an attempt made to
deck ben, She was summoned to the forecastle in the
named the mods and devise; the latter dose not
appear to have been present, bat the former was, and
sanctioned the attempted outrage by
.his connivance.
Oa another occasion the purser intruded himself
into Mee ARNOLD'S berth, and attempted to kiss has.
She teWsted, and complained to the captain of his
lesslasee. The doctor interfered, and attempted to
pmenede her to retract her charge, but without enc-
ases. During the remainder of the voyage Miss
ARNOLD was subjected to a series of vexatious per-
secutions.
The second mate was in the habit of intruding him-
self into the cabin of the unmarried women at all
hours of the day and night; he was seen lying in the
beds of the girls by the matron and other witnesses;
the matron complained to the doctor but without
effect.
The doctor repeatedly netlected to attend patients
when lalsering under aver* illness. He repeatedly
teffessi te attend invalids when sent for, although at
the time amusing himself with fishing.
A Mr. SHAW, who was suffering front rheumatism,
bad an additional blanket ordered for him by the
doctor. Swale complained one day of some other
matter, and, within ten minute., the blanket was taken
from him. The nurse admitted that she took away
the blanket: " there was an order to do so, but not
from the doctor.*
The " medics' contorts" put on board "to be
tuned at the discretion of the surgeon, whether for
the sick or to preserve health," were refused to
women and children whs were invalids, and were
freely dioributed to favoured passengers, who are
not alleged to have needed them.
The emir/rents were insufficiently supplied with
bread, while the captain's pigs were being fed upon
it ; and they were put upon short allowance of water,
it not being alleged that there was a short supply on
board.
Miss ARNOLD, for complaining of the improper
conduct of the mate, was subjected to injurious and
untrue imputations and other indignities; Mr. SHAW,
for making some ccmplaint, was deprived of his
blanket; the matron rocarred the displeasure of
doctor, and had a charge trumped up against her,
which he declined to substantiate by evidence when
called upon to do so at Adelaide ; the passengers who
complained of their treatment on landing were
assaulted in consequetce ; Mr. BAINBRIDGE, " ot,
returning to the vessel was knocked down by Mr.
Ross, and the captain wanted him or any of the
malcontents to stand before him, and he'd knock
seven bells out of them.'"
Now, bearing in mind these established facts—
which are only a few samples out of many—let us
reflect on what they amount to. Emigration is now
felt by so many respectable individuals to be their
only resource, and is recommended so strenuously oy
influential members of society, that many thousands
of emigrants take shipping sunnily for our colonies.
Of these a considerable and increasing number are
respectable single femiles, who proceed to the colo-
nies on the assurance that there and on the
passage they are as cafe from injury and
insult as they would be if proceeding from
a country parish to London or Liverpool in seared:
of a situation. Such assurance is given, and might
easily be made good through the establishment of a
reasonable police for passenger vessels on the part of
government. But we learn that on board the "Indian"
the officers of the vessel were connived at by the sur-
geon when they converted the berths of the nomer-
ried females into what one of the witnesses called a
" floating brothel." We learn that no attention was
paid to tie be ilth and comforts of the emigrants. We
learn that all who complained were subjected to moult
and injury. Pure: gers from England to the Austra-
lian colonies are placed for four, five, or mix months at
the mercy of the crew and officers, with whom they
have embarked : they have during that period no op-
portunity of leaving the vowed, of complaining to any
magistrate. And when among the crew and officers,
there are men so lost to all rouse of shame, as some
of those of the " Indian" appear to have been, and so
forgetful of their du yas others must have been, the
consequences for the passengers are terrible.
Unfortunately the case of the " Indian" is no
isolated case. A few months ago we had to hold up
to public reprobation the conduct of the surgeon and
officers of an emigrant ship, convicted at Sydney of
having tied up and flogged grown girls on the bate
back in public view during the passage. The very
same number of the Adelaide Observer from which
we have taken our account of the abuses on board the
" Indian,"contains a repot t of the trial and conviction of
the master of the barque Tropic, at Sydney, for supply.
ing his passengers during the voyage with insufficient
provisions, and those of" the worst and most unwhole-
some description." So conscious was the master of
his misconduct that he allowed judgment to go by
default. The counsel for the prosecutor remarked,
with but too much truth, that " the case was one of
perhaps too many in which shipping
.agents in Eng-
land of no very good reputations are in the habit of
taking cabin pansy: money from their customers,
and then—calculating on never heating again of
people who were about to proceed to the other side
of the world—never particularly troubling themselves
about their part of the contract.
We have for some time back been in receipt of
many letters complaining of the cruelty and oppres-
sion practised towards passengers aboard Australian
emigrant ships, and of the gross licentiousness of
which too many of them are made the scene.. Not-
withstanding the respectable quarters whence several
of these representations proceeded, we have hesitated
to give publicity to ex parte statements which had
not been subjected previously to public scrutiny. But
with regard to cases Droved, as at Sydney, in a court
of justice, or subjected, as at Adelaide, to the scrutiny
of public meetings, there can be no room for hesita-
tion. They may safely be assumed to be true, and
they impart credibility to the others.
Common humanity and common morality alike de-
mand that a stop should be put to these beastly
abuses. The from England to Anotralia way
be made as e even for unprotected females as the
passage from Edinburgh to London. The attention
of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners
—upon whom has devolved the charge of expediting
many bands of emigrants and protecting elf,
has repeatedly been called to such cases of mi.:condom
as we have now exposed. With what results the
facts we have just recorded may show. Nor will this
surprise any one who has perused the historical '
review of the origin and composition of that body,
which we recently submitted to our readers. The
commissioners are in fact powerless for good. And
for this reason do we make our appeal to the public
at large, and in particular to the wealthy and in-
fluential individuals who are so actively preparing
the means of emigration for the distressed needle-
women. To their convictions the importance of pro
testing the comfort and the virtue of isolated females
during the outward voyago must tome home with
peculiar force : and their politiou in society enables
them to insist upon that protection being afforded with
every chance of success.

TREATY wrrn COSTA RICA. —WA have advice.
of the ratillostion, on the 30th o' Mutilator lest, of Al trees,
of cooinserce and navieation between GIS% Rica moil Eng-
land, which wu comple'ed by Mr Cta field, so Clnrki
d'Affaires of Great Britain, sod Don Joaquin Berwido Cale ,
Foreign Minister of the li-puulie. The venous ol«u.es ot
lb. treaty ass of the usual d •scrintio,s, to d «sch cauntiv i+
respectively placed on the ioatieg ul tht faviwired risque
The seventh article provides for swat. trerdtert of nav'ffib•
des. By the nail whill be night Jun. 1140110« of the rod.
ettios of the above 'rimy, ws have a so u ennou.corafia, of
the reisiog of tho bltekaile instituted by Mr. Clayffelel
against Sin Selvat'or, tP g"virnfuent of that renNin
having complied with its (Wins wane up, la teem on boar
of the British elibircat

BmtlinstA.—The Piedmoniese Gazette of the Bth
publishes these laws psu aby to ries.ll rs and sanction. d
by the KW". Th-• fleet • eaubmiie s the estimation of ih •
laze. Isom the 30th of Nosomagr, 1849, ase, memorises Kn.
vommatit to oortinve to collo.at Owe tax,. serf pay the g
vernment "awns.. 0f 1819 rip the doesit.• coop ion of f,
budget of that year. By the e bur, government ie rut-
powered to collect 'he ftzes of 1860, till the let of April,
should the badirtt so- have bees voted by that time. The
lnelreet taxes an to be 'ol'eeted ace "died to the tariffs la
vigour. The third eche/Wes the ‘overemeat to leaf ,our
millions more of ri at's, and to dispose of that in the se et
advantageous way.