Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-09-12 00:00:00

THE EMIGRATION TRADE

TO THE EDITOR CP THH NJRTHEEN

Sir,—Having noticed in your paper and the Eu-
ropean Times various articles, reflecting seriously
upon the mariner in whi:th the emigrant business
of-Liverpool is conducted, particularly with reference
to the issuing of tickets from New York to the interior
of the States and einadas; I wish to make a few
remarks thereon, being well acquainted with the
working of the latter business on both sides of the
Atlantic.

In the first pace I would have it understood,
that I do not wish to exteanate those abuses which
rosily exist, and which cannot altogether be preven-
ted in this city, where the emigrant business is
probably larger thin all other ports in Europe
tovttier, at the same time am decidedly of opinion,
that in no port in Europe is fraud and imposition
on emigrants so immediately detected and punished
as in Liverpool, and the attempt to hold up New
York as a pattern in this respect, shews the greatest
possible ignorance of the administration of justice
in the latter city. The establishment of Castle
Gardens in New York has undoubtedly been of
immense advantage to emigrants, and if the mana-
gers of this institution were simply actuated by a
desire to do good and prevent fraud and imposition,
they would meet with encouragement an 1 ti ssistance
from all.

The temptation, however, to mike money, under
the guise of benevolence, has, unfortunately,
proved altogether to strong ; and the managers
of Castle Garden are now attempting to obtain an
entire monopoly of the inland booking business.
In order to attain their object, they have sent an
agent to all ports in Europe to endeavour to
prevail upon the aufaorities to stop the issuing of
inland tickets, and they have succeedel in Bre-
men and Hamburg, but failed in Antwerp,-Havre,
and all ports in England.
The cause of their failure .is obvious ; they
receive 20 per cent. commission on all passengers
booked in Castle Garden, and any railroad com-
pany (the Pennsylvania Central for instance)
which refuses to pay this commission is not
allowed to book passengers within the building.
The answer which the Castle Garden. agent received
on applying to the French government to stop the
issuing of tickets in Havre showed a larger
amount of good sense and business knowledge
than might have been expected. They replied,
"You do not deny receiving 20 per cent. commis.
sion on all passengers booked in Castle Garden,
we can, therefore, only conclude, that it .is
a commercial as well as a benevolent under-
taking ; and we do not believe in Monopoly ;
prove to our satisfaction, however, that tickets
are issued in Havre, which are not honoured
on presentation in New York, or that any fraud
or imposition is practise.d, and we will instantly
tmke away the license of the agent." The French
Gevernment does not permit the issuing of inland
tickets, except by duly authorised and licensed
agents ; and this I:)ari, if carried out in Liverpool,
would effecttedly prevent the abuses complained
of, but would not suit the vien of the joint-stock
managers of Castle Garden ; who look upon every
passenger booked in Europe as a loss of 20 per
cent commission to themselves.
I will now prove to you that the passenger
agents of Liverpool are compelled to issue in-
land tickets from New York to the interior of
the States, in order to protect the shipowners
from loss and imposition.
There is a certain class of emigrants for the

maintenance and support of whom the owner of
the ship is respousibla they land destitute in
New York; women with children and no husbands,
crippled, deformed, deaf, dumb, or over 60
years of age. And tho best possible security the
Passenger ageot can take, is to sell them a ticket
from New. York to their destination. If he does
not adopt this plan, and the woman on landing
' in
New York states that she has no money to go teeher
husband, or friends in the interior, the commis-
sioners of emigration (being also the managers
of Castle Garden,) forward them. charging the
expanse to the ship, and adcling thereto

20 per cent commission. Some shins
—•- F uY~atutl Ul zWuU, nesides
the headmooey 83 4,1. each, the gri-wer
part of which might have been saved if the above
plan had been adopted. As regards the rates
charged for tickets from New York to the interior,
it is to be supposed that the respectable houses
will not charge more than the passengers would pay
if booked by the Railway Company in New York.
Whether these rates are mere or less than those
charged in Castle Garden, it is impossible to say,
as the managers have not hitherto made their rates
public That my opinion is shared by others,—the
enclosed extract from the New York Herald, abundan-
tly proves; the article in question is written in a very
truthful unvarnished style, and is certainly .not
exaggerated. If the managers of Cavle Garden,
wish to obtain the respect and support of the public,
they must cease to strive after a monopoly of the
booking business, and confine their exertions to
remedying actual abases, which can be done by
exposing those patties who issue fraudulent tickets,
and by publishing their list of rates, which I am
couvieced will not be exec led by any respectable
passenger agent in Liverpo?l, all of whom would
hertainly b 3 satisfiad with much less than 20 per
cent commission on their transactions.
Liverpool, 10th Sep. ANTI-MONOPOLY.

The following is the letter alluded to above :

To the Editi)r of the New York Herald.

Castle Garden is known at 'seine and abroad as one of
the great benevolent institutions of the day. It desires to
extend its useruliso. The Coin eiseinners of Emigration,
not sati.fied with depriiing our New York land sharks of
their prey, are stretching their arms across the water with
the benevolent design of protecting emi4rants during the
perils of embarkation. 14 plain words, they are attempt-
in„ by means of agents and printed eircalars, to induce the
authorities of all European seaport towns to shut up the
offices which have been estsbli,h-d in these towns for the
sale of American inland passage tickets. They assert that
bogus tickets are sold at these offices, and th it their tender
hearts are constantly Pill eted by the impositions thus
practised upon their proteges. This expansive benevclence
of the Cernalissioaces is in striking contrast with the
supineness which characterized the earlier movements of
that body ; it is not pleasant to ba obliged to attribute un-
worthy motives to an organiz ition which has effected some
valuable results, but it is to be considered that professional
birds of prey are _sometime:3 less dangerous than hypo-
cri ical old angels of mercy.

A clrf fa! I bserver, if adalittel to the sur.-cl precincts
of Castle Gitclen, will make note of the fullowicg phena•
mesa

Fife. In the neat and cons isodious passage 0f5,2e, in the
centre of the building, he will discover agents of only twig,
roads, vz., the New York an I Eris, and the New Yora
Central, while there are three other railroad companies
which, with their cOa:Jec Is, are engaged in the tram.-
pottation of emigrAn,s—tha Camden and Amboy, the
Peneylvanil Central and the Biltimore and Ohio, The
employes inform you that emigrants a-e at liberty to leave
the building and buy their G:ken at the other offices if
they choose, while the emigrants them,,elves affirm that
every means of persu ts:oa, and often violence, is employed
to induce them to purehise tickets within the building.
Sevud. The two companies established here seem to
work together in perfect harm my. There is no rivalry,
no cornpstition in prices, no allriety to catch custenters.
Such harmony between rival interests, such indifference
to filthy lucre is altogether unaccountable, and truly re-
freshing in the midst, of this s nful!y selfish communhy.
Third. Farmers awl other persons dedring to oatain
servants are denied access to Castle Garden. Several
hundred men could be immediately and advantageously em-
ployed oa railroads hr this State, if access were allowed to
the emizrints belore they are persuaded to huy titkats for
the far West. Labour of several descriptions has grown
scare:, in this city for some months r,st, from the strenuous
exertions of the Castle Garden functionaries to ship all who
have mosey pockets direc:ly to the West. Those
who are without funds enough to buy a passege ticket are
allowed to remove themse'ves to the Labour Exchange in
Worth-street. The Commissioners say they cannot allow
employers in the building, as the runners would corns in
iicdir pretence of looking for servants. Just as we left the
Castle, a carriage stopped at the entrance, containing a
harmless old lady, villa wished to select a chambermaid
from the extensive aEsor:neent offered wi hin. She was
denied atimitt;,n.ce and referred to the office in Worth-
street, where tbe ragged and moneviess sediment of the tide
of emigration is deposited. That corpulent old lady
couldn't hive been mistaken for a runner, eves by the
rawest of afici.la.
There is something in these and similar phenomena of
Castle Garden which is rather inexp:icable till we get al

the true theory of the insttuiion. The fee. that it is the
direct interest of the parties who now bave control that
every emigrant should be induced to go West immediately
over the Erie and Central roads, wilt explain the matter
satiefectorily. Gistle Garden is a grand monopoly. It
is not under the direct control of the Commissioners of
Emigration. It is leased to and managed by a joint etock
company, who receive twenty five per cent on all the •
tickets sold within the wells. They admit no rail. otd come
paey within the Castle which will not pay the twenty
per cent. One member of this joint company has already
reeketed, it is said, quite a large sum as his individual
share of the spoils. This twenty per cent is added to the
usn al costs at the depots et' the emigrant passage tickets.
We have explained why only two lines of transportation
are represented .withiu the bni:ding,. Then as regards
that wonderful harmony of the two ageecies which work
"cheek br jowl," without scratching or stir ing, an amicable
arrangement has been made by which the sales of each
month are equally divided between the. New York and
Erie and the New York Central. This does away with
that cutting competition by which the cost of passage
tickets might be red:iced two or three dollars per lisad and
the profits of the concern materially diminished. With res-
pect to the third phenomenon mentioned, it is easyeuough to
see that it is tee interest of the high cone ac ing parties to
send the emigrants as far West as possible ; the question
whether they might not be better employed near the city
they have nothing to do wi'h.
It is known that the inc nne upon wlelch the board for-
merly depended—derived from the head money of 2 dole.
per pass-:nger-•-•was found inadtqnate to meet the requisit-
ions imposed upon the Commissioners by law, namely,
providing for the sick atel destitute among them for a
period of flee years af,er th. it arrived, and the consequence
has been a heavy indebtedness. Toe Commissioners were,
therefore, unable to meet the additioaal expenses of main-
taining the establishment, unless some plea could be de-
vised for making it self-supporting. The simplest way of
doing this would be for the Commissioners themselves to
make contracts with the various railroad companies, and
then selling passage tickets at such an advance as would
cover the expenses of the depot. Fire per coat would be
a liberal allowance for ell expenses. . .

As it is, the Conmissioners of Emigration have given
over their business, oa terms known only to themselves,
to a giant monopoly, who carry pas,enge's at their own
rates, and in their own way. It is affirmed that the accom-
modations provided on the emigrant trains are not much
superior to those usually afforded to droves of hogs.
The business of the j Ant stock company is just now in
a very flourishing conditton ; 150,000 emigrants per annum
generally well sax lied with hard dollars, afford rich
picking=. The only drawback to the profits of the con-
cern is the selling of inland passage tickets by agents in
Europe, which disreputable practice the Connuaissioners,
as we have stated above, are determined to put a stop to.
They have already succeeded in one or two instances in
ioduring the European authorities to discountenance the
offices opeced for the sale of inland passage tickets. The
Commissioners assert that bogus tickets are sold at these
offices, but the railway companies out of the Castle affirm
that no bogus tickets from such sources have been broaght
to them, and the allegation is yet without proof.
All the statements anode in the above can be corfirnied
by the evidence of well known and reliable parties.
ANTI-MONOPOLIST.

ILLTREA.LAIENT OF EMIGRANTS.