The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-13 00:00:00

FAMILY COLONIZATION FOR
AUSTRALIA.
Last evening Mrs. Chisholm held another group
meeting of intending emigrants in the Boys' Paro-
chial School-room, Clapham-common, the Rev.
Wentworth A. Bowyer, rector of the parish, in the
chair. The subject announced for discussion was—
" Government inspection of provisions not sufficient
protection to emigrants." Long beforg eight o'clock
(the hour for commencing the proceedings) the room
was crowded with an audience of the working classes,
and large numbers of both sexes congregated outside
were unable to obtain admission, from the want of
accommodation. On entering the room Mrs. Chis-
holm was received with loud applause. Beside her,
on the platform, were Mr. R. Lowe, 111. P. for Kidder-
minster, Mr. W. S. Lindsay, the large shipowner, and
several other ladies and gentlemen interested in the
emigration movement.
The Rev. CHAIRMAN having briefly introduced the
business of the evening, and expressed his regret that
the room was not double the size, so as to contain the
crowd outside,
Mrs. Creesnonee rose to address the meeting. She
said that the usual mode adopted to persuade people
to emigrate was to give bright and glowing descrip-
tions of the colonies, so as to tempt them to go to
them ; but, as a friend to emigration, she would ven-
ture to point out some of the dangers connected with
it. Several gentlemen connected with shipping, as
well as provision merchants, were present that even-
ing to hear the remarks which she had to make on the
present mode of provisioning ships. From upwards of
30 villages and towns in England she had received re-
quests to visit them, in order to hold group meetings ;
and she was also under a promise to visit Scotland for
a month and she (ltd. not like to go there until the dif-
ficulties with which ene Was now surrounded were
brought fairlybefore the public. The Act of Parliament
did not meet them, but they could be met by a gene-
rous sk,irit amongst those engaged in the trade. They
found in all the new: papers that there was an inspec-
tion of the provisions consumed in emigrant ships '
made by Captain Lean, the Government officer, then
whom there could not be a man more fitted for
or more honest in the discharge of his duties,
and one whose tack and management had often se-
cured for the emigrants many comforts which the Act
diel not enforce. But if she were to-morrow to buy
and pay for the best provisions she could get, and put
them on board the emigrant vessel; even although
they passed the inspection of the Government officer,
the was under the necessity of stating that that in-
spection did not afford sufficient protection to the
emigrants. The Act gave the Government officer
the power of rejecting unfit provisions, but this
operated no further than merely to prevent large
quantities of bad provisions from being put on board
ship. Provisions that were allowed to pass were put
into the hold ; there was no separate place to keep
them in, and it was seldom that more than one man
—generally the third mate—was employed in serving
them out to the emigrants. The consequence was
that they frequently heard reports of bad provisions,
sometimes within a few days after the ship left
Gravesend. She thought there would never be suffi
ment security for the emigrants getting their proper
provisions, until a cupboard was specially set apart in
the ship for containing them, the key of which should
be kept by a person who could be entrusted with it.
She had known provisions served to emigrants, 14
days after they left port, that were not the same as
those which had been put on board for them. The
Emigration Commissioners had done all in their
power to guard against this evil—they had insisted
that the same quality of provisions should be pro-
vided for the emigrants as were used for the officers
and crew; and it was not likely that Jack would
have the worst for himself ; but this rule did not
prevent beef from being bought at a low figure, and
afterwards exchanged for what had been provided fur
the emigrants. Now this was a very hard thing for
the respectable provision merchant, because his cha-
racter was likely to suffer from being left at the mercy
d difficultyua lin the
was shi p
so, but
great,o f
of the temper or the honesty of not only one indivi-
dual
a a
numberdozebne;r and, indeed,
ainstdreeeadp,etehtie.
able men were deterred from entering upon emigration
as a business. It had been her rule never to speak of a
difficulty unless she could tell how to overcome it, and
she never mentioned one in public until she had first
tried to surmount it in private without success.
She wished the shipowners to listen to this matter,
because it was the cause of a want of confi-
dence itrnpia(l..l fho c.,ii rlATUAnarnent of emigra-
tion among the working classes. The amenneu Act
of Parliament now enjoined that for every 100 emi-
grants taken on board there should be a steward, who
should assist in giving out the provisions. Now she
had herself examined the cases of 947 emigrants who
had gone in the ships of the most respectable houses,
and the question they were accustomed to put was,
" This is a good dietary table, but do you think we
shall have these provisions ?" because letter after letter
came stating that in certain cases the quality had not
been good, and even the persons who shipped the
provisions entertained strong doubts of the articles
complained of ever having been put on board by them.
The effect of this want ocsf confidence was to increase
the cost to the emigrant very seriously. Out of the
whole 947 emigrants to whom she referred, there was
not a single man or single woman among them—they
were all married men and women with their families,
whose only anxiety was to provide themselves with
proper food; and she found that of bacon, beef,
and biscuits they bad provided a store for them-
selves to the amount of 2/. 17s. 6d. per adult. Of that
sum only 3s. 6d. per adult was spent in luxuries—if
one pot ofjam for each family could be called luxu-
ries—so that 2/. 14s. worth of provisions bad been
were wanted, but from a dread lest their proper pro-
put into the ship by each adult, not because they
visions should be changed on the voyage. Now she
thought it would be very easy to meet that difficulty
by having a pantry for the emigrants. It had been
suggested that an Act should be passed to compel all
ships with emigrants to carry a surgeon and surgeon's
mate, the first duty of the latter to be to see the pro-
visions when examined by the Government officer;
after being approved of by him, the surgeon's mate to
take charge of them, and put his own mark on every
package, and to see them stowed away in a store-room
set aside for that purpose on board ship, the key of
which to be kept in his possession ; the whole of the
provisions to be served out by the surgeon's mate
only, and at the end of the voyage he should have to
render an account of the ship's stores in duplicate,
together with such remarks as might be necessary on
their quality and condition; the one to be forwarded
to the owners or charterers of the ship in England,
the other to be delivered to their agents at the port of
destination. As the health of the emigrants
must depend much on the provisions, the me-
dical officer was the fittest person to be made respon-
sible in this matter. What she wanted was to save
this sum of 21. 17s. 6d. to the poor working man,
because if emigration was made cheaper the separa-
tion of the members of families would not be so great
as it was now. Arrangements for washing and iron-
ing on board also economise the means of the emi-
grants • and nothing tended more to check infection
when ievers were about so much as the hot ironing of
the clothes.—(Hear, hear.) The next thing the men
engaged in emigration ought to do was to abolish the
barbarous custom of shaving on crossing the line—
(Laughter)—and extorting money from the passen-
gers to buy exemption from the operation. It irritated
the emigrants as much as it would annoy any woman
present to be stopped on leaving the room and told
that, as it was the first time she had attended Mrs.
Chisholm's meetings she must pay 55., or she should
have a bucket of cold water thrown over her, unless
she "cashed up" immediately.—(Laughter.) Mrs.
Chisholm then cited an aggravated case of a boy
who was a cabin passenger having been compelled
to give 7s. 6d. to the sailors to buy spirits
with when crossing the line ; and afterwards, when
he would not submit to still further exactions
his head was dipped in a pailful of filthy grease,
technically called lather," and an excellent suit of
clothes which he wore at the time was ruined. Cases
of that kind she said were frequent, and she believed
the shipowners had only to threaten to discharge all
captains who did not suppress the disgusting practice,
which she believed more than anything else intimi-
dated the stoutest men in Kent from emigrating, and
this relic of barbarism would at once be put an end
to. She would only add another suggestion, and that
was that there ought to be some further improvements
made in the cooking grates used for the emigrants,
and their comfort would he considerably increased.
movement
Christmas next among
there She would not detain the meeting any longer, as Mr.
Lindsay
and Mr. Lowe, M.P., were there to address
them ; the former of whom would take the lead in this
sheirowulnd b ere
aa and skh ea hopedad ae e
neck
that
chase,by
not for the greatest amount of profits, but for the
highest character between the merchants and ship-
owners, and that emigration,which had been too long
considered by alai own
business, would speedily ers merely as a little jobbing
ecome their great business,
of b
and the great business the nation.—(Cheers.)
Mr. W. S. LINDSAY said that he had attended there
that evening, not for the purpose of speaking, but to
pay a humble tribute of respect to Mrs. Chisholm and
the great cause of philanthropy of which she was so
noble a representative. As, however, the subject of
emigration was intimately connected with the ques-
tion which he bad studied from his boyhood,