The Sun.
London, England, 1848-02-22 00:00:00

JEWISH DISABILITIES BILL

On the motion of the CHANCELLOR of the EX-
CHEQUER the Committee on the Jewish Disabilities
Bill was postponed to Friday next.
PASSENGERS BILL.

Mr. LABOUCHERE moved the second reading of
the Passengers Bill.
Mr. lIUME wished to know what course the Govern-
ment intended to take with respect to this Bill? He
regretted to find that his predictions on a former occa-
sion of ;the failure of the ?enactments then made had
proved correct—that failure had really been proved, and
it had been shown that all the legislation which had yet
taken place had not prevented the abuses which exist.
The reports which came from Canada were, he admitted,
of such a nature, and exhibiting such a state of suffering
on the part of the emigrants, and also of the residents,
as to call for the adoption of some means to prevent
not only the great mortality which had prevailed, but
also the spread of disease throughout the whole c nintry.
Ho was anxious for a simplification of the existing law,
so that every man, whether in the command of, or in any
way connected with, an emigrant ship, or who went out
as passenger, should ;know whet really were the rules
and regulations by which he was to be bound, and, there-
fore, he would suggest that the two Acts now in force
should be consolidated, and that all their enactments,
with those now proposed, should form one single Bill.
One point to which his attention had been called by a
letter he had that day received from Now York was
well worthy consideration. He alluded to an improve-
ment in the ventilation of the emigrant ships, and the
fixing the cook-house or caboose below, instead of on
deck, to which, when the hatches were battened down
in stormy weather, the poor emigrants could not have
access in cases of severe illness and absolute need of the
comforts which even a supply of hot water would afford.
He had no wish to stop the progress of the present Bill,
but to throw out those points as necessary to be kept in
view, in order, for the sake of humanity, to prevent the
evils which at present had been shown to exist on board
emigrant ships.
Mr. LABOUCHERE concurred with the Hon.
Member for Montrose (Mr. Hume) in the opinion he had
expressed, that something must be done by the Govern-
ment and the Legislature to prevent a recurrence of tho
evils to which Canada had been exposed by the emi-
grants who bad arrived in that country during the last
year. He held in his hand a dispatch from Lord Elgin,
the Governor-General of Canada, in which he depicted
the distress and suffering which had extended to the re-
mote hamlets and villages of the provincs, from the state
in which the emigrants had arrived, and who carried for-
ward with them pauperism and disease. Tho mortality
on board emigrant ships did not formerly exceed one-half
per cent., hut the returns of last year showed that it had
reached 17 per cent. This was a state of things which
demanded the serious consideration of Parliament, and
he should deeply regret if the emigration of the next
season was allowed to be carried on without the means
of preventing the recurrence of evils so shocking to hu-
munity. The evils had arisen not merely from the state
of fever with which emigrants from Ireland had embarked
and which they had carried with them into Canada, but
from the gross mismanagement on board ship, and the
absence of proper regulations and control on board the
vessels in which the unfortunate creatures were crowded.
In this state of things, the Colonial-office and the Com-
missioners of Emigration had applied themselves to the
consideration of what alterations of the law they would
recommend, and the result of their recommendation was
the Bill now before the House. The main alterations
which were proposed were as follows—ln the first place,
the Bill increased the space allotted to each passenger on
board the emigrant ships, and the space was increased
from ten feet to twelve feet for each passenger. An-
other alteration proposed was with reference to the
quantity of provisions carried out. At present the
owners undertook to provide a certain quantity of food
for each emigrant during the voyage; and it was expected
that every emigrant would bring on board sonie provisions
of his own. Now last year, from Ireland, the
emigrants crowded on board without food of their own,
relying on the provision made for them in their passage;
but that provision only amounted to a wretched pittance
per day, and was wholly insufficient. It was therefore
proposed by this Bill to provide that every emigrant
ship going to North America should be obliged, like
the ships to Australia and elsewhere, to take out pro-
visions sufficient to sustain the lives of the passengers
during the whole voyage. The next alteration pro-
posed in the law was one which had excited the greatest
opposition on the part of the opponents of the measure,
but to which he (Mr. Labouchere) attached the highest
importance. It was a proviso that in every emigrant
ship there should be appointed a responsible Govern-
ment officer to protect the emigrants, to see that the
rules and regulations were strictly obeyed and complied
with, and, if necessary, to exhibit complaints to the
proper authorities on the arrival of the ship at its desti-
nation.—(Hear, hear.) At present the evidence before
the House showed that, make what laws the Legislature
pleased they would be set at nought and derided, unless
some such superintendence was provided. These super-
intendents would be selected from warrant officers in the
navy: It had been urged that a surgeon ought to be
provided on board every emigrant ship, and he wished
he was in a condition to recommend the House to
pass a provision to secure that object. His Noble
Friend at the head of the Colonial Department
(Earl Grey) had been anxious to make such a proposal,
but, after the fullest inquiry, it had been found to be
impossible to venture to make it, inasmuch as a sufficient
supplylof medical men could not be found to undertake
the duty. His Noble Friend and the Emightion Com-
missioners had reluctantly abstained from proposing re-
gulations to that effect, but they were not without hopes
that if the House sanctioned the regulation, requiring a
superintendent to be tal.en out on board each emigrant
ship, it would be the indirect means of inducing captans
and owners to take outla surgeon in moreinstances than at
present they did. If, for instance, they appointed a sur-
geon who was a well-qualified and experienced man, the
Colonial-office would appoint him also to the office of
superintendent, and thus the ship would carry a surgeon
at half the expense that was now entailed npon the owners.
The estimated expense of each superintendent was for the
voyage 201., and Is. per head upon the passengers taken
out, and 101. for his return passage home. Such were the
general features orthe Bill, which it was of consequence
should be passed before the emigration season com-
menced. With that view he should propose to refer the
Bill to a Select Committee to examine its details, by
which ho trusted any lengthened discussion upon it
would be saved. Before he sat down he must state that
he had received an account of the state of an emigrant
ship given by Mr. Stephen De Vere, a brother of Sir
Aubrey De Vere, who last year had gone out as a
steerage passenger, with a view to ascertain the real li
condition in which that class were placed. His account
showed fully the necessity of this or a similar measure.
Under such circumstances he (Mr. Labouchere) trusted
the House would accede to its second reading, and also
to his proposition that the Bill be referred to a Select
Committee. As to the consolidation of the existing
law, it would require a Bill of at least 70 clauses, which
he could not hope to pass in time for the coming season
of emigration. He was, however, willing, after the Bill
had been read a third time, not to move that it should
pass, but to withdraw it, and embody its provisions in a
Bill of Consolidation, provided the House would enter
into a compact with him not to re-open the discussion of
the details, but to deal with tbe measure as merely a
Consolidation Bill.

Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL could not understand why
this Bill was to be hung up in a Select Committee.
Above all measures, it ought to be passed through the
House quickly ; emigration had already commenced ;
4,000 persons had sailed for Canada since December ;
and he believed that emigration from Ireland, instead of
being checked by late events, would be increased. No
one 'out the owners of emigrant ships could disapprove
of this measure ' • and, therefore, unless the Government
were dissatisfied with their own Bill, why should they
send it up-stairs for at least a fortnight ? The cases
qaoted proved the necessity of some strong regulations
being applied to this trade ; hitherto the emigrant ships
had been nothing but magazines of pestilence ; and pro-
bably the deaths occasioned by this vicious system, in-
cluding those who had died in the colonies, instead of
being estimated at seventeen per cent. of the emigrants,
had been four or five times as many. The provisions as
to sufficient food were of great importance. Inspection
also was necessary, otherwise the Act would be set at
nought ; and it was most desirable that the sea-worthi-
ness of the vessels should be looked to. He sincerely
hoped that no unnecessary delay would be interposed to
the passing of this Bill. As to the consolidation pro-
posed, he trusted it would not be tried without Ministers
were quite cArtain of success.
Sir G. GREY thought the Hon. Member had not
heard the reasons assigned by his Right Hon. Friend for
sending this Bill to a Select Committee. The object of
this was not to take evidence, and it would probably not
delay the Bill more than two days. He thought it
would be better to pass the Bill through all its stages at
present, and defer the proposed consolidation till a later
period of the session.—(Hear.)
Mr. V. SMITH considered the consolidation of the
Passengers' Act a very important object, in order that
parties concerned might not be embarrassed by referring
to three or four Acts. If the Legislature now passed
the proposed Bill, it was not probable that another
would be got through this session. This Bill was n.it
at all likely to check emigration ; that effect was much
more likely to be produced by the disastrous occurrences
which had been detailed.—(ilear, hear.) lie deemed it
most desirable that the superintendent of emigrants
should be a surgeon, and should have sufficient autho-
rity, independent of the captain, otherwise he would be-
come a subordinate of that officer, and would be no check
on his conduct. .It the superintendent were not resppe-
table, both by his salary and position, the captain would
bribe hint with a large allowance of grog.—(Laughter.)