The native American., 1838-08-04

of foreign paupers.
Respectfully, your obedi-nt servant,
GEO. w. JONES,
President of The Board.
To JAS. ". BARKER, E>q..
Collector Of fihe port Of Philadelphia.
The committee to whom were referred the
communication and documents received from
James N. Barker, Esq, collector Of the port Of
Philadelphia, in relation to the deportation Of
lpauprrs from Great Britain, report:
| That, after having caused an examination to
be made Of the foreign paupers in the house, they
have not been able TO ascertain that any Of them
had been sent to this Country, or to the British
provinces BY overseers of the poor Of England, or
elsewhere, or had received aid from any parish
to enable them to emgrate.
! The only information having any relation to
the subject Of inquiry derived from their exami-
nation, is, that the practice of sending away per-
sons chargrabe to parishes BY parochial aid is
quite general in England and that hundreds
have been in this way sent. This practice,
however, as far as they profess to be informed is
confined 10 emigration to the British settlements.
Your committee would here remark, that there
lis great difficulty in procuring from pauper any
Information which might a1fect himself; and that,
should there be in the house any person who had
been sent either to this country or to the British
settlements BY parochia aid, the apprehension
J that he would be discharged from the house upon
the fact being known would induce him to con-
! ceaI it.
4 The reports Of the poor-law commissioners Of
England furnish some Information as to the de-
poitation OF paupers from that country. In the
instructions o these commissioners to their agents
III different districts, the attention Of those agents
IS particularly directed TO emigration, as one
mode OF relieving the parishes from their supera-
bundant poor population, and thereby reducing
the poor rates. They speak Of emigration gene
rally and do not confne ii to the British settle
ments So, in some Of the reports made by those
agents TO the commissioners, deportation Of pau
! pers by means Of parish aid is mentioned as
having taken place, without naming the country
: to which they had been sent. In some reports
the British provinces in North America are men.
tioned as their places of destination; and from
one report it appears that four families had been
sent by the parish Of Rye to New York These
reports comprise but few Of the parishes in Eng
land and Wales-not more than two hundred
parishes out Of near fifteen thousand; and, there
fore, while they establish the fact that paupers
nave been sent from England to the United
States as well as to the British settlements the,
40 not show TO what extent this practice has pre-
: vailed in that kingdom.
great majority of persons thus sent BY the pa
rlshes have been taken to the British settle-
nents. lnasmuch, however, as these persons.
when, landed, have great difficulty in procuring
employment, "a fact which is mentioned in the
ieports,l and as large proportion of the in
mates of the house who were born in England
and Ireland came TO this country from the pro-
vinces where they first arrived, it is more than
probable that, Of the persons thus sent to tht.
BRITISH settlements by parishes in England,
great numbers eventually come into the United
States.
The only additional information on this sub
Ject has been obtained from Mr. - Brown, a
gentleman OF this city, who arrived at New
York in the ship Sir Edward Hamilton, in
August, 1888, having sailed from Hull. He
states that, on board Of that vessel came as pas
sengers family consisting Of man, his wife,
ana three children, whose passages had been
Paid Tor by parish in tie western part Of York
shHe; also, an ola man. whose passage had been
paid for by the parish of Preston, in Yorkshire;
that on board Of the same vessel were several
other persons whose passages, he believed, had
oten paid Tor in the same manner, although he
did not know it with certainty.
! The resolution Of the Senate directs the Se-
cretary OF the Treasury to collect information as
70 The provision, if any, made for the future
"PP,''o. Nnc pauPtiS mus deporttd On TINS
Dfahch o. the inquiry your committee report,
that, from all the information they have been
able TO obtain, they are Of opinion there is no
uniform rule observed as TO the provision made
tor their future support There is no law regu. ).
iatng the mode in which paupers may be sent.
Each parish, in sending out its pauprrs, makes
IT'S own agreements, which it may be presumed
are as favorable to itself as the pauper Is willing
to accept. Therefore, whether the pauper is to
receive, upon his landing, any support, and, i'll
any, its extent, depends upon his agreement with
lhe parish that sent him. The reports Of the
poor-aw commissioners, already referred to, are
silent on this subject. From the examination
made Of the inmates Of the house the comm;,t.a