New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-06-17

former is increasing from day to day. Beside
the saving Of time, the steamers offer to the
storage passenger an amount Of comfort and a
degree of attention to sanitary arrangements al
together unknown on sailing vessels. Each per-
son is provided with separate berth to sleep in;
and women are placed in room by themselves.
Three cooked meals are furnished daily with the
same regularity as in the first cabin. The con-
trast between steam and sailing vessels is illus
trated by the case of the ship Cynosure, sailing
under the British flag, which arrived at this
port in the month of November last after
passage of forty-two days. She left Liverpool
with SOS passengers, of whom there died, during
the voyage and after arrival at Quarantine, from
ship-fever and smallpox, %; and on arrival, Is
cases of smallpox, and II Of typhus fever and
suffering from exhaustion and debility, were
removed to the hospitals. The average dura-
ton of the passages of the City of New-iork,
of the Dale or Inman line, for the year 1868, was
II days 81 hours, or only eight hours more than
that of the Scotia-the crack ship of the Cunard
line. 1t need hardly be remarked that vessels
of this type, of which there are from twenty
TO thirty now running between this and Eu'
ropean ports, are adapted to the accommodation
of class of passengers who would not submit
to the Inconvenience of the Storage Of sailing
vessel.
Various plans have been suggested "to en-
courage and increase the importation Of labor
to supply the exhaustion caused by the disasters
of the battlefield and the necessities OF the
army" The late Baltimore Convention adopted
as part of its platform q resolution affirming
that "foreign immigration" should be fostered
and encouraged by liberal and just policy
What precise policy, if any, is here referred OF
we are at loss to determine. But we enter
our protest in advance against the scheme Of
furnishing free passage at the expense OF the
Government TO those who choose to leave
Europe for this country. Such practice would
be an innovation upon international usage, and
might give rise to the grayest complications
with foreign Powers. In any event, 1t would
involve ali enormous drain upon the treasury,
would inevitably lead to the grossest frauds,
and could not fail to be productive OF
much suffering and wrong. And more
than all, it would degrade the character OF the
immigration, aud would check, if it did
not entirely break up, that OF the thrifty
and educated classes, who, as we have seen, are
now seeking homes in this country. Paupcrs
would take the place Of the well-to-do; while
crafty officials would not be slow once
more to empty the poor-houses and jails
of Europe upon our shores. Perhaps
no worse injury can be done to the immigrant
than to destroy his spirit of selfreliance substi-
tuting in its place the sense of helpleSsness and
dependence. II is not too much to say that no
expedient could be devised more certain to
work this result than the free-passagc system.
A large share of those who, for want OF q
better term, may be called governmental immi-
grants, would from the outset become inmates
of prisons, or else charge upon public chari-
ty. All that the public interest at present de-
mand is q larger amount Of foreign tunnage in
the carrying trade, which it is satisfactory to
know we are in fair way to have at no remote
day, or else such protection to our flag on the
high seas as will enable the American merchant
once more to participate in the profits of the
business.