The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-05

nles Not only has the British taxpayer been compelled to study the colonist as a parsonage and his country as a nation in embryo but he has had his attention di- rected to individuals. One in particular is now assuming heroic proportions in the British optic The man is Sir Wilfrid Laurier prime minister of Canada.
 Sir Wilfrid has come in for much ad- mlration. He is credited with having the sound sense to look to the well being of Canada, and to take a resolute stand against letting his country drift into what he rightly terms the curse of Europe militarism. There are many who believe England would be greatly benefited if Sir Wilfrid were summoned to take MT. chamberlains post in the ministry. Canada is booming at present and ships can hardly be found to carry all the peo- pie swarming thither from the United Kingdom, and the government Is natu- rally anxious that nothing should check the tide of emigration. For a time un- scrupulous spectators preyed on the un- fortunate emigrant and the crowded ships, deficient in comfort, breeding dis- ease and pestlence through unsanitary conditions added a shameful chapter to transatlantic voyages The Canadian government has, very wisely, taken this business into its own hands. It's new emigration office In London Is excellently organized and equipped, and there Is nothing that any advertising agent will do for immigrants that will not be done there, and done free of charge.
 One of these speculators, a man by the name of Barr gathered emigrants for an all British settlement in the Saskatch- awan Valley. Before the emgrants reached their destination the scheme burst like balloon. The Canadian gov ernment intervened. This, however, has not relieved Canadian emigration of a black eye; neither does it compensate the emigrants for all the misery they en- dured on their journey under Bars aus pices, before the Canadian government came to their rescue. What some of these unfortunate people endured-espe- cally on the voyage-must have been truly terrible.
 The following extract from a letter by one of the hapless band of emgrants tells a story of travel almost impossible to credit in this age of civilization. The writer says: We arrived at Liverpool between five and six in the morning. There we were told to leave all of our lug gage rugs, handbags, and such like on the platform. and it would be carried on board the Lake Manitoba for us. The result was indescribable confusion. A few lucky individuals dragged some of their belongings from out of the huge piles of luggage heaped up on the ships deck; but most of us did not get any of ours till we had been seven or eight days on board; great many did not get theirs at all on the voyage. and only discovered their things after landing at St. John. Cabin trunks and all the necessary things marked Wanted for the voyage had been sent down into the hold. You can imagine what it meant to be all this time without such necessities as a comb or brush or tooth brush, or even a clean pocket handkerchief. The main cause of all this was the dreadful overcrowdlng of the ship The Lake Manitoba Is regis tered to carry 679 passengers and crew, but thepe were actually between 1900 and 20OO people on board. The result was that, though all the crew worked their very hardest and were invariably cour- teous and obliging, there were not quarter enough to do the work.
 "To make room for all these extra pas sengers hardly any cargo was carried be- yond passengers luggage, and hunks were put up In the hold ten in a row, with only narrow piece of match-board- ing between the mattresses. What fol- lowed whenever any of the inside passen- gers were sick, leave you to picture for yourself Altogether the condition of the thrd-cass passengers throughout the voyage was pitiable in the extreme worse than in any ordinary emigrant ship. The first-class passengers had bet ter accommodation in their cabins though on deck they were no better off Mir Barr had arranged that there should be free intercourse between the passen- gers. Everybody. therefore, crowded everywhere. There was great number of babies and dogs on board, and the state of filth on the decks was occa- sonally abominable.''
 The next extract is from a letter writ ten by one of the colonists to a friend in England He speaks more freely, but his picture only seems to dot the Is and cross the t's in the preceding statement:
 The boat wac constructed to accommo- date 69G passengers, and actually carried over 1000. The whole business was the worst arranged I ever saw. The only berth I could get was in the stinking hold, side by side with about 100 others packed in orange boxes-no privacy what ever, no ventilation, the place reelxing with filth the food the most abominable stuff 1 had nothing to eat except what some young fellow brought me-biscuit cheese and anything he could catch from the baker or stewards. The stewards could not cope with the work
 
 fixed sum, and then made all he could. If 1t had not been for Lloyd, who is really splendid man, there would have been a riot, and probably Barr would have been thrown overheard, as he richly deserved.
 ''The water closets on board were full to overhowing, and actually drained down into the place where we were sleeping feared fever would break out. and then what we should have done one cannot. conceive. Decent women, well brought up, slept on deck at night with their children, because if they had gone below they would have to sleep beside strange men, Single men and single girls slept huddled together beside the married men and women. I offered to pay anything to be allowed. to sleep in the smoke-room, but found it was more than occupied by other people. used to walk the deck till fairly worn out then lie down fin ulster and boots, and run on deck as soon as I woke in the morning. The ecene one night when I went below can hardly be described. The hold was COW cred with broken glass, some of the men were singing. some swearing, one was playing hageolet one a tin whistle and one a fiddle some were striking matches and smoking in their hunks It was perfect he'll
 ! "A great deal of the food supplied was labelled Cape Town and seemed to have been originally sent out for the troops When opened. much of 1t was mouldy In the end the people broke open the stores and stole everything they could -t- ho,ds o, One fa1louv oof aover-