FROM SWINDON TO GRAVESEND WITH A PARTY OF EMIGRANTS.

Evening Star, Issue 3066, 16 December 1872, Page 2

FROM SWINDON TO GRAVESEND WITH A PARTY OF EMIGRANTS.

(F, •om the Swindon Advertiser.) Having taken some pains to bring before tbc notice of the agricultural laborers of North Wilts one of the most remarkable and liberal schemes of emigration ever offered to those whose whole capital lies in their labor, and having been the medium through which over a hundred men, many of them with wives and families, had applied to avail tliemselves of the advantages offered by this scteme. l resolved pq avail myself of the first possible opportunity to make myself acquainted, b> r actual expedience, with the fjrrangepients f°F cpmfprt, convenience, a’jid health of .emigrapfe ,Q n Reaving their native land to seek a new home in parts so distant that they could be reached only after a three months’ voyage. I already knew something of what was done in this respect for the man of money and of position, but I was anxious to see for myself what was done for those whose capital lay in their sheer labor, guided by a ready hand and a willin'* heart. The opportunity I had looked for presented itself the other day, when I left the Swindon st diou with a party of about fifty emigrants, bound for New Zealand, the number being increased as tbe journey was proceeded with, and the day wore on, to a party of two hundred and twenty souls. About the new home of these people, this is not the opportunity to say much. A recent writer remarks that the -position of the country is one of the finest in the world. We ail 1 ha ye heard of the old query : “If you were to dig a hole through the Vorld, one end being in England, wharo iyojild the other end be ?” And we know tbe anaWfer to bo “New Zealand.” So much then for its position. The united area of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, is estimated at seventy-live millions of acres. New Zealand comprises seventy millions of acres ; the distance between London and Wellington being estimated at from 12,450 to 14,000 sailing miles “Estimating the advantages of position,” remarks the writer already referred to, ‘ ‘ extent, climate, fertility, adaptation for trade—all the causes which have tended to fender Britain the emporium of the woritj—we can observe only one other spat'' on the earth equally, if not more, favored by nature, and that is New' Zealand. Serrated with harbors, securely insulated, haying a climate temoered by surrqimdin'g ocean, of such ejqfcept and fertility as to support a population iiiwon's

to defehd its shores against any possible invading force, New Zealand, like Great Britain, lies contiguous to a large neighboring continent, Australia, from which it will draw resources, and to which it boars the relation of a rich homestead, with a vast extent of outfield pasturage. In these advantages it equals Britain, while it is superior to Britain in having the weather-gage of a vast commercial field : the rich islands of the Pacific, the silver regions of B'outh America, the marts of India and tbo India Archipelago, the vast accumulations of China and Japan, the Californian El Dorado, British Columbia, Sydney and Melbourne, Ballarat and Bendigo, arc all within a few weeks’ or a few days’ sail.” The tins of New Zealand beef and mutton, to be seen in the windows, and on the counters and shelves of our provision dealers, in every town and village in our land, tell ns something of the character of New Zealand and its productions. When this beef and mutton can be brought to England and retailed out at sixpence per pound, cooked, there is no fear of any emigrant to New Zealand losing Ins stamina, like the agricultural laborer in the old country, through want of animal food. It is estimated that out of the seventy millions of acres, three-fourths of that area are more or less fitted for agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Naturally, it has been the wish of the New Zealand Government that their first care should be the development of these great natural resources of the country, so that until recently the whole energy of the Colony has been directed to agricultural and pastoral pursuits. We, in the old mother country, are reaping the advantage of this in that marvellous importation of preserved meat which alone is making it possible for thousands of our people to obtain a supply of animal food for themselves and families. Rut this has cost the Colony all the manual labor it could find. Rich and productive as her land may be, her wealth has been, as it were, kept in hand because of the want of means to gather it. But, like a true English Colony, finding its mainspring to energy and enterprise in that indomitable English pluck and push planted there by Captain Cook, over a century ago, it lias gone on growing beyond any mere principle of development, so that in times to come, like the England of the last century or so. the Colony will be from time to time discovering new mines of wealth, making the resources of the times equal to their exigencies. But at the time when the labor of the people of the Colony was called for by that which appeared the readiest and most natural, namely, the tillage of the soil, the independent trade of the Colony so increased and the wealtli of it broke out, as it were, in so many directions, that some great and important step was necessary to be taken by the Government. Docks and other public works had to be constructed along the coast, and lines of railway were needed for the accommodation of the interior, but more especially to bring out for the markets of the world the rich produce of her plains and valleys. To attempt to draw away from the fields even a tenth part of the labor required for the execution of these public works, would have been simply to cripple one branch of enterprise, without giving any material assistance to the other branch. In this dilemma the Government of the Colony looked abroad for help, and were fortunate enough in meeting in the Messrs Brogden and Sons with a firm equal to the task of undertaking the construction of the most extensive works, at the same time finding the necessary labor for carrying out the same, without interfering with the ordinary labor of the Colony. This idea of exporting, at a cost of not less than L2O each, from two to three thousand men, many of whom would be accompanied by their wives apd children, is in itself something simply marvellous, involving an expenditure of money, and calling for such a mass of detail, that but few firms even in England could touch. But the Messrs Brogden have undertaken it, and are working it out on the broadest and most generous principles. They say to men fitted for the work to be done in the Colony, “We will take you from the railway station nearest your homes, we will find you what clothing you may require, we will land you in Now Zealand, we will engage lyou from the day of landing, for two years certain, at not less than 5s per day wages—we will engage you for double or treble that time if you wish, and we will pay you as much more than the five shillings per day as the rate of wages of the district may justify you in demanding. In return for this we shall require of you, in addition to your honest and fair labor for nine hours each working day, your engagement to repay by instalments, extended over two years, the cost of outfit and passage money, the daily or weekly instalment in no case to exceed one-fifth of the amount of wage received.” This scheme, I say, is marvellous in itself ; it is conceived in no coward fear or nig gard spirit. Indeed, I doubt if a more direct compliment to the manly worth there is in the English laborer’s character was ever paid, even in theory, by men belonging to the order of those who, by their enterprise, rule the trade, if not the destiny, of the world. In days now happily past we look to our convict labor for the execution of the public works of our Colonies, but when the work was done there it remained so much hewn stone. Bub under this newer and better order of the Messrs Brogden, there must be Built up in the Colony, along with the public a power tbq.t will find its way into the thought and mind of the country, and leaven it for good—a power that grows out of a manly confidence one in another, a manly faith in another’s manhood. In this way, then, there is something more than a bright prospect before the emigrant—there is that in the prospect of the individual which must give a tone to the future life of the Colony, for instead of there being the leaven of evil that first showed itself in the outrage against the laws of society, as in the case of the convict, there will be the leaven of good, ever working onwards, begotten of mutual trust and confi dence. It is more than probable that those wlio will have the carrying out of this scheme, and who will have the privilege of directly watching the work, will now and again |iaye' cause to doubt the policy of the work, on the possibility of its being carried out successfully ; but there'can be no real doubt as to tlje' end will reajly be. Messrs Brogden will to a certainty invest a handsome fortune in the mere expense of sending out these men, and their only se«inll Ra a r»Arv/} r»iif n rtf fnn TW An •

curity will be the good faith of the men ; but there may be that in the good faith thus tested that will go far to build up a noble future for the Colony of Now Zealand. This was what I felt and thought when I first thought of the scheme of Messrs. Brogden’s ; and when I learnt that the good ship Christian Me Ausland, was about to sail from the East India Docks, Blaekwall, with a party of emigrants far New Zealand, 1 resolved upon making my way on hoard and seeing how far I was justified in my thoughts, and to see whether the bright prospects wore continued until the last irretrievable step had been taken, and the (ship was fairly on her way for the “ Downs.” The journey v.o London by rail was remarkable only for ah indescribable air of vacancy that appeared to possets the emigrants. 1 have often tried to take stock of an excursion train and its occupants, and in doing this had met with a contrast of character most remarkable. Indeed, nothing is more easy than for those who have watched these trains to say, this party is for the races, that for the flower show, and so ou. I am inclined to think the features of the emigrant papty equally marked. In number we were sufficient to make a tidy show, but the occasion was one to bring out many friends, and not mere spectators ; so that it is hot surprising that our train' Was half an hour late in starting, or that the station platform should be somewhat dangerously efowded. But in due time t|ie last signal becu sowßclefy tbe test chegr JjaJ

been given, many a burning tear had been 1 wiped away, the last hearty shake had been followed by the last wave of the hand, the most venturesome friend had jumped from j his perch on the carriage step, long after the train bad passed away from the platform. And then our little party settled down i within themselves. The men, most of them, ' drew out their pipes and tobacco, and then as though collecting their thoughts at the stem end, watched for them in the wreathing sm kc as it issued from the other end. As I watched them doing this, £l was enabled to go back with them to many a past scene in their lives—tney were leaving a district teeming with richness, but their share of the bounty had been that which chasteneth rather than that which makes glad. And I followed them on into the future: I watched the pause, and the doubt, and the wonderment, and then the growing smile of contentment, that in its turn led on to the cheery salute or joke, openly and outwardly expressed, sometimes to a companion sitting near, sometimes jerked down the length of the carriage to one silting some way off. And there were the mothers looking down on their infants, nestling in ibeir breasts, or playing at their feet. And there were the children, playing with the toys kind friends and relatives had given them as a parting memento. And their ploy was the most outspoken thing we had in the whole party. And it was but right that it should be so. Their time had not yet come for pictures of the past or of the future. These would c >me to them in due time iu the now home their parents were seeking, and so they blew their whistles and trumpets and dressed and undressed their dolls, until they fell asleep in the sleep of childhood. As the train went on its journey, each stoppage added to our number, the new comers being delighted and surprised at finding so many companions bound for the same distant home, whilst those who had preceded them in the party gave them a hearty welcome, and then sank back again to their pipes and their thoughts. And so we went on until Paddington was neared. At the starting there had been much speculation as to how our party would find their way from the station to the ship at Blaokwall, and many a difficulty had been conjured up that it might in due course be knocked down by some plan of the party’s own conception. As we neared the end of the first stage of our journey, these doubts and fears and cogitations were again indulged in, so that by the time the train stopped there was one general consternation as to what would turn up next. The fact was none of us knew the firm with which we were dealing, and in whose keeping wo were. As we stepped on to the Paddington platform we were accosted by the drivers and conductors of a couple of omnibuses and a spring van, and told that the ’busses were specially at our service, the vau beiug intended for our luggage. In due course the van was laden, and the ’busses, freighted inside and out with their living load. To escape the crowding of the more leading thoroughfare our course was taken through some of the more fashionable streets and squares of the West End. We had quite a procession through this part of the city of the world, where wealth, and case, and influence, lie crowding aud growing out of all bounds. Many of our passengers (dressed in their white Saxon smocks aud billeycocks, and with the whole of their worldly goods tied up in a rod handkerchief, which they carried locked under the arm lest they should lose it) had never seen the like before, and they stared at it with eyes and mouth. And then we got into the busy trading streets, teeming with the commerce of the world. Here was life, and energy, and push, and great human waves sweeping and swaying along as far as the eye could reach. Bqt now and again our party seeded to qheck the onward flow of the stream, like a straw checking the course of a rapid running brook. The quiet unspoken tale of “ won-, dement” told by our little party often arrested the notice of passers hy, so, that we often heard the word—“ Emigrants,” Yes | Emigrants for a far off land where God and nature alone hold rule, and where, therefore, the promise to men like them was the greatest. Emigrants, leaving the laud of their birth where even daily drudgery sometimes fails to secure daily bread. Some of these men had come out from districts where the rate of wages for an able-bodied man had been nine shillings a week thn winter half-year, and ten shillings a week the summer half—where men on their oaths had declared, after inquiring into the circumstances attending the death of the recipients ot such wages as these, that the cause of death was starvation. Up on these ’Busses there rode men and women who could not tell yon, if they tried, how they and theirs had managed to live. They had managed it somehow, and that was all they could tell. Down there, on the footpath, rolling along there behind prancing horses, and in stately carriages, were those whose only care was some new luxury or enjoyment, some new scheme to amass and lay by v/ealth. They passed loads of uerchandise gathered from all parts of the world, and windows teeming with all that art and wealth, and enterprise could show. And then we passed by some of the; great historic monuments of pur luufl—tail, Paul’s, the Mansion House, the Bank, the Exchange, the Monument, aud the Tower. And, now and again, the word “£migrants,” as it escaped the lips of the passerby, rose to the ears of our party, as with body and soul they drank in all that marvellous scene was showing them. And then we were passing through the East-eqd, where the poor of the richest city on God’s earth dwell, aud as we did so, could see to our right that forest of masts and huge entanglement of ropes that told of ships going up aud down the river laden with more than that “ wealth of the Indies” dreamt of by our forefathers of a generation or so ago. And then we saw' before us those high dead brick walls which stretch for miles around the London Docks, and form their boundaries. Driving up to some huge gates, guarded by several policemen and officers in uniform, our busses were soon empty, and the luggage van being driven inside the walls, the second stage of our journey was complete. Fortunately we bad no difficulty in finding our ship, the Christian M'Auslaud. She lay close to the entrance to the Docks, and wa§ the first vessel we came t\ By her side lay the Agnes Muif, also" advertisefl to sail for New Zealand oq the following day. Passing down on tlie stage lying bet weep these two vessels as well as the neaps of bundles,, and bales, casks, and boxes, would permit, apd winding oar way between cranes and chains, and men holloaing and shouting, and pulling, pushing, and drawing, wc made our way on deck. I think I had never before realised such a scene of confusion. Hitherto the Christian M'Ausland had been used as a trading vessel, but now she was being transformed into a passenger vessel, and the carpenters and shipwrights had possession of her. The confusion in a church or chapel the day before tho opening, or the reopening, after having undergone a restoration, is the only thing I can recollect like it. All along the quay side, waggons laden with all kinds of merchandise were constantly arriving, au'd their contents put away after a moat summary process down the holds, which yawing open. Had not everything h ec ll done in the mpst perfect good temper* nothing possibly could have Been dqne but quarrelling and fighting. But all went well, and the emigrants in due course found their way into the part of the vessel set apart for their use. Along each side of the ship there were two rows of “ bunks,” or huge pigeon holes, one tier being over the other. These “bunks” were three feet wide, three fees deep, aud six feet long for married cpqples, and for single men eighteen inches wide. Iq front of each “bunk” there was a small curtain, so that when the occupant so desired it the “bunk” was made quite private. These “ buuks ” were the sleeping ? 6 WP ar t : menta. In the middle of fhe »fcP. were, fastest! to m tm oi

tables, with benches on either side. T hese were for the accommodation of the emigrants in the day time. Then the ship was divided into three compartments, each one having its separate entrance from the top deck, the middle one being set apart for the married couples, and those at either end for the single men and the single women Over each compartment there were proper officers to see to the wants and comforts of the emigrants. Assembled in the middle compartment, the emigrants answered to their names as they were called over, and had given into their charge the mattrasses, blankets, &c., belongingto their “bunks they had also given out to them such tin cups, plates, cans, &c., as would bo required through the voyage. On large placards affixed in some conspicuous place, each emigrant’s name was written in bold characters, and opposite the name a number, which corresponded with a number in front of the “hunk,” so that each person on taking possession of a “ hunk,” Or sleeping compartment, kept it to his or her exclusive use until the end of the voyage. These preliminaries over, the emigrants were collected together and taken to a first-class coffee house close by, engaged specially for their accommodation, where a meat tea Avas awaiting their arrival. Having thoroughly enjoyed themselves, many of them being most loud in their expressions of satisfaction with the treatment they had met with, declaring they had expected nothing like it, the emigrants returned on board and made ready to spend their first night on board the vessel that was to take them to their ne%v homes. I remained with them until the nine o’clock hell was rung as a signal for putting out all lights and the departure of strangers, and then, leaving tho carpenters still busy at work, I made my Avay hack to the city, intending to visit the ship again on the following morning. It was somcAvhat late on the following morning when I arrived at Blackwall. per train from London, and the Christian Me Ansi and bad already commenced to leave the Docks, so that I found her just ready to pass through the last lock that separated her from the Thames. The carpenters were still busy on board, and everything seemed in the most utter confusion. With one or two exceptions the, whole of the emigrants were on board, those who were absent having gone on shore to purchase a few luxuries to be enjoyed on the passage. I much feared that the work on board rvould have interfered with the comfort of the emigrants, and Avaa therefore most agreeably surprised when I found them in moat excellent spirits, and speaking well of the accommodation that had been afforded them. Gradually and very sloAvly, the ship made her Avay alongside the dock walls, being every uoav and again stopped in her course to take in another waggon-load of stores or t:onds that were driven up to the water’s cdjje, after a fashion that seemed to say it was the last act in life the driver would have to perform, and he had reserved his whole energies for that one effort, in order that it might go off like some grand pyrotechnic display. And then the sailors on board threw over their ropes ami tackle to men in the waggons, and then by song and shout—that song, by the way, which is as peculiar to a sailor, when pulling at a rope, as a “ chirp ” is to a cricket on the hearth, or a death melody to a swan - bundle and bale went the way many a hundred had gone before, down the hold, there to remain until their contents should be wanted for the consumption of creAV or passengers or the end of the journey had been reached, when they would take their places in the markets of blew Zealand. And thus tho loading of the last few trifles Aveut on, until Ave had passed through the lock, and bad drawn up alongside the last pier the vessel would touch at, Mind and weather being favorable, until she should arrive at her destination. I think I had never witnessed a more stirring sight. The deck covered with packages, littered with Avood shavings, and crowded with passengers perched up on every conceivable coin of vantage; the crowd on the pier gradually growing larger—men and women crowded there after the most natural fashion, as though their mission was to see vessels off to distant parts, ami it Avas their special privilege to give the last ringing cheer to those who go doAvn to the sea in ships. And there Avere the mere loungers and idlers there, and the mud larks and land sharks. But what interested me the most was that Avhich Avas going on down below in tho emigrants’ part of the ship. Down there, sitting at the tables, there were several gentlemen, from the Messrs Brogden’s offices, filling up the various necessary papers, and taking the emig. ants’ promissory notes to repay the cost of their passage, outfit, &c., out of their future earnings. There was Mr T , the ever courteous and painstaking superintendent of the Messrs Brogden’s emigration department, explaining every conceivable thing bearing on the present wants or future prospects of the emigrant, in a manner that had made him a decided favorite Vfith the whole party, so that many of them never acemed tired of asking question a relevant or irrelevant. And then there was Mrs W., also Lom the Messrs Brogden’s, whose special business it was to see that every man, woman, and child, had a sufficient quantity of clothing to serve them through the voyage, and give them a fair start in the colony. When any deficiency Avas discovered, Mrs W. at once supplied it from her ample stores, either in the made-up article, or material for maljpig the same. All articles thus sappjiea wore phpxged for in the account kept against each person, and the amount included in the promiss my note. So that there Avas no mere charity about the business—it was only a grand and roost liberally conceived scheme to help men and women to help themselves, it Avas interesting to Avatch the features of each person as they left Mr T and Mrs W., to make Avay for others to take their place. They invariably showed a smile, indicative of a kind of satisfaction and incredulity combined, the history of which I discovered to lie in the fact that Mrs W. with a kind Avord of advice and encouragement, placed five shillings in the hand of each adult as they took leave of her. This sura they were told would be found, very useful on the voyage, fqr tobacco ana other Jittje necpsgarjpjß. But the shouting overhead, and the increased noise on the quay told me that the ship was about to leave her last moorings, and that in a few minutes longer she would be fairly opt the Th e)l rolUc for Gravesend Sa 1 went on deck, and became Avitnessof a scene unique in its character, and of the most intense interest. The pier Avas crowded, and so Avas the deck. The last emigrant had arrived on hoard, but there were other passengers, and occasionally one of these, struggling aAvay from a party of friends, made bis way on deck, then on the deck there were crowds of friends taking their leave of passengers, and one after another these groups made their way over planks, down ladders, and otherwise scrambled on land, to the imminent danger of thennecks, or a ducking. But what interested me most was to watch the faces of those who lined the quay. There were spine who bad been brought there put o\ mere curiosity, others V business ; but others had come there to take their last leave of some friend qr relative. 1$ Avas easy to tell them every one, apd what their thoughts were. It was easy to tell where the last fond word w as spoken, because the heart was speaking through the face. I cp,uld Ayatch the tear struggling down through the furrows formed by tbe forced smile, On apothpr I could trace the effort to be bra,ye, whilst the heart Tp,eat heavily. Then the handkerchief, waiting to be flaunted as a last farewell, Avas nsed to wipe away a tear or the perspiration that the anguish of the heart was forcing tbfoqgh every pore, until the forehead was Wet with it. And then those many eyes that iyere set full on the vessel’s deck, like the intensity of so much life 1 There was a fascination about those eyes that I cannot attempt to describe, Bpt they scempd to he telling at onpc the tale pif the thought of the wd pi ths Vpry wtf, aui ;t wemsd

easy to see in them the essence of that which makes all the world kin. For some half-hour before the last rope had been loosened, and the ship was fairly in charge of the tug that was to take her down to theNore, a drunken fellow had amused some, and disgusted otheis by his mad pranks, both on board and on the quay side. But at length he was quieted, and made safe by being lashed clown to the deck, out of harm’s Avay both to himself and others. ’1 his little incident led to my being told that the scenes sometimes witnessed on A'cssels clearing out of the; clocks were simply shocking for their drunkenness. It was indeed rare for aA r csselto clear out with only a solitary case of drunkenness, as had been the case with the < hnstian M'Anshanl. This one drunkard subsequently proved to he one of the crew. In due course the last cheer had been exchanged, and avc were fairly on our Avay down the river. As I looked back to the quay side, I still found the character of its occupants manifesting itself, homo were hastening away for uoav scenes of excitement, some for new fields of profit or of business, hut as long as we remained in sight there Avorc many loving eyes Availing patiently and lovingly to see the last that was to be seen of tho good ship Christian M‘A usland. It is a stirring sight, that Avhich is Avitncased going cloavu the river. Tho tide being “up,” vessels of every conceivable size and cut Avero passing to and fro, laden Avith every possible article of merchandise, and bound for or returning from every part of the globe. There were the merchantmen that acted as heralds of peace to men of all colors and climes, and there were the old used-np mcn-of-war lying at their moorings, monuments of a bygone time, Avhen men found their glory in human slaughter—in destroying rather than in creating. Those old ships arc now turned to the hotter purposes of the hospital and tho training ground fir the sailors of the future. As we were nearing one of these ships we could see l hat the deck was croAvdccl, and string after string of blue jackets, apparently dressed in their best, were mak-ng their Avay up the rope ladders, and planting themselves amongst the rigging and on the various masts and spars ; and then as we were about to pass the ship, there arose a shout that could be heard far up and down the riA'er. And then there was a tumultuous waving of caps and then another shout until avc- had Avell passed by. At first there appeared no special cause for this greeting, but, casting my eyes hack on the rigging of our ship, 1 there aaAv two young hula “ up aloft,” and then the history of the little event Avas soon told. A. few days ago these two young lads had been drafted off from the crew on hoard the training ship to go out on their first trip on board the Christian M ‘Ausland, and this Avas the “Godspeed” of their late companions. In due course Gravesend was reached, without let or mishap of any kind. On our way down the river we passed many a scene full of interest, and recallin'.' events in our country’s history of great moment. At Gravesend the ship was to lie at anchor all the next day, when the captain would come on hoard, and both papers and emigrants would undergo Government inspection. So 1 returned once again to London, intending to again visit the ship on the folloAving day. On my third visit I found everything very different on board to Avhat 1 had previously mot with ; everything was in the most perfect order. The carpenters had done Avith her, and there she lay waiting to commence her outward passage. The only thin;' that Avas in peifect accord with what I had seen previously Avas the contentment and satisfaction of the emigrants, and the anxiety and care of Messrs Brogden’s representatives to do all that Avas possible to secure this feeling right through the voyage, by making arrangements to meet every possible contingency or mishap. In due course, the Government Inspector and his assistant, accompanied by the Government medical man, as Avell as the surgeon of (he ship, arrived on board, and proof having been given from the ship’s papers that everything required for the A'oyagc in the shape of food, clothing, medicine, &c., had been proA’idid, every passenger was ordered on to the poop. This, again, was a stirring sight. On the pnop there were gathered three hundred and five souls, e«ich one of whom had to pass examination. As their names Avero called over, each man, woman, and child passed down the steps on to the deck, and as they did so they were taken “ stock ” of by the Inspector and surgeons, the children being more particularly examined as regarded their having been vaccinated. At tho same time each emigrant was requested to produce his contract ticket, shoAvmg that his passage had been paid, and all things necessary done for him. When a person appeared, about Avhom there was any doubt, he or she was ordered to stand by until a satisfactory explanation could be given. This was done in every instance except two. In these cases the parties had only recently recoveied from the small-pox, and for fear there should be any remains of the disease lingering in the system, they were ordered on shore. Messrs Brogden’s representative at once undertook to send these young men back to their homes, and to send them out, iy they desired it, by some subsequent ship. Other instances might be men,tipaied oi the scrupulous care exercised to preserve the health of the passengers, and to secure their comfort. Jjn addition to tbe surgeon there was a chaplain, and schoolmaster for the adults as Avell as the children, so that the three months’ voyage may be spent most profitably by many of the passengers, and enable them to take a position in their new homes they Avould never have attained to in the old home.

There Avas yet another little ceremony to be gone through, and one Avhich made as deep an impression on my mind as any that had preceded it. All the children Avere ordered to assemble down Lcloav, and thisk having been done, as they passed from one compartment to the other a toy or plaything Avas handed to each onp o* them,. So that it may be truly s?,id, not even the least out of these threa hundred and five human beings passed unnoticed or uucarcd for—they all carried, away Avith them some memento of that kindness and consi leration whioh had been shewn them. The tng-hwvk that Avas to take the vessel on down the river to the “Norc ” having tak t en her place, and the anchor having b*en “Aveighed,” a gentleman who had been most anxious about all that had been going on, and had watched the proceedings with a keen interest, ascended the stairs leading to the pnop, and, addressing the company assembled below, said he had been requested to say a few words to them, and in the name of the Messrs Brogden to bid them God speed on their journey, and a happy and prosperous life in the home they were going to. His Avords would be hut very few, but, if possible, they should be such as they would remember the whole voyage through. There wove many things he might talk about, but he would only say a fcAy wards to them about the name pf tlvdv ship. There would bo nothing more frequently before their eyes than this name—it was painted and branded about in every direction. Let then this name remind them that they were going out to the new laud the representatives of a Christian country—as rcprescutatiA'es of the Christianity of those manly men and Avomanly women who had made England Avhaf she was, and had been, and which would make her yet more. As the representatives of such a country their responsibilities Avorc great, and it remained for each ono oi them to prove that they were equal to them. Never in all their lives ought they to forgot that they wore the representatives of English worth and English enterprise ; at the same time they should recollect that England Avas the home and stronghold of that Christianity which, through good repute and evil repute, had maintained its Avay, and done its Aro/k throngh the last eighteen centuries, What then was the lesson pf tho sreond name of their ship, Mac— He would not go beyond the Map. It ifcnuoded him of the Scotchman who never went' “ bock ” until he had made his mark in the world, it reminded him

of that indomitable pluck, energy, and enterprise there was in the Scotch character. They were quite prepared to “rough it,” but they were always determined to succeed and that was the great secret of succ< ss all the world over. ome of them im doubt would come hack again to ; Id Knglaud, but they must recollect the Scotchman’s rule never to come bark until they had made their mark of usefulness and of profit in the land of their adoption; and when they did come back, might he be spared to take turtle soup with them at some future Lord Mayor’s banquet given in honor of the “ distinguished men of J> cw Zealand, who went out poor emigrants, hut returned men of mark in the hisi ory of the times in which they had lived, and labored, and won. iet them then never forget the name of their good ship, the Christian M‘-’ usland, and the lesson it had to teach them. Just one other thing, and he had done. He spent the last evening in company with Al• xander Brogdcn, Esq , M. F for Wcdncsbury, and head of the eminent firm under whose auspices they were going out to Now Zealand, and from that g-mtlernan he had learnt that a scheme of colonis itiou was in process of arrangement between them and the Government, by which the workmen, who would be on their landing placed at railway or navvy work, might bo taken off as the work progressed, and put to cultivate plots of land or farms of their own, the freehold of which would ho made over to them on terms of easy repayment, similar to those arrangements under which they were now going out to that country, where, in a short time they might became landowner--, without a shilling of capital to start with. But they must not hope for this if they forget the name of their ship, and the lesson it had to teach. This colonisation scheme explained to them the anxiety of the Messrs Brogdcn to send out agiicultii’al laborers. He was phased to say lie. had Mr Brogden’s permission to send out five hundred agricultural laborers from his own district, and that as he should leave no effort untried until he had made up that number, lie hoped to have many an opportunity to send out to them a cheery word of encouragement, to congratulate thorn through many a deputy, on their prospei ity. in the same open and hearty spirit as he now bale them adieu, wishing them with all his heart, and soul a pleasant passage and prosperous future.

Soon after this I was again on my way for London, and from thencetufSwindon,charged with the commission. In each ami all of the emigrants, to tell inqui'ing friends how pleased and surprised they had been with the treatment they had met, and with what good snint they looked forward to the passage to the new home they were seeking in the lar off land.