The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1874

Evening Star, Issue 3397, 10 January 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1874

■ The weak points of machinery are ; shown'when some' extraordinary strainis, .put" uppn,..it, and;:lk like /cirdumstances defects in all socialarrangement's manifest themselves. ;r Much has been said and written against our>. emigration agency in Englahdl for aught to the contrary,, .with perfect truth.; But emigration systems, • like all other are not made perfect., at: once ; they’ are developed. Under judicious supervision,' every.coritingekey suggests corresponding; means to turn it to advantage by-correcting wliat works badly, or improving that which requiresamending. Brit the necessity for emendation does,not aU at once* force itself upon attention. A few., years instance,;when!through our irakugrants, thek few in klrikber, arriving |r ( ee from' dkeate, quiirantike bdildingsfworse than_stahl.es immi- ! gration barracks not much better were deemed suitable receptiok-hPtoses for the, sick nnd healthy. Time after time the Press' 1 pointed Out erqelty of tumbling new arrivals, on 3 tpthe wharf, with no mote care: for their future than If they were sacks of potatoes'. Public opinion went with the/Press, kkd npw, suitable buildings and’ 1 an ' efficient Agency provided; at everyport at which immigrants are likely to ;,arrive. Thus"’ therefore, we ;are .'doing bur duty. , We, have invited 'qjedple v to come and live Here, to leaye home arid country and "share-in- our! common Iqfc; and - Wk have -lAken tkehsure’e: to' convince^them hft, 1 i {heii^ ; ’a^iivAl^ r that t they ate ‘welcome, .and; aik,/.desirous that every reasonable assistance, shall be 'given to rdaiise the; expectations held, put to our plans at this end are 1 e6ncerned lfthelkfore, we think there is little fo corat. plain"of ; ; but ' the wreck of the' Burnt jhaa., forced another question! upon the Tery, fortunately, so rare have been' mishaps to emigrant’'ships, that .until this • untoward event the question of insurance of passengers’luggage, has not cropped up ; nor the equally important one of giving, .to...emigrants such advice concerning the outfit adyisable, as to' pre r : vent them investing all their capital in stocks df cldthing and Articles that .become ificunibiakces, rather than adon their- amval ih theUblbfiy. •It is conceivable, the agents at Home, with; only very general ideas of what is necessary, or perhaps Business : men ,- tn ay—not .be.. able,. to_, rec.pua.men d the best plan .to. be fpUow.od. Had not the appointed by the Surat Belief J Gorrimittee 1 investigated thoroughly , th% Josses sustained - by the ' ;by Vthat/. 111-^ted vessel, they* would not have credited the risk of loss- of property which seems to'ihe; very generally incurred by emigiSihtß a; through unacquaintance ‘ with the! : " business arrangements. T’or one very respect- 1 able man from the interior of Great evidektly ignorant of jihp mpde of ’ remitting; rtooney through a batik, tp; ] be receivable :i 6k his arrival ik . the Colony, placed a sum of money' 'eqiial to establishing himself in a small busi-: . ness in one df boxes. ' Others had done, * thb .■ same;■, to. . greater or less t amounts. Without dwelling upon/the ' fact : that these;.;persons, ; with .small capital of their own, ares precisely the class’ that We should encourage 46 : come; ' !|mpn^ j ks, We -Wish to impress it upon TOd; G'otkrn&ekt :that the * Spike Emigration Agents should be instructed to ; j9oinfc to the advisableness of remitting’ all, wbney through banks-—the larger ‘ambunts, jsay£; tlttbugh the usual cIM-v nels, through the Post Office Savings Bank; and, that e,very encouragement and facility , should -be given for'their doing so, by printed,ihstructipns hud peikohql assistance, either in the country prior, tp , packing up their moveables, or in the port of departiire previous to sailing. -If, however, ladvice is delayed.,, until. then, it is often too late; as the money is laid but or packed up in the* box. The facts elicited by the sub-committee were ; that fatpilies' had brought ‘ out first, superabundant /supplies of cloth-., ing, and hayifag locked up. their money, in that, way, would probably" ■have found it necessary to sell tench of ' it at: a loss in order tp, provide a, few 1 : articles of necessary furniture; Thrpugh. . the .Wreck of the vesSPl they can provide neither one nor the other.' ‘Secondly, that many—such as joiners, carpenters, and masons had very wisely provided themselves with: necessary tools. - As this 'class of;: artizans. are expected tp provide implements for: themselves, the loss' to"‘them is equivalent to losing the temporary use of their hands, and to the Colony of so much skilled labor j

untUhhey have replaced the tools. Thirdly, to an extent hardly conceivable, families had brought with them sewing machines, for which they appear to haye prices at.||fdm ...Of these, valuable househeld helps they are 4 deprived through ;the; wreck without ■means of replacing them. They, too, might have'looked to profitable use of them, and must now wait until they* can save money before doing so, and devote themselves to unskilled employment at less profit to themselves. These casualties - mighty have - been guarded against by insurance. No.doubt difficulties occur in effecting insurandesoti small amounts,-, especially;._.W:hd,n. those wishing to guard against risk have no knowledge how to go about thenwork, or are perhaps ignorant that such insurances'can be : Jand under any circumstances, the delay that would .occur in settling claims of that class, without special arrangements, would detractory much' from the value of •the insurances themselves. We see no help for it, therefore, but for the Government to undertake the iwork,, andeither to have an insurance department conibeted witli the 'lmmigration or to enter" into an-ahgemeintk with, bur' Insurance Companies, who we baveno doubt would*’ undertake the risks t pn; equitable terms, . Jh?o M.?*