THE ASIA’S IMMIGRANTS.

Evening Star, Issue 3500, 12 May 1874, Page 3

THE ASIA’S IMMIGRANTS.

Some remarks we made on Saturday in reference to the Asia’s immigrants were the subject of a short discussion in the Provincial Council to-day, Mr M'Glashan asked the Provincial Secretary “what truth there is in the statement which appeared in the Evening Star on Saturday last, in reference to the male and female immigrants per As a He explained that his object was to ascertain how far the reports that were current about the Asia’s immigrants were true. It had been stated that a number of these immigrants had come out of a reformatory ; and that statement was denied. It was also stated that some of the immigrants in place of coming from a reformatory, were taken out of a workhouse. It was further stated that some of the women were brought from a reformatory or workhouse ; that a number of male immigrants in the barracks had declined to work ; and that a number of the girls by the Asia who had found employment had been returned to the barracks as being useless and help’ess. These Were points he desired to have answered, and he took the opportunity of saying that he did not approve of the present system of immigration. The reply ot the Government was made by Mr Reid who said: I may state that no persons have refused to 'work for wages; but I believe some of the men have refused to work four hours per day, as provided by the barrack regulations. I understand that some of the |ingle girls have refused to work in the situations to which they have gone, and that in consequence eight of them have been sent to the barracks. They were found, I believe, to be useless, and not altogether too civil to their ®*? P i? yer3 ‘ regard to the question whether any of these female immigrants have been taken from a Reformatory, I think it would be well to be very cautious what we circukite, because I believe that only a small number —edit is stated—came from a reformatory or workhouse. # It is quite possible we may be doing an injury by giving currency to what may only be rumor. I believe there are in the barracks at the present time of the Asia’s im-jnlgrants-inamed men, 21; single men, 19;

single women, 26 ; boys between 12 and 16, 6; malting a total of 72. There are in the barracks 84 others who have come by previous vessels. I hope no remarks that have been madenor the explanations I have made will cause the idea to get abroad that the immigrants by the Asia were necessarily not suitable immigrants for a country. The tendency of such an impression would be to do very great injury to many of these immigrants. I am personally aware that many of them are of a very useful class, and some of them are of very respectable character. Some of them have already been to me at my office, and complained of the statements that have been made. They say that the mention of them having come out by the Asia has been the means of preventing "them obtaining employment. Therefore, I repeat a great injury would be done if the idea gets abroad that all the immigrants by this vessel are of a bad class. I am very happy to say that only a very small proportion are quite ineligible. Witk a few observations from Mr M'Glashan, who said his questions were only put with the view of setting at rest many of the rumors floating about the expression of his individual opinion that the physique of the Asia’s immigrants was bad, the matter dropped. We understand that the Government intend offering some of the men pick and shovel work. As hearing upon the question, we give the correspondence which appears in the * Cork .Examiner’ of February 24, and which, we may observe, was provoked by that paper’s opposition to “the emigration of the.ablebodied paupers who are permanently, established in the Cork Workhouse.” First of all, a Mr Parker canvasses the statements of the governing body, of the workhouse, and says:— The facts are that there are 349 able-bodied men and women in the House who have sought its shelter,ifrom a cold and heartless world, where they have failed to get employment. The failure has been tested in many instances by many years of abject slavery in the workhouse. To leave it is to die on the streets of Cork. No one will employ them : what then are they to do? The New Zealand Government have offered them a home and employment in that country, and their Cork guardians object, to their. availing of the offer,, while thousands of .English and Scotch people are availing of it, Mrs Howard’s.reply is more to the point, and is as follows : In the fir&t place the one hundred and forty three persons selected by members of the committee (duly elected for the purpose at a previous meeting) consisted of men and women, boys and girls, nearly all families—and notone hundred single women, as asserted. Consequently the natural guardians of the young psople would accompany them. Secondly—All the emigrants to New Zealand, of whatever sex, go out under the care of an experienced captain, and a surgeon-superin-tendent is carefully chosen for each ship, whose duty is exclusively to take charge of them in health as well as in sickness, and to whom all complaints are referred on board as to food, exercise. hours of rising, going to rest, &c. In addition to this, there are always two matrons appointed over the single women; and when the community is a mixed one, they are chosen one a Protestant and one a Catholic, so that the members of each church shall have a proper person to [ reside over and conduct the religious services morning and evening. I have always solicited the attendance of a clergyman of each denomination to visit every ship in which I have placed emigrants, to assist me in the selection of the proper persons for th s duty. . Thirdly—l would wish to correct an impression that has gone forth to the public by the misrepresentation of Dr Wherland’s moaning when he said “ Idlers would be made to work in chains.” Any enlightened person must know that our Colonies are ruled by the same laws that we. have at Home, and that any vagrant not having any lawful means of support will be imprisoned and get hard labor, and will have to work with other prisoners in yanr/s, not ‘ chains,’ as the reporter had it. But there is no occasion for this in New Zealand. There is plenty of work for willing hands —good wages willingly l ,al LT 01 ' Tbod at almost half the price it is at Home. An idler is shamed into industry by the example around him, and the poor iudus trious man, who was heartbroken and oppressed with poverty and misfortune at Home, holds up his head with the new hepes and the new life the prosperity that surrounds him breathes into his heart in this Britain of the South; and those who would, without due thought, put a stumbling block iu the way of these poor families, now praying to be given a chance of commencing a new aud better life in New Zealand, may, when better informed upon the subject, bit’erly repent a hasty judgment on a matter they had condemned without proper consideration. ”