DESTITUTION IN NEW YORK.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 633, 8 February 1870, Page 4

DESTITUTION IN NEW YORK.

[age.] The following extract from a leU.>r from an old resident in Victoria to a friend in Melbourne is worthy of perusal : — "New York, 2nd Nbvembtr, 1860. When I List, wrote to you" ; I was in Charleston, South Carolina, anticipating :in a*. short time to remove to this city. J trust that you received that letter, and fbiund the contents sufficiently interesting 'for your perusal. Since the.n I have addedconsiderably tp my ; store : of knowledge relative to this country, and. have begome personally acquainted with hiahy Tea^iirPs of the pepple and ; places : whioh- have greatly enlightened me upon various important ppint^of wliich.l..wj^before ppinparatively ignorant, : 'and which enabled me to form very oorrect opinions in regard 1 to the social arid industrial : condition of the masses of people . forming the_vast population of the ](7nited States,'. I. will at once state that I h'avp been seriously disappointed in numerous waysj and haye 1 discovered that want : .- and destitutioriprevail tp an alarming ..extent. .So great indeed have I found this to be" tlie cMc, that I experience the most heartfelt' syth- r pathy for the thousands of immigrants who arriv« weekly at New York and other domestic^, ports, arid "hold the deoided belief that -any measure , calculated to enlighten the hordes of "intetidihgimmi- ; grants in England and elsewhere; tbidissuade them from coming to this oonntry, would prove of immense benefit to numberless families. "But Jet/mp enter more into detail. I -left: Charl^tbn in 3*nne last, and had becoriVe pretty • conversant with the condition of things in tlie South. My travels through "the states of ' South Carolina, Georgia, .and, ..Florida, amongst others, made it clearly evident to me that the Ute:warhad paralysed: ;th«' .iwpurces of tlie Southern Sates apd- energies ofthe Southern pebple. ' ilhebld'plaiiters arid merchants had become 'thownighiy rod need, .and .where : a^ueiice.. J f9rmeiiy existed, the utmost jdestytiition now prevails! . .''Many'Vof.^ie;. ixioari; productive plantations' are" ! de"Be^te : d 'and ".remain" "in • rtiins. The ■* old opuleiit ; families iare scattered: audirtrevpcably broken .up v.The negmes who had. been cared for as slaves by their former, masters, tleirigribw" free and dependent on their own, .-resources, live simply in filth and idleness." The cities ofvthe 'Carolinas, of Georgia, Alabama, .and other states, are but skeletons of what they jinoe were— Charleston and Columbia remaining only" "in ' scattered' parts with but a f rajp|iioij of :their original population, and theirQst.ottjie-citiea/^ith scarcely a single exception, are in a very crippled condition./ iThns, «s7y6ti.:-wjjr readily believe, the South possesses no' inducemontfl or advantages to strangers when the native-born are destitute: Arriving : in ; New York, I spent se.ver.al.weeks.in going about every.. section. . ofth^ ibitiy, .-md" cieariy'^savf^"tlie'trn^n'bf the ■•. oft-heard. .assert]lp.n..th.at..:the.. plafie js over-crbwded/a'rid" that' want 'and' privation exist to .a^..degree in: ..epp:pe.ss raUnpst of the largest cities of England arid the continent, of rEurope,: ... l:n.e.xti;.-tiay.elled through the entire state of New York, visiting Albany, Rochester, Syracuseiandother towns, I then went for a short tmW-' into • Canada,- visiting Haimiiton, and : passing Jihioufthi^mmiipf: the South-weste.rn.pa^t _.pf i ..tiie ; .ne.w..d(H minion. Again "entering" "We" 'United States, I visited Detroit, passed through the vast State of Michigan, until I came to Illiriois,.. and. then _j3roc&edod_.to Jhe wonderfuj, <a^ c.s Chicago.. Remaining tHere a few weeks j I left for 'the Staf e ' ; |pf '| Ohio, visiting Cleveland, Sandusky, and other places, and next passed ft to Pennsylvania j .visiting, the pities .. jof i;Pit!bßb,irrg, Harrißbnrgi. an > d.. ;^luVaae.lphja.-,. : , .^fter- = ■wards J" lisited nearly every, city m 'New. Jet&y, and ffnalljr returned to'TSew'YbrTc: This travelling about Lconsuniedvcbn^. siderable time, but I am amply repaid by the" correct; data I have, gauged in relation to the cqnditionpfjtie people and the resource's* bf the couniry," "It would, as you may suppose, pecupy. far top. much space to narrate ; the many iiuportapt pai*ticulars I have "acquired! I must content myself by simply sajing that all th^Krge citaes are bvercfowjied,' and fnat ; BpcijJ condition pf, "the. people a,t.,pre.gpnt ig. that the. xjcli .are'.get.ling.ncher and, poor poorer. ■ : The- only. _fiel<l ffpr; setfier ment: is in: the fariw.est, yyond-.Omaha, bat then the. troubles;. with, the.. lndia as y : and other serious drawbaokg, render this part, of the country unsafe/ and ; f<ir' a l«mg time rihremurieratite. Sinee 5 niy to N-eir York and niy coririectibn^iththei British Consulate here I have Haa-greafer opportunities than ever.to unVferatah3 tlie true condition of things.-- j omild -iell you numerous easel of disti^ss-and dfesV titution, which yon would find -it! hard tp;;bdjeve: # Every day a scorer ormore apply at the consulate playing 06 Ke Wfit back to England or 1 Ireland, 1 as the oase jqay, be. . .^roughp;tit;the.night,. / hundr(?ds vf .Kqjiseleiss; >a?i!4eW.*& ; walk the; ;strfe^tg viibon't a penny ' in '" J th^et?: , ; p'ocketsl' The estimate is that fufly- liixW-fivb 1 thousand people : are uneraijloyed 'in the city, who would gladly, tura to anything to earn an honest living. „' The simple truth is there is actually, -no. yror\ for them. Every avenue p£, labor. is lj j^, ; , o F.rpm six to .ten , f ftmisand .immigrants arrif e^here everyweek, and tKere.is. vjrtuaiiiynpthing for them to do. idpxelppniierit of re . gourceajdqes not keep, pace with the vast influ^j)f people. Yet "still they come It is a pity ahd a shame, but so it is. Why do you nb£ eincoiirage im'mit'ration to Victoria, amd promote settlement? I^am pretty well acciuainted .with the oonditioii of things with yoii; as well as here, and would guarantee to" state facts which would leave no donbt as to ihermoßMei Birablp place^. j 1,-think are ; y.ery few bo well posted iijiregard.tof^bptli. count? ies as I am; :laHbu34;ibe glad: toJ^yeiy >ur opinion upon the subject,. for in honest! truth it would be a- great mercy; fb the; poor inhabitants of Great Britain to' fur- i nish, Jhem ,wit.h 66rrec$ irifbrmation."" i