D.—3.

10

Ecclee officially inspected the depot throughout. I do not, however, think it material to go into matters of the past; I had rather ask the Board to let me represent, for the future, that it is of great importance that, if no instructions to that effect have hitherto existed, the Board should give orders to their officers to make a periodical inspection of the dtrpot, and to bring any complaints of its condition under their notice. It will be in your recollection that, in the correspondence which lately took place between your department and myself with reference to a matter affecting the internal regulation of the depot, and the respective authority of the Board's officers and mine, the Board informed me that they must insist upon the right of their officers to intervene in all cases where the interests of the emigrants appeared to require such intervention. I can conceive no higher interest appertaining to the thousands of emigrants emigrating to the Australasian Colonies than the one involved in there being perfect cleanliness in the depot; and lam certain that the other Agents-General, as well as myself, will be only too glad to give the utmost assistance to the officers of the Board in maintaining a strict and regular inspection of every part of the building. There is no reason to suppose that such an inspection would be objected to by Mr. Hill, the proprietor of the depot; but it must be unnecessary for the Agents-General to say, as the persons responsible to their Governments for the proper conduct of emigration, that any objection of the kind, supposing one to be ever made, would be instantly overruled. I have, &c, The Assistant Secretary, Marine Department, Board of Trade. P. D. Bell.

No. 6. The Agent-General to the Agents-Genebal for New South Wales, Queensland, and South Austealia. Sic, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 13th November, 1883. Your attention was probably called, in the early part of this year, to the case of the emigrant ship " Oxford," and the outbreak of typhoid fever which took place on board. Shortly after the vessel proceeded on her second voyage a fresh outbreak of typhoid occurred; and on her arrival in New Zealand a Commission was appointed by His Excellency the Governor to inquire into the circumstances of the case. The Commission took evidence, and made a report to the Governor, of which I beg permission to transmit a copy. In that report the Commissioners, acting upon allegations brought before them by some of the emigrants, express a strong opinion with regard to the state of the Plymouth Depot. These allegations are very contrary to the facts which were brought before myself at the time, and to those which I understand have been more than once before you, who have had the best means of judging of the condition of the depot while supervising the departure of large numbers of emigrants to [Here the colony is named]. Allegations of that nature seem to me calculated to cause not only alarm to emigrants themselves, but to create an impression in the minds of the colonial Governments that the depot is an entirely unfit place for the reception of the large number of people of the working class who are sent out. Moreover it might easily be made to appear as if the officers, not only of the several Agents-General, but of the Imperial Government, were neglectful of the welfare of the emigrants. I trust, therefore, that you will permit me to ask your attention to the report of the Commission, and that you will favour me with any observations which you may think right to make as to your own experience of the general condition of the depot. I have, &c, P. D. Bell.

No. 7. Sir Aethue Blyth, K.C.M.G., to the Agent-Geneeal for New Zealand. Sib, —■ Government of South Australia, 8, Victoria Chambers, 14th November, 1883. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and its enclosure, as to the Commission held in respect of the emigrant ship " Oxford," and in reply to state that I have attended to the despatch of thirty-two emigrant ships from the depot at Plymouth, and the Assistant AgentGeneral has attended to those which I have not visited there; and I have invariably asked the emigrants in all the three departments—containing married couples, single men, and single women —if they have any complaints to make ; that on two occasions Lady Blyth has accompanied me, without notice; and lastly, that I was at the depot when a portion of it was occupied by the returned emigrants per Oxford, and that certainly no " amendment " over the ordinary state of the depot was observable on that occasion. The cleanliness of the depot is everywhere, and always has been, remarkable, the sleeping accommodation ample, and the kindness and attention of the master and mistress, Mr. and Mrs. Grant, at all times all that could be desired, and these qualities have very often been mentioned by the emigrants to me in my personal rounds amongst them. On the very last occasion when I was at Plymouth, despatching the "Berar," a testimonial was got up, unsolicited, by the emigrants assembled at the depot, thanking the master and mistress for all their considerate kindness and the unlooked-for comfort afforded to them. As this document also expressed thanks to myself, I begged that it might not be presented, as it was only thanking us for the performance of obvious duties. I regret now that I did not allow the emigrants to express, as they wished, their feelings. I ought here to say that I have invariably had instant attention from Mr. Hill, the proprietor of the depot, to any suggestions I have made. You have doubtless seen a short history of the depot at Plymouth, issued in August of this year, a copy of which I enclose ; and, as regards the sanitary arrangements, I particularly draw your attention to the paragraph on this subject to be found on page 11 therein. I have, &c, Aethub Blyth, Agent-General. Sir P. D. Bell, K.C.M.G., Agent-General for New Zealand.