MORE IMMIGRANTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 438, 22 February 1909, Page 6

MORE IMMIGRANTS.

-.. NEW ; ARRIVALS BY ATHENIC. ~ •WELCOMING "OLIVER." '.• ;y '.- As the big black : wall .of -the Athenic slowly balanced itself -in line ...with the. Queen's Wharf on Saturday evening, the &>p of the wall was crowded thick-with human figures, .straining downwards :from .the railing and peering between" the front row .'of. "serried heads.-There was a largo-crowd on the wharf: awaiting them, : .:an,d, excitement was rife on ship and shore'at. the prospect of meeting sweetheart, brother,' wife, "of husband, swum thus. ; together over.the wide seas. ."There he is, there's.. Oliver, , '■■:would, rise some woman's excited.:; cry, -and- her handkerchief would be waved '. wildly '. to a ■respo'ndins figure, with features indistinct' in the half, light.V;/ .'•.-.-.. .:;-.-, ■:.•:' : "Where, Where?" demands-other eager Voices. \, ,'• ■' ;•■•■.-, '.'.■?. - i •■'". "That's him in the slouch hat leaning on the rail. Can't you. see him /.-.■"-, / . "Of course it is,", and other handkerchiefs are waved, and voices. raised, till ' 'Oliver" -, grows slacker-in his signs of welcome, and a. reluctant doubt -finds- utterance in a. cry of disappointment: "Why, it isn't Oliver.;". '.!.: . The immigrants who have no friends, .are cheating their lonely, hearts with a: , lively; chbru3v.the latest: jingle of ;the music halls, an alliterative, catch concerning, ;"seashells. on the shore.'" v They will firidniore shells than pearls. \-A ■■: woman '-'scans' the: shore through ,field glasses: : -"Choosing: a', section?" shouts.some rude colonial boy..;■.-•":•'. .; .-. i

-■■. .The: gangway: has- just-dropped, the chain I that holds'back, the welcpmersjs not;yet-.re- j leased; there is a noiso.of protest from thefirst '• crushed line: of .the.. waiting ■ crowd*-a movementof recognition in/the sixth;-"You. can't get can't get. through,-.' nobody.,can get. through that"l.. A. couple of .• broad shoulders , thrust; aside the, crowd,: broad ■'■ accents vgive a-.greeting ( ' , which. the" '■ thoughtless miinic. ' There is .a . cry ■" of "Oliver!"; and-,a 'competition.-;.in .devotion;. which'is only for the six women. and denly, embarrassed man, ■' remembering■' His ■ siris. And all at:once the seven; are in;..an. open space;•'? crowd •-» has rushed the'i gangways, oblivious of their transports.- /-'-k One of the.best shipments, that hayeicome, is the verdict whieh-'Mr.; A. A. ; S/ Danby,: immigration'officer,, passed:on the new' set-' •tiers.. Mr...panby and Mr. Proctor, of. the Labour Department, , gave a;first welcome to' the,anxi6us.visitors.;,;lt h_adbeeri ! a.-splen-did trip; /ho storms, -no - sickness. l An■■■' unassisted, passenger in/the third/ class, /Mrs. Hobbs,/ had given birth,, .p'rematiirely, ; : .to twins, . which. died ■ four : : hours /afterwards.'. Out of 296 "assisted passengers;6B were -child-.' ren-and 16S, nominated persons' came out to : relatives, and promised.'work.; There were 40 farmers, .31 farm labourers,- and 69, domes--tic'servants,'ivhose passage money was' defrayed, j The ' total capital of, "the " assisted and not nominated arrivals .was £4204. iThe' unassisted passengers, j it was whispered, contained too many' but'the Government's importations were of the: class, re-, quired.. The complete list of passengers': destinatibns ;was as follows:—- ■.'■ i;• '"■■■'. : :?. '■'■;■

lie Tongariro, Vhicharrived 1 yesterday, brought only one • vinnnigrant,- a. young lady, , who Came out to bo married in Auckland. There' were. no third class passengers,-' 'C. ' J

Ginss.--Class.Ckss.vTl. •. ... i / First. Second Third ■Wellington" ...7' 31 V. ■;216 .7 254 Auckland • ... ' — .19 • 127 • 14G Napier --l ■ .• 27 '" 28 Gisborne . ... — , ' 13 — 13 I,yttc!ton ... . — 9-91 . 100. Timaru' ... /. i' : .4 ? 8 'Oamaru :... — . —, .1 . 1. Dunedin ... , . 2 , 6 •. 47 ' So Bluff y 5. v. /5 Picton,. ... . — — 3 , 3 Nelson ... — ■ 1 ' — • . 1 AVestport '• ... — ... 52 22 Greymouth ' ... , —V; .■ —. 22 22, Now Plymouth... • —9 • 9 Wanganui : ... — 2 '9 11 9 86 - 583 678