MISCELLANEOUS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3395, 3 June 1868, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

The schooner Murewai, Captain Hams, arrived from Poverty Bay, via Opotiki, yesterday, with hides, ballast, and six passengers. She left Pov-Srty Bay on the 22nd ultimo, and arrived off Opotiki on the following Saturday—a strong gale preventing her taking the bar until the 26tb. She landed 100 sheep at Opotiki, and left again for this port on Friday. The cutter Lizard, Pillinger, master, sailed in ballast for Shortland yesterday. One of the hands on board, Charles Farrow, fell overboard in endeavouring to avoid a blow from the boom when jibbing, but was at once picked up in the dingy. The gear of the jib of the steamer Tauranga ran foul of the Novelty yesterday, when starting, for Shortland, and bad to be cut in order to prevent damage, both to the Novelty and the new steamer Lady Bowen, lying alongside to ship her boiler, which has recently arrived from Sydney. > The brig Pakeha has hauled alongside the wharf, and will commence discharging to day. The barque EHesmere will probably take her departure for the Bay of Islands on Friday. She will load with coal for Lyttelton, at which port she will ship with wheat for Auckland. The steamers Enterprise and Tauranga arrived from Shortland last night, with full complements of passengers. The barque Novelty, Captain Nearing.is now discharging her cargo from Sydney, and will take her departure for the same port about the middle of next W6_»l*_,_ Thi: Story of a German Emhjrant Ship.—The terrible stories of the middle passage, which have so often appalled and Btartled English readers in the old days of the slave trade, have found a parallel in the present day in the case of a German emigrant ship. The number ol emigrants from Germany to America is often very large, and in conseqnencethe greed for gain overrules every other consideration. The unfortunate emigrants are crammedinto wretched and unseaworthy vessels, without any attempt' to preserve' health or even decency among the passengers. Laden heavily to the water's edge, these miserable ships occupy an unheard-of time on the passage ; and the quality'and quantity of the food and water served out to the passengers is in keeping with the deficiency of ventilation and spaoe. The Leibnits, which has just returned from New York after completing her voyage thither from Hamburg in 70 days, was a specimen of these emigrant ships. On the 2nd_of November Bhe left (Hamburg for New York with 544 passengers on board, 105 of whom she left midway under the waters of the Atlantic. After reading the accounts given by the Commissioner at the port and others,instead of wondering that nearly one-fifth of the wretched emigrants perished, we can only' be surprised tbat bo many survived their sufferings. During the loDg voysge not a window was opened, and in the lower steerage there was no attempt at ventilation. Planks had been laid over the lower beams, beneath which the bilge water collects, and close by which were stowed large quantities of hides. The compound odours of the place must have been wellnigh tolerable, and indeed the captain admits that lanterns, which were hung the»e in the vain attempt to light it, would not burn from the badness of the air. One hundred and fifty passengers were crowded down here, and here they died by the dozen. The rations were not only short but bad. Half a pint of water daily was given to each passenger, and this while herrings were served out twice a week instead of meat! Sick and well, if any could be well, were served alike. There wis no medical officer on board tbe floating p»ndemonium,, and tbe scanty medical chest was soon exhausted, Even the dead were neglected, their corpses being often left in the hold for twenty-four hours after death. When the examining officer went on board at New York he a6ked some little children for tbeir parents, when the poor little orphans pointed, crying, to tbe sea, and said, " Down there!'' The blthiness of th«*_hip aa described by this officer was something terrible, and if the object had been to get rid of supeifluous emigrants more effectual means could hardly have been tried. We cannot but hope that this painful and scandalous story will arouse the authorities of the good city of Hamburg to vigorous action, and that they will take care that an efficient inspection before any emigrant ship leaves their port will prevent the repetition of so hideous a tragedy for the sake of some trifling gain— Times.