OIL AND BONE.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume V, Issue 344, 15 May 1844, Page 3

OIL AND BONE.

To the Editor rf the " New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator.'' Sir, — It will interest some of your readers to be informed, that shortly before the departure of the Theresa, 155 tuns southern whale oil sold at from £35 to £37 10s.; and whalebone was at £290 per ton.

Your's, &0.,

A Colonist.

Wellington, May 10, 1844. The above is gratifying information, still we recommend, as we already have done, that parties should not be misled by euch prices. Shippers should be cautious ; for it must be some time before the effect of the alteration in the duties can be ascertained. That alteration may greatly stimulate the Americans, both to extend tfieir fisheries, and to make shipments to England. And it must be kept in mind, that while a material advance in price, such as has recently taken place in black oil, in England, tends greatly to increase the supply, it is also attended with diminishing the consumption to the utmost possible extent. — Ed. N.Z.G.

The white slaves in London. — Perhaps it is not generally known that the proprietors of several establishments at the eastern part qf the metropolis, who employ needlewomen to make up slop-work, compel them to attend at four and five o'clock in the morning to receive the materials which are afterwards made up into trowsers, waistcoats, and shirts ; and that many of these poor creatures are employed at their needle eighteeu or nineteen hours a day. It is not an unusual circumstance for girls to employ themselves from six o'clock in the, morning until twelve o'clock at night, then snatch a few hours sleep, and rise and " attend shop," as it is termed, to obtain more work. The earnings of the shirt and trowsers makers are very precarious, and six shillings is considered by many of them " a good week." A few, who do the fine work for respectable houses in the city, earn more, j but great numbers, who are constantly employed for eighteen hours a day, do not obtain more than four shillings a week. The consequence of this state of things is most lamentable. The squalid appearance of the women in Shadwell, Stepney, and St. George's in the East, is remarkable. Sometimes as many as five or six; young girls occupy one small room, in which they work and sleep and take their meals in common, plying their needles from morn. to night without a ray of hope to cheer them. — Times.

To the Editor of the ." New Zealand Gazette and

Wellington Spectator."

Si*,— Tn your publication of the Ist instant, their appears a leading article headed, " Cheap Cabin Passages," in which you make a' number of sweeping assertiqns and comments on "ex parte information received from one or more of the Cabin passengers by. the Theresa," (who had not the manliness to give their names,) on what you term the "monstrous injustice" experienced by the passengers on board of that vessel, oh her voyage from England to this port. Had this article not contained a number of gross mis* representations, as .we'll as concealing a most important fact bearing'on the subject, we should have passed it without" notice ; but, we feel that under these circumstance, our duty as' Agents to the Charterer of the vessel, will not permit us to do so.

In the first place you alleged that the passengeners by the Theresa " paid £35 each, and they complain of having been badly and insufficiently fed,' and of the personal treatment they have experienced." In reference to the fare we here give you a copy of th t e " (Jietary s,cale," from the printed card (now .enclosed to" you,) which also contains the advertisement of the vessel : —

, Chief Cabin dietary.:— Scale for one adult per week ,~ ':•,',

Biscuit 6fe Peas J pint Flour 2 Tea \. lYos: Indian beef.... 1J ' Coffee 31 ' Prime mess pork 1 Sugar lflj Freshor .... V Cheese 6oz. Preserved meat/ * Butter 6 %} c * "". ! t Vinegar or pickles 1 gill Fish or tripe.... 1 Mustard 6oz. Raisins | Porter 3 bot. Suet 3oz. Water 2] qr. Potatoes (only as long as they will keep,) daily 31b. One of these cards was given to each of the passengers, before they engaged their pottage, so that they knew perfectly well how they were to be fed during the. voyage; and the quality of the provisions put on board, was under the superintendence and inspection of Capt. Reeves, the Company's surveyor in London, and any article not approved of by him was rejected. *or instance the Indian beef sent down by the party from whom it was ordered, was replaced by other of the- first quality. On one or two occasions a few of the passengers complained of the quantity of provisions they received, when the captain referred them to the dietary scale, and added if they had any doubt of their not r«cevKng the ttipulated quaniitiet, he would be glad xf they would depute one of their body to supermtend the serving out of their allowances of the different articles, which they never did do: from which .we may reasonably infer, that they were aware of every thing that they were justly entitled to, being given to them. In your article the dietary scale'- is never mentioned .- to have done so would not have answered the purpose of your informants. Potatoes were served out according to the scale as long as they were good. Ihe assertion of their being one potatoe only >erdayfor each adult, served out during the lattei part of -the voyage is too ridiculous to be further noticed. You again state, « that after a short time a wnall party of the passengers made a separate mess with the captain, and they lived much better and dined at a different hour." From this statement it is naturally inferred that this mess lived much better" at the same cost to them as the larger mess. The real statement is this— two parties connected with our establishment, who came out in the Theresa, laid in a quantity of poultry, &c, in Plymouth for the use of themselves and families ; but, to avoid if possible, any distinction in the fare for the two messes they made proposals to all the passengers to join them in the poultry, each paying his or her proportion of the cost of the same, lhis occurred in, Plymouth, and was again repeated a few days before the ship sailed. But only five of the passengers chose to avail themselves of the proposal. Under any circumstances, from the table not accomodating more than 24 persons at one time, two separate messes were absolutely indispensable. The Captain did at first preside at the table of the larger mess, but m two or three days after on his going into the cuddy to take his place he found it occupied by one of the passengers, who had been elected by the rest of the mess as their president. Ihe captafn seeing' this retired from the table, without makfngany observation, and did not join them afterwards. This proceeding clearly showed that the captain's company was not desirable.- How then can they have any just cause of complaint? Wi , th re ? a * rd t0 the shi P S° in & to New Plymouth and Nelson before this port, we must observe that, the Broker for the Charterer's was never authorized by them to enter into an engagement to make this the first port of cal, and we firmly believe he did not make any. It was well known by all on board that the ship would first proceed to New Plymouth and Nelson, and many of the passengers intended for this port expressed their satisfaction at being enabled to see these two settlements without extra expense; besides having the chance of disposing of their goods there, which was extensively done. The only further notice we deem it necessary to take of your article, is that point in which you state that a better fare can be supplied, and that too at a profit to the Charterers, for £35. To which we simply reply, that all passehgers by the packets between iingland and Halifax, and Boston, are charged 39 guineas for their passage and provisions only, wines and liquers being charged extra, and the distance short of 3,000 miles, which is always done within 15 days. Whereas, the passengers by these ships to New Zealand pay only 35 guineas for their passage and wholesome provisions; the distance being 16,000 miles, and occupying, on the average, a period of four months! 'We should like to know what would be the state of things on board the snip if the passengers " had the privilege of consuming as much beer, wine, and spirits as they might please f" The whole of the passengers of the Theresa were landed in excellent health, no casualty having occured on board during the voyage. Further comments on our part would be truly superfluous. Allow us to suggest in future, before you make'such sweeping assertions, that you ascertain whether there is any ground for the same, and not publish such unfounded charges on " ex parte " information; We are, Sir, Your's respectfully, • " „. RIDOWAYS AND Co. Wellington, May 6, 1844.