IMMIGRANTS' COMPLAINTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18713, 20 May 1924, Page 9

IMMIGRANTS' COMPLAINTS.

CONDITIONS ABOARD SHIP.

ANNOYANCE BY FOREIGNERS ' [FROM our oww COKRESPOKJWJKT.] * : SYDNEY, May 9. Complaints are frequently made as to the unsatisfactory conditions in the;thirdclass quarters of the ships that bring immigrants to Australia. > The Orvieto, which has ; just arrived, carried 700 ■:' immigrants, ; X. including |§ 250 foreigners of various nationalities who j »?ere picked up at Naples and indiscriminately herded # with our own people. British women— of i them mere girls —had : low-caste foreigners as -next; door cabin neighbours. ;f; Serious trouble was only averted by the captain ; placing a; snip's watch on the 'ladies' 'quarters, ' which; bad for 24 hours been ■ guarded I by!; ; British v men, owing to •? the V; fact that many of the aliens; persisted in following

our women. i Mr. John • ilolan,;: formerly a Hereford city councillor, iwho was ;a: passenger by the Orvietd, said the immigrants had to; endure shocking conditions. "We were herded like beasts of the "■) field in! whitewashed I berths, six and; eight ' men to '• JOft. by 20ft.- of • space," he stated. "They were nothing superior to the -ordinary cattle pens one sees at any country -railway station." Mr. Nolan continued: "To the British-■ ers \ the ;; stench of f uncleansed bodies—for very few of : the foreigners ever washed---was the > cause of much annoyance. ' To add to i our troubles i dysentery i; made its appearance, chiefly amongV the women. Then.< one day, to, the ..-,< great anger •of the British men, ■ and which vividly brought back past sorrofws to our womenfolk, it was discovered that among the Finnish element there was at "least one German ~who had'. been :•: a sergeant-major of snipers in the Kaiser's army. "I. felt it "my duty » to - ingratiate myself ; with ■■ the ' Hun, and •' it was ;'- not long before I had; him recounting ; ; the battles ■in which he fought and boasting of the bag he made of British lives. . With pride he showed me a post-card size photo; of himself .« in German field grey, arid' it .was not long before he had given l several passengers ;a, clear view of the! ugly .picture. ' - Thousands of ';foreigners,'many, of a low degraded! type,-.' are finding their way to •Australia. They come, but the huge majority will not stay when . they have saved a little money. They will take it out of ■ Australia and«, the Empire, back to ; the hovels from a whence - they ' ; came v; in Southern Europe." ; Mr. J Nolan says'that be was one of a deputation , that Jwaited on j the captain immediately after the vessel left Naples, but ' the abuses were. ■ not remedied as aresult. He says ; that he has been_com- ■ missioned by the municipality of, Hereford to report to the Labour; Exchanges, on shipboard conditions, , , < - ' " ■ '. ■ "'"