OUR PRESENT IMMIGRATION DEPOT.

Southland Times, Volume 3, Issue 102, 16 October 1863, Page 3

OUR PRESENT IMMIGRATION DEPOT.

(F.-om thn Livc7-co:r : ;!-'l Times, 7th Oct.)

Better — or, at any rate, more extensive — t'.ccom -nodal ion is wanted for thr

immigrants who are weekly arriving, th.in is afforded in the D-'pot on tin; (j.ivernmt.nt Ilcst i ye. This Do pot tiocs not go much beyond a dark old rookery, where birds of a feather an: huddled together, without any regtml to air, light, health, or conu'bi t. The economical ion of space is there impressed upon new arm;:!-; in a manner which they will not be at;l.> to forget soon, and which they will probably .describe in homeward letters in a style so <_;]() '.ving, that the nonv.d class — though appreciating the consideration of the Provincial Government in offering to pay half their passage money — will ho i\\ r.ost afraid of trespassing upon Invercargitl hospitality. in earnest truth, a barrack of a more roomy description is required. At present, men and women are placed in a sort of oound, where there is more jnxtapositi j> n than is exactly suitable ; the single men by the Sir William Eyro, were quartered next door to the single -vonijn. To obtain ft, situation in a ri. spec-able family, a female servant's reputation must be like that of Cesar's wife. Now the present arrangements of the immigrant Depot in re crowding together, are of a character which, though perhaps designed for Lhe best, yet give an opportunity to the malicious to insinuate. Not that the female wards hhould be turned into a convent, or the male into a monastery ; but a better line of demarcation might be drawn ; that is, the buildings of the two classes mi^ht be advantageously situated with more remoteness. The revelations of Miss Use in regard to the Depot of another to.vn, which must be fresh in the minds of our readers, are a sufficient proof of the reasonableness of what we adduce. True, the femftle immigrant is not, as in Dunedin, placed in close proximity to good-looking policemen ; nut yet there remains to Phyllis the I Corydon of a long sea voyage, and, in a worldly point of view, it is as .well, either as regards a happy matrimonial speculation,' or the good reputation of both, to keep them asunder, and at a respectable distance, til their iCspective Ways of life in tlie new land have been marked out for them. Another thing — a fever hospital, or, to judge from the bolts and bars, an asylum for violent lunatics, is not tlie most pleasant association to twine round the dwelling of fresh importations. An institution of this kind, no doubt very complete, forms part of the Depot Block. With what intention it has been placed there we cannot imagine, unless fo impress upon the immigrautthc salutary example of the Anchorites, who, for the more serious contemplation of the instability of human affairs, always kept in tlie Louse a. readj'-made coffin. Neither an hospital nor an asylum are, however useful they may be, a cheerful prospect, nor exactly calculated to encourage people in the outset of their career in a strange country. We u-.> not think, then, we are outraging common sense sn suggesting an immediate removal. Again, the domestic appliances of the Depot, are sadly inefficient : oue instance will suffice to prove it. For the whole barracks there is but one fireplace, and at thattheinmates — married couples, single men and single women, numbering at a time perhaps one hundred, perhaps two — have to wait their turns to cook their food ; aud this fireplace is fitted np with no stove or cooking apparatus -of any description. The most dismal stories are told of family men, who, getting up at unearthly hours in the

morning, with the hope of first turn at the fire, have, found it crowded, and been obliged to linger hours and hours before the matutinal coffee could be boiled. It is eveu said that upon one occasion there was a battle royal for precedence, which resulted in a good many broken kettle? and heads. Were we to believe information received, we should understand that at meal time, in fact all times, , a perpetual anarchy reigns. The solitary^fire-place has long been the cause of *" bickering and disturbance, every man's teapot has bean against his neighbors', and the best friends have become mortal foes. But, indeed, this sort of thing passes a" jest. Constant corupjaints have been made of the miserable accoramodat : on for immigrants presented by this province. First impressions are enduring; and if new arrivals are not received and housed with comfort, order, and cleanliness, we shall find hereafter, to our own cost, that the better description of immigrants will seek a more congenial home. If something beyond the tiding over of the hour is to be looked to, and if the future colonisation of the province is to be considered of any importance, an immediate reform must be begun on the Government reserve. A new immigration dt:pot must be constructed on a totally different system ; the sexes must be placed at a greater distance ; the domestic arrangements must be assimilated to numbers, and the immigrant, assisted though he be, must no longer be regarded in the light of a wild animal, whose food is carrion.