IMMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (FURTHER PAPERS FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1873 Session I, D-02b

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1873. NEW ZEALAND.

IMMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (FURTHER PAPERS FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by command of His Excellency. No. 1. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 341.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, See,— "Westminster, S.W., 2nd June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Honorable Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of March 14 (43), 1873, forwarding extract from a letter written by the Rev. Charles Ogg, of Wellington, to the Rev. James Barclay, of Tell, Shetland, with reference to forwarding fifty single women from that neighbourhood to AVellington, and to inform you that I have given effect to the instructions relating thereto. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, Welllington. Agent-General.

No. 2. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No- 344.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, See,— Westminster, S.W., 2nd June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Honorable Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of the 14th March (40), 1873, forwarding the Report of the Immigration Commissioners upon the ship " Charlotte Gladstone," which arrived at Port Chalmers on the 16th February ; also, copy of notes by Dr. O'Donoghue, one of the said Commissioners. I observe that in consequence of a memorandum sent in by the Surgeon Superintendent to the Board of Health, the Government had appointed a Commission to investigate the statements made therein, and that Mr. O'Rorke proposes to defer his remarks until the Report of this Commission has been received and considered. I shall, therefore, reserve my observations on the subject until receipt of your further communications. I have, Ac, I. E. Featherston, The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

______________________________________________________ No. 3. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 345.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.W., 2nd June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Honorable Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 14th March (39), 1873, forwarding Report of the Immigration Commissioners on the ship * Forfarshire." "With reference to the complaints as to the manner in which the contract has, in this instance, been carried out by Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., I beg to inform you that I have requested these gentlemen to furnish any explanation they may have to offer. On receipt of their communication, I -hall address you further on the subject. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, "Wellington. Agent-General. I—D. 2b.

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No. 4. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 349.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.W., 2nd June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge the Honorable Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 11th March (38), 1873, enclosing Report by the Immigration Commissioners at Auckland, upon the emigration ship " Warwick." I regret that the Commissioners were of opinion that the between deck was insufficiently ventilated, and the fittings badly planned. I beg to remark that the means of ventilation provided, and the other arrangements of the vessel, were carefully inspected and duly approved by her Majesty's Emigration Officers here. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Honorable Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 5. The Agent-Genekal to the Hon. Colonial Seceetabt. (No. 371.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sib,— Westminster, S.W., 10th June, 1873. Referring to my letter No. 292, of 15th May, T have the honour to inform you that the undermentioned emigrant vessels were despatched for the Colony during May, viz.: — For Canterbury :— The " Mary Shepherd" ... ... ... with 358 souls= 290J adults. „ "Columbus" ... ... ... ... „ 151 „ 130£ „ „ " Punjaub" ... ... ... ... „ 330 „ 264 „ For Auckland: — The"Berar" ... ... ... ... with 311 souls= 247J adults. For Otago : — The" Allahabad," ... ... ... ... 276 souls= 229 adults. Total, during May ... ... ... 1,426 souls=ll6l| adults. 2. The arrangements for the despatch of vessels during June are the following, viz.:— For Wellington and Napier —The " Douglas" ... ... to sail 11th June. For Otago —The " Peter Denny" ... ... ... to sail 15th June. For Auckland —The "St. Leonard's" ... ... ... to sail 17th June. For Canterbury —The " Celestial Queen" ... ••• to sail 20th June. For Otago— The "Dover Castle" ... ... ... to sail 23rd June. For Canterbury —"Adamant" ... ... ... ... to sail 30th June. For the reasons stated in my letter already referred to, it has been found necessary to withdraw the Hawke's Bay direct ship. The emigrants engaged for that Province will therefore proceed by the " Douglas," by way of Wellington. This vessel will take upwards of 400 souls, equal to about 330 adults. The " Peter Denny"—embarking emigrants at Glasgow—will take about 200 adults. The complements for the other vessels are not yet made up. Further advices on this point shall be sent next mail. The " Mary Shepherd" sailed from Plymouth, and the " Adamant" will also embark her emigrants at that port. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, I. E. JTEATHERSTOif, Wellington, New Zealand. Agent-General.

No. 6. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 375.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.W., 11th June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 14th April (6S), 1873, calling the attention of the Government to the perfunctory manner in which Her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners appear to perform their duties, and enclosing copy of a memorandum, in which he recommends that His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government of New Zealand, be requested to forward to the Imperial Government, copies of the evidence taken in the recent prosecutions against the masters of the ships " Forfarshire" and " Glenlora." From my personal observation of the manner in which these duties are performed, I have little doubt that Her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners will prove that the charges made by Mr. O'Rorke are entirely unfounded. I have myself seen, whenever it was possible, the dispatch of many of the emigrant ships, and I am bound to say it is impossible to conceiTe a more searching investigation than

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that which has been instituted by Her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners to enforce the fulfilment of all the provisions of the Passengers' Act. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, AVellington. Agent-General.

No. 7. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 377.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.W., 11th June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 14th April (71), 1873, covering copy of a letter from His Honor the Superintendent of Auckland, on the subject of the class of emigrants most suited to that Province. Mr. O'Rorke very properly indicates certain discrepancies in this letter, namely, that His Honor after pointing out the peculiar advantages offered by the Province of Auckland to small capitalists, &c, &c, says: —"These considerations account for the fact that a large quantity of mere labour cannot be rapidly absorbed, a few hundreds could be at once, in the settled districts extending from Auckland to and including the AVaikato, but it would take time ere the filtration to the out districts could tako place," while a littlo further on, the following view is expressed : —" I have no doubt that the Province is capable of absorbing as great a number of labour immigrants as any other portion of the Colony of the same population;" aud finally : —" Of first-class agricultaral labourers, also several hundreds would find immediate employment, as well as a steadily increasing number." Having regard to these discrepancies the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke warns me not to be " misled into the idea that the Government desires any reduction to be made in the 3,500 immigrants ordered for the Province of Auckland for the current year." These discrepancies in the letter of the Superintendent of Auckland, which the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke confesses himself unable to understand, are equally inexplicable to myself. But as the Government have apparently endorsed the discrepancies by instructing me (in their memorandum of 14th April) to send out, instead of 800 emigrants originally ordered iv their memorandum of 27th Nov., 1872, (No. 27), 3,500 emigrants to the Province of Auckland, I shall, of course, do my best to comply with this instruction. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 8. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 350.) 7, AVestminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.AV, 11th June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 15th March, 1573 (No. 20), enclosing copy of a letter from his Honor the Superintendent of Otago, with its enclosure, on the subject of a line of steamers to New Zealand via the Cape of Good Hope. I trust that the efforts I have already made in this direction render it unnecessary for me to assure tho Government of my hearty co-operation in promoting the establishment of the proposed line of steamers. I regret, however, to say, that from the enquiries I have made, and from the communication I have held with parties most competent to give an opinion on the subject, and also most disposed to take up the project, the scheme appears far more difficult of accomplishment than it was two years ago. An attempt was recently made to float a company for the purpose of running a line of powerful steamers between Liverpool and Melbourne, but it has for the present utterly failed; and it is now argued that if steam communication cannot be made to pay with Victoria, still less will it pay with New Zealand. In this case, however, a very high rate of speed was to be maintained, it being proposed that the voyage should be performed within forty-two days. During the last two years, the price of iron has risen about 100 per cent., and artizans' wages in at least fifty per cent., so that a steamer, say of 3000 tons, which two years ago would have been built for £80,000, would now cost probably £120^000 or £130,000. Then, again, coal has risen fifty per cent., and it seems very doubtful whether any material reduction can be expected either in the price of iron and fuel, or in wages. The steamer " Great Britain," which has been running so many years between Melbourne and Liverpool, which has been a favourite vessel,' and has generally had a full complement, both of passengers and cargo, has, it is commonly asserted, not paid; but I believe her consumption of fuel is very great. A steamer of 3000 tons would require to have at least 800 emigrants guaranteed for each voyage. The average number of saloon passengers by the " Great Britain" has been, I believe, about seventy. Messrs. Bright, Brothers, when I was negotiating with them to send her to Otago, told me that they could not calculate upon more than half that number for New Zealand, and the calculation seemed based upon facts which there was no gainsaying.

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It would be extremely difficult for the Government to guarantee anything like the number of emigrants above stated, for the emigrants, as I have often pointed out, require to be sent, not as in the Australian Colonies to one port, but to some five or six. Tou cannot keep a large number of emigrants in reserve; you must send theih off as soon as they are ready, or you lose them altogether. The average voyage of the " Great Britain" to Melbourne has been about sixty-three days. It would scarcely be safe to calculate upon its being made in less than sixty-five days to New Zealand. The average voyage of some twenty of the emigrant ships despatched last year was ninety days. It may be questioned whether, by shortening the voyage by twenty-five days, you would iv any material degree stimulate or increase emigration of the labouring class. In thus pointing out some of the difficulties which at present stand in the way of the proposed scheme, it is very far from my intention to throw cold water upon it; but what I really wish to impress upon the Government is the necessity, in my opinion, of giving a moderate subsidy for the first few years. Three years ago, Mr. Galbraith thought a subsidy of £50,000 a-year would be necessary. Mr. E. B. Cargill appears, from the conversation I have had with him, to have arrived at the same conclusion as I have. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent General.

No. 9. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. (No. 352.) 7, Westminster Chambers, A^ictoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.W., 12th June, 1873. With reference to the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 12th April (No. 64), 1573 requesting me in case Mr. F. A. Krull's offer of the ship " Brechin Castle" for emigration purposes should be repeated in London to give it my favourable consideration, I have simply to state that I shall be happy to accept the terms offered by the owners (namely, £14 10 per adult) seeing that under the absolute instructions given to me recently by the Government, I have been obliged to pay £17 per adult instead of £13, which I had hitherto paid to Shaw, Saville, & Co. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 10. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 387.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— AVestminster, S.W„ 12th June, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 25th March (No. 53), 1873, instructing me to furnish quarterly a statement of account giving full particulars of emigration, and to state that these instructions will be complied with. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, Agent-General.

No. 11. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 417.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Alctoria Street, SlE > — Westminster, S.W., 13th June, 1573. I have the honor to forward herewith, for the information of the Government, two tabular statements, viz.:— I. Analysis of the cost of emigration to New Zealand for the period commencing Ist June 1871 and ending 31st March, 1873. 11. Analysis of the cost of emigrant ships from London to New Zealand, from the 13th Anril 3872, to the 21st March, 1873. F ' I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, I, E. Featherston Wellington. Agent-General.

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Enclosure No. 1 in No. 11. New Zealand Ehigeation. Analysis of cost for period from 1st June, 1871, to 31st March, 1873. 1.— Contract Sate — 565 Adults... ... ... @ £1415s. Od. ... Canterbury ships, 1871 127£ Ditto | g^ @ |^ | Average—£13 15s. 6H ... "Wellington ships, 1871 26i Ditto... ... ... @ £14 10s. Od. ... Clyde ships, Dec, 1871, and Feb., 1872 63^ Ditto... ... ... @ £13 13s. Od. ... Canterbury ship, Jan., 1872 91 Ditto... ... ... @ £14 5s. Od. ... Clyde emigration, April, 1872 469 Ditto jggg ® | ]* j Aver age—£ 10 18s. 9d. ... German emigration, 1872 292£ Ditto ... ... .. @ £12 Os. Od. ... Norwegian (direct) ship, 1872 5012 Ditto ... ... ... @ £13 Os. Od. ... Ships from London, 1S72-73. 6647—Total. 2. — Average Contract Bate — £ s. d. Per adult, or total cost ... ... ... ... 12 19 9J3.—Average Cost — Per adult, deducting cash payments, or present cost ... ... 11 5 1 4.— Average Cost — Per adult, deducting cash payments, and promissory notes and bills, given by the emigrants ... ... ... ... 8 8 OJ ■5.— Average Cott — Per adult, deducting cash payments, promissory notes and bills given by emigrants, and promissory notes given by Messrs. Brogdeu; or final cost . ... ... ... ... 5 13 2| Enclosure No. 2 in No. 11. New Zealand Emigbation. Analysis of cost. Ships from London from 13th April, 1872, to 21st March, 1873. 1. — Contract Rate — £ s. d. Per adult (Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., contractors) ... ... 13 0 0 2. — Average Cost — Per adult, deducting cash payments; or present cost ... ... 11 5 6f 3. — Average Cost — Per adult, deducting cash payments, and promissory notes and bills given by emigrants ... ... ... ... 8 16 5| ■4.— Average Cost — Per adult, deducting cash payments, promissory notes and bills given by emigrants, and promissory notes given by Messrs. Brogdens ; or final cost ... ... .. ... ... 5 3 7| of adults, 5012.

No. 12. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. (No. 419.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.W., 13th June, 1873. Referring to the Hon. Mr. Rorke's memorandum of 12th April (59), 1873,1 have to express my gratification that the Government have at length taken legal proceedings to enforce tho conditions of the contract in the case of the " Glenlora." With reference to the complaint that " the repeated remonstrances of Mr. Waterhouse and myself with regard to the inefficient inspection of ships and selection of emigrants are not only not attended to, but seem not to be considered worthy of notice in your correspondence," I trust that you will find from my letters despatched by previous mails that not only is this charge entirely unfounded but that I have carried out all your instructions in regard to emigration, although many of them were in my opinion extremely injudicious and ill-advised, and for giving effect to which I do not hold myself responsible. I have. &c. I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General. 2—D.2b.

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No. 13. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. (No. 420.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Sic,— AVestminster, S.W., 13th June, 1873. AVith reference to the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum of 12th April (No. 66), 1873, you wil already have seen from my previous correspondence that I had anticipated the wishes of the Government by declining to entertain the proposal submitted by Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., for the conveyance of emigrants to New Zealand via Cape of Good Hope. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 14. The Agent-General to the Hon. Colonial Secretary. 7, Westminster Chambers, A rictoria Street, Sir,— Westminster, S.AV., 13th June, 1573. With reference to your recent telegram relating to the demand for coal miners in the Colony, I have the honor to inform you that I have been in communication with a firm of mining agents in West Hartlepool; and I beg to annex an extract from a letter on this subject received this morning. I have little doubt that Messrs. Dicksons' observations with reference to the wages paid to this class of labourers apply also to other districts besides that in which those gentlemen reside. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 14. Extract from letter from Messrs. Wm. Dickson & Coy., of West Hartlepool, 9th June, 1872. Dear Sir, — " Referring to your separate favors of 28th ult., sth, aud 7th instant, we have to say that we are using the necessary exertions to procure for you such labourers and colliers as you require, and that at present we have several men in hand whose applications shall be submitted for your approval in a few days hence. "At present County Durham colliers are extra well paid, owing to the advanced price of the mineral, and without extra inducement would not be willing to abandon a permanent occupation, the masters and men having arranged among themselves."

No. 15. Extract from Telegram from the Agent-General, dated 17th July. 1873. " Two thousand six hundred fifty souls sailed May, June; probably twelve hundred July. " Report sent. " Featherston, London."

No. 16. Extract from Telegram: from Agent-General, dated London 24th July, Melbourne 26th July; Received Bluff 2nd August, 1873. " Emigration promising; twelve hundred souls sent this month; five ships laid on August. ' Hovding' from Christiania to Napier—full complement colliers; tailors forthcoming—German contract advise. Brogden refusing to carry out emigration contract; made no concessions.] " Featherston."