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once taken aft and isolated, which can never be done with an hospital situated as at present in the midst of the passengers, with open ventilators, door opening and shutting, and the mothers of children having communication with them. In fact, were it not for the look of the thing, so far as secluding the patients, I might just as well have left all cases of fever in their berths as take them there. Such casea occurring as did actually occur on board this ship, the hospital full of infectious disease—a young woman gets inflammation of the knee joint, a married woman threatens miscarriage in her confinement—no physician will move such cases into the infected hospital, but as the least of two evils treats them in their berths, amidst noise, confusion, and publicity. Now, were the cabin empty, space could be found for all emergencies. Fever could be isolated and stayed at perhaps the first case. The hospital nurse would be confined to the hospital, and not perpetually running out to gossip, carrying contagion and infection on her whole person. Then, again, although I appointed a good and efficient schoolmaster, no regular school could be held; the ship was so crowded that there was absolutely no available space for the purpose, were there none but the captain and surgeon in the cabin, this would at once supply the difficulty. I may also add another, though trivial reason for my remark : i.e., an ignorant and unreasoning lot of agricultural people are made doubly discontented and dissatisfied at only viewing the cabin victuals, live stock, and fresh meat, &c, which they are unable to obtain. In ships of this class, the number of cabin passengers would seldom exceed six, so it would be no great sacrifice. It is my deliberate opinion that had small-pox broken out instead of scarlatina, in the crowded, state of this vessel, the passengers would have been more than decimated. I may add that the captain fully agrees with me in these remarks. I would suggest that, in arranging the ventilation of each compartment, care should be taken to have an opening such as will admit of free exit and entrance of air at the ends of each compartment, so as to permit a constant current. We found the want of this arrangement in the married compartment entailed much closeness, so much so that the captain had another opening made at one end. With regard to medicines and medical comforts, the scale of medicines is insufficient; and although liberty is given to the ship's surgeon to order more, yet an inexperienced man never can think of what he will require until at sea; a case of illness occurs, and he finds he has not the medicine he requires. There should be a jar of methylated spirit for a spirit lamp, particularly in these days, when a physician tests the urine pretty nearly as often as he feels a pulse in all lung and febrile diseases; for this I had to use my brandy. Among the medical comforts, mustard and sugar should be included, and, if I might venture to suggest, there ought to be, in an extreme case, some means of the surgeon getting a little fresh meat; for example, one girl after the acute inflammation had subsided, and it was necessary to keep up what little strength she had. She being unable to digest salt meat; and could not eat preserved. The thin soup of the medical comforts was insufficient for her support, and the only way I could obtain fresh meat for her was by going without my own dinner for weeks. My reason for stating this fact is to support my suggestion that a sheep and a few fowls should be put extra to cabin stores, so that the surgeon would be entitled to at least one daily portion of fresh meat, for the use of any convalescent from acute disease. I would suggest that the water-closets for married women should be amidships, so as to deprive them of a constant excuse for coming aft, talking to single girls, carrying letters and messages for them, and exciting them to insubordination against the rules specially appertaining to the single women. With regard to the goods and stores, they were all good of their kind; but I would observe, that most of the single women are young girls who have been in service, and accustomed to be fed from their employers' tables. They find it very hard to stomach the salt beef so often, and I would suggest that they get preserved meat more frequently than on the scale, particularly as it is as cheap or cheaper than salt provisions. The absence of any place for putting men in punishment, such as a strong cabin in the deck-house or elsewhere, makes many of the men insubordinate and unruly. Were there such a place, the very fact of its presence would make it easy for the captain or surgeon to keep the men in subjection, although it probably might never be required to be used. As lam on this subject, I may observe that if any man was prosecuted for not obeying the rules of the ship, and a report of such prosecution and conviction sent home, and copies put up in each ship leaving, it would have a very salutary effect over the people; that is, if the Government mean to send any more passengers of the class we have been attending on. These observations are necessarily imperfect, but if anything in them proves at all useful to my employers I shall be satisfied. Wm. Concannon, M.D., Surgeon " Christian McAusland," Hampshire Artillery.

No. 54 Memokandtjm No. 38, 1873, for the Agent-General, London. In forwarding the enclosed report of the Immigration Commissioners at Auckland upon the ship " Warwick," I feel sure that you will agree with me in regretting that the condition of the ship should