37

D.—3

Enclosure in No. 55. Commissioners' Eepoet on Ship " Salisbury." ' Sib, — Immigration Office, Auckland, 2nd March, 1876. We have the honor to report the arrival of the " Salisbury " on the 27th ultimo, ninety-seven days from London, with 309 Government immigrants. The usual inspection of the ship and passengers took place the following day, and the immigrants were landed in the afternoon. No infectious disease was known during the voyage. Some of the children were slightly affected with whooping-cough, and thero were a few cases of ophthalmia. A single woman, ill of pneumonia, was ordered to be sent to the hospital. A single man, named T- H -, suffering from heart disease, was found among the immigrants, notwithstanding that he had been rejected by the Home medical authorities, and was sent on shore in consequence at Gravesend. This is the case which we have seen referred to in a letter by the Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration, No. 890. No special blame appears to be attached to any one on account of this man's surreptitious re-embarkation, so far as we have been able to ascertain : at the same time we wish to say that it is of great importance that the utmost diligence be exercised by ships' officers and others connected with the embarkation of immigrants, to guard against a repetition of such an occurrence. We found the ai'rangements on board the "Salisbury" generally satisfactory. The several compartments of the immigrants were sufficiently roomy, and were well lighted and ventilated. All the people expressed themselves well satisfied with the treatment they had received. The surgeon-superintendent made a complaint with respect to inattention on the part of some of the immigrants to his instructions in the matter of coming upon deck when required to do so, with a view to the proper ventilation of the compartments. He complained, also, that persons had been guilty of broaching cargo during the voyage, but, on being invited to do so, he was not prepared to charge any one definitely with these offences. The captain had no complaint to make on the subject of broaching cargo either by immigrants or crew. The general conduct of the passengers was well spoken of, both by the doctor and the ship's officers. The provisions of all kinds were of the best quality, and the supply appears to have been abundant. In regard to the medical comforts, the doctor complained that in some instances the full quantities were not supplied when ordered for the use of the invalids ; but no adequate attempt appears to have been made on his part to remedy the alleged grievance at the time. No complaint was made to the captain on the subject. Dr. Cartwright was invited to forward to the Immigration Officer, in writing, without delay, for transmission to the Hon. the Minister, any statement he might wish to make on any matter connected with his duties as late surgeon-superintendent; but he has not done so up to this date. In conclusion, we beg to recommend payment of the usual gratuities to the surgeonsuperintendent and the ship's officers. We have, &c, H. Ellis. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. T. M. Philson, M.D.

No. 56. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-General. (No. 107.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 28th April, 1876. I have the honor to transmit herewith copies of the following documents relative to the " Gutenburg,""*ftrhich vessel arrived at Wellington upon the 27th March ultimo : —l. Immigration Commissioners'report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure in No. 56. Commissioners' Report on Ship " Gutenberg." Immigration Office, Provincial Buildings, Wellington, Sic,— 27th March, 1870. We have the honor to report the arrival of the ship " Gutenberg " on the 23rd instant, with 164 souls, equal to lloi adults, consisting of Italians, Switzera, Swedes, Danes, and Germans, who sailed from Hamburg on the 18th December last. One birth and no deaths amongst the immigrants occurred during the voyage. On inspecting the immigrants we found that generally they were a healthy and robust body of people, with the exception of the Italians, many of whom were undersized, and, in our opinion, unfitted for the laborious work required of immigrants introduced to this colony. The single women's comportment was under the fore-part of the poop, and was roomy, comfortable, and well ventilated. The married people had the use of the after and main hatches. Their compartment was also in every way a suitable one: the bunks were around the sides of the ship, with a wide passage through the centre of the compartment; the combings and booby-hatch over the afterentrance were high and safe, while there was a good permanent deck-house over the main hatch. The ladders were rather too steep, however, and should have had boards at the back, as in English vessels. The single men were located under the fore-hatch, their bunks being arranged as in the married compartment. There was an open bulk-head between their compartment and that of the married people, and upon our pointing out the indecency of such an arrangement we were informed that the Agent at Hamburg insisted upon the bulk-head being left open for the purpose of ventilation. The male and