D.—3

2

Enclosure 1 in No. 2. Commissioners' Eeport on Ship " Camperdown." Sir,— Nelson, 13th July, 1876. We have the honor to report the arrival, on 4th July, of the ship " Camperdown," E. F. Paton, master, eighty-one days out, having left Gravesend on 14th April with 410 souls, equal to 352^ statute adults. Three births occurred during the voyage, and one death—a married woman —from convulsions connected with pregnancy. No special disorder appeared among the immigrants—in fact, they have arrived in a remarkably healthy condition, as evidenced by there being no applicants for hospital treatment either as in or out patients. We cannot but attribute this to the special capabilities of the "Camperdown" for carrying emigrants, being roomy, cleanly, and well ventilated, and, like the " Fernglen," provided with alleys between the berths and ship's sides. Provisions and water ample and of good quality. Onco during the voyage the condenser was not worked for three consecutive days, owing to repairs, the issue of water to the passengers was not, however, curtailed thereby. Some complaints of incivility on the part of the surgeon-superintendent were made by many of the passengers, but not of a nature to justify us in holding any inquiry, or to recommend that the gratuity should be withheld ; we have therefore to recommend that all the usual gratuities be paid. The crew and passengers had been frequently mustered at their several posts, as for fire drill, but were not exercised. We have, &c, Leonard Boor. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Alfred Greenfield. Wellington. James S. Cross.

Enclosure 2 in No. 2. The Immigration Otficer, Hokitika, to the Under Secretary for Immigration. (Telegram.) Hokitika, 21st July, 1876. The following letter appeared in this day's Grey River Argus. Should the statement therein contained not be inquired into at once ? —" Sir, —The British working men are led to think that they will be able to find employment immediately on their landing, but such we find is not the case, as we have been in New Zealand about a fortnight, and we cannot find work anywhere. Again, Sir, the immigrants do not get at all well treated during the passage here; at least we were not treated well on the ship ' Camperdown,' for we were kept short of provisions and also of water. In fact, we were kept so short that we had to get a petition signed to get the matter remedied, but little notice was taken of it, and some of the immigrants received brutal treatment at the hands of the captain of the ship (Captain Paton). For an instance we refer to the following : —Two men were put in irons and fastened upon the deck for several hours .on a very cold day without any protection from the weather, for the simple offence of going downstairs while cleaning was going on; and, again, two of the immigrants were brutally kicked by Captain Paton because they were not of the same religion as himself. Two others were flogged like felons for a very trivial offence; and we, the undersigned, complained to the Commissioners at Nelson of these things, but our complaints were not inquired into. Now, Sir, we would like to ask the public a fair question, if they think it right to thus impose on the working classes by enticing them here under pretence that there is plenty of work. We think it far from being just to gentlemen to give up good homes in England, and come here and not be able to find employment, and also ill-used on the journey.—We have, &c, C. E. F ,S.H. D . —lmmigrants' Depot Greymouth, 18th July, 1876." C. E. Haughton, Esq., Wellington. F. A. Learmonth.

Enclosure 3 in No. 2. The Under Secretary for Immigration to the Immigration Officer, Hokitika. (Telegram.) Immigration Office, Wellington, 22nd July, 1876. Thanks for information re letter in Grey River Argus. Inquiry shall at once be made. I have no doubt that the statements are absolutely false. C. E. Hatjghton.

Enclosure 4 in No. 2. Mr. E. F. Paton to the Under Secretary for Immigration. Sir,— Ship " Camperdown," Wellington, 24th July, 1876. In answer to yours of the 22nd, I beg to deny the assertion made by the two emigrants E and D ,as wholly untrue. These men appended their names to a statement published in a Nelson paper of the 11th instant, which was entirely false, and which—the facts elicited before a Court of inquiry (held by a number of gentlemen residents of that port) previous to the emigrants leaving the vessel, will bear witness to. I am, it appears, accused of ill-treating some of the emigrants. I certainly was surprised to read such a statement in the Nelson paper, but when I read this intimation of a similar paragraph in the Grey River Argus, with these two names again appended, I begin to think there is some one else deeply interested in it, and bent on mischief, if possible. It certainly is true two men were put in irons for insubordination, on complaint being made by one of the constables to Dr. Booth, but expressly on the doctor's command. Then, as to the men who are stated to have been brutally kicked by me, the facts of the matter are these: Two men (professed atheists) were