D.—3

30

future so great a mortality amongst the children on board immigrant ships through insufficient and improper dietary, I will not now refer to the several matters detailed in the documents forwarded, but I desire especially to call your attention to them; and I trust that by this time arrangements have been made to prevent the possibility of the recurrence of such irregularities and deficiencies as are complained of therein. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure in No. 50. Immigeation Commissionebs' Eepoet on Ship " Cartvale." Sic— Wellington, 29th October, 1874. We have the honor to report the arrival of the ship " Cartvale " on the 11th instant, with 333 statute adults, nineteen deaths having occurred during the voyage, and four during the lay days in quarantine, in all equal to seven and a half statute adults. As a great amount of sickness had prevailed amongst the children during the voyage, and many of them being in a weakly state from the effects of diphtheria, measles, &c, we deemed it prudent to send the ship and people to quarantine. As we were given to understand that the 'tween-decks of the " Cartvale " were in a very dirty state, we determined to inspect them for ourselves after the people were landed and before the fittings were removed, and we regret to state that our worst anticipations Were realized. She was indeed in a filthy condition, and the stench was most abominable. We attributed the cause in a great measure to a water-way in the 'tween-decks, which formed a receptacle for all the filth of the passengers, without allowing it to go overboard, as in the case of the water-way on the upper deck. The grating between the skin of the ship and the bunks was also made a place of deposit by the immigrants for rubbish and filth of all descriptions ; and as there was no alley-way round the bunks, as we have over and over again pointed out as necessary, it was impossible to get at the places to clean them out. We are surprised that any person having a knowledge of immigrants and their general ignorance concerning all matters relating to the sea, should have allowed the " Cartvale" to take immigrants on board with every inducement held out to them to deposit their slops and filth in the 'tween-decks, and thus save themselves the trouble of going on the upper deck at night or in bad weather. No amount of vigilance on the part of the captain, officers, and surgeon of the ship could prevent this. Another cause of the dirty state of the 'tween-decks was the exceedingly short allowance of sand, the whole supply having been exhausted after the vessel had been about three weeks at sea. The immigrants' scrapers also were of a very flimsy description, doubling right up the first time they were used. The single women were berthed under the poop, with their bunks in blocks. The closet and bathroom were very dark and dirty, and the stench was almost unbearable. The surgeon informed us he had often to leave his dispensary owing to the effluvium from these places. (See extract from his journal.) The single women had half the after hatch for their use, and although the compartment was light and well ventilated, it was not nearly so clean as it should have been. The married people were located forward of the single-women's compartment, they having half the after hatch and the main hatch for their use. It was light and well ventilated. Tho bunks were in blocks, but the compartment was very dirty. This, as we have before stated, was attributed to the water-way, the want of sand, and the absence of alley-ways. The single men were located under the fore hatch. This compartment was not nearly as clean as it should have been, but owing to the slope of the decks the water in the water-way found its way into the married compartment and aft. To summarize, we may say without exaggeration that the " Cartvale" is one of the finest and best ventilated ships which have come into this harbour, but at the same time she was the dirtiest we have inspected. We append extracts from the diary of the surgeon-superintendent, and would direct attention to his remarks with reference to the single-women's closet, the hospitals, the dietary and medical comfort scale, the supply of sand, &c, and especially to the fact that many of the articles and small stores required by Schedule A of the contract were not supplied at all. The single-men-and-women portion of the immigrants are fine healthy people, but many of the married people and children are not of a luitable class physically speaking, they being weak and undersized. In fact it seems not an uncommon thing for this class of immigrants to take advantage of free immigration to this colony in order to have the benefit of a sea voyage and change of climate, in hopes that their health may be improved. The surgeon and captain have both complained that the cabin stores were very niggardly supplied, and some articles altogether omitted. On being questioned, the immigrants stated that they had no complaints to make, and they all seemed well satisfied with the voyage. So soon as the ship was cleaned out and painted in the 'tween-decks she was admitted to pratique; so also were the immigrants, after their bedding and clothing had been disinfected by heat and washed. In conclusion, we recommend the payment of all gratuities, as we consider that both the captain and surgeon did their best for the immigrants, although neither of them had any experience. We would point out that it is undesirable to send both captain and surgeon in one ship without any experience of the method of treating immigrants, as, no matter how skilled each of them may be in his own profession, there are matters of detail in dealing with immigrants which only suggest themselves to men who have sailed with them before. I have, &c, Alex. Johnston, M.D. H. J. H. Eliott. His Honor the Superintendent, Wellington. John Holliday.