HC Deb 07 June 1869 vol 196 cc1297-8
MR. ALDERMAN SALOMONS

said, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty. If he has received from the Commanders of the "Crocodile" and the "Serapis." that conveyed Workmen recently discharged from the Government Establishments at Portsmouth and Woolwich, any Reports as to the conduct of such Workmen during the voyage, and as to their disposal on their arrival in the Dominion of Canada; and to inquire if those Reports can be laid upon the Table?

MR. CHILDERS

Sir, about 1,100 persons have been taken in the Crocodile and the Serapis to Canada during the last two months. They were selected with very great care from among the workmen who have been employed for some time either in the dockyard or in the arsenal, and their conveyance to Canada, although in Her Majesty's troopships, was under the management of the Emigration Commissioners, and it has been carried out with complete success. From the Commander of the Crocodile we have a Report, dated May 7, to this effect— The emigrants are landed 'all well,' and I have much pleasure in reporting that from the time they have been on board the Crocodile their conduct has been everything that could be desired, and no body of men could have given less trouble. I may here state that the chaplain and surgeon, with the pay master and other officers, have been unremitting in their zeal and desire to carry out their Lordships' instructions, and the emigrants have not been remiss in expressing their gratitude for the kindness shown them. This is the Report from the Commander of the Serapis—

"Quebec, May 16, 1869.

"The emigrants have behaved well, and I am happy to inform their Lordships that, the passage being a smooth one, they have experienced little or no discomfort."

With reference to the latter part of the Question, the disposal of the emigrants on their arrival at the Dominion of Canada, we have this Report from the Emigration Agent at Quebec—

" May 31, 1869.

" From information recently forwarded to me, I learn that these people were judiciously distributed among the rural districts in his neighbourhood, and that no difficulty was experienced in obtaining immediate employment for them."

We shall be happy to lay the Papers on the table as soon as they are complete.