Emigration from England
What follows are extracts from an article printed in the Illustrated London News on Saturday July 6th 1850. It is a contemporary account of the procedure of Emigration from the port of Liverpool to the New World and the Colonies.
Several Byard families, e.g. Jedidiah Byard and Joshua Byard emigrated to the US, others, e.g. James Byard, emigrated to Tasmania. There is an interesting account, through a diary record, of the journey to Tasmania on the S.S. Ambrosine and the early life in Tasmania in the book, 'The Pains and Pleasures of Our Pioneers, by Trevor Byard, published by Regal Publications, Tasmania, 1990.'
The Tide of Emigration to The United States
And to The British Colonies.
The great tide of Emigration flows steadily westward. The principal
emigrants are Irish peasants and labourers. It is calculated that
at least four out of every five persons who leave the shores of
the old country to try their fortunes in the new, are Irish. Since
the fatal years of the potato famine and the cholera, the annual
numbers of emigrants have gone on increasing, until they have
become so great as to suggest the idea, and almost justify the
belief, of a gradual depopulation of Ireland. The colonies of
Great Britain offer powerful attractions to the great bulk of
the English and Scottish emigrants who forsake their native land
to make homes in the wilderness. But the Irish emigration flows
with full force upon the United States. Though many of the Irish
emigrants are, doubtless, persons of small means, who have been
hoarding and saving for years, and living in rags and squalor,
in order to amass sufficient money to carry themselves and families
across the Atlantic, and to beg their way to the western states,
where they may 'squat' or purchase cheap lands, the great bulk
appear to be people of the most destitute class, who go to join
their friends and relatives, previously established in America.
Large sums of money reach this country annually from the United
States. Through Liverpool houses alone, near upon a million pounds
sterling, in small drafts, varying from 2 Pounds or 3 Pounds to
10 Pounds each, are annually forwarded from America, for poor
persons in Ireland, to enable them to emigrate; and the passage-money
of many thousands, in addition, is paid in New York. Before the
fatal year 1847, the emigration was very considerable; but, since
that time, it has very rapidly increased. The following document,
issued on the authority of her Majesty's Colonial Land and Emigration
Commissioners, shows the progressive increase in the numbers of
British subjects who have annually quitted our shores as Emigrants,
from 1825 to January 1st 1850:-
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846 43439 82239 2347 1286
1847 109680 142154 4949 1487
1848 31065 188233 23904 4887
1849 41367 219450 32091 6590
Totals 808740 1260247 185286 30911
Average Annual Emigration from the United Kingdom for the last
twenty five years- 91,407
The emigration of the present year bids fair to exceed even the
unprecedentedly large emigration of 1849. This human stream flows
principally through the ports of London and Liverpool; as there
is but little direct emigration from Scotland or Ireland. In the
year 1849, out of the total number of 299,498 emigrants, more
than one-half, or 153,902 left from the port of Liverpool. We
learn from a statement in a Liverpool newspaper, that in the months
of January, February, March and April of the present year, the
total emigration was 50,683 persons; and as these four months
include two of the least busy months of the year, it is probable
that the numbers during the months of May, June, July and August,
the full emigrational season, will be much more considerable,
and that the emigration for the year will exceed that for 1849.
Her Majesty's Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners publish
in the spring of every year a useful little pamphlet, entitled
the ' Colonisation Circular', which contains the names and duties
of the Emigration offices in the ports of The United Kingdom and
in the colonies- the cost of passage to the various colonies-a
statement of the demand for labour-the rate of wages, and the
price of provisions in each colony-an explanation of the mode
of disposal of Crown lands-the privileges granted to naval and
military settlers-the victualling scale on board ships-an abstract
of the Passengers Act, and other valuable particulars. The Government
however, gives no information relative to the United States-so
that its admirable little circular is of comparatively little
service to at least one-half of the great crowds of emigrants.
The majority of emigrants take a steerage passage, and go out
at the cheapest rate. Out of the 153,902 mentioned above as having
left the port of Liverpool in 1849, the number of first and second
cabin passengers was only 4639.
Emigration From Liverpool
We now proceed to detail the process of emigration, beginning
with the arrival of the emigrants at Liverpool, the great port
of intercourse with the United States. The first care of the emigrants,
if their passage have not previously been paid for them by their
kind friends in New York, is to pay their passage-money, and make
the best bargain they can with the passenger-brokers. The competition
in this trade is very great, and fares, accordingly, vary from
day to day, and even from hour to hour, being sometimes as high
as 5 Pounds per passenger in the steerage, and sometimes as low
as 3 Pounds 10 Shillings.
The walls of Liverpool are thoroughly placarded with the notices
of the days of sailing of the various packets, for which many
firms act as passenger-brokers, and set forth in large letters
the excellent qualities of such well known and favourite packets
as the YORKSHIRE, the NEW WORLD, the ISAAC WEBB, the WEST POINT,
the CONSTITUTION, the ISAAC WRIGHT, the LONDON, the STAR OF THE
WEST, the QUEEN OF THE WEST, and scores of others. The average
number of steerage passengers that can be accommodated in these
fine vessels (which are mostly owned in New York) is 400; but
some of them, such as the ISAAC WEBB, can comfortably make room
for double that number. After the emigrant has chosen the ship
by which he will sail, and perhaps run the gauntlet through scores
of designing and unscrupulous 'man-catchers'-a class of persons
who get a commission from the passenger-brokers for each emigrant
that they bring to the office-his next duty is to present himself
at the Medical Inspector's Office
By the terms of the New Passenger Act, 12 and 13 Vict., c.33,
no passenger-ship is allowed to proceed until a medical practitioner
appointed by the emigration office of the port shall have inspected
the medicine-chest and passengers, and certified that the medicines
etc are sufficient, and that the passengers are free from contagious
disease. The master, owner, or charterer of the ship is bound
to pay the medical inspector the sum of 1 Pound sterling for every
100 persons thus inspected. When the emigrant and his family have
undergone this process, their passage-ticket is stamped, and they
have nothing further to do, until they go on board, but to make
their own private arrangements and provide themselves with outfits,
or with such articles of luxury or necessity as they may desire
over and above the ships allowance.
All persons who may be discovered to be affected with any infectious
disease, either at the original port of embarkation or at any
port in the United Kingdom into which the vessel may subsequently
put, are to be re-landed, with those members of their families,
if any, who may be dependent upon them, or unwilling to be separated
from them, together with their clothes and effects. Passengers
re-landed are entitled to receive back their passage-money, which
may be recovered from the party to whom it was paid, or from the
owner, charterer, or master of the ship, by summary process, before
two or more justices of the peace.
The Embarkation
The scene in the Waterloo dock, at Liverpool, where all the American
sailing packets are stationed, is at all times a very busy one;
but, on the morning of the departure of a large ship, with a full
complement of emigrants, it is peculiarly exciting and interesting.
The passengers have undergone inspection, and many of them have
taken up their quarters on board for twenty-four hours previously,
as they are entitled to do by terms of the act of Parliament.
Many of them bring, in addition to the boxes and trunks containing
their worldly wealth, considerable quantities of provisions, although
it must be confessed that the scale fixed by the Government to
be supplied to them by the ship is sufficiently liberal to keep
in health and comfort all among them, who, in their ordinary course
of life, were not accustomed to animal food. The following is
the scale, in addition to any provisions which the passengers
may themselves bring:-
2 and 1/2 lb of Bread or biscuit (not inferior to navy biscuit)
1 lb Wheaten Flour
5 lb Oatmeal
2 lb Rice
2 oz Tea
1/2 lb Sugar
1/2 lb Molasses
Per week. To be issued in advance, and not less often than twice
a week. Also:- 3 quarts of Water daily.
5 lb of good Potatoes may, at the option of the master, be substituted
for 1lb of oatmeal or rice; and in ships sailing from Liverpool,
or from Irish of Scottish ports, oatmeal may be substituted, in
equal quantities, for the whole or any part of the issues of rice.
Vessels carrying as many as 100 passengers must be provided with
a seafaring person to act as passenger's cook, and also with a
proper cooking apparatus. A convenient place must be set apart
on deck for cooking, and a proper supply of fuel shipped for the
voyage. The whole to be subject to the approval of the emigration
officer.
Dancing Between Decks
The scenes that occur between decks on the day before the sailing
of a packet, and during the time that a ship may be unavoidably
detained in dock, are not generally of a character to impress
the spectator with the idea of any great or overwhelming grief
on the part of the emigrants at leaving the old country. On the
contrary, all is bustle, excitement, and merriment. The scene
of a party of emigrants, male and female, dancing between decks-to
the music of the violin-played for their amusement, by some of
their fellow-passengers, is not a rare one. Sometimes a passenger
is skilful upon the Irish Bagpipe, and his services are freely
asked and freely given for the gratification of his countrymen
and countrywomen-not simply while in dock, but, according to the
reports of captains and others, during the whole voyage. Any person
who can play the Violin-the Flute-the Pipe, or any other instrument,
becomes of interest and importance to the passengers, and is kept
in constant requisition for their amusement. The youngest child
and the oldest man in the ship are alike interested; and grey
headed men and women are frequently to be seen dancing with as
much delight, if not with as much vigour, as if Seventeen, not
Seventy, was the number that would most nearly express their age.
But, as the hour of departure draws nigh, the music ceases. Too
many fresh arrivals take place every moment, and the docks become
too much encumbered with luggage to admit of the amusement. Although
notice of the day and hour of departure may have been given for
weeks previously, there are a large class of persons (-not confined
to emigrants it may be observed 'en passant'-) who never will
be punctual, and who seem to make it a point of duty and conscience
to postpone everything to the last moment, and to enjoy the excitement
of being within a few minutes or even moments of losing their
passage. These may be seen arriving in flushed and panting detachments,
driving donkey-carts laden with their worldly stores, to the gangway,
at the ship's side. It often happens that the gangway has been
removed before their arrival, in which case their only chance
is to wait until the ship reaches the dock-gate, when their boxes,
bails, barrels and bundles are actually pitched into the ship,
and men, and women, and children have to scramble up among the
rigging, amid a screaming, a swearing, and a shouting perfectly
alarming to listen to. Not infrequently a box or barrel falls
overboard, and sometimes a man or a woman suffers the same fate,
but is speedily re-saved by men in a small boat, that follows
in the wake of this ship for the purpose, until she have finally
cleared the dock.
The Departure
There are usually a large number of spectators at the dock-gates
to witness the final departure of the noble ship, with its large
freight of human beings. It is an interesting and impressive sight;
and the most callous and indifferent can scarcely fail, at such
a moment, to form cordial wishes for the pleasant voyage and safe
arrival of the emigrants, and for their future prosperity in their
new home. As the ship is towed out, hats are raised, handkerchiefs
are waved, and a loud and long-continued shout of farewell is
raised from the shore, and cordially responded to from the ship.
It is then, if at any time, that the eyes of the emigrants begin
to moisten with regret at the thought that they are looking for
the last time at the old country-that country which, although,
in all probability, associated principally with the remembrance
of sorrow and suffering, of semi-starvation, and a constant battle
for the merest crust necessary to support existence is, nevertheless,
the country of their fathers, the country of their childhood,
and consecrated to their hearts by many a token. The last look,
if known to be the last, is always sorrowful, and refuses, in
most instances, to see the wrong and the suffering, the error
and the misery, which may have impelled the one who takes it,
to venture from the old into the new, from the tried to the untried
path, and to recommence existence under new auspices, and with
new and totally different prospects.
'Farewell, England! Blessings on thee- Stern and niggard as thou
art. Harshly, mother, thou hast used me, And my bread thou hast
refused me: But 'tis agony to part: -is doubtless the feeling
uppermost in the mind of many thousands of the poorer class of
English emigrants at the moment when the cheers of the spectators
and of their friends on shore proclaim the instant of departure
from the land of their birth. Even in the case of the Irish emigrants,
a similar feeling-though possibly less intense-can scarcely fail
to be excited. Little time, however, is left to them to indulge
in these reflections. The ship is generally towed by a steam-tug
five or ten miles down the Mersey; and during the time occupied
in traversing these ten miles, two very important ceremonies have
to be gone through: the first is 'the Search for Stowaways;' and
the second is the ' Roll-call of the Passengers'.
The Search for Stowaways
The practice of 'stowing away', or hiding about a vessel until
after the passage tickets have been collected, in order to procure,
by this fraudulent means, a free passage across the Atlantic,
is stated to be very common to ships leaving London and Liverpool
for the United States. The 'Stowaways' are sometimes brought onboard
concealed in trunks or chests, with air-holes to prevent suffocation.
Sometimes they are brought in barrels, packed up to their chins
in salt, or biscuits, or other provisions, to the imminent hazard
of their lives. At other times they take the chance of hiding
about the ship, under the bedding, amid the confused luggage of
other passengers, and in all sorts of dark nooks and corners between
decks. Hence, it becoming expedient to make a thorough search
of the vessel before the steam-tug has left her, in order that,
if any of these unhappy intruders be discovered, they may be taken
back to port and brought before the Magistrate, to be punished
for the fraud which they have attempted.
As many as a dozen stowaways have sometimes been discovered in
one ship; and cases have occurred, though not frequently, of men,
women, and young boys, having been taken dead out of the barrels
or chests in which they had concealed themselves, to avoid payment
of 3 Pounds or 4 Pounds passage money. When the ship is fairly
out, the search for stowaways is ordered. All the passengers are
summoned upon the Quarter-Deck, and there detained until the search
has been completed in every part of the ship. The Captain, Mate,
or other Officer, attended by the clerk of the passenger broker,
and as many of the crew as may be necessary for the purpose, then
proceed below, bearing masked lanterns or candles, and armed with
long poles, hammers, chisels, etc, that they may break open suspicious
looking chests and barrels. Occasionally, the pole is said to
be tipped with a sharp nail, to aid the process of discovery in
dark nooks; and sometimes the man armed with the hammer hammers
the bed-clothes, in order that if there be a concealed head underneath,
the owner may make the fact known, and thus avoid a repetition
of the blows. If a stowaway be concealed in a barrel, it is to
be presumed that he has been placed with his head uppermost, and
the searchers, upon this hint, whenever they have a suspicion,
deliberately proceed to turn the barrel bottom upwards,- a process
which never fails, after a short time, if the suspicion be well
founded, to elicit an unmistakable cry for release.
Although this search is invariably made with the upmost care,
it is not always effectual in discovering the delinquent; and
instances have occurred in which no less than eight, ten, or even
a larger number, including both men and women, have made their
appearance after the vessel has been two or three days at sea.
Some captains used to make it a rule to behave with great severity,
if not cruelty, to these unfortunates; and instances are related
of their having caused them to be tarred and feathered, or to
walk the decks through the cold nights with nothing on but their
shirts: but this inhumanity does not now appear to be practised.
As there is a great deal of dirty work that must be done on ship-board,
the stowaways are pressed into that service, and compelled to
make themselves useful, if not agreeable. They are forced, in
fact, to work their passage out, and the most unpleasant jobs
are imposed upon them. After the search for them in every corner
of the ship, the next ceremony is commenced.
Roll-Call
This is one that occupies a considerable space of time, especially
in a large ship, containing seven or eight hundred emigrants.
The passengers-those in the state cabin excepted-being all assembled
upon the Quarter-Deck, the clerk of the passenger-broker, accompanied
by the ship's surgeon, and aided in the preservation of order
by the crew, proceeds to call for the tickets. The clerk, or man
in authority, usually stands upon the rail, or other convenient
elevation on the Quarter-Deck, so that he may be enabled to see
over the heads of the whole assemblage-usually a very motley one-comprising
people of all ages, from seven weeks to seventy years. A double
purpose is answered by the roll-call-the verification of the passenger-list,
and the medical inspection of the emigrants, on behalf of the
captain and owners. The previous inspection on the part of the
governor was to prevent the risk of contagious disease on board.
The inspection on the part of the owners is for a different object.
The ship has to pay a poll-tax of one dollar and a half per passenger
to the State of New York; and if any of the poor emigrants are
helpless and deformed persons, the owners are fined in the sum
of seventy five dollars for bringing them, and are compelled to
enter in a bond to the city of New York that they will not become
a burden on the public. To obviate this risk, the medical officer
of the ship passes them under inspection; and if there be a pauper
cripple among the number who cannot give security that he has
friends in America to take charge of him of arrival, and provide
for him afterwards, the captain may refuse to take him.
The business of verification and inspection generally occupies
from two to four hours, according to the number of emigrants on
board; and, during its progress, some noteworthy incidents occasionally
arise. Sometimes an Irishman, with a wife and eight or ten children,
who may have only paid a deposit of his passage-money, attempts
to evade the payment of the balance, by pleading that he has not
a farthing left in the world; and trusting that the ship will
rather take him out to New York for the sum already paid, than
incur the trouble of putting him on shore again with his family.
Sometimes a woman may have included in her passage-ticket an infant
at the breast, and may be seen, when her name is called, panting
under the weight of a boy of eight or nine years of age, whom
she is holding to her bosom as if he were really a suckling. Sometimes
a youth of nineteen, strong and big as a man, has been entered
as under twelve, in order to get across to America for half the
fare of an adult; and sometimes a whole family are without any
tickets, and have come on board in the hope that, amid the confusion
which they imagine will be attendant upon the congregation of
so many hundred people on a ship, they may manage to evade notice,
and slip down unperceived amid those whose documents are found
'en regle'.
These cases, as they occur, are placed on one side; and those
who have duly paid their passage money, and produced their tickets,
are allowed to pass down and take possession of their berths.
Those who have not paid, either in whole or in part, and are either
unable or unwilling to satisfy the claim against them, are then
transferred on board the tug, with bag and baggage, to be reconveyed
to port. Those who have money, and have attempted a fraud, generally
contrive, after many lamentations about their extreme poverty,
to produce the necessary funds, which, in the shape of golden
sovereigns are not unfrequently found to be safely stitched amid
the rags of petticoats, coats, and unmentionable garments. Those
who have really no money, and who cannot manage to appeal to the
sympathy of the crowd for a small subscription to help them to
the New World, must resign themselves to their fate, and remain
in the poverty from which they seek to free themselves, until
they are able to raise the small sum necessary for their emancipation.
The stowaways, if any, are ordered to be taken before the magistrates;
and all strangers and interlopers being safely placed in the tug,
the emigrant ship is left to herself. May all prosperity attend
her living freight!
'Far away-oh far away-
We seek a world o'er the ocean spray!
We seek a land across the sea,
Where bread is plenty and men are free,
The sails are set, the breezes swell-
England, our country, farewell! farewell!