Читать книгу The Canadian Settler's Guide - Catharine Parr Traill - Страница 19

As to furniture, and iron-ware, I would by no means advise the emigrant to burden himself with such matters; for he will find that by the time he reaches his port of destination, the freightage, warehouse room, custom-house duties, and injury that they have sustained in the transit, will have made them dear bargains, besides not being as suitable to the country as those things that are sold in the towns in Canada. Good clothing and plenty of good shoes and boots, are your best stores, and for personal luggage you will have no freight to pay. A list of the contents of each box or trunk, being put within the lid, and showed to the custom-house officer, will save a great deal of unpacking and trouble. Any of your friends sending out a box to you, by forwarding an invoice and a low estimate of the value of the goods, the address of the party, and the bill of lading, properly signed by the captain to whose care it is assigned, to the forwarder at Montreal, will save both delay and expence. Macpherson, Crane & Co., Montreal, or Gillespie & Company, with many others of equal respectability, may be relied upon. For upwards of twenty years I have had boxes and packages forwarded through Macpherson, Crane & Co., Montreal, without a single instance of loss: the bill of lading and invoice being always sent by post as soon as obtained: by attention to this advice much vexatious delay is saved, and the boxes pass unopened through the custom-house.

I now copy for the instruction of the emigrant, the following advice which was published in the "Old Countryman", an excellent Toronto bi-weekly paper:

Emigration to Canada.—The arrangements made by the Government of Canada for the reception and protection of emigrants on their arrival at Quebec contrast in a remarkable manner with the want of such arrangements at New York, and the other ports of the United States, to which emigrants are conveyed from Europe. On the arrival of each emigrant ship in the river St. Lawrence, she is boarded by the medical officer of the Emigrant Hospital at Grosse Isle, situated a few miles below Quebec, and, whenever disease prevails in a ship, the emigrants are landed, and remain at the hospital, at the expense of the Colonial Government, until they are cured.—On the ship's arrival at Quebec, Mr. Buchanan, the government agent of emigrants, proceeds at once on board, for it is his duty to advise and protect each emigrant on his arrival. He inquires into all complaints, and sees that the provisions of the Passenger Act are strictly enforced. This he is enabled to do in a most effectual manner, as under an arrangement sanctioned by the Commissioners of Emigration in Great Britain, whenever an emigrant vessel leaves any British port for Quebec, the emigration officer of that port forwards to Mr. Buchanan, by mail steamer, a duplicate list of her passengers, with their names, age, sex, trade, &c. This list is usually received by him two or three weeks before the vessel reaches Quebec, so that he is not only fully prepared for her arrival, but is furnished with every particular which may be useful to him in protecting the emigrants.—If just cause of complaint exist, he institutes, under a very summary law of the Province of Canada, legal proceedings against the master: but so thoroughly are the value and efficiency of this officer felt, that since a very short period subsequent to his appointment, it has very rarely been found necessary to take such proceedings. In cases where emigrants have arrived without sufficient funds to take them to places where employment is abundant and remunerative, their fares have been paid by Mr. Buchanan, out of the funds in his possession for the purpose. Emigrants from other than British ports experience precisely the same protection at the hands of Mr. Buchanan.—In 1853 about one-sixth of the emigration to Canada was German and Norwegian.

Important to Emigrants.—The many fatal cases of cholera which have taken place on board emigrant vessels, will impress upon all who contemplate emigrating the propriety of adopting the salutary precautions set down by orders of her Majesty's Land and Emigration Commissioners, and widely circulated by placard. These precautions state:—That the sea-sickness, consequent on the rough weather which ships must encounter at this season, joined to the cold and damp of a sea-voyage, will render persons who are not very strong more susceptible to the attacks of this disease. To those who may emigrate at this season, the Commissioners strongly recommend that they should provide themselves with as much warm clothing as they can, and especially with flannel, to be worn next the skin; that they should have both their clothes and their persons quite clean before embarking, and should be careful to do so during the voyage—and that they should provide themselves with as much solid and wholesome food as they can procure, in addition to the ship's allowance, to be used on the voyage, and that it would, of course, be desirable, if they can arrange it, that they should not go in a ship that is much crowded, or that is not provided with a medical man.