Tuke to the editor of the Times, June 7, 1883

Mr. Tuke to the editor of the Times.

Sir: Will you allow me, on my return from the West of Ireland, to supplement the short statement of the work carried on by the committte of the Tuke fund which appeared recently in the Times?

Since March 23, the date of the first shipment, to June 3, when the last party sailed, upwards of 800 families and a limited number of single persons—in all 4,800 souls—have been assisted by the committee, under the emigration clauses of the arrears act. In addition to ocean passage and “landing money,” each emigrant had to be clothed and conveyed from the home to the port of embarkation by means of cars, carts, or boats—many of the people for a distance of from 30 to 60 miles. All emigrants for the United States have been provided with through tickets to the various destinations where friends resided who had promised beforehand to find work and a home, or to employers with whom the committee had previously made arrangements for their reception; while for those going to Canada arrangements had also been made with the agents of the Dominion Government to forward the emigrants to various places, ranging from Toronto to Winnepeg, wherever labor was demanded.

The total population of the four unions in Mayo and Galway, from which the 4,800 emigrants have been assisted, is under 50,000, and it will at once be evident that the departure of one in ten of the population, and these from the poorest and smallest holdings, must prove a very sensible relief to the existing destitution of these districts. At the same time it is of the utmost importance to recognize that these emigrants are not paupers. Deplorable as may be their want of proper food and clothing, they are neither recipients of outdoor relief, nor inmates of the workhouse, but impoverished from the entire want of employment and the impossibility of living on their small holdings.

Objections are often urged against our work, based upon the belief that the vacant holdings will be immediately filled up, and the question is repeatedly asked, “What has become of the land now vacated?” The statistics taken from one electoral division of the Clifden Union will, I think, dispel some of these objections, and, so far as my information goes, may be regarded as a fair illustration of the whole unions, unless it be that a larger proportion of holdings may remain unfilled in some still poorer divisions.

Of forty-three holdings twenty-seven were held by head tenants, paying rent from 25s. to £5 each; seven held by under tenants; and nine held in conacre. As regards the land of the twenty-seven head tenants, nineteen of the holdings have been added to those of adjoining tenants, and eight remain unoccupied, the land being deemed too poor, or the landlord preferring to retain it without a tenant, while the lands of the seven under tenants and nine conacre men, who held by the season only, have reverted to the head tenants. So far as this evidence goes, it seems all in the right direction, viz, the consolidation of holdings, and increase in the quantity of land required for those who remain. And if, as I believe, the same beneficial results have been attained for the whole of the districts from which the 800 families who have been assisted by the committee have been drawn, it may, I think, fairly be claimed that family emigration thus conducted benefits alike those who leave and those who remain. In addition it may be said to those who dread a refilling of these miserable holdings, that the sense of the impossibility of living upon them has at length strongly taken hold upon the minds of the people in the West of Ireland, and that, subject to the success of those who have gone forth this year, thousands more will be ready to leave if the chance is given them another year. And if, as I think, the evidence is conclusive as to the benefit conferred upon the localities from which this emigration has taken place, what, it will be asked, are the results for those who have left?

It is as yet too early to speak with any degree of certainty of these results, although many letters have been received from the emigrants who left early, speaking of the abundance of the employment and the welcome they have received from their friends. But this may undoubtedly be said, that no emigrants have left their homes in Ireland under happier auspices, with less risk of failure, or with better chances of; success. Well clothed, and conveyed from their door to the port of embarkation, where they are met and have lodgings and food provided by the agents of the Government and the committee, until the ocean steamers are ready to convey them to their destinations; provided with free passages and railway tickets to any part of Canada or the United States that they may select, and are approved by the committee, and on landing, met by agents appointed by the English or Canadian Government, the emigrant feels that he is cared for, and that friendly hands have been stretched out to aid and succor him; above all, among a people with whom the family tie is so paramount, the fact that the family is not divided, that husband and Wife, and the long procession of older or younger “Pats and Peters, Marys and Barbaras, with Festy and ‘the couple,”’ are allowed to go together, gives to the “fremigration” (as it called) a wholly different character.

This deprives the embarkation of its sadness, and in the ten or twelve shipments at which I have assisted there has rarely been the painful wailing so familiar at the railway stations when one member of a family leaves alone. As I heard it remarked, one day, “One would suppose the people were going for a picnic, they are so cheerful and happy.” And as, at parting, they crowd with prayers and blessings around those who have had the happiness of being allowed to assist them, their gratitude is evinced in many little acts very touching to witness. That this feeling is not merely momentary, the captains of the various steamers of Messrs. Allan & Co. have borne ample evidence. One extract only I will ask you to find room for; it is from Captain Browne, of the steamship Phoenician, whose name is well known for courage and seamanship as “Atlantic Browne.” It is dated May 20, 1883, steamship Phoenician, Glasgow:

“We arrived here yesterday all well, after our second trip with emigrants from Ireland, assisted by Tuke’s fund, and in referring to them I feel it my duty to say something in their favor. They have on both voyages behaved themselves in a manner most creditable, always strictly observing all orders given and company’s rules, which are printed in the steerage. I consider they are deserving of all praise. Before landing at Boston I gave them the money (landing) as per Mr. Tuke’s list, when they appeared to be truly thankful. In fact every time I spoke to them they were very pleased and grateful to those gentlemen who had assisted them in leaving their old homesteads.

“Your obedient servant,

JOHN BROWNE.”

It will also be satisfactory to those who have assisted in this movement to learn that the emigrants selected have entirely satisfied the agents of the Canadian Government on their arrival, and have even won from their opponents in the United States a very favorable notice. Mr. Stafford, the able emigration agent for the Canadian Government at Quebec, on the arrival of the fourth of our shipments, says: “The emigrants are remarkably well behaved. You have made really good selections, and the health, appearance and good conduct of the people were all that could be desired. Labor is in good demand, and I have no doubt all your people are at work.”

After the violent opposition with which we were threatened by the American newspapers, it is especially gratifying to find that they have been compelled to change their curses into blessings, as” the following quotation from the Boston Daily Advertiser will show:

“The much-expected ‘emptying of the almshouses of Great Britain upon our shores’ does not appear to have begun yet, and neither statute law nor diplomacy has been needed to be applied to assisted immigrants. The steamship Phoenician, of the Allan line, reached its dock at this port yesterday bringing 821 steerage passengers, of whom 415 had been ‘assisted.’ This assistance, as explained in the Advertiser of April 24, is provided in Ireland partly from a benevolent fund known as the ‘Tuke fund,’ and partly from the treasury of the British Government. These passengers came principally from the West of Ireland, being taken on board at ports where the agents of this line of steamers have contracted to do so. The customary strict inspection was made by the state superintendent of alien passengers or his deputy. None were found to be objectionable on the score of being likely to become subjects of public charity, and they appeared to be a physically sound and healthy lot of people, quite up to the average of immigrants coming here without assistance. Wherein this class conspicuously differs from the general run of immigrants from Ireland, is the greater portion of children among them. Of the 415 assisted passengers of the Phoenician, 196 were of less than 15 years of age, and of the 415, there were 92 destined to different points in this State.

“The ticket which is given in Ireland to an assisted passenger conveys him to his ultimate destination. The Montana-bound party, for example, did not have to get anything more in the shape of a ticket, or the like, when they reached this port. These points of destination are not invariably a matter of option on the part of the assisted passenger. He has the option of remaining at home, but if he takes passage he must go to a point where the agent of the assisting parties has information that employment can be found on arrival. In general, they are assisted beyond the price of the passage by a gift outright of money, in varying sums of from 10s. to £12.

“So far as can be ascertained, no person of the five different arrivals, of assisted passengers reaching this port since April 3 has become a ‘burden to the State,’ though all have paid the head-money of half a dollar. The sum total of this head-money is held as a fund by the treasurer of the United States, with due credit to Massachusetts on the books, to offset the liability which the State incurs. If any of these passengers become subjects of public charity, wherever they may be, this fund is liable to be drawn upon to maintain them. Whenever it shall be exhausted, if it so happen, the treasury of Massachusetts will be liable, but the State may at any time relieve itself of the burden by sending the pauper back to Ireland. The first lot of assisted passengers coming to this port arrived in the Phoenician on her previous voyage, April 3. The arrival of yesterday makes the fifth lot. The following table indicates the general facts of this immigration:

Before closing, I will ask your permission to be allowed publicly to express to his excellency the lord-lieutenant, Mr. R. G. Hamilton, and Mr. Henry Robinson the deep sense of our gratitude for the unvarying kindness and assistance which they have at all times accorded to those who, like myself, have been engaged in the practical carrying out of this responsible work, and the warm interest which they have evinced has materially aided a work often both arduous and difficult. The experience of the past three or four months has more than ever confirmed the opinion that a carefully considered system of State-aided emigration is essential for the districts under consideration in the West of Ireland, and not less absolutely needed are measures for the development of the resources of these districts, if the prosperity of the whole Government and its good government are to be permanently secured.

I am, &c.,