Item

Standard July 1, 1842
We are informed that since the arrival of the late passenger vessels, our Poor House is nearly filled with poor emigrants, many of whom we are told, have had their passage paid by some charitable individual at home; and many of them on their landing here, had not as much money as would purchase a meal of victuals. What is to be done in such circumstances?

We are told that the Parish is in debt to the full amount of the advances made of the support of the Emigrant last year. The Banks, we are told, will not make advances on the Government warrants. The Treasury Debentures will not be received in payment of duties—there, what are they worth? How then are these poor people to be supported—they are chiefly women and children whose fathers and husbands have left them in search of employment, and this we fear, in the depressed state of thing, is a vain pursuit.

Who, we would ask will, in the present state of business, make advances for an indefinite period? It has been said that the Commissioners are obliged to support them, and the poor emigrant is told this on his arrival, and in many cases they demand it as a right; and in a majority of cases the husband leaves his family under this impression: then we would ask, what are the Commissioners to do? We know of no law to compel a public officer to advance money for public purpose. Here are a multitude of people cast on our shores in a starving state, and no labor for them.

We would again ask, what is to be done? The poor stranger cannot be allowed to starve—humanity forbids it—our better feelings revolt at the idea of the poor innocent child calling for food, and not being supplied. It cannot be--they must be fed. We are told that under the late Board of Health law, they were empowered to draw, to the amount of two hundred pounds for each county in any one year, even in anticipation of their wants; but the Commissioners of the Poor House it appears, must first make the advances, render their account on oath—petition, and run the risk of having the amount refused, as was once partially the case, after laying out of it one year.

Such a state of things appears to us inexplicable. Are the commissioners or overseers entrusted with the management of the Poor less to be trusted with the expenditure of public money, than the gentlemen composing the Board of Health? It has been said that the emergency is not so great as the preservation of the public health demand that immediate steps be taken to prevent the spread of infectious diseases; but we ask, how long will the healthy remain so, if not fed; and is not the present a sufficient emergency to call for some extra steps to be taken, where so many of our fellow creatures are cast upon us destitute of the means of support, deluded by the designing people at home, with the prospect of immediate employment on their arrival here. They land with empty pocket and empty stomachs, and must be fed.

We again reiterate--what is to be done?