Page:Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York.djvu/147

 CHAPTER VII.

WARD'S ISLAND

PREVIOUS to the year 1847, the Quarantine law providedfor the care of the sick emigrant. A general tax, levied under State authority on all passengers arriving at the port of New York, was applied to the support of the Marine Hospital at Quarantine. Aliens as well as others arriving here, suffering under contagious or infectious diseases, such as yellow-fever, ship-fever, etc., were there received and gratuitously treated for one year. But no further provision was made from that period for the relief of emigrants not afflicted with any contagious disease, and they had to apply to the Almshouse authorities for admission to their medical institutions.

The whole government and property of the Quarantine hospitals was transferred to the Commissioners of Emigration immediately after the constitution of the Board. But, owing to the want of other buildings, they were at first obliged to send all their patients to Staten Island. In consequence of this, the hospitals there were filled to excess, while, in spite of every precaution, crowds of sick, suffering under milder or non-contagious diseases, or requiring only surgical aid, were exposed to ship-fever, smallpox, yellow-fever, or cholera. These difficulties continued until April 11, 1849, when the Marine Hospital was formally restricted to the reception of contagious diseases. After this step, the Commissioners considered it their first duty to provide for and furnish hospital accommodations for those who suffered from other than contagious diseases, and a refuge for those who were destitute.

In 1847, the pressure for increased accommodations became very great. Thousands of sick emigrants arrived in the summer of that year, the greater portion of whom were the victims of the Irish famine, and had to be provided for at once, and as well as possible. Several hundreds of them were sent to private hospitals, such as Dr. Williams's and Dr. Wilson's, others to the New