Page:Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York.djvu/229

Rh It is well known that emigrants frequently arrive at the seaports in Europe, without having engaged their passage across the ocean, and not finding a vessel ready to take them on board, they are compelled to stop, at a considerable expense, until an opportunity offers to proceed on their voyage; and it also happens that, even when they have secured a passage before going to the port of embarkation, they are delayed, and subject to perplexities and charges which they did not anticipate. This circumstance is taken advantage of by the so-called agents of New York transportation and forwarding houses, to induce the emigrant to take his passage from this port to his ulterior destination, before leaving Europe. He is told that, unless he does so, he runs great risk of being detained, or having to pay exorbitant prices.

These statements, and all similar ones which may be used for the purpose, are not true, and whoever believes them, and acts upon such belief, is sure to be deceived.

There are but two routes hence to the West; the one is by way of Albany and Buffalo, the other by way of Philadelphia and Pittsburg, and to these places there is no more than one conveyance daily, all the year through. There is never any difficulty in getting away from New York, and so numerous are the establishments engaged in the business of forwarding passengers, that exorbitant or high prices of passage are entirely prevented by the competition among said establishments, and the traveller will never be exposed to them, if he will only be careful not to make an arrangement with the first comer, but will take some pains to find out which is the safest and cheapest office to apply to.

It is invariably the case, that those who in Europe take passage tickets for inland places in America pay more, generally considerably more, than others, who wait until they are here. The agents in Europe who sell such tickets must have a compensation therefor, and this compensation, be it much or little, is added to the regular price of passage, and the emigrant has to pay it. Instances have come to the knowledge of the Commissioners, where the difference amounted to three dollars a person! But this is not all. The cases are by no means rare in which the tickets prove entirely worthless. They bear the name of offices which never existed, and then, of course are nowhere respected; or the offices whose name they bear will be found shut up, and are not likely ever to reopen; or the emigrants are directed to parties refusing to acknowledge the agent who issued the tickets, and in all these cases the emigrant loses the money paid for them.

It is to be hoped that this publication will receive the attention it deserves. It would be gratifying to the Commissioners, and entirely for the interest of the emigrants, if the respective Governments in Europe would prohibit the business alluded to; in any event, the Commissioners trust that emigrants will heed this warning, and henceforward will not pay or arrange for passage to the interior of America until they are here.

On their arrival here, they should not give ear to any representations, nor enter into any engagements, without obtaining first the advice and counsel of either the Commissioners of Emigration, or the Emigrant Society of the nation to which they belong, or its consul; and in enquiring for the office of the