Page:Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York.djvu/77

Rh "Your Committee have been shocked to find that a large portion of the frauds committed upon these innocent and, in many cases, ignorant foreigners, are committed by their own countrymen who have come here before them; for we find the German preying upon the German, the Irish upon the Irish, the English upon the English, etc.; but at the same time we cannot hold our own countrymen entirely guiltless, for many of them, it is to be regretted, are engaged in this nefarious business."

It was then, and still is, the law of the State of New York that a vessel arriving at Quarantine is under the control of the health officer, and that consequently the ship-owners can exercise no control over their own vessels until they pass out of the hands of that officer.

Until 1844, the practice was for him to license small schooners or lighters, by which all the passengers discharged at the Quarantine were brought to the city. The suffering to which passengers were exposed by this mode of conveyance, from being frequently many hours on deck, exposed to sun and rain, and frequently arriving in the city at night, induced the larger shipping-houses to cause the emigrants to be brought up by steamboats, thus greatly increasing their comfort. The practice was for these houses to give their agents an order on the Custom House to receive permits to take the passengers from their ships, and thus to secure to them the exclusive privilege of bringing passengers from their ships. Other vessels, and especially those owned by smaller houses, proceeded at once directly to their piers in the city. The larger the immigration became, the more profitable it was for the runners to get hold of the ships; they spared no effort and resorted to all kinds of tricks and devices to obtain the exclusive control of the emigrant ships. They frequently went to the Custom House, and, under false pretences, took out permits without the knowledge or consent of the owners. Captains of vessels, which came directly to the city, were often paid several hundred dollars by the runners for the mere permission to board their ships at Quarantine, and proceed with them to their piers.

"It is not uncommon," said the health officer, Dr. Henry Van Hovenburgh, in his examination, "after the vessel is cleared from Quarantine, for eight or ten boat-loads of runners to surround