CHAPTER XVII. CONCLUSION.
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CHAPTER XVII.
CONCLUSION.
IT may not be uninteresting, in a work like the present, to give the intending emigrant a concise summary of the steps necessary to be taken on his arrival in London. If he intend emigrating to Australia, let him avoid country agents; a very little reflection will show him that these men subsist on a commission, which must come out of his pocket. Their usual plan is to recommend him to an agent in London, with whom they again divide commissions. The London agent assures him that a host of unnecessary articles will be required as indispensable to his health and comfort, and which he considerately purchases for him; again profiting by a high commission, and by prices which he instructs the tradesmen to charge,--so that he not only gets double commission, but an additional profit on the articles into the bargain. The emigrant requires nothing but what a respectable ship-broker will advise him about gratis, and no possible circumstance can arise in which a secondary agent can be of the slightest use to him.
If he intend emigrating to New Zealand, let him go at once to the New Zealand House, where he will not only receive every possible information without charge, but will be put in the way of at once communicating with tradesmen for his outfit, &c., whose interest it is to supply him with articles of the first quality at a fair price. All respectable tradesmen will do this, as they are averse to the way in which business is usually conducted by shipping agents, though they are compelled to succumb to it.
As the interests of agents and outfitters, as a body, are nothing to us, we have no hesitation in recommending to the intending
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emigrant who is a stranger in London such parties as we know, from experience, will deal fairly by him--not only upon principle, but as having a reputation to maintain, he cannot do better, for outfits, than inspect the stock of Messrs. Monnery and Co., 165, Fenchurch-street; Messrs. Maynard and Harris, 126, Leadenhall-street; or Messrs. Thresher and Glenny, 152, Strand. All these are houses of standing and experience, and upon each he may safely rely both as to the price and quality of his purchases.
If he decide upon taking out with him ironmongery requisite for his domestic convenience, or on sale; or, if a mechanic, the tools necessary for his trade, he cannot do better than pay a visit to the establishment of Mr. F. Barnes, 3, Union-row, Tower Hill. Mr. Barnes is himself the manufacturer of his own stock, and has workshops both in Birmingham and Sheffield. His principle is to supply articles at wholesale prices, an advantage which the emigrant cannot obtain by purchasing his goods at the ordinary shops.
If the emigrant possess means, we strongly advise him to visit the establishment of the Gutta Percha Company, Wharf-road, City-road. The innumerable uses for which this valuable article is available, its portability and indestructibility are well worth his consideration, and he may, before starting on his voyage, possess himself of many articles, at a trifling cost, which will materially add to his domestic comfort when settled in the colony.
We have hitherto omitted one important item which should engage the attention of the emigrant, and the more so, as it may not only be a means of providing for his family in case of accident to himself, but may also be made use of in order to raise more money for his future purposes than he would otherwise be able to command. We allude to Life Insurance. Many an emigrant has friends who would not object to advance him money upon the deposit of a policy of this nature, trusting to him to make the requisite annual payments, which, in a colony, nothing but positive want of principle on his part could prevent. His increased income would amply provide for a trifling expenditure of this nature. The offices we would recommend for this purpose,
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are, the "Australian Colonial and General Life Assurance Company," 1, Leadenhall-street; the "Colonial Life Assurance Company," 4, Lothbury; the "Indian and London Life Assurance Company," 14, Waterloo-Place; and the "Great Britain Mutual Life Assurance Company," 52, King William-street, City.
We might extend this list indefinitely to various trades which may be required by the emigrant with ample means. It is, however, sufficiently comprehensive for emigrants with limited means, whilst to others we can only repeat our recommendation to make application at the New Zealand House for any other species of information that can be required.
DIRECTIONS FOR SENDING SEEDS TO NEW ZEALAND.
ALL experience shows that there is hut one safe way in sending seeds to New Zealand, or any other settlement similarly situated in point of distance. All seeds die if placed in the hold of a ship, owing to the combined influences of its high temperature and their exposure to the gas constantly evolved from the bilge water. The seeds should be in canvas bags, and hung up between decks, free from the chance of being wetted. All seeds in small quantities should be folded up in strong common brown paper, which is repellent of insects; the paper packets tied up separately, placed in a coarse canvas bag, and hung up in a cabin. It is all but hopeless to send acorns, chesnuts, walnuts, or any other seeds of trees which are very albuminous. The best chance would be to pack them in a box filled in with stiff common clay, gently rammed in, so as to leave the seeds in it like plums in a pudding; but even these would die in the hold of a ship. Live trees can be safely sent in Ward's cases, well glazed and hermetically closed; but the plants must be settled in the cases several weeks previously to being shipped: the cases must be kept on the deck, and should be covered with a tarpaulin in rough weather, for the double purpose of preventing breakage of glass and the penetration of sea water.
