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H.M.S.
Crocodile, Captain George Willes Watson, from Portsmouth
April 20th 1869, arrived at Quebec May 6th 1869
This was the first emigration of unemployed Admiralty Dockyard
Workers. The passengers for this trip were from Woolwich and Portsmouth.
The Canadian arrival list can be seen at the Library and Archives of
Canada website,
however, there are some missing pages for the Portsmouth pages. A colleague,
Patricia Lovell, searched many newspapers and found an informative article
about the 1869
emigration, which included the names of the Portsmouth emigrants.
In 1869 and 1870 there were five such trips from
Portsmouth to Quebec carrying the discharged Dockyard workers aboard
British Troop ships ;
one trip
for
Serapis, one for Simoom, one for Tamar and
two for the Crocodile.
see a picture of the Crocodile ;
see an article about the 1870
emigration ; see the 1870 passenger list
1869 emigration | Woolwich
passengers |
Portsmouth
passengers
| |
| sources: Hampshire
Telegraph April 21st 1869 submitted by Patricia
Lovell | Library and Archives of Canada Microfilm C-4523 | Montreal
Gazette April 28, 1869 & May 6, 1869 | the image is not
original to the news item, but has been included to illustrate
the article |
| |
First
Emigration of Discharged Dockyard Employees
|
The separation of friends and the severance of family ties and
home associations are in themselves affecting events even when they
are combined with the possession of means adequate to the provision
of comforts during the emigrant's passage, and the certainty of employment
on arrival at the land of his adoption. But how additionally impressive
when those effects are aggravated by poverty, by a continuous and
unavoidable demand upon the scanty store, and when emigration is
resorted to as an alternative between possible starvation or a long
career of temporary suffering ! And the statement cannot be characterised
as overdrawn when we say that there have been a few scenes in this
immediate neighbourhood so impressive as those which occurred at
the embarcation of the distressed families on board the Crocodile on
Monday.
 It is needless to review the circumstance by which the local
distress was mainly produced. It is to be hoped that the men were
discharged in the interests of the public service, and, also, that
in the interests of the men's future prospects they have been induced
to emigrate. The proceedings of Monday, however, point to a conclusion
which will in no respect clash with these, presumedly, established
propositions — the fact that additional Government aid must
be forthcoming before the existing difficulty can be firmly and adequately
grappled with. In order to prevent the separation of man and wife,
and to provide against the chance of a man's endeavouring to escape
from the responsibility of maintaining his family in the land whither
he is bound and leaving them chargeable to the parish which he has
left, it was a condition that no married man should be permitted
a passage unless accompanied by his wife and children. Nor was the
condition wholly superfluous, for during the day a few applications
were made by men for permission to sail alone, which were, of course,
invariably refused. Towards the comfort of those who took passage
as discharged dockyard workmen from Portsmouth, the local committees,
with the assistance of several of the inhabitants, contributed greatly.
The appeal for the supply of warm clothing was liberally responded
to, and the poor people themselves and their friends were thus greatly
relieved of concern as to their wants on the passage.
For some days
past it has been generally known that the whole of the emigrants
and what luggage they were fortunate enough to possess, would have
to be on board before Monday evening, and this circumstance, probably,
will account for the large concourse of idlers who thronged the Common
Hard throughout the day. The term " idlers " we apply to those who
were only actuated by motives of curiosity, and not to the many whom
personal attachment and family ties prompted to defer pronouncing
the word " farewell. " And to many, indeed, a bitter and sorrowful
parting it proved to be. The tottering sire, the infirm and enfeebled
mother there met to bid their son and his offspring God-speed ; parents
of middle age, with a hopeful realisation of prospective greatness
and a possible participation in a happy re-union — friends
from a distance, desirous of expressing sympathy with those who remained
and words of cheer and encouragement to those who were soon to go,
congregated around those in whom they were immediately interested,
and thus contributed to a scene which could only be adequately realised
by those who witnessed it. This however, was but a partial view of
the painful picture. There were, even after the first pangs for the
emigrants themselves and not a few which must have been painfully
suggestive to the sensitive bystander. With what ease many a once
well-to-do mechanic conveyed that all remained of his former earthly
possessions ! And yet how lingering and faltering his pace ! Many
who were known as decent mechanics now met their former associates
in some instances imperfectly clad, whilst others had evidently been
the recipients of temporary assistance to provide against the inclemency
of the weather.
And thus, singly, or in family groups, the party wended their way
to the landing-place from which they were to embark, and by the side
of which lay a stately vessel which was selected to convey them to
their new and far off home. But with few exceptions, the emigrants
from Portsmouth were on board by mid-day, and partook of the substantial
meal provided for them by the Government ; and the interest was then
centered in the approach of the remaining emigrants who were to embark
on Crocodile from Woolwich, and who were expected
to arrive by the side of the railway jetty in the yard by about
one o'clock. The party left Woolwich by about nine o'clock, and the
scene in and near the station is described as being equally impressive,
and if anything, more demonstrative than that which characterised
the earlier separation from friends at Portsmouth.
A delay was experienced in the arrival of the train, and it was not
until close upon two that the signal whistle was heard from the extreme
end of the yard near the factory gates. The visitors thereupon flocked
to visit the newcomers. The train, which consisted of three luggage
vans and six travelling carriages, was directed by Mr. White, the
Superintendent of the Landport railway terminus, and the party was
under the personal superintendence of Captain Phipps, a member of
the Woolwich relief committee, who subsequently displayed considerable
assiduity and kindness in attending to their wants. Large groups
of workmen congregated in different parts of the yard, and in one
or two instances encouraging cheers were given and responded to as
the train proceeded towards the jetty. There the men, women, and
children alighted, and a more pitiable and deplorable sight than
was presented by many of them can scarcely be imagined. The whole,
like those who preceded them, underwent a superficial medical examination,
and by half-past three the great majority were on board partaking
of the refreshment which they so much needed, and which, ready dressed,
awaited their arrival.
When the whole of the emigrants were on board many of the visitors,
amongst whom were officers of distinction of both services, inspected
the quarters, with the condition of which none could fail to be contented.
As with the troops — when any are on board — so with
the emigrants. The married people were distinct from the single,
with select apartments for each sex respectively, and one provision
was made for children and infants. Before six most of the party had
prepared, judging from appearances, all that was requisite before
proceeding on the voyage, and each appeared comfortable and thoroughly
contented. May, indeed, were then either dressing or lounging, and
those who remained about the deck were almost without an exception,
in company with their children, contemplating the new scene that
was spread before them.
We should not omit to mention that Admiral Mends, the inspector of
transports, Mr. Murdoch, Emigration Commissioner, Admiral Sir James
Hope, G.C.B., Rear-Admiral G.G. Wellesley,
Admiral Chads, and the Vicar of Portsmouth (the Rev. E.P. Grant),
evinced considerable interest in the proceedings throughout, and
that a large number of the leading inhabitants and tradesmen visited
the ship and inquired into the arrangements as the ceremony of embarkation
proceeded. By a singular coincidence, during the forenoon the Crocodile was
decked from the mizenmast-head with variously-coloured signal flags — a
circumstance which was at first believed to be intended to counteract
the depression which naturally prevailed ; but upon
inquiry we found that they were merely suspended for purpose of being
dried, preparatory to the vessel sailing on the following day. It
will not be without interest to our resident readers if we here append
a complete list of those of the men and their families who went from
Portsmouth. They are as follows (and include nine men recently discharged
from the Gun-wharf) :— ............... |
| :: list of passengers transcribed and added to Portsmouth
passengers :: |
| ............... The gross number of persons who embarked on board
the Crocodile on Monday was 391. Of these, from
Portsmouth there were 74 men (including nine from the Gunwharf),
40 women, and 61
children ; and from Woolwich there were 216 — namely, 101 men,
52 women, and 63 children. Towards the expense incurred for the conveyance
of those who left Portsmouth the Local Relief Committee will have
to provide the sum of £426, or at the rate of £2.5s.
per statute adult.
In accordance with arrangement the emigrants were all on board
and in readiness for sailing on Tuesday morning, and as the hour
arrived
when the Crocodile (4173 tons, Captain George
W. Watson) was appointed to leave the jetty a large concourse of
spectators
gradually congregated in the immediate neighbourhood. During the
early part of the forenoon several members of the Portsmouth Relief
Committee, with their ladies, and most of the naval officers in
command at the port, proceeded through the vessel and questioned
the emigrants
as to the accommodation provided. The emigrants appeared in every
respect comfortable and — the sense of strangeness having
worn off — for
the most part, contented. The Mayor (E Galt, Esq.), the Vicar of
Portsmouth (the Rev. E.P. Grant), the Rev. F. Baldey, Admiral Chads,
and Mr. C. Binsteed were amongst the most prominent of those who
interested themselves in their welfare, and by some of these, with
the assistance of Mr. Blackah, the scripture reader at the Seamen's
Mission Home, Portsea, and several ladies, copies of the bible
and testament were given to each of the adult emigrants, in addition
to collections of selected tracts and leaflets. About eleven o'clock
there was an intimation that strangers would shortly have to leave
the vessel, and a group of the emigrants being congregated at one
end of the second deck, in close proximity to several members of
the Portsmouth Relief Committee, the Vicar of Portsmouth expressed,
in the name of the committee, a desire to say a few words at parting.
The company at once closed round the rev. gentleman, who in a few
kind and affectionate words, said that it was the wish of many
of his friends that he should offer
one or
two parting suggestions before they were called upon finally to
say
" Good bye ! " He could assure them all — and he
hoped those who were listening to him would communicate it to the
others — that those who were interested in their future welfare
stood before them that day with mingled feelings of regret, and
yet with feelings of joy. They regretted that circumstances should
have
arisen which rendered it necessary for them to leave their native
land and their friends to seek a home in a stranger's land, but
at the same time they had the greatest hope that they would in
the end
realise happiness and prosperity in the land for which they were
shortly about to sail. He believed, with all his heart, that they
would find work within a short time after their arrival. He had
been desired by one of the Emigration Commissioners to advise them
to
accept, without delay, any work which presented itself, and that
if they did that and persevered they would soon get on, which he
(the Vicar), with all earnestness, hoped they might. In a very
few moments they would be called upon to say
" Good bye ! " to Old England ; and although they were
leaving the English shores they should never forget, wherever they
might go, that they were still Englishmen, and that they were of
those who were subject to the laws of their country. He must not
forget that he was addressing them as a minister of the Gospel,
and here he would remind them, that they were leaving a country
where they could read their bible, where they could attend their
church
or chapel, and where they could worship their God according to
their individual creed ; and he should also remind them that the
same advantages
and the same privileges awaited them in Canada. Englishmen should
never forget their duty towards God and their Sovereign, and if
they observed these duties honestly and faithfully, they might expect
God's blessing to rest upon them. In the name of all who had been
working for them, and in the name of their mother country — England — he
" Farewell ! God bless you. May you have a prosperous voyage, and
may every success attend you. "
There was considerable sobbing throughout the company as the earnest
and impressive words of the vicar fell from his lips, and as he
pronounced the benediction several fervently responded with a touching
" Amen. " The Mayor also briefly addressed the emigrants and in
the course of his remarks urged upon them the importance of perseverance
and industry in the new sphere of their choice. They were going,
his worship remarked, to a very beautiful country, where there
was an abundance of work of every description, and, as the mayor
of the town, he was pleased to be in a position to wish them prosperity
and happiness. He was there to tell them that arrangements had been
made for their comfort and reception by the Canadian Government
; and so satisfied was he with what he knew of the country that
he firmly believed in less than 24 hours after they arrived they
would be in a position to obtain active and remunerative employment.
He wished them, in conclusion, every prosperity, and that hoped that
in their new homes they would be as happy as they had been in England.
Mr, C.H. Binsteed followed with a few appropriate remarks, expressing
regret that in consequence of short notice Mrs. Binsteed had been
compelled to obtain bibles of various descriptions wherever they
could be collected in the town, and that, but for this circumstance,
they would have each received one of similar pattern. This was
the concluding feature of the proceedings of the morning on board,
and the order for " all strangers to leave the ship " was then enforced,
the emigrants clustering around the visitors towards the gangway,
and renewing their expressions of heartfelt thanks to those who
had contributed so much to their happiness as, one by one, they left
for the jetty. The appearance of the wharf was now one of particular
interest, and to those who had been occupied amongst the emigrants
the scene was startling. A drizzling rain had not deterred the
inhabitants from coming forward in large numbers to witness the
first embarcation of emigrants from the port. Extreme elevations — and,
notably, the balconies of the semaphore — were selected by
those who could not find room in the immediate neighbourhood of the
vessel, and throughout the whole line of the Common Hard, down to
the water's edge of the beach and the extreme of the logs, could
be discerned clusters of spectators, watching the Crocodile's movements.
As the final arrangements were proceeding a slight diversion was
afforded by several of the bystanders throwing oranges and apples
to the people on board. The amusement this occasioned, however, was
of brief duration, — the sonorous " E-a-s-y " preceded the
shrill and sharp " Let-go ! ", the bow-spring or hawser splashed
over the ship's side, and slowly and majestically the head of the
Crocodile swerved towards the entrance of the harbour,
and for the first time, perhaps, both those on shore and on board
realised the
real trial of a final separation. From the jetty the cry rose. "
Give them a cheer ! " but ere the response could be elicited a ringing
cheer proceeded from the men on board, quickly followed by a similar
outburst from the spectators, accompanied by the waving of handkerchiefs.
As the Crocodile proceeded further towards the harbour
ringing bursts of cheering proceeded from either shore and the various
vessels passed
on the line of route, and the same degree of enthusiasm was observed
until the vessel reached Spithead, where, for a time, she came to
an anchor. The Crocodile, however, remained but
a short time at Spithead, and then proceeded direct seaward.
The Serapis, 3, iron troopship, the second vessel
selected by the Government in which to afford assisted passages
to distressed mechanics
and their families, will sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday next. A
notification has been received from the War-office, that any of
the workmen lately discharged from the Gun-wharf Factories who are
willing to emigrate to Canada, and who wish to avail themselves
of the Government offer of a free passage, are to make application
as soon as possible to Lieut.-Col. Fraser, R.A.,
the superintendent of that establishment. The Admiralty authorities
have described
the class of emigrants who can proceed in the same vessel from the
dockyard. It is confined to all labourers and hired men who have
one year's service in the yard, and who have been discharged within
the last twelve months. According to present arrangements no established
hands will be allowed to sail in the Serapis. |
| |
Montreal
Gazette, April 28, 1869 - copied from a Liverpool paper
of around April 15.
THE DOCKYARD ARTISANS TROOP SHIPS TO SAIL ON
THE 20TH AND 27TH INST
WITH 1000 ADULTS AND FAMILIES
On Monday
the executive committee of The British and Colonial Emigration
Society
held a meeting at their offices. It was reported that the society
had 3,500 [UKP], in hand, and that its liabilities were 500
[UKP] for Queensland emigrants, and 1,000 [UKP] for 200 statute
adults
who sail for Canada on the 22nd inst, leaving 1,500 [UKP] to
be dealt with. It was stated that the Crocodile would sail on
the 20th inst,
with upwards of 500 statute adults, and that the Serapis would
take out a similar number on the 27th; the cost of each emigrant
being
about 2L 5S. Mr. Alderman Salomons, M.P., as representing Greenwich,
and the Rev. Canon Brown, Woolwich, informed the committee
that the Government were willing to take out artisans from
the arsenal
as
well as dockyard labourers, and a letter was also read from
the Rev. J. S. Ruddach, of Woolwich, to the effect that the
distress
was largely
increasing, that the funds were all exhausted, and there were
at present 500 men out of work, most of them having wives and
families. The committee, on learning this state of affairs,
made a further
grant of 1,000 [UKP] to arsenal labourers, thus completely
exhausting their funds. |
| |
Montreal
Gazette, May 6, 1869
The CROCODILE (now at Quebec) with
its crowd of emigrant passengers, left the jetty at Portsmouth
for Canada on the 20th ult. During the morning the inhabitants
of the
town, and the men still at work in the dockyard there, showed
great interest in the vessel and her unusual freight. When the
Crocodile was seen to move, the efforts of the policemen on duty to keep
the workmen in their several sheds were entirely in vain. The men
swarmed
by hundreds along the face of the jetty, and, wherever a view
of the departing ship could be obtained, joined in rounds of hearty
and prolonged cheers with those who were before on the jetty.
Those
on board acknowledged these cheers - men women and children hurrahing
and waving hats and handkerchiefs. As the ship passed down the
harbour, crowds of people who had assembled on the hard at Portsea,
along
the Common Hard, at the Albert Pier, at Point, at Victoria Pier,
and at Southsea, all cheered lustily. During the early part of
the morning, members of the Relief Committee were on board, and
gave
the emigrants substantial evidence of their desire to make the
voyage to Canada as pleasant as possible.
H.M.S. Crocodile brought
out 175
men; 75 married women; 19 girls over twelve, and 124 children.
Before leaving Portsmouth the paymaster of the transport received
250 [UKP]
for distribution among the immigrants as soon as they have
landed in this country. |
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| Hansard Record - HC Deb 07 June 1869 vol 196 cc1297-8 |
1869 emigration | Woolwich
passengers |
Portsmouth
passengers
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