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on the Lower Passenger Deck more than
one statute adult to eighteen superficial
feet, or, where the height and ventilation
are below a certain standard, more than
one to twenty-five superficial feet.

The “Ann Wilson” was a single
decked ship, with a poop in which she
carried only six and a half statute adults,
and a deck house in which she carried
none. Her single deck was, therefore,
an “Upper Passenger Deck,” on which
she was entitled by law to carry according
to the Liverpool measurement 193½
statute adults—according to the Colonial
measurement 187. The number actually
on board was as we have stated 169½.
So far, therefore, from any infraction of
the Act by the master or charterer, or
any neglect of Duty by the Emigration
Officer, the ship was considerably within
the limits prescribed by the law. We
need hardly observe that the Emigration
Officer had no power further to restrict
those limits, and that in other cases they
have been found amply to provide for
the health of passenger ships. We are
unable to conceive how the Colonial authorities
in New Zealand could have
fallen into this misconception of the law;
but it is obvious that the penalty pronounced
against the master under this
misconception cannot be enforced.

7. Second—It is alleged that the ventilation
   was defective—that there were
   only five openings measuring seventy-
   eight superficial feet, which is six feet
   less than required by the Passenger Act
   for a lower deck—that the main hatchway
   had an iron tank placed over it in such
   a position as to impede the ventilation
   —and that there were no side scuttles or
   openings. In answer to this the report
   of the Emigration Officer at Liverpool
   states that there were five tubes or shafts
   on board in addition to hatchways—two
   fifteen inch tubes which were placed in
   the forecastle being omitted in the report
   from the Colony—that when the
   ship was cleared the iron tank was not in
   such a position as to obstruct the main
   hatchway—that the scale of openings
   prescribed by the Passenger Act for a
   “Lower Passenger Deck” is not applicable
   to the present case which is that of
   an “Upper Passenger Deck,” although
   the deficiency even on that computation
   is not considerable—and if credit were
   taken for the two tubes omitted in the
   Colonial computation but passed at
   Liverpool, would not exceed 3 feet 2
   inches—and that in so small a ship, with
   a side of only 8 feet 4 inches, it is not
   usual to cut scuttles—that, if cut, they
   would not have been more than 4 feet 6
   inches from the water, and could not
   therefore have been kept open, while
   they must have tended to weaken the
   ship. We have also received a report
   from Dr. Lancaster, who had for many
   years been inspecting Medical Officer at
   Liverpool, but who, we regret to say, has
   recently died, stating that when he
   inspected the passengers at Liverpool,
   before the ship sailed, he saw no reason
   whatever for dissatisfaction with the
   ventilation, neither was any feeling of the
   kind expressed by “the captain or the
   surgeon, or, as far as (he) knew, by
   any of the passengers.”

8. It must be borne in mind that the
   “Ann Wilson” was fitted with enclosed
   berths which the Emigration Officer has
   no authority to object to, but which
   necessarily impede ventilation very much,
   and by obstructing light and multiplying
   angles make it difficult to keep the be-
   tween decks clean—and it may be in-
   ferred from the evidence of James Barnes
   at the inquest, as to the bad smell which
   came from the hospital, and as to the ob-
   struction of the fore hatchway by a sheep
   pen, that sufficient attention was not
   given by the master and surgeon to the
   important points of cleanliness and fresh
   air... The limit to which a ship can be
   cut for purposes of ventilation is soon
   reached—and the general healthiness of
   the vessels which sail from Liverpool,
   and the absence of complaint upon this
   particular point, are sufficient proofs of
   the attention generally given to ventila-
   tion at that port. But unless cleanliness
   is strictly enforced by the master and
   surgeon no amount of openings will ven-
   tilate a ship satisfactorily or prevent its
   acquiring a fetid and unhealthy smell.
   We should infer moreover, from the si-
   lence of the Colonial report, that the two
   additional tubes mentioned in the clear-
   ing officer’s report had been removed
   from the ship.

9. Third—It is complained that the
   cooking accommodation was inadequate,
   and consequently that the issue of provi-
   sions was never made as the Act directs
   before two o’clock, but on the contrary
   it was often late in the evening
   before the emigrants got their dinners.
   The Emigration Officer who cleared the
   ship states that the space for the galley
   was very limited, but that to the best of
   his recollection there were two boilers on
   board of twenty gallons each and three
   of ten gallons each, making seventy gal-
   lons in all; and he adds that he has
   since examined the books of the trades-
   men who furnished the apparatus which
   bear out his recollection. He likewise