Hon. Wm. L. Marcy, Secretary of State, Washington City:
Sir: At the last meeting of the Commissioners of Emigration of the State of New York, I was instructed to communicate to you their request that an other effort should be made to induce the Governments of those countries of Europe whence emigration to this port chiefly flows, to prohibit altogether the booking of passengers for inland passages or transportation in the United States, or selling abroad passage tickets or contracts for passage tickets to be used on this side of the Atlantic.
On this subject, permit me to refer you to a letter from a Committee of this Board to yourself, of October 12, 1855, to your reply thereto, and to the printed circulars issued in consequence thereof, and circulated abroad through the facilities afforded by the Department of State.
The apprehensions expressed in the letter of the Committee, that the seat of depredation on the emigrant would be changed from this port to the port of embarkation, have been more than realized.
The chief operators in this system of fraud have not only opened offices in the several seaports where emigrants to this country usually embark, but have also established agencies in towns in the interior of those countries, and in the very villages whence families are likely to emigrate.
The effect of these agencies has been to renew, and even increase, the evils which have been checked by the establishment of an exclusive landing-place for emigrants at Castle Garden.
The more remote the place where the emigrant is induced to purchase a ticket for inland transportation in this country, the greater is the opportunity for imposition and fraud, and this is seldom suffered to pass unused.
The efforts made by our Government heretofore for protecting emigrants from such frauds abroad, have hitherto had little effect on the European Governments, with the exception only of Hamburg and Bremen. Not only is the privilege of booking passengers for distant inland points in the United States continued, but in some places it has been aided (it is hoped not intentionally) by means of government licenses, giving an official character to the business, well calculated to mislead the ignorant. These are grossly over charged for real tickets, or as often imposed on by fraudulent ones. After which, they are consigned to continued depredations by other confederates in this city and elsewhere in the United States.
These are facts of daily occurrence, which our official position brings constantly to our notice, but seldom enables us to arrest or remedy.
There is a marked contrast in passengers coming by way of Hamburg and Bremen and those by other European ports. It rarely occurs that passengers from either Hamburg or Bremen are unable, on their arrival here, to pay their way to their destination in the interior, or to secure all proper comforts and conveniences on the way. Very many of those from other ports are first defrauded of their means, by being induced to purchase tickets for railroad and
