The accommodation on board the boats plying between Hamburg and London is miserably insufficient; and doubtless it is no better between Hamburg and other English ports. The voyage from Hamburg to London usually occupies from forty to sixty hours, according to the weather; and during the whole of this time these poor people are herded together rather like cattle than human beings. Men, women, and children are crowded together in the stifling atmosphere between the decks; some lying on bundles of foul and dirty rags, others squatting on the bare deck itself. It is a terrible picture of famished and suffering humanity. No one thinks of taking off his clothes during the passage, and few have either the inclination, or the opportunity, to wash themselves or their children. The sanitary arrangements are simply abominable. The following account, given by the special commissioner of a London evening journal, which has done much to bring this evil prominently before the public, and to which I gladly acknowledge my indebtedness, may with advantage be quoted here. The special commissioner travelled over from Hamburg as a "destitute alien" on board Messrs. Perlbach and Co.'s steamship _Minerva_. In his report he describes his experience as follows[11]-- "By the time I got on deck darkness had set in, and nearly all my fellow-aliens had stowed away the pocket-handkerchiefs or canvas-bags containing their belongings in one or other of the two holds, which were to form their place of residence for the next two nights at any rate. I saw some scores of eyes peering at me for the first minute or two; then when curiosity as to the new arrival had abated, I sat down in a dark corner and quietly examined my surroundings. The greater portion of the deck was taken up by large boxes covered with sheets of canvas, and extending to a height in some places of perhaps eight or ten feet. On the top of these, and in the narrow passages between them, the emigrants sat or stood, breaking the stillness of the evening with the hollow laugh or clamorous chatter. Most of them were young women, wearing shawls on their heads, and clad in soiled, faded, and torn finery. Some of them were men, young or middle-aged, but so enfeebled and spiritless that one might have fixed their age at nearer seventy than thirty. A few were old women, bent, emaciated, and almost lifeless. All, with few exceptions, were yellow with dirt, and smelt foully.... I thought it to be about time to go and look after my sleeping quarters. There were two places from which to choose. One of these, according to the inscription on the entrance, was constructed to hold thirty-four persons, the other twenty-nine. The German ships are subject to practically no regulations as to space; and I inferred there must be on board about one hundred deck passengers.... I made my way to the larger of the two steerage cabins. When I got to the top of the gangway, the stench which issued from the semi-darkness beneath