New Zealand Company: Letter from steerage passengers on the Bengal Merchant to Samuel Revans

Holograph manuscript letter signed by six individuals on behalf of 29 named steerage passengers on the 'Bengal Merchant' dated Port Nicholson, 14 March 1840, addressed to Samuel Revans, Secretary of the New Zealand Company at Port Nicholson.

The letter is signed by John Turner, James Wilson, Thomas Richie Simson, James Cullen, Peter Brown, and Peter Dorreen Senior.

The letter outlines shortcomings of service and provisions on board during the voyage to New Zealand, with details of rations - both quantity and quality - received.

The letter is addressed:

"Samuel Ravens Esq. | Secretary to the New Zealand | Land Coy | Port Nicholson"

The letter reads:

"Port Nicholson

14th March 1840

Sir

We the undersigned Steerage passengers per Bengal Merchant Ship, feel it our duty to inform you of the following deficiencies of our rations which have been kept back from us by the Superintendant [sic] Captain and others of the said Ship. And when reference was made to the Commitee [sic] regarding our rations beign [sic] kept back they got nothing but abuse for so interfering of which we refer you to the Gentlemen themselves.

Beef and Pork considerably above one third

Rice - - - D[itt]o - - - [and Pork considerably above one third]

Oat Meal & Flour D[itt]o [considerably above] one third

(The above deficiency was only to the 6th of Jan[uar]y 1840)

Coffee one third during the whole Voyage

Mustard we had three weeks allowance altogether

Pickles - - [we had] Six weeks [allowance altogether]

Suet - - [we had] Six weeks [allowance altogether]

One Cwt. Bag of Biscuit was served us every Second day until they became so Bad that we had two bags Bags [sic] which we had to pick the best off the refuse was sent Back which was about the one half and this sort would serve us three days. The allowance of biscuit the Eleven Messes should have got each day was 96 lb so that we did not consume near two thirds of them

1 James Lansdale

2 David Galloway

3 Andrew McEwen

4 David McEwen

5 James Riddle

6 David Dick

7 William Brash

8 John Turner

9 Adam Brown

10 William Tannahill

11 James Turner

12 David Reid

13 John McBeth

14 Alexander Yule

15 John McLaggan

16 Mathew Cook Senr.

17 William Cook

18 Mathew Cook Junr.

19 Thomas Dorrain

20 Thomas Pollock

21 Peter Dorrain

22 John Bryce

23 Samuel Burnet

24 George McLatchie

25 Malco[l]m Brown

26 W[illia]m Golder

27 Hendry Scullers

28 John McGeachy

29 William Leckie

Samuel Wilson

T[homas] R[ichie] Simson

James Cullen

John Turner

Peter Brown

Peter Dorreen Senr."

Note this was first published as a digital facsimile copy (showing both recto and verso) illustrating a blogpost with the title 'Message in a bottle' by Dr Barbara van Benthem (See http://autographen.blogspot.co.nz/2016/06/message-in-bottle.html).

Additional orthographic details for passenger names taken from passenger list published in Louis E Ward, 'Early Wellington', Auckland: Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1928.

The 'Bengal Merchant' was the first emigrant ship to leave Scotland for New Zealand chartered by the New Zealand Company, under the command of Captain John Hemery (1813-1881), the ship left Glasgow on 30 October 1839 and arrived at Port Nicholson on 20 February 1840.

Quantity: 1 folder(s) 1 manuscript letter.

Physical Description: Holograph letter, ink and pencil on single folded leaf of "London Superfine" paper (bifolium), 23.1 x 37.7 cm.

Provenance: Douglas Stewart Fine Books Ltd purchased this manuscript from Eberhard Köstler of Tutzing, Germany, in 2016.