During the past few months I acted as Emigration Officer in your absence, I despatched 50 vessels containing upwards of 15,000 Emigrants to various parts of the world; the whole of the arrangements for the despatch of the Emigrants were carried out in the manner prescribed in the Instructions.
I am sorry to state that the mortality on board the Guiding Star was unusually high, and however much I may deplore the mortality, it appears to have been the result of circumstances which I had no control over.
It is my opinion that the mortality on board was caused by the unusual length of the voyage and the constitution of the people, who had until then been accustomed to an active life and to a diet consisting of fresh meat and fresh vegetables, and this is borne out by the fact that those used to living on salt meat did not suffer from its effects.
It is stated that the crew's meat was better preserved than that for the Chinese, but according to the evidence of the master, there was only one cask of beef for the Emigrants.