EMIGRATION. 



KMIOKATION. 



Oood Hope and Natal 

 return of 1856, was 



In these the population, according to th 



Male*. Female*. Total. 



81,347 80,891 161,038 



Hop* . \ Eailera Division 5J.973 iJ.osi lOi.oss 



Natal 53,045 S7.TiJ 109.SCO 



Cap* oT Oood | Wc.tr Division 



1 ... 



U(i,3Ci 190,151 376,8(6 



exclusive of 11 8,088 settled natives in Natal. 



In these three diviaiuns of the Britiah colonies, there are now repre- 

 sentative governments, the privilege of self taxation, and the right of a 

 free press, in short, a complete reproduction of the British consti 

 tiition. To other colonies, especially to Britiah Guiana and some o: 

 the West India islands, the emigration has been considerable ; but as 

 the emigrants become mixed with an older and in some cases a colourec 

 or foreign population, we cannot trace the British element so clearly 

 We give, however, the imputation returns of the other British settle- 

 meats, with the year of the return : 



Females. Total. 



1,022 1,979 



8,071 15,823 



68,812 142,537 



100,747 218,402* 



Other Colonies : 



Auckland Inlands (1851) 



Ceylon (1856) .... 877,562 



Mauritius (1856) . . . 161,411 



Seychelles (1852) 



Hong- Kong (1856) . . 54,531 



Labuan (1856) . . . 1,079 



Falkland Islands (1856) . 240 



IM,8M 



13,772 



18,784 



11,624 



11,216 



3,894 



5,153 



3,559 



1,197 



73,667 



16,958 



16,171 



is.Vsi 



34,221 

 52,989 



2,520 

 19,230 



2,Vl7 



799,990 

 80,436 



17.V99 

 183 

 170 



377,433 



27,519 



35,408 



22,220 



20,741 



7,043 



9,571 



6,689 



2,179 



135,939 



32,671 



30,128 



15,393 



25,717 



74,892 



113,739 



19,500 



5,693 



40,383 



385,000 



5,490 



151 



1,677,552 



241,847 



6,906 



71,750 



1,262 



410 



The total amount of the population of the various settlements of 

 Great Britain by these return* is 7,744,422 persons, of whom 3,890,707 

 are male*, 8,426,765 are females, and 426,950 of whom the sex in not 

 distinguished. 



The effect has been so far good, that the inhabitants of the North 

 American and Australian colonies are, with the exception of the United 

 States, among our beet customers. It is not remarkable, therefore, 

 that ao much attention has been paid of late years to the subject of 

 the transmission of emigrants thither, and of means for enabling them 

 to settle there in comfort. Government, accordingly, has undertaken 

 to a considerable extent the business of regulating emigration. First, 

 an agent-general for emigration was appointed. Thin officer introduced 

 many judicious plans for rendering the passage of emigrants across the 

 ocean as free as possible from discomfort, and a code of rules was framed 

 to secure this and other objects. The functions of the agent-general 

 for emigration are now exercised by the Land and Emigration Commis- 

 sioners. Emigrants are also protected by the Passengers Act. The 

 Act 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. fi, passed in 1835, having proved insufficient for 

 the puqiose, several amended Acts were passed, of which the latest is 

 the 18 ft 19 Viet. c. 119, passed in 1855. Its objects are to regulate 

 the number of passengers in each ship, and to provide for their proper 

 accommodation on board ; to ensure a proper supply of provisions and 

 water for their use ; to provide for the sea- worthiness of the vessels; 

 to secure a sufficient number of boots in case of accidents ; and to pro- 

 tect emigrant* from the mimennui frauds to which at various stages of 

 their undertaking their helplessness and inexperience expose them. 

 If the ship does not sail on the day mentioned in the agreement, the 

 Passengers' Act compels the captain to victual the emigrants just the 

 same as if the voyage had commenced ; and they are entitled to remain 

 <>n board forty -eight hours after the ship reaches her destination. 



* Kxclusirc of 8704 aliens. 



t In Trinidad the estimated population in 1857 was 80,000. 



As a further protection to emigrants, and to enforce the provision* 

 of the Passengers Act, government emigration agents are appointed 

 for the |x>ru of London, Liverpool, Plymouth, Southampton, Glasgow 

 and Greenock, Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Tralee, Limerick, Wat 

 UodonteTT, and Oalway. These officers act under the immediate 

 directions of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, 

 procure and give gratuitously information as to the sailing of ships, 

 and means of accommodation for emigrants ; and whenever applied to 

 for that purpose, they see that all agreements between ship-owners, 

 agents, or masters, and intending emigrants, are duly iwrfonned. 

 They also see that', the provisions of the Passengers Act are strietlj 

 complied with; namely, that passenger-vessels are sea-worthy, that 

 they have on board a sufficient supply of provisions, water, medicines, 

 Ac., and that they sail with jiroper punctuality. They attend person- 

 ally at their offices on every week-day, and afford gratuitously all UK- 

 assistance in their power to protect intending emigrants against fraud 

 and imposition, and to obtain redress where oppression or injury has 

 been practised on them. 



In the colonies there are Government Emigration Agents at the 

 following places : 



Canada. Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Hamilton. 



New Bruxncifk. St. John's, St. Audi Uiam (Mirainiehil. 



Bathurst, Dalhousie, and Richibucto. 



Australian Coloniet. Sydney, Queensland (late Moreton Bay). Mel- 

 bourne, Geelong, Portland Bay, Hobart Town, Launceston, Perth, 

 Fremantle, Adelaide, ami Auckland. 



Cape of Oood Hope. Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Simon's Town, 

 and Natal. 



And also in Jamaica, Bahamas, British Guiana, Trinidad, Nevis, 

 Sierra Leone, and St. Helena. 



The duty of these officers is to afford gratuitously to emigrants every 

 assistance in their power by way of advice and information us to the 

 districts where employment con be obtained most readily, and upon 

 the most advantageous terms, and also as to the best modes of reaching 

 such districts. 



The Emigration Commissioners, while they have funds for the pur- 

 pose, grant passages to New South Wales, Victoria, South An.-: 

 the Cape of Good Hope, and Natal, to persons strictly of the lab. 

 class who may be considered eligible emigrants. The funds are sup- 

 plied entirely from colonial revenues, and in the administration of 

 them the commissioners act as trustees for the colonies, and are there- 

 fore bound to look exclusively to colonial interests. They do not 

 consider, therefore, how distress in this country may be best relieved, 

 but how the largest number of emigrants most suited for the wonts of 

 the colony may be procured and sent out. In deciding what classes 

 are most suited to the wauta of the colonies, the commissioners are 

 juided by reports and instructions received from time to time from 

 the governments of the respective colonies, either direct or through 

 the secretary of state. The commissioners are occasionally also able 

 to grant passages to Western Australia ; but they have no funds for 

 assisting persons wishing to emigrate to the North American colonies. 



In British Guiana, the Governor, under Ordinance No. 7, of 1854, 

 sect. 4, is authorised by proclamation to name the places from which 

 emigration on bounties is permitted, and to fix the rates of bounty 

 'or the introduction of emigrants, under the age of forty, competent 

 and willing to engage in agricultural labour. 



Emigration is one of the " modes of relief " contemplated by the 

 Poor Law Amendment Acta (4 & 5 Will. IV. c. 76 ; 11 & 12 Viet c. 

 110 ; 12 & 13 Viet. c. 103 ; and 13 & 14 Viet. c. 101). In some years 

 a large number have emigrated with the assistance of funds obtained 

 under the act, 4 & 5 Will. IV. By sect. 62 of that act, owners and 

 ratepayers are empowered to raise money on security of the rates for 

 .he purposes of emigration, under the authority of the Poor Law 

 Commissioners. The sum so raised must not exceed half the a\ 

 rearly rate of the preceding three years, and it must be repaid within 

 ivo years. The money is advanced to emigrants by way of loan, and 

 s recoverable against persons above the age of twenty-one, \\h.>. 

 laving consented to emigrate, refuse to do so after the expenses of 

 emigration have been incurred ; and the loan is also recoverable if 

 >ersons who emigrate shall return to this country. By the 12 & 13 

 Viet. c. 103, the guardians of any parish or union are empowered to 

 ixpend money to the amount of 102. upon the emigration of any ]mor 

 union belonging to the parish or to any parish in the Union, wit 

 he necessity of a parochial meeting to give their consent. But the gross 

 amount expended must not exceed the limit fixed above, and .\ 

 majority of the guardians of the parish of the settlement must ex- 

 udes Uieir concurrence iu writing in the resolution of the Board of 

 Juardians for such expenditure. This written concurrence must lie 

 ransmitU.il, together with a list describing the proposed emigrants, to 

 he Poor Law Board, who are to issue their order to > 

 resolution. The 13 & 14 Viet. c. 101, s. 4, enables Boards of Guani 

 tnder similar restrictions, to expend money in and about the emigra- 

 ion of orphan or deserted children under sixteen having no settlement, 

 r whose settlement is unknown. But it requires that no emigration 

 f any such orphan or deserted child shall take place without tin- 

 consent of such child given in petty session, and unless a certificate 

 thereof under the hands of two justices shall have been transmitted to 

 the Poor Law Board. Certain conditions are inserted by the Poor 



