The Palatine Emigration. 



121 



sioners of trade had been particularly recommended by- 

 Lord Sunderland to find a home for them in England, as 

 the queen thought it would be more advantageous to the 

 kingdom than to send them to the West Indies. 1 It was 

 found however, by the attorney general that the laws re- 

 garding the settlement of poor families in the parishes did 

 not permit of settling them in England, though proposi- 

 tions were made to place them in the New Forest of 

 Hampshire, and to parcel out land to them in shares or 

 lots. 



In the meantime some hundreds were employed by her 

 majesty's' gardener in work upon the canal at Windsor. 

 Some were accepted by individuals from the commis- 

 sioners at five pounds each person, but not giving satisfac- 

 tion, they were returned back to their quarters. A hamlet 

 on the west side of London to this day bears the name of 

 the Palatine houses, where four houses were built upon 

 land of the parish of Newington at its expense in 1709, for 

 the reception of distressed families of these emigrants. 2 

 A merchant of Barbados made a contract to receive five 

 hundred families, but we cannot learn that any actually 

 went there. Six hundred were put on board ships for the 

 island of Scilly, but after a useless expense of fifteen hun- 

 dred pounds, on account of a change of plans, they were 

 again discharged on shore. 3 One hundred and fifty of the 

 ablest young men enlisted to serve in Lord Galloway's 

 regiment in Portugal. 



The following statement shows the disposition which 

 was in fact made of the great mass of the emigrants, as far 

 as information has been obtained. 



The plan proposed of sending a portion to Ireland 

 had none of the objections which existed to settling them 



1 House of Common* Journals. 

 8 House of Commons Journals. 

 [Trans, t>w\] 16 



s Brayley's Middlesex. 



