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Title Entry-Books of Correspondence: Letters to Emigration Agents, Colonial Secretaries, etc. Natal, 1849-1854
Author Walcott, Stephen; Walpole, John
Date 6 Jan 1849 - 21 Apr 1854
Document Type Correspondence; Financial Papers; Leaflet
Reference CO 386/127
Library / Archive The National Archives
Collection Name Colonial Office: Land and Emigration Commission, etc.
Description Copies of out-letters, mostly sent to the Colonial Office, on the subject of migration to Natal. The correspondence broadly covers land grants and land sale in Natal, religious instruction, education, the hire of migrant ships, and assorted financial questions. An index of out-letters is provided. Also included are printed regulations, a pamphlet of 'Information for Emigrants', a list of agents, a map of Natal, documents related to individual voyages, and a memorandum of 'Complaints of Emigrants defrauded by Mr Murdoch'.
Series Description This series contains original correspondence, entry books and registers of the Agent General for Emigration, the South Australian Commissioners and the Land and Emigration Commission. Amongst the miscellaneous contents are registers of births and deaths of emigrants at sea 1854-1869, lists of ships chartered 1847-1875, registers of surgeons appointed 1854-1894, and volumes of The Colonial Gazette 1838-1842.
Biographical Note / History A Colonial Land and Emigration Commission was created in 1840 to undertake the duties of two earlier and overlapping authorities which were both under the supervision of the Secretary of State. These were the Colonisation Commissioners for South Australia, established under an Act of 1834, and the Agent General for Emigration, appointed in 1837. The new commission dealt with grants of land, the outward movement of settlers, the administration of the Passengers' Acts of 1855 and 1863 and, from 1846 to 1859, the scrutiny of colonial legislation. In 1855 it became the Emigration Commission. In 1873 the administration of the Passengers' Acts was transferred to the Board of Trade. The commission's powers were gradually given up to the larger colonies as they obtained self-government, and after 1873 its only duties were the control of the importation of Indian indentured labour into sugar-producing colonies and it was abolished in 1878.
Theme(s) Politics, Legislation and Governance; Journey Conditions; Arrivals: Ports and Early Experiences; Religion, Ethnic Identity and Community Relations; Motives for Emigration
Country (from) Great Britain
Country (to) Natal; South Africa
Places Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
Ports London, Liverpool, Plymouth, London, England
Nationality English; European
Keywords land, land sale, land grant, litigation, female emigration, emigration, bounty emigration, child migration, clergy, Christianity, education, administration, regulations, shipping, eligibility, Bank of England, money, finance, advice literature
Language English
Copyright Crown Copyright documents © are reproduced by permission of The National Archives London, UK