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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Entry-Books of Correspondence: Letters to the Colonial Office, 1840 |
| Author | Elliot, Sir Thomas Frederick; Torrens, Robert; Villiers, Sir Edward |
| Date | 30 May-23 Nov 1840 |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Reference | CO 386/45 |
| Library / Archive | The National Archives |
| Collection Name | Colonial Office: Land and Emigration Commission, etc. |
| Description | Copies of out-letters, mostly to Sir James Stephen, some for the attention of Lord John Russell, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. The correspondence largely relates to the sale of land and development of agriculture in various colonies, the population of Australian colonies, and encouraging the emigration of individuals with some capital to spend on land. Other letters comment on salaries and expenses. An index is included at the end of the volume. |
| 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; Motives for Emigration |
| Country (from) | Great Britain; Ireland; Barbados |
| Country (to) | Australia; New Zealand; Canada; Jamaica; Falkland Islands |
| Places | Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Canada; New South Wales, Australia |
| Ports | Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia; Plymouth, Gravesend, Deptford, Bristol, England; Greenock, Leith, Scotland; Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Nationality | English; European; Scottish; Irish; Barbadian |
| People | Earl Russell (Russell, Lord John); Stephen, Sir James |
| Keywords | emigration, assisted emigration, agriculture, labour, labourer, land sale, land price, tax, expenses, agent, child migration, tax, administration, claims, land grant |
| Language | English |
| Copyright | Crown Copyright documents © are reproduced by permission of The National Archives London, UK |
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