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Title Entry-Books of Correspondence: Letters to the Colonial Office. New South Wales, Queensland, 1854-1869
Author Murdoch, Thomas William Clinton; Walcott, Stephen; Rogers, Frederic; Wood, C Alexander
Date 4 Jan 1854 - 12 Oct 1869
Document Type Correspondence; Legal Papers; Financial Papers
Reference CO 386/76
Library / Archive The National Archives
Collection Name Colonial Office: Land and Emigration Commission, etc.
Description Copies of out-letters, mostly addressed to Herman Merivale, Frederic Rogers, or Thomas Frederick Elliot. The correspondence mostly covers colonial legislation, especially in relation to land, journey conditions, the mining of guano, indentured labour including South Sea/Polynesian Islanders, and colonial finances. 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; Journey Conditions; Ships and Shipping Lines; Arrivals: Ports and Early Experiences; Religion, Ethnic Identity and Community Relations
Country (from) Great Britain; Ireland; China; India; Germany
Country (to) Australia; Norfolk Island; Christmas Island
Places Pitcairn Island; Victoria, Australia; Tahiti
Ports Sydney, New South Wales, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; Liverpool, England; Glasgow, Scotland
Nationality English; Chinese; Indian; Polynesian; German; European
Ships Omar Pasha; Highflyer; Tiptree; Julia Ann; Sobraon; Blue Jacket; Marco Polo
People Elliot, Sir Thomas Frederick; Rogers, Frederic; Merivale, Herman; Duke of Newcastle (Pelham-Clinton, Henry Pelham); Cardwell, Edward
Keywords kidnap, slavery, land, legislation, legislature, land sale, land grant, crown lands, land claim, money, finance, passage money, agriculture, farming, mining, guano, army veteran, navy veteran, emigration, coolie, indentured labour, bounty emigration, surgeon, journey conditions, police, surgeon, statistics, wages, transportation, Bank of England, remittance, customs, labour, ordnance stores, labourer, child migration, female emigration, remigration
Language English
Copyright Crown Copyright documents © are reproduced by permission of The National Archives London, UK