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"*'Sv '■*■' ■Sm: -'^:jA^,i '/r^«^*4'. R R M A R K S, iSfc. iifc. i The object of the following pages is to exhibit, ill a compendious form, I. The necessity of adopting some immediate measures for promoting an extensive Emi- gration from the Agricultural Districts of England and Wales. II. The possibility of accomplishing that object. HI. The naUire of the legislative enactments which would be requisite. IV. The subordinate arrangements which might be required to give eft'ect to those enact- ments. To which will be added, V. A draft of the Emigration Bill, which, it is conceived, should be introduced into Par- liament in the present Session. >. Reverting to this arrangement, we propose to commence by stating, I. The necessity of adopting some immediate measures for promoting an extensive Emigration from the Agricultural Districts of England and Wales. The British empire is now exposed to greater dangers than any internal causes ever created in an extensive and civilized country. What we have to dread is, not a contest between party and party, or between sect and sect, but between the poor and the rich, between the few who have property and the many who have not ; between the thousands who, as landlords and farmers., have something to keep, and the hundreds of thousands who think they have nothing to lose. Partly by force, and partly by bribes, the late paroxysm has been suspended ; but how soon, and with what vehemence, may it be expected to return ? To suppose that the peasantry can be kept down by force with their present unity of feeling and means of communication, is to shut our eyes to all that is passing in Europe. To suppose that, if the rate of wages which they have extorted can be paid, the labourers will rest satisfied with their victory ; that they ^vill strive to earn their spoil by diligence, and to husband it by eco- nomy and self-restraint, is to be ignorant of the ])rincip]es of human nature. To suppose that sucl» a rate of wages ca)7 be paid, — to suppose ■dV.. ■iT^^^'-M'^vm* /^f^p^^" I of that the farmers of a i^ivcn parish can, under any remission or abandonment of rent, tithes, and taxation, continue to pay 2*. 3^/. a-day in winter, and 26'. Qd. in summer, to all the labourers of the |)arish, however great their numbers, and however little their diligence, is to be guilty of the same misconception as that of the labourers themselves, who believe the fund for the payment of wages to be inexhaustible, and all the suffer- ings of the poor to arise from the niggardliness with which that fund is doled out to them by the rich. Sooner or later these promises must be broken, and the peasantry will rise again, — confident, from having been successful ; and furious, from having been deceived. Even if the next disturbances are not hurried on by a scarcity, they certainly will create one. Scarcity and disturbance in the country inevitably produce distress in the manufacturing towns ; and if the machinery, on which our export trade depends, is subjected to the fate which has fallen on thrashing machines, and threatened paper machines, what will remain, not merely of our greatness or our prosperity, but of our social existence ? Can we hope that the union with Ireland, the funded debt, or the Church Establishment, will survive ? Is it certain that we shall still have a Kiiin, or a Housi» of Lords, or oven a House ') 6 of Commons, representing the intoilipfcnce or the property of the country ? To unfetter commerce, — to diminish, to the slight extent to which it is possible, the amount of taxation, and to shift its pressure where it is unequal or injudicious, — and, above all, to amend the poor laws, and to improve the religious and moral education of the people, are the means by which the present disorder might have been prevented : they are, therefore, the means by which, if the country were once restored to a sound state, its recurrence might be obviated. But they are remedies of a slow and distant operation. They would not restore the balance between the fund for the maintenance of labour and the number of labourers to be maintained ; nor could one of the most important of them, — the amendment of the poor laws, — be safely adopted, while the labourers, in perhaps one- third of our parishes, are too numerous to earn an independent subsistence. It appears to be generally admitted that a large Emigration, an Emigration in which the sa- crifices must bear some pro])ortion to the benefits, in which much must be expended in order that something may be retained, is, if practicable, the only immediate remedy. And it appears to be admitted that it is a remedy which every year renders more difHcult and less efhcient. It is, however, objected, thnt if the effect of of Emigration were to add a fresh stimulus to po- pulation, the benefit would be temporary and the evil permanent. This is true : and no Emigration, therefore, could be of permanent service, unless accompanied by the measures which we have already indicated for increasing the productive powers of industry, improving the character of the working classes, and repressing the increase of population, or, rather, withdrawing the stimulus to population, which is so abundantly afforded by the present administration of the poor laws. Accompanied by such measures, we do not be- lieve that an extensive Emigration would occasion a proportionate increase of population. But, even if it were to have that effect, in the first place, a considerable interval (sixteen or seventeen years at least) must occur before that effect could be fully produced, and the intermediate saving would be very great ; and, in the second place, we are not now in a state of profound tranquillity, con- sidering whether we shall or shall not adopt Emi- gration as a benefit; but whether, in imminent danger, we shall fly to it as a resource. The events of the last four months have already cost us more than the immediate expense of an extensive Emigration. The waste of capital and the waste of time might perhaps be estimated ; but at what rate are we to value the loss of con- fidence ? What sum would each inhabitant of a disturbed district have given to have been saved. or 8 not merely the actual expense, but the anxiety of that unhappy period ? Four more such months might produce results, which we do not like even to sutfer ourselves to anticipate — results which mere money cannot even measure. II. The practicability of effecting such an Emi- gration is the next subject to be considered. The Appendices to the Reports of the House of Commons' Committee, which sat in the Sessions of 1826 and 1827, contain a body of evidence so copious, and in some respects so complete, that the chief difficulty consists in making a judicious selection of the proofs and illustrations which they supply; and the limits, within which the present general outline of the question must be compressed, will not allow a liberal use of those materials. It might, indeed, be superfluous to quote largely from the examinations subjoined to thoae Reports, because it is understood that Mr. Richards, the gentleman who was deputed to survey the British Provinces in North America with sin express view to the subject of Emigration, is about to make a Report to His Majesty's Go- vernment, which will probably, in some respects, supersede the labours of the Committee. Nothing further will, therefore, be attempted in this place, than an enumeration of the principal conclusions which seem to have been established, with some I I tl m d d ■b or 9 occasional references to tlie testimony on which they rest. First, then, it appears that the expense of maintaining a man, with his wife and three chil- dren, as paupers, in a parish in the agricultural districts of England, may be taken, on a general average, at 25/. per annum. This estimate, however, supposes them to be supported with the most rigid parsimony. At the rate of wages and allowances lately exacted by the insurgent popu- lation in some parishes in Sussex, the mainte- nance of such a family would amount to 40/. 13*. per annum. The term '* paupers" is here used, pot in its original sense, as descriptive of persons living altogether on alms, but in that technical sense which the administration of the poor laws has, unhappily, rendered but too familiar. Such a family, therefore, if they remained in England, would, it may be said, replace, by the value of their labour, some part of the cost of their sub- sistence ; and it may be thought that the whole of the 25/., or of the 40/. IS*, annually expended for their support, could not be correctly repre- sented as an uncompensated loss to society at large. It may be freely admitted, that before we can determine the precise amount of that loss, the value of their labour must be deducted. But that deduction would, in almost all cases, be incon- siderable, and, in very many, utterly insignificant. The value of a pauper's work is generally small, B 10 often nothing. A small number of independent labourers will usually perform much more effec- tive and valuable labour, than a much larger number of paupers. The national wealth would consequently sustain little or no diminution by the subtraction of the labour which the pauper emigrants would have executed. It involves, therefore, no material maccuracy to say, that the annual payment of 25/., or of 40/. 13*., is a loss for vdiich the public at large receives no com- pensation whatever. Secondly, — The expense of removing to British North America a family making this constant demand on the national resources, is variously estimated. As far as experience has hitherto gone, it may be safely taken at 70/., in which is in- cluded every charge, from the moment of quit- ting their residence in England until the time when they begin to subsist in the Colonies, on the profits of their own industry. This estimate is founded on experiments which have been tried on a comparatively small scale, and under many disadvantages, which, upon a more systematic plan of Emigration, might readily be obviated. The charge of 70/. indeed, greatly exceeds the amount within which it has been found possible, by private persons, to execute similar designs. Thus, a mercantile house at Liverpool has, for some years past, been in the habit of contract- ing for the removal to New York of families. n consisting of two adults and three children, for 25/.; engaging to give the Emigrants, on their disembarkation, twenty shillings each, towards their immediate necessities. A Gentleman resid- ing in Lower Canada has recently offered to effect the settlement of several thousand Emi- grants, annually, in that province, at a charge not exceeding 14/. for a family of five persons, from the time of their landing. But, supposing the estimate of 70/. to be accurate, it would appear, that without any increase of the existing charge, the expense of the removal of such a family would be entirely defrayed, without any new assessment, within less than three years. Or, if the sum recently extorted by menaces is to be paid, the family remaining in England would, in less than two years, cost more than the whole expense of their transfer to America. But if so transferred, the burthen, as far at least as those individuals are concerned, would cease for ever at the expiration of the three or the two years. It would, in effect, be the substitution of a very short annuity, for life annuities of an equal amount. This, however, is not the most favourable view which could justly be taken of the project. The heavy life annuities now pay- able to the paupers, might, after their Emigra- tion, be commuted for a long annuity of twenty, thirty, or evei* forty years. On that supposition, the annual burthen would be so diminished as to I 12 become scarcely perceptible. Tliose who now pay 25/. per annum for the maintenance of such a family, might, by such an arrangement, escape that charge, at an annual expense of as many shillings, or even less. Thirdly, — It appears that, in the year 1827, the vessels outward-bound from the United Kingdom to British North America, for timber and other bulky goods, the produce of that continent, had an unemployed tonnage to the amount of about 400,000 tons. This estimate, which was made by a gentleman of great practical acquaintance with that trade, was, it must be admitted, conjectural ; and upon such a subject it is, perhaps, vain to expect very exact information, either from private or official sources. But the course of the North American trade is notoriously such as to create a very large amount of what is technically called *' dead freight." A large proportion of the vessels engaged iu it sail either wholly or partly in ballast. Supposing the estimate already quoted to be accurate, it would follow that, without engaging a single ship for the express purpose of removing Emigrants, the means already exist for the annual removal of a much larger number than would probably ever sail from this country in a single year. It is to be understood, as a general rule, that each ship could conve- niently carry a number of passengers equal to the number of her unoccupied tons. m 13 It scarcely requires to be stated that the "dead freight" of the Canada timber ships might be engaged by the Government for the purpose of Emigration, on very lov^r terms. It may be calculated that the supply will very con- siderably outrun the demand ; and if the proper public department were to advertise for tenders, they would have the full benefit of an eager competition among the ship-owners. Fourthly, — The power of the British Colonies to absorb an additional population so considerable as that which, in order to give effectual relief to this country, must be removed, is attested cir- cumstantially, and in great detail, by a large body of witnesses. Without anticipating the more recent, and probably the more exact, information which the Report of Mr. Richards will sup|)ly, it may be sutiicicnt, for the present pur[)ose, to say, that the vacant territory in Lower Canada has been estimated, by persons intimately acquainted with the province, at about seven millions of acres; and, in Nova Scotia, at two millions. In New Brunswick, the amount is supposed to be about the same as in Nova Scotia. In Cape Breton the quantity is cal- culated at about six hundred thousand acres. In Newfoundland, and Upper Canada, the tracts of country which yet remain to be settled are said to be very extensive, but no estimate can be quoted on which much reliance wm f !■■' 14 could be piaced. Without adverting- to the resources of the Cape of Good Hope, or the Australian colonies, the general conclusion, from the evidence before the Canada Committee, would seem to be, that the British Transatlantic pos- sessions, on the continent of North America and the adjacent islands, embrace a territory of ten times the extent, with a population not equal to one-fourth, of that of Ireland. It will be un- derstood that the lands to which reference is thus made do not include sterile or inaccessible tracts, (of which, indeed, the extent in British North America is quite indefinite,) but, as far as any reliance can be placed on the witnesses examined by the Committee, consist of soils which would abundantly repay the cost and labour of cultivation. It having been thus briefly shewn that an extensive Emigration is urgently required by the present exigencies of the country, and is a prac- ticable measure, it is proper to state, III. The nature of the legislative enactments which would be requisite for effecting that purpose. As it is proposed to subjoin the draft of the Bill, which we conceive it would be expedient to pass into a law, nothing beyond the general nature of the projected enactments will be stated in this place. I I I S 4 'i 'k I 15 It is conceived, then, that a board of Com- missioners should be appointed, who would be designated '* Commissioners of Emigration." A Secretary, with two or three Copying Clerks, would complete the establishment. The Com- missioners should act under the instructions of one of the Secretaries of State, probably the Secretary having the department of the Colonies. They should twice in each year make to his Ma- jesty reports of their proceedings, which reports should be laid before Parliament. Having constituted this body, it is proposed to provide, by the Act, a method by which any person rateable to the poor-rates in any parish might convene a meeting of the vestry to deliberate on the question, whether a contract should be made between the parish and the Com- missioners, for the removal of any paupers who may be willing to emigrate. A numerical majority of votes, or a majority in value, would be sufficient to carry the question in theaffirmativ e. Whenever a question of this nature had been proposed and passed affirmatively, the Bill would prescribe the form of a written contract to be signed by the Secretary to the Commission, by the ove/b^ers of the parish, and by such of the intended Emigrants as might be of the age of twelve years or upwards. The Emigrants must sign in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, w I' \ 16 who would be required to satisfy himself that the contract was entered into freely, and with a full understanding of its nature and effect. The Lords Commissioners of the Treasury would then be authorised to take all the necessary measures for effecting the Emigration, — for the maintenance of the Emigrants until their removal, — for their support during the voyage, — for their subsistence until they should be actually settled at the place of their destination,— and for pro- viding them with implements of husbandry and other necessaries. The expense would in the first instance be defrayed out of such money as Parliament might appropriate for that purpose. To provide for various subordinate arrange- ments, and to obviate the frauds which might otherwise be practised, it is proposed to authorise the King in council to establish all necessary rules for securing the diffusion of authentic in- formation amongst the proposed Emigrants, — for preventing the removal of infirm persons, and of children apart from their natural guardians, — for preventing the Emigration, at the public ex- pense, of persons competent to bear the charge, — for maintaining good discipline in the ships, — for the protection of the Emigrants against frauds at the places of embarkation and disembarkation, — and for their orderly settlement on the lands to be appropriated for that purpose. The King in* council would also be authorised to enforce the u 17 observance of such rules by imposing penalties for the breach of them. The orders thus made would be laid before Parliament. To reimburse the expense to be thus incurred by the public., it is proposed that an annual rate should be levied in the parish from which the removal might take place, bearing a definite pro- portion to the whole charge; which may either amount to one-fifth or one thirtieth part of that charge annually, or any intermediate proportion. When the whole advance, with interest at four |>er cent, had been repaid, the rate would cease. Finally, it would be provided that all paupers tJius removed should lose their settlement, and with it all claim to relief from any parish in England or Wales. Such are the provisions for the establishment, of which it would be necessary to invoke the aid of Parliament. In explanation of their necessity, and to shew by what means such a statute might be carried into execution, we proceed to state, IV. The subordinate arrangements which would be required to give effect to these enactments. It may, in the first place, be mentioned, that tliis scheme does not suppose any addition to the permanent establishments of the country, nor even any temporary increase of expenditure, except to an extent altogether insignificant. No doubt c 18 can be entertained that many persons, eminently qualified for such duties, would cheerfully act as Honorary Commissioners of Emigration, from mo- tives of a public kind. Nor is it less evident, that amongst the salaried Officers of the Crown, several might be selected, who, without any additional remuneration, would willingly undertake this office. There never was a time when official men would more promptly answer any call for increased exertion. At the present moment there are not wanting many urgent motives of a selfish nature, for engaging in any useful employment, by which the reproach of indolence may be averted. The buildings at present occupied by the Colonial department would, it is believed, afford sufficient space for the reception of the proposed Commis- sioners. The only charges which it would be necessary to make for such an establishment, would consist ol the salaries to be paid to the Secretary, and, perhaps, to two co])ying Clerks. The whole ought not to exceed 1,000/. per annum. The necessity of establishing such a board, will be perfectly clear to any persons who hapj)en to be conversant with the management of public business in any of the chief departments of Go- vernment. Whatever may be the popular opinion to the contrary, the fact is indisputable, that the Clerks and subordinate officers engaged in those branches of the public service, are in general too few for the effective discharge of their present 19 duties. If the superintendence of an extensive system of Emigration were added to the present labours of any one of the Secretary of State's offices, it would be vain to expect the punctuality and exertion, which are indispensable to the success of such an enterprise. The general duty of the Commissioners would be to collect from the British North American Provinces, and to circulate through this country, authentic information respecting the colonization of those settlements, and the removal of emigrants to them — to communicate with the different de- partments of Government, through the agency of which the Emigration would be effected — and to make all the necessary contracts and arrange- ments with tlie overseers of parishes. The Commissioners should lay down general rules, to be modified and improved with increasing experience, as to the forms in which parishes should make tenders for the removal of paupers — as to the ages and sexes of the emigrants to be removed — and for ascertninmg that such paupers were in a proper state of henUh to bear the voyage and change of climate. It would be their duty also to indicate to the overseers of the parishes whence emigrants were to remove, the time and place of embarkation, and the mode of convey- ance to the proper port for that purpose. The Bill, as has been seen, would delegate to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury the 20 office of making all necessary arrangements for executing the contracts which might be made with parishes. It rs not of course meant that their Lordships should personally undertake duties of so much detail, and productive of so great a degree of labour. The delegation of this trust to them is necessary only because various subordinate offices, under their immediate control, would, it is conceived, be properly employed for this purpose. It is more accurate in principle, as well as more brief and convenient in form, to refer, in an act of Parliament, to the chief super- intending department than to the minor dependant Boards. It is therefore proposed, that as often as any body of emigrants may be ready to take their departure, the Commissioners should commu- nicate to the Navy Board a list of the number of the proposed Emigrants, and their ages and sexes. The Naw Board Mould then be chary^ed with the duty of making the accessary contracts with the owners of ships engaged in the Canada trade, or in any other of the trades in which it is customary to send across the Atlantic vessels, either wholly or partly in ballast. The Victualling Board would be required to make the necessary arrangements for supplying the shipping in question with proper quantities of provision. At each port of embark- ation one of the officers of customs would be specially charged with the superintendance of s »t 21 the Emigrants during any unavoidable detention there ; and, for that purpose, ^///seaworthy ships, of a small class, might be procured and fitted up by the Navy Board as receiving ships. The arrangements for the journey of Emigrants from their parishes to the port of embarkation, could scarcely be undertaken by any public depart- ment, but must be matter of discussion and agreement, in each particular case, between the Commissioners and the parochial authorities. On the landing of any body of Emigrants on the coasts of North America, they should again be placed under the superintendence of one of the officers of customs at the port. By him, with the least possible delay, they should be placed under the charge of some person in the Surveyor General's department, whose duty it should be to accompany them to the place of their intended settlement. The preceding short statement of the official agency by which an extensive Emigration might be effected, may of course require some correction before the scheme can be actually reduced into practice. Enough however, we apprehend, has been said to shew that the existing establish- ments of the country might be conveniently employed for every purpose towards which the interference of Government is necessary or de- sirable. Provision is made for unity of action amongst these different bodies, by placing them p in til I 22 all in correspondence with the proposed Coni- missioners. Provision is made for their punctual obedience, by the dependence of them all on the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. Security is taken against the prodigality in which the inferior agents in such an enterprise might otherwise indulge, by the Treasury exercising their usual control over the issue of all money demanded for this service. To say that these securities are incomplete, is simply to assert the self-evident maxim that human society, especially as at pre- sent constituted in this kingdom, affords no abso- lute protection against the negligence and waste of those who serve the public. It is enough to answer that the security proposed is very con- siderable, and, as appears to us, is the best which, under all circumstances, could be taken. It may probably be tliought that this plan throws too much on the (lovcrnmcnt, and that the same objects would be as easily and more frugally accomplished by arrangements to be made between particular parishes and private persons. The disadvantage of the interference of Government with any undertaking in which their aid is not essential, is readily allowed. The following, are the reasons which, in the present case, may perhaps prove the existence of such a necessity. The measure of Emigration must be undertaken on a very extensive scale, in order to yield the 38 advantages anticipated from it. If it is entirely conducted by the Government, in its different departments, each particular parish will have the benefit of what may be called wholesale prices. It would be superfluous to comment on the supe- rior cheapness with which contracts for tonnage, provisions, bedding, lodging, &c. could be made, if those articles were taken up on a large scale by the (iovcrnment, than if they were pro- vided by separate contractors in detail. The interference of the Government departments >vould be still more necessary for the prevention of those frauds and oppressions which unhappily must be anticipated from private speculators. In the year 1828, the Emigrants to British North Ame- rica from Ireland had accommodations on board the vessels in which they sailed, scarcely superior to those of the negroes in a slave ship. Numbers died of famine and sickness, and the survivors, on their landing, j)ropagated disease throughout the British Provinces. They were cast on such parts of the coast as best suited the convenience of the masters of the vessels, and they wandered about the maritime villages and towns in a state of the most abject want. It is a curious proof of what may be called the absorbing power of those countries, that, even in this wretched state, the Emigrants were rapidly merged in the general mass of society, and ceased to be objects of com- passion. But the rumour of their sufferings was 24 I circulated amongst their frieiKls in Europe, and tlie Provincial Assemblies were so indignant at what had occurred, as immediately to pass laws against the introduction of paupers in futurCi with- out the special license of the Governor. The late Passengers' Act was passed by the British Par- liament, to prevent the recurrence of similar cruelties. To a certain extent it has proved efficient. But no law can anticipate all the frauds which human ingenuity and avarice would devise, to enrich the |>rivat? contractor, at the expense of large bodies of poor Emigrants. At every port there would be ujukriakcrs, bidding each other down for business of this kind, and the parishes would, as a matter of course, accept the lowest tender, although ♦he contractor's profit might be earned at an immense expense of indi- vidual suffering. But even if motives of economy and humanity could not be allei;cd in favour of placing the whole arrangement in the hands of Government, a just regard for the success of the measure it- self, would, we think, prescribe that course. It is of the utmost importance tliat Emigration should be popular, both in this kingdom and in the Colonies. There is abundance of prejudice to contend with already ; and if well authenticated accounts should appear of losses of life by the employmeiit of ill-found ships, or of disease on board, originating from im])roper clothing, food, 25 or lodging, a more effectual obstacle to the suc- cess of the project could scarcely be imagined. it must also be borne in mind that whih the Emigrants from the same neighbourhood should, as far as it is practicable, be kept together, the stream of Emigration must be broken into different parts, and judiciously directed to those particular countries in which the Emigrants could be most conveniently received, and that the supply to each must be carefully adjusted, from time to time, to what may be considered as a /arying demand. Now, without the constant exercise of the authority of the State, all this will be imprac- ticable. Halifax, as the nearest, and Quebec, as the most frequented port, would receive multi- tudes of Emigrations, who might much more con- veniently to themselves, and to the colonies, have been landed at Cape Breton or at St. An- drews. Independent Emigrations, also, would disconcert every plan which could be made for the reception and prompt location of such per- sons. The Bill does not contain any provision regu- hiting the preparation and allotment of lands in the British provinces. Such enactments would have been superfluous, be.;ause the unaided powers of the Crown are sufficient for the purpose. But though the Act would be silent on this subject, the importance of an early, methodical, and vigi- lant attention to it can scarcely be exaggerated. D 26 ) ,- Amongst the most urgent duties of Government is tlie obligation of arresting, by the most pe- remptory instructions, any further improvident alienations of the uncleared lands still belonging to the Crown. It has been strongly felt by the framers of this Bill, that upon entering into an unexplored path in legislation, the difficulty of anticipating all possible exigencies is insuperable. It is therefore proposed to delegate to the King in council, the office of framing all such subordinate rules as may be necessary to the efficiency of the law. As those rules would be laid before Parliament, it would be in the power of either House, by an address to the Crov/n, virtually to revoke them. It would be superfluous to quote ])recedents in proof of the constitutional propriety of this mode of proceeding. They are at once recent and nu- merous. The cofweuiciicc of such legislation will not be disputed. Although the plan which has boen detailed supposes that all the expense of Emigration should in the first place be defrayed by the State, yet the advance is to be repaid by an annuity charge- able on the parish rates, and expiring at any time which might be fixed, not more near than five, nor more remote than thirty years, from the date of the contract. As has already been said, it is a plan for the conversion of life annuities into annuities for a number of years certain. That 27 view of the case does not indeed do justice to the argument, although, in a popular sense, it may be stated in that manner with sufficient correct- ness. It would be left to each parish to deter- mine for itself, within the prescribed limits, the duration of the annuities with which it would become chargeable. It is obviris that a great latitude of discretion must be allowed on this subject to answer the different exigencies of dif- ferent places. Thus, in a parish chiefly owned by one or two rich proprietors, a very early extinc- tion of the debt might be practicable and advan- tageous. In places where persons assessed to the poor-rate are very numerous, and occupy the lands upon leases of the ordinary length, a distri- bution of the burthen over several successive years would of course be preferred. In either case the demands of the pauper and his family would be for ever extinguished. The price of that extinction would be paid in some cases by a smaller, and in others by a larger number of annual instalments. According to the present pro]>osal, nothing k asked of the pauper except the renunciation of his settlement, and all claim to future parochial relief in England. The plan of requiring from the Emi- grant the repayment, by instalments, of the cost of his own removal, was very largely discussed, and generally recommended by the witnesses before iiie Emigration Committee. But, at the 28 i i I*;* present moment, it seems necessary to offer the Emigrants more liberal terms. It may reasonably be doubted whether the events of the last few months may not have created a strong indisposi- tion to relinquish the temporary advantages which have been extorted, and of the value of which a very exaggerated estimate has probably been formed by the labouring classes. If, in the ap- proaching summer, any large number of persons could be removed upon the terms at present pro- posed, the favourable accounts they might transmit of the results might, perhaps, tempt others to fol- low them on more onerous conditions. But it is conceived that those who may have ventured first should have the encouragement of knowing that, on their arrival in America, they would enter on the new scene of action before them exempt from debt and its consequent embarrass- ment. Such being the motives— the practicability — the general outline— and the principal details of this scheme, it remains only to annex, V. A draft of the Emigration Bill which, it is conceived, should be introduced into Parliament in the present Session. I. ;♦ N ll e y w i- :h a n )- IS j- it 1- it id 'g d ;^. .!• H ^ A BILL Intituled, An Act to promote the Emigration to His Majesty's Possessions abroad, of Persons chargeable or likely to become chargeable to the Rates for the Relief of the Poor in England and Wales. i f I. ZiHtV^tXtA^ it is expedient to promote the Emigration to His Majesty's possessions abroad, of persons chargeable, or likely to become chargeable, upon the rates of parishes in England or Wales, who may be desirous so to emigrate, ; it therefore Enacted, by the King's most excellent Majesty, by nis Majesty and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual "''y appoint . T» ,. Commissioners and lemporal, m this present Parhament assembled, of Emigration. and by the authority of the same. That it sliall be lawful for His Majesty, his heirs and successors, by a commission under the great seal of the United Kingdom, to constitute and appoint such three or more persons, as to His Majesty shall seem meet. Com- missioners for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, during the pleasure of His Majesty, his heirs and successors ''^'"' ^"'"""s- hUCCessois. sioners to be attended by a n. And be it further Enacted, That the said their Letters to Commissioners shall be attended by a Secretary, to be a^e. *i I i i:' M' /» by his Majesty, his heirs and successors, in hke manner appointed; and that all letters sent to the said Secre- tary through His Majesty's post-office, and relating exclusively to the business of the said commission, shall be delivered free of postage ; and that all letters addressed by the order of the said Commissioners to any person or persons, and relating exclusively to the business of the said commission, and being superscribed externally with the words, ♦' Commissioners of Emi- gration," and with the ordinary signature of such Secretary in his own hand writing, shall be deUvered according to such address, or at the nearest post-office, free of postage. III. And be it furtiier Enacted, That the said Commissioners shall receive from time to time, for their guidance in the execution of their said com- mission, such instructions, not being repugnant to the provisions of this Act, as shall for that purpose be issued to them by His Majesty, through one of his prin- cipal Secretaries of State, and shall, twice at the least in each year, report to His Majesty, through such his Secretary of State, their proceedings in the execution of such their commission, each of which reports shall he laid before both Houses of Parliament within the shortest possible period next after the same shall have hccn so made. The Conin)is- sioners to act uiultr tlie In- structions ol" the Secretary of State, and to report tlieir proceedings twice in eadj year. Siicli Rcj)orts to l)e laid i)e- fore Parlia- ment. I\'. And be it further Enacted, That it shall be Mode of con- l.nvtul for any one or more person cr persons assessed .'^""'-: ""^'^'f- - *i X /• .1 1- ,. ^ . ^°^'-^' "igsot \estries to the rates tor the rehet of the poor in any parish in '■^>''l;;;;'|;;»^^^.,^^ Treasury, from time to time, to issue, or cause to be Parliament. issued, any such sum or sums of money as shall here- after be for that purpose appropriated by any Act or Acts of Parliament to be hereaf' '• in that behalf made and provided. X. And whereai, for the effectual execution of the several provisions aforesaid, and for the prevention of abuses, it will from time to time be necessary to make di -rs; regulations which canii x. at present be fores : • Be it therefore Enacted, That it liis .Majestj in ,„ __. i»T-, I'l' I'onnc'il may shall and my oe lawful for Uis Majesty, Ins lieirs ,„;,ueaiin(ces- and successors, by any order or orders to be by ^^ ^^^^ him or them made with the advice of his or their tions. Vn\y Council, to establish and provide all proper and necessary rules and regulations, for ascertaining that all persons for whose removal any such contracts as afore^>. 1 may be made, and who are of sufficient age I [''i *■ ■f.: ■^n 38 to exercise their own judgment respecting the expe- diency of such proposed removal, arc freely assenting thereto, and for ascertaining that all such persons have received fair and impartial representations of the probable consequences of such removal, and for pre- venting any contracts being made for the removal of mfirm, weak, or sickly persons, or for the removal of young children unattended by their parents, or by their nearest surviving adult relatives, or by some adult relative charged with and providing for the proper care of such chiluren, and for preventing any contracts being made for the removal of persons competent to sustain the expense of their own re- moval, or of persons whose parents or other near kindred may be competent to sustain that expense, and for securing method, order, economy, and dispatch, in eftecting such voluntary Emigrations, and for main- taining order and {.jod discipline on board any vessels in vhich any such Emigrants may be so removed, and for the protection of such Immigrants against any frauds or impositions to which liiey might otherwise be exposed on their arrival at their respective places of embarkation and disembarkation, and for the econo- mical, regular, and expeditious conveyance of such lMni tlu'in, between the said Commissioners and any such parish officers as aforesaid, but which annual amount shall not in any case be less than one-thirtieth nor more than one-fifth part of the sum for which the said Commissioners shall have so contracted for the re- moval of any Emigrants from the said parish, and such annual rate shall be raised, levied, and col- lected by the overseers of every such parish in such and the same manner, and by such and the same ways and means, as any rate made for the relief of the poor uf surli parish may by law be raised levied and collected ; and it shall be the duty of the overseers of the poor, fur the time being, of every such parish, on i I* "I If 1^ 40 tiie Twenty-fifth day of March, and on the Twenty- ninth