§ Mr. P. M. Stewart,wished to put a question to the noble Lord, the Secretary for the Colonies, on a subject of great importance to this country as well as to our different colonies— that of emigration. He was intrusted with petitions from many hundreds, he might 812 say thousands of persons, who were unable to obtain employment in this country, and who were extremely anxious to seek employment in our colonies, if they could gain the means of transporting themselves to those colonies. Those persons had heard that the demand for labour in the colonies was very extensive, and that the rate of remuneration was at a tempting height, compared with that which they had any chance of obtaining at home. He hoped his noble Friend would give explicit answers to two questions which he would propose. He wished to know first, whether it was true that there was in the colonies a great demand for labour, and that high remunerating wages were given; and whether there was an intention on the part of the Government to afford any facilities in the means of transport to persons desirous of emigrating from this country to our colonies?
Lord Stanleysaid, no one could entertain a higher sense than he did of the importance of the questions which had been proposed by the hon. Gentleman; and he trusted he should obtain the indulgence of the House, if he gave a somewhat detailed reply to those questions. The first inquiry of the hon. Gentleman was, whether there now prevailed in our various colonies an extensive demand for a number of emigrants who might obtain high remunerating wages? Although he was aware that it was a delicate matter for a member of the Government to state his opinion as to the comparative demand for labour which existed at any particular time in different possessions of the Crown, he thought it was right that no misunderstanding should be allowed to prevail on a subject of such high importance, especially at this season of the year, to a large portion of the labouring population of the country. He would, in replying to the question of the hon. Gentleman, leave out of consideration our West-India colonies, and confine his remarks to our Australian and North American colonies. For the last few years the rule had been to apply very considerable portions of the sums derived from the sale of land in those colonies to the encouragement of emigration. In some cases these sums were applied under the direction of the Government at home, and in other cases under the direction of the local Governments of the colonies, tickets being issued to shipowners for the con- 813 veyance of emigrants, on whose arrival in the colonies a stipulated sum was granted. He had been informed by his noble Friend who preceded him in the Colonial-office (Lord J. Russell), that there were outstanding bounty orders for the conveyance of emigrants to the colony; of New South Wales, available for two years from November, 1840, applying to from 40,000 to 50,000 emigrants, and involving an expense — supposing they were all acted upon—of from 800,000l. to 900,000l. He had felt it his duty to adopt stringent regulations for checking this system. He had received a communication from the Governor of New South Wales, stating, that in consequence of the great number of emigrants introduced, a heavy amount of debt had been entailed upon the colony, and entreating that steps might be taken to prevent an enormous; influx of immigrants, which might be productive of most serious results. During last year the number of emigrants to New South Wales was 22,750. When com.; munications were received from the Governor, 12,750 of those emigrants had arrived in the colony, and 10,000 were on their passage. This influx of immigrants would involve the colony in debt to the amount of 111,000l. The Governor stated that, even before the 10,000 emigrants had arrived in the colony, there was no demand for labour, but, on the contrary, there was a difficulty in obtaining employment. He thought it right to make this statement publicly, that the labouring classes might be aware of the true state of the case; for if capital did not emigrate in proportion to labour, those who sought employment in the colonies might involve themselves in more calamitous distress than that which they suffered here. He believed the state of things to which he had referred as existing in New South Wales was not permanent; it was probably only temporary. It arose from the almost entire cessation of the land sales a short time back, which had produced embarrassments in the colony; and he believed that emigration to that country might be very efficiently conducted, if its amount was duly regulated. The Governor had stated, that he considered that the colony—the population of which was 130,000—was capable of receiving annually from 8,000 to 10,000 immigrants with great advantage. During last year, however, as he had stated, the number of immigrants into that 814 colony was nearly 23,000, more than double the number which the Governor considered ought to be introduced. He could not, therefore, on the part of Government—even if they had funds at their disposal, which they had not—recommend the encouragement of extensive emigration on the part of the labouring classes. Emigration to Van Diemen's Land was now conducted to a considerable extent; and during the last year about 1,500 immigrants had entered that colony. The colony of Western Australia possessed very limited capacity for receiving immigrants, though he believed it was in a prosperous state. The demand for labour was to the amount of 150 to 200 emigrants; and preparations were already made for sending out that number. He need scarcely say, that South Australia had [during the last year been in a very disastrous condition; the land sales had ceased, and the financial affairs of the colony were in a deplorable state. The population was 14,000 or 15,000; and owing to the abandonment of Government works, and the enormous expenditure which had been indulged for some time and had given a false appearance of prosperity having ceased, 1,200 persons in that colony were actually living as paupers, maintained at the public expense. He could not speak with confidence of the colony of New Zealand. He believed that if a sum of 10,000l. or 12,000l. was available for the transport of emigrants, New Zealand offered a better prospect than any of our colonies in that quarter of the globe of affording employment to the labouring classes; but he spoke only of present appearances, and gave no opinion as to its permanent prosperity. He abstained from expressing any opinion as to thos settlements in New Zealand which were under the management of the New Zealand Company, and who were the best judges of the proportions of labour to capital which would be most suitable to their own settlement. He had recently been led to think that a greater number of immigrants had been introduced into some of those settlements than was warranted by the amount of capital employed, and the consequent means of labour afforded. The case of the North American colonies differed entirely from that of those to which he had been alluding. In the North American colonies the Government had not any funds, nor means of raising funds, 815 which could be applied to the purposes of emigration. The proceeds of the land sales were paid over to the local Legislature, and it rested with the local Legislatures alone to decide whether any portion of those proceeds should be devoted to the purposes of emigration. He believed, that at this time those colonies exhibited a very favourable prospect of affording employment to great numbers of the labouring class of emigrants. The result of experience proved, that the least extent of hardship and difficulty was sustained by emigrants who went out to those colonies early in the year, and who had thus an opportunity of obtaining employment during the summer, and of establishing themselves in the colonies. He would recommend emigrants to apply for advice and assistance to the Government emigration agent at the port at which they arrived, for though the agent could not afford them any pecuniary aid, he would be enabled to give them information as to the best means of obtaining employment, and on other subjects, which might prove extremely useful, especially as emigrants of the labouring class, who arrived late in the summer or autumn, were frequently quite unprepared to encounter the severity of a Canadian winter, and consequently suffered great distress. He thought it right, while alluding to emigration to Canada, to inform his hon. Friend (Mr. P. Stewart) that, though the general condition and prospects of the emigrants who went out last year had been favourable, the class which had suffered the greatest hardships and privations was the weavers from Paisley and Glasgow, who were not accustomed to out-door labour. Although such persons were, in the end, likely to be most valuable settlers, they were in the first instance exposed to great hardships. He hoped he had given a full answer to the questions proposed by the hon. Gentleman.
§ Mr. P. M. Stewartthanked the noble Lord for the information he had afforded the House on the subject of emigration. With respect to the observation of the noble Lord in allusion to the weavers of Glasgow and Paisley, he could assure the noble Lord that many of those persons were accustomed to out-door employment.