§ DR. CAMERON (Glasgow, College)asked the Lord Advocate, How much money has, up to this date, been expended on crofter emigration under the Government scheme, and, of the sum expended, how much has been advanced by the Treasury, and how much received from public subscriptions; how many families have been emigrated, and what number of individuals and of children under ten years of ago were comprised among them; if he would state the dates of arrival at their homesteads of the first and last batches of emigrants respectively; whether the Company on whose lands they were placed has intimated to the Government that it will incur no further expenditure on their 1834 behalf; whether the total sum obtained from the Treasury and subscribers has been exhausted; and, if so, since what date; and, whether any provision has been made to secure the emigrants against want during the winter?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. J. P. B. ROBERTSON) (Bute)(1.) The money expended up to date amounts to £4,445 16s. 6d., of which £720 has been received from private subscriptions and the rest from the Treasury. (2.) Thirty families have been sent out, composed of 193 persons, of whom 57 were under 10 years of age when selected. (3.) The emigrants from Lewis arrived at Killarney on June 3; the Harris people on June 17. They must have reached their homesteads within a very few days after these dates. With reference to the fourth question, no further expenditure by the Canada North-West Land Company is expected or required; the work of settling the emigrants, which, in the first instance, was accomplished by the friendly intervention of the Company, devolving on the Board mentioned in the Memorandum of arrangements laid before Parliament. (5.) The total sum obtained from the Treasury and subscribers has not been exhausted. (6.) From trustworthy information received from Canada as to the circumstances and employment of the emigrants, there is no reason whatever to apprehend that provision will require to be made to secure the emigrants against want during the winter.
§ In further answer to Dr. CAMERON,
§ MR. J. P. B. ROBERTSONsaid, the Board consisted of four Members, and he understood that those to be nominated in this country had been nominated.
§ DR. CLARK (Caithness)asked, if the right hon. and learned Gentleman had seen in the newspapers the correspondence of Mr. M'Neill, in which it was alleged that the money was spent in paying debts, and that the people would not have enough to keep them over the winter?
§ MR. J. P. B. ROBERTSONMy information is not to that effect; but if the hon. Member desires to call the attention of the Secretary for Scotland to any special point in connection with the matter, he will please put a Notice on the Paper.