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Diaries & Journals | Immigration
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Information on Assisted Emigration, c. 1869 (from CIHM #62395) EMIGRATION FREE LAND GRANTS, Published Under the Authority of the By JOHN Bate, Printed and Published by NATIONAL EMIGRATION AID SOCIETY Being a Revival and Re-Construction of the "National Colonial Emigration Society," formed in 1862. President. EMIGRATION to BRITISH COLONIES. _____ Introduction. The National Emigration Aid Society consider that it is inexpedient for this country to promote the Emigration of its surplus labour to a FOREIGN STATE; but it is in strict accordance with the principles of political economy, and is sound policy, to encourage and assist our unemployed surplus population to cultivate and make productive and inexhaustible public lands of our numerous COLONIES. This Society, while it devotes its unceasing efforts to urge upon Parliament and the Government the necessity of adopting a National Policy of Colonial Emigration, will not relax its efforts to assist the desire of the thousands who wish to emigrate. With the same object in view, and more especially as a guide and director to those of the working classes who, through failure of employment and necessitous circumstances, are from time to time and in great numbers constrained to turn to Emigration, as holding out to them the only remaining chance of well-doing in the world, this pamphlet has been prepared for circulation. It is hoped that it may be found to convey a clear and correct view of the advantages to be derived from Emigration to a British Colony, and making a fresh start in life in a new country and healthy climate, where employment is ever plentiful, and wages always comparatively high. It is thought that it may also afford valuable information and guidance as to the payment of passage money, the best mode of raising means for this purpose, and upon the readiest and best way of managing the various details of preparation and arrangements which are essential preliminaries to a voyage at sea; some wholesome advice and suggestions for the conduct of the Emigrant upon arrival in his new country, so as to smooth his way and make his progress easy to certain competence, if not to wealth, have been interspersed; and may it is sincerely hoped be attended to, since they cannot fail to product the very best effects on the fortunes of the Emigrants. CHAPTER I. Things To Be Thought Of And Determined Upon Before Emigration. Emigration is eminently good for, and available to all, in every class of society whose subsistence depends on the exercise of skill and labour, but who, unable at home to obtain employment, are reduced to want, and too frequently to a life of destitution and wretchedness. There are, however, certain conditions of an Emigrant's life which ought to be well understood and duly considered before any important step is taken. The first requirement of all new countries is labour; and that from of labour which affords the surest, most beneficial, and quickest return, is the cultivation of the soil. No matter what your occupation may have been-whether as a CLERK, STUDENT, SHOPMAN, TRAVELLER, WEAVER, TAILOR, SHOEMAKER, PORTER, CARPENTER, BLACKSMITH, MASON, MINER, &c., though you may all your past life have been wholly occupied at one or other of these callings, or at some other business or handicraft, if you emigrate with a determination at once to Labour Upon Land, or to work at any employment, or in any situation which first offers, you will soon find your body accustomed to the new kind of exercise, and your limbs ready a t the work. The Colonies supply ample occupation in various callings, and none but the idle, dissipated, and worthless do-no-good, can fail to prosper, and to become, ere long, contented and happy. So urgent is the demand for labour, and so unlimited are the productions, that all may secure, with ease, a home and living in our Colonies. Every report we read in the newspapers confirms, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the numerous advantages and great blessings flowing from Colonial Emigration, with its industrial and lucrative pursuits. Young women or young ladies who emigrate, either alone or with their parents or guardians, should make up their minds to take situations, as domestic servants or nursery governesses, immediately on their land-it is in such capacities that they are chiefly sought for by settlers. If well educated, it will prove of infinite advantage to them in the contented performance of their respective duties as servant, mistress, or wife. PUBLIC LECTURES [The Author is prepared to give Lectures, or to arrange for the attendance at Public Meetings of gentlemen who have had practical experience in particular Colonies.] on emigration to our colonies will be found alike instructive and beneficial; and those who seek information will act wisely by taking their wives and children to such meetings, and on their return home, considering what they have heard, and consulting together as to their present means and future prospects; and thus, man's better half and solace in hard times cannot fail to prove a wary, wise, and safe counsellor. Remember the old proverb, "Where there is a will there is a way." Emigrants with means, whether small or large, should on arrival deposit their cash in safe hands and husband it with jealous care; and, accepting at the outset some employment upon a FARM, STATION, or in a STORE or SHOP, remain there, until they have made themselves fully acquainted with the country and its resources, and are able clearly to see their way, with the view to safe and profitable investment of their money, be the amount what it may. Labour earns money, and money bread,
CHAPTER II. Self-Help-How To Secure It. The National Emigration Aid Society is using its best efforts to promote the emigrant's interests and welfare. It is about to move Parliament, in order to obtain State Aid for that purpose, on grounds as strong as justified the grant of £8,775,000 and upwards for the rescue of a score and a half of Abyssinian Captives, and the expenditure of £20,000,000 to set the Negro free from slavery. Surely none will be found hardy enough to say that the hundreds of thousands of England's labourers-slavery, thank God, is unknown in this free country-now pinched by poverty and pining in misery, are not worthy and deserving of, and equally entitled to, like consideration and relief? Boards of Guardians are now being urged by this Society to grant assistance out of the rates to intending Emigrants, in accordance with the power they possess under the Act 11 and 12 Vic., cap. 110, sec. 5. [The guardians of any union or parish have the power to assist the emigration of the poor, and to charge the cost upon the common fund of the union or parish not in union. And the 12 and 13 Vic., cap. 103, sec. 20, enacts that the guardians of any union, or separate parish, may expend, with the order of the Poor Law Board, any sum of money not exceeding £10 for each person, for the emigration of poor persons having settlements therein. See also 28 and 29 Vic., cap. 79, sec. 16.] The Society is helping you by making your necessities known amongst the charitable, and by obtaining their aid in supplementing means obtained from other sources. But the Society looks to you to combine and support the efforts they are making, by helping one another, by interesting your fellow workmen, and your kind neighbours to aid and assist: the poor have always a heart to help the poor. Save all you possibly can; join an Emigration Club in Union with the Society, assured that when once you begin to think about it, and to act upon it, many little helps and encouragements that you wot [sic] not of will come in. A poor man's wife may obtain help in cash from a former kind mistress; another may bestow clothing, &c. These are but little helps; but when it is seen you are in earnest to emigrate, more especially if you are industrious and have had long to struggle under the blighting influences of want of employment not a few are the sympathising friends who will come forward to assist your efforts. Beseech your minister to interest himself in your behalf; ask him to sign a petition for a subscription for the benefit of yourself and others; and let the money thus obtained by paid by the donors to the club to which you belong, for your common benefit. Beseech him, also, to mention from the pulpit the sad fact that numerous unfortunate, poor people-helpless, desolate, and in need-are anxious to obtain means to emigrate, in order honestly to earn their bread. It is pleasing to reflect how many kind friends may come forward to the rescue. Ask help from the guardians of your parish. [Husbands should not emigrate without their wives. Under the regulations of the Poor Law Board, the guardians are prohibited from affording any assistance to the wives and families of those who, it is said, have deserted them when they emigrate without them.] It is wonderful what the Irish emigrants and their friends have accomplished by self-help, and how families have subscribed to send out one member only, and how he in turn has saved and sent home money to bring out his relations or friends. It is patent to all the world that tens of thousands have gone out in this way to become prosperous. Since 1847 to the end of 1868, upwards of £14,967,568 has been remitted, by persons who have emigrated, to their friends in this country; most of it for the purpose of enabling them to emigrate. By helping one, one helps another; CHAPTER III. Emigration Clubs-Objects and Rules. In whatever locality, whether town or country, where there exists numbers of labourers or others out of work or only partially employed, they should assemble together and endeavour by all means to establish an emigration club or committee. If a half-dozen only agree in earnest to accomplish this, they will soon find others to join them; secure the aid of some influential gentlemen, and get the clergy of every denomination to interest themselves in your behalf. Let a committee be composed of two or three gentlemen, and a like number of working men; appoint a chairman, treasurer, and secretary. This done, inform the Secretary of the National Emigration Aid Society thereof, and he will afford you every information as to the advantages which the colonies offer at the present time (they frequently vary), and of the assistance the Society can give. For the guidance of those who may avail themselves of these hints, and be desirous to form Emigration Clubs, the following rules, sanctioned by the Council of the National Emigration Aid Society, will explain how such clubs may be efficiently established and conducted:-- "Union is Strength" RULES FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF LOCAL COMMITTEES, IN UNION WITH THE "NATIONAL EMIGRATION AID SOCIETY."
RULES IN CONNECTION WITH THE "NATIONAL EMIGRATION AID SOCIETY."
Any member of a club, who thinks he could obtain help from fellow-workmen and friends, upon being duly authorized by the committee, might collect subscriptions upon the understanding that the sum so subscribed and paid into the general fund, is for his own individual benefit if he emigrates, if he does not, then, for the benefit of others. Have a good, concise circular printed and extensively distributed, asking for subscriptions "to help those who help themselves," and, depend upon it, money will come in. At meetings of members of the club, let all party politics, and religious questions and controversies be excluded. Public meetings, concerts, recitations, tea parties, &c., are available occasions for promulgating and discussing the subject of emigration, since it is one of the most important and absorbing topics of the day. CHAPTER IV. Passages And How To Obtain Them. COLONIES which at present afford FREE or ASSISTED passages to EMIGRANTS. Free Passages are granted to Single Women of good character who are capable and willing to work as Domestic Servants, to Victoria and Queensland in Australia, to Canterbury, New Zealand, and occasionally to Western Australia. Victoria grants a limited number of Free Passages to Married Agricultural Labourers, with not more than two children under twelve years, at a cost of £1 each adult. Also assisted passages to a few married couples of other callings on the following payments:--Males under twelve, £2; under forty, £5; over forty, £8. Females under twelve, £1; under forty, £2; over forty, £5. Queensland is at present granting Free Passages to a few Married Farm Labourers and Shepherds, with not more than one child under twelve, on payment of £1 each adult for ship kit. Assisted Passages are also granted by Queensland to the following classes: viz, Carpenters, Bricklayers, Sawyers, Curriers, Blacksmiths, Wheelwrights, and Shipwrights, Married Couples, each adult above twelve years, £8; under twelve years, £4 each; infants under twelve months, free; daughters above seventeen accompanying their parents have free passages; Single Men, £4 each. Canterbury, New Zealand, grants assisted passages to Farm Labourers, Ploughmen, and Shepherds, and occasionally to Artisans, as follows: the full cost of passage is £17; the Government gives the same sum as the Emigrant pays: thus, if the Emigrant pays half, £8 10s., the Government gives the other half; but where the Emigrant can only pay a portion-say £5-the Government lends the balance, to be repaid by the Emigrant in the Colony. Families belonging to the Agricultural Class are taken for merely nominal payments-e.g., a Married Couple having not more than two children, if the man is a qualified ploughman, could go for £5 paid in cash and the usual promissory note. Otago, New Zealand, grants Assisted passages to Agricultural Labourers, Shepherds, and Female Domestic Servants who, on payment of £7 in this country, are landed free at Otago; those who cannot pay that sum before sailing get, in special circumstances, a portion of the amount advanced, to be repaid six months after arrival in the colony. Single Women who require such assistance getting as much as £6 of the £7 advanced in this way. Persons having friends in Victoria may obtain through them Passage Warrants, which are granted by the Immigration Officer at Melbourne upon the following scale of payments: viz., Males over forty years, £8; under forty, £5; under fifteen, £2. Females over forty, £5; under forty, £2; under fifteen, £1 each. This privilege is largely embraced by persons in Victoria for bringing out relatives and friends. In Tasmania Settlers can obtain what are called "Bounty Tickets," which enable them to bring out their friends; a Family Ticket, which includes a man, his wife, and children under twelve years, is obtained for a payment of £15. A payment of £10 will bring out an adult male, and of £5 an adult female, who may or may not belong to those in whose behalf a family ticket is obtained. In New South Wales and South Australia the issue of Passage Warrants are for the present suspended, but it is probable they will be resumed before long. Queensland grants Passage Certificates to settlers in the colony upon the following terms: Males under twelve, £4; under forty-five, £6; over forty-five, £8. Females under thirty-five, £4; under forty-five, £6; over forty-five, £8. In New Zealand, assisted passages are granted by several of the provinces to settlers' nominees for certain payments, combined in some cases, with a guarantee to pay the balance at a future time; the payments vary in different provinces. Those having friends in the Colonies, or who may have relatives going out, should keep up a correspondence with them, as they may, perhaps, be useful to them some day in obtaining for them an assisted passage. When the emigrant is unable to obtain any of the foregoing advantages, the following full payments have to be made:-- Canada, by Steamer from Liverpool or London, steerage, £6 6s. per adult, over eight years; under eight years, half price; infants, £1 1s. Where a number are sent out under the Society's auspices, special rates are obtained at a considerable reduction. Australia.-Steerage, £14 to £18, according to the colony, per adult over twelve years; under twelve years, half price; infants free. New Zealand.-Steerage, £15 to £19, according to the province, per adult over twelve years. Cape of Good Hope and Natal.-Steerage, £13 to £15, per adult over twelve years. British Columbia.-Intermediate, £25. All the above include provisions as per scale authorised under the Passengers Act. N.B.-The regulations and rates of passage quoted in this chapter are liable to alteration from year to year. Persons should ascertain by inquiry if any alterations have been made. CHAPTER V. Land Grants. Colonies which offer Grants of Land. CANADA-The Government of the province of Ontario. Free grants and homesteads are secured to settlers with a family, of 200 acres, and to their children, and others, over eighteen years, 100 acres of land. At the end of five years from the date of location the title deeds are granted, provided that the settler shall have cleared and got under cultivation fifteen acres of land, two acres of which must be cleared and cultivated annually, and that he shall have built a habitable house at least sixteen feet by twenty, and shall have continuously resided on and cultivated the land until the issue of the grant. During this period the land is exempted from liability for any debts, except rates and taxes. A settler may absent himself from his location six months in each year, but not more. VICTORIA.-An improved Land Act is now under the consideration of the Legislature. It proposes to extend the facilities for obtaining land by free selection over all lands in the colony, to the extent of from 80 to 640 acres, by granting the selector a licence, at an annual rental of 2s. an acre. If he fences in his allotment, and resides upon it for two and a half years, he is to be entitled to have his rent from the end of the third year credited to him as part of the purchase money, until he has paid £1 an acre, when he will become entitled to an absolute grant of the land; the payment may be thus protracted over ten years. QUEENSLAND.-Persons paying their own full passage and that of their servants will receive land order warrants of the value of £30 per adult, and of half that amount for each of their children who accompany them, who are aged twelve months and under twelve years. Under the new Land Act all persons paying their own passages are also entitled to select a homestead of eighty to one hundred and sixty acres of agricultural land, subject to a quit rent of 6d. or 9d. per acre for five years, and on proof of five years' residence and cultivation of one-tenth of the land can obtain a deed of grant. In TASMANIA land orders to the value of £30 and £18 per adult over fifteen years of age, and £10 and £9 for each child under that age, entitling the holders to free grants of good land, and available for the purchase of any farm or country lands offered by the Government, without restriction as to quality or locality, are granted to all paying their passage to the colony. Homesteads of £1 per acre may be purchased from the Government at eight or fourteen years' credit. NATAL.-The Government gives-to persons who have a knowledge of farming, and who go out with a capital of about £500-free grants of 200 acres of selected land, with a reserve of 400 other acres adjoining, which may be bought for 10s. an acre, at the end of five years. At the end of two years' actual occupation the freehold is secured. Free grants of 100 acres reserved, are also given to men of the farming class possessed of £250 and £100 respectively, after payment of their passages. Full and reliable information respecting the land regulations and other details of the colonies generally or individually is supplied in cheap pamphlets and maps published periodically, which can be obtained from the Society by remitting postage stamps for price and postage. CHAPTER VI. Arrangements For Passage And Voyage. Having now made yourself well acquainted with the inducements held out and the facilities afforded by the different colonies, the next step is to decide upon the colony you wish to go to, or that which your means may enable you the more readily to avail yourself of. As a free or assisted emigrant, having been approved of by the agent for the colony you are going to, and having made the payment required for that object, the instructions furnished by such agent as to your outfit and other necessaries for the voyage, and the time for the joining the ship, are so clear and simple that you will have no difficulty in following them. As a rule, the arrangements made by the agents of those colonies which grant assisted passages are of the best kind, and are ordered with a view to the comfort, health, and happiness of every passenger. All are under the care of a doctor, and where a number of single women are taken out, a matron is appointed to have charge over them; she is generally a woman specially retained and supplied for the service by that admirable institution, the "Female Emigrant Society." Where a large number of Emigrants are taken out together, it is usual to place the single men in the forward part of the ship, the married and young families next, and the single women next to the families, each compartment being separated by bulk-heads, and having distinct communication with the deck. Those who pay full passage rates, have to make their own arrangements for reaching the port of embarkation, as also for the voyage. Having paid your money you receive a Contract Ticket, or passage order by a particular ship, in which the date of sailing is plainly mentioned, part of which you will carefully retain until you reach your destination. You will then procure your ship kit, such as bedding, mess utensils, &c. A ship kit for one adult to Canada will cost 7s. 6d. or more, according to quality, and will include a Mattress, Water Bottle, Wash Basin, Tin Plate, Drinking Mug, Knife and Fork, Spoons, and Marine Soap. These can be best procured at the port of embarkation from emigrant outfitters. Take with you as many changes of clothing as you can get together, artisans take your working tools-but avoid all superfluities in the way of bedding and furniture-the Irish emigrant to America carries all he wants on his body or in his bundle. If going to Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa, you will require a more complete ship kit, costing 15s. 6d. upwards, as also a larger stock of clothing; under no circumstances should you have less than two suits of clothes (one warm), two pairs of boots or shoes, one pair of canvas or carpet slippers, four pairs of socks, four or six shirts, two under shirts or guernseys, a straw or white felt hat or cap, and a waterproof coat. Those who can afford it should take a little tea, cocoa, arrow-root, in tins; essence of lemon, and any other little things which do not occupy much room; but, under the Passengers Act an ample dietary is provided for the voyage. Have no more boxes or packages than are absolutely necessary, they are a great expense and trouble. Do not fold, but roll up all linen articles. Do not let your boxes be larger than thirty-three inches by twenty-two inches wide, and eighteen inches deep; have your name and port of destination and the ship you go by legibly painted on the lid; also "WANTED ON THE VOYAGE," which will ensure their being placed at the top of the cargo whence they can be obtained, and changes of line, &c., made at intervals during the voyage. Remember to have your written direction placed inside your boxes. Never send your luggage in advance of yourselves; but always have it constantly within reach, and under your own eye if possible. Every emigrant should endeavour to have a pound in his pocket when he lands, to enable him to obtain a lodging, or to get forward to the interior. Small sums of money may be remitted by Post Office order, to await your arrival in any of the colonies; it is best to make it payable at the Post Office of the port of debarkation. CHAPTER VII. Aboard Ship. Having now completed your arrangements for the voyage, and sought the port of embarkation, you should, if you arrive a day or two before the ship sails, go to some respectable lodging, the Society will inform you where; avoid crimps[to decoy or entrap into forced military service.], touters[one who solicits or sells information], and all other land-sharks, who wait for you upon arrival by train, &c., and who look upon emigrants as safe prey for plunder, well knowing that they cannot possibly delay their voyage or remain behind to obtain redress. The first day or two on board an emigrant ship is as uncomfortable a life as can well be imagined, since all is confusion form so many coming on board, and going ashore at one and the same time. Order soon prevails, and it only requires that you, troubling yourself with nothing but your own affairs, should be patient and cheerful, and thus-if not troubled with sea-sickness-you may be contented and happy throughout the voyage of ten days to Quebec or Portland, usually three months to Australia, and two months to the Cape and Natal, and if you combine with others to be cheerful, and put up cheerfully with the petty discomforts and annoyances inevitable under such existing circumstances, you may possibly pick up much useful information in your intercourse with your fellow-passengers, since it generally happens that there are among the passengers some who have been out before, and who are always ready to give advice. If there are any musicians or vocalists among you, get them to join together and give a concert and sing songs; dancing, recitations, and other modes of pastime generally had recourse to, will afford amusement, and most agreeably shorten the otherwise tedious hours of the voyage. Persons going to the same locality will be found available for mutual assistance, when they settle down, in putting up buildings and getting land into cultivation. Let every one remember that he is under the especial providential care of Him "who holdeth the waters in the hollow of His hand." Take with you your Bible and Prayer-book, and such other books as may be useful, and never fail to offer up your daily prayers to the great Supreme, in whose power and under whose protection you are placed, and who, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, will order your goings in safety as you acknowledge Him. Cheer, boys, cheer, for home and mother country, CHAPTER VIII. Arrived At Your Destination. Under the Passengers Act, passengers are entitled to maintenance on board ship, the same as on the voyage, for forty-eight hours after arrival at the port named in your contract ticket, except in cases where the ship has a mail contract, or has to proceed to a further port. You ought also to be landed free of any expense. You will do well, however, to get on shore as soon as you can, and if going forward, to at once secure your places by train or coach to your destination. Upon landing, if you desire any information or assistance, you should at once seek out the Government Immigration Officer, whose duty it is to advise you as to lodgings, where you can find employment, and your best plan of going forward. Unless immediate employment is to be had, avoid remaining in the towns; get work in the country. Do not delay an hour in seeking for it, and accept the first offer, no matter what it may be. Those who go out under the free or assisted regulations of the Colonies, are upon their arrival received into a Government depôt for a reasonable time, until they are provided with situations. It is customary for those requiring labourers to attend at the depôt upon a ship's arrival, and to engage their hands. In the case of Single Women, every care is taken by the Government of the Colony that the persons who engage them are known to be respectable. Passage Warrant passengers, and those nominated by friends in the Colonies, are not received into the depôts, their friends are supposed to meet them. Press onward then, be firm, be true, EMIGRATION OF THE POOR. Reasons Why Persons Should Emigrate.
For the foregoing reasons, it is the interest and duty of the working men of all classes to unite their efforts with those of the National Emigration Aid Society, to obtain State Aid and to promote and organise Emigration Societies and Clubs in furtherance of that object. Vide the Society's pamphlet upon "State Emigration," by Mr. Edward Jenkins. Price 2dl; per post, three stamps. The following are about the rates of wages and the cost of provisions at present ruling. They vary according to the skill and the demand for the supply of each, but the wages are as a rule very steady. It must be remembered that the demand for the labour of artisans in the colonies is necessarily limited; while the opportunities which are offered to the same class for labour in the cultivation of the soil are unlimited:--
No demand exists in Natal or the Cape of Good Hope for the above classes. Shopmen, Clerks, Needlewomen, Governesses, and others accustomed to in-door occupations here, are not in special demand in any colony. (The following Ads were attached to the pamphlet.)
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