No. 42, Miscellaneous

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your
Grace's Circular Despatch of the 11th April 1863, referring to the great distress which still prevails among the
Manufacturing population of the Northern Counties; and to
the several schemes which have been proposed for rescuing
the people from their present condition, and for enabling
them again to earn an independent livelihood. Your Grace
also mentions that among these schemes Emigration occupies
a prominent place, and points out the great importance to
Her Majesty's Government of knowing accurately to which of
Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions the Emigration of any
portion of those people might be directed, with the best
prospect of advantage to the people themselves, and to
the Colony, and Your Grace requests me to furnish the
best information in my power on the subject, and to state
what is the opening in this Colony for each class of the
distressed operatives referred to in your Despatch.

2. The industrious poor may improve their condition
in British Columbia by the following means—

Firstly—by occupying and cultivating land which may be
held under the Preemption Act on payment of the Registration
fee of eight shillings (8/s), no other charge being made until the land is surveyed. By taking that course any immigrant
of ordinary industry and prudence may, at a small outlay,
soon attain a comfortable and independent position: for
so great is the fertility of the soil, wherever it is
adapted for tillage, that the produce of a field of 10
acres of land properly cultivated would not only suffice
to keep a family in food, but also by the sale of the
surplus produce, for which there is a ready market,
realize a sufficient sum to procure all the other necessaries of life.

Secondly—The Mines of British Columbia offer unusual
advantages to the industrious immigrant, if gifted with
enterprise and perseverance he may in a short time, like
many others who have tried the experiment, acquire a valuable
Mining Claim worth a fortune; or if his views be less
aspiring, he may work for wages, at the rate of eight or
ten dollars ($8 or $10) a day.

Thirdly—The immigrant may earn a comfortable livelihood
by the manufacture of roofing shingles, or by hewing timber
or by cutting and making Hay which grows abundantly in
the natural meadows of the Colony.

Fourthly—He may go into service either as a house or farm
Servant, or maintain himself by job work.

3. These pursuits and occupations all require a certain
degree of skill, a robust and healthy condition of body, and
a certain amount of means to support the immigrant on first
landing in the Colony. They are therefore unsuitable for
the class of emigrants referred to in Your Grace's Despatch
who being altogether destitute would have to be maintained
for an indefinite length of time, wholly at the public expense.

4. I would therefore recommend that the following
emigrants, and no others, should be sent out to British
Columbia, that is to say—Ten "Married men with not over large
or very young families who have been accustomed to outdoor labour."
100 "young women of good character who have been employed
in the Mills, but who have had some experience of domestic
service or seem capable of undertaking it."