Scotland in the nineteenth century

14. Poverty and relief measures

Section 14.2: Emigration

"appointed to consider the Subject of Emigration from United Kingdom..."

The Committee noticed the changes in the weaving industry from hand-loom to power-loom weaving. Although the cotton industry had at first taken up the surplus workforce, depression in that trade also had caused problems. The demand for cotton products had declined while at the same time the means of production had increased. In the areas affected no other industries existed to employ the surplus labour and the distress was, in places, bordering on famine.

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The worst affected areas were Lancashire, Cheshire, West Riding and Cumberland in England and Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire in Scotland. In these areas a great deal of relief work had been needed to ward off famine, riot and disturbances. In those areas where a poor rate existed the pressure on poor relief had depressed those still in employment.

The Manufacturers Relief Committee agreeing with the Committee that there was little hope of reviving the hand-loom industry, offered £25,000 towards emigration if £50,000 could be found from elsewhere. This was considered sufficient to relocate 1,200 unemployed families in North America.

The Committee considered the problem of the Irish poor, who filled any vacuum created in England or Scotland, and a report from the Colonial Department stating it was ready to settle large numbers in Nova Scotia at short notice.

The minutes of evidence consisted of a large section on Scotland (pp. 9-68) including evidence from the various emigration societies, complaints of the Irish depressing wages and the conditions in the various counties.

Tables: Those seeking to emigrate (p. 19). The income and expenditure of the weaving families (pp. 64-68). Abstracts of letters from Scottish settlers in Canada to relatives in Scotland (pp. 128-131). Those out of work (p. 214).

The final report included much of the evidence contained in the earlier reports. Districts of Ireland, Scotland and England were identified which had surplus populations, depressed industry and where the poverty of the area depressed the living standards of those still working.

Each country was examined in a separate section: "The state of the population of Scotland" (pp. 14-15).

In the case of Scotland the Committee could not find any real case of distress in the agricultural regions that they considered would benefit from emigration. It was considered that some island areas would provide good settlers but the majority of those living in poverty were in urban areas where the situation was exacerbated by the influx of the Irish.

It was decided that, although Scottish emigrants were good settlers and had a strong inclination to emigrate, it would be better to stop the Irish coming to Scotland.

Abstracts of petitions to emigrate from Scotland (pp. 500-508).

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In the evidence on the convicts in New South Wales a number of the colonists commented that Scottish emigrants were much preferred as settlers to any other nationality. James Macarthur, a landowner in New South Wales (pp. 158-225), said that the landowners were annoyed by the large-scale influx of Irish labourers sent under parish-relief schemes and that if it continued many landowners would look for labour from the East Indies.

The Scottish labourers were preferred because they were "more skillful workmen, they are better agricultural servants, also better shepherds..." and wherever skilled labour was needed employers preferred the Scottish emigrants.

To help encourage Scottish emigration to New South Wales, Crown lands were being sold to pay for assisted passages and Macarthur was able to report on three ships having recently sailed from the United Kingdom, with several more being expected from the Western Highlands. He said that in the main the Scots were found to he keen to emigrate as they hoped one day to establish themselves as landowners. Because of this willingness on the part of the Scots the emigration officers were able to select those they wanted and usually picked married couples as near 30 years old as possible.

The first part of the report included a short history of emigration. The office had been created as the Government considered that a greater labouring population existed in the United Kingdom that could be profitably employed, and that the colonies afforded an opportunity to dispose of the excess to the advantage of all the parties concerned.

Appendix 1: Report on the applicability of emigration to the relief of distress in the Highlands (pp. 11-13).

In his reply to Graham's letter on the distress in the Highlands of Scotland, Elliott agreed that emigration could help 70,000 people estimated to be on the starvation line, but that New South Wales was not ready for such widescale emigration and that only in Canada could success be achieved. Not only young couples should be sent but also aged relatives.

The papers were concerned with the colonising of the Falkland Islands. It was suggested that Scottish settlers should be sent there. G. T. Whitington had already sent two boat loads with stores and reported a third was on its way. Horses, sheep and deer were to he established from the River Plate, and the colony was also to be employed in fishing, whaling and sealing. Problems were being experienced with foreigners poaching on the islands. The cost of sending settlers from Orkney was estimated at £12 to £13 per adult.

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"... to enquire into the condition of the population of the Islands and Highlands of Scotland, and into the practicability of affording the people relief by means of emigration..."

Emigration was considered as part of a coordinated scheme to reduce distress to the poor in Scotland and to stop the situation recurring. John Bowie, Writer to the Signet (pp. 1-24) considered the distress to have been caused by the failure of the kelp industry and herring fishery, and by the completion of the public works that had formerly employed those out of work.

Kelp had, during the Napoleonic Wars, been a remunerative industry for soap making, but at the end of the war prices fell and at the same time the thousands employed in the herring fishery found that less fish were frequenting the Scottish Coast. During the war the people had been able to have abundant food and clothing and provide for their children's education. Since the war, three families had settled in single crofts which were only suitable for grazing and could not support the excess population thrown out of work. Some of the population had sought harvest work in the south before returning to their crofts in the winter. The amount of casual harvest work available to the crofters had, however, been reduced by the improved steam boat service which brought in cheap Irish labour.

The trend on the west coast since 1800 had been for the replacement of the small cattle farms by large farms and sheep, and in these areas the population had been reduced and the circumstances of farming improved.

Large numbers of the west coast estates were in debt and this was carded on with the succeeding generations until the estate was placed in the hands of trustees who felt no obligation to the poor crofters. In the winter of 1836-37 £80,000 was raised to provide a charitable relief fund, since the estate owners were unable to cope with the scale of the problem (pp. 10-12).

To escape the poverty, many Highland girls were going to Edinburgh and Glasgow where they became prostitutes (p. 58).

The Committee heard that between 45-80,000 people on the west coast of Scotland were considered surplus to the country's needs, and that £70,000 was needed in the winter of 1836-37 to feed and clothe them.

The origin of the problems of excess population was traced back to 1745 and attributed to the feudal system encouraging the sub division of land into crofts, the problem being exacerbated by the failure of the kelp and herring industries and work ceasing on the roads and canals.

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The population in the coastal districts had been further increased by the clearing of the central areas and the movement of these people to the coast.

The lack of education, and especially the teaching of English, made it difficult for the Highlanders to move south to find employment and poor roads made movement difficult.

The Committee believed the best solution lay in mass emigration to Upper Canada with Government checks to stop the population increasing again.

A report from T. F. Elliot, the Agent General for Emigration, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Elliot considered that the only way to relieve the distress in the Highlands was through large scale emigration.

The most suitable place would be North America as in Australia the large scale of the emigration planned would make the new immigrants too large a percentage of the population.

In Canada careful planning was necessary as extra labour was only needed in the interior. Also some of the new immigrants would be old and sick or young, and of little use to the colony. This would necessitate extra hospital facilities and money to move the immigrants inland and establish them. For this reason money was needed from Parliament before the emigration began; in 1826 a Committee had calculated £60 per family might be needed.

The return give the total number of Scottish emigrants for the year 1842, the port from which they left and the country to which they went.

"... appointed to enquire into the workings of the Passengers Act, and to report whether any, and what, further protection is required by emigrants during the passage or at the port of embarkation..."

The Committee found that the vast majority of emigrants left from the port of Liverpool, 174,188 out of 280,849 who emigrated in 1850. Of these 257,663 went to America.

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The Scottish ports of the west coast also had a very brisk emigration trade which peaked in the spring months of April, May and June.

Thomas Hunter, a Greenock merchant, gave evidence on the Scottish emigration trade (pp. 554-581). Two-thirds of the emigrants from Greenock were Scots, mainly mechanics and small farmers, the rest were Irish from Belfast and Londonderry. They were directed to Greenock by Scottish agents in Ireland.

Although rations were provided on the voyage, most Scots brought extra provisions with them from their farm or croft and did their cooking individually or in small groups (sample ships menu p. 556).

The Greenock ships were generally smaller than those from Liverpool carrying 200-300 passengers and a cargo of iron. On return voyages this was replaced by North American timber.

A large number of the Scottish emigrants were Highlanders from the Duke of Argyll's property who wished to go to Canada, also there were a number of mechanics from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Berwick. Some of the Highlanders were given reduced rates to enable them to join relations already abroad.

The return includes information in the form of letters on the emigration of 1,681 destitute Highlanders from South Uist, and a further 986 from Lewis.

The emigration agent in Quebec reported that immigrants had arrived from South Uist in a very poor condition. They had been existing on the island by eating shellfish and seaweed collected from the rocks at low water before being sent to Canada; their passage had been paid by the proprietor, Colonel Gordon. Upon arriving at Quebec it was found that they had insufficient funds or food for travelling across Canada to their final destination. On the voyage from Scotland, the wife of the captain had spent her time organising the making of clothes for the emigrants. One man leaving the ship was found to have no other clothes than a woman's petticoat. The Quebec Emigration Agent was very scathing concerning some of the proprietors for sending out tenants unable to fend for themselves, and at a time of the year when no employment existed for them.

The report includes information on emigration from Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. A large number of the Irish emigrants travelled to Liverpool for embarkation, while the Scottish emigrants generally left via the Scottish west coast ports, especially Glasgow.

Appendix 2. Return of emigrants who embarked from ports in the United Kingdom in 1854 (pp. 62-63).

Appendix 3: Analytical return of emigration from the United Kingdom in 1854 (pp. 64-65).

Appendix 4: Return of emigration from various ports including Glasgow (p. 67).

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The material relating to Scotland in this report is of a statistical nature.

Tables comparing the nationality of emigrants of 1870 with that of the previous seven years (p. 1).

Table of destination of English, Scotch, Irish and foreign emigrants of 1870 (p. 2).

Percentage of emigration to population from Ireland, England and Scotland (p. 3).

Prosecutions under the Passenger Act, 1855, giving details from ports of the Clyde (p. 6).

Appendix 2: Table showing the ports in the United Kingdom from which emigrants embarked, the number who embarked at each port and the countries to which they emigrated in 1870. From Glasgow and Greenock, 23,781 people emigrated altogether, 16,862 of whom went to the United States and 5,340 to Canada (pp. 32-33).

Appendix 3: Table showing the number of each sex that embarked from each of the three divisions of the United Kingdom and the countries to which they emigrated in 1870. 14,288 males emigrated from Scotland in 1870, and 9,495 females (pp. 34-35).

Appendix 4: Table of the amount of emigration in 1870 from each port in the United Kingdom at which there is an Emigration Officer and from all other ports showing the general destination, status and nationality of the emigrants and distinguishing adults from children. Details from Glasgow and Greenock are cited (pp. 36-37).

Appendix 5: Summary of the amount and particulars of the emigration to U.S.A., British North America, Australasia and other places to which emigrants proceeded in 1870, showing the native country of the emigrants (p. 38).

Appendix 7: Table showing the particulars of the emigration, e.g. the number of ships and their tonnage, and deaths on the voyage, conducted by the Emigration Commissioners at the expense of colonial and public funds, during the year 1870 (p. 41).

Appendix 9: Summary of emigration conducted by the Emigration Commissioners at the expense of public funds during 24 years from 1847-1870 inclusive (pp. 44-45).

Appendix 19. Table showing the mortality in passenger ships in 1870. General figures for the ports of the Clyde are given (p. 60).

Appendix 20: Table showing details of the emigration to Australia and New Zealand, conducted by Colonial Agents at the expense of colonial funds during the year 1870, including general statistics for Scotland (p. 61).

Appendix 21: Table showing the number of passenger ships and emigrants despatched in 1870 from the United Kingdom, the number of ships wrecked or destroyed at sea, and the number of lives lost. Figures for Glasgow are given (p. 62).

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The material relating to Scotland in this report is of a statistical nature.

Tables showing nationality of emigrants for 1871 and for the previous seven years, divided into English, Scotch, Irish, foreigners (p. 1).

Proportion of population emigrating in 1871, by nationality (p. 1).

Emigrants to the U.S.A. in 1871, by nationality (p. 2).

Appendix 2: Tables showing ports in U.K. from which emigrants embarked at each port and the countries to which they emigrated in 1871. 16,236 emigrated from Glasgow and Greenock to the U.S.A., Canada coming second with 5,613.

Appendix 3: Table showing the number of each sex embarked from each of the three divisions of the U.K. and the countries to which they emigrated. 14,212 males emigrated from Scotland in 1871, and 8,827 females.

Appendix 4: Table of the amount of emigration in 1871 from each port in the U.K. at which there was an Emigration Officer and from all other ports, showing general destination, status and nationality of emigrants, and distinguishing adults from children. Glasgow and Greenock again cited.

Appendix 18: Table showing mortality in passenger ships 1871. General figures for the ports of the Clyde are given.

Appendix 19: Private passenger ships from ports with the number of ships and lives lost. 101 ships embarked from Glasgow and three lives were lost when the Captain and two officers were swept overboard from the SS Europa, in February 1871.

The material relating to Scotland in this report is of a statistical nature.

Table showing the nationality of emigrants from the United Kingdom during the previous 10 years, divided into English, Scotch, Irish and foreigners (p. 1). Emigrants to the United States in 1872 by nationality (p. 2). Table of prosecutions under the Passengers Act, including details of fines imposed at ports of the Clyde on stowaways (p. 4).

Appendix 2: Tables showing ports in the United Kingdom from which emigrants embarked, the number who embarked at each port and the countries to which they emigrated in 1872. From Glasgow and Greenock 23,192 emigrated, in most cases to the United States or Canada (pp. 50-5 1).

Appendix 3: Table showing the number of each sex who embarked from each of the three divisions of the United Kingdom and the countries to which they emigrated in 1872. 13,846 males emigrated from Scotland and 9,346 females (pp. 52-53).

Appendix 4: Table of the amount of emigration in 1872 from each port in the United Kingdom at which there is an Emigration Officer, and from all other ports, showing the general destination, status and nationality of the emigrants, distinguishing adults from children. Glasgow and Greenock again cited (pp. 54-55).

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Appendix 5: Summary of the amount and particulars of the emigration to U.S.A., British North America, Australasia and other places to which emigrants proceeded in 1872, showing the native country of the emigrants (p. 56).

Appendix 7: Table showing the particulars of the emigration, e.g. the number of ships and their tonnage, and deaths on the voyage, conducted by the Emigration Commissioners at the expense of colonial and public funds in 1872 (p. 59).

Appendix 18: Table showing the mortality in passenger ships in 1872. General figures for the ports of the Clyde are given (p. 79).

Appendix 19: Table showing the number of passenger ships and emigrants despatched in 1872, from the United Kingdom, the number of ships wrecked and lives lost. Figures for Glasgow are given (p. 80).

Appendix 21: Table showing details of emigration to Australia and New Zealand in 1872, including general statistics for Scotland (p. 84).

The paper included a copy of the scheme by which £10,000 was advanced by the government to assist the emigration and colonisation of crofters and cottars from congested districts of the western Highlands and Islands, on condition that £2,000 was provided by private subscription. It also included correspondence between the Under Secretary for Scotland and the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, between the former and the Secretary to the Treasury and a telegram from the Governor-General of Canada.

"to enquire into various schemes... to facilitate emigration from the congested districts of the United Kingdom to the British colonies and elsewhere; to examine... any schemes which have received practical trial... and to report generally whether in their opinion it is desirable that further facilities should he given to promote emigration and if so, upon the means by, and the conditions under which such emigration can best be carried out..."

The Committee decided it was too late in the session to conclude their investigations and, therefore, recommended that a committee on the same subject he set up early in the next session.

Evidence concerning emigration from the Western Isles to Canada was presented by R.W. Cochran-Patrick, Under Secretary for Scotland (pp. 1-18) and Malcolm McNeil, Visiting and Inspecting Officer under the Board of Supervision (pp. 18-35). Cochran-Patrick advocated the extension of the system to the mainland, the east coast and the congested districts generally.

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The Treasury grant had been made for the use of the Western Highlands and Islands only, but numerous requests had been made by other districts. Two boat loads of crofters and cottars had sailed for Canada in 1888 and a further ship had been despatched in 1889 (the names of the emigrants are listed in Appendices 1 and 6).

Malcolm McNeil had been responsible for the selection of the families and he gave an account of the criteria which he had applied in making his choice. He also described the terrible destitution prevailing in the Loch Erisort area of Lewis, where the leaders of the people were against emigration and notices had actually been torn down.

"to enquire into various schemes... to facilitate emigration from the congested districts of the United Kingdom to the British colonies or elsewhere; to examine... any schemes which have received practical trial and to report generally whether in their opinion it is desirable that further facilities should be given to promote emigration; and, if so, upon the means by and the conditions under which such emigration can best be carried out..."

There was much divergence of opinion among the Scottish witnesses over the question whether migration or emigration would provide the better solution to the problem of congestion in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

William Peacock Edwards (pp. 217-231), had taken part as agent for Lady Gordon Cathcart in the settlement in Canada of crofters from her estates in the islands of Benbecula, South Uist and Barra since 1883. Advances of £100, later increased to £120, were made to each family. He thought if a similar scheme was undertaken by the government on a large scale, the congestion in the West Highlands of Scotland would be relieved. He admitted that there was some opposition to emigration among the Roman Catholic priests, saying that, "like all clergymen they like to have a good attendance at their church".

Rev. William Macrae, minister of the Church of Scotland in the island of Mull (pp. 231-239), had been a minister for several years in Australia and New Zealand. He claimed that New Zealand would be the most suitable colony for Scottish crofters.

Among those who objected to any system of state-aided emigration was Ronald Munro Ferguson, M.P. (pp. 459-470). He thought government money could be spent more profitably extending forests, constructing harbours near fishing grounds and providing facilities for transport. George Malcolm, an estate agent in the West Highlands (pp. 385-409), denied that the extension of sheep farms and deer forests was to blame for the depopulation of the Highlands. He claimed that the failure of the kelp industry in 1822 was mainly responsible for this.

John Murdoch, a journalist (pp. 255-283), objected to emigration on the grounds that the better classes tended to emigrate, leaving the "refuse". He said, "the less energetic and the poor remained at home; the fine stalwart fellows who would not remain to be insulted by ignoramuses left" (para. 4444). He concluded that it was not only inexpedient but also criminal to remove the population from the islands.

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There was severe criticism of the initial failure of schemes of crofter emigration to Canada, which, it was believed, was mainly a result of mismanagement. Much controversy arose over letters which appeared in local Scottish newspapers, purporting to be written by crofters who had emigrated to Canada. These letters contained complaints that the crofters had been deceived, as they found themselves on the verge of starvation when they arrived in Canada. It was uncertain, however, whether they were authentic or not.

Appendix 4: Particulars of settlers in the colony of Saltcoats, including the names of the settlers, where they came from, their occupations, ages, dates of arrival, the land, buildings, and stock they had acquired, and their comments (pp. 484-487).

"to inquire into various schemes... to facilitate emigration from the congested districts of the United Kingdom... to the British colonies or elsewhere; to examine any schemes which have received parochial trial... and to report generally, whether in their opinion it is desirable that further facilities should be given to promote emigration; and, if so, upon the means by, and the conditions under which such emigration can best he carried out..."

The Committee regarded emigration as "the most economical and effectual means of relieving the surplus population." A system of colonisation had been recommended by a Royal Commission appointed to deal with this problem in 1883. Negotiations were conducted with the Canadian government and several land companies in British North America, but these proved abortive. The Secretary of State for Scotland appointed a committee of inquiry and after they had submitted their report, an experimental scheme of crofter and cottar colonisation was undertaken in the spring of 1888. The Committee took considerable evidence on the working of this scheme.

The Canadian government offered certain areas of unoccupied land to the settlers at a rate of 160 acres to each man. The British government agreed to make an advance of £10,000 on condition that £2,000 should be provided by private subscriptions. This fund was administered initially by the Scottish Office, but in 1889 a Colonisation Board was appointed to take charge of the fund. In May 1888, the first 18 families emigrated. Many of these came from the Hebrides and settled in Saltcoats and Killarney in Manitoba.

The Committee thought the congested districts of Ireland and the Highlands and Islands of Scotland formed an exceptional case, and government aid should be granted for the development of industries, migration, emigration and colonisation. The situation was particularly serious on the island of Lewis because of the increasing population and the decline of the fishing industry. It was reported the "crofts, already too small to maintain one individual are made the home of three, or even of four families." The Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 granted crofters fixity of tenure, compensation for improvements and loans were made by the Scottish Fishery Board to fishermen in crofting parishes.

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The Committee recommended that the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act should be amended to grant powers to purchase holdings for the purpose of migration, to aid local industries and to renew grants to the Scottish Fishery Board. Local authorities already possessed the power to assist in the colonisation or emigration of persons or families from their own localities. The county councils in Scotland were granted these powers by the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, but they had taken little advantage of this. The Committee argued that these powers were sufficient.

The Committee did not recommend the adoption of any general scheme of colonisation for the whole of the United Kingdom. They thought the Colonisation Board, established to deal with acute problems of over population in Scotland, should be continued and reconstructed to include additional members, including the Under Secretary for Scotland. The experiment of colonising the crofter population in Canada should be continued. They also recommended that the government grant to the Emigrants' Information Office, instituted in 1886 to give information concerning the British colonies to those wishing to emigrate, should be, increased to enable branches to be opened in Ireland and Scotland.

Dr. Clark, M.P. (pp. 26-33), who had visited some of the Scottish settlers at Saltcoats, reported that those from the east coast of Scotland had prospered in Canada more than those from the West Highlands. He attributed this to the fact that they were "habitually more industrious and more accustomed to a higher standard of comfort than the West Highlanders" (para. 526). He commented on the congestion and "deterioration in soil and moral stamina" in the Western Highlands.

Appendix 1: Attempt to summarise and collate the evidence given before the Colonisation Committee. Schemes proposed for Scotland (pp. 59-62).

"1. to proceed in the selection of families from the said districts, and their settlement in the Dominion of Canada;

2. to provide from the funds at your disposal such advances to the settlers as may be necessary, and to undertake the collection of instalments of capital and interest in repayment of the same;

3. to take and hold mortgages on the lands, and liens on the chattels of the said settlers and to proceed in the recovery of debts."

Before the Colonisation Board was constituted on 26th December 1888, 18 families from Lewis and 12 from Harris had emigrated to Killarney, Southern Manitoba and on 1st April 1889 were followed by 49 families from Lewis, Harris and North Uist who settled at Saltcoats. They had received grants of £120 and grain supplies from the Government of the Dominion, but it was found that further grants and provisions were needed. It was, however, believed that further emigration to these places would cost less.

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J.G. Colmer, from the Colonisation Board, submitted reports on the settlements of Killarney and Saltcoats, including information on the housing, land, crops, livestock, deaths and water supply, also additional work, and advances of money. He recommended more care should be taken over the selection of families, the ideal comprising father, mother, and four or five children, two being over 14 years old, and able to help on the homestead. He also recommended that no emigration should take place later than March, the land should be prepared for their arrival, the grant increased to £180 and mortgages should be graduated to allow repayment as the homestead grew.

The second report contained further reports from Killarney and Saltcoats. At Killarney the settlement was a success but at Saltcoats, 18 families had gone to work as day labourers.

At Winnipeg a sub-committee of the Colonisation Board had been established and the Canadian Government invited farmers from the United Kingdom to visit the country. George Brown of Caithness reported, "I have no hesitation in saying that those who have taken up their homesteads are infinitely better placed, more comfortable, with better prospects for the future than ever could be their lot if they had remained at home."

It was the general impression that colonisation on a much larger scale was practicable.

Appendix [C. 6067, 1890]: Notes on crofters settling at Killarney and Saltcoats with ages of family, land, housing, etc. complaints and general remarks.

Appendix [C. 6287, 1891]: Extracts from letters and from the agent of the Colonisation Board in Canada. Also the situation of the settlers at the end of September 1890.

"appointed under Your Majesty's Royal Sign Manual for the purpose of carrying out a scheme of colonisation in the dominion of Canada, of crofters and cottars from the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland and from the congested districts of Ireland."

The Commissioners reported on the condition of the crofters' settlements at Killarney in Manitoba and Saltcoats in the North-West Territories. They gave details of the crops produced at Killarney, the areas cultivated, the livestock and farm buildings erected. On the whole, there was a general improvement on the previous year. The crofters' progress at Killarney had been slow at first. They had to be assisted during their first winter there, 1888-89, and given seed grain in the following spring. The only complaint that the Commissioners made was that the settlers had acquired too much machinery on credit.

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The settlers at Saltcoats, however, were not so prosperous. Although more houses and farm buildings had been erected and the livestock increased, the wheat crop had been seriously damaged by frost. As the settlers were more isolated here than those at Killarney, they could not benefit from the experience of neighbouring farmers.

Appendix A: Extracts from the report made by the agent of the Colonisation Board. He said that, "although the Saltcoats settlers had not prospered as well as they had hoped, they maintained that they were better off than they had been in their homeland. All are pleased with the education given their children, for which they do not have to pay in any way, and say that they were never so healthy as since they came to this country" (p. 6).

Appendix B: Summaries of returns showing the position of the families at Killarney (pp. 1-10) and Saltcoats (pp. 11-13) at the end of October 1891 with particulars of the acreage under cultivation, the buildings erected, livestock, machinery purchased and other information (pp. 1-13).