50
Appendix No. 5.
ESTIMATE of the number of People in Australia on the 1st of January, 1850, who were or had been Convicts.
New South Wales. From the Census of March 1846, the Population may be
classed as follows:-
51
Appendix No. 6.
Formerly
Convict.
Bond.
Total
Convict.
Always free.
Total.
27,000
10,800
37,800
149,500
187,300
Van Diemen's Land.-From Sir William Denison's Report on Statistics, dated January 20, 1849, it appears that the People might be classed on 31st December, 1847, as follows:-
Formerly Convict.
Bond.
Total
Convict.
Always free.
Total.
11,500
27,500
39,000
40,500
79,500
Thus at the respective dates of these Returns there were in the Australian Colonies about 76,800 persons who were actually, or had been, Convicts. But a correction is to be made on the one hand for subsequent mortality, and on the other hand for subsequent importations. The mortality will be allowed for at the large rate of 3 per cent. :-
New South Wales :-
Convict Population, March 1846
37,800
Deduct Mortality at 3 per cent. per annum for 34 years
4,075
Remaining
33,725
Add fresh Importations
3,175
Total in New South Wales, January 1, 1850
36,900
Van Diemen's Land :-
Convict Population, December 1847
39,000
Deduct Mortality at 3 per cent. per annum for 2 years
2,304
Remaining
36,696
Add fresh Importations
2,504
Total in Van Diemen's Land, January 1, 1850
39,200
Grand Total in Australia, January 1, 1850
76,100
Hence it would appear that the total in Australia still exceeds 76,000; or that, deducting 28,000 assumed to continue bond, there are 48,000 more who were in that condition formerly.
Extracts of some of Sir W. Denison's Despatches containing such passages as relate to the number of Convicts who could be received annually in Van Diemen's Land.
THE first of the following extracts refers more especially to the number who could be received if the Probation system had been continued, but it is presented here in order to show the opinions which were entertained by the Lieutenant-Governor at that time.
I. Sir W. Denison, July 10, 1847.
Your Lordship will see that the Comptroller-General is of opinion that, with the Parliamentary Pa- means at his disposal, and the improvements consequent upon the changes already introduced pers of May 1848, or about to be so, 2000 male Convicts might be sent out annually, and the Probation system page 81. carried out as regards that number to a modified extent. I cannot, however, agree with him
in this. I do not think that the necessary buildings could be erected; neither do I think, from what I have seen of those at his disposal, that officers could be found capable of working the system satisfactorily, Even, however, were the Comptroller-General correct, there are many other reasons which I conceive would render a further trial of the Probation system in this colony very unadvisable; these, however, will be detailed in another part of this despatch.
II. Sir W. Denison, June 27, 1848.
"In order to give your Lordship an idea of the amount of labour which might annually Parliamentary Pa-
be absorbed by this colony, it will be sufficient to refer to the statistics of the Convict depart per of February ment, from which it appears that from 1841 to 1846 about 20,000 male convicts were 1849, page 247. imported, or at the average rate of about 3,600 per annum; between the 1st of April, 1846, and the 1st of April, 1848, upwards of 10,000 persons have emigrated from the colony, and it is probable that this, which only shows the number since a record has been kept, falls far short of the actual amount of an emigration which is still going on at the same rate as during the two years before mentioned.
"This being the case, and the supply of labour in the colony being still sufficient, it would appear that 20,000 men, diminished by emigration to the extent of at least 15,000, have been sufficient for the labour of this colony for six years, or that about 700 or 800 men per annum would for the present supply the extra demand for labour in Van Diemen's Land."
The Comptroller-General at this date made the following remark :-
“The Estimate No. 13 shows that the demand for pass-holder labour may be expected Ibid., page 253.
to exceed the supply during the next twelve months, and that the embarrassing difficulties formerly experienced respecting the disposal of the labour of the convicts in the second stage
of probation are therefore now completely at an end."
III. Sir W. Denison, September 28, 1848.
→ I see, now, however, that the Legislature of New South Wales have adopted a pro- Parliamentary Pa- position submitted to it by your Lordship, that convicts should be forwarded to that colony per of July 1849, upon conditions similar to those enumerated in your Lordship's despatch, namely, that their page 66. wives and children should be sent out with or after them, and that an equivalent number of free emigrants should be forwarded at the same time.
The whole state of things is altered by the adoption of this scheme. The demand for labour is very great in New South Wales; the prices which the settlers are now paying are such as to absorb a large portion of the profit of their capital. Capital, therefore, no longer flows into that colony as it used to do, and great distress exists among the land- nollers. With us this is not the case, though were emigration to continue from hence at the same rate at which it has done for the last few years, a similar state of things would be produced.
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