Chapter XXI: Appendix: F

STATUTES PASSED BY THE COLONIES TO RESTRICT PAUPER IMMIGRATION.

CANADA.

The Immigration Act, 1886 (R.S.C. 1886, c. 65, secs. 23 and 24) enacts as follows:--

[Sidenote: The landing of pauper
immigrants may be
prohibited.]

Sec. 23. The Governor-General may by proclamation, whenever he deems it necessary, prohibit the landing of pauper or destitute immigrants in all ports or any port in Canada, until such sums of money as are found necessary are provided and paid into the hands of one of the Canadian immigration agents, by the master of the vessel carrying such immigrants, for their temporary support and transport to their place of destination; and during such time as any such pauper immigrants would, in consequence of such orders, have to remain on board such vessel, the Governor in Council may provide for proper anchorage grounds being assigned to such vessel, and for such vessel being visited and superintended by the medical superintendent or any inspecting physician of the port or quarantine station, and for the necessary measures being taken to prevent the rise or spread of diseases amongst the passengers in such vessel and amongst people on shore.--32 and 33 Vict. c. 10, s. 16.

[Sidenote: Landing of vicious
immigrants may be
prohibited.]

Sec. 24. The Governor-General may, by proclamation, whenever he deems it necessary, prohibit the landing in Canada of any criminal, or other vicious class of immigrants designated in such proclamation, except upon such conditions for insuring their re-transportation to the port in Europe whence they came with the least possible delay, as the Governor in Council prescribes; and such conditions may, if the Governor in Council deems it necessary, include the immediate return, or the return with the least possible delay, of the vessel and such immigrants to the said port--such prohibited immigrants remaining on board until such return of the vessel.--35 Vict. c. 28, s. 10.

VICTORIA.

The Passengers, Harbours, and Navigation Statute, 1865 (No. 255), enacts as follows in secs. 36-39:--

[Sidenote: Bond to be given for
passengers being
lunatic, etc.]

36. If the immigration officer, or assistant immigration officer, shall certify that any passenger shall have arrived in Victoria on board any ship as aforesaid (_i.e._ any British or foreign navigable vessel of any kind carrying passengers, except vessels plying from any one port in Victoria to any other port therein) being either lunatic, idiotic, deaf, dumb, blind, or infirm, and likely, in his opinion, to become a charge upon the public, or upon any public or charitable institution, the immigration officer shall require the owner, charterer, or master of such ship, within seven days after her arrival to execute with two sufficient sureties, jointly and severally, a bond to her Majesty in the sum of 100_l._ for every such passenger, conditioned to pay to the Treasurer of Victoria all moneys or expenses which shall or may be laid out or incurred within the space of five years from the execution of the said bond for the maintenance or support of such passenger; and the said sureties shall justify before and to the satisfaction of the said immigration officer, and shall by their oath or affirmation satisfy him that they are respectively residents in Victoria, and each worth treble the amount of the penalty of such bond over and above all their liabilities.

[Sidenote: Principal immigration
agent to report as to
forfeiture.]

37. If any passenger for whom any bond shall have been given as aforesaid, shall at any time within five years from the execution thereof receive maintenance or support from any public or charitable institution in Victoria, the payment incurred for the maintenance and support of such passenger shall be provided for out of the money collected in and under such bond to the extent of the penalty therein mentioned, or such portion as shall be required for the payment of such maintenance or support; and it shall be the duty of the principal immigration agent, upon representation made to him, to ascertain the right and claim of the Treasurer of Victoria to payment of the amount so expended for the maintenance and support of any such passenger, and to report the same to the Governor in Council; and the said report shall be conclusive in the matter, and shall be evidence of the facts therein stated; and such bond may be put in suit, and the penalty, or as much thereof as shall be required to defray the expenses of such maintenance or support, may be recovered by suit or information on behalf of her Majesty, and in the name of a law officer in any court of competent jurisdiction.

[Sidenote: Penalty for refusing
to execute bond.]

38. If the owner, charterer, or master of any ship on board which such passengers, specially reported, shall have been carried, shall neglect or refuse to execute a bond as aforesaid within seven days, after being so required as aforesaid, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 100_l._ sterling, in addition to his liability under the said bond; and such ship shall not be cleared out until the said bond shall have been executed, and the said penalties shall have been paid.

[Sidenote: Act not to extend to
Government
immigrants, etc.]

39. These provisions ... shall not extend to immigrants brought to Victoria at the public expense, nor to shipwrecked mariners brought to Victoria without charge by the master of some other ship than that in which they were wrecked, nor to the crews of ships who shall have signed articles for the whole voyage, nor to her Majesty's land and sea forces.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

Sec. 15 of the Immigration Act, 1872, enacts as follows:--

The Governor in Council may from time to time frame, annul, alter, and vary such regulations as may be necessary for declaring what persons shall be eligible for immigration to the said Province (_i.e._ South Australia), and generally for carrying out the provisions of this Act; and all such regulations, and all instructions which may from time to time be transmitted to any immigration agent, shall be forthwith published in the _South Australian Government Gazette_ for general information, and shall be, within one week from their publication, if Parliament be then sitting, or, if not, then within one week from the next meeting of Parliament, laid upon the table of each House of Parliament.

The above Act was passed to "encourage and assist immigration into South Australia, and to provide for the control and supervision of such immigration." Pauper emigrants would not, in all probability, be allowed to land.

TASMANIA.

The Passengers Act, 1885, enacts as follows:--

[Sidenote: Bond to be given for
certain passengers.]

Sec. 3. If the collector (at the port of arrival) shall certify that any passenger shall have arrived in Tasmania on board any ship (except one plying from any one port in the Colony to any other port therein) being either lunatic, idiotic, deaf, dumb, blind, or infirm, or from any cause unable to support himself, or likely, in the opinion of the collector, to become a charge upon the public, or upon any public or charitable institution, the collector shall require the owner, charterer, or master of such ship, within seven days after her arrival, to execute a bond to her Majesty in the sum of 100_l._ for every such passenger.

[Sidenote: Conditions of the
bond.]

4. Every such bond shall be entered into with at least two sufficient sureties, and the person giving such bond and his sureties shall be bound jointly and severally to pay to the Treasurer of Tasmania all moneys and expenses which shall be laid out or incurred within the space of five years from the execution of the said bond for the maintenance or support of such passenger; and the said sureties shall justify before and to the satisfaction of the collector, and shall by their oath or affirmation satisfy him, that they are respectively residents in Tasmania, and each worth treble the amount of the penalty of such bond over and above all their liabilities.

[Sidenote: Provisions as to
ships quarantined.]

5. Whenever any such ship or the passengers by such ship shall have performed quarantine in accordance with any law for the time being in force, then the period within which the owner, charterer, or master shall be required to give such bond shall be within seven days after such ship or passenger has or have performed quarantine and been duly discharged therefrom.

[Sidenote: Bond to be applied
to maintenance.]

6. If any passenger for whom any bond shall have been given as aforesaid, shall at any time within five years from the execution thereof receive maintenance or support from any public or charitable institution in Tasmania, the amount expended for the maintenance and support of such passenger shall be provided for and repaid as herein-after provided out of the moneys collected under such bond, to the extent of the penalty therein mentioned, or such portion thereof as shall be required for the payment of such maintenance or support.

[Sidenote: Authority in charge
of institution to
report as to
forfeiture of bond.]

7. It shall be the duty of the authority or person having the control or charge of such public or charitable institution, to ascertain the right and claim of the Treasurer of Tasmania to payment of the amount so expended for the maintenance and support of any such passenger, and to report the same to him with all such information as may enable the Treasurer to recover the moneys due.

[Sidenote: Bond may be put in
suit.]

8. Every such report shall be conclusive in the matter, and shall be evidence of the facts therein stated; and every such bond may be put in suit, and the penalty, or as much thereof as shall be required to defray the expenses of such maintenance or support, may be recovered by suit or information on behalf of her Majesty, and in the name of a law officer in any court of competent jurisdiction.

[Sidenote: Penalty for refusing
to execute bond.]

9. If the owner, charterer, or master of any ship shall neglect or refuse to execute a bond in any case within the provisions of this Act within seven days after being so required as aforesaid, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 100_l._, and the payment of such penalty shall not be deemed to exonerate such owner, charterer, or master from being compelled to execute such bond as by this Act provided; and such ship shall not either during or after the expiration of the said period of seven days be cleared out unless and until the said bond shall have been executed and the said penalty has been paid.

[Sidenote: Act not to extend to
Government
immigrants, etc.]

10. The provisions of this Act shall not extend to immigrants brought to Tasmania either wholly or partly at the expense of the Colony, nor to shipwrecked mariners brought to Tasmania without charge by the master of some other ship than that in which they were wrecked, nor to her Majesty's land and sea forces.

[Sidenote: Recovery of
penalties.]

11. All penalties incurred under section 9 shall be recovered in a summary way before any two or more Justices of the Peace in the mode prescribed by the Magistrates' Summary Procedure Act (19 Vict., No. 8); and any person who thinks himself aggrieved by the imposition of any such penalty, may appeal against the same in the mode prescribed by the Appeals Regulation Act (19 Vict., No. 10).

NEW ZEALAND.

The Imbecile Passengers Act, 1882 (No. 58), is the same as the Tasmania Act above cited, and need not, therefore, be set out in detail. The only differences are--

(1.) The word "New Zealand" must be read throughout instead of
"Tasmania."

(2.) In secs. 3 and 5, "fourteen days" must be read for "seven days."

(3.) In sec. 4, after the words "maintenance or support of such
passenger," the words "by or in any public or charitable institution
in New Zealand" must be inserted.

(4.) In sec. 8, instead of the words from "defray" to the end,
the following must be read: "defray the charges incurred in such
maintenance or support, may be recovered on behalf of her Majesty in
the manner provided by the Crown Suits Act, 1881."

(5.) The following must be added as sec. 9:--

All moneys recovered or received under any such bond as aforesaid
shall be paid by the Commissioner to the public or charitable
institution, by or in which any such passenger #/ /# may have been
maintained or supported as aforesaid.

(6.) Instead of sec. 11 read as sec. 12:--

All penalties incurred under sec. 10 (sec. 9 of the Tasmanian Act) shall be recoverable in a summary way before any two or more Justices of the Peace.