New South Wales
Its Present State and Future Prospects

This 1837 publication documents a key moment in New South Wales' transition from a convict colony to a free society.

James Macarthur (Author)

9781108039321, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 December 2011

654 pages, 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 3.7 cm, 0.82 kg

This 1837 book was ghost-written by the young Edward Edwards (1812–86), later a key figure in the development of British public libraries. It contains two petitions requesting closer British government involvement in the transition of New South Wales from a convict colony to a well run society of respectable emigrants. It includes the names and, unusually for that period, the domiciles of all the petitioners, together with supporting arguments and detailed statistical documentation about the population, economy, laws and governance of the colony. The publication was supervised by the wealthy Australian-born landowner James Macarthur (1798–1867), who was becoming increasingly influential in the political and economic development of New South Wales. He aimed to secure 'the best interests of the Colony, strengthen the ties to the Parent State and render it in every way worthy of its British origin', by elevating 'the moral character of its society'.

Introduction
1. Brief review of the policy hitherto pursued by the parent government towards the Colony of New South Wales
2. Of transportation to New South Wales
its past inefficiency exemplified by the progressive increase and actual extent of crime in the Colony
chief causes of this state of things
remedial measures by which transportation may be made more efficient, or may be gradually discontinued
3. Of the local jury law of New South Wales. Additional note on the jury law
4. Of courts of justice
tenure of judicial office
magistracy
Legislative Council
titles to landed property from the Crown
applicability of British statutes
municipal bodies
5. Of voluntary emigration to New South Wales, as it affects the interests both of the parent country and of the Colony
6. Of the general resources of the Colony and of its future prospects. Additional note on the general state of the Colony at the period of the latest advices (February, 1837)
7. Of the means of education and religious instruction in New South Wales. Additional notes
8. Recapitulation of the principal legislative and administrative measures recommended in the foregoing chapters. Conclusion
Appendix.

Subject Areas: Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]