A rare piece advocating for the selection of young people and children as well as single, perhaps "fallen", women who are to be encouraged, or forced, to emigrate to the Australian colonies.

A rare piece advocating for the selection of young people and children as well as single, perhaps "fallen", women who are to be encouraged, or forced, to emigrate to the Australian colonies.

"The object of this memorandum is not to enter into details of any particular plan of emigration, but to point out young unmarried persons, and particularly convict boys, and young single women, as the proper description of emigrants, with a view to whose transfer to the colonies, and employment there, such plans should be formed" (p.17). "Besides convicts," Holford writes, "and females of the description last mentioned [i.e. penitent prostitutes], it would surely be desirable to send out young women, or children, who are orphans, or who from not seeing any prospect of comfortable support, or respectable protection, in this country, may be desirous of leaving it, and taking their chance of doing better abroad than in their native land.

"There could be no difficulty, nor need there be any very considerable outlay of money, in forming one or more establishments in New South Wales, for the reception of these women on their arrival in the Colony, and for the care and management of them (under regulations to be formed for that purpose) until they could be profitably employed in needlework for the colonists, who must be much in want of articles of that description. The females above described would of course be formed into three distinct classes: the 1st, composed of convicts — the 2d, of women who had lived disorderly lives before their reception by the institution; and the 3d, of such as were not known to have misconducted themselves in this country…".

George Peter Holford (1767–1839), barrister, politician and author, Tory MP for a number of constituencies, was an influential advocate of prison reform. Clearly a believer in government-directed social programs, he must not have restricted his efforts to the disadvantaged, since his other works included "Observations on the necessity of introducing a sufficient number of respectable clergymen into our colonies in the West Indies" (1808).