Colonial Office 385 consists of office copies of the out-letters, 1814-1871, of the Colonial Office and its various subordinate organizations for dealing with emigration business. The five volumes which are substantially North American in content have been copied on microfilm or as photostats. Volumes 6, 8, 9 and 10 appear on microfilm reel B-219. Volume 2 is available as a photstat.
"General List of Settlers Inrolled for Canada under the Government Regulations at Edingburgh, 1815", Volume 2. The list includes 757 names and provides information on the family relationships, ages, professions, places of residence, destinations, sums deposited, etc., of the emigrants. Photostat, 1815, 24 pages.
Volume 6, Letterbook, 1832-1833, reel B-219. Letterbook of the short-lived Commissioners for Emigration, a sub-branch of the Colonial Office, set up in 1831 with a board of five commissioners. The documents are largely covering letters enclosing forms, circulars, etc. Subjects of interest include the employment of emigrants on New Brunswick road building, the strains imposed by the emigrants on charitable organizations in the receiving ports, and infractions of the Passenger Acts. Most of the letters are signed by T.F. Elliot, secretary to the Commission, who continued to manage emigration affairs between the Commission's dissolution in 1832 and his appointment as Agent-General for Emigration in 1837.
Volume 8, Letterbook, 1834-1836, reel B-219. Letterbook of Robert William Hay, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Colonial Office, 1825-1836, who had been one of the five commissioners for emigration in the board of 1831-1832. The letters are all to officers of the Royal Navy who served as emigration agents in the various ports of Great Britain. They are concerned with routine matters of appointment, and instructions regarding duties, uniforms, etc.
Volumes 9-10, Letterbooks, 1835-1836, reel B-219. Two letterbooks of J. Denham Pinnock, agent appointed to serve as a link between the Colonial Office and the emigration organizations following the provision of the 1834 Poor Law for parish aided emigration. The letters give information on travelling fares, wages in the colonies, etc., and are largely concerned with arrangements made on behalf of emigrants for travel, deposit of funds, and so forth. Much of the material is Australian.