Yeomen and Bureaucrats: the Victorian Land Commission 1878-79 edited by J M Powell

Book Description

Secondhand. Near fine condition. Dust jacket is in very good condition with light wear to edges. Dust jacket is now enclosed in a glossy protective dust jacket cover.

By 1878, free settlers had pushed out the frontiers of settlement into most areas of Victoria, but it had not been a simple, steady advance of pioneer farmers into new country. Physical, economic, social, and technological handicaps were exacerbated by stringent land legislation.

A Royal Commission was appointed in 1878 to investigate the conditions and progress of settlement under the 1869 Land Act, then current, and to advise on future legislation for small-scale settlement and for dealing with pastoral leases soon to expire.

The Commissioners toured the country district and posed over 10,000 questions to a wide variety of witnesses. In their own fashion, the witnesses stated their impressions of the problems and prospects of pioneer settlement; accordingly, this detailed record is enlivened by many personal accounts, often expressed in direct and forceful language.

This book is a highly valuable record of these times. It is an abridged edition that includes commentary from newspapers. (book flap)