New South Wales : Its Present State and Future Prospects

The wealthy Australian-born landowner and politician James Macarthur (1798–1867) sponsored this 1837 publication. At its core are two petitions requesting closer British government involvement in the transition of New South Wales from a convict colony to a free emigrant society, supported by detailed social, administrative and economic data.

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'.