In respect to the forced emigration of children, it is well known that many orphaned children from Liverpool were sent to Australia and Canada from the various childrens institutions throughout the city. The system began in the 1860s and continued beyond the 1930s and was on the face of it a charitable act to take orphans to the land of plenty where they would be looked after on farms and in agricultural areas. However, many of the farmers regarded the children as cheap labour and gave them little in return apart from board and lodging.
The authorities may have begun the scheme with orphans but they soon began to include petty thieves, the destitute or delinquents which was a fine way to keep the jails empty and get rid of "problem" children. Regarding the tallyman in all this --- if they found persistent "offenders" in overcrowded houses who refused the order to "disperse to another address" then they could find themselves among the miscreants bound for the colonies.
Liverpool Seamens Orphanage in Newsham Park was a centre for these activities --- a letter from an old employee at the Orphanage condemned the practice in a letter to the Liverpool Echo as late as summer 2009.
