The activities of the Aborigines Protection Society as a pressure group on the formulation of colonial policy 1868-80

The Aborigines Protection Society existed for the purpose of protecting the rights of the indigenous populations of the colonies of the British Empire. It is the object of this thesis to demonstrate how effective it was in achieving this aim in a selected twelve year period, and to discover if these years were of particular significance for the Society. To further this end the records of the Society and of the Colonial Office, the body which was directly concerned with the formulation of policy towards native peoples, have been examined in some depth. The organization of the Society is first considered with the object of discovering how it believed it could most successfully achieve its aims. It is concluded that it was best able to do this through the means of a parliamentary pressure group. This group consisted of a fluctuating number of Members of Parliament, but also of a hard core of regular supporters who associated with the Society in all its concerns. To discover how effective the Aborigines Protection Society was, its activities are considered in so far as they affected its policy - for three different portions of the empire» the south-west Pacific, West Africa and South Africa. Its differing response to the state of the native peoples of these regions reviewed. It is concluded that it met with varying degrees of success. Success when achieved was the result of a combination of factors. It depended upon a parliamentary campaign above all, but also the Society found it necessary to act with other groups interested in the colonies before it was able to exert effective pressure upon the Colonial Office. The role of the Society's secretary was vital in this respect as he channelled and coordinated all activity towards the desired object