From the 1870’s, children in the care of charities or state provided institutions, including workhouses and industrial schools, were subject to the practice of emigration to Canada, separating them from their parents and wider family. This was achieved ostensibly to secure the child’s welfare, and provide opportunities in Canada beyond the poverty of the industrialising cities of the north of England. Using original archive material, this article examines the legal rights of parents of children identified for emigration, and how charities and state institutions obtained the authority to emigrate children. The lack of a clear basis for assessing child welfare led organisations to consider a broad range of moralistic considerations regarding the characterisation of parents and the child’s circumstances in deciding whether a child should be emigrated. Despite these negative perceptions, it will be demonstrated that some parents exercised considerable agency in seeking to resist emigration of a child, and in attempting to maintain the familial relationship.

中文翻译：

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谁在乎？1870-1918 年从英国移民到加拿大的儿童福利和同意书

从 1870 年代开始，在慈善机构或国家提供的机构（包括济贫院和工业学校）照顾下的儿童必须移民到加拿大，将他们与父母和更大的家庭分开。这样做表面上是为了确保儿童的福利，并为加拿大提供超越英格兰北部工业化城市贫困的机会。本文使用原始档案材料，考察了已确定移民儿童父母的合法权利，以及慈善机构和国家机构如何获得移民儿童的权力。由于缺乏评估儿童福利的明确基础，组织在决定是否应移民时考虑有关父母特征和儿童情况的广泛道德考虑。