The Earl of Hillsborough

The Earl became the president of the Board of Trade in 1763. He was an Anglo-Irish landowner with a great deal of property in Ireland. He was one of the leaders in the concern over British emigration. He argued that the colonies were meant to benefit Britain and to contribute through commerce and the production of goods. In 1768, Hillsborough assumed the post of secretary of state for the colonies, a position that he would hold for four years.

John Pownall

Pownall was the undersecretary of state for the colonies. His chief concern was in developing a general and effective policy for restraining emigration from Britain. He proposed that a statistical assessment should be taking of those emigrating so that the government could have a better understanding of who was emigration.

John Tompkyns

Tompkyns was the veteran assistant inspector general of imports and exports in Britain. He...