The Colonial Agent was an important figure in respect of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land partly because of his role in receiving British Parliamentary Appropriations for civil salaries and transmitting the appropriate sums, and also partly because he became, in due course, an important source of information in Britain about colonial affairs. The Agent's role changed in 1827 with the withdrawal of the relevant appropriations; it became increasingly related to migration and his transactions became a mix of public and private affairs. The present estimates are therefore confined to the period 1787 to 1827.

Bigge's estimates (see table 7.1, p.62) of civil costs take merely (but not quite perfectly) the series of appropriations; and they do not deal with the balances accumulating in the Agent's hands. The appropriations are far from representing either the civil costs or the transfers to the colonies on civil account. The Agent was a British tax gatherer; he paid pensions of retired civil officials; he transferred sums to dependents or personal agents in Britain; he adjusted the appropriations to accord with due earnings; he corrected for past over- or underclaims; he charged fees for his work; and he paid out fees for various approvals of transactions.

The estimates below include all earnings, fees and pensions to approximate the ‘cost’ of the colonies to Britain. A different series would be required to estimate transfers to the colonies.