Official advocates of state emigration schemes saw positive advantages at home and abroad in relieving "redundant paupers" in Britain and Ireland in furthering colonial settlement in Canada and Australasia. Interconnections between Britain and Ireland were inevitable, due to the Act of Union and the close geographical proximity between the two countries. The British government from the 1820s believed that the emigration of redundant labour would alleviate the suffering in Ireland but also prevent an influx of pauper migrants into Scotland and England which could undermine the condition of native labourers. And by directing emigration to British colonies, migrants would cease to be a burden at home and become productive powers of the Empire, while increasing the demand for British produce.