INTRODUCTION 



OX THE CAUSES OF EMIGRATION. 



TILE first and by far the most prominent one is privation, 

 and its consequent distress. The next, perhaps, is dissatis 

 faction under real or fancied political grievances. Some 

 few emigrate for a warmer, dryer, or healthier climate, and 

 others for no reason but a love of change. 



Formerly religious persecution was the chief cause of ex 

 patriation, but happily that barbarous age is gone by; yet, 

 unfortunately, there is another cause of late years in opera 

 tion, although not of so violent a character, more dangerous 

 from its insidious and constantly increasing power. 



That this privation and distress should occur to thousands 

 and tens of thousands, in a country the richest on earth, the 

 most flourishing in arts, manufactures, commerce, and agri 

 culture, is of so anomalous and glaring a character, that it 

 forces itself on the attention of every one. 



I have not the ability to exhibit a full elucidation of a 

 cause of such magnitude ; but as it has the effect of driving 

 so many of my countrymen yearly into exile, I may be al 

 lowed a few words on the subject of this extraordinary state 

 of things. 



The chief source of the evils complained of, is the accu 

 mulating immense wealth into large masses ; virtually mo 

 nopolizing (since the introduction of steam power and other 

 modern machinery) the means and sources of the middle 

 and lower classes, like large globules of quicksilver swallow 

 ing up small ones within their sphere of attraction. 



In the first place, is not this incontrovertibly the case 

 with respect to the soil, the primary and only solid source 



