EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION 2024 EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION 



turbances, such as the revolution of 1848 in 

 Germany, have all had a share in making thou- 

 sands dissatisfied with their ancestral homes. 

 On the other side, the new countries of the 

 world offer advantages, such as cheap land, 

 higher wages and a higher plane of living, 

 which appeal especially to the poor or to those 

 in moderate circumstances. The flow of im- 

 migration has been greatest to four sections 

 of the world Australia, Argentina, Canada and 

 the United States. 



The Relation of Governments to Emigration. 

 In an obvious way emigration is a loss to the 

 country from which it takes place. This loss 

 is not necessarily an evil, for it may prevent 

 overpopulation. Emigration does, however, 

 mean a loss of able-bodied workmen, for nearly 

 all emigrants are males between the ages of 

 fourteen and forty-five. Recognizing the ex- 

 tent of this loss, governments have at various 

 times forbidden their citizens from leaving the 

 country. Since 1876, and more especially since 

 the beginning of the twentieth century, the 

 European governments have sought to protect 

 their would-be emigrants, their health and mor- 

 als as well as their purses, from unscrupulous 

 agents. In addition, the home governments may 

 furnish accurate information in place of the 

 glowing and often deceptive accounts furnished 

 by agents whose business it is to secure new 

 settlers. 



Relation of Governments to Immigration. 

 The attitude of a country towards immigration 

 is determined by a number of factors, but as 

 a rule the younger the country the greater the 

 inducements it offers to immigrants. The de- 

 velopment of a new country requires human 

 labor in constantly-increasing amounts, and 

 every immigrant is an economic gain. Up to 

 a certain but variable point all law-abiding, 

 industrious immigrants are welcome, for they 

 are assimilated by the whole population. They 

 submit to the political, social and economic 

 institutions of the land of their adoption, and 

 they and their children become citizens. But 

 when the flood of immigration passes the point 

 of assimilation, when thousands of immigrants 

 are arriving, and remain, for all practical pur- 

 poses, foreigners in ideals, customs, language 

 and even political allegiance, then the new 

 country faces the problem of regulating immi- 

 gration. This is the condition which now con- 

 fronts the United States and, to a much smaller 

 degree, other new countries. A country must 

 also, for its own protection, exclude certain 

 undesirable classes, including paupers, criminals 



and persons with contagious and certain other 

 diseases. 



Immigration to Canada. Canada's popula- 

 tion, like that of the United States, is com- 

 posed almost entirely of immigrants and their 

 descendants. Most of the immigration to Can- 

 ada has always been from the mother country 

 and the United States. At the last Dominion 

 census, in 1911, there were in Canada 784,500 

 persons born in the British Isles almost ex- 

 actly one-half of the Dominion's foreign-born 

 population. Natives of the United States num- 

 bered over 300,000 ; of Russia, over 100,000 ; and 

 of Austria-Hungary over 120,000. 



The annual statistics of immigration are not 

 quite accurate, for the reason that many of 

 the persons who land at Canadian ports intend 

 to settle in the United States, and many others, 

 intending to settle in Canada, eventually drift 

 across the border. If some allowance is made 

 for these facts, the following table shows the 

 fair annual averages of immigration to Canada, 

 and the effect of the War of the Nations: 



1871-1880, annual average 35,000 



1881-1885 ' 110,000 



1886-1900 ' 40,000 



1901-1905 ' 104,000 



1906-1910 ' 186,000 



1911-1914 ' 363.000 



1915 (year ending March 31) 145,000 



1916 " " " " 49,000 



Since 1901 Canada has excluded immigrants 

 who are physically, morally and mentally unfit. 

 All immigrants must come to Canada by con- 

 tinuous journey from the country of birth or 

 citizenship, on through tickets purchased either 

 in that country or in Canada. In winter an 

 adult immigrant, except an Asiatic, must have 

 in his or her possession $50 and a ticket to 

 destination; between March 1 and October 31 

 only $25 and a ticket are required. Relatives 

 and certain other persons going to live with 

 persons already settled in the Dominion are 

 admitted without the money requirement. An 

 Asiatic immigrant must have $200 in money 

 and his ticket. 



Immigration into the United States. From 

 its foundation the United States has received 

 more immigrants, and has had a larger propor- 

 tion of immigrants among its population, than 

 any other country. About one-third of all the 

 people in the United States are of foreign 

 birth or parentage. In the early years of the 

 republic immigration was natural and com- 

 monplace, and no attempt was made even to 

 count the immigrants until 1820. No law on 

 the subject appears until 1864, when Congress 



