HEREDITY AND POLITICS 135 



They are for the most part already of mixed race 

 typical slum-dwellers who have settled in the slum 

 districts of our large towns, and have taken possession 

 of large areas of London. From the fact that the 

 governments of their own countries show no concern 

 at their departure, it is fair to assume that they repre- 

 sent a class of the population who have no great value 

 from the social and economic point of view. It is 

 clear that they belong to a different type of organization 

 from the people they displace, for they are able to 

 flourish in conditions which are deemed degrading for 

 the native English population. 



It would be most desirable to have some definite 

 information as to the attributes and previous social 

 history of this class of immigrants before they are ad- 

 mitted to our shores. What are their racial character- 

 istics, their physical infirmities, their mental capacities, 

 their moral proclivities ? It is certain that they find 

 themselves in a more favourable environment than the 

 one they have left behind, but from our point of view 

 the question is whether they represent a more desirable 

 class of citizens than, let us say, the two hundred 

 thousand emigrants who annually leave our shores for 

 the colonies for whom, in fact, we exchange them. 



Moreover, if they are to be absorbed in the mass of 

 the population, it becomes necessary to inquire into 

 the results of intermarriage. Does the cross between 

 our own race and these Slavs produce good results ? If 

 the results of a first cross are good, are the racial 

 qualities of the half-breeds improved or deteriorated 

 by further admixture of alien blood ? All these are 

 questions of fundamental importance. Yet, when the 



