Immigration of Aliens 71 



are others of a minor or exceptional character, such 

 as the ill-fated Darien Expedition in the reign of 

 William III, the potato famine in Ireland in 1846-48, 

 and the Welsh settlement in Patagonia in the early 

 years of the twentieth century. 



Some of our possessions offer many inducements to 

 attract suitable settlers, and give, in some cases, free, 

 assisted, or reduced passages. The classes of people 

 required in Britain-overseas are chiefly farm labourers, 

 female domestic servants, mechanics, and farmers with 

 capital. In 1913, 77 per cent, of our emigrants went 

 to British possessions, and in that year 241,997 people of 

 British nationality left our shores for all parts of the world, 

 but mainly for British North America, United States, 

 Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, and India. 



We can now pass to the second part of this chapter, 

 viz. immigration, and in doing so we may first consider 

 the meaning of the word alien in connexion with this 

 subject. The citizen of one state, when resident in 

 another, unless naturalised, is an alien. Thus a 

 Frenchman who resides in Britain is an alien, but if 

 he becomes naturalised he is then a British subject. 

 An alien may become a naturalised British subject 

 after five years' residence in our country, on application 

 to a Secretary of State. The Crown has also the right 

 to grant letters of naturalisation. A British subject 

 who becomes naturalised in a foreign state becomes an 

 alien to Britain, unless he makes a declaration to the 

 contrary. The laws relating to aliens in our own coun- 

 try have been gradually strengthened ; and there is no 

 doubt that we shall be much more careful in the future 

 than in the past as to the class of immigrants we 

 welcome to our country. 



