The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Emigration

EMIGRATION (Lat. e, from, and migrare, to depart), the act of leaving the country or place where one has resided, in order to reside in another. The terms emigration and emigrant are strictly applicable only with reference to the country from which the migration is made, and the converse terms immigration and immigrant are used when express reference to the country into which it is made is intended; but in the unlimited sense of change of residence, the former are generally employed in connection with either the old or the new domicile.—Of the earliest migrations by which the fundamental features of European history have been defined, no records remain,

but numerous traces of them are found by the archæologist, ethnologist, and linguist. Emigration proper commenced when herdsmen congregated into nomadic tribes. Of such corporate emigration patriarchal history records some examples, as those of Abraham and Jacob. With the progress of agriculture and the growth of more definite political relations, trade, and commerce, began the emigration of single bodies of adventurers to distant countries. In this way, according to Hellenic traditions, Phœnicians, led by Cadmus, and Egyptians, led by Danaus and Cecrops, emigrated to Greece, the Heraclidæ from Greece to Asia Minor, and the Tyrrhenians to Italy. The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan was a corporate emigration of a people, on account of religious and political oppression, for which modern history furnishes parallels in the Mormon emigration to Utah and the emigration of the Boers in southern Africa. During the historical times of ancient Greece emigration generally assumed the character of colonization. Many flourishing and powerful Greek colonies were thus sent forth along the shores of the Mediterranean and Black seas by Greece. The colonies of ancient Rome for the most part were rather outposts of an army and combinations of fortune hunters than settlements of men intending to found permanent residences. The great migration of the Germanic nations having destroyed the Roman empire, European society was for centuries subject to constant changes. Charlemagne changed the direction of German emigration from the south to the east and north. While from that time the movements of German nations toward Italy assumed the character of mere military conquests, their emigration conquered nearly the whole country between the Elbe and Vistula rivers from the Slavic race. A counter-current from Asia, which set in at various periods of the middle ages, consisting of Magyars and Tartars, was successfully resisted, and the tide was even turned upon Asia by the crusades; but at a later period another Asiatic race, the Osmanli Turks, succeeded in displacing the most decayed of Christian nations in southeastern Europe, while almost simultaneously still another Asiatic race (the Arabs) was expelled from the southwestern peninsula, Spain, to which they had emigrated eight centuries before.—In Europe, Russia was among the earliest to perceive the advantages of immigration. Peter the Great invited emigrants from all nations to settle in Russia. His successors followed the same policy by granting premiums and valuable privileges, such as exemption from taxation for a certain number of years, exemption from military duty, and free homesteads to colonists. Induced by these advantages, a large number of emigrants from the Palatinate settled in southern Russia about 1784. Immediately after the Napoleonic wars an extensive Germanic emigration to Russia

Poland) took place. The total number of Germans who emigrated thither between the years 1816 and 1826 is estimated at 250,000. The agricultural colonies of Vielovish in the government of Tchernigov, and Riebendorf in that of Voronezh, a manufacturing colony near Poltava, a Moravian settlement at Sarepta, and a number of German colonies in the Crimea, originated in this way. During the reign of Nicholas emigration to Russia ceased almost entirely, but it revived to a certain degree after the accession of Alexander II.—Individual emigration, as distinguished from the movements of nations, commenced on a large scale after the discovery of America. During the 16th century the nations in which the Roman element predominated, Spain, Portugal, and France, sent forth a great number of emigrants, most of them mere adventurers who did not intend to stay longer than might be necessary to become rich. The first attempts by the English to organize emigration to America likewise originated in adventurous designs. In such attempts 300 men and £40,000 were lost from 1585 to 1590. In 1606 mote than 2,000 emigrants were sent from England to North America to seek for gold, but they perished miserably, and in 1609 but 60 remained. The Hakluyt company for the colonization of Virginia lost 9,000 men and £100,000. At last religious contests laid a firm foundation for the permanent settlement of the North American continent. The emigration of the Puritans and their successful establishment in New England served as an example to all those who in Europe were oppressed for the sake of their religion. Besides, the ground having been broken for the settlement of what are now the southern states of the Union, the fertility of their soil, their genial climate, and withal the still lingering hope of sudden enrichment by discoveries of precious metals, attracted large numbers of colonists. A strong tide of emigration from Germany set in toward Pennsylvania near the end of the 17th and during the 18th century; the Dutch colonized New York; the Swedes Delaware; Canada and Louisiana were settled by the French. Still the current of emigration to America during the 170 years of the colonial history was slow and tedious when compared with that which commenced after the war of independence, and especially when the success of American institutions had been tested by the experience of one generation. Since the formation of the government, the United States has been the principal point of emigration from Europe, and of late also from Asia, owing chiefly to the advantages presented to the laboring classes, who constitute the great bulk of emigrants. Immigration from whatever source has been regarded with favor by the government, and laws have been passed at different times for the regulation of emigrant ships and the protection and comfort of emigrants. During the latter part of the 18th and the early part of the 19th century

the practice prevailed in New York and Philadelphia of selling by public auction into temporary servitude emigrants who were indebted for their passage money and other advances. During the last century the prepayment of the passage by the emigrant was the exception, and its subsequent discharge by compulsory labor the rule. Ship owners and ship merchants derived enormous profits from this traffic, as they charged very high rates for the passage and added a heavy percentage for their risks. Adults were sold for a term of from 3 to 6 years, and children from 10 to 15 years. Servants signed indentures and were known as “indented servants.” The last sales of this kind took place in Philadelphia in 1818 and 1819.—During the early part of the present century there was little protection for emigrants during the sea voyage. Ship owners generally chartered the lower decks of their vessels to agents, who made temporary arrangements for the accommodation of the passengers, and either underlet the steerage to associations of emigrants or parcelled it out to sub-agents or to single passengers. These agents crowded emigrants into vessels without regard to their comfort or health, and there was no authority to which the latter could appeal for protection. As late as 1819 the lower deck of an emigrant vessel was no better than that of a slave or coolie ship. The ordinary height of the steerage deck was from 4 to 5 ft.; the lower, or orlop deck, which was also used for the transportation of passengers, was still worse. The natural consequence was a mortality frequently amounting to 10 and sometimes to 20 per cent. The first law which prescribed the space to be allotted to each steerage passenger was that passed by congress in March, 1819, which made it unlawful for a ship to carry more than two passengers for every five tons, custom-house measure. This law, however, did little toward reducing the hardships of the voyage, which was attended with much sickness and many deaths, the prevailing diseases being typhus or ship fever, cholera, and smallpox. In 1855 an act was passed by congress intended to secure the rights of emigrants on shipboard, by giving to each of them two tons of space, and providing for the proper ventilation of the ship, as well as for a sufficient amount of proper food; and this law has resulted in great amelioration. Another circumstance which has largely reduced the suffering and mortality during the voyage is the use of steamers instead of sailing vessels. In 1856 only about 3 per cent. of the emigrants came in steamers, while in 1873 more than 96 per cent. arrived in steamers and less than 4 per cent. in sailing vessels. The deaths in steamers were about 1 in 1,128 passengers, while the death rate in sailing vessels reached the significant ratio of 1 in 65. The port of New York is the great gate through which the emigration to the United States chiefly passes. Of the total number (437,004) of emigrants

in 1873, 266,818 entered at New York. Here exists the only thoroughly organized system in the country for their reception and protection. The extortions and frauds which had been practised upon emigrants arriving at New York, as well as the rapidly increasing tide of immigration, led to the passage by the legislature of the act of May 5, 1847, creating the board of commissioners of emigration of the state of New York, which has since been in successful operation. It consists of nine members, six of whom are appointed by the governor of the state with the consent of the senate, and three are members ex officio, viz.: the mayor of New York, the president of the German society, and the president of the Irish emigrant society. All the commissioners serve without compensation. Their duties are to protect alien passengers arriving at New York from fraud and imposition, to care and provide for the helpless among them, to give them trustworthy advice and information, and generally to guard their interests. To provide a fund for this purpose, the owner or consignee of any vessel carrying emigrants to New York is required to give a bond, with a penalty of $300 for each alien passenger, to indemnify the commissioners and the state from any cost that may be incurred for the relief, support, or medical care of the person named in the bond during five years. In lieu of this bond he may pay a commutation, originally fixed at $2 50, but in 1871 reduced to $1 50, for each alien passenger brought into the port. For the more effectual protection of emigrants arriving at New York, an act was passed by the legislature in 1868, by which the commissioners of emigration are invested with authority to examine under oath any witness as to the condition of any ship, and the treatment of the emigrants while on board. The commissioners may also take testimony in reference to any death that may have occurred during the voyage; and such testimony, if made in the presence of the persons complained of, may be used as evidence in any subsequent action. The good intentions of the legislature, however, have not been realized, as the emigrants cannot afford the necessary time and money to enter into a long litigation against rich and powerful companies. The commissioners of emigration have therefore repeatedly and strongly urged congress to negotiate with foreign governments for the appointment of a joint high commission or court for the speedy adjudication of all cases relating to the treatment of emigrants while on board of a ship. Upon the arrival of an emigrant vessel at quarantine, six miles below the city, it is inspected by the health officer of the port, and the sick emigrants, if any, are transferred by steamer to hospitals, where they are cared for by the commissioners of emigration. If removed by authority of the health officers, they are taken to the quarantine hospital, where they are under charge of the quarantine commission. The vessel is then taken in charge by an officer

of the department who ascertains the number of passengers, the deaths, if any, during the voyage, and the amount and character of the sickness; he also examines the condition of the vessel in respect to cleanliness, and hears complaints by passengers; of all which he makes reports to the superintendent at Castle Garden. He remains on board the ship during the passage up the bay, to see that the passengers are not interfered with by any unauthorized person from the shore. After examination of their luggage by the customs officers the emigrants are transferred to the landing depot at Castle Garden, which was formerly a fortress defending the port, and was subsequently used as a place of amusement. It was opened as the emigrant landing depot in August, 1855, and is well adapted for the purpose. The emigrants are brought by barge or tng from the vessel in which they arrived, and after examination by a medical officer are ushered into the rotunda, a circular space comprising 50,000 sq. ft., and with a dome in the centre about 75 ft. high. It is well warmed, lighted, and ventilated, and will properly accommodate about 4,000 persons. Here the name, nationality, former place of residence, and intended destination of each individual, with other particulars, are registered. The newly arrived emigrant here finds facilities for supplying every immediate want without leaving the depot. The names of such as have money, letters, or friends awaiting them are called out, and they are put into immediate possession of their property or committed to their friends, whose credentials have first been properly scrutinized. There are clerks at hand to write letters for them in any European language, and a telegraph operator to forward despatches. Here, also, the main trunk lines of railway have offices, at which the emigrant can buy tickets, and have his luggage weighed and checked; brokers are admitted, under restrictions which make fraud impossible, to exchange the foreign coin or paper of emigrants; a restaurant supplies them with plain food at moderate prices; a physician is in attendance for the sick, and a temporary hospital ready to receive them until they can be sent to Ward's island; employment is provided by the labor bureau, connected with the establishment, to those in search of it; such as desire to start at once for their destination are sent to the railway or steamboat; while any who choose to remain in the city are referred to boarding-house keepers admitted to the landing depot, whose charges are regulated under special license, and whose houses are kept under supervision by the commission. Ample facilities for the care of sick and destitute emigrants are afforded by the institutions on Ward's Island, which are under the supervision of the commissioners of emigration. This island comprises about 200 acres in the East river, and extends opposite the city from 100th to 116th street; 121 acres, including the entire water front next to New York, are used for

purposes, and the remaining portion is chiefly used by, the commissioners of public charities and correction. The institutions embrace the hospitals, the refuge, the lunatic asylum, the nursery, dispensary, chapels, schools, workshops, &c. These institutions contain on an average about 2,000 inmates, the most of whom are more or less helpless. The chief building is the Verplanck hospital, which consists of a corridor 450 ft. long and two stories high, from which project five wings each 130 ft. long, 25 ft. wide, and two stories high except the centre wing, which has three stories; the corners of each wing are flanked with towers. It is constructed upon the most approved plans for perfect ventilation, and all necessary comforts for the sick. It has accommodations for about 500 patients, and is used exclusively for non-contagious diseases and surgical cases. A new lunatic asylum has recently been erected, with accommodations for more than 300 patients. The extent of the work done by the commission since its organization is indicated by the fact that of the 5,033,392 emigrants arriving at New York from May 5, 1847, to Jan. 1, 1873, for whom commutation money was paid, and all of whom received protection, advice, and information from the commissioners, 1,465,579 were provided and cared for out of the emigrant fund for a greater or less period during the five years subsequent to arrival, viz.: 398,643 received treatment and care in the institutions of the commissioners; 449,275 were supplied temporarily with board and lodging and money relief in the city of New York; 349,936 were provided with employment through the labor bureau at Castle Garden; 53,083 were forwarded from Castle Garden to their destination in the United States, or returned to Europe at their own request; and 214,642 were relieved and provided for in various parts of the state of New York at the expense of the commissioners of emigration. During 1873, 731 emigrant vessels from 23 different ports arrived at Castle Garden. In the labor bureau employment was procured for 25,325, including 7,504 females. Through the agency of the information bureau, about 12 per cent. of the total arrivals were delivered to their friends. The number cared for in the institutions on Ward's island was 12,586, including 2,134 receiving treatment at the beginning of the year; of this number 10,430 were discharged during the year, and 439 died, leaving 1,717 under treatment Jan. 1, 1874. The expenditures for the year amounted to $466,108, including $215,086 for support of the institutions on Ward's island, $133,451 for expenses at Castle Garden, and $61,188 for buildings and permanent improvements. The current expenses of the commission were $510,306 in 1869, $540,467 in 1870, $518,387 in 1871, and $461,028 in 1872. In addition to these sums, $651,980 were expended during these four years in the erection of buildings and permanent improvements. These

are met by the funds realized from the commutation fund paid by owners or consignees of emigrant ships, which amounted to $657,072 in 1869, $534,056 in 1870, $372,528 in 1871, $442,429 in 1872, and $402,199 in 1873. The emigrants are not considered or treated as paupers, but as persons requiring temporary aid and protection, for which neither the state nor any community is required to contribute. In 1872-'3 bills were introduced into congress to supersede the New York commission of emigration by a national bureau, thus vesting in the general government all control and regulation of this important subject; but the measures met with great opposition from the New York commissioners of emigration and others, and failed.—Prior to 1819 no official record was kept of the number and character of the persons coming to the United States from

abroad. The extent of the immigration prior to that date has been differently estimated by various authorities. Mr. Lorin Blodget thought the arrivals did not exceed 4,000 a year from 1789 to 1794. Dr. Adam Seybert estimated the number at 6,000 a year from 1790 to 1810. According to Prof. Tucker, whose estimate is confirmed by high authorities, 50,000 arrived from 1790 to 1800, 70,000 from 1800 to 1810 and 114,000 from 1810 to 1820; making 234,000 from 1790 to 1820. According to Mr. Young, chief of the United States bureau of statistics, the total number of arrivals prior to 1820 was 250,000, of whom 25,000 came between 1776 and 1790. In the following table are indicated the total number of alien passengers arriving in the United States in each year since 1820, and the chief countries from which they emigrated:

To obtain the net immigration from the preceding table, about 1⅔ per cent. of the total aliens should be deducted for those not intending to remain in the United States. Those who died during the voyage are included prior to 1867. Prior to 1871 the statements for Germany do not include the emigrants from Prussia and Austria. Since 1819 a law of congress has required that all who come to the sea and lake ports shall be registered at the custom houses. The number, age, sex, nativity, occupation, and destination of all passengers coming to the United States, distinguishing aliens from citizens returning from abroad, and those intending to remain from those who come merely for temporary purposes, are ascertained and reported to the general government. This information is compiled and published annually by the United States bureau of statistics. No official registration is made, however, of those foreigners who enter the country through other channels than the sea and lake ports, many of whom come across the border from Canada and New Brunswick. The following statement shows the principal countries represented in the emigration to the United States from 1820 to 1874, with the total number from each during that period and in 1873:

The distribution of sex and age among those arriving for a series of years has been:

The number of foreigners in the United States in 1870, with the places of their birth, is reported as follows in the census of 1870:

According to Mr. Young, 46 per cent. of the whole immigration, after deducting the women and children, had been trained to various pursuits, nearly half being skilled laborers and workmen. Nearly 10 per cent. consist of merchants and traders. The occupations of the

emigrants arriving in the United States from 1820 to Jan. 1, 1874, are shown in the

table, compiled by the United States bureau of statistics:

In respect of nationality, more than half of those having arrived are British, coming from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British possessions in North America, and speaking the English language. The German element is next in magnitude, and embraces nearly two thirds of the remainder. A large proportion settle in rural districts and develop the agricultural resources of the west and south, while the remainder, consisting largely of artisans and skilled workmen, find employment in the cities and manufacturing towns. About 25 per cent. of the emigrants are under 15 years of age, and less than 15 per cent. over 40, leaving more than 60 per cent. in the prime of life. The number of males is largely in excess of that of females, the ratio varying with the nationality. Among the Chinese only about 7 per cent. are females, while their ratio among the Irish is over 45 per cent., and in the total number of emigrants about 40 per cent.—For several centuries there has been a great emigration from China to the surrounding countries, both by sea and land. Vast multitudes of Chinese have settled in Tartary, Thibet, Anam, Siam, Burmah, Malacca, and in Borneo, Java, Sumatra, the Philippine islands, and in short everywhere in the East Indian archipelago. But of these emigrants there are no accurate statistics. Of late years they have made their way in considerable numbers to Australia; and in 1853, attracted by the gold of California, they began to come to the United States, and their immigration has attained a magnitude worthy of

The whole number who had arrived up to Jan. 1, 1874, was 144,328, nearly all of whom entered at San Francisco. Most of them have settled in California, where they are occupied chiefly in mining pursuits; but many have found their way to Nevada and some of the territories, and a few to the Atlantic and some of the other states. Nearly one half of all who have arrived have returned to their native country. According to the census of 1870, there were 63,199 Chinese in the United States, of whom only 4,566 were females; there were 49,277 in California, 4,274 in Idaho, 3,330 in Oregon, 3,152 in Nevada, and 1,949 in Montana. The number of arrivals, according to the United States bureau of statistics, is given below; those prior to 1855 are differently reported by another authority in the article :

The Chinese emigration to the United States has been characterized by an organized system which is not found in the emigration from any European nation. The latter, as has been

seen, is entirely without system or organization, and the emigrant is wholly unrestrained as soon as he reaches his destination. The emigration from China, however, is controlled by men of large capital, who engage in it as a traffic. A contract is made with the emigrants in their native country by which they mortgage their future earnings to secure the cost of passage and other expenses, and which binds them to a specified term of service after arrival in this country. In many instances the Chinaman gives a mortgage on his wife and children, with a stipulation that at the end of his term of service he is to be brought back to China by his contractor. This contract is sold

or transferred to an agent in the United States at an advance, and is thus a source of great profit to the dealer. The agent contracts for the labor of the Chinese in any part of the United States. Perhaps the most prominent contractor of this kind has been Mr. Koopmanschap, who sought to introduce Chinese labor under this system into the southern states and other parts of the United States. The contract made in China has no validity in the United States, but it has always been strictly observed by both parties. The following table, from the census of 1870, exhibits the distribution by states and territories of the leading nationalities in the United States:

—The variance in the magnitude of the emigration to the United States in different periods presents results of great interest and importance, and points to the causes that increase or diminish the movement from foreign countries.

Chief among these causes are war, political troubles, famine, commercial panics, and other influences which produce distress at home or an unfavorable condition of affairs in the country to which emigration is directed. The most

remarkable illustrations of this kind were presented by the great exodus from Ireland and that from Germany during the period 1845 to 1854, when the highest figures till then known in the history of emigration were reached. After the great famine of 1846, the emigration from Ireland to the United States, which had increased from 44,821 in 1845 to 51,752 in 1846, rapidly rose to 105,536 in 1847, 112,934 in 1848, 159,398 in 1849, and 164,004 in 1850. It reached its maximum in 1851, when 221,213 Irish emigrants arrived in the United States; and in the following year it decreased to 159,548. During the period from 1845 to 1854 inclusive, 1,512,100 Irish left their country for the United States, of whom 607,241 came during the first and 904,859 during the last half of the decade. Since 1854 the movement has fallen off to less than one half of the average of the preceding ten years. During this same period the emigration from Germany also culminated. This increase was very marked as early as 1845, when the number of German emigrants was 33,138; in 1847 it reached 73,444; in 1848, 58,014; in 1849, 60,062; and in 1850, 63,168. This disturbance in the ordinary tide of emigration has been attributed to the political revolutions attempted in 1848 and 1849. The increase continued till 1854, when the German emigrants reached the number of 206,054. In discussing the causes of this remarkable exodus Frederick Kapp, for many years a commissioner of emigration, says in his work on “Immigration”: “The coup d'état of Louis Napoleon closed for all Europe the revolutionary era opened in 1848. In the three years preceding that event, the issue of the struggle of the people against political oppression had remained doubtful. But the second of December, 1851, having decided the success of the oppressors for a long time to come, the majority of those who felt dissatisfied with the reactionary régime left their homes. The fact that the largest number of Germans ever landed in one year in the United States came in 1854, showed the complete darkening of the political horizon at that time. The apprehension of a new continental war, which actually broke out a year later in the Crimea, also hastened the steps of those who sought refuge in this country. People of the well-to-do classes, who had months and years to wait before they could sell their property, helped to swell the tide to its extraordinary proportions.” From the beginning of 1845 to the close of 1854 the number of Germans arriving in the United States was 1,226,392, of whom 452,943 came in the first and 773,449 in the last five years. In 1866 and 1867 the tide of German emigration again began to swell, “in consequence,” according to Mr. Kapp, “of the emigration of men liable to military service from the new provinces annexed to Prussia in 1866, and of families dissatisfied with the new order of things.” In 1872 it reached the unprecedented magnitude, except in 1854, of 155,595.

The extent of the emigration to the United States, however, is not governed by political events, failure of crops, commercial and industrial crises, &c., acting in Europe alone, but also by the same causes operating in this country. The effects of the great financial crisis of 1837 are indicated in the falling off of the total immigration from 79,340 in that year to 38,914 in the following. And so the commercial crisis of 1857 was followed in the two ensuing years by a smaller immigration than that of any year since 1845; while during the first two years of the civil war (1861 and 1862), the number of aliens arriving was less than that of any year since 1844. Since the close of the war there has been a marked increase. The arrivals amounted to 449,483 in 1872, being more than in any preceding year, and 437,004 in 1873. The northern and western states, chiefly the latter, have been the chosen destination of the great majority of emigrants to the United States. Prior to the civil war there was very little emigration to those states in which slavery existed, except Missouri. Since the war great efforts have been made by the southern and southwestern states to encourage emigrants to settle there, but with only partial success as yet. In many of these states bureaus of emigration have been established or commissioners appointed, for the purpose of preparing reports showing the inducements offered to emigrants. This information is published in various languages and gratuitously distributed in the United States and in Europe. The United States bureau of statistics also publishes information for emigrants relative to the demand and compensation for labor in the several states, the cost of living, the price and rent of land, staple products, market facilities, the cost of farm stock, and such other practical information as the emigrant most needs.—The contribution made by emigration to the population and wealth of the United States has been in the highest degree valuable and important. Its extent, however, is determined only by computation, and different authorities have reached different results. According to Mr. Kapp, who followed the estimate of Mr. Schade that the natural rate of increase in the native population of the United States, exclusive of slaves, had been 1.38 per cent., that population, including white and free colored, would have been 8,435,882 in 1860, and 9,675,041 in 1870; whereas the total white and free colored population, including the foreign element, was 27,489,662 in 1860, while the white population alone in 1870 was 33,589,377. According to this calculation, more than 24,000,000 of the population in 1870 was of foreign extraction. Dr. Jarvis, however, has shown that this proportion is entirely too great, owing in part to the fact that the census reports of the number of births and deaths on which the calculation is based are erroneous. According to the federal census, the number of foreign-born living in the

United States was 2,244,602 in 1850, 4,138,697 in 1860, and 5,567,229 in 1870. In the last named year statistics concerning the nativity of parents were collected for the first time, and show that there were 10,892,015 persons having one or both parents foreign, 10,521,233 a foreign father, 10,105,627 a foreign mother, and 9,734,845 both parents foreign. There were therefore 1,157,170 persons of mixed (half American and half foreign) parentage. In measuring the increase of the foreign element, Dr. Jarvis assumes that only one half (578,585) of this number should be added. Deducting this from the census statement, 10,313,430 remain as the surviving number of foreigners and their children of the first generation, as reported by the census of 1870. This, however, does not include the children of the second and third generations, the number of whom Dr. Jarvis determines at 400,000, making the total foreign element in 1870, 10,813,430; American, 22,775,947 ; aggregate white population, 33,589,377. The census reports the total number of surviving foreigners in 1870 and the total of their children born in the United States of entire and half foreign parentage, but gives no indication of the nationality or race of these children. The distribution of the entire foreign

element into the chief nationalities has been computed by Dr. Jarvis as follows:

According to the report of the United States bureau of statistics, 9,058,141 aliens had arrived in the United States from the foundation of the government to Jan. 1, 1874, of whom 250,000 were estimated to have come prior to 1819. Deducting 1⅔ per cent. for those not intending to remain, the total number of aliens permanently added to the population to the close of 1873 was 8,907,172. Dr. Jarvis has determined the number of foreigners arriving and of those surviving in the United States at decennial periods since 1790. These results are exhibited in the following statement, and it will be seen that the variance is slight from the census returns of foreigners in 1850, 1860, and 1870:

EMIGRANTS ARRIVING IN DECENNIAL PERIODS AND SURVIVING AT THEIR CLOSE.

In reaching the above results, the numbers of the survivors of those who arrived in each decade are calculated at the annual rate of 2.4 per cent. mortality and .976 per cent. surviving for the periods 1790 to 1850, 2.625 per cent. mortality for the period 1850 to 1860, and 2.2 per cent. mortality for the decade 1860 to 1870. This is a very high rate of mortality, especially when it is considered that among the emigrants are included only a small portion of those in the perilous periods of life, the very young and the aged, but that they are chiefly in the healthy ages, when the death rate is low. This, however, may be explained by the fact that they are mostly of the poor, whose death rate is everywhere greater than that of the comfortable classes; and that a large proportion of them are Irish, whose vitality is very low. It would be important to know the capital value of immigration to the United States, and the addition thus made to

the national wealth; but this result can only be reached by a computation which will be but approximately accurate. In 1856 the commissioners of emigration in New York examined every emigrant as to the amount of his means, and it was ascertained that the average cash of each of the 142,342 arriving that year was $68 08. This amount, however, was thought to be much below the actual average, since it subsequently appeared that many emigrants, not understanding the object of this inquiry, were careful not to report the full amount of their means. Mr. Kapp estimated the average amount of money brought by each emigrant at $100, and other personal property at $50; total, $150. This estimate, however, is believed by many to be far beyond the facts. Dr. Young estimates the average amount brought by each at $80. Assuming that the 422,545 aliens who arrived in the United States in 1873 with the

of remaining brought an average of $80 each, it will be seen that the immigration of that year added $33,803,600 to the wealth of the country. Applying the same calculation to the total number of aliens arriving with the intention of remaining from the formation of the government to the beginning of 1874, and the result is about $712,000,000 as the total amount contributed by immigration to the wealth of the country since its origin. In the above computation only the money value of the emigrant is considered, but the economic value of each, arising from the addition to the industrial and intellectual resources of the country, is still greater. Mr. Kapp, taking the estimate of the distinguished German statistician, Dr. Engel of Berlin, that it costs 750 thalers to produce a manual laborer in Germany, and assuming that about double this amount is the cost of an unskilled laborer in America, calculates that the capital value of each male emigrant is $1,500, and of each female $750, making the average for every person of either sex $1,125. Dr. Young, however, considers this estimate to be too high, and makes the average capital value of each immigrant $800. At this rate the emigration to the United States in 1873 added about $338,000,000 to the national wealth, while the increase from this source since the formation of the government is about $7,125,700,000. The uncertainty pf such computations, however, is made still greater by the fact that no allowance is made for unfortunates, paupers, and criminals, who are a charge to the community. These classes of foreigners in 1870 numbered nearly 50,000, as appears by the following statement from the census, showing the total of each class national and foreign in the United States:

—The most extensive European emigration has been from Great Britain and Ireland. According to the report of the land and emigration commissioners, 7,561,285 persons emigrated from the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1873, the principal points of destination being the North American colonies, the United States, and the Australian colonies. The largest proportion of these have been from Ireland. Thus the official reports of the United States show that of the 4,319,048 immigrants from the British isles between 1820 and the beginning of 1874, 2,907,565 were from Ireland, 719,776 from England, and 124,331 from Scotland.

Prior to 1815 the emigration from the United Kingdom was unimportant. Up to 1835 the main stream was toward the North American colonies; but since that year the great body of British emigration has been to the United States. Including the foreign emigration passing through the country, which has been considerable since 1864, and constituted 26 per cent. in 1872, it has been:

Notwithstanding this great exodus, the population of the United Kingdom increased from 18,627,476 in 1811 to 31,817,108 in 1871. The increase has been steady and constant in England, Wales, and Scotland; but in Ireland there has been a remarkable decrease. In 1841 the population of Ireland was 8,175,124; and in

1851, owing chiefly to the great exodus following the famine of 1846, it had decreased to 6,551,970. In 1861 it was 5,792,055, and in 1871 5,402,759, or more than half a million (535,097) less than it was in 1811. In Great Britain protection is extended by the government to emigrants, especially those destined to the British possessions. Emigration is regulated to a considerable extent by the government, acting through the land and emigration commissioners. Acts have been passed at various times for regulating the number of passengers in each ship and providing for their proper accommodation on board, and for protecting them from the numerous frauds to which they are exposed. To enforce the provisions of these acts, and generally to protect the interests of emigrants, government agents are stationed at the principal ports of embarkation, and at the chief colonial ports to which emigration is directed.—The German emigration is chiefly to the United States, and its principal points of departure are the ports of Hamburg and Bremen. As early as 1819 efforts were made in Brazil to attract emigration from Germany and Switzerland, but the treatment of the emigrants by the large property holders prevented the success of the enterprise. In 1850 an act was passed offering great inducements to colonists, and the immigration of settlers from Europe, particularly Germans and Swiss, has been otherwise encouraged by the government. These efforts have been attended with but partial success, as only about 50,000 persons have settled in the empire, chiefly in the southern provinces. There has been an immigration of some importance during recent years into the Argentine Republic. This amounted for 14 years ending Jan. 1, 1871, to 204,451 persons, who were mostly from Italy, Spain, and France. In order to encourage immigration, the government of Buenos Ayres in 1873 offered a premium of $50 each to the first 100,000 immigrants between the ages of 12 and 45, to be paid at the expiration of 18 months after arrival.—Formerly the doctrine was held by Great Britain and other European powers that a subject could not throw off his allegiance by emigrating therefrom; and whether he became a naturalized citizen of another country or not, his own still retained its claim upon him. Treaties, however, have been recently concluded between the United States and Great Britain, Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the late North German Confederation, Austria, Hungary, Baden, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, Würtemberg, and Mexico, which provide that subjects of these powers who have become naturalized citizens of the United States, and have resided uninterruptedly therein for five years, shall be held to be citizens thereof. The treaties with Belgium and Great Britain do not require a residence of five years within the United States, but recognize citizenship if sooner acquired. It seems to be the opinion of French jurists

that a French subject can at any time by his own act transfer his allegiance to any country which consents to naturalize him. He thus, according to the Code Napoleon, “loses the quality of a Frenchman.” Italy, Spain, Norway, and Greece follow substantially the Code Napoleon, and treat nationality as lost by naturalization id a foreign country, or by entering without royal license into its civil or military service. A Russian subject cannot emigrate or become naturalized in a foreign country without the permission of the emperor; if he does so, he commits an offence for which he may be for ever excluded from the Russian dominions. Nor can a subject of the Ottoman empire divest himself of that character without the authority of the imperial government.