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Full text of "A study in Canadian immigration"

RYERSON CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP SERI 
PETER SANDIFORD, Ph.D.. EDITOR 

A St dy " 
u in 

Canadian Immigration 

by 
W. G. SMITH, B.A. 

THE RYERSON PRESS 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

THE RYERSON CANADIAN ClTIZENSHIP SERIES is 
projected for the purpose of Bringing together the best writings, hoth 
new and old, upon those social, polltical and industrial question» 
with which we, as individual Canadians and as a nation, are 
immediately concerned. Itis expected that in time this Series will 
present a complete commentary on and analysis of our multiplying 
and insistent national problems. 

A young nation is apt to depend too entirely upon others, 
either from sentiment, timidity or from a lack of an adequate sense 
of independence. The first duty of a young nation must be to know 
its own self and express itself. There is. at this moment, in Canada 
a vast amount of constructive thinking being done. thinking that 
must remain inarticulate until someone gives it voice. Itis to 
assist our students and interpreters and to provide them wlth a 
suitable medium of expression that this venture is ruade. It is also 
tobe hoped that ail Canadians who are dlrectly affected by these 
national problems will gather into this conference with out best 
minds. 

Professor Smith's study of the problem of Canadian immigration 
has broken new ground and is the first serious attempt of its kind in 
Canada. It gives an outline of the great immigration movements 
by which Canada has enriched her population and conquered ber 
territory, discusses Immigration Laws and their operation, examines 
th-" problems of rejection and deportation, and makes a detailed 
expofitio_a of the influence of Immigration upon matters of Education. 
Crime. Citizenship and kincked problems. The results of this investi- 
gation have been far-reaching. Not only has a new and intelligent 
interest been created in the greatest of our national problems but it 
has initiated new movements in the Churches of ail denominations 
in their social and educational work among the new Canadians. 
Furthermore, itis interesting to know that the proposais outlined by 
Professor Smith as the one way out in our Immigration policy bave 
been enthusiastically endorsed by the Federal Government of Canada. 
Anyone wishing to become conversant with the greatest of our 
present national problems must begin with "'A Study in Canadian 
Immigration," the first exhaustive work of its knd in Canada. 

LORNE PIERCE. 

CoçyriCht. Canada. lff20, by 



PREFACE. 

THIS book has many defects. The investiga- 
tion, begun at the request, of the Canadian 
National Committee for Mental Hygiene, has 
been carried on in the ihtervals, not at ail 
ft'equent, in the course of the day's work. The 
consequent lack of intensive and extended in- 
quiry, since it protracted the consideration of 
single issues, may have prevented in sOlll{" 
measure over-hasty conclusions, but it has also 
prevented the precise detailed analysis that is 
so desirable and which the subject requires. 
Itis, however, offered to a Canadian public 
only as a feeble attempt to understand the sig- 
nificance of the mass of material bound up in 
Government Blue Books, and to sec the far- 
reaching character of the influx to this country 
of various peoples from n.early every land be- 
neath the skies. The study is not complete 
but ouly the beginning of that which some day 
abler pens will describe as the great formative 
period of Canada's eal.ly life. 
While many histories clearly and skilfully 
narrate the general political development of 
3 



4 l'rc[a«-e 
lhis greal cocn[ry, therc lins nol yet been any 
minute stml.v of the immigratiou aspect of a 
complex ('ana(lian lmlmhtion. Though more 
than a hundred 3"ears have l)assed, dcl'ing 
whieh many folk bave eome to this land, there 
is seareely cm3' eoneentl'ated study of the prol» 
lems presented I)" such a great influx inIo a 
new eonntL),. In the United S[a[es a colmider- 
able litera[ure bas ah'eady developed dealing 
with the nmny and varied aspects of [he ques- 
tion, and though much of the discussion is 
equally apl)lieable to Canada, if is rime that 
('anadian students of Canadian affairs turned 
their attention to tbe p[.oblems inseparably 
eonneeted with Immigration. 
Ten years ago )[r. J. S. Woodsworth wrote 
" Strangers Within Ont Gales," a book in- 
tended nore espeeiall 3- to show the task of the 
Chureh regarding the immigrants; and two 
years ago Dr. J. T. M. Anderson showed the 
needs of the immigrant and the funetion of 
the Publie School in "'The Edueation of the 
ew Canadian,"a book which ealls forth 
unstinted admiration. Descriptive al.tieles 
like those of Professor C. B. Sissons have dealt 
with various groul)s of immigrants, and the 
saine writer bas with excellent eanllonr dis- 
cussed the problem of " Bi-lingual Schools in 
Canada," but the eomplex problems arising 
from the ehaeaeterisfies and eapaeities of the 
immigrants themselves still await adequate 



Prc[««c 5 
trealmen{. If this sludy eau pt,rform lhe task 
of a pioneer, wilh /he «rude iml»lem«,n/s so 
characteristic of one who SUpldements his lack 
of skill by courage, in blazing a bit of a trail 
which may induce others of constructive capa- 
city to lmild broad and endm'ing highways, it 
will have a«complished its main purpose. 
It is particularly agreeable to acknowledge 
indeb/edness to /he many friends who bave 
helped in the performance of the present task, 
but especially to Dr. C. K. çla'ke for unceas- 
ing en«onragement and an Introduction whose 
words of praise are prompted by a. sincere 
desire for the welfare of the country; to Dr. 
J. D. Pag6, of the Immigration Office at Que- 
bec for helpful suggestions and direct informa- 
tion given with a kindliness that is a grace; 
fo l)r. ('. M. Hincks, the inïlefatigable Secre- 
tary of the ('anadian X'ational Committee for 
Mental Hygiene, for frequent dt'aughts of over- 
flowing enthusiasm; to Dr. E. J. Pratt, a truc 
and h)yal colleague, for reading the manu- 
script and redm.ing (he ineh,gam-ies of the 
written word; and finally to Dr. G. S. Mundie, 
Edi(or of the Canadian Journal of Mental 
Hygiene, for permission to use material 
al)pearing in a series of articles in recent 
numbers of (hat magazine. 
W. G. SMITH. 
Toronto, May 151h, 1920. 



FOREWORD 

STUDENTS invesligaling pt'aetical questions 
c,nnected with the ],ist,'y ,,f immigration 
have felt that the subject covered such an 
immen.e fichl that few have f.und either rime 
or inclination to delve into it. At best, itis a 
chal)ter of tragedy and mismanagement. 
To get even a bird's-eye-vicw of the question 
means hot only months of study of the scat- 
tered literature availalde, Iut a sifting of evi- 
dence only too often disto'ted I»v the political 
exploiter, whose view. wcl-e partisan and by 
no means inspired ly a desire t(» tell the truth. 
So many selfi.h interests were involved; 
ship companies on the one hand cndeavouring 
to stimulate emigration from the Old Worhl, 
profiteers on the other nmking the burden of 
recent am'ivals so intolerlde that one marvels 
how Canada succceded in preserving its good 
lla nie. 
Why the United States attracted the nmny, 
and often the best, while we had fo be content 
with the few, and frcquenily the worst, is 
ea.ily understood by those who have had the 
7 



Vhile exeellenl eolvihulions 1o ¢he history 
of immi.alion iuto l'auada bave .been nmde, 
il lins 'em«ined fw Profes,r V. {. mith 
ive « 'l«a- «n,1 concise sl,wy of wlmt a,'Hmlly 
Iml,l)en,,,]. Th;tt h,, lins ,l,,n,' his w,,rk admir- 
bly «m] pint«kingly a pemsl f the 
of this I»ok will m«ke pl«in. 
The lime ha corne when itis possible 
Sl)e«dc ,f the mistkes f lhe past without slir- 
ring up a hormt's «st, but whal is f more 
importance, w that the ride *»f immi.ti,, 
is fl,wing in 'anada's direcliou, is to nvoid 
. N l" 0'0"1" 
1,ading u I, a .¢ u» in nalim wilh the 
misfifs and failm'es ,f 
Those of us wh,, h«ç a,',luired kn,wldg 
thvough an intimate association with the (lere- 
licls c«st pon out shores by n un'ise and 
defe('tive sysiem ,,f s,-c;lled supervision of 
inmligration, (-an esfimate what this mistaken 
l,olicy bas cost us. 
Realizing lht this is the 1)sychoh)gi«a] 
moment t,, stand out f,w tire «,l,q)tion of 
methods likely te) give s lho Iest and excludc 
the w,-st, we 'el«,)me Pvofesso- Smflh's 
as it places ,I)efo.e smlens and i)uhlic men 
mass of well digesled facts which are essential 
fo a fait «onsi,le-atiol of the important sul)- 
ject of immigration. 



Canada must h«mve immigra|i.n, of «onre, 
bel" lili]]i«liS Of II*I'I*S of nnlilhql iil'l]le lalld 
delnand it. TI.. l'l'idée fli" ilUliilel'S Imwevel*, 
must. hot ,be allowed t- intel*fere wilh the 
policy of opening lhe dool.s «mlv to tllose who 
are likely tobe of use in bnildilg Ul» 
ll'Omises Io be one «»fllle g'ealest 
Wol.hFs 
A bl.ief survey of the hislol'y of distl.ict 
eured hy an illflUx of Ulruilalfle ettler 
hulnll'ed yenr affo, when immigralion was 
um-etl-ieted, tell  talc lhat «annot be 
inol'ed, while a imilar stmly of disll.icl 
where pe.ple of lhe l'ight. «n.t were re«*eived, 
is an inspiration. A perusal .f lin, 
in many puhlic instiluti.ns whcre rec.nls of 
criminality and mental failurc are kcpt, will 
show wilhout perndventure thal the history 
.f lhe Jukes fnmily is n-t lhe mly one in 
Amet'ica worlh slndying. 
The countless ntilli.ns paid by Canada 
lhe priee for he" shiftless meth,,ls .f snpervi- 
ing immigrali.n eann.t I., eslimnted, iml if 
this eouhl be done, even lhe hÆathel'-hned 
orators, who pl'o«htillt ff.in lhe h«msetops tiret 
we nmst have nnrestri«led illmHgration, wonhl 
be less vebernent in lheir calls to Europe. 
Then again, we mnst hot fol*get that 
pl'oeess of assimilalion is dieult in a Cmlnlry 



covei'ing such an immense «u-ca as that com- 
p-ised by ('annd;, ad while it is fine, in 
theory, to open or donrs to the oppressed and 
downtrodden, yet in doing this we are, only 
too often, pïoviding an inlet for persons u'ho 
have been " impossib|e" in the old world and 
are likely to prove even more " impossible" 
here. 
So many factors have conspired to defeat 
the efforts of those who would bave built 
wisely, if opportunity had been afforded that 
discouragement has often developed in spire of 
honest endeavours to rectify glaring wrons. 
Steamship companies in their desire to stimu- 
late business have taken advantage of every 
oppol-tunity to increase trade, and generally 
speaking, their influence in governmental cir- 
cles has enabled them to pursue a policy satis- 
factory to themselves, although detrimental to 
Canada. Perhaps nothing has contributed 
more to their success in destroying the modest 
eflïciency of the crude system of inspection of 
immigrants than that of the location of the 
chief port of entry at Quebec. Ships' oticeïs 
naturally chafed at delnys, e'ery hour lost 
meant so much less profit, and it is frankly 
ndmitted that the rides and want of facilities 
for a proper system of inspection played into 
their hands. 



Forc«ord 1 1 

l'n/il Canada develops a port of enlry 
similar fo that al; Ellis Island in New York, 
with buihlings suitable for the housing of 
large nunlbcrs of immigrants for several days 
ata rime, so tha a careful and systematic 
inspection may be undertaken, no progress 
will be ruade, h'o offi(-ials will be able to c«q,e 
with the business enter])rise of companies who 
are conccrned only with thc quanlity, uot lhe 
quality of lheir passengers. Stcamship ('oto- 
parties are liko other commer(-ial organiza- 
tions, concerned (-hiefly with the affairs of 
nmking money, and with them sentiment is 
hot a marketable commodity. If, /hen, it is 
proved tha.t a Canadian Ellis Island is hot 
possible a Quebec, the Federal Government 
will simply have to spend a few millions of dol- 
lars in developing a suitablc port somewhere 
near Montreal. Such a nmve wouhl, of course, 
stir up opposition but, after ail, the affairs of 
a nation shouhl hot be determined by any 
group of local politicians, whose hopes must 
be sacrificed in the interests of the country at 
large. 
Ano/her imp«rtant point, rock, is the neces- 
sity for the most stringent inspection of young 
people brough fo Canada by humanitariau 
organizations. These socieIies are influenced 
by the 'bes of motives, bu do hot always appre- 
tiare the fact that the conditions whi«h pro- 
duced the tragedy of the deserted child often 



1 Forc«ord 
furnish im'efutab]e prognostications of the 
inevitab]e failm'e of the proposed immigrant. 
Those who bave had extensive êxpêrience with 
such importations realize that the literature 
pul»lished in regard to th(* success of these 
chi]dren is hot ahvays a s«fc gi]e to 
trlth. So(.ial service wo-ke-s nro almost a 
unit in comh,muing this type of immigration 
unless it is lmdged al)oui by conditions of in- 
spection that safeguard Canada in a way 
neveu- ho,fore attempted. The 'auadian 
tional ('ommittee fo. Mental tlygiene has 
l»,n atta«.ked rime and agaiu because it has 
combatted the i«]ea tha a free country and 
improved hygienic ('omlitions will make the 
defective chihl mentally competeut and llc 
insane person sane. This is all very wcll in 
fleory, but we know hy expericnce acquired 
in various ('lini(.s that the impossible never 
happeus, aml the mmO»er of weaklings of 
vicious aml anti-social type imposed on Can- 
ada hy lis sort of immigration is large. 
Somc of these )cictiês have said that thev 
bave no knowledge of such a state of affairs; 
the fact is they have lost truck of their erst- 
whi]e wards while we have discovered them. 
To give the societies credit, when their mistakes 
have been pointed out, they have admitted 
them and promised to take g'eater precautions 
in the future. At the same rime the chapter 



Forcu'ord 13 
has been snch an nnpleasant one, and fraught 
with so much lraedy, that tin, immigralion 
authorities must be persuaded fo senn ail inuui- 
grants of this type with more than ordinary 
thoroughness. As f«lr «,s ('aad«t is concerll',l 
il is vital al this moment that we s«rutinizc 
every inc,,ming' prospective t'anadian wilh lhe 
greatest eare, with /he hop,. that those w« 
"ceive will p,.,ve to l,e na/im-huihh.rs ralh,r 
than n l,nrden on ,mr already«n'erlaxed treas- 
ury. Il bas ever I,t»en ri'u, • tha[ lhe failures of 
the ohl wo,.hl hnve sough/ and have been 
encouraged to seek, pastures green in the new 
world, withou/ the slightest consid,wa/ion of 
the reasons why they have hot s,n-«ee,h.d al. 
home. Th,. galue ,,f gelling rid of them lu,s 
alwass .been played enlhusiastically by thse 
who are interested in h'ssening their owu 
troubles, and lhat we hure suffered by the 
presenee of a ho,st of i,nmigrants ill-equipped 
to cope with conditions in t'anada is only too 
well known. If the nmtter ended with lheil" 
generation possiidy setimont might prevail 
and little be said of the imposition. Those of 
us who are making surveys of thousands of 
school children, have long ago learned, how- 
ever, that the descendauts of lhese poor types 
fall far below the average and are simply ad,1- 
ing to our anxieties rather than helping to 
build up a healthy people. These arguments 



1 1 Foreword 
may «qq,em" selfish and lacking in gencr»sity, 
bnt after ail [hey are ]msed on common sense 
and a knowledgc «,f what follows the admis- 
sion of persons who cannot be admitted with 
advantage fo ('anadm 
If Canada «onhl re(''ire lhe grealer part of 
ber immigrMion frmn thc «tgri«.nlturM classes 
of Britain she wonhl be«ome lhc brightest star 
in the Empire, bnt. unfortunately these people 
are hot attr«ch'd in lhe mmbers desir(,d, and 
IlS'belli c{'n'«'s, all'(,«ldj- ovel't.'owdod, are being 
added to ata rate /hat is disturbing and 
alnrming fo the thoughtful ohservers of what 
is taking place. Without doubt this fact ac- 
eonnts for some of ihe um'est which is dis- 
tut'bing ('mmda «t the present moment. 
Fortunalely the cmigration of ('anadians 
to the United States, which kept this country 
bled white for so long. has fo a great extent 
ceased. We are nnw receiring thousands of 
immigrants from thc South, who a'e hOt only 
acquainted with out farmiug methods, but are 
also of splendid t»'pe and at once a«cept out 
laws and standards, nmking loy] citizens, who 
are invahmhle in Imilding up the country. 
At all evcnts, a cm'eful reading of Profesr 
Smith's book will «'onvince lhe reader that 
the faults of the past should hot be comnlied 
a second rime, and if Cmlada is to have the 
place in the sun to which she is entitled» the 



Forc«ord 15 
ministers in ('harge of public affairs must he 
inexorable in their determination to guard the 
ports of entry in a way that. will albw us to 
reeeive none 'but. those who will ho ruly help- 
fui in the inaking of a g'l'eat, nation. 
The Canadian ational ('mnmit[ee for 
Menlal Hygiene finds iiself deeply «oncerned 
at the present, moment wilh ibe affairs of 
immigrafi«m, and welc«m«s l'rofess«»r Smith's 
facts as important ai. liais critical stag'e, when 
he war has lefi so many pr«»hlems of readjust- 
ment. tobe dealt witb. The experien«es and 
knowledge gained durin exlensive surveys 
ruade by the ('ommiltee in the far West and 
in lhe Eas have «mfirmed ont fears hat. we 
have nol buill, wisely in lbe pas. I is impera- 
lire lhen thai the poinls broughl mt must be 
c«msidered seri«msly and dealt wilh in a 
thorough manner. 
Ç. Il. (',ARIq, M.D., 
3Iedi«al Director, 'anadian National 
Committee for Mental Hygiene. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I[. 
III. 
IV. 
V. 

VII. 

VIII. 
IX. 
X. 
XI. 
XII. 
XlII. 
XIV. 
XV. 

PAGE 
Tlm Pro'inces, Statistical and Othen-ise 19 
The Beginning of ihe Immigration Tide 37 
The Tide in Flood 54 
The Refuse of the Tide 72 
The Immigration Law of 1910 and Ifs 
Prohibii, ions 
The Tide of the Past Decade 
Can a Composite Population becom,. 
Canadian ? J 2, 
Immigration Groups--Orlcntal 
Immigration Groups--Wcstern Europe . 1, « 
Immigration Groups--E.astern Europe . 20(} 
Immigration and Defcctivcs 226 
Immigration an,l I[liicraey . 266 
Immigration ami Crime 279 
Future hnmigration 298 
Some Present Nceds 
Index of Tables . 401 
General Index 405 



CIIAPTER I. 

THE PROVINCES, STATI,'TI('AL A.\D 
OTHERWI,,E. 

II it were possible for a traveller landing at 
Halifax aftcr an ocean voyage from Europe 
to take a comfortable seat in an airplane or 
dirible balloon and proceed westward so as 
to make a bird's-eye survey of the provinces 
of the Dominion before again embarking for 
Asia, he would, if the conditions were per- 
fectly favourable for observation, and with 
the latest edition of the Canada Year Book 
as monitor and guide, be the recipient of a 
number of unique surprises in his apprehen- 
sion of Canada's actual and potential great- 
ness. Anyone, however, who has neither the 
courage nor the financial resources for such a 
voyage may sit in a cozy chair, contemplate 
in imagination the discoveries of such a trav- 
eller, and arise from his meditation as much 
astonished at the country's magnificence as he 
is perplexed by the problems confronting it. 
Our traveller " taking the air" at Halifax 
on the Atlantic Seaboard, with its harbour 
open all the year round, journeys over the large 
19 



20 A Study iz Cauadia Immigratiol 
aud historic province of Nova Scotia as it lies 
surrounded by the sea except for a narrow 
isthmus only thirteen mlles wide. Away to 
the north is a beautiful fruit valley eighty 
mlles long, producing apples, peaches, pears, 
plmns and cherrics, and as rich in grains and 
roots as in fruits. To the west lies another 
and greater natural depression about one hun- 
dred mlles loug and equally if hot even more 
productive, the famous Annapolis Valley. 
The province, with its area of 21,427 square 
mlles, is half as large as the combined areas 
of Switzerland, Hollaud, and Denmark, those 
thriving countries of the European continent 
out travcller has just left. Indeed this prov- 
ince by the sea is almost as large as the king- 
dores of Holland and Denmark combined. By 
reference to a nmp he learns that the whole 
province, instead of being in the frozen north 
is in latitude south of the most southern sec- 
tion of England and the guide book informs 
hin of its extraordinary physical features of 
long coastline, accommodating harbours, num- 
erous lakes, navigable rivers, as we]l as of its 
natural rcsources distributcd from the coal 
mines of Cape Breton to the orchards of the 
Annapolis Va]]ey. But while the three Euro- 
pean countries of Switzerland, Holland and 
Denmark provide life aud labour with the 
accompaniments of European civilizations for 



Th¢ Prorincc., ,'lali..tic«ll nd Olhcrwise 21 
about ten millions of human beings, a popula- 
lion greater than the whole of the Donfinion 
here in this province of ova Scofia there 
reside less than hall a tatillon people, 492,338 
(1911). In the aforementioned European 
countries lhey have about 221 persons to the 
square toile. Here there are only twenty-three 
for the saine unit area. And yet this is the 
sluallest province, save (»ne, of the whole 
Dominion. 
Swerving a little lo the right in his west- 
ward course the traveller sees the snmllest, 
Prince Edwar(! Island, 150 toiles long, and 
w.rying in breadth froln four to thirty toiles, 
with an area of 2,184 square toiles utilised 
mainly for dairying, stock«'aising and allied 
industries. This garden province is, as the 
guide-book says, "The most densely popu]ated 
of the Dominion." Thêre were, in 1911, 93.728 
persons for its 2,184 square nfiles, or al»out 
forty-four to the square toile. That popula- 
tion does hot seem so very dense when it is 
remembered tht Ho]land has about 355 fo the 
square toile, and instead of having land to 
spare must protect it at great labour and ex- 
pense from the ravages of the sea. 
Continuing westward the traveller glides 
over the largest of the maritime provinces, bew 
Brunswick, with an area larger than Prince 
Edward Island and Nova Scotia combined. 
Here is a province nearly as large as Scotlnd, 



2"2 .l Ntudy in. ¢'an«d.iau Immigration. 
greatêr than two Bolgiums, wiIh 28,000 square 
mlles of rolling plains and hills; with forests 
and game, mines and agriculIure; with three 
sides washed by Ihe sea, which yielded in a 
recent year a harvest of nearly 5,000,000. 
This land, with immense undevehq»'d re- 
sources, supporIs 351,,_,Sq. people, or about 
twelve Io the squa.o toile, lIolgium has abouI 
500 for the somme unit area. 
Ooming inlo (uoboe, wilh its o »,,« square 
mlles, tho travoller enIers Ihe largest province 
of thc Domini(»n. llence it is larger than 
France, (lermany and Austria-Hungary com- 
bined. Ilere is one p'ovince nearly six times 
as large as the British Islcs and eqtml to sixty- 
two Belgiums or fouvteen Englands. And in 
it there are ,,003,.3. l)eople. Belgium had 
over six millions fi)r an area of 11,373 square 
toiles, or thvee times as many people for one- 
sixIy-sccond «»f Ihe area. England has about 
Ihirty millions for 5S,000 square toiles or 
fifteen rimes as nmny people for one-twelfth 
of the a'ea. But since considerable of lhis 
immense province belongs to Ihe " cold and 
forbidding N«rth " and is largely unexph)red, 
cut it off and take only one-third, an area 
streIching along the Great St. Lawrence Val- 
ley and to the west, and we still have an area 
of 235,000 square toiles, or four times the area 
of England with only one-fifteenth of its 
population. 



Tlte l'rocinccs, Statistical ad Otltertcise 23 
By the side of Quebec stands the second 
largest province of the Dominion, Ontario 
with 407,000 square toiles. It is larger than 
Germany by 50,000 square toiles; nearly equal 
in area to France and Germany combined; 
larger than Great Britain and Italy taken to- 
gether and nearly equal to four Italys tak- 
ing the area of Italy as 110,623 square toiles. 
Here is a provinr«  of immense possibilities 
stretching al»«»ut 1,000 toiles east and west and 
another thousaad nm'th and south. Within 
this domain rich in various kinds of -ealth-- 
agriculturaL mineral, industrial--there live 
only 2,523,274 people. On a smaller area (er- 
many had over sixty millions, and on about 
one-seventh of Ontario's actes England holds 
a population of thirty millions. 
Passing beyond the treat Lakes there lies 
fo the west in the neighbouring province of 
l[anitoba the beginning of those immense roll- 
ing prairies that extend like the sea into the 
far horizon. Here in Manitola, with its area 
of 252,000 square toiles containing barely 
touched resources of minerals lumber, fur, 
and fish, there are twenty-five million actes of 
land available for cultivation. To utilise 
these and other vast resources there live in 
the section 5537860 persons, or about two to 
the square toile. Germany had about 300 to 
the square mile and in an area about one and 
one-half times that of Manitoba. 



21 .l »S'tudy in 'anadian Immig»'¢ttio. 
From the boundary line of Manitoba and 
Ontario to lhe foot of the immense Roekies 
lhe saine tale is told. Saskatehewan is about 
equal in aia to Manitoba, or more preeisely 
251,700 square luiles, and with its ast«unding 
fertility of soil coupled with the products of 
mine and lakes could support a flourishing 
and numerous population. But the number 
of its inhabitants in 1916 reaehed only 647,835. 
Gveat Ih'itfin, with less than half the area, 
possesses lhirty-lhre millions. 
The rolling, fertile lands of Albevl-a streteh 
away into the slmdow of the vast mountains 
of the west and I-o the great rivevs of the north. 
If il-s eighty million acves of the finest farm 
land had one family of rive persons for every 
160 actes there wouhl be 500,000 farm homes 
with a population of two and one-half millions. 
Yet the totnl population of Albevta in 1916 
was hot half a millions496,525 is the census 
figure--or about two persons to the square 
nile. Japan, which is to a considerable extent 
mounlinous, bas a smalle- area, or 18456 
square miles as compared with Albevta's 
255,285, but nmintains a population of ahout 
5,0O0,00O persons, or 360 to the square mlle. 
With ils head lifted high in the clouds of 
lhe Rocky mountains and its feet laved by 
the waters of the Pacific stands British 
Columbia, the thivd largest province of the 
Donfinion, containing 357,000 square toiles. 



TIe l'ro'im.c.% ,_'tatili«'«tl aud Ollert'isc 25 
And of its possihle 25,000,000 arahle aeïes ody 
one million a'e oceupied. This immense prov- 
ince is larger than the Europcan countries of 
France, Italy and Portugal ('ombined. But 
while these three countries possess altogether 
a l)Olull;tion of «bout sev«.nty-five millions 
British ('olumbia had (in 1911) but little 
more than a third of a million, 392,480 people, 
for an are equal to a considerable portion 
of Europe. 
Unless out tr;vcller is now overcome by 
emo[ion he has yet in store the Yukon Terri- 
tory with its 207,000 square mlles, and the 
orth Vest Territories with their 1,242,000 
squ;ire mlles; «lud if lin is ov«reome he eau re- 
turn to earth and meditate ou what he has 
seen and learned. For tho eountlT through 
which he has passed, cousisting of aine prov- 
inc.es and tw« territories, hem an area of 
3,729,665 square toiles, equal to one-third of 
the whole llritish Eml)ire, twice that of India, 
e(lual to the whole of Europe leaving out 
Greece and exceeding the whole of the Uuited 
States without Alaska and the depem]encies 
by 700,000 square toiles; se) that if the United 
States without Alaska were placed upon Can- 
ada then ritish Columbia, Albert«L and one- 
third of Saskatchewan would he left ancov- 
ered. Here is a country thirty rimes the size 
of Austria, 330 times Belgium, 250 times Den- 
mark, eighteen rimes Germany, eighteen rimes 



26 ..1_ ,b'tudy in 'an«dian ln»igr«tion 
Frauce, sevcnty-five rimes Japan; and in 
cont'ast to the teeming and at any rate to 
some exteut hriving millions of Europe, thi 
vast Dominion possesses but eight millions of 
people while the no greater area of the United 
States has ah'eady passed the oue hundred 
million nmrk. A comparison of the areas of 
the two great ueighbouring «ountries of the 
Uniled States aud Canada is almost full of 
surprise. The iand area of the Uuited States 
and Alaska, ac«.ording to the official figures, 
is 3,564,744 square toiles and the water area 
52,899, a total of 3,617,64: square toiles. The 
land area of (auada is 3,603,910 and the water 
125,755, a total of 3,729,665 square mlles. 
Leaving aside the fa«t that the water area 
is more than twice that of the United States, 
the land area of Canada has a surplus of 
39,166 square toiles into which could he put 
Denmark, Belgium and Holland. Comparing 
the land and water area there is a difference 
of 111,992 square toiles, which is greater than 
the area of Italy with its 110,659 square toiles. 
If this is hot sucieully surprisiug it may be 
uoted Ihat the whole of ItalS «ould be dropped 
into Canada's water area which would yet 
have abont 15,000 square mlles to spare. 
Europe with its teeming millions is a big 
place with its 3,800,000 square mlles, but 
Canada with its sçattered population cornes 
very close with 3,729,665 square toiles. 



Thc l'rorin«ex., ¢:tatisti«al a::d Othcrn'i.c 27 
But figures like Chese showing meve num- 
erienl eomparisons beeome confiming, unless 
we let out fnney rove in other pietures. Noeth 
of [he ('ity «f Edmon«m in Alberta is « gre«tt 
stre[ch of country of whi«h so little was kuown 
a few yenrs ago thal over ils rolling hills and 
frozen waters fnr-lwaring animais were sui>- 
posed 1o roam. The picture reminded one 
of those days when 
"Geographers in Afric mas 
" Put savage beasts to flll the 
"Anà o'or uninhabitable 
" Placeà elephants for lack of towns." 
But now ihis immense, unequalb«l empire of 
the nolqh, drained b3" rive great 
alld yichling the largest fur harvest in the 
worhl, possesses in ihe Peace River Valley 
15,140,000 actes of the finest arable soil. This 
land could produce 400 nlilli«m hushels of 
wheat which is g'reater than ('anada's best 
crop of about 300 million. To be quite sure 
that thi« is hot entirely a wild flight of fancy 
it is well to be reminded that during 1919 
about 10,000 pe«ple moved iuto this great 
area north of Edmonton, that there are ap- 
proximately a thousand toiles of railway in 
operation there, and that lhe people estimated 
the crop of that year at six million bnshels. 
If that is now done in an area north of 
Edmonton what tan be done in the great 



28 _1 ,_'tudy in ('anodion Immiff»otion 
Dominion? Indeed of the possibilities of this 
vast land one need never grow tired of think- 
ing, but the possibilities on the agricultural 
side alone begin to tax the powers of imagina- 
tion when the following figures are carefully 
considered : 
TABLE 1. 
.AGEICULTUAL 'OSSIBILITIES IN kCIRES» ]XCUSI%'E OF 
TIIE TERRITOR1ES. 

Possible Now 
Province. : Actes for Balance. 
Agriculture. Utilized. 

Quebec .............. 
Maritime Provinces,.. 
Ontario ............. 
Manitoba ........... 
Saskatchewan ....... 
Alberta ............. 
British Columbia .... 
Total ........... 

40.000.000 
20,000.000 
50.000.000 
40.000.000 

'8,000.000 
11,000,000 
14.000.000 
10,000,000 

68,000.000 
82.000.000 
25,000.000 

,325,000,000 

32.000,000 
9.000.000 
36,000,000 
30,000.000 
14.000,0001 54.000.000 
4.000,0001 78.000,000 
i1,000.000 24,000,000 
-,o.ooo 2,ooo,ooo 

Even if these figures be denounced as "highly 
fam'iful and extravagant," and we imlnediately 
eut them in two we are yet lvft with over one 
hundred million actes of land rea(ly to loe oper- 
ated in ortier to contrilmle to the filling of 
the worhl's 'bread-basket. In view of the 
imlnensity of these resources, one would imag- 
ine that laud couhl be obtaincd with facility 
by those who desired to take up the work of 
agriculture, but the fu't is that many of these 
actes have passcd out of the banals of the gov- 
ernment, and the great bulk of the balance is 



far removed from raih.oads. When lhc Domin- 
ion Government began 1o plan the assignment 
of land for sohliers returniug from The Great 
War who desired to take up agricuHure, 
problem became excecdingly dicult. Avail- 
able lands lay in the provinces of Manitoba, 
Saskatchewan, and Alberta l)u( prac(ically 
only in the last two, since none available for 
settlement was left in ManitÇ)la. It was 
furiher found ihat ibere was uot in ihis 
Canada of ours su('ient suitahle land avail- 
able for setilemenl fo meet the situati«m, that 
is, land within propcr distance from railways 
and other facilities. The Dominion Govern- 
ment had to cousider the questi[m anew, to 
discss the marrer with the Premiers of all the 
provinçes, and fimdly decided Ul)n a plan 
wherehy tho sddiers omhl be placed upon pur- 
chsed landpurdmsed bi,cause there are mil- 
lions of acres of laud tlmt had passed away 
from the «rown, is now in tho hands of pri- 
rate owners, is hot heing us[«l, but is being 
hold fÇ)r Sl»eculatim.* Wbilc legislatim was 
l)roposed h remeÇly the sihmtion, the 
bare mention of lhe diculty is sucient 
to carry with it ils oxv .biltemmsn. For 
if thai dieulty lay in the way of the heroic 
soldior who ws native h the soil, wh« kind 
* See the speech of Hon. T. A. Calder at the Canadian 
Club, Toronto, January 10, 1919published in Cnadian 
Ocial Record, January 14, 1919. 



30 .4 tud!t in ¢-'anadian Immigration, 
of dioEculties would beset the unwary feet of 
the immigrant who in thousands of cases was 
ignorant of oue language, customs, and laws? 
To explore the resoueces of this Dominion of 
Canada and o enjoy the immense wealth 
wrapped within ils bosom there is nded a 
greatee population. And the sonrcos of popu- 
lation are limited o two: natuval inerease by 
a relatively high birth-rate and immigration. 
But even with a very high birth-rate it would 
require many years for the population of Can- 
ada fo become adequate, from that source 
alone, for the exlfloration of the country's nat- 
nral resonrce. This is so self-ovid,ut as merely 
to require an iilnsfratiou. J«»hu R. Conmons 
points lo lhe in«rease among' Freneh-Cana- 
dians by sayinff lhat when En'land 
quered Canada in 1759 it then had a popula- 
tion of 65,000; yet wilhont immigration the 
number had increased in 1901 to 2,400,000, 
including 1,600,000 in Canada and 800,000 
emigrants and children in Ihe United States. 
Scarcely another race has multiplied as rap- 
idly, doubling ove?" /wenty-five years.* But 
even at that nnusually high rate of increase 
it would require a century before Canada 
could attain to the number of the prescrit pop- 
ulation of Ihe United States; while a steady 
rate of increase Ihat doubled the populalion 
* Raees and Immigrantz in America, . 97. 



Tltc t'tact»ces, Statistic'al and Othcrt,i.c 31 
every fifty years would hot sec one hundred 
millions of people in these Dominions bcfore 
the year 2118. While the forcgoing illustration 
is based on a rclatively high birth-rate it must 
be remembered that such a rate would hot pre- 
vail throughout ('anada, for even with the 
steady increase in hygienic conditions and the 
growing municipal care for young chihlren, 
diminishing the losses by death from sheer 
negleet, the nulnler of children dyiug under 
one year of age in proportion fo the number 
of births is constantly a nmtter of grave con- 
cern. And especially is this the case with 
large eities. Iii Toronto for ex.anlple for the 
fourteen years 1904-17 inclusive the average 
rate of deaths of children nnder one year of 
age was 140 out of every 1,000 births, or four- 
teen per cent. In the tragic rive months of 
191, from August to Deeember, the Freneh 
Army lost 5.41 per cent. of ifs numbers, this 
loss ineluding killed, missing, and prisoners, 
and the return of many of the last mentioned 
would reduce that pereentage of loss. So that 
it was approximately three rimes as dangerous 
to be born in quiet Toronto in 1914 as it was 
to retreat with the French army toward the 
Marne when the Germans were in the flower 
of their strength. In the first year of the war 
the British Army losses were comparatively 
high but the famous Canadian Regiment, the 
"Prineess Pats" is regarded as being more 



severely "cut up " than any other regiment. 
Their Iosscs werc ten per cent. The regiment 
of oe-year-o]ds in Toronto lost foui'reÇ per 
Vhile the «.ogestion in big cities is no 
doubt one of the great, factors in the high 
mortality of chih]ren, if is partly offset by 
the growing pot-er of medical otcel's of 
health, public school inspection, and the muni- 
eipal provision for pul]ic nurses. But iu the 
colonies of many immigrants there is no such 
provision, and inevitable ]osses are multip]ied 
l»y ig'nol'nce l'ath«r (han l,y the absence 
af parental affection. If is stated, for ex- 
ample, that in parts of a Ruthenian colony 
near Edmonton the death-rate is sometimes 
forty per cent. of the infants under two years 
çf age. The long procession of little xvhite 
coins fo the eemetery becomes a sad national 
loss, whieh beeause of its constancy is apt to 
l»e overlooked, and there is frequently needed 
an inundation of statistics to arouse all-too- 
prevalent lethargy into the full seriousness of 
the marrer. (onsider, for example, the fosses 
in children under one year of age in Ontal'io 
per annum in eomparison with some of the 
losses in The Great 'ar. A news item from 
London, England, on December 30, 1918, gave 
the number of dead soldiers reeorded up to 
that date as 5,936,504. Taking these fires 
as distributed among the great nations they 



Tb¢ Prm'in«cs, ,'tatisIi«e o»d Otbcrwisc 33 
eouhl be eompared witb eitber tbe moldlized 
armies of these eountries, or with beir popm 
lation, or with both. Oeial fiures as to the 
exact llUlube of mon mobilized in the cOnll- 
tries considered are dicult and in some cases 
impossible to obtain, so a more or less exae 
estimate must suee. Similar inexaetness for 
figures representing the populations lllay be 
admitted, but an ovprestimation will be saler 
thn an nnderesfilnution. o the oeial fig- 
fil'eS al»ove mentioned may be added the esti- 
nlnted ]oss in dead for Italy with the estimated 
figlll'eS for nlobilized lllell filial the total popu- 
lation of that country. The followiug table 
then becomes one of tragic iuterest: 
TABLE 2. 

Nations. Dead. Mobilized. Population. 

British ............ 
French ............ 
American .......... 
Russian ........... 
Austrian .......... 
German ........... 
Italian ............ 

706,726 
1,071,300 
58,478 
1,700.000 
800. 000 
1,600.000 
900,000 

6,836,504 

6,000,000 
7,000,000 
3,000.000 
10.000,000 
5,000.000 
8,000,000 
5,000,000 

44,000,000 

50,000.000 
40,000,000 
100.000.000 
100,000.000 
50.000,000 
70.000,000 
35,000,000 

445,000,000 

These figures fol- dead and molfilized represent 
a period of about three and one-half years, 
though a shorter pêriod must be allowed for 
Italy, and very nmch shorter fol" the United 
States. It can be imagined, howêver, that 
thesê mên were mobilized at the bêginning of 



34 A tudy in Canadien Immigcotior 
the war, since they were hen all alive and 
well, and the three and a half years of tierce 
destruction swept away the astounding nnm- 
ber of 6,836,50 men in the prime of health and 
strength. If in the saine period of rime prac- 
tically seven-eighths of the population of Can- 
ada died from somo merciless and devastating 
plague, the whole worhl wouhl stand in horro 
at the spectacle. This colossal sacrifice to 
Mars of 6,836,504 men was a.t the rate of 
approximately 1,967,000 per annum for three 
and one-half years, and assuming that t.he men 
wcre m«»bilized at the beginning, siuce at any 
rate, they were all alive and well, the rate of 
loss per anuum was about forty-five per 1,000. 
The saine loss in relation fo the estimated 
population of the respective conntries was 
about 4.2 per 1,000 per armure. 
Consider now the losses in the mobilized 
army of one-year-olds iu Ontario during a 
period covering also the years of The Great 
War. To take one year as typical may be in- 
structive and can be supplemented by other 
years. The official figures for births in the 
province of Ontario during the year 1912 
shows that in comparison with preceding years 
the number of births per annum continued to 
decrease. In that year the nulnber was 5S$70. 
In the saine year S,230 children died before 
reaching the age of rive years and of thes% 
6494 were under one year of age. Thus the 
death rate of children under one year of age 



The Proc, i.ces, Ntati,'ti«al a.d Othcrwise 35 
in relation to the number of births for the 
year 1912, is 110.3 per thonsaml, wbich may 
be compred witb the loss of men in The Gret 
War among the gret nattons s forty-five per 
thonsand--a ratio of nlore than Iwo to one. 
If îhe figures be extended to cover the losses 
in chihh'cn in Onînrio for a period from 1912 
fo 1917 covering also thc period of the war, 
the following table will be sh'iking. 
TABLE 3. 
TABLE OP BIKTHS AND DEATHS OP ÇHDREN UNDEK ONE 
YEAK IN ONTAnIO K YKS ]91S-]917. 

Year. 

1912 .......... 
1913 .......... 
1914 .......... 
1915 .......... 
1916 .......... 
1917 .......... 

Totals ...... 

Average ..... 

Population. 

2,582,500 
2,677,600 
2,749,840 
2,767,350 
2,776.885 
2,785,000 

16,339.175 
2,723,196 

Births. 
58,870 
64,516 
66,225 
67,032 
65,264 
62.666 
384,573 
64,095 

!Deaths. 
6.494 
7,596 
6,835 
6.838 
7,000 
5,791 
40.554 
6,759 

Ratio 
per 1.000 
Births. 

110.3 
117.7 
103.2 
102.0 
107.2 
92.4 

632.8 
105.4 

The average number of death, of oue-year-old 
children out of every 1,000 births for tire 
specified period is 105.4, and for every 1,000 
of the population the loss is 2.5. Here the 
tragedy of war is not an 3" more al)palling than 
the incessant tragedy of peace. In all their 
potential strength forty-five men per 1,000 per 
annum were struck clown by Mars; and in all 
their potential strength 105.4 per 1,000 per 



36 A tudy i» Ca»radiant Immigratio»t 
aunum were struck down in Ontarioby 
what? Overwhelmed wilh cmotion at the 
spectacle of the heroic dead the world says: 
" This mnst hot occur agam. What will the 
enlightcned people of a great province say in 
respect to a more pathetic spectacle? Amid 
the peac.ful conditions of o]d Ontario Ignor- 
auec, Apathy and Disese were making grcater 
ravages than those of War, «md yet the world 
afforded us obje«t lessons of first-rate impor- 
tance. As just shown lhc anmml loss pcr 
1,000 in Onlario was 105; the loss in New 
Zcaland was fifty per 1,000. By provinces 
the ]oss for ('anada per 1,000 i for Sas:katche- 
wan nincty-one, Prince Edward Island uinety- 
three, Ontario 107, British Columlda 107, 
Manitoba 113, Nova cotia 120, (uebec 153. 
l:y cities the loss is Shel.lrooke 101, Toronto 
109, Vancouver 126, Winnipeg 1, Qucbec 
203, Montrea] 207, Oltawa 22!, and for the 
teeming population of Loudon, England, 
cighty-nine It becomes evidcnt, surely, to 
the thoughtful and zeah)us citizeu thal this 
source of supply for a p(pulatiou which might 
eujoy thc immense resources of this vast 
country requires to be well safeguarde.l and 
ardently conserved if the nation would be 
loyal to its trust. For the saine reason thc 
same attitude nmy perhaps be equally urgent 
in regard to the other stream fecding national 
]ife, uamely lnunigralion. 



('HAPTER Il. 

TIIE BEGIX.ISG OF THE IMIIIGRATIO.' 
TIDE. 

TIIE history of (',,mda is in l«rge 
the history of Immigrtim. From tbc day 
when to the astonishnlen of the ,'cd men the 
pale-faces began t) arl'ive [l',lli lhe Easi and 
press their way forward toward th(, West, 
the present day, when thc resulls of the labour 
and cn(h,ralwe of Ihc hardy pioncet's 
mal, ifestcd lu " thc star of Empire," there 
]ms beel, the ceaselcss nlovemcnt of the immi- 
gration ride f,'onl the shores of Em'ope to 
those of the St. Lawl-ençe and the rcat Lakes 
and the illimitable lands of the west. For 
the da)'s of ('articr and Champlain and those 
il,trepid expbl-ers wlm hmkcd for ard 
qlmst rathcr than sctthmmnt were but 
1)loto,er (1;,ys plep«ratory to the full mve- 
ment of that spil'it of colonizati.u which has 
so long marked the Empire of ]ritail,. 
plains of Abraham witnessed the dccision that 
in the New Worhl British laws, custm,s and 
iustitutious shouhl he (h)milmlt; but just as 
the soil )f those l)l«,ins eml»rm'cd in COlnmOn 
37 



38 A Study in C«tnadian Immigration 
mothcr-earlh the gaHant dcd of both sides 
who had so nobly fought for suprcmacy, so 
lso did thc soil of ew Cauadian lire takc 
into itself French and English characteristics 
that were prophctic of a still more composite 
populathn fused into thc unRy of a nation 
" ex{ending from sea to sea and from the river 
unto the end of the earth." Thc struggle for 
empire dccided in 17;0 and ratified by the 
trcaty of Paris 1763 hrought under thc British 
Ilag about sixty th.usand lwople gathered 
nminly aromd Quebee, Three Rivers and 
Montreal, and scattered ahmg the shorts of 
the St. Lawrenee and Ihe ltiehelien. In the 
regions bey,nd lay a fi.w s«attered forts, 
lmried in the wilderness, and serving as trad- 
ing posts for the fur-trade with the Indians. 
Detroit had a population of about a thousand, 
and Quebee seven thousand inhabitants, while 
Montreal, after a hazardous gr.wth, had 
attained to nine thousand. Such was the 
Imeleus of the Domini(m of ('anada. 
While Eng'land's sueeess in The geven 
Years' War gave her undveamed of territory, 
ber faihu'e wilh lhe Thil'teen Colonises gave 
an influx of Loyalists inl« her ew domain 
one of the early immigration waves. It is 
quile probable that the settlement of the new 
lands would bave gone on rapidly had hOt 
the internal political strife conneeted with the 
struggle for responsible government been a 



Thc Begi»u'ig of thc Immigration Tidc 39 
strong deterrent to those in Great Britain who 
were turning eager and inquiring eycs to the 
lands beyond the sea. Ami yet despitc the 
fact of thc untol4 hardships invoIved in re- 
deeming thc wilderness, despite the fact of bit- 
lcrness between Upper and Lower Cnada, 
despite thc dreadful incouveniences, distresses 
and sometilneS the horrors connected with 
hmg voyages from England, there must have 
been a stcady increase in the polmlaion hot 
only by birth rate but by immigrati«m, fo" 
whcn the Act of Union in 1867 formcd the 
four provinces of Quebec» Ontario, ova 
Scotia, and ew Brunswick into one Domin- 
ion, the population of these provinces 
.1861 upon which the act of Union was based, 
was 3,090,56l. Of these Quebec had 1.111,566, 
Ontari[) 1,396,091, ova .Scotia 330,857 and 
'ew Brunswick 252,047. From the snmll 
number of 60,000 inhabitants in 1763, when 
Canada passed under the British Flag, he 
population had grown in just one hundred 
years fo over three millions, that is about 
donbling itself every twenty years. While if 
seems clea" that in [he Province of Quebec 
the major source of increase was in the nat- 
ural birth-rate, since there was nota consid- 
erable influx of French-speaking people, itis 
equally cIear that the m«jor source of increase 
in Ontario was not so much the birth rate but 
rather immigration from the British Isles and 



part of Europe. In faet 
«rease in tbe lOlmlation of Upper ('anada 
whieh rendered lnore and lnore aeute the in- 
ternal slrife betwecn " the ç'anadas," which 
issued in the Report of Lord Durlmm in 
1S88 urg'ing the uni«,n of the two provinces. 
"for whilc tbe present state of things 
allowed to last, lhe actual inhabitants of 
lbesc provinces bave no security for person 
or property, no enjoyment «,f what they 
possess, no stimulus to indnstry." That re- 
port is hot only sig'nifieant for its political 
insiht irai also for the lig'ht it lhrows on the 
«omlitions «f immigration at that period. One 
of tbe most interesting side]ights on the char- 
a«ter «,f lhe immigrants, the natnre of the 
voyag'e, the conditions me4ing the new- 
comers, is given by the evidcnce incorpor- 
ated into it. Of the humerons diçulties that 
beset the immig.ant in lhe new lands volumes 
ce,nid l,e written, but th« s«antiuess of lmpula - 
tion, the consequent la«k of roads, the blocks 
of land reserved for the clery and for the 
crown, ihe actes grauled to U.E. Lyalists, 
mi]itiamen, ocers and otherslands which 
were frequently nnimproved and ]eft wild 
laade the task of the settler well nigh hop+ 
less in the outlook for schools, post-ooeces, 
mills, ebur«hes, markets. An illustration of 
some of ihe diculties due to lhe absence of 
raads is givcn in the stalement of the -'hief 



Tbe Bcgi»nig o[ thc Immigre«tion Tidc 41 
Agent for Emigrants in Uppcr Canada, ap- 
pcndcd to Lo'd Du'ham's report: " In 1834 
[ met a seler fvom the township of Warwick 
on the {'at'adoc Plains, retuvning from the 
grist mill at Westlninstcr, with thc flour and 
}»van of hivteen bushels of wheat; ho had a 
yokc of oxen and a hovse «fltaeht.d to his 
wnggon, and lmd beeu ni»sent nine days, and 
did noi expect to reaeh home until lhe follow- 
ing ovening. Light as his hmd was, he 
assuved me ¢hai he had l» mflo;d wholly or 
in part seveval times, nnd, after (h'iving his 
w:ggon lhrough the swnmps, to pick out a 
'oad lhrough the woods whcre the swamps 
o. gfllies were fiu.dable, and fo earry the 
ou his hack :md replace thom in the wnggon. 
Sq»posing the set'vices of the man 
leam to l»e wo-îh two dollars per dny, 
expense of transp«u't wofld be twenly dollars. 
As lhe f'eight of wheat from Toronio fo Liver- 
[mol (Englnnd) is raihcr lcss tlmn 2s. 6d. per 
bushel, if follows that a persou living lu this' 
city could get the saine wheat g'ound on the 
banks of the Mersey, nnd the flore" and 
returned to him at a much lcss expense than 
he could transpoet it from the rea" of War- 
wick fo Westminster and 1)a«ka distnnce 
lcss (han ninety mlles." Ft, om the vanlage 
point of lo-day, wilh ifs fairly good ronds and 
lhe ngitaIion for 1)elte' one cau more easily 
imagine than desc'i.be the eoudiiions facing 



42 A tudy i, Canadian lmmigratio 
the settler who endeavoured fo wrest a living 
from the primeval wilderness. And if is not 
to be wondered at that only those of 
hardihood and physical stamina successfully 
achieved the task. Then as ever, the weak 
went down in the struggle. But the condi- 
lions of hardship and distress did not wait 
for the immigrant to settle on the land. They 
foand him on his voyage frmn Europe. The 
passage occupicd on the average six weeks, 
and frequcntly extended to eight or nine 
wceks. The ships werc overcrowded more 
«.migrants being takcn than the space and 
provisions wnrranted and than the law nl- 
lowed. Vessels were chartcred for cmigration 
l)y persons whose sole object was to make 
mouey, and who nmde a trade of cvading the 
provisions of the Passengers" Act. This was 
the case in many vessels coming from Irelan(1, 
the number of persons on board bcing greater 
han that allowed by the Law. The captain 
of course, explained to the authorities on this 
side that the extra humbers smuggled them- 
selves, or were smuggled, on board, and were 
only discovered after the vesscl had becn sev- 
eral days af sea. The obvious expedient of 
examination of the ship and ifs passengers 
was not enforced, although the Imperial Act 
required that the names ages sex and occupa- 
tion of each passenger should be entered in 
a ]ist, certified by the customs otIicer at the 



The BcgiiJlg of tlJe Im»ig'atio» Tidc 43 
outport» and delivered by the captaiu with thc 
ship's papers to the oflàcers of the Customs ai 
the port of landing. Lists, of course» werc 
always delivered to the ride surveyor, but 
they were hot infrequentl i wholly incorrect 
as to names and ages. The purpose was to 
defraud the revenue by evading the tax upon 
immigrants» for the tax was paid not by the 
emigrant but by thc ship's owncrs. The 
simple expedient of mustering thc pass(,ngeru 
and comparing lhem with the printed lists 
would have detect(.d lhe errors and a]so pro- 
vided some work fi)r th¢ emigrant oflàcials 
to do. If overcrowding was bad, provision- 
ing was, if possible, worse. Poorer immi- 
gran[s frequently did not have a sufi]'ciencv 
of provisions for the voyage, th)ugh what they 
should bave had was specified in a regu|ation 
that could be enforeed mder the Passcngers" 
Act which authorized the inspection of provi- 
sions by the outport agent for immigranis. 
This being neglected» the passengers wi[h in- 
suflàcient provisions became dependent on thc 
humanity of the captain or the chariiy of 
fellow-passengers. An overfondness for criti- 
cism would lead one to ignore the possibility 
of an.y captain having even a grain of human- 
il.v. But that becomes a libel. o doubt 
many a humane man was then as now sai]ing 
the seas. Yet the man who would a]low the 
sailing list fo be falsified» and who would shut 



44 .! ,q'tml!! in ('anadian lmmig«atiot 
his eyes {o fle evils of overcrowding on 
ship, would hot be averse o employing means 
for supplying he necessities of the poorer 
immigranls who might bave a few shilliugs 
lefl. A stock of provisions vouhl be laid in 
for lhis purpose, prices would l»e increased 
anywherc from 100 o 400 per cent., and the 
unfm'tunate immigranL mulcted of his last. 
shilling, wouhl l»e lauded in Quebec to face 
a new and uutried world. Parish emigrants, 
and they were many, were generally at the 
mer«y of lhe eaptain, and frequently were put 
on short alh»van«es soon after departure from 
port. Then, the provisions were always coarse 
and qnite .ften bad. Rations of biscuit and 
beef or pork, of poor quality, would be im- 
possible for sea-sick people, and especially for 
women and small children, who had little or 
no stores of tea, sugar, coffee, or oa/nteal. The 
inevitable del»ility left them an easy prey to 
typhus and other contagiou diseases and, in 
the words of one medical inspector " the mor- 
tality during rite voyage was dreadful." Noth- 
ing else couhl be expeeted in ships iii-round, 
ill-pr,,visioned, overcrowded, and ill-ventil- 
ated. Sometimes ships were compelled fo 
obtain food from other vessels with which they 
had fallen in, and quite frequenfly there was 
insucient, supply of water. The casks were 
insucient in number, very many of them 
were old, marie up with pine heads, which 



7'h¢ lc.qii.q of Ihc lmmijralio Thl« 45 
leaked and often fell fo pieces. In «»e ship 
the loss of watev by leakage was computed as 
S00 galle»us du'ing th first thé'ce days, and 
in nnothev shil» al»«ul lhe saine amount. Whe 
these two ships av'ived in port ont lmd ouough 
watev fo" no more than hlf a day, and 
othe" was quite without wnter. Yet these 
two ships te»gerber c«lv'ied 77; souls. Iusufli- 
eieut space was all«tted for the bevths which 
weve s«metimes b;Ol S const'ncted, lwo ships 
bt, iugsp«,«ially monli»«.d as dt.f«,«.live i lhis 
VOsl»e«'t for the bwths comme t« pi,c,s with the 
fivst heavy sea, causing the dealh of two chl- 
d'en and seve-ely injrinff many othe's. Borne- 
rimes the ship itelf was unscaworthy, wrecks 
occasioually o«cu'red, and wh«'re a ship was 
unsoawo'lhs it couhl hot ca'vy nu«h sail 
and so necessita/ed a loug and dangevous 
voyage. 
The c«ndili«»n of the emigrants upon al''ival 
n@d hot be detailed. The inspectig physieian 
af Quebec often foun«I himself ata loss for 
wovds to descvibe thei, stnte. Bai, he de- 
clares, « with few exceptions, thé, state of the 
ships was quite abominable, so mueh so, that 
the h«'bou'-masçev's boalnen had no d[fli- 
enlty, at the distance of gun-shot, eithel" when 
the wind was favouvnble o' in a dead calm, 
in distinuishing h L the odou, alone a c'owded 
emigvant ship. I h«ve kn«»wn as nmny as from 
lhirty to forty deaths to bave taken place 



46 .I Study in Caadia» lmmiratiot 
the course of a voyage, from typhus fever on 
lmard a ship containing from 500 1« 600 pas- 
sengers; and within six weeks after the arrival 
of some vessels, and the landing of the pas- 
sengers af Quebec, the hospital has received 
upwards of one hundred patients af different 
rimes front among lhem. On one occasion I 
bave known nearly 400 patients atone rime 
in the Emigrant Hospital of Quehee f«»r whom 
ihere was no sueient accommodation. The 
mortality was considerable among the emi- 
gran/s al that rime, and wa attended with 
most disastrous consequences; children being 
left without protecti«m, and wh«flly dependent 
ou the casual charity of lhe inhabitans of he 
city. As fo those who were hot sick on arriv- 
ing, I bave to say that they were generally 
forcildy landed by the masters of vessels, 
without a shilling in their pockets to procure 
them a nlht s lodging, and very few of them 
with the means of subsistence for more than 
a very short period. They commonly estab- 
lished themselves along the wharfs and at the 
different landing-places, crowding into any 
place of shelter they could obtain, where they 
subsisted principally upon the charity of the 
inhabiants. For six weeks ata rime from 
the commencement of the immigrant sea«n I 
bave known the shores of the river along 
Quebec, for about a toile and a half, crowded 
with these unfortunate people, the places of 



those who might have moved off being con- 
stantly supplied by fresh arrivais, and there 
being daily drafts of from ten to thirty taken 
to the hospital with infectious disease. The 
consequence was its spread among the inhabit- 
ants of the city, especially in the distcts in 
which these unfortunate creatnres had estab- 
lished themselves. Those who were hot abso- 
lutely without m«ney, got into low laverns 
and boardinghouses and eellars, where they 
eongregated iu immense numbers, and where 
-heir stafe was hot any better than it had 
been ou board ship. This state of things ex- 
isted within my knowledge from 1826 to 1832, 
and probably for some years previously." 
Another inspector reported the saine sort 
of conditions : "Upon the arrival of emigrants 
in the river, a grcat number of sick were 
landed. A regular importation of contagious 
diseasc into this country bas annually takeu 
place: that disease originated on board ship, 
and was occasioned I should say, by 1)ad 
management in consequence of the ships being 
ill-found, ill-provisioned over-crowded, and 
ill-ventilated the mortality d]ring 
the voyage has been dreadful. ' 
Another inspecting physician reported: 
"The poorer class of Irish, and the English 
paupers sent by parishes, were, on the arrival 
of vessels in nmny instances, entirely without 
provisions, so much so, that it was necessary 
4 



4, A »'ht«l!l in ¢'a.nadian lmmigralion 
immediately to snpply thêm with food from 
shore. Thi destitution, .r hrtnês of pro- 
viions, eombined ith dirt ara1 bad ventila- 
tion, had invariably produeed fever of a 
coniagiou eharacter, and oecasioned some 
deaths on the passage: and fr«m su«h vessels 
nmubers, varying fr.m twenty t« ninety to 
each vessei, had been admitt,d lo hospital 
with contagious revers immediately on heiv 
il I'I'iVII L" 
Th« query nalura]ly arises: What sort of 
emigrant, was [his lhat he cgd in any way 
lolerate lhese condiHons? So far as the 
lmuper ,migrant was concerned h« was de- 
scribed by lhe D.puy Inspector-(eneral of 
llospitals as follows: "On his arrival in lhe 
province he is generally eithev with notlfing 
or wih a very small sure in his pockei; enter- 
faining the most errone«um ideas as lo his 
prospeets here; expecting" immediate and ç«m- 
stant employment, at ample wages; eutirely 
ignorant of lhe naure of lhe country; and of 
He place wheee labom" is nmst in demaud, 
and of the best means by whirh to ohtain 
employmeni. H« • bas landed ri'mn the ship, 
and from his apalhy and want of euergy bas 
loitered about the wharfs, waifing for the offev 
of employment; or, if he obiained employment. 
he calculated upon its permaneney, and round 
himself, at the beginning of the winter, when 
here is little or no employment for labour in 



Thc B«yinning of lhc lmmiyration Tidc 9 
this part of the country, diseharged, and with- 
out any provision for the wants of a 'anadian 
Winter. In this way emirants hve offert 
accumulatcd in Quebec at the end of summers, 
encumbered it with indigent iuhabitants, and 
formed the lnost ancrons burthen on the chari- 
table funds of the comnmnity." If blame be 
placed at all on this condition of affairs, it 
canuot be laid cx«lusiw.ly at the dmr of these 
unfortunate people, but more so at the doors 
of the eharitahle Ol'gauizaions and parishes 
tlm provided lhe meaus for it., and the ov- 
ernments that tolerated or ignored it. Dc- 
scribing the situation and suffering of the 
emigrant, Mr. Stayner, the then Delmty Post- 
master-Oeneral for British 'orlh America, 
said: " Many of lhese poor people have little 
or no agricullural knowhdge, even in a gen- 
eral way; and they are ail ignorant of the 
husbandry praetised in the e.untry. The con- 
seqm,nee is, tiret, after g'ettin into the  lush,' 
as it is eal]ed, they find themselves heset by 
privati.ns and diculties which they are not 
able fo eoutend with, and, giving way under 
the pressure, they abandon their little im- 
provements to seek a livelihood elsewhere. 
Many resort to the lare towus in the prov- 
inees, with their starving families» to eke out 
by day labour and begging together a wretehed 
exigence." Of course the more en[erprisillg 
and vigorous, disgusted at the conditions, 



50 A » tdy itt Cattadian Immigratiot, 
moved out to the United S{ates where "the re- 
ported high wages and more genial climate 
ws the great attraction. One observant offi- 
cial expressed the conviction that sixty out of 
every one hundrl emigrants from Britain for 
a period of ye.ars went fo the United tates. 
Itis not tobe inmgined tp all__the emigrants 
were of the unfortumtte type described. If 
they had been if wouhl have been a dreary out- 
look for ihe provinces of Lower and Upper 
Canada. But the p«orer classes of emigrant, 
in the words of the D(.puty Inspector-General 
alove-mentioned, " the emigrants with fami- 
lies, from the south of Ireland in particular, 
as well as the paupcr emigrants from England. 
flose emigrants sent by parishes, in large pro- 
portions, arrive in a stae of great poverty. 
should say fhat he nmjority of the vohmtary 
immigrants froln England and from he north 
of Ireland do not generally arrive in a state of 
actual destitution, since hey generally pos- 
sess a little money, unless their families are 
very large. We bave had occasion to remark 
upon the manner in which pauper emigrans 
have been sent from England, and o recoin- 
menti that funds for their location should be 
furnished by le parishes, and entrusted to 
auhorized agents here for heir benefit. The 
observations apply, in some degTee, o pauper 
English emigrants, but to a far eater degr 



The Begittig o[ the Ira migration Tide 51 
fo those from Ireland, and partieularly îrom 
the south of Ireland." 
This is quite sufiïcient, perhaps more than 
sufiicient, to indicate the conditions surround- 
ing immigration lu the peri«,d fr(,m 1S3} to 
1S50. But dêspite ail thêse hardships the ride 
was moving westward in great strength. In 
1S31, 50,254; 1S32, 51,746; 1833, 21,752; 1S3, 
30,935; 1835, 12,527; 1S36, 27,728; 1837, 22,- 
500; 1S3S, 4,992; fol" the eight ycars, a total 
of 222,704, au average of over 27,000 per 
annum. The distracted state of the country 
evidently accounts f«»r the small number in 
1S38, but both before and after the report of 
Lord Durham things began to improve. The 
Passengers' Act was amended, a quarautine 
station was established al Grosse Isle, some 
mlles below Quebec. The Quebec En,igraut's 
Society was formed, an emigraut tax was inl- 
posed for the destitute sick and the totally 
destitute, Grosse Isle was marie puldic pro- 
perty and the whole establishment placed 
under the direction of the executive Govern- 
ment, all emigrant ships were obliged to stop 
there, examinations wêre marie by competeut 
and responsible ofiïciffls, and when the union 
of thê provinces look place in 1,tiT, the popu- 
lation had increased to over three million,s. 
Vith the next forty ycars there came great 
expansion. The political unrest finally sub- 
sided, industry grew, agriculture developed, 



52 _l ȍ'tudff in ('aadian Immi.qration 
and lhe last quavter of the Jgth centuvy was 
one of unpvecedented progress. As a marrer 
of fa«t the woeds of Lord Durhan were beiug 
fulfilled in a promising manner. Expvessing 
his clissent with the view that " smne parts 
f the «mduet of cmigTation should be en- 
trusted rather to charitable e«muuitlees thau 
:tu ordinary dqmrtment f the {low,rnment" he 
w'ole theso significant words : "I eau scarce]y 
imagine any «d;ligati«m which it is m,we in- 
«uml;eut on G{;v«q.nment fo fulfil, than that 
«1" gua'ding aainst any improper selection 
«f cmigrants, and securin  to poor persons 
disp«sed t« emigrale every possil,le facili/y 
nnd assistance, [rom thc moment 
t«ndiofl fo Icarc tbi. çotnIrff to that ,ff /heir 
çomfortable establishment in /he «olony. No 
h,ss an obligati«m is in.urred by the Govern- 
ment, when, as is now tln • case, they invite 
poor persons fo immigra/e b S /eus of thon- 
sands every year. Il wouhl, ind«¢d, be very 
misehievous if lhe Government were fo deprive 
emigran/s of self-reliance, 1,y doing every/hing 
for /hem; but when /he stat leads zveat 
bers of peoph, into a situation in whi«h it 
impossilde that /hey should do well withou/ 
assistance, /hen the ofiliga/ion 1o assist lhem 
bgins; and il never ends, in my huml,lo 
ion, until those who bave relied on the truth 
and paternal care of the Government, are 



The Bcgnning of thc Immgrato»t Tidc 53 
placed in a situation to take care of them- 
olves." 
This utterance is profouml enough, but it 
is hOt unique; the necessiIy of a systema/ic 
and resl)onsible management of emigration 
had l»cn repeatedly urged lll)ln the tiovern- 
lllell[ f.r SOIII yell'g ';llld f]ll' impr.vements 
menfi»m'd al»ove h'ave r«n»m fnr infervm'c 
;s fo the earlier ulrcgula/ed and practically 
lawlcss sitnation. But fhe consummatitm of 
confederation ruade the way clear f-r [he fuller 
organizati.n of a Department by which the 
rcgnlation and pr.m.[i.n of [mmigratim couhl 
be more easil,v achieved lhan hcrcfofore. The 
disc.very t»f [he immense and unimagined re- 
sources for agriculture and t»ther industries, 
showed quite cleal'ly that in lhcse hmds bcvond 
the seas flere was the l»ossibili/y of a greai 
tmd powerfnl p«qmlalion. 



CHAPTER III. 

TIlE TIDE IN FLOOD. 

]}ECAUSE of the immense agricultural possi- 
bilities of Canada it is easy to understand that 
the immigration policy of the Dominion Gov- 
[,rnluent would naturally be one of encourage- 
ment to settlers who would engage in agri- 
culture, and of discouragement to prospec- 
tive settlers whose occupation, or lack of 
it, would contrilmte nminly fo the congestion 
of towns and cities. While that is an emin- 
ently sane policy it cannot l)e rigidly carried 
out because expansion in agriculture necessar- 
ily involves corresponding demands in the in- 
dustrial arts, and hence there has been a great 
increase in the number of persons who sought 
work and homes in the cities and towns of the 
land. This accounts for the rapid growth in 
size and population of the principal cities of 
the Dominion during the last two or three de- 
caries, levertheless, the main emphasis of the 
immigration policy has been toward the agri- 
cultural immigrant, and, in ortier to encourage 
such, Cnada has carried on a systematic pro- 
paganda in countries from which immigrants 
54 



Tbc Tidc n 1,7ood 5 
were regarded as desirable. To obtain ths 
end the Goveret pponed pad agents i 
leaig Europea cities lik Lodon, Lver- 
pool, GIasgow, Belfast, Paris, Atwerp and 
any others, ad these governmet represet- 
atives were to carry o a definite campaig in 
orner to iduce persous who were regarded 
as esira'ble ctes to eudgrate h» anada. 
The coutries favored in ihs rcard were 
maily Great Britai, hlad, France, Bel- 
gium, Holland, Germany, Dennmrk, Ice]and, 
Finland, 'orway, Sweden, Switzcrlaud; in 
brief, north-western Europe. 
The method of this campaign was as follows : 
(a) Circulars were printed in ihe languag, 
of the country to which they were sent, and 
gave a glowing account of the splcndid oppor- 
tunities awaiting immigrants in Canada, 
pointing out the ways and means of reaching 
the new country, as well as indicating the help 
the Government would be glad to give. These 
circulars were supplemented by newspaper 
advertisements appearing at the saute rime 
Canadian products were exhibited in large 
cities. These exhibits were elaborated in 
countries like Great Britain where agricul- 
rural faits were held by extensive preseutations 
of the products of the soil and pictorial repre- 
sentations of the 'reat opportnnities opening 
up in the Canadian parts of the Western 
rorld. 



56 _1 ¢4tud!/ n. Canadia lmmi.g»«tion 
(b) In ddition to the foregoing a bonus 
was given to those steamship agents who, act- 
ing s booking «gcnts, turncd thc faces 
immigrants t«,ward Canada rnthcr than else- 
whcre. This bonus was c«,nsideralde, amount- 
ing to £1 (.6 on ev«,ry person «vel" eighteen 
ye;]l-S «,f .'l,)'o. and ton shillings.. «»u pel.sOUS l}e l 
lW('('n Oll(' ;nd cight(.eu. Sm'h bonuscs, how- 
al'Ollm]. They wcre (o be paid le, " British 
subjccts wlm lmvc for ai least one year been 
cng:g(.d in hc «,-CUlmti«»n of fll-lnel', 
]ub«*lH'Cl', gar(lcncr siabl(.lnan, carter, 1-ailway 
surface-man, naw'y eu. miner, ami wlm signify 
lheir iniention of following f«rming «»r ril- 
way construction work in Camda." A similar 
rcgulation applh'd io (hmcs(ic servants. Not 
only was this ]ionils pnid for ]h'itish immi- 
grants, but also for thc saine cluss of immi- 
grants from France, Belgium, IIolland, 
Denmal'k, Norway, Sweden and Finland. That 
such was consider;ble, luay be scen from the 
fact tlmt f«,r the pcriod 1905-1909 inclusive, 
lhis bonus wus pnid on 16.5 per cour. of all 
lh-iiish immigrauts, ;u(l «»n eh.v(,n per cent. of 
11 immigl'ans f-om ('ontincnlul Europe 
mittcd te, (anada. Thcse pcrcentagcs show 
hat while «,tlmr classes of ilnlnigrants were 
hot cnc«,uraged l»y lhe paylUeUts of bonuses to 
agen(s, they could hot haro becn seriously 
discouraged, rince they came iu such u lai'ge 



Thc Tidc i» Flood 

57 

proportion fo thc special class desired for which 
money was spenl; «md 3"et lhe rcs/rictions 
were m)t lnade sort, ry severe fr he dcsired 
c]ass, since they were hot required fo have 
spen/ /heir lires in gricultural lmrsuit, hut 
rather fo have si»eu/, al smm rime or o/ber, at 
least one year iu some calling of agricultural 
or railway conslru('li»n work. l'recanli)ns 
woi'e sup]ms(,d h» 1)e taken against lhe entrance 
of undcsiral)les, at le«tst in se) fur as express 
instru«li»ns were issm.d :tg«tinsl lhc booking 
of anyone " fecble-minded, idiotic, insane, or 
wh» has l»een insane wi(hin rive years; or 
aicted with nny h)athsome, cont«gious, or in- 
fectium dise:me; or wlm is ;t lmtq)er, or desli- 
tute or profcssional heggar or vagrant; or 
who is likely fo 1)econle a public charge; or 
who is a prosti(ute or one who lires hy thc 
proceeds of prostituti»n; or who is a con- 
victed crimiual." 
Besides the European cotmtries accoss w«ts 
also obtained to the United S(ates where sal- 
aried agents were placed in six(een important 
citics. Thèse agents in (urn employcd nlany 
sui»agents, each of whom received a commis- 
sion of $3 per man, $2 per wonmn, and $1 per 
ehihl on genuine settlers thns iuduced (o more 
to Western Canadl. Th«tt (his had a cousider- 
ahle measure of success is evidenced hy the 
fact (hai during the period 1905-(19 inclusive, 
thèse connlissions were paid on 5.6 per cenC 



58 A tudy in, Canadian Immigration 
of all emigrants from the United States into 
Canada. In addition to the specific salaried 
agents in European and United States cen- 
tres, the Salvation Army in England was used 
for promoting emigration to Canada, and 
money was granted for the purpose. It is 
e.timated that in recent years this agency 
alone brought to Canada 100,000 settlers. 
Finally, the efforts ruade through all these 
channels were directly supplemented by the 
Government sending successful farmers who 
had been immigrants, as delegates, often 
through the winter months, to tell throughout 
the British Isles the stol'y of their SllCCe.'ses 
in Canada. This they did by addresses, infor- 
mation given to the newspapers, and inter- 
views, and that they wonderfully promoted 
the emigration of people to the Dominion is 
generally admitted, lndeed they were re- 
garded by some as Canada's best advertising 
agents. 
But all this propaganda cost money. How 
mueh it cost may be inferred from the fact that 
for the fiscal years 1898 to 1908, inclusive, 
('anada's immigration expense totalled $L779,- 
$32.00, or an average per year of over two- 
thirds of a million dollars, or precisely $677.- 
983.20. Of that total amount, $2,500,432, or 
36.8 per cent., were spent in Canada; $1,936,- 
000, or 28.5 per cent., were spent in the United 
States ; $1,643,000, or 24.2 per cent. were spent 



Thc Tidc iu Flood 

59 

in the United Kingdom, and $700,400, or 10.5 
per cent., were spent in Continental Europe. 
Arranged in a table, these figures show inter- 
esting features : 

rlA B L E 4. 4 

Country. 

Canada ............ 
United States ...... 
United Kingdom .... 
Continental Europe. 

Amount Spentl 
1898-1908 

$ 
2,500,432 
1,936,000 
1,643,000 
700,400 

6,779,832 

% of Total 
36.8 
28.5) 
10.5) 
100. 

Ratio of Reg. 
ulating to 
Promoting. 

36.8 
63.2 

100. 

Compiled from Table 1 '" Immigration," p. 13. 
Out of every $100 expendcd in the work 
of immigration in Canada during those len 
years, $63 were spcnt a'broad in promoting 
for every $37 spent at home in regulating. For 
this vast expenditure of money, one might 
ask, how many and what kinds of people were 
brought into Canada? The answer is some- 
what complicated, but some outline may be 
obtined, if we study it piecemcal, and that, 
perhaps, can best be done by recourse to tables. 
If we take for illustration the years 1901 fo 
*The Immigration ,Situation in Canada, a report 
issued by The Immigration Çommission of the United 
States and published by the Government Printing Office 
af Washington, 110. References to this report will e 
subsequently designated by the title " Immigration." 



60 .t Study in. Cenedien. Immigretion 
1909, inclusive, and keep as close as possible te 
the preceding figures, the number of immi- 
grants into Canada totalled 1,244,597. Allow- 
iug that the population of 1901 was 5,371,315, 
we have, thr»ugh the agency of immigration 
ah)ne, an increasc of 23.2 per ceut., and this 
increa$e came frein thc followiug ferry coun- 
tries, or faces, alphabcti«ally arranged. 

TABLE 5. 

Arabia .......... 
Armcnia ........ 
Australia ....... 
Austria-Hungary. 
Belgiam ........ 
Brazil .......... 
[ Bu[garia ........ 
China ........... 
9 Denmark ....... 
0 Holland ......... 
11 Eypt .......... 
12 France ......... 
13 Germany ....... 
14 Greece .......... 
15 (Hebrev) ....... 
16 lndia ........... 
17 Iceland ......... 
18 ltaly ........... 
19 Jalan .......... 
20 Malay .......... 

44 I 
l, 18ff 
94, 99 I 
6 1101 
15 
3,890 
2,658 
12,468 
17,079 
2,768 
40. 347 
5,185 
3,244 
48, 340 
12, 42 

Malta .......... 
(Negro) ......... 
Newfoundlaud .. 
New Zealand .... 
Norway ........ 
Pêrsia .......... 
Poland ......... 
Portugal ........ 
Roumania ...... 
Russia .......... 
Serbia .......... 
South Africa .... 
Spain .......... 
Sweden ........ 
Switzerland .... 
Syria .......... 
]urkey ........ 
United Kiugdom. 
United Stores .. 
West Indies .... 

2 
364 
7,895 
336 
10.259 
100 
5,807 
13 
4,084 
38,015 
144 
254 
171 
14. 119 
l, 006 
4,910 
1,470 
502,264 
393,908 
876 

Total ..... 1,244,597 

,Compiled frein Table IV, "Immigration," p. 16. 
An interestiug feature of this great influx 
may be seen if we compare this total number 
with the number of immigrants ïnto lhe 
United States for approximately the same 



Th(: Tidc i Flood 
pcriod. For" Canada we bave 1,244,597, or 23.2 
per" cent. of the total population of ['anada in 
1901. For thc Unitcd States we havc fl)v 1900- 
1909 an immigration of 7,753,,16, or more 
than six rimes thc immigratiou into Canada, 
but the percentage is only 10.2 per ccnt. of 
the population of 1900. Hem.e, while lherc 
came into the United Statcs for the peviod 
speeicd, immigrants mot.e in numbet" lhan 
the whole population of ['anada in 1911, o1" 
approximately equal 1o the present total popu- 
lation of Canada, set tlm pevceutage iucrense 
in Canzda was more thau double that of the 
Uuilcd tates. It goes with«ut saying that 
lhe task of assimilation in Canada was corres- 
pondingly grcater aml mm.e dicult, and in 
la'ge measur'e may hot l rcgarded as cven yet 
achieved. If we compile, again, the fm'egoing 
figures in thc order of magnitude for 10,000 
and over, we bave the following: 
TABLE 6. 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 

United Kingdom. 
,United States .. 
,Austria-Hungary 
[taly .......... 
Hebrew . ....... 
Russia ......... 
ermany ....... 
'Sweden ........ 
:France ......... 
,Japan .......... 
'Norway ........ 
'Newfoundland .. 

502,264 
393.908 
94,956 
48,340 
40.347 
38,015 
17,079 
14,119 
12,468 
12,420 
10,259 
7,895 

or 40.3 % of the Total. 
or 31.6 '" 
or 7.6 .... 
or 3.8 .... 
or 3.2 .... 
or .0 .... 
or 1.3 .... 
or 1.l .... 
or 1.0 .... 
or 0.9 .... 
or 0.8 .... 
or 0.6 "" 



62 ,1 çtudy in Canadio. lmmig»wtion. 
Henee o the total immigration o[ 
or 1he periofl speçifiefl tire Uniled Kingdom 
ald the [llitefl States furnishefl ahnost 72 per 
cent. To see how ranch was expended per 
immigrant in these two sources, the expendi- 
ture for immigration from file United States 
lo C«mada for lhe period 1.901-09 was $l,662,- 
000 for 333,93 immigrnus, or 4.9S per head, 
nd from tire United Kingdom 1,445,000 
for 449,63 immigrna, ov 3. pev heml. 
or some eaaon fle expenflitn in the 
8ttes was grealer tlmu in the çnited ing- 
dom, hough in the Vnitefl 8rates the 
was lower, the distance shorter, nfl the hum- 
ber of immigrans sec, refl smller tha in the 
ee of the United Kingdom. 
It bas lready been pointed out tlmt immi- 
ants were desirble nd propagnnda was 
uged in certain uropen Çountries, 
is interesting to comaïe the result with those 
fom unsolicited uroan Cuntries fo the 
saine period 1901-09. 
Uere it is curions that in olieited urope 
the proportion of immigrnns fo Cnada from 
the çnited Kingdom to those fom the othe 
prts of solieited urope is B0,64 to 80,075, 
or 6.7 to 1. But the oortion fom solieited 
uope to thoe from unsolicite is 
5076, o . to 1. In other wods while 



ThcTidc, in, Flood 63 
58,339 immigrants came to Canada in that 
period by way of direct propaganda at great 
cost to the Dominion, approximately one and 
a hall million dollars, there came about half 
as many, or 235,076 without any su«h outlay, 
though no doubt these were influenced indir- 
ectly hy tlle propagauda fo turn iheir eyes 
toward Canada. 

TABLE 7. 

Solicited 

United Kingdom. 
Germany ........ 
Sweden ......... 
France .......... 
Norway .......... 
Finland ........ 
Belium ....... 
Iceland ........ 
Holland ....... 
Denmark ...... 
Switzerland ... 

Total .......... 

Number of 
Immigrants 

502,264 
17,079 
14,119 
12,468 
10.259 
9,909 
6,110 
3,244 
3,223 
2,658 
1,006 

582,339 

Unsolicited 

alician ....... 
[talian ........ 
Hebrew ........ 
,Russian ....... 
Bukowinian .... 
Hungarian ..... 
Austrian ....... 
Polish ......... 
Syrian ......... 
Roumanian .... 
Bulgarian ...... 
Greek ......... 
Ruthenian ..... 
rurkish ....... 
Armenian ..... 
others ....... 

total .......... 

Number of 
Immigrants 

62,509 
48,340 
40,347 
27,765 
10,413 
9,881 
8,297 
5,807 
4,910 
3,804 
2,859 
2,768 
1,633 
1,470 
1,378 
2,895 

235,076 

From Table III "Immigration." 14. 

Grouping the results from solicited and 
unsolicited Europe and Asia for the above 
5 



64 A ' 
tudy in Canadion Immigratio» 
specified period ihere arises the following con- 
trast in proportions of immigration: 

TABLE ,q. 

N. V. Europe, Iceland 
United States ....... 
Other European 
Countries including 
Syria ............... 235,076 
Asia ................ [ 21,495 
! 
Others ............. [ 11.779 

582,339 ]solicited or 46.8% of 
] total ............. 
Isolicited or 31.6% of 
393,908 I total 
ansolicited or 18.9% 
of total ..... 
ansolicited or 1 " ] 
total ............. 
unsolicited or 1.0% oJ 
total ............ 

78.4 

21.6 

100.0 

Of that vast number of immigrants, if we 
regard thê 502,264 from the United Kingdom 
and the 393,90S from the United Statês, as 
English-sl)eakiug, there renmin 34,,425 non- 
English-speaking people ff whom 21,495 were 
Chinese, Japanese, and Hindu. Such a poly- 
glot pop»lation intensifies on every side the 
task of assilnilation and makes the hope for 
one uniïorm and national language recede into 
the future. 
It might loe pertinent to ask at. this stage, 
and in view of the expressed desire of the gov- 
ernment for immigrants who would devote 
themselvês to agriculture, what were the occu- 
pations of these various and so diverse peo- 
pies? If we consider merely the years 1907 to 



TIe Tidv i. Flood 

65 

1909 inclusive, as typical, nd incorporate the 
figures fol" the women and chihlren, the result 
will be suggestive, if hot absolutely accurate. 

TABLE 9. 

Occupation 

Fariner or 
Farm labourer .. 
General labourers 
Mechanics ...... 
Miners ..... :... 
Traders and 
Clerks .......... 
Female Servants 
Unclassified .... 
Total .......... 

60, 9 (. 
45, 8,' 
83, 5,  
8, 0; 
23,5( 
16.9! 
17, 9; 
56.9] 

1, 60: 
8. 
4,7 
1,29 
2.74 
3, 
4.55 
6, 89 

0, 4: 2,747 
14.6 9,652 
8, 5 287 
2, 5 86 
4, 4: 3.599 
3: 42 
2.2. 2,341 
53,1:I8,754 

30 
4, 73 
92 ( , 
36 [ . 
8,36; 

206,104 
122,917 
108,114 
12,322 

34,648 
22,018 
27,921 

534,044 

From "' Immigration " Table, p. 21. 

During these three years, 1907-08-09, over 
half a million immigrants came to Canada, 
nd of tht number 206,104, or 38.6 per cent., 
were farmers or farm labourers, including the 
accompanying women and children. And 
gin, of tht 38.6 per cent. the United States 
supplied 120.450, ,)r more than half. Fur- 
her, the farmers and farm laboureru coming 
from all Europe, including Syria and Iceland, 
numbered only 2,599, or but forty per cent. 
of the total of tht occupation. This is quite 



I;6 .1 Stt,d!t ic. ¢'«ediat Immigration 
significant, in view of the express advice sent 
out from the Immigration Department which 
advised only farmers, farm-labourers, and 
female domestic servants to emigrate, and 
urged that any other innding emigrants 
shouhl either get definite assurances of em- 
ployment in Canada before leaving their home 
country, or have spcient money to suffice for 
a probahle period of disappointment. In addi- 
lion to such mlvice bonuscs were paid to secure 
lhe speci;l kiml «»f immigr;mt desired. And yet, 
lmtwithstanding such cautius, )ver twenty- 
six per cent. of the total immigration for these 
three years were mechanics, traders and clerks. 
Further, while 206,104 upon entering Canada 
declared thcir occupations as farmers, or at 
least as haviug fulfilled at some tinm or other 
the condition specified by the immigration 
policy, namcly, of ha+ing spent one year as a 
fariner or farm labourer, it does not follow 
that thesc occupations were taken by all after 
entering, though statistics regarding the occu- 
pations pursued by immigrants after arrival 
are dicult, indeed, impossible to compile. 
Finally, if from these figures we deduct allow- 
ances for women and children the percentage 
of bona-fide farm woi.kers becomes consider- 
ably less. 
It would, perhaps, scarcely be fait to con- 
sider the number of homestead entries for 
these three years as an adequate indication of 



Tire Tidc in Flood 67 
the l)rOl)ortion of th,.s,, immigrants adopting 
agriculture becmse the period is too co-inci- 
,len wilh the lime of heir arrival. But a good 
imlicalion may be oblained by consid«,ring a 
]ouger period, and for lhis purpose the one 
whi«h marked the great influx, 1900-1909, may 
be laken. During that decade the entries for 
homesteads in the weslern provinces numbered 
235,690. Of his mmd)er more than sixty per 
cent., or 156,26I, were eutries by immigrants. 
During lhat saine wriod the total immigra- 
tion was 1,244,597. Hence the nnmber of 
homesteadr ruade only eighteen per cent. of the 
total immigraiion. Again, of these 156,261 
immigrnnt homcsteaders, the greater number 
by fa" came from Europe and the United 
Sates. hc la[tcr lmving the preponderance 
over a]l other countries, as the following ble 
shows : 

TABLE 10. 

Total 
Couutry Immigrauts 
Euglaud aud Wales 377,801 
Ireland ........... 30. 134 
Scotlaud ........... [ 94.279 
Uuited States ...... [ 393,908 
Coutiueutal Europe.[ 315,151 
All others .......... 33,274 
Total .............. 1,244,597 

Immigraut - 
Homesteads % 

31,759 
2,947 
8.142 
70.182 
43,231 

20.3 
1.9 
5.2 
44.9 
27.7 

156,261 100. 



68 A ,q'tmly i» (Y«tnadian Immigration 
Here if becomes evident enough that of the 
peoples coming from the Brifish Isles and 
Continental Europe a comparatively small 
number take up agrieultuql lire as home- 
steaders, for hose from the whole of Europe 
who become homesh,aders but little more 
than eqnal in number /he homesteaders from 
the [tnited tales. The small per«entage of 
h'ish and $«'«teh who toc& up homesteads in 
that peri.d is alsa strikiug. ne may, there- 
fore, eonelude ihat lhe majority of immigrants 
generally enter int«» iudustrial or urban life, 
notwithstanding the exl»ressed wishes of the 
Governmen[ rearding preferenee for agricul- 
tnral warkers. II.w such immigration bas 
complieated the lire af the big cities is only 
too well known, and will l»e referred to in 
greater detail later. 
Another featm'e af the immigration wave 
is the eneouragement given by the Dominion 
Government t- the emigrati«m of poor and 
h.nwless uhihh'en in Britain, though the ex- 
pense conne«ted ther'with bas been borne by 
charitable agencies more or less closely con- 
nected with ihe orphan and industrial bornes 
which are the guardias of such chihh'en. 
is interesting to nette tha[ there bas been a 
steady d«,maml for these chihh'en; at least 
there bas been a steady flow toward Canada, 



Tle Tidc in Flood 69 
for the report of the Superinteudent of Immi- 
gration in 1909, estimates that during the pre- 
ceding fifty years nearly 60,000 juvenile immi- 
grants bave corne from thc British Isles to 
Canada. The saine report shows that from 
1901 to 1909 there were 10,034 juveniles ad- 
mitted, but there were nearly seven rimes that 
aumber of applications, 130,825, received. As 
fo the type of prospective citizen thus intro- 
duced more will be said la{er. 
In addition to the foregoing, a number of 
British immigrants were sent yearly to Can- 
ada by private charity, or State aid. These 
philanthropic bodies left little fo be desired 
in the way of activity, for in one year, 1907, 
there w('re 12,33q; persous sent to Canada by 
London Charitable Societies alone. If we add 
to these the number of State-aided and rate- 
aided immigrants, it becomes evident that a 
situation was developiug which had some ele- 
ments of danger and nmny of difficulty for 
Canada. Some idea of its character may be 
learned from the special report ruade thereon 
in 190S, by Mr. T. Bruce 'alker, Assistant 
Superintendent of Immigration for Canada in 
London. He wrote concerning this type of 
immigrant: " They are the products of the 
distress committees and of he workhouses. 
The distrcss committees usually operate 
through some recognized booking agency, pro- 
viding the fares for the transportation and 
leaving such booking agency to provide the 



emldoynmnt on the (anadlm Mde. There is 
no supervlMon of an .chl «haracter exer- 
«ised over lhese inligrnS.'* 
Nomeihin was neeossary fo eounteraet ihis 
uudesirald« m«lhd of pl'omotilg emigratiou. 
and an order in Council was pased on April 
1S, 190S, whi«h lrohibih,d the landing in ('an- 
adfl of any pers»n wlmse passage, hfld bn 
paid wholly or in part by any charitable or- 
ganizatim, .r out «f puhlie moneys, unless the 
emigralion lo ('mmda of such person had bn 
aplU.Ov«d hy Ihe ('anadian hmnigration auth- 
m'ilies in l.md.n. The grounds on whieh sueh 
alqwval was fo he ruade were laid down as 
f«»lh»ws: An «nquiry hy Hm 'anadian Immi- 
gl.ali«m auih.-iiies inl lhe lin.vis.us vharaeter 
-f he family .f ihe ln'OlmSed immigrant; a 
medi«al examination f sueh immigrani; 
assurance llml am.angements had heen mflde 
for llm reeeplion and employment of the indi- 
vidmls «mwerned. Ilut even these regula- 
ri,ms were ml suffieient, for later on it was 
reqnil'«d that "every immigrant, mme or 
femal«, eighteen yem.s of ae .r over, arriviug 
in l'amMa hefwe F«hmlal'y 15. 190S, should 
bave in his or her p«»ssession money to the 

*See Allendix "Immigration," 1. 158ff, which dis- 
cusses the activities of "The East End Emigration Soci- 
ety," "The Self-Hell Emigration Society," "The Church 
Army." "The Church Emigration ,Society," "The Central 
Unemlloyed Body," "The Salvation Army," "The Cen- 
tral Emigration Board." 



The T.ide in Flood 71 
minimum of fify dollars, or; if nrriving atter 
Februnry 15h «md lfore April ls, a mini- 
mum nmouui of lwouty-five dollars, lu addi- 
tion to a li«ket lo his «r her destinati«,n iu 
Canada, mdess saiisfa«l«ry evideu«'e is fur- 
nished lirai lhe immigrerai, is om»,," " , fo some 
definite emlfloyment, or fo relatives or fl'iend* 
already setth,d in I'«m;«lm who will l;ke tare 
of such immig'ant." This 
entinue lu f«,ree unlil lhe 31st day of Decem- 
ber, 190S, in so far as lhe provision for a 
minimum of twenty-five dtfllnrs is concerned. 
To say thnt nll the pvoposed immigrants 
whom th«, fore'«inff reg'ulations were intended 
to ««mlrol ere. bound t« be«ome dismal fail- 
ures i the new «.«unlry wouhl manifeslly 
unjst, lu the first place lhey were 
number, 12,3;6 i lhe year 1907, znd out of 
go«d." Itis fo be expected that mnny who 
were ont of work in the Old Country, md in 
the distress usunlly conuected lherewith, 
wouhl " pluek up cournge" znd succeed rnther 
than fzil nmid the opporlunities of a new land. 
No doubt tlmt zclually hnppened in numerous 
cases, though there wns the high probabilily 
thal persislent failures there would be persist- 
ent faihres nnywhere. But thnt a consider- 
able numbee of lhese unfortunntes were also 
undesirables mas be inferred from a study of 
the deportations prior to lhe year 1910, in 
which was passed a new Immigration Act. 



CHAPTER IV. 

TttE IfEFU,ç,E OF THE TIDE. 

IT seems inevit;|ble from the f«weg«dng data 
that, prior to 1910, whcu thc new Canadian 
Immigration Law l«id clown ltmre stringeut 
'egulations than hih«.rt« prevailed, a hum- 
ber of " misfits'" wouhl c'nier ('anada. Vhile 
the numbel" of rej(,c/ions was considerable the 
ratio of rejeetious lo immigrants wa.s hot at all 
equal to that of the United States. Taking 
the year 1908 as typical, there werc admitted 
to Canada 262,469 immigrants, and 1002 were 
rejected, a l)r'Ol)ortion of ouc to 21;2. In the 
United Statcs for lhe SalUe year there were 
782,820 adlnitted, but 10,907 rejected, or one 
to seventy-two. This evidently indicates that 
after due alh»wances are ruade, the medical 
and other requirements for i|l|lnigr'ants into 
Canada were either nmch less rigid, or less 
ener'getically enf«wced, or hoth, than those of 
the Unitod qtates. In this respect a compari- 
son between the attitudes of the United States 
and Canada is significant, n«t only of differ- 
ences of rigidity of ter'ms of admission» but 
72 



Tbc Refuse of thc Tidc 73 
also of differencês either in the attitude of the 
two countries toward different sections of 
Europe, or in thê general type of emigrants 
thêrefrom. Taking the admissions ,and rejec- 
tions for 1908, there is the following :-- 

TABLE 11. 

PEOPLE FROM CANADA UNITED STATES 

N. and V. Europe 
inc. Iceland ..... 
Other European 
Countries iuc. 
Syriu ........... 

[33,136 152 
54, 60013951 

to 876 239.981 
to 181506.16 

2C I1 to 106 
,28211 fo 81 

" Immigration." Table 30. 

In that year at any rate Canada's hand was 
eight times as lenient as that of the United 
States toward northern and western Europe, 
for the ratio is 1:876 compared with 1:106 ; and 
almost twice as leniênt toward other Euro- 
pean immigrants. Further, Canada was more 
lenient toward northern and western Europe 
than toward southern and êastêrn Europe, 
more so than the United States. This will 



afford somc fuvlhev enquiey lmt befoçe 
doing so, iL muy be reenlled that beside rejec- 
lions aL lhe port, of entvy, wilh which the 
ilnmediaicly ll'c'liltg labh, was concorned 
provisions w«q'e Inadc, as a furlher safeguard, 
for the dcpo.lation of undesiraido citizens. 
Thal lhe lines of rigidity wcrc being tightened 
is evidqwed by lhc following: From Jan. 1 
1903, 1o Mai'ch 31, lit09, lhcre were 3,149 aliens 
d'ported, and lho number of annual deporta- 
tions in«rcascd sleadily during lhat period 
ranging from sixty-soveu in 1903,--a year in 
which Ihq.(. were L,34 immigrants,--to 
1,748 in 1909, a year in which lhere were 
146,91)S immigrauls. Thcs while the immigra- 
lion increased 14.5 per cent., lhe deportations 
increased 2.509 per cent., indicative of far more 
careful (or shoc]d one say less careless?) 
selection. In lhis 1)eriod between Jan. 1, 1903, 
and Mar(.h 31, 1909, there were 3,149 aliens 
deported, but of that numbev 2,573 were sent 
back during lhe fiscal years 1908-09, leaving 
576 distriimted over the remaining years. 
During that saine period, however there were 
nearly one million immiŒErants. The deporta- 
tions, lherefore, were one to 317. 
To what nationalities did these deported 
people belong? They were distributed as fol- 
lows: 



Thc Rc[tt.se o[ Ihc Tid(', 75 
TABLE 12. 
Del«,rtations from Canada from January 1, 
1903, fo March 31, 1909. + 

English ....... 2,007 Danish ....... 17 
Scotch ........ 20t; German ....... 15 
American (U.S.) 149 Finnish ....... 14 
Bu]garian ..... 137 Welsh ........ 9 
Irish .......... 81 llukowinian . .. 9 
Hebrew ....... 65 llungariau .... 8 
Russiau ....... 56 Icelandic ...... 8 
Galician ....... 49 Polish ........ 5 
Roumanian .... 44 Japanesc ...... 4 
Swedish ....... 33 Belgian ....... 3 
reek ........ 32 Bohemian ..... 3 
Italian ....... 31 West Indian .. 3 
[tindu ........ 29 Australian .... 2 
lorwegian .... 29 Chinese ....... 2 
French ........ 26 Swiss ......... 2 
Dutch oo vrian 2 
Turkish ....... 20 All o/hers ..... 7 
Austrian ...... 20 Total ......... 3,î49 

Summarizing this list gives the following 
surprising proportions fol' the United King- 
dom : 
TABLE 13. 
English ....................... 2,007 
Scotch ................ : ........ 206 
Irish .......................... 81 
YVelsh ......................... 9 
Total ....................... 2,303 
*From "Report of Superintendent of Immigration, 
1909, p. 59. 



76 A Study in Cauadian Immigration 
That is, of the total dcportations of that 
period, 1903-09, 73.1 per ccnt. were to the 
United Kingdom, 4.7 per cent. to the United 
States, and 22.2 per cent. to the rest of the 
world. This h)oks, on the face of it, as if the 
immigration propaganda had brought fo Cana- 
dian shores a greater proportion of undesir- 
ablcs among immigrants from the United 
Kingdom than from any other country. 
It might be objccted that such a large 
n»mblr shouhl be expected in view of the 
enormously greater ri»tuber of immigrants 
from that q»arier, tJencc the decision 
should be based on a ratio of deportations to 
admissions. 
To do that let it be granted that deportation 
regulations were operating after 1901, so that 
the number of deportations during 1903-09 
may be compared -ith the number of immi- 
grants for the period, 1901-09. From the 
United Kingdom there came in that rime 
502,264, while the deportations for 1903-09 
were 2,303. Thc rate of deportations to ad- 
missions is one to 218. The rate for other 
parts of Europe whcre propaganda was car- 
ried on is one te» 474, showing that on the 
whole they were more than twice as many, pro 
rata, for the United Kingdom as for the test 
of solicited Europe. Curiously enough the 
proportion for unsolicited Europe shows some- 
what fewer deportations than for solicited 



The Rcfusc of the Tidc 77 
Europe, the rate being one to 486 as against 
one to 47, but still exceedingly less than for 
the United Kingdom. It is hoth uufortunate 
and regrettable that the United Kingdom 
makes such a poor showing, for even the ratio 
of deportations among ('hinese,. Japanese, and 
Hindus, was one fo 614, while the United 
States makes cul exceedingly good impres- 
sion of a ratio of one o 2,644. The Syrians 
came next with a ratio «»f one to 2,455, /heu 
the Belgians with one fo 2,037, and so on clown 
the line until, with the exception of the Danish 
and the Dutch, Eugland and Wales stand at 
the bottom of the scale with a ratio of oue to 
187. « 
In the nmtter of rejet'tions one canuot urge 
the extenuating «ircumstance some/imes pre- 
sented in favour of the emigrants from the 
Uuited Kingdom as compared with those from 
other parts of Europe, namely the factor of lan- 
gllH'e, which ruade verbal examination in the 
f»rmer case more easy thau in the latter where 
freqnently an inspector wouhl he guided more 
hy physical appearance than by the results of 
cross-examination. That couhl scarcely be 
urged agaitst Fmnch immigrants and French- 
speaking Belgians, but it hecomes useless in 
view of the fact that the ratio for rejeetions for 
unsolicited Europe is higher than that for other 
unsolicited parts. On the other hand, the con- 
* Compare Tables 81, 82, 83, 84, " Immigration." 



clusion Js uuavoidable thaL he greaLest mzmber 
of del)ortations is ruade fo thosc countries in 
northern and western Europe, and esl)ecially 
fo the United Kingdom, where af great expensc 
immigrants are sought and aided; whilc for 
southeru and eastqrn Europe, where no expen- 
sire propaganda was directly carried on, the 
;umberof deporfations is comparaHvely small. 
This contrast may 'he due fo one of two things 
or possild X hoih, namely: 
(a) That in flmse countries where immi- 
grands bave heen sought Canada is more dis- 
criminaiing than elsewhere in selecting future 
cHizens. 
(5) That the type of emigrant from other 
countvies is comparaively better than that 
from the VnHed Kiugdom. 
If, however, he conditions of entry are uni- 
form and lhe probation period of two years 
fairly maintained, it seems undeniahle that 
relatively the supeHority in this respect lies 
wHh the foreigner. Upou lhis the words of 
Dr. P. H. Bryce, Chier Medical Officer of 
Immigraiion, in his aunual report for 190S, 
throw «.onsiderable light. 
l. "'ot only does the large numher of people 
from English cities corne lo our large cities, 
but it is espeeially true of that class, ne'er- 
do-wel]s', social and moral derelicts, aud 
ineffeetives in general. They are not. only 
physically unequal to the tasks of farm lire, 



The Relu.se of the Tide 79 
but they are further usually incapable of en- 
during the quiet of rural lire. Hence, if sent 
to the country, they too frequently drift back 
to town, and when winter cornes and work 
fails, they seek aid in those institutions set 
apart for the city poor and helpless. (P. 136.) 
2. "The notable absence of mental defec- 
rives amongst the people from Southern C, oun- 
tries (of Europe) is a matter of much interest, 
and, contrary fo a too popular opinion, it 
appears that if compulsory education can be 
generally enforced we bave in snch races hot 
only an industrial asset of great value, but 
also the assurance of a population remarkably 
free from the degenerative effects seen in those 
classes which hnve been for severa! genera- 
tions fnctory operatives and dwe!!ers in the 
congested centres of !nrge indlstrial popula- 
tions. Recognizing the constant and increas- 
ing need of a popu!ation, not only capable of 
but wil!ing to do the rongher work of opening 
up new areas by building rai!ways and canals, 
we may consider if a fortnnate marrer if such 
can be obtained f clean blood and much 
native energy, only reqniring the in..¢luence of 
social and educational environment to trans- 
form them into good citizens and absorb them 
into the masses of our law-abiding and pro- 
gressive communities." (P. 110.) 
The causes for the deportation of the 3,149 
persons just considered, were, of course, many, 
6 m 



80 A Study i C«nadian Immigration 
but from the social standpoint of efficient citi- 
zens and the transmission of the cffects of 
degeneraie habits the following may be 
selected as suggestive: 
TABLE 14. 

Alcoholism .... 27 Physical debility 82 
Syphilis ...... 4 Public Charge..1,074 
Insane ........ 113 Criminal ...... 115 
Feeble-minded.. 35 Vagrancy ..... 56 
Epilepsy ...... 22 Accompanying.. 21 
Benility ....... 10 Bad Character. 7 
Crippled ...... 11 Prostitution ... 8 
Physical a n d  
Mental debility 14 Total ......... 1,599 

If it be allowed that most of these are the 
prod»cts of bad environment, and that many 
of them are anti-social in their influence, the 
fact that such comp[sed fifty per cent. of the 
total deportations for the period 1903-09shows 
the need of enforcement of careful and rigid 
regulations regardiBg the character of immi- 
grants. That such tan be done goes without 
saying, for the Immigration Law, by giving 
to the Governor-in-Council ahuost unlimited 
powers in these nmtters, tan, through its offi- 
ciais, meet any set of conditions. Thus in 
1908 something had to Ire donc to meet the 
steady tide of European emigrants who were 
entering Canada by way of United States 
ports, especially since many of these immi- 
grants were of the types prohibited. When 



Tbc Rc[tsc o[ thc Tidc 

81 

the Superintendent of Inlmigration ordered 
the deportation of such persons the railway 
companies were rehwtan| fo take them across 
the border, because sm'h persons were hot 
legally admissible into thc United States, ex- 
cept for delivery fo lhe steamship companies 
which had brought thcm from Europe. But 
the steamshi]) cmupanies were also very re- 
luttant fo enter iuto au agreement by which 
the deportable persons wouhl be handed back 
fo them fol" r,turn passage, lo Europe ai the 
companies' expeuse. Only one comp«my, the 
Allan Line, had eniered inio such an arrange- 
ment, and yei over fifiy immigrauls were at 
one rime awaiiing delmriaiion. And Order-in- 
Council of May 27, 190,q. immediaiely and 
simply decl«lvd lhai «dl immigranis landed ai 
United Sl«les 1)«»rts by steamship comp,nies 
which had o«»l eniered inlo lhe required 
agreement with the Dominion Govermnent 
were prohibiied from enieriug Canada. That 
this was a serious marier for the steamship 
companies is evideneed by the faet thai during 
the fiscal year ending Match 31, 190,% mmi- 
grants fol" ('anada ai the port of New York 
alone numbered 22,379, while Portlaud, Me., 
had 3,650 and Boston 1,9,q7. The sieamship 
companies lost no rime in furnishing ihe de- 
sired agreement. This freedonl of ihe Gov- 
ernor-in-Concil may be directed ai any quar- 
ter from which nndesirable immigrants may 



82 A Stttdy itt Ca»adiatt Immigration 
corne. It may raise the required amount of 
l)ersonal cash on the part of au immigrant fo 
a 1)rohildtive figure; it nmy prohibit entirely 
any immigrant coming t« Canada by any other 
Ihan a continuous jom'ney; or it may issue 
l'egulations for the more rigid examination 
of ilnmigrants at p«-,.ts of e-mbarkation and 
ports of entry. Of the nmuber of immigrants 
destined for ('m««la and landing at the port 
«f New York dm'ing the fiscal year ending 
Mnr«h 31, 1909, therc was rejected one immi- 
gr«mt in cverv, sixtv-five, arriving., lmt that was 
hot due fo «my i-m.reased vigilance o-,, the part 
of Canada or lmr oci;fls wh«) simply accepted 
the « passcd "' from the hauds of the United 
States inspeclors. 
This lwief glance at the immensity of the 
ride of immigration shows quite clearly that 
the country had a tremendous task on 
hands, not only fo assimilate the perplcxing 
variety of incoming peoples but also to gradu- 
ally çlarify and strengthen the requirements 
which an immigrant sho-,ld meet in ortier to 
make adequate aml specdy assimilation pos- 
sible. In the rosy opti-mism l)roduced by the 
knowledge of the uulin,itcd extent of o-,r nat- 
,-,rai resources, and thc more rosy effect of 
the immcdiate financial gain to transporta- 
tion c,»mpanies, the doors were thrown wide 
open and in the passing years there could only 
be evolved a gradually increasing systeln of 



Tbe Refttsc of thc Tidc 83 
stringent regulations when the seriousness of 
the situation beg,qn to dawn upon the v7sion 
of patriotic Camdians. And it nmst be ad- 
miited that moiives of exphdtatiou operated 
as vigorously, even nmre vigwously than those 
of patriotism. Indeed the d)uble question of 
selecting the kid of immigrant desirable, and 
what to do for the immigrant when selected 
has constituted th« backbone of the immigra- 
tion problem. During the past fifty years 
abuses ami ha,'dships have been frequently 
pointed out, until a series of urgently needed 
changes culminated in thc Immigration Law 
of 1910. The history of hmnigration in Can- 
ada before ,and siuce tiret date shows the inevi- 
tability of many of the problems confronting 
the country to-day, but no oue acquainted with 
the sturdy ;,nd better types of Canadian citi- 
zens will deuy that the Dominion has been 
immensely enriched by the robust strength and 
native intelligence »f hundreds of thousands 
from the shores of Eur)pe and particularly 
from the United Kingdom. And tbe tragic 
story of the years 1914-1,q wiH show that, des- 
pire the unpleasmt ratios shown on page 76 
the crown of superiority must be given to the 
British immigrants and their Canadian-born 
descendants. 
It is fron such a vantage point that one can 
review the achievements of the past and be 
reminded frequently that the life of the 



,4 A ,ç'tdy i,. ('««a«li««». l,,,igrtio,, 
immigr;ms «rriviug at these shores during the 
]mst «entu,.y h«,s uever ;it any rime been char- 
«('te,'ized l W et, se nor su,'r,u,ndcd l W a halo of 
gl«,'y. They c;,,,e,oftcn with s(-«,nt e«,l)ital, into 
the wihl(,,-,mss of thcse l»rvinces ; they cleared 
the fo,-ests, bridged the ,'ivers, «oustrncted the 
roads, «ultivated the se»il» luilt the homes, the 
sch»ols, the chur«hes, and o,t of the seeds 
m,wn by thei," indust,'y lhe,'e g,'ew up lhe 
towns, cities md vilbges w]mse potenti;dities 
ripem.d i,,t« tl,e «wtmlities «»f t««lay. Their 
descemlauts wouhl be unwo,'thy of the her«dc 
struggles (,f such ;,n«est«u's did they u,,t see to 
il tiret, so f«r ,s hu,,,;mly l«ssible, the future 
immigran(s int,, su«h «,n inhe,.i/;m«e beco,uc 
wor/hy off the he,-oic dead who ruade it pos- 
sible. And il is m)t di«ult te» keep green the 
memory of the by-gone pionecr. Sto,'ies in 
tlmns«md f«wms ,bouml on evcry lmnd to de- 
for tlmse who ,,mde. a highway for thcir feet. 
The imaginatim ,.veu »f tl,e dull mmt kindle 
at a raie lile lhat of the 0 »dd Sco/ch " col- 
oists "' wlm. 1)r«m,oted by Lrd S(dkirk, landed 
in Augusi, lS0:l, on thc sirotes of Prince 
w;,rd lslaud, where, as he «ff/erwo,'ds w,-ote, he 
f»und " the pe,pie lmd l»dged themselves in 
lcmporary wigw«,,,,s, «onst,'u«/cd afte,- the 
fashion )f the lndians, hy set/ing up a uumber 
of poles in a conical fashion, tied together 
[op, and covered with boughs of trees. The 



Thc Rc[«sc o[ thc Tidc 85 
settlers had spread themselves ah»ng the shore 
for the dist«mce of about hall a toile, upon the 
site of an ohl Frcuch villa which had been 
destroyed and abandoned after the capture of 
the island by ihe Briiish forces in 1758. The 
land which h«d f«,rmerly been cleared of wood, 
was overgrown again wiih thickeis of young 
trees interspevsed wilh g'assy glmh*s. I ar- 
rived at the pl;ice l;te in the evening, and it 
had then a very striking uppcarance. Each 
family had kiudled a large tire near their wig- 
wams, and round these were assembl] groups 
of figures whose peculiar natioml dress added 
to the singul;rity of the scene. To 
obviate the Iem.ors whi(.h the wo)ds were cal- 
culated t) inspire, the seIIlemenI wns hot dis- 
persil, as th,,se ,f Ihe Americans usually are, 
over a large trm.t of country, but concentrated 
within a nmd«'rate spa«'e. The lots were laid 
out in such a !11;11111¢1. thai lherc were gener- 
ally four »r rive familles, aml uometimes more, 
who buill their lmuses in a lillle knot together; 
the distance belween lhe adj««'ent hamlets sel- 
dom exceeded a mlle. Each of lh«m was 
inhabifed by persons nenrly rel;fed, wlm 
fimes caïried on, lheir work in comme,n, or, 
at least, were always at hand o corne fo each 
other's assistance. '.« ifhin twelve monfhs 
from that firsf visit Selkirk ruade another and 
* Johnson, "Emigration from the United Kingdom to 
North America," page 9. 



86 A 8tudy in ('anadia'a Imnçgrato 
later reported : " I found the settlers engaged 
in securing the harvest which their industry 
had procured. They had asmall proportion of 
grain of rations kiuds, but potatoes were the 
principal crop ; thcse were of excellent quality 
and wouhl h«ve been alone sutîàcient for the 
entire support »f thc settlement. The extent of 
land in cultivation at thc different hamlets I 
found to be in {he general proportion of two 
acres or th(real«»uts to each able working 
hand; in many cases from three to four. Sev- 
eral boats had also been built, by means of 
which a consi,h,rable supply of fish had been 
obtained, aml formed no trifling addition fo 
the stock of provisions. Thus, in little more 
than a year from the date of their landing on 
the island, had these people ruade themselves 
independent of any supply that did hot arise 
from their own labour."* 
Colonies of this type were, of course, at first 
hot many, and the members were frequently 
from Scotland, like the settlement under 
Colonel Tall)ot on Lake Erie in 1813, but in 
the years following 1815 Emigration from 
Britain became a way of relief from some of 
the hard conditions consequent upon the 
termination of the apoleonic wars. While 
in 1815 only 1,889 persons came to orth 
America, the year 1852 saw 277,134, and, with 
the exception of the years of the Crimean War 
*Johnsvn: loc. cit., page 10. 



The Refuse o] the Tide 87 
1854-6, and the Indian Mutiny, 1857-9, the 
tide kept steadily flowing "westward. » Some 
of the conditions undcr which immigrants tra- 
velled and lived bave been sketched in Chapter 
II, and the government of England was only 
beginning to give serious attention to the prob- 
lem by the appointments of committees which 
would in some way provide more scitable, or 
less unsuitable, means for the transportation 
and care of cmigrants. But they were hot 
moved by entircly humanitarian purposes. 
Speaking before the Parliamentary Committee 
of 1826, on the large number of unemployed 
in Englaml, the Bishop of Limerick is reported 
to bave said : "The evil is pressing and imme- 
diate. It calls, therefore, for an immediate 
remedy. Tke any system of home relief, it 
must be gradual in its operation : before it can 
be brought to bear, the present sufferers will 
bave died off, and others will bave supplied 
their place, but hOt without a dreadful course 
of intermediate horrors. Now, emigration is 
an instantaneous relief, it is what bleeding 
would be to an apoplectic patient. The surfer- 
ers are at once taken away, and, be it observed. 
rom a coutry w]ere they are a nuisance and 
a pest, to a coutry where they wil be a bene- 
fit and a blessing. '' 

* Quoted from Johnson, 1.c. 1. 17. Italics mine. 



To aid the indigent in transportation to and 
esablishmel,t in the new country the Parlia- 
ment «tf the [Tnite(l Kingdom voted frequently 
considerable sums of money for that purpose» 
ranging fl'om £15,000 ta £6,,760 in a single 
year. The agen('ies el,,ph»yed in promoting the 
outflow of en,igration were hot l,mved so much 
by sele('tivc ('nre as t,» th,. right kind of emi- 
grant for the new and untried lands of the west 
as perhaps in providing fa('ilities whereby the 
" nuisance ;,lld a pest " might hecome "a bene- 
fit and a blessing.'" They n,cst lmve succeeded 
well, for the [h»vvrnment ('omn,ission on Emi- 
gration rep«wte(l in 1,31 that for the preceding 
rive years the ;mnual avel'age flow of immi- 
grants exceede(l twenty thousand, and, it must 
l»e added a large 1)r,q),)l.ti«»n ,tf these had emi- 
grated at their ,nvn expcnse. But the evils 
and abuses conne('ted with these movements 
were many and grievous and ihey do not make 
pleasant reading, as nm.v be seen from the 
selections from Lord Durham's report already 
given. Yet such abuses as were there and else- 
where condenmed were hard to eradicate, and 
they seem all the nlorc d(,ph)r«O»le l»ecause they 
occurred in the midst of the ghwy and progress 
of the nineteenth century, especially from 1825 
to 1855. Over these gloomy aspects it is well to 
draw the veil, and to reflect that of the thou- 
sands who sought Canada's shores the majority 



Tl+c Re[,+.çc of tbc Tidc 89 
even of the " indigent" must have "made 
good," for the contrast betwecn conditions in 
1817 at the close of the lonv struggle with 
bapoleon, and those of lS67 furnishes one of 
the most intel'esting phases of cohnial history. 
At the beginning of that period of fifty years 
there were settlements of pe,)ple scattered 
along the St. l,awrcnce with n,) «hse p(flitical 
or constitutional unity. Tlw l«mds fo the west 
were being explorcd and small ('oh,uies trying 
to obtain a fo«,th«,ld in the midst of Indians 
and halfbreeds. The wildernesscs of Upper and 
Lower Canada were beiug (.leared and culti- 
vated. Iew areas were constantly occupied by 
the incoming setlers who were so many that 
a Canadian historian, Dr. [ieorge Bryce, 
named the decade 1820-30 as the period of the 
"Great Immigration." Bul the land was 
cleared, agriculture devcloped, and log-h,uses 
for homes and h»g-buildings f«,r Schools and 
Churches soon gave place to more COmlnodious 
structures. Roads were built, rivers bridged, 
villages and towns esab]ished, cities became 
the centres of manufacuring industries, and 
science and literature began to take root in 
new soi]. Prior to 1S17 three colleges had been 
established, Kings in 1789, University of New 
Brunswick in 1800, aud M«.Gill in 1813o By 
1867 ten more institutions of higher learning 
had been added, namely: Dalhousie in 1821, 
Toronto in 1827, Acadia in 1838, Queens in 



90 A Study in Canadian Inmigratio»} 
1841, Victoria in 1841, Bishops in 1843, Trin- 
ity in 1852, Laval in 185.2 °, St. Michaels in 1852, 
and Mount Allison iu 1862. During these 
saine years there was the great constitutional 
struggle for Responsible Government, and in 
the Confederation of 1867 there were four 
provinces united with an area of 540,000 
square mlles and a population of 3,600,000. In 
1817 hot a toile of railway, but 2,250 in 1867. 
In 1817 grain ami the products of forests and 
lakes supplied the dily needs of a compara- 
tively small popultion. In 1867 the grain 
product rcm.hed 5,000,000 bushels, and for- 
eign trade attained a value of $114,000,000. 
But the fifty years following were of equally 
wonderful growh. The provinces increased 
from four to nine; the population from 
3,600,000, o 7,600,000; railway toiles grew 
from 2,230 to 35,500, and grain bushels from 
65,000,000 to 1,000,000,000; the combined pro- 
ducts of forests, mines, fisheries and manufac- 
tures from $98,000,000 to 1,6-13,000,000 ; while 
the foreign trade rose to 1,996,000,000. Of 
course itis possible to make the casual remark 
that all this might bave been done without any 
immigration whatever, and that might well be 
true if the assertion be qualified by the admis- 
sion of a suflicient period of rime. It would 
scarcely have been done in fifty years. The 
immigrants, as a marrer of fact, came; in 
thousands of cases they brought considerable 



The Refuse of t1e Tide 91 
money with them ; they contributed immensely 
in the building of the r,ilroads, in the explora- 
tion of the miaes, in thc development of agri- 
culture and manufactures, ,nd Canada began 
the first decade of the present century with a 
magnificent ou/look. And now the concern is 
more with what is aad shall be rather than 
with what has been, but amon the present 
factors operat]n" in {he production of Cana- 
dian citizens there are .ome which must be 
closely scrutinized if this country wouh! re- 
joice in a sane and healthy population. How 
far the Immigration Act of 1910 safeguarded 
that must now he consdered. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE IMMIGRATION LAW OF 1910 AND ITS 
PROHIBITIONS. 

FmM the recommendations ruade in 1838 
and the folh»wing years the conditions for 
iml)roving the lot of immigrants beeame more 
aml more definite, and after Confederation in 
1, », when Immigration came under Federal 
jurisdicion, Hm way was open for the increas- 
ing ide of immigration during the last quarter 
of last ccntur S, whose features for the first 
decade of the 1)resent cenIury have becn just 
sketched. But from the various sources of 
snpply it couhl scarcoly be expected that ail 
the immigrants wouhl be of an eminently de- 
sirable ,'lmracter, and hence the number of 
doportali,ms increased steadily ycar by year, 
an,I. corrcsp,,n,lingly, the restrictions and 
limitati,,ns came 
fnlly define, I and enforced. That was 
more essential since Canada was puiting forth 
great efforts and spending ranch money Io pr,)- 
mole Immigration. Since the great influx of 
immigrants was toward the shores of Canada 
92 



The I»migration Lttw of 1910 93 
and the United States the regulations for the 
exclusion of certain types were almost identi- 
cally /he saine in both countries. This was 
the case with the United States Act of 1907 
and the Canadian Act of 1906 and its sul)se- 
quent amendments in 1907 and 1908. Both 
laws excluded certain classes, such as idiots, 
insane, fble-nffnded, deaf and dumb, dumb, 
hlind or infirm uuless the immigrant belonged 
to a family accompanying him or already in 
Canada, which gave security for his perman- 
ent suppor if admitted t«) ('anada; persons 
with loaths«)me, contagi«ms, or infectious dis- 
case; parapets, destitues, professional beggars, 
vagrants, or who are likely to bccome a public 
charge." But the United States (lebarred /he 
entrance of l)olygamists, anarchists, contract 
]abourers, while the {'anadi;m law had n- such 
prohibitory measures, nor did it definitely de- 
bar assisted immig'ants as the United St«tes 
did. In ortier to cover as wide a rane as pos- 
sible ami nmke from /he a«cunmlated experi- 
ente of former yearsver half a century, in 
fm'ta law lhat wouhl contr.I immigration, 
at least in so far as determining its quality 
was con«eruedlhere was passed in May, 
1910, the Canadian Immigration Law. It ruade 
needcd changes, in the system of promoting 
and yet «.ontrolling the great tide of peoples 
flowing to these sh«)res, and the main features, 
specifically in resct of controlling, are here 



94 A dtudy in Canadian Immigration 
outlined, as interesting examples of the evolu- 
tion of the prol)lems of Immigration and its 
regulating laws. 
- One of the first provisions is to define what 
is meaut hy Canadian domicile, and it was de- 
clared fo mean "the place in which a person 
bas his present home, or in which he resides, 
or to which he returns as his place of present 
permanent abode, and hot foi" a mere special 
or temporary purpose." Such domicile is 
acquired by a person living for at least three 
years after landing, provided that such time 
as may have becn spent in any penitentiary, 
gaol, reformatory, prison or asylum for the in- 
sane iii Canada is not counted in that three 
year period ; and such domicile is lost by a per- 
son v(duntari]y residing out of Canada wilh the 
intention of making hi. permanent home out 
of Canada, nntil something unexpected induces 
him fo return. This looked forward fo the 
question of determining the conditions of 
Canadiau citizenship which was held to be- 
long to (a) A person born in Canada who has 
not become an alien. (b) A Eritish subject 
who bas Canadian domicile. (c) A person 
natnralized under the laws of Canada who 
does hot subsequently become an alien or bas 
hot lost Canadian domicile. Then, a woman 
who bas hot been landed in Canada would hot 
be held to have acquired Canadian citizenship 
by virtue of ber husband being a Canadian 



Thc Immigratiol Law of 1910 95 
citizen, nor would a child hot landcd in Cau- 
ada possess Canadian citizenship through ils 
father or lnother being a Canadian citizen. 
"Alien " thon, means, briefly, a person who is 
hot a British subjcct ; nnd "immigrant" means 
any person entcring Cmada with the in- 
tention of acquiring Canadian domicile. 
" Rejected " immigrant lneans a pers«m seek- 
ing fo enter Canada who has heeu examined 
hy a Bmrd of Equiry or ocer aeting 
as such and hns been refused permission 
to land in Canada ; and " deportation " means 
the removal under nuthority of the Act of anv 
rejected immigrant or other person, or of any 
imnigrant or other persou who has already 
heen lnndcd in Canada, or who has entered or 
who renmins in Canada contrary to nny pro- 
vision of this Act, from any place in Canada at 
which such immigrant »r other person is re- 
jected or detained to the place whence he came 
to Canada, or to the country of his birth or 
citizenship. In addition to the rejectcd and 
"deportable" classes, thcre are clearly speci- 
fied types which belong to the "prohibited 
classes," and these are as foll.ws: 
(a) Idiots, imbeciles, fhle-minded persons, 
epileptics, insnne persons, and persons who 
have becn insane within rive years previous. 
(b) Persons nffiicted with nny loathsome 
disease, or with n disease which is contagious 
or infectious, or which may become dangerous 
7 



96 A tud in Ca»mdiou Immirotion 
to the public health whether such persos i- 
tend fo settle i Canada or oly to pass 1hrouh 
C«nada in transit to some other country: Pro- 
vided /hat if sm-h disease is one which is 
(.urablc wilhin a vcas.nably short time, such 
1)ers(»ns may, subje«t to the regulations in 
tiret belmlf, if ;my, bi' permittcd t» rem;fin on 
l»»:rd ship if h.spitl facilities do hot exis{ 
on slml.«, or fo le«ve shil» for medical treat- 
(c) Imntigranis wlm are dumb, bliml, or 
ot]mrwise physic«lly defcctivr, mless in 
opinion of a lmrd of Inquiry er oeer acting 
as sm'h ihey h:ve su-ient money, or bave 
ment or otbcr legiiimate mode of earning a 
living iha/ they are n«»t li«ble to Ioeeome a 
pnbli« clmrge, or unless ihey bc]ong fo a fam- 
ily ac('ompanying them or already in 
and which gives security satisfactory to the 
Minister against such immigrants becoming a 
public charge. 
(d) Persons who have been convicted of 
any crime involving moral lurpitude. 
(e) Prostitutes and women and girls com- 
ing fo Canada for any immoral purpose, and 
pimps or persons living on the avails of 
prostitntion. 
([) PersOllU who procure or attempt to 
bring illtO Canada prostiiutes or women or 



Thc Immigr¢tiiou Lace o[ lDlO 97 
girls for the purposes of prosliulion or other 
immoral purpose. 
() Professional lw'ars or vagTanls or 
persons likely o beconw a public charity. 
(h.) Ilulnigvants fo whonl money has been 
given or loaned by any charitable ovganization 
for the put'pose of enabling them fo qualify for 
landing in ('almda llndel" this Aet, or whose 
passage to ¢'auada has been paid wholly or in 
part by any charitable organization, or 
public moneys, unless it is shown that 
auth«wily in wri/ing' of lhe SUl»rintcndent of 
Immigration, or in case of l»ersons «oming 
from Europe, the authorily in writing of lhe 
Assislant Superintendent of Immigration for 
Canada, in London, has been obtained for the 
landing in Canada of such persons, and that 
snch anthority bas been a«ted upon within a 
period of sixty daya thereafter. 
These regclations were eminently compre- 
hensive though no Slwcific nwasures dcbarred, 
as was the case with th«» United States Law, 
the en/rance of polygamisis, anarchists and 
contraet labourers, yet. the machinery pro- 
vided for carrying out the law couht be in- 
vested with aduate powers for any special 
difficulties. This machinery consisted in a 
Surintendent of Immigration, Commission- 
ets of Immigration, with oces cstablisheil 
and maintained at places within and outside 
Canada as from rime to lime seeml proper. 



98 A St«dy i»t Ca»edie» l»»igration 
Connectcd with these officers were subordinate 
officers, such as medical officers, inspectors, 
guards, marrons and nurses, attd these again 
could employ assistance to meet particular 
cmergencies. In ports of entry where there 
was no spccially appointcd immigration ofiicer 
the t'hicf customs officer at that p«»rt or any 
snbordinate customs olticer designated by him 
should be, c.r offi«.io, an immigration officer. 
Ever.v oflicer rouler the .çct had the power and 
anthority «»f a special constablc to ef()rce any 
«»f its provisions, and any constable or other 
pcacc ofiîccr was required to execute any pro- 
per ortier for the arrest, detention or deporta- 
tion of any immigrant, alien, or other person 
in accordonce with the provisions of the act. 
Permanent b+)ards of Enqniry could be ap- 
pointed at any port of entry for the stmmary 
detcrmination of all eases of immigrants or 
passengers seekbg to enter Canada or detained 
for any cause umler the Act, and such Boards 
could determine whethcr su«h persons shouhl 
be allowed to enter or romain in Cnada, or 
be rejected and deported. Such decisions, how- 
ever, were tobe based upon an examination of 
the case, comlucted in the presence of the 
immigrant concerned whenever practicable, 
and sch immigrant had the right to be repre- 
sented by «ounsel when so desired. From the 
dccisions of the Board, based upon full exam- 
ination of the case with thc requisite medical 



The Immig'atio La o[ 1910 99 
certificates provided in accordance with the 
terres of the Act, there was no .appeal. 
Having nmde those safcguards for the recep- 
tion of the immigrant, the ucxt step was to 
look after lhe means of transportation. To do 
lhis if was required lhat transportation com- 
panies bringing passengel's or oth[,r persons 
to Canada by vessel, shouhl prevent sm'h pas- 
sengers or other persons ]caving su(.h vcssels 
in Canada at any lime or place «ther lhau as 
designated b.v the immgralion o|it.t.l'S iii 
charge; that the nmster of the vesscl should 
furnish to the immigration ofiicer in charge at 
the port of enlry a bill of hcaltb, certified by 
the me(lie«l oflîcers of the vessel, such bill of 
hea]th bcing in a form prescl.ibed by the Act. 
And, further, 1)efore any passengers are per- 
mitted to leave a vessel in Canad; lhe immi- 
gralion olïlcer in charge, or any ofiicer direcled 
by him, may go on board and iusl)ect such 
vesse], and exaluine and take extrac|s from 
the manifest of passengers, and fl-om lhe bill 
of health. A final step in the selection of the 
elnigrant is reqnired by medical officers mak- 
ing a physical and ment;l examinati(n of all 
innnigrants and passengers seekig to land in 
Canada from any ship or vessel, except in the 
case of Canadian cilizens and pcrsons who 
have Canadian domicile, and these examina- 
tions were not spposcd to be cursory glances 



100 A tu«ly i»l Ca»adiat Immigratio» 
but defiuitely carried out under regulations 
presc.ibed by the Superintendeut of Imlnigra- 
lion uudet' the direction or with the approval 
of the Minister. If at such examination there 
iS l[lly doubt on the part of the examining 
olcer as te the right of any 1)asseuger or 
olher pcrson te laml, such p(,,'son shall bë de- 
laiucd for furihcr cxaminatiou by the officer 
in charge, or by thc oard of Iluluiry, and 
sm.h examinaIion slmll 1., forthwith conducted 
Sel»aratcly ad al)«u't frein the pul»lic, and 
upou the conclusi(m thereof such passenge" 
shall ho eiIher ilumediately laudcd or shall 
ha rejceted alld kel)t in custody pending his 
deportatiou. Thc ol'der f«r dcportation may 
lheu be ruade in thc fOl-iii pl.«vidcd, and a copy 
(»f the saine shall forthwith bc dclivercd te 
sueh l)assenger or other person, and a copy 
shall at the salue rime bc Sel-vcd upou the 
umster or owuer of the ship, or upon the local 
agent «w othcr ooEcial of the transportation 
compauy by which such person was brought 
le» Canada; and such pcl'SOll shull thereupon 
bc deported by sueh compauy subject te any 
aPl)cal which luay bave bceu cntered on his 
behalf under sccti«m 19 of the Act. 
Se essenIial did all thee rcquirements ap- 
pear iu the selcction (f immigrats that if was 
further enueted that any persou who entered 
Canada cxcept af a port of entl'y, or who eludcd 



Thc Immigration Law of 1910 101 
examination, or who entered by misrepresenta- 
tion or stcalth or who escaped from the cus- 
tody of an ocer or an immigrant station 
when detained thcre for any cause, was guilty 
of an offence, liable on conviction to a fine of 
hot more than $100, and couhl be arrested 
and detained without a warrant by any oflicer 
for examination, and if su,'h p«rson be found 
hot t,, be a ('ana,liau citizen, .r hot t,) have a 
('auadiau domicile, su('h (.nt.y shouhl in itself 
be suci(-nt cause for dcprtation whenev(,' 
so orde'ed by a Board of lnquiry or ofli«er in 
clm'ge subject to any al)l,cal ahi('h nmy have 
becn cntered under section 19 of thc Act. Iut 
a passenger or oth(,, person sccking to ente" 
('amda nmy at thc time of landing b(, surfer- 
ing from si«knoss or physi(.d or mental dis- 
abilits, and su«h a lmsseuger may r.ceive, 
under the direction of th(' Superintendent of 
Immigration or officer in charge, medical 
trcatment on board shi l) or in an immigrant 
station, or may be removed to a suitabIe hos- 
pital for /reatment as th(, circumstances re- 
«luire. If in such cas( • the transportation 
COml)any which brought sm'h per.son to Camda 
failed to exercise proper vigilance or ca'e in 
so doing, then the cost of his hospitnl treat- 
ment and medical attention and maintenance 
should be paid by sm'h transportation com- 
pany. and othe'wise the cost there,f shall be 
collected from such person, and if that be hot 



102 A Study in Canadian Immigratio»t 
possihle then the cost thereof shall be paid by 
the Department of {he Interior. 
 In order to meet special emergencies, as in 
the cases mentioned on pages 70, 81, power was 
vested in the Governor-in-Council o {a) pro- 
hibit the landing in 'anada or at any specified 
port of ent,'y in Canada «»f any immigrant who 
has corne o Canada otherwise than by con- 
l inuous journcy frol,, [ho, c«»untry of which he 
is a nalive or naturalizcd citizen, and upon a 
lhrongh ticket pnrchased in that country, or 
prelmid in l'anada. (b) Prohihit the landing 
in l'anada of passengers brought to Canada 
by any transportation company which refuses 
or neglects fo comply wi/h ihe provisi«»ns of 
the Act. (c) Prohibit for a siated period, or 
permanently, the landing in Canada, or the 
landing at any specified port of entry in Can- 
ada, of imlnigrants belonging to any ra( 
deelned unsuited fo the climate or require- 
ments of Canada, or imnfigrants of any speci- 
ficd class, occupation or character. 
It couhl very well happen that persons 
entering Canada could pass the prescribed 
examinations, esp«cially if hot rigidly and 
exhaustively conduçted, ami yet shortly after 
entry show themselves fo be "undesirables." 
Hence it was provided that any person other 
i-han a Canadian citizen, who, within three 
years after landing in Canada, had been con- 
victed of a crilninal offence in Cnada, or who 



Tlte Immigration Lau» of 1910 103 
had become a prostitute or an inmate of a 
house of iii-faine, or by eommon repute had 
become a procurer or pimp or person liviug o 
the avails of prostitution, or had become a 
professional beg'ar or a public charge or an 
inmate of a pcuiteutiary, gaol, reformatory, 
prison, hospital, insane asylum or public 
charitable instituti«n, or entered or rcmained 
in Canada eontrary fo auy ll'oVisons of the 
Ac L shouhl be report«d to the Minister o1". 
Superintendent of Immigration, wîth written 
particulars by any oflicer cognizaut of the 
facts. Shnilar to the 1)recautions against 
moral offemlers were those against political 
offenders. Whenever auy person other than a 
Cauadian citizen advocates in Canada the 
overthrow by force or violence .of the govern- 
ment of Great Britain, or Canada, or other 
British dominion, colony, possession, or fie- 
pendency, or the overthrow by force or 
violence of constituted law ami authorify, or 
the assassination of any ocial of the goveru- 
ment of Great Britain or ('anada, or other 
British dominion, colony, possession or de- 
pendency, or of any foreign government, or 
shall by word or act create or attempt to 
create riot or public disorder in Cnada, or 
shall hy eommon repute beh}ng to or be sus- 
pected .of belonging to any secret ocicty or 
organization which extorts money from, or 
in any way attempts to control, any resident 



10 A »Studj h aadan lmmgrato 
of çand bç force or thet of hodily hrm, 
or by hkwkmnil, u¢.h perron for the purpoe 
of thi Act. hnll he eonideed nnd elned  
an mdeirahle immigrmt, nd it shall hethe 
duty of any ol«er beeomin" eognizant theeof, 
and the duty of the el«rk, eeretary or other 
oleial of nny municilality in 'annda wherein 
swh l}ers«}n may 1}e, fo fm.lhwith send a writl 
I«,n COmldaint. thereof fo the 3lidster or 
gul}erintendent of Immi'ration, givin ffll 
particulars, lpon the receipt of sueh infor- 
malion lhe Minisler nmy order such person to 
he taken inlo «stody and delained at an immi- 
Crant station for examimlion, and an investi- 
gntion of the facts nlleged i the snid eomplaint 
1o he ronde by a Board of [nquiry or hy an 
ocer actiug as swh; and if it he fomd thnt 
swh a persm I}elong's fo any of the speeified 
prohibited or ndesirahle classes, sueh per- 
son shall he deported forthwith; or the 
Goveruor-in-Council may order sueh person 
to leave ('anmln within a specified period. 
I f a r«,jeçted or deported person enters or re- 
mais in }r rerns fo Çanada without a 
permit «»r ofher lavflll excuse, or reflses or 
n«,gleets fo leave ('anada wheu ordered so fo 
do by the Iovernor-in-Comcil he is guilty of 
an offence, and may forthwith be arrested by 
nny officer and he deported on an order from 
the liuister or the Superintendent of Immi- 
gration, or may be prosecuted for sch offence, 



The Immigration Law of 1,910 105 
and shall be liable, on eonvi'tion, to two years' 
impvisonment, and immediately airer expiry 
of any sentence imposed for sueh offeuee may 
be again depo'ted or ordered to leave Canada. 
Where the deportation of the head of a family 
is ordered, all dependet melnlm's of the fam- 
ily lUay be del)orted at lhe SalU, •time. And 
any case where dep)rtalion of : ,lopeldont 
,u(.ml»el- of a family is ol.dcred on a,'count of 
having b,.COlllC ;i pul)lic (.harg,,, and in thc 
ol)ilfion of lhc Minister suvh cil.cUmstance is 
duc to wilftfl negect o," lmn-sul)I)ort by the 
he:,d o" othel" ltelnbers of the family lUm'ally 
bound to suppol't sm'h d,.podent m,.mbers, 
]lell all members of the family may be dc- 
ported at the saine tiret. 
If, within a pel-iod of thl'ee years aftcl" land- 
iug in ('ana(l:,, any pcl-SOn becomes an inluate 
of a penitentiary, gaol, l'efornmtory o1" lu.ison, 
lhe Ministe" of Justice may, upon the requcst 
of the Minister of thc Iitel'ior, issue an o'der 
l o the wardcl o" governo" of such peniteu- 
tiary gaol, rcfo'lnatory, or prison, command- 
i,g him after the sent,.nce or tel'lU of impl'iSou- 
lucnt of such 1)crson bas expired to detain such 
person fol', and delivel" him fo, th,, occr 
named in the warrant issued by the SuI),'riu- 
tendent of Immigration, with a view fo the 
deportation of such person. In view of the 
definite conditions attending such rejections 



106 A Study i Caadi«n I»»igratio» 
and deportations, itis intercsting to learn fur- 
ther that every immigrant, passenger, stow- 
away or other person brought fo Canada by a 
transportation company and rejccted by the 
Board of ]nquiry or oflicer in charge, shall, if 
practicable, be sent back to the place whence 
be came, on {he vessel, rai[w«y train or other 
vehicle by which he was brouy.ht fo Canada. 
The cost of his maintenance, whilc being de- 
tained at any immigration station after bcing 
rejected, as woll as the eost of his retrn, shall 
be paid by swh transportaiion company. Fail- 
ure to perform this; or, before or after per- 
forming it, lo make auy charge against the 
pers«»n for maintenance whilc on land, or for 
retm'n to the port of embarkati(»n, is regarded 
as an offence under the Act, and makes the 
offender liable to a fine of hot more than $500 
and not less than $50 for each offence. 
Inasnmch as all these safeguards are for the 
protection of Canada, something may be added 
for the proteciion of the immigrants. First, 
every person wht» causes or procures the pub- 
lication or circulation, by advertisement or 
otherwise, in a country outside of Canada, of 
false represeutations as to the opportunities 
for cmploylnent in Cauada, or as fo the state 
of the labour market in Canada, intended or 
adapted to encourage or induce, or fo deter or 
prevent, the inmigration iuto Cnada of per- 
sons resident in such outside country, or who 



l Immirction. Law o[ 1.010 10 
does anything i, anad fo the purpose of 
e,sing or proe, rin the communication to 
ay resiflen of sueh country of any sueh 
reI)resentations whieh are therefter so 
lishefl, eireulated or comnmnieatefl, shall be 
g.ilty of an offence against the Act, and liable 
o. summary conviction before two justices of 
the peace, to a fine of hot more than rive hun- 
dred dollars, or to an imprisonment for a terre 
hot exceeding six months, or to both fine and 
imprisonment. Further, if, during the voyage 
of any vesscl carrying immigrants from any 
port outside of Canada to any port in Canada, 
the mas.ter or any of the crew is guilty of any 
violation of any law in force in the country 
i which such foreign port is situate, regard- 
ing the duties of such toaster or crew t, owards 
the immigrants in such vessel, or if the toaster 
of any such vessel during such voyage com- 
nits any such breach whatsoever of the con- 
tract for the passage ruade with any immigrant 
by such toaster, or by the owners of such 
vcssel, such toaster or s.ch one of the crew 
shall, for every such violation or breach of 
contract, be liable fo a fine not exceeding one 
lmndred dollars and not less than twenty dol- 
lars, independently of any remedy which such 
immigrants complaining may otherwise lmve. 
But besides prohibiting unfair inducements 
either to promote or deter immigration, into 
Canada; and prohibiting likewise any breach 



108 A ,tt«dff ia ('attadian Immigration. 
of «ontra«t during thc voyage, necessary and 
strict regnlniions wcre reqnired to prevent 
whnt had been a source of complaint in former 
ycars, namcly, lhe occurrence of acis of immor- 
ality. In a series of invesiigaiions carried on 
by Ihc Vnited S/a/es Immigraiion ('ommission 
regarding s/e«rage cuditions, a nmnber of 
specinl ngents of the con,mission trnvelled ns 
steerag, • passengers on lwelve different trnns- 
Atlantic stenmers, nnd on ships of every const- 
wise line çnrrying immigrants from one Vniied 
Slaies port fo another. This investigation 
wns carried on during the year 190, when, 
owing le) the indusirial (lepressiou, immigra- 
tion was very lighL and the stecrage was seen 
prncliçally nt ils best. If lhe report, lhen, 
was of steerage conditions at their best, it nmy 
ho lefi to the inmgination fo picture what tbey 
mighi have been nt their worsi.  'bether nny- 
thing like these conditions ])tained in vessels 
arriving at Cnnadian ports may he left fo con- 
jecture, lmt lhe Act of 1910 reiteraied an older 
regulaiion--and fo,md in lhe Unitcd Slntes 
Immigration Law of 1882nnmely, lhai no 
ocer, seflm3n or othcr person on hoard of a 
vessel bringing immigrants io Cnada shall, 
while such vessel is in (anadian waters, en/ice 
or adroit any female immigrant into his apart- 
nent, or, except by/he direction or permission 
• See Report on Steerage Conditions presented by the 
Immigration Cmmission 1909. 



Thc lmnigr««tio L««c of 1910 109 
of (he toaster of such vesscl, first givcn for 
such purpose visii or frcqucnt any part o[ 
such vcssel ssigned to femalc passengcrs. 
Every ocer seaman or other nmn employed 
on board of a vessel bringing immigrants fo 
Canad, who, while such vessel is iu ('anadian 
waters, entices or admits any female immi- 
grant in/o his aparlment or, except hy the 
direction or permission of the nmstcr ()f such 
vesscl first given visits or frcquents any part 
of such vessel assigned to femah . passengers, 
shall be guilty oï an offence against /he Ac 
and shall be liahle to a fine hot exceeding 
twety-five dollars for every sch offence. And 
every toaster of a vcssel who, while such vesscl 
is in ('anadian waters, directs or permits any 
ocer or seaman, or other man employed on 
board of such vessel to visit or frequent any 
part of such vesscl assigued to female immi- 
grants except for (he purpose of doing or per- 
forming some necessary a«t or duty, shall be 
guil/y of an offeuce against this Act and shall 
be liable to a fine hot exceeding tweu(y-five 
dollars for every such offeuce. Further, the 
toaster of every vessel brining immigrants 
fo Canada from Europe shall, ai all rimes while 
the vessel is in Canadian waters, keep pos/ed 
in a conspicuous place on the forecastle and 
in the parts of the steerage of (he said vessel 
assigned fo strage passengers, a wri(ten or 
printed notice in the English French Swedish 



110 A ,5'tutly in Caadian Immigratiou 

Danish, Gernmn, Russian and Yiddish lan- 
guages, and such other languages as are or- 
dered from tilne to rime by the Superintendent 
of Immigration, cont;dning the provisions of 
this Act regal'ding the prevention of inter- 
course bctween the crew and thc immigrants 
and the penaltics for the coltravention there- 
of, and shall keep such n»tice s, posted during 
the rcluaind«r of the voyage. Ncglect in this 
respect is an offence against the Aet, and 
mcans liability to ;i rite not exceeding one 
hundred do]lars for every such offence. 
After safeguarding as far as possible by 
such regulations the moral safety of the immi- 
gr,nt, provisions are required for persnal 
and peeuniary safety te) protect him from 
being the prey of those who bave more cun- 
ning than conscience. Thus, there must hot 
be more than one adult passenger for every 
fifteen clear superficial feet on each deck of 
such vessel appropriated to the use of such 
passengers aml unoccupied by stores or other 
goods, hot being the pêrsmml luggage of such 
passengers, or no more than one person for 
every two tons of the tonn,ge of such vessel. 
Further, to have a bar or other place for the 
sale of intoxicating liqnors on any such vessel 
in the quarters assigned to third-class or steer- 
,ge passengers, or to which third-elass or 
steerage passengers are permitted to have 
access af any rime during /he voyage of such 



Thc Immigratiou La o[ 1910 
vesscl fo Canada, is an offence liable to a fine 
not exceeding .500 and hot h,ss than fif|y 
dollars. And any oïficer or mcmber of the 
crew of such vesscl who sells or gives intoxi- 
cating liquor fo any third-clnss or steerage 
passenger, during the voyage of such vessel 
to Canada, without the cousent of the toaster 
or ship's surgeon or oher qualified medical 
practitioncr on board thcreof is guilty of an 
offence against the Açt and linble ton fine hot 
exceeding fifty dollars and not less than teu 
dollars for every such offence. And that the 
immigrant may hot be victimized after land- 
ing, the Superintendent of Immigration may 
issue to agents of transportation companies, 
forwarding and transfer companies, hotcls 
and boarding houses, a license authorizing 
such persons to exercise the vocation of immi- 
grant runners, or of soliciting the patronage 
of immigrants for their respective companies, 
hotels or boarding bouses, or of booking pas- 
sengers. :No person who has hot procured 
such license shall for reward or gain or hope 
thereof solicit the patronage of any immigrant 
or assist him fo his place of destination. 
Every inn-keeper or boarding-house keeper 
in any city, town, village or place in Canada 
designated by any order-in-council who re- 
ceives into his bouse as a boarder or lodger 
any immigrant within three months after his 
8 



112 A ttdy in, Canadian Im»nigralio»t 
arrival in Canada, shall cause to be kept con- 
spicuously posted in the public rooms and 
passages of his house aud printed upon his 
business cards, a list of the prices which wiD 
i)c charged to immigrants per day and per 
week for board or lodging, or both, and also 
the prices for separate meals, which cards 
shall also contain the naine of the kecper of 
such house, togethcr with the naine of the 
sireet in which itis situate, and its number 
in such street.  su('h inn-keepor or board- 
ing-house kccper shall have any lien on the 
effects of such immigrant for any amount 
claimed for such barding or lodging for any 
sure exceeding rive dollars; nor shall such 
keeper or boarding-house keeper detain the 
effects of any immigrant by reason of any 
claire for board or lodging after he has been 
tendered the sure of rive dollars or such less 
sure as is actually due for the board or lodging 
of such inmfigrant. If ihe effec{s are detained 
the detainer incurs a penalty, ad ihe effects 
so detained may be searched for and recovered 
under search warrant as in the case of stolen 
goods. 
The foregoing abstract shows that ihe 
Imndgration Law of 1910, with its sui)sequent 
orders-in-council would appear at first sight 
to cover almost every conceivaifle situation 
that might arise. What he effect was in 



Thc Immiyralimt Law o[ 1910 113 
guarding the interests of Canada and the 
Immigrant for the period suhsequent to May, 
1910, must now be considered and thon may 
appcar some important particulars wherein 
lhe law might be amended as well as com- 
meuded. As it stauds itis the highest expres- 
sion of IUlnigraIioli legislation that Canada 
to that date had achieved. And even lhe raIher 
siereotYl)ed forms of leg';l phraseohgy lake 
on le mobility of lire whcn flmy carcfu[ly 
express tire ways in whi«h human life and 
human iuleress are tobe safeguardcd. (n 
the one hand is a vast couulry with a rapidly 
growing populatit whose social health must 
hot be impaircd by contamination from thc 
stupid prodm'ers aml the unfortunate victims 
of vice; on the oher hand there is he im- 
migrant in all his simplicity and hopc turniug 
toward a new country, and seeking better 
means of providing livelihood and home. And 
between le wo stands he imposing figure 
of Governmcnt not blindfoldcd but argus-eyed 
dispensing justice. It is an imposiug picture, 
one capable of moving an arlist's pencil--thc 
moral sense of Canada in action. How that 
moral sense has in lhis regard grown in the 
last decade may be further seen wheu the 
defects of the Act of 1910 are compared in 
Chapter XV with thc provisions of the Act 
of 1919, 



CtIAPTER VI. 

TIIE TIDE OF THE PAST DECADE. 

THE general features of thc great Immigra- 
tion ride of lhe de(.ade 1900-09 havc already 
been skeiched lu ('lmpter III, but i, the fol- 
lowing decmle, duriug which ihe new hnmigra- 
tion Law was in operaiion, th« /ide renmined 
in full flood uutil the Central Powers of 
Europe marie /heir fatal and tragic bhmder 
in Augus/, 1914, when the flow rapidly ceased. 
TABLE 15. 
IMMIçRaNT8 DI Fsc YAS 1910-18. 

1910... 
1911... 
1912... 
1913... 
1914... 
1915-.. 
1916... 
1917... 
1918... 
 mos. 
Lo Oct. 
M,1918 

Total. 

United United Other 
Kingdom States Countries Total 

59,790 
123,013 
138,121 
150,542 
142,622 
43,276 
8,664 
8.282 
3,178 

2,258 

679,746 

103,798 
121,451 
133,710 
139,009 
107,530 
59,779 
36,937 
61,389 
71,314 
25,499 

860,416 

45,206 
66,620 
82.406 
112,881 
134.726 
41.734 
2,936 
5,703 
4.582 
3,402 

500.196 

208,794 
311.084 
354,237 
402,432 
384,878 
144,79 
48,537 
75,374 
79,074 
31,159 

2,040,358 

114 



The Tide of the Past Dccadc 115 
In comparison with the number of immi- 
grants for the pcriod 1901-09, when 1,24,597 
entered, the numbcr for the next decade is 
cven greater, for, although nine and a half 
years, ending October 31, 1918, arc involved, 
there came into Cnada 2,040,358 people, an 
average of 214,775 per armure. This latter 
number is just about the saine as the l)opula- 
tion of Montreal in 1891 (219,616), and yet if 
a city of that size were to d'op into our vision 
every year the surprise produced thcreby 
would be intensified if we only knew accur- 
ately the composite character of its popula- 
tion. Prior to the summer of 1918, for a 
period of ten years, people were coming into 
our midst at the rate of about a thousand a 
day, and being somehow absorbed into the 
body politic. The demobilization of the Cana- 
dian soldiers returning from the Great War 
was to be carried on at the rate of a thousand 
per day, and the task was calculated to be 
finished in ten months. But the steady ride 
of Immigration bas gone on at that rate daily 
for a decade and more, and if the incorpora- 
tion of the returning heroes into industrial lire 
forms so acute a problena, what an enormou 
task must he that of assimilating a multitude 
Sl)eaking different langaages, knowing differ- 
ent customs and laws, and without the jubilant 
welcome accorded our heroes from the fields 
of Flauders and France. And if a village of 



116 A ,S't«dy lu Uaadiaa Immigratio 



Tle Tide of the l'ast Dceade 117 
1,000 inhabitants of different nationalities 
were to suddenly arise in out midst daily for 
a decade even the most obtuse would be 
awakened into aStOlfishment. 
That these peoples wcre from different 
nationalities nmy be seeli from tll«' fol-egoing 
table :* 
While lhe foregoing tabh * shows a steady 
increase up to 1914, there i. then a deeided 
decrease in immigration from ull natiomlities, 
and the curious fise in the figures for foreign- 
speaking peoples in the years 1913 and 1[}14 
may be diflieult to explain. The muubers 
111,579 and 133,979, wouhl bear some s«rutiny. 
There is included a rapid inerease in the ler- 
man immigr«nts, 5,525 fol" the fiscal year 1914 
ending March 31, more than twice the number 
for 1911 (2,530); a falling off in Austrian 
from 7,891 to 3,147, also in Galieian from 3,553 
to 1,698; a great increase in Hebrew (Russian) 
from ,188 to 9,622; a tremendous increase in 
Italian from 8,359 to 24,722; a great increase 
in Polih-Austrian from 1,065 to 4,31.}; and a 
still greater increase in Russian from 6,621 1o 
24,4S5; and Ruthenian from 2,869 to 1S,372; 
while the immigration from the United States 
actua]ly_ diminished from 121,451 to 107,530. 
From August, 1914, to March, 1915, ('anada, 
as an integral factor of the Allies' strength, 

* Compiled from Immigration Tables. 



118 A Rtmhj h Canadien Immigration 
was locked in a life-and-death struggle with 
the Cntral Powers of Europe, yet from April 
1, 1914, to Iarch 31, 1915, there entered Cana- 
diau ports Austrians 502, Bulgarians 4,048, 
Germes 2,470, Hehrew-Austrians 160, Hun- 
garians 218, Polish Austrians 1,272, Polish 
Germaus 7, Turks 17; a total of 8,86L And 
then the ti,h • suddenly «eased. But taking the 
Iirst Canadian division as 33,000 «fficers and 
men who sp«nt the winter of 1914-15 in Eng- 
land and in February proceeded to Franc 
for every fi»ur sohliers who weut out of our 
doors, one alien from enemy «.ountries came in. 
Up to *ovember 30, 1915, 107 ocers and 1,855 
men were killed. But for each Canadian 
killed we took in four of the above-mentioned 
aliens. Further, in the calendar years 1914-15 
Canadian naturalization was given to 8,938 
Austrians, 1,207 Galicians, 1,396 Germans, 
423 Greeks, 521 Hungarians, 580 Turks; a 
total of 13,065 naturalized Canadians of alien 
birth and practically all from enemy coun- 
tries, to offset the Canadian casualties, fo 
November 30, 1915, of 13,017 men of the ranks. 
While to many a Canadian hearth where loss 
and sorrow have entered this may carry with 
ita bitterness hard to quench, yet in the longer 
perspective of the years Canada will be seen 
to have held with chivalrous spirit to her con- 
tract for naturalization while thousands in the 



The Tide of the Post Decade 119 



120 A tudy la Caad-i«tt Immigt'ato 
Central Empires were chanting ymns of 
Hate. 
But of the more than two million people 
who entcred thc Dominion during the decade, 
how mmy fulfilled tbe desire of thc Govern- 
ment in taking 
ing the peHod ('auada spcnt on Immigration 
tlm sure of $11,52,1S9 in l,rom,)tiug and l'egu- 
lating lhc enlrance of (»ver tvo millions of 
people, an expense alq)roximat,dy of rive dol- 
lars per bead. While thc main purpose of the 
pr«)l)ngkqnda was to extend agriculture, the 
fo'egoing lai»le indi(-ates ibe numbers for 
various trades. 
A SUl'vey of that table makes it again clear 
that hot a large perccntage of thc total 
immigration enters as farmers or farm 
labourers, for since the total immigration, of 
thc classes specified for the period 1910-191S 
is 2,009,199, and the total uumber entering as 
f«rmers or farm labourel's is 6S2,175 the pro- 
portion is only 3i per cent. general labourers 
26 per cent., mechanics 15 per cent., clerks and 
lraders 5 per cent, miners 2 per cent. domes- 
tics 5 per cent., mtclassified 13 per cent. An- 
other feature of the table is that the farmers 
and farm labourers only about equal the gen- 
eral labourers and mechauics, while the farm- 
ers from the United States are greater in 
number than those from the whole of Empe; 



The Tide of tbc Past Dccadc 121 
general labourers from Europe almost double 
those from thc United States; mechanics from 
Europe are 50 per cent. more than from the 
United tates ; clerks and traders from Europe 
more than twice as many as from the United 
States; miners from Europe nearly twice as 
many as from the United States; domcstics 
from Europe more (ban rive [mes as many as 
from the United S(ates; and 20 per cent. more 
"unclassified" from Europe than from the 
United States. But while it does not follow 
that all those who entered as farmers or farm 
labourers continued in tha/ occupation, still 
it is likewise possible tha( some who entered 
as g'eneral labourers might takc up farm work, 
ei/her as helpcrs with farmcrs, or with market 
gardeners, though in all probability (he num- 
ber doing so was small. Yet it seems also 
clear that the lullk of the immigr;mts for this 
deeade, as in the one preceding, went to swell 
the populations of the cities and towns. If we 
turn to the homestead cntries i the Western 
provinces there may be confirmation of this, 
and also some indication of the growth of agri- 
culture from the influence of immigration. 
For this there are the folh)wing figures: 



122 A Study in Canadian Immigration 
TABLE 18. 
TOTAL ENTRIES MADE FOR OSTS D THOSE BY 
RISH AMECAN AND CONNENTALS. 

Year 

1910. 
1911. 
1912.. 
1913.. 
1914. 
1915.. 
1916. 
1917.. 
1918.. 
Totals 

41.568 
44,479 
39,151 
83,B 
31,9 
24,088 
17,030 
11,199 
8,319 
251,362 

5,459 
6,161 
6. 739 
4,452 
3, 894 
2.974 
2,374 
1,469 
888 
33,410 

1. 326 
1,291 
1,041 
836 
966 
800 
700 
496 
285 
7,741 

546 
492 
476 
307 
400 
363 
314 
194 
142 
3,234 

13,566 
13,038 
10,978 
8,895 
7,293 
4,334 
2,435 
1,734 
2,094 
64,367 

6,896 
8,793 
9,044 
7,757 
8,139 
6,881 
3,899 
2,132 
1,094 

54,635 

It wiII be seen from the foregoing that, with 
the exception of the continentals, there is al- 
most a steady decline in the number of entries 
for homesteads. In 1910, 59,790 people came 
from the United Kingdonl, but only 7,331 ruade 
entries for homesteads. In the saine year, 
37,177 entered Canada as farmers or farm 
labourers from Europe but the entries for 
fatras by European immigrants totalling only 
14,227 showed that a large number engaged as 
farm labourers, or entered other callings, and 
the rapid growth of cities with their congested 
areas, lack of housing facilities, and the areal 



Thc Tidc of the Past Decade 123 
expansion of towns wouhl seem to indieate 
that the wm'k of agl'icultm'e obtained only a 
relatively small pcrcentage of the newcomers. 
Take, for instance, the banner ycar of 1913, 
when 150,542 immigrants came fore the United 
Kingdom. The total numbcr of entries for 
homesteads foL. that year was 33,699, actually 
a decrease from that of 1910 by ncarly 20 per 
cent., whilc the immigration ff'oto the United 
Kingdom alone increased 150 per cent. On 
the other hand while the number of entries 
for homesteads deereased both absoh)tely and 
relatively among English, Scotch, and Irish, 
there is an increasê of homestead entries by 
continentals, even the war-year 1915 showing 
praetically thê saine nnmber as that of 1910. 
While it may bê perfectly true that nmny of 
the immigrants from thê United Kingdom do 
not takê up homesteads but either rent fatras 
or engage as farm labourers, if yet remains 
elearly problematic as to whêther the amount 
of money spent by thê Dominion Goverument 
to secure agrieulturalists fully attains the end 
desired. 
Itis only tobe expected that out of the 
immense number of immigrants arriving dur- 
ing thê years 1910-18, therê would be, under 
the new law of 1910, a eorrespondingly large 
number of rejections and deportations ; 
and when eompared with the number 
of undesirable immigrants of the period 



1 A »'tt«d in (;anadia, Immig»atio 
prior to the passing of tlm new Immigration 
Law it will be seen that the machinery 
was much more effective than the rcgulations 
of the carlier period. This is pa-ticularly 
striking in the case of rejections at the United 
Siates boundary, whcre in each of the years 
1912 and 191 over 22,000 immigrants were 
rejected, whi]e the total rejeetions at that 
bouudary for the nine years 1910-1S total the 
unusual figure of 151,751. An impartial study 
of the figures of incoming and rejccted immi- 
g'ants shows that in one maire" part of the 
prob]em, namely thc scleetion «)f immigrants, 
Canada was more keenly alive thnn ever, while 
on the oiher hand the mqwecedcntedly large 
number of rejections and dcportations shows 
that little or no selcction was marie at the 
place whence they came, or at points of 
embarkation. 
For the nine years 1910-1 inclusive theve 
weve ç«]eçfcd at ocean ports 8,686 intending 
immigrants, aml for the saine period there 
arrived 1,174,2S2, an average yearly rejection 
of 965 out of nn avevage yearly arrival of 
130,$76, or a rate of one per 135. For the 
year 1908, bcfore the new law was passed, 
the rate was one fo 262,  or, taking the 
total number of immigrnnts of that yeav as 
205,157, and the total number of rejections 
as 1,172, the rate is a-s low as one to 175. 

*cp. Chap. IV, p. 72. 



Thc Tidc o[ lhc Pa.çt De«adc ]25 
Inspêction of immigrants seeking admission 
to Canada from the United Slates was bêgun 
in April, 190S, anti the rejcctions (ff intending 
immigrants at the bound«ry numbered, f«w the 
fiscal year ended March 31, 1910, 899ç. There 

TAr, LE 19. 
REJECTIONS AND DEPORTAq'ONS FOR çttE PERIOD 1910-18 

Years 

1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 

Totals .. 

Rejections 

At Ocean At United 
States 
Ports Boundary 
1,515 8,)7 
2,210 15,404 
972 22,034 
756 17.439 
1,827 22.591 
998 20,545 
163 11,945 
174 17,988 
71 14.808 
8,686 151,751 

Deportatious 
lafter admis- 
sion 

734 
784 
959 
1,281 
1, 
1.734 
1,243 
605 
527 

9.701 

Totals 

11,246 
18.398 
23,965 
19.476 
26,252 
23,277 
13,351 
18,767 
15.406 

170.138 

were admittcd from the United Statcs during 
that year, 103,79S, so that the rate of rcjection 
was one in every lu'eh'e. What was happening 
belote 1908 can be more or less accuralely 
imagined. It has been said that the rejections 
af ocean ports during the pcriod 1910-1S num- 
bered 8,676, while the arrivals numbered 
î Compiled from /re_migration Tables. 



126 A Study in Camdian Immigration 
1,174,282 and the rejection per annum was at 
the rate of one to 135. At thc United States 
boundary for thc saine pcriod the were 151,.. 
751 rejections and 834,917 arrivais; the rate 
of rejection being one in six. If the number 
of rejections and deporta|ions be combiued, 
then, for the peri)d men|ioned, residence in 
Canada was refused to 170,138 pcrsons, and the 
total immigration fiw the saine rime was 2,009,- 
199, the rate of refusal bcing ,qpproximately one 
o twelve. This is very siguificaut for now 
the hand of Canada is turned against certain 
features of lhc ride from the United States for 
which feaÇurt,s there was no inspection before 
1908. In relation fo Europe, Canada's hand 
is less strict than against thc United States: 
it is one in 135 as compared wilh one in twelve. 
It will be seen from subsequent discussions 
that more strict regulations should have been 
exercised against the tide from Europe. From 
the statistics available it is difllcult to ascer- 
tain the nationalities of those rejected at the 
United States boundar:v, during the period 
mcntioned, but the causes for their rejection 
are worth noting: 



The Tide of thc Past Dot'ado 

127 

:: :: : :::: :-" :.,: : .......  ". " "1 " 
: : : : : : : : : : : : ::: : : :: : : :: :: : :[ : 
• • . : : : . : .... oe_ . • . . • . ..« *.. • 
, . : . . :.o . • . : . : . .i : 



128 A ,ludy iu («anudian lmmiyration 
The foregoing table is significant in many 
respects, but a few of the outstanding features 
may be noticed, namely the comparatively 
small number of persons definitely declared 
nmrally or physically defective, though the 
rejection of 777 because of prostitution makes 
one think of the period belote 1908; and the 
(.ompara/ively large number rejected for rem 
sons of indirect passage, lack of funds, and 
liable fo l)ecome a public charge. If the rejec- 
tions be arranged in numcrical order the 
major causes for refusing admi/tance 1)ecome 
a ] q)a ren t. 

TAI;LE 21. 

Tuberculosis ....... 2 
Blindness ...... 7 
Pim,ps ............. 11 
Trachoma ......... 19 
Diseased ........... 20 
Weak-minded ....... 57 
Previously reJected.. 80 
Drunkenness ....... 98 
Procurers ...... 115 
Bad char.acter ...... 140 
Criminality ......... 206 
Insanity ............ 235 
Lack of 1)assport ... 256 
Alien enemies ...... 297 
S.towaway .......... 414 

Causes hot given . 536 
Prostitution ........ 777 
Physically defective. 812 
Accompanying ...... 1,387 
Avoiding port . . 1,525 
Vagrancy .......... 3,117 
Unskilled labourers 
for B.C ........... 3,442 
Lia,ble to become pub- 
lic charge ........ 7,278 
Violation of Immigra- 
tion Act ......... 4,097 
Indirect passage ...58,210 
Lack of funds ..... 68,201 

The year 1914 seems to have been an extra- 
ordinary year in nmny ways. According to 
Table 20 the number of criminals rejected at 
the boundary reached a maximum of forty- 
three, while persons seeking admission by in- 



Tb.c Tidc of tbc Past Dccadc 129 
direct passage numbered 11,071, while those 
rejected because of insufficient fuuds totalled 
9,379, a little less than the number for 1913. 
Those without passport also made a maximum 
of ninety-seven, and those likely to become a 
public charge were 9î5, the greatest since 1910. 
The physically defective and prostitutes show 
a decline, but the stowaways reach a maximum 
of 1S3. Vagrants and violators of the Immi- 
gration Act show a decline, bui weak-mimled 
show a maximum of thirty-five, and the absence 
of figures for this type in other years indicates 
the need of a more rigid examination along 
this line, for it looks puzzling to observe in 
that year, 1914, thirty-five rejections for weak- 
mindedness, and yet 975 were likely to be- 
corne public charges, while 9,379 were "broke." 
Since ninety-four were rejected as physically 
defective, there may be good ground for the 
suspicion that many of the 975 and of the 9,379 
were mentally defective. Yet the rejection of 
such a large number of pcrsons at the inter- 
national boundary, shows that on the whole 
the law of 1910 was being viorously followed. 
to the safety and benefit of the country. The 
rejections at ocean ports may, for ail prac- 
tical purposes, be regarded as Europeans, and 
these may be divided into the following nation- 
alities, including a few from the United States, 
whîch may have been largely foreign: 



130 A Study in, Ca»adian Immigration 
TABLE oo 

1910.. 141 16 
1911.. 184 17 
1912.. 179 15 
1913.. 118 25 
1914.. 142 12 
1915.. 126 14 
1916.. 25 
1917 ...... 
1918 .... 
TotM. 

25 1 
26 6 
28 5 
17 1 
16 1 
12 0 

183 13 
23, 20 
227 2 
161 14 
171 12 
16 29 
42 28 
28 15 
5 11 
1,219 144 

1.31 
1,957 
74 
581 
1,644 
9 
131 
5[ 

7, 

1,515 
2,210 
972 
756 
1,827 
998 
163 
174 
71 

8,686 

By foreign may here be meant non-English- 
speaking peoples, and the number of rejec- 
tions in comparison with the rejections from 
Britain is very high. Expressed in ratio of 
rejections to admissions, there were for the 
period 1910-14 the following: 

TABLE 23. 

Countries 
English .... 764 
Irish ....... 95 
8cotch ........ 112 
Welsh ........ 14 
Foreign ....... 6,244 
United States 61 

Rejections 

Admissions 

430,434 
8.435 
137,481 
7,78 
431,786 
774 

Ratio 

1 in 56 
1 in 404 
linl,227 
1 in 58 
1 in 69 
1 in 12 



The Tide o Ihc Pst Decade 131 
If these figures should ever fall under the 
eye of a Scotchman, he shouhl expericnce a 
great sense of satisfaction at the ratio of one 
in 1,227, provided he assumes that the officiais 
at the port of entry were hot Scotch and were 
hot favourably disposed to that type of immi- 
grant. If the quality of the immigrant can be 
gauged at all by the ratio of rejections to 
admissions the Scot«h stand for the highest 
commendation, more than twice the advantage 
of the English and Welsh and more than three 
rimes the Irish, while the foreigner and the 
United States citizen landing at ocean ports 
are insignificant in comparison. Would any- 
thing like the saine showing appear from the 
question of deporta.tiÇis? Let the table on 
the following page answer. 
It is a marrer of some concern that, while 
the rejections at ports of entry do hot stand 
very high in relation to the admissions, the 
number of dcportations is considerable, and 
reverses the case of the foreigner as given iu 
the preceding tables on page 73. At ports of 
entry the rejections of Britishers are compara- 
tively low, but the subsequent deportations 
are relatively high, while the rejections of the 
foreigner at the ports of entry are high, aud 
the subsequent deportations low. The cause 
of this seems hard to find. Why is it that so 
many British are deported, and why is the rate 
of deportation so outstandingly high? Do 



The Tidc of tbc Pa.t Dc«adc 133 
these people who pass the examhmtion at ports 
of entry rail to gain a footing and obtain inde- 
pendence, or fail to maintain good conduct in 
the immediately succeeding period of three 
years, while the foreigner is of sturdier growth ? 
Or is it that transferred from the conditions 
in the ohl land te» those of the new the defeç- 
rives sooner or later are manifest? Or, again, 
is it that the means for discovering the defec- 
rives is easier in tire case of the Britisher than 
in that of the foreigner? Or, finally, is it that 
the examinations at the port of entry are hot 
sufficintly thoroughgoing to meet the needs 
of the case and that a new system or the 
present one greatly enlarged is immediatelv 
required? 
In order finally to get a general view of the 
nmin features of the wonderful tide of immi- 
gration flowing to Canadian shores for the 
eighteen years since July 1, 1900, the following 
table is suggestive. The rejections and depor- 
rations, however, date only from the beginning 
of the fiscal year 1902. 
The costs nmntioned consisted only in the 
amounts spent in the respective countries for 
the purposes of promoting immigration and 
totalled over ten millions. But in addition 
there were spent in Canada in regulating 
immigration during the saine period, .S,602-, 
475, making a grand total of $18,930,404 pent 
*These questions are diseussed in Chap. XV. 



134 A ,S'tady it Ca»tadia»t Imntigration 



Tire Tide of tbc Pa.t Dccade 135 
in obtaining 3,253,796 immigrants, a cost per 
capita of $5.81. 
If now we consider the large uumber of 
rejected and deported persons at the average 
cost of $3.17 per head for promoting immigra- 
tion then these people cost the country over 
hall a million dollars. If they had been al- 
lowed to live here they might have cost a great 
deal more. But it should not be forgotten 
that the machinery of Immigration was pre- 
venting every year an average of 10,000 people 
per annum from becoming domiciled in the 
Dominion. That meant an examination on the 
average of about 3,500 persons per week, year 
after year, and arranging for the return pet' 
week of about 200 to the countries whence they 
came; countries which apparently evinced no 
ardent desire to retain these " undesirable 
citizens." These facts in themselves are quite 
suflîcient to emphasizê, not the restriction of 
Immigration, but the urgent nêed of more 
strict regulation, and the careful examination 
from evêry viewpoint of thosê who would bê- 
corne for wêal or woê future citizens of Cana- 
dian life. For hem in this land of majestic 
proportions, illimitable rêsources, and splen- 
did future thê ends of thê earth were coming 
togethêr. If thêre is any spêcific virtue in a 
compositê rather than a homogeneous popu- 
lation, then Canada bas bêen rapidly coming to 
a time when evêry advantage could be takên of 



136 A ,ç[ud!! i+ Ca.nadion l+n»i.qration 
such vil'tue. Just how far such vil'tue, or vit- 
tues, «onltected with the physical, mor«I and in- 
tel]ectua] fil»re of different lmtion«flities, has 
been uli]ized for the prodncti«n of a vigorous 
Canadian type, o1" types, is a dicult question 
lode«.ide, altd in «]] likelihood the tilue h«s hot 
been suoE«ieutly lon fll" 'esults to be seen in 
 pt'«pe" perspe«live. Fo" in this case vices 
had to ]e t«ken wilb the vi'les, and in rimes 
«f st'e a«l diculy, as lu « period of wa', 
I»«111 w«uhl nmke thelnselves nmnifest, and the 
D«,nlinion has yet to w(n+k «,ut lhe question 
whether o" hot a composite population can 
becolne Cana(lian. 



CHAPTER VII. 

CAN A COMPO,'ITE POPULATION BECOME 
CANADIAN ? 

VIIEN one learns with seine surprise frein 
the census of the United Ntates in 1910 that of 
the total 1)opulation the following were the 
proportions: 

Native parentage, w, hite .... 50,240,000 or 54% 
Foreign parentage, white... 12,9,50,000 )r 14% 
Foreign-ïorn, white ........ 13,400,000 or 
Mixed parentage ........... 6,000,000, or 5% 
Negro .................... 9.820,000 or 11% 

there arises a double question : first, as te how 
this composite population can be wehh,d 
seine sort of definite unity named Americau, 
and, second, if su('h a problem also is present 
in Canada. A newspaper report from Winni- 
peg indicates seine agitation against the entry 
of 7,000 Hutterites frein Minnesota iuto Mani- 
toba. Another report tells of twelve per cent. 
of the population of Saskatchewan being Ger- 
man and that fifty per cent. of them cannot 
speak English. Another tells of the three 
prairie provinces in 1916 having a population 
137 



138 A Study in Caadian Ittnigratio* 
of 1,698,220, and that of these the Canadian- 
born constituted 54.6 per cent, the British- 
born 16.6 per cent., those born in British pos- 
sessions two per cent., whilc 16.4 per cent.were 
Eur.opean, four per cent. Asiatic and 11.7 per 
ceut. American. * But one does hot go far with- 
out seeing that though thc population of Can- 
ada is very much smaller thau that of the 
United States the complexity of the popula- 
tion presents the saine type of problen. 
According to a special repor.t of the census 
and statis|ics office tu 1915 the foreign-bo,'n 
population of Canada in 1911 was given as 
752,732 or 10.4 per ceut. of the total population 
of ,-o 
,.06,643, and this is worthy of a more 
minute analysis. If we go back to the begin- 
ning of the present century the total popula- 
tion of Canada, as given by the census of 1901. 
was 5,371,315. Of that number, 86.98 per cent., 
or. 4,671,,15, wer.e stated to be Canadian born. 
In 1911, on the other hand, the total popula- 
tiou was given as 7,206,643, and of that number 
only 77.98 per cent., or 5,619,682 were Canadian 
born. Hence in one decade the ride of immigra- 
tion had reduced the percentage of Canadian- 
born from 86.98 per cent. to77.98 per cent. Fur- 
ther, in 1901 the foreign-born population of 
278,788 constituted but 5.19 per cent., but in 
1911 the 773,247 for'eign-born constituted 10.45 
• Census of Prairie Provinces, 1916. Table 17. 



Composite Populations, Caadia? 139 



140 A 8t«d!! i r'anadia Immgrotio». 
per cent. of the totl. During the deeade, 
then, lhe foreign-born populatiou had in- 
¢.teased from 278,88 to 773,247 o, 177.4 per 
cent., while tbe total population had inerêased 
in the saine period from 5,371,315 to 7,206,64, 
--an inerease of 34.17 per cent. The foregoiug 
ablê shows the changes iii populaHon sinee 
1871, and the features arc siriking. Taking 
he .'ears 1,71 and 1911 for purposes of com- 
p;'ison, lhe numbe" of .Candian-born popula- 
tion about doubled ; those ri'oin lh'itish Islands 
a(.tually show a decreasc up to 1901, aud in 
1911 only show an increase of about a half 
nmce thau the numbcr in 1871; those from 
British possessions increased three rimes, so 
that the tot«d Iritish born inc'eased from 
3,388,835 to 6,433,396 --that is barely doubled. 
But those from Europe increased a litle over 
fourteen rimes and those .from the United 
Stores increased about fonr and one-half times. 
It becomes quite evident that during the 
last four dccades the rapid increase in the 
population is due more to the influx froln 
Eucope and the United Stores thon from any 
other source. And the total change from the 
population of 1871 to that of 1911 is influ- 
enced largely h.v people coming f'om the ends 
of the earth, composed of many rates, speak- 
ing varieties of langmges and dialects, nd 
practising different customs, as evidenced by 
the following table: 



Compositc Popukttion. ¢'anndi.an? 
TABLE 27. 
ORIGII.q OF rrlIE PFX)PLE OF CANADA IN 1911. 

141 

0rigins By Birthplace 

English ..... 
Irish ........ 
Scotch ..... 
Welsh ...... 
0ther ...... 
British ..... 
French ..... 
German 
Aus'triau . 
Bnkowinian.. 
Galician ..... 
Hungaria. 
Ruthenian. 
Anstro- 
Hungariau. 
Belgian 
Bu]garian and 
Roumanian 
Chinese 
Dutch ...... 
Finnish. 
Grecian 
Hindu 
Indian. 
Italian .. 
Japanesc .... 
Jewish ...... 
Negro... 
Polish ...... 
Russian ..... 
Scandina an 
Swiss ....... 
Turl«ish .... 
Various .... 
Unspeciîied. 

* From Canada Year ]3ook, 1913, pp. 69 and 73. 



142 A Study in Canadian Immigration 
The distribution of these peoples in the 
various provinces and the percentages of immi- 
grants therein for 1911 are shown in the table 
opposite." 
A significant feature of the foregoing table 
is that while generally in lhe Eastern Prov- 
inces the Brilish immigrant a.pproximately 
keep pace wilh te foreigu-born, and in Onta- 
rio are nearly tbree rmes as great, yet in the 
"Vestern Provinces thc proportion of foreign- 
born immigrants is greater than British-born, 
1)eing double, -ith tbe exception of Manitoba. 
Thc task of assimilation and Canadianization 
is manifestly all tbe harder. It h,s been shown 
by the census of 1911 that of the 752732 for- 
eign-born 62.6 per cent. were males and 37.4 
per cent. were females; that of that total 
foreign-born population 62.2 per cent. were 
resident in the "Vesiern Provinces of Mani- 
toba, S,skatchewan, Albcrta, and British Col- 
umbia; that of that large number of people 
only 344,557, or 45.77 per cent. had become 
naturalized Canadians prior fo the taking 
of the census. Then, 408,175 or 54.23 per 
cent. were aliens. In 1911 there were 1,987512 
males of twenty-one years and over who were 
qualified fo vote. Of these 1,442,618 were 
Canadian-born, and only 131,289 foreign-born. 
But there were 346523 foreign-born males of 
twenty-one years and over. Then there were 
* Compled from Canada Year Book, 1913, p. 79. 



Composite Population. (atta,dia.? 143 



1 A qtudy in (',anadian Immigration 
215,234 aliens of voting age without the fran- 
chise and the attendant privileges and re- 
sponsibilities of Citizenship. To corne to 
specific cases, there were 23,86 Austrians 
naIuralized, of whom 22,000 were in the 
Western Provinces, but thel'e were 33,994 hot 
naturalized. There were 12,001 Germans 
naturalized, of whmn ,611 were in the Western 
Provinces, but 8,630 were hot naturalized. 
'anadians shouhl hear in ndnd tiret the 
naluralized foreign-born who in 1911 were 
qualified o vote consti[uted 6.62 per cent. of 
lhe lotal voting popnlation, but there were 
thousands of such f«)l*eign-born who did hot 
possess that privilege. Why do sa many reject 
r negle«t çanadian 'itizenship? Of course, 
the influence of the " foreign vote" in the 
Estern Provinces is hot very serious, even 
in cases of differences of opinion regarding 
" parties " and laws, but in the Western Prov- 
inces the nmtter would be otherwise. Of the 
voting strength of the various provinces the 
naturalized foreign-born constitute the follow- 
ing percentages: 'ova Scotia 1.13, 
Brunswiek 1.35, Quebec 2.66, Ontario 2.90, 
Mauitoba 17.20, Saskalchewan 23.01, AI- 
berta 24.92, British çolumbia 9.4. 
In the discussion of the lide of Immigration 
during the last decade of last century and the 
first of the present it was shown that the 
najor part of the ride went to swell the 



Com.positv Populatiov. Canadian? 145 

population of the cities and towns, rather 
than to engage in agricultural pursuits. This 
is further borne out by the proportion of 
foreign-born in the principal cities of which 
the following sixteen are cited: 

TABLE 29. 
PROPORTION OF OREGN-BORN IN PRINCIPAL CITIES.  

City 

Lol]doll 
[:)ttawa ........... 
Brantford ........ 
Toronto .......... 
Montreal ......... 
Hamilton ......... 
Windsor .......... 
$idney ........... 
Berlin ............ 
Calgary .......... 
Victoria .......... 
Edmonton ......... 
Reginu ........... 
Winnipeg ......... 
Vancouver ........ 
Fort William ..... 

Population 

46,300 
87,062 
23,132 
376.538 
470,480 
81,969 
17,829 
17,723 
15,196 
43,704 
31,660 
24,900 
30.213 
136,035 
100,401 
16,499 

Foreign-bor 

2,316 
5,243 
2,020 
33,131 
43,188 
7,693 
2,022 
2,124 
2,207 
9,030 
6,632 
5,598 
6,830 
32,959 
27,713 
4,746 

Percentage 

5.0 
6.0 
8.7 
8.8 
9.2 
9.4 
11.3 
12.0 
14.5 
20.6 
20.9 
22.5 
22.6 
24.2 
27.6 
28.7 

While the .Canadianization of the foreign- 
born is diflàcult enough in the cities of the 
East, it is much more acute both in urban aud 
rural sections of the West. In urban centres. 
as the foregoing table shows, the proportion of 
foreign-born inhabitants is very much greater, 
* From Canada Year Book, 1915, p. 85. 



146 A Study in Canadian Immigration 
and in rural sections there is a pronounced 
tendency to settlement by colonies. While it 
is difficult to devise ways and means by which 
this may be avoidcd, or its results mitigated, 
the f«ct that therc are coh)nies of IIutterites, 
Mennonites, Doukobors, Ruthcnians Scan- 
dinavians, Gcrumns, Mormons, and others, 
scattered thr«,ughot the 1Vestern Provinces 
renders the work of bringing these people into 
the activitics of public-s.pirited citizens well- 
nigh iml)ossihle. Thèy are disposed fo retain 
their mother t«,ngue, nmiutaiu old customs 
h;rbom" «retient prejudiccs and nmke little 
e«hcational progress. (hwe |he cmmunit.y is 
establishcd if is impossil,le to break it up and 
mwise to attempt it, and one has to wait for 
the changes of time to eradicate the defects, 
some of which nmy nevcr disappear. In the 
mixed comnmnity the great opportunity is not 
for thc adults--for them no doubt the situa- 
tion is less pleasant--but for the children, and 
therefore the coming generation. They lire in 
the saine or neighbouring sections, or even side 
by side. They attend the saine school, are 
l)resent af the saine gatherings, buy at the 
saine stores, use the saine lanmge, English, 
and the common means of communication and 
common nceds soon dcve]op community of in- 
terests. Segregation, on the other hand, 
deprives the children of all these common 
interests. There is little contact, with aspiring 



Composite Population, Catadian? 147 
Canadians and Canadian influelces. Their 
native language, religious rituals, church func- 
tions and newspapers to preserve old ideas 
and associations, all contribute to the aloof- 
ness of the community from the comluon na- 
tional life in which they ought fo share. And 
these colonies are hot few nor slnall. Three 
of them bave populati,»us exceeding 60,000 per- 
sons, large nlHlbers «»f wholn eaunot speak 
English al «fil and few speak il with any 
fluency. So that while these little nations 
within a nation l)ersist the pl.ocess of assimila- 
tion is cither hot going on or is woeïully re- 
tarded. While the bulk of Canadian citizens 
have been waiting for the assimilation to pro- 
ceed, the foreigner has been thinking of other 
things, and little Italy, littlc Austria, little 
Germauy, liltle Ruthenia hve stood in the 
way of a Canadian people with a comnlon lan- 
guage and a common law. Then, when the 
blast of war fcll on us, Orders-in-Council lnnl- 
tiplied to prevent sedition and the holding of 
meetings in enemy languages, though outsidc 
urban centres there was every difticulty in the 
way of their enforcement. Prohibiting meas- 
ures were also taken against the publication 
of newspapers and periodicals in enemy ln- 
guages, and straightway the ban fcll on publi- 
cations in German, Austrian, Hungarian, 
Bulgarian, Turkish, Roumanian, Russian. 
Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Finnish, Esthonian, 



148 A tudy i Canadian Immigratio* 
Syrian, Coatian and Livonian. What had 
been going on all tbe time, somewhat obscured 
from popular vision, was then brought to 
light--namely associations and groups of peo- 
ple liviug in out midst but without Canadian 
hopes and aspirations, and corresl)onding de- 
votion. Th, werc with u but n.o_t__o.f us. 
IIence the prohibition of mectings by unlawful 
associations such as The Industrial Vol'kers 
of the Vorld, The Russian Social Democratic 
Party, The RUssian Revolufionary Group, The 
Russian Social Revolutionists, The Russian 
Workers'Union, The Ukrainian Revolutionary 
Group, The Ukrainian Social Democratic 
Party, The Finnish Social Democratic Party, 
The Social Labour Party, The Group of Social 
Democrats of Bolsheviki, The Group of Social 
Democrats of Anarchists, The Revolutionary 
Socialists Party of North America, The Work- 
ers International Industrial Union, The Chi- 
nese Nationalist League, The Chinese Labour 
Association, and others. The Political Defeuce 
League formed in Tm'onto in October, 191S, 
had among its varied tasks the defence of per- 
sons who were arrested charged with political 
crimes. In that month twenty-four were ar- 
rested, but all were released except one Rus- 
sian who died of influenza in the Don jail. 
Two other Russians were subsequently ar- 
rested. One was sentenced to three years' 
imprisonment with an additional two years 



Co,mposite Population, Canadian? 149 
for having seditious literature in his posses- 
sion. The other was sentenced te two years. 
An«thcr person was sentenced te three years 
with an additional fine of $500, failure te 
pay which wouhl add six months te his sen- 
tence. Twenty-two political charges were laid 
in one town, four of them resulting in convic- 
tions. In an«)ther town two Russians were 
arrested. In still another town seven Finland- 
ets vere given sentem-es of frein one te rive 
years, the periods of imprisonment totalling 
twenty-one yea's, and the fines aggregating 
$17,000. In another town eleven Finlanders 
were arrested. For the defence of these pris- 
oners the Political Defence League collected 
$1,470.69 for legal expenses and fines, while 
the Russian colony in Toronto was quite active 
in collecting money for the expenses connected 
with the trials and fines of compatriots. 
Difficulties of this sort constituted, no doubt, 
part of the pvice te be paid for obtaining a 
rapid increase of the population--a more rapid 
increase than that with which the powers for 
assimilation were ahle te cope; at any rate, 
one with which they evidently did net ade- 
quately cope. An article written by Agnes C. 
Laut and published in Toronto in July, 1918, 
stated that " When the I.W.W. activities first 
broke out in Canada on the Western Railways 
under construction in the Fraser River Valley 
a few .vears ago, one of the painful discoveries 



150 A Study in ('anadian Immigratio 
ruade was that native-born American and 
Canadian labour was no longer available for 
the rough manual work. It did hot matter 
what wages were. Serbians and Bulgarians 
doing piece work on Fraser River tunnels 
were earning from ten dollars to fifteen 
dollars a day; and the Canadian pub- 
lic paid for the extortionate overhead on 
two railway systems that had to be taken 
over by the Government. When the 
_tates engaged on 
shipyards in the United S 
emergency fleet-work suddenly increased from 
seven to 150 they were literally paralyzed dur- 
ing the winter of 1917-18 by the fact that less 
than fifteen per cent. of their workers were 
American citizens. And teu cents an hour more 
from another industry would rob the yards of 
their workmen on less ihan twenty-four hours' 
notice. Higher wages and shorter hours from 
another source--and elnergency shipbuilding 
suffered. Ful'ther, the Government had guar- 
anteed builders ten per cent. profit over all 
costs. What did it matter how much the Gov- 
ernment was 'salted' for increasing wages? 
Of a force of 3,000 engaged in one shipyard 
300 might turn up in the morning, or only 
three. Men drawing cheques of 
seventy-five "dollars to $100 a week were 
refnsing to go on with their labour contracts, 
while soldiers at thirty dollars a month were 
jeopardizing their lives for democracy. One 



Compoite Population. Canadian? 151 
of the roots of the difliculty was that less 
than flfteen per cent. of the workers were 
native-born. But surcly nany thousands of the 
others had been naturalized! They had their 
papers all right . . but they knew nothing 
of the obligations of citizenship." Thus in an 
hour of great need the United States learned 
that natnralization is not Americanization. 
And Canada has been learning the saine lesson. 
This question of citizenship is as intricate and 
complicated as itis important. If the aspirants 
fo" franchise were of the attitude of Stephen 
Chalmers, a Scotchman, who lived in the 
United States for several years, but who would 
not ask for American citizenship until he 
nnderstood American ideals well enough tobe 
a really worthy citizen of the country, the mat- 
ter would be exceedingly simple. In a letter 
to the editor of the Adventurc magazine in 
1918 Chalmers urged that illiterate citizens 
without a deep realization of what they are 
doing should not get first papers, and that the 
law be changed so that a period of at least 
two years elapse before any concession be 
granted, and then only under the strictest 
examination as to integrity, intelligence, un- 
derstanding of citizenship, and record in the 
interval. Thus citizenship should be regarded 
as a prize to be won and worth winning. 
" Every vote of a bad citizen is destructive of 



152 A Study in Canadian Immigration 
the vote of a good êitizen, and surely the Amer- 
iêan-born is entitled to have his franchise 
proteeted against the influeneed vote of the 
illit.er/e." This brings up the dilfieult ques- 
tion as to the basis on which eitizenship may 
be grautcd. Several factors may be eonsidered 
beside the mere fact of being twcnty years of 
age and having two or three years' residence 
in the eonnlry, for ins{mce morals, intelli- 
gence, property and sex. And illiteracy may 
be a ground foi. denying the right of eitizen- 
ship. "Some of the United tates will deny 
the fr,qnehise to those of foreigu birth who, 
• qfter a period of residenee apply foi' eitizen- 
ship, «md yet e,nuot read the constitution nor 
write the English language. To illiter,qey the 
outhern tates have added vagraney, poll- 
t,qx and property el,quses even more exêlusive 
than reading and writiug. '' 
But there are obvions disadvantages iii diver- 
sity of conditions among different states, and 
with a view to bringing ail the courts under 
a uniform practice the United States Con- 
gress in 1906 enacted a law giving to the 
Burean of hnmigrtion control over naturl- 
ization. This law also lays down some of the 
conditions for nnturnlization. The applicant 
must not be an anrchist, nora polygamist, 
nor a believer in snch doctrines; he must be 

 Commons, Rates and Immigrants, p. 193. 



Composite Population, Cenadia.n? 153 
able to speak the English language, and must 
intend to reside permanently in the United 
States. And rive years are required for com- 
plete natm'alization papers to be obtained. 
" Yet forty per ceut. of those immigrants who 
bave been from six to nine years in the United 
States bave not declared their intention nor 
taken out papers. This wouhl be a serious 
matter if it were hot for thc eflica«y of time, 
for of those who have been in the United States 
for twenty years, only seven per cent. retain 
their allegiance to foreign governments. ''» 
Under the old laturalization Act, Canada 
required a residence of three years as essential 
for qualification for citizenship. That act was 
repealed on January 1, 1919, and the New Law 
which was in fo-ce January 1, 1915, requires 
a five-year 1)e'iod (»f residence. But under 
this new law such citizenship is valid hot only 
in Canada but also in the whole of the British 
Empire, so that a man who naturalized in 
Canada wouhl hot require to take out new 
papers of naturalizatiou in Australia or Great 
Britain should he remove thither. But the 
conditions on which that naturalization, so 
great in its power, is granted constitutes a 

* Commons, Races and Immigrants, p. 191. 
 The old Act was retine4 so that those who had 
applied before 1915 for naturalization could fulfil tho 
conditions of the three-year period. 



154 A Study i Canadi« Immigration 
great problem. Formerly three years of resi- 
dence were suflïcient to grant the franchise 
upon application. No other qualifications 
were demanded, not even ability to speak the 
English ]angmge, nor were any enquiries 
ruade about lhe applicant's views regarding 
the Canadian type of government. Iut a man 
had tobe a citizcn before he could gct a patent 
for his homestead and the Registry Offices 
contain tlmlsands of "crosses" by the names 
of those who came into the possession of quar- 
ter sections and the "rights" of citizenship. 
At last, thanks in some measure to the dis- 
closures of the war, and af ter more than fifty 
years of immigration, something more is re- 
quired. ot only rive years' residence but 
also an " adequate" knowledge of English or 
French and a good moral character are essen- 
tial for a man to become a British citizen. 
Such was the import of the Order-in-Council 
in September, 1917. But more stringent con- 
ditions for qualification require also more 
carefnl records, both by those who confer and 
those who receivc; for when situations arose 
which ruade that Order-in-Council neceary, 
and citizens enfranchised under the O]d Law 
had also to be naturalized under the new it 
wns found that many persons of alien "enemy" 
origin who came to Canada many years ago, 
during infancy, and grew up believing them- 
selves to be British subjccts found, when 



Composite Population, Canodian? 155 

scrutiny of nationality was being exercised, 
that it was impossible to show that they had 
become British subjects, although hey had 
voted and held municipal positions for many 
years. Many others believed that they became 
British subjects through the naturalization of 
their parents, but they were hot able to prove 
it, because the records were "hot available. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

IMMIGRATION GROUPS--OR]EXTAL. 

(}NE «»f lhe first difficulties in considering 
the extent and influence of immigration into 
Canada from Asia is the.lack of adequate sta- 
tistics. The census of 190 reported in the 
Dominion 4,674 persons who were born in 
Japan, and 1,515 of these wcrc in the province 
of P«'itish Columl)ia. Of Chinese there were 
16,792 and the most of /hem were also in 
British Cohlml)ia. Since the total population 
of that province at that rime was 178,657, the 
approximately twelve per cent. proportion of 
Asiatics was significant and also so unsatisfac- 
tory that in 1900 P, ritish Columl)ia passed an 
Immigration Act which practically excluded 
all Asiatics. In the following year, 1901, the 
Act was disallowed by Earl Minto, then Gov- 
ernor-G.eneral of Canada. Vi'ith praiseworthy 
persistence the province passed a similar Act 
in 1902, 1903, 190 and finally in 1905, but all 
were disa]lowed. The Aets in succession re- 
jected all illiteratcs, for the provisions of 1902 
and 1903 required that an immigrant entering 
Canada should be able to read, and those of 
156 



Immigratio.n Groups--Oriental 157 
1904 and 1905 required that the immigrant 
should also be ahle to write af dictation "tu 
the characters of some language of Europe a 
passage of fifty words in length in an Euro- 
pean language." Such requirements showed 
at least something of the attitude of British 
Columbia, and (he agitation carried on during 
the above-mentioned years was uo doubt the 
strongest factor in inducing the Dominion 
Government to extensively increase the re- 
strictions against Orieutal hnmigration. That 
(hese restrictions were necessary and where 
desired effectual, but yet did hot succeed in 
entirely prohibiting the influx of Asiatics may 
be seen from the fact that the extremely rapid 
increase of Hindus during the last decade sud- 
denly dropped upon the passage of restrictive 
ledslation. This may bc seeu from the table 
on the following page of Asiatic Immigration 
from 190 to 1918 inclusive. 
It is quite clear from these figures that the 
rapidly-devcloping Hindu immigration re- 
ceived such a sudden check in 1909 as to prac- 
tically e]iminate that source, while Japanese 
were reduced to about oue-fourth the number 
of the preceding year, only to be again dimin- 
ished in 1910 since when the stream has been 
only slowly regathering headway, while the 
Chinese did hot surfer any diminution but 
showed steady increase until the period of the 
Great War. The significance of these figures 



158 A Study .itt Canadian Im,»igratiot*. 



is so great that the groups deserve tobe studied 
in detail. 

HINDU GROUP: Lookiug over the foregoing 
laide olte ueed hot express mm'h surprise at 
the insistent attitude of British ('oluml)ia 
when the wave froln Iudia increased tu three 
years from forty-five to 2,623, whilc the whole 
population of the province lmd uot yet reaehed 
350,000. To final ont whal. was attlle 
of such an influx of "undesired " immigrants 
a Royal ('ommission was appointed to eaquire 
into the methods by which sueh large uum- 
bers of Himlu lahonrers had hevu induced to 
emigrate to auada. A«co:ding to the evi- 
deuce furnished by llindus themselves who 
testified before the Commission the main rea- 
sons were as folh)ws: (et) The activity of 
certain steamship compauies and agents 
desired to sell transportation and profit by the 
commissions. (b) The distributiou through- 
out some of the rural districts of Iudia of 
literature concerning Cauada and the oppor- 
tmfities of making fortunes in the Province of 
British Clumbia. (c) The representations 
a few individuals tu the Pr«vince of British 
Columlfia, among the number a Brahman 
named Davichand, and certain of his relatives, 
who induced a uumber of the natives of India 
to corne to Canada under actual or verbal 
agreements to work for hire, the purpose being 
11 



160 .I. ,S'tud d i (',nadi«n lmmigrotion 
t.hat, of ;ssisiing one o" two industrial con- 
cerns 1o olflMn a. c]ass of unskilled lalmm" 
a pri«e b.iow 111, i'lll'l'Pll[ l'il[P, and af ihe saine 
rime of expioiiing thei" f.llow-snbjwts to their 
OWI «ldValli«lg *. Nmne of the lIindus may bave 
emigrated to 'mmda «,f ih«ir own accord or 
bP«.ilSt, of ht, advi«e or dt, sire of relaiives who 
had cmne 1o lhis country, lmt had ihe influ- 
era.es al,.ve«n«.nli,m,d lll[ i,eeu exerted it is 
c.-taiu that llwiv mnni»e's would n,t havc 
h''n alq*'e«iabh'. (111 the oiher hund there 
may be some g'«mnd fo" thé, view that lndian 
lroops who had retm'ned hmne from 
Vielm-ia's .Iuhilee by way of {'anad« had bcen 
eye-wilnesses ,f 'mmda's oplmrtunities and 
ment hml 1,«gm. Fm'thev, t'anada was one of 
the British ('oionics, and migration from one 
i,ossessi-n fo anothc" seemed to be perfeetly 
in ovde' if British eiiizenship were sueiently 
valid. It is needless fo say tllat t.his, how- 
«,v,r impm.ialisti-, was not the attitude of 
nda and especiall 3- of Briiish ('olumbia whose 
decided ol,inim was tlnt the Hindus wev not 
wanted, thongh they were Ih'itish subjeets. 
The Ilon. W. L. Ia«Kenzie King, who had 
l,een the çommissione. ehosen to investigate 
and report upon Oriental Immigration. was 
sent to England in 1908 to eonfer with the 
British anthm'ities regarding this diffieult 
situation. It was not, however, entirely new 



Immi¢jration Groups--Ori«ntul 16[ 
fo the Brilish statesmen who had frequently 
fo deal with the question of migralion of peo- 
pies of different rates be/ween the wu'ious 
parts of the Empire. British f'ohnnhia's case 
was only a l'eeent one, and the ardent desire of 
Canada fo nmke/he grea Dominion as far as 
possihle a "white man's cmmtry" was admit- 
ted as impel'a/ive »n Val.ious groumls. Tbe 
agreement arl'ived at, to quote frolU Mr. Kin's 
report, was tha/ the native of Imlia was hot 
regarded as "a person sui/cal fo this country: 
that aceustolned aa luany of /hem are to the 
conditions of a tropical clilnate, and possess- 
ing manners and cus/oms so unlike those of 
onr own people, their ilmbili/y fo readily adapt 
themselvcs fo surroumlings en/irc]y different 
could not do othcr /ban en/ail an alnount of 
privation and su'ering wbich rcnder a dis- 
eontinuance of such ilnmig'l.ation most desir- 
able in the interests of /he Indians them- 
selves." While ail this was effective on /he 
grounds of sentiment and hcucw»lent cmsid- 
eration of /he Hindus, some/hing more was 
= 
required for /heirexc]usion, and the 
was ready at hand. 
First, steamship companies who were in any 
way responsible for the recruiting of imlni- 
grants were given to understand that such 
action won]d not be favourably regarded by 
the Governmen/s of Great Britain and Canada. 



162 A Slmly in Ca»tadian lmmigratio» 
Second, the Indian Emigration Act of 1863 
was fomd fo provide-that emigration in the 
sense of lhe depa'ture hy sea out of British 
India of a native of India. under an agree- 
ment to lab(»m" for hi'e in some country be- 
yond the limits of lndia, othcr ihan ihe Islaud 
of Ceyhm or the SI'aits Settlemen(s, is not 
l«,wf,l cxcept fo couniries specified in the 
s«heduh, of the A«t. " aml (o suçh other coun- 
i,.ieu as ihe (h»vcrnor-in-(-ouncil from tilne fo 
lime by nolificatio, doçl;u'es fo he (.ount'ies 
« whiçh emigrnlion is lawful. Every such 
n«»lifi«aiim musi eontain a dc('laration t]mt 
1he Governor-General in Co(mcil has been duly 
('crtified that the governmeut of the country 
fo which the notification refers has ruade 
su«h laws and oiher p,'ovisions as the Gover- 
m,'-Geuera] in Couucil thinks sucient for the 
protection of immigranis fo that contry dur- 
ing their ,'csid(m«c ihe,-ein." lIcuce, unless 
th« Cunadi;m (hv(rnment nmde the neecssary 
lnws, to the satisfaction of the Government of 
Iudia, for the l)r»tcctim of Imli;m Emigranis, 
s,,eh emigration as that which had taken place 
from India fo ,«mada was hot l;wful. 
Third, the amount (ff mouey whi(.h immi- 
grants were required to have in their posses- 
sion, namely twenty-five dollars was, in the 
case of the Hindus raised fo 200. 



Immigration Groups--Oriental 163 
Fourth, the final and adequnte menns was 
the application fo lIindu immigrants of sec- 
tion 38 of the Immigration Aet which required 
that any immigrants who have corne to Canada 
otherwise than by continuons journey from 
the countries of whieh they are nafives or citi- 
zens, and 1,«,1 through ticket l,urchaed in 
that country, may be excludcd. Sin«e there 
was no means by whieh a «ontimmus jorney 
fr«»m India 1o Canada «ould be accomplished, 
the last provision was peculiarly efficient, and 
Hindu immigration practically ceased. While 
Canada, lhen, does hot expressly exclude 
Hindu emigrants, the regulations are such as 
to actually achieve that result. 

JAPANESE (]ROUP: Since 1900 about 1S,000 
Japanese have entered ('anada, but the census 
of 1911 sh(»wed that only 9,021 gave their 
nationality as Japanese though during 1900- 
11 alone about 7,5,8 had landed. Yet 9,021 
in 1911 is a considerable incrcase over 4,73S in 
1901. But in 1911 out of those 9.02l thcre 
were 6,669 males of twenty-one years and over 
of whom only 1,4,(1l were naturalized and 5,208 
alien. From whatcver reas(,ns it is quite 
apparent that ouly a small prop,rtion, about 
one-fifth, of the adult males, was becoming 
Canadian to at least the exteut of obtaining 
naturalization papers. An indication of the 



16-I A ȍtud in Caadian Immijration, 
unequ.l dist'ihutiou of these nntm'alized ,Jap- 
ara,se th-.ughout. 'anmla is iudicated by the 
fa«-t that the'e were 'epo't«d from 
«otia one, 3lmitohn uineteen, Quebee twenty- 
nine, skat.hew«m fifty-eight, No'th-Vest 
Teq.ito.i, seventy-two, ()nta]'io IOS, A]he]'ta 
244, lrilish l'«»]umbia 7,S94. One need hot 
.xlwess mu«h su.p.ise, flwn, al lI.ilish ol- 
lh.ilish l«»hml»ia was de¢.ided]y henrinff the 
heavy part of i'i«nlal lmmig'raliou aml the 
«'y fo" a "white  'amd '" c,uhl 'ec¢,ive some 
nttention wh«u, out of a population of 92,480 
i 1911, lhe 7,$94 Japauese eonstituted n little 
,ver' tw- per eeut. nnd, furthe'mor,, .ut of the 
eonsiderahh' i]flux on]y a small lU-Olml'tion 
were being naturalized. When, therefo'e, 
ing ten months of the yea" 19/7 uo less than 
8,125 dapantse aTived at the shores of B'itish 
'olumhia, lhe'e was some g'old fo. eoteF- 
nation, although 3,;19 hehl passpots for the 
Vuitl States. To eompli«ate the matter still 
frther, while some 900 e«me di'ect f'om 
dapan th'ough lh agt,n«y of the Tokio Emi- 
g'atin ¢'ompany at Yokohama, a lin'ge influx 
came from Hawaii, influenced, no douht, by 
the restrictios ruade by the United States 
against sueh immigration. When the Royal 
Commission was appointed by the çanadian 



Immigratio Gro,q»s--Oriental 165 
Government in 1908 to cnquire into the meth- 
ods by which Oriental lal)ourers were induced 
to corne to ('anada, it was fouml ihat when 
Japanese emigrants entered tlawaii they 
1)assed out of the c«)ntrol of Japan, ami came 
under the flag of the United States. lht 
when the Jalmnese rea«hed lh,nohdu ce-tain 
conditions whi«.h need m)t h««'e I». des,''il)cd 
indu«cd lllflii 3" of them h» s,,ek lb« high wages 
nnd opportunitics of lh.itish ('ohlml»ia. To 
offset this ;u, agreement was ruade 1)ctweea 
Jnlmn and Canada whereby the issue of 1)ass - 
ports for J;l])anese coming to C;inada was 
limited to al)out 400 annually. Thcre came, 
of course, after 190S, a d,.«rease in Ja],am,se 
immigration, but siuce that year, as the fore- 
going tal)le shows, the numl)er of Japancse 
entering Canada has annually, with the excep- 
tion of 1910, b,,eu in excess of that numb«r, 
and in 191 rea«.hed S3. These couhl hot 
bave 1)een Hawaiiau for the records sh{»w, siucc 
the year 190S, only twenty-one from that sour,'«. 
For the present, thon, Japan is hersclf eon- 
trt)lling emigration of her subje«ts to ('ana- 
dian shores, and, according to the testimony 
of thc ooEcials, is Living up to the terres of her 
agreement with Canada. 

CHIXESE ROUP: Despite the fact that legis- 
lation on this continent has been adverse to 
the Chinese, and that the shores of the United 



166 .t ,qtml!l in ('anadian Immigration 
States and ('annda my be regavded as some- 
wha inhspitalde, lhere has been a cousider- 
nble ride flwiug frein the ]and of lhe dragon; 
indeed, no h,ss tlmn 33,036 in«e 1900. 
ing te the «'elISllS oÎ 1911 tllel'e Wel'O in ('nnada 
27,774 ('hinese, distl'ilmted as follows: Prince 
EdWal'd Island six, New lh.uuswi'k niuety- 
lhl'ee, 'ov« cli«l 1:4. Manitda 883, askat- 
t«u'i, 2,71;I;, lh.itish ihdumbia 19.51;S; and here 
:g«in lhe far W«'sl«.rn province had the heavy 
end f thé. Ih-ienlal pvdflem. Iht of lhe large 
uumb.v «»f l'him,se s distributêd thvoughout 
and o'pr, of wholll 111S ,144 wq'e uatuvalized 
and 21.44 diens. The r«tio of naturalized te 
aliens is, lhls, one te len ; while for the Japau- 
esc the rali is almos oe te four, showing 
lhat lhe .lapanese are pvoportionally more 
than twice as anxious for çauadian citizenship 
nuless il be a .ase of ability vathe" lhan de- 
sire for adapttion te Ianadian customs and 
langn«ge. Nevertheless, it is nn inleresling 
question as te whelhe" the .Iqfinese or Japan- 
esc fu'uish lhe more lWOfilable immigrant. 
Whil«,, as is well known, certain classes of 
çhinese, su-h as members of the diplomatie 
corps, goveenmental 'epvesentalives wilh theie 
suites al«l servalls, coslls and consulat" 
agents, mevchauts with theiv wives and miner 
child'en, tourists and men of science are 



lmmiyratiou (lroups--Ori«t¢tl 1(;7 
exempt from paying a head-tax, all other Chi- 
nese subjeets nmst pay a head-tax int. the 
revenue of Canada upm entering as an immi- 
grant. This head-tax was first imposed in 
1885 and amounted to fifty dollars per indi- 
vidual. In 1901 the head-tax was increased to 
$100, and in 1904 to 500, the last, no doubt, 
due to the actions and attitude of British 
Columbia. But despile this eonsidcrable 
amount required ulmn Vll[l'llllçe, which seems, 
at first glance, utterly unobtainable by thc 
ordinary Cllim'se, therc was a big increase in 
Chinese immigration up to the year 1914, when 
the nllnllmr began to deeline, uot so lllH(.h by 
reason of the war nor any timidity nor disin- 
clination rcgarding immigration on the part 
of the Chinese, but rathcr bccause of the 
increasing scarcity of passcnger ships. 
Just here it might be well to recall some 
of the fiuancial aspects of past immigra- 
tion mentioned in a former chapter, namely, 
that since the bcginning of the present 
century Canada has spent a ttal of 
$18,930,404 in pronmting and regulating the 
entrance of some three and onc-quarter mil- 
lions of immigrauts, at an average of three and 
one-sixth dollars per cal)ira. On this basis, 
the 33,000 Chinese who have entered during 
the same pcriod haro cost $19S,000, but from 
1885, when the first head-tax of fifty dollars 
was placed on the Chinese immigrant exclusive 



168 A ,çtudy i ('«lmdio lmm.igratio 
of the ofiicials and others above-mentioned, to 
1918, thcy have paid iuto the treasury of 
Canada by that mcans alone over $1,000,000. 
and nothing was spcnt in China for promoting 
emigration, while over ten million dollars were 
spent in Enrope in urging people of tbe Brit- 
isb Isles and the continent fo seek out shores. 
['learly, on /hat score, /he ['hinese are a pay- 
ing investment. 
While during ail his rime the po]icy of 
Cnada was m»t one «»f rigid exclusion, yet the 
severe resrictions imposed were presumed fo 
he well-nigh equivah«t to exclusion, and still 
Chinesc immigration has s/cadily increased. 
Moreover, the Chinese immigrant trying to 
enter Canada had a harder task than Euro- 
pean, Jalmnese, or even Korean incomers, for 
he had te» prove fo the satisfaction of the 
au/horiies that he was of a type to he admit- 
ted or he was exclmlcd; while in the case of 
Europeans, Jal)anese and others, the «uthori- 
tics must show that the immigrant is of a type 
to be cxcluded, or he is admitted. This looks 
on the face of it a discriminati«m against the 
Chinese, and it is no easy matter to devise ways 
and means by which the ('hinese may be tr«ated 
on a better eqnalit.y or, rather, less inequality 
with other rates, if the law were modîfied so 
that other classes than those now specified 
might be admi/ted it would still fall to the 



Immi.q'atio G'o«p.--O'içntal 1(;9 
Chinese o prove fhat he behmged to fhe admis- 
sible classes, while for other ra'es if wouhl he 
the task of he immigrafion authorities to 
prove they should he exeluded. If, «»n fhe other 
hand, the law were alered so as to adroit ail 
Chinese exeepf certain speeifieO classes, as is 
the case with other rates, then the whole bur- 
rien w»uhl fall (,n the immigration auth(wiîies 
io prove that the rejected were ,f the excluded 
classes. The discriminati«m is thus against 
the idea of the equality of rates in respect of 
immigration couditi(»ns. ('onsequently, when 
in Match, 1919, Vis«ount lshii, Japanese Am- 
bassador fo the [;uited Statc% was -el)orted 
to have intimated that Jal»an w«mhl endeavour 
to have the constitution of the League of 
h'ations secure "equality of t'caîment" to 
citizens of every country and aholish facial 
discriminations, it was natm'ally to he ex- 
pted that delegat«s from the United tates, 
Australia and South Africa would oppose 
s«ch a view, howeve, il may he in acco'dan«e 
with "democracy, justice, and humanity." In 
view of the fact that (hc 1911 p(,pulaiion of 
B'itish Colnml»ia, 392,40, contained beside 
othe" O'ientals 27,774 ('huese, the with- 
drawa] of the disc-imination against a mmer- 
ous race with many eyes turned toward an 
immense country wonhl have far-reaching con- 
sequences. Whether any similar couseqnences 
may result from Em'opean immigrants or hot 



170 A Shtdy in Canadian Immigration 
the faet remains tlmt they were put under no 
sueh handieal as the ¢'hinese. If European 
immigvants «ouhl reaeh a certain standard 
thep weve en«ouraged; if the Chinese eould 
hot demonstrate the possession of certain 
qualili«afions lhey Wel'e exeluded. But if it 
be desii'able to still flil'lhor limit the extent 
of ('llim.se lmmigrali«m some oiher tests will 
lmve l) he «qqflicd tlmn /he l«)Ssession of $500 
and apparent fveedom fn)m dis«.ase and crin» 
inal propensities, and il is doubtful if the illit- 
eracy est wouhl I,. sutli«ient for the purpose, 
[Illless SIl«'h fl [est dcmamh,d an adcqlmte 
knowlcdge .f English, tiret is, reading and 
wriling a simple passage. 
D«'Slfite the numl,«r of Ohinese entering 
Canada year by year, lhe relativcly small hum- 
ber who ake out naturalization papers wonhl 
indicate that few take up their permanent 
domicile in ihe country. This is further cor- 
roborated by the fact that the census of 1911 
gave only 27,774 ('hin(.se in Canada. Then, 
many who had acquired sucient means nmst 
bave retm'ned to 'hina or gone elsewhere, and 
though over 20,000 have arrived since 1911, it 
is doubtful if th«,re are more than 35,000 at 
the prescrit rime in llle country. Bnt granting 
that the numher of ('hinese permanenfly domi- 
ciling here is COml)aratively snmll the prob- 
lem presen(ed hy heir presence is somewhat 
similar in character to that presented by other 



lmmigretio Groups--¢)ri«nt««l 171 
Asiaties. And the first ousmling feature 
that they do not asshnilate rapidly or easily. 
If assimilation ean be  all gauged by natural- 
ization, then swh  conclusion seems inevit- 
able, and drawn from the course of events over 
a number of years. And if assimilation is so 
backward what indication is there (hat amal- 
gamation, or blending of races, is praciicable 
or even adviable? This qucsiion becomcs 
more and more diflicult to answer the more 
closely it is analyzed. 
Are the Chinec industrious, economical, 
tempcrate, law-abiding? 'ith occasiaml ex- 
ceptions by way of opium and gambling the 
answer must be gencrally affirmaiive. Are 
they infirm in lhe sense of being bliml, dcaf 
and dumb, insane, and idiotic? The answer 
must be an appeal to siatistics. Of somc fif{y 
immigrants treatcd for tuberculosis in 
Vancouver Hospi(als in 1916 only four were 
Chinese, one was J:panese, and one Hindu. 
In that province of British Cohmbia with a 
popflation of 392,40 in 1911 the total hum- 
ber of infirm was 1,055, or twenty-seven per 
10,000 of the population; that is, less than 
Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, 
Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, and 
yet the province possessed more Orientals than 
all the other provinces combined. In Canada, 
as a whole, of the total number of 2,611 in- 
firm in 1911, only forty-four were Asiatic. Of 



172 A ,'tud!t in (antditn Immigratio, 
the tot«l .sialie maie popullion in 
sane 9.1; «nd of th«  .ksi«lie femelle p«»pula- 
ti«,n 2.4@ per 10,00 weve 1,1ind, and al,ou lhe 
somme pvop«wiion insane. he lacis indi««Ie 
that in lhe maite" of bliml, def and dumb, 
ins«ne an,l i,li,,[ie, [h,  =si«i,'s fuvnish a 
glll«l]]Pl" l'ill lhan allll,gt «ny ]UVolwan coun- 
try. llnt. w«hl lhe faels of dp«wf«tion show 
lhal lh«  Agi«lies nec of infevi«w qnalily on 
gvounds «»f disease and physieal defecls? 
lhe peviod 1903-09 lhe t«»f«l numbev of depof 
falions was 3,149 of whi«h lhe indus weve 
twenfy-nine, th« .«tpanese f«uq and the 
nese lwo. [ly vfio «f depovfafions to imnfi- 
Kingd»m «»e l 21. Ioeo • lhe pe-iod 1910-18, 
oui. of a 0»lal of 9,7111 lepovl«ii«ns, lhe 
nese ruade 105, fhe Ilin«hs fhivfeen, or on 
basis «»f r«ii«» one f« 277 and »ne fo nine re- 
speelivel3". Binee lhe Hindns vere lwaetieally 
ex«luded the high depoefaiion raie is self- 
nndevsl««»d, l»ut fhe Chinese on this score are 
m«we f«vouvable llmn the viiish wh«se rate 
of rejeefion is one 1o 141. O fhe ground, fhen, 
of a lfigh 'ate of deporlalion beeause of phy- 
si«al and olher defeels a sevious charge eould 
seareely be laid «ainsl the Asiaties. lore- 
over, their comparative freedom from depend- 
enee npon charitable o'ganizafions is ver" 



lmm#j'otion, (Irotp.s--Ori«tol 173 
well |;l|OWl. What. of he tendeney fo e'im- 
inality? 
If we take the classification of conviets for 
1911, cm he lmsis of males tweny-one xears 
and overthe only fai" lmis inee so ftxv of 
tle Asiati«s have families with themthe total 
numhei" «f cmvi«t was 1,3. Of these the 
('hinese ruade thi.teet, and the 'atio «»f <'rim- 
inals to the numbe" of mah.s twenty-oe yea-s 
and «'el" wa fiw pel" 10,010. The ]talians 
gave a t-ati» «f 3S pe" 10,000; lhe Americans 
"»"" the t«lal lh'itish eiht. In fa't the 
¢'hinese st«o«l at the l»ottom «f the list with 
the smallest ratio, and fhe Italians at the top 
with fhe la'gest. 
Il l»t,e«»les evident, then, that fhe exclusion 
of lhe Asiati« «.an«t he on the grounds speei- 
fied above, for he compas'es fav«mral»ly, ve'y 
favou-ably, with of hec immig'ats, and is far 
supe'i«v to nany, g» fa" as the Hindus a'e 
eonce'ne«l the Imper.lai c«nfe.en«'e bestowing 
on individual counh.ies of the Empi'e c«»ntrol 
in the marrer of imuig'athm ruade the sup- 
losed right of a ]h'itish subjeet to pass f'eely 
from one Dominion to another a simple myth. 
Fo'mally India eould exclude Canadians as 
Canada exeludes Hiudus. If the p'ineiple of 
f'ee passae of the individuals within the 
Leagne of Nations were adopted on the g'«mnd 
of equality of treatment to ail, the abolition of 
distinction of 'aees in this 'espeet would mean 



17t A »tudy in Can«dian. Immigation 
a somewhat scrious situation for Canada with 
trelnendously large unoeenpied areas and 
snmll population. Itis truc lhat the toal 
number of Asialies in ('anada constitutes 
about one-half of one per cent. of lhe total 
population, aml the rest of the lmlmlation 
should be alfle to take eare of such a small 
factor. That wouhl be veT well possible if 
the l»q}nlati«n Wel'e somewhat illiform. But 
it is very complex and on ilis aeeount has 
tl',mldes emmgh of its ,»Wh without fhe ad,led 
factor of a large Oriental burden. For in the 
final analysis, the objection fo the Orienial is 
hot r«ial, nor .social, nOl" religious, but econ- 
omic.Fhe Asiatic is a«customed to long hours 
of labffur, small wages, and a low stamlard of 
living. The whole trend of Western Indus- 
trial Labour, on the other hand, has been to- 
ward shorter hours of labour, larger wages 
and a higher standard of living. These two 
industrial conditi,ms are incompatilde and in 
occupati,ms where the Ori«ntal prevails the 
Canadian labourer moves ouDouhtless other 
factors contrilmte to this, suc as racial senti- 
ment aml differences of language, but these 
would be less forceful if the foregoin vital 
differences c,mld be diminished or eliminated. 
That remains largely in the hands of the 
Orientais themselves and it is doubthfl if, 
without assistance, they can achieve it. The 
attempt to Canadianize, educate and develop 



Immigrotiou Groups--Oricnt«l 175 
the Japanese and Chinese ilnmigrants, has hot 
been marked with much vigor on the part of 
G9vernments, churches, or social organiza- 
tions, and Imrhaps the task is hot ea.sily per- 
formed. Yet without such Canadianizing and 
socialzing influences itis incvitahle that the 
immigration of Orientais must remain ilnder 
severe restrictions, and the fact that so compar- 
atively fcw take naturalization indicates that 
there is no strong desire to change allcgiance. 
Strangely enough the Japaue.e surpass the 
Chine.e in this regard, y«,t thé, nulnl»er of Jap- 
anese in (htnada has m)t Val'ied considerahly 
since l.q07. ('onsiderable mlmbcrs bave been 
COlnig and going, and it i. diflicult fo sec how 
a nation like Japan, wih such ellorl|iOllS ex- 
penditures and a rapidly expanding indus- 
trialiSln çollld evcr en«.Ol'age, or even aih)w, 
a large emigration, wh«l home production is 
such a prime necessity, and when the emigrant 
under othêr skies may change his allegiance. 
While that situation remains Japan will prob- 
ably always he willing to limit Ihe outflow of 
her citizens into other countries. But that 
restriction is hot operative with the Chinese 
against whom as well as the Hindus the bar- 
tiers will remain on economic grounds. 
Of the Orientais who are at p'e.ent living 
in Canada a varied picture could be drawn, 
but the most digicult aspects would be found 
in British Columbia. There one could final 
12 



all th «ha'açteristic of human life, from te 
in{.«dligrut, uç«eful, loyal ad philathroic 
citizeu clown {hrough ail the st,'ange degrees 
of existence to unnaiuralizcd, debased ald 
helpless habitues of the opium-joint. But the 
latter wouhl not count among its numbers 
nmny from the land of the Rising Sun, but 
would inchlde too many who possessed no 
Oriental cast of counteuance. Among many 
of thcse toilers fron the East lhere is a 
«'urions disl'egard for the usine] means en- 
a«/ed for [he safc/y of Socic[y and /he sancti[y 
»f hlllll;in r«,lationshil>s, and when this atti- 
iudt, is :tdopied in regard fo humau life itself, 
then hllllllli iustilutions by which such lire 
is preserved no longer ellgender respect. In- 
difference to sanitation, the fundamentals of 
hygieue, and [bat which intelligent ('anadian 
lire is but the SOUlç'e of a turhid strean im- 
possilh, to exchnle from the general current 
f tiw citizens' lire. To be sure in this respect 
th«, triental does hot stand uuiquely guilty, 
but largely because he is an Oriental his gnilt 
is regarded as ail the more reprehensible. 
And it wouhl he an interesting inquiry to 
de[erlnine if ou a proportional hasis the emi- 
grant from China or ,lalmn shows up in lurid 
light worsc than his fellow workers. 
At. any rate in thc dnnain of industl'y he 
stauds well, if one glances at the intensive 



lmmi.¢/'atio ([roups--()ri«tll ] 77 
kind of agriculiure carriêd on alike hy 
('hinese and Japancsc. And hc'e again curi- 
O118 chal'acte-isti«s tre showll. )[;Iny Of the 
Chinese lease, nmny of the Japanese buyand 
both are successful ruck farlCl'S, as luany 
of the fahles of fhc inhabitans of Vancouvce 
can tcstify. But bctw«,cn the Chinese who 
leases and the Japanese who huys thcre is he 
contrast of transiency nnd pemnanenc3". But 
both tend to scgregate. Whercver a fcw Jap- 
«lncsc buy up scpa'«ted but lmt remote famus 
the intcrmediates eventually llOve o(it, and 
lhe cololy is thc ncxt assur,d rcsult. Since 
them are, also, p«rhaps s«,ve.al ihousand 
Chinese tmck famner i» British 
and intensive cultivation that dispenses with 
expensive machinel-y and animal labour 
the rule, such compciition may be the lire of 
trade In the fishing industry, howcvcl' the 
Japanese excel, whilc the ('hinese are cont('nt 
to clean the products of the voyage in 
operation with thoi" dusky Indian neighbou's. 
In ihe lumber camps, the puip mills, h('y 
again compete, 'but the Japancse have thc 
advantage in the production o, fmiL ŒEhe 
rUlnOUr therefore, that a la'e soction 
the Okanaan vriller had been bauht up hy[ 
a Japanese svndieate, while appa'entlv uni 
founded, nmy after all be bu the shadow of 
eolning events. 



CHAPTER IX. 

IMMIGRATIO.V GROUPS. (WESTERz¥ 
EUROPE). 

IN making a eoiuparison of the various 
groups who dm'ing Ihe past fifIy years have 
been sleadily «[,ming Io this country it is not 
inIemled Io give auy prolongcd aualysis of thc 
facial ('lmracI[,risIies of Ihe different peoples. 
The lmrpose is rather Io show the proporIious 
of the numbei's of su«h peoples who have for 
good or ill ruade their tcmporary or perinan- 
ent home in some parts of these provinces. A 
description of Ihe facial characterisIics would 
uot be very pei.IinenI Io such a task and would 
be hampered lff Ihe fact IhaI many of the so- 
«.alh,d raves are no longer "pure" but "mixed." 
And, fur(her, among all these varied peoples 
the national eharacterisiics may play a 
part grea{«,r than lhe facial in the life 
of this promising Domini.n. It goes with- 
out sayiug that, o(her things being satis- 
factory, those who are born in (he Briiish 
Isles will be preferred, for (hat saine reason. 
as immigrauts in oto' midst. They are 
members of one great cmph'e, inherirs of 
178 



Immigr«tion Groups (Western Europe) 179 
a eommon tradition, aecustomcd to the mot'e 
or less successful operalion of «hquocralic 
institutions; they speak a common language, 
and in many tlmusands of cases live whcre 
once did lire lhe forefathers of many 
Canadian-born. On grounds of eommon his- 
tory and sentimenl, thon, there shouhl always 
be a hearty welcome for the sturdy Britisher 
who seeks a home in this part of the western 
worhl. While a few years ago there was kept 
alive a rumour lhat in the industrial plants 
of out land " no Englishman need apl»ly," it 
was merely the magnification of a mole-hill 
into a mountain, one of those curions inci- 
dents in industvial haste where a 1)articular 
case is ele'atcd to the rauk of a gcneral fuie. 
While it lnust be admitted that the emphasis 
laid by the Canadian Government on thc need 
for agricultural workers did not mect with the 
fullest response and mcchanics, artisans, 
tradespeople and a considerable amount of un- 
skilled labour swellcd the ranks of industry 
and helped to crowd out citics, yet on the 
whole the British imnSgl'an[s have ruade a 
great contribution hot only fo the industry 
but also to the aclual wealth of our land. 
Further, if shouhl hot be overlooked that in 
the main these people have not contributed in 
any large dcgree to the slum conditions of the 
large cities, lVhen rcnts were high aud accom- 
modation small, they moved out iuto the 



,0 .! ,ç't.ly in Canadien Immigration 
suhurbs, hought land on the instalment plan 
or otherwise, and pro«eeded to buihl their own 
hom«s. " havkt«»wn'" came very near l».ing 
a terre of reproaeh iu the view of lnany hyper- 
sensitive l»eOlde, but it represented that indus- 
try, iltegrity and iud«peudence which bas 
been so l»redominaling a feature of the lh'ilish 
l»eol»h ,, ami withouf w]dch we of this western 
w«»rhl Imihl lu vain. At observer of human 
lh«, curie»us fm't lhat of ail tire nationalities 
lh»cking into the cilles, the Ih'itish was ahnost 
lnique iii fhe atteml»t to seek the eontforts of 
his own lmme, h«»wever humble it may he. The 
«rowded and over«'l'owded seetions with their 
lm.k of sunli'ht ami air, but with super- 
abumlance of dirt, squalor and misery were 
hot for him. There mighl be gahered together 
VtIl'iOllS l'Oll])S fr«m central or eastern 
Eur«»pe. and their seg'regation might cause the 
Medical Of«er of I[ealth to lire in a state of 
c«»ustant imli'nation and wrath, but the ltrit- 
ish immigrant wouhl hot be always the vietim. 
Ilis umre weaithy eOmlmtriot might with the 
utmost eoml»hweltcy receive high rents from 
the lenants «»f thes«, seareely habifahle proper- 
ries, but ho, wouhl contrilmte thereto as little 
as possihle. The denizens of the slum migh 
corne and go, but the ereeli«m even of a tar- 
paper shack was strong" indication that the 
Britisher would get se,me of the sunlight and 



Ira m ig'atio, G'oq»s ( W««te' Et'ope ) 1S1 
mke this land his permanent abode. At the 
end of a hard day's work the souud of busy 
hammers under the light of a lantern hchl by 
the h«mls of couragcous wife or hopeful chil- 
dren cont«incd a music hot [oo frequently 
he;rd, aml these buihle.s of « Shacktown" 
were the pioneers of many now cxcellcnt 
suburbs. 
But they havc likewise eontrihuted 
immensely to the we«l/h of this country hy 
the amoun[ of moncy they brought -ith them. 
Il is lin doul)t well-known that since [he Ordcr- 
illl('[lill'il Of 1910 immigr;uts eute.ing 
««la between the first day of Match nd 
thi-tX-first d;y of .Octfi»er were required to 
lmve "in ac[ml and persoml possession at 
thc timc of arrival, money hclongiug ahso- 
lutely to sueh immigrant, o hc «mount of at 
least 25.00 in addition to n ticket or such sure 
of money ns will purçlmsc a ticket or rnnsport 
for such immigrnt to his or her destination 
in Canad«" and in the cse of a f«mily, the 
head of such family shnll lmve in addition o 
he nmount just mcntioned u fm'ther sure 
« equiva]ent to $25 for e«ch mcmber of lhe s«id 
family of he «ge of eighteen years or 
wurds and 12.50 for each meml)cr of said 
fmily of the «ge of rive ycars or upwards and 
under ihe ,,'e of eighceu vents in addition 
o the amoun rcquircd for r«USl)Ort«tiou 
thc place of dcstination in Canada." 



course there were exceptions to this regu]atio. 
For exemple, those goig fo assm'ed emp]oy- 
ment at frm work aml havg the mas of 
reach»g the lace of such employet; a]so 
female immigrants going to assured employ- 
ment at domtic service, and, naturally, a 
member of a family going to other members of 
the family. But even with these limitations 
the amount of money l>ronght by British immi- 
grants, whilc no less per head than the 
amounts required for others, must, because of 
the large number involved, bave been ex- 
tremely great. Since 1900, as a subsequent 
table shows, there haro been about one and a 
quarter million immigrants from the British 
Is]es. If every fifth person ha,] ,nly tw,'nty- 
rive dollars it wonld bring a total of six and a 
quarter millions of British money broug'ht into 
this land, and it is we]l known that thousands 
of immigrants brought more than the mini- 
mum requiremet of twenty-five dollars. But 
immigrants bave been coming from Britain 
for more than ha]f a century. Johnson + men- 
tions in the ]ist of those who financcd their 
own way, that in lS02 four vesse]s sailed 
from the West of Scotland, havin on 
hoard fom'teen hnmh'ed souls who took a 
total of £100,000 ster]ing with thcm. A]so at 

*Emigration from the United Kingdom to lorth 
America, p. 70. 



I»migration Groups ( Wcslcr E«ropc) 183 
another time three ships left Cork in one day 
bound for Canada and laden with emigrants 
who paid their own fares. 'The ancient record 
also mentions the fact that one of the pas- 
sengers on board cashed a cheque for £750 
at the Provincial Iank of h'eland a fcw 
hours before embarking. Taking the average 
amount possessed by British emigrants as 
£3 10s, and the numler leaving for (anada 
dring the sêason 190{i-7 as 114,859 Johnson 
estimates that the money transfcrred fo the 
Dominion in one year hy that means alone was 
over £400,000. It is not forgotten, however, 
that large amounts of money were sent back 
to the Old Country by persons who had de- 
pend(,nts there, and that many persons after a 
brief or long" st;y here « returned home," but 
even with all these allowances thc fact re- 
mains that hot only hy th('ir industry but lff 
their possessions in hard cash the great pro- 
cession from Britain has increased the finan- 
cial strength of this count. 
It is hot owrh.)ked that the British immi- 
grant has sometimes been decried as a poor 
sort, that the comparisons of a preceding 
chapler showed the rejections and deporta- 
tions of British to be relatively very high, and 
that some sections of out cities show too many 
British people with a relatively low grade of 
intelligence. But on the whole the facts of 
sentiment, tradition common ancestry and 



Immigralion. Grotps (ll'c./cr Etropc) 
institutions will predominate over ail these 
drawbacks and make suprcme the life under 
one flag in one empire. 
Thc uuusually large numb(q" from the lh'it- 
ish lsls will bt  regarded 19" many people a 
a soin'«'e of comf«n't, espet.ially since durin" 
the ame peri«d ther« was nlso a 'reat intlux 
«»f n«m-Euglish-sl»e;kin  p«.ol»h,s. Thes« laller 

CANDINAVIAN R(}UP. 

The people of Scandinavia who seek ihe 
advntagês of a n«,w home in 'an;ida are said 
by many observers fo rauk among' the best of 
out intmigranls. [)n the lmsis of r«..i«'ction and 
(lepot.tation, out of a total nnmber of 3,149 
dcpor/a/ions from Canada from January 1, 
103, fo Match 31, lt09, the Scandinnvinns 
eont-il;uted only eighty-even, uamely, Swedish 
thirty-/hree, Norwegian twenty-nine, Danish 
seventeen and Icelandic eight. When it is 
considered that for lhat sante period nearly 
30,000 of these peol»le came fo Canada, the 
small proportion of d«.portations becomes very 
gratifying. Ttuder tho more st'ing,nt regula- 
tions of the Aet of 1910, the d,portations for 
the past decade have been, Norwegian eighty- 
rive, Swedish seventy-seven, and Danish 



Immigration Grotps ( Wcstcrn. Etropc) 1,7 
twenty-one, a total of 183 out of an immigra- 
tion of some 20,000 people. This admir«bly 
]ow ratio of deportations to admissions îs to 
be expe('ted when one eonsiders the national 
life of these peoples. 'hile only aut one- 
quarter of Ihe island of Iceland is inhabited, 
the interior being practically uninlmbitable, 
Ihere is consi(hrlde commerce developed by 
an industrious people under lheir own gov- 
ernment, {hougb tbe islnnd bel«ugs to 
mark. Tbe (.uHiva{ion «,f grain is on a very 
smnlI scaIe, and bread-stuffs nmst be brought 
into the country, yet {herc is intensive indus- 
try in gnrdening, fishing and {he raising of 
sheep nnd ca(tle. There is also (he scien{ific 
s[udy and tcacbing of ngricul[ure, while gen- 
et'al educaiion is cncouraged to a high dcgree, 
eveu in places where {be cstablishing of schools 
is difficult, (he situa(ion being met by tenchcrs 
(ravelling from plwe o place and giving in- 
s(rnction in (hc home. On gronnds of li[eracy 
and industry, then, one would expect {he emi- 
grants from Iceland o sncceed well and rapidly 
in a yonng country like Canada, and the 25.000 
or more who have nlready settled in Manitoba, 
Saskntchewnn, Alher(a and British Colnmbia 
possess the characteris(ics which are essen(ial 
for a worthy type of Canadian citizenship. 
And they have shown the possession of these 
qualities from the beginning when the first 



18,q A ,q'tudy in. ('«n«di, n lm.migr«tiot 
continge»t, arrived about. 1972. In 1874 a 
group of 500 moved from Ontario to the shores 
of Imke Manitoba, in 1STB a lrge nnmber 
se/th.d in Gimli, 31anitoba, and l'embina, 
North lalo»ta, and the foregoing lable shows 
a steady stream silwe 190IL In the province 
of askatchewan tlwre are settleme»ts at 
'hurrhlwidge, Wynyard and north »f Tantal- 
loL In Alberta there are als« progressive 
se[th.men[s aion the 'algary-Edmonton line 
of lhe ('.P.I. These adherents of the Lutheran 
('hnrch ]l;Ive lmt. showll lllly illclilmtion to 
s.g].eg«t, in setth,me]fl apart, from eommm 
('anadian Iii'e, bnt on the «.ontrary show keen 
interest in lmlfli« affairs, are well represented 
in mmficipal and provincial government, pro- 
more education ;nd eontribute to the member- 
ship of the vari(»us professions, and in addi- 
tion to the use of lle English language are 
able to ptblish several papers in the Irelaudie 
tongue. 
Vhat is truc of Ieeland is truc even on a 
larger st-aie of Norway «and gweden lweatse of 
the wider a(-hievements of greater lOlndations. 
Ic«,land's lmlmlation in 1901 is given as 7S,- 
4S9, Norway is rredited in 1900 with 2,242,995 
and 8weden with 5,136,441 Vith such com- 
paratively large populations edueation m«ay be 
expeeted to ho very superior. In weden i is 
compulsory for the ages 8even to fourteen, and 



:flout ,15,000,000 per mumm 
under l»ecifl reul«tions. 
lmlf million dolhu-s are spenI, m the .m.al side 
«md chihh'en «ttend from six md one-hnlf fo 
fom'teen 3"ea's +»f «e. The wondm'ful 
fl)out twenly-two l)e • cent. 
lire in the cilie in Sweden, 
;md inh,llieni l'ui';fl lift'. 
they ;u'e m.qmfin/ed wi/h «il'ieullure, 
fihing'; the3" n-e known f«». 
ily, lmlriolim «md love of f'eedom ; lhey insist 
on lel'feet, tder«lion in relig'ion lhmlgh the 
st«lte ehm'eh i Lufle'nn, m] when /lley emi- 
'le fo ('«md« /he" hrin these vil'lues with 
/hem. IIenee lhey «simil«/e qniekly, inter- 
mm'l'y wilh Angh»-«xons, m.quire 1,hilish, 
l»eeomo inle'ested «nnl active in /he lire of the 
sieste, and lthoug'h em(lition 
eountries are ai present, too prosperous fo 1'o - 
mote exIensive emigration, it m«y he hoped 
that a ste«dy even if m«fll flow of these leOple 
to on" hmd will he maintained. 



190 .1 tudy iii Canadiau Immigratio 

GERMANIC GROUP. 

Of the 38,,0, German immigrants who came 
to Canada since 1900. if. may be assumed that 
only a comparatively small proportion settled 
in the Eastern provinces. At any rate the 
population of the three Prairie Provinces had 
8.1 per cent. claiming [erman nativity, and 
they were hot all engagcd in agriculture. 
Brandon had 30,, Ca]gary 513, Edmonton 
1,916, Moosejaw 234, Regina 2,590, Saskatoon 
634, St. Boniface sixty-scven and ïnnipcg 
5,632, a total of 11,894 scattered throughout 
these eight citics. But thcre were 136,968 peo- 
pie of German origin, of whom 61,805 were 
b.qrn in Canada, 32,82 in the United States, 
and 42,281 e]scwhere. Of this last number 
only 15,328 gave Gernmny as their country of 
birth. But this census was taken in 1916, and 
whether that year had any significance or not, 
many persons of German origin, according to 
the census records, claimed Russia, Austria- 
Hungary, or Be]gimn as their birthplace. The 
total number of people of German origin in 
the three Prairie Provinces, namely 136,968, 
exceeds the total number of Scandinavians, 
which is 110,025. But it may also be noted 
that in 1911 there were in Canada no less than 
39,577 persons who acknow]edged Germany as 
their birthplace. Of these only fifty-nine per 
cent., or 23,283, had become naturalizcd. Of 



Immigratio» Groups  1Vcst«r»t Europe) 191 
males of twenty«me years of age and over there 
were 20J;33, of wlmm 12,001 were natm'alized 
and 
,»,- w(q'e «dieu, a rutio of nearly two fo 
one. Lest it be assnmcd that the greater por- 
tion of immirants hm.n in Germany came into 
the casicl.n l,rovinces, particul«rly the prov- 
ince of  lnlm-io, il shouhl also he ohserved that 
Ontario hml 15,010, and the rpluaining e«tstern 
provinces 3,30k a htal of 1,319, while the 
western 1,I'OVillCCS had no less tlmn 21,750. 
They are round iii nllnlbers greater or less in 
every iowii thl'oughont the West, sometimes 
residing in association with eaeh other, some- 
rimes in mixed rural COlUmuniies, and like 
the ohler glerman immigrants in Ontario lhey 
are regal'ded as ou the whoh, satisfm-lol'y citi- 
zens. In this respect the experiences sin«e 
191.need hot prevent an unbiassed judgment. 
There are gronps of Gcrman immigrafls, how- 
ever, to whom nnstinted praise caunot be given, 
at any rate in so far as merging or failure to 
merge in a conmon C«madian «itizenship is 
concerned. Snch are the Mennonites and Hut- 
retires. 'The former may he regardcd as defin- 
ire types of religionists who follow the prin- 
ciples outlined by Menno Situons, who was 
born in Friesland about 1492. Adopting the 
Bible and conscience as the supremç authority 
in eoluluctthough it is not so easy to sec 
why they selected boththey ccased to regard 
every other form of ecclesiastical organization 



192 A tudy in C«nadian Immigration 
as Christian, and it was net far te the next 
step of being superior te the authority of the 
State. That wns one issue of adopting con- 
science as a standard. The sect spread 
throughout various countries of Europe, being 
granted various dispensations on accourir of 
their religions beliefs, such as exemption from 
military service, taking the oath, and public 
office. 'The first of these people arrivcd in 
Canada al)out 178; and they have been suc- 
cessful agriculturists. Some of the earlier 
Iennonites who settled in Ontario came frein 
parts of thc New England ,qtates, and are new 
citizens in the full sense of the term, enjoying 
religions freed)m. But those who setfled in 
the Western Provinces were mainly from Rus- 
sia. The story of tire endurance and achieve- 
ments of these people in conquering the cli- 
mate and the soil is one of the many thrilling 
pieces of contempo'ary Canadian history. And 
the mode of life first fo]lowed in accordance 
with the habiis of Russian peasantry has 
largely disappeared, especially in Manitoba. 
Yet there are many places where the old settle- 
ment. lire continues, and where such is the case 
thcre is great backwardness in education. The 
saine thiug is true more or less of the Hut- 
tertres, and new t]mt the claim of the Men- 
nonites that they have the right te establish 
their own schools is annulled, one of two things 
is possible. Eiher hc old conservative type 



Immigration, Gronps (Wç,'t«rn Europc) 19.2 
of Mennonite colonist nmst nmve elsewhere, 
or he must coniribute his share for the pro- 
duciion of a conmlon, educaied anadin lire. 
The lait,r course, which sms ihe inevitble 
onc, will in a decade elindnate the diculty. 
I"or an in{eresting accoun[, of the educational 
aspects of the problem fm.nished by Mennoni[e 
setllements see Andersou. (The Educalion of 
he New 'anadian, l ». 221.) 

THE ITALIAN CROUP. 

The imnigrafion of le peoplc of Italy into 
thi. western worhl since the days when he 
Italiau was known alnmst entircly as a wan- 
dering ldaywright whose troupe eonsisted of 
himse]f, a hurdy-gurdy organ and a monkey, 
bas been one of p]mnonmnal growth. Before 
ihe year 1880 the cmigration of Italians west- 
ward was very small, indeed comparatively 
negligib]e. ]ht during the dc«ade lg0-1gg0 
the influx into the United Stat(.s tripled and 
the census of 190 gave l2,580 Ita]i«us in 
America. During the period of 1872-1q0 there 
were 356,062 immigrants, and honte from the 
figures of 1890 nmch, perhaps half. »f this 
great immig'ation ride consisted «»f transients 
who came to tire United States to earu money 
during the period of industrial expansion and 
then returned to their native land. But fron 
1890 to 1904 the wave rose again from about 



52,000 fo 193,296, and the statisIics for 1.')04 
gave 4S4,703 Italians resident in America. As 
might be exl)ected ihe great t(,ndency is fo 
segregate in cities. In the United States in 
1900, 62.4 per cent. of the Italians in Am«,rica 
who were I)orn in Ilaly were residcnt in the 
principal cities, which was about lhe saine per- 
contage as that of lhe lrish, but lcss thau that 
of the Russian-horn for thc saine «ities, which 
reached 74.9 per cent. + f t.ht, ltalian immi- 
granls who corne fo [hese shores, if has been 
frequently notic«'d that th«,y arc nminly such 
as may be d«scribed as «dle-bodied. No aged. 
or infirm, or persons unable fo work are found 
among them. While in former decad«s the 
Italian immigrants were predominantly male, 
that meant there was every year a large migra- 
tion of men hack to their native land, either 
fo reunite wilh their families and remain in 
Italy, or to bring them over fo America. But 
in l'ecent decmh.s this has been steadily and 
often rapidly changing. The nmnher of females 
and the numbpr of chihh'en under fourteen 
entering the ports of the Western worhl has 
been rising, which meant that many families 
were inteut on making definite setllenent in 
a new country. And in the great nmjority of 
cases they have been comparatively yonng. 
*Lord, Trenor and Burrows, "The Italian in America," 
1905, D. 4 ff. 



[mmigr«lio» Gronps ( WcMcrn Em'ol»C) 195 
Immigration I'r lle year ending ,lune 30, 
1903, gives lhe numlwr of Ilalian immigrants 
arrivin at the ports of lhe United States and 
Canada, including lhose debarred as 233,546, 
and of lhese only 11,24; had reached the age 
of forty-five years and over, and that 19,27 
were betweeu lhe ages of fourteen and forly- 
rive ye«ws. That is, about cighty-four per cent. 
of lh, I/aliau immigranls belong to the work- 
ing age. 
And when lhe Italian d«es arrive as an 
able-bodied labourer, what then? At first he 
bas very little money of his own. If he did 
bave wealth he would hot be an immigrant. 
Henee he must bave some immediate work, and 
the one thing that is more oftcn open than any 
other is unskilled labour, which is partienlarly 
the thing select«d by the immigrant from 
Southern Italy, where the faetory system of 
iudnstry with its division of labour bas hot 
been so nmch developed as in the Norlhern 
part. The heavy out-door labom" on the streets 
of the cilles, in the construction of raih'oads, 
in the rougher work connected with the eree- 
tion of reat bnildings, bas falhq to the task 
of the ltalian, and with remarkable endurance 
and no little skill he bas doue much of the 
pioneer work of the Western world, work in- 
deed whieh many of his edueated fellows will 
not do. Their inability to speak English bas 



196 _4 ,çtud!l i e«li«t Immigration 
«o pclh'd Ihem lo keep loether in 
where lhey e«lll I, dire«led by an Italian fore- 
mnn, or sometimes by an lrishman who knows 
little English and no Italian» but who «an 
SUl»plement his kmwledge I»y /echnical terres 
kn«»wn only fo the initiah.d. But because the 
Italian, lacking the knowlcdge of English, fol- 
lows lhis line of hard unskilled labom, it does 
n,»t follow ihat- the edm'ated chihh'en of snch 
a man will follow the saine avoca/ion. And 
the way in whirh the ltaliau have captured 
such a lare p«u' of the gr,ngr«w,ry h.mle 
in lhe ei/i.s i proof of his ingenui/y and 
adaptability. The saine laek of knowlêdge of 
English whirh eompels the ]talian to work in 
gangs, also drives him into segregation in /he 
large cities where he establishes a eolony of 
his own people, with the retention of the lan- 
guage, eustoms, and traditions of Italy. This 
of course produces overcrowding in a deplor- 
able degree, and manifestly retards /he Cna- 
dianiza/ion of/he fmuily. What is in this way 
true of lhe ]/alian is equally true of other 
nationalities, so that wlmle distri«ts in a eity 
are frequen/ly marie up of different, colonies; 
litlle Italy, Poland, Russia, Maeedonia and 
other. So far as the evils of congestion are 
prescrit in out large cities they are hot evils 
which belong speeifi«ally Io the Italians, nor 
are they found ouly in ('anadian cities. They 
are even more accentuated in cities of the 



Immigration (h'oups ( Western Europc) 197 
United States, and nmny of the conditions 
whieh give fise to those evils are hot the fault 
of the foreigner, but due to lax municipal 
regulations and inadequate supervision and 
inspection. 
Because, then, of the great industrial expan- 
sion in Canada as in the United States, and 
the consequcnt demand for labourers, the ImS 
eighteen years Imve seen a greai movement of 
Italian workers to this Domini«m. The figures 
are surprising : 

TABLE 33. 

This makes the interesting total of 120,293 
Italians who came to (anada since the begin- 
ning of the present century, and there was 
also a consideral)ie number during the last 
decade of last century. The figures for the 
years 1913 and 1914 indicate that if the con- 
vulsion of the European War had hot taken 
place, there would evidently have been a very 
large nnmber of Italian immigrants present in 



TA:I.E 34. 

Provinces 

Prince Edward 
lsland ............. 
Nova Scotia ........ 
New Brunswiek .... 
tuebec ............ 
Ontario ............ 
Manitoba .......... 
Saskatchewau ...... 
Alberta ............ 
British Columbia... 
Yukon and 
N.W. Territory ..... , 
I 

Population 

93,728 
492,338 
351,889 
2,003,232 
2,523,274 
455,614 
492,432 
374,663 
392,480 
8,512 
14,481 

ltalians 

12 
711 
282 
6.386 
16,411 
687 
266 
1.825 
8,107 
52 

Percent. 

.01 
.14 
.08 
.31 
.65 
.14 
.05 
.48 
2.06 
.2 

Total for Canada... I 7,206,643 34,739 .48 
Cities Population Italians Percent, 

Brandon, 1916 ...... 
Calgary • • . .... 
Edmonton " . .... 
bloosejaw " . .... 
Regiua " . .... 
Saskatoon " . .... 
St.Boni face " . .... 
Winnipeg ' ' 
Toronto 1911 ..... 
Montreal '" . .... 
Vancouver ......... 
Ottawa ............ 
Hamilton ........ 
{uebec ............ 

15,215 
56,514 
53,846 
16.934 
26.127 
21,048 
11,021 
163,000 
376,538 
479,480 
100.401 
87,062 
81,969 
78.710 

12 
490 
153 
8 
7 
64 
92 
1,276 
4,617 
7,013 
2,256 
643 
1,442 
90 

.07 
.86 
.28 
.04 
.I)2 
.04 
.83 
.78 
1.2 
1.5 
2.00 
.7 
1.7 
.1 



tho labour markel, of 
firt decadeof this eetury ,4 ltalia 
immigrauts came fo {'iII11{«1;1, ;llld {hu'ing the 
last, decade of last eentury, probal)ly 20,000, 
so that, approximately 75,000 Italians had 
eutel'ed iuto {he polmlations principally of 
OIll" cities «1;1 towns. Yet. th{ • «ensus of 1911 
showed that there were 11 Cllllilda ouly 34,739 
ltalians, whi«h 
tates, mauy hml returned lo Italy to enjoy 
their lmrd-earned savings. Further, of thut 
34,739, no less {han 24,373 were males 
t-weuty-one years and over, and of these, 4,232 
were lmturalized and 20,141 aliens. How 
they were distributed the foregoing tahle 
shows. 
The proportion of l{alia.n-born in the popu- 
lation of the provinces, aeeording to the eensus 
of 111, was as apposite page shows. 



CHAPTER X. 

IMMIGRATION GROUPP, (EASTERX 
EUROPE). 

IT is self-evident, in view of the foregoing 
tables, that the eharacter of Canadian immi- 
gration is cl,anging, and specifically in respect 
of European sources. Just as in the United 
States during the middle of the nineteenth 
century the largest numbers of immigrants 
were English. Scotch and Irish, with gradually 
increasing contingents of people from Scan- 
dinavia, so also has it happened with Canada, 
with this exception, that the tide of immigra- 
tion from the British Isles to Canada has hot 
diminished. But during the last two decades 
of the past century and the first of the present, 
at any rate up fo the middle of 1914, there was 
a pronounced change in the ratio of the volume 
of the ride from 'estern and Eastern Europe. 
The contrast between these two sorces, so far 
as it affected the United Statès at an earlier 
date, bas been drawn hy John R. Commons in 
such a manner that, broadly speaking, the 
same words nmy be employed in respect to 
Canada: "A line drawn across the continent 
2OO 



Immigration Groups (Ea«tern Europe) 201 
of Europe from northeast {o southwest, separ- 
ating the candinavian Peninsula, the Iritish 
Islcs. Germany. and France from Rnssia, Aus- 
tria-tIungary, Italy, and Turkey, separates 
countries hot only of distinct faces but also 
of distinct civilizations. It separatcs Protest- 
ant Europe from Catholic Europe ; it separatcs 
countries of representative institutiops and 
popnlar government from ahsolute nlonal'{.h- 
les; it separates lands where education is 
universal from lands where illiteraey predonl- 
inates; it separates manufacturing countries, 
progressive agriculture, and ski]led labour 
from primitive hand industries, backward 
agrienlture, and unskilled labour; it separates 
an educated, thrifty peasantry from a peas«m- 
try scareely a single genertion removed from 
serfdom; it. separates Teutonic rates from 
Latin, lav, Semitie, and Mongolian rates. 
When the sources of Ameriean immigration 
are shifted from the Western countries so 
nearly allied to our own, to Eastern eountries 
so remote in the main attributes of Western 
civilization, the change is one that shonld chal- 
lenge the attention of every eitizen. uch a 
change bas occurred, and it needs only a eoln- 
parison of the statistics of immigration for the 
year 1882 with those of 1902 and 1906 to sec 
its extent. While the total nnmber of immi- 
grants from Europe and Asiatic Turkey was 
approximately equal in 1882 and 1902, yet in 



202 "A »q'ludy in Caadia lmn, ig«atio 
lS,q2 Western Em'op« fm.nish«d eighly-s«ven 
per cent. of the immigrauts and in 1902 only 
twenty-two per cent., while the share of Bo»th- 
eastern Europe and Asiatic Turkey iucreased 
from thirteen per cent. in 18 io seventy-eight 
per cent. in 1902. Ihriug twenty years the 
immigration of lhe Western rates most nearly 
related o lhose which bave fashioned Ameri- 
eau insliluIions declined more than seventy- 
rive per cent., while the immigrants of Eastern 
and Soulheru rates, ntrained in self-govern- 
ment, in«reased nearly sixfold. ''« 
This line ueed hot be straight, and a certain 
amount of give and take may be necessary in 
a comparison, but in the main the description 
will be regarded as correct. ,The tables here 
connected with ('hapters IX and X are hot 
inlended to make so sharp a conh.ast as that 
of Professor ('onmons, and lhe line runs, 
roughly speaking, north from lhe Adriatie. 
Fortunately, it may he said, sueh large 
numbers were parlly offset by lhe immi- 
grants fr«m lh.itain, 1,1.,.»_, but tho fa«t 
of the great iuerease in immigration from 
Easern Europe is unmislakable, and has in- 
tensified the whole prohlem of Çanadianiza- 
flou in sneh a way as to arouse the coneern of 
all patriotie persons. While many passing 
under the designa/ion Austro-Hungarian were 
really German-Austrian, yet the nnmber is 
* Rates and Immigrant, pp. ç9-70. 



lmmi.qrutio, Grott]». tE«t.t«-, Ett.rop¢) 203 
comparativly small, so {bat practiçally all 
dsignatd Austro-Huugarian are placed in 
the Eastrn s«tion in Table 35. That gives 
a contrast of 4S1,027 for Eastern Europ as 
compard witb 275,917 for West'n including 
the Italian. If the Itafians wre addd to 
the Eatern grup there wouhl be a eoln- 
parison of 155,624 Western fo 601,320 
Eastern, a ratio of aplwoximately one fo four, 
and tho featul'es of Professor Ce,minons" con- 
trast be('ome even more significant. I,'urther, 
if we grou l) together the Syrian, Egyptian, 
Armenian, Arabian, Turkish, Persian, and 
Greek, lhe total is only 20,997, leaving a bal- 
ance of 5S0,323 persons the majority of whom 
are Slav. Of [he smaller groups the only sig- 
nificant figures arc lhose for thc Syriau, Turk 
and Greek, and it can be safcly assumed that 
the majority of these do hot enter into agricul- 
rural life but into various mercantile pursui[s. 
Shoe-polishing parlours restaurants, small 
stores and divers sorts of small trade are 
sought hy these people, only a small number 
of whom become naturalized, [hirty-six per 
cent. for Turks, and eightee per cent. fer 
Greeks on the basis of census for 1911. The 
Syrians and Armenians have been emigrating 
partly in the search for better means of living 
partly {o escape the domination and cruely 
of an oppressive government--if government 
be not too dignified a terre for sch misuse of 



20=1 A l, ud U i Caatlio It»igratiot 
authority. The Armenians are small in hum- 
er, the Syriang larger but concentrat for 
the most part in the towns and cities of Qmbec 
and Ontario, with a smaH sprinkling through 
the other provinces. And they do not abide as 
permanent eitizens. Of the Greeks the per- 
centage of women aml chihh'en immigrants is 
small, about, four and three per cent. respect- 
ively, and of 1,gS1 {;reek males of twenty-one 
years and over in {'anada in 1911, only 353 
were natnralized. The Turks ou the other 
hand showed 2,887 males of twenty-one years 
and over and only 1,074 were naturalized. 
Thus it cornes about that the majority of 
immigrants from Eastern Europe are Slav, 
and such is the case for those nsually desig- 
nated by the naine Austro-Hungarian, of whom 
200,016 have arrived sinee 1900, and 121,430 
recorded in the census of 1911. Bnt they in- 
elude a medley of faces which, belote the war 
at any rate, were composed of German, Slav, 
Magyar, Latin, Jew, and these again sub- 
divided iuto different groups, all constituting 
different branches of an Empire sometimes 
designated "ramshackle," but h«hl together in 
some astoumling manner by the power of 
dominant leadersa eoneourse ratber than a 
unity of faces, speaking a dozen different lan- 
guages and dialects. Of the Anstro-Hmgar- 
ians the Northern lavs inçluded Czeeh, Mora- 
vlan, Slovak, Pole and Ruthenian, about 



206 A çludy in Camdian 
thirteen millions; then the outhern glavs, 
including Croatians, ervians, Dalma[ians, 
81ovenians, about four millions; then the 
m«us and Magyars about eighteen millions; 
and finally the Itdians and Latinized Slavs, 
nerly fore" millions more. Oui of this strange 
" gocial mosaic," where (,«(.h lmrt retained its 
integrity, with n str;mge political history 
markcd hy injustices and hardships, housands 
of lwople have be[,n e[»ming itto ihe ]ife of 
('anada. They havc corne no douht from a 
varie/y of motives, ih(,y possess varying de- 
grees of educa/ion and eciency, many are 
cngaged in /he more sevcre aspects of labour, 
agricultural ami industrial, and if the census 
of 1911 bo a sale indication /hcrc must have 
been during ihe last twenty-five ycars a rather 
steady de/ermina/ion fo se/tle in this country. 
Fur/hot, the 3" stand high in comparison with 
olher Europeans in sceking na/nralization. 
Thc census of 191 l gave 57,750 Aus/vo-Hmgar- 
tan males of/wenty-oue years and over, of whom 
23,846 weve natnrdized and 33,90 alien. 
While Denmark headed the list wi/h sixty-four 
per cent. of i/s adult males se(.king natuealiza- 
tion, Gcrmany fifiy-/hvee per cent. «nd France 
fiOy per cent., Ans/ro-Itungvy (.ame np com- 
parativel 7 well with forty-three per cent. 
But the Austro-Hungarians, apa't from the 
Germans and Magyars a'e practically all in- 
cluded under the naine Slav and the question 



Immigrùtion Grou.ps (East«rn Europe) 207 
arises as lo he number of lavs entering 
Canada, heir common or diverse character- 
istics and tiroir adaptability to the lire of this 
country. Manifeslly that tan be told only 
from the imlications already given by those 
who have setled here and the forecast mus 
be donc by those who have lnore or lessaml 
more rafher tlllln lessintimate knowledge of 
the Slavi« inmdg'l'ants who Imve Imd sucient 
rime to nmke gaod. For, while [he facial char- 
acteristics of the Slav in Europe are of pro- 
found sinificance for t'anada the a«tual 
prescrit characteristics of the Slav in Canada 
are of still greater signifi«ance. T«tking, theu, 
the Western Slavs as including Bohemn or 
('zech, l'oh,, «nd Slovaks; the Eastern as 
Little Inssian, Ruflmni«m, and Rusniaks; and 
the Southern as im.hnling Serbians, roalians, 
Montenegrins, Bosnians, Ilerzegovinians, Dal- 
matians, lovenes and ulgal.ians, the ascer- 
tainluent of the successes of these various 
groups would require either extended personal 
observation, or the use of more nmterial than 
is available. Foriunately Dr. Anderson bas 
given in his excellent accourir of many of these 
people based on years of personal acquainb 
ance mos hopeful and promising signs for the 
future.* It is thns a genuine pleasure not only 

*Cf. J. T. M. Anderson: " The Education of the New 
Canadian," 1918, chapters IV and VI. 
14 



20,g A 81«t i Conodion. Immirolio 
fo draw ft'om that hookwhich ought fo be 
read by refleetive ('anadians from coast to 
coasttems of information but also to catch 
glimpses of its undaunted optimistic spirit. 
Of the different types of Slavic immigrant 
V,,l'y nm('h has been written and said. It is 
sucieut here to indicate only some outs[an,l- 
ing fcatm'cs. Th, , lhdemian or Czech is hot 
esseulially an agri,'ulturisi for his m,,,le of 
li['e bas been m;Snly u'han in which he has 
devel,q)e,l the lc('hnical skill of the facto.y 
op,)ralor. It woul,1 seem, then, inevitaide 
thal ihe maj,riiy of su«h wouhl soek to ex- 
change for a livolih,)o,l their t,,,'hnical acqire- 
ments m[he- than iecome pi«)nee-s in lhe 
rural sections. Ne'er[heless a mmber of 
B«)hemians are sm'cessfully famning in Sas- 
katchewan and some bave le('ome woll-io-do. 
These are gonerally interested in the educa- 
tion ,»f their chihh'en, and 1,,ok with 
consi,lerable s;fisfa('fion upon the privileges 
of citizenship. The Slovaks who are akin to 
the ohemians a'e n«)t industrially trained 
but are somewhat i]lile'at26.2 per cent. of 
those arriving in e" York in a recent year 
being so reporte, l. What ihey lack in edca- 
ti«)n mus[ lin ma,le up in ha.d w«)rk and phy- 
sical en,hcanco, but ihnt cnm'ies with it 
enerally a small SUl)ply of financial wealth 
ihe average shown per capita for the saine 
ear as abuve being onlv " ') " 
.    ...... The lovaks 



Immigration GrOUl». (Eastcrn Europe) 209 
generally are engaged in construction work, 
and a large number in farmin. Miudful of 
the disadw, ntages f illitera«y from which 
they lhemselves haw, suffered thcse people 
bave hegun 1o show a deel> inlerest in edm-a- 
li«m and some of [heir chihh'en will be found 
in the secondary schools. The I[ung'arian or 
Magar immigrant farmers perl»etuate in 
('anada the d«minant [enden«ies which char- 
acerized them in Europe. Some have ruade 
small fortunes, others bave become large land 
ovners, while, generally speaking, all lire in 
fine bouses, are interested in he edneation of 
their chihlren, nmny of whom are en[ering 
other avenues .f lire, parli«n]arly the profes- 
sion «»f tea«hing. Il is, Iherefore, gnerally 
agreed lha[ these types of immig'ran[s prescrit 
no insupei'able difli«nllies, none ai any rate 
that are beyoml the amelioi'ainginfluences 
of rime. They bave de«ided te» he«ome «ilizens 
lmder «anada's mode of government, adhere 
to her ins[iiutions, and under the mysterious 
influences of nalure amalgamate in due course 
in[o ber corporate life. 
UTHENIANS. 
Taking the Rnthenians as greatest in num- 
bers, i[. is significant that while they bave 
fumded " 'olonies" thcy have not been lim- 
ited to one province, for they are spreml 
throughout Mani[oba, Saska[chewan, Alberta 



210 A Stt«dy i, Catadiatt Immigratiott 
and some few in Iritish {'olumhia. The Ruth- 
enians, who are gencrally designat.d "Gali- 
cians" because th(.y (.anm from the province 
of Galicia, are simlde ])colle of the peasant 
class, accnstm(,d 1o hard toil in a limited but 
intensive mode of agricullm-e. The change 
from the sbordinale posili«)n «f l)eas;mis with 
ail Ihe disadvantages (.ommct«.d thercwith to 
the fre«hm and possible enIerl)rise of Cana- 
dian Western life is a sort of hazardous mder- 
[aking whcn al)out 250,00 suçh people are 
transferred in a comparatively short rime. 
Ilis illiler«y, his release from autocracy and 
his gcneral lack of technical skill may lead to 
eXld«itali«»n «)f the f«weigner by unscrul)ulous 
persons, and thc inevit«hle reaction may hot 
be salulary. I:uI at the saine rime, in a great 
comtry with undreamed of possihiliies for 
his d«scendanIs, the ver S l;wk of attainment 
nmy produce the dcsire to a«hieve. Certain 
it is that while many are occul)ied in rations 
forms of (.onlract labour for whi(.h they have 
been adapled by years of toil, there are others 
who are making more or less of a su¢cess of 
agriculture. As migh he expectcd the snccesg 
bas .leêl file greaIer whPrever and whenever 
/hey have corne into close relations with puh- 
lic-spirited citiz(.ns. That, hwever, bas hot 
always been Ihe çae, and hot iufrequently the 
Ruthcuians have been found «n l)OOr soil wiIh 
poor equipnmut, and no fuuds, and the result 



Immirjratio tlrotl»S (l.',ast«r Etropc) 211 
has been delres.sing'. It was xvith s.mue su«h 
conditions in viev that lhe lhmouralde T. A. 
'ahler, in a speet.h introdu«iug in the 
Dmuinion l':tl'liam,nt th« llnmigl,aiim Act of 
1919, condemned "as tl'aic the pdicy of 
bl'ingin people hel'e and then ]e«vin them 
alone. If we le them drift, we shouhl not. 
blame them if /hey try t s«ve th«mselves by 
whatever means they ficl." In illcstratim of 
this blind policy he referred  he case of 
" 75,000 «li«iaus who were dnlnped in the 
WesL ignorant of the e«ndilions, laxvs, and 
methods of f«truing. No/hing was done 
them. They lived in abject poverty, some iu 
mud huts, smne even in holer in the ground." 
They were the prey of every shark in the com- 
mnnity, yet helped by «»ne. evertheless out 
of ru«h dire eircnms/ant'es mîmy nutde goo«l, 
and if from a ('anadian sIandpoinI /hey have 
been largely  failure in resI»eeI o edueation 
and eitizenship, it must be remembered that 
in Ihe enlHvation of a p«trioHc spiri hot even 
a skilled ('«madian is a'lde to gather grapes 
from lhol-nS, la he inIeresting n,Heles 
Professor C. B. Bissons «dready referred to, he 
vividly deseribes some of/he outrtnnling char- 
aeterisIics of perhaps Ihe largest, Blavic set- 
tlement in Manitoba. lt. was no. a new settle- 
nen/, for many of he people had been there 
for ten or fifteen years, and yet their progress 
in agriculture was disappointingIy small. 



212 .1 ,çtmly i» Ca»atlio, lmmi9ratio 
Likê mu«h of 
Europe, lhis part of Manitolm was lightly 
wooded with birch and poplar, and had tobe 
cleared before any seed c«mhl l»o sown. With 
insutcient mouey and lllPallS the results were 
nminly a few actes elearod and large quanti- 
lies of Ul»erflmms 
aily of one Rutheuian who teamed wood one 
wini«.r for a distance «f eighteen mlles and 
sohl it for $1.SO a ('m-d. Thc distance required 
lhat wi(h his oxen capable of drawing about 
lwo cords, he wouhl «o lo the village »ne dav, 
put up ft" the night and rcturn next daythe 
two days" labour bringing about three dllars 
and a half, out of whi«h his exl)enses would 
bc deducted. Forty mileu away iu Winuipeg 
lhe wood sold for $5.00 a cord. lu such a 
siiuation it is dicult to sec how these pioneers 
ever kept lhe wolf of hungcr from the door, 
and if the full /aie were tohl it would appear 
lhat he frequeui]y succeeded in entering. 
Some evidem'e of lhat may 
high dealh«'ale of chihh.en under one year of 
age. 'ilh bad roads, bad drainage, lmd limes 
and a sevcre climate in wintcr, and no cash 
with which le) do things or get /hings done, 
the wonder is, hot that these people migrated 
to the city, congesting iVu densely populated 
areas, or worked on /he railroads, but that 
even so many remained to contend "against 



Immig»'ation G'o«l»S (Ea.'t«r Europe) 213 
undrained swamps and abysmal roads," with- 
out schools, withoul hel 1) in thc ho'voie attempt 
to make a home. No doubt they desi'ed to 
-etain old customs, traditions, language, forms 
of w(wshil), «lnd mOl'C «}1" h,ss steadily 1-(.sisted 
the apl)earance of the now as ;iii ,,lCl-Oa(-humnt 
«»n theiv ancient hevitage. No &»ubt that in 
Manitobn, Saskatchewan and Albe.ta there 
were thousands of Ruthcnians who we'e n«»t 
enamom'ed of Cnadian ways, 1)ut Ix, gal-ded 
the ,ovevnmcut as bound to support to some 
extent Rutheniau wa)'s, and especially Ruth- 
enian language. Evcn illiterates sometimes 
have tenacious mcmovics hot «)nly fo" thc 
(q'uelty and «qq)ression of the old, but also for 
the .bitte-ness of the new. 
And yet it is an interesting question where- 
on to speculate whcthe" if the Ruthenians had 
Ien acco-dcd a ri'action of the aid given to 
the Doukhobovs they would no[ have responded 
far more quickly fo the atteml)ts ruade for 
Canadianization. One thiug secms evident, 
they did not receive such aid, and they bave 
hot caused a fraction of the trouble. More- 
ove- they have given indications of the seeds 
of loyalty to a new country already taking 
definite growlh. As Dr. Anderson bas ptSnted 
out in the book to which refe'ences bave been 
ruade, they have expressed a determinatiou to 
make this country their home; large numbers 



214 .l ,%'lttdy itt Cauadi«tn Immi¢jrtttiott 
have definitely desired io lcal'n the English 
language and understand 'anadian institu- 
lions; and nmny are said to bave enlisted in 
the {'alladiall lxpeditiolml'y Fot't'e te» fight 
theil, llPW C{»llllil" 3" though it lnight lllCali fight- 
ing at lhe f'ont llwir own or lheir pa-ents' 
near relatives. Manifestly a Ruthelfian 
dian h«.ing" laken tl'is«mer wouhl exp«,ct a dif- 
fOl'eut rail, fl.olll lhat «»f an Anglo-Saxon 
dian exl»«'l'ient'iug that I»al't of I»attle's fol'- 
tune. .nd yet, «»f two lmltali«ms rCt-l-uited iii 
N'orthel'l .lbel.ta for overseas, one c«mtained 
ighty per cent. and tho other sixty-fi'e per 
c«,nt, of ltuth«qtians wh,se an«estl'a[ home was 
(alicia. These g«tllant young lnell did hot 
COlIIP fl'Olll lll'}lllll (-lll'es o lllllfh ils fl-Oltl 
]'Ul'al, whe['e l'anadian agelleies had for ten 
yeat-s been wol.king «,n the practil'al enter- 
prises of aiding s«ial «tnd family lire lhrough 
the medium of I,¢mrding hous¢,s, schools and 
hospitals. And within the narl'ower limits of 
lhe soeial circle m,w ideas arc • slowly penetrat- 
ing aud haveniltg tiw auci«,ut f»l.lnS, llere and 
lhere the new home shows by its style and 
equilmlent llw adaptalioll to lhe new. Evcn 
the Ialician wedding bas begun to dt'op some 
of its Slavic features and slowly adopt lUany 
Ilougillg to the chosen eountl'y. Thus assim- 
ilation into a new country while a slow lU.O - 
eess goes steadily on whel'e the assimilating 
forces al'e genel'ously set in operation, and 



]mmiyrution GrO«l»S (E¢lMcrt Europe) 215 
when the native instincts of human 1)engs 
]ead to the completeness of complex lire among 
the many rather than {he fanatical isolation 
of the few. 
FINNS. 
It is pcrhaps incorrect to associate the Finns 
with the Slav. in languuge they belong to 
the Turanian rather ilmn i,) the Slavic group, 
while p«ditie«lly they bave b«en atached 
Sweden and Rnssia. If my .be a matter of 
surprise [ha 'anada has received since 1900 
no less [han 21,678 Finnish immigrants, while 
[he census of 191 gnve 10,9S7 perse»ris record- 
ing Finlaml as thci" ldrthp]aee. [)f [his par- 
[icnlar type «»f immigrant there has bccn little 
said, chiefl/ because they are engaged eiiher 
in mercan[ilc pursuits and thus merge in the 
general comi>lex lire of [he ci¢ies and ¢owns, 
or are concen[rated in groups in mining towns. 
Reports regarding ¢he mode of life of 
Finns and thei" a[titnde [oward Canadian in- 
stitutions vary so ranch that if seems cIear 
there are at least two dis[inct types, one 
edueated type who, sharing in the be[[cr out- 
look that even elementary education brings, 
is engaged in some form of commercial ]ife 
is indus[rions, law-abiding, and seeks as a 
respectable citizen lhe righ¢s and privileges 
of naturalization ; the other ¢ype is pronounced 



by Lhe ,better class of in o be rcrui{d 
frm he moL ignorauL aud immoral î all 
the emigrants from Finland. These are en- 
gaged mainly in unskilled labour, cspecially 
in mining indusiries, and infornmtion regard- 
iug their mode of life in froutier towns lends 
definite colour to the view lhat they are not 
at ail burdcued by over-devotion to the laud 
wherein ihey find ihe means of livelihood. But 
lack of education, combined with severe phy- 
sical labour, tan lmrdly be expectvd t«} always 
produee a pronounced patriotie fervour, and 
in the case of this second type of Finn pro- 
dnees a deploral,le hostiliiy to established 
isliluiions, political and religious. That 
attitude he nd not necessarily express when 
seeking enirance, the illiteracy test would 
on]y %e adequate to reject a comparatively 
snmll numbe and the requirements for natur- 
alizaiion may be fulfilled so as to obtain iis 
protection raiher than discharge its obliga- 
tions. Such a type is, however, hot confined 
to the Finns wh» point raht.r tlm moral ha 
the bestowal of the rights of citizenship upon 
immigrants who have memly existed in a 
country for a definite period of time is finally 
subvemive of citizenship itself. 



Immigration Groups (Eastcrn Europe) 217 

DOUKHOBORS. 
The story of the Doukhobors, or "Christiaus 
of the Universa! Brotherhood "' as they desig- 
lmte theniselves, is a striking illustration of 
the strange COlnbiuation of illiteraey and re- 
ligious zeal amounting frequently to fanati- 
cism. With uo definite history behind them, 
since they do hot write bo«»ks, and with a back- 
gl'OUlld of tradition ouly. these curious and 
simlfle-miuded people Seeln to have passed 
from obscul'ity to some slight prominence about 
thë middle of the eighteeuth century in some 
villages on the southeru frontier of Russia. 
Their dOCtl.ines, flmugh at variance with those 
of the Gl'eek Ol.thodox 'hurch, were 
sufti«ienfly wide-spread to arouse the hostility 
of the Russiau {h»vel'nment. Their religious 
beliefs aud praetices, however, were at the root 
of their refusal to perf«»rm military service, 
and when Russia, afer the middle of last cen- 
tury exended ara! intensified her organization 
for military purposës, the unbendiug" refusal 
of the Dmkhobors to comply with the demauds 
transfornwd a barely toh,rant attitude into 
Olie of persecution and repressiou. 
The dispersion of villages and the banish- 
ment of the inhabitauts, or the leaders of them, 
into Trans-Cucasia and Siberia, while work- 
ing havoc among these untutored peasants did 
hot annihilate them, but caused their cry of 



21S .| t.l 9 i ¢'(«»«¢1i« lmmigratio 
distress fo reach Western Europe and Amer- 
ica. l,'o]]owing an al»]»ea] to the mother of the 
Czar in 1898, permission to leave Russia was 
at lasi secured, and, aided financially by sym- 
patheic l»ersons of influence, [he nigration of 
these religions rcfugees 1o the Western Prov- 
inces was arranged ami l»erformed ata cost 
of (wer 200,000. The first con[ingent arrived 
in .lanuary, 1N99, and was fo]h»wed hy others 
unil nearly S,000 of [hese l»e(»lde with such a 
strange and pa[hetic history had been sett]ed 
in ('anada. They were gran[ed exemption 
from mili[ary service, ami were assigned 
b]ocks (»f land on [he hasis of fifteen actes to 
each mcmber (»f (he fami]y, and for(hwith they 
began [o cs[ah]ish co]ouies at Kamsack. Thun- 
des" Itil], Rosthc'n ami Yorkton. Whi]e it 
s(+med clea" that [hese people had prac[ised 
communism of a specific sort in Russia to the 
extent [hat there was no personal property, 
bt one common [reasury, one commou flock 
or herd, and in each of their villages a common 
granary, [here does hot seem [o bave been in 
the agreemen nmde wi[h [he Dominion Gov- 
ernment any express prohibition of commou 
cu]tivation, and lh« requirement of individual 
ownership. Such provisions might hot bave 
been absolutcly deterrent to the en[rance of 
these people, since there is evidence to show 
that they themselves were hot all unanimous 
regarding the expediency, in a new country, 



Immigratio G'O«l». (Ea,'t«'r Eurol»C) 219 
of commou vultivation. Vhile the thirteen 
villages at Thundev Hill yere at first anxious 
to eul[ivate as one g'oup, [he cohmy at Kam- 
saek was mo'e individualist, and even dm'ing 
ihe fi'st yea" the no.thern cohmy modified the 
general «ommunity s3"stem somewhat on the 
lines ah'eady iudicated as pl'evailing among 
them in Russia. 
Whatever umy have been lhe details of the 
agreement lhe unde.slandig on [he part of 
the Doukhol)o-s was that lhey w,re fo settle in 
villages and culli'ate [he sm'rounding land 
granted them on the basis of 160 actes for 
every persou capable of takiug up a homestead. 
Even o that genet'al ].iu«iple [he'e wer«' some 
eeepli«ns whe'e lm'sous lw«fem'«d imlividual 
cu]livali«»n, bul lhe majo'iiy we.e intent on 
conHnon «.ul[irali«n. To that cm] [hey estah- 
lished their villages and, aided by the govem- 
ment aud p'ivate subsc'iptions, began their 
work of ag'i«ullm'e, and with consideral)le 
success. Diculties, however, soou appeared. 
In ortier to secure patents fo" the land indi- 
vidual ownership had to be assered, and be- 
fore becoming the possessor of a homestead, 
the oath of allegiance in British citizenshi 1) 
had to be taken. This was af first an insuper- 
able difficulty, and became more intense when 
COul»led with the refusal fo register bi'ths, 
marriages and deaths. The upshot of the situ- 
ation was that a la'ge number of Doukhobor 



220 A »_'tudg in ('«nadian Immigration, 
homes[ends in the distrie[s of Yovkton, Prince 
Alber[ and Regin« weve eanolh,d, and of tlmt 
total numbev of 2,737, th«re weve 78 set apart 
«s reserves fiw Ioukhobo- eommunities, 3$ 
were under enlr 3" te imlependent Doukholors, 
and tho balance of 1J;03 were thrown open te 
the gneral luhlie. Al llm sonne rime it. 
insisted hy relwes«,ntatives of the I)ominion 
Governmont t]mt those wh wis]md to retain 
their lnnd, even if snhseqnently nsed for eom- 
nmfify pm'lçoses , nmf beeome ]Ivifish sub- 
je«ls. «md Hm[ was fin«fll S agveed. 
The suhsequenl pilgrimages of [he mos fau- 
atic;! of lhese ]n'imilive people were oulbreaks 
of religi«»us mania raher [han lhe oncome of 
auy land di[ficnllies, and the appearance of 
P«,(er Veregin, who had been in exile in 
Sibc'ia, meanl he heginning of more peacefnl 
days. [-nde' [he genius of his leadcrship the 
Doukholmr colonies bave grown in numhers 
and wealth, and for tbem he is adviser, pm'- 
chasing ngenL general snpcrinlendent, and 
spiriinal and finnm.ial authorily. Wilh their 
hahils of cleanliness, tlu'ift and sohrieiy 
eonpled with a s[roug rohust physique if was 
to he ex]e«ted Hmf [hey would in many places 
nmke he prairie bloss«m «s lhe rose, and to- 
day lhe valne of heir hohligs wouhl run inlo 
the millions of dollars. While from lhe be- 
ginning there have been nmny 'ho havc broken 



Immigratio» Gro«ps (Eastcr» E««rope) 221 
away from commuaity lire and become imle- 
pendent, the great majority bave remained 
the Dominion but hot of it, aml so far as their 
British citizenship is eoncerned it bas scareely 
ever been more tban a means to an end, namely 
the perpetuation of conun.nity lire and the 
prin«iples ulmn whi«h such life is based. 
the extreme simplicity of their religious out- 
look tl, ere al'e no pri«'sts, no churches, no 
institutions of organized religion. Accom- 
pauying that primitive condition is a dread of, 
eveu a deep autagouism toward, education, 
whit.h is frequeutly deuounced as one of the 
ways of the worhl, which for them is identical 
with siu. 
To bave, in the midst of a population already 
polyglot, communities ncmbering thousamls of 
persons of whom p«*rhaps nine-tenths are illit- 
erate, who are averse fo estahlishing schoels. 
whose children row up without any kuowledge 
of the Euglish language or of the institu- 
tions under whi«h they lire may be a cou- 
desceusion to the fauatical claires of religious 
liberty, but in the immediate present and 
future tan hOt he regarded as condu- 
cive to good citizenship, nor even to 
the peace of the country. For cnless 
growing cbihh'en are kept wiihin the narrow 
limits of community lire their handicap in the 
broader aveuues of iudustry will promote a 
reaction against the community /bat entailed 



222 .t ,S'tud9 in Canadien lmmi(dration 
sueh handicap and the governments that 
allowed if. If hOt to everybody yet to some 
within snch a eommunity he discovery that 
by some means or other they have been de- 
prived of lhe essentials for exercising the 
inherenl, righls of free eitizenship will be one 
eharaeterized by eonsideral)le bitternessa 
bitterness direeted mainly hot against the 
unenlighlened ancestors but against the en- 
lightened g'overument that allowed sueh 
ration tobe perpetuated. 
That sm'h are lhe possihilities may he read 
hetwecu lle lines of a repor of a visi marie 
in tho autnmu of 1919 o the ])oukhobor ('ol- 
ony in the Province of lrilish 'olumbia. + In 
contrast to many other colonies this one had 
a school for boys, for no girls are permitted to 
attend sch«o], and um]er the guidance of an 
English-speaking teacher were being taught, 
mainly pi«torially aml by obje«t ]essons, the 
essentials of common every-day English. They 
sang their songs in their own tongue. When 
the visitors expressed a desire to eat with the 
community a Donkh,»bor trustee brought them 
to a long, well-built dwelling, «ook-honse and 
kit«hen eomhined. Seated at the tables were 
twenty adults and a numher of ehildren. The 
*An interesting accourir of this visit i given by 
" Exeter Hall " in The Christi«n Guardian, December, 
1919. An accourir of an earlier visit is given by C. B. 
Sissons in Fa»ner' Magazine, May, 1916. 



lmmigralio» (-;roup. (I.',ast,«r» Europe) °23 
mên were of the museular type, strong and vig- 
0|'011, flrlllers, the W(|liit 11 W(l'e «1|(» 'obiis[, 
snnburnt from work in the fields, and bearing 
the marks of physieal labour, linkêd wit,h an 
expression that indicated they had been denied 
t.he advantages of mental development.. The 
meal proeeeded in the absence of plates, knives 
and forks, whi«h howevêr were hot so very 
essêntial since the eonstit.uents of t.he meal 
were mainly vegêtables and fruits, for no ani- 
mais are killed for food. Skins were removed 
from eooked potatoes by the fingevs which 
distributed therêon pinehes of salt from hand- 
marie wooden bowls, while several persons are 
with wooden spoons from a eommon recep- 
aele. To be sure thêse primitive methofls of 
eommou lire rnny uot he condemned even in 
the luxnrious province of lqritish Columbia. 
but even sueh eustoms were perhaps less of a 
flisappointmênt to the visitors than the faet 
that, for them the medium of communication 
was ]imited to sympathetie nofls and smiles. 
The lnembel's of t.his commuuity lacked noth- 
ing in industry. They marie their own eloth, 
raised flax and spnn linen, provided for their 
own necessities and lived as much as possible 
self-eontained lires. In agriculture they ex- 
celled even on a purely vegetarian diet, work- 
ing many hours in the day. They were devontly 
religions, condnet.ed their own public worship 
and were regarded as the progressives in the 
15 



«ommuuity. ,ome of lhe oviginals, however, 
in the somme locality are net at ail se high- 
minded and remain unalterably opposed te 
auy eldightening influence frein the world 
round about. Refusing te use any beast for 
l«d)«ml" tlwiv cnltivation of the soil must al- 
w«ys 1», by hand and thus they are reduced te 
the ha-o n«,«es.itics of life. Te turn these old 
peoph  ri.oto lira wys of the past would be 
impossible and perhps unwise if it were pos- 
sihh,. Thc hope for the future lies in the 
ind(qmmh'llt and progressive Doukhobors and 
lheir chihh'en, and thc medium will be that 
of the common sch«)ol aided by such other 
«,gencies as kindly«lisposed and cnlightened 
ncighhom-s may he able te use. For the day 
may net be veT far distant when these Douk- 
hobor colonies ma S begin te disintegrate under 
the irresistiblo pressure of gradnally-expand- 
ing Canadian lire. It would be regrettable if 
such disinteg'«,tion wouhl hring unnecessary 
hardships te the innocent n,embers of a regime 
which they did net mnke and into which they 
were born, or even te those who were active 
and willing participants of a system whose 
defects were hidden by the intensity of reli- 
gions ferveur. But respect îor relious 
ferveur need net bide the fact that when prin- 
ciples of internationalism, communism, and 
vegetarianism culminate in an attitude of 



Immig'a.tiou G'oups (Easte' E«'ope) 225 
separation from he rest of ttie world the prin- 
ciples are disintegrative not constructive, and 
though a. kindly ge may look with smiling 
tolernce upon fanaticism when exercised 
uuder 'eligious belief, it will hot endos'se a 
peoplc -ho, though they may not eat ment, 
'ill not acquire sufficicnt priva property to 
constitute an individual home, no" give thcir 
o-n flesh and Id«od thc imlielmlde t.ighls 
of eh,m«,nt«t'y edncation, ll)r couside" «my 
«.ouni'y g«)od euough fo- « pal'i«,t I, defend 
'ith his life aginst thc ntlack of a wanton 
oppressor. 



CHAPTER XI. 

IMM[GRATIOV AAD DEFECTIVES. 

IN th(' Oct«d»er, 1919, issue «»f Thc 
Jom'nal of ]i«ntal Hygi««, Dr. J. Ilalpenny 
}f Winnipeg o»ntributcd «m instruciive and 
interesting artich, fo the dis(.ussi«n of the 
problem t,f Immigration hy 1,ointing «ut "One 
phase of lhc Foreign Invasion of l'anada." 
That "phase" consisted in the large number of 
a[iens scattcred through the provinces and 
addition ruade by them to lhc burden of Crim- 
inality and Insanityand lhe addition 
pears at first sight allogelher 1«»o great. This, 
however, is in agreemcnl with a general belief 
which sometimes finds verbal expression, vocal 
and writlen, lhat the river of our national 
life has been pollutcd by the tm-bid slreams 
from immigrant sources. Tlw causes for this 
are sometimcs declared to lie in the degener- 
are charactcr of the immigrauts, somelimes in 
the defects of immigration laws and regula- 
tions, sometimes in the inadequacy of thc 
sifting process n lhe part of immigrati»n 
ocials, and somelimes in all three. While 
there may be some foundation for all fhese 
assertions, it would very much clarify the 
226 



lmmigratiol, ami Dcfeetit-es 227 
situation if the concrete defeets eould be in- 
dicated and the rem,dy declarêd. Reports 
from Psychiatri«al (qini«s ami lIospitals for 
tlw Insane are definite and statisti«al, and the 
classification of dcfec/ivcs and diseas«d is 
based on definite diagnosis estalflished by 
COmlmrison of lerfornmnces and SCl'utiy or 
symploms. Moreow.r in the majority of the 
cases definite information nmy be obtained 
regarding nathmality and race, aml he but- 
rien .f defect placed wh«re it aeually bolons. 
lut even then it do«-s hot necessarily follow 
that one race or l'ople is lmrtielarly more 
defective tlmn anolher, unlcss the comparison 
be ruade on an approximately equal basis. 
When one remls a statement in a newslmper 
quotin from some public speaker thal there 
are 25,000 mental «h,fectives in {'anada and 
6,000 of them in the Province of Quebec there 
is no inclinati«m to combat or uphold the 
assertion, bHt one wonders how such pre«is«, 
fiures have been obtained. Since the 
lation of Quebec in 1911 was 2,003,232, Ihen 
approximately twenty-nine persons per 10,000 
were mentally defective. The balance -f the 
defeetives, 19,000, must be assiged to the rest 
of Canada with a population of 5,203,411, or 
a ratio of thirty-six persons per 10,000. While 
the advantae though slight appcars to be with 
Quebec, it is offset by the fact that scarcely 
four per cent. of the population are foreign 



228 A ,S'tudj in ('anadi«n Immigration 
born. (The eeuu of 1911 gave a. population of 
,0032, of which 74,421 were foreigu boru.  
Bu now iu the Wetera provinces lhe per- 
centages of for«ign-l»ol'n mourir up front 
twenty to forty per «en't. of the population, 
aud sinee tin, pr«portious of defectives 
between Quebec and tlw t-est of l'anada 
were twenty-nine and thirty-six per 10,000 
respectively tlw advautag¢, seems altogvther 
with the "freiguer.'" «'uri«»usly enough 
abou the rime that stntement was pub- 
lished regardiug defectives in  'anada, another 
stement, was quoted front another person 
to the cffect that iu the United States 
a recent, census revealed the fact that there 
were 46,000 feehle-minded in the United 
States. Apart from the colosnl task of 
taking such a censusa task which bas never 
been performedthe information of 6,000 
feeble-minded for a popclation of about 110 
nfillions, and 25,000 for a population of 
about eight millions, might well give us 
"serious pause," if hot iudeed partie, about 
Canada's deg«nerate state. Relief cornes 
when we reflect that perhaps mental de- 
fective nnd feeble-minded are hot identical 
terres, h'cvertheless it mus be admitted 
that hygienists in the Uuited States bave 
long since been alarmed at the high ratio 
of mental-defectives amoug the immi'rants. 
In an excellent paper by Dr. g. D. Pag6, Chief 



Immigratio aud Defectives 229 

Medical Officer of the Port of Quebec, before 
the Fourth Annual Cougress of the Canadian 
Public Health Associatiou al Toronto, Sept. 
3-4, 1915,* thc statement is quoted from 
Pollack that "proportion of foreign-born 
feeble-minded in American Institutions o the 
population in 1903, xvas four limes as great 
for foreign as for the nativc-h,rn." The evi- 
dente upon wbich this was based was hot pre- 
sented, and one womlers whether iL means 
that the mnnber of foreign-born inmates in 
these institutions was four times as grea.t as 
the number of native-born inmates, or whether 
the rati,» of the number of foreign-born 
inmates to the total foreign-born population 
is four limes as great as the ratio of the 
native-'born imnates to the total nalive-born 
population. If the latter werc the case the 
situation would be serious, and the former 
would be bad enough. Dr. Pagé quotes 
further from Goodwin Brown, of the Lunacy 
Commission of the State of New York, to 
the effect that "the proportion of the foreign- 
born insane was in excess of eighteen per cent. 
to the native population." Further, "a special 
committeo appointed by the Lunacy Commis- 
sion in October, 1907, vported to the Society 
for the preveution of cruelty to children that 
there are now close fo 7,000 distinctly feeble- 

*Sec Public Health Journal, Nov., 1915. 



230 A St«dy in Uanadian Immigration 
minded chihlren in he New York schools, or 
abolit one per ceint, of the sebod lmpulation. 
This does hOt inelude an equal number of 
idiots and imbe«iles hot attending sehool, nor 
does it inelude morally defective chihh'eu or 
border-line cases. The commitee places the 
total number of feehle-mindcd ehildren at 
approxinmtely 10,000, and concludes that the 
prence of many of them is due to the non- 
enforcement (»f the national immigration 
laws at Ellis Island, thirty per cent. of the 
feeble-minded «hihlren in the general popu- 
lation, a«e-rding to the census statistics being 
the progvny or" aliens or atul.alized citizens. 
Thus it tan saf«ly Iw said that the presence 
of 3,000 of thcse feeble-minded children can 
be attrilmted to alien immigration." It may 
hot be amiss to reproduce the quotation of 
Dr. Pag6 from Tbe Ntlrrcy (Mal.ch, 1912), 
as to the possilde number of feeble-minded in 
the United SIales, according fo Professor E. 
. Johnston. 
In 64 Special Institutions for feeble- 
minded ........................ 29,172 
In 17 Hospitals fiw Insane ........ 1,561 
In 27 Reformatories ............... 2,090 
In Communities (uncared for) accord- 
ing to estimates by Dr. Walter E. 
Fernald ...................... 166,000 

198»823 



Immigration and Defectives 231 
That gives a ratio of about two per 1,000. 
Others place thc ratio at three per 1,000 and 
some place it highcr, while thc ratio among 
immigrants has been placed at four per 1,000. 
If that ratio be aplflicd to the more thau 
3,000,000 immigrants who have cntered 
Canada since the beginning of the present 
century it would mean about 12,000 fceble- 
minded persons of whom, according to the 
figures of Dr. Pagé, 215 have becn rcjected 
at examination upon arrival. It was probabl 
on a basis of lhrce per 1,000 that thc estimate 
of 25,000 for ('anada was ruade, and thus the 
number allotted to Quebec was 6,000. 
But, it may be ohjected, such arnm/inlS 
in these broad numhcrs with three zeros are 
the merest guessesnot wihl guesses ne«es- 
sarily, but large geueralizations ruade from 
too narrow observations. For so far as 
Canada is concerned therc has uot been any 
census of the mentally defective among eight 
millions of people, ad if such were uuder- 
taken it couhl not be performed hy the simple 
process of counting noses, but by a rigid and 
careful technique whose operation and con- 
clusions would manifestly bc open to scrutiuy. 
Such a technique is iu operatiou in psychia- 
trical clinics, and what may be gathered from 
the results, as a support of the claire that 
foreign immigrants are specially defective, is 
a matter open for discussion. Thus of 3,083 



cases reported for «ue period from lhe 
Psychiatrie Clinic of the Toronto General 
llospilal, theve wore 862 moron. SI. imbe- 
cilcs. 11 idiots, 497 insane, 75 epileplic, 
backward. 3 «retin, 7 deaf ami dumi b and 
appre,tl" nord,ml. Hut of lhe patien{s 
coming to the clinie, for {he period fo whi«h 
the abovc fignves :,lqly, ouly 45.33 per cent. 
were ['anadia,; ll,e ,.ealer part were there- 
fore foreign, aboul fil'ly-fivc per cent. Since 
however, Toronto show«d I 1911) «, popuntion 
of 376,538 of whi«h 3;,131 were 5weign-born, 
then about 8.8 per cent. of the population was 
furnishing fifty-five l'CV ceint, of the above 
clinical cases. Tl,at ou the face of it h)oks des- 
perately bad for tl,e foreigner, at least so far 
as Toront is con«erued, ltt were ail these 
feehle-minded? The answer «an be neither 
armative nor negalive. For ten per cent. of 
the foregoing caues were apprently m)rmal, 
al)out sixteen per cent. wcre insane and twelve 
per cent. wcre backward, ami the foreigner 
may have fl]en in some «aes uuder these cate- 
gories rather than under fecble-minded which 
does hot ap1)«ar at ,11 as a distinct category 
but probably is synonymous with the three 
groups of moron, imbecile aml idiot, i.e., 
synonymous with mentlly defective. The 
most that one eau hope from a distribution 
of the percentages is that it would mitigate 
the case against the foreigncr. Rut it would 



Immigr«tiou aad Deectics 233 
hot mitigate it appreciably on that ground o 
examination. For in the intcrcsting paper o 
Dr. Pagé just menioncd it is asscrtcd that 
in one year 1915 there wc'e ound at the 
Psychiatric Clinic of the Toronto General 
Hospital no less than ,, ..."°° feeble-minded 
persons born outside of Cauada agaiust 203 
native-born, which is more than thc total 
number rejected among the 3,000,000 immi- 
grants who have reached our sh«»rcs siuce 
enforcemeut of the Immig'ati«»u Act, nearly 
eleven years ago, 215 only having been re- 
jected at examination on am'ival up to the 
yea" 1913-14 inclusive." 
Of 12,000 pupils examined in a numbcr 
of Pnblic S«.hools in To'onto under the 
direction of the ('auadian National Com- 
mittee for Mental Hygiene dm'ing 1919, 
there were 173 ehildren found menta!13 
defective with an intelligence quolient (ratio 
of mental age to natural age) of seventy- 
rive and less, that is, 1.5 per ('eut. of 
the scho«»l popuhtiou examined. Sinee in 
these schools some very retarded ehildren 
were hot examined because of their absence, 
it may be allowed that approximately two per 
cent. were defectives of the above speeified 
degree. That would mean, if the saine per- 
centage prevailed throughout the S0,000 chil- 
dren in the Public Schools of Toronto, a total 
of 1,600 mentally defeetive childreu, strug- 



gling umler lhc conditions of the regular 
curriculum. inee in the Publie Bchools of 
Ontario there were 527.610 pupils enrolled in 
96, it would look as if, on the sanm percent- 
age, there were the possibility of 10,000 
defective or feeblmindtl chihlren in tha 
province. Binee of tire 173 «.hildr,n diagno8ed 
as mentally defeetive sixty per cent. were 
reportl to be of non-'anadian birth, the 
burdeu laid ou the province hy the immigrant 
seems ('onsid,q'ahle. 
Turning now to the figures qu(ffed hy Dr. 
Halpenny, in the article ah'«»ady refem.ed to, 
there were 5,241.5!1 peoplc of sixtecn years of 
age and over. registered in ['anada in the 
special census of June, 1918. Of these about 
350,000 were aliens, and Mani/oha had 30,S01. 
The six assize courts »f that i)r«)vince in 1.019 
showed i the sonthern district the cases of 
two Scotch, threc Canadians, one Russian 
and one English, but mme were round 
guilty. Though in that district /here is 
only a smali foveign l)opulation the case 
for the foreigmr is hot severe, six British 
against one n«m-I'itish. In the Dauphin 
Asza dis/ri«-t whcre /here is a large 
foreign population trihutarythere were 
English three, Russian one, Austriau eight 
American one, Canadian nine a contrast 
of British twelve to non-British ten. While 
it is said that the one Russian in the 



Imnigrafion «td Dcfcctircs .°.35 
8outhern district could read and write, 
and four «»f lhe Austrians in the Dauphin 
district could not read and write, it is 
not specified what they «.ol«l hot write, 
thoug'h it may be presumed Ihat like the 
Canadian lhey cossld hot write anything. At 
Minnedosa dne of the ten cases were Galicians 
and they knew no or insucient English, 
hence required an interpreter. That h«wever, 
may be reçrded as mfortate rather than 
a mental defect. Taking the Eastern Judicial 
district, including the City of 'imdpeg, and 
considering the total of 23S cases for a period 
of two years from January, 1917, to the 
pring Assizes of 1919, there is the following 
situation : 
Totals. Per cent. 
Scandinavian 
Icelandie 1, orwegian , Swedish , 
Danish I ....................... 6 or .B 
'estern Enrope 
lgian , Freneh , ,Swiss . 
Spanish 1, Hollandish 1 ........ 9 or .7 
American ........................... 9 or 
Southern Enrope 
Italians6, Gekl, ouman,an 3. 10 or 4.2 
British 
English 11, Irish 4, Scotch 4 ..... 19 or 8.0 
S]avic 
rainian 2. Russian 35, Ruthenian 
1, Galician 2, Polish 7 .......... 47 or 19.7 
Cnadian ............................ 58 or 24.3 
Central Europ 
German 1, Austrian 79 .......... 80 or 33.6 
238 



236 A Study iu Caladia Immigrations, 
The situation for the Austrian looks bad, 
but without minimisiug the danger an exten- 
uating circnlnstance nmy perhaps be found 
in the years 1917-19. If for the rime being 
we neglect /hat deplerably heavy percentage 
and group /he Canadian, British and Amer- 
icn (because of "springing from eommon 
stock") they fotal êighty-six. Add the can- 
dinavian and French (who are "qui«kly Cana- 
dianized") aud we have ninety-four cases 
compared with sixty-four for all the test of 
foreign-speaking people from Europe--a ratio 
of about three to two in favour of the aliens 
wlto are suppooedly fhe most "unenlightened." 
If we include the unnsually large number of 
Austrians thc proportion b(.comes ninety-four 
to 144 or almost two to three, which consider- 
ing the facilities of knowledge of Brith 
institutions and law, familiarity with the 
English language, and a considerably less 
handicap in adjusting oueself to new con- 
ditions on the part of the British and the 
Canadian, presents a by no meaus hopeless 
picture for the future of the alien, and may 
ke a little off the sharp edge of Dr. Hal- 
penny's statement, while admitting its formal 
correctness, that " ont criminal class, with 
ail the attendant evils, to say nothing of the 
expense, is drawn ail o ranch from out 
aliens." 



l»»igrtio». »d Defecticcs 237 
But what of the question of insanity which 
is se closely associated with crime? Taking 
again the figures of Dr. II,lpemy for the 
Province of Ma.nitoba, and grouping the 
Canadian and Britisi they constitute 58.5 
per cent. of the population ; while all the test, 
including (hc I"nch, constitute 39.95 per 
cent. Of the t«)tal number of 954 insane in- 
mates in he Brandon and elkirk «s)'bms 
the ('anadians cotril,ted 3.38 and the 
ritish 273, n /oal of ;ll, a pcrccntage of 
63.73; while ali the test of "Ali('n" Manitoba, 
including the Freurh, contrib/cd 343, or a 
percentage of 35.77. That is te, say, the 
British-Canadian l)eing 58.5 per cent. of the 
population contributed 63.73 per cent. of the 
insane, and the " alien "' being 39.95 per cent. 
of the population contributcd only 35.77 per 
cent. of the isane. 
If is by no mens desirable tiret a bad or 
a good case should be ruade out for the immi- 
'rant, but rather that the facts of the marrer 
should, as far as possible, be ascertained in 
order that an adequate jdgment may be 
reched. Te say, tberefore, that the immi- 
grunt is respoasible for furnishing us with 
the greffer part of or mental deficiency, in- 
sanity and crime nmy or nmy net be truc; 
but the interesting thing is te discovcr the 
basi on whicl sueh a deelaration ws ruade. 
In this connection a Toronto newspaper seine 



238 A Study in. Canadien. Immigration 
rime ago quoted a statemeut that more tha 
half of the iusane and f,eifle-minded in 
Canada had been imlorted from outside 
countries, whi«h wmdd im.lude reat 
Britain, but failed lo give the evidenee in 
supp«rt of su«h a judgment. If, now, one 
would be allowed t) tse lhe eensus of 1911 
as a field of seareh, would the data there 
jnstify th«, ai»ove siat,ment, and if hot where 
eouhl oue lofl for the necessary evidence? 
The statisiic,s for that year gave the numher 
of lflind, deaf aud dumb, insane, and idiotic 
as 28,611, f whon 23,0S3 vere born in 
Canada and 5,528 were from outside. On 
this basis the " more than half" in the above 
stanent should ,become "less than a fifth." 
Th is such an extraordinary chauge that 
one wonders if the figures eau be correct. 
But it may be lhat it is hot so much a 
marrer of l»il-lhplace as of facial origin that 
is the source of such defective pcrsons. In 
this respect thc foregoiug 28,611 showed that 
11,4S were lIritish, including Çanadian, 
16,791 were flreign and various, and 322 
were Indian, that is, forty per cent., fifty- 
eight per cent., and a little more than one 
per cent. respcctively. In an investigation of 
some hospitals in Manitola by the Canadian 
National Committee for Ment«l Hygiene it 
was round that of 269 unmarried mothers who 



Immigretion end Defect, ives 239 
were cared for in one year, 44.23 per cent. 
were of British birth, and 25.76 of Cana- 
dian birth. That lef{ thr{y per cent. for all 
other races n Mantoba. Is that an exces- 
sive proportion compared wth rtsh and 
Canadan? The otal number ,f femalcs of 
all ages in Mant,ba n 1916 was 259,251, of 
whom 50,934 were foren born, 46,791 were 
British born and 161,526 were Canadan bo. 
Again, of 400 e,)nsecutive admissions fo jails 
in the Western provinces the Canadian 
National {'ommittee found that tweuty-three 
per cent. were of Cana(lian birth, thirty-thr 
per cent. of Austriun birth, and cleven per 
cent. were of Russian birth. This was re- 
garded «s an alh)gehcr too greai dispropor- 
tion, sinee it was hehl thal while the Aus- 
trians gave thirty-three per .«,nt. of lhe abt*ve 
jail populati)u, lhey shouhl only bave c«)nlri- 
buted eight per cent. ;md the Russi«ms one 
per cent., instea.d «f eleven. While, however, 
Austro-Hmgari«ms cou[ributed eigh[ per 
cent. of the total population of [he lhrec 
Prairie Provinces, Russian ruade 3.7 per cent. 
and including Ukrainian, seven per cent. of 
the saine popula[in. Int it seems (,vident 
that of the 49,443 foreigu-brn in thc [hree 
Prairie Province, this large proportion of 
misdemeanours on their part may hOt be «lto- 
gether due to innate viciousness or defect. 
16 



240 .4 [41ufl!l i, Caaflia Im»gration 
For of the Ukr«Hnian vho bave heen fre- 
qnenfly in«luded under tle desination 
trin, omefime under Rnian, 39.8 per 
cent. vere nnahle to peak English while 
thirty-five ler cenL off the Autro-Hun'arian, 
27. pot cent., of the Pole, and 7.1 per cent. 
of the l[li«llS Wel'e in llle 
]mO he lhal «f lle lOII adlniions t« the ji], 
lhe hi'h percentae f tin, fm'ein-horn 
he, in pr{ at «my re, due fo inornce of 
raHn'r {an I« any inherent mental defe«t. 
• hi prflh'm, the, of hov far te lien 
immiraf «m/rihu{e fo lhe I«{«I of menfl 
defieiencF, innity ml eriminlily 
inri«fe aml even a dcliele one if injustice 
would he crnpuhmly avoided. Te enerl 
iml)rei«m i Hmt a con{PilH{ion II too Pet 
is nmde hy lhe foreiner, and it if immî- 
rfion of fiu'ein-lenki DeoDle were pro- 
hihited enHrely, or if {hey were more rior- 
msly examined oit {he port of en{ry a num- 
her of lhese dicullies wouhl be eliminnted. 
The policy of hsolute exclusion vonld, no 
dmdt, he effective if if couhl be carried out, 
but a numher of other thins vouhl also he 
eliminnted al«m lhe lines of indusiry and 
prodn«lion. Prohibit lhe enlrance of the 
forei'ner aud thousands of cres of the virin 
soli renmin unlouehed, railways musc remnin 
s lhey nre, if indeed they do hot deleriornte» 



Immigr«tion, end Dc]cctiocs 241 
and the wealth of many mines abidc in the 
earth. The lnore rigid examimtion of incom- 
ing ilnmigrants becomes, then, hot only a 
necessity, but a court of last resort, and the 
question arises, are out ilnmigrant o«ials 
being given time and ado,qua.te facilities for 
the exalnination of ail ilnlnigrants and the 
exclusion ,f those whose entram-o is pro- 
hil)ited by 1;w? And how does 
pare with tlw United St;l-es in lhis policy? 
It is quite truc tlml lira lmmigrati-n Act 
of 1910 prohibits the entrance into Canada of 
the idiot, the imbecilc, thc feeble-mindl, the in- 
sane. If such be found among the immigrants 
provision is nmde for their rejection and de- 
portation. If they are found in very small 
numbcrs it means either that the immigrants 
are of a very good type or that the specified 
classes are )ot detected by the inadequate 
methods of examination. When from some- 
what similar types of immigrants the United 
States discovers a larger number, and also a 
larger proportion, of these defectives, one 
could searcely infer that the immigrants were 
of a lower type generally, unless the methods 
of examination were he same. That the 
methods are not the saine seems apparent from 
the figures for the ycar 1913-14 when the de- 
tecfion and consequent rejection of defectives 
sking admission to the United States and 
Canada are compared. 



4 A Study in, Canadiat Immigration. 
T. e, LE 36. 

Country é I 
United 
States.. 1,197,892 
Canada. 384,878 

Idiots 

537 
21 

Insane 
198 
15 

Potal 
753 
38 

late 

I to 1,590 
,1 to 10,127 

If fhe l)-l.'S of iwop]e lmd l.-en q»proxi- 
Inalei)" tin" S;II]II', ;lllll thc meth».]s of 
/i,m the saine, md the r;ti,» the st]no, then 
for l'alla,i«l lhero sh,ulhl, alqmrenl]y, imve 
la, en six idiols, sixty-thrce imbe«ilcs, forty- 
rive irisant, a tot;d of 114 ag«Hnst lhirty-eight, 
and if that were the c;ise thon seventy-six 
very dcfective peoph,, dnring those two ye«lrs 
«lbme, cntercd ini« ('«ln;idian lire. But what- 
ever leniem'y »u thc purt of anad;i is imli- 
caed hy sm'h COlnlmrison il relis little or 
nothing as to the respective mevits or de- 
merits of the different nationa]ities or rates. 
Tnrning now to tho ('almdian repnrts fnr 
doporta[ions 
the following: There were deported in all 
1,834 pcrsons, for the following causes: Ac- 
compnnying patients ten, bad character 159, 
criminality 376, medical causes 570. hot com- 
plying with regulations four, public charges 
715. These 1,834 persons had been admitted 



Im»tig»'ation and Defectives 243 
within a period of three years, and 952 or 
nearly fifty-two per cent. were British, 405 or 
twenty-two per cent. were American and 477 or 
twenty-six per cent. bclonged to practically the 
remaindcr of the worhl. This chics not spcak 
so adversely against [he non-English-speaking 
foreigner. 
What were the rejections at ports of entry 
for that saine year? They total 1,827, and were 
rejected for following catses: Accompany- 
ing patients seventy-six, bad character 102, 
criminality three, lack of funds 994, likely to 
become pal}lit charges seventy-six, medical 
causes 39S, hot complying with regulatons it 8. 
Of these 1,827 only 171 were British, twelve 
American and 1,(;44 from other c«uutt-ies. 
This is ce-taitdy gainst the foreignct" who 
was hot allowed Ici comme in, and if the sifting 
process of examinati,n w«rks favourably at 
ail it must be on behalf «1' the British ami 
Americans. With deportati«n the case is re- 
versed, though lhal may be due in some 
measure t( the ffl'eater fa«ilities for del)orta- 
tion fo Britain and Uuiled Slates. Of lhose 
398 rejected for medical causes fifleen were 
foi' insauity and tweuty-tw« for mental de- 
ficiency, 'hile of lhe 570 depo'ted f«r medi- 
cal causes, 207 were for insanity. Since 
the greater prolmrtion of rejeclions were 
foreig3aers it is not without significan«e hat 
insanity is so rarely the reason, only forer per 



244 .1 ,qtudy in Uanadiat Immigration, 
cent. of the medical causes, while with de- 
pro.rations in whi.h lh-iish and American 
lrelmnderate insanity «mstilules nearly forty 
per cent. of the medi«al .aus«s. The mh'au- 
rage, if any, seems again with the fm'eigner. 
ome, llmngh prolmbly hot the whole ex- 
lhmatiou of this umy l ohtaim,d from Table 
36. During" lhe year almve-mmtimmd 384,878 
imlnigrants entered '«mada. Twenly-three 
were rej,«led as mentally defective idiots 
two, imb««ih.s lwenty-onet. The ratio is 
about six per 100,000. For the saine year 
there entered Ihe Uniled tates 1,197,892 and 
555 were rejected as luentally defective (idiots 
eighteen, iml»eciles 537). The ratiu is fort3"- 
six per 100,000. For Canada there were re- 
jected as insane fifteen, a rate of fore" per 
100,000, and fro" the United States sixty-three 
per 100,000. If me be l»ermitted to assume 
lhat the lypes of immigrants were approxi- 
mately the saine, the inm'itnble conclusion is 
that defe«live persons were not su¢.iently 
weeded out by adequate examination» and 
hence the inevitability of large deportations. 
But hot even deportation is ahvays available, 
and the defectives are allowed to remain with 
all the danger and evil connected therewith in 
the social life of the nation. In support of 
this a few figures may be given from the ex- 
tremely large results of the Psychiatric Clinic 
at the Toronto General Hospital. 



Immigration ad Dcfc«ticcs 245 

TABLE 37. 
CLINIC, TORONTO GENERAL [OSPITAL FOR 
YEARS 1917 AND 1918. 

Nationality 11917 

Canadian... 446 
English .... 264 
Russian .... 50 
Scotch ...... 38 
Irish ....... 29 
American... 22 
0ther foreign 
countries... 73 
Italian .......... 

992 

1918 

803 
291 
86 
56 

25 
39 

121 
34 

1,455 

onrces 
.|uvcnile Court ........ 
City Health Deptmeut 
Refuees' Homes, Etc, 
Medical School [nspec- 
tion ................ 
Out Patients' Clinic... 
Social Agencies ........ 
Childreu's Hospital ......... 
Private Sources ....... 46 
Industrial Homes ........... 
Military Authorities... 32 
992 

[1.917 1918 
405 803 
147 ...... 
.... 230 
125 169 
.... 105 
167 32 
8 
31 
60 
17 
1,455 

Of the total number 922, there were 512 
under sixteen years of age; 531 were males, 
and 391 were females. For the year 1917 
there were 446 ('anadian, 264 English, 67 
Scotch and h.ish, 22 American, and 123 for the 
test of Europe. The yeal- 1918 shows a 
great increase in the numl:er of cases, with 
the Canadians «ounting 803, lh-itish 372, 
American 39, and 241, or about 16 per cent. 
of the total, te) be dislributed among the vari- 
ous nationalities of Europe. 



246 A ,tudy in Conodion Imnigrotion 
The Attorney-General's report for the Pro- 
rince of All,erta in 1917 shows that of 905 
dependants 402 were 'anadian and 503 
ilnmigrants. Of the juvenile court cases 
there were in all 525 of sixteen years and 
under, of whom 205 were Canadian, and the 
balance, 320, were immigrants or the children 
of immigrunts. Tlmre wereAmeri«ans seventy, 
English sixty-four, German thirty-ven, Rus- 
sian twenty-nine, Scotch twenty-seven» Jesh 
twenty. The report adds: «Many of the 
children wlm appear belote the court are hot 
normal mentally." 
Of persons dealt with hy the Charifies 
Organization Society of Montreal during the 
year 1916 51.3 per cent. were immigran and 
48.7 per cent. Canadian bornbut ls than 
one-nth of the p«»I,ulution was foreign-born. 
Of 1,000 persons receiving aid» 130 were Cana- 
dian-born and English-speaking, 357 Canadian- 
born and French-speaking American forty- 
threeBritish370, others 100. This time, again 
the « foreigner" seems to have the advantage 
as against the preceding disadvantage. 
In an itcresting article by Professor C. B. 
Sissons in the F«rmcr's Jl«gazine, on Aus- 
trian peoples in the West and the trying di- 
culties through which many had to pass, he 
quotes from a statement by Mr. J. H. T. Falk, 
who was the Secretary of the Associated 



Immigralion and Defectives 247 
Charitiës in Winnipeg, to the effect that dur- 
ing one week of a hard winter a few years ago 
a special investigation was ruade of the cases 
of 255 fol'eignel'S who had becn in such 
adverse ¢il'/lllllStilllqs ils 10 ire compelled 
to seek aid from the Charities' organization. 
It was found lhat no less than 179 had been 
owncrs and cultivators of laud before they 
had elnigrated I«, Canada; similarly forty- 
three had been agricultural labourers, 
eighteen tenant farmers, and only fifeen had 
been following other oCCUl)aions. The situa- 
tion, then was that ail these necessious per- 
sons who had been agricultural produ('ers in 
their own land, were now in overcrowded 
quarters o a large city which was ituelf in 
a period of depressi«m with depleted indusry 
and an over-supplied labour marke. It was 
thus an interesting question as to whether 
these needy people would hot or could hot 
"get on the land." A more minute examina- 
tion was ruade of fifty cases, and it was dis- 
covered that every one of the fifty had emi- 
grand to Canada with the specific purpose 
of continuing his work in agriculture, that 
seven had actually succded in obtaining 
land, but thut hot one had been able to im- 
prove his property. ('uri«usly em)ugh from 
the selling of their labour many of the fifty 
had somehow saved a litfle money which had 
forthwith 'been invested in city property and 



248 A ¢¢tmly in ¢'anadian Immigration 
thir[y«me of the fifty had an equity of aver 
1,000 i,t «'itF lots or lmuses. The l'elson ihey 
assigncd fro' this mode of invcstmcnt instead 
f that off improving lheir homesteads was 
that the ciiy had a.ppealcd fo them more than 
the farm, or, as some said, they had been told 
ihat ihe vahle (f city pr«qerty was steadily 
rising, and if tlwy " hchl ou " fro' a while they 
might he able 1o se]l and use the pl'occeds to 
get siart(l cm the fal'm. Hcl'e at any raie the 
recil)ients «f «-hal-iiytwo humlred and fifty- 
rive [ff theln--were hot such by any evident 
mental defe«t, but by a curions cond)ination 
of circumstaln'es, in which lmmy western in- 
veStOl'S wh«» were nt «« foreigners" shared. 
and who werc aide to obtain " assistance" 
through some other channels lhan those of 
puhlic charities. 
Of the immigranis tl'eated in Vancouver 
Hospitals in 1916. on account of tuberculosis 
there were the following lmtianalities: 

TAI:I,E 3.. ' 

Russin ................ 13 
Italian ................. 7 
Swede ................. 4 
[hinese ................ 4 
English ................ 4 
American .............. 3 
Norwegian .............. 3 
Scotch ................. 3 

Austrian ................. 2 
Be lgian ................. 1 
Hindu ....... : ........... 1 
French .................. 1 
Manx ................... 1 
Greek ................... 1 
Japanese ................ 1 
German ................. 1 



Imtnigratioit attd Defectives 249 
The report of the Dominion Parole Officer 
for the year ending Match 31, 1918, states that 
for the past rive years out of one hundred and 
thirty persons convic[ed of murder ia the 
Dominion of Canada only twenty-six or one- 
fifth of the total number were of Canadian 
birth. Ano[her report from an official ia Sas- 
katchewan in 1917, says: " Out of 352 total 
inmates in jail of one of out Western prov- 
inces eighty-eight only were Canadian-born." 
This leads to the further consideratioa of the 
relation of immigration to crime, but before 
doing so some consideration must be givea to 
the question of the proportion of defectives in 
the population and the nationalities whence 
they come. 
The imperative necessity of careful exam- 
ination of immigrants becomes more and more 
apparent if a study be made of the delinquent 
and defective persons in the population, and 
an attempt be ruade to ascertain what propor- 
tion of these is contributed by the various 
nationalities in the case. This may be done by 
considering, first, the number of infirm, i.e., 
blind, deaf and dumb, ins,ïne and idiotic per- 
sons in the population and, second, by exam- 
ining the criminal statistics from the saine 
point of view. 



250 A litudy in Canadian Immigration 
TABLE 39. 
IN-mf Ir RELATION o Pou-'oN o ]PtovrcES--1911. 

Province 

P. E. Island ......... 
Nova Scoti .......... 
New Brunswick ...... 
Quebec ............... 
0ntario .............. 
Mantoba ............ 
Saskatchewan ........ 
Alberta .............. 
British Columb ..... 
Yukon ............... 
North-west Ter ritories 

Population 

93,728 
492.38 
351,889 
2,003,232 
2,523,274 
455,614 
492,432 
374,663 
392,480 
8.512 
14,481 

7,206,643 

Infirm 

495 
2,459 
1,448 
9,251 
11,318 
1,765 
424 
352 
1,055 
5 
39 

28,611 

Proportion 
per I0,000 o 
population 

53 
50 
41 
47 
49 
39 
9 
9 
27 
6 
27 

TABLE 40. 
TOTAL ]'NFIRM--I.E., tLIND» :DEAI  AND DUMB, INSANE 
IDIOEIC-OF 'i:HE POPOEATION OF 1911=28,611. 

Birth Place 

England ....... 
Ireland ........ 
8cotland ....... 
Wales ......... 
Austria- 
Hungary ....... 
France ........ 
Germany ...... 
Italy .......... 
Norway ....... Indian ...... 
Russi, ......... [ 2021[ Various... 
Sweden ........ [ 69[[ Not given.   
Other European] 85[] 
Asiatic ........ ] 44[[ 
Vaious ........ 2,180 

By Or[gin 
3,08 English ..... 
1,38C Irish ....... 
637 Scotch] ...... 
47 French ..... 
21 German .... 
Austro- 
1713 Hungarian .. 
41 Italian ...... 
154 Scandinavian 
37 Russian ..... 
313 

Total Males 

4,8 2,713 
3,64 1,967 
2,97( 1,641 
9,051 4,870 
944 519 

211 
61 
174 
169 
332 
561 
5,620 
28,611 

130 
45 
112 
114 
193 
330 
2,896 
15,530 

Female 

2,156 
1,682 
1,329 
4,181 
425 

81 
16 
62 
55 
139 
231 
2,724 

13,081 



Imm.igration and Delectives 251 
Leaving aside the 2,10 designated as 
"various" since the.v wouhl probaldy be scat- 
red throughout he list, the factor of birth- 
") C«madian, 2,514 British 
place givcs ...... 
and 834 alien. Now the population of Canada 
in 1911 was 7,206,643, and the total number 
of foreig-born was 752,732, or al»out ten per 
cent. They fnrnishe,! scarcely three per cent. of 
the infirm. But it nmy hot be so mm.h a 
matter of the contingency of ]»irthplace as of 
inborn ch«racteristies of races. Then the 
right side of the table shows where the 
burden lies, for the English, Irish and 
Scoh furnish 11,48, or forty percent.; 
he French 9,051, or ne«n'ly thirty-two 
pe, cent.; while all Central and Ease'n 
Europe, by the «i,l of thc Indians, con- 
t'ibnte 1,91, or only six per cent. Even a 
minute examination of the details of infirmity 
does no/ des{roy this evident advantage. Of 
the 1,850 males who wcre I»lind, those born 
in Cam(da constituted 7.64 per cent., those 
born in the United Kiugdom 15.54 per cent., 
and /hose born in Europe 3.45 per cent., and 
thos, I»orn in Asia .05 per cent. But since 
l»lin(lness may be a misfortnne rather tlmn an 
indication of (.onsti/u/ional weakness, the 
case may be worse with insani/y and idiocy. 
Then consider the following analysis from 
the saine source: 



oo A ,çtud!. i. Couodi«m lmmgrotiou 
TA P.LE 41. 
INSANITY AND IDIOCY. PERCENTAGES BY ]IRTHPLACE. 

[nsane 
Idiotie I 

Males... 
Females. 
Males... 
Females. 

',68 1 ..9 
,014 7.85 
',,501 H.77 
:,59 1.87 

10.7 
9.7 
4.2 
4.3 

2.1 
1.3c 
1.5C 

13.72 
10.25 
2.57 
2.24 

If, llOW» We arrange the whole situation of 
" infirm " I,y pcr(.cntage of defectives accord- 
ing fo l,irthphce, thc following would  the 
state of affairs : 
TALE 42. 
ERCETAGE OF DECTS BY ITHPCE. 

Birth Place 

rotais ....... 
anada ..... 
United 
Kingdom" .... 
Europe ...... 
Asia ......... 
Vrions ...... 

0R|GIN 
English ...... 
[zieh ......... 
Scotch ....... 
French 
erman 
Austro- 
ffungarianSo. 
[talian ....... 
Scandinavian 
Indian ....... 
Çaions ..... 
Not Given'... 

Biind 

Males Females 
1.850 1.388 
78.64 82.13 
15.54 19.4 
3.4 2.73 
.0 .07 
3.2 2.81 
1.1[ 17.6 
15.8fi 13.11 
19.81 
3.7 40.85 
5.1oe 4.46 
.4 .21 
.37 
.o8 
.3 .28 
6.3 6.12 
2.54 2.88 
1.08 1.08 

Deaf & Duml 

2.491 2.093 
84.90 87.62 
7.3 5.97 
4.29 .86 
.04 
3.41 3.48 
20.27 2{.40 
12.44 13.13 
12.56 13.04 
40.26 30.17 
5.01 5.92 
1.64 1.48 
.16 .09 
1.04 .52 
.84 .47 
1.20 1.00 
.81 2.58 
1.79 2.15 

Males 

Males Females 
7.688 7.014 
71.39 77.85 
10.70 9.î2 
3.66 2.15 
.50 .01 
13.72' 10.25 
13.ï 13.14 
9.5 10.03 
7.5 7.28 
7.0( 28.27 
1.65 1.41 
.8 .49 
.44 .15 
.7 .51 
1.0 .49 
.9 .27 
1.70 1.09 
35.34 36.81 

Idiotic 

M a]es IFeImle! 

3.501 .586 
91.77 91.87 
4.2 4.33 
1.3 1.50 
.03 

21.6fi 21.73 
17.96 20.14 
14.51 14.19 
33.70 31.36 
4.8 5.41 
.48 .46 
.11 
.65 .54 
2.34 2.39 
3.31 3.17 



Im.»rigration, mtd Dcfectircs 253 
The foregoing table iudieates on the top 
part the proportions in percentage which those 
born in Canada, the United Kingdom, etc., 
form of the whole of the specitied «lass. Thons 
of 1,850 males who were blind, those born in 
Canada constituted seventy-eight per cent., 
those born in the United Kingdom fifteen per 
cent., in Europe three per cent., etc. Again, in 
the lower part of the table, of 1850 blind 
males, those of English origin coustHuted 
twenty-one p«r cent., and so on. On this basis 
the number of infirm ]s divided up into the 
different percentages constituting the whole. 
In both parts of the tble, therefore, itis note- 
worthy that the preponderance lies entirely 
with those born in Cnada nd the United 
Kingdom rniher than with the foreign-born. 
If is somewhat striking t]mt in the numbers 
who are ]nfirm the Italians form hot a half 
of one per cent., the candinavians not two per 
cent., the Russians uot one percent., except for 
the last in the case of insane males; the 
Indians are comparatively high in b]ind males 
and females and low elsewhere, particularly 
low in insanity. Itis equally striking that the 
French constitute the highest percentages in 
ail four classes of infirmity. Tbat, then. is 
the sitmtion when the c«»nstituent Prolmr- 
tions of the numhers of infirm arc sh-wn. 
On this mode of analysis the advantag«, lies 
very clearly on the side of the alien. A glance 



254 A Study tu Caadiat Immigration 
at the lai»les is sufficient fo show that, but fev, 
porlmps, will be preparcd fr lhe reuml'kable 
fise in the figures for Scotch, h'ish, 3nhsh, 
Frcn«h, and then lho more rcmrkable drop 
for Eurol>ean pe«ples. The «ontrast is so 
strikiug that auyone seh'('ing as a f,>undatiou 
the merc c«»uslilm,nt lr»portium of " lnfirm '" 
by l»irthpla«'e »r by origiu, or by bolh, must 
bide by the issle, mexpect[,d as it may be; 
or discover s»me dat; othcr than the official 
census ou whi«.h thc a'gumcnt nmy be based. 
But cveu with lhe data of thc census as a 
foundation the analysis iuto c»ns/ituent fac- 
tors relis very little l'egarding /he weakuess 
or the strength of particular l'a('es or nation- 
alities in ('amda. Indced, there are severl 
fallacies underlying this mode of t'eatment 
of the pr«»l)lem of the immig'aut. It is 
assumed that if thc immigraut were excluded 
out burdcn of umnt;lly defective, idiotic and 
insane would be reduced by more than hall; 
or if is assume«l thal if the defectives were 
rig)rously excluded at ports of entry and only 
the healthy ami ml-mal allowed to enter, 
many of Dru" problems due to insanity and 
feeblemindeduess wouhl disappear; or it is 
assumed that we are too lnUCh overwhelmed 
by the floods from degenerate Europe. All 
these assumptions may be considered in the 
light of the foregoing tables, and they will all 



be disproved, whereupon i nmy le fonnd 
there is «, greater fallacy in t.he tahles them- 
selves. For 'ly these tables the 
far snperior to {he lritish and {he ,nadian, 
and so ranch snperior that a suspicion arises 
as fo lhe a«curacy of the lasis. And lh, hasis 
is manifes/ly wr«mg. For it should n«»t l»e a 
question of abolule eonsti/,wnts of a clas, 
as an ex/rem, illus/ra/im may how. Ea«h 
of rive persons i isaneEnglish, [rish, 
Sçotçh, Fren'll ami Russiau. A«cording 
constituent proportions «ll are 
footing, bu iii the e«mn,mnity fl'Olll whi«l, 
they corne th«re a,'e om hnmh'ed Englisb, fifty 
Irish, twenly-five S«ot,.h, ten Fr,nch and one 
Russian, ami ihal one Russian is /be insane 
one of the alove fivei.e., 100 per ce/., while 
the Englih have fm'nislwd only one per cenf. 
of their lmmber. Yet itis on jut such basis 
as the la/ter /hot a comparative estinmt.e of 
the various faces hould he lmde. For the 
question is, What lwoportions of the rations 
nationali/ies in out nlidst re insane or idiotic 
or defective? Tlmt quesHon canlmt he 
answered wi/h anything like accnracy unless 
a complete survey be mode, nd even then 
would be only a sort of approximation. Bnt 
if the tatistical data of the censure he used, 
one con ask what is the percen/age of 
various peoples who nmnifest these fea/nres 
17 



°-56 A Stu, dp in Canadien Immigration 
of infirmity? And the comparison of the per- 
centages may then furnisb a hasis for judging 
the « quality" of the nationality. 
The nuber of Canadian-born males who 
are hlind forma dofiuite perceutage of the 
toal Canadian-h«rn males, the insflne another 
per«entag" of the saine total, and a similar 
siluati«m prevails for Ihe dilïerent national- 
ities. In .ther w,rds, the comparison must he 
r«qative, hot ahsolute. Now, of the 1,850 hlind 
males in Canada, 1,443 were horn in l'anada, 
i.e., seventy-eight per cent. of the whole. But 
lhere were ne, less than 2,$49,442 males burn in 
Cmmda, ami tlw 1,443 who fell to their share 
formed only 5.1 per 10,000 of that total. 
Similarly of the total 7,6S8 insane males, 
those horn in Canada were 71.39 per cent. of 
the whole, but. on the hasis of proportional 
contribution Canada. gave ouly 19.2ç per 
10,000 males. At the risk, therefore, of eom- 
piliug a compendious and bulky table, the fol- 
lowing figaWes afford a hasis of comparison 
per 10,000 «»f t.he l,qmlati«m, and will show, 
perhaps «learly, wbich nationalities manifest 
definite weaknesse aecording to tbe features 
designated hy the word " infirm." 
From the tahle following there arises a 
different situation from that which has 
hitherto been the case. Except for the par- 
ticularly bad showing marie by Ireland there 
is hot a great divergence hetween the British 



Immijratio ad Dc{cetives 257 



28 A çlttd!l in (aedian lmmigratio 
Isles and Canada, though Cnada shows up 
badly in thc ma/ter of deaf and dumb females 
and idiotie males. A cmnparison of the first 
and second parts of /ho /able shows that be- 
tween the Briish Isles, Canada, and Europe 
the last lnenliom'd eau scarcely i)e 1,lamed for 
"fitrnishing ris wilh more than fifty per cent. 
«»f onr defectivcs attd insane." The Austro- 
llung'arians wlm have eomc in for a good 
share of (.md[.mnation make, on ihc coutrary, 
a fairly good showing, while/he I/alians have, 
in lh«se r«specls at any rate, a really estim- 
able racord. Ou /he wlmle the foregoing 
figures furnish food fr reflection in a variety 
of aspects. Take, for example, the question 
of ihe blind. The situation for Ireland is 
pnzzling, since /he rn/io is about three rimes 
that of the o/her British Isles and Canada. 
The European nations, wiih /he exception of 
([,rmany, are in this respect somewhat 
superior, Ans/ro-Hungarian, Italian and Rus- 
sian having a eonsiderable advantage. The 
high rate of blindness among the Indians is, 
however, a sad commentary on a neg'lected 
race, for whieh "/he red man " may not be 
en/irely to blame. In the case of the deaf and 
dumb there is hot a great divergence, the 
superiority going to the Welsh and Italian, 
and the heaviest burden falling upon the 
French. Regarding the insane, Ireland is the 
greatest contributor among all European 



Immigration a»d I)cc«ti'cs 23(,I 
eountries, but hey are hOt at ll "iuïerior" 
to Canada lu tlmt respect, and actually 
" superior" in the small proportion of idiots. 
Compring thc order of « demerit " by peoples 
the British-born show the following:-- 

TABLE 44. 

Blind. 

Irish 
Scotch 
Welsh 
Canadian 
English 

Deaf and Dumb. 

Canadian 
Irish 
Scotch 
English 
Welsh 

Insane. 

Irish 
Canadian 
English 
Welsh 
Scotch 

Idiotic. 

Canadian 
Irish 
Welsh 
Scotch 
English 

Here the h-ish and Calmdian alternate in 
obtaining " fil.st ldaCe" in demerit. Of the 
European-born the ortier is:-- 

TABLE 45. 

Blind. Deaf and Dnmb, Insane. Idiotic. 

Germany 
Sweden 
France 
Italy 
Russia 
Au st r ia- 
Hungry 
Norway 

Germany 
Russia 
France 
Austria- 
Hungar 
Sweden 
Norway 
Italy 

Germany 
Sweden 
Norway 
Russia 
France 
Austria- 
Hungary 
Italy 

Germany 
France 
Sweden 
RussoE 
Austria- 
Hungary 
Norway 
Italy 



260 A Study in Canetdiet Imd.qration 
Of European nations, thcrefore, Gcrnmny fur- 
nishcd Cnnada with tlm greatest proportion 
of " infirm" nnd the persons who declare that 
illiteracy and "infirmity" go hand-in-hand 
will b«-e, s hcst thcy nmy, to square accounts 
wilh [lernmny in tlw um,u'ia'hle first place 
and It«ly in the le, st. lut when tranrlflanted 
to thc soli of ««m«la tbe desc(,mlants may 
show signs of clmnge cither of ilnl)rovement 
or d«tcriorati«m. Then hy origbs the case 
stamls s f«fllows: 

T.kP, LE 46. 

Blind. Deaf and Dumb. Insane. Idiotic. 

lndian 
Freneh 
lrish 
German 
Scotch 
Eng]ish 
Scandinavian 
Italian 
Russian 
Austro- 
Hungarian 

French 
German 
Scotch 
Russian 
Irish 
Indian 
Austro- 
Hungarian 
English 
Scandinavian 
Italian 

Russian 
French 
Irish 
Scotch 
English 
Italian 
Scandinavian 
Austro- 
Hungarian 
German 
Indian 

Irish 
French 
Scotch 
German 
English 
Indian 
Russian 
Austro- 
Hungarian 
Scandina- 
vian 
Italian 

Here a nulnber of interesting puzzles arise 
to afford opportunity for expert diaonosis on 
tbe part of hygienists, lVhy does the Indian 
stand at the worst in [he nmtter of blindness 
and least in the marrer of insanity? Why does 



Immigration aud Defecti'es 261 
the ]talian make such a comparatively good 
showing in the matters of dcaf and dumh and 
iotic? Vhy d. the Fl'ench and thc h'ish 
show such uudue prominence in all f«ur de- 
fects, especially since the great majol.ity of 
thc French are Canadian? If high intelli- 
gence alnl insanity are usually associ«ted why 
do the GernlallS appear next t« the Imlians 
with the lcast aln«ul,t of insauity? Why, on 
the other hand, do the Russians ulmw such a 
I)reponderance in the prol,«l'ti«l of 
males, and why do the Fl.el«h surpass 
other pe[ples in thc high rati« of insaaity? 
Why is it that Swcden, with its excellent 
cational system, has furnished the highest 
ratio of insane femah,s, nearly three rimes the 
proportion for Italy? 
But one must bear in mind the popular say- 
ing about f[ols asking questions which wise 
men cannot answer, and be content with 
pointing out that on the data used the case 
against the alien is not at all so had as 
popular impression would intimate. It may 
hot be a wcll-fonnded statelnent that our 
immigration policy is a complete faihlre, or 
that thc foreigner is characterized by de- 
generacy. Nor does it al)pear that, on the 
basis of comparison used, he is contl'ibuting 
nmre than his "share" to the sure total of 
" infirmity " in the corporate body of Canada. 
It may be that in the body of this youthful 



2(12 .4_ ,çtudy in. Canadian Immigration 
giant there are indeed too many toxins work- 
ing against, its sovereign strength, but itis 
no at all al»parent that these toxins bave 
their origin in "alien » infection. Of course 
that vay be their origin and if the narre 
stocks h:d been a.llowed fo develop unham- 
pered by the preseuce of the foreigner, the 
"sere and' yellow" lines of degeneracy would 
hot have ronde their appearance, at least hot 
so soou. lIut until the evidence is adduced 
on which such a conclusion is based the state- 
ment nmst be regarded as unproved, though 
hot unprovable. British justice has been 
wont fo regard a man innocent until he is 
proved guilty, and guilt eau scarcely be estab- 
lished 'by general impressions, or the some- 
what panicky spread of assumptions. But all 
this does hot prove that the immigrant is either 
supremely pious or extremely healthy. If the 
foregoing basis of comparison be accepted it 
only proves that the alien is but of like pas- 
sions and failings as /he test of folk, and the 
country ini,, which ho cornes bas a duty to 
discharge as much as he has a labour to give. 
And if on the other hand, the foregoing basis 
is utterly erroneous and inadequate, then 
until a new and better basis be found judg- 
ment must be suspended. It may be that the 
danger zone lies hot in his infirmity, but in 
his criminality, but the discussion of that 
problem is referred to another chapter. Not 



Immigratio aud Defectivcs 263 
only, however, does criminality appear as a 
definite prol)lem, there is also the question of 
illiteracy and the presencc of the juvenile 
defective among the immigrants, but before 
discussing the rather large probIem 1)re- 
sented by i]literacy a word or two may be 
said in re.gard to JuveniIe Immigration. This 
mode of immigration has developed in re- 
sponse to two dcmands; first, that of thc de- 
sires of charital)le organizations in Eugland 
dealing with destitute and homeless children, 
and, second, that of people in Canada engaged 
in agriculture, who need such farm and domes- 
tic help as these children are supposed to give. 
As to the quality of this immigration views 
are very divergent. aturally those who are 
seeking to final homes for such children in the 
various parts of the Empire are eager to ex- 
tend their work, but those who on heredi- 
tary and other grounds have misgivings 
as to the quality of these youthfuI inmigrants 
are by no means so enthusiastic. A carefnl 
study of these juveniles to the utmost extent 
for which antecedent history may be available 
and subsequent history recorded would clear 
up the situation. For the present the follow- 
ing must sutïice. 
During the period 1901-1916 the juvenile 
immigrants admitted numbered 34,3t9, while 
the applications for their services amounted 
to a little over ten times that number. And 



i64 A Study i C«»«diol= I»migration 
that bas been thc situation since the organiza- 
tion for this class of immigrant began in 1868, 
so that during the past fifty years over 78,000 
children bave been sent to Canada through the 
Chief Inspector of British Immigrant Çhildren 
and the various agencies mdcr his supervision. 
Of that nunlber over 26,000 have corne from 
lhe Barnardo IIomes. Yct through this last 
nlentioned agency only a small part of the 
demand can be supplied, for no less than 12,175 
applications for chihh'en were rec('ived during 
thc year 1917 through the Bal-mrdo homes at 
Toronto, P(qerborough and Winnipeg. In his 
report for 1918 the ('hi«f ]nspector remarks 
tlmt "to those who have tak(*n a kindly inter- 
est in this subjcct it will be gratifying to know 
that, notwithstanding the innumerable ap- 
petls that have been ruade to the people in 
the Motherland, the fouutain of generosity in 
so far as the uecessitous child is concerned, 
has not dried up, and that this noble work has 
suffercd no serious diminution. The homcs 
and training schools, which have been aptly 
des«'ibed as 'Ever Open Doors,' are to-day 
filled to c:q)acity, and it is hoped that in due 
rime many of these children may be permitted 
to migrate to this part of the Empire, where 
there are so many advantageous openings 
awaiting them." Although the demand for 
such children by far exceeds the supply, and 
the demand is chiefly from people who are 



Immigration end Defectivcs 265 

engaged in agriculture, the problem presented 
b.y the average annual migration of about 
1,500 such children presents a unique problem 
in itself, and requires a special monograph. 
That would obviate the mistake of prejudging 
the case, and need not detract an iota from the 
glory of the fact that up to March 14, 191S, 
no less than 9,875 such boys had enlisted in 
the serviee of the Empire, in devotion to whieh 
many laid clown their lires. 



CHAPTER XII. 
IMMIGRATIOX AND ILLITERACY. 

INCE dm'ing {he 1)ast {hrce deeades about 
four millions (»f immi'an[s ]lave corne to 
('amda, ami m;my of th(,se are f'om rural 
dist-icts of Eurol»(,, it is te» be expectcd that 
l;rg«: numhe's (»f Ihcm w«»uhl l»e illiter«tes, 
lhat is, unnble io read or write. This would 
fm-th«,r be sulq»o.ied by the fact that no spe- 
cifie iest of lit«,'acy, «). i]literacy was applied 
at [he i)oris of eni-ance. Since the country 
wns in need of ;ble-b»died 1;hom'ers, includ- 
ing ag-i(.ulfm'ists, more af(ention was paid, 
and qite nam'tlly, fo heir physicd rather 
thnn their mental «l)iliy. Again, large groups 
of these peoples who entered into agriculture 
formed "c«)mmmi(ies" compsed of their own 
naionaliy, and in the Western provinces, 
especial]y, consitu[ed a diffieul problem, first, 
by the establishment of parochial schools 
which, generally, did hot compare favom'ably 
with ihe public school, and, second, by reason 
of the absence of proper and adequate teach- 
ing of the English lnnguage. But while the 
knowledge of English is llO[ essential for the 
]:nowledge of reading and writing, one antici- 
paies that tbe census of 1911 would show a 
266 



[mmigratio»t and lllitcracy 

267 



comparatively high percenage of illiterates 
from th«. inflence of the great, immigration 
influx. Takin fanada as a whole, Table 4T 
was the sit.uaIion. 
By the foregoin' it appears Ihat those Cna- 
din-born wh«» were in 1111 rive years of a'e 
and over, and illiIeraIe, i.e., couhl hot read 
nor write, are 11.45 per cent. for males and 
9.1 per cent. for females, which is three rimes 
and lwo and one-quarter times reSlctively 
vorse lha thse frmn lritain, lI on the 
other hand the percent«ge of illiteracy among 
the foreign-boru is much higher flan that for 
Canadian-born or l{ritish-bm'n, and this is 
true hoth for the foreign-born males of rive 
years and over, and the foreign-born males of 
twent.y-one years and over. Thns the rather 
high percentage of 10.5 for illiteracy for the 
Dominion is produced by the loa" rate of illit- 
eracy for the British-born and the high rate 
for the foreign-born. If is qnite clear, there- 
fore, that immi'ation adds to t,he illiteracy 
of the çanadian population. But that may 
hot be so bad as if seems. While in many cases 
there would be a large number of children 
aronnd the age of rive years the conditions for 
illiteracy wonld be great where pple were 
scattered over the prairie provinces and where 
schools wonld often be inaccessible or small 
ehildren all the year, and for all children part 
of the year. This migh throw the balance of 



Immigration and lllitera«y 69 
differenee against the " foreigner" bec:luso of 
the diflicult circumstances in whi«h ho is 
placed, rather than of any inh,.rent love ,»f 
ignorance. If, then, the males of twenty-one 
years and over wcre c(mq)ared there wouhl hot 
be this possibility of influence from merely 
untoward circumstances. The lower part of 
the foregoing table indicates the results of 
such comparison, and shows the illiteratcs 
among the Canadian-born, Ih.itish-born and 
foreign-born |o be 9.55, 3.00, and 16.56 per 
cent., respectively. 'ompared l)y provinces 
the resnlts wonld be as follows: 

TAP, LE 48. 

Provinces 

Percentuge of Males 21[ 
yers and over, who can- 
hot read nor write Percentuge of 
the population 
I I five years and 
Ctma- British Forei[ over, illitertte 
dian born 
born 
I 

P. E. Island ..... 5.37 
NovaScotia .... I 8.33 
New Brunswick I 14.59 
Quebec ......... 15.64 
Ontario ......... I 4.91 
Manitoba ....... I 4.91 
Saskatehewan .. 5.15 
Albert ........ 7.77 
British Columbia 9.68 
Yukon ......... 13.74 
N.W. Territories 71.53 

12.69 
8.89 
5.42 
3.02 
2.35 
3.87 
2.09 
1.73 
3.98 
0.41 
18.51 

borll 
7.45 7.61 
24.89 10.34 
16.70 14.05 
17.32 12.66 
17.82 6.51 
22.25 13.31 
13.51 13.70 
11.23 12.72 
19.12 11.61 
4.66 13.58 
5.48 69.25 



270 .4 8ludy in Cauadia» l»migratiot 
Here the lrepondel'anee of illiteraey elearly 
lies with the foreign-born mmes of twenty-one 
yers md over tlmmghout all the provinces, 
excepting Yukou and the North-West Terri- 
tories where th« pa]m of illiteracy is borne by 
the Canadian-born, a marrer of some surprise. 
But strangely enough the l)crcent«ge of illiter- 
ates amoug the foreign-lmrn adult males is hOt 
lhe sanie throllghout fhe l>rovinces. Nova 
N«olia stlllidS fil.S/ in this respect wilh Mani- 
tolnl second, whiic Saskatchewau aml Alberta 
a'e hot so bml as iutario and Quebee. Nnw, 
the 10,972 foreign-born peoplc of Nova Neotia 
eonstitu/e ouly 2.23 per cent. of the total, and 
yet of/he 4,451 ldult males, 1,108 or 24.89 per 
cent., nre illiterate. The 74,421 foreign-born 
in Quebee eonsti/te 3.72 per cent. of the totM, 
yet of lhe 29,S22 adult males, 5,161 or 17.32 
per cent., are illiterale. The 162,610 foreign- 
born in 8askatehewan const.ilule 33.02 per 
cent. of the total, and of the 65,345 adult males 
8,827 or 13.51 per e,nt, cire illiterate. The 
142,711 foreign-born people of Alberta eonsti- 
tute 38.09 per cent. of the population, yet of 
the 59,799 adnlt mmes, only 6,717, or 11.23 per 
cent., are illiterate. Ilenee 8askatehewan has 
more than twice as many foreign-born as Que- 
bec, but hOt twice as many illiterate, the ratio 
is 1: 1.7. Alberta has aboul twice the number 
of foreign-born as Quebee but hOt twiee the 
number of illiterates; the ratio is 1: 1.3. On 



Immigratio» ad llliteracy 271 
the other hand, exeepting Prince Edward 
Island and the Yukon, the literaey condition 
among the IIritish-born adult, males is quite 
favourable ami superior te that of thc Cana- 
dian-bo:n. In this respect Canadians born in 
the oldest provinces of New Bruuswiek and 
Quebec have net mueh superiority over the 
foreign-born living in tho saine provinces. It 
is simply 14.59 eompared with 16.70 for the 
former, and 15.64 eompared with 17.32 for the 
latter. Oniario and Manitoba are the banner 
provinces in the ma/ler of li/erate adult males, 
with Saskatchewan in close following and 
ahead of Prince Edward Island. Buç Mani- 
toba and Saskatehewan and Allrta possess 
the greater proportion of foreign-born. Then 
the foreigner mnst be givinff his ehildren the 
rudiments of education, for, as the last column 
in the foregoing table shows, they bave passed 
New Brunswiek and are close on the heels of 
ova Scotia and Quebee, and British Colum- 
biais ahead of the last. Despite tho apparent 
defects of the foreign-born immigrant in the 
marrer of illiteracy, if becomos inereasingly 
c]ear that he is anxious for the educafion of 
his chi]dren, and the 'estern provinces tell 
the raie. Despite the great ride of immigra- 
tion, then, despite the large percentage of 
illiterate foreign-born adult males, the general 
il]iteracy of ail the provinces decrcased dur- 
ing the decade 1901-1911. Taking as a basis 
18 



the percentage of the population rive years and 
(»ver who couhl no[ recul nor wri/e, the follow- 
ing is the hopeful indication. 

TAl:I,1.: 49. 

Provhces 

P. E. lslaud ..... 
Nova Scotia ..... 
Ncw Brunswick. 
Quebec ......... 
Ontario ......... 
Manit0ba ....... 
Saskatchewan... 
Alberta ........ 
British Colnmbia 
Yukon .......... 
N.W. Territories 

Percentage illiterate, rive 
years and over 

Decrease 

1901 1911 
10.77 7.6l 
14.25 10.34 
16.19 14.05 
17.71 12.66 
8.75 6.51 
14.55 13.31 
35.11 13.70 
30.56 12.72 
24.84 Il .61 
35.13 13.58 
81.78 69.25 
14.38 10.50 

3.16 
3.91 
2.14 
5.05 
2.24 
1.24 
21.41 
17.84 
13.23 
21.55 
12.53 

Canada ......... 3.88 

Here, again, the facts are sel f-evident. Vhile 
()m,1)ec ruade the greatest stride among 
Easte.u provinces in thé" reduction of illiter- 
acy the suprema«y pa,scs to the Vest the 
very provinces coutaining the largest percent. 
ages of immigrants, for during that saine 
decade there cntered Canadian ports and des- 
tined for the three prairie provinces over seven 
hundred thousand immigrants. Such facts 



lmmigriton, and IHitera«y 2TS 
shouhl ha takan inta eonideration in ipo- 
ing a literaey te oa "foreigaer." 
This becomes of still greater interest when 
itis remembered that many th«usamls in tlmse 
provinces are unable to speak English, con- 
sidering only those of ten years of age and 
over. According' to the eensus of 191; the 
populatim of the three provinces was as fol- 
lows: Manitoba 553,S;0, Saskat«hewan ;47,- 
835, Alberta 4!16,525, a t«hd of 1J;9,220. Of 
these again, 1,210,374 were persons of ten 
years of age and over. And of these, agaiu, 
no less than 102.425 reported themselves as 
unable to speak En'lish. 'These distrilmled 
among the provinces were as follows: 

T tLE 50. 

Races lanitoba 

rench ... 3,620 
3ermans . 3,416 
Austro- 
Hungarian 9,121 
Poles ..... 2,830 
Rnssians.. 4,154 
çkrainians 5,256 
3thers .... 9,107 

Totals 

37,504 

Saskatchewan 

2,753 
6,736 
14,304 
1,256 
5,065 
1,590 
8,422 
40,126 

Alberta 

1,589 
677 

6,935 
794 
1,800 
2,108 
10,892 

24,795 

OEoials 

7,962 
10,829 
30.360 
4.880 
11,019 
8,954 
28,42l 

102,425 

Of these 1,210,374 persons who were ten 
years of age and over, 790,941 were British- 



274 A ,tud 9 in ('anadian lmmigratiot 
born and 449,433 foreign-born. Of the British- 
born 4.3 per cent., or 33,887, and of the foreign- 
born 15.2 per cent., or 68,53 were unable to 
speak English. Of the 93,925 persons of Ger- 
man origin, 25,518 were l{ritish-born (in Cn- 
ada} and 6,407 aliens. Of those British born 
12. per cent. Slmke Gernmn only, but only 
] 1.2 per cent. of the aliens spoke German only, 
which imlicates no great anxiety on the part 
of German immigrants to have their chihlren 
instru«ted in Eng]ish. The case is still worse 
wiih the Ausiro-llungal'ians, tWellt.'-tWO per 
cent. of the nalive-1)orn being unable to speak 
English. Of the Ukrainians 26.9 per cent. and 
of the Russians 85.3 per cent. were in the saine 
plighf. The foregoing table, fhen, gives a 
slight indication of the educational problem 
in tlw prairie provinces. In 3Ianitoba there 
were 406,09 persons of ten years and over, 
and 37,504 couhl not speak English, a ratio of 
ab«)ut oto. in ten; in Saskatchewan 4[;5,2S4 
and 40,126, a ratio of al,out one in tweh»; in 
Alberta 868,2S1 and 24,795, a ratio of about 
one in fifteen. Hence the educational problem 
produced almost entirely by the advent of so 
many thonsands of foreign-speaking immi- 
grants is no doubt one of he acutest phases of 
the whole immigrant question, for while in- 
ability to speak English need not be confused 
with illiteracy, that saine inability is the great 



_Immigratio ad Illitcraey 275 
obstacle in the way of genuine Canadianiza- 
tion. 
ILLITER.C¥ AND PAUPERISSI. 
A numl)er of intel.esting questions al'ise bel.e, 
and among them the l.elation of the illitemcy 
of a people, ilnmigraut aud otherwise, to 
pauperism and discase, l'nfortunately, no 
specific study of this situation fol. t'amtda bas 
been ruade, and data, statisticl o- oth«,rwise, 
al.e hard to oht«lin. FortnaI(dy, ll«)W(,V(,', the 
immense agricultural .esourccs and the indus- 
trial expansion have abviated ;my gre;t in- 
crease in pauperism in siwh a new and develop- 
ing countl.y. Whateve. thel.e has been of such 
is confined to th(, more densely pOl)ulated parts 
of the la'ge cit.ies, and thcre nminly dm'ing 
sho[.t 1)eri(»ds of industrial delwcssian. It may 
be, however, that, unless safegnards are tlken 
in this l.espect, the large Cauadian cities will 
expe'ience something like that which nmny 
American cities have had. The relmrt of the 
United States Industrial ,t'ommissian on 
Immiq'ation tl.ansmitted to the fifty-seventh 
Congvess showed that "the prol)ortion of the 
different nationalities among the p;upe-s in 
out almshocses varics very gl'eatly. The I'ish 
show far and away the largest prol)or/ion, no 
less than 7,550 l»e • million iuhabitauts, as com- 
pared with 3,031 fol" the average of all the 
foreign-bovn. The French corne néxt, while 
the prop.ol.tion of paupers among the Gel.mans 



is somewhat unexpe«tedly high. The remark- 
ably low degree of l»aUlel'ism mmng the Ital- 
illlS iS 1)ossibly due to the fact that such a 
1;rge l)ercentage of t]lClll :ll'e CUl)able of active 
lal)o,,r, coulillg to this colHh'y Csl)ecially for 
that lmrpose.'" Thcse statcmcnts ;re in agree- 
meut wi/h some of the detuils in the r.port of 
iii(" ['Ollll,issi(»nPl'-[]'le'tll of Immigration for 
lira fis««l )'car ending Julm 30, 1904, which 
givcs thc n,,ml)er of Miens detained in the 
ch;ril«lfle institutions in the United States. 
Exclmliug the insnne thc number was 15,396 
;laid lhese in«hl(h,d /ho folh)wing: Irish 4,599, 
[h,rm;n 2,949, English 1.309, Italian 1,230. 
Thc a,mlysis given by thc Burean of Immigra- 
[iOll sllowS /he proportion of Irish ill the chari- 
/«l)le institutions to be tllir/y per cent., Ger- 
nmns nim, teen per cent., English S.5 per cent., 
;Hll Hebrews and II,li;ms both eight per cent. 
If we add t) these fig,res the enumeration for 
the insane the na/ionali[ies stand, Irish 5,9t3, 
Germans 4.808. Scandinavi;m 1,985, English 
1,$22, and I[alians 718.* 
If is fo p,'eveut diculties of this kind that 
lhe [nllUigr;Ition L;,ws of the United States 
and ('m;,d; t;ke [he precaution of excludiug 
all l»q-sons W]lO are " likely fo hecome a public 
ellarge." 'This, c«)upled with municipal regu- 
lations agaiust begging and laws against 

*Cf. Lord, etc. The Italian in America, p. 197-195. 



Immigretio e»d Illitc»'e«y 277 
vagrancy, tends to keel* dowu the number 
l»l'ofessioual beg'gu.s. Siuce 1908 Clm(la has 
rejectcd on this ground «doue at the United 
States 1)ouml«try over" 10,000 intending immi- 
pot-fs f«r the SItllle 1.elSOll. Iii ;tddition to that, 
llud fol" the l«lst-menti«ned l)t,l'i((1, {';tlia(l;t hus 
del)ot't(,d over 5,000 for ihe saine 1.(,llSOll. Tlmt 
is, thel'e lmve ])ci.il ex('luded ri'oui 
domicile in the last eighiceu years ucarly 20,000 
«u " unt'egul;ted mode "' of becoluing ; l»uhlic 
(.hal.gO, or r('(-«-se te) Ol-g;liz(,(l ('lmrity «ls a 
"l-eglll;ited nlo(le." Iii ([hel- WOl'(ls, [l('l'e 
fl])ollt oB(, tlIoll8flIl(l l)el'sOnS tm'm,d nw;y from 
':m(la annmdly on account of «llticil)ated 
l)aUpcl.ism. It wouhl l)e an intet'esting study 
to deterlino h(w much sueh a condition 
pcndcd lll)Oll illiterncy and defectivencss gen- 
erally. The keen insighl of Jaeol) A. Riis, who 
knew intimately so much of the slum lire of 
ew York, thl'(ws some lighi on this (lucstion 
in « How the Other Ilalf Li'es," when he says: 
« ]t is ellI'iOllS fo filld 1)reconceived notions 
qnite upset in  l,eview of thc mtiolmlities 
which go to nmke up this squad of sri'cet beg- 
gll'8. The Irish lead the list with fifteen pel" 
cellt., and the mtive Aln(,1.iefln is only a lillle 
way behind with twelve per cent., while the 
Italian has less than two per cent. Eight per 
cent. were Germans. The relative provalence 



27S A Rtudy i (_'a»adia lmmig'atio* 
of the faces in out population does hot accourir 
for this showing. Vrious cuses ol»erte , no 
doubt, to produce it. Chief among them is, I 
think, the tenement itse]f. It has no pot'er to 
corrupt thc Italian, who cornes he'e in almost 
e'ery inst«tnce to wo].k. No 1)eggt]-s would 
e',r cmigrate f['on ;m3-whe.e uulcsa forced to 
do so." I t 'ould be a pity and a misfortune 
if Ihe experience and rcforms of Riis and his 
nssoci;tes were to have no effect upon the evi- 
dent signs of simil' things, requiring the 
saine reforms, «ppearing in C«nadian cities. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

IMMIGRATION AND CRIME. 

NON-]RITISH Immigrants have not been 
brought up amidst the sanctions and safe- 
guards of British Law which they haw' fo learn, 
and to which they have to adjust thcmselves. 
And when in large numbers these people have 
flowed into the cities of the land, have congre- 
gated and segregated in quarters of the cities 
where the housing facilities are inadequate, 
and where sanitary conditions are deplorable 
by their absence, it becomes inevitable that a 
certain increase in crime will be manifested. 
But the blame need not always be laid at the 
door of the immigrant, or at least hot exchl- 
sively, but equally as much to the « reckless 
laxity" in building and sanitation laws which 
have too often marked out civic politics. This, 
of course, indicates the other side of the Immi- 
gration problem. It was pointed out in a 
former chapter that the backbone of that prob- 
lem consisted in selecting the right kind of 
immigrant, and then giving him proper aid 
and guidance when he was selected. To de- 
clare in wholesale denunciation that the evils 
279 



280 A tudy in Camdiàn. Immig'atiot 
in o111" la'ge eities al-e all due to thc influx of 
the fol'eigner is onl" to make patent the at- 
tempt to shift lhe vcsponsibility. And if the 
slum be lwesent in oue midst, the blame should 
fall upon thosç, who pel'luitl«d it as well as 
npon those who lire in it. "Il is the nativ«- 
b(wn 1.o«kevy ot. th«, foveign-1)ovu influx, that. 
mst, l,t,a, the 1,n-d«,n «,f 'epl'oa«h fol" the 
S]lliii. «''' {In Ihis poiaI th¢, ex],,,vien«e and 
hnndv,,d of «,thev eivie vefovme'8, are ovev- 
whehning. One is heve veminded «,f that pithy 
s«3"ing of Riis th«l " whevev«v lhe GOsl,el and 
the snnlight go hand in lmnd in tht, battle with 
the slmns, theve itis al'¢,dy wontheve is «n 
end of it ;t once." If thege factors make an 
end of it some othev factors vhich need hot be 
named are vesponsil,le fo. making it. 
In eonsid«.ing the vel«tions of Immig'ration 
nnd (']'ime caution mst be exe'eised in find- 
ing' a btsis fo" eompavison of the fo'eign-bo'n 
and native-bovn. The ,.«,nsns of 1890 for the 
lnited tates gave 1,7t;8 pvisonevs foc eaeh 
million of the fiweign-l,ovn popalation, and 
$98 lWisonevs fin" eaeh million of the native- 
bovn. 8inee, hoveve', pvisonevs we'e exelu- 
sivel 3, ri'oto adnlts, and adults fiweign-bovn 
weve hot in n3-thing like the saine '«atio fo 
the total foveign-bo'n, ns we'e the native-bot, n 
dnlts to the total native-boa'n, the fault 3- eom- 
pa/ison was sevevel 3- against the fo'eign-bovn. 
*or, etc., "he Italian in Ameriea," p. 206. 



Immigratioa d (''ime 281 
Comparing the number of p'isoncrs per mil- 
lion of the population of voting age, the re- 
sults show 3,395 per million for the natiw,-born 
of white parents, 5,$8; for the mtive whitc of 
foreign pareuts, 3,270 for thc foreign white. 
This comparison shows that the foreign-born 
is less culpable than the naiive-born, but ihat 
the nativc-born of foreign par(,nts is l.e;lly thc 
worst of the thl.ee. 'This is fm-hcr corr()b()r- 
ate(l by compa-ing thc jvenile offcmlers in 
thc rcsp(,ctivc cases with the numb(.r of boys 
bet'een ten and nineteen years of age in the 
corresl)onding (.lasses. The resuls are 1,744 
juvenile offcmh.rs 1)er million )f native whitc 
boys of native parents, 3,923 of n«tive whites 
of foreign lmrcnts, and 3,316 of forcign white. 
Thus whilc he former comparison 'as in 
favonr of/he foreign-born offcnder, the second 
comparison is against his nativc-born childrcn 
who show nearly lwice as grcat a ratio of 
juvenile offendcrs as the native-born childr«,n 
of American parentage. ()ne of the ««mses for 
this lnust lie in the chihh'en of immigrant per- 
sons being 1)roducts of unsatisfactory condi- 
tions in city lift coupled -ith the inability or 
incapacity of parents to control thcir chihlren 
under such comlitions. "The boys, espccially, 
at an early age lose respect for thcir pal'tiers, 
who cannot talk the language of ihe commu- 
nity, and who are ignorant and helplcss in the 
whirl of the stmggle for existence, «tnd are 



282 A »çtudy in C«tn«tdi«m Immi.gr«ttion 
shut up during the daytime in shops and fae- 
torics. )n the strce[s and alleys, in their 
gangs ami in [he schools, the children evnde 
parental discipline, nd for [hem the home is 
praetically non-existent." 
Suys a well-informed student, of race prob- 
lems in N(,w York : " Ex;mple af[er exmple 
might I)c given of tcn(.ment-housc families in 
which ihe parenis--imlustvious peasant labour- 
ers--have fonnd lhcmselvcs disgraced by idlc 
and vicious grown s(»ns and daughters. Cases 
taken from ihe reco'ds of charitable socieiies 
lmost at rand(»m show ihcse facts ngain antl 
gain. Evcn the Russian Jew, more devotcd 
and self-sacrificing in the training of his chil- 
dren than any other race of immi'anis, sees 
the a soon earning more money than thei!" par- 
ents and breaking away from the discipline of 
centuries. Far diffevent is it with those for- 
eigners who seitle in country distvicts where 
their children are under iheir constant over- 
sight, and while the youngsters are learning 
the ways of America the)" we also held by their 
parents to industrious habits. Children of 
such immigrants becomc substantial citizens, 
while children of the saine race bronght up in 
the cities become a recvuiting constituency for 
hocdlums, vagabonds, and criminals." 
In the Amer-ie«tn Journ«tl of 'ociology, for 
Novembcl., 1896, Mr. Hastings H. Hart, Gen- 
eral Secretal'y of the National Conference of 



[mm ig'atio «td C'imc 283 
Charitics and Correction, poin|c,1 out. what he 
rcgardcd as an e'ror arising "from comparing 
the criminal population, foreigu and native, 
with the whole of the gener«l population, for- 
eign and native. Thc young chihlrcn of the 
community furnish practically no pris»ners 
and nearly all of lhese chihlren are native- 
born, whethcr the parents arc uative-born or 
hot. ,Of thc l)risoners of lhe Unitcd S(ntes, 
98.5 per cent. a'c al)ove the age of sixteeu 
years; 95 l)cr çcnt. a,'e «,l)ove the age of twenty- 
one years. The ua(ive-born population of the 
United St:tes in 1890 numbered 53,390,600; 
the native-born prisoners 65,977; raiio 1,235 
in a million. 'The foreign-born population 
numbered 9,231,31 ; the foreigu-bo.n prisoncrs 
16,352; ratio 1,744 in a million; an apparent 
excess oç foreigners over mtives «)f tl per cen[. 
But the number of native-born males of voting 
l_,oJ1,so; uaiive-b,,m nmle prison- 
ets 61,637; ratio, 4,895 in a million. The num- 
ber of forcign-born males of voting age was 
4,384,459 ; foreign-1)orn male prisoncrs, 14,287 ; 
ratio, 3,285; showing an cqual excess of ha- 
rives over foreigners of fifty per cent. SVhile 
the basis of Mv. Ha't's reckoning of parentage 
is criticized in the statistical report of the 
United States Industrial Commission on Im- 
migration transmitted to Congress on Decem- 
ber 5, 1901, his general conclusion is armed 
as follows» namely: " From this table it will 



2S4 .l ,¢4ttdy i» ('e»e,lia» lmm.q'etio 
be seen tlmt, t«kin' the United States as a 
whole, the whitcs of foreigu hirth m'e a trifle 
less crimin;l tlmu [he total nmnher of whites 
of n;tive birth." Further, according to the 
report of this snme commissi«m the mtiom, lity 
which ]ms contrihuted far nmre 1;,rgely thau 
nny othcr to raise [he ;vcrage (f c,'iminality 
«,nd p;,uperism of [he f«reigu-h«rn is [he Irish. 
" Taking the immtt«,u of ail 1)enal and chari- 
t:d;h, institnti«ms, wc lind that the highcst 
ratio is showu hv the h-ish, wlmse ln-t)lmrlion 
is nmre tlmu dtmhh' the ;,vernge for the for- 
eigu-horn, amouuliug l) no less than 16,(124 fo 
lhe milli(m.*" 
Thc sludy of lhe slalisli«s hr (-rime 
ou eqniva]enl dal« »f age «nd sex. 
'amdiml)orn ('itizeus lire in lhe midst 
of domeslic influences, whi]e in lhe case of 
many immigrînts lhere are frequenlly groups 
of able-bodiod nmu wilh no ¢onlro]ling iflu- 
enees (ff home and fmuily lies. Therefore, fo 
compnre the pr«)l)ortion of offenders 
lhe law in a :liona]ily where lhere are few 
women and chihlren, wilh the p'olorlion 
offen(]ers in a mtiouality where there 
women nd chih]ren wouh] certainly be un- 
farom'«b]e fo tlm former. While if is tme that 
crie generally inereuses with the increase of 
po]m]alion» tht increase need uot be ]nid 
*Lord, etc., "The Italian," etc., p. 204, fLwhenee 
uch of the [oregoing data is taken. 



II»t»tigt'«tiott «»td Ct'i»tc 285 
the influence of immigration unless the evi- 
dence points unmist«,kahly that way. Thc 
thing fo asce'tdn is if, ou lhe b«sis of sex 
age, ce'l«in n;tion;,lities (.omiug to out shores 
even allou'ing aL first fo" some ignorance of 
B.itish lawsnmuifest a tendency fo crimin- 
ality, and thereby indieate tlmt they are of an 
infe'ior type, «lnd ,.cquire mo.(, .igid pmmiug 
;tt lhe ports of ent'y. Tiret is a large qms - 
titre, «md (.;mnot I)e ;tnsw«,red fully ho're, hut 
imlicali«ns nmy be s«)ught in the on/st«mding 
fcal re.es of convictions for offenccs for « period 
of 
If thé' f«ll«wiug kdle hc (.«)mpa.(,d wilh lhe 
(.(,nss (ff 1911 reg]'ling in('re«ise and de«re;se 
in lhe ])«q)ulations of lb(, p'oviu«es, il 
evid,nt l]ml fr the pe.i««l 19011-1914 «)n- 
victions fr ffen«(,s incresed in P'in('e 
Edw«rd [slud Igl per ('enl. while 
])opd«iion in lhe decade 1901-1911 d,- 
('re]se(l 9.23 ])(,- cent. In Nva S(.()li« crime 
inereased 46 per cenl. and the popu]«tion for 
tbe deeade increased 7.13 per cent. For 
runs-ick crie increased 15 per ¢enl. and 
the population 6.27 per cent. For Q«ebec 
c'line in¢resed 135 per cent. nd Polmlation 
21.49 per cent. For Ontario crime incresed 
138 per ¢eut. u(l populalio 15.5R per cent. 
For Mnitoba crime increased 76 p,r cent. 
and populalion 75.52 per cenl. For Sask- 
alchewan c-ime increased 292 per cent. and 



286 A Shtdy in. Ca.adian Immigration 



Immigration and Crimc 287 
population 439.48 per cent. For Alberta crime 
increased 549 per cent. and population 413.08 
per cent. For British Columbia crime in- 
creased 473 per cent and population 119.68 
per cent. For the Yukon crime increased 43 
per cent. and population decreased 68.73 per 
cent. 
Arranged for purposes of comparison ihis 
is the result, taking the decade 1901-1911 for 
population. 

Percentage In- 
Province ]erease In Crime For 
I Period 1907-14 
Prince Edward [ 
Island ............ I 121 

Percentagelncrease 
In Population In 
Deeade 1901-11 

decrease 9.28 

Nova Scotia ...... 
New Brunswick... 
Quebec ............ 
Ontario ........... 
1Vanitob ......... 
Saskatchewan ..... 
Alberta ........... 
British Columbia .. 
Yukon ............ 

46 
15 
185 
188 
76 
292 
549 
473 
decrease 48 

increase 7.18 
" 6.27 
21.49 
" 15.58 
78.52 
439.48 
413.08 
119.68 
decrease 68.73 

In the Eastern part of Canada, then, there 
is a surprising increase in crime in excess of 
the increase of the population, while the 
Western part, which received such a largo' 
influx of immigrants does not show anything 
like the saine excess. That is to be expected, 
19 



2 A ,çtml!/ it ('«tedim lmmig7tioz. 
since in the early stages of the period of ex- 
pansion in the West, towns were only spring- 
ing up, and the inhabitants otherwise living 
some distance apart, while in the East there 
was t.he segregation in large cities and towns. 
It need hot be a marrer of very great surprise, 
then, that since 1880, when criminal statistics 
were first collected, there has been a consid'r- 
ahle iuerease in crime, as the eomparisons on 
the «qposite pae show for lhe specifiedoffences 
and lhe ratio of su'h to 100,000 inhahitants. 
Takiug these three decades as a hasis of 
comparison, there is a marked increase in the 
number of crimes and also in the ratio to the 
population. However, while offences against 
the person showed an actual decrease between 
1880 and 1890, a marked increase in the de- 
cade 1900 fo 1910, and a still greater incrcase 
in the peril 1910 to 1912, for the rime was 
only two years yet the rate fe]l from 135 to 
127. Offences against property with violence 
increased six rimes absolutely, and three and 
one hall rimes relatively; against property 
three and one hall rimes absolutely, and twice 
relatively; other felonies and misdemeanours 
increased seven times absolutely and four 
rimes relative]y; violation of municipal acts 
increased nearly seven /imes absolutely, and 
nearly four rimes relatively; drunkenness 
increased nearly seven rimes absolutely 
and three and one-half rimes relatively: the 



Immigrotio ad Crime 

289 



290 A 8lmly in. Canadian lmmi.yralion 
total absolute incrêase being rive rimes and 
the relative iucreasê three rimes. As to how 
the provinces compared in this marrer the fol- 
lowing is thê order of demerit based on the 
ratios of total convictions fol" all offences for 
al)proximately the saine periods as in forego- 
ing table : 
T.tm,E 51. 

Order of 
Demorit 

1 British Columbia ... 
2 Albcrta ............ 
3 Mani toba ........... 
40ntrio ............ 
5 Suskatchewan ...... 
6 Nova Scotia ........ 
7 Quebec ............. 
8 Yukon ............. 
9 New Brunswick .... 
10 Prince Edward 
Island ............. 

Averages 

Average Per 100,000 Inhabitants 

1881 

912 
,361! 
47.3, 
181 

676 

1891 
1 ,g86 
,329 
722 
282 
792 

508 

77 

1901 1911 1912 
1,775 2,940 4,3 
1,49 2,741 3,97 
870 2,944 8,19 
866 1,616 1,90 
77 1,684 1.89 
64 1,156 1,34 
564 987 1,81 
2,74 790 1,10 
692 827 8£ 
327' 425 47 
780 1,572 1,9 

Vhile lhe order here given is, aecurate]y, 
that fol" 1912, it is also the order fol' 1911, 
and also the ortier fol" 1901 if exception be 
ruade for the Yukon, and if Saskatchewan and 
/ew Brunswick exchange placez. In 1891 
ew Brunswick takes third place instead of 
ninth, and the total figures for Saskatchewan 



Immigratioo. a»d ('rme 29t 
and Alberla, whi«.h wcre hot SOl)arately giveu 
for ISS1 and 1Sgl, ;re divi«hl. With some 
variations in the early period, the foregoing 
order has practically b«en maintained for 
ow,r « quarter of a century. It may be an 
indel)endent fact tlmt of lhe l)opulalion the 
percentage formed i)y the fov«,ign-born is as 
follows: Yukon, 38.96; Alberia 3S.09; Sask- 
nichewnn, 33.02; British ('ohmbia, 26.78; 
Manitoba, 21; lhtario, 5.90; Qucbec 3.72; 
New Brunswick, 2.31; Nova Scotia, 2.23; 
Prince Edwavd Island, 1.00; North West Ter- 
ritorics, .47. (bmged by the percentages of 
foreign-born wi[hin the respcciive provinces, 
this factor wouhl not explain the order of 
demerit nmong the provinces during a period 
of thirty years, for lhus compared they stand 
as follows, with the ortier for percentage of 
foreign-born being lhat which prevailed in 
1911. 
T.LE 55. 

0rder of Demerit 0rder of Foreign-Born 

British Columbia 
Alberta 
Manitoba 
0ntario 
Saskatchewan 
Nova Scotia 
Quebec 
Yukon 
New Brunswick 
Prince Edward Island 

Yukon 
Alberta 
Saskatchewan 
British Columbia 
/Ianitoba 
0ntario 
Quebec 
New Brunswick 
Nova Scotia 
Prince Edward Island 



92 A Slud!} in {'anadhtn lmmigratio». 
But therc is another question regarding the 
particdar nalioualilies among whirh ('rimes 
are distrilmed. For it. is quite nmnifcst that 
a provinee's popul«dion may decrease and yet 
its crimes increase, lurthermore it may be 
tha/, heorei«ally, he foreign population of 
a province may be small or even decrease and 
yet its crimes increase. It is noeessar S to 
determine, therefore, what proportion of any 
nationality is convic/ed of crime, and how the 
na/ionalitics compare in this respcct. One of 
the ways in which this is done is to compare 
the number of foreign-born prisoners wih the 
foreign-born population and the number of 
native-born 1)risoners wih the native-born 
population. This was discussed in the open- 
ing pages of the chal)r, and the reason why 
the foregoing basis is hot here adopted may 
be seen from the following: 
If we arrange the numbers for persons con- 
vicod of indictable offences for period 1907- 
14, according to birth-place, the following is 
seen : 



Immigration and Crime 
TABLE 56. 

293 

Birthplace 

anada .............. 
:ngland and Wale .. 
[nited States ........ 
cotland ............. 
reland .............. 
,ther British 
lot Gien ........... 
'oral Convictions for 
Indictable Of[ences 

Inder 16 Years ...... 
16-21 Yeare ...... 
21-40 Years ...... 
40 and Over ...... 
Iot Given ........... 

Under 16 Yeare .. 
16-21 Years ...... 
21-40 Yvar ..... 
40 and Over ...... 
Iot Given ........... 

1907 

4.675 
73? 
436 
200 
229 
880 
1.956 

9.110 
1,004 
1.280 
3.708 
1.049 
2.069 

9.110 

11 
14 
40 
11 
22 

1908 
5,85 
961 
245 

11,334 

1,204 
l,ïO1 
4.811 
2.41 

11.334 

10 
15 
42 
10 
21 

1909 

6.10( 
944 
514 
1.281 
2,084 

11.445 

1.15f 
5 
1,42 
2. 

11.45[ 

10 
13 
44 
12 
29 

1910 1911 

1912 

6.267 6.376 6.71 
925 1.24ç 1.31[ 
557 734 
257 365 451 
258 302 404 
49 16 101 
1.315 1.547 
2,072 2.041 3.604 

11.700 

1,373 
1.589 
5.006 
1.532 
2.200 

12.627 

1.439 
1.640 
5.795 
1.56 
2.191 

12.627 

11.700 

15.58 

1,881 
1.781 
6.815 
1.675 
3.415 

15.567 

11 12 12 
13 14 11 
43 45 44 
13 13 11 
19 19 22 

1913 

7.619 
1.961 
1,216 
571 
451 
2.674 
3.741 

18.30 

2.313 
2.442 
7.630 
1,560 
4.375 

L8.32( 

12 
13 
42 
9 
24 

191« 

9.1( 
1,8 
1,0! 
6 

3,51 
4.5 

21.48 

2,6 
2.65 
8.88 
2.15 
5,1¢ 

1.4 
12 
4i 
0 

Of the convictions for indictable offences for 
the eight years 1907-14 the percentage fo 
convicted persons under sixteen years of age 
is 11.25; for persons between sixteen and 
twenty-one is 13.12; for persons between 
twenty-one and forty is 42.75; for persons 
forty and over is 11.12 ; and for persons whose 
ages are not given, 21.37. Then the convic- 
tions of persons above sixteen years amount 
to 88.75 per cent. and of hose above twenty- 
one years 75.63 per cent. Hence in dealing 
with convictions for the more serious offences 



_20 _l tmh d in ('«n.dian lmmlyr«ction 
«onideration «y be giv«.n etirey to perfore 
over lwellly-ont • yeal-s of «ge. It Wollhl theu 
be necessary to fiud what. proportion of any 
particular nationality had been eonvieted, 
and how he natiomdities COlnpared with one 
another. In dealing, then, with emvicts, 
those under tweuty years of age, which con- 
stitutes nbut one I,er cent. of the total may 
be regarded as being tw«nty-one years of age. 
TI.* l«tlle OplOSite th«*tl I»ec¢»l.eS a p»ssible 
b«tsis for cmnlml.ison. The year 1911 is taken, 
first, because it is typical and compares well 
with an avel'age of yeal.S, and, second, beeause 
it coincides with the .vear of the last eensus. 
lhq.e the fl'eign-l,»rn emvicts numher 539. 
N'ow, the lotal foreign-bol.n population of 
1911 was 752,762. I[ence the ratio of eon- 
vi.ts was s*ven per 10,000. The British- 
bOl.n convicts nulnber 322, but the total 
British-born lopulati«m was 813,71. tIenee 
lhe rtio ¢f eonvicts was four per 10,000. 
and the lmluh«r of convicts 1,00. llençe 
flH » x'nti of «-ouvicts was lwo per 10,000. 
This sl.nvs the fm-eigl-l»»rn lo he, by ralios, 
al»ut three and a half tilm*S as bad as the 
Canadian-borlL Again, of the total convicts, 
1,$65, the foreign-born numbered 539 and con- 
stituted 29 l»q* cent.; the Iritish-born, 322. 
eonstituled 17 per cent.; the t'anadian-born, 
1,00L constituted 5 per cent. On this show- 
ing the Çanadian-born were abont twice as 



CASSIFICATION OF CONVICTS 1,'01{, 1911. 

295 

Natlona]ity 

Canadian ............ 1,004 1,44".,61 20.0 54.0 .07 = 7 per 10.000 
EnRlish .............. 198 10.6 
irish ................. 54 
Scotch ............... 45 2.4 
British lsles ......... 297 382.133 5.3 16.0 .07= ? per 10.000 
Australian ........... 4 
Other Bl'itish ........ 21 $6,|7 .3 !.1 
Total British ........ 322 408.605 5.6 17.0 .08= 8 per 10.000 

American ............ 229 101.767 !.4 12.3 .2 =22 per 10.000 
ltalian ............... 94 24.373 .3 5.0 .38 =38 Der 10,000 
Austro-Hungalian... 61 57.750 .8 . .10  10 per 10.000 
Russian ............. 41 46.01E .6 2. .09 = 9 per 10,000 
Scandinavian ........  35.74 .5 1.3 .07 = 7 per 10.000 
French .............. 211 9.31 .1 1.0 .21 =21 Del" Il),000 
Oe[man .............. 18 20.63: .3 .9 .09 = 9 per 10.000 
C'hinese ............. 13 23.586 .3 .7 .05 = 5 per 10.000 
Other Foreign ....... 39 27,291 .4 2.4 .10=10 per 10,000 
Total Foreign ....... 539 346.523 4.7 29.0 .16=16 per 10.000 
l'oral British ........ 322 408,605 5.6 IT.0 .08 = 8 per 10.000 
0anadian ............ 1.004 1.442,618 20.0 54.0 .0ï = 7 per 10.000 
Total ................ 1.865 °.197,746 30.3 100.0 .85 =85 per 10.000 

bad as foreign-born. Once more, the 3t6,523 
foreign-born nmles of twenty-one years and 
over constituted 4.7 per cent. of the total popu- 
lation, but had 29 per cent. of the crimes, that 
is, about six limes their ratio of the 1)OllUla- 
tion; the British-lmrn were 5.6 per cent. of 
the total popuhttion and had lî per cent. 



296 .1 ,b'tudy bi, ¢:anadion lmmigr«tion 
o'f he crimes, {hal is, over {l'ce thnes 
lheir ra{io; lhe 'anmlin-l,wn consfituted 
20 per cent. of the p«qmlation and had 
54 per cent. of the erhncs, that is nearly 
lhr rimes heir ratio. The variey of 
results Illay help te eOllfil'lll /he vi«w that 
statislics are the worst kind of lies, but it 
also points te the necessity for a more salis- 
factory basis, namely, the ratio of the convicts 
te thc number of males of twenty-one years 
ami over aceording te the nationality. Ar- 
ranged in ord«r of delinquency then, this 
would be the result. 

ltaliau ............. 38 per 10,000 
A merieall .......... oo . 
l"ren«h ............. 21 
Austro-llungarian ... 10 .... 
1 ll,'qSill I1 ............. ,Q " 
I ]el'lliilll ............ .} " " 
l;ritish ............ ,q " " 
Seandinavian ....... 7 .... 
Canadian ........... 7 " " 
lh'itish l.le.q ........ 7 "" " 
 "hinese ............ .5 .... 
Oiher f«,reig'n ....... 10 " '" 

The ,'lvorage for foreign-born is, lhen, 14.5 
per 10,000, while ihe average of the British- 
born is 7.5, and ihe ratio for ihe Canadian- 
born is 7.0. 



Immigration attd Crime 297 
en«e Ihe fo'eign-b«m hav« «dm«t l, wi«e the 
rtio of tire lh-itih-b«u'n «md twi«e the ratio 
of the (anadian-born, while tire 
born tire lightly lower than the total Britih. 
After what was said in discussing the Italian 
g'ou l) in reg:rd to the "defe«-tives," it will 
h«k st'ange, though i)e.lml)S auticipated, 
tlmt hel'e thc It«lians head the list. 



C[tAPTER XIV. 
FUTURE IMMIGRATIO . 
] THE future for immigration in Canada is a 
subject which, in the present condition of the 
worhl, llows a variety of opinion.[ In view 
of the great ltalian immigrati-n in the last 
twênty-five or thirty years during whieh about 
150,000 lmvê eome to this country, the remark 
attributed in a newspaper report from R.me in 
September, 1918, to Fran('es«o .Nitti, Minister 
of the Treasury, is signifieant. Speaking of 
the Italian h)sses in the Great War, and cou- 
nected therewith the future of ItaIy, he is 
reported to have said: " After the war Italy 
will be stronger than ever in men, due to the 
cessation of Immigration. Out difficulties to- 
day are in the labour fiehl, for no fewer than 
5,000,000 men bave been ealled to arms since 
the beginning of |he War.'" If, theu, Italy's 
able-bodied men are reained for reconstrue- 
rive and industrial purposes the ride of immi- 
gration toward Canada from that source will 
considerably diminish. 
In addition to that the eeonomie and politi- 
cal conditions in Central Europe and Russia 
afford good grounds for thinking that, under 



uturc Immi.9ra.tion. 299 
the pressut'e of war debts lnd more or h, ss 
polilical insëcurily, many wili be glad 
escape to mot'e hopeful situations in the West- 
ern world. But against that a number of 
factors may operaie. There will be evident 
unwillingness on lhe part of European I iov- 
et'nments fo allow the young and active pro- 
(lu«ers of the naion's wealth o remov(, 
fairer ('limes and lcavc lh« ohl «nd middh- 
ged to bear lhe ov«rwh«qminff and 
heritage of war's afhrmath, of which the 
alono will take at least a gen('ration fo dis- 
charge. Moreover, wiCh the t'eCurn of hundreds 
of thous«nds of soldiers fo the [rnited States 
and l'ana«ln the «onsequent dislocation of 
dustt.y and tho diculties of readjustmont will 
make it peril«usly unwise fo allow duriug lin, 
poriod of r(,habilitation a larg(, immigralion 
into thc industrial Weste'n wot-hl and the in- 
evitable expansion of lai-ge cities. And, fuv- 
ther, if is doubtful if immigranls fvom 
enemy courir.ries would be e«gor or willing 
emigrate to the comdries of North Anwri('« 
where they (-ould hot bo snro of « hearly 
corne. If fo lhis b(' ««lded the measures p'o- 
hibitory for (.et'tain kinds of lbour if looks 
as if Canada will hot see a. rapid increase 
in inmi'ration from Central-Euroi)e  at. least 
for some years to come, unless these prohibi- 
tot'y mezsures should be eliminated and Can- 
a«la once more return to open doors. 



300 .t »tudy in Canadian Immigration 
Tho'e 'emain, of course, the countries of 
the Allies. l'h'-m France and Bolgium whence 
lhe immig.ntion lins never heen very large, 
ave-ag'ing, (hwing lhe past eig'htn years, 
about 1,000 f«w lhe laller a«l 1.500 for the 
fo'me', pot" armure, lhe'o cannot he expecled 
in lhe naln'e of lhe case an)'Oing considerable 
by way of immig'rali«»u. They will need every 
oun«e of n«ln and won«tl power for 
supvemo lask of 'eslo'alion afle" the devasla- 
lions off lho s«ouvge of wa'. The l.wo gveat 
s,m'«es remainig are, first. O.ienlal Immi- 
g'alion, and S«'andinavia and lhe Brilish Islos. 
I)f lh«, f-'me" uot mu«h will be alh)wed unless 
lhe pvesenl attiude of lle Weslern wo'ld be- 
cornes p'of«»undly modified. It should hot be 
fl»'gollen, howeve', llat thore is always a 
slaut and, during Ihe past two decades, con- 
side'able slream f'om the United St.ates. In 
an address delivored af Gall. in July, 1918, 
Sir John Willison said: " Dnring the first 
yea's of peace we may bave lilIle immigration 
from lhe old worhl owing 1o lhe congeslion of 
shipping', hut we shall bave contimous immi- 
gralion in g'eater o" lesser degree from 
UniIed States. If will be necessary to adjust 
immigration fo conditions and with greater 
regard to national cohesion and national char- 
acier. But lhe land will bring people as raw 
maIerials of mauufaclure will bring industries 



F«t«»'« I»miç»'«tio 301 
if we nmke the national welfare the sui)renie 
concern of legislation." 
While itis true that the siream of immigra- 
tion from the United States is " continnous," 
and large rather lhan small, yet there is also 
an emigration of people from Canada to the 
United Staies, and such is freqmntly con- 
siderahlc in extent. It will surprise many 
l)eople io hurn tiret according fo lhe Uniled 
Siaies census rel)orts lhere were in that coun- 
try in 1900 no less {han 1,11,255 Canadian- 
born persons. In the year 190 the mlnber 
emigrating from Canada io /he United Braies 
was 43,805, and in 1909, 53,44, a total in lwo 
years of 97,253, of whom 77,215 were between 
the ages of fonrteen and forty-five years. So 
that while the s{ream is large and conlinuous 
from the Uuited Sttes there is a return more- 
ment of people from Canada. Neverlhcless, 
lhere is every reason to expect lhaf, as Sir 
John Willison says, there will be « contintmus 
immigration in grealer or lesser degree from 
the United Slales.'" Bnt thc bnlk of the immi- 
gration ride may be expected from he British 
Isles. 
Commissioner David Lamb who for lwenly 
years was a director of the Sah, ation Army's 
Emigration Deparhuent which was the means 
of bringing tho»sands of immigrnnts to Can- 
ada, is reported fo bave said in an interview: 
"There will be so many peoplc unsettled on 



302 A Stttd 9 in Canadian Immigration 
account of the war that the country will be al»le 
to get as many immigrants as it wants. The 
kind of people /he country gets will depend 
entir..l" on lhe Imblicity th« (I«»vernment gives 
le» lhe sub.le,ct. It will l»e necesstry to offer 
su«h altracli«ms as will bring out the best class 
of immigrants. I lhink this is vilal for the 
l'lllll'e «»f ';inada." It n-as with this point 
«»f vicw, ne» «hml»t, lhat lhe inter-pr«»vincial 
discussed the future situali«n respecting land 
settlcment and increasein p,,Imlation. Accord- 
iug 1o the lenor of lh » mcmorandnm sui»se- 
quently marie puhlic the land s«ttlemeut policy 
then outlined, which w«,uhl require " the ex- 
penditure of large sums 
of state credil,'" inv«»h'ed, first, the develop- 
ment of a nali«m-wide scnliment in fart»af of 
increased agricultur«tl settlement and produt-- 
tion ; second, the enconr«tgemeut of a 
from urhan centres to rural districts; thir«t, 
the avtfidance of overcrowding in out tri'ban 
centres with a surplus of labour; fourth, the 
securing of suitahle settlers in large nnmbers 
for out vacant lands, inclndiu almnd«med 
fatras ; fifih, lhe creati«,n of condiiions whereby 
suitable settlers with small means (including 
tenants) may, in the course of rime, become 
the owners of thdr farms. Ail these improved 
conditions are to be regarded as attractions 
for possible immigrants as well as for those 



F«t«re Im»igration 303 
who m«ty be interested in a personal way in 
the movement from urban to rural liîe. But 
no donbt the main issue lies with lhe immi- 
grant. "Olle of the g,'«ivest situations COll- 
fronting Canada is the necessity f«)r luakiug 
suit,ble provision f«w the fl«)«(l of Brilish 
imlnigratio,, that will nmve out way as soon 
as shipping is available. Unless stcps arc 
taken to nmke certain that a large 1)rOlmrlion 
of thcse immigrants go to the laud they will 
crowd oll" large url)an centres and lwing al)out 
conditions of unemphwment and um-csl that 
will be exceeding]y detrimenll to Canada as 
a whole." So lhe lnemarandum expl.eSscs lhe 
vicw which anli('il)ates « a flood of lll'ilish 
Imn,igr«,tion,'" ;irai ;,ssumes. flu.ther, lirai Ihe 
Fe(ler«il (l(,v('rnmeni slmuhl lln,lel.[«ike the 
secul'iug of settlers from Great lh'itain «md 
from foreign COUl, tries t«)ther than enelny), 
and that PrOvil(.i«,l (lovernments slmuld iake 
charge af the prospective sett[cr upon ara'iv;il 
in Canada. 
It may 1)e here menlioned that while Pana(la 
must necessarily offer attractio,,s fo wouhl-be 
settlers, it is no easy thing in general for per- 
sons to break ilp their homes in one country 
and emigrate to another. In doing so they are 
induced by ane or more, of the following fac- 
tors: economie, polilieal, social, and religions 
discomforts. The last-mentioned has, in the 
growth of civil liberty in the modern world, 
20 



304 A ,tttd!! in ('anedian lmmigretio» 
ceased to oprate as forcefully as formerly, 
and fle main impulses for emig'ation lie in 
the rema.ining three. If these are hot marie any 
casier in ('anada, so that a man may make a 
]ivia better than elsewhere, the ride of immi- 
gration is going to ebb. I»or no mnn, unless 
moved by the spirit of mere adventm-e, is going 
fo leave one land ald move 1o another, with 
all the involved disruption of family and social 
ries, unless the lnnd to whicl he moves is 
more attrn«tive in the means of obtaining a 
/ivelihood and of enjoying the fruit of his 
]ahours. But lhat makes inevitable hot only 
the expenditure of money to induce by talk 
and pictm'e the wouhl-be-immigrant to more 
his domicile, but also lhe equal and more 
careful expenditure of money for the needy 
immigrant who has lakeu up his donficile in 
Canada. Immigration on such a tremendous 
scale as that. in which Cnada has engaged in 
the last half-century is a seri«us uudertaking, 
and it consists, first, in procuriug and select- 
ing the right kind of intmigrant, and, second, 
in taking care of him when he is selected. Of 
the latter this country bas hot, done much of 
which to be overproud. Of the process of 
selecting there has been considerable develop- 
ment and improvement, but it. is only as the 
drop in the bucket compared with what re- 
mains to be done. In the matter of procuring 



in}nfigl'alltS {'anada has been lavish in carry- 
ing on a great advertising propaganda. The 
ueed for that bas passed away. The glory of 
'anada iu nttural resour(.es and in natiolal 
streugth does hot xquire fo be published to 
lhe world. She bas written sonle pages of his- 
tory during the Great War which will renmin 
iudelible in the annals of the worhl; and 
Europe does not need tobe tohl by advertis- 
ing agents of lhe strength of the sous of Can- 
ada's soli, for too many of her ons l'est quietly 
in some of Europe's graveyards. The vast 
expeuditures to make known to Europe the 
greatness of lhe oppor/unities awaiting the 
imnfigrant in this country nmy now be turned 
into ulore sefll ¢hannels, and part.it.ularly il 
relatiou to the pl.oluisiug but ueedy inunigraut 
hinlself. In l-oviewing the history of the past 
one huudred years one eannof help the çOllViC- 
tion that lnurh of tlle ln«mey spent in announc- 
ing the value of ilnmigrati«nl wouhl haro been 
better slwnt iu iurreasing the wthle of the 
inlmigrant. And that convi«tiou is lnore than 
intensified in regard to the future. And if 
such were done it would, in the las resort, 
prove far more ecacious as an advertising 
nlediun than a whole ship-load of paluphlets 
and circulars. The toil and tears and trage- 
dies of the past four yeal'S l,,llSt bave shown 
us that the highest values are with human 
beings. 



306 A ,'tudy i. Canodian Immigration 
Tbe eh.ng'e wmdd mea» lhe ut]lization for 
an«»tber pnrpose of no small amonnt of money, 
fr sinçe 'onfederatim lbe m«ney slwnt 
fosleriug immiralim lins been enormous. 
I"r*m 1St;7 fo lS97 t'anada sp,nt on lmmig'ra- 
tion 6,:/37J159, and from 197 fo 1917 no 
lhau $19,541,490; thal is, over three times the 
nmney in lwo-thirds »f lhe lime. The total 
amounL Ihen, Slwnt sin«e «'onfoderati«m 
nearly lwenly-six millions, or an averag'e of 
more lhan hall a millim per annmn. The ratio 
of the amount spent abroad in promotiug 
immigralion la the amounl speni in 
in regulating is al»ont rive t» tirer, so that 
sin«e these prwinees becnmo a l}ominion 
aplwoximalely fifteen million dollars haro 
been devoled 1« lhe propaganda of lhe 
lrine that «'anada was an nuusually g*,d ldaee 
for immi¢rnnts, lllt we plaçed barriers 
the way of Oriental Immigration. In lgS5 a 
head-lax of fifty dollars was first imposed on 
Chinese; in 1901 it was raised to 100, 
and in 19114 fo 500. Since 1895, np 
191g, there have been ohtained from lhat source 
ahme eighteen nfillion dollars, whieh bave 
more than paid for ail expenditures abroad. 
In other words Ibe money spent in propa- 
gauda abroad does hot came out of the lmckets 
of Canadians--the Chinese pay for it. It would 
seem to be the essence of wisdom if the funds 



Fut,«r« 1» migration 307 
from that source--and it will have  be «.on- 
tinued--were spent in Canada, rather thau 
that China shouhl pay for Europe. (Hherwise, 
we are putting money into one 1)o«ket ami 
paying it out of ;moflmr. B.me su«h means 
will have te» l»o (levised if tho steady flow from 
rural to urban life is stayed. In sqq»ort of 
snch claire consider the following table: 

T,UU,E 
WORKERS COMPARED FOR VARIOUS LINES OF INDUSTRY 
IN 1901 AND 1911. 

Industries 

/griculture .......... 
Building Trdes ...... 
Domestic and Prval 
Service ............ 
2ivil and tumcpal 
3overnment ......... 
,Vlanufactur¢ s ........ 
Professional ......... 
Frade and Mcrclmn- 
dise ............... 
rransportat.on ....... 

Fotal ............... 

1901 

716,860 
213,307 
163,670 
17.306 
274,175 
83,219 
160,419 
80,756 

1,709,712 

1911 

993,735 
246,201 

214.012 

76,604 
491,342 
120.616 

283,087 
217,544 

2.643,141 

Increase 
per cent. 

38.6 
15.4 

30.7 

342.6 
79.2 
44.9 

76.4 
169.3 

54.5 

During this period Prince Edward Island, 
Nova Scotia, :New Brunswick, Ontario, Yukon, 
and North-Wes/ Territories, all showed a con- 
siderable decrease in rural population, whilc 



308 A 
tuel}er, thc tln'ce Prairie Provinces and Irit- 
ish {'o}umhia, show{d an in«rease, the net 
l'lllïll illcl'eas«, l»eillg O111)" 57k1;3 for the 
whoh, l)mninim, It ihe url»an increase was 
1,25!k165.* It is impossild«, ihai pe«qle who 
land in 'anada with v«,ry little in their poc- 
kels shonld entt, r cpon the wm'k of agricultre 
whi«.h requir(,s a 
rai a the beginnin, unl«ss in sortie way the 
Government eau promote the enterprise. 
llnt lhe preliminary lask lit's in the selec- 
tion of the immigrant, and the means hy which 
that is to be donc is coinplicat«d and intl-icate. 
If the lessous of the past fifty years in Immi- 
gration are to be 'ell learned they show that, 
in the wm.ds of he memol'andum previ«»lsly 
qnoted, " the poliries h«retofore pursued in an 
endeavour fo se«ure suitable immigration bave 
le('mne ohsolete and largcly ineffec/ive." It 
muy hot 1 possibh, t« have arrang'ements with 
nany European countries su«h as that -hich 
l»revails hetveen Italy and the United States. 
but there is so mieh of suggestion in the 
arraugem«,ni that somme of the main featnres 
may be here 
of the future is liOt in restrietiug or prohihit- 
ing immigration but in regulating it, and one 
of the ways in which immigration may be 

« See Canada Year Book, 1916-17, p. 83. 



more adequately regulated is by having estab- 
lished wherever possible some of the conditions 
ena«[ed in the law passed by the Italian Par- 
liament itt lSSS, whi«h was in[ended to exel'- 
cise in de[ail judieious «}vel-sight, and control 
of emigl'a[ion. The main outlines of this 
Emigration Law were so excellent that they 
are here quoted at some length from "The 
Itlian in Ameri«.a, hy Lord," etc., pp. 49-54. 
Emigration from file kihgdom was declared to 
be fr, subjeet only to the specific obligations 
imposed upon eitizens bv the law of the Btate 
ad the oestrietive laws of foreign eountries. To 
provide against the um.estrict depletion of the 
number of nlale citizens available for the defence 
of the tate, military of the first and second 
eategories on indefinite leave, belonging to the 
regular army or to the movable militia, were pro- 
hibitl from emigration without the permission 
of the 5Iinister of War. 
To obtain the commission of the Emigration 
Agent, the applieant must be at least twenty-one 
years of age, and a resident itizn of [taly: he 
mnst hot bave lost his civil rights nor be under 
srveillanee in the interest of public seeurity, nor 
bave been condemwd for any crime agaiust the 
gd faith of the public, nor in relation to trade 
or coumel'ee, or good custom, uor agaiust per- 
sons or property, uor for iufractious of the emi- 
gratiou law or regulations. An agent reeeiviug a 
commission was required to deposit from 3,000 to 
5,000 lire in bouds of the State as security for his 
observance of the llw and regflations, and any 



31(I A Study in Caadian Immigration 
claires ou behalf of an emigraut for which he 
mighl become liable. 
A duly commissioned agent was authorized fo 
al»point sub-agents in u«cordance with the law, 
but no sab«gent could act without obtaining a 
special license frmn the prefect of lhe province 
in which the agent was stationed, and any further 
delegation of lmwers to ussist emigralion was pro- 
hibited. No agent or sub-agent couhl promote, in 
any wny, the collection of emigranls outside of 
the district in whi«h he was authorized to act, 
and it was expressly provided that it shouhl hot 
devolve Ul«m the emigrant to pay the agent or 
sub-agent fer any services whatever, except to 
reimburse them for the actual sums expended on 
his accourir. 
This contract must speeify the naine, age, pro- 
fession and last resideuee of the emigrant; the 
date of his disclm-ge from the army or the per- 
mission of the Minister of War; the lflace of de- 
parture and the place or port of destination; the 
rime of delmrture; the naine of the transporting 
vessel and the post assigned to the emigrant, 
with the express prescription of the space assigned 
to him in conformity with the regulation of the 
law of 1879 : the period of stoppage at intermedi- 
are ports, when the voyage was hot marie directly 
and, in case of change, the naine and character 
of the new vessel; the total or partial price of the 
expenses of subsistence on board, with the proviso 
that this stipulation must in no case be inferior 
to the ration established by the law of 1S79: the 
quantity of baggage which the emigrant was 
allowed to take with him. 
Explicit provision was ruade in the law to pro- 
tect the emigrant from any imposition or abuse 
on the part of any concerued in his passage to 



Future Im»igration 

311 

any foreign country; and any agent, owner, cal)- 
tain, toaster or charterer of transporting vessels 
were subject to a penalty, both of fine and 
imprisonment, for receiving emigrants on board 
without Che contra«t ami permit abc»ve noted. 
Any infraction of Che main regulations of Che 
law by Che agent or sub«tgent of emigration was 
punishable with a like penalty. 
For further security the regulations for Che 
execution of this law constrained the procure- 
ment of Che vis6 of Che police anthorities of the 
port of embarkation in order to make the contraet 
valid as a passport for emigration, and these 
authorities were instructed to limit Che 1,assl)orts 
iii every case to Che regulated capacity of the 
transporting vessel. 
Agents were expressly prohibited, also, from 
furnishing passage to persons who were not 
allowed to enter the f(»l'eign coantry to whi«h 
they proposed to go, and were bound to conform 
to ail rules laid clown by he Ministry for Che 
protection of emigrants, auxilim to Che regula- 
tions adopted by the goverliments of foreign 
countries receiving the immigration. 
To direct and control, as far as practicable, the 
flow of emigration, correspondence was opened by 
special arrangement between the Ministry of the 
Interior aml Che Italian consular service. The 
consuls were called upon to re-examine carefully 
the basis of their former reports on immigration 
to Che Ministry of Forei Affairs, and to for- 
ward as complete additional information as pos- 
sible, covering : 
1. The physical, hygienic and agricultural con- 
ditions of Che districts in which they were sta- 
tioned, and all other conditions having relation 
to colouization and population. 



312 A Rtudy in Canadian Immigration 
2. The number of Italian immigrants already 
located in each district. 
3. The industries, trades and occupationi in 
which the immigrants were generally engaged. 
4. The laws enacted concerning these immi- 
grants and the relations sustained by them to 
the authorities, hmdholders and contractors. 
.5. The pay which they receive and the prices 
of provisions. 
6. Whether the means of communication were 
good and whether theïe were good markets in the 
neighbourhood for the sale of their produ«tions. 
7. Whether there were any immigration com- 
lmnies or any such in course of formation. 
8. Vhether laml was granted to immigrants 
desiring to found a cohmy on it, and if so, on 
what terres; also whether land was sold to immi- 
grants on easy terres, and if so, on what terres. 
9. Whether the immigrants when they desired 
to return home met with obstaeles in communica- 
tion with the sea-board, or in their immigration 
or labour eontract, or in the local laws and 
ordinanees. 

In this requisition fronl the Minister of the 
lnteri«r, consuls were enjoined fo send in regu- 
larly, twice a year thereafter, reports covering 
all these matters of inqdry and detailing any 
changes of note occurring in the conditions 
affectingimmigration. They were particularly 
requested to give clear and accurate state- 
ments of the condition of immigrants, whether 
good or bad, without concealing anything out 
of regard to foreign governments. In the use 
or publication of the information received in 



Future Ira mi!!r«tioe 313 
the intevest of lhe publie the Ministl'y under- 
took to lnaintain the grealest reserve eoml)at- 
ihle with the best interests of imluigranls 
aw)id disclosure of ils sources of ilfOl'matiolL 
Twelve years later, aftei* the provisions of 
this law had 1)een thoi'oughly tested, supl)le- 
menat'y legislution was elmcted in the passage 
of the law of Jauuary 31, 1901. The design 
this law was fo l'Olnc(ly any defecs imted in 
file operation of cxisfing legislation, fo insfi- 
tute the best feasible safeguar,ls for ihe 
protection and guidance of emigrants, and 
esl)eeially 1o SUpl)l'ess nny al'lificial promotion 
of emigration. 
As an effective instrulnenl of its l)urpose, 
if crcated a (lovernment Ilord of Emigration 
by the institution of the R«»yal Emigl.ation 
Department of Italy. This consists of a 'on» 
lnissariat and Cmmcil. The Commiss;ariat 
composcd of a Comlnissionel'-General and 
three Associate ('OlUmissioners, with a suit- 
able provision of cxeeutive clevks. In eo-«)per- 
ative and advisory association a COUlWil or 
Board of Elnigrntion w«as established, «ousist- 
ing of the Comlnissioner-General, rive dele- 
gares, represcnting the Department of the 
Interior, Tre«suçv, Navy, Publie Instruction 
and Agriculture, lhr members «appointed by 
royal deeree froln such persons as shall have 
ruade the science of geography, statistics and 



314 A Study i»). Ce)edie)) l)mig)'«tiou 
economy their special study and two addi- 
tional membcrs, one nominated by the National 
League of Italian «o-ope.ative Societies and 
lhe other by leading Mutual Aid Socielies of 
the chief towus of the kingdom. 
The headquarters of this departmeut were 
esahlish«d at Rome with three maiu branches 
at Gonoa, '«ples and P;lcl.lnO. In every 
mnnivipaliiy there is -also an Advisory COln- 
mittee, und(,r the l;w, composed of the syndic, 
the local justice, a physician, a representative 
of the clergy, and one of a trades organization 
or agricultural society. The duty of each com- 
mittce is to advise and protect emigvants. The 
central body issues a special bulletin and cir- 
culars of instruction fo these local commi- 
tees. The bulletin and circulars contain the 
information sent in by lhe cousuls abroad and 
by the tra'elling emigration Insl)ectors re- 
garding emigration matters. Pp. 54-55. 
The law then staies the following provisions : 
"First. It p'ohihits all steamship lines 
from using any methods ()f l)ublicity calcu- 
laled to encourage emigration. Whoever 
advertises by circula's, handhills, or other no- 
tices, matters tendiug h) encourage emigra- 
tion, or distributes he saine is subject to a 
heavy fine and imprisonment. 
"Secondly. No steamer carrying immi- 
grants can be enrolled as an emigrant ship 



Future lmmi.qration 
under the ]aw nnlc a spe('ial commission of 
examiners issues a permit. Su«h lmrmit çan 
only be granted wheu the steau,ship cmupany 
has coml)lied wilh ail ll,e regulations fixed by 
the law regarding hygi«ne safety, sl)eed, and 
the alh»tment ,f pr,per space for bcrths. Evcn 
ihe qnality and quantity of food is fixed by 
the law. Furlhel.more, no sleamer eau saii 
without underg«dng two examinalim% medi- 
cal «nul administrative, io ascerlain whether 
every provision of the law has becn complied 
with. 
" At thc ports of Genoa, 'al)les and Pal- 
ermo out offi«ers inspect ail l«)dging bouses 
and immigrant lmtels io sec that the hygienic 
rules are ol»eyed, and that the law is obeyed 
regarding rates, food and lodging, whi«.h ex- 
penses for the two days preceding departnre 
are payable by the steamship companies. Spe- 
cial offieers mcet the immigrants al the various 
raih'oad stations at the ports of departure, 
and escm't them to the piers or lodgiug bouses. 
"Thirdly. Every steamship company must 
pay .the expenscs and salary of a Governmcut 
Commissioner (geuerally a surgeon of the 
royal navy), who sails with each boat carry- 
ing immigrants, and whose duty is to look 
after hygieuic conditions and the observance 
of the immigration law. 



316 A Study i» Canadia Immigratio» 
" Fourthly. No navigation coml)any is al- 
lowed 1o sell lickels in Iialy wilhoul pre- 
viously filing a l«md with the State. condi- 
tioned almn lhe ,'omlflian,'e of lhe law. 
" There is furfln, rmore a tax of 8 f. whi«h 
ihe sleanmhip conqmnies must pay ou ea«h 
ticket sohl. Ail such taxes «mmtitute a fund 
to be used exclusiv«]y for lhe benefit of immi- 
grants. We sec, [herefore, that [he law has 
imlmsed many burdens and expeuses upon the 
navigation companes. To prevent 1oo great 
un im.rease in licke[ rles, or t]c formation 
of lmoling agreements, it is provided tlmt the 
Immigration Departmenl sh«l] fix the maxi- 
mure of transportation rates every four 
" Thc htw also gives lhe l'ight to he Govern- 
mcnl o suspend immigralion h) ny givcn 
country whcn special circumslances o the 
delriment of fle immigrant arise. For ex- 
«mlde, wo years ago, when i[ was as«ert«fined 
[ha[ on account of [le crisis in coffee planla- 
lions, the condition of Ilalian immigran[s lu 
San Pnulo, Brazil, was cri[icl, the Govern- 
ment withdrew tire l»ermission given to Brazil 
for [he frce impor[a[ion of Italians to lhc 
fatras and i)lan[ations in that country. The 
law nlso provides speci«l reguhtions regard- 
ing children and women, such as the 1)r»hil)i - 
iion of sending minors out of lhe cmmtry ex- 
cept under certain circumstances,'" etc. It 



Future Im»igration 317 
may be quite impossihle ami perhaps futile 
to hope that other governments will he 
careful and soli«itous as Italy rcgarding thc 
wclfare «,f the pcoplc who lcave their 
but here is an inte'esting illustration of a 
gOVPl'nlllPllt allowing, within certain limi{a- 
tions, free emigration ami yet adopting a 
iey of carefnl l'egllIatioll. 
stringent regulati«,ns itis added that 
Italian Goverument "«llows ihc Ame.ican 
commission of physicians at [talian l»,rts a 
pretty free hand. who examine the immigrant 
hot only for trachoma, hui make a fairly thor- 
ough examination for hernia, f«,r diseas«,s due 
io scnility," cte., the l)ossibility of careful 
r(,glaiion of emigrati«,n is f«irly well attained. 
Now, hov ch)es all this work out? Fl'om 130o 
fo 1916 there entered Canada al,out 110,000 
Ihdians. During the saine period there were 
deporied only 266or ah«mt one in every 417. 
" The deportations of lh'itish during that period 
were one in every 16S. Of ail the deporta- 
tions of the lllfllly nationalilies dnring those 
fonrteen years, the rate for the Italians is the 
lowest, which indieates, other things heing 
equal, tlot the fir.t eorc in. tlc seleetion, of lle 
i»migrant slo-uhl bc exe'cised in. bis ative 
land and belote ltc enba'k« upon tbe voyage. 
It ll«ly he IIIHI'Ile o1" lt any 
say that eountries other than Canada are ollly 
too willing, perhaps anxious to get rid of lheir 



318 A ,çtudy in Canadia hnmigratio 
defeetive and undesirable citizens. 'o coun- 
try is excessively eager fo retain thcm, if there 
is the possibility of another chance in a new 
and untried climate. But in the marrer of 
pcople leaving any of the British Isles or the 
countries of Europe, arrangemeuts such as 
those in counection with [tdy wouhl be of 
immense advantag,. If il be agreed /hai if is 
imp«ssibh, f«r su«.h arrangements tobe ruade 
with flw respective g,vernments, theu oue of 
(xo expedi«,nts is p«,sihle. 
Eilher thc ('aadi«ln G«,vernment shouhl 
mië grcat p«rts of emba 
li«m a pr«q,erly qualificd staff fo c«refully 
cXalllill«, «,X',l'y immigrant before goiug on 
shilfl»oard, or thc various transportation 
companics engag'ed in carrying immigrant 
passengers must be required to make the 
proper selectiou. The former is of course 
eXl,«,sive, but some of thc money emph,yed 
iu promotiug immigratim may bc turned fo 
(he ask of selec(ing" immiïauts. This could 
be donc only in lritain in a more or less free 
way. Iu o(her cotmtries it wouhl have o be 
done under se»me such arrangement as (bat 
ontlined in connection wi(l Haly. In the past 
the goveruments of European countries bave 
hot beeu overjoyed at (he evident migratory 
wave of people {o lands beyoml (he seas. They, 
therefore, would hot be disposed fo spend large 
sums of money in providing facilitics for their 



l"ul urc Ira »Jigration 319 
departure, or lll«'«ln.S by which the ff,,od wouhl 
be taken and the bad left. tIeuce lhe orglniza- 
tion for the selective eXalninatiol of the immi- 
graut, when lnade at the port of eml»al.katiol b 
is usuall" in the hands of the tralspol'talim 
Colnpanies. Imlnigrants arrive froln all ver 
 country by thmsands in the busy season, 
and before coin,,' m shipboard are l,dged 
hotels, boal.ding-houes , emlgl'ant, statins aud 
similar places, and somees a «»t'lill of lhe 
town is set. al,art for the purpose. At llam- 
burg, for example, there is a large emigraut 
seetion whi«h is a sori of distant suhul.b of 
the city. There are buildings for 
feeding and inspecting he imlnigrants, lnd 
even their l'eligious needs are provided for. In 
Sllch  situation medical exnmilmtim luay pro- 
ceed steadily for two or three days belote the 
ship's depal'tu re. 
The mode of the examination varies with 
stamship companies and the places. Ail eye- 
witness repol'ts ilulnig'rants ,,'oin,,' on board 
ship at Liverpool, where the only exa.mination 
discoverable was a. l'apid survey of the passen- 
gers as they proceeded along the gangway 
shipboard. olnetilnes the survey is ruade 
by a physician employed by the steamship 
conpany» and at. the poin of embarkation. 
Bometimes a physician is attehed to a 
fieke ageney and applicants for tickets 
are first inspeeted. If accepted a medical 



320 A ,çDtd!} in {'anadia» lm»ti.qrotio» 
certifi«ate is furnished aud the applicaut, 
having paid a deposi/, proceeds fo the port 
where a fiual examinalim is ruade. This is 
a great «ldVan/age hot only to the stealltship 
company and the country whieh the applicant 
seeks, lmt to the applieant himself. If for any 
reason he behmgs fo /he inadluissilde groups, 
or is liable 1«) I)e rejected al the I)«)rt, he 
refused a ti«kc[ and kept in his own country, 
per]m])s wi[hout his ]taving I)roken up home 
and sohl his few behmgings. Even when the 
rejc«tiou [akes ]date al the port of entlurka- 
lion if is mu«h ]ess strieras than after an ocean 
voyage. Fro" l]e w«m]d-])e immigrant is either 
a«[ually in or near to his own c«mutry, and 
the aid of relatives and fricnds may ])e assisted 
in a[faining the sta[us he once possessed. That 
flm]'e arc large nnmbers of pel'sOns so rejected 
is evident from the report of the ('ommissioner- 
(leneral of Immigration fro" thc Udted S[ates 
for 1910, in which he states thut thc numlarof 
those rcjected at such places is to ihe numher 
del)arrcd at the ports of arrival in thc Vnited 
Braies, as f[mr fo oue.  Neçertheless a stenm- 
ship company would hot be overscr]pulous if 
there seenmd a good chance of an immigrat 
passing the examination, and it has frequently 
been armed that companies ]rave required 
from flll alien who wished to take a dobtful 

« Cp. Fairchild, Immigration, p. 171. 



chance, a del>osi[ sucienl Io rehlllnlrSe them 
for he exp,nsc ,xf hrinin hhn lmck houhl 
ht • be finally reje«tcd at the llOl't 
The United States has also added a fine of 
$100 for evel-y l»el'SOli l'eje«ted. If sm'h 
Wel'e applied in lhe case of a COlUlmny lmv- 
iug a couple of hundred lmSSengel's rejected 
the evidenve of the expense iuvolw.d in 
examilmlion or inadequate exanlination wonhl 
be sucient for lhe ,nost (»htuse. Mo,'eovcr, 
the lm,'dshil)s were g,'ea{ly inc,'e«sed for lhe 
in{ending i,mnig,.ants for [he,'e we,'e involvcd 
a double wyage, which is hot :!lways pleasant, 
the bi{terness of rejet'tion, and 
their own country fo begin life ail over again, 
deple{ed in cou,.age and l)o«keL Ail 
might have been avoided 1)y adequate examina- 
tion lfore leaving. This marrer, {he,'efore 
sh«auld he insis{ed on. The COml)any concerncd 
should furnish coml)etent l)hysicians for such 
ca,'eful scru{iny of each individual immig,.aut 
as would avoid {hese hardships, and p,'ovide 
sucient rime for {he work; or the Bri{ish or 
Canadian consnl ai {he place shonhl furnish 
such physicians at {he company's expense. 
There is no deuying {he fact that deportation 
is a severe ha,'dship. To be rcjected belote 
the rime of e,nbarkation is nothing compared 
wi{h the situation of being del)a,','ed from 
landing after a long and trying voyage, and 
then sent back again over the saine route fo 



322 A »q_'ttdy ir ¢'a,edien. lmmigretio 
return ft'equently to a worse situation than 
beforc. This is bml enough in thc case of a 
single individual; itis wovse in lhe case of a 
man with a family. For example, a family 
sells out ail its possessions in some part of 
Elropc aud journeys fo Canada, only to find 
at the pwt of (hdarlation ih«t «ne or more 
members of lhc f;(mily are defective, ei(her 
physi««lly or menlally. It may bc lhat the 
voyage ilself has b«cn lhc very me«ms of hring- 
ing inlo l)r[mfinen«e eel'lain synptoms which 
at first werc hot sa apparent and yet would 
bave been suffiei(.nt for a physici«m fo advise 
llle family against emigl'afion. Now, having 
ll'aversed he Allanic, w]mt is to 1)e done? To 
adroit saine and debar thc olhers means te) 
break up the family, and lhe debarred nmst 
return 1o their nalive country more helpless 
than before. These people are not criminal, 
ne«essarily, but unforlunale, and immigration 
propaganda in lhe absen('e of preliminary but 
careful exanlinalion has added to their mis- 
fortune. All of which goes fo show the imper- 
alive necessily [f a lhormgh exanlination 
belote the immigranls embark, for it is a 
thousand-fohl bettcr 1o select than to reject 
the immigrant. ot that such examiuation 
would eliminate any further examination at 
the port. of entry, for the strain of breaking up 
home, ]eaving the native land, and then a long 
and arduous voyage nmy briug forth many 



Ft«t«re lin migration 323 
things. There must be two examinations at 
least, and that mcans douhle staffs of exam- 
iners, and conseq,mnt exp,,nse. But itis 
manifestly better to spend moncy that way 
than to allow persons suffering from conta- 
gious disense, insanity, mental deficiency, fo 
add to their misery by the trying experiences 
of a long voyage and then to he rejeet,,d, or 
deported. In the case of a ¢.ont«tg'ions ,lis,ase 
rejection or deportati,m is only a nmke-shift. 
and a poor one at that, for the ,htmage bas 
been donc dnring the ten or twelve days of 
travel. A simple expedient wonhl he to impose 
a fine upon every steamship COmlmny which 
broght deharred immigr«mts to this country. 
If this fine wcre m«de $100, ,,r evcn 
$500, for cvery debarr alien, it wouhl make 
the steamship company the hst selective 
agency desired. In 1903 the United tates 
Congress enacted a law which imposed on 
steamship companies a fine of one hnndrcd 
dollars for evetT alien debarred on acconnt of 
loathsome or contagious disease. To show 
that the enthusiasm of steamship companies 
far outruns their discretion, it need only be 
mentioned that in 1906 the companies paid in 
fines $24,300. That n, eant 243 aliens deported 
for the specified cmses, and the large number 
for one year indicates that the fine is too 
small. If it were applied to any steamship 



9°.24 A Study in ('enedian Immigration 
company whalsoeve 3 and to all classes of de- 
bavred aliens, it would result in ever S steam- 
ship agenl throughout the immigraut-carrying 
business l»ec.ming in fact a selective agent, 
and immigration inspectors, and the doctors 
and surgx.ms of the eompanies examining o- 
eial whose bnsiness it wouhl also be to 
demonstrate to inmfigration authorities that 
the disease in question broke out on the 
v«»yage, if the payment of the fine would be 
avoided.* Sin«e carrying immigrants is hot 
engaged in bv steantship companies as a 
purcly bemw.l«nt and hunmnitarian enter- 
prise the sele«tion of immigrants wouhl prove 
an eeonomie advantage fo the companies, an 
aet of justice and kindness to the would-be 
immigrant, and a gelmine service to ('anada. 
The seleetive examination at the port of em- 
barkation would hot, however, dispense with 
the examination at the port of entry. The 
latter should be carried on with sonlething of 
the saine serutiny as the former, and aduate 
equipment should be provided therefor. For 
that l»urpose a large immigration station 
shouhl le imilt at t. John or Montreal, accord- 
ing to suitalfility of locality and a staff of 
competent offieials engaged for the work of 
examining immigrants. The immigration sta- 
tion should be thoroughly equipped along the 

*Cp. Commons, Rates and Immigrants, p. 237-8. 



Ftture lmmigratio» 325 
lines of the building at Ellis Islan(l New York 
with offices, sleeping rooms inspection rooms 
ticket offices, restaurant hospit«ls and so on. 
Since the immigrnts would n«t he admitted 
to Canada mtil aftcr the examination, they 
slmuld be regarded as in the tare of the steanl- 
ship companies, who must pr«vide for tlwir 
support uutil the immigration authorities are 
satisfi,d as to the status and calibre of the 
intending citizel. For the m«dical examiua- 
tion thel'e shouhl be a staff «f physiciaus, for 
the mental examiuation a staff of psychiatrists, 
for the econondc and industrial examination a 
staff of iuspectors, aud, sin«e sm.h a large 
prol)orti(n of immigrants arc, forcign-speak- 
ing, there should be a st;(ff of iuterpr«t«rs. 
Some idea of the necessity of a large slaff in 
this conneciion may be formed from the fact 
mentioned in a former chapter that these 
immigrants wer(, coming to {'anada, 1)rieur to 
the war, at the average rate of a thousaml a 
day. Since, h«,wever, in winter season the 
number is considerably diminished, in the 
immigrant season there wouhl be fre- 
quently more than a thousaml a day. 
To make a careful threefohl examination 
of such a number of people would require a 
large number of experts unless the immigrants 
were detained at the station for many days. 
The latter wold be penny wise and pound 
foolish. At Ellis Island "there are in all about 



32 .4 ,qlmly n Panadian Immigration 
six hndred and ten oeials, ineluding ninety- 
rive medival o«ers and hospital attendauts, 
the force of interpreters is probably 
the largest in the world, gathered under a 
single roof. ''* Sm-h a staff of experts 
shouhl be liien ami women of attainment, 
refiuement and hmuanitariau instincts. The 
work in whi«.h they wonld be engaged is 
hot a. sto«kyard inspection, hnt the selection 
of human b.iugs, udult and juvenile, for 
future citizeus of a glorious c«mntry. They 
must be mov«.d on the one hand by loyalty to 
the country and ifs future, and on the other 
by kiuduess and jcstice toward the immigrant. 
A paragraph from Fairchild expresses this 
admirably : "This is obviously one of the most 
difficult and delicate of all the branches of 
government service. Qnestions involving the 
breaking nl) of families, the anuihilation of 
long-cherished plans, ami a host of other inti- 
mate human relations, even of lire and death 
itself, present themselves in a steady stream 
before the inspectors. Every instinct of 
humanity argnes on the side of lenieacy to the 
ignorant, stolid, abused, and deceived immi- 
grant. On the other hand, the inspector knows 
that he is placed as a guardian of the safety 
and welfare of his country. He is charged 
with the execution of an intricate and iron- 
bound set of laws and regulations, into which 
- « Frchild : ]mgration, p. 185. 



Future Immigration 327 
bis personal feelings and inclinations must 
hot be allowed to enter. Any lapse into too 
great leniency is a betrayal of his trust. One 
who bas hot aetually reviewed the cases can 
bave no conception of the intricacy of tbe 
problems which are constantly brought up for 
decision. '' The ordinary quiet-living citizen 
who journeys from home to o«e or fiwtory 
and baek again every day is inclined fo be 
derogatory in his remarks, if hot conlemptu- 
ous in his opinion of governnleut o«ials. 
He would change his mind if he were as- 
signed a task of immigration inspection, 
unless he were utterly insensitive to duty, 
which would immediately disqmdify him for 
the work fo be done. A ship arrives at 
Quec with a thousaud immigrants ou board. 
Every day's delay in unloading is an exl)ense 
fo the steamship company, who urges baste; 
the immigrants are in baste, the Govern- 
ment is in baste, the railway coml)anies are 
in baste, and yet our quondam quiet-living 
citizen bas to judge the merits of people as 
prospective citizensmany of whom are intel- 
ligible to him only through the medium of an 
inoerpreterand he is fo doit at such speed 
as to see more human characteristics in an 
hour than he hitherto saw in a day or a week. 
If is needless to say he would corne back from 
« Igration, p. 186. 



328 .1 ,tudy in (anadian Immigration 
such a day's task a wiscr if hot a sadder man. 
What must have lmen the nature of the task 
one day in the spring of 1907, at Ellis Island, 
when re.re tlmn fifteen th«msand immigrants 
am'ived ai thc port of New Y«)rk? A large 
staff hecomcs iml)erative, arul tire moncy 
thcr«for couhl quite wcll I)e diverted from 
ruere prolmgamla a],road t« dis,.riminative 
selection at ho)rue. In this c«)mmctim the 
metlrud pursued l)y the Unitcd States ruay fav- 
ourai)ly be compared with tiret lmrsued by 
('anada. In «ontrast to the ('anadian (h»vern- 
ruent disbursing large sums fin" immigration, 
thc Vnited S[ates does m)t slmud a single 
lar for slch a lmrl)ose , and even the expeuscs 
for tire exclusion of undcsiral)le immigran[s 
are wholly defrayed by ihe entering irumi- 
grants, wi[hout imposing the charge of a cent 
upon the (overnment or people of this coun- 
try.  In faet there is  profit, for in 1911 the 
head tax of four «h)llars on each of he 913,- 
SS0 immigrants yichled 3J;55,513. Since the 
whole ammmt apl)ropriated fi)r the enforce- 
ruent of the Immigation A«t was 2,575,000, 
lhe ba]aru-e of 1,0S0,721 was turued into the 
national treasury. Now cmupare a report 
from Mr. W. T. R. Prestou from England: 

+ Cf. 8almon: Immigration and lhe h4rixture of Races, 
etc., in White and Jlliffe's " The /Iodern Trêatnaent of 
ervous and iental I)iseases." 



F.ttu'e lin Ȕgratlon 329 
"Last year (1903) we expended $200,0110 in 
working p emigraiio from this «omtry to 
Canada. We distribut«,d 1,500,000 1,amphleis, 
kel)t a lot of a'ents on (he .]ump «lml spent a 
pile of momy in adverlisin'. But irai a dllar 
we{ in the slmpe of p«ssae money. We l'e 
no{ sendin" any dead-he«ds to 'anada. " This 
optimisti« ellhusiasm of Mr. lb.eston lhat lhey 
were hot sendin' fly dead-heads lo { hmmla is 
slightly diminished by lhe f«wl lhal in llmt 
saine year (1903) ihere were 2;3 rejected at 
ocefln 1)rls alone «ml sixl5--sev«'n more de- 
ported. These, however, nmy lmt lmve be- 
longed fo the COl{ient obtailmd by aenls 
on the jmnp nnd ihe expenditm-e of n pile of 
mofiey in «dv«'rfising. 
The neeessity of the imlfi'rnnt possessing a 
good physique reqfil'es no emplmsis. If it did 
one might mention {he fet tlmt {he commis- 
sioner at Ellis Island estilmted {lat 200,000 
immigrants in{o the Uni{ed l«{es are below 
the physical s{ndal'ds lhat shouhl be required 
to entitle them to admission. That, of course, 
is a higher number lhan lhose so desiglmted 
by the physicians, and this bl'ins the enquiry, 
"'hat is the physique l'eqfil'ed what should 
be the physieal test?" Al first 'lalwe it wouht 
mean that the immigrant concerned did hot 

Lord: Italian in America, pp. 165-166. 



330 A ,çtldy iu Ca»adia Immigrttion 
possess definite marks whi(.h would tender 
him liable to rej«.ction. A ceriificatc of phy- 
sical dcficiency, then, in the words «»f the 
United States Commissi«ucr-(hneral, "implies 
that the alien conccrm.d is alicted with a 
body hot only illy adaphd l« tlm work neces- 
sry to earn his breml but also poorly able to 
withstand tlw (,nslaught «,f disease. It lueans 
th:t he is umlcrsized, po«rly developed, with 
fecble heart action and artel'ies below the 
standard size; llmt ho is physic«lly degener- 
are, and as su«-h is lin only unlikely fo bccome 
a desirable citizen, but also very likely to 
transmit hi umlesir«ble qmflities to his off- 
si)ring shouId he, unfortunately for the coun- 
try in which he is domicilcd, lmvc ay. Of all 
causes for rejection, outside of those for 
dangel'oU, ('ontagious, or loathsome diseases, 
or for mental diseases, that of ' poor physical ' 
should receivc the nmst weight, for in admit- 
/ing such aliens hot onl 3" do we increase the 
number of puldic charges by their inability 
to gain their bread through their physical in- 
aptitude and their low rcsistance to disease, 
but we adroit likewise progenitot to this 
country whose offspring will reproduce, often 
in an exaggcrated degree» the physical degen- 
eracy of their parents.*" 

« Cp. Commons p. 233. 



Ft«tt«re Immigra/iott 331 
To use positive designations for admission 
instead of negaives, or positive ones for rejet- 
tion, physical efiicicn(.y wouhl mean a body 
capable of an average amount of work, or sutîî- 
cient strength to earn one's bread, capable of 
resis/ing disease in that the I.»dy is al least 
of average development for that particular 
race, good heart ac/im and good circulation, 
and the « rive senses " co-operating with avcr- 
age rapidily. Add fo /his lhe presence of 
fairly good hahils of living and there is a 
physique which so far as external diagnosis is 
eoncerned is one whose offspring under nor- 
mal conditions is worthy of ils an«estors and 
the coun/ry of ils birth. Wbile as a mat/er of 
faet nearly all immigrants marked clown as 
"poor physique" a» admitted, /he admission 
i/self shows that the physieal test which re- 
quires fo be adequately urged is no/ the only 
one, but one among many. 
For ten years or more the educational 
or literary test which bas become known 
as the "illiteracy" test bas played qni/e a 
role in the leslation of the United S/a/es 
regarding immigration. Il does no/elindna/e 
o/ber tests but supplements /hem, and can 
be applied to ail lkqces, especially fo those 
who showed low standards of living. Directly, 
then, the application of such a test tended 
to raise those saine standards of living. The 
test in i/self was simple enough, consisting 



8 A 'l«d!/ in ('«u#di:m Immi:jr«lion 
il lhe abili{y of he imni'l'ant fo read ald 
wvile his native lauuage. If applied only fo 
l»e'sons ove" fiffeeH 3"ea's of a'e, Ilt hot to 
wife, chihlren lmveut o grandl»avenf of 
lhoe who are ndmitfed. The bill re'rding 
thi test wa firs inh'odueed info the United 
States Senate in lS3 all«l pl'ovided for the 
ex¢.lusi«m amou .[he's of those "pevs«ns he- 
tween fouv[een and six[y years of age who tan- 
hot b.th vead and wvite the English language 
«w s«mw olller language." The bill lmssed the 
llouse in May, lsg, by a vote of 195 to twenty- 
six, and the Senate in Decenlhev by a vote 
of fifty-two to ten. After being reported 
finally by 'Omnlittee, it passed the Senate in 
Felwuary, lS97, by a vote of thirty-four to 
thivty«m«,. Subseq uenly amendments dealing 
wi[h nmtters indi'ectly eonneeted with the 
bill were introdu«ed, mainly with the entranee 
into the Uni[ed States of immigrants passing 
[hrough Canada, and llle bill was vetoed by 
President ('ieveland, ou March 2, 1S97. The 
House imssed it over- the President's veto by 
198 to thirty-seven, but there was not sucient 
rime to m,cure its passage in the Senate. In- 
troduced again in ISgS, it passed the Senate 
by a vote of forty-five to twenty-eight, but mat- 
ters connected with the Spanish War pre- 
vented a vote being taken in the House. Again, 
in January, 1900, the Senate Committee re- 
ported an illiteracy test bill, but no vote was 



Ft« t tt re I m rit igratiott 333 
taken in either House. Finally a bill pre- 
pa,'ed in acco,'dall,'e with the r«conlnlenda- 
tions of the hlduslrial t'onlnission, was 1,asscd 
in Mai.ch, 903. The discussion of tllc applica- 
tion of this lest, a discussion ,'unniug through 
the years f,-onl lS94 is an inte,'esting illustra- 
tion of the influences tha/ bias the opinion of 
sections of the community. The lobbying car- 
ried on to defea/ the test was as fiwceful as 
sortie ,tf the argulnents were hldi«rous. The 
President in lhe veto» of the bill of ISgl; ex- 
pressed disaplw«»val of su«h legislation. Col- 
leges, s«hools, pr«»fess«ws, lecturers, elergymen 
--everybodyt«»ok np the question of illiter- 
aey, and olle effeet of tlle discussion was that 
many pe-ple of the Vuited States learned more 
than they ever knew hofol-O about lhe prob- 
lents ««mne.ted with inmig'ation. The I lerman 
societies were parti«ularly strenuous in oppos- 
ing the test, and yet the bill of 1895 wouhl 
bave ex«hnled less than one-fifth per cent. 
of Ge'nmn ilUlnigrants.  " It wouhl exclude 
about one in 200 Seandinavians, one in 100 of 
English, Scotch and Finns, two or three in 100 
of the Gerlnans. Ii'ish. Welsh and F'ench, but 
it would exelude one-half of the South Italians, 
one-seventh of the North Italians, one-third to 
two-fifths of the several Slav rates, one-seventh 

« l'airehild: Immigration, p. 268, 



 A ç't«d# in Canadiens. Immigration, 
of the uin ,lew, logether one-fifth or 
one-fom'th off he t«lal immigration.  
In Canada, up o he present rime, there has 
Imen no ]iteracy test aPlflied. The 1919 hu- 
migration bill l)rOl)osed ri) apply the test and 
(,xclc(le those who cannot read nor write, 
lhocgh m(difications wev introdcecd which 
placcd the cxercise of scch authority t the 
discreti«n of Ihe Minisler. Th«t immedialely 
r(.moved it fr«)m i)eing a dcfinite condition 
f«)r exclusion. And yct while copions argu- 
ments have bcen multiplicd agaiust the test 
and equally copions argumenls in fnvour 
of if, lhe questi[n needs illuminntion from 
another angle, namely lhc relation of illitera«y 
to crime, povcrty and lhe retardation of Cana- 
dianization. It is self-understood that mere 
inabiliy to read and write is not the sole basis 
of exclusion, nor is if invariahly connected 
with a poor physique. A man mny be  good 
labourer and a pions soul and yet be unahle to 
read or wrile. Nevertheless there is always 
something curiouuly puzzling about the his- 
tory of a man who has hnd within his reach 
facilitics for lcarning fo read and write and 
yet never appropriated them. And one expects 
that any foreign-speaking man who has never 

«Op. Commons Rates and ImmigranCs, p. 234. For fuller 
discussion of the history o£ tle various bills, op. Hall, Immi- 
gration p. 262 ff; Commons» ibid. 234 ff. 



Fut«rc Immigratiot 335 
learned to read and write his own language 
will hot bave much desire and less capacity 
to learn another. The delay in his Canadian- 
ization is, therefore, protracted for the man 
who is illiterate, for he cannot become ac- 
quainted, e.xcept by hearing, with the social 
and polifical forces in the country, and must 
perforce remain a backward citizen. It may 
be occasionally true that an illiterate may 
bring to this country a strong physique, but 
even then he brings very little besides, for 
illiteracy is rarely associated with money or 
skil! or enterprise. Who, then. would be ex- 
cluded by the application of a literacy test? 
For the period 1899-1909 i the United States 
the average illiteracy of al! Europea immi- 
grnts fourteen years of age and over was 
26.6 per cent. Among European hnmigrants 
the percentges of illiteracy are shown in the 
table on following page. 
With some slight variation, the amoun! of 
money shown by immigrants of the rates me- 
tionêd diminishês as thê pêrcetage of illiter- 
ates increases, indicating again the frequent 
coincidence of illiteracy and poverty. Of 
course, if i,u barely possible that. imnfigrants 
had more monêy than thê amounts shown, but 
scarcêly probable if insuflïciênt froids might 
lêad fo thêir êxehlsion. Assunfing, then, that 
the saine conditions of illiteracy would prevail 
among immigrants to Çanada as among those 
22 



336 

A ,'tudy la (Yanmlimt Immig«ation 
TABt,E 59 * 
PEUO» 1899-1909. 

lac 

Scandinavian ............ 
English ................. 
lrish ................... 
GcrlnR[I 
Italians (North) ......... 
Magyar ................. 
Idebrcw ................. 
Greek .................. 
Roumanian • ............ 
Polish .................. 
Croatian-Slavonian ...... 
Italian (South) .......... 
Portuguese ............. 

Percentage of 
Illiteratcs 

0.4 
1.1 
2.7 
5.1 
11.8 
11.4 
25.7 
27.0 
34.7 
35.4 
36.4 
54.2 
68.2 

Average amount 
of Money shown 
per Capita 

16.65 
38.90 
14.50 
28.53 
22.49 
10.39 
8.67 
28.78 
10.37 
2.82 
8.70 
7.57 

to the United States, the application of a 
literacy test would bear more heavily up«m 
those from South and Eastern Europe than 
upon those from the orth and West. And 
Canada has been fav«mralfly (lisposcd toward 
the orth and SVest, for there much money 
has been spent for propaganda. Among those 
hardest hit hy a literacy test would be the 
South Italians, of whom Canada in the past 
two decades has received considerahle num- 
bers, yet they "are nearly most illiterate of all 
*Fairehild: ,Immigra¢ion, p. 198. The amounts o 
mvney are or the year 1899, quoted ïrom Hall: Immi- 
gration, p. 72. 



Future Immigratiot 337 
immigrants at the present rime, the most sub- 
servient to superiors, the lowest in their slan- 
dard of living, and at the saine rime the most 
industrious and thrift S of ail common lbour- 
ers. *'' Thc complaint, thon, that" the literacy 
test would bar out perhaps a good type of set- 
tler from the British [sles, who although he 
might not be alde t) read or write wouhl 
eventually nmke a good citron of ('mmda, 1)ui 
would nllow te, ellter 11 kimls of f)reigncrs 
who c)uld prove their capaci{y f«)r rcading 
thirty or for{y words in lheir own l)ngne," 
would bc justified in the rarest of cases, for 
the illiterales among the British immigrants 
number less than two per cent., and it would 
hot be applied to children, women and old 
men. Hence the main effect would be found 
in rejecting larger numbers of people from 
Southern and Easlern Europe, and since the 
Italians exceed the others in numbers, thcy 
would be more seri[)usly affected. That mighl 
not be in every respect to the advantage of 
Canada. Though Ilalians head {he list in 
criminal convictions they are at the 1)ollom of 
the list in lhe question of infirm. At the saine 
time they afford, on the whole, a good illus- 
tration of the curious relation between pov- 
erty and illiteracy, and the relation of both to 
a high birth rate which is highest where illiter- 
acy is highest. But if the birth rate is high, so 
« Commoas, Races and Iigrants, p. 79. 



338 A 'tudy i. Camdia lmmigratior 
is the death rate, produced ]argely by ignor- 
ance, poverty, and ]ack of sanitation. As is 
wcll known, tle largest numhr of child'en is 
horn among he ignorant l)«ol)le with a low 
standard of living, and the present shows little 
if auy chm«e of improvemcnt over the past, 
for the chihh'en are no botter than thei- par- 
ents, unless shielded and guidcd by the strong 
hand of lhe State. Illiteracy then hecomes 
more [imn lhe merc ineapacity to rend or 
write, fl)r connected wiih poverty if means 
ea'ly »mvriages and large families with inevi- 
table l)overty whieh again repents the saine 
cycle. 
The addition of the literaey test, however, 
is right in line with the general t.ndeney of 
the past, namely, to raise rather than lower 
the standard required for admission fo this 
countçv. From the standpoint of productive 
lbour, wilhout considering the question of 
assimilation, the litevaey test is more or less 
insignificant, exeept in the marrer of the skilled 
trades. But if the immigrant be considered as 
more than a labour-producing machine, then 
the question of illiteracy or literacy is very 
significant. To be sure the ahility to rend and 
write is not always an indication of intel- 
lectual capneity, fo' the opportunities may 
not bave been present in the enqy lire of the 
immigrant. At any rate such abilit, y does 
indicate to some extent his education, and 



Future Ira migration 339 
education is of vital importance for Cana- 
dianization. Where, then, the opportunity for 
acquiring this knowlêdge has been present, 
the immigrant who has attained thereto is 
surely better titted for assimilation iuto the 
lire of the new country than oue who has not 
so attained. The determination, however, of 
the value of the literacy test depends upou the 
point of view froln which it is estimatcd, ami 
from that of assimilalion it is umloutbedly 
of value, while front the standpoint 6f merc 
productive manual labour the question is 
somewhat different. People who fitd lb dilli- 
cuit to get along in a new country are not 
illiterates, but possess a moderate atnount of 
education. Hence they would hot do merely 
the manual labour, for which there is consider- 
able demand, and they cannot do it in compe- 
tition with the illiterate accustomed ail his 
lire to manual labour. In such case it cam,ot 
be said that ability to read and write adds 
in any considerable degree to the economic 
elïicieucy of such people, though it may add 
to their social and political desirability. A1- 
though literacy will hot keep out ail criminals 
they can be excluded on grounds of criminal- 
ity whenever it can be found; and although 
illiteracy is a disadvantage which, however, 
is overcome in the second generation, yet on 
the whole, every fair-miuded Canadian will 



340 A tudy itt ('aadian Immigration 
adroit that nbility to read ,nd write is a desir- 
able qualification, and that it makes for rather 
than ngainst citizenship; that it is a simple 
test, 1)erfectly dcfinite, and easily understood 
ami the immigrant who wants to make the 
most of himself in a m.w country will l)repare 
to meet it aml so preparing will already be 
star[ed oa lhe road to l»e a better citizen than 
ho is; and that i[ is hot too mach to require of 
«my nmn who desires the benefits of Canadian 
life ami iudustry. 
The operation of this test, then, would tend 
to exclude many who ean now only with great 
difficulty be assimilated into out national life, 
and will, o doubt, in the future be added to 
the list of conditions on the grounds of which 
immigrants are rejected. The whole trend of 
the regulation and restriction of Immigration 
points that way, both in the United States and 
Canada, for the movement has steadily though 
slowly been toward selection. In 1862 the 
('ongress of the United tates prohibited the 
importatio of ('hinese coolies in American 
vessels, but from 1875 the conditions of exclu- 
sion began to be definitely particularized. 
That year there were prohibited prostihtes 
and convicts with the exception of political 
offenders; in 1882 there were provisions for 
the rejection of lnnatics, idiots and paupers; 



Future I.mmig»'ation 341 
in 1885 labourers under contract were ex- 
cluded, with the exception of professional per- 
sons under contract; in 1891 regulations re- 
je(.ted pers(ms convicted of crime, or wh«» were 
assisted immig'ants, polygamists, or persvns 
wi/h h»athsome and contagious disease ; in 1903 
there were inchlded l)el'sons who weee epilep- 
tic', (w who had had two or 
saniy, pl.ofessi«»nal beggars, anar(.hiMs. Ïhen 
('ame the long discussion already oullined re- 
garding the .ejection «»f illih,rat«,s and in 1907 
the prohibitions wel'e fur[her extended and 
more clearly defined to im:hlde persons 
had had two or moreaitacks of insaniy 
[imc l»'eviou.s.ly, mentally and physically def- 
tire persons, ihose alicted with tuhercul«Ms, 
prostitutes and proeur«rs, assisted aliens 
whose ticket or passage was paid for hy any 
association, corporatif»n, sociey, municipal- 
ity, or foreign government, either directly or 
indirectly, chihh'en nnder sixteen years of age 
unaccompanied by one or both of their par- 
ents, and prohibitions of soliciting and adver- 
tising. The case has been somewhat similar 
with the legislation in Canada. From the 
amendments of the old Passengel.s' Act in 1825 
and 1835 there came the new regulations 
under the Department of Immigration after 
the Act of CQnfederation, which followed st»me- 
what closely the enaetments of the United 
States. This was partieularly the ce with 



342 A Study in Canadian Immigration 
the Act of 1906 and the Amending Acts of 
1907 and 1908, which led up to the Act of 
1910, of which thc main outlincs have been 
given in a preceding chapr. The experience 
of the last ten years has shown the good 
well as the bad featuoes of that Aet and the 
prcsent Act of 1919 is SUpl)osed to more along 
the saine lines as he recent legislation of the 
United Slales, even o the introduction of 
litcracy test. 
Iut prohibitions of the kind aforementioned 
are inadequate unless some means is employed 
for their enforccmcut. While rejected and de- 
ported immigrants werc sent back to their 
home countries by nnd at the expense of the 
steamship and railway companies by which 
they came, yet there were always more or less 
devions ways by which the return might be 
avoided or delayed. An appeal from the de- 
cision of the immigration authorities might be 
ruade and a protracted process of litigation 
entered upon. Companies have been known 
to obtain from immigrants whose adnfission 
seemed doubtful a sure of money snfficient to 
pay for their return if excluded. Immigrants 
have been coached or instructed in the various 
intricacies required to pa the immigrant offi- 
ciais, but in addition to all this the great de- 
fect lay in not compelling the steamship com- 
panies themselves to become selective officials. 
Tbis could easily be done by placing a fine 



Future I»igration 343 
suciently heavy upon the companies for 
every immigrant brought over who came with- 
in any of the categories requiring exclusion. 
The United States took a big forward step in 
this matter in February, 1917, when section 3 
was enlarged and defined, and section 9 of 
the Immigration Act was enacted as follows: 
"Sec. 3. That the following classes of aliens 
shall be excluded from admission into the 
United States: All idiots, imbeciles, feeble- 
minded persons, epileptics, insane persons, per 
sons who have had one or more attacks of 
insanity at any time previously, persons of 
constitutional psychopathic inferiority, persons 
with chronic alcoholism, paupers, professional 
beggars, vagrants, persons afflicted with tubercu- 
losis in any ïorm or with loathsome or a danger- 
ous disease, persons not comprehended within any 
of the foregoing excluded classes who are found 
to be and are certified by the examining surgeon 
as being mentally or physically defective, such 
physical defect being of a nature which may affect 
the ability of such alien to earn a living." 
"Sec. 9. That it shall be unlawful for any per- 
son, including any transportation company other 
than railway lines entering the United States 
from foreign contiguous territory, or the owner, 
toaster, agent, consignee of any vessel, to bring 
to the United States any aliens afflicted with 
idiocy, insanity, imbecility, feebleiority., chronic 
alcoholism, tuberculosis in any form, or a loath- 
some or dangerous contagious disease, and if it 
hall appear to the satisfaction of the Secretary 
of Labour that any alien so broght to the United 
States was aiïlicted with any of the said diseases 



344 A Sttdy i» ('a»adian Immigration 
or disabilities at the rime of foreign embarkation, 
and that the existence of such disease or disability 
might lmve becn detected by meaus of a competent 
medical exalnilmtion at such time, such person or 
transportation company, or the toaster, agent, 
«)wnel', or consignce of any such vessel sh«ll pay 
to a collector of cnstoms of the customs district 
in which the port of ;rl'iwl is h)cated the sure 
of $200 and in addition a sure equal to that paid 
by sm.h ;lien for his transportati«)u from the 
initial point of departure, indicated in his ticket, 
to the port of ;irl'iv;] for each :lmi every violation 
of the l)rovisi(,ns (ff this section, such 1;Ittel" sure 
to be deliveld to the collector of customs to the 
alien on wimse accourir assessed. It shall be 
also nnla'ful fOl" any such person to bring to 
any port of the United States any alien ;ffiicted 
with any mental defect of a nature which affects 
his ability to earn a living, as contemplated in 
section three of this Act, and if it shall aplar 
to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Labour 
that any alien so brought to the Unitcd States 
was so affiicted at the port of foreign embarka- 
tion, and th;t the existence of such nlental or 
physical defect might have been detected by means 
of a competent medical examination at such time, 
such person shall 1)ay fo the collector of customs 
of the enstoms' district in which the port of 
arrival is located the sure of $25 and in addition a 
sure equal to that paid by such alien for his trans- 
portation from the initial point of departure, indi- 
cated in his ticket, to the port of arrival, for each 
and every violation of this provision, such latter 
sure to be delivemd by the coHector of customs 
to the alien for whose accourir assessed." 



Future In, migration 345 
In order, however, to make the process of 
selection dolbly sllre ofticials of the Immigra- 
tion Department should be placed ol, the ships 
of transportation companies, with the specific 
purp»se of ascertaining whether or hot the 
full requirements of the Immigiation Law are 
carried out. These officiais should bc in a Imsi- 
tion to dcmaml every propcr access to the 
actual conditions on boa'd ship, lire with lhe 
immigrants in the steerage as well as in first 
and second cal)in, have au[hority to examine 
the manifests in respect fo immigrant passen- 
gers, and report fo the authol.ities of the 
Immigrati»n Department any violation of [he 
reqnir(,mcnts «»f the l;w, my ill-conduct or 
indiscretion on the part of any individual 
superior or subordinate of the ship's 
otïicers and cr(.w toward any immigrant, 
male or female, young or old, and at 
the saine time become sutïiciently acquainted 
with any of the inferior immigrants as 
to be able to inform the Immigration Authori- 
ties as to cases of possible exclusion, 
and to help in determining whcther such con- 
ditions bave arisen mainly as a result of the 
voyage, and from causes over which the steam- 
ship companies had no control. It is iustruc- 
tire as well as significant that in this direction 
the Unitcd tates bas again moved in adopt- 
ing section 11a of the Act of February, 1917, 
which reads as follows: 



346 A Study in Canadian Immigration 
Sec. 1la. That the Secretary of Labour is here- 
by authorized and directed to enter into negotia- 
tions, through the Dcpartmeut of State, with 
countries, vessels of which bring aliens to the 
United States, with a view to detailing inspectors 
and matrons of the United States Immigration 
Service for du¢y on vessels carrying immigrant or 
emigrant passengers between foreigu points and 
the Unied States. Vhen such inspectors and 
marrons are detailed for snch duty they shall re- 
main in the part of the vessel where immigrants 
are carried; and it shall be their duty to observe 
such passengers during the voyage and report to 
the immigration authorities in charge at the port 
of landing any information of value in determin- 
ing the admissibility of such passengers that may 
have become known o them during the voyage. 
But evcn after the immigrant bas been ad- 
mitted, it is a big mistake to suppose that the 
task of the country which invited and adlnitted 
him is at an end. That bas been too extensive 
an error in the past, with the inevitable con- 
sequence that admission bas far outrun 
assimilation. Immigrants have been granted 
concessions more in accordance with their 
peculiar traditions than with the requirements 
of an intelligent and unified Canada. They 
bave been allowed to segregate in colonies and 
then left severely alone, with the resulting 
failure to provide for the propel" education of 
the children, ignorance of Canadian aspira- 
tions and langnage, and frequently with the 
exercise of the franchise without proper ac- 
quaintance with its purpose. In this respect 



Fut«re Ira » igr««tio. 

3-17 

all the provinces are at fault but those which 
have had the largest number and proportion 
of immigrants are least to blame, for thc task 
of rapid assimilation has been too great. Of 
those wh% in the struggle in a new country, 
become more or less a public charge, there 
should be such knowledge as nmy be obtained 
by proper supervision. To this end thc task 
of the Immigration officiais shouhl be extended 
on lines laid down in the United Siates regula- 
tions as given in section 23, as follows: 
Sec. 23. It shall be the d(t.y of the Commissiolmr 
General of Immigration to detail officers of the 
Immigration Service from rime to time as may 
be necessary, in his judgment, to secure iufornm- 
tion as to number of aliens detained in the penal, 
reformatory and charitable institutions (public 
and private) of the severl States and Territories, 
the District of Columbia, and other Territory of 
the Vnited States, and to inform the officers of 
such institutions of the p)visions of law in rela- 
tion to the deportation of aliens who have become 
public charges. He may, with the approvnl of 
the Secretary of Labour, whenever, in his judg- 
ment, such action my be necessry to accomplish 
the purpose of this Act, detail immigration offi- 
cers for service in foreign countries and upon 
his request, approved by the Secretary of Labour, 
the Secretary of the Treasury may detail medical 
officers of the United States Public Health Ser- 
vice for the performance of duties in foreign 
countries in connection with the enforcement of 
this Act. 



('HAPTER XV. 

»gOME PREÆ'ENT NEEDS. 

From [he m,)re or ]ess c,)here]lt sl]rvey now 
ruade of (he o,(sianding feaiures of ('anadian 
Immigraii«»n a gr«'a[ many hings bave been 
learned, bu, pcrhaps the [)ne factor that stands 
out wiih g,'eaiest p.ominencc is ihat, iii addi- 
tion to the larg'e migr«io,'y movcmcnts of 
people in the last contraT, ihc first decade of 
the present century saw 1,244,597 persons 
enter through Canada's open doors, «nd the 
second decade lins .seen 2,177,072, a total immi- 
gration of 3,421,669 in twenty years. But 
since the population in 1900 was 5,371,315, 
fignres indicaie that the increase from immi- 
gration alone was nearly sixty-flmr per cent. 
And such a spectacle of mixed naii«)nalities 
and faces and tongucs No wonder the an- 
nouncer of dom points his ring'er at 
towns and citi that are but modern Babels, 
and predicts the utter failure of a civilization 
possessing so many diverse and " foreign" 
ingredients. Assimilation! It is impossible. 
Amalgamation! It is unthinkable. Canadian- 
ization2 A wild dream never to be realized. 
348 



Some Presctt Nevds 3:19 
Far betler would if bave been if no "fm'eigner" 
ad ever entered Canada's d«mrs, if the racial 
,stock had been left unmixed and unsp¢dled, 
andCanada been kept "a. white man's c«mntry" 
for genuine Anglo-SaXOlSI.. - 
Against this, perbaps, little eau be sai«l, ex- 
eept to point out fhat it is not a special pre- 
rogative of the beatben to rage and tbe people 
{o inmgine a vain tbing. The Canadfim stock 
was not" pure" to begin wilh, aml th«, Anglo- 
Saxons, as {be name implies, we'e hot " un- 
mixed." Henee the Canndian Immigation 
problem of the twentieth eentury is only an 
intensifieation of that of lhe nineleentb, and 
it will bave fo be met in a very inlensive way. 
Of eourse/many a timorous bea't may lainent 
the faet tfiat :he eleet of lhe earth, lhat is, 
the British-born Canadians witb an aneestry 
of genuine Anglo-Saxon lineage, bave to so- 
journ 
in tbe midst of peoples of eveïy elime, 
but a similar situation prevails to some extenU 
even in the British Isles. It is q,ite il.m, that 
if the eal-ly British 'olonists had gmw on 
developing independently, but by tbe side of 
the Freneh-Canadians, the ultinmtely-result- 
ing eivilization would h.ave heen sonmwhat 
different from {hat which if will now . 
Preseott F. Hall, who is no amateur in deal- 
ing with 1)roldems of immig.ation, bas al'gued 
in a foreible artiel% "Immigration Restrie- 
{ion and World Eugenies," {hat {his flow of 



350 .[ Study i»e C«u«di«» Immigratio 
varied multitudes iuto the Western Vorld tends 
to sterilize the peoplc ou the highcr social and 
economic levels who arc alrcady in the coun- 
try, and, hence, if there had been no immigra- 
lion sincc 1S20, the p,»puh{tion of the United 
States would have been larger and better to-day 
than what itis. For the low-class immigrants 
have diminished fhe numl»ers of the natives, 
dissil)aled lhe energies of these natives 1,y in- 
trodm'iug e]cmcus of o)nflic, ami preveuted 
[he deçelopmeut of mauy of thosc kinds of abil- 
i[y whi('h arc most wor[h cultiva[iou. If [hcy 
had been left in their own countries the in- 
ferior stocks would naturally decrease, while 
the superior ones would promote institutions 
which wou]d be of the greatest advatage to 
the former who, as far as their natnral endow- 
ments allow them, progrès mainly by imita- 
tion and emulaliou. + 
It may be frankly admitted that therc is 
much in support of such 'a view. One hundred 
years ago the population of the United States 
was 9,400,000. In 1800 the census showed 
5,300,000, so that the increase in twen[y years 
was 4,100,000. Assumingthaç the immigration 
stream was small and that by natural in- 
crea, in an immense country where ample 
sustenance would avoid the Malthusian argu- 
ment for diminution, the population doubled 
* Journal of Heredity, arch, 1919, pp. 125-127. 



Some PrcseJt Xecds 351 

every twenty-five years, then the present popu- 
lation of he United Saes would bave heen 
about 150,000,000. A similar argument would 
hold for Canada, since, taking he population 
of 1760 as 65,000 and allowing it to double 
every twenty-five years would give Canada in 
1925 a population of between eight and nine 
millions. But the one stubborn fact facing 
all this is hat such an ideal situation has hot 
laken and never tan take place in f'anada 
ce the United Slates. Th« cndeniahle factis 
that the immigrants bave corne, are here, and 
are «muing. Those who are here cannot be 
eliminated; those who are at the doors cannot 
be entirely prohihited ; and lhose who are eon- 
templating entrance cannot be notified in ad- 
rance that [hey will be refused admission. 
Since the disc«,very of the Western worhl people 
of every «lime have been seeking the opporlu- 
nities of new and sparsely-p«pulated coun- 
tries wit.h great natural resources, and unless 
Calmda shouhl adopt a policy of rigid exclu- 
sion and romain in sp]endid isolation, free 
from entangling alliances, the immigrant will 
be in the midst of the hmd. Prohibition of 
immigration, then, is impossible; restriction 
is feasible and sometimes nessary; regula- 
tion is always imperative. That restriction 
is sometimes necessary may be seen from the 
fo]lowing facts which are hot entirely excep- 
tion'al. The year 1913 may be regarded as a 



yer oî cousiflcrab] (,oomi diult 
amounti «lmol. te» a .is. 'at pa- 
sion lmd taken 
i,tdut,.y, and chou'me)us 
we;'e invoived. M«)ney was l)om.owed at high 
relies of inter'est iii addition fo the llllfllll[S 
l»roght in l»y immigr«mts during lhe l)re - 
c«'ding l»''iod--no im.«)nsidc'id«, sure, for 
lh, w«,tllh lhus inl'odm'ed hy 
f«w the p(.t.i«d 1900-1l has been estim«tcd at 
$636,f10fl,f10fl." 
Yet. the d«y came when m«m.y wau " tight," 
credits «lmout impossible 
(»l»l;Su, indust'y sla('keued and " slumpcd,'" 
and many th(msunds of pe«)plc we'e ot of 
wo.k. Thut ec«»nomiç del)rcssin was in prt 
anticiptcd, and 
case bave bcen sh»w, but, f«»r the fiscal year 
1913-14, there canin f.om thc United Kingdom 
142,622, from thc [nited States lfl7,530, and 
fl.«»m other count-ies 134,72i, u tot«l of 3S4.7 
immigrauts, and for lh«, 1)receding year 402,432 ; 
th'ee-quarters of a million of immigrants 
the great mnjo-ity of whom wore seel¢ing work. 
That meant more than lhe dislo(.tion of in- 
dstry; it meant more llmn skilled workmen 
shovelling ShOW and asking fo- odd j,»l)s af 
nything; it meant more tlmn processions of 
unemployed men nmrching to City Halls and 
* Quoted by C. B. S.issons in Farncr's Magazie from 
Monetary Tiizes, January, 1913. 



,_'ome Prescrit X«çds 

353 

demanding work; it meant ,liminishc,1 nutri- 
tion in many hm(h'eds of homcs, lhe ,listress 
of hungry childr,.n, and f,,r the future that 
lessened etciency which is thc out«ome of 
misfortune which they did no dire«tly 
and could hot avert. That was a period when 
immigration shouhl have beon resirict«.d, when 
restriciion was a ne«essiiy, lmI ibe immigra- 
tion iide was the gu, atcst in a dccade. « 
From sueh experi«,n«cs as thcse restriction 
in lean years would 
common sense, while in rira'mal years 
method of careful regn]a/im) would be eqmdly 
sensible, and the firsi requisite for regul«iion 
is the enactment of adequaie legislaiion. Now. 
ihe In, migration Act of 1919 was supp»sed 
avoid the diculiies conne«ted wilh the law 
of 1910. For whilc 
best piece of legislation (anada lmd enacled 
the subsequent history showed that in somc 
situations if was nmnifestly inadeq,mte and 
possessed also glaring defects. It w,s to be 
expected, therefore, that from the eXl)erience 
f a decade both in ('anada and the United 
States im£rovemcnts upon the ohl Act would 
be manifcst in ihe new, and il,al is immedi- 
ately seen in 
prohibiied persons, ihe first esseniial effort 
toward regulation. Who, then, are now 

* cp. Table 15, p. 114. 



l)rohibited fr[»m ente'ing ('anada? Briefly 
lmmed lhey are as foll[ws:-- 
a Idiols, imbecilcs, feeble-mind«,d persons, 
epileptics, insane perse»ris and 
bave been ins«ne «lt aly rime previously; 
b Persons afllict«'d wiih tubel.culosis in any 
fol.m or with ;iny loaths¢dme (liscasc, or with a 
disease which is ('onigims or infe['tious, or 
which may become dangerrs to thc public 
health ; 
c Immigrants whr are dumh, hlind, o" rther- 
x'ise physically d[fective, unless in the opinion 
of a Board rf Inquiry [r offiçer acting as such 
they have sueient moncy or othe- legitimatc 
mode of obtaining a living as to preclude t.hcm 
becoming a public ('harge; 
d Persons who have been convicled of, or 
adroit having çommitted, «ny crime involving 
moral turpitude ; 
e Prostitutes ;md women and girls coming 
fo Canada for any immortel purpose and pimps 
or persons living on the avails of prostihdtion ; 
[ Pel'sons who procure «dr altempt to bring 
into Canada prostiiutes [dr women o1" girls 
for lhe purprse of prostitution or othcr im- 
moral purpose; 
g Professional beggars or vagrants; 
h Immigrants whose passage fo Canada has 
been aided in part rr whole by charitable 
orgmizations, except unflcr the authrrity of 
the Depuly Minister, or, for Europe, that of 



355 

the Assislant SUl)erinlcndent of Immigralion 
for Canada, in 
i Persons who do hot comply wifh the con- 
diiions of ent'an«e, such as possessing the 
requisite amount of moue)', travelling by con- 
tinuous jom'ney, etc.; 
 Persous likely to I)e«.ome a public charge; 
k Pe-sons of constitutional psychopathic 
in feriority ; 
[ Persons with ('hronic alcoholism; 
m Persons otlmr than tlmse pecified in the 
foregoing who are eertified upou examina[i«,n 
by a medi«al officer as 1)eing mentally or phy- 
sically defeetive to such a degree as to affect 
their ability to earu a living; 
n Persons who believe in or advocate the 
overthmw bv force or violence of thc (_,over 
ment of Canada «»r of constituted law aml 
authority, or who disbelieve in or are opposed 
to organized government, or who advocate 
the assassination of public officials, or who 
advocate or teach the nnlawful destruction of 
property ; 
o Persons who are members of «,r affiliated 
with any organization entertaining or teach- 
ing any of the matters menti«»ned in the pre- 
ceding statement (u) ; 
p Enemy aliens or persons who have been 
alien enemies and who were or may be in- 
terned on or after the eleventh day of Novem- 
ber, one thousand nine hundred and eighteen, 



2,5t; .1 lttd!l.i, {««tt¢tdi«t Immi.qr¢tliott 

in «ny part of Ilis Majesty's dominions or by 
any of llis Majesty's allies; 
q Persons guiliy of espionae wi{h respect 
to llis Majesiy «»r any of llis Majesty's allie.s; 
v Pcrsons who bave been found guilty of 
high treason or treason for an offence in con- 
nection with the war, or of ronspiring against 
His Majesiy, or of assisting llis Majest.y's enc- 
mies during the war, or of any similar offence 
agains any of tlis Majesty's allies; 
 l'ersons who at any rime within a period 
of ton years from the first day of August, one 
thousand nine hundred and fourteen, were 
or may bc deporled from any part. of His 
Majesty's dominions or from any allied coun- 
try on accourirof treason or of conspi4ng 
against His Majesty, or of any similar offence 
in eonne«-ti,,n with the war aainst any t,f the 
allies of His Majesly, or because such persons 
were or may be regarded as hoslile or danger- 
ons fo the allied cause during the war; 
t Persons over fifteen years of age, physically 
capable of reading, who cannot read the Eng- 
lish or the French language or some other 
language or dialect: Provided ihat any ad- 
missible person or any pel-SOl heretofore or 
hereafter legally admitted, or any citizen of 
Canada, may bring in or senti for his father 
or grandfather, over fifly-five years of age, 
his wife, his mother, his grandmother or his 
Unluarried or widowed daughtet5 if otherwise 



»%0»c ]»''.«»t .¥ccds 

357 

admissible, whether such relalive 
hot and such l'elativc shall i,e permitted to 
enter. 
The fot'effoin abstract of ection 3 of 
humivation Act, 1919, wiH imlicate lhe great 
advance marie in prohibilive legislation in a 
deeath.. «nd perhal»S the fivsl enquivy that 
cornes from the uniniliated is, H.w is it l»*S- 
sible to carl.y out ail Ih,,se vegu]ali,,lm in 
rapidly cxamining a ship-load of lmssengers? 
In regard 1o the " illiteracy test" in sub-sec- 
tion (t) thc lwocedure is as follows: "For 
the puvl,»se of ascertaining whether aliens can 
read, the ilnmigralion ocel" shall use slips 
of unifol.m size prel)ared by direction of the 
Minister each contaiuing hot l«ss than lhirly 
and hot more than forty words in ordinary 
use prinhd in plainly legible tyl » in the lan- 
guage or dialoct lhe pcl'son may dcsigmte as 
the ont in which he desires lhe examination 
1o be nlade, and he shall be l'equil'ed to l'ead 
lhe Wol'ds l)l'inled on the slip in such language 
or dialect." After what has been said in 
Chap/er XII vegal.ding illilevacy, aml in ('hnp- 
ter XIV regarding the vahle of/he test alnoug 
lhe val'ious types of immigvauls, lhe l'eal 
worlh of lhis prohil)ilory clause is minimised 
considel'ahly, but the liltle significance lhat 
laay remain atlached to if practically dis- 
appears in the provision lhat this test « shall 
hot apply to such pel'sons o1" classes of persons 



358 A ,çtttd in ('onadi«m Immigration 
IS lllly fronl time to rime be approved by the 
hIinister." For purposes of this discussion if 
is here assumed that the decisions of the iin- 
ister would always be given on gmunds of 
equity and public benefit» but the device bv 
which the provisions of legislation may be 
rendered nugatory» sinee their application is 
placed under the absolute control of one indi- 
vidual, must be due fo those profundities of 
law into whi(.h the laity cannot penetrate. 
But hot only is the negation of the illiteracy 
test rendered possible, the whole of the pro- 
hibitive clauses may be abrogated under Sec- 
tion 4, for " the Minister may issue a written 
pernfit authorizing any person to enter Can- 
ada without being subject, to the provisio of 
this Act." While thiu perndt is to be in force 
for a specifie(l period only, if may af any time 
be extended or cancelled by the Minister in 
writing. Just what function ]na be)erformed 
by t.hat Section 4 is a mystery many mortals 
nfight desire to look into, but its comprehen- 
sion requires a special gift. Assuming, how- 
ever, that.the Minister would always act with 
diucretion, it is l)assing strange that such far- 
reaching powers should have no check nor 
counterpoise, hot even in the Province or 
Municipality for which the imndgrant is des- 
tined, for hot only can the Municipality hot 
protest, but it is hot even informed beforehand 



35.q 

regarding the In'{posêd acti«m «»f thc Federal 
Minister. 
Granting, h«wever, that the regulati«ms of 
the Act regarding prohibited persons are tobe 
carried out, an examination by medi«-al o- 
cers and other iuspectors must be performed, 
and the details and mode of procedure of such 
examination are of paramount importance. 
Time is an essential facior for ihe lask, and 
when immigrants of many nationali[ies are 
passing l,,fore an inspector ai the rate of about 
two huml'ql an hom', it is impossible to aster- 
tain wh«.ther all the provisi«ns of Section 3 
bave bcen safeguarded--especially sections 
(u) to (s). Much, therefore, depends ou the 
extent and accuracy of [he ship's manifest 
which [he master of the vessel must deliver 
to the immigration officer in charge, and this 
manifi.st must coniain a typewrit[en or 
printed list "of all the passengers and stow- 
aways on board such vessel at the rime of her 
depaïiure from the port or place whenee she 
has cleared or sailed for Canada, or who were 
on board such vessel at [he rime of her arrival 
in Canada, or at any rime during her voyage; 
and such typewritten or printed list or mani- 
fest shall also show wheiher any of the per- 
sons named thereon are insane, idiotic, epil- 
eptic, dumb, blind, or iufirm, or suffering from 
any disease or injury or physical defect which 



m«ly 
by examina/ion cither before or ai the time of 
cmbarkation, or during the voyage. Hence 
the manifest or list must " be verified hy the 
signature and lhe oaIh or armation of the 
nmster or othcr ocer in comnmnd, taken be- 
fore an imlnigl'atiol oc«,r ai the port of 
arrival, to the effect that he bas eaused the 
surge«m of said vesscl sailing thel'ewith to 
make a physical aml mental examination of 
each of said passengel's, and lhat from the 
report of said SUl'gcon and froln hi own 
investigation he believes that the information 
in said lisls or mnnifest coneerning each of 
said passengers named therein is correct and 
truc in every respect. The surgeon of lhe res- 
sel must make similar affirmations, saIing 
professional experienee and qualifications as 
a physi«ian «md surgeon, ami that he has nmde 
a personal examination of each of the said 
passengers named in the lit. If there is no 
surgeon sailing with any veel hringing immi- 
gcants fo Canada, the mental and physical ex- 
aminations and lhc verifieations of the lists or 
manifesIs shall be marie by se,me compeIent 
surgeon employed by the owners of the said 
vessels, and the manifests shall be verified by 
such surgeon before n British çon»ular Officer 
or other officer nuthorized to administer oaths. 



,ome Present -ceds 

Failnre to perforui «uiy of these requirclncuts 
is to be met by fine (Sec. 49. 
The necessity, thon, of a physical and men- 
tal examination of each passenger or immi- 
g'ant before or at the time (f embarkation 
h'as been not only recognized but emphasized 
by the Act of 1919, ami a provision marie for 
a fine whose maximum is one hundred dollars 
for each and every passenger wi[h .egard fo 
whom auy su(.h omission oc«urs or any false 
stt«mcnt is ruade. Th«, amocnt (f eontmd 
exercised by this l.egul;itioll is no[ very con- 
siderable, for immigranls f'om the 'ontinent 
of Europe have h}ng been snbject to some such 
examinations, and the examinations at lh.itish 
po'ts of embarkation have been noloriously 
inadequate yet rejections of fo'eign pers(}ns 
at ('anadian ports of entry have been nt a 
ranch highe' rate lhan for British during the 
past tweniy years. 
When, then, the nmdiçal ocers reject immi- 
grants who are certified .as belonging le} the 
prohibited classes what is lo be done? Unde" 
the Act of 1910 lhe Stenmship ('ompany Colhl 
enter an appeal. While the .appeal was pend- 
ing the ship would sail, witnesses would dis- 
nppear, and becausc lle decision of the medical 
examiners was not mandatory, it was rendered 
iueffe{.tive. Hut the Act of 1919 ruade the 
necessary step forward by providing that any 
transportation company bringing to Canada 



362 A.ltdj i, ('aadian Immi9ration. 
by a vessel fr«m any port outside Of Çanada 
any immigrant, lmssener, «r other person 
aicted with idiocy, imbeeility, feeble-minded- 
ness, epilepsy, insanity, constitutiona] psycho- 
pathic inferiority, «hronie ah.oholism, tuber- 
eulosis in any foutu, or with any ]oathsome 
disease or any disease whi«h is contag'ious or 
infeetious or whieh may become dangerous to 
the public health, and if a medical ocer cer- 
tifies that the existence of such disease or dis- 
ability might have been detected by means of a 
çompetent medical examination at the time 
of embarkation, then the transportation con- 
pany con«erned shall Imy to the immigration 
agent or o«er in charge at the port of entry 
the sure of two hundred dollars, in addition 
to the amount paid by the immigrant for 
transportation, for each and every immigrant 
brough.t to t:anada in violation of that regu- 
lation. A similar situation prevails for bring- 
ing a person aicted with any nental defect 
other than the aforementioned, or with any 
physical defect interfering with ability to earn 
a living, but the fine for brining such is 
twenty-five dollars for each such person in 
addition to the amoun.t paid for transporta- 
tion. In both cases the çompany must at its 
expense return such rejected immigrant to the 
place of embarkation. 
Under the Act of 1910 an appeal could be 
registered against such decision, and the Board 



Some Presen$ Xceds 

3[;3 

• of Inquiry wouhl practically be eompelled fo 
l)rove before ('ivil Courts that the debarred 
immigrant should he excluded, and that the 
Companies had shown ill intention or gross 
neglect. Under the A('t of 1919 there is no 
appeal against the decision of such Board in 
the nmtters speeified, and the lml'den of proof 
tests upon the immigrant seeking a(hnission. 
Curiously enough the lmwers of the Board are 
mandatory only in these specified matters, in 
ail other cases an appeal nmy be taken 1o the 
Minister against the decision of the Board 
or ocer in charge. Nevertheless, the raising 
of the fine from one hum]red fo two hundred 
dollar, similar to the action of the United 
States, bas had a very salutary influence, for 
since the new Act h.as been in operation, a 
period of a few months, more fines bave heen 
imposed upon teamship Companies thatt dur- 
in.q tbe precedi9 fiftecn ycar.ç. But that 
clearly demonstrates /he inaduacy of the 
examination at ports of emlmrl¢ation, and 
shows the apathy, especially in England, re- 
garding the Iaw. The remedy lies in the hands 
of this country. Let if be made too expensive 
for any transportation company fo bring fo 
Canada any one individual of the prohibi/ed 
classes, and widen the powers of the Board or 
medical inspectors in the marrer of manda- 
tory decisions, 'and competent men would 
bring it about that Steamship Companies 



31; A Sludy ire Ca«a«lictn Immigration 
would be the greaest gnardians of ('anada's 
future. Until some suçh regulation is pro- 
vided there wiil always be the possibility of 
the outcry .against. he" defe«tive " immigrant. 
Six rojections al tire hundred dolitrs each 
from any one .conlinent of immigrants wouid 
so take lhe cream of profit from lt,ansporing 
immigrans lhat the cry of " *amd.a a dump- 
ing grouud" w«mhl s»m be « marier of hislory. 
If is, of course, self-evident that the more 
preeise, lhorogh, and v«ried examimtion will 
be far more effeçlual in delecling defeetives 
than he rapid survey under hase or the lines 
laid down in he lnanifest eouhl possibly give. 
To perform that task 'there nmsl be an ade- 
quate number of skilled ex,aminers, aided by 
sufficient inerpreters, for thetv has scarcely 
ever been al Canadian pors of entry the 
needed number »f interpvters for the varied 
]'anguages and dialec/s spoken by the thous- 
ands of immigrants. Further, suit.able build- 
ings are required wherein under satisfaçtory 
condilions the examiaations may be con- 
ducted. [tis quite tre that al Quebec there 
is a large three-storey imilding 00 by g0 feet, 
imill a{ a cos of .al»mil 100,000 in 1911, but 
other ports of elry, if maint«dned «s porls 
of entry, hould bave similar or adequate 
buildings with a properly-trained staff of in- 
speçors, hot only medical but civil. And pro- 
pcrly-trained civil inspectors whoe business 



,S'omc Prcsettt X«cds 3i5 
it is ta «am:v out the intri«ate regulatins 
of Canada's Immigration Law, and perform 
the delicate task of selecting hnman beings 
for this country's citizens, shonld possess more 
than "elementary education," and greater 
" parts" than are now required by the Civil 
Service classification.' Moreover, with a fuH 
staff of qualified examiners there wouhl be ,n, 
necessity of examining at night a loo oft«'n 
h'as been the procedure and which only re-- 
cent]y ceased. And hasty examinations migh[ 
be entire]y e]iminated if al] the passengers 
of a ship were dea]t, wi.th at the final .destin.a- 
tion of that ship. But when the pra«'tice is 
fl,r ships te, dr«, 1) ail third-class p«,sscngers nt 
Quebec, nnd fhen proceed o Monireal, no 
ingenuity of medical inspection tan over«omc 
the unavoidable diculties. If fhe passengers 
remained wifh fhe ship fo its final port and 
then were examined only in su('h numbers as 
could be scrufinized from nine fo five the 
remainder could stay on hoard ship and awai[ 
their-turn and this wouhl not interfere wifh 
the process of unloading cargo. Such a sys- 
fera prevuils at Ellis Island where, moreover. 
fhe immigration ocials are provided wiih 
barges of their own fo secure fhe fransfer of 
passengers from fhe ships af fhe docks fo 
Ellis Island. Thus while several fhous.ands 
of immigranis might arrive in one day that 
does hot mean that many would be hastily 



366 A Studg in, ('aadim Immigratio 
passed over. Their examination could go on 
steadily while ship's cargo was being dis- 
charged, and that examin'ation must be ail 
lhe more precise and accurat.e the less ade- 
quate the examinations on the other side of 
the ocean. The report in 1910 of the Chier 
Medi«al Ocer pointed with considerable 
satisfaciion to the institutions in European 
countries for lle supervision of emigrauts, 
sm'h as at Antwerp, Rolterdaln, Bremen and 
especially Hamburg. Since the major portion 
of thc stream fx»m Eastern Euro passed 
lhrough thcse ports and thus through Ger- 
many, detention houses were establihed st 
the boundnry of Germany and there took place 
the first medical and civil examinations. Those 
who passed the initial examination were sent 
to a central dep6t near Bcrliu, and those who 
passed the second examintion were then 
transferred fo the above-mentioned seaports 
fo await embarkation. This was not a work 
of I)enevolence, but rather of safety, and the 
emignt paid for his maintenance.* The 
detention huildings st Liverpool were in- 
tended and nsed for continental passengers 
who were proceeding to America by British 
ships. They were not used for British emi- 
grants. "Daily examin,ations were ruade by 
* Some interesting features of this supervision are 
given in the pamphlet ",Steerage Conditions," to hich 
reference was ruade on p. 108. 



,S'ome Present Needs 

367 

regular physicians or the ,steamship lines 
at these several continental bam'acks; and 
again ït Bvitish ports, as Liverpool, he con- 
tinen.tal emigrants are examined in he 
quarters maintained by the steamship 
panies bef)re going on board; but af Glasgow 
the ex.aminations are most commonly ruade by 
[he medical ooEcer of the ship, at [he saine 
time as [he Boavd of Tradc physician ex- 
amines at the gangway, while the emigran[s 
are going on board, [his having sometimes to 
be done in the early mor0ing at Greenock, on 
account of the ride. As these emigvants are 
from Northevn Europe a]most wholly, the 
results havc shown that f«w [he most pa't 
existing methods arc satisfaet«wy." That 
may have been lhe case, but .rince these ex- 
aminationu weve ruade nmin|y 1o (le[e(.t eye 
[rouble, if is cuvious /hat the saine report re- 
cords for the saine yea' 1,361 cases detained 
at seapo'ts for eye-diseases, and 445 of [hese 
were dehavred. It is only fait 1o add, how- 
ever, [hese we'e detained af the ports of 
bec» Halifax, St. Jhn» Monireal, North Syd- 
ney, Vancouver, Victoria and New York; and 
since the above examinations were for emi- 
grants from Norihern Europe, if is quite pos- 
sible lhe majo'ity_ of the rejected weve from 
other parts of lle woqd, lut one fact re- 
m'ains havd fo understand, namely, hat 
Çontinenial emigrants have had fo run the 
24 



368 ,1 tudy in Canadian Immigrali.on 
gauntlet, of several exalninations, and the 
lritish little if any, and yet the rate of rejec- 
flou for 'ontilwntals has been mueh higher 
fllan the rate fiw Britisll. lly referenee to 
Taldc 1l, p. 73, the rate of rejection in 190S 
for enfigrants from orth and West Eurol)e 
including Iceland was one to STi, and for 
other European countries inchlding Syl'ia was 
one fo 138. That speaks decidedly in favour 
of examinations in lul'ope 1)clore the voyage 
is l»cgun. NeVel'thclcss, for the period 1910- 
14 tlle rate of vejections for Ih.itish was about 
one fo tJg while t,hc cale for the f.reigner 
Wfls OllO fo t19." One must infer froln these 
faets eilher that [he ritish were of supel.ior 
type, or tllat the examinations were inade- 
qnate, or that the elaborate examinations at 
Continental ports were well nigh useless and 
did not weed out the defeetives. But [hose 
who passod the exalnilmtion af ports of entl'y 
in Canada nlust bave ruade good, since the 
ratio of subsequent depol'tations is very mueh 
lower than for the British.ç 
There tan be searcely any doubt that the 
ride of immigration Call be regulated fo some 
extent by thoroughgoinff exaluination, and 
while the examinations in European ports 
are not rigorous, and the examinations af, 
* Cp. Table 23, p. 130. 
i Cp. Table 24, p. 132. 



So-me Prescrit Xecds 

369 

Canadian ports become more and more rigor- 
«)us, there will be a high rate of rejections, 
and with it will necessarily go considerable 
hardship fol" those unfortnnate enough tobe 
sent buck to thcir homes. And more thorough- 
going examination in Europe would be a 
remedy. How sueh ln«y be conducled is a 
problem hot easy to solve, but a solutbm seclnS 
imperative. The report of the Chier Mcdical 
Ofticer for 1910 contailwd the interesting sug- 
gestion that " steerage passengers in«luded 
nnder the terre immigrant shouhl be required 
to have a eertificate frmu the lnedical health 
oflàcer of his district, given either ou persom! 
examination being ruade, or his stalup placed 
on the certificate of .the family physician. 
Since there are over 3,000 lnedi(.al ofiicel'S of 
health in England ahme, his would be 
pal'ently feasible and g'ive o the issmuce of 
hedth certificates an «,flîcid character. But 
a diflàculty would arise in finding an authority 
to require such a certifica.te belote a ticket of 
transportation were issued. Even if he medi- 
cal officel's of health were to ful-nish free ex- 
amination who wonld be able to insist thal 
the examination be ruade? It always cornes 
round in the last analysis to 'the stealnship 
companies who could demand sm'h certificate, 
but who would do so, sh«dl it be said, only 
when the transportation of an immigrant re- 
jected at Canadian ports is ruade too expensive. 



370 A Stttdy it Cauadi«tu Immigration, 
Let the am¢mnt of the fine be raised, and 
ex{ended fo ail types of rejected immigrants 
whatsoever and it wonld become profit- 
able to bring on]y those who, so far as medical 
diagnosis can go, possessed sound minds in 
sound bodies. 
Itis now timc fo consider ways and means 
for thc mception of [he immigrant when he 
is selected. Critics are wont fo final fault with 
the opera{ion, or lack of operation, of the Can- 
adian Law and ils processes of examination, 
bnt the dicnlties did hot lie with the medi- 
cal ocem who had {o meet af every {urn 
si{ua{ions bef»re whi«h they were well-nigh 
helpless. But {he legisla{ive and medical pro- 
cesses of selection seem models of eciency 
when compared wi[h [hat curions al)athy on 
the part of the Canadian people toward the 
immigrant when he was selec[ed. Wi{hout 
rever{ing fo such facts as those mentioned 
for the year 1913, consider the report of the 
United States census for 1900, {hat {here were 
in that country 1,11,255 Canadians. The 
population of Canada then was about 5,371,- 
315, so that the ra{io of Canadians il the 
United S{ates fo Cnadians in Canada was, 
say, one {o rive. During he first decade of 
the present centnry there was a wonderfnl 
immigration ride, over a million, and dnring 
{he second decade a gl'eater ride, over two 
millions. But there are about two million 



So»e Prescrit Needs 371 
Canadians in the United States. Thc year 
1908 saw 43,805 and 1909 saw 53,448 Cana- 
dians leave Canada to cross thc border. 
Allowing a low annnal average of 40,000 ta 
prevail for the tweny years sin«e 1900, and 
there are now about two millions of Cana- 
dians in the United States--and Canada has 
hot reached ten millions, so that hc ratio of 
one to rive seems tobe changed to one to four. 
It may be truc that large numbêrs of thcse are 
of Anglo-Saxon stock and he " foreigner" is 
taking his place here. It may be that many 
are too capable to fritter away rime in the 
narrower fields of Canadian enterprise, ami 
therefore employ their skill in amassing for- 
tunes in a land of great opportunities. But 
the fact that one out of every rive Canadians 
is living i Ihê United States ought o be 
suflïcient to arouse he interest of the country 
in the immigrants who corne to take heir 
plaç.es. 
In the pre,'eding chapter it was argued hat 
the vast expenditures fro" prmm»ing immi- 
gration shou]d be turned into the more bene- 
ficial channels of promoting the immigrant, 
that living creatures are more profitable han 
advertisements. Something like that nmst be 
done if the "leakage " to The Great Republic 
would be diminished or sta.yed. Thousands 
of immigrants have been passing through our 
open ports and have been distributed through- 
out the provinces of the Dominion, and too 



372 A Study in C«ndin Immirtio»t 
ofteu, unless they wet on a ilgrimage, they 
have l»eeu h»st to visiou and {{» iutcret. Why 
should 'anada spend lnillious of money in 
Eurol»,while the United States does hot spend 
a dollar for immigration and even defl-ays l) 
a fax upon accepted immigraldS the exlmnses 
coum,(.h,d with the exclusion of the nnfit ; and, 
inde«d, af let payiug thereby all the expenses 
of adminislration, has sometilnes a surplus in 
addition? The immigrant in the United States 
lmys for himself. In ('auada the ('hiuese 
has paid for himself and ail oher imluigrants 
as well. And despie out outlay of nearly 
twenty-six million dollars since ('onfleration 
one out of every rive "' 'anadians" is in 
lrniled Slates. Il may very 'oll be that 
the rime is now Ol»lortune for the establish- 
ment of an Imlnigratiol Commission which, 
under a (?bief Commissioner or the Minister 
of Immigration aml Cohmization, would ex- 
amine wil microscopic scruiny the complex 
detai]s connected with admitting thousands 
of people from oher countries into the indus- 
rial life (»f ['anada. It is admitted on all 
sides that the right place for full examination 
of intending emigrants is hot at the port of 
delmrkation only, lmt in their own ]and and 
if possible at their own home, before they sell 
ail that they have and invest the proceeds in 
rai]way and steamship ickets. The Aus- 
tralian Commonwealth was proceeding along 



»'omc Prcsctl Yccds 

373 

this line prior to The Gveat War, and itis in 
«g','ement with the opinion of men who have 
had long exl)erienee in dealing with the prol» 
lems e(»nne,.ted with the imn,igr;ti«)n tid,. 
« With Thomas gahnon, that recognized 
anlhority in immigrati«»n nmtters," writes D,'. 
Pagé, « I helieve that the immigvants shouhl 
nlso be examined nearer their home than the 
port of destinati«»n.'" Su«h a ('ommission 
wouhl he able to (liscover ways. and means 
furnishing cer[ificat«.s of physic;l and mental 
benlth to people desiving fo leave [heir native 
country ïmd seek homes in this gr(ï[, 
ingland. It «ouhl i)ltwe vesp(»nsiblc and ea[)abh. 
persons on all the steamships carrying immi- 
grants and othev passengers, wh«» wouhl re- 
port accurately on conditions in the stcerage 
regarding the rcquirements for air, food, 
wateç sanitation «ud morals; who could have 
access to the ship's nmnifegt, ascertain the 
main lines of o(.cupatiou among the immi- 
grants, explain to those who dcsired to know 
lhe conditions pcevailing in the new country, 
the laws regarding industry, homestending, 
citizenship; who would be al)le to show in- 
tending agriculturists where farms were ob- 
tainable, the vavi«um kinds of soil and the 
appropriate kind of farming, how land 
obtained and the best seed procured, accessi- 
bility to schools, distance from railroads; in 
short prepare the immigrnnt as far us possible 
for thc new life in the western wovld. 



374 A 2tttdy in Caadiat Imm.igratiot 
At the port of debarkation there should be 
a competent staff of trained nledical and civil 
officiais who shouhl be pernlanent servants of 
the Government, and the onlnlission sho»ld 
secure su.ch l»y definite and precise exanaina- 
tions, promoting the successful to higher posi- 
tions on the basis of skill and efficiency nlani- 
fested in act.ual work, and attainments in 
pres«ribed subjects connected with the service. 
lnmigrants sh»uhl not b« • h»st sight of, 
by nleans of a«lual an11 corresponding men1- 
bers, who wouhl report regularly to the ('on1- 
nlission regarding immigrants settling in the 
various nlunieipalities of provinces, they 
wouhl always be under careful ,nd synlpa- 
thetic observation, accorded assistance when 
needed, and shown that the country as a whole 
was interestl in their welfare. Such a Coln- 
nlission wofihl be able to exercise ail the 
virtues and none of the vices of paternal 
governnlent, and would help to rid the coun- 
try of the foolish assulnption that because the 
pioneers of last century I)ravely endured un- 
avoidable hardships, the future pioneers nlust 
surfer avoidable ones. That the thing can be 
donc the success of the United States Immi- 
gration Comnfission bas already demon- 
strated. If it be objected that such a Conlnlis- 
sion involving' several highly paid and com- 
petent nlen assisted by a large staff would be 
a very expensive undertaking, the reply wouht 



çome Preseut A*eeds 

375 

seem to be that the Chinese would practicaily 
pay for a great part of the expense, and if 
they did hot, the immigrant could pay for this 
beneficent treatment by a smal! head-tax, and 
gladly do so rather than to pay more heavily 
in the long run as a victim of indifference and 
neglect. And in the end Canada wouid be 
practising se»un(1 economy. The "leakage" 
to the Uuited States would be diminished, the 
high rate of deportati«ms would be cut dowu, 
the death rate among large sections of new 
citizens would be reduced, and the added 
efficiency would contribute to greater produc- 
tion and the preparation for future citizen- 
ship. 
But this question of citizenship is more in- 
tricate than many people imagine. The 
" alien " has been invading us for a number 
of years. Ho bas been ailowed to sell his 
labour and o do the hard physical work of 
building highways, constructing railroads and 
excavafing mines. He bas been dumped on 
the prairie as if he possessed a magic wand 
that wouhl nmke tlie virgin soil blossom like 
a garden. He has been allowed to segregate 
in the slums of great cities, herd togeher to 
reduce rents and save money, and when his 
number has waxed greaL a loud cry has been 
raised in the land that these people should be 
ruade Canadians! Does anyone in these days 
of illumination imagine that Canadians can 



76 .1 'ludy in ¢'amtdian lmmigralio 
i)e " ruade" after this fashion? Ten years 
ago there we over t.hree«luarters of a million 
foreign-I}orn people iii ('anada, one person out 
of ten an alien, ami lhey came upon the invita- 
tion of this country. We needed their ]ahonv, 
and now th • cry is spread abroad, "What 
shali we «1o with the alien?" But what has 
ilm alien doue? Ile has dcne much of the 
rough work of the country, toiled as a navvy 
digging ditehes, blasiing tunnels, making 
highways. Ho has lried fo save money, get 
a home, obtain food from the soil, endured 
ihe hard knoeks and «»l)tained littlo of the 
hlxm'ies, lçthè al'gument of Chhp. XII has 
any foundation he bas in many cases been 
anxious for the education of his children, even 
if he himself retained his nlother tongne. And 
now he is a menace and shouhl be disfran- 
(.hised! His fo'eign language should be ban- 
ished and ail the people shonld spcak English 
Vigilance Comnlittees should be organized to 
waich and combat the danger from the 
foreigner! He shouhl he disfranchised if 
years ago he joined earth's inhahitants in a 
foreign land that has since become an enemyI 
But ail sueh dennnciations are the exhibitions 
of supreme folly. 
On the other hand he must be assimilated, 
he must be Canadianized, he must be fitted 
for the duties of citizenship and filled with 
new ideals! In short he must hecome the 



o»e Prescrit Xecds 377 
victim of a campaigu! |h,t does any healthy- 
minded 1)erson in possession of his natur«d 
faculties think that (anadian citizens can be 
ruade 1)y a process which proceeds as if these 
peoplc wcre conquered slaves upon whom we 
are now ready to impose duties of citizenship? 
And how would they appre('inte such citizen- 
ship if it could be imposed? Let some of the 
lndians who are having a littlc of the expcri- 
ence be invited to give lhe answer. If l)OClS 
are boru hot ma,le so also citizens are de- 
veh)ped hot manufacture,l. If 'auadian citi- 
zeuship means self-government, it means in- 
telligence, discipline, self-control, capaeity for 
eo-operation, «llld concentration upon eommoli 
intereststhe lmrsuil of ihe general welfare. 
ueh a retaper must be cultivated hot imposed. 
But d,} the varioll8 nationalities within Can- 
ada's comp,,site p,qmlation seek naturaliza- 
tion, and who among them seek most eagerly? 
The çensus of 1911 gave the answer, as the 
table ,m th,. f.ll,}wiug linge shows. 
Here is l}resented ,me .f the lmzzles conneeted 
with lhe /ask of assimilation. Of 346,523 meu 
of twenty-one yea,s and over, aliens by birth, 
living in a new country with immense possi- 
bilities and a smnll population, barely forty 
per cent. take upon themselves the obligations 
of eitizenship. While lhe nverage of fourteen 
per cent. nmy be expeeted for the Asiatics, the 
low rate of f,}rty per cent. for Europeans and 



37S A tudy in ('oadion Immigration 
41.8 per cent. for persons from thê Unitêd 
States brings home thê question whether 
T.XtLE 58. 

{ blales 21 years and over IIaturalize d 
Naturalized I A ien "Total 

Austro-Hungary 
Rurnania .......  
Denrnark ........ 
Holland .......... 
ltaly ............. 
Norway, S eden. 
14ussia, Finland. 
Others ........... 
Iuropean 'Pota] 
Asia--China ..... 
Trkey .......... 
Others ......... 
Asiatic Total. 
United States .... 
Uther Countries 
Total forei£n-bor 

23,846 33,90| 57.750 
1,674 ',|51 4,125 
1,400 3 ,'201 4,601 
4.03 2.199 6.222 
4,624 4,607 9,231 
12.001 8,642 0.63 
353 1,68 1.981 
536 1,30 1,766 
4.32 20,141 2t,73 
11,722 17.90 9.652 
18,478 27,510 46,018 
!.008 .509 .517 
4,785 28.675 3.460 
4.131 ] 59,636 [101,767 

43 
0 
3O 
64 
50 
53 
18 
17 
39 
40 
8 
4O 
14 
41o8 

Order of 
Merit 

Denrnark. 
[erman¥. 
France. 
Austro-Hun- 
gary. 
Belim. 
Noway and 
Sweden. 
Russia and 
Finland. 
Holland. 
Bulga ia.and 
Runaania. 
Others. 
Greece. 
ltaly. 

Turkey. 
Others. 
Japan. 
China. 

UnitedStates. 
Others. 

interest in public questions is exceedingly 
weak, whether any attempts are being ruade 
to enlist the co-operation of the Mien, or 
whether naturalization after ail is something 
hOt desirable. Since naturalization is required 



,'__'ome Prcsent Necds 

379 

in order fo obtain a patent for a homestead, 
the aliens in rural communities where agri- 
culture is foilowed would eonstitute some por- 
tion of the 131,29 while nmny of the 215,234 
aliens wouhl be among the inhabitants of 
towns and cities, unfriendly in numerous 
cases fo ('anadian institutions, and, if laek of 
naturalization be a guide, indifferent to publie 
welfare. This situation may not be a menace 
nor dishearlening, but it may |hrow some light 
upon the secret fear some hearts possess re- 
garding the growth of that thing so vaguely 
defined by the terre Bolshevism, meaning 
thereby the cultivation of a spirit that does 
not proceed by constitutional means in the 
work of reform. And oue wonders how the 
provim'es compare in this marrer of alien and 
naturalized. Then compare the items in the 
table on the following page. 
Whatever may be theexplanation of the case, 
the fact that the prairie provinces, with their 
greater number of immigrants show a smaller 
ratio of aliens fo naturalized than the eastern 
provinces, indicates that citizenship must be 
more highly esteemed in the west than in the 
east, and if this is offset by the fact of greater 
proportional rural inhabitants in the west, 
then the east is doing little to cultivate the 
high value of the citizen. With the exception 
of British Columbia--inevitable from the 
large number of Asiatics--Ontario makes the 



380 A Study in Canadio lmmigrotion 

i. 



Some Prescrit :eeds 

381 

worst showing. Assimi|a/ion eanuot be very 
well left to nature's courses, or ile mere ex- 
igencies of rime, and in ihat resl)eet Oniario 
seems in greater danger than the middle west 
where fhe immigrant has indicaied pretly 
clearly his desire o remain and share in tire 
welfare of his a(lopfcd country. " The lerm 
amalgamation my be used for that mixture 
of blood whi«.h unites rates in a comnlon 
sto«'k, while assim.ilati.on is Ibat union of thcir 
mind,ç end wills whi«h cnablcs lhcm 1o lhink 
and aet together. Amalgamalion is a proeess 
of centnries, but assimilalion is a process of 
individual lraining. Amalgamalion is a blend- 
ing of raees, asMmilotiou a blending o[ viril- 
zalions. Amalgmation i boyoml lhe organ- 
ized efforts of gvernment, but assimilalion 
ean be promoted by social fnalitutions and 
laws. Amalgamalion, lherefore, eannot 
tract otr praetical inlerost, exeept as ifs pres- 
ente or absence sels limils to our efforls 
tow«u-d assimilatiou."* 
To think, then, that Canadians ean be ruade 
by changng a shoep-skin jacket for a tweed 
suit, adopting the English language wilh a 
foreign accent as a means of beeoming sub- 
servient to a party advocate, or by easting a 
ballot whosé signifieanee and power is only 
vagnely underslood, is to make the foolish 

*Commons, Races and Immigrants, p. 209. Italics 
mine. 



382 A ttdg i». Cauad.iau Im»i.9ra.tion, 
mistake of confusing the outward and visible 
sign with an inward and spiritual grace. Citi- 
zenship without devotion may be worse than 
a delusion and become a snnre, nd devotion 
can be ew)ked by something worth while. The 
saving means of cultivting iht germ of devo- 
tion is for Candians to cst off any retaper 
of speriority, any attitude of neglect, or ny 
presumpion that in good time nture would 
produce the nssimilaied product, and begin, 
by assisiauce, goodwil], friendship, eduction, 
and an eagerness fo accept the best. the alien 
can give, to set in action ihose suhfle forces 
that are connected with (he working out of a 
great destiny for a nnited Canadian people. 
In brief, a new national spirii mus be culti- 
vated, and if wouhl be s(raiegic to hegin with 
the Canadian children who are overfond of 
the derisive salu(ations, " Sheeny Chink 
Dago " and oher forms sfill more expressive 
of the barbarity that, lies under ihe skin. 
the culfivation of that national spirit which 
is Canadian need hot in the slightest interfere 
with ihe iender memories thai remain in ihe 
heart f the new citizen gr the land of his 
birth. Desire fo lire and serve under a new 
flag does hOt require that a man hate the one 
under which he was born. Nowhere does that 
apply more forcibly in Canada af the present 
rime than among those Slavic peoples whose 
compatriots, like ihe Poles, Ukrainians, and 



»ome l'rescut, Necds 
others are tryin.' fo fashion new nations amid 
the welter of Europe. 
Itis well to 'emember that ihm'e 
350,000 lavs in this country, and that. they 
may beeome a gn,at. sset, or a great, li«fl,ility. 
• he vast nmjm'ity of these came from 
Blvie Erope, and the .Blav in Em'ope 
('«lde ag'o ]vesenled n pic'turc fo be l)m'lrnyed. 
The eohmr with whi«h that pi«ture has been 
Imitted may be too hn.id when they shnv, 
« h ignorance and i]liter«wy, i the pl'evrl- 
enee of superstition aml p'iest¢'raft, in the 
hat.lmess of the (:hm'eh and Btate, in 
servienee of the eommon peop]« 
classes, in the low position of women, in the 
szbjeet.ion of the ehihl to t.he 
eorseness of lllllllllll ' 11] ]PP(*ll, 11111 ill 
stndrd of elennliness and eomforl, a large 
part of the Blavie world renmins a the level 
of out Enlish forefathe's of the dny of 
Henry VIII."" But. thee are the very 
ters in whieh Canada en show the helping 
hand. In one townhip in A]hm'ta a tre'al 
vey showed eighty Blavie ehi]¢h'en of sehool 
ge and on]y t.wenty-eiht attending sehool. 
• wo of the fathers, but hot. one of the mothers, 
eould rend Eng'lish. In seventy-eight, houses 
there was n avernge of only four books to 
houe, md twenty-five of th house were 
wit.hout, books of any kind. hirty familles 
• . A. os, The 01 'orld in the New. 



3,1 .| Ntudy in Canadian Immi.qration 
subscribed to one periodieal each, rive to more 
than one, and forty-three to none. There were 
twenty houses elean, twenty-six fairly çlean, 
thirty-two dirty, flwty-three with no ventila- 
lion, lwenty-two with fait ventilati(m, and 
only hireen were well vonfilated. Of seven 
families who lmd lwen in the saine district for 
lwenty-five years and had m'hieved SOllle pi'os- 
perity the following was lhe mortality among 
(.hildven :* 
TABLE 61. 

Family 

Num.ber  Number 
Chil°ren] Living 

Number 
Dead 

Numbe 
Dead 
Under 
6 Years 

Total 

12 
7 
12 
16 
16 
14 
14 
91 

6 
2 
8 
ï 

6 
5 

6 
1 
2 
4 
5 
2 

A Mortality 
of 40 percent. 
and 25 per 
cent. nnder 6 
years of age. 

Of course it is truc |hat the lavic peasants 
are accustomed to hard labour, |hat they are 
of rugged physique, |hat women frequently 
work barefoot in |he fields, and that their 
ehildren are very early nmde fo toil, but amid 

* Cp. articles y W. H. Pike in Christian Guardian, 
December, 1919. 



Some Prcscnt Necds 

3.5 

such conditions as those of which the fore- 
going is illustrative if not lypical wbal will 
be Ihe sequel in the secoml or tbird genera- 
tion'? They need do«t«rs and nurses and in- 
structors in common priuciples of hygiene, as 
much as or even more than they need instruc- 
tion in agricnltnre, and a decade of l)oth wouhl 
work wonders. There is more pathos than 
hiiniour in the story of ibe visii.r who ciilhql 
at. the hllllle of il Ruthenian in enqllire alloli 
the chil(Iren and asked whether they had a 
doctor when the chihh'en were sick. 
no," said lhe father " We've had quite a ht 
of troulfle one way and another, but, thank 
God, we ]i«lve uever needed a do(-lor" Thé: 
smi]e i)r(due(,d by sm'h nlïwqe flils in the 
presence of Oie fm't lhat of the scvon cbihh'en 
of 01al. filniily hur wece dead. 
It is not a great palliative to say tbat ;i bigh 
birth«.ate aml a correspom]ing death-rale bas 
been chal'ncteristic of the Slav. "The Slavs," 
says Ross, "corne from a part of the wwld in 
which never more than a third of tbe children 
bave grown up. In every generation dirt, 
ignorance, supel'stition and la(-k of uledical 
attention bave winnowed out all but the 
strongest." But surely in this enlightened 
day in Canada with ils municipal, provincial 
and federal depa'tments of health, it is too 
Iate for the little chihl fo pvove his fit- 
ness by his capacity to survive, and, in other 



386 A Study in Canadian Immi.qration 
senses, thc " unfit" also may survive. And 
supposing /hat the weak dic, what will be 
donc with the strong who lire? In the prov- 
ince of Alberta alonc there are o6,3_ foreign- 
born boys and girls betwn thc g'es of four- 
teen and nineteen ycars; 29,992 bctwecn the 
ages of six and sixfecn yoars; and more than 
hall of hcsc are Slav. q'heir herilagc of good 
ancesiry and healihy homes may be mainly 
the o]digalion of /he parents. Their need of 
educ«lion and the public schoo] fa]ls nnder 
lhe dn[y of lhe Sta[e. And apart from the 
de]dorable obstin«,cy «,f some communities 
whose eyes are l««fling backward hot for'ard, 
lhe gencral a[titmle of [he u]ien has been one 
of ambition for [he cducation of his chihlren. 
The Ruthenian immi'rant colony north-east 
of Edmonton has been in existence for fldrty 
years. Before [he organization of the schoo] 
system was ac«omp]ished in A]berta the faci]i- 
ries for t]e educa[ion of immigrant chi]dren 
were practically ai a minimum. The children 
did hot at[end schoo] at ail, on]y in two 
schoo]s was the m«,j«»rity Rnthenian. That 
generation grev up practic«fi]y in ignorance, 
in as bad if hot worse istate than if they had 
been brought up in ussia. At the present 
time the greater number of the 150 schools in 
that co]ony cannot remain open al] the year, 
and are practica]ly summer schools, but the 
continuous schools are showing progress. Yet 



Some Prescrit Xeeds 387 
it must be expected that the generatio1 which 
grew up in ignorance will manifest in many 
quarters that indifference which is more 
deadly than hostility. And this is no snmll 
township, but a fine piece of country ninety 
toiles long and fifty wide. The Ruthenians 
went in there poor in po«ket, primitive in 
methods of agriculture, but possessed of a 
capacity to endur% and their children grew 
up in hardihood and ignorance--that is, those 
of them that lived. And now thc rcports 
the Departmcnt of Edu«ation rcgarding this 
and other Ruthcnian settlemcnts have 
tered paragraphs that rcad likc p«,ges from a 
romance. For the Ruthenian settlement 
Emerm and the surroundh,g rural 
in 3Ianitola the story of a recent year l'llllS 
thus : 
« In one place there has been a great for- 
ward movement, materially, this yeal', especi- 
ally amongst the Ruthenian people, and a 
great improvement in buihlings and premises 
to be noted. The tw« distriets of 
Bradley alid Czerwona, ann,ng the non-Eng- 
lish-speaking people, have rive nmdern two- 
room buildings in operation, and with Kup- 
ezanko and Swoboda following suit next year, 
the Ruthenian polmlation will stand well in 
the torefi'ont îor progressiveness. Szewczenko 
district has also let a eontraet for a two-room 
buihling in the village of Vita, whieh will be 



388 A ,S«tudg 4n ('a»adian Immidration 
erected next year. The year 1919 will see rive 
two-room rural schools in operation among 
the Ruthenians." _Of another district the in- 
spector wrole: " Abont foriy per cent. of the 
schools iu this division were fOl'lel.ly bi- 
lingual (Fl'e«q, lhthenian, or (O'lnan), but 
of the seeond-lmlucd class fifty per cent. this 
3"eltr WPl'e taughl by Elglish-speaking ('ana- 
dialS. This is a WOlderful change in a few 
3"ears and it sh«ws lhe ri'end of public feeling 
amougst th«ue pe«qfle." Of anolher district 
anolher inspe«lor writes: '" I aih pleased to 
l'«'lt«ti'f II nllwh belter stah. of ail'airs l'egarding 
the pr«gl'ess in English. The pupils are grow- 
ing up wilh our language, Sloken and written. 
This applies lmrliculal.ly 1o lhe Ruthenians 
and Poles." 
Are lhese lhe o«ial and stereotyped re- 
ports of government servants? Then see theln 
«orrol»ol-ated by leachel-S who bave spent as 
lUany as ten years instt-ucling lhese people 
thl'ough the children, who bear lestimony re- 
garding the responses of lhe people " in uni- 
vel'sal kindness, good-will and respect '" to- 
ward lheir tea«hers, many of wh-m would 
rather teach in these centres than elsewhere. 
Why? lb.cause lhe OlqOl'hlnity is greater. 
While giving rudinentary instruction to the 
chihh.en the teache' is preparing the way for 
beColning the g'uide, philosophev and friend of 
the family. The fariner needs seed, or clothes, 



«o'me P»'escnt Needs 3,9 
or machinery but cannot rcad the catalogue; 
he dcsircs lo kn(w thc rcpo't of thc m;rkcts 
but cannot 'cad the ncwspapcç In thc cata- 
logue ho may see the pi('ture of the thing he 
nceds but cannot w'itc a lctier to obtain it. 
The tcachcrage my bccome lhe .clearing 
housc, in thc widcst scnsc of lhc terre, f«,r le 
community. 
Vas it just an is(dated case that one lea(.he' 
was surpriscd to find hc" cheque for 
nmuths" s«lary w'itten for 250 instc«d of 
2257 She had becn «*ffered « higher wage 
by a neighb«,ux.ing s«lm«d s«,«-ii«,u uud 
In explanation of thc incrcscd amonnt of 
the «h«.que the seeretax.y-tx.casux.er said: " Vc 
and yet you stay here. Wc hot let (,m" teachcr 
lose one humh'ed d(dlax's, we p«ny ton hun(h'ed 
do]l«rs, toc,.'" %V;s il jaust a z'az'e ciz'cumstance 
(hat lu one constituency whcre the member 
of the legislature was «,f Russo-Auutx.ian birth 
and had iived in Austria. up to his fifteeuth 
ycar, the second annual z'eport of the Putri«,tic 
Fund showcd that one ami two-thirds the 
lotment of that constituency had been raised 
by voluntary acts? Was it utterly uuusual 
that from a towu in the midst of a Russo- 
Austrian colony of about 40,000 pç*ol,le a Red 
Cross Brnn('h could carry on a campaign every 
Sunday aftex'noon thz-oughout vaz'ious sections 
of thc distz.ic and in all kinds of weathcr get 



390 A ,çttt(ly i» Caadia Imig'atio»t 
good audiences for speakers on almost every 
phase of Caumlian citizeship with special 
emph,sis on its privilegcs and responsibilities, 
and the m«,n of h:,t district subscribed of 
heir own acc,)rd lll«»re than two and one-third 
inms tire ;,lh»tment? It may be that these are 
all uniqm, cases {Imugh tlm cvidence o the 
('on{r;,l'y is «»vel'whch,,ing. Oue may, how- 
over, persist in the obtuse view that ne» good 
tan ce»me out of Iht. for«.igner, lll;l t»llP cannot 
m«lk« • a silk p,,rse t»ut of a s«»w's car, filial so on. 
Ont tea«hcr w,'ih,s: " Litl]e in{ercst is shown 
by llm lm,jorily «»f {l,c p;,r«,nts in the educa- 
tion of tlmir chihh'en. Thcre is no night 
s('h«»«d «,ml though an offet" w;s nmde to give 
h,arn English. arithme{ic aml simple business 
forms, no one came. One family has been here 
for scveuteen ycars aud couhl no{ speak a 
WOl'«l of English. The school trustees are in- 
differcnt, al{h«»ugh one of them speaks only 
a liiile English, aud another cannot Sl)cak 
English at ail. I ara bonrding with 
a family «)f Russians near tlm school. They 
are tr3"ing {o use me well, but llel'e S]lOIl]d be 
a cottage bilt cither here or between this and 
the next school. The people do hot know any- 
lhing of English ways, and do hot speak the 
]auage. Gerluan has nlways been 
taught here before in the schools and will bc 
«tgnin if the people a,'e nllowed to have their 
ow wfly. " 



Some Present Needs 

391 

But they are not all "sow's ears," hOt even 
in Saskatchewan WhCll(.e that report cornes, for 
]lere is another: " This school is a village dis- 
trict. Thcre are two Swiss families, three 
English, foui- German, and the rest are Aus- 
trian. Ve are at present building a $10,000 
brick school, modern in every respect. In this 
school there are nine grades ; over one-third of 
the pupils are enrolled in grade one, and the 
sumllest enrolment is in grade niue. 
The ratepayel.s as a wh,fie take as much in- 
terest in the scho(d as I ever found in an 
English-speaking district. At the last annual 
meeting there waa a most representative at- 
tendance, and the teachers heing present 
started discussion on everything of interest to 
the school. One matter I brought up was the 
speaking of German in the playground. While 
practically all the parents have a splendid 
command of English, the children came to 
school knowing little if auy English. The 
children except when in class never speak 
English. We talked it over with the parents, 
and they, by an unanimous vote, decided that 
the children should speak only English from 
leaving home iu the morning until they re- 
turned. It has been a wonderful help to us, 
and to the chihlren in their work. The rule 
has been rigidly adhered to by all but the 
sm«llest pupi]s and they do wonderfully well. 
There has never been a night school conducted 



892 A ,qIud i ('oadion Immigration 
here. I taled with several concerning one, 
but have decidcd there is no need. Most of 
,he peoplc have been in 'anada so long that 
tlwy can Sl»cak , read and write English. They 
like their bornes and their chihh'en, geldom 
tl llmy et»me together f,r social gatherings. 
We find, c.nsequeutly, no g,'ain growers' 
sociation or similar societies. Most 
of lhe chihh'en couru from large houses with 
ldeuty of fresh air. They are remarkably 
hcallhy, «,nd corne to sehool tain, storm and 
ldizzard, lu Ihe twelve mt»nths I bave taught 
l,«.re llm ;,lt(.n(l«,nce h«ls ,wver fallen below 
niuely per cct, of the total possible. [ ex, 
nmim,d the chihh'en's eycsight and found one 
girl vcry short-sighled. Her father took hev 
t, Regina, and had glasses fitted the saine 
week. This fall I examined their teeth and 
notified the pareuts of the result. I ara highly 
g'atified with the numbev who have since gone 
to the dentist. This schooI never 
availed itsclf of the hour per day for foreign 
language instructi