Great Britain -- Emigration and immigration; Noncitizens -- Great Britain
The subject is one of very great importance, and I am confident it will
be approached by the writer in a dispassionate spirit. He must know
that he will fail of his object unless it is perfectly clear he is
not influenced by any prejudice against the race to which the greater
part of the destitute immigrants are known to belong. He will make it
abundantly clear there is no desire or intention to forbid the man
who is persecuted, either for his religious creed or his political
opinions, from finding an asylum among us.
It is the opinion of many who have given to this subject much
consideration, that the destitute foreigners who come to England in
such numbers exchange into a condition that is hardly less tolerable,
than that from which they have fled in the lands of their birth. It is
said they exercise an influence that is morally and socially to the
hurt of those among whom they come to dwell. It is contended that they
injuriously compete with our own people in the labour market. It is
often urged that they compel our people to seek a home and employment
in other lands, because of the glut they cause in the labour market,
and because of their readiness to accept wages and to be content with
conditions of living which are unacceptable, and something more than
merely unacceptable, to the Englishman.
These allegations require to be investigated. It is important to
ascertain what the number of foreign immigrants really is, and what
is their condition when they land among us. It is desirable we should
know what provision is made, if any, for their reception, and what
becomes of the men, women, and children, who are said to arrive in
London in large numbers, and for the most part absolutely destitute.
Is overcrowding, with its consequent miseries and ills, appreciably
increased in the East End of London? These are questions on which
the public ought to be informed, and the guardians of the health,
and morals, and general well-being of the people must desire to be
enlightened on these matters. If the evils that are said to be the
results of the immigration of destitute aliens are found to exist, it
will be for our legislators to devise in their wisdom the appropriate
remedy. I will only venture to express one opinion with reference to
this difficult and intricate subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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