CHAPTER III IMMIGRATION AND COLONISATION Immigration is a vital problem for the Argentine——Table of the population per Province and per Territory. Its sparsity——The Exceptional situation of the Argentine as the objective of European emigration——The poor results hitherto obtained through default of colonisation——The faulty division of the public lands——History of immigration in relation to colonisation——The nationality of immigrants. The economic and financial organisation of the Argentine being now assured, and peace without and within being established, while at the same time the revolutionary spirit of the bad old days has gradually disappeared, the great problems which the country has to face to-day are principally those dealing with the development of agricultural and industrial production and its outlets. But among these problems none is more vital to the future of the Argentine than the problem of filling the vast gaps of empty territory with new elements of population. Here, according to the last official data, are the figures relating to the distribution of the population in the Provinces and National Territories:—— Area in sq. miles Population in 1908 Province of Buenos Ayres and Capital 117,563 2,427,628 ” ” Santa Fé 50,784 772,410 ” ” Córdoba 62,000 477,680 ” ” Entre Rios 28,709 399,333 ” ” Corrientès 32,494 317,247 ” ” Tucuman 8,903 280,311 ” ” Santiago de l’Estero 39,660 192,639 ” ” Mendoza 56,350 174,619 ” ” Salta 62,040 141,610 ” ” Catamarca 48,408 103,680 ” ” San Juan 33,630 105,684 ” ” San Luis 28,460 103,367 ” ” La Rioja 34,450 86,352 ” ” Jujuy 18,930 56,945 ——————— ————————— Carry forward, 622,381 5,328,907