But this law did not produce the desired effect. Professor Smith says that “from Great Britain (and Ireland) the number of emigrants for the year 1815 was only 2,081. The next year it rose to 12,510; in 1817 to 20,634; in 1818 to 27,787, and in 1819 to 34,789.” Holmes says, speaking of the year 1816: “In this and the preceding year there was a great emigration from Ireland and England to America. This year 1,192 American and foreign vessels arrived at New York, bringing to that port alone 7,122 passengers.” From the same authority we learn that the returns of vessels and passengers at Baltimore showed the arrival at that port early in October, 1816, of 1,878 passengers; those reported being estimated at probably three fourths of the whole number that arrived. From another source we find that “within three weeks, in the month of September, 1816, about 2,000 immigrants arrived in the United States.” Similar notices may be frequently found in the newspapers of those times. The English authorities, while endeavoring to prevent the Irish from coming to the United States, exerted themselves vigorously to promote emigration to Canada. Municipal bodies, local organizations, and various societies contributed funds to assist those intending to emigrate, and at the same time liberal grants of land and other inducements were offered to prospective settlers in Canada. As a result of these efforts, the immigrants from Ireland and Britain to Canada out-numbered, for many years, those who came to the United States. The great majority of the Irish, however, soon found their way to this country, and especially to New York, where work was progressing at that time on the Erie and Champlain canals. Of all these, no account was taken by officials or writers on emigration at the time, and but little by those who wrote later on the subject, though one writer admits that there was even more recently “considerable overland immigration, much of which escapes attention.” It seems evident, taking all the facts above cited into consideration, that the estimates of those writers of the number of immigrants, and particularly of Irish immigrants who arrived here between 1790 and 1820, are very much too low, and it appears very reasonable to assume that Dr. Chickering’s estimate of the number of immigrants who came here after 1820—that is 50 per cent. more than the officially reported number of arrivals—must be largely increased when we are endeavoring to ascertain how many immigrants landed on our shores before the date just mentioned, and before any attempt was made to obtain the number of those who arrived in the United States, even through our Atlantic ports.