The Farmer And Mechanic

IMMIGRATION.

The present year promises a large increase in immigration. There was a gain of 20,000 in the arrivals at New York last year, and this will probably be trebled in 1879. The whole number of immigrants landed at New York, from 1855 to 1878, both years included, was 3,772,707—more than the entire population of the country a century ago. Over 2,000,000 gave the Middle States as their avowed destination, the number credited to New York alone being 1,521,566. The Western States received 1,200,000, the Eastern 300,000, and the Southern about 100,000. It is worthy of note that six Southern States—North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida—are credited only with 10,000 only of the three and three-quarter millions of immigrants who arrived at New York in the period named, while Rhode Island alone received 35,000, and Massachusetts 174,000.

The Emigration Commissioners at New York are in receipt of letters from many parts of Europe, asking information in regard to employment, the best sections to settle in, and other matters of interest to intending immigrants. In order to obtain this information from reliable sources, they are about to send a circular to the Governors of the different States, with inquiries covering all the questions put by persons proposing to cast their fortunes here. The information thus obtained will be useful as a guide to immigrants in selecting their future homes. There is reason to fear that Ireland will have a full share of the distress caused by the prostration of industries in Europe, and there will probably be a considerable increase in Irish immigration. The New York Commissioners are already informed of a marked increase in the number of prepaid passage tickets forwarded to Ireland and Germany. We should be glad to know that some genuine effort will be made to rescue the coming Irish immigrants from the dark fate of drifting blindly into the by-ways of the cities. It is a bitter discredit to our people that they have no organized system for the care and guidance of immigrants of their own nationality. Thousands of these go to the bad because there is no one to give them a helping hand when they land on a strange shore. They fall into idle or evil ways, simply because they are utterly neglected by those who should assist and direct them. The Irish in America have societies for nearly all purposes but this, but they neglect the one that is scarcely second in importance to any. Some of the colonization societies are doing good work, and their efforts deserve cordial recognition; but there is need of a larger movement, and it should be undertaken at once.