IMMIGRATION (from Lat. immigrare, to remove into, from in. in ± migrare, to migrate). In its broadest sense, the transfer of residence from one country to another, viewed from the standpoint of the country in which the new residence is taken. The causes of this phenome non have been discussed in the article devoted to emigration, which treated the movement at its source. We are concerned here with the effect of these movements on the countries which re ceive the newcomers. The invasion of the immi grant is the movement of the individual who seeks to improve his condition by a change of residence, who submits to the political institu tions of the land of his adoption, and whose coming thither is frequently openly encouraged, or, at least, not actually opposed, by the country in which he settles.
Immigration and colonization are intimately related. When a new country is to be developed and its resources increased by human labor, im migration is encouraged by its authorities, and every gain in population is deemed an economic advantage. It has been in such countries in the past century into which the flow of emigration from Europe has been poured. They are Aus tralia, South America, Canada, and the United States, in each of which immigration has raised diverse social and economic questions which must be individually studied and do not lend them selves to a general treatment. Before turning to the United States. where the immigration problem is perhaps the most acute, we may briefly consider the facts connected with immi gratin in other countries.
AUsTRALIA. The Australian Commonwenith owes its origin to the penal settlenient estab lished there by Great Britain at the close of the eighteenth century, to whieli a considerable num ber of convicts were deported until the middle of the last century, when, at the earnest solicita tion of the colonials. the system was abandoned. Efforts were made by the Government to send out free eolonists to Australia. but, despite the So•rtt Aweni•.t. Of the South American coun tries, the Argentine Republic, Brazil, and Uru guay lire the only one; in which immigration brings any considerable increment to the popula tion. In Uruguay the immigration varies be tween eight and ten thousand persons annually. In Brazil, 860,991 are reported for the years 1871-92. In the Argentine Republic the immi gration in the years 1851-99 is reported as 2,564,391. For several recent years the avnilable data are given in the following table: liberal assistance of the Government, the total population by 1851 was only 430,596. Following the discovery of gold in 1850. the population inereased three-fold in the next ten years, and considerable increments have been made to it at each subsequent census.
The following table gives the increase of pop ulation ascribed to the excess of immigration over emigration from 1851 to 1889 in four decennial periods and for the nine years ending in 1899: The colonies showed great variations from year to year, as the of gold in one colony after another attracted the fortune-seekers. The distance of Australia from Europe and the cost of passage have been an obsta•le to immigration to that country compared with the more acces sible Canada and the United States. The at
tractive force of the gold-mines has partially offset the difficulty, while the colonies have gen eially adopted a policy of aiding immigrants by paying a portion, if not n11. of the passage money. This policy still prevails in Queensland and in Western Australia, and it is only within the last fifteen years that it has liven abandoned by the other colonies. Up to 1896 there had been intro duced into the colonies, either wholly or partially at the expense of the State, no less than 756,695 persons. of IvItoin 578,559 came in the period prior to IS'St.
Under these circumstances, the Australian colonies have to a large extent chosen their immigrants. It is not surprising, therefore, that the great bulk of the immigrants into Australia have been natives of the United Kingdom. Ac cording to the eensus of 1891. 68.58 per cent. of the population were Australian born, 14.76 p4.r cent. born in England and Wales, 3.86 per cent. in Scotland, 7.13 per cent. in Ireland. In other words, 25.75 per cent. of the total population were natives of the United Kingdom. leaving only 5.72 per cent. aborigines. natives of other British colonies outside of New Zealand. and foreigners. Among the last Germans and Scan dinavians predominate.
In the immigration to the South American countries, the States of Southern Europe are the largest contributors. Italy stands nt the Lead of the list. In a foreign population of 866.983 in the Argentine Republic in 1895, the Italians numbered the Spanish 198,685. The same races predominate in the inunigrainot to Uruguay, while in that of Brazil the tuguese take the second place, following tin, Italians, who constitute about one-half of the aggregate immigration.
CANAD.k. There is greater difficulty in &tel. mining the amount of immigration to Canada than to other countries, not only because a large number of persons land there whose destination is the United States, but because a considerable number whose original intention was to remain in Canada drift into the United States. So great is the difficulty of precisely ascertaining the number that a few years ago the Canadian authorities gave up the attempt. The most recent, figures which are obtainable terminate with the year 1890, and these arc put forward by the authorities with many cautions as to their accuracy. In five periods the figures are as follows: A eomputation by British authorities that from 1815-89. 12.481.708 persons emigrated from the United Kingdom, showed that of these 8.3)7. 019 went to the United States, 1.987,247 to Cana da. and 1.663.388 to Australasia.
The immigration into Canada is largely from the mother country. The eensus of 1891 showed that there were 647.362 foreign born in the population, of whom, after deducting natives of the United States, 566,444 had come from across the sea. Of these England and Wales furnished 219.685. Scotland 107,584, and Ireland 149.184. while the quota of foreign nations, among whom Germans predominated, was only 89.991.