That the immigration of destitute and undesirable aliens takes place on a large and increasing scale, is a fact placed beyond the reach of controversy or denial. The Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire into the subject, reported that the immigration of aliens into this country had been greater since the date of the last Census (1881) than at any recent period of our history; an opinion which they arrived at from the evidence of a number of eminent authorities. Mr. John Burnett, Labour Correspondent of the Board of Trade, who was specially deputed in August 1887 to make inquiries into the Sweating System in the East End of London, reported that matters were much worse there of late years, because of "the enormous influx of pauper foreigners," an opinion which he arrived at from his own personal observation, and from the statements of the people themselves. Mr. Burnett's report was corroborated in its main features by Dr. Ogle, whose work it is to prepare the statistical part of the Census, and whose opinion on all such matters stands deservedly high.

Let us also take the opinion of people who have lived in the invaded districts, and who can therefore speak from practical experience. Mr. Henry Dejonge, a cigar-maker, who had lived in the East End for fifty years, said before the Immigration Committee:—"The increase has taken place since the Russian War of 1856. Since then it has been gradual, but sure; there has been a very large increase the last eight years.... In a certain street in Whitechapel the shops are mostly kept by foreigners. In Wentworth Street, out of eighty-five shops, there are forty-eight in the hands of Russian and Polish Jews." Mr. Simmons, a dress-trimming maker, said that he was born in Spitalfields, and could date back in his recollection, "and where there were then two Jews, there are forty now, or even more—say sixty. I know a street which when I was a boy there was not a Jew in, and now it is completely full of them." The agent to the Whitechapel Committee of the Charity Organization Society (Mr. Thurston) was of opinion that the population in the district of Whitechapel would be half foreign and half British. "Some of the streets that were occupied by British workpeople have been entirely cleared, and are now occupied by Jews." The Rev. H. A. Mason, Vicar of All Saints, Stepney, a well-known and devoted clergyman, who has laboured for the last eighteen years among the lowest of the London poor, reckons that there has been an increase of 1000 foreign Jews in his parish during the last seven years, and this at the sacrifice of the British population. He also testified to the ill-feeling existing between them and the British part of the population who found themselves being thus ousted. The Bishop of Bedford, Dr. Billing, referring to Spitalfields, where he had laboured for twenty years, said:—"I know that during the last four years whole streets have become entirely occupied by Jews, foreign Jews, where there was not a Jew before." The Report of the Committee of Guardians of the Whitechapel Union stated in 1887:—"There can be no doubt that the number of foreign residents—chiefly very poor—in the Whitechapel Union and adjacent districts, is largely on the increase, and that each year sees some new locality, or localities, invaded by the foreigner and abandoned by the English poor. No statistics are needed in support of this statement, since it is obvious to every one who knows the East End. It is not a mere redistribution of poor, and the substitution of one class for another in a certain locality; it is the immigration into the district of a class of foreign poor, who seem heretofore to have existed on the mere border-land of civilization, who are content with any shelter, and to share that shelter with as many of their class as can be crowded into it."

A mass of similar evidence might be given by experts whose opinions are above contradiction or cavil. But it is unnecessary to multiply witnesses. A visit to East London will give one the best of all possible evidence—that of one's own eyes. In Whitechapel, the increase during the last ten years has been enormous. Whole streets are now filled with foreign Jews, notably Old Montague Street, Chicksand Street, Booth Street, Hanbury Street, and the teeming courts and alleys adjoining. It is easy to imagine oneself to be in a foreign city. Strange habits and customs, and foreign faces surround one; and a foreign language is heard on every side. There are multitudes of little eating-houses with Hebrew letters on the windows, signifying thus "Kosher"—meat prepared in the Jewish fashion—is there supplied. There are foreign Jewish tradesmen who drive a thriving trade in catering to the peculiar wants of this foreign population, supplying every need, even down to "smoked beef and sausages from Warsaw," a delicacy which the Polish and Russian Jew especially affects. There is even a foreign newspaper half printed in "Yiddish," and the sentiments expressed therein are often of the most dangerous order. On the walls and other available spaces, one sees advertisements in Yiddish, and enterprising tradesmen go in for Yiddish handbills. There are Yiddish clubs and gambling-hells, and little Jewish lodging-houses without end. In fact everywhere the signs of this foreign invasion are dominant, to the complete—or almost complete—exclusion of the English element. That particular quarter of London is like the Ghetto of a continental city.

The Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police stated in his last Report that "a growing number of such passengers (viz. destitute foreigners) arrive in London, chiefly on board vessels running under the German flag." After noticing that by one line plying between Hamburg and Tilbury, no less than 4000 such passengers, 80 per cent. of whom appeared to be quite destitute, arrived in 1890, as compared with 2390 in 1889, the Chief Commissioner notices that "from 4000 to 5000 additional arrived in London in 1890," and adds, "Though some of these only pass through London on their way to America, it may be taken that the majority of them settle there." His conclusion is:—"The police reports unanimously state that there has been a marked increase of late in the number of arrivals in this country." This report is dated 17th January, 1891.

The increase is by no means confined to London alone. The Chief Constable at Manchester reported (29th December, 1890), as the result of inquiries of several shopkeepers and housekeepers from Poland and Russia who have resided in Manchester for some years, that "all are unanimously of opinion that the numbers of their countrymen who have immigrated into the city have increased during the last few months." He reports farther (10th January, 1891), "that there are said to be 15,000 to 16,000 Jews in Manchester, and of their number it has been estimated that at least 70 per cent. are said to be Russian Poles. No correct information can be obtained as to the proportionate number of the whole who are in destitute circumstances, or of the total increase in the numbers of these classes which has actually taken place in the year 1890; but there can be no doubt that the Jewish people have very largely increased in numbers in this city during the last few years."

The Liverpool Chief Constable reported (January 1891):—"There is no doubt, as far as can be ascertained, that the immigration of destitute Polish and Russian Jews into this city has somewhat increased during the past twelve months." The Chief Constable at Glasgow reports, on the authority of the honorary treasurer of the Jewish Board of Guardians, that about 200 poor Polish immigrants arrive in that city yearly. There are a good many foreign Jews settled in Glasgow.

In Leeds, the Chief Constable reported (December 1890), that there is a continuous immigration of destitute aliens—Polish and Russian Jews. A member of the Jewish Board of Guardians informed him "that the number of Jewish immigrants arriving in Leeds during the last twelve months would, in his opinion, be about 2000 persons"; but on this there appears to be a difference of opinion.

Leeds is a place which calls for more than a mere passing notice, since it is probably more directly interested in the question of alien immigration than any other provincial town in England. The incoming tide flows on unchecked, and helps to swell the poorer population of Leeds to an alarming extent. In a Report of the Sweating System at Leeds, Mr. Burnett, Labour Correspondent to the Board of Trade, wrote:—"As elsewhere these people (the Jews) may be almost said to form a foreign colony in the heart of an English town, and Leeds has now its Jewish quarter just as the East End of London has. They have settled down in a district called the Leylands, and they have taken such complete possession of it, that in the Board School of the locality, 75 per cent. of the children are Jews. The streets in the Leylands are beginning to assume distinctly foreign characteristics. The names above the shops are foreign, and the notices in the windows are printed in Hebrew characters. The words spoken are unintelligible to English ears, and about the race of the children in the streets and the people at the doors there can be no mistake."

More recent evidence is afforded by the Yorkshire Post "The great majority of the arrivals," writes this journal,[6] "are Russian and Polish Jews, who on landing upon English soil, at once move to the centre of the clothing industry, most of them with little or no money in their pockets, many of them without a trade in their hands, and not a few of them trusting for safe dealings to their English vocabulary, which is limited to one word, 'Leeds.' ... It is quite evident that there has been an increase during the present year. The persecution of the Semitic race in Russia has driven immense numbers to seek in this country the hospitable shelter that is denied them in the land of their birth, and a not inconsiderable proportion of them having heard of Leeds as an earthly Paradise for outcasts and wanderers, direct their steps towards the West Riding capital immediately the Hamburg boat lands them at Hull."

Among the evidences of the greater influx into the Jewish colony of Leeds is the increased number of applications for help that are being received almost every week by the Jewish Board of Guardians, and by those who have the control of the relief funds connected with the various Hebrew congregations of the town.

No official return is kept of the number of foreign Jews who come into Leeds, or of those who leave it; absolutely accurate information as to the exact number of the foreign colony in Leeds is therefore not to be obtained. But the Report of the Board of Trade, issued in the spring of 1891, estimates the Jewish population at 10,000. There are those, however, who put the number higher than that, the estimate going up as high as 15,000, or even beyond it. Be that as it may, it is certain that there has been a very large increase in 1891. How great is this increase is shown by the following quotation from a circular recently issued to the subscribers of the Leylands Gospel Temperance Mission, signed by the Superintendent of the Mission. The Leylands is a district of Leeds. The circular says:—"Careful inquiries have been made into the great changes rapidly taking place in the Leylands, owing to the enormously increased proportion of Jews settling there. As a result of this, the Byron Street Wesleyan Chapel has been given up and sold to the Jews, the Roman Catholic Chapel is also given up, and the English and Irish portion of the district is removing. A carefully-prepared estimate has been given of the changes during the past two years, as follows:—In 1889 there were in the Leylands 1300 houses. Of these 621 were occupied by Jews. In 1890, 765 were occupied by Jews, an increase in one year of 144 houses taken by Jews. At present, out of 1300 houses, 900 are occupied by Jews (between 30 and 40 of them as workshops), only leaving about 400 houses in the district occupied by English and Irish."

To return to London. In addition to the facts already quoted, we have the evidence of the Jewish Board of Guardians, evidence surely above suspicion, since that body is by no means prone to exaggerate the evil of destitute immigration. In the Annual Report of the Board for 1890, it is stated that the total number of cases of foreign Jews "entertained" during that year amounted to 3534. Taking ten years, we find that in 1880, 2588 cases were relieved, exclusive of Loan and Industrial Departments, at a cost of £18,354; in 1890, 3351 cases were relieved, exclusive of Loan and Industrial Departments, at a cost of £21,648. The total of absolute gifts in 1880 was £5528; in 1890, it had run up to £10,776, or nearly double. Moreover, the Emigration Committee of the Board testify to a decrease in the number of people assisted to emigrate in 1890. They admit that, owing to the United States Immigration Laws, they have to use the greatest circumspection to prevent any cases being assisted that are likely to be refused admission on the other side. The Russian Relief Fund Committee also admit that owing to persecution in Russia they no longer assist Eastern immigrants to return home even in cases where it is desirable to send men back to look after their families. They state that a "large number" of refugees have been assisted by them to settle here since 1882, and that they succeed in gaining a livelihood in London.

From special inquiries which have been instituted by the Association for preventing the Immigration of Destitute Aliens, it is computed that during the spring, summer, and autumn months of the present year (1891) some 500 a week of these alien immigrants have arrived at the port of London alone. Of these nearly 80 per cent. appeared to be in a destitute condition. It is to be noted that these figures do not include those who are stated to be provided with through tickets to other countries; and though some may possibly return again to the land from whence they came, the probability is that most of them remain to glut the already overcrowded labour market in the East of London. A few, generally of the least destitute class, drift on to the manufacturing centres in the North of England; but the alien population of the provincial cities is mainly recruited from other ports—Hull, Leith, Grimsby, and Southampton.

We now come to the last link in this chain of evidence as to the increase and extent of alien immigration—the official returns of the Board of Trade. I have purposely delayed considering these returns until the last, as they are in many ways incomplete and unsatisfactory. Still as they are so frequently appealed to by those who seek to minimize this evil, one must refer to them also. As an instance of the way in which they have been kept, it may be stated at the outset that, excepting as to London and Hull, the information has only been obtained from the various ports since the 1st of May 1890, and only as to London and Hull is a comparison possible with the previous year. Still even on this unsatisfactory basis we find that 29,885 aliens arrived from the Continent, at twenty-one British ports, between May and December 1890, and at two others in the whole year, not intending to proceed to America; whilst the arrivals in London were 4400 more in 1890 than in 1889, and in Hull 1320 higher.[7] And this in spite of the fact that nearly 1,000,000 persons were maintained under the Poor Law in Great Britain during 1890! The returns issued by the Board of Trade for 1891 are even more alarming. The total of aliens "not stated to be en route to America" who arrived in the United Kingdom during the ten months ending the 31st of October, 1891, amounted to no less than 32,877.

These figures appear upon the showing of the official returns, and taking them as they stand, how people, however optimistic, can derive any consolation from them, it is not easy to imagine. But there is no doubt that were these returns actually complete, carefully prepared, and accurately checked, it would be found that the number of aliens who arrived upon our shores would be very much in excess of the number given.

The actual numerical work of compiling the returns is done at the Board of Trade; but the collection of material is directed and superintended by the Commissioners of Customs; and the efficiency of the work turns upon the way in which the Alien Act of William IV. is administered.

Summing up briefly the chief provisions of that Act, which are given in extenso elsewhere,[8] it will be seen that—(a) The master of a vessel arriving from a foreign port is to declare in writing to the chief officer of the Customs at the port of arrival, the number of the aliens who are on board, or have landed from his vessel; and to give the names, rank, occupations, and description of such aliens, so far as he shall be informed thereof; and if a master omits to make such declaration, or wilfully makes a false one, he is liable to a penalty. (b) Every alien on arrival is to declare in writing to the chief officer of Customs at the port of debarkation, his name, description, etc., and every such officer is to register the declaration, and deliver to the alien a certificate, which is to be given up to the chief officer of customs at the port of departure, when the alien leaves the country. (c) The chief officer of Customs at every port is to transmit to one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State—in practice the Home Secretary—a copy of the master's declaration, a copy of the certificate given to the alien, and the certificate which the alien gives up on leaving the country.

This sounds all very well in theory, and there is no doubt that if the provisions of the Act were carried out to the letter, we should be in possession of what we have not now—actual statistics, which must precede legislation. But the question is, what about the practice? Mr. Lindsey, the chief of the Long-room at the London Custom-house, told the Immigration Committee in 1888 that the Act had long since fallen into desuetude; and that only at the ports of London and Hull did the masters of vessels, at that date, report the number of aliens on board, or make any declaration whatever, while no means at all existed for checking the lists supplied. Indeed, it would be quite possible, he considered, for vessels to land "thousands of aliens" without the Customs authorities being able to find it out. No declarations were made or certificates given to aliens on arrival, or received from them on departure, as directed by sec. vi. of the Alien Act of William IV. It is evident, therefore, that up to that date the Act had been allowed to become practically obsolete.

After the Immigration Committee had used their Report in 1889, in which they recommended that measures should be taken to secure with more frequency and greater accuracy an estimate of the amount of alien immigration into the United Kingdom, tardy steps were taken to obtain certain statistics; but it was not till May 1890, and after questions had been frequently asked in either House of Parliament, that alien lists were taken at ports other than London and Hull. Even now, though an attempt has been made to procure lists of aliens from a considerable number of ports, yet on the face of the monthly returns the lists are, admittedly, very imperfect. The lists received from Dover, Folkestone, and Harwich are only partial; while other ports of considerable importance, such as Lynn, Newhaven, Southampton, and many of the western ports, are omitted altogether. In all cases the masters of the vessels are perfectly able to shirk their duties if so inclined; so that not only are the returns very incomplete, but even the statistics given are very untrustworthy.

I have the best authority for making this charge as to the untrustworthy nature of the statistics given, which is so strenuously denied by those who put their faith in the official returns. My authority is a letter written to me on the 23rd April, 1891, by the Secretary of the Customs, in which he says:—"I am directed to acquaint you that the Department does not undertake in any way to check the returns of aliens made by the captains of the vessels, under the requirements of the Act of William IV.; and that the Customs Boarding Staff, as at present arranged, could not undertake such a duty without additional expense to the public, even if directions to that effect should be received from the Government."

This is perfectly natural and reasonable as coming from the Customs. The letter is merely quoted here to show that it is impossible to place faith in the present returns. It practically admits the whole contention: the alien lists are unchecked, and therefore unsatisfactory. A glance at the way in which they are prepared will show how unsatisfactory they are.

As we have already seen, the provisions of the Alien Act of William IV. have been allowed to fall into disuse, and the penalties for neglect of carrying them out are never enforced. Hitherto even such returns as have been sent in, have been loosely and carelessly prepared. In some cases masters of ships have neglected to render any returns of the aliens on board their vessels; in others, the duty, instead of being performed by the captain or master of the vessel, as the Act requires, has been delegated to some inferior officer, with the result that the work has been performed in a hasty and perfunctory manner. But, however carelessly these lists are prepared, the Custom House authorities accept them just as they are, and no provision has been made for checking them. It is obvious that statistics prepared in such a manner are of no great value. Yet it is upon the authority of such returns as these that we are asked to disbelieve the evidence of our own eyes, and to admit that the matter is not of sufficient urgency to claim the attention of the Government.

With regard to the steps which the Board of Trade are said to be taking to ensure more accurate statistics, it was stated by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach last session that in future the number of aliens on board the incoming vessels would be every now and then counted, and comparisons made with the master's returns. "Every now and then" is very vague; and until a check is systematically and regularly imposed upon the number of alien passengers on every ship arriving at all the ports, we cannot be sure of obtaining accurate returns. This vague promise on the part of the President of the Board of Trade was made—it should be noted—after a prolonged correspondence had taken place between that Department and the Association for Preventing the Immigration of Destitute Aliens. The Association, on the strength of the letter from the Secretary of the Customs, already quoted, had asked the permission of the Board of Trade—as the returns were admittedly unchecked—for its agent to be allowed, at the Association's expense, to go on board the incoming vessels for the purpose of checking the returns rendered by the masters. This request was met by non possumus[9]; and the Board of Trade wrote to say that though they had "no reason to believe that the returns hitherto received have been in fact inaccurate, arrangements have been made for a further check to be applied to the returns in future by the officers of the Customs when on board the ships." How far these vague promises given on the part of Sir Michael Hicks-Beach in the House of Commons, and by the Department in the letter quoted, have been redeemed, it is impossible to say. The promise of a "further check" is not more reassuring, than Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's "every now and then," especially when we bear in mind that it had been admitted that hitherto there had been absolutely no check at all. All that one knows for certain is that up to the present no action has been taken against the masters or owners of any ships, if the lists have been found to be incorrect.

Such then is a sketch of the way in which the Government figures are obtained, and of the efforts which have been made to secure their greater accuracy.

In compiling the alien lists in the future, some more definite information should also be forthcoming as to the means, nationality, and destination of the immigrants. The distinction "en route to America" is altogether inadequate for practical purposes. As matters stand, it is the only clue afforded us for judging which of the immigrants are merely birds of passage, or which come to settle here. Of course some of those who are "not stated to be en route to America" return again to the Continent; but against that unknown and altogether hypothetical number, may fairly be set the incomplete nature of the returns, and the practice so generally followed in preparing the alien lists of counting two children as one adult. As most of the immigrants against whom complaint is chiefly made do not come here alone, but with their families—and often large families—this is a point to be noted in considering the actual numerical value of the Board of Trade returns. Therefore, in making a rough estimate, I do not think I shall be far wrong if I consider the number of aliens classed in the Board of Trade returns as "not being en route to America," as practically representing about the number of those who remain here.

As matters stand, it is of course at present impossible to give the exact number; but such an estimate would be approximately correct. Nevertheless, in a letter to the Times in the month of August last, an official of the Board of Trade, writing under the nom de guerre of "Facts," did not hesitate to charge me with "attempted misrepresentation," and "an intention to create prejudice," because I estimated that the number of aliens quoted in the official returns as "not being en route to America," would probably represent about the number of those who come here to settle. The animus displayed in this letter was doubtless engendered by the remembrance of a previous epistolary duel. Opinions may differ as to the importance to be attached to this question of alien immigration; they may differ also as to the value of the Board of Trade returns; but however this may be, to write letters under a feigned name to the papers, deliberately accusing one's opponent of bad faith, is a method of conducting or prolonging a controversy happily rare. Though you may disagree with another man's views, you have no right to accuse him of dishonesty because he happens to differ from you.

After the correspondence in the Times took place, a note was appended to the monthly returns issued by the Board of Trade, to the effect that it was not implied "that the aliens not stated to be en route to America, come to this country for settlement; there being in fact a large emigration of foreigners from this country, while many of the aliens arriving from continental ports return again to the Continent." This clears the ground a little, and so far the correspondence cannot be said to have been altogether barren of results. The announcement that there is a large emigration of foreigners from this country is quite gratuitous, however, since we know that the number of aliens who came here en route to America, in the ten months ending 31st October, 1891, amounted to no less than 88,617. That does not affect the matter under consideration in the slightest. But the statement that "many of the aliens arriving from continental ports return again to the Continent" cannot be allowed to pass so easily. How is this conclusion arrived at? No account of foreigners leaving this country for European ports is taken. Of course many return, but who are they? Principally tourists, business men, and the better class of foreigners, against whom no complaint is made. But the great bulk of these are not included in the official returns at all, for the alien lists received from Dover, Folkestone, and Harwich, the three ports to which that class of foreigner generally comes, "show only deck passengers, and persons who on landing proceed by train as third-class passengers."[10] In making a fair estimate, therefore, the better class of foreigner can hardly be taken into consideration at all. This reduces the number of those included in the official returns "who return again to the Continent" to a minimum. Those against whom complaint is made—the residuum, the worthless, and the unfit—remain with us. They could not return to the Continent even if they wished to do so, for the simple reason that they would not be received back again. The law, for instance, in Hamburg is to the effect that no person without means is to land at that port. Hamburg is the great port from which the destitute aliens take ship to England; and therefore it is apparent that though steamship companies may land upon our shores any number of destitute or semi-destitute passengers they please, they dare not take back these same passengers to Hamburg, even if they should wish to go.