The laws and customs of Europe with regard to the treatment of destitute and undesirable immigration vary considerably. For the purpose of convenience in dealing with this aspect, the European countries may be roughly divided into three classes, (a) Those which have decrees and restrictions both for prohibiting the admission of destitute aliens, and for expelling such as have resided in their territory, when for divers reasons they should appear to be unwelcome or undesirable acquisitions. (b) Those which have laws and local regulations for the expulsion of aliens, but none prohibiting their admission into the country in the first instance. (c) Those which take no steps in the matter at all. To the first of these three classes belong Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Roumania, Saxony, and Bavaria. To the second class, Spain, Sweden and Norway, Greece, Germany (all States except the two previously specified), Italy, Hungary, Servia, Montenegro, and in a lesser degree, France. To the last belong Portugal, and until the other day, Turkey. The remaining country is Russia; but having been unable to obtain any very definite information concerning it, I have hesitated to classify it with any of the above.

It will be best to take these classes and countries seriatim.

In Austria the regulations vary slightly with regard to particular provinces; but, speaking generally, special instructions have been issued to the frontier police, with the result that all vagrant aliens, deserters, suspicious-looking foreigners who are not able to give a proper account of themselves or as to the sufficiency of their means, foreign pedlars, workmen and artisans who on entrance into the country are uncertain of obtaining immediate employment, or whose papers are unsatisfactory, or whose means for travelling are insufficient—all these are at once to be refused admission, and to be turned back at the frontier. The only exception to this rule is the case of foreign day-labourers and artisans, who are entitled by reason of reciprocity to the same treatment as Austrian subjects of the same class receive in the States to which these belong, whose appearance gives rise to no suspicion, and who having regular passports are obliged, in order to return to their homes by the most direct route, to pass through Austrian territory. By the Ordinance of 1867, foreign beggars, mountebanks, singers, musicians, jugglers, rope-dancers, gipsies, and other vagrant people, proprietors of wax-works, owners of menageries and similar exhibitions, unless they have first obtained a licence to exhibit the same in the Empire, are also refused admittance and turned back at the frontier. As to continued residence, by the General Communal Laws a Commune can refuse to allow foreigners to reside in its district, if they, together with their belongings, do not lead a blameless life, or if they become a burden upon public charity. By the Banishment Law of 1871, the Communal Police are also empowered to forcibly expel from the territory all idle or vagrant foreigners, discharged convicts, and foreign prostitutes, especially if these pursue their immoral trade without strictly observing the police regulations, if they are suffering from venereal disease, if they cause a public scandal by their behaviour, or if they seduce young people. Such, in brief, are the laws which regulate and restrict alien immigration in the Austrian Empire, as distinct from the kingdom of Hungary.

Through the courtesy of M. de Bille, the Danish Minister at the Court of St. James's, who kindly procured for me from Copenhagen a copy of the Decree of 1875, and other law-records, I have been enabled to make a detailed study of the laws of Denmark which bear upon this question.[28] The law of 1875, containing the regulation in force in regard to foreigners and travellers in Denmark, is a very drastic one. Briefly summarized, it amounts to this. The status and liberties of the foreign workman or servant, employed or seeking employment in Denmark, are defined with very great attention to detail; the most uncompromising regulations are laid down for the prevention of the entry of all foreigners who may be found destitute of sufficient means for their support; and even of those who are in search of work under any circumstances, except under strict conditions. The first Article contains a positive prohibition against the admission into the country of foreign gipsies, itinerant musicians, leaders and exhibitors of animals, acrobats and jugglers, who seek to gain a livelihood by vagrant performances. Foreigners in search of work are not admitted, except on the condition that they are provided with a document of identity from a public functionary. From the succeeding Articles of the same law it appears that foreigners who are not possessed of any claim for maintenance in Denmark, and are destitute of the means of subsistence, are to be expelled by the police, and the method of expulsion is very carefully detailed. Even those who find employment are constantly under the supervision of the police, and have pass-books, which, at every change of domicile or of employment, must be visÉ by the police as well as by the employers. There can be no doubt that the severity of the law is very effectual in exterminating the evil against which it is aimed. On the other hand, it in no way deters considerable numbers of foreign skilled artisans from seeking and obtaining employment in Denmark, as any one with any knowledge of the country would speedily discover. The majority of such foreigners appear to be Germans.

In Belgium the measures which the Government is authorized to take with the view of protecting the country against the dangers which the presence of destitute foreigners involve, are based upon several laws and decrees which have been passed from time to time as need required. They are interesting having regard to the strikes and labour-troubles which have taken place in Belgium during recent years. By a decree of the Provisional Government of 1830, all foreigners unprovided with a Government authorization, are bound to show that they possess means of livelihood; if not, they are at once to be sent back to their own country. They are even liable to be brought before the Juge de Paix, who may condemn them to a short imprisonment, or send them to the agricultural colony of Hoogstraeten, where native vagabonds are confined while at the disposal of the Government. Since 1850, however, foreigners are not as a rule brought before the Juge de Paix, instructions having been given to the police authorities directing them to reconduct to the frontier at once, and of their own accord, any foreigner arriving in Belgium and being evidently destitute, or a vagabond. A report of the arrest and a certificate of expulsion are, in this case, addressed to the Administrator of the Public Safety, at the time when the foreigner is sent out of the country. This summary procedure is followed both in the interest of the Treasury as saving expense, and in that of the foreigners themselves, who thus escape a prolonged detention. When at a seaport, and especially at Antwerp, foreign sailors are without means of existence, the Maritime Commissaries endeavour to find them an engagement on a ship about to sail; they are only conducted to the land frontier if these efforts fail. Formerly aliens, who were arrested for not having sufficient means of subsistence, were allowed to choose the frontier by which they might leave the kingdom. Of late years, however, this right of choice has been considerably curtailed on account of the attitude assumed by neighbouring countries. These countries have not unnaturally showed a marked disinclination to becoming a sort of rubbish-heap for Belgium. Even little Luxemburg revolted at this state of affairs, and a Convention was concluded with the Grand-Duchy by which it was agreed that only natives of the country, Italian subjects or Swiss citizens (these being en route), should in future be forwarded across the Luxemburg frontier. The German frontier is now absolutely closed to destitute persons expelled from Belgian territory who are not of German nationality. Holland has also followed suit, and the Dutch authorities reconduct into Belgium by visÉ, a great number of aliens, transferred by prison vans to Lanaken.

The law regulating the admission and expulsion of foreigners from the Netherlands dates from 1849. Article I. of this law lays down as the first and indispensable condition on which foreigners can be admitted into the Netherlands, the possession by them of "sufficient means of subsistence, or the faculty of acquiring such means by work"; and upon the strength of this condition, and under the provisions of Article IX. of the law, foreigners found on Netherlands territory in a destitute condition and without any ostensible means of earning a living, may be expelled from the country; and, in fact, numbers of persons so situated are expelled every year. All foreigners "dangerous to the public peace" are also subject to immediate expulsion.

The law and custom in force in the petty European States of Bulgaria and Roumania is as follows. In Bulgaria the constantly increasing number of vagrants in the capital of Sophia, as well as in the coast of the Black Sea, and on the Danube, has compelled the Government of the Prince to increase the staff of police, in order, by a more extensive supervision, to put an end to the difficult position in which the Bulgarian population is admittedly placed by alien vagrancy and destitution. The police authorities are therefore bound to keep a strict watch on the strangers arriving in the country, or residing there without occupation, and to have recourse to the immediate expulsion across the frontier of the Principality of all those who are unable to afford surety of their intention to remain, or who attract notice by their destitution, suspicious character, or culpable actions. In Roumania, though there are no general Regulations existing on the subject, the invariable custom is, that persons who are evidently in a state of indigence are not admitted to the country, unless they could prove that they possessed the means of subsistence.

In the German Kingdom of Saxony, though there are no laws on the subject, it is competent for the authorities to prohibit the admission or residence of destitute aliens. In Bavaria also the competent police authorities are allowed to expel a foreigner from the kingdom if this course should appear to be of public expediency; and besides this, the Minister of the Interior is empowered to refuse entrance into the kingdom to foreigners who may be liable to become either a public nuisance or a public burden.

We now come to the second class, namely, those countries which have laws and local regulations for the expulsion of aliens, but have neither law nor custom for prohibiting their admission into the country in the first instance.

Of these we will first take Germany, including all the States with the exception of the kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony. It is held by international law, that each State has the power of expelling from its territory aliens who may have rendered themselves obnoxious or dangerous to it. Destitute persons convicted of vagabondage or begging, or who, after becoming destitute, have been unable to procure a subsistence for themselves within a period of time laid down by the police, can be placed under arrest, and be handed over to the Government police ("Landespolizei"), who in aggravated cases can consign them to the workhouse; but destitute aliens thus handed over to the police authorities, instead of being consigned to the workhouse, are as a rule expelled at once from the territory of the Empire. In the little kingdom of WÜrtemburg, the Royal "Oberamts" (provincial administrative authorities) have an uncontested right to expel aliens from the kingdom. This right is generally exercised when it is proved or even suspected that the alien is unable to maintain himself; nor are such aliens entitled to any relief from the communal or charitable institutions of the country.

In Sweden, by a Circular published in 1886, addressed to the Governors of the Provinces, foreigners found without resources in this country, and in a state of vagrancy, are directed to be sent back by the authorities to their own country at the expense of the Swedish Government; in case the country to which the person belongs be so situated that he cannot be forwarded there without having to wait on the road within the boundaries of any other country, due notice is given to the authorities at the place to which the person is sent. As regards the treatment of destitute aliens in Norway, should there be any found in that country, they are taken care of by the police, and forwarded to their own country, the expense being charged in the police accounts. Thus it will be seen the custom in Sweden and Norway is perfectly identical; only there is this difference in the latter country, there are no laws, Royal or municipal, which sanction the practice; it rests entirely upon custom.

The law in Spain amounts to this, that if a foreigner after due inquiry is proved to be a vagrant, he is forced to leave the country. The definition of a vagrant, according to the law of Spain is, it should be noted, as follows:—"A person who has no property or income, no habitual profession or trade, nor any known or legitimate manner of living."

In Italy no special law exists, the residence of aliens in that country being regulated by the common law; but should such persons in the same manner as indigent natives take to begging, or if they engage in no fixed or useful labour, they can be arrested as idle persons, and dealt with by the judicial authorities, who can inflict a punishment upon them, and expel them from the King's dominions. Forcible expulsion is, however, only recurred to as an extreme measure. Usually, aliens are sent back to their own country with a foglio di via, or pass.

In Switzerland the matter is met by the local enactments of the different Cantons. Minute rules are laid down as to the permit of residence to foreigners. Destitute aliens, bad characters, tramps, and suspects are liable to an imprisonment on bread and water, from four to eight days' duration. They are then conducted to the frontier and expelled.

The custom observed in Servia, Hungary, Greece, and Montenegro is all much the same. Either by penal codes, or by the unwritten, but equally stringent, law of custom, the foreigner who is found in any of these countries without visible means of subsistence, and who has no occupation, is requested to leave the country by the authorities, and should he fail to comply, he is forcibly conducted to the frontier and expelled.

The case of France, however, calls for more than passing remark in that it differs considerably from the custom in vogue in most European countries. There is no positive or direct legislation properly so called for the purpose of prohibiting aliens destitute or otherwise from entering French territory. The question of expulsion is governed by the law of 1849, which is applicable to the whole of France. By Article VII. of this law, "Le Ministre de l'IntÉrieur pourra, par mesure de police, enjoindre À tout Étranger voyageant ou rÉsidant en France de sortir immÉdiatement du territoire FranÇais et le faire conduire À la frontiÈre." This law, however, it should be noted, emanated from an idea of social and political protection; it had no economical design, and it does not touch the question of destination. There is a Bill at present lying before the Chamber of Deputies for the purpose of amending the law of 1849; it has been lying there five or six years, and has not yet been proceeded with. On immigration, properly so called, France has only at present legislated for her colonies on purely special points. The silence of the Statute Law on this subject is to be accounted for on various grounds. France recruits her population in other ways than by the normal growth of the inhabitants within her territory. Statistics show that of late years the number of births in France has remained stationary, but that notwithstanding this, her population has not ceased to increase; this fact being due to the influx of immigrant aliens, which is growing larger from year to year. The fact that France has become a country of immigration like America and Australia is a surprising phenomenon. "It may not be impossible," writes M. Edouard Clouet, the advocate at the Court of Paris, "that these new economical conditions will have some influence on future legislation, and call for specific measures." Such measures, however, are still in the future, and the astounding fact remains that the immigration of aliens into France is estimated at an average of about 100,000 souls per annum, while the native population is stationary, if not decreasing.

The only European country which has no law or recognized custom in dealing with destitute aliens is Portugal. Until quite recently I should have included in this category Turkey as well; but in October last (1891) the long-suffering Ottoman Government, in order to prevent the danger which would result to the public health from the influx of Jewish immigrants from Russia, resolved in future to forbid their entry into Ottoman territory. The Porte also requested the British Ambassador at Constantinople to cause a warning to be conveyed to British shipowners to refuse passages to Jewish immigrants, who will not be allowed by the maritime authorities to land. This prohibition applies not only to immigrants from Russia, but from any quarter whatsoever, whether in Western or Eastern Europe. Individuals will be allowed to pass, but not families.

On the subject of alien immigration into Russia, or the continued residence of destitute aliens therein, I have been unable to obtain any definite information. The protective policy of Russia in purging the Empire of all alien influences, whether good or bad, is well known, and needs no comment here. The expulsion of resident Germans from Russian territory unless they consent to become naturalized, and the recent edicts promulgated against the Jews, are however illustrations of my meaning. In this Russia differs from all other European countries. They are all willing to admit the desirable alien, the skilled artisan, the foreigner who is decent and law-abiding in his habits and mode of life. It is only the destitute, the vagrant, the convict, the suspect, the evil-liver that they object to. But Russia, it would seem, has a dislike to all alien influence, whether for good or for evil.

To sum up, therefore, it appears that in all European nations—with one insignificant exception—some measures, more or less drastic, are taken either for prohibiting the admission, or for the expulsion of destitute and undesirable aliens. This policy is the deliberate outcome of years of thought and legislation. It is framed in the interests of the native population in each country, and is in all cases fully in accordance with the popular will. It is generally recognized throughout Europe that it is the duty of every State to deal with its own paupers and undesirable citizens, and it is recognized also that the only way to bring about that desirable end, is by other countries politely but firmly refusing to admit them. Thus it may be safely said that in the continent of Europe all countries liable to suffer from undesirable immigration have taken steps to guard themselves against it—with one single exception.

That exception is Great Britain.