The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-16 00:00:00

THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED

STATES.
The American Correspondent of The Times, writing from
Philadelphia, gives some particulars respecting the recent
Census of the United States in an article, from which we
make the following extracts
The computers of the United States Census .of
1880, after having ascertained the total population of
the country, proceeded to separate it into the native and
foreign born and the white and other races. In the aggre-
gate the population is 50,152,866, of which 43,475,506
are native born, and 6,677,360 foreign born, while
of the total 43,404,876 are whites, 6,577,151 coloured,
105,717 Asiatics, and 65,122 Indians rnifigled with white
men and not under tribal relations or living upon reserva-
tions. Compared with the census of 1870, when the total
population was 33,589,377; the foreign born, 5,567,299;
the Asiatics, 56,197; the civilised Indians, 25,731;
and the coloured people, 4880,009, the relativaincrease
is shown to be abont 30 per cent, in the total popula-
tion' while the coloured have gained nearly 35 per
cent, and the foreign born but 18 per cent. The
foreign increase is, of course, entirely by immigration,
as the children of foreign parents born here are enu-
merated as native born. The natives, it will be seen,
increase at a much faster rate than the immigrants,
large as the in-flowing tide has been.
In examining the relative numbers of native and
foreign born, it is found that while the foreigners were
equal to nearly 17 per cent, of the Natives in 1870, the
propOTtion had decreased to about 15 1-3 per cent. in
1880. The territorial distribution of the foreign born
is also very unequal.
ment is large the general causes are apparent, being
manufacturing in New England and the Middle States,
and also coal and iron mining in the latter, the immi-
grants being mainly Irish, German, French, Canadian,
and some Welsh. In the North-Western States, where
agriculture is the moving force, the German and
Scandinavian are the chief nationalities drawn from.
In the extreme West mining is the chief attraction,
though agriculture and cattle-raising are important
feeders. In 31 of the States and Terrifories natural
increase has gained upon immigration during the
decade, while in but 12 is the reverse the case.
The relative decrease of foreign to natile born since
1870 in the whole country is, accurately stated, 1516
per cent. The chief foreign increase proportion-
ately speaking, has been in New England, developed
by manufactures; in Dakota and Oregon, where
wheat fields have invited settlement; and in Colorado,
Nevada, and New Mexico, where the decade has wit-
nessed an unusual development of mining industries. In
acttial numbers the State of New York contains the
largest number of foreign born inhabitants-1,211,438
—being nearly one-fifth of the total. Pennsylvania,
and Illinois 'contain about half a million each, the
other States smaller numbers, the least being in North
Carolina, 3,679 foreign born out a total population of
1,400,000. Tennessee, where the Rugby colony is
located, has slightly over 1 per cent, of foreigners, or
16,582 out of a total population of 1,542,463; so that
if the colony thrives it will have an important effect
upon this feature Of the next census in that State.
The distribution of the negro population relatively
to the whites is upon an entirely different territorial

arrangement, though the negroes number nearly as
many as the foreign born population. The negroes
are most numerous in the South, w'here the
foreigners are fewest. In spite of the widespread
notoriety of attempts at " exodus " and coloniza-
tion the Southern blacks shows little inclination
to come to ate North, and the immigrants from
Europe exhibit equal disinclination to go to the
South, where labour is believed to be held in dis-
honour. At the same time, the negroes multiply
faster than the whites, and have increased in larger
proportion in a state of freedom than they did when in
slavery. In the country, as a whole, there has been,
accurately speaking, a gain in the decade of 625
negroes on an assumed basis of 100,000 whites, there
having been 14,528 negroes to 100,000 whites in 1870,
and 15,153 negroes to 100,000 whites in 1880.. . .
The greatest proportion of negroes to whites is in
South Carolina, where three-fifths of the whole popu-
lation are coloured. In Louisiana and Mississippi,
one-half to three-fifths are coloured; in Alabama; Dis-
trict of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina,
and Virginia, the coloured are one-third to one-half of
the total; and in Arkansas and Tennessee, from one-
fourth to one-third

Of the 105,717 Asiatics in the United States, 75,122
are in California, 9,515 in Oregon, 5,423 in Nevada,
3,378 in Idaho, 3,227 in Washington, 1,764 in Mon-
tana, 1,632 in Arizona, 518 in Utah, 610 in Colorado,
and 914 in Wyoming. The Far Western States and
Territories thus monopolize almost the whole of the
Mongolian population, though 942 of them are re-
ported in New York, 483 in Louisiana, 256 in
Massachusetts, and 214 in Illinois. This class of
population has largely increased during the decade,
being fed by immigration from China to California.