The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1859-02-28
Immigration to the United States.

From lucid and complete synopsis Of
the immigration report for 1858, which has
! just been transmitted to Congress by the Sec
4 retary of State, it appears that the total
number of immigrants last year, was l44,-
! 352, of whom SO, GAS were males and 54, I04
! females Out of this aggregate, 40, 81 are
&. set down Is settlers in the United States,
/ leaving only 8, ,74l for other destinations
f! Of the nations which furnish the largest pro-
/ portion of immigrants, Germany figures for
%, ,90l, and Ireland for IA, 299. China GU
rious to say, comes next after Great Britain
/ i'll the proportion which she contributes
the number ofimmigrants from that country
being set down at 4, 80S, of whom $40 are
females. In the occupations, We find TO-,
2O7 merchants for 259 clerks, and 20,5
farmers for 23,3l7 laborers-an unusual
dSproportion of heads to hands, and which
can only be accounted for by the well known
tendency of emigrants to generalize about
their antecedents. In regard to age we find
the largest number 20, 1881 between twen-
ty and twenty-five. A prominent feature
OF the report is the circumstance that, al
though it embraces full returns from every
district where emigrants have arrived,
which hitherto has not been the case, the
aggregate of the arrivals for 1858 amounts
to only little more than one-half of the
immigration for each of the previous three
years, and to only about third of 1851,
''52, '53 "a. Taking the period embraced
between September so, l843, d December
81, 1853, we arrive at the grand fact that
there has been added to the population of
the United States from foreign sources, dur
ing those fifteen years, about f. 05l $40 hu-
man beings, of whom 2, ,432, ,s29 are males.
= In order, however, that we derive ihe
fullest benefit from the steady influx of
population, saws the New York Herald, we
must take care that all the conditions of
healthy immigration shall be fulfilled. The
advantages that are to be obtained from
these continual accesSions to our numbers
will be in a great degree neutralzed if we
permit foreign communities to avail them
selves of the opportunity of saddling upon
US their idle, viciously disposed, and infirm
members. Better trust to the slow growth
of our own population, than to be oVerrun
by not only the most useless but the most
depraved elements of European society.
The evidences that we have already had
Of the eagernesS Of European governments
to shift their responsibilities in this way
upon us, should render the State Legisla
lures alive to the necessity of providing, by
stringent laws, against the introduction OF
cOnvicts, lunatics, or persons otherwise IN
capable of providing for their own wants.
Not only should the authorities ut each of
our ports be vested with full power to ex-
anime and send back all emigrants who ap-
pear to them to fall within either of these
tategories, but to proceed against and
punish severely the owners and captains of
vessels bringing such parties out. Once it
was known that vigorous measures of the
sort were adopted and persevered in,
the countries pursuing this unfair course
would be slow to incur the expense and
trouble attending the forced return of their
worthless contributions to our population.