The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-11-25

OCK FOREiON POPULATION -lMNi0RAffON.--V
will have been seen from the letter OF our Dub
lin correspondent, published last week, that .
marked improvement has taken place in tho
condition and prospects Of Ireland. The En-
numbered Estates act has freed the soil from
the incubus Of pauper proprietary. and the
division Of the immense tracts Of waste land held
by single owners amongst small capitalists has
had the effect Of bringing them at once into
cultivation. The increased demand for labor
to which this has led has. of course, in degree,
checked emigration to this country, but its fall
influence has yet to be felt Az soon ~ agri.
culture receives the developement for which
rich soil and abund incc Of capital arc the main
conditions require, tho laboring population Of
Ireland will scarcely suffice for its wants Az
ter the famine Of 1886 it Loaf by death and emil
grafton about two millions and half Of lis en-.
tire strength. and II will be some time before Il
RECEIVERS this falling Of. Tho impulse which
has been given to industry Of every kind within
the last few years will. as The latter extends
the sphere Of It's operations, also extend the de
mand for labor; and es this is already threaten
Ing to oatsrip the supply, the result must laaily
be to put total stop to emigration. Thus the
Irish element in this country will eventually
lose its distinctive character, inasmuch US Il
will cease to be fed from the other side.
The foreign population Of our city at the
present time amounts to about two hundred
thousand, of whom about one half are Irish. and
the remainder Germans with sprinking of
other nationalities. The foreign vote is about
thirty thousand, more than fifteen thousand of
which is German. In the lower wards the Ger
mans are fast displacing the Irish, and driving
them up town. The characteristics of the two
races are as opposed as they well can be, aud
owing to this difference the former contrive, in
the long rua, to distance their rivals The
Irishman in his quality of Celt, is impulsive,
excitable and improvident. The Teuton is, on
the contrary, phlegmatic, Industrious aud
thrifty. BY the exercise Of these gifts the Ger
mans are getting possession Of an the strong
holds Of the Irish down town, and monopolizing
in particular the corner groceries and grog-
shops, which are the centres Of local political
influence. 1t is not merely in this way, but by
their press, that the Germans are acquiring po-
litical superiority over other Foreigners Whilst
the Irish have in this city only two or three
weekly journals of triling circulation, the Ger
mans have three daily and about dozen weekly
papers. The circulation Of one Of their dailes
exceeds that of the Ne,os, the Journal Of Com
merce, the Commercial Advertiser, the Post and
the Courier and Enquirer united. The German
population of New York has Of late years been
rapidly increasing in numbers and influence,
and owing to the operation of political causes
in the fatherland it is likely to receive still
more important accessions Of strength from
year to year. The Irish element, on the con-
trary, if not quite at stand still, will
soon be SO, with the further prospect of losing
entirely its distinctive character in the course
of generation or two. We recommend the
subject to the attention of politicians: it may
be worth taking into consideration ia their
calculations.