Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-12-06
IMMIGRATION.
Report of the DeIegase TO the India
napOIis IminigratfoD Convention
Suggestions ae 70 Immigrants for

Report of the DeIegase 10 the Indla-
napOIIs ImsnigratioD Convention
Suggestions ae TO Immigrants for
Tha delegate from jacksonville Board Of
Trade to the Indianapolis Convention hav-
ing returned, the following report has been
PREPARED to be Submitted to the Board &
To he Board Of Trade Of the City Of Nashville q
GENTLEMEN; As your delegate 10 the
Immigration Convention which met at tbe
city of IndiaDpolis on the 23d ult, have
the honor to report, that on the assembling
OF the Convention 1t soon became apparent
that it was a fight between the outs and
ms to see which particular clique or ring
should be the licensed party to bleed the
immigrant on his arrival in this country.
At present, the Commissioners in charge
OF Castle Garden, through which place at
least eight-tenths of al the immigrants
have to pass that are landed from ship
board, are appointed by the State of New
York, who, by State law, charge a Der
capita tax of $3.50 upon every immigrant
that is landed. 1t was clearly shown that,
under the present system, as carried on by
those in charge at the immigrant rendez-
vous in the harbor of New York through
the agency of sharks, in the interest
of the clique and rings, great
frauds and impositions are committed
in the way Of extortipg from the immi-
grant in various ways, and particularly in
the way Of selling and disposing of, to
them, wild and unproductive lands in the
far West, TO which as an inducement, and
to cover up their true designs, they fur
nish greatly reduced transportation through
their allies, the railroad monOpolies, most
of which lands were originally donated as
subsidies to various railroad schemes, and
from them Put into the hands and under
the control of various rings, to be disposed
of to the unwary and unsophisticated for
eigner, at good round prices. 1t was OBJ
vious that these cliques and rings were
formed, in part, of men high in official
position, with one or more of the connect
ing railroad monopolies leading from the
East to the West, and the whole placed
under the control and manipulation of
set of unmitigated swindlers, that are
pushed forward as a mere cats Ddto, that
Chey may enrich themselves at the expense
of the immigrant
The late convention appeared to have
for its object the taking of the control of
the immigrants, on their reaching this
country, out of the hands of one set of
schemers and false friends, and turning the
same over to those that were equally cfalty
and ayariciOus, and who. no doubt. in a
very short time would prove equally cor
rupt; and to accomplish this great object
they propose to petition the Congress soon
to be convened, and take steps to have Gre
ated Bureau of Immigration, and appro-
pirate or designate Governors Island in
the hsrbor of New York, as the rendezvous
for all immigrants coming into this conn
try, and break up the Castle Garden ar
rangement, as we'll as to take from the New
York Board OF Commissioners the So. so
capita tax, and have the government pay
the same tax to support tie scheme under
the new arrangement, which it is thought
would leave the immigrant to be bled as
freely and deeply by his new-made pusrdi-
ans as he now is by the party in control.
and have the government to back them in
their schemes. In short, it appears that
the change would only be from bad to
worse, rs the parties now moving for Con-
gressional interference in this matter. have
the same aims and objects in view, having
large bodies of worthless lands in the West
and Northwest, out of which they hope to
enrich themselves in the same mannar that
the present rings have been doing, both of
which are detrimental to the true interests
of the country, and to the South in partic-
ular.
From observation, it is thought that the
only chance for the South to secure her
share Of the immigration that may come
into this country, would be TO designate a
port of entry on the Southern coast to
which the immigrant may be sent or
brought by a system of agencies sent
abroad OF established in foreign countries
by the several Southern States, and in this
way get portion of the tide turned where
it may reach the South, and not meet1yith
the interruptions schemers stationed at
the Northern harbors, who have always
ready bug-d-6OO about Ku-Klux and the
lawless condition of the South, and such
other representations as will lead the
immigrant to the West, in the interest of
the rings, Notwithstanding the immigrant
had been hunted up and started for the
South by some one of the foreign agencies
supported and sustained by some oI.s Of
the Southern States.
II was stated in a speech at the late con-
vention, made by prominent gentleman
from the East, that every able bodied i'm
migrant who locates in State is worth
as an agriculturalist 81, 600, and as q me-
chanic or Nrtisan from 81, 500 to 81, 600 to
the State as q general average, the benefit
of which now goes into the Northern and
Western States, and is a total loss to the
South as the thing Is now manipulated.
As a matter of information to this
S1oT
statistics show that there has arrived in
this country during the years 1866 TO
1869, inclusive, l, 299, Ala persons from
foreign countries, making an average of
1924, S53 for each of the four years named.
OF this large number there has been but
very few indeed, as is well known,
who have found homes in the Southrn
States. This is speaking in no
very glowing terms of the resources of the
South, (which States have proverbially the
best climate aud soil, are more productive,
and have better timber, more minerals and
coal than can be found anywhere in the
Northwestern States. With these advan-
tages, in connection with appropriate leg
islation on the part of the several South
ern States, a portion of the tide of
immigration should be turned in this di-
rection, and this whole county made to
reap the advantages now reaped by the
Northern and Western States.
In conclusion, would say that, from my
observations, you are the proper body to
which a move in this matter, by memoir
alizing your present Legislature to appoint
and establish State Agent, whose duty If
should be to furnish all necessary informa-
ton and statistics to the immigrant, and
to take cps to get up and secure syste-
matte cooperation with the other Southern
States, to act in concert, and designate
some Southern port for the entry Of imni
grant ships. with system of agencies il
foreign countries, that will secure to us a
liberal per centsge of those coming to seek
homes upon American SOIL.