The Durham recorder. [volume] (Durham, N.C.) 1879-19??, 1883-05-30
Pauper Emigrants

A telegram puDllsned yesterday Ill
the JOURNAL-OB OBSERVER, and one
published the day before, are worthy
of comment as illustrating the policy
of our government in regard to i'm
migration. The first telegram to
which we fefer was as follows:
The Treasury Department has been
advised that a party of pauper Nor
mons from Switzerland are en- route
to New York on the steamship Neva-
da which sailed from Liverpool on
the 18th inst, and has instructed the
collector of customs at New York to
inspect these people carefully and
prevent their landing ifthey ore pau
pers.
The other is in these words:
The steamer Prussian, which ar
rived at Boston yesterday, brought
1860 steerage passengers. Most of
these people are assisted" emigrants.
1t will be observed that although
the latter batch of assisted" emf
grants had arrived two days before
the Secretary's dispatch to the Col
lector of Customs at New York, no
steps were taken either to inspect
them or prevent their landing. These
assisted" emigrants are paupers, just
as the others are, although not called
by that name. They come from the
British Islands, chiefly from Ireland.
The Others come from Switzerland.
i Great Britain is one of the giant
powers of the earth.Switzerland is Il
little sister republic. Great Britain
has been sending thousands of her
pauper population to our shores for
months past-Switzerland sends very
few indeed. No protest, so far as we
know, has ever been made against
this emptying by Great Britain of her
pauper population into our country,
and certainly no orders have been
issued to inspect cargo of them, and
prevent their landing. Why is it,
then, that this has been quietly sub
mitted to, but that when paupers
from weak little power Of Europe,
which has no navy, attempt to come,
the Collector of Customs is ordered
to inspect them, and, if found to be
paupers, to prevent their landing ?
Take notice that the orders are to
prevent their landing ''if they are
paupers," and not ''if they are Nor
mons" In fact, the government has
no more right to prevent the landing
of Mormons than it has the right to
prevent the landing ofpeople of any
other religious or political faith. and
therefore that cause of objection was
not mentioned in the orders to the
Collector. Does this action of the
Secretary mean that it is hencetorth
the determination Of our government
to put a stop to pauper immigration ?
Ifso, why was not the ship with the
1000 paupers prevented from landing
them at Boston ? Is it because our
country, as our sycophantic Minister
to England is so fond of saying, is the
eldest daughter" of Great Britain,
and therefore bound TO submit
reverently to the wishes Of the parent
country, or isit because. being. like
all other powerful nations, a bully
and coward, it will, for the same
cause of ofIense, kick the weak and
take off its hat to the strong? This is
a matterin regard to which the United
States has no right to make a distinc.
ton. even between governments of
equal power; still less in favor of a
strong one as against a weak one.
This is either the asylum Of the op.
pressed and suffering ofall lands and
all faiths, or it is the asylum Of none.
If paupers can be sent here freely,
or by assistance" from England,
they can also from any other country.
We are opposed TO their coming at all,
but if the government has not the
moral courage TO prevent their com
ing from any country, however great,
we protest against its exercising its
power against the weaker nations of
the earth, for il is cowardly and de-
grading. - Charlotte JonruatOLSsrwr.