New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-11
PESFTTLTNG NEU-ENGLAND.


certain parts of NewEngland by reason OF
emigration to the West is having curious
SEQUEL Steps are being taken in Vermont, for
example. to attract a good class Of immigrants
from abroad and thus the first State to be adj
mitaed under the Federal Constitution comes
into competition with the young Common
vealths Of the Northwest in the bidding for
settlers The census OF 1880 showed the pop
ulation of Vermont to be practically at IA stand
still there having been an increase of less than
8. 600 in twenty years. Maine and New llamp-
shire made even poorer showing, though in
both cases there had been some increase since
1870. The result of the drift westward has
been that many farms are abandoned. and the
prices of good farms as we all know. have
fallen to singularly low figure.
The last Vermont Legislature was therefore
led to provide for the appointment Of COM
missioner whose duty it should be to attract
public attention to the advantages offered to
farmers by settlement in Vermont, and that
officer is now hard at work. In circular he
has sent out he declares that there are 200, 600
acres Of land formerly under cultivation, but
which have since been abandoned, and that
this land is as a rule, capable of as successful
cultivation as the prosperous surrounding
farms" Good lands are offered for sale as low
Ms SO an acre, and it is said that it will be
necessary to make So an acre the maximum
price for settlers if the new Vermont boom
erSo expect to compete with Western lands.
Negotiations have already been opened with
view to bringing Swedes over to fill these va
cant spaces. 1T may serve to give vivid
notion of the extent To which the depopuating
process has gone to say that NO difficulty was
encountered in finding enough abandoned farms
in one locality to furnish contiguous farms for
the first proposed colony Of fifty families. In
fact, four such localities were found.
This movement may be successful though
similar undertakings in other parts OF New
England have not proved 50 in times past.
Lands have gft+yn so cheap that settlers can
be offered homes near the seaboaid for nearly
the same price as they would have to pay for
lands that are no better, perhaps, but are
halfway across the continent Only the best
class Of immigrants should be brought in, that
thus The bone and sinew Of the State can he
renewed.
While the disappearance Of the original
American stock from the farming districts is
leading 10 the consideration OF methods for
filling the gap by foreign inning grafton, there
is a widely different movement in progress in
the cities and towns of New England. The
foreign elements in their population are grow
ing 50 rapidly that the native class IS last
losing It's pIep0nderance, and, in some in
stances, is even being ovelshadowed. An
article in "The Forum" treating the subject
from another point Of view, gives some stlik-
ing figures Of this foreign invasion. The
French Canadian element is n0ticeasly large,
and presents one peculiar problem i'll the fact
that il carries the French language with 1t. and
tenaciousy adheres TO it in the parochlal
schools. A recent school report in Manchester
y. h., states that out of 25S French children
less than per cent could read the simplest
English words The French Canadians III
New England are said now TO number half
million souls In Manchester and Nashua,
\. H., and Lowell, Mass they constitute one
third of the population. In Fall River they
have increa sed in thirty years from one fam
lily to 20 600 persons. This is the percentage
Of illiteiacy among the leading foreign nation
aIities that are crowding into Massachusetts:
French Cana dians, 81 per cent; Italians. Oh;
Portuguese, 90 This is putting heavy task
upon the assimilating and educating powers
Of the old Commonwealth Fortunately she
seems equal to it thus far. Bnt the New-Eng-
land which is Incorporating these diverse ele-
ments into its body polite is not the New
England that once was.