One may approach the problem of emigration from the British
Isles either from the Imperial point of view or from that of the individual settler. Regarded from the former standpoint, the task of filling up the empty spaces in the Dominions is not advanced very far if for every Briton who enters Canada by one of the Atlantic sea- ports a Canadian leaves the country by rail to take up residence in some part of the United States. Regarded from the standpoint of the individual and apart from sentimental considerations, so long as the emigrant obtains the opportunity of making a fair livelihood denied him in the Old Country it is immaterial where he settles provided that he is contented and prosperous. From the purely Canadian standpoint, however, a situation which iesults in the Dominion being a kind of sieve— one newspaper describes Canada's rdle as that of incubator for the United States—through which her human material works its way cannot be regarded with equanimity.
Previous page
