One hundred years ago
Mr. Francis Buxton writes an excellent letter in Wednesday's Times to protest against the smouldering agitation in regard to the immigration of aliens, which lately took active shape at a meeting in the East End addressed by Mr. James Lowther. To begin with, he asks, ought we, who in 1881 had only 118,031 aliens living among us, while there were 2,881,000 English-born sub- jects residing abroad, to object to a free circulation of labour? As to the allega- tion that it is only sought to stop pauper immigration, he points to the fact that the number of foreigners who come upon the rates is infinitesimal. The real agitation, however, is, as Mr. Buxton notes, directed against the Jews, though the Jew seldom becomes a pauper, and is most useful in executing laborious forms of labour. These poor people ask our protection in the hour of persecu- tion, and in return offer to undertake work which confers a considerable boon on our working classes, — cheap clothes and cheap boots. And besides giving England cheap clothes, they have creat- ed a new export industry, one which averages annually £5,000,000 worth of goods. No doubt if the Jewish refugees could be shown to carry with them any social or moral contamination, or to be in any sense bad citizens, we should have a right to exclude them. But unless and until it can be proved that they are unfit to live in our cities, we ought not to give up a policy alike wise and humane. The Spectator, 8 August 1891
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