EMIGRATION.--CONCLUSION.
[Several individuals having expressed their regret that the subject of
Emigration had not received greater attention in the former editions of
this little work, the writer yields to the general wish, and designs
this chapter to supply the deficiency. At the same time, she feels bound
to acknowledge her obligations to her husband, for suggestions on those
subjects that lie beyond the legitimate province of her sex.]
Emigration considered as a measure of state policy, has recently
employed the thoughts of some of the most eminent characters of the age;
but I design to pass by their speculations, and confine myself entirely
to the domestic phasis of the question. It is doubtless an important
subject, and one well calculated to prove a powerful expedient, either
for good or for evil, as it ever has proved to the majority of those who
have ventured their temporal welfare upon the result.
Persons frequently take extreme views of emigration. Some to whom
novelty and adventure has charms, have invested this subject with all
the attractions a sanguine immagination could portray. These are
dangerous characters as writers, and certainly incur a responsibility in
exact proportion to the circulation of their remarks. Their florid views
of a sublunary paradise shine only in fancy. On the other hand, some who
are cased in adamantine ignorance, or home-cured in paternal smoke,
receive every remark on this subject with a sneer. These regard the
whole affair as a matter of transportation, and would starve on
patriotic principles rather than forsake the land in which they were
cradled, either for their own benefit, or for that of any one else. With
both these classes I am at issue; and leaving those to enjoy their
prosperity to whom this speculation has proved successful, I proceed to
notice some of the more prominent causes of the failure of those who
have been disappointed.
The first unpropitious speculation of this character, that I can
recollect, occurred several years since, before I knew America, to a
host of misguided individuals who emigrated purely from political
motives. They were opposed to a monarchy; and as they had been in perils
oft and in prisons oft, for the sake of their beloved republican
principles, or something worse, they flattered themselves that the
free-born citizens of the new world would receive them with fraternal
affection, and celebrate their landing with songs and rejoicing. In this
land of promise they expected to luxuriate in undisturbed enjoyment,
each under his own vine and his own fig-tree; where, safe from the
troublesome trammels of the law, they might sing “Down with all kings
and let millions be free.”
Poor creatures! How great was their disappointment. Where they hoped for
affection they were met with aversion, and contempt instead of
admiration.
A total indifference to the domestic policy of other countries is one of
the characteristics of the Americans. They are always too much engaged
in their own election schemes to notice the opinions of foreigners,
especially such as profess intemperate principles in politics and
religion. Such they regard not only with caution but even with
undisguised suspicion, as an indefineable species between the infidel
and traitor.
Is it then any wonder that these men were disappointed? Those among them
who were blessed with the means of escaping, made their exit as speedily
as practicable, while some that remained abused the government,
committed acts of violence, and closed their career in a prison.
One cause of the failure of these enterprises, may be ascribed to the
tenacity with which so many cling to the business to which they have
been brought up, and to all the peculiar modes of operation to which
they have been accustomed. It is much to be regretted that too many
import so large a share of self-confidence, and are so blindly
prejudiced in favour of whatever is considered the standard of
perfection in their own country, that they cannot allow themselves to
reflect, that what may be admired in one kingdom, may be viewed with
indifference by another people. Hence they become impatient, when from
their pardonable ignorance of local peculiarities with regard to their
respective occupations, they find themselves compelled to learn where
they expected to teach; and many sacrifice their future prospects to the
present gratification of their splenetic humour.
Now, in this case, instead of leaving the country and abusing the
Yankees to the end of their days, it would be the wiser plan for all
emigrants to conciliate the good will of their new neighbours, and yield
to circumstances which they cannot control, rather than create enemies
by a fruitless course of opposition.
The Americans, generally speaking, pride themselves upon the versatility
of their skill. One plain countryman can perform almost every operation
in the arts of common life, that a pair of hands are required to
perform: I do not mean that he can execute all he attempts in a finished
style of excellence. No; but he can transact in a respectable manner, as
many different orders of work as we should consign to twenty different
artificers. This arises from the peculiarity of their position. In a
thinly inhabited country, no one knows what he may be compelled to do in
passing through life, and therefore, every parent wisely prepares his
offspring for the vicissitudes of fortune by a judicious course of
manual instruction. Hence the use of the hands in the performance of any
office not exactly menial, is here considered no more derogatory to the
dignity of the highest character in the Union, than the exercise of the
intellectual faculties. It is on this account, that they are apt to
regard a stranger with some degree of contempt, who either from pride or
ignorance, refuses to put his hand to any thing beyond the identical
branch of business in which he has been regularly instructed. I could
adduce some striking instances in illustration of this point; but I
shall content myself by relating two that occurred within the sphere of
my own knowledge.
My husband met with one of our countrymen at Tappan, in the state of New
York, about ten days after Christmas. He was a wheelwright, had landed
eight days since, and could obtain no employment. He seemed greatly
disappointed and dejected and was just upon the eve of returning home.
The absurdity of this step was pointed out to him. He was informed that
he had landed upon a most inauspicious day--that the Americans make a
general practice of doing no manner of work, for the three weeks
following Christmas; and that, in order to give the country a fair
trial, he should remain at least till the complete expiration of that
period. To deal fairly with him, it was hinted, that even then,
possibly, he might not find _immediate_ employment in his own peculiar
craft, and if so, he was advised to apply at the shops of carpenters and
builders, where abundance of employment might be obtained by all who are
acquainted with wood work. This friendly hint settled the matter at
once. Evidently he thought it degrading to work as a rough carpenter,
even for a few weeks, and although he was offered employment in wood
work on the spot, he excused himself, observing, that he had seen quite
enough of the country, and that he would e’en return home.
“Your countrymen are a lazy saucy crew,” was the evening’s salutation of
our nearest neighbour, an opulent farmer of very industrious
habits.--There is something so venerable in the appearance of
three-score and ten, that it was not in our natures to ruffle the temper
of the patriarch by an acrimonious rejoinder. We knew he would recover
his proper feelings when he had delivered his sentiments, and till then
it would cost us nothing to wait. He took the offered chair and
explained himself in the following terms, as nearly as I can possibly
recollect.
“My son and I were carting sand from the beach this morning, when up
comes two strangers--a true born Englishman and a true born
Irishman--they asked for work. The Englishman said he could do any
thing, and the Irishman swore he could do every thing. We soon agreed;
and I left these men with my son to cart sand, while I went up the
fields to look after the blacks. At dinner time the strangers came and
asked me to set them to better work. I said _that_ must be finished
first. In short, they abused the country, and said they did not come to
America to cart sand. So I paid them their half day’s wages, and they
are gone. Pray what kind of work do farming men do in your country? Does
one man hold up the train of his mistress, and another water the roses?”
“Now,” continued the narrator, “here are a couple of men, one indeed has
grown too big for his coat, and the coat of the other is too short, but
they have a pair of hands each like ourselves, and yet they are too
proud to use them!”
We assured our ire-fraught friend, that idleness is as commonly clothed
with rags in Europe as in America; and we consoled his troubled spirit
by predicting, that our countryman with a short coat, would find it
_long enough_ before he got a new one.
I believe it is generally conceded, that emigrants who bring over with
them a considerable sum of money--say from two to ten thousand pounds,
miss the road to prosperity much more frequently than those that land
with comparatively nothing. This problem admits of an easy solution. The
mode of doing business in the United States, partakes so strongly of the
spirit of adventure, that commerce is fairly reduced to a species of
gambling speculation. On landing, the aspiring stranger finds that money
goes farther here than at home; hence he conceives himself to be a
person of greater consequence. If he have fair letters of introduction,
his society is courted by men of all shades and grades of property and
reputation; some of these may be men of substance--others so only in
appearance. Among these last, will be found a plentiful assortment of
adventurers, all ready to conduct him, through the medium of some
speculation or other, to the temple of Plutus. It generally follows,
that he embarks his property in a variety of adventures, some of which
may succeed. In this case, he extends his sphere of commercial
enterprise, and thinks it incumbent upon him to enlarge his
establishment also, and to support his pretensions to unbounded wealth
by a display of fashionable ostentation. Sooner or later, he perceives
that, through his ignorance of the thousand things that no foreigner is
expected to know, he has been floated beyond his depth--no opportunity
is afforded of retracing his steps, and he is at last engulphed in the
quicksand of irremediable ruin.
Even in my limited sphere of observation, I met with several individuals
who had landed, each with thousands at command; and it is a melancholy
truth, that not one of these is now above the second order of commercial
clerks. Truly they enjoyed one of the advantages of a republican
government, for however they might differ with respect to their notions
of political _liberty_, their circumstances presented a tolerable
specimen of _equality_; and to the honour of the new world’s hospitality
they freely acknowledged, that they had all been strangers and _were all
taken in_!
I have elsewhere observed, that the inebriate must be so thoroughly
weaned from his bad practices, as to be beyond the reach of temptation,
before he can reasonably hope to derive any solid advantages from
residing in a country, where firewaters are cheaper than milk.
The indolent form another class whom no change of country can benefit.
The smart quick step, and the general alacrity of movement practised by
operatives of all orders, would grieve the spirit of a lazy fellow who
is compelled to earn his living by manual exertion. He would discover
that the high price paid for labour, impelled the employer to look sharp
after his men--then there is the contempt of his fellows, and a thousand
other things that would combine to harrass the quiet mind of this poor
persecuted man, while against this Pandora’s box full of evils, he has
but one solitary comfort as a set-off--the distressing fever and ague
which carries off its thousands, would find him too lazy to shake!
Those who possess a moderate share of the comforts of life at home, with
a fair prospect of retaining them, should never think of emigration.
They have not been sufficiently disciplined in the school of adversity,
to estimate properly the common comforts of life, and I sincerely advise
no one to expect any thing beyond this standard.
Having described the order of persons who ought not to emigrate,
together with the causes that have conspired to blight the prospects of
the unfortunate, I proceed to notice those to whom emigration may be
beneficial, and to point out the qualities required to ensure success.
The thousands and tens of thousands in various parts of our own country,
who find the greatest difficulty in obtaining a sufficiency of
employment, and are reduced to the necessity of disposing of their time
and labour for a mere shadow of remuneration, though they are the very
persons that would reap the greatest advantage from emigration, yet the
want of the means, sorrowful thought! is with them an insurmountable
obstacle. There is however hope for the class immediately above them.
The small but industrious tradesman, the artificer, and a numerous order
of persons, who are not exactly so poor as to be absolutely incapable of
raising the means for removing, and yet from competition, and various
other causes, are kept in a perpetual state of thraldom through fear of
poverty. These and all others who are extremely anxious to bring up
their families in credit and respect, and yet in spite of the most
strenuous exertions, united to privations the most humiliating, find
themselves incapable of accomplishing their wishes. Such may peruse this
chapter with interest--let them do so with circumspection.
From all I can learn, there is no country under heaven where manual
labour, attention, and personal exertion of every kind, meet with a
richer and more certain reward than in the United States.
I have had the advantage of becoming acquainted with the experience of
great numbers: some who have won their way to affluence, and others to
the enjoyment of comparative independence, and, however they may differ
in particulars, one general line of conduct seems to have been pursued
by them all. They were steady, frugal, and industrious; and when
subordinates, _they never relinquished one post till they had secured a
better_.
It is a debated point, whether married pairs with families, or young
people are most eligible for emigration. Doubtless the experiment may be
made by the latter with far less risk of personal comfort or pecuniary
sacrifice, in the event of disappointment. But still the numerous
facilities that a new country affords, for the bringing up of children,
for their useful employment as they grow up, and the unbounded field for
exertion, and easy means of support that lies open for all when arrived
at mature years, inclines me to pronounce the chance of success in
favour of the former--provided the parents be not too far advanced in
life; for elderly people do not transplant well.
The amount of property necessary to start with, depends greatly upon the
line of life the party is desirous of following. It is of little
consequence what a _young man_ takes over for he is almost sure to lose
it; and it were better to leave him to become the architect of his own
fortunes; but a few scores or hundreds might probably be well disposed
of in securing many advantages for a married man. To these and all
others who bring over property, I would repeat the advice which I heard
the British consul once deliver on a similar occasion. PASS ONE ENTIRE
YEAR IN THE COUNTRY BEFORE YOU PART WITH A SINGLE DOLLAR IN ANY
IMPORTANT INVESTMENT. This sentence deserves to be written in letters
of gold, as those can tell who have pursued an opposite course.
But it may be asked, What would you have a man do who has only a few
scores or hundreds--it may perhaps be spent before he has attained the
knowledge required to dispose of it profitably? To such a one I would
say--_take good care of your money_. For the sake of your own peace and
the preservation of your property, give no one reason to suppose you
possess any thing worth having. Seek employment as soon as you land, and
if you cannot obtain exactly what you wish, take for the present, what
you can get. While you remain in your first place, which it is presumed,
will be in the city, you will have an opportunity of gaining for
nothing, information, the value of which you can form no adequate idea.
It is possible that at first you may obtain a place that you consider
degrading; but be assured nothing is thought dishonourable in America
but what is immoral or useless; and an undesirable post is easily
relinquished when you have secured a better.
If you are desirous of locating yourself on a farm, it will be best
first to hire yourself to a farmer. Here you will acquire information
respecting the value of land, which is more fluctuating than any other
description of property.
It is generally admitted that the intelligence which is procured on the
spot is the most accurate; for the value of every species of property is
subject to variations so sudden, and in such extremes, that a list of
particulars deserves no dependence.
Still, amid all these changes, the prices paid for labour and provisions
remain pretty steady. Of these, the following list expressed in English
money, will give a correct idea. It is drawn up with due consideration,
and the prices quoted, may be safely relied upon as being fair averages.
Common Labourers 4s. [symbol for "per"] day.
Mechanics, Shoemakers, and Tailors 5s. to 6s. “
[D] Farming Men Servants £1 15s. to £2. [symbol for "per"] month.
[D] “ Boys £1 4s. to £1 8s. “
[D] Waiters in Shops and Clerks £40 to £70 [symbol for "per"] year.
PROVISIONS.
Beef, Mutton, Veal, and Pork 2½d. to 3d. [symbol for "per"] lb.
Fine Wheat Flour 1s. 4d. to 1s. 6d. for 14 lbs.
Tea 3s. to 5s. per lb.--Sugar 3½d. to 5d. [symbol for "per"] lb.
The price of clothing, hardware, and a variety of other matters, depends
greatly upon the judgement of the purchaser, and his acquaintance with
the random mode of doing business practised throughout the country.
Sometimes these may be obtained very cheap--sometimes they are very
dear. English gold and silver coin bear a premium of about twenty per
cent.--but let the stranger be careful _what description of paper_ he
receives in exchange.
Steam and sailing vessels, fitted up for passengers, admit of two, and
sometimes of three orders of accommodation. The _cabin_ is fitted up in
a splendid style for gentlemen and ladies; provisions of all kinds are
supplied at about thirty guineas each. A very comfortable berth may be
obtained in the _midships_ of some vessels, for five or six pounds. The
_steerage_ is the lowest; here a passage may be obtained for from four
pounds, to--I know not what sum downwards--perhaps thirty shillings. In
these two last departments, passengers are required to furnish
themselves with provisions for six weeks. Persons of circumscribed means
are advised to make enquiries of disinterested individuals on the spot,
and not pay for their passage till the vessel is just on the eve of
sailing.
CAUTION--CAUTION--CAUTION is required by the emigrant at every step:
from the contract for his passage to his final settlement in his adopted
country, this quality cannot be dispensed with.
Unfortunately the climate of the United States, was found to be so very
prejudicial to the health of my husband and family, that we were
compelled to relinquish all thoughts of remaining; and as we had given
the land of liberty two year’s trial, and had suffered nearly two year’s
affliction, we decided upon leaving those to share its blessings, whose
constitutions were better adapted to enjoy them. But it would be unjust
to conclude, that because we were unsuccessful, others will be so also.
Want of health was our calamity. In this case, I can give no opinion
with respect to others;--here individual experience can alone decide.
Let those who contemplate crossing the Atlantic carefully weigh the
contents of these pages; they were penned for the purpose of imparting
useful information, whose foundation is truth. The writer has no party
spirit to gratify; no interest to serve; and she will be as happy to
find that she has been the means of obstructing an unfortunate
speculation, as that she has promoted a happy one.
* * * * *
I cannot conclude without paying a tribute of respect to the exalted
character of the American ladies. They certainly take precedence of the
other sex, both in moral excellence and intellectual refinement; and in
a religious point of view, they furnish a noble instance of consistency,
in preserving themselves uncontaminated amid the acquisitive
propensities, and unamiable manners of their sovereign lords.
Were it not for the climate, I could have spent my days there with a
fair proportion of comfort, for I met with much kindness. I cherish no
feelings of animosity against the Americans, though I have given my
opinion freely on their affairs: to this they can have no reasonable
objection; for as they allow freedom of speech amongst themselves, they
cannot consistently deny the same to a foreigner.
D. I. ROEBUCK, PRINTER, GRACE STREET, LEEDS.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] General Hamilton, a man much esteemed for his virtues.
[B] 1 Sam., xxviii., 14.
[C] This vehicle is universally used by the country people; it bears
no resemblance to an English wagon, but is in fact, the lightest
four-wheeled vehicle that can be conceived.
[D] These last board and lodge in the house.
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
which the upper past=> which the upper part {pg 33}
select from a dairy=> select from a diary {pg 100}
it extreme variations, with=> its extreme variations, with {pg 106}
to ensure succes=> to ensure success {129}