Legislation governing the immigration of children into Canada
1897
An Act to regulate the Immigration into Ontario of
Certain Classes of Children
from:
Laws of Ontario dealing with neglected and dependent children, revised and consolidated 1897
The Act of Last Session Under Criticism
Mr. Quarrier's Position
An Explanation From Premier Hardy
Young Immigrants to Canada (source)
The Act of Last Session Under Criticism
Mr. Quarrier's Position
An Explanation From Premier Hardy
The Pioneers in the Movement–Record of the Brockville and Other Homes For Scottish Children
(To the Editor of The Globe.)
Sir,--On March 31 of this year there was put on the statute books of Canada a law for regulating the immigration into Ontario of certain classes of children which is anti-British in its enactments and alien in its character. It lays hold on a voluntary Christian work supported by British money and puts it under the control of a Government which does not contribute one cent towards its upkeep. It prohibits any philanthropic individual or society from bring into Ontario a child under eighteen years of age without a license from the Government, while at the same time any immigrant–criminal or otherwise–may enter the country with his children. Is this Canadian fair play in dealing with British subjects? It gives to societies bringing out children power to control them until eighteen years of age, when any other British child of fourteen can choose its own place of residence without the control of parent or guardian. This part of the new act is entirely at variance with British and Canadian law, and there are other clauses equally so. Without condemning the author of the bill or the Parliament that made it law, I say without fear of contradiction that it was hastily enacted, and is the most inquisitorial law that was ever put on the statute books of a British colony.Twenty-seven years ago Miss Annie McPherson of London, England, brought the first party of children into Canada. I followed a year later, and Mrs. Birt of Liverpool joined us soon after. Miss McPherson established three homes, at Galt, Belleville and Knowlton, for the reception of children on their arrival, and as centres for placing them out. She retained the Galt home for London children, gave the one at Knowlton to Mrs. Birt and set apart the Belleville home for Scotch children. Ten years ago we opened the Fairknowe Home, Brockville, for placing out the children from the orphan homes of Scotland, leaving Marchmont Home, Belleville, to Mr. And Mrs. Wallace. In twenty-seven years, we, who were the pioneers of the movement, have brought into Canada about 15,000 children and young people, whom we have trained and tested, and the results show that not two per cent. have ever become criminal or chargeable to any municipality, and the annual death rate is only 4 per 1,000. Many of them are now heads of families, some are teachers, ministers, missionaries, servants, etc., and we know of no other agency that has accomplished more lasting good. We have ever held ourselves responsible for every one we brought out, and where failure has come we have returned them to the old land. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in conducting this work and have never asked the Government at home or here to help us financially. It has been carried on in dependence on God and it a purely voluntary and religious movement. We hold tenaciously that the Government has no right to interfere with religious work which it does not support and that before framing this law we who have spent our money, time and energies in furthering the welfare of the land to which we have brought our children should have been consulted. Instead of that this new stringent law was passed before we were made aware that such a measure was thought of. We feel that we have been injustly treated, and that an unmerited stigma has been put upon our work. After my arrival here in June, I put myself in communication with the Premier of Ontario to see if the law could be amended in such a way as not to interfere with our principles as voluntary Christian workers, but so far there seems to be no other course open but to refrain from bringing out children until the law is amended.
Some Correspondence
The following correspondence will show the position we have taken up, and I trust the friends of Christian work, and the churches of Canada will see that the voluntary work which has blessed many Canadian homes and many a Scotch child is not hindered:--
"Brockville, 19th July, 1897
"The Hon. A.S. Hardy, Premier, Toronto, Ontario.
"Sir,--I write you in regard to the matter about which I had an interview with you and your colleagues on July 6. Having arranged to go home early in August I wish to have from you a statement to lay before the public in Scotland regarding the conditions on which we may bring out Scotch children for settlement in Ontario. I am not prepared to accept a ‘license' under the terms of the new act, which I consider interferes in an unfair way with a desirable class of immigrants. Is it not possible for your Goverment by an Order-in-Council to delay the carrying out of the act in September and to have it remodelled in such a way as not to place unnecessary burdens on voluntary work such as ours, which has conferred such benefits on the country. In the past twenty-six years we have placed out about 4,800 children and young people, not one of whom, as far we know, is chargeable on the rates of any community. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for immigration work in this country, and it seems to me we deserved to be taken into consideration in the drawing up of the act. I will submit to the strictest examination before embarkation, and will give a written guarantee for every child we bring out that it will not be allowed to become chargeable to any municipality; and I think this should meet the whole case, and such a course would show that our twenty-six years' labors for the good of this country have not been forgotten by the Government. I have the honor to be, sir, yours faithfully,
(Signed) Wm. Quarrier."
"Department of Attorney-General, Toronto, July 19, 1897.
"Wm. Quarrier, Esq., Scottish Home for Children, Brockville, Ont.
"Dear Sir,--In adopting the act regulating the immigration of children, the Legislature of the Province had no desire or intention of unduly hampering a good work such as yours. The Scotch are well known as a most desirable class of settlers, and from all we have heard of your good work, both in Scotland and this country, we have confidence that you would only bring the best class of children, even though no law existed on the subject. But with so many agencies engaged in the placing of British children in Ontario, it was felt to be imperative that some regulations should be adopted whereby careless or mere money-making work could be put a stop to. As you doubtless know, there is a strong public prejudice against the importation of children, owing partly to the work of placing and supervising not having been properly attended to by some of the agencies. This it is hoped will be remedied to some extent under the new law. As you can readily comprehend on a little reflection, it would be absolutely impossible to discriminate in law between one agency and another. But so far as it can be done by departmental regulation, every consideration will be shown to your Brockville home and agents. There is no provision whereby the application for Government recognition of the work could be avoided, but this need not be considered as in any sense derogatory to the great benevolent and Christian work in which you are engaged. Mr. Kelso, who will have the direction of this department, will always be prepared to co-operate with your representatives, and his object is the same as yours, viz., the protection of these children from cruelty and neglect. While there is no provision under which special exemption could be granted to your work, I would urge you in the general interests of this movement to comply even at personal sacrifice, with the terms of the act, and thus aid not only in the full protection of the children, but in assuring the Canadian public that every precaution is being taken to guard against the moral or physical deterioration of our people. I am, dear sir, yours very truly,
(Signed) Arthur S. Hardy."
The above letter from the Premier shows clearly that there are no charges made against our individual work, and our withdrawal for the present is intended as the strongest protest against the framing of such an act to gratify the clamor of certain individuals. We do not claim to have brought angels into the country, nor do we place them amongst angels, but we do assert that the thousands brought here will bear favorable comparison with any number or class of Canadian-born, in physical, moral, mental and spiritual power.
Wm. Quarrier.
Brockville, July 31.
Mr. Quarrier's Position
An Explanation From Premier Hardy
The Pioneers in the Movement–Record of the Brockville and Other Homes For Scottish Children
(To the Editor of The Globe.)
Sir,--On March 31 of this year there was put on the statute books of Canada a law for regulating the immigration into Ontario of certain classes of children which is anti-British in its enactments and alien in its character. It lays hold on a voluntary Christian work supported by British money and puts it under the control of a Government which does not contribute one cent towards its upkeep. It prohibits any philanthropic individual or society from bring into Ontario a child under eighteen years of age without a license from the Government, while at the same time any immigrant–criminal or otherwise–may enter the country with his children. Is this Canadian fair play in dealing with British subjects? It gives to societies bringing out children power to control them until eighteen years of age, when any other British child of fourteen can choose its own place of residence without the control of parent or guardian. This part of the new act is entirely at variance with British and Canadian law, and there are other clauses equally so. Without condemning the author of the bill or the Parliament that made it law, I say without fear of contradiction that it was hastily enacted, and is the most inquisitorial law that was ever put on the statute books of a British colony.Twenty-seven years ago Miss Annie McPherson of London, England, brought the first party of children into Canada. I followed a year later, and Mrs. Birt of Liverpool joined us soon after. Miss McPherson established three homes, at Galt, Belleville and Knowlton, for the reception of children on their arrival, and as centres for placing them out. She retained the Galt home for London children, gave the one at Knowlton to Mrs. Birt and set apart the Belleville home for Scotch children. Ten years ago we opened the Fairknowe Home, Brockville, for placing out the children from the orphan homes of Scotland, leaving Marchmont Home, Belleville, to Mr. And Mrs. Wallace. In twenty-seven years, we, who were the pioneers of the movement, have brought into Canada about 15,000 children and young people, whom we have trained and tested, and the results show that not two per cent. have ever become criminal or chargeable to any municipality, and the annual death rate is only 4 per 1,000. Many of them are now heads of families, some are teachers, ministers, missionaries, servants, etc., and we know of no other agency that has accomplished more lasting good. We have ever held ourselves responsible for every one we brought out, and where failure has come we have returned them to the old land. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in conducting this work and have never asked the Government at home or here to help us financially. It has been carried on in dependence on God and it a purely voluntary and religious movement. We hold tenaciously that the Government has no right to interfere with religious work which it does not support and that before framing this law we who have spent our money, time and energies in furthering the welfare of the land to which we have brought our children should have been consulted. Instead of that this new stringent law was passed before we were made aware that such a measure was thought of. We feel that we have been injustly treated, and that an unmerited stigma has been put upon our work. After my arrival here in June, I put myself in communication with the Premier of Ontario to see if the law could be amended in such a way as not to interfere with our principles as voluntary Christian workers, but so far there seems to be no other course open but to refrain from bringing out children until the law is amended.
Some Correspondence
The following correspondence will show the position we have taken up, and I trust the friends of Christian work, and the churches of Canada will see that the voluntary work which has blessed many Canadian homes and many a Scotch child is not hindered:--
"Brockville, 19th July, 1897
"The Hon. A.S. Hardy, Premier, Toronto, Ontario.
"Sir,--I write you in regard to the matter about which I had an interview with you and your colleagues on July 6. Having arranged to go home early in August I wish to have from you a statement to lay before the public in Scotland regarding the conditions on which we may bring out Scotch children for settlement in Ontario. I am not prepared to accept a ‘license' under the terms of the new act, which I consider interferes in an unfair way with a desirable class of immigrants. Is it not possible for your Goverment by an Order-in-Council to delay the carrying out of the act in September and to have it remodelled in such a way as not to place unnecessary burdens on voluntary work such as ours, which has conferred such benefits on the country. In the past twenty-six years we have placed out about 4,800 children and young people, not one of whom, as far we know, is chargeable on the rates of any community. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for immigration work in this country, and it seems to me we deserved to be taken into consideration in the drawing up of the act. I will submit to the strictest examination before embarkation, and will give a written guarantee for every child we bring out that it will not be allowed to become chargeable to any municipality; and I think this should meet the whole case, and such a course would show that our twenty-six years' labors for the good of this country have not been forgotten by the Government. I have the honor to be, sir, yours faithfully,
(Signed) Wm. Quarrier."
"Department of Attorney-General, Toronto, July 19, 1897.
"Wm. Quarrier, Esq., Scottish Home for Children, Brockville, Ont.
"Dear Sir,--In adopting the act regulating the immigration of children, the Legislature of the Province had no desire or intention of unduly hampering a good work such as yours. The Scotch are well known as a most desirable class of settlers, and from all we have heard of your good work, both in Scotland and this country, we have confidence that you would only bring the best class of children, even though no law existed on the subject. But with so many agencies engaged in the placing of British children in Ontario, it was felt to be imperative that some regulations should be adopted whereby careless or mere money-making work could be put a stop to. As you doubtless know, there is a strong public prejudice against the importation of children, owing partly to the work of placing and supervising not having been properly attended to by some of the agencies. This it is hoped will be remedied to some extent under the new law. As you can readily comprehend on a little reflection, it would be absolutely impossible to discriminate in law between one agency and another. But so far as it can be done by departmental regulation, every consideration will be shown to your Brockville home and agents. There is no provision whereby the application for Government recognition of the work could be avoided, but this need not be considered as in any sense derogatory to the great benevolent and Christian work in which you are engaged. Mr. Kelso, who will have the direction of this department, will always be prepared to co-operate with your representatives, and his object is the same as yours, viz., the protection of these children from cruelty and neglect. While there is no provision under which special exemption could be granted to your work, I would urge you in the general interests of this movement to comply even at personal sacrifice, with the terms of the act, and thus aid not only in the full protection of the children, but in assuring the Canadian public that every precaution is being taken to guard against the moral or physical deterioration of our people. I am, dear sir, yours very truly,
(Signed) Arthur S. Hardy."
The above letter from the Premier shows clearly that there are no charges made against our individual work, and our withdrawal for the present is intended as the strongest protest against the framing of such an act to gratify the clamor of certain individuals. We do not claim to have brought angels into the country, nor do we place them amongst angels, but we do assert that the thousands brought here will bear favorable comparison with any number or class of Canadian-born, in physical, moral, mental and spiritual power.
Wm. Quarrier.
Brockville, July 31.
