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sleeping accommodation struck me as bare, though it could not be called insufficient. Mrs. Francis excused it by reminding me that it was not intended for more than a very short stay, and said that when a girl had occupied a bed for even one night the mattress was aired and beaten and the bed clothes were washed invariably. She gets the usual bonus from the Dominion Government for each girl successfully placed in a situation. She finds the girls situation after situation, as many as six in some cases, if she is satisfied that the changes are not due to any serious defect in the girl's character but to such causes as incompatibility of temperament.
I also visited the Home of the Women's National Immigration Society. Miss Jeffery was away, but Miss Loch, the Secretary, showed me round. The Society is subsidised by the Government. It looks after the girls sent out by the British Women's Emigration Association and other British societies; meets trains and boats, gives 24 hours' free board and lodging and after that makes a small charge; and finds the girls situations, or rather, brings them into personal communication with mistresses wanting servants. Here, too, the girls pass on very quickly, and are generally out of the Home 24 hours after landing.
I called on Mr. McNab, the editor of the "Montreal Star." He told me that he had communicated to the editors of various Canadian newspapers Sir Hugh Graham's scheme for creating a sentiment in Canada in favour of British emigra- tion, and that the idea had met with a hearty response. He had sent the replies on to Sir Hugh Graham in England. I also had a talk with Mr. George Ham, the head of the advertisement department of the Canadian Pacific Railway. As the day was Saturday, and most of the offices closed at noon, I was unable to see either the Secretary of the Board of Trade or the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.
On Sunday, the 8th of August, I went on to Ottawa.
OTTAWA.
On Monday, the 9th of August, I called at the Immigration Office. Mr. Scott was away in the West, and the date of his return was uncertain. However, I spent some profitable hours in conversation with Mr. Blake Robertson, the Assistant Superintendent of Immigration, and Mr. Fortier, the Chief Clerk, who has been connected with the Department for a very long time and is conversant with the work in every detail. The Department is situated in offices, called Canadian Building, in Slate Street.
The conversation ran chiefly on the restrictive regulations and the deportation law. The gist of it was as follows: The Department is completely satisfied that the imposition of the restrictions was imperatively necessary, and it is convinced that the policy has been attended by marked success. deportation law was, as Mr. Oliver maintained in conversation with me in London, A strict application of the a logical accompaniment of the restrictions on immigration. In the actual process of deportation every reasonable precaution is taken. The procedure is as follows: The municipality or other local authority notifies the Immigration Department in Ottawa that it is, in their opinion, desirable to deport a certain man; the notifica- tion must be made on a prescribed form, going into full details, and stating specifi- cally the ground on which deportation is held to be desirable. If the case is abso- lutely clear on the face of it, the Immigration Department issues an order of deportation forthwith. If there is any element of doubt, an officer of the Immigra- tion Department is sent to make a close personal enquiry on the spot, and the order is granted or refused on the strength of his investigation. When an order of deportation is issued, it is executed by an officer of the Immigration Department in person. He goes to the place, takes possession of the man, and accompanies him to the seaport from which he is to be shipped home. In the absence of any buildings specially built for the purpose, the man is detained in the hospital or other building of the Dominion Immigration Department at the port until the vessel arrives in which he is to sail.
The actual machinery of deportation is thus under the close supervision of the authorities at Ottawa at every stage. It is true that, a year or so ago, the Ontario Government expelled a few men on their own initiative and without reference to Ottawa. Their action was illegal and ultra vires, as no Provincial Government has, or could have, under the existing constitution, a deportation law. The cases were isolated, and the action is not likely to be repeated. Deportation is entirely the affair of the Dominion Government. The enquiry by the Immigration Depart- ment's officer and his supervision of the process of deportation are very real affairs,