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workshops; and many others, formerly occupied separately by
individual families, are now occupied by two, three,or more, families.
While this change from a residential district to an industrial borough,
or a manufacturing town, was taking place, changes were taking
place of necessity in the general characteristics of the inhabitants;
and as a body, the people were falling from a higher to an inferior
social status, at any rate as judged from the view point of education,
culture and possessions. But another change, a change of a natioual
character, has also been taking place. Numbers of foreigners, and
people of foreign extraction, migrated into Hackney from neighbouring
Metropolitan Boroughs, such as Whitechapel, Bethnal Green,
Poplar and other parts of the "east end," and many came from
overseas. During the last 20 years the rate of immigration has
increased in spite of alien restriction legislation; and during the
last few years this immigration bordered on invasion, probably
largely due to laxity in the administration, or to absence, of suitable
laws restricting their admission. Thus, there is now a very large
alien population in the Borough, many of whom are probably
"undesirables," filling houses formerly occupied, and doing work
formerly performed, by our own people; so that demobilised soldiers
who have fought for their Country have returned to find foreigners
in their homes and foreigners doing the work which used to provide
them with a means of earning a livelihood. In all the circumstances
one cannot but admire and praise the self-restraint of these men,
wandering about in search of home and work while aliens thrive
and, some of them, grow rich as a result of the sacrifices made by
our own men.
This very large foreign element cannot fail to make its mark
upon our citizens in manners, customs, health conditions, habits of
cleanliness and in facial expression and appearance and in figure, for
intermarriage between natives and aliens does and will occur, and
to my mind will not improve the British race.
It is not desirable to overload the text of this report by furnishing
in this place a long list of the many trades now carried on in