ABSTRACT
The Irish were the largest identifiable minority in London. All the Continental refugees, if counted together, probably constituted the next largest group of outsiders. The arrival of immigrants who occupy scarce housing among the native working class, and also work for lower wages, is usually a cause of social tension, which often explodes into violence. Recognising the Catholic revival, the Pope restored the Catholic hierarchy in England, officially appointing bishops rather than the administrators who had supervised Catholic dioceses until then. Nicholas Wiseman was appointed Cardinal-Archbishop of London. The Italians seen in London's streets were mainly organ-grinders or street vendors of plaster statuettes, looking-glasses and picture frames. London sheltered Continental lawyers and military officers of Liberal leanings, or republicans and socialists. In any case, London's population was too large to be efficiently organised. Its complicated social structure and the large numbers of working-class occupations meant that no sustained single effort would be able to concentrate on a particular end.
