ABSTRACT
The information available to-day concerning the reception of immigrants in Canada and the United States prior to the year 1820 is of a very meagre character. What knowledge we possess with regard to Canada is largely furnished by the reports of the Emigration Commissioners, issued in 1826 and 1827, whilst the works of Friedrich Kapp 1 give reliable information pertaining to the United States. Beyond these sources, many contributions touching on the life and treatment of immigrants in their new homes appeared in various contemporary reviews and magazines, but as their writers often held views narrowed by prejudice, such testimony as they offered must be accepted with caution. 2
