But immigration from the institutional point of view may be dated at about 1834, when the national societies, as recorded elsewhere, arose to safeguard the interests of their own country people coming to the city. These societies either had houses such as the St. Andrew’s Home or St. George’s Home to receive them, or they did it by providing them lodging and care otherwise.
The Dominion Government has long had its immigration agency in the city. Its home is now at 150 St. Antoine Street, where the new building with its detention hospital was publicly opened on May 1, 1914. Its previous locations were 306 St. Antoine Street, the late one, the former residence of a former mayor, C.S. Rodier; then 219 Cathedral Street; before that 183 Common Street; 517 St. James Street; then at a point opposite the Grand Trunk Station (St. Bonaventure) and at Point St. Charles, etc. The present agent, Mr. John Hoolahan, was appointed in 1893 and he was preceded by Mr. Daly, father and son.
THE WOMEN’S NATIONAL IMMIGRATION SOCIETY
An important philanthropic movement was started in 1882 under the title of the Women’s Protective Society, which was changed some years later to its present name, “The Women’s National Immigration Society.” Its first president was Mrs. Gillespie, who was succeeded at her death in 1913 by Mrs. H. Vincent Meridith. As Montreal is a port of importance, the sociological value of the movement is apparent.
As Montreal is a port of importance the sociological value of this movement is apparent.
The home of the society situated at 87 Osborne Street is recognized as a government receiving home for the Dominion of Canada, where all newly arrived women immigrants are given twenty-four hours free board and lodging. It has no business connection with any employment agency in Great Britain or Canada.
The object of the society is the receiving and protecting of newly arrived immigrant women irrespective of creed or nationality. Should they remain in Montreal they can board in the home at a low charge and assistance is given to them in every way possible to obtain employment. If they are going further afield help is given them in preparing for their journey and they are seen safely onto the trains.
From the foundation of the society in 1882 to December, 1913, 11,366 newly arrived immigrants have been registered on the books. In the first two years of the society’s existence those registered totaled 459, as compared with the figures for the last two years, 1,697. A comparison of these figures will show how greatly the work has increased.
An outstanding feature of the work is the receiving and assisting of large parties of immigrants brought out under the auspices of the “British Women’s Emigration Society” of London, England. These parties traveling under the care of experienced matrons have been coming to the home for the past twenty-four years and have grown rapidly of late years both in frequency of arrival and numbers. At the present time they usually consist of from forty to fifty persons, though on one day of August, 1912, a party of over ninety was received and catered for at the home, while waiting for trains for different points in the country.
Individual passengers are met by request at the steamers and trains and assisted with their arrangements for their further journeys. These form a very large class annually and as they usually prefer to go forward with as little delay as possible they are generally taken direct to the stations and are thus not included in the above totals which only cover those newly arrived immigrants registered at the home.