The question of immigration or properly alien immigration, has been a topic of controversy since at least the 19th century. In various countries certain classes of aliens have long been prohibited from gaining admission. In the 19th century and start of the 20th century, the United States, for instance, refused admission to such persons as idiots, epileptics, persons suffering from loathsome or dangerous contagious diseases, paupers, criminals (but not political criminals), beggars, anarchists, etc. Chinese labourers as a whole were excluded, and even any persons coming to America under a definite agreement to engage in any kind of labour or service. Similar laws were in force in Australia, where there was a test that a person proposing to settle in the country must be able to write fifty words of a European language.
In the later part of the 19th century the great influx of foreigners into Britain, and into London in particular, drew public attention to the matter. A select committee appointed in 1888 reported in favour of the exclusion of destitute aliens, in 1894 a bill was introduced into the House of Lords, while in 1898 a bill to regulate the immigration of aliens was passed in the Lords, but made no farther progress. In 1902 a royal commission was appointed, and drew up a report, published in 1903, containing valuable information and various recommendations. Among these were the establishment of an immigration department, and the granting of powers to deport criminals, prostitutes, and other undesirable aliens, and to prevent the landing of persons mentally unfit or suffering from infectious or loathsome diseases. In 1904 an Aliens Immigration Bill was introduced and read a second time in the House of Commons. It was based on the recommendations of the commission, and in its favour it was argued that a large amount of British labour had been displaced by aliens, in London especially, that the prevalence of crime among aliens was out of proportion to their numbers, that many of them were paupers, criminals convicted in their own country, or other undesirables. In 1905 another bill on the subject was introduced by the government, which succeeded in passing it in the beginning of August, so that the matter could be dealt with.
In 1905 writers complained about the absence of hitherto strict methods of ascertaining the number of aliens that entered the country and settled, stating that there were no means of checking their numbers year by year. At the census of 1901 the whole alienpopulation in Britain was set down at 286,925, as against 219,523 in 1891. After 1901 there was a further large influx of foreign immigrants into Britain, by far the largest number consisting of Russian and Polish Jews. In 1905 writers were concerned at the number of alien criminals in Britain, citing that in 1900, 3130 aliens were received into British prisons and in 1904 the number was 4774. Research Immigration
An 'inn' has been defined as 'a house the owner of which holds out that he will receive all travellers and sojourners who are willing to pay a price adequate to the sort of accommodation provided.' Generally a hotel is an inn. The alehouse, or tavern, is merely a refreshment house, and a fully licensed public-house is not necessarily an inn. Neither is a boarding-house, for the proprietor of the latter makes what arrangements he, or she, pleases with the boarders. But the innkeeper is bound by law to receive and afford proper entertainment to every one who offers himself as a guest, if there be sufficient room and no good reason for refusal (disorderly character, infectious illness, etc.). By the Innkeepers' Liability Act of 1833 no innkeeper was liable to make good loss or injury to goods or property brought to the inn by a guest (except for a horse or other live animal or any carriage) beyond 30 pounds, except where the loss was due to his wilful act or default or that of his servant, or where goods were expressly deposited with him for their safe custody. An innkeeper was bound to undertake custody of such goods when requested to do so. Research Inn
Rinderpest (also called cattle plague) is an infectious disease affecting cattle, sheep, goats, camels, deer and similar animals. It was endemic in central and south Asia during the 1920s and occurred in Western Europe only rarely through the importation of infected cattle, a notable instance occurring in 1872 as a result of the importation of infected cattle from Germany. Research Rinderpest
James Burn Russell was a Scottish doctor. He was born in 1837 at Glasgow and died in 1904. He assisted LordKelvin in his preparations for the Atlantic Cable expedition. He was next medical officer of health in Glasgow for twenty-six years, and brought prominently forward the question of the housing of the poor. among his works are 'Lectures on the Theory and Prevention of Infectious Diseases', published in 1879, and 'On the Prevention of Tuberculosis' published in 1896. Research James Russell
Roberto A Giraldo is an AIDS researcher. He is a specialist in Internal medicine at the University of Antioquia, Colombia. He graduated with distinction from the University of London after obtaining an MSc in Clinical Tropical Medicine. For 30 years he has been dedicated to clinical, academic and research activities in infectious diseases in Colombia, USA and Europe. He currently works in the Clinical Immunology section of the Department of Microbiology, University Hospital, New York City, and has been an independent researcher into AIDS since 1983. He came to prominence in the 1990s for his research which claims 'HIV is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause AIDS, and antibody positivity does not always precede the development of the syndrome'. He claims that AIDS is neither an infectious disease nor is it sexually transmitted. Rather, he believes AIDS to be cause by the worldwide use of immunological stressor agents - a view supported by many other independent researchers. Research Roberto Giraldo
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced naturally by the mould Aspergillus flavus commonly found in peanuts, cottonseed, soybeans, wheat, barley, maize, sorghum and nuts such as pistachios, almonds and cacao. Symptoms of poisoning include weight loss, loss of co-ordination, convulsions and death. It also damages the liver and causes liver tumours when consumed at low levels for a long period of time. In the Gambia during the late 20th century, liver cancer attributed to daily consumption of aflatoxins in peanuts and rice, caused ten percent of deaths among men. Aflatoxin, when taken regularly, also damages the immune system causing susceptibility to infectious diseases such as pneumonia. Aflatoxins are found in the blood system of almost all inhabitants of rural Africa. Research Aflatoxin
Bovine Tuberculosis is an infectious disease of cattle characterised by the formation of tubercules or nodules - small greyish yellow bodies which may exist in almost every organ and give rise to numerous disease processes which vary according to their situation. Research Bovine Tuberculosis
Brucellosis (Malta fever, Undulant Fever, Mediterranean Fever) is an infectious disease of cattle, goats, and pigs, caused by bacteria of the genusBrucella and transmittable to man, usually being conveyed by infected goat's milk. The disease causes long-continued irregular fever, with headache, muscular pains, joint pains, arthritis, anaemia, constipation and swelling of the spleen. It is common in the coastal districts of the Mediterranean, but occasionally occurs in England and elsewhere. The incubation period is about fifteen days, or up to twenty days, and the established disease often persists for six months or up to two years. The patient becomes much weakened and depressed, but the mortality rate is low. Research Brucellosis
Bubonic plague (black death) is a specific infectious disease, usually appearing in epidemic form, of extraordinary virulence and very rapid course with a tendancy to linger and recur once it has attacked a community. It is characterised by inflammation of the lymphatic glands, by parenchymatous changes in the cerebal membranes, the lungs, kidneys, and other organs, by carbuncles, and often by haemorrhages. It is caused by the organism Bacillus pestis. In 1665 the bubonic plague killed over 70,000 inhabitants in London. Research Bubonic Plague
Chemotherapy is the treatment or prevention of disease, particularly cancer, by means of chemical substances. The term is sometimes restricted to the treatment of infectious diseases with antibiotics and other drugs, or to the treatment of cancer with antimetabolites and similar drugs. Research Chemotherapy
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Immigration
