1	          September 1993
     2	
     3	                 Reaction to German Immigration
     4	
     5	                         .............edited by Marijan Salopek
     6	
     7	                   ===========================
     8	
     9	Letter from D. Henry Starr, (Starr's Point, Qu'Appelle Station,
    10	Assiniboia, N.W.T.) to T. M. Daly, Minister of Interior, 17 July
    11	1894.
    12	
    13	My dear Sir,
    14	     The past year or two this part of the Territories, have had
    15	quite a number of German Emigrants settled here, who have turned
    16	out to be the very worst and lowest class of people under the
    17	sun, and who are considered quite a nuisance, and ought to be
    18	banished from the country otherwise they will be the means of
    19	driving every respectable settler out of the place.  They steal
    20	and plunder whatever they can lay their hands on, and now, they
    21	go about, under cover of the night, and cut and steal and carry
    22	away Hay wherever they can get it and are not at all particular
    23	to whom it belongs, and every settler is complaining about them. 
    24	I have had upwards of twenty tons of hay cut and taken away by
    25	them, even close to my crop, and not more than one mile from my
    26	residence, all done during the night.  My object in writing is to
    27	draw your attention to the facts, and to ascertain whether
    28	anything can be done to put a stop to such doings, or must the
    29	settlers submit to it.  Possibly if the Police had authority to
    30	be on the look out and watch their movements by night and by day,
    31	and when caught to have them imprisoned, and made to pay damages,
    32	it may have the effect of stopping their game both as with regard
    33	to stealing wood as well as Hay.  Something must be done, and
    34	that very soon.
    35	     Kindly favour me with a reply immediately.
    36	
    37	------------------------
    38	Letter from Corp. D. Holmes, (North West Mounted Police,
    39	Qu'Appelle) to The Officer Commanding B. Division (Regina), 14
    40	August 1894.
    41	
    42	Sir,
    43	     I have the honor to report as follows, re the enclosed
    44	communication.  I proceeded to Mr. D. Henry Starr's residence to-
    45	day and, in reply to my questions he informed me, that he had no
    46	reason to suspect the German settlers of being "the very worst
    47	and lowest class of people under the sun" only from what he has
    48	heard about them, having had no dealings with them himself.  He
    49	suspects them of taking his hay from what he has heard about them
    50	and states, that he was informed, that a German was offering a
    51	load of hay for sale in Qu'Appell (sic) Station which looked like what
    52	his hay would be when cut.  In regards to his statement "they
    53	steal and plunder whatever they can lay their hands on," he is
    54	unable to prove it as he admits he never had anything stolen
    55	except hay which might just as likely be taken by any other class
    56	of settlers, as the hay crop being a failure this year, no one
    57	was particular where they obtained it.  I visited a number of
    58	settlers in the vicinity, none of whom had any complaints
    59	regarding the conduct of those Germans beyond the fact that they
    60	suspected them of having taken hay where they had no right to it;
    61	but admitted that any other settler would do the same this year. 
    62	The nearest German settler is about seven miles West of Mr.
    63	Starrs (sic) residence.
    64	     I might state, from my own experience with those Germans I
    65	am not prepared to say they are any worse than other class of
    66	settlers.  A few cases have been brought against some of them for
    67	wood stealing and they have been punished.
    68	
    69	
    70	Source:  Public Archives of Canada, RCMP Records, Section A-1, vol 97,
    71	no. 587.