But within two years, the flow of illegal immigrants declined so drastically that the immigration service declared in its 1955 annual report, "The border has been secured."

The "Home charges", payments transferred from India for administrative costs, were a lasting source of nationalist grievance, though the flow declined in relative importance over the decades to independence in 1947.

One is that the flow of funds into the aggressive growth and technology stock mutual funds that invest in the technology sector has sharply declined recently.

During the Celtic Tiger years, the flow of Irish to the city greatly declined, but of late, they have started to return.

Over all, the flow of money into venture capital firms - much of it from pension funds and other large institutional investors - declined sharply between 1983 and 1985, but came back vigorously last year.

Nobody suggested discouraging emigration, but it was certainly not welcomed as eagerly as in earlier decades, and the flow may have declined a little.

Argentina, like many other countries, entered into a recession following the beginning of World War I as international flows of goods, capital and labour declined.

From that time onward the flow of migrants from the West Indies to Britain has declined steadily: recently there seems to have been a net outflow.

During the dry season, which usually lasts from June to October, even large rivers can dry up or their flow declines substantially.

The flow of private capital from the industrialised to the under-developed countries also declined sharply in 1997 and 1998.