598 
the churchwardens and overseers; 
and if they are not capable of 
getting work, we feel it our duty 
to give them relief, or take them 
into the house, and set them to 
work ; but these people do not 
like the confinement ; as soon as 
they can get out they will do it, 
and go to begging again: they 
prefer that mode of living. 
Do you know the state of the 
village of Haggerstone, to which 
the last witness has alluded ?—It 
is a place inhabited chiefly by 
brickmakers, of the very lowest 
class of society, and perhaps some 
of them of the very worst cha- 
racters; so much so, that no 
man or woman towards dark will 
walk across that way towards 
Hackney, though it might be 
somewhat nearer; and so bad, 
that if a thief was pursued and 
ran to Haggerstone, no constable 
or runner would go beyond a 
certain line; it has been called 
The City of Refuge. To have 
any moral improvement made on 
the face of society like that, such 
as has been spoken to by the last 
witness, must afford a striking 
proof of the beneficial conse- 
quences resulting from early in- 
struction. If the public were 
once thoroughly convinced of the 
depravity of these people who 
beg, so as to withhold their be- 
nevolence from them; and each 
of the parishes were determined 
not to suffer them to beg, but to 
take care of them, the remedy, 
at once, would be commensurate 
with the evil. 
What is your opinion of the 
best means to be used to prevent 
Mendicity ?—To take every pos- 
sible means of informing the 
public, of what description these 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1815. 
individuals are, and their sheer 
depravity ; that they are not fit 
objects of their benevolence ; that 
in no instance should an indivi- 
dual give any thing to a person 
that applied to him promiscuously 
in the streets; and for the church- 
wardens, overseers, constables, 
and other efficient officers in their 
respective parishes, never to suffer 
a beggar to walk the streets, but 
if they do, to warn them; if they 
trespass a second time, take them 
before a magistrate, who will 
give the necessary instructions to 
pass them to their respective pa- 
rishes, or commit them under the 
Vagrant Act to a week’s impri- 
sonment; and these measures, 
once adopted, I think the remedy 
would be commensurate with the 
evil. | 
When these people are re- 
moved, do you think there would 
be any mode of preventing their 
return ?—Supposing a vagrant 
residing in our parish was to be 
seen begging in our parish, we 
would take that man or woman 
before a magistrate, they would 
be passed home to their own 
parishes ; if they belonged to our 
own parish, we should inquire 
into their case. If they had no 
work, and no probability of get- 
ting work at present, the magis- 
trate would oblige us to take 
them into the workhouse, and to 
employ them, and to take the 
produce of their labour as a re- 
muneration for the expense of 
their maintenance; consequently 
every poor person would be pro- 
vided for, and would not be under 
the necessity of doing that which 
was morally wrong. If we could 
find their parishes, we should 
pass them home, if not, we must 
sr a a ee ae 
