Pa-grant Life. 163 



and ardent patriot may be strongly enough outlined ; 

 the numhers would certainly seem to be overstated ; 

 but doubtless the actual reality had been sufficiently 

 bad. Fletcher had the courage of his opinions, and he 

 believed in thorough-going remedies. Therefore, found- 

 ing upon the example of the "wise antients," such as the 

 Greeks, he tells us he would have had all these lawless 

 wandering people assigned in perpetual servitude to the 

 owners of the soil and others. He did not doubt of his 

 proposal being met " not only with all the misconstruc- 

 tion and obloquy, but all the disdain, fury, and outcries 

 of which either ignorant magistrates or proud, lazy, and 

 miserable people are capable." But they must pardon 

 him if he told them that he regarded " not names but 

 things." The slaves of the ancients were assured in 

 " clothes, diet, and lodging," and by their means many 

 useful public works were accomplished. "The original 

 of that multitude of beggars which now oppress the 

 world" he found to have proceeded from Churchmen, 

 who, without warrant of Scripture, and in the teeth of 

 Paul's injunction, that in whatever condition of life a 

 man was called to the Christian faith he was to remain 

 content, even if a slave, had recommended nothing 

 more strongly to masters, in order to the salvation of 

 their souls, than freeing those of their slaves who would 

 embrace the Christian faith ; a course which soon led 

 to many disorders in the East, and ultimately to that 

 " great mischief, under which, to the undoing of the 

 poor, all the nations of Europe have ever since groaned." 

 Why, then, not adopt the remedy that would both 

 better the vagabonds of the country socially themselves, 

 and render them productive industrially in the interest 

 of the general community 1 Those vagrant tribes lived 

 a life as miserable as it could well be for themselves ; and 

 they were the responsible agents of " such outrageous 

 disorders that it were better for the nation," says 

 Fletcher, " they were sold to thegallies or West Indies 

 than that they should continue any longer to be a 



