I 5 6 



THE SOCIAL EMANCIPA TION OF THE GIPSIES. 



for the reason that they do not 

 think the people will receive what 

 they may say in regard to it. It is 

 on that account I have addressed 

 this letter to you, with the hope that 

 you will consider it a duty, a privi- 

 lege, and a pleasure, to do some- 

 thing in the way of diffusing a 

 knowledge and creating an opinion 

 on the subject, and a sympathy and 

 respect for the people described. 

 Your position in society is very in- 

 fluential, and the liberality of your 

 education, particularly as regards 

 logic and metaphysics, gives you a 

 great advantage in drawing the dis- 

 tinctions necessary to be made, in 

 investigating the subject treated. I 

 do not mean that you should neces- 

 sarily take any public or official no- 

 tice of it, but that, as a private 

 Christian'gentleman, you should do 

 your best, among your friends and 

 neighbours, to bring about a change 

 of ideas and feelings, in a quiet, 

 genial, and gradual manner, as the 

 ruder season passes into the more 

 gentle, and as a purely social and 

 moral movement should be made ; 

 just as Christianity itself, in its gen- 

 eral principles, spread its benign 

 influences over all that came within 

 its reach. I intend sending this 

 communication to all the Scotch 

 clergy, and many people holding 

 positions of trust and influence, as 

 well as to the press ; in short, to 

 people who will not be apt to 

 " laugh " at the subject, when they 

 come to understand what it means, 

 so that no hesitation need be shown 

 in alluding to it in society. What is 

 wanted, is to " make a beginning," 

 and it will happen, as in most mat- 



ters, that difficulties will disappear, 

 or will not prove so formidable as at 

 first imagined. 



The leading ideas to be kept in 

 mind, in such a movement, should 

 be, \st. That the subject of the Gip- 

 sies should be investigated and de- 

 cided on its merits, whatever the 

 consequences. 2d. That no Scotch- 

 man is to be disparaged on account 

 of his blood, but should be treated 

 on his individual merits, as ordi- 

 narily recognized by society. 3^. 

 That being a Gipsy should entitle 

 the person to greater honour, in 

 proportion to his good character, 

 and the hard name the race has 

 hitherto borne, ^th. That it would 

 be gratifying to have the race 

 " clothed and in its right mind," 

 and " raised up and openly acknow- 

 ledged," and respected by the rest 

 of the population. $th. That it 

 would be interesting, and every 

 way advantageous to themselves 

 and the community at large, for the 

 tribe to acknowledge themselves 

 freely and openly, and form them- 

 selves into societies for such pur- 

 poses as the world recognizes. 6th. 

 That it should be a credit, rather 

 than a disparagement, for any one 

 to speak the Gipsy language. *jth. 

 That the word Gipsy should invari- 

 ably begin with a capital letter. 



To show you Jiow the ideas of so- 

 ciety change, I may remind you that 

 not long ago none but such as led 

 about bears, monkeys, and raccoons, 

 would dare to wear beards and 

 mustaches ; but that soon thereafter 

 they became fashionable among all 

 kinds of people, not excepting grave 

 and reverend clergymen. 



