A history of vagrants and vagrancy, and beggars and begging; . ar theBorough hospitals brought an additional burden upon them in theshape of a better description of poor. Persons came up from thecountry with a view to gain admission to the hospitals, who, ifthey did not gain their point, immediately applied to the reliev-ing officers, who admitted them into the workhouse ; and whenthey came out of the hospital, if they were too weak and too poorto find their way home, they were received till they were able togo home. That was a very common occurrence. As to the general conduct of the vagrants
A history of vagrants and vagrancy, and beggars and begging; . ar theBorough hospitals brought an additional burden upon them in theshape of a better description of poor. Persons came up from thecountry with a view to gain admission to the hospitals, who, ifthey did not gain their point, immediately applied to the reliev-ing officers, who admitted them into the workhouse ; and whenthey came out of the hospital, if they were too weak and too poorto find their way home, they were received till they were able togo home. That was a very common occurrence. As to the general conduct of the vagrants who came to them, hesaid they were very troublesome during all the night; they camein in gangs; and if a wayfarer to whom this protection wasafforded happened to be introduced in the ward after dark, imme-diately they knew that he was not one of them they set uponhim, and stole his neckcloth or his shoes, and behaved to him insuch a way that frequently the poor fellow cried to be allowed tocome out. It was impossible to identify the wrongdoer, or to separate. WILLIAM READ, alias A. Vagrant, examined before a Committee of the House of Commons in the Year 1846. I AND BEGGAES AND BEGGING. 257 those cases in such a way that the really destitute should not besubject to that kind of treatment. Some very remarkable evidence was given before the com-mittee by an anonymous vagrant, who was examined as A. B.* He stated that he was then an inmate of the Marylebone Work-house, and went into service as a page at the age of seventeen oreighteen, and remained three years. He then ran away to seethe country, went round Kent, and returned to London at theend of three months, and took a situation as potboy and waiter,in which he continued for about two years in two places, until atlast he got such a character for becoming intoxicated that hecould not get a place. He was taken dangerously ill, and wastaken to the infirmary at Marylebone. After his discharge hetried to get something to do, but
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbegging, bookyear1887
