[3] "No doubt the coming into existence of a pauper class was a new and startling phenomenon of Tudor times; it is probable, too, that the suppression of the monasteries led to a large increase of the vagrant population" (Vagrancy Report, p. 6).
[4] This was, however, only a portion of the "Statute of Labourers" (7 Rich. II., ch. 5; Vagrancy Report, p. 3).
[5] The Vagrancy Report gives a full historical summary of this repressive treatment (chap. 1, sections 8, 11), but points out (section 12) that all legislation was then harsh, and that some punishments, such as branding, may have been intended for identification, as with lost sheep. It questions the existence of a widespread social evil.
[6] Statistics of vagrancy (Vagrancy Report, section 74) estimate the difference between the number "on the road" in a time of trade depression as 70,000 or 80,000, as against 20,000 or 30,000 in times of industrial activity (as in 1900). See also effect of South African War (section 76).
[7] The Report points out that the term "vagrant" is elastic, including gipsies, hawkers, pedlars, and those employed in hop-picking or fruit-picking (section 78; see also sections 400, 401). It appears (section 402) that arrangements for these seasonal migrations are improving in the hop-picking and fruit-picking counties, owing to the action of local sanitary authorities and philanthropic societies. The "casual labourer," on the contrary, is a constant addition to the ranks of vagrancy (see section 81). "The vagrant of this class is usually a man who has been unable to keep his employment from idleness, want of skill, drinking habits, or general incapacity, or perhaps from physical disability. As time goes on, he succumbs to the influence of his demoralising mode of life, and falls into the ranks of the habitual vagrant." Lack of unskilled employment, which is mainly seasonal, is as large a cause.
[8] "The penal laws against vagrants were enacted contemporaneously with the establishment of poor relief for the aged and infirm, and with repeated attempts to build up a system for the correction and reformation of the vagrant" (section 11, Vagrancy Report; see also sections 257-260).
[9] The Report on Vagrancy does not appear to the author to deal with the origin of this class (see sections 82, 83). The presence of the "work-shy" class is recognised, and in section 81 the additions to it from the ranks of casual labour attributed to bad habits or incapacity. But the fact that the existence of this class is a _necessary result of rise in capacity_ of the artisan classes is not alluded to. It would be interesting to investigate how many of the "unskilled" and "work-shy" have worked and earned their living for years, but have found it impossible to keep a foothold. As _capacity_ rises, the strata of "inefficient" must be left behind.