Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-05-10
Gfnx's Baby-A Satire,

crest satires that we have had the fortune
recently TO see. The author is an English
man, and the story was written and pub
lished in England to sstirize the English
method of dealing with the economical,
political and philanthropical questions pre-
scented in that country by the class of popu-
lation represented by Ginx's baby. The
story, in brief, is this Ginx was a navy
one Of the lower classes of English workmen.
He lived in wretched quarter Of London
and in a small, miserable tenement, even for
that locality. He had been made the father
of twelve children, and thinking that num-
Der about as many as his means could supply
with bread, he determined to drown the next
one, if it should put in appearance. The
thirteenth baby was born, and Ginx seized it,
and started for the nearest water. The
mother protested, and told tie father that
God would somehow take care Of the new
conner; but Giux could only see that there
would be one more mouth to feed, and per-
sisted in his pursuit of facilities for drowning
the baby who had been so inconsiderate as
to be born at all But providence, in the
shape of two Sisters of Mercy, met Ginx,
and the Sisters offered to adopt the child.
This, for Ginx, was happy solution Of his
difficulty, and he at once surrendered this
last one Of his multitudinous offspring to the
care of the Catholic Church. But a new
difficulty here arose. Ginx wasn't strong in
creed, nor for that matter. was Mrs. Ginx.
But, 80 far they had any religion, they
were Professionals. Mrs. Ginx became some
what concerned for the religious education
of her thirteenth baby. At this point the
Protestant DetectoraI Association took the
matter in hand, and instituted legal pro
ceedlngs to rescue the baby from the evil
teachings Of the Popish Sisters Of Mercy,
and they so harrassed these Papists that the
baby was finally surrendered 10 the Associa-
ton Then the Protestants had mass
meeting to consider what was to be done
with the baby, but soon got at loggerheads
as to whether it should be taught religion
land, or that Of the Baptists, or that of the
Unitarians, or according to some other creed.
Pending their dispute, the baby was handed
over, for temporary care. to an apparently
kind hearted woman, and the next morning
was found by policeman, in 4 back alley,
wapped up in a newspaper, and robbed OF
the fine baby clothes which a Protestant lady
had given it. The Assoc ,ation again took
charge of Ginx 5 baby and raised over thir-
teen hundred pounds on its behalf, over
1 fyualva bt7nHrad Of oh in
| dries, and about Il hundred pounds for the
baby. When the money was gone the baby
was again left in the street, and two parishes
| fell into a legal quartet as to the parish to
which it could be legally chargeable, and
over sixteen hundred pounds were spent in
settling that question. Meantime the baby
was nearly starved. The parish ultimately
held chargeable happened then to discover
that the baby had father, that that father
was Ginx, and that Ginx, by reason Of that
| fatherhood was, under the laws Of England
Obliged to support the baby. Accordingly
| and against Ginx's stout protest, the baby
was left to take his chance with the twelve
other young Ginxes, and the parish thus got
rid of the burden But Ginx still refused
to divide his small living with the thirteenth
baby His old purpose to drown it was
revived, but was so far modified by circum-
stances as to induce him to leave the baby
one night, on the steps Of a London club
house. The baby was carried into the club
house, and there becamea political question,
while the boy-for the baby was Of the male
vapdar int 1o1
neglected in his education, while the polti-
cal questions to which he had gwen rise.
more or less agitated the club. When about
fifteen years old he took some spoons and
other property and left his patrons. and
years after, quite hopeless in life, he ended
his existence by jumping from Vauxhall
bridge into the cold, dark river below.
That, SO far as this life reaches, was the
end of Ginx's baby; but the Protestant
Detectoral Association still remains active in
rescuing Protestant children from the hands
of Papists, the poor laws of England still
provide that the parish shall take care OF
it's poor, and in the club houses, and in
Parliament, Radicals and Conservatives,
philanthropists Of every degree, and Tories
and Liberals, yet discuss in all its political
and economic phases, the question, What is
to be done with Ginx's baby?
| While this story was told for English
readers, and is a clever and very sharp satire
upon the way in which the English govern
ment and the religious societies Of that
country go to work to take care of the bodies
and souls of the poor of that realm, the story
has moral which is worth needing by every
government, and can proftably enough be
considered even in the United States 1t is
the old question, Are governments more for
the people, or are the people more for the
government? The English government spent
ten millions sterling to rescue wandering
Englishman, who did mt know enough TO
keep his head out of danger, from a desert
chieftain in Africa, because therein were ex-
hibited the strength and the glory OF the
English authority; but Ginx's baby,-as
much Englishman the one who had
rashly and foolishly put himself in danger by
travelling in Africa-was at the same time
suffered IN fact to 90 to the dogs, although
many thousand pounds were spent in profit
I less and endless debate as to what should be
done with him. Do not those who call
themselves the government in this country,
hold much the same view of it's objects, and
conduct it much after the same fashion ?
How shall we make our government power
| full? How shall we make it great? How
shall we make it feared abroad and resprcted
at home How shall we enlarge our borders
and swell our commerce and increase our
/ wealth Arc not these tho cor+ro1Iirc