The Kenilworth Advertiser. — 1883-05-26 (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England)

SATURDAY, MAY 26, 1888.  EFFORTS are being made by Boards of Guardians and others interested in the matter to solve the ever-vexing vagrancy question. The best and most feasible plan appears to be to make the life of the professional vagrant as unpleasant as possible. To do this one must first distinguish between the working man who is travelling in search of employment and the rogue who is a beggar by profession and an honest man by accident. The former deserves every encouragement at our hands. In fact there is too little assistance rendered to those who have worked hard all their lives for the good of the State. Certainly matters are rather better than they were, but even now we treat the aged poor too harshly and the useless vagabond too leniently. Our contention is that men or women who have laboured for a life-time ought to be provided for by the State in a comfortable manner, if they are not in a position to keep themselves or be maintained by their offspring. For it should be remembered that the toilers are the upholders of the State; without the working bees the hive would soon cease to hum. Our sympathy, too, must be shown to the sick and the afflicted, to the widow awl the orphan. This side of the argument is pretty generally recognised by Boards of Guardians and philanthropic societies, but it is not acted on so freely as we could wish. And now let us look at the -vagrant. He is not only useless, but he is worse than useless. He costs the country a pretty figure in one way or another, even when he remains indifferently honest. When he can he levies blackmail ; when he is unsuccessful as a beggar he tries his hand at something else. The question is what are we to do with him? The latest and the best plan so far, is, as we have said, to make his peculiar vocation as unpleasant as possible. But that in our humble opinion is merely touching the fringe of the question. Emigration relieves us of thousands. True, but the people who go are just those whom the State if it were wise, would try to keep. We are exporting the strong healthy plants and keeping the weeds at home. The only complete remedy for this vagrancy nuisance is to ship the vagabonds off to some fairly pleasant island, give them some provisions, and leave them to either work or starve. A vessel could call occasionally to see how they were getting on. At all events the scheme is worth trying. In every town there are many able-bodied persons who have no visible means of subsistence, and in every tramp ward are to be seen specimens of vagrants past all reform. Let a selection be made of some of the worst, say a couple of hundred. In a new climate and under fresh influences many wpuld undoubtedly make the necessary effort, and so good 4-ould be done in that way. While at home a few transportations of this kind would have a very wholesome effect upon those who are on the border line of vagrancy. It may be alleged that a scheme of this kind would be unnecessarily harsh and would interfere with the liberty of the subject. We admit the latter but deny the former, and in reply would remind all supersensitive persons of the state of things now existing. We most decidedly interfere with the liberty of the tramp when we can catch him, but he is in such a helpless groove or rather rut that it is almost useless to try and get him out, and so we leave him to the tender mercies of the relieving officer, the workhouse taskmaster and the policeman, until he commits a murder and then we hang him. So that if we were to give him a free passage to fresh scenes and pastures new, we should be benefiting the individual and the nation at large; under existing circumstances the tendency is in a contrary direction.  ‘' KEATING'S POWDER," SO celebrated and perfectly unrivalled in destroying Bros, FLEAS, BEETLES Monis, and all insects, whilst quite harmless to domestic animals, is sold everywhere in 6d. and Is. tins. It is clean in use. All furs and woollens should be well powdered before putting away. Beware of imitations.