These, such as these, are the considerations by which we should endeavour to estimate the loss of happiness which beggary produces to the generality of beggars themselves.
Let us next endeavour to estimate what is lost through it by the community to which the beggar belongs.
There is, first, the loss of his labour, provided he was able to work. He consumes without producing. In this particular he is equally mischievous with every useless soldier, every useless functionary of the state, and not more. Not so much, indeed, as often as their consumption is greater than his.
If the beggar is unable to work, the public, in a pecuniary sense, loses nothing by his beggary, be cause, it being not proposed to let him die of hunger, he would have been maintained in all events.
What remains, exclusive of moral effects, is only the annoyance which is given to the people at large by the solicitations of beggars ; by conveying to them disagreeable impressions through their eyes and their ears. We shall not reckon this for abso lutely nothing. But sure we are, that all the amount of pain which in a year is produced in this country by that cause is very inconsiderable. There are ex hibitions of sores and filth, and a degree of importu nity which we can conceive amounting to a pretty serious nuisance. But these things, we see, it is very easy to prevent.
We come now to the moral effects produced by teary, which, except in regard to the beggars in which respect they have been consi dered already, consist entirely in example ; in the tendency which the immorality of beggars has to produce imitation.
But it is the privilege of beggars that their vices are not contagious. The vices of the great infect the whole community. The vices of beggars infect nobody but themselves.
We do not think it is necessary to pursue this sub ject. The evidence appears to be satisfactory, that beggary, when considered as a cause of evil, turns out to be a cause of no great importance. Of the inconveniences sustained by the nation, a very small portion can be traced to beggary. For even the loss of labour, which is the main article, is very inconsiderable, as the number of able-bodied mendi cants is very small, compared' with that of the very young, the very old, the mutilated, and diseased.
In the case of beggary, as of many other results in an imperfect state of the social union, the disap probation and hatred of the mind are very apt to be misplaced. We abhor beggary, but it is the causes out of which beggary springs, and from whiCh, along with begging, infinite other evils arise, that deserve almost all our abhorrence.
10. We come now to consider the remedies which may be applied to the disease of beggary ; the fa cienda, in abort, the things to be done for its re moval.
The first and most natural course would be to go to the list of causes ; the excess of multiplication, and consequent poverty of the mass of the people ; the want of education ; the poor laws ; the criminal code ; wars ; and in one word including the whole, bad legislation. Take away the causes, and the ef fect immediately disappears.
As among the causes of beggary, however, there are some, and these among the most powerful, which cannot be easily or speedily removed, it remains to inquire what, in the meantime, can be done to check their operation.
The first question is, what can be done by the ope ration of the existing laws.
following testimony was given by Sir Natha niel Conant : " You think if there was a strict execution of the laws now in force, the streets might be cleared of the beggars ?—Certainly.
" In what way would they then be disposed of un der the existing law ?—If they were taken in the act of begging in an individual parish, they must be sent into the Bridewell for 'seven days at least ; then a pass must be made to the place of their last settle ment ; if that is not found by the examination of the Justice to his satisfaction, he sends them into the place of their last residence, the place where they were taken ; that parish is to fight against them as well as it can, that is, by bribery, if it can be called so, by giving them relief and letting them slip out of doors.