VAGRANCY. The existing British law against vagrancy is the outcome of over three centuries of legislation. Stephen's His tory of the Criminal Law, dealing with vagrancy as a criminal offence, states that "when serfdom was breaking down and when the statutes of labourers provided what might be regarded as a kind of substitute for it, provisions as to vagrancy were practically punishments for desertion. The labourer's wages were fixed, his place of residence was fixed ; he must work where he happened to be. If he went elsewhere, he must be taken and sent back. By de grees the order of ideas which this view of the subject represented died away. The vagrant came to be regarded rather as a probable criminal than as a runaway slave." The act of 1495 instructed local authorities to search for all "vagaboundes, idell and suspecte persones lyvyng suspeciously" and put them in the stocks for three days, giving them bread and water only, and then turn them out of the town. In 153o owing to the increase of vagrancy followed by crime and disorder whip ping was allowed as an alternative to the stocks. In 1535 an even severer punishment for the sturdy vagabond was enacted. If brought a second time before a justice of the peace he might be marked by having the upper part of his right ear cut off and after this if convicted of wandering, loitering and idleness might be adjudged a felon and suffer death. Other drastic acts followed until 1597 when fortune tellers, tinkers, pedlars, jugglers, etc., were all treated as rogues and vagabonds and even players except such as "belonged to any baron of this realm or any other honourable person of greater degree." This law remained in force with amend ments until orders in council in 1603 and 1662 empowered the au thorities to transport sturdy beggars and idle and disorderly per sons to English plantations beyond the seas. Branding ceased to be legal in 1713. In 1821 a select committee of the House of Corn mons dealing with the system of "passing" vagrants to their place of settlement recommended that the existing system should be abolished and long periods of imprisonment given instead.
As a result of the report, the existing legislation was in 1822 repealed "en bloc" and the new act to remain in force till 1824 re duced the powers of magistrates with regard to vagrants and also reduced the maximum term of detention from seven years trans portation to two years imprisonment. Finally the Vagrancy Act of 1824 repealed all former statutes and vagrancy offenders were liable to punishment either as "idle and disorderly persons" or as "rogues and vagabonds" or as "incorrigible rogues." Since 1824 legislation and regulations have both been based on reports made by the pocr law commission, and under the poor law as reformed in 1834 it became the duty of the guardians to provide relief for destitute persons and to use a test to make sure that relief given from the public funds was not abused. When workhouses were established vagrants applied for admission to them and in 1837 the poor law commissioners expressed the opinion that it was the intention of the Act of 1834 that all cases of destitution should be relieved irrespective of the fact that the applicant might belong to a distant parish.
There have been many acts since that time, such for example, as the act of 1842 proscribing a task of work in return for food and lodging and the Poor Law Act of 1844 authorising the forma tion of districts in London and other large towns for the provision of temporary relief. In 1848 when the poor law board took the place of the poor law commissioners the whole question of vag rancy was reported on by the inspectors to the new board and a minute of the poor law board urged uniformity in action, the re fusal of relief to able bodied men not actually destitute, and the employment of police officers as assistant relieving officers for vagrants. Under the act of 1864 every London union was required to provide casual wards.