The Report of the Committee of 1906 is an instructive and valuable document. The Casual Ward system was condemned both on the grounds of efficiency and of economy, and it was boldly proposed to substitute the Police for Poor Law Authorities as the body responsible for local relief and management of Casual Wards. The want of uniformity in the administration of over 600 independent authorities had impressed the Committee as the principal cause in the failure of the system, and it was believed that by giving control of the Wards to the Police, and by that way only, uniformity of treatment would be secured.

With regard to the punishment of Vagrancy also, the evidence showed that there was no uniformity whatever in the sentences given for Vagrancy offences. It was found that sentences given by stipendiary magistrates appeared to be as little governed by any fixed principles as those inflicted by unpaid justices. The great majority of the sentences are for fourteen days or under. The evidence showed conclusively that as a protection against vagrancy, short sentences were indefensible. They quoted the opinion of the Prison Commissioners that the "elaborate and expensive machinery of a prison, whose object is to punish, and at the same time to improve, by a continuous discipline and applied labour, cannot fulfil its object in the case of this hopeless body of men who are here to-day and gone to-morrow, and who, from long habit and custom, are hardened against such deterrent influences as a short detention in prison may afford." They came generally to the opinion that while it is evident that short periods of imprisonment were useless, and long periods could not be given without injustice, and having regard to the fact that prison conditions could not be made deterrent to vagrant offenders, a complete change in the treatment of Vagrancy was called for. Their principal proposal was that the class of habitual Vagrants should be defined by Statute to include any person who had been convicted three or more times within a period of twelve months of certain offences, such as "Begging," "Sleeping-Out," or refusing task in Casual Wards, and that such a person should be treated, as far as possible, not as a criminal, but as a person requiring detention on account of his mode of life.

The Report on the Belgian Colony at Merxplas, which was issued by a Committee appointed by the Lindsey (Lincs.) Quarter Sessions in 1903, had strengthened the growing conviction in this Country that new methods were necessary for dealing with habitual Vagrants, and a large number of local authorities and Courts of Quarter Sessions addressed memorials to the Secretary of State and the Local Government Board in favour of the establishment of Labour Colonies for Vagrancy. The members of the Committee visited such Colonies in Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland, and though they came to the opinion that these Colonies, whether voluntary or compulsory, exercised but little reformatory influence, in spite of this, however, there was such a consensus of opinion as to the evil resulting from unrestrained habitual Vagrancy that the establishment of compulsory Labour Colonies in England and Wales was recommended. They state in their report, "even if they are not successful in achieving greater reformatory effects than the existing labour colonies abroad, we think that at least they may clear the streets of the habitual vagrant and loafer, may make him lead a more useful life during his detention, and may offer a real deterrent to those starting on a life of vagrancy." At the same time, they urged the great importance of a system of identification, by which the habitual vagrant could be recognized and dealt with. The finger-print system would furnish an easy method, and would only entail that any person charged with a vagrancy offence should be remanded for a few days to enable information as to previous convictions to be obtained. Any inconvenience that might be caused in the first instance by the remand of any person charged with a vagrancy offence would be fully compensated for by the ultimate results. The fact that no action has been taken upon the elaborate inquiry of 1906 goes to show that the sequestration, under strict control, of the habitual vagrant is not generally accepted as a solution of the evil, and it is a remarkable thing that, while in most civilized countries the proper treatment of Vagrancy has been the subject of so much thought and discussion, as in Belgium and Switzerland and other countries, and of practical expedients for the protection of the community from this plaie sociale, yet in England, Vagrancy is still dealt with and punished under the old law of 1824, a law which has little relation to the facts, customs, and habits of the present day, which only requires that where a vagrant shows by his actions that he is either a nuisance or a danger, there shall be power at law to bring him before the Courts. Although the magistrate may give him three days', or three months' imprisonment, or Quarter Sessions order him to be flogged, it remains a matter of indifference; and so long as public opinion is in this state regarding the question, it is not likely that Parliament will intervene.

Conditions prevailing during the War have caused a striking illustration to be furnished showing how the general demand for labour which prevailed has had the effect of practically clearing the prisons of the Vagrant convicted of Begging and Sleeping-Out. The numbers proceeded against for these offences had risen steadily for nearly 20 years until 1910, and for a number of years prior to the War had averaged over 37,000 annually, furnishing in 1913 no less than 11 per cent. of the total receptions into prison, though from some Counties the percentage was much greater, viz:—from Lincoln, 66; Cornwall, 58; and from many others over 30. Since that date, this large body of Vagrants in prison has fallen by no less than 93 per cent., viz:—from 15,000 in 1913-14 to 1,066 in 1918-19.

For a few years before the War, however, a decrease had been noted. By some it was attributed to the growing opinion among Magistrates as to the futility of very short sentences: by others, to the fact that recent alterations in the Prison régime had rendered a few days' sojourn in Prison more irksome than formerly: others also considered that the gradual adoption by various police authorities of the Way-Ticket system, (the object of which is to enable the needy wayfarer to move quickly through the county towards his destination and to provide him on his route with lodging, supper and breakfast at the casual ward, and with a mid-day meal, thus removing all necessity for begging), was a cause of diminishing the offence of Begging in public places. Others were of opinion also, that the Insurance Act, by which a Magistrate has proof of whether a man is a bonâ fide worker or tramp, has led to a greater individualization in the case of Vagrants brought before the Courts, and correspondingly to the diminution in the number committed to Prison. But an examination of statistics, spread over a long period, shows that the rise or fall of Vagrancy offences and other minor charges, is chiefly determined by the prevailing rate of unemployment in the country. Thus, in the years of trade depression which culminated in 1909, and which showed a very high percentage of unemployment, the number proceeded against for Begging and Sleeping-Out also reached the highest recorded total, viz:—45,408. Although this number is very great, there was, in addition, an enormous total of persons of vagrant habit, i.e., with no settled place of abode, appearing in criminal statistics at this time charged with offences other than Begging and Sleeping-Out. An inquiry made about this time showed that of the male Local Prison population on a given day (14,632), no less than 4,411, or 30 per cent. (including 695 convicted of Begging and Sleeping-Out) had no settled abode, of whom 82 per cent. had been previously convicted, and 1,420, or 32 per cent., were classed as habitual vagrants. It is not surprising to find, therefore, that, with the rapid fall in the percentage of unemployment, which set in in 1910, and has continued since, until during the War, when, owing to the abnormal conditions prevailing, there was abundant work for all, the number of persons actually charged with Vagrancy (Begging and Sleeping-Out) should have fallen in 1918 to only 2,651, and that, at the same time, a great decrease in crime should be recorded also. (Vide Chapter XVII).

So far as non-criminal vagrancy is concerned, active steps have lately been taken by the Local Government Board with a view of introducing greater uniformity in the administration of the Casual Wards, at least so far as the Metropolis is concerned. An order was issued in November 1911 vesting the control and management of the Casual Wards in the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The Board appointed a special Committee to give effect to the Order, and at once took steps to provide for the uniformity of all the Casual Wards committed to their charge, which had hitherto been administered by the separate local Boards of Guardians. The results have been very remarkable. Of the twenty-eight casual wards available on the 31st March, 1912, only six remained in use by the end of 1919, the average number of inmates accommodated on a given day at the end of the years named having fallen from 1,114 to 82 during the period. The comparative accommodation available is shown in the following table:—

31 Mar., 1912.31 Dec., 1913.1 Jan., 1917.
Men1,136627286
Women40217792
Double Beds1105728
Total1,648861406

The Metropolitan Asylums Board, in their report for 1912, had no hesitation in expressing the view that the decline of casual pauperism in London is due to the unification of the Casual Ward Authorities in the treatment of London as a homogeneous whole under an absolutely centralized system. The Report confirms the conclusions arrived at by the Committee of 1904 with regard to classification and treatment. They report as follows:—"First there is the bonâ fide working man in search of work, and we have no reason to doubt the estimates which placed the proportion of this class at under 3 per cent. of the whole. Secondly, come those who undertake casual labour for a short time, but will not or cannot undertake continued work. This type soon degenerates into the habitual vagrant unless deterred, as we hope under present conditions he is being, from the continual frequenting of casual wards. The third class is the 'work-shy' or habitual vagrant who professes to look for work but has no desire to find it. Amongst this number are many who although strong and able-bodied, deliberately embark upon a career of idleness and of alternation between casual ward and prison at such an early age as twenty years. They are often qualified and able to work and have been assisted over and over again until they are given up as hopeless and their papers marked 'prefers to walk the streets.' Further reference is made to this class of habitual vagrants in the section discussing the question of punishments, where it is pointed out that neither casual ward nor prison exercises the slightest punitive or deterrent effect. It is certain that the community need have no compunction about applying to this class so-called severe measures of compulsory detention and work for indefinite periods, and it must be remembered that for vagrants, who will not have households of their own, who have but one object in all their wicked and perverse lives—to exist without work at the expense of their industrious neighbours—we are taxed to provide board and lodging. Lastly, there is the class of old and infirm persons who are unemployable, who cling to the little liberty left to them by going from casual ward to casual ward in preference to entering the workhouse infirmaries. Between the 1st May and the 31st December, 1912, thirty-three men over fifty, including twelve over sixty, were admitted from forty to fifty-four times each in the casual wards, and nine women aged from fifty to seventy years were admitted over forty times each."

It remains to be seen whether this endorsement of the findings of the Committee by the Authorities of the Metropolitan Asylums Board, who have given such close and practical attention to the subject, will influence opinion toward the severe measures of compulsory detention which are recommended. Prior to the War the number of persons sentenced at Quarter Sessions as Incorrigible Rogues was increasing, the average number for the five years ended 1913 having been 618, as compared with 398 for the preceding five years. This increase may indicate greater attention on the part of the Courts towards repressing the evil. Although there is no system of identification for the purpose of the Vagrant Class at present in existence, there is evidence from a Prison in the Midlands that, of 700 prisoners of the Vagrant Class received during a period of 12 months some years ago, one-third had served from two to seven imprisonments during the year. The total convictions incurred by these 236 prisoners were as follows:—

From 2 to 4previous convictions had been incurred by95
" 5 " 10" " " " "66
"11 " 20" " " " "58
"21 to 30" " " " "6
"31 " 50 " " " " "9
"67 " " " " "1
"87" " " " "1