Review of the Subject, and Suggestions for ameliorating the condition of
the Gypsies in the British Empire.
* * * * *
Since the commencement of the present year, 1816, a friend {221} of the
author has informed him, that about three weeks before, he was in company
with an English and a Persian gentleman, who had lately come from Persia,
through Russia; the latter well understood the languages of both
countries, and spoke them fluently. He had travelled with the Persian
Ambassador; and said that he had met with many hordes of Gypsies in
Persia; had many times conversed with them; and was surprised to find
their language was the true Hindostanie. He did not then know of
Grellmann's work. He further stated, that the Gypsies in Russia were, in
language and manners, the same, and exactly corresponded with the Gypsies
of this country. Their name in Persia signified _Black Eyes_.
From whatever part of the world we derive intelligence of this people, it
tends to corroborate the opinion, that they have all had one peculiar
origin. How little has it occupied the contemplation of Britons, that
there existed among them, subjects of such great curiosity as the poor
and despised Gypsies!
The statute of Henry VIII. imposing a fine of forty pounds upon the
importation of a Gypsey, induces the belief they were much in request in
England at that period. The attention which their low performances
attracted in those times, will not perhaps excite surprise, when we see
the encouragement given in our day, to their idly disposed countrymen,
termed, _Indian Jugglers_. It is remarkable, that the earliest account
of Gypsies in Great Britain, is in a work published to expose and detect
the "Art of Juggling," &c.
The first of this people who came into Europe, must have been persons of
discernment and discrimination, to have adapted their deceptions so
exactly to the genius and habits of the different people they visited, as
to ensure success in all countries.
The stratagem to which they had recourse on entering France, evinces
consummate artifice of plan, and not a little adroitness and dexterity in
the execution. The specious appearance of submission to papal authority,
in the penance of wandering seven years without lying in a bed, combined
three distinct objects. They could not have devised an expedient more
likely to recommend them to the favor of Ecclesiastics; or better
concerted for taking advantage of the superstitious credulity of the
people, and, at the same time, for securing to themselves the
gratification of their own nomadic propensities. So complete was the
deception they practised, that we find they wandered up and down in
France, under the eye of magistracy, not for seven only, but for more
than a hundred years, without molestation.
In 1561, the edict of the States of Orleans directed their expulsion by
fire and sword; yet in 1612, they had increased to such a degree, that
there was another order for their total extermination. Notwithstanding
this severity, in 1671 they were again spread over the kingdom, as
appears in the letters of the Marchioness de Sevigne to her friends, and
the Countess Grignan, in nine volumes, translated from the last Paris
edition: "Bohemians travel up and down the Provinces of France, and get
their living by dancing, showing postures, and telling fortunes; but
chiefly by pilfering, &c."
It is remarkable, that in all countries, they professed to be Egyptians;
but the representation is not only refuted by Bellonius, but by later
writers, who assert, that the "few who are to be found in _Egypt_, wander
about as strangers _there_, and form a distinct people."
As historians admit that the greatest numbers of them are to be found in
Turkey, and south of Constantinople, there is reason to apprehend they
had a passage through that country. If many of them did not visit Egypt
previously to their arrival in Europe, they probably wished to avail
themselves of the reputation the Egyptians had acquired in occult
sciences, that they might practise with greater success, the arts to
which they had been previously accustomed, and the practice of which is
common in various parts of Asia. In other respects the habits of Egypt
were very dissimilar to theirs.
We find by the reports on the first question put by the Circular,
mentioned in Section IX. that "all Gypsies in this country suppose the
first of them came from Egypt;" and this idea is confirmed by many
circumstances that have been brought into view in the course of this
work. In addition it may be observed, that before the discovery of the
passage to India, by the Cape of Good Hope, all the productions of the
east, that were distributed in Europe, came to Egyptian ports. Hence we
have many concurring testimonies, which render it highly probable, if not
evidently clear, that the first Gypsey tribes who came into England, and
other parts of Europe, migrated from hordes of that people who had
previously found their way into Egypt.
The evidence appears equally strong, that they were not natives of Egypt;
but as the Egyptians were in great repute for the practice of the occult
sciences, common to them and to the Suder caste; we cannot be surprized
to find these crafty itinerants, should avail themselves of such an
opportunity, as coming out of that country, to profess themselves
Egyptians.
Continental writers exhibit a strange assemblage of crude, and
incongruous ideas on the subject of Gypsey extraction. So numerous are
the opinions diffusely stated, that Grellmann must have exercised much
patient investigation, to deduce from them the rational and satisfactory
conclusions which his Dissertation presents.
Our countryman Swinborne, in describing the Gypsies in Calabria, is the
first to remark that their peculiar language bears great affinity to the
oriental tongues; and that many of their customs resemble those of the
heathens. But European ignorance of the habits and speech of Asiatics
may be accounted for, whilst the rich productions of India continued to
be brought to Egyptian ports, and to be conveyed thence by the Lombard
merchants, to be distributed over Europe
The _Cingari_, _Zigeuners_, or _Gypsies_, had been in Germany nearly a
century, before the Portuguese discovered the passage to India by the
Cape of Good Hope. The stimulus which this discovery gave to
improvements in the art of navigation, soon opened immediate intercourse
with the eastern world. Vast are the establishments, which have been
subsequently effected, in that quarter of the globe by naval powers, and
extraordinary have been, of late years, the exertions for the acquisition
of oriental languages; yet so numerous are they in those widely extended
regions, that European knowledge of Asiatic etymology, is yet but in a
state of infancy.
The case of the Gypsies is singular; for it may fairly be questioned,
whether it has a parallel in the history of the world. Dispersed over
the face of the earth, without any organization of their different
hordes; and all concert between them entirely precluded by separations of
hundreds of miles from each other, in different parts of the globe, and
by their incapacity for literary communication; they have, however,
whilst speaking the languages of the respective countries they inhabit,
preserved in _all places one_ peculiar to themselves, and have
transmitted it through a lapse of centuries to their descendants, almost
unimpaired.
Increased acquaintance with oriental customs and tongues, has, at length,
discovered the near coincidence they have with the language of the
Gypsies, and has developed an origin of this people, of which those of
the present age were, till now, entirely ignorant. It will appear
extraordinary, that these people should have been able, by oral means
alone, and under all disadvantages, to retain their language, and yet not
to have handed down with it, any tradition that might lead to a discovery
of who they were, or whence they came. But the knowledge recently
acquired, of their very abject condition in the country from which they
emigrated, offers a reason why the first comers might be anxious to
conceal their pedigree, the meanness of which would have but ill accorded
with the titles of rank assumed by some of their leaders.
The regulations proposed by the Empress Theresa, and the Emperor Joseph
II. could they have been carried into effect, would doubtless have
improved the state of the Gypsies. But an order for children to be torn
away from their parents, was so far from being dictated by the study of
human nature, that it did violence to the tenderest sensibilities, and
set at nought the kindest emotions. Its tendency was to produce in the
minds of Gypsies, disaffection to the state, and to indispose others from
aiding in the execution of the edict. The advantages to be derived by
Governments from a liberal toleration, being not then so well understood
as in succeeding times, they were not duly regarded.
Those potentates considering Zigeuners of Egyptian origin, might
reasonably conceive agriculture well adapted to their genius and
inclination; but it was a pursuit, which, more than any other, they
disapproved.
All other Governments appear to have been misled, in like manner, by the
deception which the first Gypsies practised; for had they been apprized
of this people's descent, and of the almost unalterable pertinacity of an
Indian caste, they would have been sensible that an attempt to change
their habits by force, was a measure the least likely to be attended with
success.
The Circular introduced in the ninth Section of this work, notices
Gypsies being hunted like beasts of prey, from township to township in
England; and it has been ascertained, that in some places they are
routed, as it is termed, by order of magistrates, whenever they appear,
and sent to prison on the vagrant act, without so much as a charge of
depredation upon property. "This is to make their persons, an object of
persecution, instead of the protection of our laws."
For the credit of our country it may be hoped, that instances of this
sort, respecting Gypsies, are not very numerous; seeing all writers
concur in stating, every attempt by coercive means to alter the peculiar
habits of this people, have had a tendency to alienate them still more
from civil associations, and directly to defeat the end proposed. It is
time therefore that a better and a more enlightened policy should be
adopted in Europe, towards a race of human beings, under so many
hereditary disadvantages as are the helpless, the rude, the uninstructed
Gypsies.
In the decision on the vagrant case, in Crabbe's "Hall of Justice,"
{231a} and in the treatment of Gypsies on Knoland-Green, {231b} a temper
is displayed so truly Christian, and so different from what is just
alluded to, that in consulting the best feelings of human nature, it adds
dignity to magistracy.
Sir Frederick Morton Eden, in his first volume on the State of the Poor,
p. 306, refers to an Act passed in 1741, respecting that class of the
poor, who are considered by the Legislature as the outcasts of society,
namely rogues, vagabonds, &c.; and he remarks: "From perusing the
catalogue of actions which denominate a man, a disorderly person, a
vagabond, or incorrigible rogue, the reader may perhaps incline to think
that many of the offences specified in this Act, and in subsequent
statutes, on the same subject, are of a very dubious nature, and that it
must require nice legal acumen, to distinguish whether a person incurs
any, and what, penalty, under the vagrant laws."
In support of this opinion, and of the indefinite and unjustifiable
latitude of those statutes, a late decision at Maidstone, in the action
of Robins, v. Boyce, affords a striking demonstration.
If the statutes do not admit of any construction in favor of Gypsies, but
enjoin rigorous treatment of them, merely for wandering, it may become a
question whether the peculiar circumstances of their case, might not
constitute an exception to the general rule.
However wholesome and salutary vagrant Acts may be, to deter persons from
quitting their parishes in order to levy contributions, by practising
impositions in places where they are not known, it is obvious that
Gypsies, having no parochial settlements, cannot come under that
description. Excepting a temporary residence of some of them in winter,
their home is a whole county, and the majority of them are too
independent to apply to any parish for assistance.
Here is a trait in their character, which, were it grafted on the stock
of half the paupers in the kingdom, would be a national advantage.
It ought to procure some indulgence for the Gypsies, that their wandering
mode of life does not originate in any contumacious opposition to
judicial order; but in a scrupulous regard to the Institutions of their
ancestors. For the advantages we possess, shall we return injury to our
fellow-men! If after being fully introduced into a situation to taste
the comforts of social order, and to acquire a knowledge of mechanical
professions, which would render them useful and respectable, any of them,
despising these privileges, should indulge wandering dispositions, they
might then deserve all the punishment which under the vagrant Acts, can
be indicted.
It is worthy of remark, that in the evidence respecting mendicity in
London, adduced last year before the Committee of the House of Commons,
there is only a single instance in the parish called St. Giles, that
noted rendezvous of Gypsies, of one of their tribe, a girl, begging in
the streets.
Is it not high time the people of England were undeceived, respecting the
motives to Gypsey perseverance in their singular line of conduct. Their
invincible attachment to the traditions they have received, is almost
proof, in itself, of Grellmann's assertion, that they are the descendants
of an Indian caste; in whose estimation inviolable adherence to the
customs of their order, constitutes the highest perfection of character.
When any remark is made to them on their strange mode of conduct, they
are ready to reply: "The inhabitants of cieled houses follow the customs
of their predecessors; What more do we? Are they creatures of habit? So
are we."
After this account, is it surprising that the violent means pursued
against them in all countries, have been ineffectual to abolish their
peculiarities?
Their humane and intelligent biographer, Grellmann, styles them a
"singular phenomenon in Europe;" and it may justly be observed of such of
them as inhabit countries accounted the most enlightened, that the
contrast which their destitute state presents to the numerous advantages
of civilized life, and to the refinements of polished society, is truly
astonishing. If there possibly can be a single Briton who is a skeptic
to the benefits of education, let him only take a view of the
intellectual degradation and disgusting condition of the Gypsies. But if
Britons have made greater advancement in civilization than some other
nations, the Gypsies here are left at a greater distance, and furnish the
more occasion for their condition being improved.
It does not appear that the Pariars, or Suders, from whom it is believed
these swarthy itinerants of our age are descended, were farther advanced
in the knowledge of moral obligations, than were the Spartan people; who,
however celebrated for some of their Institutions, accounted the
successful perpetration of thefts to be honourable.
The Gypsies at Kirk Yetholm, as stated by Baillie Smith, in this part of
their conduct, are an exact counterpart of the Spartans. To a people of
Greece, the foremost of their time in legislative arrangements, who had
cultivated so little sense of the turpitude of injustice, surely a much
more criminal neglect may be imputed, than to the ignorant, untutored
race we have been surveying!
Malcolm, in his Anecdotes of the manners and customs of London, p. 350,
says of the English Gypsies: "Despised, and neglected, they naturally
became plunderers and thieves to obtain a subsistence." But when he
afterward states, that "They increased rapidly, and at length were found
in all parts of the country," we may be disposed to think that British
fastidiousness was not less ingenious than that of the Spaniards, who
considered themselves _contaminated_ by a touch of the Gypsies, unless it
were to have their fortunes told. Venality and deception meeting with so
much encouragement, those propensities of the human heart would be
generated and fostered, which at length produced flagrant impositions,
and the greatest enormities.
The dominion of superstition was at its zenith, in what are termed the
middle ages: so absolute and uncontrolled was its influence, that because
of reputed skill in exorcism and witchcraft, the deluded Germans reposed
implicit confidence in persons so ignorant as the Gypsies.
What an impeachment of British sagacity, is the following observation of
Sir Frederick Morton Eden, in his first volume on the State of the Poor,
p. 146: "It is mortifying to reflect, that whilst so many wise measures
were adopted by the great Council of the Nation, neither a Coke, nor a
Bacon, should oppose the law suggested by royal superstition, for making
it felony to _consult_, _covenant with_, _entertain_, _employ_, _feed_,
_or reward_, _any evil_, _or wicked spirit_, 2d James, 12th.--It is still
more mortifying to reflect, that the enlightened Sir M. Hale left a man
for execution, who was convicted on this Act, at Bury, March 10th, 1664;
and that even in the present (the 18th) century, a British Jury should be
persuaded that the crime of witchcraft could exist."
If the annual filling of prisons in England may be attributed, in any
degree, to the neglect of educating the lower orders of the people, it
will appear extraordinary, that instances of Gypsies being convicted of
capital crimes, are not more frequent, rather than that they sometimes
occur.
The Committee of the British and Foreign School Society, in their Report
for 1815, express their conviction of the advantages of education, in
correcting evils, which at once disgrace society, and deprive it of many,
who might be its most useful and active members; and then, they exclaim:
"Surely we may hope the day is not far distant, when Statesmen and
Legislators of all countries, will open their eyes to the awfully
important truth; and beholding in a sound and moral education, the grand
secret of national strength, will co-operate for the _prevention_, rather
than the _punishment_ of crimes!"
It was not until near the conclusion of the last year, and after the
author had inspected some of the Gypsey families who winter in London,
that he was apprized of the correspondence in the Christian Observer,
which forms part of the preceding Section. The position with which it
commences, is worthy of all acceptation, as applied to beings formed for
immortality: "The Divine Spirit of Christianity deems no object, however
unworthy and insignificant, beneath her notice. Gypsies lying at our
doors, seem to have a peculiar claim on our compassion. In the midst of
a highly refined state of society, they are but little removed from
savage life."
The letters extracted from the Christian Observer, are distinguished by a
Christian zeal and liberality, which must be cheering to every one, who
has felt an interest in improving the condition of these greatly
neglected partners of his kind. On their behalf, appeals to the public
have been subsequently made, as we have seen in Section IX, through the
medium of the Northampton Mercury of 1814, by two correspondents; one
under the designation of "A Friend to Religion;" the other, that of
"Junius."
Communications from a county which has long been a noted rendezvous of
Gypsies, may be considered the result of observations actually made on
their state. The first of these appeals is introduced in the following
manner: "Various are the religious and moral Institutions in this
country; humanity and benevolence have risen to an unprecedented height.
Not only for our country, are the exertions of the good and great
employed, but at this time the greatest efforts are making on behalf of
the distressed Germans. The hand of charity is open not only to the
alleviation of _present_ misery, but such an Institution as the Bible
Society, is calculated to excite thousands to seek for _future_
happiness. Yet amidst all, one set of people seems to be entirely
excluded from participating in any of those blessings; I mean Gypsies,
who are accounted rogues and vagabonds. When we consider that they,
equally with ourselves, are bought with a price, much remains to be done
for them. These people, however wretched and depraved, certainly demand
attention; their being overlooked with indifference, is really much to be
regretted.
"Instead of being subjects of commiseration, they are advertised as
rogues and vagabonds; and a reward offered for their apprehension. But
no asylum is offered them, nothing is held out to encourage a reformation
in any that might be disposed to abandon their accustomed vices." The
same writer, in a subsequent letter, dated September 8, respecting these
houseless wanderers, remarks: "I was representing the deplorable state
they are in, to a person of my acquaintance; and his reply was: They were
a set of worthless and undeserving wretches; and he believed they would
rather live as they do, than otherwise; with many other such like
inconsiderate ideas; resulting, I believe, from a prejudiced mind, and
from not properly considering their situation; and I fear these
sentiments are too prevalent."
It will readily be admitted, that they are generally prevalent: and how
should it be otherwise, so long as the great mass of the population of
England continues to be uninformed of the motives inducing the strange
conduct of Gypsies, who consider themselves under the strongest of all
obligations, strictly to observe the Institution of their ancestors. Had
Britons been apprized of the origin of this people, and the peculiar
circumstances of their case, the national character would not have been
stained, by the abuse and mal-treatment which Gypsies have received.
It is very satisfactory to find by the before recited correspondence, an
inhabitant of the county in which the Gypsies are so numerous, advocating
their cause, by a public exposure of the mistaken ideas which have so
long prevailed respecting them.
From the length of time they have continued to reside in Britain, they
have ceased to become subjects of much curiosity or conversation. And as
they endeavour to avoid populous districts, persons in large towns, who
are occupied in trade, seem little aware that in the county they inhabit,
there may be hordes of these wanderers, traversing the thinly inhabited
parts of it, in various directions, as was the case in Yorkshire during
the last summer. (1815.)
When the amelioration of the condition of this people is mentioned to
persons of the above description, so little informed are they on the
subject, that it is many times treated as if the existence of Gypsies was
questioned; at others, as if affording any help to them, was visionary,
and even ludicrous.
Some places formerly frequented by Gypsey gangs, having been much
deserted by them of late years, does not authorize any calculation upon a
decrease of their numbers in the nation.
In the vicinity of the metropolis, Gypsies have been excluded by
inclosures from various situations to which they had been accustomed to
resort. But there is some reason to apprehend they have become more
numerous, in several other parts of the Island. Baillie Smith of Kelso,
is of opinion, they increase in Scotland, and it is by no means certain
that they do not in England.
Any idea that routing them will lessen their numbers, may be as
fallacious, and injudicious, as were banishments from the German States,
which, without diminishing Gypsey population, had the injurious effect of
alienating them still more from civil associations.
Junius, the other correspondent of the Northampton Mercury, in his
Address of October 29, writes: "I trust the time is not distant, when
much will be accomplished, as it respects the civilization of the people
whose cause we plead. In the meantime, I would humbly hope all those
harsh and degrading measures, of publicly in the papers, and upon
placards by the sides of roads, ordering their apprehension and
commitment to prison, will be suspended, until some asylum is offered;
and should nothing be attempted by the Legislature, for reclaiming them
from their present mode of life, surely much may be done by the exertions
of individuals!"
Many of the observations in the Christian Observer, and in the
Northampton Mercury, are striking and pertinent, as they relate to the
present state of the Gypsies in England; and the philanthropy they
inculcate is honourable to the national character. Had these benevolent
individuals been acquainted with the history of the people, whose cause
they plead, they would, doubtless, have suggested plans adapted to their
peculiar case. For want of this knowledge, it is not surprising that
occupations in husbandry should take the lead in propositions for
employing them. The last mentioned writer, from a desire to render
essential service to this people, suggests, that the Legislature should
fix upon five or six stations in different parts of the kingdom, on which
villages should be erected, in order that they might be employed in
farming.
It will have been obvious in the survey which has been taken, and it has
been already remarked, that of all occupations, agriculture is the least
adapted to their genius and inclination.
It has appeared in Section IX, that Riley Smith, a chief of the
Northamptonshire Gypsies, after marrying the cook out of a gentleman's
family, and obtaining a farm, quitted it, to resume musical performances.
Conformity to agricultural employments, could not be effected in Gypsies,
by the most rigorous measures to which the Empress Theresa, and the
Emperor Joseph II. resorted.--Much less could it be expected that
persons, who, all their lives, have accustomed themselves to be in the
open air, or others who have lived three parts of the year in this
manner, should be induced, in open weather, to brook the restraint of
houses.
Those who have houses at Kirk Yetholm, quit them in spring: men, women,
and children, set out on their peregrinations over the country, and live
in a state of vagrancy, until driven back to their habitations by the
approach of winter; and it appears, in all countries to which the Gypsies
have had access, that a similar course is pursued by them.
In a dialogue between a Curate and some Gypsies, as published in the
Christian Guardian, of March, 1812, is the following question and answer:
_Curate_. "Could you not by degrees bring yourselves to a more settled
mode of life?
_Gypsey_. I would not tell you a story, Sir; I really think I could not,
having been brought up to it from a child."
Upon this conversation, the Curate makes the following remark: "In order
to do good among the Gypsies, we must conciliate their esteem, and gain
their confidence."
The plain and simple reply to the Curate, will put out of question the
erection of villages, or the making of establishments for adults among
them. In mechanical operations, to which the Gypsies are most inclined,
British artisans might be as averse to unite with them, as they were with
the Jews. The Spaniards, it has appeared, are unwilling to be associated
with Gypsies in any kind of occupation. Moreover, the competition of
manufacturers in England, during the last fifty years, has effected by
artificial means, so much saving of manual labour, and so much
improvement in the division of it, that the rude operations of Gypsies,
would be a subject of ridicule and contempt.
J. P., in a letter from Cambridge to the Christian Observer, very
feelingly states the case of a Gypsey family, the father of which, being
a travelling tinker and fiddler, intimated, he would be glad to have all
his children brought up to some other mode of life, and even to embrace
some other himself; but he finds a difficulty in it. Not having been
brought up in husbandry, he could not go through the labour of it; and
few, if any persons, would be willing to employ {248} his children, on
account of the bad character which his race bears, and from the censure
and ridicule which would attach to the taking of them."
There appears so little probability of any useful change being effected
in the nomadic habits of adult Gypsies, that it seems better to bear with
that propensity for some time longer, than by directly counteracting it,
so disturb the minds of parents, as to indispose them to consent to the
education of their children. There are thousands of other people in the
nation, who, more than half their time, live out of doors in like manner.
Were they all obliged to take out licences, this measure might operate in
some degree as a check upon them; at least it would be a tacit
acknowledgment of a controlling power, and might admit of some regulation
of their conduct. At present, numbers of them resemble a lawless
banditti, and may not inaptly be termed, _Imperium in imperio_.
It appears by J. P.'s letter from Cambridge, that six years ago, he had
engaged a Gypsey boy to be sent to a school on the Belleian and
Lancasterian plan. At that time, the system had been but little
appropriated in the country to the instruction of girls; and the
application of it to boys only, would have been doing the work by halves.
But the time seems now to have arrived, when the minds of Gypsies have
generally received an impression in favor of the education, both of their
sons and daughters, as has been manifest in various parts of this Survey;
and that some of those who lodge in London, have been themselves at the
expense of sending their children to school. But if all of them could be
thus taught, three months in a year, would not their running wild the
other nine, under the influence of dissolute and unrestrained example, be
likely to defeat every purpose of instruction.
Were they to be educated during the whole of the year, it is obvious that
some establishment would be necessary for their maintenance and clothing.
The author of this Survey is not aware of any Institutions so much
adapted to their case, as the charity schools for boys and girls, which
are common to every part of the kingdom. It is not probable that Gypsey
population would furnish more than two boys, and two girls, for each of
these schools. Their being placed among a much greater number of
children, and those of settled, and in some degree of civilized habits,
would greatly facilitate the training of Gypsies to salutary discipline
and subordination; and the associations it provided for them out of
school hours, being under the superintendence of a regular family, would,
in an especial manner, be favorable to their domestication.
Charity schools, by admitting children so early as at six years of age,
and continuing them to fourteen, seem particularly suited to the case of
Gypsies, in supplying all that is requisite until the boys are at an age
to go out apprentices, and the girls to service in families.
Gypsies being the children of a whole county, if not of the nation at
large, perhaps the expense of their maintenance might, without
inconsistency, be defrayed out of county rates, which would prevent its
being burdensome to any particular district. By a process so simple and
easy, expensive establishments on the account of Gypsies, might be
entirely avoided. And many parents among them, express a willingness to
part with their children, for education, provided they were cared for in
other respects.
After several centuries, a degree of solicitude being at length apparent
in the Gypsies, for the improvement of their children, the time has
arrived when some effectual benefit may be communicated to them.
The distribution proposed, would admit of these itinerants seeing their
children once in the year. But to extirpate Gypsey habits, education
alone would not be sufficient. Yet as there is no reason to think this
people are less susceptible than others, of gainful considerations, a
fund might be provided, out of which, twenty pounds should be paid with
each boy, on his apprenticeship to some handicraft business, in lieu of
finding him with clothes during the term. And in consideration of its
being faithfully served, five pounds might be allowed to find the young
man with tools for his trade, or otherwise setting him forward in the
world. This would excite an interest in civil associations and order,
which are necessary for the successful prosecution of trade; and
probably, an encouragement like this, would have a greater effect in
giving a new direction to Gypsey pursuits, than any coercive or
restrictive measures which could be devised. And who would not wish to
contribute to the means of rescuing from ignorance and vice, such a
portion of the population of their country! Who would not be desirous of
emulating in some degree, that best kind of patriotism, by which the
correspondent H. of the Christian Observer, is so remarkably
distinguished!
This would be an example worthy of a great nation; and is it not
probable, that the prospect of so much preferment, would induce Gypsey
parents, to promote to the utmost of their power, a disposition in their
children to obtain it? Cooper, a Gypsey at Chingford Green, said, "It is
a pity they should be as ignorant as their fathers." This may be
considered as the language of "_help us_," accompanied with this
acknowledgment, "_for we are unable to help ourselves_;" and certainly
there is but too much reason to conclude it is strictly true, respecting
the instruction of this forlorn and destitute race.
According to the enumeration of Gypsey lodgers, given in Section X, their
families average 5.5 in number. This exceeds by one half, what is
reported to be the average of England in general. If we take Gypsey
population at 18,000, their children will be 12,000. Supposing
two-thirds of these to be under twelve years of age, there would be 8,000
to educate. Reckoning half that number to be girls, 4,000 boys would be
to be apprenticed after leaving school. And if these, after their
apprenticeship, married Gypsey girls, who had been brought up to service
in families, twenty thousand useful subjects might be calculated upon as
gained to the State in the first generation.
Should the efforts of individuals, require assistance from the State, to
render their plans effectual; surely they may depend on the co-operation
of a British legislature, to promote the cause in which they would
embark! On this point may be adduced the judicious observation of
Grellmann: "If the Gypsey knows not how to make use of the faculties with
which nature has intrusted him, let the State teach him, and keep him in
leading strings till the end is attained. Care being taken to improve
their understandings, and to amend their hearts, they might become useful
citizens; for observe them at whatever employment you may, there always
appear sparks of genius."
Every well-wisher to his country must be gratified in observing, that as
soon as the conflicting tumult of nations is calmed, and the
precipitations attendant on military supplies have subsided, the
attention of the Legislature is turned to the investigation of some of
the causes of human misery at home; and to the means of increasing the
social comforts of a considerable portion of British population in the
metropolis of the kingdom. This recommencement of operations, directed
to the important object for which Governments have been instituted,--the
good of the people,--encourages the hope, that the most neglected and
destitute of all persons in this country, whose cause we have been
pleading, will not be suffered to remain much longer unnoticed and
disregarded.
When at length the veil that has obscured them is once drawn aside, can
British benevolence withhold its exertions, to elevate the moral tone of
this degraded eastern race, and to call forth the dignity of the human
character, in exchange for the strange torpor and vileness in which this
people are involved. Here an occasion presents for the display of a
temper truly Christian, and for the erection of a standard to surrounding
kingdoms, in which also these outcasts of society are dispersed, of that
philanthropy and sound policy which are worthy of a great nation.
Such an experiment, though on a limited scale, may furnish various data
for judging what may be effected for their countrymen, the countless
myriads of British subjects, inhabiting the vast regions of Hindostan.
Alexander Fraser Tytler, late Assistant Judge in the twenty-four
Pergunnahs, Bengal Establishment, in his highly important work, entitled,
"Considerations on the present Political State of India," after pointing
out the depravity which prevails to an extraordinary degree among the
population of India, states in the 313th page of the first volume, that
"Poverty, or according to the definition of writers on Police,
_Indigence_ may be said to be the nurse of almost all crimes. To find
out the causes of poverty, and to attempt their removal, must therefore
be the chief object of a good police."
It has been remarked, that this author drew his conclusions, not only
from what he understood of human nature in general, but from what he
daily saw before him, in the circumstances and actions of the people
whose crimes he was called upon to punish. And he reasons upon the
subject in the following manner: "Great poverty among the lower orders in
every country, has an immediate effect in multiplying the number of petty
thieves; and where the bounds of the moral principle have been once
over-stepped, however trivial the first offence, the step is easy from
petty theft to the greater crimes of burglary and robbery."
May Britons in their conduct towards the Gypsies, be actuated by a policy
so liberal, as to induce the rising generation among this neglected
class, to attach themselves to civil society, and to enter into
situations designed to inculcate habits of industry, and prepare them to
become useful members of the community.
The successful experiments lately made by the British and Foreign School
Society, upon persons addicted to every species of depravity, leave no
doubt of the practicability of ameliorating the condition of Gypsies. It
is with pleasure that on this subject the following statement of facts is
introduced, respecting two schools established in the neighbourhood of
the metropolis. One of them at Kingsland, a situation which has been
termed, "A focus where the most abandoned characters constantly assembled
for every species of brutal and licentious disorder." The other is at
Bowyer-lane, near Camberwell, a district inhabited by persons of the
worst description; among whom the police officers have been accustomed to
look for the various kinds of offenders, who have infested the Borough of
Southwark.
We are informed by the Committee of that School, that "in the district
embraced by their Society, the consequences of ignorance were evident to
the most superficial observer. Parents and children, appeared alike
regardless of morality and virtue; the former indulging in profligacy,
and the latter exhibiting its lamentable effects.
"Did the friends of _universal education_ require a fresh illustration,
they would find it in the scene we are now contemplating; and they would
confidently invite those who still entertain a doubt on the subject, to a
more close and rigid examination of that scene, satisfied with the effect
upon every candid and unprejudiced mind. For, assuredly, "men do not
gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles:" and when morality,
decency, and order, are gradually occupying the abodes of licentiousness,
misery, and guilt, the change must be attributed to some operating cause,
and _that_ cause must be derived from the Source of all Good.
"The principles of decorum, of propriety, and of virtue, are instilled
into the youthful mind; and by a powerful reaction, they reach the heart
of the parent; the moral atmosphere extends--its benefits are felt and
appreciated--the Bible takes its proper place in the habitations of
poverty; and thus in its simple, natural, and certain course, the _germ_
of _instruction_ yields the happy fruit of _moral reformation_."
If as Grellmann computes, there are not fewer than 700,000 of these
people in Europe, who do not either plough, or sow, or the greater part
of them contribute in any manner to the improvement of the country, or
the support of the State, what a subject is this, for the contemplation
of Governments!
In reference to England, it is a beautiful exclamation of the Christian
Observer: "Surely when our charity is flowing in so wide a channel,
conveying the blessings of the gospel to the most distant quarters of the
globe, we shall not hesitate to water this one barren and neglected
field, in our own land." Uniting cordially in this appeal, it is a great
satisfaction to be able to state, there are traits of character in this
people, which encourage attention to Gypsey soil. Let it but be cleared
of weeds, and sown with good seed, and the judicious cultivator may
calculate upon a crop to compensate his toil.
Greater proof of confidence, as to money transactions, not being
misplaced in Gypsies need not be given, than in the testimony of the
landlord at Kirk Yetholm, to William Smith, that his master knew he was
as sure of their money, as if he had it in his pocket.
In Dr. Clarke's Travels, published in the present year, Part the 2nd of
Section 3rd, page 592, are the following observations respecting the
Gypsies of Hungary: "The Wallachian Gypsies are not an idle race. They
might rather be described as a laborious people; and the greater part of
them honestly endeavour to earn a livelihood. It is this part of them
who work as gold-washers."
In page 637, the Doctor remarks: "The Wallachians of the Bannat, bear a
very bad character, and perhaps many of the offences attributed to
Gypsies, may be due to this people, who are the least civilized, and the
most ferocious of all the inhabitants of Hungary." {262}
Could grateful sensibility of favors received, and of personal
attachment, be more strikingly evinced than in the promptitude of Will
Faa, who when he was eighty years of age, on hearing of his landlord
being unwell, undertook, at the hazard of his life, a journey of a
hundred miles, to see him before he died?
The attention of Gypsies to the aged and infirm of their fraternity, is
not less exhibited in the case of Ann Day, whose age is inserted in a
work on human longevity, published at Salisbury in 1799. She was aged
108, and had not slept in a bed during seventy years. She was well known
in the counties of Bedford and Herts, and having been a long time blind,
she always rode upon an ass, attended by two or three of the tribe. A
friend of the author, a farmer near Baldock, who had frequently given
food and straw for the old woman, says of the attendants she had, her
comfort and support seemed to be their chief concern. He considers her
longevity a proof of the kindness she received. Her interment, which was
at Arsley, near Henlow, was attended by her son and daughter, the one 82,
the other 85 years of age, each having great grand-children.
It must have been a satisfaction to every one interested in the
improvement of human nature, to observe the number of advocates who have
come forward, within the last ten years, in this country, to plead the
cause of this despised and abused people.
In bringing their case before the public, the author has aimed at
discharging what he thought incumbent upon him to undertake on their
behalf. He trusts that persons much more competent than himself, will be
induced to give effect to whatever measures may be thought best adapted
to promote the temporal, as well as spiritual benefit of this people; and
that as H, the correspondent of the Christian Observer, remarks: "amidst
the great light that prevails, the reproach may be wiped away from our
country, of so many of its children walking in darkness, and in the
shadow of death."
Can a nation, whose diffusive philanthropy extends to the civilization of
a quarter of the globe, and to the evangelization of the whole world, be
regardless of any of the children of her own bosom, or suffer the pious,
truly patriotic solicitude of her King, for the instruction of the
meanest of his subjects to remain unaccomplished.
Many persons appear zealous to send Missionaries to convert heathens in
the most distant parts of the world; when, as a late writer {264}
observes, "the greatest, perhaps of all heathens, are at home, entirely
neglected."
Peace and tranquillity are favorable to the improvement of the internal
condition of a country; and can Britain more unequivocally testify her
gratitude for the signal favors conferred upon her, than in promoting
that object for which rational beings were formed--the glory of God, and
the happiness of his creatures.
In relation to the uncultivated race we have been surveying, may a
guarded and religious education prove to them, as the voice crying in the
wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert
an highway for our God." The subsequent declaration, without doubt, is
descriptive of what should be effected under the gospel dispensation:
"The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and _all flesh_ shall see it
together; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."--Isaiah, Chap. xl.
v. 3, 4, 6.
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Footnotes:
{82} In the 31st page of Sir Frederick Morton Eden's Appendix to the
State of the Poor, it appears that in 1426, a hay horse, for the Prior
(we may suppose of prime quality) cost 1 pounds 6s. 8d. and a colt 4s.
6d. And in the year 1448, page 34, the hay of one acre was estimated at
5s.
{89} Weirde, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon "_wird_;" _i.e._, fatum, or
deafinie, and is used in this sense, in Hollinshed.
{94} Ballie is a material designation in Scotland, agreeing in rank with
that of Alderman in England.
{201} Vol. vii. p. 496, 497.
{205} Vol. vii. p. 712.
{206} Vol. viii. p. 286.
{208} Vol. ix. p. 82, 83.
{211} Vol. ix. p. 278, 279, 280.
{212} Since writing the above, a friend has informed me that Norwood is
now inclosed, and has ceased to be a rendezvous of Gypsies.
{217} Vol. ix. p. 554, 555.
{221} Frederick Smith, of Croydon, Surry.
{231a} Vide Crabbe's Poems.
{231b} See No. 104, Sunday School Tracts.
{248} The benevolent Jonas Hanway took a Gypsey boy into his family, for
the purpose of making an experiment, but the result has not come to the
knowledge of the author.
{262} At page 691, is a Vignette of Gypsies washing gold in Hungary.
{264} Samuel Tuke, Author of a Description of the Retreat, &c.