t the said vagrants, commonly called Egyptians, in case they remain
one month in the kingdom, shall be proceeded against as thieves and
rascals, and at the importation of such Egyptians (the importer) shall
forfeit 40 pounds for every trespass."

The fine of 40 pounds being inflicted at that time, which means a large
sum at the present day, carries something more with it than the thefts
committed by the Gipsies. It is evident that the Gipsies had wheedled
themselves into the graces and favours of some portion of the aristocracy
by their crafts and deception. If the Gipsy offences had been committed
against the labouring population it would have been the height of
absurdity for Parliament to have inflicted a fine of some hundreds of
pounds upon the working man of the poorer classes. It has occurred to me
that the question of Popery may have been one of the causes of their
persecution; and it is not unlikely that wealthy Roman Catholics may have
had something to do with their importation into this country. The fact
is, before the Gipsies left the Continent for England they were Roman
Catholic pilgrims, and going about the country doing the work of the Pope
to some extent, and this may have been one of the objects of those who
were opposed to the Protestant tendencies of Henry VIII. in causing them
to come over to England. At this time our own country was in a very
disturbed state, religiously, and no people were so suitable to work in
the dark and carry messages from place to place as the Gipsies,
especially if by so doing they could make plenty of plunder out of it;
and this idea I have hinted at before as one of their leading
characteristics. It should not be overlooked that telegraphs, railways,
stagecoaches, and canals had not been established at this time,
consequently for the Gipsies to be moving about the country from village
to village under a cloak, as they appeared to the higher powers, was
sufficient to make them the subjects of bitter persecution. For the
Gipsies to have openly avowed that they were Roman Catholics before
landing upon our shores, would in all probability have defeated the
object of those who induced--if induced--them to come over to Britain.
At any rate, we may, I think, fairly assume that this feature of their
character, an addition to their fortune-telling proclivities, may have
been one of the causes of their persecution, and in this view I am to
some extent supported by circumstances