of
the 'vagabond.' The vagabond, however, had become differentiated from
the pauper. The decay of the ancient order of society and its
corresponding institutions had led to a new set of problems; and the
famous statute of Elizabeth (1601) had laid down the main lines of the
system which is still in operation.

When the labourer was regarded as in a servile condition, he might be
supported from the motives which lead an owner to support his slaves, or
by the charitable energies organised by ecclesiastical institutions. He
had now ceased to be a serf, and the institutions which helped the poor
man or maintained the beggar were wrecked. The Elizabethan statute gave
him, therefore, a legal claim to be supported, and, on the other hand,
directed that he should be made to work for his living. The assumption
is still that every man is a member of a little social circle. He
belongs to his parish, and it is his fellow-parishioners who are bound
to support him. So long as this corresponded to facts, the system could
work satisfactorily. With the spread of commerce, and the growth of a
less settled population, difficulties necessarily arose. The pauper and
the vagabond represent a kind of social extravasation; the 'masterless
man' who has strayed from his legitimate place or has become a
superfluity in his own circle. The vagabond could be flogged, sent to
prison, or if necessary hanged, but it was more difficult to settle what
to do with a man who was not a criminal, but simply a product in excess
of demand. All manner of solutions had been suggested by philanthropists
and partly adopted by the legislature. One point which especially
concerns us is the awkwardness or absence of an appropriate
administrative machinery.

The parish, the unit on which the pauper had claims, meant the persons
upon whom the poor-rate was assessed. These were mainly farmers and
small tradesmen who formed the rather vague body called the vestry.
'Overseers' were appointed by the ratepayers themselves; they were not
paid, and the disagreeable office was taken in turn for short periods.
The most obvious motive with the average ratepayer was of course to keep
down the rates and to get the burthen of the poor as much as possible
out of his own parish. Each parish had at least an interest in economy.
But the economical interest also produced flagrant evils.

In the first place, there was the war between parishes. The law of
settlement--which was to decide