| Description | In 1904, the Local Government Board appointed a Committee to enquire into the problem of vagrancy and the casual poor. The enquiry had three main aims: firstly, to report on the current law 'applicable to persons of the vagrant class (i.e. the statutory provisions and the byelaws, rules and regulations made thereunder), secondly, to examine 'the administration of the law applicable to these persons' and thirdly, to suggest 'any amendments which should be made in it or in its administration' (see GP KN/1/3/4).
The volume is a printed copy of the Committee's final report, published in 1906. It contains a historical summary on the administration of relief to the casual poor and on legislation regarding vagrancy, followed by statistics on the numbers of vagrants in casual wards, prisons, and different regions throughout the country. The current system for dealing with vagrancy is then covered along with descriptions of labour colonies, casual wards and common lodging houses. Following a survey of the social problems that result from vagrancy and the different types of vagrant that exist, the Committee presents its conclusions and recommendations. The second and third volumes of the report, containing the evidence heard by the Committee, and the report's appendices are referred to in the index to GP KN/1/3/4, but these do not survive. |