That is the question Mr. Malthus has professed to answer. far he has done so, we may now inquire.

How

Commencing with the American Indians, he tells his readers, that the women are "far from being prolific ;" that their unfruitfulness has been attributed by some to a want of ardor in the men;" that this "is not, however, peculiar to this race"-it having been remarked by Bruce and Vaillant, in regard to various tribes of Africa. The causes of this are not, as he thinks, to be found in "any absolute constitutional defect-diminishing, as it does, nearly in proportion to the degree in which" the hardships and dangers of savage life are diminished, or removed. What is, in this case, the cause of difficulty? The ONE great cause cannot here be seen, yet "vice and misery" much abound. Why is it so? Is it because of too great a tendency towards human reproduction, or, is it an absence of disposition, or ability, in man, to make the earth produce? By the admission of Mr. Malthus himself, it is the latter-"vice and misery" here resulting from the operations of the creature, and not from laws instituted. by the Creator. What, then, becomes of the Principle of Population?

Turning now towards South America, we find that, "in the interior of the province bordering on the Orinoco, several hundred miles may be traversed in different directions, without finding a single hut, or observing the footsteps of a single creature."* This is, nevertheless, one of the richest regions of the world. one in which there is perpetual summer, and in which maize yields three hundred fold. Why is it, that population does not here increase?—it being, according to Mr. M., an undoubted fact, that numbers are limited only by the difficulty of obtaining food, and that they tend, always and every where, to outrun subsistence. Where is the ONE great cause, of which we are in search, and which he would here exhibit?

Looking next to Peru, we find, that having been led, "by a fortunate train of circumstances, to improve and extend their agriculture," its people "were enabled to increase in numbers," in spite of "the apathy of the men, or the destructive habits of the women." Nothing is here said of "population pressing on subsistence"— it being quite too obvious that the large numbers of people *Principles of Population, Book I., ch. iv.

gathered together on the poor lands of the Western slope of the Andes, had been far better supplied with food, than the scattered savages who wandered over the fertile soils of the Eastern slope, a single acre of which could furnish more food, in return to the same labor, than could be obtained from a dozen in Peru. -Thus far, therefore, we have made no approach to the determination of the ONE great cause of the prevalence of "vice and misery" among mankind.

Passing now to the rich islands of the South Pacific, we find tribes of people who live on human flesh, and who-being perpetually at war with each other—"naturally wish to increase the number of their members," with a view to "greater power of attack or defence." No customs here prevail among the women, unfavorable to the progress of population; yet, admirable as is the climate, and fertile as is the soil, they are few in number. Food, nevertheless, is so scarce as to render it "not improbable, that the desire of a good meal should give additional force to the desire of revenge, and that they should be perpetually destroying each other by violence, as the only alternative of perishing by hunger." * Does the difficulty here experienced, lie with man, or with the earth? If the former, what becomes of Mr. Malthus's one great cause of vice and misery?

Infanticide and immorality abounding in Tahiti, Mr. Malthus was of opinion, that when depopulation should have run its course, a change of habits "would soon restore the population, which could not long be kept below its natural level, without the most extreme violence."-That level being the supply of food, and food being here exuberantly abundant, it is clear that the "one great cause" cannot, on this occasion, be produced. Inequality in the distribution of the proceeds of labor being one of those phenomena of society which were to be accounted for by the constant pressure of population against subsistence, the reader of Mr. Malthus's work can scarcely fail to be surprised at finding him here asserting, that in all those countries where provisions are obtained with. great facility" those, of course, in which the "one great cause" cannot be found-"a most tyrannical distinction of rank prevails" -the people being "in a state of comparative degradation."† Coming now to Asia, we find the Usbecks occupying a soil of * Ibid, Book I., ch. v.

† Ibid.

"great natural fertility," of which they do not choose to profitpreferring "to pillage, rob, and kill their neighbors, rather than apply themselves to improve the benefits nature so liberally offers them."'* What is the evidence here afforded of the existence of the " one great cause," we cannot readily see. The Tartars, too, as we are told, are robbers; and yet "the whole of their plunder is not equivalent to what they might obtain, with very little labor, from their lands," were they to "apply themselves seriously to agriculture."

The peasants under the Turkish rule, "desert their villages, and betake themselves to a pastoral state"-hoping thereby better "to escape from the plunder of their Turkish masters, and Arab neighbors." The "one great cause" of vice and misery that Mr. Malthus desired to establish, was the inability of the earth to answer the demands of man, but here he only proves the inability of man to make demands upon the earth.

Quoting from Park, Mr. Malthus describes "the wonderful fertility of the soil of Africa, and its vast herds of cattle"— regretting "that a country so abundantly gifted by nature, should remain in its present savage and neglected state. ' The cause of this is to be found in the fact, that "they have not many opportunities of turning to account the surplus produce of their labor." Why have they not? Because they need more population-enabling them so to diversify their employments as to give them the "opportunities" they so much require making a market on the land for all the products of their fertile soils.-Absence of demand for food, however, can scarcely be adduced as proof that population tends to increase more rapidly than food.-Park having attributed the dearths that frequently occurred, to want of people, Mr. Malthus himself replies, that what they really need is "security, and its general concomitant, industry" and therein he is right. Population would then increase, and dearths would disappearthe great bank being prepared to answer all the drafts that can be made upon it. What, however, in this case, becomes of the "one great cause"?

"The principle of increase in Egypt," as we are told, "does all that it is possible for it to do"-keeping "the population fully up to the level of subsistence." -A more natural explanation. * Ibid, Book I., ch. vii. † Ibid, Book I., ch. viii.

of the phenomena here observed, would be, that insecurity and oppression keep the supply of food below the level of population. Such an one, however, would have no tendency to prove the existence of the alleged "great cause"- the insufficiency of the powers of the earth to meet the demands of man.

Siberia is represented as abounding in land, whose vigor is said to be inexhaustible, and yet, "many of these districts are thinly peopled" the population not increasing "in the proportion that might be expected from the nature of the soil."'* For this, many reasons are adduced - the necessity for their adduction tending, however, to prove the non-existence of the one great and universal cause of the "vice and misery" which may there be found.

In the physical world, all effects being due to fixed and certain causes whose force is capable of being measured, we are enabled, in relation to distant phenomena, to reason from cause to effect, and from effect to cause, with the same confidence as if the whole were passing before our eyes. So must it be in the social world— cause and effect being every where the same, and vice and misery being as clearly traceable to failure in man to qualify himself for obtaining command over nature, as evaporation can be shown to be a consequence of heat. — In Mr. Malthus's book, however, there is nothing of the kind-his readers being distinctly informed, that "nothing is more difficult than to lay down rules that do not admit of exceptions." As a consequence of this it is, that after having assured his readers of the existence of "one great cause”' of vice and misery, he afterwards gives them almost as many causes as there are communities to be treated of- always, however, selecting that one which best will suit his purpose.-Food being abundant, vice and misery take their place as causes of over-population. Food being scarce, they become effects.-The market being near, and raw produce being high, over-population is an effect. The market being distant, and food being low, vice and misery are the consequences.-Infanticide abounding, overpopulation is regarded as fully proved. Life being prolonged, excess of numbers is the necessary consequence. Food being scarce, men become enslaved. Food being superabundant, slavery is the inevitable result.-Government being oppressive, the abandonment of land is a cause of over-population. Taxes being light, * Ibid, Book I., ch. ix. Ibid, Book II., ch. iv,

and cultivation extending itself, there arises a necessity for cultivating the poorer soils.-Want of sale for products, retards agriculture. Double, or even treble, the quantity of food, and we may be "perfectly assured," that we "shall not want mouths to eat it."*Inequalities of distribution need to be remedied. If people were equal, the difficulty would be "imminent and immediate."-Epidemics pave the way for a great increase of population. Marriages may, or may not, follow a great mortality.— The richer the soil, and the fewer the people to eat its products, the greater is the tendency to poverty and wretchedness. The more productive and populous a country, the more the "checks" are needed." Highly probable" that constant wars gave to the Volsci a full supply of able-bodied men. Constant wars among the Arabs, cause population to press hard against subsistence producing "a state of habitual misery and famine."

Haunted by the idea of an imaginary fact, Mr. Malthus pressed into its service a quantity of real ones all of them tending to prove how steadily and generally men had been engaged in preventing themselves from obtaining command of the food "prepared" for them, but none of them tending, in any degree whatsoever, to prove, that the supply had not, every where, increased in full proportion to their power to make demand. Instead of establishing the existence of his "one great cause," he has given us an almost infinite variety of causes, out of which to select the one to which we may be best disposed to attribute the "vice and misery" that are every where around us.-In his anxiety to effect his object, facts are frequently distorted the rapid increase of population in the Western American States being treated as a result of natural increase, and without allowance for immigration -and the increase of early German tribes being assumed as having been fully equal to that observed throughout the United States. Where facts cannot be given, suppositions and probabilities are furnished-all of them tending, of course, to the establishment of the great facts, that the principle of increase in man is greater than in the lower forms of organized matter; that population must, therefore, outrun subsistence; and, of course, that the Creator had made a serious blunder.

Occasionally, his views are accurate, as when he tells his readers, * Ibid, Book II., ch. ii.