In opposition to the persons who spoke with en thusiasm of this susceptibility of improvement, under the name of the perfectibility of the human mind, Mr "Malthus brought forward the principle of population. It was not enough for his purpose to say, that population ascended to the level of food; because there was nothing in that relation inconsistent with im provement, or opposite to the principles of perfectibi lity. He went, therefore, a step farther,.and said, that population rose beyond the level of food ; a situation in which vice and misery must of necessity prevail, and unlimited progression was impossible.
Though no part of the doctrine of Mr Malthus has been left uncontested, it is now, among thinking men, pretty generally allowed, that, excepting cer tain favourable situations, as in new countries, where there is unoccupied land of sufficient productiveness, which may be placed under cultivation as fast ail men are multiplied, a greater number of human be ings is produced than there is food to support. This, it is understood, is the habitual condition of human nature. The disposition of mankind to mar ry, and the prolific power with which nature has en dowed them, cause a greater number of human be jags to be born than it is possible to feed ; because the earth cannot be made to increase her produce so fast as the procreative power of the human con stitution increases consumers.
This is the proposition which Mr Malthus added to the doctrine of population ; and it is undoubtedly a proposition of extensive import, pregnant with con sequences of the greatest moment, and materially changing our views of the measures necessary to be pursued for improving the condition of mankind.
It is perfectly evident, that, so long as men are produCed in greater numbers than can be fed, there must be excessive misery. What is wanted then is, the means of preventing mankind from increasing so fast; from increasing faster than food can be in creased to support them. To the discovery of these means, the resources of the human mind should be intensely applied. This is the foundation of all im provement. In the attainment of this important end, it is abundantly plain that there is nothing impracti cable. There is nothing which offers any consider able difficulty, except the prejudices of mankind.
Of this doctrine, one of the facts which it is on the present occasion peculiarly necessary to carry in view, is the mode in which the misery in question, the misery arising from the existence of a greater number of human beings than there is food to main tain, diffuses itself.
For a share of the food which is brought into ex- • istence, the greater part of mankind have nothing to give but their labour. Of those who are endeavour ing to purchase food by their labour, there is not enough for all ; some must want. What is the con sequence I Those who are in danger of being left out in the distribution, offer more labour' for the same quantity of food ; that is to say, they agree to work for less wages ; by this competition, the wages of labour are reduced, and made so low that they are not suffici• ent to procure food for the families of all the labourers. The whole are placed in the lowest and most afflict ingof ' poverty ; and of those whose wants are more usually great, or supply more than usually small, a portion must die, from the want. of a suffi. ciency of the necessaries of life. The state of wages is sufficient to afford the means of existence to as many as the food produced can barely preserve alive; the su perabundance, who, by their competition, have yen dered thus miserable the situation of the rest, must inevitably perish. Whatever the state of production . in regard to food, the wages of the labourer are suf ficient to enable the labourers, as a body, to raise a number of children sufficient to keep up the popula tion to the level .of the food. The labourer who has the number of. children correspondent to that in crease, has just enough to keep his family alive, and no more. Those who have a greater than this num ber, and not a greater than the usual means of pro curing food, must partially starve.
This is the natural unavoidable condition of the greater part of mankind, so long as they continue to produce numbers greater than can be fed. The question then is, what are the effects which, in this situation of mankind, the institution of banks for the savings of the poor are calculated to produce Every thing, as we have already seen, is to be de rived through the medium of the disposition to ac-. cumulate.