come to him. Parliament passed an act to regulate and reduce wages to the old standard before the plague, the penalties were very severe, but they were evaded, act upon act was passed, at length it was made death to give or to take "excessive wages,' all would not do, means were found to evade the law, and high wages were given. At the end of about thirty years these laws fell into disuse, population had increased, wages fell, and population continuing to increase the people became as they had been before the plague, exceedingly ill paid.

These demonstrations are, I think, conclusive. But lest our objecter should refer to the United States, it may be as well to say a few words on that country. In the United States, the people have from procreation alone, doubled their numbers in less than twenty five years for several periods of twenty-five years. There are in the United States two millions of square miles and ten millions of People. In England there are about two hundred persons to a square mile, let us then see how many years it will take to people the United States to two hundred to the square mile.

Thus in one hundred and forty-five years the United States would have nearly two hundred persons to each square mile, and in twenty-five years after that period, or in one hundred and ninety years, four hundred and twenty persons to each square mile. But before the population had reached this extent, it would be as wretched as any country in Europe, not perhaps excepting Ireland as it now is.

Let us apply this rule to England. Twenty nine years after the great plague, namely in 1377, the population of England and Wales was estimated at 2,353,203, for the purpose of an easy calculation we will call it 3,000,000.

Doubling this every twenty-five years the numbers will stand thus:

--:

England and Wales including all the rivers, lakes, mountains, roads, woods, canals, and barren spots contains, 37,000,000 of acres, so that if the doubling of the number of people could have gone on as it has gone on, and is still going on, in Ireland and in the United States, there would have been 8,400 persons to every acre of land. This is evidently impossible, and being impossible, how, by what means have the numbers of people been kept down. The answer is plain, by poverty and its concomitants, ignorance, misery, vice, and crime.

It is now as "clear as the sun at noon day," that the increase of population is stayed, and must be stayed, either with our will or against our will. By prudence or by horrid misery, and which is the best mode? Prudence certainly. Every person who seriously contemplates the prolific power in mankind, will see that the increase beyond a certain point, in every stage of society will be staid. And no one seeing that will hesitate to say that prudence is not better than misery. But then again comes the question, what do you mean by prudence, I will tell you. The use of such means as while they do no injury to health, shall prevent conception, and thus enable married people to have no more children than they find their means adequate to the support of. This is prudence, and the greatest of all blessings, ease, comfort, the means of education to their children, the removal of all apprehension for their future welfare as they grow up, and the reasonable expectation of seeing them settled during the life time of their parents. These inestimable blessings, will as certainly be the result of prudence in this respect, as that poverty, misery, vice, crime, and premature death will continue to result from the want of prudence. Early marraiges, the best and happiest state of society will be another consequence of prudence in this respect, debauchery will be as rare then as it is common now, and all the harrassing and distressing fear, all the dreadful apprehensions, of worthy and reputable mothers will cease, and this as every such woman knows, would alone be an unqualified blessing.

You Mr. Carlile say, "I am not for waiting another generation to remove that which is wrong in the present.' No, nor I neither, and why should we, what is there in this recommendation of prudence which stands in the way of any effort which can be made

to remove all our evils, moral or political? None surely, on the contrary, the greater, the prudence of the people in respect to population, the greater and better, and more certain will be their efforts for the removal of all other evils.

F.

Note by R. Carlile. I know this correspondent F. so well, that I know he is quite as radical in his views of necessary reformation as myself; though we are not exactly seen by the public in the same light. He is desirous, and I am desirous, to see every human being well fed, well clothed, well housed, and well educated-to see all intelligent and happy; and happiness in all cases is the better part of intelligence. But his first principle towards a general reformation is to lessen the number of human beings, under the idea, that there are too many to be all happy; and I, having such a warlike principle against every thing in the shape of robbery and oppression, make it a first principle to take away the power from those who are enabled to rob and oppress. I cannot bear the thought of talking about too many to be all happy, until, I see a trial of the matter without robbery and oppression. I have not one word left to say against this proposed prudent check to the unhappy extension of numbers, where there are not the means to support them in comfort; but, with me, it shall be left as a domestic, or family arrangement. I will not advocate it at present under the head of a great political principle.

It is now well understood, that the possession of capital and an active interchange of commodities, not only between individuals of the same country, but between individuals of all countries, that shall lead to the greastest possible general consumption, is the great source of true and useful civilization and happiness to mankind. There ought to be no wars, no national prejudices, but a mutual friendly and commercial intercourse over the whole face of the earth. Then the question would soon unfold itself, as to whether there would be too many to make all happy.

Man is certainly a prolific animal; but is not the earth and the sea also prolific to keep pace with his wants? The sea itself is so astonishingly prolific, that, in its present state, if the means of taking them could be found, it would produce animals enough to feed all the animals of the earth. is not only the sea but the animal and vegetable productions

There

of the earth annually renewed to supply the wants of the most powerful animals.

One evil among mankind is, that habit induces them to look upon but a very small class of articles as proper food, and many a human being has perished from want in the midst of a plenty that was attainable! There are thousands of women, and men with women's minds, in this country, that would feel it to be starvation itself to be deprived of tea! Whilst every field and garden offers an equally pleasant substitute! Some carry the same notion to beer, tobacco, and snuff, the whole of which, tea included, are superfluities, and not necessaries. Others, again, think it starvation to be deprived of animal food: others of bread: and the unhappy and oppressed Irish look at nothing so much as their potatoes: to be stuffed with which, is but one mode of starvation. But for myself, I can say, that, if at large, I would not starve, whilst I could find grass with the horse and cow, and browze on thistles with the ass assured, that what feeds so fine an animal as a horse, or a cow, or even an ass! would feed me. But this comparison does not escape me in the shape of a recommendation to others; I will not consent to have, one part of mankind wallowing in unwholesome luxuries, and the larger part to be on a level with the cattle of the field. I will work towards an equality among them, and this only by a communication of knowledge-by shewing them how they are unjustly robbed and oppressed.

Capital and the most extensive intercourse among mankind being the great source of civilization and happiness, it follows, that every shilling of taxation, that is not applied to the general welfare, is a consumption, a diminution, and a waste of that capital and human happiness. Now, I find, in this country, the most profuse and direful waste of this capital and this source of human happiness. It has been contended, that taxation is beneficial, by such politicians as Judge Bailey. So it is, to a few, but, in no case, to the majority, can unnecessary taxation be beneficial. It may enable a few to make splendid appearances; and a few more, from contracts to supply those appearances, to carry on what is called a roaring trade; but all this while the majority are languishing with debility from the exhaustion. This is and has been precisely the state of England, so far back as we have any history of it. This every labouring man in England has felt in his turn. And this it is that keeps up an

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excess of misery, hugely preponderating over the happiness of the country.

This premised, I have only to reccunt this consumption, this diminution, this waste of capital and human happi

ness.

First-I take the religion of the people, or rather the religion of the priests.

This Island is supposed to contain sixteen millions of people, of human beings, and it is within the mark to say, that sixteen millions of pounds sterling are in this Island annually expended on matters of religion alone! This makes an annual tax of a pound for each; and every labouring man is taxed, for the purposes of religion, one pound a year for each member of his family dependant upon his labour. This tax is wholly unnecessary; because, religion is nothing useful, nothing but a vice; it is all founded in error and an ignorance of ourselves and the things about us. Besides this waste of capital for the purposes of religion, the waste of time and the mental disorders occasioned by it, are truly lamentable to a reflecting mind-to all but the priests, who thrive in idleness by it.

Second, comes in this country, what is called the national debt, which has grown to be an evil of greater magnitude than religion; in so much as each individual is taxed at the rate of three pounds a year to pay its interest. This is another standing waste of capital and the human happiness of this country.

Third, comes the ordinary expences of such a government as is kept up in this country, which, at least, constitutes another tax of two pounds a year upon each individual, and is at least one pound a year more than is necessary for every useful purpose.

Fourth and last, we may include the country, parochial and corporate taxes, the bulk of which with a multitude of other evils enumerated under the three first heads, and fairly calculate that each individual is here taxed, in addition to what would otherwise be necessary, at the rate of another pound a year.

Setting aside the one pound a year that would be necessary for the purposes of useful government, we find each indivi dual taxed at the rate of six pounds a year more than is necessary. Now, let each individual sit down and ask himself what additional means of consumption these six pounds a year, with half the existing prices for food, clothing and house rent would afford him. Let him ask himself what he