V &quot; DARKEST ENGLAND &quot; SCHEME 28? 



Mr. Cunningham s physiological studies will have 

 informed him that the process of &quot; shutting the 

 eyes,&quot; in the literal sense of the words, is not 

 always wilful ; and I propose to illustrate, by the 

 crucial instance his own letter furnishes, that the 

 &quot; shutting of the eyes &quot; of the mind to the obvious 

 consequences of accepted propositions may also be 

 involuntary. At least, I hope so. 



1. &quot; Sooner or later,&quot; says Mr. Cunningham, 

 &quot; the population problem will block the way once 

 more.&quot; What does this mean, except that multi 

 plication, excessive in relation to the contem 

 poraneous means of support, will create a severe 

 competition for those means ? And this seems to 

 me to be a pretty accurate &quot; reflection of the con 

 ceptions of Malthus &quot; and the other poor benighted 

 folks of a past generation at whom Mr. Cunning 

 ham sneers. 



2. By way of leaving no doubt upon this sub 

 ject, Mr. Cunningham further tells us, &quot; The 

 struggle for existence is always going on, of 

 course; let us thank Darwin for making us realize 

 it.&quot; It is pleasant to meet with a little gratitude 

 to Darwin among the cpigoni who are squabbling 

 over the heritage he conquered for them, but Mr. 

 Cunningham s personal expression of that feeling 

 is hasty. For it is obvious that he has not 

 &quot; realized &quot; the significance of Darwin s teaching 

 indeed, I fail to discover in Mr. Cunningham s 

 letter any sign that he has even &quot; realized &quot; what 



