210 THE STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE v 



that which we have accumulated, and our pros- 

 perity has filled the world with envy. But Neme- 

 sis did not forget Croesus: has she forgotten us? 



I think not. There are now 36,000,000 of 

 people in our islands, and every year considerably 

 more than 300,000 are added to our numbers.* 

 That is to say, about every hundred seconds, or 

 so, a new claimant to a share in the common stock 

 or maintenance presents him or herself among us. 

 At the present time, the produce of the soil does 

 not suffice to feed half its population. The other 

 moiety has to be supplied with food which must 

 be bought from the people of food-producing coun- 

 tries. That is to say, we have to offer them the 

 things which they want in exchange for the things 

 we want. And the things they want and which 

 we can produce better than they can are mainly 

 manufactures industrial products. 



The insolent reproach of the first Napoleon had 

 a very solid foundation. We not only are, but, 

 under penalty of starvation, we are bound to be, a 

 nation of shopkeepers. But other nations also lie 

 under the same necessity of keeping shop, and 

 some of them deal in the same goods as ourselves. 

 Our customers naturally seek to get the most and 



* These numbers are only approximately accurate. In 

 1881, our population amounted to 35,241,482, exceeding 

 the number in 1871 by 3,396,103. The average annual 

 increase in the decennial period 1871 1881 is therefore 

 339,610. The number of minutes in a calendar year is 

 525,600. 



