366 RURAL ECONOMY OF ENGLAND. 



means of subsistence except the land, upon the land fell 

 the whole burden of the population ; and although the 

 island was less populous, upon the whole, than England, 

 the rural districts were twofold more so, because manu- 

 factures, which in England engage two-thirds of the 

 hands, were entirely wanting. 



This multiplication of the rural population was en- 

 couraged by the proprietors, because it increased compe- 

 tition, brought down wages, and raised the rent of their 

 lands, a calculation as false as it was culpable, for the rent 

 thus extorted ended in becoming delusive. Everywhere 

 else, and particularly in England, proprietors are obliged 

 to construct, and keep in repair, the buildings which serve 

 as dwellings for most of the farmers. In this way 

 they have an interest, to a certain extent, in not multi- 

 plying the number beyond a certain point. In Ireland, 

 as each family built their own cabin, they had, or thought 

 they had, the opposite interest. The cultivators, in 

 their turn, prompted to improvidence by their very 

 indigence, giving themselves little concern about the fate 

 of their children, who could neither be bettered nor be- 

 come worse off, became beggars (proletaires) in the full 

 acceptation of the old Latin word proletarii, which vul- 

 garly expresses one of the most sad consequences of 

 human degradation. 



There were also two mysterious causes of this unlimited 

 propagation, both proceeding from the miserable con- 

 dition of the people. The first is the inexplicable physio- 

 logical law which ordains, for all living species, that the 

 means of reproduction increase in proportion to the 

 chances of destruction. The action of this law may be 

 observed among the lower animals, and also in the human 

 race inhabiting unhealthy climates. As the chances of 

 death increase, births also increase ; and, whether among 



