Ch.ix. Siberia, Northern and Southern. 171 



pected that he should overcome his natural indo- 

 lence, and undertake a larger and more trouble- 

 some concern, merely to provide them gratuitously 

 with food. In such a state of things, when the 

 very small demand for manufacturing labour is 

 satisfied, what are the rest to do? They are, in 

 fact, as completely without the means of subsist- 

 ence as if they were living upon a barren sand. 

 They must either emigrate to some place where 

 their work is wanted, or perish miserably of po- 

 verty. Should they be prevented from suffering 

 this last extremity by a scanty subsistence given 

 to them, in consequence of a scanty and only 

 occasional use of their labour, it is evident that, 

 though they might exist themselves, they would 

 not be in a capacity to marry and continue to in- 

 crease the population. 



If in the best cultivated and most populous 

 countries of Europe the present divisions of land 

 and farms had taken place, and had not been fol- 

 lowed by the introduction of commerce and ma- 

 nufactures, population would long since have 

 come to a stand from the total want of motive to 

 further cultivation, and the consequent want of 

 demand for labour; and it is obvious that the 

 excessive fertility of the country now under con- 

 sideration would rather aggravate than diminish 

 the difficulty. 



It will probably be said that, if there were much 

 good land unused, new settlements and divisions 

 would of course take place, and that the redun- 



