370 Of the Checks to Population Bk. ii. 



siderable part of the greatest consumers * in fo- 

 reign countries, the price of provisions would not 

 rise in proportion, this advance in the real price 

 of labour would not only operate as a powerful 

 encouragement to marriage, but would enable the 

 peasants to live better, and to rear a greater 

 number of their children. 



At all times the number of small farmers and 

 proprietors in France was great ; and though such 

 a state of things is by no means favourable to the 

 clear surplus produce or disposable wealth of a 

 nation ; yet sometimes it is not unfavourable to 

 the absolute produce, and it has always a strong 

 tendency to encourage population. From the sale 

 and division of many of the large domains of the 

 nobles and clergy, the number of landed proprie- 

 tors, has considerably increased during the revo- 

 lution ; and as a part of these domains consisted 

 of parks and chases, new territory has been given 

 to the plough. It is true that the land-tax has 

 been not only too heavy, but injudiciously im- 

 posed. It is probable, however, that this disad- 

 vantage has been nearly counterbalanced by the 

 removal of the former oppressions, under which 

 the cultivator laboured ; and that the sale and 

 division of the great domains may be considered 

 as a clear advantage on the side of agriculture, or 



* Supposing the increased number of children at any period to 

 equal the number of men absent in the armies, yet these children, 

 being all very young, could not be supposed to consume a quantity 

 equal to that which would be consumed by the same number of 

 grown-up persons. 



