Ch. xiii. preceding View of Society. 531 



swer to this description. The average produce of 

 these countries seems to be but barely sufficient 

 to support the lives of the inhabitants, and of course 

 any deficiency from the badness of the seasons must 

 be fatal. Nations in this state must necessarily 

 be subject to famines. 



In America, where the reward of labour is at 

 present so liberal, the lower classes might retrench 

 very considerably in a year of scarcity, without 

 materially distressing themselves. A famine there- 

 fore seems to be almost impossible. It may be 

 expected, that in the progress of the population 

 of America, the labourers will in time be much 

 less liberally rewarded. The numbers will in this 

 case permanently increase, without a proportional 

 increase in the means of subsistence. 



In the different countries of Europe there must 

 be some variations in the proportion of the num- 

 ber of inhabitants, and the quantity of food con- 

 sumed, arising from the different habits of living 

 which prevail in each state. The labourers in the 

 south of England are so accustomed to eat fine 

 wheaten bread, that they will suffer themselves 

 to be half starved before they will submit to live 

 like the Scotch peasants. 



They might perhaps, in time, by the constant 

 operation of the hard law of necessity, be reduced 

 to live even like the lower classes of the Chinese, 

 and the country would then with the same quan- 

 tity of food support a greater population. But to 

 effect this must always be a difficult, and every 

 friend to humanity will hope, an abortive attempt. 



M M 2 



