88 Of Poor-Laws, contimied. Bk. iii. 



from the consequences of poverty after marriage, 

 the increase of people would be rapid beyond 

 example in old states. After what has been said 

 in the former parts of this work, it is submitted 

 to the reader, whether the utmost exertions of the 

 most enlightened government could, in this case, 

 make the food keep pace with the population ; 

 much less a mere arbitrary edict, the tendency of 

 which is certainly rather to diminish than to in- 

 crease the funds for the maintenance of productive 

 labour. 



In the actual circumstances of every country, 

 the prolific power of nature seems to be always 

 ready to exert nearly its full force ; but within the 

 limit of possibility, there is nothing perhaps more 

 improbable, or more out of the reach of any 

 government to effect, than the direction of the 

 industry of its subjects in such a manner, as to 

 produce the greatest quantity of human suste- 

 nance that the earth could bear. It evidently 

 could not be done without the most complete 

 violation of the law of property, from which every 

 thing that is valuable to man has hitherto arisen. 

 Such is the disposition to marry, particularly in 

 very young people, that, if the difficulties of pro- 

 viding for a family were entirely removed, very 

 few would remain single at twenty-two. But 

 what statesman or rational government could 

 propose that all animal food should be prohibited, 

 that no horses should be used for business or 

 pleasure, that all the people should live upon 

 potatoes, and that the whole industry of the 



