Ch. iii. improving the Condition of the Poor. 287 



tions of society, which have awarded him an inade- 

 quate share of the produce of the earth. He accuses 

 perhaps the dispensations of Providence, which 

 have assigned to him a place in society so beset 

 with unavoidable distress and dependence. In 

 searching for objects of accusation, he never ad- 

 verts to the quarter from which his misfortunes 

 originate. The last person that he would think 

 of accusing is himself, on whom in fact the prin- 

 cipal blame lies, except so far as he has been 

 deceived by the higher classes of society. He may 

 perhaps wish that he had not married, because he 

 now feels the inconveniences of it ; but it never 

 enters into his head that he can have done any 

 thing wrong. He has always been told, that to 

 raise up subjects for his king and country is a 

 very meritorious act. He has done this, and yet 

 is suffering for it ; and it cannot but strike him as 

 most extremely unjust and cruel in his king and 

 country, to allow him thus to suffer, in return for 

 giving them what they are continually declaring 

 that they particularly want. 



Till these erroneous ideas have been corrected, 

 and the language of nature and reason has been 

 generally heard on the subject of population, in- 

 stead of the language of error and prejudice, it 

 cannot be said, that any fair experiment has been 

 made with the understandings of the common 

 people; and we cannot justly accuse them of im- 

 providence and want of induslny, till they act as 

 they do now, after it has been brought home to 

 their comprehensions, that they arc themselves 



