290 Of the only effectual Moik of Bk. iv. 



to foretel the certain failure of such a plan of 

 proceeding. There is nothing however like ex- 

 perience. It has been tried in many different 

 countries, and for many hundred years, and the 

 success has always been answerable to the nature 

 of the scheme. It is really time now to try some- 

 thing else. 



When it was found that oxygen, or pure vital 

 air, would not cure consumptions as was expected, 

 but rather aggravated their symptoms, trial was 

 made of an air of the most opposite kind. I wish 

 we had acted with the same philosophical spirit 

 in our attempts to cure the disease of poverty ; 

 and having found that the pouring in of fresh 

 supplies of labour only tended to aggravate the 

 symptoms, had tried what would be the effect of 

 withholding a little these supplies. 



In all old and fully-peopled states it is from 

 this method, and this alone, that we can rationally 

 expect any essential and permanent melioration in 

 the condition of the labouring classes of the people. 



In an endeavour to raise the proportion of the 

 quantity of provisions to the number of consumers 

 in any country, our attention would naturally be 

 first directed to the increasing of the absolute 

 quantity of provisions ; but finding that, as fast as 

 we did this, the number of consumers more than 

 kept pace with it, and that with all our exer- 

 tions we were still as far as ever behind, we should 

 be convinced, that our efforts directed only in this 

 way would never succeed. It would appear to be 

 setting the tortoise to catch the hare. Finding, 

 therefore, that from the laws of nature we could 



