Ch. xi. Condition of the Poor conskkred. 377 



the most industrious and provident, as at present, 

 a larger subscription would probably be demand- 

 ed, and no man would have the right to refuse it. 

 The evil would thus go on increasing as the poor- 

 rates do now. If indeed the assistance given 

 were always specific, and on no account to be in- 

 creased, as in the present voluntary associations, 

 this would certainly be a striking advantage ; but 

 the same advantage might be completely attained 

 by a similar distribution of the srms collected by 

 the parish rates. On the whole, therefore, it ap- 

 pears to me that, if the friendly societies were 

 made universal and compulsory, it would be 

 merely a different mode of collecting parish rates; 

 and any particular mode of distribution might be 

 as well adopted upon one system as upon the 

 other. 



With regard to the proposal of making single 

 men pay a fourth part of their earnings weekly, 

 and married men with families only a thirtieth 

 part, it would evidently operate as a heavy fine 

 vipon bachelors, and a high bounty upon children ; 

 and is therefore directly adverse to the general 

 spirit in which Mr. Townsend's excellent disser- 

 tation is written. Before he introduces this pro- 

 posal, he lays it down as a general principle, that 

 no system for the relief of the poor can be good, 

 which does not regulate population by the de- 

 mand for labour ;* but this proposal clearly tends 

 to encourage population without any reference to 



* P. 84. 



