Ch. xiii. Principles on this Subject. 415 



which he employs well, he will not probably wish 

 to have more labourers on his land than his work 

 requires. He does not therefore build more 

 houses ; and the children of the labourers whom 

 he employs must evidently emigrate, and settle in 

 other countries. While such a system continues 

 peculiar to certain families or certain districts, 

 the emigrants would easily be able to find work 

 in other places ; and it cannot be doubted that the 

 individual labourers employed on these farms are 

 in an enviable situation, and such as we might na- 

 turally wish was the lot of all our labourers. But 

 it is perfectly clear that such a system could not, 

 in the nature of things, possess the same advan- 

 tages, if it were made general ; because there 

 would then be no countries to which the children 

 could emigrate with the same prospect of finding 

 work. Population would evidently increase be- 

 yond the demand of towns and manufactories, 

 and the price of labour would universally fall. 



It should be observed also, that one of the rea- 

 sons why the labourers who at present keep cows 

 are so comfortable, is, that they are able to make 

 considerable profit of the milk which they do not 

 use themselves ; an advantage which would evi- 

 dently be very much diminished, if the system 

 were universal. And though they were certainly 

 able to struggle through the late scarcities with 

 less assistance than their neighbours, as might 

 naturally be expected, from their having other 

 resources besides the article which in those indi- 

 vidual years was scarce; yet if the system were 



