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APPENDIX. 



sary for me to repeat the proofs of these premises derived 

 - both from theory and experience, which have already so 

 fully been brought forwards. It has been allowed that they 

 have been stated with tolerable clearness ; and it is known 

 that many persons have considered them as unassailable, 

 who still refuse to admit the consequences to which they 

 appear to lead. All that can be required therefore on the 

 present occasion is to examine the validity of the objections 

 to these premises brought forward by Mr. Weyland. 



Mr. VVeyland observes, " that the origin of what are con- 

 " ceived to be the mistakes and false reasonings, with respect 

 " to the principle of population, appears to be the assunip- 

 *' tion of a tendency to increase in the human species, the 

 " quickest that can be proved possible in any particular 

 " state of society, as that which is natural and theoretically 

 " possible in all ; and the characterizing of every cause 

 " which tends to prevent such quickest possible rate as 

 " checks to the natural and spontaneous tendency of popu- 

 " lation to increase-, but as checks evidently insufficient to 

 " stem the progress of an overwhelming torrent. This 

 " seems as eligible a mode of reasoning, as if one were to 

 " assume the height of the Irish giant as the natural standard 

 " of the stature of man, and to call every reason, which may 

 " be suggested as likely to prevent the generality of men 

 " from reaching it, checks to their growth."* 



Mr. Weyland has here most unhappily chosen his illus- 

 tration, as it is in no respect applicable to the case. In 

 order to illustrate the different rates at which population 

 increases in different countries, by the different heights of 

 ipen, the following comparison and inference would be 

 much more to the purpose. 



If in a particular country we observed that all the people 

 had weights of different sizes upon their heads, and that in- 

 variably each individual was tail or short in proportion to 

 the smallness or greatness of the pressure upon him ; that 

 every person was observed to grow when the weight he 

 carried was either removed or diminished, and that the few 

 among the whole people who were exempted from this bur- 

 den, were very decidedly taller than the rest ; would it not 

 be quite justifiable to infer, that the weights which the peo- 

 ple carried were the cause of their being in general so short ; 

 and that the height of those without weights might fairly be 



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