INDEX. 



519 



Poor; of the only effectual Mode of im- 

 proving tlie Condition of the Poor, 

 ii. 283— almost all that has hitherto 

 been done for the poor, has tended 

 to throw a veil of obscurity over the 

 causes of their distress, 286 — till 

 such erroneous ideas have been cor- 

 rected, it cannot he said that any 

 fair experiment has been made with 

 their understandings, 287 — tliey are 

 themselves the principal authors of 

 their own poverty, and the means of 

 redress are in their hands alone, 288 

 — to urge people to marriage whtr. 

 they have little chance of being able 

 to support their children, is rashly 

 to tempt Providence, 289 — to encou- 

 rage marriage, and increase the num- 

 ber of labourers, have, in the expe- 

 rience of many centuries, constantly 

 failed to improve their condition, 

 289, 290 — it is time to try the con- 

 trary method, of withholding the 

 supply of labour, and thus propor- 

 tioning the population to the food, 

 290 — the absolute quantity of food 

 to be still increased by every means, 

 291- — the result of these reasonings 

 to be inculcated on the poor, and 

 theirtrue situation explained to them, 

 ib. 



Objections to the above Mode 



considered, ii. 292 — fii-st, a market 

 rather understocked with labour,i6. — 

 second, the diminution of population 

 that it would cause, 29j — third, that 

 by endeavouring to urge the duty of 

 moral restraint, we may increase the 

 quantity of vice relating to the sex, 

 294. 



Of the Consequences of pursuing 



the opposite Mode, ii. 300 — every 

 ctFort to repress a great mortality 

 would be vain, 301 — 305 — conside- 

 ration of the effect which might be 

 produced by a diminished mortality, 

 in increasing the population, or in 

 decreasing the nuujber of marriages, 

 305 — of the consequences of a pos- 

 sible extirpation of the small-pox by 

 means of the cow-pox, 307, 308 — it 

 is sufficient to leave every man to 

 his free choice respecting marriage, 

 which however is very far from being 

 the case at present, 308, 309 

 amonc the lower classes, the poor- 

 laws and private benevolence ope- 

 rate as a direct encouragement, 309 

 — among the higher classes the ex- 

 isting manners, and in all ranks the 



prevailing prejudices, have the same 

 tendency, 309, 310 — the want of 

 employment for the poor not charge- 

 able on the government, 328, 329 — 

 330. 

 Poor; a gradual Abolition of the Poor- 

 Laws recommended, ii. 109 — planfor 

 such gradual abolition, 335 — extra- 

 ordinary proportion of paupers in 

 this country, ib. — objection to a spe- 

 cific limitation of the rale to be raised 

 for their relief, as a mode of diminish- 

 ing their number, 336 — in adopting 

 a system for the gradual abolition of 

 these laws, the right of the poor to 

 support must be previously and for- 

 mally disclaimed, 337, 338— objec- 

 tions to this disavowal, answered, 

 452, et seq. — measure for that pur- 

 pose ; future children born beyond 

 a certain period, to be declared de- 

 barred from parish assistance, 337, 

 338 — the liberty of marrying, at any 

 age, on no account to be infringed, 

 338, 339 — the sphere for the exer- 

 cise of private benevolence would 

 not be greater after such a regulation 

 than now, 340— case of illegitimate 

 children under these circumstances, 

 338 — 340 — frequency of their de- 

 sertion by their parents, 340, 341 — 

 if no provision were made for thera 

 by the laws in such a situation, the 

 ties of nature would be strong enough 

 to retain the parents in their duty, 

 341, 342 — pernicious custom of 

 frightening the father of an illegiti- 

 mate child into marriage by the ter- 

 rors of a jail,. 342 — the most power- 

 ful obligation on every man to sup- 

 port his children, would be the know- 

 ledge that they must depend solely 

 on this support, 343 — objections that 

 a mother and her children should not 

 thus suffer from the misconduct of 

 the father, answered, 343 — 345 — 

 unoppressive extinction of the poor- 

 rates by this plan, 345 — the supe- 

 riority in the state of the poor in 

 England exists in spite, and not in 

 consequence, of the poor-laws, 345 



347 — destructive consequences, 



which would attend the establish- 

 ment of a system of parochial relief 

 in many of the other countries of 

 Europe, 347— 350— objections of 

 Mr. Young to the above plan, and 

 his own plan for the relief of the 

 poor, considered, 457 et seq. 

 Different Plans of improving the 



