72 Malthusianism and the 



was discovered the people increasingly applied them- 

 selves to tillage, and this change in agricultural method 

 — from pastoral to tillage — combined with the continual 

 accretion from waste land, increased largely and rapidly 

 the means of subsistence. As the area under cultiva- 

 tion was extended it was portioned into farms, so that 

 the young peasants had no difficulty in making homes 

 for themselves, and were thus enabled to marry at an 

 early age. The superabundant population of Ireland 

 was in no way due to the operation of the theory of 

 Malthus. There took place in Ireland what almost 

 invariably happens where population is increasing, an 

 exemplification of the fact that the means of living 

 tends to increase faster than population ; for, whereas 

 in a century and a half the population had grown 

 eightfold, the means of subsistence had grown from 

 twelve to twentyfold. 



In dealing with India, the disciples of Malthus and 

 all who believe his theory as the impregnable rock 

 of the doctrine of natural selection speak of it as a 

 striking instance of the evils wrought by a systematic 

 attempt to thwart the operation of the checks by 

 which nature prevents over-population. They lament 

 the mischief caused by the benevolent British regime 

 — first, in attempting by sanitary means to lessen the 

 mortality from smallpox, cholera, and plague ; 

 secondly, by preventing inter-tribal wars with their 

 consequent depopulation ; thirdly, by the stamping 

 out of such customs as Suttee, Thuggism, and in- 

 fanticide. They submit that these measures have 

 prevented the due working of the laws ordained by 

 nature to act as checks upon the increase of population, 

 and accordingly, in the course of a century, the census 

 has grown from 150 to 300 millions. 



Without doubt the British Raj has diminished the 

 mortality of the inhabitants in many ways. This is 



