80 Malthusianism and the 



that must be obeyed, to whose dictates the non-moral 

 as well as the moral must conform. 



Malthus, however, not perceiving the operation of 

 this law, which is manifoldly visible to any present-day 

 student of the statistical information supplied by the 

 bureaux of Christendom, entertained the belief that the 

 majority of marriages which took place were unaccom- 

 panied by due reflection on the part of those marrying 

 as to whether they had a reasonable prospect of being 

 able to maintain a wife and family in the future. 

 Accordingly he held that the neglect of this check of 

 moral restraint was the main cause of the tendency to 

 over-population, which called for the action of his 

 positive checks to overcome it ; for, as he said, " Moral 

 restraint, whatever hopes we may entertain of its 

 action in the future, has acted in the past history of the 

 race with inconsiderable force." 



The young working-man marries when his wage 

 suffices, as a matter of experience, to maintain a wife 

 and family. This necessarily implies maintenance of 

 average health in order that his wage may be constant. 

 This, however, cannot be assured to him, but on the 

 average he has a fair prospect of securing it. Were it 

 otherwise he could never face marriage at all. But the 

 working-man, justified as he is, in the light of experi- 

 ence, of cherishing this confidence, is nevertheless in- 

 capable of contemplating marriage until he is actually 

 in receipt of a living wage and has assurance of its 

 continuity. The labour market is supported by a 

 constant succession of young men to posts vacated by 

 death, debility, and age, or by those who have emi- 

 grated ; and in addition there are always sufficient 

 young men to fill posts created by the expansion of 

 industry. 



Most young men marry as soon as they attain a 

 position which enables them to do so, but it generally 



