Darwinism 2 1 



to be the only strong onslaught on Darwinism which has 

 been produced. Although Paulin is not by training a 

 scientific man he has a strong logical faculty, and I am 

 of opinion that his arguments are of such force as to 

 destroy the basis on which the theory rests. He admits 

 a "struggle for existence," but not in the Darwinian 

 sense, and maintains that there is no such thing as 

 every individual of every species fighting continually 

 with its neighbour in order to secure sufficient food by 

 which to maintain life ; and that nature has made 

 special provision for the elimination of all excess of 

 reproduction. Darwin supposed they were slain in 

 internecine strife ; Paulin proves that no such state 

 of things exists ; that, in fact, as far more are born than 

 ever can or do survive, the process of elimination takes 

 place long before the individual reaches maturity or 

 can propagate his kind. He proves also that individual 

 variations play no part in this process, and that nature 

 does not make use of individual variations to originate 

 new forms. 



Darwin admits his ignorance of the method of elimi- 

 nation of excess of reproduction. He writes : "A 

 struggle for existence follows from the high rate at 

 which all organic beings tend to increase. Hence as 

 more individuals are produced than can possibly sur- 

 vive, there must in every case be a struggle for exist- 

 ence, either one individual with another of the same 

 species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or 

 with the physical conditions of life." Now, when we 

 look around, do we find starvation working havoc 

 among creatures unable to find food from being less 

 fitted than their fellows to struggle for it ? Do we find 

 the reign of tooth and claw everywhere prevailing, as 

 it must if Darwin is right. Darwin left out of account 

 that Nature might have some means of eliminating her 

 superfluous numbers without suffering and without 



