178 
Tuefday, halfa pint of wheat or wheaten 
flour, made into pudding or foup. - 
‘Wednefday, two pounds of potatoes, 
turnips, carrots, or other vegetables that 
are in feafon. ; 
Saiurday, a quarter of a pound of 
cheefe, or the vegetables as on Wednefday. 
Salt, every day a quarter of an ounce. 
This is certainly no ftarving plan ; 
and I may add, that Mr. H. was parti- 
cularly attentive to the fecuring of due 
weight and meafure in prifon allowanees, 
being well apprifed of the ufual frauds in 
this point. ‘ sie sea? 
Having thus endeavoured to vindicate 
the memory of this diftmMguifhed friend of 
mankind from the imputation of undue 
harfhnefs and feverity in his own genuine 
plans, I do not feel it to be my butinefs 
to draw any compariions, in whi.h F 
could have no other guide than common 
tumour, or reprefentations of which I 
know not the truth. Let thofe make 
them who are poffefled of the means of 
information, and of impartiality to ufe 
them with juftice. Fhe fubjed& is, doubt- 
lefs, of high importance, and ought not 
to be paffed over lightly. Had Mr. H. 
been ftill living E am fure it could not 
have Jong remained without a complete in- 
vettigation. J. ALKIN. 
Stoke Newington, March 10. 
a> oe 
© To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
X7 GU will do mea great favour, if, 
through the medium of your valu- 
able mifcellany, you will allow me to 
notice a misftatement re{pe€ting the ** Ef 
fay on the’Principles of Population,” ma 
note to a poem, called, ‘* The Literary 
Cenfus,”. by Mr. Dutton. 
it has not unfrequently happened, that 
an inference has been drawn from an ag- 
thor’s reafonings by others, totally diffe. 
rent from that which he himfelf had in 
view. From the nature of the principal 
argument in the * Ejay on Population,” 
I have not been without apprehentions, 
that fome perfon would exercife his inge- 
nuity in applying it to a defence of war; 
and I was rather anxious for an opportu- 
nity of flating, that no fuch ufe could be 
made of it with the flighteft. relemblance 
of juft reafoning. Warbeing, generally 
fpeaking, a voluntary act, tending to 
foftzr the more malignant paflions of the 
foul, and to produce the worft effeéis 
upon the human character, muft ever be 
confidered as. vice: and. in whatever 
light we view the &tuation of man on 
Letters from the Author of the Effay on Population. 
[ April 
earth, he can never be juftified in recur- 
ring to vice in order to avoid mifery. 
To bear the unavoidable evils of life with 
unyielding integrity is the higheft teft of 
our virtue: to attempt to efcape then by 
Vicious means is the great proof of our 
weakneis, and of our unfitnefs for a fupe- 
rior ftate. Ehis would alone be a fufi- 
cient anfwer; but, m addition to this, 
let it be recolleéted, that war is in itfelf 
an evil in no refpeét inferior to any that | 
it might be fuppofed to prevent. If it 
were probable that ten thoufand people 
would die of a peftilence or famine, it 
would certainly be a ftrange mode of pro- 
ceeding, fo mafiacre thefe ten thoufand, 
in order to prevent: fuch an event. For, 
granting that by fucl means you pre- 
vented the peftilence or famine, you would 
not have prevented the mifery; you 
would only have exchanged one {pecies of 
diftrefs for another not inferior in degree, 
and you would {till have the cries of the 
orphan and the widow, and tlie groans 
of the dying. It is evident, therefore, 
that no degree of inconvenience arifing 
from an overcharged population could 
ever afford to a civilized people the 
flighteft excufe for war. Yet I thought 
it not abfolutely impoflible that fome 
perfon might advance fuch a plea, how- 
ever palpably weak ; but, I own I was 
totally unprepared to expect that any 
perfon fhould ferioufly affert, that I my- 
felf had advaneed it, and had undertakes. 
to prove *¢ that war was an unfpeakable 
bletling to mankind.” F every where 
rank it among the checks to population, 
which I call mifery and vice; and in 
{peaking of it as the prominent feature of 
the barbaric character, I exprefsly fay, 
that the commiffion of war is vice, and 
the effect of it mifery. This, I fhould 
hardly think, would be the laneuage of 2 
perfon whe attempted to preve waran un- 
{peakable bleffing. ; 
En a note towards the end of the poem, 
Mr. Dutton fays, ‘* E-am not of that 
elafs of men who, with the author of the 
“* Effay om Population,” think it neceflary 
that man fhould be deftroyed by war by 
wholefale, becauie, forfooth, the Author 
ot our exiftence has no other method of dif- 
pofing of us; or, that it becomes us to 
cut each other’s throat, becaufe Ged has 
not rendered the earth capable of producing 
fuficient fuftenance for the. prolongation 
of our exiftence.”” I fhould certainly feel 
very much afhamed of myfelf, if I had ex- 
prefied {uch a fentiment ; but being con- 
{cious that there is not in the whole 
Effay.any thing that bears the moft dif- 
tant 
