The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1823-09-12
POLITICAL ECONOMY.

work has been lately published in
,1ndan. entitled .Niie IDEAS OF Popula-
-" NTH Remarks on he THEORIES Of
,f,l,bns and Godlcin, by Mr.. ENfRrTT,
,meriran Charge dAfaires 1T the court of
.le Netherlands" A copy Of the work
las been received at Boston, and The Duty
T{rediser of that city, t2d August con-
,,;os an extract from il, giving a brief view
# the theory maintained by The ashor.--
!. Will be recolec ted that this is the same
.,,ntrinan who published abpat two Years
rg,. A word on the state OF Europe, which
snnearcd also in London. We have en-
favored To condense the ideas without
igiring the chain nf argument by which
4 ;b,y are held together.
The new idea, which forms the leading
principle of the author, is, that the increase
E of population is the cause of abundance,
q and not of scarcity. He objects IN the
E thcores of Goodwin and Nautilus, because
8 t,e former maintains TINT political inslitu
lions are the source of all evil, while the
4 bitter attributes all our mlSerles to ;.neces
j ury and permanent excess of population,
arising entirely independent oil political III
i stutions.
The increase of population, according to
MIR Everett, creates abundance instead of
] scarcity, because it angmen,s the supply
4 Of labor in proportion tn the demand for
lis products, and, at the same time, devc
jhpes the new elements of skill, whereby
/ me same quantity of labor Is applied with
great effect, and becomes more productive.
nan before. lie proves this proposition
i 4 Of, p, ,rn,op.I N BpIplna aud "a
1.-The history of civilization. But admitting
mat labor becomes more productive, aud
/ the means of subsistence more abundant,
/ his very circumstance will give rise 10
Danger of scarcity, whenever the necessary
supply ofthe means of Subsistence is likely
1 :, be exhausted. Mr.. Matthias supposes
mat tins is precisely the present condition
/ Of things in the world in consequence of
/ an universal tendency TO an excess OF po
nuIation and deficiency of food, arising
! from the different rates by which food and
! population naturally increase. The author
sadeayors to refltr this objection, IN order
4 10 establish the truth of his theory. Tine
/ argument Of Mr. Nautilus takes it for gran
led, that given population must subsist
mon the products Of the sod they occupy !:
tlp AUTHOR oilIAH ltt ~ St''
superstition; by producing variety OF
examples, as fer instance the city Of Lon
don. He also states that the rate al the
human species assumed by Nh Nautilus as
rue, involves d logical error, and Is, in
/ point of fact, great dead too high il being
dtduced from Il single case, ard not from
an average of all the known cases.
Although the author considers that the
4 rafutaiou Of these errors in argument are
l glite sufficient 10 establish the truth Of his
/ own proposition, yet his subject is further
/ Illustrated by showing that the increase
/ orponaaton is checked at every stage of
civilization, by particular forms OF moral
and physlcal e1l. The operation Of these
! evils my be indefinitely diminished, bat
cannot be wholly rcmNcd, aud will always
prevent the earth from being oyerstocked
With Inhabitants The astonishing in
crease Of population in the United States
l is attributed tn an exemption from those
e,ilsas checks upon population, or, IN other
| words, to the so0t! morals al the people !;
and the abundance of the means OF suhsls
frncelce is stated To be the consequence,
and not the cause, of our favorable moral
and political situation.
The different conclusions tlrawn from the
theories Of MIR. Ma,llhs and Mr.. Everett
are very innnrtam in themselves, and
show in very interesting light the gr
difference that exists between them. The
conclusion drawn by Mr.. Nautilus from his
theory. is the nronrietv of djsconraging mar
rage and aboli.hipg the poor laws. The
l.adiny proposilioas maintained By Mr..
Everett, naturally foster those benevolent
and socia! instincts Of nature which lead
10 tie universal prevalence of early mar
riages. and IA the establishment of inslitu
tons for the relief Of The destitute. Such a
conclusion. in unison with our social and
brne,olnnt f..,;n,,. ,vonIJ nf itself lurpisl,