The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-09-14
.Ths True Law or Population" %.

"The True Law OF P0pulatiOn."<
European economists have labored long and ear.
nestly to solve the varied difficulties which beset
what is called "the law Of population In that
quarter of the world the Question possesses an alb.
sorbing interest and importance, and theories have
been propounded which more or less influence .,ue
policy OF governments. In EnFl..a Aspecially.
tho doctrines promolgat..a by MAlrAus have beeh
received by the ruling classes with a respec, due
oniy '" automatic truths, and have tended largely
10 determine the character of recent legislation.
The propositions Of MAIrHUs received popular e3-
position in Miss MARrIsEAu's homely tales, and
were the basis Of tbs argutmepts advanced by Lord
BRoyaHAA and Legislators OF the Wing and Tory
parties in favor of an abandonment of tho old
Elizabethan poor. law, and tho enactment in its
stead of the poor-law now in operation in Eng
land. The MARrINEAU morals and the BRouoHAM
enacments were, in tryth. consequences fairly de-
ducible, from Tire principles laid down by NAL
rHes. II, as he argued, population inevitably in
creases in ratio greater than that Of the means
OF subsistence, and, therefore, that there are al.
ways in the world large proportion of human
beings for whom no seats are provided at the great
bounteous table Of nature follows that the teach.
ers Of the people are iuhtiKed in matchmaking
early marriages, and that their rulers may find
plausible apologies for the forcible separation of
couples whose poverty compels them to seek sus.
tenance from the State. -
1t not surprising, then, that the titled and mo-
neyed arisocracies of the Old World have received
with favor doctrines peculiarly calculated to sustain
their pretensions; orr theothe hand that Radical
writer's have felt constrained to assal that
are inmical to the very foundations Of the Radical
creed. In this controversy the show of tacts was
Tor long period on the side Of the Malthusiaas
GoDwiN, the speculative author of "Political JUS
nce," assaied the theory repugnantto mans in
herent sense Of right; while the vigorous but abu-
eve CoBsETr devoted the last ten years of his life
to ffuitless battle in behalf of the practical in
terests OF the poor Of his country. But neither
magnificent generalixations nor appeals 70 Human
i,y suaicsd to cheek Tie progress of the obnoxious
ucctrines, which at this moment lie at the root of
England's treatment of her own poor, and Of the
poor of her sister Ireland.
At length we have what purports to be 1.-The
Truo Law of Population" from the pen Of one
known 70 the readers of the English press as
quondam Chartist orator, and known also az very
graceful contributor to the poetical department Of
BlackDood. Mr.. DouBLEDAY's book has received
considerable attention at the hands OF the quarterly
reviewers, and we propose to present to our read
ers an abstract Of its principles and Of the
ing by which they sustained. The question:
though appealing directly to the political student
is not without interest to the general reader even
In this country.
The "true law" which Mr.. DOUBLEDAY pro-
pounds as that which governs the increase and de-
crease, not only of mankind. but Of the whole ami
NAL and vegetable world, may be thus epitomized:
The hrst law Of nature ia the preservation of all
created species Of animal and vegetable life.
When, therefore, species il endangered by in
anition or want of nutriment, nature DEGREES an
increased effort at reproduction. when, on the
other hand, disease 10 likely to be induced by too
rich and laxarious hntt!tseht, nature diminishes
The power of reproduction as a safeguard. state
of depletion, then, arising from deficient nourish
ment, Is favorable to the fertility of all animals
and plants state Of repletion or plethora, arts.
ing from too much and rich nutriment, diminishes
the fecundity of all animals and plants. When
the nutrirnent 10 just sufficient, they reproduce
their numbers without increasing them. In hu.
b1an society, according to this law, there is con.
slant increase amongst the poor; and a constant
decrease amongst the rich, idle, and luxurious
Those moderately fed and worked are stationary
in number. Hence the increase or decrease of
population depends on the way IN which wealth is
divided, and on the proportion which rich and
poor bear to each other. Where few revel in
luxury, while the masses are destitute, the num-
beers rapidly increase, and the evil helps it's own
growth. Where riches are more equally divided,
the numbers are stationary. Where the people
live loo luxuriously, as in some rich countries
where few taxes are levied, the numbers decline,
and depopulation is the evil complained of.
The practice of horticulture and of breeding is
founded on this law. If a plant or tree is put into
coil that 10 too rich for it. barrenness follows
The plant refuses to seed, and the flower becomes
double. lfthe tree has blossoms, they do not yield
fruit, and are only at the ends Of branches whilst
the wood increases too fast. To this tendency
gardeners give the plant or tree ga check" which
seems to endanger it. Plants made to flower
and seed by being exposed to cold and nipped.
Trees Are made to bear by cutting rings in the
bark round the stem, which stops the progress of
the sap. BY the same law Of nature, when trees
touch soil injurious to their lfe they bear largely
and then die. In breeding animals, the same rule
obtains. The mare or COW, or eve, to be prolific,
must be made lean. When breeders desire that
eve should produce one lamb only, they bring her
to medium state of condition to insure that event.
From the operation of the same law, it 10 observed
that the most lambs produced after long and
sharp winters, which keep the flock lean and IN
der-fed. With birds the same law 10 potent. The
French fable of "une femme ct ga po,le' turns upon
tho good dame, in hopes of a double quantity of
eggs, giving her hen double rations of grim. The
hen becomes "fort srosse," and not another egg
does she lay.
In his third Chapter, Mr.. DOUBLEDAY treats of
the general facts of increase and decrease amongst
mankind a. arising from this law. The old my
biological fiction of Venus rising from the sea, and
the notion Of the great cundity OF "Ictbyophagi,"
or hsh-eaters, are shown to be grounded in ii.
Fish diet is mostly poor; and hence tribes living
on fish, not Of the rich kinds, very prolific.
low vegetable diet produces the Same effects. In
Ireland, in China, in Japan, and in Hindostan,
where potatoes and rice form the staple diet, popu
lation ia dense. In the richer countries where the
olive and the vine abound and animal food is plen-
tifu and cheap, as in the Turkish and Danubian
provinces. in the tallow producing districts Of Rus
sia, and in the richest parts Of France and Spain,
population 10 thin. This is particularly tho case
in Roumelin, Wallacha, Modavia, and Hungary,
where destitution il quite unknown. Travellers
all speak decisively to this fact; whilst at Malta
which is a barren rock, and where the living IL
meagre, population increases alarmingly, The
traveller siads, speaking of Malta, says: "Why