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    i 496 * ©l> * it rafter. [Satorpay,

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    CHURCHES DEGENERATE. London, May 6, 1851...

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    The Malthus Controversy. Thoughts About ...

    the number of our sheep and oxen , we take so much corn land and so much building room from man , to convert into ' pasture land and standing room for cattle . 4 . Instead of having recourse to metaphysical argumentstotl theological standards of right and wrong , let us observe how the instinct of population acts when reason never interferes with the process . " Wherever there is liberty , the power of increase is exerted ; and the superabundant effects are repressed afterwards by want of room and nourishment . " In a crowded plantation the trees are stunted in their growth and die . In a garden , seed too thickly sown springs up only that one half of the crop may destroy the other half . In the insect world an excess of life is attended by a countervailing destruction . " The race of plants and the race of animals shrink under this great restrictive law . "

    5 . There is no way in which man can evade it ; at least no method of evasion has yet been discovered ; and till it is discovered , the " barbarous checks of fire , famine , and slaughter" will not cease to operate . Men will live in vice and misery ; children will die 3 'oung . or be " dragged up" in squalor and criminal ignorance ; women will be the victims of the tyranny and passion of man . Prostitution will be the necessary consequences of a condition , in which subsistence is below population , while appetite is uncontrolled by intellect and self-denying love . 6 . There is only one method of meeting the evil . To keep population down to a level with subsistence . And this can only be done by subordinating instinct to reason . Until man can learn to be virtuous , he

    cannot be free ; -until he can practise self-control , he cannot be happy . The progress which the human race has made , justifies us in entertaining the belief that it will make still greater progress . Yet it is visionary to expect that men -without discipline , without self-knowledge , without clear perception of duty and sympathy with humanity , will voluntarily submit to the continued practice of any moral obligation . Only benefits of the most palpable character , only hopes that invite , coupled with fears that compel , can actuate those -who are necessarily and excusably the slaves of sensation . Happily , however , it is in the power of society to try the only remedy which can be

    suggested . A large margin ot subsistence yet awaita us . The extinction of poverty for a whole generation , and the introduction of social reform , will give us ample room and verge enough . For awhile subsistence may even outstrip population , and opportunity will thus be afforded for the diffusion of these scientific truths , which should be the heritage of all men . This difficult problem will then be universally appreciated , and when population again overtakes subsistence it may receive a proximate solution . Distinctions will of course be recognized . Those -who are able to lead a celibate life may be encouraged to do so . Those , on the other hand , in whose case the

    disastrous consequences of improvident marriage form the preferable alternative , must be leftfree to follow their own inclination . It should be remembered that at the utmost matrimony need never be precluded , but only deferred . There can be no doubt that with the general progress of mankind , the voluntary restraint upon population will be brought into action . EKperience shows that the elevation of the standard of living , the development of intellectual and moral wants , the possession of property , and the diffusion forc

    of education , unquestionably act us limiting es . If , indeed , Mr . Newman be correct in his statement that the offspring of late marriages is more numerous than that of early marriages , it is evident that the simple postponement of matrimony will not furnish a remedy . Statistical information on this subject is still a desideratum . Supposing Mr . Newman's statement to be correct , we must conclude that no parent should allow his family contingent to exceed that number for which in the normal state of society he ¦ would be able to make suitable provision .

    1 . I admit that while selfish and ignorant Legislation refuses to the majority of men their nodal rights , it would be as impolitic , an it . would be useless , to preach the doctrine of restraint . I have no wish to enlarge the empire of Mammon at the expense Y ) f my Buffering brothers . But when , in enforcing every rnan ' H duty , society nhall proclaim every man ' s right ; when the wealth th ^ t seienco and industry have accumulated , shall be fairly and universally distributed ; when ancient loye shall return to mellow and brighten the Hoverities of modern law ; then the truth about Malthus must he told , must be accepted , muyt be practised . Yours , &< :., M . LAND AND Nl'MIiKUS . ISirnuiiglmiu , Muy l < » , lH ,. > l .

    £ iu . — -Can , you find room iu your next , paper lor one or two . eonnnuuts upon { he article headed ** \ . u Torre e » t aux J'O , r <|» , " which , appeared in your Jaul ? If you con , you will oblige mo . Iu thu ( . article there i ^ re two subjects discussed Which htt ' yu very little connection with ouch other : the nutionidi / . utio . u of the land , ami the population th ' eory of MulthuH . You insinuate , rather than atute , that the theory of Malthus , if t « uo at all , is true qiily because ! laud is held us private property ; uud that if it were oneo nationalized , whatever importance $ iat thepry may hay o had will paws o , wuy for over .

    I am ready to admit as fully as you , or any of your correspondents can do , that land can never become private propert ) ' in the absolute manner that , any other commodity may ; that the grand title to property of all sorts , the right of the producer to what he has produced , fails when applied to . land ; and in addition to this , that the very existence of the corn ,-munity depending upon a right xjse being made qf its land . The community must necessarily have the right to reserve ( or perhaps it would be more correct to say take possession of ) this common fund , from which every member is direotly or indirectly mainthe

    tained , whenever it shall be clearly proved to be general interest to do so . The only question then to he determined is , under which system ; that of admitting private property in land , or of nationalizing it , the greater amount of physical and moral good would accrue to the community . This is the question to which those of your correspondents who take an interest in this subject should confine themselves , and on which at some future time I shall be happy to make a few remarks ; but my present object is to show that , under the present system , as well as under the existing one , the population doctrine would hold true .

    Let us suppose the land nationalized , and the State the sole landlord . As I presume there are few , if any , who would wish the Government to add production to its other functions , I assume that the land would be let to individuals as it is at present , and as this Government would not be gifted with any higher kind of knowledge than previous ones , I assume , too , that the amount of rent paid by each tenant would be decided as it is now by competition .

    And , therefore , that the rent paid to the new landlord would be just what wa 3 paid to the old ; and , consequently , that all the members of the community who are unable to compete now , would be equally incompetent to compete then . In fact , that the great mass of the people would be as effectually debarred from the land under the proposed system as they are under the existing one ; and , therefore , that if Malthus ' s theory was true in his time , it will hold

    true in unie to come . But , in fact , if every man in the community had his piece of land , the populatoi ' s theory would even then be just as true as ever it was ; the tendency to increase beyond the increase in the means of sustenance would be as strong as ever ; and it is precisely in those parts of the world where the land is held by those who labour in it , that this tendency is kept down by foresight instead of starvation . To all who deny the tendency of organised life to increase beyond

    the means of subsistence , 1 would ask are there any other limits to the increase of any species of animal except the difficulty of procuring the food necessary to its existence , and its liability to be preyed upon by other species ? If there are any other limits , what are they ? If there are not , in what way does men differ from other animals in this respect , except that by foresight and prudence he can provide for his offspring before he increases and multiplies , instead of after or not at all .

    In your article " La Terre est aux Lords , " you were singularly unfortunate both in your illustration and your authority . You say , " Man alone is poor , the sheep gets all he nibbles . " But man , too , gits all he nibbles ; and do you mean to say that shrej ) never yet died of hunger ? if they ever have so died , what does the sentence mean ? When you quote ; Him who said , " Take no thought

    for the morrow what ye shall eat , or wherewithal yc shall be clothed , " you should remember that this command to His followers wus joined to a promise that all their wants should be provided for . When you can make to the mass of our population u similar promise , and fulfill it , you , too , may cry aloud to them , " Take no thought for the morrow , " without committing Hiii . Then , and not till then .

    I remain , Sir , your obedient servant , K . K . MAI / rilUS A MONO Till ' , BHHI !! ' . May SO , lHr , l . Sir , —Allow me to ask you one or two qucstionn with reference to your article of the 10 th of May on Malthusiiini . sm . You say that , according to the received Multhusian theory , it is the poor man , or , us you call him , Poorinun ( meaning , no doubt , to show that you are wpeaking of a cIuhh ) , who is to be diligent , orderly , und industrious , and that he is to leave the- " affection ^ * ' to the well-to-do classes .

    I would ank—is it a maxim with the well-to-do elasses , who are imbued with the Multhusian theory , to inculcate ! the utmost and earliest multiplication among themselves ? Are the actual restraints upon increase in the higher clauses other in kind or less severe than tliouu which they desire to impo . se upon the poorer ? You say , " The sheep hnoallthe nibbles , and the lamb is born without thought of the morrow . " It Htrikes me that this may be predioated of human creatures without implying any great felicity . The Irishman undoubtedly lias all he nuinehcH , mid the Iii ^ h infant i * lu > m without nay very elfective ^ oiig ht of the morrow . But aa you seem to present thi » us an ideal picture , I would auk—Arc you upcukiug of

    the sheep on a farm , or of the sheep in his aboriginal condition . ? If of the former , do you consider the law of increase that is enforced in the slave-breeding states of America as the truest expression of the Divine "will on this point ? If of the latter , is it by " competition , " or otherwise , that the multiplication of numbers is checked ? In other words , are you desirous of substituting for free obedience to moral law the total subjugation of the servile state , or the rude corrections of the savage state ? D .

    I 496 * ©L> * It Rafter. [Satorpay,

    i 496 * © l > * it rafter . [ Satorpay ,

    Churches Degenerate. London, May 6, 1851...

    CHURCHES DEGENERATE . London , May 6 , 1851 . Sir , — The Reverend Mr . Larlcen has regarded with compassion the fiery immolation of the Leader , while he has beheld with a frown the " wet blanket" of Terra Filius . This circumstance is to be regretted . Meekness , demureness , and soft words , when , applied to what is wilfully erroneous and false , degenerate into mawkish complaisancy , unprincipled conciliation , and at last into absolute hypocrisy .

    It would appear that reprobation , rebuke , and every kind of antagonism are not found within the sphere of Mr . Larken ' s mental constitution . This is very singular ! Why are they not ? They formed an essential part of his great master's being . Where does literature supply terms of deeper contumely than were applied by the prince of philosophers to a people denounced and repudiated , as ' * of their father the Devil , " & c . r But Mr . Larken is horrified in a still greater degree at a sweeping condemnation of his whole order . "No doubt he is . So also would have been the

    collective body of the Mosaic priesthood , when stepping forth in the form of godliness , and with the language of order and decorum in their mouths , they paid money to Judas to take the life of one whose bold assault upon their principles threatened with ruin the " tithe question , '' as well as their secular preeminence . And yet , while so engaged , they would doubtless have repudiated , as " mistaken zeal and offended prejudice , " the imputation of universal error , pointing to the grand doctrine of Apostolic succession through Aaron and Moses up even to God himself ! They would also , with characteristic modesty , have quoted and appropriated all the virtuous acts of their progenitors , exclaiming , " by whom was civilization fostered and learning kept alive , but by the priesthood ? Who have stood between the noble and the vassal , the monarch and the people , the oppressor and the victim , and enforced the decrees of equity , but the priesthood ? " And then , too , while the people were starving and the priesthood rolling in luxury , how complaisantly and triumphantly they would have added , " who are contending more manfully and generously , " in our way ( sops to Cerberus ) , for the rights of tlie poor ( skilly noutitur ) and the

    establishment of just relations between man and man — that is , between man and woman , in regard to the separation of the husband and the wife in the workhouse . But Mr . Larken does not contemplate the possibility of an universally corrupt priesthood , especially in the Christian body ; and yet he might have done bo with propriety , seeing that the Saviour pointed out a period when Christianity should beeome a " dry " tree , and that ( when for the purpose of a <» ain rescuing the world from destruction the Son of Man should appear ) he would not " find faith upon the earth . "

    The practice of fostering evil and falsehood by blinking at both ; the cry of " Peace , peace , where there is no peace , " will never do in an enlig htened age , when , as is witnessed in the downfal of existing Christian dynasties , and the general distress of nations , God is come to judge the earth . Conscience , that makes cowards of all the children of this world , will superinduce , as , indeed , it is already doing , a policy of mock forbearance , mutual flattery , and cautious interference . The " loaves and fishes are in

    danger ; the tithe question and secular preeminence ( on the part of the ministers of one who " had not where to lay hi ? head" ) are again mooted as of old . Hush ! keep quiet ; don ' t move , zny dear fellows ; never think for yourselves ; cat skilly and pick oakum , while we , your " pastors und masters , " will burn the Leader and look after the loaves und fishes . Such ia very naturally the language of those who perceive their heaven and earth pussing away , and yet , what is more terrible still , the word of <* od remaining . interference

    Has Mr . Larken , while deprecating and collision of whatsoever Hind , never rellecteci upon the fact that every regenerate mau is a microcosm ? Hut if each regenerate , inun is a microcosm , ho was created , like the material cosmos , out of ehaon . Therefore it was that darkness w « b ou the abyss of his external being . But , in duo course , Ciod said let there be light , and what wus tho consequence r The . light by itH inherent virtue repudiated , scorned , scattered , and expelled the darknesH . Now , if tho doctrine of repudiation , reprobation , rebuke , nnd untagonism i » manifested in each regenerate being us n microcosm , must it not be manifest also , in a , combination of beingH , or microcosm , hucIi us ia represented by the Leader f Had tho udvocutcb of the Leader bwn Hi lent whon itw pages were burned by an antagonistic power before u helping multitude , j , hcir oilonco wrig ht

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), May 24, 1851, page 20, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_24051851/page/20/