What remedies did Malthus propose?The first was the abolition of the Poor Law.and he was not singular in this opinion.Many eminent writers of the time believed it to be intrinsically bad.He suggested that at a given date it should be announced that no child born after the lapse of a year should be entitled to relief;the improvident were to be left to 'the punishment of nature'and 'the uncertain support of private charity.'Others saw that such treatment would be too hard;that a Poor Law of some sort was necessary,and that the problem was how to secure to the respectable poor the means of support without demoralising them.His second remedy was moral restraint-abstention from marriage till a man had means to support a family,accompanied by perfectly moral conduct during the period of celibacy.
Let us now see what have been the actual remedies.The chief is the reform of the Poor Laws in 1834,perhaps the most beneficent Act of Parliament which has been passed since the Reform Bill.Its principles were (a)the application of the workhouse test and the gradual abolition of outdoor relief to able-bodied labourers;(b)the formation of unions of parishes to promote economy and efficiency,these unions to be governed by Boards of Guardians elected by the ratepayers,thus putting an end to the mischievous reign of the Justices of the Peace;(c)a central Board of Poor Law Commissioners,with very large powers to deal with the Boards of Guardians and control their action;(d)a new bastardy law;(e)a mitigation of the laws of settlement.The effect of the new law was very remarkable.As an example,take the case of Sussex.Before 1834 there were in that county over 6000 able-bodied paupers;two years later there were 124.A similar change took place in almost all the rural districts,and the riots and rick-burning which had been so rife began to grow less frequent.Equally remarkable was the effect upon the rates.In 1818 they were nearly *8,000,000 in England and Wales;in 1837 they had sunk to a little over *4,000,000,and are now only *7,500,000 in spite of the enormous growth of population.The number of paupers,which in 1849 was 930,000,has dwindled in 1881 to 800,000,though the population has meanwhile increased by more than 8,000,000.Notwithstanding this improvement the Poor Laws are by no means perfect,and great reforms are still needed.
Next in importance as an actual remedy we must place emigration.Malthus despised it.He thought that 'from the natural unwillingness of people to desert their native country,and the difficulty of clearing and cultivating fresh soil,it never is or can,that,even if effectual for the time,the be adequately adopted';relief it afforded would only be temporary,'and the disorders would return with increased virulence.'He could not of course foresee the enormous development which would be given to it by steam navigation,and the close connection established thereby between England and America.Since 1815 eight and a quarter millions of people have emigrated from the United Kingdom;since 1847 three and a half millions have gone from England and Wales alone;and this large emigration has of course materially lightened the labour market.Nor could Malthus any more foresee the great importation of food which would take place in later times.In his day England was insulated by war and the corn laws;now,we import one-half of our food,and pay for it with our manufactures.
As to moral restraint,it is very doubtful,whether it has been largely operative.According to Professor Jevons,writing fifteen years ago,it has been so only to a very small extent.Up to 1860 the number of marriages was rather on the increase;but if among the masses,owing to cheap food,marriages have become more frequent,restraint has on the other hand certainly grown among the middle classes and the best of the artisan class.
