which would inevitably attend an habitual disregard of it; and that under this aspect he himself should have chiefly regarded it. That there is a bright side to this law of nature, is most true; and they who have read the work of Bishop Sumner upon the "Records of the Creation," will remember how ingeniously and beautifully he has shown that, in the hands of a gracious Providence, this principle is made subservient to the most beneficial and improving ends; being the great moving cause, which, by the necessities it creates, and the fears and hopes it suggests, excites the best energies of mankind into action, overcomes their natural indolence, and gives spirit and perseverance to their most valuable labours. But this view of the subject, however favourable to the argument of Dr. Sumner, was not adapted to the adversary which Mr. Malthus had to encounter. Finally it is necessary to remember, that whatever might have been the author's view of the evils incident to the principle, temperance, frugality, foresight, and especially self-control—virtues strictly scriptural and evangelical—were the sole remedies recommended by him. Nor can it be said at present that these gloomy views, and these strong statements, were unnecessary; notwithstanding all the warnings of the "Essay on Population," the evil it contemplated had lately risen to so great a height as to threaten the most serious mischief to society, and to call for the strongest measures ; and we believe, firmly, that had it not been for this book of Mr. Malthus, and all the wise and salutary parochial regulations which have sprung from it, the danger would have been infinitely greater, and our way out of it much more obscure and difficult,—if any way could have been found at all, short of a convulsion of society.
It must always however be a matter of regret
