public domain material from the ,google 
,books project47                        
,,the ,,malthusian ,,handbook           
,designed to induce ,married ,people to 
,limit their ,families within their     
,means4                                 
,,price ,,sixpence4                     
,,london3                     ,w4 ,h4   
,,reynolds1 ,,new ,,cross1 ,s4,e4       
#dth ,edition4--#ahih4                  
,,introduction4   ,in every civilised   
,state the problem of poverty is one    
which presses for solution4 ,in some    
,european countries it has1 at times1   
locally assumed a critical and menacing 
form1 threatening the very foundations  
upon which society is based4            
,revolutions have sprung from the fact  
that people needed food and could not   
obtain it2 and1 even in our own highly  
favored land1 honest1 industrious men   
are often driven to despair because they
 can neither get work nor food4         
,occasional outbreaks and               
demonstrations1 however1 are by no means

 the true measure of national poverty4  
,beneath the glittering surface of      
society there lies a seething mass of   
want and misery4 ,the victims suffer in 
silence and make no sign1 but their     
existence constitutes a permanent danger
 to the general welfare4 ,destitution is
 in numberless instances the parent of  
crime and prostitution1 with their chain
 of disastrous consequences2            
overcrowding1 semi-starvation and       
squalor are the fruitful sources of     
disease which scruples not to travel    
beyond its birthplace and to infect the 
homes of the wealthy4 ,modern society   
may be fitly compared to a magnificent  
palace reared in a miasmatic swamp1     
which fills the air with its            
death-dealing exhalations4 ,no cunning  
artifices of builders or engineers can  
afford protection in such a case4 ,in   
like manner1 society cannot hope to     
escape from the influences which make   
for corruption and ultimate dissolution 
whilst it suffers poverty to remain in  

its midst4  ,it is1 indeed1 unnecessary 
to insist upon the evils and the        
national dangers arising from poverty2  
for they are admitted upon all hands4   
,the problem is3 ,how can poverty be    
abolished8 ,upon this vital point       
opinions differ widely4 ,the evil is so 
complex and many-sided that observers   
are apt to be misled by a partial view  
of the symptoms4 ,for example1 a total  
abstainer1 concentrating his attention  
upon instances in which poverty has been
 brought about by excessive indulgence  
in alcoholic liquors1 urges that drink  
is the cause of poverty4 ,the ,socialist
 asks ,why are the many poor8 and       
answers that the remedy consists in the 
nationalisation of land and the         
instruments of production1 the abolition
 of competition1 etc4 ,others attribute 
the existence of poverty to idleness or 
to want of thrift amongst the workers4  
,in no case1 however1 is the alleged    
cause equal to the palpable effect2 and 
it is necessary to extend the enquiry in

 another direction if we are to discover
 the cause which1 above and beyond all  
others1 produces the want and misery    
that everybody desires to remove4  ,the 
purpose of this little work is1 first1  
to show that an excessive increase of   
population is the source from which     
these evils arise4 ,in the second place1
 the means by which population may be   
kept under control will be explained1   
for it is useless to warn people of a   
danger if they are kept in ignorance of 
the means by which it may be avoided4   
,above all1 it is to the poor that this 
knowledge must be conveyed1 for1 as we  
shall show in the following pages1 the  
indigent class multiplies far more      
rapidly than the well-to-do1 and it is  
upon themselves that the consequent     
misery necessarily falls4  ,experience  
teaches that almost all the ills which  
afflict mankind can be obviated by a    
careful study of nature and by conduct  
based upon due observance of natural    
laws4 ,in the darkness of ignorance men 

must stumble into many pitfalls2 but in 
the clear light of reason and knowledge 
they can discern the path which leads to
 freedom and happiness4         ,,the   
,,malthusian ,,handbook4   ,,chapter ,i4
  ,,malthus ,,and ,,the ,,law ,,of      
,,population4   ,if it be desired to    
discover a remedy for an admitted evil1 
the first step must necessarily be to   
ascertain its cause4 ,all schemes for   
the mitigation of the effects of poverty
 must in the long run end in failure1 no
 matter how ambitious may be the        
undertakings of those who engage in this
 futile work4 ,the captain of a sinking 
vessel does not confine his attention to
 the pumps1 he seeks without delay to   
stop the inrush of water4 ,and in       
dealing with the question of poverty it 
is essential that its root-cause be     
discovered before any hope of arriving  
at a solution of the problem can        
reasonably be entertained4  ,an enquiry 
into the facts of nature will show that 
all forms of vegetable and animal life  

are capable of reproducing themselves in
 almost boundless profusion4 ,darwin1 in
 his work on ,the ,origin of ,species1  
points this out with the greatest       
clearness4 ,he says3 ,there is no       
exception to the rule that every organic
 being naturally increases at so high a 
rate that1 if not destroyed1 the earth  
would soon be covered with the progeny  
of a single pair4 ,even slow-breeding   
man has doubled in twenty-five years2   
and at this rate1 in a few thousand     
years1 there would literally not be     
standing-room for his progeny4 ,linnus  
has calculated that if an annual plant  
produced only two seeds--and there is no
 plant so unproductive as this--and     
their seedlings next year produced two1 
and so on1 then1 in twenty years there  
would be a million plants4 ,after giving
 the example of the slow-breeding       
elephant1 he continues3 ,still more     
striking is the evidence from our       
domestic animals of many kinds which    
have run wild in many parts of the      

world2 if the statements of the rate of 
increase of slow-breeding cattle and    
horses in ,south ,america1 and latterly 
in ,australia1 had not been well        
authenticated1 they would have been     
incredible4 ,so it is with plants3 cases
 could be given of introduced plants    
which have become common throughout     
whole islands in less than ten years4   
,several of the plants1 such as the     
cardoon and a tall thistle1 now most    
numerous over the wild plains of ,la    
,plata1 clothing square leagues of      
surface almost to the exclusion of all  
other plants1 have been introduced from 
,europe2 and there are plants which now 
range in ,india1 as ,i hear from ,dr4   
,falconer1 from ,cape ,comorin to the   
,himalayas1 which have been imported    
from ,america since its discovery4 ,in  
such cases1 and endless instances could 
be given1 no one supposes that the      
fertility of these animals or plants has
 been suddenly and temporarily increased
 in any sensible degree4 ,the obvious   

explanation is that the conditions of   
life have been very favorable1 and that 
there has consequently been less        
destruction of the old and young1 and   
that nearly all the young have been able
 to breed4 ,in such cases1 the          
geometrical rate of increase1 the result
 of which never fails to be surprising1 
simply explains the extraordinarily     
rapid increase and wide diffusion of    
naturalised productions in their new    
homes4 ,in a state of nature1 almost    
every plant produces seed1 and among    
animals there are very few that do not  
annually pair4 ,hence we may confidently
 assert that all plants and animals are 
tending to increase at a geometrical    
ratio2 that all would most rapidly stock
 every station in which they could      
anyhow exist1 and that the geometrical  
tendency to increase must be checked by 
destruction at some period of life4  ,it
 was the observation of this striking   
fact in nature which led an ,english    
clergyman1 the ,rev4 ,thomas ,b4        

,malthus1 to study deeply the question  
of poverty1 and to formulate as the     
principle of population that which is   
now almost universally regarded as a law
 of nature4 ,before he published his    
great work the view was generally       
accepted that the wealth of a country   
was in proportion to its population2 and
 statesmen frequently attempted to      
stimulate1 by the distribution of       
bounties to the parents of excessively  
large families1 the natural rate of     
increase4 ,a few far-sighted men1 such  
as the elder ,mirabeau1 ,quesnay1 and   
,adam ,smith1 partially perceived the   
true doctrine2 but it remained for      
,malthus to examine the question in all 
its bearings1 and to collect patiently  
and laboriously an overwhelming array of
 facts which established his contention 
beyond all reasonable doubt4 ,it will be
 well here to give some account of this 
remarkable man and of the work with     
which his name is indissolubly          
associated4  ,thomas ,robert ,malthus   

was born at ,dorking1 ,surrey1 in #agff4
 ,at the age of thirty-one he became a  
,fellow of ,jesus ,college1 ,cambridge1 
and shortly afterwards took orders1     
officiating in a small village in       
,surrey4  ,in the closing years of the  
eighteenth century1 the minds of men in 
,england were powerfully influenced by  
the great social upheaval taking place  
in ,france1 and political views in this 
country were entering upon a new phase4 
,the rights of man were coming to be    
regarded as something more than a       
phrase1 and a generous desire to promote
 the welfare of the people was gradually
 taking the place of selfish            
indifference4 ,condorcet in ,france1 and
 ,william ,godwin in ,england1          
promulgated the view that the happiness 
of mankind depended chiefly upon the    
justice of political institutions1 and  
that national welfare could be          
indefinitely promoted by just           
government4 ,daniel ,malthus 7the father
 of ,thomas ,robert71 a man of sanguine 

and romantic temperament1 warmly        
espoused the ideas set forth by ,godwin1
 and frequently discussed the subject   
with his son4 ,the younger man1 however1
 by no means shared the paternal        
enthusiasm1 and1 following the lines    
suggested by ,hume1 ,adam ,smith1 and   
other writers1 he maintained that vice  
and misery were two powerful obstacles  
to the improvement of society1 and      
urged1 further1 that the tendency of    
mankind to increase more rapidly than   
the means of subsistence gave rise to   
these evils4 ,his arguments made a deep 
impression upon the mind of ,daniel     
,malthus1 who requested his son to put  
them in writing4 ,this was accordingly  
done1 and in #agih ,t4 ,r4 ,malthus     
published the first edition of his work3
 ,an ,essay on the ,principle of        
,population1 as it affects the future   
,improvement of ,society2 with ,remarks 
on the ,speculations of ,mr4 ,godwin1   
,mr4 ,condorcet and other ,writers4     
7,london3 #agih4 ,one volume47  ,this   

book aroused a lively controversy1 the  
writer's theories and conclusions being 
attacked and defended by various        
writers4 ,the great interest excited by 
his essay caused ,malthus to enquire    
still more deeply into the phenomena of 
poverty1 and he determined to travel    
through ,europe for the purpose of      
collecting facts bearing upon the       
subject4 ,in #agii he visited the       
continent1 passing through ,denmark1    
,sweden1 and part of ,russia1 and1      
later1 ,switzerland and ,savoy4 ,the    
results of his researches furnished     
overwhelming proof of the accuracy of   
his contention2 and in #ahjc he         
published a second and much enlarged    
edition of his ,essay1 in two volumes4  
,during the remainder of his life1      
,malthus thrice edited new editions of  
his work1 which to this day remains the 
greatest monument of his honorable      
career4 ,he died on #bith ,december1    
#ahcd4  ,it is not intended here to give
 an exhaustive analysis of ,malthus's   

,principle of ,population4 #a ,we are   
concerned only with his theory of       
population and the conclusions to which 
that theory points4 ,the principal      
object of this essay1 says the author1  
is to examine the effects of one great  
cause intimately connected with the very
 nature of man1 which1 though it has    
been constantly and powerfully operating
 since the commencement of society1 has 
been little noticed by the writers who  
have treated this subject4 ,the cause to
 which ,i allude is the constant        
tendency in all animated life to        
increase beyond the nourishment prepared
 for it4  ,dr4 ,franklin has observed   
that there is no bound to the prolific  
nature of plants or animals but what is 
made by their crowding and interfering  
with each other's means of subsistence4 
,were the face of the earth1 he says1   
vacant of other plants1 it might be     
gradually sowed and overspread with one 
kind only--as1 for instance1 with       
fennel2 and were it empty of other      

inhabitants1 it might in a few ages be  
replenished from one nation only1 as1   
for instance1 with ,englishmen4  ,this  
is incontrovertibly true4 ,through the  
animal and vegetable kingdoms ,nature   
has scattered the seeds of life abroad  
with the most profuse and liberal hand2 
but has been comparatively sparing in   
the room and the nourishment necessary  
to rear them4 ,the germs of existence   
contained in this earth1 if they could  
freely develop themselves1 would fill   
millions of worlds in the course of a   
few thousand years4 ,necessity1 that    
imperious1 all-pervading law of ,nature1
 restrains them within the prescribed   
bounds4 ,the race of plants and the race
 of animals shrink under this great     
restrictive law1 and man cannot by any  
efforts of reason escape from it4  ,in  
plants and irrational animals the view  
of the subject is simple4 ,they are all 
impelled by a powerful instinct to the  
increase of their species1 and this     
instinct is interrupted by no doubts    

about providing for their offspring4    
,wherever1 therefore1 there is liberty1 
the power of increase is exerted2 and   
the superabundant effects are repressed 
afterwards by want of room and          
nourishment4  ,malthus then adduces     
evidence of the extremely rapid increase
 of population amongst mankind under    
conditions in which food is abundant and
 easily obtainable4 ,he calculates that 
population1 if unchecked1 goes on       
doubling itself every twenty-five years1
 or increases in a geometrical ratio4   
,but he points out that the food supply 
can by no means be increased with equal 
facility4 ,even if it were possible in  
one period of twenty-five years to      
double the amount produced1 there is no 
reason to suppose that the operation    
could be repeated during the following  
twenty-five years4 ,as the demand for   
food increased1 less fruitful soils     
would be taken into cultivation1 and the
 additions that could be made to the    
former average produce would be         

gradually and regularly diminishing4    
,malthus then makes the following       
calculation3  ,let us suppose that the  
yearly additions which might be made to 
the former average produce1 instead of  
decreasing1 which they certainly would  
do1 were to remain the same2 and that   
the produce of this island might be     
increased every twenty-five years1 by a 
quantity equal to what it at present    
produces4 ,the most enthusiastic        
speculator cannot suppose a greater     
increase than this4 ,in a few centuries 
it would make every acre in the island  
like a garden4  ,if this supposition be 
applied to the whole earth1 and if it be
 allowed that the subsistence for man1  
which the earth affords1 might be       
increased every twenty-five years by a  
quantity equal to what it at present    
produces1 this will be supposing a rate 
of increase much greater than we can    
imagine that any possible exertions of  
mankind could make it4  ,it may fairly  
be pronounced1 therefore1 that          

considering the present average state of
 the earth1 the means of subsistence1   
under circumstances the most favorable  
to human industry1 could not possibly be
 made to increase faster than in an     
arithmetical ratio4  ,the necessary     
effects of these two different rates of 
increase1 when brought together1 will be
 very striking4 ,let us call the        
population of this island #aa1jjj1jjj   
7,mr4 ,malthus writes in #ahjf71 and    
suppose the present produce equal to the
 easy support of such a number4 ,in the 
first twenty-five years the population  
would be #bb1jjj1jjj1 and the food being
 also doubled1 the means of subsistence 
would be equal to this increase4 ,in the
 next twenty-five years the population  
would be #dd1jjj1jjj1 and the means of  
subsistence only equal to the support of
 #cc1jjj1jjj4 ,in the next period the   
population would be #hh1jjj1jjj1 and the
 means of subsistence just equal to the 
support of half that number4 ,and at the
 conclusion of the first century1 the   

population would be #agf1jjj1jjj1 and   
the means of subsistence only equal to  
the support of #ee1jjj1jjj1 leaving a   
population of #aba1jjj1jjj totally      
unprovided for4  ,now let us see how    
this stupendous possible power of       
increase in the human race has been kept
 in check4  ,the positive checks 7i4e41 
checks which have operated through the  
action of natural laws7 to an excessive 
increase of population comprehend the   
premature death of children and adults  
by disease1 starvation1 war and         
infanticide4 ,nature has a short and    
sharp way of dealing with her           
superfluous children4 ,amongst savage   
tribes the positive checks alone are    
brought into operation4 ,the pages of   
human history teem with tragic records  
of famines decimating the unhappy       
victims of over-population2 of          
pestilence stalking through the land1   
slaying its tens of thousands2 of wars  
devastating countries and overwhelming  
the inhabitants in ruin1 misery and     

death4 ,in certain parts of the world   
the pangs of hunger have destroyed in   
men and women the primal instinct of    
parental love2 and1 in the fifth chapter
 of his work1 ,malthus shows how1 in the
 ,south ,sea ,islands1 where the        
possible expansion of population was    
extremely small1 the frightful expedient
 of infanticide was largely resorted to 
by the inhabitants to check their       
natural increase4 ,even then1 however1  
the pressure on the means of subsistence
 was so great that food became scarce at
 certain seasons of the year1 and       
destructive wars ensued4 ,captain       
,vancouver1 visiting ,otaheite for the  
second time in #agia1 found that most of
 the natives whom he had known fourteen 
years before had perished in battle4    
,in the course of numerous examples of  
the effects of over-population upon the 
condition of the masses in various      
countries1 ,malthus gives a striking    
example of the appalling misery to which
 even industrious laborers were reduced 

in densely-peopled ,china4 ,he quotes   
the words of a ,jesuit missionary1 who  
stated that a ,chinaman will pass whole 
days in digging the earth1 sometimes up 
to his knees in water1 and in the       
evening is happy to eat a little        
spoonful of rice1 and to drink the      
insipid water in which it is boiled4    
,this is obviously an exaggeration1     
since it would be impossible to maintain
 life under such conditions2 but it     
serves to show the deplorable state to  
which the workers may be reduced by     
excessive population4  ,it is           
unnecessary here to follow ,malthus     
through his exhaustive survey of the    
condition of nations affected by        
over-population in various stages of the
 world's history4 ,our purpose is rather
 to furnish an indication of the        
principle than to reproduce in detail   
the observations upon which it is based4
 ,the most concise formula in which the 
theory of ,malthus has been expressed is
 as follows3 ,that population has a     

constant tendency to increase beyond the
 means of subsistence4         ,,chapter
 ,,ii4  ,,the ,,remedy3 ,,old ,,and     
,,new4   ,the principle stated at the   
end of the preceding chapter being      
assumed1 the question arises3 ,how can  
the evils caused by the constant        
tendency towards over-population be     
prevented8 ,the method which ,mr4       
,malthus proposed was the substitution  
of the prudential 7or birth-restricting7
 for the positive 7or life-destroying7  
check4 ,he advised late marriage and    
celibacy as the most moral means of     
restraining population4 ,he urged that  
men should wait until they were in a    
position to provide for a family before 
undertaking the responsibilities        
consequent upon the marriage state4 ,he 
says3 ,our obligation not to marry till 
we have a fair prospect of being able to
 support our children will appear to    
deserve the attention of the moralist1  
if it can be proved that an attention to
 these obligations is of more effect in 

the prevention of misery than all the   
other virtues combined2 and that if1 in 
violation of this duty1 it was the      
general custom to follow the first      
impulse of nature1 and marry at the age 
of puberty1 the universal prevalence of 
every known virtue in the greatest      
conceivable degree would fail of        
rescuing society from the most wretched 
and deplorable state of want1 and all   
the diseases and famines which usually  
accompany it4  ,this1 then1 was the     
prudential check advocated by ,malthus2 
but since his time it has been perceived
 that his remedy is in itself the cause 
of evils scarcely less terrible than    
those which it was designed to remove4  
,further1 it is one which1 in the vast  
majority of cases1 could not possibly be
 put into practice2 for it assumes a    
power of mental control over the sexual 
passion which exists in a comparatively 
small number of individuals4  ,the      
physiological evils arising from        
celibacy1 and1 in lesser degree1 from   

prolonged abstention from marriage1 are 
of the most disastrous nature4 ,celibacy
 is necessarily a condition of privation
 and suffering1 since it involves the   
deliberate and incessant suppression of 
the most powerful instinct of mankind4  
,the pure and elevating joys of wedded  
and family life are shut out1 and       
existence is shorn of its most          
delightful features4 ,the unselfish     
pleasure of promoting the happiness of a
 loved wife and children is denied to   
the morbid and gloomy celibate1 doomed  
to a solitary and cheerless existence4  
,and even when permanent celibacy is not
 contemplated1 marriage may be deferred 
until the bloom and brightness of life  
are gone for ever1 until delay and      
disappointment have soured the temper   
and choked the fountain of affection4   
,dr4 ,bertillon1 of ,paris1 has proved  
conclusively by statistics derived from 
,france1 ,holland and ,belgium1 that    
married persons1 especially males1 live 
much longer than single ones1 and are   

less liable to become insane1 criminal1 
or vicious4 ,it has been shown that the 
married state reduces the danger of     
insanity by nearly one-half4 ,with      
regard to the effects of celibacy upon  
individuals1 ,dr4 ,holmes ,coote is     
reported in the ,lancet to have said3   
,no doubt incontinence is a great sin2  
but the evils connected with continence 
are productive of far greater misery to 
society4 ,any person could bear witness 
to this who has had experience in the   
wards of lunatic asylums4  ,in addition 
to the personal ills arising from       
celibacy1 it must be remembered that    
late marriage directly encourages       
prostitution1 the most hideous blot upon
 our social state4 ,malthus1 indeed1    
laid great stress upon the duty of      
chastity whilst young men were engaged  
in accumulating the means to enable them
 to marry and rear a family later in    
life4 ,he might as fitly have preached  
to the whirlwind1 or exhorted the storm 
to moderate its violence4 ,the power of 

restraint is given to but few men2 and1 
even when that restraint can be         
exercised1 it is only at the cost of    
much suffering and physical and moral   
detriment4  ,the later school of        
thinkers1 whilst adopting the principle 
formulated by ,malthus1 propound an     
infinitely better method of compassing  
the end which he had in view4 ,they     
advocate early marriage and limited     
families4 ,it is not necessary that     
young men and women should sacrifice the
 youth and freshness of their lives in  
order that they may marry when the      
evening shadows are lengthening around  
them4 ,the blessings of domestic        
comfort1 of intimate companionship and  
of family love are opened to them in the
 noontide of life1 when the possibility 
of enjoyment is at its highest point4   
,mrs4 ,annie ,besant says3 ,to be in    
harmony with nature1 men and women      
should be husbands and wives1 fathers   
and mothers1 and until nature evolves a 
neuter sex celibacy will ever be a mark 

of imperfection4444 ,no one who desires 
society to be happy and healthy should  
recommend late marriage as a cure for   
the social evils around us4 ,early      
marriage is best1 both physically and   
morally2 it guards purity1 softens the  
affections1 trains the heart1 and       
preserves physical health2 it teaches   
thought for others1 gentleness and      
self-control2 it makes men gentler and  
women braver from the contact of their  
differing natures4 ,the children that   
spring from such marriages--where not   
following each other too rapidly--are   
more vigorous and healthy than those of 
middle-aged parents2 and in the ordinary
 course of nature the parents of such   
children live long enough to see them   
make their start in life1 to aid1       
strengthen1 and counsel them at the     
beginning of their career4  ,medical    
science has shown that the size of      
families is absolutely under the control
 of parents1 if they will but exercise a
 reasonable degree of care and          

forethought4 ,a young couple may now    
enter the marriage-state without        
misgiving3 for the number of their      
offspring can be regulated in proportion
 to their means as surely as they can   
determine the amount of their           
expenditure upon clothing or luxuries4  
,thus the teachings of ,malthusianism1  
combined with the later development of  
innocent prudential checks1 open up     
boundless possibilities for the         
improvement of social conditions4 ,when 
the law of population--a law of         
nature--is clearly understood1 it       
becomes possible for man1 by the        
exercise of his reason1 to control its  
operation1 just as he constructs dykes  
to protect his crops from floods1 or    
diverts the lightning harmlessly into   
the ground4  ,let us see1 then1 how the 
general adoption of the ,new-,malthusian
 principle of early marriage and limited
 families would affect the welfare of   
individuals and of the nation at large4 
,the knowledge of prudential checks     

immensely increases the possibility of  
happiness for every man and woman whose 
means are limited4 ,marriage ceases to  
be a hazardous enterprise1 which may    
bring in its train liabilities terribly 
out of proportion to the power of       
meeting them4 ,the husband is relieved  
from anxiety lest his children may      
increase whilst his ability to provide  
suitably for them remains a fixed1 or   
even diminishing1 quantity4 ,the wife   
need no longer dread the burden of      
continual child-bearing and the         
incessant servitude of domestic         
drudgery4 ,how much of the drunkenness  
that exists amongst the working-class is
 due to the discomfort of a crowded and 
cheerless home6 ,the husband1 wearied   
with his day's toil1 returns to his     
narrow lodgings to find his wife1       
harassed and soured by the petty cares  
of a large family1 sharp in temper and  
tongue4 ,the tender romance of courtship
 is dispelled by the never-ending round 
of household slavery1 with the constant 

need of making both ends meet1 of       
contriving that every sixpence shall do 
the work of a shilling4 ,and over all   
there hangs the haunting fear that      
sickness or loss of employment may      
disable the bread-winner1 and that the  
wolf of hunger1 ever waiting outside1   
may show his fangs within the door4     
,little cause is there for wonder that  
in many cases the sweetheart of happier 
days becomes a shrew and slattern1 or   
that the toil-worn husband flies to the 
ruinous joys of the tap-room in a vain  
attempt to escape from the vexations    
that surround him in his home4  ,and    
what of the children8 ,they are at once 
the innocent cause and the helpless     
victims of the misery that encompasses  
them4 ,the wage that would amply provide
 for two or three is inadequate for the 
proper support of seven or eight1 and   
their little frames suffer from         
insufficient nourishment4 ,the          
overburdened mother cannot bestow upon  
so large a flock the loving care and    

attention that children need for their  
proper physical and mental development4 
,thus they grow up 7if haply they       
survive71 enfeebled in mind and         
constitution1 transmitting to the next  
generation their own defects in an      
aggravated form4  ,it is amongst the    
very poorest of our fellow-creatures    
that we see the horrors of              
over-population in their most           
heartrending aspect4 ,in the squalid    
courts and alleys of our great cities   
the dismal stream of child-life is      
constantly at high-water mark4 ,the     
parents1 ignorant and hopeless1 callous 
by reason of their daily contact with   
misery1 increase and multiply           
instinctively1 as do the beasts of the  
field4 ,amongst the poor the birth-rate 
is 7broadly speaking7 double as high as 
that of the richer classes4 ,a few years
 ago the birth-rate in wealthy          
,kensington was #bj per #a1jjj2 in the  
poor district of ,bethnal ,green it was 
#dj per #a1jjj4 ,this deplorable state  

of things is not peculiar to ,great     
,britain3 it prevails1 with slight      
variations as to details1 in all        
so-called civilised countries4  ,but the
 birth-rate tells only one-half of the  
piteous tale3 it is the death-rate which
 completes the measure of human         
suffering caused by the insensate       
increase of population4 ,in the course  
of his address to the ,association of   
,sanitary ,inspectors in #ahhh1 ,sir    
,edwin ,chadwick stated that amongst the
 gentry and professional persons the    
deaths of children under five years of  
age in ,brighton formed #hic per cent4  
of the total deaths1 while among the    
wage-earning class they formed #dedd per
 cent4 ,he also said that in ,brighton  
the mean 7or average7 age at death for  
wage-earners is #bhh years2 for the rich
 it is #fc years4 ,dr4 ,playfair has    
shown that #ah per cent4 of the children
 of the upper class1 #cf per cent4 of   
those of the tradesman class1 and #ee   
per cent4 of those of the workmen die   

before they reach the age of five years4
  ,here we see the painful positive or  
natural checks to population at work in 
our very midst4 ,death stands with his  
sword and ruthlessly strikes out the    
redundant lives4 ,what pen can picture  
the frightful suffering indicated by the
 figures given above8 ,the mother's     
pangs of child-birth3 her protracted    
agony of grief as she watches the       
ravages of disease upon the weakly frame
 of her ill-fed1 ill-clothed1 ill-tended
 babe3 the last dread scene when death  
releases from its misery the child that 
should never have been called into      
existence6 ,this squalid tragedy is     
enacted a thousand times2 and the upshot
 of it all is five hundred little       
coffins hastily thrust into the earth4  
,and what of those that survive8 ,here  
and there one may rise above his fellows
 in the struggle for existence2 but the 
vast majority of those who pass through 
the valley of the shadow of death emerge
 into a laborious and joyless existence4

 ,of the males a section will drift into
 pauperism or crime2 many of the females
 will be driven by want to the shameful 
traffic of prostitution4 ,the honest and
 industrious are doomed to a life of    
incessant toil and privation2 and with  
their numerous offspring will begin     
another cycle of the obscure tragedy4   
,in this way1 the nation ever renews    
within itself the elements of its own   
weakness and despair4 ,the question of  
the unemployed is ultimately a question 
of over-population2 and wages are       
reduced by the competition1 one against 
another1 of desperate men seeking bread 
for their wives and families4 ,trade    
,unions and other forms of combination  
may partially and temporarily improve   
the condition of a section of the       
workers2 but in the long run every      
advance in comfort is overtaken and     
swallowed up by the increase of         
population stimulated by prosperity4    
,thus1 unless the teachings of          
,new-,malthusianism be generally acted  

upon1 poverty will remain a permanent   
feature of society2 and1 as we have     
already said1 the element of poverty is 
a constant menace to the community at   
large4 ,the strength of a chain is that 
of its weakest link4 ,the wealth1       
luxury1 and refinement of society exist 
upon a frail tenure if the desperation  
of the poorest class is suffered to pass
 a certain limit4 ,history has shown us 
the civilisation of centuries           
extinguished by hordes of barbarians1   
driven by hunger from their sterile     
lands4 ,in ,paris1 during times of      
revolutionary excitement1 the ,faubourg 
,st4 ,antoine pours forth its thousands 
of gaunt and tattered spectres to make  
war upon society4  ,prudence in the     
matter of population1 then1 is seen to  
be the only way of conserving the most  
valuable and progressive elements in    
human society4 ,in this1 as in other    
countries1 the apostles of the new      
teaching have been confronted by the    
prejudices handed down from previous    

generations2 and in the succeeding      
chapter we shall trace the history of   
the ,malthusian movement in ,england and
 abroad4         ,,chapter ,,iii4  ,,the
 ,,malthusian ,,movement ,,in ,,england4
   ,for many years after the publication
 of ,mr4 ,malthus's great essay1 the    
principle which he had formulated did   
not pass beyond the region of more or   
less academic controversy4 ,the theory  
of population was denounced from        
countless pulpits and assailed by the   
pens of ready writers2 but1 being based 
upon a patient and accurate observation 
of the facts of nature1 it remained     
unshaken when the preachers and critics 
were forgotten4  ,it would be absurd to 
doubt that so important a contribution  
to social science influenced the minds  
and helped to shape the conduct of      
thoughtful men2 but it is beyond        
question that no organised attempt to   
popularise and propagate the teachings  
of ,malthus1 and to make known the      
nature of preventive checks amongst the 

people of this country1 was undertaken  
until the year #ahgg4 ,in the first     
quarter of the century1 ,richard        
,carlile published a small pamphlet on  
the subject2 but there is no reason to  
suppose that its effect was appreciable4
 ,mr4 ,francis ,place and ,mr4 ,robert  
,dale ,owen in later years wrote essays 
embodying practically the modern        
,malthusian view4  ,in #ahcc1 ,dr4      
,charles ,knowlton1 of ,boston          
7,u4,s4,a471 issued a small work on the 
subject of population1 entitled ,the    
,fruits of ,philosophy4 ,for over forty 
years the book was sold in ,england1 but
 its sale was so small that very few    
people were even acquainted with its    
title1 and it remained in its native    
obscurity until it was dragged into the 
light of day by the fortunate folly of  
persons who imagined that it was        
possible to check the spread of moral   
enlightenment by means of legal         
repression4  ,in #ahgf a police         
prosecution was instituted against a man

 in ,bristol for selling ,the ,fruits of
 ,philosophy1 and a conviction was      
obtained4 ,in the following year the    
publisher of the pamphlet was also      
indicted and committed for trial2 but he
 was liberated on promising that he     
would no longer issue the work4 ,mr4    
,charles ,bradlaugh and ,mrs4 ,annie    
,besant thereupon undertook the task of 
defending the right of publication4     
,they reprinted and published the       
pamphlet1 formally inviting the         
authorities to prosecute them4 ,it was  
for the sake of free discussion that we 
published the assailed pamphlet when its
 former seller yielded to the pressure  
put upon him by the police2 it was not  
so much in defence of this pamphlet1 as 
to make the way possible for others     
dealing with the same topic that we     
risked the penalty which has fallen upon
 us4 #b  ,the police authorities        
accepted the challenge1 and a           
prosecution was immediately commenced4  
,the trial1 which lasted four days1 took

 place in the ,court of ,queen's ,bench1
 before ,lord ,chief ,justice ,cockburn 
and a special jury4 ,sir ,hardinge      
,gifford 7then ,solicitor-,general71    
,mr4 ,douglas ,straight and ,mr4 ,mead  
appeared for the prosecution2 ,mr4      
,bradlaugh and ,mrs4 ,besant appeared in
 person4  ,the indictment charged the   
defendants with having published and    
sold an obscene book1 with intent to    
contaminate and corrupt public morals4  
,the author of ,the ,fruits of          
,philosophy advocated early marriage    
with limitation of families1 and        
referred in the course of his work to   
such preventive checks as were known at 
that time4 ,the ,solicitor-,general1 in 
opening the case1 sought to persuade the
 jury that ,dr4 ,knowlton speciously    
used that line of argument as a disguise
 and pretext for suggesting illicit     
intercourse without risk of pregnancy   
ensuing4 ,an indignant rebuke from ,sir 
,alexander ,cockburn caused the         
,solicitor-,general to abandon that line

 of false suggestion1 and to fall back  
upon the contention that it was illegal 
to issue a work containing a chapter on 
restriction1 not written in any learned 
language1 but in plain ,english1 in a   
facile form1 and sold 444 at sixpence4  
,he therefore asked the jury to declare 
that the book was an obscene            
publication4  ,the speech of the        
,solicitor-,general and his general     
conduct of the case are matters of      
trivial importance2 the notable features
 of the trial were the addresses of the 
two defendants and the summing-up by the
 ,lord ,chief ,justice4 ,mrs4 ,besant's 
speech to the jury was a remarkable and 
memorable effort4 ,she examined and     
discussed the population question in    
every aspect1 contending that1 in view  
of the evils arising from excessive     
increase1 the advocacy of prudential    
methods was a sacred duty to humanity4  
,in the opening passages of her speech  
she pointed out1 in the most impressive 
manner1 that she pleaded for the welfare

 of others3       ,it is not as         
defendant that ,i plead to you          
to-day--not simply     as defending     
myself do ,i stand here--but ,i speak as
 counsel     for hundreds of the poor1  
and it is they for whom ,i defend this  
case4 ,my clients are scattered up and  
down through the length     and breadth 
of the land2 ,i find them amongst the   
poor1 amongst     whom ,i have been so  
much2 ,i find my clients amongst the    
fathers1     who see their wage ever    
reducing1 and prices ever rising2 ,i    
find my clients amongst the mothers worn
 out with over-frequent                 
child-bearing1 and with two or three    
little ones around too young     to     
guard themselves1 while they have no    
time to guard them4 ,it     is enough   
for a woman at home to have the care1   
the clothing1     the training of a     
large family of young children to look  
to2     but it is a harder task when    
oftentimes the mother1 who should     be
 at home with her little ones1 has to go

 out and work in the     fields for wage
 to feed them when her presence is      
needed in the     house4 ,i find my     
clients among the little children4      
,gentlemen1     do you know the fate of 
so many of these children8--the little  
ones half-starved because there is food 
enough for two but not     enough for   
twelve2 half-clothed because the mother1
 no matter what     her skill and care1 
cannot clothe them with the money       
brought     home by the breadwinner of  
the family2 brought up in ignorance1    
and ignorance means pauperism and       
crime--gentlemen1 your happier          
circumstances have raised you above this
 suffering1 but on you     also this    
question presses2 for these over-large  
families mean     also increased        
poor-rates1 which are growing heavier   
year by     year4 ,these poor are my    
clients1 and if ,i weary you by length  
of speech1 as ,i fear ,i may1 ,i do so  
because ,i must think of them     more  
even than ,i think of your time or      

trouble4   ,with righteous indignation  
,mrs4 ,besant repelled the accusation   
that ,the ,fruits of ,philosophy was an 
obscene publication4 ,she showed by a   
quotation from ,lord ,campbell's ,act   
7upon which the prosecution was based7  
that the statutory definition of        
obscenity could not possibly be applied 
to a book containing dry physiological  
details put forward in dry1 technical   
language4 ,she next proceeded to urge   
that the right of free discussion upon  
matters of public welfare was really    
attacked by the prosecution3       ,do  
you1 gentlemen1 think for one moment    
that myself and my     co-defendant are 
fighting the simple question of the sale
 or     publication of this sixpenny    
volume of ,dr4 ,knowlton's8 ,do you     
think that we would have placed         
ourselves in the position in     which  
we are at the present moment for the    
mere profit to be     derived from a    
sixpenny pamphlet of forty-seven pages8 
,no1 it     is nothing of the sort2 we  

have a much larger interest at stake1   
and one of vital interest to the public1
 one which we shall spend     our whole 
lives in trying to uphold4 ,the question
 really is one of     the right to      
public discussion by means of           
publication1 and that     question is   
bound up in the right to sell this      
sixpenny pamphlet     which the         
,solicitor-,general despises on account 
of its price4   ,it would1 however1 be  
impossible to give1 by extracts of      
reasonable length1 an adequate idea of  
the striking and eloquent speech which  
,mrs4 ,besant addressed to the jury in  
her defence4 ,the whole question of     
over-population and its consequences was
 examined with the greatest care and    
completeness4 ,profoundly convinced of  
the justice of her cause1 ,mrs4 ,besant 
pleaded that the teachings of           
,new-,malthusianism1 by making early    
marriage possible1 promoted happiness   
and morality4 ,she said3       ,i think1
 therefore1 ,i may fairly put it that   

every young man     naturally desires to
 make a home and enter upon married life
     when first he comes out into the   
world4 ,i do not believe that     any   
young man sets out with the intention of
 rushing into fast     life and         
dissipation1 but men are frequently     
drawn into habits     of that kind      
because they fear the results that      
follow from     early marriage4 ,since  
,i am told that our object is to        
increase     immorality1 and that we    
only use the word marriage to conceal   
the foulest designs upon the purity of  
society1 ,i may say freely     that ,i  
hold early marriages to be the very     
salvation of young men1     and         
especially of young men in our large    
cities4 ,i hold the belief     with a   
depth of conviction which ,i cannot put 
to you in words1     that for one man   
and one woman to help1 comfort1 and     
support     one another1 which they are 
by nature adapted to do1 is a state     
which is to be reached1 which is to be  

perpetuated1 by marriage     and in no  
other way4 ,it is only by companionship1
 and the union     between a man and a  
woman1 that this is possible4 ,shut a   
man out     from the loving influence of
 home1 the golden institutions of       
the fireside1 his wife's society1 and   
the happiness of becoming     a father1 
and you induce a life of profligacy4    
,gentlemen1 do not     be deceived4     
,there is no talk in this book of       
preventing men and     women from       
becoming parents2 all that is sought    
here is to limit     the number of their
 family4 ,and we do not aim at that     
because     we do not love children1    
but1 on the contrary1 because we do     
love them1 and because we wish to       
prevent them from coming into     the   
world in greater numbers than there is  
the means of properly     providing for4
 ,children1 ,i believe1 have an         
influence upon parents     purifying in 
the highest degree1 because they teach  
the parents     self-restraint1         

self-denial1 thoughtfulness1 and        
tenderness to an     extent that cannot 
possibly be over-estimated2 and it is   
because     ,i wish to have it made     
possible for young men and for young    
women     to have these influences      
brought to bear upon them in their      
youth1     that ,i advocate the         
circulation of a book that will put     
within     their reach the knowledge of 
how to limit the extent of their        
families within their capabilities of   
providing for them2 for     no man can  
look with pride and happiness upon his  
home if he has     more children than he
 can clothe and educate4 ,it is because 
,i wish     them to marry in the        
springtime of their youth that ,i ask   
you by     your verdict in this action  
to make discussion on these subjects    
possible1 and that men should not be    
driven to find a substitute     for true
 and pure womanhood and wifehood in     
other directions4 ,if     you render    
this possible you will make your streets

 purer and     your families happier    
than they are at present4   ,having in  
the course of a prolonged speech        
explained and vindicated the            
,new-,malthusian doctrine from          
misrepresentations inspired by          
ignorance1 prejudice1 and bigotry1 ,mrs4
 ,besant concluded her memorable address
 in the following words3       ,i fairly
 put it that unless you honestly believe
 that my whole     speech to you has    
been one mass of falsehoods2 unless you 
believe my intent to be a bad intent2   
unless you believe ,i have     been     
deliberately deceiving you throughout1  
and stand here before     you in the    
very worst character a woman could take 
upon herself1     namely1 that of       
striving to corrupt the morals of the   
young under     the false pretence of   
purity here put forward1 and unless you 
think     that1 for the after-part of my
 life1 ,i deserve to pass through it    
with the brand upon me that twelve      
gentlemen1 after all patience1          

thought not only that the book was a    
mistake1 the opinions wrong1     and the
 arguments unconvincing1 but1 in the    
terrible language     of the indictment1
 that ,i am guilty of wickedly devising 
and     contriving as much as in me lay 
to vitiate and corrupt the morals     of
 youth as well as of others1--unless1 ,i
 say1 you believe that     that has been
 my object and purpose1 on this         
indictment1 ,i shall     call upon you1 
gentlemen1 to return a verdict of ,not  
,guilty1     and to send me home free1  
believing from my heart and conscience  
that ,i have been guilty only of doing  
that which ,i ought to do in            
grappling honestly with a matter ,i     
consider myself justified in            
grappling with--that terrible poverty   
and misery which is around     us on    
every hand4 ,unless you are prepared1   
gentlemen1 to brand     me with         
malicious meaning1 ,i ask you1 as an    
,english woman1 for     that justice    
which it is not impossible to expect at 

the hands     of ,englishmen--,i ask you
 to give me a verdict of ,not ,guilty1  
and to send me home unstained4   ,mr4   
,bradlaugh1 in his speech1 dealt more   
fully than his co-defendant had been    
able to do with the legal and           
physiological aspects of the case4 ,in  
the clearest fashion he maintained the  
lawfulness of disseminating the         
knowledge of innocent prudential checks3
       ,i submit to you1 gentlemen of   
the jury1 that it is moral to teach     
poor people to marry early1 and that    
this teaching avoids and will           
diminish illicit intercourse4 ,i will   
not weary you with reading     the whole
 of the report on the ,employment of    
,women and ,children     in             
,agriculture1 from which my co-defendant
 quoted that terrible     extract from  
the report of ,bishop ,fraser4 ,you will
 there find     that the illicit        
intercourse which we are charged with   
trying to     produce is an illicit     
intercourse which is going on and       

bringing     with it the birth of the   
child1 and bringing with it the murder  
of     the child by the mother1 because 
there is the pang of starvation     and 
misery and shame to contend with4 ,i say
 that it is amongst the     poor married
 people that the evils of               
over-population are chiefly     felt1   
and that it cannot tend to deprave their
 morals to teach     them how to        
intelligently check this                
over-population4444 ,i submit     that  
the advocacy of all checks is lawful    
except such as advocate     the         
destruction of the foetus after         
conception or of the child     after    
birth4 ,i say that the advocacy of every
 birth-restricting     check is lawful  
which is not the advocacy of the        
destruction of     human life in any    
form after that life has been created4  
,assuming the legality of such advocacy1
 it is useless unless conveyed in plain 
and simple language3       ,i say that  
the advocacy of any check amongst the   

masses to be     useful must of         
necessity be put in the plainest        
language and in     the cheapest form1  
and be widely spread2 and ,i press that 
upon     you because ,i understand that 
the learned ,solicitor-,general in      
his argument put it that one of the     
faults of this pamphlet was     that it 
was not obscured in learned language4   
,if we possessed the     facility of    
expressing ourselves in ,french1 or     
,italian1 or ,greek1     or ,latin1 or  
,hebrew1 or ,arabic1 what earthly use   
would that be     to the poor           
unfortunate wretches whose misery we    
want to address8   ,after traversing    
with his accustomed skill and acumen the
 charges formulated by the prosecution1 
,mr4 ,bradlaugh concluded his address   
with a peroration full of passionate    
eloquence3       ,we want 7he said7 to  
make the poor more comfortable2 and you 
tell us we are immoral4 ,we want to     
prevent them bringing into     the world
 little children to suck death1 instead 

of life1 at     the breasts of their    
mother2 and you tell us we are immoral4 
,i     should not say that1 perhaps1 for
 you1 gentlemen1 may judge things       
differently from myself2 but ,i know the
 poor4 ,i belong to them4 ,i     was    
born amongst them4 ,among them are the  
early associations of my     life4 ,such
 little ability as ,i possess to-day has
 come to me in     the hard struggle of 
life4 ,i have had no ,university to     
polish my     tongue2 no ,alma ,mater to
 give to me any eloquence by which to   
move     you4 ,i plead here simply for  
the class to which ,i belong1 and for   
the right to tell them what may redeem  
their poverty and alleviate     their   
misery4 ,and ,i ask you to believe in   
your heart of hearts1     even if you   
deliver a verdict against us here--,i   
ask you1 at least1     to try and       
believe both for myself and the lady who
 sits besides     me 7,i hope it for    
myself1 and ,i earnestly wish it for    
her71 that     all through we have meant

 to do right1 even if you think that we 
have done wrong4444 ,my co-defendant    
referred1 in earnest language1     to   
the letters which she had received from 
women1 and clergymen1     and others    
throughout the country4 ,i1 too1 have   
received many warm     words of sympathy
 from those who think that ,i am right4 
,it is true     many of them may be     
ignorant people1 and therefore may be   
wrong2     but they have written to     
encourage me with their kindly sympathy 
in my pleading before you4 ,if we are   
branded with the offence of             
circulating an obscene book1 many of    
these poor people will still     think  
,no4 ,they think such knowledge would   
prevent misery in     their families1   
would check hunger in their families1   
and would     hinder disease in their   
families4 ,do you know what poverty     
means     in a poor man's house8 ,it    
means that when you are reproaching a   
poor and ignorant man with brutality1   
you forget that he is merely            

struggling against that hardship of life
 which drives all chivalry     and      
courtesy out of his existence4 ,do not  
blame poor men too much     that they   
are rough and brutal4 ,think mercifully 
of a man such as     a brick-maker1 who1
 going home after his day's toil1 finds 
six     or seven little ones crying for 
bread1 and clinging around his     wife 
for the food which they cannot get4     
,think you such a scene     as that is  
not sufficient to make both himself and 
her hungry and     angry too8           
,gentlemen1 it is for you1 in your      
deliverance of guilty     or not guilty1
 to say how we are to go from this      
court--whether1     when we leave this  
place1 if you mark us guilty1 his       
lordship     may feel it to be his duty 
to sentence us1 and put upon us the     
brand of a doom such as your verdict may
 warrant2 or whether1 by     your       
verdict of not guilty--which ,i hope for
 myself and desire     for my           
co-defendant--we may go out of this     

court absolved from     that shame which
 this indictment has sought to put upon 
us4   ,we must pass over the evidence   
given by ,dr4 ,alice ,vickery1 ,dr4 ,c4 
,r4 ,drysdale1 ,mr4 ,bohn and others for
 the defence2 and refer briefly to the  
summing-up of the ,lord ,chief ,justice 
7,sir ,alexander ,cockburn74 ,his       
lordship dwelt upon the mischievous     
character and effect of the prosecution1
 and declared that a more ill-advised   
and more injudicious proceeding had     
probably never been brought into a court
 of justice4 ,he adverted in terms of   
severity to the secrecy that had been   
maintained as to the real originators of
 the prosecution4 ,in discussing the    
questions involved1 his lordship        
referred to the theory of ,malthus as a 
theory which astonished the world1      
though it is now accepted as an         
irrefragable truth1 and has since been  
adopted by economist after economist4   
,that the evils arising from            
over-population1 he continued1 are evils

 which1 if they could be prevented1 it  
would be the first business of human    
charity to prevent1 there cannot be any 
doubt4 ,that the evils of population are
 real1 and not imaginary1 no one        
acquainted with the state of society in 
the present day can possibly deny4 ,upon
 the question whether or not the        
advocacy of prudential checks tended to 
corrupt public morals1 his lordship said
 to the jury3 ,you must decide that with
 a due regard and reference to the law1 
and with an honest and determined desire
 to maintain the morals of mankind4     
,but1 on the other hand1 you must       
carefully consider what is due to public
 discussion1 and with an anxious desire 
not1 from any prejudiced view of this   
subject1 to stifle what may be a subject
 of legitimate enquiry4 ,the concluding 
passages of the charge to the jury are  
so significant that they are here       
reproduced entire3       ,if you are of 
opinion that this work of ,knowlton's1  
although well     intended1 and although

 the publication of it by the defendants
     may be intended for the benefit of 
mankind1 if you think they     have     
taken an erroneous view as to the effect
 of the work1 and     that its entire   
scope is subversive of the morals of    
society1     if that is your opinion1 it
 is then your bounden duty to find      
the defendants liable4 ,but whilst that 
is the case1 it is for     the          
prosecution to make out the charge they 
have undertaken to     establish4 ,if   
you think they have failed--if you think
 these are     matters which may fairly 
be discussed--that the proper answer to 
them is by refuting them by argument and
 not by prosecution1 the     defendants 
are entitled to your verdict4 ,or if you
 have any doubt     as to the effect of 
this work you are bound to bring them in
 not     guilty4 ,i would only say in   
conclusion1 that whatever outrages      
decency1 whatever tends to corrupt the  
morals of society1 and     especially   
the morals and purity of women--whatever

 tends to have     that result is1 when 
published1 an offence against the law4  
,but     that offence like every other  
must be made out4 ,if you think it      
is made out1 if there is a conviction in
 your minds that though     they have   
acted from a desire to do good1 yet in  
your opinion     they have done wrong1  
they have then brought themselves within
     the definition of the statute4     
,despite the powerful speeches of the   
defendants and the obviously sympathetic
 charge of the judge1 the jury were not 
equal to their opportunity to make a    
clear stand for freedom of discussion4  
,they returned a halting special        
verdict1 declaring that the book was    
calculated to deprave public morals1 but
 at the same time they entirely         
exonerated the defendants from any      
corrupt motives in publishing it4 ,upon 
this the judge reluctantly directed the 
jury to return a verdict of guilty4     
,the remainder of the story is most     
concisely told in ,mrs4 ,besant's own   

words3 ,obviously annoyed at the        
verdict1 the ,lord ,chief ,justice      
refused to give judgment1 and let us go 
on our own recognisances4 ,when we came 
up later for judgment1 he urged us to   
surrender the pamphlet as the jury had  
condemned it2 said our whole course with
 regard to it had been right1 but that  
we ought to yield to the judgment of the
 jury4 ,we were obstinate1 and ,i shall 
never forget the pathetic way in which  
the great judge urged us to submit1 and 
how at last when we persisted that we   
would continue to sell it till the right
 to sell it was gained1 he said that he 
would have let us go free if we would   
have yielded to the court1 but our      
persistence compelled him to sentence   
us4 ,we gave notice of appeal1 promising
 not to sell till the appeal was        
decided1 and he let us go on our own    
recognisances4 ,on appeal we quashed the
 verdict1 and went free2 we recovered   
all the pamphlets seized1 and publicly  
sold them2 we continued the sale till we

 received an intimation that no further 
prosecution would be attempted against  
us1 and then we dropped the sale of the 
pamphlet and never took it up again4 #c 
,having given an account of this        
memorable trial1 we proceed to trace    
some of its far-reaching effects4 ,in   
the first place1 ,dr4 ,knowlton's       
pamphlet gained immediately an enormous 
circulation4 ,before the prosecution the
 annual sales were very small2 within   
three months from the time when         
proceedings were instituted against the 
publishers1 #abe1jjj copies were sold4  
,but this result1 startling as it       
appears1 was by no means the most       
important phase of the impetus given to 
the public mind upon the question of    
population by the cause clbre of ,the   
,queen versus ,charles ,bradlaugh and   
,annie ,besant4 ,during the trial the   
newspapers of this country contained    
lengthy reports of the proceedings1 and 
the remarkable speeches of the          
defendants were thus carried far and    

wide4 ,their popular statements of the  
,malthusian position1 their description 
of the evils arising from               
over-population and the remedies that   
they proposed were sent forth into many 
thousands of homes into which no hint of
 the truth would otherwise have         
penetrated4 ,the press1 with its myriad 
voices1 became1 for the time1 a mighty  
organ of ,new-,malthusian propaganda1   
repeating1 in tones that echoed round   
the world1 the eloquent words of two    
social reformers to whom the miseries of
 the poor were known1 and who had faced 
the danger of imprisonment and of social
 obloquy in order to proclaim that which
 they felt to be the only efficient     
remedy for poverty4  ,amidst the public 
excitement caused by this famous trial1 
,the ,malthusian ,league was called into
 existence1 and has since carried       
forward the work of propaganda in an    
organised and systematic fashion4 ,it   
was founded to promote the following    
objects3  ,i4 ,to agitate for the       

abolition of all penalties on the public
 discussion of the ,population          
,question1 and to obtain such a         
statutory definition as shall render it 
impossible1 in the future1 to bring such
 discussions within the scope of the    
common law as a misdemeanor4  ,,ii4 ,to 
spread among the people1 by all         
practicable means1 a knowledge of the   
law of population1 of its consequences1 
and of its bearing upon human conduct   
and morals4  ,dr4 ,charles ,r4          
,drysdale1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,c4,s41 ,eng41 
has from the first been the ,president  
of the ,league1 and has devoted himself 
to the work of explaining and advocating
 the ,new-,malthusian principle4 ,the   
list of ,vice-,presidents has included  
the names of the late ,m4 ,yves ,guyot1 
a distinguished ,french deput and       
,minister of ,state1 and of ,mr4 ,j4    
,bryson1 ,president of the              
,northumberland ,miners' ,association4  
,a reference to its present composition 
will show the reader that the efforts of

 the ,league to spread enlightened views
 on the population question have the    
approval and sympathy of influential    
persons in this and in other countries4 
#d  ,the work of the ,league is chiefly 
carried on by public lectures and       
meetings1 the dissemination of          
literature1 and letters addressed to the
 editors of newspapers4 ,by these means 
the public mind is constantly being     
influenced in the direction of rational 
views upon the population question4     
,the annual meetings of members and     
friends of the ,league have afforded    
valuable opportunities of obtaining     
expressions of opinion upon the subject 
of ,malthusianism from many influential 
persons4 ,letters expressing hearty     
approval of the movement have been      
received from ,mrs4 ,mona ,caird1 ,lord 
,derby1 ,lord ,pembroke1 the late ,lord 
,bramwell1 ,mr4 ,leonard ,courtney1     
,m4,p41 ,mr4 ,w4 ,b4 ,maclaren1 ,m4,p41 
,professor ,bain1 ,mr4 ,arnold ,white1  
,mr4 ,g4 ,h4 ,darwin and others4  ,four 

years after the formation of the        
,league1 a ,medical ,branch was         
established for the following purposes3 
,i4 ,to aid the ,malthusian ,league in  
its crusade against poverty and the     
accompanying evils by obtaining the     
co-operation of qualified medical       
practitioners1 both ,british and        
foreign4  ,,ii4 ,to obtain a body of    
scientific opinion on points of sexual  
physiology and pathology involved in the
 ,population ,question1 and which can   
only be discussed by those possessed of 
scientific knowledge4  ,,iii4 ,to       
agitate for a free and open discussion  
of the ,population ,question in all its 
aspects in the medical press1 and thus  
to obtain a recognition of the          
scientific oasis and the absolute       
necessity of ,neo-,malthusianism4  ,it  
will be seen that the work of this      
section is of a special and scientific  
character4 ,the names of the officers   
and members 7given in the appendix7 will
 show that the advocacy of prudential   

checks to population is sanctioned by a 
body of physicians of unquestioned      
eminence4  ,having given an outline of  
the permanent organisation of           
,malthusian propaganda which grew out of
 the events of #ahgg1 we proceed to     
trace briefly the history of the        
movement from that period4 ,it is in the
 main a story of petty persecutions on  
the one side1 and1 upon the other1 of   
steady persistence in the work of       
informing the public mind4 ,the         
principal obstacle to the progress of   
the movement1 and one which it is slowly
 but surely surmounting1 is the         
prejudice born of ignorance and bigotry4
 ,journalists1 statesmen and other      
leaders of opinion do not hesitate to   
avow their adhesion to the principle    
formulated by ,malthus2 but they are1   
almost without exception1 dominated by  
the fear of ,mrs4 ,grundy1 and shrink   
from incurring the odium which1 they    
imagine1 would result from a frank      
recognition of the only logical outcome 

of that principle4 ,they join loudly in 
the chorus on the evils of              
over-population2 but1 as a rule1 they   
will lend no public countenance to the  
distinct advocacy of prudential checks4 
,hence the task of the pioneers of the  
movement is rendered excessively        
difficult2 but from the very inception  
of the ,malthusian ,league1 the work of 
propaganda has been carried forward with
 unfailing devotion and singleness of   
purpose4  ,in its earliest days1 the    
,league was called upon to support one  
of its most respected members under     
stress of persecution4 ,in ,february1   
#ahgh1 ,mr4 ,edward ,truelove was       
prosecuted and tried before ,lord ,chief
 ,justice ,cockburn for publishing the  
,hon4 ,robert ,dale ,owen's pamphlet    
entitled ,moral ,physiology1 and an     
essay on ,individual1 ,family1 and      
,national ,poverty1 by an anonymous     
author4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,a4 ,hunter1 in        
defending the case1 made a most powerful
 speech in support of the ,malthusian   

position4 ,the jury were unable to agree
 upon a verdict1 and the proceedings    
came to an abortive termination4 ,three 
months later1 however1 ,mr4 ,truelove   
was a second time placed upon his trial1
 the venue meanwhile being changed from 
the ,court of ,queen's ,bench to the    
,old ,bailey4 ,a common jury found no   
difficulty in returning a verdict of    
guilty1 and ,mr4 ,truelove 7then in his 
sixty-eighth year7 was sentenced to pay 
a fine of #ej and to be imprisoned for  
four months4 ,a great public meeting was
 held at ,st4 ,james's ,hall on ,june   
#fth1 when ,mr4 ,bradlaugh1 ,mrs4       
,besant1 ,dr4 ,drysdale and other       
friends of the movement protested       
against the action of the authorities in
 thus interfering with the right of free
 discussion1 and expressed their        
admiration of ,mr4 ,truelove's courage  
and consistency4  ,mr4 ,truelove endured
 the privations of imprisonment with    
fortitude and dignity1 sustained by the 
knowledge that his cause was righteous4 

,he was taken to ,coldbath ,fields in a 
prison-van1 handcuffed like a dangerous 
criminal2 compelled to lie on the       
plank-bed1 and subjected to all the     
rigors of gaol discipline4 ,during the  
first three months he was allowed no    
meat2 after that time he was permitted  
to have six ounces of ,australian tinned
 meat per week4 ,happily the confinement
 and hardships did not prejudicially    
affect his health4  ,on ,september #abth
 he was welcomed back to liberty by a   
large and enthusiastic gathering of     
friends at the ,hall of ,science1       
,london4 ,the leading members of the    
,malthusian ,league were present1 and   
,mr4 ,moncure ,d4 ,conway1 and the ,rev4
 ,stewart ,d4 ,headlam attended to do   
honor to one who had suffered for       
conscience sake4 ,a purse containing    
#bjj was presented to ,mr4 ,truelove1   
together with the following testimonial3
       ,to ,edward ,truelove1 on his    
release from four months' imprisonment  
in ,coldbath ,fields ,prison--suffered  

in defence of the ,liberty of     the   
,press4       ,the undersigned1 on      
behalf of the ,national ,secular        
,society and     of the ,malthusian     
,league1 desire to welcome you on your  
return to     liberty1 and to offer you 
their heartiest thanks for the courage  
and endurance you have displayed1 in    
defending the right of free             
publication of opinion4      ,the battle
 for the liberty of the press has been  
steadily waged     ever since the       
invention of printing1 and a long       
muster-roll of     names might be given 
of those who1 first at the stake1 and   
since in     prison1 have in turn paid  
their share of the penalty-purchase for 
the victories already achieved4 ,you    
have worthily entitled yourself     to  
an honorable place in this muster-roll1 
the more so that you     have stood firm
 in a day when too many temporise and   
flinch4 ,from     almost every part of  
,england1 and from remote districts1 as 
well as     from the great centres of   

,scotland1 many thousands of your fellow
     countrymen and countrywomen have   
pleaded for your release1 and from      
all parts of the civilised world        
expressions have been received1     of  
sympathy with you1 and of indignation   
against your persecutors4      ,as some 
slight mark of our gratitude and        
affectionate esteem1     and in         
recognition of the honor with which you 
have crowned a long     life of         
unwavering courage1 we present you this 
address1 and the     accompanying purse 
of gold1 begging you to accept with them
 our     sincerest wishes for your      
future welfare4 ,signed on behalf of    
,the ,national ,secular ,society4       
,chas4 ,bradlaugh1 ,president4          
,robert ,forder1 ,secretary4      ,the  
,malthusian ,league4      ,c4 ,drysdale1
 ,m4,d41 ,president4     ,annie ,besant1
 ,hon4 ,sec4      ,hall of ,science1    
#abth ,september1 #ahgh4   ,the case of 
,mr4 ,truelove was the last prosecution 
of importance in this country for the   

publication of works dealing with the   
population question4 ,the proceedings   
against ,mr4 ,bradlaugh and ,mrs4       
,besant1 after being quashed in the     
,court of ,appeal upon a writ of error1 
were never renewed4 ,dr4 ,knowlton's    
pamphlet1 ,the ,fruits of ,philosophy1  
was withdrawn from circulation1 and     
,mrs4 ,besant wrote a small book1 ,the  
,law of ,population3 its consequences   
and its bearing upon human conduct and  
morals1 to take its place4 ,of this work
 nearly #bjj1jjj copies were circulated 
in ,great ,britain2 many pirated        
editions were published in ,america and 
,australia2 and it was translated into  
several ,european languages4 ,it formed 
the basis of a remarkable judgment by   
,mr4 ,justice ,windeyer 7delivered in   
the ,supreme ,court of ,new ,south      
,wales71 to which further reference will
 presently be made4  ,in ,june1 #ahhg1  
,dr4 ,h4 ,a4 ,allbutt1 of ,leeds1       
published a sixpenny pamphlet entitled  
,the ,wife's ,handbook4 ,the following  

paragraph1 taken from the introduction  
to the book1 will explain its object3   
,to save the lives and preserve the     
health of thousands of women1 to rescue 
from death and disease children who may 
be born1 to teach the young wife how to 
order her health during the most        
important period of her life1 to remove 
from her mind the popular ignorance in  
which she may have been reared1 and to  
enable her to learn truths concerning   
her duties as wife and mother1 ,i have  
thought fit to write this little work4  
,shortly after its appearance1 the      
spirit of persecution was again         
manifested1 this time in an obscure and 
technical aspect4 ,as a member of the   
,royal ,college of ,physicians of       
,edinburgh1 ,dr4 ,allbutt was           
professionally amenable to the ,council 
of that body2 and he was summoned to    
appear and show cause why he should not 
be removed from the rolls for the       
offence of writing and publishing ,the  
,wife's ,handbook4 ,the matter was      

warmly taken up by the ,malthusian      
,league1 and protests were addressed to 
the ,college from all parts of ,great   
,britain and from ,france1 ,germany1    
,holland1 ,italy1 ,india and ,jamaica4  
,nothing more was heard of the affair   
until ,november1 when ,dr4 ,allbutt     
received a notice to appear before the  
,general ,medical ,council1 in ,london1 
to show cause why his name should not be
 struck off the register4  ,on ,november
 #bcrd the complaint against ,dr4       
,allbutt was considered by the ,general 
,medical ,council1 a body composed of   
twenty-seven physicians4 ,dr4 ,allbutt  
was represented by ,mr4 ,wallace        
7barrister71 and the prosecution was    
conducted by ,mr4 ,muir ,mackenzie1 the 
legal adviser of the ,council4 ,the     
following were the points which the     
,council proceeded to consider3 7#a7    
,was ,the ,wife's ,handbook a fair      
medical treatise1 or was it an indecent 
advertisement8 7#b7 ,was it practically 
an injury to the public and an insult to

 the profession8 ,mr4 ,wallace1 in a    
very able speech1 traversed the         
suggestions made by the ,council's      
solicitor1 and challenged the right of  
an irresponsible body to determine      
whether any line of advocacy was        
subversive of public morality4 ,if ,dr4 
,allbutt had violated the law1 he was   
amenable to legal proceedings1 and it   
was not for the ,medical ,council to sit
 in judgment upon him4 ,mr4 ,wallace    
justified the course that ,dr4 ,allbutt 
had taken in publishing his work at a   
low price in order that it might be     
placed within the reach of the poorest  
classes4 ,he called the attention of the
 members to a list of the petitions     
which had been presented to the ,council
 on the subject from all parts of       
,europe4 ,they amounted to over seventy2
 many of them came from medical1        
scientific1 and political societies4 ,he
 assured the ,council that the members  
of the medical profession were by no    
means unanimous in condemning ,mr4      

,allbutt1 and it would run against the  
feelings of a very considerable minority
 if they decided adversely to his       
client4 ,the book was written with the  
express object of saving poor people    
from the misery1 poverty1 and starvation
 which resulted from the over-production
 of children2 and he asked the ,council1
 in conclusion1 to arrive at a decision 
which would relieve his client from the 
imputation which had been cast upon him1
 and which would restore him to his     
proper position4  ,the ,council having  
deliberated in private1 the ,president  
delivered the following judgment3  ,in  
the opinion of the ,council1 ,mr4       
,allbutt has committed the offence      
charged against him1 that is to say1 of 
having published and publicly caused to 
be sold a work entitled ,the ,wife's    
,handbook1 in ,london and elsewhere1 at 
so low a price as to bring the work     
within the reach of the youth of both   
sexes1 to the detriment of public       
morals4 ,secondly1 the offence is1 in   

the opinion of the ,council1 'infamous  
conduct in a professional respect4'     
,thirdly1 the ,registrar is hereby      
ordered to erase the name of ,mr4 ,h4   
,a4 ,allbutt from the ,medical          
,register4  ,thus ended the futile      
attempt of the ,general ,medical        
,council to put a stop to the           
publication of ,malthusian works at so  
low a price4 ,nobody was a penny the    
worse for the ponderous proceedings of  
this archaic tribunal4 ,dr4 ,allbutt has
 never ceased to practise legally as a  
physician2 twenty editions of ,the      
,wife's ,handbook have been issued and  
#ahj1jjj copies sold4  ,this case       
aroused much attention in the press4    
,the ,pall ,mall ,gazette declared that 
the decision of the ,general ,medical   
,council to erase from its rolls the    
name of a physician who published 'at a 
low price' information as to the best   
means for preventing the excessive      
multiplication of children beyond their 
parents' means of subsistence or the    

possibility of education and control1   
will before long become familiar as one 
of the most glaring illustrations of    
professional prejudice and human folly4 
,when such a cool-headed respectable as 
,lord ,derby feels bound to call        
attention to the increase of #djj1jjj   
per annum in our population as one of   
the most pressing problems of our day1  
it is really too fatuous for the        
,general ,medical ,council to brand as  
'infamous' a practitioner who1 in a work
 to which no objection is taken on the  
score of impropriety or immorality1     
supplies to the poor information already
 possessed by the rich4  ,we have to    
record but one later attempt to         
interfere with the free discussion of   
the population question in this country4
 ,in ,october1 #ahia1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,s4      
,young1 ,m4,a41 was summoned to appear  
at ,bow ,street ,police ,court on a     
charge of sending through the post a    
leaflet entitled ,some ,reasons for     
,advocating the ,prudential ,limitation 

of ,families4 ,the proceedings were     
taken under the ,post ,office           
,protection ,act4 ,mr4 ,besley1 in      
conducting the prosecution1 made the    
remarkable statement that the only check
 against immorality in this country was 
the fear of pregnancy6 ,speaking in his 
own defence1 ,mr4 ,young contended that 
there was no obscenity involved in      
pointing out to the poor how they might 
limit their families4 ,the magistrate   
7,mr4 ,lushington7 admitted that the    
leaflet was written in very careful     
language1 and not intended to be at all 
offensive2 but still he held that it was
 obscene1 convicted ,mr4 ,young1 and    
ordered him to pay a fine of #bj and    
costs4 ,the defendant applied to the    
magistrate to state a case1 as he       
intended to appeal2 but ,mr4 ,lushington
 refused to do so4  ,this prosecution   
led to the formation of a ,free         
,discussion ,committee1 and public      
meetings were held in various parts of  
the metropolis1 protesting against the  

infringement of public freedom by legal 
proceedings4 ,repeated attempts were    
made by ,mr4 ,young and his advisers to 
bring the case before a court of law1   
but technical difficulties rendered this
 practically impossible1 and the matter 
was allowed to drop4  ,meantime the     
propaganda of ,new-,malthusian views is 
steadily continued4 ,the pages of ,the  
,malthusian1 the monthly organ of the   
,league1 bear constant witness to       
activity which hastes not and rests not4
 ,whether its energies are to be again  
stimulated by persecution1 time alone   
can show4    ,a brief statement         
concerning the position of the          
,malthusian movement in foreign         
countries may be usefully added to this 
chapter4  ,holland4--,several years ago 
a ,dutch ,malthusian ,league was        
established by ,mr4 ,s4 ,van ,houten    
7,doctor of ,laws1 and ,deput71 ,mr4 ,c4
 ,v4 ,gerritsen1 ,dr4 ,c4 de ,rooy1 ,dr4
 ,lobry de ,bruyn and others4 ,in #ahhg 
the ,league numbered amongst its        

members1 in ,amsterdam alone1 six       
,doctors of ,medicine1 eleven ,doctors  
of ,law1 and three ,professors of the   
,university4 ,at ,amsterdam a dispensary
 has long been open1 where a lady 7,dr4 
,aletta ,h4 ,jacobs7 and other medical  
members attend and give advice to those 
seeking practical information upon      
prudential checks4 ,large numbers of    
poor married women apply at the         
dispensary for instruction as to the    
best methods by which they can restrict 
the size of their families4 ,several    
pamphlets upon the population question  
have been issued by the ,dutch          
,malthusian ,league4 ,in #ahhg1 thirty  
thousand copies of one of its           
publications had been circulated in a   
country with a smaller population than  
that of ,london4 ,the most recent       
pamphlet on ,malthusianism1 from the pen
 of ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,van der ,haven1 is    
entitled ,the ,dark ,netherlands1 and   
the way out of it4 ,the author draws a  
sad picture of life in some of the poor 

quarters of ,holland1 where1 he says1   
laughter is seldom heard1 and hunger and
 early death are constant visitors4     
,there is1 however1 hope for a brighter 
future4 ,mr4 ,gerritsen states that in  
,holland directors of large industrial  
establishments and railway societies    
make their workmen acquainted with the  
means of preventing themselves from     
drifting into poverty4  ,germany4--,the 
,malthusian question has frequently been
 the subject of discussion in ,germany4 
,dr4 ,stille1 of ,hanover1 ,dr4 ,hans   
,ferdy1 ,dr4 ,mensinga1 ,dr4 ,zacharias1
 and other physicians have again and    
again called public attention to the    
importance of the subject2 but1 until   
lately1 no combined effort to influence 
public opinion has been possible4 ,mr4  
,max ,hausmeister1 of ,stuttgart1 has at
 length set on foot an organisation for 
the propaganda of ,new-,malthusian      
views4 ,on ,february #abth1 #ahib1 a    
private meeting was held at ,stuttgart  
to consider the advisability of forming 

a ,malthusian ,society4 ,this led to the
 establishment of the                   
,sozial-,harmonische ,verein 7,social   
,harmony ,union71 and a monthly journal1
 ,die ,sozial ,harmonie1 was founded to 
enlighten the people of ,germany upon   
social1 political and economic questions
 and the relation of these to sexual    
matters4 7,subscription3 #bej marks per 
annum47 ,germany1 with its teeming      
population of impoverished workers1     
affords an enormous field for           
,malthusian propaganda4  ,in ,holland   
and ,germany alone1 amongst continental 
countries1 has the ,malthusian view     
found organised expression4 ,france1    
whilst extremely prudent in practice1 is
 strongly anti-,malthusian in theory1 at
 least so far as the governing class is 
concerned4 ,drs4 ,lutaud1 ,le ,blond1   
and ,rebant1 of ,paris1 are prominent   
amongst the adherents of the            
,new-,malthusian movement in ,france4   
,in ,india1 public attention has lately 
been called to the population question  

by a prosecution instituted by the      
police authorities against ,messrs4     
,taraporewalla  ,sons1 of ,bombay1 for  
selling copies of a pamphlet entitled   
,true ,morality2 or1 the ,theory and    
,practice of ,new-,malthusianism1 by    
,mr4 ,j4 ,r4 ,holmes4 ,the ,chief       
,presidency ,magistrate convicted the   
defendants and imposed a fine of #bja   
rupees 7about #ab4 #ajs474 ,the         
conviction was not permitted to pass    
without public protest4 ,the editor of a
 ,bombay journal wrote3 ,the battle has 
been fought and won in the ,west1 and   
the subject is more or less directly    
treated in the leading reviews1 and     
books and pamphlets are openly sold in  
,england4 ,our duty here is clear       
enough4 ,are the ,freethinkers in       
,india1 whether ,new-,malthusians or    
not1 to quietly stand by and see the    
free discussion of this question denied 
the public8 ,we are perfectly aware that
 although there are many who will aid in
 this work1 there are few--alas6 how    

few6--who will openly bear the brunt of 
the fray4 ,however1 there is at least   
one who will do it4 ,but will the others
 stand round and give whatever help they
 can1 even if silently8 ,the standard of
 comfort amongst the teeming native     
population of ,india is deplorably low1 
the average income per head in the      
north-west provinces not exceeding #bb  
#a_/b rupees 7say #a4 #hs4 #f;d47 per   
year4 ,and yet1 forsooth1 those who seek
 to lift the poor ryots from their      
abysmal poverty and misery are          
confronted with the smug                
conventionalities of ,western ,europe1  
and punished as distributors of obscene 
literature6  ,america has no ,malthusian
 organisation1 but there are many       
sympathisers with the movement in       
various parts of the country4 ,dr4 ,e4  
,b4 ,foote1 jr41 of ,new ,york1 is a    
most active and earnest advocate of     
,malthusian views1 and has written      
several popular works on the subject4   
,the customs and postal prohibitions are

 very stringent as to the admission and 
transmission of ,malthusian literature  
and appliances4 ,some years ago the late
 ,mr4 ,d4 ,m4 ,bennett underwent a term 
of imprisonment at ,auburn for sending  
through the post a pamphlet by ,mr4     
,heywood on the marriage question4 ,just
 after his arrest ,mr4 ,bennett stated3 
,my only object in selling this pamphlet
 is to vindicate the liberty of thought1
 of the press1 and of the mails4 ,i have
 always announced that ,i did not       
approve of it2 but as long as ,mr4      
,heywood does1 ,i declare that he has a 
right to mail it as part of his right to
 publish it1 and as a necessary part of 
the freedom of the press4 ,if this means
 that ,i am to go to prison1 to prison  
let it be4  ,from this necessarily      
slight and incomplete sketch of the     
position of the movement abroad it will 
be seen that the theory of ,malthus is  
gradually leavening the thought and     
helping to shape the destinies of the   
civilised world4         ,,chapter ,,iv4

  ,a ,,judicial ,,vindication ,,of      
,,new-,,malthusianism4   ,as we have    
shown in the preceding chapter1 repeated
 attempts have been made to suppress1 by
 legal process1 the advocacy of         
,new-,malthusian views4 ,those attempts 
have failed1 as they were bound to fail4
 ,by the strange irony of fate1 indeed1 
one of the most powerful1 logical and   
convincing vindications of the          
prudential limitation of families has   
proceeded from the judicial bench4 ,the 
famous judgment delivered by ,mr4       
,justice ,windeyer1 ,senior ,puisne     
,judge of the ,supreme ,court of ,new   
,south ,wales1 on ,december #abth1      
#ahhh1 is so important a contribution to
 the discussion of this question that a 
chapter may profitably be devoted to a  
summary of its arguments and            
conclusions4  ,a stipendiary magistrate 
in ,new ,south ,wales convicted ,mr4 ,w4
 ,w4 ,collins on a charge of selling an 
obscene book1 viz41 ,the ,law of        
,population1 written by ,mrs4 ,annie    

,besant4 ,mr4 ,collins appealed against 
this conviction to the ,supreme ,court1 
consisting of ,chief ,justice ,darley   
and ,justices ,windeyer and ,stephen4   
,the sole question at issue was whether 
the work was obscene2 and upon this the 
judgment of the ,court 7the ,chief      
,justice dissenting7 was given that the 
conviction should be set aside4  ,in    
delivering judgment1 ,mr4 ,justice      
,windeyer said3       ,a court of law   
has now to decide for the first time    
whether it is     lawful to argue in a  
decent way with earnestness of thought  
and     sobriety of language the right  
of married men and women to limit       
the number of the children to be        
begotten by them by such means as       
medical science says are possible and   
not injurious to health4 ,of     the    
enormous importance of this question1   
not only to persons of     limited means
 in every society and country1 but to   
nations1 the     populations of which   
have a tendency to increase more rapidly

     than the means of subsistence1     
there cannot be the slightest     doubt4
 ,since the days when ,malthus first    
announced his views on     the subject  
to be misrepresented and vilified1 as   
originators of     new ideas usually are
 by the ignorant and unthinking1 the    
question     has not only been pressing 
itself with increased intensity of      
force upon thinkers and social reformers
 dealing with it in     the abstract1   
but the necessity of practically dealing
 with the     difficulty of             
over-population has become a topic      
publicly discussed     by statesmen and 
politicians4 ,it is no longer a question
 whether     it is expedient to prevent 
the growth of a pauper population1      
with all its attendant miseries         
following upon semi-starvation1         
over-crowding1 disease1 and an enfeebled
 national stamina of     constitution2  
but how countries suffering from all    
these causes     of national decay shall
 avert national disaster by checking the

     production of children1 whose lives
 must be too often a misery     to      
themselves1 a burden to society1 and a  
danger to the ,state4   ,his lordship   
pointed out that public opinion has so  
far advanced that the abstract necessity
 of prudential limitation is now        
generally admitted4 ,statesmen1         
reviewers1 and ecclesiastics join in a  
common chorus of exhortation against    
improvident marriages to the working    
classes1 and preach to them the         
necessity of deferring the ceremony till
 they have saved the competency         
necessary to support the truly ,british 
family of ten or twelve children4 ,it   
is1 however1 futile to hope that        
celibacy and continence will furnish the
 solution of the question4 ,the         
,protestant world has rejected the idea 
of a celibate clergy as incompatible    
with purity and the safety of female    
virtue4 ,how1 then1 can we expect that  
men and women1 with their moral nature  
more or less stunted1 huddled together  

in dens where the bare conditions of    
living preclude even elementary ideas of
 modesty1 with none of the pleasures of 
life save those enjoyed in common with  
the animals--444 these victims of a     
social state1 for which the educated are
 responsible if they do not use their   
superior wisdom and knowledge for its   
redress1 to exercise all the            
self-control of which the celibate      
ecclesiastic is supposed to be          
incapable8  ,the judge then proceeded to
 argue that1 as the evils of            
over-population were almost universally 
recognised1 the duty of making known to 
the people the practical method of      
escaping from them must also be         
recognised3       ,why is the           
philosopher who describes the nature of 
the disease from     which we are       
suffering1 who detects the causes which 
induce it and     the general character 
of the remedies to be applied1 to be    
regarded     as a sage and a benefactor1
 but his necessary complement in the    

evolution of a great idea1 the man who  
works out in practice the     theories  
of the abstract thinker1 to be denounced
 as a criminal8 ,it     was only when   
,jenner ventured to act on the theory   
which he had     founded upon his       
observations that he was denounced and  
vilified     in language which it is now
 almost impossible to conceive4   ,all  
history1 however1 has shown that public 
opinion advances whilst the law remains 
stationary2 and martyrs must suffer     
until the law is brought into conformity
 with the public conscience3       ,a   
certain number of prosecutions under the
 law1 a certain number of     victims to
 the ignorance or superstition of those 
who framed it1     a certain number of  
refusals to convict under a growing     
sense of     its unwisdom1 injustice and
 barbarity1 seem to be in all societies 
the stages passed through by laws       
established for the purpose     of      
coercing the opinions of mankind before 
they become obsolete1     if judge-made1

 or1 if statutes1 are repealed as       
inconsistent with     advancing         
knowledge4   ,with regard to the        
pamphlet under consideration1 the judge 
pointed out that it did not come before 
them as an obscene libel at common law4 
,the question1 therefore1 whether the   
purpose advocated in the book 7i4e41 the
 limitation of families7 was            
inconsistent with the morals of society1
 was not relevant4 ,they had only to    
enquire if the details as to prudential 
checks1 given in that pamphlet1 were    
inconsistent with decency4 ,it had been 
admitted in argument that the greater   
part of the work1 dealing with the      
abstract necessity of limiting          
population1 was not obscene4 ,the only  
portion against which obscenity was     
alleged was the chapter in which the    
means by which conception could be      
prevented were stated1 and in which the 
female sexual organs were described as  
far as necessary for the purpose4  ,the 
question was thus raised--,what is      

obscenity8 ,after quoting the definition
 of the word which had been adopted in a
 previous case1 ,mr4 ,justice ,windeyer 
laid down the principle that it is the  
circumstances under which language is   
published1 or acts done1 that determine 
whether language or conduct is obscene4 
,no natural function of the body is     
obscene itself4 ,in the physical        
constitution of man1 including all his  
natural instincts1 there is nothing     
unholy or unclean4 ,but certain natural 
actions1 if performed in public1 would  
be a gross outrage upon decency4 ,in    
like manner1 language that might be     
permissible and necessary if used on    
certain occasions1 would manifestly be  
an outrage upon decency if used when    
occasion did not warrant it3       ,the 
question therefore is1 when language is 
objected to as obscene1     whether the 
occasion upon which it has been used    
warrants its     use in the manner      
resorted to4 ,this view of the law1 ,i  
find1     is taken by the most          

distinguished writer upon the criminal  
law     of modern days--that most acute 
thinker1 ,sir ,james ,stephen4 ,that    
learned judge1 in his ,digest of the    
,criminal ,law1 p4 #aje submits     the 
following as the true view of the law   
with reference to the     publication of
 matter that would be obscene if not    
justified by     the occasion3      ,a  
person 7he says7 is justified in        
exhibiting disgusting objects1     or   
publishing obscene books1 papers1       
writings1 pictures1 drawings1     or    
other representations1 if their         
exhibition or publication is for     the
 public good1 as being necessary or     
advantageous to religion     of         
morality1 to the administration of      
justice1 the pursuit of     science1    
literature or art1 or other objects of  
general interest2     but the           
justification ceases if the publication 
is made in such     a manner1 to such an
 extent1 or under such circumstances1 as
 to     exceed what the public good     

requires in regard to the particular    
matter published4   ,mr4 ,justice       
,windeyer said he accepted this view as 
the law1 and the question for           
consideration was whether the chapter   
detailing prudential checks made the    
publication obscene4 ,to determine this1
 it was necessary to consider the work  
as a whole1 in order that it might be   
ascertained whether the language        
complained of was warranted by the      
occasion3       ,as it cannot be denied 
that the question propounded for        
discussion     is of enormous           
importance1 and that it is right to     
advocate in     the abstract the        
expediency of checking the advancing    
tide of     population1 it appears to me
 impossible to contend that language    
which tells how this may be done is     
obscene if it goes no further     than  
is necessary for this purpose4 ,having  
carefully read the     third chapter of 
the pamphlet1 it appears to me to be    
written in     all decent sobriety of   

language4 ,i see nothing in its language
     which an earnest-minded man or     
woman of pure life and morals might     
not use to one of his or her own sex1 if
 explaining to him or her     what was  
necessary in order to understand the    
methods suggested     by which married  
people could prevent the number of their
 children     increasing beyond their   
means of supporting them4 ,there is     
nothing     which points to the         
conclusion that any language is used    
with     the intention of exciting      
feelings of wantonness and lust2 and    
it requires but slight acquaintance with
 the medical profession     to discover 
that the advice given in this chapter is
 frequently     given by them to women  
suffering from over-childbearing1 and to
     those to whom parturition is       
dangerous4 ,the information afforded    
in the third chapter of the pamphlet1 if
 given by a medical man     to a patient
 suffering from over-maternity1 or if   
whispered in     matrimonial confidence1

 or imparted in the privacy existing    
between     the author and the reader of
 her pamphlet1 is not obscenity2 though 
the public proclamation of the same     
information on a placard in     ,george 
,street or ,piccadilly1 so that all who 
ran might read1     would be an         
obscenity of the grossest kind1 so      
clearly do the     circumstances of a   
publication alter its character4 ,if    
admitted1     as it is1 that the        
information1 physiological and          
otherwise1 given     in ,chapter ,,iii4 
can be found in medical works of an     
expensive kind1     it cannot affect the
 character of the information for       
obscenity     that it is given in a     
cheap form4 ,information cannot be pure1
     chaste and legal in morocco at a   
guinea1 but impure1 obscene     and     
indictable in a paper pamphlet at       
sixpence4 ,the information1     to be of
 value in a national point of view as a 
safeguard from     the miseries of      
over-population and overcrowding1 must  

be given     wholesale to the masses    
likely to over-breed4 ,the time is past 
when     knowledge can be kept as the   
exclusive privilege of any caste or     
class4 ,the fact that a book may excite 
prurient thoughts if used     for that  
purpose by the low-minded and the young1
 does not make     it obscene4      ,the
 objection which has been urged1 that   
the means suggested for     the         
prevention of conception might be       
availed of by the unmarried     and     
immoral for the purpose of enabling them
 safely to indulge in     vice1 is      
simply the application to this subject  
of the exploded     delusion that       
knowledge is a dangerous thing4444 ,the 
time is     surely past when countenance
 can be given to the argument that     a
 knowledge of any truth1 either in      
physics or in the domain of     thought1
 is to be stifled because its abuse     
might be dangerous to     society4 ,the 
guardianship of the eunuch and the      
seclusion of the     harem were not     

necessary to build up the national      
character of     ,english women for     
chastity2 and it is an insult to them to
 argue     that it is necessary to keep 
them in ignorance on sexual matters     
to maintain it4 ,ignorance is no more   
the mother of chastity than     of true 
religion4   ,mr4 ,justice ,windeyer then
 examined the contention that the       
prudential limitation of families is a  
violation of natural laws and a         
frustration of nature's ends3       ,the
 argument that nature intends every     
woman to conceive as     often as is    
possible would1 if carried to its       
logical conclusion1     result in the   
,indian custom of marrying every female 
child upon     reaching puberty in order
 that no opportunity of conception      
should     be lost4 ,in all other       
matters of breeding but the             
all-important one     of the breeding of
 the human race1 the aim of man is to   
defeat the     effects of nature's laws 
of reproduction1 and to limit the number

     and kind of animals produced to the
 amount required for the use     of man4
 ,the forces of nature1 blind and       
ruthless in their effect1     we control
 and defeat in their operation by all   
the means that     science places at our
 command4 ,to protect churches and      
hospitals     from the operation of     
nature's laws1 we put up conductors to  
arrest     the inexorable effects of    
lightning1 which would remorselessly    
destroy what piety and humanity would   
protect4 ,the course of     nature is to
 kill a noble woman1 a devoted wife and 
loving mother1     if her pelvis is too 
small to admit the delivery of a child  
with     an abnormally large head4 ,the 
practice of civilised man1 aided by     
science1 is in such a case of           
parturition to destroy the infant       
and to save the mother4 ,the            
interference with the course of nature  
is direct1 the practice in no way       
natural2 but enlightened public         
opinion in no way condemns it4 ,but if  

the pelvis of a woman is so             
unusually small that she never can be   
delivered of a child but at     the     
peril of her life1 where is the         
immorality in the husband and     wife  
resorting to any preventive checks that 
may preserve a life     that is dear and
 perhaps valuable to the world8 ,it is  
unreasoning     prejudice alone that    
starts the objection that such          
prevention     of all the physical agony
 involved in a painful and dangerous    
delivery and possible loss of life is   
immoral and unnatural4   ,the case of   
the ,queen versus ,bradlaugh and ,besant
 7referred to at length in the preceding
 chapter7 had been cited as an authority
 in support of the contention that ,the 
,law of ,population was an obscene book1
 inasmuch as the pamphlet which was the 
subject of that prosecution1 and for the
 publication of which the defendants    
were convicted1 advocated the adoption  
of preventive checks4 ,mr4 ,justice     
,windeyer1 however1 refused to accept   

that case as a binding precedent3       
,as ,i have already pointed out1 the    
case cannot be regarded as     an       
authority upon that point1 as there the 
question was whether     the pamphlet   
was an obscene libel4 ,whether the      
verdict of the     jury was right in    
that case is not a matter of law1 but of
     opinion4 ,reading the summing-up of
 ,lord ,chief ,justice ,cockburn        
with some knowledge of judicial modes of
 putting criminal cases     to a jury1  
it appears to me that1 though expressing
 no direct     opinion as to its        
character1 the learned ,chief ,justice  
thought     that the book was not an    
obscene libel1 and was cautiously       
guiding     the jury to that conclusion4
 ,by the opinion of a jury coming to    
the consideration of so delicate a      
question of social science as     was   
submitted to them1 probably without any 
previous acquaintance     with subjects 
of the kind1 ,i decline to be in any way
 bound2 and     ,i have no hesitation in

 saying that1 had ,i been a member of   
the     jury1 ,i should have acted upon 
the reasoning of ,lord ,chief ,justice  
,cockburn1 and acquitted the defendants4
 ,not only does the whole     tenor of  
his ,lordship's summing-up appear to me 
argumentatively in     favor of the     
defendants1 but1 from certain passages1 
it appears     to me that the inference 
is clearly to be drawn that he neither  
thought the physiological details of the
 book were obscene1     nor was of      
opinion that its teaching would promote 
immorality4   ,mr4 ,justice ,windeyer   
quoted several passages from the        
judgment of ,sir ,alexander ,cockburn in
 support of his view that the ,lord     
,chief ,justice did not regard the      
preventive checks recommended as        
immoral4 ,how1 he asked1 could any      
reasonable man condemn as immoral the   
wish of married people to bring no more 
children into the world than they can   
support1 and the adoption of the        
necessary means to effect that wish8    

,instead of poor1 let a case of         
consumptive parents be taken1 or     of 
parents one of whom has developed       
symptoms of insanity4 ,who     could    
suppose that any jury would regard any  
means adopted by     them to prevent the
 procreation of a number of children1   
diseased     and rickety1 or certain to 
inherit a taint of insanity1 would be   
otherwise than natural and right1 and   
the adoption of any means     that      
medical science could suggest to prevent
 it not only not     immoral but        
laudable in the highest degree8 ,if it  
is not immoral to     do what the       
pamphlet advocates1 it seems to me      
impossible to argue     that the mere   
advocacy itself is a penal offence4 ,the
 question is1     ,where does the       
immorality come in8 ,wrongs can only be 
regarded     as such in their relation  
to others1 or as self-regarding4 ,is    
there in the adoption of preventive     
intercourse any invasion of     the     
rights of others8 ,certainly none4 ,the 

use of the preventive     checks can    
only be viewed as a possible wrong in   
the light of a     self-regarding one4  
,how can it be argued with any show of  
sound     reason that the use of        
preventive checks 7adopted1 perhaps1    
from the determination not to bring into
 the world children that     cannot be  
even fed7 can be morally injurious to   
persons animated     by a sense of duty 
founded upon the noblest altruism8 ,the 
world     would have little need of     
penal statutes if a consideration of    
the rights of others actuated the       
conduct of all mankind4 ,active         
altruism--the distinctive feature of    
,christian teaching1 inculcated     in  
the precept1 ,do unto others as you     
would men should do unto     you--can   
never in its application injuriously    
react upon the     moral nature of those
 who seek to put it in force with regard
     to any conduct which may affect the
 happiness of others4 ,the     profound 
law of ethics1 that in trying to do good

 to others we     unconsciously benefit 
ourselves1 is no less true here than in 
all     other phases of human conduct4  
,every thought entertained1 every       
effort made for the good of others1 must
 elevate the thinker and     the actor4 
,who will say that the low and vicious  
parents of ,east     ,london's gutter   
children1 brought up amidst all the     
moral horrors     of over-crowding1     
half-starved1 and stunted in growth1    
without     elementary notions of       
decency or morality--who will say that  
such     parents would not have been    
morally superior if they could have     
seen the wrong they were doing in       
bringing such offspring into     the    
world1 and had taken measures to prevent
 it8 ,who will say     that the future  
of society would not have an infinitely 
better     outlook if the breeding of   
such children were to be prevented by   
the conjugal prudence of parents in     
resorting to the use of such     means  
as would prevent their procreation8 ,it 

is idle to preach to     the masse1 the 
necessity of deferred marriage and of a 
celibate     life during the heyday of  
passion4 ,to attempt to stifle the cry  
of     human nature uttered in the voice
 of its most powerful instinct1     is  
indeed to fly in the face of nature4    
,like all attempts to     regulate      
conduct by ignoring the facts of human  
nature1 it must     signally fail4      
,prostitution with all its horrors is   
the outcome     of enforced unnatural   
celibacy4 ,to use and not abuse1 to     
direct     and control in its operation 
any ,god-given faculty1 is the true     
aim of man1 the true object of all      
morality4   ,in concluding this         
memorable judgment1 ,mr4 ,justice       
,windeyer declared that he would not    
seek to evade the responsibility of     
deciding the matter submitted to him by 
shielding himself behind the decisions  
of other judges whose unreasoned        
opinions were of no weight against      
unrefuted arguments3       ,so strong is

 the dread of the world's censure upon  
this topic1     that few have courage   
openly to express their views upon it2  
and     its nature is such that it is   
only among thinkers who discuss all     
subjects1 or amongst intimate           
acquaintances1 that community of        
thought upon this question is           
discovered4 ,but let anyone inquire     
amongst those who have sufficient       
education and ability to think     for  
themselves1 and who do not idly float1  
slaves to the current of                
conventional opinion1 and he will       
discover that numbers of men and        
women of purest lives1 of noblest       
aspirations1 pious1 cultivated1     and 
refined1 see no moral wrong in teaching 
the ignorant that it     is wrong to    
bring into the world children to whom   
they cannot do     justice1 and who     
think it folly to stop short in telling 
them     simply and plainly how to      
prevent it4 ,a more robust view of      
morals teaches that it is puerile to    

ignore human passions and     human     
physiology4 ,a clearer perception of    
truth and the safety of     trusting to 
it1 teaches that in law as in religion  
it is useless     trying to limit the   
knowledge of mankind by any             
inquisitorial     attempts to place upon
 a judicial index expurgatorius works   
written     with an earnest purpose1 and
 commending themselves to thinkers of   
well-balanced minds4 ,i will be no party
 to any such attempt4 ,i do     not     
believe that it was ever meant that the 
,obscene ,publication ,act     should   
apply to cases of this kind1 but only to
 the publication     of such matter as  
all good men would regard as lewd and   
filthy1     to lewd and bawdy novels1   
pictures and exhibitions evidently      
published and given for lucre's sake4   
,it could never have been     intended  
to stifle the expression of thought by  
the earnest-minded     on a subject of  
transcendent national importance like   
the present2     and ,i will not strain 

it for that purpose4 ,as pointed out by 
,lord     ,chief ,justice ,cockburn in  
the case of the ,queen versus ,bradlaugh
     and ,besant1 all prosecutions of   
this kind should be regarded as         
mischievous1 even by those who          
disapprove of the opinions sought     to
 be stifled1 inasmuch as they only tend 
more widely to diffuse     the teaching 
objected to4 ,to those on the other hand
 who desire     its promulgation1 it    
must be matter of congratulation that   
this1     like all attempted            
persecutions of thinkers1 will defeats  
its     own object1 and that truth1 like
 a torch1 the more it's shook     it    
shines4      ,as it seems to me that    
this book is neither obscene in its     
language1 nor by its teaching incites   
people to obscenity1 ,i am     of       
opinion that the prohibition should go4 
,mr4 ,justice ,stephen concurred in the 
judgment given1 and the conviction of   
,mr4 ,w4 ,w4 ,collins was therefore set 
aside4  ,we may fittingly conclude this 

chapter by reproducing from ,the        
,malthusian a note in which the writer  
briefly describes the character of ,mr4 
,justice ,windeyer3  ,in early life ,i  
met ,mr4 ,windeyer at his house at      
,tomago1 on the ,hunter ,river4 ,his    
father1 then dead1 had been quite a     
notable man in the colony1 as an able1  
intrepid1 popular and high-minded       
politician2 and young ,windeyer seemed  
to be his father's son--frank1 open1    
unaffected1 and with a fine gentlemanly 
bearing4 ,since then1 his career has    
quite fulfilled its early promise2 and1 
for you1 as a warm advocate of          
,new-,malthusianism1 the strength of    
support and encouragement lies1 ,i      
think1 very much in the fact that       
,justice ,windeyer is not only a man of 
great legal ability but of high moral   
character4         ,,chapter ,v4        
,,prudential ,,checks4   ,if the        
validity of the ,malthusian position be 
admitted1 there is no logical escape    
from the conclusion that the knowledge  

of innocent means by which families may 
be limited should be conveyed to the    
people4 ,yet1 with characteristic       
inconsistency1 the public advocacy of   
,malthusianism in the abstract is       
regarded with approval1 whilst the      
practical application of the principle  
is met with the parrot-cry of obscenity1
 and menaced with penal infliction4 ,in 
the ,windeyer judgment it will be noted 
that the proceedings against ,mr4       
,collins were based not upon those      
portions of ,mrs4 ,besant's pamphlet in 
which the subject was philosophically   
discussed1 but upon the passages in     
which the preventive checks were        
described4 ,an eminent ,english         
statesman1 ,mr4 ,john ,morley1 has      
insisted in a public speech upon the    
vital importance of the population      
question1 and1 he added1 ,i wish that we
 did not shirk it so much4 ,a popular   
,english clergyman1 the ,rev4 ,h4 ,r4   
,haweis1 has declared in a popular      
weekly newspaper that the most important

 remedy for poverty is to control the   
family growth1 according to the family  
means of support4 ,but when the social  
reformer passes from vague precept to   
direct instruction1 he is confronted by 
an anomalous law which threatens him as 
a foe to public morality4  ,the tragical
 element in this otherwise ridiculous   
inconsistency lies in the fact that the 
knowledge of prudential checks is denied
 to the very class which most urgently  
needs such information4 ,it is the poor 
alone who suffer acutely from the       
effects of over-population3 it is they  
who feel the actual sting of want when  
the small wage is distributed over a    
large family-area4 ,for the well-to-do  
there is no mystery concerning          
prudential checks4 ,the family doctor   
will whisper discreetly into the ear of 
the wealthy matron whose quiver is      
sufficiently filled4 ,expensive medical 
works containing full instructions are  
at the command of those who can afford  
to buy them4 ,why should the poor be    

kept in ignorance upon a matter of      
supreme importance to them8  ,upon the  
subject of prudential checks the medical
 profession as a body has afforded      
little or no assistance4 ,here1 as in   
many other matters1 doctors differ2 and 
no steps have as yet been taken to      
ascertain1 by scientific investigation1 
the best method of preventing           
conception4 ,the checks now to be       
described are of two kinds--first1 those
 in which success depends upon          
self-control2 and1 second1 those in     
which mechanical appliances are used4   
,i4  ,the practice of withdrawal        
immediately before the act of coition is
 completed obtains very extensively in  
,france4 ,this1 the most ancient of     
known methods1 is referred to in the    
,bible 7,genesis xxxviii4 #h-i74 ,the   
efficacy of the check depends1 of       
course1 entirely upon the self-control  
of the husband1 and failure is therefore
 always possible4 ,it may be mentioned  
that this plan has sometimes been       

objected to on the ground of supposed   
injury to health2 but no evidence has   
been adduced in support of the          
objection4 ,on the other hand1 ,dr4 ,c4 
,r4 ,drysdale has ascertained by        
personal enquiry that #ajj members of   
the medical profession in ,paris had    
only #agd children in all their married 
lives1 or not two as an average4444 ,the
 question of the effect produced upon   
the health of the parents by the use of 
the physical check of ,genesis xxxviii4 
was discussed at the meeting of the     
,international ,medical ,congress at    
,amsterdam in #ahgi2 and two medical men
 of great distinction--,,mm4 ,lutaud and
 ,leblanc--asserted distinctly that     
these practices of family physical      
prudence in ,france were in no way      
productive of ill-health to either      
conjoint4 ,and1 as they were universally
 made use of by the medical men of      
,paris in limiting their own families1  
it was very unlikely that such damage to
 health as had been spoken of would not 

have been noted and clearly described   
long ago if it existed in nature4       
,abstinence from intercourse during a   
certain period is said to be an         
effectual method of avoiding conception4
 ,this1 however1 rests upon the         
assumption that a female is more likely 
to conceive immediately before or after 
menstruation 7the monthly flow74 ,if    
connection do not take place within five
 days before1 or eight days after1      
menstruation1 the probability of        
pregnancy is supposed to be diminished4 
,,ii4  ,of the various appliances which 
have been devised for the prevention of 
conception1 the simplest and most       
effectual is the sheath 7commonly known 
as the ,french ,letter74 ,this an       
envelope of skin or very thin rubber1   
and is used by the husband4 ,it         
completely covers the male organ1 and1  
being closed at the extremity1 prevents 
the semen from being discharged into the
 vagina4 ,it is obvious that1 if the    
sheath remain intact1 it is impossible  

for conception to take place4 ,the only 
danger to be guarded against is the     
breaking or perforation of the sheath1  
which should in all cases be carefully  
examined before use4 ,the material may  
be tested by stretching it gently over  
the inside of the thumb1 when the       
smallest fracture can be detected4 ,if  
sheaths of good quality 7not necessarily
 expensive7 be used1 and reasonable care
 taken to avoid accidental breakage1    
this check is ,,certain4  ,the ,enema   
,syringe is an instrument frequently    
employed for preventive purposes4 ,a    
solution 7composed of a teaspoonful of  
alum dissolved in a pint of cold or     
tepid water7 is injected by the female  
immediately after connection4 ,the      
vertical and reverse syringe is more    
likely to act efficiently than the      
ordinary enema4  ,a very simple and     
inexpensive method is the use of a small
 piece of fine sponge1 soaked in warm   
water1 and placed in such a position as 
to cover the mouth of the womb4 ,the    

chances of failure are diminished by    
saturating the sponge with a solution of
 quinine4  ,pessaries of various kinds  
are sometimes used to prevent           
conception4 ,the simple pessary 7of     
which there are several modifications7  
is a small dome-shaped appliance1 made  
of thin rubber1 and constructed to fit  
closely round the neck of the womb4 ,if 
carefully adjusted and retained in      
position1 the pessary may be relied     
upon4  ,of late years a new form of     
pessary has been introduced and is      
stated to have been used with marked    
success4 ,it consists of a small cone of
 cacao-butter1 charged with quinine4    
,the pessary is inserted a few minutes  
before connection takes place2 the      
quinine1 being liberated by the         
dissolution of the fatty substance1     
destroys the vitality of the seminal    
fluid4         ,,the ,,malthusian       
,,league4  7,founded in #ahgg47         
,president3  ,c4 ,r4 ,,drysdale1 ,m4,d41
 ,m4,r4,c4,p4 ,lond41 ,f4,r4,c4,s4 ,eng4

   ,vice-,presidents3  ,seor ,aldecoa1  
,director of ,government ,charities1    
,madrid4  ,mr4 ,g4 ,anderson1 ,c4,e4    
,m4 ,yves ,guyot1 ,deput1 ,rue de       
,seine1 ,paris4  ,mr4 ,gerritsen1       
,amsterdam1 ,holland4  ,mr4 ,s4 ,van    
,houten1 ,deput1 ,the ,hague4  ,mr4 ,p4 
,murugesa ,mudaliar1 ,madras4  ,mr4 ,t4 
,parris4  ,dr4 ,stille1 ,hanover4  ,dr4 
,giovanni ,tari1 ,naples4  ,dr4 ,alice  
,vickeby4   ,hon4 ,secretary3  ,mr4 ,w4 
,h4 ,reynolds1 ,new ,cross1 ,london1    
,s4,e4     ,,rules4   ,i4--,name4  ,that
 this ,society be called ,the           
,malthusian ,league4   ,,ii4--,objects4 
,that the objects of this ,society be3  
#a4 ,to agitate for the abolition of all
 penalties on the public discussion of  
the ,population ,question1 and to obtain
 such a statutory definition as shall   
render it impossible1 in the future1 to 
bring such discussions within the scope 
of the common law as a misdemeanor4  #b4
 ,to spread among the people1 by all    
practicable means1 a knowledge of the   

law of population1 of its consequences1 
and of its bearing upon human conduct   
and morals4   ,,iii4--,principles4  #a4 
,that population has a constant tendency
 to increase beyond the means of        
subsistence4  #b4 ,that the checks which
 counteract this tendency are resolvable
 into positive or life-destroying1 and  
prudential or birth-restricting4  #c4   
,that the positive or life-destroying   
checks comprehend the premature death of
 children and adults by disease1        
starvation1 war and infanticide4  #d4   
,that the prudential or                 
birth-restricting check consists in the 
limitation of offspring by abstention   
from marriage1 or by prudence after     
marriage4  #e4 ,that prolonged          
abstention from marriage--as advocated  
by ,malthus--is productive of many      
diseases and of much sexual vice2 early 
marriage1 on the contrary1 tends to     
ensure sexual purity1 domestic comfort1 
social happiness1 and individual health2
 but it is a grave social offence for   

men and women to bring into the world   
more children than they can adequately  
house1 feed1 clothe and educate4  #f4   
,that over-population is the most       
fruitful source of pauperism1 ignorance1
 crime and disease4  #g4 ,that the full 
and open discussion of the ,population  
,question is a matter of vital moment to
 society1 and such discussion should be 
absolutely unfettered by fear of legal  
penalties4   ,,iv4--,executive4  #a4    
,that the officers of the ,league       
consist of a president1 vice-presidents1
 council1 treasurer1 secretaries1       
solicitor and auditors4  #b4 ,that the  
government of the ,league be vested in a
 council1 consisting of a president1    
vice-presidents1 and secretary 7by      
virtue of their respective offices71 of 
twenty members who shall be elected     
annually at a general meeting1 and of a 
duly-appointed representative from each 
branch of the ,league which may         
hereafter be formed4  #c4 ,that the     
council have power to appoint a         

treasurer and secretaries from amongst  
its own members2 to elect a president1  
vice-presidents1 and solicitor1 subject 
to the approval of the next general     
meeting2 to fill up vacancies in its own
 ranks1 and to make the necessary       
bye-laws for carrying out these laws and
 for the general management of the      
,league4  #d4 ,that all candidates for  
election as officers shall be nominated 
one month before the annual general     
meeting1 and that such nomination shall 
be publicly announced1 the form and     
manner to be determined by the council4 
,v4--,membership4  ,that the conditions 
of membership be an annual subscription 
of one shilling1 which shall be taken to
 imply adhesion to the rules of the     
,league2 or an annual subscription of   
two shillings1 which shall entitle the  
subscriber to receive the ,malthusian4  
,to constitute life membership1 a single
 payment of one guinea4                 
,,vi4--,general ,meetings4  #a4 ,that a 
general meeting be held once a year1 at 

such place and time as the council shall
 determine1 at which meeting the        
presentation of the report and balance  
sheet and the election of officers shall
 take precedence of all other business4 
#b4 ,that1 on the receipt of a          
requisition signed by not less than     
twenty-five members1 a special general  
meeting be1 within one month1 called by 
the council4 ,no other business but that
 set forth on the notice calling the    
meeting shall be taken into             
consideration4  #c4 ,that the voting at 
all meetings be taken by show of hands1 
except when a poll is demanded1 when the
 voting shall be taken by ballot4       
,,vii4--,expulsion4  ,that the council  
have power to expel any member1 but the 
member so expelled shall have a right of
 appeal to the annual general meeting1  
or to a special general meeting called  
for that purpose4   ,,viii4--,alteration
 of ,rules4  ,that no alteration be made
 in these rules1 except at an annual    
general meeting1 by the vote of         

two-thirds of those present1 two months'
 notice of the proposed alteration      
having been given to the council4       
,,over-,,population2 a ,lecture         
delivered for the ,sunday ,lecture      
,society1 under the title ,the ,law of  
,population3 its ,meaning and ,menace4  
,by ,john ,m4 ,robertson4 ,post free1 #b
 #a_/b;d4  ,,plain ,,home-,,talk1 by    
,edward ,b4 ,foote1 ,m4,d4 7,u4,s4,a47  
embracing ,medical ,common ,sense4 #iji 
pages1 with #bjj illustrations4         
,contents3 ,the cause1 ,prevention1 and 
,cure of ,disease--,the ,food     we    
,eat--,the ,liquids we ,drink--,the     
,atmosphere we ,live in--,the           
,clothes we ,wear--,bad ,habits of      
,children and ,youth--,bad ,habits of   
,manhood and of ,womanhood--,sexual     
,starvation--,how to have ,healthy      
,babies--,private ,words to             
,men--,impotency--,history of ,marriage1
 etc4       ,the book is carefully and  
thoughtfully written in plain language1 
easily understood1 and with the object  

of making its readers     better parents
 and better citizens through the        
knowledge obtained     of themselves and
 their duty to others4 ,no parent should
 be     without this book4 ,useful for  
every-day reference4     ,post free1    
six shillings4   ,,dr4 ,,foote',s       
,,handbook ,,of ,,health1 comprising    
information of the utmost importance to 
all who wish to enjoy life4 #abh pages1 
post free1 #a_/a4  ,,the ,,life ,,and   
,,writings ,,of ,t4 ,r4 ,,malthus4 ,by  
,c4 ,r4 ,drysdale1 ,m4,d4 #abj pages1   
with portrait of ,malthus4 ,should be   
read by every student of social         
problems4 ,post free1 #h;d4  ,,the      
,,population ,,question4 ,by ,dr4 ,c4   
,r4 ,drysdale4 ,a careful and complete  
statement of the ,neo-,malthusian       
position4 #ajj pp41 stout wrapper2 post 
free #h;d4  ,,the ,,over-,,growth ,,of  
,,population1 ,,and ,,its ,,remedy4 ,an 
,address to men only1 delivered at      
,lambeth ,baths on ,tuesday1 ,january   
#aeth1 #ahhi1 by ,william ,lant         

,carpenter1 ,b4,a41 ,b4,sc4 ,post free1 
#b;d4  ,,early ,,marriage ,,and ,,late  
,,parentage4 ,the only ,solution of the 
,social ,problem4 ,by ,oxoniensis4 ,post
 free1 #b #a_/b;d4  ,,the ,,cause ,,of  
,,poverty4 ,a paper read at the         
,national ,liberal ,club1 by ,dr4 ,c4   
,r4 ,drysdale4 ,post free #b;d4         
,,poverty3 ,its ,cause and ,cure4 ,by   
,m4 ,g4 ,h4 ,post free1 #b;d4           
,,notes   #a ,this has already been     
admirably done in two pamphlets by ,dr4 
,c4 ,r4 ,drysdale1 ,president of the    
,malthusian ,league3 7#a7 ,the ,life and
 ,writings of ,malthus2 7#b7 ,the       
,population ,question4  #b ,preface to  
,special ,report of ,trial4  #c         
,lucifer1 ,july1 #ahia4  #d ,see        
,appendix4