Milluponthismatterdissentedmostemphaticallybothfromthe’classical’andthehistoricalchampion。Thepointiswithhimofvitalimportance。HisFrenchsympathieshadpreparedhimtoseetheothersideofthequestion。Themostunequivocaltriumphclaimed，withwhatevertruth，fortheFrenchrevolutionwastheelevationofthecultivatorsoftheland。Mill，atanyrate，heldemphaticallythattheFrenchrevolutionhad’extinguishedextremepovertyforonewholegeneration，’52*andhadtherebyenabledtheFrenchpopulationtorisepermanentlytoahigherlevel。ContemporaryEnglishhistorygavetheotherside。
Poor-lawcontroversieshadbroughtintostrikingreliefthedegradationoftheEnglishagriculturallabourer。TheMorningChroniclearticles，towhichhehaddevotedsixmonths，combinedwithanadvocacyofpeasant-proprietorshipanexpositionoftheinadequacyofpoor-laws。TheexcellentW。T。Thornton1813-1880
hadbeenfrom1836Mill’scolleagueintheIndiaHouse，andwasoneofthefewfriendswhocommunicatedfreelywithhimduringhisseclusion。53*In1846ThorntonpublishedabookuponOverPopulationanditsRemedy，inwhichhedeclareshimselftobeathoroughgoingMalthusian，andrebukesM’CullochforsayingthatMalthus’sworkexemplifiedthe’abuse’ofgeneralprinciples。
Thornton，likeMill，followsMalthusinthinkingthatover-populationmustbecheckedbypreventingimprudentmarriages；54*buthemakesaspecialpointofthedoctrinethatmiseryisnotonlytheeffectbutthe’principalpromoter’ofover-population。55*HenceheisnotcontentwithMalthus’snegativeposition。Theevilwillnotdieoutofitself。Hisfavouriteremedyatthistimewasthe’allotmentsystem。’FromthisMilldissents。56*Theyagree，however，uponthemeritsofpeasant-proprietorship，uponwhichThorntonpublishedabookin1848，shortlybeforetheappearanceofMill’streatise。57*Millsaysthatthisoughttobethestandardtreatiseonthatside’ofthequestion。’58*NeitherMillnorThorntonhadanyfirsthandknowledgeofagriculture；buttheyforciblyattackedtheassumptionsthenprevalentamongEnglishagriculturists。ThorntonhadbeenespeciallyimpressedbytheprosperityoftheChannelIslands——aratherlimitedbaseforawideinduction；butbothheandMillcouldrefertoexperienceonamuchlargerscalethroughoutwidedistrictsontheContinent。ThepithofMill’spositioniscondensedinMichelet’spicturesquepassage，wherethepeasantisdescribedasunabletotearhimselfawayevenonSundayfromthecontemplationofhisbelovedplotofland。Thethreeperiodswhenthepeasanthadbeenabletobuylandwerecalledthe’goodKingLouisXII，’the’goodKingHenryIV’andtherevolution。ArthurYoung’sfamousphraseofthe’magicofproperty’which’turnssandtogold’wasastillmoreeffectivetestimony，becauseYoungwastheCoryphaeusofthemodern，Englishschoolofagriculturists。’59*
France，then，representedthegoodeffectsofMalthusianisminaction。TheFrenchpeasantry，asThorntonsaysafterLavergne，60*hadnotreadMalthus，buttheyinstinctivelyputhisadviceinpractice。MilltriumphantlyquotesthefigureswhichshowedtheslowrateofincreaseoftheFrenchpopulation。61*ThecaseofBelgium，asheremarks，showedthatpeasant-proprietorshipmightbeconsistentwitharapidincrease，buttheFrenchcaseprovedconclusivelythatthiswasnotanecessaryresultofthesystem。The’pauper-warren’theoryatleastisconclusivelydisproved。M’Culloch’sunfortunatepredictionmightbeexplainedbyhisaprioritendencies；butitiscurioustofindMillconfutingJones，theadvocateforahistoricalmethod，byanappealtoexperienceandstatistics。Thepossessionofthesoundestmethoddoesnotmakeamaninfallible。
JonesandM’Culloch，asMillsaid，hadconfoundedtwoessentiallydifferentthings。Theyhadarguedsimplyastotheeconomicadvantagesofproductiononalargeandsmallscalewithoutreferencetothemoraleffectuponthecultivator。Theircriterionissimplythegreatnessofthereturntoagivenamountofcapitalondifferentsystems。TheyhadthereforetreatedthecasesofFranceandIrelandasidentical，whereasinonevitalcircumstancetheyareantithetical。FrancerepresentedtheobservanceofMalthus’strueprinciple，becausethepeasantwasmovedbythe’magicofproperty’；hehadabsolutesecurityinhislittleplot；andthevismedicatrixordesiretosavewasraisedtoitshighestpoint。IrelandrepresentsthedefianceofMalthus，becausetheIrishcottiers，withnosecurity，andthereforenomotiveforsaving，multipliedrecklesslyandproducedatrue’pauper-warren。’Millaccordinglyreachestheconclusionthatwhilepeasant-proprietorshipdoesnotofnecessityinvolverudemethodsofcultivation，itismorefavourablethananyotherexistingsystemtointelligenceandprudence，lessfavourableto’improvidentincreaseofnumbers，’andthereforemorefavourabletomoralandphysicalwelfare。62*
JoneswouldadmitsmallcultureasanaturalstagetowardsthedevelopmentoftheEnglishsystem。Millconsidersittobeinadvanceofthatsystem，butneitherdoesheconsiderittorepresenttheabsolutelybestsystem。Inalaterpassageherepudiatesanopinionwhich，hesays，mightnaturallybeattributedtohimbyreadersoftheearlierchapters。63*ThoughtheFrenchpeasantisbetteroffthantheEnglishlabourer，hedoesnotholdthatweshouldadopttheFrenchsystem，nordoesheconsiderthatsystemtobetheidealone。Tocoverthelandwithisolatedfamiliesmaysecuretheirindependenceandpromotetheirindustry，butitisnotconducivetopublicspiritorgeneroussentiment。Topromotethosequalitieswemustaimat’association，notisolation，ofinterests。’Thisviewissignificant。Peasant-proprietorship，weareconstantlytold，isthegreatbarrieragainstSocialism。Itrepresents，infact，’individualism’initshighestdegree。ItstimulatestheMalthusianvirtues，prudence，industry，andself-help，andmakeseachmanfeelthenecessityoftrustingtohisownenergy。YetMill，withallhisMalthusianism，thinksthatsuchvirtuesmightbestimulatedtoomuch；and，afterpreachingthemeritsofindividualism，showsaleaningtowardstheantagonisticidealofSocialism。Hesayslittle——perhapsitwouldhardlyhavebeenrelevanttosaymuch——ofthehistoricalaspectofthequestion。
Butthereisatacitimplicationofhisargumentofnolittleimportance。Accordingtohim，theEnglishlabourerhadbeendemoralised，andthewholeIrishpeasantrybroughttotheedgeofstarvation，whiletheFrenchandotherpeasantrieswereprosperousandimproving。Towhathistoricalcauseswasthisvastdifferencedue？TheFrenchrevolution，howeverimportant，canonlybeunderstoodthroughitsantecedents。Systemsofland-tenure，itisobvious，havebeenconnectedinthemostintricatewaywithallmannerofsocial，industrial，andpoliticalphenomena。Commerceandmanufacturesmayseeminsomesenseakindofnaturalgrowth-asetofprocessesatwhichgovernmentcanlookonfromoutside，enforcingatmostcertainsimplerulesaboutvoluntarycontracts。But，inthecaseofland，wehaveateverypointtoconsidertheactionandreactionofthewholesocialstructureandoftheinstitutionswhichrepresentalltheconflictsandcombinationsofthegreatinterestsofthestate。Consequentlyneithertheresultsactuallyattained，northosewhichwemayhopetoattain，canbeadequatelyregardedfromthepurelyindustrialsidealone。Systemshavenotflourishedpurelybecauseoftheireconomicalmerits，norcantheybealteredwithoutaffectingextra-economicalinterests。Todonothingistoleaveagriculturalinstitutionstobepervertedbypoliticalor’sinister’interests。Millwasverylittleinclinedtodonothing。HesawinthesuperiorityoftheforeigntotheBritishsystemsaproofofthemaligninfluenceofthe’sinisterinterests’inourconstitution。Thelandedaristocracyweretheconcreteembodimentoftheevilprinciple。Thenobilityandthesquirearchyrepresentedthedeadweightofdoggedobstructiveness。Theywereresponsibleforthedegradationofthelabourer；andtheRicardiandoctrineofrentexplainedwhytheirinterestsshouldbeopposedtothoseofallotherclasses。
AlthoughMillattributedenormousblessingstotherevolutioninFrance，hewasfartoowisetodesireaviolentrevolutioninEngland，andhewasfartoojusttoattributetoindividualmembersoftheclassadeliberateintentiontobeunjust。Yethewaspreparedtoadvocateverydrasticremedies；andiftherewereanyhumanbeingofmoderatecultivationfromwhomhewasdividedbyinstinctiverepulsionandtotalincapacitytoadoptthesamepointofview，itwascertainlythecountrysquire。ThenaturalantipathywasquaintlyrevealedwhenMillfoundhimselfintheHouseofCommonsopposedtothickrowsofsquiresclamouringforprotectionagainstthecattle-plague。
SofarMill’spositionisanexpansionoradaptationofMalthus。ObediencetoMalthusmakestheprosperousFrenchpeasant；disobedience，thepauperisedEnglishlabourer。Malthus，asMillinterpretshim，meansthatallsocialimprovementdependsuponadiminishedrateofincrease，relativelytosubsistence；64*andtodiminishthatratetheprudentialcheckmustbestrengthened。’Noremediesforlowwages，’therefore，’havethesmallestchanceofbeingefficaciouswhichdonotoperateonandthroughthemindsandhabitsofthepeople’；65*
andeveryschemewhichhasnotforitsfoundationthediminutionoftheproportionofthepeopletothefundswhichsupportthem，is’forallpermanentpurposesadelusion。’66*ThetwopropositionstakentogethersumupMill’sdoctrine。Socialwelfarecanbebroughtaboutonlybystimulatingthevismedicatrixorsenseofindividualresponsibility。Everyreformwhichdoesnotfulfilthatconditionisbuiltuponsand。TheapplicationtoEnglandisapracticalcomment。Thetrueremediesforlowwages67*arefirstan’effectivenationaleducation’
sodesignedastocultivatecommon-sense。Thiswillaffectthe’mindsofthepeople’directly。Secondly，a’greatnationalmeasureofcolonisation。’Thiswillatoncediminishnumbers。
Thirdly，anationalsystemfor’raisingaclassofpeasant-proprietors。’Thiswillprovideapremiumtoprudenceandeconomyaffectingthewholelabouringclass。Besidesthis，Millapprovesofthenewpoor-law，whichhasshownthatpeoplecanbeprotectedagainstthe’extremeofwant’withoutthedemoralisinginfluenceoftheoldsystem。68*Millhereaccepts，thoughhedoesnotofteninsistupon，thedoctrineuponwhichThorntonhaddweltinhisOverPopulation：thatpovertyisself-propagatingsofarasitmakesmenreckless：education，asheremarks，is’notcompatiblewithextremepoverty’。69*Hencetheremediesthemselvesrequireanotherconditiontomakethemeffective。Hedeclaresemphaticallythatinthesecasessmallmeansdonotproducesmalleffects，butnoeffectatall。70*Nothingwillbeaccomplished，unlesscomfortcanbemadehabitualtoawholegeneration。Theracemustbeliftedtoadistinctlyhigherplane，oritwillrapidlyfallback。Mill，Ifancy，wouldhavebeenmoreconsistentifhehadadmittedthatgreatsocialchangesmustbegradual。Butinanycase，hewasfarfromacceptingthedo-nothingprinciple。Politicaleconomy，hesays，wouldhave’amelancholyandathanklesstask’ifitcouldonlyprovethatnothingcouldbedone。71*Heholdsthatahugedeadliftisrequiredtoraisethelabourersoutofthesloughofdespond，andhedemandsthereforenothinglessthangreatnationalschemesofeducation，ofhomeandforeigncolonisation。Hespeaks，too，withapparentapprovaloflawsinrestraintofimprovidentmarriages。72*Itis，indeed，truethatuponhisschemesgovernmentistointerfereinordertomakethepeopleindependentoffurtherinterference。Whethersuchacompromisebepossibleisanotherquestion。
V。CAPITALISTSANDLABOURERS
Meanwhileawiderproblemhastobeconsidered。Unlesssomeremedycanbefoundfortheexistingevils，hesays，theindustrialsystemofthiscountry——thedependence，thatis，ofthewholelabouringclassuponthewagesofhardlabour——thoughregardedbymanywritersastheneplusultraofcivilisation，mustbe’irrevocablycondemned。’73*Theagriculturallabourercanbetakenoutofthatposition。Bymakinghimaproprietorhecanbebrought——withintherangeofnewmotives。Theindependentpeasanthasinvisibleformbeforehiseyesthebasefromwhichheandhisfamilymustdrawsupplies。Itrequiresnoabstractreasoningtoshowhimthat，ifhebringsmoremouthsintoexistence，hisfieldswillnotthereforebeardoublecrops。