favour, but the arm of the law raised in its defence. A system which invariably gives a mass of individual comfort, which none other does or can bestow, and secures it in every condition of society; conferring on a dense population the boon of overflowing plenty of all kinds; and, as in the instance of China, bestowing on a scanty one the advantages which it otherwise rarely enjoys: which, in a country like our own, is equally prompted by the interest of the wealthy, and the comfort of the laborious classes of society; being the best, if not the only, permanent foundation of general happiness and prosperity. It has been unhappily abandoned, to the increasing detriment of every class of society, and to none more than the trading and manufacturing interests of the community. 66 (9) But to return. The condition of the cultivators of China is thus, in the most emphatical sense of the word, comfortable, and all may belong to that class, if they are so disposed', though, as Schoutens observes, "avarice attracts those who should cultivate some of the wastes of the finest provinces, to the vicinity of the great rivers, and to the cities." Those, then, who voluntarily prefer the latter situations cannot be in a worse condition than the cultivators. We may therefore, perhaps, venture to give credence to Du Halde's assertion, with some limitation, where he writes, that "there is not a person, man or woman, 66 in China, but what may easily gain a livelihood3." It follows, then, that the great mass of the population of China is in very different circumstances to those generally supposed. (10) On the whole, I feel persuaded that we shall hear less in future respecting the extreme indigence, 1 Laws of the Chinese, by Sir George Staunton. 2 Schoutens, Voyage, t. ii., p. 154. Du Halde, China, vol. i., p. 277. or the excessive population, of China. Perhaps, indeed, it may be thought that the argument has proved too much, in reference to the great principle, which it is the object of this work to establish, by shewing that China is not fully peopled, and still that, generally speaking, its inhabitants are in the enjoyment of plenty and prosperity. But I think it may be safely asserted, that the population of China, when duly considered, bears ample testimony to the same cheering principle which has been already fully established as regards all other countries. I shall not, however, run into the error which I have deprecated, at all events, by an attempt to demonstrate my theory from the circumstances and situation of a country still so imperfectly known but two remarks I cannot refrain from making, both of which are strongly confirmatory of the principle for which I am contending throughout. The first is this; that the general diffusion of that comfort and prosperity which we have been proving to exist in China, is, we are assured, confined to its best peopled districts. I shall not reverse the picture which I have sketched, by describing those which are less fortunately circumstanced in that respect, but confine myself to a very brief description of them, as given by an individual who traversed them. He assured Mr. Barrow, that, "having satisfied his curiosity, no 66 earthly consideration should tempt him to undertake "a second journey by land to the capital," (by water is the frequented and populous route,) "for that he "believed the whole world could not furnish a like "picture of desolation and misery1." (11) The other proof of the principle advocated in this work, as deducible from the condition of this immense empire, is, that as population has increased, 1 Barrow, Travels in China, p. 514. instead of adding "so much pure misery," and completely interrupting the happiness of the whole, it has augmented the general prosperity. That the inhabitants have very considerably increased, cannot be doubted, if we either rely on the nature of the case, or credit the, seemingly, authentic facts which are transmitted to us on this subject. And there can be still less doubt but that increasing prosperity has accompanied the augmentation of the population, if we may credit what Adam Smith regards as one of the most unequivocal proofs of that fact, namely, complaints and remonstrances against the prevailing luxury of more recent times. These complaints and remonstrances are not confined, as it respects the Chinese, to the declamations of their writers, but they run through all the recent edicts of the emperors, in which the temperance and frugality of the ancients are recommended'. I shall quote only one proof of this convincing fact, which I select from a Chinese treatise on Moral Philosophy, as translated by P. Hervieu and P. Dentrecolles, and given by Du Halde. "The number of mouths every day increases in the "empire. For instance, in my family, says Chin, I can count a thousand people, including women, for "one that was in it three hundred years ago.""Whence then comes it to pass that all are supplied, "and that the number of the poor do not increase; "especially as every age finds some new arts of prodigality and expense? In former times men con"tented themselves with plain habitations; now they "covet ornament and sculpture. Modest and cheap "habits were formerly in use; now, nothing but cost "and elegance are in request. Formerly no more than 66 66 "six dishes were served at an entertainment; now 1 Du Halde, vol. ii., p.491. "there are no limits to the number. The ancient pos"session of a single man is now divided among a "thousand, and yet every one of that thousand would "raise himself higher than that single man ever "did1." I shall leave this decisive evidence, as to the effect of an enlarging population on the condition of China, in the recollection of the reader, undisturbed by any remarks of my own; it will be the purport of a succeeding book of this work to prove the same cheering fact from those different countries of the world, including our own, with which we are more conversant; in all of which, increasing numbers has been but another term for advancing degrees of prosperity and happiness. 1 Moral Philosophy of the Chinese; by two native Authors; translated by 2 M. P. Hervieu and P. Dentrecolles, for 630 CHAPTER XVIII. OF CHINA: ITS ACTUAL POPULATION STATED FROM (1) DISREGARDING the accounts of the population of the Chinese empire, as furnished by "Chinese amplification1;" and those transmitted to us by the Jesuit missionaries, one of whom informs us that the inhabitants of Pekin amounted in his time to sixteen millions and equally rejecting the extravagantly ridiculous estimates, as Malte-Brun justly calls them, of some of our own countrymen already so much alluded to; let us proceed to state, from authentic sources, what the population of that great empire actually is, the amount of which will be so totally different from that usually stated in this country, as to render it necessary to introduce it by quoting the observations of several recent travellers in China, whose impressions, as recorded upon the spot, will sufficiently prepare us for the result, and abundantly confirm it. (2) Before, however, I conclude this branch of the argument by presenting to the reader these final representations and statements on the subject, it may be proper to suggest a reason or two why those of so contrary and exaggerated a nature should have been put forth; which will, in some measure, exculpate their authors from intentional error. The route by which most of these writers travelled to the im 1 Barrow, Travels in China, p. 36. |