WHETHER the population of Britain in the eighteenth
century was increasing was a matter for acrimonious debate,
which became exceptionally violent between 1770 and
1780. A strong school, led by Richard Price, believed in the
decline: this argument was used to explain the weakness of
Britain and the decay of her prosperity. But Arthur Young,
who had travelled more widely through the length and
breadth of England than any other of the controversial-
ists, who based their opinions not on observation but on
unreliable taxation statistics, denounced the depopulation
theory as absurd. He preferred to rely on his senses:

View the navigation, the roads, the harbours, and all other
public works. Take notice of the spirit with which manufactures
are carried on. . . Move your eye which side you will, you behold
nothing but great riches and yet greater resources. . . It is vain to
talk of tables of births and lists of houses and windows, as proofs of
our loss of people; the flourishing state of our agriculture, our
manufactures and commerce, with our general wealth prove the
contrary.

However, Young's robust common sense did not settle
the issue, and the controversy was prolonged. It was given a
new twist, in 1798, by the publication of Malthus' Essay on
the Principle of Population. This attempted to answer a much
greater question than that of the increase, or decline, of
Britain's population, but the more sensational aspects of his
work were seized on, and distorted, by publicists. Malthusian

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