shall cease, and the eternal lot of every individual shall be irrevocably cast, may each one of you hear from the mouth of the great Judge of all, this blessed sentence: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." "

The Aberdeen Professors are followed by an author of the same rank in the University of Glasgow. Dr. Macgill's Sermon is sensible, but vastly common-place. There is no failure in it, because nothing seems to be aimed at, either in point of style or discussion. Dr. Cook, with whom our readers are so well acquainted as the author of several valuable works, succeeds the Glasgow Professor in this collection. We cannot say, however, that there is any thing very noticeable in his Sermon; and, we must confess, we are rather surprised that he did not select a subject which would have afforded him an opportunity of expounding a dark saying, of throwing light upon some obscure point of Christian antiquity; or at least of pronouncing a spirited exhortation. There is, indeed, a great want of fire and pathos in most of these Discourses; not that fire which sends forth "clouds of smoke and sulphur," nor of that other fire which "vomits death and wounds;" but of that more celestial fire which is kindled in the heart by glowing thoughts, and fanned by animated language.

The Historian of the Church of Scotland is succeded, first by a Professor of Logic, and next by a Royal Chaplain and Dean; both excellent, sensible men, but deadly dull as preachers. But let us do justice. We read the whole volume, fifteen rather lengthy Sermons, at one sitting: whence there is reason to suspect that the fatigue of the body has reacted upon the mind, and that we are ascribing our weariness to a wrong cause. There is, no doubt, much valuable matter, and some good writing, in both the Discourses to which we are alluding, as also in those which are contributed by Dr. Scot, Dr. Hardy, and Dr. Mackersy. Holding novelty in due contempt, they proceed steadily and gravely along the beaten path, which thousands have trodden before them, enforcing the obligations of religion, recommending the beauty of virtue, and setting forth the manifold advantages of morality.

In Mr. Somerville, the first under-graduate we have met with in the "Scottish Pulpit," we recognise the fresh spirit of youth, and the ambitious activity of genius. His Sermon on the "Resurrection" is a piece of glowing and irresistible ratiocination, well concatenated in its parts, and skilfully adapted to effect the conviction of the sceptic, and to confirm the faith of the unbeliever. Mr. Somerville cannot fail,

we think, to be admired as a popular and instructive preacher.

There is a Sermon here which, if it did not bear the name of Thomas Wright, we should have at once attributed to Mr. Alison of Edinburgh. The subject of it is the Analogy between the Operations of Divine Providence, in Creation and in Redemption, of which in one place he speaks thus:

"In every mind that has surrendered itself to the dominion of vice, we behold the chaos of human nature. But blessed be God! he has not forsaken the souls which he has made. There is a solemn moment, when over the dark waters of the human soul, the Spirit of the Almighty begins to move. Under its regenerating energy, every remaining particle of goodness rushes to its place, and the scattered principles of the darkened mind are gathered into order, and directed to what is good. It is then, also, that the command of the Most High brings light out of darkness. All those pure, and bright, and happier conceptions which once irradiated the unspotted heart, begin again to dawn on it. It gradually regains that harmony and balance and just proportion in its affections which are equally indispensable to order and to peace; and while in this manner light is communicated and order established, the great work of regeneration is accomplished."

The volume ends with a modest, meritorious Sermon by Mr. Carstairs, of which our narrow limits will not allow us to énter upon an analysis.

In the main, this publication is creditable to the soberness and good sense which belong to the character of Scottish theology, and which, indeed, are so becoming in the teachers of religious wisdom every where, particularly in these days of rant and pretension. Of learning and eloquence, we perceive few traces; but we see throughout, much of that calm and orderly arrangement of thought which gives clearness to truth, and authority to precept, and which, when combined with an orthodox creed, prevents those miserable aberrations into folly and superstition, which have so frequently deprived our holy faith of its most suitable accompaniment, sonable service." We therefore hope that Mr. Gillan will be encouraged to proceed with his plan, and that he may be induced to give to the public a lengthened series of the "Scottish Pulpit."

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ART. VI. A Letter to the Rev. T. R. Malthus, M.A. F.A.S. being an Answer to the Criticism on Mr. Godwin's Work on Population, which was inserted in the 70th Number of the Edinburgh Review: to which is added, an Examination of the Censuses of Great Britain and Ireland. By David Booth. pp. 126. Longman and Co. 1823.

THE interest which we have all along taken in the population question, induced us to read this Letter to Mr. Malthus, who has had the fate to be more mis-read, more mis-understood, and more virulently abused than any other writer of the present day. Numbers, who have not been able to refute his arguments, have revenged their imbecility by attacking his motives; whilst a large proportion of the more candid and decorous have hastily drawn from the supposed tendency. of his opinions a species of presumptive evidence that they must be founded in error, and imagine, of course, that religion and humanity are equally interested in their exposure and relinquishment. As for ourselves, we have been, from the very outset, perfectly convinced that Mr. Malthus has at once enjoyed more credit, and suffered a deeper opprobrium than could have belonged to him, even if his system were as ingenious and profound as his friends are disposed to hold it, or as mischievous and misanthropical as his adversaries have never ceased to pronounce it. As far as the principles are concerned, this able author has no claim to originality, nor are we aware that he has ever urged any such claim; on which account if there be any thing objec tionable in the tenets which are so successfully maintained, and so happily illustrated in the Essay on Population, the blame is to be shared with some of the most learned men who have written on the general doctrines of Political Economy,

Our readers are aware that Mr. Booth is the author of a dissertation which was inserted in Mr. Godwin's "Enquiry concerning Population;" in which he attempted to invalidate the conclusions of Mr. Malthus in regard to the power. of increase among human beings even in the circumstances that may be conceived most favourable to fecundity, health, and nourishment. In an article which appeared in the Edinburgh Review, of which Mr. Booth presumes that his celebrated antagonist is directly or indirectly the author, the reasoning, displayed in the "dissertation," is freely examined, and rather slightingly held forth to the ridicule and contempt of the public. Hence the Letter to Mr. Malthus which now occupies our attention; and of which we shall

satisfy the curiosity of our readers with a very short account.

In the first place, with respect to the authorship of the article in question he attempts to fix it on Mr. Malthus, on the strength of evidence which, though it is satisfactory to himself, he despairs of making sufficiently so to others, and on the faith of testimony which bis regard for his informant prevents him from giving to the world. On these obscure points we cannot, it is obvious, venture to form any opinion; but there seems to be something like constructive proof against Mr. Malthus involved in the single circumstances that the references to a certain work by Dr. Price, both in the Essay on Population and in the Edinburgh Review; apply to the same edition of that work, which has, it seems, become scarce, and is, besides, not the most authoritative form in which the said work has appeared. We give the pleading in Mr. Booth's own words,

"In your Essay on Population, you take frequent occasion to quote Dr. Price's Observations on Reversionary Payments, and having purchased your copy when a young man, you always refer to the fourth edition. You seem not to be aware that there have been three subsequent editions, all quite different from yours in their arrangement, and containing additional Tables and valuable Notes, both by Dr. Price and by Mr. Morgan. The consequence of these improvements is, that your edition (which was printed forty years ago) being generally wasted, is now a very scarce book: and that your readers if they wish to follow you, have to grope their way through a modern copy; and if they find your quotation at all, it is sure to be at a very distant page, and often in a different volume from that to which you refer. This was sufficiently tormenting to the patient perusers of your larger work, but it was rather too mischievous to cite so often from the same antiquated copy (without even mentioning the edition) when you were writing for the more volatile readers of a modern Review. I grant that to have bought a new copy would have been expensive; but I am told that Mr. Jeffery pays sixteen guineas a sheet, and your criticism fills fifteen pages.

The question relative to the rate at which mankind are capable of increasing their numbers, in the midst of plenty and security, has been so often discussed that we are willing to regard it as being set at rest. It is admitted by the most ardent controversialists that this rate depends almost entirely on the circumstances just mentioned; and that families are multiplied and bring to maturity a number of children in proportion to the facility with which food, clothing, and comfortable lodging are procured at any given time or place. Whether a colony in the most advantageous position in re

gard to the things now named, would continue, age after age, to double their numbers every twenty or five and twenty years; or whether encreasing luxury might not so far counteract the bias of their simple habits as to render marriages both less frequent and less prolific, are questions which experience has not yet furnished the means of determining. But that considerable societies, surrounded by the natural wealth which crowns the efforts of the first settlers, in a rich soil and healthful climate, have actually doubled by procreation alone, the number of their members, is a fact too well ascertained to admit of any dispute. The newer States of North America have usually been specified as affording an example of this rapid increase: and there, we have the best reason to believe, the colonists have realized, again and again, the hypothetical wonders of the geometrical ratio.

The increase being admitted on both sides, the point at issue between Mr. Booth and the Edinburgh Reviewer is, whether that increase arises solely from the numerous births which take place within the bounds of the colony, or from these and immigration united. The advocate of the Malthusian system, as it has been called, maintains that the immi grants bear so small a proportion to the indigenous inhabitants that the rate of increase is not materially effected by new arrivals; whilst, on the other hand, the author of the Letter undertakes to prove that the whole amount of the excess in the rate of American population, compared with that of other countries, may be explained and accounted for, on the ground now mentioned. In a word, he maintains that the cradle in North America is not more prolific than elsewhere: and that the main source of increase in that portion of the New World may be estimated by the extent of the immigrant lists which are periodically issued at the Custom House.

To afford the means of ascertaining how much of the augmented population of the United States may be fairly ascribed to the accession of new citizens from other parts of the world, Mr. Booth proposes the application of the following rule.

"When enumerations are taken every ten years, it is obvious, exclusive of immigration, that in any particular census the persons living above ten years of age must all have existed in the census immediately preceding. In that of 1810, for instance, all above ten years formed part of the population of 1800, and are in reality the same except inasmuch as they are diminished by deaths."

Comparing, says he, the American censuses on this prin