House of Commons, should resolve that there should be no speaking at all upon his side.”—E, "He must soon go out. That has been tried;

but it was found it would not do."

Russia being mentioned as likely to become a great empire, by the rapid increase of population, Johnson said, "Why, Sir, I see no prospect of their propagating more. They can have no more children than they can get. I know of no way to make them breed more than they do. It is not from reason and prudence that people marry, but from inclination. A man is poor; he thinks, 'I cannot be worse, and so I'll e'en take Peggy."" -B. "But have not nations been more populous at one period than another?"-J. "Yes, Sir; but that has been owing to the people being less thinned at one period than another, whether by emigrations, war, or pestilence, not by their being more or less prolific. Births at all times bear the same proportion to the same number of people.”—B. “ But, to consider the state of our country; does not throwing a number of farms into one hand hurt population?"-J. "Why no, Sir; the same quantity of food being produced, will be consumed by the same number of mouths, though the people may be disposed of in different ways. We see, if corn be dear, and butchers' meat cheap, the farmers all apply themselves to the raising of corn, till it becomes plentiful and

cheap, and then butchers' meat becomes dear; so that an equality is always preserved. No, Sir, let fanciful men do as they will, depend upon it, it is difficult to disturb the system of life."-B. "But, Sir, is it not a very bad thing for landlords to oppress their tenants, by raising their rents?" -J. " Very bad. But, Sir, it never can have any general influence; it may distress some individuals. For, consider this: landlords cannot do without tenants. Now tenants will not give more for land than land is worth. If they can make more of their money by keeping a shop, or any other way, they'll do it, and so oblige landlords to let land come back to a reasonable rent, in order that they may get tenants. Land, in England, is an article of commerce. A tenant who pays his landlord his rent, thinks himself no more obliged to him than you think yourself obliged to a man in whose shop you buy a piece of goods. He knows the landlord does not let him have his land for less than he can get from others, in the same manner as the shop-keeper sells his goods. No shopkeeper sells a yard of ribband for sixpence when sevenpence is the current price."-B. "But, Sir, is it not better that tenants should be dependent on landlords?"J. "Why, Sir, as there are many more tenants than landlords, perhaps, strictly speaking, we should wish not. But if you please you may let

your lands cheap, and so get the value, part in money and part in homage. I should agree with you in that.”—B. "So, Sir, you laugh at schemes of political improvement."-J. "Why, Sir, most schemes of political improvement are very laughable things."

He strongly censured the licensed stews at Rome. Mr. Boswell said, "So then, Sir, you would allow of no irregular intercourse whatever between the sexes." -JOHNSON. "To be sure I would not, Sir. I would punish it much more than it is done, and so restrain it. In all countries there has been fornication, as in all countries there has been theft; but there may be more or less of the one, as well as of the other, in proportion to the force of law. All men will naturally commit fornication, as all men will naturally steal. And, Sir, it is very absurd to argue, as has been often done, that prostitutes are necessary to prevent the violent effects of appetite from violating the decent order of life; nay, should be permitted, in order to preserve the chastity of our wives and daughters. Depend upon it, Sir, severe laws, steadily enforced, would be sufficient against those evils, and would promote marriage.'

On another occasion Johnson said, "It may be questioned, whether there is not some mistake as to the methods of employing the poor, seem

ingly on a supposition that there is a certain portion of work left undone for want of persons to do it; but if that is otherwise, and all the materials we have are actually worked up, or all the manufactures we can use or dispose of are already executed, then what is given to the poor who are to be set at work must be taken from some who now have it; as time must be taken for learning, according to Sir William Petty's observation, a certain part of those very materials that, as it is, are properly worked up, must be spoiled by the unskilfulness of novices. We may apply to well-meaning, but misjudging persons in particulars of this nature, what Giannone said to a monk, who wanted what he called to convert him; Tu sei Santo, ma Tu non sei Filosofo.'-It is an unhappy circumstance, that one might give away five hundred pounds in a year to those that importune in the streets, and not do any good."

He said, the poor in England were better provided for than in any other country of the same extent; he did not mean little Cantons or petty Republics. "Where a great proportion of the people (said he) are suffered to languish in help less misery, that country must be ill policed, and wretchedly governed; a decent provision for the poor, is the true test of civilization. Gentlemen of education, he observed, were pretty much the

same in all countries; the condition of the lower orders, the poor especially, was the true mark of national discrimination."

"Raising the wages of day-labourers (said he) is wrong; for it does not make them live better, but only makes them idler, and idleness is a very bad thing for human nature.”

Observing some beggars in the street, a gentleman remarked, that there was no civilized country in the world, where the misery of want in the lowest classes of the people was prevented.JOHNSON. "I believe, Sir, there is not; but it is better that some should be unhappy, than that none should be happy, which would be the case in a general state of equality."

"At dinner one day at Mr. Hoole's with Dr. Johnson (says Mr. Boswell), when Mr. Nicol, the King's bookseller, and I, attempted to controvert the maxim, 'better that ten guilty should escape, than one innocent person suffer;' we were answered by Dr. Johnson with great power of reasoning and eloquence. He ably shewed, that unless civil institutions insured protection to the innocent, all the confidence which mankind should have in them would be lost."

Talking on the subject of Toleration, one day when some friends were with him in his study, he made a remark, that the State has a right to regulate the religion of the people, who are the chil