Page 24 - clra62_0019-(GIPE)

18 ECONOMIC INQUIRIES AND STUDIES
am not discussing the possibility or expediency of any
political changes. I am merely pointing out the ideas
which the figures on the surface are suggesting for con-
sideration, and which must affect the politics of the
next few years. Here again it is the common figures
of statistics-those derived from the systematic record
of facts commenced within the last century, and only
brought to a condition of tolerable advancement within
the last fifty years, which are so fertile and suggestive. 1
•
Still continuing the use of the most common statistics
of population, I propose next to direct attention to one
of the most formidable problems which have to be dealt
with by our imperial government, and for the knowledge
of which we are mainly indebted to statistics. I refer
to the growth of the population of our great dependency
-India. I have already referred in the most general
terms to the peculiar and complicated relations which
are likely to grow up between nations of the European
family and the races or nations of different types. At
no point are these relations more interesting than they
are in connection with the supremacy the English race
has gained over the subject races of India. The point
of interest in these relations for our present purpose
lies, however, chiefly in this-that the Roman peace
we have established in India appears to be effective in
removing many obstacles to the growth of population
which formerly existed-what Malthus described as the
natural checks-so that under our rule the Indian
population is growing in numbers from year to year,
and trenching with alarming rapidity on the means of
subsistence. I believe I am within the mark in saying
that there is no more anxious subject for the considera-
tion of our public men. The late Mr. Bagehot I know
was profoundly impressed by the fact, and repeatedly
. wrote his impressions, though I do not Jemember
whether anything he· wrote is collected among his
1 See supra, vol. i., p. 277.