Lectures on the Industrial Revolution in England

Malthus tells us that his book was suggested by Godwin’s Inquiry, but it was really prompted by the rapid growth of pauperism which Malthus saw around him, and the book proved the main influence which determined the reform of the English Poor Laws. The problem of pauperism came upon men in its most terrible form between 1795 and 1834. The following statistics will illustrate its growth.