Milluponthismatterdissentedmostemphaticallybothfromthe’classical’andthehistoricalchampion。Thepointiswithhimofvitalimportance。HisFrenchsympathieshadpreparedhimtoseetheothersideofthequestion。Themostunequivocaltriumphclaimed，withwhatevertruth，fortheFrenchrevolutionwastheelevationofthecultivatorsoftheland。Mill，atanyrate，heldemphaticallythattheFrenchrevolutionhad’extinguishedextremepovertyforonewholegeneration，’52*andhadtherebyenabledtheFrenchpopulationtorisepermanentlytoahigherlevel。ContemporaryEnglishhistorygavetheotherside。
Poor-lawcontroversieshadbroughtintostrikingreliefthedegradationoftheEnglishagriculturallabourer。TheMorningChroniclearticles，towhichhehaddevotedsixmonths，combinedwithanadvocacyofpeasant-proprietorshipanexpositionoftheinadequacyofpoor-laws。TheexcellentW。T。Thornton1813-1880
hadbeenfrom1836Mill’scolleagueintheIndiaHouse，andwasoneofthefewfriendswhocommunicatedfreelywithhimduringhisseclusion。53*In1846ThorntonpublishedabookuponOverPopulationanditsRemedy，inwhichhedeclareshimselftobeathoroughgoingMalthusian，andrebukesM’CullochforsayingthatMalthus’sworkexemplifiedthe’abuse’ofgeneralprinciples。
Thornton，likeMill，followsMalthusinthinkingthatover-populationmustbecheckedbypreventingimprudentmarriages；54*buthemakesaspecialpointofthedoctrinethatmiseryisnotonlytheeffectbutthe’principalpromoter’ofover-population。55*HenceheisnotcontentwithMalthus’snegativeposition。Theevilwillnotdieoutofitself。Hisfavouriteremedyatthistimewasthe’allotmentsystem。’FromthisMilldissents。56*Theyagree，however，uponthemeritsofpeasant-proprietorship，uponwhichThorntonpublishedabookin1848，shortlybeforetheappearanceofMill’streatise。57*Millsaysthatthisoughttobethestandardtreatiseonthatside’ofthequestion。’58*NeitherMillnorThorntonhadanyfirsthandknowledgeofagriculture；buttheyforciblyattackedtheassumptionsthenprevalentamongEnglishagriculturists。ThorntonhadbeenespeciallyimpressedbytheprosperityoftheChannelIslands——aratherlimitedbaseforawideinduction；butbothheandMillcouldrefertoexperienceonamuchlargerscalethroughoutwidedistrictsontheContinent。ThepithofMill’spositioniscondensedinMichelet’spicturesquepassage，wherethepeasantisdescribedasunabletotearhimselfawayevenonSundayfromthecontemplationofhisbelovedplotofland。Thethreeperiodswhenthepeasanthadbeenabletobuylandwerecalledthe’goodKingLouisXII，’the’goodKingHenryIV’andtherevolution。ArthurYoung’sfamousphraseofthe’magicofproperty’which’turnssandtogold’wasastillmoreeffectivetestimony，becauseYoungwastheCoryphaeusofthemodern，Englishschoolofagriculturists。’59*
France，then，representedthegoodeffectsofMalthusianisminaction。TheFrenchpeasantry，asThorntonsaysafterLavergne，60*hadnotreadMalthus，buttheyinstinctivelyputhisadviceinpractice。MilltriumphantlyquotesthefigureswhichshowedtheslowrateofincreaseoftheFrenchpopulation。61*ThecaseofBelgium，asheremarks，showedthatpeasant-proprietorshipmightbeconsistentwitharapidincrease，buttheFrenchcaseprovedconclusivelythatthiswasnotanecessaryresultofthesystem。The’pauper-warren’theoryatleastisconclusivelydisproved。M’Culloch’sunfortunatepredictionmightbeexplainedbyhisaprioritendencies；butitiscurioustofindMillconfutingJones，theadvocateforahistoricalmethod，byanappealtoexperienceandstatistics。Thepossessionofthesoundestmethoddoesnotmakeamaninfallible。