PROPOSED BY MR. MALTHUS. 143

according to the varying fertility of the soil.
In the second column he states the yearly corn
wages of each labourer, determined by the demand
 and supply. The first case supposes the
yearly wages of a labourer to be 12 quarters,
the last only 8 quarters; in other words, the
value of labour in relation to corn is in the first
case 12 quarters, and in the last 8. Hence it
is obvious, that to prove the invariable value of
labour, he begins by supposing it to be variable;
singular premises, certainly, from which to deduce
 such a conclusion. And the process of
deduction is no less singular. Taking the first
case, he proceeds thus: If 1 man obtain 12
quarters per annum for wages, 10 men will obtain
 120 quarters, and as the whole product of
these 10 men is 150 quarters, profits will be 25
per cent. Now as 150 quarters are the product
of 10 men, 120 quarters must be produced by 8
men, and the profits being equal to thelabour of
2 men, the value of the whole 120 quarters is
10, But 10 what? Evidently 10 men’s labour:
that is, in other words, the quantity of corn