Page:An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798).djvu/130

104 But the English North American colonies, now, the powerful People of the United States of America, made by far the most rapid progress. To the plenty of good land which they possessed in common with the Spanish and Portuguese settlements, they added a greater degree of liberty and equality. Though not without some restrictions on their foreign commerce, they were allowed a perfect liberty of managing their own internal affairs. The political institutions that prevailed were favourable to the alienation and division of property. Lands that were not cultivated by the proprietor within a limited time were declared grantable to any other person. In Pennsylvania there was no right of primogenitur; and in the provinces of New England the eldest had only a double share. There were no tythes in any of the States, and Rh