Page:Henry Stephens Salt - A Plea for Vegetarianism and Other Essays.pdf/114

Rh in England. The Malthusians, again, would have us believe that things can never come right until a limit is put to the numbers of families ; but though this doctrine ﬁnds favour with high economic writers, it is one which the good feeling of the nation naturally and intuitively rejects. So urgent is the need of some remedial scheme, that certain writers have even detected the future salvation of England in what is known as the “freezing process," by which the carcases of sheep are preserved in the antipodes, and brought to our shores in floating mortuaries constructed for that purpose. In the absence of more practical plans of relief than those I have mentioned, it is not to be wondered that the supporters of thorough social reform boldly assert that nothing short of direct legislative action can materially benefit the condition of our English poor.

What have we Vegetarians to say on this subject, and what part can we claim to play in the solution of this great question? In my opinion, it is important that we should ponder our position thoughtfully, and be careful to claim what is really our due—neither too much nor too little. It is admitted on all hands that a