William Frederick Bailey, The Irish Land Acts — Movement of Population during the last half of the 19th Century (1917)
“ Teeming millions with a low standard of living, such as are found in some Asiatic countries, are no proof of prosperity. A healthy life and good social conditions are the most important elements in the well-being of a people; and it is to these we must look to decide whether the country is in a satisfactory condition or the reverse. Where the national standard of living is low, and the population has multiplied to the limits of subsistence, there is no margin of economic safety. The lives of the people are at the mercy of the thousand accidents of human affairs ”
