In the text, Jonathan Swift claims that he has "digressed" when he began to talk about the conditions that the poor experience nowadays. He claims that many people might wonder why he is not paying proper attention to the poor people everywhere who are starving or who are homeless. However, he claims that he does not believe this to be a big problem, as these poor people are constantly dying off, and will therefore soon cease to be a problem.
This statement, as cruel as it might sound, is intended to expose English injustice. In these lines, Swift implies that people claim to be horrified by his proposal. However, they still do not do anything to alleviate the suffering of those who live on the streets. Moreover, he shows that although the English might not kill and eat babies, they do let the poor die with no concern, which is not necessarily much better.