Utilitarianism and Malthus' Virtue Ethics

The die-hard image of Malthus the ogre has not completely disappeared yet. And yet, Malthus showed no less concern than Adam Smith for the labouring poor. In order to make full sense of such expression of concern and to appraise their relevance in Malthus¿s work, we need to know what moral philosophy, what view of natural science, and what view of the "moral and political science" Malthus endorsed.