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L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grAce d la g6n6rosit6 de: D. B. Weldon Library University of Western Ontario Les images suivantes ont 6t4 reproduites avec le plus grand soln, compte ten^j de la condition et de la n^ttetd de l'exemplaire film^, et en confcrmit6 avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la coiiverture en papier est imprimie sont fiim^s en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une smpreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le ces. Tons les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et t- partijular endings of his soldiers, the father of his son, nor the master of his servant; for ihey purpose not their deal!), when tliey ])urp<)se their services. Hesides, there is no king, be his cause never .^j spotless, if it c.ime to the arbitretntMit of swords, can try it out with unspotted soldiers. Some, peradventure iiace in them the guilt of preineditatcl and contriveil* murder : some of beguiling virgins with the broken seals of perjury ; some, making the wars their bulwark, that liave befor'" gored the gentle b orom of peace with pilla'Te and rob- bery. Now, if these men have >'feated tlie laws, and out-run native punishment, though they can outstriii men, they have no wings to fly from God ; war ii his beadle ; war in his vengeance; so that here men art- punisiied, for before-breaeh of the king's laws, in now the king's (piarrci ; where tliey feared the death, they Imve borne life away, and where thty would be safe, Ihey |)erislied ; then, if they die unprovideil, no more is the king guilty of their damnation, than he was before guilty of those iitipieties for which tliey ;ue now visited. Every subject's duty is the king's ; but every subject's soul is his own Therefore, should every soldier in the wars do as every sick man in his bed, wash every mote out of liia conscience ; and dying 80, death is to him advantage ; or not dying, the time was blessedly lost, wiierein such prepavation was gained ; and in him lliat escapes, it were not sin to think, that making God so free an offer, He let him out-live that day to see His gremtness, and to teach others how they shotdd prepare." V:-^y -•• ''V^ POLITICAL ECONOMY AND SCIENCE BY JOHN HARRIS. * ■ PRINTED By THE LOVELL PRINTING k PUBLISHING COMPANT, St. Nicholas Stbibt. AtJGueT, 1875. Entered according to Act of Parliament ta the year one thousand eight hundred nd seventy-live, by Jok and Statistics at Ottawa. . «_- •._ T„„,, T].i>t»o t„ *\xa nffiffanf tho Minister of Agriculture 127229 MOHTEKA^J-LOVILk PBINTIKa AND PUBLISHIHO COKPAlTr, PWMTBBS. HHIB TO THE tttt^« lit iltt %^^^' THE KING OF SCIENCE, AND THE SUPREME HEAD OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, THIS BOOK IS HUMBLY AND REVERENTLY i '^BKsw. js^-.'s sMse^^^t^^miS^^i^;;^^ POLITICAL ECONOMY AND SCIENCE. PREFACE. What is Political Economy ? Is it a science ? Is it a- complete science in itself ? Is it a sub-science or a part of science ? Is it a merely arbitrary systemized collec- tion of disorderly or unauthorized opinions, relating to a particular class of subjects I Is it an off-shoot of Meta- physics : a sort of Positivism ? If it belongs to Scitnce, what is its place and relation in respect to General Science f Has it any direct and practical value as ac- quired know^ledge ? Is it of indirect use as an inteUec-^ tual exercise ? Now if we suppose a man educated only in the most rudimentary sense, eager to acquire knowledge, and ready to devote himself to the acquisition of some one or more of the Divisions of Knowledge, the foregoing are some of the questions which might not unnaturally or imperti- nently suggest themselves to him in regard to some of those Divisions now classed in the strictest sense as be- longing to Science, preliminary to his making choice of the particular subject of his studies. , But the peculiarity in this case is that these questions^ in regard to this collection of subjects (political economy)^ are not confined to the scientifically uneducated or par- PREFACE. tially educated, but are asked by men of scientific educa- tiou, and by men who have devoted their lives especially to the acquisition and cultivation of this particular Divi- sion or supposed division) of Knowledge. And these <|uestions, asked by the men who should be themselves the most eminently qualified to answer them correctly and with certainty, are not answered by them with unanimity and accord, but, on the contrary, each eminent writer and teacher on the subject ftivcs an answer quite at variance with the various answers given by other supposed authorities. All appear to agree that there is a Division of Knowledge to whioh fhp subjects brnii^^ t together under the title of 'political economy' ought to be- long as a part of Science, but that what is now included iind taught under that title does not belong, or only par- tially belongs, to science, because the system on which the subjects are arranged is bad, and the philosophy applied to it unsound. Agreement, however, does not go beyond agreeing t reject all the systems which have been pro- posed as scientific. That is to say, each one nas his own system which he advocates i.nd which differs, more or less essentially, from that of each of the other writers on the subject. Such a state of matters does not prove that no actual department of Science has this particular descrip- tion of knowledge for its proper and legitimate subject : nor does it prove that (so-called) Political Economy is merely a part of Metaphysics, or that its subjects are such as cannot be systematically combined as useful and valuable knowledge; but it does prove that these subjects are at present in a metaphysical and disorderly condition ; that they have not as yet been scientifically arranged, and ••W "JII.W'llH^ PREFACE. consequently have not as yet been brought within the domain nor obtained the authorization of Science.* Tile purpose of tliis book is to commence tlie arrange- ment of the subjects belonging to this division of know- ledge as a part of General Science. Before doing so, however, we will, as au Introduction, briefly, but care- fully examine the ground now occupied by ' Political Economy' in respect to the questions already indicated, anil to the nature of the fallacies which, as we opine, have vitiatetl and rendered, in a gieat measure, abortive, the endeavours hitherto made to scieutifically arrange the subjects. • To this statement of the existing state of the case, as a^ admission on the part of economists, we should notice an apparen, exception of an im- poriant character, in the case of Prof. Cairnes. That eminent writer on the subject claims that political economy, as now taught in England, in- cludes a distinct division of knowledge scientifically arranged, t> ., includes a science. He opines that this science wasfundamentally arrange" oj Adam 8milh, was Bubstantially accepted byRicardo, Mills, hims^ilf (L'airnes), and others ; and th'it each of these teachers has devoted himself to the pro- gressive improvement of Adam Smith's system. As we purpose to subject this opinion of Prof Cairnes to particular examination, it will suffice lipre to say that we do not consider such claim can be upheld but that the objections, collectively, of those writers who arc supposed to approve the system, to parts of it, are of such a kind as to show that it possesses no such basis and coherence as to entitle it to be considered a part of Science. INTRODUCTION. I.. ' i " * i f The immediate object we have in thia introduction i» to put before the reader such evidence as may be suf- ficient to support and establish our proposition tliat the subjects brought together under the title of political economy are not at the present time so arranged and combined into a sound and coherent system as to justify the claim of this collection of doctrines and opinions to be considered a part of Science. To do this we feel sure that the plan, most satisfactory and convenient to the English reader, will be for us to quote, from the recent writings of a very eminent teacher, the conclusions which a careful coiisideration of the evidence has brought him to adopt, and then to show why, and on what particular grounds, we object to his conclusions as unsound. By thus considering the conclusions and reasoning of a writer who has carefully brought together the past history of the subject and ably reviewed the works of his predecessors, we shall spare our readers and our- selves the necessity of again traversing the road and surveying the scenery with which that writer and his predecessors are supposed to have made the public familiar. INTRODUCTION. 9 In Professor Cairm'H^ Essay on Political Economij, we find at pugo 2A4 the following : "Let me briefly exp'ttia what I ir 3an by this expression. (Laws of the phonomona of wealth."* It is one in very fre- quent use ; but, like many other expressions in frequent use, it does not always perhaps carry to the mind of the hearer a very definite idea. Of course I do not mean by the laws of the phenomena of wealth, Acts of Parliament. I mean the natural laws of those phenomena. Now what are the pheno- mena of wealth ? Simply the facts of wealth ; such facts as production, exchange, price ; or again, the various forms which wealth assumes in the process of distribution, such as wages, profits, rent, interest, and so forth. These are the phenomena of wealth ; and the natural laws of these phenomena are certain constant relations in which they etand towai*ds each other and towards their causes. For example, capital grows from year to year in this country at a certain rate of progress ; in the United States the rate is considerably more rapid; in China considerably slower. Now these facts are not fortuitous, but the natural result of causes ; of such causes as the external physical circumstances of the countries in question, the intelligence and moral char- acter of the people inhabiting them, and their political and •social institutions ; and so long as tl e causes remain the «ame, the result will remain the same. Similarly, the prices of commodities, the rent of land, the rates of wages, profits and interest, differ in different countries ; but here again, not at random. The particular forms which these phenomena assume are no more matters of chance than the temperature or the mineral productions of the countries in which they occur are matters of chance ; or than the fauna and flora which flourish on the surface of those countries are matters of chance. Alike in the case of the physical and of .i." H !0 INTRODUOTION. the economic world, the faits we find existing are th& results of CJ»".ses, between which and them the connection is- constant and invariable. It is, then, the constant relatione exhibited ii. economic phenomena that we have in view, when we speak ot the laws of the phenomena of wealth ; and in the exposition of these laws conwists th^ science of Political Economy. If you ask me wherein lies the utility of such an expositibn of economic laws, I answer, in pre- cisely the same circumstance which constitutes the utility of all scientific knowledge. It teaches us the conditions of our power in relation to the facts of economic existence, the means by which, in the domain of material we'1-being, to actflin our ends. It is by such knowledge that m in becomes the minister and interpreter of Nature, and learns t^. control Nature by obeying her." We will observe in the first place that this is a part of a careful summary of his own conclusions, after Professor Oairnes has considered aiid reviewed the works of his predecessors. As the answer to the question in the fore- going.. "What are the phenomena of wealth!" We have. ." Siaiply the facts of —ealth : such facts as pro- duction, exchange, price." Now to call these things ' facts' is a misnomer which if it does not result from a confusion, is mre to result in a confusion, of ideas. There 18 a sense in which production might be, not incorrectly, perhaps, called a natural fact : When the seeds of a vegetable are put nito the ground under favourable cri- cumstances they grow and the plants collectively pro- duce a quantity of seed greater than was sown. This increase in quantity may be called a natural fact of pro- duction ; but this is evidently quite a different sense from that in which the professor here uses the expression 4 INTRODUCTION. ir The other two things, exchange and price, are neither of them, in any sense, natural facts or ideal facts. If two men exchange their possessions it becomes a fact that they have made the exchange. Each of them might, quite correctly, consider that which Le gave, as the price of that which he received, and in that sense, it would become a fact that each of them had paid a price. But what natural fact is involved in the transaction ? The exchange may have been a good hat for an old pair of boots. Under some other conditions or relations the onfe item might have been worth twice or four times as. much as the other, but, actually, the one party who had the boots wanted the hat, and vice versa ; and so they exclianged. But, it may be said, there must be some intelligible- sense or meaning in which Prof Cairnes uses the expres- sion 'natural fact.' It may be so: the next sentence is evidently intended as in some degree explanatory : •'These are the phenomena of wealth, and the natural laws of these phenomena are certain constant relations in which they stand towards each other and towards their causes. For example, capital grows from year ta year in this country at a certain rate of progress ; in the United States the rate is considerably more rapid ; in China considerrbly slower." Here we find the example directly contradicting the proposition to which it is appended as an illustration. Instead of the relation being constant, the example exhibits the relation as inconstant; in neither tv/o out of the three instances, is the relation shown to be constant. The specific gravity of water is the same in China as in Eug- 12 INiaODUOTIOK. land, and the same in England as in the United States. The sun shines and the wind blows in all three countries alike. It is quite true that an effect must stand in a constant relation to its cause, whether it be termed a natural law or a phenomenon ; in fact the mind cannot disconnect the one from the other. For example; gravi- tation causes the fall of a stone to the ground. The fall of the stone measures the gravitation, to which it has a specific relation. The fall of the stone without a cause is an idea which the reasonable mind would decline to accept. In the example given to us, the causes vary, and of course the effects must vary in correspondence. Why do the causes vary ? Because they are not natural. But, again — "The various forms which wealth assumes in the process of distribution, such as wages, profirs, rent, interest and so forth." We do not see how wages can be classed as phenomena of wealth, for wealth transferred as wages does not differ from other wealth : it may be any one or more of the vari- ous kinds of wealth, but it does not present any exceptional or peculiar features. We opine wages are phenomena related to labour or industry, if they must be called phenomena ; we should prefer, however, to class them as the exchangeable value of labour: but this again would be only correct as a definition of the sense in which the expression is commonly understood. For a more strictly correct definition we would say : the expression 'wages' means the conventional price paid by agreement for labour But to pass this over,.. How can there be a natural law of wages, of rent, or of profits ? What has nature to do with these things? Neither the wind nor mmmi INTRODDOTION. 13 the rain receives wages. A tree Joes not charge rent for shading a man from the sun. The sun receives no profits or interest for all the invaluable benefits it pours down upon the sons of men. Surely there must be some grave mistake here of a fundamental character. Prof. Cairnes certainly intended to express some intelligible meaning. We will endeavour to explain the sort of mental confusion between the subjects of Natural Science and those of Ideal Science, which has evidently led to these strange state- ments. Let us suppose a case by way of illustration : — Some meddlesome and officious arbitrary government hav- ing detennined to regulate the exchanges of its subjects, appoints officers to direct and control all kinds of barter and commercial transactions. E, an employer of labour possessed of some \/ealth, has agreed to hire a labourer at five shilhngs a day wages, but the sanction of the officer to the arrangement must be had, and he objects. * No : four shillings a day is quite enough ; let him agree to work for four shillings a day, or don't employ him.' But says E, ' I am quite willing to pay the man five shillings a day ' ' No matter, I won't allow it.' E also wants to buy a cow of his neighbour F, who agrees to sell it to him for ten pounds ; but the, officer has to be informed and he interferes : — ' No : that's not enough. It's an object to encourage a breed of good cattle ; the cow is a good cow, you must give fifteen pounds.' ' Well but,' says E, ' Mr. F is quite content to sell her to me for ten pounds.' 'No matter, you must give fifteen pounds or else go without it.' F, the farmer, receives an order from the officer fixing the price at which he must sell his milk, eggs, and butter, at only about one half the 14 INTRODUCTION. prices which his neighbours would be willing to pay- Now, if we apprehend aright, this would be what Prof. Cairnes means by an interference with the natural law of wages and of profits. But the only connection it has- with natural laws is that the God of the natural world is also God of the intellectual world, .that the God of ideal science is God also of natural science, .that He who- has ordained laws to govern and regulate the phenomena^ of (the material world) nature, has also ordained laws to- govern and control the phenomena of (the spiritual world) intellect. The employer, the farmer, and the labourer^ all feel aggrieved. Why ? Because the laws of nature have been interfered with ? Not at all, but, because they feel and know that injustice has been done to them. The great fundamental compound fact of Ideal Science that.. God is just; and.. that Man has been made in the image of God ; and therefore created on the basis of justice, has been disregarded. The ideal fact- that arbitrary unnecessary interference with the reason- able liberty of his fellowman, by man, is unsanctioned and forbidden by the intellectual law of God, and is- consequently unlawful, has been disregarded. Tlie- unlawful action of the officer, resulting from the unlaw- ful action of hlo government, is, because unlawful, out of harmony with the whole of creation ; with the intellec- tual world primarily and directly, but hence, indirectly with the natural world also. In this very indirect sense, and in this indirect sense only, the unwise and unlawful interference with the just rights and liberties of the several individuals wotdd have a connection with INTRODUCTION. 15; natural laws.* Let us suppose a musician playing to entertain an educated audience, and, through want of skill, carelessness or perverseness, playing so badly that the audience, instead of experiencing pleasure and satisfaction, go away displeased and dissatisfied. Would this have any connection with the laws of nature ? Only the same indirect connection which we have pointed out as belonging to the previous case. The musician would have disregarded or neglected some of the laws ordained by the Creator to regulate the Ideal Science of Harmony.t • We find, hov/ever, a little further on in Prof. Cairnes' work, a modified definition which appears to recognize,. in some degree, that the phenomena do not belong to natural science and they are now turned ' economic phenomena.' For example. ." It is, then, the constant relations exhibited in economic phenomena that wo have in view when we speak of the laws of the phenomena of wealth." ' Now the relations and laws here spoken of are so imaginary and unreal, that the things specified have no absolutely necessary relation to human existence, and. *In case the argument might suggest itself to the reader.. .that since God is the God of nature, all laws which belong to the general Creation may be called ' Natural Laws ;' We may state, quite decidedly, that such would be false nomenclature and inevitably lead to confusion, because it would be to disregard the essential and iuherent difference between Ideal and Natural Science. t Observe that neither Acoustics nor Optics belong only to natural science. In Acoustics, Harmony which belongs to ideal science is applied to the natural phenomena of Sound. In Optics, Harmony is applied to- that manifestation of force on matter, known as Light. ■I 16 INTRODUCTION. where they actually exist, no one of them has a neces- sarily definite and constant relation to any one of the others. Take, for example, a community of Indians such as is still found in the western parts of North America. There is wealth, but their possessions are confined to the weapons, utensils, and clothing necessary to support the simple industrial conditions of their existence. There are no labourers and no wages, no rent, no profits, no interest. But, let us suppose a community of Mormons, or some other community, the members of which have agreed all to share alike, .each one to do his share of work, and all the unconsumed products of their labour to belong in common to the community. After a time the community becomes very prosperous, and its possessions in cattle, grain, and cul- tivated land accumulate to a large amount. Here then we have human existence and the social relations of human beings dwelling together in a community, and we have wealth ; but, where are the specified facts 6r phenomena of wealth : and where the laws and constant relations ? There are no wages and no rent : truly the accumulation of wealth by the community might be considered a description of profits, but this would differ considerably from the description of profits intended by Prof. Cairnes : of ' interest ' there would be none : unless, indeed, the community be supposed to capitalize its possessions and to send the proceeds to the bank — which it might, or might not be, agreed upon to clo. The concluding sentence, however, shows that the professor has altogether misconceived the relationship of ■BHS2i*ii«i INTRODUCTION. 17 man to nature. " It is by such knowledge that man' becomes the minister and interpreter of Nature, and learns to control Nature by obeying her." In respect to his merely animal nature and in his relation to nature as a variety of organized matter, man is under the laws of na- ture which he has to obey. A man's body, for instance, is subject to the law of gravitation ; a man's physical actions are subject to the laws of mechanics. This necessary obedience of matter to the Jaws of the material world, cannot be avoided in any degree by the siiuple exercise of man's volition. But to man as an intellec- tual being has been given by the express declaration of God, control, within certain limitations and subject to certain restraints, over the forces of the natural world. Therefore, man, by learning to understand and interpret the laws of nature, and by learning to understand and bring himself into more perfect harmony with the laws of the intellectual world, learns to obtain a more perfect control over the forces of nature as God's minister. In the same connection some observations of Prof. Huxley are quoted with approval, showing that ProL Caimes is not alone in his misconception of the relation of Man, as an intellectual being, to Nature : '' In a striking passage of an admirable address, Professor Huxley has pointed out how all true education, so far an education is an art, is but a mode of acquiring knowledge which nature herself, where we omit this moans of acquir- ing it, is pretty sure to bring home to us after her own rude fashion ' The teaching of Nature,' says Professor Huxley, 'is harsh and wasteful in its operation.' Ignorance is vi'::led as sharply as wilful disobedience, incapacity meets 18 INTRODUCTION. ' ii; with the same punishraont as crime. Nature's discipline is not even a word and a blow, and the blow first, but the blow without the word. It is left to you to find out vfhy your ears are boxed.' " The object of what we commonly call education — that •education in which man intervenes, and which I shall dis- tinguish as artificial education — is to make good these defects in nature's methods; to prepare the child to receive luiture's oddcation, neither iiicapably nor ignorantly, nor with wilful disobedience; and to understand the preliminary symptoms of her displeasure without waiting for the box on the car, in short, all artificial education ought to bo an anticipation of natural education. And a liberal education is an artificial education which has not only prepared a man to escape the great evils of disobedience to natural laws, but has trained him to appreciate and to seize upon the rewards which Nature scatters with as free a hand as her penalties," What is the Nature which here occupies so strange a relationship to Man? Can it be a living intelligence, with i* 'harsh and wasteful operations and defective methods V It is, indeed, a strange relationship which is here suggested ; Man, who it would appear is intel- lectually the superior of Nature, and who, as such, is obliged to intervene and put right Nature's defective methods, is nevertheless subject io Nature's laws, and the great evils of disobedience to those laws it is the object of education to teach him. The reckless manner, moreover, in which Nature is supposod to distribute rewards and punishments by no means clears up the mystery. To suppose an electrical machine deliberately setting itself to work to educate an intelligent child, would be INTRODUCTION. 10 simply to suggest a grotesque and absurd idea, which the mind's fancy might play with for a few moments ; but the idea of Gravitation instructing a man in science, rewarding and punishing him, becoming displeased with him and demanding his obedience, is a conception which the reasonable mind must at once reject as compounded of incongruous elements and therefore unintelligible. But what does this nature mean ? We feel quite suie that Piofessor Huxley cannot by this name intend to denote the God of Nature. If he intended to express belief in the Creator as the Supreme Intelligence, perse ally engHgpd in the education of the htmian race, we are con- fident it would be in terms quite other than these. But what, then, does it mean ? As fellow-labourers with Pro- fessor Huxley in the field of Science, we feel it our duty to ])oint out that a precise, intelligible and distinct explana- tion is called for as to the mea^iing which this expression is intended to convey. There are those, we believe, who look, at the presen'v^ time, expressly to Professor Huxley for bread ; surely this teaching, as it now stands, is very like a stone. On the primal basis and arrangement of the subjects of Political Economy as a Science : — Since there is but one general Science, to which all divisional sciences belong as parts or sections, there can be but one primal basis in an absolute sense. Each divisional science, however, is relatively complete in itself and has its own primal basis, which, together with the corresponding basis of each of the other divisional sciences, rests upon the absolute fundamental fact of general science. In puqjosing to arrange the classes of subjects to i%y INTRODUCTION. ., which collectively the expression ' political economy ' has been allotted, the first consideration is whether the collection of the subjects is sufficiently complete, and whether the knowledge we now possess of these subjects, and of their inter-relations, suffices, to enable uh to carry back ihe generalizations of fact to the one elementary fact antecedent to all of them, and thus to determine the primal fact of the divisional science. But supposing this cannot yet be done — that the knowledge at present acquired is not sufficient to deter- mine the primary basis; would such circumstance necessarily prevent a scientific arrangement of the sub- jects ? By no means ; but it would prevent a complete arrangement, even in outline, being made in the first instance. To illustrate this, let us take the subjects of chemical science. These were long since systematically arrangedas a science, although the ultimate generalization, through which the actual basis of the divisional science becomes apparent, has been, comparatively speaking, quite recently made, and, even at the present time^ chemists can scarcely be said to have unanimously accepted and recognized the fundamental fact of chemis- try, as such.* From this example and a knowledge of the progressive advances by which chemistry, from a mere collection of facts belonging i:o the same division, and having a general connection in kind with each other, has become a com- paratively complete divisional science, a distinct appre- hension may be obtained of that approved method upon which the scientific arrangement of the subjects belong- ing to other divisions of knowledge hai? to be conducted. • The Atomic Theory (of Dftlton). , 1* INTRODUCTION. . jR ■ The method may be thus briefly indicated. All the known facts, belonging characteristically to the class of subjects which have to be arranged, are separated into groups, each group containing thoK«' subjects which have a manifest or demonstrable relati' in to each other. Each of these groups is found on investigation to have one primal or causal fact antecedent to all otliors belong- ing to that group. Now when the causal facts thus isolated are compared together, and their relations care- fully studied, itbecomesapparent that certain of them are particularly related, and thue a second series of groups related to each other, fewer in number ana of a more primal character than the first, can be formed. Each of the groups belonging to the second series has its causal fact or general antecedent. These antecedents being compared together, as before, are found to admit of likewise group- ing into a third scries, each member of which contains facts having particular and definite relations to each other. A second generalization has, therefore, been accom- plished ; the number of groups has diminished, whilst their primal character has increased. By the continued application and pursuance of this method, in the like manner, it is evident that eventually the actual basis, or general antecedent fact, of the divisional science itself will become known. This method may be described as the systematic investigation of the manner in which a characteristic section or division of compounded knowledge, is com- pounded. 22 INTRODUCTION. The nbsolutt'ly rigorous application of the niethocT Ih, however, in almost uU cases impracticable, since, bO' long as anyone group were to remain imperfect, from want of knowledge of all the facts belonging to it, the whole of the investigation would have to be delayed until the deficient facts were obtained, liut the process is much facilitated, and the progress of the investigation promoted, by the aid of Theory and Assumption. Each of these is a temporary substitute for approved knowledge or for accepted fact. By their means the mind is able to experi- mentally complete the groups necessary for the purpose of combining into more complex, or separating into more elementary Ibrms, the subjects belonging to the investi- gation. But herein is occasion for scrupulous care, and a necessity for the observance of strict rule. The substi- tuted, i. e., the suppositious or assumed facts, and the compounded knowledge thence obtained, must be kept distinct and separate, and not be accepted by the mind as actual knowledge, until it has been legitimately verified. The necessary rules and systematic application of those rules are taught ^nd illustrated in two works, one of which is of a more general, and the other of a more par- ticular and strictly rigorous character: namely, Bacon's Inductive System, and the work called . . Euclid's Ele- ip'-rits of Geometry. . ne unsatisfactory condition of the subjects belonging^ to political economy, at the present time, may be apprehended from the work of Professor Cairnes. The subjects have been separated into groups of a first INTRODLCTIOM. 23 series ; and in Home of these, the inter-rehitions of the subjects belonging to them have been studied with much cure und abihty. Beyond this, all is confusion and dis- order. Sound generalizations arc mingled with theories wholly speculative and illusory. Professor Cairnes him- self mistakes one of the groups, namely, that of wealth, for the whole divisiomil-scionce of political economy; atul, luider the impression that this division of Ideal science belongs to Natural science, endeavours with much perseverance and ingenuity to convert it into a physical science. M. Comte, the positivist metai)hysician, chtarly perceives that the nature of the subjects differs essen- tially from that of the subjects of Natural science, and, in some cases, has an enlightened appreciation of their inter-relations as subjects of Ideal science ; but, then, M. Comte does not apprehend the necessity of scientific arrangement and law ; ^.onsiders it quite a matter for choice, opinion, or argument ; and prefers, if we appreciate his doctrine correctly, that each one should be free to group the subjects according to his own liking, and to theorize, sentimentalize, or speculate in whatever manner his imagination or fancy may suggest^ without any particular regard to definition or reality. Whatever there may be of subtlety and refinement in these speculations, M. Comte is evidently forgetful that, as he recognizes no rules and acknowledges no autho- rity, so will his successors feel themselves at liberty to accept what they like and reject what they please, of his doctrines, and that, since there is no demonstration, no basis in reality and fact, his system cannot furnish a 24 INTBODUOTION. conclusive arrangement, nor yet furnish even the means of arriving at any such ; but must end as it begins in an 'jnsystematic collection of imaginative arguments and barren (speculations. Having thus stated very briefly the present condition of <■ Political Economy,' we v/il). proceed to indicat i the legitimate arrangement of this particular class of subjects jRs a division of general science. 1? POLITICAL ECONOMY, AS A DIVISION OP IDEAL SCIENCE. Classification, Nomenclature, and Definition. The subjects of Science belonging to Political Econo- my are comprised in the following groups : to wit, — ^ , ( Administration of Government. ^^^^'•"°^«°M Jurisprudence. Products of ( Commerce. Industry ( Wealth. . , ( Social laws and responsibilities, PI +• \ ^^1^6^ ^^^ support of the poor, delations J u^iydays and pubhc recreation. „ , , . C Intellectual Development. Education J civilization. THE BASIS. General Science, in the universal sense, is primarily^ founded upon the existence and attributes of the Crea- tor : in the human sense, upon the declaration by the Creator that man has been made in His image, verified and demonstrated by the evidence of the divine record, by the evidence of the Natural world, and by the evidence of the Intellectual workl. This is, therefore, the absolute primal basis of each and every part and division of Science. The immediate primal basis of Natural Science, is 'the existence and reality of matter.' 26 SUB-DIVISION OP QROUPS. The immediate primal basis of Ideal Science, is ' the Reality and Certainty of Ideal Fact.' The primal basis of the divisional Science of Political Economy, is 'Intellectual Existence, and the rights of Individuality.' Hence, for a first division, are the relations of— human (ideal) Justice ; Trustfulness, and Obedience to lawful authority ; Benevolence and Providence ; the Rights of Property ; Expediency. Upon the basis of (ideal) Justice, we distinguish : — Legislation ; the administration of Justice ; the admin- istration of Punishment ; the remuneration of Labour ^ Wages) ; the reward of Public Service; security of the Commonwealth (national defence^ «&:c.) ; security of public and private Propeity. Upon the basis of Trustfulness, and Obedience to law- ful authority ; we have as divisions aiid sub-divisions : — . . . The administration of Government, based on direct acknowledgment of the supreme government of God ; Taxation ; Collection of National Revenue ; Management of the national resources ; Guardianship of the national honour ; National Education ; Provision for scholastic education ; Security of public and private Property ; National profession of religion ; Provision for public worship, ard for religious instruction ; Municipal Government. Upon the basis of Benevolence (?'. e., Christian Love) and Providence : — The provision and regulation, .of Hospitals; cf the various Charitable Institutions ; of Refuges, Reforma- tories ; Poor-Houses and Asylums ; Missionary enter- SUB-DIVISION OF OHOUPS. 27 i" 'I prize ; Promotion of religious and secular instruction amongst barbarous and less civilized communities. The iumane regulation of Prisons ; Public Baths, \' accination and other sanitary regulations ; Parks, play-grounds and pleasure-grounds. Upon the basis of the Rights of Property : — National wealth, and individual wealth ; Commercial regulations ; Money and national instruments of cur- rency ; Regulation of weights and measures ; Banks ; Joint-stock companies; Co-operative societies; Remune- ration of active wealth (i. e., interest on money) ; Floating wealth; Funded wealth; National capital (specie and national creda; ; National debts and public funds; the Labourer, .his rights, claims and duties; Property in land ; Relation of landlord and tenant ; Rent. Upon the basis of Expediency and Prudence : — National Policy ; National Armaments ; R'^servation of National wealth ; National class distinctions ; National Liberality, and National Economy ; The precious metals 3S a basis of National Currency ; Life and Fire Insurance, Under-writing ; Sick clubs and mutual benefit societies. To exemplify the sub-series and the sub-divisions into which each member of these groups may be conveniently separated, let us take one instance from each of the foregoing : Thus, from the first group of the primary series, the member ' Security of the Commonwealth ' may include as divisions and sub-divisions — National defence (1) Military Arrangements ; (a) Regular Anny ; Pay of soldiers ; Inducements to enlist ; Educational advantages ; Provision for reasonable recreation in barracks and camp; Encouragement of good conduct; Military .in m SUB-DIVISION OP GROUPS. Labour ; Temperance secured by moral and industrial' education ; Military Hospitals. (&) Militia and Volun- teers ; Importance of school drill ; Beneficial effects of dife^cipline and of military organization ; Important pur- poses other than military (may be) thereby sub-8\jrved ; Indirect educational advantage of well-ordered Militia or Volunteer service ; Advantages of compulsory and free service compared. (2) Naval Arrangements, (a/ The Royal Navy ; pay of sailors on men of war ; indus- trial and moral education, and arrangements for recrea- tion of sailors ; encouragement of good conduct ; &c., (6) Privateer Fleet ; national agreements with private shipowners in event of war. Supplementary fleet and Volunteer fleet. Occasional meetings of the ships, belonging to each fleet, for practice in manoeuvring, &c. ; advantages to sailors in merchant navy ; educa- tional opportunities afforded. (3) Coast defences ; ar- senals ; war material ; weapons, &c. (4) Colonial organization for military and naval purposes ; Alliances with other nations, &c. From the second group of the primary series .. the member 'National Education' includes: ... Religious education, secular and industrial education ; national^ parochial, and private schools ; colleges ; \ compulsory scholastic education ; public games and exhibitions ; agricultural and floral exhibitions; temperance and moral institutions ; exhibitions of art and of mechanical inventions; public libraries; musical instruction (vocal and instrumental) as a part of national education f theatres ; the drama ; public readings ; journalism ; great importance of journalism as an instrument of SUB-DIVISION OP GROUPS. m national education, also, as a means of conciliating a disaffected population by disseminating sound " vistruction. From the same group let us take also tho member * Guardianship of the National Honour ' . of which some of the sub-divisions are : — national intercourse with other nations ; national rights, responsibilities and duties ; conciliation, firmness and decision, towards strong nations; active support and assistance of the weak nation, against injustice and oppression; duty of upholding national rights ; unworthy fear of war incompatible with national honour; arbitration of other natir^s in questions involving national honour, madmissible ; International Law ; Treaties and Conven- tions. Rights, responsibilities and duties of the nation towards its own subjects ; recognition of the right of the nation to lawfully restrain and govern each individual of its sub- jects, necesi^ary to freedom ; claims of each individual upon the nation ; duty of the nation to provide the means for the subsistence and reasonable comfort of each in- dividual ; the dentitution of any one individual willing to work, a dishonour to the nation ; sufficient employ- ment for all should be provided by indirect means; false and sound views of national economy; just and equitable employment of national resources ; the uses of national wealtli ; the responsibilities and dangers of national wealth ; the deification of trade. From the third group of the primary series the mem- ber ' Missionary Enterprize' includes : — Missionary educa- tion of the ignorant as a national duty ; the question whether this should b" directly undertaken by the state ii I :30 SUB-DIVISION OF GROUPS. 1 wholly or partially, or left to private enterprize, stimula- ted and assisted by the state ; missionary education au- thorized by the state, must belong to sound science only, but, should include instruction in the improved methods of civilization, for example, in buildin^j, arranging and furnishing dwelling houses ; colonization of unsettled countries by emigration under national providence and care. Since the example from the fourth group is the last of those we purpcde to take for illustration in this place, we will endeavour to put some of the immediate rela- tions which belong to the subjects of the member select- ed for illustration, with more particularity before the reader. From the fourth group, subsection : — ' The rights and claims on the nation, and the national duties of the Labourer.' The first question is — what meaning is to be attached to the expression . . labourer ? Every one that works is, in a sense, a labourer. But work may be either intellec- tual or physical ; the work may be compulsory or free ; it may be undertaken unwillingly . . through necessity, willingly as a pleasure, as a recreation, out of a desire to be useful, as a physical or intellectual exercise. The workman may be a highly educated and intellectual man, or may be quite ignorant and possessed of only the minimum share of human intelligence. It 1j at once evident that the expression labourer, as commonly used .and understood, excludes most of these descriptions of work and workmen. A labourer may be defined as one of that class of THE NATION AND THE LABOURER. 31 individuals which is distinguished l>y liavinsr physical labour as the prip.iipal business of his terrestrial existence. The individual thus labours physically from necessity, and for the purpose of supplying the daily requirements of his life. Tlie class he belongs to is less highly educated than the mercantile and wealthy classes of the com- munity, and from deficiency of education is, as a class, incapable of intellectual labour of the higher description. In correctly appreciating this definition it is important to remember that the labouring class, as it now presents itself for consideration, although in a less intellectually •developed condition than other sections of the com- jnunity, has nevertheless progressed educationally, and. within the last fifty years especially, has done so with considerable rapidity. At tlie same time the intellctual developement of the other sections having also progressed, the relative diflference, although probably somewhat diminisiied, has not undergone any very considerable diminution. Let us now consider the question. .What rights has the labourer as against tlie individuals -collectively, belonging to the other Sections of the •community or nation ? A very little consideration •makes apparent that the answer to this question must be dependent upon, not only the intellectual relation of the labouring class to the other sections, but more parti- cularly upon the recognition or non-recognition of the liigher law by those other sections. Let us for the moment suppose the intellectual relation to be on the part of the labouring class, that of Imman intelligence almost wholly undeveloped by education, and on the j)art of tlie other ' sections an intelligence highly 32 THE NATION AND THE LABOURER. developed ; and let the supposition include non-recognition of the higher law. How, on such a supposition, would stand the rights of the labourer ? The right would then be the right of might; and, since merely physical strength is incapable of contending with or resisting successfully intellectual strength, the right would be with the more iiighly developed intelligence. The right of the labourer would be but little more than a right to live. The remuneration of his labour would be barely sufficient to provide the absolute necessities of his daily existence and to enable him to go tlirough his daily toiL If he complained, more work wouK be put upon him and exacted ; if he resisted, increased severity and hardship would be the result. Has not the world ere now exhibited a state of things not much unhke this f Not only of this or that particular nation, but of every quarter of the globe, and of every country — the histoviaiii tells ot a time wiien ilic condiii-j;; of ^'^'^ labourer has beert that of serfdom and slavery. But the higher law — the law of divine Justice — the law of Christian love and charity — intervenes and is re- cognized. The labourer is no longer the serf or slave, but the fellowman, less fortunate than his richer brother be- cause less favoured with the gifts and blessings of Him who giveth to each one as He sees good ; and requiring the guidance and assistance of his intellectual neighbours because without the advantages of education. What are now his rights f In proposing this question, another sug- gests itself: Does he himself recognize and accept the higher law? If he wish to have the benefits and advan- ages conferred by it, is it not reasonable that he should THE NATION AND THE LAHOURER. 33 also undertake the duties and responsibilities belonging to it? Is he trustful in those who have benefited him t Does he endeavour to fit himself for the privileges and duties of a higher condition? Is he unselfish and sympa- thizing towards those less fortunate than himself ? Does he with patience and forbearance endeavour to assist those who endeavour to assist him ? If he does so re- •cognize the higher law, and thus fit himself for a more intellectual condition in life, then his right will be to possess and enjoy the advantages belonging to such con- dition. But if, on the contrary, he does not recognize the higher law and says within himself, * that man is richer than I am; he is keeping my property from me ; I have as much right to it as he has ; all men are born equal : — let us combine to take this wealth away from the rich and divide it amongst us.' In such case the higher law would become abrogated, and the terrestrial law of man's natural existence would again come into full force — that terrestrial law of God, which gives to intellectual strength the dominion over the whole Creation of the natural .vorld. Let us now, assuming that the higher law is fully recognized and that, by endeavouii'jjr to qualify himself, the labourer Uas become entitled to the lull benefits of the higher la v- consider wiia^^^ modifications could be most ref iily made in the existing conditions under which the life of the labourer in the most civilized countries is now passed, which would enable him to take a larger share in the advantages and pleasures belonging to the intel- lectual existence. The conditions, broadly stated, which on a general survey of the circumstances, appear to bar 1 I I; 84 THE NATION AND TQS LABOURER. the way to any immediate improvement of more than a slight character, are these : For six days in the week the labourer's work has to be almost incessant. To ful- fil the requirements of his physical existence — to sleep and take his meals — besides his work, occupies almost the whole of his time. The seventh day is a day of rest; but it is a day to be especially devoted to the remem- brance of Him and of His benefits by whom it has been appointed, and to that rest, from work of all kinds, by which the completion of the great work of Creation is to- be commemorated. In remuneration for the six davs almost incessant labour, the wages received by the labourer barely suffice to defray his current expenses and to provide, perhaps, if he be very provident, a fund for old age, sickness, or other emergency. If the desired improvement consisted simply and solely in reducing the hours of labour, so as to give the labourer, let us say, a second day out of the seven for in- tellectual improvement, or the equivalent of this in a reduction of aboui; 2 hours daily, the alteration might be readily eiFected. But it is requisite for the labourer to get, at least, the full amount of wages, which he now receives for the longer period of work. If it be proposed to make the alteration by paying him the same amount in wages for the shorter time, an objection is very forci- bly stated by the employer of labour ; namely, that this, would be equivalent to paying a higher rate of wages, and would be either more than his, the employer's, pro- fits would afford, or else, would oblige him so to increase the price of his farm-produce, or his manufactured pro- THE NATION AND THE LABOURER. 36> duct, that he would be no longer able to meet his rival* in successful competition. This objection, so stated^ appears for the moment very formidable, if not fatal to the proposed alteration ; but we observe that the objec- tion rests on the assumption that a competition with- other produce or products must be sustained, in which competition, having the advantage in this respect, the opposing competitor would be on an equal footing in regard to the other circumstanci's. Is it certain that such assumption must be admitted, as necessi- tated by the conditions of the whole case? We opine that it is not. In the first place, the competitor or com- petitors, referred to, must be outside the nation, for, otherwise, the objection would not apply, because the supposition is that such an increase in the rate of wages would be general throughout the nation. But then, if the competition be with competitors outside the nation, and the alteration be one which it is to the interest of the nation to make, the question arises — whether the nation cannot yet make the alteration, and so sup- port its own manufacturer (or farmer) that the foreign competitor could stUl be advantageously met. Suppos- ing, for example, the nation in question to contain a considerably greater number of labourers than suffi- cient to supply the labour market at the longer time of work (and therefore lower rate of wages). It is evident that, since the superfluous number of labourers must live, and have no resources of their own,* their mainte- » We do not wish to complicate the arfrument, but, stricily speaking, if they had resources of their own, these would be a part of the common resources of the nation, and the conditions of the case, in respect to th& more general argument, would be essentially unaltered. \ 36 THE NATIDM AND THE LABOURER. iiunco must be in somo way 8up|)orto