THOUGHTS UPON GOVERNMENT LONDON : PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STIJEBT SQUARE AND 1'AKI.IAMENT STREET THOUGHTS UPON GOVERNMENT BY ARTHUR HELPS LONDON BELL AND DALDY YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN 1872 LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA DEDICATION. DEAR LORD DERBY, I dedicate this Work to you. We have long been friends, and in former days we were sometimes associates in work. I have, however, another motive, independently 01 friendship or of association in by-gone labours, for dedicating this Work to you. I do so mainly because I do not know of any states- man of the present day who will be more inclined to appreciate whatever truth and force there may be, in that chapter of the Work which sets forth the large and fre- quent opportunities for judicious action, in political affairs, which belong to the Improver, in contrast to the Reformer. I believe that you will thoroughly sympathize with my views on this subject; and that you will agree with me in thinking that, without ignoring the largest and deepest political questions, more of the social well-being of the people may be made to depend upon improvement, in vi DEDICATION. the matters which I have alluded to, than even in what are called great reforms. If this Work should find some favour with men like yourself, but not otherwise, I propose to give a Second Series of 'Thoughts upon Government,' which I have already prepared 'in part, and which Series will deal with the action of Government in such matters as Emigration, Education, Recreation, Sanitary Improvement, War, and the Preparation for War. Subsequently to this work going to press, it has been suggested to me, that possibly there may be some misconception in regard to what I have written about honours. It was written upon a general survey of the subject, extending over many years. I did not mean to contend, that honours had not often been most worthily conferred upon deserving men, in this and other countries ; but that there were many grievous faults, both of omission and commission ; and that the whole subject did not appear to me to have met with due consideration from modern governments. I remain, Very faithfully, yours, ARTHUR HELPS. LONDON : November 1871. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS I II. THE FITNESS OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT ..... 8 III. GOVERNMENT NOT LESS, BUT MORE WANTED AS CIVILIZATION ADVANCES. PATERNAL GO- VERNMENT . . . . . . -19 IV. LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION ... 35 V. THE RELATION BETWEEN THE POLITICAL AND PERMANENT OFFICE'RS OF STATE. . . 48 VI. LOCAL GOVERNMENT 51 VII. ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN TO THE SERVICE OK GOVERNMENT . . . . .61 VIII. THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS ... 83 IX. COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS, BOARDS, AND OTHER SIMILAR AIDS TO GOVERNMENT . . .96 Vlii CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE X. THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF GREAT BRITAIN . .109 XI. ORGANIZATION ' , 115 XII. ON FORESIGHT IN GOVERNMENT . . . 125 XIII. THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN . . -133 XIV. THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN (cont.) . . 142 XV. ON IMPROVEMENT, IN CONTRAST WITH REFORM . 152 XVI. THE WANT OF TIME FOR STATESMANSHIP . 161 XVII. GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS . . . .171 XVIII. ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT . . . .177 XIX. DIPLOMACY 188 XX. ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS . . .198 XXI. IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY OF A NATION CONSISTS ....... 212 APPENDIX 233 INDEX 237 THOUGHTS GOVERNMENT. I CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. THINK, that there are few studies, CHAP. which would conduce more to human > '. happiness, than a thorough consideration of Government of its duties, its powers, its pri- vileges, and especially of the limits which should be assigned to its interference. Much Functions of govern- more is dependent upon government than at ment. first sight appears. Its functions do not merely include peace and war, the maintenance of justice and the regulations of police; but they relate to material well-being of all kinds. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. CHAP. And, what is perhaps of even greater import- - ' ance, the advancement of Art, Science, and Literature depends, much more than is gene- rally imagined, upon the functions of govern- ment being well-defined, well-directed, and judiciously exercised. It is also to be observed, that that invalu- able part of the education of grown-up people, which is evoked by political action, should be adequately maintained, and, if possible, Aid to continually extended. Everybody should be govern- . . ment the made to aid in government. duty f 11 1*11 f . . all. It is universally admitted that we live in an age of rapid transition. New modes of thought have arisen amongst us ; new elements of political force have been developed ; new branches of science are playing a very signifi- Poiiticai cant part in human affairs. Take political economy. economy, lor instance a science so recent, that there are many persons who may almost remember its introduction ; that is, its in- troduction into England, for the great Italian writers already had considered the principal subjects of political economy, which were, for the most part, new to us. We .*. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. owe much to political economy ; but I do not CHAP. hesitate to say, that there has been a certain - presumptuousness attending its introduction that presumptuousness which belongs to everything that is young which requires to be noted, and made allowance for, when we endeavour to reconcile what may be well called the dictates of political economy, with the functions of civil government. I am now going to speak somewhat egotis- tically ; but what I shall say is not meant to be egotistical, but merely explanatory, with the view of bringing myself and my readers into closer contact, and conducing to our harmony and understanding. I sincerely Author's claims to think I have some especial claims to be heard be heard - upon questions relating to government. I entered the public service immediately after leaving the university ; I held, in succession, several offices, which ought to have given an observant man great opportunities of re- marking the conduct of business in various Departments. When I ceased to be actively employed in the public service, I was frequently still obliged to entertain grave B 2 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. questions relating to government being honoured, from time to time, by having such questions sent to me for consideration. I have since re-entered official life, and held an office which, from its nature, compels its holder to have some insight into the working of all the Offices under the Crown. I should be, therefore, a very inconclusive person, if I had not come to some definite ideas upon the general question of government. I have, however, one strong reason for dwelling on these circumstances, which affects myself. It is, that if, in the course of this work, I should speak sometimes authori- tatively, it is not to be attributed to any assumption of authority. It is often im- possible to give all the reasons for a con- Experi- elusion. One's experience does not always ence not always embody itself in the form of reasoning. A embodied in the form doctor cannot always tell you why he has of reason. come to certain conclusions about a patient's case. There are subtleties of observation which do not readily take a precise and logi- cal form ; but which, nevertheless, are well founded, and are often of extreme significance. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Then again, I have mentioned these circum- CHAP. stances, because, as I mean to be brief in the "- r ~ exposition of my views, I would ask my readers occasionally to give credit to my experience, and to believe that, in some cases, I have reasons which, for the sake of brevity, I do not put forward. Above all things, I am anxious to take my Readers readers into council with me. I do not sup- taken into i / 1 i \ council - pose that any man (certainly not this writer), can be absolutely right in the views that he brings forward. Nothing is more odious to me than dogmatism, in matters which admit of much discussion, and in which vast numbers of people are interested. I would even have my readers remember that I am an official man, and may have all the prejudices belong- ing to my calling. In this introductory chapter, I also think Conclu- sions it right to mention that, though many of the mostly apply to conclusions which I come to are of a general the British Govern- nature, and would apply to the government ment - of other nations, it is the Government of Great Britain, and her dependencies, which is mainly in my mind ; and, only in respect of it should INTROD UCTOR Y RE MA RKS. CHAP. I pretend to have the experience which would " ' justify me in writing, in detail, upon this diffi- cult subject. Moreover, whatever I shall say about go- vernment is to be considered as independent of the form of government. I do not go the length of Pope's saying For forms of Government let fools contest Whate'er is best administer'd is best ; Opinion for I rather partake of the opinion of of George in. about George III. (not altogether an unprejudiced the British Constitu- observer), that the British Constitution is the tion. ' best that has yet been devised by man. But I admit that, both in ancient and modern times, there have been other forms of govern- ment, which have fulfilled much of what I think admirable in a governing power. I merely wish my readers to remember, that this work is written by one who has lived under a constitutional monarchy ; has been satisfied with that form of government ; and has it chiefly in mind when he is discussing governmental questions. Having now, as I hope, put myself upon an INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, amicable footing with my readers, and espe- CHAP. cially begging them to consider, that I do not *- ' desire to impose upon them my views, but, Author's views sug- on the contrary, would urge them to regard gestive 1*3.1 lie r all that I say as suggestive rather than con- than coil - clusive. elusive, I will, at once, commence the treat- ment of the subject. CHAPTER II. THE FITNESS OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. ~T~ DO not think that it is too boastful to say, -*- that the British people, and our near rela- tions in America and the colonies, are the most British governable people on the face of the Earth. people easy to It may seem arrogant to enumerate our good govern. qualities in this respect, but I think it must be admitted by other nations, that the British are not given to ferocity ; that we are singu- larly averse to pushing any conclusion to its extreme ; that we are very conservative ; and that we abhor superlatives of any kind, in language, in conduct, and in controversy. I should hardly venture to say all these fine things of ourselves, if history did not amply confirm the statement. Consider our two great revolutions ; and it is in revolution, that the nature of a people is FITNESS FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. most tried. How dignified, for the most part, was our conduct in these crises ! They ex- hibit a certain magnanimity, of which every British British reader must be proud. Whether he in their revolu- is still an ardent sympathizer with Cavalier tions. or Roundhead ; whether he is a devoted partizan of James II. or of William III. ; he cannot but respect the other side, if he reads history in any spirit of fairness. Our great historical novelist, Sir Walter Scott, a man by no means free from the feelings of partizanship, nevertheless, being essentially a just man, always does ample justice to the other side ; and the feelings of his readers go with him. Nay, more : in rebellions, as well as in And even revolutions, the governable nature of the lions. British people has not been less manifested. Anyone, who will carefully investigate the rebellions of Wat Tyler and Jack Cade, will, I believe, be constrained to come to a similar conclusion to that which has impressed itself on my mind, in reference to these rebellions. In short, we are the most cautious people in British caution. the world ; if we are to be judged by the limits which we place to political action of all kinds. 10 THE FITNESS OF THE BRITISH The foregoing assertion might be illustrated in several ways. I prefer adopting one illus- tration, and endeavouring to work that out thoroughly ; not presuming to say that it is the best, but it is the one that has always struck me the most. Habit of It is the mode in which everything is bymajo- ultimately settled in Great Britain by the rity. majority. In the Apology which Plato gives us, as the speech of Socrates before his judges, there is this remarkable passage : ' Do not be vexed with me for telling you the Plato's truth. There lives not the man who can Apology escape destruction if, as a born antagonist, he opposes you, or any other popular major- ity, and endeavours to prevent many unjust and unconstitutional things being done in the State ; but it is necessary that he who will fight this battle for what is righteous, and yet, even for never so short a time, keep himself unharmed, must maintain the privacy of an individual, and take no part in public affairs.' Now, in Great Britain there is no such fear for anyone. A man may be in a minority PEOPLE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. II of one ; and amongst so independent, and so CHAP. original a people as the British, there are many ' - -* persons who rather like to find themselves in a minority of one. That one may be in some Minorities not op- danger of ridicule, but not in any peril from pressed in Great persecution. Without, however, taking this Britain. extreme case, it may be observed how excel- lent is the conduct of both majority and mi- nority when once the question in dispute has been put to the vote. It is not by any means taken for granted, by either majority or minority, that the question is finally settled. But it is settled for a time. Each party, as a general rule, behaves handsomely to the other. The majority is seldom offensively Conduct . . triumphant : the minority offensively recal- ties and minorities. citrant. Sometimes, of course, when party- spirit runs very high as regards the matter at issue, there are a few noisy persons who make a demonstration. But the wiser men, on each side, gather up their strength for future contests ; or if the matter is one which has been carefully canvassed and long de- bated, the beaten party makes up its mind to accept the new condition of things ; and re- 12 THE FITNESS OF THE BRITISH Goethe's opinion on minor- ities. Majority often a- dopt opi- nion of minority. Free- trade. solves to see how it can best adapt itself to them, and work out its own ulterior views under them. Goethe says, that all greatness and good sense are to be found in the minority. 1 An Englishman has no fanciful notion of this kind : he thinks that wisdom always rests with that side which he happens to take. Notwithstanding that, he neither despises minorities, nor worships majorities. The history of any great question in po- litics shows, that what may have been at one time the opinion of a minority, often suc- ceeds in establishing itself ultimately as the opinion of the majority. Take the question of Free-trade, for instance. Experience seems to have proved, that the opinion in favour of Free-trade is a sound one has, indeed, with us in England, proceeded from roe unb efcfceite," fagte er, ,,erijrirt in bet 2Jiinoritat. (53 fyat SKinifter gegeben, bie S3olf imb Jtonig $egen jlcfy fatten, unb bie ifyre grofjen $(ane einfam burd)* fufyrten. @8 ijl nie baran ju benfen, baf bie 33ernunft popular rcerbe. 8eibenfd?aften unb efitfyle mogen popular rcerben, after bie 93ernunft nrirb immer nitr int 33eft einjelner 9SorjugIidjer fein." efpradje mit oet^e, t>on rfermann. 12 Februar 1829. PEOPLE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. 13 an opinion to a conclusion. But this opinion CHAP. has gone through a series of stages of de- ' r ' velopment. It was at first held by two or Deveiop- three thoughtful writers, who, perhaps, were opinions. the only persons in the kingdom who tho- roughly believed in it, and were willing to accept all its consequences. The opinion very gradually grew into favour, until it came to be held by an overwhelming ma- jority. It is clear that Goethe's maxim would only have applied to this question during a certain period ; and, therefore, that the maxim is entirely conditional. The British, I maintain, are very little in- fluenced, one way or the other, by the number of persons happening to hold any particular political opinion. But we believe, that questions must be settled somehow ; and that a most reasonable way of settling them is, to get them put to the vote, and to willing- ness to accept the decision of the majority. We adopt de- cisions. respect that decision ; not, perhaps, intel- lectually, but physically ; if I may so express it. And that there should be such a respect for the decision of the majority, is an im- 14 THE FITNESS OF THE BRITISH mense advantage to the cause of order, in any State. That almost blasphemous saying, ' The voice of the people is the voice of God,' is not one which would find favour with our fellow-countrymen. But, for all that, the Voice of voice of the people, when it is made intel- the people ,. . , . to be re- ligible, is greatly respected by us, and is spected. . . looked at not in a religious, but in a busi- ness-like kind of way as a thing which must be observed, and proved ; and, in some measure, attended to. Aids to The greatest aids to good government vernment are those general principles of thought and action which belong to the character of the people ; and which always can be appealed to, and relied upon, even in times of danger and of difficulty. I do not believe that I have given . too favourable a representation of our political modes of procedure ; and, if my description is a just one, other nations must admit that they cannot appeal to their histories for examples of a similar nature. With us, the beaten party does not hasten to ' descend PEOPLE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. 15 into the streets ; ' does not suppose, for a CHAP. moment, that a matter which has been de- ' - ' cided by argument, or even by a nice adjust- ment of moral and political forces, is to be varied or recalled by brute force. I should not so much insist upon our political history, to prove how well majorities and minorities conduct themselves, if I could not confirm my assertions, in this respect, by our conduct in simpler matters than those of politics. The same obedience to a majority, General . obedience and respect for the right of a minority, may to the ma- be seen in the decision of matters which are not political ; and even in our recreations. A dispute arises ; the question is put to the vote ; and it is wonderful, and I may say delightful, to observe what thorough ac- quiescence, or at least obedience, is obtained, when once the question has been thus de- cided. This may seem inconsistent with what has been said before, touching the conduct of the British in times of revolution, for, at any rate, during those periods they have not been content to abide by any mere vote, but 1 6 THE FITNESS OF THE BRITISH CHAP, have had recourse to arms. All that can - be said in reply is, that there are certain national questions which cannot be decided by the head or the tongue, but which must be left Force ne- to the arbitrament of physical force. When, cessary at .... times. however, that dire state ot things has arisen, the conduct of the British nation has been, as stated before, as little repugnant to justice and humanity as could possibly be expected. One other important circumstance, which renders the British more amenable to govern- British not ment than almost any other people, is, that addicted to envy, they are singularly devoid of envy. Con- sidering the immense display of wealth in Great Britain, there is very little disposition manifested, on the part of those who are entirely without wealth, meanly to envy the possessors of it. There is, notwithstanding some appearances to the contrary, less real evidence of the prospect of a revolution, for social purposes, in Great Britain than else- where. Constant Another point, worthy of observation, as in their attach- regards our fitness for good government, is, ments. that we are a very constant people very PEOPLE FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. 17 constant in our attachment to our political CHAP. ii. friends and favourites. We are hasty in ' -" censure : we pounce* down very sharply And though upon any real or supposed errors of our sharply critical, political leaders ; but, there is scarcely any mistake that they may make, anything that they can do, short of committing an act of deliberate baseness, which is not invari- ably condoned by the good nature of the public, which those leaders guide and govern. We are not the people to expect perfection in anybody ; and our grave and humourous, tolerant . .in the and somewhat unprecise nature, makes us main. very tolerant of short-comings. Lastly, and this is an element of fitness for being well governed, which is of a surprising and peculiar value, we have a horror of pres- Averse to TT , . extremes. sing any doctrine to its extreme. We abjure pure science in common life and in politics, and are never fascinated by the desire for completeness. Our proceedings, political and otherwise, are anything but neat, with the neatness of a doctrinaire, but are often very ragged at the edges ; and we really like this raggedness. Hence, we are a people c 1 8 FITNESS FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. CHAP, delighting in compromises, and much skilled ' ' ' in framing these apparently incomplete and unscientific arrangements, which, however, often embody the soundest practical wisdom. I think I have given several valid reasons Fitness for for my belief in the fitness of the British good go- t f i 11-1 vernment. people for good government ; which reasons, if true, are a great encouragement to states- men to work with ardour, and without tre- pidation, for a people eminently constant, unenvious, practical, thoughtful, and averse to extremes. 1 M. Guizot confirms the views expressed in the text, and his testimony, being that of a foreigner, is most valuable : ' En Angleterre aussi, chaque systeme, chaque principe a eu son temps de force et de succes; jamais aussi completement, aussi exclusivement que sur le con- tinent: le vainqueur a toujours e'te' contraint de tole'rer la presence de ses rivaux, et de leur faire a chacun sa part.' Guizot, Civilisation en Europe. ~~ i ' would have been his under a simpler form of life and manners, to this absorbing creature called government. If he wishes Art or Advance- Science to advance, not being an artist or a ment of Art and scientific man, he will find that the only mode, Science. or, at least, the chief mode of action that he can adopt, is through government. Again ; advancing civilization has not ren- dered it easier for the individual to deal with Foreign the foreign or colonial matters which concern and colo- . 11. niai affairs, him. Throughout the world, its progress has only tended to complicate these matters, and rendered it more necessary that those bodies, called governments, should give ever-increas- ing attention to those interests which they alone can deal with. Moreover, the holding of property has not become more simple in its nature as Tenure of civilization has advanced, and has not given property more com- government less to do, but more to do, plicated. in order to protect the various interests to ' which it should give fair play. Property, as great jurists declare, is but a creature of the State : it must not be allowed to become WANTED AS CIVILIZA TION AD VA XCES. 2 3 a noxious creature to the general community. CHAP. in. I am persuaded, that any man, who will give ' ' a large circumspection to this branch of the subject, will be ready to admit that advancing civilization has provided, and will continue to provide, more work to be done by the govern- ment of each nation. I am well aware that the foregoing remarks may be held to indicate the advantage of a form of government, which is not approved of Paternal govern- by many persons, who, moreover, think we ment - have outgrown it ; but which, on the contrary, I hold to be one that we must advance into, rather than recede from. This form of govern- ment is called ' paternal government.' I freely admit that this phrase has an evil Has an ill name. sound with many people, even of those who have given much thought to the general sub- ject of government. They will persist in connecting the idea of unreasonable interfer- ence, with that of a paternal government. It is rather hard upon us fathers of families, that this view should be taken, but I do admit that we are sometimes apt to forget our children have come to, what are called ' years 24 GOVERNMENT NOT LESS, BUT MORE CHAP, of discretion ;' and are wont to impose upon ' ' them, somewhat unreasonably, our own opi- nions, our own objects, our own desires. This, of course, results from our great affection for them, and our anxiety to enrich them with our own experience, forgetting that experience is a thing which cannot be bought with other people's money, but must be paid for in the coin of individual suffering. Now the State is in no great danger of going wrong from an excess of affection, on the part of those who govern, for those who are governed ; and, instead of repudiating a Patemai paternal government, I believe it would be ment good our best policy to claim it with all the force policy. we have. We are now brought face to face with the nice and difficult question, of what is justly ' paternal ' action in government, and what is unreasonable interference. I admit that the True n- moment this paternal government does any- paternal thing for any individual which he can do as govern- ment we Jl f or himself, it is needlessly interfering, and tends to dwarf his powers of action, and of self-improvement. But if, on the other hand, WANTED AS CIVILIZATION ADVANCES. 25 it neglects to do that which cannot be done CHAP. in. by its children, as individuals, it inevitably "- cripples the well-being and improvement of the individual, and so far tends to render him a stunted creature. It was a very droll idea of that great wit, Aristophanes, to represent, in one of his plays, Aristo- , r i i r phanes: a good peaceful citizen who, m time ot war, his peace- ful citizen. wished to make a separate peace with the enemy. This excellent person had no desire for conquest, and could not see why he should not come to terms with the enemy, on his own account. We smile at this comical attempt, on the part of an insignificant individual, at reconciliation with a huge adverse Power. Perhaps, however, we do not see, that an at- tempt similar to that which this good citizen was intent to make, for self-preservation from the horrors and injuries of war, would have to be made by each of us who should endeavour, without the aid of a paternal government, to relieve himself and his family from the horrors and injuries of bad drainage, foul air, or adul- terated food. It does not enter into the power of any individual to deal, as an individual, 26 GOVERNMENT NOT LESS, BUT MORE with those potent associations called gas companies, or water companies, or even with individual tradesmen, who, being in a state of prosperous warfare with the community, can- not afford to enter into special terms of peace with a private individual. Need of I knew a person who, in the innocence and govern- ment in- confidence of youth, somewhat presumptously, terferenee illustrated, took upon himself the endeavour to abate a great public nuisance ; namely, an open ditch which had, originally, been nothing more than a well-meaning outlet for draining some fields, but which, in the progress of building, had be- come a sewer of intense malignity. This enter- prising young reformer soon found that no- thing less than the power of the State could abate this nuisance. One person was willing, but not able to do any good in the matter ; another was able, but not willing ; a third had only a life, or leasehold interest, and had, therefore, no hearty care for improvement. Occasionally, the property, through which this foul sewer ran, belonged to some corporation which was a most difficult body to move. In some instances the owner of the property was WANTED AS CIVILIZA TION AD VANCES. 2 7 not to be discovered, or when discovered was CHAP r i i IIL found to be incompetent to manage his own ' " affairs. In other cases the ownership was the subject of legal controversy. Altogether, it was soon manifest that nothing could be done in the matter without State interference. Now here is an instance in which advancing civilization, carrying with it a rapid increase of population in particular localities, caused an evil, for which the remedy was only to be interfer- - , . , f ence just tound in a just and necessary interference on and neces- the part of government, which interference was not less needed because it may be called ' paternal.' There have been many short and trenchant maxims, the currency of which has been very mischievous to mankind. I doubt whether any one of these maxims has been so mis- chievous as the saying Caveat emptor. If it caveat 11 i- i T i emptor & does mean, as generally applied, ' Let the very mis- . chievoue community have nothing to do with the wares saying. which the purchaser wishes to buy,' it is a most cruel maxim. And if it only means, ' Let the buyer beware/ it is almost equally cruel, for his wariness will only make him un- 28 GOVERNMENT NOT LESS, BUT MORE] CHAP, comfortable, seeing that it cannot assist him in. 1 ' in getting the goods that he wants for the money that he is prepared to give. To do this he must call in the aid of the community, as expressed and directed by government ; and he is, in my judgment, a very foolish person if he hesitates to do so from the fear of putting himself in the hands of a paternal government. Ground- There are many people who are frightened less fear ofa^w- by the word Bureaucracy. They think, reaticracy. perhaps, that there are a number of official men anxious to get into their hands the direc- tion and management of the business of the world. But these frightened persons do not make sufficient allowance for that indolence of nature, which besets official men as well as the rest of mankind. In this country, how- ever it may be in other countries, there is not any restless body of official men desirous of bringing great accretions of work upon their respective Offices. NO dan- In considering this most important subject ger of it . ... in Eng- of governmental interference, it is always to land. be recollected, that the common sense of the WANTED A S CIV I LIZ A TION AD VANCES. 2 9 community will be for ever employed in re- CHAP. straining this interference within due limits. "~ There will also be two great causes which Forces will tend to make these limits within, rather to limit it 7 than beyond what is requisite. In the first place; there will be the individual interest, often most powerful in Parliament, which is injured, or menaced by any interference with its action on behalf of the public good. In the second place, there is the immense desire in every human breast to be allowed to act as freely as possible ; which desire often militates against, and absolutely conquers the most manifest considerations of self- interest and welfare. People do not like to be controlled, or to lose any freedom of action, even for what they know to be for Danger i i A f 11 from too their good. Amongst a tree people, the little in- tcrfcrencc danger always is of too little governmental interference, rather than of too much. Then there comes in that powerful agent, Ridicule, ridicule, which will always be a secure friend safeguard. on the side of those who are fearful of too much governmental interference. Ridicule will not allow governmental interference in small 3O GOVERNMENT NOT LESS, BUT MORE CHAP, matters, even though it might be justified by ' ' very good reasons derived from general principles. I will give an instance of what I mean. The adulteration of drugs is a very serious evil. It has before now proceeded to such an extent, that if prescriptions had been made Aduitera- up from unadulterated drugs they would tion of drugs. have been perniciously strong ; whereas, on the other hand, if the drugs were adul- terated more than usual, the prescription became ineffectually weak. Now most people would admit that this was a very serious evil, and one which demanded legislation, o and subsequent supervision, on the part of government. The word ' paternal ' is always dropped in such cases, though, in reality, the action in question is that of a paternal government, which, in hearty concert with the public, has thrown the maxim Caveat emptor to the winds. Here is an admitted Sale of case for governmental interference, as also is poisons. the sale of known poisons. Now take another instance wherein, upon general principles, government might perhaps WANTED AS CIVILIZATION ADVANCES. 31 be called upon to interfere ; but, respecting CHAP. which, no person of common sense would ' - " probably desire its interference. There are certain dyes which, when introduced into textures that are to come next to the skin, are decidedly injurious to health. But no Certain cases unfit one would wish government to interfere for inter- ference. in this matter, for, in the first place, De minimis non curat lex might fairly be ap- plied. And then, which is much more to the point, the buyer has it in his power, not only to beware, but to act according to his wari- ness, and not to purchase these dyed goods. He is in a far different position from the man who can only get water from a certain water company, and who cannot, however wary he may be, insure, without government aid, pure water for himself, and for his family. Pursuing this illustration still further, for it Non-in- terference may be made a very fruitful one, I would say on behalf of the pur- that a government need not interfere on be- chaser. half of the purchaser. And so far my readers, I think, will go with me. But the question becomes a very different one, if it is found that, in the preparation and application of 32 GOVERNMENT NOT LESS, BUT MORE CHAP, some dye, great injury is done to the work- ' ' people, and especially to the children who are employed in making and applying certain highly noxious substances. Here paternal government has, according to my view of it, a right to step in, and to say to the wearers of certain ornamental appendages : ' You may wear these noxious and absurd things if you interfer- like ', but you shall not make use of our children ence on behalf of to manufacture them.' One of the first duties work- people, of a State is to have a regard to the health of its people, and especially of those who are least able to protect themselves, namely, its young children ; and it may decidedly decline to allow them to have any dealings with that detestable substance known as ' Scheele's Green.' If this interference is ad- mitted, it certainly may be classified under the head of paternal interference. Paternal Paternal government prevents revolution. govern- mentpre- What socialists are always aiming at is a vents revo- lution, paternal government under which they are to be the spoilt children. But a government which should give considerable attention to the wants, and even to the pleasures, of the WANTED AS CIVILIZATION ADVANCES. 33 governed, would satisfy the reasonable part of CHAP. the population, and make them very averse ' ' to revolution. When government limits itself, as regards the executive, to the main- tenance of order, and to the administration of justice, it is not likely to have a very strong hold on the affections of the people. There are persons who theoretically declare, that they desire the least possible of governmental inter- ference in all their affairs ; but when any cala- interfer- ence de- mity occurs, or when any great evil, socially manded when any speaking, comes to the surface and is much great calamity talked about, these same persons will be found c curi - joining in the cry that government ought to have foreseen this ought to look to that ; and in short, all of a sudden (often when it is too late), they are willing greatly to extend their views with regard to the proper functions of government I mean the conclusion, from all that I have said in this chapter, to be, that paternal Paternal govern - government, as it is called, should be wel- menttobe welcomed. corned rather than abjured ; and that we may be certain, in a free country, that limits will be put to its action, falling short of rather D 34 PATERNAL GOVERNMENT. CHAP, than exceeding those which are required for ' ' the welfare of the people governed. Those who are afraid lest we should have too much paternal government, should re- member that, in default of paternal govern- Fratemai ment, we may have fraternal government ; a govern- form of rule which has always partaken largely of the relations which subsisted between those two brothers, of whom we have the earliest record. I CHAPTER IV. LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. SUPPOSE it will be admitted by every- CHAP. IV. one, who has considered the subject of <- government, that these two functions legis- Difference between lation and administration are totally dif- legislation and admi- ferent in character. And, moreover, it must nistration. be observed that the same body which will perform one of these important functions well, is seldom or never so constituted as to fulfil the other equally well. Then there arises the difficult question, of how far a legislative body should interfere Limits oi interfer- with the administrative body, to insure that ence. the legislation it has enacted should be tho- roughly carried out. I submit that this inter- ference should be the least possible. It is to be carefully remembered, that there are various sources of temptation attaching to a legislative D 2 36 'LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. CHAP, body, prompting them to interfere unreason- r ~ ' ably with administration. There is, first, the natural suspicion pervading the whole body, Pariia- t h at ff j ts legislation does not answer, it is ments sometimes b ecause its yoke-fellow the administrative impede * body has not acted in full accordance with the letter, or the spirit, of the enactments in question. Then there is the vanity, or the diseased activity, or the desire for prominence, which induces members of the legislature to busy themselves needlessly in interference with the executive. The action caused by these motives should be steadily resisted, otherwise great mischief may ensue, and indeed does take place at the present time. Evils of Needless returns are called for, occupying the much question- time and attention of public Offices which ing in Pariia- ought to be otherwise employed ; needless ment. questions are asked in Parliament which sadly waste the time of the Ministers who have to answer them ; and, what is a far more serious evil, the public Offices are hampered, worried, and weakened by a sense of their double re- sponsibility : to their chiefs and their country on the one hand, and to Parliament on the other. LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION, 37 Now a marked evil of the present Age, as C HAP. of all Ages in which criticism has risen to a ' ' great height, is, that everyone has to think, Effect of excessive not only what he shall do, but how his deed criticism. shall appear to be done how, in short, it will stand the test of a never-sleeping criticism. At first sight this may seem to be a good thing, but in reality it is not so. In the first place there is not time enough in the world for it. ' Wretched would be the pair above all names of wetchedness/ as Dr. John- Saying of Dr. John- SOn well says, 'who should be doomed to son. adjust by reason every morning all the minute detail of a domestic day.' And something of the same kind applies to all forms of social life. There is not time, and certainly there is not energy enough, for those persons who have to decide, to direct, and to govern, also to have to explain their reasons and motives for all that they do. We see this in the case of great commanders ; and a similar rule holds good almost universally. Ask the men who have been most successful in what are called private affairs the captains of industry whether they would have been equally sue- 38 LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. CHAP, cessful had they been obliged to work under iv. v ' the harrow of perpetual supervision and cri- ticism. One of the delusions of the world has been the notion that there is any wonder- ful dissimilarity in the conduct of public and of private affairs, whereas, the general laws, which should regulate all human transactions, are the same in both cases. One of the most Trust ne- important of these laws is, that you should give cessary to vigorous a large amount of trust and confidence to your action. agents, if you wish that they should act for you with any of the vigour, promptitude, and com- parative fearlessness with which you would act for yourself. Necessity It is inevitably requisite, when treating the second subject of this chapter, to consider the neces- Chamber. sity for a second Chamber of legislature. It is a question, which deeply agitates the minds of men in the present day, and it cannot be held to be other than one of vital importance. In order, however, to consider it carefully, some general remarks may well be intro- duced. Time and occasion are the two important circumstances in human life, as regards which LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 39 the most mistaken estimates are made. And the error is universal. It besets even the most studious and philosophic men. This may notably be seen in the present day, when Common errors re- many most distinguished men have laid down gating projects for literature and philosophy, to be accomplished by them, in their own lifetime, which would require several men, and many lifetimes to complete ; and, generally speak- ing, if any person, who has passed the me- ridian of life, looks back upon his career, he will probably own, that his greatest errors have arisen from his not having made sufficient allowance for the length of time, which his various schemes required for their fulfilment. Now, is this an error which is less likely to occur in a popular assembly, than with indi- vidual men ? The same statements hold good as regards and cca- occasion. Of that, too, a popular assembly is by no means more likely, than an indivi- dual, to form a just estimate. On the con- trary, the danger which always threatens, and often prevents calmness of thought, and justness of action, when these have to be sion. 40 LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. CHAP, exercised in the presence of a numerous body, ~- ' is likely to be very prominent and very fatal in matters which involve a just estimate both of time and occasion. These general reflections cannot be held to be out of place, when we are considering the subject of legislation and administration. Men do not cease to have the common faults of mankind because they are elected to serve in a popular assembly. And this is true wherever man is placed he having, always, great difficulty, as Goethe has re- marked, ' in jumping off from his own shadow.' Defects Now, let us apply the foregoing remarks to likely to prevail in the legislation that is likely to occur when there a single Chamber, is only one, and that one an elected legis- lative assembly. Such a body will naturally partake of whatever impulses are predomi- nant with the people. The immediate ques- tions of the day will naturally pre-occupy the minds of its members ; and those questions will assume a disproportionate value in their eyes. They will be eager to attempt what they have not time to accomplish, and will be LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 41 prone to exaggerate the urgency of the occasion. Occasion is not opportunity. Occasion is not op- Let us apply this maxim to the great subject of peace and war. There may fre- quently be a Casus belli which affords any- thing but a good opportunity of going to war. In dealing with such a case, the tendency of a popular assembly, or, indeed, of any single assembly, is, to give too much weight to the occasion. And therein appears the great advantage of having a second legislative assembly. It would be a very coarse way of putting it to say, that it enables us to make an appeal from ' Philip drunk to Philip sober.' But certainly there is something in this common phrase which is justified by the universal experience of mankind. The man who has not found out, that in serious matters it is well to address himself to the con- sideration of them, in various moods of mind, is either very inexperienced, or very un- observant. There is not anything which, if a prudent man had to choose the Country in which he 42 LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. would reside and cast his fortunes, would more justly influence his choice than the fact whether a country possessed, or not, a second Chamber. Men can accommo- date themselves to nearly any set of cir- cumstances, and continue to carry on life tolerably, except under sudden changes of legislation which affect their dearest interests. It is taking an extreme case, but not an un- fruitful one for observation, to notice what tion of was done by the Commune in the late dis- the French . Commune, turbances in France. In two or three weeks they passed laws affecting religion, property, freedom of speech, and freedom of action of every kind. To show to what an extent this wild and tumultuous legislation was carried, there came a telegram one day to this country, which stated, for the satisfaction of mankind, 'that no material alteration in the laws of France had been made by the Com- mune on the preceding day.' As I have said before, the conduct of the Commune is an extreme case ; but something distantly similar to it may be observed throughout history in the conduct of every government that has LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 43 relied upon a single legislative assembly CHAP. King's Council, Council of Ten, Council of ' ' Three Hundred, or whatever name and form the one ruling body may have assumed. As bearing upon the necessity of a second De TOC- queville on Chamber, the following words of De Tocque- a second Chamber. ville are closely to the point : ' Je pense done qu'il faut toujours placer quelque part un pouvoir social superieur a tous les autres ; mais je crois la liberte en peril lorsque ce pouvoir ne trouve devant lui aucun obstacle qui puisse retenir sa marche, et lui donner le temps de se moderer lui-meme.' Now, I would not have it supposed, from anything that has been said, that I am in the least degree pledged to maintain, that any second Chamber, that may exist in any part of the world, is the best fitted for correcting the evils, which I believe would, inevitably, be caused by the existence of one legislative body only, in any given State. It would be presumptuous to attempt to declare, what would be the best form of constitution for this second Chamber in any foreign country. I think, however, that it would be pusillani- 44 LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. CHAP, mous not to attempt to say what, in my * * judgment, might be the best constitution for such a Chamber in our own. House of I confess, that I think that it is impossible, Lords. . or, at least, that it would be very unwise, if it were possible, to maintain the House of Lords as a second Chamber for Great Bri- tain, without considerable modifications in the constitution of that legislative body. As it is at present constituted, it does not do the work, or even provide the restraint, which a second Chamber should do, and should pro- vide. It is more completely the victim of popular impulses than even the Lower House ; defects, which, indeed, can hardly be called a victim at all, as, for the most part, it fairly reflects and shares those popular impulses. But, that body may justly be called a victim to popular impulses, which eventually is always sure to sacrifice, even its convictions, to the predominating influence of the other house ; whereas, looking across the Atlantic for an ex- ample, we have often seen that the American Senate has most wisely and patriotically re- sisted popular impulses, especially in the con- duct of foreign affairs. LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 45 It is always a most difficult thing for a re- CHAP. former, who perceives that a reform is wanted "~ in a great institution, to lay down the exact Difficulties of reform. lines upon which his reform should be con- structed. He perceives, as I do at this moment, that a reform is needed in the par- ticular matter of which he is treating ; but he knows, that so soon as he submits some par- ticular suggestions for that reform in question, he abandons the abstract for the concrete, and often is liable to seem to be answered upon the general question, because he himself has not been able to satisfy the world as to the wisdom or prudence of the particular sug- gestions he offers. There are four changes which I venture Reforms suggested tO propose I to increase its i st. That there should be life-peerages strength. Life peer- granted by the Crown. a g es - 2ndly. That certain offices, when held for a certain term of years, should entitle the Special peerages. man who has held them to a seat in the House of Lords. 3rdly. That no hereditary peer should be able to take his seat in the House of Lords, 46 LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION, CHAP, until he had reached the age of thirty ; or had IV. ' sat in the House of Commons for five years. Quaiifica- 4thly. That an hereditary noble should not tions of hereditary be obliged to take his seat in the House of peers. Peers, until ten years had elapsed from his succession to the peerage. I do not pretend to say, that these are the wisest methods for procuring an efficient second Chamber, and also for strengthening the first Chamber. I am not enamoured of any of them ; but they are those which have occurred to me as having some feasibi- lity in them. All that I am convinced of is, that if the government of this country is to proceed in the rational and harmonious manner, in which it has hitherto proceeded ; gathering towards it all those influences, all that knowledge, and all that experience, which are so rife in a nation of free men ; a reform Reform in of the House of Lords must be instituted, the House in , of Lords, which shall tend to attract and to combine these great qualifications for central govern- ment In this way, or in some other way, adopt- ing similar principles, we shall be able to LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 47 make due use of the men amongst us who CHAP. IV. have received most culture, and have profited ' ' most from their experience. I think, moreover and this with me is a most potent thought that we should, by some of the means I have indicated above, be able to obtain the immense advantage of bringing into our legislature, men of special acquirements, and of special knowledge. We should also Colonists 111 -1 /- in Parlia - be able to provide a place in our legislature for ment. the most distinguished citizens in our colonies ; and, in fine, I believe that we should thus attract to a legitimate centre, the ruling minds which are scattered throughout our vast dominions. At present there is always the danger of our legislation becoming local (or, as a satirist might say, parochial) of our dominion over this multitude of mixed races, whom we very loyally and kindly seek to govern with insufficient information, being provincial and vice-regal, instead of im- perial and, in short, of our being a kingdom with semi-subject realms and loosely-held colonies, instead of a united empire. CHAPTER V. Political and per- manent officers. The per- manent official. THE RELATION BETWEEN THE POLITICAL AND PERMANENT OFFICERS OF STATE. A KINDRED subject to legislation and J-^- administration, is that of the relative position and conduct of the principal legisla- tive and administrative functionaries. It is an interesting point connected with govern- ment, to consider how permanent officers, and transitory political officers of a higher grade, should act together. It might natu- rally be expected, that this conjoint action would be somewhat difficult The permanent officer a permanent under-secretary, for instance is generally chosen with great care. He is often a person who is distinguished for general knowledge and ability. And then, he is likely to have an amount of special knowledge which it would take many years of official drudgery POLITICAL AND PERMANENT OFFICERS. 49 for the political chief to attain. In fact, to CHAP. v. use a common phrase, he is the master of * ' the situation ; and he may be inclined to The po - . litical make an ungenerous use of his advantages, chiefs. On the other hand, a political chief, con- scious that all power really rests with him, that he has to undertake the defence of the Department in Parliament, and that he may be misled or overpowered by the special knowledge of the permanent func- tionary, would naturally, if he were a small- Their diffi- 1-1 11 culties, minded man, be a little tempted to be captious and over-bearing. Moreover, he is tempted to think, that unless he makes many comments and objections to the proposals of the per- manent officer, he may be supposed not to understand the business at all. In short, there are temptations on both sides to in- judicious conduct. But whether, to use a Their word which is a great favourite with the relations. French people, there is so little that is sinister in the nature of the public men of this country, or whether it is, that men holding office be- come almost immediately attached to their Department, and identified with its interests, E 50 POLITICAL AND PERMANENT OFFICERS. CHAP, the practical result is, that these high per- "^ ' manent officers, and these still higher political personages, as a rule, get on very well to- gether. I have uniformly found, that these two classes of official men speak well of one Mostly another ; become attached to one another ; friends. and, in short, generally end by becoming sincere friends. There is not, indeed, a better basis for lasting friendship, than that which is elicited, among public men, by work- ing together for the same purpose namely, the public good. I have thought it right to allude to this subject, because, though the apparent dif- ficulties are got over in the smoothest way in the Government of Great Britain, the matter is one which should be carefully looked to, and considered in other governments, where the political difficulties are much greater, as the political world is divided very harshly into fiercely-contending parties. CHAPTER VI. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. LOCAL GOVERNMENT, by which is meant the government exercised by local authorities, in any particular locality, is a good measure of the freedom and indepen- dence of the individuals composing a State. Many of its advantages are obvious such, for instance, as the use to be made of special local knowledge ; which kind of knowledge can hardly ever be mastered by a central authority. But there are also great indirect advan- tages attendant upon any system of political government, in which local government has a large sphere of action. In the first place, it compels men who would not otherwise be versed in the func- tions of government, to learn and exercise the art of governing. Again, it furnishes employ- ment for those busy, and somewhat restless, Advan- tages of local go- vernment. It forms adni'nis- trators. E Z 52 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. CHAP, persons, who, if they do not find something ' ' to occupy their talents in local affairs, are apt to become agitators in Imperial affairs and Occupies that too, with knowledge very dispropor- restless . . spirits. tionate to their energy. Moreover, it tends to bring men of different classes together in the conduct of business ; and there is hardly any way by which men can become better Brings acquainted, and more readily learn the re- different classes spectivc worth of each other, than by being- together. thus associated. Again and this is a point of very great importance it tends to make men tolerant in their judgments as to the conduct of Imperial affairs. Let a man's sphere of governing be ever so limited, he learns to appreciate some Teaches of the difficulties of government in general. the diffi- culties of He finds how hard a thing it is to make men govern- ment o f one mind, and to get real business of any kind carried forward, when there is great freedom of discussion and of action. Also, he becomes cognizant of some of those mat- ters connected with government, which only experience can teach. For example, , he learns the value, and somewhat even of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 53 money worth, of a good agent. You will CHAP. find, that almost every man who has been * ^ concerned in governing, is much more liberal as regards the payment, and the other re- Value of good wards of agents, than the man who has had agents. no experience in that direction. You will not find such a man joining in a senseless outcry against liberal payment for good work. He has discovered, that the first thing is to get good work done ; and for this he will not grudge its adequate reward. In few words, the man who has interested himself in local government, is likely to be- come a good judge of the proceedings of imperial government. Now, there is one point connected with Higher classes this matter to which I must advert, as being should 5 take part that which relates to the very essence of inl cai govern- good local government. It is, that men of mellt the higher classes should not refuse any op- portunity of connecting themselves with local government, however humble may be the sphere of action proposed for them. They should not lay themselves out for election to offices connected with local go- 54 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. CHAP, vernment ; but they should never abstain vi. . * ' from serving, when elected. Surely every man's neighbourhood may very fitly be an important centre of his action ; and nothing, however minute, connected with the well- being of that neighbourhood, is beneath his notice, or unworthy even of his utmost at- tention. Besides, he will never have a better opportunity of acting in concert with Advan- those placed in a humbler position than him- locaigo- self, and learning what they think and wish for, than he will when dealing with matters relating to local government. It would be premature, and it would be somewhat pedantic, to attempt to define, be- fore there is any occasion for defining, the exact extent of the areas over which se- Limitsof parate local governments should have go- local go- vernment, vernance. It would also be difficult to form an exact list of the subjects of local welfare, which should be submitted to local control. One subject, however, there certainly is, which subjects especially belongs to local government, and for local control. that is the sanitary well-being of the local LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 55 community. This may be taken as an un- CHAP. doubted case, in which local government is ' desirable; and I proceed, in reference to it, to say what should, in my judgment, be the relations between local and central au- thority. It is almost needless to observe that, if these relations are to be useful to the community, they should be thoroughly har- monious. At any rate, they should not, by their nature, be antagonistic. There is no doubt that, in a country like Great Britain, possessing a metropolis to which all the highest intellect, and the greatest experience gravitate, there will be a mass of hoarded knowledge, which would be invaluable even for the conduct of minute local affairs. This is especially to be seen in the application of sanitary science. I have spoken of the great advantage to be derived Advan- from special local knowledge, and from a local familiarity with local affairs possessed by the ledge. people of any locality. But, as in all human affairs there is a drawback attendant upon any advantage, so, from this very familiarity 56 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. CHAP, with their own neighbourhood, the local ' ' authority sometimes fails to recognise a local danger, or disadvantage. I am not now making this statement upon a mere abstract view of the question. I have over and over again observed, that some important cause of sanitary ill-being has not been discovered by persons interested in the locality, when a skilled person, sent down into the neigh- Local bourhood by central authority, has at once knowledge . . aided by conjectured what was the disturbing cause, thority. and has afterwards proved that he was right in his conjecture. I have even known, that something, which was considered by the inhabitants of the district to be a thing of beauty or of usefulness, has been the cause of great sanitary mischief -a cause easily discerned by a skilled person, accustomed to consider every variety of sanitary derange- ment Nay more, I have known a town to be suffering under great mortality, produced by causes, which all the local skill was unable to discern, which causes were immediately detected by an eminent London physician, who happened accidentally to have two or LOCAL GOVERNMENT. . 57 three cases of illness among the inhabitants CHAP. VI. of that town, brought up to him for consul- ' tation. The object of the preceding sentences has been, to show how great may be the value of central knowledge, brought to bear upon any Value of local difficulty or danger, connected with thority. sanitary affairs. A similar argument will probably hold good, to a certain extent, as regards all local affairs. It would be very desirable, that the local, authority should be on such good terms with TO be re- cognised the central authority, that it should not hesi- as a friend. tate to ask for aid and advice in any difficulty. At the same time it must be remembered, that the duty of the central authority is of an Imperial nature ; and that, whether its aid is asked for, or not, it must not, know- ingly, allow the existence of dangerous centres of disease in any particular locality. Its main duty must ever consist in inspection. And inspecting not super- here I come to another point, which I regard seding io- cal autho- to be one of the utmost importance. I do rit y- not think that it is the duty of the central authority to take upon itself, except in cases 58 . LOCAL GOVERNMENT. CHAP, of extreme urgency, the task of executing ' ' local works, and of raising local taxation for Except in the purpose of executing those works. I extremity. . am, therefore, constrained to say that some of our recent legislation was not well-con- sidered in this respect ; and I think that the result has shown that this was the case. When the local authority has proved itself recalcitrant, it has been found almost impos- sible for the central authority to carry out t the works, which, in their judgment, were Defects in requisite ; and for the execution of which, gisiation. they were left to provide the funds by local taxation. There remain, however, the cases of ex- treme urgency, where the central authority is convinced that, both for the locality and for the State in general, certain things should be done, which the local authority resolutely Exception- refuses to do. These cases will be rare. al cases. They should be met, as I think, by laying all the facts before Parliament, and demanding a local Act for the special purpose in question. If Parliament is not sitting, power might be given to the Privy Council, or to any LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 59 office under which sanitary matters may ul- CHAP. timately be placed, 1 to take the necessary ' " steps for executing the works required, and providing the requisite funds. But I do not think that, as a general rule, it should be in- HOW to cumbent upon the central authority to remedy the laches of the local authority, by under- taking functions for the exercise of which the central authority is singularly unfit. It must be borne in mind that the words ' central authority ' are very ' prave 'ords,' what cen- tral autho- as Fluellen would have said ; but that, when nty really is. you come to look at the thing closely, ' cen- tral authority ' means four or five clever and able men, with a staff of secretaries and clerks ; and perhaps with a body of inspectors, who are skilled persons in their several depart- ments of knowledge. But, taken altogether, an office which has perhaps a great name and great authority, is, after all, not a body com- petent to rule or manage local affairs in detail, and can only give judicious advice, and, in rare cases, judicious aid, to the local 1 This was written before the passing of the Act con- stituting the Local Government Board. 60 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. CHAP, authority, which must do the work that ' properly belongs to it It is also to be remembered, that any government Office which has now, or here- after may have, the control of sanitary affairs, will have not only those affairs entrusted to its supervision, but many other affairs ; and that sufficient time and energy will, for the most part, be altogether wanting for its general business, if it is called upon to carry out those details of work which strictly belong to local authority, and in which it should, at the utmost, have had only the duties of advice, aid, and supervision, imposed upon it. CHAPTER VII. ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. T HIS, and several of the following chap- CHAP. VII. ters, will be devoted to considering > - some of the chief aids that may be obtained for government. Among the foremost of Aidsneed- these aids, may surely be placed the attrac- vemment. tion of able men to the government service. There is an absolute need for men. Machi- nery will not do their work : in fact, the more Abie men - . , essential. refined, and the more potent the machinery, the more intelligent must be the men to guide it. Government is not exempt from this general rule ; and, as its affairs are more im- portant than those of any private individual, it mostly requires men of especial ability to conduct those affairs. ' I have two hundred millions in my coffers,' exclaimed Napoleon, ' and I would give them all for Ney.' It is 62 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, not often that a Napoleon is in desperate need VII. ' ' of a Ney ; but the great conqueror's opinion of the value of a man is well indicated by the above saying ; and it is an opinion which ought to have great weight with all persons who have anything to do with the choice of men to fill offices of any kind. Especially \ would especially notice, that there is more in present a s e - need now of good men in government em- ployment than there ever was because other entities are so strong. In these days Litera- ture, Science, Art criticism of all kinds, and interests of all kinds are more powerful than they ever were : and as government has occasionally to combat with, or to protect itself against these powers, it is desirable that it, too, should proportionately increase in power. In Great Britain we have, of late, adopted Competi- the system of competitive examination, as a live sys- tem, means of discerning men's qualifications for office. In my judgment, although the system has long been adopted in China, t is a most inadequate one for its purpose. It detects qualifications which are little needed, while, TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 63 it fails, inevitably, to discover those which are CHAP. VII. most needed. It is a bringing back of the "- - -" world to the schools. The main reasons itsadvan- ,. . , , tages. given for its adoption are, that it prevents jobbery, relieves men in power from importu- nity, and encourages education. These may be very good objects ; but, Foreign to main unfortunately, they are foreign to the main object. object, which is to choose fit men, and, if possible, the fittest men, for certain employ- ments. Competitive examination is mainly a mode of relieving those persons, who ought to have the burden of making a choice, from the responsibility of so doing. How ineffective this mode of procedure is its ineffi- likely to be, may be inferred from the follow- ing statement You wish to ascertain that a man will be zealous, faithful, true, reticent, cautious, and capable of dealing rapidly with current business ; and, also, as he advances in office, of taking a certain amount of responsi- bility upon himself. You think that you have accomplished this end by ascertaining that he can construe Latin, and has been crammed with a certain knowledge of the facts of 64 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, history, which facts, having been devoured ' ' rather than digested, stand very little chance of being well used by him for the future, and will probably be entirely forgotten. Proposal As a humorous person, I know, is wont to of a hu- morous sav < if y OU W ere to try the candidates in person. * f whist, there might be a chance of discerning whether they would be capable of dealing with the real business of the world.' There is one very important point to be considered in reference to this question ; and that is, not only is the talent for acquir- ing knowledge not a talent of imperative Talent for necessity, as regards the conduct of the busi- acquiring knowledge ness of the world, but it is absolutely inju- not always necessary, rious in some respects. Young people very often manifest a readiness to acquire know- ledge merely from a certain docility of mind, which makes few enquiries, is easily satisfied with what the teacher tells it, and never cares to take an original and independent view of what it is taught. These qualifications are exactly opposed to those which are wanted in the conduct of business. Putting aside, how- ever, for the moment, any conjectures about TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 65 the matter, I venture to assert that much of *CHAP. VII. the greatest and the best work in the world ' ' has been done by those who were anything but docile in their youth. This bold statement applies, I believe, not only to the greatest men in Science, Literature, and Art, but to the greatest men in official life, in diplomacy, and in the general business of the world. If I Great men . often of were asked to point out the men who, in my limited culture. experience of public affairs, have shown the most remarkable competency for the conduct of business, they would, in several instances, prove to be men of very limited education. One of the principal qualifications for the con- duct of business is decisiveness ; and surely no one will contend that decisiveness is, of necessity, promoted by the acquisition of much knowledge in youth. What I have said above applies principally Highest education to men who are to be chosen for the per- beneficial to states- manent Civil Service of the country. The men - statesmen who have to take a more pro- minent part, whose business it is to argue, to explain, if possible to be eloquent, may doubt- F 66 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, less be greatly benefited by an education of VII. ' the highest kind. Certain There is also another point on which I primary tests re- would guard my previous statements. When quiskc. I say that I entirely object to competitive examination, I do not mean that there should be no examination at all for the candidates for office ; but it need not be competitive. There are certain primary requisites, the existence of which may be perfectly ascer- tained by examination. For example, there are qualifications of the most elementary kind in reading, writing (alas ! how seldom attained), and arithmetic, which may well be insisted upon. I would also add, that the digesting of documents, and the making abstracts from them, are real tests of the fitness of men for official life. But when you insist upon acquirements in history, or Latin, or mathematics, the question is entirely different. There is another point I would urge. Some of the greatest men never do their best until they have realities to deal with. It is in vain to tell them that the acquisition of knowledge TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 67 is a reality. They will persevere in being CHAP. playful, indolent, and disinclined to acquire - r - knowledge. Once, however, bring these men into real life : once show them that what they do, may have serious consequences, and they are sobered as it were. They exert all their powers, and are often found to be the most consummate managers of human affairs. The foregoing remarks have been directed against the system of competitive examination. That system has, however, prevailed. The only thing now to be done, is to implore all those who have power in the matter to resist this system being carried to its utmost extent ; Except to make exceptions wherever they can, and to reserve for themselves some power of choice. I feel it but right to say here, something respecting the motives of the eminent men who have introduced the system of competi- tive examination. They saw before them a Motives i 11 >i r 1 for corn- great evil not exactly the evil of what is petitive called jobbery but they found that parlia- tion. mentary influence was used to an excessive extent, and that appointments were given, F 2 68 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, not according to merit, but according to pure ' ' favour, and it seemed to them that anything Abuse of Pariiamen- would be better than that. tary influ- ence. So, as often happens, the pendulum went from one extreme to the other. It was held, that because a good choice was pre- vented by reason of imperious and un- welcome solicitation, it would be desirable to take away all power of choice from those persons who, it must be admitted, if left perfectly free to choose, would have been the best persons to make the selection. Other motives also influenced the promoters of the Further- new system ; as, for example, that education education, would be greatly furthered by the institution of competitive examination. Moreover, it seemed to fall in with the democratic ten- dencies of the day, and was so far attractive as a political measure. All I contend for is, that it will be found to fail quite as much as, if not more, than the previous system did : notwithstanding all the sinister influences which were brought to bear upon that. The endeavour to get rid of these influences was a worthy one. But TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 69 it was not desirable that the old system CHAP. VII. should be made to give way to one of such * -" a mechanical character as that which is at present in force. After all, if you wish men in power to be enabled to choose their agents Choke of agents. and subordinates wisely, you must free them from the necessity of yielding to claims, based solely upon education and acquirements, as well as from the imperious demands of political expediency. Almost all rules are bad which tend to Limita- tion of limit the choice of men for employments of any choice bad. kind. Any rule, for instance about excess of age, is injudicious. The powers of different men are so various, that it is not too much to say, that men are often twenty years younger, or older, than their age according to years. If of age. we look at the great events, not only in ancient history, but at those of the last few years, we shall see that the greatest of these events have been carried to a prosperous issue by men who were anything but young. Now, why should we confine our view in this matter to generals, and kings, and states- men ? If the view is good for anything, it 70 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, applies to all men ; and a more foolish thing VII. ' ' is seldom done by any government, by any minor body of men, or by any individual, than in fixing a limit of age as regards the employ- ment of its or his agents. other dis- Similar statements might be made as re- qualifi- cations. gards several of the disqualifications, which are frequently set out in the shape of rules and bye-laws, and which prevent men from choosing those of their fellow-men who would be most capable of conducting their affairs. Pecuniary Pecuniary disqualification is an instance of what I mean. You think to gain a good man to manage your affairs, because he happens to have a small share in your undertaking. It is a great error. You want him to do some- thing well which you are going to tell him to do. If he has been wisely chosen, and is an able man, his pecuniary interest in the matter will be mere dust in the balance, when com- pared with the desire which belongs to all such men to do their work well. On the other hand, by insisting upon a pecuniary qualifica- tion, you may easily prevent yourself from being able to choose the best man. Rules of TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT, 71 this kind generally punish most the men who CHAP. make them. The real reason why men, even ' r ~ ' of great ability, whether in government or in other public bodies, have circumscribed them- selves by these rules and these disqualifica- The right placing of tions is, that they are not sufficiently pene- men. trated by the idea of the value of having the right man in the right place. The advantage to the world of having men rightly placed is almost inconceivable. All success depends upon it. It is a thing which cannot be over- estimated. Through the most adverse circum- stances, the able man will form a path for him- self and others. There are certain people who will do, and do very well, almost anything that you bring them to do. They must, however, be fed with work. They will not find work for them- selves. They are the very persons who do well in competitive examinations, but they are not capable of originating anything. Now the .business of the world is continu- Need for ally taking new forms. The troubles of the originating minds. world are also continually taking new aspects. Nothing, therefore, is more needed in public 72 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP. Offices, than that there should be at least a VII. ' ' few men of originating minds, who perceive and recognise the changes in human affairs, and are perpetually on the watch to make the working of their respective offices capable of coping with these changes of thought, of opinion, or of action in the outer world. Such men, I contend, must be looked out for, by methods very different from those which are at present in vogue. The foregoing have been general considera- tions, but they are peculiarly applicable to the conduct of government. Pitt and I have been always very much struck by the "Wolfe. . way in which the elder Pitt chose Wolfe to command the expedition to Canada. Wolfe had not the military standing which might alone have justified Pitt in choosing him as the leader of that expedition. But Pitt had heard of this man. The business of every statesman is to know a good deal about men. Pitt sent for Wolfe, and noted well his answer to the question, whether he could do the work that had to be done. The great Minister understood men ; and by that electric sym- TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 73 pathy which enables one great man to judge CHAP. almost instantaneously about another, saw ' ' that this was the right man to be a leader, and that he might safely intrust him with the conduct of a hazardous expedition. It is such insight, on the part of statesmen, that I would trust to in our times, believing that it would be far more valuable, and lead to much better results, than the limitation, by nice rules of forethought, of the choice made by statesmen of those agents who, though ob- scure, and even rarely known by name to the public, form, as it were, the back-bone of the administration of every country in the world. In answer to the foregoing, it will at once Fear of iobbery. be said, ' If statesmen are to be thus, with scarcely any limit or rule, intrusted with the choice of subordinates, how are we to provide against jobbery ? ' Now, with respect to this ugly term 'job- bery,' I must say a few words which merely embody my own personal experience. I have served under many political chiefs. I suppose I must have been very fortunate, that is, if this accusation of jobbery is a just one, for, if 74 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN | CHAP. I were put in a witness-box, and asked upon VII. ' ' oath, to disclose any particular instance of jobbery of which I had been cognisant, I should be unable to name a single one. I have known my chiefs give anxious hours to the consideration of the appointments they Practical had to make. They have sometimes con- care in choosing suited me upon these matters, showing me various letters of recommendation and testi- monials. I have never had to protest against Personal 'jobbery.' All that I have generally had to interviews desirable, say was, ' See the man of whom you at present have the most favourable opinion : see him before you make up your mind finally to appoint him. For there is something in the aspect of a man, which letters of recommen- dation and testimonials will not tell you.' Occasional I do not mean to maintain, that under any errors of choice in- system of choice great mistakes will not be evitable. made, for it is one of the most difficult pro- blems of life to ascertain, beforehand, how a man will conduct himself when he is placed in any particular office. Strangely enough, some of the greatest errors, as regards the choice of men, which I have known to be TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 75 committed under the old system, were com- CHAP. VII. mitted by too much attention being given to % ' those supposed qualifications which are now being crystallized into the main system for official appointment. I will give an instance of what I mean, which I can without reserve, as the persons principally concerned are dead. An office requiring great capability Anxiety to make in dealing 'with business, fell vacant. The good ap- point- political chief was extremely anxious to make a good appointment. He instituted careful enquiries about the rising young men of the day. One morning, when I came into his room to receive instructions, he said to me with great glee, ' I have found a good man for this office. His name is . Double- first at Oxford ; and, as you know, has dis- tinguished himself since.' The man in ques- tion was appointed to the office. He really was an able man in his way, but he had one fatal defect. He was slow. To speak in the language of men who are versed in horse- manship, he ' could not go the pace ' that was required. There were, for example, about ten matters of business which had to be 76 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, brought to him in the course of the day. He ' was an exacting, fastidious kind of man, and could never be persuaded to settle more than three of them. The consequence was, that slowness the business in question fell off from him, and a fatal defect. was carried to a man in another department, of very limited education, but who was a fine reasoner, a master of expression, and altogether an admirable man of business. Now the error of my chief, and, I must con- fess, my error too, for I believed that our office was most fortunate in securing the services of this young man, was in giving too much credence to that ' double-first,' and to con- sequent distinction in matters which had nothing whatever to do with promptitude in business. What now is a most valuable aid in the choice of a man to fill up any office is, the Valuable opinion, if you can get it honestly given, of opinions ofexpe- older and more experienced men, about the rienced men - qualifications of a candidate. Here, again, I will give a practical instance of what I mean. There was a rising young statesman, whose TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 77 merits, however, had hitherto only been ac- CHAP. VIT. knowledged by making him Master of the ' ' Buckhounds an office not necessarily requir- ing much skill in statesmanship. Two elderly statesmen were discussing the merits of this Example of the non- yOUng man. They agreed that there was the competi- tive sys- stuff in him, to make a man of the utmost tem - eminence in statesmanship. They are both dead now, or they might have seen how amply their prognostications have been ful- filled. For they would see him acting, under most difficult circumstances, as the leader of his party in one of the Houses of Parliament. With all respect for that eminent personage, I am by no means sure that he would have arrived at his present position if he had had to attain it through a series of competitive examinations. How should we have been able to ascertain, by the means of such examinations, his tact, his keen appreciation of the weight of argument on the other side, as well as on his own side, his for- bearance in debate, and, which is one of the most remarkable qualifications he possesses, 78 ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN CHAP, his skill in eliciting most rapidly, from a *- ' large mass of facts submitted to him, those which are essential to the subject, and which will suit his purpose ? And yet, I fear this statesman is one of those who believes in, or least consents to, this system of com- petitive examination, not seeing that what he feels and knows would be inapplicable to men in his position, is also inapplicable as regards the choice of men to fill inferior offices in the State. A man, who has had large and long ex- perience of the public service, when speaking of the choice of men to fill public Offices, has been heard to say, ' All would go well in the A novel way of choice, if only each man were allowed tion. to choose his own immediate inferior.' This novel proposition is not likely ever to come into vogue ; but it has great merits to recom- mend it, and there are occasions in which it might be partially adopted. For instance, when a Department of the State is divided into several sections, and a vacancy occurs in any one of them, it is probable that TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 79 there is no one who would take such pains in making, or recommending a good appoint- ment, as the person who has the charge of the work of that section, as the head of it. The man who made this original sugges- Depen- . . dence OB tion might have urged, as a potent motive inferiors. for its adoption, that each one of us is more dependent upon his immediate inferior, than even upon his immediate superior. It is the inferior who can most surely make one's life miserable, by tiresomeness, or mis- conception, or inactivity. Finally, when by any process of selection, impor- you are fortunate enough to have got good keeping men con- men to serve you, you must take care to tent keep them satisfied. As Sir Henry Taylor has well remarked in his ' Statesman/ that most men are disheartened if they do not, in the course of a certain period, say ten years, obtain a distinct rise in their positions. This I believe to be true ; and it requires considerable care to provide for this desirable object on behalf of your best servants, whether By due public or private. To do so is especially tion. Q ON ATTRACTING ABLE MEN. o CHAP, difficult in public offices, because the rate of ' ' ' promotion must greatly depend upon the num- ber of persons employed in the office, and also upon various accidental circumstances. Absolute It is impossible to lay down any precise rules rules im- r - . _ , . , . , possible, tor the attainment of this object ; and I can only remark, that it is one which, from time to time, requires attention from those political personages who are placed at the head of public Departments. It must be remembered, that the work of the permanent civil servants of the Crown is necessarily of an obscure character. It is not Absence rewarded in the manner in which other ser- of public applause, vice is often rewarded in the outer world, namely, by increasing fame and reputation. The merits of the most eminent of the per- manent civil servants are known to very few persons ; which makes their position especially dependent upon the discriminating kindness of their chiefs. There are but two modes of Rewards rewarding eminent public service of the kind available. alluded to, namely, increase of pay, and the conferring of honours. The consideration of TO THE SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. 8l this last mode of reward naturally brings me CHAP. to the discussion of the general subject of ' - ' honours, which I shall deal with in the next chapter. Before, however, commencing that subject, I must add something which, to my mind. has a certain appropriateness in regard to many things that have been said in the foregoing pages. In one of Schiller's plays there is a Moor The Moor . and his who has done good service to his master, master. That master has the folly, more than once, to dismiss the Moor somewhat abruptly, and to intimate that there will soon come a time when he will not need his services any more. This rankles in the heathen's breast, and when alone, he more than once shows what his feelings are, by such words as these : ' The Moor has done his work : the Moor can go.' 1 Before going, however, he resolves to undo all his work, by betraying his master, who is at the head of a conspiracy. 1 ,,>er 3Rofy i)at feine Qtvfcett getfyan: ber SWo^r fcmn 82 ABLE MEN SERVICE OF GOVERNMENT. CHAP. Now, there is no danger in Great Britain VII. ' ' of betrayal on the part of public servants ; but the reflection contained in those few simple words, ' The Moor has done his work : the Moor may go/ Is a very chilling and depressing one ; and it is not desirable that it should enter largely into the minds of those who are connected with the public service. CHAPTER VIII. THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. r | "'HE conferring of honours is a most im- CHAP. VIII. -A- portant function of government ; and, ' ' throughout the world, it is a function in import- ance of which there is much abuse. In George IIL's conferring honours time there was a man who had rendered rightly. some political service to the government, (political service in those days not being a thing of the highest merit), and this man wished to be allowed to drive through the park. ' No, no,' said the King, * we cannot do that ; but you may make him an Irish baron A case abuse. if you like ;' and an Irish baron he was made. This is a ludicrous instance of the abuse of honours ; but, without descending into particu- lars, which would be a very invidious mode of procedure, we may admit that the British government has not, for several generations, distinguished itself by the way in which it 84 THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. CHAP, has exercised the high prerogative of confer- VIII. ' ' ring honours. Honours There is a foolish notion that, as civilization wanted as advances, honours are less coveted, and are civilization advances, less potent. This is an entire mistake. The first Napoleon, whatever his dements may have been, was a man who, it must be admitted, knew something of the world. There is a memorable observation of his, Napo- on one Sunday afternoon, when he heard the Icon's opi- nion on church bells ringing, and when he said that honours. ' Religion and honours were the two things by which mankind may be governed ' an assertion which, I think, will not be disputed by those who have had much converse with their fellow-men. Abuse of I shall take a peculiar mode of expressing them illus- trated. a ll I think with regard to the abuses at present existing in the distribution of honours, illus- trating my meaning by four fables. The first will be from that eminent fabulist, the Rus- sian Krilof. The other fables are from a very inferior hand. Kriiof s Krilof tells us, that the eagle promoted a cuckoo to the rank of nightingale. The THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. 85 cuckoo undertook its part, and sang- accord- CHAP. VIII. ingly. The other birds fled away in disgust, v " Cuckoo or were convulsed by that twittering which and * eagle. corresponds to human laughter. The cuckoo complained to the eagle, and said, ' I have been appointed nightingale to these woods, and yet the birds dare to twitter at my singing.' The eagle replied, * I am a king, but I am not God. I can order a cuckoo to be styled a nightingale, but to make a nightingale out of a cuckoo that I cannot do.' l I now proceed to give some fables of the The English author. There was a boar who some boar. rooted up his master's pastures. The farmer resolved to put a stop to this, by putting a ring in the nose of the boar. This was soon done ; and though the animal made a great noise about the operation, it was not more painful than putting ear-rings into a girl's ears a common practice in nations not sup- posed to be barbarous. The boar was very proud of his nose- ring, 1 Krilof and his Fables, by W. Ralston, of the British Museum. Strahan and Co.. 1871. 86 THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. CHAP, and told the other denizens of the farmyard VIII. 1 ' that he was the only animal among them worthy of being thus decorated. When, however, the boar was driven into the open pastures, he found that he was un- able to get at the sweet roots, and must content himself with what he found on the surface. Now swine are very clever creatures, and the boar said to himself, ' I see why they gave me this odious nose-ring. It was not for honour, but to prevent me from rooting in the fields so much.' Therein he was wiser than many men, who do not perceive that honours are conferred upon them, to prevent them from continuing to be as troublesome and mischievous as they have hitherto proved themselves to be. Fable of The next fable is this. On an island, which and his has been a long time discovered, but of which counsel- lors. I forget the name, there was a simpleton, who had been blessed with a clever grand- father, and a prudent father ; so, that when the father died, that simpleton possessed many bags of gold. Whereupon the king of the THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. 87 island said, ' Bring me the pebble that shines CHAP. VIII. like a star, and I will tie it on his arm, and he v ~~~ > shall be one of my counsellors/ ' Nay, but his wisdom is of little account,' said one of the wisest and the most daring of the king's counsellors. ' Who am I,' replied the king, ' that I should contend with Providence ? It is wise to favour those whom the gods favour. Besides, if I do not sometimes call a simpleton to my councils, how shall I know what the other simpletons think ? And they are numerous in my kingdom, and must be cared for.' The fourth fable is this. In remote Thibet The wan- dering there was a wandering tribe. As they lived tribe. chiefly on milk and honey, and moved ever into fresher air, they lived very long lives. They had also a great respect for old age. But the destroyer, Time, is not to be baulked of his labours; and, even in this wandering tribe, as men grew old, they became less vigorous, or less wise, or less able to express their wisdom. Their wanderings were confined to a nar- rower circle. They trod over again the same 88 THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. CHAP, ground ; and there was scarcity in the camp ' for them and their herds. A secret council was held by the young and the middle-aged members of the tribe, where- upon a shrewd man arose and said, ' Let us always pay honour to our grandfathers, but let us not be starved by them. There is a herb in the plains, from which a beautiful blue juice may be extracted. Let us make long robes, from the wool of our flocks, and colour them with the juice of this herb. Then let us put these robes of honour on the old men of the tribe whose wisdom is failing, or who can only mutter forth their wisdom indis- tinctly, so that we do not know what it means. When they have their long blue robes, they will not like to go through the bushes and the brambles, but will stay at home, with the women in the camp ; and when we have found a new camping place, we can come back for them. Thus they will receive all due honour, and will not be an incumbrance upon our Common movements.' motives _ , . . ... for be- These four fables indicate the spirit in honours, which honours have too often been granted by THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. 89 all modern governments. There is honour CHAP. VIII. given to one man from pure favour, without ' ' any pretence of merit on his part, as when Favour. the cuckoo was appointed by the eagle to be nightingale of the woods ; but notwith- standing the favour of the eagle, the cuckoo could not sing. There is honour conferred upon another Fear. because he is tiresome, and, like the boar in the fable, is apt to injure his master by rooting too much. There is honour conferred upon a third, Riches, however small may be his deserts, merely because he is rich. Now when Reynard the Fox said that ' Gold lends mighty force to words/ l there was great truth in the remark, as in most of Reynard's sayings. But what he meant was, that gold should accompany the words, and not merely be uttered by those who profess much gold, and retain it. To a fourth, an honour is given because Age. he is old and worn out, and his place is wanted for a wiser and stronger man ; or, as 1 Jtrdfttgen SRacfybrucf foflte bag etb ben 2Borten tterleUjen." 90 THE DISTRIBUTION OF f HONOURS. CHAP, it often happens, not for a wiser and stronger "- ' man, but for one who can adapt himself to the new creed, whatever that may be. To such a length has this last mode ok giving honour gone, that a humorous person whom I know is wont to say ' Though a sickly man, I think I have some twenty years of life and work in me ; but if the govern- ment of the day were to offer me an honour, I should go home to bed, and prepare for death ; for I should know that my physician had betrayed me to them, and that he had discerned in me a likelihood of rapid failure of the vital powers. Otherwise, this honour would not have been offered to me. I am a meek man, and not willing to resist, when a decision, almost as sure as fate, has been pronounced upon me.' I have dealt with this subject somewhat playfully ; for, though it is a very serious matter, it will insist upon presenting itself to me in a somewhat ludicrous light. I might have given another instance, in which some great personage being received as a guest at a banquet, given by one who is accustomed to THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. 91 give good cheer, forthwith rewards his en- CHAP. tertainer by conferring upon him an honour. < r - Now to speak most seriously, all these Detri- mental modes of conferring honour are a thorough honours. detriment, and an abiding disgrace to govern- ment. The disgrace will be easily perceived by all thoughtful people ; but the detriment is not quite so clear. What, however, we want in the award of honours is, that it should be an aid and an encouragement to men in the full possession of their powers of mind and body ; should be made without fear or favour ; should not be used as a gag HOW honours to silence the tiresome, or as a clog to slacken should mot be used. the pace of those who are prone to be too swift in their recklessness ; should not be employed as a bribe, to make men pleasantly resign offices, for which, from age or other causes, they are unfit or are supposed to be unfit ; but that it should be made according to some principles of justice, and be so widely as well as impartially granted, that it should tend to adorn, dignify, and combine together, for the public good, the most deserving men throughout this vast empire. 92 THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. CHAP. I do not mean to say that the recognition 1 ' of a man's services, however tardy, is not a good and desirable thing, as being an ex- pression of gratitude. Looking, however, at the matter from the point of view that a statesman should take, it seems, that an honour should not only be a recognition of past services, but that it should also give increased weight and influence to a man, who will continue to be of service to the State. Advantage I cannot conclude this chapter without of a right system. mentioning two important indirect advan- tages which would follow from a liberal and judicious system of awarding honours. The first advantage would be, that due en- couragement would be given to various kinds of merit and eminence. At present, that qualification which is chiefly rewarded and honoured in this country is the power of public speaking. Evils of a Two evils proceed from this narrow system wrong system. of reward and honour. In the first place, this talent of public speaking is inordinately encouraged ; and men rise to power who do not possess some THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. 93 of the most important qualifications for mak- CHAP. ing a good use of power. The second evil ! ' is, that other qualifications are discouraged, and that many men are led to undertake a career for which they are not fitted; while they neglect a career in which they might have done good service to the world. The other great advantage, which would accrue from a more judicious mode of distri- buting honours, is of a thoroughly indirect character, but not on that account of less importance. It were to be wished, that a seats in seat in Parliament were not so desirable an ment. object, from a social point of view, as it cer- tainly has become. There are some men who have attained to eminence in pursuits very foreign to Parliamentary life, but are not, on that account, unfitted for it/ They are men who take a very wide interest in human affairs, and bring all their special knowledge to bear upon questions of legisla- tion. They seldom shine in debate ; but they are pre-eminent in committees ; and, though not ' to the manner born/ they often prove to be most valuable members of Parlia- 94 THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. CHAP, rnent But, on the other hand, there are ' ' ' those who, whether from the possession of large tracts of land, or great riches, or perhaps by the exercise of qualities, which in no respect fit them to become legislators, have become notable, and who seek a seat in Parliament, merely in order to put a seal, as it were, upon the position they have attained in other pursuits. They would, probably, not be so ardent in the pursuit of this form of distinction, if other forms were open to them. Political Very serious political consequences follow evils ere ated. upon this state of things. A number of men are introduced into Parliament, who, accord- ing to the hypothesis, have no especial claim to be there, and who occupy the place, we will not say of better men, but of men better trained to fill that position. Demand A still graver consequence follows. The for seats in Pariia demand for seats in Parliament becomes ex- ment ex- cessive, cessive in reference to the supply. It in- evitably follows, that the person wishing to be elected is prone to make unreasonable concessions to every wish of the electors, and THE DISTRIBUTION OF HONOURS. 95 not only of the electors as a body, but to any CHAP. VIII. small section of electors which has any par- *~ ' ticular crotchet to further, or self-interest to serve, thereby the candidate is in imminent danger of becoming a delegate rather than representative. I suppose that it will be admitted by all The true those persons who have studied representa- between . . . electors tive government, that there is, speaking in a ted. the abstract, a certain relation which might subsist between the electors and the elected, which would be perfect of its kind. Such a relation would give a due influence to the electors, while it would preserve the enormous benefit to be derived by the comparatively unfettered thought of an able man, being brought to bear upon political questions. It may well be doubted whether the elector has not now too potent an influence over the candidate, or over the elected person ; and whether, thereby, there is not some fear lest we should dwarf the reasonable independence of thought and action which is essential to the making of a good representative ? CHAPTER IX. COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS, BOARDS, AND OTHER SIMILAR AIDS TO GOVERNMENT. THERE is hardly a more difficult thing connected with government, than to The use of make good use of these aids to administra- councils. . tion. 1 here are certain matters which are best treated by the clear decisiveness of one man, while there are others which are decidedly best treated by conjoint counsel, or after having been submitted to a council. In affairs of much perplexity and variety of circumstances, it very rarely happens that any one man is master of all the facts, and all the circumstances, which are needful to be known in order to arrive at an exhaustive result Moreover, in matters wherein there is danger of much odium, whatever determina- tion may be arrived at, it certainly elicits AIDS TO GOVERNMENT. 97 boldness of decision to act by means of a CHAP. IX. council or commission. The well-known ' ' passage in the Bible, 'In a multitude of A text 11 i c > i r i often mis- COUnsellorS there is safety, has frequently appre- hended. been misconstrued. It does not allude to the safety of the counsel, but of the coun- sellors. In a council, a timid man will be bold, or, at any rate, so far bold that he will be willing to take his full share of responsibility as one of a number ; whereas, if he were the sole person to decide, he might be oppressed by the sense of responsibility, and endeavour to evade coming to any decision at all. There are two principal heads under which TWO kinds councils may be classed. One in which the executive council is executive, and has not only a final decision in any matter submitted to it, but subsists as a permanent body ; the other in an d con- which the council is purely consultative, and has only to give advice. Moreover, there are other characteristics which tend to cause considerable differences in the constitution and functions of council, H 98 COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS, BOARDS, AND CHAP, whether executive or consultative. A council IX. ' may be representative as well as executive. Again, it may only have to decide upon some particular act to be done by it, but may not have to continue as an executive body in directing all the work that has to follow from that one act. special Great attention should be paid to the nature to be noted, special nature of the council, by those who 1 have to call it together, and to profit by its counsels. For example, in a purely consul- tative council, it will be found that the counsellors will be prone to ignore difficul- ties in action, and will recommend courses of conduct, which they might hesitate to recom- mend if they were the persons who would have to carry into effect their own recom- mendations. Tendency Again, a representative council will natu- of repre- sentative rally have (whether consciously or uncon- councils. sciously) an inclination to accommodate its proceedings to the state of knowledge and opinion of the outer world ; and each coun- sellor will be prone to give advice, of such a OTHER SIMILAR AIDS TO GOVERNMENT. 99 nature as those whom he represents would CHAP. wish him to give. Doubtless this leaning ' - ' towards the outer world will be greater or smaller, according to the more or less pub- licity given to the proceedings of the council. In any council, you will have a great chance of hearing, not only what is best to be done, but what can be done with reference to the state of public feeling and opinion. You will have the opportunity of hearing what unwise persons may think, or have to say about the matter in question ; and therein even a fool- ish, obstinate, argumentative, or perverse person may be very useful, and his presence in the council may be of much worth and significance. Altogether, there are immense advantages Adv to be derived from councils; but these ad- M1 , , , , , councils. vantages will only be derived by those per- sons who know how to make the proper use of them. It is a sign of great weakness in a government, when it submits too much of its current business to councils, commissions, or bodies of a like nature ; and it should be 100 COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS, BOARDS, AND CHAP, carefully noted what kind of business is fit ix. ' "* r ~~~" to be submitted to the arbitrament of a council. The business should rather be of that nature which involves principles to be considered or rules to be determined. A council is a very unfit body to determine questions of language or expression ; and will waste any amount of time in vain attempts to insure great nicety and accuracy of expres- sion. That kind of work is seldom well done except by one man ; and even the great masters of language require, while they are working, to be undisturbed and unfettered by criticism, and to be able to deal with the matter as a whole. No man expresses any- thing exactly like another man ; and if you wish a document to have a certain clearness and completeness in its expression, it should, if possible, be drawn up by one person, or at least be finally submitted to one person, as far as the language is concerned. Charac- In the conduct of councils there are several be noted, things to be observed by those who would make judicious use of such bodies, and espe- cially by those who are placed at the head OTHER SIMILAR AIDS TO GOVERNMENT. ioi of them. In this world so many things are CHAP. decided by fatigue. The council, if not ' r ' guided by a skilful person in its discussions, Fatigue an impor- will waste its time upon minor points, and in tant ele- ment. combating the unreason or the argumenta- tiveness, of some one or more of its members ; and then, at the last, a hasty decision has to be formed, which may be anything but the wisest which could be formed. Lord Bacon has given the world an essay on councils, full, as might be expected, of valuable thought, and not disdaining to discuss points apparently somewhat insignificant, such as the shape and size of the council table ; but he does not notice the effect of weariness. This omission may be accounted for by the greater powers of endurance of our ancestors, who, moreover, were trained to listen to long discourses patiently, and were not so much oppressed by a variety of business as we, the men of the present generation, are. With us I doubt not that the effect of weariness is one of the main elements of decision in any assemblage of men. Then, there is always the difficulty of eli- 102 COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS, BOARDS, AND CHAP, citing the opinions of those members of the "~ ' council, who are very reserved and modest in the expression of their opinions. I have known instances in which the man, most fitted to direct the council, has not once had an opportunity of fairly bringing forward what he has thought and felt upon the matter in question. And that, too, in a council, com- mission, or board, which has sat for many days to consider the particular question. A man of the kind I mean, has strong and clear opinions ; but is of a modest and retiring nature. In the course of the discussions he ascertains, or rather thinks that he ascertains, that his views will not meet with any response from his colleagues ; and, accordingly, he is entirely silent about them. It is especially the business of the chairman, or leading person in the council, to take care that the views and opinions of these reserved persons should Choice of not fail to be brought forward. It often an. happens that the best choice of a chairman is to be made by selecting one who, perhaps, is not particularly cognizant of the matter in hand ; but who is skilful in discerning charac- OTHER SIMILAR AIDS TO GOVERNMENT. 103 ter, and has the tact and judgment necessary CHAP. X.X.. for eliciting fully the opinions of all those ' - ' over whom he presides. This is especially necessary when the councils or such like bodies are of a temporary character ; but it is also requisite in permanent Boards. A man may have had a place in such a Board for many years, and yet never have given an entirely unreserved opinion upon the matters that have come before him in that conjoint capacity. There is another point of practice to be Sections of councils considered in reference to permanent Boards, should in- terchange In order to facilitate the transaction of busi- duties. ness, special matters are entrusted to par- ticular sections of these Bodies. If this practice is made absolute, and there is no interchange of duties, much of the value of a council, or other governing body, may be lost. The head of the Department should .take care to vary the duties of these sections, and occasionally to contrive to obtain that diversity of opinion upon important matters, which prevents their falling into a course of 'abject routine, as will be the case if the same 104 COUNCILS, COMMISSIONS, BOARDS, AND CHAP, class of subjects is always submitted to the > ' same section of the Board. In the construction of councils there is a practice frequently to be observed which seems to me most objectionable, and that is, Ex-offido the placing a number of ex-officio counsellors . j. i ' the severe and urgent routine of office, which already prevents so many of the greatest men from being able to give due foresight to Their abo- the affairs of the future. Well, be it so ; only wise. remember, that if the miller and his men are always employed in grinding for the necessi- ties of the day, and there is no one left, a little outside, to watch the course of the stream, it may fail some day when it is most wanted ; or it may come down in one tumultuous over- flow, sweeping away the mill, the miller and his men, broadening, as it goes, into one vast torrent of destruction. Foresight Not, however, that I would confine the not to be ... c> ,1 r i . i confined acquisition of this foresight merely to states- to states- 11-11 T -i men and men and philosophers. It is comparatively philoso- . , 111 ^i phers. but little service to the world, that a Chester- field, or a Burke, should foresee the political evils coming upon a generation of unobserv- ant men. We must, in order to insure wise government for the future, contrive that con- siderable numbers of persons should try to gain some foresight in political affairs. It may seem a pedantic thing to say, but I ON FORESIGHT IN GOVERNMENT. 129 am persuaded, that to effect this great good, CHAP. much reference must be made to history. " - ' There are certain principles, as to the pro- The high bable conduct of men, and as to the results tory. of measures, which can only be evolved from some study of those historical events, which have an application to our own times. If I were asked, what would be the most fruitful subject for study that could be devised for giving foresight in political action, it is the history of the Girondins. There never, perhaps, was an The Gi- rondins. instance in the world, in which so many good men, having really great designs for the welfare of mankind, were so utterly deluded and de- ceived. The same error, which misled these good men, stands eternally in the way of im- provement, and has to be most carefully guarded against. That error was the sup- position that they (the Girondins) could place the limits of movement, at that precise line of demarcation which seemed to them to be the wisest and the best. The man who par- takes this fatal error of the Girondins forgets, as they did, that there is a fierce crowd be- hind him, who do not limit themselves to his K 130 ON FORESIGHT IN GOVERNMENT. CHAP, views and are not contented with his objects, XII. r" but are rushing down the hill to achieve their own whom he can never hope to stay till they get to the bottom of that perilous descent. Not the less danger is there, from want of foresight, in a totally different direction. The history of the Girondins is certainly a most fruitful subject for the contemplation of poli- ticians. A kindred subject, namely, the Louis xv. conduct of Louis XV. and his Ministers, is equally fruitful. I fear that the contemplative bystander would find much to blame, on account of want of foresight, even in our own time. It Benefits must, however, be acknowledged, that much resulting . 111 t Great of the security and good order that we pos- from fore- scss, is the result of a foresight which gene- sight. rally comes rather late in Great Britain, but which frequently does come at last, and is the salvation of us politically, as a State. That our people have, at this moment, so few purely political grievances, is an inestimable blessing. What we have to consider as the main objects for foresight in government, are ON FORESIGHT IN GOVERNMENT. 131 the questions of social difficulty which at CHAP. XII. present threaten us, and which are looming ' ' large in the distance. There is also another class of subjects which especially call for the exercise of fore- sight on the part of government. It relates to panics of all kinds, sudden and ill-considered Foresight i r 11 i i i i in re S ard resolves of all kinds, which most nations are to panics. seldom free from, for any length of time. For example, a nation has a sudden fit of severe economy, or, on the other hand, of recklessness in matters of expense. Or it has a wild panic as regards invasion ; or, on the other hand, it indulges in a fit of sublime, but most unwar- rantable confidence, as regards the mainten- ance of peace, and the needlessness of warlike preparation. All these fits and humours of a nation require great foresight on the part of statesmen, to know how to bear with them ; to prevent their doing mischief; and to make use of them for some good purpose, which, at other times and seasons, might not be so easily effected. I cannot better conclude this chapter, than by giving a very remarkable quotation from 132 ON FORESIGHT IN GOVERNMENT. . CHAP. Montesquieu, or rather from Gravina, whom XII. ' ' Montesquieu quotes, whereby it may be seen what is the true definition of a State, as a being which combines in itself the forces of all the individuals who compose it. That those forces should be well directed for the True defi- benefit of the individuals, and should be well nition of a State. combined for the common welfare of the State, is the principal subject-matter for fore- sight in this Country, especially considering that the social questions before alluded to are those which now concern us most : ' Outre le droit des gens, qui regarde toutes les societes, il y a un droit politique pour chacune. Une societe ne sauroit subsister sans un gouvernement. ' ' La reunion de toutes les forces particulieres," dit tres-bien Gravina, " forme ce qu'on appelle 1'Etat politique.' " 1 1 L Esprit des Lois, par Montesquieu, liv. i. chap. iii. CHAPTER XIII. THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. W E have now to concern ourselves CHAP. XIII with the education of the governors, ' not of the governed, which education ought special ... , ,. , . . education obviously to be 01 a somewhat special of a states- man. character. An admirable work, before referred to, has been written on the training and conduct of statesmen by Sir Henry Taylor. It is called ' The Statesman.' This work of mine will not allow of my dealing elaborately with the subject, as Sir Henry Taylor has done. I shall attempt only to set down those points which have particularly engaged my thoughts with regard to the education of statesmen. In all times, but especially in these times, it is needful for a statesman to have a great Mastery r i *i T> of details mastery of details. To use an expression I needful have used elsewhere, he should have 'an 134 THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. CHAP, almost ignominious love of details.' The ' ' ' questions that come before him partake of Love of the complication which must exist in highly- detaiL civilized communities. These questions will be cumbered with details ; and a statesman, at any rate if he is acting under a constitu- tional government, will not carry to a pros- perous izsue any large measure by the aid of a few great principles, unless he have the knowledge, and the skill, which will enable him to put the details into their right places, and to adapt them to these principles. If we consider the eminent ' statesmen of recent times we shall find that, with very few excep- tions, they have been men who, to use a Eminent phrase of Talleyrand's, are ' avid of facts.' statesmen 'avid of They would have been e^oocl men of business facts.' in any department of life. Now, how are this avidity for facts, and this skill in selecting and arranging them, to be acquired ? I would not be so presump- tuous as to attempt to lay down, authorita- tively, any special rules for acquiring these necessary aids to statesmanship. This is a matter which must mainly be left to the dis- THE EDUCATION OF A .STATESMAN. cretion of those persons who are training CHAP. youths likely to be concerned in statesman- ' ship. One youth will, by the peculiar bent Kuies to 3 be left to of his mind, indicate to his instructor one the in- structor. way of attaining this desirable object ; another youth will indicate another. All that can be said to an instructor is, ' Whenever you see an opportunity of making a youth follow any particular study, which involves dealing with large masses of facts, encourage him in it, and keep him to it.' One thing I must remark, and herein my HOW statesmen opinion entirely coincides with that of Sir should study his- Henry Taylor, that the way to make a stu- tory. dent, who is to become a statesman, read history, is, to confine his attention to a par- ticular period, and make him know that in its minutest detail, demanding from him, not essays, but elaborate statements of facts. It is astonishing what strength and minuteness of observation, and what power of comparing and marshalling significant facts, may be given to an intelligent youth, by severely ex- ercising his mind in this peculiar way. The next branch of education to be culti- Power of expression. 136 THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. CHAP, vated is expression. This is one of the prin- ' ' cipal arts of life, and is most needful for any An an man who would influence his fellow-men. It is to he cul- tivated, essentially the art of artists whose excellence is mainly to be seen in their powers of expres- sion, which include that of representation. It is an art which, if not to be acquired by one who has no natural gifts in that direc- tion, may, at any rate, be greatly enlarged and furthered in anyone who has the smallest natural faculty for it. As a nation we do not excel in the power of expression, and therefore it is peculiarly valuable amongst us. Of necessity, skill in expression includes includes logic and method. It may be well taught at logic and method, home in our earliest years ; and it is an art, in which an observant man may go on improv- ing to the end of his life. Especially For 2. statesman, nothing is more requisite requisite for a than that he should be able to narrate accu- statesman. rately, to explain succinctly, to answer clearly and logically, and, in short, to deliver all that he knows, or has to say, with the greatest force, the least apparent effort, and the least irrelevancy. This appears to be a large de- THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. 137 mand to make upon any man ; but it is not CHAP. XIII. beyond the scope of teaching. ' It is surprising what keenness of observa- its want obvious tion even an unlearned bystander has of de- to ail. fects in expression. He perceives where the tale is ill told, or the statement insuffi- ciently made ; he detects redundancies of phrase, needless parentheses, want of method in the narrative, and all that movement back- wards and forwards telling too much too soon, and too little too late ; which result in making a story, or a statement, inconsequent, confused, and deficient in force and interest. He may be a good general critic, although, from want of practice, he would himself com- mit the faults which he detects and condemns. He may, therefore, instruct the young in amending these faults, if only he comments upon them. And anyone who is concerned in bringing up a statesman, can hardly do more service to his charge than by endeavour- ing to make him attend carefully to the just expression of whatever he has to express. This may at first sight appear likely to pro- duce pedantry, and to make a young person 138 THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. CHAP, think less of what he has to say, than of how XIII. ' ' he should say it. But if any such pedantry is acquired, it soon wears off in the urgency of the real business of life ; and the youth, well taught in this respect, becomes a man who, unconsciously, has the power of express- ing what he thinks and feels, without having to think of the mode and manner of this ex- pression. Everyone Of course a statesman, and indeed most should be taught to other persons, should be taught how to speak. speak. Respecting this accomplishment there are certain rules that have been ascertained to be imperative, if a man would command the at- tention of his audience. There is also some- thing that practice alone can give. It is that a man should be able to think while he is in the act of speaking while he is on his legs, and has a number of eager eyes looking up at Art f him. He should be able to change the order speaking. of his speech ; to dwell much upon that part of the subject as regards which he discovers that his audience requires enlightenment, or is ready with sympathy ; and to withhold, or shorten that part of his prearranged discourse THE EDUCATION OP A STATESMAN. 139 which he finds it is needless, or, perhaps, offen- CHAP. XIII. sive, to dilate upon. In short, he should be ' ' able to use his mind in a dual capacity, speak- ing what he is determined to say, and at the same time determining what he will say next. This accomplishment cannot be perfected Debating i 11111- societies. without practice ; and though debating socie- ties at schools and universities may appear to be mere play, they are not without great use in the training of statesmen. I have not spoken of the higher matters Love of justice and which belong to the education of statesmen ; truth. of the love of justice and of truth ; of the care for the well-being of their fellow-men ; of the sense of the responsibility for power, which should be inculcated during youth. The chief part of this great work must be done by their mothers, or, at any rate, by those who are nearest to them in relationship, or who come into the closest contact with them. It is Great example seldom that a character is developed into fosters greatness. greatness, unless a great example has been furnished to it by those who have had the care of its early training. I have said how needful it is to give the 140 THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. CHAP, nascent statesman a habit of dealing with XIII. ' details, and of expressing well whatever he has to express. But there is a branch of his education which must never be neglected ; it is to insert into his mind some interest in all that is going on around him. Other men may not Extended be injured by narrowness of mind or I sympathies needed should rather say by narrowness of purpose for narrowness of mind must be a great detriment to any man who is bounded by it. But, in so far as it may produce a certain fixedness of purpose, and concentration of effort in one direction, it may have some value in rendering its possessor successful in his particular calling, if that be one of a limited nature. Such, however, is not the And calling of a statesman, which requires ex- cuitivated. tended sympathies, varied knowledge, and a certain catholicity of thought. To the man whose business it is to rule, no knowledge no information can come amiss any more than to the poet or the man of letters. He has hereafter to be a keen observer of all that he may see, especially of all that has a human interest This will hardly be the case THE EDUCATION OF A STATESMAN. 141 unless, in youth, he is induced to take a keen CHAP. XIII. interest in all the occupations and proceedings "- ' of those that surround him. Now this general interest in human affairs is a feeling which interest in human can be educed and enlarged by early training ; affairs ma x ' & be ac- and a skilful instructor, having to educate s a Ministers work during the Session, and holidays while he is administering his Department; but his holidays are often very joyless, cer- often very tainly very peaceless, when compared with J< ' . those of other men. The British people keep their chief statesmen well in public view, at all times. And, unless a Minister quits the country, which he is seldom able to do, his vacation is frequently as full of work, as other men's busiest time. It is always an ungrateful task to comment Remedies proposed. upon an evil, without suggesting any reme- 1 68 THE WANT OF TIME CHAP, dies for it. In this matter I have three reme- XVI. 1 ' dies to propose. The first, and greatest, is one which can only succeed if it meet with a just appreci- ation on the part of the public, to whose considerateness I would appeal. It is, that people in general should exercise great forbearance, as regards taking up the time of Ministers, by communications which need not be addressed to them. I am sure, if it were only from pity, the public would be more careful than they are in this matter, Unneces- could they but know how constant and severe *ary com- munica- - is the necessary pressure upon the time and attention of those men who have to conduct the affairs of this great and growing Empire. The second remedy which I propose, can only be made effectual, if it is fully appre- ciated, and generously acted up to, by Mem- bers of Parliament. Number It is, that, as regards Parliamentary work, ttons asked there should be more consideration for Minis- in Parlia- ment. ters, than there is at present. The number of questions asked in Parliament, in the present day, is most unreasonable. A man FOR STATESMANSHIP. 169 whose experience of Parliamentary proceed- CHAP. ings is of very long standing, was asked, in ' ' my presence, whether Pitt was careful and elaborate in answering questions in the House of Commons. ' Yes/ was the reply, ' he was ; but then, you know, questions in Parliament were rare things ; never more than three or four at a sitting.' There are other matters, also, in which a Minister's time and attention might be spared. In the conduct of a Bill of many Conduct of a Bill in clauses through Committee, there is often Parlia- ment. great waste of a Minister's time, by the at- tempt, on the part of persons who have not really studied the Bill, to introduce amend- ments and interpolations, which go far "to destroy the Bill as a whole. This practice calls upon the Minister to exercise the utmost dexterity, to prevent his Bill from becoming an inconsistent mass of crude legislation. My third remedy is purely of an official character, and can be applied by Ministers themselves, if they should coincide with me in thinking, that it is worth while to take some pains in doing so. I 70 WANT OF TIME FOR STATESMANSHIP. CHAP. It is to provide, in every Department, some ' ' ' person, or persons, who shall not be absorbed by the current business of the Department who should not be concerned so much with what is being done, as with what should be done, and with what should be provided for in the future. This is the person with whom the Minister should have much converse during that period of time which is facetiously called his holidays. This third remedy is, to a certain extent, a new proposal. But it must be remembered, that as the nation rapidly increases in numbers, and as civili- zation advances, more and more subjects of. interest, requiring either government inter- ference or government abstinence, have to be considered ; and that our chief public servants have need of every aid that can be given them, to meet the ever-increasing demand upon their time and upon their energies. CHAPTER XVII. I GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS. T would be ridiculous to suppose, that a CHAP. XVII. free press will not have great power in * whatever country it may exist, or under Power whatever government. This power will be Press. due, not only to the skill which the press may show in advocacy, but also to the fact, that it has, in general, the opportunity of commencing the discussion of great political affairs, thereby anticipating the views and intentions of the Government and the Op- position, and, in short, of gaining the public ear in the first instance. If any part of the Alliance with press enters into close alliance with any great political parties. political party, that part of the press loses much of its influence ; for the public desires the press to represent its views and wishes, and does not delight in manifest advocacy on behalf of political parties. 172 GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS. CHAP. Such a power, as that of the press, can- XVII. ' ' not be ignored ; at least it would be senseless on the part of any government to ignore it. Relations Then comes the question, as to what press and should be the relations between the press and govern- ment, government Before all things, these rela- tions should not be slavish on either side. They should, if possible, be friendly ; and, at any rate, should be just. By ' just/ I mean, that communications from government, upon matters respecting which the public may fairly claim early information, should be imparted simultaneously to all the principal organs of the press. Motives It would, also, be very desirable, I think, sometimes to be com- that not merely information, but the mo- municated to the tives for action on the part of government, press. _ ' should, on some occasions, be communicated to the leading newspapers. This may, at first sight, appear to be an undignified mode of proceeding, but it would often prevent error, and obviate misunderstanding. The press, not knowing what are the motives which influence government in regard to any course which government proposes to GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS. 173 take, begins to write upon the subject with CHAP. XVII. very imperfect knowledge ; and then, having - ' once taken up a line of argument, continues to support that line for the sake of consist- ency, and somewhat in the spirit of partizan- ship. The advantage of making such communi- Such in- formatio cations as are here proposed to be made, will, should be full. doubtless, be greatest in those affairs (and they are many) which are not, or, at least ought not to be, connected with party feeling. When government is resolved to take, or is in- clined to take action in respect to some matter of a complicated nature, not involving great political questions, nor perhaps indeed any political questions at all, there would, in my judgment, be a great advantage in allow- ing the press to be very fully informed by Ministers as to the motives for that action. There is one point, relating to this subject, inteiiec- i . i . i r 11 -i i tua l power which requires to be fully considered, and O f a De- .... . . 1t T partment. which is very rarely considered at all. it has regard to the relative intellectual power, at the command of any particular Department of government, and at the command of the 174 GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS. CHAP, press. Most people never know, or if they xvii. r s ' do know are apt to forget, what is the intel- lectual power at the service of any Department of the State. A Department consists, for the most part, of a high political officer, in one or the other of the Houses of Parliament. To aid him there is a political Under-Secretary, a permanent Under-Secretary, a chief clerk, and, perhaps, four or five senior clerks. As a general rule, all of these men are men of ability, at least of an ability above the ave- rage. Moreover, they have the advantage of a large command of information ; but they are very busy men, and they have very little time to spare for defending what they do. Literary On the other hand, the press has the means power of ... -11 the press, of engaging in its service the cleverest writers of the day ; and it can change them from time to time. The power, therefore, that it has of bringing into the field good argument, expressed in good language, in hostility to any Department, is very great ; and is some- times absolutely oppressive. It is also to be borne in mind, that men in office are under great restraint. It is not GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS. 175 allowed to them to give explanations, except CHAP. at the time, and in the place, when and ' ' where, as it is supposed, it is fitting to give such explanations. I do not think I have exaggerated these relative conditions of power, which at times are very adverse to government Depart- ments ; they seem to me to point to three conclusions. First : That the public, keeping in mind Public should that the government Office, which is subject reserve opinion. to hostile criticism, may have a great deal to say for itself, but which it cannot say or cannot say it then and there should en- deavour to reserve its final opinion on the matter in question, whatever that may be. Secondly : That the press, keeping in mind Advan- tages of the advantage which it has over the govern- the press f not to ment Office, in regard to the conditions before be used ungene- mentioned, should endeavour not to employ rousl y- that advantage ungenerously. Thirdly : That the government Office, informa- tion to be when it can with propriety do so, should dis- given early. close, at an early date, those facts, motives, and objects, respecting which it feels, that if 176 GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS. CHAP, the public knew all, the public would probably v ~~~ 1 be on its side. Of course this could not be done in any government where the proceedings are of a sinister kind ; but the Government of this country is so honestly administered, and with so much care for the public welfare, that it could often afford to act in this open and candid manner. Public It has been said, and said truly, that the working ... of the working of government in this country is govern- like that of bees in a glass hive. There are ment. certain disadvantages in this mode of work- ing ; but in a free country, with a free press, I do not see how they are to be obviated. All I would desire is, that the glass should not be coloured or stained, or, in less meta- phorical language, that from the first there should be the least opportunity given for mis- understanding, and misrepresenting the wishes and intentions of any government Depart- ment CHAPTER XVIII. I ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. T is a favourite maxim with many of the CHAP. XVIII. governing persons of the day, and notably ' ' with economical reformers, that ' you must not be generous with other people's money/ That I deny. When you are in an office Gene- of great trust, and have to deal with other o ' people's money, it is your business to try to deal with it as though it were your own ; and the highest functions of your trust may, in the interest of those for whom you have to act, compel you to be generous. In fact, if you are not generous with their money, you are often doing them a great injustice and a manifest dis-service. An error of the kind alluded to has crept Lawyers' advice. into men's minds, and may be well exempli- fied by the advice lawyers sometimes give to their clients. How many lasting family feuds 178 ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. xvm' nave ar i sen > because a client has listened to his lawyer, ignoring his own feelings ; and all the while the lawyer has given advice qua lawyer, and if he had not been advising a client, if it had been purely his own affair, he would have acted with a spirit of generosity, which he now contends is not, for a moment, to be listened to. False I am in general much disinclined to indulge may in prophecy ; but, for once, I will break cause a great through the rule, and will venture to say that, disaster, I shall not be surprised if some small economy should, on some great emergency, prove to be a pregnant cause of disaster to the nation in which that small economy has been prac- tised, causing fatal detriment to some im- portant national force. yet often It is to be remembered, that all economy, a very plausible judicious or injudicious, is a wonderfully thing. plausible thing ; and, moreover, it has this specious advantage, that it can be stated so undeniably in black and white, as we say. For example, the holder of an office dies. The rigid economist, who has power in the matter, sees that here is an opportunity for effecting a saving to the public, as he calls ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. 179 it. We will say, that the late holder of the CHAP. XVIII. office received 8oo/. a-year, and did good ser- ' vice for it. The economist abolishes the office A case of false altogether, throwing the duties of it upon some economy. other holder of office, with a slight increase of his salary. The public is saved, perhaps, 7oo/. a-year, according to the figures. But (and I am not drawing upon my fancy for the facts) the new duties are imposed upon a man who, though intelligent and clever enough in other respects, is wofully unfit to perform these new functions. He is, for instance, well versed in calculation, and has gained much credit by the advice which he has given to government upon matters of finance. He is now to have by this addition to his duties, a function to perform which requires, perhaps, much knowledge of men, and much skill in managing them. It is to be expected, that he will fail in the performance of the new duties, and thereby a pecuniary loss to the public may be occasioned, in comparison with which the saving that has been effected by the abolition of the office is wholly incom- mensurable. N 2 180 ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. CHAP. There is not any thins: which rewards the XVIII. ' ' individual employer of labour better than Trust in supreme trust in his agents. For once that agents. this trust is abused, it is used, nay it is made remunerative, in a hundred instances. If you do not trust your agents thoroughly, even in matters of expense, you must organize a sys- tem of checking, which is of itself expensive ; and, what is much worse, is a hindrance that tends to efface responsibility, and to prevent rapidity of action. Distrust As I am, however, dealing with the ques- false economy, tion of economy, pure and simple, it is, as regards that question alone, that I maintain that the economy, which is sought to be obtained by a system of distrust, is likely to result in increased expense. For example, take any one of the great Offices of State. Tf every item of their expenditure is to be supervised by other Departments, there is great expense in this supervision ; and there is no impulse given to the heads of the office to regard economy in their expenditure, as a thing for which they are responsible, and for effecting which they are to have the entire ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. l8l credit. If, on the other hand, they are in- CHAP. XVIII. trusted, to a certain extent, with the control ^ ' of their own expenses, they are more likely to have a pride in keeping those expenses within due bounds, and at the same time they will always have a great care not to impair the efficiency of their respective offices, which is, naturally, the first thing that a Department looks to, and ought to look to. No person, who has not had any expe- Ridiculous super- rience of the effect of ridiculous supervision vision. as regards small matters of expense in public Offices, can imagine how much loss of valu- able time, and increase of worry are occasioned by this interference as for instance, when it descends into such particulars (not imaginary) as this Whether, in the opinion of one office, a broom is sufficiently worn out by use in another office to make it necessary that a new broom should be provided. Moreover, and this is no small point, men's dignity is hurt by being obliged to deal with these absurdly trivial questions ; and a man, per- haps one in high authority, curses in his heart the having taken service with an employer [82 ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. CHAP. w ho thinks fit to vex him, and take up his XVIII. ' ' time with questions of this nature. True Hitherto we have been considering the economy, errors of a false and spurious economy. But there is a real and true economy, which the public servants of our own, or any other country, may be educated to regard as one of their highest and best functions. In private life, in works executed by the agents of any large and wise employer of labour, you will mostly find a devotion to their master in matters of expense, which makes them more careful and saving of his a result money than he is himself. That man has of trust. seen but little of the world, or has been very unobservant, who has not noticed many in- stances of this, the highest, the best, and the most continuous economy ; and it is one which can be elicited by judicious trust, and by im- posing upon agents that responsibility which is a source of enlightenment, as well as of the most unselfish and dutiful action. Before dismissing this subject, I must re- turn to that branch of public economy, which consists in the abolition of offices. In what ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. 183 I have before said, this question was treated CHAP. XVIII. in reference only to the duties of the office, ' ' which has been abolished, being committed to Abolition of offices. persons who are unfitted to perform them. But there is a question of a very different nature which requires like consideration. If you wish government to be conducted in such a manner, that there is much hopefulness left for the persons who are employed under it, you must have offices which should be the Reward reward of long, or of special service, but vices. which should not in themselves be offices of excessive work, though not mere sinecures. For example : there shall be some Board or Commission consisting of five members. The work, we will suppose, could really be done by four, if each one of those four worked at the full stretch of his power. With a large- sighted view of the public service, it may be most desirable to retain that fifth place, con- sidering it only as a reward for public service. There are many persons employed in the civil service of this country, who cannot otherwise be fitly rewarded. There is scarcely a more important office, 184 ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. * CHAP, under government than that of private secre- XVIII. * ' tary to a Cabinet Minister. The Minister, for Private his own sake, generally takes care to make a secretaries, very good choice in this matter. The choice, in the first instance, mostly, falls upon a very young man. The relation of parties in this country, unlike that of other countries, has in it, on the whole, so little of hostile bit- terness, that this private secretary is very frequently recommended by the out-going to the in-coming Minister ; and the recom- mendation is accepted. Thus it happens, that a man is often employed for many years as a private secretary to successive Ministers. How is this man to be rewarded ? The reward has generally been found for him by appointing him, after many years of hard and anxious service, as a member of some government Board. What I have said, with regard to private secretaries, applies to other official persons, how to be Now, there is an answer, at first sight rewarded. . . plausible, which may be given to this line of argument. It might be said, always pay a man at once exactly for the service he does, ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. 185 and leave hope out of the question. My CHAP. J XVIII. answer is, that you would not get such good ' ' work, and that you would put a young man quite out of his place in the Civil Service, and probably do him a great deal of harm, if you were to reduce his expectancy to an imme- diate money payment. To put the matter in a more general form, Proposal for you must have some offices in the public rewarding service. service corresponding to the Deaneries and Canonries in the Church, to which you may appoint men whom you have tried in subor- dinate employments ; and to reward whom you will find no better way than by conferring upon them appointments of more dignity and more pay, though perhaps involving less ex- acting work. No service of the State will Hope of reward be conducted well, in which you cut off the should always sources of hope. And, with regard to the exist - severest economy, it will be found that the abolition of an office, such as I have de- scribed, is ultimately a very bad bargain for the public. It was a very bold saying, in which I ven- tured to declare, at the beginning of this 1 86 ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. CHAP. Essay, that it was necessary sometimes to be XVIII. - ' generous with the public money. This say- ing may, however, be thoroughly justified, if we acknowledge the fact that the first thing to be aimed at by the government, or by any employer, is to get the best service. Good Best service, good paid service (I am one of those service how who do not believe in unpaid service), must obtained. be handsomely remunerated, whether the em- ployer of labour is a private individual or the State. I would have the State to be considered as the most generous employer of labour, so that it should ever have the best name for liberality in the labour market, and be able to attract to itself whatever form of talent it may wish to command. It may be a somewhat subtle and Machia- vellian way of looking at the matter ; but I have ever observed, that occasional acts of extreme generosity on the part of an em- ployer have an almost disproportionate effect in inducing men to seek for work under that man ; and that, to express the matter vulgarly, nothing pays better than these occasional acts of generosity. ECONOMY IN GOVERNMENT. 187 In fine, while pursuing a system of just CHAP. economy, a government should always avoid ' ' such a lowering of salaries and rewards of all kinds as would render its service less than it ought to be to men of talent and education, of whom, happily, there is no lack in this country. CHAPTER XIX. DIPLOMACY. WE hardly ever give credit enough to in- ventors. Custom has rendered dull our per- ception of the audacity of their enterprizes, and of the difficulty they must have had in persuading other people to adopt their inven- tions. The wheel seems a simple thing ; but, doubtless, ages passed away before a man was found skilful enough to invent a wheel, and persevering enough to induce his fellow- men to make use of this new and strange invention. The fork is an implement of comparatively recent invention ; and it gives almost a new view of the great men of the world to think that, except in China, up to the sixteenth century, they chiefly employed their Diplomacy fingers in eating. Now, though we hardly ever consider diplo- a new invention. DIPLOMACY. 189 macy as a new invention, it certainly is so. CHAP. X.IX, If we turn to the history of savage nations, ' ' or of nations in a partial state of civilization, we do not find that any such thing as di- plomacy existed amongst them. Ambassa- Ambas- * sadors dors were frequently sent from one people to originally special another (the word ambassador originally envoys. meant only messenger), and it was a very great invention, in the progress of national life, when ambassadors became resident diplomatists, and permanent representatives of Sovereigns, or of sovereign States. It may be wondered how any nation was induced to allow certain men from another nation, to come and reside amongst them, and to enjoy privileges of immunity, when their functions were somewhat of the nature of espial ; and when they were expected to give information to their own government of much that might be prejudicial to the people amongst whom they were to reside. I seem to hear all the remarks, that the extreme conservatives in any nation must have made, when it was first proposed that ambassadors should not merely come with 190 DIPLOMACY, CHAP, a message and return with an answer, but XIX. ' ' that they should take up their abode at some central place in a foreign dominion. Ultimately, however, the uses of diplomacy have been discerned by almost all nations ; and these uses are very great. Misunder- I suppose it would be generally admitted, standing the main that one of the main causes of quarrels, cause of quarrels, whether domestic or national, is misunder- standing. Now, resident diplomatists cer- tainly have great opportunities of removing misunderstandings between nations. Some persons have accused diplomatists of having furthered rather than prevented wars. This, however, is a most unjust accusation ; and I think it can hardly be doubted that if the negotiations of nations in regard to the great matters of peace and war, were car- ried on by ambassadors (using the word in its strict sense), who went and returned with messages, there would be far more mis- understanding than there is at present. Moreover, it is a great advantage to know what is going on in a foreign State with respect to all the arts of peace, including DIPLOMACY. 191 legislation and administration. How desir- CHAP. XIX. able it is, for instance, for one nation to ' be speedily and accurately informed of the special laws and facts relating to commerce, in another nation also as to its management of infectious and contagious diseases affecting men or cattle. If nations are kept in harmonious inter- course by means of diplomacy, they are per- petually borrowing from each other's wisdom and experience. An interchange of thought between nations on many of the great sub- jects of human life and endeavour is most valuable ; and this interchange is best ac- complished through diplomatic agents. The Vague views of traveller's view of any country is apt to travellers. be very vague and incomplete, especially in regard to those subjects concerning which it is most desirable that people at home should be informed. The merchant, even if resident in a foreign country, naturally takes but a very limited view of the gene- ral affairs of that country, his observations being, for the most pant, restricted to those matters which chiefly affect his own business. 192 DIPLOMACY. CHAP. Even the consular agent has a much nar- .X.I.X.. "~ r ~ ' rower sphere than the diplomatic agent, who may be expected not only to inform his own government of facts, but of the view of the foreign government to which he is accre- dited, and of the general disposition of the people, in reference to those facts. You do not want to know merely the laws that have been passed in any other country to avert, or control, any evil which exists in your own country, or threatens it. You want to know how those laws have been received, utility of and whether they are acted up to. If you representa- . . r i i i , tion in obtained information of this kind only from foreign countries, the foreign government itself, the informa- tion would justly be very suspect ; for no government is fond of speaking frankly about its failures. From your resident diplomatist, however, you may learn not only what has been sought to be done by legislation or otherwise ; but what is really effected ; and if there is any failure in this respect there will be no scruple on his part in giving you due in- formation of its nature and extent, and of the reasons, in his opinion, which have caused it. DIPLOMACY. 193 The British are the greatest travellers in CHAP. XIX. the world ; they have the largest commercial ' ' marine ; and they are by far the most vigor- British the most ous and enterprizing of colonists. They are, enter- prizing therefore, more interested than the men of colonists. any other nation in learning all that is going on in foreign countries. Some may say, that the foregoing are the lesser uses of diplomacy. It may be doubted whether they are the lesser ; but, supposing them to be so, I think it may be shown that what are called the great objects of diplomacy, those which chiefly relate to peace or war, are also much facilitated by diplomacy, and especially by maintaining the highest class of diplomatic agents abroad. It must be admitted, that on any occasion War the failure of when war takes place, it is the failure, though diplomacy, it may not be the fault, of diplomacy. Diplo- matists must therefore be even more anxious than other men to avert war. It is certainly an advantage for the rest of the world, that there should be a body of men, for the most part highly cultivated, and having the ear of o 194 DIPLOMACY. CHAP. Courts and Cabinets, whose main interests A. IX.. % V ' ' compel them to desire peace. Now, take the most recent case in which diplomacy has failed, and the peace of the A failure world has been largely disturbed. This may of diplo- macy, be owing to one or other of two causes or, as is more probable, to the two causes being combined. Either diplomacy failed to give one of the principal combatants a just repre- sentation of the power that was about to be arrayed against him ; or he and his Ministers failed to give due heed to the representations of their diplomatic agents. If I might hazard a conjecture, which neither I, nor anyone else, have the means at present of verifying, partial information was given to that Government. But the informa- tion in question did not, perhaps, fully convey all that was to be learnt about the disposition of the minor Powers, and especially of the common people. On the other hand, it may be conjectured that sufficient attention was not given to that information which was received. If, how- ever, in any particular case, diplomatists have Probable cause. DIPLOMACY. 195 failed to give all the information which they CHAP. XIX. ought to have given ; or if the suggestions of ' diplomatists have not been sufficiently at- tended to, it is by no means proved that diplomacy is useless, because it has not been made due use of. There is a very difficult and delicate matter connected with diplomacy, and that is, the Pubiica- , , . . - , . i . , tion of publication ot diplomatic correspondence, diplomatic There is always some danger, in a free spondence country, of this publication being made so frequently, and so unreservedly, as to destroy much of the benefit that might be derived from diplomacy. I will give an instance of what I mean, which, though not exactly a publication of diplomatic correspondence, was a transaction of a similar nature. It occurred many years ago. There was a law proposed by the Home Sometim ,. injurious Government for a certain Dependency. It was a very good law both for the Depen- dency and for the Imperial Government. The people, however, whom it was mainly meant to benefit, did not receive the proposition in a favourable manner : indeed, were entirely o 2 196 DIPLOMACY. CHAP, recalcitrant. The Governor wrote home a XIX. ' confidential letter to the following effect. There was no hope of carrying the measure now, he said, but he foresaw that in time it might be carried. He should keep the matter constantly in view ; and he indicated various ways by which he hoped in time to persuade those persons who were now op- posed to the measure to be reconciled to it. Certain correspondence, connected with this Dependency, was called for in Parliament, and this letter was published. The Governor soon after came to England, and did not fail to express his vexation at finding that this confidential letter of his had been made public. The first news he had received of its publication was from his own people, who naturally taunted him by re- counting the means by which he intended to persuade them. Now, in no branch of human affairs is it very desirable to tell people beforehand all the ways by which you in- tend to persuade them to consent to some- thing, even though it may be greatly for their own interest that they should consent, and DIPLOMACY. 197 even though your intended modes of persua- CHAP. .XIX. . sion may not indicate anything that is wrong ' "" or sinister. I would guard myself from being held to maintain, that diplomacy has never done any mischief; but what I do maintain is that, upon the whole, it has been greatly serviceable in preventing, or at least in post- Diplomacy /iii- i \ apreventa- poning (and the latter is no mean advantage), tive of war. the commencement of hostilities. Diplo- macy does not pretend to eradicate human passions and ambitions, but it tends to miti- gate their consequences. The main point is, whether a resident diplomatist is not much more serviceable, in this respect, than an am- bassador, according to the ancient acceptation of the term. There is a notion among some people that The future of diplo- the days of diplomacy have gone by ; but I mac y- would rather contend that there is a brighter future opening before it, and that, as the world grows wiser and better, diplomacy will be found to be more and more effectual in pre- venting, or postponing, that greatest of cala- mities war. CHAPTER XX. ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. " I "HERE is very little to be said on this -A- great subject, which is not essentially of a commonplace character. In fact, it might almost be written by stringing together a series of proverbs. Men have not been for many thousand years upon the earth, without finding out their own faults, or rather those of other people, in the common affairs of life, and expressing their sense of these faults in pregnant sentences, which have met with universal acceptation. The worst, however, Proverbs of proverbs is that, when you have a proverb to be con- sidered in embodying one phase ot thought, you gene- pairs. rally want an exactly opposite proverb to correct it. In considering this subject, it will be well to take a particular instance, and endeavour to work it out thoroughly. Let us suppose ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 199 a case of considerable magnitude ; not of a CHAP. X.A.. legal character, but into which law enters, as ~ - ' it does into most human affairs ; which in- volves questions of general policy, and of Case sub- administration. This case is submitted to a Minister. a Minister by his immediate subordinate. The first thing for the Minister to do, is to begin at the beginning. This of course ap- pears a self-evident remark, but it is an essen- tial one. It will not do for him to be satisfied in taking up any great affair at a certain stage of the proceedings, upon the assumption that he has a perfect account from his subordinate of all that has happened up to that time. He will almost always have his reward in begin- ning at the beginning, and keeping carefully to dates, which are the backbone, as it were, of every long series of transactions. The need for this somewhat laborious mode The study of history. of procedure may be aptly illustrated by what often happens in reading history. I strongly suspect, that when conclusions from history are falsely drawn, it generally results from the enquirer neglecting his dates ; and having present to his mind numbers of facts, 200 ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. CHAP, which were not present to the minds of those XX. ' who were enacting considerable parts in history. The student, for example, is aware of what was the ultimate result in history, of some long conflict of contending principles brought into action ; he knows that Pro- testantism ultimately prevailed in this country ; and does not reflect, that to the promoters of that great work, that final result was anything but self-evident. In few words, he has not the right set of facts before him, at the right dates. Exactly a similar thing occurs in minor matters in the current business of daily life ; and therefore it is needful, not only to begin at the beginning ; but at each stage of the case, to consider what was then the exact state of facts, including also the arguments that had then been brought forward on all sides. References A practice, that should be universally and quota- .... tions to be adopted in matters ot business is not to ac- verified. ... cept a reference, or even quotation, without verification. In this heavy case, which I have imagined to be brought before a Minister, reference will perhaps be made to Acts of ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 2OI Parliament, Orders in Council, letters of a CHAP. XX. former Minister, and other documents. Not ' ' only the exact words, but the context, must be looked to in all these references. It is not that men mean to deceive, but that they are terribly prone to inaccuracy, and that in- accuracy is likely to be greatly increased, perhaps unconsciously, by their own preju- dices and desires. There then enters the question of the aid, The aid that pre- and direction that are to be gained by pre- cedent affords. cedent. The aid that precedent affords is not to be despised, especially as all mankind are apt to have a great respect for it ; but, at the same time, it is a power to which no man, who has any faith in himself, will permit himself to be made a slave. In the conduct of this case, and in the con- Advice of others. elusions which the Minister will have to arrive at, from time to time (for I imagine it to be a case of largeness and continuity), he will probably not act without the advice and suggestions of others, especially his subordi- nates. It becomes, therefore, a matter of great importance for him to understand the 202 ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. CHAP, general bent of the characters of those per- JvJv* ' ' ' sons, whom he must take into council. Every man has some such bent ; and he is seldom, Characters if ever, free from the inclinations of thought of advisers to be ai- which that bent of character determines. One lowed for. man is nearly sure to take a harsh, or at any rate a severe view, both of persons and of conduct. Being also an accurate and pains- taking man himself, he is apt to conclude that other men (the men, for instance, involved in this case) are as accurate and painstaking as he is, and will attribute to other motives, those statements of theirs which merely arise from the ordinary inaccuracy of mankind. There is, of course, the character of an exactly opposite tendency. And indeed, without going further into this matter, it may be laid down as a maxim for the Minister's consider- ation, that whatever he receives in the way of suggestion or comment, whether from a colleague or a subordinate, is always to be fined down, as it were, by keeping in mind the peculiar character of the man by whom it is made. Moreover, he can thus arrive at the appreciation of an average of thought, and ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 203 feeling by balancing the views of men of CHAP. A.X. opposite character. With very few men is ' - ' the dry light of the intellect the only light which they look up to. Doubtless, too, the Minister or deciding Bent of his . . own mind person has to beware of indulging too to be guarded much the bent of his own character ; but against. here a considerable subtlety of observation should enter. Every man should be aware, that he will, ultimately, act in accordance with the bent of his character ; and therefore that it is useless for him to assume, by fits and starts, another form of character which does not belong to him. He may resolve to act in direct oppugnancy to what he knows to be the natural inclination of his mind, but if he does so, he must do it handsomely and consistently, and must not play two differ- ent parts, in the course of the same trans- action. Then, in any important case, of the kind General T . , . , . , i . considera- 1 am supposing, which is to involve adminis- tions. tration, there are certain general considera- tions, as regards the conduct of mankind, which should ever be present to the mind of 204 ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. CHAP, the man who has to take action in the case. XX. ' To enumerate these considerations would be a lengthy and laborious task : it will suffice to point out two of the most serious. Allowance In the first place ; the administrator can for indo- lence, hardly ever make too much allowance for the indolence of mankind. Where his adminis- tration will fail, is in people omitting to do, from indolence, that which he supposes he has given them sufficient means and instructions for doing. Hence, in all matters of adminis- tration, continuous supervision and inspection are most needful, and as in also great pre- ciseness of instruction. Fordis- In the next place, he must calculate upon obedience. a large amount of disobedience, resulting, not from wilfulness, but from misunderstanding, or from the subordinate ' thinking,' as he is pleased to call it, for himself, when he has received precise directions from his superior. There is one memorable instance of this kind, The Duke which happened to the late Duke of Wel- ofWel- . en lington. Imgton. It was in the retreat from Burgos. ' Knowing the direct road was impassable, he ordered the movement by another road, ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 205 longer and apparently more difficult ; this CHAP. seemed so extraordinary to some general ' officers, that, after consulting together, they deemed their commander unfit to conduct the army, and led their troops by what appeared to them the fittest line of retreat ! He had before daylight placed himself at an important point on his own road, and waited impatiently for the arrival of the leading di- vision until dawn ; then suspecting what had happened he galloped to the other road and found .the would-be commanders stopped by water. The insubordination and the danger to the army were alike glaring, yet the prac- tical rebuke was so severe and well-timed, the humiliation so complete and so deeply felt, that with one proud sarcastic observa- tion, indicating contempt more than anger, he led back the troops, and drew off all his forces safely.' 1 I now come to that which is perhaps, after all, the most important point in dealing with this considerable case, which I have imagined 1 Napier : Peninsular War, iv. 386. 206 ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS, as laid before a Minister. It especially relates to expression, and will illustrate what I had in my thoughts, when I suggested that ex- pression should be made one of the main objects of the education of a statesman. The particular form of expression, which is now wanted by my imaginary Minister, is con- cerned with limitation. He will generally find, that when he goes wrong in the expression of his views, or his decisions, it is because the form of expression used has been need- lessly wide in matters, too, where a single extraneous word may pledge him to actions, which he has no intention of undertaking. That the words should exactly clothe the subject-matter dealt with, is one of the greatest aids and safeguards in the conduct of all busi- ness, whether it appertains to the high art of statesmanship, or to the work-a-day business of the world. Rules not Another point to be carefully watched in fused with the conduct of business is, not to confuse rules principles. . with principles, and especially, that no man should needlessly lay down rules which may hamper himself. His principles may be ever ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 207 so strict: the rules he lays down should be CHAP. XX. very elastic, and certainly he should not be ' ' prone to communicate to others, needlessly, those rules which he may have instituted as guides to himself. Hence, in making com- munications upon the subject of the business alluded to, it is seldom wise to say, ' We Not to be commum- never do this, or that, or the other it is con- cated needlessly. trary to our rules, or our practice. Perhaps, in a few weeks or months, there may come a case in which it is necessary to violate the rule, or depart from the practice ; and then there is an appearance of lamentable incon- sistency. The circumstances and conditions of life in any community, where high civili- zation prevails, are so numerous, various, and difficult to be imagined, even by men of fertile imaginations, that no prudent man shuts himself up in rules made by himself, like a silkworm winding itself up in its own cocoon. Then there is the general correspondence about the matter to be considered. Herein there must be much continuity of aim and purpose, and, therefore, clearness of expres- 208 ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. CHAP. sion. If we could trace up some of the XX. ' ' greatest errors to their source, we should pro- bably find, that many a decision which has failed to decide, and has, indeed, failed to con- vey its exact meaning in any way, has been thus made inefficient by its language, in some of the principal sentences, being thorough Failure patchwork : designed by one man ; corrected through patch- by another ; revised by a third, while some work. little point, merely of diction, has at the last been interlineated by a fourth. The final draw- ing of any important document should be one man's work, embodying the various correc- tions made by other men's minds, but having that unity and force which can only be the outcome of a single mind. Another important point in the transaction of business, and especially in such a case as I Division have been considering, is to divide the sub- of subject into ject-matter into several sections. One of the sections. chief arts in mastering any subject consists in subdivision. It is an art which presupposes the existence of method. In a previous chap- ter on education, I was able to make only a few suggestions as to how this supreme effort 0-N THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 209 of division and classification, called method, CHAP. xx could be taught. It i.s a thing, however, of "- inestimable value, and must, somehow or other, be acquired by any man who has to deal promptly with business of much pressure and magnitude. Referring to the case in ques- tion, there may be scores of arguments apply- ing to different sections of the case. If these Argu- ments of arguments are left as separate forces, as it respective sections to were, and are not brought, as a mathema- be con- clusions. tician would say, to ' resultants ' in their re- spective sections, the man who has to decide, wanders about in a jungle of unsettled thought, and is perpetually taking up his facts and argu- ments at wrong times, in the course of forming his determination. Whereas, if the various facts and arguments had been brought to their conclusions in their respective sections, the Minister's labour, in coming to a deter- mination upon the whole subject, would have been almost indefinitely facilitated. This supposed case has now been con- sidered in much detail ; and it has been shown that there are many ways by which the labour of dealing with it may be lightened, while p 210 ON THE CONDUCT OF J3USINESS. CHAP, the issue is rendered more felicitous and con- xx ' r - ' elusive. The same methods which are applied to great matters of statesmanship are, no doubt, applicable to all kinds of business. I shall conclude this chapter with a remark, which also applies to all kinds of business indeed to almost all forms of import- human endeavour. It is that the indirect mice of indirect results of any course of action are nearly results. always the most important. Hence it is, that what we call worldly wisdom is so difficult to attain ; for hardly any man is sagacious enough, or has that breadth of knowledge, which would enable him to see all the indirect consequences of any course of action he decides upon ; although he may perceive very clearly the direct result of that course. For example, he discerns an evil ; he re- Remedies solves to provide a remedy ; but the mode by Avitifgreat which he does so is, perhaps, one which in- indirect conse- directly shall be fraught with good or evil quences. consequences, far exceeding in magnitude those direct results that he distinctly fore- sees, and is resolved to accomplish. ON THE CONDUCT OF BUSINESS. 2 1 1 We may turn to natural science for an CHAP. 2\. A-. illustration. There are rays of heat and of "~ ' ' actinism, which are not revealed by the spec- trum, but which play a vital part in the operations of nature. The statesman who does not take note of the probable conse- quences of his actions, other than those which are their direct result, resembles the philoso- pher who should treat the visible light-rays as though they were not accompanied by other rays, for the effects of which he must not fail to make wide allowance, and far-seeing calculation. CHAPTER* XXI. CHAP. XXI. National and indi- vidual pros- perity. Not identic:!. IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY OF A NATION CONSISTS. WHILE we are considering the various functions and modes of government, it is desirable, from time to time, to bring back our minds to a consideration of what should be the main objects of government. In the first place; it must be recollected, that the prosperity of a nation is a thing somewhat different from the prosperity even of all the individuals who constitute it. To begin with, there is this main element of dif- ference namely, that the life of a nation is of so much longer duration than that of an individual. It might so happen, that a great majority of the individuals, composing a na- tion, should at any time be singularly unpros- perous should, indeed, be going through a phase of unprosperousness which might, PROSPERITY OP A NATION, 713 after all, conduce largely to the ultimate wel- CHAP. J\.A.l. fare of the nation, and be, in fact, a necessary ' ' * form of that nation's continuous prosperity. It can hardly be said, that the individuals of a nation are prosperous, while it is in the agony of a revolution, and when every peace- ful citizen is crippled in his resources, as also in the profitable use of his labour. But, for Revolu- tions /nay the ultimate prosperity of the nation, this be neces- sary. revolution may be absolutely essential. Another aspect of this matter may be obtained by the consideration of what takes A nation of slaves place in a nation, consisting chiefly of slaves and of slave- and slave-owners. This is a very simple owners. form of human society. It has immense disadvantages, as we all know, in regard to the social relations of master and man. But it has also another enormous disadvantage. As the great bulk of the nation requires food, clothing, and habitation of the same kind and pattern, the arts of life must languish ; diver- sity of culture will be wanting ; and skill in artizanship cannot be educed in such a com- munity. No man, with any foresight, can call that a prosperous nation, for though there 214 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP, may be considerable material comfort for the A.',^LX ' ' slaves, as well as the masters, that nation must be at the mercy of any nation of free- men, simply because of the diversity of pro- duct and of culture, which belong to the one, and are so greatly wanting in the other. Now, I would ask my readers to apply their reflections on this slave State to other States, which are not infested with slavery. They will perceive, I think, how much ad- vantage is to be gained by great diversity in the conditions of the various classes consti- tuting any State. At the present time there is a dead set made against all privileges, and against any- thing which tends to make diversity in rank and fortune in the State. This is the tendency of what is called the democratic movement of Demo- the world. This democratic movement has cratic movement. jt s origin in some of the noblest aspirations of our nature ; but we must take care that it does not dwarf the highest forms of culture and well-being, while it tends to raise, politically speaking, the lowest class of our fellow-subjects. Use to be made of it. We should avail ourselves of this force OF A NATION CONSISTS. 215 to raise the lowest class of the community, CHAP. -A..A.J.. but should be very careful not to make the v ~ * movement a destructive, instead of a con- structive, one. There is no doubt that if, having the world to deal with as a new thing, we could begin by initiating a social system, which should prevent all poverty, and protect all help- lessness, much might be said in favour of endeavouring to institute such a system. It Social system of is manifest, I think, that the ancieftt Peru- Peruvians. vians, under the rule of the Incas, approached more nearly to the adoption of that social system than any other nation which, as far as we know, has ever appeared on the face of this earth. But even if we had, with our present knowledge, to begin again the peopling of this world, it would still remain somewhat doubtful, whether the social system indicated would be the best one possible namely, that which would lead to the highest development of mankind. But we must, in fact, look at the world as it is before us a world bearing on its sur- face enormous diversity of habitations ; great 2l6 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP, variety of agriculture ; various races and or- A.X.I. " ders of men differently educated ; in short, a world transmitted to us, stamped with the result of all the work of our ancestors work intellectual, moral, and physical and we have to make the best of it. But we shall fail in doing so, if we omit to take into consideration those enlarged views for the good of the people in general, which were often sadly absent from their labours. A nation is really in a hideous state of difficulty and danger, which has its feet sunk in the mire of ignorance, to use a bold meta- phor, while its body is of somewhat noble aspect, and its head may seem to tower towards the skies. I cannot look at its situ- ation as otherwise than one of extreme diffi- culty and of great danger. I can no more call that a prosperous nation, than I could call that nation happy, which exists at a dead level of attainment physical, intellectual, and moral and which gives but little hope of fur- ther advancement towards the highest aims of life. There is a great delusion, which, I fear, besets us all, and which often daunts our best OF A NATION CONSISTS. 21 J hopes and noblest aspirations, which delusion CHAP. XXI. is mainly fostered by an ill-considered appli- * ^ cation of history. We are apt to fancy that the fate of a nation necessarily resembles that of a single human being that it has its boy- hood, its youth, its maturity of manhood, and its senility. I believe, that if we were bolder The seve- ral ages of in our hopes, our aspirations, and our endea- a nation, vours, we should resolutely refuse to consider nations in this limited manner ; but should resolve, that we would consider the nation, to which we may belong, as capable of rein- vigorating itself by returning to any of the fore- They do r i i r i i n0t neces " mentioned epochs of its national hie, to which, sariiy tend to deca- for the time, it would be most advantageous dence. to return. This I admit is an enthusiastic view ; but if many men partook of it, it would be capable of being realized. Despondency and indolence are the two main agents that restrain the progress of mankind, both in material and in social well-being. Our en- lightenment should lead us continually into reconstruction of all that is fruitful as well as into destruction of all that is harmful. Many years ago, when elaborate researches Dangerous were being made into the condition of the 2l8 fN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP, lowest classes in London, it was stated that it xxj. ' ' contained about 350,000 persons belonging to what may well be called the dangerous classes. Now, this word 'dangerous' is not meant to apply merely to the politically dangerous. It is meant to include those who, from their miserable condition of life, are dangerous to the well-being of the State from the means they afford for the promotion of disease ; ignorance ; crime ; and the example of evil living of all kinds. A State cannot be called prosperous, which contains a very large body in such a condition as I have just described. Action Of late years, however, not only has our of the British Government devoted itself to the effort (an govern- ment, entirely new effort, by the way, and the highest duty of a government) of ameliora- ting the condition and promoting the well- being of its lowest class, upon which the whole superstructure rests, but there have been found individuals who, highly placed them- selves, have given their lives and fortunes to this same great object. In few words, the prosperity of a nation consists in combining the highest culture OF A NATION CONSISTS. 2 19 which must always be somewhat connected CHAP. . . . XXI - with privilege with a due consideration for *- - the lowest section of the community, which Prosperity of nation. for ever deserves, and will amply repay, our utmost regard for its well-being. The object of statesmen should very much resemble that of a good schoolmaster, who, while he keeps an eye upon the most prominent and hopeful of his scholars, is yet worth nothing, as a schoolmaster, if he does not care more for the far larger number, who can only be expected to attain to mediocrity of culture. It would be a sad thing, and in no way conduce to our national prosperity, if we could only raise the lowest by the depression of the highest ; and it would be unwise to ignore the danger, always to be apprehended and guarded against, of the tendency to lower the highest development of a nation, by an ill-considered destruction of means, oppor- tunities, and privileges, which would in no way promote the grand object of raising the lowest class to a state of political efficiency, and of unenvious and hopeful well-being. In order to consider my subject with the 210 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP, care that it deserves, it is requisite to dwell XXI. "~ ' somewhat upon the fate and fortunes of those nations which have distinguished themselves in the world's history, but which have sub- Decadence sequently fallen into decadence. I doubt through exhaus- whether any of the reasons, which have been tion. assigned for that decadence, reach to the real cause the causa causans, as the metaphy- sicians would call it. I doubt, for instance, whether luxury, or whether the irruption of barbarian hordes, has been the true cause of the downfall of nations. I think it would be found in the exhaustion of hope and pur- pose an exhaustion to which bad Govern- ment must very greatly contribute. Take Rome. the Romans for instance. They had done almost everything that a nation could do ; and had done it well. They had colonized ; they had conquered ; they had, to a certain de- gree, assimilated other peoples to themselves. They had tried all forms of government. But there came a time when they became hide-bound, as it were ; and there was a total want of hope and faith in the nation. This, I believe, may be perceived throughout the OF A NATION CONSISTS. 221 literature of the Lower Empire. Men had CHAP. XXI. ceased to believe, that there was anything ' ' good to be done in respect of political and social life. And men are so constituted, that they cannot work well, or even fight well, when their minds are in this state of stag- nation. Now, there may be a state of stagnation stagnation , . , . , . r i i f ata l to which is not in this way ratal, because it prosperity. arises from something which can be removed. Take, for instance, the superincumbent weight of slavery. That may cause a nation to stagnate as long as it exists. But once re- move it, or begin to remove it, the ener- gies of the nation are unfettered, and it springs up again with renewed life. Again, take a nation which, from some circum- stances, has not hitherto engaged in com- merce. Let there be an outlet made for commercial enterprise, and this nation will Com- revive. The Romans, however, had tried everything ; had succeeded to a certain extent in their various endeavours, but had not after- wards found any new outlet for hope, en- deavour, and perseverance. The fate of the 22 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP. Roman Empire would, in all probability, have JV./L1.. ' ~ > ' been very different, and it might have sub- How the sisted for many generations longer, if the Empire New World had been discovered by a Roman. might have ........ been pro- i he vast undertakings, which this discovery longed. would have occasioned, would have infused new life throughout the Roman Empire, and would have given exactly that stimulus, and that hopefulness, which I hold to be the main- springs of a nation's prosperity. Spain and In answer to this, it will be said: that the New _ . . . . _ - - . World. bpam did not profit by her conquest of the New World. I contend that she did profit, and very largely, and that the conquest of the New World was not the cause of the de- cadence of Spain. That was occasioned by far other causes. Any limitation of thought in anything in which humanity is deeply con- cerned, is a cause for decadence in a nation. Now, Spain with her Inquisition, and with the continuous bigotry of successive kings, was limited in religious thought. The phy- sical result of this limitation is most con- spicuous. The power of Spain broke itself, as it were, upon the Protestantism of the Of A NATION CONSISTS. 22$ Netherlands. The character of the people CHAP. XXI. was such as to give the greatest weight to ' ^ monarchical institutions, and the greatest effect to the character of the reigning mon- arch. The Spaniards, from the accession of Philip II., in 1556, to the present time, Political i i i i- - have been, with the sole exception of tunes of Spain. Charles III., exceedingly unfortunate in this respect. They were also singularly unfortu- nate in their relations with other countries, which had, notably in the case of the War of Succession, pretexts for interfering in the internal affairs of Spain. Doubtless other causes for her downfall might be adduced by anyone well skilled in Spanish history ; but I am only concerned, at this moment, to show, that the discovery and conquest of the New World, by Spain, was not the compelling cause of its temporary decadence ; and, cer- tainly, I do not know how it can be main- tained that an increase of enterprize, an enlarged field for adventure, great addition of material products, and an immense exten- sion of commerce (all which good things accrued to Spain by the conquest of the 324 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP. Indies), can be deemed to be hurtful to a XXI. ' nation's prosperity. Prosperity At the same time, I must own, for this is rather than part of my main argument, that all these good physical. . . things might exist in a nation which yet should be hastening to its downfall. For, after all, I consider the prosperity we are now discussing, to depend upon what is men- tal and moral rather than upon what is physical. It is not present prosperity, it is not even growth ; it is, to use a big word of which Dr. Johnson was very fond, poten- tiality ; and we may even recall a memorable occasion on which he used that word, which will amply illustrate my present use of it. ' We are not selling a parcel of tubs and vats,' he exclaimed, when he was acting as Mr. Thrale's executor ; ' we are selling the Saying of potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams Dr. John- . . , . son. of avarice. Now it is this potentiality, not merely of growing rich, but of being some- thing more or other, of doing something more or other, than it has hitherto been or done, which constitutes the essential and assured prosperity of a nation. There should be OF A NATION CONSISTS. 22$ growth, or at least the power of growth ; CHAP. .A..A.1. there must be hope ; there must be consider- ' ^ ' able freedom of thought, and action, in any Power of growth nation that claims to be considered prosperous, essential. In any endeavour to show in what the prosperity of a nation consists, and how the decadence of nations has often been precipi- tated, it may not be inappropriate to make some allusion to the subject of mob-govern- Mob go- vernment, ment. I suppose it will be admitted that there is no surer sign, if not of the decadence of a nation, at any rate of the weakness of its legislative government, than if mob-rule is permitted, though only occasionally, to prevail. I have elsewhere 1 described at large what Danger I think to be the peculiar evil of a mob, and the danger to be apprehended from a mob governing. It is, briefly, that a mob differs in its composition from day to day nay, from hour to hour. It cannot well, therefore, have experience, or conscience, or consistency to appeal to. 1 Conversations on War and Culture. Smith, Elder & Co. London, 1871. Q 226 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP. The subject, however, which I am going to X.X.1. ' treat, is of a much wider nature. It has refer- ence to those principles and practices that Principles lead to, and initiate mob-government which which lead ... to mob principles and practices are often encouraged rule. by men of considerable powers of thought and understanding. As a preliminary, I would ask such men to consider, what a serious thing it is to incul- cate principles which tend to revolutionize a State. It is like disturbing virgin earth, which it would take unknown ages to compress again into its original form. It was not without some show of reason, that our ancestors de- creed the most fearful punishments for high treason. Consider the labour of untold gene- o rations, that has gone to make a State, even if that State be one which has many faults of government, and much that requires to be remedied or improved. There is an admi- Passage rable passage in Montesquieu's ' Grandeur from Monies- des Remains ' : ' C'est ici qu'il faut se donner ijuieu. le spectacle des choses humaines. Qu'on The case voie dans 1'histoire de Rome tant de guerres of Koine. entreprises, tant de sang repandu, tant de OF A NATION CONSISTS. 227 peuples detruits, tant de grandes actions, CHAP. XXI. tant de triomphes, tant de politique, de sagesse, v de prudence, de Constance, de courage ; ce projet d'envahir tout, si bien forme, si bien soutenu, si bien fini, a quoi aboutit-il qu'a assouvir le bonheur de cinq ou six monstres ? ' In this case, all these labours, this thought, itsdis- r astrous these sufferings, went to create the power of a fate. brutal emperor ; but the same thing may hap- pen in the creation of the power of a brutal mob. Now, there are several aims and principles which tend to produce a tyrant power of this description, which aims and principles are somewhat rife in the present day. These Rif ene ss have been already touched upon, but not lutionaty 'ii i r\ r i principles. exactly with the same object. One of them is the abandonment of privilege. Another is the endeavour to do away with differences of station, education, and position of all kinds. Whereas, it will uniformly be found that the highest civilization co-exists with, and even depends upon, the existence of these dif- ferences. A State is never in more danger of some rude disturbance, in the way of Q2 228 IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP, revolution, than when it is composed of a XXI. "~~ ' few classes, the circumstances of each being Landor. nearly similar. The eloquent Landor says ' The greatest power on earth, or that ever existed on earth, is the power of the British public ; its foundation morals, its fabric wis- dom, its circumvallation wealth.' But even this mighty British public, with all its wisdom, its morals, and its wealth, is not safe from being imposed upon by ragged and dangerous ideas, mainly put forward by men of that smallness of purview, and narrowness of sym- pathy, that their minds can only entertain a few incomplete dogmas. If you observe, closely, the course of thought of any one of Men of these fanatical thinkers, you will mostly find one idea . . . dangerous, it to be subjected to one predominant idea. This one idea generally has some plausibility in it, and is nearly sure to be well put forward : for the man who has but one idea to manage, can manage that well, as he is not troubled by inconvenient exceptions or circumscrip- tions of any kind. And so the idea gets vogue especially among the class that it is supposed to favour and then you have the OF A NATION CONSISTS. 229 thinking- in mobs, and the acting in mobs, CHAP. XXI which are so prejudicial to a State. Now, turning to a very different source of Perils from misgovern- danger, which may end in mob-government, ment - I would remark that the only weight which socialist theories of the wildest kind intrin- sically possess, is derived from that mis-go- vernment which has led to such degraded modes of existence, among the poorest of our people, especially in great cities. And yet I should hardly say mis-government, so much as absence of government of that paternal government which is so much misappre- hended, and so much contemned by doctri- naires. Government neglect leads to mob interference, and perhaps revolution. How admirable are the words of Schiller, applied by the poet to war, but which are applicable to all violence, whether of thought or of action I I subjoin Coleridge's transla- tion of the passage : My son ! of those old narrow ordinances Let us not hold too lightly. They are weights Of priceless value, which oppressed mankind Tied to the volatile will of their oppressors. For always formidable was the league IN WHAT THE PROSPERITY CHAP. And partnership of free power with free will. The way of ancient ordinance though it winds, Is yet no devious way. Straight forward goes The lightning's path, and straight the fearful path Of the cannon-ball. Direct it flies, and rapid, Shattering that it may reach, and shattering what it reaches. My son ! the road, the human being travels, That on which blessing comes and goes, doth follow The river's course, the valley's playful windings, Curves round the corn-field and the hill of vines, Honouring the holy bounds of property ! And thus secure, though late, leads to its end. As I have said before ; differences of con- dition co-exist with, and probably tend to, high civilization. It may seem inconsistent, that I should be dissatisfied with the differ- ence of condition indicated above. But here, as elsewhere, every maxim that is laid down has to be interpreted by the aid of common sense. There are differences, and differences of con- dition. The one set wholesome and en- couraging ; the other dangerous, if not de- structive. In fine, if we wish to avoid the perils of mob-government, which even, in a short time, can put back for generations the hand upon the dial of civilization, there is not anything OF A NATION CONSISTS. 231 ment. we should more attend to than counteracting CHAP. XXI. the prevalence of those mischievous ideas and v r ' theories which tend to the decomposition of Prevention of mob- a State a thing so hard to re-compose, the govem- result of so much patience, of so much endur- ance, and, upon the whole, of so much magna- nimity. For no great State was ever built up without the toil, self-sacrifice, and renunci- ation of many noble persons, in many gene- rations. APPENDIX. SUBSEQUENTLY to writing these * Thoughts upon Govern- APP. ment,' my attention has been drawn to a work of Wilhelm Von Humboldt, denning the limits of the action of a Baron State. 1 I do not know that any other writer has devoted vo ^ Hum- a whole work to the consideration of this important sub- boldt. ject : and the writer in question was a man of great eminence, and of large practical experience. The object of the work is indicated by the motto on the Title-page, Object of which is taken from the writings of Mirabeau the elder his work - ' Le difficile est de ne promulguer que des lois neces- saires, de rester a jamais fidele a ce principe vraiment constitutionnel de la socie'te, de se mettre en garde contre la fureur de gouverner, la plus funeste maladie des gouvememens modernes.' 3 Here, therefore, if anywhere, we might expect to find propositions laid down, which would contain fatal objec- tions to the views which I have put forward with respect to Paternal Government. One of Von Humboldt's ju etnem SSerfucl)/ tie r&njen tcr SBtrffamfett beg taats ju befltmmen." 1 Mirabeau l'ain, sur F Education publiquc, p. 61. 2 34 APPENDIX. APP. The citizen and the man. The State not to influence character of the nation. maxims is, that it is a most unhealthy state of things when the Man is sacrificed to the Citizen : the writer's object being to protect, in every way, the individual action of the Man. It may, on the other hand, be fairly contended, that it is an evil thing to sacrifice the Citizen to the Man. The general proposition which Von Humboldt lays down is as follows : * that the State must altogether and absolutely abstain from all endeavour, whether direct or indirect, to influence the customs and the character of a nation, except in so far as this is unavoidable from a natural and self-originating consequence of its own absolutely necessary measures ; and that everything which has a tendency to promote this end, notably all special supervision of education, of religious institutions, or of sumptuary laws, should lie entirely beyond the limits of its action.' l This is a very severe limitation of the action of a State, more especially as by the words ' necessary mea- sures ' the Author there means, as may be discerned from the context, only those measures of legislation and ad- ministration which refer to matters of justice and of war. Now it should be observed how even this writer, whose main object is to protect the free action of the individual, is obliged to limit his own limitation. In a succeeding chapter he says, ' The State, indeed, should 1 /,2Mfj ber taat fid) fd)lerf)terbingS alleS S3eftireben$, biveft ober inbtreft auf bie itten unb ben (5t)arafter ber Nation anber$ ju nrirfen/ aB infofern btefj al cine naturlicfye/ son felbft ent= fiefyenbe golge fetner ubrigen fd)led)terbing6 notfyroenbtgen regeln unoecmetblid) tft/ gdnjtidt) entljalten muffe, unb bafj n>aS biefe tfbftcijt befdrbem fann/ oriuglicf) aUe befonbre 2ufft'd)t auf evjiefjung/ SteltgionSan flatten/ Suj:u6gefe|e u.f.f. fdjledjterbtngS aujierfyalb ber djranfen fetner SDSirffamJeit liege." APPENDIX. 235 in no wise provide for the positive welfare of the citizens, APP. therefore also not for their life and health unless, indeed, these are threatened with danger by the actions of others but certainly for their security. And only in so far as this security itself may suffer, for as much as fraud takes advantage of ignorance, could such supervision come within the sphere of action of the State. l This single exception, with regard to ' the actions of Energy, others,' appears to me to justify most of what I have * n ^ **L said respecting Paternal Government. Von Humboldt virtue of . , , - . mankind. contends that energy is ' the first and only virtue of man- kind ; ' and the reason why he deprecates governmental interference is lest it should diminish this energy. But still he is compelled to make the important foregoing exception to his general proposition. The whole subject of governmental interference is a very thorny one very difficult to deal with by exact rules or principles, and rather requiring the application of common sense in each particular instance where such interference is proposed. When we consider the out- rageous interference with personal liberty, in those matters wherein personal liberty is most required, that has entered into the legislation of most countries : when we perceive how difficult it is to get such legislation repealed, as may be seen from one notable instance respecting the laws of marriage in our own country : we are almost inclined to adopt the strict limitations 1 //er taat foil nemlid) auf fetne 2Betfe fur bag pofttioe 5Bol)l ber 33urger forgen/ bafyer aucf) nid;t fur itjr Seben unb ifyre efunb= tjeit eg mitten benn $anblungen anbrer ifynen efafjr broken abcr ttf)l fur ttjre @td)erf)eit. Unb nuiv infofern bie icliertjeit felbjl letbcn fann/ inbem Setri'tgem bie Ununffenfyeit benu|f/ ftfnnte cine folcbe tfufftcfyt innertjatb ber rdnjen bee SBirrfamEett be8 (StaatS liegcn." 236 APPENDIX. A PP. proposed by Wilhelm Von Humboldt. On the other hand, when we fully perceive what enormous benefits to the public may accrue from the restriction of liberty, as regards those ' actions of others ' which are noxious to the welfare of the community, we are prone to call loudly, sometimes, perhaps, too loudly, for governmental inter- ference. Von Humboldt, as quoted above, has said that 'energy is the chief virtue of mankind.' These general statements about virtues or vices can seldom be absolutely admitted. But if one were obliged to make any statement at all about them, it might perhaps be more truly said, that indolence is the chief vice of mankind and moderation the principal virtue at any rate the virtue which is most rarely practised. To avoid this vice and cultivate this virtue, are the two things mainly required in order to deal justly and wisely with this great matter of inter- ference, on the part of the State, in behalf of the public welfare. INDEX. ABO ABOLITION of offices, 183 of sinecures, 128 Abuse of honours, 84 Act, local, 58 Act of Parliament, 147 working of a good, 149 inoperative, 154 Action of the British Government, 218 of a State, 233 of others, 235 of American Senate, 44 Administration and legislation, 35, 165 Adulteration of dnigs, 30 Advantages of local government, 5 1 Advice of lawyers, 177 of others, a minister acting with, 20 1 Affection, State not going wrong from excess of, 24 Age, limitations as to, 69 of transition, 125 Agents, value of good, 55 choice of, 69 trusting, 180 Ages of a nation, 217 Aids to government, 2, 14, 6l, 96 Ambassadors, origin of, 189 Ambition, an evil, 153 BRI Ambition, cause of misplaced, 155 American Senate, 44 Americans, a governable people, 8 Anglo-Saxon race very critical, 144 Anxiety of Ministers to make good appointments, 75 Apology of Plato, 10 Applause, absence of public, 80 Appointments, making good, 75 Argumentation, power of, 122 Aristophanes. The Peaceful Citizen, 25 Art, advancement of, 2, 22 Authority, central, 57, 59 local, 57 Author's claims for being heard, 3 Average of thought, 202 'Avid of tacts,' Talleyrand, 134 BACON, Lord, 101 Benevolence of certain employers, 159 Bent of one's mind to be guarded against, 203 British, easy to govern, 8 moderate in rebellion, 9 cautious, 9 not envious, 16 constant, 16 2 3 8 INDEX. BRI British, critical, 17 tolerant, 1 7 averse to extremes, 1 7 Boar, fable of the troublesome, 84 Boards, IO2, 103, 183 Broom, economy about a, 181 Buckhounds, master of the, 77 Bureaucracy, fear of a, 28 CABINETS, sinecures in, 127 Captains of industry, 37 Care, practical, in choice of men, 74 Case submitted to a Minister, 199 Causa causans, a, 22O Caution, British, 9 Caveat entptor, 27, 30 Central authority, imperial nature of, 57 * what it really is, 59 inspecting, not superseding, local authority, 57 Chairman, choice of a, 102 Chamber, a second, 38 defects of a single, 40 De Tocqueville on, 43 Character of advisers to be consi- dered, 202 China, competitive examinations in, 62 Citizen and the man, 234 Coleridge's translation of Schiller, 229 Colonial affairs, dealing with, 22 Colonies, knowledge of, 144 Colonists, British the best of, 193 in Parliament, 47 Commerce, 221 Commercial enterprise, outlet for, 221 Cotnmune of Paris, 42 Communications, to the press, 1 72 DAN Communications unnecessary, 168 Competitive examinations, 62 adopted in China, 62 advantage of, 63 inefficiency of, 63 motives for, 67 example of an opposite system, 77 Compromises, 17 Conclusions of author mostly apply to Great Britain, 5 Condition of lower classes, 146 Conduct of majorities, 1 1 Conservatives, first opinion on Am- bassadors, 189 Constitution, of a Department, 1 74 of the Privy Council, 109 George III. on British, 6 M. Guizot on British, 18 Correspondence, publishing diplo- matic, 195 Council, Privy, 109 Councils, various, 43 use of, 96 two kinds of, 97 special nature, 98 tendency of representative, 98 advantages to be derived from, 99 characteristics of, 100 fatigue in, 101 choice of chairman for, 102 sections should interchange du- ties, 103 special utility of, 105 Counsellors, ex officio, 104 'multitude of, '97 Criticism, 37, 62, 123 British, 1 7 DANGEROUS classes, their number, 217 INDEX. 239 DEB Debating societies of some use, 139 Decadence of nations, 220 of Rome, 220 of Spain, 222 Defence of a Department, 49 Definition, of a State, true, 132 Democratic agency, 1 58 movement, use to be made of, 214 Departments not to be sacrificed to Parliament, 165 defence of, 49 attachment to, 49 origin of some, 114 officers in a, 174 extra officers for a, 1 70 intellectual power of a, 1 73 Despondency, 217 Details, love of, 134 mastery of, 133 De Tocqueville's opinion on a se- cond Chamber, 43 Detrimental honours, 91 Development of opinions, 13 Diplomacy, 188 a new thing, 188 failure of, 194 failure of, a cause of war, 193 a preventative of war, 197 the future of, 197 Diplomatic correspondence pub- lished, 195 Disobedience to be allowed for, 204 Distrust, false economy, 180 Division of labour, 21 Doctrinaire, 17, 125, 229 Double-first, the, 75 Drugs, adulteration of, 30 ECONOMY, political, 2 false, 178 FOR Economy, alse, a disaster, 1 78 a plausible thing, 1 78 broom, 181 private, 181 true, 182 Eckermann's conversations wit Goethe, reference to, 12 Education of statesmen never ends, 142 special, of a statesman, 133 Electors and elected, 95 Energy, the first and only virtue of mankind, 235, 236 Examinations, non-competitive, 77 Ex-qffido counsellors, 104 Experience nof always in the form of reason, 4 of a minister, 150 Experienced men, 76 Expression, power of, 135 national power of, 136 includes logic, 136 an art to be cultured, 136 includes method, 136 want of, obvious to all, 137 Evils, political, created, 94 FABLE of the cuckoo and eagle, 85 troublesome boar, 85 king and counsellors, 86 wandering tribe of Thibet, 8f Failure through patchwork, 208 False economy, disastrous, 1 78 a plausible thing, 178 a case of, 1 79 Fanatical thinkers, dangerous, 228 Fatigue in councils, 101 Fluellen, saying of, 59 Foresight needed, 125 very rare, 125 240 INDEX. FOR Foresight, not to be confined to statesmen, 128 benefits resulting from, 130 in regard to panics, 131 Fraternal government, 34 Free-trade, 12 Friendship between officials, 50 Functions of government, I GAS WORKS in large cities, 19 Generosity, 177 George III.'s opinion of British con- stitution, 6 and the Irish baron, 83 Girondins, the, 129 Glass hive, government like bees in a, 176 Goethe on minorities, 1 2 a saying of, 40 ' Gold lends mighty force,' 89 Good appointments, anxiety to make, 75 Government, its functions, I aids to, 2, 14, 6l, 96 interference, 20, 26 central, 57 relations with the press, 1 72 organizing skill required in, 1 21 working of British, 1 76 mob, 231 paternal, 23 perils from bad, 229 fraternal, 34 local, 51 Gravina, 132 Grandeur des Remains, 226 Grievances to be dealt with singly, IS' Guizot's, M., opinion of England, 18 INT HALLAM on the Privy Council, 1 10 Health ought to be the care of go- vernment, 32 Hereditary peers, 45 History, high use of, 129 study of, 199 how statesmen should study, 135 Honours, conferred rightly, 83 a case of abuse, 83 not less wanted as civilization ad- vances, 84 bestowal of, from fear, favour, riches, age, 89 detrimental, 90 how not to be used, 91 recently conferred on civil ser- vants, Napoleon on, 84 House of Lords, 44 defects of, 44 proposed reforms for, 45 Human affairs, interest in, to be cul- tivated early, 141 IMPERIAL interests must outweigh popular clamour, 147 Improvement, in contrast with re- form, 152 Improvements in London, 156 Improvers, scope for, 154, 160 Indirect results, importance of, 210 Indolence, allowance for, to be made, 204 Inferiors, choice of, 79 dependence on, 78 Infirmity of noble minds, 160 Information for the press, 172, 175 Intellects, Machiavelli's classifica- tion of, 1 06 Intellectual power of Departments, 173 TNDEX. 241 INT Intellectual powers of the public press, 171 Interference, government, 20, 26 just and necessary, 27 danger from too little, 29 cases unfit for, 3 1 limits of, 35 .. on behalf of workpeople, 32 on behalf of purchaser, 31 Inquisition in Spain, 222 Interviews, personal, desirable, 74 JOBBERY, 67 fear of, 73 Johnson, Dr., 37, 224 Justice, love of, 139 KING George III.'s opinion of Bri- tish Constitution, 6 ; making an Irish baron, 83 Louis XV., 130 and his counsellors, fable of the, 85 Knowledge of class views, 147 of facts, 134 Kriloi's fable, 84 LABOUR, division of, 21 Landor, 228 Lawyers' advice, 177 Legislation and administration, 35, 165 Letters addressed to a minister, 163 Life peerages, 45 Limits of interference, 35 Local Act, 58 Local authority, not superseded by central authority, 57 Local government, 51 MIS Local government forms adminis- trators, 51 occupies restless spirits, 52 brings classes together, 52 teaches difficulties, 52 higher classes should take part , S3 advantages of, 54 limits of, 54 Local knowledge, advantage of, 66 Lois, f esprit des, 132 London, need of improvement in, 156 Lords, House of, 44 Louis XV., 130 Love of detail, 134 Lower classes, condition of, 146 MACHIAVELLI'S classification of in- tellects, 106 Majorities, 10 Majority, general obedience to, 15 Massing of population, 20 Mastery of details, 133 Meetings, public, 145 Minister absorbed in work, 126 critics of, often impracticable, 126 need for less work, 127 education of, 133 case submitted to a, 199 Minister's experience, 150 knowledge mostly official, 143 time, 161 private letters, 163 holidays, 167 Ministers in Parliament, 164 Minorities, Goethe ; s opinion on, 12 Mire of ignorance, 216 Misgovernment, peril from, 229 242 INDEX. MIS Misunderstanding, acause of quarrel, 190 Mob-government, 225 danger from, 225 principles which lead to, 226 preventative of, 231 Montesquieu, 132, 226 Moor, Schiller's, 8 1 NAPIER, quotation from, 205 Napoleon I. on honours, 84 Nation of slaves and slaveowners, 213 National prosperity, 212, 219 age, 217 decadence, 220 New world, 222 OCCASION, errors concerning, 39 Occasion, not opportunity, 41 Offices, abolition of, 183 Opinions of George III. on the Constitution, 6 of De Tocqueville on the same, 43 of Goethe on minorities, 12 Guizot on England, 18 Napoleon I. on honours, 84 development of, 13 Von Humboldt on paternal go- vernment, 233 Organizing minds, 71 should be sought, 123 Organization, skill in, 115 not a gift peculiar to any race, 1 1 6 of a Department, 1 74 want of, at entertainments, 118 want of, at railways, 119 its importance, 120 not teachable, 120 POI Organization wanted in government, 121 powers of argumentation and, 122 Organizer, qualities of a, 116 Origin of some departments, 1 14 PANICS, 131 Paris, the commune, 42 Parliament impeding good govern- ment, 36 questions in, 36, 168 seats in, 93, 94 colonists in, 47 conduct of a Bill in, 169 Parliamentary influence, abuse of, 68 Party, political and press, 153 names, 153 Patchwork, 208 Paternal government, 23, 233 good policy, 24 its limits, 24 prevents revolution, 32 to be welcomed, 33 Von Humboldt on, 233 Peaceful citizen, the, 25 Pecuniary tests, 70 Peerages, life, 45 hereditary, 45 special, 45 People, voice of the, 14 massing of, 20 not guided by press, 143 Permanent officers, 48 Personal interviews, 74 Peruvians, social system of, 215 1 Philip drunk,' 41 Pitt in Parliament, 169 and Wolfe, 72 Plato's Apology, 10 Poisons, sale of, 30 INDEX. 243 POL Political economy, 2 misfortunes of Spain, 223 officers, 48 evils created, 94 Pope, quotation from, 6 Popular ideas, 146 Powers of organization and argu- mentation, 122 ' Prave ords, ' 59 Precedent, its value, 20 1 Press, powers of, 171 alliance with a party, 171 relations of, with government, 172 literary power, very great, 1 74 Primary tests, 66 ' Prince,' quotation from Machia- velli's, 107 Private Secretaries, 184 Privileges, 214 Privy Council, 109 its constitution, 1 10 Hallam on the, 1 10 not concerned with any party, ill sub-departments of, 113 powers of, 112 high utility, 112 suggestions for the improvement of, 113 Promotion, 79 Property, a creature of the State, 22 Prosperity, of a nation, 219 moral rather than physical, 224 Proverbs, to be considered in pairs, 198 Public, meetings, 145 working of British government, I 7 6 should reserve opinion, 1 75 applause, absence of, 80 REF Public speaking, 92 Publication of diplomatic correspon- dence, 195 QUACKS, 158 Qualifications for Peers, 46 Questions in Parliament, 36, 168 Quotations from Coleridge's ' Schiller,' 229 De Tocqueville, 43 Eckermann, 12 r Esprit des Lois, 132 Goethe, 12, 40, 89 Grandeur des Romains, 226 Guizot, 18 Hallam, 1 10 Johnson, Dr., 37, 222 - Krilof, 84 Landor, 228 Machiavelli's ' Prince,' 107 Mirabeau, 233 Montesquieu, 132, 226 Napier, 205 Pope, 6 Ralston, W., 84 Schiller, 81, 229 Shakespeare, 59 Talleyrand, 134 Taylor, Sir H., 79 Von Humboklt, 233 RACE, organization not a peculiar gift of any, 1 1 6 Railways, want of organization at, 119 References and quotations to be verified, 200 Reformer, efforts of a young, 26 Reforms proposed for the House of Lords, 45, 46 INDEX. REP Representative council, tendency of, 98 Representatives in foreign lands, value of, 192 Revolution necessary at times, 16, 213 principles of, rife, 227 Rewards, for services, 183 for private secretaries, 1 84 hope of, should always be held open, 185 evils of narrow system of, 92 Ridicule, a safeguard, 29 Right placing of men, 7 l Rome, 220 how its empire might have been prolonged, 222 its fate, 227 Routine, mill of, 122 like miller and his men, 128 Rules and principles, 206 not to be made heedlessly, 207 SANITARY matters, 55 powers, 59 Scheele's green, 32 Schiller's Moor, 81 on war, 229 Scott, Sir Walter, his justice to opposite factions, 9 Seal, putting a, to fame, 93 Seats in Parliament, 93 excessive demand for, 94 Second Chamber, 38, 40, 43 Secretaries, private, 184 Senate, American, action of, 44 Service, best, how to be obtained, 1 86 Shadow, jumping off one's own, 40 Sinecures, usefulness of, 127 abolition of, 128 TES Skill in organization, 120, 121 Slaves and slave-owning States, 213 Slowness, a fatal defect, 76 Social system of Peruvians, 215 Socialists, aim of, 32 Societies for debating, of some use, 139 Socrates' speech, 10 Spain and New World, 222 political misfortunes of, 223 Speaking, the art of, 138 in public, chiefly rewarded, 92 Spirits, restless, work for, 52 Stagnation, fatal to prosperity, 221 State, true definition of the, 132 Statesman, special education, 133 'avid of facts,' 134 should study history, 135 expression requisite for, 136 much isolated, 142 Stateman's knowledge, mostly offi- cial, 143 Study of history, 199 how statesmen stand, 135 Sub-departments of Privy Council, "3 Subjects for government interfer- ence, 20 Sun's rays, 211 Supervision, ridiculous, 181 Tabula Rasa, 155 Talleyrand, 134 Taxation, knowledge required for, 47 Taylor, Sir H., reference to his 'Statesman,' 79, 133, 135 Telegram from Paris, 42 Tenure of property, 22 Tests, primary, 66 pecuniary, 70 INDEX. 245 THI Thinking, 204 Time, error respecting it, 39 of ministers, 161 more, wanted for office work, 165 needed to master facts, 166 Timidity, aided by good chairman, 102 in a council, 97 Transition, age of, 125 Travel, English liking for, 144 Travellers, vague views from, 191 Tribe, the wandering, fable of, 87 Trust, in agents, 180 necessary to vigorous action, 38 UNDER-SECRETARIES, 48, 174 VALUE of good agents, 53 YEA Value, Napoleon's, of Ney, 61 of precedent, 201 of representatives abroad, 192 Verification, 200 Voice of the people, 14 Von Humboldt, 233 WAR prevented by diplomacy, 197 caused by failure of diplomacy, 193 preparations for, 131 Waterworks, 20 Wellington, Duke of, 204 Whist proposed as a test, 64 Wolfe, Pitt's choice of, 72 YEARS of discretion, 23 LONDON: PRINTED BY SI'OTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 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