THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES GOVERNMENT XTPON FIRST PRINCIPLES, iprofatb snb JllustratcJtr ^nalflgimllg. By JOHN GEOSSMITH. Injustice and Crime among Rulers of Nations beget injustice and crime everywhere.— p. S58, " If I have done anything for Society, I have done it really for my own advantage." MarcM Aureliui. LONDON : PIPER, STEPHENSON, & SPENCE, PATERNOSTER ROW ; JUDD AND GLASS, NEW BRIDGE STREET, AND GRAY'S INN ROAD, MDCCCLX. ERRATA. Page 3, line 3, /or " associations," read " ideas." 4, „ 28, for " the First Principles' present franchise," read " First Principles with the present franchise." 13t, „ 7, for '■ things, truth," read " things, pure truth." 158, ., 2, for " though calls," read "though he calls." 214, „ 29, /or "But because," read "Because." 225, „ 1, /or "Buddhists beginning," read "Buddhists are beginning." 226, „ 15, for " for after the," read " after mentioning the." 267, „ 15, fur " twelve kings," read " sixteen kings." 296, „ 17, for "representative his will," read " representative will." „ 305, „ 8, /or "every," read "ever." „ 337, „ 34, /or "pays," read "paid." 386, „ 8, /or "Acrion," read" Anacreon." CONTENTS. PAGK 1 LSTEODrCTIOIT CHAPTER I. The Elementary Law operating upon the Soul CHAPTER II. Q The three Essential Qualities of Life CHAPTER Ill- Geology illustrates the Analogical Law CHAPTER IV. 14 Raise up a better Principle to repress a Worse CHAPTER V. 15 In Nature, Creation was Progression CH.^.PTER VI. • •18 The Nebular Theory CHAPTER VII. Swedenhorg's Inquiries into the first Manifestations of Divine creating ^^ Energy CHAPTER VIII. The Oolitic Strata and Man CHAPTER IX. Spirit not only analogous, hut is motive Power CHAPTER X. 20 21 24 26 Geometry CHAI'TER XI. The Will more important than the Intellect CHAFfER XII. Does Spirit-rapping prove the Certainty of Spirit distinct and discrete from Matter ? or does it prove that Matter in Continuity exists after 27 this Life ? A 2 1 Til 84 88 XV CONTENTS. I'.VGE CIIA1»TER Xlll. Fh-st, what is Causality ? . . . . . . . . . , 30 CIIAPTKU XIV. Ivpials illustratod by EmTiil . . . . . . . . . . S-l CIIArTKU XV. Injustice to Others is Injustice to Ourselves . . . . . . 30 CHAPTER XVI. Tho Elementary Constituent . . . . . . . . . . 37 CIIAIT'ER XVII. Metallurgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 CHAPTER XVIII. First Principles illustrated by the Analogy of Metallurgy . . , . 39 CHAPTER XIX. The Nature of Metaloids analogous to Man in Nature . . . . 41 CHAPTER XX. The Process of purifying a low Aletal, such as Iron, is analogous to tho Means necessary in purifying Man in his low Condition, viz. — in micultivated Natiu'e . . . . . . . . . . 43 CHAPTER XXI, This illustrates how far Man can be governed by First Principles . . 46 CHAPTER XXII. Because a Corrective is necessary, are First Principles not necessary ? . . 48 CHAPTER XXIII. The Elemental, distinct in Degree from the Physical and Functional . . 50 CHAPTER XXIV. Supreme Benevolence interferes even with the Laws of Nature, as seen in Gravitation . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 CHAPTER XXV. The Elementary Good and True seen in all Ages, in various Aspects, varying according to Intelligence . . • . . . . . 53 CHAPTER XXVI. Re-formation and Regeneration illustrated by Chemistry, which first expels the Spurious, then combines . . . . . . . . 55 CHAPTER XXVII. Man comprises in Himself the Aggregate of all Creation, and his higher Characteristics illustrate Fu-st Principles ; his lower Characteristics illustrate present Perversions . . . . . . . . 58 CONTENTS. V CHAPTER XXVIII. The inner Spirit, or supernal World, the primary Cause of the outward "Worlds of Matter . . . . . . . . . . . < 01 CHAPTER XXIX. Analogy of the Mind and the Body in their Appropriations, Productions, and Reproductions . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 CHAPTER XXX. Happiness consists in its Relation, positive or negative, to the Perfect. To do good, not an arbitrary Command, but a Privilege by which our best Interests are promoted ... . . . . . . (55 CHAPTER XXXI. Man's Regards should be universally Important, not Self-important . . 69 CHAPTER XXXII. Pride the perverting Medium in all Men and in all Ages . . . . 73 CHAPTER XXXIII. It is a Law of First Principles, that He who makes Others most happy, is by the very Act Himself made most happy . . . . . . 76 CHAPTER XXXIV. The Free WiU of Man the paramount Object in Creation . . . , 79 CHAPTER XXXV. The Creator regarded eternal not temporary Objects in Creation, because Time must subserve Eternity . . . . . . . . 83 CHAPTER XXXVI. Mohammed a better Admonisher than our Episcopacy , . , . 88 CHAPTER XXXVII. On the Protestant State Church . . . . . . . . . . 89 CmVPTER XXXVIII. Mohammed's Laws and Maxims considered . . . . . . 96 CHAPTER XXXIX. Mohammed's Tradition of Ten Sorts of wicked Men bearing discretory Marks .. .. '. •• •• •• .. 100 CHAPTER XL. A Comparison between Moslems and Critons ... . . . . 101 CHAPTER XLL The Analogy in the gradual Process of Regeneration in Man, to the slow Operation of exalting the Valleys and making the Hills low, the crooked Phices straight, and the rough Places plain . . . . 103 y[ CONTENTS. FAOI CHAPTER XUT. All Things in Creation are aniilognus to Spirit, or Causality, because nil Creation has its Causality in Spirit .. .. .. •• 105 CHArTEIl XLIII. Tlic Elementary Vital, or, in modern vernacular, Spiritual World, is tlio "World of Causes, and the Natural is the World of KiTects in Health and sanitary Conditions, as it is also in Conditions of Unsoumbiess and Disease . . • • • • • • • • • • ^"° CHAPTER XLIV. The percipient Knowledge of the Elementary Law among the Ancients. Pherecides remarks : "Men will bo judged not by the incense . . . but by the virtues they shall have practised." . . . • • • US CHAPTER XLV. Love and Wisdom the Elementary Causality of all Creation . . . • 116 CHAPTER XLVI. Testimonies from Ancient Philosophers to the Truth of First Principles ; which are also in remarkable Harmony with the Doctrines and Philosophy of Swedenborg .. .. .. •• ..119 CHAPTER XL VII. Let the True and the Just have the ascendant, practically carried out in Purity of Purpose . . . . . • . • • • • • 131 CHAPTER XLVIII. Are Men in this Age receding from Truth, or acceding to it ? . . 13-4 CHAPTER XLIX. The Good and the Pure, the Generoiis and the Wise, are to be found both in ancient and modem Times. At all Times the Spirit of First Principles went forth to make and perfect the Earth . . . . 146 CHAPTER L. Purity is Conservatism .. .. ... .. .. .. 151 CHAPTER LI. Temporary Triumph of the Good and Glorious in 1790. Tlieir Reliance upon Human Aid alone . . . . • . . . . . 157 CHAPTER LII. Error of Judgment common among the Influential of the World . . 1G2 CHAPTER LIII. The Repugnance at this Day to cultivate the Heart . . . • . . 165 CHAPTER LIV. The Error of recognizing the Priority of Vicious Power instead of that of Virtuous Intelligence . . . . . . • • • • • 168 CONTENTS. Vll PAGE CHAPTER LV. The Fashion of the Day giving a wrong Bias to the Formation of Character.. .. .. .. .. .. .. 172 CHAPTER LVT. According to our co-ordinate Appropriations of the Good and the True, or the Virtuous and the Wise, do we personate the Beautiful. — The Stoic Philosophy considered . . . . . . . . . . 176 CHAPTER LVII. The Cause of Bad Laws traced to its Source — Man preferring Human "Wisdom to the Divine, the Life of Light . . . . . . 178 CHAPTER LVIII. The true Spirit of Legislation is to be discovered in the Roman Agrarian Law .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 181 CHAPTER LIX. It is no longer Industry, nor Virtue, nor Frugality alone, that acquires Place and Wealth ; but the cunning and extravagant Rogue finds the ready entree into Place, Power, and Wealth . . . . 184 CHAPTER LX. Cato knew well that Money was not a Measurement of Virtue, nor of Greatness of Character. The Votaries of Wealth were more dis- couraged two thousand years ago than now . . . . . . 186 CHAPTER LXI. Bishops wink at Crime among the Rich, but pour down Vengeance for Crime among the Poor . . . . . . . . . . 189 CHAPTER LXII. The Poor only necessary to a State until they become educated . . 191 CHAPTER LXIII. The Happiness of the Many should ever be the ennobling Aspiration of the Affluent. — Seek Power only to do Good to your Country and the World .. .. .. .. .. .. ..195 CHAPTER LXIV. Governments not based upon Christian Principles. — Tlieir Primary Origin traced . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 CHAPTER LXV. Man's Love of Dominion is worse than the Animal's love of Prey . . 202 CHAPTER LXVI. Creation's Perfections are to be seen in Nature's Beauties, where Use and Elegance combine. Nature, not only analogically, but in its own Properties, proceeds from the Uiviuc Operations . . . , 205 VUl CONTENTS. PAOB CHAPTER LXVIT. Attrnctive Industry ns n l^foans to Activity jiroforublc to Industry Btipor- iniluroil by Knmliition. — The Lovo of Pride destroys the Man while induiinj; biui to he active. — Render Occupations pleasurahle because attractive, and instead of desti'oying, wo build up . . ... 207 CHAPTER LXVIII. Epicureanism ftirther considered. — Its abuse by Julius Ctcsar . . . . 208 CHAPTER LXIX. The Standard of Power — its Patriarchal Origin. — The Sentiments of Locke and Hooker . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 CHAPTER LXX. All Nations have been corrupted by Aristocratic Domination and Abuse 213 CHAPTER LXXI. Criminal Laws punish Abusers of Rights ; English Law-makers reward Abusers of Others' Rights . . . . . . . . . . 215 CHAPTER LXXII. Power is the Standard of Hell ; Virtue and Justice form the Standard of Heaven . . . . . . • • • • • • • • 216 CHAPTER LXXIII. AU Orders of Action for Men must be Theocratical, Philosoiihical, and Practical .. .. .. •• .. #. •• 219 CHAPTER LXXIV. Purity of Motive produces Right Order of Action . . . . . . 220 CHAPTER LXXV. The Wicked shall be cut off from the Earth, and the Transgressor shall be rooted out of it . . . . • . • • • • • • 223 CHAPTER LXXVI. Evidence that this is the Day of Error stiU.— Inequality considered . . 224 CHAPTER LXXVII. Julius Ca;sar's Character considered . . . . . . . . 226 CHAPTER LXXVIIL Excellence of Sentiment often gives way to the Love of Greatness . . 228 CHAPTER LXXIX. The Great is replacing the Good in our Day . . . . . . 231 CHAPTER LXXX. All this Depravity exists, because Rulers take not their Instructions from Divine Maxims, such as Spiritual Love, which is such that it wishes to give what it has to another . • • • • • 233 • CONTENTS. IX '. PAGE CHAPTER LXXXI. How is it that we profess Christianity, and at the same Time systema- tically avoid the Practice of it, both in Church and State ? . . 236 CHAPTER LXXXII. Let the Test of all Governments be their Agreement with Chi-istianity 237 CHAPTER LXXXIII. Malthus's Advocacy of Poverty as necessary, considered . . . . 238 CHAPTER LXXXIV. Capital employed industrially and intelligently contributes towards the Productions of the Earth, in a multipUed Form ad infitiitum, pro rata with the Increase of Population . . . . . . . . 2-iO CHAPTER LXXXV. The Advantages of Taxation, and the Evils of excessive Taxation, considered . . . . . . . . , . . . 242 CHAPTER LXXXVI. The Evil of the National Debt considered. . . . . . . . 244 CHAPTER LXXXVII. The Remedy for excessive Wealth . . . . . . . . 246 CHAPTER LXXXVIII. A Diminution of Taxation gives rise to an increased Demand for Labour. Base Metal must not be regarded before Man, nor even Pure Metal 257 CHAPTER LXXXIX. The Remains of the Feudal System are the Obstacles to Agricultural Progress. — Malthus fiu'ther considered . . . . . . 251 CHAPTER XC. In Proportion to the Increase of the Wealth of a Nation, the Wages of Labour ought to improve, which would be the case, were Govern- ment based upon First Principles . . . . . . . . 253 CHAPTER XCI. The Malthuslan Notion, that the Poor are better ofl? with High Prices of Food than with Low Prices, controverted . . . . . . 257 CHAPTER XCII. Paley's Great Mistake. — A laborious, frugal People, should be adminis- tering to the demands of all ; not, as Paley would have it, to the " Opulent and Luxm-ious " . . . . . . . . . . 259 CHAPTER XCIII. The Necessity of re-establishing the Usury Laws now made evident, through the inordinate Rates of Interest of Money, superinduced by the Monetary Party . . . . . . . . . , 262 X CONTF.NTS. rAOB CIIAPTEH XCIV. The Cause why Evils jiprpetualoil are considered necessary to n State. — Dr. Oliver Goldsmith considered . . . . . . . . 265 CHAlTEll XCV. Unproductive Industry is a Loss to a Nation . . . . . . 271 CHAPTER XCVI. Wliy does not Qovornment employ Direct Taxation ? ... . . 274 CHAPTER XCVII. Paley considered • • • • • • • • • • • • 27o CHAPTER XCVIII. Locke versus Paley, considered . . . . • . • • • • 278 CHAPTER XCIX. The Owners of excessive Wealth, paying higher Rates than Owners of smiill Incomes of Lahom-, yield a Great Revenue ; and this is Con- sistent with First Principles.. .. •• •• •• 284 CHAPTER C. " If I have done anything for Society, I have done it really for my own advantage." — Marcus Aurelius. . . • • . • • • 294 CHAPTER CI. The Millions lost to the Nation by a Want of Principle on the part of the Government . . . • • • • • • • • • 309 CHAPTER CII. Is the National Debt beneficial to the Nation, and whom does it benefit ? 312 CHAPTER cm. All Attempts to reduce the National Debt are answered by superinducing Pretexts for War .. .. I •• •• ..324 CHAPTER CIV. A Metallic Currency considered . . . . . . . . . . 329 CHAPTER CV. Heads on which Alterations might be made . . . . . . 336 CHAPTER CVI. Rulers must be Good as Great . . . . • • • • • • 341 CHAPTER CVII. Journals should possess a high moral Standing, rather than a learned Display only . . . • . • . • • • • • 354 CHAPTER CVIII. Direct Taxation. — Land-Tax Evasions . . . . . . • • 357 CONTENTS. XI PACE CHAPTER CIX. Injiistice and Crime among the Rulers of Nations, beget Injustice and Crime everywhere . . . . . . . . . , . . 358 CHAPTER ex. The Nation that would Colonize much, should, first of all, regard Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 CHAPTER CXI. A more general Distribution of "Wealth is beneficial to the Rich and the Poor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 CHAPTER CXII. The I^mes Journal is the Barrier to Progress . . . . . . 373 CHAPTER CXIII. Neither the Extreme of Accumulation nor the Extreme of Subdivision is necessary . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 CHAPTER CXIV. The " Disease of the Mind" identical with this Day . . . . 375 CHAPTER CXV. The Wrong can never permanently uphold the State . . . . 377 CHAPTER CXVI. The lasting Advantages of Justice . . . . • . • • 379 CHAPTER CXVII. Is an Oligarchical Constitution consistent with First Principles ? . . 379 CHAPTER CVIII. Is a Democracy consistent with First Principles ? . . . . . . 381 CHAPTER CXIX. Why have not the State and the Protestant Church adopted Plato ? . . 385 CHAPTER CXX. What, then, shall form an Elemental Basis for the Government grounded upon First Principles ? . . . . . . . . . • 387 CHAPTER CXXI. The Regal Government, based upon First Prmciples, must be inexclusive 390 CHAPTER CXXII. Love shall form the Elemental Basis for the Government grounded upon First Principles . . . . . . . . . . . • 391 CHAPTER CXXIII. Money is Power . . . . . . . . . . . . 394 CHAPTER CXXIV. The Policy of the Whigs considered with Regard to the Currency . . 402 XU CONTENTS. PAGE CHAPTEll CXXV. Exchequer Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . 408 CHAPTEll CXXVI. Excessive Pnjicr under Discount is superinduced by an insufficient circu- lating Medium . . . . . . . . . . . . 426 CHAPTER CXXVII. Mr. William Atkinson on the System of Political and Social Economy . . 430 CHAPTER CXXVIII. The great Fact, that there is Abundance for all, proved . . . . 445 CHAPTER CXXIX. Harmony is the ultimate Object of Creation, and is a Law well worth Man's Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 APPENDICES. I. Policy in raising Loans for the State . . . . . . . . 457 II. Imperial Revenue and Expenditure . . . . . . . . 4'60 III. Account of the Gross Receipt and Net Produce of the Revenue of Customs and Excise . . . . . • . . . . 479 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. INTRODUCTION. Before entering upon the laws which First Principles enun- ciate, some introductory remarks are necessary, in order to remove fi'om the mind those wrong associations of principles which have caused governments to act from selfish authority, instead of an authority origiiiating in a Divine mission. The very basis of Governments, as now constituted, is wrong. They are wrong theologically, morally, and civiUy. It would, therefore, be useless to start at once upon the grand principles of Theocracy, without offering preparatory considera- tions. We will then endeavour to produce scientific deduc- tions for the sceptical ; theological and jihilosophical axioms for the thoughtful, the virtuous, and the pure ; and just principles for all. The Author asks for the kind indulgence of the reader, while he leads him through the sciences of Geology, Geometry, Mctallurg}^ and Chemistry, which are briefly introduced as analogical corroborations, in order that First Principles of government may be more clearly illustrated. It is hoped that at least this work may be found suggestive, and that others will after this go more deeply and elaborately Z G0VEU>;MKNT VPON first PRINCirLES. into the analoj^ical laws, a^^ tlio sourcc^s of all just tlioiii;lit. I do not consider the theocracy of Jidni Knox atteni[)ti>d to set uj) priests over the head of kings. I mean by theocracy, a govermnent based upon a first quality — upon first principles, a\vay from conventional terms. That Avliich was the God of Ileraclitus,* — the God of Fire, — was Mohammed's demon — the very devil ho found destroy- ing paradise. By another school, that of the lonians, water was considered their God ; Thales traced the origin of all tilings to watei", as did Anaximcnes to air, and Tiinaeus to matter. More remarkable is the worship of the Zezides ; they reve- rence the devil, and call him Melek el Kout — the Mighty Angel ; they consider Satan to be the chief of the angelic host. So that finding the term " God " by one nation and sect is understood to mean a God of love, by another a God of venge- ance; convepng the meaning oi Kndhas (good), to one — wisdom {Diran), to another — fire, to another — the devil, to another — water, to another — air, to another ; I prefer some- times using another nomenclature than the one in common use when Di\inity is mentioned, because aU present denominations have their various associations. Also, because the term "God" is indefinite, as it necessarily should be, pervading all causahty ; but definitions of attributes can better be expressed in simpler words, having greater perspicuity and cogency. If I wish to use thetei-m "good "in an infinite degree, the term "God" expresses it certaiidy ; but it also expresses wisdom or hght. In Hebrew it expresses both a negation and affii'mation — ^ j^ ^Vl eph Lamed, signifying also God, not, and to ; but H^ Jah — God only :- wliile in Sanscrit, their God Kiidhas signifies good, pure, &c. * Ileraclitus of Ephesus, a philosopher of the Ionian school, flourished ahout 513 B.C. INTRODUCTION. I therefore prefer using the tenns First Cause, Causality, First Principles, sometimes, but only when more convenient, in order to lead old associations away fi-om terms that have none of these associations. The terms of causahty are as sacred to me as the ordinary ones in present use, while they convey a more definite meaning. By theocracy, I by no means would intend priestly domination. There is a great distinction between a government based upon Fii-st Piinciples, which would there- fore be Di\'ine, and one based upon an order of priesthood, which always has degenerated into human debasement. All orders of action for man must be theocratical, pldlosopliical, and practical. The two latter piinciples of action are, unfortunately, what priesthoods have ignored ; yet this religious philosophy was more than the ideal with Plato, as it was the real world mth Aristotle, and formed the sublime reality with Zeno, as it did with the Stoics in general ; the whole of which, however, with them, became valueless without the practice. I mean by theocracy, a government based upon the pure, innocent, and good ; — Kudhas, from the verb kudh, to render pure and good ; and also based upon the wisdom — the luminous light — Divas, dcri^•ed from the verb dio, to hghten, to spread light. The legislature, by withholding one single act of right and justice from the people, produces a greater evil to a nation than millions of punishments can rectify ! The skilful and cunning devices of statesmen, in evading and eluding justice, though keeping mthin the letter of the law, is a frightful featui-e in this day. Look at our registration lists, after that, at our elections ; my space here Avill not admit of further enumerations in that dii'cction now, but they are patent. England must have the law, which is superior to the letter. li 2 4 GOVEUNMKNT UPON 1-TUST riUNCiri.l^S. Tlic law such ns Junius required, " Qiiaixfo aliqnid prohihiiur, prohibctur et o/niic, per qinnl dciruiito' ad illtid." This is in keeping Avilh First Principles, recognizing ni) evasions, nor extenuations ; purity of legislature should well provide that " when anything is forbidden, all the moans hy Avhich tho sanio thing may be compassed, or done, are ecjually forbidden." The Five Sciences arc used to illustrate the elementary law of analogy as subsidiary iu the development of First Principles, some of the more salient features of which are adduced in order to distinguish the phases of theii' varied adaptations, which will, in the after part of this work, assume an essential of the aggre- gate of creation, rather than an analogical comparison. I liavc endeavoured to portray the inward causality-world as tho primary cause of the outward worlds of matter. The day has come when men must choose the First Cause to rule over the nations, rather than man. Then Fii-st Principles win. re-organize the sub-rulers of nations, and raise up a standard by which to try all acts of parliament and all acts of men, con- sistent with First Principles — consistent with the standard of Heaven, wliich is, " Extend to others the goods you yourselves enjoy,'' — expressed in three words, " Love to all." Mohammed knew this, and said, " Ye shall love one another freely." Zeno perceived virtue to be the ultimate of his researches. Above all things, a government should be practically just. A church, above all things, should never violate a trust nor prostitute a privilege. Its precepts fail to accomplish their design imme- diately that is done. Let all laws be drawn fi'om the Spirit Standard — the New Word. But how squares the First Prin- ciples' present franchise with this Bible testimony ? How square the excessive accumulations of wealth by the few, and the excessive want among the many? Is this not anti-Biblical? Let it be well understood that punishment ever attends the un- INTRODUCTION. worthy reception of good gifts, in some icay, on earth, as well as in the causal world. It will be said that a man, acting on just principles, would be imposed upon from morning to night here on earth ; such charity can only be practised in the heavens. I say, in answer, Let us first begin on earth (or we may not reach heaven), by acting justly to all, in love to all. Before we can act upon charity, we have a mighty wark to accomphsh — i.e., to carry out JUSTICE. "With the suiTounding injustice staring every man in the face, the attempt to induce him to be even just will seem to be a certain failure : without first removing all injustice from the controUiug powers, crime tntU never cease. ^Vliere is there a man fit to rule on earth ? There never was more than one fuUy perfect, and he was God. Stranger stiU, Di^ane Power seeks not to rule at all ! It seeks to teach, not in terror, but in the pure " Spirit of Love." Men, on the contrary, seek not to teach in love, but to rule by the terror of unjust laws. Instead of extending to others the joys they possess, the immunities they enjoy — they withhold all they can from all. In a word, they have departed altogether from the spirit of Heaven, which is. " Give," and have established the opposite, \-iz., " Take." England enjoys the advantage of a good queen at present, and our constitution is such that the regal prerogative in the person of the sovereign can do but little harm ; but unless her ministers are true to Fii-st Principles, much harm can yet be done. As well might Great Britain remain autocratical monarchical, as to have a premier who impudently usurped the prerogatives of the House, as ill 1857. Great care must be taken that no individual nor any faction shall become too powerful nor too numerous. A balance of factional power is a grand consideration, and will ever bo regarded by a sound constitution as the highest attain- 6 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST I'RINCirLES. mcnt of liberty. Analogy illustrates this maxim in tliat of tlio human passions ; ono only left unchecked Avill soon destroy the whole e(|uilil)riuni of the man, and bring hiin into bondage, rather tban liberty. ]\Ianldnd has advanced in First Principles so little, that we actually have lost sight of the fact, that were all to assist in imparting some of their goods to others when prudence justified it, all would be both receiving and giving, — want would no more exist here than in heaven. Want is the result of exclu- sive legislation: the few holding the much, the many must have the little. Excessive riches among the few is an encumbrance, resulting rather in misery than in happiness amongst its possessors ; while miseries result also from the want of sufficient among the many ; so that the many poor and the rich few are both and all rendered miserable by greedy legislation. THE ELEMENTARY LAW OPERATING UPON THE SOUL. chapteh I. THE ELEMENTARY LAW OPERATING UPON THE SOUL. "When man reflects upon the laws wliich govern tlie luiiverse, in all the measured revolutions of earths — in geology, geo- metry, metallurgy, chemistry, and in the animal and vege- table kingdoms : when the mind has once learnt to perceive theii' unerring order of action, aihnity, gravitation, or attrac- tive force ; when it once fully perceives the constant regularity of process in all mundane things ; it is raised higher, and recognizes the majesty of law, and endeavours to perceive that the elementary operations upon the soul work in an order as certain, and under governing principles as regular, as those which operate in matter. Lot not tliis be supposed to savour of anti-theism. Nor let it be imagined that the writer intends to detract from the power of the Beneficent First Cause ; but that we may know Him better by knowing his causal laws, and so avoid the baneful consequences of error, he has been induced to investigate the intricate yet all essential elementary laws of being. This can best be accomplished by analogy. If the great Ruler of millions of worlds be found to have established laws which hold all in harmony in this vast extension and boundless magnitude, is it an illogical deduction, that the minds of the intellectual beings of the universe arc governed by laws immu- table, yet ever adapted to human mutations ? We know that matter operates upon matter, and that the most subtile and ethereal matters form the most potential influences on earth. We know, first, that the mind governs the body and controls it when in order, but the body seduces the mind when out of 8 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. order ; the uuiiual utlectious sometimes govern tlie body ; passions and Insts infest the mind. AVhat is effected then ? "NMiy, the soul becomes afflicted with evil by an elementary law, tliat is, A^^hatevcr soul or mind becomes affected by anything less pure than the elementary intluencc, or the Spirit of Fii'st Principles uni\-ersally operating, (like the sun, with its radia- tions upon all,) that soul admitting a less pure influence to affect him, has an action upon him less pure, from which ho derives less happiness ; or from which he suffers. This state is called Evil, so called because it produces the reverse of happi- ness, i.e. misery. I have always considered, that if these lesser influences pro- ducing CA-il had the power of producing happmess, they never would have been interdicted by creative genius, nor by man's own conscience — God's vicegerent in the soul ; for the perma- nent happiness of man is ever the great object of creation. I say permanent, by which I mean eternal ; because in the body- life, occasional intermissions of man's happiness for his improve- ment are experienced, which I take to be a lesser evil to avoid a greater. The greatest happiness is creation's object, good and grand ; the lesser, creation's sublmiary means. CHAPTER II. THE THREE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF LIFE. The grand essentials of life, in varied forms of expression, are loveful, truthful, and delightful ; or essence, motive, and power. In motion is the element of power ; in the essence is the element of motion. Motion, to be harmonious, must be as essential as potential. Actions, then, are pure as they are co-ordinate in motive and power. THE THREE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF LIFE. U Pleasures are pure as they are co-ordinate in love, action, and power ; or as they approach, to equahty in each of these classifications ; because to have a desire greater than the means of accomplishing the object desired, is to entail pain. The causes of uiisery, then, are unsubdued desires and passions — the will greater than the intelligence iu accomphshing it, or by taking the dii'ection which inteUigence forbids : thus inordina- tion, and not co-ordination of will, mind, and means. See, then, the true cause of misery, and thence discover that what constitutes true philosophy constitutes happiness. Cultivate no wants which cause pain to yourself, nor to others, in possession or privation, unless in self-sacrifice for good. Zeno said, — " He wished to live in the world as if nothing was properly his own. He loved others, and his affections were extended even to his enemies." " He felt a pleasure in being kind, benevolent, and attentive ; and he found that these sentiments of pleasure were reciprocal." "He saw a connection and dependence in the system of the universe, and perceived that from thence arose the harmony of civil society, the tenderness of parents, and filial gratitude." " He recommended resignation." Allow no privations to cast down the soul ; possess nothing that for general good you could not part with. Let the will of selfish nature ever be held in bondage to the mind, rccei\ing its dictate from the love of the good and the true. Learn to live a paradise ; — a paradise live to learn. To others teach what is proved to benefit mankind at large. Never indulge the first desire ; learn early to check the first impulse. Man's miseries origmate in unsubdued wants and assumptions — unnecessary desires. Stop and investigate the wish before acting upon it. Rude nature must and is to be subdued, all nature can and is to be controlled, by the mind and intelligence of man. Sterling and sturdy Nature must warp and t^vist herself into shape and rectitude by the power of the 10 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PUrisMJIl'i.KS. mind's master dictate. Tlic will of man must stop on tlic threshold of notion, and be first introduced and guided by the intelligence of A^sdom and science ; without such a con- ductor, man is sure to stumble, and perhaps fall. The will of man is his fair consort, that looks up to her wisdom for guid- ance when in harmony ; but the unruly uncontrolled coquette, when not subdued, allowing her desires to run riot, every pretty attraction dazzling by gaudy though dangerous splendour. Ijikc the silly gnat, fluttering round the warm light, approaching nearer and nearer, till its wings catch fire, becoming partially or wholly burnt, so is the animal man without the intellectual man ; our wills and desires flirting after expensive though needless gratifications, the more ha'sdng the more wanting, un- less the intelligence of First Principles, teaching through the mind, tell where to stop. To restrain our desires Avithin the laws of true theocracy, we should have these maxims ever before us : — "Let us love one another, for love is of God." / " He that ojjpresseth the poor to increase his own riches shall come to want." " Eob not the poor, for God -^an plead their cause, and spoil the soul that spoileth them." Again : compare the wisdom and pliilosophy of Zeno two hundred and fifty years before the above words were expressed by the Evangelists. Allow me to extract honey from all the beautiful flowers of this might}' creation, and from profane or sacred history ; all is beautiful to mc that is good and true. Zeno said — The external actions of men were the best indi- cations of their inward feeKngs, their secret inclinations, and their characters. It was the duty of the Stoic to study himself ; in the evening he was enjoined to rosdew with critical accuracy the events of the day, and to regulate his future conduct with more care, and always find an impartial witness within his own breast. Zeno's maxim was, ^ that with yirtue men couW Hve happy under most pressing calamities^ I GEOLOGY ILLUSTRATES THE ANALOGICAL LAW. 11 He said Ncature had given us two ears and only one mouth, to tell us we ought to listen more than to speak. He compared those whose actions were dissonant with their professions, to the coins of Alexander, which appeared beautiful to the eye, though made of the basest metals. CHAPTER III. GEOLOGY ILLUSTRATES THE ANALOGICAL LAW. A GOTERNMEXT, or powcT of restraint, should be held over all the animal cravings. Men's wants are not often their absolute requirements, or essential to their better being ; their denials are oftener the more essential part of their requirements. How does this square with the elementary law operating upon the soul? ■^^^lere is the analogy in nature ? Let us see if we can trace this in the sciences, and begin with the first mentioned, viz., Geology. Can we there discover good evolved fi'om restraint ? Can we discern benevolent results from actions involving contrary forces ? We wiU notice some. What beneficial products are the result of the organic changes of the earth ? Volcanic eruptions throwing the ter- tiary, secondary, and primary strata into contact with each other, and, by the action of air and pulverization, pelding thereby the most fertile soils, for the cultivator of the earth. How valued are the mixtures of the plastic clay with the lime- stone, green sand, the varied oolites, the Has or blue clay, the new red sandstone, the magnesian limestone, in small proportions ? These together, with the Upper Silurian System, the Lower Silurian Rocks, the Cambrian System, and even the Mica and Gneiss systems, produce a beneficial mixture. "VMiere these meet, better land may be expected ; and where they do not meet of themselves, the skill of man can be profitably employed. Instead of letting them rest quiet as they are, by disturbing 12 GOVERNMENT irpON FIRST PRINCIPLES. the substrata, dig dcwn into the bowels of the earth ; and by thus disturbing it }ou develop its treasures, which are obtained in admixtures of apj)arcnt contrarieties. Here, then, we find an analogy in nature. We may sui-ely know that if the earth is not to bo let alone, neither is man. The elementary law upim man, then, by which the soul is benefited, is the action of contrariety ; the denial of self-complacence for the attain- ment of further acquirements — the i)arting from that easy self-indulgence ^^'hich is the darling affection of the heart — benefits the soul more than gifts received ; whilst that received iu return, furnishes us with means for a more extended usefulness. Impart to others freely, and unselfishly, of thought, intelli- gence, word, and wealth ; mingle together for good. Having the object aud motive good, mix with characters even opposite to yoiu'self ; and by mild converse (not argument) moderate the excesses, looking well at the same time at your own. Never despise even bad characters as lost, but look upon them in the spirit of loving yoiu' enemies (as did Zeno, that great Stoic philosopher) ; endeavour to find some good point in them, ujjon which you can commence to kindle better sentiments and actions ; dig down into the depths of theii" depravities. Often these are not far worse than your own. Though they profess infinitely less than others, they may often be found to be noble and generous under very rough exteriors. The revolutions they have undergone may have rendered them fertile sources wherein to insinuate good. How true is the analogy in nature here ! AVherever natural heat or warmth exists in a soil, as in the neighbourhood of volcanoes, there it exhibits the most exuberant fertility. The advantage we derive from the con- vulsions of the earth literally, is graphically expressed by Hitchcock in his " Rehgion of Geology " (p. 155) : — " If these strata had remained horizontal, as they were originally deposited, it is oljvious that all the valuable ores, minerals, and rocks, which man could not have discovered by direct excavation, must have remained for ever unknown to him. !N"ow, man has very seldom penetrated the rocks below the depth of half a mile, and rarely so deep as that ; whereas, by the elevations, dislocations, GEOLOGY ILLUSTRATES THE ANALOGICAL LAW. 13 and overturnings that have been described, he obtains access to all deposits of useful substances that lie within fifteen or twenty mUes of the surface ; and many are probably brought to light from a greater depth. He is indebted, then, to this disturbing agency for nearly all the useful metals, coal, rock-salt, marble, gypsum, and other useful minerals ; and when we consider how necessary these substances are to civilized society, who will doubt that it was a striking act of benevolence .which thus introduced disturbance, dislocation, and apparent ruin into the earth's crust V May not we be reconciled to w^liat is called the " fall of man," when we contemjDlate the benefits that have been derived fi'om distui-bances of his nature, analogous to those of the earth ? May we not see good coming out of the rough material of his nature that was necessary to be broken up ? May we not see, if only as thi^ough a glass darkly, that there may have been required in man, states of humiHty, self-denial, sacrifice, a con- scious dependence, as if by acts of his own ; a manful and grateful co-operation with the Deity, in rising and recovering from a low condition ? This conscious choice of the supreme good and truth, and denial of self, could not have been so fuUy attained, had he been created and sustained in a perfect state. In acts of reclamation and everlasting progression, man has a perpetual work to do, designed for unending gratifications. The idea is joyous. Imagine the happiness that aU improvements bring with them. Our own condition and position improved, our relation to others improved in this world ; and in the next, a continuous improvement ! "What can we conceive to be more calculated to make man a joyous being, than to be ever and ever inheriting a better and more enlarged sphere of happiness ! Let us not repine, if, for instance, our health be not at all times good, when we can be assured of a condition at some future day that shall repay us, as science, chemistry, and causality become developed — an infinite recompense, a reward eternally, wiU be perpetuated towards us. The drawback is only that which checks the progress, that we may pause and consider : no punishment is intended but sorrow, which shall bo an improving medium both for this earth and for eternity. 11 GOVERNMENT UPON FIllST PRINCIPLES. CHAPTER IV. RAISE rP A BEITER PRINCIPLE TO REPRESS A WORSE. AYe often sutfor by a boastful generosity. The generous would be right, minus the pride ; but in some, for a time, the generous will not act "vntliout the pride. Then bear with them, but at suitable seasons portray the pride in all its hideous shapes ; and where once caused to be fully seen, it will be viewed with disgust by its possessor. Let us look again for an illustration in Nature. Soils on the surfocc, that have not enough of one particular property — which may be deficient, for instance, in saline or allu- vial requirements — may have, far below its surface, the requisite property in prodigious abundance. So is man crude and un- cultured, having elements in his nature of the richest kinds, but latent and dormant, requiring culture to bring them into activity, and develop the true proportion for harmonious production. Geology thus illustrates to man the fact that he is a progressive being, and that the great Architect of the Universe designed that each new production should be an improvement upon its prototype, either physically, mentally, morally, or spiritually. Wc have but to look into the history which geology unfolds to our senses and subjects to our intellectual observation, to notice that from the first vegetable production of the flowerless plants, the Cryptogamian class, up to oui- now luxuriant vegetation, progress can be traced, the tendency to perfection and elabora- tion can be everywhere seen. We can advance among the fossil remains, from the plain flowerless plant, perfect in its organization, and mark how JSTature next proceeded to produce the plant with flowers, of the Phanorogamian class. In the earliest periods of organic life, very few flowering plants were to be found, and these of an intermediate character, between the flowerless and the flowering, such as the Conifera3 and Cycadese. How stiiking and manifest is the analogy even here to the growth of the mind and the character of man ! The mind is first plain and simple, ready to be acted upon by surrounding IN NATURE, CREATION WAS PROGRESSION. 15 cii'ciuustances, from wliicli it makes deductions, and adopts them as its own. Then the newly received seeds of inteUigence send forth each its own hud, which, by the warm and genial atmo- sphere of siUTOunding circumstances and intelligences, exjDands into a flower of mental creation, from whence spring new sources of finite wasdom. CHAPTER V. IN NATURE, CREATION WAS PROGRESSION. The improvement of each thing upon its protot}'pe may be more forcibly and continuously seen to have ever existed in the progressive Hnks between the vegetable and the animal king- dom. From the stony plants called Lithoph}i:es, we ascend, and notice the animal plants, or Zoophytes, which swarm in the ocean, and some of them build up those extensive stony struc- tures called coral reefs. These are called the Radiated class, and often resemble plants. Then come the Ai'ticulated animals, ha\'ing envelopes, connected with annulated plates, or rings : such animals as the lobster, the bloodsucker, the spider, and insects generally. The next are the Molluscs, or the animals inhabiting shells. They are destitute of a sjiiual marrow, and for the most part their muscles are attached to the external covermg called the shell. Then the Vertebral animals, dis- tinguished by ha^dng a vertebral column, or back bone, a regular skeleton, and a regular nervous system. This comprehends all the quadrupeds and bipeds, mth M((ii at their head, who is immeasurably superior to all other classes in complexity of organization and strength of muscular power, as well as in his powers of mind. How great is the analogy between the growth of the mind and the progress of true religion and philosophy, forming the man and fijrming his real character ! Philosophy and religion I now regard as operative in the mind, unconnected with any IG GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. State Church. Tliis State Church, with its Thirty-nino Articles and confused orthodoxy, has long become a liindi-anco to this progress, hamjicriug and fettering the mind. The inheritance of a State religion is a heavy bondage in this nineteenth century. In alluding to the growth of the mind and of true religion, I am compelled to leave out those within the pale of all State Churches, Avhcre despotic law prevails, hindering progress. Take the analogy of the early periods of organic life, when the flowerless Cryptogamian class grew in little more than in albuminous matter, merging from the gaseous and darkened earth, as described in Genesis i. 2 : " And the earth was with- out form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep." This state of the earth corresponds to the vacancy of the mind of the newly born. Then proceeds the improved order of creation, and we come to that of plants of an intermediate character, between the flowerless and the flowering, such as the Conifcra? and Cycadea). Follo^^^ng up Genesis here, the " Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." In the mental creation, mind begins to be acted upon by surrounding circumstances ; organization makes its first onward motion. Thence proceeds the flowering plant of the Phanerogamian class : as in Genesis, " God said lot there be light, and there was light ;" or, as Swedenborg says, " And God said, Let man begin to know that goodness and truth are somewhat from above, and not from man's self-hood." With the light came the flowers of the earth ; with the light came the deKghts of the heart and the mind ; the flowers of the soul, that gratify the sight, and make the earth joyful. The vegetable merges into the animal life, in that of the Lithophytes and Zoophytes. " And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness." In the most ancient time God created the internal man, and the external man ; and the external man without regeneration had nothing in him good or true ; and thick darkness overspread the designs of his heart, and the mercy of the Lord brooded over it. " And God saw the knowledge, that it was light from IN NATURE, CREATION WAS PROGRESSION. 17 Himself, who is essential goodness and truth ; and lie dis- tinguished between the knowledge to which the flowers of earth correspond, and the plants, which appeared to be self-derived amid the darkness of the earth, — the flowerless corresponding to the knowledge derived fi-om man's selfhood (to which evil seems like good, and the false like truth). The Radiated class corresponds to the radiation of the mind in its earhest stage, in the external man, before any new birth or resreneration had become e\4dent. Then came the Articulated animals, enveloped and annulated in plates and rings, hardening and indurating as they came into contact with the surrounding circumstances ; analogous to the check wliich the mind necessarily receives to its expansion, until other qualities enter into its constituents, which are neces- sary to its entire organization. The same may be said of the next class of the Molluscs, which have the external covering called the shell, in which they are encased, and by which they are protected. The next are the Yertebrated animals, distinguished by a vertebral or back bone, a regular skeleton, and a regular nervous system. Here is a great move in Creation towards a greater acquirement of organization, extension, and adaptative capabili- ties : a sensitive nervous system, through wliich natural feehng should guide its operations. Just analogous to this is the acquisition of the organization of the mind, its extension, adaptation, and capabilities ; the head of the nervous system, by which all communications take place with the body. The extension of the vertebrated animal in variety and com- plexity, is seen in the Old and New Red Sandstone in the existence of the Batrachians, and the fishes in the Carboniferous group ; then the Reptiles : but not until we reach the Oolite is the Mammiferous animal found. The more perfect animals have been developed gradually, becoming more and more complete as we rise in the scale of strata. The higher and more complex natures, both of animals and plants, were not introduced at first, but came in by degrees. The earth was neither adapted to their existence, nor could their existence come out of the adaptation and quality of the surface of the earth. c 18 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. CIIArTER VI. THE NEBULAR THEORY. Let not this mode of expression bo mistaken for the advocacy of the nebular theory as advocated by Laplace, or Demo- critus. But the development hypothesis illustrates primary formations very clearly, if we bear in mind the Creator presides over and directs the whole universe. The term "Nebulec," is derived from the Latm word nebula, a mist, or foggy vaporous cloud. I can rsadily recognize the vortical law, which gave birth to the orbital, also the axillary motion, conducing the elements into a sj)here, or globe ; in which I see the natural elementary law which operated in the production of this earth. But I can go no further than this with Laplace, nor with Epicurus, nor with the other great writers who have wished to establish the Creation by natural laws, unconnected with a Creator, or Infinite Wisdom. I wish not to dispute about the name, whether wo call our God, Jehorah, or Creator, the First Cause, the Primordial Element, the Anterior Elemental Law Maker, or God with us. I can conceive of no such grand scheme as this earth, the planets, the suns, the systems, the universes in the far distant immensity of space, without acknowledging the great First Cause, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and OmnijDresent ; who is, and was, and ever will be, the Grand Architect of the universes. Man may have found out some of His laws, and given human names to them, but he has his lesson — ^his task — cut out for eternity, to comprehend the vastness of the creation, and the perfections of the Creator. Swedenborg, in his Frineipia, after treating on the means of attaining a true philosophy, proceeds to deduce his elementary principia of the universe. swedenborg's inquiries. 19 CHAPTER VII. sweuexborg's inquiries into the first manifestation OF divine creating energy.* This he represents, in geometrical language, as the first natural point which, in his expressive language, is "born of the Infinite." In tracing the efiects arising out of the action of the spiral forces, he shows how a first limit, or boundary, will arise ; and hence how a new form of existence will come into being, which he designates the " first finite," because it is the first limit. There is this grand dilfcrence between Swedenborg and Cudworth, or Lamarck, and others advocating the efiiciency of nature, that Swedenborg never loses sight of the supernatural Causahty. He always has in view the great Ai'chet}^e. Something grand we designate Sacred ; because so far beyond that of man and nature, that we are lost in even finding a name sufficiently superlative. While Cudworth and Laplace, &c., caU it nature's own work, and ascribe all to laws ; as if there need be no law maker, or as if laws could execute themselves. There is this difference, that according to Swedenborg's geometrical principles, each finite, or elementary molecule, has a principle of inherent motion mthin it, active in the degree that it approaches the infinite, and which directly produces an axillary motion, and indirectly a translatory or local motion in space. Again, he says common matter is inert, and if it once existed passively diffused, how could it ever have changed its condi- tion ? How could an inert body originate a central, or any other motion ? * See " Intellectual Repository," for February, 1855. c 2 20 GOVERNMENT Ul'ON FIRST PRINCIPLES. CHAPTER VIII. THE OOLITIC STRAT.\ AND MAN. Not until wc reach the Oolitic strata, is the mammiferous animal found ; and as we rise in the scale of rocks and strata, we find the quadrupeds and bipeds. Now is not the whole geological history of the vegetahle and animal creation ana- logous to the growth of the mind ? Not until his rudimentary education has prepared the mind with first principles, and the world's rough usage has crumbled off the angularities of liis nature, can man be said to be truly human. The sensuous part of our nature, unguided by oiu' higher power, is found to bo unproductive of even sensuous gratifications ; we all look a little higher for happiness. All more or less seek delight in the moral feelings, until thereon we can make a firmer tread, when the mind thirsts for loftier supphes fi'om the j)ure Source of the good and true, wherever it can be found developing itself in practical philosophy, in science, or in art ; or in any of the more refined modes by which the soul seeks happiness ; and especially by searching out CausaHty — God, in his great works of nature, above, below, and all around. The mind becomes sufficiently prepared at last, to contemplate what is called Re- ligion ; having now an association of a worn-out strata, in that of a State church, which, like the rigid muscle that still grasped the sword it held when the stroke of death set free the soul of the warrior. Stiff as is that rigid muscle, is much of the rehgion of this day, and as cold and lifeless. Surely here you might see the first finite, analogous to the first limit — the first manifestations of Divine creating ene?'gy ; but the mind can proceed no farther in such a narrow pale ; it must break through this quadruped nature, this orthodox, and then be free, and at last more matured, more prepared — ^become the erect biped, looking inwards and upwards, with upright principles, and benevolent aspirations. We may venture to contemplate the immensity of our Creator, fearing not that if our motives be THE OOLITIC STRATA AND MAN. 21 pure, wo shall find Him everywhere — in the pale of the church and out of it — in all the sciences, among the Stoic and even Epic philosophers, we shall find His wondi'ous wisdom clearly- defined, and in all the arts His wondrous beauty portrayed — Man at the head of all these wondrous works of Creation. " And the externals which before were not man, Jehovah God formed into man, and imparted to him the life of faith and love, and the external man became a Kving soul."* That responsible man made in the image of God, and with dominion over all creatures, ultimately entered into a world rijDened for liis reception. The s}Tiopsis, then, we derive from mundane geology, merely afibrds us a striking illustration of the operations of Divine Providence in all things, especially in that of the preparation of the earth for the reception of man. No one presumes to say the hundi-eds of thousands of years that rolled on before it became fit for responsible man : the iiTesponsible brute could live and die, as did the days and years ; but much preparation was needed before man appeared to further the Divine end in perfecting creation. The symbol then is, that Kfe is elementary preparation ; the sjTionyme of that is culture — physical, mental, and spiritual culture. CHAPTER IX. SPIRIT NOT ONLY ANALOGOUS, BUT IS MOTIVE POWER. Not only are the changes of the spirit analogous to the pro- gressive movements in the preparation of the earth, but the spirit in man originates precisely those very movements in the body itself ; and, still more, is the antecedent of all movement * " Summary of the Spiritual Sense of Genesis." 22 GOVERNMENT UPON FIKST PRINCIPLES. and preparation therein. Tlie mind, like the earth, requires this pre])aration : hiyer upon layer, store upon store, strata upon strata, acquirement u])on acquirement. First, the senses are being- tuned ; then, the memory is stored with one order of the natural, then of the metaphysical. Aft(>r hundreds of thousands of impressions have been made — after the mind is sufficiently stored, the sensual purged, and made sufficiently subordinate to the mental — then a more pure and divine life can enter, does enter, into mind and body, and takes up its abode with man. Comparative harmony exists, in proportion to the rehance upon the pure, and the rejection of the impure, in all things: so does man become better and happier. In proportion, then, to the reception of the elementary orderly spirit, will order and harmony reign in us ; the sequence of "which is, comparative happiness. The elementary law operating upon the soul is antecedent to the elementary law operating upon the body. The body receives its motive power from the soul's inspiration. Sweden- borg has said, in his " Apocalypse Explained," chap. ii. p. 204 : — " The body feels not from itself the interior life of man, which is the life of his spirit, which life is the Kfe of his understanding and will, or of his thought and affection ; feels by the organs of the body the tilings which are in the world, and thus perceives them naturally ; the whole body, with all its sensories, is only an instrument of its soul or spirit." The preparation of this body, then, is an all-important consideration. To know oneself is a great acquisition ; to do what such know- ledge dictates is the essential practice of life. The sjTiopsis of geology, analogically regarded in its relation to man, teaches us in this day that, though every change has been properly articulated and developed in nature, yet the grand changes and developments have taken place ; so that, when necessary to accomplish this in a greater degree, even convulsions have taken place on the earth naturally, and the benefits resulting from it are every day made more evident to man. The moral is then, in the true order of analogy, calculated SPIRIT NOT ONLY ANALAGOUS, BUT IS MOTIVE FOWER. 23 to teach all in this day, that every principle of action must he properiy defined and acted upon ; that not only the flowerless, but the fruitless, cannot be worthy the briUiant light of this day. Progress and change must go onwards, articulating and developing the mmd ; and though each order of progress shall be distinct, yet the grand change fi-om the Crj^togamian (the dark condition of the mind) must come. The Kght of this day will make evident the uselessness of the darkness of governmental impurity, which old rulers and chui'ches would envelope us in, but which the Kght of the mhid must throw off, if peradventui-e convulsions will arise, not from the day, but from the night, of existence. No good will come of the eruptions until man, in the spiiit of love, endeavours to unite these heterogeneous elements when they become thi'own together. So, good bishops and statesmen, become the cultivators of foreign lands if you ^^ill, but don't forget your own ! You need not go far — ^it is brought to your own home, in order that you shall not become idle with the plethora that John Bull has so profusely lavished upon you. To statesmen especially does the history of natui'e speak loudly from First Principles. You must really go on, or go down into your own flowerless, fruitless darkness. The times will tell us great bodies move slowly, but the history of nature will tell us that great bodies move rapidly but orderly ; because order is, that the superior move the inferior, not the inferior the superior. But since the darkness has become the mediiun of power on earth, how comes this order ? It can only be explained by the Hght of the so-called new truth of Fii'st Principles, but which is many thousand years old : that darkness is demoniacal, and demons represent themselves, like the times, to be the children of hght. That great bodies move rapidly A\ill become cA-ident, when we recollect the rapidity ^vith which the great comet was said to have approached this earth in 1858. * * * * Also when we recollect earthquakes, vulcanic eruptions, the power of combustion ; also of steam. 24 CiOVERKMENT UrON FIRST rillNClPl.ES. TluMi uiir progress in Great Britain, when relatively con- sidered, becomes retrogression ; i.e., according to light presented are fruits required to come forth. Now, the light of First Principles has existed since man was created ; was again rcsus- eitated from the human sepulchre in the year a.d. 1 ; is again entombed by statesmen and by State churches in the year of our Lord 1859. But it never can bo extinguished. yc sordid, crafty states- man of law and church. You may kill, crucify, entomb First Principles in this day, as of old ; but it N\ill only rise up in kind judgment, not against you, as would an adverse counsel, but as one that with judgment would leave you a legacy of golden guidance of love — a rule for future action — that can lead to happiness ^dthout your excess of gold in coin ; since it no longer represents love in commerce, but love in perversion ; that is, hatred. CHAPTER X. GEOMETRY. The science of Geometry enables man to measure the earth : ■what have we analogous that enables man to measure himself, in order that he may know himself? "What homometer have we, since we have a geometer ? We have a physical essay fi'om Combe, showing how we may measure the cranium ; but what have we analogous to the geometrical problems, or the mensuration of heights and distances, sm'faces or solids, leveUing or gauging ? As the natui'al origin of the earth was its central law — centrifugal action — so the natural oiigin' of gravitation was in the motion of all things gravitating to the same centre: so that as long as centrifugal, centiipetal action, and rotatory motion GEOMETRY. 25 exist, this earth wall ever increase, surrounded as it is by the circumambient air, which gives and sustains Hfo. So that, like heaven, the more it contains, the more it will hold (if we may use such earthly phraseology) — .just as one idea is a basis for another idea ; and so on, ad infinitum. This earth, then, may be a thousand times larger than it now is, which then may become after that a thousand times larger than the previous thousandfold — and so on ; thus cor- responding with the heavens ad infinitum. Thus all Malthus's unscientific apprehensions are futile. Something for Euclid to answer : Which \\dll admit of the greater extension in a sphere — the larger or the smaller orb, either in the orbicular or spiral motion ? First causes, then, act — go forth from a nucleus, as its particles become attenuated, either by causality, chemical action, or rarefaction, without going into definitions on a plane angle, or an angle, or the arc of a cii'cle, which measui^es every plane angle ; nor on right lines, nor triangles, nor on parallel right lines, which, if infinitely produced, would never meet. The circles and angles in their varied configurations are analogous to the will and the understanding of man. The will, virtually governing and including the understanding, is what the arc of a cii'cle is to the plane angle : by this we find the true ante- cedent or priority of quaHty, which is opposite to the practice of this earth, which allows the judgment to measure the \vtL1. Now, let us take love or benevolence, which should reside in the will, and is analogous to the circle : let love measure or estimate the understanding and the acts of men, and we should arrive at more correct cb priori decisions. But the opposite is the practice generally. 26 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. CHAPTER XI. TlIK wn.T. INIOIIE IMPORTANT THAN THE INTELLECT. The Avill being at present checked by the judgment is not without a sufficient reason, because the love or will of man, analogous to this earth, is not now perfect. The earth is not a perfect globe, nor a perfect circle ; which is analogous to the will or love not being true, but distorted by selfishness or pride. AVere the love pure, the wisdom could not err in judgment ; but now, unfortunately, man has lost the mcasm-ement of him- self by Fird Principles, and substitutes secondary means, wliich only can be correct after all, as the affections are pure. Hence have arisen the ramifications and multipHcations of acts of parHament, of courts of law, of common law and equity ;* all for men who have lost the true cu'cle by which to measure their rectiluieals : for men who have lost their rectitude of will or purpose, or their right judgment, are obstinate in selfish inten- tion ; and this blinds their minds. Whilst, then, science has retained its true order, and Mathe- matics can claim familiarity with the antecedents and remains intact, man can only claim association with imperfections and error, which are constant in his fallen nature. Let him then stoop to science, in order to find out his own insufficiency, and by science be taught to know the ti^ue circle and the great Centre of all circles, and seek aid from all Creation's works — the true Source of all love and wisdom — that he may be guided aright in this sublunary existence. * Our Court of Equity is a disgrace to mankind; call it the Court of Iniquity. SPIRIT-RAPPING. 27 CHAPTER XII. DOES SPIRIT-RAPPING PROVE THE CERTAINTY OF SPIRIT DIS- TINCT AND DISCRETE FROM MATTER ? OR, DOES IT PROVE THAT MATTER IN CONTINUITY EXISTS AFTER THIS LIFE ? If spirit be a discrete degree, and not composed of any material substance, how comes it that it makes sounds and motions evident to our material senses ? Also, how does it happen that inert matter is moved, and made to send forth sounds ? I could readily explain these phenomena upon the material con- tinuity of ethereahzation, until it reach what may be called spirit ; because then the spiiit of matter beiag itself matter, can readily be understood to become more powerful as it be- comes more ethereal — such as mephitic air in causing death, various gases, phlogiston, electricity, &c. Others may be allowed to have an oj)inion upon the tenn (jui contendunt unicum esse;"* " substuntiani eujus partes sunt omnia entia ijua) existent."! Mysticism and idealism, tend to Pantheism. Mysticism, whether religious or philosophical, ends "with resolving mind and matter into the DiWno substance. The idealism of lierkcley and Malebranche may be said to reduce material existences to mere phenomena of the mind. J Spiritualism seems to be a doctrine not deiincd or understood, but is intended to acquaint us with mediums, or beings which are not cognizable by the senses. Yet physical spirit is im- mensely cognizable to the senses ; and least of any term should be used to represent in^'isibility, or insensible contact. Let us be honest, and use the term Wind, or air, which is the true rendering of the word Spuit, as it receives its deriva- tion from Greek and Hebrew ; and instead of using the tonus of spirit rappings and spirit mediums, we will use the correct rendering, and say, wind ra2)ping and windy mediums ; because, in doing so, we shall betray the absui'dity of using the tei-m "spirit" in any such applications. Now, how does this term, " Avind," apply to scriptural phrase- ology ? In the Athanasian Creed, we are said to worship one God — the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Rendering this honestly, it signifies the Godhead of the First Cause, and that of causality, and that of the holy wind or the holy air ; for certainly any other rendering is a mysticism. The Holy Spirit (from SpiritHs Sanctua) is nothing more nor less than the sanctified wind ; and aU the sacerdotes * Waterlaud, Works. Vol. viii. p. 81. t Lacondre, Instit. Philosoph. Tom. ii. \). 120. X I-)ict. des Sciences Philosoph. FIRST, ^\^IAT IS CAUSALITY ? 33 that ever licked and kissed Peter's great toe, never could make anj-tliing else of it. That which comes to their rescue is not air, but Paracletus, the Comforter. AVe must then be honest, and say that the comforting wind is the thii*d person of Divinity. I like the comforting wind. But of course that which is analogous to the comforting wind is what is meant ; and that may be easily conceived to be a comforting influence, a com- forting vitalit}'-, that shall be benign and harmonious with Fii'st Piinciples — a glor)' grateful in reception and expression. The Spii'itiis Sanctus ParacJetus, then, is the Comforting Holy Wind, which we yet hope to realize, and which would be better expressed iii the words, the Comforting Puiit)^ of Divine Vitality. The word, sanctitj' (sa net if as), is certainly uprightness, inviola- bility, honesty, good, chastit}', puiit}' ; and I would prefer using either of these terms, than the term "holy," simply because it is better defined, and partakes less of conventionaHty. I have said ire yet have the hope to realize the comforting purify of vitality. "Without being influenced by the Jewish persuasion, I am allowed to ask, "Who is there of himian creation inviolably upright enough, wise and good enough, chaste and pxu'e enough, to say, with assurance, that he has realized the comforting, pure vitaht}' ? Christ doubtless has ; but I know of none others that have realized it, either in kings or people. History has not recorded many impurities belonging to some great men ; but impurities and iniquities abound among the professors of Christianit}' and Mahometanism : hence, I repeat, we yet have to reahzc this promised perfectibility ; and I consider the cause of oui* not doing so is much more clearly illustrated in plain unconventional terms than otherwise. The vessel is not yet clean enough to receive purity and A-itality : purity and iniquity are heterogeneous quaHties, and never unite. Hence it appears that the cause of the comforting pure life not having been realized, is num — the recipient not having been made chaste enough to become a receiver of purit)'. I have no respect for priests nor people that call themselves holy, much less for the canonical fraternity ; for before I can D O-i GOVKUNMENT UPON FlKsr VHINCirLKS. reverence them tlmt call tliomselvcs holy, I must first know that thoy iwc pure. Now, I consider, if we ahandoned the term " holy," and used the term "purity," how very few wouUl liavo the audacity to call themselves pure. The late Pt)po Grei^ory XVI., with his hig hlue hottle-noso, for instance, to he called Gregory the Pure; or Father Matthew called ^Matthew the Pure ; or our hishops, prehends, or in- cumbents called pure. Let no man be called pure, I say ; simply because he is not pure, be he pope, father, or bishop : then call no man holy, for none are holy that arc not pure. Ilencc Jews may be as right as Christians in their coming ^Messiah, if they mean that the ^'ital principle of purity has not yet come into man. Let the best man that ever lived, or that now lives, stand forth and call himself pure, in sincerity and honesty of assertion. First, let him recount the impure acts of his life, and let him estimate every motive guiding his every act of life. Motive is the primary mover of action ; and let every man first know that every motive is unselfish before he can say it is pure. Come again, O Diogenes ! come again in search of this scarce specimen of creation ; for be well sure, when thou hast found this ram avis, thou ^vilt find lying beside him the philosopher's stone. CHAPTER XIV. EQUALS ILLUSTRATED BY EUCLID. How might the axioms of Euclid be made a practice of daily life, when \dewed analogically ? Let us see. " If equals be added to equals, the wholes are equals." Wliat moral teaching do we derive from this axiom ? Were justice made the rule of life, how soon would injustice disappear from the earth. EQUAXS ILLrSTRATED BY EUCLID. 35 That part of the Di^^lle injunction, " Love thy neighbour as thyself," is in harmonious correspondence with this. Also, " If equals be taken from equals, the remainders are equal." Hotv does this teach us the right order of division ? While we subtract the half from the whole, the two halves arc equal ; as in the seventh axiom : " Things which are halves of the same are equal to each other." Tliis does indeed demon- strate, that were we all to do unto the neighbour as we would be done unto, all woidd be on an harmonious equality ; the de- parture fi-om which may truly be said was and is the fall of man : so, " If unequals be taken fi'om equals, the remainders are vm.- equal." TJic selfishness of man, requiring one atom more than his neighbour, makes his neighboui-'s position unequal — that is, he has less than himself. Hence has arisen, in multiplied events, the enormous discrepancies in the possessors of wealth, which neither in the excess nor in the privation is conducive to happiness, because it is a departure from the great elementary law. Though man depart fi'om this law, he cannot destroy it, but he destroys himself; and but for the forbearance of the Omni- beneficcnt, he would sink even deeper than he does into iniquity and miser}'. Were it not for tliis elementary law operating upon the soul of man, constraining his unequal, unjust, and selfish propensity, man's own Avild career would be sclf- destructicm, in the very effort he is making towards that which he would make himself bcHeve was self-preservation ; because everything unjustly obtained, however much it might be desired, and thought to contribute to enjojnnent and happiness, must be subversive to both, opposed as it is to the elementary, funda- mental law operating upon the soul — opposed as it is, therefore, to the axiom, " The whole is greater than its part." Integrity, wholly so, is greater than when partially so ; opposed as it is, also, to the Dignity, or perfection itself. First Principles are, then, founded on what the axiom proves — " The whole is greater than a part." 1)2 36 GOVERNMENT ITON TIRST PRINCIPLES. CIIAPTKll XV. INJrSTICE TO OTIIEUS IS INJUSTICE TO OURSELVES. iN.iisrit'K to otlicrs docs injury to oiirsolvcs, in all that is truly valuable and eternal, because it blemishes the soul — dwarfs it ; hence, according to the elementary law, hanng its entirety destroyed, the part remaining is less than the whole. Mcdicat animum ViHus," I say here, and cver}nvhere, and Avith every- one. 'T is vii'tuo cures the soul ; and if the soul btf cured, the great work of earth is accomplished. I look upon man on this earth as rough material, sent here to be worked up, and jiolished for some other life after this existence ceases. This world is a means to an end, and must be regarded only as such. All right lines draAvn from the centre to the circumference are equal to each other. The centre is analogous to that which is the centre of the soul — mental heat or love ; the right lines are the radiations, the illuminations of the mind, the enlighten- ment of intelligence : hence, when wisdom is the irradiation of love, or the emanation of charity, fairness, and integrity, its truths are the manifestations, equal one to another. As the spiiitual sun of heaven is pure, so its emanations arc holy, its influence benign, in filling the soul with joy and hap- piness ; but verging from this benign influence is diverging from the right lines : the mind is o'ershadowed, the heart is not warmed with good ; but hate takes the j)lace of love, and the obscurity of selfish and narrow scheming displaces illumined "wisdom. THE ELEMENTARY CONSTITUENT. 37 CHAPTER XVI. TIIE ELEMENTARY CONSTITUENT. The elementary law is tlie Law of all laws, — the most important. It is the sphere in which the soul dwells, andreceiyes its iacen- tives to action : it is the primary life, mo\Tng all things into acti%'ity : no man nor thing is, nor ever can be, independent of it. The soul's elementaiy sphere is pure and perfect in its regulated operations, boundless in its extent, immaculate in its deeds, unerring in its magnitude of infinity ; as its influ- ences comprehend the heavens, so simultaneously it compre- hends the systems of the earth. None can escape its influ- ences. AVliile vain man, in vaunted boast, assumes a reckless air of self-sufficiency, hath not enough of thought to know that ' he is but an atom scarcely worth a mention. None can flee from its presence — to attempt it is foUy ; and some day it will appear like madness. In all good acts it is present, and in all bad acts 't is not absolutely absent ; for it is there stri^dng to withdraw man fi-om evil ; 't is ever present, ever wise, and ever good, — the Omnis in omnibus — the All in all — the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last — who ever was, is, and ever vriil be. This is the sphere of the soul which I call the elementary law, because it is ever forming and framing souls ; and through them is ever forming and framing bodies. The elementary constituent is constant in its operations upon man ; but indiWduals who most improve their opportunities of doing good, are inconstant in their acts of good ; whilst spheres are constantly emanating from oui' souls, influencing others, beneficially or otherwise, according to the quality of the sphere. The sphere of a benevolent man has a goodly influence all around. The sphere of kindness and amiability, genuinely existing, has an acceptable influence wherever it is present. 38 GOVERNMENT I 1H)N FlllST rRINCIPLES. A rightly constituted mind fools ha])]))- in company A\'itli such spheres, whilst the possessor is happy in the communication of his iuriuonco, in ]m)portit)n to the reception it obtains. He be- comes less happy in its negation, from the presence of spheres uncongenial to himself. Kow how chnirly does this illustrate the ehnnentary law operating ujjou us, which is ever constant, invariable in its benevolent, kind, and goodly influences towards us ; but which by some is regarded with indifference amount- ing to negation. If man be ha])py finding liimsclf received, can we not learn how ha])py is l)i\anity, when, in his elemen- tary sphere, he is received in the \4rtuous soul. if man live in obedience to the dictates of this elementary law, the thoughts and affections of liis soul diffuse themselves even into heavenly societies and spheres, and arc there received as grateful odours, which reflect and revert back again upon the man himself in multiplied powers of operation and goodly influences ; thiice benign in its influences, just as the delight of goodness increases in proportion to the practice of it. CHAPTER XVII. METALLURGY. Metallurgy is subject to geometrical laws constituting its varieties and effects. Metallic particles have theii' forms, posi- tions, and motions, according to their geometrical conditions. Swedcnborg says in his theory,* — " In the whole sphere there is nothing that produces varieties, but a peculiar mechanism and practical geouiotry. By mechanism and geometry is nature bound in all the varied phenomena she displays, and in all the distinctive experiments with wliich she * " Principles of Xatural Philosojihy," p. 133. METALLURGY. 39 endows us. Let us, however/confess that in researclies of this kind the mind of the inquirer is peculiarly liable to illusion : the imaginary may be easily mistaken for the true, and the shadow for the substance; especially as in the field the objects are purely mental, and the mind and the inner eye are the only organs of vision. Yet since we find that all things have laws, that experi- ments are under the empire of geometry, the mechanism of in- visibles may rest on the basis of calcidation, and partake its infalUbility." CHAPTER XYIII. FIRST PRINCIPLES ILLUSTRATED BY THE ANALOGY OF METALLURGY. Met.allurgy in itself forms analogical instructions for all men, in all ages. The art of worldng metals, or separating them from their ore, is an art which aU men have to acqiiire — ^is a moral which aU should keep constantly before their eyes, and has always been sjTnbolized in the sacred writings. The elementary law operating upon the soul can be seen in its orderly workings, by the affinity and gravitation Avith which metals and metaloids furnish us beautiful examples. AVhether that affinity be a mechanical or a chemical formation — whether geometrical laws constitute their arrangement, or chemical com- bination, it wiU not interfere wdth the imiversal law, vA'hich applies equally to the geometrical position as to the chemical motion. I shall leave their chemical consideration specifically to the after remarks, and now consider metallurgy only, as its choinistr)' vriW facilitate our inquiry. The term "simple bodies" must only be understood to refer to their atomic structure, so far as our present scientific researches enable us to discover their elements. In using, then, the 40 GOVKUN.MENT UPON FIRST PUINCirLES. chemical classification and nomenclature, let us understand tliat the terms "simple" and " ccmipouud" are convenient terms : as also ai'c the terms "metals" and " metaloids." There arc metals Mhich are electro-negative, and niotaloids which arc electro-negative ; there arc, also, metals which arc electro-positive ; thero are simple hodies, and metals so classi- fied that each one is electro-negative to that hy which it is followed, and electro-positive to that hy Avhich it is preceded. Some divide simple-bodied metaloids into supporters of com- bustion and comhdxtihies. Here again we recognize another universal law : the irrittoi order in nature revealing unto man the good and wise Creator. All things in the universe are the exponents of causality, and arc found hy investigation to be correlative vdih order. In the bowels of the earth has God laid before man his revelation of himself; and in looking into these two revelations, we shall sec the constant analogy to the soul. Unfortunately, in turning to the volume of nature, we find our senses and powers of vision and discernment are only human, and therefore not perfect ; we can only investigate the perfect, ourselves being imperfect. We can gaze upon the beautiful landscape and enjoy the scenery, but we can only take an imperfect copy, wliich never fuUy portrays the original. Our power of discernment is a true and real power when in order, but when self-sufficient, when emanating from a low- minded man, it is ever subject to error. The science of analogy and correspondence assists the mind to understand, by liigher faculties than the natural senses, the harmony of the word of creation and the written word ; but neither science nor know- ledge alone is sufficient to perceive the harmony of the whole. Man must do and obey the law. It is not enough that the imiversal law is right in relation to him, but he must be right in relation to the law ; the daily doing and daily obedience to the divine law alone will improve man's condition, and near the earthly paradise. Our senses wiU ever deceive us, without the universal law, operating upon the soul, cnhghtemng the mind. " God is ever felt according as we ourselves are ; the e^'il man THE NATURE OF METALOIDS. 41 always feels Causality to be a severe and dread master, swift to pmiish aud slow to forgive ; for with the fi'oward he will show himself froward. It is only to the pure in heart and good in health — to such as live a life of justice, sincerity, and love — that CausaHty and the miiversal law can he seen to he loving the whole of the human race."* CHAPTER XIX. THE NATURE OF METALOIDS ANALAGOUS TO MAN IN NATURE. How beautifully do earthly bodies illustrate the nature of man ! Each body is electro-negative to that by which it is followed, and electro-positive to that by which it is preceded. How hlce man in liis relation to man : he is negative to what is below him, and positive to that which is above him, or the reverse. Again, if he be positive to the right, he is negative to the wrong ; or, to use the Scripture phraseology, " I^o man can serve two masters." Here we see, physically, he cannot. If he be positive to the ^^Tong, he is negative to the right. It has been quaintly said by Guizot, that " every man is aristocratic to those below him, but democratic to those above him ; " and this is true as far as natui'e regulates the man micon- trolled, and not under the guidance of instructions and ■\\dsdom. The will fully illustrates this plienomcnon : it is ever for or against, ichcthcr r'ujht or icrony ; the A\ill asserts its right of choice most pcrscveringly and unhesitatingly. The will never stops to consider the right or the wrong ; but the mind, her consort, steps in to her rescue, exercises the organ of compari- son, aud j\jidges, and then either denies or affirms. Hudibras • < ' Intellectual Itcpository," ii. 186. 42 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES, well knew the uncliiingeablo nature of tlie will, wliicli, tliougli possessed by both sexes, yet is the characteristic i)riiu'iple of women. " IIo that complies against bis Avill, Is of liis own opinion .still." This can be illustrated by action and re- action ; the will acis, the mind re- acts ; both are necessary and dependent on the other ; — the mind must have the will to act upon, the will must have the mind to be re-acted uj)on, or it runs riot. The will is the motive power, the mind is the conductor of that power. The will has its negative and positive polarity — is ever^;ro or con ; while the mind can dispassionately compare and estimate, prior to adoption or rejection ; hence the evident necessity of calling in the mind to re-act before coming to decisions, or forming fixed opinions. When the will can see her own desti- tution, her own insufficiency, her own singleness of position, because she is not yet pure enough she desires to be united to her consort, the mind ; her love then marries the wisdom she feels the want of, which is spiritual marriage. Her wisdom then reacts ; passions and impulses are made to halt, and instead of returning evil for evil, wisdom says, Return good for evil. No re-action of revenge, no ill-will, is to actuate the spirit ; that would be the re- action not of wisdom but of malice ; a false spirit, an adulterous union. "Wisdom says, "Evil has in itself its own punishment and corrective power, as good has wdthin itself its own reward and beatitude ; good never punishes evil, but evil puni.shes itself. Tliis is effected by the law of action and re-action, which in the world of spirits is universal, and was represented in the Je\\ash chm^ch by an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."* The same law is universal in respect to the physical phenomena in the natural world. There ' are three things which follow each other in unbroken succession — action, re-action, and result, or effect. As metaloids are combustibles and supporters of combustion, * " Intellectual Repository," p. 205. THE PKOCESS OF PURIFYING LOW METALS. 43 SO is man and the various component parts of him which con- stitute his nature. But "without entering into the physical, we vn]l take the two leading characteristics of liis nature — viz., voHtion, and mind. VoHtion is analogous to the combustible, and mind to that of the supporter of combustion. VoHtion is the active, the mind is the re-active. As oxygen is a supporter of combustion, so the mind re-acts uj)on voHtion — conducts it aright, supports it, sustains it. As oxj^gen is strictly pure from hydrogen, so is it a greater and more ijowerfiil supporter of combustion. So is it with the mind, when filled with the pure Hght of Avisdom, when its truths have become pure. Volition is then supported aright. Hence we may learn from stocks and stones — from the minerals of the earth — how to Hve aright, and see CausaHty — God — in all His works]; and learn to see how his omniscient mind, which is purity itself, controls all voH- tion, heavenly and earthly, by immutable laws of order ; but breaking through this law of order is revolution and corrup- tion ; hence all the miseries that have befallen man. Reflection upon these analogies should msj)ire us to obtain tins strength of mind, this purity of wisdom, m order to the attainment of a purer power. In man, the mind (the male) "would then become the fit consort for his fair spouse, the "wiU ; who could then entrust her voHtion to the support of her mental husband, to be sustained and guided aright. CHAPTER XX. THE PROCESS OF PURIFYING A LOW METAL, SUCH AS IRON, IS ANALOGOUS TO THE MEANS NECESSARY IN PURIFYING MAN IN HIS LOW CONDITION, VIZ. IN UNCULTIVATED NATURE. Take the analysis of a metallic ore, that of iron, for instance ; or the assay, A\'hich is still more simple. We find this assay might be effected with heat alone, having a proper slag and a 44 GOVERNMENT UPON FIKST PRINCIPLES. blast snieltiug-furiKU'C. This heat, then, corresponds to the love of good, i)uriiying aud separating all that it conies in contact ^vith from its impurities; accomplishing the work partly with its own intensity of heat, aud partly with its slag, which is a compound of silica, lime, and alumina. We find the mind is made of components, lleasonhig is one faculty, retiectiou another, calculation another, &c. &c. ; all which arc necessaiy to be exercised when love's intensity is to be active. "When our affections require purif}'iug from their crudities, the intelligeuce of the mind is called in, in order to instruct. In taking the anaxysis of the ii"on ore, we find heat alike indispensable : we find it is necessary, in the first place, in order to expel the water of absorption from the ore. "Water corresponds to truths ; but as it forms but a small per-centagc — say only seventeen per cent. — it is well to remove it alto- gether for the present, lest it become contaminated with the acids (whicb are afterwards introduced). "Water in the ore would also correspond to falses, which would have to be re- moved before the purity can be obtained. In the next place, acids are introduced, such as muriatic and nitric acids, which are necessary in order to render soluble the ii'on ; and thus is the pure metal held in solution, clear as uriter, and quite as limjyicL Then water is introduced, and the iron is taken up, which, after filtration, becomes clear, as before described. The acids correspond to truths mixed with falses. Iron is natural truth ; consequently, the natural knowledge and the natural light of man. Iron, fi'om its hardness, signifies what is strong. Iron also means truth in rdtimates, which is called sensual truth ; wbich, when it is separated fi'om rational and spiritual truth, is converted into falsehood. At this stage, then, we have the ii'on — the natural truth — taken up by the acids — the truths mixed with the falses ; because the iron — i.e., the natural truth, also called the sensual truth — ^has an affinity naturally for acids — i.e., truths mixed with falses : it enters into combination vaih. them. Is this not natural to the natural man, until this natural become connected with the rational and the spiritual teacliiug ? THE PROCESS OF PURIFYING LOW METALS. 45 The combinations vnth. the acids represent the dangerous first light that dawns upon the mind of man. How freely it lays hold of the first change ! The little learning is the dangerous thing. Unconnected with the rational, spiritual, and philosophical truth, it becomes converted into falsehood. It became necessaiy that the ii'on should receive the acids, in order that an entire separation from the di'oss should be effected : the acid is the proximate medium of solution. It would be useless emplojing a higher class material than the acid, because the ii'on would not lay hold of it — would not appreciate anj-thing more refined at tliis stage. Mark the analogy throughout. It is necessary that the natural truth (iron) should receive truths mixed with falses (acids), iu order that a discrimination should be acquired by which a separation should be cfi'ectcd of the false fr-om the true — the di'oss fr-om the iron. The acid is the proximate medium of solution — i.e., truth mixed ydih. falses is the pro x imate medium of conve}'ing truth to the natural man, because it is all that the natural man can appreciate. It would be useless cmploj-ing a higher and more refined medium of instruction ; it would not be received. At first, the natural capacity could not grasp it, just as the child must learn its letters before it can learn to read ; it would be aHke useless to place the Sacred "Word, or the History of Rome, before a child, until it has first learned its letters, by which it is taught to read. Iron having then voraciously laid hold of (acids) truths of a low degree mixed A^-ith falses, the removal of these (acids) falses is the next thing necessar5\ This is generally a difficulty, because it is parting with one's own vitahty ; a superior power is neces- sar}', therefore, in order to efiect the end in view, which, how- ever, justifies such means. An excess of ammonia is thrown into the solution, which precipitates the iron in the form of a peroxide of iron, which may then be collected on a filter, washed, dried, ignited, and weighed. 46 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. CirArTEPv XXT. THIS ii.i.rsruvrKs now far man can re oovfrnfi) i?y fikst PRINCIPLES, !Man, in his low condition, lias greater affinity for truths mixed ■with falses : must he, therefore, be governed by falses ? If so, falses are not First Principles ; and it would appear that he should not be govenied by First Principles ; and thus our legis- lators would be exonerated from any charge, when they mix up f ilse means in order to govern a false people. How does this square "vnth justice ? Fh'st of all, let us examine what is false. Is that false which has for its object direct or indirect good ? "Where the end and object is good, the means of accomplishing it are jus- tifiable, pro^dded the end be strictly carried out through those means. An accommodation of mediums is undoubtedly com- patible with the Divinity, since the Word itself is an accommo- dation of di\'ine wisdom, reduced to the capacities of man. In this, the end is to undeceive and to elevate, A very different and distinct degree exists between the Word, and many of the operations of our corrupt form of government, which seeks not to accommodate itself to the capacities of the intelligence of the day, but rather to elude and to ignore the existence of intelli- gence among the many, and persists in calling them by what they were centuries ago, — vassals of servitude to the rich, or to the lord. But the intelligence of the people has risen above that condition, and no longer discovers superior intelligence among the rich, nor among the lords ; but often discovers ex- cessive vices, which always attend indolence and idleness. So that any excuse our Government might attempt to make for not governing upon First Principles, on account of the depravity of ignorance, is false ; themselves, though cducatad, are the most corrupt in principle and practice, their evils far exceeding those of the industrious of the country. WAN GOVERNED BY FIRST PRINCIPLES. 47 Let us examine how far Divinity acts upon First Principles. First, we can liave no conception of Divinity if we be not pure in motive, as He is boundless in extent of means, immaculate ia deeds, uneri-ing in His magnitude of operation ; yet Divinity employs mediums out of and away from Himself. These cannot be perfectly pure, since none are absolutely pure or perfect but Himself : but His cmplojing imperfect means does not render the end and object less pure, nor based loss upon First Principles. The object pure justifies the means that are accommodated to suiToimding cii'cumstances. Our Government and our Church make a great mistake on this point. They have substituted selfish objects and ends, and supposed themselves justified because, ia the case of ciime, the means employed are necessarily corrective. Punishment is not pleasant, but is necessary as a means to an end — the good object in \iew ; but punishment uimecessarily protracted is bad ; or selfishly iullictcd, though by authority, is iniquitous. To withhold fi-om man his rightful title to a voice in the legislature, is not right nor just ; nor can it be exercised upon the grounds of means accommodatmg an end — viz., as for the sake of order and pro\asion for State requirements ; because the industrious man is further on proved to be a more wiUing con- tributor to the State and Governmental necessities than are the idle and titled rich, who have ingeniously laid the greater part of the bui'dcn of taxation upon industry, artfully exempting their owTi capital, while they lay on the incomes of the industrious the tax which they themselves seek to avoid. There are no First Principles here, neither in object nor practice. 48 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. CIIArTKIl XXII. BECAI'SK A COUUKCriVK IS NECESSARY, ARE FIRST PRINCIPLES NOT NECESSARY ? Ammonia is a corrective power, superior to that of the acid wliicli it separates from tlio iron. The components of liquid ammonia are strictly corrective, haAnng in its composition the chlorate, in the hydrochlorate of ammonia, both of which are disinfectants. It is so volatile that it wholly evaporates by heat, in alkaline vapours. The iron, then, corresponding to natural truth, having laid hold of its acid, or its proxi- mate truths mixed with falses, is ready after filtration {i.e., is ready after that has been removed which is extraneous to itself, such as are the silica, and the alumina, &c., which the filter separates, but which could not be separated until the iron had been liquefied by the acid, and thus rendered sufiiciently limpid to pass- through the filter) ; the iron is then ready to receive a higher influence, corresponding to what the natural mind is capable of receiving when certain dangerous compounds of our nature requii'o rectification and removal. There are in our compositions certain provisions of our nature, and cer- tain falsifications of our mind, which, like the air, require separation and removal ; and before this can be effected, the principle itself must be arrested, in order, first, that all things extraneous to itself should be removed, and then, afterwards, that the quality and the quantity of the principle should be ascertained. Special care will be seen to be manifested in DiAine providence, that before any new and better truth should be adopted, a removal of much of the evil and the false must take place ; otherwise a provocation would take place, and a falsification, which would leave the issue in a worse state than before; so that " the last state of that man would be worse than the first." Ha\ang, then, gone through the necessary preparation, the THE PROGRESS OF PURIFYING LOW METALS. 49 ore is now ready to receive the action of a superior influence — viz., ammonia ; which at once separates it, and precipitates the iron ; which precipitate, when washed, filtered, ignited, and weighed, shows the proportion of ii'on. The s}Tiopsis then is, that man having gone through the necessary preparation in his primary condition, becomes a fit recipient of a superior influence, which waits no longer than to have accompHshed this prior separation of the lower or piimary qualities ; thus comes a further separa- tion of that which was used as a means of primary instruction, but which was only the introductory instruction. This further separation enables man to arrive at a higher order of existence ; which, when the fui-ther washing and pm'ification of the internal man take place, prepares him to go through the fire of ti-ibulation again and again, in order to fit him for a still higher condition, and a quality less alloyed ; which admits of a clearer estimation of that heavenly quality which constitutes man's better nature. This is the book of life, wherein is re- corded, in proprid persond, whatever be the improvement of our condition, or on the contrary, whatever be the declension of our condition ; the quaHtative and quantitative stands forth in bold prima facid evidence ; which is all that clearly portrays the true man ; the inward expressing itself in the outward, not in t}-pc onl}' but in its OAvn reaHty. Tliis is the book of life. In this world the separation of one impurity fi'om another, by the in- troduction of proximate affinities, constitutes life progressive, and the opposite is the introduction of one impurity after another ; the introduction of proximate impure affinities con- stitutes life retrogressive ; hence we see that our relation to that which is introduced regulates the adoption of it or not, accord- ing to whether it suits us or not. Hence we see the importance ■ of looking at our own condition to see the relation which we bear to that which is calculated to make us happy — to enable us to enjoy life truly, by cnjopng life rightly. To hold our- selves in right relation is to cultivate the pure, for as men are jnire, so they are happy, when the body has pure health. "Were society pure enough, society might be general enough^ but 60 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TRINCIPLES. when si'lfislmcss and j)vldc enter the social circle, tlicy destroy tliat wliich would otlierwiso be a benefit and a gratification. Tliis may be expressed in other words — negative and positive relations. CPIAPTER XXIII. THE ELEMENTAL, DISTINCT IN DEGREE FROM THE PHYSICAL AND FUNCIIONAL. SuLPHi'R is an elective attraction and a combnstible, combines vdth oxygen in different proportions. The proportions in fomi- ing acids are four — the hypo-sulphurous acid, as the less ox}-gcnated ; the sulphurous acid, the more ; the hypo-sulphuric acid, still more ; the sulphuric acid, the most oxygenated. Here we have an analogy replete with moral instruction. Taking sulphur as the combustible, analogous to volition, and oxygen analogous to intelligence in the mind, we find strength to in- crease according to the increase in the combination of oxj'gen with sulphur ; we have hj^DO-sulphurous the less strong because the less oxygenated ; whilst we have the sul})huric, the most strong because the most oxygenated. Is not this analogy for- cibly striking. Volition is strengthened by the mind, the will is iiiAngorated as the mind combines with it — as it receives the mind — takes it up as its own ; hence love is espoused by her wdsdom, and increases in strength as its combination is com- plete and replete, and must go on increasing in vigour in proportion as the infilment of one into the other is complete. It is thus rendered useful for the requirements of life, and can be more correctly applied and more rightly measured in its adaptations. The will is the less strong as it is unsupported by the mind, that is, the will of good ; and this must not be confounded with passion, and the will in nature's apparently crude distortions. THE ELEMENTAL DISTINCT FROM THE PHYSICAL. 51 There is the animal strength of will, the very opposite to the in- tellectual will, to which acids correspond in the very opposites, the very antipodes of each other. The animal will has strength, hut this strength is in perverted tendencies ; the law of self regu- lating every action ; self-preservation, the best of all lower motives wherein there is no mind brought to bear on her instinctive nature. But when a cultivation of the will com- mences, its strength is in proportion to the ascendancy the mind has over her, in regulating and guiding her aright; hence the use of instruction. The will is a combustible, and the mind is a supporter of combustion ; the h}^o-sulphuro, the less useful, unsupported by the oxygen — the mind; the sul- phuric, the most beneficial and useful, the most oxygenated, or the most supported by intelligence, or by Divine Wisdom, infilling the mind of man. "When we speak of the mind of man, we aUude to it as a developer, supporter, and sustainer, but not the originator, not the initiator. That antecedent is the primary producer ; "no physical force can be the jjrimary mover, as physics are now denominated," as Grove says; "no physical force can, strictly speaking, be initial ; there must be some anterior force wliich produced it." So long as Divine influx continues, action and reaction continue, and the \ntal force is manifest. This antecedent, then — the spirit pervading all nature — ^is not analogous to the mind ; for the Spirit Divine is co-equal in all its attributes, co-equal in love and co-equal in wisdom and power. The mind is circumscribed and unequal in all these essential qualities ; but the analogy is strictly correct between the mind and the oxygen of the air ; the mind docs not com- prehend volition, neither does oxygen comprehend nitrogen, but both are essential to production and reproduction. The spirit initial, this anterior power, this vital stimulus, has always been worshipped according to the estimation people of various countries and ages have had of the good and the truth, or the love and the wisdom, or power of this triad, anterior vitality. Tlie benevolence of the Creator Mas portrayed in the works of liis creation, by Hitchcock, page 170. k2 52 OOVERNMF.Nl' UPON FIRST PRTNCIPLKS. CHArTER XXIV. SUrKK>[K HENEVOLENCE INTERFERES EVEN WTTTT Tlfl", LAWS OF NATURE, AS SEEN IN GRAVITATION. Ai.L nature is seen to bo under Divine control ; oven tho earth's creation, A\dtli her mighty laws, are inado to subserve tho purpose of use for man. Geology, in her metallic com- pounds, illustrates this fact. It may be scon that man's requirements arc never lost sight of in creation ; tho Omega is ever in the Alpha, and vice vernd, in all the works of God ; even in the hard rocks, veins, and ores of creation. " I derive a fourth geological argument for the benevolence of the Deity, from the manner in which the metallic ores are distri- buted through the earth's crust. " It can hardly be doubted by the geologist, that nearly every part of the earth's crust, and its interior too, have been some time or otlier in a melted state. Now as the metals and their ores are usually heavier than other rocks, we should expect that they would have accumulated at the centre of the globe, and liave been en- veloped by the rocks, so as to have been for ever inaccessible to man. And the very great weight of the central parts of the earth — almost twice that of granite — leads naturally to the conclusion that the heavier metals may be accumulated there ; though this is by no means a certain conclusion, since at the depth of tliirty-four miles, air would be so condensed by the pressure of the superincumbent mass, as to be as heavy as water. Water at the depth of three hundred and sixty-two miles would become as heavy as fpiicksilver ; and at the centre, steel would be compressed into one-fourth, and stone into one-eighth of its bulk at the surface. StiU it is most probable that the materials naturally the heaviest would first seek the centre. And yet, by means of sublimation, and expansion by internal heat, or the segregating power of galvanic action, or of some other agents, enoiigh of the metals is protruded towards the THE ELEMENTARY GOOD AND TRUE. 53 sm'face, and diflPused tliTough the rocks in beds or veins, so as to be accessible to human industry. Here, then, we find Divine Bene- volence, apparently in opposition to gravity, providing for human comfort." Some ages and some churclies have esteemed the good, and have not regarded the wisdom ; others have regarded the wisdom, and not the good. This language itself proves and teaches man's dependence upon some Power as far superior to himself as light is from darkness. CHAPTER XXV. THE ELEMENTARY GOOD AND TRUE SEEN IN ALL AGES, IN VARIOUS ASPECTS, VARYING ACCORDING TO INTELLIGENCE. "We find names have been given to the Spirit Divine, according to their mode of comprehension or estimation. There are two piincipal expressions in the old Indian, or Sanscrit, the one relating to the Divine good, or love ; the other to the Di\Tiie truth, or vrisdom.* Thus the Germanic Gott, is our English God ; Gothic, Guth ; Persian, Kudha ; Sanscrit, Kudhas ; signifH-ing, pure, innocent, good ; wliich is derived from the verb kudh, to purifv', to render good, &c. This kudh re-appears, indeed, in the Greek Ka$-apb^, pure ; and lLke^vise in ayaOos good. Thus God=good ; and Gothic guth, = gut a-ya^os ; good and purity is here meant by all. In the Greek and Romanic languages, the Latin Deus, the Spanish Dios, Italian Dieu, Greek ©eos and A105 ; — di, is here the syllable common to all ; so also in divus, and the like form in our English word "Divine," &c. These are all derived fi-om the other Sanscrit word for God, Divas (and Dcvas), which is derived fi'om the verb, dio, to lighten, to spread light, to be luminous, clear, &c. In different ages and countries, we have this analogous • "Intellectual Repository," p. 259, July, 1853. 54 GOVF.UNMl-.NT I TON KIUST I'KINCIVLES. distinction still uKiiutainod and sustained; tliero is tlir veil» kudh. to rrndir pure and good — their God, kudhas ; tlierc is nlso tlu-ir CJod, Divas, to sjuvad light ;— that is, they liavo their Kudhas, the good, and Divas, the hnninous — the %Wsdom : the first havhig rehition to that which should iill the heart and the attections— the k)ve; the hitter kei'jiing up the other rehition to the mind, enlightening it — the luminous — spreading light; the wisdom of the First Cause. In f\ict, language need not he alluded to ; the Avhole of the works of creation — the chemical, the vogctahlc, and the animal, as well as the human — bear testimony to this grand duad, which in its proceeding operation on man, is said to be a triad ; be- cause the triad is the duad in operation, which is the unad in the Divinity. The Deity, therefore, is manifested to man in three essential attributes. Let us see some natural illustrations of this. Metaloids enter into combination without forming acids. "We have the proto-chloride of mercury, or the bichloride of mercui-y, wherein the same analogy can be traced, and illustra- tions deduced for the mstruction of man. Whether we take the bowels of the earth or the surface of it, everywhere God is all in all. The earth mirrors forth His greatness — His ineffable msdom The unerring Chemist ! the Immaculate Mathema- tician ! He is the unerring Philosopher, the Divine Geometri- cian, the Founder and Sustainer of the millions of earths in the universe, ordering their revolutions: the true Theologian, Infinite in all and everything, because he is infinite in goodness and wisdom ; the Benevolent Father. The only thing man can with safety be proud of is, that he was made by God ; but even then he must be as proud of his neighbour if poor, since he was also made by the same Elementary Causality. There are many non-oxygenated binary compounds ; Hydrogen and Clilorine have also properties in combination to form acids, called like Oxygen, Fluo-silicic acid, Cliloro-phosphoric acid, Chloro-hydiicic acid, or Hydi'o- chloric acid, or Muriatic acid — fi-om Muria, or sea salt ; — all capable of the same analogies and RE-FORMATION AND REGENERATION. 55 furnishing similar illustrations of tlie grandeui- iu the conception of the God of Chemistry ; merely beaiing in mind that the prefixes Proto, Deuto, Trito, Sub, H}^o, &c., are only quantita- tive terminology, and do not interfere •mth. the correspondence of the radical, as the Proto -chloride of Phosphorus, Deuto- chloride, &c. This quantitative terminology is necessary in human studies, but in the Infinite the terms admit of no application ; because what is Infinite is co-equal ; a division of parts is the measuring medium of man, but the Omnipresent and Omnisicient is the Quantitative and Qualitative per sc, — is not only the Chemist but the Chemistry. CILVPTER XXVI. RE-FORMATION AND REGENERATION ILLUSTRATED BY CHEMISTRY, WHICH FIRST EXPELS THE SPURIOI'S, THEN COMBINES. T.AKiNG Cheniistr}' along with us in producing these analogies, we go so far into the science only as will be familiar to the generality of us. Salt, a combination of an acid, with a salefiable base, such as ammonia, or a metallic oxide, is a compoimd of two bodies ; one, acting as an acid, neutralizes the second, which then acts as a salefiable. These salts are divided into two — genera and species ; the genus deriNing its name fi'om the acid, and the species from the base — such as the sulphate of soda, or sulphate of protoxide of sodium. But the plain term, sulphate of soda, leaves the correspon- dence less complex. Here the sulphuric acid is the genus of the species soda. The genus, then, is analogous to the mind, or wisdom ; wliilc the species is analogous to the affections, or the will. The mind gives expression to the man or woman, 56 GOVKUN.MKNT ITUN I'lKST I'UTNCIVLES. Nvliile till- will funiislies the impulse to action. The will riHiuiros the miiul to guide aiul direct it aright. The mil is constantly acted uj)on by the mind, Avhercvcr there is industry; but indolence is like the alkali -without the acid — no action takes place until the acid comes in contact Avith the alkali. Ihen we see an action according to the quantity of each ; if much, a Aiolent action — eliervescing. disengaging, and entering into fresh combination. Is not the history of man strictly analogous to that of this salt r* llow many hundi'cds of years has the heart of man remained inert, inactive, in the many branches of science now in operation, because the mind had not conceived it, nor suggested it to the will ? The acid had not acted on the alkah ; no action ensued. Violent and destructive action, or obstinate inaction, ensues from the excess of either — the acid in excess, or the alkali in excess, or in the concentration of either ; the stronger the one or the other, the more \iolent the action, even to destruction, or inaction, or loss of mateiial. The remedy for which dilution or amalgamation is necessary, to a proper medium state, when it will keep up a mild action, and at the same time enter into combination. The salt — the alkali — will absorb the acid, and form an acetate, or a sulphate ; but, before doing so, there is a carbonic acid that must be expelled, which we know is the action, the efferves- cence. Then there is also oxygen to be expelled — such as will be illustrated by sulphate of soda, Na 0, SOs, — from the sulphuric acid, which is composed of sulphur and oxygen, SOs ; and carbo- nate of soda — soda and carbonic acid Na O, CO^. In the combi- nation of sulphate of soda, then, something must be rejected : the carbon and the oxygen are expelled — driven off ; which we know is the action which occasions the effervesence commonly noticed. How beautifully analogous is this to the condition of man ! Something must always be rejected — must be renounced — before new quaHties enter into combination in him. This is constantly going on throughout the life of man in the process of regeneration, commonly called salvation. Our Great Teacher RE-FORMATION AND REGENERATION. 57 said, " A rich, man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of God." He must " sell all that he hath." Again, " No man can serve two masters : for either he mil hate the one and love the other, or else he "will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Without multiphdng quotations with which Scripture aboimds, we know that we must all reject the evil and the false, before we can receive the good and the true : the one must be expelled before the other can enter into our constitution. "We must reject e\Tls as sins, and the false as the untrue, before we can become recipients of the good and the true, the Divine Love and Wisdom. Violent and destructive action, or inaction, ensues alike in the himian natiu'e, fi*om the excess of either. When the mind of man is cultivated in the absence of affection, or when the will is in excess, and the mind unfurnished with the wisdom to control the will, the latter soon merges into passion. Hatred, ven- geance, and destruction ensue from the will acting uncontrolled by reason, and intelligence descending fi-om Wisdom Divine. The mind also, uninfluenced by affection, becomes uncharitable, unkind, indifferent to others' wants ; coldness and remorseless- ness enter into the composition of his nature, the very essence of life is destroyed within him, imless he cultivate a union with the affections. Dilution is necessary when one or the other — the alkali or the acid — is in excess ; the medium of dilution is the water, which is analogous to the influence of truth upon the excesses of either the will or the mind. True reason is a term of moderation, corresponding to the medium here mentioned in chemistry as necessary for a mild action, obtained by the intro- duction of water. lleason is a medium by which a man reduces the effect to the cause, and deduces one proposition from another, and pro- ceeds from premises to consequences. Water is a medimn by ■which chemicals are reduced — by which the effect is traced to the cause — by which separations are made easy — for the most ])ai't, of au analysis by which separations arc effected and 58 GOVERXMKXT I TON FIRST PRINCIPLES. diWsions multiplied ; by deducing- one nuillcr iVoni aiiotlior, and reducing- the whole to some of the most original elements that we at present have nnder denomination. However paradoxical these correspondences may ai)pear to the superticial observer, they, liowe\-er, are something more than correspondences ; they arc rcaUties — the}- arc the realities of creation, deduciblc by analogy. If I do very imperfectly foreshadow these great truths, my incapacity must not be mis- taken for the principle itself. The principle is grand, because it illustrates how the antecedents are lost sight of amid the effects. God has been lost (by man) in his own great icork of creation, but only for a time. Ho will sooner or later fully re- appear to the mind. Protoxides are what give expression to bases of alkalies : as the protoxide of calcium is lime; the protoxide of banum, bar}i;a ; the protoxide of sodium, soda ; the protoxide of potas- sium, potash : that is, they arc in equal parts — one of oxygen and one of the base ; such as one part of oxygen and one part of calciiun is lime, &c. ; one part of oxygen and one of barium is barj-ta ; one part of oxygen and one of strontium is strontia ; the same may be said of the protoxide of sodium, one part of each. How forcibly is the duad analogy here exhibited ! Man is only properly so called as he becomes the equable of the good and the ti'ue. CHAPTER XXYII. MAN COMPRISES IN HIMSELF THE AGGREGATE OF ALL CREATION, AND HIS HIGHER CHARACTERISTICS ILLUSTRATE FIRST PRIN- CIPLES ; HIS LO^V'ER CHARACTERISTICS ILLUSTRATE PRESENT PERVERSIONS. Man, homo, or mankind, " quod est ad homincm pcrtinens," that belonging to man, was expressed originally by a word which conveyed the idea of gentleness and courteousness, as man's characteristics. 59 " liumane " meant Mendly, kind, civil, obliging ; " humanitas " (humanity) meaning not only human nature, but ci^-ility, kind- ness, good nature ; also human learning, liberal knowledge — TraiSeta, " mansuetudo, facilitas," — from wliich we find that man originally was the personification of kindness and learning ; and man, of all the objects of creation, should possess both. He unto whom all the living animals of the earth are to be sub- dued, should certainly be kind as wise, and wise as kind — learned and loveful. Has the world progressed since that re- mote age? "Wliere is the "hvmianitas" to be found on our Stock Exchange ? The two chief terms for man in Hebrew have evidently relation to his being an image of the good and the true in the First Great Cause. Adam is derived from a word signifpng " redness," and is expressive of that gloM-ing disposition he should ever have for all that is generous, kind, and good. He should be red, as it were, with the fire of ardent affection for the happiness of others ; his cheek should become ruddy, as it were, with the noble -snsh to promote the blessedness of all around. This is to be a true man, as Adam. The other name commonly rendered "man" in Hebrew (Ish), is derived from a verb which impKes that a thing really IS. It expresses our relation to the true. Thus the prophet says, " He is a man (Is//) who executeth judgment, and doeth the truth." The relation of man to the two grand Fii-st Pnnciples, the generous and the right, is expressed thus by Adam and " Ish ; " and never is he truly man until he becomes an image and like- ness of the Infinitely Good and the Infinitely Wise. The Greek term, A)if//ropo.s, wliich literally means " he who looks up," is equally indicative of the great privilege of our nature, to be guided by First Pri>-cii'les — to look up. Language is always inferior to the reality of things ; the expressicju of an idea is necessarily inferior to the idea itself: this arises out of the impei-fection of a degenerate nature. There must have been on this earth, or is now in the .y)irii or isitperlutive condition, an universal language — shorter, more 60 GOVERNMENT UPON FIKST PRINCirLES. conl])vollellsi^•o, and fur luovo porfoot, than any external one ; in -which not only the meaning, hnt the qmdifij of the spcaJicr, is comprehended — an imperfect ick\a of wliich is found in the tone of the voice. The good and tlie kind is sometimes felt in the tone of the expression ; but since dissimulation is practised, the tone does not always indicate the quality. The hieroglyphics of Egypt hut imperfectly convey the con- ception of the idea intended, because the mind seeks to di'scribc its thoughts by comparisons taken from outward nature — from the outward things familiar to the eye, either from the animal, the vegetable, or the mineral worlds. If, however, \vc closely analyze language, we cannot fail to sec the correspondence of its tei-ms to the tilings of the earth. We commonly say " soft as do^^^l," or " hard as iron," "sweet as sugar." Here are analogies out of the three kingdoms of nature — the animal, the mineral, the vegetable. How futile, too, to attempt to deny these analogies in relation to scriptural correspondence ! They not only are the representation of the man, but are the man IN THE AGGREGATE. All the things of the earth are given imto man to subdue and to possess. In his compound nature does man possess their natures in the aggregate ? Is not the unsubdued will, tiger-like ? The capacity of the development of liis strength, Hon-like ? His power of locomotion, both mental and bodily, horse-like or camel-like ? His combative nature, animal-like, acccording to one or other form in all the varied tribes ? His loveful nature, in its lower unrefined condition, animal-like in its strictest sense ? Even the faithful characteristic of man is to be seen in that of the dog, beautifully exemplified in its own canine degree and order. What is more faithful, and at the same time more affectionate, than the domestic dog ? THE INNER SPIRIT. 61 CHx^TEE XXYIII. THE INNER SPIRIT, OR SLTERNAL WORLD, THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE OUTVVARD WORLDS OF j\L\TTER. This must be the case, as is evident when we view the primary- causes. The inner world of spirit is ever forming the outward world of matter, giving it birth, place, activity, and utility. "We see this on a small scale in man ; his thoughts produce his works. The inward spirit, or supernal world, then, not only corresponds, hut is the protoj^last, the prototyjye of everything earthly ; wherein the great God reigns, creating and governing the m}'Tiads of worlds with His providential eye. His all- powerful arm, and His omni-benevolent heart, all co-equal, co- eternal, and co-extensive. The spirit or causal world, then, ever-foiining and trans- forming, affords to man a self-active power to re-form himself with divine and causal aid, and when re-formed he becomes but an imperfect section of human nature, an image of, but iufinitely inferior to, his original inward spirit — CausaHty. The spirit or causal world can be spoken of not only iu relation to man, but to all things of creation, having brought all things into existence, caused all tilings to stand out in matter ; how can we doubt, then, the correspondence of all things earthly to all things spiiitual ? The spirit or supernal world was the piimary cause, is the piimary cause, and ever will be the piimary cause, of all the things, of all the earths, of the universe. An inquiry is made in the " Intellectual Repository of the New Church," page 435, " How could the operations of mind in mathematical problems bring out correct results, unless the inner world and its laws answer by analogy to the outward world and its existence ?" Undoubtedly, mathematics arc built on correspondences. And if that be so, it is not an ancient error that man is a microcosm, or little world ; but a truth once well known, and though lost to the world for ages it is now restored. 6'3 GOVERXMKXT LTON FIRST TRINCirLES. Tlio laws wliic'li <;-()voru llir animal and vogi'tablo world arc of nu)VO j^rnoral application, and to ns tinito beings appear to bo "Nvider and more extended in tlu>ir o])eratit)ns. They arc, how- ever, not the less beantii'ul nud magniticent in tlicir analogical uda])tations ; they illustrate more vividly the whole scheme of tlu' iutinito Creator, and bring (o tuir limiird (•a])acities the best impressions of the eternal conception anil the infinite wisdom, together with the munificent object of creation, not yet under- stotxl. Zeno recommended resignation. lie knew that the laws of the universe cannot bo changed by man, and therefore he ■\nshed that his disciples should not in prayer deprecate impend- ing calamities, but rather beseech Providence to grant them fortitude to bear the severest trials vnth pleasure and due resig- nation to the wall of Heaven. An arbitrary command over the passions was one of the rules of his stoicism. To assist our friends in the hour of calamity was our duty, but to give way to childish sensations of petty wants was unbecoming our nature. Pity, therefore, and anger were to be banished from the heart. Propriety and decorum were to be the guides in everjiihing. Zeno, we know, acknowledged only one God, the soul of the universe, which he conceived to be the body ; and therefore he believed that those two together united, the soul and the body, formed one perfect animal. ANALOGY OF THE MIND AND THE BODY. 63 CHxVPTEE XXIX. ANALOGY OF THE MIND AND THE BODY IN THEIR APPROPRI- ATIONS, PRODUCTIONS, AND REPRODUCTIONS. It is one of the grand conceptions of Di\ine economy that all things directly or indirectly are reproductive, propagative, or self- preservative ; nothing is lost in the Divine economy ; the laws of the inner world must be reproductive, ever appro2:)riatiug, producing, and reproducing. The more there is appropriated, the more means are furnished of greater and increased power of reproduction, taking care essentially that assimilation shall accompany and cany out all tilings appropriated. Take the mind first in its infancy recei\ing early impressions. Listening with extended eyes and mouth have little to do with healing, but evidences the desu-e for the appropriation of what it hears. Rivet the attention of a child, and appropriation at once commences, and forms a part of the character of the child ; and thus M-ith all. From birth, with all it sees and all it hoars, the child, and the youth, and the man, become built up. The more it sees and hears, the more it knows, the more the capacity extends fur the acquirement of further knowledge, which mil proceed ad infinitum, if a proper regard be paid to the healthy condition of the body and the gradual growth of the mind ; taking care also, during the development of youth, not suddenly to crowd it beyond moderation. Appropriation then is the constant work going on in the mental condition ; having received impressions, if you deem them true, they then become part of yourself, or, if false, are rejected as futile, unworthy of appro- priation, and, therefore, are cast off. By analogy; they are as excrements of the mental condition. Here, then, are the things we constantly hear and sec, sur- rounding us, the ears and eyes acting as doors to the mind, the cerebrum = memor)% and the judgment acting as the stomach, appropriating or putting aside what is not congenial to its nature, or not in keeping with its requirements. How analogous 64 OOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TRINCIPLES. is tlio oporatit)!! of the iniiul, then, to the operations of the body r^ Nothing is lost in the Divine economy ; that rejected by one may become the most important to another ; even as pearls before SAvine, the \Wsest and best are oftener rejected by man than the most foolish and the worst. The reason for it also is, that man is but man, humanity is fallacious, frail, and change- able, and too often chooses according to its own self-hood, which is self-ser\4ng rather than from the intelligence of truthful and lovoful teaching. AVe are told to do good and eschew e\il ; but how often do we do evil and eschew good ; and this is a process going on in the animal condition of the human body. We eat and drink food, digest and assimilate into our systems the various aliments for our nourishment, which having appropriated to the various requisites of our nature, — /. e. into chyle, chyme, blood, bone, flesh, and sinew, &c. — the system rejects what it cannot assimilate, and what is rejected is called excrement. How ana- logous is all this operation of the body to that of the mind, and the assimilations or appropriations of the spiritual food to the mind ! These things which have gone towards strengthening the mind are analogous to chyle, chyme, and blood, are sjjiritual or supernal truths, the enlightenments of Divine intelligence. That which is analogous to what the body assimilates to bone, flesh, and sinew is the appropriation of food for spiritual usefulness, for goodness, and charitableness, the Divine teachings of bene- volence guided by wisdom, into which, as man properly grows, he becomes spiritually and supernally stronger and better. Ha\'ing partaken of all that he can, and appropriated all that he can, that which he cannot appropriate is rejected as worth- less, corresponding to and analogous to the excrement, which, however, is not to be regarded as useless, for nothing is lost in the Di\dne economy ; it may be viewed only as useless to us, though valuable to another. It may be nourishment to the next lower stage of condition, which is again analogous to the vegetable kingdom, the stage lower thau the animal condition. IN WHAT HAPPINESS CONSISTS. 65 CHAPTER XXX. HAPPINESS CONSISTS IN ITS RELATION, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, TO THE PERFECT. TO DO GOOD, NOT AN ARBITRARY COM- MAND, BUT A PRIVILEGE BY WHICH OUR BEST INTERESTS ARE PROMOTED. The power of appropriation depends upon the quality of the assimilating power, ergo, upon the quaHty of the digestive func- tions ; the food taken, though alike and the same, received into various qualities of digestion, becomes variously assimilated, or even rejected during that process. The sufferings of indi- gestion are excessive in this day, arising from the causal world not having enforced nor brought about a clear comprehension of causalit}'. None have intelligibly appropriated pure good nor pure inteUigence ia a supernal degree. The imperfections of our preceding generations are yet handed down to this gene- ration ; purgations of third and fourth generations have not taken place, the curse still remains with us, and the appropri- ation of Fii'st Principles has not taken place in the supernal man, so it cannot in the natui'al. Goodness and wisdom are not appreciated in the superlative degree, but only in a mixed, corrupt degree. They are not appro- priated nor received in the heart, will, and mind con amove, but merely professed and paraded. Hence digestion is imperfect, and great are the sufferings of wrong assimilation, first supcr- nally then naturally. The very fact of the governing powers grasping so greedily too much to themselves, is an indication of inordinate appetites, that produce indigestion and the consequent suffering of malappropriation. The food may be good for digestion, but an imperfect secretion of the solvents may convert the good food into wrong results. There may be formations of acids in excess, lactic acid espe- cially, extending itself throughout the whole system. With efficient powers of digestion, a repast leaves one in hap})iness and content ; an imperfect power of digestion renders one after F 66 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. a repast hypoclioudrlaoal aiul iliscH)nieuted. The food was good, nud the same, in each of th(>se conditions ; the dill'erence in the effect is evidently from the dilfercnco iii the digestive powers. The fot)d for the mind nuiy ho equally good ; hut, hy different powers of comprehension, is dillereutly ai)j)i'opriated ; ana- logically regarded, is variously adopted into our moral condition, according to the powers of the mind to discriminate and ajiprc- ciate the food of the mind. In some, the good teaching is imperfectly understood, and is received into the mind, having a wrong hias, corresponding to the imperfect solvents of the stomach, fermenting and producing acidular results : so in the mind are there these wrong biases, fomenting and fermenting the comprehensions, causing lower disturbing and grovelling dispositions, disafiectcd, ill-humoured characters (such as are ever ready to disaffcct others) ; everything seen and heard is wrong (which too often is the case) ; till at length infii-mities of mind become as evident as those of the body : in fact, the infirmities of the body and those of the mind become nearly identical, until a remedy bo appHed to both. The physical-mental is affected by the physical-digestive. A fermentation in the stomach generates the carbonic acid gas, which affects tho physical-mental by acting upon the brain, conveyed by the pneumo-gastric nerve, sensitively too, causing depression of spirits. The mind-reflective is affected by the mind-receptive. A confused and morbid mind generates the rancorous effusions, which affect mind- reflective, which re-acts upon the mind unappropriated in negation, wliich reflective- negation and rejection ever are inharmonious — consequently depress the soul : for reception and appropriation ever are pro- ductive of happiness when the food is efficiently and healthily assimilated into all the various functions for wliich it was in- tended ; but when that which is received is not efficiently and healthily appropriated, it is ever attended with pain. In short, complete reception is pleasure, or happiness ; partial reception, lesspleasm'o and less happiness: but rejection or negation is the contrary of pleasure, /. e., misery ; — shorter stiU, the positive is pleasure, the negative displeasure ; the pneumo-gastric nerve IN WHAT HAPPINESS CONSISTS. 67 conYO}4ng all the feelings of the stomach to the head, the seat of foeHng. Herein we derive some Httle kno-svledge of the elementary- laws operating upon the soul, which law in itself is uniformly correct d, 2)rion, and perfect when Divine, but variously and diftcrently received, because we are only human. Apply this to all our actions in life, and we shall find how immensely it concerns us : for it exposes to us what life is, and that negation must be exercised upon the wrong, the greedy, and the per- verted, while the positive must be ever exercised upon the good and true ; because the good and the true will admit of efficient and healthy appropriation, productive of happiness and pleasui^e, whilst the wi'ong, the selfish, and the perverted will only admit of inefficient and perverted negations of good and justice, which produce displeasure and misery. Hence we see that man was not directed to do good because of any arbitrary command, but because, by so doing, he was consulting his own best interest — the only way by which he could obtain, virtuously, pleasurable life, which alone is worth living for — the life which man was taught to expect and ask for — the kingdom which is to come, because it is the Divine will, which is to be done on earth, as it is done in the heavens. Investigate the Di\4no commands, and you wiU. find none have a tendency to rob man of happiness ; but, on the contraiy, they are aU calculated to promote his happiness, calculated to evolve good fecHngs in ourselves, and developc Idndness and brotherly love within us. These blessings within confer happi- ness ; for the more kindness we feel within ourselves, the more happy we feel. There is a co-relation between one and the other — a kindred character and quaHty between one and the other, harmonious and delightful : every good act reverberates upon the actor or doer with multiplied pajTiient of gratification and happiness. This must be very evident, considered in a natural point of \4ew, because it brings the party with whom you are in association into a positive condition towards you, in the affirmative relation. Do a kindness to a good man, and he feels at once kindly disposed towards you ; do the same to an r 2 68 GOVERNMENT UPON FIKST I'lUNCIPLES. evilly disposocl man, and you ini-;lit by possibility iiwalcou a wrong motivo witUin liini at first ; ho might take advantage of a siipposi'd weakness in you, and mistake kindness for soft points. Witli sui'h, it is wvW to us(> uoitluT pity without justice, nor anger : Zeno is good here. ]5e acute, as well as kuul ; pity will do much liarm without wdsdom to guide. Among such as are human wolves in the world, w^e arc taught to bo wise as serpents and harndess as doves. Some natures may bo improved by awakening another kind of emulation in them. If they will not aim at direct goodness, try to draw forth a different kind of pride. Fii'st, the phidk of honesty among themselves, which most have, then the feeling might be awakened of honesty towards all ; after which, the low feeling, which has only been used as a meaus, might be dropped, and a love of real honesty- induced. A person having once accomplished this in another, let him ask himself if ho be not amply repaid by the satisfaction of ha^^ng assisted in a brother's elevation, and in the kind rela- tion he has brought an enemy to occupy before him, — perhaps with the smile of good fellowship, and even gratitude, towards the man who first awakened better sentiments within him. This is a possession wliich gives its owner more real happiness and more real enjojTnent of life. Thus, then, by a constant practice of kindness Avith intelligence and justice, better feelings possess om-selves, and better spheres exist for all around us. These influence others, both by precept, sphere, and general example. Thus the human race might be seen to be gradually progressing, could we be seen appropriating First Principles ; the heavenly kingdom might be looming in the far distant horizon, and the Divine will be doing on earth, as it is done in heaven. THE NATURE OF MAN's REGARDS. 69 CHiVPTER XXXI. man's regards SHOrLD BE UNI^-ERSALLY IIMPORTANT, NOT SELF-IMPORTANT. An American Treatise, by Edmund H. Sear, on Eegeneration, expresses groat thoughts and principles upon the organic whole of the race of man. He says : — " What, then, is the actual condition of the race 1 Taken in the mass, it lies in spiritual darkness, each generation receiving from the past its gloomy superstitions and horrid idolatries. A race in its true condition, not less than a family or a state, -would form a certain organic whole. It would he a family of nations, society in its gi'andest form, and that a form of beneficence, taking up every people and every tribe, into our circulatory system of benefits and blessings, that poured life and happiness from all to each, and from each to all. Diplomacy, trade, commerce, would form a grand system, that kept girdling the globe with charities ; or, perhaps, the arteries and veins, that kept sending life into all the members, and bringing it back. Instead of this, the nations and peoples are fallen asunder ; we debate whether they belong to the same species ; each is parted off to its solitary darkness and bloody customs, and they present the spectacle of the fragments of a mighty ruin." The universal kingdom whore such kindi-ed should dwell lies not in the far distant, but ^v^thin the present, and within our- selves ; by cultivating the generous, by harmonizing nature, by learning to regard all favoui-ably, by keeping ourselves in the affirmative state, desiring to see the truth, not resisting it ; by viewing all things as the work of the Creator, therefore claiming our highest respect and love ; looking upon none that should not be called brother, and as the children of the Universal Father. Whether white or black, Avhother European or African, whether Indian or American, Avhether Mohammedan, the Zends of the Persians, or the Shakers of the Americans ; whether Roman Catholic, Cahnnistic, or liutheran Catholic; whether Episcopalian or Jew, wbotlier Sows of the Vedas and Shasters 70 OOVERXMENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES. uf the lIiiuloos,i)v men i)f any other namo; all aiv bivthivn.iiuulc by God, and loved by llini — not despised by Jlini as by man. How can wo allow ourselves, then, to regard a man of another country or sect with iudilt'ercncc, much less with scorn or deri- sion r* IIow can we despise any that are not so rich, or so handsome, or so cle\er, or so influential, or so important as ourselves ? for frequently the man that has the least self-im- portance is doubtless regarded more favcmrably by the "wise and good. Self-imiiortance comes from self-love, which is the dc- stroyhig enemy within us all. The tower of Babel truly represents this self-love as opposed to the love of each other. Prior to this Bab}lonian erection, man, tliinking less from himself, thought more from Divine im- pulse. But at length, relpng more and more upon himself, he sought to build himself to heaven ; wliicli, analogically, men are doing at this day. Nothing less than a self-important tower is constantly under the process of orcction,which supernal power is ever tlii'owing doAvn, within us — much, in truth to our discom- fiture. ITai)py, however, will it be for us, if on its ruins we build a himibler, holier state. This is a work for our entire life, under the practice of true self-denial. If we deny ourselves cverytliing inordinate, evcrjihing greedy, passionate, dishonest, or unfair, and take in toto the Commandments, an echo of which the Creator has inscribed on our hearts and minds, — by this abnegation are we having the Babylonian tower replaced within us by what is far nobler and better ; the physical is made to decay, and the metaphysical, the purer spiritual, is taking its place, and eternal life is being built up. Beauties of supernal life are becoming realities of life, often as the beauties of bodies are dpng away. Alas ! too often does the naturally beautiful become a corrupting medium of the heart, by its vanity, pride, and conceit, ending often in tyranny and oppres- sion. How fragile, alas, is earthly beauty ! AVlien most beautiful, it is just then most precarious ; in the flower, in the fi'uit, in the animal, and in the human. So sure as man prides himself upon any of his own seemuig perfections, so sure A\dll his tower of Babel fall, and confounded THE NATURE OF MAN's REGARDS. 71 will be his power of expi-ession ; until shame overtake him, and awakens in him a sense of his defects. Pride is the lore of self, and therefore e^al ; and, as a writer on ReKgion and Life, in the " Intellectual Repository" for July, No. 7, aptly remarks, p. 310 :— " So long as these (selfish) motives dominate, whether life move within the forms of law and decorum, or refuse their bondage, hell lies within it and breathes the pestilence of evil through all its activities. Often the difference between the two is trifling. He whose self-love unrestrained, goes outward to steal or kill, is seized and chained ; but he whose evil passions gain their object by a more circuitous and legal route, passes on untouched, and is per- haps respectable. But in each the life is essentially infernal. Government is transformed into the instrument of an insatiable lust of power, that grows by what it feeds on. Though the laws may preserve order and freedom, and give a clear path to national de- velopment and prosperity, still are they imsound at heart when self lies within. Commerce, when selfhood reigns, though it feeds and clothes nations, and brings to every door the produce of every land, gives only that it may receive more abundantly ; and though it scatters blessings everywhere, and gives the means of life and comfort to every home, we cannot give the meed of praise to poor humanity for these great works, but feel grateful to First Principles, which compel an all-absorbing selfishness to become the instrument for the diftusion of its blessings. Thus self, even when chained by laws, and observant of decorum and propriety, corrupts every seeming good, and makes it poison to tlie doer. It defdes all things by its touch, ami science, literature, and art are scarcely less its slaves than meaner things. But when this evil love wildly over- leaps the barrier of law, often too feeble to restrain it, it issues in every form of hate, revenge, and malice. It is the sirocco of society, and spiritual death and desolation mark its course. Tlie impure hearts of men are the Etnas whence the lava of self-lovo rushes hissing downwards, and buries vineyard and village beneath its liquid firo — kills goodness, truth, and beauty, " But if the will bo the heavenly homo of pure affections, then are all things sanctified by their influences. Deeds that in their unobtrusive modesty may pass unnoticed hy the Avorld, arc yet, 72 fJOVKKXMKNT IPON I'lUSV PKINCIIM.KS. when done from love to man, procious in the siylit of tlie First Cause. Tbo lowliest lot that lulls to man acquires greatness and beauty when all its duties arc iiUeil with truth and goodness. The ]>nre heart is the only true alchyniist — its touch converts all things into gold. Under its intluenco life woidd heronie continuous worship, and every day a sabbath ; commerce Avouhl ccjxso to be a sordiil strife for wealth, the good of man would bo more than gain. (.lOvernnuMit would not be synonymous with tyranny and grinding exaction ; the love of dominion and gain would yield to love of country. Art would give to Love and Faith all their native grace and beauty, and make sense minister to the soul's advancement. If tht! heart of the unircrsal social ma?i vere pure, then through every artery do\vu to the minutest capillary vessel, would the life- blood of pure affections carry spiritual health and vigour. Nothing would be insignificant, nothing mean, for the w'orld would live from God, and the great heart of society would beat in unison with that of Heaven. " It is, then, because the condition of the himian heart determmcs the state of society, that religion can enter into close and permanent conjunction with life, always and everywhere. Its puri^ose is to purify the heart, and, from that vital centre, to affect every point in the cii-eumference of human existence. Doubtless this purpose has been greatly obscured by the false views entertained of religion itself, and by the establishment of a broad but vicious distinction between things to be believed and things to be done. Eeligion and morality have been supposed to stand apart, and to occupy distinct regions. Faith has been divorced from practice, thought from action. Wlience comes this, but from the fact that a false faith fears the consequences of its own ultimatum 1 Do you desire to test the precise value of a theory — push it to its last results, apply it to practice, observe the fruit which grows upon it. Truth never appears more beautiful than in a glorious fruitage of deeds and uses ; the deformity of a fallacy is never more apparent than in the noxious thing which it produces. "Whatever be the merit of a parchment plan, still, if it be im- practicable, we class it among dreams — splendid, perhaps, but un- substantial ; and if any religion fail at that point where it should be linked with life — if it do not in its every teaching, as well the nearest as the most remote, bear down upon life, action, and uses — that religion is a parchment plan, impracticaltle, and may disappear PRIDE THE PERVERTING MEDIUM. 73 without loss to the world. If you present for my acceptance a religion which has for its central idea a God subject to human passions and failings, which makes redemption a work wholly abnormal, disconnected from all the orderly operations of Providence — which supersedes reverent T)bedience by faith in an unscriptural, irrational, unintelligible creed, — then I am bound, from reverence to God and enlightened reason, to reject that religion ; for it stands aloof from humanity, and has no relation to life : it aids us nothing in that work of regeneration which is an individual redemption ; and when we ask for help in our conflict -with evil, and for guidance in our progress toward heaven, when we hmiger for the bread of Life, it gives us the stone of an unintelligible creed." Numerous are the corroborations from the newly- enlightened men, that the Babel building is going on at this day. Man's adorations are too often in accordance with his own human passions and failings : the man must be the religion, not God that made the man. CHAPTER XXXIT. PRIDE THE PERVERTING MEDIUM IN ALL MEN AND IN ALL AGES. This pride is allowed to exist as a subordinate ingredient in the human composition, until better and more genuine incentives impel us to action, and while it remains subordinated to the genuine inner principles of our being, order is maintained ; but immediately pride gets the ascendant, usurpation, then anarchy, ensues. It can hardly be believed that the love of self is not necessary to our existence. In the present stage of society it may be said to be necessary, as arms and weapons are amongst robbers and murderers ; and if only held as arms of protection, to be used only defensively, they may be seen to be 71 OOVF.RNMF.NT UPON FTWST PRINCIPLES. penuissiblo. But let it be kuuwu tliat tliey are nut ahvays a necessary concomitant of liumanity. When wo live in a purer ntiuosi)liere, where more good feeling dwells, where affection prevails, and love is the motive imi)ulse to action ; pride and self-love are not only not necessary, hut are odiously and hideously out of place, and are seen to ho distorted deformities of humanity. Such, a man proud of his understanding is seen to he, large head and diminutive hody ; a man proud of liis power is like a lion or a hear ; a man proud of his title is seen to bo a shadow, not a substance or reality ; one proud of his riches, and with no higher inner riches, is in reahty a monkey decked Mith prince's feathers, or with a red coat on his back, from which, however, the tail still protrudes. The pride of grand display is seen in a Lord Mayor's show or a Catholic procession ; and it is nothing hut the display of a pea- cock's tail. In the pride of Htcrary fame, wo are often reminded of an orang-outang, in the garb of man, sitting at a desk, with a pen in his ear, and inkstand before him. In fact, pride is the absurdity of life, and the poison of all that is good. As Swedenborg has clearly expressed it, " Pride is the love of self." {A. C, n. 2220.) " Pride extinguishes and suffocates the light of heaven ; pride glues falses together, — so that at last they cohere, like concretions formed by the foam of the sea." {A. R. n. 421.) This pride of the external man seems to be ever actively attempting to destroy the inner man, and aspiring to have dominion over it ; as the swelling of Jordan represents it, sjonbolizing the external man continually assault- ing the internal, and aspiring to dominion. How cold is the proud man ; how chilling to those of less ajyparent importance than himself ; how stiff, how hke concretions, how like a Hfcless body, from which all the \Htal warmth of good seems to have fled, and left but the chrysalis behind. How opposite to the nature of love is this pride. There may be parental and filial love, whicli is common in the animal creation, which is the love of their own, and comes out of love of self. This may be warm in its own circle, hut how cheerless to others. How different is the unostentatious ! How free and PRIDE THE PERVERTING MEDIUM. 75 •unfettered, how heai-t}' and cheerful to others! How happy can they make others. Instead of the " Stand oif — / am holier than thou," it is ever inviting : Come, and share with me my little, — no invites to behold my grandeur ; hut to share my wholesome comforts, with a hearty welcome and a homely cheer. AVho cannot he happy ? Why, the proud might not he happy, because their vanity might not be gratified. However, this matters little, for they would bo made more miserable were a display made greater than they themselves can make. This pride is constantly, in some way, wounding our feelings, and making us miserable. It is a very ungrateful quality : the more we feed it the more it expects, and the less satisfied it is with what it possesses. Yet, what paras have men taken to call forth that pride, which should have been reduced and kept in the background. "\Miat A\Tiittington histories have been wiitten, so calculated to induce a wrong emulation ? No child should be taught to become greater than another, but only to bring out his highest proficiencies in all the requii'ements of education for the public good. AppHcation is necessary, and can bo pursued in the absence of pride. If pride be not in the teacher, it need not be in the child : if in the teacher, take your child away from him, as you woidd from a destropng tiger. Let the child not receive such destructive influence from any quar- ter. Substitute for that pride the love of doing good, the love of making others happy ; Avhen it wiU be found that neither the desire to be gi-eater nor less than another is necessary for your ha])piness nor theirs. A manly and honest-hearted equality may be allowed, if it do not merge into arrogance. A mean spirit is not calculated to make a right-minded people, nor make them happy. Energy of character is necessary, in order to defend the right, and uphold the good and the ti'ue boldly ; but always in brotherly love. In this world, kindness should be accom- ])anied with boldness and njuch wisdom, in order that it may not bo mistaken for the old puritanical, degrading humility wliich characterizes the httle mean spirit, and in order that it may not be mistaken for timidity and cowardice. In the pagan days, when prowess was almost the only -sartue practised, 76 GOVERNMKNT I 1H)N FIRST TRTNCIPLES. it became ostentatious. It then became necessary tbat humility should be promulgated, which is prominently lu^ld forth in the Christian dispensation. Afterwards, n mistaken C(mce])tion of the true humility, as taught by Christ, gave rise to a puritanical obsequiousness, -which -was not manly, and sometimes not honest. The first and true principle of humility is to acknowledge that man's nnfiire in itself, separated from Di^'inc influences, is nothing but what is false and evil, which we arc taught by the Christian religion. That our inherent nature is evil, from the croAvn of the head to the sole of the foot, is humiliating enough to think of, and was emphatically enforced amongst the early Christians, because men thought themselves gods, and wor- shipped gods of their owti making. But men are being bom again ; and the new birth is emboldening, as long as the super- nal vitality is felt to be the essential of all we possess. CHAPTER XXXIII. IT IS A LAW OF FIRST PRINCIPLES, THAT HE WHO MAKES OTHERS MOST HAPPY, IS BY THE VERY ACT HIMSELF MADE MOST HAPPY. The object of this life would seem to be the perpetual re-birth, or new birth, according as the mind advances in wisdom and reason, and the heart and affections act in unison with the mind. This knowledge and affection, then, must be brought into action, into life, and practice, before any new spiritual birth takes place, unless circumstances offer absolute and inevitable opposition to the practice of it. Regeneration is necessary, because degeneration exists. How man came into this degenerate condition seems to be but HAPPINESS REPKODUCES ITSELF. (7 imperfectly explained or understood; we are ever being spi- ritually created, whicli is being born into new states and con- ditions, matui'ing life now and for ever ; a never-ending work here, a never-ending work in eternity. The di\ine vitalit}% felt to be the essential of all we possess, is, after all, the happiest reflection we can possess ; it is the only ennobling quality which, while it teaches humility, at the same time makes man bold, and inspires a right-minded spiiitual depend- ence, with a less amount of worldly dependence. No man can be mean, nor obsequiously deceitfid, who has a right conception of what constitutes his internal spiiit ; for he knows there can be nothing mean in the Di%-Lne in its origin, therefore he must know that he has perverted the reception of the Di^'ine, and given rise to an evil influence, if meanness enter into his com- position. The beneficence of the Creator is not seen in the descent of the sins of the third and foui'th generation ; it is like the reful- gence of the mid-day sun, irradiating and enlightening, wann- ing and cherishing the evil and the good. Compare this with the beneficence .of man, who is like the lamp in the night, which lights but a few of the chosen kindreds, of the family circle ; rejecting sometimes those who cannot afi'ord to make display, to uphold the style and fashion of the day ; sometimes because of rank, sometimes because of manners, which were we kind enough we might improve ; often rejecting the poor, for whom we ought but to Hve to make happy, and provide attractive, industrious, and self-dependent occupations. The Omnibenificence of the good Creator is not seen in this inflic- tion of the miseries of the parents upon the third and foiu'th generation. Does the free-Avill of man explam this difliculty ? It is better seen ia the very law which pro\ddes that he who can contribute most to the happiness of others is by the very act himself made most happy, but he must not look for recoin- pence. This work cannot be carried out so efiectively upon individuals alone, at present, as it can be upon nations, laws, and institutions : alth«jugh, if it could become an individual work, universally each man bringing himself to a high standard, 78 GOVKRNMF.NT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. it woukl bo miu'li botliM', and would render tlie l;nv uuueeessary. Let our enersjies he directed towards it, taking incxcli(sir<')i('ss as a standard of aetion. Any law that wo find exclusive, wo know is not in accordance wdth the universal inexclusivencss of Deity, who shines alike on the i>vil :iiul the good. Let all laws take the analogies of Creation's universal law and henevolence, for their standard. The hapinnoss which is experienced in making others happy is a real happiness in itself, hecauso its origin is divine. But to practise it in this world is found dilHcult ; often because of the inordinate selfishness of so many around us, who are apt to take advantage of kindness, and actually misconstrue it into weakness of character and softness. Therefore great scrutiny should be exercised, and great caro is necessary, in exercising goodness to others, that they do not abuse it, and that their moral condition be not injured. To allow any one to become a recipient of our kindness, without kno-sving that he receives it gratefully, is not doing the recipient tho moral good that we intend ; because we may he encouraging idleness, or deceit, or a degrading humiliation, that d(JOS the recipient a greater amount of moral harm than the gift ^v411 do him good. Elee- mosynary acts generally have this humiliating tendency. Also to allow any one to practise deceit in order to obtain your favours, is very bad for his moral condition. But there are the thousand ways in which you make those around you happy, and those whom you come in contact with in the world, without eleemosynary acts ; kind and considerate habits benefit all and yourself as well : just and upright conduct tends to make others just and upright ; taking care not to allow any one to impose upon you ; for in allowing that, you are pro- moting dishonesty. Self-denial and forbearance are indis- pensable to the happiness of both yourself and others. The care and discrimination necessary in making others happy, I conceive to be only required in this world, as it is at present constituted ; the next world seems to peer through this cloudy scene in resplendent refulgence, when we contemplate the absence of such necessity there, where all harmonize in the THE FREE WILL OF MAN. 79 one grand pleasure of fiu-nishing happiness to each other ; in cherishmg and practising all that is amiable ; good quahties prevailing over all inhabitants ; the sjihere of love warnimg every heart, and the spirit of wisdom enhghtening every mind, which unite all in the one grand and joyous effort to make all happy ; exercising their intelhgence in tracing variations of bhss for their celestial abodes. No inaction, but every attractive operation ; the greater skill in any art, the greater power to please ; where no discordant pride can interfere, no evil spiiits can intrude to stii- up wi-ath, nor aught that inter- feres with any one's equihbrium. All free, impulsive, spon- taneous good ; and good to aU. CHAPTER XXXIY. THE FREE ^^^LL OF MAN THE PARAMOUNT OI5JECT IN CREATION. "Without going into the consideration here on the primeval happiness which existed before death or sin is said to have taken place, the grand object of creation, though difficult for human conception, is, nevertheless, a very profitable inquiry ; more especially as doctrines arismg out of the existing errors of the day have conveyed wrong ideas on the subject. The importance of the free agency of man seems never to have been sufficiently dwelt upon ; and yet without that free will man would ever have been a slave, a mere machine, — having no self-acting, no self-conscious, no motive power, not in, but 7>tfr se. Nots^^thstanding the Fall, this free agency is the grandest princi])lc of creation. In this we see a refinement of work, which notliing but Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Love could accomplish ; in thiswe see the immense distinction between 80 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. the gvaiulour of the Creator and the finite faculties of man. All man's inventive genius can do, in steam, in locomotion, in chemistry, or mechanism, fulls immeasurably short of creating anything even distantly like free agency. I apprehend, then, that but for the importance of this free agency, man's a})0stasy would not have been permitted, the grand work of restoration would not have become necessary ; and because of the impor- tance of this free agency man was permitted to fall, in order that he might freely rise again, — a greater and nobler work than he was even before the Fall, in his primeval blessedness. This has E. Hitchcock, in his able work on Religion and Geology, forcibly explained. Had man not been created free to fall, he would not have been fi-ee in reality at all ; he would not have been free to rise. The rule of his life would have been coercion — mechanical or animal — compulsion, nolens rolens. Fancy the heavens filled with such incongruous natures ; such characters will not do for earth even, as introductory to a better state. Who does not feel that doing right from duty is a far better state than only doing right by compulsion? It is indispensable that we ourselves should constrain oui'selves until we acquii-e the love of good that we constrained ourselves upon. There is that peculiar elasticity in our nature, arising out of our free will, that we are free to learn to love the very things we once hated. The very good qualities which were once revolting to our feelings, we can leani to love ; and this is effected, first, hy doing them as a duty, mitil a higher motive fills our breast ; we then do them from pleasure — from love — from choice. The heavens thus become filled %vith voluntary souls, lo\ang their God as the Centre of all good, of all that is pure and pleasurable, and of all that man is capable of thoroughly enjoying. Nothing is with- held that man can enjoy ; that only is withheld that detracts from happiness in the abstract. But what detracts from happiness ? AVhy, the absence of love in the pursuit of good ; not liking the object, no pleasure is derived in the pursuit of it, for there is no pleasure where there is no love. How essential then is it that avo should be free to love — ^fi-ee to THE FREE WILL OF MAN, 81 will ; for there only we find the pleasure where we find the will free. Having remoyed the alloys of earth, which are the power of evil constraining to evil, which render it necessary that man should use the power of good within him, which has been given to constrain the power of evil, until he overcome e^al with good. Hitchcock, " On Religion and Geolog}'," says : — "We may suppose, with Jeremy Taylor, that death to Adam consisted not in going out of the world, but in the manner of going. If he had not sinned, the exchange of worlds would have been without fear or suffering, and an object of desire rather than aversion. " Or we may suppose, with Dr. J. Pye Smith, that, while man should continue to keep the divine law, he would be secured from that tendency to decay and dissolution, wliich was the common lot of all other creatures, until the time should come for his removal, without suffering or dread, to a higher state of existence. And that a means of immunity from death existed in the garden of Eden we learn from the Scriptures. For there stood the tree of life, whose fi-uit had the power to make man live for ever ; and, therefore, he must be banished from the spot where it grew, " Or, finally, we may suppose that God fitted up for man some balmy spot, where neither decay nor death could enter, and where everything was adapted for a being of perfect holiness and happi- ness. His privilege was to dwell there, so long as he could preserve his innocence, but no longer. And surely this supposition seems to accord with the description of the garden of Eden, man's first dweUing-place. There everything seems to have been adapted to Ins happiness ; but sin drove him out among the thorns and thistles, and cherubim and a flaming sword forbade his return to the tree of life. " Either of these suppositions will meet the difficulty suggested by the objection ; or they may all be combined consistently. Let us now look at some of the advantages of the third theory above advanced. " In the first place, it satisfactorily harmonizes revelation with geology, physiology, and experience, on the subject of death. It agrees witli physiolngy and experience in representing death to be a law of organic bemg on the globe. Yet it accords witli revelation, G 82 GOVERNMENT VPON 1-lKST rRINCIPLES. in showing how this hwv may bo a result of man's apostasy ; and and ^vith goology, also, in sliowing how death might have reigned over animals and plants hefovo man's existence. To remove so ninny apparent discrepancies is surely a ])resuniplion in I'avour ui" any theory. " In the second place, the fundamental principle of this theory is also a fundamental principle of natural and revealed theology — namely, that all events in this world entered originally into the plan or purpose of the Deity. To suppose that God made the world without a plan previously determined upon, is to make him less ■wise than a human architect, wiio would he charged with great folly to attempt building even a house without a plan. And to suppose that plan not to extend to every event, is to rob God of his infinite attributes. " In the third place, this theory falls in with the common inter- pretation of Scripture, which refers the wdiole system of suflering, decay, and death in this world to man's a])Ostasy. And although the general reception of any exegesis of Scripture does not prove it be correct, it is certainly gratifying when a thorougli examination proves the obvious sense of a passage to be the true one. For to disturb the popvdar interpretation is, with many, equivalent to a denial of Scripture. " In the fourth place, this theory shows us the infinite skill and benevolence of Jehovah in educing good from evil. " The free agency of man was an object in the highest degree desirable. Yet such a character made him liable to fall ; and God knew that he would fall. To human sagacity that act would seem to seal up his fate for ever. But infinite wisdom saw that the case was not hopeless. It placed him in a state of temporal suff'ering and temporal death, that he might still have a chance of escajDing eternal suffering and eternal death." ETERNAL OBJECTS REGARDED IS CREATION. 83 CHAPTER XXXV. THE CREATOR REGARDED ETERNAL NOT TEMPORARY OBJECTS LN CREATION, BECAUSE TIME MUST SUBSERVE ETERNITY. " The discipline of such, a world was eminently adapted to restore his (man's) lost purity, and death was probably the only means by which a fallen being could pass to a higher state of existence. That discipline, indeed, if rightly improved, would probably fit him for a higher degree of holiness and happiness than if he had never sinned, so as to make true the paradoxical sentiment of the poet — ' Death gives us more than ivas in Eden lost.' " Misimproved, this discipline would result in an infinite loss, far greater than if man never passed through it. But this is all the fault of man, while all the benefit of a state of probation is the result of God's infinite wisdom and benevolence. " In the fifth place, this theory relieves us from the absurdity of supposing that God was compelled to alter the j)lan of creation after man's apostasy. " The common theory does convey an idea not much different from tliis. It makes the impression that God was disappointed when man sinned, and being thereby thwarted in his original purpose, he did the best he covdd by changing his plan, just as men do when some unexpected occurrence interferes with their short-sighted con- trivances. 'Novf, such an anthropomorphic view of God is inex- cusable in the nineteentli century. It was necessary to use such representations in the early ages of the world, when pure spiritual ideas were unknown ; and hence the Bible describes God as repent- ing and grieved that he had made man. But with the light of the !New Testament and of modern science, Ave ought to be able to enucleate the true si)iritual idea from such descriptions. The theory under consideration does not reduce God to any after-thought expe- dients, but makes jjrovision for every occurrence in his original plan, and, of course, shows that every event takes place as he would have it, when viewed in its relations to the great system of the universe. " In the sixth place, tliis theory sheds some light upon the unpor- g2 84 GOVEKNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. tant question, "Wliy God pormittccl the introduction of death into tlie vovld ? " It is dillicult lor some persons to conceive why God, when ho foresaw Adam's apostasy, did not change his plan of creation, and excUido so terrible an evil as death. But according to this theory lie permitted it, because it was a necessary part of a great system of restoration, by Avhich the human race might, if not recreant to their true interests, be restored to more tlian their primeval blessed- ness. It was not introduced as a mere punishment, but as a neces- sary means of raising a fallen being mto a higher state of life and blessedness ; or, if he perversely spurned the offered boon, of sinking him down to the deeper wretchedness which is the jvist consequence of unrepented sin, without even the sympathy of any part of the created universe. *' Finally, this subject throws some light upon that strange mixture of good and evil which exists in tlie present world. We have seen, indeed, that benevolence decidedly predominates in all the arrange- ments of nature, and we are called upon continually to admire the adaptation of external nature to the human constitution. A large portion of our sufferings here may also be imputed to our own sins, or the sins of others : and these we cannot charge upon God. But, after all, it seems difficult to conceive how even a sinless man could escape a large amount of suffermg here ; enough, indeed, to make him often sigh for deliverance and for a better state. How many sources of sufferings there are in unhealthy climates, mechanical violence, and chemical agents ; in a sterile soil, in the excessive heats of the tropical regions, and extreme cold of high latitudes ; in the encroachments and ferocity of the inferior animals; in poisons — mineral, vegetable, and animal ; in food unfitted to the digestive and asshuilating organs ; in the damps and miasms of night, and in the frequent necessity for over-exertion of body and mind ! And then, how many hindrances to the exercise of the mental powers in all the causes that have been mentioned ! and how does the soxd. feel that she is imprisoned in flesh and blood, and her energies cramped, and her vision clouded, by a gross corporeal medium ! And thus it is, to a great extent, with all nature, especially animal nature ; and I cannot but believe, as already intimated, that Paul had these very things in mind when he said, ' The whole creation groancth and travaileth together in pain until now, and waiteth for ETERNAL OBJECTS REGARDED IN CREATION, S~) the manifestation of the sons of God ;" that is, for emancipation from from its present depressed and fettered condition. In short, while there is so much in this world to call forth our admiration and gratitude to God, there is enough to make us feel, also, that it is a fallen condition. It is not such a world as Infinite Benevolence would provide for perfectly holy beings, whom he desired to make perfectly happy, but rather such a world as is adapted for a condi- tion of trial and preparation for a higher state, when both mind and body would be delivered from the fetters that now cramp their exercise. " IS'ow, the theory which I advocate asserts that this peculiar condition of the world resulted from the Divme determination, upon a prospective view of man's transgression. It may, therefore, be properly regarded as occasioned by man's transgression, but not in the common meaning attached to that phrase, which is, that before man's apostasy, the constitution of the world was different from Avhat it now is, and death did not exist. This theory supposes God to have devised the present peculiar mixed condition of the world, as to good and evU, in eternity, in order to give man an opportunity to rescue himself from the penalty and misery of sin, and in order to introduce those who should do this into a higher state of exist- ence. The plan, therefore, is founded in infinite wisdom and bene- volence, while it brings out man's guilt and the evil of sin, in appalling distinctness and magnitude. "But, after all. how little idea would a man have of the entire plot of a play, who had heard only a part of the first act ! How little could he judge of the bearing of the first scene upon the final development ! Yet we are now only in the first act of the great drama of human existence. Death shows us that we shall, ere long, be introduced into a second act, and affords a presumption that other acts, it may be in an endless series, Avill succeed, before tlie whole plot shall have passed before us ; and not till then can we be certain what are all the objects to be accomplished by the intro- duction of sin and death into our world. And, if thus early, we can catch glimpses of great benefit to result from these evils, what full conviction that Infinite Benevolence has planned and consummated the whole will be forced upon the mind, when the vast panorama of God's dispensations shall lie spread out in the memory ! For that time sliall Faith wait, in confident hojje that all her doubts and darkness shall be converted into noonday brightness." 86 goveiix:mext upon first princtples. Siuco wc hnvo tho poet exulting in that wliicli the world lias regarded as the universal curse of man, let us hope that a new era is da^^nling upon us, and that a new light has already opened our eyes to truths which were not imparted to our fore- fathers. The day had not arrived when such light could bo received without abusing it ; hut when the poet of the nine- teenth century emphatically says that — " Death gives us more than was in Eden lost," let us regard death in a correct light, and rejoice that wc have such men as Hitchcock, who fearlessly publishes truths that he conceives conscientiously to be correct, however, Galileo- like, he may know them not to be popular — however far, he is certain they arc, from the orthodox of his day. Swedenborg saj's, in his " Divine Providence," which all who would be wise should read, n. 214-215, "That temporary things relate to dignities and riches, therefore to honours and emoluments, in this world." In n. 250, he says — " Yon will scarcely find fifty in a thousand who are influenced by the love of God, and among these, only a few aspire to dignities. Since, then, they are so fcAV in number who are influenced by the love of God, and so many who are influenced by the love of the world, and since the latter loves, from the nature of their fires, are more productive of uses than the love of God is from its fire, how can any one confirm himself agaijist Divine Providence, from the circumstance of the wicked being' in greater pre-eminence and opulence than the good 1 " Since there is no pleasure where there is no love, how neces- sary is it to cultivate the loves of a right character — of a cha- racter that produces pleasure and happiness : to cultivate the loves (or desires, which are almost identical, and which produce pain), is the act of a madman : none but unsound minds and bodies can be supposed to do it. After all, nothing more than this is required of us by our Creator — only that we do what is right ; because doing what is right is happiness to ourselves, and death gives us a realization of all these benefits. To " die daily " is another mode of expression, because ap- ETERNAX OBJECTS REGARDED IN CREATION, 87 parent pleasures are enticing and bewiteliing, and frequently the more virulent in their effects, as they are the more be- witching ; and were they not vinilent, they would lead to eternal destruction. To deny oneself daily is the death of sin, which gives us even temporally "more than was in Eden lost," because it procures to us pleasui'es unalloyed — without sin. Let us keep constantly before om- minds the fact that we are only in the " first act of the great drama of human exist- ence," and look upon this first act of the great drama as great only as it is a means to a great end ; that this life is important as a formatoiy condition, for the development of the mind, and the making up of the man. Compare its shortness of dui-ation to the endlessness of eternity, and we must consider that we are not paying a s/iadow of proportionate p)rii'ation, compared to an eternity of compensation. If this A-iew of the case be not all-sufficient for the time- serWng of our day, let us see if some considerable amount of good is not to be derived by cultivating all the happiness we can obtain from this world, which results from a purity of life and wholesome habits, by first impro\4ng the health. In order that we may possess the enjoj-ment of good health, we must avoid abuses, simply because they disturb the balance which continues to us the enjojuient of good health. Exorcise fore- thought sufficiently to pro\4de for yourself and family, without ever forgetting that the provision is the means to an end, and not the object for which we live. Cultivate order, because order promotes comfort and happiness ; cultivate diligence, mitil dili- gence becomes a pleasure : so will cleanliness and refinement of taste be pleasures, when unaccompanied with pride and ex- travagance. Be generous (not forgetting Zeno's maxim, that both pity and anger are passions) and kind, as that \\ill beget a response from others, making them happy and yourself also. Learn to be cheerful, as that makes others so, and benefits your health. Never forgetting that a proper guidance in all that promotes our happiness is always attainable from the infinite benevolence of our Creator and Preserver. Reliance upon that vigilant good Spirit, which is over ready to enter our natures. 88 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TRINCIPLES. and take up his abode \\'itlun us, with all His ha])py iuiluencos, as soon as ever we have denied ourselves the aboniinutions of our spiritual house, and hc>lped to nialvc it clean enough for our spiritual guest to eternity. CHAPTER XXXVI. MOUAMMEU A BETTER ADMONISHER THAN OUR EnSCOPACY. Mohammed denounced usury. \ In the 6th Chapter of the Koran, page 79, he says, " Becasuse they shut out many from the way of God, and have taken usury, which was forbidden them by the law, and devoured men's substance vainly ; wo have prepared for such of them as are unbelievers a painful punishment. But to those among them that arc well grounded in knowledge, — as Abdallah Edn Salam and his companions, and the faithful, who believe in that which hath been sent down unto thee, and that which hath been sent dowTi unto the prophets before thee, — and beHcve in God and the last day ; imto these vnR we give a great reward." If oui' Protestant priests will not admonish our country because the royal, rich, ambitious, and proud are those chiefly that practise extravagance, from whom they themselves are maintained, why then, in the name of the Fii'st Cause, let some better sjjirits be the guiding genius than those that have so allied themselves, by lawn-sleeves, to pomp and pageantry. Even Mohammed taught better practices than do our sleeping watchmen. In plain words he says, in the 2nd Chapter, page 22, " Consume not your wealth among yourselves in vain ; nor present it unto judges, that ye may devour part of men's substance unjustly, against your own consciences." Why do not our bishops speak as boldly, at least, as Mo- hammed, and admonish Lord Derby for racing and betting ? ON THE PROTESTANT STATE CHURCH. 89 Among all our bishops and archbishops, where do we find great statesmen's practices ever reciiminated by Episkopos ? Is it because the Conge cVelire, or D'e7t>e roijal, belongs to the Crown only? That, I fear, is the real secret. Let the Church become voluntary, and the whole Chapter of arch- bishops, bishops, canons, prebendaries, deans, proctors, \acars, and rectors, be chosen (as are the dissenting ministers) by thcii" constituent parishes, or by their respective sectional bodies. CHAPTER XXXYII. ON THE PROTESTANT STATE CHURCH. This Church must take great care that posterity does not say that of it which George Sale says of Mohammed's Koran, that " it was an imposture." Certain it is that Protestants are going back into idolatry, that very idolatry which that prophet denounced amongst the early Christians. Papistical tiinkcts of idolatry are being fast introduced by the High Church Protestant. Will the bishops examine their own conscience, and say why they exclude all other professions that arc not found in their Thirty-nine Articles ? Why, the intelligence of tliis day knows well that this is done in order that their livings and emoluments accruing therefrom to themselves shall be retained within the pale of their Church. Why is not the second Homily now acted upon by Epis- kopos, finding their own Church in danger, viz., " Against the Peril of Id(jlatry " ? Dares not the archbishop say a word about this, lest he be found to live in a " glass-house " also ? Much care, I say earnestly, is necessary that we be not found impostors a thousand years hence, and that we do not apjx'ar as inconsistent, unspiritual, and ungodly then, as M(jham- racdanism appears to some now. 90 GovERNME>rr uroN first principles. The Episcopalian Church now is tempted by the Papistical Church in a way similar to that of the Korcish, who endea- voured to seduce the Moslems to their old idolatry, as they fled in the battle of Ohod. Ikit their prophet admcmishcd them in time, fearlessly, not timidly as would our ])relates, regarding their li\'ing first, which they intend never to jeopar- dize willingly. Has Great Britain, by Episkopos, excelled in just law-givers under such regime ? England can boast of great institutions, so can Russia ; but is the Samaritan liberality exercised in this day to the extent it certainly was in the days of Hatcm, of the tribe of Tay,* and Ilasn, of that of Fezarah Pf Did the imposition of Mohammedanism lessen that generous characteristic of the Arabs in the way that the selfishness of bishops does in our day ? Let us see what Dr. Ilerbolot's "Bible d' Orient" says on it, or that of the Preliminary Dis- course, sect. i. p. 21 : — " iSTor were the Arabs less prepense to liberality after the coming of IMohammed than their ancestors had been. I could produce many remarkable instances of this commendable quality among them, but shall content myself with the following : Three men were disputmg in the Court of the Caaba, which was the most liberal person among the Arabs. One gave the preference to Abdallah, the son of Juapar, the uncle of Mohammed ; another to Kais Ebn Saad Ebn Obadah ; and the third gave it to Arabab, of the tribe of Awes. After much debate, one that was present, to end the dispute, proposed that each of them should go to his friend and ask his assistance, that they might see what every one gave, and form a judgment accordingly. This was agreed to : and Abdallah's friend, going to him, found him with his foot in the stirrup, just mounting his camel for a journey, and thus accosted him : ' Son of the uncle of the Apostle of God, I am travelhng and in necessity.' Upon which Abdallah's friend alighted, and bid him take the camel with all that was upon her, but desired him not to part with a sword that happened to be fixed to the saddle, because * Vide Gentii Notas in Gulistan Sheikh Sadi, p. 486. t Poc. Spec, p. 48. ON THE PROTESTANT STATE CHURCH. 91 it had belonged to Ali the son of Abutaleb. So he took the camel, and found on her some vests of silk and four thousand pieces of gold ; but the thing of greatest value was the sword — The second went to Kais Ebn Saad, whose servant told him his master was asleep ; and desired to know his business. The friend answered, that he came to ask Kais's assistance, being in want on the road. Whereupon the servant said that he had rather supply his necessity than wake his master, and gave him a purse of seven thousand pieces of gold, assuring him that it was all the money then in the house. He also directed him to go to those who had the charge of the camels, with a token, and take a camel and a slave and return home with them. When Kais awoke, and liis servant informed him of what he had done, he gave him his freedom, and asked him why he did not call him, for, says he, I would have given him Hiore. — The third man went to Arabah, and met him coming out of his house, in order to go to prayers, and leaned on two slaves, because his eyesight failed him. The friend no sooner made knoAvn his ca.se, but Arabah let go the slaves, and clapping his hands together, loudly lamented his misfortune in having no money, but desired him to take his two slaves ; which the man refused to do, tiU Arabah protested that if he would not accept of them he gave them their Uberty ; and, leaving the slaves, groped his way along by the wall. On the return of the adventurers, judgment was unanimously, and with great justice, given by all who were present, that Arabah was the most generous of the three." Nor were these the only good qualities of the Arabs ; they were commended by th,e ancients " for being the most exact to their words," so says Herodotus, lib. iii. c. 8 ; and " respectful to their kindred," so says vStrabo, lib. xvi. p. 1129. Now, however much these three tales may sound like the " Arabian Nights," they are not of that collection, but are historical characteristics of the genius of the people that lived under the tutelage of the Koran. Extravagant as it may appear to us hucksterers of this day, when money-making is almost the sole virtue we recognize, nevertheless many particu- lars of the kind are to be found in the Articles of Hassan the son of Ali, Maan, Fadhol, and Ebn Yaliya ; proving that 92 GOVF.nXMKNT UPON FIRST I'llIXOirLKS. niuoiip^ tlio vices of the ^lolunumi'duns, parsimony wiis not to be numbered. According to the tradition of this prophet, "the wicked men on whom God shall fix certain discretory marks, arc they who have been gukedy of filthy LueRE, and enriched them- selves nV PUBLIC OPPRESSION. ThESE ARE THE USURERS, THE UNJUST judges; THESE ARE THEY THAT HAVE INJURED THEIR NEIGHBOURS, AND THESE ARE THE PROUD, THE VAIN- GLORIOT^S, AND THE ARROGANT." It may bo asked why I quote Mohammed in authority for this intelligent age ? I answer, because the love of the neighbour should have a wider meaning than wc have given it hitherto. Let our oriental neighbour have a thought in our minds, and an aficction in our hearts ; there is yet good enough in them to light ouv far niente bishops to heaven. Then is it not kind of me? For " pcradvcnturc," if lawn sleeves will not say good things to us, why then, in aU charity, let some one else do it. Surely they do not Avish to be dogs in the manger ; I cannot persuade myself to believe that. Let the world sec that good was before Episkopos was, — that the great and good First Cause has scarcely been benefited by man's advocacy and interpretation, nor by his f(;eble propagandi and questionable sincerity. Such blind leaders of the blind might almost better have instructed man as secular schoolmasters, unless they chose to hve the life of goodness and truth by practice and precept, and allowed Di\iuity to stand forth in bold relief in Creation's stupendous work ! — Creation's elaborate structure. Creation's symmetrical formation. Creation's chemical combina- tion. Creation's infinitesimal illumination, assimilation, and geometrical adhesion, geological conception on deposition, vege- tation, animation. It is well to find less opprobrious appellations used by G. Sale in his late Koran, when ^vlTting upon Mohammed, than his predecessors employed ; nevertheless he declares him to have imposed a false religion upon mankind, although he admits the praises due to his real virtues ought not to be denied him ; admitting also the candour of Spanhemius, who, though he ON THE PKOTESTANT STATE CHURCH. 93 owned him to be a wicked impostor, yet acknowledged him to have been " richly farnished with natiu-al endowments, beautiful in his person, of a subtle wit, agreeable beha\ioui', showing LIBERALITY TO THE POOR, courtosy to overy one, fortitude against his enemies, and, above all, a high reverence for the name of God. Severe against the perjured, adulterers, mur- derers, slanderers, prodigals, false witnesses, covetous, &c. A great preacher of patience, cilirity, mercy, benificence, GRATITUDE," &C. I thank Spanliemius for saj-ing thus plainly what Mohammed was, since from the latter part of this quotation he declares liis excellence, which he derives from histoiy. These " good NATURAL E^^)o^^■ME^'Ts" do not agree with Spanhemius' first assertion, that he was an " impostor." Now was not this rather uncharitable, and a piece of gratuitous condemnation entii'ely contradictory ? For a man that is charitable, " in acts and deeds of liberaht}- to the poor," who was patient, merciful, beneficent, and grateful, has the finest attributes that man is capable of possessing. How can a good quality be a " natural endowment" and an "imposition" also ? Certainly, ecclesiastics know well the practices of the father confessors of old, and are not very likely to be credulous when excellence is either pro- fessed or practised ; but I for one reserve my own judgment for myself. I know not why God should have chosen an impostor to say such good things, and do such good works. I suppose it was because not an honest man could be found in all the world — no, not one. Of course Spanhemius, G. Sale, and Abidfeda, were not either. Now he was honest enough to be an instru- ment in converting 180 milHons of people from idolatry to the worship of the One God. Of course Mohammed had a multi- tude of enemies, amongst which were the Christians of his o\n\ time, whom he had accused of idolatr}', and an idolatry which did exist, and still exists wherever the Madonna is worshipped. Unlike this parvenu, Mohammed did not acquire riches nor titles ; he called himself simply a preacher, and instead of de- stroying a constitution, he built one up. Now it is not only 94 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRlNCirLES. lui aucieut practice, but a modern one, to say a thing was and is au imposition -wlicn wc cannot understand it, and arc too idle to attempt to learn. It was of old commonly said of the most (Sacred One, " lie bath a devil." Socrates also, who had a new li^ht, Avas said to have a demoniacal spirit. It is not astonishing, then, that ISIohammed was called an impostor. Did not the sceptical say the same of Noah and the tribes of Ad, and Thamud, and the people of Abraham, and the inha- bitants of Madian ? Did they not accuse their prophets of imposture ? Moses was also charged with falsehood. More- over, was it not said of Jesus Chiist, " he is mad — let us crucify him ? " To relate the martp-doms all nations have practised since that time because of their incredulity, or ignorance, or dupU- city and selfishness, would be a tedious task, because of its frequent occurrence and its excessive enormity. "Were Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, or John Knox believed in more modem days, when they commenced theii* protesta- tions ? Was Swedenborg, or is he yet, believed ? He is rejected simply because he is not understood. Were not all stigmatized as impostors by the orthodox of the day ? Not only so, but by the selfishness of the day making blind the eyes of the pubHc, so that they would not behove, though one rose from the dead. To those who would say that Louis Napoleon has acliieved great things, therefore he is a chosen of God, and is perfoiTning a good mission, I answer, Louis Napoleon never brought his people from idolatrous worship to the worship of one God ; but he has taught the people, by his example, to perjm^e themselves, to enrich themselves by antechamber means, by jobbing on the Eoui'se, and by toadpsm. His mission is one from the infernal regions, made evident by his works of perjury and self- aggran- disement at the expense of constitutional liberty. When Louis Napoleon will tell me how he, together Avith Count de Momy, have in about twelve years made themselves the two richest men in France, I will then tell you his mission. Abulfcda, as was Abdallah Edn Saad Ebn Abi Sarah, are ON THE PROTESTANT STATE CHURCH, 95 equally severe against ttis prophet Mohamined ; the former very anxious that every sense shall be properly transcribed. In page 107, the Koran inquires, "^Vho is more wicked than he who forgeth a He concerning God ? " Savary's note is, "AVhat can be more impious than to make God the accomphce of a falsehood ?" Or, " This was revealed unto me when nothing hath been revealed imto him ?" I am not one of those who believe that inspiration called revelation is peculiar to any individual. Inspiration is an in- definite term ; hence I believe Mohammed's amanuensis might have been inspired as well as his master, since all men are inspired with both good and evil ; — inspii'ation is inbreathing. Now man not orJy expires and inspires naturally, but he does so spiritually ; and the surrounding spiritual atmosphere of spirits good and e^^.l, is what man inspii'es and expires, appro- priates and rejects, for better or worse. According as the man holds the animal in subjection to the spiritual, he is under good inspirations ; as he holds the spirit subjected to the animal prepense, he is under e\'il inspirations. The pivot of human creation upon which all things hinge, is the free loill of man, by which he can choose the one and reject the other, or he can reject the one and choose the other. The charitable in acts and deeds, patient, merciful, benificent and grateful characters, are being inspii-ed with wisdom always, commensurate with the earnestness and acti\aty which attend their good. The wicked, the selfish, the illiberal, the unjust, the extortioner, the robber of the poor especially, arc, by their very acts and deeds, open- ing the gates to admit the evil genii ; their inspirations are abominations, in proportion as they are actively and purposely selfish and sinful. Hence Divinity is ever reveaHng itself to the good, whilst EbHs = the fiery infernal genie, is distorting and confounding the evil and the good. First Principles, then, arc inspirations of the good principles commensurate with our sincerity in extending justness to all, the greater good to the greater number. 96 GOVERNMENT IT1\)N FIRST PRINCIPLES. CILVrTER XXXVIII. Mohammed's laws and maxims considered. Is our law of priinogoniturc bettor than Moliammcd's divisions on pr()])orty ot deceased parents?* Again, -will not the following injunction compare mth any in oui- day ? " O my people, give full measure and just weight, and diminish not unto men aught of their matters ; neither commit injustice in the earth, acting corruptly. The residue which shall remain unto you as the gift of God, after yo shall have done justice to others, will be better for you than wealth gotten by fraud, if ye be true believers."t " Wliatever good befalleth thee, O man, it is from God, and whatever e\al befalleth thee, it is from thyself.":}: Again, — " But whoso shall be covetous, and shall be wholly taken up with this world, and shall deny the truth of that ■SA-hieh is most excellent, unto him will we facilitate the way to misery." "And his riches shall not profit him when he shall fall headlong into hell."§ It is not astonishing that men in general do not readily receive new views of theological nor philosopliical enunciations, since great men's wives are not found to recognize their con- sorts' wisdom. " Noah's wife, named Waila, endeavoured to persuade the people her husband was distracted."|| The fallacies of Mohammed are so ftdly explained in the ^^Titings of Swedcnborg, that it^ would be supererogatory for me to do it here. " Such as God shall lead the wicked iato error. "5[ Swedcn- borg would say, Wickedness leadeth itself into error ; God is * See The Koran, p. 61. f Idem, ]). 181. J Idem, p. 70. § Idem, c. xcii. p. 491, 492. || Jallulo'ddiiial Zamaleh. •IT The Koran, p. 207. Mohammed's laws and maxims considered. 97 ever leading the wicked out of error, and -withdrawing them from evil. Yet Mohammed had an exalted conception of the forbearance of Divinity ; for he says, " If God should punish men for their iniquity, he would not leave on earth any moving tiling."* Again, Mohammed says frequently, " The Lord punisheth the wicked." Swedenborg would say, " The wicked punish themselves ; sin carries with it its own retribution." Mohammed approaches that idea when ho says, " But works which axcpermanent are better in the sight of the Lord with respect to the reward, and better with respect to hope."t The two houses are never divided against themselves. The good house is ever inducing to good, ever soKcitous in reclaiming the evil to good, and the better to the best. The evil house is ever inducing to e"\al, and tempting the good to sin, the sinnmg to become the most sinful. The law of order is inimacidate, immutable. The sensuous is ever insinuating her lustful, selfish, animal prepense, portrapng all in fascinating garb, dazzling, and gaudily beautiful, but the end of which is bitter as wormwood. The intcUigently good is sensitive at the approach of evil; is chaste, unselfish, and refined in thought, ever seeking to extend to all the goods and joys itself possesses. First Principles, then, are consistent with creative conception. Go forth and make man ; make him good, wise, and happy. Extend to man out of the bowels of the earth thy Divine un- selfish genius, constituting ineffable good. thou great First Cause, the curse of selfishness remove, withdraw that golden god, the darling idol of this 19th century : verily to this day we are Aaronites. If Mohammed incurred much censure because he asserted that Miriam was sister to Aaron, peradventure I will, my good readers, take a like Hberty with you, and even go beyond the prophet, and say that Bntannia is sister to Aaron's golden calf; yea, an idolater dalfondo — an hourly worsliipper of the golden * The Koran, p. 218. t Ibid., 212. H 98 GOVERNMENT VTO^ FIRST PRTNCTPLES. idol, sacvifioing First Pnncii)los in state ai^d coramcrce, to one iibsorbiug, infatiiatiiii;' thirst for money. Or, if better to illustrut(> tuir national foible, verily I will introduce the propliet's Cow to John Bull for liis fair espouse. Henceforth shall John Bull's horns be gilded, and he shall have a golden cow for a wafe, and a golden calf for his daughter ; then we "vnll give him a goldcMi rope, and verily he will hang himself; and do-wn will fall Taurus, Great Britain's emblem! O what weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, wall there be among stock-jobbers, insiders and outsiders, Stags, Bulls, and Bears ! Verily, then, shall we say, Mohammed was a great prophet ; that thirty golden bulls and buffaloes have drank up the waters in the Ri^-er Euphrates, wherein they find mountains of gold ; through the abundance of which these mighty accumulations will rise up in judgment against them, and will say : Where- fore, thou common bull, hast thou dared to use us thus ? Thou that wast made of naught but clay, dare disturb us better born of Silurian birth ! Thou superficial lump of mud, presume to trifle wdth such stuff as we ; to smelt, and cut, and stamp thine owTi perfidious likeness on our burnished purity ! Naught thou hast but will decay into corruption worse confounded. What in thy circle hast thou of wliich to boast ? Thy very titles are bought by us. We buy your kmgs and sell 'em again. Thy courts are filthy, muddy pride, that turns all things good inside, and all things bad without, and vice versa when it suits them best. Thou wait last but a day, whilst we Uve on to eternity ; beside, our company surpasses all. When ^ve conde- scend to trip about, we are sure to find you ruffians out. Be- decked with us thy gaudy splendour outshines all, but shows thy monkey's tail wathal. Thou wouldst be gold but canst not, nor ever shall be ; we keep better company henceforth ; w-e rank among the thorough race, and now for ever bid adieu to your ugly face. Our sisters are amethysts, our brothers car- buncles, our fathers rubies, mothers emeralds, nephews jaspers, cousins are onyxes, diamonds, &c., up to all the number twelve, which fonned the foundation of Jerusalem. Would you like moilimmed's laws ajntd maxims considered, 99 to make us? Old Harry's alchemists would, with all their worn-out crucibles, but they were not hard enough, just because your heads are made too soft. Dare never again to hoard us up, or we will rise up mountains high out of the Red Sea, and again make thy hoardings valueless. Nor seek in numbers few to grasp too much, for we are made of better stuff; our natm-e, pure and good, will have all share alike or none. So now take care, and let not thy muddy claws o'erreach too far, or ^ntll thy calf of gold ■wall I destroy thee. We are constrained to say, verily, Pecunm obedimit omncs. But enough has been said, and man knows enough : the practice of domg right and acting justly is what is I'equii'ed. Wliy, of the great cr3'ing evils of this day, a little child might be fouxd to be the proper admonisher, that has not yet received the pollution of state nor of commerce. It might be said, " But a child has had no experience of the world." God forbid, then, that it should, if it have but to learn com- promised expediency and the balances of power upheld .by corruption. I waste my uik in vain unless it lead to better practices of simple good and truth. No knowledge that I can convey will benefit this stiffucckcd people of England \\dthout the practice of good, unless I tell all these influential men, where and when they practise villany. Mohammed, at least, was unselfish, and sought not to enrich himself His immense toil was liberally given f. Gl. t l^n. 215. SPIKIT THE CAUSALITY OF CREATION. 105 CHAPTER XLII. ALL THINGS IN CREATION ARE AN.ALOGOUS TO SPIRIT, OR CAUSALITY, BECAUSE ALL CREATION HAS ITS CAUSALITY IN SPIRIT. How analogous is the gaseous and the vaporous or nebular state, to that of the expansion and lUumuiation of the mind, soaring by means of the imagination until aifection for the practical, analogous to gravit}'', influences the reason, concentrates and brings the towering thoughts within the reach of cohesion, by the harmony and fitness which induces attraction ; analogous to chemical affinit}^ and gravitation. This operation often changes the constitution, and always the soKdity of bodies. This accounts for the tendency we have to soar into the ideal, and often to revel and delight in the poetry of life ; the enjojTnent of which may contribute as much towards our transitor}^ happiness as the reaHties of ordinary life. But the change of composition has taken place when the mind turns back to the realities of life ; the mind having extended itself ftu'ther than before, returns with acquisitions that could only have been obtained by its extension. Explora- tion, then, into immateriaHty, can be made productive of good where the object is good and unselfish ; siace by it a change of the body itself is actually effected. A few facts of clairvoyance might here be mentioned. The analogous correspondence of chemistry, or rarefication, more clearly illustrates this fact. By passing a current of gas, or even common air, through a liquid, the longer the action continues the more the constituent parts are altered. It has yet to be proved that material life is the most impor- tant consideration, — or rather, the contrary is certainly true, however much we may be inclined to ridicule the ideal. It is necessary, of course, to provide for the body, and the daily re- quirements of hfe, in order to live ; but do our labours stop hen.' 'i Dees not a great proportion of our toils go towards the upholding of ])ridf and vanity ? Ifaving provided for the lOG GOVEUXMliNT UPON FlUST I'KINCirLES. necessaries of life, we find our anxieties and labours occupied in proWding for the vain and superHuous. "VVo find the old- fashioned lover of the substantial, in his orthodox and alder- manic solidity, delving largely into the ideal for show and parade of state, and even soaring into the visionary might of the potentate; calculating largely on the pleasure which honours and titles are to bring him. He dreams of parade and power, while he Avould scorn and deride the poet who attempts to mount the spiritual world in thought, though spirit, or etherealization, be the element in which thought dwells. The same would despise the mathematician and astronomer, who could calculate the dis- tances of other systems, and toll us their myriads of millions of miles from us ; or how fast sight travels ; or the future condi- tion and destiny of the earth. The same woiJd rather depend ujjon the e\'idences of his senses, which are every day deceiving liim, than Hve in the scientific world, where he could enjoy the splendid \'isions and delineations of the good and beautiful. The proximity to the spirit-nature is the proximity to Causality — to present sustentation — to purification and perfec- tion — to the elementary law which regulates First Principles. Barthelemy corroborates this in an epitome on the philosophy of Plato :— " There exist two worlds — one visible, the other ideal ; the former, formed upon the model of the latter, is what we inhabit. It is here that everything, being subject to bii'th and decay, unceas- ingly changes ; it is here that we see only images and fragmentary 2)ortions of the Esse. The other, or intellectual world, contains the essences and patterns of all visible objects ; and these essences are real existences, since they are michangeable. " Two kmgs, of whom one is the servant and minister of the other, shed their lustre on these two worlds. From the lofty sky the sun illumines and perpetuates those objects which he renders visible to our eyes ; fi'om the most elevated region of the intellectual world, the Supreme Good produces and preserves the essences which he renders visible to our souls. The sun enlightens lis by his light, the Supreme Good by his trutb ; and as our eyes have distinct per- ceptions when they rest upon any object upon which the light of day falls, so our soul acquires true knowledge when it meditates upon the beings from which truth is reflected." SPIRIT THE CAUSALITY OF CREATION. 107 The mind dwells in thought, and the spiiit sustains thought, enabling it to conceive the things of heaven and earth : the natural mind earthly, conceiving the things of earth ; the spiritual mind heavenly, conceiving the things of heaven : but the spirit sustaining both of high and low degree.* As atmospheric air is a purifier of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, sometimes containing the warm and the genial, sometimes the cold and the stimulating, — so is elementary vitalit}' the purifier of man's internal and even external natui'c ; and ever will be, for this purification is the very object of life, without which we live but to our condemnation. Progress, improvement, and purification are the objects of life. In the " Intellectual Repository," for April, "On Purgatory — a fiction of priestcraft, and the perversion of a great truth," — it was remarked, that " This universal law of purification is stamped upon creation, and is a condition of its preservation. Thus natm-e is a theati-e, representative of the Creator's kingdom, the in^'isible things of which may be understood by the things which are made. The atmosphere, the waters of the ocean, and the earth itself, requii'e constant purification and renovation to preserve them in their proper condition, to fulfil their uses and destinies. Every vegetable requires to be purified of its grosser sap and juices, in order that its sour and bitter qualities may be partially removed, and its sweetness and maturity developed and brought to perfection ; the mode by which this is accomplished is also a process of purification. In the animal kingdom, and especially iu the human body, this law is universal, and is the essential condition of its preserva- tion. Thus in the body all the viscera and the organs serve as the essentials to purify the chyle, the humours, and the blood, upon which the health of the entire system depends. But the human body is the image of the mystical body, or heaven ; and as the things which arc made, illustrate, or enable us to under- stand, the invisible things of God's kingdom, we may readily * " For the iiivirtihlc things of him from the creation of the worUl iirc clearly seen, being understood by the thiugH that arc made." — Horn. i. 20. J 08 noVEUNMKNT ll'ON KIUST VHTXCTVLES. infer from this, tluit heaven, or rather the inhabitants of heaven, are constantly the subjects of purification." In the same valuable periodical, the '* Intellectual Reposi- tory," No. 17, ]May, 1855 — (a work that I wish to bring pro- minently before you, because few are its present readers ; arising, perhaps, out of the quietness of its promoters, rather than any want of merit in itself; on the contrary, I consider it the most profound theological and philosoi)hical periodical extant; providing the world with, food they require in this day ; wherein the learned and scientific as well as the religious can eat and di-ink to the sustenance of their spirits and the delight of their souls, ^\ithout the shackles of modem bondage fettering the free expression of deep thought and research,) — in page 203, a Treatise on the Causes of Health clearly demon- strates the influence the spirit-world has upon the material world, and that material substances are merely the plane and gromid, into which (a more ethereal and vital) spirit flows, causing life and operation, animation and activity, to every- thing in and upon the earth. The following chapter contains some very important passages from Swcdeuborg, which we extract for the thoughtful. CHAPTER XLIII. THE ELEMENTARY VITAL, OH, IN MODERN VERNACULAR, SPIRITUAL WORLD, IS THE WORLD OF CAUSES, AND THE NATURAL IS THE WORLD OF EFFECTS IN HEALTH AND SANITARY CON- DITIONS, AS IT IS ALSO IN CONDITIONS OF UNSOUNDNESS AND DISEASE. " The Causes of Health ; or, Real Sanitary Measures. "The material substances in the world are the ultimate plane or ground into which the influence, both good and evU, of the spiritual T\T)rld operate. All objects and materials wliich are useful to man THE WOKLDS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT. 109 are in accordance with heavenly ijiflux, and are nltimate planes upon which objects useful and dehghtful to mankuad are produced by the Lord through the sphitual world. For the spiritual world is the world of causes, and the natural is the world of eifects ; and as diseases are effects, the causes which produce them are conse- quently in the spiritual world. It hence follows, that malignant spheres from unclean and evil spirits, who are more or less closely associated with us whilst we hve in this world, are the exciting and fomenting causes of all the maladies, both bodily and mental, to wliich mankind are liable. This will be easily seen when the dose relationship between the spiritual and the natural world is properly understood ; for we must not think, as some do who are not pro- perly instructed, that the spiritual world is located at a distance from the natural world, but that it is as closely in relation and conjunction with it as the soul is with the body. The natural Avorld may hence be said to bo the material body of the spiritual world, which is its soul. Thus man's natural body, with its functions and its life, is his natural world, and his soul, with its life and its func- tions both of will and of intellect, is his spiritual world, and we all know the close relationship which exists between them. Hence many diseases of the body may be directly traced to causes in the excited, troubled, anxious and sinful states of our animus, or external mind, which proves that diseases have their origin in the spiritual world. " In order to the production of any effect, there must bo a pri- mary and an instrumental cause ; the primary or essential cause of diseases exists in the spiritual world, and especially in that part of it which is called hell ; the instrumental cause exists in the perverse states of our depraved mental condition, and also in the impure physical conditions and circumstances by which wo are surrounded. That we bring with us by inheritance into the world a depraved mental condition, or that we arc the subjects of hereditary evil (Psalm li. 5), is testified both by experience and by Eevelation. This corrupt inheritance is fraught with tendencies and dispositions to evil, and is easily susceptible of influences from evil s^jirits, whose nature corresponds to, and harmonizes with, the evil to which wo, ]jy our inherited nature, are prone. Thus, if my progenitors had, by their liabits of lif<;, contracted an avaricious, a proud and despotic nature, loving to be pre-eminent and to exercise dondnion over 110 GOVF.RXMENT UPON KIUST PRINCIPLES. otluTs, I shall from them iiihorit, hy the vory laws of p;onoralioii, a uaturc more or less strongly disposed to cherish and to i)rac;tise similar evils ; and as I grow uj) and become developed as to my native tendencies, those dispositions will not only becoiiii' aiipaniit, but to exercise them will l)ecome the especial delight of my nature ; and if it were not for a merciful and all-Avise provision of my Maker, I could no more be restrained from the exercise of those native tendencies, than the wolf, or the tiger, or the swine can bo restrained IVom the indulgence and exercise of the tendencies of their nature. But I not only receive a nature from my progenitors with tendencies to I'vil, — I also receive from my divine Parent an iidieritanco with opposite tendencies, inclining me to what is good, upi-ight, just, and honourable. This inheritance from the divine Parent is what is called remauis, and is denoted in the Scriptures by the remnant left in the land after judgments and desolations have done their work, respecting which many passages might be (quoted.* But besides this inheritance from the divine Parent to counteract tht! evil tendencies of the inheritance from the earthly parent, there are innumerable means provided of the Lord's Divine Mercy and Pro- vidence, to induce us to restrain and deny our evil tendencies, and to cherish and to practise opposite dispositions. Thus, the entire system of civil, or political, and moral society is established on the idea, and with the design, that a man shall restrain his tendencies and dispositions to evil, and cherish and practise the opposite virtues. But the principal means which the Lord has provided to enable us to overcome these evil states, and thus to receive a new nature from Him, is His Holy A¥ord, by which man can be instructed in Divine Truth, and thus, through Divine Mercy and Power, be led to see his evils, and to resist and overcome them. For it is Divine Truth, as revealed in God's "Word, which alone can remove evil as to its roots, and radically change and regenerate our nature. Thus, * a pure and undefded religion,' is the greatest sanitary measure for the removal of all evils both as to the spirit and the body ; for this involves every idea of cleanliness, and consequently the removal of all impurities both of mind and of bodj', whicli impurities are, as above stated, the means of attract- * See Swedenborg's Armva Cwlesfia, Index. — Remains. THE WORLDS OF CAUSE AXD EFFECT. Ill ing infernal influences, -svliicli are tlie principal causes of all diseases. " Swedenborg, in the foUowuig extracts, shows to us the great necessity of cleanliness, or the removal, both from our persons and our abodes, of every unclean substance, -which serves as a ground of infernal influx, iuto which it can operate, and engender all kinds of malignant diseases and distressing calamities amongst men : — " 'All Things ichtch are evil Uses are in Hell, and all Tilings winch are good Uses are in Heaven. — Before it can be seen that all evil uses which exist upon earth are not from the Lord, but from liell, something must be premised concerning heaven and hell ; which, unless it be known, evil uses as well as good may be attri- buted to the Lord, and supposed to exist together from the creation, or may be attributed to nature, and theu* origin to its sun : from these two errors man cannot be dehvered, unless he knoweth that nothing whatsoever exists in the natural world which doth lujt derive its cause, and thence its origin, from the spiritual world, and that the good is from the Lord, and the evil from the devU, that is from helL By the spiritual v/orld is meant both heaven and hell. In heaven appear all those things wliich are good uses, of which mention is made in the preceding article ; but in hell appear all those things which are evil uses, of which above, n. 338, where they are enumerated ; which are wild beasts of all kinds, as serpents, scorpions, dragons, crocodiles, tigers, wolves, foxes, swine, owls, birds of night, screecli owls, bats, mice and rats, frogs, locusts, spiders, and noxious insects of many kinds : there appear also poisonous and deleterious plants of all kinds, and deadly poisons as well in herbs as in earths ; in a word, all things which are noxious and deadly to men : such things in the hells appear to the life, as they do upon the earth and in it. It is said that they appear there, but stiU they are not there as upon earth, for they are mere corre- spondences of the cupidities which spring from the evil loves of the inha])itants, and present themselves before others in such forms. Forasinucli as such things arc in the hells, therefore they also abound in foul and (jli'ensive smells, as cadaverous, stercoraceous, urinous, and putrid smells, with which the diabolical spirits are de- liglited, fus poisonous animals are delighted with ilieiu. From 11*2 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TRINCirLES. those consitloratioiis it may nppoar, that such tilings in tho natural world ditl not dcrivo their origin from Uu' Lord, neither wore i\wy created frciii tlu> beginning, neither did they originate from nature by her sun. but that they are from hell : that they are not from nature by her sun is evident from this, tliat what is sjiiritual flows- in into what is natural, and not rico. vcvsd ; and that Ihcy are not fn)ni the Lord is evident tioni this, that hell is not from llim, there- fore neither anything in hell which corresponds to tho evils of its inhabitants. " ' There is a continual Influx from the Spiritual World into the Natural World. — He who doth not know that there is a spiritual world, and that it is distinct from the natural world like what is prior and what is posterior, or like tho cause and tho thing caused, cannot know any thing of this influx : this is tho reason why they who have written concerning tho origin of vegetables and animals, could not deduce it otherwise than from nature ; and if from God, then they supposed that God from the beginning endued natui-o with a power of producing sucli things ; thus did they know that nature is not endued with any power, for in herself she is dead, and no more contributes to produce the above things than doth the instrument to produce tho work of the artist, which must be per- petually moved in order that it may act : it is tho spiritual principle, which derives its origin from the sun where the Lord is, and pro- ceeds to the ultimates of nature, which produces tho forms of vege- tables and animals, and furnishes the wonderful things which exist in both, and gives them consistency by matters from the earth, to the end that those forms may be fixed and constant. Now, foras- much as it is made known that there is a spiritual world, and that the spiritual principle is from the sun where the Lord is, and which is from the Lord, and that this spiritual principle impels nature to act, as that wliich is living actuates that which is without life, also that there are things in that world similar to tho things in the natural world, it may hence be seen that vegetables and animals existed no otherwise than through that world from the Lord, and that tlu'ough it they perpetually exist ; and, therefore, that there is a continual influx from the spiritual world into the natural. That this is the case, will be confirmed by many considerations in the following article. That things noxious are produced upon earth by influx from hell, is from the same law of permission wliereby evils THE WORLDS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT. 113 themselves flow from ttence into men ; which law will be spoken of in the Aiujelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Providence. "^The influx from Hell operates those things which are evil Uses, in ijlaces where there are things tvhich correspond to them. — The things which correspond to evil uses, that is, to malignant herbs and noxious animals, are cadaverous, putrid, excrementitious, and stercoraceous, rancid, and urinous matters ; wherefore, in places where these are, such herbs and animalcula exist as are mentioned above ; and in the torrid zones like tilings of a larger size, as serpents, basilisks, crocodiles, scorpions, and others. Every one knows that lakes, stagnant waters, dung, stinking earth, arc full of such things ; also that noxious insects fill the atmosphere like clouds, and noxious worms the earth like armies, and consume the herbs even to the roots. I once observed in my garden, that in the space of an ell almost all the dust was turned into very small in- sects, for on being stirred with a stick they rose up like clouds. That cadaverous and stinking matters accord with those noxious and useless animacula, and that they are homogeneous is evident from experience alone : which may be manifestly seen from the cause, which is, that there are similar foetid and offensive smells in the heUs, where such animalcula also appear ; wherefore those hells have their names from thence, and some are called cadaverous, some stercoraceous, some urinous, and so on ; but they are all covered, lest those exhalations should transpire from them ; for when they are opened a little, as is the case when novitiate devils enter, they excite vomitings and pains in the head, and such as are at the same time poisonous induce swoonings ; the dust itself there also is such, wherefore it is there called damned dust : hence it is evident, that where there are such stenches, there are such noxious things, because they correspond.'— Z>. L. W. 339, 340, 341. " From this we may see the great necessity of those sanitary measures which have for their object the removal of iill Idnds of uncleanness, whether from the localities in which we live, or from the atmosphere which we breathe, or from the materials upon which we daily subsist. We likewise see how great a crime against all justice and charity to the neighbour those persons commit, who adulterate, or in any way pervert, the substances we employ as our daily food Such persons, by such conduct, which has its origin in the sordid motive of illicit gains, become the instrumental causes, I 114 r.OVERNMF.XT UPON FIllST PRINCIPLES. in tho powor of lu'll, to ilostroy tlio luMltli, ('(mitovt, and liajipi- ness of llif human raco ; how {:^ront, Ihiu, is tin' criiiic which, alas ! so commonly prevails, of adulterating tlir materials of our daily food, and how grievous will he the junaltios which stxincr or lator must ovortako tho porpotrators of surh criminality ! "The oncampmcnt of the ])coplo of Israel was a typo of tho order of heaven, and tho strict injunction to remove all filth from tho camp, and to hury it in tho wilderness (Dout. xxiii, i;5), was a striking correspondence to the rejection into tlio hells of all sin and impurity from tlu> mind, which, in its regenerate state, was represented by the order in which tho people of Israel en- camjied, with the Lord and his sanctuary in the midst of tho encampment. Had any filthy suhsfavres heen visible within or around the camp, a plane or ground would have heen formed for the influx from hell, corresponding to the nature of the unclean substance, to operate, and thus deadly diseases and j^lagues would have hurst forth and destroyed the people. It is true that the law of representatives, and of corresponding influx from the sjnritual world, does not noio exist in that force in lohich it existed in the rep)resentative church of Israel ; nevertheless, the general law still obtains, and we have the strongest inducements to adopt every sani- tary measure for the removal of every thing injurious to the health of the body ; and, if by self-denial and, repentance we remove from our spirits all evil intentions, and all impure, deceitful, malignant, envious, and revengeftd thoughts, which indicate an association with unclean sjnrits and devils, toe shall, through the Lord's mercy and power, adopt the most sanitary measures, and remove the causes of all evils, which, ivhen mentio7ied in the Word, are spiritually under- stood by filth, as in the following passages : — Psalm xiv. 3, liii. 3; Isaiah iv. 4, Ixiv. 6 ; Zeph. iii. 1 ; 1 Peter iii. 21 ; 2 Peter ii. 7 ; Eev. xxii, 11 ; which the reader may consult.'" THE AXCIENTS AND THE ELEMENTARY LAW. 115 CHAPTER XLIV. THE PERCIPIENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE ELEMENTARY LAW AMONG THE ANCIENTS. PHERECTDES REMARKS: "MEN WILL BE JUDGED NOT BY THE INCENSE . . . BUT BY THE VIRTUES THEY SHALL HA^T) PRACTISED." The idea of an elcmeutary law seems to have entered the minds of many of the ancient jjhilosophers, as well as the modem ; and while the force and importance of the essentiality of this law pervaded theii' minds, it awakened conceptions in them var\Tng in modes of expression, according to their times and customs ; modified too often by the governmental scruples and scepticisms which cramped and fettered the progress of genius. Although Cicero and St. Augustine honoui'cd Pherecides as one of the Seven Sages of Greece, and one who taught most efficiently the immortality of the soul, this did much to destroy the influence of the priesthood — their offerings and sacrifices — among the Greeks. Then, as amongst us now, pliilosophy had a tendency to denounce existing formalities, which had lost their vitality, and become mere empty vessels. The elementary law, or the simplicity of First Principles — the simplicity of nature uncompoundcd with the usages and offermgs of Greece in that day — was seen by Pherecides, to which we might with profit refer in this our day. He says :— " The ever-just gods regard men ^vithout respect to persons ; they ask neither offer- ings nor sacrifices ; they do not favour some in preference to others ; in short, they will judge us not by the incense which we shall have burned upon their altars, hut hij the virtues we shall have practised." * That the elementary law has had analogies in terms that arc * M(;liemet AW liud inKcrilio(l on tlie walls of his palace the siiiue great truth in Arabic, — " One lioiir of justice is worth seventy liours of i)rayer." 1 2 116 GOVERNMENT ITOX FIRST PRINCIPLES. iinivorsal and in inatorial olemoiits, such as water and air, is cvidont from the importance attached to these ek>ments hy tho ancients ; an miiversal elementary something, representing First Principk^s, seems to have pervaded the minds of all philoso])hers, howe-ser ^'aried — the ohject and purpose appear c^^dent in all. "Water represents, in tho language of correspondence, truth — Divine ^^'isdom. Truth is an elementary law — a first prin- ciple ; I)i\inc wisdom is the same : the origin of all things may he traced to First Principles, and to these two — Truth and Good. CHAPTER XLV. LOVE AND WISDOM THE ELEISIENTARY CAUSALITY OF ALL CREATION. Th.iles, chief of the Ionian school, traced the origin of all things to water. Frcret says that the Chinese regard water as tho first principle of heing. IIcracHtus says, " Fire is tho origin of all things." Now, fire corresponds to love, and love to good ; so that, if we put Thales and Heraclitus together, we have the elementary law again in the form of truth and good, the origin of aU things. How far shall we he thought, then, to he revelling in the ideal, when we assert that, in this nineteenth century, love and wisdom make the elementary Causality in the creation of this world, since, in our vernacular — elementally speaking — love and wisdom, in their essence, are creative and Divinity ? To he elementarily influenced is to be influenced by First Causes — to he influenced hy love and wisdom, to be guided by good and truth ; hence, to know whether your quahty of spiiit he of good or of devils, ask yourself if you are influenced by love and LOVE AND WISDOM, THE ELE:\IEXTARY CAUSALITY. 117 wisdom, and guided by good and trutli ? Or, is it from the evil and the false, the bad and the perverted ? Love and wisdom are the indubitable origination of Di\inity, and we think no sound mind will doubt it. How happy and assured ought we to feel (and to produce these feehngs perma- nently is the object of his creation) as the beings of Ilis creation, in so far as we exercise the fi'ee will He blessed us with, in choosing the good rather than the evil ! By rejecting the self-acquired evils in our degenerate nature, so we become happier and better in our sphere of generation and regeneration. The special object of our existence ever was, and is, that wo become the image of our Great Original — the likeness of Him who made us — i.e., the image of love and wisdom. We shall then find that there is a beautiful reality in that which some denounce as ideal, whether we regard the sun as this emblem of the Great Original, or the mighty waters of the seas ; each grand and vast as a s)Tnbol, but falling so immeasurably short of their great Protot}-i)e, even when aided by the language of correspondence, that it is no wonder that the philosophers of old did not become universally accepted, however much their respective philosophies were admired in their day, and interest us by their profundity in our day. Had Anaximenes used the air as a si/mbol or fi/jye of the elementary spirit, instead of a principle of itself, ho would not have confounded the soul with air, and called it an aerial sub- stance. I have no doubt he meant to convey the idea of a spiritual substance by taking the lightest material substance that then occurred to him. Had analogies then been generally regarded as they are now by the German school, we should have found their philosophy and thcolog)^ sound and excellent. It is remarkable that during the prevalence of typical chui'ches the meaning of these t}-pes was not taught, and more gene- rally understood ; it would appear that either the people were not then sufficiently educated, or that the governmental church endeavoured to maintain the mysteries as secrets, and therefore thereby retain the credit of learning amongst themselves ; and 80 by their exclusive use of analogies become oracular, and thus 118 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. be building up their own temples instead of God's — rendering, for their own selfish jiurpose, even religion (which should bo simple and eleur) confused and mysterious. Contrast the narrow-mindedness of the Church people of that dav with the liberality and candour of the pliilosophers that were their contemporaries. Unfortunately, the same contrast exists in our day, -wdth our State-Clmich people and our philosophers. If, therefore, by their fruits you shall know them, philoso- phers retain their deserved laurels up to this our day, as of old ; for in their pliilosophy they have ever held fast the true spirit of religion; and instead of having lost sight of God, or closed him from man's view (unlike a church fond of mysteries), they have ever been revealing Him with grander illustrations, with which philosophy and science have furnished them. They develope Divinity to all the earth, and show Him forth in grandeur, and that inconceivable magnitude, which science can furnish. They unfold Divuiity thi'ough His immeasui'able works. Wliether we speak of the clemcntaiy influence operating upon man, or that the Holy Spirit is the First Cause, I believe we mean but the same as the ancients understood by the Infinite ; whether we understand them like Anaximander, who beUeved it was not an abstraction by which creation is sustained, but a substance, or with many of the others, when rightly un- derstood. I consider, of course, these are not saving points ; the practice of virtue I conceive to be the saving point. It is not an indication of great progress that om- highest rational deduction, after all, in this nineteenth century, can only resolve itself into the conclusion of Pherecides — arrived at so long ago — that we are estimated by the " ever- just gods (God) . . . by the virtues \onhj] u-e shall have ])racti.scd." As we become more conversant with the ancients, and \Wtli- out prejudice penetrate into the quality of motives and ends in A-iew altogether fiom a love of truth, ^A-ithout regard to our denominational or sectarian professions, we shall find senti- ments of afiection and Avisdom abounding amongst them, ex- ANCIENT TESTIMONY TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 119 pressed in such terse and forcible sa}ings, as that wc can only conclude they possessed a concentration of Avisdom and an admiration for vii-tuc remarkable for that age, and which puts to blush many of the claimants for the same in this our day of progress. "We cannot employ time more profitably than by examining a few of the ancient schools that prevailed in that day. E. Richer, author of the " Rehgion of Good Sense," and many other works, furnishes us these testimonies of ancient pliiloso- phers in a graphic and useful form, which must be read with profit and admiration. Translated fi'om the French, they appeared in that excellent work, the " Intellectual Repository" for May, No. 17, vol. II. New Series. Therein we find the doctinnes and principles which are to form a new church, testified by^the ancient philosophers. CHAPTER XLYI. testimonies from ancient philosophers to the truth of first principles ; which are also in remarkable harmon"? with the doctrines and philosophy of sant:denborg.* " We turn to the philosophers who have subjected these traditional testimonies to the tribunal of reason. The first country in Europe which gave birth to philosophy, is that Greece whose genius en- lightened our ancestors, and shed over Europe the rays of that light of which it had become the only depository. The most favourite hypothesis, says M. Deguando, is that which ascribes the ancient Grecian philosophy to Asiatic traditions ; so that we shall hero • Translated from the I-'rench of K. Richer, author of " The Religion of Good Sense," &c. &c. — " Jntcllcctual Repository," May, 1855. 1'20 GOVEUNMENT ll'ON VlUSl IMUNCIPLES. meet with tho sumo truths as in the foriaer article, changed only iu tboir form. " Cicero aud St. Augustiu houour riiorecides, one of the seven sages of Greece, and the instructor of I'ythagoras, as being tho first to teach the immortality of tho soul. Another dogma attributed to I'heivoides, agrees also with those received in the Isew Church : — 'The ever-just gods,' says he, 'regard men Avithout respect of per- sons ; they ask neither ollerings nor sacrifices ; they do not favour some iu preference to others ; in short, they will judge us, not by the incense which we shall have burned upon their altars, but by the virtues we shall have practised.' This system destroyed the iniluencc of the priesthood among the Greeks, as amongst us it renders superfluous all interference of a third party between man and God. " Thales, chief of the Ionian school, traced the origin of all things to Avater, wliieh belongs, in some respects, to the system of emana- tions, since water has itself proceeded from the condensation of these latter. Eruker discovers points of agreement between this hypothesis and the traditions of the Indians and ^Egyptians. Frcrct says, that tho Chinese regard water as the first principle of being. It is possible that this assertion contains a true cos- mogony, of which the signification was unknown to the philo- sophers who transmitted it. In the language of correspondence, apparently known to the Orientals, water represents Truth, Divine Wisdom, the Word of which St. John speaks ; and it is this Word, according to the Evangelists as well as the Greek philosophers, which created the universe. This truth is imaged in the church by the water poured upon the head of him who receives tho new birth. " Anaximander, a disciple of Thales, is the author of that fertile principle ' that nothing proceeds from nothing.' ' The Infinite,' adds he, ' is the beginning of all things,' and this Infinite, according to him, was not an abstraction, but a suhstance. Anaximenes, ad- mitting as a first cause the infinite substance of Anaximander, wished to define it. The air appeared to him to be this principle. The soul, according to him, was an aerial substance. Anaxagoras ■ soon freed the divine substance from all admixture, — the universe, with him, was an efi'ect of which God was the cause. The God of ANCIENT TESTIMONY TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 121 his predecessors was only a Power, — he represented him as Intelligence. " With the Italian School appeared a philosophy less dogmatic, and more tinged with that mysticism which is the food of ardent minds. Pythagoras founded a doctrine of wliich the principle is, that God is not out of the world, but in the world, and throughout the whole universe. In the eyes of the Pythagoreans the universe was a living, animated Being. They believed in genii, and attached great importance to dreams. These genii or demons were, in their opinion, an intermediate species between God and man, and com- municated with men by means of dreams and divinations. This is a near approach to true spiritual intercourse. Dacier, in his dis- course on the doctrine of Plato, says that that philosopher had fol- lowed Pythagoras in intellectual truths, and thus describes the doc- trine of the latter : — ' He taught that there is only One God, the Creator of all things ; that the soul is immortal ; that men ought to labour to be freed from their passions and vices, in order to bo united to God ; that after this life there is a reward for the good and a punishment for the wicked ; that between God and men there are ministering spirits who fulfil the will of the former.' Truth and Goodness, say the disciples of Pythagoras, are the tico 2y)-incipal attributes of the Divinity. They also divided the soul of man into two parts, one, the seat of the affections and passions ; the other, of the operations of the understanding. They placed reason and intelligence in the brain, wUl and the appetites in the heart. Poriihyrus, in his life of Pythagoras, ascribes to that great man this definition : — In His P>ody, God resembles Light, and in His Soul, Truth. "As nothing remains to us of the writings of the founder of the Italian School, wo come now to two philosophers whose works contain all that was known to the ancients upon the subject of metaphysics, physics, and morality. " According to Ocellus the universe was eternal, and there were no marks which disclosed its origin or foretold its destruction. lie admitted two principles in nature, the active and the passive. ITie two worlds of Swodenborg appear in the division which Ocellus makes into two causes. ' The moon,' says ho, ' separates uncreated from created things.' The Swede is more correct in 122 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. placing the aotivo causo boyoinl tlio limits of juattor. Ocellus jilaces tho gods in hoavoii, demons in the middle region, and men iipon the earth. IIovo are very visibly disclosed the foundations on ■which the spiritual world in the New Church is established. "'All lliat exists,' says 'i'liiKcus of Locris, 'owes its origin to idea or form, to matter and sensation. Idea or form is self- generated, unalterable, of a fixed and homogeneous nature, intelli- gible, and the model of created beings, who are subject to change.' Those iorms which have appeared so wonderful in the revelations of Swedenborg, are thus reduced to a principle. The theory of degrees is not less clearly expressed. *God,' says Timajus, 'formed this world of all material substances, and rendered it tho ultimate of nature, and of all that exists, because it contains within it all other things.' The eternity of the world is maintained here, equally as in Ocellus : — 'It is not according to the nature of a Good Being, to incline to the destruction of a good Avork, therefore the world will remain imjierishable and incorruptible.' Spiritual vision is in like manner attested by him : — ' The spirit alone,' says he, 'sees the eternal God, who is the Cause and Former of all things ; but we see, with our bodily eyes, the God manifested, that is to say, in the world.' The brain, which is the seat of the soul in the writings of Swedenborg, fills the same office in those of Timaius. " In casting a glance upon the other celebrated philosophers whom Greece produced before Socrates, we find the obscnre Heraclitus, who regards fii^e as the origin of all things, and the universal agent. There is in this opinion, which Zeno afterwards revived, some trace of the Oriental belief in a Spiritual Sun. Empedocles, who was endowed with enthusiastic reason and practical science, recognized the same principle ; he divided the material from the sjjiritual world. In the doctrine of the New Church, fire corresponds to love — which, as Heraclitus says, is the origin of all things. "At length we come to Plato, through whom Greece acquired so many truths, and who combined all the different sects within his own ; this Plato, of whom it has been said that he seemed to have examined and contemplated closely that eternal beauty of which he unceasingly speaks. Barthelemy thus epitomizes the whole phi- losophy of Plato: — 'There exist two worlds — one visible, the other ideal ; the former, formed upon the model of the latter, is that which we inhabit. It is here that everything being subject to birth and ANCIENT TESTIMONY TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 123 to decay unceasingly changes ; it is ' here that we see only images and fragmentary portions of the Esse. Tlie other, or intellectual world, contains the essences and patterns of all visible objects, and these essences are real existences, since they are unchangeable. Two kiags, of whom one is the servant and minister of the other, shed their lustre on these two worlds. From the lofty sky, the sun illu- mines and perpetuates those objects which he renders visible to our eyes ; from the most elevated region of the intellectual Avorld, the Supreme Good produces and preserves the essences which He ren- ders perceptible to our souls. The sun enlightens us by his light, the Supreme Good by His Truth ; and as our eyes have distinct perceptions when they rest upon any object upon which the light of day falls, so our soul acquires true knowledge when it meditates upon the beings from which Truth is reflected.' " K we wished to present in a picture the doctrines of Swedenborg, could we make use of images more correct, and at the same time more poetical ? Are not these, in short, the two worlds — the spi- ritual and the natui-al— of which he speaks to us 1 The one, from which all comes into being, to inhabit the other — the former, which contains the essences of things, of which the latter offers us the correspondences ; in short, the one subsisting through the material, the other through the Spiritual Sun. It is this same Spiritual Sun that the philosopher regards as the creative principle. According to St. Justin, Plato represents God as residing in a dazzling bright- ness. The same analogy is presented between what is taught in the two doctriaes concerning the two centres of life. The bril- liancy of the one is physical light, that of the other, Truth. He who admires the philosophy of Plato would be inconsistent to reject with contempt that of Swedenborg. " Plato, as well as Swedenborg, makes the goodness or love of God the origin of the creation. Both refuse to ascribe evil to God; each admits equally spirits or demons of human origin. Amongst other reproaches brought against Plato, which arc also applicable to the Swedish philosopher, is that of having taught the fanciful doctrine of Numbers. Not only has Swedenborg made use of this doctrine, whicli is found in the Lible, as Avell as in the Pythagorean philu.sopliy, Ijut he also exi)laius it. l>ut the most striking resemblances between the two authors are to be found in the following maxims of Plato : — All iiapidy has error for its 124 GOVERNMENT UPON EIllST rUINCIPLES. foundixHon. This is one of tho axioms of the now thoology. The source of all Goodness and Truth is in God. Tliis is but saying, ill other wonls, that Love and Wisdom compose the 1 )ivine Essence. L;iluirpo says that Phito is the first philosopher that has recognized tlie truth that tho soul, on its separation from the body, comes into tho other world in the same moral state in whicli death has loft it. In another part of this work we luive proved the truth of this assertion. Swedenborg says that man is judged according to his ridincr love : it is that Avhich saves or condemns him. Plato declares that it is not the study of philosophy which produces virtue, but that it springs from God alono : a truth we have often called to mind in the course of this work. Such a similarity is easily explained without having recourse to the imputation of plagiarism. The truths taught in the writings of Swedenborg were formerly s2Jread over Asia, lohence Plato transplanted them into Greece. It is as religious as the religion of Swedenborg is philoso- phical ; both are from the same source. Clement of Alexandria says, that ' the writings of the Greek philosopher served to pre- pare the heathen for the reading of the Holy Word.' Infant Christianity has appeared to some to be a plagiarism from Platonic philosophy — it is not surprising that the same reproacli should be applied to the maturer Christianity of the IlTew Church. " St. Augustin says that ' the resemblance between the Sacred Books and those of Plato, arose from the latter having been orally instructed by the Jews.' St. Paul says that ' it proceeded from the natural reason, enlightened from above ' (Eomans i. 1 9) ; that is, in other words, from a private revelation which entered into the Di\dne economy. ISTothing, then, is more probable than the opinion which regards the Platonic philosophy as the copy of that primitive philosophy which history has given us as a revelation. This assertion assumes a greater degree of probability when we examine those passages in the writings of Plato which treat of the other world, as it can only be known by Eevelation. In the tenth book of his • Eepublic,' Plato relates that an Armenian named Er, having fallen into a trance which lasted twelve days, had seen the other world. According to Er, the souls that went to heaven, as well as those •which descended to hell, were assembled in an extensive plain, where they recognized each other, and related their adventures. ANCIENT TESTIMONY TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 125 "Who does not perceive the similarity hetween this and the inter- mediate world into which man is introduced immediately after death ? " The second part of the Phsedon contains the popular and my- thological ideas which prevailed in the time of Socrates, with regard to the destiny of man after death. From heing an arguer in the first part of this dialogue, he hecomes, in the second, by his own avowal, a simple narrator. * That pure land,' says Plato, in speaking of heaven, ' has a continually diversified aspect. Everything is in agreement with it — trees, plants, flowers, and fruits. Even tlie mountains and rocks have a polish, a transp)arency, and incon- ceivable hues. Besides all these beauties, this land is ornamented with gold, silver, arid other precious metals ; it is also inhabited by a variety of animals, and by men. Tliey have sacred woods, temples which the gods inhabit, oracles, prophecies, visions.' " The manner in which the Vastations described by Swedenborg are accomplished, is exactly simUar to that which, according to the author of the Phasdon, decides the fate of men after death: — '"WTien the soul has arrived at the general receptacle for spirits, if it is impure, it wanders about in total separation from others, untU, after the lapse of a certain time, necessity draws it into the abode which is suitable to it. But he who has passed his life in pui'ity and temperance, has the gods themselves for his companions and guides, and goes to dwell in the place which is reserved for him.' " 1^0 doctrine, then, can more closely resemble ours than that of Plato. With him, real things are the ideas or types, the visible are transitory phenomena ; the only object worthy the pursuit of man, is that of the intellectual or spiritual world. Could the dis- ciples of the Ifew Jerusalem, if it were necessary to reduce their science as well as their belief to the most simple form, make use of any other expression ? " Xenophon represents Socrates speaking in a similar manner : — ' It is folly,' says he, * to imagine tliat there is no Divine Providence which presides over human actions, and that they depend entirely on our own prudence.' This assertion agrees with all those of Swedenborg which relate to the temporal government of Providence. In the Phffidon of the celebrated Jew Mendelsohn, the two Divine faculties which Swedenborg ascribes to the Lord, are those wliich 126 GOVEUNMEXT UPON VHIST rillNCIPLES. Socrates also roeognizos : — ' Goodness and Trutli,' says lio, ' avo tlie insoparablo properties of the most perfect Being, who without them could not exist." " Cicero designated as jileheian all philosophers who wore not of the School of Socrates. Tlu' chief of ilu^ patrician school, if we may thus name the spiritual philosopher, agrees with Swedenhorg, not only theoretically, as we have just seen, hut also coincides in his relations with regard to the spiritual world. If we refer to Plutarch's treatise ' Of the Familiar Spirit of Socrates,' Ave see that the instructor of Plato and Xenophon had spiritual communications of a kind similar to those which we ascribe to Swedenhorg. Super- natural communications, which have occasionally caused enthusiasm and folly, have also ])roduced wise men ; and the means by which Socrates arrived at the most profound conviction, and the most extensive knowledge, does not merit contempt and iudiflcrence. It is an extraordinary fact, that the history of the human mind offers everywhere a double proof in favour of the writings of Swedenhorg. Events and theory prove, in their turns, that he who has disclosed the basis of the new doctrine, has advanced nothing which the history of humanity does not corroborate. " We now pass to Aristotle, the preceptor of Alexander, who is said to have possessed a most accurate mind, and to whose name the moderns attach materialist doctrines. 'The soul,' says he, ' never grows old ; old age belongs only to the body.' ' I^either matter nor form,' says Aristotle, ' sejiarated from each other, have any positive existence — their union is what constitutes reality.' Now, form is necessarily an adjunctive principle, which no refine- ment of reason can lead us to regard as material. In presenting to the thought the form and the subject as separate from each other, Aristotle gives, in short, a sjjiritual origin to the former. " We have advanced, in another part of this work, the theory which requires that the will and the understanding should be brought out into visible acts. Aristotle says, on this subject, ' Power expresses only that which is possible ; the act transports it into the region of that which exists.' " How has this philosopher, whom we can no longer put in the number of those who doubt the spirituality of the soul, sj^oken concerning God 1 Precisely in the same terms which Swedenhorg has employed. ' Everything is constituted by God ; nature has not ANCIENT TESTIMONY TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 127 any self-derived power by which it can subsist without that Supreme guardianship.' The relujlous man oices his spiritual birth to the use of his free will : let us hear what Aristotle says : — ' Man is a free and rational agent ; he is not constrained, but exercises a voluntary activity ; like an intelligent being, he reflects and deli- berates before choosing.' To Aristotle, physiology is indebted for its first regular form ; in it, as in everything that he has written, speculative and practical views were united. The sold, according to this philosopher, was the active and only ]princij)le of life, and the primary form of every physical, organized body. (Arist. de Anim. 11.) The philosophy of Swedenborg could not make use of better expressions. " Among the works of Aristotle, there is one of which the original Greek is not preserved ; it was, however, translated from the Arabic into the Latin by Faventinus, under this title : — ' Fourteen books by Aristotle concerning the hidden sense of the Divine Wisdom, according to the Egyptians ; a work containing the metaphysics of Aristotle, agreeing for the most part with those of Plato/ This work contains particulars conformable to those which Swedenborg relates of the spiritual world. It is there explained how the heavens were originally formed by means of a Spiritual Sun, and how the natural world has been created and preserved by the influence of that Sun. The author, commenting upon the theory of forms, says that the wise men of Egypt and Babylon penetrated into the most hidden wonders of the SjDiritual World, and reduced the knoioledge which they obtained, to symbols. It is to be desired, says he, that they had pointed out to us the way by which they arrived at the knowledge of these mysterious forms. The reader conversant ivith the theory of spiritual intercourse, from the teaching of Swedenborg, readily perceives here what Aristotle could not discover. " After these great names comes that of Epicurus, whom his dis- ciple, Lucretius, designates -with so much pomposity a ' god / the chief idea of this philosopher is, that the Divine nature admits a form analogous to the human form. He supposed the soul to be of that form. From the revolting ideas entertained of the philosophy of Ejiicurus, we should hardly imagine it could be in agreement with religious sentiment ; however, we read in the works of this philosopher : — ' Worship is a duty ; it ought to resemble the respect and love which we bear to our parents, without any mixture 128 GOVERNMEXT UPON FIIIST PUINCIPLES. of selfish fooling or mercenary hopes.' The disciple of the New Jorusaloni fools the a<;reomont of this proposition with the princii)lo wliioh 111' adopts, and rejoices to find an enlightened religion in writings hitherto regarded as the stronghold of unhelief. " The last sect that we moot with among tho Greeks, is that of tlio Stoics. Wo have often referred to tlic ojjinion of Zeno, their chief, who regarded tho essence of tho Divine Being to be fire : there are two points of agreement between this philosopher and Swedcnborg. 'There is nothing in the understanding,' say tho Stoics, 'which has not been in the sensation.' The first of theso maxims, attributed to Aristotle, has served as a basis to modern sensualism ; but we see, according to tho New Doctrine, that it may be strictly true, without injuring spirituality. Corporeal sensation is, in reality, only the medium by which the soul feels and perceives : things revealed are doubtless excepted, but the exception confirms rather than destroys the rule. Theso things, in short, do not belong to human nature in its ordinary state, they are tho privilege of that nature regenerated and modified. As St. Paul says, ' The natural man understandeth not the things of the Spirit of God.' Besides the dealings of Providence and those spiritual sensations which revelation alone makes known to us, we find in visions, dreams, and poetic inspiration, a means by which the mind acquires knowledge otherwise than through the senses. But these modes of perception are accidental ; they do not constitute the senses common to man, and it is to these that we may strictly apply the axiom of Zeno. In his eyes, imma- terial beings were chimeras. ' All that is real, all that can act or suffer, is corporeal,' says he. This view is only opposed to vague spiritualism ; the substantial world of Swedenborg is not destroyed by those principles which, with the followers of Zeno, cause the soul to be regarded as purely corporeal and perishable. The Stoics, like Swedenborg, divided Nature into t\w principles, the active and passive. The god Ether, whom they regarded as the Former of all things, closely approximates to those spiritual atmospheres which the New Jerusalem reveals to us as the means of creation. " ' Man,' says Zeno (this is his second maxim), * is an image of the icorld; a tcorld in miniature dwells in him.' The shnple enun- ciation of this princi2)le will enable the exj^erienced reader to find an agreement bettveen the Greek and Swedish writer. "We have ANCIENT TESTIMONY TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 129 just passed in review those famous names held in veneration for two thousand years. Here is that Grecian pliilosophy, the depository of the ancient Oriental traditions, which alone has carried true light into all parts of Europe, where, without it, the darkness of ignorance woidd have reigned. Here are these men, whom the lover of truth quotes with gratitude, and whose opinions he yet opposes to our destructive theories and versatile systems. All nations have drunk at that fountain. Eome, the mistress of the world ; the conquering Arab, who despised and burned the books of the conquered; the indolent inhabitant of Byzantium ; those schools which have carried knowledge to the ancient kingdom of the Pharaohs, again become the seat of the arts ; those which have endeavoured to enlighten European freed from the yoke of Gothic nations, have known no other teachers than the brilliant elite of philosophers reared by the genius of Greece, which at the same time produced poets, orators, artists, generals, and the illustrious and great of every kind. Here is the most valuable testimony which antiquity can offer us. Of what weight would be the superficial criticism of men of the present day, compared with that ancient philosoi^hy whose elements we again find in the Xew Doctrine which replaces it. AVhether we raise our thoughts with the disci]:)les of the Academy, to the ideal forms of the typical world, or seek to discover, with the hearers of theLyceum, the real meaning of things, or with those who frequented the Portico, desire to know the nature of man, everywhere we shall find pointed out the principles of that religious philosophy which we are discussing. It (/ires, with Plato, forms to the ideal ; icith Aridotle, determines the laws of the real world; and, with Zeno, agrees in proclaiming the sublime morality of the Stoics. The liomans had no philosophy, properly so called ; Lucretius followed that of Epicurus ; Cicero attached himseK to the doctrines of the Academy ; Seneca, a' mere moralist, who often carried the truth to extremes, did not found a school ; nevertheless, no one has defended Providence more successfully against the attacks of scepticism. " We shall not revert to the numerous testimonies which Plutarch brings forward from the writings of Grecian philosophers, con- cerning the human soul, considered by him as a substantial form, nor shall wo quote the [troofs that lie adduces of the existence of 180 liltVKUN.MKNT ITON FIRST I'KlNCll'LES. intermediate intolligencos botwoen God niul luau. All that philo- sophy will become, in llu" hands of the Neo-Platonists, a new and compact science. " ]''pictotns and ]\rarcns Aurelins, have attached thenisclvcs to the philosophy of the Povtico, and it is principally in the thonghts of this latter, that wo find the Stoical philosophy. ' Jliere is onli/,' says Mai'cus Aurelins, ' one common suhdance, thougli it may he divided into miUio7is of distinct bodies. There is only one tsuul, thougJi it may be distributed amongst an injinitude of organized forms, which hai'e their own j^rajjer limits.' " Creation by moans of atmospheres is here meant. " To be guilty of a lie," says the inipciial philosopher, " is to sin against the Divinity ; for all beings descended from universal nature are thus related to each other, and universal nature is with reason named Truth, "VVluit is not useful to the hive is not truly useful to the bee. If I have done anything for society, I have done it really for my own advantage. The joy of man- kind consists in doing that which accords with the character of man: now, the character of man is to love his neighbour ; to subdue all that which regards the senses ; to distinguish the specious fi"om the true; in short, to contcmj)late universal nature and its works." — Pensees, p. 246. " Tou uill do nothing good in human things, if you forget the relation they have to God; nor anything good in Divine things, if you forget their relation to society." — p. 28. We have here the whole of Swedenborg's doctrine of charity, if we understand that which he designates as characteristic of man, as being liis state after regeneration." — Louth. JUSTICE AND TRUTH PRACTICALLY ASCENDANT. 131 CHAPTER XLVII. LET THE TRUE AND THE JUST HAVE THE ASCENDANT, PRAC- TICALLY CARRIED OUT IN PURITY OF PURPOSE. I SEE little amiss in the philosophy of the Portico, when viewed abstractly. Marcus AureHus expressed himself in sentiments well worthy the imperialists of this day. I venture to agree with him, that " universal natui'e is with reason named Truth." Analogical deduction leads you to the same conclusion, with this distinction — that man no longer is a rejiresentation of un- perverted natm-e ; therefore he cannot be a type of truth, hax-ing perverted the truth. But Marcus Aurclius used the term " universal nature," which is rather an indefinite tcrai, but by which I presume he meant "integral nature," which had for its creator the Divine Architect, -with His Infinite wisdom ; and may, therefore, ^dth great justice be said to be Truth. Nothiag can be more philosophical than the ajihorism which follows, " that what is not useful to the hive is not truly useful to the bee. ... If I have done anything for society, I have done it really for my own advantage." May not this be said of all indi\'iduals ? And Avere this felt, practised, and understood by all, this world Avould be a Paradise. Instead of narrowly proA-iding for ourselves individual!}', were we to be universall}' proWding for the aggregate good, universally instead of iudi^'idually, heaven would be even on earth ; but, alas ! I fear, before this can be, a great gulf must be formed : the extravagant, the extortioner, the covetous, and the selfish, and the ricb, sumptuous table of useless super- fluities, must be reduced, to render sufficiency for the many aud the all ; and this cannot be until a great gulf be formed and a great separation take 2)la(;c — until evils are seen to exist far beyond those which th(! clergy of this day will venture to point out — beyond wbat the law has provided for, but whidi are the crying evils of the day — felt by iii;iiiy, acknowledged k2 132 GOVEUNMEXT UPON FIKST PttlNCll'LES. only by n few. It is, as Marcus Aurelius tells us, " to distin- guish the specious from tlie true." Wherever it be found — iii low life or high life — with the lay or ^-ith the clergy of what- ever denomination — with tlie citizen or with the stiitesnien — with the peasant or the lord — fearlessly distinguish the specious from the true ; and cast those out from power or rule which arc not true, whether they be pruiciples in ourselves or persons in govenmieuts — whether they be high or low — whether they be bishop or artisan — whether they bo lord or lawyer. l*lace the good and tho true in the best and highest positions of power and State, whatever be their lineage or descent ; place the bad and the false not into cruel punishment, but where tho gulf is wide enough to separate them and their influence from the good and the true — where none can reach them but those that arc beyond contamination — whoso purity yearns after them to do them good, to teach them how to become happier hi/ be- coming better. Let them know that they were hurled from power and place only because they were not good and true, \artuous and just, liberal and honest. Teach them what Marcus Aurelius taught liis people : " that you will do nothing good in human things, if you forget the relation they have to God; )ior any tiling good in Divine things, if you forget their relation to society. '^ The former part of this instruction is sometimes attempted to be enforced, but the latter part — i.e., " nor will you do good in Divine things, if you forget their relation to society" — is the common error of this day ; their relation to society is the very apex of the whole of the sentence, as if something similar to this Christ would have said, " Inas- much as ye have done it unto the least of these my Httlc ones, ye have done it unto me." Any departure fi'om either is a departure from the whole ; anything to be good, must bear relation to both God and society ; apart from God man is nothing, neither is man anything apart fi'om society. Apart from society man is selfish, becomes a misanthrope, a man-hater, instead of a lover of all — a reverer of the Creator's goodness and greatness. Society requires a conformity to this, rather than a neglect of it, as long as it JUSTICE AND TRUTH PRACTICALLY ASCENDANT. 133 squares with Divinit}' ; not that it shall conform to us in pecu- liarity of habit : neither the Stoic nor the C}Tiic philosophy alone is acceptable, because they isolate and insulate man. He deceives himself the most who approaches the character of the h}^ocrite the most, because, he is least true to himself who is the least true to others, or to society. Since we are inseparable from a First Cause — God — we cannot deceive God ; since we are inseparable fr'om society, we cannot deceive society without comprehending and compromising ourselves, fonning part of society. To distinguish the specious from the true is the object of the life of aU ; to do so is much more the object of every states- man : for them to do so is even their mission. Our Houses of Parliament exist but for that object ; and, wherever selfisliness supplants that practice, its influence is fearful. Promote the good and the true in all men — the meritorious in aU depart- ments of life. Begin with the heads, and, above all, the officers in government. For to whom, of all in the nation, can a man look for guidance of action, for examples of life, if he cannot look for it in the rulers of a nation — to that House wherein the lawn-sleeves sit high in state and power ? But, alas I whom have the people to regard to take the lead in examples of virtue ? Many of those who should lead, sit and vote against the just and true — against the meritorious and the worthy ; which they replace with specious preferments, that cry aloud in infamous disasters. Such a system of modern legislation, regarding only them- selves as legislators and their friends, actually forget that they legislate for society — for the community — ^forget the object of their return to Parliament. Thinking so much about them- selves, and their own circle within them, they forget the com- munity -without, and the society for which they take office. So long have they taken their scat in the House, that they believe they have but themselves to consider. Promotions by merit and worthiness interfere witli their corrupt old practices, practices wliicli tlicy have seen so often that they have grown to be familiar to their faces — they luive long ceased to pity — have l that the Cabala may havi> had tho fate of the primary truths which have served for a basis to all ])hilosophe,rs; it is possible that tho love of tho niarvollous may, in tho course of time, have brought it into ridieule. In that case, tho science -which accords with the general piinciples of this theology, is not respon- sible for the absurdities which have mingled with it. " If, on the contrary, the details addi'd to tho jirimitivc Cabala have been the result of individual revelations, necessarily as variable as the character and opinions of each of those who have received them, there is nothing to be concluded thence against the enlight- ened theoiy, which, whilst it adopts the primitive revelation, is not, on that accovuit, obliged to subscribe to i)rivate revelations. The extravagance of these latter is not an objection of which the disciples of the New Jerusalem need be afraid. So far from it, their theory serves to develop fundamental truths, and, at tho same time, rejects superadded extravagances, whilst it reveals their suspected origin. "Christianity, at its first establishment, regarded as religious truths those which rested on ancient revelation, and consequently a perfect accordance is seen between the Avritings of the primitive fathers of the church and those of the Platonic philosophers, whose authority we have brought forward in support of our argument. There lived at Eome, during the early ages of Christianity, under the pontificate of St. Clement, Hernias, the author of the book en- titled ' The Shepherd,' which was regarded by some of the ancient fathers as a canonical book. It is thought to be this author whom St. Paul mentions among the illustrious Eomans. (Rom. xvi. 14.) His book contains a certain number of visions, of which the theory of the Kew Jerusalem gives us the sense. In the first of the visions of Hermas, that wa-iter saw Heaven opened before him. Human beings appeared to him in their bodily form : one of them announced to him the end of the world, in the Apocalyptic style of St. John. That there may have been here something of imagina- tion, we agree ; but a mind wrought upon by the reading of ascetic books, and who sees in ecstatic representation what it has read before, may be in error, but is not on that account a deceiver. The impression received may be doubtful : it is simply the moral men's relation to truth. 137 truth which may be changed by an intercourse, more or less pure, with intermediate spirits. In this vision, Hermas, like Sweden- borg, sees the pure spiiits — interpretei"s of the Divine will disappear from his sight towards the east. The second vision contains nothing striking. In the third, the church appeared to him under the form of a building. The stones here represent the truths of faith ; the water on which it was constructed, truth in general. The fourth vision contains the recital of an apparition, in which, as with St. John, the events in the other world are figured by material forms. " In a part of the same book entitled 'Precepts,' the author gives a summary of the principal rules of Christian morality. In the sixth precept, he declares that each man has two angels — one good and the other evil. The first inclines us to virtue, the last to vice. Our dispositions reveal to us which is with us. In conclusion, the visions of Hermas were in accordance with the austerity of his life ; he joined fasting and prayer to seclusion. Bergier says that the book of Hermas is exempt from errors, and that it is a monximent of the sanctity of the manners of the primitive church. There were among the admii-ers of early Christianity men imbued with the philosophical ideas then prevalent. Some heathen phi- losopher did not subscribe to the truths of Christianity, but sought to combat them in order to strengthen the former in their convic- tion, as well as to repel the attacks of the latter. The fathers of the church saw themselves obliged to speak in the language of philosophy. The first Christian teachers represent God in space as a corporeal being ; succeeding ones adopted the idea of an infinite extension, which led to a belief in absolute immateriality. All admit a general and particular Providence, and the government of the world through the ministry of angels. According to them, evil proceeds partly from the human will, and partly from the influence of spirits. Being produced contrary to the order of God, it is only permitted. These spirits are spiritual beings, provided with a sub- tile body. " St. Justin, known by the enlightened tolerance of his opinions, has an additional point of conformity with Swedenborg — that of recognizing in God, form and substance. * Every substance,' says be, ' which cannot be suljiuitted to anotlier on account of its impon- deral)ility, has yet a body which constitutes its essence. II' we call God iiu'.orporejil, it is not because He is so, but hecausc wc are 138 GOVEIOCMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. aceusto7)icd to appropriate certain 7iames to certain tilings, to itesilf into all sorts of vices, it falls into the basest of servitudes.' All tJieso cnnllnnations of dilferent points of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem, by so many authors, deservedly respected and appreciated, arc truly remarkable, espe- cially when wo reflect that they are not the results of close application to study, nor the compilations of erudition, but shnply direct introvisions into the spiritual worhl,- unvarnished truths ^vhich are oiforod for the approbation of our understanding .and affections." CHAPTEE XLIX. THE GOOD AND THE PURE, THE GENEROUS AND THE WISE, ARE TO BE FOUND BOTH IN ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES. AT ALL TIMES THE SPIRIT OF FIRST PRINCIPLES WENT FORTH TO MAKE AND PERFECT THE EARTH. That elementary influences operate upon all tilings of creation, is corroborated by aU the illustrious and virtuous pbilosopbers and theologians among the ancient and modern writers. Amongst the most ancient, that of which we have any sacred record, is the elementary influence called the Tree of Life ; and amongst the most modern will he found in the German philo- sophies, the same elementary spirit under the denomination of Transcendentalism. After all, it is but the variations of the mind di-essing in the imagination diff'erent potentialities and attributes of Divinity, into acceptable and intelligible fonns of expression. The remarkable modes of expression will be seen to agree in their corresponding language, wherever the source is the subject under consideration ; proving the language of correspondence FIKST PRINCIPLES PERVADE CREATION. 147 to liave a deeper meaning and origin than that of mere human invention. We have the Tree of Life guarded hy cherubim in the early days, at the east of the garden of Eden. We have the east again alluded to by Hernias, whom St. Paul mentions amongst the illustrious Romans. In Hennas's vision ho saw the Ipure spirits, interpreters of the Di^^ne will, disappear in the east. Swedenborg says, the east signifies a state of love in the Lord and in man. — Jehovah himself as to love, a.c. 1451. Love in a clear perception, " Pleaven and Hell," 150. The land of the east, in Genesis xxv. 6, signifies the good of faith. — Arcana Cehstia, 3249. Here is an illustration of the use- fulness of the science of correspondences ; it is the key to Scripture and to the earlier modes of expression now become obsolete. The Tree of Life, Rev. ii. 7, is the essential celestial love, and, in a supreme sense, the Lord himself, because from liim is all the celestial principle — that is, all love and chai'ity. The sacred word mentions a guard at the east of the garden (jf Eden. Hennas saw in a vision the pure spirits disappear in the east. Swedenborg says, the cast signifies the Lord. Now since the Lord is purity itself — is the essential celestial — is love and charity itself, the Sacred Word, Hermas, St. Paul, and Swedenborg all accord, harmoniously agreeing even in minutiae. Starting from the earliest ages, commonly computed at six thousand years ago (which, for all we know, may be sixty thousand or sLx hundred thousand years), we have at all events the most ancient. The ancient and the modern chrono- logical periods, wherein an uniformity of sentiment existed, and an agi'cemont of meaning have been expressed on the the source of the pure and the good, which is the elementary:= the essential and celestial influence that operated upon us then, and which influences us now, and ever will. Wo have this tree guarded by cherubim in this our day, as well as in the days of Adam ; we have the essential, celestial — the pure, and the good, and the generous, ever guarded at the ca.st of the gate — i.o., wherever the source of the pure and tlu^ good is, there the evil is shut out, — guarded against, because evil and good together would be profanation. The same idea L 2 1 iS o()vernmi;nt ui'on first puinciples. is expressed in tlio Christian vernacular : " No man can servo two masters : for either he will hate the one, and love the other ; or else he aWII hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye can- not serve God and JNIammon." AVhile man is in the love of self, he must he guarded against ; because every selfish act in- iiicts injury upon our neighbour. Neither can the selfish man enjoy tlie delights of the generous and the unselfish. IIow necessary is it, therefoi'e, to guard against the men who regulate the laws of the nation, who arc too often selfish. The selfish statesman is the greatest banc society can have ; and yet, alas ! how many selfish legislators have we in this our day. Oh ye nations of mammon, — of selfishness, — invoke the guard of cherubim and seraphim, to rise up in your hearts and souls, and give light unto your minds, that you may be illustrated into good works of unselfishness. Oh, ye seraphim ! rise up into our statesmen, into ministers ; rise up into the light of day, unto our churches, that they be no longer the churches of selfishness, upholding corruption because great names and titles practise them : fearing to admonish the unjust, whether the unjust be a lord, a duke, or an earl ; fearing to cry aloud for virtue, wher- ever virtue is wanting in the bishop or the tithe owners. Rise up, oh, seraphim ! holy influences of love, and illustrate the churches wherein your dwcUings are, — wherein yom' good, your unselfishness should reign, that you may be seen more in the bishops, by the daily practice of what is unselfish. Be more in the churches, that ye may thence be seen more in the legislators, in justice, and in civil law ; lest the people point at them with the finger of scorn, and say, Lo, behold ! they have grown rich and selfish too. Like Eve, they are tasting the fruit that contaminates. The guard of cherubim stands, yea, in our day, at the east of the garden of Eden. Our rulers and our people are manunon caters, tasting daily, forbidden, polluted food, got by dishonest gain, dishonest preferment, selfish ends. But see, God's truths, like cherubim in this day, guarding us, saying. Beware, lost ye eat also of the tree of life ! Polluted nature, touch not the unpolluted, the pure, the good, the generous, the unselfish, lest profanation live for ever. Man- FIRST PRINCIPLES PERVADE CREATION. 149 kind shall not lose the means of redemption, by mixing good and e\'il, heaven and hell. " All that culture of the generous is implied by shunning evils ; it implies something more — namelj^, an attention to concupiscences or lusts which are active in the mind, and a restraining of them ; for these are the origin of all the evils which exist in man^s life, and the shunning of evils consists in suppressing these, as well as the withholding the hand from the commission of actual sin. " Man may cease from the actual commission of sin, and desist from the practice of wickedness, externally considered, without ever shunning a single evil ; yea, he may, during his externally shunning of evils, be actually nurturing them in his mind."* Again : — "What id^ can we form of shunning evils, but that of doing good in a certain degree 1 To shun evil does not imply that a man should assume a passive condition, but an active one ; for shunning is acting, and to shun evil is to act against it. It docs not mean that a man is to hang down his hands and altogether cease from action ; but tliat he must act — he must do something — he must shun evil. Man cannot be wholly passive ; he can no more cease to be active than he can cease to exist ; his existence is activity. But his activity does not mean simply the action of the body, any more than the shunning of evil means tlie ceasing of bodily action ; hvii ii mea^is the action of the mind, which is loill and thought; these constitute man's life, and he cannot cease to will and to think, any more than he can cease to exist, for these constitute his exist- ence. Evil is the percerse action of the mind : if a man consents to it, it becomes voluntary ; it is then his evil, and he is responsible for it. When evil descends into the body it becomes sin, and in its complex constitutes all wickedness. " It appears to man that he can slum evils without doing good ; but this is a fallac}', wliich may be seen from the fact that man is an active subject, and that his existence consists of activity and changes. Hence, as man cannot exist in a state of passivity, his very attempt to .shun evil must imply the doing of good. " To shun is to strive against ; and if man shuns evil from a • "Intellectual Kepository," No. LXV. p. 205. 150 (iOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TKINUIPLKS. ])uro motive, lio at tlio sanioliiiir that ho ceases from tlio commission of evil, commences doing good. "Ho is nn active being, and Ids cxevciso of freewill does not consist in choosing whether he will bo active or not, but in choosing in \\\\i\i way he will act — for act he must. lUit his choico consists in this, whether ho will act in this way or that — whether lie will do evil or good. The slnuiiniig of evil is the commencement of doing good.''* The self-sufficient have, therefore, a great work of self-iu- vcstigatiou to enter upon, whether they be kings, statesmen, or church upholders. Nevertheless, the restraint put upon the act, even if the mind mils the contrary, is better in its results upon a community, than the wilful committal of sin, the con- sequences of which are injurious to society. Also, a man that exercises constraint upon his actions is already on the road to a better and higher motive of restraint. He is capable of becoming subjugated to a Divine will, or to have a self-power, as in that of an autocrat, wherein the Divine will is absolute, is its own reason, — is both the i)roducor and the ground of all his acts, moving not by the external impulse or inclination of objects, but determining itself by an absolute self-power, or autocracy. In fact, asceticism is an approach to this condition; but I am constrained to doubt if ever there was an ascetic. Chris- tianity is a compound of Ascetic, Stoic, and Pythagorean philo- sophies. Each philosophy consisted but of human attempts at perfection, and, though excellent in precept, ended but in ex- ternal observances, rituals, and forms, after their propounders ceased to exist, rather than in the chastity, watching, retiring self- denying exercises of virtue which these philosophies taught. For another sentiment seems to pervade the best of man- kind, without associating doctrinal and sacerdotal proscriptions with it, that is, that " a life of misery is not necessary as the price of eternal happiness."* * " Iiitullfctiwl Repository," p. 20G, 207. f Gibbon's History, chap, xxxvii. PURITY IS CONSERVATISM. 151 If Zimmerman's interpretation of asceticism be correct, it raaj be applied to every sj'stem wliich teaches man not to govern his wants by subordinating them to reason and the law of duty, but fo stijie them entirehj, or at least to resist them as much as he can ; and these are not only the wants of the body, but still more those of the heart. It appears to be but the remains of paganism, when carried to extremes, seeking to appease the wrath of the gods by volmitary suffering. "Wliether it be better, then, to stifle feelings entu-ely, or to subdue them to a proper use regulated by reason, inteUigence, and prudence, so as not to injui-e society nor yourself, becomes the question not yet settled even among the various denomina- tions of total abstainers and non-abstainers. Hence the self-sufficient total abstainer wall consider himself good enough, w^hile the self-sufficient non-abstainer T\'ill consider himself the same. Purity, therefore, is a conditional term in its relation to man. First Principles teach not only the act of purity, but the motive of it ; and whether it be in relation to indi\idual or to governing powers, First Principles must be- come the regulating medium before the greater happiness can be extended to the greater number. Let every honest states- man say, if the suffrage would have been withheld from the industrious and intelligent, as it now is, were this principle the regulating medium of legislation ? CHAPTER L. PURITY IS CONSER\ATISM. I KNOW it will bo said that the stability of the State is the important desideratum; and I fully admit the fact: for any change in our dynasty would be fatal to Great Britain. But l02 CiOVEUNMENT UPON FIRST rUINCirLES. who will deny that the poi)]>lo of Kni:;laini arc as loyal and patriotic as arc the rulers of the nation. Are not our armies and navy furnished from the ])cople? Do they not fight for the nation as well as the hi<;hcr orders:' Do tlu>}^ not risk their lives and spend their blood as willingly and as freely as the noble or the affluent ? Who then wnW persist that they are not as conservative in their intentions and in their i)racticc as the wealthy ? Concede to them theii- just rights, loyalty and i)atriotism will onl)- be increased tenfold ; stability and conservation would then proceed uniforndy and hap})ily to all the sons of Great Britain. Will any presume to say that the people are not as honest as the aristocrat to the governing necessities ? Yes, they are more honest, while they profit not by the just extension of their deserN^ng immunities. Let the fact now be boldly spoken. It is not the industrious people who are to be feared, than whom none are to be found more exemplary among the rich, but the rogues and pick- pockets among the lower orders ; not only them, but the rogues in useless offices of State, sinecures, toadies to venal autho- rities, Avhether for good or for evil — mere empty tools to empty power — machines that stercot}qie corruption and call it conservatism. These are the men that are to be feared, and rendered powerless to do harm as you would take the poison fi-om the serpent. It has always been the effort of such State-licking people, to identify the industrious -snth the pickpockets and the mob, and the Times paper has toadied to the same venal practice ; but well is it known that they have not to do with them in any way, their interest lying in opposition to them as it does to the tools of ofiice that wink at State jobbmg. No honest man need fear the industrious, the rogues only seem to try to scoff at them because they arc not convenient for them ; only as bhnd workers in the dark are they intended to have an existence. This darkness no longer continues, but intelligence and activity of mind is throwing off the spell of unjust oppres- sion, wishing to conserve the State and uphold it, but not the PL'KITY IS CONSERVATISM. 153 abuses of it that have so long had durance, because these abuses amid the intelligence of tliis day endanger the State, and M-ill as certainly undermine it as corruption has ever under- mined Greece and Rome, China and Syria. AVho would conserve, then, must purge and make clean, for decomposition and dirt are the ready corrupting means that destroy without building up again ; until a new organization take place, which relatively is as low in creative qualit}' as the filth fi'om which it had birth, for all parasites, vermin, and reptiles proceed fi-om dirt, and some fi-um the filth of neglect. Preservation and conservation, then, are cleanliness and purity ; the antitheses of decay, the very antiseptics themselves. The analogy, thus mentally and morally considered, is good. AYho would conserve himself must be clean in intention, in -will, motive, and act. Preservation is upholding the good, apart and away from corrupting influences. Integrity in purpose and practice is conservation — justice is conservation — ^^^^'^^y is conservation ; but dishonesty, injustice, impurity, are cor- rupting influences, rendering all things "SNath which they come in contact unpreserved, unprotected, and rotten. First of all, then, before we decide what denomination of pohticians we are, let us ask ourselves, are we pure, chaste, and good enough, in our every motive and intention, politically to consider ourselves true liberal Conservatives ? Arc those who have boastfully assumed the name in the exercise of these virtues, this justice, honesty, and purity ? If so, let them continue to call themselves liberal Conservatives ; but if not, be he a Lord Derby, or a Lord Palmerston, let him not call himself by that which every act of liis Kfe proves him not to be. All men should strive to become true Conservatives ; conser- vatism does not exclude liberality any more than a conserve jelly excludes sugar, or wine or beer excludes saccharine ; it is an essential element, that is the very constituent of conser\'atioii, "wnthout which there is no (juality. That hopeful statesman of Great Britain, Ijord Stanley, 1 indulge in the belief that he is 154 GOVEUNMKNT Ul'ON FIUST rRIXCIPLES. the pcrsonitioation of the liiboral and Conservative componnd ; anil can become more so as he mingles in his noble (character the tbrnier with the latter. It is that happy blending of the two great essentials of qnality that constitutes the states- man. Government can never be based upon First Princqiles until this happ)' blending takes place : the liberal must bo a com- ponent of the preserver ; the preserver a component of the liberal. The factional conflicts must cease to exist upon the base of liberality, for all must be liberal that shall be in the State ; the conflicts shall only take place upon the practicability of carrpng out the liberal base. Let no man call himself liberal that is not so in practice ; take care of the mere profession, for that is cheap stufl' any man may carry upon his surface. But for the fact of the present conservating, old, and continued association with the corruptions of the early days, mistaken principles of feudal Governments, I should say the Conserva- tives not professing the liberal assumption, but repudiating it, would induce a semblance of candour and honesty superior to the professors of it, but unfortunately they cannot fall back upon their integrity to sustain and retain them in their cha- racter as statesmen ; on the contrary, too often they fall back upon antiquated corruption, to which they have become so fami- liarized, that their various habits of intimidation, bribery, authority unjustly exercised, coercion, domination by mere w^ealth — appropriations of the highest offices of State to themselves and theirs — shutting out naked merit from any chance of possessing oflice, and fighting for mere place, wasting the country's time and money, are crimes to which they have become so familiar, that they never can fall back upon the integrity of their motive and purpose in recommending them- selves to offices of State, titles, and State possessions. Nor can the AVTiigs, whose association Mdth corruptions, if not quite so antiquated, is not the less venal. Such fulsome dis- tinctions now as Whig and Tory are absurdities not compatible PURITY IS CONSERVATISM. 155 with the progress of the intelligence of this day, for they have merged into the same kind of corrupt practices, rendermg themselves identical in everything but name — mere profession only. It might by some bo thought that a liberal despotism would be a practical form of rule for the present stage of human con- dition. France seems to have put the latter in practice, but, like our A\Tiigs of England, have merely professed the former. If such a form of rule were expedient for France, be careful how it be attempted in England. Despotism is mixed up with every vice on the face of the earth, not only in rulers but in indi\'iduals ; wherever it exist it is unsubdued desii'es, passions of malignity ; the HberaHty that would be connected vnth. it is like thro\\ing the tub to the whale, — would be, at its highest point of beneficence only patronisingly dealt out, to be at any time despotically redeemed. Liberal despotism is presumption, because it presumes that the despot possesses the greatest wisdom and goodness, neither of wliieh qualities can he possess if he be a despot. I should say there can be only one absolute Ruler, and He Ls not human ; there can be only absolute rule where all the other qualities are co-ordinate and co-extensive in justice, goodness, and truth, by wliich abstract rule should be framed. But because that Primary Huler and Creator left man not in absolute rule by himself, — on the contrary, left him vast freedom of action, — I repudiate despotism, even when, per- chance, a Hberal despot reigns, because his successor may be a tyrant. AVhy do English statesmen so often halt in the effort of esta- blishing better laws ? Why have they not gone forward and allied themselves to the cause of the pure ? — the pm-e wherever to be seen, in whomsoever fcjund, in whatever country practised. I fear tlie answer is, because they themselves arc not pure enough ; they are yet dev(juring the impure — the forbidden. This i)aradisc of a coinitry, yielding abundant increase, affoidiiig wondrous facilities for the promotion of a gbjrious Kdcii, is almost at a slainl !ii the cause of progress, fearing to 15G GOVERNMENT Ul>ON FIRST TRINCIPLES. ally itself to wliat ? — to to tlio Pun^ — to tho Just — to First PriiuMplos. AVlicuco coinos this four, this hositation, this tiiiiidity ? Douht not, but know well whence shanio came u})on mankind ; know well whence shame and fear come over man now. It is because he is now immersed in wrong doing, else ho now would go boldly forward, ally himself to the jjure, fearing nothing. AVhat has man to fear who is allied to the pure ? The All-pure is omnipotent. Yet statesmen arc fearful of advocating pure measures, just laws, lihei'al enactments, — and why ? Again, it is because in things in which their affec- tions arc centred they arc afraid of losing : having so much love for themselves, they cannot afford the love for their neighbour ; this is the selfish fruit man is yet devouring ; liWng in what might be a paradise still, still eating forbidden fruit. Cast off this \'iper, this reptile, grovelling nature ! Rise from the animal to the man ; fear no alliance with the Just and True. Take no history for thy caution, when the evils of man- kind have frustrated good designs, to deter man from any attempts to establish holier laws. Look not upon other countries as enemies, when they are attempting to shake off the chains of corrupt institutions. Learn to see the depravity fi'om which they struggled to relieve themselves. What glo- rious examples have we in some of the great struggles of the neighbouring country, France. How simultaneously once the spirit of the generous and the true entered every man's breast in 1790, not\\dthstauding the devastations "^le demons of power — in rank high and low — made upon that holy attemj)t. Notwithstanding the slurs that our pseudo-zealots heap upon that revolution, the fraternity of sentiment that followed the struggles of nature in casting off the selfish rule that existed prior, is a grand illustration of the fact that selfishness alone severs man from man. Remove this, and generous true love enters the breast, and all creation is but a bond of love and union. AVhat struggles did that enterprising people make to conquer within themselves the prevailing nature of humanit)^, i.e., self. IIow did they succeed for a short time from the highest to the TEMPORARY TRIUMPHS IN 1790. 157 lowest, not in the least exempting tlie king himself, poor Louis XVI., who deserved a better fate. He, too, gave up all for the Constitution. Such glorious specimens of national patriotism, of self-sacrifice for national good, were never wit- nessed before. It was as if the spiiit of the Holy One went forth to make perfect the earth. A fearless love of the just entered the breasts of the whole nation, Paris and provinces. A standard was raised of what was right at that daj-. The wrong was made to crumble before it. Oh, glorious doings, so well commenced ! The prison of torture — the Bastile — first feU, and no longer could conceal the innocent victims who were rotting in its dunghill dungeons. Along with this fell the lettres de cachet which peopled its a^^-ful walls ; the facile instruments of undeserved severity and cruelty, which the priests and corn-tiers so fi-ightfully abused. CHAPTER LI. TEMPORARY TRIUMPH OF THE GOOD AND GLORIOUS IN 1790. THEIR RELIANCE UPON HUMAN AID ALONE. This fell, and the bishops' Pharisaic ascendency tottered to the gi'ound. Monasteries yielded up their victims, tithes abolished, state religion became less corrupt ; truer adherents there were in motive and practice. Hereditary nobility aboHshed, June 19th, 1790. Thus fell hereditary rights — the opponent of the distribution of wealth, the enemy of progress, and the stultifier of the mind. Too go(jd a law for the sin of the day. Also fell rotten representation : universal suffrage was then proclaimed. Thus, tlien, coiTuptcd laws also staggered and fell. The whole nati(jn was a glorious confederation on the 14th July, 1790. iVll opposing interests and peo^jle became one nation, 158 OOVERNMKNT UPON FIRST PHINCIl'LES. unitod as brethren. Divisions of class, party, nud religion wore forgotten. ^lan again tinds God, thongli calls lliui Nature. lie embraces his country, then he embraces humanity, with his whole heart, which compasses the whole world, — not too large an area for the magnitude of their good hopes and intenti(ms. Certainly the unseliish spirit pervaded tlie whole of the French on that day ; their love extended to all mankind. I commenced this work by showing that the minds of all beings in the universe are governed by laws immutable, yet ever adapted to human mutations. In the undei'takings of the French in 1790 we have a remarkable instance of this. The mind of the French nation then responded spontaneously to the governing influences of the universal law. It was not a partial movement, neither in object nor place : it was not con- fined to class nor locality. The people had received a grand elementary influence, impelling them to action. The influx was pure, immutable, originating in the .Divine governing law. Hence we can account for their pure love of justice, in whom- soever and in whatsoever justice was required ; for their love of each other extended their fraternization to all the world, hoping to extend the helping hand to all suffering nature fet- tered by corrupt governments, which stamped the face of the whole world. But, angiiis in herha, how soon were their hopes dissipated ! how soon they experienced the mutability of man ! how miprcpared were they really to receive the Divine impress — to be governed by Divine laws ! "V\niile, perhaps, the French people were the most adapted to attempt the redemption of human legislation, because of the prompt energy with which they answered to the Divine dictate, and because of their pecu- liar idios}Ticrasy of character, which rendered them instruments, for a short time, of spiritual influx ; yet they relied so much upon human ^sisdom, that they forgot the Divine ; and, while they destroyed, they could not always build up a better supcn-- structure. Having destroyed the Bastille, they had not sub- jected the evils of their nature to the custody of incorruptible power. Ha^^ng destroyed the tithes and the accumulated cor- ruptions of the Cliurch, they forgot that, like that Church, they TEMPORARY TRIUMPHS IN 1790. 159 themselves were liable to similar corruption, unless upheld and withheld by a power superior to himianity. They occasionally forgot to know from whence the spirit that actuated them had sprung ; whence originated the holy sentiment that swelled their hearts and enhghtened their minds, to see and act upcm what was right and good. They omitted to recollect that human mutability was not to be depended upon ; that power lies in the spiritual mind, not in the body without the mind. Mind is the Primum MohUe. The ethereal is the potential in matter even ; instance steam, the gases, and electricity ; that the spiritual is the potential in the minds that govern the bodies that govern the world. Cut off this mind from the body, — how impotent its staggering and blundering attitude ! Cut off the spirit of First Principles from the mind, the ghastly aspect of death, paUid and torpid, ensues ; perverted and fiendish the man becomes ; the animal lusts and passions usurp the throne of love and fraternity. The mind is governed by laws immutable, but man too often confounds human inventions with Divine laws. Laws di\"ine are immutable, yet ever adapted to human mutations. Man makes the change of action, and pursues one line of action one day, and alters it the next, because he allows an inferior im- pulse to regulate him, and prefers it to the Divine. This was clearly exemplified in the French revolution ; notwithstanding, we ought never to forget the purity of the first sentiment that first set that country in motion, and look upon that grand event as an indication of a new or fresh adaptation of governing influx into tliLs world.* Let us be careful how we denounce it, fraught as it was in its after course with misery and cruelty. The difficulty in restoring national rectitude can best be seen in that of the indiWdual. How conflicting, how vacillating, is our own progress, and aU because our house is not made clean within, so that when the good enters, evils combat against the good, conflicts ensue, struggles of life and death shake the whole frame of man ; for the powerful enemy witliin can only be • Sec Sweclcnbor;^'H " Last Judpmout uiul Divine I'lovidciu'c." iGO GOVERNMENT UPON FIllST rRINCIPLES. driven oni hy a greater power than he, and that power wo cannot see with naked eyes, so wo forget often to call in that aid ; or selfhood shuts thi> door against him, or liatnnl enters too strongly into our composition — yea, the hatred of the wrong, causing us to do wrong to conquer M'rong. Shall I say the French did wrong to overcome wrong Y tShall I say Tjouis XVT. did ? ^Miraheau did ? Ijafayette did ? Marat did ? Caniillo Demoulin, Danton, and llohespierre did ? I know it is too often done hy all. Had Rohcspierre relied less upon human reason, and sought more for the elementary law from Divine wisdom, to guide the grand movement, the movement would have heen less errant antl more successful. Had he studied infinite and universal laws and lumiau weakness more, and Jean Jaques Rousseau less, and paused to look into himself, and raise his thoughts from thence to the Infinite Governing Power, the Huler by primary principles, the cause of legislative pro- gress might not have been retarded so much, nor have suffered so much by bad examples. If, then, difficulty exists in individuals, how much greater must be that difficulty in nations composed of millions of indi- viduals. Man cannot command himself. Who, then, can com- mand and govern nations but the Omnipotent ? How weak must man be in all his vaunted, self-sufficient strength, who does not demean himself to power omnipotent — everywhere, in everything. The grand mistake in that revolution was, that the Church — though shaken, made to totter — never fell ; nor by protesta- tion was it changed. New bottles were not substituted for the old, but the old bottles were left with now wine ; so that the little good that remained in their papistical vessels soon burst, and was shed abroad, and emptiness characterized again their gilded walls. No temple representing First Principles had been raised from the embers of the revolution. So conflicting dynasties and factions soon laid hold of the spcjil, and all is lost again, leaving not even a wi'eck behind. England's dynastic duration in per- manence may be explained by the fact of the obscuration, if TEMPORARY TRIUMPHS IX 1790. 161 not by the extinction, of the lineage of tlie bygone Plantagenets and Tudors. If the Stuarts be not extinct, the House is al- lowed but that durance \ale, which, were it presumptive, would bo worse than annihilation. But the planting of the footsteps of William and Mary on the land of Great Britain was not to perpetuate an old state of things, which had become distasteful because of its corruption, but the Hanoverian House was re- garded as sjTionjTuous with progress, both in Church and State. Our existing royalists in the nineteenth century must not then ignore, nor mistake, the mission of our present House of Han- over; for, certain it is that, if Great Britain go not forward, she "svlU retrograde. She must be continually advancing in that reformation, both in Church and State, which characterized the throne that the Prince of Orange ascended, comprehending, as he did, the genius of the people over whom he came to reign. Let not our Sovereign's best and most devoted subjects forget the genius of this day, as France in her backsHdings is now doing, has often done, and will ever do, as long as First Prin- ciples are not recognized — first in an ever- reforming and pro- gressing Church ; next in the same ever- reforming and pro- gressing state. Let Great Britain never forget her mission, as France, through her Louis Napoleon, has done. He that should have raised France to a glorious second empire has corrupted her very institutions, dissipated her once hopeful position as the leader in the constitutional Hberties of Europe, driven into exile the best spirits of France, crushed the press, menaced every voter — until all has become servile submission to the will OF ONE BAD MAN, Avho is SO rapidly approaching the acme of infamy, that his faU is inevitable, unless he speedily retrace, and find his own best interest lies in doing good. .M 1(V2 COVF.RXMKNT ITON FIRST PRTNCI IM.KS. CILVTTER LII. EUROU OK .lUDOMEXT COMMON AMONG THE INFLUENTIAL OF THE WOULD. There is in all the affairs of men tlic sign of fallibility of jiulgincnt. lucousistoucy appears in all that man has handled — religiously, mentally, or physically. Go where you will, in whatever country, among whatever people, of whatever colour, or caste, inconsistency everyi\4iere stares you in the face. This a})])lies to all times, whether ancient or modern. Inconsistency there is even in all attempts at improvement, and certainly not the least in the Churches of the world. Inconsistency is mani- fest in the chief promoters and defenders of Churches, and inconsistency in the destroyers of them. Of this France has furnished us ^nth abundant evidence. It would appear that the same error attends man's doings now amongst what we call ci\-iliz;cd nations, as attended the Sabajans and the Chaldsoans. A. H.Layard, in his "Nineveh," furnishes us ynth. useful accounts of the forms and modes of worship adopted now by the Yezidis, who recognize one Supremo Bemg. Their inconsistency, however, shows itself to us in their dread of offending the evil principle — " carefully avoiding every expression which may resemble in sound the name of Satan, the Ai-abic word for ' accursed.' " "V\Tien they speak of the Devil, they do so with reverence, as Mckk-el-Koiit, the Mighty Angel. " They believe Satan to be the chief of the angelic host, now suffering punishment for his rebellion against the Divine will, but still all-powerful, and to be restored hereafter to his high estate in the celestial hierarchy. "He must be conciliated and reverenced, they say, for as he now has the means of doing evil to mankind, so will he hereafter have the power of rewarding them. Next to Satan, but inferior to him in might and wisdom, are seven archangels, ERROR OF JUDGMENT IN THE INFLUENTIAL. 163 "who exercise a great influence over the world ; they are Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Azrael, Dedrael, Azraphael, and Shemkeel. Chiist, according to them, was also a great angel, who had taken the form of man. He did not die on the cross, but ascended to heaven. They expect the second coming of Christ, as well as the re-appearance of Imaum Mehdi, giving credence to the Mussulman fables relating to him. Sheikh-xidi is their great saint." Errors similar to these of the Chaldeans exist amongst civi- lized Europeans. How similar were the acts of the French people to the behef of the Yezidis ! The latter worsliipped the devil — the former acted the devil ; amid the virtuous impetu- osity' that prevailed to promote virtue and truth, the French frequently invoked the aid of demoniacal influence. The cause of all this is to be traced to the fifty years that preceded the Reign of Terror ; to the rhapsodies of Voltaire — to his fulsome panegp'ism, to his anti- Christian mania, to his rehance on incredible traditions, whenever they were opposed to the Bible. In fact, Voltaire ceased to praise God, and spent a Hfe in writing to praise man ; and not even the best men, but the great amongst the royalists of Eui'ope who had power and hked flattery. Could he have mixed up in his com- positions the spirit of Chiistianity — the true, kind, and just sentiments which those beautiful sacred writings he so dese- crated had pronded for him — Voltaire might have been able to have contributed to the building up of a better state of things, as well as have promoted the pulling doMTi of the corrupt existing fabric. Had he read the Stoics more, and courted the great less, he would himself have been a better man. It was more necessary to have had Candidc — the infernal Candide — to represent the frightful pictures of all the miseries of human life — to have even this infernal laugh, than to have those panegj'rics. More bearable was Foutenclle's warfare against faith, than Voltaire's fulsome rhaps(jdios and withering sneers. Whilst such men, together with Didcrtjt, penned every wild thought that entered their brains, tlie way was being paved for tlio M 2 164 GOVEU>'MENT UPON FIRST rHINCIPLES. removal of some of the dross of the earth ; but iu removing that, the gold was carried along with it. Huch men were not likely to become the refiners of the earth permanently. To agree with Bossuet and say, that all things that God has done or permitted {Dm'oiirse on Uuirernal Ilktorif) since tho Creation of the first man, have been co-ordained with an cyo to a single event — the establishment of Christianity — would be less difficult than to agree \di\\ Voltaire or Diderot, or Fontenelle. But even Bossuet has mistaken the means for tho object and end in view ; — man was not made for Christiamty, but Christianity was made for man ; and this, I think, ex- plains the enigma which the French critics could not unfold. Were man made for Christianity, how is it that more than two-thirds of the hmnan race are not yet Christians, and never have been ? The answer appears to me to be, that tho end in view is mistaken for the means. True and real Christianity, universal as a doctrinal system and universal in practice, would be a glorious state of things ; the happiness that would ensue seems too blissful to contemplate as possible in this world. But, unfortunately, where Chiistianity exists as a propaganda, it does not even there prevail in practice. The creeds and the churches are there, but the pure spii'it is not carried out, neither in the laws nor in the government. The legislator omits the spirit of it in his acts of parliament, timidly fearing to adopt the good that abstractly could >iO^ harm, yet fear lessli/ adopta the harm that cannot abstractly do good. Were the pure spirit of Christianity to become the basis of our legislature practically, Avere we to look upon it as, for us, to be more used, and not professed without being used, this bulwark of our constitution would change, and the beautiful summer's sun would brighten over all our people gloriously. The earth would yield her increase abundtintly, for the practice of the liberal, the generous, and the just would show forth the world in the warmth and light that truly shines over it ; i.e., the light of divine munificence, enough and abundance, every- where and for all. This would spread a halo over all, then would our song be : — " All people that on earth do dwell," REPUGNANCE TO CULTIVATE THE HEART. 165 Yet I say, Christianitj' was made for man as a means to an end — that end, pei-petual felicity. "Were man made for Chris- tianity, man -svould be making God, which is an absurdity ; yet this is what Pagans fancied they did of old, and what profess- ing Christians de nomind non de facto fancy they are now doing, building up their own fancies as God, when we are building up Christianity. He who is, was, and ever will be, cannot be built up. AVe can only build ourselves up by using His means, and by practice. " Inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of one of these httle ones, ye do it unto mo." This is not building God, but obe}-ing him, and benefiting ourselves. CHAPTER LIU. THE REPUGNANCE AT THIS DAY TO CULTIVATE THE HEART. There seems to be a natural repugnance at this day, even more than existed in the eighteenth century, to cultivate the heart. The mind is cultivated, but whence this reluctance in the culti- tion of the generous ? Is it because the world imposes on the generous ? Now, then, I think we have it, — we impose on the generous. Whence is this ? where does imposition commence, or whore ought, first of all, the absence of imposition to be found ? Certainly and indisputably, at the head of the nation — with the heads of the Government. Is there an absence of imposition at the heads of all or scarcely any governmental depai-tment ? If there be not, who then can be expected not to impose ? ^\licnce arc we to look for the prestige of ^^rtue, but from the goveramcntal departments ? A^Hiere are fled the pure spirits of legislature in this our day ? Like the walls of our clmrchc's, tliey remain ; Imt where are the living souls ? We have the garb of the men, but where the man, where the soul, the sentiment P We have now neither cordem non judicium; 160 GOVEUNMliNT UPON FIU.ST I'UlNOirLES. nor have we even in tliis day Judicium non eordc/n ; yet wc want both for tlie roquircnionts of the time. Not justice nor under- standing only ; not wisdom without the generous feelings — without the heart. Nor is it well to have the generous senti- ments without the wisdom ;^but what we want is both — cordciii cum Judicio. The heart and the commensurate wisdom are the true qualifications for a statesman or a churchman : such a haj)py combination of character is certain to bring about happy results. Let us inquire, in the name of God, why this harmony of character is not more sought after, why not more cultivated in our schools, and, above all, not more regarded in our colleges, where our lions for religion receive their learned instructions ? Of all places where good conditions ought to be carefully pre- served, for youth to acquire a happy combination of character ; how is it that in those very colleges there exists a greater in- difference to this culture of the heart than elsewhere ? "Whence have arisen not only the absence of the heart cultm'c, but the presence of corrupting influences calculated to destroy the heart ? Because the integral man is not so much the object of the present age as the half man ; because government fear to have the rising generation scrupulously honest. Their own one-sided legislature will not bear the scrutiny of that pure light which emanates from a pure heart ; because pure justice, unconnected with our statutes, would have so much to pull down before there were means to build up the truly just and good. The falling of these old ruins would bring down them- selves to what their natural pride revolts from, but in which, were they as much in the love of good as they are in the love of the great, they would experience no descent. On the con- trar}^, they would hail with pleasure an approach to the happy medium, the juste milieu, which, after all, is the soul of life ; and, but for theii' nature's pride, this would yield them happi- ness abundantly. Let us examine minutely into the causes of all these erroneous proceedings, which are so much more conspicuous among the managers of the affairs of the nations than amongst the quiet and uninterfering. One great cause we can trace to the love of REPUGNANCE TO CrLTIVATE THE HEART. 167 superiority, which self-righteous parents consider they have a right to inculcate and carefully preserve in their children ; when from this culture proceed all the irregularities and wrong projects in the affairs of the nation. The love to be superior, distinguished from the love of superiority, will explain all that is necessary. A love to be superior implies a proud desire to be better than youi- neighbour. This becomes very evident when we explain the fact by examining our secret motive power — our fii'st incentive. "\^^e shall find, if we be honest with ourselves, that there is a desire in our nature to be greater than our neighbour ; the existence of which exposes a lurking selfishness at the bottom of all our actions. The pure spirit of Christianity never taught this, and yet the important men of this nation do not dream of possessing any other motive to action. Nor can they bear to investigate the motive which first prompted and now regulates all their actions. Yet this spirit of rivaby should only be allowed to exist in the early years of the schoolboy, and even then be carefully guarded, checked, and rooted out from his principle of action, as far as possible, before he leaves school. The emulation which schools find a useful means of urging a cliild to learn, is always dan- gerous, and should be supplanted by a bettor motive as soon as a nobler sentiment can be awakened. But to allow it to grow up into manhood, and to prevail amongst our important men at the head of the nation is lamentable to witness, and is inexpressibly banefid in its consequences, because it becomes the prolific nursery of the most rank and corrupt qualities in our nature, which spring from pride and selfishness; all things, therefore, partake of this hue in after life. All men strive rather to excel for the pride of it, rather than for the facility it offers to be useful, llence the imperft'ctions in our legis- lature. Hence the tint of guUt that tarnishes all our govern- ment operations.' Too much regard is bestowed on the showy rather than on the useful ; too much admiration for eloquence and tdent, and too little cultivation of the will, the quality of the desire — the heart. 108 OOVKUNMEXT ITON FIUST VlllNCll'LES. Let lis not imagino, liowcver, that the beautiful, tlio orna- montal. arc to bo despised nv neglected. ^laiikiud, indeed, mav be infatuated with these, till they begin to (•oiTU])t the heart ; till vanity begins to destroy the man, and bedeck him with fulsome sophistry. Then it is time to put off the orna- ments, lest the man be lost. Better maintain the man, than, fur the sake of the ornaments, the man be cast away, lietter, surely, lose the ornaments than lose the man. After the heart is made proof against these corrupting adorn- ments, then cultivate the elegant and the beautiful ; till then, cultivate the heart, in order properly to enjoy the embellish- ments of life without destropng the man. No longer, then, let us allow our acts of parliament to bear the guilty tints that brand this age. Let not pride be in the ascendant, but, -vs-ith due submission, let us bow to a more sacred shrine. Let not the adventitious be the sine qud non, but let the integral man be the grand aim of life. Let our legislators no longer timidly fear the right that cannot do wrong, but let them now and for ever fear the wrong, that can never be made to do right. Let the good and the great be ever distinguished from the great without the good ; then shall we have no man taking office for the pride of it, but for the uses he can perform in it — the services he can render his country. CHAPTER LIV. THE ERROR OF RECOGNIZING THE PRIORITY OF VICIOUS POWER INSTEAD or THAT OF VIRTUOUS INTELLIGENCE. Human nature ought now to have acquired higher principles than to be attracted into office for the mere honours of office, much less than for any pecuniary consideration. Society ought PRIORITY IN RECOGNIZING VICIOUS POWER. 169 now to be sufficiently advanced to justify an expectation of tliis kind. Ought not the love of usefulness to be sufficient induce- ment ? The satisfaction of serving your country in any ci^-il capacity', ought to be as commendable as anything chivabous. Interior motives of the good and useftd ought to be sufficient for a statesman of the 19th century. TVTien such spirits can be obtained for State purposes we may expect laws that will wear a different aspect altogether, and the rights of man — the long-talked-of immunity of a denizen of the world — might be established. Now, the wrong fetters the right, enslaves the good, and hoodwinks their eyes, lest they should see the horrid abominations of darkness, its deeds be known, and man be freed. "Would not abuses arise out of such immunities ? is the natural inquiry ; and would not man become injured ? I answer this by another inquiiy . "NYhat injures man, good, or evil ? or what affects his moral condition, — right, good examples, or bad ones ? Our Lord Chancellors of England, in that cor- rupt Coui't of Equity, have injured societj^ more than a legion of dcAils let loose upon it. Recognizing no laws of real right, but by delays and blinding forms, giving the innocent a prey to legal vultm-es. Of all things, let not power abuse its preroga- tive, says sound reason, for therein is a fertile source of corrup- tion ; yet the very reverse of this have nations practised, — the very abuse of power has been thought by our feudal kings and lords to be justifiable, but by them only. The law, "Nullum ternpus occiirrit regi" is a fidl and clear proof of this abuse of power — that no time of rightful possession should avail against a king. That a king should not be expected to respect the laws for the upholding of which his office is required, — is an outrage to society ; and though such law be now removed from our statutes, such a tinge remains among our legislators up to the present day, that power, they would have us believe, has a right to abuse the people's pri\'ileges. Why, the highwayman might as well say — Because I have a revolver, and am armed, and you are not, I have a right to your money. — Now, the law of the country recognizes such acts as a robbery in the higlnva}'- 170 a(n-KUN.MKNT UrON FIKST PKIXCII'I.RS. man, us unJoubtoiUy it is. It docs not say, because this man has more jioMor in arms, therefore he has a right to take from another tliat which is not his ; yet it has the infamy to wink at acts as heinous as this, and far worse, in tlieir consequences, when these are connected with the power of the State. Regarding all things of creation elementarily, and not ad- versely, we shall find the law, " Nullum fc»ij>Hs," to have had its origin in the lowest of the animal ])ropen.sities^-grcediness — the worst species of selfishness. It has been upheld by an abuse of power, and perpetuated through ignorance and de- pravity. Nevertheless, it is a "\dolation of principle, and by whom ? A king, whose high office, Avlicn in right analogical order, represents the pinnacle of justice; instead of which, this law became the very depth of injustice. It is the very same 2)rinciple as influenced King Da\ad in his conduct to Uriah. The abolition of this outrageous law has not yet produced corresponding good in other laws ; outrages arc allowed to be perpetuated partaking of a similar bias. The corrupt influence of such a law continues to contaminate the mind long after the suppression of the law itself. Much in our legislature has a tendency to proscribe rather than to build up the man. To retain power and to keep the public subject, seems even now to be the grand aim of governments ; as if an abject condition were the best for the maintenance of order : the very reverse of this is actually the case. We neither reqmre poorness of pocket, nor poorness of mind, to have an orderly, obedient people. We might trace the oiigin of all revolutions, both in France and in England, to these two kinds of poverty. The rich partisans who are poor in mind stir up the poor, who are easily made discontented, and easily urged to revolt. This has often been done to hide flagrance of corruptions, which would otherwise become so e\'ident that no peoj)le could behold it and submit to a government that only perpetuated such a state of things. A thorough constitutional government, with none of the nullum tcmpus bias, need not fear a want of due order amongst its subjects, nor a want of patriots. What is the mental source PRIORITY IN RECOGNIZING VICIOUS POWER. 171 of resisting tendency in a nation but unfairness, real or ima- ginary ? The same qualities "wliicli unite one man to another when in order — viz., goodness and iutelligence — will be found to have the same effect in subjects to their governments. "When they feel the claims of virtuous legislation, and the justice flow- ing from their >visdom, there will be attractions as powerful to the centre, and as certain, as there now is in the earth to its orb of day. The influence of the sun upon the earth, causing by its genial rays a response from all nature, pelding up its grateful odours and fruits, is not less certain than that a just, genial government, based upon genuine principles of good and truth, would call forth a response from all the people, that would yield with gratitude whatever the State requu-ed, and for all. The central warmth and light of pmity generating its own kindred guarantee, — a kindi-ed of principle surpassing even that of blood, flesh, and bones, — guaranteeing order and adherence on earth as it is in heaven. Then have we not a right to expect a new man, " more perfect in all his proportions, harmonious in all his acti\'itics, living and healthful in all his organs, and as certain to be obedient to a government of order, as every lower faculty of the new man is certain to lend a willing obedience to a higher faculty ?" * The analogy is unerring, applj-ing to nations as to the construction of indi\'iduals. Let the centre only be right, and the circumference partakes of its source, as of its parent and [sustaining power, " Every higher power giving its best insight and guidance to the lower, and through this vast man, which will embrace in its form every nation, kindred, and tongue on the earth. Then will flow in a full, even, continuous tide, the life of DiAine goodness ; and the hght of DiWne truth \nll irradiate his countenance with the glorious beaut}' of heaven. Humanity will become transfigured, its face vriR sliiuc as the sun." It will, indeed, be ** a new heaven and a new earth," com- pared with which the "former shaU not be remembered nor brought into mind." • " Intelkctuul Kepobitory," Oct. 1«55, Ho. XXll. 172 GOVKllNMKNT VVOS FIRST riaNlll'l.KS. ciiai'Ti-:r t.y. TllK FASHION OF THE DAY OIVIXO A WHONfi lilAS TO THK FORMATION OF (JHARACTKR. Lastly, this sdfisli interposition on the part of electors and statesmen, this short-sighted notural liunuui policy amongst statesmen especially, that of interposing self for the free and happy laws of Intinito rectitude, laws of Omniscience, laws of Prescience, and Omnipresence. Oh, lofty statesman, in thy vanity what hast thou done ? Perverted the very ohject of thy mission ; turned, hy thy selfish nature, the free exchange of commerce and of money into a fiendish thirst for wealth and grandeur ; unwholesome in its desire, and alike unwholesome in its effects. How hast thou given a wrong bias to human progress ? How hast thou sought to feed the worst and most dangerous ingredient of the human mind by pride ? Is not thy very Court pompous, and all thy marks of distinction gaudy and selfish ? Look at thy worse than wreck of right. Corruption reigning everjnvhere ; self and pride interi)osing everjn^'here ; partial and unjust patronage and preferment everywhere. Are not thy doings the very opposite of what would emanate from statesmen wise and good ? Art thou not seeking to make the great greater, and the weak weaker ? Thy greatness is not that kind of greatness that is coequal wdth good, but thou rejoicest in the proudly great and the indolently affluent. Art thou not seeking by rigid legislature to uphold these, and maintain them at the expense of virtue, at the expense of industry ill requited? How is it that certain things never become fashionable, nor characteristic of ton ? It has become the fashion to be polite apart from kindness, which ought to be the true origin of politeness ; yet it has never become the fashion to be good and kind, apart from the exter- nal garb of poHteness. In some families kindness is found to THE FASHION OF THE DAY BI.^ES CHARACTER. 173 be more inlierent than in others, but an acquired kindness similar to an acquii-ed pohteness is rarely found. TTe find all the graces which can gratify our pride cultivated. AccompHshments that contribute to our graudeui' are acquired, and sometimes that which contributes to our littleness is ac- quired. A great familiarity ^vith the ancients is much regarded, because classical, — not because they were good nor wise, but because we have in all ages sought to gratify oui* pride rather than our benevolence. How is it that benevolent people are often ridiculed, when talented people, not benevolent, are so much admii'ed ? All tliis indicates the preferences of the day, demonstrating the quality of our humanity. The answers to these questions are to be found in the depravity of humanity. Much has been said of the depraved condition of the lower orders, but they do not set the fashions, and these charges cannot be laid to them. It is quite time that some one should veutui-e to allude to the depra^■ity of the higher orders, and trace the cause of the meagreness of ton and fashion to their right source — the poorness of character in the higher orders. This really gives rise to all the sorrows of the day ; seeldng for titles and honours, they do not really strive to be useful in paths uncon- nected ^vith rank and fashion. They pant for display ; but, could they perceive aright, they would discover that even their grandeur and brillancy are bad taste, inasmuch as it is not complimentary to others, less wealthy than themselves. This world never can improve while wealth is only acquired to out- shine our neighbour ; causing contempt for the poor, and ridicule to the industrious merchant, because he is not of noble blood, nor possessed of titles — ancestral only. The strutting foppery of empty names, contempt for commercial men or the useful members of the nation, can weU be N\itncssed in such works as " I'elham," where bad sentiments abound — where ton wears a more hidecjus garb of pedantry than can be found in any work emanating from the useful and industrious of this nation. Jiut the author of *' Pelham " must not be mistaken for the cliaracter of I'elliam ; if I mistake not, the sentiments of the author are to be found in " My Novel ;" in that excel- I7i fiOVr.KNMKXT UrON FIUST rUIXClT'LES. lent discourse of Pr. Dale's, a sovmon in " My Novel," •which every luan should icad ami study well. Contrast that character with that of Lady Frances Pelham, the niothor, and the reader -snll not he loft uninstructi-d. In the lady F., the reader perceives a had specimen of luuuauity in the garh of fashion- ahle ease and elegance, without virtue, or even the modesty of throwing a mantle over the matrimonial ^'ices of high life. In that of the good Dr. Dale, the vices of the rich are somewhat excused, hut much corrected ; he teaches them — and all — " to hear one another's hurdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ ;" teaching the " poor in their turn to have charity for the rich, and sapng to the rich, respect the poor."* I know of no class of men that have so mistaken the object of their career in tliis life, as have the fashionable aspirants for rank and titles. Man was not born to become a mere out- ward show — a mere empty shell — a mere chrj'salis. The elaborately constructed ramifications of his beautiful organiza- tion prove the object of his creation to be something more than wearing garments or titles, neither of which is an indica- tion nor a criterion of the true man. The truly great mind and genuine heart can despise such symbols of dingy assump- tion, because history, both ancient and modern, furnishes us with examples proving its tendency to destroy the man and ruin the nations of the earth. Too much importance should never be attached to our ancestors, nor to nature's antecedents only, but the present and the future are the considerations that should occupy our minds and regulate our respect. As certain as the great nations of the earth have rested upon their mun- dane antecedents, upon the honours by conquest, or acquired by the arts and sciences, and have surrounded themselves with luxuries commensurate with their wealth, so certainly have they declined and fallen. We can read of the pompous and borrowed splendour which decked the empires of the east eight hundred years ago, when we, as Crusaders, were taught the lessons of impious meanness, * " My Novel," vol. i. p. 99, by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart. THE FASHION OF THE DAY BIASES CTLiRACTER. 175 and the weakness of hollow dignities ; when the Anglo-Saxon and the Frank, &c., felt disgust at the obsequious, flatteiing terms which saluted the ear of Alexius Coninenus, the emperor of the East. There, in the beautiful, wealthy, and gorgeous Constantinople, with its golden gate, such terms were applied to this monarch as " Sacred Father," " The Illustrious Father," " Most Magnanimous Father," " The Sublime Court," wherem the corn-tiers asked leave to " speak and hve," standing or kneeling in the imperitd presence. " The imperial daughter was bom in the impeiial chamber of purjjle." This sickening fulsomcncss has never been surpassed except in the incomparable outrage of folly by which the feeble old men, who are profanely elected to reign in the name of the Meekest of all, and whose dotish flatterers salute them with such title as " His Holiness," " Most Holy Father," " Our Lord God the Pope," and abase their mean souls to kiss theii- idol's foot, in the wreck of the imperial city where Cicero wrote and Yirgil sung. This weakness found amongst the Greeks was a common parlance of that day among the Crusaders ; yet how few of similar appellations and gorgeous titles, together with obsequious homage to the magnates of their localities, have been abandoned now we have reached the nineteenth century ! 176 aOVKUN.MENX LTO-N IIUST lUU^Cll'LKS. CIIAPTER I. VI. ACCOKDlNCf TO OUR CO-OUDINATK ArPROPRIATIONS OF THE CiOOl) AND THE TRUE, OR THE VIRTUOUS AND TllK WISE, DO WE PERSONATE THE BEAUTIEUL. THE STOIC PHILO- SOPHY CONSIDERED. Human weakness is ever exhibiting itself in the midst of its boasted strength, in tlie midst of its most sanctified assumptions, either in the philosoi)her or the saint, in the warrior or the peaceful ai-tist ; stranger than all, it is most weak when relying most on its o^vn strength, — when pride feels most gratified, — ambition most satisfied. Yet, there is the pinnacle of weakness frauglit with most danger ; pro\'ing that human nature is not independent, with all the beauty of its elaborate structure. Ilunianity is so formed that every move and climax of motion is auxiliary ; even our appropriations are auxiliary ; our food aids the body, sustains the analogy in spirit, to the continuous vitality necessary to perpetuate the functions. The mouth aids the stomach ; these illuminations and ramifications throughout their various organs will be found to illustrate by analogy the usefulness of the Stoic philosophy preparatory to, and in con- nection ^vith Christianit}\ Let us first of all learn not to despise the Stoic philosophers, though they lived some five hundred years before Christ. They may have been the hewers of stone and drawers of water, preparatory to the erection of the Chris- tian system. It is enough for me to know, that Epictetus sustained the doctiine of the immortality of the soul, as did the Stoics of his day. It is enough for me to know that Zeno perceived that virtue was the only end and object worth living for ; that he wished to live in the world as if nothing was properly liis own ; he loved others, and his affections extended even to his enemies. lie felt a pleasure in being kind, benevolent, and attentive ; and he found that these senti- ments of pleasure were reciprocal. He saw a connection and THE STOIC PHILOSOPHY CONSIDERED. 177 dependence in the system of the universe, and perceived that from thence arose the hamiony of civil societ}', the tenderness of parents, and filial gratitude. In the attainment of virtue, the goods of the mind -were to he preferred to those of the body. The Stoic could view with indifference health or sickness (I do not think they were troubled with indigestion so much in their day). The Stoic was indifferent to riches or poverty, pain and pleasm*e, wliich could neither move nor influence the serenity of his mind. Zeno recommended resignation ; he knew that the laws of the universe cannot be changed by man, and therefore he ^vished that liis disciples in prayer should not deprecate impending calamities, but rather beseech Providence to grant them fortitude to bear the severest trials "with pleasure and due resignation to the will of Heaven. It was the duty of the Stoic to study himself: in the evening he was enjoined to rev-iew with critical accuracy the events of the day, and to regulate his future conduct with more care, and always to find an impartial witness within his own breast. Zeno acknowledged only one God, the soul of the universe, which he conceived to be his body ; and therefore that those two together united, the soul and the body, formed one perfect universe. Had the Stoics extended their thoughts beyond this world, and contemplated other worlds, this philosophy might have been more logical and more complete ; but their practice of virtue, and their resignation to the laws of nature, are exem- plar}- qualities that we can follow in our every day duties. They illustrated and studied the laws which regulate nature, aiding nature, which is helping ourselves in every act of sup- plying nature's orderly demands. The food for the mind can be illustrated by the food for the body, when viewed analogically. The respiratory organs afford similar analogical instructions. The nose, the uv-ula, the larynx, and the epiglottis and the trachea, all aid and arc conti'ibutary to the appropriation of the circumambient air, by which the lungs can sustain life ; N 178 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES, onabliiig us also to produce audt^uspond sounds, to breathe them articulately, to take them up, to continue and limit them, according to the articulations and breathing times of speech. Thus wo can give utterance and expression to the affections and thoughts of the soul. This affords us the S}Tionym of man's aj)propriations of spirit, lie is ever the recipient of the circum- ambient life ; he is himself the expi-ession of that life, in pro- portion as he allows its purity to regidatc him and actuate him, for this sphere of life is like the air we breathe, the continent of inward light. This light of men — the light of life — this ever lives, ever vivifies ; and according to the mode of reception by us, we are more or less s}'mmetrical and beautiful ; as we become the expression of its puiity, so do we become the articu- lations and expressions of the beautiful. But as we pervert this pure light of life, as we contaminate it by giving preference to the selfishness of our nature, — thus, as we limit and cramp the light of life, we become monsters, demoniacal in appearance, in principle, and in the actions of oiu' life. In this life this is not so evident, because we possess the power of dissembling ; but in the spirit-Hfe, man appears what he is in principle — beautiful, as he partakes of the good and wise ; monstrous, as he partakes of the c\il and false. CHAPTER LVII. THE CAUSE OF BAD LAWS TRACED TO ITS SOURCE MAN PRE- FERRING HUMAN WISDOM TO THE DIVINE, THE LIFE OF LIGHT. Can we not discern the cause of wrong or sin ? Let us con- template tliis quality of the life of light. Fii'st, is it confined ? is it not Infinite — Omnipresent ? This is what the Stoic con- THE SOURCE OF BAD LAWS TRACED. 179 ceived. Is not the Duone life and light, = the Kudhas and Divas, free as the air we hreathe ? Are not the types of universality ever^-where — ever present ? How, within the laws of its own purity of freedom, can the finite confine this life of light with impunity — limiting the UnKmited — finiting the Infinite ? Any attempt of this kind is attended with pain, because opposed to the laws of universal operation — because impossible to alter the Perfect and the Infinite ; ourselves attempting it, we pay the penalty, and ever must pay the penalty-, of preferring the finite to the Infinite — imperfection to Perfection. Free as the air, then, let us become the expression of the Infinite ; let us become the recipients of the light of life, and not interpose humanity to the Deit}' — not allow selfish- ness to interpose agauist the unselfish ; ever liberal and ever spreading, and ever spread, light of Life. In tliis light of life we live, move, and are happy, enjopng life ; ^^-ithout an open and uninterfering reception of this Hfe and light, we pay the penalty of interposition, which is misery. Every act of dis- obedience to the light of the soul, is sin. This interposition, exercised in the peasant, is the cause and the act of disobedience, which frequently ends in dishonesty, listening to the suggestion of the animal nature of self law — individual law, Kstening to the self natural human power, which is always false, because always dependent, and human in its com- position, instead of Hstening to that beautiful and peaceful inner spirit that is ever attendant on humanity (Hke the air that ever attends his respiratory organs), supphing him wath adventitious means to become strong and fi-ce, and to soar above into loftier motives. He can then indeed ascend, rising out of and away from the natural human — the selfish human — looking for a ])urer motive, a motive that lives after this life ; not suggested by selfishness, but by love — by the generous in- centive, breatliing around the good of all, acquiring msdom only for the acccjinplisliineut of the one ol)ject, the one motive, the promotion of genuine good, and extending the hand of true friendship and liberty to all, tluit the greatest number may cnjov the greatest good. N 2 180 nOVERNMKNT VPON FIKST riUXCTPLES. The iutorpositit)!! and resistance exercised by men of com- merce impede the free action of commerce ; selfishness inter- ]H)sing, instead of freely living and freely letting live, leads the Avay for excuses in trickery and deception, until commerce becomes a vocation of cunning practices, amounting in some to actual robbery. ITerc again the natural human, or selfisli hu- man, is the great destroyer of right motive. Unless this inHuenco be subdued, the practice of men will become fiendish, and the result will be misery, and this country become an abode of iiends, every man robbing his neighbour, instead of every man assisting his neighbour in an exchange of commodities fairly and h(mourably transacted. Commerce was intended to en- hance our bliss, so titat ervrt/ Man's nxnifs it should he every mail's desire to siippli/ ; not that one shall become greater than another who is equally frugal and industrious, but that all shall, by the exchange or purchase of commodity, not by trickery, usury, or theft, become more equal, not more dispro- portionate, — that all should become more accommodated, not more inconvenienced, as by peculation. No law will bring about this state of things but the law of limitation of wealth. Ko one individual should i)ossess wealth beyond a given sum ; all amounts beyond that sum to be taxed at the highest rate, in order that the common wealth may have a tendency to division ; so that needy youths arri\'ing at maturity, who arc known to be honest, fi'ugal, and industrious, shall not have such difficulty in finding means to place them in a business or a profession on their own accomit. The Romans had a law to this effect, and practically good was the result. It was a law to limit the extent of estates in land, by wliich no citizen should be allowed to engross above five hundred jugcra,* or to have in stock above one hundred bullocks and five hundred goats and sheep, f * About 300 acres. f The Agrarian Law. SPIRIT OF THE ROL12J AGRARIAN LAW. 181 CHAPTER LVIII. THE TRUE SPIRIT OF LEGISLATION IS TO BE DISCO^'ERED IN THE ROMAN AGRARIAN LAW. A Roman citizen in this period might, hy the law of Licinius, have an estate of five hundred jugeras, or about three hundred acres ; but the ordinary patrimony of a noble family was pro- bably far below this measure, and the lot of a citizen in the new colonies seldom exceeded seven jugera. The people were lodged in cottages and slept on straw. (PUn. lib. xviii. c. 3 ; Cicero pio Rossio ; Val. Max. lib. iv. c. 3.) The Romans, till a httle before the siege of Tarentum, had no coin but copper, and estimated property more commonly by the head of cattle than by money. They coined silver for the first time a. c. 485. For gold, it was known as a precious material, and was some- times joined with oxen in the reward of distinguished services. (Livy, lib. iv. c, 30 ; ihid. Epitome, Kb. xv.) This simple law would remedy all the evils under which this country is groaning, and abstractedly would only injure that which in this day cry aloud for rectification — /. e., man's pride and man's selfishness. Thus would commerce become fi'ce as the air we breathe ; thus would the dragon, the beast, and the the false prophet become destroyed, taking great care that la^\Ters neither become our judges nor our moral teachers. Instead of taking large sums of mcmey as rewards for prowess or ability, as did the Duke of Wellington on every return from conquest, let the young scions of this generation cultivate a nobler gratification — one consonant with true greatness, because unconnected with tlie alloys of greediness and selfishness. Let the rising spirits keep before them the biilliant example of the Roman consul, Curius Dentatus, wlio, returning from the ad- mired conquest of Tarentum with his Thessalian and Mace- donian captives,* &c., which were valued at Rome as public See "Epitome," lib. xiii. ; Plutarch in Vit. I'jrrli. J8"i f.()\ I-.IJNMKNT I- VOX IMKSr rKlNCll'l.ES. trophies of victory, ratlior tliau felt tt) hv tlie baits of private nvarioo, or the objects of a mean achninistratiou. " The lloiuau citizen as yet lived content in his cottage, furnishcvl in tlie rudest manner, and subsisted on the simplest fare, ('urius Pentatus, the consul, who obtained this triumidi for the reduc- tion of Tarentuui, having the offer of Hfty jugera* as a rewai'd from the public for his services, would aec(>pt of no more than seven. This, he said, is the ordinary portion of a citizen, and that pers(^n must be an unworthy member of the commonwealth who can wish for more."t Contrast that sentiment and the mode of accepting a gift in that day, M-ith that of our last general who distinguished himself at Waterloo in our day. Vn.io can say that England is progressing in character? She may be progressing in that which the Romans, in the time of the Tribunes and Decemvirs, despised, as the corrupting me- dium of a people — i.e., the accumulation of wealth, which is the instrument of the Dragon, in order to destroy the peace of the earth. It destroys even more : it destroys men's souls, and unfits them for a better existence. Better return to the Agra- rian laws of the Roman Republic, which Hmited wealth so that it shoiild not destroy her people. They perceived clearly what is by us almost universally denied or winked at. The Romans then knew well that large possessions of wealth had a tendency to destroy all that was good in man ; destroyed character altogether, destroyed energy and activity, destroyed fraternity, destroyed impartiality, destroyed equality, destroyed, in fact, all that was noble and generous, and led men away fi'om the genuine idea of common good, and of the common wealth. The very common argument, " Equalize the world to-day, and to-morrow it would be unequal," only proves the strong tendency that exists inherent in the world to inequality, which very tendency proves the inordinacy, which proves the necessity of restraint. Not the good for the few, but the good for the many, ought to be the object of every legislator. No * 50 jugera are equal to 30 acres. t Ferguson's "History of the Roman Republic," vol i. p 75. SPIRIT OF THE ROMAN AGRARIAN LAW. 183 sordid principle ought to actuate the statesman ; any such cor- rupt natui'es ought to be considered disqualifications. For, who can, in common reason, consider himself a benefactor, as all statesmen ought indisputably to be, who is doing well for himself only ? Or, who upholds laws that have a tendency to extract fi'om his brother that which, in common, belongs to his brother, by lea-^-ing wealth to accumulate in one individual till his excess causes poveiiy in others ? For all cannot have the much, all cannot be rich in excess ; but the much can be had by all in di^'isional portions, till comforts, and happiness, and plenty reach all, and men's Hvcs become no longer destroyed by anxieties, which excessive difficulties entail upon him by our present system. Wealth in excess is an instrument of power, while wealth in excess is not an instrument of good. Then, if wealth in excess be an instrument of power, and not an instrument of good, in excess, it becomes an instrument of e\'il. A power of evil, perpetuating and multiplying that power as now done, is actually perpetuating the power of evil, and multiplying the power of its abuses. It is no longer necessary to have large capitaHsts now, in order to carrj^ out great objects of universal interest — such as steam na\'igations and explorations. This capital now can be raised by joint stock companies. The many might raise the much, to the benefit of the many, rather than to the rich few, who can hardly be said to be benefited by additions to their excess of wealth, which forms an incumbrance in the very anxiety to look after it. 184 OOVKUNMKNT ll'DN FIRST riUXCIl'LKS. CHArXEll LIX. IT IS NO LONGEK INDUSTRY, NOR VIRTUE, NOR FRUGALITY ALONE, THAT ACQIIRKS PLACE AND AVTJALTII ; HUT THE CUNNING AND EXTRAVAGANT ROGUE FINDS THE READY ENTREE INIX) PLACE, POWER, AND WEALTH. It is commonly, but nut logically, said, that indolence and extravagance in some, and activity and frugality in others, arc the causes of accumidations of individual AA'ealth and poverty ; and it woidd bo unjust to take from industry and frugality their rightful gains. Now, I do not propose to take from, but I propose to discontinue any further additions to wealth, after a given ample and sufficient fortune be acquired, allowing plenty for elegances and refinement. But beyond this, no farther practice of it ; because, first, man's moral condition suffers. To have meat is good ; but to have more than is meat for life is bad, and tends to c\il. Secondly, to continue the sordid acquisition of wealth beyond enough, is greedy and selfish ; and man's time might other- wise be happily employed in travelling the world over if he liked — ^in storing liis mind with that kind of knowledge which will enable him to enjoy wealth. Man was created for other acquisitions than that of mere wealth. Thirdly, because enough leisure should be the portion of every man, enough to store his mind with the beauties and grandeur of creation, in all its varied and ramified excellences ; because he should have time to cultivate the perfections of Creation's objects in more matured life, and before dotage creeps upon him. Learn to see the All-perfect elsewhere than in wealth, or in such laws as promote inordinate accumulations of it ; because industry is more encouraged by redistribution of wealth than by excesses of it among the few ; and because in- dolence is removed when industry is rendered attractive by the diversity which redistribution of wealth occasions in the varied QUALIFICATIONS FOR PRESENT SUCCESS. 185 pursuits of life. Because we have but to increase this diversity suificiently, and every man's choice ^vill be afforded liim. Touch the rigJit cord, and every man' a indolence is aroused into actirift/. I have shown that wealth in excess is an instrument of power, wliilst the good is not commensurate with the power ; but evil is the quondam pro raid with the power. All governments are representations of aggregate powers ; and since power is no indication of qualit}% it follows that governments are more the reflex of quantity of power, than of the quality of good in the power. It matters not what is the form of government — whether it be absolute, monarchical, constitutional, or repubHcan — power ■will govern vmdcr any form. In the repubHc of the United States of America, we discover power in the worst form of oppression, even in the form of slavery ; slave-holders repre- senting in their aggregate a power — a quantity, not a good quaHty of power. These inhuman beings trade with human souls and bodies — work them as animals. They are themselves the animal, because divested of human feelings and S}Tapatliics which constitute humanity. These human-being holders in- crease in their usurped wealth ; which is like the highwayman who stole the goods, and declared he had a right to it because he usui'ped poAver to steal it. These slave-holders have grown rich, and therefore powerful, and dictate tlieii' form of govern- ment. They hold slaves in perpetuity, and, worse than all, make it penal to educate slaves. Here is the reflex of power in quantity, ha-ving no regard to the quality. Their decisions become ahke the law of the land, the same as if it were co-ordinate in good. Governments, in such cases^ are tools of power perverted, and bear the reflex of perversion, as they do sometimes of order. Tliis base prostitu- tion of legislation in America gives a wrong bias to the whole country ; twisting and war])ing all else that would otherAv-isc be good, causing disbonesty t(j be the bent of the genius of that countr)', which otherwise W(juld be the very home of freedom. Where is the country that represents a constitutional form of government ? Shall I say England does ? Alas, even hero is usurpation ! Not here can we find the reflex of the many ; 1S6 GOVERNMENT Ul'ON I'lUST TRI Nt'IPLES. Imt governniont takes the form of that which is powerful, rather than of that Avhich is good. She may take credit for tliat which is justly due to her for ahandoniiig slavery in her colonies; hut what further progress has she made, or to what extent, in other respects, is the government of England not the reflex of mere power ? The power is taken from the individual reigning sovereign, so it is not monarchical ; wc have done away with nxlhitn totipns occiirn't mji, certainly, and ohtained the ^lagna Charta, and the Hiiheas Corpus Act is rarely suspended ; wc have trials hy jury : all which arc improvements, and, com- pared with some countries, are great privileges ; hut an im- mensity remains to be done. CHAPTER LX. CATO KNEW WELL THAT MONEY WAS NOT A MEASUREMENT OF VIRTUE, NOR OF GREATNESS OF CHARACTER. THE VOTARIES OF WEALTH WERE MORE DISCOURAGED TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO THAN NOW. "We have been a rising country nearly two thousand years, and yet have not made the civil and moral progress which the commonwealth of E,ome made in less than two hundred years' duration, and have yet to learn from them how to reject the distinctions of fortune and unmerited rank. There was more wisdom in the rusticity of Cato, than there now is in all our gaudy aldermanic display, in which a citizen degrades himself hy becoming a member; or in the proud glare of our English Court, wherein a courtier receives royal favour, too often without ha\ing attempted to render himself worthy of it, by first descending to the lowest grade, in order by merit to rise higher. And yet Cato was not a Cynic, but a Stoic MONEY NO JIEASUREMENT OF VIRTUE. 187 philosopher, and a Phitonic disciple ; and though a citizen of the highest rank, and vested successively \nth the merited dignities of " consul and censor, used to partake of the labour of the field, and feed with his labourers fi-om the same dish, at their meals."* " A spirit of equality yet reigned among the members of the commonwealth of Rome, which rejected the distinctions of for- tune, and checked the admiration of piivate wealth. In all military donations the ccntui'ion had no more than double the allowance of a private soldier, and no mihtary rank was indelible. The consul and commander-in-chief of one year served not only as a volunteer in the ranks, but even as a tri- bune or inferior officer in the next ; and the same person who had displayed the genius and ability of the general, still valued himself on the courage and force of a legionary soldier." f AVhat is England now doing, ha^ang lived two thousand years, since then ? Why, she is acting upon the opposite policy. Istly. By upholding a spirit of inequality, instead of equality. 2ndly. By adopting, instead of rejecting, the distinctions of fortune. 3rdly. By encouraging, instead of checking, the admii-ation of wealth. 4thly. In all military donations our commander-in-chief has a hundred times more than the private soldier. 5thly. Their consul and commander-in-chief of one year ser\'ed not only as a volunteer, but even as a tribune, or infe- rior officer, in the next ; but we in England allow not our jictty lieutenant to dine with a private soldier, much less our commander-in-chief to mess with them. Our time-scrs-ing organ of the day, the Times, had the daring to allude to the broad shoulders of our privates unfitting them fur associates at mess with an officer ; although, by valour and merit, they too should have become officers equal in rank. I • Plutarch, in Vit. f'atonls, \) 330. t FcrmiHoii'D " History uf tlio Koiiiiin Hi-puhlic," vol. i. ]>. 223. 188 GOVERNMENT ITON FIUST PRINCirLES. lilush (or tlu> siMitiiiuMit in i)ur leading joiinml, that has so far retrograilod that it advocates the preforonco of uinneritorious narrow slioidders, such as arc the commissioned officers, to the worthy feHows who fought for (heir position with their athletic broad shouhlers, and sinewy hands, and muscuhir limhs, which should be the glory of the l^'nglish army, and which have always won our battles. tUhly. " lie wlio had dis])layed the genius and ability of the general, still valued himself on the courage and force of a legionary soldier." Instead of which, English generals, and even officers, are taught by their own organ to despise the force and strength of their legionary soldier, in contradistinction to " force, they arc degraded by it, and are to pride themselves upon their cfFeminancy, little white hands, small limbs, no muscles, and narrow shoulders." With this I bid adieu to the time-serving Times. I regret to have to conclude that England has lived long enough to become inferior, in comparison, with men that lived two thousand years ago. This makes my remarks hold good that England is, in many things, not progressing, and her government is to a great extent the reflex of perverted power. Instead of the slaves which degrade America, England, under the cloak of freedom in name, covers her reflex of power, which is the oppression of wealth. Wealth is England's characteristic, and wealth is England's government. Wealth is England's \artue and admiration. No matter how weak, how undeserving a citizen, wealth covers the multitude of sins, and obtains all kinds of preferment, both civil and military. AVealth, then, is England's power ; and proves my assertion that governments become the reflex of whatever power prevails in the nation. They are no longer representations of virtue and wisdom, but of the quantity of power, without even the quality of good. Not^vithstanding all this, w'e have clergy enough, and pay bishops enough ; our tithes are heavy enough, to have trusty men independent enough to speak boldly, to check these in- EPISCOPAL ESTIMATE OF CRIME BY POSITION. 189 creasing corruptions ; but, alas ! what bishop advocates national virtues ? Our -svatchmen that we pay so well are all asleep, or have national vices so much before them — so constantly before them — that they have grown familiar with them, and fairly embrace the de%'il, and fondly nurse him who has become theii* guardian angel. CHAPTER LXI. BISHOPS WIXK AT CRIME AMONG THE RICH, BUT POUR DOWN VENGEANCE FOR CRIME AMONG THE POOR. "Wh.a.t is our Episcopalian Church about, that they wink at corruption whenever corruption acquires a national character and influence ? A\niatever power is in the ascendant, under the protection of government — however venal the power — it is sure to have Episcopalian consent, or silent acquiescence. Our bishops teach us to be dutiful subjects to whatever form of government exists, forgetting that dutiful obedience might become passive submission to the deWl — might be obedience to the wrong, instead of dutiful submission to the right. Why do our zealous cultivators of the soul pay such profound homage to the body ? why are our spiritual pastors such mammon-seekers and title-upholders — such patronage-idolaters ? Because they are more wt, alas ! toll luo dI' one who answers to the toiunor, and I should Lroatho a now hopo, and Inirn to have a new anticipation ; and look forward to sonu^ — it might he — very distant hut glorious day, iu this mine own paternal land. \\'e have examples enough in the histoi'ies of other eountries to know how excessive wealth and lucrative a])pointments have always led to idleness and wasteful ex])en(liture. Even the commonwealth of Rome soon discovered the destructive in- fluence of exorhitant wealth. A\"heu the Ronmns hecamc pos- sessed of great riches, they hecamc the agents of corru})tion ; like i)ur English lordlings, they were satiated with the oiiiid of nothing to do, and sought excitement in the turf; racing led to hetting, hctting to all kinds of gamhling. Thus has wealth with the English, as ^\•ith the Romans of old, hecome the agent of corruption, to disseminate the love of idleness and ruinous amusements in the minds of the people. Soon, even in that grand commonwealth, was it found to he necessary to pass the celebrated Agrarian law of Licinius, by AN'hich Roman citizens were restrained from accumulating estates in land. This was renewed from time to time ; and above the measure of five hundred jugera, and fi-om having more than five hundred sheep, and one hundred oxen, was forbidden when found necessary. The property of land was beginning to be engi'ossed by a few of the nobles, in the same way as, long ago, became the case in England. "When Tiberius Gracchus sought to mitigate this evil once more, by reviving the Agrarian law, he proposed to make some abatement in the rigour of this Licinian law, by allowing every family holding five hundred jugera in right of the father, to hold half as much in the right of every unemancipatcd son ; and also that every person who should suffer diminution of his property in consequence of his intended reform should have compensation made to him ; and that the sum necessary for this purpose should be issued fi'om the treasury. rOSITlOX OF THE POOR IN A STATE. 191 CHAPTER LXII. THE POOR ONLY NECESS.VRY TO A STATE I'NTIL THEY BECOME EDUCATED. This project of Gracchus was plausible and good, but it was not seasonable then with the Senate of Rome, any more than it would be now with our House of Peers. The old hacknejed argument that the poor, for theii' labour, are as necessary to gi'eat states as are riches, is but the obsequiousness of an historian* who dares not speak out. Why, I go so far as to say that not only none need be poor in great states, but even beasts of burden some day will be superseded by science, art, and machinery ; that even horses will become animals more for pleasui'e than for heavy di'aughts. I dare to say, therefore, that the distinctions of poor and rich are not necessary to a commonwealth, great or small, after universal education has been estabhshed and acquired amongst the poor. Occupations then will become more diversified, and thence more attractive ; industry will then become voluntary and pleasurable, and, springing from the heart, will assume the form of amusement and pleasant pastime. This ^\all not come to pass till many, like Tiberius Gracchus, have dared to speak out, though they be struck to the earth for upholding the cause of ^^rtue and good, though they be even stigmatized by historians as tjTants in the very act of putting doNXTi oppression and tjranny. The diijtinctions of poor and rich are only necessary until the poor become educated. A^Tiile education stops their way, these distinctions arise ; but promote every man's growth of mind and cultivation of the heart, and these will open up the way to success ; and, by the cultivation of the heart and mind, a proper appropriation of property would ensue. The old- • Fergiiwjn's " History of the Human Republic"," vol. i. p. 278. 192 GOVKllNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. f:isliii)iuHl notion -w-ill take alarm, and ask — Who, then, is to do tlu> drudijorv, the work of" labour, il' all arc made genteel by edueatiou ':* T answer, tirst, Ironi my own ])ra('tic'al experience, the best educated iu my employ are my best, most agreeable, and most trustworthy servants, I have found " a little learn- ing " sometimes spoils them, until they have learnt more ; but the process of education has only to become more general and complete, and this evil is removed. Secondly. Science, art, and mechanism have only to he more extended, when the hard and tedious work of labour will be greatly superseded, and will daily more and more be made to subserve the labourer, until his education Avill become the most valuable part of the labourer's available services. Thirdly. To the educated employer the deserving are made coniidentials, and arc both more esteemed and respected, which grows often into friendship ; a participation of shares and profits often ensues, which, without education, could not probably take place. Hence, the distinctions gradually disappear ; the gulf be- tween the rich and the poor by education is gradually rendered less wide ; the unpleasantness of association rendered less ohjectionable ; man is brought nearer to man ; the distinction of mind is less ; and though some will not be so very rich, the many will not be so very poor. Excesses of all kinds injure the community. Moderation is necessary for our bodily health as it is for our mental soundness, directing all operations correctly and orderly ; but the inordinate — the excess — disturbs the functions both of body and mind. How, then, can the excess of riches, centred in a few iudi\'iduals, operate upon a community but injuriously ? giA-ing rise to impulsive and convulsive actions, destroying the peace of mind of the possessor, and preventing a healthy circu- lation and a change of hands, so essential to the good and the wants of the many. Witness the insanities among the o^vncrs of the largest trades in the City of L()nd(ju. As this country now stands, the rich and the poor are alike blaraable ; their relative positions are regarded by a wrong POSITION OF THE POOR IN A STATE. 193 standard, and estimated too mucli by the possession of wealth only. The rich or poor exercising contempt for others, and an eagerness to publish their errors, is an indication of the absence of charit}-. To be principled in charity, is to put a charitable interpretation upon the acts of others ; and labour rather to excuse their errors than to magnifv- them, inasmuch as errors and mistakes of reasoning ought not to engross the attention of those who are in charity. The poor are too often incHned to despise the rich only because they are rich, without inquiring into the good they do with their wealth ; again, they are too eager to sacrifice themselves often at the shrine of the very riches they despise in others. This fact is Nature's strong demand to lay hold of help, grasping first opportunities ; and is not so much to be condemned in the poor as on the part of the wealthy, who take advantage of this corrupted medium for sinister purposes ; as, for instance, emploif-ing unlairfnl means to procure a return to ParHament : thas, by breaking the law, to become a laic-makcr. Now, the world must grow wise as well as charitable. Errors and mistakes of reasoning are pardonable, until they become national — until wrongs are inflicted that are grievous to be borne — when charity and wisdom step in, and intercede for the weaker and more needy, and can no longer ignore the exist- ence of what has become dangerous to the common good. Although these principles have not contempt for either the rich or the poor, they can no longer ignore errors and mistakes when they assume a national importance. To put a charitable con- struction when excusing errors and mistakes in Government, is a very different case from that of doing so to your neighbour, whom you can admonish and correct in private. Good motives justify the means employed. When national rectitude is endangered. Charity may say. Don't be unkind, hide faults ; but "Wisdom, the true consort says. Shall I be unkind to the many, and hide the faults of the many or of the few ? — Tlie beautiful spouse. Charity, answers : Bo kind to the many, and hide the faults of the many. — Then the consort. Wisdom, o 194 GOVERNMENT VPON FIUST PRlNUirLES. vo])Hos : T must jmblish errors and mistnkes whenever they he- cH)nio j;;ovonnuout:il then, else the few are benefited, and the many wroni;i>d. — Tlic beautiful s})i)use Charity again incjuires : Can you not do both, benefit the few aiul the many ? — Not only eternally, rei)lies the consort AVisdom, but on earth shall the few be benefited after the struggle within their o\y\\ natures shall terminate suecessfuUy in tliat which alone is estimable ; for happiness really ever accompanies conquests made over the selfish nature; and Avhen the rich few reflect how they havo surrounded themselves with laws, powers, and ])rerogatives which they refuse to the many, they will become convinced that selfishness (not self-preservation) regulates their efforts, and harasses their minds. Their desire to become statesmen should be regulated by their desire to become useful to the many. — The consort Wisdom again replies : Your sweet wish is my strong de- sii'e ; your charity is my wisdom : but the means I employ bear the semblance of rigour, and my beautiful spouse Charity will recoil at the harsh terms of justice and retribution which must precede the benefit to bo extended, both to the few and the many. The errors and mistakes of the few in the Government must first be investigated, then published and denounced. The official few must part with some of their loaves and fishes, before they can enter your sweet kingdom ; for hardly can they mingle with charity, ha\4ng on the garb of selfishness and op- pression. The beautiful spouse then loves the wisdom of her consort, and perceives that the few are to be benefited eternally, and the many are to be benefited temporally, not to become proud of their status in their country, in its relation to wealth, inherited titles, or purchased degrees. THE PEOPER ASPIRATIONS OF THE AFrLUENT. 195 CHAPTER LXIII. THE happi>t:ss of the many should ever be the enno- bling ASPIRATIONS OF THE AFFLrENT. SEEK PO^N^EK ONLY to DO GOOD TO YOUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD. The happiness of the many should ever be the ennobling asj)irations of the affluent. Seek power to do good ; — alas ! are there any seeking power to do harm ? Taking office for selfish objects is certainly not seeking power to do good ; then what do they seek ? If it be self-aggrandisement, that leads to harm, both to themselves and all around ; for it destroys the love of good and of the many. And yet this principle is inlicrent in every man's bosom ; it exists there like the worm coiled in the bud, not to increase its beauty, nor add to its health and vigour, but to become its destroyer. Take care it reach not the throne, for it knows not where to stop ; ambition's ladder has no top, neither hath it bottom, for 'tis a baseless visionary — a cormpt phantom of the miad's insanit)'. "When, then, the public is the object for which we legislate, private considerations disqualify for the office, because the public cannot be served first while we seek to serve ourselves ; the house is dirided against itself. The happiness, then, that should attend the few and the many, is the concomitant gratifi- cation that ever attends the result of self-conquest ; for the delight of good practised exceeds that of sordid deeds, as heaven exceeds the earth. The elementary law is the only perfect law, for it is DiA-ino until it reaches man. Man's transmission of the elementary influx is more or less perfect as he checks the sordid in his own character, and allows himself to be guided by this elemen- tary influence ; this is according to true First Principles. The law itself is not transmutable, but its use by man is ever variable, since man's inverted or perverted nature abuses even Divine o 2 lOG GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRTNCirLES. oftoriiigs. 'Man is uiulor the clciucntary influonco or not, as he is unselfish or selfish. Laws oven nnide hy a nation may approach perfection, and yet he ahuscil hy the nation, or hy the people, who arc over in- vertin;::: (n* pervertinc; privilef!:es. The gratuitous aids that were given to the people of Ixomo enahled them to suhsist in idleness. The wealth that was passing to Home in the hands of traders, contractors, and farmers of the revenue, was spent in profusion. That which was acquired hy officers in one station of command in the pro^'inces, was LaA-ished in puhlic shows, in the haiting of wild beasts, and the fights of gladiators. There is reason to regret the abuses incidental alike to monarchy and democracy, then as now. The sumptuary laws would be found insufficient now, as they were then, to restrain dissipation. " Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am against the shep- herds ; and I will require my flock at tlieii' hands, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock ; neither shall the shep- herds feed themselves any more, for I wdll deliver my flock fi'om their mouth, that they be not meat for them." — Ezekiel X, 34. Exclusive legislation yet disgi'accs this country ; who more than the bishops, from whom the whole Church takes the key-note, lend themselves to perpetuate oppression and even state corrup- tion. Well might prayers be offered up to our God of love, to preserve and guard the chastity of our English Church now, as did the Romans offer prayers in their temples (titled the Eeformer*), that it might please the goddess of love to guard the chastity of Roman women. The idleness and indolence existing now, arising out of here- ditary pri^^leges and laws of entail, are fraught with similar baneful results. Wealth now is corrupting England as fast and as certainly as it did Rome. What are our young scions of the nobility doing now ? Are they not racing, betting, and gambling ? What does their elevated blood do for them, but enable them to * Venus Verticordia. GOVERNitEXTS NOT BASED UPON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES. 197 pluck each otlier ? How fast are the middle classes folloM-ing their bad example ! What abomiaations take place at the West-End, and at College, by the sons of nobles, and those of rich merchants who ape them ? Was all this not introduced by the idleness resulting from excessive wealth, upheld by exclusive laws ? How can it be otherwise, while such inequaUty exists that five mill ions of EngHsh male adults out of the six millions have no voice in making their laws ? It mil be said that the experience of Governments proves the conti'ary of what we contend for ; that by extending privi- leges to the masses, they abuse it. I answer, that by referring to history, we shall find not the many, but the few — not the uneducated, but the educated — not the poor and needy, but the rich and self-sufficient — have formed the piincipal instigators in attempting to change d}'nasties. The abuse of privilege has ever been created by the higher not the lower orders. They encourage a few fi-om the lower class occasionally, for factional purposes, but only to cast them down again as specious examjjles of the extension of pri\alege, in order to perpetuate their poHtical exclusion. CHAPTER LXIV. GOVERNMENTS NOT BASED UPON CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES. THEIR PRIMARY ORIGIN TRACED. There is one thing in which we are dissimilar to the Romans ; they were continually re-passmg good laws, such as the Agrarian and Sumptuary laws, -when they had come into disuse. But, alas ! now we have long ceased to di-eam of any such measures that shall benefit the many ; our laws arc made to benefit the few, and are the antipodes of true legislation. The very oppo- iiitc to that which the elementary law internally teaches, and 198 GOVERNMENT UPON FIllST rRINClPLES. Christianity long ago inciilciitod — lovo thy neighbour as thy- self. It iloes not follow that, because good laws are abused and perverted, therefore they should not be ; on the contrary, j)rolit by i)ast evasions and improve upon thoni ; check the sordid in tlie high as well as in low life ; allow the elementary influence to do its o^\^l work Avithin you, without opjjosing selfishness to its unerring dictates and refreshing influence. ]Iow is man to know when he is acting under the elementary influence ? lie knows it by investigating his motive. lie can find out its quality by self-examination. Soundness of motive is the solid basis into which the elementary can flow. To know thyself is to know thy motives. Ijcarn to be upright and fair in all your dealings. In vain will man search to move in the right direction, until he learn to base all his theology upon integrity. Our Church no longer preaches chastity to their masters and patrons, — no longer practises Airtue to their poor, — but has committed a breach of the sacred trust under which they hold their tithes.* They can no longer be held up as patterns to mankind now, than were the vestals who had committed a breach of their sacred obligations to chastity (sacred to them, though unnatural in itself) could be regarded as patterns of manners to the fair sex of Rome.t AYe may have improved in distinctions of form and doctrine, but certainly not in honesty of purpose nor of practice. Wlio lends a helping hand to the poor unrepresented ? The Primary Origin of Oovernment traced. We may know that we are acting under the elementary law, when we can perceive that all is co-ordinate, — that our desires are regulated by prudence, — that our affections are guided by * See my after remarks. + " As I live, Siiith the Lord, , . . because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherd search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock." — Ezek. xxxiv. 8. THE PRIMARY ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT TRACED. 199 Divine wisdom, — not that our desires are regulated by love of power instead of prudence, — nor that our affections are guided by ambition instead of wisdom. By this self-investigation into moti\'e, we discover the origin of control and govermnent. We know that aborigines establish control in their native ^vilds by theii' art if not by their simpUcity. The love of control exists in the lowest degrees of humanity, and the means em- ployed by them to obtain it is power. Power, then, is a savage means of control, and has always, even in the earliest ages, been abused. The native chieftain now slays those that oppose the power he obtained, by killing and destro}ang his feUow-creatiu'e. He hesitates not in slaving any number, in order that he may perpetuate his monstrosity, which is liis government, his cliicfdom, or kingdom. Wisdom has seldom been the characteristic of governments, but power has been nearly the sole characteristic of all govern- ments — ancient or modem, aboriginal, sacerdotal, patriarchal, ci'S'il or temporal. It does not ajipear now that wisdom is the characteristic of governments even in what is called ci-vilized Europe ; because a government, to be rightly constituted, must have for its object usefulness, happiness, and faii'ness in all its relations Avith the people. The love of power, because it affords the means of ruling a whole oiy^art of a people, is a perverted love, and has its origin in selfishness. The love of rule from the love of self is infernal, and ^^Tll ever produce anarchy, and requii'c despotic forms of government to uphold it, because of its unsound basis. The structure is ever unsound, and requires the aid of intimidation and the practice of t}Tanny to maintain any semblance of order. Oppression ensues, and instead of happiness for all, misery and injustice stamp the whole. Ultimately the ruler discovers, after a life of turbulence and misery, if not on earth (unfortunately for the people he misgoverned) in the spiritual world, he will find that, inasmuch as he sought not the happi- ness of his people,- in coufonnity with honesty and justice to tlie many, he did it not for his Great Master, he ^\'ill find him- -'H) GOVEllNMEXT UPON FIUST PUINCIl'LES. si'lt', tliougli a king i)r lui oinperor, a luoiistor in liell. *' luas- imit'li as ye did it not. unto tlio least of these my little ones, yc ilul it nut unto nie. Depart." It is said (in a late translation of Swedenborg's manuscript IVoiii his Spiritual Diary, Part vii. Appendix, pp. 74 — 8, Editor) that — " All who aro in tho lovo of rulo from tlio love of self ;uiil not from tho lovo of their neighbour or of uses, retain iiftfr death the uiuiie love, luul wherever they conio they desire to rah). This lovo rushes forth without bounds, in proportion as it is not restrained. This love des])ises everythini^' Divine, except it can be employed as a means of ruling ; it i)rofesses to lovo those truths, but when that which is Divine does not servo as a medituu for this purpose, it not only rejects it but hates it. Tho reason is because that love is oiiposed to heavenly love. Such persons cannot bo admitted into heaven, and should they, like hypocrites (as a man not having on a wedding garment), insinuate themselves into heaven, they fill the vicuiity with an idea and with an iuiago of themselves, and this even when they aro speaking about God. Hence such persons infest and offend tho ideas of angels which aro turned from them- selves to God. Hence it is, that such spirits are driven away ; many of them are merely corporeal, because they aro immersed in their selfhood, and are not elevated above it. Such spirits aro borne away to the boundaries of the spiritual world of our earth, where a lake smoking with lire appears, into which, as such a lake corresponds ' to the state of life they had contracted in )^o world, they are cast.' " I beseech all men in the world who road these tilings, to beware of the love of rule for their own sake, and not for tho sake of uses, or of love to their neighbour. Lot them know that this love is diabolical, and that in it are all evils ; let them know, and let them Avell consider, that all evil loves and cupidities are involved in that diabolical love of rule — power grounded in self-love ; even such evil loves as dmiug his life in the world a man is not in the least aware of. I have seen examples in abundance of those who, in the external form, had m the Avorld appeared moral and as Christians, but who in their heai'ts had thought of nothing else than about themselves and the world, and were associated after death A\'ith devils. THE PRIMARY ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT TRACED. 201 " I saw one for a considerable time who was so lofty in his spirit that any one could scarcely be more so, and yet in the world he could speak with theologians, and morally with idl others, and could more than any other feign what is just and eqiutable ; but after death he became so fiery a devil that he not only denied God, but icished to be the devil himself, if he coidd but exercise rule and fight against God, and destroy heaven. He burnt with deadly hatred against all who acknowledged the Lord ; he was frequently punished, but in vaim If I were to relate the malice, the cunning, and the wicked deeds of such spirits, I could till many pages. Amongst such spirits I saw what a devil Charles XII., from this diabolical rule, liad become. " Xot only are all the wars engendered chiefly by this diabolical love of rule and power, as displayed in Charles XIL of Sweden, of Nicholas of Eussia, and of other despots, who have filled the earth Avith misery and woe ; but all, or nearly all, the animosities amongst individuals and communities, are originated in the same diabolical spirit. This is the Babylon which, in the liomish church and others, has organized itself by degrees into an external system of power, so deadly hostile to all the interests, both temporal and sijiritual, of the human race."* " ^lost of the frauds and consequent law-suits which have wrung the hearts of millions with anguish, originate also in the same source of so much evil to mankind. "This great evil is more or less characteristic of our fallen nature, and it is one of the fii'st principles which endeavours to put itself forth in our earliest developments. When the child strives to have its own ' will and way,' in opposition to the wdl of the parent, it is this evil striving to come forth, and if not checked by salutary and when necessary by severe discipline, it will gain ground, and the child will grow up into a tyrant and not into a man, and after death he will become a devil instead of a man. " Some who in the world had worshipped the Lord, also Avorship Ilim after death ; whereas it was discovered that many who have jirofessed to worship Him in the world, after death turn out to be Hiij worst enemies. It was then said that any devil could be driven to worsliip the Lord, provided only it be promised to him • Edit, "i utellectual Kepository," No. XWII. p. lOU. 202 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. tliat ho shall bt'oomo gvoat ; and still moiv dovouily Avould ho Avorship tho I^uixl if it bo proinisod to him that lio should bcoonio tho groatost. It was thou poriuittod that a dovil should come forth out of hi'll, who was most hostilo against tho Lord, and it was told him that ho should bo mado tho groatost by tho Lord, whon he cndoavourod with all his might to load all to tho Lord, and to c'omiH'l thom by om])ty throats, saying that tho Lord alono should bo honourod and worshijjpod ; ho thus addrossod thum with carnost- noss and jiorsuasion. At tho same timo, lie Avas thinking all the Avhilo that ho should bocomo tho Lord's Vicar, and thus himself exercise dominion and power over all. ]iul when ho found himself disappointod (of tho wished-for dominion and oniinonco), he detested tho Lord, and became, as before, his deadly enemy, and was cast into hell." CHArTER LXV. man's love of dominion is worse than the animal's LOVE of prey. To what does tho love of rule correspond ? In nature wo find the lesser ruled by the greater instinctively. The small fear the great because the great eat and devour tho small ; the weak fear the strong because they may be killed by them. This is not the love of rule, but the love of prey, within the order of their instinct. The little fishes are devoured by the large ones, because the large want food, not because the large want to rule. Man oats also, and has killed the small, or the weak, or the large and the helpless ; but, in addition to this, man loves himself more than oven the brute animals of the earth. More selfish than they, man desires to rule and govern what he can neither eat nor drink ; and not for others' good, but for his own aggrandizement — to raise himself to greatness, LOVE OF DOMINION AND LOVE OF PEEY. 203 ■vntliout at tlie same time having the desire for goodness at all commensurate with his desire for greatness. This is a demoniacal desire, worse than a mere animal one, tu which nothing is analogous either in plants or animals. An involuntary process is going on both in the Cryptogamic and in the Phanerogamic classes of plants. In the former, an obscurity and humbleness of character, which is their attendant, would seem to teach man the lesson to cultivate an unassummg character for himself, which is his better natui-e. The ferns, sea-weeds, and lichens, of the Cryptogamic class, have nothing analogous to ostentation, the love of grandeur, or display. Neither is ostentation prefigured in the Phanerogamic, which includes all kinds of trees, shrubs, and the remainder of the herbaceous vegetation of our planet. Beauty and greatness of size, an exquisite and elaborate elegance, quiet grandeur and sublimity, are in thcii' forms, but no vain assumption. Every geometrician and mathematician well knows that the laws of nature are perfect, and that, when they have learnt theii' law, they have a reHable guide. When man shall have learnt the law of analogy which reigns throughout nature in the vegetable and animal worlds in relation to himself, he will have learnt a law by which he shall guide both his govern- mental operations and his indiAddual proceedings. In both the vegetable and animal worlds there is a common archetype, and a variety of sub-types, easily distinguished in the tribes, orders, classes, and genera. The entire animal world is dixided uito Vertebrata and Invertebrata ; the vege- table into the Plianerogamia and the Cryptogamia, or the flower- ing and flowerless plants. A further di\ision of animals is into the Vertebrata, Articulata, Mollusca, and Radiata ; and of plants into Exogens, Endogens, Cormogens, and Thallogens. The Vertebrata comprise man, quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and reptiles ; the Exogonia comprehend the oak, the apple, the olive, the rose, the aloes, and almost all the fruit and trunked trees — the perfect realization of the concentric layers. The beautiful rings in the section of the wood, the usefulness of fruit, and the elegance and beauty of the flowers ; even poison 204 noVKUNMK.M irON FIKST VRTXCITLES. — or, Itettcr, the luodieint — in the akes ; the strychnia, or (}uiniii — all oorrespoud, ii' wc cau only discover wheroiu lies their order of analogy.* All creation is revelation, when regarded psychologically ; nil creati<)n, but man, is useful ;md unassuming, however beautiful, great, or elaborately perfect. Nature is not vain ; tlu)ugh rich and beautiful, nature is not proud ! Man may learn from nature the little he can do, the much that God has done ; and blush at pride, that ignorance compounds and changes his love of rule to love of use — his love of power to love of the just and fair ap])ortionments for all. ]Jut for this love of power, our neighbour's Avants and rights could be as well supplied as our own. It is only a i)roud lovo of rule which thinks the peasant and the artisan unworthy voice or vote. lie that loves his much, and more than much — himself un- worthy, thinks his neighbour so ; himself all-important, leaves no importance for others. " How hardly shall the rich enter the kingdom of heaven ! " Well may they make the most of what they can get out of time, for they will be nowhere in eternity — with all their self-iuiportancc and exclusive legis- lation. TMio laws can make that justice overthrows in every word and '^act of legislation ? "VVliat contrarieties in life ! What anomahes in ruling man ! Who needs the most, the ruler or the ruled ? Who that himself hath governed, seeks to govern others, without extending the usefulness and fairness of his rule ? Copy nature — copy not man ! • See Unity of Nature, in " Intellectual llepository," No. XXVIII., j). 154^ RESIDENCE OF CREATIOn's PERFECTIONS. 205 CHAPTER LXVI. creation's perfections are to be seen in nature's beau- ties, ^^^IERE use and elegance combine, nature, not ONLY analogically, BUT IN ITS OyV^ PROPERTIES, PROCEEDS from the di%t;ne operations. TThat, copy nature ? Yes ; copy nature's beauties, — nature's excellences. AVTiere use and elegance combine, — wbere good- ness and grandeur entwine, in order to realize the end and object in view ; that end not grandeur, but only accommodation to the end in view. Use grandeur as a means only when it subserves good and use, wisdom and justice. How much the fashion — and yet how old the fashion — 'tis to awe the world "VNith gi-andeur and display ; not from the love of elegance and refinement of character, so much as from greediness and ostentation. Is it not quite time now, that we grew into better motives of action ? — that we thorouglily in- vestigated our motives, dealing honestly with ourselves, scruti- nizing even the primary movement instigating the motive ; instead of an inquiry into actions, let men now inquire for themselves into motives, and the causality of motive. How many would discover enough to fi-ightcn themselves, were they honest enough to be frightened, with dejyravity in their secret motive. It is to be confessed and lamented, that no motive is thorouglily pure in human nature ; man cannot be perfect — " none are good, no, not one." If man were perfect, eternity would be satiating; but as man is ever being perfected to etemit}', rising higher and higher, more interiorly ; or exte- riorly only, as it is subordinated to the higher and interior. Eternity is a delightful future of variety, afforded by progress, ever presenting fresh scenes and fresh beauties ; more chaste, more elegant, and more beautiful as progress onward moves, ever presenting frosh feelings, new to each one, as progress 206 OOVF.PvNMKNT T'WN FlUST rUTNOin^KS. advances upAvanls ; fresh causes of motives, fresh results, fresh impulses ami incentives, — all regulated by an elementary law, Avhii'h none can change, because it is perfect — because it is DiN-ine. This applies to progress only, and to those who love to pro- gress. To those who have not progressed we turn. AVhat say they to eternity, who retard progress, who think none have a right to progress but themselves, which is an act of suicide ; who still persist in exclusiveness ; who, as they shut others out from the franchise, would shut them out from heaven — would, if they could, have that kingdom all for themselves, the select few ; the very selfish act of which, A\'ith all their wealth and grandeui", is destroying their hopes in eternity — the suicidal ! " Depart from me, I know you not." He that would not confer heaven on his fellow man, how is he fitting himself for it ? The act of extending it to others, is the medium by which it is procured for ourselves. A writer who may not be popular, or who may be indifferent to general popularity, as society is now constitued, will not have credit given him when he asserts a new thesis, however true it may be : wliile a popular MTiter may assert any thesis ; although logic cannot affirm it, fashion may ; wliile running in current, foibles are not noticed. It might be said that kindness is abused, — and so it is where kindness is exercised without judgment. Man must not be in- dolent during the exercise of kindness even ; indiscriminate kindness is an act of injustice, because it encourages both the evil and the good alike. Attractive industry is a science worthy the study of every kind heart ; therein lies the gist of kindness. PREFERABLE QL'ALITIES IN INDUSTRY. 207 CHAPTER LXYII. ATTRACTI\*E INDUSTRY AS A MEANS TO ACTIVITY PREFERABLE TO INDUSTRY SUPERINDUCED BY EMUL-\TION. THE LOVE OF PRIDE DESTROYS THE MAN ^^'HILE INDUCING HIM TO BE ACTIVE. RENDER OCCUPATIONS PLEASURABLE BECAUSE ATTRACTI\\E, AND INSTEAD OF DESTROYING, WE BUILD UP. To toach men to love occupation b}' means of attractive induce- ments, is a most salutary study. Some may bring tbe philosophy of Epicurus against me, and say that this world is not a place for enjoyment, — that all pleasui'cs have their alloy. That, to some extent, is true ; but the cause is, the pleasures are not chaste and pure, or not taken in moderation ; the impmity is the very alloy. Improve the quality of pleasures and recrea- tions by extending public buildings and institutions of art and science attractively ; remove the exclusiveness everjnvhero and in ever}'tliing, Start with the Apothecaries' Hall ; make them write their labels in plain English, not in dog-Latin. Alter the entire system of exclusiveness wherever you find it, and the earth, we shall find, ^vill have within herself all the elements of happiness. I would rather be an epicure, than follow the cramp notions of our pseudo- orthodox men. It is supposed that the Epicureans mistook human nature, when they supposed aU its principles resolvable into appetites for pleasure or aver- sion to pain. I am not quite certain of this ; honour and dishonour, excellence and defect, were considerations and teims that may have had useful tendencies, but they have done a vast deal of harm. I prefer to awaken the love of pleasure, rather than the feeling of pride. Talk of excellence, honour, and greatness, and you make man proud and ambitious : talk of something amusing that excites attention, and bring the mind into action through its o-svn attractive power, and you inspire not the pride of man, though pleasure may insure 208 GOVERNMENT UPON TIllST PRlNCirLES. and attoml the pursuit. All nature sings and blooms afrcsli, all the vegetable world laughs and phiys, thro^ving forth for man beautiful colours, j-ielding choice odours and Howers, gratifying two senses of enjo)inent at mici^ — tlie smell and the sight. Nor do minerals fail to gratify the sense of pleasure, dazzling the eye to the simple, and furnishing studies to the Stoic and utilitarian. How much they contribute to the pk'^asure of man is best known by tlieir use, and the pleasure those are known to have who are fond of them. It is the perverted idea of Epicurianism, to say that the loves of virtuous pleasures are grovelling and vile, — that they arc the sources of dissipation aiid of sloth. This is true of some pleasures, but this was not Epicurianism. The true disciples of Epicurus pursued pleasure only when consistent with vii'tuc and wisdom. They Avished to raise the quahty of happiness, and aimed that pleasure should not have the alloy of vice. The greatest alloy I consider to be pride. Others are to be found in -vdolations of principle. The love of false excellence and honour, which we cultivate proudly, has done more harm to society than the love of i)leasurcs, when the pleasures have been consistent only with virtue. CHAPTER, LXVIIT. EPICURIANISM FURTHER CONSIDERED. ITS ABUSE BY JULIUS C^SAR. The love of dominion and the lust for power shows itself to be ever selfish, and, opposed as it is to the love of one another, has done more harm to society than ever pleasures have done, which in themselves produce satiety. The love of excelling must be qualified by the usefulness that excellence maintains ; ABUSE OF EPICUREANISM BY JULIUS CESAR. 209 otherwise, when I wish to excel I become selfish, and my efforts to excel may lead to a desii-e for a throne, as it did with Caius Julius Csesar, Pompey, and Louis Napoleon. History teaches us that the love of good, unconnected with excelHng, was not the cause that Caesar grasped at a throne ; neither did Caesar act upon the principle of epicureanism when he set out for his first military command in Lusitania, but even in early life he profaned philosophy, and used it as a tool for selfish ends. In a life of dissipation, licentiousness, wasteful extrava- gance, and corruption, he spent one hmidred and fiftj' millions of Roman money, or one million two hundred thousand pounds sterling. This much, he said, " he required to be worth nothing ;"* thus he wanted that much to make him a solvent man, long before he became emperor of Rome. To an honest man excellence would seem incompatible ^vith such a debt ; but to Cajsar, as with too many of this day, the standard of power was mistaken for the standard of right. He knew by his obtaining this appointment he could soon overrun the country, supply his own wants (by power instead of justice), and enrich himself and his army by plunder, instead of by honest exertions. Hence tlirough his military career he lost the sense of justice and acquired the sense of power, as did Pompey, as did Louis Napoleon, and, alas ! how many others ? Rather ask, who of reigning monarchs has not ? I would not, therefore, hold up Julius Caesar as any specimen of epicureanism, rather as a per\'erter of that philosophy, though a pretender. Cato Hved the stoic better than Cassar did the epicurean, although each used the creed most congenial to his idios}'ncrasy. Attractive industrj- must therefore not be prejudiced because great men have been found to abuse the exercise of power, nor because epicureanism was perverted by great men, as were the best tilings of creation. • Ferguson's " Progress and Termination of the Roman llepublic," vol. ii. chap. 22. Appian, de Bell. Civ., lib. ii. p. 715. 210 GOVERNMENT TPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. The voliirion of the day is just as much ahuscd by men in poAvor. who make it a tool to the perpetuation of this wrong standard of power, declaring abstract justice to bo impossible in so heavily taxed a peopk\ AVhat, then, must wo come to ? "Why, relative or comparative justice is all we can expect, and all we shall ever get ; which implies patronage and interest, puroliase iustead of merit, favountism instead of wtue. State- craft instead of wisdom. We are, therefore, so far from attrac- tive industry in such a country, so far from having our industry made pleasurable, so far wo arc from the happiness of having a choice on the pleasures of N-irtuc and the happiness of wisdom, that I shall cease saving more on the subject in its relation to epicureanism. CHAPTER LXIX. THE STANDARD OF POWER ITS PATRIARCHAL ORIGIN. — THE SENTIMENTS OF LOClvE AND HOOKER. It is one thing to know what exists, and another to find out the cause of its existence. The patriarchal notion may have been written doA\Ti, but the practice of it has never been discon- tinued de facto even in this country. England has altered the names of things, but retained the practice which the old names impHed. The standard of power is still recognized instead of justice, notAnthstanding Locke WTote so much on government in refu- tation of the patriarchal scheme. One would think such a work as Sir Robert Filmer's, deriving absolute monarchy from patriarchal government, consisting of arguments the most absurd and flimsy, would be certainly too highly complimented, even by a refutation from so great a logician as Locke. One can hardly think a man of sound mind could write such non- sense as did this author, nor conceive what object he had in its composition, unless it were to perpetuate in history what THE STAXDARD AKD ORIGIN OF PO^V'ER. 211 the intelligence of the day began to denounce. As a toady, or minion of Court, I can conceive a motive, though a very bad one, for writing such as that " paternal poicer is regal j)OHrr," — ■ that Adam's title to sovereignty by fatherhood, — Adam had royalt}', royal authoritj', — pp. 12 and 13 ; absolute lordship and dominion of life and death, " an universal monarchy ; Adam was a king from his creation." First of all, the tenn Adam, used in the singular, seems an absui'dity. It is collective man* that is meant. You might as well talk of Israel in the singular. I look upon Adam as a people or a Church, as was Israel. But, returning to the patriarchal idea that fatherhood is regal, this is certainly calcu- lated to uphold the present exclusive system practised in government. Our government is more patriarchal in this fashion than we expect, and the royalty of fatherhood is the prevailing regulator of the actions of men in power and office even in the present day. Locke says, " Political power I take to be a right of making laws and attended by penalties of death, and, consequently, all less penalties for the regulating and preser^Tiig of property, &c., and all this only for 2iublic good."f Mark this ; he does not say for private good, hwt public good. "Of the state of nature. A state of perfect freedom to order their actions and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit, -^itliin the bounds of the law of nature, with- out asking leave or dcpendhig upon the will of any other man. A state also of equality, wherein all the power and jmisdiction is reciprocal. No one having more than another." " This equaHt}' of men by nature, the judicious Hooker looks upon as so evident in itself and beyond all question, that he makes it the foundation of that obligation to mutual love amongst men on wliich he builds the duties they owe one another, and from whence he derives the great maxims of justice and charity." Hooker's words are : " The like natural inducement hath * "lie ciilkil their name Adam." — Ocu. v. 2. t Locke on " (lovernment," ]>[». l7(J-7. r2 212 r.OVF.KNMENT UPON' T'lUST rnT\rTVT,T;s. brought nion to know that it is no A'.ss t/icir diih/ fo lore oiJiers fhan tht'nisehrs ; for seeing thost^ things whieli :iro cqndl Diust iiveda all lidvc o/ic nicd.sK/r ; if I eauuot hut wisli to receive good, even as much at every man's hands, as any man can wish unto his own soul, how should I look to h;i\c any part of my 'il Governineiit? No man can read liini and mistake liini that intends to practise what is right. He says: "The state of nature has a hiw, a hiw of nature to govern it, which obhges every one ; and reason, which is that hiw, teaches all mankind, who will but consult it, that, h(Mng equal and inde])endent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, llherfi/, ox jmsHomiom ; for men being the workmanship of one Omnipotent and infinitely w/w Maker; and being furnished -svith like faculties, sharing all in one connnunity of nature, there cannot be supi)()sed to be any subordination among us, that may authorize us to destroy one another, as if wc were made for one another's uses as the inferior ranks of creatures are for ours," &c. " And that all men may bo restrained from invading other's rights," &c. p. 179. A thorough knowledge of the history of nations in all ages and all coimtries will con\ince any man that governments always have been, as they always will be, full of mistakes and errors, so long as their principle of action is regulated by mere human ingenuity. Until a standard be raised based upon the elementary law, recognizing no strokes of genius uncoimected with virtue, no brilliancy of action without rectitude of purpose, recognizing, in fact, no power wdiatever without a co-ordinate will of good, based upon the Christian principle which Locke and Hooker laboured to inculcate, " Arc we not all the work- mansliip of one Omnipotent ? and, being furnished with like faculties, sharing all in one community of nature ?" How much longer aa iU the indolent aristocracy an'ogatc to themselves a superiority of talent ? But because they might have had it once, it is no proof that they have it now. In fact, literature, science, and art prove the contrary. What have they left but usurped power to recommend them to the country, since they depart from wtue and rectitude of conduct, by their exclusive legislature, their selfish greediness in shutting out all but themselves, as far as they can, from having franchise, office, or influence in their own state ? AVhy practise in this day the mjsteries that were practised in ancient times before Chris- CRIMINAL LAWS AND ENGLISH LAW MAKERS, 215 tianity ? AVTiy practise the disciplinam arcanorum after Chris- tiaiiity? Is it not profanation and insulting to Di\^nity to practise the habits of pagans, while we profess Christianity ? Paganism had its mysteries, and they were bound not to tell what they knew, and thus extortions were practised upon a facile people. Now, why did they make themselves mysterious? why did they always practise the exclusive ? and say then, as our men in office say now, Be silent on matters which implicate ourselves ; let them (the people) have not the loaves and fishes, lest, ha^'ing once tasted them, they come again, and there remain less for us. What you cannot explain to the people be mys- terious upon ; hence the term mystic is derived from a Greek root which signifies to be Mum, or silent. Let us not confound this with the internal, which is superior to the external that has not conformed to the internal : there must be preparation for reception of that which is interior, or profanation would ensue. Milk to babes and strong meat for men applies spuituaUy ; but to imitate a di\'ine proceeding by the greediness of exclusiveness, is quite perverting what ought to have been held sacred. It is profanation of the blackest dye, because it is making DiNanity appear to sanction acts which emanate from hell, not from heaven. CHAPTER LXXI. CRIMINAL LAWS PUNISH ABUSERS OF RIGHTS ; ENGLISH LAW- MAKERS REWARD ABUSERS OF OTHERS* RIGHTS. It is a law inherent in nature, logic, philosophy, and theology, inherent in the very object of creation, that men should be restrained from invading each other's rights ; yet, in the face of thijj, notwitlistanding, wc liave tiic civil laws recognizing and 216 CiOVKU.NMKM' ll'ON I'lKSl' IMUNCIPLES. acting upon this principle, the (jocei'nnwntnl procoetrnxjH entirely throw the prineiple orerbonnf, have recourse to suhterfuge, deceit, mysticism, and hypocrisy, and all in order to invade others' rights — to seize the loaves and fishes, the high ])hvces, and mul- tiplied patronage — to perpetuate sinecures, and, in ordc^r to secure their uselessness, to make them hereditary, descending alike upon idiocy and wisdom. Because these nghts are evaded, because of their own abuse, they cannot allow an extension of the suffrage, nor any equalization t)f electoral districts, nor any- honest measure that would interfere with their retaining that \\liich they know does not belong to them, but which they can only retain by the exclusive prhiciple. The ruling parties are sometimes called by the name of Whiggism, sometimes by that of Tor}'ism, just as you like. If you pay your money in enor- mous taxes, you may make your choice of name only — the cha- racters and the farce are the same. The ftirce is this : the governing power is not recognized in our courts of justice as amenable to question only where it can be made evasive by unprincipled lawyers. A man knocking down another, robbing another, invading others' rights, in courts of justice is amenable to the law, and is made to pay the penalty : no evasive pretext is held good, such as that the one is more powerfid than the other ; but in political rights withheld, a veiy different rule prevails. CHAPTEE LXXII. POWER IS THE STANDARD OF HELL ; VIRTUE AND JUSTICE FORM THE STANDARD OF HEAVEN. The right use of power is not recognized in civil law ; although too frequently, if it be the moneyed power of wealthy influence it THE STANDARD OF HELL AND HEAVEN. 217 prevails, much to the disgrace of those icho make the laws. In this day of intelligence, government-men unblushingly invade others' rights in aU the pecidation that place and power facilitate, ■without the remotest regard to justice ; and, at the same time, they shut out aU measm'es that would obstmct thcii' means of perpetuating this iniquity. Eaise, then, another standard than that of power. Look upon power only as what the devils in heU aim at, irrespec- tive of any one piinciple of good. Is earth to become heU by this standard of power ? Is rather the kingdom of Heaven to come by raising up and practising at the heads of nations another standard, consistent with virtue and wisdom, goodness and truth, justice and charity ? Virtue and justice once made the primary and essential standards for aU actions, and every branch of legislature made t(3 receive its incentive through such benign primary movers, the flim sy fabric of expediency becomes unnecessary. As we ad- vance to the primary, the elementary, or first principles, so we find the complexities of principles and action removed. Per- plexities and complexities exist in the human, but not in the di\ane. The nearer we approach the elementary, the nearer we are to the pui-e and simple — the Divine. Purity requires no expediency j9cr sc; impurities require the expediency, the help, assistance, and mediation ; as the man whose members and limbs are sound can walk without the aid of crutches or sticks. He, however, who is unsound or broken limbed requires aid as he goes along. There is immediately an addition of material ; sometimes even irons, with cranks and joints, with screws, bolts, swivels, and axles are necessary to supply even a smaU deficiency. So it is in principles : virtue and -wisdom can run alone, requiring not the aid of laws ; but • as men increase in their defections, the remedial becomes in- creased ; and, pro rata, mth varieties of crimes is the need of the compensator)' expedients. The man of defective virtue and Avisdom should be treated analogous to the man of defective body. Repair the damage done in this case, as in the other, by educational rcguhitors — stretchers, splinters, and stays. ^18 GOVKUNMENT UPON FIllST PRINCIPLES. "Watch •well the first indication of sense and action ; provide teachers of high tones of integrity and wisdom. First let him be tanght to regard honesty in all action as the basis of all life. Begin, however, always with the child. Enconrage the generoas by the earliest teaching of good nature in little things, by early gifts and kindness, to other little ones. AVe should consider always that if the heart be not sound and the principles ho not good, the child is analogous to one of unsound limbs, and ought to be much more deplored : alarm ought to bo much more readily taken than even M'hen a limb is defective, because of tlie contaminating tendency one tainted i)rinciplc has. The whole fabric, soul and body, is endangered. A defective limb does not destroy the soul, or the essential of the elementary ; but the defecti>-e principle or soul will lead to the destruction and dissipation of the entire body, and so both soul and body become lost and ruined temporally and eternally, unless the remedial become effective : therefore the defective in princii)lo is infinitely more important to be remedied than a defective body. " Better have one eye to enter heaven, than have two to enter hell." The importance of analogies ^vill soon be recognized when regarded in this way. When the body, in its defects or other- "snsc, is seen to carry "sWth it the spnbols of perfections and imperfections, of soul, of piinciple, of quaHty, we shall soon find that correspondence is not language onl}^, but a reality — not a life-illustrating principle only, but a life-giving principle. ORDER OF ACl'TOX. 219 CHAPTER LXXIII. ALL ORDERS OF ACTIOX FOR MEN MLST BE THEOCRATIC.VL, PHILOSOPHICAL, AND PRACTICAL. "What precedes action ? Motive is prior to action that is not involuntary. That motive must be pure to be in right rehition to the theocratical; it must be wise to be in right relation to the philosophical ; must be useful to be in right relation to the practical : the first bearing relation to man's soul, or psychology ; the second to the mental ; the third is the result of both — action. Motive is a component of the soul and mind, therefore precedes action, and not only precedes action, but imparts quahty to it. The truer the correlative to the first — /. e., to the Divine, the pm-er the motive — because the incentive springs from the right source ; as the truer the correlative to the second, the philosophical mind, the more comprehensive and expansive will be the action. The better the union of both, the more prudent, happy, and useful will be the practical. How often and how general is the opposite of all this, the order of action, and will continue to be so as long as men regard the corporeal more than the psychological, the earthly rather than the eternal, the selfish rather than the unselfish and Divine. Were maiddnd to regard the motive of their action before the action, the necessity for the action itself would often disappear. Labour and life would be often spared were men to regard the psychology of their existence as the first in impor- tance, and the mundane as the second in importance ; the happi- ness of life would increase tenfold — in fact, earth would again be- come a paradise. It is the motive of action that concerns the soul, which, when pure, produces all the rest in right order of action ; when selfish, bad, or impure, produces a wrong order of action, and fills the world with misery : the paradise is thus lost. Were men's motives pure, would they bet mth each other in order cunningly to get tlw; money out of a neighbour's pocket, and 220 GOVERNMENT UPON FIUST l»lUNCirLES. put it into their o\ni ? "NVoro they in rlj;]\t relation to the piviue to the first motive, ciiuso of purity, they could not bet, not havin"- been taught to consi(l(>r the real motives of tlnngs, but much abt)ut obedience to Church and State, both of which liave at ])resont very questionable motives. As they now exist, all things on earth are tainted, more or less perverted. Obedience to Church and State is necessary; but Cniurch and State should test first their own right order of action, tlnnr own motives, and endeavour to purge theii' own prni- ciples. Their practices would then alter themselves, and would do away ^\'ith their unfair patronage, their pluralities, their partial cxclusiveucss, and all the abuses that have crept into both. CHAPTER LXXIV. PURITY i)V MOTIVK rilODUCES RIGHT ORDER OF AOTION. As the motive acquires purity, so it produces a right line of action and establishes order, happiness, and beauty on earth. A pure motive can only do the works of purity ; but inter- fered ^vith by that which belongs to man's natural motive — i.e., selfishness — the motive at once receives an alloy, becomes tainted with the love of self, which presents another field for action, — another apparent world for action, and with short-sightedness allows the lower nature to usurp the higher, and carry it away for an apparent present gratification instead of a permanent bene- fit, in which both soul and body partake. This is what human nature alw^ays feels disposed to do ; and the first account of man represents this falling into temptation as the cause of sin then. It ever has been since, and is now, the cause of sin. A wrong order of action has ensued ; the motive has not been examined. PURITY OF MOTIVE AND RIGHT ORDER OF ACTION. 221 but the short cut to the shadow has been aimed at, instead of the orderly way to the reality of life ; which, after all, is what we shall have to get to, and must bo put back to, until we get again back to the right starting point. Listening to the selfish instead of to the pure incentive, is the temptation in spirit which comes into action disorderly, en- tailing all kinds of misery upon man, and makes confusion and wrong regulators upon the whole earth. Man has acted as if he were a machine requiring only motive power of some kind or other ; enough for the object of the machine it has a motive power; so much pressure upon the square inch regulates that, without regarding the quahty of the motive power. But man must not only have a motive power, but paramount is the importance that this power in man shall have pui'ity of quality. So much beyond the physical has man to attend to, so much even beyond the mental, man must ever hold the soul's incentive to action as the most important. He must regard the varied phases of this pj'schology, and let this first inbreathing into the soul be the constant and all-important object of Hfe. That it be not interfered with by the short- sighted selfishness which enters into the composition of human nature, which selfishness is the temj)ter that every man carries about within him as he does his watch, but which is more constant in its efforts to triumph and destroy, than is that in- strimient constant in its movement. Allow the inspii-ation of the pure spirit to regulate all our motives, words, and actions, then harmony, order, and beauty will reign on earth ; the kingdom Divine will come. The will Divine will be done, which is co-existent with purity of motive. The earth wiU wear the aspect of beauty, as wiU the inhabit- ants of it become glorious and beautiful, as they become pure in motive, word, and action. It is most important that religion should have its motive pure. No religion can exist really unless the motive be pure. Pro- fe?sions are therefore to be scrutinized by one's owii conscience. To examine thoroughly tlie object of our profession, let us ask 222 GOVERNMENT UTON FIRST PRINCIPLES. oursolvos if there bo anything sinister in ouv motive ? whilst we adopt a ohiireh, attacliing ourselves to some creed ; as if that were the sanng point, -snthout the regard paid to the motive for ado})ting it. Tiet us ])iiy deep attention to the moving of our hearts, and first endeavour to soc wlu>ther wo are honest to ourselves, — ^whether m'C have not committed a fraud upon ourselves hy professing from a wrong motive, — whether we have only one sincere desire to grow more considerate to. our neighbour, to be thoroughly honest in all our dealings, to be generous and wise, to be thoroughly good and kind. All this has to do with motives. Even if we adopt a creed only in order to have our sins forgiven, we exhibit a selfish motive, forgetting also that a besetting sin to be forgiven must bo renounced and abhorred by ourselves, by the inward rej)roach called repentance ; and not mitil then do we anse out of that self-reproach with a fixed resolve to avoid MTong doings by the Divine strength, is forgiveness available to us. The sincerity in asking for what we think wo need, has all to do with us but not with the Divinity. He cannot be more than the most pure. He is, while we only are to be, all kindness and mercy ; gi\"ing and forgiAdng is the essence of Ilis nature in the superlative degree — all the attributes of Divinity arc super- lative. When we are really sincere and contrite in asking aright, we are certain that the forgiveness is ever at hand. If the motive be pure, the Divine response is ever as sure as it is pure and holy. The Divine injunctions are emphatic on motives : "If thine hand offend thee cut it off. If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If thine eye be good, thy whole body shall be full of light ;" — evidently alluding to quality of action and quality of motive. A higher condition than this even is to be found in the grandeur of conception, that the Supreme will and pro\asion embraces all conditions of men — comprehends the satisfaction of every requirement before the verbal demand of man ; but which cannot reach the man till the will desires and assents honestly. The highest order of reliance can be expressed in " Thy will be done ; Thy kingdom come." THE FATE OF THE ^VICKED. 223 CHAPTER LXXY. THE WICKED SH-YLL BE CUT OFF FROM THE EARTH, AND THE TRANSGRESSOR SHALL BE ROOTED OUT OF IT. In what way, and when, are the wicked to be cut off from the earth ? Not by wars, nor famine, for that would be the alter- nate mode of operation, beginning at the wrong end. Men that are destroyed by wars are not cut off fi'om the facb of the earth because they are wicked ; neither, for the most part, that their transgression shall be rooted out of it. Wars and famine are the results of human error and ignorance. The Divine mode of operation is removing the wickedness, not the man — is outrooting the transgression, not the transgressor. Divinity would not destroy the body to cure the soul. Man must be made clean in the ultimates of his existence ; that is, in his natural body. He must reform, refonn, and reform ; and cut off any habits whatever, rather than the whole body should be destroyed. The object of the Creator is to make pure the man ; and yet, how long has this been doing ! how many thousands of years, and not yet accomplished ! TVTiat are the evidences that His glorious kingdom is coming ? Or, is it the constant errcjr of humanity that they are expecting the earth to bring forth an Elysium, spontaneously or instantaneously, ^^'hilo iniquity abounds ? As well might we expect hell to send forth spii'its of light, instead of those of darkness. Rather, let us understand that it is to make itself known by an internal evidence, not an external. The kingdom of God is first implanted within when it is genuine, and then it has to become expressed in a true order of proceeding ; and only when it has become the expression of the internal can it be said to be the benign evidence of the kingdom DiWne. When the ■will Divine is done, then is the heart rightly disposed and in- clined to act co-ordinate with the Divinity — co-ordinate with 22-i GOVERXMEJTr UPON FIRST I'UINCirLES. all His beautiful attributes. ^[;in wouUl be lionest tbcu, and just, virtuous and wise, good and intelligent; not proud, but ujielul — uot doing good from tbe love of api)robatiou, but from the love of use. The ornanunital, the elegant, the refined, would partake of the graceful innoeeuec of harndessncss, and jsiinple beauties could be loved ;ind admired for their purity ; ■svhile the expanded mind and the diversified intelligence would receive the right incentive to action from the goodness of innocence. lict our men holding high offices in the State look well to this, while their motive remains only in the love of the minis- terial seat. To retain this, they throw out and reject honest and wise measures ; they reject progress, because they love office rather than the people of the country for whom they hold office, and Ity whom they are paid. Until these self-placed heads of nations honestly investigate their motives, and tho- roughly purify them from this gross selfishness, the upright cannot dwell in the land, nor the perfect remain in it. In vain they make us pay for churches, whoso prayer is that " the kingdom of God may come," when by their every act they are shutting out the kingdom of God, and establishing the kingdom of man, in demoniacal contrivances and arrangements ; verily and truly establishing the Idngdom of selfishness and pride, not the kingdom of honesty, usefulness, and refinement of motive. CHAPTER LXXVI. EVIDENCE THAT THIS IS THE DAY OF ERROR STILL. INEQUALITY CONSIDERED. Not only in this day, but ever since the day of the Adamites, have the State propagandas of the time been erroneous, in some degree INEQUALITY CONSIDERED. '22'J Biuklliists Lcu;innin2: to sec their errors in the weak and miserable notions they produced ? Have not most of the Pagans and Pan- tlieists witnessed theirs? Have not the Israelites, the Maho- metans yet seen errors in their creeds and Koran ? Have not a large number of Roman and Greek Catholics seen the \'icious re- sults of their errors ? Have not many of the German Lutherans seen wherein they err ? or the Protestants, the Unknown Tongue, or any of the Dissenting creeds, seen wherein they err ; since error remains in man till he have outrooted the wrong with- in hiuLself ? Yet they all exist as evidences of error. Schisms arc forming and creeds are increasing every day, presuming upon corrections of error ; yet error still exists in multiplied forms. The reason is because, as Dr. Bushnell has said, " No one creed contains the ichole truth ; therefovc, the more creeds the letter." The increase of creeds does not increase error, but they are multiplied evidence of error. This will have a bene- ficial tendency, because the more wc increase the e^adenccs of error, the more likely are we to remove error itself, when we become constitutionally organized on true righteous principles. It is the same wath indiNaduals as with countries and nations, — the more extended and diversified the knowledge possessed by the mind of man, the more clearly can he see the errors in liimself and in humanity generally. But this does not lead to greatness, though it leads to happiness. The man "with one idea, with one ruling passion of pride and ambition, M'ith not a highly-refined sense of feeling for others, is likely to become great in worldly estimation, but not good. Such a man is not in the love of equality, but of in- equality ; liimself he is ever trying to build up higher, even, if needs be, by pulling others down. Yet this is the prevailing feature in our day : in the State, and in commerce, there is aff'ordcd ample evidence of the error of the tunes. The love of equality is a most essential excellence, not to be attained by usurpation, but by industrious acquirements in mind and body. How frequtsntly is tins equality of blessings denounced, because not understood ! Although the love of be- coming great is infinitely m(jre dangerous ; yet, very few object to it. (^ '2"2() COVEHNMEXT I'l'OX FIKST VUIXCTVEES. CnAPTKR TAXVIT. ■Ul.irS C.ESAll's CIIAIfAt TKIt CONSI ni'.KI'.D. In the oommouwcalth of Ixoiiu' tlu'iv ^vas a time during "which there was a cdiistant attempt to estahlisli equality, during which Ivome ])rospered, and made many sahitary efforts to uphold equality of ])rivileges ; and but for the love of becoming great, they might have established commonwealths all over the world, as known by them. But for proud ambition, which centred itself in such men as Pompey and Cains Julius Ciusar, Antony, and Octavius, who had not this highly-refined feeling of regard for others. The}' sought to be great, and to be accounted good only as do some in this day, when, by assuming the good as a cover, they can build up their greatness. Historians are not unmindful of this fact. In Adam Fergu- son's " History of the Progress and Termination of the Roman Republic," vol ii., p. 496, he says, speaking of Julius Ca}sar, after the vain titles and honours which he attained, and which he had extorted by force, by slaughter, murder, and plunder : — " Insensible to the honour of being deemed equal in rank to Cato and Catullus, Ilortensius and Cicero, and equal in repu- tation to Sylla, to Fabius, and to the Scipios, he preferred being a supenor among profligate men, the leader among soldiers of fortune ; and to procure by force from his fellow-citizens a deference which his wonderful abilities must of themselves have made unavoidable, and, sfill more, had he possessed the magna- nimity to despise it." Insensible to the happiness resulting from the esteem of excellent men, the friendship of true men, and the best of his fellow-citizens — indifferent to an equality of enjoyment — he discovered to the world a presumptuous eagerness to disregard the estimation of good and vnse citizens of the Commonwealth ; and, demon-like, allowed a proud ambition to spread itself over all his projects. Though during his dictatorship he pardoned JULIUS Cesar's character considerf.d. 227 many who \^-crc iu defensive arms against him, and Anton)' boasted of his clemency in %actory, Brutus enumerated the dis- tresses which Ca}sar had inflicted ujjon the Commonwealth during his career — " a period duiing wliich the best blood of the Republic," he said, " was continually being shed in Spain, Macedonia, and in Ahica, to gratify the ambition, or vanity, of a single man." Worse than Sylla, who, " after having gra- tified his revenge against many who no doubt were liis enemies, and at the same time were enemies of the jjublic, at last re- stored peace to the Commonwealth, Ctesar, without any pretence besides the gratification of his own ambition, continued iu the city and in the provinces to usurp all the powers of the empire." He carried his demoniacal love of greatness only, to such in- fernal excesses, that he spared not men nor treasure ; but soiled his fingers, by plundering the treasury, and dipping them in the blood of liis fellow-citizens. He made those who should have been the upholders of integrity the mere tools of his infamy — the magistrates became his creatures, to be placed or displaced at his pleasure. He even caused himself to be set at the head of the priesthood ; so that, at the time he was rob- bing the treasury, he was making himself a priest ; and then, as if to afford to the world further e\ddence of his infernal disposition, he caused his person to be declared sacred. Such a man, mIio had sacrificed everything that stood in the way of his vain desu-es to possess the bauble of a crown — to build up himself at the entire nation's sacrifice — might well deserve the retribution that soon attended his treachery to the Commonwealth. Let Caesar's death be a warning to all who aspire to greatness without commensm-ate good motives. Good professions are too often mistaken for good motives. Let every man henceforth incessantly question his motive. y -2. •J'JS fiOXF.KNMKNI I I'dN lllisi IMU NCiri-KS. CIIAPTKR LXXVIIT. l\( 11 l.KNCK OV SKNTIMENl' OFTKN (ilVK.S WAV I'O 'I'lIK LOVIC OV (iltl'.AT.NKSS. Lkt not lovi' of groatiicss enter man's breiist. Thus should wo avoid a life of vain turmoil and anxiety, and become better members of society, better citizens, and better parents. Excuses creep into men's motives, and too often justify them to them- selves by a semblance of virtue — excusing the bad act for the object in vie\v, which is often only selfish. Self-aggrandizement is the primary mover to action m this era of the world, as it was in the time of Ca)sar, Antony, and Octavius. I fear the progress of the world in goodness is hardly pcr- ceptibk'. When wc look at the way in which nations and people arc constituted, they seem often to have degenerated. In the early part of the Roman republic, excellent men gave utterance to motives, and marked out a line of action not infe- rior to ours, when speaking of objects of warfare. The man- ners and fortunes of the early Romans were a perfect contrast to those of the enemy, which gave them an excuse for what they fancied honourable warfare. They ceased to call the van quished ''conquered " subjects, but gave them the softer name of " allies," by which they brought many kingdoms into a state of willing dependence. Among the Romans, then, riches were of no account in constituting rank : — " Men became eminent by rendering signal services to their country, not by accumulating wealth. Persons of the first distinction subsisted in the capacity of husbandmen by their own labour, and, remain- ing in the condition of peasants, were nevertheless employed in the first offices of the State." * AMiat shall we say now of the progress 'made since that state of unostentatious life, which so forcibly recommends itself to * l'"erguson's " Progress iind Termination of the Roman Reimblie," vol. i. p. 92, SENTIMENT GIVES WAY TO LO\"K OF GREATNESS. 229 GUI' admiration ? AATiat a contrast to the usurpations of vanity and pride which soon after characterized the destroyers of this beautiful Commonwealth ! These proud and selfish conquerors soon not only destroyed all the bright gems of modest virtue that adorned the constitution of the Commonwealth, but they soon learnt to destroy the men who wished to uphold the integrity of the State. Iniquity so progressed, that it became a crime to be virtuous. A demon like Ca3sar could drive a philosopher like Cato from the Senate into hopeless and self- destropng despair ; a demon like him could proscribe and murder the best men in Rome, while the worst only were per- mitted to Hve. So could another fiend, Antony, saciifice his imcle, Lucius Ctesar, to the resentment of OctaA-ius. Here were three demons proscribing men who were too good for their ambitious designs — Antony, OctaWus, and Lopidus : the first sacrificed his uncle ; the second, Octavius, sacrificed Cicero, in his noble, wise, and virtuous old age — Torauius, and also his own guardian ; the third, Lepidus, gave up his own brother, L. Paulus. These three fiends agreed to massacre every per- son supposed to be attached to the repubhcan government, amounting in all to three hundred senators, and two thousand of the Equestrian order, besides many persons of inferior note. They ordained, too, that this execution should begin \nthout any warning by the murder of twelve, or, as some say, seven- teen of their most considerable enemies, and among these was included Marcus Tullius Cicero.* These three men, possessing no self-denying qualities to recommend them to their country, yet formed the Second Trium^'irate. Lepidus, noted for his want of capacity, built himself up by pr-rfidy, by prostituting the dignity of his rank — by abetting the violence which was done to the constitution, was entrusted with power and the command of the army. Antony, a profligate, and, like Caisar, seeking to repair by rapine a patrimony which he had wasted in debauch, he could • Ferguson's " ProgrcHS and Tcnnination of the Roman Hcpublic," vol iii p.5G. '2'-)0 (.(nKKNMKNl' ITON FlKSl' rUlNrll'l.ES. roiiso hiniscll' wIumi pressed by necessity, yet ever relnpslng luU) vaso or reluxatitm, into tlie vilest debauchery luid dissipation. Octavius, yet a boy, known cbieHy by acts of j)erfidy and cuiuiiug above his years, bad ahvady, in the transactions of his hfe u]) to the twentietli year of his age, given indications of the vilest qualities incidental to human nature — l)erfidy, cowardice, and cruelty ; but with ability or cunning which, if suffered to continue its operations, was likely to pi-evtul in the contest for superiorit}- -with his present or any future rivals in the eminre.* Such, we know, are the specimens of human beings that had parcelled among themselves the government of the world. Such a state of degradation had the citizens of Home fallen into just prior to the advent of Jesus Christ ; certainly " the most gloomy prospect that ever presented itself to mankind. Persons apparently incapable of any noble or generous pur- pose, coveting power as a licence to crimes, supported by bands of unprincipled villains, were now ready to seize and to dis- tribute into lots among themselves all the dignities of the state, and all the patrimony of its members." The sequel of this massacre is too horrible to relate. Ijct those read it who wish'to know it, and then find a milder term than " demons " for the perpetrators of such crimes, under pretence of governing for the public good. Such was the state of human degeneracy when the Bringer of peace and goodmll heralded a new dispensation — when a new Light of wisdom and justice, love and mercy, was diffused on earth. How much it was needed will be seen in the gloomy prospects of Rome in that dark day of guilt and crime ; the terrors of massacres done and ever-impending murder presenting themselves to the best of the citizens of Rome. After this hon-id slaughter, and the destruction of all Octa- vius's enemies first, then his friends and accompHces became objects of his hati'ed ; even Antony, his partner in the empire and in crime, became an obstacle to his ascendancy, and Octa- " Ferguson's "Progress and Tonninatioii of the lloiuau Ivopiiblic," vol. iii. \Ki>S. THE CiREAT KEri.AClNG THE GOOD. 2ol vius pursued him as lie would an animal, until death ridded him of both Antony and his pursuit ; thus terminating a cri- minal intercourse that men m power exercised with impunity, but to the disgrace of the country. I know of no period when crime was more rife than during the century in which these men lived. The Commonwealth once destroyed, Home returned to disorder and crime, A^'hich soon weakened and lessened its dominion over the world. The love of greatness, at the expense of virtuous sentiment, lost Rome its mighty empire, and laid it in ruins. CHAPTEH LXXIX. THE GREAT IS REPLACING THE GOOD IN OlMl DAY. It was at this juncture Omniscience saw it was the time to impose a fresh check to crime, and sought to bring men more strongly back to First Principles, in order that they might esta- blish an elementary law, by which to restore the earth and give new motives to action. Can we be astonished that such ^^•as generally rejected by men, the sons of iniquity, with demons at the head of government ? Where corruption reigned, such purity as was promulgated by the Elementalizer of man, in the person of Christ, was not Hkely to be received. Impurity must be cast out before goodness can enter. This casting out of the abominations of the earth has been a long work — has taken thousands of years already, and is so far distant from extirpation, that wherever man is, iniquity ab(juuds, assuming only some variation in form and appearance. I fear the very day in ^\luch wo live affords ample evidence of error still abiding, and even cruelty, amongst the governors of Europe, v.nthout travelling into India and instancing Oudo as a country of extortion, tbr garbled exaggerations of whlcli deserve credence ns on earth. This temporary prosperity 234 CJOVERNMKNT Ul'ON FlHSl I'lUNClPLES. when obtained by infamy niul ovuelty, is prDcnring for them- selves ail cteniitij of icoe ; whiU> (heir innocent victims are endnring fen* a time the tribnb\tion of earth : bnt hi/ it ihcij are paritii'il and acquire heaven and its eterniti/ of proijressice hap- piness, ichich teas the ohjoet of man's creation. Swedenborg says, in his "Angelic AVisdom," concerning Divine providence, pp. 2'2 — 25 : — " The conjunction of good iind truth in others, is pronded for of tbi' Lord by purification, which is effected in two ways — in one by temptation, and in the other by fer- mentations. Spiritual temptations arc uo other than combats against evils and falsities, wliicli are exhaled from hell ; by them man is purified from evils and falsities, and in him good is joined to truth, and truth to good." Spiritual fermentations are to be illustrated by chemistry and its resemblances to the amalgamations -of good. The appro- priations of good can only be effected by the expulsion of evil and falsities. This expulsion can take place by action or fer- mentation, by which the heterogeneous is thrown off and separated, and the homogeneous retained, appropriated, or con- joined, analogous to combination. Hence the process of the purification of man is to be taught by science ; and chemistry beautifully illustrates the mode of action. The cause is to be traced to the elementary influence operating upon all creation, spiritual, animal, and mineral. Swedenborg, in the same paragraph, says, — " S^iiritual fermentations are effected many ways, as well in the heavens as in the earth. But in the world it is not known wliat they are, and how they arc eilectod ; for they are evils and corre- sponding falsities, which being let in upon societies, act like ferments put into meal and fermentable liquors, by which heterogeneous things are separated, and homogeneous things are conjoined and become pure and clear. This is what is understood by these words of the Lord : 'The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the tchole was leavened.' — JNIatt. xiii. 3.3 ; Luke xiii. 2L "These uses are provided by the First Principles from the con- junction of evil and falsity which is i)i those who are in hell ; ior CAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE OF UEl'R.WTTY. 235 the kingdom of the good, -wliich is not only over heaven, but also over hell, is a kingdom of uses ; and the providence of the Lord is such that there should not he any person or'anything from and bij which use is not 2)er/ur7ned." Again, in par. 27 : — "Causality did not create the universe for its own sake, but for the sake of those with whom he will dwell in heaven ; for spiritual love is such, that it wishes to give what it has to an- other, and in proportion sis it can do this, it is in its esse, in its place, and in its blessedness. This property spiritual love derives from the love divine of the Lord, which possesses it in an infinite degree."* Now if kings, sultans, and emperors had the same end and object in view that the First Cause had, i.e., if the sovereign felt as the Creator, that he did not reign for his own sake, but for the sake of those whom he governs, that they shall enjoy earth and heaven ; were the sovereign influenced by spiritual love, so that he wished to give what he had to another and to all others, he would first seek to be just ; he would investigate and purge all the impmities that surround the court and legis- lature. Fermentation must be permitted in order to remove all that is heterogeneous to the kingdom of uses — all that is not in accordance to that "which gives of what it has to another." By this means the sovereign would draw all good men unto him, instead of what many are now doing, dri\ang all such away from them. The fermentation is now going on upon earth, but the appro- priations of sovereignty are not those of the virtuous, nor the generous, nor even of the just ; but the reverse of all these. Their surroundings are too often infernal, theii' tendency is to hell. Their fermentations tend to separate the good, that they themselves may remain in evil and falsity undisturbed. Virtue is yet a crime in the estimation of the autocrat. The courtier and legislator are required to be insensible to virtue, and in- different t<^ justice, altogether compromising in character • SwciU'liborg's " Aiificlic Wiocloni," jip. 'lo-ll. 236 GOVEllNMKNT UPON FIRST miNCIPLES. CIIAPTKR TA'XXT. MOW IS ir riiM wi; i-uokkss chujsti.vnity, and ai riii'; samk llMi; SYSTEMAIU Al.l.Y A\(>11) II I H PRACTICE Ol' 11', HOl'll IN lliriU H AM) MWIK Y VowvM, mul power only, is tlie f^ovonior required to nuiiiitaiii, jiml that even at the ex])(Mis(> of all the better qualities of man, the very virtues lor which man was ereated. The opposite mode of proceeding would draw and attract the better spirits round the throne. The present system is to drive them away, ever fearing some disclosure, fearing that others might partake of the loaves and fishes of office and patronage. Why wish to retain a crown, or a place in Parliament, longer than its retention shall benefit a nation r* Why longer profess Christianity while the practice of it is so systematically avoided by the government ? Christianity is not greediness, but liberality ; not laying hold of all for self, but imparting their own blessings, both of wealth and wisdom, to others. How opposite to everything Christian is our State practice ! It is the pushing and shutting out our neighbour, rather than in"s-iting him and welcoming him to the same privi- leges of nationality, the same rights to one as to the other. The hackneyed reply that the labourers are ignorant, can no longer be made, for they are fast becoming more intelHgent than the rich, and their honesty will bear comparison with the most wealthy. Is not industry more likely to produce honesty than idleness, which is now so general among the sons of wealth ? Christianity proclaims the right of labour to a voice in the State before base lucre : but we are not Christians, and ought to renounce the name. Our national churches no longer urge justice, but merely the bare walls of doctrine ; fearing to lose their patronage, the clergy preach for their Mammon-loving patron. Our shepherds are gone over to Mammon, and leave the floclcs to the wolves that are daily prepng on the innocent. THE TRUE TEST OF GOVERNMENTS. 237 CHAPTER LXXXII. LET THE TEST OF ALL GOVERNMENTS BE THEIR AGREEMENT WITH niRISTIANITY. Men are zealous euough in pretending to uphold Christianity as Protestants or Dissenters, yet allow the true principle of it to be violated in the State, and do themselves promote grievous wrongs against nationaUty, and foirness of individual riglits. Keep the test before your every act of public life. xVsk youi'self, how do my poKtical life and practice square with this test ? Be Chi'istians, or renounce the name till you learn the practice. Cause men to be more scrupulous in professing, and to stand up more boldly for its practice everywhere, especially in what- soever constitutes the heads of power. Some men are wtuous in their own daily private life, and receive the approval of the better part of society, but imme- diately they api)ly wtue to their government, in order to test it, they become at once criminal, and are considered conspii-ators. The ingenious arguments to uphold what is. To sail smoothly along in life and go witli the stream might be agreeable, and it is easy to be satisfied with things half done, with the world as it is, without wishing to improve it. To do this, by some is thought presumptuous, and by others is con- dered impossible or impracticable. How ingenious are the arguments of some writers to upliold our present form of government, and to expose the danger of any alteration, however great the improvement must be, simply because they retain the feelings of the old song — - " Tuucli not a single bough." The affections of many cnjojing office arc wound round this tree of State, and re\-olt at the axe that would fell its corrupt trunk, or at the pruning-knife that would give a vigorous direction to the remaining branches. V>;^S (JOVKKXMENT UPON FlUST IMUNCTl'l.ES, CIIAPTKR LXXXIir. MAl.lin s's ADVOrACY OF TOVKUTY AS NECKSSAKY CONSIDKUKI). ■^rM.inrs funiislios nm])lo o^'idenoo of such laiNscz-fairo clia- rai'tcvs. ]low (•nniu"ii<;ly lie nssuinos tlio air of dispassioimto iuvostigation, and deuoiuu'os tho iinjiassionod feelings in those who do not wish to leave evervlhin;;- inn'niproved. lie presuniji- tuously talks of the errors of ISIr. Godwin's system of equality, with all the assurance as if he himself was undoubtedly right. lie says, "The great error under which Mr. Godwin lahouis throughout his whole work is, the attributing of almost all the ^'iccs and misery that prevail in civil society, to human institu- ti(ms. Political regulations, and the established administrations of property, arc with him (Godwin) the fruitful sources of all t>vil, the hotbeds of all the crimes that degrade mankind." Malthus first calls this an error, and then, in the same para- graph, page 20, vol. II., " Malthus on Population," he says, " these causes are light and superficial, in comparison with those deeper-seated causes of evil which result from the laws of nature and the passions of mankind." Now here Malthus admits what he finds fault wath, for admitting the cause to be in the passions of mankind and the laws of nature, he admits that these passions in this law of nature mix themselves into- the political composition which regulates property in its partial administration of privileges. Crime can be seen to proceed from such excesses of wealth not i^urchased by industry, but inherited along with indolence, the concomitant of hereditary wealth. Gambling, betting, hell's debaucheries, and houses expensively infamous, which the rich only can support, prove Godwin's argument to be correct, and only too true to be admitted by the advocates of " jioverfi/ as necessary," and the upholders of the rich ciiminals ; ex- cesses only necessary to such as \aew them with eyes like those of Malthus. I'OVERTY OOXSIDEEED. 230 In a cliaptcr on the benefits attendant upon a system of equality, Mr. Gud^^in says : " The spirit of oppression, the spirit of servility, and the spirit of fi'aud, — these are the im- mediate growth of the established administration of property." They are alike hostile to intellectual improvement. The other vices of envy, malice, and revenge, are theii' inseparable com- panions. In a state of society where men lived in the midst of plenty, and where all shared alike the bounties of nature, these sentiments would ine^^tably expire. The narrow principle of selfishness would vanish, no man being obliged to guard liis little store, or pro^"ide with anxiety and pain for his restless wants ; each would lose liis indi^'idual existence in the thought of the general good." This Malthus calls an " imaginary picture, scarcely a feature near the truth." He says, "man cannot live in the midst of plenty ; all cannot share alike the boimties of nature." The infernal spirits say the same. However near the truth, God^vin may or may not be for earth as it now is established, it is true for earth as it should be, and as Christianity teaches us it is in heaven ; ^^diich it seems Malthus never thinks worthy to have any copy on earth. The prayer of our church is, " Thy kingdom come, thy "^ill be done on earth, as it is in the heavens." Now either this prayer is wrong, or Malthus is ; for he ridicules systems of equahty, always arguing vnth. human reason onl}-, with not even philosophy to lend him a helping hand. Man, he says, cannot live in the midst of plenty, ^^^ly not, Malthus ? I say. You mean, surely, man cannot live in the midst of want. Not live in the midst of plenty ? There arc many that do ! Again ; he says, " all cannot share alike the bounties of Nature." A\^iy not, if equally prepared ? The sun and the rain come equally for all. Were there no established administration of property, every man would be obhged to guard b}' force his little store. I have anticipated all this in the former part of this Avork, when I alluded to the limitation of wealth, which would give rise to re-distriljutioii of wcahh, adTiiitting, of course, that all •^40 fiOVKRXMKNT IJ'OX I-IUST IMUXCII'I.ES. property must l>o protwtod, wlictlu'r (npial or uiuHiual. Ami this must be done by established administrations, till the world jrrow less into restless wants, and less into selfishness. This indeed appears to be as far distant as is ^laltbus'.s ideal destruction of the earth's welfare by excessive population. CTIArTER LXXXIV. CMMTAI, EMri.OYKl) INDISIKI VI.I.V AM) INIKLLUIEXTLY roX- XllIiarKS TOWAKUS TlIK riloDlCTIOXS OF TllK EAimi, IN A MULTIPLIED FORM AD IXEINITUM, PRO IIATA WITH II 1 1', INCREASE OF POPULATION. !Malthus's arguments seem to be in the inverse ratio to trutli. So far from agreeing with him, after a most careful perusal and examination of his work, I find him altogether on a wrong principle ; his judgment laying hold of nature only for his sup- port, -vnthout any notice even of Stoic philosophy, much less of Divine providence. In contradistinction from INIalthus, I find the earth increasing in fertility of vegetable and scientific productions, in equal ratio ^\'ith the increased fertility of the mind, as capital is industrially employed in useful productions, and not wasted by a quasi- dormant inactivity. The idle and unproductive rich usurc>r should henceforth be called ignoble. Capital employed in industry will contribute towards the productions of the earth in a multiplied form, ad infinifutn. The difficulties rest with the mind, not ^^^tll the earth. The circumscribed mind of Malthus c(ndd not conceive the vastness and expansive availability of the mind and of this globe. Even the seas and oceans are yet, by volcanic action and coral reefs, forming islands and adding to continents. The earth is not fully explored, nor half grown to its dimensions ; but enough EFFECTS OF INTELLIGENT EMPLOirMENT OF CAPITAL. 241 has been discovered to know that the mind has remained barren, wild, and savage, the earth also has remained the same ; and Malthus furnishes us with ample examples of the kind in China and elsewhere, from which he might have di-awn very difierent conclusions, in all his statistics on population, the deductions fi-om which enable us to learn that the difficulties of provision have always been imaginary with the ignorant. They had the earth under their feet and elements above in abundance ; they had but to bring out their ingenious conceptions, and the barren parts of the earth would }-ield theh fr-uit in blessed abundance, and in improved flavoui- and quaHty. The first means of cultivation are the most difficult to obtain. The first dawning of light on the mind is the most confounding; but as man acquires, so he has facilities for greater acquire- ments, which multiply into themselves, till he only becomes astonished that any difficulty ever existed. The first means of cultivation are the most difficult ; there- fore we have but to give faciUty to the acquirement of capital to the industrious many, when, with industry of mind and body, the more capital they have, the more they can make. A large farmer in England was relating the ciicumstance of his spending a thousand pounds in one year on manm-e, which he declared and proved was the most profitable expenditui-e he had made on the farm. This any good husbandman can readily conceive. Let capital, then, be attainable by the industrious many, rather than be possessed by the idle and crafty few, and the increased production will multiply into itself beyond the present conception of man, the earth will yield her increase, even in a greater ratio than the increase of the population ; the mind taking the lead, always commensurate Avith population, the earth Avill go on pelding her increase, and increase in her dimensions, as long as she rotates on her axis. Malthus says, " The temptations of evil are too strong for human nature to resist."* Here, again, he is in direct oppo- sition to Christianit}', which says, " Man is not tempted beyond • Vol. ii. page 27. 24'2 (.OVERNMENT UPON KIUST PRTNCIPLES. what he is able to bear." And yet Maltbus is ever advocating the necessity of what he calls the goad of anxiety, of ]iain, of selHshness. and says again, that "the mighty law of self-preser- vation exi)els all the softer and more exalted emotions of the sonl." As if it mnst always bo so, because it now is so too generally. He argues in the same naiiow strain on th(> goad of anxiety, as he did on the excess of ]X)])ulation. Tbe present and the past are his only guides; he had better not have talla^l about the " severe touch of truth ;" for his day was indeed the day of darkness, and his severe touch of truth the perversion of ideas, while ho was merging from his gloom. CHAPTER LXXXV. THE ADVANTAGES OF TAXATION, AND THE EVILS OF EXCESSIVE TAXATION, CONSIDERED. In page 102 he says : " It is now said that taxation is the sole cause of their distresses, and of the extraordinary stagnation in the demand for labour ; yet I feel the finnest con\iction that if the whole of the taxes were removed to-morrow, this stagna- tion, instead of being at an end, would be considerably aggra- vated." Certainly, if the whole of the taxes were removed at once, or, as the author on population says above, ''to-morrow" derangement in the circulating medium would ensue. But no man would maintain such a flimsy position, as " at once to do away with all taxation ;" but to uphold the present enormity by such arguments is equally fallacious. Were the money now collected in taxation gradually diminished to one-half, and that half allowed to remain in industrial hands, they would with the money be able to buy more manure, and thereby increase produc- tion — or procure more machinery, thereby giving rise to a greater TAXATION CONSIDERED. 243 diversity of emplojTnent. A manufacturer or a farmer -^dtb more cajntal can always produce more, which will give rise to more emplo}Taent. A merchant can with more capital ship more, by which he can import more foreign produce to supply an increasing demand, by which the foreigner can buy more of us, the architect and builder vail have more houses and warehouses to build, the clothiers more clothes to make — all would have more, from more capital left in the hands of the industrious, not taken to the unproductive soldier, the great pensioners and sinccuiists — the drones to the hive of industry. How often does the farmer feel that, had he not the fift}^ pounds to pay for taxes, he could buy manures with the money, which, in twenty years, and less, would become a thousand pounds to him ; duiing the whole of which time he would be suppl}Ttig the country with increased produce, and employing more labour. How often does he lament the loss of his money in rates, tithes, and taxes, which would have enabled liim to have better cleaned his fields, by which he could afford to employ more hands and pay them better ! Talk no more, O Malthus, about the reduction of taxes aggravating the evd ! "Why, heavily taxed as this country is, every employer tries to get twice the work done by one hand, which he would ha^'C two to do had he only half the taxes to pay. The industiious are too much goaded, whde the re- ceivers of these taxes, for the greater part, especially the high officials, have too little to do, even for their moral good, while the working part of the ci\il service, who do all the work, have too Uttle pay. Goading the man of labour too far, I do not consider beneficial nor just. Bodily and mental labour should not endui'e too long, or the sprightlincss of life is gone, and the \4ctim seeks for reHef in oblivious drinks. u 2 244 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPI-ES. CHAPTER LXXXVI. THE EVIL OF THE NATIONAL DEBT CONSIDERED. Again, in page 10"), Tiook TIL, Mv. Malthus remarks, that " altliougli the demands of a eonsiderablo portion of the com- munity ■\vi)uld be increased hy the extinction of the national debt, these increased demands would be balanced, and often more than balanced, by the loss of the demand fi'om the fund- holders and the government." ITow fallacious is this argument ! The loss he alludes to, of " the demand from the fund-holders," is the same as gi\ang others your money to spend in bupng goods from you, and then sapng you are benefited by the demand, which the other, A^-ith your money, has made upon your goods. In using such an argument to prove an impossibility, one might as weU deny that the whole is greater than a part. * This certainly is as futile as to attempt to prove the labouring classes are benefited by the national debt. One might as well assert that money employed by the usurer, which crushes the man of industry who has no other resource, benefits this industrious borrower more than if the capital he required were his own, for which he has not to pay any interest, simply because the usurer causes demand by spending the high interest money ! Why, the re- verse of all this is the case ! First of all, the usurer does not spend one quarter, and often not a tenth, of what he makes, but adds to his store, and goes on increasing in riches. Pay attention to the following fact : In proportion as the money lenders increase in riches, so is the very amount of money with- drawn from industry — withdrawn from the possession of the owners — i. e., working capitalists — and gone into the hands of men who do not tcork rejoroductively, but whose business if is to live upon those ivho do work. Now, had the industrious borrowers no need of this assistance, but were working with their own capital, the money lender would not be required, and the gervice he would then be rendering to his country would be THE NATIONAIi DEBT CONSIDERED. 245 equal to that of picking his own finger nails from morning to night. I say, then, the national debt is one of the causes of the mthdrawal of money from the hands of industry, which could employ that money in a way that would be reproductive. The nation loses this reproduction, and the energies of man are becoming absorbed, day by day, in burdens which are unwhole- some and unsoimd, and this tends to undermine the stamina of the people, and leads to the doMmfall of this kingdom, as it has always done with all other nations that have suffered such cruel burdens to afflict industry. See Greece, see Ass}Tia, Egj-pt, and Rome. Malthus, after all his attempts to justify a national debt, says : " It is by no means intended by these observations to intimate that a national debt may not be so heavy as to be extremely prejudicial to a state." He again has another leaning to my views ; but, yet, by some ignis fatuus, he dare not give free and open admission to truth. He says, " The division and distribution of property, which are so beneficial when carried to a certain extent, are fatal to production when pushed to extremity." Now, we know, the little farmers of France afford us exam- ples of this kind. They are poor, and very primitive in their ideas, and were not progressing a few years ago. I should say their capital and their farms were too small to be worked profitably, and pay taxes at all. Certainly, a man can work a farm of three hundred acres better than he can one of fifty acres only, and exercise more economy in time and labour. But ]Malthus does not seem to have any anxiety about pushing the accumuhitions of properttj to an extremity, the evils of which, to a nation, I consider to bo more alarming than any evil that can ensue from a di\'ision of property to an extreme. A man is a burden to himself with excessive property and wealth: he cannot enjcjy that wealth which he possesses in excess, neither can tlie needy man of industry enjoy the diminution or priva- tion of the moderate capital which he can scarcely, and perhaps never, acquire, because the excessinehj rich have too much. Great 2-46 GOVERXMENT UPON 1 IHST PUINCIPLES. misery is inflictod, both upon the rich and the poor, by the extremity we have alrcvuly reaebed, for want of a hiw which woulil j^ive rise, indireeth- and gradually, to re-diWsions and re-distribution of wealtli. There is no dilHeultv in doinu- this ; it can be accomj)lished easily enougli when tlie rich once feel that excessive riches are a burden, which cause excessive poverty and sin to abound. CHAPTER LXXXVII. rilE REMEDY FOll EXCESSIVE WEALTH. The only sound and practical mode I can conceive, that can be made available to the present state of the laws of this country, is to limit the possession of wealth to any one indi\nidual to £100,000. Having acquired that, a law shall require him to discontinue business, or the further accumulation of wealth for himself. All acquired after that amount is reached shall be divided among liis relatives ; failing to have which, the amount to belong to the Industrial Fund, which shall have for its object the famishing of the sober, the needy, honest, and working people, with means of starting in life. Tliis plan, I know, is far too good to be adopted by the rich, who are too much in the love of greatness, and not enough in the love of goodness. AMiile power is so centred in this selfishness, instead of in the generous wisdom and intelligence of the day, this power must be working for e\al, and making bad laws to favour them- selves, rather than for the national good. The other plan is nearer the present mode of state operations. " First of all, then, entirely reverse the order of taxation. If you will allow a man to go on increasing in wealth ad infinitum, cause him to have to go on paying taxes in an increased ratio. Lessen the burden with small capitalists, reduce it upon com- modities most consumed by the small capitalists, and take it THE REMEDY FOB EXCESSIVE "WEALTH. 247 oflF altogether from commodities which the poor mostly consume. This would soon bring rchef to all parties : the rich would find their excessive wealth a greater burden to them every year. The poor might hope for a less amount of misery, whilst poor- rates would soon become unnecessary. Instead of which, have infirmaries only, and infinn provisions only ; no poor-houses, but schools of all denominations that are for learning and working ; teaching industrious habits above all things, taking care that ever}- child shall have a trade, or means of Hving, on leaving the national. estabhshment. There is no difficulty in the way beyond that of the selfish- ness of the men in poicer. They may get such men as Malthus, &c., to write them up, and talk the country into submission to what is ; but the injustice is the same, and these men have an eternity to encounter, which I hope will teach them better laws than they practise here on this earth. CHAPTER LXXXVIII. A DTMINUTION OF TAXATION GIVES RISE TO AN INCREASED DEMAND FOR LABOUR. BASE METAL MUST NOT BE RE- GARDED BEFORE MAN, NOR EVEN PURE METAL. Adam Smith might have found another cause for the cheap and abundant supply of curates besides that which he assigns — viz., the " facihties of their becoming curates from the bounties given to young persons educated for the Church." The abundant supply also arises from the boon of loaves and fishes which each one hopes to be favoured ^^ ith, but which often comes slowly, and, during the delay, an accumulation takes place. The waiting and deferring arise out of the unfair use of the power of appointments. The man of talent must wait till the talentless sons of the rich and influential have first obtained the lucrative appointments. The small fry are after- wards t^jo often tossed to the men of talent. 248 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. Maltlius says: — " It may be stated to be an absolute impos- sibility tbat all tbo ditlorent classes of society should be both Will paid and fully employed;" but then he puts in an hypo- thesis, "if the supply of labour, on ihc >vhole, exceed the demand ;" but he does not show why labour exceeds the de- maud, beyond using his hackneyed hobby, " that population is allowed to increase in excess of demand." Now, the sup])ly of labour would not exceed the demand were capital easily available for the many, the honest, and in- dustrious. lUit it does exceed the denumd Avhen so great a portion uf the capitid is locked up in the hands of the usurer, who only doles it out in such a w^ay as shall yield him half the profits, and thus takes it from the man who needs the whole, in order that he may employ more hands, and bring up the demand equal to the supply of labour ! All classes of society might be "svell paid and fully employed, were the inducements of the legislature made to favour in- dustiy, and not e.vcessire irealth iritJiout indusirij. How can society be now fully paid and employed, while our legislature regards base metal before man ? — giving privileges to metal that it withholds from man ! Oh, human legislator, how squares this with thy Divine Master ? Again, we find this more general distribution of wealth is not an impossibilit)^ practically. America furnishes us with ample proof that society can be both well paid and fully em- ployed. Where taxes do not absorb the profits of the employer, he will be sure to use his increased capital by employing more hands, and thus be constantly giving rise to increased demand for that kind of labour which is reproductive ; — this is the very kind of labour which, multiplied into itself, will ever produce good pay and full employment. I am happy to agree with Malthus, that poor-rates give rise to dependence upon others, instead of self-dependence, and hope the time will soon come, when, by reducing taxation on the labouiing man's consumption, and placing it upon the rich man's consumption, and by estabHshing schools for all, and in- T-OCATION IN RELATION TO LABOUB. 249 firmaries only for the aged and infirm, the necessity' for poor- rates will in this country cease. I know the old argument — that if taxes are placed on the rich man, he will make laboui" pay for it, and the burden will ultimately fall on labour; and so it would with our present system of legislation ; but all this can be as well pro^-ided against as a thief can be punished when caught iii the act. Certainly Malthus has an ingenious style of making black appear white. " Prudence in marriage only he considers to be the cause of the American labourer earning a dollar a-day, and the Eughsh labourer earning two shillings." On page 113 he calls it a "monstrous absurdit}'," and laboui-s to show that common sense will reject the idea of taxes causing less pay to the EngKsh labourer. AMiile his common sense only enables him to assign the cure to be found in the prevention of marriages, which, he says, is " the only moral means of preventing an excess of work- men above the demand." I am sorry to notice that Malthus is so careful in screening the rich and powerful, who reaUy can take care of themselves ; the only regard he seems to have for the industrious is, that they should not marry. It is useless to attempt to deny that our English labourer can never approach to the pay of the Americans, nor bo reheved, unless those taxes are lessened which bear directly upon him : taking care at the same time that other indirect pressures are not allowed to burden him. If, -^ath taxation, the money price of labour be half that in America, where, comparatively, they are without taxation, how much worse must be the condition of the labourer in England than that of the American, when the English pay for labour goes to buy provisions, the whole of which are taxed, directly or indirectly. AVe know that the price for labour ought to rise A\dth taxation, but the evil is, it does not in England. Malthus artfully en- deavours to remove the cause from the shoulders of Govern- ment, and attempts to attribute it to an excess of marriages. This may be ingenious, but certainly it is not truthful, nor just. 250 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TRTNCirLES, Iiu'iriisi' Capital aiiioiKj fJie Calf iraf ova of Land. Travol from John o'Groat's liouso to tho Land's End, and you will find that whorovor there is poverty, or insutlicient capital to carry on a t'anu, fewer labonrcrs arc cmploj^cd, and rcdnced wages are given, less crops arc obtained, and, altogether, a bad state of things both for man and master. "We need not go to Poland, nor to llussia, Sibeiia, nor European Turkey, for in- stances of the kind; England and Ireland illustrate the fact, that " where the wages of labour, as estimated in food, arc low, and that food is relatively of a very low value, both with regard to domestic and foreign manufactures, the condition of the labouring classes of society must be the worst possible." Now this state of things arises from the want of distribution of capital — all because capital is recjuired to be circulated more among the cultivators of soil, which is the wholesome medium for circidating capital among manufacturers and merchants. As we increase in capital, and it is well circulated by bringing along with it increased produce, thus wholesomely producing increased demand for food and clothes, co-ordinate with an in- creased supply of food and manufoctures, so we maintain a healthy equilibrium and prevent commotions, which otherwise are constantly springing up, both oiit of excess of demand and excess of suppl}-. The practice of such a wholesome and evenly-producing power, co-ordinate with demand, is what would save France at the present time fi'om many of its commotions. France has not, till lately, paid much scientific attention to agi'iculture — much capital has not been circulated among the farmers — so they have not employed much labour, nor paid that labour w^ell ; they therefore have not produced much food, nor constantly supplied the market, so as to prevent the convulsions which the demand for money to be paid to foreigners for corn constantly occasions. Had France a home supply of com, which certainly she ought to have, and could easily obtain, her manufactured goods would be more evenly in demand, and all her hands be THE FEUDAL SYSTEM, AND AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS. 251 more generally employed. The increased produce of the soil is the real increase of wealth — the sohd staple commodity that is ever in demand, and increases uniformly "with the increase of population, when restrictions are not laid upon its power of production, by withdi-awing its capital away from it, in the way of excessive taxes and tithes, high rates of interest to usurers, heavy valuations, which ought to belong to the land- lord, not the tenant — all withdrawing capital from the indus- trious, to be placed in the hands of the idle youths of ton, the unproductive smecurists, or the bishops. These clog the pro- gress of the circulation of wealth, since they di-aw it away fi'om where it should be, and hold it fast where it should not be These, when they die, leave the same state of things behind them, or, perchance, a great deal worse. CHAPTER LXXXIX. TIIE REMAINS OF THE FEUDAL SYSTE]M ARE THE OBSTACLE TO AGRICULTUR^IL PROGRESS. MALTHUS FURTHER CONSIDERED. Malthus is right in his remarks upon the feudal system. lie says (Book III., chap, viii., p. 129) : — " In every country of Eui-ope, and in most of its colonies in other parts of the world, formidable obstacles still exist to the emplo}'ment of capital upon the land, arising from the feudal system." Again he says : — " Cijinmerce and manufactui'es arc necessary to agri- cultui'e, but agriculture is still more necessary to commerce and manufactures." Unfortunately, there is a change going on which removes the property in the soil from the old lord to the old usui-er ; the latter, while he is amassing an unnatural wealth, is not acquiring a liberal heart. The change of hands is thus not beneficial to the nation. ]iy and by, it will be said, " You were not content 252 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. with your ulil l<.)rd ; you liavo a worse c\\\ couiing upon you." Most nssurinlly this will bo ii worse evil ; but neither the ono nor the other, in its present order of action and intiuence upon society, is essential to a nation. The lord, with his exclusive, feudal, partial privileges, is not in a right relation to the nation ; neither is the usurer, with the exclusivcness which wealth brings with it — with the scliish- ncss which is so often the concomitant of wealth obtained by usury. Neither is the one nor the other, in its corrupt power, beneticial to the nation as they now exist. AVliile both the lord and the man of money might live more haj)[)ily, wore they circumscribed by laws that would prevent the hereditary excess of wealth in land, or the burdensome excess of money in such individual o^\Tiership, carrying along with it an individual power which is constantly exercising itself to the prejudice of the whole nation. It builds up individual self, instead of carrying out the object of creation, by exercising wealth, either in land or money, so as to promote the welfare of the whole, and not just that of the few. Regard the injury the country sustains by the remains of the feudal system, in the shape of the laws and customs which pre- vent the free di\'ision and alienation of land, with the same ease as the change of all other property. Mark well the evil coming upon the country through tliis law. Since the land cannot have free division, the consequence is frequently that its entail is mortgaged, its reversionary in- terest sold ; hence the change of hands that ultimately results is becoming a change for the worse, as such mortgages will ultimately leave the property in the hands of usurers and cunning lawyers : to a great extent it is so even now. Instead of which, were the land free for disposal, the industrious, the virtuous, the generous, and the just, might become the purchasers. Power then would not be falling into the hands of those who are not likely to be earnest for national good. Malthus assigns the cause of our importing foreign com to arise " from the obstacles which the laws of the country pre- sent to the accumulation of capital on land, which do not apply NATION.\L WEALTH IN RELATION TO WAGES. 253 vritli equal force to the increasing emplojnncnt of capital in commerce and manufactures. " Secondly. From direct and indirect taxation of sucTi a nature as to throw a weight upon the agricultui'e of a country which is either unequal, or, from peculiar circumstances, can be better borne by commerce and manufactui'es. " Thirdl}'. From want of improved machinery, combined with extensive capital, and every advantageous division of labour." In these cases I consider Malthus is right, and he goes far to corroborate my views. Certainly, machinery has progressed in this country, and extensive capital has been realized ; but neither the one nor the other has yet greatly extended itself to agricultui-e, though I am animated by the hope that both are on the move in that direction. CHAPTER XC. IN PROPORTION TO THE INCREASE OF THE ^^^5ALTH OF A NATION THE WAGES OF LABOUR OUGHT TO IMPROVE, WHICH WOULD BE THE CASE, WERE GOVERNMENT BASED UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. Malthus seems not to have the faculty of understanding any other views of the condition of the poor than his own. Deter- mined to support his great point, he will not understand the logic even of Adam Smith, who solves all his difficulties, and renders very opposite \'icws conclusive to every one else but Maltlius and his ecclesiastical partisans. Their interest runs counter to the progressive idea. lie says, in page 211, chap. XIII., " On the Increase of "Wealth, and as it affects the Con- dition of the Poor :" — 254 OOVEUXMENT UPON FIRST PlUNCIPl.ES. Adam Smith, in liis olia]itor " On the Wages of Lahour," considers every iuorease in the stock or revenue of society as an Increase in the funds for the maintenance of hihour ; and haAnng hiid down that the demand " for those who live hy wa<;es can only increase in proportion to the increase of the funds for the payment of wages, the conclusion naturally follows, that every increase of wealth tends ta increase the demand for labour, and to improve the condition of the low'cr classes of society."* All sound logicians and philosophers admit that this ought to he the true state of things, except Malthus, who says the wages do not increase with the increase of wealth, and leaves the argument bare and unqualified ; and, I am sorry to say, avoids mentioning the true cause, Mdthout even an allusion to it. I can hardly think a man who has written so much on the subject, would so seem to shirk the question. ISIalthus ought at least to know why the poor do not increase in wages in proportion to the increase of wealth. I have before explained the cause to arise from the burdens which labour has to bear in working tw^o out of the six days in the week for taxation, and for the tithes, &c., of which INIalthus w^as a re- cipient, and which may give us a clue to the reason why Malthus will not allude to this gigantic cause of difficulty. As unen- cumbered funds for the maintenance of labour increase, so mil the poor be better maintained. But in opposition to tin's is the extravagance in Government and Church, and the burden of the poor-laws — the necessary consequence of the fonner two excessive and over-strained pressures. Another cause is, that the usurer has too frequently the in- creased capital, not the agriculturist ; and before labour can be benefited by the increase, the monster mouth of Usury has to be filled frdl, and to running over. Lastly only, can labour get its share. Malthus would have us beHeve this is an advantage, for he has said before that the country is benefited by " two living out of capital instead of one," and yet will not extend his principle farther. But I say if, therefore, it be good that one * VoL I., book i., chap. 8. NATIONAL ^^'EALTH IN RELATION TO WAGES. 255 more shall benefit by capital being divided, why is the piinciple not canied out still more, until the many shall benefit by in- crease of capital, extending it further and further till it reach the poor, where I say, in God's name, it must be most needed. As for the ti'ashy argument that the labourers would not work were thev better oft' — this is now seen to be a fallacy. The lower classes now are educated nearly as well, generally, as the higher, and sometimes they are more learned. VTho can say they have not more industry, more energy, and more perseve- rance ? ^Vhy, the nineteenth century gives the denial direct to Malthus. The labom-ers, one-half of whom are not farming men, but mechanics and artisans of all sorts, require and obtain education for their employments, as much as the lord's son does for the army and the Church. They surround themselves with furni- ture, comforts, and even elegances, wherever their means enable them to do so, and show not such narrow conceptions as Malthus would make us beHeve. God created this world as much for them as for the rich, who are proving themselves daily to be more than ever becoming unprofitable stewards. If Malthus had been honest and bold enough not to attempt to uphold the present state of things, he would talk of prudence, sldll, and industry, as being necessary for the higher orders as well as for the lower ; but not a word against them does he dare write, nor has he the fairness to hint at the facts which show the true causes of poverty and low wages. There are so many contradictions in his general observations, that I vdll not allude to them, but refer the reader to pages 246, 247, 248, and 249. The true account of the state of things in France is, that they have discovered their error in not cultivating land enough, nor have they done it weU enough, to supply the demand of their increasing population ; nor have they employed capital enough to extend its produce sufficiently. Louis Napoleon's eyes are now open to that great fact, and in 1855 he held the first great Agricultural Show in Paris, and turned the attention of the country to the importance of culture. 250 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. It is not n ]iroof of ^nsdom to deprecate tho increase of labour until first of all it oiiu ho said that we liavo made a right appli- cation of labour. Exporieucc now teaches us, that as this is done, the increase of labour is beueficial to the nation as well ad to the employed. As a clergMuan, Malthus would be bound to advocate, tho cause of the needy ; but so .well has he learnt from avIkhu ho receives his earthly ai)])ointment, that ho often forgets his spiritual vocation. \Miy does he not show tho cause of poverty to originate in the monopolizers of wealth, and the laws which favour the retention of land and money amongst them ? He writes much about the " guardians of Jiritish liberty," as if England sjnang from a commonwealth at some period before the time of William theCoiK^ueror. There never Avere guardians of British liberty but in the days of CromweU ; but guardians only of British power ! and that power upheld in a state of exclusiveness ! I would ask Malthus, if the mob be the only fear a nation ought to have of any kind of ascendancy ? I question whether the power of wealth, without a proper application of it, is not much more threatening to the well-doing of a nation, than any portending danger that would ensue from granting the just demands which industry has a right to make, for the extension of its political privileges ! Malthus could have had but a poor opinion of the success of his Church, for which we pay so much, if the vox populi always appeared to be " the voice of error and absurdity," instead of the vox Dei. I cannot help thinking that Malthus profaned the name of God by mixing up his narrow ideas for the purpose of supplanting those of proAadcntial order. It is truly unfortunate that, till tliis generation, the principal writers for Government have been those who are in the pay of Government, and who thus seem to be toadying for place, or working for their pension ; at least, I can only account for Malthus's frequent want of logic and truth in that way. Al- though he might imagine himself far above such mean conside- rations, and to have purer motives for regulating his judgment, A MALTHISIAX NOTION CONTROVEKTED. 257 yet tlie education, the association, and circle — the very atmo- sphere which he must always have breathed — would, uukno^vn to himself, give him a bias in his judgment which left him far from exercising impartiaht}-. CHxVPTEE XCI. THE MALTHUSIAN NOTION, THAT THE POOR ARE BETTER OFF WITH HIGH PRICES OF FOOD THAN \M.TH LOW PRICES, CONTROVERTED. In page 330* Malthus admits what he attempted to deny before. He says : — " The government during the last twenty- five years has shown no very great love either of peace or libert}', and no particular economy in the use of the national resources ! but," he continues, " it has proceeded in a very straightforward manner to spend great sums in war, and to raise them by very heavy taxes." Worse still, he asserts that, in 1814, the "national re- sources were uot dilapidated, and that wealth had increased." Now I ask any honest man if Malthus ought not to have shown here that the cause of the apparent mcrease was in the increased circulating medium, which caused the National Debt, that is now crippling the energies of the country F VJliy does not Malthus mention this gigantic cause ? he must have well kniir whenever they could enforce their power with impunity to themselves, till the bur- dened son of toil cries aloud for a voice in the State, that he may have that justice done to all, which the college men will never ])rovide for tln'in. Even such an excellent character as Dr. Oliver Goldsmith was not exempt from this shade of poli- tical bias. Even the general tone of good-nature, and the sound heart which characterized that excellent man, could not throw off altogether the warping influence which his college life held over him. "When he makes the good old Vicar of "Wakefield advocate the " necessity of one king to rule the many tp-ants," and he calls it " the election of one tp'ant to avoid the evils of the many," we find him clinging to the popular error, that one evil is necessary because another exists : as if, because evils are, e\ils must ever be perpetuated. Although a clergyman, the good old vicar is made to uphold the perpetuation of t}Taniiy as necessary, forgetting his sacred record that God Himself had denounced the necessity of a king to the people of Israel, whom Samuel had ruled in honesty of pui-pose and integrity of manner. But when they said unto Samuel, " Give us a king;" God said, " They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them." (1 Sam. viii. 7.) God also told them the manner of king they would have : that he would " take their sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horse- men ; and some should run before his chariots." God said also, " And he vnH take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your ^'ineyards, and your olive-yards, even the best of DR. OLIVER GOLDSMITH CONSIDERED. 267 them, and give them to his servants." And much more injus- tice does God foretell them the king will inflict upon them, till he adds, " Ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hem' you in that day." But we read that Israel would have a king, and chose to be govenicd by man rather than by God ; hence God said, " Ye have rejected Me." Dr. Goldsmith must have forgotten this history of the origin of kings, or the good old ■s-icar would have been made to say, " Let men retui'n to their God, not to theii- tpant, to save them." Get back to First Principles, call upon the Good and the True, the Virtuous and Wise, to save ; not upon the sordid, selfish, and tp*annical. In short, call upon God, not upon the devils, to save you. England is blessed with a good queen in our gracious Victoria; but her ministers are twelve kings ruhng over her, depaiiing fi-om the good and the true, having long ceased to notice Fird Principles — the very standard of orderly rule. Is not the day come upon England, as well as upon Israel, when the Lord \sill not hear those who choose man to rule over them rather than God ? "Was England ever more oppressed by unjust men knowingly than at the present, when laws and taxes are made to favour the rich, and cruelly burden the poor and industrious ? "Witness the income-tax of 1856 versus property-tax. The poor old vicar should not have been made to say " the rich are ordained to marry the rich :" but wisely afterwards does he say, " In the middle order of mankind are generally to be found all the arts, wisdom, and "vii'tues of society." But ho shows his gown when he says, " This order alone is known to be the true preserver of freedom, and may be caUed the people.'* They should preserve the just equilibrium of the nation ; but while patronage exists, that will ever be the paramount influence upon the middle order, "^^^hile patronage rests in the hands of Government, there will ever be toadies to the corruption of the Court, extending itself throughout all society, to the con- tamination of all under them ; fjr the evils and sins of a nation commence with the higher orders of society — thence they flow 268 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. to the middle class, tlunico to the lower orders of society. So (niijlit the good and the true so to descend from them. Were tho higher classes in right relation to love and wisdom, theyvvould still he mediums for Divine communication to man. JUit, alas ! they have turned the temple of God and the temple of JStato into receptacles for money-changers, and a den of thieves. Tho po])ular writers of the eighteenth century found it to answer their purpose to denounce the lovers of justice, and call them champions for anarchy, associating them with tyrants, instead of just men in search of fair play. The \dcar, after attesting his willingness to die for his " Anointed Sovereignty," says, " I have knoNni many of those pretended champions for liherty in my time, yet do I not rememher one that was not, in his heart and in his family, a tyrant." Now, this is not saying much, although it is said very em- phatically ; for he could have said, the rich also are practical tyrants dejure et de facto. He could have found also tyrants among the rich, who never talk of liherty at all ; so that the advocacy or non-advocacy of Liberty does not make the tjTant. The tyranny was long before the liberty he repudiat(>d. But, like 3Ialthus in the conclusion of his work, ho discovers the errors of governments, and gainsays his sentimental, lofty, " anointed monarchy." He says, " Government, while it grows older, seems to acqnii'e the moroseness of age." Also, " That the multitude of laws produces new "s-ices, and new vices call for fi'esh restraints." At last, himself wearied by the oppres- sions of his unprincipled, wealthy pursuer, he hopes the time -SA-ill shortly come when we shaU cease from our toil — " ichen the luxurious great ones of the icorld sludl no more tread us to the earth." The vast amount of good in that standard work will find a ready excuse for the gown, when it happens to peep out. I, for one, thank Dr. Goldsmith for such a production. There is a hopeful feature in the statistics published in 1855, upon the church accommodation provided by the several reli- gious denominations in England. To find that the progressive and voluntary churches have exceeded in number the Church DR. OLmill GOLDSMITH CONSIDERED. 269 of England by thousands — by 4808 places of worship — this is sufficient to convince any reflecting mind that there is a great movement taking place, -wherein the expansive idea is to be developed, that the system of crippling, narrowing, and cramp- ing the minds of men by the Protestant Church's Thii-ty-ninc Articles, will not be permitted to succeed. It shows, beyond all controversy, that the mind will expand and be free, not- withstanding the great priestly power that stands obstructing thought and freedom of sentiment. I furnish particulars of the religious denominations Xo. of Places of Worship. . 14,077 .. Church of England . . . Scottish Presbj-terians : Church of Scotland ... 18 United Presbyterian. . . 66 Presbyterian Church in England 76 Independents 3,224 Baptists (all denominations of) . 3,789 Society of Friends 331 Unitarians 229 Moravians 32 Wesleyau Methodists (Original connection). New connection .... 297 Primitive Methodists .... 2,871 }6,5 96 Independent ditto Bible Christians Lutherans Roman Catholics Greek Church . Jews .... Latter Day Saints 20 482 6 570 3 53 222 18,885 Sittings for 5,317,916 13,989 31,351 41,552 1,067,760 752,253 91,599 68,554: 9,305 1,447,580 26,264 414,030 2,263 66,834 2,606 186,111 291 8,438 30,783 4,300,263 New Church "VVTiat claim has the Church of England to receive protection more than any other Church — tliat tithes should be given to '270 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCiri.ES. them alone ? — since so i^reat a eliange has conic over Great Britain, that one-half of her population are dissenting religions, that half lias as great a uu)ral claim to the tithe money as have the Episcopalians. "What good can wo recount of any State church ? It is always made a tool to the ui)liolding of des- potism. AVhen does it ever take the side of the peo})le or the poor? What was its peculiar cliaracteristic in the time of llenrv VI II. ? Why, after receiving the tithe, for the express purpose of " upholding the honour of God, and in support of the [7//.s] poor," hy the statute of Carlisle, Edw. I., a. u. 1300. When these institutions were suppressed, and the property dis- tributed among their " antechamber " courtiers, the king and the priests at once deprived the helpless and indigent, the aged and the young, of all these provisions "* for their support. Docs that act recommend these state priests to our special protection, since they did not forget to retain the tithes for the upholding the honour of God and in support of His poor ? How was that carried out, when the poor were punished for no other crime than having become robbed by the State Church ? Yea, God's poor were punished by " whipping, by the stocks, and even the the pillory, and imprisonment." But, not content -with this — oh ! horrid to relate — in the last years of Henry VIII. 's reign, no fewer than 38,000 were actually put to death,"! for no crime hut because they had been plundered by the king and Church, and by them made poor. This is a similar injustice to that of the aristocracy having received the grants of land upon military tenure, without re- taining the tenure upon which the grants were made ; like the priests retained the tithe, they retained their land, but throw off the army to be maintained, by the poor and mercantile people, by way of Excise and Customs. Evils perpetuated are considered necessary only by those who wish to perpetuate their fancied interest at any cost to others, by those who have the power to remove them, but not the dis- ♦ " How we are Governed," &c., by Albany Fonblanque, p. 7 1. t Fonblanque, p. 74. UNPRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY A NATIONAL LOSS. 271 position, and by the confusion that is purposely thrown upon the attempts of honest men to restore their country to order. Perpetuated evils are no more essential to a nation, than they are to heaven ; but as long as the selfishness of the great and luxurious few retain theii- exclusive power, so long -^ill the dominion of iniquity mar all progress. The remedies are at hand : the means by which our country can be relieved are simple, and only requii-e the will of man to be in co-operation with the Dinne will, and the work is soon accomplished. Allow the elementary law to operate unrestrictedly upon oui'selves, without self barring the way against its reception. The means will then open up, the difficulties will one by one disappear, the cold rocks of obstruction Avill gradually dissolve, the rough places will Tdc made smooth and the crooked be made straight ; for God, even oui- God, will be in the midst of us again to establish laws based upon Fird Principles. CHAPTER XCV. UNPRODUCTIVE INDUSTRY IS A LOSS TO A NATION. A PROPER direction of labour is the most important of all governmental considerations, because industry, intelligently pursued, is more reproductive than when ignorantly or wrongly pursued. This is the case individually, but how much more forcibly docs it apply when nationally considered. A family, all the indiWduals of which are industriously and ingeniously employed, is adding more to its worth daily than one of which the half only is industrious while the other half is consuming the fi'uits of the famOy toil. This half may be said to cause the other half to be more anxiously applicative ; but it is a farce to call it just, or to say as raucih will be earned for 272 OOVERXMENT UPON FIKST riUNCirLES. thomsolvos iis if the whole of the family wore productively omjiloyetl. All may be diveiselv employed and yet their labour bo reproduetivo. Somo kind of useful cmplo}ancnt is necessary for all, in order to the increase of individual and national ■wealth. This is scon to bo the case moro forcibly in a family whore somo of the members are found afflicted in their limbs or bodies, so as not to bo able to labour and throw in their earnings for the general support ; this is well known to bo a burden upon the whole. Or when one or moro are idle and extravagant, and will not work, but doggedly waste and spend the general store of the family ; this is well known to inflict greater hardships upon the remainder of the family that are industrious. iVlso, when some of the family employ them- selves in le'S'jang contributions on the other part of the family, extorting from them a per-centago of all their earnings in detail, emplopng their time in keeping useless watch over things, and an account on everything the rest eat, drink, and sleep upon, walk upon, woi'k upon, and look upon, instead of economizing time and labour, by summing up totals of the yearly results, and thus receive even the same amount directly, and in one pa}Tnent, instead of through a thousand payments, which have required much time and many hands to collect. This said levier of contributions may just as well work with his brothers ; his industry would then be productive instead of unproductive, and the whole family be benefited to the extent of his industry. This same rule applies to a nation. When a great portion of a nation is unproductively employed in watching, guarding, and collecting customs, excise, stamp;*, rates, and taxes, — loss of time in assessing, enumerating, classifj-ing, multipl}dng offices, and departments, " cii'cumlocutory offices," dividing and sub- dividing small amounts of detail and retail quantities, the total result is immense loss. As well might the nation travel a cir- cuitous route of one hundred miles when one would bring it to the given point, as to have the indirect mode of taxation we have, instead of a direct property and income-tax. An UNPRODUCTIVE INDLSTRY A NATIONAL LOSS. 273 enormous saving to the country would accrue if we had one assessment to include the whole demand for taxation and rates in one collection, and at one time, or twice in the year, retaining spirit duties only. Then could the employes of custom, excise, and stamp offices he appointed to some pro- ductive occupation, which would he equally remunerative to themselves and would add to the general wealth of the country. All would then, while pursuing indi'S'idual interests, be adding to the wealth in common ; making up the sum total of national wealth, which as it increased would lessen the demand individually on the general purse. No tax would remove the existence of evils and abuses that had not especial regard to the possessors of excessive wealth. It should no longer be ignored that excessive wealth is a burden to the owners, and a toil that leaves little leisure for Hterary attainments or even rational reflections. The object for which ■we labour in acquirmg sufficient wealth is destroyed when the wealth becomes excessive, and thus a burden. This is especially the case when money is sought for through commerce : anxieties are increased ^\'ith the additional millions, till at last greyheaded helplessness, tottering on until the mind is im- paired, if not insane altogether (too many instances of which are to be found in the City of London), terminates in misery a life spent in money-making drudgery, and ends in a body destroyed, and a soul contaminated by an incessant thirst for lucre.* To repress this evil, I would place upon wealth the whole taxation of the State. The tax should be laid on pro- perty alone, and in a ratio increasing according to its abundance. Let all amounts above £20,000 or £100,000 be considered excessive, and have the tax laid upon them heavily, and be scrupulously collected. * Instance Mr. Growcock's hanging himself; Mr. Morrison and many other millionaires fancying themselves paupers ; the late Mr. Kothsclilld's fearing the approach of his clerks, fancying they would shoot him. T 274 CUn'ERNMENT UPON FIRST rUINCirLKS. CHAPTER XCVI. WHY 1H)KS NOT GOVEUNMENT EMPTOY IMKErr TAXATION? The answers arc, first, because tlicvo are so many idle brotliors and tlicir families that Iuiyc lived so long on the taxes ujxni industry, that they now consider they have a right to be sinocurists. Also these men have power, a voice, an interest in upholding and peri)etuating the present system, and they become stanch advocates of corrupt governments. They can always be relied upon in ease of emergency, because their interests are identified with the abuses of Govennnent. Direct taxation would destroy that kind of patronage which leaves them in the retention of idle offices, and excludes meritorious competition, for the most part, in the other offices. Direct taxation, in the form of property and income-tax only, would offend the landed aristocracy and the millionaires, that have now carefully evaded their proper and proportionate shares, and made the tax bear more heavily on the smaller amounts which industry or mere competence furnishes. They have ingeniously relieved themselves — in some cases wholly, and in others partially — from their fair share of the burden. See the industrial income of £100, which ought to be considered a necessity of existence, yearly acquired by labour, pacing the same as interest actually obtained from wealth, or from in- heritance, or otherwise acquired capital. In plainer language, the poor man's necessity of life is taxed, while the rich man's interest only is taxed. A well regulated tax, applied directly upon all property — especially, and increasing proportionately, upon the large amounts, in exactly the same ratio — would be establishing a fair and equitable apportionment upon the richer orders, and set thousands of idle hands free. But the rich would oppose such a measure from selfishness, not from the principle of fairness. PALEY CONSIDERED. 275 CHAPTER XCVII. PALEY CONSIDERED. I DO not find that "Wm. Pale)', D.D., has invalidated inexclusive legislation, in his treatise upon property', though he has after- wards done so in his treatise on " Reasons for Contentment." His deduction on the Di-v-ine intention, " That nothing ought to be made exclusive propeiij^ which can be conveniently en- joyed in common," mil admit of corroboration, rather than the extenuation to which his after observations lead. In the fii-st place, because " it increases the produce of the earth ;" it does not discourage the re-distribution of property up to a certain limit, avoiding the extreme di^isibLlity that would render it useless. The great fact is this, that the property that is, must remain as it is, in possession of its respective and rightfiil owners, held under past and present convention and compact ; but the future may be dealt with differently, without any infraction. Laws can be made to have tendencies towards the redistribution of property, in keeping with the love-neighbour = First Principle of of action, — or the contrary, exclude-neighbom* = third-rate piinciple of action, in keeping with the present laws of piimo- genitui'e and entail. In fact. Great Britain must repudiate Chiistianity, or repudiate her present selfish legislation upon property. I rejoice to discover even the shadow of that tendency, in her recent attempts to simplify conveyances, also in the En- cumbered Estates Acts. These are legitimate attempts to admit instead of to exclude your neighboui', by facihtating purchase, The power of purchase will over be difficult enough under competition, to act as a stay against con\ailsive change. Any tendency towards a change in the inexclusive, I hail ■with pleasure, knomng that Creation is a present work, not only a past work. Man is being created every day, or ho is being unmade every day, according as he practises the love of T 2 270 GOVKRNMENT UPON FIKST riUNCll'LKS. the o-ood ami the lUMuhhour or not. The ^Ministers and the Keinvsentativest)!' the Mow Clnircli liavo hioidly expn^ssed their sentiments in tlie eentenary yoar, which all the world shouhl have indelihly written on their liearts and nnnds, that, "God has created man in His iiii;iue and likeness, that lio may ho trained on rarth to hecome an angel of heaven. They declare it to he their helief, ' that no man can l>c blessed himself, except so far OS lie sfn'res to impart blessings to others ; and hence, that a generous and brotherh/ recognition of the rights of others, espcciaUij of fall freedom of faith and practice, is the grand law of Proridence for indiridaal regeneration, for social happiness, and for national adcancement.' "* I certainly do not concur in Talej-'s remarks, that " The laws which accidentally cast enormous estates into one great man's possession, arc, after all, the selfsame laws which protect and guard the poor man."t First of all, the laws which cast the enormous estates into the great man's possession, were not accidental hut intentional; they were grants and gifts made agreeahle to royal and governmental intention, not accidental. Neither is their exclusive retention accidental, but intended, and fully so designed by the laws of primogeniture and entail. Will Paley assert that the poor and the husbandman are al- ways cared for by laws compatible with justice, as much as the rich ? Is it so in the Game Laws, in that portion of it which admits no compensation for damages done by game? Who better than Paley knows how it can be helped ? Just laws would at once help and alter it ; yet Paley asks, " Who can help it ?" I am sorry to find so little consistency in Paley. Why, a just legislature would discover that no compensation for damages done by game is a law for the rich, w^hich defends and secures the rich against the poor and the industrious man, leaving the latter no redress. "Why does Paley depart from the truth so flagrantly when he says, " It is the law which defends the weak against the strong, the humble against the * " Intellectual Repository," No. LV. p. 296. t " Reasons for Contentment," p. 568. PALEY CONSIDERED. 277 powerful, the little against the great."* The very opposite is in juxtaposition ; and Paley must know it, or he is guided hy a third-rate principle instead of a first. These inconsistencies follow in such frequent succession in his treatise on "Reasons for Contentment," that I refer the reader to the work, and shall at once leave such incoherence and iii- compatibiHty to the present day's discernment, without further reference to his works. Yeiy difierent are the sentiments of Mr. John Locke fi-om those of Paley. Locke's starting maxim is "Salus Populi suprema Lex esto." — Let the safety and security of the people be the supreme law, — not the security of the rich only. Unlike Paley, he does not say " Salus Opulentium suprema Lex esto." In Locke's " Civil Government," he says, " He who hath received any damage has, besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a particular right to seek reparation fi'om him that hath done it." Now how squares the non-compensation for damages done by game in our day, "svith honest John Locke's instructions ? Instead of punishment, there is now not only no punishment, but no reparation for damages done by the rich sportsman, who, especially in this day, preserves unmercifully, knowing his game is kept by the husbandman to the detriment of all his crops, while the sportsman, if he can any longer be called such, meanly crouches behind an unjust law, which was made wholly and exclusively for the opulent. Such laws prove that the opulent are not more honest than the laws compel them to be ; which is tanta- mount to no honesty at all. The man that abstains from doing wrong only because of the penalty and punishment attending the act, is not honest upon principle, but upon compulsion. Such a man abstains by constraint, not by his good will and disposition, — the latter alone constituting the true man. * " Keasons fur Contentment," p. 568. 278 (iOVKUNMKNT UPON FlUST rUlNC'irLES. CHAPTER XCVIII. LOCKE VERSVS PALEY, CONSIDERED. I low comes it that J. Locke was not consulted wlien the Game Laws were altered ? for lie clearly lays down the true hiAv for game. " The hare that any one is hunting is thought his who pursues her during the chase ; for being a beast that is still looked upon as common, and no man's private possession, who- ever has employed so much labour about any of that kind as to find and pursue her, has thereby removed her from the state of nature wherein she was common, and hath begun a property."* He also defines God's limit to the acquisition of property in common, and says, " ' God has given us all things richly to enjoy' (1 Tim. vi. 17), is the voice of reason confirmed by in- spiration. But how far has he given it us to enjoy? As much as any one can make use of to any advantage of life before it spoils, so much he may by his labour fix a property in ; whatever is beyond this, is more than his share, and belongs to others." Yet in this day, opulent men pride themselves in shooting fifty and a hundred brace of birds a-day, and a dozen or a score of hares, and exult in the achievement ! Worse than all, the sport is sullied by bearing a commercial character ; for now, too often are the proceeds of the day sold to a dealer in game, in order to purchase the velveteen coat for the buUy who is employed to preserve the food for these hares, rabbits, and game, at the expense of the honest husbandman and every working man in the country. See below, " The Voice from a Fanner on the Game Laws." "What sound-minded man can look upon certain species of in- justice, and not at the same time fear that the seeds of disunion are * Sect. XXX. 198. LOCKE VERSrS PALEY, CONSIDERED. 279 sown by the partiality of certain laws, which have arisen fi'om the indifference of legislators in altering laws in conformity to present times and requirements, unless the requirements happen to suit the wants of the influential and potential in the governmental department ? " As if it were of no consequence about the country ; no conse- quence about the majority ; neither of the intelligent nor the morally good ; nor of the industrially important body of this country ; a few, a clique in favour, however self-elect, are enabled to perpetuate laws which are inapproiniate to the day in which we live, and are infamous, and highly injurious in their effect upon the grand staple of the country ; calculated to destroy the feelings of patriotism that would otherwise reign in every man's breast. " To such an extent is this practised, that even famine, which a few years back was staring us in the face, did not seem to awaken any apprehension of danger either to themselves or the country. " Who can have witnessed that price of bread amongst the com- mercial, manufacturing, and generally the labouring people of this country, and not think that the farmers were getting the best of it a few years ago 1 And yet this was not the case. The farmers have increased incumbrances, which I shall presently prove, and the fault does not lie with them, but it lies with those who eat more game than bi-ead, and who have not to pay for the food of their game, which they legally steal, with the rise of corn ; Avho are in- sane enough to raise the price of every man's loaf, rather than allow an alteration of laws which oppress the needy and commercial world equally wdth the farmer. "No casual observer can form an idea of the serious injury and damage Game Laws inflict upon the country ; the bad feeling they en- gender, and the insult they convey to the intelligence of this day. This law, which might have been consistent in Edward the First's time, that part of it, at least, which applied to being taken with vert or veniison, was properly punishable, because those animals i-an gene- rally in the parks of the feudal lords, and arc even now kept and maintained by the preserver, as are the sheep by the faiuner ; but what can we think of the act extending to wild birds, especially vei-min (vermes feri) and hares, which other countries recognize as such, and laugh at our timid obsequiousness to our veniiin lords, wlio, by the bye, are fast being replaced by the Cockney sportsman. i380 GOVERNMENT VPON I'lKST rrvlXCIPLES. who has no consitUn-ation -whatovor for the grower of corn, and consiilors by his £'20 or £10 a-yoar for shooting' itrivilcjjfo, tliat ho is ahoady a lonl, if ho can only get money enough to buy a fustian or u velvet eoat, by which lie is enableil to call Jack of all work a keeper ! Of all tyrants, Ood deliver us IVoiii tliese "petty tyrants, who are strutting out in the country now in such overwhohning nuud)ei-s that little boys can no longer gather nuts, as of old, with- out being called jioachcrs, and are ierociously driven away from the innocent gathering of Clod's gifts by velvet coats armed with guns and bludgeons, so ordered by their Cockney masters, tinkers or printers. " In lianstead one of these mushroom pseudo-lords, by somo mere chance, liapj)ened to he left live hundred acres of land, which really seems to have bereft him of common fellow-feeling ; liis vermin are so luifoirly bred that it has beconu' a farce to cultivate the land for corn Avith any expectation of i)roiit. I have not even had my seed hack on many occasions, and yet Mr. Judge Russell Giirney tells me there is no laic for recover^/ of damages done Uj game, wliether many or feic. So there being no law and no honour amongst such bashaw vermin -breeders, why, we must raise the price of bread, because we can't grow the crops of corn the country and the labourer have a right to expect. " jS"ow, I should like to ask why there is no law for recovery 1 Why this injustice upon the Avhole industrial nation % I know I shall receive the old hackneyed phraseology, 'You take your farm upon such terms, and it is your own fault.' Now, the Hobson's choice we get is like the choice of torture that once rent the walls of the Bastile : you shall be put upon the rack, or be broken upon the wheel ; you take life upon such terms ; it is your own fault ; why do you live ] This specious arguing won't do for this day ; it is an insult to the age in which we live. " The reason why I call this specious is, because there is no solid reasoning in such an answer applied to this subject, whether jx?^ fas aut nefas. Farms are not like houses — cannot be built and manu- factured to our hand, where oui- friends and pleasurable associations surround us ; neither can we get them carved to our ideality as we should like ; and when we have at last found one in most respects to suit us, we find out the shooting has been let for years before us, and leased for years to come. Tt is the only farm we can get LOCKE VERSUS PALEY, CONSIDERED. 281 answering our requirements in every other respect. Xow, I say, then, we are not free to choose. It is that farm, or, perliaps, ruin ; for I have known men ruined in waiting for farms, having spent their all they had to go in with, having left their farms because of unfair game preserves that nearly ruined them before. " Xow, I say, until we can i:)rove there is freedom of choice — full and sufficient choice— one has no right to say it is your own fault, because you have taken the only farm you could get. " The next answer I shall be met with is, ' You would have to pay more rent, and the landlord has a right to take the shooting for himself if he choose charging you less rental.' " Xow, you would have to pay more rent, I am told ; and to give you aU the benefit of this argument, what would that rent be in addition to the present 1 I will tell you of a manor for sporting, of about two thousand acres, which is let for J218 per annum. Now, this would amount to two-and-a-half pence per acre. I say, don't you think us farmers can afford that, as well as these Cockney vermin-breeders, who send the result of their day's sport to the poulterers of London, which serves to pay for the velvet coat of their soi-disa}it keeTper 1 I know of another shooting lease, of about one thousand five hundred acres, let for £50 per annum to four Londoners, who have the use of the parson's house, upon the con- dition the parson shoots jointly with them : however, the parson takes the liberty of shooting without them, forestalling their days of arrival, leaving nothing for them but the parson's code of morality to fire at. " Now, if we could only turn out a parson on Banstead Downs Avith his gun in his hands, what a boon it would be to the poor who like cheap bread ! " The argument that the landlord has a right to take the shooting for lumself, and do as he likes with his own property, can be answered satisfactorily enough by nnalogy. Owning other property than land property, gives no right of injuring your neighbour. The owner of horses has no right to let his horses destroy his neighbour's crops simply becau.se the horses are his property, and he has a right to do as he likes with his own property. " The owner of a gun has no right to shoot a man because the gun is his own property ; neither has a landlord a right to reserve sporting to himself, the effect of which is to eat his neighbour's and 282 GOVERNMENT UPON FlUST TRIXCIPLES. tenant's crops, from -whicli tho entire country suffers, simply because the liuul is liis own propertj'. "All other property is circumscribed by laws that are found beneficial to tho common good. Certainly tho land of England is not ft small matter, that tho legislator should overlook a provision that shall have a tendency to bring about a luoro abundant and uniform production of the food we all vni. " Fifty pounds per year for one thousand five hundred acres would be about eight pence per acre, an amount merely nominal, though much more than the former ; so it is a mere delusion 'to talk of paying an increased rental that would injure the farmer. I will bo bound to say that, let the farmer pay according to the present rentals of shooting throughout the country, and himself shoot, tho game itself would pay the sporting rents twice over. But the great advantage would be tho national one : the increase of produce that would arise from the abolition of CJame Laws, on the land now in cultivation, would bo one-eighth ; of the land that would come into cultivation, now thrown out of cultivation, one-sixteenth more ; together, making three-sixteenths of the entire produce of the country destroyed, directly and indirectly, by game-preserves now made legal. This Game Law savours much of the old nullum tempus occnrrit regi, the law which once disgraced this country : the Game Laws never ought to have survived the extinction of nullum tempus, for if it were seen then that it was an act of injustice to yield tho right claim to the king ]-oigning, and that no length of possession should avail against royal claim, how comes it that a right of claim is denied to the farmer who has to feed and keep game, and his fathers did it before him for hundreds of years, so, if they are not absolutely his, whose are they 1 Wliy, the lords of the land retain the power which they denied to their sovereign, and say nullum iempms occurrit domino, or, my lord — a pretty farce this for the nineteenth century ! And yet this farce is played in real life, to the disgrace of this land. " The game-preservers will try to say they keep the game ; but, as every farmer knows to his sorrow tliis is not true, no answer need be adduced. "Who ultimately suffers for all this? Kot the farmer altogether and alone, for he raises the price of corn according to produce : the burden then also falls upon labour, and the employers of labour ; LOCKE VERSrS PALEY, COXSIDEKED. 283 and I am enabled to prove, wlien I have sufficient space, that, directly and indirectly, the loss on cereal crops is one-fourth of the entire crops of the country ; besides the loss on tm-nips and Swedes, and other esculent crops, on which game are most destructive. " Say, for round numbers, the produce of the country is sixteen millions ; one-fourth added to that Avoidd enable England to grow all her produce for the country, and the drain of gold would not be so frequently producing panics. In other words, the labouring man, losing one-fourth of the produce of the country, is paying actually twopence per quartern more for his bread on account of Game Laws. This is reversing the order of thmgs, to the shame of the rich ; this is the poor man keeping the rich, instead of the rich keeping the poor, or allowing the industrious to keep themselves ; every mouthful of bread reminding him of unjust oppression in a country that boasts of its constitution. " If exercise be necessary for any, it is necessary for all, to the exclusion of none ; and if that be the reservation which the law upholds, why, in all seriousness, I advise the renewal of athletic games. Consult Peter Parley, who teaches how to bring every muscle into active strength — let every man become a gymnast ; when, to the Cockney's delight, he Avill find an absolute cure for indigestion ; whilst Avalking after game only brings one set of muscles into play, causing fatigue sometimes, without physical benefit. " Hunting is conducted in a much more respectable way. The fanner has little to complain of these sportsmen ; hunters pay compensation, and act as gentlemen of the land ought." 284 OOVEU>MF,NT I TON I'lUST IMUMirLKS. CHAPTER XCIX. THE OWNERS OF EXCESSIVE WEALTH, PAYING IIIfJlIER RATES THAN OWNERS OF SMALL INCOMES OF LABOUR, YIELD A GREAT REVENUE ; AND THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH FIRST PRINCirLES. The tliurough statesman must learn to tax himself Jirst. No man is qualified to become a Member t)f Parliament, that has not etieeted that amount df ((nuiuest over his own lower selfish nature. Let it no longer be said, by one of their own friends, that " a man of honour has no ticket of admission at St. James's." Had " Junius " hved to this day, he would, I believe, have hailed with pleasure the dawn of virtue in our palaces royal. If the State trickster be still permitted to replace the man of honour at the head of governmental affiiirs, the uijselfish states- man and the man of virtue and honour must be the oidy man admitted to power : the first eWdence of such a man wiM be seen in his taxing himself first ; thence proceed to his poorer neighbour. An income and property-tax should increase pro raid as the amount increases, bearing heavily upon the larger amounts. No comparison can be made, according to our present imper- fect mode of estimating and collecting the Income and Property Tax ; but a plan must be adopted, such as my proposed plan merely illustrates. Arrive at the sum total of property and wealth, first of all ; then class it into different rates, according to its excess ; for man can no more be happy wnth excessive riches than he can with an excessively-crammed stomach, or with the disease of plethora. Creation has only provided capacities for given quantities ; exceed the boundary of nature's limit and plan, and inconvenience ensues. All the secretaries and stewards obtained, down to a private amaimensis, do not wholly, but only partially, rclicA'C the de- EXCESSI\-E WEALTH TO PAY HIGHER RATES. 285 tail ; much less do they remove the anxiety of excessive wealth to a conscientious possessor. According to the ordinary progress of nations, as every year would peld a larger amount, let the Government reduce the per-centage, the country taking good care not to multiply idle offices of State. Income Tax. The following particulars are exti-emely important, in show- ing that out of a population of thirty milhons, less than three hundred thousand persons are in possession of incomes beyond one hundred pounds per annum, or about one per cent. Can this bej)ossihle ? 286 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. o ■^ M C-5 t>. CO o n 00 CO t^ Ci o ■^ 1— 1 O- C5 o" 'o" -H<" r cT co" ■^ -^ ^."^ o CS o t^ G>^ l^ o lO -^ «o 00 l-H eo t- ci" o W" c<» -* t~ Ci o I— < CO CO I-H I— 1 oo o CO fM ■* o s^ o 00 -^ 00 t-^ 00 b- '"I* »o #k F— < lo" I-H o" eo CO 00 (M 3 -3 3 Q S M < -< a o en Pi 0) PL, / 00 ■S'« (M g Q) -* 3 m te -< 2 S << co" CO o >o s c^ "J •< U Ci O m 1—1 o ^ E a> lo co 00 t^ CO CO CO "* I— < >o o o »o t--. 1—1 Ci 1—1 CO ->* '-^ ■^ eo 1^» Ci o^ 00 CO eo CO 00^ Ci 00 ^ f -+" Ci »o" (M" co" io" eo~ o" CO o »o «o (M (>1 CO »o Ci F—l 00 l-H ^ Ci lO >o C^ t- CO b- -* »o • CO '^ CO CO C^ lo" (>f c-f co" i>r 00 I— 1 co" 1—1 1—1 cT ^ CO 1^ n a u -3 a o o o o~ id o c Ci a O O O O O O o o o o_ o^ o o" o" -^ o o eo" o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o >ri' '*" o o o eo' o o (m" o o o o o o o o o »o o (M I— I 1— < o o INCOME-TAX. 287 I C-i \ ^1 lo o l^ !*< 00 (M c:> -* is t>r o" o" oo" cT -tT ^" od~ c^" o f— f ■rp o I— I 00 «^^ o ""i^ 00 ?— < C m «o f™* r b-T •o" 1— 1 (— 1 . <<; CO I— H i-O eo t- ■* Ci 00 o ^ oo 5 J '^ I—" c^ r—t o 3 ^ CD o CO '^ I— 1 CO I— t o CO o CO 00 CO r— 1 CO CO 00 t4 c^ o_ o ?— 1 t^ I Pi r— t c-T -*■ s-i o ^ I— 1 (M t^ OO lO (M 00 »o CO CO o ^ OO C5 -* t— O I— 1 t- 5 X o o O CI . o S t^ » o r-H CO l^ I-H co" '*" r-H r— 1 r— 1 CO -) U P M B o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o v^ o o o o o o^ T*1 (M I-H I-H »* o -* eo of I— 1 CO <=H • c3 t-i ^ •T3 ' s" 3 ~ ~ ;; J ~ *o ^ • ■^ r3 a a ^ a CS o O o o o o o o o r-t o o o o o o o 'O o ^ o o o o o^ »o OJ I-H I-H *^ 'f CO CM 1— r <^ 288 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST I'lUNOIPLES. A recent ravlinmontary return has given the details of our enormous national debt ; but there are very few ])orsons who have investigated its bearings on society. The following analysis of this debt to the uresent year (18-V.),) is extracted from the Moncfari/ Times- and Banho-H Circular of October 8th : — "Tho ranubor of persons entitled to Dividends on tlio Public Pobt at the liank of l-aiizjlaud, in July last, was, for Ciroat Britain, as follows ; — Persons. Not exceeding j£ 10 per annum... 94,301 More than 10 not exceeding £20 . . . 44,917 . , 20 - - 100 ... 86,943 . 100 - - ^00 ... 22,GG3 . 200 - - 400 ... 12,712 . 400 - - 600 ... 3,663 . GOO - - 1,000 ... 2,378 - 1,000 - - 2,000 ... 1,174 - 2,000 - - 4,000... 376 Exceeding 4,000 per anmmi 203 Total 269,330 " K the mean average of the above amounts of Dividend be taken for each class, and the average rate of interest at 3 per cent, per annum, the Capital represented by each class will be as under : — Average Average Dividend of Total Capital Capital for Persons. each. represented. each Person. 94,301 Slid ^28,573,202 £333 44,917 15 22,458,500 500 86,943 60 173,816,000 2,000 22,663 150 113,315,000 5,000 12,712 300 127,120,000 10,000 3,663 500 61,047,558 16,666 2,378 800 03,411,748 26,666 1^174 1,500 58,700,000 50,000 376 3,000 37,600,000 100,000 269,127 £686,112,009 £2,-549 PROPERTY AND INCOMK-TAX. 289 "As the whole of the Funded Debt of Great Britain in 1858-9 is given at £7i3,G85,278, and £'686,112,009 -was represented by 269,127 persons, the sum of JE57, 274,369 was represented by 201 persons ; being an average of about j£286,439 each, while the average Capital represented by 269,127 persons was about .£2,549 eacL"» It will be found that the total amount of this immense Debt is possessed by less than one hundredth part of the entire popu- lation of the United Kingdom, taking it at about 30,000,000 persons ; or, in other words, there is only one person out of every hundred that has any direct interest in the principal of the debt itself, leaving 99 persons in every 100 to pay the tax in shape of interest, which amounts to nearly one-half the annual revenue of the country. It is very easy to prove that nearly the whole of this gigantic sum is paid out of labour itself, and scarcely any by propert}'. It is time, therefore, that some plan of financial reform should be devised, to change the gross injustice which is thus committed upon labour and commerce. * It must be observed, that the above amount of Public Debt does not in- clude that of Ireland} which, to the same date, amounted to £43,114,176, making the total debt of the United Kingdom, to March 31st, 1859, £780,801,154. 11 •J5)0 GOVKKNMKNT ITON FIKST rillNCirLES. C< O O O «5 O CD O O »'"5 O O O O O O t-^ O^ O^ O^ -^^ co -^ IXCOME-TAX. 201 Value of Personal and Real Froperty. The value of personal and real property in Great Britain was estimated in the Monetary Times, May 7th, 1859, to be £6,000,000,000 ; so that a tax of M. m the poimd would jdeld £75,000,000 of money ; all that Great Britain would require, were all property', real and personal, faii'ly taxed. How much greater would this property become, if all or part of the waste-lands, amounting to more than ten milHons of acres,* were in cultivation, and made to be reproductive ! Perhaps the influential of the nation will tell us why they do not gradually and more generally bring these lands into cultivation ? Of coui'se they cannot say it would not increase the demand for labour, since that is just what it would do ; on accomit of which, I expect, we shall not have these lands thro^voj into cultivation. That wliich is cultivated becomes more valuable in proportion as the other is kept out of the market. Does this, again, benefit the poor ? If I were asked, towards what standard I would direct all my regulating media, I would say. Ask the stone towards what point does it fall. As Sir Isaac Newton saw towards what point the apple gra\-itatcd, so I see towards what point I must wtually, morally, and intellectually gra\'itate, i.e., to- wards the centre of action, fi'om whence all things ccntrifugate, and towards which all tilings centripetate. That is the meridian of quality — the nadir and zenith of existence ; that is the happy mcdiimi to live in, physically and morally ; as all things near this mediocrity are happy. Let the statesman hold this standard before him, and examine himself first, whether he be diverging from the recti- lineal, whether he be straight in all his principles of action or rectitude. Right lines may take theii' extension ad infinitttnt, • Sco ICstiniato of Waste Lands in I',nj,'l;tiul avul \V:ilt's. r 2 202 OOVKllNMENT UPON l-IUST TlUNClPhES. l)ut the smallest ili\orp;cMU'C interferes with his neighbour's pntxinmte rights and ])rivil(\ues to extend in endless degree also. ITcnce this world I eonceive to be the centrifugal action. The anal(»gy i>n this is worth considering, because the centre irradiates all the circumambient. The surrounding then con- tains the motive power of the centre ; the centre, therefore, is the primary mover, aiul the ultimate in motion, since no vacuum cuts off ccntrifugation nor gra\'itation. Man by his freedom of action makes diversions from tho rectilineal, but the purity of the origiiial force is tho same ; the use made of it by man only varies. All miseries, maladies, and aiflictions are deduciblo directly or indirectly to this di- vergence fi-om the rectilineal. All afflictions, maladies and miseries, therefore, are the conscqiiences of wrong on our own part, or that of hereditary descent, the abuse of the grandest part of creation's munificent designs, that is, the freedom of choice, lest he become a slave or an automaton. "^^"hy do Secularists doubt the justice as well as the existence of God ? There is ample cause for this scepticism ; injustice is the prevalent feature first among the reigning Powers, thence the tone of aU society has taken its key-note from the higher ranks rather than the lower ; the fonncr are not only hurling down odium and monstrous iniquity upon themselves, but, alas ! men of deep thought and integrity lament aloud and cry aloud, where is their God of Vii'tue ? since all is now offered to the shrine of corruption. The Secularists say, " AVe know the Deity only through his work, and if it be conceded that justice is not accomplished in the only world of which we have any experience, the legitimate inference is, not that another world will be free from imperfec- tions, but that justice is not one of the attributes of God."* The departure from this right line of action by the legislature has brought about the most serious consequences in men's minds. * The Reasoner, .Tanuary 8th, 1860, p. 10. PROPERTY AND I^•C'OME-TAX. 293 The fool may look complacently upon all amid confusion, and and the misty time-serving attempts to delude, but the hght has dawned upon us which lays bare the corruptions of State- minions, and of State, however plausibly they may have hitherto succeeded in defrauding and misguiding theii- people. Shocking as it appears that men are to be found that openly express their doubt in the justice of Diety ; still more shocking is it when you have traced the provoking soui'ce to have ema- nated in the rulers of the world ha^'ing departed from the >-irtue Avhich is the only sustainer of true royal prerogative. The justice of Deity is expected to be practised among the professors and propagators of Christianity and theii' order, by their aiding the cause of the needy — by their relieving the bur- den of oppression fi-om the helpless portion of the community ; but this is not done by them. The Bishops, and the Ecclesias- tical orders generally, are the first in the ranks to vote against the improvement of the laws that would come to their rescue. About one person in a hundi-cd only benefits by that immense National Debt ; say of £30,000,000, that is, one person receives a portion of these diA-idends only, while ninety-nine persons pay to make up the amount that are not recipients of it. Also there are only 376 persons receiA-ing the enormous sum of £3000 each yearly, whilst there are 94,301 persons receiving o:.ly £10 each per annum ; and this illustrates the general ratio of the distribution of wealth throughout Great Britain. They that have the most money buy the most rents of course ; but the burden rests upon all labour, the heav}' weight of which so few seem to commiserate and feel for their inces- santly toiling fellow-creature, Anth the gloom onlyof the Union at the end of their days, when the struggle ceases to render them longer able to earn their small daily wages ; economy and daily frugahty will not open up for these low-wage labourers even hope for competency in their old age. The value of real and personal property in Great Britam only, is computed by Mr. Ayres (author of the "Financial Register," and editor of the Bankers' Circular) to be 294 (iOVKUNMKNT I'l'ON FlUST rUlNCIPLES. " £l),000.000,00()." Now, this iminonsc sum, taxed at Gr/. in tlie pomul, would j-iold tlio onormous sum of £150,000,000 annually ; but as less tlian halt' this amount only is rccjuiivd, the smallrr i'a])italists mij^ht havo their pro])erty reduced in |)ro])or(ion to their diminution — say, from in/, to 4(/., 3(/., 2r/., anil If/. ; leaWng industry, by such an arrangement, much less I'ueumbered. The struggling man has greater difRculty in maintaining his position now than was over known, arising from the monetary system of speculation and contraction of resources to the needy. An alteration must now take place, or the miseries will become imminent both to commerce and the State. CHAPTER C. "if I liA\E DONE ANYTHING FOR SOCIETY, I HAVE DONE IT KEALLY FOR MY OWN ADVANTAGE." MarCUS AurelluS. All shall benefit by the improved condition of the many, whilst few only now benefit by the selfish calculations of exclusiveness. Not only the artisan — not only the employed, but the em- ployer — is benefited by high prices ; every article, both of commerce and manufacture, is by it brought into demand and use ; but of com-se some one must lose to the very extent of the rise in the prices of commodities. That is just the fact we must arrive at always ; yes, and at once. Our losses ; but who are they that lose (apparently) ? The rich lose at high prices ; but only just to the extent of what they can well afford, and which to them is not a loss, for they charge it on their money ; and those that want it when prices are PROPERTY AND INCOME-TAX. 295 high must pay high prices for money ; the manufacturer or the merchant, therefore, ultimately pays the excess. They then getting better prices for their goods, can better afford to pay it without grumbling, until a monetary trick is played upon them, and extortionate rates are charged ; discounts rise higher and higher, until a panic ensues. All suffer but thc^Banks. After that, rates gradually fall again, but to experience the same process in varied repetitions. Neither the fallings nor risings are what I mean by the benefit that shall accrue to the majority by high prices, which is to benefit the many. The monetary interests appear to be sufferers at high prices of commodities ; but the other side of the question is of far greater importance : the working community always suffer when prices are low — some wantmg even emj)loy, some by reduction of wages, shori time, inconstant employ. I do not pretend to perpetuate the system of taxation in any way as it exists at present, because the whole of it is based upon the ver}- opposite principles to those of unselfishness. First, let us admit that no law is just that is based upon individual or factional selfishness. JS'o man should be quahfied to become a member until he has made that all-important conquest over himself. Yet this very quality is scarcely ever possessed by a member of our House of Parliament. The late attempt at an approach to faii'ness in that of the Propert}' and Income-Tax is so mixed up with selfishness, that we scarcely can see an approach to justice. Mr. Reuben Browning * has so clearly shown up these inconsistences, that I give liis ideas in full : — "property and income tax. "Tho first item in tlie statement, from its importance and amoiint, is the ' Property and Income Tax.' " This appellation ought, with more propriety, to be rendered ' Income Tax ' only. Abstractedly considered, there is no tax * " Fiimiices of Great IJritaiu," p. 11. 296 GO%'ERNirENT UTON FIRST miNCiri.ES. which appears more just than this impost : they who have incomes can best pay taxos ; and, judging from tho reaiUnoss with which it hfts boon received by tlio nation, it may be assumed that, although much ilainour was made for tho repeal of tho war portion of it, generally speaking, a tax on income is favourably viewed by a largo majority. As it is, nevi'rtheless, admitted by all ])artios that it is now uno(iually imposed, our first duty Avill necessarily bo to con- sider the most striking cases of its unfair assessment. " REPUTED UNFAIRNESS OF ASSESSMENT CONSIDERED. " That every one pays, or is supposed to pay, equally in taxation according to his means, is an observation frec^uently employed by tho supporters of oiu* fiscal impositions ; but injustice in tho same assessment on permanent as upon precarious incomes, is ajiparent in the following cases : — "A, we suppose, possesses j£33,333 G*'. 8d. Consols, from which he derives J21000 per annum. At his death his representative his will possess the same advantage. " B, has a business from which he derives the same income ; on death, there is probably a good-will worth three years' purchase ......... j£3000 " There is also a capital in the concern, partly in the plant on the premises, partly in his stock- in-trade, which, assuming that money in active commerce yields 20 per cent., is equal to . . 5000 "Total . . . j£8000 " C, has a profession or salary of JflOOO per annum, entirely dependent on his exertions or ability. When he dies, there is neither income, stock-in-trade, nor good-will. " By the present Act they are nominally assessed alike each paying 7c?. per pound, or j£29 36'. id. per annum, " A, possessing 2Jermanent property, has no cause of complaint. " B and C, whose incomes are precarious and dependent on circumstances, are assessed too much : this will be shown in the following statements. PROPERTY AND INCOME-T.\X. 297 " The case of B considered : — " Althougli B has an income of . . ^£1000 it will cease at his death ; and, there- fore, he must make a provision for that contingency. His good-will and stock-in-trade amount to j£8000. His age 35 years, and the insurance on his life might he effected at 2i per cent. It will require j£32,000 to produce JglOOO per annimi; but havmgjeSOOO in property, as above stated, he need only insure for j£ 24,000 for that object, for Avhich he will have to pay GOO " Thus leaving his disposable income . ^400 " Wliich ought to be taxed only Avith . £11 13 4 " The case of C considered : — " C, having neither stock-in-trade nor goodwill, will be obliged to insure for the same object for j£32,000, in order to perpetuate his income of ^1000 " Which at 2^ per cent, would require . 800 " Leaving him only to be assessed on . £200 "Or . . . • . . . £5 16 8 " So that there are three classes paying alike, which ought to be varied, in order to place them on an equal footing, viz. : — A ought to pay . . £2 18 3 per cent B „ >) 1 3 4 )j c „ >> 11 8 jj "Hence, if A pays 7d. in the pound. B should pay 2-7 9 6d., or nearly 3c?. , and c l,398cZ., „ li d. " It is true that in the returns of tlie tax the Commissioners allow for whatever may be paid by parties for life-insurance upon production of receipts ; but few people ever make insurances to the extent required for the purjjose here suggested, whicli is to place irrccarious income on an equality with i\i^iivom permanent sources. 208 (U)VV.KNMF.NT UPON FTUST PRINCIPLES. r>ut another class is ivprosontoil to bo unlairly troatod — the holilors of tcrminalilo aiinuilios,i>artiiularly Ww Long Annuities, -which stock, liaving hut a short timo to run, calls forcibly for investigation. " Of this, however, there is reason to believe that the most clamo- rous parties have the least to complain ; since, in their case, it may be shown that^ if the tax were taken off, or jiartially removed, such ]iarties would have an unfair advantage ; for if D purchased last year Long Annuities, the jirice he paid for them was such as would not only allow for the paynmnt of the heavy income-tax, to which these annuities are subjected, but anouKI tlius render him free ill reference to this stock altogether, as in paying the tax he only per- forms his contract, for which ho lias received a consideration in tho cost 2^>'ice. " IJut it must be romombered that a very large proportion of these were created during the war, when the country was subject to 10 per cent, tax, or 2s. in tho pound ; so that any holder of annuities which were derived previously to the repeal of the former 10 per cent, tax, has been relieved of a considerable burden up to 1842, when the present tax was imposed ; and subsequently, although paying, when the tax was Is. id. per pound, G| per cent, tax, he had still an advantage of 3§ per cent, under that rate, which might have been added to the Is. id. tax to make it conformable to tho compact with the original jiossessor. Much of this stock has been held by public companies, and will, probably, be in this position. " Even parties who purchased these annuities between the years 1816, when the first income-tax was repealed, and the year 1842, when the present tax commenced, have no more right in law to complain, than any one who, having purchased the end of a lease, finds himself called upon to fulfil tho covenants of such lease, which his predecessor engaged to perform. Persons in such a position may excite our sympathy, but in reality they have no right to complain. " Xevertheless, it might be a matter worthy of the consideration of the Government, whether, in the exercise of its benevolence, it would not do well to authorize the Commissioners to gi-ant an appropriate relief in special cases to individuals who have become possessed of sucli annuities between the periods of 1816 and 1842 ; but all acquisitions of this stock since that period have assuredly no right whatever to be compromised in such relief PROPERTY AND INCOME-TAX. 299 "The holders of annuities for thirty years, recently created, have, on this principle, no cause of complaint, for at their issue they were purchased knowing the condition of income-tax, so that to them any cessation of the tax would be a decided advantage, for which they would have given no consideration whatever, " Holders of life aiumities are also frequently cited as being unjustly oppressed in this tax. But individuals so selfishly regard- less of their successors, and desu-ous by a life annuity to avail them- selves to the utmost extent of every advantage their property may yield, and having, by sinking their money, increased with their income the share of protection afforded liy the law, ought not to complain of the full imposition of the tax. "Leasehold property should, doubtless, be taxed only on its estimated value, according to its duration and contingencies. " Great objection has been raised by former Administrations to a variation in the rates of this tax ; but unless such be adopted, justice cannot be done to holders of precarious incomes. " In the existing property and income-tax, a variation of rates exists, that of reducing the tax on incomes between JglOO and £150 from 7d. to 5d. in the pound. Now, if it be practicable to make any difference of assessment, it certainly need not be con- sidered impossible to introduce those referred to in this paper — namely. Threepence in the pound in case B ; and Threehalfpence „ „ C. In fixing these diminished rates for the classes B and C, the age of thirty-five years is selected for the proposed insurance. This has been done for convenience ; but there would be no other impedi- ment than the trouble in taking the actual age of the party and making the assessment for three years. " In making exception to the age here mentioned, it may be urged that few men in business obtain an income of J['lU00so early as thirty-five years. Were it intended in this proposition to apply it solely to incomes of i'lOOO, such an exception would be valid ; but its application is for a general purpose, and as a majority of incomes would be from .£200 to iiTOO, this age may be fairly taken. Although nominally it describes the position of i^lOOO per annum, practically, and in most ca.ses, it would be ai)j)licable to incomes of less inijiortanct- coming within the range of the tax. 300 GOVKUNMENT UrON FIUST PUINCiri.ES. " Nor would thoro bo any objection to n i-oal valuation of capital, instead of that assumed of fivo times the amount of income. To appro!voh anything like justice in this matter, either a modification similar to the rates proposed nuist be adopted, or the prnpi-rly-tax must not be coupled with the income-tax. Tlu^y should in pro- priety be considered separately ; then the interests of each might be more fairly treated. "Both of these taxes arc a judicious source of revenue, ami should not too speedily bo set aside, for it should not be overlooked that capital cn'jajcd in commerce miist otherwiae escape taxation altogether. "This tax, at Is. Id. in the pound, produced sixteen millions ; it is now reduced to 7d., which will produce seven millions, if taken on the same scale. But as incomes as low as J£100 aro now taxed at 5d., there must be an augmentation to that estimate. Although there is an expectation — not a very sanguine one, it must bo confessed — that in 18G0 this tax will be altogether repealed, many circumstances may be urged for the expediency and proba- bility of its continuance. Direct taxation decidedly presses on tho rich; the poor escape it ; and as it will be found hereafter just to support indirect taxation, which affects more the lower classes, it seems equitable that this impost should always remain, but in a degi-ee sufficiently moderate, so as to bo extended with facility in cases of emergency. It is, therefore, recommended to perpetuate this tax with the modifications alluded to — namely, sevenpence, threepence, and threehalfpence per pound." Open up facilities for free trade, and extend our com- merce mifetterod all over the entire globe. If an income-tax were necessary, I would apply the same principle. Tax every labouring man less, every artist, every mechanic, and servant less, but exempting none from the minimum of one penny or halfpenny tax, that received a wage of £20 and upwards per annum ; while the larger incomes shall be increased with its excess. By so doing can the legislator discourage excessive accumulations of wealth, and benefit all manlcind, without either convulsions or revolutions. It \\ill not be asked who can afford to p;iy one penny in the PROPERTY AND INCOME-TAX. 301 pound on all their earnings, incomes, or profits of trade. The earnings of industrious incomes pay infinitely more at the present time, in an indii-ect way, which is undermining the honest efibi-ts of our most industrious population, without their knowing clearly the cause of this under-current of adverse circumstances. It is highly important that every man should know for what he is labouring, and the exact amount of incum- brance which a Government entails upon him ; as it is im- portant that he should know how much he owes, and the particulars of his private debts. Direct taxation furnishes particulars of the Habilities of governmental demands in one ILae, simply and expHcitly, — enables a man to have a clear per- ception of what he has to encounter, which of course facilitates his arrangements in providing for the demands of the State. "While he has but that to pay, he would be less likely to fail in paj-ing-up his one tax. The small amounts constantly demanded are a loss of time both to the payer and the collector ; reproductive industry is cheated of her fiiir expectation, and the whole country suffers in its yearly produce and increase. Excessive expenditure of Government is ever dangerous to the Crown, as it is alike dangerous to the indivddual relying upon yearly contributions. It is not essential to her importance, nor to her national position in the eyes of the world ; nor is it essential to her commercial protection. America, with so much less expenditure, affords her commerce and country equal pro- tection. AMiile wages there double those of England, commerce there also is making a progress doubly rapid. Taxes in England are entirely on the wrong shoulder, as now assessed. The evidence adduced before the Parliamentary Committee in 1851 and 1852, appointed to inquire into the present mode of assessing and collecting the income and property-tax, and whether any other mode of le\^'ing the same can be adopted, so as to render the tax more equitable, resulted in the majority of the gentlemen examined by the Committee, declaring them- selves in favour of a more comprehensive property and income- tax. 302 nOVDUNMKNT ri'ON ITUST rKlMIlM.DS. Tlio Comiiiiltoo was constituted as follows : I.V THK SESSION OP 18.")1. Joscith Hume, Esii., CIniinnan. 'J'lie Chanoollov of ilu>, Excliciiuor (Sir Charles "Wood). ^Ir. Thomas Baring. Mr. JanK^a Wilson. Mr. Colulcn. Mr. Uicardo. I\Tr. Disraeli. Mv. lioebuck. I^lr. Ilorsnian. Colonel Romill}'. IMr. Henley. T^rd Harry Vane. ISFr. Ves(>y. IMr. Sotheron. ^Ir. Forbes Mnckonzio. The Session of 1852. Joseph llunio, Esq., Chairman. The Chancellor of tho Exchequer (Sir Charles Wood). INFr. Thomas Earing. Mr. Mackenzie. Mr. Cobden. Mr. James Wilson. Llr. Disraeli. Mr. Eicardo. Mr. Ilorsnian. Mr. Eoebuck. Mr. Henley. Lord Harry Vane. Colonel Eomilly. Mr. Sotheron. Mr. Vesey. Actuaries. Mr. Samuel Brown : Points out tho unjust working of the Act with regard to all precarious property depending upon life interest. Thinks that all j^^'operti/ should be taxed, and that a simple rule viight he laid down for that purpose. Mr. Charles Jelico : States that the present mode of levying tho income-tax is exceedingly unjust. That there are numerous omissions under the present system, amounting in value, in the estimation of practical persons, to nearly £2,000,000,000. Is of opinion tbat the tax should be a property-tax, not a personal tax, and that one shilling and ninepence per cent, should be that tax. Would value as real property, professional incomes at seven years' purchase, and the incomes of merchants at three and a half years' purchase. Mr. Thomas Eowe Edmonds : Considers that the tax should be fouri^ence in the ponnd u])()n land, threepence in the pound on PROPERTY AXD INCOME-TAX. 303 annuitants and professional incomes. In cases of land and funds the whole tax should he paid hy the life tenant, and the half of it recovered from the reversioner. Mr. Peter Hardy : Would recommend the suhstitution of a projmiij-tax for the present income-tax. Suggests the capitalizing of all incomes, for the j^urjjose of assessment to the tax. 'Mx. Charles Babbage : States that proper tij ought to j^a g for its p)rotection in proportion to its amount ; and that that is deter- mined by the value it produces, or what it will let at. But this political economist possesses a strange perversion of ideas upon a just mode of taxation, for he says : " the poorer the man is, the more protection is important to him, and there- fore the larger ought to be liis contiibution in proportion to his means, for the defence of his country." This " Babbagetical " stretch of imagination, which is cconomistical and hideously distorted, I will leave M-ith all its naked toadpsm, -^athout further comment. ^fr. John Stuart Mill : Would tax all beyond the reserve for necessaries, but justifies the present exemption from the income-tax of incomes under j£150 ; &c. &c. Then follow the American witnesses : The Hon. Dudley Selden : States that the entire expenses of the State of New York are paid by taxes vpon real and personal property. The value of the property to be taxed is to be fixed by approximation. AsHBEL Smith : States that all property in Texas is taxed ad valorem, with a very few exceptions. English Witnesses. — Non-official. ;Mr. \Vm. Farr : Is of opinion that the correct principle of tax- ation is, that each member of the community should contribute every year to the common yearly expenditure of the country, in a fixed proportion to the amount of property in his possession during that year, — to take a moneyed value of 3 per cent, on incomes when capitalized ; such incomes to be capitalized according to their market value. All property, real and personal, ought to be taxed. Mr. J.vME.s Keddcliff Jeffrey : Advocates direct taxation, as the. best and most economical of financial policies, to extend it 304 GOVKUXMKNT UPON FIRST rUINCIl'LES. to the full kntjth of siihstitittion fob all other taxes, with a view to fi[ivo tho people the full advantage of free trade." Let those who -wish to inquire further into the CA-idenccs, examine for themselves, and take special notice of the English officials, in order " to learn how tho routine of office warps and enchains the mind, and presents every change that may ho proposed, however hcncficial, as a thing of impossibility to carry into effect."* The news of Mr. Mill and Mr. Jeffery arc not to be lost sight of. I am happy to find my plans somewhat in accordance with their views. Mr. ^lill's views are : " It is right to con- sider whether the indirect taxes do not press more on tho smaller than on the larger incomes. I conceive that they do." And Mr. Jeffery is not less emphatic, when he says, that he would not permit any exemptions, because he would propose that direct taxation should be the substitute for all other TAXES. "We perceive there is a marked preference given to direct taxation by the majority of the witnesses examined. Great care must be taken also, how we attempt to capitalize precarious industrial incomes from commerce, professions, occu- pations, labour, &c. The casuality must be considered, and by no means must be calculated upon as are permanent incomes ; for instance, a man with an income of £1,000 for one year can make his expenditure accordingly ; and that is worth more in proportion to its peiTuanence, and is worth less according to its diminished period ; else we shall fall into the absurdity of saj-ing that a man with £500 for six months is as well off as the man vritla. his £1,000 for one year ; or another with £80 for one month, or another with £20 for one week, or another with 3s. for one hour. This the " Elements of Taxation" shows very clearly to be an important consideration. Mr. Farr has accurately demonstrated, that "a tax on incomes should not only be proportionate as to amount, but as to time also." • " Elements of Taxation," p. 16. DIRECT AND INDIRECT TAXATION. 305 Sii- Robert Peel once said, that " No tax ought to discoui-age industrpn this countr}'." Yet we retain the diseom-agements of fiscal restrictions interfering in a variety of ways \dih freedom of commerce, arising out of indii-ect taxation. The "Elemental Taxation" very clearly elucidates, that " the beau ideal of freedom of trade cannot be realized until every duty imposed upon commodities, every excise upon manufac- tures, for State necessities, be completely and for every swept away, and dii-ect taxes substituted. Then, indeed, should we have labour emancipated, — that labour which, though the soui'ce and maintenance of all wealth, has for ages been encumbered with a load of exactions altogether disproportionate to its power of sustentation." Even now am I told, by some misanthropes, that the labour- ing man consumes no taxed articles, although £37,600,000 are raised by indirect taxes, and only £9,300,000 by direct taxa- tion. The tliii-ty-seven millions then, so recently as in 1852, were raised specially upon industry and upon the necessities of the people. I ^vill enumerate fi'om the Net Produce of the Revenue of Customs in the year 1852, the various articles that are consumed specially by the icorking body of this community : — DUTIES INWARDS. Apples .... Baskets Beer, Spruce Boots, Shoes, and Calashes Boot Fronts Butter .... Cheese .... Clucory Clocks .... Cocoa and Cliocolatti Coffee .... Coir, Rope, Twine, and Strands 10,893 18 3,591 19 4,6G2 3,335 2 5,058 17 166,780 10 83,241 10 2,187 1 7,680 19 18,912 6 444,670 2,795 19 X d. 1 8 9 2 3 1 8 5 1 G 7 306 OOVKKN'MKNT TPOX ril?ST riUNCllM.KS. £ s. d. Corks ivatly luado r),7()0 11 Corn, Mi\\\, and Flour . . . 504,!)21 4 4 Cotton 2,074 IG 5 Currants . . . . . 357,851 13 1 Deals, IJattons, (fcc. . 304,174 G 11 K?;,i,'3 42,112 10 Firo-Wood G,043 8 8 Fisli, principally salt 1,577 18 3 Do. do. 1,842 5 6 Ginger, dry . 5,534 5 10 Glass Bottles 1,540 2 4 Do. . . . . 9,434 2 4 Hair, or Goats' Wool 2,1!)9 1 7 Hats, or Bonnets, of Straw 2,384 18 11 Hops .... 212 10 1 Iron and Steel, wrought 2,770 10 3 Lath-AVood 7,347 7 5 Leather Gloves . 42,350 10 2 Linens .... 4,321 8 9 Liquorice Juice . 9,998 13 10 jMace ..... 2,847 12 8 Mats and ^Mattings 1,717 G Onions .... 2,541 9 Oranges, &c. . 81,086 12 1 Pears, raw .... 2,128 4 Pepper .... 8G,670 2 8 Potato Flour 1,124 12 5 Prunes .... 9,270 14 1 Raisins .... . 1G3,912 11 G Rice .... 10,951 16 9 Rice, in husk 1,348^ 19 1 Rum .... . 1,097,920 13 4 Seeds, Clover 41,007 17 6 Soap .... 1,100 13 7 Spars 1,641 11 11 Sugar, unrefined . 3,637,061 10 4 Do. . . . 346,542 14 5 Do. Molasses . 175,535 13 9 Tallow .... 67,839 16 DTRP;CT AXl) INDIRECT TAXATION. 307 Tea .... Timber, not sawn . Tin .... Tobacco and SnufI Vinegar "Woollen Manufactures ARTICLES OF EXCISE Hops Licences IMalt Paper ... Soap Spirits Sugar, home-made Do. used in Brewing £ s. d. . 5,900,624 13 7 . 198,363 5 11,238 19 9 . 4,466,468 19 4 1,221 9 9,629 8 11 :;isE. . 426,028 4 H . 1,160,570 13 5h . 5,035,559 17 8h . 928,876 17 n . 1,043,026 16 n . 6,030,323 17 lOi 3 4 3| 153 2 U There is also the traders' profit to be added to these amounts, making it 25 to 50 per cent, more before the consumer can obtain these articles of duties and excise. After this, let no one attempt to say that the working classes arc not more burdened "with taxation than the rich. I have omitted that which the rich are supposed to consume, such as almonds, china, porcelain, artificial flowers, grapes, hams, honey, lace, nutmegs, oils, chemicals, essential perfumes, opium, pictures, plate, gold and silver, plums, poultrj', prints, silk, brandy, wine, confectionary, vermicelli, and game certifi- cates, hackney carriages, post horses, and railways. Is it possible that the people of England can know the history of their taxation, and submit to it with complacency ? They cannot know it, or submission becomes a crime ! Can it be possible that they know how the feudal lords and knights threw off their military tenures, and shifted the expenses of govern- ment from themselves on to the industry of the country ? Is it knowTi that, in order to effect this, they destroyed universal suffrage, and made the House of Pai'liament to consist of Borough reprsentatives only ? Is it known how thoy deceived X 2 308 GOVERNMENT irON riKST I'lUNCIlM.ES. tlio people at that time by tlio iiiisnomev of tliat covnipt house — palling it the House of Commons, at the very time they had niado it anything but the house of the people? It was liti>rally a house of selfishness alone. Can the people of Eng- land know that, ever since, little hut legal ])lunder has been practised upon us, the industrious but too contiding Ijnglish ? Know that the very of House of C(mimous, so called, which then was made to consist of Borough representation, shoidd have been called the House of Boroughs, and was not so called because the doioniinafcd common people Averc to be deluded and entrapped by a name which, from the prevailing ignorance of the sixteenth century, was all tlicy knew about the laws which governed them ? Do not the people of England know that the Aristocracy in ICGO, having accomplished this great change in their OA\ni favour (by the vilest fraud ever committed upon the public), they commenced this transferment of the burden by the Excise ? Is it possible that the English do not know that fi'om this very time the people had not only to fight but to pay for fighting, while the lords of the land reaped the only benefit from it ? The National Debt is the result of these indirect Excise laws ; for, no sooner had the burden of paying taxes been shifted fi'om the higher orders, than profligacy, waste, wars, and ex- travagance ensued ; money was spent like dirt ; neither the king nor his ministers regarded the consequences. The necessity of public economy was uncarcd for, simply because themselves were no longer the principal contributors to the revenue. This is the reason why we have no extension of the suffrage, why we have not an equalization of electoral districts, nor even vote by ballot ! Do we not see why the Times newspaper is so vehement against the attempt to recover a just and fair property and income-tax, comprehending all the taxes of the country ? The Excise and Customs were originally shuffling modes of changing the burden from the shoulders of the rich to the shoulders of the poor and industrious. The indirect mode of taxation was adopted in order that it should not be seen by the LOSS BY WANT OF PRINCIPLE IX GOVERNMENT. 309 innocent victims what amount was paid indi\T[dually, and so that it should be the more readily extorted. Had not this indirect mode of taxation been adopted, the National Debt would never have been created, because the burden of the rich would not have been removed ; they would not have incuired a debt which themselves would have had to pay. Thus have both incumbrances been shifted from the rightful shoulders. The agricultui-ists, for the greater part, take the poor and the Church, provided by Queen EHzabcth, and cstab- hshed in her reign by an Act passed in the 43rd year of that queen : thence arose the Law of Settlement. The merchants manufacturers, and laboui'ers, take the burden of the army and taxes in general, for the greater part ; wliile the priests and the landed aristocracy have retained their immunities, without contributing that portion to the nation for which those enormous benefits were granted them. CHAPTER CI. THE MILLIONS LOST TO THE NATION BY A WANT OF PUINCIPLE ON THE PART OF GOVERNMENT. Many wild schemes, purely chimerical, have Englishmen readily entered into without that caution which ought to cha- racterize men of business ; and perhaps none more readily than those which Government would recognize, and of which they become the principal shareholders ; }'ct none generally are more dangerous to mercantile interests than those which govenunents do originate or uphold. Government has of course always identified its course of proceedings with the show of common good ; and however 310 GOVKKNMKNT VVOS KIUST I'ltlNCIPLES. mercenary or selHsh their object has often seemed to have been, tliey shield themselves under the garb of constitutional under- takings ; and the too contiding and over-worked merchant and man of bushiess yield liliiul assent to that on which imiuiry and scrutiny might have saved themselves and their country. In the reign of George I. the public were wronged and robbetl i>ut of millions by the South 8ea Company. Nothing- could more forcibly prove how totally incompetent, from w'ant of ])rinciplc, were our lordly officers of State to conduct the atl'airs of the nation. AN'henthc causes which induced Govern- ment to sanction this South Sea Bubble came to be investigated, it was found that these self-named great statesmen, together with the king's mistresses, had been bribed to supi)ort it, to the amoimt of £1,200,000. Even the Prime Minister himself, the Earl of Sunderland, it was discovered had had given to him £50,000. I think Ave want no further pi'oofs of the infamy and of the disgraceful conduct of the ministers of that day ; but subsequent periods have shown us even greater mal- appropria- tions of the people's property and capital. Had we looked upon this as premonitory of the roguery which w^e afterwards experienced, we might have averted those black records which darken the history of our nation, but wdiich, worst of all, have left their wulent results still, the true specific for which has never been applied. England has been tickled Avith names long enough. She must no longer be awed into vassalage by dukes, earls, and lords, without merit or any qualifications beyond those Avhich apj)ropriations of public money procured them. Henceforth let England recognize no titles but those of merit, and no merit, however talented, unless there be wtue and integrity. Let no man build himself up at the expense of principle, nor any principle be recognized opposed to the fundamental laws — the love of God and the love of our neighbour. We must commence Avith our oAvn indiAadual exertions. "WTierever a man is to be found Avho is yet a Tory, look upon him as one not well up in political tactics, or who prefers pei-petuating abases. You may be quite sure it is Avant of LOSS BY MANX OF PRINCIPLE IN GOVERNMENT. 311 knowledge of the history of taxation, or the interest he takes in perpetuating abuses, that makes him a Tory. I do not allude to the Liberal-Conservative, who may be better than a Whig — the hopefid cluld of the aristocracy. Awaken him to a sense of his delusion and danger ; intreat him not to be led by the Times at all, or he will acquire a wrong poHtical bias, JN"o man has a right to any political denomination, to be considered either Tonj or Liberal, imtil he has iufonned him- self upon the subject of our unnecessary and excessive taxation. His country demands that eveiy man shall do his duty, before he gives himself any name or title. Since there always has been a class of men too indolent and apathetic about their own interests — those interests which are not directly seen and felt ; such men are dangerous to the State, to the commonwealth of England : let us take care that these men are not made the tools of the oligarchy, the aristocracy, nor the mercantile millionaire, as they always have been. The aiistocracy, having given them- selves fine names, have taken care to give the substantial, honest men of the country bad names ; knowing that names are what three parts of the country judge by, without ever knowing or in- quiiing into merit, or who originated the name. Men of business too well know the value of property, not to wish to protect it ; as merchants, they now understand that labour and commerce are the only genuine sources of wealth (in contradistinction to the practice of the drones of the aristocracy, who are too often the consumers of it, forming no part of the community as producers of wealth). As commercial men, MTith om- eyes open, we find that we ourselves, ha\-ing toiled in our younger days, have a just claim upon the consumption of our earnings ourselves, without having artificial consumers, such as the aristocracy are. We know, also, that the men who never had to toil for their u-ealth are not likehj to he economical managers of the u-ealth of the country ; but they always have squandered our hard-camed millions, and did not stop at hundreds of millions, but have gone on, without a shadow of principle or prudence, in spending actually thousands of millions. The legislators, up to this day, prove themselves not to bave the remotest idea, nor in- 312 OOVKKNMKNT IVON riHST riUNCIPLES. tcntion, of economy and rctronclimcnt. Since, then, they are tlio wasters of the wealth and property of the countiy, they can have no just claim to the name they have given themselves — i.e., Coiiscnafiri'ti. AVc take from them that name, and place it upon that hody of men whose interest it is fo he conservative — to take care of the wealth, and cause a prudent, economical, and linanoial expenditure of it. All property must he respected everywhere, and must remain as it now stands, whether the o^\'ner be an aristocrat or a democrat ; hut all excessive wealth must take its justly-in- creased proportions in the taxation of the country. The political improvers know well that now to neglect the loTid outcncs of the country, so advanced in intellectual attain- ments — to neglect the artisans, who have so rapidly progressed in this attainment, and are able to express themselves so lucidly and emphaticalh^ in asserting their just rights — to neglect the organizations of all the artisans of the country, with their re- spectable and systematic leaders — is both detrimental and dangerous. AVe know weU that longer to neglect |^the'2)ublic voice is inimical to our peaceful existence. CHAPTER CII. IS THE NATI()N.\L DEBT BENEFICIAL TO THE NATION, AND WHOM DOES IT BENEFIT? The present plethora of money does not indicate a bad state of things amongst bankers, nor in the J3ank of England. All large transactions must have time for their accomplishment. The moneyed men contemplating foreign loans can well afford to wait till bullion retm'ns to the Bank in sufficient quantity for them to gi-ant foreign loans to a large extent, instead of keeping this bullion and specie for home requirements. THE NATIONAL DEBT. 313 Will the nation be benefited by these foreign loans that are about to take place ? I think it will be easy to prove that they will be considerable suiFerers by it, iaasmuch as discounts will rise in proportion to the amount lent to foreign nations ; money will become proportionately scarce, and new seeds will thus be sown for another and an early panic. "NATio wall benefit by the transaction but the banks of England, the miUionau-es, and their emissaries ? But commerce and industry will again be jeopardized ; confidence will again be made the bugbear of the banking strategy ; the whole working part of the nation will suffer the burden, the whole of which will be certain, to fall upon laboui-, because all encumbrances of nations, permanent or ephemeral, must have a termination somewhere : the powerful have the means of casting the bui-den from their shoulders, and so on downwards till it reaches the helpless, which is identical with the needy — the man that works. Hence I give the first answer to the inquiry — \iz., that debts are not beneficial to the w^orking portion of this country, wJicther it be in the shape of a foreign loan or a national debt at home. Prostration of business will generally produce a large accu- mulation of capital in the hands of the banks, sunilar to that of 1858 to 1859 ; but these accumulations in the bankers' hands are but aggravations of the e\il, placing more powder where power is abeady in excess. The Mondanj Times * of December 25, 1858, has honestly and clearly illustrated this fact : — " The prostration of business wliich generally prevailed after the return to cash payments under the Currency Act of 1819, produced ultimately a large accumulation of capital in the hands of banks ; but instead of its being an increase of money capital, it was merely an aggra- vation of it; and men whose minds were infected with a mania for foreign speculation considered it a good opportunity for indulging their appetite. In the course of the five years ending witli 1825, nearly £50,000,000 of foreign loans were • i'liv Afuinlfiri/ Tinus and Dtiiikers' CiicuLir, Dec. 25, 1858, p. 855. 314 OOVKRNMENT ITON FIRST rRINC'll'LES. contracted in Ijt>mlou, tor Avhicli, of course, largo quantities of gold wore withdnnvu iVoni the country. The great error in the pubHo mind wius, that there was an increase of loanable capital, instead of an aceumidation which might have been re- distributed at home in dt)mestic enterprise instead of in foreign loans, many of which remain unpaid to this day." Kow, we have the greatest proof that can be given, that the present bullion and specie, amounting to £19,148,997, is not a foreign loanable capital, since, only nine months ago, this capital, in commercial cii'culatiou, was insufficient for the rc- (luiremcnts of the country ; the result of wlucli was, a panic of a most disastrous character. Again the B(nilxcrs' Circular says : — " Arc wc not in danger of having the same error repeated in 1859 ? Already the foreign schemes in embryo arc numerous, to push forward contracts in the English money market for loans ; and how- ever tempting a low rate of interest may be, are wc acting wisely in encouraging the introduction of foreign loans, and a host of foreign securities, that at other times would not be looked upon by English capitalists 1 The bidliou operations of a trading nation should bo free to all with whom it has intcr- coui'se, but the cui'rcucy of a country ought not to be made the sport of any such transactions. It is to be hoped, therefore, that, rather than venture English capital in such speculations, the j)rcsent abundance wiU bo diverted to the encouragement of legitimate enterprise at home." All this has materially to do with First Principles, because a departure from them has brought about all these evils, that only requii-ed to be pushed far enough in the direction of their enormity, in order to be seen by every eye ha\'ing an honest intention to play fair. A^^lom, then, does the National Debt benefit, since it is not the labouring, industrious, plodding people of England ? Of course the benefit is somewhere, since I have often been told, in the neighbourhood of the Exchange, that it is a benefit. Yes, it does benefit the purlieus of the Hoyal Exchange, most assuredly, and not to a small extent. It benefits the worst THE NATIONAL DEBT. 315 class of men this countn^ contains — the money-jobber, the stock-jobber, the speculator, the wholesale gambler, the im- scrupulously vicious mercenary — that seeks to gain by others' losses. Such as these have all the laws made in theii* favour — are all-powerful in making the laws of Great Britain — by whom, and for whom, ch facto, the National Debt was first created, and up to this day is upheld and maintained. Yes, the infamy of kings commenced it — the infamy of men retains it, under royal patronage withal. Talk of Fii-st Pruiciplcs to such men ! "NMiy, they vnM say he must be mad ^\-ho would hint at it on the lioyal Exchan<>-e ! Such, the devils of hell say to the good and wise in all gene- rations. Such would AVilliam Paterson* say, were he to rise up in judgment against me. But for the insatiable desii-e of these mercenaries to lend their money to promote wars — to sustain them, perpetuate them, and to stir up an apparent necessity for them — England would not have had her National Debt. Thank them well, " ye soft and easy cushions," upon which these knaves repose tiud fatten ; thank the de^^. Yes, good people, whom I love as I love my country — who I hope will yet become pure — open your eyes, and see ; or yom- jobbing, gambling, betting extortioners \vill open ^vide their mouths, and swallow up the few virtues you have left ! See how much money you can gather together, ye upright men of Britain, and if ye be tempted to play foul, — yes, if wealth you can command, you can command the Times to write for you, City Ai-ticles, Money Articles, — enough to show that white is black and black is white, — that peace was concluded in 1G07 at RysM-ick by loans to Government, — by the same loans war was carried on "snth France, — for what, wo scarcely know now. By these loans there was vast rivalry between the East India and South Sea Companies, — that Government stood so liigh, that its securities, when traded upon by these mercenaries, fell 40 to 50 per cent., — of course, all for the benefit of the • The projector of the Bank of England. JU6 oovEU^'MK^T upon riusr ruiNciri.KS. nation. The Times will ti>ll you tliat there was then a hnv made to cheek the nialpraetiees of the hrokcrs and stock- brokers, but they having now arrived to sueli a pinnacle of purity ///<■// ni'i'd t/icoc hues no longer ! Anything else you Hkc tlie Timeii will tell you, for " you pay your money and you iiuike your choice." You may even " breathe on the glasses " if you like — a slice of liberty exceeding any other charlatan, for the Times, getting its money, is not very anxious that you should sec too clearly. It will tell you that the interest of the Bank and the Govern- ment securities is identical ; that the credit of Government securities rose and fell with the credit of the note, whenever adverse positions arose from the drains of war or deficiency of taxes ; but it mil forget to tell you all this might arise from the schemes of speculation. It will tell you that the Treaty of Ryswick was so important, that it was well worth lapng a foundation of only £5,160,459 14s. ^\(\.., not caring that the system once entered upon shoidd appear of any consequence, tliough the debt reached £807,981,788 in 1858. It assures you that all people must be first-rate in principle that hold first-class paper, making no distinction between paper and principles ; therefore. First Prin- ciples must be their regulating medium : they would have you believe as they would, that there can be' no possible difference between first-class paper and First Principles ; but if you dispute it is not of the slightest consequence, " you pay your money and you make your choice." A principle of integrity is old fashioned, grown obsolete, not at all convenient for stock-jobbers and the Times newspaper to acknowledge. This sagacious journal will tell us, with unblush- ing audacity, that the £3,000,000,000 which the French Revo- lutionary War, &c., ran us into, is not of the sKghtest conse- quence ; nor are the pension Ksts of Abergavenny, Amherst, Auckland, Bexley, Edmund Burke, Grafton, Glenelg, &c. &c., amounting to some round figures of £50,000 annually — granted (to the aristocracy of course^ for offices that might have been held but for one year, — and during that short time were held for THE NATIONAL DEBT. 317 doing nothing ; yet when dismissed from such arduous duties, they shall retain a salary in perpetuity — the hereditary pro- vision, granting them a pension for once having held a sine- cure, -which their sons inherit, and they in their turn become pensioned. Thus not only was the National Debt incurred in order to pro^-ide for kingly waste, embassies, plenipotentiaries, viceroys, heutenancies, &c., but to pro-s-ide a cunning species of jobbing amongst a newly-created aristocracy of mill ionai res, more mercenary and infinitehj more dangerous than the landed aristocrat. The worst featui-e is, that there is no end to the augmentations of this list of expenses. Not only do we pay our ambassador to the French ten thousand, and to the Russian eleven thousand, but each of these places has four or five on the pension list, at thousands a year. In the case of the Ottoman Porte, four persoBs having been ambassadors to it, each receives a salary of from £1,056 to £2,056 each, besides the salary of the acting ambassador, which in the case of Sir Stratford Cannina; amounted to £7000. So that our ambassadorial relations with such a State as Turkey, might now cost us twenty thousand a year. About four hundred thousand is thus charged for Am- bassadors and Consuls yearly, one-fourth of wliich is for retii-ed salaries. All this, the Times will tell us, is very beneficial to the NATION ; they meaning by a nation. State stipendiaries and money jobbers — no one else ! Then the list of salaries coming from Charles the Second's debaucheries and adultery. Next comes the Fumes consumeri nati ; the thiggcrs and sorncrs ; the Scotch list of Campbells, (sixteen in a row,) Ilamiltons, Hurrays, Sinclairs, &c. ; the mistresses of ministers and placemen ; the royal and noble prostitutes. Then the list of Offices of Government and the legal pensions ; all of which are laid hold of by whom ? by the greatest toadies of every age. It would puzzle a very wise man to say which of tlie three Bills tliat were passed under the names of the South Sea Act, the Bank Act, and tlie General Fund Act, benefited the honestly industrial body of Great Britain the most ; it would be 318 OOVF.nXMKNT TT^ON F115ST VHINmM.KS. ovon (lifHoult to s;iy they advantngod ival lionost industry at all. A^'l> know sometliinp: of tho luimbor that were ruined when the buhble burst in 1715) ; we know something of the characters of the survivors of that remote age ; /. c, that they carry on the same self-sustaining monetary jobbing up to the present day, every act of which bcnu'tits themselves at the expense of industry. I wish to introduce the remarks of Mr. Ilamcr Stanfield to the thinking world, for their souud and honest views on the present Banking system. " rauics," says Uv. Stanfield, " arc the harvests of the IMoncy Interest. This must be evitlcnt to all, on pompaving the Dividends paid in 1852, a year of cheap money and prosperity, with those paid in 1857, a year of dear money and panic, by the following London Joint-Stock Banking Companies : — 1852. 1857. Bank of England . . . 7J 11 London and Westminster. 8 16 Union of London ... 7 20 London Joint Stock. . . 9| 22-^ The direful results alluded to, are attributed by the Committee to overtrading and speculation, but these will rectify themselves, if left to themselves ; not indeed without severe pressure to all parties concerned, but without any general panic. Acts of Parliament cannot stop them, or make wise men out of fools. "To prove to you that panics are the offspring of the Law of 1844, look at the fact, that both in 1847 and 1857, when the Act was suspended, the panics ended. " As Lord Ashburton once said, ' Our monetary laws put it in the power of a few capitalists so to contract the supply of gold, as to em-ich themselves, embarrass the bank, and nearly ruin the nation:' and Mr. Chapman, of the Firm of Overend, Gurney, and Co., gave in evidence that ' capitahsts avail themselves of this power.' " In former days it was the practice on some sea-coasts, where the inhabitants subsisted a good deal on the plunder of wrecks, to fasten, during the night, a lantern round the neck of a horse, and to tie up THE NATIONAL DEBT. 319 one of his feet, so that his limping action might deceive ships at sea, and lead them to thing it was a ship's light, which they might safely follow. Just such is the effect of the Act of 1844, which caused the Directors of the Bank of England to depart from their previous rule of never discounting under 4 per cent., (no blame to them, as they are bound to consider the interest of their shareholders,) and to canvass through their Country Branches for Bills, which they would discount at 2 per cent. Such offers of cheap money naturallj^ in- duced people to launch out, (prone enough to do so without any such stimulant,) under the impression that it was the opinion of the Directors of the Bank of England that they might safely extend their business. This breeze of confidence thus engendered, aided perhaps by good harvests, or other favoiu-able circumstances", strengthens into a wind, swells into a gale, which ends in a hurricane and general wreck. " It is then the Act of 1844 obliges Directors, in self-defence, to refuse to assist the ships in distress, excepting at an enormous rate of discount for salvage ; and the owners are coolly told, they should not have ventured out so far. The Act of 1844 first decoys, and then destr03's its victims. " Fluctuations in the value of money are the main-springs of speculation, and inasmuch as the Act of 1844 creates more frequent and violent fluctuations than were ever known before, it conse- quently promotes speculation and generates panic ! Look at my Diagram, and observe the striking contrast exhibited between the fluctuations in the Bank rate of discount during a period of one hundred and forty years of Unrestricted Issue, or Free Trade, in Currency ; and one of fourteen years of Restricted Issue and Monopoly. The black lines denote the minimum rate of discount of the Bank of England, showing that for one hundred and forty years previous to the Act of 1844, under an iinrestricted power of issue, the Bank rate only Jlnctuated hetween 4 and 5 per cent., ex- cepting for a few months in 1839, Avhen it rose to 6 per cent., whilst during the fourteen years of Restricted Currency under the Act of 1844, the fluctuations were from 2 to 10 per cent. During the former period, under the principle of Free Trade in Currency, not- withstanding the long and expensive French war, and the annihila- tion of foreign trade, commerce had an easy and almost level road to trav(;l upon, safely and steadily as far as money went, whilst 320 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST rRlNCIPLES. durincj tlio latter period of fourtoon years, uiulor a Restricted Cur- roncy it had a i)ath as ruj^'ged and dangerous as the Alps, Avith constant alternations and dillicult ascents, and rapid and perilous descents. "Thor?Ve/« fhc rate of discount indicates hut a small X)ortion of the mischief; it is the consequent fall in the value of goods and produce which is the great evil. A house with a capital of Jg 10,000 enjoys a credit which enables it, in the regular course of business, to buy goods and produce to the amount of XI 0,000 ; and as a rise in the Bank rate of discount to ten per cent, will depreciate its value some ten to lifty per cent., that house is driven at onco into bankruptcy. The uruiatural expansion and contraction of credit, by which prices are governed, arises out of the essential principle of the Act of 1844. "The red lines denote the amount of Bank Reserve (i.e., of the sum of money at the disposal of the Baidc, which in a great degree represents the unemployed money of the whole country,) and by contrasting them with the black lines, which indicate the rate of discount, you will find that the rate is governed (as admitted by the Bank Directors) by the state of the Bank Reserve ; thus in 1852 Avhen the Bank Reserve was j£ 14,000,000 the rate of discount was down to 2 per cent., and in November, 1857, when the Reserve was down to ,£581,000, the rate of discount was up to 10 per cent. Is it not evident, that the Bank rate of discount, or value of money, depends upon the quantity of money at its command, and that by limiting the amount to be issued, the value is increased to tlio benefit of the Money Interest, and to the prejudice of the Labour Interest 1 " Although the Bank of England and all bankers might, before the Act of 1844, issue as many notes as they pleased, without giving any security, it was then Free Trade only in an unsoimd Currency, and not, as we advocate Free Trade, in a sound Currency, requiring security to be given by the issuers to insure the convertibility of their notes. And yet, contrast the steady and moderate rate of money under Free Trade, even in an unsound currency, with the extreme fluctuations in a restricted currency, as exhibited in the Diagram. ^^ By the passing of that Act the Labour Interest teas sold, per- haps unconsciously, to the Money Interest. A monopoly was given THE NATIONAL DEBT. 321 by it to the Bank of Em/Iand, and to the existing Private and Joint Stock Banks of Issue in England. They were alloAved to issue a limited amount of Bank Notes, and all further issues were i^rohi- bited, excepting by the Bank of England against Gold. ISTow, as most of the customers of these Banks are under obligation to them, and lenders have great influence over borrowers, they dare not open their mouths to protest against a monopoly, the value of which becomes greater as gold leaves the country, and as the con- sequent alarm increases, and panic approaches. " That your interest, and that of your masters, has been betrayed by, and sold to, the money interest, in the recent investigation before the Committee on the Bank Acts, is evident from the tacit com- promise ichlch took place between an Association of Private Issuing Bankers and the Directors of the Bank of England. At the out- set of the inquiry, these two parties were oppo.sed to each other, and both wanted alterations in the law. The Directors of the Bank of England wished that private bankers issuing notes should be put upon the same footing with themselves, by giving securities for their issues : this the private bankers objected to, as locking up so much of their capital. The private bankers, on the other hand, wished one of the privileges of the Bank of England, which was a restriction on them, to be taken away ; to this the Bank of England objected, and the result was that both parties waived their objec- tions, and recommended that there should be no alteration whatever in the law. Both p)(ivties enjoy a monopoly of manufacturing these Truck Tickets, and they combine thrir interests against that of labour, in order to maintain it. ^\jid the.se opinions of interested parties are given by the Com- mittee as good reasons for retaining the law as it is, and contmuing the monopoly it gives them ! ! Here in the North, we should be of a very different opinion, and make some allowance for a peculiar fraUty of human natur", as Sam Slick would say. " It is no slight task, that you, the working classes, are here called upon to undertake. Tlte injhicncc of the banking power is enor- moun. That of the Bank of England alone is greater than that of the Queen, Lords, or Commons ; it is the ruling estate of the realm. Imagine the power of the Bank screw on tlie public, and the pressure which the Bank of England and other ]Janks can bring to bear on most of their customers ; verily, the expectation of contending suc- Y 3'J'2 GOVEUNMF.NT ITON VUXSV nUXCIlM.F.S. cossfuUv vith such gigantic inlluonooa apponrs almost liopi-lcss. !N evert holoss, \vlu>ii you consider that tlie bunking interest is diviiird on the subject of reforming our Monetary Laws ; that many bankers are vehemently opposed to them, considering -wisely, that though at times they may yield then\ a higher rate for their money, yet that, on the long nui, their customers, and they along with them, sutler more from the extreme lluctuations and the panics -which tlicy create ; that almo<*t all Joint Stock and Private Bankers, nof in- terested m the monopoly of issuing Notes, will l)e with you : that the landed interest, to whom a reduction of a half per cent, on their mortgages (which would probably be the case, were the monopoly destroyed), would be of vast importance ; that the railway interest to Avhom the reduction of one per cent, on the average of their loans, -would be a dividend in itself ; that the mercantile, manu- facturing, agricultural, shipping, and building interests, and, in short,, all labour interests would support you ; that, in addition to all these, you -vN'ill have the aid of the sound principle of free trade, and of the sacred principle of justice ; — you need not despair. " Appoint in each Parliamentary constituency a few of your most intelligent members to be a committee, to examine into the bearing of our ^[onetary laws on the interests of labour. Let the committee report to the general body ; and if the laws prove to be as per- nicious as I have represented them to be, make a reform of these laws a leading point in any scheme for general reform, be it brought forward by Tory, Whig, Eadical, or Chartist. Let each voter, when canvassed by a candidate for Parliamentary honours, pledge him to oppose the continuance of the Acts of 1844 and 1845, which deal unitvirly with the interests of labour ; sacrificing the Labour interest to the Money interest, and making the rich, richer ; and the poor, poorer. " Should the candidate say that the subject of money -was a diffi- cult one, and, not understanding it, he should prefer to leave the laws as they were ; let him be told to offer himself again when he had studied the subject, and thereby qualified himself to legislate on the question of all others the most important to your welfare. " Do not suppose that he who is recommending this course does it for the purpose of paving the way for himself : his state of health precludes him from ever undertaking Parliamentary duties. His deep conviction alone of the incalcu]a))le misery produced by these THE NATIONAL DEBT. 323 laws, prompts him to attempt to arouse your attention to tlieir injustice and partiality. " Finally, as the Bank of England will not listen to any reform of its Charter,you should take the bull by the horns, and call for the establishment of a ]N'ational Bank of Issue, based on the prin- ciple of free trade in sound Currency, where all, on depositing two- thirds of the amount they require in Government Stocks, and one- third in gold, may have Xational Bank Xotes, or Truck Tickets, payable in gold on demand, and made a legal tender ; and return them when not wanted. " Let the present Issue Department of the Bank of England be converted into a General Issue Department. " Let National Bank iS^otes be issued against the Government Securities and gold deposited by the Bank of England, in lieu of Bank of England notes ; and Avith these notes (bearing the Stamp of the State, equally with the coin, as a guarantee for the soundness of their quality) pay off the debt to the Bank, and emancipate the Government and the country from the thraldom of a Joint-Stock Company. By so dohig, the Xational Debt would be reduced by the sum of JgU, 475,000, and an annual saving in interest be eifectcd of £4:'34:,'2~)0, enabling the bui'den of taxation to be diminished to that extent. A iJ^ational Bank note payable in gold on demand, is surely as good money as a Bank of England note payable in gold on demand. " There is still another great power, besides that of the money power, with which you have to contend — the obstructive power of the ignorance which generally prevails, both as to the nature of money, and as to our laws respecting it. To these two causes may be attributed the supineness of Chambers of Commerce in general, to whose particular province the subject more especially belongs. To the same causes may be attributed the indifference of the mem- bers of the House of Commons (who, perhaps, in this matter fairly represent the apathy of their constituents) ; and without their sup- port, what Mijiisters dare act 1 Ministers themselves are obliged to bow to this Money Power — to prostrate themselves before the idol which the Legislature has set up, and dare not upset — to pay court to the Directors of the Baidc of England. ( )n the other hand, you have to back you the House of Loi'ds, who, being more inde- pendent of 111.- money power, and (must we not acknowledge ?) more Y 2 3'24 Govr.iJNMEvr i rdN I'lusr riuNcii'LEs. onliglitoned on this particular subject, declared cinpliiiticivUy tlirouj;li their Cominittoo, which sat in LS48, UmI the Act of ISl 1 priMhucd the panic of 1 8-47 ; luul, were they now to appoint another Coni- niittoo, would most undoubtedly I'onie to the same conclusion as to the panic of 18.')7. " You will have further in your supj^ort our most gracious Queen, the personilication of Justice herself, wlm, all must feel sure, will take the part o[' Inr injured subjects. "And, lastly, you have yourselves — the source of all political power — to rely njion, for breaking asunder the chains of the Money Power. "llercilitiivy bamlsmen, know yc not ^V\\o will be free, themselves must strike the blow ?" " Abolish the monopoly in ISIoncy, and the same necessity will no longer exist for you to emigrate., and to seek by banishment to a foreign land those necessaries and comforts of life which you cannot find at home. " Let your cry be, Down with the monopoly in money, the curse of the country ! and hurrah for a iS^ational Bank of Issue, based on the principle of free trade, Avhich shall take care of the quality of the currency, ensuring the convertibility of the Bank note, but leave the quantity to take care of itself ! " Help yourselves, legally and morally, and God will help you. " Your sincere well-wisher, " Hamer Stansfield." CHAPTER cm. ALL ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE THE NATIONAL DEBT ARE ANSWERED BY SUPERINDUCING PRETEXTS FOR WAR. Every attempt to dimiiiisli our National Debt will prove abortive, so long as money is allowed to represent power, in- stead of alloM-ing A-irtuc to re])rcscnt power, when combined ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE THE NATIONAL DKHT. 325 with prudential intelligence. The niouetaiy interests do not intend to reduce the ISTational Debt, because ia doing so they would reduce then- own incomes — however well advised the scheme to reduce it on principles of integrity was proved to be. Gladstone's last attempt instigated the Crimean war ; then the Times triumphed in assuming the impracticability of reducing the A^'ational Debt, and Pahnerston, the British beUigerent, had to raise the hue-and-cry for war, in order to spend two hundred millions of money, by which it should appear to this sage John Bull that Gladstone's fiscal economy was impracticable, and so his financial plans should be abjured. AVhy, Ave know, notAvithstandiug this strategical stroke of poHcy, that national debts can be reduced and paid ofi", when the authorities and powers of State really intend to do so in light good earnest. History furnishes us \^ith a remarkable instance of the kind in the States of Holland, when in good earnest they meant to reduce their national debt : — " The benefit of reducing the interest, and properly emplo}ing the saving, as regards State debts, cannot be better exempKfied than by the fact that the States of Holland discharged a debt of 140,000,000 guilders,* by reducing the interest, and em- plojing the yearly sa\ing effected thereby, in pa i/ii/g of the principa/, u-hich was accomplished in Ucenty i/ears."f In England, the wiR only is necessary to accomphsh the same thing on a much larger scale ; but this will we shall not have, because it is much too good a harvest to the millionaire money-jobber, as long as it is retained intact. Reduce the interest of the debt honoui-ably contracted, they will say, without mentioning one word upon the dishonour- able part of the transaction, which now fully justifies a reduction of the interest, in order to apply the proceeds to the reduction of the debt. The millionaire has ever taken in the Govern- ment ; now let the Government receive just retribution— not • Ntailv i;]-l,() ,OiO sterling, t " Interest of Holland," p. 4oG. Trize Essay, p. 813. 326 GOVKUNMKNT LTON I'lUST I'lUNtll'LKS. upon the jiriuciplo o^ one wrong justifying imotlior ; but upon till' principle in .strict ticcordanco with First l*rineiples, let the wrong-doer ;nul the gooJ-doer receive the reward of their own ditini;s. It is too often supposed that the progress of connnerce is identical with Avarfare, as if there were no better sentiments in the hearts of men than the response of eom])ulsion. For my ]iart, I believe that warfare shuts out the entry of both the commercial and religious response of the M-ill ; knoAving enough of human nature to understand, that what a man concedes against his vnW is never a permanent concession, but will some day reverberate upon aggression in a twofold, if not in a Um- fold, degree ; unless conciliatory measures arc undertaken in time. The na-vy and army of Great Britain arrogate to themselves the credit of haA-ing advanced commerce. Well, the army of Rome did the same ; and where is Home now ? Greece did the same : where is Greece now ? Nimrod, Nineveh, Assyria, did the same : where is Neneveh now ? Sparta did the same : where is Sparta uoaa- ? These nations now, in a commercial relation, are nowhere. Lord Elgin has done something in a different way, much more conciliatory, and more likely (if honestly carried out) to establish commerce en permanence. Ways and means will present themselves (w^here there is the dispositiori) to establish commerce upon just principles, that need neither armies nor navies. In twelve years England added to its incumbrance, in the way of National Debt, by means of armies and na\des, £38,000,000, ending in the year 1714 ; but what did it benefit the progress of commerce ? Was there one redeeming feature in its having added to the progress of commerce, or in its ha\ang increased the wealth of the people ? The Government then, as in 1856, seemed only bent upon \\-ild schemes, regardless of their destructive consequences. The Money Article of the Times, by Sam Thick, will tell us, indirectly, that the Sinking Fund is a farce. Is there anything ATTEMPTS TO REDUCE THE NATIONAI, DEBT. 327 else that journal Avill not say is wrong that is right? Anguis in herha. My good people of my country, — do not, of all things be Times-xiMQn, nor be ridden by me, nor by any one else ; but measure all things by First Principles — by Christian principles — and by rightful actions thence proceeding. The Sinking Fund is a fad, not a subterfuge. Render to all men the reward of their doings, whether for good or evi), in as merciful a way as can be found consistent "vnth the enormity of their crime. "The Sinldng Fimd, that had its foundation in 1717, from three special Acts, the ' Aggregate,' the * General/ and the ' South Sea ' Funds, had then assumed considerable importance ; and if those whose province and most sacred duty it was, had punctually and faithfully carried out its object, the nation would not now groan under the weight of its present enormous debt. Instead of wliich, that Fund, which should ever have been inviolable, has been, both dii-ectly and indirectly, sacrilegiously and ^^•antonly infringed.* " So successful had been the operation even thus early, that a portion of the National Debts had abeady been discharged to the amount of £2,698,416 Ds. 7|r/., and the Fund itself was estimated at £1,200,000 per annum ; this, valued at 25 years' pui'chase, at which all annuities were then sold, would have j-ielded a real profit to the public of £30,000,000 ; so that, with prudence and common honesty, the then debt might easily have been liquidated." The hoax, in asserting that the widows and orphans would suft'er in their annuities, by haAang their interest reduced, and the Fimds extenuinated, is an idle fancy. Bond fide invest- ments exist now -wathout the Funds ; and these said widows and deeds of trusts so intestated, form not the bulk, but merely the fragments, of the bondholders, who are more often plucked than benefited by Government securities. A more comprehensive \'iew was taken upon the merits of the National Debt during the reign of George 11. tlian is even * J'ri/,e Knsav, Finiiu<-iitl. Pccunhe vlicdiunl omnia. 328 GOVERN MKNT VrOX FlllST PIUNCIPLES. recop;nizod now. Tn 17 tO an Act was passed for reducing the "Annuities." Tlie Act recites : — " It being the united opinion of the King and Parhament. that nothing can so etl'ectually contribute to make track^ flourish as (he IcsHoiitxj ihc public (,'c'ifs (Did iucitinbrtiiurs, consistent with justice and public faith." Thus the National Debt was reduced by £5,137,012. But mark well, that precisely the same pretext was then raised for war as was raised when Gladstone had wisely attenij)ted to save the country by reducing the National Debt ; the Crimean Avar was then entered upon purposely, as were the hostile ele- ments that were introduced when the Act was passed in 1749, to commence from the 25th of December, 1757. Just at this time the Sinking Fund, that promised so much, as did that of Grladstone's, was reduced to a dead letter by the war that was dx'larcd with France on May 18th, 1756. This war lasted seven years, ending by the Treaty of Paris, February 10th, 1763. The loans during this war amounted to £52,000,000 ; the expenses of the war were about £64,533,277. Thus the National Debt rapidly increased, amounting to £146,982,844 at the end of this reign. First Principles recognize everything that is useful, and, by the same line of action, 2>rimo genito, denounce everything useless ; but my limits in this addition will not enable me to illustrate the fallacy of every dogma, nor have I space to prove all things by analogies, however cogent they may bo. I will, therefore, only aUude to the questionable policy of a metallic currency in a very brief way. A METALLIC CURRENXY CONSIDERED. 329 CHAPTER CIY. A METALLIC CURRENCY CONSIDERED. The Metallic Currency is very expensive : it cost Great Britain from 1696 to 1777, in minting and light guineas, £15,000,000. £ s. d. Expenses of tlie recoinage, for defraying the cost of coinhig the deficient money . . 105,227 8 3 Payment to the Bank for receiving hght coins 4G,S-t6 9 3 Extra expenses in the ^Mint . . . 22,824 19 Add the loss to the puhhc, for which . ParHament voted .... 2,500,000 Showuig how costly is a Metalhc Currency ,£2,674,828 16 6* During the reign of King "William alone our coinage expenses exceeded £3,000,000 sterling, which, accumulated at compound interest at four per cent., w^ovdd have pelded in the course of a ccntur}^ £250,000,000 in money, and at five per cent, almost £400,000,000 in money.f The cost of a metalhc currency is also felt hy the nation when it is exported ahroad on account, not of exchange, but because other nations require either silver or gold : this has fi'cqucntly been known to distress Great Britain. The fact illustrates the cost to this nation, when the Bank has been in apparent diffi- culty, which the nation has mistaken for a real difficulty ; for on such occasions the Bank is authorized by Government to suspend bullion payment. This reheves the Bank from the dirticulty, but not the people ; since the monetary men profit by the transaction, they holding the bullion, but not the people, who want it in circulation. Ill 1 797 the continued drain of bullion raised the price of * Prize Kxsiiy, Financial. f Sir John Sinclair. .■)30 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST TRINCIPLES. gold to 8Aii. per ounce, the i\[iut price hc'ma; only 77s. 10 Jank was authorized to suspend cash or bullion payments. This suspension saves the Jiank,but not the pi'ople — not the needy, but the atlluent. But for this metal currency, the in- convenience would not bo felt by the people, most certainly ; but the Bank would feel it as certainly, if the Government grant were not made authorizing suspension of cash payments. The Bank is allowed to issue notes when it is in danger, as it did in I7i)7, when £1 and £2 notes were made the substitute for British guineas ; also, when the Letter of Credit was granted in 1857. But not so with the responsible people ; their diffi- culties are not legislated for — their contingency still remains unredressed — wdiile the Bank immunities are still enjoyed. Again, the suspension of cash payments protected the Bank in 1795, which was only to have lasted fifty-two days, but was found to have had durance twenty-two years, really lasting to the year 1819, during which the paper currency was abused by the monetary men and merchants, till the precious metals were made to disappear, as in 1857 ; commercial distress was on both epochs very general, and seriously damaging to honest enterprise. The National Debt had more than doubled itself, then reaching the amount of £413,140,832, which soon doubled itself a"-ain during the ticentij-two //ears, to the great advantage of money- jobbers, for they could then job on £800,000,000 instead of lialf the amount, which was just what they wanted : they had made metals precious and paper abundant for Govern- ment pm-poses, in order to swell the debt. The impracticability of a Metallic CuiTency in conjunction with a Paper Currency will be seen in the whole of the history of the National Debt. A mLxed currency, together with a National Debt, will ever open up a field for money-jobbers, at the expense of the king and the people. There is, however, great difficult}^ in regulatmg a paper cir- culating medium, unless great care be taken to base the issue upon soHd and indisputable property. May the day not come A METALLIC CURRENCY CONSIDERED. 331 wlien gold shall not represent an unfluctuating metal, by which it may render itself less calculated to be retained as a standard of representative value even. In order not to form a bias by any of my remarks, I furnish brief abstracts from the excellent authority of Sir Jolm Sinclair, and so leave the Metallic Cm-rency in his hands : — OX CIECULATIOX xVXD COIX; AND THE MEANS OF ARRESTING THE PROGRESS OF OUR PUBLIC CALAMITIES. The new light, which the experience of modern tunes has thrown on the principles of circulation and coin, if now acted upon, would probably still reheve us from many of the difficulties to which we are unfortunately subject. It woidd require a volume to detail these princijiles at length. I shall endeavour to compress them within the narrowest possible compass, and under distmct heads, or maxims. 1. The power and prosperity of a nation, and the amount of its public revenue, p)rinci2Jallij dep)end ujion an abundant circulation. This, till of late, was never so uncontrovcrtibly iiroved, but can- not now be questioned. On the foundation of an abundant circu- lation, we were enabled to pay enormous taxes — to borrow sums beyond all former example — to carry on for a series of years the most extensive wars — to subsidize the greater part of the Govern- ments of Europe — and to resist, and ultimately to conquer, the greatest and most formidable power that modern times has pro- duced ; and yet our agriculture, our commerce, and our manufac- tures, instead of being injured by such exertions, never Avere in so flourishing a state. What a miserable reverse has taken place since our circulation became less abundant ! If it continues deficient, can our revenue be productive, or the means of our i)ublic expen- diture be supplied ? 2. It is of no consequence of what that circulation consists, ■provided it is accredited. This maxim is likewise incontcstably proved by recent experience. All the great advantages above enumerated were ellectoil " Inj a 33'3 GUVEUNMKNT Ul'ON TIUSl' I'KINCIPLKS. circulation in paper, not convertible into coin;'' and tliouj4;U Hi nk notes contimio to bo our iiunliuiu of circulatinn, so far from hfiug ileprociiitcd, tlioy nro now at a proinium. Cau tliere be a stronger j>i-oof of the solidity of a paper ciivulation when estalilislicd on pix^pov principles 1 3. The best proof of a suffwicncij of circulation, is a moderate rate of interest. 'riiis cannot be too strongly inculcated, and it is easily attainable where a paper circulation exists ; for it can be multiplied, on the foundation of nolid property, until interest is reduced to four, or, at the utmost, five per cent., which it ought never to exceed. A higher rate of interest is a bar to every species of public improve- ment, and must bo the source of infinite distress. 4. A paper circidation, Jiowever advantageous, ought to represent solid prop)erty. This maxim has not hitherto been attended to in this country to the extent tJiat it ought, and thence much mischief has arisen. Persons without property have been permitted to issue notes, and to force a circulation by means of fraudulcjit practices. The conse- quences which must result from such a baseless fabric were foreseen and distinctly pointed out, but in vain. Hence thousands have suffered materially, and multitudes have been entirely ruined, by the bankruptcy of issuers of country notes. Thence, also, a slur has been thrown on the system of paper circulation, to which, under proper regulations, it is not liable. It would not be difficult to point out means adequate to prevent that fraudulent circulation, which has a tendency to give an inordinate value to the price of commodities, and in many other respects is so prejudicial. 5. A j^aper circulation ought to be kepd within due limits. On this principle it is of great importance to have notes issued, either by opulent corporaticms, or by private individuals of un- doubted solidity, a7id not by the State. A paper circulation can be kept within due bounds, which has never been the case, when issued in the name of the public. The ruinous effects of Government issues form the principal objection to a paper circulation, but in this country it has been fortunately obviated by the system M'e have hitherto pursued. A METALLIC CURRENCY CONSIDERED. 333 6. A metallic circulation, instead of enriching, impoverishes a country. This is a modern discovery, and one of a most important descrip- tion. In barbarous times, nothing can pass as a medium of circu- lation that is not of intrinsic value, because credit or confidence do not exist, and no man will part with propertj'- without having its actual value deHvered to him in return. But when once society is established on a solid foundation, if the buyer gives to the seller representative value for any commodity the latter parts with — for instance, if paper money is received in payment of the taxes im- posed by the Government, or any debt due to an individual, or if it will purchase any article wanted — it is to the seller fully as useful, and in many respects more convenient (more especially in regard to large sums), than if the payment had been made in the precious metals. The circulation of paper not convertible into coin, is indeed the most important of all political discoveries. If coin be used, it must be purchased from foreign countries, unless by those who have mines of the precious metals at their command. If fifty millions of gold and silver must be employed in circulation, the country is to that amount impoverished, without any real necessity. The metals must be bought, but they cannot be sold or exported without cramping the circulation, and doing infinite mischief; consequently, they cannot be accounted available wealth. 7. A circulation of coin, except for smaller payments, is not necessary for internal commerce. This is evidently proved by the experience of the Chinese, the most numerous and most commercial nation in the universe. The precious metals are by them considered merely as merchandize; and when foreign coins are imported into China, they are immediately converted into ingots of silver, and what are called shoes of gold. Small payments are made in a kind of money, consisting of six parts copper and four jiarts lead, which is not coined, but cast with a scjuare hole in the iniddle, by means of wliicli it is carried about, like beads, on a string or wire. In this country it Is ascertained, by our own experience, that a moderate (piantity of silver and copper answers every necessary puq)os(*. 33-i fiOVERNMENT UrON I'lUSl' l"KlNt'irLES. 8. .1 Circulation in coin is not necessary for foreign exchanges. Tho si)liility of lliis maxim is provrtt by roi-ont cxiicricncc. Tho rato (if i'Xihanf:to dcpemls upon tho balauco of paynujuts ainonj^ tho cninmorcial nations, and tlioso who (Unil in ex('han{j[0 find no dilfi- onlty in adjnsting that rato, whatever nny ho the nature of the eireulation in any particular oountry. !). A circniation in coin, so far as it may hcjiuh/r.d necessary, ouijld not to occasion any expense to Oovcriunent. Tho only uso of niotallic ourroncy is to act as a medium of barter ; and when the transaction takes place, it is of no consequence wlu'thor tho coin delivered is exactly of the estimated weight, pro- vided it will pass from one individual to another at its nominal value. Ilenco tho silver tokens issued by the Bank answer tho puritose of circulation as well as if they had been of standard value, and any issues in gold ought to bo on the same principle — namely, as tokens, and not as coin. Any attempt to keep u]) tho value of ooin at its full purity and standard of weight is productive of infi- nite trouble and expense, the coin being immediately nielted down, when, from the price of tho metal, it furnishes even a moderate profit. As a proof how much a circulation in coin impoverishes a nation, it may bo stated as an undoubted fivct, that the expenses we have been at for coining since the Revolution in 1G90, if accumu- lated at compo^tnd interest at 5 per cent., would have xxdd five hundred millions of 3 ^^er cents., at the average price of .£70 in money per £100 stock. What proof can be more decisive of the absurdity of a contrary system 1 10. Silver coin is a better basis or unit for comjjutcction than gold. The standard, or basis of computation, ought always to be in the metal that is the most abundant, being the least liable to change. Gold being the scarcest, and containing the greatest value in the smaller bulk, is apt to be hoarded in times of alarm ; and hence its value increases so much as to render it unfit to be a permanent standard. Silver is preferable ; for, though it varies, it does not, as will afterwards be proved, vary to the same extent. 11. Tokens or coins in circulation ought to be in decimal proj)ort ions to each other. This maxim is adoptc public wero to borrow money, and to lend it afterwards to carry on usi'ful works, as roatls, canals, liarbonrs, Sec, tlio poor, who niij^ht otherwise be tempted to acts of violence, would bo furnished with the means of subsistence. Important Fact. The following statement proves the groat superiority of silver over gold (beiug subject to the least variation), as a permanent standard of value : — 1. Lowest price of silver and gold since 1792-3 : 1793. 28 June. Dollars, is. \0\d. per oz. Ss. per oz. standard. Bar Gold, ^£3 17s. M. per oz. standard. 2. — Highest prices for the same period : 1813. G August. Ports, IIU-. per oz. to standard. Dollars, 7*. 0\d. per oz. Is. Zd. per oz. standard. Bar Silver, 7s. laf. peroz. standard. 21 Oct. Doubloons, Ills, per oz. 1 1 Cs. G J. per oz. standard. Advance on dollars, fi'om the lowest to the highest price, 44-8 per cent. ; if calculated on standard silver, about 1 per cent. more. Advance on standard gold, calculating on the price of doubloons, at Ills, per oz., 50'64. per cent. Hence the difference in favour of silver over gold, as an invari- able standard, is 6-55 per cent. ; a fact which ought to put that question for ever at rest. CHAPTER CV. HEADS ON WHICH ALTERATIONS MIGHT BE MADE. Grapple witli tlie greatest burden of tlic country — the National Debt. Let the issue of the country hear a profit to the revenue, not to the Bank of England. Also, to meet this nightmare of our existence, a source of rehef must be found equal to the magnitude of the difficulty. The Land-tax, then, which has THE LAXD-TAX. -337 only j-ielded £1,214,430, and which I have shown, in my pre- ceding remarks, to have been exempted from the increased taxes which woiild have fallen upon it according to its growing value, has only paid 4.5. in the poimd, according to the Act of the 38th of George III., which fixed for ever the levvTng of the Land-tax at the rate of the collection in William III.'s time : never was a gi'osser insult offered to the com- mon sense of a countr}" — never was any act more illegal and fraudulent ; because all the original Acts up to the 9th of "William III., or of 1697, had most clearly enacted, that the tax shoidd be levied bond fide " on the grouing value of all lands ;" and, what is still better defined, the very words of the Act declare that according to " the fall yearly value thereof without any resjject had to j)resent rents reserved for the same." Now, if these unscrupulous statesmen dared to annul such a clear and lucidly-defined Act as this, and substitute that which evaded the original object of the Act, it becomes imperative in us to restore the original Act, that the tax shall be le\'ied on ^afull yearly and present improved value of all lands, which will be found to have j-ielded an amount of £18,962,119 16s., according to the return made in 1842-43. The o^^^lersllips of lands then amounted to £94,810,599, having now much in- creased in value ; since the year 1815 to the amount of £34,680,269. This will form at once a great item in the reduction of the National Debt, or the taxation on industry. The Land-tax in all other countries but England, forms the stable and greatest part of the revenue. In France, out of £40,700,000 taxes, £23,200,000 was the proceeds of the Land and Property-tax. Even in that despotic country, Russia, out of £7,657,000 taxes, £3,990,000 is raised out of the Land and Property-tax. In Austria, out of £16,495,000 taxes, £8,795,000 is paid by the Land and Property-tax. But England, which once Ijoasted of its glorious constitution, out of £52,248,594 taxes in 1842, pays by the Land-tax only £1,214,430. England has a tax on produce, and popular industr}', and on transfer of personal property, upon whicb the entailed landed proprietors, l)y descent, shifted it from their 338 nOVKUNMENT UrOX I-IUST rUINCIVLKS. shoulders on to the personal property holders, amounting to £7,000,000. Now, in despotic countries, eveu where they make no show of po])ular government, they have never had t1u> infamous daring to tax themselves less than they tax the peojde. JMiglish statesmen have, through our inditfin-enoe, heen allowed to commit this and so many other frauds with impunit}', that there is now no hounds to their mei'cenary acts. The ahove calculation proACS that they tax the people, that cannot afford it, more than they tax themselves, that can well afford to pay. England, with her constitutional government, is so farhehind other countries as to justice in taxation, that she must now learn of despots how to be honest. Yea, so low has she fallen in the scale of political justice, that a horde of banditti, or a corps of brigands, might blush at her infamy. It is not asto- nishing, then, that the wealthy are growing and increasing in riches, while they cast the burden of the taxes upon commerce and working men ; while offices under Government maintain their oligarchic cliildren. The trick of primogeniture has never been understood nor impugned by tradesmen ; while capital by millions is withdrawn from commerce, jiroducing panics and stagnations in trade, swelling our Gazette ; men breaking and falling, dragging others after them ; credit paralyzed, and confidence no more. Amid all this, the aristocrats' enormous estates — the money-lenders', bankers', and stock-brokers' — are increasing in value daily ; exempted as they are from the taxes — fed as they are with rich supplies of place and pension. These OATOcrs of capital and of estates have grown to be so vast and affluent, that some of them are estimated at eight, eleven, and foui'teen millions each. Is it too much to say, then, that they are the vultures of the earth — the devouring cormorants of English labour ? And that while the people have been diligent, frugal, and perse- vering — commercially pre-eminent and exemplary, generous and honourable, as a trading nation ; yet, as a confiding people, they have been deceived by their own guardians, whom they entrusted with the management of their common stores, which THE LAND-TAX. ^339 guardians have greedily consumed and wasted them ; and by such enormities in legislation, such as never should take place in any country, this has brought starvation, misery, and com- mercial distress in a land of plenty. The infamy and unparalleled effrontery of this exemption in the Land-tax becomes more striking: as we look at the increase of all the other taxations. All other sources of taxes have grown and have been allowed to grow rapidly ; but by this unpiinciplod and dishonest Act of 1798 the Laud-tax is fixed to the annual sum of £1,214,430, while all other sources have not been fixed, but have grown to crushing amounts : the Customs to £23,500,000 ; the Excise to £14,500,000 ; and the Miscellaneous to nearly £11,500,000. (See the present amoimts.) Also, that aU real property shall henceforth be included in the Probate and Legacy duties, must not be for- gotten by a Government based upon Fii'st Principles. Pitt, in 1798, brought into Parliament two Legacy and Probate Duty Bills — the one on real, the other on personal property. That on personal property readily passed the Houses ; that on real property was carried in the Commons by one vote — the Speaker's. The Minister was informed, and that through the medium of his owni secretary, "that if he persisted in carrj-ing it through the Upper House, he would cease to be Prime Minister of England."* The aristocrats would not then tax, nor have they since taxed themselves ; and England lost £300,000,000, with the interest added to it. But what was Pitt doing that he dared not pass it to the L^pper House P ^Vhy did not Pitt dare to be honest ? A^^iy was Pitt intimidated in doing an honest act, by the fear of losing his place ? Why was Pitt's place of greater consequence to him than his country ? Had Pitt been a thorough-going patriot, ho would not have compromised his principle, and that, too, at the very threshold of success. I do assert this, that not the smallest admiration would I give to a statesman who does not dare to be lionest, from the fear of losing his jilace. If we • Hampden's "Aristocracy of England," p 21 G. z 2 340 (iOVKUN.MENT ITON FIRST rUlXCiri,KS. are mnilo of any stulF worth Imviiip;, wo arc emboldoiicd by virtue ; and it" wo aro not emboldonod by honesty and virtue, wo ai*e workinf? for a wrong master, and the sooner \\ (> cliangc ])biccs the bettor. A nicnibor of parliament has no right to take a seat in that house unless he be ready to give it up the instant the cause of virtue suHurs by his retaining it. This very love of place, this very fear of losing it, has boon the curse of our nation, the very fatality which has rendered inert all our reform movo- ments. Lord John Russell is a lamentable specimen of this fact. Why did ho not support the Bill for a I'eduction of taxation by ten millions ? Because he knew he should lose his place if ho did. Did he hold it, therefore, in dishonour to himself? lie had bettex be a tinker than hold office under such base suffer- ance. But it may be said, he had better hold office in order to keep a worse man out. This is another species of fear and successful intimidation on the part of both Tories and Whigs : I have always seen they have played the same game ; the only difference is the "Whigs have professed more than the Tories ; but I would prefer the old system, simUia mnilihus curanfur, before I would accept the intervention of the ^Vliigs : had we given the Tories rope enough, they would have hung themselves long before now. Taxation would have cured itself by its glaring excess ; but these fawning Whigs, who are Tories in grain, have stcjipcd in and infiituated us with dazzling expec- tations, giving us an infinitesimal sHce of Reform, with a large share of hopeful promises for more — as soon as we can get it. I am quite aware it will be said that the general public, and ultimately labour, will have to pay the tax placed upon land — also that the interest on land is only li and 2^ per cent, often; but the original grant of that land must be first considered. The military tenure on it no longer exists, which was the con- dition upon which the land was granted. The tenant paying it would be no more just than for him to pay his lord's income- tax or his tailor's bill. An honest legislature could well inter- dict the extra demand upon the tenant, as it does now upon cab drivers ; but we must first " catch " the honest statesman. As landed property changes hands, it is increased in value RULERS MUST BE GOOD AS GREAT. 341 generally. This arises out of scarcity of laud uuJ abundauce of population. Laud will always increase in price under such circumstances. That is a natural result, not the eflect produced by a legislature altogether ; but if two shillings in the pound be placed on land as a tax, and the landlord places that amount, or an equivalent to it, on his rental, that can be seen to be an eflfect produced by another cause than that of sale and purchase. This can be interdicted by law, as is done abeady in other cases. Again, it will be said this is an infringement upon the rights of property ; to enforce a tax and not allow it to be charged on the property is an anomaly. Again I answer, landed property has a right to be treated differently from all other property, on account of the military tenure M'hich accompanied the grant, but which tenure is unfairly shifted from land ; the amount of the tax it should bear is placed directly upon labour, through the means of Customs and Excise duties, &c. This is the fi-aud committed by the landed legislators ; they should now be made to pay the penalty of such fraud, by way of a land-tax not chargeable to the tenant. CHAPTER CVI. RULERS :\[UST BE GOOD AS GREAT. It has been beautifully expressed by the ministers and repre- sentatives of the New Church, at the tenth General Assembly of Gcnnauy and Smtzerland, held at Stutgard, September Cth, 1857 :— " We declare it to be our belief, that no man can be blessed himself, except so far as he strives to impart blessings to others, and hence, that a generous brotherly recognition of the rights of others, especially of full freedom of faith and practice, is the 342 GOVERNMENT UPON FlUSl nUNCirLES. gnuul law of Providenco for individual regcncrution, for social hai)piiu>ss, and for national advancement. " AN'e ilesire to press it, therefore, on tlic attention of all mankind, that they should serve one another in love, especially in the promotion of their dearest rights, irrespective of creed, caste, or colour, in the full faith that this ordinance of Heaven can oidy result in good. Thus will the families of the earth become promoters of each other's improvements and happiness, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever. Thus will the whole of the human race truly realize glory to God hi the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." The efforts of all men should be directed towards humbling the proud aristocrat, who boasts of his noble blood oidy, that lineage fi'om a Danish barbarian or a Norman plunderer, with a bar smister aci'oss his escutcheon, as if, having nothing in himself to recommend him, he falls back upon his ancestors, imagining the country as ignorant as himself of the murderous race fi-om -whence he sprang. If black and evil deeds of the meanest character entitle liim to anything noble, it must be /r/noble ; and until they now learn to be just in government, they are ignoble in the widest sense of the term ; and let that henceforth be the prefix, until they meiit the better name. The past might be overlooked, were men learning to be in the quaHty of good, rather than in the pride of greatness. I, notwithstanding, prefer the proud aristocrat before the proud banldng, jobbing millionaire. The Anglo-Saxons are yet the honest men of England, the ennobled soul, and the generous heai-t ; the honest, active, and energetic spirit of the nation is yet to be found amongst the in- dustrious and the merchants, not with the money-j obber . Can the Houses of Lords or Commons boast of greater statesmen than Sir Robert Peel was ? than John Bright, Cobdcn, Roebuck, Gladstone or Disraeli, for their talent, now are ? Let good and noble deeds alone acquire for the statesman that fame which cliivaliy of old acquired. He shall then be the noble man of THE ABOLITION OF SINECURES. 343 an intelligent era, of a new race ; in him virtue must be the incentive and the desire to fulfil the aspirations of mankind. Such should be the rulers. The reduction in the army and navj', and ordinance office, to what they were in 183G, i.e., £12,125,712; in 1848, £18,209,852 ; the amoimt to be economized, £5,214,364. By making this reduction, there will not be the slightest diminution in the efficiency of these departments, any more than there was in 1836, when we made £12,125,712 do well. The abolition of sinecures in part ; amount to accrue from it, £141,837, to be retained during life ; showing the amount to cease at death, £325,508. To be abolished in part To cease Sinecures. during Life. at Death. £ s. d. £ s. d. Abergavenny, Earl of, compensation allowance for loss of the office of Inspector of Prosecutions, the amount of 1,34-57. to cease at once 772 10 ... 772 10 Amherst, Earl of, pension on Consoli- dated Fund, two-thirds off 3,000?. to cease at once . . . . 2000 ... 1000 Auckland, Lord, pension on Consoli- dated Fund, half off 2000Z. .1000 ... 1000 Bexley, Lord, Old Vausittart, two- thirds off .3000Z. . . . 2000 ... 1000 Burke, Edmund, representative of, pension on ConsoHdated Fund, 6007. off 13407. . . . 740 ... GOO Eeresford, -J. C, compensation for loss of office of Joint Storekeeper in the Irish Customs, 30007. off 43157. . 3000 ... 131.5 Burrard, Eev. G., compensation for loss of office of Searclier of Customs, 5007. off 11007. . . 600 ... .500 Bullock, A. C, late Chief Clerk in the Trea.sury, 6007. off 12007. . 600 0... 600 Bates, E, late Secretary of Taxes, half off 13707. . . . 685 ... 685 314 GOVJiK>MENT I'l'ON FIKST TRINCIPLES. To be nliolishcd in part To ocaso Sinecures. diiriug Lite. at Death. X; ^. (/. it :.. d. Bklwoll, Thomas, late Chief Clerk of Foreign oilice, half off 1396/. . 698 ... i^Si^ lUiUer, J., late Comnussioner ()f Customs, half oil" HOG/. . . or)0 0... r)50 Whole columns of such people who were well i)aiil for doing little, are now paid for doing nothing. AVe leave them, and notice only a few particular cases. Cowper, Earl of, hereditary pension for his ancestor niarrviiiff the heiress of General Aiivcrkerqne, of Iving AVilliani's time, 600/. off 1600/ 1000 ... 600 Colchester, Lord, hereditary pension for services of his father, who held sinecures, and was censured by Parliament for such services, 1000/. off 3000/. .... 2000 ... 1000 Canniug,yiscount, pension on account of his father, a Tory trimmer, 1000/. off 3000/ 2000 ... 1000 Carr, Hon. Jane, on Consolidated Fund, salary 700/. off 2000/. .1300 0... 700 Croker, Kiglit Hon. John Wilson, a placeman, who has held the most profitable offices, 600 off 1500/. . 900 0... 600 Ellis, Eight Hon. IL, Consolidated Fund, 600/. off 1400/. . . 800 ... 600 Fagil, Baron, Consolidated Fund, 500/. off 1026/. . . 526 ... 500 FuUarton, J., and Garth, T., moiety of Earl of Bath's hereditary pen- sion (the chief services of Bath, better known as the "Whig Pulteney, were, helping to pass the Septen- nial Act, and giving up patriotism for fdacc, power, and title), 500/. off 1200/ 700 ... 500 THE ABOLITION OK SINECL'RES. 345 To be abolished in part To cease Sinecures. during Life. at Death. £ *. d. £ s. d. Grafton, Duke of, hereditary pension out of the Excise Eevenue, 72007., Post-office, 3384:7.— 15007. off 10,5847 9084 ... 1500 Glenelg, Lord, on Consolidated Fund, 6007. off 20007 1400 ... 600 Gifford, Lord, a lawyer, 5007. off 12027 702 ... 500 Grady, H. Deane, once Counsel to the Board of Irish Excise, for which he Avas well paid, 6007.offl 3337. Gs.8d. 833 6 8 ... 600 Harrison, J., compensation for loss of office of Post Master, Dublin, 6007. off 12077. . . . 607 ... 600 Herries, Plight Hon.J. C, compensa- tion for loss of office as Commissary- in-Chie^ 6007. off 135C7. . . 750 ... 600 Hobhouse, J. C, late Secretary of State, 5007. off 10007. . . 500 ... 500 Lushington, Right Hon. S. P., on Consolidated Fund, 7807. off 15007 900 ... 700 Manchester, Duke of, loss of office as Collector of Customs outwards, held by the late Duke, 9287. off 29287. . . . ■ . . 2000 ... 928 Mecklenburgh Strelitz, Prince of, on Consolidated Fund of Ireland. (This foreigner, doing us no good, nor any service, let it all cease) . 1788 Marlborough, Duke of, hereditary pension out of Post-office revenue, 10007. off 40007. . . . 3000 ... 1000 Mayo, F.arl of, pension as Chairman of the Coijimittees of the once Iri.sb ll<)u.sf; of Unxh, 6007. off 1290/. 11. s. s,/ G'JO 11 8 ... 600 346 GOVERNMKNT I TON FIRST PRINCirLES, To be nliolished in part To cease SiiuH'ures. duriujj: Lil'e. at Doatl). £ s. d. £ s. d. M'Cliutork, Jolin, componsatiou for loss of otlioos in the Irisli House of Connuons, 700/. off lM.XV. .1750 0... 700 ronn, Granvillo, on Consolidated Fund, 1000/. off 4000/. . . 3000 ... 1000 rianta, Eight Hon. Joseph, ditto, 500/. off 1500/. . . .1000 ... 500 Perceval, Spencer, ditto, 700/. off 2700/ 2000 ... 700 Price, as late Compiler of DahJin (7a2e//c, 590/. off 1590/. . . 1000 ... 590 Scliomberg, heir of the Duke of an- other of King "William's favourites, out of Post-ofiico revenue, 800/. off 2800/ 2000 ... 800 Seymour, Lord, as late Chairman to Board of Excise, 500/. off 1500/. . 1000 0... 500 SejTnour, Lord Henry, compensation for loss of office of Craner and Wharfinger of Port DubUn, 500/. off 1251/. lU 8(/. . . . 1251 11 8 ... 500 Trotter, James, late Storekeeper- General, 500/. off 1100/. . . 600 0... 500 "Wilson, G., as late Commissioner of Customs, 500/. off 1050/. . . 500 ... 550 "Willemot, T., as late Collector of Customs, 700/. off 1760/. . . 1060 ... 700 "Wellington, Duke of, pension 4000/., with pay and other sinecure offices, 2000/. off 8916/. 16s. M. . . 6916 16 3 ... 2000 lu allowing such reduced amounts as these to remain for life, I consider the country would be exceedingly liberal. I will now give Hampden's OAvn remarks on these daring robberies : — " This is pretty well, but this is but a mere sample ; the whole list of such things makes a book — the most extraordinary book in the world. There is no instance in the history of the earth THE ABOLITION OF SINECURES. 347 of a nation (there never will be another) which has suifered the \'ultm'es of the aristocracy to fix themselves so oijcnly, auda- ciously, and relentlessly upon it, picking its flesh to the very hone. John Bull fat ! He ought to be di-aA^Ti as a Hving skeleton, with a thousand hungiy cormoi'ants hovemig over his devoted head. If one could laugh at anything so serious, we certainly should do it at the barefaced impudence with which this race of connorants has quartered itself on John, and at the idiotic miconsciousness -nith which he has allowed them to feast on and drink his very life's-blood. Theii" robbery they have formed into a system, and then have coolly declared it a right — 'a vested right' — that name for the foulest of all wrongs ; a wi'ong so shameless, that, if a man claim a vested right, he ought at once to be hanged up as a traitor to his country."* To be abolished in part To cease Sinecures. during Life, at Death. £ s. d. £ s. d. Pensions to foreign loyalists, to be abolished altogether . .38,914 ... Pensions for ex-Ambassadors, per year, three-fom-ths to be taken off— ie., 8000 off 34,048, all to cease at death .... 2G,041 ... King of Hanover, 500Z. off 2000?. . 1500 ... 500 William's Dutch favourites, 2000Z. off 7323? 5323 ... 2000 Duke of St. Albans, just dead. Let us have no more Grand Falconers at 1372Z., nor hereditary Regis- trars at 640Z. ; together, 2012?. . 2012 0... Duke of Grafton, in addition to 10,584/.; receiving, as Hereditary Sealer in King's Eench, 500?. off 2888?. (See recent investment) . 2388 ... 500 Next, reduce the offices of Govermncnt, such as the T^ord • Hampden's " Aristocracy of England," p. 229. 348 GOVKKNMr.NT UPON IHIST PIUNCIPLES. Chancellor, \vliosc salary is £10,000, and tlio Spoakcrsliip of tho 1 louse of Lords, &c., £5000, making £15,000; £5000 for which in all would ho liberal, and woiUd save the country £10,000. Other excessively paid offices, such as the Chief Justices, with their £8000 each ; Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer, £7000 ; Master of Rolls, £7000 ; Governor of Beufxal, £-25,000 ; Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, £20,000 ; the Secretaries of State — Colonial and Home Offices — £5000 each ; about sixty offices altogether, in a list of excessively and ridicuh)usly paid salaries, enough to spoil and unfit any men lor work. However willing we should be to encourage industry, too much pay is as bad as too little ; the consequence of which is, they are too well paid to work, and they all want so many secretaries and undersecretaries to do all the work, which again creates more offices, and all their servants have to be paid over again by Government. These sixty flagrantly extravagant offices, amounting to £290,045, can well bear to be reduced £200,000, leaving the £90,045, which will be found liberal, and amply sufficient for the honest and industrious ; and if these same gentlemen do not like it, let them resign, that honest and active men may take their places. Are not tradesmen giving, and have they not given, their sons educations good enough to be Lord Chancellors, and Vice- Chancellors, and Lords of the Treasury, or Chief Barons, or Secretaries of State ? Why is it that we merchants have not the love for our children that the aristocrats exhibit towards theirs, at least externally, in this respect ? Why do we yet give birth to our children, who, as they grow into intelligence, have to discover that they are but vassals — commercial menials — ^who are to aspire, not to the loftier positions of the nation, but are to live to learn, to know their owm degradation and inferiorit}' — to cringe and to feel themselves less than what — than the aristocracy ; less than men who have perjured them- selves — sold themselves and their country's hard earnings for their own base ends ? Yes ; read the blue books and history, and judge for yourself Am I to bring up my cliildren to be TIME-BARGAINS. 340 such poor groTelling wonns, and to teach them to hold down their heads, and revere the ciimes of extortion, rapine, and profligacy ? to men who even now yearly roh us, and who have not even stopped short here, but have robbed the CroAvn, the Clim-ch itself, and even the poor ? Glance your eye over the history' of Henry YIII. and his mmions, if you think this language is too strong. The poor were not only robbed, but mui'dered for being poor, which I have elsewhere shown. Look at that of Charles I. and II., and Jame.s II. also. No ! Rather than be fettered to such a conventionality and perversion — to such a substitution of wrong for right — I woidd take my family to dwell among the aborigines of Austraha, and thus shut them out of the verj- atmosphere of corruption, lest they should catch the contagion. If I did not consider my country' capable of reclamation, I would leave it. But catch the contagion our sons will, if we arc not up and doing at once ; human nature has tendencies to do \^Tong rather than right, and there are not wanting lofty men to set them bad examples. By this demoralizing contagion, England wall ere long become a nation of thieves and robbers, instead of ranking as great and honourable among the nations of the earth. Ai-e not our Stock Exchange jobberies fast teaching the Avhole nation to speculate without capital and buy without papng, by introducing these time-bargains — teaching us betting and gambling to a fearful extent ? To the uninitiated in Stock Exchange transactions, the sub- ject of " Differences " has something mysterious about it ; but to those Avho are familiar with speculative transactions, it is clearly understood, and forms a very important feature in Stock Exchange dealings. UnHke any other business, Stock Exchange speculations consist in what are called " time-bargains ; " that is, buying and selling for some future day at a given price. The mere fact of thus buying and selling would not at all signify, if a man sold what he possessed ; but unfortunately the speculator on the Stock Exchange too frequently sells what he does not possess, anbt of .£873. The bankrupt's debts anioinit to £751, without any available assets; yet he cni])loys a broker to enter into the ])urclKise or sale of consols to the amount of £40,000 to £50,000 ! The point contended for by the broker was, that he was entitled to proof for the amount of brokerage £'25, and £75 for what is called the " option," or the right to demand the delivery of stock at a future day ; and as Mr. L>ne did not demand the delivery, he had to pay the " difference." Mr. L}tig was of course only doing what is done every day — he was acting for another. Mr. Parkins " antici- pated a rise ;" but he, like many others, was disai)pointed, and he leaves his broker in the lurch. Had Mr. Parkins been suc- cessful in his anticipations, he might have been a gainer, and then the tables would have been turned. Speculations of this kind arc highly objectionable, and productive of an immense amount of e\il. We are aware that time and custom have given to these transactions a degree of legitimacy which is very ques- tionable. We should be glad to know upon what principle a man has a right to sell £10,000 consols without being possessed of a shilling, any more than a butcher should attempt to sell a customer a leg of mutton when it is very doubtful if he can obtain one. The fact is, "time-bargains" are a myth, a delusion, and an abuse of legitimate transactions. It is o\nng to them that financial panics assume a degree of importance which could not occur if the sale and purchase of securities were of a bond fide character. By such speculations, a host of needy adventurers are continually raising some false report in the markets for public securities. It was this species of specu- lation which brought on the panic last year in New York, until the originators were caught in their own net ; for they had so " Beared " the market, that there was no getting back again ; and it was found necessary to pass a law, compelHng speculators in " time bargains "to be responsible for the pa}nnent of their " differences." If a similar law were passed in this country, it TIME-BARGAINS. 351 woiild be very salutary ; and would put a stop to the gambling transactions which have become so prevalent amongst men whose time would be much more profitably and honourably employed in attending to legitimate occupations. As the law now stands, such transactions are pronounced illegal by Sir John Barnard's Act of 1732. It was then thought that by the fact of rendering such bargains illegal, men would hesitate before enteiing into them ; but the case is wholly changed now, and the best corrective of the evil would be, that they who enter into such transactions should be compelled to ^;r/y for theii- folly or cupidity ; but it would be far better to do away ^^•ith " time-bargains " altogether, because it is nothing more nor less than a system of gambling. Stockbrokers would then stand on soUd ground, and be justly entitled to be paid for their services. The point raised by the Commissioner was, whether these " differences " arising from " time-bargains " could be admitted as proof of claims in banki-uptcy. AVe should say not ; for in that case the legitimate creditors to an estate might be eutii-ely swamped by proofs of this sort, where a man was addicted to a reckless system of gambling. It is a well-kno^^m fact, that " time-bargains " have introduced into the markets for public securities an amount of depreciation which never could have existed under a system of bond fde imrchases and sales; but the practice has become so notorious, that the highest offices of the State are corrupted by its aUuiing influences. JN'o wonder, therefore, that we find the petty trader frequently tempted into the same channels. Let these alterations come soon to avert a greater danger, lest, they haWng robbed us, the people might be robbing them in return, for that is how crime begets crime — diamond cuts diamond ; corruption will pervade all grades of society, com- mencing from the high, and ending in contamination universal. England, at the end, will be pointed at as a black blot in the histories of the earth. Then comes the legal pension-list, of which there are about 352 GOVKUNMKNT ll'ON FIU8T I'lll Nt U'l.KS. thirty oflicos, receiving iipwni-ds of £80,000 ; one half of which would he iuni)le payment for the studies which they could have given to hecoine a sinecure, 8o readily ohtained, and often for such sinister pur])oses. The retention of the outrageous list of War Pensions, of Castlereagh and Sidniouth Pensions, is an enormous imposition ; the immense sum of .i:S!)'"),000 is still given away hy an impudent aristocracy, who preserve the distribution of this ruinous sum. To all these are to be added emoluments, fees, and patronages to vast amounts, which it will bo the business of the just politician further to investigate, and sec into what might be improvements upon my plans. These heads I have brought forward to show where the alterations can be made without any loss to the nation of any actual services ; without any consternation, without riots, or revolutions ; by a general and a firm resolve on the part of the commercial and industrial bodies, by enrolling ourselves into an organized company, for the purpose of instructing ourselves in the art of honest legislation, which now must form a part of our education : since we cannot fail now to see, that had wo paid the same attention to the results of taxation and our im- mediate and future interests, as the oligarchy and aristocracy have paid to their interests in taxation, we should not have been shut out of the political pale and the House of Commons, at the time when with our millions and hundreds of millions they have been subsidizing even our enemies, without our con- sent or knowledge ; granting suppHes to suit their own purposes and caprice, gi^'ing some illusive pretext, in which John Bull, fancpng he understood, readily acquiesced. To those who would quietly submit to the continuance of the same state of things, and who are timid, and fearfid of any commotions, I have only to say that the day is now arrived when this folding of the arms — a little more slumber, and a little more sleep — will no longer avail nor be borne by the vast majority of this nation. Six-eighths of the population of this country are becoming decided, and have made up their minds STANDARD OF POLITICAL VIRTUE. 353 to have justice.* They know that five millions of male adults are ready to demand honest laws in the name of God ; are ready to teach the extortioners of the earth that they have violated the cause of God and the rights of man ; are ready to teach them to " provide things honest in the sight of all men," (Rom. xii. 17) ; they are ready to proclaim the great Law- giver as the only true Ruler, and His law as the only test hj'- which to repudiate the unprincipled enactments of selfish men ; they are ready to stand by the Divine record, and appeal to the temporal and spiritual governments ui the words of God, " that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates." (2 Cor. xiii. 7.) It may yet be asked, what is the standard by which poKtical progressive virtue is to be tested ? It may be said that we can have no universal standard, because science, Hterature, art, and commerce, require their specific analyses, differing according to the principles and qualities which constitute them. But there is a moral standard, qualifying or disqualifying the inofive which actuates every one in every pursuit. William Paley, D.D., points to this standard in his " Elements of Moral and PoHtical Philosoi^hy," when he says, "Right signifies con- sistency ^vith the will of God."t This motive, then, — tliis object and end in view, — is First Principles, that shall form a standard universal in its applica- tion, which is Di^'ine good ; and its irradiating wisdom, to which all proceedings — spiritual, moral, or political — must be brought and adjudicated, before the world can become in a better legis- lative condition of order and true progression. Let no common nor narrow acceptation be given to this good, but the extended and comprehensive meaning be applicable to every pursuit in cverjrindividual ; more especially is it applicable to the legislative pursuit, which should always be preceded by this inquiry, — Is * One male adult in forty only had a vote, and five-sixtbs of these electors who have a vote are rendered hiert l>y electoral inc(iiiality and corrnjition ; a grievance too palpable to be lost sight of, and no longer to be borne by the people. t Book II. chap. ix. p. 18. A A 35-4 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES. inv motivo good ? is my miiul based upon First rrinoiplcs, ri'idlv c'oinpivlioiisivo and unsollisli in my ol)joct in view, luul will it l)e benetioial to mankind, producing the greatest good to the greatest number ? Am I hd)ouiing lor seli-aggrandise- ment in weaUh, power, or honour ? Am I seeking at all to establish myself at the saeriticc of my neighbour ? In short, is good the basis of all my pursuits H — AVhile referring our actions back to this essential motive of good, wc are tracing them to the Grand Antecedent, the Primeval Mover of unerring M-isdom, First Principles. All laws Avill be more perfect as they arc less human, because human tendencies are of a perverted order, directed towards seliish ends. Paley seems to have overlooked the above facts, when treating upon "adventitious rights;" he ceitainly has confounded human with Divine laws, ingeniously making both to bo the result of tho Divine will. CHAPTER CVII. JOURNALS SHOULD POSSESS A HIGH MORAL STANDING, RATHER THAN A LEARNED DISPLAY ONLY. The neglect of this will account for the readiness with which a certain paper, the Times, could assume a name which should be synonymous with the opinion of the day ; that is, not having a principle of its own, nor a motive beyond a commercial and seliish one, it can be all things to all people at all " times." "With a knowledge of the worst part of human nature — that part which greedily devours those sentiments which are flat- tering and consonant to themselves — that is, knowing that naturally man prefers wrong ratlicr than right, of which the numbers were many ; but HpLiitually, intellectually, and super- THE LEGITIMATE AIM OF JOmXALISM. 355 naturally, his choice is the reverse — right and not wrong, of which the numbers were few. Knowing that the nature pre- dominating in this mundane existence is human selfishness, they may have perceived that an ambiguous name that could equivocate and prevaricate, and by this predominant perverted human natui-e would be best appreciated. But if ever a com- pany of individuals have a heavj' weight of responsible iniquity lying at their doors, that company of the Time^ journal may take for granted that responsible weight ftiUs on them ; that their system oifolloicing the day, be that day e\-il or good — be its characteristics right or wrong — virtue or no virtue — be the m inisters unjust, extortionate, or not ; as long as they can patch up public confidence, and uphold their place, they calcu- late on the Times to quaHi}' their A\orst acts with that tact and ingenuity — such talented plausibility — by which the country has been lulled into a placid toleration of aU these poKtical crimes. In this day we know well that neither the Bar, the Bench, nor the Chui'ch practises the law, neither human nor Divine. This self-exemption is the banc of the day. No evasion of justice by skilful and cunning devices, holding itself just within the pale of the letter of the law, is justifiable. The law, superior to the letter, is the ne plus ultra : " Quando aliquid prohibetur, prohibctur et omne, per quod devenitur ad illud." Certainly the law of First Pnnciples recognizes no evasions nor extenuations ; but " when anything is forbidden, all the means by which the same thing may be compassed, or done, are equally forbidden.* Palcy also is good whore ho enforces not the dead letter of law, but the intention of the law. He says : — " But when we convert to our purpose a rule or expression of law, which is intended for another purpose, then we plead in our justification, not the intention of the law, but the words ; that is, we plead a dead letter, which can signify nothing ; for words without meaning or intention have no force * " Junius," vol, 1. p. 455. A A 2 350 novKKNMKXT uroN riusT riuNciri-Ks, nor oflfcct in justioo, much less -word.s taken contrary to the inenninp: :nul intention of the speiikcr or writer."* \\\ that eni])ty philosophy, evadini;' and extenuating talent, has this ct)untry hecn taui;ht endurance, till now endurance has heconie a crime — injustice to our poorer neij;hhour. A fatal specimen of ahility without \'irtue, like a vessel without a compass, has this journal hccome — a powerful instrument in the wrong hands. Nothing is more dangerous to the well- doing of a nation than an influential and unprincipled journal in league with an unprincipled oligarchy and aristocracy. It has cast out its lino to fathom the depth of lleform ; hut can any honest man, who has read that jouraal for the last twenty years, say it deserves our confidence ? No ! Trust no more to them than to the millionaire or the aristocracy, until its columns speak the plain, honest language of truth — until it has throAAai off that amhiguity and douhlc-tonguc which stamp deceit on its very name. Let its vaunted prowess no longer ho to make a talented display in a had cause, nor to undertake the defence of the culpahle wrongs which aristocratic legislators are inflicting upon theii* country. Let these sprigs of the law know that the country requires something more in the journal of this day than a mass of briefs got up indiscriminately in defence of either the guilty or the innocent — the evil or the good ; that the honest alike with the rogue in public services obtaining the same defence and support, is not the course of proceedings which Great Britain expects editors of papers to adopt. They are expected to be a grade higher than the learned counsel who is allowed to bend and twnst the law into defonnity to his case. However atrocious a monster be the criminal, or however vil- lanous be the suit, the learned counsel has to make wi'ong, riglit — the blackest and foulest wretches appear fair and comely. Such men, of all the men in the country, are the most incom- petent to become editors, where men should have a highly sensitive nature, in order readily to repulse any injury done to the cause of honesty and virtue. Journals should have * Paley's " Elements of Moral and Political Philosophy," p. 26. DIRECT TAXATION. LAND-T.YX EVASIONS. 357 remained fair and impartial narrators of events, perfect t}'pcs of actions, and unflinching exponents of ciime, whether high or low : they should have remained passive instniments only. Let the Times, that leviathan of corruption, no longer boast of its intelligence of darkness, but know that it has become the political drcujon of sensuality ; its very name — Times — has become but another word for hj-pocrisy. CHAPTER CVIII. DIRECT TAXATION. LAND-TAX EVASIONS. I AM aware that some have thought that, with dii'ect taxation, taxes would never be obtained at all. I am ready to admit that, if we look into past history, and notice how the aristocracy of this country have evaded the direct income and land-tax, they may have some reason for supposing that direct taxes could not be raised ; but this has arisen out of the unprincipled owners of wealth cunningly and dishonestly taking advantage of the then unenlightened commercial indifference to the amount they were taxed, and to what amount lando^vners exempted themselves ; and more especially imagining they had a party in the "V\Tiigs fighting for them, advocating their cause, when histor}' proves they have ever only been advocating their own. The A\Tiigs have proved themselves worse than the Tories in their hA-pocrisy — succumbing to the Tories whenever open riot or revolution wore no menacing aspect, or whenever the people were not thoroughly conversant wdth the measures. Merchants and working men have ever paid their taxes with an earnestness to pro\4de for their goveiTiment ; this is readily proved in that they contribute in taxes on their food, drink- able.'*, and articles of clothing, and raw materials, £39,034,104; and on transfer of their personal property, not land, £7,000,000 more ; and then on stamps, &c., £5,000,000 ; making hi all. 358 GOVERNMKNT VPON FIRST I'lUNCirLES. £51,034,104, "wliich the trading and working classes pay of the annual taxation; Avhilo these uns('ru|)uh)us tax-eaters and evaders, the hmdowners, pay only £1,'J14,430. These are the returns they make for the gifted or plundered possessions of land. So far their history furnishes ns with proofs of the right parties who have evaded not only direct, hut other taxations, ■\yhich would otherwise only bear eipially upon them as upon others. AVe need he under no misapprehension about the trading and working classes, who always have borne their owti share of the taxes, and the taxes of theii* rich neighbours also ; and with indefatigable energies, close and anxious apjdication, have they perseveringly Avorked to do this — never stoi)})ing even to see Avhat lazy drones there were sucking all the honey of their industry : the harder they worked this year, the harder they would have to work next year, to provddc for an increasing faniilv. CHAPTEH CIX. INJUSTICE AND CRIME AMONG THE RULERS OF NATIONS, BEGET INJUSTICE AND CRIME EVERYA\'HERE. A LEGISLATOR, by any selfish act of his own, causes indifference on the part of the people to a moral rectitude of action ; and has by that very selfish act on his part given the country a coolness to integrity, which increases as the laws become partial and exclusive, until the coolness to virtue grows into indiffe- rence, then distaste, then dislilce ; till by daily familiarity with injustice, "witnessed by almost every act of the legislator, the people embrace injustice themselves, seeing every act of the higher class characterized by the same. Such examples in- fluence the people's conduct, and, having no voice in the nation INJUSTICE IN RULERS INFECTIOUS. 359 to alter such 'a state of tilings, despair enters their breasts — hope is lost — disappointment eveiyv\'here leaves them hopeless ; and at last crime is winked at by the people that looked in vain for examples of justice among the ruling powers. The Legislature, by withholding one single act of right and justice from the people, produces a greater e"\nl to a nation than millions of punishments can rectify. Trace crime to its primary cause, and you wiU find that it invariably proceeds fi'om real or imaginary grievances, especially among the thinking part of delinquents. How calculated to make a people dishonest is a one-sided, partial, pri'^Tlege-hunting Government, wronging a whole nation by its exclusive, greedy appropriations of all the loaves and fishes, without even permitting merit to receive its rightful promotion ! Unfaii'ness in centrahzation is an injustice which the people never forget. Regarding it as a crime by those from whom they ought to expect good examples, they grow indif- ferent to character. How centralization instead of nationalization is sought after by men in office at the present day, may be illustrated by a recent act of Su- Richard JMaj-ne's, in which ho has contrived to get the poKce to pass before the clei^y of the Church of England, by ordering their attendance to a private service on a week-day, held actually at the poHce-stations, where no other person can hear what is said to them. This might give rise to much abuse some day. Wc have now a good Queen reigning in England, but we know not how near the day may, be when a tyrant may rule, and, by private instructions to the clergy, find a ready means to convey to the ears of the pohce a means of carrying out a despotism very distasteful and very unconstitutional. No lectures ought to be allowed t(; be made to any public officers unless it bo made in puljlic, where the public also can attend. The church is always available for such services, and ought to be the only place allowed for it. Tliat which John Knox said of religion, I say of political government. Tic said: — "Slackness in reforming religion. 360 GOVEUNMKXT Ul'ON FlllST rillN-CIPLKS. wliou time and ()i)pt)rtiinity were granted for this purpose, was one cause of tlic Divine displeasure apiinst England." Our r(dii;ion has done little })ractically, if it protect and countenance the injustice practised among our men holding political power : tlunr slackness in rcfonuing the crying cor- ruptions of the day is calling forth tho evidence of Divine displeasure at the crimes and injustice at home and ahroad. Addison quaintly remarks that " Honours are in this world under no regulation ; true quality is neglected, \'irtuo is op- pressed, and lice trinniphant. The last day will rectify this disorder, and assign to every one a station suitahlc to the dig- nity of his character : ranks will then be adjusted, and prece- dent-y set right." ■\Vell might Thomas Carlyle say, that " all goes by self- interest, and checking and balancing of greedy knaveries," in his allusion to the modern error of present loyalty and royalty. Have a head of nations, by all means, that shall stand at the head of all that is good, honest, and practical; taking care that a governmental head have not a particle of selfishness — no self-will, but a nation's will. Let the head of a nation be the reflex of its people, not of its gold and pomp — the cor- rupting media of its people. Let the head of a nation possess, most of all men, the thorough and pure ; by which, becoming godlilie, he will receive love and wisdom from God. By not following a selfish dictate, he will receive a Divine dictate ; hence become the chosen by God, and thence by man. John Ivuox ever held that rulers, supreme as well as subor- dinate, were invested with authority for the public good ; that obedience was not due to them in anything contrary to the Divine law, natural or revealed ; that in every free and well- constituted government the law of the land was superior to the will of the prince ; that inferior magistrates and subjects might restrain the supreme magistrate fi'om particular illegal acts without throwing off their allegiance, or being guilty of rebel- lion ; " t/iat no class of men has an original, inherent, and inde- feasible right to rule over a people, independentlij of their will and consent ; that every nation is entitled to provide and require that INJUSTICE IN RULERS INFECTIOUS. 361 they shall he ruled hi/ laics u-hich are agreeable to the Divine late, and caleidated to promote their welfare ; that there is a mutual compact, tacit and imjilied, if not formal and explicit, between subjects and their rulers. And if the rulers stall flagrantly violate tliis, employ that power for the destruction of the com- nionwealth which was committed to them for its preservation and benefit ; or, in one word, if they shall become habitual tp-ants and notorious oppressors, that the people are absolved from their allegiance, and have a right to resist them, fonnally to depose them from their place, and to elect others in then- room."* Notwithstanduig the above just remarks, he constantly taught the people that they " had rights to preserve as weU. as duties to perfoiTQ." Hence we can discover in him a just spirit of conservatism, as well as a just soul for the reformation of rehgion and State. John Knox says : — " The Christian rehgion natively tends to cherish and diftuse a spiiit favourable to ci^-il hbcrty ; and this, in its turn, has the most happy influence upon Christianity, which never flourished extensively and for a long period in any coimtry where despotism prevailed." I say, with Thomas Carlyle, " Find me the true kenning king, or able man, and he has a Di\^ne right over me." This is the only true order of election. Now, it would be said, "Wliere would be the evidence of God's choice ? I answer. By their every act and deed, by their proximity to the thorough and pure, is known their favour in God. 13y their just laws shall man know they have a head good and Arise, loveful and truthful. On the contrar}', by their every selfish act vnll man know that their head is chosen by demoniacal spirits, parading themselves in the false gi-andeur of lust and vanity ; bmlduig themselves round with all kinds of exclusive legislation, which is selfish, therefore dishonest. Shutting out from the suffrage the superior class of men, that are quiet and unobtrusive, yet edu- • Dr. M'Crees " Life of .lohii Knox," vol. i. pp. 119, 150, 362 GOVF.KXMENT IPON FIRST PKINCIPLES. Ciitod. inti^lHjJjoiit, niul industrious, is an evidence of selfishness in any Legislature, that admits of no douht. Thomas de Finola and Yincentius do Placentia, persons celehrated for their learninp;, maintained that suhjects have a rii;ht to control and reform their rulers. Craig, at the samo conference, said, in answer to a courtier's remarh, that "Bologna was a commonwealth, and we arc a kingdom," " INIy lord, my judgment is, that every kingdom is a commonwealth, or at least should be, alheit that every commonwealth is not a kingdom ; and therefore I think that in a kingdom no less diligence ought to he taken that /airs be not violated than in a cominonwealth, because the tyranny of princes who eontiiiuall// reign in a kingdom is 7)wre hini/iil to the subjects than the misgovcni- uient of those that from year to year are changed in free connnonirealf/is." Again Craig added, that " although laws contrary to the law of God and to the true principles of government had been introduced, through the negligence of the people or the ti/ranny of princes ; yet the same people, or their posterity, had a right to demand that all things should be reformed according to the original institution of kings and com- tnomcealths." As a breach of trust has lately been made penal in a pecu- niary sense, so should it be well understood that an act of selfishness in a legislator is a breach of trust morally, and ought to be punishable before any pecuniary consideration ; for a man's morals are of greater consequence than his money, especially that gotten selfishly. Much has been said about "self is the first law of nature." An intelligent man ought to ignore this old adage, as belonging more to the animal nature than to the human. It is the animal nature of the human, and ought to be held in constant check by the wisdom of the human in proximity to the Divine. As man rises from his selfishness, which is the essence of hell, he is emerging towards disinterestedness, which is heaven. Rulers of nations, allowing selfishness to enter into their mode of governing, instead of the highest justice, are admitting into it an heterogeneous element, which Is an affliction upon INJUSTICE IN RULERS INFECTIOUS. 363 the whole nation ; inasmuch as it is a departure from the spirit of love and the justice of wisdom — opposed to the genius of heaven, and to the Ruler of rulers. The result of selfishness, becoming a component part of a nation's laws, is crime and injustice everj-where. It will be said that the bulk of the people do not see the injustice heaped upon them ; therefore, it cannot be the cause of crime among them. I answer, that selfish rulers have legions of evils surrounding them that make the presiding genius their own agent, that shall bring down woes and curses upon man- kind. " Injustice pays itself with frightful compound iuterest," says Thomas Carlyle, " On Heroes," p. 390. Immediately a ruling genius becomes selfish, he becomes a medium of evil communications everjnvhere ; in common par- lance, he becomes the agent of the devil, not a vicegerent of God. Misrule, misery, and sin spread Hke Hghtning amongst the unhappy people. First Principles are lost sight of, because of selfish principles ; good and true principles are ignored ; legislators are found floimdeiTng among theii' superficialities, having no depth of wisdom for guidance — no basis of principle ; they multiply laws, forgetting they are multiplj-ing difficulties and multipl}-ing complexities, until they have compounded a melange of intricacies fit only for a legion of lawyers to jabber over ; till at last, with their pondei'ous volumes of references, they raise a huge mass of contradictory muttcrings, over which devils laugh and chuclde, knowing well that it is the result of injustice first of all among the ruling powers, and begetting . crime and injustice everj-Avhore. Labour has ever been robbed of its rightful payment ; nothing more fully proves it than the corruption of the money that was commonly practised by the reigning monarchs dunng the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries. In the reign of Charles I., monopolies were granted on the moneys of the realm, and the adulteration of the standard was introduced through the excessive and extravagant expenditure of the king. Sir Robert Cotton showed that the R(jman Empire kei)t up the purity of the standard of her coins until tlir luosc fimcs of Connuixlus, \\lien excess of 364 GOVKUNMENT UPON FIllST PltlNCirLES. vain expenses introduced severe necessity, and that brought on an acUiUeration of the standard. The grandeur of the Enipu-e constantly decUned, jxiripntisif, with the gradual adulteration of its c'i>in. " There is no surer symptom of decay in any State tluuithe ct)rruption of the money. Ileury VI. obtained a bad Reputation by abating the quantity of bullion in his coins, and otherwise dtibasing them by the practice of alchemy in his Mint."* Henry YIII. fell into the same bad measures ; but Queen Elizabeth, by the good counsels of Burleigh and Sir Thomas Smith, did honour to the Crown, and justice to in- dustry, by bringing back the standard of the coins to the ancient purity of her great-grandfather, Edward IV. So much credit is due to Elizabeth ; but what can we say of Iliniry VIII., who established the offices of " Hoyal Exchangers," by a grant to the Earl of Holland, renewing the Statutes of the 9th of Edward III., and the 2nd of Henry IV., prohibiting all change and ex- change by any other than the said Earl of Holland, he, the king taking the profits ; which gave rise to that serious dissatisfaction ■which eventually separated fi'om the king the loyalty and affec- tion of the people ? AMio, then, really severs the affections of the people from the king and state, but the kings and governments themselves ? Blame not the pubHc, but the rulers of nations, when they do not reign in the hearts of their people. The wTong-doings of monarchs cannot be hid from public gaze and scrutiny, especially at this day ; nor will Louis Napoleon escape, though he be rich as CrcESus and cunning as Eblis. God, in the march of events, and the operations of. His laws, brings the most hidden iniquities to light. The world must be taught that the extravagance of vanit}^ begets crime in our day, as well as in the day when the Crown jewels were pawned for £300,000 which took place in 1G25 ; and, worse than aU, how were they paid for ? VTc know that the king commissioned Sir Sackville Crow to get 610 pieces of ii'on * Financial Prize Essay, chap. iv. INJUSTICE IN RULERS INFECTIOUS. 365 cannon cast, and then sold them to the States-General of the United K'etherlands. This disgi'acefiil redemption of his Cro^\Ti jewels by the shabby monarch of those times, ought to strike terror into the extravaganee of anj'one of our day, so that he desist from such practices, through which royalt)' degraded itself by such an example. This bad example of royalty was exceeded by what was still worse, the introduction of the Royal Exchange. That was the initiative into speculation and gambling, which taught all the many trickeries on the Exchange that are augmented in this day to a system of frightful knavery among the people, which is destropng the very morahty of our most active men, who, but for royal prestige, would (I hope) have never learnt to gain money without giving a quid pro quo. Gaming was known to be injurious by even IMohammed. In the Koran, chap, ii., he prohibited gaming in few words: "Theyn-ill ask thee concerning lots;* answer. There is great sin." Again, " Consimie not your wealth among yourselves in vanity ;" i.e., " employ it not in things prohibited by God, such as usury, extortion, rapine, gaming, and the like."t In 1672, the king shut up the Exchequer. This bad act was ver}^ similar to that committed by his father in 1 638 ; but the amount was much more considerable, being £1,328,526. Nearly 10,000 families were ruined by this most cruel pro- ceeding of the king.i In a printed declaration, the king promised he would punctually pay the interest, but this he reduced to 6 per cent. ; the principal was never paid. Tliis debt, by an act of the 12th year of William III., bore interest at 3 per cent., and was made a pubhc debt, redeemable by paying a moiety of tbe principal sum ; but it finally sub- sided, in 1720, into the South Sea capital stock, at 5 per cent, interest. • The oripinal word, al Meiser, properly signifies a particular game per- formed with arrows. IJiit by lots we are here to understand all games whatso- ever which are sulyect to chance or hazard— as dice, cards, &c. t Alkoran, p 6t. J Financial Prize Essay. 366 CJOVKUNMKNT UPON FIUST PRINCirLES. The fearful loss to tliis country arising^ from wars should bo a matter of invest ii:;ation for all, — the encumbrance it has on- tailed ui)on industry stru<};ank, together with money-jobbers, still richer. The reckless bloodshed during the eighteenth and the early years of the nineteenth century is appalling, and beyond measure reprehensible. The amount it has cost this nation is alarming to every man that has to work for his living, for it adds fearful hardships to his penury, sinco the burden is placed on his shoulders. CHAPTER ex. THE NATION THAT WOULD COLONIZE MUCH SHOULD, FIRST OF ALL, REGARD JUSTICE. An Empire that regards colonization as one of her leading features of action, recognizing it as her constituent principle to spread her influence everywhere over the face of this globe, should take good care that her influence be based upon First Principles. The mere excuse that our object is to Christianize and civilize, is not found to bo sufficient where the practice of First Principles has been disregarded. Purity and intelligence must ever attend power, or power unconnected with both be- comes a mere weapon wielded for the repression of good ; each must be co-ordinate to be perfect ; or, to approach it, must be co-equal in virtue, intelligence, and 'power. The crimes of a Nana Sahib, or of Peh-Kwei, or of Commissioner Yeh, how- ever great, will not justify an injustice committed by us. Their greater crimes will not justify our lesser ones. Nor is it enough were England to become the greatest JUSTICE IN RESPECT TO COLONIZATION. 367 nation ; she must also become the best. All her second and thii'd principles must stand in right relation to her First Principles ; her intelligence and her power must only be in exact ratio with her virtue, else every act falls out of order. A deviation from the rectilineal leaves a curve, or an angle, and is no longer a right Knc. The answer, that man is not perfect or he would be God, is not the conclusion that screens the man nor the empire. Perfection in justice, to the best of our know- ledge, is man's only standard implicitly rcHable for his guidance. It is his only present flag of truce — his only eternal and un- erring axiom direct from the Immaculate Creator. After all, England cannot boast of her practice in philosophy much more than the other nations which we conquer. Great nations seem obHvious of their great moral teachers. China seems not to obey Confucius ; nor do Turkey and Asia, Mohammed ; nor India, Brahma ; nor did Greece her Plato, Socrates, or Epicurus, Origen, Adamantus, or Aristotle ; nor did Rome her Cicero, Gracchus, Decimus, Seneca, or PKny ; nor does Spain Seneca ; nor can Britain boast of her faithfulness to the teachings of Knox, Pope, Burns, Locke, Bacon, and hosts of others. Alas ! it is not maxims that are wanted, but the daily practice of axioms. It is not the attainment of greater knowledge, but the hourly reduction and appHcation of life to the philosophic dictate. The theology of life is the practice of the better sug- gestive spirits that ever attend the walk of aU that are not purposely bad, wantonly criminal, irreclaimable negatives. The great chasm of life that must be filled up before perfection can be approached is — practice. The approximation to perfection is the approach to happiness. Creation's joys culminate in perfection ; creation's woes in- crease as we are distant from it. Perfection embraces all the sciences, all the arts, and all the graces of beauty and goodness combined. Tlie best mechanic is he who is the most perfect, as also is the best sculptor and painter. The beauties of nature are where perfections are ajjproached ; the higher her develop- ments by cultivations, tlie fuller her beauties stand forth. 368 OOVKRNMKNT UPON FlUST rUlNCirLES. Engliiiul by her colonies is Lccomiiig extensive, but is she becoming truly grand, sublimely noble, in her dealings with her colonies ? I fear we must first ask many other questions. Is England, first of all, just ? Is she fair and unselfish ? Is she regulated by First l'rin('i])les in all her cok)ni/ations ? Is not the upholding of her connnerco at the expense of justice, uoAv more the great objet't she has in view, than the benefits her vaunted Christianity confers upon her foreign subjects ? Ai'o not our colonies noAV more regarded as facilities for providing appointments for our ignoble sons, the scions of mere wealth and title ? Arc the honest, deserving, and intelligent men chosen first for their appointments ? Are the deserving natives placed in office before our undeserving drawing-room idlers ? Let these questions be answered before we assert that England is just in her colonization, I shall neither refer particularly to Australia, to India, nor to China ; but the histories of them all, I fear, jdeld examples of a saddening character. Not the slightest injustice should appear in our missionary and colonizing attempts, but Dr. Livingstone's principle of action should ever be practised — that of purchasing a tract of land, rather than, as marauders, taking it by force ; seizing . that to wliich we have no right, beyond the barbarian right of power. We must no longer allow Paley's views on property to be entertained. He says that " my right to an estate does not at all depend upon the manner or justice of the original acquisition ; nor upon the justice of each subsequent change of possession."* Here is Paley admitting a third-rate principle to guide us on the laws of property, which, if it be permitted in the past, must never be a regulating principle in the future. The cramped views of colonization, such as the Earl of Chatham expressed in Parliament, must no longer find place in our advanced day. He declared that " the British colonists in America had no right to manufacture even a nail for a horse-shoe." t Alluding to the popular opinion which then prevailed, that all monopolies by the mother country were * Paley's " Elements of Moral and Political Philosophy," p. 25. f Porter's " Progress of the Nation," p. 730. " History of West Indies," vol. ii. p. 565. JUSTICE IN KESPECrr TO COLONIZATION'. 369 justifiable, not only the monopoly of supply, but of all colonial produce and manufacture. The very injustice which we then practised on our colonies lost us America, in place of which we obtained a national debt, an equivalent for which all our colonies cannot recom- pense, even to the commercial interests. England must at once learn to know and acknowledge that her piinciple of action will ever be wrong as long as she regu- lates her colonial operations by second and third-rate principles, instead of Fii'st Principles. Anything inert even may become great ; great mountains and great valleys abound. England's greatness might arise out of her very worst characteristics, but her nobleness of action might occupy very small dimensions, though she conquered the whole world. "VMiat gave the early ascendency to Rome ? It was not her usurped monarchy, but her commonwealth, her attempts at moral rectitude, extending fairness to all ; the noble spirits that existed among the Tribimes after conquest ; her stem regard to truth and justice ; the sentiments of Tiberius Gracchus, his honest and neighbour-lo'S'ing project to revive the law of Licinius, making some abatements of minor import- ance only, assisted by Appius Claudius and Mutius Scaevola. Gracchus would not aggrandize himself nor even the Common- wealth, at the expense of virtue — of justice and fairness among his fellow citizens. He dared to be just in his day, in public and private. He paid the penalty of an eartlily life. Oh, Gracchus, better thus to have died, than live after two thousand years have elapsed, and ^vitness the very opposite principles practised, from those which you died to enunciate ! Where are the men that dare introduce such a measure of rectitude into our Legislature, and would they have half your success? "NVTiere are the grand spirits of your most glorious common- wealth 't lias earth no longer any interest for you ? Or have wo grown so demoniacal that the gulf is too great ; arc we now beyond the intluenije of flic nobly good? Will you not IS ]) 370 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES. como among us P Ixathcr shun us as you -would sliun to enter hell, unless you can accomplish our rescue. Has it taken more than two thousand years to convince tho world that Licinua and Gracchus were right in principle? Were all the panics of 1847, 1855, 1850, and 1857 necessary, hefore the world could even dimly see that capital had accu- mulated too largely into too few hands in Great Britain ? Capital is a burden, when in excess to the few, having tho excess, whilst many are deprived of common necessaries, and thus brought to starvation, when the excessively rich are dying A>'ith plethora. CHAPTER CXI. A :more general distribution of wealth is beneficial TO THE RICH AND THE POOR. A NATION based upon First Principles would adopt some such law as that of limiting the accumulations of wealth : a boundary would be made somewhere; for not only xocalth but evcrijthhnj in excess is injurious; one step beyond the sublime is the ridiculous. With education the distinctions of tho poor and the rich are no longer necessary. A majority of the poor labourers of England require no goadings to induce them to work ; they are habit- ually industrious : let them be better paid, and introduced into the acquirement of more comforts at home, by having better diversified resources for progress in pa}'inents; the labourer and the artisan would then be found to be less frequenters of I)ublic-houses, and more attentive students than arc now tho sons of excessive wealth. If it be a benefit to be born rich, let the benefit be extended further, that none be bom poor ! Not by poor-laws, nor by cleemos}Tiary acts of charity, but by a well diversified means constantly at hand to induce intelligent industry to be usefully active : this can well be accomplished by limiting the accumu- GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF ^VEALTH BENEFICIAL. 371 lation of wealth possessed by any one individual, by taxing inordinate wealth heavily; which would at once generalize wealth into a greater number of hands, and set free the laboriously encumbered. It must not be understood, by the foregoing remarks, that competence is not necessary where public affaii-s require the exclusive attention of the Legislature : he, the pubhc man of the State, must not be very much encumbered -with the detail of commerce to Hve by it, to do justice to his constituents and to the requirements of his covmtry. But that is a very different affair — ^the excessively rich statesman that was born rich, but, unfortimately for the nation, was not bom with statesman-like quahties to become useful to the country as a statesman. To be useful is to be good, intelHgent, and active. To be time-serving is to be bad, cunning, and plotting. The order of the day, I am sorry to say, is the latter, whilst the former ought to be the only qualification for public men. No one can say that respectability consists in the man unqualified for his office, though he be an aristocrat ; neither can respectability be founded upon fortune as the world is now constituted. Personal quahties and meritorious exemphfications are the only con- stituents of respectabihty. It does not follow that the rich are to be stripped of theii* estates nor of their wealth ; no such notion prevails among the sons of industry : none respects property more than the indus- trious man. The infamous hue and cry about the working people of England, got up by that power-serving Times, is not correct. Any large employer of labour can testify to the fact, that the really industrious are the most honest, and can make as good a distinction between meum and tuum as can the cabal of that paper the Times, which is too much the destroyer of all political and civil progress. That paper is treacherous in cvcrj' cause, except that which happens to be the strongest party; not even a wreck of principle has it beyond that. Self-interest and power are its only regulating motives. It is the Thrasy- machua of our day, which cannot distinguish between virtuous power and vicious power ; thai will not (like Thrasymachus) be I! n 2 372 OOVKUNMKNT UPON l-'IUST TRlNrUM-KS. porsimdcd "that injustice is not more giiinful than justico." Also like him would lall " justice a very generous folly," *' in- justice sagacity." To whom the unjust seem both wise and good. "Such at least (said he) that are ahle to do injustice in perfection, and can subject states and nations to themselves." These are the ])revailing sentiments of the Times journal ; nothing could nu)re resemble the very acme of its principles; tridy, we now require a Socrates and a Plato to controvert such fallacies. Socrates shall now answer that mendacious journal. " I am surprised that you should reckon injustice as a part of vii'tue, and wisdom and justice among their contraries." — "What then would the unjust man do ? Would he deem it right to over-reach the just man, even in a just action ?" said Socrates. — " How not," said Thrasymachus (in whom wc seem to trace the original ftithcr of the tribe of the Times), "since he deems it right to overreach all men?" — "Well, then," inquired Socrates, " the unjust man is both wise and good, but the just man neither?" — "Well again," said Thrasymachus, the great- great-grandfather of the Times, in principle and action. By various analogical arguments did Socrates seek to con- vince ; by the musicians' music, which must be musical, the strings of which must not be over-strained nor over-slackened. " The physician," said Socrates, " in proscribing meats or drinks, would he try to overreach cither another physician or the art he professes ? But one who is no physician would. Yes. But the skilful man [is] wise ?" " I admit it," said Thras}Tnachus. — "And the wise, good?" inquired Socrates. " I admit it," said Thrasymachus. — " Both the good and the wise, then, will not want to overreach his like ?" — " It seems so," said Thrasymachus. " But the bad and the ignorant man will want to overreach both his like and the contrar// ?" inquired Socrates. — " It appears so," said Thrasymachus. — " The just man, then, resembles the wise and the good, but the unjust the evil and the ignorant ?" asked Socrates. — " It seems so," said Thrasjonachus. Thrasymachus at last agreed to all these things — not easily, as I now narrate them, but dragged to it, and vdth. difficulty, and with a wondrous deal of sweating, just THE "times" the BARRIER TO PROGRESS. 373 as if it was summer. Then indeed did I behold — I never did before — ThrasjTnachus hlush ing. The last part of the dialogue is the only part bearing no resemblance to the Times journal. AVhoever found the Times jouiTial — blushing ? CHAPTER CXII. THE " TIMES " JOURNAL IS THE BARRIER TO PROGRESS. It would do one's eyes good to behold the Times blushing, because with blushing would come admission of error — a change from the "vicious to the ^4l•tuous might then be hoped. AYhere is this " Maximus Philosophorum " of our day — where is the spirit of Plato, that he convinces not the Times — the Thras}Tnachus of our day ? " But," said Thi-as}Tnachus, " I do remember we said in- justice is powerful." — Then said Socrates, " I think it hath been said that injustice is more powerful and stronger than justice." So says the Times. That journal has ever sought to undermine a straightforward line of action, by gi'V'ing derisive terms to whatever was not its time-ser\ing, place-hunting policy. She has only been gracious in one way — that of carrying her principle so far, that she has not only become transparent, but has stood out in bold relief, in impudent arrogance, in ironical mockery, at the vanity of the people of England expecting justice. She would tell them, in all the dress of language, that justice is only for fools ; Avise men never think of it. Certainly, the Times, worldly wise, dfjcs not ; nor do such fair-dealing words ever enter into the veniacular of the Times. A reader of the Times paper is sure to be warped and tA\nsted in his judgment, if ho read not better dictating spirits as well. 374 OOVEllNMEXT UPON FIRST rUINClPLES. It iilways nssoeinted the nristocracy with respectability ; not only that, but it gave an exclusiveuess to them, till it liad lately fonnd another power — the monetary power. Any existent power is sulheient for that journal (whose only virtue is j)i)tentiahty) to insure its advocacy. If over industry wish to establish its claims, it is certain to tind the Times dead against it ; simply because the Times can sco no other claims in relation to power. Ilespectability may exist also among the frugal men of in- dustry : the man who has worked every long day, with scarce an exception, thi'oughout the year, cannot be a debtor to his country, nor undeserving the respect of his country. Ilonesty should ever carry with it the respect that is due to it, whether coming from labour or from wealth ; in fact, the temptations are greater in privation than in aifluence ; therefore, the greater amount of respect is due to the industriously honest. Well did Tiberius Gracchus foresee, and truly predict, the evil consequences of wealth getting into the handa of a few ; plainly he foretold the destruction that would come upon Home some day, for permitting such tendencies. " Much," he said, " she possessed, and had yet more to acquire : that the people, by their decision in the present question, were to determine whether they were by multiplpng their numbers to strengthen the community, and put themselves into position to conquer what yet remained of the world ; or, by suffering the resom'ces of the whole people to get into the hands of a few, they were to j)ermit their numbers to decline, and against nations envious and jealous of their power, to become unable even to maintain the ground they already had gained." As hell will not allow good laws to be made for their dark machinations, neither would Eome then allow this just law to be made. Neither will England now allow the shadow of a resemblance of such a sound policy ; yet England will have to experience what Rome has experienced, as certain as she retains her exclusive system of legislation. REGULATION OF DISTRIBUTION OF %VEALTH. 375 CHAPTER CXIII. NEITHER THE EXTREME OF ACCUMULATION NOR THE EXTREME OF SUBDIVISION IS NECESSARY, To fly off to France, in order to support the opposite view, is not the question. The subdivisions of the landed proprietary of France are carried to the other extreme: neither the extreme of subdivision, nor of excessive accumulation of wealth, is neces- sary to the wholesome weU-doing of a whole nation. A Hmit to subdivision should take place, and a limit to accumulation should also take place : not one nor the other, but both must be limited. Allow by law no property to be subdi\'ided of less value than £2000 in Great Britain. Allow also no property exceeding £500,000 to be held by any one indi\'idual. This is simple, yet based upon First Principles, because its tendency would be to benefit the whole, rather than as now, a part of the whole. I do not say the immediate effect, but the ultimate effect is as certain as that the whole is greater than a part. CHxVPTEP CXIV. THE "DISEASE OF THE MIND " IDENTICAL WITH THIS DAY. I HAVE tested' First Principles by some of the best statesmen of Home ; let us now examine another coimtry of ancient renown. Next to Rome, Greece ranks in governmental dis- quisitions : it gave birth to a genius that became good enough, wise enough, and learned enougl), fur the world's guidance, had that world followed his maxims and dictates — a genius o7G aovEUNMKNr vpon kiust mtiNnrLES. wlui'h Euscbius, six luiiulrod years after, declared that " lie alone t>r all the Greeks reached to the vestibide of truth, and stood upon its threshold." This " ^Nlaxinuis riiilosophorum" is none other than IMato — that broad-shouldered man that tho Tiiiica journal would have diMiounced as uneciualiiied for the army of I'aigland, because of tho dimensions of his shoulders renderinir him unlit to associate with the sons of witless lords. 80 that the logic of tho Times amounts to this — that the shoulders are to be the exclusive medium of talent. I am sorry the paper that luul once some renown should have blun- dered so egregiously as to have forgotten Plato's shoulders! But not only has the Times forgotten the shoulders of l^lato, but, what is much worse, the sentiments of that great man are alti\i;ther and alike obli^^ous in every expression which that journal brings forth. Plato witnessed the corruptions of democracy in his own country, that of the Athenian democracy ; also that of the despotic and absolute rule of Dionysius of Syracuse ; but, had he lived in our day, he would have had more ample means of witnessing the corruptions of monarchy rmdcr a denomination of constitutional form, the whole of which are alike opposed to the exalted view of Plato. His Ethics require no revision for this day, neither does the advocacy of virtue ever require revision. Virtue is an abstract principle, which man never can modify, although various arc the attempts to dress it into corrupt semblance ; whereas Plato asserts vice to be " a disease of the mind," but " virtue is to be pm^sued as the true good of the soul."* My advocacy is not to injure any class whatever ; I seek not the destruction of the possessors of wealth nor of lionoui's ; but I seek their fundamental amelioration in the true possession of happiness. Happiness is never unconnected with virtue. If, therefore, our members of State l;ave disregarded the line of rectitude which should benefit their country in the majority, * Plato's " Republic," IV. 444. WRONG CANNOT PERMANENTLY LPIIOLD THE STATE. 377 they have simiiltaneously disregarded that which shall ever benefit themselves the most — i.e., virtue. Plato attests the fact, when he says that " virtuous conduct, apart from its benefits to societ}', is adcantageous to the indi- vidual practising it ; inasmuch as it insures that regularity of the imagination, that tranquillity' and internal harmony which constitute the mind's proper happiness."* Our English statesmen would do well to notice Plato's above remarks ; they would then cease to legislate for themselves, and do so for their country essentially and only. Neither riches, nor land, nor honours, purchase for the statesman happiness ; happiness must extend to the legislated — to the people, before it can reach the legislator ; one and the other must stand in right relation to each other, just as a man cannot be happy when his household are all in jeopardizing misery, that is, if he be a man — if he have not forsaken his manly spiiit ; and if he have, he no longer possesses happi- ness — consonant with man, but only something consonant with demoniacal passions? CBLO'TER CXV. THE A\'ROXG CAN NEVER PERM.INENTLY UPHOLD THE STATE. In order that the State be a perfect State, the statesman must be a perfect statesman. Politics must ever bo a branch of ethics ; it must never be separated from the moral rectitude of man. The State based upon First Principles must become vigorous, healthy, and beautiful, because as its foundation is good and solid, its emanations follow in right relation. Plato's " Re- * Plato's " Kcpublif," IX. 577. 378 GOVERNMENT UPON FIltST miNCIPLES. public" is-ft development of the analogy between the ideas of the perfei't man and the perfect State. " Exercising the nobler parts of our nature in the contemplation and practice of philosophy, and more particularly the 8i(m/ni(m bonum (to ayaOov), tlio practical realization of which should be the chief aim, of the State constituted in the soul."* A State makes a great mistake when it imagines that wrong principles uphold its solidity better than right principles. The governing powers of Europe nevertheless act upon this per- verted principle, England not excepted. It seems to answer : oi)prcssion actually appears to promote the retention of regal power. It must be admitted, that questionable lineage retains its imperial throne after polluting it with tyranny and injustice. To the superficial observer ciime seems to prosper, and injustice acquires power, plants its standard in foreign lands, practising there the same oppression under the garb of some fastuous pretext of Christianization or civilization. The sceptre of power, however, is only one part of dominion : it is that which the savages of the earth in the most early periods exercised, ^vith no more judgment than the animals of the earth. The lion of the jungle can claim the same merit for mere power, and the serpent of the earth can claim the same for gi-o veiling propensities ; is man meritorious because of mere power ? Why a machine can be made to have more power, physical, than a thousand men. Yet man ever aims at mere power, as if power were identical with happiness or justice. Now, devils have power. So great potentates can trace the origin of their lust for power to his Imperial Satanic Majest}^ and congratulate them- selves upon their ignoble blood, their right lineal descent. Of course the love of power is demoniacal, together mth the love of dominion ; it may prosper in time, at the expense of eternity, but that prosperity is ever casting its shadows before it — is always purchased at too great a cost, even to the individual possessing it. The crime of oppression, of despotism and tjTarmy, falls on the head of the evil-doer, be he king, emperor, or sultan. * Plato's " Republic," IV. 441a. LASTING ADVANTAGES OF jrSTICE. 379 CHAPTEE CXVI. THE LASTING ADVANTAGES OF JUSTICE. On the other side of the question might be portravcd the ad- vantages of justice, since no danger attends it ; no fears, nor doubts, nor misgiviugs, nor reproaches, attend it. Plato corro- borates that fact, when he says : — " Nothing that is good is hurtful. . . Docs that which hui-ts not do any evil ? Does that which is not hurtful, hurt ? ' By no means,' replies Adimentus. And what docs no evil cannot be the cause of any e\il. But what good is beneficial. . . It is, there- fore, the cause of prosperit)-. Good, therefore, is not the cause of all things ; but the cause of those things only which are in a right state — not the cause of those things that are in a wrong state." Again, in reference to real bcing= truth, he says: "The true lover of learning is naturally incHned to aspii-e after the knowledge of real being. . . While truth, however, leads the way, we can never say, I think, that any band of evils follows in her train." Again he inquires : " Think you that it is more profitable to possess all things without the posses- sion of good, or to know all things without the knowledge of the good, having no perception at all of the beautiful and good?"* CnAPTER CXYII. IS AN OLIGARCHICAL CONSTITUTION CONSISTENT WITH FIllST PRINCIPLES ? First of all in order, to be clear and concise, let us well under- stand what an Oligarchy really is. My answer shall nut be given, but that of one whose authority is indisputable. Plato • Pliito'8 "Republic," ))i). 170, 101. 380 GOVERNMENT UrON FIRST VUINCIPI.ES. shall answer the inquirv, "\Miat constitution is it that you call an oligarchy ? " That yovcrunicnt ■which is foinulod ^n tho osliniate of men's property ; in which the rich rule, and tho })oor have no share in the p;overnnu>nt. As they advance in the intensity of the desire for acquiring wealth, the more honourahle they account this, tho more dishouourahlo will they deem virtue ; for is not N-irtuo so at variance with wealth, that, supposing each to be placed at tho opposite end of a balance, they -would always Aveigh tho ono against tho other ? ^Vliilo wealth, then, and the wealthy are honoured in the State, both virtue and good men must necessarily be hold in dishonour.* And do they not enact laws, regulating the quantity of oligar- chical power by the quantity of wealtb, allotting more to the more wealthy and less to the less so ? iVnd do they not settle these matters compulsory by force of arms, establishing such a state after preA^ous intimidation ? Is not Louis Napoleon doing this now to the very letter, by intimidation and by force of arms, compelling France to yield to an oligarchy ? Is not England based upon an oligarchical constitution ah'eady? Deny it however much she may, de facto she is an ohgarchy ; and all because she has departed from First Principles. Fii'st Piinciplcs extend justice to all, not to the few only, as doth an oligarchy. An oligarchy, then, is not consistent A\ith Fii'st Principles. Had I said that immunities must be extended alike to all, in order to be consistent ■wdth Fii'st Piinciples, I should have stated a questionable polity ; but I enforce justice, which, un- interfered with by human selfish partialities, regards all wdth an eye to fairness, according to capacities of reception, not according to possessions of inert matter — gold, silver, or land — gotten too often not by virtue, but by fraud. * Plato's "Republic," VIII. c. iv., p 240. DEMOCRACY AND FIRST PRINCIPLES. 381 CIL\.PTEIl CXTIII. IS A DEMOCRACY CONSISTENT M^ETH FIRST PRINCIPLES? In SO far as it M-ould consist in the desire of becoming rich only, it is not consistent ; in so far as it lends on usury, or in so far as it would kill, banish, or share State offices, it is not. Plato says, " To honour riches and at the same time practise tem- perance is impossible, since the one or the other must neces- sarily be neglected." Glaucon inquires what law he would have. Socrates replies, " One that shall follow the other, compelling the citizen to cultivate virtue."* For the poor to prevail over the rich, would be as wrong as for the rich to prevail over the poor ; neither need be prevalent because of either one or the other, but be equal in the practice of Fii'st Principles, arising out of the cultivation of virtue. Whether it be in an oKgarchy or a democracy, an extreme or an abuse of privilege is wrong. Under a democracy, men of all characters will spring up ; although Socrates said it seems likely " to be the best of all governments, just as a various- coloured robe is best." The lenity shov^ai to some is likely to cause the exalted natures of others to be overlooked. In a democracy, the man will be ajBccted towards the multitude, which would obtain the greatest honours. I do not know that so great an e\'il would arise out of that as now arises out of the oligarchic tendency, so well aifected towards the merely rich and wealthy, imconnccted as it so often now is with noble actions. If democracy can be shown to produce anarchy, it cannot be consistent ^nth First Principles ; but the variation and dis- tribution of a certain equality to all, does not evince an in- consistency, after education has become general ; and as this is now fast approaching, the objections to equalities of political status arc being fast removed. • Hook VIIL.c. 10, p. 240. 382 GOVKKXMr.NT UPON FIRST PIUNCIPLES. A democracy growing out of general and almost \mivcrsal education — steadily acquiring its sulFrage by its love of the good and tlie true — intelligently and virtuously making its political (^l^Jms — persevering and enduring in opposition to mere oligar- chic power — would questionably become a sound constitution. Ikit bow is corruption to be shut out, and all the various powers to which wealth and riches lay claim, unconnected with cither the love of the good or the true, which in an old empire is uninti'lligibly enforced? For the position in State is often bought, as one buys a horse; but with this difference — the horse is paid for in money, but the office in State is often paid for in compromise, in a prostitution of principle, or in the per- sistence of the unjust, ^vith which from long habit men liavc grown familiar, hax-ing been first tempted to do wrong by the higher class, that should have set a better example. The corruptions can only be outrooted, then, by a new advocacy of justice, rather than a new application of it. First Principles must be advocated and practised; every Act of Parliament must be measured by this standard ; every old vicious preference abjured; every sordid motive and money- gotten power only, discontinued ; First Principles must be practised and made the ruling medium. The civilized organized form of government is generally found to be that best adapted to a people. A republic is the most economical, and should never change, its form having been weU established upon universal sufirage and annual elections of presidents ; never foregoing the latter, how- ever GREAT A FAVOURITE THE VACATING PRESIDENT MAY BE ! A change from a monarchical to a constitutional regal form may, among an intelligent people, benefit all parties abstractedly. A country may merge from despotism to con- stitutionalism, but never has history shown us, that with safety can the commonwealth ever take the oligarchic form mth impunity. Greece and Rome, after long trials, sank in the attempt. Difficidty ever attends a sudden wide change of govern- mental system, because the people individually benefiting by it DEMOCRACY AND FIRST PRINCIPLES. 383 have not had time to fortify themselres against surrounding dangers; they become undermined by the adults and adepts that hare made State intrigue their life's study, France illus- trates these difficulties, yet profits not by her experience. While I admit that all nations should be common^vealth, I am far fi-om admitting that common^vealth is at present appli- cable to all nations, until something preparatory to its adoption has taken place. The world must recognize principles of action, before it can adopt them. The principle of simple integrit}' and virtue must become a more recognized standard of action, having a broader meaning, admitted to be of more general application individually. The claims of the brother, poor or rich, must be regarded as neighbourly claims, and indisputable inasmuch as they are Divine ! Deny that claim, and inasmuch as ye do it unto the least, have ye done it unto the nationahty of Divine Institute. It is the gaunt potentate of mere noble name, or of golden claim, that requii'cs the preparation prior to the adoption of pure laws. In the first ages, the Greeks were governed by monarchs, and there were as many kings as there were cities. With ciA-ihzation the monarchical power gradually decreased, and, with the exception of Macedonia, ultimately ceased. "Was it not the simplicity of the ancient Greeks that ren- dered them virtuous? Their Olympic games well deserved their world-wide fame, and well was the third victory sacred to Zeus — the Saviour ; for the 01}TQpic games at least had one great virtue — they withdrew the ancient Greeks from the love of riches, and made them ambitious of fame, rather than be — what Great Britain has become — the slave of riches. Alas ! what does our Christianity do for England, fettered and allied to State and riches as it now is, where corruption abounds? Will it admit of comparison with the Olympian Zeus, even in having so successfully withdrawn men from the love of riches ? Until this be cfic'ctcd, their undcrmininff effects will ever be exhibited by ])ad laws. A\nicre is now the Nemesis, rewarding the best efforts of the good and just ? Good laws must be somewhere, where good people are either 384 GOVF-nNMKNT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. in power, or hold tlio c^'il in chock. The private character of gooil, the principle of integrity, and the intellip;enco of A\nsdoni and prudence, must he rejijarded as iirst (pialitications ; titles, wealth, and grandeur, as secondary qualifications. Until tliis be recogni/eil and practised, the preparations for pure laws havo not commenced. Then the regal power could he huilt up upon a solid basis, even while the country was gradually assuming a democratic form. Let every man retain his wealth and his property, but bo taxed in proportion to its excess. Let that very excess disqualify rather than qualify a political standing ; let the very opposite of what now is, become the regulating medium. Let there be no false eulogies, no indolence nor anarchy, no extravagance nor shamelcssness, shining with a great retinue, and wearing crowns without Wrtue. No longer shall we delude our people by calling insolence good breeding, liberty anarchy, luxury magnificence, and impudence manliness. Let every and all such fiishionable perversions, so prevalent in this day, be discountenanced and discontinued. While England has so virtuous and good a Queen, let her regal power be placed upon a true basis, in order to give solidity and durance to her dynasty ; for what is it that endangers a throne ? It never was virtue yet ; it never was the good and true combined — it never was First Principles : but the opposite of all this. Render the throne secure, then, by the best of principles that be ; not by anything secular in principle, which is ever the stepping-stone to compromise, ever leading to the vicious. I agree ^nth Plato, that tyranny may arise out of democracy, as it arises out of all other forms of government : he admitted the same, for he asserts that " aristocracy is apt to merge into oligarchy, and monarchy into tyranny."* Now an oligarchy is a tyrannical form of Government j)er se, hence he shows that all his forms of government degenerate into tjTanny, aristocracy, ohgarchy, monarchy, democracy, and timocracy. * Book VIII., Argument ]). 232. THE STATE, THE CHURCH, AND PLATO. 385 Plato seems to corroborate all my fonner remarks, for he plainly sums up liis " Republic" by admitting the most just to be the most happy. " The first iu happiness, and the second and the rest in order, five in all : the regal, the timocratic, the ohgarchal, the democratic, and the tyrannic. Easy, indeed, is tliis decision," said ho, " for as they came before us, I have judged of them as public actors, by theii' vii-tue and their vice; happiness, and its contrary. Sliall I declare myself, that the son of Aiiston has judged the best and justest man to be the happiest ; and that this is the man who is fittest to be as king, and as kiug, too, over himself ; and that the worst and the most unjust is the most wretched; and that he is the most tyrannical, who, in the greatest degree, tyrannizes over himself and the State."* CHAPTER CXIX. WHY HAVE NOT THE STATE AND THE PROTESTANT CHIRCH ADOPTED PLATO ? It has long been a matter of astonishment to me, that our State church is not embued with the sentiments of Plato. Is it because the course of years has allowed one encroachment and another to fall upon the people's just rights, till justice is found to be incompatible with their versions of the traditional and scriptural dogmas, so that the very persistence of Plato on the \aciousness of injustice has rendered him less acceptable to the loavcs-and-fish-gctting Protestant Church ? Is it because the good and the true arc so emphatically sot forth in Plato, as the soul-vitalizing principle, energetic, and ever active in the • Book IX. c. vii. p. 270. c c 386 OOVKllNMKNT TTON FIUST TRlNCirLES. cause of purity of luotivc, Mhich coiild only result in the right exercise of power, not tlic present abuse of it 'f Is it be- cause that Church, in the face of tradition and Scripture, has grasped too much for virtue, that it would A\ish to ignore its advocacy; has tritlcd A\ith justice till it can nuike no mention of it in her pulpit, lest it be seen to be the great national mote that nnist first be pulled out of their own eyes ? How comes it, that Virgil, Homer, and Acrion, the voluptuous and obscene Horace and Juvenal are so preferred in our colleges and miiversities, instead of Plato, Zeno, and Socrates — the Stoic philosophy especially ? Is it impossible that the State Church so allies itself to all the corruptions of our Government, so lending ahelping hand to Statecraft, that it can become entirely oblivious of the injunction, " Love your neighbour" ? Is it not a rod of terror they hold up for the people's adoration, rather than the emblem of love to all ? Can any church in our day long continue to preach openly the identity of God ^Aith themselves, as of old, saying, " Love 6^or/, above all things, «;?fr«s iZ/'s ministers;" though they have become unjust stewards, substituting their ministiy for the last part of that comprehended in the first, " Love thy neighbour as thyself" ? It is time blind homage ceased in a church calling itself reformed, when at the same time it opposes itself to every- thing progressive, and, had it the power, would denounce and punish the reformer now, as did the priestcraft Galileo, because it did not answer their purpose to have their errors exposed, nor their sacerdotal blunders enunciated to the world ? Can we not trace every church from that of Adam, to have degenerated into the love of error, rather than the light of truth ; because the error perpetuated their immunities, and the exposure of error might dissipate those advantages ? Had they not loved themselves more than the true Church — the true spirit of light and truth, the perpetuating misery would never have been inflicted upon man ; that misery which selfish- ness ever inflicts upon the neighbour, taking more than is meet, leaATDg to your neighbour less than is meet. All this arises WHAT SELiLL BE ITS ELEMENTAL BASIS? 387 out of the State laying hold of the Church, to strengthen the Government. This is an ancient practice, the hierarchical remains of this day ; but bad as it is ancient, because it enables the powerful to add to its power, by which it might the better exercise t}Tanny and oppression ; because the people are de- prived of their right of pohtical influence ; the effect of which IS too evident, that injustice is even now prevaiKng over justice, which is opposed to Plato's belief, that the " just man will t^vice prevail over the unjust : the thii'd \'ictory now, as at the Olympic games, is sacred to Olympian Zeus, the Saviour?"* CHAPTER CXX. WHAT, THEN, SHALL FORM AN ELEMENTAL BASIS FOR THE GOVERNMENT GROUNDED UPON . FIRST PRINCIPLES ? A JUST equilibrium of power must ever be maintained, by the Government and the people. Any preponderance is an infraction. An hierarchy, therefore, is throwing a sacerdotal preponderance in the favour of State power, which is an infraction upon equilibrium. The true basis, therefore, is not a far-fetched maximum, but is simple and over present ; it is " the love of God supremehj, and the love of man as a neighbour," comparatively, or as thyself. Or as Zeno wished to live in the world, as if nothing was properly his own. Ho loved others, and his affections were extended even to his cnemies.t Or as Plato. " Virtue is to be pursued as the true good of the soul." * Hook IX. c. ix. p. 273. t Cic Acad. 1, 6, 12, de Nat. D. 1 c, 11, 1, 2, c. C C 2 388 OOVKHNMKNT ITON IMKST rinSCIl'I.F.S. If our Church ho a true Cliurch, it can never ho opposed to a form of Government haseil upon the higliest authority for both ancient and modern guidance. A church must look well to what it encourages ; it has not the excuse of saying, I liavo a right to be Tory, or AVhig, or Liberal. A Church has only a right to bo just; in Governmental matters to be perfectly neutral. Is the Church such in our day ? Can it ever bo neutral, so long as its bishops take their seats in the llouso of Peers? Arc they there to inculcate, through the Divino injunction, to the law lords, and to the old earls of the realm : ;. c, love to God and the neighbour ? IIow comes it, then, that these law lords and earls, together with the bishops, by far the greater part of them, ever advocate exclusive laws, oi)posed to the love of the neighbour ? IIow comes it, that they seem so unmindful of the just rights that belong to all honest and educated men, because poor ? IIow is it they are not the very fii'st to redi-ess the grievances of the helpless, hard-working, ever working, respectable peasant or artisan ? How conies it, they so violate their mission, that they have grown indifferent to the love of the poor neighbour, the extension of the franchise to every working man that can read and write, and is found to be daily and yearly toiling from early to late ? Is not their very apj^licafion to labour unceasingly, a qualification in ITSELF TO A VOTE? Ought it to be ^^athheld by the very lawn sleeves whose calling is to teach, that love of the neigh- bour ? which is the true spirit of religion, not of politics. Why is not, then, the love of God and man the basis of our Legislature ? The answer is too palpable.; for were they even to remain neutral in political concerns, they must over inculcate that glorious injunction ; theii' religious principles would then be guiding the hearts and minds of the rich and the poor to love their neighbour as themselves ; to withhold not from them, high nor low, the justice to whom justice is due. To whom is the solemn warning applicable : " Thou unpro- fitable servants, cast them into outer darkness, where shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth"? Take heed, thou hoary- headed, sinning Church ; teach henceforth the love of God and V^-HAT SHALL BE ITS ELEMENTAL BASIS? 389 man, and practise the teacliing, instead of the love of titles, riches, and human humihatiou and degradation, for the many. Hadst thou, oh Church, heen doing thy duty to all men, before now the love of God and man would have become the basis of our Legislature. Shall we not say of our Church, what Socrates said of Homer ? " If you be not the third fi'om the truth, with regard to %-irtue, as being the artificer of an image, but rather the second, and can discern what pursuits render men better or worse, in private as well as public, tell us which of the states has been better constituted by you; as Laceda^mon was by Lycurgus, and great and small cities by many others ; but, as respects j'ourself what state is it that acknowledges you to have been a law- giver, and to have done them good ser\'ice ? Italy and Sicily acknowledge Charondas, and we Solon ; but who acknowledges you" ?* But what war in Homer's days is recorded to have been conducted by him ? Not one. ^Miat good can the industry of Great Britain have to re- cord, as having been conducted by the Church, that ever extended just pri^-ilegos to the deser\'ing working people ? Charitable men have built churches, schools, and colleges, and endowed thorn ; have built almshouses and hospitals, but what has the Church done towards even these things ? Some things have they undone. Tell us how our State has ever been better constituted, by bishops sitting in the upper house ? Have they ever hinted at the corruptions going on all around them in our wars in China and India, in that of Oude especially, or'at home, amongst the law lords, for the most part ? Do they bring forward measures of virtue, to constrain the iniquitous adjudications of the law lords? Not one. * Book X. c. i. 390 GOVEUXMENT ll't^N FlllST IMUNCirLES. ClLVrTER CXXI. THE REGAL GOVERNMENT, BASED UPON FIRST TRlNCirLES, MUST BE INEXCLUSIVE. None shall be cxehuled, but all shall be included, into our model State, that shut not themselves out by actions within their own control, excepting only the hierarchy. Wc except neither the aristocracy, the oligarchy, nor the democracy. The landownicrs, to whom the aristocracy correspond, have shown themselves to have been less greedy than the money-holders, who coiTCspond to the oligarchy, more especially, but not altogether, for they arc ftist merging one into the other. Finding in these a power within themselves mighty, and which must be lasting, because of their wealth, their power becomes self- existent. No injury can accrue to such magnitude of power that shall be consistently exercised by a third power, that joer sc is upholding the two first by supplying labour for a fjm'd jjro quo, of ])ortions of that wealth — ^^z., the people, to which the democracy corresponds. Nor will any injury accrue to the people of industry by the two foniier powers existing, under just laws, based upon First Principles. Then all must act co-ordinately. Now, the numerical consideration of the democratical party is only balanced by the magnitude and enormity of wealth by the two other powers, the aristocratic and the ohgarchic : so that the political denominations of neither anstocracy, of oligarchy, nor of democracy, need cease ; but be allowed to protect their respective interests under one regal Head ; each and all loyally striving to be the upholders of our GOOD Queen Yicixjria and her descendants — never di'caming at any time to change the dynasty ; for of all the evils tliat could fall upon a great countr}-, that would be the greatest. A change of dynasty would open up new feuds, augment factions, multiply interests, all of which must partake largely of selfishness, rather than of nationality ; the result of which would be, the building up of some man who was at the same LOVE TO BE ITS ELEMENTAL BASIS. 391 time building up his own house rather than the nation's welfare. Europe has furnished us with some remarkable illustrations of this fact, even when corruption was at its nadir — even when governmental crime was flagrant and unbearable, as it was in France during the time of Louis XYI. to Louis XYIII. For that period furnished Europe with a remarkable fact — that while the king was in part a good man, the government was a bad government. Had Xapoleon sought to build up the go- vei-nment of Louis XYIII. and his dpiast}-, rather than build himself up, he might have been useful, Hving, and beloved by- all to this day. Had the love of use been greater in him than the hve of pride and ambition, how well might he have served his country and all Europe ! The thorough patriot and tiTie statesman would rather be a king-maker than a king, even after reflecting well upon the Earl of "Warwick's history. CHAPTER CXXII LOVE SH-VLL FORM THE ELE^MENTAL BASIS FOR THE GOVERN- MENT GROUNDED UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. The great medium of a wise Government is a pelding nature — a jnelding to the national mind, that is ever progressive. For want of this nature, bodies swung at Tyburn, martyrs were burnt at Bartholomew, the Huguenots M'oi'e flagellated and massacred in France ; and all to op])ose then that which we now adopt as law. Governments and individuals hold them- selves too much in the negatives of progi-ess ; and, shameful to say, Churches, of all else, are organized negations to progress. Chemistry illustrates the indispensability of afHraiation, in order to accomplish amalgamation. Caloric is the medium appli- 302 OOVKUNMKNT Vl'DN FIRST rUlNlU'LES. cable to ovon lioten)clox — liaj)])V coinjxmmls of tlio olcaj^inous li(iai(ls, tlu> vogctable imtl the solid mineral lak(> place by iirc ami lioat. As beat is tbe aiuilofxy and tbc synonym of love, tbis love is tbe moral amalgamating: medium in man, by wbicb lai'tional interests may witb safety nnite. If tbe people of England allow tbe aristocracy and oligarcby to retain a ])i)rtion of tbeir governmental .stati(.s, certaiidy tbe latter, in all fairness, must allow tbe i)eople, or tbe democracy, to liave tbeir political Kfafiis, in tbc way of a representation in Parliament. Wlio can truly love tbeir neigbbour as tbem- selves, tbat witbbolds tbeir consent to tbc cnfrancbiscmcnt of tbe boncst and well-Avorking sons of toil? Tbc Tory must yield to tbe I^iberal party genuinely, and tbc Liberal to tbc Conservative principle genuinely, by wbicb a tborougb, not a pscudo-Wbig is compounded ; not tbc Whig of tbis day, but tbc true ^Y\\ig tbat is to be. For wbcn tbc true love of tbc ncidibour is tbe ruling medium of either Conservative, "Whig, or Liberal, little difference exists. At least. Christians are expected to be as true to tbeir Scripture as were the Mohammedans to their Koran. If the love of the neigbbour be not recognized incxclusively in our constitution, why we are a living lie to Christianity. We no longer base our laws upon it — we no longer recognize it as the standard of all law and all practice, even as do the Moham- medans their Koran. How squares our present franchise with the Scripture ? AVe know the exclusive advocates Avill excuse themselves, as they have ever done, by the asserted necessity of a property qualification; and the very same men will call themselves Christians; yea, the very Episcopalian bishops will say the same, and vote against the honest sons of toil, because they have not property. So would such selfish men vote against Jesus Christ, for He had no property ! They must first prove tbat the Bulwark of their Church was disqualified because of His poverty — because He had not where to lay His head ! AVliy, we are worse than Herod, or Peter, that denied him thrice ! We are an hourly and momentary negation to the true spirit and practice of Christianity ! LOVE TO BE ITS ELEMENTAL BASIS. 393 There is a modern wi'iter on Chiistian Theism, an exponent of Atheism, because it raises some difficulties on the practica- bility of some of the injunctions in the book in which God is ever " revealing Himself ;" but there is nothing impracticable to the genuine, the thorough character. The appearance of its impracticability' to the Atheist might arise from the distant relation in which he stands unto the Ineffable. But do not our Episcopalian men practically entertain a worse view than that in common with the Atheist, or why do they in practice deny the grand essential iujimctions of love ? If the Chui'ch deny the practicability of love now, it can only be because they stand in a wrong relation to it themselves. The advanced generalization of knowledge has prepared a psychological adaptation to this epoch for the adoption of just, if not benevolent laws ; the absence of which is distinctly recog- nized as unfair and unjust, and altogether identical with its opposite, hate. When the universal propaganda becomes the negation of their hate — this self-love, then may we hope, with C. C. HenneU, that "when men shall aU come to recognize their highest pleasure in diffusing happiness, and shaU seek the good of all Avith as much earnestness as their own ; when sin- cerit)' shall be as common as profession, and the advanced intellect of manldnd be subservient to equally advanced mo- ralit}- — what a luxuriant scene of happiness may not be antici- pated on this earth ! General knowledge, imited with general benevolence, must banish all rcKcs of crime and misery, and mankind Hve a happy brotherhood."* The one object in %iew points to the same haven in all political denominations, when love reigns triumphant — \\z., Justice to AM. Exclusivencss is the absence of this amalga- mating medium ; for whom we love, we include — those for whom Me have no love, we exclude. liCgislators, of all men, should be loveful in our Model State, or they cannot be inexclusive. No State can be genuine that is exclusive collectively ; the exceptions, criminally, form not • " L'liiibtiau Theism," p. 55, l.y C. C. licnnell. 394 OOVKUNMKXl" TTON FIRST PRINCIPLES. the rulo. Tlio true and the good, whotlier hv^\\ or low, avo cortiuuly as Avorthy an oartlily eitizonship as they arc a heavoniy ; the hitter is dechircd unto them hy God — the former is denied them hy man. So much for human h^gishitiou. C)ut of this cxchisivciiess wo must come — jjrogress, order, justice, demand it ; the good must prevail on eai-th yet. The regal Government must be based upon First rrinciples, before the kuigdom can come which will restore to mau the Eden lost. CILVPTER CXXIII. MONEY IS POWER. Ix 1857, Government did right in extending the issue ; the rescn-ation of Government in not allowing the Bank of Eng- land to appropriate the proceeds of that issue to their own excessively accumulated wealth is good ; but such inordinate capital can endanger the whole State again in a very short time, even with this extension. The greater the issue given to any one body, the greater their circulatmg medium becomes — the greater is theii^ power of controlling the monetary world, whether for good or for evil. Now, since money is power as well as knowledge — both of which the Governors and Directors of the Bank of England have given us vast and ample evidence of their possessing to a dangerous degree — is it not prudent for Government to consider seriously to what extent they endanger the whole nation by leaving any one body corporate to become so unwieldy ? It must be e\adent to every prudent statesman that no one company ought to possess too much influence over the nation, so as to make it suffer and tremble by the selfish exercise of a power that was given for national, not for selfish purposes. MONEY IS POWER. 395 Money joer se is powerful ; but when in the hands of subtle and acute observers, such as constitute the Directors of the Bank of England, with their every day's practice and long experience in the monetary world, what overwhelming power has the nation held over it in ter>'ore?n, at the mercy of crafty and cunning persons, that have given us enough evidence of late that they know how to enrich themselves entirely at the nation's expense and sufferings. It certainly answers the purpose of the Bank to have only one idea and one means only in checking the soi-discoif specula- tion, i.e , the raising the rate of discount, the only way that has been suggested by the wise-heads in Threadnecdle-street, and yet these wise-heads know well that the money they let out has a given day for pajTuent, and the refusal to renew the accom- modation which they themselves originally induced, supeiinduces a plausible excuse for raising the rate of interest, while it more and more cripples the borrower, until he becomes dangerous to these wise-heads, when they knock him up as if he were a thing not worth a mention. It must be well known that the money which is paid for high rates of discount is greater than the profits of trade when reduced to its net amount. Now, the monetaiy men have only to continue this policy of high rates long enough, and the money must be fast going out of the hands of trade and commerce, and just as fast going into the hands of the bankers and money-lenders ; and this state of things continued will bring the Avhole nation ultimately to bow before the shrine of gold, as if it were the god of the universe, instead of that which it Avill be found to be — the demon destroyer of all fair play. "N\ hat was Lord Palmerston doing when he recommended to the Bank the minimum rate of 10 per cent. ? lie was doing that wliich a legislator ought not to do, much less a Premier ; he need not encourage ruin faster tlian it will come in its natural course upon the victims of these wise-heads. Our Prcmior sliould have spoken boldly to the bankers of England, and told tlicin fJiri/ were the promoteri<, of upcailatkm 390 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. f/icmxc/irs, ami the stivrter.s vi' all oxtonsivo sclu>nies, hoAvcver wild, ill whatever ooimtry,A\itli -whonievor tliey can find eiiergotic enough to risk their all, and, Avliat is much worse, more tliuii their all. Our legislators should inquire what has been the result of the abolition of tlu' usury hnvs ? Has it stopped speculation? Has it checked speculation more than the use of the usury laws did ? But, above all, lias it benefited the bankers above all others ? Lastly, does not that enhanced position of the bankers of England, arrived at by high rates of discount, en- tlanger the whole country, and lessen the prerogative of the Crown ? fShall the nation, through the Government, govern this country, or shall the directors of the Bank of England govern, independently of either people or Government ? The power of knowledge is great enough, and when uncon- nected with a commensurate amount of the good intention of national advancement, is dangerous enough ; but the power of gold made to subserve the selfish and the sordid intention of individual advancement at the expense of all else, is menacing in the extreme, and will before long destroy England, as it did Greece, as it did Rome ; because that which destroys the moral power of a nation destroys the nation itself, soul and body. No more issue must be allowed to the Bank of England than they already possess ; their excessive capital and command of the circulating medium render them defiant and ungovernable. Our Iron Duke, who vanquished the greatest conqueror of the day, was not only mastered by this strategical board of money plotters, but was compelled to beat an ignoble retreat from the pinnacle of power which he held as the first minister of his day. A convertibility of an issue is necessary, but not always the convertibility of gold is essential ; the bullionists ever associate convertibility with gold, and they would have us ignore the great fact that some value was given for that gold ; there was some- thing antecedent so the adoption of gold as a standard, which obtained or purchased gold ; let us never forget that without MONEY IS POWER. 397 that something prior to the gold standard itself, gold would have no value. The equivalent is first given hefore the gold is pro- duced. What is that equivalent ? ^VTiy, Toil ? that vulgar thing, toil — labour — work. So falsel)' refined have the cunning traffickers in gold become, that they despise the base degrees by which they did ascend, and assert that gold is more important than the means which produced it ; and so it is, but only to the perverted polluter of its original purpose. Gold was the standard of value of what ? Of all industrial produce, instead of what it now is, the standard of value of all able tricksters, deep- headed plotters, idle, unproductive feeders upon the worthy, confiding sons of toil. Now, since that Avhich preceded gold (taking gold as a standard of value because of its less variability of supply) was toil, where can there be danger in ha\'ing another representation of the same, which has been fairl}- measured and exacted, in the shape of Government taxes and duties ? The absolute antece- dent itself, \nth. the whole nation as a guarantee for its con- yertibility into, not gold, but into the taxes which everyone has to pay, Government rcccinng it as legal tender instead of gold or bank paper. ]!so better name can be given for this issue than that of Exchequer Notes. Exchequer biUs would no longer be necessary, because Govern- ment issuing one-fourth of the collections of taxes which amount in round figures to, say, 80 millions, would no longer be under an obligation to the Bank of England in getting advances upon Exchequer bills ; the Government could then throw off the menacing position which every Government is placed in which receives advances from a bank. Holding 20 millions of the currency back for the 20 millions of issue, the ruling power would be free to check the unfair promoters of speculation that arc now defiant. The opponents of this system will endeavour to associate Ex- chequer notes with the French assignats, but they will bo found on investigation to bear no analogy whatever. Assignats de- preciated because of the constant djTiastic changes that were 308 GOVEUNMKNT UrON FlUST PRINCIPLES. takiiii^pliu'O in France : revolutions that wore so frequently taking placed and altogether, hceausc of the instability of the French governments. But England is in no fear of a change of dynasty ; slio has no revolutions, and is the most stable Government in the whole world. The liank might try in vain to bring the Exchequer notes to a discount, but " no gold convertibility" would frustrate their every attempt ; the absolute labour and tax convertibility would show a bold front against its bullionist o]>ponents. The sordid practices of the great bankers of England, which arc now identical with the Bank of England, have rendered such a step indispensable. Their one mode of checking, by means of high rates of discount, the speculation they themselves induced, is a glaring injustice ; as well might our judges of the laud, because one man has committed a capital offence, condemn the whole nation to he hung, as that the Bank of Emjiand should punish by high discounts erery honest man for the orer- sjyeculation of some. Another mode of checking the accommo- dation paper can be adopted ; pass a law that every man requiring accommodation shall make a declaration of all his property, a registration of which would be the guide to every man what his paper is worth ; make a false declaration penal, and limit the extent of the advances, and the rate of interest upon the declared property, by law. Some plan of this kind, or some other invention, could be adopted were it profitable to the Bank ; but no such plan will they adopt, because it would not work up such profit as the present cor- rupt system of making all pay : hanging all for one is the lucra- tive plan of Thrcadneedle-street. At the same time they exercise a semblance of prudence and put on the screw, simultaneously do they find the money-making process doubled to themselves, but halved to the merchants, if not quartered ; this process has only to be continued long enough, and the banker must become all-powerful, because rich ; the merchant must become all- powerless, because poor. It cei-tainly must be seen that we want the usury laws again, to stop this career of defective practices ; the absence of the MONEY IS POWER. 399 usury laws has had the very opposite effect to what it was assigned. Their ahsence has undeniably promoted speculation, because it has given the bankers a double motive for inducing speculation, — first, because the greater the speculation, the higher the rate of interest becomes ; secondly, the rate of in- terest, though high, when a panic ensues can be made still higher ; prudentially bearing with it the act of caution con- cui-rent with the act of profit. Limit the rate of interest to 5 per cent., and you do away with the fu'st, i.e., the greater the speculation, then no higher rates of interest would be allowed ; secondly, because the rate of interest could not then be made high by a panic. Lessen the inducement for the frequent use of the screw which has characterized the Bank of England since they succeeded in removing the usury laws. It -will be said by my opponents, that other nations contri- buted to bring about the present panic, and it was inevitable and imperative on the Bank of England to raise discounts. Amci-ica, France, and the Indian war combined, rendered it unavoidable. I admit the fact, but of the mode of dealing with the fact I disapprove. Had the same combined circumstances taken place, and were the maximum rate limited to 5 per cent., the loss to the commercial world would have been far less, and the profits to the banks far less; but, beyond all, Jonathan would never have had rope enough to hang himself up in the way he has, had it been 5 per cent, maximum ever since 1 847, nor would the banks of Franco have found it practicable to have combined >\'ith the Bank of England to act in concert in rates of interest ; a combination that presents a new feature of danger. Nor could India have made an offer of 6 per cent., to induce So large a loan, had the law been 5 per cent. ; hence the excessive drain of bullion can in part be traced to its primary cause, i.e., high rates. Another cause, of course, can be assigned, that commerce having increased to such an extent, our exports showing from IK) to 122 millions, instead of 60 milhons a little time agf), must require a greater cii'culating medium, bearing some proportion to its increase, which we have not liad, which has driven, nolens volens, the houses of com- 400 OnVF.RXMFXT TTPOX FTUST PIUXCIPI.ES. morco to liavi^ rooourso to some kind of fictitious extension pro tern., all of which has honoRtod one chiss of traders, the bankers, at the expense of all else, because ol' uuiiniited interests, enabling all money-lenders to ])r()tit by tlu> ilefects in the law. I ileny /// toto the justice of making high rates of interest a ])n)])er niode of checking s])eoulatit)n, just as T deny the right of hanging all the country for the murtler of some. I also consider it unjust to destroy the invariability of any standard of value. Gold "was chosen because of its less vari- ability of value. AVool, wheat, cotton, and silk lluctuato in supply, and in one year are worth double the price of another year ; not so with gold. All the supplies of Peru, California, and Australia have not even supi)licd the demand, much less caused a fluctuation of supply so as to depreciate its value. Hence, it was, and is, the best commodity for a standard of value ; because it represents the value of labour in obtaining it, more steadily than anything else ; it measui-es toil more evenly, because toil is more even in its application to obtain it. But what was the Government about when they did their worst by countenancing a tendency in the very measure of value itself? By rcmoWng the usury laws, they make gold sometimes worth 5 per cent., sometimes 20 per cent., giving it a fluctuation in value immediately, and thereby depriving it of its invariability. The advantage of weights and measures of 16 ounces to the lb., or 4 pecks to the bushel, is, that no one can dispute the statute, or compact, because it is fixed. The advantage of gold as a measure of value was equally, that no one can dispute its compact, because of its fixity of value, but destroying that fijcity was tantamount to gi\'ing 13 ounces for a lb., or three pecks to to the bushel, more or less, according to the caprice of the great holders of the produce. It will be said that every thing fluctuates in value, why should not gold ? I answer, that simply because gold is made a measure of value, and any alteration in the measure itself interferes with the compact, and causes great risk in purchase ; for instance, a merchant buys a hundred or a thousand casks of tallow, say, at 60/. per ton, to he delivered in London at a given I^rONEY IS POWER. 401 time : when the taJIoic arrives, say in six months afterwards, the money hy which the purchase teas made has undergone a great change, and instead of being worth 3 per cent., is icorth 15 ^jer cent. : this Imving interfered with the value of the price of tallow beyond that of demand and supply, something extraneous has stepped in to disarrange his calculations, and instead of gaining by his purchase, he might be ruined, and altogether incapacitate himself, notwithstanding, through a change that has taken place in the measure of value. This I call an extraneous inter- ference in commercial compacts, wliicli no man ought to be subject to, which is dangerous to the whole world, and is one of the causes of the constant failures that are taking place, to the disgrace of our country. It is not enough to say, that gold is worth always £3 17s. 10^^. in England, or 25 fi-ancs and so many cents in France, with slight variations. Wc know well the rate of interest regulates the profit or loss, and that should be made as sHghtly variable as possible — never ought it to exceed 5 per cent. Lord Palmorston, by urging the minimum rate of 10 per cent., was de facto and absolutely doubling the value of all available property' throughout England, ^^ithout doubling the amount of the value of labour, but, on the contrary, stopping the employ of labour, the effect of which must soon show itself in factor)^ riots all over the country. Making money that was commonly worth 5 per cent., to be- come worth 10 per cent., is doubling all available property in value. I) n tO'2 nOVKUNMF.NT T'VON' FIRST PHI NCI PI.KS. CHiU^TER CXXIV. THE rOMCY OF THE WTIIOS CONSIDERED WITH REGARD 10 THE CURRENCY. To whom shall wo hencoftn'th respectfully ascribe honours where honours nre due ? Who can now be a Whig, and have within him the advocacy of progress ? Arc not Whigs mow the ob- stacle to all progress ? It matters not in whatever shape any measure be brought before the House, that interferes >vith their line of policy, negation confronts it all ; and progress is by them regarded as the hydra-headed monster which Hercules could not slay so long as it touched the earth, simply because it prevented his entrance into the garden of bliss. But their Elysian fields are stagnant waters, and barren, unproductive lands, symbolic of selfish aspirations and narrow-minded, sordid loves. We have but to read the speeches upon the Currency and on the Bill of Indemnity, and we shall soon discover who are the opponents to the progress wliich the day demands. I no longer wish to have such friends. Save me from my friends ! I no longer venture to assert my denomination of any one order of society, for I can no longer distinguish between Toryism and Whiggism, except that of the two I believe we may expect more from the former than the latter. Having carefully perused the speeches of both on all occasions, as on the present crisis, I can prove that it is a compliment to the Whigs to say they are all six of one and half-a-dozen of the other. I am well aware that the party out of office can make calls for action on Government, which they themselves, when in office, were not energetic enough to accomplish, or circumstances might not have rendered practical at the time. But Lord Derby made an earnest effort to grapple vnth the difficulty of the day. After entering upon the detail of the distress of the operatives, he was the only man in the House of Peers that seemed to have a right fellow-feeling and estimation of their real position. He THE 'WHIGS AXD THE CURRENCY. 403 said that " if the operatives had the good sense and judgment to abstain fi-om that which could do them no good, and would produce nothing but evil — if they maintained a peaceable, re- spectful, orderly demeanour imder these cii'cumstances of such pressui-e — all honour to the good sense and loyalty of THE OPERATIVES." Moreover, he fiu-nished us with some new statistics; and asserted that, " while our exports had been 308 millions, the imports had been 468 millions, leaving a balance of 160 mil- lions of imports over exports. How had those imports been paid for ? The country had had to export 84 raillions in bullion in consequence of the disparit}^ between its imports and exports." Lord Derby might have gone on to show that if we had altogether, in gold and goods, exported 76 millions less than we imported, that amount of 76 millions, at least of value, re- mained in the country, which was enough in itself to justify an extended cii'culation. Increase of value of property justifies an increase of issue ; but if it be said that these imports were not paid for, and the country remained in a state of indebtedness, the cause of the panic might be discovered to have had its origin in part to these excessive purchases and consignments, together with the decline of the Australian trade. But the goods were here, and could be offered as securities ; therefore, with a sufficient issue, no panic need have arisen from any such cause ; but with an in- sufficient issue, danger must ever attend an excess of imports over exports to the extent of 76 millions. Now this would, apparently, exculpate the Bank of England from any charge of having induced this state of things, but for the known fact that their emissaries, in the shape of bankers and mone}'-lenders, are everywhere urging new undertakings, themselves making large advances upon the same, whether speculative or not. It is well known that the large ftist man Ls encouraged, even without capital ; while the small, hard- working, plodding man, rcquiiiug the slightest assistance, never gets it. D D 2 404 GOVERNMENT rvON FIRST PRTNCIPLP.S. Now for our frioiuls. liOi'd Overstono backed tlie soundness of his 1844 crotchet against the prerogative of the Crown, llo said : — " The quantity of money in the country was determined by sound jn-hiciphx*^, witli which the prerogative of the Crown luid nothing to do. The Act of 1844 was founded on two simple principk^s — 1st, that gold was tlic money of England ; 2nd, that the (piantity of niont\v in the country should not be under the control of Government." In the first place, I do not look upon the Crowni as an indi- vidual prerogative, but as a national prerogative, personated by one indindual ; " sound principles arc also best arrived at by the combined intelligence of the nation, with which the prero- gative of the Cro\\ni has all to do. Again, that the quantity of money should not be under the control of Government." This is an assumption of the touchy Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, that indicates dotage and incapacity to a serious extent. At the time when "Walpole spent £1,800,000 upon the Civil List — when the "Williams and the Georges had no limit to theii' squanderings and extravagance — when money was spent with such recklessness as to subsidize our enemies — such language as Lord Overstone's might then have been used ; but not when the most frugal of Sovereigns reigns in the hearts of her people, leaving her Government to make laws, to which she subscribes deferentially to the wisdom of her statesmen. The money of the countiy should, of all things, be under the control of Government ; for Lord Overstone, in 1857, made himself transparent, and also made himself identical with the Bank of England. He could not help feeling chagrined when he threw off the mask unguardedly, saying, " What would be said, if the Government were to go to those who Avere suffering fi'om the short supply of provisions, and say, We will undertake to get a larger supply of provisions, and sell them to you at the present price?" That was what was done at that time by the issue of the Government Letter. Herein is the solution of the Overstone crochet : he would have no extension of issue, knowing well that the less the issue the higher the rate of interest can be THE WHIGS AND THE CURRENCY. 405 charged for all discounts, just as goods limited in supply till they become scarce become dear — ^just as the salmon fishermen throw overboard a lot of salmon, in order to keep the market barely suppHed, so as to keep up the price. Neither Lord Overstone nor the Bank of England -wishes an extension of issue, because it will interfere with their high rates aiising out of scarcit}% and theii- system of plucking the world. " Free trade in money " becomes a farce with Sir R. Peel's bill of 184-1 in force. The contradiction in Lord Overstone's remarks in the House, is characteristic of the confusion to which his policy must give rise. In one part of his speech he said, " The provisions of the Bill of 1844 were essential to the proper control of the monetary system of the exchanges, and could not be relaxed without danger." Soon after he said, " If they had maintained the monetary system (1844) for twenty-four hours longer, the whole system would have been upset, to the irretrievable ruin of all those who had built on it " (including himself of course). Altogether he handled his subject so badly, or he felt his weak points so forcibly, that to allude to him further would really be a compUment to him he docs not deserve. The Lord Chancellor's remarks upon " the circulation of £38,000,000, and the only portion covered by bullion was that in the Bank of England, in addition to that issued on sccmity," may be wcU noticed ; but bullion is not the only intrinsic com- modity that should furnish convertibility to issue. Taxes and duties are as certain to exist in England as ever gold is — are as internal, real, and fixed in the nature of things as ever metal can be. We can no more get over pajTng taxes and duties than we can by papng in gold as long as notes are convertible. Exchequer notes, then, would have 70 or 80 millions of that which is analogous to bullion to cover an issue of, say 20 millions of Exchequer notes ; were the reality of taxation con- vertibility adopted instead of l)ullion conversion. Allow, then, the Bank of England to be regulated by the Bill of 1844, for the purposes of all foreign and mercantile operations, in order that no disarrangement might arise from 400 GOVERNMENT UPON FIKST TRINCIPLES. the oxc'lumgos ; but IVaiuc a Jiill tluit shall legalize a domestic issue, that, from its very nature of fixity, can only bo applicablo to home purposes, such as Exehetpier nt)tes must necessarily be. Let any statesman who might fancy any danger that could arise out of this issue on tax-convertibility, put down in tigures the enormous amount of the wealth of Great liritain ; ho will (lu-n see how small a ])r()])ortion 20 millions is to that mighty SUM, which would render Exchequer notes safer than gold, backed as it must be by the whole nation's worth. An inquiry ought at once to be entered into, how far has tho Bank of England (as the head and leader of the banks of England) used or ahuHcd the immunities it has enjoyed in its Bank Charter? To what extent has its countenance to hj-jiothecation given rise to the present failures ? In short, to what extent has the Bank acted sordidly and selfishly, instead of universally and nationally ? This can best bo arrived at by comparison, and analogy ; first, by comparison. We will take the English aristocracy — the oris-inal lords and landlords of Great Britain ; take the rent-rolls of the entire original landed proprietory within the last century, and see what rate of interest the lands of England pay ? Unselfislily have the good old lordly land- lords acted, in not raising their rents at every rise of their tenants' produce, compared with the eager and grasping cove- tousness of the banking money-lender, not allowing a quarter per cent, to escape him, if a pretext (not an essential cause) can be raked out of the embers of tho monetary consumption ? Let only the honest man answer tliis inquiry. Will the moneyed lord bear any comparison to the old landlords of England? The answer is, Lands pay from 1 1 to 2^ per cent., while money pays, in the hands of bankers, the Bank of England especially, 15 to 20 per cent, nett and upwards. A great fact has again to be acknowledged, that the bankers are, for the greater part, Whigs, while the old landed aris- tocracy, for the greater part, are Conservatives ; and, the truth shall be spoken, they (the landlords) do conserve their im- munity integral to theii" credit, and to the satisfaction of the THE WHIGS AND THE CrRRENCY. 407 nation, compared with the money- ex acting Shylock, that ^^aLl have his pound of flesh out of the Antonio of the struggling commerce of 1860. Yes, "the law allows it, and the court awards it ;" augmented interest, quarter upon quarter per cent., is added, till half upon half, and one upon one, make up the round sum of 10 per cent, minimum, and hy law is enforced ; so nicely does the Bank of England dovetail its interest with the Palmerstonian policy. But where is the good Portia of our day to successfully plead the cause of justice against this money oppression in this select committee ? "VMiy do not the old lords of the land say, " We must raise our rents in order to prevent any one coming on to our estate that is a man of straw," therehy pimishing all their tenantry for one ? As well might they raise their 2^ per cent, of rent- roll to 10 per cent, to all, making, as the banks of England do, an addition of 7| per cent, to then- capital, equivalent to an augmentation of capital to the extent of three thousand pounds for every one thousand, turning one into foui'. As well might the physician double and quadi'uple his fees, the parson his tithes, the manufticturer his prices, the farmer his produce ; but, the labourer, who is the primary producer of all, who, instead of doubhng and quadi'upling his salary, has absolutely to receive less pay, has to work short time, and even live without employ, because of the sordiduess of money-makers, that do not blush to make an inordinate profit at the expense of starvation for the artisan. Will, then, this lord of money admit of any comparison with the lord of land ? Better might we admit Dean Swift's com- parison of women and the clouds. Every day discovers to us some new feature of bad practices induced by bankers themselves. The case of Syers, Walker, and .S}'ers was an expose of the facility given to the fast men, \N'ithout any capital at all, with one only of visionary figures : the Ijaukrupts came to the court with 1*'. 2d. in the pound, though pledging goods and hypothecation ; they had liabilities to the extent of a quarter of a million sterling. In two years there was a sweeping item of £34,744, for general expenses — 408 GOVEUNMENT I'l'ON FIRST I'lUNCIPLES. tho full particulars of whii-h ai)pciired in the Ti/nes. " Tlicy liad traded to the extent of £1,000,000 in two years, without any capital," by j)kHli;ing goods as soon as they came, and getting bills discounted. Now, these men received a second-class certificate, and no further punishment for their conduct. But what shall ho said of the Oriental and other haidcs, that made the advances to within 15 or 20 per cent, of the value of the goods? And the system was such that a man could thus go on for millions. This tells the tale that the hankers induce tho speculation, and even aid and abet the fraud, knowing they can fall back upon high rates of discount to pay for any losses that occasionally occur. This is a strong instance that high interest, while it inflicts a punishment upon the innocent and industrious, at the same time opens up a field for the speculator and fraudulent trickster, which low rates of interest would not encourage. One of two alternatives are left for tho Government to act upon, in order to remove tho frequent recurrence of these dis- graceful disclosures. The rates of interest must be kept uniformly low, either by limiting the maximum to 5 per cent., or by adopting a new issue, called Exchequer notes, payable in taxation to the extent of 20 millions ; the latter would, by increasing the cii'culating medium, have the effect of rendering money more abundant, and in due course would reduce the rates of discount to a wholesome mediocracy. CHAPTER CXXV. EXCHEQUER NOTES. In as short a space as shall be consistent with the object in view, I give the reasons why Exchequer notes will not be adopted by oui- Government, constituted as it is at present. First Principles must be regarded and properly estimated EXCHEQUER NOTES. 400 before that which "would benefit the majority of the country will ever be the basis of legislation. « Notwithstanding the increase of bullion in 1857 was close upon £3,000,000, being £2,967,000 fi-om the lowest point when the Goveniment Letter was issued — notwithstanding the increase of the reserve of notes and coin in the Banking de- partment make together £6,282,295, gold continuing to arrive from various resources, the amount abeady received fi-om the United States found to be considerably in excess of the amount shipped since the beginning of the crisis — the Bank would not reduce the rate until the Directors felt quite confident that they could safely return the £2,000,000 of additional securities to the Banking department. Notwithstanding the Bank could no longer piu France to their high rates, the latter having reduced its rate to 6 per cent., the Bank of England adliered to her darling adopted 10 per cent., with all the tenacity of a miser, regardless of all else but self; her much-devoted Econo7nist assigning no other reason, de facto, for her doing so than because " she can get it," we might be quite sure her third-class principle of action will remain inWolate as long as " she can get it " — 10 per cent. The words of the Economkt were : — " As long as the demand upcjn the Bank of England continues so great as to maintain the securities at so liigh an amount, it would not be a safe stop to hazard any material reduction in the rate of discount." This is a fine specimen of ambiguity — a true genius for turning things upside dowii. "\Yliat a famous mountebank he would make, to stand upon his head, riding the horse of many colours roimd the endless ring ! History furnishes us with the reason for all this. Bankers have discovered that themselves and the money-dealers are benefited whenever produce can be kept low, simply because then £1 is tlie purchase power of 30s. worth of goods, when they were 50 per cent, higher ; that class of men ha%'ing their money to spend, expend less money when produce is low ; less money is in ciirulation among commercial hands ; hence more is in tlie banker.^j' hands. 1 ligh prices of produce, of course, no GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. prodnco the ooutrary cll'i-'ct. Now, of coursi>, it is the business of the Bunk to retain nii^iey in their owni liantls. They havo two ways of doing so : one is by keeping produce low ; the other is by keeping discounts high. Ever since 1819 thoy have acted upon that poHcy to the best of their abihty. During the wars from 1797 to 1815 the very reverse of that policy was pursued. The other extreme, wo know, was prac- tised. Paper was the substitute for the precious metals — the issue was inconvertible. The extreme of inconvertibility of that day enables the bullionist to refer to it as an example and a specimen of such currency ; and although it brought the nation through its dangers prosperously and triumphantly, at a time when scarcely a guinea, was left in the country, a wanton recklessness of Government brought the nation into an indcbt- ethiess beneficial to the money dealers only that survived 1825, at the expense of all else. The error is as great now upon restriction as it was then upon extension ; but there is this fact, that it opened the eyes of monetary men to the side of policy which peculiarly benefited them. A violent contraction or extension must ever be attended with dangerous results. Ileuce the Bill of 1819 furnished" evidence of the evils resulting from the sudden contractions, as 1797 did of extension ; but its duration was not so great, for in 1822 Government gave an extension to the currency for ten years, during which small notes were to be retained in circulation. Notice the lowering of all articles of produce just in pro- portion to the currency in circulation. In 1818 it was £48,278,070 ; in 1822 it was £26,588,000. During this re- duction the price of all produce was falling ^wo 7'atd till it reached 50 per cent, below the prices of 1818. Of course the effects of the South American revolution, reducing the supply of the precious metals to a third of its former amount, rendered the inopportune Bill of 1819 more disastrous than it could have been, had it not rendered paper the representative of gold only — as if paper is not bond fide and de facto a better currency when it represents registered property declared and published. EXCHEQUER NOTES. 411 Any accident happening to the supplies of gold now produces the same effect upon us as did the South American revolution ; in fact, a temporary and comparatively small Tvithdi-awal of bullion now produces a panic of overwhelming magnitude, showing how highly sensitive are we become now by the re- striction of 184-1, and for want of a cui-rency independent and unconnected with gold, that now so fluctuates in supi)ly and demand. Taxation issue would leave none of these fluctuations of supply, and would form a better convertibilit}' than gold on that account. "^Miilst no better secuiity^ can exist than pro- perty, gold certainly is not better. Exchequer notes, uncon- nected with the Bank of England, woidd keep the latter in wholesome check, and prevent many of the tricks that a gold couvertibihty now facihtates. This is the very reason why we are not likely to obtain it, as our Government is at present constituted. The banks do not intend to have any alteration to the facihties they now possess in turning every monetary change to their own advantage; ; they do not intend to forego the great advantages of bupng produce for Httle of that money, and at the same time charging double for their contracted currency — certainly a very fine game for the banks to play ; but in just the proportion is it as ugly a game for producers and commerce to play. Certainly every reflective mind must discover that an insuf- ficient circulation must enhance the price of its interest, as it must also lower the price of produce in general ; great care do the bankers take, therefore, to perpetuate this state of things — the best of all reasons why we shall not have Exchequer notes, if they can help it. If any yet doubt that a contracted currency has the cficct of reducing the price of produce, I refer them to Alison's " His- tory," from 1815 to 1852, vol. iii. p. 671, &c. ; also to Porter, third edition, p. 359 ; also to Tookc " On Prices," vol. ii. pj). 390, 401. It is said by superficial observers, "So much the better, the lower the prices the less we have to pay, and the better position arc we iu to export ;" but they fcjrgct that this is the language 41'3 OOVF.UXMF.XT VVOS FIRST rRINCIPLES. the bunkers can use with satisfaction to themselves, hut not at all compatible with the i)roducer's living by his produce, whether manufactures or otherwise. It is never beneficial to industry to receive half its reward. The Malthusian advocacy must to every progressive mind be seen to be so deiicient, I shall not waste time here to dis- prove it. Stimulants to industry I have always found to be compatible with high prices. As we pay our best and most skilful hands the most money, the least skilful, the least wage, so it is with the nation — improve the price of produce, and all producers are benefited by it, since it is their article of com- merce, their only representation of payment's measurement. The horrid Malthusiau idea that " goad a man to starvation, and you drive him to industry," has been pretty well illustrated of late by the ticket-of-leave men. Goad men to starvation, and you force them to rob ; encourage them by remunerating pay, and you find them improving mentally, morally, and bodily. Now for exports. It is said that we by low prices extend our exports ; how is it Germany docs not carry the export trade before them ? Or France ? Or Amciica ? The question must be answered. Countries that arc increasing in wealth so rapidly as those to which we export prefer quality and elegance to cheapness (nearly all except the Cape do) ; the best brands are the goods that pay the best ; the best marks of manufac- tures the same. But of greater importance than all is the capital among the producers : the greater their capital, the greater their command of exports — reduce their capital, and you reduce the source of industrial employ ; by a contracted currency you endanger both these advantages. As colonies and countries improve in means, so quality and elegance arc esti- mated more and more. Now the contracted view of the Banlc of England not only fetters England, but affects all the world more or less. Merchants everywhere are liable to their sudden changes of tact, and, consequently, their ruinous influences, wherever man has set his foot. It must not, therefore, be overlooked that if prices of produce range high in England, they will elsewhere. The little timid EXCHEQUER NOTES. 413 manufacturer, partaking a little of the Jewish tribe, fancies his only chance is low prices ; while the larger manufacturer, renowned for his quahty and style, relies implicitly upon both the quahty and style for his vast demand. All merchants know well the producer and manufactm-er of brand and mark compose the grand bidk of exports in amount. The timid little traders, at low prices, are merely exceptional. I assert, therefore, that our exports depend more upon om* 2)restige than upon our piice, as the world happens now to roll over." The fact then is established, that high prices of produce benefit the producers nationally and mercantilely ; the only men that would not, to the same extent, be able to make their fortunes at the expense of all commerce, would be the bankers and money-lenders ; that is why we do not have Exchequer notes ! Nothing can more fully corroborate the principle, th.;t jirices are regulated by the extension or contraction of the cui-rency, than the statistics furnished by Alison's " History " from the year 1820 to 1824, in reference to stamps for country bank notes issued on 10th October, and the average price of wheat : — Average price of Wheat per Qr. s. d. Year 1820. . „ 1821. . „ 1822. . „ 1823. . „ 1824. . . . Justly, then, the notes issued from 1820 to 1822 indicate the struggle the country banks had in maintaining issue enough for commerce till 1822, when the extension of the currency had the effect of immediately raising the price of wheat, which in 1822 was 38s. lid. per quarter, in 1823 to 52s. 8d., and in 1824 to 64s. 3d. All these effects were produced by an extension of issue. ^luch more renuirkable are the facts of the Bank and the bankers' notes in circulation, the paper under discount at the Bank. In 1815, when paper had not arrived at its cUmax of X3,574,894 . . 54 G 3,U87,582 . . 49 6 4,217,241 . . . 38 11 4,057,589 . . . 52 8 4,822,174 . . 64 3 414 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. issuo, when Uauk notc>s wore £27,'261,GoO, country ditto, £1!),0 1 1,000— total, £46,t>72,r)50 ; paper under discount, £'J0,lH)0,()!)4 ; price of wheat, 55s. 7d. The foUowintr year paper had arrived at its climax — that is, the ])a])er under dis- couut was reduced from 20 millions to £11,182,100, and the price of wheat 103s. 7d. per quarter. This fully proves that according to the extension of issue, less paper is under discount, and the higher the price of wheat, it becomes the then staple article of produce. It must be so ; this diminution of ]tfi})er under discount con- tinued till 1821. Of course the immediate effect of an Act of Parliament is not always felt or exhibited in figures the same year, nor sometimes in the following year, but the minimum quantity of bills under discount in 1821 was £2,722,587. Compare this with that under discount in the year 1815, Avhcn it was £20,660,694. We shall soon discover the cause of so much paper under discount at the present day, when, jointly, the bills of 1819, 1825, and 1844, combine to lessen the currency during the times of an extended commerce, doubling and quadrupling itself in amount. Paper would not now be under discount to such an extent were the ciiculation commensurate vsath the increased commerce. Without much further investigation, discounts can be proved to be caused by an insufficiency of circulating medium. But this need not be proved to the bankers, they are too well aware of the fact, as are the bullionists. This deficiency of medium in currency causes each man doing business to any extent, to discount with his banker, that is as safe as the Bank of England, but is too much occupied to investigate the principle which regulates currency, and, in good faith, takes for granted these great men of money-power are doing wdiat is right and best for the nation. It woidd appear that authorities upon the present system of currency were somewhat at a discount when such journals as the Times and Daili/ N'ctrs sought corroboration from the exem- plary elect perpetrator of slavery, in order to justify their EXCHEQUER NOTES. 415 crochet of 1844. President Buchanan, the advocate of slavery, fui-nished these journals (at his eleventh hour of national calamity) vrith a grand scope of congratulation, as if it were a new enunciation, that banks ought to be held responsible for their issue. These journals exulted over the triumph they had achieved in finding the cowhide gentlemen proscribing the banks of the United States, unless they retain a third of bullion to their issue. Do we require to go so far to find advocates of sound piinciples, or must we seek them only among the pro- slavery presidents of America ? After all, had the banks of America reserved only one dollar in seven to their issue, upon buUion and deposits, it would seem not to have much exceeded some of our EngHsh and Scotch banks. The whole of this loose system is to be repudiated both here and in America. The advocates of an alteration in the circu- lation are not to be associated by these journals with the abuses of either America or England. Certainly they can form no connexion with either, but they can deplore the ignominy of both. All these disgraceful disasters have taken place uncoimected ■\Wth our advocacy. The panics and calamities have all taken place with the present laws, which I, for one, repudiate and denounce as impracticable and unjust. It docs not seem to answer the purpose of certain journals to distinguish between the advocacy of an extension of currency and that of inconvertible issue. It would be an insult to these journals to assign inexperience or a want of knowledge of sound pi-inciple of action, for not acknowledging that an insuffi- ciency of currency has at all times, and ever will, produce low prices, and high rates of discount "«dth the absence of the usurj' laws. Is is an old editorial trick, practised now so often, that the motive and object become prominently c\'ident, when leaders of certain interests associate something low ^vitll any principle in which they do not find their present interests upheld. It is a trick that c<»mes from tbe bar. It is quite evident that those who attribute the evils of this crisis to what Mr. Jkichanan called " a vicious system of 110 GOA'ERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES. paper ourroucy," like him must liavo some sinister motive, for it is not true ; neither Ennhuid nor America has increased in paper currency ; the -weekly returns of the proceedings of tho Bank of Eughmd prove the contrary -with regard to us, as do the accounts received prove the contrary in America. In 1852 the circuLiticm of America was, in June, 27,940,000 dollars ; in Septemher, 1857, it had diminished to 27,122,000. But between those periods, we find the capital of the Now York banks had increased from 59,705,000 dollars, in June, 1852, to 107,507,000 dollars, in September, 1857, having very nearly doubled itself within five years. Specie also increased from 13,304,000, in 1852, to 14,321,000 in 1857. Deposits in- creased from 65,034,000 in 1852, to 84,527,000 in 1857, whilst theu' loans and discounts will be seen to have increased only in proportion to the increase of their capital and specie, leaving their deposits untouched. A sounder condition a coimtry need not wish to be in ; a panic need no more take place there than here. England at the present time will be found to present a more satisfactory state of things ; and nothing could justify the panic of 1857, which arose, not from want of wealth, nor on account of an excess of issue, but because of the redundance of accumulation of wealth on our part, it ha\ang accumulated in too few hands, by which monopoly can be exercised to their own advancement at the expense of mercantile interests ; also because of the bill of 1844, con- tracting the issue simultaneously with the contraction of bullion, the working of which I shall illustrate more fully shortly. Bankers and money-lenders are the only interests some journals now openly advocate, as if they felt quite secure in the continuance of the plodding merchant, whose every-day toil leaves him little time for reflection. But when these journals find their circulation growing beautifully less, that they are forbidden to be brought into their counting-houses, let them learn that the British merchant is aroused. One article in the Economist was characterized by a much sounder tone, more in keeping with the principles of the re- spected Mr. Tooke. In an . article, under the heading, " The EXCHEQUER NOTES. 417 American President on the American Crisis," it docs not fall into that wrong but popular error, that the evil of the panic was that wliich Mr. Buchanan declared to be the " extravagant and vicious systems of paper currency," while the Economist shows that the real delinquents are in the background, screened from pubKc gaze. But it admits that when the Act of 1844 was suspended in 1847, Sir Robert Peel acknowledged " that for the object of checking commercial speculations the Act of 1844 had failed." Unfortunately for the country, the cure was not then provided. It would then, as now, be found in the re-adoption of the Usury Laws, Hmiting the interest to 5 per cent., or in a check to excessive rates of discoimt, by the issue of Exchequer Notes up to the exact amount of bullion going out of the Bank, which would have a similar effect on the rate as that of the Usury Law would — i.e., the effect of keeping rates low and more uniform, simply arising out of this fact, that the country would not suffer from a loss of circu- lation as bullion went out of the Bank. No greater demand would arise, because no depression woidd be felt ; since none would exist, no rise of rates could take place. This would prevent gold going out into other countries, so much to our inconvenience at home ; because then, as gold went out. Exchequer Notes would go into circulation, and would keep down rates of discount. High rates of interest will always give rise to excessive speculation, as much as it assumes the appear- ance of stopping it. The Bank's putting up the rate of interest is only enabhng her to discount doubtful paper. High rates tempt the banker to do doubtful bills, which at 3 per cent, he would not think of It answers the purpose to lend gold to Sweden, &c., and to raise discounts at home ; but such double policy is England's double loss. America and France seem to have discovered that it is better to tempt the Old Lady by high rates, and to get the gold from her, than allow England to use it at home ; after they have obtained which, they can be the first to relax the pressure, as they have done, and reduce the rates in their own countries, while misery and ruin, dreadful to contemplate, is protracted E V. 418 GOVERNMENT UrON FIRST rRIXCIVLES. hero in England. For tlio clovi-n niontlis of 1857 the excess of ini])orts over exports of gold in Franco was £ 10,025,424; that of 1850, £13,470,000 ; and in 1855, £8,041,044. In the same nrtick' in the Economist it will be seen that the abuses that exist have no connection AV'ith any excessive issue of notes, corroborating all my preceding remarks. " The error of confoiuuling capital with curri^ncy throughout all these various efforts of legislation, is now well understood. Impru- dent and extravagant credits which end in ruin to all connected with them, are at length seen to have no connection with, and to be entirely unaided at any particular time by excessive issues of notes ; — it is seen that in places where the banks of issue exist, the chief abuses have existed ; and that with regard to banks of deposit only, as that in Hamburg, where a purely metallic currency only is in use, the crisis has been more severely felt than in any other place ; and now, at last, we are likely to have a more searching scrutiny." Much as I find the above remarks in accordance with my own views, I am sorry that I cannot say " the Bank has been perfect ;" nor that we may expect more practical conclusions from our closed doors, instead of an open house. We know an Act was passed in 1844 renewing for ten years the Charter of the Bank of Eng- land ; but as the particulars of the Act might not be quite familiar to all, I will here adduce them, in order that we may be agreed upon the principles : — The privilege of issuing paper money within a circle of sixty miles' radius round London, was continued exclusively to the Bank of England, but with the following restrictions : — The establishment was divided into two departments wholly distinct from each other, placed under separate officers, and keeping separate accounts : one for the ordinary purposes of banking, the other for the purposes of regulating the issue of notes, the amount of which was never to exceed £14,000,000, in addition to the actual amount of gold and silver bullion, lodged by the banking department in the department of issue. This £14,000,000 is made up of £11,000,000, the amount of capital which has been lent permanently to Government at 2 EXCHEQUER NOTES. 419 per cent, interest, and £3,000,000 of public securities, bearing interest, wbicli the bank of issue is empowered to bold for that purpose. Porter himself could not refi'ain fi'om remarking : — " It remains, however, to be proved whether, under all circum- stances that may arise, the security' of the pubHc is thus equally well attained. As respects the management of the currency, there are not wanting men of great practical experience in such questions, who have expressed doubts upon this subject." It must be evident that any attempt to regulate the cui-rency by controlling the issues of the Bank of England, must fail of its object unless an equal control were exercised over the issue of private and joint-stock banks. It was accordingly provided by the Act of 1844, " That no person, other than a banker, who on the 6th of May, 1844, was lawfully issuing his own notes, shall make or issue bank-notes in any part of the United Kingdom." The privilege of those issues was continued to those persons ; but the amount that may be issued in each case was restricted to the amount which constituted their actual issues upon the average of the two preceding years." The notes not exceeding £14,000,000 might be practical, but the issue on the bullion is the questionable part of this Act. Its advantage to the Bank of England is undoubted, because it gives the Bank a double power over the rest of the nation ; their power of expansion is thus made doubly rapid, but their power of contraction is equally so, which is the very reverse of that which should be beneficial to the nation. Of all things, to make a law of such importance to be under the control of one body corporate, is an evil of such magnitude, that not a week ought to be allowed to pass without its alteration. At the very time when gold is wanted, notes are wanted still more ; yet, by this Act, at the very time gold flows out of the coffers of the ]3ank, notes arc withdra\\Ti from cii'culation to just that very amount — at the very time they are most needed they are taken away, as if, by a concatenation of perverted ingenuity, the worst system seems to bo made the law of the land that could do that land the most injury. It miglit be thought, superficially regarded, that the liank E E 2 4'20 COVKKNMKNT VVOy FIKST riUNCIPLES. would sutlor tho most, since her issue to work with is doubly lessoned and lu-r iui\ins of discount equally shortened, but that is no injury to tlu^ Hank, since she can doid)lo her interest as rapidly as u;old diminishes fi'om her coffers, and even in conside- rable anticipation of it, can she benefit, before the };old is parted with, by raising her rates as a precautionary measure. Not so with the country merchants, manufacturers, and agricultural producers ; they have, during this lessening of the means of conducting business, been ])aying for their castigation ; they are, however, made to pay the tlagellator double, the farmer getting but half the price of his produce, the labourer thrown out of work, and all for what ? Not because there is less wealth and worth in the nation, unless, by-the-bye, the Bank of England send it out in bars of gold without a r/idd pro quo (a thing they are not quite in the habit of doing), not because the merchant is over-trading, but, the truth must come out, because the bankers find it more profitable to be receiving high rates than low rates of interest. Men of paper and nothing else ate encouraged, because they can get off a large parcel of discounts, or can pa^\^^ tlieii' consignees' dock warrants to within 15 per cent, of actual value. The high rates of interest tempt the bankers to extend accommodation beyond prudence, as it tempts them also to use deposits beyond the limits of prudence and caution. But for whom is all tliis kindness on their part ? Not for the honest sons of toil, but for the fast stag, the go-a-head man, caring but little what he pays, the large supplies of accommodation suit him and the banker together. The Government overlooked, or winked at the fact, that by allo^nngg•old to I'egulate the additional issue, they leave a power in the bankers' and Bank of England's hands to cause a pretext for raising discounts whenever they hke. The Bank has only to treat for large loans to Russia, Austria, East India Company, or Sweden and Norway ; the gold they themselves thus send from their coffers by millions, whenever interest is likely to become below their favourite price, is — the very means at the same time for raising rates — the high-pressure valve, and is seen to work and indicate danger. No matter ; before the Bank EXCHEQUER NOTES. 421 fail, the Government and tlie country must. No matter who sinks, they swim. Rates of interest must be buoyant, uni- formly high. Low rates now are only exceptional. So says the Bank ; or, so acts the Bank, at all events. The crash of the banks of 1825 to 182G was not owing to the inabihty of the banks then to pay, but to the monetary laws. Sir H. W. Ridley declared, on 3rd June, 1828, in the House of Commons, " that in 1825 and 1826, there were 770 country bankers, and of these, 63 had stopped paj-ment, out of which* 23 had resumed their pa}'ments of 20s., and 31 were making arrangements for the payment of their debts. The country bankers, at all events, paid on an average 17.s. Gf/. in the pound. It is e\'ideut that they were perfectly solvent when the crash commenced. It was brought about by the drain of specie* and it might have been entri'cly avoided by permitting the issuing of another species of property to sustain the currency when the one upon which all depended was Avithdi-aM'n." Exchequer notes woidd do this. One question I ask in all sincerity — Are the men that are so in the habit of gambling on the Stock Exchange day by day, jobbing and tricking iu monetary practices, till trick-my-neigh- bour has become the familiar object of their embrace, are they being educated in a fitting way on points of virtue, sufficiently to become bankers for the world ? Are they men to be held paramount to aU else — superior to the producers of the earth, that peld yearly £300,000,000, nearly twdcc as much as all trading and manufacturing classes put together, which in 1845 only reached £180,000,000 ? Are laws ever to be made espe- cially to favour these sordid, self-seeking, huckstering, money tiaffickcrs at the expense of the whole nation besides — the world not excluded ? Since the Bank of England has forgotten the excessive advantages they enjoy over all else to the extent of £14,000,000 of issue ; since they have converted nation- ality into personality, selfishly ai)propriated, let a check be placed over them. Are first pi-inciples entirely to be ignored in legisUition, and secular princii)les to be raised up as a standard of action? For what, then, have we a Government, if it but 422 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRlNCirLES. encourage the secular and the \'icious ? As well might man question his Creator as question First Prhieiplcs. Let Sir Robert Peel's liill of 1844, and his expediency also be hurled together into oblivion before third-rate motives of action become the ruling power of the day. Xow the remedy in the Bank Act of 1844 is to be founded in this : — since a check to the Bank is found to be more and more necessary every day, let another issue replace the issue withdrawn when gold goes out of the Bank ; as gold is with- drawn, make Exchequer notes constitute the issue up to the amount of bullion withdrawn from the Bank. These Exchequer notes always payable in taxes and duties, the interest of the issue of which, take care, is reserved for the Cro^vn. The Bank cannot complain of such a mode of stopping the fluctuations and monetary convulsions that are now so dreadful to bear. This will prevent the sudden reduction of issue and gold at the same time, and keep in circulation a steady and even supply of currency ; will endanger no inconvertibility, since no more inconvertibility will exist then than now, all Exchequer notes being convertible into taxes and duties to the amount of the debt of £11,000,000. The bank would have no inducement to advance larger loans to Sweden and Denmark, nor to Nor- way, because by parting with money they would not have the same power of raising discounts on what is left behind at home as now. The pressure would never be so great on the bank for gold when another convertibility was adopted, such as taxation, because fear and mistrust of the ultimate results of stoppage in the Bank of England is now out of the question, whether she can pay in gold 10| in the pound at one time, or 10 at another. She is always solvent, and no loss can ensue to the country ultimately. With a capital of such magnitude she is always safe, but that is no guarantee that she intends to keep to an uniform low rate of discount under 5 per cent. ; au con- fraire parbku. I have taken great care not to be chimerical, and have tested my -vaews by introducing the best authorities on the currency. I quote Alison upon the encouragement given to specula- CAUSE OF EXCESSIVE PAPER UXDER DISCOUNT. 423 tion : — " To make paper plentiful when gold is plentiful, and paper scarce when gold is scarce, is not only a dangerous system at all times, and under all cii'cumstances, but is precisely the reverse of what shoidd be established. It alternately aggravates the dangers arising from over speculation, and induces the distress consequent on over contraction. The true system would be the very reverse, and it woidd prevent the whole evils which the preceding pages have unfolded." Exchequer notes should be based on the principle of making paper a supplement to the metallic currency, and a substitute for it when required, not a representative of it. Alison further says : — " Thus, over speculation at one time, and monetary distress at another, would be alike avoided, and an equal cir- culation would maintain the health of the social system, as it unquestionably does of animal life," CHAPTER CXXVI. EXCESSIVE PAPER UNDER DISCOUNT IS SUPERINDUCED BY AN INSUFFICIENT CIRCULATING MEDIUM. In 1811 the scarcity of specie gave rise to a necessity of sub- stituting some kind of relief in the way of a means of circulation, which then was not paper, but to meet that emerg- ency the Baidi issued tokens in silver for 5s. 6d., 3s., and Is. 6d. This was then an indication of some desire on the part of the Bank, to relieve the distress prevailing, although in 1813 they aboHshed these tokens. In 181 G the sovereign of 20s. was issued, and a standard of gold was adopted instead of one of silver. Sir R. Peel's Act, in 1810, returning to cash payment, gave rise to the necessity for the Bank of England accumulating gold to meet the demands which the Act of convertibility rendered imperative ; the circu- lating medium was then diminished, and a drain of bullion 4'J4 GOVKUNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. cusutHl. A hirgvr issue of notes tliou bocanio nocessary in order to check the drain. The IJauk held at one time one-third of the metulHe currency ; the coinage amounting to £74,501,586 during the Ivcgcncy. The money raised during the wars, histing 22 years, from 1793 to 1815, hy loans. Exchequer hills, and taxes, amounted to £1,023,043,587, the quarter part of which was expended ou the Army, Navy, Ordinance, &c. On the resumption of cash payment in 1819, the Bank held only £4,185,000, while her note circulation was i;25, 127,000 ; from this gold absorption it became necessary that something should be done to keep up a suihcient medium of cii'culation : instead of bills then increasing under discount, the country bankers were permitted an extension of small notes, Avhich re- lieved the country, and commerce again rallied and assumed a feature of prosperity. Had not this country-extension of notes taken place, some substitute must have been resorted to, in the way of tokens or bills, pro\T[ng in that early day that a con- traction of the currency arising from convertibility, must, like water, find a level somewhere ; and had it found its level then in country notes, it must have enforced a withholding of pay- ment, an extension of credit, or a substitution of bills. In 1823, wild speculations were encouraged ; rumours were spread that supplies of South American gold would reach us ; so that in 1825 these speculations reduced the bullion in the Bank. Answering the purpose of the Bank then, just as it did in 1857, she curtailed her accommodation after entering upon foreign loans, twenty-six in number, amounting to £55,794,671, of Avhich only ten now pay interest. After superinducing the 624 new schemes which were pro- jected during 1824 and 1825, for these foreign loans, we know specie was generally remitted, which then as now raised the value of money at home, — which again, was just what the foreign loans were intended to bring about. The new schemes were then afloat, and must have money at any price, they had fallen into the bankers' trap, of course they were caught, and then, as now, most unmercifully plucked. CAUSE OF EXCESSIVE PAPER UNDER DISCOUNT. 425 The Bank possessing the power of contracting the currency at home, by its very power of sending its specie abroad in foreign loans, is enabled to inflict a twofold injury upon the country, especially upon the legitimate men of commerce. In vain may England toil and jmrsue the sfraighf/oricard course of action, ichile this nefarious system of foreign loaning is allowed ; and home speculations, taking their starting-point from the Stock Exchange stags, the fi-uits of honest industry will ever be swallowed up, and wars, and repetitions of wars will ever be sm'reptitiously induced, and the greater the rogue that sits on the throne of France, the oftcuer will occasions apparently arise for the redress of foreign grievances, which had no other source than in the Bourse and our jobbing- Exchange. The Bank always benefits, earKer or later, by whatever great changes takes place, even when danger appears to the facile John Bull ; she has always her dernier ressort, either in or by a bank restriction act ; or, as on this occasion of 1825, a PECULIAR FINDING OF ONE POUND NOTES, wherein her jianacea was at hand ; as it always is, yes, by a letter from my Lord John Russell, as in 1847 : or from my Lord Palmerston, in 1857. My only astonishment is, they did not call it a " bank restriction" letter. Of course we should not haycknoyvn that the Bank teas not really very much injured by such rigour, in compelling it not to do what it cannot do; — what a paradox- f The one pound notes worked a speedy restoration of the country, proWng a little more than the Bank calculated upon — that the country required such a useful issue ; that the little merchants and artisans were gi'eatly reheved by it ; but because they were not quite so cri})plcd as to be obliged to go to the banker for discounts and loans often enough, they had the one pound note withdrawn in 1829 ; the same reason accounts for their never having been re-introduced ; for, by a restricted currency, loans are in greater request, and discounts in greater dema)id ; rates of interest range higher, the whole of wliich benefits tlie UKnietaiy interests, at the expense of the entire comnierciul world. 426 GOVKTIXMEXT UPON FIRST ntlNCTPLES. Of course it w'\\\ ho said tlio l?aiik was in a sad plight in 18'25 ; its specie Avas reduced to only £1'2(5,000 in coin, and £()01,0()0 in bullion, was it not greatly jeoiKudized ? I answer not at all : the peo})le Avere, but not the liaidc ; they had done a good thing for themselves then, as they did in 1857, just as a man having sold all his goods does a good thing, and having, comparatively, an empty warehouse, by having had a ready sale that cleared him out much to his advantage, leaving him ready to receive fi-csh stores ; ho knowing well the period of their arrival. The Bank knows well when their bullion will return to the Bank ; every loan and bill bears a date for repayment of prin- cipal and interest. Lord Liverpool, in 1826, remarked that " The effect of the then present law was to pcnnit every desciiption of banking ; except THAT WHICH IS SOLID AND SECURE ;" did not the years 1847 and 1857 prove his words to be true ? "S^Tiat distress did the withdrawals of the one pound and two pound country notes produce upon the labouring people of England in 1829, giving rise to such discontent that showed itself — doubtless wrongly, but uumistakabl}' — in the incendiary fires in the agricultural districts. "What class of men are gathered together as commissioners, when a bank charter is to be granted or renewed ? Are there as many merchants as bankers ? and why not ? Who is Lord Derby, that he should presume to tell Gi'eat Britain that care should be taken to exclude Mercator and pamplileteering effu- sions from the consideration of the Bank Charter. I have little doubt but a few sessions of Parliament aWII disclose to the mercantile world what he is. Ilowever, I think he cannot bo worse than Palmerston. In 1833, the Bank having held a little more bullion, £10,205,000, began again to export gold. The joint-stock banks over issuing, also gave rise to great monetary disturbance. I consider Mr. Attvrood was correct when he said, " he was more convinced than ever, that the Government should be the sole issuer of notes." Notwithstanding the Exchequer Bill forgeries of 1841, I do not see why Exchequer notes or bills CArSE OF EXCESSR-E PAPER UNDER DISCOUNT. 427 could not be as Tvell guarded against forgeries as bank notes, but certainly not while they were in the issue of the Bank of England. Let that be a department for Mercator to superintend well ; then counterfeits could be as well avoided in them as m Bank notes. Up to 1837 money was plentiful, and speculations were again encouraged by the monetary faction, among railroads and foreign loans. The Bank well kno^ving this their harvest was arriving, the panic ensued ; the drain of bullion became severe, and it sank to £4,077,000. Aggravated, as if purposely, by the hostilities of the Bank to the joiut-stock banks, whose paper it refused to discount, a stroke of strategy our mediajval Mercator would not have dreamt of, in his purer philosophy. The bulHon in the Bank in 1839, was reduced to £2,522,000; then the country was ripe for the Bank to reap its well-planted and matured harvest. Then would they, without blushing^ stay the efflux of gold when they no longer had any, by raising the rate of discount to 5 per cent. The Bank Kabilities were £28,860,000; then an exposure of a foreign policy in connexion \^ath the Bank took place, which Enghsh merchants should not overlook, because it illustrates something like international collusion between France and England, showing how our nation will play into the hands of another, when by so doing they can ujjhold an artificial state of things. The Bank of England obtained assistance from the Bank of France by bills of ex- change, or accommodation bills, which checked the drain of bullion. AU this might have been necessary ; but it exposes to us, how one monarch works the telegraph with a bank ; in another country, how pretexts for Avar may bo got up, and funds raised and lowered ; and when a reigning monarch (such as Louis Napoleon now) is a large speculator on the Bourse, with what ease can an excuse be made to expend a hundred millions for no other purpose than the upholding of the debt national by increasing it ; and by increasing discounts raise the rate of interest. The rate of discount was thus by the panic raised to (Ji per cent, in 1839. These fluctuations, which arc so ruinous to commerce, are 428 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST rRTNCTPLER. just the vc>ry o])posito to monetary jobbers and bankers. Tbat whieh is the commercial loss is exactly, in the same ratio, tlie bankers' gain ; we may rest "well assured, therefore, as long as tlie present laws of currency remain, nothing can prosper com- nieroially for any duration. The monetary derangement had become of such frequent occurrence, that public attention was attracted, and an incpiiry was instituted upon the cause of it in 18-40 ; but, as usual, the paper issue was blamed instead of banking speculations, in the way of foreign loans, which had again drained the bullion> forcing a quantity of paper under discount, the evident con- sequence of an insuflicient circulating medium. This ended in the restrictive Act of 18-44, which in every way answered the purpose of the Bank ; for, by this it was enabled to reduce and regulate the demand first, and then the supply of gold. Thus every Act is made to relieve the Bank, but not so the country. In 1843 bullion returned, and in December the Bank held £14,982,000. But just the same thing was experienced then as was so grievously felt in 1858 ; money had become abundant, but little trade was done, because of the disasters of previous monetary jobs ; confidence was destroyed, and com- merce flagged to a ruinous extent. The new theory was, that the circulation of notes should always be equal to the coin held by the Bank, and their issues increase and decrease to the same amount as a metallic currency ; but the trick which the Bank had obtained for themselves, was the permission to issue £14,000,000 in notes against the public debt and securities ; which, while it negatived the first part of the bill, threw £14,000,000 of issue into the Bank's hands, not re- presented by bullion, vnth which they alone, and not commerce, were benefited. Thus the Bank Charter of 1844 was a farce ; but a very serious one for the honest man, that kept aloof from speculation^ as well as the tools of the Bank that had been induced to enter upon speculation, but which were sacrificed when ever it an- swered the purpose of the Bank. This left the Bank all-powerful in the exercise of disturbing CAUSE OF EXCESSIVE PAPER UNDER DISCOUXT. 429 causes "wlienever it answered their purpose ; and certainly they have not failed to use their prerogative in a way most distressing to the country, by giving rise to frequent derangement of the currency, such as we have experienced since 1844. This Act was tampered with by the Bank, and instead of its causing an uniform rate of interest, before it had been in operation three years discounts increased, untd, in 1847, they were at 9 per cent. ; caused by the export of bullion, the facile process so unblushingly exercised by the Bank, whenever they think proper, no law existing at present to prevent their doing so ; although that very gold has gone to the very countries with whom we were at war, and ^\4thout which they could no longer have waged war against us, — whilst at home the same Bank will refuse to make advances upon our own Exchequer bills, as they did in 1847, when they were at 35s. discount. Then, and not till then (take particular notice), did Lord John Russell suspend the Bank Act ; the effect was immediate — con- fidence was restored. Not on account of the bad harvest, from which the country had suffered greatly, nor on account of the excessive expenditure on railways, and the commercial distress generally, but because Exchequer bills were at a heavj' discount, was the letter issued, pro^dng how Httle the people are regarded in monetary arrangements. Every thing bore a satisfactory aspect in 1854, but the re- duction of the National Debt to £771,335,801, (sec Fortinu, £758,005,603 3s. 5jd., on 5th January, 1854), gave alann to the Bank and money-jobbers. Gladstone was in earnest in reducing the debt ; the country was likely to be somewhat relieved, for the public revenue v»-as £54,430,344, and the ex- penditure was only £51,174,840, too favom-able a state of things to be allowed by the money grinders ; their perpetual harvest in daily jobbery of the National Debt, was likely to leave them with a few millions less to trick my neighbour with, so a war was got up to depress the funds, by which the banking millicmaire is enabled to buy in at low rates, and wait till tlie funds rise again, then sell out at high rates. By the 430 GOVKHNMEXT UrON FIRST PUINCIPLKS. same moans tlieso merconnrios arc also enabled to effect foreign loans with our enemies, and to add £200,000,000 of expenditure upon the country, which is safe to lessen the currency at home ; thus the most merciful Bank is enabled to raise their discounts to 10 per cent., so thiit extortionate "pnififii" (to use a very mild term) are sure to folU)\v. So the cry of war with llussia is raised, the battle is foue forthooiiiinp:, profluction must ccnso in a '^vv.xi (logroo, luul, as a lUHrssiuy soquoiu'o, eousunii)tioii niid iMijovnu'ut must eeaso likewise."* Tliese ]ireniises avc first of nil wi'oiig, inv mini does not cease IVoin lalioui- \vliili> lu> is :i('(iuirin<2; Avealtli ; on the eontrary, lie is stimulated to more lal'our, as ho acquires more wealth ; the i;reat evil is, that there is no end to his hd)our : he works the harder, accumulates more than iMiough, and more than he can enjoy, from this excessive acquirement. Instead of hringing ])hilosophy to hear upon his sufftciency, and taking leisure in his old age, he toils on ; and, from an industrious lahourcr, hecomes himself a monopolist, hy which he tries to shut out his neighhour from competing with him in commerce or profession. The timid fears of j\[r. W. Atkinson, that no one will he left to grow his cahhage, if ho improve the condition of the lahourcr, is pusillanimous to an excess — ^is unjust as it is cowai-dly ; and is the toadying twaddle of that Times-nddcn class of statesmen that have gro^^^l so fat and luxurious in their easy seats of State, that any possible or impossible tendency to endanger their ease, or lessen the dimensions of their hloated bodies, is to be treated as an act of insubordination, and pmiished accordingly. So that, in order to per])etuate this superabun- dance among the greedy few, the condition of the industrious many is not to be improved. "What stuff are we obliged to listen to, from these overfed and overpaid men, just because their permanence might endure imaginary hazard, ha\'ing no reality even in the possible ! Look all through employment, and see if the man with better wage does not continue to work ; and docs he not first obtain his better wage from his better work, and increased quantity of it ? Tliis is very opposite to the argument Mr. W. Atkinson attempts to force upon us. True, some in early life will spend all they earn, and absent themselves from labour occasionally, through good pay, not working all the week : these form but the exceptions to the # " Principles of Social and Political Economy," p. 512. ATKIXSON ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. 435 rule. Every banker and ever}' merchant well knows that his clerk, to whom he pays £500 or £1000 a year, is the most, not the least, industrious in his employ. The less salary is given to the less industrious ; the increase of pay does not lessen his exertions, but, on the contrary, because he can be depended upon for doing his work well, and for accui'ately carrying it out, he obtains more — the very converse of these weak-minded argu- ments, that have their origin in State indolence ; for there tilings are absolutely in adverse ratio. The industrious often obtains no promotion, wlrile the idle son of interest steps over his shoulder, and takes the pay that should have been awarded to merit. In this way a wiiter on political economy may be deceived, if he happen to have studied and obtained his political expe- rience from official red tapes, instead of in the great field of coramcrce, where the many, not the few, form a proper indi- cation of characters and habits. Competence, comfort, and enjoyment, then, may with every safety be extended to the many ; instead of indolence, efficiency will be the result ; and the world and man will be in right relation to the munificent Provider. Instead of this, fearfully selfish statesmen, from the greediness in their hearts, would withhold happiness from all, in order that they may enjoy the monopoly — the luxury — that shall be confined to the few, and in order to enhance their intensity of delight, they knowing well, the fewer there are the greater the distinction. Shut out the many that the few only may have the all of creation : such a form Mr. W. Atkinson's political and social economy assumes at the commencement of his work. He has yet to study the philosophy of government from another source, with less com- promising expedients. At the end of his first volume, he appears to have discovered this fact. Attractive industry must form an element in any improved government, Avhich will better be promoted by indiWdual exer- tions among parents, than by material interferences, beyond that of relieving the burden of taxation from the shoulders of the working part of any community, and exposing to shame selfish laws. f f 2 436 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. In one part of his work this author calls au " equality of cirouinstancos a inoro visionary idoa, a baseless speculation, having no foundation either in the necessity or the possibility of things."* In another part ho says: — "Nevertheless, it would evince the greatest ignorance, were ho to entertain tho opinion that the principle involved in Socialism or Comniunism. is not the subsfaiifia/, the true, the eivr-endiiring, and hence tho required prhicii)le."t In one part, then, he says it is vmonary and baseless, ha ring nofoioidaiion; in another, the directly oi)po- site, " the substantial, tho true, the ever-enduring." Yea, ho goes on further to say, that " social law, or Socialism, must be, and is, the impress of the Creator. It involves that which should constitute the thoughts, the aspirations, and the duties of men, in all countries, and throughout time." This versatile author can say two opposite tilings almost in one breath ; ho has the strangest knack of running with the hare and hunting with the hounds that I ever Avitnessed. He analyzed the term Communism, and finds it to mean, " interest in common, and love of country ; love of each other." Now, how can men love in unity, that wish themselves alone to enjoy the pri\^leges of governmental control? If there exist love of country, it must imply the love of the interests of all — that is, of all classes ; otherwise, it becomes selfish love, instead of " love of country." But when the same writer admits the " interest in common," as just before he has done, the interests of all are admitted by him ; how, then, by any extenuation of terms, can he intend to convey any other meaning than that the equality of interests should become the identical uniform effort of all ? Unless that be the case, he must admit that he would have the poor remain poor, and yet join their consent to remain so, while the rich exclude them from eveiy privilege that they themselves enjoy, which would be a contradiction to the meaning of " unity of interests." It must be admitted that for the poor to remain poor, and the rich to remain rich, is not unity nor community of interests * "Principles of Social and Pulitioal Economy," book iv. p. 311. Idem, booli iv. p. 521). ATKINSON ON SOCIAL ANT) POLITICAL ECONOMY 407 — just tlie very reverse : it is disunity of interests, disjunctive classification ; opposite principles and practices that are exclusive, not inclusive — not unity. AH the advantage is, according to him, to he on one side, all the loss on the other ; and this he lahours hard to prove is beneficial to a nation. Where is the " social principle " here, since he says all who wish not to perpetuate this state of things are possessed of " selfish, unsocial feelings and piinciples" ?* I certainly know of no modern political writer that takes such hhei'ties vdth. terms, calling by A\i'ong names the pure and the impure, and rice versd ; I know none that thus perverts truth so unblushingly, except it be the Times. I find an attempt at excusing himself, when he alludes to the due and right application of labour, the just dealing and trading — the fulfilment of those duties that are connected by the law in nature ; that just and honourable self-denial which is ready to forego profitable employment and invest money ■wheni t has to be apprehended that injury to the interests of others may accrue by them, &c. Eut when he concludes the paragraph by sapng it is not possible to govern a nation against the will of the nation, I answer, his impossible is the actual of Great Britain. The will of the nation is not known, and is not intended to be known, nor consulted, so long as 900,000 men only have the privilege of expressing their will through their representatives, out of a population of 30,000,000 people. That which we have to regard, as a nation, above all other things, certainly is the " quality of the national will." This quality cannot be arrived at, nor can it be improved, so long as all tliat fonn the component parts of the nation — the honest, hard-working, incessant contributories to the commonwealth — have no will, nor voice, by which they can direct the appro- priations of their wealth in common, that they so largely con- tribute towards the expenses of their nation. I know well, from much intercourse ^v^th the real workers of the country, that they would improve the quality of the will of the nation, • " I'riiK-ipleK of Social and I'olit'unl Kconoiuy," hook iv. p. 526. 438 GOVERNMENT UTON riRST PUINCIPLES. were thov allowed to i'onn the integral oi" the iiatiou's will. Fciir not the industrious, that have triusted you so long ; oven with all your hreach of trust ! ye exclusive legislators. AVlio mis- trusts now ? They are the daily creators of the common wealth you possess, and of the comforts you enjoy. They respect your pro])erty more than you respect their rights ; shame, disgraceful shame, is hurled upon your pusillanimous mistrust of the good people of England. Alas ! not only England. In page 511, Mr. W. Atkinson declares "it to be a fearful task to recommend and to put into ])ractice a remedy for the evils of extreme poverty." Now, while I admit that the writers on jjolitical economy have not dealt practically with that great subject, I cannot sec the harm they have ever done by attempting to awaken a feeling among the powerful, of a further extension of fairness to all : that they have not suc- ceeded, is too evident, as is also the fact, that they themselves have seldom practised Avhat they professed. The law of redistribution of capital by which a diffusion is likely to reach the poor and needy, has never been put into practice, simply because the word redistribution is too strong a word to use ; laws which shall have that tendency is always meant. Such excessive attainments of wealth arc kno-\\Ti to be injurious both to the rich and the poor, and is only the remains of unci\'ilization to attempt to perpetuate it. But this author changes liis tone towards the end of his first volome ; for he asks, " Which will the people choose ? The good, fraught with more and more ease, union, and healing ; or the exjl, fraught with more and more contestation, loss, and misery?"* I am happy to find that his further reasoning brings him to different conclusions from that upon which he first started; but only with this difterence, he denounces the political economist, but not political eco)iomy. He says, " That free principle, then, from which our prevailing system of political economy is de- rived is, I maintain, that very principle involving selfish action. * <• Principles of Social and Political Economy," book IV. c. iv. p. 578. ATKIXSOX ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. 439 covetousness, and ambition, and, hence a rejection of all social love and social law that was chosen by oui* first parents." * Kow he goes into the distinction of free and right, social, or la\^ful action ; when I only and simply admit nothing to be free that is not right and consistent w^ith practice. Wrong is ever in bondage, whether wearing the garb of commonwealth or monarchy. There is no freedom, where one individual extends his freedom of action, by the laws he made to protect himself, on to another indiN-iduars rights with impunity ; the very protection to the one is the bondage to the other, and this forms the basis of oui- English laws, and this is what the author of PoHtical and Social Economy emphatically calls " committing fornication with the world, meaning unlawful enjoyment of the world ; enjoyment not controlled, or influenced, by a con- sideration how the pursuit of this enjojonent may affect the wehare and happiness of other men, but indulged regardless of the welfare and happiness of others ; or even under a loiow- ledge that the welfare and ha2)piness of other men will be sacrificed for this course of indulgence." f These fair and honest remarks contrast widely with his fearful remedies for extreme poverty ; which there he fears to recommend, but here he fears to perpetuate ! If we adopt !Mi'. "W. Atkinson's style of argument, we must put down aU existing institutions, because they have all failed to accomplish the purpose for which they Avere intended. The variijus churches have signally failed in making men unselfish ; ■whilst the professors, for the greater part, have omitted to practise their o^vn teaching. "jSTo one," he admits, "can say with truth, that the good results predicated have come to pass ? Have our laws accomplished their object, even in diminishing crime h" Laws, it must be admitted, are lamentably defective, and ever will be, I say, as long as they arc the emanations of one-sided, partial, selfisli, rich men, ever attempting to shut the poor out, either from making or executing them. •" Princiijles of S(xiial and Political Economy," vol. I. book iv. c. 6, p. 613. t Page G15. 440 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. But this nuthor says most strangely after all, tlie good he Loiore alliulecl to and admitted was necessary ; that whether living or acting under the one system or the other, under freo action, or excess of action, too much change and action in the aggregate ; or, as if he was not quite certain of this, he says, " or the coiu'ses involved hy the free or had social j)rinciple have at all times, and under all states and circumstances heen dominant and operative." Now, this little qualifpng word had, seemed to have helped him through this corollary ; for my part, I cannot see that we have had so many trials on social economy, that we really can talk of the had in reference to it. Suppose, instead of one adjective I use another, and say, f)<>od social principles, and associate the word free with the good, our conclusions will, of coui'se, be different ; only proving that building up unseemly premises, and drawing conclusions from them, is not a just stylo of arguing ; not even when you wish to come to the law of degree. I consider, that instead of writing on excess of action, and too much change, we must first of all see enough. Laws are made for the murderer, the housebreaker, the pick- pocket, &c. &c. ; but these are no part of the laws that form temptations vvith the rich and aifiuent ; where are the more delicate and i-efined laws which the affluent ought to have instituted for themselves ? — such as taxing themselves first and most, the poor last and least ; such as limiting acquirements of wealth, so that its greatness shall neither produce monopoly, nor privation to the many : again — laws against Stock Exchange speculations, gambliug, and betting ; the corrupting influence which is now fast spreading o^-er the middle and third classes of society. Freedom in the abstract never exists ; man is ever under some constraint, even when exercising his free will. Had Mr. Atkinson studied Swedenborg, he would have discovered that the fi'ee will is influenced either by evil genii or good genii ; one or the other is ruling the man, and keeping him bound to its power. ATKINSOX ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. 441 This writer says : " All affections are bonds, because they rule the man and keep him bound to themselves."* Again, he says, " Freedom is to think and will from affection."! " There is a heavenly freedom and an infernal one."+ " Man, during his abode in this world, is held in the midst between heaven and hell, and thus in a spiiitual equihbrium wherein fi-ee will consists."^ Mr. William Atkinson's denunciation of ^^ free institutions'* can be easily explained by this Swedish theologian. We must use terms in order to convey our meaning, and when/yee insti- tutions are by me alluded to, let it be understood I mean by them, an equahzation of power, a fairness of proceeding — as much and as far on one side as on the other — a balance of weight and power. Beyond this, at once is a departure from the juste milieu, and tend to harm. It must be this de- parture that Mr. Atkinson alludes to when he denounces it as disorganization, confusion, and total disruption."* Not the free institutions, but the very opposite of what he really says, it is quite evident he must mean. I shall now endeavour to attiibute a better motive to this author, behoving we both advocate similar fairness of institu- tions. I think after this explanation, the writer must do Mr. Huskisson more justice, and withdraw the imputation that " he exhibited the most remarkable and distressing vacillation of opinion and of reasoning." First of all, learn to know that freedom is the subjection of evil to the good ; — subjection still, but Heaven's benign subjec- tion, which is sweet liberty compared ^dth the subjection of infernal influences. Neither are the political economists to be condemned because they appear to Mr. Atkiason to depart fiom theii' free action in trade, when they advocate and afhi-m the law against usury. Adam Smith certaiidy comprehended the words " free trade " • Arcana Coclestia, 3835. f Idem, 1(>,252. : Idem, 2870, 2873. § U. T., 475-478. • IJook II., c. i. p. 179. 442 GOVEUNMENT UPON FIRST rillNCIl'LES. bettor than to put it under an infernal bondage ratber tban tbo heavenly b()ndai::i> ; a law against usury might have been per- mitted, as an excej)ti()nal law, without any contumely attaching to the Free Trade advocates. ^Ir. Benthani was likewise as I'reo to adopt the law against usury, without calling it a contraven- tion of free commercial action, as was Adam ISmith ; and both could recognize the law against usury as an exceptional law, ■without any contravention wluitever of principle. I am (piite ready to admit that the ])()litical ecimomists have failed to aceompHsh the great Avork tlicy designed, but they have led the mind on to a further investigation of principles, •which I hope will soon, and very soon, bring us to a true develoj)ment of th(? science of fair elemental control, or Government upon First Principles. Mr. W. Atkinson entirely fails in proving " infidelity" among most of the free actors, by first of all not understanding the term free, which he so frequently uses. Instead of being composed of " mere socialists," as he designates them, he must be fail- enough to admit that some of the soundest men we have in both Houses are advocating the freedom of fairness to all, in con- travention to the freedom such as now exists, of unfairness and exclusion of the great body of the contributors to the wealth in common. Knowing the strength of their opponents, they have only appeared to be defective, neither have they placed the science clearly before the world. Our monetary system I have proved, in so many parts of my work, to be unfair, and not based upon a just balance of principle, that undue infiuences must be ever exercised over the working and needy man. I have no more to say in favour of the PoHtical Economists ; when practically considered, they have hitherto failed to enact laws that may check and regulate equally the use and applica- tion of money. I am happy to find Mr. W. Atkinson alive to these glaring facts. He says, very justly, " By the evidence delivered, it is proved, that by the assistance wliich these laws afibrd, a check may be imposed on those greedy, rash, dishonest, and fraudu- lent courses of trade, by which so much injury is inflicted on ATKINSON ON SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. 443 all classes, in tlie derangements of trade, and tlie destruc- tion of capital ; the injuries falling with especial force and cruelty on that class of the people who have to procui'e their means of li^'ing hy simple laboui'." I fully concur with Mr. AV. Atkinson, that the section of Pohtical Economists that has perpetuated the exclusive laws, without S}Tnpathy for labour, and the wash to extend to the workers then- just rights, is reprehensible ; and where, as he says, the profit accruing^to the capitalist from the employment of his capital, is to be iusm-ed only by an abstraction of the advantage accruing to the labourer from the emplojonent of his labour ; that is, by keeping as low as possible the earnings or wages of those b}' whose labour all commodities are procured, is selfish, unjust, and infernal. Again ; he says, " AYeak reasoners, who impugn the cha- racter of the Usmy Laws, and oppose the application of them, are ever ready to assert that these laws are inoperative and futile ; because by fraudulent ingenuitj' men arc able to evade them ; because men are at aU times abounding in society, who desire to break these laws for the purpose of acquiring more gain ; and because la^\yers are at aU times to be found, who will lend themselves for hii-e to the invention of means by which the natii)nal laws may be infringed with impunity. To this day they will add an important truism ; namely, "wher- ever the just spirit of action is not present, it is in vain that you endeavour to enibrce it, so as to fulfil the letter." See, also, Junius. " And so our political economists and our statesmen have become such mean panderers to the spirit of the world, the spirit of gain, the spirit of lust, the spiiit of selfishness, as to lend their aid towards increasing the sufierings of Lazarus, in order that Dices may walloiv in more tcealth. Can moral and intellectual degradation become deeper ?"* I would distinguish between the free trade advocates, and not mix that up at all times, as Mr. Atkinson does, with faiHiigs that are apart from free trade, properly considered : for he * " J'rinciiili'S of Social ami Political Ecoiioiiii^," book 1\'. c. vii. y. G3(). 444 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES, says that the foregoiiipj doctrine " is incorporated tlirougliout the free trade system — is succinctly expressed hy the youngest nieniher of the school, ]\lr. J. S. ]\Iill. This writer says: " ^^'e ari'ive at the conclusion of Kicardo and others, that the rate of profits dojionds upon wages ; rising as wages fall, and falling as wages rise."* Mr. Iluskisson adopted this doctrine, as is shown by the following passage : " If capital had not a fair remuneration here, it would seek for it in America. To give it a fair remuneration, the price of labour must be kept down."t If all political economists and free trade advocates held such diabolical sentiments as these, their false reasonings would soon undermine them; hut there are many of this pro- fession that hold entirely opposite ^dews. Do not Mr. Roebuck, Mr. Bright, and Mr. Cobden ? \snthout furnishing a long list, that is available. I consider these men know much better than to uphold so unprincipled a doctrine. I know well they are working hard, have been and ever will labour, to improve the condition of all, fairly and impartially. Their efforts are directed towards the improvement of both capital and labour 5 and, like Mr. Atkinson, they seek by mixing up, and by the free and promiscous -working together of labour and capital, that such a larger increase and diffusion will be made to the general productions of capital, that all shall be improved ; not only the labourer but the capitalist shall, with unity of in- terests, be improved in moral, social, and practical condition. Let us indidge in the hope, that all are stri\ing to promote this happy termination, though called by some by another name. Those only that cease to practise an unselfish line of conduct, that diverge in daily life from the straight line, are alone the dangerous, and need laws to direct them into straight practices, until, by long usance and good habits, the motive of good shall become the spring of action in all. I fully concur with this author, that each man should comprehend, by his * "Principles of Political Economy," by J. 8. Mill, vol. i. p. 509. t lluskisson's Speeches, April 'i8, 1825. THERE IS ABUNDANCE FOR ALL. 445 principle of conduct and by his actions, not his own interest and welfare only, but the interest and welfare of other men. This will become the day of politeness in practice, having for its foundation a due love, and a due sacrifice, for the purpose of combining and insuring the welfare of one ^nth the welfare of another. " This law may not have been in us, yet it must be in us ; for, if not, restoration caimot be accom^jlished."* CHAPTER CXXYIII. THE GREAT FACT, THAT THERE IS ABUNDANCE FOR ALL, PROVED. I HAVE before shown, that the estimated wealth of this country amounted to £6,000,000,000 ; that is, equal to £206 per head of the whole population. Now, calculating the average of families to be five in number, every family in this nation of Great Britain would possess £1030 were property and wealth thus divided and diffused over all. The next day (I have no more doubt than other people) there would be a great disproportion, and perhaps the biggest rogue would get the most. Nor do I dream for a moment to urge the diffusion of wealth by any other process than by taxation placed upon the largest owners, at an increased ratio ; as I proposed in my Proximate Esti- mate. "What proportionate advantage have the industriously needy many, derived from the immense increase of wealth that has taken place since the year 1800 ; when it was valued at £1,800,000,000, beyond seeing the crafty wealthy few iticrease their excessive sums threefold? A middle class has been « << Principles of Social and Political Economy," book IV. c. vii. p. 615. ImL 446 GOVERNMENT tiPON FIBST PRINCIPLES. springing- up, but \s'liat arc the gigantic efforts of the present (lay to rise up out of nothing, to become a millionaire, or even to possess a respectable competence ? AVliy the efforts arc soul-destroying, and when acquired for the greater number, mind and body are destroyed — self-preservation the only feature of life remaining. I assert, with good knowledge of the fact, that the struggles of the third class are greater now than ever was known; because, while they arc endeavouring to surround themselves with the comforts their recent education has taught them they are entitled to, they find the drawbacks are so numerous by the multiplied forms of taxation — which they cannot properly estimate because they arc so indirect — that they are overwhelmed wdth difficulties, even while attempt- ing to keep within frugal expenditure ; educating their children only, and keeping them in cleanly and tidy condition. The legislator must bring relief to this class, the most deserving class of this community, or the extortionate money- lender will grasp their little and well-guarded all, in spite of themselves. Can anything be more noble — can any act add so much sterling honour to the legislator, than which nothing will bear a comparison, should they voluntarily come to the rescue of these most industrious/// needy mmiy. Would it not rivet the hearts of the needy to the hearts of the wealthy, and when they want support, in carrying some good and great work, could they not calculate upon the aid of that class to which they rendered this timely aid ? Mr. Leoni Levi, at the Statistical Society, furnished useful statistics on the proportionate amount of taxes paid by different parties, under three classes. The higher classes paid £22,550,000 ; the middle classes, £32,930,000 ; and the lower classes, £18,320,000 ; making a total amount of taxation, of £73,800,000. The middle and lower classes, therefore, pay together £51,250,000 ; nearly three-fourths of the entire taxation, to do which they ought, in all fairness, to possess thi'ee-fourths of the entire wealth, in order to make the pro- portion of wealth bear even equally upon the head of every individual ; but since they cannot aU possess the same wealth. THERE IS ABUNDANCE FOR ALL. 447 the next best process of taxation is, to make them pay according to the wealth they can count, for that is all requiring protection. That is all the rich consider protection ; they unfairly make the needy help them to pay the protection that the rich only stand in need of. Not only our army and navy — our national defences, — but our civil laws are, for the greater part, necessary to protect property ; and even our ecclesiastical laws should have the tendency to make every man respect and protect another man's wealth, much or little. So that protection of nationality and property are the primary and essential originators of taxation, which early and modern history prove. The old monetary tenure among the o-^mers of land provided this protection for themselves originally ; proving that property and wealth caused the taxation ; they, therefore, now should pay it in all justness and fairness to the needy, that require not that protection to anything like a proportionate extent, if at all. The needy man should be made to pay his proportionate share towards the civil laws, which he already does to some extent, in the police and county rates — in the summons he pays for, and the law expenses — ^in stamps and fees, &c., forming only a small amount of the great sum exacted from him. If the present amount of taxation cannot be considered a hindrance to the development of national wealth, because it bears so lightly upon the owners of wealth, the incumbrance of it upon genuine industry is lamentably felt. Speculators and gamblers, of which this nation partakes too largely, may not feel it ; nor does the money-lender to the little needy man feel it, because he is benefited by it, since its pressure upon tliis un- fortunate class brings the needy man to him, when, without it, he might rally and do without his renewed bill at ruinous rates. If selfishness yet abounds among the Legislature to so great an extent that fairness cannot be expected, I am willing to take an instalment of my progressive system, which I hope will ultimately be acted upon. I would take a direct tax of one SHILLING IN the POTXD. I have no doubt that the entire capital of the country, if t 448 GOVERNMENT UPON FIR^T PRINCIPLES. taken correctly, at tlio present time (18G0) amounts to £8,000,000,000. The National Debt might he thus removed:— Taking 8,000,000,000 for the present wealth of Great Britain, a tax of \s. in the pound yields to the revenue ^400,000,000 Retaining the Spirit duty of ... £9,188,842 Do. Mnlt 5,592,024 Do. Eum 1,290,267 Do. Brandy 830,521 17,008,254 Do. on Tobacco and Snuff ... 5,454,216 Do. on Wine 1,827,087 £424,289,557 This would yield a revenue, as above, of £424,289,557. This amount, according to my plan, may be lessened or increased pro ratd with the amount of wealth possessed. All would have abundance, whilst all would be relieved that need it. The loss now incurred by the indirect mode of taxation would then in part be saved, amounting perhaps to £6,000,000. Hence an abundant revenue w^ould result from this improved process of taxation, and the National Debt be paid off in two years. Should another million or two be required, place 6c?. in the pound extra upon all owners of wealth exceeding £1,000,000. This would be an initiation of the right principle, and a step in the right direction to pay off all the National Debt. "When we know there are 439 articles of trade and commerce of such trivial imports that they produce only £751,000 to the revenue, the advantage of direct taxation must be evident ; as must also the oppressive and obstructive injuries affecting trade and commerce in the highest degree be objectionable. I shall be told by the Timeocratic paper, that we are gradually progressing, and ought to be content ; also, that convulsions are injurious to a nation. "Will that long and extenuating neck of the Timeocracy make a similar stretch upon its memory, and for once speak the truth, and say we are retrogressing, instead of progressing, in our fairness of taxation ? Not so long ago, but this short-memory organ must recollect the fact, that in THERE IS ABUNDANCE FOR ALL. 449 former times a tax of 4s. in the pound was commonly- levied upon propert)^ Then a fifth of their actual capital was contributed to the State, or 4s. in the pound — 20 per cent, of their property. If at that period the justness of taxing properfi/, now not recognized to the same extent, was recognized then, let that truthless paper no longer poison this country by boasting, upon an unfounded assumption, vaunting progress when no progress in the right direction has been made in the mode of taxation since that time ; retrogression has been perpetuated by selfish legislators and their dishonest advocates, false in principle and purpose. If 4s. in the pound could then be paid, when only one-fourth of the capital existed in the coimtry, certainly Is. or Is. 6d. can now be paid ^vith four times the facility. That pseudo-popular organ would say : But the expenditure of these great owners of wealth has much increased, and the tax would bear more heavily upon them than formerly. Just the very argument they use in the prospective, I use now in the time present : the expenses of the needy have greatly increased, and taxes now bear down oppressively and ruinously upon industry; their difficulties now are imminent ; the heartrending torture of anxiety existing among the steady, honest, conscious strug- gler is distressing, and actually producing a disease called "neurosis of the vagus nerve" — a new infliction, brought about by exposure, by constant efforts to Hve without taking sufficient care of health, by protracted indigestion, fi-om the cares of industry, and by perpetuated burdens endured in irndue proportion. Escaping fi-om one difficulty one day and one hour, by the oppression resulting from monopoly among merchants ; another hour by a similar oppression fi-om money-speculators, and bankers ; another, from tightness, and panics, by fraudulent attempts, constantly tempting and ensnaiing the honest, by constant demands upon your purse from those worse-ofF than yourself — all affecting the nerves of the stomach, causing tor- ture and misery, till the heart sickens in despair, while li\dng in a world of superfluous abundance. G G 450 OOVEUNMKNT TVON FIKST VmNCIPT.KS. In order to cstiinato fairly ■\vliotlicr tho burden of taxation bo much or little, I adduce the following computation : — Every individual in Great Britain is taxed at £2 14s. 3(1. per head, including local taxation ; therefore a family of five in number, com])osed of man, wife, and three children, about the average of families, is taxed to tho extent of £18 lis. 3(/. j)er year ; but as the taxes are now raised principally upon articles of con- sum])tion, at least iVS per cent, must be added on to tho £13 lis. 3^/., which forms the wholesale and retail profit upon the articles before they can reach the consumer, making alto- gether £20 6s. 10 3(/. per annum, arising from the tax, and together with the tax. The working man, then, with a wage of 12s. per week, or £31 4s. per year, lia\'ing an average family, is put to the expense of two-thirds of his income for the taxes and their results, before he can see his earnings ; in other words, out of 12s. per week, the taxes costs him nearly 8s. per week ; or, out of £31 4s., he pays £20 6s. 10^^., amounting to nearly two-thirds of his income. I shall ])lace this now more clearly before you in figures : — Taxes, per family Profit paid by consumer, Total , Deduct from 10 17 1| £10 17s. l^d. is 4s. 2d. per week, which is the net amount the working man receives out of 12s. per week. "Who will, after this, attempt to assert that taxes, as they are now levied, do not bear down oppressively upon labour ? Now, Mr. Leoni Levi should have made this calculation before he boasted that " taxation did not paralyze in amj way the development of wealth." For I have now proved that in one "way,'^ at least, taxation paralyzes the industry of the G G 2 £ s. d. 13 11 3 6 15 n 20 6 101 31 4 20 6 101 THERE IS ABUNDANCE FOR ALL. 451 country ; wliile I am ready to admit that mere wealth is not paralyzed, for the very reason that mere wealth is compara- tively released, just in proportion to the pressure it produces upon labour. "VNTio will he the first and last to attempt to hush up this glaiing piece of injustice that is inflicted upon the low-wage man ? WeU might the son of toil have nothing but the Union for his comfort in liis old age, instead of a home with his family — the smallest hope that should bo afforded him ! Will your hearts ever be hardened, and your eyes ever be closed, against justice — ^justice only ? No mercy do I ask of such merciless hearts. Extend a future to the industry of the countiy now and for ever, with good grace, or you may repent when the privilege remains not in your hands. Can you, super- fluously rich, begrudge this man release fi'om this injustice ? WlU you longer inflict this hea\y yoke ? I am so fi-equently told that the taxes bear alike upon aU, that I am induced to prove the fact to be the contrary. A millionaire, I am told, employs more hands ; therefore he pays an increased share of taxes. Let us see if this be correct. This millionaire emplo)'S — say, in his household, 3 men-ser- vants and 2 gardeners (many do not employ more beyond those that are profitable to them, which in fairness must not enter into this calculation) ; 5 men servants and 5 female ser- vants, making 10, his family 5, making 15 in number, paying 8s. per head per week ; making in all for taxes £6 per week, or £312 per annum. This millionaire's income is, say £50,000. Now, two-thirds off his income, which would be the proportion his taxation bears to the labouring man of 12s. per week, and the amount would be the romid numbers of £33,332, instead of which he only pays £312. It may now be said that millionaires employ many more domestic servants, although they are not obliged to have that number ; so I will double the number, and instead of 15 say 30 in family ; that wiU double the amomit of £312, making it £G24 : this bears but a poor relation to £33,334, pro raid with what labour pays. It will be said again that 452 GOVEUNJIENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES. these have wealth and the other have none ; so much the worse, I for the less chance is afforded to the industrious man to rise tout of the i)cnury this unjust system of taxation i)urposcly finflicts upon him. Where is the love of the neig-hhour with all ? "VVlicre is fairness of dealing ? This explains why the industrious have not the franchise ; why every effort is made to exclude them from ever possessing it. Selfishness, injustice, greediness, constitute the attributes of the legislator. Unblushing rulers, look into your hearts, and perceive how you are forfeiting the affections of a good people ! CIIAPTEE CXXIX. HARMONY IS THE ULTIMATE OBJECT OF CREATION, AND IS A LAW WELL WORTH MAN's INVESTIGATION. In most sciences it is immediately enforced, and forms the basis of its laws — wherever it is not the basis, the premises are always intermediate or preparatory to harmony, uidess error obtrude and deviate from nature's laws by man's interpositions and misconceptions. Harmony indicates and intimates to man pre-conceived arrangement = prescience = pre-established harmony. This is much more consistent than the doctrine of occasional causality ; which supposes a constant interposition of Divine power ; this would be interfering with the freedom of man, so I must beg to differ from Leibnitz, in his Theodicee and Monadologie. I prefer the doctrine of the ancient philosoi:)hers, who sup- posed that the regular movements of the heavenly bodies throughout space formed a kind of harmony, which they called " the harmony of spheres." HARMONY THE ULTIMATE OBJECT OF CREATION. 453 For a mail out of his sphere is out of his element, and should either remain inert and quiet, or take great care not to dis- arrange society by his dissonant condition : since man propagates his errors, not only to his own progeny, but to his locality, which might extend to a community for generations and cen- turies. Take Dr. Johnson, for instance, who had no ear for music ; of whom it was proverbial, " that he could not tell the scrape of a cart-wheel from a lady's voice." How unfit must such an imperfectly organized ear have been for a lexi- cographer, where a refined organ of sound is indispensable ; he was out of his sphere, and the last man to make a dictionary. This accounts for the want of euphony in his words ; there is in very many words no harmony, nor sound consistent with the mode of spelling. The word blood, as now pronounced, should be spelt blud. Plough should be same as cow, i.e., plow. Door should have been spelt dor, if euphony had been exercised. Tough ought to be spelt tuf ; prove, priiv ; mighty ought to be mite ; militia ought to be milishea ; methought should be methawt. But to multiply these ineuphonic words, wherein there is an absence of orthography, would fill a volume. The excellent Johnson possessed so many other qualities that entitle him to our respect, that, but for the difficulty he has entailed upon the little boys, and big boys at school, we could well forgive him, and shall do so yet — so soon as his system is altered. Let us notice the opinions of the anatomist. Sir B. Brodie, for instance, says , " The division of the nerves which extend from the brain to the larjTix, destroys the voice." * " If the upper part of the cerebrum be removed, the animal becomes blind, and apparently stupefied : but not so much so but that he may be roused, and that he can then walk with steadiness and precision. The most important part of the whole brain seems to be a particular portion of the central * Sir Benjamin Brodio. it) 454 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCIPLES. organ, or medulla oblongata. "VYliilo tliis remains entire, the animal retains its sensibility, breathes, and performs instinctive motions. But if this small mass of the nervous system bo injured, there is an end of their several functions, and death immediately ensues." * So much M. Magendie and M. Floureus have to say. An absence of the organ of speech may be the cause of dumbness ; but otherwise the individual may possess excellent powers ; write beautifully, and be clever in arithmetic, not dif- fering from other intelligent children. However, we know not that there are not some other organs that may be so defective that speech might be dangerous. I frequently find persons not having an ear for music have imperfect judgment. So that a man touching language with- out the very organ that is indispensable for the accomplish- ment of his work, should not be the lexicographer for future generations. How correct are the orderly operations of nature, compared with those of man ! How perfect are the classes of the Erucas, or the maggots, in relation to their aurclias, or their chrysalides ! How distinctive are the forms and colours of the eggs of the birds of the air ! How distinct, well marked, and harmonious are their various tones ; all euphonizes till you come to the raven, cormorant, or the low carnivorous tribes; even then the law of order is" seen to exist; harmony reigns, and sounds are in perfect accordance to the nature that made it : no blundering, similar to the Latin declensions, which only exhibit the barbarous and clumsy attempt at making a language gram- matical, — again punishing our little and big boys in and out of school, to learn a complex and confused attempt at arrange- ment of language. Our own Enghsh language has settled the whole of the Latin declensions, by a dozen or less of little words, or prefixes, as a, of, to, into, on, from, by, with, &c. What horrid confusion do the five declensions produce, and what * « Psycliological Inquiries," page 43, 2nd Dialogue. HARMONY THE ULTIMATE OBJECT OF CREATION. 455 blundering the exceptions evince ! What waste of time and intellect, what misery have they inflicted upon all people ! "Why do not the Masters and Fellows, the Docti, and Eruditi, alter this scholastic error — do as the Emperor of Russia has done? for which he shows his good sense and sympathy for his country ! forbid it to be taught without special permission ! ! ! Forbid it also to be used in our pharmaceutical, chemical, sm-gical, and legal institutions. For its object is well knoAvn to be exclusiveness ; in other Avords, shut out my neighbour. I have no doubt that some of my impatient readers \n\l say, AVhat on earth have Latin and Dr. Johnson to do with Govern- ment ujion First Principles ? I will now show what harmony has to do with all things ; more especially with Governmental matters. The expression outwardly must ever be in accordance with the principle inwardly — true to the feeling within. No subterfuge must be allowed in expressing First Prineiplcs ; distinctions of tones will even indicate the quality of the man. The very attempt to deceive will some day become evident. The bland tone without the true bland nature ^-ithin ^Yi]l discover the hypocrite. The dissembler will have to hide his face, rather than expose himself to be what he is. Nature must do her great work ; no law can ultimately oppose her. If now for a time she permit obscurities to intercept her brilliant, essential truth, soon she will dissipate her obstructive cloud, and stand forth gloriously in her bright array ; so luminous will be her mental atmosphere, that deceit shall be clear as the open act of crime. Cheats shall be punished under the acts of frauds. Artifice shall be permitted only as it shall be justly ingenious, not as now ingeniously unjust. That which shall be forbidden shall not permit the intention of the thing forbidden to be stratagetically evaded by learned councils. Fewer words and more justice shall pervade this land from north to south ; the people, instead of a Babylon, shall be building a heaven which themse' .-es shall behold with rightful joy. The outward expression shall be harmonious 456 GOVERNMENT UPON FIRST PRINCirLES. with tlio iuwnrd (juality, without the lie that now stamps tlio face of tlio gh)he. Nature shall he developed hy the aid of man's lofty and pui'c mind ; she then shall he arrayed in the splendour of her innocent heauty — glorious as good — magnificent as true, in her harmonious develoj)meut. Instead of a lexicon, man shall learn the right lines of principles and actions thence jiroceeding, study the delights of his own straight path, that shall not have encroached on to his neighhour's, with an integrity of })urpose, and an integrity of practice ; health of hody will improve as the mind hecomes orderly in action, according to its o^\'n even impulsations of good. Thus shall he leani to spell as well the man, as the word, for the word is known hy its sound ; eu])hony, orthography, prosody, and harmony are therefore the analogical modes I have preferred using, in order to illustrate the evolution of truth, which must proceed in direct lines from the centre to the cii'cumference, re\'erherating in the same right lines from the circumference to the centre. This should constitute hannonious centralization, perfectly hannonious, holding all under the orderly control of natui'e's own First Principles. Then, and not till then, can it be said upon the face of this earth, that Government is established, though emperors and kings should become numerous as the sands on the sea shore. APPENDIX I. 457 APPEXDIX L POLICY IN RAISma LOxiNS FOR THE STATE. It is very desirable that we should arrive at some definite decision in reference to the constantly-recurring recourse to loans. The public were recently alarmed for awhile, by a suggested loan of 12,000,000Z. for fortifications; during the Eussian war it was re- sorted to with little hesitation — the Irish famine supplied a suuilar pretext. We shall possibly excite some surprise, when we gravely state, that a review of the state of our finances during the great French war, from 1793 to 1815, justifies us in the opinion, that a recourse to loans was unwarrantable and uncalled for. To obtain attention to an opinion so strongly expressed, we must refer to the results the national balance sheets supply : — The total charges on account of tlie Funded and Unfounded Debt, from 1793 to 181 G £ inclusive, were 201,406,161 Total charges of the State, inclusive of war . 1,079,244,746 Jei,280,6o0,907 Kevenue raised 1,166,564,034 Excess of Expenditure over Receipts . . j£l 14,086,873 To meet this (comparatively speaking) trifling deficit, we raised by way of loan 520,000,000/. ; and after taking credit for the operations of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, a balance of debt remained in 1816, raised during the war, of 396,332,206/., which could have been saved by an annual increase of taxation durhig the twenty- two years of war, of a little in excess of 5,000,000/. per annum ; but it is still more instructive, that this deficiency took place in the first ten years of the war ; and that the revenue, from 1802 to 1816, would have been more than sufficient to have dcfrayrd the whole expenditure, haron,<^li;uu iiiul Vaux Ltu'd Lyiulhurst. Lord Cottcnliam . Lord Doniuaii Sir Thomas Enskino Sir James Wi>^ram Sir Kdward Sugik'ii Lord Laiiyilalc MISCELLANEOUS TENSIONS. 'Mrs. Rarali ITamiltou and Cliildivn, granted in the 37th year of George tlie Third's reign . 625 8 The Prince of Mecklenburgh-Strelitz, granted in tlic 38th year of George the Third's reign . 1,788 4 4 E;\rl Camperdown, granted in the 38th year of ■George the Third's reign .... 997 9 (See also 2000Z. in the Naval and Military list above.) Annuities to sundry persons for loss of emolu- ments by the Union of Ireland . . 2,539 8 9 Ditto to ditto who suffered by the Rebellion in 1799 235 8 6 Compensations to Officers of late Courts of Justice, &c. ...... SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES. The Speaker of the House of Commons The Keeper of the Lions in the Tower of London The Commissioners for auditing Public Accounts and Salaries, and contingencies in their office . The salaries of the Clergy in the West Lidies Salaries formerly charged on the hereditary revenues of Scotland ..... Two Inspectors of Anatomy in England And expenses of their office .... Inspector of ditto in Scotland, and ditto 19,768, 17 ^£25,954 8 3 5,000 206 49,831 11 5 20,300 6,124 2 4 200 628 13 6 162 IMPERIAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 465 Salaries and contingent expenses, National Debt Office ........ The Comptroller-General of the Exchequer The Keeper of the Tennis Court Salaries and expenses in the office of the Eegistrar- General of Bii-ths, Deaths, and ]\Iarriages Salaries and expenses in the office of the Com- missioners of Tithes Expenses in the office for the issue of Exchequer Bills for public works, and for West India relief ........ The Comptroller of the jMint .... Compensation to the Universities of the United Kingdom, for the loss of books under the Copyright Act Office of Metropolitan Buildings Inclosure Commissioners .... Lunacjr Commissioners, and expenses . Copyhold Commission, and ditto Fees for passmg South Sea Company's accounts House of Commons' Clerk-Assistant . Ditto second ditto Ditto Sergeant-at-Arms Ditto Deputy ditto Ditto Speaker's Secretary . Salaries in the Paymaster of Civil Services' office Ditto of the Inspectors of the Schools of Anatomy in Ireland ...... The Eoyal Irish Academy, Ireland Allowances to sundry persons, Act 41 Geo. III. Ireland ...... Compensation to ditto ditto, Geo. IV, The late Irish Treasury .... Tlie Board of Education, and expenses, Ireland The Board of Charitable Bequests, ditto The Eegistrar-General of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Ireland Maynooth College Colleges in Ireland ..... £ 13,600 2,000 83 s. d. 35,685 18 9 14,412 19 9 1,145 289 3,029 3,000 16,677 12,058 2,512 225 2,500 1,000 1,200 800 500 1,000 470 146 1,567 2,777 183 600 1,150 3,463 26,360 20,811 10 1 10 10 8 16 9 13 9 17 8 17 4 15 2 4 14 4 1 5 ^£251,702 6 10 Ji II 4(iG appendix II. SALARIES OP THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS. £ t. 9,000 J France, Ambassador .... a. i Secretary of Embassy 1,037 1 7 i. 1 First paid Attache . 400 Second paid Attach6 300 Ottoman Ambassador .... 7,000 Porte, Secretary of Embassy . 737 18 6 Oriental Secretary 500 Third paid Attache 250 Fourth paid Attache 250 Fifth paid Attache 250 Sixth paid Attache . 250 EussiA, Envoy Extraordinary and IMini- ster Plenipotentiary . G,182 4 1 Secretary of Legation 1,102 17 2 First paid Attache 400 Second paid Attache 300 Austria, Envoy Extraordinary and ]\Iini- ster Plenipotentiary . 1,551 2 4 Secretary of Embassy 817 10 Secretary of Legation . 415 First paid Attache 350 Second paid Attach^ 139 8 6 Spain, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary 5,900 Secretary of Legation . 550 Paid Attach^ .... 205 13 6 Prussia, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary . 4,090 7 Secretary of Legation 886 Paid Attach6 250 United Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- States, ster Plenipotentiary 4,6G3 13 2 Secretary of Legation . 782 Paid Attach6 .... 35 19 1 Two Sicilies, Envoy Extraordinary and ]\Iini- ster Plenipotentiary . 4,400 Secretary of Legation 500 Paid Attach^ 104 3 4 IMPERIAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 467 £ Portugal, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary • • 4,765 7 Secretary of Legation . • 198 3 4 Paid Attache . • « 250 Brazil, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary . • 4,500 Secretary of Legation • • 508 Paid Attache . 250 Holland, Envoy Extraordinary and Miiii- ster Plenipotentiary • • 2,631 8 10 Secretary of Legation . . 1,358 Paid Attache . • • 570 Sweden, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary . . 1,841 12 8 Secretary of Legation . 1,265 Hanover, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary . • 3,326 11 Secretary of Legation • • 807 Belgium, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary . • 3,091 7 1 Secretary of Legation • • 816 Paid Attache , 250 Denmark, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary . 4,108 15 9 Secretary of Legation . • 750 Bavaria, Envoy Extraordinary and Mini- ster Plenipotentiary 2,852 15 Secretary of Legation . 1,181 Saxony, Minister Plenipotentiary 2,300 Secretary of Legation . 850 Paid Attache . 250 Tuscany, Minister Plenipotentiary 1,006 9 Secretary of Legation 890 Paid Attache 500 Swiss Cantons, Minister Plenipotentiary 1,868 15 Secretary of Legation . 695 9 Greece, Minister Plenipotentiary 2,800 3 Secretary of Legation . 650 Paid Attache . II 250 11 2 468 APPENDIX II. Mexico, New Grenada, Buenos Ayres, Venezuela, Peru, Chili, LIoNTE Video, Sardinia, TVURTEMBURG, Frankfort, Bolivia, Central America, !RHnistor rieniiiotontiaiy Socrt'tavy of Legation raid Altacho Chavi^c d' AlVairos ^Minister Plenipotentiary Cliarg6 d' Afiaires Charge d' Affaires Charg6 d' Affaires Charge d' Afiaires Envo}'- Extraordinary and INlini- stcr Plenipotentiary Secretary of Legation . Paid Attache .... Envoy Extraordinary and ]\Iini- ster Plenipotentiary . Secretary of Legation Paid Attache Envoy Extraordinary and JNIini- stcr Plenipotentiary Paid Attache Charge d' Affaii-es Charge d' Afltiires £ s. d. 876 16 1 2,380 200 3 Go 3,300 209 3G5 3G5 3G5 4,100 750 200 2,228 G 11 400 39G 16 8 2,82G 5 9 3G7 3G5 365 £122,356 17 7 pensions of the diplomatic corps. Sir Robert Adair .... Visconnt Strangford .... Sir Edward Tliornton .... Alexander Cockburn, Esq. . John P. Morier, Esq. .... Bartholomew Frere, Esq. George Hammond, Esq. .... The Eight Honourable Henry Pierrepoint . Colin Mackenzie, Esq. A. S. Douglas, Esq. Terrick Hamilton, Esq. .... Viscount Ponsonby .... Earl of Orford .... 2,056 2,056 1,786 1,516 1,516 799 10 1,066 1,0G6 886 706 706 2,125 706 IMPERIAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE . 469 E. P. Werry, Esq. The Eight Honourable James Talbot Sir Henry "Willock Rev. Thomas Penrose Edward James Dawkms, Esq. William Turner, Esq. Viscount Melbourne . Sir George Jackson Lord Erskine H. Mandeville, Esq. Sir Arthur Aston . , Lord Heytesbury H. Hamilton, Esq. Honourable "W. E. Strangways Earl of !Morton Sir li. PakeiJiam W. G. Ousoley, Esq. . C. Eankhead, Esq. £ s. d. 436 131 10 346 106 10 786 900 1,700 300 1,276 900 700 1,700 1,300 900 436 675 500 350 ^30,441 10 SALARIES TO OFFICERS OF COURTS OF JUSTICE IN GREAT BRITAIN. Master of the Polls . . . . • . . 7,000 Vice-Chancellor 4,683 18 2 Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench 8,000 Eour Puisne Judges of Ditto . . : , 20,000 Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas . 7,000 Four Puisne Judges of Ditto .... 20,000 Lord Chief Baron of the Coiu-t of Exchequer . 7,000 Four Barons Ditto . . . 20,000 Cursitor Baron Ditto ... 243 Judge of the High Court of Admiralty . . 4,000 Assistant Judge of the Court of Sessions, Middlesex 1,200 Clerk of the Hanaper in the Court of Chancery . 1,091 Expenses of the EoUs' Chapel . • . 225 Clerk of the Patents, Court of Chancery . . 400 Tlie Ck-rk of the Crown, Court of Chancery . 1,000 Korth and South Wales Circuits . . . 809 19 2 Miscellaneous Services . . . 2,656 10 2 ^105,309 7 6 0,339 10 9 1,112 3,017 1 0,!»()0 4,40i 8 5 470 APPENDIX 11. SALAUIES, COMPENSATIONS, &0. TO OFFICIOUS OP COURTS OF JUSTICE IN GREAT BRITAIN. £ s. Compousations for the loss of fi>os aiul oiuulu- monta to suiulry porsous of the Four Courts Late ^Irti-shalsea Courts ..... Payments to certain persons in tlio Queen's Prison Salaries of Tn-usurei-s of Comity Courts . In aid of the foe fund of tlu^ Crown Oirico . Dofu'ienoy of the fee fund of the Keyistrars, and INfarshals' OlHeo 879 4 2 Compensations to persons in Courts of Eequcst, &c. 14,982 12 Ditto in Palace Court and Court of Eocord for Manor of Peveril .... 7,573 9 8 Deficiencies of fees iu Master's OfTico, Court of Connnon Pleas ...... 2,472 4 8 Outstanding debts of Courts of Ecquests . 28,000 £112,730 18 9 REVISING barristers' REMUNERATION. For revising the lists of voters in England and Wales £17,850 LONDON POLICE EST.U3LISnMENT. The expenses of the Police Courts . . . 32,884 11 8 Ditto of the mounted police, the river police, and the police van force . Superannuation of the late horse and foot patrol Towards maintaining the police of the Metropolis The Commissioners of the Metropolitan police SALARIES TO OFFICERS OF COURTS OF JUSTICE IN IRELAND, Lord Chancellor ..... Master of the Eolls .... Five Masters in Ordinary .... Two Examiners in Chief Accountant General, and tliree clerks . Other Officers ..... 20,000 . 5,075 4 3 73,615 13 10 2,322 5 jei33,897 9 11 G IN IRELAND. 8,000 3,9G9 4 8 . 1 4,2 G5 5 10 738 10 1,181 11 4 4,357 3 6 IMPERIAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 471 £ s. d. Court of Queen's Bencli 28,309 19 4 Court of Common Pleas 22,674 19 5 Court of Exchequer ...... 30,882 1 6 Miscellaneous .... . 29,612 13 11 jei43,991 9 6 32 Assistant-Barristers for Counties . . £16,322 9 MISCELLANEOUS DISBURSEMENTS, NO. I. To pay interest and sinking fund on Eussian Loan raised in Holland ...... To pay interest and sinking fund on Greek loan Barracks in Eegent's Park .... In support of Greenwich. Hospital Compensation to sundry persons for loss of duties on coinage of Tin ..... Turnpike roads in South Wales .... Merchant-Seamen's fund, expenses . Erection of piers and improvements of harbours in Ireland ....... County Infirmaries in ditto .... Buildings at ^MajTiooth in ditto .... Compensation to Barristers for registering votes in ditto 2,640 15 ^£200,294 3 2 POLICE FORCES IN IRELAND. Irish Constabulary Police 560,125 19 1 Ditto Eevenue Police 44,219 1 2i Ditto Dublin Police ■ 39,000 £643,345 3i EXPENSES OF THE SUPPRESSION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. Bounty on slaves and tonnage on slave vessels . 84,761 19 10 Salaries and expenses of the Commissioners for the suppression of the Slave trade . . 15,150 Support of captured Negroes . . . . 46,484 7 3 jei46.396 7 1 89,958 8 4 47,541 8 8 5,400 20,000 16,683 15 987 9 3 10,000 3,700 3,251 16 11 130 10 472 APPENDIX 11. Civil contingencies Secret service money £ s. d. 01,000 30,007 12 A- 12 1,007 VI Public "Works and Euililincrs in tho United Ivingdoni i?r)01,744 9 3 SALARIES AND EXPENSES OF THE PUBLIC DEPARTMENTS. Salaries and expenses of the two Houses of Parliament .... Treasury ..... Homo Office .... Foreign Ollioe .... Colonial Office .... Council Office .... Salary of Lord Privy Seal Charge of Paymaster General's Office. Salaries, &c.. Exchequer . Ditto State Paper Office Ecclesiastical Commissioners' Offiice Commissioners of Poor Laws . Mint Expenses .... Eailway Department .... Office of Public Eecords . Inspector of Factories Salaries of certain Officers in Scotland Household of the Lord Lieutenant in Ireland Salaries of the Chief and Under Secretaries' Office in Ireland .... Paymaster of Civil Sei-vices in ditto . Commissioners of Public "Works in ditto . Printing and Stationery for the Public Depart- ments ..... General Board of Health Central Board of Health, Ireland. Law Charges, England Law Charges in Scotland. Criminal Prosecutions, Ireland . 85,590 5 4 52,080 5 7 . 2G,587 3 11 GG,541 2 2 . 35,882 1 7 4G,011 5 11 1,500 23,600 6,165 11 10 2,619 17 2 3,G00 220,951 11 7 . • 77,694 7,246 . 11,534 9 8 13,094 1,629 12 4 6,424 7 n 6 . 23,525 12 2 6,080 2 11 . 32,786 . 125,313 9 1 10,058 14 6 6(jQ 14 9,000 . 90,086 10 8 50,331 9 IMPERIAL REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. 473 £ s. d. Mint Prosecutions .... 7,555 Expenses of the Court of Exchequer . 12,204 19 11 Insolvent Debtors Court .... 8,750 £1,064,929 18 7 In aid of County Eates in England and "Wales, and for expenses of Prosecution . . , .£246,083 13 5 PRISON AND COXVICT SERVICES. Genera] Superintendence ..... 14,823 2 7 Prisons and Convict Establishments at home . 122,735 10 3 Maintenance of Prisoners in County Gaols and Bethlem Hospital 139,098 8 6 Expenses of Transportation . . . . 117,519 18 8 Convict Establishments in the Colonies . . 110,576193 JP644,753 19 3 Education, Science, and Art .... £464,164 5 4 CHARGES PAID FOR THE COLONIES. Clergy in IN'orth America Salaries to Governors in the West Indies . Ditto to Magistrates in ditto .... Colonial Land and Emigration Boards Lighthouses abroad ...... Indian Department, Canada .... Civil Department, Heligoland .... Ditto Bahamas .... Ditto Prince Edward's Island . Ditto Bermudas .... Ditto Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Gold Coast ...... Ditto St. Helena .... Ditto Falkland Islands Ditto Port Essington Ditto Labuan .... Ditto Hong Kong, and Consuls in China 24,984 19 8 6,310 16,528 31,000 17,179 16 20,662 15 8 5,184 3 1,423 1,910 1,500 4,561 16,580 7,370 8 11 8,500 1,103 3,914 474 APPENDIX II. Civil Government, Now Zealand . . . 52,030 Pitto Western Australia . . 9,499 4 2 For Militia and Voluuteera in Canada . . 25 1 5 For Cholera exjienses in Jamaica . . . 1,999 12 10 ^232,205 1 8 Superannuations, Eetired Allowances, and Cra- tuities for cliaritivblo and other purposes £190,483 17 11 SPECIAL AND TEMPORARY OBJECTS. Extraordinary expenses of Ministers at Foreign Courts 19,800 Puhlic Works, Isle of INIan .... 2,550 Ambassador's House at Constantinoiilc . . 1,192 8 Encumbered Estates' Commission, Ireland . 11,344 15 11 Culfe-street Savings' Bank .... 14,000 Medals for Ai-my and Navy, for services from 1793 to 1814 10,507 12 C Expenses of taking the Census of the Population 130,000 Ditto for the Commissioners for building additional Chui-ches 3,000 ^192,304 IG 5 Salaries to Consuls abroad .... j£147,3G9 18 2 Money paid to the Bank of England to supply deficiencies on the Balance reserved for un- claimed Dividends £23,114 8 3 IMPERIAL RE\'ENtJE AND EXPENDITURE. 475 PAYMENTS MADE OUT OF THE IXCOME rs ITS PEOGEESS TO THE EXCHEQUEE, AND OTEE WHICH PAELIAilEXT EXERCISES NO CONTEOL. GREAT BRITAIN. £ s. d. Charges for collecting tlie Customs . . .761,092 17 11 Harbour Vessels 2,G92 10 1 Ci-uisers 48,844 3 1 Preventive Water Guard .... 265,372 17 8 Land Guard 1,716 4 4 £1,079,718 13 1 Charges for collecting the Excise . . . 690,673 14 10 Eevenue Police 7,439 10 Charges of collecting the Stamps . . . 128,676 H Ditto the T.ind, Assessed, and Income and Pro- perty tax 308,563 5 4f Post-office Expenditure 1,110,090 18 If Poundage on certain Pensions . . . . 86 7 10 ^£2,245,529 16 4| IRELAND. Charges of collecting the Customs . . . 97,610 6 2 Harbour Vessels 792 1 8 Cruisers • 9,291 5 5 Preventive Water Guard 103,344 2 8 Charges of collecting the Excise . . . 107,143 9 H Ditto the Stamps 16,093 3 5 Post-office Expenditure 183,327 12 1 ^£517,602 n QUARANTINE AND WAREHOUSE EXPENSES. "Warehousing Department .... 121,314 18 4 For keeping accounts of the Trade and Navigation 8,074 11 4 In the execution of the Merchant Seamen's Act 915 17 9 Quarantine Expenses ...... 3,747 7 1 £134,052 14 6 47G ArrENDix II. CROWN LANDS EXPENSES. Salaries and Allowanocs in tho office of Woods I'er Contugo and .VUowanco to Eocoivcrs of tho l^md Ivovenuo ..... Incidental Expenses and Diabnrsemcnts Supcrannnatious and retiring Allowiuices Allowtmccs npon tho abolition of offices Ancient Pensions and Payments to Schools Salaries and AlluMancea Compensation upon tlio abolition of offices Payments for investigating and del'ending rights Ditto for repairs and maintenance of Buildings Treasury and other office fees . MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES, NO Expenses of the Herring Fishery Board Trinity Light and Pilotage Duos Com])ensation Allowances to Irish Offices . Augmentation of Stipends to Scotch Clergy Commissioners of Poads .... In support of the Civil Government, Scotland Population Eetiu'n, Scotland Corn Eeturn, &c. .... Salaries to Inspectors of Corn Eeturns Expenses of Clothing on removal of Convicts Salaries to Process Servers .... Expenses under the Militia Act Payments ditto PENSIONS. Duke of Grafton .... Earl Cowper . . . . . Late Charles Boone's Assignees Duke of Marlborough . Heirs of Duke Schomberg £ s. d. ds 31,370 15 11 C>,^iG 5 1 4,203 U 5 5,2G2 12 4 1,712 10 10,803 3 G 5,055 9 222 2 s 29,811 11 3 5G,507 G 7 753 18 4 £152,550 18 4 >. 2. 15,000 37,450 8 49,297 15 9! 16,955 7 8 5,437 12 6 . 134,129 6 26,219 4 8 647 17 1 4,5G8 2 6| 3,358 10 ^ 9,293 14 6 13 10 44 15 ^£302,415 19 Of 10,599 2 1,595 16 1,200 4,000 2,900 £20,294 18 IMPERIAL REVEXIE AND EXPEXDITfRE. 477 EECAPITULATIOK "War Expendituie for Past Wars Present Establiskments, Xaval and Militaiy Eoyalty — the Civil List and Pensions Ditto — Annuities to the Eoyal Family Ditto — Pensions to Servants . . , Pensions for !Xaval and Military services Ditto for Civil Service .... Ditto for Judicial ditto .... Ditto for Undefined ditto . Salaries and Allowances .... Salaries and Pensions of the Diplomatic Corps Ditto to Officers of Courts of Justice in Great Britain ..... Ditto and Compensations to ditt o Revising Barristers London Police Establishment Salaries to Officers of Courts of Justice, L^eland Assistant-Barristers, Ireland . Miscellaneous Disbursements, ^o. 1 Police Forces in Ii'eland Suppression of the Slave Trade Civil Contingencies Public Works and Buildings Salaries and Expenses of the Public Depart- ment County Rates Prison and Convict Services . Education, Science, and Art Colonial Expenses Superannuation Allowances Special and Temporary objects Consuls abroad .... Bank of England .... Customs, Great Britain Excise, &c., ditto .... Customs, &c., Ireland M £ : d. 28,017,127 5 8 14,873,857 6 3 397,730 171,000 101,592 17 7 32,500 41,539 17 4 27,578 6 1 25,954 8 3 251,702 6 10 152,798 7 7 105,309 7 6 112,730 18 9 17,850 133,897 9 11 143,991 9 6 16,322 9 200,294 3 2 643,335 H 146,396 7 1 121,007 12 501,744 9 3 1,064,929 18 7 246,083 13 5 644,753 19 3 464,164 5 4 232,265 1 8 199,483 17 11 192,394 16 5 147,369 18 2 23,114 8 3 1,079,718 13 1 2,245,529 16 4J 517,602 H 473 APPENDIX II. £ f. d. Quarantine, &c 134,052 U 6 Crown L;xnds 152,550 18 4 Miscellaneous, Ko. 2 .... 302,415 19 Of Pensions 20,294 18 Actual Expenditure . ^£53,902,994 12 91 Sur}>lus ns stated in Finance Accoimts . . 2,831,715 17 8a Add Error in account of 1850, No. G3, of present Finance Account, page 83 . . 100,000 £56,834,710 10 SU Total surplus as above, ^£2,931,715 17^?. Sf\rd. Note. — It will bo seen that the actual surplus for the year ended 5th January, 1852, is ^£2,931,715 17 8y%d., being ^£100,000 more than the surplus stated in the Finance Accounts, the error arising from a wrong sununation in Accomit 63, page 83, as above stated, the entire expenditure of the Government being thereby inflated by that amount. The expenditure, as stated in the account, was ^£54,0029,94 12s. 9^d., wliile it was, in fact, only ^£53,902,994 125. did* * Furnished by the " Elements of Taxation." REVENUE OF CUSTOMS. 479 APPENDIX III. An Account of the Gross Eeceipt and Net Produce of the Eeveuue of Customs in the United Kiagdom in the year ended 5th January, 1852, showing the amount collected on each article usually contributing £1000 or more to the Eevenue of the United Kingdom. LIST OF AETICLES. DUTIES INWAKDS. Almonds (not bitter) Apples, Eiiw Baskets Beer, Spruce Books Boots, Shoes, and Calashes Boot Fronts Butter Capers Cassia Lignea . Cheese .... Chicory, or any other Vegetable Matter appli cable to the uses of Chicory or Coffee China, Porcelain, and EartheuAvare Clocks Cloves • . . . Cocoa, Cocoa Husks and Shells, and Chocolate Coffee • • • Coir Eope, Twine, and Strands . Copper Ore and Eegulua . Corks ready made £ s. 6,844 9 10,893 18 3,594 19 4,662 9,097 2 3,335 2 5,058 17 166,780 10 2,896 18 1,073 6 83,241 10 2,487 4 3,990 15 7,680 19 3,026 18,912 444,670 2,795 2,081 5,760 1 6 19 16 11 d. 1 8 9 3 2 3 1 8 8 5 4 1 6 7 1 480 APPENDIX IIT. Corn, ^It^al, and Flour Cottou I^Iiuiufactures, -wliully or in part made up . Currants .... Eggs .... Embroidery and Needlework Figs .... Fisli, Anchovies Ditto of all other sorts Flowers, Ai-tificial Ginger, dry Ditto, preserved Glass Bottles, covered with Wicker, or of Grocn or Common Glass Glass, of all other sorts . Gloves, of Leather . Grapes .... Hair, or Goats' Wool, ^Manufactures of Hams . . . . Hats, or Bonnets, of Straw Honey . . . . Hops .... Iron and Steel, wrought . Lace, Thread Ditto, made by the hand, commonly called Cushion or Pillow Lace, whether of Cotton, Silken, or Lmen Thread Linens .... Liquorice Juice and Paste Mace .... Mats and Mattings Musical Instruments Nutmegs Nuts, Small Nuts Ditto, AValnuts Oil, Chemical, Essential and Perfumed of all sorts .... Onions . . . . Opium .... £ s. d. 501,921 4 -t 2,074 IG 5 357,851 13 1 42,112 10 10,859 2 9 25,040 6 1,577 18 1,842 5 7 3 6 16,175 11 6,534 5 10 2,8G1 13 1,540 7 5 9,435 2 4 42,350 10 2 1,914 13 10 2,199 1 7 1,936 18 3 2,384 18 11 1,107 5 2 212 10 1 2,770 10 3 1,874 17 7 5,922 4,321 8 8 2 9 9,998 13 10 2,847 12 8 1,717 6 6,264 10 21,855 1 18,508 8 4,716 1 10 1 12,372 7 6 2,541 9 2,623 7 1 re-\t;nue of customs. 481 £ s. d. Oranges and Lemons 81,086 12 1 Paper, printed, painted, or stained, Paper Hang- ings or Flock Paper 2,923 8 4 Paper of other sorts 1,702 7 8 Paper cf the Manufacture of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands . 1,064 18 6 Pears, raw .... 2,128 4 Pepper .... 86,670 2 8 Pictures .... 3,067 3 Pimento .... 1,031 13 3 Plate, Gold and Silver . 1,698 18 1 Plums, Dried or Preserved, French Plums and Prunelloes 4,378 15 10 Potato Flour .... 1,124 12 5 Poultry, Alive or Dead 1,654 9 10 Prints and DraAvings 1,957 1 Prunes .... 9,270 14 1 Eaisins .... 163,912 11 6 Eice .... 10,951 16 9 Ditto in the husk 1,348 19 1 Sago .... 1,996 15 1 Seeds, Clover .... 41,007 17 6 Silk JNIanufacturcs 213,709 10 10 Smalts .... 629 8 Soap .... 1,100 13 7 Spirits, Colonial and Foreign : — Eum .... 1,097,920 13 4 Brandy 1,393,862 3 Geneva .... 19,772 1 9 Of other sorts 1.3,235 1 2 Spirits of the Manufacture of the Channel Islands .... 461 17 10 Succades and Confectionery, including all Fruits and Vegetables preserved in Sugar 3,955 1 3 Sugar, unrefined 3,637,061 10 4 Ditto, refined, and Sugar Candy 346,542 14 5 Ditto, Molasses 175,435 13 9 Tallow .... 67,839 16 Tea ..... 5,900,624 13 I I 7 482 Al'PENDlX III. Till . £ s. 11,238 19 d. 9 Tobacco and Siuifl' 4,4GG,4G8 19 4 Toys .... 4,971 4 VerniicoUi and Maccaroni. 2,024 17 9 Vinegar .... 1,221 9 "Watches .... 10,684 13 3 Water, Cologne, in Flasks 1,388 9 1 "VVino .... 1,77G,246 13 "Wood and Timber : — Pirc^vood G,043 8 8 Tiatb\\-ood .... 7,347 7 5 Spars or Poles 1,641 U 11 Deals, Battens, &c., sawn or split . 308,474 6 11 Timber not sawn or split, or otherwise dressed 198,365 5 Woollen IManufoctures, wholly or in part made up 9,G29 8 11 Yarn, Worsted, dyed or coloured, or fit for em- broidery, or other fancy purposes . 3,213 3 10 All other Articles imported 99,696 12 10 • Duties Inwards . _ ii22,120,533 10 11 Duties collected at the Isle of Man . 26,245 4 9 Rent of Legal Quays, Warehouse Eent, &c. 30,285 15 3 Proceeds of Goods sold for the Duties, &c. 2,605 16 9 Eeceived from the Corporation of Manchester, in repayment of the Expenses of the Customs Establishment of that place, for the year ended 10th October, 1850 . . . . 2,722 11 4 Proceeds of Surcharges, Sale of Old Stores, &c. 14,682 3 2 Total (including outstanding Balances) .£22,197,075 2 2 REVENUE OF EXCISE, 483 An Account of the Gross Receipt and Net Produce of the Revenue of Excise in the United Kingdom, in the year ended 5th January, 1852. ARTICLES. £ s. d. Game Certificates .... 9,298 16 Hackney Carriages . . . 88,032 10 Hops ..... 420,028 4 6| Licenses .... 1,160,570 13 5i Malt ..... 5,035,559 17 8i Paper ..... 928,876 17 2i Post Horses ..... 145,432 7 4| Railways. .... 287,331 11 3| Stage Carriages .... 217,052 2 8| Soap ..... 1,043,026 16 2\ Spirits ..... 6,030,323 17 lOi Sugar (Home-made) . . . 3 4 3;| Ditto used in Brewing . . . 153 2 7i iei5,371,090 1 2|* * " Elements of Taxation." London: Printed by JfDU