>i^^^^MMaHMHHBte4aW 'V««a«s*i*?SrSSSg*J-^ai(?t-' '^t^ 47 ■•■'f.*? 1- JAMES MILL. A. KING AND COMl'AN^■, PRINTERS TO THE L'N IVIORSIIY OF ABERDEliN. Ex Librig C. K. OGDF.' JAMES MILL. A BIOGRAPHY. BY ALEXANDER BAIN, LL.D., EMERITUS PKOFESSOK OF I.OCIIC IS Till'. UNIVKKSITY OF ABERDEEN. LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 1882. [,■/// rii^/Us reserved.^ UNIVEKS'-.f SANTA BAr:ijAiLV ■Or;nA PREFACE. Ax account of the circumstances that led me to under- take the present bioi^raphy will be the best apology for its defects. It occurred to Professor Masson, after he went to Edinburgh to occupy the chair of English Literature in the University, to make a search in the registers for facts bearing on James ]M ill's career during the seven years that he was a student there. The results were more interesting than either of us expected, and I preserved them on the chance of their one day being available. About the same time, I happened to meet the Rev. John Bain, Erce Church minister of Mill's native parish. Logic Pert, in Forfarshire. In the course of conversa- tion, he imparted to me a number of traditions that he had gathered up in the parish respecting Mill's family and connexions. He farther volunteered to make still more particular enquiries, in order to gratify my curiosity ; and the information that he thereby procured, I treasured up along with the college facts. In 1867, John Stuart Mill was engaged in editing his father's Analysis of the Mind. Thinking that he might make this an opportunity of saying something as to his father's general character and history, I mentioned to him that I had become possessed of those biographical par- ticulars. His answer was, that he was almost entirely vi Preface. unacquainted with his father's early career in Scotland, which he himself hardly ever alluded to, and could not undertake the trouble of getting it up. He added — "Most of what I could tell about my father from my own knowledge is already committed to writing, in an autobiographical paper, which I shall leave behind me for publication if I do not publish it sooner ; and will be better reserved for that purpose." This was of course decisive. I thought no more about collecting facts until the Autobiography should appear. That was a great disappointment, so far as the father was concerned. Admirable and authoritative as an eloge, it was nothing as a biography. There were many interesting statements that would have taken their place in a biography, but such an account of James Mill's career as the public expect in any work that is called a Life, was certainly not forthcoming. In order that a complete Life might some day be possible, I thought it right to push a little farther the enquiries that had been already begun, and to fix the traditions that were in danger of perishing. I visited the parish of Logic Pert, under the guidance of my namesake, the Free Church minister, and saw the site of Mill's father's cottage, and the places identified with his early years. I interrogated all the persons that could give me information, and pushed my enc|uiries by corres- pondence, and by a search in public registers. From the facts thus obtained, I compiled an article for MiXl) No. I., comprehending Mill's early Life in Scotland. Some of the materials already gained bore upon the commencement of his career in London ; and, having received all the assistance that the surviving members of his family could give, I prepared two more Preface. vii articles, extending over the remainder of his life ; the aim being to fix and preserve all the information, as well as to obtain corrections and additions from whoever might be able to furnish such. The consideration was naturally forced upon me, that I had become possessed of advantages for a complete biography such as hardly anybody after me could attain to. This, however, necessarily involved a new class of labours. I had to face the circumstance that the materials are unusually scanty. Time had already been lost ; those that, from personal knowledge, could have given infor- mation as to Mill's early history, were nearly all dead. Several invaluable collections of letters have been destroyed. Instead of making a selection from a copious mass of documents, I have been obliged to use almost everything that came into my hands. Inasmuch as those writings of Mill that made great part of his influence on his time are not accessible, except in a small number of Libraries, I thought it right to make a full abstract of the more important of them ; including the contributions to the Encyclopcvdia Britaii- nica, and the chief articles in the periodicals. It was only in this way that the general reader could be made to taste of his characteristic vigour and originality. Another requisite was to supply the needful elucida- tions of Mill's exertions from the history of the time, and from the biographies of persons whose career was mixed up with his. I have done this part to the best of my ability; but, not being specially versed beforehand in the matters needful, I may have made mistakes as well as omissions. The help that has been rendered by various persons will be seen as the occasions arise. I have, however, viii Preface. some debts of general acknowledgment, to be paid in advance. From one of the very few surviving friends of James Mill, Mr. Andrew Bisset, who wrote his biography in the Encyclopcedia Britannica, and in the Peiuiy Cyclo- pcedia, I have received a large amount of valuable assistance. The published correspondence of the late Macvey Napier contains a number of important letters from Mill. The editor of the correspondence, the present Mr. Mac- vey Napier, has allowed me to peruse a number of other letters not included in the published volume. He has also been helpful in other ways, from having been an official in the Examiner's Office, in the India House, while Mill was yet alive. I am indebted to the courtesy of Lord Brougham in permitting me to copy the letters in his possession from Mill to his late brother, the renowned Henry Brougham. The value of these letters will be appreci- ated in their place. The portrait is from a drawing that belonged to Mrs. Grotc. I am informed that a still better likeness was at one time in her possession ; but I cannot learn what became of it. AuiiRUEEN, January, 1SS2. CONTENTS. Chapter I. EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND, 1773-1802. Birth ; T^ocality described, Parentiige : Mother's Family — tlie Fentons, Mother's Cliaracter, The Barclay's of the " I'rig," Mill's ICarly Teaching and Circumstances, Sent to Montrose Acad.emy ; Joseph Hume his Conipai Assistance from the I'arisli Minister, Mr. Peters, The Fcttercairn Family, Might have gone to Marischal College, . Btxomes Tutor to Miss Stuart, of Fcttercairn, . luiters the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Professors of the time. Attendance on Dugald Stewart, Finlayson's Logic Class, Divinity Studies, .... Divinity Professors, .... Reading in the Theological Library ; List of Books, College Companions — M'C'rie, Leyden, Thoutas T' Brewster, William Wallace, Brougham, Trials before the Presbytery ; Licensed to Preach, Reminiscences of his Preaching, Tutor to Miss Stuart, of Fcttercairn, Fcttercairn House, .... Metaphysicians of the Neighbourhood, . ('onnexion with Aberdeen, The linjthers Thomson (Dr. Thomas and Dr. James), Intimate Friends in ICdinburgh ; the Select Literary Society, Tutorship in the Family of the Marquis of Tweeddale, Mill "at Home," at Nortlnvater Bridge, The Household ; Mill's -Study ; Early Pedestrianism, . Friends ; Traits of Father and Mother, . Failure to become Minister of Craig, Davii 13 16 17 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3^ Contents. Edinburgh Societies and Edinburgh Contemporaries, . No clue as to his first impulses towards Liberalism and Political Philosophy, ....... Possible influence of Contemporary events : — French Revolution ; Edinburgh Political Martyrs, ..... Summary of his Edinburgh Studies, ..... General estimate of Mill's Equipment, on his leaving Scotland for London, .....,.,. PAGE 33 34 ib. 35 Chapter II. START IN LONDON. 1 802—1808. The Journey to London, ...... Introductions to Literary men— Dr. Bisset ; Dr. Gifford ( Anti-Jacoh'ni l^cview) Proposes a Class of Jurisprudence, .... Ardent interest in Politics, ..... " The Eloquence of the House of Commons is nothing to the General Assembly,'' ....... Impressions of English Farming, .... London as seen by a Stranger, ..... Writes in the Anti-Jacobht Review — liis chief stay. First known Article on Mental Philosophy. Piraces himself up for hard work and poor living. Great Parliamentary Debate : Criticism of Leading Speakers, . Widening literary prospects, ..... Another great Debate, and further Criticisms, . Ivlits The Literary Journal (1802-1806), I'rospectus : Scoiie of the W^ork, .... Arrangements with Contributors, .... Retrospect of first year in London, .... Publication of the Z./Ztv-ary/o/cr/wi'/ (1803), Mill a Volunt(H'r ; I'Lxpected Invasion of Hona])artc, 'I'races of Mill's hand in the Literary Journal, Reviews in History, Hiography, Politics, and Theology, Lo'jks askanc(; at Apologetic Treatises, luirlicst known ]5ublication (1804): "An Essay on the Impolicy of Bounty on the Exportation of tirain, and on the Principles whic: ought to regulate the Connnerce of Grain '' — a pamphlet. Translation ( 1805) of Villers's The Reformatio}!, Nature of the Notes, ...... I'jiits the .S7. /,^w,'.f'.f r/ry/z/V/f (J805-1808?), . 'The Litcriiry Journal ehanges from a Weekly to a Moiulily, . Attempts to track Mill's Contributions, 36 37 38 ib. 39 40 ib. 41 ib. 42 ib. 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 //;. ib. 50 ib. ib. 51 52 ib. SS ib. Contents. Duties and Rights of a Biographer, .... Further traces of Mill's hand, ..... Marries Miss Harriet Burrow, ..... House in Kodnev Terrace, Pentonviile, 'istiniated income on Marriage, .... Mill's Family (nine children), ..... The Liti'rary Ji-nrnal Ct:a.scs {x?,o6\, .... Commences the ///j/t)rv c.'/"///(//« (1806-181 7. . Pamphlet, " Commerce Defended " (1807), refuting the p.~ible i;a-l'\ Pjrother's death (18031, Sister's .Marriage (1803), various troubles. Local Friends : Mr. Barclay and Mr. Peters V^exatious Creditors of his Father, .... Father's Death (18081 ; .'-lister's Family, Justification of Mill's conduct towards his own F.inuly and tow the B.irclavs, ...... u-ds PAGE 56 58 59 60 ib. 61 63 ib. 64 tb. 65 66 ib. 67 68 ib. 69 CHAPTKR HI. HISTORY OF INDIA: KDINBURGH RFATFAV: PIIlI.ANTIIkOPIST ; EDUCATION MO\'FMi:NT. 1808-1818. PrcpiTratory Siirvi-ys. Mill's Chief Friends, ..... Connexion with J i.KKMV Bkntii AM, Circumstances of F.arly Intercour'^e (iSoc-iSi.; , Queen S(|uare (18141, '"""1 Ford .Alihev (1S14-1810I, Bentham's Remarks on Mill decor 'ed by Bo\\ring\ " blam accurate and disparaging th:oughout," RlCARlxi (acquaintance b''gan tSiii, Brougham lacciu.iintance began jirobablv in Fdinlnitg';i, His fascination for .Mill, .... JosKPH IIl'MI-: (acfiuaintance began at Montrose Ac;idem\i, Fkancis Pl,.\f'}:. the Radical Tailor of Charing Cro'-s (1811!, His voluminous; and valuable MS.S. General .Mikanua (1808-18101, .... 71 73 n 78 79 xu Contents. Sir Samuel Romilly, Joseph Lowe, Francis Horner, William Allen, chemist, quaker, and philanthropist, The Philanthropist (quarterly, projected 1810), Co-operation oC Mill and Allen (1810-1817), Bell and Lancaster, . . , . , The Controversy alive, 1810, .... Early Operations of the Society, Lancaster's Personal Character, .... Bentham on " this self-styled Quaker," and the Movement, Mill's connexion with the Lancastrian Organisation, A Superior, or Chrestomathic School proposed (1813), . Mill and Bentham interested in the project. An Association formed (Feb., 1814) ; Mill one of the Trustees, Bentham' s Chrestomathia, .... The scheme, after many difficulties, finally abandoned (1820), Mill's Views on Religion prolmbly took final shape between t 1810, ...... Bcntham's Influence, ..... General Miranda, " the instrument of his final transformation, Mill was proof against Hume, .... His greatest difficulty tlie Moral one. Biographical Narrative Resumed. 808 and PAGE 80 81 82 ib. 83 ib. ib. ib. 86 ib. 87 90 ib. Writing in the Edinburgh Review : Article on Money and Exchange, Review of Fox's History [Animal Review, 1808), Ancient and Modern Historians compared, The Moral Element in Fox's Work, its great merit, Its weakness on the Speculative Side, . Defects of Fox's Style, .... On Bentham's " Scotch Reform " [Annual Review, 1808) High I^^stimate of Bentham, Intimacy of Bentham and Mill then begun, Public Events of the year, 91 92 ib. 93 94 95 ib. 96 97 ib. i8og. Articles on Miranda and Spanish America f Edin. Rev. ), On China fEdin. Rev. ) ; Chinese Civilization, Bentham on Libel Law, and the Packing of Juries, I'lxix-ctation of Bentham's Elements of Paeking, First Visit to I5arrow Green, .... Revising Bcntham's Introductioti to Rationale 0/ Evidence, Bentham in danger of I'rosecution, Article 011 Bexon's Code de la Legislation Penale (Edin. Rev.) " satlly mangled," ...... ib. 98 ib. 99 100 lOI 102 103 : Contents. Charge of " most impudent plagiarism," Mill's E.xculpation, .... Preparatory Triiiiniing of the Article, Still Revising Bcntham on Evidence, Brougham protests against Bentham's Neology, Strictures on Bentham, .... Voltaire on different degrees of proof. Parliamentary Discussion on Freedom of the Press, 1810. Attempt to live in Milton's house, .... Removes to Newington Green, .... Further Articles in the Edinburgh Review, Attacks the East India Company's Government, On Religious Toleration /^/:'(//«. Rev. J, Jeffrey's "Care in Revising and Preparing Contributions," illustrated on article on " Memoirs of Prince Eugene," Review of the Code Xapoleon (Criminal Procedure), . Droits of Admiralty : Correspondence with Brougham, David Barclay in London ; Mill's interest in his Scotch friends, Miranda takes his dejjarture, ..... Leading Political Events of the Year, .... 1811. Jeffrey's Scale of Payment, .... Severe handling of an Apology for Napoleon's despotism, On Liberty of the Press (Ed in. Rev.), The Piiilanthropi%t is started ; drift of the work, Allen on the Bell-Lancaster question. Mill the Medium of Communication between Brougham and Bcntb.am Introduction to Ricardo, anrl to Place, l^^ntham's Work for the Year, . Public Events of the Year, PAGE 103 104 ib. 105 106 107 108 ib ib. ib. 109 ib. ib. ib. no //;. ib. ib. Ill 112 /•/;. ib. "3 114 "5 ib. ib. 116 Reviews Malcolm's Political History of India f Edi?i. Rev. ), On the Conniiercial Monoi^oly of the li. L Coni])any f R.diit. Rev. J, The Philanthropist, Vol. II. : powerful argument against the liellites Articles in Favour of Toleration, .... Suggestions for a Jury System in India, by Bcntham and Mill Illness : Anxiety for John's training (in case of his own death) Bentham's Rationale cf E.vidcnce lying unpublished, . The Rev. Dr. James Lindsay, of Monkwell Street, Signing the Confession of Faith, Bentham's Pamphlet on Oaths, .... Brougliani in " The hermitage," ib. ib. 117 118 119 ib. 120 ib. 121 122 Contents. Public Events of the Year, The Examiner : Trial of the Hunts, 123 ib. 1813. Mill and Jeffrey, ...... Attacks the Church again, on the Lancastrian Schools question ( Edht. Rev.), Mill's last Edinburgh Review Pi.ri\c\(t (traceable) : on Malcolm's Sketch of the Sikhs, .... Articles in the Philanthropist, Summer Tour, by Bentham, Mill, and John Mill, in West of England (Oxford, Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth^ Portsmouth Last Annual Visit to Barrow Green, Further interest in the Lancaster Movement, Becomes Acquainted with Sir S. Romilly, Uses Influence in Favour of Joseph Hume, Bentham Works at Ontology and Logic, Mill Revises Bentham's Table of Springs 0/ Action, Public Events of the Year, 124 ib. ib. ib. 126 ib. ib. ib. 127 ib. ib. 1814. Removes to Queen Square, . . . . . .128 Invited by Macvey Napier to Contribute to the Supplement to the Eficyclopccdia Britannica ; Interview, .... ib. Brougham for Westminster ; his Liberal principles, . . . 129 First Year at Ford Abbey with Bentham, .... ib. F'ord Abbey described, . . . . . . .130 The Grounds, and Surrounding Country, .... 135 Work and fielaxation, ...... ib. Bentham's Writings at Ford Abbey, ..... 136 Misunderstanding with Bentham, . . , . . ib. Letter of Explanation, ....... ib. Proposes new Arrangements for the Future, . . . .138 Portion of Mill's letter omitted by Bowring, now restored, , . 139 Proposal to leave Queen Square, . . . . .140 Bowring's Criticisms of Mill, wholly wrong, .... 141 Bentham's Reminiscences of Mill, confused and inaccurate, . . ib. Bentham •' hot " upon the Chrestomathic School scheme, . . 142 Mill thinking over his Articles for the Supplement, . . . tfi, Bentham's Treatise on J'2ducation, ..... 143 Few Signs of Reciprocal Influence, at this time, . . • //;. Bentham's Ambition and Self-Sufficiency, .... 144 The Philanthropist : Mill on Unwritten Law, Government, Toleration, &c., ........ . ib. Public events of 1814 : peace with France, and with America, . , 145 Contents. XV The Chrestomathia ready, .... Divisions in the Borough Road Committee, " Mourning the death of a free Government in France," The /'/^/7(J:«/'/i/v//j^: strong writing of Mill's, . Allen on the safest and most effectual mode of exposing flagran Further arrangements for carrying on the Philanthropist, Dr. Lindsay on Brougham's intended reforms, . Bentham and the Bishop, .... Felicity at Ford Abbey, ..... Bentham's Church of Englandism, 'Bcnih.s.m's, A'ot Paul but Jesus, .... Bentham's own Scheme of Bible Instruction, Public events of 1815, ..... abuse 1816. Ricardo's Political Economy : brought out through Mill's urgency and encouragement, ..... At work for the Supplement, .... Ideas as to the article "Beggar," On proposed article "Savings Banks and Benefit Societies,' Meeting of Chrestomathic Managers at Mill's house, . Death of Miranda : inhumanity of the monks, . Marriage of Dr. Thomson : occupies part of Mill's licuae, Friendly letter of Mill (from Ford Abbey), John has read Thomson's System of Chemistry,. History of India revising for the press, . Work in the Philanthropist, .... Bentham's literary activity this year. Public events of i8i6 : distress and discontent, . 1817. Review of Dumont's edition of Bentham's Rewards and Punishments (Philanthropist), The Philanthropist stopped, after six and a half years' course Promises Napier an article on Caste, History: printing begun. Undertakes article "Colonies,". Post Office transmits History proofs free. Dr. Thomson becomes Professor of Chemistry at Glas The History published about the New Year, Mill's severe application in the final stages, Advantages of residence at Ford Abbey, Means of livelihood during writing of History Contents. Correction of John Mill's statement, . . . Bentham prints and publishes several works, Public events of 1817 : Political excitement ; prosecutions, John Black becomes principal Editor ol Morning Chronicle, Starting of the Edinburgh Scotsman, PAGE ib. lb. 164 lb. i6k Vacancy in the Greek Chair at Glasgow, Mill reviews his chances of Election, India House appointment in view. Difficulty about signing the Confession of Faith, Success of the History : anxious for Dr. Thomson's opinion, Regrets, (letter to Napier) any faults of language in criticising Profes: Playfair's Opinions on Hindu Astronomy (in History of hid I a), Anxious for the Edinburgh opinion of the History, Dissolution of Parliament (June 10) : Westminster astir. On the Committee for return of Burdett and Kinnaird, Sir S. Romilly brought forward, as against Kinnaird, . Jeremy Bentham's hand-bill, pronouncing Romilly unfit, The Examiner states fairly the objections to Romilly, . Kinnaird withdrawn ; Romilly triumphant, Burdett second, A little dinner at Bentham's (Romilly, Mill, Brougham, &c.,) Anxious to say something useful on Conveyancing, Meditating a History of English Law, . Also a complete system of Jurisprudence, Warm regard for Ricardo, Elements of the greatness of the History, Criticisms of the annotator and continuator, The Author's purpose. The Style — merits and demerits of the narrative, Bentham, and the Edinburgh Review, on the style. 166 167 lb. 168 lb. 169 170 lb. ib. 171 172 lb. ib. lb. T-7?, ib. 174 ib. 177 ib. 178 ib. 179 Chapter IV. APPOINTMENT TO THE INDIA HOUSE. 1819-1823. Increasing circle of friends, ..... 180 George CiiujTE (i8i8) — his first impressions of Mill, . . . lb. Mrs. Grote's exaggerated and mistaken views, .... 181 John Austin (1821), Charles Ausdn, Edward Strutt (Lord Belper), Hyde and Charles Villiers, Macaulay, .... 182 William ]':ilis, ......... ib. Walter Coulson, Albany Fonblanque, H. Bickerstetli (Lord Langdalo), RichardSharp, J. R. M'Culloch, . . - . . 183 Contents. xvii 1819. The India House Appointment — Canvass, Election ; and subsequent steps of promotion, . His Occupation (Revenue Department) and Reforms, Anticipated Judicial Reforms (India), Connexion with John Murray, . Work for the Encyclopedia Britannica, Political Events of 1819, .... ib. ib. Close Friendship with Brougham, Articles Government and J iirispriidencc. On the Professorship of Moral Philosophy, Edinburgli, John goes to !•' ranee, . . . . . Articles Gozeriimcnt and Jurisprudence, again. Reprint of Govennncnt, . . . . . Political Events of 1S20 : the Black Book, ib. 189 ib. 190 191 ib. 192 Proposes to Napier .•\rticle on Liberty of the Press or Libel L; Grote on Magic, .... Sudden Death of Dr. Lindsay, . Mill promoted to be Second Assistant to Examiner, Hard at Work upon i\riic\c Liberty of ike /'/-t'j'j' / undertakes Nations, . . .... Correspondence with Professor Mills, Allen proposes n new series of the Fiiilantii?-ofist — asks Mil on Education, Article Liberty of the Press, curtailed Zachary Mncaulay (letter from). The Eienients of Political Economy, The Political Economy Club, Drafts the Rules of the Club, Fruits of the Article Governme7it, Political I'.V'_>nts of 1821, Sir John .Stuart : his death ; his present to John M aw, 193 ib. 194 ib. s Lazv of ib. to write 195 ib. 196 ib. 193 lb. ib. 199 200 ib. 1822. Disabling attacks of gout, .... Declines Articles for l^ncyclopandia. Anxious fijr Scotch opinion on the Political Economy . Article La-o of Wit ions completed, Sir Samuel and Lady Bentham's interest in John Mill, Thinks Lord W'. l'>entinek most fit to succeed Lord Hastings as Governor-General of India, ..... ib. 203 Contetits. Zachaiy Macaulay (letter from), 'Begins A?ialysis of l/ie Human Alitjd, . Public Events of 1822, , . . , 1823. Prof. Townsend urges Mill to send John to Cambridge Lively interest in Theology, Public Meeting in Aid of the Spaniards, Promoted to be First Assistant Examiner, John Appointed to the India House, MM. Louis and Baptiste Say, Westminster Political Dinner, Dinners at Grote's, Lord W. Bentinck going to Ireland, Has in view a work on Logic, Death of Ricardo, Note from Brougham (Ricardo : Infant Asylum), Mill's Tribute to Ricardo ( Mor7iing Chronicle), Ricardo Memorial Lectureship in Political Economy London Mechanics Institution, . PubUc Events of 1823, .... PAGE 204 ib. 205 ib. 206 ib. 207 ib. ib. 208 ib. ib. 2og ib. 211 212 214 ib. ib. Chapter V. ARTICLES IN THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE ENCYCLOP/EDIA BRITANNICA. 1816-1823. Governtneni, Extraordinary importance of this Article, Bentham's Views, ..... The Logic of Politics : Deductive and Inductive Groundw The End and the Means of Government, Securities against abuse of power. Forms of Government reviewed. Examination of Ilobbes's argument for Monarchy, The supposed " balance" in the English Constitution, The Representative system the only security for good Gov The Principles of a good Representative body. The Objections to a ])eifect Representative system, Aristocratical and Po])ular bodies contrasted. Power of the Middle Class under popular representation, This Article, the starting-point of the Radical Refornieis, Macaulay's attack in the /'.V//;//;/// .!,'-//., Contemptuous reference to the " Clilitarians," . 215 216 ork. 217 ib. ib. ib. ib. 218 eminent, ib. ib. 219 220 ib. 221 ib. lb. Contents. On Mill's style and method, Discussion of the " balance," Representation as the check to mis-government, Weakness in the limitation of the suffrage, Low suffrage would ruin civilisation, Ascendancy of the Middle Classes, Macaulay's Political Logic, The Westminster Review s'^^'^Xy, Macaulay's further Articles, Mill's own reply to Macaulay, Self-interest the paramount political force. The influence of the disinterested affections, and of maL John Mill's Criticism of the Article, Remarks on this Criticism, PAGE 222 223 ib. 224 225 226 227 ib. ib. ilevolence, 229 ib. 231 232 Jurisprudence. Mill's Early Study of Jurispradence, . . . Definition: " The Protection of Rights," Divisions of the subject : .... Definition of Ri'j;hts — the Civil Code, Definition of Offences and Punishments — the Penal Code, The Code of Procedure, .... The Law's Delay ; Evidence ; Judges ; Courts of Appeal, Deputy-Judges ; Pursuer-General and Defender-General, Mill an apt disciple of a worthy master. Liberty of the Press, Bound up with Law and Politics alike. How far restraint of the Press is necessary', (i) With respect to Private Reputation, (2) With respect to Government, The second question by far the more important, Exhortations to obstruct the operations of Government in dcla should be considered as offences, . Vengeance to be avoided, .... Only direct or explicit exhortations punishable, : Implied or constructive exhortations not punishable. All Criticism, just and unjust, to be ecjually permitted, Undescnrd praise as mischievous as undeserved censure. Certain limitations to free discussion, 233 ib. 234 235 ib. ib. 236 ib. ii. 237 i6. ib. 238 il>. ib. 239 ib. tb. ib. 240 «5. Prisons and Prison Discipline. Howard, Rentham (Panopticon), \\'illiani Allen f Philanthropist), . 241 General [Review of the subject, . . , . . ib. Indebtedness to Bentham, ...... ib. Contents. The Colonies of History, Condemns penal Colonies, Profits from increased territory, What is the good of Colonies ? Colony. PAGE 241 242 ib. ib. ntham. 243 ib. ib. ib. 244 lb. ib. ib. ib. 245 ib. carrying on War, ib. 246 ib. ib. Law of Nations. Designated "International" Law by Bentham, Bentham's opinion of Vattel, Laws of Nations are not properly law. But are, nevertheless, useful, Rights in time of Peace, Infringements of Property, Violations of Personal Rights, . Questions of Boundary, Waters : — Piracy, Rights in time of War, . What justifies Declaration of War, What is just and unjust in the modes of An International Tribunal, The Efficacy of Moral Sentiment, Minor Violations and Penalties, Education. Handling purely deductive, . • . . . . The End of Education stated : the utmost individual and general happiness, ...... Relative circumstances, physical and moral, or rather psychological, Psychology : the Association of Ideas, Trains of thought regulated, Qualities of Mind to be fostered. Instruments and Practical Expedients, Errs, with Helvetius, in regarding the susceptible of mental excellence. Physical influences : advanced views, Moral influences : domestic Education, The love of power : Fagging, Technical Education (making a man a good member of society). Social and Political Education, . Mackintosh's Criticism, , Articles not reprinted : " Caste," " Economists," &c.. Beggar. Beggars from choice, and Beggars from necessity, House of Commons' Committee's Report, 1815, mass of mankind as equally 247 ib. ib. 248 ib. ib. ib. ib. 249 250 251 252 ib. 253 ib. *54 ii. Contents. Proportion of the two classes of B_'<: 'llieir deceptions, gains, Ac., Interesting personal experiences. Tile < 'ausos of Mendicity enumerate Remedies proposed, Influi-iicc on later legislation, XXI ib. General Ri view, AdininiLle results, Dcnef:f Sodctic ih. Banks for S',. . Two Aristocralica! Sections : Ministerial and Opposition, Se''-Saw lanmiage and argument, Tl. ■ .\;iai.de of tlie \\'c>tiiiiii-ter. ib. 266 267 Conte?its. First number of the /?irf/;/7'?i:ro-/z Criticised, Trimming between the Aristocrats and the Philosophers, Wild Popular Ebullitions favourable to liberty, and not dau! Aristocracy, Questionable I'^thics ; Aristocratical Politics, Important and tender subjects shirked, . Political Economy, Slave Trade, Catholic Emancipation, on tl well treated, . Passages more favourable to the popular side, . Securities for good Government ignored, See-Saw continued ; vague and contradictory views. More decided popular leanings. The Secret of good Government, Critical Remarks on the Article, The Attack continued in No. 2, by John Mill, The ()«(7;'/t'r/r overhauled f Westminster Rev., No. 4 Its subservience and low aims, . Logic of Power ; Assumption and Abuse, Matchless Constitution, Handling of Parliamentary Reform, France and the Revolution, How the Quarterly treats the United States, The perfection of English law, Religion and the Church, Raving abuse of the Press, Public Events of 1824, whole 182c. Southey's Book of the Church severely handled /^ rrV-f/wz'/'/.r/r/- 7?(v. Jan., No. 5), ...... The pride of voluntary endurance of suffering, a very vulgar fact. Very few Churchmen eminent for anything, . , Credulity, ...... Southey's two objects : to pull down (i) the Church of Rome, and the Dissenters, ..... Policy of Laf d utterly condemned, Mill's conce])tion of the highest human virtue, . Land one of the greatest Criminals on record, . Clarendon denounced, ..... Southey's misrepresentations of Neal, . Verdict against Church ICstablishments, and against Church of Juk land in jiartieular, ..... Diffusion of Knowledge : Constable's Miscclla?iy, Mill's articles to be included (afterwards withdrawn), Text-books of the young men of the Union at Cambridge, Contaits Working at the Analysis of the Mind, . (Nonstable, " the prince of booksellers," " London College" (University of London), rA(;i-: 293 204 lb. 1826. Ecclesiastical Estahlishments ( Westminster Rev., KY'r.), . . 295 Establishments are essentially unchristian, .... ii. Draws a strong line between the interests of a corporation of priests and the interests of religion, ..... 296 Peculiar Ecclesiastical influence, ..... 297 Tlie monopoly maintained ; rivals crushed, .... ifi. I'larly persecutions, . . ... . . it>. Adverse books steadily destroyed, ..... 298 The word " heretic " implies clerical tyranny, .... ifi. The persecuting spirit, down to the Inciuisition, . . . jfi. History of the English Church reviewed, .... 299 Whitgift ; Laud ; .-Vet of uniformity, . . . . . ii>. The Revolution : influence of Locke and others, . . . it>. Enforced Caution of the Clergy, , . . . . 300 ."Xscendancy under Queen .-\nne, . . . . . it>. Hanoverian Accession, a great relief, . . . . . ?fi. Tenacity of the Church, ...... ii>. RIackstone's trimming, . . . . . . ifi. Liberty of the Press cramped, ...... 301 Prosecutions for Heresy, ...... it>. Whiston ; Woolston's case, ...... rfi. " (Christianity is part of the law " : Criticism of the dictum, . . 302 Contradictory maxims of law, ...... 303 Prosecution becomes hazardous, ..... i/i. Depraving effects of Established Church, , . . . ifi. t\T\\c\Q., Forynation of Opinions ( Westminster Rev., "^wW), . . 304 Responsibility for belief, ...... //'. Neither merit nor demerit in belief, ..... 305 All depends on how one deals with evidence, .... //'. Evidtmce must be fully collected, and equally received, . , //'. Inmiorality of judging without evidence, .... ib. Universality of the sin, ...... 306 Hence the slow progress of human improvement, . . . 307 Faith, according to Scripture, ...... 308 ArUc\c, .State of t/te . Wition f Westminster Rev., Oct.), . . i!>. Historical k(;view of the Situation, ..... //'. Aristocratical Legislature, ...... //'. Policy of the War with France condemned, .... //'. Necessity of crushing public opinion, ..... 309 Vicious effects of the enormous jniblic debt, .... //'. Industrial fluctuation, ....... ib. Contents. Miserable condition of the labourinij classes, Composition of the House of Commons, Ominous cessation of attempts to improve it, Prophesies the triumph of reform, Upper and Middle-class Education improved, " Equitable Adjustment " of the National Debt, Peel praised and encouraged, English mis-government in Ireland, Mill's connexion with the Westni'nislcr ceases. Mismanagement of the Review, Dr. Thomson for the Chemistry Chair (University College) 1827. The Parliamcnfayy History and Review, John Mill's account of it, Projected by Marshal! of Leeds, Character of the Work : the Writers, Mill's Article — the last Parliament's six years' legislation, Debates on Parliamentary Reform, 1826, Urgent necessity for extended representation, . Objects to Lord John Russell's proposal. The Ballot the only security for a broader basis of election, Reform as a restoration of ancient rights, Summary Review of last Parliament, Aristocratical constitution, .... Taxation and Extravagance, .... Trifling improvement of the Law, Four Debates on Reform, .... Silence of Brougham, Mackintosh, and Tierney, and 15urdett, Canning the champion of Aristocracy, .* Canning's change of manner and lone ; his rhetorical method House of Commons and Public Opinion, Bulwarks of Anti-reform, .... Protection to the Voter, ..... Gramjwund tlisfranchised : cheap display of virtue, P)rongham's labours for Education, Ireland — "its condition woukl disgrace the legislation of barbarians Catliolic question — less a religi(;us than an aristocratical question, E(|uitabk: Adjustment a ])lausihle fraud, Sacredness of Property and vS]ioliation of Fundholders, Unsatisfactory Foreign relations, High rank among nations a great curse. The 0|)p(jsili()ii offers no hopes to the peopl(\ . Unfortunate stop[)ing of I\irliatiiciitarv History and Rcvicii Interviews witli Ljrd William Bciilinck, Contents. Society for Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Public events in 1827, Canning's Coalition Administration, Writings in the WcitinbisUr, lb. ib. 326 Rentham on Mill's intimacy with him, . Judicial Reforms for British India, The Panopticon, ..... Bentham, OConnell, and Ensor, Opening of London University (University College' John Austin's course, .... Public Events of 1828, .... IV-ntliam on Brougham's Law Reform, . Rei)rint of Einyclopddia essays, First summer at -Mickleham, 3-7 329 lb. ib. 1829. Publication of the Analysis of the Mind, Discussed seriatim in reading society at Grote's ^h^caulay's attack in the luiinturg/i. How Macaulay got into Parliament, " Mr. Mill " of ]'".llenborough's Diary, not James Mill, l^ffecls of Catholic Emancipation, Domestic Life at Queen Stjuare, Nine Children ; their Education, Demeanour in family circle, 332 ib. 333 lb. S34 Ch.M'tkk VII. CLOSING YE.XRS :— INDIA CII.\R'ri'".R ; LONDON RI'A'ILW : FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. 1830-1836. Culmination of Mill's career — 1830, ..... 336 Impaired health, ....... ib. Chief friends of later years : the Grotes, IVoughnm, Ii!ack, Iliinu-, tlie Austins, Strutt, Romilly, Charles VilHers, Henry Biekit>telh, the Marshalls of Leeds, Sir William Molesworth, Neil .\rr.ott, Fon- biancjue, Hogg, M'Culloch, ..... 337 India Charter Reneical. 1 830- 1 833. Deprival of I'.ast India Company's trading jjrivile,:' ■; Mill's official influence, .... Struggle over the trading powers. 340 Contents. Petitions (1829) against Renewal of Charter, Successive Parliamentary Committees (1830-32), Examination of Mill (1831), on India Revenue, I.and Tax : Difficulty of Collection, Zemindars and Ryots, .... Village Settlements, .... General discussion of Revenue system, . Government Employment of Natives, Re-examined : Constitution of Government of India, The Judicial System, .... Political or Foreign department. The North-West Frontier, Salt and Opium monopolies, Official Letter on Taxation, Correspondence between Directors and Government, Able Defence of the Company, . India Act passed, .... Mackintosh's Dissertation on Ethical Philosophy, Mill's Fragment on Alackititosh, Article on the Ballot ( Westmitister Rev., July), Argument from legitimate influence of property, Deep Criminality of Corrupter of voters. Wherein the Criminality of Suborners consists, Absurd to call Secret Voting mean-spirited. Importance of bringing proper motives to bear upon men of Peculiar advantages of independent means. Ballot Article reprinted. Disaffection at London University, Religious difficulty at London University .School, John in Paris : the Revolution, . Mill's promotion to be Head Examiner, Mill's influence with the Directors, The Athenasum_Club : Mill an original member ; John Mill's 341 il>. 342 343 344 ib. 345 ib. ib. 346 ib. ib. ib. 347 348 ib. ib. ib. ib. 350 ib. ib. en of property. 351 352 353 ib. 354 355 ib. 356 Mill's election, 357 Persuades Grote to Write on Essentials of Parliamentary Reform, On Emigration : Letter to Lord Brougham, Influx of Irish must be prevented, Objections considered, .... Putting to labour persons maintained at public cost, (Choice of managing (or select) vestries, by ratepayers. Removal to Kensington, Cirote for the City : Consultation at Mill's, Trouble still active at the University, l''xamined on India Revenue (Commons' Committee), 358 ib. ib. 359 il>. ib. ib. 360 361 ib. Contents. Reform Bill in the I.ords : T.ctter to Brougham, The Cominfj Debate, . . . . . Reform Crisis : Place in constant consultation with Mill it. ^62 1832. The agony ■week of the Reform movement, Mill's peculiar influence ; chief allies, Letter to Brougham, .... Mischievous Doctrines at Political Unions, Attwood Ijlaniing Government for low wages. Labourers' rights to whole produce of the Country, Invasion of rights of property, Currency heresies, .... The Chronicle : -Articles by Parkes, Illicit cheap publications disseminating noxious opinion The F.xdDuncr : \'ituperation of Lord Althorp, Newspajier Tax : urgency for repeal, Useful Knowledge Society, . , Knight-errant Foreign Policy most alarming. Lord William Bcntinck compliments Mill, Friends in the Reform Parliament, Charles Austin, ..... Roebuck for Bath, .... Death of Bentham (June 6), . 1833- Grote undertakes the Ballot question, . Macaulay on Mill (^//w/t'/'j,- India Politics), Mill recommends Macaulay as member of Supreme Council, Death of Brougham's brother, James, . 363 //'. ■//'. lb. ib. 364 //'. ib. 365 //-. ib. 366 ib. ib. 367 ib. 368 ib. ib. 369 370 371 1834. Poor Law Amendment Act, . . The Times attacks Brougham, , Revising his strictures on Mackintosh's Disseriiition, Indian Affairs, ..... London Revievj projected. Merged with the Westminster, . ib. 374 ib. 375 ib. Articles for the Westminster Revie^o Public Events of 1835, Great Reforms pending, . Article on The State of the Xation, Growing strength of the spirit of Reform, ib. 376 377 ib. XXVIU Contents. Arises from tlie spontaneous reflections of middle classes, Probabilities of its permanence, .... The Ruling Few and tlie Subject ]\Tnny, Anti-Reformers merged among moderate Reformers, Calumnies against the " Radicals," The master abuse — want of freedom of Election, True course for the genuine Reformers (Radicals), Especially to stand up for principles, Conservative objects of the true Reformer, Colonies a l)urden, unless jjaying their own way, Dialogue on the Ballot : reply to Edinhiwgh, . , Letter to Brougham : Is;iac Tompkins on the Aristocracy, The people must look to themselves for Reform, Article on The Church and its Reform, Sanguine hopes of Reform, .... Present Ecclesiastical Establishment does little good and much evil, Romish Machinery adoi:)ted by the English Church, Two pro'positions : (i) The obligatory and regular services are useless Ceremonies : and (2) the services tliat might be helpful morally and intellectually, are optional, and imperfectly (if at all) performt c The Sunday Service, .... Essence of the religious sentiment, Shortcomings of the Church ideal. Prayer and Praise, . The Communion SLrvicc, . . . ' The Sermon ; ( "haracteristic features. Immoral tendencies of certain classes of sermons, Future punishment not scriptural. Correct notions of the Su])reme Being, . Right guidance of the affections. Overpowering importance of education to children. Sermons always defective in moral teaching. The clergy not instructed in the art of doing good, Remedies : regeneration of the Church, l^qualize work, by etjualizing parishes, . Good men rec|uire sufficient pay. Modes of ajjpointnient and superintendence, Ceremonies and dogmas to be abolished A truly Catholic Church, " No schism, when men have nothing to scind about," The work of the clergy ; to supply all iiossible indue conchict, ..... Tests for results ; subjects of instruction. Social anmsements of the day of rest, Means of Church Reconstruction Remarks on Mill's proposals. An I''.('('Irsiastical Utujiin, Resulting Damayi- to the /w'cvVti', Contents. William Ellis's Political Economy Lectures, Lord William Bentinck home from India, Attack of hemorrhage, Sympathy with Grote's efforts in Parliament, Little hope of recovery, . Letters to Brougham, EUlis's Political Economy Lectures : absurd charge of pi against Brougham, Brougham Excluded from Office, Prospects of Xext Session, Growing impatience of the people. Returns to London ; unable for work, . Article on Law Reform (London Rev., Oct. ) Three grand requisites : (i) a Code, (2) a proper distribution of Judges (3) the most efficient and expeditious mode of inquiry Previous efforts at Codification, .... Jioebuck's " Pamphlets for the People," Reprint of Political Articles of Mill's, . 1836. Article Arisfocracy (London Rtz'inv, ]a.T>.), . , . . Natural inequalities of fortune not to be confounded with aristocratical privileges, ..... Mischiefs of overgrown wealth in few hands. Corruption of taste, .... Degeneracy of social intercourse. Artificial ranks depress the pramt'a virtufis, Political power the worst kind of privilege, How to deal with the House of Lords, . Would open the Commons to the Peers, Different basis of Monarchy and of Aristocracy, Monarchs, under limitations, not a disadvantage Dialogue, "Whether Political Economy \s usizinl" f London Rcviciu, Jan.)— Mill's last work, ..... Letter to Brougham (now in office), .... Urges Brougham to literary composition, ... Bickersteth accepts Mastership of the Rolls, by Mill's encouragement, Letter to James (in India) ; Domestic circumstances. His latest Composition, His death, .... XXIX r.\nE 389 390 ib. ih. 391 392 ib. 393 394 ib. 395 ib. ib. 396 398 ib. 399 ib. ib. ib. 400 ib. ib. 401 402 ib. ib. 403 404 ib. 405 ib. 407 409 Contents. Chapter VIII. REVIEW OF LATEST WRITINGS: POLITICAL ECONOMY: ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN MIND : FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. POLITICAL ECONOMY. Object of the work purely didactic, Special doctrines : — Principle of Population, Doctrine of the unearned increment, PAGE 410 411 ib. ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN MIND. Chief merit, in the Author's view, the carrying out of the Principle of Association, ........ Use made of this, not to explain the Intellectual Powers, but to resolve the complex emotions, ...... Fundamentals assumed, ....... Explanation of the higher Emotions, the Will, and the Moral Sense, . Merits and defects of the work as a whole, .... A FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. Motive to the composition of the work, ..... Examination of the Author's treatment of Hobbes, His chapter on Butler, ....... Vindication of Bcntham, ....... Regrets of Mill's friends at the asperity of his handling of Mackintosh, A13 jb. 414 ib. 415 ib. 416 417 ib. 418 Chapter IX. CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE. Description o^ physique, .... A compound of Intellect and Will ; Emotions not wanting Logical Faculty, . A Political and Social Philosopher, Strength of Will : — Ideals of pursuit. Love of Truth, Self-denving life, . I^angungo towards Opponents, . Traits of amiable feeling, Refinement of manner. Style said to be not English, Careful, correct, and perspicuous, 419 420 421 422 ib. 423 ib. 424 ib. 425 ib. 426 Contents. XXXI Reform Movement. Beginnings of Reform after the American Revolution, . Burke and Paine, ...... Cobbett : — His doctrines and influcrc:, .... Henry Hunt : — His history, ..... Bentham's opinion of Cobbett and Hunt, The Black Drvarf—Wooler. ..... Richard Carlisle, ...... Williain Godwin : — Part taken in Home Tooke prosecution, . The Edinbun^li Rcvieiu ; Jeffrey's own political views. The large towns : — Birmingham, .... The Birmingham Political Union, .... Mancliester Movement : — Trial of Thomas Walker and others, Hunt in Manchester ;' the Peterloo Massacre, . Reform Bill time, ...... Influence of Newcastle in settling the Ten-pound Franchise, . Edin!)urgli : — 'Xw Sc^tsui in, ..... Mill's 1-^arly Influence on the Westminster Reform Movement, as descrilied by Roebuck, ..... Bentham's Universal .Suffrage, ..... Effect of Mill's article on "Government," The tendency of philosophical Radicalism, Hold of Mill on the Middle Class, .... The Ten-Pound Franchise agreeable to his views as to the fn'st step His place in the Reform movement could not have been taken by anv other man, ........ P.\GE 427 428 429 431 433 ib. 43.^ lb. 436 438 ib. 440 441 442 ib. ib. 443 444 445 ib. 446 ib. 447 APPENDIX. A. — -M Ill's read ins^ ill Edinbun^h. Books taken from the General Library, . . . , B. — Bcntham on Romili . History of their acquaintance : Romilly's views anel advice, C. — The Reform ai^o/iy 'veel: Lord Grey's resignation, and the movments following. Place's instigating a run upon the I'aiik, Grote opposed to this, ...... Joseph Parkcs and the Pjirtningham Union, D. — Xi'tifes of Mill from persoial krwwledi^c. Macaulay on hearing of Mill's death, . . . . John Black in the Morning Chronicle, . . . . 451 452 453 454 455 a. xxxii Contents, PAGE Fonblanque, in the Examiner, ...... 457 Grote in his review of John Mill's Hamilton, .... 458 Brougham, in tlie Introduction to his speech on Law Reform, . . 459 Depreciatory remarks of Bentham, in conversation, as reported by Bowring, ........ 461 John Mill's reply, ....... ib. Bentham's opinion as to Mill's general demeanour — at once reserved and domineering, ....... 463 John Mill's delineation of his father's powers and iniluence as a con- verser, ,......, ib. E. — Mill's Commonplace Bo(k. Prominence given to the Liberty of the Press, .... 464 Theory of Government ; necessity of popular control, . . . ib. Theology, ........ ib. Theory versus Practice, ..... ib. Greek, Latin, French, English Authors, .... 465 Chapter I. EARLY LIFP: IX SCOTLAND: 1773-1S02. JAMES MILL was bom on the 6th of April, 1773, at NorthwatcT Bridge, parish of Logie Pert, county of Forfar or Angus. The spot of his birth is not far from being a central point in that part of Strathmore, extending into the two counties Forfar or Angus and Kincardine or the ^Mearns, called " Howe of Angus," and " Howe of the Mearns ". The strath or plain is four to six miles wide, and lies between the Grampians (here rising to an average of nearly two thousand feet) and a line of coast hills of much lower elevation. Northwater Bridge is a bridge on th-e Northwater or North Esk, a river inferior to the Tay and the Dee, but still a con- siderable stream, rising not far off in Glenesk in the (iranipians, flowing across the country from west to east, and entering the sea three miles north of Montrose. Of its various bridges, the oldest and most important is the one that gives the name to Mill's birth-place; a three-arch stone bridge built about two centuries before his time, on the great central line of c:ommuni- cation from the north of Scotland to the scjuth ; the bridge near the sea for the coast road being built only in the end of last century. The river is for a great part of its course the boundary of the two counties of Forfar and Kincardine. I 2 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. The parish of Logic Pert, a union of two older parishes, Logie and Pert, Hes along the right bank of the North Esk, and is the last of the Forfar parishes northward. Across the river is Marykirk, lower down St. Cyrus — the coast hills and coast parish. The account of Logie Pert Parish, in the old Statistical Account of Scotland, was drawn up by the parish minister, Mr. Peters, in the year 1791. It is most careful and minute, and will enable any one to form a very accurate picture of James Mill's life and surroundings, both physical and social. The parish is about four miles long by three miles broad ; it con- tained in that year a population of 999 persons. It was mainly an agricultural parish ; but had also two bleachfields — Craigo and Logie, a small flax mill, and even a snuff mill, besides meal mills. There were also limestone (juarries then largely worked. The river yielded a good supply of salmon. The land for agri- culture was distributed among thirty-six farmers ; five or six paying from ;^ioo to ^200 yearly rent. Northwater Bridge became the name of one of the leading farms, of which the farm-house was contiguous to the bridge on the south side ; an unusually large and good farm-house, of four rooms in length and two storeys in height. This was also in Mill's time an inn and posting-house, kept by the tenant of the farm. Right and left of the high road south of the bridge, there were other houses, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, making up a hamlet, the largest in the parish, with a po])ulation of seventy persons. Blacksmith, wright, mason, carrier, small grocer or merchant — were all found here ; in addition to whicli were cottages attached to the farm, and let by the farm- tenant — Barclay, by name, whom we shall hear more about. One of these was a clay-built tliatched cottage, a hundred yards south of the farm-house of the bridge, and on the same side of the road (right hand going soutli). It stood some twenty yards off the road, and at right angles, the gable towards the road. It had two doors and three windows ; the door farthest PARENTAGE. 3 from the road was the entry to the usual two rooms of a cottage — " but an' ben " ; the other door entered a single room, the room next the road. This was the cottage where James Mill was brought up.* In front was the kail yard or garden : behind, running at right angles, was a similar cottage inhabited by the head labourer or manager of the farm ; at the south end of that cottage was the byre belonging to Mill's cottage.f The elder Mill's family rented also a cow's grass ; and continued to have a cow to the last. The father of James Mill (also called James) was a shoe- maker, and had a good country business, employing usually two or three men. Of his own previous history we know only that he worked at his trade some time in Edinburgh, before settling at Northwater Bridge. There are plenty of his name all over that part of Scotland, but the spelling varies, " Milne " being perhaps more common : his own name in the register of his son's birth is spelt so. In general character, all we can say is, that he was industrious and steady in his calling, good- natured in disposition, pious and devout, but with no special claim to intelligence or any high mental quality. In the prime of his age he seems to have been in good circumstances, and to have saved money. Mill's mother was Isabel Fenton, the daughter of a farmer in the Kirriemuir district of the county. She was born in 1755, at Kirriemuir, and must have been married at 17. A corres- pondent suj)plies me with the following facts as to the family. * According to the I)est information, Mill was not actually born in that house, whicli was the abode of his family for more than sixty years. His birth took place, before the house was built, in a cottage at the river side, near the lower end of Barclay's garden ; it was thus more in the centre of the little hamlet made up of the tradespeople's houses. The tradition is that his father obtained a site on lease from Barclay and built himself the cottage '^o lefore the cottage was pulled down, some twenty years ago, a photograph was taken, which preserves its appearance. 4 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. The father was born and resided in Kirriemuir. Two children of his, Alexander Fenton and Margaret Fenton, owned two thatched houses where the Airlie Arms Hotel is now situated, and lived in one of them. Alexander was a handloom weaver, Margaret a dressmaker, and both were unmarried and in good circumstances. Alexander died in 1826, and Margaret, far advanced in years, about 1839.* They had a sister, who went to Edinburgh as a servant, and did not return to Kirriemuir. This was Mill's mother. There have long been a number of substantial farmers of the same name on the Airlie and other estates in that neighbour- hood.f In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the Fentons had landed property in the district, and were called the Fentons of Baikie. It is said that Isabel Fenton's father had fallen from much better circumstances, in consequence of joining in the Stuart rising of 1745. Forfarshire was the chief part of the Lowlands that was so infatuated as to take the field for the Pretender. The then heir of Airlie, Lord Ogilvie, led out a large band of tenants and residents, including, it is said, Isabel Fenton's father, who, with the rest, suffered severely by the ravages of Cumberland's troops, and was thenceforth a much poorer man. It is even said that he was himself a proprietor before 1745, but the circumstance is not verified. Isabel, at all events, looked upon herself as one that had fallen from a better * In 1840, Mr. Barclay wrote to John Mill, intimating that a property in Kirriemuir seemed to fall to him as his grandmother's heir ; tht: oceasion must have been the death of Margaret Fenton. Mill's reception of the news was characteristic. He would not take advantage of any mere informality in a will ; but if there were a case, he would do whatever might be necessary to secure the property for his paternal aunt's family, the Greigs. They, it seems, were met by a remote male heir turning up. f By desire of Lady Airlie, the minister of Lintrathen, Mr. C'hreo, furnished me with an account of the best known families of the name of Fenton in the Airlie district. One family possessed formerly a considerable property in Forfarshire. An anecdote, illustrative of Scottish life and character in tlie last century, is given by Mr. Chree, relating to a Fenton, tenant of Balintore, in I>intrathen : he was ejected by his landlord, at the instigation of the Karl of Airlie, for violently opposing the settlement of a former minister of Lintrathen. THE BARCLAYS OF THE " BRIG ". 5 estate. It was in Edinburgh that she became acquainted with lames Mill. Her character is difficult to rescue from various conflicting traditions. All admit that she was a proud woman ; her pride taking the form of haughty superiority to the other cottagers' wives, and also entering into her determination to rear her eldest son to some higher destiny. She could do fine work, but was not so much in her element in the common drudgery of her lot ; neither could she accommodate herself to the coarse food of the cottage, but relied mainly on her tea. A saying of hers to her husband is still remembered : — " If you give me porridge I'll die, but give me tea and I'll live ". Of course the tea had to be accompanied with butter, and that was among the luxuries of those times. All this led to her being accused of luxurious habits ; but was more probably a proof of delicacy of constitution. She was the object of no small spite among the villagers from her presumption in bringing up her eldest son to be a gentleman ;* but the Barclays always treated her with marked distinction. When she came to tea with them they always took out their best set of china. In any family distress, they sent for her. It was the fancy of those that knew her, that she was the source of her son's intellectual energy ; but the only proof now attainable is the apparent absence of any unusual force of character in her husband. The biography of James Mill requires a special notice of the tenants of the farm where his father's cottage lay. This farm, consisting of about two hundred Scotch acres, is on the Earl of Kintore's estate of Inglismaldie, and was commonly called " the bridge," or " the brig ". The tenant was a member of the family of the Barclays of Montrose ; long known as tenant farmers also in Kincardineshire, in the proximity of the more * Tlic common snyiiiL; \sas " Wliat rit,'lit lias she to "upiios'' that htr son will bo ca'.h'd J/;)-. MiU, and his wife Mrs. Mill". It w;ls iisna.l among the lower ranks in .Scotlancl to go on giving marrioir John lielsches, of Fettercairn, and his wife. Lady Jane lielsches. They h.ad an only child, a daughter Wilhelmina, born in October, 177'j. In 1797, -Mrs. lieKches, tlie mother of Sir John, executed a settl'inent enforcing upon her son the name of his great-grand- father D.iniel Stuart, and he was henceforth .Sir John Stuart, of Fettercairn, wlience we have the name John .Stuarl Mill. ."^irjohn was elected mi'iiiber for Kincardiiit^shire, in the L'nion Parliament, 1801 ; an occurrence that had an im[iortant bearing on James Mill's fortunes. He continued to serve in Parliament till 1807, when he was made a Baron of Exchequer, a promotion conferred for being a good adherent to his party. It was an honourable appointment (with a salary of /,"2ooo a year), but the duties lO EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. obscure; but, before stating the traditions bearing upon the event, I will make a few preliminary remarks. A young man born on the banks of the North Esk, in humble circumstances, and possessing superior abilities, would, as a matter of course, turn his thoughts to the colleges at x\berdeen. The distance from Northwater Bridge is thirty-eight miles, an easy student's journey. The distance to St. Andrews is much greater, to Edinburgh more than double. The Aberdeen colleges possessed numerous bursaries open to competition, the exercise being a " version," or translation from English into Latin. A^io bursary would pay all the fees and in those days cover half the maintenance of a student for the college session. Moreover, there were in the patronage of the family of Ramsay, of Balmain (in Mill's neighbourhood), four bursaries of ;^24 a year, tenable for four years : so that one was vacant every year. Such a bursary would pay the fees and give a sumptuous maintenance to the student. A boy so distin- guished as James Mill could have been put forward to the patron as a candidate for one of these bursaries, and notwith- standing the claims of factor's sons, clergymen's sons, &c., would eventually have succeeded. Add to all this, that the parish were light in comparison to those of a Lord of Session ; and althoup;h Sir John Studied for the bar, he could scarcely have ever practised. He held the office till his death in 1821. It i5 not easy to find out what sort of man Sir John Stuart was. Few people can give any account of him. He was not even honoured with a newspaper paragraph on his death. The popular tradition makes him out haughty and iil-tempered ; but, after hearing all that could be said in his own locality, I was led to the conclusion, that he was a just-minded and really generous man, though somewhat imperious ; he could not bear 'o be thwarted. Laciy Jane was revered for every virtue. Sir John's steady attachment to James Mill entitles him to honourable remenibirance. It was surmised by Dr. Thomas Thomson, and, on his authority, believed by various friends of Mill in London, that he was related to Sir John -Stuart by blood. The insinuation admits of positive disproof Sir John did not acquire the property of Fettercairn, so as to be resident in the neighbourhood, till 1777, when Mill was four years old. I could mention other decisive circumstances, but refrain from giving more importance to what was a mere creation of Thomas Thomson's cynical fancy. THE STUARTS OF FETTKRCAIRX. II minister, Mr. Peters, was brother-in-law to Professor Stuart of Marischal College, in Aberdeen, and in frequent communica- tion with the professor, who was a man of some property in Kincardineshire, and came every year to visit his brother-in- law ; while it is known that he became well acquainted with Mill, and was useful to him at a later stage. The minister and the professor would certainly have discovered a way of sending him to Marischal College. The sons of the clergy and of the farmers in that district, we know, went to Aberdeen ; a younger brother of Mr. David Barclay studied there. Had it been proposed to send Mill to Aberdeen, he was quite ready to go in his thirteenth, or at latest, his fourteenth year. Starting at that age he would have kept abreast of every branch in the curriculum, and probably have been the first man of his year. That he was detained at home till his eighteenth year, to be then sent to the University of Edinburgh, shows that some powerful hand had interposed at an early stage to divert him from what I must deem his obvious and natural career. The account given by John Stuart Mill {Autobiography) of his father's introduction to the Fettercairn fiimily is a some- what loose version of the statement made to him by Mr. David Barclay in a letter wTitten after his father's death in 1S36.* We do not possess that letter, but we know the substance ; and we have Mr. Barclay's own words in another communi- cation, which he made to the Montrose ReviiTiU in the same year. It was to furnish a biography of his father, for the Ency- * The following extract from John Mill's letter to Mr. David Barclay shows the ignorance of the family as to their father's early history ; — • "The chief points are the time and place of his birth ; who and what his parents were, and anything interesting that there may be to state about them : what places of education he went to : for what professions he was educated. I believe he went through a medical course, and also that fur the Church, and I have heard that he was actually licensed as a preacher, but I never heard him say so himself, and never heard of it till after his death. I do not know whether it is true or not ; perhajis )ou do. How long did he remain at the University, or prosecute his studies for the Church? The history of his con- nection with the late Sir John Stuart." 12 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. dopcEdia Briiannica^ that John Mill applied to Mr. Barclay for information. He placed the letter that he received in the hands of Mr. Andrew Bisset, who with some assistance from Mill himself, composed the article. Mr. Bissct had the advan- tage of being locally connected with James Mill's birth-place, and of having independent information respecting his early days. I therefore accept his rendering of the circumstances of the introduction to the Stuart family as the best now attainable ; although it is not so satisfactory as we should wish. "Some pious ladies," he says, "amongst whom was Lady Jane Stuart (she was then 'Belsches'), having established a fund for educating one or two young men for the Church, Lady Jane applied to the Rev. Mr. Foote, minister of Fetter- cairn, to recommend some one. Mr. Foote applied to Mr. Peters, of Logic Pert, who recommended James Mill, both on account of his own abilities, and the known good character of the parents." Mr. Barclay's published statement is to the same effect. He was himself rather too young to have remem- bered from personal knowledge what happened somewhere between 1783 and 1790; his account is a tradition from the elder members of his own family. Mill might naturally enough be brought to the notice of Sir John and Lady Jane Stuart, either by their own parish minister, or by Mr. l^eters of Logic Pert. (The house of Fettercairn is only five miles from North water Bridge.) How far Lady Jane was associated with other ladies, and whether Mill was but one of several young men that received the same assistance, tradition leaves entirely in the dark. We know that Lady Jane was reputed in her neighbourhood as foremost in every good work ; and, if .the educating of a promising youth to the ministry had come before her as a proposal, she would have readily taken a part in carrying it out ; and we are safe in giving her the chief credit of obtaining for Mill the higher start that he gained, in being taken at a mature age to the University of Edinburgh, instead of going to Aberdeen as a mere boy. TUTOR TO MISS STUART. 1 3 Whatever may have been Lady Jane's intentions as to bringing iVIill forward for the ministry, this much is clear, that for many years the principal bond of connexion between him and the Stuart family was the education of their only daughter. We do not know when Mill entered on this task, nor how it was reconciled with his private studies and his attendance at the University. The family resided in Edinburgh in winter, and at Fettercairn House in summer. In Edinburgh, j\Iill had his own lodging, and probably went to INIiss Stuart during certain hours each day. In summer he lived much at Fettercairn. It is possible that he may have been IMiss Stuart's tutor before he went ta Edinburgh, and may have ceased attending the Montrose Academy for some time before entering the University ; in which case, he would be resident the whole year at Fettercairn, excepting the portion of time that the family may have been in Edinburgh. All this is completely in the vague. The one thing certain is that the Stuarts took him to Edinburgh instead of allowing him to proceed to Aberdeen, like the other young men of the neighbourhood, and that their only motive was the education of their child. It is true also that both Sir John and Lady Jane contracted a liking for himself that lasted with their lives ; they were never tired of his company. If their patronage had been a mere matter of charitable help to a promising young man, the sending him to Aberdeen would have cost them less than any other mode of effecting the object ; but I repeat that this could have been perfectly accomplished without their assistance. We now pass to his career at Edinburgh University. He first ap[)ears in the records in 1790: so that he entered college at the unusually advanced age of 17^ years. For this session he is entered in the Senior I,atin Class (Trof Hill), and the Senior Greek Class (Dalzicl). That is to say, he skipped the junior classes in both Latin and Greek, and entered at 14 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. once into the senior, which gave him the rank of a second year's student. I reserve comments till I give his whole Arts attendance. Next year, 1791-92, he is entered again for Senior Greek, Logic (Finlayson), Natural Philosophy (Robi- son). Third year, 1792-93, Senior Greek.* This is all that we obtain from the College books, and it lands us in uncertainty. Besides the omission of the junior * Lord Cockburn's impressions of the professors of the time may be here referred to. Of the Latin teaching (Hill) he speaks very unfavourably. "Little Latin was acquired. The class was a constant scene of unchecked idleness, and disrespectful mirth. Our time was worse than lost." Of Dalziel, the professor of Greek, he speaks at least some differently. To those that had the elements of the language to learn he imparted very little : but as an enthusiast about learning, he excited the minds of the students, as well as secured their affection. From his text-books, which were long used in the Scottish Universities, we know that he was an accomplished Greek scholar. The professor of Logic, Fmlayson, "was a grim, firm-set, dark, clerical man ; stiff and precise in his movements ; and with a distressing pair of black, piercing, Jesuitical eyes, which moved slowly, and rested long on any one they were turned to, as if he intended to look him down, and knew that he could do so ; a severe and formidable person. Though no speaker, and a cold, exact, hard reader, he surjDrised and delighted us with the good sense of his matter. Until we heard him, few of us knew that we had minds ; and still fewer were aware that our intellectual operations had been analyzed, and formed the subject of a science, the facts of which our own consciousness delighted to verify. Neither he nor his class were logical, in any proper sense of the word. But no exposition of tlie mere rules of reasoning could have been half so useful as the course which he adopted ; which was first to classify, and explain the nature of, the different faculties, and then to point out the proper modes of using and improving them. This, though not logic, was the first thing that wakened our dormant powers. He did not work us half enougli at composi- tion." Cockburn next eulogizes Stev/art at some length. His "voice was singu- larly pleasing ; and, as he managed it, a slight burr only made ils tones softer. His ear, both for music and for speech, was exquisite ; and he was the finest reader I have ever heard. His gesture was simple and elegant, though not free from a tinge of professional formality ; and his whole manner that of an academical gentleman. " To me his lectures were like the opening of the heavens. I felt that I had a soul. His noble views, unfolded in glorious sentences, elevated me into a higher world. I was as much excited and charmed as any man of cultivated taste would be, who, after being ignorant of their existence, was admitted to all the glories of Milton, and Cicero, and Shakespeare. They changed my whole nature." AT EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY. 1 5 classes in the Classics there is no jNIathematics (Playfair), and, more still, no Moral Philosophy (Dugald Stewart). As we know that he was destined for the Church, the first thing to ask is, what attendances did this necessitate ? It is curious that such a matter should be doubtful, yet so it is. The Act of Assembly in operation at the time merely specifies a course of Philosophy corresponding to the course for the M.A. degree at each university; but, in Edinburgh, the M.A. degree was rarely taken, and the regulations for it at that time are unknow^n to me. The subjects of the usual curriculum for a degree in Arts are understood to be Latin, Greek, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Logic, and Moral Philosophy. In Classics there were in all the universities junior and senior classes, but it may have been allowable to pass over the junior class if the student were sufficiently advanced to enter the senior, which Mill certainly was. Then as to Mathematics. I have heard, on good authority, that the subject was not, at that time, obligatory on students for the Church.* But that James Mill should fail to attend Playfair's classes seems to me very strange. If Playfair's oral teaching could be judged from his printed writings, Mill lost a great deal by not attending him. With all his ability and devotion to study, and with the very best help that the Montrose Academy could give him, he could not have been so accomplished a mathematician as he was a classic. Moreover, for him to enter the Natural Philosophy class in his second year, without a previous mathematical course, would be anomalous. He might have had enough of geometry to enter the school of Plato, but certainly he had not enough to enter the school of Robison * The late Professor Cruickshank, of Marisclial CoHc.'To, had heard his colleague, Dr. Glennie, state that he remembered a discussion taking place in the General Assembly on the question whether students going into the ministry should be required to attend Mathematics. The smallness in the attendance in the Edinburgh Mathematical classes clearly shows that students for the Church could dispense with the subject ; the numbers being less than half of those attending Latin and Greek. l6 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. — the last of the adherents to the tough geometry of the Principia. But it is when looking to the entry of his third year that we must express doubts as to the accuracy of the Register, in this instance ; the more so that it has been occasionally found to be defective. It may be quite true that Mill gave a second unnecessary attendance on Dalziel's class, for Greek was his delight, and Dalziel was an admirable teacher, and seemed to notice Mill's aptitude ; but that he should have attended no other class is very unlikely. He must have attended Dugald Stewart this year : the Church never dispensed with Moral Philosophy ; and, if it had. Mill would not have neglected Stewart. The following passage occurs in a letter addressed, in 182 1, to Macvey Napier : — "All the years I remained about Edinburgh, I used, as often as I possibly could, to steal into Mr. Stewart's class to hear a lecture, which was always a high treat. I have heard Pitt and Fox deliver some of their most admired speeches ; but I never heard anything nearly so eloquent as some of the lectures of Professor Stewart. The taste for the studies which have formed my favourite pursuits, and which will be so till the end of my life, I owe to him." The biography of John Leyden, Mill's contemporary and class-fellow, is of some use here. Leyden entered, in 1790, the Senior Latin and Greek classes, and, although his biographer does not say so, the college records show that he attended Senior Greek with Mill, and Junior Greek also. In 1791, he took Logic (with Mill, of course). Mathematics, and Classics again. His third Session he devoted to Moral Philosophy, Rhetoric, Natural Philosophy, and Natural History* ; thus, like Mill, finishing the Arts course in three years. With this in- formation we may fairly say that Divinity students found three years enough. * A mistake on the part of Leyden's biographer : Natural History was then, as HOW, a summer class. UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM. I 7 As to the Logic class, Leyden's biographer seems to beheve that Professor Finlayson must have been an able teacher, from the number of able thinkers that passed through his hands. More particularly he remarks that Finlayson " recognised the native energy of thought and the assiduity of Lcyden, and not only bestowed on him particular notice, but found employment for him in the preparing of other students, and acting as his own amanuensis ". I take this to mean that Ixyden assisted him in reading class exercises ; a proof that Finlayson did not prelect merely (like Stewart and Robison), but gave the students at least some work to do. That Leyden should have risen to the leading position in the Logic class of that year shows that James Mill, in those days, was disposed to hide his light under a bushel : an explanation is obviously wanted. The Logic class of the year following contained Thomas Brown, thus treading on the heels of j\Iill, and we are quite prepared for the statement (given in Brown's Life) that " Finlayson's ap])robalion was decidedly expressed". Mill might have followed Leyden's example, and taken Rhetoric in his third year. I cannot account for John Mill's supposition that he may have studied in the Medical classes. Perhaps, in conjunction with Thomas Thomson, he may have attended the lectures of Black, which drew students from all parts. Excepting this strong testimony to Dugald Stewart's fascina- tion, which, no doubt, was the stirring of his own phil()so[)lii(al aptitudes — " I, too, am a metaphysician " — we have not a shred of information as to his doings or feelings tliose three Edinburgh winters, h'rom extraneous sources we know what Edinburgh was in those years ; the local colouring — political, literary, and social — has been given in connexion with many memoirs, as well as in the general history of tlie time. We can tell who were his distinguished contemjx^nirics and class- fellows ; but let us first pass on to complete his college career. His Divinity studies commence in 1794, and occupy four l8 ]',ARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. winters. The Theological professors were — Divinity, Andrew Hunter ; Church History, Thomas Hardie ; Hebrew, William Moodie. Of Dr. Hunter I know only that he was a man of weight in the (icneral Assembly of the Church, and, in the famous Leslie debate, took the liberal side. The professor of Church History, Hardie, is cited by Mill himself, in his translation of ' Villers,' in terms of high praise. The passage there quoted does credit to Hardie's vigour as a reasoner. It is directed against ritualism and superstition. Hardie must have been of the stamp of Principal George Cam})bell, of Aberdeen, and his lecturing would probably be in keeping with Mill's intellectual phase at the time. But what interests us most is the Librarian's Register of the Theological Library, which contains the titles of the works taken out by the students, with their names appended chiefly in their own hand. Here we have a clue to Mill's reading during those four winterg. Of course he had other sources : he might have access at the same time to the General Library; and, besides his own private collection of favourite authors, he could borrow from friends. Making allowance for all tlicse, we can discern a marked character in his studies. The list of books taken out by him has been extracted by Professor Masson ; and I here give it entire. The first entry is for January 2, 1794 ; the l)ook is not very legibly given. Jan. 20 ; Ferguson's History of Civil Society. Feb. 6 ; Alison on Taste. Feb. 13 ; Rousseau's Emile, vol. i. Feb. 20 ; Emile, vol. 2. March 3 ; Cudworth's Morality. March 6 ; Gregory's Essays. March 13 ; Smith's Theory (of Moral Sentiments), vol. i. April 3 ; Smith's Theory, vol. 2. AjM-il 10; INIassillon's Sermons. April 30; Reid's Intellectual Powers. This last was i)robably returned in a week, and he would then leave town. No books are borrowed in the recess. The second Divinity session (1794-95), shows the first entry in November 20 ; Ferguson's Philoso])hy, vol. 2. Without giving dates, I will quote the rest: Discours par Rousseau; GENERAL READING. 19 Melanges clc Litterature; Hume's Essays, vol. i; Jortin's Dis- sertations ; Bolingbroke's Dissertations ; Hume's Essays, vol. 2 (four weeks after vol. i); Sermons par Massillon ; Alison on Taste ; Smith's Theory, vol. 2 ; Kames's Sketches ; Theological Repository, vol. i ; Gregory's Sermons ; Necker's Religious Opinions ; Platonis Opera, folio ; Hakewell's Apology (a very peculiar book) ; Campbell on Rhetoric; Platonis Opera; Camp- bell on Rhetoric (permission to have Plato and Campljcll together) ; Ferguson's Essay; Oeuvrcs de Maupertuis; Hume's Essays. This brings us down to August 1 2, showing that jN'Iill resided in Edinburgh this summer, and was absent only in September and October, being then probably either at Fetter- cairn House, or, for a holiday, at Northwater Bridge. The third session opens with the entry, November 26, Oeuvres de Fc'm'lon ; Plato's Works ; Ferguson's Philosophy ; Plato's Works ; Ferguson's Philosophy ; Plato's Works ; (for six weeks an alternation of the two) ; Massillon's Sermons ; Oeuvres de Ft'nulon ; Massillon ; Plato's Works ; History of Man ; Plato's AVorks — April 27, 1796, last entry of the session. He has now made three full sessions in Divinity. His fourth and last might be what is called a partial session— two or three weeks, during which his principal duty is the deliver- ing of the last of his prescribed discourses in the Hall. Only three entries occur: — December 26; Locke's Works, vol. 2. December 29 ; Whitby on the Five Points. January 2 ; Aber- nethie's Sermons. The two last may have had some bearing on his discourses. The foregoing list sj^caks for itself Mr. Masson remarks that it is very unlike the lists of the other Divinity students. IMental Philosophy is the foremost subject of his choice; but it surprises us that he had not yet become privately possessed of such leading authors as Locke and Reid. There is also a beginning of his studies in Historical and Social Philosophy ; a dead set at I'lato; and an attempt u])on the (lo'.very vein of Massillon. Lie is already a fair French scholar. 20 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. A word or two now on his college companions. I doubt if there were ever at one time gathered together in one spot such a host of young men of ability as were at Edinburgh Col- lege in the last ten years of the last century. Thomas M'Crie as well as John Leyden sat with Mill in the Senior Greek Class in 1 790-1. Brougham was at college at the same time, although young, and must have then commenced his intimacy with Mill* Jeffrey should have gone to Edinburgh College for his whole education, but seems to have attended only the class of Law. Whether Mill knew him here I cannot say. Thomas Thomson, the chemist, was a class-fellow both in Arts and Divinity, and was all through life an intimate friend. Sir D. Brewster knew Mill, but their college careers only touched : Mill ended in the Divinity Hall in the year that Brewster began. Another of Mill's life-long friendships may have commenced here : Professor Wallace began to study in Edin- burgh at that time, although mainly in the scientific classes. In the Life of Constable is given an interesting sketch of his first start.f Among many other names of after-repute may be mentioned also Mountstuart Elphinstone. We may readily imagine Mill's conversational encounters with such men, but we have nothing to record as to facts. An Aberdeen life in the same years, would, I must admit, have been a dull affair. These were the closing years of Beattie and Campbell in Marischal College ; and the young men of tlie period were undistinguished. In the previous decade (i 781-5) James * nronghnm's biography sliows that he attended Playfair in 1792-3, aMill's third year. ■f- Constable's description of Hill's book shop, in Parliament Close, where he and Wallace were fellow-shopmen, and which was frequented by the professors and clergy (Burns came there wlien in I'xlinburgh), can be used as a help in our imagination of James Mill's Edinburgh life. Most jirobably he here became aceiuainted with Wallace ; and, at all events, their intimacy would bring him here. Wallace was an admirable mathematician, but was neither a metaphysicirm nor a sceptic. James Mill's sociability was mucli wider than his tastes and opinions. BECOMES LICENTIATE OF THE CHURCH. 21 Mackintosh and Robert Hall were fellow-students at King's College. Having thus presented his college life in unbroken narrative, because of the continuity of the known facts, I may as well go on to the date of his being licensed as a preacher, making use of the records of the Presbytery of Brechin, to which I have been allowed to refer. He finished the Divinity Course in January, 1797, and had now to present himself to be taken on trial for license. The first entry in the Presbytery records is on the 19th of October, 1796, at which date he was allowed to make an appearance in anticipation ; being introduced by his friend, Mr. Peters. At the subsequent meeting in December, notice is given by Mr. Peters, that at the next ordinary meet- ing, Mr. James Mill, student in Divinity, upon producing proper certificates, be admitted to his questionary trials. On the ist of February, 1797, he accordingly appears; produces his certificate from the Professor of Divinity that he had regularly attended the Divinity Hall and had delivered the usual exercises with approbation, and that his conduct had been suitable to his views. He was then subjected to ques- tionary trials, or, as we call it, a viva voce examination, and gave satisfactory answers. Whereupon he was reported to the ensuing Synod, which had to authorise the Presbytery to pro- ceed with the rest of his probationary trials. He is not men- tioned again in the Presbytery books till the 28th of June, although in the meantime the subjects of some of his dis- courses must have been prescribed to him. He delivered his "Homily" on Matthew v. 8 ("Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall sec God "), and, more interesting still, his "Exegesis" (Latin) on the foundations of Natural Religion, " Num sit Dei cognitio naturalis?" The Presbytery is satis- fied, and farther prescribes, as a " Lecture," the 14th chapter of John's Gospel. On the 30th August, lie delivers the Lec- ture, together with his " Exercise in addition " on Galatians ii. 22 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. 20 (" I am crucified with Christ," &c.). Both are approved of, and there are prescribed farther. Revelation xxii. 14, for a po- pular sermon, the fifth century for a discourse on Church His- tory, and the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew to be explained. On the nth of October, he gives the popular sermon. An unex- plained blank of a year occurs between this appearance and his next, which was the last. On the 4th of October, 1798, he is examined at large upon his knowledge of Chronology and Church History, and of the Hebrew and Greek languages, and is approved. " And the Presbytery having taken the whole of his trials under their consideration, Did and hereby Do unanimously approve and sustain them, and therefore after he had given satisfying answers to the usual Questions, and sub- scribed the Confession of Faith and Formula, coram, and after Act Eight of the Assembly, 1759 [directed against obtaining a church by Simony] was read to him, the Presbytery Did and hereby Do Licence him, the said Mr. James Mill, to Preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Moderator [his friend, Mr. Peters] having given him suitable Directions, the above was intimated to him." Being now qualified to preach, he would display his powers, in the first instance, in the churches of his own neighbour- hood. Very few records of his preaching exist ; but there is good evidence of his officiating in the church of Logie Pert. My informant, the last survivor of the Barclay family, distinctly remembers hearing him on one occasion ; and knows of his preaching twice. She remembers his loud clear voice, which filled the church ; that his text was from Peter ; and that the generality of the hearers complained of not being able to un- derstand him. Sir David Brewster said to myself, " I've heard him preach ; and no great han' he made o't". This would be at the Divinity Hall, not the best place for a young preacher to show all that was in him. His discourses would no doubt be severely reasoned, but wanting in the unction of the popu- lar evangelical preacher. TUTORSHIPS TRACED. 23 It was known in Mill's own family that in a saddle bag in the attic at his house in Queen's Square, there was a parcel of his sermons. At the time of the f.imily"s removal to Kensing- ton these had disappeared; the belief was that he had destroyed them. The "saddle bag" suggests a curious coincidence with the traditional equipment of the "probationer"' or licensed preacher of former days, who rode on horseback from parish to parish to supply pulpits in the temporary absence of the minis- ters. The ordinary {jrobationer spent his time in going about in this fashion : as is the case still ; but Mill having other engagements could hardly have been for any length of time so occupied. It is curious, however, that John Mill should pro- fess uncertainty as to whether his father had been licensed to preach. It is no easy matter to trace Mill's movements and occupa- tions from 1790 to 1S03, in that })art of his time not s[)ent at college. That he acted as private tutor in various lamilies must be received as a fact, but the particulars handed down are very confusing. The best attested of these engagements is that connected with the Fettercairn fiimily. We know that lie acted as tutor to Miss Stuart. She was three years younger than himself; being fourteen at the time he went to college. In the year 1797 she was married, being then twenty-one; and we may reasonably sujipose that her connexion with Mill as a tutor may have ceased some time before that event. If she was done with him at eighteen, in 1794, he must have taught her from the beginning of his college life, if not also before; either at I-V'ttercairn House, in his vacations, or i)artly there, and partly in ]-Alinburgh while attending classe-.* At any rate it must have been at an early period of his studies. * I gather from Lockiip.rt's /.//<,• 0/ Sro/', that Sir Jnhii and T.ady Jane Stuart hvcd for ,i Ion,' limi! si'duded (th.at is, in their country hi.u>ei, but that several years before 1797 they resided in i'jhiiburuh part of ihr yr;\:- ; no douljl to educate and brinj; out their dau;^liler. Mill would thus be vcrv much with them both in sunmier and winter durinsj his thst col!e''e vears. 24 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. She had reached an interesting age, and made a lasting impres- sion on his mind. He spoke of her in later years with some warmth ; putting it in the form of her great kindness to him ; although, if we believe the traditions, the first source of all the friendship displayed towards him by the family was her mother. The romance that surrounds this lady is now well known. Lockhart gives the incidents of Scott's passion for her. In marrying the son of the banker. Sir William P'orbes, she became the mother of James David Forbes, the distinguished Natural Philosophy Professor of Edinburgh. In the Life of Forbes is given her portrait along with her husband's ; and one could easily fall into the opinion that her cast of expression and mind is what was reproduced in the professor, as he unfortunately participated in her constitutional delicacy. Beloved of so many gods, she died young. It is thus certain that Mill resided for a length of time in the family as ?vliss Stuart's tutor : it is equally certain that the house was always open to him as a guest. He might walk across any day from Northwater Bridge to Fettercairn House, a distance of four miles, and he was counted upon when com- pany were in the house. The House of Fettercairn^ being the only extant domicile that we are able to associate with Mill in Scotland, deserves a brief notice. The village of Fettercairn, containing 400 inhabi- tants, is considerably off the line of rail between Forfar and Aberdeen, being five miles north-west from Laurencekirk. It is a mile and a-half from the Grampians, and between it and them, is Fettercairn House and the more stately House of Fasque, be- longing to the Gladstone family : the grounds of the two being about contiguous. Fettercairn House is half a mile from the village. Modern additions have been made to the original building, which, however, is still distinctly apparent. It is upwards of two centuries old, and as regards extent, con- venience, and comfort, would be midway between the cramped old castle and the spacious modern country house; its external FETTERCAIRN HOUSE. 2$ decoration in the way of turrets and ornamental projections is very limited. Stripped, by the new additions, of all smaller adjuncts of former days, the main block is a plain three-storey building, a hundred feet in length. The lower floor was the kitchen and offices : the first floor a range of fair-sized public rooms, the house being only room thick. The upper floor contained a range of good bed-rooms large and small ; imagi- nation readily fixes on one of them as Mill's room. In this house, with its pleasant grounds, surroundings, and walks to the mountains, Mill spent many happy and studious days. The ])ortraits, still preserved in the house, enable us to conceive the figures of liis host and hostess. Sir John is seen to be a man of very fine features, as well as of stately height. Of his daughter in girlhood, there is no portrait ; the existing picture must have been taken after her marriage ; it is, however, specially venerated by being kept in a shut-up frame. The Fettercairn estate is now the property of Lord Clinton's eldest son, a minor (Hon. Chas. H. R. Trefusis), whose mother was the great-grand daughter of Sir John Stuart. Passengers in the railway between Dubton and Laurencekirk can see, right and left of them, the scenery where JNlill's boy- hood rambled ; on the left is the Grampian chain, with the intervening strath of four or five miles in width. The Craigo station is the nearest to the Northwater Bridge. It is curious to think of the close geograj^hical proximity of Scotch metaphysical talent in that neighbourhood. Eeattie was born at Laurencekirk. In a long forenoon walk, through the Grampian pass, by Fettercairn and Fasque, Mill could reach the birth-place of Reid (manse of the parish of Strahan), and four miles farther, the manse of Banchory-Ternan, on the Dee, where Campbell wrote the Philosophy of Rhetoric. But now as to his other tutorships, say from 1795 t*^ 1802. One engagement, not mentioned in any tradition, I have been able to trace out by the assistance of a daughter of Professor 26 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. Stuart of Marischal College (born in 1792), who distinctly remembers having seen James Mill in Aberdeen. This was to me an entirely novel circumstance. No one had ever heard him say that he had been in Aberdeen, or mention any fact that implied it. As the lady in question was the niece of Mr. Peters, and often visited his manse as a child, she probably saw Mill there ; but she farther states that she knew him as a tutor in Aberdeen, in the family of Mr. Burnet of I'drick, one of the branches of the family that gave birth to Bishop Burnet. At the time when I first received this information, one of the sons that would have been his pupils was still alive. From him I received this statement : " It is quite true that a Mr. Mill was private tutor in my father's family, whom I am aware my father held in high estimation, and kept up an intimate correspond- ence with for years afterwards, but I am sorry to say that my memory does not serve me sufficiently to give any reliable information, and I was not even aware of the Mr. Mill in question being the father of John Stuart Mill ". That an inti- mate or extensive correspondence was kept up I should very much doubt ; but if the letters are ever forthcoming, they will be a valuable contribution to the biography, assuming that there is no mistake. A farther confirmation, however, occurs in Mill's own letters to Mr. Barclay, who had a brother that studied in Marischal College. Mill promises to introduce this brother to "his friends in Aberdeen". Now he miglit liave had one or two friends in Aberdeen, without ever being there ; but the unqualified plural seems to imply that he had made friends there by residence. This engagement must have been subsequent to his leaving the Divinity Hall in the beginning of 1797 ; for although he might have been tutor to families in the south while attending college, seeing that the high families often wintered in Edin- burgh, he could hardly have been a tutor in Aberdeen so long as he was a student. His introduction to Mr. Burnet was, without doubt, through Professor Stuart. The professor's AT AliRRDEKX, 27 daughter related a tradition to the effect that ^Mill tlirew up his appointment suddenly, owing to an affront given him at a dinner party ; but this cannot be received if we are to trust Mr. Ikirnet's own statement. The story will re-appear presently in an altered form. On the above supposition as to the time of this engagement, Mill would have been in Aberdeen after being a licentiate of the Church ; and I therefore thought it worth while to search the records of the Kirk Session of Aberdeen, in which a regular insertion is made of the preachers and texts every Sunday in the three parish churches. I found his friend, Mr. Peters, twice mentioned, but ^lill's name does not occur. There were other churches, called chapels of ease, but their records I have not seen. Some illumination of these dark years is supplied by a series of letters addressed by Mill to I )r. Thomas Thomson, the celebrated chemist. They were written from London, and, therefore, relate to a subsequent stage, and will be made use of when we come to that stage. They indirectly, however, assist us in reference to the Edinburgh i)eriod. The intimacy sub- sisting between Mill and Dr. Thomson makes a large part of his early biograpiiy. A nearly equal intimacy obtained between him and the brother of the chemist, James Thomson, after- wards Dr. James Thomson, minister of Fxcles, in Berwickshire. Short biographies of the brothers Thomson were drawn up and printed by the late Dr. Robert Dundas 'i'homson. Lecturer at St. Thomas's Hospital, son of Dr. James Thomson, and son-in-law of Dr. Thomas Thomson, as well as his assistant in Glasgow, during his last years. These biogra[)hies impart some valuable information respecting ^lill. The brothers Thomson were successively engaged as as- sistant editors to the EncyclopcrJia Brita)inica, from 1796 till 1800, the i)eriod of publication of the Sui)i)lement to the Third Edition : the chief editor being George Gleig, after- 28 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. wards Bishop of Brechin and Primus of Scotland. Both brothers contributed largely to the work — James, theological and miscellaneous articles, Thomas, his first scientific composi- tions, the foundation of his subsequent works. The contribu- tions of the brothers seem to have extended into the Fourth Edition, which began to be published in 1805. The allowance for the editorial part of the work was ;^5o a-year, with house, coal and candle, in the office. The pay to contributors was three guineas a sheet. Mention is made, in both Memoirs, of the fact that, besides the standing Theological (debating) Society, there was in Edinburgh, a Select Literary Society for general subjects, com- posed of six persons — James and Thomas Thomson, James Mill, John Barclay, the anatomist ; James Carter, afterwards of Liverpool, a medical writer ; and Dr. Miller, who, I suppose, was James Miller the editor of the Fourth Edition of the Encyclopaedia (the two memoirs differ somewhat in the enumer- ation). These represent Mill's most intimate friends in Edin- burgh, as regarded study and discussion. At least four out of the six ultimately embarked in lay occupations. It was in 1800 that Dr. Thomas Thomson, having finished editing the Supplement to the Encyclopcedia^ found a more commanding and lucrative sphere as a lecturer on chemistry. He associated himself with Barclay, who had been giving lec- tures in anatomy in a hired house since 1797. One of the memoirs states, as if a coincident fact, that " James Mill ob- tained a tutorship in the family of a Scottish nobleman in East Lothian " ; the other memoir adds — on the recommendation of Finlayson, professor of Logic. The inference would be that before that time Mill was resident in Edinburgh ; his occupa- tion is not stated. He was certainly as well qualified for writing articles in the Encyclopedia as either of the Thomsons, and seeing that they were editors in succession, he must have had it in his power to contribute, but we have no information as to the fact. One of the traditions floating in his father's TWEEDDALE FAMILY. 29 family, and given me by an old man, his relative, whom I had been able to interrogate, was that he had been a corrector for the press in Edinburgh. The name of the nobleman is not given ; but the narrative, repeated in the same words in both memoirs, goes on to say that "he gave offence to the heads of the family by drinking the health at table of one of the junior female members of the house," and in consequence "gave up his situation, and determined to trust to his pen and his own exertions ". This is a curious echo of the story told me by the daughter of Professor Stuart, of Aberdeen, who laid the scene in the family - of Burnet of Elrick, but stated that the precise offence to Mill's pride consisted in his being, on one occasion, motioned to leave the dinner table with the ladies. It must be the same story, and the version coming to us from the Thomsons is the most to be relied on. If connected with his resolution to go to London, the fact must have been well remembered by both brothers, and we have it from their nearest relative. Supposing, as appears to be implied, that Mill entered upon this tutorship when Dr. Thomson began lecturing, and gave it up previously to going to London, he would probably have been a little more than a year in the family. Now one of the particulars stated by Mr. David Barclay, and confirmed by at least one other testimony (an insertion by Lord Brougham, in the l)iograi)hy in the Fenny Cydopccdia)^ is tliat Mill was for some time tutor in tlie family of the Mar{[uis of Tweeddale. The other noble houses of East Lothian are those of Wemyss and Haddington; in neitlier of which was there a young family under tuition in iSoo. In the house of Tweeddale, a large family was just growing up; the eldest son was thirteen, and a daughter next to him was twelve. This eldest son was the venerable Mar([uis, not long since deceased ; and to him, before his death, I applied for information on the point. He responded X.o my encjuiries with great courtesy, and took pains to recall the particulars of his early education, from which 30 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. it would appear that he could not have had Mill as a tutor. I regard his statements as decisive up to the year 1800, when he went to a succession of schools in or a')Out London, to finish his education, before entering the army. Excepting that tlic Marquis should not have entirely forgotten what was going on at home during the years 1800 and 1801, there is nothing to preclude Mill's being tutor in the family to the next children, from some time in 1800 to the end of 1801. Unfortunately, at the time the Marquis wrote, his sister, who was next him, was too ill to be interrogated, and soon after died. She would be the beauty that Mill had rashly toasted. The next eldest brother, after the Marquis, Lord James Hay, married a lady of property near Aberdeen, and lived there the greater part of his life, but has been dead for several yearrj. If the ]X)int had been raised in time. Lord James could no doubt have set it to rest. We must be content with supposing that within the limits mentioned the connexion actually took place, but terminated in a way to make both parties willing to forget all about it. There seems no alternative mode of accounting for the origin of a tradition authenticated both by David Ixirclay and by the brothers Thomson, as well as by Lord I^rougham. I will now present in one connected view tlie notices of Mill " at home," or in his family at Northwater Bridge. He wolild not reside there continuously any year after first going to college, but he was known to be there occasionally in vaca- tions, and on longer or sliortcr visits. Taking our stand about 1795, we discern that his parents without being gone in years, were yet not " wliat they had been"; indeed the mother was only forty, but was pre- maturely feeble. rerhai)s as yet tliere was no failure in their circumstances, but the decline was not far off. William was twenty, and had for years been in his father's shop ; another of the workmen is identified at that date, a married man, who lived apart from the Mills. Tliese would probably be AT HO.ME. 31 Mill's usur.l complement of workmen ; although it is admitted that he might have three men at work. The household would thus he made up of father and mother, James (when at home), ^^'il!iam, and May (eighteen), on whom would fall a chief part of the housework, as well as tlie shoe-binding for the shop. The west room of the house contained two beds along the right hand wall ; in that room the mother hung up a canvas curtain (" cannass " it was called, being what is laid on the threshing-floor to keei) the corn together) ; thus cutting off from the draught and from the gaze, the farther end of the room, including James's bed, the fire, and the gable window. This was his study ; and the wliole arrangement was vividly retained in the memory of contemporaries. Here he had his book sheh«'es, his little round table and chair, and the gable window sill for a temporary shelf He s])ent great p..rt of his day in study. He liad his regular pedestrian stretches; one secluded narrow glen is called "James Milks walk"', tie avoided peojjle on the road ; and was called haughty, shy, or reserved, according to the j)oint of view of the critic. He went often in the e\-ening to tea with the Barclays, beii^.g thorouglily at home there. 1'heir little library would be an extension of his compass of reading. One of the sons of tl.e house, Robert, studied for the church, and was assisted in has studies by Mill. ^^'riting to David liarclay from London, many years at"ter, he reverts with much warmth to his early friendsliip -.villi tlie family. Referring to a letter from another correspondent, liis words are, " He stated that your mother whose age must now be very great, is in a melancholy state of health. I beg you will pre- sent to her my most affectionate remembrance, and tell her that few things on earth would give me greater ])k'asure than to see her again. The tears come in my eyes when T think of her and the excellent man your father: whom I :il\says loved next to my own, and in whose house I was for so many years as much at home as in that of my own. Tell me of your 32 EARLY LIFE IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. brothers William and Robert, and of all your sisters ; I know but little of your movements, since I saw your brother Robert in London." Besides the minister, he had as friends the most important people in the parish, among whom special mention is made of Lord Kintore's factor, or steward. His meals he took alone in his screened study ; they were provided by his mother expressly for his supposed needs. Among the other members of the family who would take their meals in the kitchen, there is said to have been a line of demar- cation on the score of rank, but authorities are not agreed as to how it was drawn. Some accounts represent the mother as having, in her dignified and luxurious fashion, a table apart ; others say that she and her husband were at one table, and the workmen with the two younger children at the other.* The latest recorded incident of his career in Scotland is his being defeated in the attempt to become minister of the plea- sant village of Craig, a long narrow strip of uplands lying on the coast between Montrose and the Bay of Lunan. Mill could have taken care of such a parish, and yet have found time for his favourite studies, working his way to authorship, and almost certainly to a chair in a university. The patronage was in the hands of the Divinity professors of St. Andrews, who might be expected to favour one of their own pupils ; but * James Mill, the father, regularly fasted on Sunday till he returned from church ; and it is not likely that the less strict nienihers of the household would breakfast very sunijituously on Sunday mornings. He had an inconvenient habit of whistling in a low "sough" while at his work; and the neighbours remarked that he was never known to give way to it on the Saljbath day. He was very strict in all observances of a religious nature : but as regards the dis- cipline of the children, he and his wife were (in their eldest son's judgment) blameably lax. In the dearth of charact(;ristic illustrations of Mill in his home relations, the followi?ig anecdote may be excused. One day his sister coming to serve liis dinner, found him inclining his little table to his lap. She exclaims, " Iloocan the tilings .vv7 there?" He replies, " If they wunna .f/V, iry \{ ihcv'll s/d/i'". It may be going too far to interpret this as showing his early resolution to conquer Scotticisms, which he carried out in after-life with admitted success. EDINBURGH SOCIETIES. 33 ill this case the contest turned upon other considerations. Mill was said to rely on Lady Jane Stuart, whose family, all-powerful in Fifeshire, would have influence with the St. Andrews pro- fessors. On the other hand the Rossie f:imily (chief in the parish itself) preferred James Brewster, the brother of Sir David. As the vacancy did not occur till the resignation of the minister in June, 1S03 (more than a year after Mill left Scot- land), the contest must have taken place in anticipation, and must have been virtually decided against him. Brewster was a man far more acce^jtable to an ordinary congregation than ever Mill could have been. It is said that the disappointment was the immediate cause of his going to London — a mere guess. I cannot conclude this first chapter, embracing Mill's twenty- nine years' life in Scotland, without another remark or two that I could not conveniently incorporate in the narrative. Reverting to his Edinburgh contemporaries (afterwards men of more or less distinction), and to the various societies where they began to exercise and display their talents, I am struck with the absence of Mill's name from the Speculative Society, the oldest and greatest of all the Edinburgh Debating Societies, and adorned by nearly all the highest names of the time. In fact, to have been a member of this society, between 1790 and iSoo, was of itself a distinction; to have been in Edinburgh and not to belong to it, seemed to argue a man unknown.* It * Take Lord Cockburn's enumeration of the contemporaries of Ji-ffrey, who became a member in 1792. " In the course of those nine or ten years, he had a succession, and sometimes a cluster, of powerful competitors. It is sufficient to mention Sir Walter Scott, with whom he first became acquainted here ; Dr. John Thomson; John Allen; David Boyle, now Lord President of the Court of Session ; the Rev. Ijr. Hrunton ; the Marquis of Lansdowin- ; the late Cliarles, Lord Kinnaird ; Dr. Ileadlam; Francis Horner; the late William Adam, Accountant (general in the Court of Chancery; John A. Murray, and fames Moncrieff, both afterwards Judges ; Henry Hrougliam ; Lord Clenelg-, and his late brother Robert Grant; James Loch, the Honour.ible c:harles Stuart, and William Scarlett. The political sensitiveness of the day at one 3 34 EARLY LIFK IN SCOTLAND. 1773-1802. is vain to ask why he did not enter the Speculative Society. We can see, however, that the absence of his name from the brilliant company that composed it in those years, has led to his being usually passed over when the roll of his Edinburgh contemporaries is mustered in history. As in so many other things, we are entirely in the dark as to the first impulses of his mind towards liberal politics and poli- tical philosophy. He went to Edinburgh the year following the outbreak of the French Revolution. Tliere was a very good twice-a-week paper in Edinburgh, the Courant, which regularly reported the proceedings in France ; and these, together with the home politics, must have been closely followed by every earnest and enquiring mind. The home excitement in the beginning of 1793, was at fever heat. Every number of the Courant was crowded with reports of meetings in the counties (chiefly the gentry) at which were passed votes of confidence in the British Constitution, sup- posed to be in danger from French infection. How Mill, at the age of 20, took all this, we have no indication.* There can be little doubt that the merits and demerits of the Revolu- tion would be a subject of stirring debate among all those that he came in contact with. He was now reading the best acces- time obtruded itself rather violently into this hall of philosophical orators ; but it soon passed away, and while it lasted, it only animated their debates, and, by connecting them wiih public principles and parties, gave a practical interest to their proceedings. The brightest period in the progress of the society was during the political storm that crossed it in 1799." The energy of Brougham started another smaller society in 1792, which in- cluded Francis Horner, and Andrew Thomson, the great Scolch preacher of after years, and a few lawyers, but not Mill. Andrew Thomson would be with Mill in the Theological Society. * On the 30th August this year, occurred the memorable trial of Thomas Muir, who was sentenced to 14 years' transportation for sedition, as the mildest form of political agitation was then called. Cockburn tells us that Jeffrey and Sir Samuel Romilly were jiresent. " Neither of them ever forgot it. Jeffrey never mentioned it without horror." Next January, 1794, occurred the trial and banishment of the other Edinburgh political martyrs. These atrocities would affect Mill no less than they did Jeffrey and Romilly. SUMMARY OF EDINBURGH STUDIES. 35 sible books on the theor)' of Government, as Millar, Ferguson and Hume. He must also have read a good deal of History, ancient and modern. Probably his Greek studies imbued him with the democratic ideal of Government : but this supposes an independent bias on his part ; for very few have ever been made liberal politicians by classical authors alone. The extent of his acquired knowledge and original thinking, when he left Scotland at the age of twenty-nine, will be judged by what he was able to do in the next few years. He kept back from the aspiring Scotchman's venture upon London, until he had attained an unusual maturity of intellectual power : while possessed of good ballast in the moral part. Moreover, we are to conceive of him as a youth of great bodily charms. One of my lady informants spoke of him with a quite rapturous admiration of his beauty. His figure and proportions were fine ; the short breeches of the time showed a leg of perfect form. His features beamed with expression. Nothing was wanting that could prepossess people's favourable regards. Chapter II. START IN LONDON: 1802-1808. MILL went to London in the beginning of 1802. It may be held as certain, that he made the journey in the company of Sir John Stuart, whose movements may be judged from the date of the opening of the ParUamentary session. In point of fact that session had been opened the previous winter, and had been kept adjourned for short periods till February ; but the business of the year may be said to have commenced about the 9th of February. If Mill had journeyed on his own resources, he would have followed the plan that he afterwards recommended to his correspondent in Logic Pert, to " go on board a Montrose smack ". His friend Thomas Thomson, whose pecuniary cir- cumstances were then much better than Mill's, went to London a few months later in a smack from Leith; the fare was ^4 4s., and the entire cost of the journey (lasting a week) was P^5 7s. 8d. By coach the expense must have been twice or three times as much. Perhaps Sir John posted, and gave Mill the spare seat. The first account of him in London is a letter that he addressed, on the 13th March, to Thomas Thomson, which, it appears, had been preceded at a very short interval by another not found in the collection. The one half of the letter recounts his operations with a view to literary employment, the other half is on politics. INTRODUCTIONS IN LONDON. 37 His first introduction, how obtained lie does not say, was to Dr. Bisset,* who promised to recommend him. But the great object he had in view was to be introduced to Dr. Gifford,t and for this he had already appUed to Thomson in the previous letter, and now iterates the request ; Bisset also having pro- mised to mention him. It appears that Thomson was not per- sonally known to Gifford, but undertook, solely on the strength of his scientific reputation, to write a testimonial in Mill's behalf The letter goes on : — " I am extremely ambitious to remain here, which I feel to be so much the best scene for a man of letters, that you can have no notion of it till you be upon the spot. You get an ardour and a spirit of adven- turousness, which you never can get an idea of among our over-cautious countrymen at home. Here everybody applauds the most romantic scheme you can form. In Scotland every- body represses you, if you but propose to step out of the beaten track. On the idea of remaining here, I have even formed schemes for you and me already. You must of neces- sity come here, where you may do anything you like. You may make ^500 a year by your pen, and as much by a class. I have mentioned to several people my idea of a class of Juris- * Dr. Robert Bisset, a Scotchman, born in 1760, author of a Life of Ihirke, History vf the Kci;^n of George III., and some novels. He also inihlislictl an edition of tlie Spectator with notes. He died in 1806. Mill says of him, in the letter, that lie has not a single pretension to genius, nor " half the knowledge that you or even I have," and yet makes six or seven hundred a year by his pen solely. He does not appear to have been an editor, so that he could not him- self provide cmijloyment for Mill. ■f" This was John Gifford (born 1758), whose real name was John Richards Green. He had squandered a fortune, and took to writing. Besides his voluminous authorship he edited the Anti-Jacobin Re-'icM, a monthly periodical of good standing. From a double coincick'nce of name, he is apt to be con- founded with William (iifforfi, editor of Canning's Anti-Jacobin, and subse- quently editor of the (Juarterly Kc^.'ic-tO. Aiiiuiig other things John Giftord wrote the Political Life of Pitt. Vox his adherence to the government, he was made a police magistrate, and died in 1818. It was as editor of the Anti- Jacobin Reinao that he was so imjiortant in Mill's eyes. I'ossibly also he could be the means of opening a newsjiajier connection to a tiualified aspirant. 38 START IX LONDON. 1802-1808. prudence, who have assured me that it could not fail to suc- ceed, and have advised me for that purpose to enter myself in one of the Inns of Court the first term ; by which means too I may become a lawyer, if I shall ever think proper to make that attempt.* If you were here, and we had made to our- selves something of a name, which I think we surely might do, what would hinder us to produce a periodical work of our own, of any description that we might approve ? I am sure we might make it more interesting than anything which is pub- lished at present. And the profits of these things, when they have a good sale, are immense. And our classes might go on at the same time, as well as larger undertakings which we might carry on. The great difficulty here is a beginning — when you have got that, you can make your own terms." The second half of this interesting letter is on politics. Mill entered with the utmost zest into the political situation, not- withstanding a disclaimer to the effect that the newspapers tell all the news except what was kept secret from everybody. He had not been idle the few weeks of his stay. He had seen almost everything worth seeing in London. He had been at every tolerable debate, and had heard all the ministers speak, but had not yet heard Pitt, Fox, or Sheridan. The eloquence * The proposal to setup n class of Jurisprudence is very sug-g-estive. It would seem to show that, while yet in Edinburgh, he had pushed his study of the Moral Sciences not merely into Politics and Political Economy, but also into Law and Jurisijrudence. The moment chosen for tlie proposed would i)e a trying one. Bentliam had published enough to ujjset the credit of previous jurisjjrudence ; but his more important constructive treatises were still un-pub- lished. Tlie Fragment on Governmcnl, the Principles of AforrJs and Lei;i.\-/i!:- tion, the Defence of Usury, the Panopticon or Prison Discip/i>ie were publishetl, and these I can infer from an expression of Mill's he had studied early. Dumont's Treatise was published in Paris this very year, and may liave caught Mill's wakeful eye. I observe in a note to his translation of Villers's work on Tke Reformation (1805) that he professes acquaintance with the Prussian and the Danish Codes. His article on Jurisprudence written long afterwards is dejiendent on the later works of Bentham. Of course, in thinking of a subject for lectures, he had in view the demand, and found tluit tliero was a sphere among the law students. A DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 39 of the House of Commons, he says, is nothing to the General Assembly ; no speaker that he had yet heard was equal to twenty in the Assembly. " They speak such silly stuff, and arc so much at a loss to get it out, that they are more like boys in an evening society at college, than senators carrying on the business of a great nation. The old political stagers of both sides are standing completely aloof at present."* The particular moment of public affairs was the discussion of the pending treaty of peace, called the peace of Amiens. The preliminary articles had not yet been signed, but such points as the giving up of Malta to the Knights of St. John were freely canvassed, and much objected to. Mill had made uj') his mind in favour of peace at the cost of the various con- cessions, and not only so, but had written a short paper on that side, and had sent it to Dr. Bisset to show what he could do as an occasional writer on politics. His activity did not stop there. " I insert^^d a squib in the True Briton (newsi)aper) of 12th March (yesterday) against the Pic-nic Theatre. '"f I do not know whether Bisset had anything to do with this j)aper, or whether Mill obtained, or tried to obtain, admission to it as a writer. * The only debates of interest that had yet occurred were Feb. 17 — on the Civil List, chiefly with reference to the affairs of the Prince of Wales, in which Pitt and Fox both spoke ; March 3 — on the Army Estiriiatcs — a great War debate ; March 5 — on the American Treaty Bill, also of considerable length. Mill probably heard the two last. He afterwards returns to liis comparisons between the House of Commons orators and the orators of the General Assembly, at whose debates he liatl ol'teii l)een prtsent. In those years among the men that wielded the Scotch ecclesi- astical democracy were Principal Hill (who succeeded Koliertson, the historian, as leader). Sir H. Moncrieff, Dr. Bryce Johnstone, Dr. Grieve, Dr. Alexander Carlyle, and the theological professors Hunter :ind Hardie. Distinguished judges and non-theological professors, as well as the pick of tln' nobility and gentry, sat as lay representatives, and often took ])art in the debales. f The sciuib is a very small affair, consisting in all of a few lines. It reflects somewhat broadly upon the di.->ipated morals of the " Pic-nic Pro- prietors," as they are called by their young satirist. No clue worlli following out is afforded either as to their actual proceedings or as to the new comer's interest in them. 40 START IN LONDON. l8o2-l8o2. We have not another letter to Thomson for eight weeks ; in the middle of the interval occurs his first communication to his friend David Barclay (17th April). This last is our evidence that he went to London by road. He gives his impressions of English farming, as seen on his way. The first thing that struck him was the absence of waste land. The next was the inferiority of English farming, of which he gave two illus- trations. One was that their ridges were more crooked than the worst even of the old ridges at home. The second was their ploughing with three, four, and even five strong horses all in a line ; the plough itself being " a great ill-contrived, abominable instrument ". On the other hand, "they excel us in the rearing and fattening of cattle ". Then for London itself. He works up a considerably exag- gerated picture for Barclay's astonishment. On all sides streets filled, almost choking, with people, horses, waggons, carts, car- riages, and every sort of bustle. Another very fine sight, Hyde Park, especially on a Sunday, where all the nobility and gentry go to air themselves. You see thousands of carriages and horsemen ; and the walks, for miles, filled with the finest- dressed people walking almost as thick as the passages of your church when the people are coming out. Another sight was sailing down the river through thousands and tens of thousands of ships, of all sizes and all nations, with myriads of small craft plying around. He repeats to Barclay his having been often in the House of Commons. In the interval since he wrote to Thomson, he has heard Fox make one of the greatest si)ecches he was ever heard to deliver ; it lasted two hours and a half* * In the interval, March 13 to April 17, Fox made three great speeches. First on March 16, in moving for a new writ for Tavistocl<, occasioned by the death of the Duke of Bedford, he indulged in a lengthened panegyric on the deceased Duke. On March 29, with reference to the everlasting worry of the Civil List, he delivered an animated speech occupying more than six of Han- sard's dense pages ; Pitt replying. On March 31, the same subject came up with more special reference to the Prince of Wales, on a motion by Manners Sutton relative to the 13uchy of Cornwall. Fox supj^orted the motion. The second of the three speeches uuist be what Mill alluded to. WRITES IX THE AXTI-JACOBIX. 4I He has another incident to relate. Walking yesterday in a solitary part of Hyde Park (he does not say where that was), up came two gentlemen riding behind, and talking together most earnestly. He looks once round ; they are Pitt and Ad- dington. He stared at them, Pitt stared back at him two or three times. To complete his chain of adventures, he next overtakes the Prince of Wales on horseback, and finally meets the Princess of Wales in an open chaise. More to business is his second letter to Thomson on the loth of May. He is now at work for Gifford in the Anti- Jacobin Review. He has written an article on Belsham's Elements of Logic and ATenfal Philosophy f' it is printed and is to appear on the ist of June (out in May). He now wishes to review Thomson's own book (first edition of his System of Chemistry, 4 vols.) ; he has half read it, and but for Belsham stopping the way, would like it to be the leading article of the next number of the Review. (It aj)peared in the June number.) He gives a full picture of his situation and pros})c(:ts. As yet his chief stay seems to be Gifford, who is full of friendly demonstrations, advises original composition, promises him books for review, but does not give him much encouragement. In fact, the return from the Anti-Jacobin Reviezv would be but a small part of his maintenance. Pie doubts whether it would be prudent to stop in London on this precarious footing. " I may * This is Mill's first article on Mental Philosophy known to u?. It is sufTicicntly mature and decided in its views; and his stern li)L;ic is already in the ascendant. liis mode of stating his positions is not exactly %shat he fol- lowed aft-Twards. He attacks B'-lsham's defmitions, his logic, his order of putting logic before metaphysics, his theory of memory. He attacks the vib- rations of Hartley, and praises Reid's arguments against them. Hi- quarrels witli IJelsham as to the purpose of Locke's Jissjy, which he ia'.l^-"an achievement of thought, the greatest perhaps on record in the trraung of the human mind". .-Xttacks his selfish theory of morals : " it imposes an (jbligation to be vicious, removes the moral character of the Ucity, ami renders it impos- silile to prove a future state". " Tiil you have first jiroved the mor.d attributes of God, it is aljsurd to offer a jiroof of Rt'velation. for, however certainly you prove revelation to be the word of God, unless I know that God is true, how do I know that his \\o\i\ is true?" 42 START IN LONDON. l8o2-l8o8. tell you, however, that I am a good deal more than half inclined to do so, and risk everything rather than abandon the hopes I have allowed myself to indulge. I can support myself for a year, as you propose, by the Encyclopedia \Britan7iica, the fourth edition now getting forward under the editorship of Miller], and during the time bring forward too, perhaps, some little thing to make myself known : I am willing to labour hard and live penuriously, and it will be devilish hard, if a man, good for anything, cannot keep himself alive here on these terms." He recites a long conversation he had with Gifford (at a Sunday dinner) upon public affairs ; but not interesting to us. It reveals the type of partisan that could criticise his party very freely (of Pitt he even says, " when a man deserts his principles I give him up "), but took care never to vote on the other side. I cannot tell whether any value now attaches to the fact (given by Gifford) that Sir Sidney Smith never heard Napoleon called a great man without getting into a rage, &:c. He has another House of Commons debate to describe : one of the great debates of the session, on a motion by NichoUs for censuring the late Administration, and Pitt more especially (May 7). It was a fine opportunity for hearing all the good speakers of the Opposition. NichoUs, who opened, showed a good deal of knowledge ; but very inelegant both as to language and delivery. Lord Belgrave, on the otlier side, had small merit. A number of silly fellov.'s followed, and iterated Pitt's praises — saviour of the country — financial abilities — eloquence — firmness, manliness, integrity — sedition — danger of the con- stitution — morality, religion, social order, (S:c. The first s])eech v/orth mentioning was by T. Erskine, apropos of wliom Mill denounces the speaking generally for diffuseness, want of arrangement, disproportion, &c. Wilberforce spoke tolerably well in favour of ministers — a flowing, wordy style, a clear thougli effeminate voice — says common things in a ])leasing manner — only an ugly Uttlc wretch to look upon, (irey — a NEW PROJKCTS. 43 tallish, rather young, genteel man. His eloquence, very powerful, is described with great minuteness and in a strain of high compliment. Lord Hawkesbury — able in Pitt's defence ; his speaking very much resembling Pitt's peculiar style of vehemence. But now Fox rose — the foremost man in the House of Commons by many degrees ; the most profound and philosophical as well as the most generous and liberal ; such an appearance of good humour ; does every thing with so much nature and ease. In three weeks (31st May) another letter to Thomson, com- municating an improvement in his prospects. The good fortune consists in a proposition made to him to co-operate in a great literary work with Dr. Hunter.* It was to re-write a popular !)Ook called Nature Delineated, keeping the plan, but freshening the material. Hunter had been entrusted by two booksellers with the work, and, at his request, Mill drew the scheme, after Bacon's famous classification of knowledge. He goes into some detail, asks Thomson's advice upon the physical topics, and does not shrmk from undertaking to write the greater part himself. He expects liberal terms, and also to become known to the booksellers. Hunter's name, he says, is pretty high. He had already delivered an introduction from Thomson to " Spankie," who promised to procure newspaper work for him next season. This was Robert Spankie, afterwards Serjeant Spankie, who was the editor of the Morning Chronicle, while Perry was occupied in a manufacturing speculation. We do not hear that the promise was fulfilled : Mill's sway in the Chronicle was reserved for another day. The letter then intimates that his review of Thomson's book * This was evidently Dr. Henry Hunter, a native of Perihshirc, ant! living in London as minister of the Scotch Church, London Wall. He \sas a volu- minous writer — as compiler, editor, and translator — now cniiijjletely neglected. Three of his translations were of well-known works — I-uler's I.etUrs, .^t. Pierre's Studies of h'ature, and Lavater's Physio^ii<^tiiy. He was a very good man for Mill to get hold of, and Mill would he the square peg in his sijuare hole. 44 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. is to appear as leader in the next number of the A7iti-Jacobt7i Review. He never so much regretted his imperfect knowledge of the subject ; wished to compare the book with some other elementary treatises, but was afraid.* His friendly interest in the success of the book is warmly expressed. In the same letter we have the two days' debate on the Peace (May 13, 14) which may be considered the debate of the session. For this he had to be in the gallery from eleven fore- noon to four next morning, and again from eleven till five in the morning. Very little good speaking. Windham — a dis- agreeable, scjueaking voice, little animation, and all the obscurity of dulness. Lord Hawkesbury — able, but unmer- cifully long ; the fault of them all, for want of method. The rest of the first day, clumsy panegyrics upon Pitt. Next day, somebody whose name he forgot (Sir W. Young) made a tolerable speech on Windham's side. Lord Castlereagh replied : fire and fluency, but not much in what he says — second rate. Dr. Laurence — a great coarse man, but has more know- ledge than most of them. The Master of the Rolls (Sir William Grant) made one of the best speeches in the debate ; calm, and thinks and argues more closely than most in the House. Near three in the morning, Sheridan rose and delivered " a piece of the most exquisite wit and raillery that I fancy ever came unpremeditatedly from the mouth of man. It was not a number of fine sparks here and there — it was one blaze from beginning to end : he wrote down every part of the antago- nists' speeches that struck him, and these he ridiculed with inimitable success. The discussion has hurt the popularity of the ministry, and Pitt will be in as soon as he can gracefully."+ * The article is of course intelligent. It summarises the work, and praises the method and the style, but is not critical. I cannot explain how it was that Mill's intimacy with Tliomson in lulinburgh should not have given him a better hold of the doctrines of chemistry. IVrha]xs, the circumstances of his Edin- burgh life did not permit him to work at tlie subject. f See Wilberforce's Diary, 14th May: — "House till near four ni^ain — .Sliciidnn infinitely witty, having l)een drinking." Tlie greatest witticism THE LITKRARV JOURNAL. 45 The letter flirther intimates that Mill is now sufficiently settled to take rooms by the year, in 33 Surrey Street. He is joined by an old pupil of Thomson's, Macdiarmid, also devoted to literary work, who did not long survive. They have a sitting room, "about as good as yours" (in Bristow Street), and two bed-rooms for 50 guineas : they have to dine at the coffee-house, and get their boots cleaned by the shoe-black. There is still an important postscript : — "I had almost forgot to thank you for your care in providing me work from the Encydopii:dia. You will see that now I shall have enough to do without it. I intend still to review for Gifford, because I wish to cultivate his acquaintance, and because I think I can review a few books without hindering my other work. You will hear from me again very soon : but now we shall be obliged to pay one another's letters (elevenpence, no franking by Sir John at present)." Two days afterwards, he writes to Barclay in connexion with his own family, being then in the hurry of moving. Another letter to Barclay of 9th Sept., is little to our purpose : unimportant political comments, and a discussing of harvest prospects ; with family matters to be referred to afterwards. There is no letter to Thomson till the 20th Nov. The reason of the blank is that Thomson was in London for ten days in August ; but although he has a diary of the humours of his fellow-passengers on board the smack, he gives no record of his dealings with ]\Iill. Meanwhile the scene of his activity has changed. We left him, in the end of May, planning with Hunter the new edition of Nature Delineated ; we find him in Novcr.iber, in the advanced stage of a project for a new literary i)eriodical. The of the speech is the comparison of Pitt to Theseus, wlio sat so loni; in one posture tliat he adheretl to tlie seat ; so that when Hercules came to snatch him away, in the sudden jerlc a jjortion of his sitting-part was left liehind. Leigh Hunt quotes an anecdote to tlie effect that Sheridan got this simile from some one as he walked down to the House. 46 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. only assignable link in the transition is the fact that Hunter was seized with inflammation of the lungs and died at Bristol Wells on the 27th October. In the new enterprise Mill is in connexion with the publisher Baldwin, a connexion that became still closer and lasted his life.* We cannot tell whether Baldwin was one of the two booksellers that Hunter was em- ployed by for Nature Delineated ; nor how the scheme came to be exchanged for a periodical. That Mill had considerable faith in the success of a well-conducted useful-knowledge periodical we saw before. The work now planned, in which Mill was to be occupied as editor and coni^ributor for the next four years, was The Literary Journal. In the prospectus drawn up by him, the key-note is this: — the projectors "have long been of opinion, that a publication devoted to the dissemination of liberal and useful knowledge, on a more comprehensive plan than any which has yet appeared in this country, would, if rightly executed, be a work of great utility ". A sentence relative to the more rapid communication of discoveries, hitherto overlooked by our periodicals, is very likely the insertion of Thomson. The work was to be arranged in four divisions — Physics (or Physical Science), Literature, Manners, Politics. " Literature " was pretty wide, including Theology, Mental Philosophy, History, Bio- graphy, Geography, Chronology, Travels, Criticism, Poetry, &c. An unoccupied department of literary criticism is pointed out, namely, to select and analyse such works as exhibit the literaiy spirit of the times. " Manners " was to cover all the refined amusements of the country, with dissertations on the usages of other nations. " Politics " kept out daily politics, and took in general views of Politics, Political Economy, Jurisprudence, and Police. The work, it is said, has received promises of support from eminent literary characters. It was to be issued weekly, in shilling numbers, commencing in January (1803). * The biographer of Dr. Thomas Thomson says that Thomson, on the faith of his reputation solely, gave Mill a letter to Baldwin, as he had done to Gifford. ARRANGEMENTS WITH CONTRIBUTORS. 47 The letter of 20th Nov. is occupied with the preparations, then far advanced. The prospectus is in course of circulation. Tliomson is asked to see to the copies being distributed in Edinburgh and Glasgow ; Mill himself is to attend to Aber- deen. The fear is expressed that it will be too expensive for Scotland : the Scotch, however, are familiar with the device of half a dozen persons clubbing for a periodical. The arrangements for supplying the matter are still incomplete. Thomson, it is understood, has the whole scientific department on his shoulders ; he was quite equal to it. All the scientific periodicals were ordered for his use. Some one that Mill does not yet know is engaged by Baldwin for the important branch of Manners. For Literature, David Macpherson, a Scotchman, is engaged ; he is at present occupied with a work on the His- tory of Commerce (published in four vols., quarto, in 1805). There remain History, Biography, Travels, Theology, Philo- sophy, and original essays. Mill had advised Baldwin, to apply through Thomson, to Gleig (the former editor of the Britan7iicd). There was another Edinburgh friend, Mr. Christison, to be thought of. (There is an Alexander Christi- son, an Edinburgh author of this time). More help is to be found in Edinburgh than in London. The letter alludes to the labour that had been gone through in correcting the jjrospectus. Thomson of course sent sugges- tions. Mill is pleased that so few things had been Tound to correct. Thomson's corrections all adopted, except where he wanted to erase the word "pleasure," as coupled with "advan- tage ". Mill stands out upon this \ people may be found to take a paper that promises pleasure, who are not much alkired by mere advantage. Our remaining letter of the year, i6th December, alludes to a previous one not preserved, which obviously treated of a hitch. " ALitters will all be right." Thomson liad evidently been busy in looking out contributors to fill the blanks. His own brother James is to do Literature and the Philosophy of 4o START IN LONDON. IS02-I508. Mind, to Mill's great satisfaction. Increasing distrust is shown of the London literary labourers ; a great many proffered articles already rejected. Thomson is to use his judgment in employing " Darwinian Brown," or any other, for a purpose not stated. (This is Thomas Brown, the metaphysician ; " Darwinian " would be his Edinburgh nickname, from his juvenile work on Darwin's Zoonotnid). The prospectus is now afloat. The publisher has communi- cated with Ross and with Blackwood in Edinburgh : Mill has written to Aberdeen. Thomson is to despatch the copies thither, and to leave some with Mr. Forbes, Sir John Stuart's son-in-law, at the Bank. The letter goes on to express satisfaction at the success of Thomson's own book {System of Chemistry) ; the first edition nearly sold out. Advice to drive a good bargain over the second ; to make the publishers pay sweetly for emendations. Buchan gets ^20 for every amended sheet of his Fa?nily Fhy- sician. Had done something to get a publisher for a work of his brother James's (theological, no doubt) ; but too much of the kind in the warerooms already. He lately met James's old pupil (Stirling of Kippendavie) at a ball. He has now thoughts of taking chambers in one of the Inns of Court, and means to enter as a student of law next term (did neither). Such is our record of this eventful year. Probably Mill wrote many things besides those that we have been able to trace ; partly for newspapers and partly for reviews. He plainly intimates that he would go on with the Anti-j/'acobin Revietv. But his energies and his hopes are concentrated in the success of his bold design. It was no small achievement for a young man to have induced a ])ublisher to make the venture. But he had the power of getting people to believe in him. He was also cut out for a man of business, and shows it now as an editor ; in which vocation, first and last, he must have been occupied for a good many years. VOLUNTEERING. 49 Accordingly, the year 1803 is marked by the publication of the Literary Journal, whose pages are our only biographical materials for that year. The letters to Thomson have un- fortunately ceased. There are four letters to Barclay, but almost exclusively on family affairs, with occasional political allusions to the breaking out of the war. One dated 3rd Jan- uary, 1S04, informs us that he has been enjoying himself this Christmas season, as well as the hurry of business would permit. It gives fiirther an account of his part in the general volunteering. " I have been a volunteer these six months, and I am now a very complete soldier. It has cost me a shocking sum of money however, not less I am sure than one-and-twenty or two-and-twenty guineas ; and I have been one of the least expensive in the corps. We are still talking about the coming of Bonaparte. Whether he will come or not, God knows ; but we are well disposed to receive him. AVe are 30,000 volun- teers in London, and made a very fine figure when we were reviewed by the King in Hyde Park. Our regiment is alto- gether formed of Scotsmen, and was taken particular notice of by the King. When riding along the lines, he stopt opposite to us and spoke several minutes to our colonel. I was very near, and heard him say : ' A very pretty corps, a very pretty corps indeed — all Scotsmen, my Lord, all Scotsmen ? ' " A cursory glance at the. Journal, enables us with great pro- bability to identify his contributions ; and from these we may gather the course of his studies, and the character of his views at this period. Each number is methodically laid out, beginning with an article on Physical Science, by Thomas Thomson ; the suc- cession of articles being a regular course of the natural sciences. The other subjects in like manner have their appropriate places. In two successive numbers in January appears a com- plete view of the LIuman Mind, which I at first supposed, as a matter of course, was Mill's own, but found to be James Thomson's. There is a survey of the political situation of the 4 50 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. chief modern nations, with a very detailed theory of the French Revokition ; whether by Mill, I cannot say. The in- fluence of his opinions must have told upon his contributors. His own hand appears most clearly in certain Historical and Biographical Reviews, which, however, make a small proportion of the Journal ; so that his labour must have been mainly editorial. If we consider that it was a shilling number issued weekly, that labour could not be small. I give a few illustrative jottings. In a review of Tytler's Roman History, there is a strong protest against accepting the truth of the records of the Kings, and of the transactions gene- rally, prior to the destruction of Carthage — almost exactly the position of Sir G. C. Lewis. A correspondent's attack on this article is vigorously met. Stewart's Life of Rcid is reviewed ; and some pertinent remarks introduced as to the necessity of a biographer's tracing the early influences operating on the mind of his subject. The same strain recurs in other articles. An essay on the structure of the Platonic Dialogue may not be Mill's, but it must have been prompted by him. A pa])er occurs to prove that Utility is not the foundation of virtue ; this might be editorial licence, and not necessarily his own opinions. The opening number for 1804 is a survey of the literature of the previous year. The review of the political works and of the biographies is clearly Mill's. In reference to an affected life of Chaucer, which he condemns, there is this remark—" Religion without reason may be feeling, it may be the tremors of the religious nerve, but it cannot be piety towards God, or love towards man." A long review of Degerando may be his, but it is not specially remarkable. His hand is pretty evident in Theolog)', especially the apologetic treatises. He views all such treatises with constant misgivings ; remarks how seldom defences of Christianity answer their purpose, and advises writers to adhere more to one another. In connexion with the long-standing discussion on the Corn Trade, he published a pamphlet in 1804, entitled, An Essay on TRANSLATION OF VII.LERS. 5 1 the Impolicy of a Bounty on the Exportation of Grain, and on the Principles 7i.'h!ch ought to regulate the Conunerce of Grain. This pamphlet I have not seen ; it is given by Macculloch in his Literature of Political Economy. It is the earliest known publication bearing his name.* He continues at \.\\q. Journal through 1S05. This year he published his translation of Villers's work on The Reformation, a task that must have occupied a good deal of his time ; it is a volume of 490 i)ages. The original work was written for a prize proposed in 1802, by the Institute of France : the subject was — " What has been the influence of the Reformation of Luther on the Political situations of the different States of Europe, and on the Progress of Knowledge." In the preface to the Translation, Mill states that tlie subject attracted his interest at the time it was propounded, as a proof of liberality of view on the part of an assembly belonging to a Roman Catholic country (surely this could not be wonderful after the French Revolution). His surprise was increased by the work itself, which was an unsparing display of the vices of the papal system, and an impartial view of the blessings of the Reformation. Accordingly he undertakes the translation, and adds copious notes, embracing quotations from English authors as well as observations of his own. He looks upon the publication of the work as important in its bearing upon the much agitated Catholic question in Ireland ; and thinks that if Catholics were once put in a position whence they would no longer regard Protestants as their enemies, they might be reasoned out of their Catholic predilections by such a work. The notes give a very good idea of Mill's reading and favourite authors at the time. Pong quotations occur from Dugald Stewart, George Campbell, Millar, Robertson, Hardie * In Aliljonc's enumeration of M:irs publications is placed first — " An Examination of E. F. Jones' s System of Book-keeping, 1796." This is an error copied from the Bibliotlieca Britannica. The real author was a London accountant of the same name. 52 START IN LONDON. l8o2-l8o8. (his Professor of Church History). He reinforces all the author's expressions as to the value of free inquiry. He has a very indignant and disparaging note on Voltaire : — " His authority is of very little value " ; " he used not only lawful but poisoned arms against religion and liberty " : " anything that would abate the admiration so long attached to his works, would be a pubUc benefit ". (Notwithstanding all this, Mill was an assiduous reader of Voltaire.) Another curious note, (p. 304) takes Villers to task for speaking of the books of the Bible as mere scraps of the literature of distant ages. " These books comprise the extraordinary code of laws communicated by a benevolent divinity to man." "I am unwilling to ascribe infidelity to any man who does not give certain indications of his being an unbeliever. But I could not allow expressions concerning the Bible, which appear to be not sufficiently respectful, to pass without notice." Villers is also reproved for being a Kantist.* Villers's book must have been part of his occupation in 1804. The solitary letter preserved for this year gives his mode of spending his day : " Breakfast, and to his office as usual about 8 (office of \.\\q. Journal, presumably at Baldwin's, Southampton Buildings), dined on the way home (by the Strand); read or wrote with great diligence till towards seven ; had tea ^yith his fellow-lodger ; walked two hours ; studied till between eleven and twelve." On the evening of writing the letter, his reading was Xenophon, ttp/jJ oiKoi>of^iun\ This was in the mid- summer heat (6th July). Holidays were unknown things to Mill. To the year 1805, and two, if not three, subsequent years attaches another of Mill's engagements, the editorship of the -5"/. James's Chronicle newspaper ; on which there hangs nearly * lie was the author of a hook on the Philosopliy of Kant, (Paris, 1801), on which Tliomas Brown wrote a long condemnatory criticism of Kant, in the first number of the Edinburgh Review. EDITS ST. JAMES S CHROMCLE. 53 as great darkness as on the Scotch tutorsliips. It was known in his family that he had edited this pajier, but the fact was never mentioned by himself, and rarely alluded to by any one. The paper was started in 1761, and continued till a few years ago, as a clerical and conservative journal. On this footing, Mill's editorship seemed a discord. As Baldwin was the pro- ])rictor of the paper (it was in the Ijaldwin family long before), the connexion is explicable enough. The only trustworthy tradition in the matter makes him editor at the time of liis marriage, which took })lace this year ; so that he carried on the Jvumal and the Chronicle together. Proceeding upon this fact, I turned over the file of the Chronicle of 1S05-6, if pos- sible to track his presence. The paper was i)ublished every second day. The only jxart that could support an inference was the leading articles. To newspapers readers of our time it needs to be explained that the leading article of those days (at any rate in the Chronicle) was but a jjuny affair ; very like the introductory Notes now given in the S/ecfafor, but fewer of them. Generally speaking there was one such article or note ; very rarely did it amount to a discussion or an argu- ment ; most usually a brief recital and slight comment on the chief topic of the day's news. Now and then, once in two or three weeks, there was an article of half a column or three- quarters ; when the editor rose to his legs, and descanted in earnest on what was doing. Of course, this at least wcjuld be Mill's part as editor ; how much else he did, we cannot know. Taking then the file for 1S05, the first thing I noticed was (January 8) a pretty severe handling of I'itt in connexion with Taxes on Knowledge. On February 9, the susjiension of Habeas Corpus in Ireland is styled a melancholy transaction. On I'ebruary 19, Pitt's war-tax on farm-horses is condemned. (Generally speaking, the criticism of the Oovernment is fair and candid. On March 23, the comments made on the recently granted Dutch constitution accord with what we should have cx[)ected. In A[)ril occurred one of the uveatest episodes of 54 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. the Liberty of the Press, second only to the trial of Peltier two years before. A Tory journal {Tlie Oracle) had used very dis- respectful language towards the House of Commons with regard to the proceedings against Lord Melville. On the 25th of April, Mr. Grey brought the article under the notice of the House, and moved that the proprietor of the paper be called to the bar. Long debates followed. The proprietor was called to the bar, reprimanded, committed, and afterwards set free. The proceeding was supported by the Whig party. In the Chroniclers article on this affair (April 27), I think James Mill's hand is apparent ; the defence of liberty against all the plausible pretexts of Grey and Fox is to my mind conclusive. In some other articles, I fancied I could discern his hand, but the con- duct of the paper is marked by the absence of pronounced opinions. There is no truckling to the ministry : neither is there any violent condemnation. Mill certainly did not dis- credit himself by the connexion. Possibly, as an ardent liberal politician, there were many occasions when he would have wished to speak out, but was not free to do so. Certainly, the worst that could be said of the paper in those years was that it was milk-and-water. To obtain some clue tO' the beginning and end of Mill's connexion, I examined, along with a sagacious friend, the file for a number of years. The date of his commencing cannot be shown by any transition in the style of the editorial remarks ; but it could not well be before 1805. In 1807 there are traces of his hand;* he con- * This passage is very like him (July 7, 1807), on Whitebread's motion for an inquiry into the state of Public Affairs : — " In regard to the debate of last night, it is a matter of trivial consequence. It is easy to see tliat it would contain merely an attempt on one side to prove that the nation was very safe in the hands of the late ministry, atid in great danger in the hands of the present ministry. The people, on the contrary, seem to lie of opinion that it is not in very good hands between them both. We may rest assured that that great circumstance by which the happiness of the nation is chiefly affected, the grievances and unparalleled taxation under which we groan, was not placed foremost in the rank of national dangers, and pointed out as the first and most indispensable work of reform. Till this become earnestly and effectually the subject of deliberation, the affairs of the nation will continue to move in the direction which they had lately and for some considerable time pursued." ARTICLES IN LITERARY JOURNAL. 55 tinued in all probability till towards the close of i8oS. He is conspicuous by his absence in the notice taken by the paper of the celebrated proceedings in Parliament (1809) against the Duke of York for the delinquencies of Mrs. Clark. I shall now dispose of the last year of the Literary Journal, 1806, which contains a good many interesting matters. After going on three years as a weekly, it now starts as a monthly, and is designated " Second Series " : the general plan being varied. It is said in the memoirs of Dr. Thomas and Dr. James Thomson, that they both ceased to contribute in the end of 1S05 ; I should think it more probable that they went on to the last. The editor would have had great difficulty in replacing Thomas Thomson as his chief scientific contributor. An article on Tooke's Diversions of Purley is obviously Mill's own ; while approving of much, it contains his character- istic handling of abstract ideas. Dugald Stewart's ])ami)hlet on the renowned Leslie case comes up for notice ; and strangely, the reviewer takes the side of the clergy against Stewart and Leslie. This must have been from an Edinburgh contributfir, whom Mill accepted simpliciter. In a review of Good's Lucretius. the attempt to show that Epicurus was not an atb.eist is refuted with scorn. In the Eebruary number, as the leading article, Payne Knight's Principles of Taste is handled at length and with great severity. There is a somewhat elaborate review of Sir James Stewart's writings on Political Economy ; the con- duct of the l-'rench Monarchy towards Sir James himself is freely commented on. A volume of sermons by Sir Henry Moncrieff Wellwood is praised ; said to contain fewer al)surdi- ties than usual, but yet a sufficient number to make the author inconsistent. In the review of an anonymous j)amphlet on tlie state of Britain at the close of Pitt's administration in 1S06, the writer is very pungent and severe on the I'.ast India Company. A notice on Professor Playfair's pamphlet on the Leslie controversy declares both sides in the wrong (might be Thomas Thomson). The writer objects to the use that had 56 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. been made of Principal Robertson's name by the combatants ; and affirms that the Principal, in exerting his influence in the appointment to chairs, put great stress on the religious views of the candidates (if he knew them). A work on Intellectual Philosophy, by Robert E. Scott, Professor in Old Aberdeen, is praised as of no ordinary class. The arrangement of the intellectual powers differ from Reid and from Stewart and is superior to both, but still wants a combining principle. The work is calculated to be extremely useful. There is no mis- taking the review of Millar On Rafiks. Judging from the two works — On Ranks, and On the English Governmetit, we shall be disposed to reckon the lectures of Millar " as among the most instructive tilings that were ever offered to the minds of youth ". Much dissatisfaction, as usual, is expressed with the biography. I cannot help making room for a passage on the duties of a biographer in reference to the early history of men of eminence ; the readers of the present sketch will then justify me in protesting that, if a biographer has his duties, he has also his rights. Almost every one of the requisites here put down, Mill lias in his own case (and he quite looked upon himself as a man of eminence), by studious concealment, rendered it all but impossible to sui)})ly. " We shall not attempt an abridgement of it (the Life), because, in fact, a naked enumeration of dates would be as dry in our Review as in the pages of the author. With regard to the early part of Mr. Millar's life, the materials must either be very scanty, or his biographer has been very negligent in collecting them. " It aippears to us that few biographers have the same opinions which we have formed respecting tlie importance of the early part of life. "When a man has risen to great intel- lectual or moral eminence; the process by wliich his mind was formed is one of the most instructive circumstances which can be unveiled to mankind. " It d.isi)lays to their view the means of acquiring excellence, Vir.WS ON lUOGRAPHV. 57 and suggests the most j)ersuasive motive to employ them. ^^'hen, however, we are merely told that a man went to such a school on such a day, and such a college on another, our curi- osity may be somewhat gratified, but we have received no lesson. We know not the discipline to which his own will, and the recommendation of his teachers subjected him. We may conclude that young Millar studied hard, from the effects which afterwards appeared. But we are not introduced to the particulars of his studies. We have no hint with regard to the circumstances which kindled his ardour, or those by which the flame was fed. This is the matter of primary importance in the life of any man. To this is owing whatever excellence he may discover in the labours of Science, or the active business of mankind. With regard to this important particular much more we think might be discovered by those who write the lives of eminent men, near the time when they flourished, than we generally find. At any rate, in whatever obscuritv the causes of their ardour might remain, the degree of it which they exhibited in early life might in most cases be pretty accur- ately described, as well as the direction in which it impelled them. Wc might learn the studies in which they delighted, the books which they chiefly perused, tlic hours which they ■were accustomed to give to labour, and those wliich they resigned to relaxation ; even the nature of the sports in which they indulged, might be a circumstance frequently not unworthy of regard. "The peo])le among whom an eminent man s]:ient the days of childhood and youth ; the character of his parents and teachers ; and the style of behaviour which they manifested towards him, ought always to be an object of peculiar attention. Our bio- graphers, like our historians, aiming only at the magnificent, seem to think that the occupations and character of the school- boy are altogether l)elow their notice. Ikit if the business of education be of that importance which we supjjose, their mis- take is egregious. If too our knowledge with regard to educa- 58 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. tion, our knowledge of the means by which intellectual and moral excellence may be communicated, is so imperfect, of what consequence should it not be deemed, to obtain the most minute information with regard to the means actually employed in producing those instances of great talents and virtues which have really appeared?" The next article that I account his with certainty, is on Sir William Forbes's Life of Beattie (Sir William was the father-in-law of his favourite pupil and friend) ; and he again goes into the scope and sources of biography, and complains of the hurrying over of Beattie's life previous to his becoming professor in Maris- chal College, when it becomes profuse enough. He notices at some length the reception of the Essay on Truth in England. The article is another of the many indirect indications that Mill must have resided at one time in Aberdeen ; the writer is thoroughly at home in local gossip about Beattie. He talks of an impression very general among the people about Aberdeen, that Beattie dangled too much after the Duchess of Gordon ; and remarks, as if from personal knowledge, that Sir William has not shown great exactness in giving the style and manner of Beattie's conversation. In an article on Milton's prose writings, there is a defence of his public character and also of his conduct to his wife and daughters. In reviewing Wood- house On the Apocalypse, the critic gives an unceremonious go-by to all the author's orthodox conclusions. Apropos of Filangieri's Science of Legisiatiofi, there is a long review of the provinces of Politics and Political Economy. In Van Mildert's On Infidelity, the reviewer praises the author's intention and the execution of the work, but throws cold water on every one of the arguments against inlidtls. We unLX[)ccledly find an article on Malthus, full of sentimental horror of his opinions. Brackenbury's Discourses on Christianity receives the usual carping at all the arguments on the Christian side. On Col- quhoun's System of Education for the Labouring Poor, there is MARKII'.S MISS r.URROW. 59 a pretty full article arguing the whole (question of Education in Mill's usual st}'le. If we allow for the double editorship of the Journal and the C/irofiiiie, the contributions that we have pronounced to be Mill's own rcijresent a pretty hard year's work. This was the year after his marriage, and the birth-year of his first child. ^^'e can see further how thoroughly he impregnated ihc Journal with his own views on the greater questions. The attack on Malthus was an excci^tion, if he was then a Malthusian ; but, whether he was or not, the rousing of sentiment against reason was re]xignant to his whole being, so far as we know anything about him. At this stage we are called upon to give some account of his marriage and domestic relations. Soon after coming to London he became acquainted with a family named Burrow, who kept an establishment for lunatics in Acton Place, Kings- land Road, Hoxton. The head of the family was dead, but the establishment was conducted by his widow, whose ability was equal to the occasion, and under her management the institution was prosperous. .She had two sons and three daughters. She came originally from Yorkshire, and was a woman of great l)eauty, a circumstance which re-ai)})eared among her children. In 1.S04, Mill was engaged to be married to Harriet, her eklest daughter, then in her twenty-second year (he thirty-one). She was an exceedingly pretty woman ; had a small fine figure, an aquiline tyi)e of face (seen in her eldest son), and a pink and dun comjjlexion. One letter of Mill's to her she preserved, as perhajw the fullest and strongest of all his affectionate outpour- ings. The depth and tenderness of the feeling could not well be exceeded ; but, in the light of after years, we can see that he too readily took for granted that she would be an intellectual companion to himself'. Without anticipating the view of Mill's domestic interior, as it appeared when he was surrounded by a 6o START IN LONDON. l8o2-l8oS. numerous fomily, I may say at once that Mrs. Mill was not wanting in any of the domestic virtues of an English mother. She toiled hard for her house and her children, and became thoroughly obedient to her lord. As an admired beauty, she seems to have been chagrined at the discovery of her position after marriage. There was disappointment on both sides : the union was never liappy. They were married on the 5th June, 1805, and took up their abode in a small house, 12 Rodney I'errace, Pentonville (an interpolated house makes the number now 13). As his wife's marriage portion, under her father's will, Mill received ^400. The house was bought for him by Mrs. Burrow, to whom he paid a rent of ^^50 a year. Coming from a well-to-do family, INIrs. Mill would bring with her a good outfit. There was thus ample means of beginning housekeeping, without the drag of being in debt ; and Mrs. Burrow was always ready to assist her daughter in her struggling years. A younger sister of Mrs. Mill, who was never married and died a short time ago at an advanced age, retained a distinct recollection of the marriage and the early circumstances of Mill in connexion with it. "We know independently that he was editing the Literary Journal ; we have the highest circum- stantial evidence of his being also editor of tlie Chronicle ; and the traditions all agree that he was then obtaining ^200 a year for an editorship, though the double editorship was not clearly conceived, and the salary was sjjoken of sometimes as attached to the Journal and sometimes to tlie Chronicle. By Miss Burrow's account, Mill stated to her mother tliat he was ca])able of earning ^500 to v^Soo a year. If he lield both editorships in 1S05 and 1806, his income in those years ouglit certainly to have exceeded ^500 a year. If he continued tlie Chronicle two years longer, he would still witliout difficulty earn ^300 or ^400. Mrs. Mill, according to lier sister, was very sorry when he gave up the Chronicle ; it made of course a great COMMK.NXKS HISIORV OF INDIA. 6l difference in their means, ;is it left liim, for the time, noticing that we know of but Review-writing, from which the income stated by him was simply impossible.* The giving up of the Journal at the end of iSo6 being unexplained, we may assume that it was not a success. It be- came in the second form so like the other magazines, of which tliere were plenty, that, however well it might have been got up, it could not command a very large public. Moreover it had a large tincture of Mill's own severe views both in politics and religion. In the biography of Thomas Thomson it is said, the Journal " ultimately ceased in conseijuence of the conductors being engrossed by more profitable employment ". This did not to all appearance apply to Mill. The commencement of the History of India dates from the end of i8c6. We can see distinctly from his first letters that writing some permanent works was a part of his plan of living by literature ; and it was by the help of paying books that Bisset and others made their seven or eight hundred a year. But then a man must find the means of su[.)port in tlie interval. Mill's calculation was that in three or four years he could finish such a history as he projected. He probably saw his way well enough to maintaining liis (as yet) small household by his savings and by the work that he pro})osed to do along with the History. The utter failure of his calculations — ti;e demand of twelve years' labour instead of three — may be taken as the sole and sufficient explanation of what he had to endure in regard to his means of support. ^Vriting in October, 1016 * Mill came to have nine children : — i. John Stuart, born 1806 (2olh May). 2. Wilhelniina Forbes (named from Sir John Stuart's daughter) ; died iS'ji. 3. Clara. 4. Harriet. 5. James 15,ntham; in Civil Service of India; died 1S02. 6. Jane (named from Lady Jane Stuart 1. 7. Henry; died 1S40. 8. .Nhuy. 9. George Grote ; entered India Ottice ; dieil 1S53, At their father's death, all the nine were a'.ive ; and except Jame>, who h.cl gone to India the year before, they were all at home, anil had been so almo-t throughout. None of the sons left children to continue the name. Four of the daughters were married, and three had children. 62 START IN LONDON. l8o2-l8o8. he says of the History: — "Thank God, after nearly ten years since its commencement, I am now revising it for the press. Had I foreseen that the labour would have been one half, or one third, of what it has been, never should I have been the author of a History of India." In 1807, a pamphlet appeared by William Spcnce, entitled Britain, Indepe7ident of Conwierce. It was immediately met by a rejoinder from Mill, in a pamphlet of 154 pages, in fact, a book. The title is Commerce Defended : An Ansiver to the Arguments by zvJiich Mr. Spence, Mr. Cobbett, and others, have ■attempted to prove that Commerce is not a Source of National Wealth (first edition, 1807 ; second edition, 1808). The Intro- duction states the motives of the writers attacked. "People are always gratified by paradoxes, and this paradox coming at a time when the commerce of Great Britain was in extreme difficulty and peril, it was consolatory to be enabled to believe that we shall not suffer by its loss." Mill was followed in the same strain by Colonel Torrens, then commencing his career as a political economist. Of his contributions to the periodicals in these years, we know almost nothing. There is no indication of his continuing to write for the Anti-Jacobin Review. It is said on good authority that he contributed at various times to the British Revie7v, the Monthly Review, and the great organ of the Evangelical Dissenters — the Eclectic Revietv. I have heard John Mill speak of the Eclectic as one of his father's chief connexions when writing for Reviews. I could not undertake to trace his hand in any of the j^eriodicals named, without at least some special guidance as to the dates of his articles. In the Eclectic, he would have to restrain some of his more marked peculiarities. On referring to the volumes of these various Reviews about the years when Mill may have been a contributor, I was deterred by the multitude of short articles that would need to have been studied. Most important for us are his articles in the Edinburgh Revieiu, SUr.JI^CTS OF I'KRlOniCAL V/RITIXG. 63 the greater part of which are traceable. They range from 1808 to 1813. They embrace the leading subjects of his writings in those times — Political Economy, Politics, Jurisprudence, Toleration, Education. The only subject notably absent is Mental Philosophy, which, however, would api)ear to be in abeyance with him during all those laborious years of the History. I now go back to gather the little additional information that we possess down to the end of 1S08. Only two letters exist for the two years, 1806, 1S07 ; they are to Barclay. The second, 7th Feb., 1807, is suggestive : — " I would have written to you long ago, had I not been un- willing to i)ut you to the heavy expense of postage (over a shilling to Forfarshire). I have been in good health, and going on in my usual way ever since you heard from me (4lh April, 1S06). I had a letter about the beginning of the winter from Mr. Peters (parish minister), which informed me that you were all well, and managing your affairs with your usual prosperity, which, you may believe, gave me no little pleasure to hear. I should be happy to see it too. Have you no good kirk yet in your neighbourhood, wliich you could give me, and free me from this life of toil and anxiety which I lead liere ? This London is a place in which it is far easier to spend a fortune than to make one. I know not how it is : but I toil hard, spend little, and yet am never the more forward." The remainder refers to his fathers affairs wliich brought upon him a demand for /!'5o : " If I am obliged to llnd the sum it will not a little distress me ". As he could have only very lately begun to divert his strength to the unjiroductive labour of the History^ we cannot suppose him in want of means, but to any man in his circumstances a sudden demand for such a sum might be unhinging. His only family burden yet was a healthy, fair-complexioned, brighi-eyed, sweetly- smiling babe of nine months. 64 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. This year, Sir Jolm Stuart was withdrawn from Parhament, by being appointed a Baron of Exchequer. The circumstance made a considerable blank to Mill. Sir John brought him every year the local doings, in which he never lost interest ; and all through the session they were constantly coming to- gether. Mill's radicalism was no stumbling-block in the way of their attachment. Subsequent to 1807, Sir John's visits to London were only occasional, but they invariably took him to Mill's house. The surviving children can remember his latest visit in company with Lady Jane. It was his own special wish that the eldest child should bear his name. Of his friends and associates up to this time, we have only incidental mention ; but he had a very extensive acquaintance among London literary people. A man could not be an editor for four or five years without knowing nearly everybody that drove the literary pen. I have purposely kept back the references in the letters, from 1802 to 1808, to what was going on in the father's cot- tage at Northwater Bridge, in order to present the whole in one unbroken narrative. The numerous local traditions respecting the members of Mill's family are tinged with dissatisfaction, not to say censure, of his conduct towards them. Many years ago I heard from a native of Montrose that he had allowed his only sister to become a pauper without rendering her any assistance. My recent inquiries have revealed a similar strain of disai^proval. He is commonly styled " a hard unfeeling man ". There is a confidently received tradition, that he was in vain applied to for a contribution to purchase a cow for his father in place of one that had died ; another version putting his sister in place of his father. Fortunately, the letters to Mr. Barclay make us aware of the true state of his relations with his family, and are calculated to produce an impression considerably at variance with the popular view. FAMILY CIRCUMSTANXES. 65 At the time of MilFs going to London (Feb., 1S02) his family may be said to have been a wreck. His mother was dead. The precise date is unknown ; but she hstened to her son's sermon, formerly described, sitting not in a pew of her own but out of sight behind the stair. She had then a consumptive cough, and was in a state of great debility. The father had become paralysed, and was unfit for work. As if this was not enough, the only brother, William, who worked with his father, and should have been the stay of the house, was also disabled (said to be from some accident), and soon after died. The one active person was the sister. May, and she ^\as not equal to the burdens thrown ujjon her. A journeyman, named William Greig, had worked with the father for some time, and on him devolved the carrying on of the business. Soon after James Mill went to London, Cireig married May, and so became the head of the house, with its invalid charge. The jjicture is not yet at its darkest. The old man was bankrupt. The explanation is casually furnished by his son, in a letter written long after. He had been asked on one occasion to give his name as a security, and in answer wrote as follows : — • " You will not wonder that the risks of being security for others should appear to me terrible, when I tell you, as I think )-ou must know already, that my own father ruined himself by that means and, instead of being (for his station) a man of o[)ulence, lived and died a poor one ; and that the horror of being liable to risks in this way was therefore one of the earliest and deepest of my imiiressions." No fLirther light is gained as to the circum- stances referred to ; and the fact was entirely unknown to all my informants in the locality. Indeed, the surviving relations are not dis[)Osed to credit the circumstance. This complicated situation of distress was what Mill had to deal with while he was commencing his career in London. Every one of his letters to Barclay contains some reference to the subject ; and, indeed, most of them are written expressly on that account, although other matters are thrown in by the way. 5 66 START IN LONDON. lSo2-l8o8. In the first communication, April 17 (the letter where he describes his journey and first impressions in London), there is a thankful acknowledgment of a letter from Barclay respecting the fan-"ly, but no particulars stated, except in a postscript anxiously desiring another letter of information, in case his brother William should not be well enough to write. The next letter, June 2, imi^lies that Barclay has written very fully about the family, and taken much pains with their affairs, and it is emphatic in thanks, while disclosing the depths of their misery : " By long distress they are less able to manage their affairs than I could wish, and their affairs are more difficult than they have been " ; " I shall never forget the friendship of you and of a very few more " ; " you understand their circumstances better than any other body " ; "I shall look upon it as a very particular act of friendship, if you will pay them some attentions, and not let them be in want of anything, and whatever assistance they receive from you, I shall be most happy to repay ". I'he third letter, three months later, states that he has not heard from the family in tire interval, which he attributes to ^^'illiam's in- ability to write, and desires to hear again from Barclay soon, not, however, exclusively with regard to his own relations. The next letter is at an interval of five months, Feb. 11, 1803, and makes the first reference to his father's bankruptcy ; Barclay being still his indefatigable deputy. The creditors are soon to be called together. Mill is impatient to hear that they have met, and announces his own intentions. " I want them to get fairly divided among them all that is to divide. Peter Laing, of course too, must get his share, for that for wliich I became security to him. And as to that particular at which you hinted in your last letter, I cannot but be obliged to you, for you desire to ease me of my burden, which I am not obliged to bear — but I am resolved to pay every farthing of debt which my father owes to every creature, with all the haste that I possibly can ; and he and I both must try to live as moderately as possible, till that be accomplished. I wish sister's difficulties. 67 you to let his creditors know that this is my intention." He then adverts to the arrangements of the household, and gives us the truth of the story of the cow. Approving of Barclay's advice that his father and May should have the ' ben ' house, and W. Greig and his sister the other (the marriage had not yet taken place), he thinks they will do better to part with the cow, which had hitherto been a part of the family menage ; milk, &c., they could get from Barclay's farm, and May would be able to turn her time to profitable work, probably in shoe- binding. The next allusion is to William's death ; and the letter expresses pleasure at Barclay's information that he v.-as *'j)erfcctly happy till his death, his spirits not sunk, nor had he lost hopes of recovery " ; circumstances strongly suggestive of consumption. At an interval of three months, we have another letter charged with troubles. William Greig, who has just become May's husband, has written to his brother-in-law com- plaining that he is not communicated with respecting the state of the family ; he has further detailed some very unpleasant in- terference with him and his wife on the part of the neiglibours, who are indignant at their neglect of the old man. Mill is very much distressed at all this. He exculpates his sister from any cruelty to her father, but dilates upon her youth, her inex- perience, and her being a spoiled child ; on this last head, he had often remonstrated with her father, with the usual amount of thanks for his pains. He laments that he is thwarted in his attempts to make his father happy in his last years. At the same time, he strongly censures the neighbours for their inter- ference, and trusting to Barclay to give him "a true and sen- sible account," he reiterates his thanks for the management of his father's affairs. In less than a month he writes again. He has received a satisfactory explanation of the disagreeable in- cident, and is well pleased with the advice given to his sister by Barclay and l>arclay's mother. " She (May) has now, i)oor creature, but few friends about her, to whom she can look either for advice or for protection ; and though her conduct 68 START IN LONDON. 1802-1808. has often vexed me, and still more the conduct of both her parents with regard to her, I cannot forget that now she is not in a very happy situation." He ends by desiring Barclay to ask his mother to give " some idea of what will be necessary in the year to maintain my father". Six weeks afterwards, we have a letter chiefly occupied with the settlement of his father's affairs. One of the creditors had been raising an action on his own account before the business could be wound up. He reiterates his "sincere and unalterable resolution " to pay off the whole of the debts, as he is able ; but refuses to be pressed by any individual creditor, or to give a pledge as to time. He is at this date (Aug. 15, 1803), "oppressed with business". No further communication till the new year. In the intervening months, his father's affairs had been advanced towards a settlement through Barclay and Mr. Peters, who had Loth written to him. He is full of gratitude for their friendship. He returns to the point of his father's main- tenance. William Greig declined to mention a sum, although putting in strong terms the trouble of keeping him. Mill wished to give as much as any other creditable family would think reasonable. We are left to infer that an arrangement speedily followed this letter. There is no other till August, when he writes to clear up some misapprehensions about the piiyment of the money to Greig. He apologises for writing few letters, " from the necessity of writing so much every day, that I am glad to take a little rest when my necessary task is done ". There is now a gap in the correspondence of nearly two years. On April 4, 1806, he writes from Rodney Street, seemingly with no other object than to get some personal news of his old friends. He had had, as usual, from Sir John Stuart, a pretty full history of the recent doings in the neighbourhood, but he wants other particulars still. The same frank enclosed a letter to Mr. Peters about his father. On the 7th Feb. following, there is a letter on another unpleasant incident in the bankruptcy. One creditor, Laing, a tanner in Brechin, had been harrassing his sister's family. 69 father, before he left Scotland, and he had stopped his mouth by a written promise to pay the debt as soon as he was able. Laing is now bankrupt, and has given up Mill's letter to a I.ondon creditor, who bases on it a sudden demand for ^^50. Mill writes for information, as the immediate payment of this sum will not a little distress him. The interval separating this from the only other letter that has been preserved, is thirteen years. Before mentioning its purport, I may state what is known of the cir- cumstances of his family in the meantime. His father appears to have died in 1808. His sister has given birth to three children, a daughter and two sons. All accounts represent her as extremely poor in the early years of her wedded life. A^ery strong expressions on this head were used in my hearing, by those that remembered her well. There was no good reason for such a state of things ; and it is attributed to the want of business steadiness of her husband, who carried on the fothefs occupation. When her two sons were old enough to enter the shop, they, by their industry, redeemed the fortunes of the family, and strove, with ultimate success, to better their position. In October, 1820, when the eldest son was fifteen, and the .second about nine. Mill writes once more to f3arclay. A friend named M'Conachie had said that it was both his and Barclay's opinion, that " it would be a good thing for my sister and her family if they were enabled to open a little shop ". He now asks what is the sum that would be necessary for him to advance ; " much cannot be expected, both because my income is small, and because my own family is large " ; " however, I am anxious to be of use to them according to my means ". "What was the result of this application, I cannot tell ; but probably nothing came of it. Mill had now been a year in tlie India House, })Ut his salary was as yet only /^Soo, and we do not know what liabilities may have survived from previous years ; he certainly would have been as good as Iiis word. May's family remained in the cottage long after tliis date ; she herself died in 1837, in the bed where she was born. .Some time later, 70 START IN LOXDOX. 1802-1808, her sons went to Montrose, and set up business as drapers, which the elder (James) still carries on. Their father died in Montrose, at an advanced age. These are the facts as given m Mill's own letters. I have now to add that there is in the minds of his sister's family a strong conviction that their mother was unjustly treated in con- sequence of the large sums spent by the father in the education of his eldest son ; they hold that there was even some express stipulation whereby May was to be repaid her share of this money, which she never was. There is no collateral testimony bearing upon this point : and the statement being ex partc^ I cannot give an o])inion upon it. If the claim rests solely on the fact that IVIill's parents expended a good deal more upon him than upon the other children, I suspect that neither in the higher nor in the lower ranks would usage support it. More- over, as Mill cleared off his father's debts, he must have made up in that way for what his education had cost. He also took upon himself the exclusive burden of his father's declining years ; and we see that he was ready to listen to any pro;)osal for helping his sister. It is evident, too, that, from tlie moment of May's marriage, her husband took up a hostile position towards himself, such as to repel whatever good offices he iniglit be disposed to render to her family. The only other matter that I will notice in this painful part of the biography is that, among some members of the liarclay family, there still lingers a complaint of the want of gratitude on Mill's part for all the kindness he liad received from them. The feeling lias not been exi)ressed to me by those that I have conversed with. I cannot learn that it is borne out by any facts ; and it is belied by the existing corresi)ondence. Two members of the family, who especially exerted themselves to procure information for me, were greatly moved in ^Mill's favour by perusing the letters, after these liad been put into my hands by their cousin, the daughter of .Mill's correspondent. Chapter III. HISTORY OF INDIA: EDINBURGH REVIEW: PHILANTHROPIST: EDUCATION M0VEMEN1\ 180S-1S18. THE present chapter will cover eleven years of intense activity. The History of India is the main occupation throughout ; concurrent with which is a large mass of miscellaneous writing, and a considerable amount of occupa- tion with public schemes. The narrative can be greatly simplified, by preliminary sketches of some leading topics that are best given in unbroken connexion. We mr,y first review the more important personal connexions that start with this period; the most important of all being the connexion with Pkntham. In the Fraginait o?i Alaikintosh occurs the following remark, in reply to a saying of ^Mackintosh, that the disciples of Wcn- tham derived their oi)mions from flimiliar con^•erse with him- self: — "It is also a matter of fact, that till within a \er_v few- years of the death of Mr. lientham, the men, of any prdun^ion to letters, who shared his intimacy, and saw enougli of him to ha.ve the opportunity of learning much from his lips, were, in number, two. These men were familiar with thic writings of Mr. Rentham ; one of them, at least, l)eR)re he was ac(iuainted with his ijcrson. And they were neither of them wvjn, wlio took anybody for a master, thougli tliey were drawn to Mr. 72 FRIENDS. 1808-1818. Bentham by the sympathy of common opinions, and by the respect due to a man who had done more than any body else to illustrate and recommend doctrines which they deemed of first-rate importance to the happiness of mankind." Of these two persons one was Mill ; the other, I presume, was Dumont, Bentham's first and fullest interpreter to the world at large. There is no record of how or when the intimacy began, but it was not later than 1808. The wonder is that Mill was six years in London before obtaining the introduction, having already been familiar with Bentham's writings. We are to bear in mind that Bentham was now sixty years of age, although scarcely at the beginning of his fame. Many of the incidents of the connexion with Mill are given in Bowring's Life of Bcnihnm^ and some very important letters are printed there. Unfortunately, the narrative of facts is not always correct, as we shall see. The form of intercourse at first consisted in Mill's walking down at short intervals from Pentonville to Queen Square to dine with Bentham. This went on for two years. In 1810, Bentham gave Mill for a residence Milton's house, which adjoined his own and was also his property. The family lived there a few months, but it was found to be un- healthy, especially for Mrs. Mill, and had to be given up. To make matters worse. Mill seemed unable to find a house to his liking nearer than Newington Green, a mile and a half farther off than Rodney Street. It was the liouse No. 45 ; and next to it is one much larger. No. 43, where lived the grandfather of Mr. Taylor, the first husband of Mrs. J. S. Mill. INIill, nevertheless, trudged down as often as before to sec Bentham. There is a tradition in the family that during tlie panic of the Williams murders (Dec. tSii), Mrs. Mill used to sit trembling for his return from 15entliam late in tlie evening. At last in 1814, Bentham succeeded in obtaining Mill as a ncigh])our. The inter- course of tlie previous six years, liowever, was agreeably varied. In 1809, Pjcntham hired as a summer residence, a fine country JEREMY BEXTHAM. 73 house, Barrow Green Hou?^, Oxted, in the Surrey hills. Here Mill and Mrs. Mill and John spent two or three months of the summer of 1S09; and for several successive summers the visit of the family was renewed. This house, in 1859, became the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Grote ; and I remember meeting JuliU Mill there, and hearing his early recollections of the place and neighbourhood, and of Bentham's walks and habits. In 1S14, Bentham leased the house, No. i Queen Square, now 40 Queen Anne's Gate, and let it to Mill at the rent he had been paying for his previous houses, ^50 a year; ultimately, however. Mill paid the full rent, which was about a hundred a year. It is a large house, and gave good accommodation to the growing family for sixteen years; being, in fact the residence principally identified with Mill's London career. At the very same time, Bentham entered upon a still grander summer residence. Ford Abbey, near Chard, in Devonshire. Here too, he insisted on having the society of Mill ; and the whole family went there every year, for four years, and spent, not the summer merely, but nine or ten months at a stretch. We shall have to make numerous references to this domicile, and shall have to recount an incident at the very outset, which seemed likely to bring the connexion to a premature end. The last year of the residence was iSrS; Mill Iiad then finished \\\'^ History of India, and was very soon afterwards aj)pointed to tlie India House. Bentham gave up Ford Abbey, althougli greatly attached to it, on the ground of suffering money losses: l)Ut oven apart from this, howe\'er, he would not have gone back in 1819, all alone, in his 71st year. He henceforth lived in his (^ueen Sfjuare house, close to Mill, so that the intercourse was as easy as need be. Mill, when in the India House, u^,ed to keep certain evenings for dropiping in upon him. There was, how- ever, a growing coolness latterly, of which I cannot describe the steps for want of exact information. Some time before Mill left Queen Square, but I do not know the exact date, a ])ainful transaction occurred that was either the jjroof or the cause of 74 FRIENDS. 1 808-1 8 1 8. the estrangement of the two. Mill had always had the range of Bentham's library, and made free use of the privilege. One morning, he being absent at his official work in the India House, Bentham, without warning, sent and removed all his own books from Mill's shelves, including, by mistake no doubt, some of Mill's own. Bowring has given some notes of Bentham's conversations regarding Mill, which contain an exceedingly harsh opinion of his motives as a politician, ascribing his sympathy for the oppressed many to his hatred for the oppressing few. I'he notes also give a number of anecdotes relating to Mill's career, which we can now value at their proper worth, ^^'hen Bowring's Edition of Bentham came out, an article appeared on it by Empson, in the Edinburgh Rcvieiv, which cjuoted the saying above mentioned. This drew out from John Mill a strong letter of remonstrance; it was printed in the Re%'ie7v (vol. 79, p. 267). He controverted the obnoxious sentiment with becoming warmth, and also replied to many of the other statements as to his father's personal history. Bentham was blameably inaccurate and disparaging throughout, and we have ample means of correcting his mistakes. Mill's acquaintance with Ricardo began in 18 11, probably through Bentham ; and John Mill celebrates their intiniacy and mutual attachment. Ricardo, himself shy and timid, greatly relied for counsel and encouragenient on Mill ; at whose instiga- tion, he published his book on Rent, and entered Barliament. Among Bentham's sayings we read this : — " I was the si)iritual father of Mill, and Mill the spiritual father of Ricardo"; the degrees of the relationship were, however, very unec^ual in tlie two cases. Ricardo amassed an enormous fortune on the Stock Exchange, but, if we may trust ]3entham, he was stingy on small matters. "Considering our intercourse, it was natural he should give me a cojjy of his book (on Rent) — tlie devil a bit." I (juote a sentence or two from John Mill's Auiobiography : — " During mixRV ];rougham. 75 this first period of my life, tlie habitual frequenters of my father's hou.se Were limited to a very few persons, most of them little known to the world, but whose personal worth, and more or less of congeniality with at least his political opinions (not so fre(iuently to be met with then as since) inclined him to culti- vate ; and his conversations with them I listened to with interest and instruction. My being an habitual inmate of my father's study made me acquainted vrith the dearest of his friends, David Ricardo, who by his benevolent countenance, and kindliness of manner, was very attractive to young persons, and who, after I became a student of political economy, invited me to his house and to walk with him in order to converse on the subject."' Mill's only outing during his first years in the India House, was an annual visit of two or three weeks to Ricardo's house in the country. There is another intimacy deserving a preparatory mention, namely, witli Mi:n"rv Brougham. That the two met in YAln- burgh, may be regarded as higlily probable; and they came to London nearly at the same time, Rrougham arriving in 1803. I have heard Mrs. (irote say that they met in London, at the house of AN'iiishaw, a well-known barrister, a friend of RentlKim."^" At all events their intimacy was close and uninterrupted to the last. It is just shown in Brougham's inducing Jeffrey to accept Mill as a contributor to the Edinburgh Rei'icii'.^ In the stirring public questions, Brougham was always eager to •John W'lii^'iaw of Lincoln's Inn, is apt to Ijc confoumli d with a cor.iin of his, James \\'!ii>ha\v, of (Cray's Inn, the author of various Law books. John was well ac(;ua:ntefl with all the politicians and nicn of society of the time. He was Lenthani's arbiter in his I'a.noiiticiju di>pute with the CS(j\ernment ; and was executor tij Sir Samuel Komilly, and guardian of his cliiklren. f " W'iien we got beyond tlu' 2ot:i number I July, 1S07) we had other con- tributors, such ;;s lohn Lealie, Maitl.u-;, Mill, IJioomlield and Mackintosh." Bri)U\;h,im, .1 i!!,l'i,'i^r,:/'hy, \'ol. I., 25'). -Again, in a letter to Jeffrey, 19th ^h^rci'., io!o, Lrougiiam writes — " Can't you suggest some theme for Play fair, or a ;ob for Mill!-'" 76 FRIENDS. 1808-1818. have a talk with Mill, who while admiring his extraordinary energy, endeavoured to give it a good direction. John Mill, who early conceived a repugnance to Ih-ougham, states that his father's attachment to him was for the sake of his public usefulness ; but he acknowledged in private to myself, that Brougham's fascination was very great when he set himself to gain any one, and that his father always succumbed under the influence. Not that he overlooked Brougham's faults. On one occasion, when Brougham in his Chancellor days, gave public utterance to a panegyric upon the Christian religion, declaring that he had examined its evidences, and found them satisfactory, Mill vented his astonishment and indignation in two pages of foolscap. He says nothing of his private means of judging of Brougham's opinions, or want of opinions, but places him in a series of alternative positions : — either he had examined the evidences, or he had not ; if he had, and was satisfied, his judgment in regard to evidences was so worthless, that no weight could be given to any opinion he might hold upon any subject, &c., &c.* I shall have to quote letters to Brougliam for mucli personal information during Mill's last years (183 1-6); and, in the midst of much obloquy cast upon Brougham's conduct during those years, the favourable estimation of Mill can always be adduced as a counter-testimony in his behalf It was some time before Brougham came into direct personal contact with Bentham, and the communications between them were made through Mill, The friendship with JosErn Hume, begun at Montrose * In private convcrsntion, Mill remarked of Broxiglinni's liabits of reasoning-, that he did not know when his premises and conclusion were converted. Francis Horner, while admiring Brougham's oratoi'ical powers, thought him weak as a rcasoncr. " Precision and clearness in the details, svnmietry in the putting of them together, an air of finish and unity in the whole, are the merits of the best style of legal reasoning ; and there is not one of those cj^ualities in which he is not very defective." JOSEPH HUME. 77 Academy, was resumed and continued for public objects, on Hume's settling in London after his returning from India. Hume had not much independent resources in the way of political knowledge ; but his dispositions and tendencies in public matters led him to Mill, who could provide him with ideas to work upon. His indomitable perseverance is inscribed in our history ; his judgment when he relied upon himself, was by no means unerring. The absence of high intellectual faculty could be discerned in his speeches which were often confused, and full of tedious repetitions. His wonderful physique ca^^t fjr endurance, was instrumental to his success in the House of Commons ; his short, broad figure, being pro- bably the jjerfection of human strength. I remember, in com})any with Cirote, passing him in the Regent's I'ark, and Grote turned round, and said, "Uo you see what a depth of chest Hume has got ? " He attained considerable opulence, and kept a hospitable house, where ]\Iill was often entertained ; the families also being very intimate. ■We should not omit from the list of Mill's friends, the radical tailor of Charing Cross, Franxis Place, who played a con- spicuous i)art in i)olitics, both local and general for nearly half a century. As he did not often appear in the front ranks of juiblic movements, his name is but little known hitherto ; pro- bably not one in a hundred of Sydney Smith's readers have cauglit the humour of the allusion to him in the jjostliumous pamphlet of Swlney, in the Irish Church.* Reared as an apprentice tailor in the end of last century, he had not much education, and to the last was deficient in culture. He took a * Sydney is illustrating the way that the Iri.sh prii;>ts arc paid, and supposes his friend Dr. liud-Mju of .St. George's, Hanover Square, in the same position. "Soon after l!;is lie receives a niess.'.ge from Place the tailor, to come and anoint him with extreme unction. He rejjairs to the bed-iide, and tells Mr. Place that he will not touch him under a suit of clothe-., ecjua! to/^io; the family resist, the altercation goes on hefore the pcrishiiig aitisan, the price is reduced to £o, ana Mr. Place is oiled." 78 FRIENUS. 1 808-1 8 1 8. part in advanced liberal politics from his earliest years, and bore the stamp of the men that have achieved for us our liberties. His house and shop in Charing Cross became the resort of all liberal politicians. He collected a considerable library which he made available to his friends. Altliough not either profound in thought, or in any way accomplished or refined, he was an admirable man of business, precise and methodical in all his transactions. He was also very generous both to the public and to individuals. He kept a full diary of what he saw and did, and preserved the interesting pamphlets, squibs, and newspaper cuttings, connected with all t!ie exciting events. Fifty volumes of MSS., now in the British Museum, are the result ; and are essential to the historian of the first third of the present century. He prepared also an Autobio- graphy, but that unfortunately is not found in tlie collection ; neither is there a letter book, often referred to by him, con- taining many letters from men of importance, including Mill. A few of Mill's letters occur in the volumes in the ^Museum. The topics that bring Mill under our notice are (i) the History of the Lancasterian Schools, wherein Place is very exhaustive ; mixed up with which was a long-continued but al)ortive attempt to erect a High Class School, after the model of the great Scotch Grammar Schools ; (2) the Westminster Elections, and chiefly those of 1818; and (3) the founding of the University of London.* Place's introduction to Mill is recorded by himself, in his * Romilly met Place when on a visit to Benlhani at Ford .'Vbhcy, in 1817; and, in a letter to Duniont, writes thus, " Place is a very extraordinary person ; by trade he is a master tailor, and keeps a shop at Chi.rin;; Cross. This situ- ation — a huiiihle one enough — has, however, been to him a great rise in life, for he began his career in the lowest condition. He is self-educated, has learned a great deal, has a very strong natural understanding, and possesses great influence in Westminster — such influence as ahiio-it to determine the elections for members of Parliament. 1 need hardly say that lie is a great admirer and diseip'.e of Bentham." The history of his influence in the West- minster elections, has been well traced in a paper in the Siaksiiian for August, 1881, by Mr. A. F. Murison. FRANCIS PLACE. 79 documents connected with the Lancasterian Association. " My acciuaintance with Mr. Wakefield''' must have commenced towards the close of 1811, or in the beginning of 1812. . . . Mr. W. was at the time remarkably desirous to promote educa- tion amongst the poor, and I found in him an excellent co- operator for many useful purposes. . . . Soon after we became acquainted, Mr. Wakefield introduced Mr. James Mill to me. Mr. Mill at this time resided in Stoke Newington, whence he came occasionally, generally once a week, I believe, to dine with Mr. Bentham, who lived in Queen Square Place, Westminster. Our acquaintance speedily ripened into friend- shij), and he usually called on me on his way to Mr. Ilentham, when we spent an hour together." Place managed Mill's money affairs, during his long absences from London, from 1814 to 1818, and possibly at other times. One more friendship must be mentioned. Probably it was through P>entham that Mill became act^uaintcd with (lencral IVIiRAXDA, a native of A'"enezuela, who spent his life in endea- vouring to emancipate his native province from S[)anisli rule. He had an eventful and chequered career ; and at \arious times resided in England, being well received by the highest political personages. He was an admirer of Bentham, and was to have introduced into his own country a Benthamic code. His last residence in luigland seems to have included the years 1808, 1809, and 1810; he left for good on his final revolu- tionary attempt, in October, 18 10. J5y an act of basest treachcr\-, he was delivered, in 1812, into the hands of the S[)anish Oovernment, conveyed in chains to Madrid, and there immured under the Inquisition, till his death in 1816. In the last years of his stay in London, he was one of Mill's freciuent * Mr. Ivlward WrJcefield, a well-known man of those days, was the autlior of .a good book on Ireland, jnibliihed in 1812. His son, k'.dward (iibljou Wakefield, came forward about 1831 as a political writer. He was well-known as the promoter of a great scheme of Colonisation. 8o FRIENDS. 1808-1818. visitors. There has been preserved a record of one of his visits to Mill's house at Pentonville, on the i6th May, 18 10. On that occasion, he told an anecdote of Pitt so curious that Mill jotted it down at the time, and it remains among his papers.'"*' The commencement and progress of the friendship between Mill and Sir Samuel Romilly will appear in the narrative. The name of Joseph Lowe will turn up presently, and will re-appear on various occasions. Lowe too was of Scotch origin, but not a successful man. He wrote on Statistical Subjects, and was always on the look-out for some profitable vocation. He attached himself to Mill, and often received assistance from him. When, at last, he got an official appointment, he had not sufficient conduct to retain it. The much lamented Francis Horner, Mill's contemporary in Edinburgh, was, in London, thrown among Mill's friends, and was on familiar terms with Brougham, Romilly, Dumont, Sharp, Whishaw ; but does not seem to have contracted an intimacy with Mill himself He mentions Mill casually, in connexion with a visit to Ford Abbey, in 1814, as " a gentleman who writes a good deal in the Edinburgh Revie70 ", Considering the great repute of William Godwin, as a writer of advanced views in Politics and Ethics, we may wonder that Mill and he did not fraternize. They never did come together, so far as I know ; and Godwin's looseness in money matters inspired Mill with dislike, whatever he may have thought of the Political Justice. It is quite certain, that Godwin would, with all his liberality of views, be reckoned by Mill as too much of a sentimcntalist.f ' * Count Woronzow, the Russian Ambassador in England, frequently com- plained to General Miranda of the vagueness and uncertainty of Mr. Pitt's communications. He said that, after a three hours' conversation, expressly carried on for the purpose of ascertaining the most important points, he had found himself totally at a loss to write to his Court to say what had been the result of the conversation. t In the Life of Godwin (II. 183), we find him running a bill on Place for WILLIAM ALLEX. 8 1 I am a little surprised at Mill's never becoming acquainted with Thomas Campbell, the poet; who settled in London, only a year after him, and took up the literary profe.-^sion. Their lives were doubtless different, but both were miscellaneous contributors to magazines ; and there was no reason apparent why they should not be in mutual sympathy. Campbell was any- thing but a bigot; indeed, it is doubtful whether he clung to Theo- log)' any farther than was essential to his poetical and literary vocation. The Grotes knew him at a later period, and were wont to visit him; Mrs. Grote wrote an article for his Magazine. The first recorded occasion of Mill's meeting him was at the founding of the University of London. I must now advert to another connexion that Mill kept up during the years that follow iSo8. In the Life of iMacaulay, Mr. Trevelyan adverts to the great services rendered to this country and to mankind by the Clai)ham brotherhood, wliich comprised Wilberforce, Zachary Macaulay, Babington, Thorn- ton, and others. He remarks, that, in their mode of carrying out their anti-slavery and other philanthropic enterprises, " they can be regarded as nothing short of the pioneers and fugk-men of that system of popular agitation which forms a Lading feature in our internal history during the past half-ceniury ". The services of these men are, indeed, great and undeniable ; although, in politics, they were mostly Tories. But justice demands an equal reference to another sect, and another set of names, who were in active co-operation with the Clapliam- ites, and not inferior to them in self-sacrificing zeal — I mean the Society of Friends, whose foremost representative for a long time was William Allen, the chemist of Plough Court. Rivalling Wilberforce in the intensity of his subjective piety, he was inferior to none in energy and devotion to every good ;^i4o. In connexion wiili Godwin's l;ib(;.ur 'd rc\>\\ to M;i]t!n'.>, a friend, II. B. Rosser, is to talk with both I'lacc ;ind Mdl, and g.-t a linct statement of their objections, if Place lias anv, to the book (,11. p. 273, 41. 6 82 FRIENDS. 1808-1818. work ; and, besides being devoted to philanthropy, he was very considerable as a man of science. Allen became acquainted with Mill, not later than 1810, and secured his active co-opera- tion in a literary enterprise — a quarterly journal, called the Philanthropist, published for seven years at Allen's own risk. He also obtained the advice and support of Mill in i)ublic gatherings for agitating his various schemes ; and, in fact. Mill was one of the philanthropic band of the time, and knew many of them intimately, and, among others, Zachary Macaulay. Allen was worthy of a biography ; but the three volumes devoted to him, although bodying forth his piety, his energy, and his science, by the help of diaries and letters, are exceed- ingly out of proportion to the facts of his life. Thus, the rhilantliropist was projected in the summer of 18 10, and only one page and a quarter are devoted to it. Again, in 18 12, while it was going on, it receives mention in less than three lines ; and in all the three volumes, I have not discovered another reference. Mill is mentioned only twice : once he and Ricardo accompany Allen (May, 181 1) to a great meeting at the Free- masons' Tavern, for a subscription to Lancaster ; and, again (November, 1813), he and Fox are taken to a Finance Com- mittee on the Lancasterian School business. Now, although the Philanthropist was only an instrument of propagandism for the numerous schemes that Allen worked at, it occupied a very large share of his attention for seven years ; and, while he had many contributors. Mill and himself were the mainstay of the work : they were in constant communication, and many of his letters to Mill are preserved. The deep-seated divergence of their opinions on religion nowise interfered with their mutual esteem. Robert Owen's infidelity was a grief to Allen, and he made some vain attempts to combat it ; but Mill's views were never obtruded in an unsuitable place. Different was the im- pression he made on Wilberforce, who, according to Sir James Stephen, was the most charitable of judges. BELL AND LAN'CASTER. 83 One more preparatory survey is requisite to the explanation of the course of the narrative from iSio to iSiS; namely, a sketch of the Lancasterian School controversy. A good deal has been published concerning the Bell and Lancaster schemes of education, and the tremendous controversy they gave birth to between the liberals and the church party in England ; but the consecutive history has not yet, so far as I know, been written, as it might be, by the help of the existing documents ; Place's MSS. being an essential contribution to the record of the pro- ceedings of the Lancasterian Committee. Dr. V>cl\ published the account of his IMadras System in 1797, and it was first adopted in the parochial charity school of St. Botolph's, Aldgate. In the following year, Lancaster opened a school, well known as the Borough Road School, which he conducted on the monitorial plan, and from him, it became known as the Lancasterian system. I^ell identified himself with the Church of England, and his religious teaching was strictly on church principles ; Lancaster, a Quaker by persuasion, would have nothing but the Bible. The liberal and philanthrophic men among the Dissenters, who had long sought some means of promoting Education among the Poor, conceived they saw in the new system a machinery both effec- tive and cheap ; and they attached themselves to Lancaster, and formed a Society, in 1809, for multiplying schools on his plan — the Royal Lancasterian Institution, afterwards called the British and Foreign School Society. The rival institution of the church, which linked itself with Bell, was founded the year after, and becan e the National Society. In 1810, the controversy was alive, as may be seen in the Edinhiirgh Review of that year (November), which took the Lancastrian side, while the Quarterly embraced the other. The first start of the Society was formidable indeed. Its title is the " Royal British System of Education," patronized by their ^Lljesties, the Prince Regent, and tlie Royal Family. Presidents — the Duke of PJcdford and Lord Somerville. The 84 LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLS. 180S-1818. finance committee contained a number of the best names in London : Lord Lansdowne, Lord Moira, Lord Carysfort, Henry Brougham, T. F. Buxton, Thomas Clarkson, Joseph Fry, Samuel Gurney, Francis and Leonard Horner, Luke Howard, John Merivale, James Mill, Basil Montagu, Samuel Rogers, Sir S. Romilly, &:c., &c. William Allen was one of the Trustees. Secretary — Joseph Fox. The first volume of the Philanthropist (1811) and the article in the Edinburgh Review of November the same year, describe the early operations of the Society. On the nth of May, there was held at the Freemasons' Tavern, a great "General Meeting of the Friends of the Poor". The Duke of Bedford was in the chair, and was supported by the Dukes of Kent and Sussex. There is an Address [Philanthropist, No. HL) which may not be wholly Mill's work, but which bears unmistakable traces of his hand. The resolutions may be seen at length in the Edinburgh Revieiv, vol. XIX., p. 14. Mill, we know, was present. In those Edinburgh Review articles will be found a very complete history of the Bell and Lancaster dispute. It will be seen that Bell, although the founder of the Madras system — which, in essential features, agreed with Lancaster's method, remained inactive after his return to England, and certainly never thought of commencing an agitation for the general education of the poor. He lived in retirement in an obscure living at Swanage, where he remained eight years (i 798-1 806) doing nothing for education beyond keeping up a Sunday school in his parish.* It was the alarming progress of Lancaster's operations that made the church dignitaries turn to Bell as the convenient instrument of their rival organization. The most curious part of the affair was the management necessary to get out of the fix of the Royal Patronage of * This was said at the time; but, according to Professor Meiklejohn, in his recent Memoir of Bell, is not correct. "Education, under tlic enthusiastic fostering of Bell, spread in the parish, until there were no fewer than thirteen day-schools in it, and three Sunday schools." p. 35. RIVAL CHURCH ORGANIZATION'. 85 Lancaster. The King and the Prince of Wales, as well as the two royal dukes, were sincere and zealous in their support of the Lancasterian schools ; and various were the devices tried by the church party to overcome this obstacle. The " No Popery " cry was raised, but did not answer. Then a daring falsehood was hit upon. The king having at this time had an attack of his malady, the rumour was industriously circulated, that he had withdrawn his countenance and sub- scription from Lancaster ; but this too was, in a great measure, although not entirely, foiled, by the increased zeal of the Prince Regent. At last, however, the church mustered resolution, under the auspices of Professor (afterwards Bishop) Marsh, to proceed with their own organization, and to denounce the Lancasterians, regardless of Royalty. A sermon of ^Larsh's delivered at St. Paul's, gave the cue, and, in consequence, was marked out for the criticism of the Edinburgh^ the P/iiianf/iro- pist, and the other Lancasterian organs. Lancaster's personal character was opposed in nearly every point to the true Quaker type ; he was hot, reckless, and ex- travagant. He appears to great disadvantage in the records of the Committee, and was a perjjetual source of embarrassment. As Place puts it, he became a sad nuisance.* The following extract from Place introduces Mill's part at the stage best known to us : — " Mr Wakefield, Mr. Mill, and I were all well actjuainted with the controversy which would be going on between the partisans of Bell and Lancaster ; we had read most of the publications not only relating to the con- troversy, but those which related to the modes of teaching and disci[)line of schools ; all three were very desirous to extend * Rcntham calls him "this self-styled Quaker," and speaks of the movement thus: — "Lancaster — the first adopter, and, in some particulars, the inqirover of the intellectual mechanism— saw in it an instrument of that reputation, that opulence, and that power, which he actually attained, and so notoriously and scandalously abused. J/is supporters — his generous and public-spirited sup- porters — saw in it those admirable capacities which it possesses, and pushed on the application to the utmost of their power." 86 LANCASTERIAN SCHOOLS. 1808-1818. Lancaster's system, and to teach the children of parents of every denomination of rehgion. We were not religious our- selves, and had therefore no sectarian notions to teach ; we wished the improvement of the people, knew that reading and writing and arithmetic were important steps in the process," &c. .,..," As our desire was to teach all, we saw very clearly that the way to teach all was to teach no religious doctrines." .... So out of those opinions grew the project of the " West London Lancasterian Institution," — to establish schools for the whole of the poorer children west of Temple Bar. " Mr. Fox was known to Mr. Mill and Mr. Wakefield personally." . . . ; and they thought Fox would be a great acquisition to help them. The movement went on, and by- and-bye we come to the drawing up of an address to the public, by a sub-committee (Wakefield, Place, and Fox). " The matter of the address had been previously settled between Mr, Mill, Mr. Wakefield, and me." A public meeting was held on 2nd August, 181 3 : Sir James Mackintosh in the chair. The Address seems to be Mill's work. The first resolution was moved by Joseph Hume. In " a short speech, replete with feelings of true philanthropy," William Allen proposed the fifth resolution. Joseph Fox was secretary. Fox presently became " refractory ". Troubles arose, of the most singular description. Sir Francis Burdett had taken up the odd notion that Place was a Government spy. Place con- sults Mill as to withdrawing from the Committee ; Mill advises him not to withdraw ; but he did withdraw neverthe- less. This was only one of many hitches ; and, while it is apparent that Mill kept in the background and put other people forward, it was always to him that recourse was had, when difficulties came. The scheme of a Superior, or Chrcstomaihic School; was launched in 1813. Mill was an active promoter, and Bent- ham went heartily into the project ; turning aside for a time CHRESTOMATHIC SCHOOl- 87 from his juridical work, to compose his book on Education. The details of the plan were worked out by Place and Wakefield. Fox visits the High School of Edinburgh and the Perth Academy ; Gray of the High School (I'Minburgli) writes a long letter to Wakefield ; Mill is to assist in procuring money. The Association is formed in February, 1814 : ^3000 to be raised in 300 shares of ^10 each. The Trustees to be — Mackintosh, Brougham, Mill, Allen, Fox, and Wakefield. Place wrote an interesting exposition of the project, in the form of a letter to \\'illiam Allen. Plans and sections are sent to Ford Abbey to Mill, who writes, " I am anxious to show them to Mr. Bentham, and he is anxious to see them. His views on the plan of instruction are now on paper and are all with me. The treatise only wants revising to be ready for publication ; but liis eyes are too bad for revising, and it must wait till they are better." This was the Chresiomathia. Bentham offers ''i)art of his garden at the back of the Recruit House in the Bird- cage walk, St. James's Park, as a site for the school ". This was considered very eligible; and further, plans are sent to Mill for Bentham, at Ford Abbey. Mill writes, 14th October, expressing much interest in the school, but warns Place " that Bentham's mind may, and will probably, work round to finding it a nuisance in his garden," and bids him keep his eye open for any other suitable spot. He is hopeful, nevertheless : " we shall build, I hope, early in spring ". In point of fact, Ben- tham imposed so many restrictions, and made so many difficulties, that his garden was presently abandoned. On the 31st December, Mill writes again, "Bentham is hard at work upon his treatise, and is infinitely hot \x\)on the subject ; and wishes to complete it before coming to London". In March, 1815, the return took place; Bentham bringing with liim his Chresioniaihia. This being a considerable book. Mill and Place prepare for circulation a short paper of " Proposals," (S:c. Mill at this time had one of his attacks of gout, and "was intensely occupied on his Jlistory, and on other literary matters which 88 RELIGIOUS PHASES. 1808-1818. his family made perpetually necessary ". So, the chief stress of the business fell on Place. Sir S. Romilly is induced ,to join by pressure from Brougham, Mackintosh, and Ecntham. Things, however, move slowly, and for a year no great advance is traceable. In the intervals of the Ford Abbey residence, Mill is at meetings about it, time after time. In 1818, he had induced Sir Francis Burdett, to offer to transfer the interest of ;^iooo, which he had given to the West London Lancasterian School ; but legal difficulties stopped the way. Penally, in 1820, several meetings took place. Mill being present : the site has never been settled, and the scheme is abandoned. Thus ends a well-meant and laborious attempt at Higher Education. It produced Bentham's treatise ; but nothing more. The next move towards the object in view was the founding of the London University. There is reason for supposing that Mill's views on Religion took their final shape between 1808 and 18 10. What little I am able to add to John Mill's explanations on this point {Atitobiography, p. 38) I will state here. When he left Scot- land, he was undoubtedly a believer in Christianity, although attached more to the ' moderate ' than to the ' evangelical ' school. His attitude towards religion during the years of the Literary Journal, we have already seen ; he might then be on the way to scepticism, but he had not reached the goal. His mental history from 1806 to 1808 can only be conjectured. That his acquaintance with Bentham would have hastened his course towards infidelity, it is impossible to doubt. ]3entham never in so many words publicly avowed himself an atheist, but he was so in substance. His destructive criticisms of religious doctrine, in Church-of-Etiglandisvi atid its Catechis»i examined, and still more his anonymous book on Natural Religion, left no residue that could be of any value. As a legislator, he had to allow a place for Religion ; but he made use of the Deity, as Napoleon wished to make use of the Pope, for sanctioning whatever he INFLUENCES AT WORK IN LONDON. 89 himself chose, in the name of Utility, to prescribe.* John Austin followed on the same tack ; but the course was too dis- ingenuous to suit either of the Mills. It is quite certain, how- ever, that the whole tone of conversation in Bentham's more select circle, was atheistic. In Mill's own family, there is a vague tradition that his breaking with the church and religion followed his introduction to Bentham. Strange to say, the most authentic fact that I have been able to procure is, that the instrument of his final transformation was General Miranda. Unfortunately, we have nothing but the bare fact; it was stated by Mill himself to Walter Coulson, one of his intimate friends of later years, but the circumstances have been withheld. Neither Bentham nor Miranda, nor any one else, would have made him a sceptic, except by the force of reason ; but they may have set his mind to work to sift the question more completely than he had ever done before. Miranda's bio- graphy gives us no assistance on this point; his patriotic struggles are described, but his ^Jiases of fiith are not touched upon, except in the incident of his ignominious burial l)y the Spanish priests. We can fall back uix)n the observation, often made, and repeated by Mill himself in his notes on \'iller?, that when a man threw off Catholicism, he had no available standing ground between that and atheism. Hence, the free- thinkers in Catholic countries have usually been atheists.f Mill says, "the two most celebrated infidels we have had in * " But if \vc presume that God wills anything, we must suppose that he has a reason for so doing', a reason worthy of himself, wliich can only be the greatest happiness of his creatures. In this point of view, tlierefore, the divine will cannot require anything inconsistent with general utility. " If it can be pretended that God can have any will not consistent witli utility, liis will becomes a fantastic and delusive princijile, in which the r.ivings of enthusiasm, and the extravagancies of superstition, will find sanction and authority." — Principles 0/ Fcnal Imw, Part II., Book I., Chap. X. t See Leslie Stephen, History of f.ni^lish 'J7io!/:;/'it in the l-.i^htanth Cen- tiny, \'ol. I., p. 89. " In Catholic France, a rigid and unbending system was confrontetl by a thorough-going scepticism. Men of intellect could find no half-way resting-place, and could disguise their true sentiments with no shreds of orthodo.x belief." 90 RELIGIOUS PHASES. 1808-1818. this country, Hume and Gibbon, had spent a great part of their youth in France, and were intoxicated with the vanity of imitating Frenchmen ". If we knew less of the facts, we might easily suppose that a mind of Mill's cast, finding in the Edinburgh book-shops Hume's Dialogues oti Natural Religion, would have been carried away by the style of reasoning there employed, and have taken in the seeds of his ultimate scepticism. But Mill, like his countrymen generally, was proof against Hume ; and possibly had not read the book, or, if he had, it would be for giving a refutation in his Latin discourse (" Num sit Dei cognitio naturahs ") before the Presbytery. John Mill tells us that his father's greatest difficulty in regard to Religion was the moral one ; but he partly admits, and should have been still more express on the point, that, in the end, the whole question becomes intellectual. If there be a difficulty felt in reconciling the moral character of the Deity with human misery, there are also endeavours to obviate it ; and to adjudicate upon the merits of these endeavours is clearly an intellectual function. For some time after his marriage, Mill himself went to church; and the children were all baptized. The minister that baptized the eldest was Dr. Grant, probably rector of the parish, who used to dine at the house, and meet General Miranda. John, as a little boy, went to church ; his maiden aunt remembered taking him, and hearing him say in his enthusiastic way " that the two greatest books were Homer and the Bible ". As regards father and son, the church-going did not last ; but the other members of the family continued the practice. Negation, pure and simple, as Mill held it, was a rare thing in the cultivated society of the time in England. It was more frequent a few years earlier ; but the beginning of the century, says Godwin, witnessed a change of feeling on religion. Mill's doctrinal views were very strong meat even to the most liberal of the young men that became his disciples. Grote told me WRITIXG IN EDINBURGH REVIEW. 9 1 that, though he had been quite famiUar with negation carried as far as deism, he was a good deal distressed on first hearing Mill declare that we could know nothing whatever of the origin of the world. On the subject of Christianity, Mill used in conversation to say that the history of the first centuries needed to be wholly re-written : and I am not sure that he did not at one time think of doing this himself. After these preparatory surveys, I will follow the order of events from iSoS to iSiS, iSoS. If Mill was one of the writers introduced into the Edinburgh Review after tlie 20th number, we ought to be able to trace his hand from October, 1807 (No. 21), onwards. Yet, it is not till October, 180S, that we can authentically specify his contri- butions. In tliat number is an article on Money and Exchange. The author reviewed is Thomas Smith ; Mill following up his pamj)hlet on Spence of the year before, and evidently full of the subject, which was a pressing one at the time. He laments the prevailing ignorance of the doctrines of political economy, and quotes as evidence thereof — "the late Orders in Council, resjjecting the trade of neutrals ; the popularity of Mr. Spence's doctrine in regard to commerce ; our laws concerning the corn trade ; a great part of our laws, in fiict, respecting trade in general ; the sijeeches which are commonly delivered, the books which are often published, and the conversations which are constantly held". The last third of the article is on the Bank of England question, and controverts Henry Thornton's doctrines, then in vogue. This is all that I can find of Mill's in the Edin/airgh of this year. There are two previous articles on the Spence contro- versy (Jan., 1808, and April, 1809); but we cannot assign the authorship. 92 REVIEW OF fox's HISTORY. 1808-1818. I have been furnished by Mr. Macvey Napier with an ex- tract of a letter addressed to his father by Joseph Lowe, with reference to the character of Fox. We know aheady with wliat feeUngs Mill listened to Fox after his arrival in London. Speaking of Fox, Lowe says, " If you think this a deficient eulogy, pray cast your eye over the review of his historical fragment in the Annual Review for 1808. It was written by Mill, one of his warm admirers — as far as he can bring himself to admire any Minister." This is a valuable indication for the time when Mill's contri- butions to periodicals are so difficult to trace. The article is so far illustrative of Mill's political tone, and so complimentary to Fox, that a short account of it wiU be of interest. After some preliminary observations as to the commonplace character of politicians generally, the reviewer regards it as very much in Fox's favour that he challenges an estimate of his talents, by risking the publication of such a book. He thinks that Pitt would have lived long before he gave any such test of himself "On the severest principles of criticism, the fragment now presented to us must be allowed to be a fine production, and to afford evidence that, had the work been completed, it would not have ranked low in the class of historical composi- tions." The great merit of the work, in the reviewer's eyes, is its moral tone. On this point he compares it favourably with the Greek and Roman historians, to the disparagement of most modern historians. He allows that the moderns have given good examples of philosophical history ; but their histories contain little more besides than a dry statement of vulgar his- torical facts. We read them, accordingly, with a species of cold interest, compounded of that with wliich we peruse a philosophical dissertation and a common chronicle. The peru- sal of them is a task. Even Robertson fails to impart the touches of nature to his pictures. This moral part implies first the lessons of common morality. THE MORAL ELEMENT IN FOX. 93 on which the ancients in their conception of history laid the greatest stress. The narrative should present in a clear and instructive light the natural rewards of virtue, and the punish- ment of vice ; a point on which modern historians are shame- fully defective. Most of all should public spirit be celebrated as a high virtue. It is well known how the ancient historians excel in this respect. Compare with these the work of Hume, or even Robertson's Charles the Fifth, which teaches us to admire the ambition of that cold-blooded and selfish destroyer ; while Voltaire makes a hero of Louis the Fourteenth. Another ingredient in history is the development of the human character. Here, too, Tacitus, Thucydides and Livy attain the highest success. It is the moral element that shines in Fox's work. Of the speculative philosophy not much appears. Probably " his talents were not vigorous and cultivated enough to be very capable of generalisation and analysis. Any reflections of this sort that he hazards are superficial and common. But in the moral department of the philosophy of history, we know no rival to him in the English Language. In every part of his valuable fragment, the moral qualities of his actors come home to the bosom of his readers, and call forth their love or their detestation. "With regard to public virtue, the love of which it is so peculiarly the business of the historian to insi)ire, there is scarcely any praise to which he is not entitled. It is hardly possible, we think, to read his book, and to rise without a warmer love of one's country than before; without a stronger disposition to make for it every sacrifice : to risk all in resisting its oppressors, and to account life not worth preserving, where freedom, independence, liberty, are not enjoyed, where tyranny reigns, or oppression oi)erates. Everywhere too are the keenest sympathies of his reader called forth, in the contemplation of the passions and emotions of his actors. The manners and feelings of the individuals who come forward in his pages, it seems to have peculiarly suited his genius to depict ; and those 94 REVIEW OF fox's HISTORY, 1808-1818. sympathetic pleasures, of which so rich a banquet is derived from the ancient historians, and in which the modern historians are so extremely barren, form one of the great charms which distinguish the specimen before us, and which, no doubt, would have continued to adorn his historic efforts." The reviewer then goes on to quote special passages for illustrative criticism, and points out in some detail the strength on the moral side, and the weakness in the speculative ; which last feature he effectively contrasts with the wonderful subtlety and penetration of Hume. "There are three advantages which are derived from this fragment, short as it is, of the projected history of Mr. Fox. The first is, that he has drawn a picture of the practical t3'ranny whicli was exercised over this nation under the reigns of Charles the Second and James the Second, that he excites against it the hatred and indignation of his readers, and clearly gives them to see, that had affairs proceeded, for but a little time, in the same course, the forlorn and desolate aspect of despotism must have been permanently impressed upon this country. The second advantage is, that he draws a picture of that servile submission which then seemed to form the character of the nation, and to point them out as the willing and deserving victims of oppres- sion, and rouses against the wretched sycophancy and debase- ment of the times, the contempt and detestation of every manly bosom. The third advantage is, that he stigmatises those time- serving and bigoted historians who have endeavoured to dis- guise the enormities of that period, to write the apology of venality and despotism, to repress the virtuous emotions of hatred and indignation which the scenes in question are calcu- lated to excite, and who have contributed so largely to corrupt the moral sentiments of our people, and extinguish among us the love of country, independence of spirit, disinterestedness, and courage in public affairs." The remarks on Fox's composition are somewhat curiotis. So great an orator ought to have come out better as a writer. FOXS STYLE. 95 "The language or style of this history has no very remarkable characters of excellence. Mr. Fox, in fact, appears to be still only serving his apprenticeship to composition. He seems by no means at home in the business; though neither is it stiffness that is in any degree the defect of his style. His language is perspicuous, and flowing. It has no appearance of labour, though it is often incumbered. Like most beginners in com- position, he is too circumstantial, too anxious to make out precisely his meaning, by qualifying clauses. The same want of experience has on various occasions led him to dwell too long on trivial circumstances ; and it has not unfrequently betrayed him into awkward, and even into inaccurate expres- sions. Mr. Fox"s genius, however, is diffuse, and with the greatest e\})crience he would have always drawn out his details to too great a length." Having been led to the discovery of Mill's hand in the Annual Rcvirdi (a periodical published yearly from 1802 to 1S09, by Longmans), I looked in the volume for other indica- tions of his work. It was impossible to mistake an article on Bentham's " Scotch Reform," which must have been one of his first, if not his very first, exposition of Bentham's views on Law Retorm. In the {previous year, 1807, Lord Eldon laid on the table of the House of Lords, a bill for amending the constitu- tion of tlie Scotch Court of Session, and Bentham seized the opportunity of trying to obtain a hearing for his plans of legal improvement. In a pamphlet published this year, in the form of three letters to Lord Granville, he criticized the proposed Bill for Scotland, and at the same time extended his criticism to the English system. In an article of six close pages, the reviewer gives an inkling of Bentham's way of looking at the existing practices of the law, together with his remedies. Nobody, so far as I know, except Mill, would at that time have ^vritten of Bentham in these terms : — " Every thing which comes from the pen or from the mind of IMr. Bentham is entitled to profound regard. Of all the 96 EARLIEST REVIEW OF EENTHAM. 1808-1818. men, in all ages, and in all countries, who have made the philosophy of law their study, he has made the greatest progress. If the vast additions which the science of legislation owes to him be hitherto little known to his countrymen, it is owing to the indigence of instruction among them, and to the infinite smallness of the number who take any interest in the most important inquiries. " To a profound knowledge of the general principles of law, Mr. Bentham adds an intimate acquaintance with its practice, both in his own and other countries; and it abundantly appears that his study of what law ought to be, has not made him a sharer in the admiration, so common among its professors, of what law is. As most of the articles of the reform proposed by Lord Granville to be incorporated with the Scotch system of law or of law procedure, were founded upon analogies with practices and forms of the English courts, it was necessary for Mr. Bentham, in showing that these were not the reforms which w^ould be good in Scotland, to prove that they were not regula- tions which were advantageous in England. From this he has been led into a criticism on the courts of law and the modes of administering justice in England, which forms a piece of the most important instruction which was ever laid before any nation." In the same volume, Mill's answer to Spence is criticized thus : — " Mr. Mill's answer is the work of a man who defines before he proceeds to argue, and who is thoroughly conversant with the doctrines of political economy. The reader who wishes to be amused with the contradictions of a superficial autlior, will find a fund of entertainment at Mr. Spence's cost in the notes subjoined to Commerce Defended ; while the text affords a specimen of the perspicuity with which the most abstruse sub- jects may be treated by the writer who has thoroughly meditated them." I cannot tell who was the editor of this periodical, but he evidently reposed complete confidence in Mill. ARTICLE ON MIRANDA. 97 Seeing the close intimacy of Mill and Bentham lor tlie years 1808 to 181S, Bentham's work becomes almost a })art of our record. Occasionally, it rises to special prominence among the events tliat more strictly concern us. Whatever Bentham did in that interval, he discussed with Mill. For the present year, supposed to be the first of their intimacy, Bentham seems to have been princi})ally engrossed with the Scotch Reform publi- cation, which, we have seen, was at once taken up by ]ylill, as a topic for his periodical contributions. The public events of this year are notable in themselves, but do not aid us in our proper subject. There was a great deal of excitement in the cause of Spain. A strike among the cotton- weavers of Manchester assumed formidable dimensions, and led to serious tumults. In Parliament, Romilly works at his Sisyphus stone of reforming the Criminal Law. ISCQ. In the January number of the Edinburgh, appears a very full article on the Emancipation of Spanish America (35 ]xages). It recounts the entire public career of General Miranda, and was no doubt inspired by him. A second article on tlie same subject is contained in the July number, where Miranda's ' coaching ' is still more apparent ; Mill could not of himself quote auth(;rities in the Spanish language. The situation of South America was one of no little complication ; it was \\\ revolt against Spain, while we were assisting Spain at home. The fate of the mother country had first to be decided, eitlier for independence or for subjection to Buonaparte. Under the first su])position. Mill enumerates five alternatives, under tlie second, three ; the one most advantageous to this country, would be, for us, having secured the independence of Sjjain, to secure next the independence of the colonies. In July there is an article on China, the occasion of which will be seen in a letter to be quoted presently. It is a review of the Travels of M. de Guignes, French Resident in China. 7 98 CIVILIZATION OF CHINA. 1808-1818. The article professes " to collect the scattered lights which he and others offered for illustrating the condition of the Chinese". The preparatory remark is made — " It is to be lamented that philosophers have not as yet laid down any very distinct canons for ascertaining the principal stages of civilization ". Neverthe- less, the reviewer does his best to estimate the actual stage reached by the Chinese. The general conclusion is — •" China is very little advanced beyond the infancy of agricultural society". As to the higher politics — "the practical business of Government, through all its organs, is to plunder the people, and deceive the sovereign ". The much vaunted stability of the empire is only " immobility ". Even the number of the population is greatly exaggerated. The main art, agriculture, is proved to be in a very low state. Not one of the arts is advanced, except pottery, which is within the compass of a rude people. In building arches, and in laying out grounds, the people deserve some credit. The crowning evidence of the low state of the civilization as a whole is the utterly degraded condition of the women. For this year, there is a great deal of interesting incident in the Memoirs of Bentham. First is a letter (July 25) on what was an anxious subject in the small Bentham circle, the publi- cation of Bentham's Elements of Packing. Bentham had been long contemplating a work on the Law of Libel, in which he took the ground that the " Libel law as it stands, or rather as it floats, is incompatible with English liberties ". A scries of wholesale prosecutions instituted in the beginning of this year for libelling the Duke of York and the British Army, aroused his attention to the system of packing Juries in Government Prosecutions, and he wrote this treatise, in which he deals terrific blows upon the Government, and the Judges, and turns the system round and round with excruciating minuteness. Here is the letter as given in the Life of Bentham. CEXTHAM S ELEMENTS OF PACKING. 99 " 12 RoDNKV Stkkkt, Pkntonvili.e, ' ' J Illy 2J, iSog. " As to ' Elements,' for the outcoming of which I appear to be far more impatient than you, I have been to give tlie man a lesson in reading Benthamic copy, and he is far less frightened than he formerly was, or pretended to be — and I expect that his experience will soon prepare some other bold-hearted man to take your stuff in hand. I have told Baldwin, that it must be, through thick or through thin, published in six weeks. My motive for naming this time, was, that then it will be ready time enough for the Edinburgh Rez'ieic, No. after the next — and I do not want it out much sooner, that no law boa may lick it over, and cover it with his slime, that it may glide the easier into his serpent's maw, and afterwards offer the excrement to Jeffrey, to the frustration and exclusion of an offering of my own. " What is to be, will be ; what is not to be, will not be : — I hope I have here provided myself ground enough to stand upon. You see I have not turned my eye to the pastoral office so long for nothing : had it been ever turned, like your own, to the equally reverend and pious office, the dispensation of law, the field of generalities would hardly have been more fomiliar to it." An unpublished portion of the same letter gives, in some- what uncouth fiishion, the particulars of the first visit of Mill to Barrow Green. We cannot afford to suppress this portion, having so little means of enlivening the narrative with home- life pictures. " Coming to Barrow Green on Wednesday, that is, to-mor- row — under which of the clauses does that fall ? Alas ! under the latter. The reason? So it was in the womb of Providence. Who can command what is in the womb of Providence ? As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so must we be three days and three nights in the darkness of lOO VISIT TO BARROW GREEX. 180S-181S. Pentonville before we can emerge into the light of Barrow Green. Saturday is the day decreed. The causes various. ' Flounces and furbelows,' if among them, are latent. Those set forward to view, if by the art of description I can give them dignity requisite, are as follows : — i. The duty of detersion — • a great household abomination, of twelve times recurrence in the year, for which Monday before last was the regular day— but the wedding on the said day delayed, after the fashion of the great expedition which is now a-going, a-going, till Monday last. This, with all its appendages, goes for a great part of tlie week. Then there is another mischief — there are two aunts, one of whom is necessary to take charge of the brat to be left behind, and they have first to be pulled home from Margate. To pull women from their pleasures, you know too much not to know is not a trifling task. Saturday is the earliest day we can expect them. Another reason concerns myself. Having consented to review this book on China for Jeffrey, I had intended to carry it to Barrow Green, had we gone there on Monday — but now I am anxious, as there is so little time, to have done with it before I leave town. In the meantime, I hope the lilies and roses will be generous and delay their departure for a few days. It will be dreadful to lose them. " By-the-bye, in a note I received from Tvlr. Koe on Saturday, he desires me to bring Motive Table, and Evidence Exclusion Table. Motive Table I have, and Table dcs Delits, but no such table as Evidence Exclusiofi Table did I ever sec. " When I received your letter on Monday, John, who is so desirous to be your inmate, was in the room, and observed me smiling as I read it. This excited his curiosity to know what it was about. I said it was Mr. Bentham asking us to go to Barrow Green. He desired to read that. I gave it him to see what he would say, when he began, as if reading — ' Why have not you come to Barrow Green, and brought John with you ? ' " The prospect of the pleasures to come keeps up our spirits under the vexation and delay of the days we must lose. The REVISING BENTHAM S RATIONALE. lOI pleasures you are in the actual enjoyment of, ought to keep up yours. " Mrs. Mill desires me to offer her very best respects, and to say that she promises to make up in good behaviour when she comes, for what of the delay in coming is layable at her door. " I am, my dear Sir, " With the highest regard, " Yours, &c " Devil take them ! Since writing the above, has the mother of these aunts come into the house, telling us she has heard from them — that they will be in town on Sunday, spite of fate, but not before. It will be Monday morning therefore, before we can be with you. We shall set off, however, before break- fast. We shall breakfast at Croydon, and be with you to the enjoyment of the day — not, however, to break in upon you, till your own dinner-hour — the intermediate time shall be spent in getting acquainted with the place. We shall come in a post chaise, by which means we shall avoid the trouble we should otherwise occasion in sending for us, as ?\Ir. Koe had the good- ness to mention, to Godstone. John asks if Ivlonday is not to-morrow." This was the first of the visits to Barrow Green. The exact duration of these visits is not certain, for want of references. The last was in 1813, and is authenticated by a letter that we shall have to produce. That they could have been only a few weeks at a time, is evident from the fact, that Mill does not seem to have ever had the whole of his family with him. The paragraph alluding to a note received from Koe, Bent- ham's amanuensis or secretary, shows that Mill was revising for Bentham portions of his \\ox\— Introduction to Rationale of Evidence. In exactly two months, we find another letter, showing that Mill was back in London. The book on Jury-Packing is getting printed, and Mill writes — I02 BENTHAM RISKING PROSECUTION. 1808-1818. *' I offer up my devotions to heaven every morning for the prosperity of Libel Law. After the feeble and timid talk on the subject of the freedom of the press in the House of Com- mons on Monday night, I am more impatient than ever. Pure fear of the lawyers seemed to tie up the tongues even of Sir F. Burdett and of Whitbread, who otherwise appeared willing to speak. They were afraid they should commit some blunder in regard to the requisite provisions of law, and, therefore, eat their words. Oh ! if they but knew what law is, and ought to be, as well as you can tell them, on this most interesting of all points, we should find the boldness, I trust, on the other side, equal to that of the lawyers." It appears from Bowring that, while the book was going through the press, the publisher took alarm, and refused to proceed. To mitigate the offensiveness of the work, Bentham suggested a change of title — " Perils of the Press " ; but this was a very slight palliative. The opinion of Romilly was taken, and it was very strong indeed. He had not the least doubt that " Gibbs " (Sir Vicary) would prosecute both the author and the printer. " An attorney-general, the most friendly to you, would probably find himself under the neces- sity of prosecuting, from the representations which would be made to him by the Judges, but Gibbs would want no such representations, and would say, that not to prosecute such an attack upon the whole administration of justice, would be a dereliction of his duty." The printing was proceeded with, but the book was not sold till 182 1 ; copies being circulated privately. One wonders at Mill's temerity in urging the publication of such a work against the opinion of Romilly. I can fancy him supposing that Gibbs and his masters would be disinclined to send Jeremy Bentham to prison ; as Hume and Gibbon were allowed to pass un- molested, while humble scribblers had to suffer for holding their view^s. That the book escaped prosecution when it did appear, shows that Romilly was, after all, too apprehensive of ARTICLE OX DEXOX MANGLED. I03 danger. He made a similar mistake with a subsequent work of Bentham's. A prosecution of the Act of Packing would have been singular in another respect ; it would have been an appeal to a Jur}' to say whether Juries were packed or not. In the October number of the Review appeared one of Mill's important articles, a review of Bcxon's Code de la Legislation Pciiale. The work itself he disposes of as vague, confused, and vacillating, and substitutes a short abstract of his own doctrines instead ; but does not go far into detail. A consider- able stir followed the publication of the article, and the irritant was a sentence on Bentham, as being " the only author who has attempted this most difficult and most important analysis \ and imperfect as his success has necessarily been, we have no hesitation in saying he has done more to elucidate the true grounds of legislative interference than all the jurists who had gone before him ". On the Review coming out, Mill writes to Bentham — " Bexon sadly mangled. The mention of you struck out in all but one place, and there my words, every one of them, removed, and those of Jeffrey put in their place. What is to be done with this concern ? I am indeed at a serious loss." This was followed by a long exculpatory letter of the 27 th Nov., which is not given. Allusion is made to it in a letter from Bentham, 5th December, enclosing one from Dumont, from which, he says, " you will see the sensation made by the Bexon at Holland House ". "To preserve the person most immediately injured, it seemed to me that nothing better could be done than to send to Mr. Dumont a copy of so much of your letter of the 27th November as related to that subject. Under so serious a charge as that of a'mcst imp7ident p/cv^iaris/n,'' it was no small satisfaction fur me to have in my jiossession an anticipated exculpation, and that so complete a one for your defence ; and it was an addi- tionally fortunate circumstance that I was enabled to add tlie existence of at least one witness (meaning, though not mention- 104 PRAISE OF BENTHAM UNPALATABLE TO JEFFREY. 1808-1818. ing), Mr. K. [Koe], by whom the groundlessness of the charge, in so far as you are concerned, could be attested." Mill is evidently in a high state of excitement, and sits down immediately to pen a long letter, which is worth giving entire. December 6, i8og. " Your communication to me of Mr. Dumont's letter, though the intelligence imparted by it was not of the most agreeable sort, found it difficult to add to my anger, which was near its maximum before. Under this oddly generated surmise, I feel gratitude to Mr. Koe for his very lucky expression of his desire to read the article in MS. before it was sent off, and the very moment before it was sent off; for it came out of his hands, and was sealed up that very instant under his eye. The con- tradiction of this — not very measured accusation — would other- wise have rested on my self-serving testimony ; for it was not my intention to have troubled Mr. K. with the reading of it, as I thought he would so much more easily satisfy himself with it when he could see it in print. " It is no less satisfactory to me in respect to another of the said wisely conceived surmises, viz., that of the article's being dratvn up tender your direction, cr^c, that you neither saw it nor heard it — a circumstance owing entirely to the same cause, viz., a reluctance to encroach with it upon your time, and the reflection that all you might desire to know about it, you would know, with most pleasure, when it should come to be read to you in print. " Notwithstanding, however, the passage in which I en- deavoured, not only to do justice to your merits, but to point you out, in as distinct a manner as I could, to the public, as the only man from whom light was to be got on legislative matters, I own that I, after knowing the dislike which Mr, Jeffrey had to praise, studiously made use of your doctrines, at the same time sinking your name ; and in more places than one, as I dare say Mr. Koe remembers, I had originally named REVISES BENTHAM OX EVIDENXIi. I05 you as the autlior of what I was saying, and afterwards struck it out. This was done upon the exhortation of Mr. Lowe, who said, that from what he knew of Jeffrey — from what Mr. Jeffrey had said to him about what he called my propensity to admire^ and in particular to admire you, as also what he said about his own (Jeffrey's) propensity not to admire — that he would not admit the mention of you in such terms to stand in so many places, and that it would be best to retain it in two or three of the places where I thought it of most importance, and strike it out in the rest, when the probability was, he would not meddle with it. As there appeared to be reason in this, I allowed myself to be governed by it — and after all this caution, we still see what has come of it. " To come, however, to a more agreeable subject — after thanking you, as I most heartily do, for your zeal to exculpate me — I have this day got to the end of Exclusion * Impossibility then is all that remains , and I am at the end of the principal stage of my labours, viz., my operations upon your text — i.e., among your various lections, the making choice of one — the completing of an expression, wh.en, in the hurry of penmanshij), it had been left incomplete, &c. Editorial notes, of which we have so often talked, are only thus far advanced, that a variety of rudiments are set down, with reference to the places of the work where they should be introduced. Ikit it has often happened to me to find, what I thought might be added as a note in one place, was given admirably by yourself in another place, and a better place. And in truth, having surveyed the whole, the ground appears to me so completely trod, that I can hardly conceive anything wanting. It is not easy, coming after you, to find anything to pick up behind you. My memory, too, is so overmatched by the vast multiplicity of ol)jects which the work involves, that I am afraid to trust myself in any kind of notes, save suggestions of cases, illustration by instances — lest * la a'llubion to tlic Works on Kviclcnco. Io6 BROUGHAM ON BENTHAM's STYLE. 1808-1818. what I say should be an idea brought forward in some other part of the work. All this, however, is not intended to operate as an apology or pretext for indolence. Notes there shall be written, and very full ones — whether these notes shall be printed is another question. My feet are still lumber — still of no use. They seem slowly bringing themselves back to that state in which use may again be made of them. When they will accomplish that desirable object, it is not yet for me to say." Bowring gives an extract of a letter from Brougham to Mill, on the same article : its being in his possession shows that Mill had forwarded it to Bentham. . . . "My observations on Bexon can easily keep till we meet. The principal objection is to the pains you have bestowed, or, I think I may say, thrown away, on the exposi- tion of a man's blunders, who is obscure, and, apparently, only magnified into consideration for the sake of his mistakes. I also object to some attacks on Ellenborough, of which, perhaps, you are not aware. There are certain inverted commas which, in fact, mask quotations from his own words. The praise of Bentham seems to me excessive, and not very consistent with the tone of the former article, though perhaps less extravagant than a passage in your first South American article. The adoption of his neology, I must enter my decided protest against. It is possible you might not be aware that forth- comingness and non-forthcomingness are unknown in all writings on law, except his own ; but such words as semi-public you must be convinced are of his mint." The above extract was my clue to the South American articles. The reference to Bentham is in the first, and is slightly stronger than the present one. This " Bexon " article is, as we have seen, not quite the first of Mill's writings on Benthamic subjects ; it is, however, apparently the first of any importance. There follows in the Memoirs another letter of Mill to ANONYMOUS STRICTURES ON HENTHAM. I07 Bentham, too interesting to be left out. The occasion must be inferred. " Penton'ville, lofh Dccctiiher, iSog. " Though I hesitated at first whether the fides litcranim permits me to shew to you the accompanying letter — a letter which would certainly not have been written, at least not as it is written, had it been supposed that it would be shewn to you — yet as I think there is real utility as between you and me that it should be shewn to you, and as no harm can thence arise either to the author or any other body, the reasons for shewing it to you appear to me to preponderate. It appears to rne at the same time to be proper that it should not be known to any other body that you have seen it ; or if you think proper to communicate it to Mr. Koe, to which I have no objection, let this restriction be at the same time made known to him. " The letter which is marked No. i was sent first. I answered it by saying that I was unable to visit the gentleman as invited, but begged he would give me a foretaste of what he had to say by his pen, to stay my stomach, till we could meet. I received in answer the letter I have marked No. 2. " These two letters you had better here read, and the few words I have to add afterwards, as they will be in the nature of commentary upon the said letters. " Forcibly did the reading of that last letter strike me with the truth of an observation, which you yourself have somewhere made — that the man who has anything of great importance for the good of mankind to propose, must be dead before his beneficent proposals have any tolerable chance for a favourable reception, or so much as a fair consideration. The man who gets the start too much of his contemporaries, I see, must be an object of jealousy; and while lie lives, must have eyes and ears purposely shut against him. I own, in the present (juarter, I am disappointed and grieved. One of the most liberal-minded, and enliLrhtened, and one of the most amiable men I know — Io8 VOLTAIRE ON NUMERICAL DEGREES OF PROOF. 1808-1818. and yet, such is the letter he writes to me ! Let us not, however, be discouraged — let us go on cheering one another; and, as I shall find nobody when you are gone — why, you must, just for that reason, live for ever. "When you have sufficiently perused the said notes, have the goodness to let me have them again. " I have made a sort of discovery. In a piece of Voltaire's, the title of which caught my eye the other day, ' Essai sur les l^robabilites en fait de justice,' he makes use of figures (numerals) for expressing the different degrees of probative force in different articles of evidence. He applies it merely as an instrument for a particular purpose, and in a particular case; and seems to have had no idea of a scale for general use. But it may be useful for you to see it, and to say when and how you have seen it ; as the fashion seems to be to impute plagiarisms where the imputation is not shut out by bolts and bars, and a guard of soldiers. The vol. is the 30th in my edition, and it is the second of those entitled Politique et Legislation. If you have it not, I will send it you per first conveyance." It was this year that Bentham wrote his Plan of Parlia- mentary Reform, published in 181 7. The public events of the year do not concern our narrative, except in the single allusion to the discussion on the Freedom of the Press. The Parliamentary enquiry into the conduct of the Duke of York, and the duel between Canning and Castle- reagh (Sept. 22), helped to diversify the topics of general dis- cussion. 1810. The year of Mill's abortive attempt to live in Milton's house, and his migrating to Newington Green. Neither dates nor parti- culars are given. We can pretty well imagine the unsettlement and distraction of two " flittings " in one year ; together with the aggravated disappointment to all parties from the necessity of giving up a promising and convenient residence. There EDIXEURGH REWIEW ARTICLES : — INDLV. I09 would not apparently be the alleviation afforded by the summer visit to Barrow Green ; this being the one year that it did not take place, although Bentham himself went there. Mill had now been at least three years engaged on India, and he would naturally endeavour to turn his researches to immediate account in the Edinburgh, Jeffrey permitting. It was in March that Brougham, in writing Jeffrey, urged him to find "a job for Mill ". An article in April, 1810, is a slaying attack upon the Company's government, under the two heads — Commercial Monopoly, and Government. He first refutes all the pretences for granting the Company a monopoly of the trade ; and next reviews in minute detail the vices of the Company's Govern- ment. The remedy for the mis-government is curious, and is given only as a hint : — " Instead of sending out a Governor- General, to be recalled in a few years, v,-hy should we not constitute one of our Royal Family, Emperor of Hindostan, with hereditary succession ? " The suljject of a serious Disturbance and 3.1utiny in the Madras Army, was given to Sydney Smith, instead of to rvlill. The August number contains an article on Religious Tolera- tion, based on an anonymous French work bearing on the state of religious liberty in France. The article displays Mill's usual energy on this c^uestion, and takes a wide scope, embrac- ing among other tilings the Catholic disabilities. He has two articles in the November number. One has come to our knowledge through a passage in Brougliam's Autobiography, v.'here he speaks of Jeffrey's lAiitorship. " As an instance of the care he (Jeffrey) took in revising and pre- paring contributions, I remember an article on the Memoirs of Prince Eugene was sent to Jeffrey by Mill : Jeffrey gave it to Dr. Ferrier of ]\Ianchester to revise ; and wiien he got it back from Dr. Ferrier, he himself corrected it, and added the moral reflections and the concluding observations in the new Paris Edition of the work !" — I., p. 265, no REVIEW OF CODE NAPOLEON. 1S0S-1818. Jeffrey's unceremonious hashing of articles was very trying to his contributors, and lost him several that he was unable to replace. Mill could not at this time afford to quarrel with his means of livelihood. The Eugene review need not detain us. More important is the other contribution to the same number ; a paper of twenty- six pages on the part of the Code Napoleon referring to Cri- minal Procedure. There is a full abstract given, and then a series of criticisms from the more advanced position attained through Bentham. The faults found with the Code are pretty numerous, and there is a sweeping remark as to the French way of doing things : " if an end can be attained by an easy but humble process, and by an operose but showy one, they are sure to prefer the latter ". In December, we find him corresponding with Brougham, on a great constitutional question, connected with the private patrimony of the King ; namely, the Droits of Admiralty. Brougham had been pressing the subject in Parliament, and Bentham is very much interested in it. The year altogether is very meagre in recorded incidents. One anecdote, given me on good authority, is worth introducing. Mill's friend, David Barclay, made out a visit to London this year. He spent, of course, an evening at Mill's house, whether in Pentonville or in Newington Green, would depend on the time of the year, and is not known. Mrs. Mill and a young boy (John, four years old) were at dinner. While they were present, not a word was said of Scotland ; but, tlie moment they left the room, Mill burst out in eager enquiry after every- body in Logic Pert. Miranda's departure, in October, must have left a consider- able blank in the small circle of Mill's intimacies. I do not know any one, except Bentham, that he was so much with for the two or three years previous. It is worth remembering, however, that this was the year that John Black joined the staff of the Morning Chronicle as a YEARS POLITICAL EVENTS, III Parliamentary Reporter. We do not know when he first became acquainted with Mill, but it was probably soon after his arrival. He passed from the Reporters' gallery, to the Editor's desk, in 1817 ; and after Perry's death, in 1S21, took the entire charge of the paper. Bentham's work this year, was getting ready his Parliamen- tary Reform Catechism ; also his Defence of Economy against Burke and Rose, being parts of his treatise " Official Aptitude maximised, Expense minimised ". He farther gave Miranda the draft of a Paw for establishing the Liberty of the Press, to take with him to South America. The great political episode of the year was one that would influence the talk in Mill's circle ; namely, the series of pro- ceedings that ended in the committal of Sir Francis Burdett to the Tower. Sir Samuel Romilly never appeared to greater advantage than on this occasion ; and the account given in his Life has a permanent historical value in connexion with the privileges of the House of Commons. Burdett's offence lay in publishing in Cobbett's Register a strong article denying the power of the House of Commons to send to prison, as they had done, John Gale Jones, and John Dean, printer, for dis- cussing in a debating society, the exclusion of strangers from the debates of the House. Burdett was brought up for this article, and sent to the Tower. Romilly contended that it was a case for the Law Courts alone. The whole incident made the session one of unusual political excitement, especially in Westminster. On the 2ist IMay, Mr. Brand made a motion in the House of Commons for a Reform of Parliament. Lost by 234 to On the 24th February, Perry of the Mortiing Chroniclr, was tried for a seditious libel, before Lord Ellcnborough and a special jury. The Libel consisted in what we should think a very mild paragraph, in the Examiner, then recently started by the Hunts. Perry reprinted the paragraph. He was tried 112 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 1808-1818. first ; the Hunts were to follow. But Gibbs stopped after his first defeat. In January, Jeffrey writes two letters. The first expects an article, and wishes it before the 7th Feb. ; it also encloses a bill for ^100, a balance being still due. Jeffrey's scale of payment, is explained by himself to have been a miniiimin of sixteen guineas a sheet " though two-thirds of the articles were paid much higher — averaging, I should think, from twenty to twenty-five guineas a sheet on the \\ hole number ". Mill's articles of the previous year, so far as I can trace them, amount to about eighty pages ; so that great part of a year's contribu- tions may have been unpaid for, showing that Mill did not press for his money. The second letter follows in two days ; approves of a subject proposed by Mill, but urges him to be gentle, and something else that in Jeffrey's handwriting I cannot decipher. The two articles traceable for this year, are in February and May. The February article is twenty pages in review of a French pamphlet Sur la Souvcrainte, by M. J. Chas. The pamphlet is considered to be a manifesto author- ized by Napoleon, as an apology for his despotism ; and is handled accordingly. The pamphleteer carries the war into the enemy's country and attacks the ]]ritish Constitution itself, the better to strengthen his case. This only exposes him the more to Mill's batteries. There is a letter from Jeffrey in Alarch, declining a proposal to write on the Nepaul Em.bassy; the subject already bespoken by some one that he could not refuse, albeit not auguring well of the execution. The letter then refers to a coming article on the Liberty of the Press, and gives advice — to make allowance for difference of times, to take a candid view of the dangers of calumny, (S:c., &c. The article is in the May number, twenty- five pages. Its strongest point is the exposure of the utter uncertainty of our law as to what is allowed, or what forbidden ; h-TARTIXG OF PHILANTHROriS T. II3 it criticises very severely a saying of Burke's, " that the law would crush liberty, but juries save it". Mill follows Jeffrey's advice so far as to speak of the abuses of liberty ; but the way of doing it is his own. "With regard to political subjects, the liberty of the press may be abused in two ways : — the one is, when good public measures, and good public men, are blamed ; the other is, when bad public measures, and bad public men, are praised. Of these two, 7oe should consider the last as in- finitely the worst.'' Jeffrey referred him to the French Revolu- tion. On this he says : — " It was not the abuse of a free press which was witnessed during the French Revolution ; it was the abuse of an cnslaied press." It was in this year that the Philanthropist began. Allen is represented as planning it in the previous summer. The title is — "The Philanthro}ji.st; or Repository for hints and suggestions calculated to promote the Comfort and Happiness of man ". From the first volume, we have a sufficient idea of the drift of the work. There is an introduction by Allen, on the Duty and the Pleasure of cultivating Benevolent Dispositions. The articles that follow are — On the most rational means of pro- moting Civilization in Barbarous States ; Some successful attempts to civilize the Hottentots; Account of a Soiiety to promote the Civilization of Africa, in connexion with the Abolition of the Slave 'I'rade. Two articles are decisively Mill's — The Penal Law of England with respect to Capital Punishment, and as connected with the Transportation and Penitentiary Systems. A short article on Penitentiary Ibnises for Convicted Criminals, giving an account of Beniham's plan, is prubably his too ; he was a thorough convert to tlic Ben- thamic " Panopticon ". An article on the Ceneral EduiMtion of the Poor soon launches out into Lancaster's system, not exactly in Mill's manner, and gives notice that the subject would be followed w\) — which indeed it is. The writing on this matter soon waxes to a furnace heat. The remaining articles 114 FIRST CONTRIBUTIONS. 1808-1818. of the volume are— Penny Clubs for clothing Poor Children ; I'^mployment of Poor Women in winter ; Refuge for the Desti- tute ; Considerations on War ; Sunday Schools. A letter from Allen, on the 3rd of June, indicates the fervour on the Lancaster question. " We are much pleased with thy reply to the Bellites, it places the merit of the case u])on strong grounds. We are now entrenched to the ears and shall fight with advantage — not with cannon balls, but with something far more powerful, when directed to those whose intellect has been cultivated : in such a warfare even Quakers will fight, and fight stoutly." I do not find anything in the numbers then published that answers to this outburst, although the matter in dispute had come up in several articles. What Allen must have been reading was part of the IMS. of an article of fifty i)ages that appeared in January following. Another letter from Allen shows that INIill was with Bentham at Barrow Green this autumn. It was on the 15th June of the previous year, that Brougham made his motion for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. I give this letter of Allen's entire. London, 22 of 8 month, iSii. " My Dear Friend, " The first thing to be done in every mischance is to consider of the best possible way of getting out of tlie scrape. I shall therefore lose no time in lamentation, but beg leave to suggest whether we had not better give the substance of the Act making it Felony to carry on the Slave Trade, accompany- ing it with some appropriate remarks, and for this time sink the debates altogether ; we should, however, state that it was brought in by Brougham, who made an excellent speech, &c., upon the occasion, and as it passed triumphantly, and the argu- ments used by other speakers had been often employed before, (S:c., &c., we sliall not weary our readers witli them. "Instruction, a Poem, should also be reviewed, and copious INTRODUCTION TO RICARDO. II5 extracts from it given — this I always designed to bring up the rear — and I think thou took charge of it for this pur[)ose. "As soon as ever this number is printed I wish us to concert measures for the next, which I think may open with an account of the labours of John Howard. " Please to present me affectionately to our worthy Friend Eentham, and any of your Corps who may happen to know me. I do not know whether H. Koe is with you or not. " Requesting to hear from thee by return of Post, " I remain, " Thine sincerely, " W. ALLEN." Li the Memoirs of Eentham there is a long letter from Brougham to Mill, on Law Reform in America, meant for Eentham, and duly forwarded to him. This was the time when Mill was the medium of communication between Brougham and lientham. A\'e are not to forget that this year was marked by ^NI ill's introduction to Ricardo. It is also the year that he became acquainted with Place, and began to visit his shop, on the way to dine with Eentham. Place's topics of interest were limited to the strictly practical sphere : and, besides general politics, not very stimulating in those years, comprised Westminster Electioneering, and the Lancasterian education schemes. He was undoubtedly a good man of business, and was much deferred to by IMill in that particular capacity. Eentham's work for the year was somewhat promiscuous. He makes notes on Nomography, or the Art of inditing Laws. He also worked at speculations in Logic, Language, and Uni- versal Grammar, which he took up at different times of his life, but did not mature for publication. He brought out a second edition of the Scotch Reform pamphlet. This year Duniont j)ublished in Paris " Theorie des Peines et des Recompenses". The Session of Parliament opened with a Regency Bill, the ii6 year's public events. 1 808-1 8 1 8. King being laid aside. Sir Samuel Romilly, as usual, made fardier attempts in the way of Reform of the Criminal Law ; three of his Bills reached the Lords and were lost there. Lord Folkestone (in the Commons) moved for a return of prosecu- tions for libel by the Government since 1800 ; the object being to show that Gihbs's activity was unprecedented. Romilly supported the motion. It was lost by 199 to 36. On the 24th January, there was a grand dinner at Glasgow, in celebration of the anniversary of Fox's birth. Jeffrey says of it : — ■" Our Whigs here are in great exultation, and had a fourth more at Fox's dinner yesterday than ever attended before ", In February, the Hunts were indicted for libel, on account of an article in the Examiner (copied from the Staf/iford Neius), denouncing military flogging zji toto. Brougham appeared in the defence, and the verdict was — ^Not Guilty. Next month, however, Brougham's eloquence did not avail to save the printer of the StaDiford Ne^vs^ who was convicted at Lincoln for the original publication of the article. In November was established the " National Society for promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church ". This year there are two short articles in the Edinburgh on Indian subjects, known through Jeffrey's letters that have been saved. One, in July, reviews Malcolm's Sketch of the Political History of India, and is chiefly on the constitutional question, as to the best form of government for India ; no very distinct solution being advanced. The other, in November, attacks the Commercial Monopoly ; and urges farther inquiry, by a Committee of Parliament, into the whole system of Indian policy. Jeffrey apologizes for having made some retrench- ments on this article. On one or other of the two contribu- A'lTACK ON THE CHURCH. II7 tions, Brougham writes — " I find the Indian article gives much satisfaction to the faithful ". In the Phihniihropist, Vol. II., is the long article above mentioned on the Lancasterian dispute. The Church of Eng- land organs had been denouncing Lancaster : " it has even been broadly and uablushingly asserted, in a high church (|uarter," that Mr. Lancaster, as being a Quaker, is no Chris- iian ". I'he cry " The Church is in danger I " had been raised. " Unfortunately," the article says, " the name of the Church has been converted into an engine of war against us. In the use which is thus made of it, we are in self-defence constrained to resist it."' "While bishops and archbishops, and deans and rectors, and lords and gentlemen, looked on in ai)athy, this individual (Lancaster) performed two things : he first proved that the education of the poor might be rendered incredibly cheap ; he next conceived the truly great and magnanimous idea of rousing by his own exertions a sufficient number of individuals in the nation to contribute the expense which the education of the whole body of the i)eople would retjuire. While the Dr. Lells and the Dr. ^Lirshes, the lii^hop A's and the Bishop I]"s enjoyed their tranciuillity and their ease, without an effort for the education oi the poor, witb.out a single school to which their exertions gave binh, Mr. Lancaster ]jroved, tV'c., tVc." 'i'wo main accusations had been brought against the system, and are dealt with in the article. l'"irst, "the teaching of the poor to read, and habituating them to lead the Bible, without inculcating any particular creed, is the way to make them renounce Christianity ". In re]>ly. Mill at once puts his finger on the sore, pointing out with remorse- less ])lainness that "the net iiicitlcati/ii^ so//ic /y/i'x'i'I^s lywi/ is the mainsi)ring of this (objection"; and he meets opponents with an argument that b.e justly regards "as jtertectlv ('(inclusive antl up.an>werable ". Tlie sec(M"id accusation is "that teacliing children to read and write, without teacliing them the Church *.///.'/>■,■.//« A\:/c:.', \'u;. .XXIX. tJ.ni.-Apr. , lEcSi, ]\ 292. Il8 EXPECTED CHANGE OF IMINISTRY. 1808-1818. of England creed, is the way to make them renounce the Church of England ". No sooner has Mill stated this position of his enemies than he declares vigorously : " We believe that no sentence more condemnatory of the Church of England ever was pronounced, or can be pronounced, by her most declared enemies, than is thus pronounced by her professing votaries ". He then proceeds to discuss the charge at con- siderable length, being careful to meet numerous minor argu- ments more or less closely connected with this principal accusation. Thus the larger part of the article deals with general objections; the remainder in specific replies. Dr. Herbert Marsh, afterwards Bishop Marsh, well known for his criticism of the Gospels, had just published a sermon attacking the Lancaster plans, and to this Mill replies with crushing effect. He then overhauls the Quarterly for " an elaborate and designing article against the Lancasterians ". Besides making this grand effort to fight the Church, Mill appears plainly, in the same volume, in two considerable Toleration articles, in which he had always the warmest sym- pathy from Allen. In Bentham's Memoirs there are two sliort letters for this year. They are both addressed to Bentham. " By what I learned from Sharp on Wednesday, at Ricardo's, I look upon a Whig Ministry as certain. Marquis Wellesley, having found it impossible to form an Administration, resigned the task, when it was transferred to Lord Moira ; and on Wed- nesday, at five o'clock, Lords Grey, Grenville, and Wellesley, met at Lord Moira's. Since that time, I know nothing, e.\cc])t that there was no account of this in the papers yesterday. L^ut the certainty of the fiict, that Lord Moira is the former, makes an equal certamty, I think, of the AVhigs being the material with which the formation will be accomplished — Wellesley and Canning to be included. This being the case, I cannot imagine but that your proposal about Panopticon — namely, along with their penitentiary house— will be immediately JURY SVS'J'EM OF INDIA. I19 assented to ; at least, after the reasons wliich you can so easily give them. In truth, I suspect Panopticon will bar tlic way to Devonshire as a residence; and should the Whigs come in, as supposed, I suspect you will hardly feel easy at the idea of being away, till you know what is to be done with you. It is a maxim in politics, says De Retz, ' que V absent a toiijoiirs fort\" After (juoting this letter, Bowring gives the following piece of information. In conjunction with Mill, Bentham put forward various suggestions for the application of a Jury system to British India, with their j-ationalc : — " I. To make the choice of jurors extend, as far as possible, not merely to half-castes of legitimate birth, but to halt-castes of every kind. " 2. Urge the reasons for admitting natives of all descri[)- tions. ^^'hatevcr reasons are good for admitting halt'-castes, aie good for admitting others, if no reason springing out of what peculiarly belongs to the other castes can be shown to exist. " 3. Beginning with the half-castes discredits the institution in the eyes of the higher castes of natives. " 4. The natives of all castes mix without difficulty, as sepoys in the ranks of our army." The second letter is dated 28tli July, 1S12. Young John (now six years old) had by this time become an object of interest to Bentham, from their being thrown together during the l^arrow Green visits ; and some illness of his father had led to this communication : " I am not going to die, notwithstanding your zeal to come in for a legacy. However, if I were to die any time before this poor boy is a man, one of the things that would innch me most sorely, would be, the being obliged to leave his mind unmade to the degree of excellence of which I hope to make it. But another thing is, that the only prospect which would lessen that pain, would be the leaving him in your hands. I therefore 120 bentham's rationale. 1 808-1 8 1 8. take your offer quite seriously, and stipulate, merely, that it shall be made as good as possible ; and then we may perhaps leave him a successor worthy of both of us." Bentham had prepared his work entitled Introductmi to the Rationale of Evidence, but, as in the work on Jury Packing, still unpublished, he had been so unsparing with the critical rod, that one bookseller after another dechned to take it, from fear of prosecution. Mill used his influence with some of them, and cahed their hesitation weakness; but did not succeed. The work was partly printed, but never published, until it found a place in the complete edition of Bentham's works. A note from Brougham in July introduces a great friend of Indian questions, Mr. Bennett, son of Lord Tankerville, as having promised Mill the loan of his valuable journals and reports on India. The only remaining scrap for this year is a letter from a warm friend of Mill's, the Rev. Dr. James Lindsay, an English Presbyterian minister, whose chapel was in Monkwell Street, in the east end of London.* He was a friend of Mill's next- * Dr. Jaincs Lindsay was born, at or near Kirriemuir, Forfarshire, in 1753. Educated first at the parish school of Kirriemuir, and for a short time at Aber- deen Grammar School, he entered King's College, in 1769, and took liis degree in 1773. He then went on to Divinity in Aberdeen, under the distinguished professors — Alexander Gerard of King's College, and George Campbell of Marischal College ; and was licensed to preach in 1776. From 1773 to 1778, he resided as tutor in the family of the Rev. Kenneth Jvfacaulay, minister of Calder, by Nairn, Inverness-shire ; the Kenneth Macaulay that Johnson visited, and a near relative probably of Lord Macaulay's grandfatlier. Instead of look- ing out for a church in Scotland, he went to London, in 1781, on tlic invitation pf a fellow-student, named Maclcod, then curate of St. CJcorge's, Middlesex, and afterwards rector of .St. Ann's, Soho. He first assisted the Kcv. Mi'. Smith, in an Academy at Camberwell, and preached for liim occasionally at Silver Street Presbyterian meeting-house. City. In May, 1783, he was ordained to the charge of Monkwell Street meeting, as successor to Dr. James Fordyce (an .'\berdonian, b. 1720, d. 1796). The ordainers on tlie occasion were all of the Arian s(xtion of the English Presbyterian churcli. lie soon after took charge of Mrs. Cockburn's Academy in Newington (h\'on, and married a niece of Mrs. Cockljurn ; he was also for twelve years afternoon [Treacher at Newing- ton Green meeting-house, as successor to the famous Dr. Richard Price. In DR. JAMi:s I.IXDSAY. 121 doDr neighbour, old Mr. Taylor, and may thus have l^cen intro- duced to Mill. They had many points of sympathy. The letter is dated Dec. 4, and Lindsay is very excited over a trial just to come off; which we discover to be the trial of the Hunts for the libel on the Prince Regent. He has not been able to get accurate information about the names (of the jurymen ?) ; but it grieves him to say that there is not a man among those in the eastern district that can be depended upon. Hunt has no chance except in the absence of special jurymen. The letter then passes to some point as to the signature of the Confession of Faith, which could not have arisen out of any part of the case between Leigh Hunt and the Prince Regent. Mill, apparently having forgotten the circumstances of his own signing the Confession, had desired information from Lindsay. Lindsay, however, had never signed it and could not tell what were the 1805, he removed his Academy to Bow. In the same year, lie received tlie degree of D.L). from King's College. He became Evening Lecturer at Salters' Hall, Nvith Worthington and Morgan. During the last two years of his life, he was afternoon preacher at Jewin Street. Lindsay was a man of much force of character, and of great liljcralitv of mind both in politics and in religion. His only pulilicatiun is a selection of his sermons, which the P^vangelical critics of t!ie day declared lo be tinctured with Arianism. .Several single sermons of his on special occasions wer-- :iiso ]nib- lished. His death was very sudden ; it happened while lie was at a meeting of the Ministers of the 'I'hree Denominations held for the ])urp(ise of ojiposing Brougham's l-'ducation Bill. Tlie Con^ir^'ii/iornil M,i.\!:!i!c, m a revii-w of his sermons, S[)eaks of him as accustomed (or half a cenlv.ry to subjects admitting of mathematical demonstration ; whicli made him suspicious and slow in iiis theological derluctions. IVntliam, in writing to Bichard (_'arlile w hile in prison, (jiioted Lindsay as an inst:;nce of a theologian tliat strongly e(jndinined such prosecutions as Carhle had suffered from. Bjeing born in or near Kirriemuir, and educated there, lie was probably intimate with the family of Mill's mother ; he was nearly of ]\'-x ngi>. The family of John Taylor would .attend lii.s ministrations a.t Xewiugton flreen ; tlv.'y followrd the Arian or L'nitarian bmncli of the I'resbyti'rian bu^Iy, to which Lip.ilsay attached himself from the Ijeginning, so far departing from the creed of the church that had nurtured him. There is a tine marble bust of Lindsay, in Dr. Williams's Library, Grafton Street: a large, massive liead and face, with intellect and energy engraven on everv lineament. 122 SIGNING THE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 1808-1818. words, but he tliought his friend Mr. Taylor might have a copy of the Confession. This is strange. For, although it was the glory of the Englisli Presbyterian Church, by the famous decision at Salters' Hall in 1 72 1, to have risen above the imposing of subscription to articles upon the clergy, yet Lindsay must have subscribed the Westminster Confession on being licensed by the Presbytery of Nairn, as Mill did before the Presbytery of Brechin. It shows how very mechanically the act of subscription was gone through, when neither of the two could remember enougla about it to say what it amounted to. Mill's query is manifestly at Bentham's instance, in con- nexion with his pamphlet on Oaths, what he called a pre-detached portion of the hitroduction to the liatumale of Evidence, which could not find a publisher. We see in Bow- ring's Life a letter from Jeffrey, apparently on Brougham's solicitation, giving the Scotch law of subscription for ministers, professors, and parochial teachers, which Mill ought to have been able to furnish, but evidently could not. The next year brought about the publication of this remarkable tract. Even here he was running close upon danger, if we may judge from the advice given to him by Mackintosh, to disclaim any attack upon individuals. This Essay seems to have been Bentham's chief work during the present year ; coupled perhaps with additions to the main subject — the Introduction to the Rationale. Brougham has at last made his way into the " hermitage ".'■' The public events of the year were more than usually sen- sational. The accession of the Prince Regent led to a minis- terial crisis ; and a Liberal administration, for a few moments, * "The member by whom this letter is franked, is tlie faiiious Mr. Brougham — pronounce Broom — who, by getting the Orders in Council revoked, and peace and trade with America thereby restored, has just filled the whole country with joy, gladness, and returning plenty. He has been dining with me to-day, and PLT.LIC EVENTS — l8l2. 123 appeared possible. Mill, we have seen, had formed hopes of a \\'c!le.-.ley and Moira combination; but Romilly, who had belter opportunities of judging, saw through tlie whole sham. Perceval is assassinated. The Liverpool ministry resumes. In September, Parliament is dissolved. Westminster returns Lord Cochrane, along with Sir Francis ; Prougham is out of a scat, but looks forward to Westminster when Cochrane's father, Lord Dun- donaid, dies. Romilly tries Ihistol, but retires, and is nomi- nated by the Duke of Norfolk to Arundel. In the course of tiie session, the long-standing topics of Catholic Disabilities and Reform had been duly aired. Broug- ham got the famous "Orders in Council " repealed, although t!ie news did not reach America in time to avert the declaration of war. Riots were abundant in the manufacturing towns; frame- breaking at Xottingham, and disturbances in Lancashire, York- shire, and other parts. We have seen in Lindsay's letter a reference to the trial of the Hunts, wliich occurred on the 9th of December. The trial had aroused the sym[)athies of the Liberals ; for the Exa- viincr was no'w a well-recognized liberal i)aper. A letter of Pentham's of this year shows us the position it had gained. He says, speaking of weeklies, " the Examiner is the one that at present, especially among the high political men, is th.e one most in vogue. It sells already between 7000 and Sooo." " The I'^.ditor, Hunt, h.as taken me under his protection, and trum]jets me every now and then in his i^aper, along with Romill}-. I hear so excellent a character of him, that I have commissioned Brougham to send him to me.'' I [^resume ALU hns but just i;oni\ This little dinner of mine he hns been intrit^uincc for any tinv thcS'j fivi,' or six inontlis ; and what with one ]i!ai;ue anil annlhfr, never till this day could I find it in my h.eart to give him one — I mr.in tiiis year : for the last we were already intimate. He is already one of the fn--t men in the Ilou-^e of Commons, and seems in a fair way cjf being very soon universillv aeKnowledt;ed to be the very first, evi_'n beyond !n\- <;M and. intimate frimd, Sir .San\uel Romilly : many, indeed, say he is so now." — I'entham to Mulford, July 6, 1812. 124 TRIAL OF THE HUNTS. 1808-1818. was also a reader of the paper ; but I doubt if Leigh Hunt had got so far into his good graces. He had latterly much the same dislike to Hunt as to Godwin : indeed the merits and defects of the two men were nearly parallel ; only Godwin was, of the two, by far the more robust and original. The Hunts were defended by Brougham, on this occasion also : but the verdict was against them ; and they were heavily fined and imprisoned for tw^o years. 1813. A note from Jeffrey, 5th January, declines a proposal for another Indian article ; one was expected from Mackintosh, and it was well to change hands on so great a subject. An article on Lancaster is accepted, wath the caution to adopt a conciliatory tone toward the sceptical and misguided part of his opponents. The words " I shall be very glad to have your South Sea Speculations," indicates the opening of a new view. The note is followed in two days by another. After apolo- gising for retrenching the Indian article, Jeffrey asks " to hear for what other articles I am in your debt ; for I liave formed a magnanimous resolution to get fairly out of debt ". He considers that this last number beats the Qitarta-Iy this time ; and thanks Mill for remarks on it, and invites his free criticism at all times. He then returns to tlie South Sea article, which " Brougham mentioned to me some time ago as engaging a share of your attention ". He thinks that a very interesting article might be made, by bringing together all that has been made known of the South Sea Islands since the time of Captain Cook. The letter finally hopes that Mill's health has been restored — probably from one of his periodic fits of gout. I cannot find that he ever wrote the South Sea Article. In February appeared the account of the Lancastcrian System of Education. The Rcviciu^ we have seen, had already distin- ARriCLES IX PHILAXl'HKOPISl'. 1 25 guislicd itself for its advocacy of the cause; and the articles in 18 10 and I Si I, were not wanting in vigour. Mill, however, was cajjahle of improving considerably upon them ; but the concilia- tory tone is not very apparent. It is chiefly an attack upon the English Church for thwarting the education of the poor, with allusions to the progress effected by the Lancasterian schools ; in fact vcr\- much a repetition of the great riiilantJiropist per- formance. In July there is a short review of Malcolm's Sketch of tJic Sik/is. It is attested by a note from Jeffrey, but the handling of the religious creed of the Sikhs would be attestation enough ; he is utterly impatient of calling any of the barbaric creeds " pure deism ". 'Jliis is the last Edinburgh Review article of ^Mill's that I have been able to trace. In the volume of the Philanthropist {111.) for this year, there is an elaborate i)aper on the Formation of Character with a view to the imi)rovemcnt of mankind ; which savours of his hand, but at present Psychology as a subject was in abeyance. A review of Owen's Schemes is probably his. An article on War is certainly not by an honest quaker. A long review of Dr. Thomson's Travels in S^vcden is sure to be Mill's ; it is continued into the next volume. Clarkson's Memoirs of Pentt is reviewed in the first of three articles ; Penn's views of tolera- tion are ([uoted with strong approbation, and farther enforced by the writer. " In 181 3," says John Mill, in the Autobioi^raphy, " Bentham, my father, and I made an excursion, which included Oxford, Path, and Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, and Portsmouth. In this journey I saw many things which were instructive to me, and actjuired my first taste for natural scenery, in the elementary form of fondness for a ' view '." This was an eventful excur- sion to all the three, and several scattered references to it occur. Probably Bentham had not been in Oxford, since he took his degree there fifty years before, but he may still have found old acquaintances among the easy-going, long-lived race 126 SUMMER TOUR. 1808-1818. of dons. He did some business with his tract on Oaths (now printed), causing a copy to be deUvered to one of the Heads of Houses, and waiting to hear his opinion. (The Oxford tests had received a pretty severe handUng). It was here that Mill was cautioned by Sir Francis Burdett against Place. It would be the long coach or carriage journeys that would give John the opportunity of taking in "views". The interest of the elders would not be wanting, seeing tliat they so rarely indulged themselves in change of scene ; but the towns would still be the centres of their operations. Oxford at the one end and Portsmouth at the other presented the highest attractions to all. Bentham's brother. Sir Samuel, resided at Gospest as Constructor to the Navy, and could receive the party and shew them the war ships and all his newest designs. The tour was made in the summer months. Tlie annual visit to Barrow Green took place in autumn. Our documents make distinct reference to it this year, being the last. There is a note from Allen, m September, to attend a meeting of the Lancaster Committee, for which he has secured the two Royal Dukes. In the end of October, JNIill goes to a meeting in Kensington Palace ; the Dukes of Kent, Sussex, and Bedford being present. The agenda of this meeting may be found in Place's MS. ; the details, not very pleasant, are unnecessary here. This was the year of the great meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern. On the 14th October, while Mill was still at Barrow Green with Bentham, Sir Samuel Romilly sends by Lady Romilly's hand an invitation to 13entham to visit him at Tanhurst, and to bring Mill, whom Romilly " has long wished to become acquainted with ". Romilly's Diary shows that the visit took place. In December there is a letter from Dr. Lindsay replying to a solicitation on the part of Mill to use his influence with some East Indian proprietors in favour of Joseph Hume, then aspiring to become a Director. This seems to have been BENTHAM S WRITINGS. 1 27 Hume's first object of ambition, on his return from India; and Mill would do everything to help his friend. Lindsay would like to see Hume appointed, but is reluctant to canvass. The letter also indicates that Lindsay had been got to work on the Lancaster Committee. Eentham's " Swear not at all " is printed this year, but not published. His activity otherwise seems to have lain in the least profitable of all his speculations — Ontology and Logic. The collected writings contain many papers on these subjects. He sharpened his own logical faculty by such work, but did not contribute much to the general stock of knowledge. There is little evidence that Mill and he influenced each other in those matters. From an entry in INIiU's commonplace book, Sei)t. ii, it would apj)ear that he was assisting in the revision of Bentham's Table of Springs of Action^ then printing, but not published till 1817. Among the public events of the year, was the Renewal of the East Lidia Company's Charter. There is nothing of Mill's that we can trace in immediate connexion with the ])assing of the Act : he came to have plenty to do with tlie expiry of it. The conduct of the Princess of ^^'ales led to an exciting Parliamentary discussion, in which Romilly took a leading part. As we were at war both with l-'rance, and with the United States, there was scope enough for criticizing the Administration. One step was made in tlic direction of religious liberty by relieving the Unitarians of their special disabilities, as deniers of the Doctrine of the I'rinity. There was a lull in the Government ])rosecutions for sedition. Sir \'icary Cibbs was now a judge. The Government was finding out the impolicy of prosecuting newspapers in particular. \'ery few prosecutions of any kind are recorded for the next three years. 128 INTERVIEW WITH MACVEY NAPIER. 1808-1818. 1814. This was the year of removal to Queen Square. A letter dates from it in May, but the family was kept out for some time, while the house was under repair. The fifth child, James, was born on the 9th of June, in the grandmother's house at Hackney. This is also the first year of the residence with Bentham at Ford Abbey. This same year, Macvey Napier was employed by Constable to edit the celebrated Supplement to the Encydopu'dia Jhit- anfika. He entered into communication with men of scientific and literary eminence, and went to London to seek contribu- tors by personal solicitation. ]\Iill was in his eye from the outset, and the following letter is an answer to the reijuest for an interview. " Sir, " I am very much obliged to you for the flattering terms in which you have been pleased to request my assistance in the composition of the supplementary volumes to the 5th Ed. of the Ejicy. Brit. " It could not fail to be agreeable to me to be called upon to contribute to a work in which I see so many respectable names united with your own. x^nd besides, Mr. Constable has for so long a time been an acquaintance and friend of mine, and I should be sorry, if it were in my power to forward any object of his, to withold my assistance. It is, however, necessary to add, that my studies are now so directed as to make me de- sirous of contracting my engagements with all periodical pub- lications of every sort ; and that I shall not, I am afraid, be a large contributor. " Excepting Saturday next, there is no forenoon on which 1 at present foresee a probability of my being out of the house ; and any day which suits you, I shall be happy to hear the details respecting your important undertaking. " I am, sir, your most oI)edt. st., "QuicrcN Square, "J. MILL. " ijih May, 1S14." TROUGHAM FOR WKSTMINSTER. 1 29 It is to be sup]X).sed tliat, at this interview, the chief to])ics to be handled [)y Mill were agreed upon. The correspondence with Nai)ier will aid tis in reporting progress from time to time. The exinilsion of Lord Cochrane from the Hotise of Commons led to a vacancy for Westminster, and Mill was strongly in favour of i)roposing Jirougham : he wrote to Place to that effect. At the same time, he guaranteed the soundness of Brougham's liberalism, by saying tliat he would make a declaration in favour of the three i)rinentham rented from its owner, and occupied, with short inter- missions, till 18 1 8. 'I'he structure of the Al)bey has been con- siderably changed since it ceased to be a religious house. 'J"he situation of l'"ord Abbey is in the valley of tlie ri\-er Axe, four miles fronr tlie market town of ('hard in Somerset. Tlie railway to ]'>xeter jiasses through the grounds a mile east of Chard junction station; tlie ])assenger giving west sees from the left window tlie back range of the building l_\-i)ig obliquelv to the view. The magnificent frt)nt is not visible except l)y eiUering the grounds. It is not possible to convey by words an adeijuate represen- 9 130 FORD ABREY. i8o8-r8i8. tation of the vast pile in its extensive surroundings : a drawing of the front would be an essential aid ; and such a drawing should be given in the next Life of Jeremy Ijcntham. ^'et, something may be done to make intelligible the repeated allusions to the place that occur in our narrative. The build- ing dates from the twelfth century, and was l)egun in the Norman style of architecture, carried on into the early (jotliic; but only one interior now remains to sliow those styles, namely the chapel, originally the cha])ter house of the Abljey. I'he last Abbot, Thomas Chard, built the most c()ns])icuous and ornamental part of the building in the Tudcjr style ; and, as left by him, the building would have had a certain unity of design. But, in the following century, it came into the jjossession of Edmund Prideaux, Attorney General to the Commonwealth, who employed Inigo Jones to enlarge it, by additions in the square domestic style, wliich renders the entire front an inc;on- gruous mixture, and has mostly concealed or obliterated the original conception. The general plan of the structure is by no means complicated. There is no quadrangle, or court enclosed by the buildings. The greater part is one continuous mass of building nearly three hundred feet in length, facing the south. To the eastern end is joined another building at right angles running south and north; and on the north side of the principal range, are the offices irregularly attached to the building, which meet the view of the railway traveller, as he passes through the grounds. The main front and the building at the east flank contain all that we need to notice for the elucidation of our subject. The original plan of the front, as altered by tlie additions of Inigo Jones, compels us to divide the whole range into seven portions. The mass is not in ])erfect line, and yet it does not deviate very far from the line : there is nothing of the nature of wing projections. The easiest way to conceive the whole, so far as is possible without a drawing, is to start from the centre of the sevon portions. I'his is the grand porch tower, formerly tlie DESCRIPTION OF THE nUILDIXO. 131 main entrance. It is wholly of Abbot Chard's work. 0\cv the archway there are five distinct divisions. 'I'he hnver, resting; on llie arch, is a surface decorated with coats of arms, and above this are two sets of windows with galleries between ; the square toj) of the tower rising slightly above the adjoining buildings. The tower so far j^rojects from the next portion on the left, as to leave room for a handsome window in keci)ing with the whole. It is this adjoining building, on the left as we stand facing the front, or towards tlie west, that next calls for notice. It is jnuvly of Tudor work. It is what was the Abljot's Hall, and is now the great Hall; it figures notably in everv account of the Abbey. There are tour great divisions of windows, with buttresses between, carried from near tlie ground to the roof. I'he interior will be noticed presently. Next in order, westward, is a ])iece of Inigo Jones's work : a ])l'ain scjuare front of two stories, tliree windows in each ; the height the same as the Abbot's Hall, from which it has been cut off, in order to furnish mcKlern a])artments. The lower floor is the present dining room ; what would have been the dais ]K)r- tion of the Refectory, The upper floor is part of the suite of bedrooms. The fcjurth, or extreme west portion, is an exact re]K'tition of the third, added on to strengthen the building. It dilTers on.ly by a superadded top floor, much lower than the others, but liaving three windows U) correspond. Returning now to the centre building, or porch tower, and moving to the right or eastward, we have a ])roiecting arcade, and over it a sijuare face, with three fine windows, or rather two windows, and central glass door, leading to the balcony, over the arcade. This is the front of another notable apart- ment, the work of Inigo Jones. The second remove from the porch is a long mixed building, of two storeys. The lower storev is the Cloister, fronted by six arches, into which ])erpendicular or Tudcir work has been inserted ; it readies the height of one floor, the top being on a 132 FORD AliREY. 1808-1818. line with the top of the adjoining arcade. Over this is a front of plain wall, with six square windows, at unequal distances ; these are windows of the ui)pcr range of rooms, connecting with the great saloon in the previously named portion. I>ast of all, to the extreme right, is a plain front, not symme- trically placed with the previous portion. Its height is greater ; and its up])cr windows, four in number, stand much higher. In this building is the chapel, which is an old interior, encased in a modern exterior. Such is a rough sketch of the seven constituent parts of the great front. They are of unequal extent. The ])orch tower has the least frontage of all : the dimensions of the Abbot's Hall and of the Cloisters will be given presently. We must now round the east corner, and view the long building (a hundred feet or more) at right angles to the main range, and nearly continuous with its east end. 'J'his is called the monk's wallv. It was really the monk's dormitory, and had two storeys. 'Hie ujiper storey was originally one great hall, 97 feet in length, liglited by lancet-windows, where the monks slept as in a hospital ward. It is now divided into a long pas.sage and a series of sleeping rooms, wliich are for tlie domestics of the house. The under storey is a double cloister or cr)-pt, tlie whole length of ti'c building. .The important apartments are next to be surveyed from tlie interior, 'i'he grand entrance is not now the gorgeous archway of the porch tower, but a door under tlie adjoining arcade. Passing by this entrance into a lobby, we o])en a door to the left and are in the great Hall, 55 feet in length, 27,1 feet wide, and 28 feet high. IJentham waxes elo(]uent over this room. It was lighted by tlie four great Tudor windows ; tlie opiwsite side of the window is made to match ; the walls are partly painted and ])artly wainscotted ; the carved ceiling is giitled and painted, and studded with golden stars. Oaken benclies surround the walls. This leads into the dining room, which was cut off from the DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING. 1 33 original Abbot's Hall ; a fine scjuare room, with carved and gilded wainscot, and a gorgeous ceiling. From it we enter the draw- ing-room, the lower floor of the extreme east portion of the btiilding : this is adorned with tour pieces of tapestry, [placed between carved and gilded pilasters. It was the winter work- room of Bentham. Returning to the main entrance, our attention is called to the cloister. I'his is directly approached from its east or extreme end, there being two rooms at the other end, between them and the main doorway. The length of the cloister is 82 feet, the heiglit 17 feet. It is used as a conservatory, and was so in Eentham's time : but there was a clear walk, which was his })rincipal place tor "vibrating," as he called his indoor exercise. The vaulting and tracery of the cloister are considered in keeping with its external front ; and the inner side is also laid out in arches, filled up with solid masonry. We now make the ascent to the up])er floor. The grand stair case, erected by Jones, conducts from the Hall to the great Saloon, whose front surmounts the arcade. The balustrade is a work of art : and pictures adorn the walls, as we ascend. The great saloon, entered at the landing, is a room 50 feet long, 26 feet wide, 28 feet high. The ceiling is Naulted, and divided into compartments painted with historical subjects. It is also called the Cartoon room, from containing a set of line Mort- lake tapestries, after five of the Cartoons of Raphael. "About half the room," says Jlentham, "was lined with settees of a kind of stuff, with tufts of the date of the Commonwealth. In that saloon, we used to sit and work — Mill in one i)lace and I in another. This was in the summer." Tentham was very fond of tapestry, and there is a tradition in the house that he found some parts of the cartoon tapestry in a crumbling condition, and had it fresh lined. A suite of fine a])artmcnts is entered from the east side of the saloon : they are the rooms over the cloister. .It the end of these a flight of stairs leads up to a large apartment, on a 134 FORD ABBEY. 1808-1818. higher level, being the floor over the chapel. Other rooms are on the north side of the great corridor. The chapel itself exhibits the Norman style of the original structure, having a window to the east of the Tudor style, to make the exterior conform to the rest of the building. The Kitclien and domestic offices are on a great scale : they make the projecting buildings seen from the railway behind. There are not less than thirty bedrooms in the house, includ- ing those for domestics in the monks' building. According to a letter written by John Mill, as a boy, eight rooms in the western end of the house were occupied by Bentham and his father's fiimily, and these did not amount to one quarter of the entire upi)er floor of the house. A gravel walk nearly thirty feet wide runs by the house front and extends beyond it on each side, being more than a quarter of a mile in length. The grounds and shrubbery are very magnificent. I can give no adequate idea of the view from the front. Fine walks are in every direction ; splendid rows of chesnuts, beeches, limes, and firs ; a very grand cedar of Lebanon. Two large pieces of ornamental water are in the lower part of the grounds. There is a gradual ascent to what is called the Park, wliich in Bentham's time contained deer, which he delighted in caressing. His walk before breakfast was round the park, and took three-quarters of an hour ; at an ordinary pace, it is half-an-hour's walk. The general view from the house is an upward sloping expanse, lichind, northward, is the kitchen garden, and a flat grassy surface, in which the river Axe zigzags ; a rather diminutive stream, scarcely more than ten or twelve feet wide, and running between up- right muddy banks, at about two or three feet below the surface. A farm house and steading formerly abutted against the arch way at the west end of the abbey. It covered nearly an acre of ground, but was demolished a!)out 1871. Two cottages standing a little to the west of the abbey are the only remains GROUNDS AND SURROUNDINGS. 1 35 of the extensive form buildings. Beyond the flat grassy j^ortion, the grotuid rises and i)resents an abrujjt hill-side of seven or eight hundred feet ; here lies the boundary of the Ford Abbey estate. A more superb residence was never at the disposal of a couple (jf literary men, one having a wife and a family of small cliildrcn. Their out-of-door walks need not pass beyond the bounds of tlie domain. The ijrincii)al excursion outside would be to the town of Chard, the nearest place for supplies. Ac- cording to Francis Horner, a visitor of Bentham's, " for three or four miles round, the roads are so bad that the place is almost inaccessible, and lies secluded in very green meadows". Ferliaps the road to Chard would be the best. The ccjuntry round is more than undulating ; it is decidedly liilly. Tliere is a high point above the upward sloping town of C;hard that commands a very fine view of valley and rising gnnmd beyond ; one ascent must be at least a thousand feet. Here a finger post, " 'I'o Honiton,'"' reminds us that we are in the lace country. Not very far from Chard Junction is a large newly-erected brick building, which is a lace factory. I don't exactly understand how Bentham and Mill came to work togetlier in the cartoon room : in summer, when heating was not required, they might easily have had a room a-piece. ]-'ran( is Horner gives a very ])articular description of Bent- ham's apartment and mode of working; but liis language might apply either to the uiii)er saloon, or to the drawing-room beneath, which was the winter room. There seemed to be no one in tlie room but Bentham and his amanuensis. ISentham himself sjieaks a great deal (jf his favourite cartoon room ; and visitors were shown in while he was at work, but he himself was screened from view — a jjile of bocjks sometimes answered this purpose. Bjattledore and shuttlecock was ])rovided among the amuse- ments ; and occasionally there were dances and balls. Bientham brought three women servants with him : one was general 136 MISUNDERSTANDING WITH BENTHAM. 1808-1818. housekeeper ; two more he engaged in the place ; he kept, besides, three men at work, one a sort of indoor footman. He got into a quarrel with the farmer that rented the Park, and to keep him out of sight, planted a row of Hornbeams all round the upper part of the lawn, at the division of lawn and park. Bentham says the works he wrote in Ford Abl:.ey were, besides Papers on Logic, Not Paul but Jesus, and Churcli of Englandisvi, two out of his three chief sceptical books. We shall see presently, however, that the first year's occupation was chiefly the finishing of the Chrestomathia. They had not been at the Abbey very long, when there occurred an incident that almost led to a rupture. It is re- counted in the Life of Bentham. There, a few sentences of Bowring's own introduces a letter of Mill's, but the letter itself is given with an important omission, which I am happily able to fill in. " In the course of Bentham's intercourse with Mill, little misunderstandings sometimes took place; and as the infirmities even of great minds may be instructive to mankind at large, I will introduce a passage or two from a letter of Mill, on an occasion when, after some years of intimate intercourse, tliey agreed that a temporary separation would be for the hap})iness of both." James Mill to Bentham. " September ig, 1S14. " My Dear Sir, — I tliink it is necessary we should come to some little explanation, and that, according to your most excellent rule, not with a view to tlie past but the future, that we may agree about what is best to be hereafter done. " I see that you have extracted umbrage from some part of my behaviour ; and have expressed it by deportment so strongly, that I have seriously debated with myself whether i)ro])ricty permitted that I should remain any longer in your house. I EXPLANATORY LEITnR. 1 37 considered, however, that I could not suddenly dci)art, witliout procdaiming to the world that there was a (juarrcl between us ; and this, I think, for the sake of both of us, and more especially tiie cause wliicli lias been the great bond of connexion between us, we should carefully endeavour to avoid. 'J'he number ( f those is not small who wait for our halting. I'he infirmities in th.e temper of jihilosophers have always been a handle to deny tb;eir principles ; and the infirmities we have will he represented as by no means small, if, in the relation in which we stand, we do not avoid showing to the world we cannot agree. \\"here two jjeople disagree, each i)erson tells his own stcjry, as much to his own advantage, as much to the disadvantage of the other, at least as he conceives the circumstant es to be, that is, in general, as much as the circumstances w;ll i)ermit. The rule of the world, I observe, on these occasions is, to believe much of the evil which each says of the other, and very little of the good which each says of himself. JJoth tlierefore suffer. " In reflecting u]Jon the restraint which the duty which we owe to our principles — to th.at system of iir.portant truths of wliich you have the immortal honour to be the author, but of which I am a most faithful and fervent disci[)le — and liitherto, I have fancied, my master's favourite discii)le; in relieving, I sav, upon the restraint wbiich regard for the interest of our svstem should lay up(m the conduct of both of us, I have con- sidered that tliere was ncd.Mxly at all so likely to l)e \'our real successor as myself Of talents it would be easy to find many su|)erior. But, in tlie first place, 1 hardly kiu^w of anybody who has so comijletelv taken u]) tlie ])rinciples, ami is so thoroughly of the same way of thinking with \'ourself. In tlie next place, there are very few who have so much of the neces- sary ])revious disci])line, my antecedent years having been wholly occupied in acquiring it. And in the last place, 1 am ]iretty sure you cann(;t think of any oilier person whose whole life will be devoted to the ])ro])agalion of the system. It so rarely happens, or can hapiieii, in the present state ot society, 138 FUTURE PLANS. 1808-1818. that a man qualified for the propagation should not have some occupation, some call or another, to prevent his employing for that purpose much of his time, that, without any overweening conceit of himself, I have often reflected upon it as a very fortunate coincidence, that any man with views and propensities of such rare occurrence as mine, should happen to come in toward the close of your career to carry on the work without any intermission. No one is more aware than yourself of the obstacles which retard the propagation of your princi])lcs. And the occurrence of an interval, without any successor whose labours might press them on the public attention after you are gone, and permit no period of oblivion, might add, no one can foresee how much, to the causes of retardation. It is this rela- tion, then, in which we stand to the grand cause — to your own cause — which makes it one of the strongest wishes of my heart that nothing should occur which may make other people believe there is any interruption to our friendship. " For this purpose, I am of opinion that it will be necessary not to live so much together. I cannot help perceiving, either that you are growing more and more difficult to please, or that I am losing my power of pleasing ; or perhajjs there is some- thing in being too much in one another's company, which often makes people stale to one another, and is often fatal, without any other cause, to the happiness of the most indissoluble connexions. " I should contemplate, therefore, with great dread, the passing another summer with you, and think that we ought by no means to ])ut our friendshij) to so severe a test. I am desirous of staying with you this season, as long as you yourself continue in the country, both for the sake of appearance, and because you have had no time to make any other arrangement for society : and I shall remain with so much the deei)er an interest, that it is a pleasure not to be renewed. For I can most truly assure you, that at no moment were you ever more an object to me of reverence, and also of affection, than at the FAMILY ARRANGEMENTS. 1 39 present ; and nothing on my part shall be left undone while I here remain, to render my presence agreeal)le to you : perliaps, I ought rather to say, as little disagreeable as possible." I'he p(jrtion omitted, as being of a private nature, I here supply : — " Tiiere is another circumstance which is of a nature that it is ahvavs painful to me to speak of it. My experience has led me to observe that there are two things which are peculiarly fatal to friendship, and these are great intimacy and pecuniary obligations. It has been one of the great purposes of my life to avoid pecuniary oljligations, even in the solicitation or acceptance of ordinary advantages — hence the penury in which I live. To receive ol)ligations of any sort from you was not a matter of humiliation to me, but of pride. And I only dreaded it from the danger to which I saw that it exposed our friendship. The only instances of this sort which have occurred are — first, that a part of my family, while with you in the country, have been for a small part of the year at your expense, this year the whole of them were destined to live a considerable part of it, — and secondly, that at your solicitation, that I might be near to you, I came to live in a house of which, as the expense of it was decidedly too great for my very small income, part of the exi)ense was to be borne by you. The former of these obligations of course will now cease, and I reckon it still more necessary that the other should. And as it would be ruinous for me to bear the whole ex])ense of the house, of course I must leave it. I shall explain to you the course which I have planned in my own mind, and hope that you will ai)prove of it. Next summer I shall go to Scotland with my family on a visit to my relations and friends, which, for the sake of being with you, I have deferred till I have offentled them all ; and as my friends have long been ai)prised of an intention I had formed of residing, as soon as peace should i)ermit, for some time in brance, I sliall go there before the winter, which will not be a matter of surprise to I40 PROPOSAL TO LEAVE QUEEN's SQUARE. 1808-1818. anybody, both as I long ago declared the intention and because the growth of my family and the smallness of my means render a cheap place of residence more and more desirable for me, and even indispensable. I shall therefore propose, if it is agreeable to you, that I should keep the house in Queen Square for the next half year after Christmas, which will both afford you time to dispose ot it, and me to make my arrange- ments." The conclusion, as already printed, stands thus : — " As I propose all this most sincerely, with a view of pre- serving our friendship — and as the only means, in my opinion, of doing so — the explanation being thus made, I think we should begin to act towards one another without any allusion whatsoever towards the past ; talk together, and walk together, looking forward solely, never back ; and as if this arrangement had been the effect of the most amicable consultation, we can talk about our studies, and about everything else, as if no umbrage had ever existed : and thus we shall not only add to the comfort of each other during the limited time we shall be together, we shall also avoid the un])leasant observations which will be made upon us by other peo])le. For my part, I have been at jjains to conceal even from my wife that tliere is any coldness between us. I am strongly in hopes tlrat the idea of the limitation will give an additional interest to our society, and 'overbalance the effects of a too long and uninterrupted intimacy, which I believe to be the great cause — for there is such a disparity between the a])parent cause, my riding out a few times in the morning with Mr. Hume, to take advantage of his horses in seeing a little of the country, instead of walking with you, and the great umbrage which you have extracted — that the disposition must have been prei)ared by other causes, and only hapjjened first to manifest itself on that occasion. "I remain, with an esteem which can hardly be added to, and which, I am sure, will never be diminished, my dear Friend and Master, most affectionately yours." EOWRIN'GS CRITICISMS OF MILL. 141 Bowring thinks the citation of this letter a sintahle opportu- nity for making some observations on Mill's general character, and especially his unamiability and weakness of temper. To my mind, the observations are wliolly misj^laced. (Granting that there were occasions wlien some such criticism was ap]ilicable, th.e j)resent was not one ; nor could any ])art of Mill's inter- course with lientham furnish a sufhcient j^retcxt.' The loss of temper in the above incident was on J]entham"s side ; the moderation, the self-restraint, the gentlemanly feeling, were all on Mill's. At any rate, the dose so effectually purged Bent- ham's liumours, that a lull reconciliation followed, and the two lived together for four years, in the intimacy that Mill accounted so liazardous. Jj(jwring follows up his own criticism with some of Bentham's conversations about Mill's early history, which are not oidy at variance with the facts that we know, but contain con- tradictory statements. Thus, ''He and his lamily lived with me n half of ("'cwy year from 1808 to 181 7, inclusive"; and again "only one summer was I there (at ISarrow (Ireen) with(_)Ut Mill"'. 'I'he first year of Barrow Green, was 1809 : the "half year" is too long for Barrow (Ireen, too short for Ford Abbey. It is likely that there was a year's intermission of the iiarrow Cjreen visits. I-'or the year 1810, we have no documen- tary reference ; we have John Mill's statement that he was there every one of the four years, but he admits that his memory is not to be relied upon for the dur;Uion of the visits. ])entham, one would tliink, might be trusted to remember a summer ]>assed at Barrow (ireen alone; even although liis memory was confused as to the other points.* The ])assage omitted by liowring, and here restored, is * Prolialily wlu-n Mill first l-'caiin' f;;niili:!r witli I' ■ii'Jiam. L- tn'd l.iin iii()ro of hi> early hi-lory, than lia had lircii ac( u>toin< d to .li-'di.~c t.i liis iiio-t con- tidi-iuia! fririids of liitiT yvars. ]f Il.-ntii.im'.s ii: niory had l-iia fxact, t!i''se in.'iiioranda of conversations Ljivcii by llowrinLj would lia\c bi't-n of i,;v'a.t use. 1 ijuole the foIUjwiui; addition, d partieu'ars. " Mill came in the train of Sir Joim Stuart, a man of good estate, married 142 bentham's reminiscences. 1808-1818. decisive authority in reference to INIill's family circumstances and intentions during the years embraced in tliis chapter. It is a more complete and authentic refutation of Bentham's reported statements, than John Mill was able to furnish in his letter in the Edinburgh Revicio. I may here remind the reader that the scheming of the Chrestomathic school was in full operation this year, and that Bentham had turned aside from his juridical operations to work out a system of Education. He took his notes with him to Ford Abbey, and made them his chief occupation for the winter; getting, as Mill says, "hot" upon the subject. We may therefore put this down as a leading topic of conversation during those months. MiU having just been applied to by Napier, to contribute articles to the SupplcDient, must have already thought over some of the subjects, perhaps that on Education for one. At all events, he must have turned over in his mind the materials eventually worked up in that article, and must have felt some interest in discussing the whole subject with Bentham. If so, it is very curious to remark how few to a lady of quality." What Sir John's " train " was, nobody knows. He was himself " a person of quality '. "Mill's father had been his tcnnnt. " Mill's father was tenant of Mr. Barclay, himself tenant of the Earl of Kintor . " Sir John, finding Mill something different from other men, sent him to Edinburgh for education — there he became bearleader to a Marquis, who gave him an anntiity." A strange jumble ; yet a confirmation of the fact of the Marquis-of-Tweedale tutorship, which Bentham could not have invented. " Through Sir John, Mill got faculty of attending Parliament." Got admis- sions to the gallery, which he used freely, on first coming to town. " His work (on India) got him the situation he now holds. Mill thought it was through Canning's suggestion, that they (the Directors) applied to him." This lends a probability to the sujiposition that Canning favoured his apjioint- ment to the India House. "When I took up Mill he was in great distress, and on the jioint of migra- ting to Caen." The letter above (luoted gives the truth on this matter : the phrase " in great distress " was never correctly applicable. " Our scheme, which W(> talked of for years, was to go to Caraccas, which, if Miranda had jirospered, we should have undnubti dly done." There are references in I5entham"s Life, showing that he tl oight of this, but there is no indication that Mill meant to go with him. BENTHAM OX EDUCATION'. 1 43 signs of action and re-action between the two minds their resi)ective products bring to Hght ; there is hardly any ai)[)earance in either treatise to sliow that the subject had undergone dis- cussion between the two autliors. I have ot'ien dipped into thie very elaborate treatise of lientliam, with its enormous mechan- ism of tables : these tables, indeed, are the basis and almost the substance of the work ; the remainder taking the form of expository notes. One part of the work is an ambitious classi- fication of all knowledge, modified from the I-'rench Encvclo- ]:.vdia. \'ery little value attaches to this now; and I doubt if it was of much use at the time. Another tal)le deals wiih Jlxercises, or Methods of tuition, in which Uentham took a start in advance, being inspired by the promise of the Lan- ca^terian system, at"ter it had a few years' trial. Here, as usual with him, although abounding in acute suggestions, he is minute to excess, and makes distinctions without adeijuate differences. In the other part of the same table — Principles of School Management — he ajtpears to great advantage ; his dis- cussion of Discipline, and especially Punishments, takes him into his own walk, where he reigned supreme. Mis highly el.iborate proposals for superseding corporal punishment are worthy of the deepest attention : and, it was j^rincipally in consecjuence of his views, that at least one great institution (University College School) excluded this form of [junishment, and proved that it could be dispensed with.* Bentham was not content with classifying knowledge, and suggesting the methods of teaching and I )isci])line : he must needs throw in an enormous Logical dissertation on Xoinencla- ture and Classification, with a view to im])rove uyn^n 1 )'Alem- bert's scheme of the Sciences. At one lime or other he had devoted a good deal of study to Ceneral Science, Logi<:, * Bonthani's house afljoincd a Biirracks, which was huilt after he came to Hve there. He comii'aiiv.-il of lieiui; ihsturlii-d in liis stiu'.ii's hy t!ie cries of the iiT-n iiiider flos^^'iiis,'. It grated hot!> on his feehn,:,'s ami on lii> pi ineipl'-s. Ho liad made up his mind lliat it was unnecessary fur the iH.iciplinc of the army. 144 ARTICLES IN PHILANTHROPIST. 1808-1S18. Language, and Grammar, and had amassed piles of notes, which were drawn upon for this occasion, althougli liis full store was left to his posthumous Editors to bring to light. Mill had largely meditated in the same fields, but his exposition was always more succinct, and more to the point in hand ; and, though ]5entham could have profited by his criticisms, I am afraid he rarely did. In fact. Mill could have been little more than an approving listener, in all those numerous conversations : with his admirable tact, saying nothing, wdien he found that he could make no impression. We have to look to his own article on Education to see that he pursued a distinct track ; agreeing with ]3entham alwa)'s in spirit, but not dwelling upon the same topics. Bentham had an extraordinarily ambitious mind : Aristotle was not more bent on being universally re-constructive. He aspired to remodel the whole of human knowledge ; while it is very doubtful if his attainments were up to the level of his own time. Mill's education was defective in physical science, and he was of little use to Bentham here ; even if Eentham had been disposed to listen to any monitor. In the PJiilantluvpist^ in the course of the year. Mill must have done a good deal. The second article on Penn is a long discussion of the evils of Unwritten Law. A review of Gilpin's Lives of the Reformers is Mill's without a doubt ; the argument f(;r toleration is in his strain. So is this sentence: — "All men are governed by motives, and motives arise out of interests ; interests are the source from which all inferences from the actions of men of former times to the actions of those of the present may safely be drawn". An Ajipeal to the Allies and the I'.nglish Nation, in behalf of Poland, has for its text the good of mankind as the purpose of government ; "to behold a union of governments seriously concerning themselves with the ha[)piness of the millions of human beings would be a new scene in the world ! " The review of the Life of Peun is concluded in the strain of the previous articles. " Plow just VKAR OF THE PEACE. I45 and admirable are the ideas thus distinctly expressed — nothing in the acts of government, or in the acts of one man towards another, should have any regard to anything in religious o})inions exccjit their morality." A short article dictated by the conclu- sion of peace, is probably Mill's ; it expounds the connexion of war with barbaric jjassions, and urges the need of restraint up"n the powers of a monarch. An article on Schools for All, opens up the theory of education as a preface to the re[)ort of tb.e great meeting in Freemasons' Hall. A Comparison of the Sixteenth Century with the Nineteenth, in regard to the Intel- lectual and Mcjral state of the public mind, is a review of the }>Iemoirs of Sir James Melvil, and is shown to be Mill's by the terse and spirited remarks on human improvement. l"he public events of this year were sufficiently exciting. Peace is concluded not only with France, but also with America. Ireland is a prominent subject in Parliament. The Nottingb.am l-'rame-breakers are still busy. On the 17th June, while the Allied Sovereigns are in Lc>ndon, a great meeting on the Slave Trade was held in l-'reemasons' Hall, and was immediately followed by a debate in Parliai'iient, ^^■hich it was intended tlie Sovereigns should hear. 'J'his was an ei)Och- making demonstration on Slavery, and a leading topic for the Philanthropist, 1S15. A fragment of a letter from Allen, addressed to Ford Alibey, and dorketed March, showed that the return from l-"ord Abbey did not take ])lace sooner than March. Pentliam ])i-()tracted the stay, to finish the ChnstO!natliia.\\\\\'.\\\\^ l)r()Uglit with him for publication. " Mill,'' savs I'kice, "was goutv, and intensely occupied on his Hisltirx of f>uiia, and on other literar\- matters which his family made perjietually nece^sar\-." Meetings and conferences on the C'hrestomathic school took place at various times (.luring the next three months. On the 16th Ma\-. there 10 146 SYMPATHIES WITH FRANXE. 1S08-1818. is, at Wakefield's house, a meeting of Managers of the Chresto- mathic school, and a society is organized to carry on the work. The ChrestoDiatliia was printed in London, during the residence there ; co])ies are in course of distribution in summer. There was very hot work at the i^orough Road Committee, as we see from Place, who withdrew from it at this time, in opposition to Mill's advice. Early in July, Bentham and Mill return to 1^'ord Abbey. On the 6th July, Bentham writes to Koe, his amanuensis, who seems to be still in London : — " Mill and I are mourning the death of a free government in France. The name of a man who has cut so many French throats as have been cut by Wellington, will serve as an essential cover for the most fla- grant violation of any of the most sacred and universally beneficial engagements." A communication to Bentham, in August, from Jean Bap- tiste Say would add fuel to the flame. It has this passage : — " They are trying to build uj) here a rotten throne. It cannot stand. Your ministers are throwing dust in vulgar eyes ; but in the eyes of the thouglitful they are playing a miserable game. Out of this frightful chaos freedom will spring. Meanwhile what sufferings and sins ! I write to you in the midst of tears. There is no satisfaction anywhere but in the newspapers, which are written by the police of the Bourbons, and dictated by the Allied Powers." The volume of the PhilatitJiropist for this year is wanting in the only copy that I have been able to procure access to, the one in the British Museum. Fortunately one of Allen's letters, the best of the set, reveals some interesting facts. It is a good exhibition of this sterling and honest (juaker. " London, iSth of gth month, /S/j. " My dear Friend, " We all arrived safe and well from Clifton on the 9th instant, and I am certainly better and stronger for the excursion, but I am not a little harassed by the crowd of things of all sorts. LEITER FROM ALLF.X. 1 47 wlii(-h press upon me for attention. The best way, I believe, is. to malce a sort of arrangement of tlie succession in whicli things are to be taken, set about doing one at a time calmly, and think as little as possible of the whole mass. 1 was much gratified with thy Letter of the 23rd ult., and with the few lines which came with the last manuscript — both have arrived safe, and I think we can pretty clearly see our way through this number. Thy remarks upon the mismanagement of tlie I'rison under the jurisdiction of the Court of King's liench are forcible and the castigation just ; but I am at my wit's end to know what to do, for, as the writer in tlie S/cTid/or says, " one does not like to be in the jjower of the creature,'' and farther I kncjw that the exhibition we have made of the st;Ue of the Colony at Sierra Leone has stirred up so much gall in a certain quarter that it would be (juite delightful to some persons to see Mr. Pliilanthropist peeping through the gates of a ])ri>()n. Our friend Lrougham told me more than a year ago that he had been applied to, to say whether there was not ground for a prosecution. Now it strikes me that in e.\])osing flagrant abuses, the safest, and indeed the most effectual, course is, to place _/(/r/j' in a striking jjoint of view, and leave the public to make their own comments ; you may often safel}' show that a man is a knave, when it would be dangerous to call h.im so, and besides I think that by checking (jur feelings a little in the way of comment, we shall gain more ground than by exjiressing ourselves freely. To use one of IJentham's exjiressions, ihcre must be a certain degree of ' preparedness ' in the minds of those whom you wish to inform before you can hope for much success. Now this will be brought about in time by Jar/s and ar:;'U!iu'n/s, and I confess that I would mainly trust to them, though it is certainly difficult, when you catcli a confounded villain in the very act, to avoid giving him a kick in the breech. After all this criticism, I must say that^I am (juite ])lea>ed vvith the article, except as to the doubts above expressed. The proofs of the second article have not yet been sent me ; by the 148 PHILANTHROPIST ARRANGEMENTS. 1S08-1S18. way, shall they be forwarded to Ford Abbey ? I have fully concluded to go on witli another volume, and, on consulting with Longman & Co., they think that it may be done without any risk of loss. They liave promised to examine tlieir books as to the sales and give us their best advice. I am (juite sure, however, that there exists in this country a sufficient number of persons, who would be interested in our lucubrations, to su]:)port the thing, if it were fairly brought before them, but I am con- stantly meeting with enlightened and benevolent characters who never heard of our little work. The necessity for adver- tising is therefore apparent, and if tliou wilt contrive a short and pithy one, I will have it inserted in tlie ne\vs})apers. It should import that on the ist of July was published No. 19, containing, among other things, some notices on tiie state of the Colony at Sierra Leone, with engravings, descriptive of the Free Town and the surrounding country, and, that No. 20, to be published on the ist of October, will contain an account of the state of some of the Prisons in the metrojiolis, c^x. : also of an establishment in America, called Harmony, consisting of a num!)er of religious characters, wlio have formed tlieraselves into a sort of commonwealth, which seems to be in a very flourisliing state. We shall also have an article from a member of the University of Cambridge, in terms of praise of the ])oem of Wordsworth entitled the Recluse. It was })ut into my hands by T. Clarkson, with tlie warmest recommendation, and, as it appears favourable to the cause of morality and virtue, though perhajis rather too sentimental, we must give it a ])lace. There will also be a short notice of the prospect of recommencing tlie efforts for civilising the North American Indians. liefore I quit this subject, I must reciucst thee to set me at ease in one particular, and that is to let me know how our accounts stand — and not only so, but either tell me whei"e to pay tlie money in ] ,ondon, or draw u])on me at 7 dnys' sight, in whicli case I will make the IhU jjayable at my Bankers. I am much obliged bv the present of IJentham's book, it is marked with his usual LINDSAY ON BROUGHAM. 149 Strong good sense, but before I can commit myself neck and crop in the concern, I must be assured that it contains notliing at variance with my religious feelings and prejudices (if you please) — but I feel with my dear friend the immense import- ance of imbuing the rising generation with right notions upon points in which tlie interest and hap[jiness of every community are deeply concerned. De[)end upon my co-operation, such as it is, as far as I can conscientiously go, but I must dissent from assisting in teaching the art of war, iS:c. " We have very gratifying letters of the progress of the schools at Paris. T. Clarkson is there, and on his return, I e.\i)ect to have very important intelligence. Our invested subscription is now about ^4300. The Baptists have finally resolved to make education the basis of their missionary plans in the I'^ast Indies, and are about to send off Penny, one of our ablest Generals. "I have not half got through what I wished to write, but the clock has struck 7, and I have only time to beg to be cordially remembered to our worthy friend lientham, and to express a \\b,h that thou wouldst write soon to " Thy affectit)nate b^iend, " W.M. Allf. X." All that remains of this year is a letter from Lindsay, on tlie 20th October. It is in reply to a letter of ^Mill's. The follow- ing is an extract : — • " I am happy to hear that Brougham means to take u]) two sul)jects so greatly important as the Law of Libel and tlie Education of the Poor. 'I'o supi)()rt a t>ee press, and to gi\"e the whole mass of the people the capacity of profiling by it, is to prei)are the triumph of truth and liberty; and it is indeed the only means by which such a triumph can be obtained. \Vhat Mr. Mortimer has already written will furnisli him with ])owtjri'ul weajjons, and no man kiKuvs better how to wield them. Ood send him health and vigour. The rest he will command from the energies of his mind : and though no 150 INCIDENTS AT FORD ABBEY. 1808-1818. immediate effect is to be expected, yet frequent returns to the charge will ultimately insure the victory. " I was indeed alarmed for the safety of the Church when I found so orthodox a Bishop likely to trust himself in such heretical company. Pray tell me whose conversation was most edifying, that of Mr. Bentham or that of the Bishop ; or whether you had the hardihood to put in a word occasionally for our guid auld Kirk. I hope we shall have the honour of seeing you and your most excellent Friend here at more leisure when you come to Town. Offer him my very respectful good wishes. Long may he live a pillar of the good cause." I fancied at first that this was a visit of courtesy from the then Bishop of Exeter, in whose diocese, they were located ; but as bishops' visits would be few, the following sentence from Bentham probably refers to the same occasion. " The present Lord Harrowby I have seen at Mr. Wilber- force's : his father was once at my house. His brother, the bishop, was my guest, at the convivial hour, at Ford Abbey in Devonshire, in the year 1813, or thereabouts." Lord Harrowby's brother was Bishop of Lichfield ; but not, so far as I know, a man of any public importance. Bowring gives a scrap of Bentham's, for this autumn, on Ford Abbey. "It is the theatre of great felicity to a number of people, and that not a very inconsiderable. Not an angry word is ever heard in it. Mrs. S. (the housekeeper) governs like an angel. Neighbours all highly cordial, even though not visited. Music and dancing, though I hate dancing. Gentle and simple mix. Crowds come and dance, and Mrs S. at the head of them." Excepting the unfortunate farmer of the park, Bentham was on a good footing with all the neighbours. The church-going part of the household went to Thorncomb church, and the vicar and his family became friendly visitors. Several years afterwards. Mill received into his house, in London, the Vicar's widow and daughters, and shewed them every kindness. UKMHAMS CnURCH-OF-KXGLAXDISM. T5T The occupation of Benlhani after the piiI)h'cation of the Clu'cstoinathia is not easy to trace. The next work of import- ance pubHslied by him, and not written prior to this year, is the CJuirch-oJ-Eii-:;laiidiiin and its Catcchistn Exaiiiiiicd. I'his was i)rinted in 1817, and pul)hshed in iSiS. He must, there- fore, have been engaged U[)on it tliis or the following year. It giew out of the liell and Lancaster controversy, and was his share in the general attack ujjon the Church.* It must be taken along with his other work, Xot Paul but Jesus, published in 1823, but written, by his own account, in Ford Abbey. I have been told by Mr. Edwin Chadwick, who lived in Eentham's house some time before he died, that the commencing of this book was occasioned by one of his attacks of weakness of sight. He was living in Ford Al)bcy ; and the only book that he could read was a large type Bible belonging to the house. He then fell u{)on what he conceived the discrepancies between the (lOspeis and the Acts of the Apostles. The conclusions that he came to were : — i. That Paul had no such commission as he professed to have : 2. 'Hiat his enterprise was a scheme of * Romilly gives us the following account of it. " The work is written against the National School Societv, whose aim is to proscribe all etluc.Uion of the poor, except that in which the religion of tlie Church of J-'.ngland forms an essential part ; and the work, therefore, mider- takes to jirove, that Church-of-Englandism is wholly different from true Christianity, as it is to be learned from the gosjiel. The subject, however, is treated with so much levity and irreverence that it cannot fail to shock all persons who have any sense of religion. I had prevailed on l')i'ntham till now not to publish it. He desired me to strike out the jiassages I thought nu)>.t likely to give offence ; but they were so mnnerous that 1 was obliged to decline the task ; and I understood that he had given up all thoughts of publishing the work. To my astonishment, however, I learned yesterday that it had been advertised the dav before with his name, and liad been publicly sold. 1 have made a point of seeing him to-day, and, by the strong representa.tion 1 have maile to him of the extreme danger of his being prosecuted anil convicted of a libel, I ha\e |)revailed on him to promise innnedi.aely to suspend, if not to stoj) altogether, any further sale of the book." Xot much would have been gained bv a prosecution. It is a bulky volume, costing 20S., and not easy reading. I'ilt woultl not ])rosecute (iodwin's I'oliliial J ustice, because it was sold at /'3. We are safe in supjiosing, what .Mill prt)bably felt, that the Government would at all times be averse to prosecuting Ik'ntham. 152 BENTHAM's not PAUL BUT JESUS. 1808-1S18. personal ambition and nothing more : 3. That his system of doctrines is fraught with mischief in a variety of shapes, and, in so far as it departs from, or adds to, tliose of Jesus, with g'jod in none : and, finally, that it has no warrant in anything that, as far as appears from any of the four (iospels, was ever said or done by Jesus. These conclusions are most elaborately worked out, in the course of tour hundred closely-printed pages. The climax is reached when he declares Paul to be the real Anti-Christ. In the Chiirch-of-Englandism this startling position is not openly taken up, but is imjjlied. Bentham's own scheme of Re- ligious Instruction from the Bible consists in presenting, first, the Discourses of Jesus, headed by the Sermon on the Mount, and followed up by the Parables; and, next, the narrative of his Acts; all to be selected from the four Gospels. He says nothing of the remainder of the New Testament. The Old Testament, he thinks, concerns the Jews alone ; and, in omitting it bodily, he considers no apology necessary except to Jewish parents. Although, in the composition of these two bulky volumes of heterodoxy, Bentham was in daily intercourse with Mill, and must have had his criticisms as he went along, there is no record of the nature of their agreement or disagreement of views, or as to the help rendered by Mill to Bentliam's elabora- tion. The interest, as far as we are here concerned, therefore, would be purely in the effort to fill up, by imagination, the blanks of our records of the Ford Abbey intercourse — were it not that Mill himself, at a later period, came forward as an ecclesiastical reformer, and the com})arison of his proi)osals with the foregone labours of Bentham attains relevance and import- ance. The public events of this year are sufficiently notorious. Besides the larger issues that led to Waterloo, and the Peace, there were minor questions pregnant with future consecjuences. A most injudicious Corn Bill was immediately productive of riots, and was a link in the long chain of operations leading to RICARDO'S POLITICAL ECONOMY. 1 53 Free Trade. Catholic Disabilities was again discussed ; l)ut gr(jund was lost. The Slave Trade is now a leading tojjic ; the refusal of the Ministry to jjass a law for the Registry of Slaves, offends some of their own supporters. The slave owners are now in arms in defence of their interests. 1S16. On the 1 6th of " ist month,"' Allen writes anxiously expect- ing Mill's return to London ; which took place in February. Allen needs for his next number an article of a sheet on a pamphlet resjjecting the Registry of Slaves in the A\'est IrKiies : the auth(jr is '' Stephen," who gave uj) his seat in Parliament because this was not made a (iovernment measure. There occurs in the first number an article with that heading. Again Allen urges ujjon Mill the settlement of the acccnmts. A letter, dated January, is from Ricardo, and still addressed to Ford Abbey. It is but an end-fragment, and opens — " fill 8 Images in the Appendix, will that be too much?'"' John Mill tells us that it was through his father's urgency and encourage- ment that Ricardo brought out his great wcMk on I\)litical ]v;onomy ; and to that work we must refer this re([Uest. A long letter in l'"ebruary, from that voluminous correspondent, Major Cartwriglit, is occui^ied with \\'estminster ele( ti(;neering. Allen again, on the 3rd of March (a fragment) : Mill now in tf)wn. He asks Mill to a meeting with ANilberforce. about St. Domingo, and fijrwards a bundle of [tapers from llaxti. In a scrap of a letter, dated June, this year, an Ui>h gentle- man, Mr. I'^nsor, greatly devoted to Mill, seeing nuich of him when in London, and often writing from Lxhuid, semis to re])lv to Mill's Sa\ings H.mk hobb}-, as jtroposLcl b}' him for Ireland: th.e tone of the replv is grim incredulitv. On the 2nd of Jul)-, a letter to Napier indicates that he is at work for the Su])].lement to the i''>nc\'cl(ip;e(lia. "Upon turning tlie subject in my mind, which I had 154 ARTICLE ON "beggar". 1808-181S. not time to do just at first, I think it will be impossible to separate the matter of an article on the word " Beggar " from the subject of I'auperism in general. If you contemplate nothing more than a description of the artifices of the profes- sional beggar, this is, properly speaking, a branch of the art of imposture and swindling, and really belongs to that head, not to that of Pauperism at all. If the persons who solicit charity from passengers in the highways, and from door to door, are to be considered as a class, and with reference to the operations of the legislator, you cannot separate the subject from that of pauperism in general. The first question is — AVhat are you to do with beggars ? If you suppress them, you must make a legal provision for those who fall into want, otherwise you inflict a capital punishment upon poverty, and in that case you enter upon all the difficult questions relating to a poor's rate. My own opinion therefore is, that the subject of mendicity should be treated under some title which would embrace the whole of the questions relating to pauperism. " Under the title ' Beggar,' without anticipating the general subject, you can do nothing but address yourself, without any public utility, to the idle curiosity of those who wish to hear strange stories, and write an article fit for a catchpenny magazine, but by no means for your noble Supplement. Neyertheless, if you are of a contrary opinion, I will write tlie article as you desire, and give you the stories in the House of (Commons Re])ort, with my own commentaries, whicli will detract not a little from the marvellous with which some of them are seasoned. From this and other sources an entertain- ing article might no doubt be made, if not a scientific one. I am looking forward to your calls on the article Government^ and shall, I trust, be well prepared for you by the time, as I am now drawing to a close with a heavy load which I have long had ui)on my shoulders." I cannot say whether tlie toi)ic " Beggar " was suggested by Napici m the first instance or by Mill. We can see that Napier ON SAVINGS BANKS. 1 55 I'uid his own views as to the mode of handhng, and tliat Mill was anxious to conlorni to these views, ^\'c shall find liini etiually accommodating all through. On the 12th, follows another letter. '■ I readily submit my judgment to yours in a subject which you have looked at so much more closely — and will readily undertake an article Bixxiar, on the plan which you propose. " With regard to Savings IJanks and Ikniefit Societies, I should have been more willing to comply with your solicitation, had it been a month later ; as just now, to my other occupa- tions is added the trouble of moving to Devonshire for some months, with my family. However, I am extremely desirous to perform what you re([uest of me ; and as I think that none of the three articles needs be long, I think I may undertake for them within the time which you mention. " I believe I have, or can easily command, all the jniblica- tions re([ulred for the several articles, unless it be Sinclair & Ai^^ricultitral Report. The simplest plan for procuring me here the books I may have occasion to use, would be to give an order to the publisher of the work here, or any other of Mr. Constable's correspondents to lend them to me, or procure me the loan of them. Any book not common in the shoi)s, I can always, when in London, get access to in some channel or other. The only difficulty is v/hen I am in the country. Mr. Constable, if you speak to him, will know best how this may be arranged. " I have glorious accounts of your success — and the ]irospect of abundance of readers adds not a little to the inducement to write. "The direction to me in the country is ]''ord A!)bev, Chard, Somerset. ISut if you address your letter or anything else here — it will be immediately forwarded — I shall not, however, be gone before this day fortnight." Another meeting of the Chrestomathic Managers took place at his house, just before he left ; the last for the year. A melancholy announcement reaches iientham in Uiidsum- mer. It is to this effect — 156 DEATH OF MIRANDA. 1808-1818. ' ' i.ilh July, 1S16. " This day, at five minutes past one in the morning, my beloved master, Don Francis de Miranda, resigned his spirit to the Creator ; the curates and monks would not allow me to give him any funeral rites, therefore, in the same state in which he expired, with mattress, sheets, and other bcd-clotlies, they seized hold of him and carried him away for interment ; they immediately afterwards came and took away his clothes, and everything belonging to him, to burn them." Probably the bitterness of this ending had been partly gone through, when Miranda was known to be hopelessly immured in a Spanish dungeon. On the 20th September, Mill writes from Ford Abbey to Dr. Thomson, wlio has just been married. Ey an arrangement with Mill, he has occupied })art of the house with him for a year or more. " Ford Abbey, 20/h Sept., 1S16. " My dear Doctor, " I received your letter last night, and derived from it very sincere satisfaction. I have no doubt whatever, that the change which you have made in your state of life will greatly add to your hap])iness. At home you were no doubt lonely before, and you justly remark that the case would have grown worse as you grew old. ]5esides, human hai)piness recjuircs that the human heart should have something to love, that it should have one at least with whom it can enjoy s}'mpat]iy, and in whom its confidence can be reposed. I am satisfied that you will have made a good choice, botli because I know you are not easily deceived in persons, and because you are past that hey-day of the blood when the solid (]ualities are apt to be overlooked for the sui)erficial. I am happy that slie is an old accpiaintance, because then peojjle are more likely to know one another, and less likely to liave any source of dis- api)ointment. I have no doubt that your lady will be a great ac(|uisition not to you only, but to the circle of all )f>ur DR. THOMSONS MARRIAGE. 157 arquaintnnrcp. Mrs. Mill is highly delighted at th.c jirnspect oC making licr a friend, and of living under the same roof with her. There will he no douht at all of our accommodatiiig (Hirsehes with her. The only douht is ahout her liking us ; and whttlx'r a great jjarcel of children will not be an annoy- ance wliicli sh.e will not admire. However, tliat experience will soon determine; and in the meantime she may count u\)on it that nothing sliall be left undone that we can do to add to. or at an\rate not to diminish from, her comforts. Mrs. iMill is sorry that she did not know before lea\"ing Lon.don, that she might ha\e left our rooms in a usable state, in case Mrs. I'l^.omson niav for any purpose have occasion for anv beyond Iier ov.n. In the meantime, we beg she will use of our things whatever is witliin reach as if it was h.er own. ]o]in, wlio has read your Svsfi-//! of Clwniisirv with ^"ast ardour since he came h.ere. is not the least pleased to think of an increase of your hapj;iness ; and we all join in heart}' congra- tulations to you and your lady, to whom we beg to present our very hot wishes and regards. " Scj much tor an agreeable, now for a disagreeable subject. I should ha\'e been under the necessity of writing to }-ou tliis week. I have a halt"-vear"s rent to ]iav at ^Michaelmas, the 29th inst., and I meant to have written to you to say that riace, who performs all matters of business for me in my absence, and among other things i)avs mv rent, would be directed to call upon you, to receive, if convenient, your rent for the last year. The sort of agreement that was between us was that we should divide the rent and taxes of the house in eijual jjrojiortions. 'J'he ])articulcU's I cannot liere UK-iui^)!! ; the whole is some little matter about 100 guine: s. It will be enough, therefore, if you ])ay 50 : ami I shall sliew }()U the receipts which vouch for the particulars when I return. "Believe me, always most devotedlv. " Vour '■ j. Mii.iJ' 158 CONXLUSION OF HISTORY OF INDIA. 1808-1818. A letter to Napier of the 23rd Oct., has a special biographi- cal value. " On turning to your letter for the purpose of answering it, and observing the date, I see I have reason to be ashamed of myself I am not, however, so faulty as at first sight I may naturally appear ; for, seeing it would not be in my power to give you an article on Ijotany Bay, I endeavoured to find out a person who I thought would do it, and as well as anybody whom you had much chance of finding. The person I mean is Major Torrens, who has written several very good pamphlets on different parts of Political Economy, and who I knew had been at pains to collect information respecting Botany Bay, having projects of being sent out to be its Governor. Torrens, I find, is just now wandering about in Ireland, and I conclude has not received my letter, for I have not heard from him at all, though I have no doubt he would have hked much to have contributed the article. " Of India I have undertaken to give no less than a complete history, in which I aim at comprising all the information in which we Europeans are very materially interested ; and, thank God, after having had it nearly ten years upon the carpet, I am now revising it for the press, and hope to begin to print as soon as I return to Eondon. It will make three 4to volumes, which, whatever else they may contain, will contain the fruits of a quantity of labour, of which nobody who shall not go over the same ground, and go over it without the assistance of my book, can form an adecjuate conception. Had I foreseen that it would be one half or one third of what it has been, never should I have been the author of a History of India ^ A fragment from Ricardo, in December, congratulates the family " in this day of rejoicing " : I suppose it was the birth of the sixth child. In the volume of the Philmiihropist, we find Savings Banks again ; also the Registry of Slaves and St. Domingo — the response to Allen's bundle of papers. But for the indications PUBLIC DISCONTENTS. I 59 of these subjects, I could not trace his hand in a marked way in this volume. Bentham must have been principally occupied this vear v.-ith Churcli-of-Eiiglandism^ if not also with Not rani. Mis De fence of Usury, written in 17S7, is now printed at full. His psvcho- loj:ical notes are stated by himself as ran^ini^^ from 1814 to 1S16. He does a little more at his Constitutional Code, which he seems always to have executed by snatches. Public affairs are now entering on the new groove after tlie Peace. The ],>ublic discontent is compelling more serious criticism on the measures of Government. An amendment on thie Address to the Regent's Speech is moved by Mr. Prand and seconded by Lord John Russell. The contkut of the Allies to France, in restoring the Bourbons, was brought up, and was also the subject of a distinct debate. Romillv spoke admirably on this topic. Prougham entered into this and other standing questions with his fiery energy ; but was much censured for having overdone an attack on the Prince Regent. The Property Tax was vehemently opjjosed. and its renewal deieated. Ireland again. The Registry of Skues Pill is now made to bear the blame of a great insurrei tion in Parbadoes. Great riots of colliers out of work. Meal riots in I )undee. Two great meetings to ])etition the Regent on ])ublic dis- tresses were held in Sjja Fields, Islington. 'Phe chief speaker was the well-known radical orator Henry Hunt. He denounced all public men, except liurdett, Cobbett, and Coc hrane. A\'at- son, another well-known radical, headed a portion of the meeting in an assault ui)on the shojjs of the city, which the Lord Mayor got great credit for suppressing. The summer of this year is described as wet to a degree. The harvest in consequence was very bad. 'Jhe result was, to aggravate the political excitement of the lollowing year. l6o LAST OF THE PHILANTHROPIST. 180S-181S. 1817. This year, the History of India goes tlimugh the press. The PJiilantliropist is stopi^cd, after the piihUcation of two numbers. The first of the two is remarkable for a review of Dumont's edition of Bentham's Treatise o?i. Re^oards and Puuisiinicnts. Tlie article expounds and defends IJcntham at some length, and is to be continued ; but never was. In March, Allen sends notes of the Prison at Ghent, to be v/orked up by ]Mill into an article ; which accordingly a]j])ears. In April, he writes to urge the publication of a paper on the Establishment for the Poor at Mannheim, and will "be glad to know.Jiow thou gets on with the Amsterdam artic:le ". This also ai)pears, headed " Charitable Institutions at iVmsterdam '". The concluding article of the last number is on the Rei)ort of a Committee of the House of Commons on the Police of the Metro])olis. Thus, for six years and a half, Allen and Mill carried on a most energetic agitation in favour of a wide range of works of philanthrojjy and usefulness. They were at the same time, Allen es])ecially, on all the Committees for putting their numerous schemes into operation. The extent of Mill's con- tributions may be judged from the fact, that at one settlement, Allen accounted to him for 8^ sheets. On the 14th April, he writes to Napier: — • " I received your letter with its enclosure, for which I beg leave to return you many thanks. With regard to the amount I am perfectly satisfied ; for in fact the articles, which you wanted in a hurry, were got up without much labour, from the materials which were nearest at hand ; and assuredly I ex])ected no firme from them, so that I am agreeably surjjrised to hear from you, that they receive some a])probation. "I will give you an article on Caste; though having just begun to ])rint my book, and printing at the rate of seven sheets a week, witli the business of revising not yet nearly performed, I have my hands more than usually full. But it will be very UNDERTAKES " COLONIES ". l6l unnecessary to make the article long— to go into the wearisome details. If I describe the grand classes, and show the tendency of it as an institution, I suppose that will fulfil your exj)ectation. It will be easy to show the woeful mistakes of poor Abbe Dubois, as well as the similar ones of a more celebrated man, your Dr. Robertson himself. " I am very grateful for the copy you have ordered for me of tlie work. I have not time at present to tell you my opinion of the execution of it. I can shortly, however, say that nothing to compare with it has yet api)eared ; and that I have no doubt it will do ample credit to the zeal and ability which you dis})lay in conducting it."' Again on the 22nd August, we have the following : — " I thank you for my reward in I)oth shapes, the jjraisc you bestow ujKjn me, as well as the money. ■• Situated, however, as I yet am, I tremble to undertake yc>ur Co/o/iits. I have printed two volumes and have begun the third. But the ^IS. of a great part of the third is still to revise, and Colonel Willis, who was Resident in Mysore, is ju^t about to publi^]^, or h.as published, two volumes more of his historical sketches, of which I have received the sheets ; and they, having been written by a man with peculiar opportunities of oljtaining knowledge, lay me under the obligation of making a very close comparison of my own narrati\e with his : and afford me here and there a few facts which render fresli writing necessary. I can hardly expect to get through the dru(lger\- of this ])re;iaration before the end of next month : and unless you can give me some more time, I must pray you to put tlie subject into the hand of some other contributor ; tliough I confess, it is a subject on which I shoukl have been glad to throw a little light, of whicli, after all tluU has been said upon it, I think it stands a little in neod. '■ r>y the ciiii of October, if none of those rubs, which are very usual in sitih cases, interpose, I shall be reatly with my three volumes, and shall be very anxious for \-our opinion of me.'' 1 62 DR. THOMSON GOES TO GLASGOW. 1808-1S18. The commencement of the printing of the I/is/ory is marked by a letter, July 22, from the Secretary of the Post Office, Freeling, to Lord Auckland, conferring upon Mill the privilege of sending his proof-sheets through the Post Office free. I was not aware that such a privilege had ever been accorded. The letter shows that such applications were not always successful. ■■• Mill was at lord Abbey the whole time of the printing. Two letters to Dr. Thomson (Sept. 13 and Oct. 5) refer to his being appointed Professor of Chemistry in Olasgow. 'Phere are congratulations, and also regrets, at the breaking up of the Queen's Square connexion, which seems to have been very harmonious ; all the children lamented the departure. Both Mrs. Thomson and a maiden sister, Miss Cokiuhoun, were popular; and John had fulfilled a promise to write to Miss Colquhoun. No wonder, when his father styles her " dear Miss Cokiuhoun ". The letter intimates that the printing of the History would be finished in November. In point of fact, it was published about the new year. The family left }''ord Abbey, for the last time, in January. The correspondence shows that the resi- dence there was as much as ten months in the third and fourth of the four years. I cannot doubt that the finishing of the History would have been protracted considerably, if Mill had not enjoyed the advantages that Ford Abbey gave him. Mrs. Mill told the children that, while there, he got up at four in the morning, and worked till twelve at niglit. This, of course, would only be during the final stage of the work, perhaps for a few months ; but his application all through must have been much beyond what would have been possible in London. It is now quite evident that John Mill overstated his father's * In the correspondence with Tliomson, in 1802, on tlie starting of the Literary Journal, he says that Baldwin had apjihed to Freeling to frank tlie articles transmitted from Edinburgh. The result of the ajjplication does not appear. ESTIMATE OF MILL's LA1;0LK.i. 1 63 exertions, wonderful as they were, in raying th;it he maintained hir, fcunily by Re\"iew and Magazine rontrih'Utions. w!:iie himself their .-lole teacher, all the time of writing the IJi .t-ry. I was very much staggered by thi.i assertion, when I hr.t heard it, many years ago, from John Mill in conversation. 'J'v.rj douljts occurred \() me at once, although I did not venture to [jre.^s tl.em. Ttie one was the enormous quantity of hi^verycom- pac:t writing that would he required to reaii~.e what wari ah^^o- lutely necei-^ary. The still greater difficulty w..^ to {;oint to th.e article.!. Ten or twelve con.^ideraljle re\i'.w riTti^le-^ a-year fjr eleven year.T would be the lea.^t tliat wfjuid lUfice; about three or four a-\ear i.-,, however, the utiii';->,t v.e <.an trace. Mill may have realized about X'5'^ a-\ear, but crtjiniy not mure, from liis literary work, during tho.^e }ear.T : ^o that he munt have had other ways of meeting \\\-, wjrits. T!';e four years' re:-iidence at Ff^rd .\bbey, although more of iJentiiam's Seeking than of his, must have been a great as-T-.tance. More- over, I have heard from very good authority that i-'r;;.nci > Place, who took charge of MilTs money affair.-,, made him advances while he was writing the IliJory : these, of c .urvj, were all repaid ; but Place would have cheerfully allowed trie loan to lapse into a gift, had that been nece.-)--,ary. Bentham's activity for the year ajjj^ears chieily in [jrinting. His Pa[jers relative to Codification and I'ublic In-truction, written at various intervals since 1814, are nov.- bri;i:ght out; and Rornilly reviews the work in the Edinburji /w;:/ I'l.ijf.iu's oijinioiib uii liie suhjeel (jf Ilinilu .Xstroiiuniy. 170 DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAINIENT. i8o8-i8tS. Iulinl)urgh about them, which, being from a very Tory quarter, was fully as favourable as I could expect. When you do write again, which I hope will be soon, it will be a favour if you will tell me a little of what you may have heard about them ; for as I reckon the best judges to be among you, I am proportionately anxious to know what I am thought of among you. I am truly obliged to you, not only for sending me your paper on ISacon, but for writing it. His is a battle which I have often to fight — in conversation at least ; for Englishly- educated people are all hostile to him, as they (at least the greater part of them) are hostile to everybody who seeks to advance the boundaries of human knowledge, which they have sworn to keep where they are. Your learned and valuable collection of facts will make me triumphant." On the loth of June, Parliament is dissolved. Westminster was astir in anticipation. Mill and Place are leaders in the Radical Committee. First, it has to be seen whetlier Coch.rane will stand : he having recently announced his intention of going abroad for 18 months. At a meeting, on the ist June, at IMr. Ih'ooks's, no Strand, Messrs. Adams, Brooks, Mill, and ]Mace are named as the Committee to make this encjuirv. Mill declines to serve on this errand, for want of time. He is ]:)resent, however, at Brooks's house next day, Tuesday, the 2nd, and is one of four (with Place, Adams, and Sturch) named to draw up resolutions for the general meeting, fixed for Thursday, at the Crown and Anchor '1 avern, to receive Lord Cochrane's answer, and to decide on the candidates to be nominated. On 'Hiursday, the public meeting makes choice of Sir P. ]]urdett and the Hon. D. Kinnaird. Mill is on the Committee for securing their return. Joseph Hume and Hobhouse are also on the Committee. Their first difficulty is to deal with two small noisy factions, one for projjosing Henry Hunt, the other for Cartwright. Place is led into consultation with Mill, as to the proper answer to a bill denouncing their Committee. 'Phis, however, was only preparatory skirmishing; the real fight KINNAIRTl AND ROMILLY FOR WKSTMIXSTER. 171 came to lie with a different enemy. On Saturday the 6tli, an independent body of the electors adopt a Retjuisition to Sir Samuel Romilly ; this he receives on Monday following, the 8th : and thereujjon consents to stand, if he can be returned without jiersonal solicitation or canvass. He is strongly backed in the ChroiiicU\ by Pc-rry. His friends set to work, and are soon confident of his success. Place's Committee regard the nomination as an act of hostility, and ])ersist with their own candidates. The facile pen of Hot)house [jroduces a scjuib, ridiculing Perry as the sole author of Romilly's candidature. Abusive S(juibs and placards were contrary to Place's principle of conducting elections, but he could not control other people. Place pronounces Romilly a really formidable candidate ; and so he is. Joseph Hume, having fallen from his horse, is con- fined to the house, and writes Place that Romilly is "a very jtroperman". Place replies that he does not think so. The supporters of Romilly must have drawn off many of the electors that formerly stood by Place. Romilly goes so far as to say that Kinnaird "is set up by a little committee of tradesmen, who ])ersuade themselves that they are all-powerful in \\'est- minster ".* This was simply to adc^pt one of the stock sneers of their political opponents ; true in form, with an insinuation not justified by the facts. There can be no doubt whatever that the Mill and Place party was very powerful, although, on this occasion, deserted by many of its usual allies. Mill a]:i])ears at two meetings of the general committee on the 17th. He informs Place, who forthwith communicates to ]]rooks, that "after having accepted nearly JiA^^ from the personal friends of Kinnaird, those who had taken and ex- * Brougliam oclioes this sontiniont in a ppeech made at Kendal, in cdiinexion with the eleetion lor tlie county of \\'eslmoielan(L Refenini; to what was K'^'"?^ on at \\'estniinster, he said "it was jjreeisely the same in jirineijile witli tlie Westmoreland election, with this only ditTerence, that the usurpation of the jx'ople's riL;hts was .attempted hv an oli,L;archy, a junto of tluniselves in the Metropolis ; whereas, in the province, it would be (fleeted by a binL;le fanuly ". lirougham retained the soreness of his disappoiritnient in 1814. 172 ROMILLY ELECTKD. 1808-1818 pended it were going to abandon him ". Place is intensely disgusted. The poll commences: Romilly at the head; Kinnaird nowhere. " Burdett and Kinnaird's Committee appear," says Romilly, "to be very angry at my being named as a candidate, and have published some violent hand-bills against me, in which they accuse me of being a lawyer, one of the Whig faction, &c. This nonsense seems to have had very little effect." Jeremy Bentham took a line of his own, and wrote and signed a hand-bill, representing Romilly to be an unfit member for Westminster, as being a lawyer, a whig, and a friend only to moderate reform. He sends this to the Burdett Com- mittee, but they decline to publish it. The Examiner, however, taking much the same line, very fairly states the objections to Romilly : the strongest being that he was certain of a seat elsewhere, and was merely weakening the stand that the West- minster electors had so long made for thorough-going Reform principles. After the fourth day, Kinnaird's friends are obliged to with- draw him, in order to secure Burdett against the Government candidate, and, if possible, to place him at the head of the poll. In s})ite of all their exertions, Romilly keeps the head ; but Burdett comes in second, and the ministerial candidate third. In a few weeks after the election, Romilly records "a small but very pleasant dinner party " at Bentham's, with Brougham, Dumont, Mill, and Rush the American minister. So ended the mighty strife for the present : another end is not far off. Whatever Mill might think of the Romilly election, he would be highly gratified by the return of his dear Ricardo, who, by pocket power, secured the Irish borough of Portarlington. Of yet greater importance was the election of Joseph Hume, who found honour in his own country (thanks probably to Lord Panmure), and was returned for the Montrose burghs, keeping his seat, till he was chosen for Middlesex, in the Reform Bill times. Brougham also is in the House. FUTURE PROJFXTS. I 73 In the beginning (5th) of August, there is a farther letter to Xajjier, which, among other things, lets us know Mill's projects for the future. " My delay in writing did not arise from what you mis- name your ' scold about Playfair '. I take all that you said for sound and proper remonstrance ; and shall douljlless attend to it, in a manner, I hope, to gi\'e you satisfaction, v.iien I come to a second edition, of which you will be glad to hear that there is a near jjrospect. '• I was anxious to say, if I could, something useful on the subject of Conveyancing. I have looketl into the subject with a good deal of care, and have often conversed upon it with IJentham. There is nothing in any book be}-ond th.e practice of the different systems of actual law. Principles on the subject nobody has thought of exhibiting. As far as it has been touclied upon in any of IJentham's MSS., it i> under the head of Evidence, where it falls into the chapter on what he calls ' rreap])ointed l->vidence,' or those articles of Evidence, consisting chietly of writings brought into existence at th.e present moment, for ascertaining at some future peril, d a matter (/f fact wliich had its existence now, or at some ante- cedent period. I believe ycju will find this the general characteristic of all the branches of (fonveyancing. The act of transferring is the volition of the parties ; th.e writings are the niode of providing evidence of that volition. 'I'o diNCU^s tr.e subject, you must work out this general idea bv the foice of vour own ])hi!'.so])hy. You will get no assi>tance fiom law- books or frcjm lawyers. You do not know, perh-'jis, what is mv presumption on the subject of Law. 'J'lie nexi work wiiich I meditate is a History of English Law, in whi( h 1 mean to trace, as far as pcjssi'ole, the expedients of th,e se\eral ai,es to the state of the human mind, and the circumstances of society in those ages, and to show their concord or dJNCord with the standard of perfection ; and I am niA widiout liop^s of making a book readable by all, and if so, a book capable of 174 DEATH OF ROMILLY. 1808-1818. teaching law to all. And, after this, I will do what I can to exhibit in full a system of Jurisprudence to the world. This at any rate stands far forward among the several projects which float in my head. " I had a letter from Mr. Ricardo only two or thiee days ago, in which he expresses himself in terms of unbounded gratitude for your more than politeness. I beg you will accept my warmest acknowledgments. I know not a better man tlian him on whom you have laid your obligations, or who will be more desirous of returning them. I feel myself in such good humour with you just now, that I know not well how to refuse you anytliing. One thing comforts me in undertaking Econo- mists, that I see not at present any reason for a long article. However, at your leisure, I shall be glad of as minute an explanation as you can afford, of your views with regard to both articles." One thing surprises and disappoints me here, namely, that he should be so close upon his notable article " Education," and not advert to that article, which must have taken uj) a large portion of this autumn's work. Although the subject was congenial to him, as partaking of pure Psychology, yet it was completely outside of all his lines of occupation for the last few years. The melancholy death of Romilly, on the 2nd of Nov., took Mill down to Worthing, to render his sympathy and aid to the family in their double bereavement. A new election for West- minster was thus precipitated, and no time was to be lost in searching for a candidate. Place is the first to move. He concocts a hand-bill putting forward Kinnaird. He obtains the concurrence of Bentham and Henry Bickersteth. Still, there was a question as between Kinnaird and Hobhouse. There were the usual troubles and complications with Hunt and Cartwright. In the end, Hobhouse was put forward, and was opposed on the Whig interest by the Plon. George Lamb, son of Lord Melbourne. FRESH ELECTIOX. I 75 On the 5th Nov., Place wrote a long letter to Mill at Wor- thing, describing the initial o^terations and the deplorable want of agreement among the liberals. Mill's reply, dated the 6th, i.s as tbllows : — " I do not wonder at the disgust you express on so capital a blunder, about which there can be no doubt that you judge correctly. I look upon the thing as marred. Not that I am so sanguine as you about the returning of Kinnaird, had the best course been pursued. The people will be lukewarm ab(;ut him, in spite of all that could have been done ; and the ministry will be active and powerful, and have plenty of time. 'Yhc desirable thing would be that Reformers and ^Vhigs should agree about some one man, and unite their efforts, when there would be no contest. But who that man can be I own I do not see. If Lord Folkestone would consent, he would be the man, without any declaration ; or if Bennet would only declare U)X household suffrage and the ballot. About all this, however, it is useless to talk here — as I shall soon see you. It was not worth your while to write all the particulars of the miserable blunder. I shall hear them when I come. " I cannot tell you how much I have been affected by the dreadful tragedy in this family. When you and I saw them last year at Ford Abbey, and admired and loved them all, we should have declared that there were more elements of hajjpi- ne>s mixed up in their lot than in that of aluKjst any other human beings we knew — and yet how sudden the reverse ! '• I do believe the gloom has affected my health — I have been obliged again to have recourse to medicines.'' Mill did not act on the Committee on this occasion, and his hand is no longer ap{)arent. The contest ended in the return of Lamb, by a majority of 604 over Hobhouse. Mill's struggles may now be considered as ended. The History was a great and sjteedy success. The lu'si edition was almost sold off; and he was entitled to a large sum as sharer in the profits. This, and the income of the subsequent 176 HISTORY OF INDIA. 1808-1818. editions, he left in Baldwin's hands, as an investment bearing interest ; the proceeds would have been a good provision for his family. Unfortunately, IJaldwin came to grief, and the money was not recovered. Tlie crash did not come till after Mill's death, so that he was spared th.e mortification of witness- ing the downfall of a house that he had implicitly trusted, as well as the loss of his twelve years' earnings. At this time of day, I am not called u[)on to criticize the Histo7'y of India. It has exercised its inlluence, and found its place. Any observations that are needful are such as will aid us in appreciating the character of the autlior. Coming to the subject with his peculiar powers and his acquired knowledge, and expending upon it such an amount of labour, he could not but produce a work of originality and grasp. If the whole of his time for twelve years was not literally devoted to the task, it was, we may say. substantially devoted ; for his diver:;ions consisted mostly in discussing topics allied to the problems that the History had to deal with. In a long Preface, he sets forth his design, and the difficulties he had to encounter ; and makes his well-known a])ology for writing on India without having seen the country. The first Book narrates the commencement of the British intercourse with India, and carries it on to the establishment of the Con"i])any on a durable basis by the Act of the sixth of Queen Anne. The second Book is what arrests our attention as the most characteristic, bold, and original portion of the work. It undertakes to exhibit the character, the history, the manners, religion, arts, literature, and laws of the people of India; together with the physical influences arising out of the climate, the soil, and the productions of the country. This last ])art, however, has no chapter exi)ressly allotted to it, and is haidly perceptible anywhere. The first-named i)art is the best product of the author's genius. Here he exerted all his powers to make a grand sociological display — valuable in itself, and a SOCIOLOGICAL IDEAS. 177 most important accessory to the narrative of events. The analysis of the Hindoo institutions is methodical and exhaus- tive, and is accompanied with a severe criticism of their merits and their rank in the scale of development. To the student of forty years ago, the reading of this book was an intellectual turning-point. The best ideas of the sociological writers of the eighteenth century were combined with the Bentham philosophy of law, and the author's own independent reflec- tions, to make a dissertation of startling novelty to the gene- ration that first perused it. Subseciuent research and criticism found various mistakes and shortcomings. Being written while the ])ul)lic was prepossessed by an excessive admiration for Hindoo institutions and literature, due to Sir W. Jones and others, the review was too disparaging — the bow bent too far in the opp'osite direction. The annotator employed to edit and continue the History, Mr. H. H. ^^'ilson, does not scruple to charge his author with a hostile animus both here and in other parts of the work : of this the reader of the text and notes together will be the best judge. He also complains that the undue disj;aragement tended to increase the difficulties of the British rule in India, and to jh-c- occupy the minds of officials with an undue contempt for tlie Hindoo people. If this effect really ha])penLd, it was more than compensated by the unsj-jaring severity of the criticism bestowed upon all those that had borne a part in founding and extend- ing (jur Indian Empire. Tlie third Book is devoted to the narrative of the transac- tions of the ninety-eight years from 1707 to 1805 — the critical ])eriod of the consolidation of the Ivast India ("ompany. This was the eventful century that saw the extension of their dominions by all kinds of accidents and arts : tliat was wound up by the administrations of Clive and Hastings, and the first military glory of ^\■e]lington. The concluding paragraj^h of the Introduction is compre- hensive and short. 12 178 author's style. 1808-1818. " Tlie subject forms an entire, and highly interesting, portion of the British History ; and it is hardly possible that the matter should have been brought together, for the first time, without being instructive, how unskilfully soever the task may have been performed. If the success corresi)onded with the wishes of the author, he would throw light upon a state of society, curious, and commonly misunderstood ; upon the history of society, which in the compass of his work presents itself in almost all its stages and all its shapes ; upon the principles of legislation, in which he has so many important experiments to describe ; and upon interests of his country, of which, to a great degree, his countrymen have remained in ignorance, while prejudice usurped the prerogatives of understanding." The author's forte in the mere narrative is lucidity of state- ment. His higher function is to criticize, and to apportion praise and blame. His impartiality in this respect may not be unquestionable ; but it is as great as could be expected of any man in such a subject. His judgment errs in pitching his standard somewhat too high. The arrangement, or method of the narrative, in the point of view of composition, is far from perfect ; but must be reckoned probal)ly as good as the author's situation would allow. The work being new, the materials had to be sought out, and presented in tolerable fulness. This, with the other aims that the author entertained, was enough to engross his jjowers as the first historian of India. We can now, however, see that the great complexity of the details, the plurality of concurring events over an immense area, makes up an enormous problem of narrative art, soluble only by concentrat- ing attention upon that one effort Mill's power of ])olitica] generalizing heljjs him here ; he discerns and sets forth comprehensive views that reduce the chaotic mass into a happy simplicity. Thus, take the opening sentence of his chapter on the con(}uests of Timur : — "The birth of Tinvar, or Tamerlane, was cast at one of those NARRATIVE DIFFICULTIKS. I 79 recurrinL,^ periods, in the liistory of Asiatic sovereignties, when the enjoyment of ])0\ver for several generations, leaving extin- guislicd all manly virtues in the degenerate descendants of some active usurper, prepares the governors of the ])rovinces for revolt, di.>solves the power of the state, and opens the way for the ele\ali(m of some new and daring adventurer." Still, tliere are wanted in addition, some of the highest devices of narrati\e' composition to make the Ilisiory of I/uiia take any distinct shape in the memory. What these are, I do not here eiKjuire: they are probably far from perfection even in the latest lii.-t(;rians ; yet a great advancement may be traced in such exam[)les as Carlyle's h'riedrich, and Kinglake's Crimean A\'ar. l](jth these writers appear to be alive to the class of difticulties that attach, in a still greater degree, to any narrative of the events that make ujj tlie history of British India; I mean, more particularly, multiplication and complexity of transactions. I'he style of the History was always spoken of l)y IJentham in terms of general condemnation. The friendly reviewer in the Ed'uiburgh Review is more specific in pointing out what lie considers its defects. " \\'e cannot speak as favourably of INIr. Mill's style as of his matter. It has many marks of carelessness, and s(;me of bad taste ; and the narration, in a few instances, is not free from that greatest of all defects — obscurity ; which has arisen from an inattention to the use of the tenses of the verbs. In his discjuisitions, it is vigorous, though not always pure or digni- fied : and violations of the usage of the language with resjject to particular words, are not unfrecjuently to be met with. liut of all these faults our readers will Ije able to judge from tlie extracts mcjre severely than we can oursehes — who rise from the reading of the work, grateful for the vast b(xly of inform.>- tion which it conveys, and impressed with respect, not only for the intellectual qualities of the author, but for his high and rare virtues as an historian." , Chapter IV, APPOINTMENT TO THE INDIA HOUSE. 1819-1823 THE present chapter includes the appointment to the India House, and the writings carried on during the five years subsequent to that event. The break is made after the finishing of the articles for the Encydopccdia, and before the starting of the Westminster Review. This period saw a great augmentation of Mill's influence in general society. The four years at Ford Abbey, and the engrossment with the History, had kept him within a very select circle of friends and acquaintances. He is now fixed in London, and, although carrying on literary work as well as the business of his office, he is in every way a freer man, and can afford to spend more time in company. The circle of his intimate friends is enlarged. The new accessions include some very important names. It was in the year 18 18, that he became acquainted with George Orote : the introduction being effected through Ricardo. The following extract of a letter written in May, 1819, gives Grote's first impressions of Mill : — - " I have breakfasted and dined several times with Ricardo, who has been uncommonly civil and kind to me. I have met Mill often at his house, and hope to derive great pleasure and instruction from his acquaintance, as he is a very profound thinking man, and seems well disposed to communicate, as well as clear and intelligible in his manner. His mind has, GEORGE GROTE. l8l indeed, all that cynicism and asperity which belong to the Bcnthamian school, and what I chiefly dislike in him is, the readiness and seeming preference with which he dwells on the faults and dejects of others — even of the greatest men ! But it is so very rarely that a man of any depth comes across my path, that I shall most assuredly cultivate his acquaintance a good deal farther."* This contains perhaps the strongest language Grote ever employed in describing Mill's censorial tendency. His mode of speaking in after life was in terms of almost unexceptional eulogy ; as may be seen in his Review article on John Mill's Hamilton. Mrs. (Irote, in her Personal Life of Grote, while speaking in terms of highest admiration of Mill's powers and his influence for good, greatly exaggerated the strength of his antipalliies to the Aristocratical Class. She also couples with his dislike to Established churches a corresponding dislike to the ministers, which was not the fact ; he never ceased to have friends among the clergy of the church. She is equally guilty of overstraining, when she says that Mill, while possessing the faculty of kindling in his auditors the generous impulses towards the poi)ular side, led them, at the same time, " to regard the cultivation of individual affections and synijjathies as destructive of lofty aims, and indubitably hurtful to the mental character ". It was fortunate for Grote that Mrs. Grote came herself * His Diary for March, contains, at an interval of five days, two of thi>se meetings with Mill, Thus : " Tui-sday, March, 23rd. Ruse at 6. Read Kant, and ate- a little bread and biute-r, till J,< past 8, when I went u]) to lirook .Street t(j breakfast with Mr. Rieardo ; was very politely received by him; walked with him and Mr. Mill in St. James's Park until near 12." "Sunday, Munh, 2Slh. Rose at % jiast 5. Studied Kant until \'- past 8, whm I set otT to breakfast with Mr. Rieardo. Met Mr. Mill tliere, and Liijovcd some most interesting and instructive disc(jursc with them, indoors and out |\\alking in Kensington Gardens), until Y^. past 3, when I moimted my horse and set olt to Reckenham. Was extremely exhausted with fitigue and hungn when I arrived there, and ate and drank plentiful!}-, which i;ucnchcd ni} iiiicllcciaal \igour lor the uiglu. " l82 JOHN AUSTIN. 1S19-1823. under the spell of Mill's conversation, and was always ready to meet him in society ; so that he became one of their most frequent guests, and in return received them at his own house. The occasions of their intimacy both on private and on public affairs, will come up in the course of our narrative, chiefly through the aid of Mrs. Grote's reminiscences. No other notable accession to the list of friends is recorded for the next two years. The India House post brought him into contact with many superior men, both among the olTicials, and among the Directors. It is enough to name Peacock, who was just beneath him in position, and came to be head at his death. It was in 1821 that he became acquainted with John Austin. Soon after this, Charles Austin arrived in town fresh from Cambridge, and was introduced at once to Mill, and became one of John Mill's associates. He w^as the medium of introducing a number of his Cambridge contemporaries, young men of ability, then also commencing their career in London : these were Edward Strutt (Lord Belper), Hyde and Cliarles Villiers, and Macaulay. Strutt and the Villierses became zealous disciples of the elder Mill, and remained his admirers to the last. Of Macaulay we shall hear afterwards. John Romilly (Lord Romilly) was, of course, known to Mill in his father's life- time : he was a youtli of sixteen wlien Mill went down to the family on their affliction. About the same date, 1822-3, William Ellis was introduced to Mill, and through him to his son, and was very much witli them both, till his marriage took him to reside at a distance from town. He had two brothers who also came to see Mill.* * In a letter to the Times in 1873, Ellis wrote : — " Fifty years ago it was my good fortune to Ix; introduced to Mr. James Mill, and through him to his son, John Stuart Mill, to both of whom I am indebted for more than I can find words to e\]iress. They set me thinking for myself. One result of m\- studies and reflections has been the deep conviction that the elementary truths of Social Science — founded long before I was born — ought to be taught in all our schools ; auvl for more than 25 years I have employed tlie greater part of the tinn- wliich Hi:xKV i;icki:rsi::th. 183 Roebuck and George Jolin Ciruliani, were for a long time lolm Mill's insc[)aral)le companions, hut they did not enjoy liis father's regards in any great degree ; they are not to he counted among visitors at the house. Walter Coulson, in 1822, was Editor of the Ti-arcllcr newspajjer, an important Liberal organ. He had been, says John Mill, an amanuensis of I5entham, then a reporter, then an editor, before settling down in the profes- sion of the law. He was one of Mill's most intimate com- j)anions, es'pecially in the last years of his life. Albany l-'onblan([ue began to write in the Chronicle^ under J31ack, in 1823, and became one of the Mill circle. I cannot ])oint to the beginning of the intimacy between Mill and Hi:nrv 15icki:ksteth, who became Master of the Rolls, as Lord Langdale. 'I'heir strcjng mutual attachment will be manifested as we go on. ]]ickersteth first appears in the Lentham circle, in 1818, when he writes a long letter to Durdett, with a view to bring about a common action between him and JJentham, in the cause of Reform (Bentl.am's Works, x. 492). The well-known Richard Sharp, commonly called Conversa tion-Sharp, has been for some time one of ^Mill's ac(}uaintances. A year or two hence, they are much thrown together. I must not forget in the list, iox this period, John Ramsay M'Culloch, the political economist, whose genial and hearty ways got him numerous friends, although he never abated one whit of the roughness of his native s])cech. John Mill, Mrs. (Irote, and everybody, delighted in mimicking ALCulloch. 18 1 9. It was in the early months of this year, that the canvass for the India House ap]Jointment was going on. There is a letter to Thomson exi^laining the situation in the beginning of April. I could sjiare from business to jiromotc such teacliin;,', both as a Icaclicr and a writer of iiuio books intended chielly tor children and their teachers." 184 INDIA OFFICE APPOINTMENT. 1819-1823. " I was much pleased with your felicitation upon the success of my book. Wc are now busy preparing for a second edition. What you tell me about some of the Edinburgh Reviewers was not altogether a secret to me ; and was by no means unex- pected ; as I know something of the spirit which reigns in that quarter. There has been an account of it in the Jotirnal des Savans ; and its reputation is higher than I expected it to be for several years ; knowing that it had nothing to recommend it in respect to those superficial decorations, on which ephemeral reputation is built. I am fully aware at the same time of the force of your observations about style, and shall profit by them as much as may be in preparing for the 2nd Edition. " I had heard something of the Edinburgh Journal set up in rivalship of yours , and thought the conduct not very hand- some on the part of some of the individuals. I shall hear from Baldwin the results, but hope you will send me as much as possible of the secret history. " I am now going to mention to you an affair which is in agitation, and for which your interest may be of good service to me. A place in the India House of (I am told) ^700 a year, requiring attendance from 10 to 4, is about to be vacated. It is the place held by Mr Halhed in the Examiner's Office. I have been encouraged to apply for it. My letter has been laid before the Court of Directors ; and I think I have con- siderable chance of success. Several of the Directors are my declared friends , and a good deal of application of consider- able weight has been made to others of them. The reputation of my book, too, I am told is even a strong recommendation. You can do a great deal, I doubt not, with Thornhill, and I could wish you to write both to him and to Col. Beaufort, in as strong terms as your conscience will allow ; Mr. Thornhill may not only have his own vote, but may be able to influence others. The thing is of more importance than it seems ; as it may lead to more. I have been told by my friends in the Direction, ciitre ?ious, " Accept of any thing, however small, in INFLUENCE EXERTED IN HIS FAVOUR. 1 85 the first instance : if once in, we shall be able to push you on." .•\s the affair will be decided shortly, you cannot make your application too soon. These are all the circumstances which I think are necessary to let you know what is in the wind ; and with you, I know, nothing more is wanted." Mill's friends spared no pains to secure this ajjpointment. Hume and Ricardo made great exertions in the city. Mr. Grote remembered being asked by Ricardo (who had then recently introduced him to Mill) to use his influence with India proprietors. The " chairs " (Chairman and Deputy-Chairman) were in his favour, solely on the ground of his ability and knowledge of India. There was of course a considerable mass of Tory opposition to be got over. Caiming, however, who was then President of the India Board, is credited with being in Mill's favour. This is rendered highly probable by Bentham's remark already (juoted, and by an expression in one of Mill's letters (to be given presently), which seems to show that he made the personal acc]uaintance of Canning soon after. It was on the 12th of May, that he was ajjpointed "an Assistant to the Examiner of India Correspondence,"' salary ^800. The subsec[uent steps of his promotion were as follows: — On the loth April, 1821, he was aj^pointed second Assistant to the Examiner, Edward Strachey being first Assist- ant ; salary ^1000. He was now fourth in the office. On the 9th April, 1823, he was put ahead of Strachey, and ap])ointed Assistant Examiner at ^1200; he was now second. This rise created the vacancy that led to John's being taken in as a junior clerk. On the ist Dec, 1830, he l)ecame Examiner: salary ^1900. He was now chief On the 17th I'eb., 1836, his salary was fixed at ^2000. This he enjo\-ed only four months. It appears that the business of the office was greatly in arrears, when Mill joined. I shall have to ([uote a letter of his own containing a passage to this effect. A still stronger statement occurs in a letter of ISentham to Lord Colchester. After speaking in a very slighting manner of tlie action ui the 1 86 OCCUPATION TPIK REVENUE DEPART.MENT. 1S19-1S23. Directors, Bentliam says: — "Of the four Examiners, all of them very well disposed men. Mill almost alone finds appro- priate active talent, in addition to intellectual a})titude. Wlien he came in, there had been, in relation to the financial depart- ment, not to s})cak of otliers, more than a twelvemonth's despatches of which no notice had been taken " From the time of his entering the India House, till he became chief Examiner, in 1830, his occupation was the Revenue Department ; which was, therefore, the only branch where he exercised direct control. It was his duty to draft the whole despatches relating to that department, ^^'hen he became Examiner, he superintended all the departments ; he did not necessarily draft despatches in any one, but read those that were prepared by the Assistants. John Mill speaks in general terms of the improvements introduced by his father into the Indian Administration, but unfortunately does not specify any precise heads. No one is now left that can speak of the details of his official career. It is certain that he made the first drafts of the despatches in his own department, but he is not answerable for their final form ; they had to i)ass through the superior authorities in the office, and then be submitted to the Board of Control. Our best, and indeed our only, opportunity of obtaining an insight into liis olTicial work, will occur in the course of the discussions on the renewal of the India charter (1831-33), when he came before a succession of Committees of the House of Commons, and was examined at great length on all matters coming within the s])here of his duties. At the India House, the highest officials, in common with the lowest, observed the office hours, from 10 to 4. In the government offices, at Whitehall and Downing Street, the chiefs of departments and the upi)er officials usually take a margin, and appear some time between eleven and one. They may have their despatch boxes conveyed to their own houses in the afternoon, and do a little work in the morning at home; TIME SPENT PAHA" IN THE OFFICE. 1S7 l.ut nobody asks any questions, provided they get through the business someh.ow. In those six hours at the IncHa House, strictly kept by tlie Mills, father and son, to the last, tiicv lound tinie tor a good deal of their philoso[;hical and other ■writing : while doing lull justice to the demands of the Court of the Directors upon their time and attention. Their business did not flow in a stream, but came by gushes. In the I!entham Memoirs, there are scattered allusions as to what Mill miglu induce the Indiair Government to do, in the way of Judicial Reforms: the subject was often mooted between ^lill and Ijentham. The wide inlluence that John Mill alludes to must ha\'e l)een apart from the routine of his office. It ai)pears from two notes that have been preserved, that John Murray t!ie ])ul)lisher, sought and obtained, through Kicardo, Mill's assistance in connexion with some of his ]:)ublications. The notes are civil and delerential in the ex- treme, and might have led to closer relations, had Mill been so dis[;osed. A\'ell would it have been for his family, if he had committed to Murray's hands the publication of the History. The only remaining scrap of information for 1S19 is a letter to Xajiier (10th Sept.), which I give entire : — " I wrote immediately to Ricardo, telling him you counted upon his half promise as a whole one. 1 received from him a parcel of excuses, but as there was none of them good I'or anything, I wrote to him that I should send you weird of his having undertaken the task. It is unaffected difiidence which is the cause of his unwillingness, for he is as mode>t as he is able. He will ])Ut down his thoughts, he sa)-s, and send lluni to you, but that you will have to write the article [bunding System] for yourself Hut of this there is no fear except h.is own. As for Foioidaliiut, I have no doubt you ought to make it an article, and a great many very absurd prejudices standing in the way of good might be removed by it. 1 should like to do it, but am afraid to overload my time. I am pre^iaring the 1.88 POLITICAL EVENTS OF THE YEAR. 1819-1823. second edition of my History of India, and I have loads of East India despatches with their enclosures to read, of a size which would frigliten you. When I have got up the arrears, which had accumulated in this department before my admis- sion, I shall be more at my ease. You need be under no alarm about my article Goveriwient. I shall say nothing cajjable of alarming even a Whig, and he is more terrified at the principles of good government than the worst of Tories. I would under- take to make Mr. Canning a convert to the principles of good government sooner than your Lord Grey and your Sir James Mackintosh ; and I have now an opportunity of speaking with some knowledge of Canning. You have at any rate seen what has been in the newspapers with regard to the health of Mr. Brougham, which struck me with much alarm, the moment I saw it, and all I have since heard has only added to my fears." This was a year of great commercial distress, of riots, demonstrations, and uprisings ever increasing ; with unflinch- ing resistance on the part of the Government. In January, Henry Hunt presides over a great Reform meeting in Manchester. In July, Birmingham elects Sir Charles W^olseley as its representative. He is very soon arrested, and becomes long a popular hero. In August, took place the Manchester demonstration that led to the Peterloo affair, for which Hunt and many others were apprehended. In December, Parliament passed the famous Six Acts of Castlereagh, against sedition and libels. The last of the six was specially directed against the unstamped political periodicals, and was more prolific of prosecutions and imprisonments than all the rest. Tlie pro- visions were such as to keep up a perj^etual war between the government and the cheap press, which lasted into the Reform times, and became the opprobrium of the Liberal Ministry till the reduction of the stamj) duty in 1836. The Fox Dinner at Newcastle, on the 6th January, was EDIXBURGH CHAIR OF MORAL PHILOSOPHY. 1 89 m ■morable for a powerful speech of Earl Grey, given at full in the J/f'/vz/V/i," CJirotiicle. In December, Lord John Russell brought in a motion on Parliamentary Reform. 1S20. For this year, the extant indications are few. There arc pressing notes of invitation from Brougham to Sunday break- fasts. Here is the only sentence that touches a point of interest: — "In these times of Queens and Kings [(Queen's trial going on], there is hardly any rational talk with any one, tN:c.'' A letter to Xapier on the nth May, is a milestone in the progress of the more important articles of the Supijlement, and has some interesting matter besides : — " The article Govciiiinent will make about three sheets, and that on JiD-isprudoue I will endeavour to confine within the same limits. I agree with you that nothing but a compre- hensive outline should for such a work as yours be attempted. The difficulty, however, is to give as much of the reasons on which your framework is erected, as not to leave it wholly unsupixirted ; for the giving of reasons re(iuires words, and sometimes not a few. lioth articles are already on i)a])er, and need only some curtailing and filling to be ready for you. Roth, however, will need transcrijAion, which is a devil of a task. You will grieve me by what you ])redict resjjecting the I'rofehsorship of Moral Philosophy. i-"rom what I had heard, I rejoicx'd to think that you would be the man. I re( kon the a[)pointment of a [)r()per person a matter of first-rate importance, and tile one to whom yc^u allude (John Wilson) makes one sic k to think of him. Instead of the delightful exhortations to mental enterjjrise, and to press tbrward uiKeasmgly to new attainments, to which I listened with rapture from the li]is of Mr. Stewart, the unfortunate youth will hear from the man in que.-5tion nothing but exhortations to the implicit adoption of 190 JOHN LEAVES FOR FRAN'CE. 1819-1823. opinions already received, and to hate and persecute every man who shows a disix)sition to go beyond them. You flatter me highly by telling me you thought of me. If it were offered to me — notwithstanding the degree in which I think I am useful here, notwithstanding both the power and the income which may in time be connected with my situation, and notwithstanding London, the centre of intelligence, out of which I should not willingly take up my residence — I should be puzzled what to do. So it is better, perhaps, as it is. You have no chance for Mackintosh, and I cannot imagine he was ever serious of thinking of it. He lives but for London disi)lay ; purler et /aire purler de soi, in certain circles, in his heaven."* We have here that very contingency which Hunt mistook for the vacancy in the Glasgow chair of Greek. j\Iy surmise, expressed before I saw this letter, as to how he would feel if the Edinburgh chair had been put in his view, is almost exactly confirmed from his own mouth. Four days after this letter was written, John leaves for France, where he stays fourteen months. His father's home- occupations are so far changed ; he has now to take charge of the education of the younger children himself, and to corre- spond with John as to his doings in France. The next letter is on the 20th Nov., and also tells its own tale.' It would ai)pear that Ricardo, in the plenitude of his wealth, had scruples about taking payment for his contributions to the Supplement. " I received your very liberal enclosure for the article Govern/neut, for which please to accept my best thanks. I had been spending a month with Ricardo in Glostershire, and I and your letter arrived at home on the same day. As I felt no difticulty in talking to Ricardo himself about the point which you have referred to me, I transcribed what you had * Sec in Cockburii s Memoirs, p. 370, the aecount of the election to the i^Ioial I'liilosopliy cliair RK-PUF.LICAIIOX OF ARTICLE OX GOVICRXMKX T. 191 said. I have his answer in which lie says he would have nu pride in refusing, but rather a pride in receiving such remune- ration, if it is customary for amateurs in such circumstances to do so. Ricardo adds that his scruples are of tw(j kinds — in-.-,t on account of the article, which he says is not worth jiayment ; secondly, because, payment having formed no part of the motive which induced him to write the article, he reckons himself not entitled to payment. He then prays me to decide for him, but says he will on no accout receive mcjre than at the r.ite of your most ordinary allowance. " I see no reason to d(jubt my being ready for you with Jurispnuk'HCC. My object is to describe ex;ictly what a com- jjlete curptis juris ought to be, and to afford some specimens, if jjcx-sible, of the mode of composing it. "I have yet to speak to you about an ajjplication which has been made to me as to the article on Gozmu/ir/if, from certain persons, who think it calculated to disseminate very useful notions, and wish to give a stimulus to the circulation of them. Their proposal is, to print (not lor sale, but gratis distribution) a tliousand copies. I have refused my ( (jn^eiit till I should learn from you, whether this would be considered an imj^ro- priLty with respect to the Supplement. To me it appears the reverse, as the di^5tribution would in some degree operate as an ad\ertisement." .... Xapier must have given consent to the re-printing of the art;( !c " (iovernment ". Hume, (irote, and I don't know how many others, subscribed for this reprint ; and there were ultimately included all Mill's greater articles, which were boimd in a volume, and privately disseminated. Once when ] hune came to Aberdeen, on an electioneering occa>i(Hi, he gave a copy to our then-commencing Mechanics" Institution ; which is the one I have been in the habit of referring to. It is of importance to mark the date of the i)ublication of the article Govcrnrncnt^ as constituting an epoch in the political history of the time. 192 FREE TRADE PETITIONS. 1819-1823. The first great public event of the year, is the death of George III., and the accession of his son. Then come the exciting months of the Queen's trial, damaging alike to the King and to the Ministry. The Cato-Street Conspiracy (Feb.) gives rise to a very sensational Trial for High Treason, where all the anticjue forms were preserved. Glasgow takes its turn in popular disquiet. In Parliament, May 8, there is presented by Mr. Alexander Baring (Lord Ashburton), a Petition from the Merchants of London in favour of Free Trade. This led to important consequences. In June, Brougham introduces his Plan for the Education of the Poor, about which he soon gets into hot water with his allies in the Liberal camp. Hume is already conspicuous in overhauling the Revenue machinery. Lord John Russell creeps on in the path of Reform. He brings in a Bill to suspend the issue of Writs to Grampound, and three other places, with an ultimate view to their disfranchise- ment. In the beginning of this year came out a remarkable work that played a great part in the next ten years' Reform struggle. It is entitled — The Black Book, or Corruption Unmasked, being an account of the Places, Pensions, and Sinecures, and the Revenues of the Clergy and the Landed Aristocracy. It provided the data for the statement so often made in the course of the Reform agitation, that less than two hundred persons (members of the Aristocracy) returned two thirds of the House of Commons. The exact numbers are, according to the book, 471 members, returned by 144 Peers and 123 Commoners. To these add 16 members nominated by Government ; and the remainder independent of nomination is 171. I can well recollect often hearing the name of the Black Book'm. the exciting months of 1831-2 ; but I never saw the volume itself till lately ; and I was not aware that it had been so long published. PROPOSES TO WRITE " I IBERTV OF THE PRESS ". 193 1821. The record of the present year is considerably fuller. On the 3rd of Januar)-, there is a letter to Napier. " I believe I have now fulfilled all the obligations, in the way of articles, which I am under to you. I'here is one article more, however, which, if you have not otherwise provided for it, I shall be very glad to undertake. That is. Liberty of the P.ess, or Libel Law, whichever title you chose to range it under. I think on that subject I could throw a good deal of light. I have also a hankering for Logic, but they come too near each other ; and I am afraid to undertake for too much. " By the by. there is a friend of mine who has written a very learned, and, what is more, a truly philosophical discourse on the subject of ^Lagic, which he would be very happy to have jjrinted in your work. Lrom the specimen I have seen, it will prove, I think, not only instructive, but amusing. I am not at liberty to mention the name of the author. He is a young City banker, and the son of a man who is an eminent banker, and is a very extraordinary person, in his circumstances, both for knowledge and clear vigorous thinking. "As to jjublic matters, the (|Uestion of a change of Ministers is still very dcAibtful. If the present people are not laint- hearted, they may remain in. I am told, however, and by ])eople who have opportunities of knowing, that they are faint-hearted, in which case the ^\'higs may have another six months, which I think is as long a purchase as their .\Iini^^l^y will be worth. They will neither please the people nor the harpies. They cannot do good, even if they would, without reforming the Parliament, for the harpies (forming a majority of the Il(ju.>e) must be satistled, and reform the Parliament they will not. They are fools both in the public and selfish sense of die word." The city banker was Grote. The article did not api)ear. and 194 OFFICE PROMOTION. 1819-1823. was probably destroyed or transferred by its author; I am not aware of any trace of it in his subsequent works. It is worth while to note that tlie proposal to write on the Liberty of the Press came from :\lill himself. He had dis- cussed the subject so often, from the days of the Literary Journal down to the last year of the rinlanfJiropist, tliat he could not but feel himself pregnant and anxious to arrange his thouglits into a more systematic and permanent form ; and it was fortunate that Napier gave his consent. On the 24th February occurred Lindsay's sudden death at a public meeting for thwarting JSrougham's Education Scheme. As may be supposed, the opposition was grounded on Ijrougliam's trimming to the Church. On the loth April, Mill gains a step in his ofiice ; being "confirmed in appointment as Second Assistant to the Exa- miner," Salary ^looo. The head of the department, called "the Examiner," is William M'Culloch ; the first Assistant, Edward Strachey ; then ]\lill, followed by Peacock. This ar- rangement continues for two years. Again progress is reported for tlie Encylopcedia, on the loth of July, in a letter otherwise interesting. " I have been hard at work upon the article Liberty of the Press, and for that purpose suspended the printing of my bocjk on Political Economy. I have refused to pay my annual visit tO' Ricardo, that I may work for you, so that you must not blame me if there is a little delay. I will see what I can do for " Law of Nations ". I have no expectation of being able to satisfy myself; for it is a wide su])ject, to which little has been done, the study of which I have reserved for some period of leisure. But it is better I should say wliat 1 can say, than that the subject sliould be omitted. I must not omit to cx})ress the great satisfaction I received from your telling me that Professor Stewart ex;)resses some curiosity resjjccting me. You say he wishes he could reccjllect my being at h.is class. 1 doubt not he would know me if he saw me. Lie must at CORRESPONDS WITH PROKKS-SOR MH.LS. 195 least have been perfectly familiar with my f.ice." ( I fere follows the passage already quoted, p. i6.) Among incidental scraps of this year tliat have been })re- served are three letters from the Rev. William Mills, j-'cllow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and Professor of Moral I'lulosopliy. The last is this. Magu. Coll., Oxioku, y,Y/r jo///, iSjr. "My Dear Sir, " I was much disap])ointed that your engagements were of such a nature as to prevent your visiting me. I had pro- mised myself much pleasure from receiving you among us. The fates seem indeed to have interfered t(j oppose our nieet- ing ; but 1 will hope Ijutter things next year. I am glad to hear that John is returned — it would Iiave given me sincere pleasure to have seen him here, but I am obliged to set off for Lausanne to-morrow morning. A letter from him will alwavs be a gratification, and need I add from yourself. 3tly address is. Rev. W. Mills, Poste restante, Lausanne. " Believe me, my dear sir, " \'ery trulv \'f)urs, "W.M. Mills." On the 27th July, indefatigable Allen wrote about re-com- mencing the J^IiilantJuvpist — a new series ; the first number to to be out in October. He asks a sheet from Mill on L.duc;!- tion, the terms being as before. "lam encour.iged to hope from what passed between us when we conversed on the subjei l at the India House, that they (his friends ilie ])romolers) ma}- be favoured with thy assistance in this way ihe work is to be kept quite clear from all jjoliticks, if thou can-t m:ike it con- venient. I will write again and state my \iew^. as to the ]jrinci])al points to be insisted upon." 'I'his !eiu r ol .Mien's is addressed to Mill, at "C.reat Marlow, l!u( kiiv^liain>lure ''. 1 do not know who he was now visiting at (iieat Mai low. A letter to Napier on the 21st Aug., relates lo Liberty of ihe J'nss, which, it seems, was considered too long. 196 LETTER FROM ZACHARY MACAULAY. 18 1 9- 1 823. " I had not an idea that you wished less than three sheets. I set however about curtaiUng, and that, without doing more than there was time for doing, was no easy matter. It is easy to compress when you write anew ; but to cut out, without destroying the continuity of the discourse, and weakening the evidence of your doctrines, is not, if your discourse has any continuity, without its difficulties. " I was not pleased with this article {Liberty of the Press) before, and I am less pleased with it now — but I have, I think, brought the size of it within your limits, and still think my doctrines are made out. " I meant to have written a long letter, but I have continued nibbling at the article till I have left myself no time. It goes by the mail addressed to Constable & Co., this evening. I am sorry for the inconvenience to which I fear you have been put by the delay of it. I could not however do more. " Let me know, with your first convenience, as near about the time as you can when you will want the article ' Law of Nations,' and how much space you should like to bestow upon it." There is an interesting letter on the 28th of December, from Zachary Macaulay, with whom Mill had long been on terms of intimacy, in connexion with the philanthropic schemes that both had laboured at. Brighton, 2Sih Dec, iSzi. "My Dear Sir, " You will recollect my mentioning to you some time back, a paper of the Court of Directors on the Sugar Trade of India, which was likely to prove of great use in the dis- cussions likely soon to arise on the sul)jcct of the West Indian Monopoly. The paper to which I allude, is thus referred to by the West Indian Planters in 1804, in order to shew how imjjossible it would be for them to enter into com])etition in tlie growth of Sugar with the free labourers of Hindostan. ' We refer to the reports made in the year 1801, on the subject Z. MACAULAY S CRITICISM OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. 1 97 of private trade, by a special Committee to the I )lrectors of the East India Company, and approved by them, and by a ( General Court of Proprietors, to estabUsh these positions, (!^c.' If you should be able to trace the paper from this allusion to it, so as to give me the dates, or other distinguishing circum- stances by which on applying to some Director it may be easily and certainly got at, you will do me a very great favour. You may address the particulars hither. " I have lately been a})plied to to find an intelligent person, capable of writing well and quickly on general political subjects; some such person, for example, as Spankie was when imported from the North — some alumnus of a Scotch University, who can turn his hand readily to any common topic of public interest, and who is in want of employment, and to whom a moderate salary would be an object of desire. Do you know any such man ? You might do him as well as my friend a service by pointing him out. " I ought not to close this letter without telling you that I have read your book with much interest, and that I owe to it a great accession of information. It will prove, I have no doubt, a most valuable elementary work. I will not venture to say that 1 agree with you in all your positions until I shall have gi\en it a second perusal. On one point, and one point only at l)resent, I am disposed to question the correctness of your reasoning, and that is the same which was (|uestioned by Mr. Tooke when we last met. I doubt, that is to say, whether the tendency of taxation be to increase the price of articles. 'J'he currency and productions being given cjuantities. " With sincere esteem, I remain, " My dear sir, "Yours very faithfully, "Zachaky Macait.av." Mill adds this in Pencil. " Mr. ]Mudie — was educated at Aberdeen — co-conductor of the Dundee Ad'Ctrtiscr — Reference to Dr. Barclay — and to Mr. Ross of the Times Office — Editor 198 POLITICAL ECONOMY CLUB. 1819-1823. and principal writer in the Caledonian, a sort of collection of essays." The work alluded to in the letter is of course the Elements of Poliiical Economy, which was published this year. It is the summing up and methodizing of all Mill's reflections, discussions, and writings upon the subject for nearly twenty years. John IMill (Autobiography) says that the book first took shape in a course of verbal instructions to him by his father, during their walks. Elach day after returning home John committed to paper what his father had expounded, and in this way the book was gradually developed. This must have been before John went to France. For several years, the discussions with Ricardo may have been instrumental in bringing the plan of the work to maturity. With the publication of this work, we may associate the founding of the Political Economy Club, which also took place this year. The projector of the Club was Thomas Tooke ; the same who drafted the Petition to Parliament, of 8th May last year, from the Merchants of London, in favour of Free Trade. The nucleus of the Society was a small knot of Political Economists (Mill included) who had for some time held evening meetings at Ricardo's house, for the discussion of Economical questions. The furthering of tlie Free 'I'rade movement, inaugurated by the Merchants' Petition, was the foremost object in the view of the projectors of the Club. Mill was specially named to draft the Rules, the original of which is still preserved in his hand. To the strictly regulative portion, he appended the following paragraphs, by way of recommendation or exhortation. "The Members of tliis Society will regard their mutual instruction, and the diffusion amongst others of first principles of Political Economy, as a real and important obligation. "As the Press is the grand instrument for the diffusion of knowledge or of error, all the Members of this Society will MILL DRAFTS THE RULES OF THE CLUl!. 1 99 rcL^ard it as incumbent upon them to watch carefully the proceedings of the Press, and to ascertain if any doctrines hostile to sound views on Political Economy have been proi)agated ; to contribute whatever may be in their power to refute, such erroneous doctrines, and controvert their influ- ence ; and to avail themselves of every favourable opportunity for the publication of seasonable truths within the province of this Science. " It shall be considered the duty of the Society, individually and collectively, to aid the circulation of all publications which they deem useful to the Science, by making the merits of them known as widely as possible, and to limit the influence of hurt- ful puljlications by the same means." The Society soon embraced a large body, including the most eminent political economists and politicians of the time. It lias continued to the present hour, and has been maintained from the same sources. All the men of political eminence liave been enrolled in it. Every one of our Chancellors of tiie Exchecjuer has ])assed through the ordeal of its debates. John Mill was eventually introduced, and was most assiduous in attendance for the remainder of his life ; for a very long time, it was the only society that he freipiented. Mill was of course a prominent member from the first ; and always appeared to advantage in the discussions. The renowned Malthus, who made such a success in dealing witli the one sub- ject of Population, was by no means regarded as a steady light on Political Economy at large. His manual of the general subject is certainly not a satisfactory performance. The survivors among the early members of the Club well remember Mill's crushing criticisms of Malthus' speeches. 'J"he article on GcnxniDicnt was already bearing fruit. Sir James Mackintosh had i)ropounded in the Edi)ihii)\^li RcviciJ a schem.e of Parliamentary Reform, that was nuich in \()gue for a time, founded on the representation of Classes, (irote brouglit out a i)amphlet in reply, in which he went over the 200 DEATH OF SIR JOHN STUART. 1819-1823. whole ground of Parliamentary Reform very much from Mill's point of view. He disposed of the Class system and handled with vigour the Reviewer's objections to Universal Suffrage and the Ballot. In public events, the year was very stirring. The Parlia- mentary Session was an unusually busy one. The omission of the Queen's name from the Liturgy made the first topic of attack on the Ministry. Petitions for Reform are pouring in : various motions are made on the subject. Lord John Russell repeats his Bill for the Disfranchisement of Grampound. Burdett is in trouble for reflecting on the Manchester (Pcterlooo) massacre, and is convicted (in a Court of Law) for the Libel, and fined and imprisoned. His constituents hold a demon- stration ; Hobhouse in the chair. The Roman Catholic claims are brought up. Joseph Hume attacks the Army Estimates, and has a general motion for retrenchment of the Public Expenditure. Sir James Mackintosh is doing himself credit by following in the footsteps of Romilly, with an equal amount of rebuffs. Free Trade is discussed. This year Sir John Stuart died. Just before his death, he sent a silver cup to his godson, with an inscription testifying his respect both to his father and to him. He also made John a present of ^^500 (such is the family tradition) with the ostensible aim of sending him to Cambridge. His father is reported to have said that John already knew more than he would learn at Cambridge. Mill's correspondence with Sir John and Lady Jane is not preserved. The death of their only daughter in 181 2, must have drawn forth from him a strong expression of condolence. A letter of Lady Jane to him, probably after the publication of his History, was long kept among his i:)apers, but is not now in existence. The substance of it I have heard repeated from memory. She addresses him as of old, " My Dear James ". MORE ARTICLES FOR SUPPLEMENT. 20I She congratulates him on having become a great man, but hapes that he has not slackened his interest in the great end of life (religion). She further informs him that she has been delighted with Chalmers's Astronomical Sermons, and gives her opinion of the Doctor, then in the blaze of his preaching fame. 1822. A letter to Napier on the 14th January, describes his condition at the beginning of this year. His fits of gout were almost of a periodic nature, and seem to have been growing in severity. " I have been disabled for work for upwards of a month by a severe fit of the gout, of which I have still so much in my right hand that I am obliged to use the penmanship of another to write to you. "This has thrown me so far back in all my operations that it will not be in my power to undertake your three proposed articles, Pe7iitentiaries, Police, and Prisons. Besides, I cjuestion whether I should have had anything to say upon any of these subjects, which would have answered your purpose. With respect to two of them, Penitentiaries and Prisons, I should have done little more than describe Jeremy Bentham's Banopticon, and his plan of Banopticon Management, which appear to me to approach perfection. And with respect to Police if you have an efficient Benal Law, such as I described in the article Jurisprudence, I hardly see an)i]iing which remains for Bolice to perform ; unless it be to guard against certain nuisances and calamities, arising not from moral but from physical sources. I have of course been retarded in my work on the Law of Nations, as well as in my other under- takings. In that, however, you shall not be disappf)inted, at least in respect to time, for of the matter I cannot speak with so much confidence. My principal object will be to shew that 202 DINNER AT BENTHA.m's. 1S19-1823. there is hardly any such thing as a law of nations : that hardly any thing deserving the name of law between nation and nation, has existed, or ever can exist. " Thanks for your congratulations on the aj^pearance of the Elements of Politieal Economy. It will flatter me much to learn that you ai)prove of it. I have considerable curiosity to know what you the Scotch Economists think of it. " It gratifies me exceedingly to hear that a copy of Sir Dudley North's Discourses on Trade, is in existence. I have been on the look-out for it for years : and you will confer on me a great favour by securing for me a copy of the impression which is to be made by your friend." On the 13th ]\lay, Bentham sends to Brougham one of his jeii d' esprit epistles : — ' ' ijth May, 1S22. " Get together a gang, and bring them to the Hermitage, to devour such eatables and drinkables as are to be found in it. " I. From Honourable House : — - " I. Brougham, Henry. " 2. Denman. " 3. Hume, Joseph. "4. Mackintosh, James. "5. Ricardo, David. "II. From Lincoln's Inn Fields:— " 6. \Vhishaw, John. "III. From India House: — "7. Mill, James." " Witness matchless Constitution." On the 2 1 St of May, Mill writes again to Napier. "I have at last sent to Hurst & Robinson the article on Lmu of Nations which has Ijcen a heavy weight on my con- science for the last fortnight. " I had postponed, as you relaxed the time, the performance ' LAW OF NATIONS " ARTICLE. -^O of the last things recjiiired for it, till I had left myself too little time tor thein, and fil'ty things, when the i)ush came, lirqipened to break in upon me, and day after da.y permitted me to make little progress. " I shall he extremely sorry, if I find tliat I have jnit you to inconvenience. " I hope that what I have said will help to circumscribe the vagueness of men's ideas on the subject, a vagueness which here, jjerhaps, has hitherto been more remarkable than on any other part of the field of legislation. " I shall be much oljliged to you to let me have a few copies of the artiide, wliich 1 know I can dispose of in such a manner as to be serviceable to the Supjjlement. Pray, also, remember your ])romise about a C()]jy of Sir Dudley North's jjamphlet." At'ier John returned I'rom h'rance, in the preceding year, his father had written a letter of thanks to Sir Samuel and Latly Bentham, for their great kindness in taking charge of him. The letter, it a|»pears, had been put aside by mistake, and was not received for a year afterwards. On 7th September, Sir Samuel writes in reply. A short extract is enough for our purpose. — " Mis wife and famil}- often express to one another great desire of learning how tar your son cc^ntinues to jnirsue his studies with the same extraordinary success which we witnessed, and what line of life he seems likely to take to.'' In one of Mrs. (Irote's letters, to which I h.ave had access, dated 14th October, there are a lew references to ]\Iill and his friends : — • " I read, a few days ago, an interesting and long letter from Mr. Ricardo to Mr. Mill, a good part of wliich related to the conversations he had maintained with the great men at Geneva "'.... " Mill is very well, and is much occupied by tlie interest which he feels in the chance of a new Oovernor ( ;'eneral) for India, Lord liastings being about to return, l.^rd \\'i!'i:nn Bentinck is the man among the candid Ue.-^ wliom lie thinks 204 ANALYSIS OF THE MIND BEGUN. 1819-1823. most fit, as indeed I believe every one else thinks ; but I fear he has no chance." A postscript to the same letter says : — " Mr. Mill and Mr. Black dined here yesterday, and the former acquainted us that Lord Amherst certainly goes out Governor-general of India." Zachary Macaulay writes on the i8th Nov., respecting some important election then pending. I cannot say what it was, but the note has an interest as bearing on Mill's friendships. ' ' 1 8th November, 1822. " My dear Sir, " I cannot find that G. Townsend of Trinity has yet declared himself. May I beg you therefore to write to him ? " Malthus is vv'ith us, and Whishaw will be with us if Scadell retires. We have pursued the policy of asking for second votes, in the event of the candidate withdrawing for whom the vote is first engaged. Perhaps you could secure the rever- sionary vote of Bickersteth, and of Townsend should he be against us. '' Yours ever truly, "Z. Macaulay." It was this year that Mill began to compose his Analysis of the Human Mind. He had taken a summer residence at Dorking, where the family stayed six months in the year ; he remaining there throughout his six weeks' holiday, and going down from Friday to Monday, during the rest of the time. To the end of his life, he kept up this arrangement, shifting his quarters from year to year ; but finally setthng in the small rural village of Mickleham, on the I^orking road, not far from Leatherhead and Epsom. The Analysis cost him six of these holidays, being published in 1829. John's reading had this year advanced to Psychology, and JOHN S GOING TO CAMBRIDGE URGKD. 205 his exercises and conversations would no doubt chime in with his father's own studies preparatory to his work.* The business of ParHament for the year opens with discus- sions on Agricultural Distress. Next come bills for Irish Insur- rection, and Suspension of Habeas Corpus in that unhappy country. On the 25th April, there is a long debate on Lord John Russell's motion — •" That the present state of the repre- sentation of the peoi>le in Parliament requires the most serious consideration of this House ''. Canning delivers an elaborate oration, which is the subject of a scathing letter by Cirote in the Mornin;^ Chronicle. Motion lost by 269 to 164. Hume has a motion on Irish Tithes, and, a few weeks later, jiroposes a string of Thirty-eight Resolutions relative to our Financial System. 1S23. This was an eventful year, and documents have been i)re- served on all the leading incidents. In the month of March, Prof. Townsend of Cambridge writes urgently to induce Mill to send John to Cambridge. " When you have decided what to do with your son, pray let me know. I cannot but still adhere to my first o])inion, that he ought to form accjuaintances with his contem])oraries at the commencement of his life, at an English University." On the 2 7lh May, he writes again to entreat that lie may be allowed to enter John's name at Trinity College. '' Whatever you may wish his eventual destiny to be, his prosjjcrity in life cannot be retarded, but must, on the contrary, bo increased by making an ac(|uaintance at an English University with his Patrician contemporaries. I have not forgotten your wish lor * The list of hooks tjiven in the AiitoHoi^riiphy comprises — I.ocke, Ilelvetius. Hartley, Berkeley, Hume (l-^isays only), Reid, Stewart, llroun (,Cause and Ktfeet), 2o6 PUBLIC MEETING FOR SPANIARDS. 1819-1S23. the books I promised you, and you may depend upon their being sent ; but the work I have now in hand com})e]s me to proceed slowly, and to keep by me whatever profitable autho- rities I may be required to consult. The Afic/iaelis, however, I will bring to town with me, and send it by my brother's servant to your house." John's destiny had been settled a fortnight previous to this letter. There is no clue so far as I know to Mill's object in borrow- ing Theological treatises at this particular time. Townsend had a fine library, and is pressing in his invitations to Mill, to come and look through it. Mill never lost his interest in Theology, even when he took the negative side ; and his articles in the Westminster Review^ to be afterwards referred to, contain plenty of matter bearing on the ecclesiastical relations of the churches. A long letter from Major Cartwright, on the 26th May, entreats Mill's intervention in getting up a meeting for aiding the Spaniards to maintain their independence against France. The meeting took place on the 14th June, at the London Tavern ; Hobhouse in the chair. llurdett sent a letter of apology, being ill with gout, but spoke of Reform in very enthusiastic terms. Hume gave " Liberty of the Tress. There was a good subscription at the meeting." Kcntham had reconmiended trying Ricardo. "The others thought of, are Lord 1^'olkestone, Sir Y. Burdett, Messrs. G. Bennet, Hobhouse, Peter Moore, as well as Messrs. Knight cS; James (ALP. for Carlisle) of which two we consider ourselves as sm'c. " It is wished that you would undertake to sjieak with Sir Francis, who, after his well-remembered resolutions of 181 7, and his letter of Friday last, cannot be supposed to hang back. He ought indeed, and i)erha])s he will, take the lead. I mean to speak with Lord Folkestone, Messrs. Bennet eK: JOHN'S APrOIXTMEXT TO INDIA HOUSK. 207 Moore. Should you succeed with ^^Ir. Ricardo, we must net despair of Mr. Hume." .V letter to Thomson on the 22nd May, contains important intelligence. " (lood health, and our usual occupations have been prett\' invariable with us. Mrs. ^Nlill and the children are all down at Dorking, very happy, and where they will be for the rest of the summer, I going down pretty regularly on the J''riday evening, and remaining till Monday morning. "You will be glad to hear that I have l)een ajipointed ist Assistant Examiner, that is next to M'Culloch (wlio is at th.e licad of the office), and of course his successor, and that I ha'> e bad X^20o a year added to my salary, which is now /^i2oo a \ear. The court of Directors have also ap[j()inted John to this oflice, on a footing on which he will in all protjabiliiy be in the receipt of a larger income at an early age than he would be in any profession; and as he can still keep his hours as a student of law, his way to the legal profession is iiot barred, if he should afterwards prefer it. " I shall have occasion to write you a line in a day or two, b\- ?.L Louis Say, the brother of the author of the famous Flench work on Political Economy, lie is a nianufacturer ('f eminence, and is here with a desire to see what he can of our m;:nufacturing estal)lishments. John lived in his brotlier's house when he was in Paris, and I am anxious t(j make some return. I hope therefore you will do what you can to forward his views." We now see what Milks friends among the Directors meant by saying that they would push him on. He is made to change positions with Strachey, who falls from the second to the third pkue in the office. For May and June, there are a few memoranda from_Mrs. Grote's correspondence. Ricardo, with Mill and .Maberl_\\ dineil at "Threddle," as she called their housi: in Threa.dneedle Street, over the banking house. She and Cirote breakfasted some 2o8 WESTMINSTER POLITICAL DINNER. 18J9-1823. days afterwards at Ricardo's. It was the morning of a grand Westminster political dinner, and Grote prompted him for his speech on the occasion, which was much looked forward to. The dinner was to celebrate the i6th anniversary of the triumph of the Westminster electors, in taking the elections into their own hand at Place's instigation. Ricardo proposed : " The only remedy for our natural grievances is a full, free, fair and equal representation of the people in the Commons House of Parliament ". Another dinner at " Threddle " brings together Ricardo, Mill, and M'Culloch (on a visit to London, he being now editor of the Scotsmaii). In her chaffing way, Mrs. G. tells us that they had a controversy on the measure of value, and gives M'Culloch's winding up, in his incurable broad Scotch. Mrs. Grote next intimates that she has fixed a breakfast for Lord W. Bentinck to meet Mill, and talk over Ireland, whither Lord W. is going. We now come to the harrowing incident of the year, the unexpected and painful death of Ricardo. Several letters have been preserved sufficient to tell the sad story. I give first a portion of a letter to Napier, dated nth Sep- tember. " I am very much flattered with the favourable ojjinion which you tell mc Mr. M'Culloch has formed of me. I certainly very much desire it, for few men have ever made a more favourable im})ression upon me. I like, and I admire him exceedingly. Please to offer my kindest rememl)rance to him. He wall be grieved to hear that we have been on the very point of losing our inestimable friend Ricardo. I had the first intimation of it by a letter from ])oor Mrs. Ricardo yesterday. An abscess in the ear, deep in the head, was the malady. It has been got tlie better of; and I trust, from her representa- tion, that danger is over, liut his constitution, which is not strong, must have received a dreadful shock. I tremble to PROPOSES TO WRITE ON LOGIC. 209 think of the risk we have run. M'Culloch and I would have been inconsolable. " As to Logic, we must talk of that another time : but you must not expect the book too soon : though my expositions are l^retty well down u])on paper. " Mr. M"Culloch is a man with abundance of leisure. Tell him he ought to think of an old friend in Leadenhall Street ; and not to be too long in letting him know how the work of grace goes on within him." The reference to Logic can hardly be for the Supplement. There was talk of an article on the subject, in a former com- munication, but the letter L has now been long passed. Mill is busy on the studies for the Analysis, which contains a c n- siderable '' screed " of Logic ; and he may have been proposing to liimself a separate treatise. Now comes the catastrophe. This is given in a long letter to ^LCulloch on the 19th. "East India House, iqth Sept., 1S2J. " Mv DEAR Sir, " "\'ou and I need not tell to one another how much we grieve on this deplorable occasion. \\'ith an estimate of his value in the cause of mankind, which to most men would appear to be mere extravagance, I have the recollection of a dozen years of the most delightful intercourse, during the greater part of which time he had hardly a thought or a i)r.r[)ose, respecting either public or his private affairs, in which I was not his confidant and adviser. "My chief purpose in writing is the relief I shall find in communicating with the man who of all men in the world estimated my lamented friend most exactly as I did : and also, in case you should not have received the particulars of his illness from any other (juarter, to give you a few details wliich will be interesting to you. " The malady commenced with a jxrin in the ear. which resembled a common ear-ache and wliich they treated as the 14 2IO DEATH OF RICARUO. 1819-1823. effect of some small cold. He suffered somewhat on the Sunday night, but had little pain remaining after he got up the next day ; and the same sym})toms were repeated for several nights and days. Towards the end of tlie week the suffering increased, and became dreadful, when the strongest applica- tions were deemed necessary. On the Saturday night the imposthume broke, and the pain abated : but so much was he reduced, and the whole frau:ie affected, that they continued in considerable alarm. On Tuesday morning, however, he seemed decidedly better, and Mrs. Ricardo wrote to me describing what had happened, and urging me to make a run down to Gatcomb, as likely to help in cheering the dear sufferer, and accelerating his convalescence. This letter I received on the "Wednesday morning and on the Friday morning I received a few lines from poor Mary, written at twelve o'clock on Thursday, and stating that they were all assembled in the adjoining room, waiting every moment for the dissolution of her beloved father. The i)ain in the head had returned, and after a period of unspeakable agony, pres- sure on the brain ensued, which produced first delirium, and then stupor, which continued till death. "I have had several communications from the family since, one from I\Ir. AToses Ricardo yesterday. Their sufferings you who know how he was loved and how he was valued can easily conceive. Of Mrs. Ricardo he says that " though she is looking shockingly, she does not complain, and bears her loss with resignation and fortitude". 'l"he health of those who are younger is less likely to be seriously invaded. "There is a point which I must mention though I shall l^robably have to write to you about it n^ore at length here- after. Some of us have Ijcen talking of the desirableness of some a])])ro]iriatc testimony of respect for his memory : and tlie foundation cf a lectureship of political economy, to be m.arked by his name, has suggested itself 'J'he thing will be seriou: ly considered, and you shall hear. GRIEF FOR HIS LOSS. 2 11 " T have only room to add, that as you and I arc liis two and only genuine disciples, his memory must be a bcjnd of connexion between us. In your friendship I look fur com- pensation for the loss of his. " Most truly yours, "J. Mill. "Excuse me for addressing this to the Sco/si/ia/i Newspaper Office, as I know not but there will be another of your name in Edinburgh, and am anxious that this letter should certainly reach you." A note from Brougham touches on tlie event, and informs us what Ijusiness of a public kind was up at the moment. " Mv 1)i:ar vSir, " I have hardly had the heart to write to you since the fatal event of last Wednesday. I had seen our most excellent friend on the day before and in the very place where he died, having attended the Deputation there. I trust you will be able to meet the directors of our Infimt Asylum on Tuesday next at four, at J. Smith's, No. 13 New Street, S[)ring (hardens, which is a central situation and chosen as convenient for all. " Yours ever most truly, " H. liROUGHAM." Here are a few sentences from Airs. (Irote. "As to Mr. Ricardo's death, it is useless to commence an)- observations on the irreparable loss to the country and to his friends. I never saw (ieorge so oppressed by aii)- event before. Mill was terribly affected — far more so than you would have supposed it likely. The heart of him was touched, and his nature revealed more tenderness on this occasion llian I had believed to reside within his philosophic frame. I am woman enough to feel greater admiration for him than betore, on this account." The following letter by Mill was inserted in the Moriii/ig Chronicle. 212 TRIBUTE IN THE MORNING CHRONICLE. 1819-1823. " Permit me to pay a tribute, in the name of my country, to the memory of one of the most valuable men whose loss she has ever had to deplore. " Perhaps no man was ever taken from his friends, leaving in their minds a more unmixed sensation of having been deprived of one of the greatest blessings which it was possible for them to possess. His gentleness united with firmness, his indulgence tempered with prudence, rendered him an object of affection and confidence to all connected with him, beyond what those who have not witnessed an equally perfect character can easily conceive. " The history of Mr. Ricardo holds out a bright and inspir- ing example. Mr. Ricardo had everything to do for himself, and he did everything. Let not the generous youth whose aspirations are higher than his circumstances despair of attain- ing either the highest intellectual excellence, or the highest influence on the welfare of his species, when he recollects in what circumstances Mr. Ricardo opened, and in what he closed, his memorable life. He had his fortune to make, he had his mind to form, he had even his education to commence and to conduct. In a field of the most intense competition, he realised a large fortune, with the universal esteem and affection of those who could best judge of the honour and purity of his acts. Amid this scene of active exertion and practical detail, he cultivated and he acquired habits of intense, and patient, and comprehensive thinking, such as have been rarely eciualled, and never excelled. " The lights which Mr. Ricardo shed upon the science of Political Economy may be compared, either for difficulty or for importance, with those which have given renown to the very greatest names in tlie history of moral and political science. "A new field of exertion was opened to him in the House of Commons ; and when one reflects on what he had done, and what he was capable of doing, to accelerate the progress of enlightened legislation, it is difficult to point out another RICARDOS WORTH IN GENERAL LEGISLATION. 213 life tlie loss of which could be regarded as such an evil to his counUy. "It is universally known how signal a change has taken place in the tone of the House of Commons, on subjects of Political Economy, during his short Parliamentary career ; and though he had the advantage of a Ministry, some of whom were sufficiently enlightened to be warm in the same beneficent course, yet they will not be among the most backward to acknowledge how much his calm and clear exposition of principles, his acute detection of sophistry, and unwearied industry, contributed to the great result ; and they will not be among those who will be the most insensible to his loss. " Mr. Ricardo had given indications that his mind was not confined to the department of Political Economy, but embraced the science of Legislation in its most extensive sense. When one reflects on the decisive exposition lie had made of wliat is essentially demanded as security for good Ciovernment ; on his intrepid and ever memorable declaration in favour of un- limited freedom of thought, and freedom of si)eech, on subjects of religion ; on the perseverance with wliich he pursued his objects ; on the growing influence inseparable from his moral and intellectual character; on his total exeni])tion from the vulgar trammels of party and from all those weaknesses of which so many men of considerable parts render themselves the voluntary slaves of the interests and prejudices of the great, it is im])ossible to estimate the amount of obHgation under which we might have been laid to that truly great man, had his life been prolonged some years for our service. " By affording insertion to this simi)le statement, you will gratify the feelings of one who, in the death of Mr. Ixicardo, has sustained a loss which can never be repaired, and who will cherish the recollection of his friendshii) wliile sense and memory remain." On the Lectureship mentioned in the letter to M'Culloch, Mrs. Grote gives some farther notices. " I'liere have been 214 RICARDO MEMORIAL LECTURESHIP. 1819-1823. two meetings at our house, about the P.E. chair. I beheve if Mr. John Smith had not exerted himself as he did, at the last, it would have dropped. Mr. Lefevre, Mr. Mill, George Grote, and Mr. J. Smith, were the only strenous supporters." A little later she WTites, "The resolutions adopted are, to raise sub- scriptions of ;^i2oo, which is to support a Lecture on Political Economy for ten years — ^loo per annum for the lecturer, ^20 for the use of a room. The committee (Mill, Tooke, John Lefevre, Grote, and Warburton) to choose the lecturer. George says, M'CuUoch will in all probability be the lecturer." M'CuUoch was chosen. This year saw the starting of the London Mechanics' Insti- tution ; Dr. Eirkbeck, President. According to Mrs. Grote's account, in the letter just quoted, " Place is the main promoter, and is devoting his whole time just now to its establishment ". Mill gives a donation of ^5. The last memorandum of the year is a letter to Dr. Thomson, the interest of which has been anticipated ; being the letter where he declines becoming a security, on the ground of the misfortunes that his father had brought upon himself from that cause. I postpone for a little the notice of the starting of the Westminster Review, which fell within the present year. It is worth repeating that John Black has now his full swing in the Morning Chronicle. In Piirliamcnt, the rush of Reform Petitions is steadily increasing. Lord John Russell moots the subject twice in the House. Agricultural Distress still continues. Free Trade is discussed once. Hume attacks first the Colonial Exi)enditure, and then the Church Establishment in Ireland. Maberly has a motion for reducing Taxation to the extent of 7 millions. The Roman Catholic Question is again debated. There is another Irish Insurrection Bill. Brougham reviews the ad- ministration of the Law in Ireland. Chapter V. ARTICLES IN THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE ENCVCLOP.'l'DIA BRITANNICA.. 1816— 1823. GOVERNMENT. I SHALL commence with this, as being out of sight the most important of the series. In the train of events culminating in the Reform Bill of 1S32, this article counted as a principal factor. It was both an im])elling and a guiding force ; and, taken along with the other disiiuisitions of the author, and his influence with those that came into personal contact with him, it, in all jjrobability, made our political history very different from what it might otherwise have been. A farther ])oint of interest attaches to the present article, — namely, its being attacked by Alacaulay, in a series of articles, in the Edinburgh Revie'u' ; an attack made in the interest of A\'higgism, as against the Radical school. 'I'here was nnuh superficiality, as well as fli])pancy, in Macaulay's articles ; yet, they exposed weak points in the statement, if not in the sub- stance, of our author's theories ; and they are meir.orable for having created an ej^och in tlie intellectual history of his son, so far as concerned the Logic of Politics. I'rcvlous to the composition of the article, in 1S20, Mill had little or no opportunity for cxi)laining his views on the theory of Government. Jeffrey would not trust the subject to 2i6 encyclopedia: article — government. 1816-1823. liiin, in the Editiburgh ; and it did not come within the scope of the PJiilanthropist. Although Bentham and he were very much at one in the general doctrines of Politics, Bentham was late in approaching the problem of the best Form of Government ; he was content with elaborating those portions of Jurisprudence, that were equally applicable under every form. His Constitutional Code was occupied more with the distribution of functions, and the mode of administration, than with the choice of rulers ; although he never doubted that for the more advanced nations, the representative principle was the best. In the years after the Peace, when parliamentary reform became a question, he produced his Catechism of Pa7iiamenta7y Reform^ in which he advocated universal suffrage, annual parliaments, and vote by ballot, and thus became the head centre of radicalism in Westminster politics. He was cheered to the echo by Burdett, Cartwright, and the extreme men, while very impatient with Romilly and Ricardo, for stopping short * of his positions. All this time. Mill, so far as we know, was silent. At last his opportunity came, and he set forth the whole theory of Government in a compact shape, which bore the impress of his own thinking, although powerfully backed by Bentham's searching criticisms, and fertile constructiveness. The form of expressing the foundation of Ethics — the greatest happiness of the' greatest number- — was clung to for its political bearings ; it asserted the rights of the many against the few. In this advocacy, as we shall see. Mill stood supreme. It will shorten the account of the article itself, to preface a remark or two regarding the points in dispute as to the logic of * We have seen his opposition to Romilly's election for Westminster, in 1818. To Ricardo, he wrote a few months previously, to this effect : — " I told Rurdett you had got down to trietiniality, and were wavering be- tween that and annuality, where I could not help flattering myself you would fix ; also, in respect of extent, down to householders, for which, though I should prefer universality on account of its simplicity and unexclusiveness, 1 myself should be glad to compound." FORMS OF GOVERNMENT. 21 7 the question. Whoever has read John Mill's chapters in his Loi^^ic, on the Logic of Politics, will understand the exact nature of the difficulties attending a Science of Government. It is enough here, to indicate the two grounds of the Science — namely, the Deductive, or a priori method, and the Inductive or Historical method. As John Mill effectually shows, no trustworthy conclusions can be drawn without at least a concurrence of these two methods. James Mill was regarded as exclusively reposing on Deduction ; Macaulay ostentatiously avowed his sole reliance on Induction or Historical experience. I will endeavour to show briefly how the case stood as between the two. The article begins by stating the end of Government ; the union of a certain number of men to protect one another. Then comes the means : namely, to entrust certain persons with power to protect the rest. One leap farther brings us to the gist of the whole question — how to prevent the power given for protection from being abused. The author reviews the simple forms of Government — Democratical, Aristocratical, and Monarchical and shows that in no one of these, are the requisite securities to be found. The Democratical, in its primitive form, being the assembling of the whole community, is unwieldy and impracticable. In an Aristocracy, there is the defect of want of motive to intellectual application, on the part of the members ; and, farther, the natural disposition of men to prey upon those that are within their power. Mon- archy is liable to much the same objections. At this point, however, comes in the ingenious argument of Hobbcs, that the Monarch, being one man, will be sooner satiated with good things than an Aristocracy, and will thus cease at a much earlier stage to make his community his prev. In examining this question. Mill shows his views of the method or logic of politics. First, he refers to History, or the experi- ence test. This he soon finds to be so divided as not to yield any certain conclusion. Absolute monarchs have been 2l8 ENCYCLOPAEDIA: ARTICLE — GOVERNMENT. 1S16-1823. frequently the scourges of human nature. Then, again, the people of Denmark, tired of an op})ressive Aristocracy, resolved that their monarch should be absolute, and are now as well governed as any people in Europe. In (jreece, in s])ite of the defects of Democracy, human nature rose to a pitch of brilliancy never equalled. In short, "As the surface of history affords no certain princii)le of decision, we must go beyond the surface, and penetrate to the springs within". This means that we are to proceed to deduce from the laws of human nature the conduct of human bemgs entrusted with absolute power. The deduction is, that there is not in the mind of a King, or in the minds of an Aristocracy, any point of satura- tion with the objects of desire And an appeal is made to corroborative facts, such as the treatment of slaves in the West Indies, by that most favourable specimen of civilization, know- ledge, and humanity — the English Gentleman. Next is his examination of the celebrated balance of the three forms in our ]:)ritish Constitution. Eentham had pretty well exposed the absurdity of the supposed balance ; and it does not cost any acute man much labour to see that there cannot be three co-equal powers working in mutual antagonism ; two would soon swallow uj) the third, and, if one of these could not be master of the second, they would agree to some division of the spoil. The author is now brought to the Rej^resentative System, as the only security for good government ; and the remainder of the essay is occupied witli the princii)!es of a good Representa- tive body, l-'irst, the duration of their power is to be limited : he does not fix upon a year, or any number of years ; there are counter disadvantages of too frequent elections. Then, the re])rcsentation must be so wide as that the interests of the choosing body shall be the same with the interests of the whole community. When we come to limit the suffrage, we may strike off those individuals whose interests are indisputably included in the interests of others. This disposes of children : RKPRESENTATIVE SYSTEM. 2\g SO far good. But farther — " In this hght, also, n'onicn mav be regarded, the interest of ahnost all of whom is involved either in that of their fathers or in that of their husbands ". Then comes a consideration of the applicable signs of the mental cjualities to be desired in the electoral body : these are Years, Property, Profession or Mode of Life. He objects to a high figure of age, as e.g. forty. (It appears strange that an intermediate figure, such as twenty-five or thirty, has never been seriously discussed, as a mode of limiting the suffrage that contains the very minimum of unfair preference.) As to Property ; a high qualification would constitute an Aristocracy of wealth ; a very low qualification would be as good as none. In short, it is not easy to find any satisfactory principle to guide us here. The third sign— Profession — is next adverted to. As a basis of the suffrage, it was propounded in Parliament, in 1793, by Mr. Jenkinson, afterwards Lord Liverpool. It means that each great class and profession in the country should have a certain i^roportion of representatives in the House of Commons : Landholders, of course ; merchants and manufacturers ; officers of the army and navy ; lawyers ; men of letters. This was a favourite theory in those days ; it was rejiroduced in the Edinburgh Revieiv^ by Sir James Mackintosh, and, as we have seen, received an elaborate reply from Grote in one of his earliest writings. Mill deals with it after his own fashion. " The real effect of this motley representation would only be to create a motley Aristocracy ; and to insure that kind of misgovernment which it is the nature of an Aristocrac-y to produce, and to produce ecjually, whether it is a uniiorm or a variegated Aristocracy." He tlien considers the objections to a perfect Re|)res(;-ntative System, 'i'he first is — that it would destroy tlie Monarchy, and the H(juse of Lords. As regards the .\h)narchy, he replies that to the king is left the administration, wliich llie Represen- tative body checks and controls but does not undertake. It is 220 encyclopaedia: article — GOVERN.MENT. 1816-1823. thus a question between an elective and a hereditary chief of the administration ; one or other there must be. Then as to the House of Lords. If for the perfect performance of the business of Legislation a second chamber is necessary, and if hereditary landowners are the class best fitted for making up that chamber, then a body of Representatives, whose interests were identified with those of the nation, would establish such a chamber. Cold comfort to the House of Lords. Objection second — That the people are not capable of acting agreeably to their interests. This allegation is the stronghold of the Aristocratical party. The answer is, if the community at large, or that portion of it whose interest is identified with the whole, will not act according to its interest, but the contrary, the prospect of mankind is indeed deplorable. But, in reality, all that can be maintained is, that the com- munity may very readily mistake its interest. The Aristocracy may be more knowing, but then it is sure to act for itself; its acts will be consistent ; and its interest is adverse to the com- munity. But, in short, this brings us at once to the point, where all poUtical philosophy centres : — Enlighten your people. The present possessors of power, and all that share in the profits of the abuse of that power, have an interest in making out the community incapable of acting according to their own interest ; just as it was the interest of the priesthood to with- hold the Bible from the laity, who, they said, would make a bad use of it. After pushing the contrasts between the conduct of an Aris- tocratical body and a popular body, he winds up with a reference to the power that would be exerted by the middle class under a popular representation. " There can be no doubt that the middle rank, which gives to science, to art, and to legislation itself, their most distinguished ornaments, and is the chief source of all that has exalted and refined human nature, is that portion of the community of which, it the basis of Representation were ever so far extended, the opinion MACAULAV S ATTACK ON THE ARTICLE. 22 1 would ultimately decide. Of the people beneath them, a vast majority would be sure to be guided by their advice and example." The whole contribution occupies only 32 closely printed pages. It is hardly more than notes for a theory of Govern- ment at large, although the principles are wide enough for any ajiplication, being those fundamental laws of the human mind that come into play in the relations of governor and governed. Neither can it be said that there is an absence of corroborative appeals to history. Short as the article is, it was the starting point of the radical reformers. It was the first opportunity that Mill had of addressing himself to the great ]:iroblem of Parliamentary Reform. In the Westininstcr Review, he had fuller swing, and carried on the battering of the Aristocratical system, with an impetus that soon opened a breach in the walls. We shall see presently the nature of that attack ; but meanwhile, it will be convenient to take, along with the above abstract, the criti- cisms that the original article has been subjected to, considered as a general theory of Government. Macaulay's reply did not appear till 1829, when the article may be said to have done its work. The author's thorough- going views had come into o])en conflict with a ciualified liberalism as represented by the Ediiibur^^h; and Macaulay in liis youthful vigour entered the lists against the veteran radical. It m.ay seem surprising that the attack was so long deferred. The volume of collected articles was i)rinted in 1S28, and that collection is the work ostensibly reviewed ; but I do not see why the obnoxious article might not have been taken up on a])pearing in the Encyclopccdia, excei)t that the authorship was not there avowed. The reviewer begins thus: — "Of those ])hiloso])hers who call themselves Utilitarians, and whom others generally call Benthamites, Mr. Mill is, with the exception of the illustrious 222 ENCYCLOPEDIA : ARTICLE — GOVERNMENT. 1816-1823. founder of the sect, by far the most distinguished." This will seem a high encomium, until we see how the sect is made up : " These people, whom some regard as the lights of the world, and others as incarnate demons, are in general ordinary men, with narrow understandings, and little information. The contempt which they express for elegant literature, is evidently the contempt of ignorance." " Mingled with these smattercrs . . . . there are, we well know, many well-meaning men, who have really read and thought much ; but whose reading and meditation have been almost exclusively confined to the class of subjects, &c." This is pretty well for such men as the two Mills, John and Charles Austin, and Grote. As to Mr. Mill himself, his style is generally as dry as that of Euclid's Elements ; he has inherited the spirit and the style of the Schoolmen ; he is an Aristotelian of the fifteenth century, born out of due season. "We have here an elaborate treatise on Government, from which, but for two or three passing allusions, it would not appear that the author was aware that any governments existed among men." The reason for not appealing to historical experience seems most extra- ordinary ; namely, that experience appears to be divided as to which form of government is best. On this the reviewer remarks — " Experience can never be divided, or even appear to be divided, except with reference to some hypothesis." The writer of the article " reasons a piHori, because the phenomena are not what, by reasoning a priori, he will prove them to be ". After reciting the positions of the article, as to the ends of Government, and the respective merits of the three different forms, the reviewer gives the following summary criticism : — " Now, no man who has the least knowledge of the real state of the world, either in former ages or at the present moment, can possibly be convinced, though he may perhaps be bewildered, by arguments like these. During the last two centuries, some hundreds of absolute princes have reigned in THEORY OF REPRESEXTAl'IOX CRITICISED. 223 Europe. Is it true, that their cruelty has kei't in existence the mor,t intense degree of terror; that their rapacity has left no more than the bare means of subsistence to any of their subjects, their ministers and soldiers excepted? Is tliis true of all of them ? Of one half of them ? Of one tenth part of them? Of a single one? Is it true, in the full extent, even of Philip tb.e Second, of Louis the Fifteenth, or of the lunperor Paul? Put it is scarcely necessary to ([uote hisi(jry. Xo man of common sense, however ignorant he may be of books, can be imposed on l)y Mr. Mill's argument; because no man of common sense can live among his fellow-creatures tor a day without seeing innumerable facts which cs, however, to pfiint out its lallacy; and ha[jpily the fallacy is not very recondite." 'Phe exposure of the fallacy consists in pointing out tliat the author overlooks, in his statement of human motixes, the ceriire of the good opinion of others, and the pain of public hatred and contempt. In tlie manner of Mr ?vlill. a syllo- gism might be constructed, to pro\-e that no rulers will do any- thing which may hurt t!;e peoi)le ; we have only to select their fear of unpopularity as a middle term, and the reasoning is complete. In short, Mr. Mill has chosen to look only at one half of human nature. 'Phen comes a discussion of the balance of the tliree powers in our constitution, in which the reviewer has a kjng argument to slinw that it is not an aljsurdity, that they do not, in point of fact, swallow one another up, and come at kisi to a single p(jwer. He expends a (juantlty of historical knowledge on this p(jint, but we need not dwell upon it. " When tliere are three parties, every one of which has much to lear from the ot!ier>, it is not found that two of them combine t(j plunder the third."' 'Phen comes the author's theory of Representation, as the check to mis-government. On this subject, the re\ iewer is ratiier weak, making out that a Repre^entative body as soon as 224 encyclopaedia: article — GOVERNMENT. 1816-1823. elected is an aristocracy, with an interest opposed to the interest of the community. Although sent up (he says) in the first instance, under a law that provides for frequency of election, they may repeal that law, and declare themselves senators for life. " We know well that there is no real danger in such a case. But there is no danger only because there is no truth in Mr. Mill's principles. If men were what he represents them to be, the letter of the very constitution which he recommends would afford no safeguard against bad government. The real security is this, that legislators will be deterred by the fear of resistance and of infamy from acting in the manner which we have described. But restraints, exactly the same in kind, and differing only in degree, exist in all forms of government. That broad line of distinction which Mr. Mill tries to point out between monarchies and aristocracies on the one side, and democracies on the other, has in fact no existence. In no form of government is there an absolute identity of interest between the people and their rulers. In every form of go- vernment, the rulers stand in some awe of the people. The fear of resistance and the sense of shame operate in a certain degree, on the most absolute kings and the most illiberal oligarchies. And nothing but the fear of resistance and the sense of shame preserves the freedom of the most democratic communities from the encroachments of their annual and biennial delegates." When the reviewer comes to the composition of the con- stituent body, he makes a very successful hit. Seizing hold of Mill's proposal to purge the electoral roll of all those indivi- duals whose interests are involved in those of other indivi- duals, and thereui)on to omit women, he retorts, in his l)est style of lofty phraseology, and telling citations from history, and shows what a miserable protection this principle affords. The next branch of the argument relates to the extent of the suffrage. There is not much to detain us here ; the reviewer's argument being grounded on the danger, that the mill's appeal to the middle class. 225 poor, as being in the majority, might plunder the rich. One passage foreshadows some of the most renowned strokes of his later rhetoric. The civilized part of the world, he says, has now nothing to fear from the hostility of savage nations. The deluge of barbarism will no more return to cover the earth. " But is it possible that, in the bosom of civilization itself, may be engendered the malady which shall destroy it ? " " Is it possible, that in two or three hundred years, a few lean and half-naked fishermen may divide with owls and foxes the ruins of the greatest European cities — may wash their nets amidst the relics of her gigantic docks, and build their huts out of the capitals of her stately cathedrals?" The possi- bility is to be a reality, if Mill's principles are adopted ; that is, if we niake even an approach to Universal Suffrage. One more criticism remains. Mill's appeal to the middle ranks, as the effective control of the democracy, which he conveys in a passage of real eloquence, notwithstanding Macaulay's comparison of his style to Euclid, is given as a " delicious bonne boiiche of wisdom, which he has kept for the last moment ". The reviewer thinks that this alone is enough to dispose of Mill's whole theory of Representation. A few pungent alternative interrogations are given as settlers. " Will the people act against their own interest? Or will the middle class act against its own interest ? Or is the interest of the middle rank identical with the interest of the people ? If any one of the three be answered in the affirmative, his whole system falls to the ground. If the interest of the middle rank be identical with that of the people, why should not the powers of government be trusted to that rank," and so on. In sliort, the reviewer brings Mill round to liis own settlement of the (juestion : — "The system of universal suffrage, accord- ing to Mr. Mill's own account, is only a device for doing circuitously, what a representative system, with a ])retty high qualification would do directly." Did it never occur to the reviewer, that the suffrage, once extended to the middle class, 15 2 26 ENCYCLOPEDIA : ARTICLE GOVERNMENT. 1 8l 6-1 823. must go on extending till it became universal ; and that Mill's view of the restraining power of the middle class, would then be all that was between us and the lean fishermen anchoring their boats in the docks of London and Liverpool ? The article has still several pages of highly seasoned rhetoric, in which the writer amplifies the absurdities of Mill's theory of motives. We must, however, confine ourselves to one paragraph which contains his own Political Logic. " How, then, are we to arrive at just conclusions on a subject so important to the happiness of mankind ? Surely by that method which, in every experimental science to which it has been appHed, has signally increased the power and knowledge of our species, — by that method for which our new philo- sophers would substitute quibbles scarcely worthy of the barbarous respondents and opponents of the middle ages,- — by the method of Induction ; — by observing the present state of the world, — by assiduously studying the history of past ages, — by sifting the evidence of facts, — by carefully combining and contrasting those which are authentic,^by generalising -with judgment and diffidence, — by perpetually bringing the theory which we have constructed to the test of new facts, — by cor- recting, or altogether abandoning it, according as those new facts prove it to be partially or fundamentally unsound. Pro- ceeding thus, — patiently, — diligently, — candidly, — we may hope to form a system as far inferior in pretension to that which we have been examining and as far superior to it in real utility as the prescriptions of a great physician, varying with every stage of every malady and with the constitution of every patient, are to the pill of the advertising quack which is to cure all human beings, in all climates, of all diseases." The writer is sorry and surprised when he sees men of good intentions and good natural abilities abandon this healthful and generous study, to pore over speculations like those which he has been examining ? As for the greater part of the sect, it is of little consequence what they study, or under whom. On AUTHORS REPLY TO THE ATTACKS. 227 the whole, they might have chosen worse. Tlicy may as well be UtiHtarians as jockeys or dandies. Their quihliling about self-interest and motives, hurts the health less than hard drink- ing, and the fortune less than high play ; it is not much more laughable than phrenology, and is immeasurably more humane than cock-fighting. Such is the first of the three articles. AVe have to regret that it did not appear before the Wcstiniiister Rcviciu passed out of the hands of the original circle ; the re])ly, in that case, would no doubt have been Mill's own. The actual reply made a stand for the author's original positions, but it was no match for Macaulay, and enabled him to jiroduce a second, and a third article, even more unsparing tlian the first. These are almost exclusively occupied with a dissection of the (Greatest Happiness Principle, which, the writer tells us, in one ])]ace, is important if true, but unhappily is not true. l"he onl)- interest of the articles is the conclusion, which iterates the idea of middle-class representation ; and states the whole controversy between him and Mill to lie " in the success [he should have also said, and \\\(t finality\ of the experiment wliich we propose".* It so happened that Mill did himself reply to these articles. In the " Fragment on Mackintosh," he has to encounter an onslaught on his "Government," in which Mackintosh avows that his mode of reasoning is the same as that adojjted in the • In his speech on the Peoi)le's Charter in 1842, Maoniilny disavows finalitv, and does not consider that the settlement made Ijy tlie Ret'orni Hill can last for ever. Yet, he adds: — "My firm convicli(jn is that, in our comitrv, universal suffrage is incompatible, not with this or that form of govcrnmoiit, liut \sith all forms of s^overnment and with everything for the sake of which fcunis of govern- ment exist ; that it is incomjjatible with pro])erty, and that it is conse(|uentlv in- compatible with civilisation". Events have shown whether he or Mill reasoned best. W'illierforce writing to Macaulay's relative, Mr. Babington, speaks of his first article thus : — " 1 am much ]ileased with a review of Tom Macaulay's in \\\Q Edinhuri^h ; it is not merely the superior talent which it indicates, but its being on the right side. The 11 'eshm'ns/er A',-/,"o. of which Mill is a princiiial support, is a very mischievous publication; and this review will be a deatli- blow to Mill as a reasoner." 228 encyclopedia: article GOVERNMENT. 1816-1823. Reviexv articles.* With an evident chuckle, Mill says this is convenient, because the answer which does for Sir James, will do for the Edinburgh Revietu. The main argument against Mill's a priori reasoning is that men do not always act in conformity with their true interest, sometimes mistaking it, and sometimes impelled by passion to disregard it. This, say the two critics, overthrows the whole fabric of Mr. Mill's political reasoning. The reply is, " that Mr. Mill's political reasoning is in perfect conformity with it, as will now be shown ". With a view to the principles of go- vernment, it was indispensable to ask, what is that within a man which has the principal influence in determining his actions. The answer of Mr. Mill was, — "the man's view of his own interest ". " Would Sir James have had him return any other answer? Sir James abstains from saying so." "It is very obvious to any one who has read Mr. Mill's Treatise, in what sense he uses the word ' interest '. He uses it neither in the refmed sense of a man's best interest, or what is con- ducive to his happiness on the whole ; nor to signify every object which he desires, although that is a very intelligible meaning too. He uses it, in its rough and common accepta- tion, to denote the leading objects of human desire ; Wealth, Power, Dignity, Ease ; including escape from the contraries of these." " In deliberating on the best means for the govern- ment of men in society, it is the business of philosophers and legislators to look to the more general laws of human nature, rather than the exceptions." He then adduces a number of quotations from great authorities to the effect that, in political matters, the paramount * In a letter to Napier, Mackintosli lias this remark. " I think the articles ' Government ' and ' Education ' in the Supplement, though very ably written, remarkable examples of one of the erroneous modes of philosophising from experience which are condemned by Bacon in the passage to which 1 have above adverted." The passage is one where Bacon charges the ancient philo- phers with having consulted experience, but with having consulted her either partially or superficially. SELF-INTEREST THE FORCE IX POLITICS. 229 determining fact is always self-love or self-interest. Thus says Hume — " Political writers have established it as a maxim, that in contriving any system of government, and fixing the several checks and controls of the constitution, every man ought to be sujiposed a knave, and to have no otlier end, in all his actions, than jjrivate interest." '' It appears somewhat strange, that a maxim should be true in j^olitics which is false in tact. But to satisfy us on this head, we may consider, that men are generally more honest in their private than in their public capacity, and will go greater lengths to serve a party, than when their own private interest is concerned. Honour is a great check upon mankind ; but when a considerable body of men act together, this check is in a great measure removed ; since a man is sure to be approved of by his own party for what jiromotes the common interest ; and he soon learns to despise the clamours of adversaries." " In any plan of government, continues Hume, where the power is distributed among several courts and several orders of men, we should always consider the separate interest of each court and each order ; and if we find that, by the skilt'ul division of ])ower, this interest must necessarily, in its ojieration, concur with the ])ublic, we may pronounce that government to be wise and hapjiy."' " In this opinion I am justified by experience, as well as by the authority of all philosophers and politicians, both ancient and modern." He next quotes, from Ijlackstone, a ])assage im'oking the Creator's view of the subject, and treating it as a part of Divine wisdom and benevolence, to reduce the rule of obedience to one ])aternal precept, each fiian sJioiild pursue his 07l'I! happiness. He next jjroduces a number of striking expressions o\ the same view from the Repid'lic of Plato, such as this : — " Without identity of interest with those they rule, the rulers, instead of being the guardians of the flock, become wobes and its devourers." He winds up by taking the sting out of the reproach oS. falsifying human nature, in a very few words. " Mr. Mill, it is 230 ENCYCLOPyEDIA : ARTICLE — GOVERNMENT. 1816-1823. necessary to observe, confines his enquiry to one department of government." " Sir James says, it is a wrong thing to attempt to explain the immense variety of poUtical facts, by the simple element of a contest of interests. Be it so, but Mr. Mill has not sought to explain the immense variety of political facts at all. What he attempted was to show how a community could obtain the best security for good legislation." As to referring "the immense variety of poUtical facts to that variety of passions, habits, opinions, and prejudices, which we discover only by experience. Sir James's enumeration, far as he thinks it goes beyond Mr. Mill, is by no means complete. Sir James, for example, does not include reason among the principles in human nature, which account for historical facts. I, on the contrary, am of opinion that the whole nature of man must be taken into account, for explaining the ' immense variety ' of historical facts." We can see now how much more edifying it would have been if Mill and Macaulay had encountered one another directly in the controversy, I will here add a remark of my own, as regards the charge of leaving out of account men's sympathies and disinterested affections, in framing a theory of government. It is quite true that our nature is endowed to a certain degree with such motives, and when they are in opera- tion, they restrain the outgoings of pure selfishness. But even this does not complete the compass of human motives. We are constituted farther with a high susceptibility to the pleasures of malevolence, which also play a part in the relations of government. The worst miseries that have been inflicted by rulers have been dictated not simply by the love of aggrandise- ment, but by positive delight in cruelty. In savage life, the pleasure is habitual ; in civilized nations, it is more rare, but not wanting. It is now time to finish this survey by referring to the last and best criticism on the article, in the political chapters of John Mill's Logic. JOHN' MILLS CRITICLSM OF THE ARTICLE. 23 1 In recounting the imperfect or one-sided methods of reason- ing in the Social Science, John Mill devotes a chapter to the Experimental or Chemical method, to which Macaulay ex- clusively trusted, and another to the Geometrical or Abstract Method, of which his grand example is the "interest-philosophy of the Bentham School ". He gives the doctrine the benefit of those liberal qualifications that its supporters claimed for it, by which it is reduced to such a statement as this : — Any succession of persons, or the majority of any body of persons, will be governed in the bulk of their conduct by their personal interests. The theory goes on to infer, he says, quite correctly, that the only rulers who will govern according to the interest of the governed, are those whose selfish interests are in ac- cordance with theirs. And to this is added a third proposition, namely, that no rulers have their selfish interest identical with that of the governed, unless it be rendered so by accountability, that is, by dependence on the will of the governed. Now, says John Mill, no one of these propositions is true ; the last is extremely wide of the truth. In refuting them he insists only on what is true of all rulers, viz., that the character and course of their actions is largely influenced by the habitual sentiments and feelings of the community, and also by the maxims and traditions which have descended to them from other rulers, their predecessors. Although, therefore, private interest is a very powerful force, even the particulars constituting the goodness or badness of their government are in no small degree intluenced by those other circumstances. Turning now to the proposition that responsibility to tlie governed is the only thing capable of producing in the rukrs a sense of identity of interest with the community ; this is still less admissible as a universal truth. I*'.ven identity in essentials is not confined to this cause. The suppression of anarchy and of resistance to law, the complete establishment of the central authority in a state of society like that of luirope in the middle ages, is one of the strongest interests of the people, as well as 232 encyclopedia: article GOVERNMENT. 1816-1823, of the rulers ; and the responsibiUty of the rulers to the people, instead of strengthening might even weaken this motive. He quotes Queen Elizabeth and Peter the Great as cases in point. He goes on : — I am not here attempting to establish a theory of government, nor to determine the proportional weight to be given to the circumstances left out by this school of politicians, I am only concerned to show that their method was unscientific. To do them justice, he adds that their mistake was not so much one of substance, as of form ; they set forth as a great philosophical question what should have passed for what it reaUy was, the mere polemics of the day. The constitutional checks that they stood up for, were those that England, and the leading nations of modern Europe, actually stood in want of He expresses his regret, however, that the small portion of the philosophy of government wanted for the immediate purpose of serving the cause of parliamentary reform, should have been held forth by thinkers of such eminence as a complete theory. No doubt they would have applied, and did apply, their principles with innumerable allowances. But it is not allowances that are wanted, but breadth of foundation. The phenomena of society do not depend, in essentials, on some one agency or law of human nature, with only inconsiderable modifications from the others. A deductive politics should be a deduction from the whole, and not only from a part of the laws of nature that are con- cerned. Such is John Mill's criticism of his father's Method of Politics. Were it not for the very ample concessions he makes, I should feel disposed to object to his taking the article on Government as a nearly pure specimen of a priori reasoning, unbalanced by the application of the supplemental method of experience, that is, reference to political facts as given in history. His fiither knew as mucli history as any man of his time ; he had pondered its lessons, and would not have pro- pounded any doctrine at variance therewith. But in such a en'cvci-OP^;dia : article — jurisprudenxi:. 233 very synoptical article, the citation of historical instances would ha\e been impossible, or, if possible, illusory. A\'hat was wanted was a formal and exhaustive setting forth of the gene- ralizations of historical facts, widely examined, sifted and com- pared ; a process that John Mill would have been the first to do homage to, as the only complete and satisf-xctory supple- ment to his deductive positions. For a pure specimen of the a priori method, I should refer to the jjolitical systems of Owen and Fourier, men who trusted in their theories without any historical reference whatever. Or if John Mill wished a good sjjecimen from a higher source, he might have quoted his father's paper on Fducation, where the Hi /r/c-'/v' method is worked to the nearly total exclusion of experience : the writer's mind in this case, being almost wholly unprovided with the materials of such experience. JURISPKUDKNCE, • This was one of the author's sjiecial studies. He had made progress in it, when he first came to Fondon ; he had imbibed all that Bentham had given forth upon the subject ; and we have seen what were his projects of future work in regard to it. The word "Jurisprudence" does not always cover the same field. The definition given of it in the article is the protection of rights. It belongs to Fegislation to estal)lish rights, to Jurisprudence to protect them. In the protection of rights, howev'er, there are various o])erations that need not all be taken in connexion. Rights have t(j be carefully defined, for one thing : this relates to the \\"ording of the Faw, and is a de])artment by itself Then comes the means of settling dis])Uted rights, involving Judicial Procedure and l'\"idence ; a subject so far cognate to the ])revious, that it may jiroperly fall within the same treatise. A\'hen rights are wilfull}- set at nouglit, the offenders are subject to jK'nalties : wliich introduces the doctrine of Funishments, their choice, and tiieir gradation 234 DEFINITION OF RIGHTS. l8 1 6-1 823. according to the offence. But the discussion of Punisliment is so pccuHar that it admits of an isolated treatment, and needs not be handled in the same science that embraces the previous departments. Bentham was one of the first to give a complete theory of Punishments;* and he made it into a separate branch of study. Mill introduced the subject into the present article ; but he might have done better to exclude it entirely from the circle of subjects connected with the expression and the inter- pretation of the law. Even in this limited circle, there is a useful subdivision of heads that need an isolated discussion, although more closely connected with one another than the theory of Punishment is with any. "The definition of rights constitutes that part of law which has been generally denominated the Civil Code. The definition of offences and punishments constitutes that other part of law which has been generally denominated the criminal or Paial Coce. " When rights are distributed, and the acts by which they may be violated are forbidden, an agency is required, by which that distribution may be maintained, and the violators of it punished. That agency is denominated Judicature. The powers by which this agency is constituted, require to be accurately defined \ and the mode in which the agency itself is to be carried on luust be fixed and pointed out by clear and deter- minate rules. These rules and definitions prescribe the form and practice of the courts, or mode in which the judicial functions are performed ; and constitute that branch of law which has been called the Code of Procedure.'''' These three codes — the civil code, the penal code, and the code of procedure — form the whole subject of jurisprudence (in the widest sense). Of the three, the last exists only for the sake of the first and the second. Courts and their operations * The treatise of Beccaria was almost the only work of any mark before Bentham. It has great value, and Bentham testifies to its merits. ENCYCLOP.EDIA : ARTICLE JURISPRUDENCE. 235 are provided in order that the provisions of the civil and penal codes may not be without their effect. First, then, comes the peculiarly logical operation of defining rights. For exami)le, to define the rights to Fand, is to enumerate all the services that a man is allowed to derive from his land — cultivating it, letting it, building on it, and so forth. [I may remark, in passing, that the use of negative or exclu- sive definition has not yet been fully apjireciated in legal definitions]. Another essential ])art of the definition of a right is the description of the lact that gave birth to it : as first occu])ancy, labour, gift, contract, succession, the will of the legislative. To this has to be added a description of the facts that put an end to a right ; as gift, contract, death, &C. A\'hen a right becomes matter of judicial encjuiry, therefore, wliat has to be seen is — (i) whether there happened any of the events that give a right, and (2) whether there ha])j3ened any of the events that i)ut an end to the right. The definition of rights in these ways makes up the Civil Code, as a matter of form, the legislature having [treviously determined the substance. [The word " Codification " ex- presses the highest refinement of the civil code, the classitying and arranging of rights in the most natural and illustrative connexion, like the classification of Plants in Botany.] The Penal Code has to declare what acts are meet for I)unishment. This is to make out ojfcnces ; and these ought to be as rigorously defined as riglits under the Civil Code. Here, the author summarizes Pentham. He next devotes a chapter to the nature of Punishment, or Penalties, which, as I have said, might be excluded from tlie present connexion, witliout impairing the discussion of the other subjects. 'Fhe chapter is a good epitome of Penthanr's elaborate and almost exhaustive treatment. Then conies what must always be a princi])al ])art of Juris- prudence as limited to a group of kindred and nuiuially dependent topics ; that is to say Procedure in the Courts, or 236 PROCEDURE. 1816-1823. the Judicial Business. This was the topic of Bentham's hfe- long fight with EngHsh Law as he found it, and Mill gives a few of Bentham's leading suggestions, such as that the parties in a dispute should meet at the very outset in the presence of the judge. He contrasts the effect of such a proceeding with the complicacy and chicanery of the E'.nglish Law. This is the first stage of judicial business. The next is the taking of Evidence, on which also Bentham is the authority /fl-r excellence, and is here strictly followed. The last topic is the Judicial Establishment ; the appoint- ment and qualifications of judges, the check upon their proceedings, and the constituting of Courts of Appeal. Here tlie grand safeguard is Publicity and a Free Press. A favourite idea with Bentliam was that judges should decide singly, so that there might be no divided responsibility. In discussing the expediency and the constitution of Courts of Appeal, another has a fling at the aristocracy, who, he says, monopolize this luxury. " It is the aristocratical class who have made the laws ; they have accordingly declared that the suits which were important to them should have the benefit of appeal ; the suits not important to them should not have the benefit of appeal." The judgment seat should never be empty ; there should be deputies to take the place of the judges in their absence. Moreover, besides the judge and his deputy, there are two adjuncts to every tribunal, which are of the utmost importance; indispensable, indeed, to the due administration of justice. These are, a piDSUcr-gencral, and a defender-general. Tlieir business can easily be gathered from their designations. Neither has yet found his way into tlie English courts. My chief })urpose in giving this outline is to sliow that Mill was an ai)t discii)le of any man that had thoroughly worked a subject. He was a good learner, and did not affect originality by making changes upon other people's views for the mere sake of change. E.NXYCLOP.EDIA : ARTICLE — LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. 237 LIBERTY OF THE PRESS. The articles in the reprinted volume are not given alpha- betioilly, as they were published, and the arrangement may therefore be sup])Osed to be according to the author's view of their natural sequence. The third in order is the LiiiKRTV of' THE Press, which Mill, in common with IJentham, considered bound up with Law and Politics alike. There is scarcely a right that may not be violated by the instrumentality of the press , scarcely an operation of government that may not be disturbed bv it. If the employment of the press has the effect of depriving any one of his rights, or of producing disobedience to government, the offence is to be treated, not as something new, but as any other mode of producing the same amount of interference with rights would be treated. If the press is made an instrument of causing murder, the person so employing it is guilty of murder. In jjoint of fact, however, the Press is an instrument particu- larly adapted for the commission of injuries against Reputation, and for effecting disturbance to the operations of Ciovernment, while it has no i)articular adaptation tor the commission of other offences. 'The encjuiry then is twofold —how far the ])ress needs to be restrained with respect to private reputation, and how far with respect to GovcrnDicnt. The right of Rei)Utation means that every man is considered as having a right to the character that he deserves ; that is, to be sjjoken of according to his actions. The author sees no difficulty in defming this offence so that it can l)e made the occasion of an action at law. The law can say such and such actions are not to be imi)uted ; and the court decides as a question of fait whether words have been used that im])Ute them. The remedy for offences of this kind includes comjjensation to the injured individual. \\'henever a money value c;^n be put upon the injury, the reparation should take that form. In 238 RIGHT OF REPUTATION. 1816-1823. most cases, it is enough that the man that has propagated calumny should contradict it as openly and as widely as the calumny has spread. The farther question arises — how shall we create sufficient motives to prevent the commission of slander ; ought there to be specific penalties, in addition to the redress provided above ? This, tlie author thinks, is a question of the perfection or im- perfection of the laws. If the machinery were so perfect as to secure compensation to the injured party, the certainty of that compensation would be a deterring motive without other penalty. It is a farther question, whether the rights of reputation should extend beyond the boundaries of truth. On tliis ticklish matter, the author puts forth his usual nicety of dis- crimination. In cases where people commit offences against the law, information should never be withheld by any one. If the offence alleged is one to draw down public censure, without legal ])enalty, there should, in like manner, be no concealment either ; provided always that public approbation and disappro- bation were rightly dispensed. In the present state of society, in most countries, this cannot be said ; and the press should not be justified in awakening up antipathies that happen to prevail on matters of religious or other sentiment. Where the good or evil of actions is beyond dispute, it is of great conse- quence that they should be stated in their true colours. This is the. rule ; the other case is the exception. The second question regarding the Press, the relation to Government, is by far the more important of the two, and receives a searching investigation. Both before and after the writing of this article, the author was often engaged in the polemic in favour of freedom of speech ; here, he gives his judicial handling of the question. First, then, exhortations to obstruct the operations of government in detail, should be considered as offences ; while directed against government generally, they should not be so EXCVCI.OP.^DIA : ARTICLE — LlIiKKTV OF THE TRESS. 239 considered. As the a])plication of force to resist any sini;le act of the government is pernicious and punishable, so should be an incitement through the press to such resistance. l]ut to punish general disap])robation of the government is to destroy all the securities of the people against misgovernment ; and the objectionable point is reached only when it amounts to civil commotion for no end. In a]ijXjrtioning punishment for this class of offences, the thing to avoid is vengeance. So long as there are abuses in government, so long will the men that profit by these, exert themselves to multiply offences against government, and to apply punishments with the greatest severity. Hence punish- ments for contempt ; for vindicating the honour of the court, the government, or the magistracy ; all intended to gratify vengeance, and to protect abuses. In treating as offences all exhortations to obstruct govern- ment in detail, a distinction has to be drawn between those exhortations that are direct or explicit, and those that arc implied or constructive. The last ought not to be ])unished. Of course, to blame the government at all, is to bring it into hatred or contempt ; and if this is to be ])unished, all freedoni of criticism is at an end. Without the lil)erty of censure, there can be no wakening up of the public mind to overthrow a bad government. Esjjecially in a government of popular origin, is the freest speech necessary for directing tlie peo])le"s choice. The press imparts knowledge of the character of the candi- dates to begin with, and when they are chosen, it informs the public as to their conduct and behaviour. 'J'he ])roceedings of the Legislative Body should be reported ; and tliere should be a ]X'rfect liberty to comment upon them. 'J'his may seem to open a very wide door ; just and unjust criticism being equally permitted. But who is to draw the line? If not every censure, but only some censures, are to be forbidden, which are to come under the law ? The answer to this disposes of every difficulty connected with the liberty of the press. 240 UNDESERVED PRAISE. 1816-1824. There is no one that can be permitted to judge what cen- sures are just, and what are unjust. Whence the path of practical wisdom must be — permit all alike. The author supports this conclusion on the ground, that where all opinions are presented and argued fully, the true must prevail. He adduces a long array of authorities in favour of the same view. He next gives the question an unexpected turn. The press is abused, when a government receives undeserved praise. This is quite as mischievous, and quite as usual, as undeserved censure. Still, the liberty of the press must include the licence of over-praise, as well as of under-praise. We must not permit either, without also permitting the other. The same remark was made by Bentham, and was characteristic of him and Mill alike ; either was capable of originating it, and I am not aware that it was made by any previous defender of a free press. A special chapter is devoted to showing that Freedom of Censure in the Institutions of Government is necessary for the good of the people ; and the illustration contains a variety of vigorous home-thrusts. The concluding chapter — Limitations to Freedom of Discussion, which involve its destruction — deals with " decency " and " indecency " as applied to discussions, and as contributing a ground for permitting or not permitting freedom. Tliis brings up the use of vehement, passionate, or intemperate language, in which he lays it down, that you can- not forbid passionate language, without giving a power of obstructing the use of censorial language altogether. The apj)lication is made to Religious opinions. These may include anything : passive obedience was treated as a religious doc- trine. Without perfect freedom to exi)ress religious opinions, the press is not free even for political opinions. E\CVCLOP/KDIA : ARTICLES — PRISONS, COLONY. 24 1 PRISONS AND PRISON DISCIPLINE. The reform of Prisons was one of the chief labours under- taken by tlie pliilanthropists of the early part of the century. Howard had begun his labours previously. Bentham took up the subject and spent several vexatious years upon the intro- duction of his Panopticon arrangement. It was a leading tojjic with William Allen's band, and occui)ied many pages of his ridlanthropist ; Mill frequently contributing to the expositions and urging the Pano})ticon plan. In this article, he presents a reasoned view of the entire subject, dealing with all the pre- valent errors and abuses, and expounding first principles at every stage. He discriminates between the means of safe custody and the means of punishments ; insists strongly on taking care of the prisoners' health ; examines and appraises all the devices for punishment, and considers how best to combine punishment with reformatory disci[)line. This la>t involves some kind of labour, which should be productive, boili to the public and to the prisoner. He concludes the anic le thus : — " In the delineation presented, the only merit we have to claim is that (if our endeavour has been successful) of adding pers])icuity to compactness. There is not, we believe, an idea which did not originate with Mr. Bentham, wliose work ought to be the manual of all tliose who are concerned in tliis material department of public administration." COLONY. Here the author's breadtli of knowledge appears to great advantage. He surveys all the c(jloni;'.ing operations known to liislory, discriminates llieir kinds, and assigns to each its benefits and its evils. The (Ircek and Roman colonies took off a redundant population; a circumstance tliat in (Ii'eece was visible tasmus Darwin, and M. Cabanis, for illustrating the ])ower of physical circumstances in the i)roducti()n of mental modifications, and quotes largely from both. All this was in advance of his age, but it is now superseded by statements ot much greater precision. Dwelling u])on the importance of Aliment, or nutrition, he puts admirably a truth that mankind have been very reluctant to receive. " The ])hysical causes must go along with the moral; and nature herself forbids, that you shall make a wise and virtuous people out of a starving one. Men must be hapj^y themselves, before they can rejoice in the hajjpiness of others ; they must have a c-crtain vigcair of mind, before they can, in the midst of habitual suffering, resist 250 INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL CAUSES. 1816-1823. a presented pleasure ; their own lives, and means of well-being, must be worth something, before they can value, so as to respect, the life, or "vvell-being, of any other person. This or that individual may be an extraordinary individual, and exhibit mental excellence in the midst of wretchedness ; but a wretched and excellent people never yet has been seen on the face of the earth." He proceeds to the circumstances of a moral kind that operate in education. The first is Domestic Education. This he expresses under his general formula, adopted throughout, of placing in the mind those mental trains that conduce to hap- piness and good conduct. " Children ought to be made to see, and hear, and feel, and taste, in the order of the most invariable and comprehensive sequences, in order that the ideas W'hich correspond to their impressions, and follow the same order of succession, may be an exact transcript of nature, and always lead to just anticipations of events. Especially, the pains and pleasures of the infant, the deepest impressions which he receives, ought, from the first moment of sensation, to be made as much as possible to correspond to the real order of nature. The moral procedure of parents is directly the reverse ; they strive to defeat the order of nature, in accumu- lating pleasures for their children, and preventing the arrival of pains, when the children's own conduct would have had very different effects." One of the commonest examples of perversion of the early training is to allow children to connect terrific images with being in the dark. Another is to connect admiration with the rich and powerful, and contempt with the poor and weak ; and to couple disgust and hatred with people that differ from us in country or religion. Again as regards the virtue of Temperance. The grand object evidently is, to connect mth each pain and pleasure those trains of ideas which, according to the order established among events, tend most effectually to increase the sum of pleasures upon the whole, and diminish the sum of EN'CVCLOP.'EDIA : ARTICLE — EDUCATION'. 25 I pains. In regard to Benevolence the primary experience is this. The pleasures of those that surround the child are usually causes of pleasure to him ; their pains, pains to him. Now, it should be systematically arranged, that children should share in the pleasures of others, and thus, by connecting their own pleasures with those of others, have an inducement to do good to others. In this manner would be laid a foundation for a life of beneficence. The author has next some very pertinent remarks upon the love of power. The right way to command the wills of others is to do them good ; the wrong way is to do them harm. " When a command over the wills of other men is pursued by the instrumentality of pain, it leads to all the several degrees of vexation, injustice, cruelty, opi)ression, and tyranny. It is, in truth, the grand source of all wickedness, of all the evil which man brings upon man. A\'hen the education is so deplorably bad as to allow an association to be formed in the mind of the child between the grand object of desire, the command over the wills of other men, and the fears and jnins of other men, as the means ; the foundation is laid of the bad character — the bad son, the bad brother, the bad husband, the bad father, ihe Ixid neighbour, the bad magistrate, the bad citizen — to sum up all in one word, the bad man. Yet, true it is, a great part of education is still so conducted as to form that association. The child, while it yet hangs at the breast, is often allowed to find out by experience, that crying, and the annoyance which it gives, is that by which chietly it can com- mand the services of its nurse, and obtain the pleasures which it desires.'' To this illustration he adds another from the fagging of boys at the great schools ; where, he sa\s, it was found that the objections to its abolition came from the boys themselves ; they submitted to the pain of being tyrannized over for a time, that they might have the counterbalancing l)leasure of being tyrants in turn. The next head is termed Technical Education, a wide 252 POLITICAL EDUCATION. 1816-1823. plirase for all the qualities necessary to make a man a good member of society in every way. They include, first and foremost, Intelligence. Under this branch the author dwells principally on the kind and amount of knowledge requisite for the different classes of society, and puts especial stress upon educating the lowest class. He disposes of the remark that intelligence does not necessarily conduce to virtue, by the counter-statement (which has the authority of Hume) " that knowledge and its accompaniments, morality and happines'", may not be strictly conjoined in every individual, but that they are infallibly so (in the mass) in every age, and in every country ". He has, as we might expect, some very strong remarks on the deficient education of our higher classes, and on the vices that impair the utility of old and opulent estab- lishments for their education. A separate handling is given to Social Education ; but it does not evolve a.ny new line of thought ; the main topic being our enormous susceptibility to the good and the evil regards ot society. The Political Education is the last branch. This is the key-stone of the arch ; the strength of the whole depends upon it. The play of the political machine acts on the mind immediately, and with extraordinary power. " When the political machine is such, that the grand objects of desire are seen to be the natural prizes of great and virtuous conduct — of high services to mankind, and of the generous and amiable sentiments from which great endeavours in the service of mankind naturally proceed — it is natural to see diffused among mankind a generous ardour in the acquisition of all those admirable qualities which i)rei)are a man for a(lmiral)le actions; great intelligence, perfect self-command, and over-ruling bene- volence. When the political machine is such that the grand objects of desire are seen to be the reward, not of virtue, not of talent, but of subservience to the will, and command over the affections of the ruling few ; interest with the man above to be the only sure means to the next step in wealth, or power, ENXVCLOP.EDIA : ARTICLE BEGGAR. 2^^ or consideration, and so on ; the means of pleasing the man above become, in that case, the great object of pursuit." Such is a feeble outline of this remarkable essay. The line of thought is highly original, and most instructive on the points chietly embraced. There is no possibility of palliating the defects of a too exclusive deductive handling ; but the study of the educator is repaid by the suggestiveness of the theories. Unf(jrtunatcly, tlicre was no one but the author himself capable of giving tlie full application to his principles ; and his most fruitful openings were not pursued. Sir James Mackintosh having ventured on a criticism of the Essay, tlie author took the opportunity of introducing into the " Fragment "' a biting reply. Sir James made some plausible enough objections, but fenced them so badly, that the author trip'S him up at every turn. He says, with an air of justice, that the essay shows the inconvenience of leaping at once from tlie most general laws, to a multiplicity of minute apjjcarances. This is one point. The other remark is directed against the author's theory that the intellectual and moral character is entirely formed by circumstances ; and might have been a formidable criticism in stronger hands. In addition to the articles now reviewed, there were others not included with these in the reprint : namely. Caste, Econo- f/iists, Bi'^\:^a>% Bcntfit Societies, Banks for Saviive,s. The article " Caste " is, of course, a historical account of the institution of that name, with the author's reflections upon it. " Econoniists " refers to the early French school of Political I'xonomy, of which it gives a historical and critical account. The three last may be briefly noticed as giving the author's mode of viewing the great social problems connected with indigence. I5EGGAU. It is difficult to define and classify beggars. Vet it is neces- sary to distinguish the classes before a[)[)l}'ing measures for 254 CLASSES OF BEGGARS. 1816-1823, curing the evil. One great distinction is between such as beg from necessity, and such as beg from choice ; there being great varieties of both sorts. For a description of the field of men- dicity, the author refers to the Report of a Committee of the House of Commons, in 1815, with reference to mendicity in the metropolis. The inquiry was very imperfect ; the interro- gation of witnesses superficial and unskilful ; but the facts and conjectures given in the Report are still the best information available. There is great difference of opinion as to the proportion of the two kinds. Some say, half beg from necessity; others, all, or nearly all, from choice. Mill inclines to the second view as regards the journeymen in the metropolis, being confirmed in this view from private knowledge (meaning, no doubt, infor- mation supplied by Place). Begging is all but unknown in that class ; and, considering the fluctuations in their means of subsistence, " the resolution by which they abstain from begging should be regarded as one of the most remarkable phenomena in the history of the human mind ". Adverting to the number of beggars, he remarks that this is little ascertained ; yet, according to the experience of every attentive man, it is gradually diminishing. As to the deceptions practised by beggars, he holds in great contempt their alleged inventive ingenuity. The supposed gains ■ of beggars are liable to great exaggeration. With regard to the allegation of their being violent and abusive when refused alms, he says : — " The writer of this article may give his own evidence. He has lived above fifteen years in the metropolis ; he has walked more than most people, both in the streets of London and in the roads and fields immediately surrounding it ; he never gives anything to a casual beggar ; he cannot at this moment recollect that, in the whole course of his experience, he ever met with one abusive word ; but he has a hundred times received a ' Thank you, sir,' with a bow and a curtsey from the EN'CVCLOP.F.DIA : ARTICLF. — BF.GGAR. 255 little boys and girls whom he has refused and reptilsed. and to whom it is evident that such a lesson is taught by those on whom their conduct depends. The impostrous beggar, in fact, knows his art too well to lose his temper : and the spirit of the age, so much improved, renders a mild de])ortment necessary to the success even of the worst employment." I am not aware of any ])arallel instance of such obduracy on principle, except Archbishop Whately. who remarks somewhere to the effect, that he had given away large sums for benevolent ])urposes, but he could not reproach his conscience with having ever given one halfpenny to a beggar. The author tlien ])roceeds to review the causes of Mendicity. They include — (i) Soldiering; (2) The State Lottery: (3) Drink; (4) Local demands for temporary labour; (5) Ciratuity- taking, or Tipping — a degrading practice, which brings down the mind to the mendicity level ; (6) Want of Lducation ; (7) The Poor Laws, on which he passes a lengthened condem- nation ; (8) Early and improvident marriages ; (9) Ireland — " supplies more than one-third of all the beggars of the H'letropolis "; (10) War; (11) Bad Legislation. 1 do not think that this enumeration shows the discrimination of the author at its best. Soldiering and War come to nearlv the same thing. Poor Laws is but a case of Bad Legislation. Want of Education he himself regards as a primal cause, of which Drink and Liiprovidence may be but effects. His remedies corresj^ond with the causes, but arc somewhat better arranged. They are : — Review and amend the existing laws relating to beggarv. This, of course, is equivalent to Poor Law Reform. Make provision for the efficient education of the whole mass of the peo])le, down to the lowest individual. Take all means for preventing the too rapid multiplication of human beings. Reform the mode of governing Ireland. Make a law to prohibit all modes of paying the people that 256 CURES OE BEGGARY. 1816-1823. have an affinity with yielding to the cravings of a beggar — /.trument of happiness should, in the greatest degree possible, be ])ro\-ided for the most numerous, and in the same degree in which the most numerous, the most important portion of the race."' 'I'he chief merit of the institution lies in creating the dispcisi- tion to accumulate ; out (jf this will sjiring industry and frugality, which will imply temperance. The upshot of the whole is a pr<)vi>ion against tlie miseries of want. In en(]uiring how far Sa\!ngs IJanks ]ia\e these conseiiuenc-es, the autlior is led to consider the principle of i)opiilation. "Though no |)art of the doctrine of Mr. .\hilthus has been left uncontested, it is now, among thinking men, pretty generally allowed that, excc])ting certain favourable situations, 17 258 IMPORTANCE OF DISPOSITION TO ACCUMULATE. 1816-1823. as in new countries, where there is unoccupied land of sufficient productiveness, which may be placed under cultivation as fast as men are multiplied, a greater number of human beings is produced than there is food to support. This, it is understood, is the habitual condition of human nature." ..." What is wanted, then, is, the means of preventing mankind from increasing so fast ; from increasing faster than food can be increased to support them. To the discovery of these means, the resources of the human mind should be intensely applied. This is the foundation of all improvement." Now the disposition to accumulate is the foundation stone. But people in a state of starvation, or on the very brink of it, have nothing to accumulate. It is only the unmarried, and those that have no families or very small families, that can take advantage of savings banks. In this part of the population the disposition to accumulate will to a certain extent be increased, but experience alone can say how far. Single persons, being mostly young, are exposed to the temptations of youth, to sacrifice the future to the present. " The training of the human mind must be more skilful, and more moral to a vast degree, before this salutary power will belong to any considerable portion of the youth in any class of the population, especially in the least instructed of all." " The greater part of those that have written on Savings Banks have left altogether out of view the principle of popula- tion. They have, therefore, left out of view that circumstance on which the condition of the most numerous class of mankind radically, and irremediably, and almost wholly depends. Of course, their observations and conclusions are of little import- ance." Others, more philosophical, expect the institution to " have a salutary effect upon the principle of population, and ameliorate the condition of mankind, by lessening the rapidity with which they multiply. This is a speculation of the deepest interest. If this be an effect of savings banks, they will, indeed, deserve ENCYCLOPAEDIA : ARTICLE — BANKS FOR SAVINGS. 259 the attention and patronage of the philanthropist and the sage." The first public suggestion of an institution corresponding to Savings Banks occurred in a scheme of Bentham's for the management of paupers, which appeared, in 1797, in Arthur ^'oung's Annals of Agriculture. These " frugality banks " of Bentham were confined to the purchase of annuities for old age ; an unnecessary limitation of their functions. In the article on Benefit Societies, there is an elaborate comparison of these with Savings Banks, showing their superior applicability in many respects to the situation of the poorest. Chapter VI. WESTMINSTER REVIEW : ANALYSIS OF THE MIND. 1824 — 1829. TO the six years, from 1824 to 1829 inclusive, we have to refer, as leading events, the starting of the Westminster Review and the completion of the Analysis of the Mi?id. To the same period belongs the founding of the University of London. The history of the Westminster Review is given briefly by John Mill in the Autobiography, and by Bowring in the Life of Bentham. Neither account is very specific. According to John Mill, the need of a Radical organ, to make head against the Edird)urgh and the Quarterly, had been a topic of conver- sation between his father and Bentham many years earlier, and it was a part of the plan that his father should be editor. The " many years " would probably go back to the Ford Abbey intercourse, when there was the most abundant opportunity of discussing all manner of projects. It would be a not unlikely supposition that Mill should resolve to finish his History before entering on the task of editor. When that time arrived, Bentham was im])licatcd in money losses, which might indis- j)ose him to risk a new venture ; while Mill's speedy a]ipoint- ment to the India House would be accepted as a discpialification for the editorial ])ost. This last su])])osition, however, did not seem to be present to ]5enthanrs mind, for Jolm Mill tells us that when the Review came to be started, Bentham made a HISTORY OF THE WESTMINSTER REVIEW. 261 formal offer of the editorship to his father, and had to be then told of the incompatibility of the post with his official work. There is no very distinct statement of the amount of Ben- tham's pecuniary contribution to the scheme. From a phrase employed by John Mill, when it changed hands, in 1S28 — " the original funds were nearly or quite exhausted " — we might infer that Bentham set aside a particular sum to carry it on until it should be able to maintain itself; but what that sum was we have ne^•e^ been informed.* Indeed, both our sources of information leave Bentham himself entirely in the background. Even his opinion of the management and writing of the several numbers is never alluded to. Nevertheless, although not so successful in all respects as its promoters could have wished, it gave the first opening for the promulgation of advanced views ; while the occasion that detached the Mills from its staff in less than four years was much to be regretted. It went on as a 13enthamitc organ when it passed into Colonel Thomp- son's hands, Bowring being still editor, till it was acc^uired by Molesworth in 1836, and amalgamated with his Londoji Rcviciu.^ * "The Review had fallen into difficulties. Though the sale of the first number had been very encouraging, tlie permanent sale had never, I believe, been sufficient to ])ay the e.xi)enses, on the scale on which the Kci'iew was carried on. Those expenses had been considerably, but not sufficiently reduced. One of the editors. Southern, had resigned ; and several of the writers, including my father and me, who had been paid like other contributors for our earlier articles, had latterly written without payment." •f- The account given by Bcjwring is to the following effect : — " In 1823, the 11 Vi/w/z/.r/iv A'<7vV?f was started. The funds were all furnished by I'lcntliam. The editors, for some years, were Mr. Southern in \\w. literary, and mjself lor the ])(jlilical deijartment. It afterwards ])assed into my hands alone ; and next was carried on by me in connexion with (.'oloncl I'l^rronct Thompson. Its appearance excited no small fluttering among the two si-ctions of tlu' aristo- cracy, which it attackeil witii e(|ual, thougli not undiscriminaling aidi^ur. Tlie sale, for some time, was nearly 3000 ; and as its readeis wi'ie, to a large extv'nt, among the unopulent and democratic classes, whose access to l)ooks is principally by associations of various sorts, the number of its ri'atKas was very great." ( 'ontri!)Utions were jxiid ten guineas a sheet. liowring gives lirnlliam's own account of it, in a letter to a correspondent, but no new fact is added. Both Bowring and Bentham mention that the 262 STARTING THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON. 1824-1829. The articles contributed by Mill will be noticed, in the nar- rative, according to date. Coincident with the third and fourth years of the Westminster Review, was the appearance of the Parliamentary History and Revieiv, started by the elder Mr. Marshall of Leeds. The composition of the "Analysis of the Mind" went on, by John Mill's account, chiefly in the autumn holidays of those six years. It must have occupied his thoughts during many leisure moments besides. His other writing would not be sufficient to engross his spare time even when engaged in his office routine. The failure of the Chrestomathic School must have had a discouraging effect. Nothing was done towards a scheme of higher education on an enlightened basis until 1825. The credit of projecting the University of London is due to the poet, Thomas Campbell. The most detailed account of the proceedings is found in Place's MSS. Campbell's pubHshed letter to Lord Brougham {Tifnes, Feb. 9, 1825) was the first public intimation of the scheme. In an entry in Place's MS., dated 12th Feb., 1825, he says Campbell had often talked to him, for three years back, on the project of a London University. In the previous June, he told Place the results of his enquiries into the German Univer- sities'. It was after a conversation with Joseph Hume, that he wrote his letter to Brougham. Place talked in favour of the project in his wide circle. " Thus the matter became known to a great many persons. On the 29th of January last, he urged the matter very strongly upon me, and I had a long con- versation with Mill respecting it. Mill discountenanced it, as Longmans undertook the publishing of the Review, and then declined, where- upon Baldwin became the publisher ; but neither of them states what we learn from John Mill, that it was the sight of his father's article in the Edinburgh Review that deterred the Longmans, and that it was his father's instigation that Baldwin took their place. THOMAS CAMPBELL THE PROJECTOR. 263 lie thoimlit it was unattainable. On the following day, Brougham gave a calves'-head dinner ; among others who dined tliere were Lord King, Joseph Hume, Thomas Campbell, and lames Mill. After dinner, Campbell's project was talked of, and, as I am informed, Campbell . . . was countenanced in his project by the whole company, every one of whom had probably heard of it before . . . ." At a dinner at Mr. John Smith's, a few days later, Mill, Brougham, and Campbell were present, and measures were resolved on. Hume undertook to procure subscribers to the amount of a hundred tliousand pounds. Mill, once embarked in the scheme, was a powerful ally. It was frequently remarked by Cirote, that Mill's personal ascendancy with men of wealth among the dissenters and among liberal politicians generally, and the trust that they placed in his judgment, had a great deal to do with the ob- taining of the recjuisite funds. There are frequent notes to him from Brougham, consulting on the progress of the scheme. Here is one: — "I wish you could look in on your way to the city, as I have a talk to hold with you, on our liberal ministers having refused a charter as not daring to face Oxford bigotry, .\:c." At a public meeting (the third that had been held) on 19th Dec., 1825, Mill is one of a number of "Noblemen and Oentlemen selected by ballot to compose the first Council "'. The foundation stone of the building (now Universitv College) was laid on 30th April, 1S27; followed by a dinner at Free- masons' Tavern. Mill jjresent. In 1.S26, the arrangements were so far advanced, that they began to look out for professors; and, in October, Mill wrote to Dr. Tliomson begging him to accept the chemistry cliair, on the su])i)ositi()n thai it could be made worth his while. The appointment that gave the Council most trouble was the ])liil()sophy chair. Mill and his allies put forward Charles Hay Cameron, who is only recently deceased. He was then a 264 PHILOSOPHY CHAIR. 1824-1S29. barrister, but afterwards held high appointments in India, being one of the Commission of three, presided over by Macaulay, for preparing the Criminal Code. He was one of Grote's friends, and may have been brought forward by him. But as his orthodoxy was doubtful, the Evangelical Dissenters were hostile, and he could not be carried : Brougham staid away at the final push. Another candidate, a dissenting clergyman, conciliated Mill's support by professing to follow Hartley, and Mill took him up as a pis aller, and got him elected ; not with- out the opposition of Mr. Grote, who then, as afterwards, held strongly the incompatibility of clerical vows with tlie libertas pJiilosopliandi. 1824. The Supplement to the Ejicyclopxdia is now finished, and a letter from Mill to Napier, on the yth of May, winds up our extant references to the undertaking. " East India House, May 7, 1S24. " My dear Sir, " I ought to have replied to your kind letter before this time ; but the fact is, the number of the Supplement was not sent to me till the other day, and I deferred writing till I saw it, though I ought to have sent for it, but have the apology of having been both very busy and very ill. As to what you have said of me, I have but two feelings ; one is, fear that you have said much more good of me than I deserve ; the next is, great delight, which 1 am not so modest as to seek to disguise, tliat I am so highly estimated by you, who, I am i)crsuadcd, would not, on such an occasion, utter any but your real sentiments. I am happy to say that both Mr. M'Culloch and I are greatly l)leased with the execution of your preface. I am happy also to say that nothing can be more complete than the success of his lectures, and the estimation in which M'Culloch is held among us is such as to satisfy the most affectionate of his friends, of whom I reckon myself one of the foremost." " KDIXBURGH " REVIEWED. 265 M'CuUoch had been brouglU from Edinburgh to deliver the Riccardo Memorial Lectures, and they seem to have been a great success. His own account of them is given in the Xapicr Ccnrs/'ONde/nr, p. 39. The following sentences occur in his letter: — "I have seen Mill frec^uently, and find him extremely kind and friendly. It is a pity he is so incorrigible a Radical. A new number of the WatDiiiister has been pub- lishetl, and it contains the sequel of the attack on the Ediiihiojji, and a more contemptible and jjcttifogging one never was published. I do not believe Mill wrote it." It remains to complete the record of this year, by a full account of the articles that ai)peared in the lust and third numbers of the W'cstDiiiistcr Rev'u'7^' — one dealing witli the Edi)ibiiri:;h and the other with the Quarterly. It had been a cherished object in the scheme of the U'c'sf//i!/Lsfi.-r, John Mill tells us, that a part should be devoted to reviewing the other R.eviews ; and for the first of the articles by his father, he himself read through the volumes of the lulinbur^/i from the commencement, making notes of tlie articles that seemed suited to his father's purpose, on account of either their good or tlieir liad (jualities. Tliis i)a])er, John Mill tells us farther, was the chief cause of the sensation that the ]\'csti)iiiisicr Rci'iclO jjroduced at its first appearance. He gives a short outline of the contents. I sliall here abstract it more fully. It was the first occasion when Mill had full swing in the expression of his political views. I'or lie was not allowed to ex[>ress these when writing for Jeffrey : and, altliough he was not fettered in the P/'ii/aN- thropiit, that periodical dealt with the fimdamental ((uestions of ](()l:tics oiilv in an indirect way. 'I'he introduction of tlie article consists of remarks on the pe( uliarities of periodical literature. One peculiarit}' is, that it must have immediate success in order to secure its exist- ence. 'I'he siood result of this is that writers are induced to 266 PERIODICAL LITERATURE CHARACTERISED. 1824-1829. make knowledge palatable, and thereby increase its diffusion. There is another side, however. "The most effectual mode of doing good to mankind by reading, is, to correct their errors ; to expose their prejudices ; to refute opinions which are generated only by partial interests, but to which men are, for that reason, so much the more attached ; to censure what- ever is mean and selfish in their behaviour, and attach honour to actions solely in proportion to their tendency to increase the sum of happiness, lessen the sum of misery." But this is just the course that the periodical writer cannot pursue. To please the great mass of men, he must flatter their prejudices and pander to their errors. Now, of all opinions the most mischievous are those that lead to the injury of the larger number of men for the benefit of the smaller number. These, however, are the opinions that periodical literature is under the strongest inducements to ])romote ; and why ? Because they are the opinions of the people in power, who are able to set the fashion. There is a tendency in the opinions of the wise to prevail at last ; but then these must be diffused and brought fully under the attention of mankind ; and periodical literature endeavours to thwart this operation. Its success depends upon finding plausible reasons for maintaining the favourite opinions of the powerful classes. After the mass of the people have become a reading people, a reward is held out for writings addressed particularly to them. They too have their erroneous opinions, but it is not by the periodical i)ress depending on their sup])ort, that these are likely to be corrected. The cheap publications of the day addressed to the more numerous class, are productive of mere evil than good. The two great Reviews — Edinburgh and Quarterly — are addressed to the aristocratical class ; and it is to be seen by the evidence what is the amount of their suloservience to that class. As they are conducted on op})osite princi])les, it would seem that both cannot follow the same ends. This is a nice point, the elucidation of which goes far into the philosophy "EDINBURGH" REVIEWED. 267 of British history ; and it is the main strain of the present article. The term " aristocracy " has to be carefully explained. In the author's view it means, not simply the titled nobility, nor even the families possessed of large fortunes ; these are the nucleus, but not" the whole. " The comparatively small number pos- sessing political power are the real aristocracy, by whatever circumstances — birth, or riches, or other accident — the different portions of them become possessed of it." In our own country, the aristocracy is a motley body ; and if we assent to the doc- trine of the Edinbur^Ji Review', that the powers of government are centred in the House of Commons, we need only encjuire who tb.ey are tliat compose that house, and who send them there. The Ijroad facts are enough. The owners of the great landed estates have the principal intluence ; they have all the counties, and a large proportion of the boroughs. In some of these, the electors sell their votes to the highest bidders — a very culpable thing, in the code of aristocratic moralit}-, although there is nothing wrong in a rich lord of the soil selling his vote in parliament. The author next reviews what he calls the props to the aristcjcracy — the Church and the Law. The influence of reli- gion on men's minds is necessarily great, and to secure this to the side of the governing few, it is retiuisite merely to influence the teachers of religion. For this purjjose they are formed into a c(jri)urate and dependent body, with gradation of emoluments and power; tlie nomination to these emoluments is kept in the hands of the gcnerning class ; and tlie holders are admitted to a share (jf the power and profits c^f the aristocrac)'. Then as to the Law. ]-'rom the comjjlexity of our J-Jiglish law, the (hiss of lawyers come to have a great intluence with the comnuuiily. It is important to the aristocracy to use the intluence of the lawyers t"or its own jiurposes. Hence it is requisite to admit tlieni also to a sh;',re of the aristocratic privileges. 2 68 ARISTOCRATICAL PARTIES. 1824-1829. In this way, then, is the aristocracy made up : the landed families (not two hundred in all) and their partners — the monied interest, the church, and the law. Men of talent, as such, are erroneously said to have a share ; their true position is as servants in office. One more preliminary explanation is needed. The aristo- cracy, in this country, is divided into two sections : the Quarterly follows one, the Edinburgh the other. These are called respectively ministerial and opposition. All that part of the aristocracy that think themselves better off under the King's present advisers than they would be otherwise, lend their influence to the ministry. The author is careful to explain that he is speaking of classes as a whole, and not of the exceptional individuals that are found in every class. The theory of government must repose upon class tendencies ; and, that these are governed by class interests any man would only make himself contemptible to deny. Next, as to the Opposition. Their object is to change the hands that distribute the advantages of power. To drive a minister from office, it is necessary to deprive him of support in the House of Commons. Now, putting aside minor ex- pedients, such as court intrigues, we come upon one great means, namely, to operate upon the middling and lower classes. Public opinion is still a force in the country, in proportion to the mass oi)erated on. It is the interest of the Opposition to speak so as to gain favour both from the few (the aristocracy themselves) and from the many. This they are obliged to endeavour by a perpetual trimming between the two interests. In their si)ceclies and writings, therefore, we commonly find them playing at see-saw. If a portion of the discourse has been emi)loyed in recommending the interests of the people, another must be employed in recommending the interests of the aristoc- racy. In this game, it is sufficiently evident on which side, at last, remain the winnings. For one thing, it is the aristo- cracy that must, in the House, vote down the ministry For " EDINBURGH " REVIEWKD. 269 another thing, the Opposition is itself a section of the aristoc- racy, and one that hopes to be the leading section ; it cannot, therefore, seek to diminish its own advantages. This ])reamble brings us to the line of action pursued by the organs of the resi)ective ])arties. T'ne organ of the ministry has its course clear ; its writers advocate the interests of the aristocracy witli entlnisiasm, affected, or real. The pe()])le are represented as altogctlier vile ; any desires that they may have for securities against tlie al.)use of power by the aristocracy are inconceival)ly wicked. The Opposition is blamed, first, for attarliing l)lame to ministers, and, secondly, and far worse, for holding forth to the ])eoi)le pretensions about good government that lead to the overthrow of the church and the state. Tlie Op])Osition organs, again, must work the see-saw; to l.)e called tlie middle course and moderation. IJad names must be given to both sets of o]iinions, wliich the ])arty is in reality jjutting forward by turns. The opinions on tlie side of aristo- cratical ])Owcr, are called despotical. Those tliat demand securities in favour of the people are declared anarcliical ; in the slang of tlie day they are Jacobinical, and radical. ']"he wise course is the middle one. \\'hen the writers are blamed as tending to the aristocratical side, they declare their language lo be misinterpreted, and point to other declarations of opinion ill favour of the popular demands. Tliey do not allow that two contradictory opinions, on one and the same point, destroy one another, and sliould be regarded as no opinion at all. " It is essential, in writing u])on this ])lan, to deal as much as possible in vague language, and cultivate the skilful use of it. Words which ajjpear to mean much, and ir.a\' bv those to whom they are addressed be interi)reted to mean mucli, but which ma\- also, when it suits the convenience of those who have used them, be shown to mean little or nothing, are of singular ini[)onance to those whose business it is to pLiv the game of coni])roniise, to trim l)etween iirecoiK:ileal)le iiUere.^ts, to see-saw between contradictory opinions." 270 LANGUAGE CUTTING BOTH WAYS. 1824-1829. Language of this description is particularly needed in making declarations that are to gain favour with the people. Nothing is risked by speaking explicitly in favour of the aristocracy. What is requisite is to have vague terms at command, when it is necessary to speak in opposition to these privileges. The people may be warned against aristocratical domination in the abstract, but great care must be used not to lift any part of the veil that conceals the real amount of aristocratical power there is in this country. When any specific measure is proposed that would operate to diminish that power, as the ballot, it must be loudly decried, and everything done to attach to it the apprehension of evil consequences. If, on the other hand, anything is proposed having the appearance of diminishing aristocratic power, although it has no such tendency, perhaps the reverse — as the disfranchisement of the rotten boroughs, to give the scats to the counties — then the epithets of praise must be collected. The invention of such schemes is a part of the business of the writers. A farther example is the doctrine of the representation by Classes. Before citing his examples, the author interposes a personal explanation. Is the new periodical now started, people will ask, to rise superior to the inducements that others have succumbed to ? The answer is — We claim to be tried. Men have diversities of taste ; and it is not impossible but some men may exist having really a taste for endeavouring to obtain the securities of good government. Moreover, there is a growing class in the country that may perhaps prove suffi- ciently numerous to reward our endeavours. When the Edinburgh Revieiu first appeared, it was not decidedly attached to the opposition section of the aristocracy. At that time, the terrors of the French Revolution still over- whelmed that party. The see-saw was at first performed between opinions necessary to obtain the favour of the aristoc- racy, and ojiinions that had obtained the sanction of philoso- phy. Examples of this had already appeared in Blackstone "EDINBURGH" REVIEWED. 27I and in Paley. The first article of the first number, is a review of Mounter de V Influence dcs Philosophes. For the aristocrats, a great part of it is in the anti-jacobin tone ; concurring with the fashionable opinion — namely, that the cause of the Revo- lution and all its imputed evils, is in a great measure to be ascribed to the philosophers. For the philosophical part of the public, again, a portion of it is employed in representing philo- sophy as perhaps the foremost among the causes of good. Then follows a long passage in point. The gems are resumed thus : — " That Raynal should be enumerated among the sober- minded writers, Condorcet among the inflammatory, must sur- prise any one who has read them. Observe, however, the real doctrine. It is laudable to put forth such writings as those of Montesquieu, Turgot, and Raynal ; this is for the philosophers. It is wicked to put forth such writings as those of Rousseau, jMably, and Condorcet ; this is for the aristocrats. Observe also the covert recommendation of restraining freedom of discussion." The presumjjtuous theories of the last-named class " have a necessary tendency to do harm ". In the same number, Godwin is praised for setting the doctrine of the particular and the general affections in a light superior to Dr. Parr's sermon on the same topic. This is going a great way for philosophy. But the writer had " no sooner entered upon his remarks on population, than the pleasing delusion was exj)elled, and we were convinced it was a case for life ". A suitable offering at the throne of aristocra- tical bigotry and insolence. It is a favourite doctrine of the Review that irregular and tumultuary el)ullitions of the people in favour of liberty are of singular importance. By this both aristocracy and peo})le are pleased. It is not from such irrational effervescence that the aristocracy have anything to fear ; while it is expected that the vanity of the peoi)le will be pitjued. Already, in the first vcjknr.e, the doctrine ajipears. For example, " I'he uproar even, and the confusion and the clamour of a popular election in England, 272 ETHICAL DOCTRINES. 1 8 24- 1 82 9. have their use ; they give a stamp to the names Liberty^ Con- stitution^ and People, they infuse sentiments wliich notliing but violent passions and gross objects of sense could infuse," &c. The first article in the second volume is almost wholly anti-jacobin ; the other side being remembered only by a pointed condemnation of that popular object of attack, the partition of Poland. The ethical doctrines of the Review come in for a share of notice. In one article, the benefits of falsehood are rather strongly put : " we may assume as established and imdeniablc, that there is nothing in the nature of truth wliich makes it 7iecessarily good ". In another department, the ancients are considered very immoral for not including all the conditions included by us, in the marriage contract. The Delphine of Madame de Stael is singled out for ferocious condemnation ; so difTerent from the tone employed respecting her ten years afterwards, when, in England, she was in fashion with the opposition aristocracy. The second volume is distinguished by its contributions to the aristocratical politics and morality. In an article on Eelsham's Memoirs of George III., there is much indignation at the writing of ])arty pamphlets in the name of history. " A\'e presume it will not be reckoned much more laudable to write party pami)hlets under the guise of reviews." A certain petition of the " Society of the Friends of the People," is called a libellous oracle, for setting forth that a majority of the House of Commons is chosen by less than two hundred great firmilies; that is to say, the authors should be treated with fine and imprisonment. This being the ])eriod when the aristocratical tide was running high, when the war was just renewed with France, wlien fear of invasion and the courage of volunteering were the j)assions of the day, the only marketal)le commodity was aristocratical opinions ; and the ])opu]ar side is entirely unre- presented in the volume. " EniNBURGH REVIEWED. 273 At this time much respect was professed for the old govern- ment of the Bourbons. To call it tyranny and despotism is revolutionary verbiage. The fourth and fifth volumes are much the same as the second and third, except that there seems " a disposition to avoid grappling with any important and tender subject. Poli- tical economy, indeed, obtains a due share of attention ; and the abolition of the slave trade begins to be recommended — two subjects U])on which the Edinburgh Rroieiv has rendered important service. And upon these subjects, as well as upon that of Catholic emancipation, which has been laboriously handled, a remark is required." These are the subjects well suited to the purpose of the KrrirdK 'i'he i)os!tion of the aristocracy would not be weakened by better opinions on jwlitical economy, or on the slave trade. Even Catholic emancipation would only raise a clamour among the priest-ridden party, but would do no harm otherwise. Such subjects would gain for the Revie70 a reputation with the liberal, the enlightened, and the disinterested part of the public, without risking much with the aristocratical class. Even political economy is occasionally prostituted. " A nation situated like ours, is much more likely to suffer from increasing wealth, than from increasing numbers of peoi)le," and, in such circumstances, the ex[)enses of war are a blessing. In the sixth volume (1805), a counterpoise begins to be a])plied to the popular scale. A paragraph is introduced in favour of what the few by whom the powers of government are usuri)ed, have so much occasion to dread ; the prevalence of enlightened i)rinciples, persecuted, under the name of theory, l)y the said few, the patrons of practice, and eulogiscrs of " things as they are ". The article on IJailly's Memoirs is more 0]~)]~)Osed to the anti-jacobin spirit, tliun anything occurring before. "Occasion had been taken from the Revolution, it says, to involve in discredit the princijjles of jjolitical philosophy, to give strength i8 2 74 SECURITIES FOR GOOD GOVERNMENT. 1824-1829. to prejudices, and to sanction abuses, &c." Two classes of men had received injustice ; the philosophers, who inculcated a love of liberty and a spirit of reform, and the virtuous and moderate, who attempted, at the outset, to act upon these principles. To balance all this, these parties should have fore- seen the dangers arising from their exasperated opposition to the court, the clergy, and the nobility ; from their parade of popularity; from their aUiance with the mob of Paris, and so on. The next passage produced is a laboured panegyric upon the actual composition of the House of Commons, with a fancy picture of the harmonious relations between the legis- lature and the people. Eelsham's continuation of his History again flourishes the red rag ; the consequence is a strain of remark which " seems as if a page of a ministerial daily paper had slipped into our hands". On the famous expedition to Holland in 1799, we are told of the disaffected newspai)ers, and the military talents of the British commander-in-chief. From the sixth to the ninth volume, there is nearly a blank on the securities of good government. In the ninth volume occurs "one of the most remarkable specimens of the use of words without ideas, and of forms of expression covering ignorance with the semblance of knowledge, that we could at present point out, fashionable, and popular, and of course prevalent, as this mode of composition is ". The passage is long and desultory ; and the author's sentences of comment will be enough. The see-saw here is so rapid, that, as in the swift succession of the prismatic colours, the mixture becomes confusion. The ancient rei)ublics are " beautiful fabrics of civil polity," but nevertheless such wretched fabrics, that " they might be swept away by the surge of a moment, whenever the fiartions who loved sedition, or the ambitious who aimed at tyranny, should rouse the madness of the multitude ". There is a class of writers who love change, and a class who hate it, " EDINBURGH REVIEWKD. 275 seemingly for its own sake. We are sorry the writer did not inform us where they are to be found. From hal)it, and from the love of ease, all men are averse to change, where the prospect of some considerable good is not presented to them. In one passage, the influence of the House of Peers is real and effective ; in another, the House of Commons possesses nearly the whole of the legislative authority. In a farther passage, a writer dilates on the great mischiefs likely to arise from the growing inability of the other branches to thwart the House of Commons. He passes on to a period when the Rez'icui thought expedient a much higher utterance on the side of the people than it had ventured on before. The whole of the article entitled " On the Rights and Duties of the People,'' in the twentieth volume, though much of the language is still vague and slippery, may be given as a specimen of the new lengths to which it was not scrupled, at this particular time, to go, in opposition to aristo- cratical interests. According to one passage, though it had, in the previous paragraph, been allowed, that the principle of representation is the grand secret for good government, yet it is maintained, that for the people to let the powers of government out of their own hands, even to real representatives, is attended with imminent danger. It seems, according to the reviewer, that the plan of delegated authority necessarily implies a surrender of the function itself How is this to be prevented ? By i;nass meetings of the people, to declare their opinions on public measures and public men. Pitt is severely censured for being the first minister to abridge the rights of Englishmen to discuss their own affairs. When a writer is in this vein, he is naturally led to expose the weakness of the rei)resentative system as it then stood — the exclusive power of the aristocracy, tlie nulhty of the large manufacturing towns, and so forth. On tlie other hand, there is a jjassage in the same number, which, thougli somewhat misty and oracular, nevertheless contains a view uf 276 BEST GOVERNMENT DEFINED. 1824-1829. the heau ideal of government, well calculated to administer consolation to the holders of aristocratical power. " The main end of government, to be sure, is, that wise laws be enacted and enforced." The best government, however, is a govern- ment that has an end more highly valued than its main end. " A representative legislature is incomparably of more value when it truly represents the efficient force of the nation in controlling the executive, than when it merely enacts whole- some statutes in its legislative capacity." Such is a feeble attempt to summarize this scathing article. I cannot teU exactly how it affected Jeffrey and his contributors ; but no one had the courage to reply, or to retaliate in any form, until Macaulay took up the cudgels, in 1829, against the author's article on Government. Although the main charges could not easily be rebutted, several things could be said in palliation of the conduct of the Review. Few of the writers had studied Government in a very thorough manner ; unvary- ing clearness of thought, precision in the use of terms, and rigid consistency of statement, had never been exacted of any periodical ; still less was it thought necessary that the different writers should be always at one. I cannot but think that the dependence of the Review on the Whig Aristocracy is too strongly stated. It was surely read extensively by the middle classes, and by that portion of them (in the towns, for instance) which was as yet unrepresented, and which must have felt its interests bound up with some extension of the suffrage, such, at least, as Pitt and the Whig leaders of the last century had more than once brought forward. As the fulness of the time drew near, the Review did advocate such an extension, and assisted in bringing it about ; not perhaps seeing that the «end must be the destruction of aristocratical power. The continuation of the attack in the second number is by John Mill, who had assisted his father in selecting his passages. Good points are made here too, especially on the Liberty of "quarterly reviewed. 277 the Press and Libel Law, on which the younger Mill was already well primed. But a more particular reference is here unnecessary. In the fourth number of the Westminster, for October, the Quarterly receives its share of attention. While both organs, it is here said, depend upon the aristo- cratical class, the line of the Quarterly is rendered distinctive by its subservience to the ministerial party. Besides this principal difference, however, there are others that deserve to be noticed in advance. For one thing, the Quarterly has always been more of a bookseller's catch-penny than the Edinburgh. We are surprised to observe to what a degree it renounces the character of being a vehicle of instruction, and aims at nothing higher than furnishing amusement and subjects of prattle to loungers and gossips. Its main resources have been books of travels, and books of poetry and amusement. Another difference is that a much higher kind of intellect has always appeared in the Edinburgh. A majority of its articles are from men of stored and cultivated minds ; such an article being very rare in the Quarterly. There is something in the more distinguished of the Edinburgh reviewers to show that they have a leaning to better things, even when they are lending themselves to the sinister interest of their patrons. When they perceive a turning in the public mind towards anything that is good, they are ready to fall in with the hap})y current ; to which they have often lent additional velocity and force. The writers in the Quarterly take the directly opposite course. Watching the earliest symptoms of a tendency to im])rovement, they decry it, render it ridiculous and odious, and do everything to thwart it. They play the part of the cold- blooded, remorseless enemies of mankind. ^\'hile the operation of see-saw needs skill, tlie task of writing for the party in power may be performed by coarser instruments. Strictly speaking, that party does not need to 278 LOGIC OF POWER. 1824-1829. argue or persuade people ; it can command and strike. This affects the position of the advocate, who knows that he has power on his side. He does the nearest to commanding and striking that his situation admits ; he employs the two weapons — Assumption and Abuse. These are the logical arms of power ; as may be testified by all history, civil and ecclesias- tical. The advocates of the Catholic church, in their argu- ments with the reformers, employed the instrument of Assumption. Universal consent, and the will of heaven, they said, were in their favour. The supporters of the Stuarts took for granted that king's reigned by divine right ; that the people were incurably stupid and inclined to mischief ; whence it followed that arbitrary power is at once divine and indispen- sable. The second ingredient in the logic of power is Abuse. To illustrate the employment of this by the Quarterly^ which is the author's chief purpose, he resuscitates a discourse from the Logic of the celebrated Le Clerc. It is on that one source oi delusion — aj'gumentum ab invidia dudiun, named by him yirgu- mefitu7n Theologiaim, which name Mill finds fault with as too narrow (at least for our day) ; it should be argumeniu)n iniperi- ositm, the argument of power, in whatever hands it is placed. This branch of the Logic of Power is really all-including; it pre- supposes the assumption that the opinion attaclicd is wrong. The argi/i/wniuin ab invidia ductuin (rendered the Dirt-Jiing- ing argument) is divided by Le Clerc into sixteen species. ■"I'here is a good deal of repetition, such as we find in the men of that age, wlio were fond of sul)divisions. Several of the species come under one head — Misrepresentation {inale txpli- core). Several are forms of suppression of evidence. Otliers are — connecting tlie opinions with those of men already odious; imputation of bad conse<|ucnces and wicked designs ; differing in opinion from great men ; dirt-flinging irrelevancies ; exciting the prejudices of the ignorant ; accusation of subverting insti- tutions. "quarterly" reviewed. 279 " ^\'Ilat do the men become who drink from these poisoned fi)iintains of the Logic of Power ? Wolves, says Le Clerc ; and Seldom has issued from human lips a truth of greater moment." The grand ciuestion between the Quarterly and its o])ponents being whether there is anything in our constitution detrimen- tal to the [)eo])le, and that ought to be changed, its affirmation is — little or nothing. This position it maintains by begging questions, and venting calumny. The production of illustrative extracts is rendered difficult by the prevailing verbosity of the composition. The first jjroduced is a passage from an article on Parliamentary Reform. A few of the author's comments will sufficiently indicate what it is composed of There is in one place a triplet of assump- tions : that (i) the call for reform, (2) the use of a free press, (3) the power of holding meetings — all lead, by natural conse- quence, to insurrectionary violence, to the loss of all security for person and property, figured by the reviewer under the names — broken heads and broken windows. I'his is both assumption and abuse. Again, there is assumed the perpetual existence, in the people of England, of unreasonable discontent and a fondness for revolt. Once more, "radical reform" su]jposes universal insurrection, that is, not only all the evils that man can inflict ujjon man, but all the evils and crimes that aristocratical eloquence can find language to exjjress. Such is aristocratical logic near its perfection ; its essence, its elixir. There is, farther, the assumption that the mass of the nation are contented ; the contradiction of a previous sentence. "'Oue; but this was necessary for the purpose of the Re\iewer. And contradictions, though they are contrary to the rules of ordinarv lc\^ic, are by no means contrary t(j the logic ol ])owcr. The advocate of the 'old-fashioned government' wanted to make the friends of an amended government api)ear both (nlious and contem[)tible. He could not make them appear so odious as he wished, withcjut making them appear formidable, lie could not make them appear so contemptible 28o HANDLING OF REFORM. 1824-1829. as he wished, without making them appear to be not formidable. And he knew well the sort of people whom he wished to please. If he spoke strongly enough for their interests, in the way which they deemed according to their interest, they would little care for the congruity or incongruity of his ideas." The next notable assumption is that all who desire Parlia- mentary Reform avow a love of Revolution, by which is meant a horrible aggregate of the worst of crimes. The closing sentence applauds one of the articles on Parliamentary Reform in the Edinburgh ; a striking illustration of the dcvotedness of that organ to the aristocratical cause. A second passage is given on the topic of Reform. It is a very curious specimen. In the time of Charles I., the people respected the decencies and the duties of life, deluded as they were. But now that popular knowledge has gained a footing, men have come into a state to confound right and wrong. Of all men, the smatterer in philosophy is the most intolerable and the most dangerous ; he begins by unlearning his Creed and his Commandments. While he confines himself to private practice, his neighbour's wife may be in some danger, and his neighbour's property also, but when he commences professor of moral and political philosophy, his very breath becomes venomous, &c. The third extract is a very long characteristic passage, also on Parliamentary Reform. Of course, we count ui)on such expressions as these : — The three possible forms of government, each liable to abuses when existing alone, are with us blended in one harmonious system, working for the safety, welfare, and happiness of all. Then, again, it is the inlluence of tlie demo- cracy that has increased, is increasing, and ought to be diminished. All the additional influence of the crown, by the increased establishments, is but a feather as compared with the weight given to the democracy by tlie publication of the debates. But now what is meant by Parliamentary Reform ? ^^'hen this (question is put at the meetings of reformers, the "quarterly" reviewed. 281 confusion of Babel has been renewed. One is for triennial jxirliaments, another for annual. Orator Hunt is for vote by ballot; one of the Penny Orators is for Magna Charta. They talk of restoring the constitution — what constitution ? The British constitution, says the reviewer, is not the creature of theory. The radical reformers, retorts Mill, do not say that it is. " Under it we are free as our thoughts." This is the aristocratical logic, without reserve, and without shame. Freedom there is in abundance to applaud the aristocracy and abuse the people. The want of freedom is all on the other side. All the reformers, says the reviewer, have offered to prove that the House of Commons merely represents the powerful families. But would any fool suppose it possible or desirable, in this country, to deprive wealth and power of their influence ? In fine, reformers are defied to show in any age of liistory, or in any j)art of the world, a body of representatives better constituted than the Ikitish House of Commons. The next extract is to show the application of the character- istic logic to the two peoples most distinguislied for their efforts to throw off the yoke of aristocracy — France and America. As to France, it seems, according to the Reviewer, " the lower and middling classes had latterly made progress in knowledge and intelligence, imacconipanitd by a corrcspondiu:^ improvoiicnt in morals ". How does the Reviewer know that ? 'l"he Revolution is defined as sudden devehjpmcnt of malignant power. It would be an equally correct, and a much more intelligible definition, to say a sudden destruction of malignant power. The object being to get a horror-raising and hatred- inspiring phrase, to apply to the Revolution, "a malignant ])Ower" ajjpeared to be delightfully suited to the pur[)()se. The occasi(;n leads the reviewer to indulge in many similar outbursts of tawdry rhetoric. " Through all the utter and the middle darkness of the reign of regicitle." " 'I'he jerky tongues of the popular leaders were systematically and inces- santly employed in hissing tbrth the cant of philanthropy and 282 TREATMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 1824-1829. cosmopo/ifafiism." " Of what consequence can it be to ask, at whose bidding, or of what materials, the bridge was constructed, that opened an access to Europe from the pandssmonium of robbery and murder." To take now a sample of the treatment of the peo])le and government of the United States. In the first place, it is a crime in them to leave England and transfer their allegiance and their affections to another government. " The endearing charities of life are all sacrificed to one sordid passion ; while, rudely trampling over the graves of their forefathers, they rush in crowds to deposit their wealth where it may be safe from the claims of their native land." Sentimental trash, applied to a mischievous purpose ! The reviewer makes the gigantic blunder of contrasting the a/nor pairue of the Greeks witli that of the English, as if the patriotism of the Greeks displayed itself by sta}ing at home. But power cares not what it says. Passion is proverbially short-sighted. The hatred of the reviewers in the Quay-terly to a people that set a dangerous example to Europe carries them into another egregious blunder. They begin by describing the author of the work reviewed, as a person wlioUy unfit to be trusted for an observation or an opinion ; but finding him afterwards very much disposed to find fault with what he saw in America, they treat him as an oracle. On the other hand, Miss Wright, to whom we are indebted for a very interesting work, and who delighted in holding up the firvourable aspect of things in the United States, is not only treated as at once wicked and contemptible, but wholly unwortliy of belief Whoever speaks against the Americans, is to receive imjjlicit credit, and no questions asked. Wlioevcr says anything in their favour, is to be told that he or slie is a liar, and a knave, and a fool ; agreeably to the most ai)proved rules of the aristocratical logic. It is need- less to quote specimens of the Uillingsgate poured forth upon INliss Wright. Enougli that she is the abandoned ])rostitutor of the name and character of an " Englishwoman ". "quarterly" rkvikwkd. 283 The next specimen is the Quarterly s view of the perfcc tion of EngHsh law — one of the numerous institutions to which ICni,'land is indebted for its comforts, its security, and its prospe^'ity. In tracing the causes that have forwarded the l)rosperity of the United States, we shall find tlie foundatiiui of tliciii all to be laid in the Eti^lisJi constitiitio/i and the Eivjisli IuZl's. Finally, as to Religion. There are two kinds of assumi)tions; the one set regarding the Ecclesiastical Establishment ; the other, the Creed of the Church of England. Whoever ques- tions tlie goodness of the ICstablishment is an enemy to tb.e constitution, and a lover of anarchy, ^\'hoever disputes the creed is an atheist, and being so, is exempt from all moral obligation, and ready for any and every crime. The V>\h\c is an inspired test, to which all are willing to conform themselves. But without articles, a belief in the Bible would be ecjuivalent to none, and end, perhaps, in general infidelity. This the Romanists hold in pertect consistency. To go the full length of the Romanists in condemning the Bible, and to take the composition of fallible men in its stead, can be nothing, says the author, but rank infidelity. Then follows a condemnation of the Cliurch of England itself that, coming from any other (}uarter, would have been a jjroof of atheism and sedition. Her exorbitantly paid clergy is the only class of men that have ncjt improved ; they have even retrograded ! No wonder, then, they are the enemies of imi)rovement. The tone respecting the Church is illustrated by the treat- ment of Mr. Hone for a work c^n the ajjocryphal gosjiels epistles, written in a ])erfectly temperate spirit. His '' aim is to destr(.)y the credit of the New Testament, and to s that the most silly and drivelling forgeries can be supported b}' the same evidence which we use to establish the aiilliority of the Scriptures", liut, stipposing such to be his opinion, as it was n(jt, has he not as good a right to declare that opinion, as any other man has to declare a different opinion ? The cause and S(.)le how 284 ASSUMPTIONS ON RELIGION. 1824-1829. of religion is disgraced by such a sentence as this, upon Mr. Hone's reply : — " Having said that the pamphlet before us is pubhshed by this notorious person, and put together by him- self, or one of his party, we need not add that it is written in a spirit of the most vulgar and contemptible ferocity." Again, " He is a bold, bad man ; the wretched book by which he attempts to pervert the faith, and destroy the happiness of countless thousands " ; " that monstrous compound of ignor- ance, sophistry, and falsehood," &c. The Quarterly, on such occasions, comes up nearly to the mark of St. Jerome, who seems to be a favourite with its reviewers. A few specimens of the Saint are given by way of parallel. On the matter of purity of mouth, the writer reverts to the political articles for a few more instances. Cobbett, of course, comes in for a liberal share of abuse — *' a miscreant, a brutal ruffian," " vulgar and ferocious spirit ". The Scotsinafi news- paper, to which Mill pays a high compliment, in passing — not merely for knowledge and talent, but for dignity and decorum is delineated thus. " Even Cobbett (its admired prototype) occasionally contrives to diversify the savage growl of the tiger with the mop and mowe of the ape ; but the Scotsman never lays aside the sulky ferociousness of the bear." The only remaining topic is the Liberty of the Press, on which' the author quotes four pages of raving abuse ; winding up with the demand for effectual suppression of the liberal press. " It is only necessary to enforce the laws and to stop the progress of sedition by such punishment as shall prevent a repetition of the offence — any other is absurdly inappropriate." The public events of this year need not be greatly pressed into our service. The most notable aspect of the parliamentary proceedings is the increasing extent and variety of to])ics brought up for discussion. The old subjects, as Reform, State of Ireland, Catholic Claims, Slavery, &c., are reproduced. southey's book of the church. 285 Education is coming more into the foreground. Hume attacks the Irish Church. Criminal Law Reform moves slowly. I'here are incidental discussions respecting various Import duties. 1825. In the J-'inuary number of the Westminster^ appeared the review of Southey's Book of the Church. Regarding the Church of England as a principal prop of our aristocratical system, the Radical reformers felt bound to include it in their onslaught upon that system. Mill had care- fully prepared himself for this part of the campaign ; and I am now to give a sjjecimen of his manner of carrying on the attack. The filth number of the A'tTWu' contains his article on Southey's Book of the Church. This is the opening of the article. " Misled by the name, we originally intended to place Mr. Rentham's Book of the Church, side by side with Dr. Southey's Book of the Church ; that readers might have the ' bane and antidote ' both before them. This idea was necessarily re- nounced as soon as we had read the volumes before us. "What they furnish is not a Book of the Church, in any respectful sense of the word. It is an old woman's story-book; contain- ing tales about the changes of religion, and the lives of the workers of wonders, in Great Britain, from the time of the people who set up rocking stones, and venerated the mislctoe, to the time of those who sent our legitimate sovereign to count his beads at Rome." The book, however, has put on the mask of history, and tliis needs to be torn off. It is the duty of the historian to state the evidence on both sides. There are indications that the Church is falling into licr dotage. The present book is one symptom. It is a ])oor imitation of a stale trick of the Romish church, in compiling the lives of her saints. A })assage is then tjuuled giving the 286 PRIDE OF ENDURANCE OF SUFFERING. 1824-1829. writer's design ; namely, to set forth at what a dear price the advantages of the Church EstabUshment were procured : " by what rehgious exertions, what heroic devotion, what precious hves consumed in pious labours, wasted away in dungeons, or offered up amid the flames ". The writer of the article reduces the reasoning of the fore- going passage to a syllogism : — Every Church which can enumerate votaries who have suffered and lived in such a manner is an excellent church : Church of England can exliibit such votaries, witness the contents of the present pages : Church of England is an excellent church. It is not what arguments are good, but what arguments will answer the purpose, that sometimes is the main look-out of an author. In this point of view, the reasoning of Mr. Southey may not be the worse for being absurd. The dignitaries of the church are active in circulating the book, hoping to get the same benefit that the Romanists have derived to their church from stories of the saints. The author then shows what a vulgar fact in the history of human nature is the pride of voluntary endurance of suffering. But the martyrs of the Church of England were, according to Southey, not merely sufferers, but saints. Now saintship, says the writer of the article, hardly ever means anything else than a wonderful attention to the ceremonials of religion, with a superiority to the pleasures of sense. The fact is, however, the Church of England is remarkably ill su})plied with the orna- ments of martyrdom and saintship. It is one of the remarkable things about her that she has produced so few men eminei.t for anything, even the priestly virtues, leaving altogether out of the question those moral and intellectual qualities by which the interests of the species are promoted. This book is the strongest proof of the assertion, seeing it is obliged to choose for the most distinguished ornament of the church such a man as Laud. The early part of the History, down to the com- mencement of Non-conformity can do no good, and will do southey's book of the church. 2S7 little harm. The only exception taken by the reviewer is ti) Southey's determination in tavour of Arminianism against Calvinism, which last he condemns as injurious in its conse- ciuences. The reviewer spends a page in putting him right upon this, and farther exposes his incapability to state the doctrine of the Manicha^ans. An incautious attack upon the Romish Church for setting aside " the eternal standard of right and wrong, on wliich the unsophisticated heart unerringly pronounces " and for abusing tlie credulity of mankind, is retorted by the reviewer. Credu- lity is a delicate subject for a Church-of-Englandist to handle. Mr. Southey imagined he had two things to do : one, to pull down the Church of Rome ; the other, to pull down the Dissenters. The Catholic critics are able to exjjose his rash- ness, ignorance, and groundless abuse, in dealing with their church. The present article is intended to expose the attack on Dissent : "to show to the friends of religious liberty, that they have a very zealous, at least, if not a very formidable adversary ". The first thing is to exemplify his abusive language, of which two pages of choice expressions are given. One reflection is unavoidably suggested ; namely, such is not the style that naturally flows from the jjure love of truth. If it is not assumed to answer a purpose, the author is most unfortunate in his taste, or else in his disposition. A well-known Frenchman, Maimbourg, wrote a history of the Calvinists — the Non-Conformists, or Puritans, as Southey would call them, of France. One of these non-conformists, the celebrated Bayle, wrote a Criiique \\\^on this History. 'J'he resemblance of Maimbourg to Southey is so close, that Bayle's criticism is a valuable aid to Southey's critic ; who is glad to make use of a few passages from so great a master. Mill then proceeds, in his own person, thus : \\'hen two parties in a state proceed to such extremities as to take up arms against one another ; there is superadded the utmost 288 LAUD DEPICTED. 1S24-1829. endeavour to blacken the character of one another. When the Restoration placed all power in the hands of Charles II., the arts of blackening character were exhausted against the van- quished Puritans. What Mr. Southey has now done, is to rake the filth thus arising, and to throw upon the memory of the Puritans as much of it as he thought would stick. The reviewer, in exposing his arts, takes up first a part of the pathetic story of Laud's confinement to the Tower, and quotes, against Southey's version, Laud's own account of the situation — a very different story. He then takes note of Southey's neglect to quote his authorities, and of his odd apology, namely, his not wanting to make a display of research. Executions and death-scenes are great things for vulgar minds. Southey knew this, and the dying scenes of Cranmer, and Charles, and Wentworth, and Laud, have been mines to him. We might have thought we had lived to an era when the life and deeds of Laud would no longer be held up to admiration. But the Church of England seems to stand still ; yet she has not sworn to retrograde. The time certainly was, when her leading men gave up Laud. Warburton has nothing for him but the severest condemnation. The reviewer's own estimate of Laud brings to the foreground by contrast his conception of the highest human virtue. If only for this reason, the following passage deserves to be given. " Of all the crimes which it is possible for a human being to commit against his fellow-creatures, that of corrupting the springs of government is beyond all comparison the worst. Other crimes strike at the well-being of one, or at most, of a few individuals. This strikes at the well-being of all the my- riads, of whom the great body of the community is comi)osed, from generation to generation. As no human being ever exerted himself more strenuously, or with more persevering i)urpose to corrupt the [)rinciples of government in any country, than did Laud to corrupt to the heart the principles of government in southey's book of the church. 289 England, to strip the people of ever}' security for the righteous adp.iinistration of their affairs, by consecjuence to establish a pcrfcrtly infallible security for the mischievous administration of them, to place his countrymen in the condition of slaves, living only for the benefit of a master, a master, who both would desire to cultivate in them only the qualities which fit them the best for being slaves, the (lualities of the spaniel, on the one hand, and the serpent on the other, and would have the power of preventing them from cultivating in themseh'es any other, of placing them, accordingly, in a condition resem- bling that of the worst of brutes — on the other hand, as of all the acts of virtue of which a human being is capable, that of ameliorating the inr^titutions of government, of providing the community with more i)erfect securities for the right adminis- tration of their affairs, when all the fLicilities and all the motives for acquiring the highest intellectual and moral endowments antl elevating their condition as men and as citizens to the highest ])ossible degree, are enjoyed in the greatest perfection, is undeniably the highest, and every exertion and every sacrifice which is made by an individual for this noblest of all earthly ])urposes, actjuires incomparable value, and entitles the maker to a correspondent share of moral and intellectual ap])ro- bation, hn'e, and esteem — as it is, moreover, an imdouI)ted fact, that of all the men who, during his time, showed any por- tion of this virtue. Laud was the bitter and remorseless enemv, and with intensity proportional to the degree in which the virttie was disjjlayed, as there was no punishment which he was not eager to infiict upon it, as he unitbrmly branded it with tlie names of the greatest vices, and endeavoured bv all the arts by which characters are blackened to make the men who distinguished themselves bv acts of this virtue be regarded as the greatest criminals and the most hateful of maiikind ; as there was no suffering and no ignominy to which he was not eager to expose them, acting unifi)rmly as if he wish.ed to extinguish in their blood every spark of the virtue by which J 9 290 CLARENDON. 1824-1829. they were distinguished — if all this, and more than this, be true, to the letter, then, of all the criminals on record, in the annals of the human species. Laud is one of the greatest." A copious citation of facts follows this fearful denunciation. The article goes on : " The four names, in English history, which the Church, as a corporation of priests, have been most assiduous in their endeavours to hold up to admiration, are Charles I., Wentworth, Laud, and Clarendon ". An article in the preceding number of the Revieii', had given the means of estimating Charles and Wentworth. " We must, in order not to neglect any of these worthies, add a few particulars in regard to Clarendon, whom Mr. Southey declares to be the wisest, because the most upright of all statesmen." He here chiefly follows Brodie, in showing that Clarendon studiously sets him- self " to pervert the materials of history, to suppress and mis-interpret evidence, to assert facts without any evidence at all nay, in the very teeth of evidence ". His own pen records one of the most disgusting scenes of cant and hypocrisy ever acted. He was an approver, and a suborner of assassination. " The grand purposes of his life were those of a besotted, or intentional enemy of mankind ; to fix a despotical government upon the necks of his countrymen ; and to give vast wealth and power to a corporation of dependent priests, to enable them to act as the janisaries of that government." All these charges, which, in the intensity of the language, seem to resemble the style of abuse that the author reprobates in Southey, are supported at length by historical testimonies. Next we have an exposure of Southey's misre})rescntations of Neal, who wrote on the side of the Puritans. The article concludes with general reflections, very unfavourable to Ec- clesiastical establishments in general, and to the Church of Eng- land in particular. The small number of eminent men pro- duced by a church so highly favoured, is strongly commented on. Moreover, a corporation of i)riests is unfortunately situated with regard to all the highest moralities. They have SOUTHEYS BOOK OF THE CHURCH. 29I an interest in degrading the human mind. Having the powers of government in league with them, they have the prospect of an extensive command over the minds of their countrymen ; and thence a motive to strive to make that command as irresistible and complete as possible. For these, and for many other reasons, the article concludes, it is intended to show on a future occasion that a corporation of priests, dependent on the government, is entirely Antichristian. The fulfilment of this intention, we shall presently see. Two interesting letters in the Life of Constable are a help to us for this year. One is a long letter addressed to M'Culloch. Some paragraphs omitted in the Life have been furnished to me by Mr. Archibald Constable. "Croydon Common, " iSth Aui^uit, iS2j. " Mv DEAR P^RIEND, " Your kind and gratifying epistle found me here, commencing my holidays ; which I was prevented from taking, as heretofore, in July. I trust you feel yourself fully restored from that too serious attack on your lungs, which seem to be the only weak })art about you. You must be careful. That claret and champagne, which Napier mentions, must not seduce. You are also more tasked in London. You must therefore get up an abundance of health for that occasion. A propos of your London task, I conclude that you have received by this time your letter from Mr. iJell. He lamented, when I last saw him, the delay ; which was owing to the difficulty of coming at people, when dispersed, to get their signatures. " I am very much pleased indeed with that project of Constable's, of which you speak. Diffusion is now the most important thing to be done for knowledge, 'i'he two essays to be written by you, especially that on \\'ages, will render giant service. By-the-bye, the second will include the Corn Laws, and strong things on that subject, thus diffused, 292 constable's miscellany. 1824-1829. w'll be invaluable. There was an excellent paragraph the other day in the Scotsman, stating the effect of the Corn-Laws in setting the rest of the community against the landlords, and showing the indispensable necessity of taking the monopoly of legislation out of their hands. The terror rising out of this view is the only thing which will work upon them. They must therefore be plied with it. I am gratified to learn that my essays are to be included. The information came in time to prevent another reprint, the second being all gone, and great demand remaining. It is much better they should be on sale. As I have made several corrections and little amendments for these reprints, Constable should print from the last ; and I should like, if there is time, to go over them once more with care ; if I can malce a little more perfect that which was originally very imperfect, being all of them written against time, I shall be anxious to do it for this occasion, which is an admirable one. As they are the text-books of the young men of the Union at Cambridge, their appearing early will con- tribute to ad\"crtise Constable's project in a quarter not very accessible to hawkers, though of fa"st-rate importance. Si)eak- ing of the Union — that Society, which owes its origin chiefly to you and John, is in a most flourishing way — upwards of a hundred names, several members of Parliament, some Lords, all among the young men likely to have the leading influence in the affairs of the next fifty years of their country. Tlie effects cannot but be imijortant. Good principles and talents will be equally advanced. " Does your article in the Supplement make part of this cheap publication? or do you still retain your design of making it a book ? I suppose you have seen by this time the review of your 1 )isrourse in the Westiuinster ? John expresses great dissatisfaction with the behaviour of the editors. The whole was the joint production of him and Ellis : but they say tliat several im])ortant tilings were left out, and the article, by that and other editorial operations, disfigured. I sent an REPRINTING OF ENCVCLOP.EDIA ARTICLES. 293 extract of that part of your letter which related to the stran^,^e delay in transmitting that review to Edinburgh to Bowring, for the purpose of belabouring Baldwin. By-the-bye, I sup^iose (indeed I hear) your Edinburgh Rc7'ieK> ])eople are in great wrath on the subject of the Parliamentary Reform article. On that subject, however, you deserve no quarter. It is of too great importance to let either puerilities or sophisms be there taken for wisdom. Oh, Party ! Party ! what a corrupter thou art ! " I have two weeks more of holidays. The Cjrotes are to be here all next week, when the memory of you will be frequently revived. Mr. J. Smitlvs family are again all well ; it was Martin alone who was in danger. l]y the way, Cameron is the author of the article on Duelling in the last Wesiniinstcr, which I mention because I think you will be pleased, as I was, with such a proof of his talent. You promised me a prospectus of Constable's proposed adventure : will you have the goodness to write to me with it, or following it, what 1 may or may not do, as to correcting and amending my articles ? " " I have not been able to think of my Political Fxonomy reprint. I am now absorbed by the phenomena of the human mind. If you were here, I would talk to you of nothing, but what you do when you think. I think I shall be able to tell you, to your satisfaction. Black desires to be remembered to you. He was here last Saturday and Sunday ; and I told him the news of your letter. He is a great admirer of yours, though he says, it is hard, you will hold some opinions. He was running on precisely in the old way. Never was a man more semper idem than he. Best regards to Xjq.ier." In Constable's Pist of publications for his .Miscellany, Mill's articles in the reprint from the Sup[)lement to the Eiicyclopicdia were at first included, but were afterwards withdrawn. The reason for their withdrawal is not known. It is interesting to be told in the above letter that the articles had become text- 294 ARTICLES USED AT CAMBRIDGE. 1S24-1829. books in the Union at Cambridge. We may presume that Macaulay and Charles Austin had fought over them there. There is a letter soon after to Constable himself " East India House, iStli Oct., i82j. " My dear Sir, " I have just received, and with much satisfaction, your kind communication. Your project I think an admirable one, and I shall be very glad to converse with you about it, because I think it may receive important extension ; and after publica- tion of works which are your own, may reproduce many things which are of great interest, and are now to a great degree inaccessible. I even do not see why it may not become a vehicle of essays and fugitive pieces in general, which have never been published, and which it would draw out from the portfolio of your literary friends, with profit to you and great advantage to the public. " It will give me great pleasure to take you by the hand once more ; for I have never ceased to feel a deep interest in your successful career, both for ' auld lang syne,' and because you are the prince of booksellers.- — With the most sincere regard, yours, &c." On the 9th December, Bentham writes a long letter to Dumont, on the mode of designating his two functionaries — Pursuer-general and Defender-general — which Dumont seemed to have difficulty in rendering into French. He introduces a reference to Mill. " Last night being Mill's visiting night (Thursday), I put your letter into his hands. He is in per- fect agreement with everything you see here." Allusion has already been made to one great event of this year, the founding of the University of London. The known particulars, for the year, as regards Mill, have been anticipated. From the record of Parliament, we find that on tlie 26th of May, Brougham moved for leave to bring in a l^ill for the Incorporation of "London College". It was, doubtless, at FXCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. 295 this date that he wrote to Mill complaining of the refusal of the Ministry to grant a charter, from fear of the hostility of Oxford. To summarize the Parliamentary discussions of this year would be to repeat the remarks on the year previous. We are now approaching the end of the existing Parliament ; and, as one of trill's most elaborate political articles consists in review- ing the transactions of that Parliament, I need say nothing farther until I come to the account of said article. 1826. In the April number of the Rcvinu is the grand onslaught on Ecclesiastical Establishments. The opening paragraphs present the theses to be maintained. " A\'e intend, on the present occasion, as far as our limits will permit, to examine to the bottom the question of an Ecclesiastical Establishment, and more especially of the Church of England, in its effect on religion, on morality, on the charac- ter and actions of the clergy, on learning, on education, and on government. " We think it proper to begin by distinctly stating our opinion, that an ecclesiastical establishment is essentially antichristian ; that religion can never be safe or sound, unless where it is left free to every man's choice, wholly uninfluenced by the opera- tion either of punishment or reward on the part of the magis- trate. We think it proper to go e\en further, and declare that it is not religion only to which an ecclesiastical establishment is hostile : in our opinion, there is not one of the great interests of humanity, on which it does not exercise a baneful influence. " \^'c know well to what we expose ourselves, by the promul- gation of these great truths, for such they appear to us, and such we trust we shall establish them to be, by evidence which cannot be resisted. The clergy have, by a long course of usurpation, estal^lishcd a sort of right to call themselves and 296 ESTABLISHMENTS UNCHRISTIAN. 1824-1829. their interests by the morst sa.cred names. In ecclesiastical language, the wealth and power of the clergy are religion. Be as treacherous, be as dishonest, be as unfeeling and cruel, be as profligate as you please, you may still be religious. But breathe on the interests of the clergy, make tliem surmise discredit at your hands, and you are the enemy of religion directly ; nay, the enemy of your God ; and all the mischief which religious prejudice and antipathy, the poisoned deadly weapon of the clergy, can bring down upon its victims, is the sure and necessary consequence of your sacrilegious audacity. "P'or protection against this spirit of persecution, strong and formidable to the present hour, we look to public ojnnion, daily approaching to the condition of a match for this once gigantic foe ; and the strong line which we trust we shall be able to draw between the interests of a corporation of priests, and those interests of religion about which alone good meia can feel any concern. " We desire also to be understood as disapproving an injus- tice of which clergymen have often great reason to complain, that of confounding the character of individuals with the corporation to which they belong. We have very many bad corporations, in which excellent nien are included, and such is the case of the priestly corporation. But the question is not how many clergymen, from the influence of education, and the spirit- of the community to which they belong, are, in their private relation, and taken individually, estimable men. You may take a number of men, one by one, all virtuous and honourable, who yet, if you club them together, and enable them to act in a body, will apjiear to have renounced every princii)le of virtue, and in pursuit of their own objects will trami)le, without shame or remorse, up^on everything valuable to their fellow men." He starts, as usual, from men's insatiable love of ])Ower. The ministers of religion are proverbially not less subject to this passion than other men. Acting singly, each confined to ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMKXIS. 297 his own congregation, a minister's share of ])ower is too small to prompt him to hazard much for its arcjuisition. It is on the large scale that the motive works to a mischievous degree. \\'hen the clerical class is aided by the magistrate in forming themselves into a body, to operate with united energy, they act under leaders possessed of the spirit to increase their powers without limit. The clergy are peculiar in possessing an influence over men's minds, prior to, and irrespective of, their political position. Their power is the result of that i)eculiar intlueiiee. He proceeds to trace the results. 'I'he first is, to enjoy a monopoly of influence ; to allow no rivals. Rivalry requires vigilance ; and the natural wish is to combine power with security, indolence, and repose. Nay mc.re, as the competitors for spiritual influence resort to abstinence, self-denial, and mortification ; so the corporate clergy, to maintain themselves, must use the same painful expedients. How steadily they have pursued the impulse to extinguish rivals, history declares. The first and most consjiicuous device has been, to apply to. the magistrate for the {towers of ])ersecu- tion. The author here reviews the early history of the church in illustration of this text. "No time was lost. The first sovereign who protected the Christians was scarcely seated on his throne, when a fiery contest arose between the clergy of the Arian and tlie Athanasian creeds, for the possession of his ear. '["lie Council of Nice, a memoralile event, was summoned to determine the point, in other words, to satisfy the sovereign fully, which party, by its numbers and ])owers, it was most for his interest "to join. The cjuestion was doubtUil, and tlie balance for some time wavered, ^\'hen the decision at last was ir.ade, and the Athanasian clergy became a distinguished bodw wiili the power of government engaged for their su])port, what were the con- sequences? Kven the cold narrative of Mijsheim conveys a pungent sense of the zeal with which they proceeded to deliver 298 ASSUMPTIONS OF THE EARLY CHURCH. 1824-1829. themselves from all competition, in obtaining influence over the human mind ; their rage to establish a monopoly of spiritual dominion ; to accomplish the extermination of rivals. Perse- cution flamed ; blood was spilt ; the non-conforming clergy, that is, non-conforming to the wiU of the leading divines, who now shared in the powers of government, were forbidden to teach : as often as they hazarded disobedience, they were thrown into prison, and subjected to other cruelties, not stop- ping short even of death. " And above all things, great pains were taken to destroy their books. " This was a capital point. Books were the most dangerous, and of course the most hated enemies, of a monopolising clergy. No truths, not for their advantage; no exposure of lies which were ; therefore no books but their own." Their strong and persevering purpose proved fatally effectual, as regarded the destruction of the very numerous writings of the early Christian sects. Not only so, but the memory of these sects was handed down to execration, by general accusa- tions of the most disgusting vices, and the most atrocious crimes. The word " heretic " shows the bent of the clerical mind. Exactly rendered, this word means choke. The crime of heresy was the crime of making a choice. The autlior makes a ])assing allusion to the progressive assumptions of the church, the giving and taking away of crowns, the accumulation of wealth by extorting gifts ; and then, by a series of extracts from Campbell's Ecclesiastical History, he proceeds to show the growth of persecution, down to the setting up of the Incjuisition. " These are specimens of the evidence with which liistory teems of the persecuting si)irit of the first great incorporation of priests. The priestly incorpora- tion called the Church of h^ngland stands next in power ; and, as a natural consecjuence, next, also, in the ranks of persecu- tion." ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. 299 He then reviews the leading epochs of the Englisli church. It is astonishing how soon this church lost sight, or lost regard, of the inevitable conclusion, that, if she had a riglit, on the inference of error, to separate from the church of Rome, others had as good a right, on the same inference, to separate from her. Hardly was the authority of the church of Rome renounced, when diversity of opinion began to give uneasiness to the leaders of the clergy. The primacy of Whitgift sets going the machinery of persecution, by the new ecclesiastical court, which he induced the queen to create ; a court, characterized by Hume, as a real inquisition, attended with all the injustice, as well as cruelties, insei)arable from that tribunal. The author then passes to Laud, but, having previously set forth his career, he is now content with a summary remark, " That he was a relentless persecutor, is saying little. With such an impetuous rage of persecution was he driven, that, undeterred by all that opposition which public opinion now obviously presented to him, he went on, recklessly, to raise the storm, in which the church and the monarchy were both levelled with the ground." The Act of Uniformity is the next scene in the drama. The author is sufficiently satisfied with Hume's judgment upon this measure. The reign of the last two Stuarts was farther marked by the persecutions, hardly surjjassed for savage barbarity by any with which the page of history is stained, carried on for the establishment of episcopacy in Scotland. Tlie epoch of the Revolution gave birth to a new order of things. From that day the ])eople assumed the riglit of thinking, and of delivering their thoughts, both respecting government and respecting religion. Tlie spirit was nourished by tile new regime, which, when assailed by the adiierents of the old, had to assume for the pe()i)le the right to decide for them^elves on the goodness or badness of e\ery institution. To this situation, we owe the sober and manly views on govern- ment given forth by Locke and other eminent writers. Li such 300 ENGLISH CHURCH AT THE REVOLUTION. 1824-1829. a state of the public mind, the clergy had to proceed witli caution. Yet, as the History of Burnet shows, tlieir hand was still at work. But for the fortunate accident, that the king was able to nominate a sufficient number of bisliops to give the crown a majority in the upper House of Convocation, and secure Burnet both for that house and for the house of Peers, the government of William and Mary might have been over- thrown ; and a return to the former slavery of the nation, or else a new civil war, would have been the conseinuating, ■without plainly declaring, the necessity of punishing diversity of opinion or of worship to any extent short of the old jilan, no longer permissible, of extermination and destruction. It is indecent, according to Blackstone, to set up private judgment in public : tliat is, simply to have i)rivate judgment. Besides being indecent, private judgment is arrogant. Finally, it is an act of ingratitude ; for, says this bold champion, it desires " that indulgence and liberty of conscience to the natural church, which the retainers to every petty cenventicle enjoy ". That is to say, nobody, not even the members of the church, may speak against the tenets set forth in the conventicles ! The Liberty of the Press gives the final illustration, as sliown in connexion vrith heresy and di.-^sent. ^^'hen the enemies of this great instrument were unable to {prevent its existence, they could ecjually show their enmity, in endeavouring to cramp its operation. Wlien the system of licensing was abcjlislied in England, severe punishment was provided against free discus- sion in matters of religion and of government, the two sources of greates": evil to mankind when made subservient to the purposes of ihe few against the niany. The hateful ])owers thus conferred, the clergy have, until the present hour, shown the greatest dispv)sition to employ. Having already alluded to the po.iition of the bLnglish law regarding heresy, as expounded by Blackstone, the author brielly touches on the memorable prosecutions of the last century. The first is the case of ^\'illiam ^^'hi^ton, the friend and successor of Newton, who underwent a merciless persecution for disseiuing trcin the Athanasian creed. The next case is discussed at some length, as being a leading case with the kiwyers. It implicated i)0or unfortunate ^\'oolston, who got into deeper mire tlian W'hislon, by allego- rizing the mirac les of the New Testament. The government " fell upon him," says the narrator, and had him indicted ior 302 PROSECUTIONS FOR HERESY. 1824-1829. blasphemy and profancness. It was moved, in arrest of judg- ment, that the offence was not punishable in the temporal courts. But the judges declared, they would not allow this to be argued — " for the Christian religion is established in this kingdom ; and therefore they would not allow any books to be written which should tend to alter that establishment ". That is to say, it does not matter whether what is established be true or false, good or evil. The Court added — " Christianity was part of the law ; that whoever derided Christianity, derided therefore the law ". On this the author remarks — we have here a case of the fraudulent use of language, already seen in Blackstone. The " law " in its proper acceptation means the whole body of the securities provided for all that is dear to us. To weaken the force of these securities is highly criminal. " Law " has another meaning, namely, any part or parcel of the whole body of enactments ; and, it may be, a noxious part, tending to impair our security. To cut off such parts is to improve the law. If nothing that is part and parcel of the law is to be free to the press, nothing is free.* The Court gave no attention to Woolston's plea that he did not mean to attack Christianity. Such profession on his part was not to be credited, as being opposed to the fact. What fact ? Writing a certain opinion about miracles. This fact Woolston allowed ; he denied that he did injury to Christianity. The. Court said he did; but that was matter, not of fact, but of opinion. The Chief Justice said — " We do not meddle with di.Terences of opinion : we interfere only when the very root of Christianity was struck at ". Wholly untrue, they meddle with nothing but differences of opinion, in the case of religious libels. Which is the root, and which is a branch of Christianity is purely a matter of opinion. * Bcntham's comment on the doctrine that Christianity is a part of the law of the land, is still more incisive. If that be so, he says, any violation of a precept of the New Testament is an indictable offence. ECCLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENTS. 303 The author comments severely upon the existence of contra- dictory maxims in our law, by which the judges can be as despotic as they please. It is important for the sake of ajjpearances to say, " Let the liberty of the press be sacred ". Under this everything is free. It is important to have another maxim — " Let the licentiousness of the press be prevented ". By this everything may be ])unished. From the time of Woolston's jn-osecution to the French Revolution, there was little scope for using the powers of tliC law to crush the freedom of the press in religion. The spirit of the age would not allow dissenting religious sects to be meddled with : and with respect to infidelity, the situation of the clergy was perplexing. It was chiefiy men of rank, or writers of very high reputation, that called Christianity in question — Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Chesterfield, Lord Kaimes, Hume, Gibbon, Adam Smith ; and with a formidable enemy, the clergy are inclined to avoid a dispute. Moreover, infidelity was a fashion in Europe, for the fifty years preceding the French Revolution. Prosecutions were then too hazardous to be insisted on. Nevertheless, the unabated rancour of the clergy towards the liberty of the press is shown in their sermons and other writings. This applies to the most illustrio'is of them ; to men of great powers, and of great virtues, as Berke ley, Clarke, Tillotson, and Barrow. From Barrow, our author gives examples of " mendacious calumny " applied to unbelievers ; representing them as capable of every jjrivate vice, as well as of revolutionary practices against government. He indicates, without cjuoting, passages from Tillotson, Barrow, and Clarke, of a like tendency ; and finishes with a few morsels from \\'arburton, which it is unnecessary to cite. In conclusion, the author intimates that he has yet to over- take the further effects of an Established Church in depraving both religion and morality, in corruj)ting education and govern- ment, in retarding the progress of the human mind, and in 304 RESPONSIBILITY FOR BELIEF. degrading the character, intellectual and moral, of the clergy, and promises to do so on some future occasion. The occasion never came. In the number of the Westminster for July, there is an article entitled For]natio7i of Opinions, ostensibly a review of the second edition of Samuel Bailey's book on that subject, but more strictly an examination of a work by the eminent congre- gationalist preacher. Dr. Ralph Wardlaw of Glasgow, in reply to a famous utterance of Brougham — that man is not responsiljle to man for his belief, over which he has himself no control. A great deal of controversy grew out of this declaration, which to many seemed to open up the floodgates of universal scepticism. It was a good opi^ortunity to Mill, whose mind was always in a state of smxharge upon the question of free enquiry. He had at his command an endless store of quotations, as material for the argument from authority ; and his own subtlity of mind provided him with nice distinctions. lie is easily able to show that if evidence is laid fully before the mind, the impression produced by it is independent of the will, just as a man must see what is before his open eyes. It is not at this point, that we can evade the force of legitimate proof We can, however, refuse admittance to an object of sight, by looking elsewhere, or by kcejjing the eyes shut ; so we can blind ourselves to the influence of reasoning and evidence by withdrawing the atten- tion. After disposing of Wardlaw, our author mounts the pulpit himself, and delivers a lay sermon on the Sin of Believing without Evidence. Seeing that he has had few followers or imitators, the toi)ic is not yet thread-bare, like so many others; and a few short quotations may not be unwelcome to tlie reader. At all events, they contribute to our purpose of setting forth the man. " There are two ])ropositions, therefore, of the greatest certainty, and the greatest importance. " The flrst is this, that, as the mind is passive in belief, and WARDLAW OX BELIEF. 305 the will, to use the words of Dr. Clarke, has nothing at all to do with it, neither merit nor demerit can ever he ascribed to belief, without the utmost contusion of ideas, and the risk of a de])lorable train of the must immoral consequences. '• The second is, that, as tlie mind is not passive in what it does relating to evidence, but has all the activity which is imi)lied in its most Noluntary exertions, merit or demerit may be justly ascribed to it, " On his mode of dealing with evidence, the good or evil application of the powers of the man, in other words, the greatest i)o.-,>iI)!e degree either of virtue or of vice, almost wholly depends," l'ri)])er dealing with evidence consists of two things. First, the full collection of it ; secondly, the Cipial reception of it, I'he first p(.;int, tulness of collection, does not need a lengiliened deUKjnstration. The second, e([uality of reception, brings up the iniluence of bias. ])artiality, and the affections, and several pages are occu}:)ied with ex])!aining and expressing it. In the hr^t place, it recpiires tliat we have no affection to the one side more than to the other. On this head, the author adduces a few of the strong cases of tlie operation of self-interest and affection in swaying belief; and urges upon us to begin the examination of every (luestion by ar^king oursehes • — Have I an affection on either side ? If so, as we caniiot get rid of the affection, we must endeavour to allow for it. 'I his was what Locke recommended so strongly under tlie name " Indifferency ". 'J'he next thing is, that equal evidence, on the different ideas, should be treated as equal, that is, ha\'e equ.al effects. Tliis is substantiallv the same thing in anotlier aspei:t ; and is rendered difficult soleh.' by the malign bias of the affections. The author's strain of exhortation is slio\\n in the following energetic passage : — " Tliis habit of forming ojiinions, and acting upon them without evidence, is one of the most iuuuoral habits of the 20 3o6 SIN OF JUDGING WITHOUT EVIDENCE. 1824-1829. ' mind. Only observe what it imports. As our opinions are the fathers of our actions, to be indifferent about the evidence of our opinions is to be indifferent about the consequences of our actions. But the consequences of our actions are the good and evil of our fellow-creatures. The habit of the neglect of evidence, therefore, is the habit of disregarding the good and evil of our fellow-creatures. It is the habit of hard-heartedness, and cruelty, on the largest scale, and rooted in the deepest part of the mind. This habit is the foundation of most of what is vicious and degraded in human character. The habit of disregarding the evidence of our opinions, with the habit necessarily involved, of disregarding the consequences to our fellow-creatures, of the actions founded upon those opinions, are the elements of a character, in which the general tempta- tions to vice operate without any counteracting motive ; and as such a man is essentially without virtue, so it must be by a rare concurrence of accidents, if he is not deep in vice. " Seeing tlie malignant nature of this habit, it is a melancholy reflection, that it is the general habit of mankind, and of none more than of our dear countrymen. How rare is it to meet with a man, who has almost ever concerned himself about evidence ; who has not adopted opinions, as he has adopted words, solely because they were used by other people ? This is a dreadful vice of education. One of the grand objects of education should be, to generate a constant and anxious concern about evidence ; to accustom the mind to run im- mediately from the idea of the opinion to the idea of its evidence, and to feel dissatisfaction till it is known that the evidence has been all before the mind, and fairly weighed. When the case is directly the reverse, when the habit is almost universal, of stopping at the opinion, without going on to a thought of the evidence, without an association of any the smallest feeling of dissatisfaction with an opinion the evidence of which has not been exj)lored, we may be perfectly sure that WARDLAW ON BELIEF. 307 education in that country is in the wrong hands, and that it is nearly in its most deplorable state. " The effects are dreadful. How, but for the habit, almost general, of neglecting and disregarding evidence, could the progress of mankind in improvement be so very slow ! How else could errors, of the grossest as well as most pernicious kind, be propagated, and the abominable actions which are grounded upon them, be repeated, from generation to genera- tion ? How could institutions, at variance with the interests of the community, which are a mockery of human nature, and act as a pestilential atmosjihere upon the race, hold their endless existence, if the human mind was not ruined by the habit of adopting oj^nions, without evidence ? " He has various flings at the clergy in general. " Why is their praise and blame bestowed upon that which has neither merit nor demerit, belief and disbelief; and withheld from that which may possess the greatest, full and impartial enc^uiry, or the opposite ? " Not only do they attach a merit and demerit to mere belief, they attach consequences of unspeakable importance to the holding or not holding certain opinions ; the favour or disfavour of Almighty God, and pains, or pleasures, infinite and eternal. Is it possible, that a mind, with these impressions upon it, can come to the examination of any question, touching those opinions, without affection, so much on one side, that no evidence on the other can have any effect ? " Instilling opinions, without the evidence, and at an age when the parties into whom the opinions are instilled, are incapable of understanding the evidence, is a practice which necessarily engenders habits of complicated misconduct towards evidence." Besides dilating upon this topic, he brings to his aid " the sincere and honest mind of Locke," who fully understood " the rank misconduct of the clergy in this respect, and its direful consequences ". 3o8 FAITH IN THE SCRIPTURE SENSE. 1824-1829. In conclusion, he remarks that " Wardlaw is prodigiously in earnest to convince the world, that the scripture attaches the greatest merit to faith, and the greatest demerit to the want of it. We know not that so much effort, on this subject, was necessary : but, be that as it may, tins at least is certain, tliat the scripture can inculcate nothing that is absurd in point of reason, or mischievous in point of morality." " It is nut belief which is called, in the scripture, faith, but the proper dealing with evidence." " Faith, in short, has nothing to do with creeds. Of two men, the one even an atheist, the other a sound believer, it may be that the atheist is the man who has faith, according to the scripture ; that the sound believer is the man who is destitute of faith, according to the scripture ; that the atheist is possessed of all the merit, the sound believer of all the demerit, which the scripture ascribes to the possession, or the want, of that saving grace." In the number following, October, is a political article, entitled — State of the Nation. The article takes a wide sweep. In adverting to the ques- tions more immediately pressing, it takes a historical view of the situation, and never loses an opportunity of commenting upon the aristocratical constitution of the Legislature. The first few pages are occupied with the policy of the Treilch war. " This nation has enjoyed, if it can be called enjoyment, some years of peace since the termination of one of the most wasteful wars that ever nation waged, since nations existed on the earth : a war not begun in self-defence, for wliere were we attacked ? a war not begun for conquest, for we had no desire to add to our territory : a war, then, for what? A war against ideas! A\'hose ideas ? The supposed, the imputed ideas of a jiart of the population of a neighbouring nation." France had got possession of liorrid ideas ! What had we to do with the horrid ideas of the peojjle of France ? If horrid STATE OF THE NATION. 309 ti' tliemselves they would soon have had to bear tlie conse- 'jiicnces. But then, this country mi^^ht adopt them. That is, \vc in tliis couniry abominated the ideas so much, tliat we v.x-nt to war to prevent ourselves from adoi)ting tliem I In [irnnt of fict, the ideas were horrid to our Aristocracy ; they suL;geSted po[jular ascendency, and had to be stilled by every po-sible macliination. A new power had arisen, that of pubhc opinion. " The le^^islating class did not well understand it ; but they guessed that it boded them no gcjod. The slrengtli of their endeavours, therefore, was directed against it. Every- thing was done to crush public opinion. Law after law was enacted to punish assemblies of the people, and to jjrevent the expression of their opinions in large bodies. Law after law was passed to restrict the liberty of the press, to render the dissemination of opinions in general difficult and costly, the dissennnation of some opinions, those called dangerous, that is, unfavoural)le to the monopoly of power in the liands of a particular class, in a high degree penal." Lie then traces the numerous ramifications of the enormous debt. Among the items in the state of the country may be enumerated, as standing in the first rank, prodigal exi)ensive- ness on t!ie ])art of the government ; and, conse<|Uent upon tliis, and insejiarable from it, the vice, in the aristocratical class, of living upon the labour of others. An enormous enhancement of both e\ils we owe to the war waged against the horrid ideas of the leading party in Lrance, the war fcjr (juieting aristocratical apprehensions, and consolidating aristo- cratical p(jwer. Lnormous fleets and armies during the war paved the way for enormous establishments during [jcace ; the nation was inured to such a state — the aristocracv to Iiold the lucrative posts, the nation to ])ay the expen-~e. Tlie ministers had to keep u[) the system for the sake of th.eir ])art!sans. The next topic in the survey^-the fluctuations in the state of industry - introduces the alterations in the currency, th.e corn laws and the usury law : which are ;ill touched with the 3IO CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 1824-1829. author's usual vigour. He then notices the low condition of the labouring classes. " The condition of the people is low, and their numbers superabundant, because they are stupid, because no pains have been taken with their understandings, and because a bad morality is propagated through the nation. Why is it not felt by the labouring men to be infamous to live upon the labour of others ? If it were so, a numerous brood, sprung from the engendering of a base couple unable to supjjort them, would be as rare a phenomenon in the immoral world as robbery and murder. It is true that the progress of civiliza- tion has not been without its influence on the lower classes. Their deportment has improved, riot and drunkenness have diminished, and reading is more diffused. But here occurs a serious difficulty. An Irish population, wretched and de- graded, is pouring into the country. If this is unchecked, it may keep wages down to the starving degree, whatever the prudence and morality of the English population. A wise and beneficent legislature would lose no time in seeking a remedy." The author next reverts to his old subject, the composition of the House of Commons. The symptoms of coming change now began to be traceable. Obedience to government, in the last resort, depends on opinion. Ikit, whereas, in the former times, governments fashioned opinions, the people of England at present form opinions for themselves ; a novelty that existing governments naturally under-estimate. The legislature is often puzzled to know what is the matter with it. The ministry, more ])articularly, feels its stability affected by its popularity. The inherent incompetency of the House of Commons, as a result of its comi)osition, is beginning to be better understood ; the efforts for improving it have almost ceased. " What are we to augur from this ? Are tlie wise men of practice satisfied tliat tlie silence of the people is tlie indifference of the people ? Are they fully assured that there is not a s])irit collecting, which, like a fixed air, will issue with unexpected force, when the moment of disengagement arrives ? sr.VTE OF THE NATION. 31I AVhat if the people have ceased to importune tlie legislature from something more deei)-rooted than the want of prosi)ect of success ? Their present repose is rather an indication of confidence than of desi)air, and of strength, if strength consists in wisdom, rather than of weakness. The people can afford to wait, and they know it." " Yes ; the people must wait the birth of events. 'I'he womb of time will not be found barren. The petitions of the jjcojjle for reform of parliament will not be met with laughter by-and-bye." After remarking on the diffusion of Literature and Education, and the growth of Mechanics' Institutes, he has some telling remarks u])on the improvement of upper and middle-class education (describing, as he usually does, the middle class as the strength of the country). He adverts to tlie recent start of the University of London, and to the jealousy manifested towards it by the old universities : the effect in the end will be that Oxford and ('ambridge will themselves be improved. He next devotes himself to a celebrated topic of the time, the so-called " ]''.(iuitable Adjustment" of the National Debt. After the suspension of cash payments in 1797, i)aper was issued in such <]uantity as materially to reduce the value of the currency. The interest of the then debt was paid in the degraded currency ; the national creditor getting less than his due. While the depreciation lasted, new debt was contracted in the depreciated currency. On tlie return to (-ash payments, the interest was ])ai(l in a currency more valuable than when the loans were made. On this account, said the landlords, 30 jier cent, should be deducted from the interest of the national debt. 'l"he whole transaction is strongly condemned as confis- cation, and leads to a train of remarks upon the necessit}- of liaviiig regard to the rights of pro])erty, in a time of pending re\()luti()nary change. "The insecurity of ])roperty, in times of transit from one state of government to another, constitute almost wholly tlie evils that attend them." " If the aristocracy commit an act of conliscation upon a class of their fellow- 312 IRELAND. T824-1829. citizens, they may be assured that it will suggest the idea of another conliscation when the mono])oly of the powers of government is made to quit their hands." In a few remarks on the improvement of the Law, he praises the efforts of Peel. " Let us give our assistance to ^Ir. Peel, and believe that his timidity will give other men courage ; perhaps, in the end, will give it to himself." Ireland supplies the peroration. It is the great drawback upon the energy and resources of England ; the foremost among our mountainous burdens. There is the genuine picture, the beau ideal of an aristocratic government. Had tlic Irish aristocracy rested on its own strength, it would have carried misrule only as far as the Irish people would bear. Being sure of English soldiers, it had no motive to set any limit to its oppressions. How one detestable thing grows out of another, and another out of that, and so on, without end ! It would go a great way to a remedy, if we would withdraw the English soldiers, and leave the parties there to settle their quarrels among themselves. The expedient thing tor England would be, at once to dissolve her connexion with Ireland, and to live with her as good neighbours only. It could never be the interest of Ireland, unless by some very gross misconduct of ours, to join with our enemies in war ; and, if she did, she would add to their dangers, not to ours. So ends the connexion with the Westminster Review ; and the more the pity. The Review was still carried on, on tlie same principles ; but there was great mismanagement in separating from it its most powerful writers. Powring, as editor, kept up the connexion with P)entham ; and tlie new proprietor is said to have ex])ended ui)on it a thousand a-year, for the seven years that it was in his hands. According to John Mill, his father gave way to ])ressure and wrote an article about three years after withdrawing ; he him- self, the more unyielding of the two, absolutely refused. The father's article will be noticed in course. CHl-MISTRY CHAIR IX U-VIVKRSITV COLI.I'.GK. 313 Ilislioliday this autumn was si)ent at DorkinL,^ \\'e have no particulars of his occupation there, except from a letter to Dr. 'I'liomson, of date 30th October, witli sjjccial reference to tb.e filliuLC up of the Cliemistry chair in University College. I give the extract on that subject. '• I would give a good deal of money out of my own pocket to have you in the projected University ; and I have nIki11, hov.-- ever, send you more lull particulars as soon as the subject Comes under discussion, which I ho[)e will now be soon ; and I am sure it will be reckoned a jjroud circumstance by the Council when they are told that you would become cliemical ])r(jfe:^sor, if the situation were made such as U) be a compensa- tion fiiiilv, and cheerful and h-'.; py as usual.'' I'oor L(jwe not prospcrtjus. 1S27. The principal event to be recorded for tliis vcnr is tlie a])pearance of an important political arti< le in the periodical called Till rarliamcutary IJiit'irx and Rc\ic\< ; of winch John r\Iill ui\es the tollowinu acccAuit. 314 PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY AND REVIEW. 1824-1829. " Mr. Marshall, of Leeds, father of the present generation of Marshalls, the same who was brought into Parliament for Yorkshire, when the representation forfeited by Grampound was transferred to it, an earnest Parliamentary reformer, and a man of large fortune, of which he made a liberal use, had been much struck with Bentham's Book of Fallacies : and the thought had occurred to him that it would be useful to publish annually the Parliamentary Debates, not in the chrono- logical order of Hansard, but classified according to subjects, and accompanied by a commentary pointing out the fallacies of the speakers. With this intention, he very naturally addressed himself to the editor of the Book of P'allacies ; and Bingham, with the assistance of Charles Austin, undertook the editorship. The work was called Parliavie?itary History and Review. Its sale was not sufficient to keep it in existence, and it only lasted three years. It excited, however, some attention among parliamentary and political people. The best strength of the party was put forth in it ; and its execution did them much more credit than that of the Westminster Review had ever done. Bingham and Charles Austin wrote much in it ; as did Strutt, Romilly, and several other Liberal lawyers. My father wrote one article in his best style ; the elder Austin another. Coulson wrote one of great merit." It was in the second volume ot the series that the article appeared. Instead of a survey limited to the previous session of Parliament, the dissolution gave occasion to take a wider sweep and to review the outcome of the legislation of the six years — 1 820-1 826. There had been, during the recent sesssion (1826), two important debates in the House of Commons, relative to Parliamentary Reform ; one, on the motion of Mr. Aber- crombie, to bring in a bill to amend tlie representation of Edinburgh, by substituting the householders for the Town Council, in whom the .suffrage was vested : this was defeated by 122 to 97. The other was, on the motion of Lord John PARLIAMENTARY RKFOR^L o'3 Russell — " That the present state of the representation of the people of r.ngland requires the serious consideration of this house ''. Tlie debates were comparatively short ; Canning spoke in the first, while the speech of Hobhouse in the second was a masterpiece. In the same session, Lord John Russell brought in a bill, and moved resolutions, for the prevention of l>ribery at Elections. Mill's contribution to the volume for 1S26 is divided into two parts. The first part relates to the three proposals just named. As usual he starts from his theory of representation based on the res])onsibility of the governing b(jdy to the i)eople at large, and reviews the House of Commons in the light of this prin- ciple. Alluding to the inHuence of public oj^inion through the press, he says — "it is plain, from the continued evidence of jobbing and depredation, that ])ublic opinion, even aided by a partially free press, is not a sufficient safeguard for the interests of all ". Hence no adequate remedy can be expected till the power of choosing the representatives is vested in a consider- able portion of the people. He then considers Lord John Russell's plan — to take, say, a hundred of the decayed boroughs, returning t\\ o members, and transfer one of these to the counties and to the large towns of recent growth. This he considers would make matters worse, by playing directly into the hands of the great landowners. So long as bribery and intimidation are possible, the number of real electors would not be increased, ^^'e should still have all the disadvantages of landlord legislation ; both the sinister interest and the intellectual incapacity of men born in a pcjsi- tion that deprives them of all motives to the acquirement of knowledge. He then urges the adoption of the ikillot, as the onlv means of securing a broader basis of election wlielher in county or in town. He denounces the riot and tuniult of elections, which some theorists were so fond of eulogizing. "The plan for kee[Mng up public spirit, or a love of liberty, as 3l6 BRIBERY AND THE BALLOT. 1824-X829. it is sometimes called, by periodical saturnalia, it is past our faculties to comprehend." After disposing of the influence-of-property argument, which is, in other words the influence of landed projjrietors, he criti- cizes the curious argument that Lord John Russell thought necessary to adduce for Reform, as being a restoration of cur ancient rights. So Hobhouse talked of restorutg ilic House of Commons io its original puriiy. He answers Hobhouse's re- mark as to the necessity of an aristocratical opposition to the Crown, by showing that there is no such opposition. On a few trifling questions, the o])position part of the House of Commons harass ministers, in order to get into their places ; but let the question be one of principle, to give the people the choice of their representatives, or to stop extravagance in the gross, where is the eloquence, and what are the divisions ? There is talk about the evils of bribery, but upon the evils of intimidation. Lord J. Russell says not a word. He lias a fling at his friend BrougJiam for trying to su])port bribery by declar- ing it illegal to pay the electors after the election ; and recom- mends him to propose the experiment of the ballot. He touches sliglitly upon Canning's speech in the debate on I'klin- burgli, but reserves a thorough handling for his next part. To the hackneyed argument — Where are you to stop ? he replies wath a smartness that would bear reproduction in a newspaper at the present hour. It says to the House — you must reject this measure, although unobjectionable, because you are so stupid, that if you permit this to pass, you would not have the sense to reject others, however objectionable. The second i)art of the contribution is entitled " Sumn-iary Review of the (.Conduct and Measures of the Seventh hiii)erial Parliament": (elected April 23, 1S20, and dissolved June 2, 1826). Llis exordium is still the theme of our aristocratical constitu- tion, with ever-varied illustrations. After tliis he notes one improvement in the practice of government in recent times. IMPROVEMENT OF THE LAW. 5T7 TliC governing class has renounced interference with personal |a\)tection. They have Ibund the machinery of taxation the nio^t c(jmmodious instrument for getting an undue share of the jirc^jierty of the people. For taxation, pretexts are necessary. Tlie war of the French Revolution came conveniently. He then introduces the efU^rts of Josej)h Himie to expose the system ot extravagance : a man had at last aijpeared, upon whom the ill usage of the House had little effect. He next passes to the imiirovement of the Law, which again brings up rellections on the intellectual inapiiuule of our governing class. IJevond the sj)here of ordinary talk, and a wry narrow and superficial observation, they are con-cious of mere mental vacuity. A comprehensive view of tlie great subject of law, they find a task as little suited to tlieir ability, as it is to their inclination, 'i'he end of the late Parliament saw the state of the law, wath some trifling alterations, the same as at the beginning. Sir James Mackiiitosh brought in six bills, founded on the report of a Committee of the ] (reced- ing Parliament for ap])lying milder jjuni.-.hments than death to certain crimes. Only a part was carried, and the whule would have been trilling. Z^linute alterations are to be dejrecated; working in the small way is ajjt to be taken as a substitute for working in the great. To overcome reluctance and opijosition the object must be large enough to gi\e an interest. Pord javerpool had adverted to th.e defect in our s}-stem arising from a want of secondary punishments of sufficient efilcacy. Pi ere was an ()]»i)ortunity for trying BenthanPs Penitentiary. 'Phe fate of Pord Allhor[/s bill for the coimtv courts was sufficiently illustrative, being rejected bv large m.ijo-rilies. 'i'he ((Uestion--whether counsel sliould be allowed to pri.^oiiers on trials for lelony, offers occasion for critical remarks. 'i'he lawyers, headed by the Atlornev-( General, Sir jok.n C'oplev, refused this permission. He then cop.ies to the proposals for i'arliamentar\- Reform, on which tlie last i'arliament witnessed four debates, besides 3l8 REFORM DEBATES. 1824-1829. the disfranchisement of Grampound. Two schemes were pro- pounded ; one by Mr. Lambton, one by Lord John Russell. Mr. Lambton would substitute for the cities and boroughs election districts, and admit all householders to the suffrage ; the counties to remain, with the admission of lease-holders and copyholders ; the duration of Parliaments to be reduced to three years. All this would be nugatory without the ballot. The scheme was disposed of in a house of not more than one hundred present. The Chancellor of the Exchequer (F. J. Robinson) had advanced the stock argument, that public opinion governs the house. The reply is — government must of course observe public opinion ; it must study the arts of misleading and eluding, and, for the purpose of eluding, must occasionally obey it. But if public opinion be all-sufficient to secure good government, what need have we of a House of Commons at all ? Would not a House of Lords answer our purpose as well ? Lord John Russell brought forward his motion four times. The first was on the 9th of May, 1821, when he had the speaking all to himself. On the second occasion (1822), Canning and Peel spoke, among others. The third time was in April. 1823; and the fourth, in the present session, a few weeks before the general election. The author's remarks on these debates are sufficiently pungent. His first point is that Lambton and Lord John were left to fight their battle almost alone. Brougham, Mackintosh, and Tierney were silent. Their motives can only be conjec- tured. It is not easy to conceive that such men should not have made the calculation how much it must affect the reputa- tion of themselves individually, and of the party they lead, if a Parliament of seven years' duration should begin and end, without their having once unlocked their lips on the subject of Parliamentary Reform. Canning, with his accustomed alacrity of attack, presented them with something to do. And Sir CANNING THE CHAMPION OF AKISIOCkACV. 319 Francis Burdctt — why had he not a word to say for his own " good old cause " ? What has he now to recommend liim to the ]jeoi)le of Westminster ? So much importance is attached to the exquisite fencing of Canning, in defence of the pred(jminant interest in the House, and to the stabs and slashes that he deals upon those that draw their weapons against it, that some notice of his speech is thought necessary. " At an early age, Mr. Canning proclaimed himself the champion of the power of the aristocracy ; and sedulously and successfully did he culti\'ate the talents which were best adapted to the task he had undertaken. As a man of ambition, he chcjse his walk with skill. By what other career could he liave attained the ]^ower and consequence to which he has ascended ? This is one of the evils attached to the predomi- nance of a particular interest in the legislature. The rewards it has to bestow pervert, and draw off, to the service of a part, some of the finest spirits which the country breeds." One thing remarkable is that, on this occasion. Canning entirely renounced the tone of mockery and insult that he had been accustomed to, when the popular interests were put forward. Possibly he found that this no longer aided the cause ; probably also he had become ashamed of so mean an exercise of his talents. His speech consisted, first, of objections to the specific plans of reform, and, second, of his usual display against reform itself The first was an easy task ; in the second, there is mighty little matter, but that little exceedingly well managed. He makes good use of the influence of public opinion argument. It was assumed that the House of Commons ought to resist public opinion when wrong ; and this it would not do if the aristocratical interest did not predominate. The author's rejjly to this may now be left to the reader's imagina- tion. Let us attend to the analysis of Canning's rhetorical method. Of all the orators of modern times, Canning is 320 BULWARKS OF ANTI-RP:F0RM. 1824-1829. perhaps the man that has carried to perfection the art of in- sinuation. Instead of rei)eating twenty times in one s})eech the stock arguments — The Constitution is excellent, Alteration is dangerous — he insinuates them twenty times in twenty different forms of language. The author then examines the meaning of these bulwarks of anti-reform. Canning affirms that under the English govern- ment, the English people have not only continued a people, but also been hap{)y and prosperous. ILrgo, the Englisli government is an excellent government. Keply : — That the English people have continued a people is true ; it is a dreadful government that suffices to destroy a peo])le. Then, what is the degree of haj)piness and prosperity that is the test of the goodness of a government ? The English people are the most productive in the world ; and the government has not taken everything from them. The cry of the danger of change will not always frighten people. A civil war would create evil in abundance, but the aristocracy of England will have wisdom to avoid that ex- tremity. As Earl Grey happily said, "The voice of the nation, growing louder and stronger, will work upon the prudence of the House ". He gives special praise to Ricardo for going simply, modestly, but manfully to the point, by requiring protection to the voter. The disfranchisement of (jrampound, he treats as a display of virtue, costing nothing. AVhen Grami)ound was to be had for money, a con:ii)etition among rich men determined the election, and the man returned might act with the aristocracy or against them. When the seat was given to A'orkshire, in which the permanent aristocratic influence is estabHslied, the spliere of that inOuence is enlarged. The aristocracy leave to their competitors the giving of money directly ; they call that by a bad name " ]!ribery," and denounce it. The indirect mode they call " Eegitimate influence of rroi)erty," whi<-h is everything that is good. If at each election the whole of the IRELAND. 321 six liundrcd and odd seats were set up to sale and knocked down to the liigliest b'ddcr, the advantage in favour of good government would not be inconsiderable. A short paragraph on education brings up Brougham again, who had introduced a measure in the first session of the late l)arliament. Jjrougham's merit on this subject has redeemed many of the sins he commits by his comiexions with a party, in whose trammels, had he known tlie true interest of his own glury, he never would have consented to draw. Irekmd comes up next, and, on this occasion, with fuller details. Its state is not better at the end of the Parliament than it was at the beginning. Vet its evils are such as migin unquestionably be removed. Its condition would disgrace the legislation of barbarians. It is one of the rarer cases where mi>government is without a check. I'he aristo- cratical workings in Ireland, traced througli their cliannels, small as well as great, exliibit human nature in one of the states physically the most deplorable, morally the most detestal)le, in v.'hich it is possible to appear. Of the Catholic (juestion, says the autlior, the view is shallow that takes it in wliule, or in tlie greatest part, as a religious question ; it is an aristocratic (luesiion. The aristocracy, wholly Protestant, have found it a convenient instrument of their ascendency of religion, to con- vert the mass of the peoi)le, on the score of religion, into a sort of outcasts. They labour under a mistake ; for with emanci])ation, they would still have their present pri\ileges. The liabits of tlie people j^lace them entirely at the mercy of the kin.dlord. The author then takes u]) at lengtli tlie topic of iMjuitable Adjustment, noticed in the W'csfniiiistir. He deiioimces with all his energy the ])retexts fi)r delVauding the national creditors under thi.-^ plausil)le name, lie is especially inthgnaiit at the suggestion that the nation might cease to be able to pay its creditors. lie rtuts over tlie retrenchments that otight to l)e made before such a pretence sliotild be lunted at. lie m;ikes 21 322 EQUITAIILE ADJUSTMENT. 1824-1829. the matter a handle for exposing our aristocratic legislature, whose account in the taxation does not apply to the interest of the debt. He finally reviews the whole transaction in connexion with the sacredness of proi)erty. " That a class of men, who, ])ossessing power by a firm tenure, find little occasion for intellect, should be short-sighted and inconsistent, is in the natural order of things. The Aristocracy of l^mgland, in order to frighten every man who possesses a little ])ropcrty into an enemy of improvement, have, with a prodigious display of fear and ardour, taught, that all attempts at improvement lead to revolution, and all revolutions to the confiscation of i)roperty. Both propositions are false. But they, by defrauding the national creditors, and thereby committing one of the most enormous acts of confiscation that ever was perpetrated on earth, would set an example of disregard to the laws of pro])erty, the bitter fruits of which they would deserve to be the first to feel. Why should the rest of the community, they to whom the interests of the fundholding class, and the interests of the landholding class are equal, be more willing to sacrifice the fundholders to the landholders, than the landholders to the fundholders ? If it be very inconvenient to the nation to j)ay the interest of the national debt, why not take the land to discharge the principal ? This would be spoliation and injustice, most assuredly : but not one atom worse than taking the property of the national creditors." The next subject is our foreign relations. A great improve- ment had recently been made, not by Parliament, but by Mr. Canning and his associates, in disengaging the nation from the Holy Alliance ; on which, nevertheless, the author expends a portion of his indignation. Then comes the doubtful point — whether in permitting the occupation of Spain by Trench troops— one of the most impudent proceedings in the history of modern Europe, and an act directly insulting to the govern- ment of hmgland, we avoided a war. The author reviews the precarious situation of the Trench government, in its own THE OPPOSITION MELTING AWAV. 323 unpopularity at home, and declares that it rested its security on t!"ie tears of our government in regard to internal revolution, as the conse(juence of a new war with l-'rance. Before concluding, he turns to the subject of our bloated establishments, and analyzes the brag of our high rank among the nations. Of all the curses that ever befel a nation, this said high rank is one of the greatest. Of all successful pretences for unnecosary wars, for exorbitant establishments, for the waste and ruin of the substance of the people, this, l)evond comparison, is the most fertile in mischief The concluding remark is on the conduct of the Opi)Osition l)arty, and on their influence in (jualifying the aristocratical jireponderance. He reiterates the delusiveness of this influence. When the 'people became sufficiently clear-sighted to distinguish ajjpearance trcjm reality, the promises of one section of the aristocracy trying U) turn the other out of office, will lose their effect. I'hings have already come nearly to this pass : the out- section of the aristocracy, " His Majesty's opposition," cease to have any hopes to the peojjle, and are hardly less hostile to them than their opponents. Accordingly, the i)arty is melting away. Until an adequate reform of Parliament take place, the ministry will be the /wsf ])art of the legislature, with the excep- tion of a small number of independent, enlightened men, hated by both parties, and persecuted by both, as far as it can be done quietly and by stealth. With this remarkable piece of energetic writing, ends the author's contributions to party politics, for a number of years. From the high, and not undeserved encomium passed by John Mill ui)on the execution of the Parliaiucntayy History and Review, we cannot but be sorry that the ojiulent jirojecnor took such a purely business view of its success. At such a critical juncture of politics a little longer continuation of its sui)port would have been valuable, if only to secure the services of the phalanx that had been got together to work for it. 324 LORD WILLIAM BENTINCK. 1824-1829. In a long letter, dated 28th Dec, from Bentliam to Col. Young, is an account of several interviews that Mill had with Lord AVilliam Bentinck, just appointed Governor-general to India, at which Mill and Grote together explained to him Bentham's Panopticon. " Mill paid me a morning visit, a very unusual thing with him ; for, in general, he Avaits for summons from me. He said he came as the harbinger of good news. For the purpose of bringing him in contact with Lord ^Villiam, Douglas Kinnaird had made a dinner ; but, as his custom was, instead of a tefc-a-tete, it was a mob dinner — mob composed of between thirty and forty individuals. However, some way or other, they two were brought into more special contact, and a conversation ensued — the particular import of which I do not remember, exce])t that it ended in the expression of a desire of renewal of acquaintance on the part of Lord William." It ai)pears that Mrs. (h-ote had arranged a dinner for again bringing Lord AVilliam and Mill together. " Mill has, at all times, been a declared, and, I have every reason to think, in this instance, a sincere trumpeter of Panopticon, recommending it within the field of his dominion, and, in jjarticular, llombay, during the vice-royalty of Elphinstone. " Lie said he had trumpeted once, and should, on that occasion, trumpet again the said Panopticon. If so, said I, you may as well have a copy to give him, for your text or subject-matter. Yes, said he, but in that case, your name and his should be inscribed in it. Agreed, said I — and so it was. After this day, I saw Mill again, and in general terms he re])orted to me the result. At tlie nick of time, comes out a number of the Sivtsiinni, Edinbro' newspaper, which you can- not but be more or less accjuainted with, taking for its subject not only an immense I^-idence work (a copy of wlii(-Ii, you will receive along with these presents), but also llie auLiior thereof — a transprint of wliicli, in a number of the Exa//iiua\ is likewise destined to accom])any tliem. Mill said — Gi'ote having, I forget how, in hand a copy of the original, made caxxixg's admixistratiox. 325 T.'.ird William hear it from beginning to en.l. . . . Another piece of information, was, that Lord W'iUiam was, in his judgment, a well-intentioned, but not a very well-instructed man ; but something more j)articular and i)roportionably instructive, on this head, was, that he said to Mill — ' I must confess to you, tliat what I have ever read amounts to very little, and that it is not without pain that I can read anything"! Quoth Mill — 'As to this book, it is not only a preeminently useful, but an amusing book ; and so much so, that I could \-enture to reconunend it for Lady ^^'illiam"s reading in th.at view ". Well said, James -^L11 ! — if it was so said ; but that is more than the author himself would take u[)on himself to say of it."' This year saw the formation of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Mill's name aiipears in the list of the Committee. The public events of the year were in themselves momen- tous, but they can only in imagination be brought into our storv. Lord Liverpool's (Government gave place in March to Canning's famous Coalition Administration, on which were suspended for a time both hopes and fears ; to tje all extin- guished in a few months. The session wore away, says Roebuck, in personal recrimina- tion {the Whigs that took otfice were twitted upon their hjrmer professions on Reform, cKic). Abroad, indeed, a [lowerful sensation folhjwed the break-u[) of the old admi'iistration, atul the coming of Mr. Canning into office. The o])pre>sed ol all nations rejoiced ; expecting that some benefit, but what they knew nf)t, was to result frum the new order of things in England. Canning died on the 8th August. The abortive attempt of Lord Goderich to f(jrm a ministry, left the king no o[)lion but to send for the Duke of WelliuLiton. 326 WRITINGS IN THE WESTMINSTER. 1824-1829. The Westminster had not yet passed out of the hands of the original set. John Mill was writing for it this year and the beginning of tlie next ; but not on any of the political questions of the day. The fact was that he or his father had in the two or three previous years exhausted nearly every tojnc of leading interest — Reform, Ireland, Liberty of the Press, Tree Trade ; and the present session was no doubt big with events, but brought forth as yet nothing. Of course, the political talk in the home circle would be earnest and energetic as usual : Black went eitlier to Queen's Square or to the India House every two or three days, to get help for his leading articles in the Chronicle ; and any one taking the trouble to turn over its pages, would find how Mill looked at the successive scenes of the parliamentary drama. The documents for this year are very scanty ; consisting of three references in the lientham Memoirs. In February, Eentham writes a long letter to Rammohun Roy, on the subject of legal reforms for India. I make a few extracts. "With Mr. Mill's work on British India you can scarcely fail to be more or less acquainted. For these three or four- and^twenty years he has numbered himself among my disciples ; for upwards of twenty years he has been receiving my instruc- tions ; for aljout the half of each of five years, he and his family have been my guests. If not adecjuately known already, his situation in the Ivast India Company's service can be ex- plained to you by Colonel Young. My papers on Evidence, — those papers wliicli you now see in print — were in liis hands, and read througli by Ifini, wliile occu})ied in his above-noticed great work ; a w(jrk from which more i)ractically apjihcable information on tlie sul^ject of government and poHcy may be derived (I think I can venture to say) than from any other as JUDICIAL REi-OK.Mb IX INDIA. 327 yet extant ; thougli, as to style, I wish I could, with truth and sincerity, pronounce it ecjual to yours. '' For these many years a grand oljject of his ambition has been to provide for British India, in the room of tlie abomin- able exisung system, a good system of judicial procedure, with a judicial establishment adecjuate to the administration of it ; and lor the composition of it his reliance has all along been, and continues to be, on me. What I have written on these subjects wants little of being comi)lete ; so little that, were I to die to-morrow, there are those that would be able to put it in order and carry it through the press. " What he aims at above all things is, — the giving stability and security to landed proi^erty in the hands of the greatest number throughout British India; and, for this purpose, to ascertain by judicial inquiry, the state of the customs of the people in that respect. For this same purpose, a great increase in the number oi judicatories, together with the oral exai/iiiia- tion of all parties concerned, and recordation of the result will be al)solutely necessary : the mode of proceeding as simple as I^ossible, unexpensive and i)rompt, forming in these respects as comi)lete a contrast as possible with the abominable system of the great Calcutta Judicatory : natives of unmixed blood and half-caste, both of whom could serve on moderate salaries, being, on my system, as much em])loyed as possible. " Though but very lately known to your new Governor- general, Mr. Mill is in high tavour with him ; and (I have reas(;n to believe) will have a good deal of influence, which, in that case, he will employ for the purpose above-mentioned. " Fie has assured his lordsh.ip that there can be no good jjcnal judicature without an a[)t//7Awand prison-managmnent ; and no a[)t prison or prison-management, without the plan which, we call the ranoplicon jjlan." In a sliort note, dated August, addressed to " Chamberlain Clark," licntham writes — "The bearer is Mr. Mill, author of the celebrated History 328 BENTHAM AND O'CONNELL. 1824-1829, of British Bidia, which, if you have net read, you cannot but have heard more or less of. Under the ol)scure title of Examiner, he bears no inconsiderable part in the government of the threescore or fourscore millions, wliich form the popu- lation of that country. On the death of the chief of the four Examiners, which is expected to take place ere long, he will succeed him, with a salary of ^^2000 a-year. " He was one of the earliest and most influential of my disciples. The house he lives in looks into my garden. " Hearing of the two spots in your neighbourhood, in both of which I several times took uj) my summer cjuarters, he ex- pressed a desire to make a pilgrimage to them, as he did once to my birth-place in Red Lion Street, Houndsditch, and the unfortunate half-burnt-down residence in Crutched Friars." Under date 2nd November is a long letter from Bentham to Daniel O'Connell, with whom he has a constant correspondence at this time ; the Liberator professing himself an ardent ad- mirer and follower. The letter is chiefly occupied in charac- terizing Mill's Irish friend linsor, whom probably O'Connell had designs upon. " Received yesterday, yours dated Dublin, 27th. .... Presently after, dropped in British-Lrdia and Political-Economy Mill, one of the earliest of my disciples. He had been seeing a man of the name of Glyn, who, I believe, is a somebody ; he had been over a good part of Ireland lately, and was all praise and admiration of you, more especially on account of your prudence — tJiat was the word. Mill knows Ensor ex- tremely well : still better than I do. Good intentions, pro- digious learning, sharp wit, poignant satire — all this Ensor has. Close and consistent reasoning ? Alas, not ; unless his attack upon your wings, which I admired at the time, but which is now out of my head, be an exception. Mill says he is imprac- ticable, and in Parliament he sees not very well what particular use he would be of." On the ist October, the London University (now designated THK duke's "no .SL"RRI:XDI;R " VKAR. 329 University College) was opened, for its first se^>i()n. In the staff of professors not the least was John Austin, wliose Ccjurse of Lectures had perhaps the most distinguislied attendance that ever honoured any lecturer. John -Mill was a licarer, both this session and next. This year is known to history, politically, as the vear of the Duke's "No Surrender'' — to Catholics or anMhing else: there being ominous indications of the vanity of the boast. l"he Covernment was defeated on Lord John Russell's motion on the Test and Cor[)oration Acts, which had to l)e adopted and parised into law. It was again defeated, in the Commons, by a narrow majority of six, on 15urdett's motion in favour of Cathijlic Ijiiancipaticjn. O'Connell's renewal of his Catholic Association, which during Canning's ministry he had dropt, was followed by the decisive event of his election for Clare. The Session was notable for Brougham's great speech on Law Reform, on a motion (Feb. 7) respecting th.e State of the Courts of Common Law. 'With all his ostentatious professions of being guided by Eentham, and with his dependence on Mill, he gave little satisfaction to his masters. I'he following is the ojjening paragraph of a memorandum by ISentham, entitled " On iJrougham's Law Reform " : — " Mr. Brougham's mountain is delivered, and beh(;ld I — the mouse. 'Lhe wisdom of the reformer could not oxercome tlie craft of the lawver. Mr. Brougham, after all, is not the man to set u]) a simple, natural, and rational administration ijf jus- tice against the entanglements and technicalities of our I-^ngli^h law prcjceedings." Tlie date of the collected volume of the E/inrlifirilia F.ssavs, iudging from the cnjjy that I am acquainted with, is 182S. 'I'his mav have been a third reprint ; as we saw a second alluded to in 1825. Tins was the first summer of Im's residence at Mickleham, 33^ PUBLICATION OF THE "ANALYSIS". 1824-1829. where he spent his hohdays for the remaining years of his Ufe. He first took a small house, opposite the church, but not facing it, there being another house in front. He afterwards took a second house, joined with the first, and occupied the two. The family remained here, for six months in the year. He staid continuously during his six weeks' holiday, and for the remaining months, came down by coach from Friday or Saturday to Monday. I understand that the head of the office could skip Saturday ; none of the Directors appeared on that day. John had always to be at his post on Saturday till about two ; he went down on Saturday afternoon ; the Sunday visitors generally taking their places in the coach with him. 1829. For this year, I am without any private reminiscences what- ever. The great event to be recorded is the publication of the Analysis of the Mind. Although the Analysis has now its well-defined place in the history of Psychological speculation, I am unable to state any- thing as to its immediate reception. Philosophy was then at low water mark in this country. Dugald Stewart was dead, and Hamilton was just beginning to show his hand in the Edi7i- burgh Review \ but it took him several more years to resuscitate the .interest in metaphysical speculation. He soon got hold of Mill's book and included it in his multifarious reading ; the unfinished Note in the " Collected Works of Reid," curiously enough, stopping short in the middle of remarks on Mill. The first effect of the book was naturally felt in the author's own circle. The reading society at Grote's house, which had ceased for some time, renewed its meetings for the purpose of dis- cussing the work seriatim, in the same fashion as their previous readings in other subjects. Their last occupation had been with Hartley. It was this year that Macaulay wrote his articles in the MACAULAY S GETTING INTO PARLIAMENT. 33 1 EJinhur;^h on Mill and Utilitarianism. I have alieadv indi- cated their drift. The Napier correspondence contains some interesting incidental references to them. 1'hus. on the 3rd October, Macaulay writes to Napier : — '"The \\\-sfi)ii)istcr Rtvic:,.' has put forth another attack on us, and both 1-Jnpson and I think that, as the controversy has certainly attracted much notice in London, and as this new article of the Ben- thamites is more absurd than anythini,^ that they have yet published, one more paper ought to ai)pear on our side. I hope and tru^^t that this will be the last blow."' Again on the 23rd, Macaulay writes : — '' ]]y the mail of to-morrow I shall despatch the proofs. I liave re-written the two first })aragTa])hs, which were. I must own, indecorously violent. I have softened some other passages. If you think any further mitigation desir- able, I h(.)pe that you will not scruple to exercise your prerogative. You will not find me a refractory subject."' On the 2Sth, Napier, writing to M'Culloch, says — " Do not blame me for inserting another blow at the Utilitarians. I have softened its severity, and I am bound to say that Macaulay has behaved handsomely." It is commonly represented that Macaulay owed his seat in Parliament to the attack on Mill. It appears from a passage in his Life that Lord Lansdowne " had been much struck by the articles "'. It is added, however, that Macaulay's " high moral and private character " had determined Lord Lansdowne to offer him the seat. \'iewed from one side, the promntitm has been regarded as a ^Vhig tribute to his ha\"ing ^•an<|uished obnoxious Radicalism. Notwithstanding, Lord Houghton, in the Acadciiix (April 29, 1876), gives another side of the afkiir. " Mis College intimacy witli ("harles .Austin ma\' not improbablv have had something to do with this im])()rtant change in his destinv, for with Charles and John Austin, and Sarah the beautiful and accom])lished translator of Ranke's ///VAvr, Lord Lansdowne long held the ntost friendlv relations."' This brinirs 2)Z~ EFFECTS OF CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. 1824-1829. the wheel completely round, for the Austins (including Sarah) were the closest of Mill's own friends. In the Life of Lord Ellenborough, published lately, occurs a passage tliat the newspaper reviewers referred to James Mill. "Goulbourn spoke against a Mr. Mill, who is a very clever man, and a good man, but a controversialist." Ellenborough was then (Jan. 21, 1829) President of the IJoard of Control, and the remark would seem to be pointed at James Mill, as an Lidia House official. In point of fact, however, the President of the lioard knew nothing of the officials of the India House. He would read despatches drafted by them, in the first instance, but he had only to deal with the Court of Directors. The connexion of the passage shows that the reference to James Mill is a mistake. What was under discussion between Goulbourn and Ellenborough was the appointment of a bishoj), and the " Mill " alluded to was of course a clergyman of the church. The year 1829 owes its historical reputation to the concession of Catholic Emancipation. The bearings on ulterior questions are well sketched by Roebuck, in his History of the IV/iig Ministry. The events and discussions of the year " attracted attention to, and rivetted it upon parliamentary reform, which was evidently destined to be, together with the condition of thC' industrious classes, the grand to})ic of tlie coming session. The notice-book of the House of Commons consequently con- tained many notices of motion, propounding various schemes for a reform in tlie popular representation, and for relieving the burdens of the i)eople." We have now given the record of events to the end of 1829. As this is near tlie date of the removal from Queen's S(}uare, I may introduce here a few of the domestic incidents of the six- teen years spent in that residence. We saw that Bentham gave Mill the house, in the first in- FAMILY IXSTRLXTIOX. T,-\^ s\incc, at a1)0Ut half its valr.e. We also found that, when Dr. Thomson shared it with him, he paid the full rent, showing his determination to clear his way to tlie full as soon as jxjssihle. When he went to Queen's Sijuare, he had five clrildren, the eldest, eiirht, the youngest, just born. In 1830, he had a family of nine, the eldest, twenty-four, the youngot. six. I'heir educati(jn, up to this time, had been conducted wholly in the house : ])artl}-, by himself, and, gradually more and more, by the elder ones teaching the younger. He never entirely ceased to take a ])art ; either, in the early morning, in his dressing room, or in the evening, he heard their lessons, in a summaiy fiTshion : treating their deficiencies with sternness and severity. Having been in his youth, a full-trained volunteer, he had a due appreciation of army discipline, in giving bodilv carriage. ] le, accordingly, engaged a sergeant from the adioining barracks, to put them through a course of marching drill; wliile jolui was practised in sword exercise. Very little came of tliis, as far as John in particular was concerned ; he v.as, to th.e end, backward in all that regarded bodily accom])lishmen.ts, sa\'ing the one point of persistence as a walker. The fact, no doubt, was, that his nervous energy was so com.'pletelv al)sorbed in his unremitted intellectual a])p]ication, as to be una\ailable for ehlablisliing the co-ordinations of muscular dexerity. After John, the next elder children seem to have disaj)- pointed him, and he ne\er looked uj-on them with any com- ])lacency. James, tlie second son, was destined k)r th.e India Service abroad : he was an assiduous student, and ajipears to have given his father tolerable satisfaction ; but there was nothing in his career to show that he had mu. Ii intellectual glt"t. 'i'he next brother, Henr\-, was e\ervb()dv's favotwite ; I have he.ird .Mrs. (irote describe him as a '• heavenlv b;)}'". I'erscjnal l)eauty and ch.arms, great fiictiltv not meveb.' fcr study but for anything that he liad to do, luisellislmess in tlie ex- treme, were the traits that made his peipularity. He >l:ed o( consumj)tion, in his 20th year ; aware that over.-^train h.ul 334 BEHAVIOUR AT HOME. 1824-1829. crushed him. John watched his deathbed at Fahnouth, and, in writing of the event, pronounced him " the noblest and worthi- est of us all ". The youngest son, George, I knew personally : he too possessed the family talent, but succumbed to the same malady. It is apparent enough that while the father's fine quality of brain was not wanting in the children generally, John, besides other advantages, was single in possessing the physical endurance that was needed for maturing a first-class intellect. The Autobiography exi)resses with sufficient frankness the defective side of Mill's demeanour to his children. Such a phrase as " the most impatient of men " speaks a volume, and we liave only to turn the leaves to realize the particulars. He could exercise perfect self-control in his intercourse with the world, and his social and commanding qualities gained and kept friends, but at home he did not care to restrain the irritability of his temperament. In his advancing years, as often ha])pens, he courted the affection of the younger children, but their love to him was never wholly unmingled with fear , for, even in his most amiable moods, he was not to be trifled with. His entering the room where the family was assembled was observed by strangers to operate as an immediate damper. This was not the worst. The one really disagreeable trait in Mill's character, and the thing that has left the most painful memories, was the way that he allowed himself to speak and behave to his wife and children before visitors. When we read his letters to friends, we see him acting the family man with the utmost propriety, ])utting forward his wife and children into their due place ; but he seemed unable to observe this part in daily intercourse. Long before leaving Queen's Square, he had passed through the parent's inevitable hour of filial self-assertion. His first check, he got, naturally, from John ; the particulars I will notice elsewhere. The elder daughters, who were the greatest sufferers from his imperious rule, and between whom and their THE CHILDREN S LIFE. 335 father, John often acted the part of mediator, next read him a sharp lesson. Indeed, we are now close upon the time when John came under another influence, with which all the world is well acquainted. It is not to be inferred that the children were made entirely U!ihappy by their father's system. John himself testifies that his childhood was not unhappy ; and we shall be able to produce similar testimony from the younger ones, liesides having a fond, indulgent mother, they were very much attachetl t<; each other ; and for many hours every day, they were their own masters. They had a comfortable hcjme. The house itself was roomy ; it had its own garden, which was in direct cotmexion with Bentham's more extensive grounds, of which they had the full use. IJentham had naturally a certain kindly feeling towards the " brats,"' as he called them ; their per- sonal charms, vivacious ways, and good breeding nuist have interested him from the Ford Abbey time, when all but the two or three youngest were domesticated with hum. His amanuensis, Doane, was their playfellow. Chapter A^II. CLOSING YEARS.— INDIA CHARTER : LONDON REVIEW : FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. 1830—1836. THE year 1830 is the culmination of Mill's career. Before the end of the year, he is at the head of his office. Soon after, he quits Queen's Square for a large villa in Vicarage Place, Church Street, Kensington. Here in opulence and fame, he spends his last years, varied by the summer residence at ]\Iickleham. The one serious drawback was his health. His attacks of gout are of course not diminishing in frecjuency or severity ; while indigestion gives him uneasiness on its own account. His stomach and liver are much impaired. He was all his life very temperate ; for many years he scarcely ever indulged in alcoholic drinks. Latterly, he took a fancy to the Scotch ale called Alloa ale ; tiiis was what he used at his own table. Having regard to Iiis gouty framework, tlic doctors of our day would have recommended to him Scotland's still more peculiarly national form of alcohol. During these last six years of his life, he wrote comparatively little for the public; not for want of will and purpose, but from diminisliing strength and the increased pressure of his office work. His private social influence was subject to no abate- ment. As the adviser of the small band of ])hilosophical radicals, in and out of Parliament, he was still of the greatest value to the cause of political progress. LATER FRIENDS. 337 A few -words may be expended on his chief friends for these years. Of those already mentioned, the Grotes, Black, Hume, the Austins, Strutt, Romilly, Charles Villiers (his brother, Hyde, died in 1832), M'Culloch, Fonblanque — continued their intimacy to the last. Brougham's assiduity is even more con- spicuous than before, and furnishes us with a number of letters of the highest interest. In his Chancellor days, he occasion- ally drove down on a Sunday to Mickleham. ^^'ith Henry Bickersteth we shall find the mutual attachment growing ever stronger. He used to take a house at Mickleham, to be near Mill during the holiday rambles. The reader of the two volumes of his Biography, when informed of his being offered the Mastership of the Rolls, is startled to find that Mill, whose name had not occurred previously, is the man whose judgment he sought before he could bring himself to accept. On the other hand, Bickersteth was Mill's counsel in the com- jjosition and style of his last work, the Frai^i/ie/if on Macki/itosh, and induced him to make many alterations in the way of softening its tone. The elder Mr. Marshall of Leeds, who came into Parliament for Yorkshire in 1826, and projected the Parliamentary History and Rfviezu, was in the Mill circle. He kept a large hospitable house in the West-end : we find Macaulay frequenting his parties. His second son, John, became member for Leeds, and and was also, I believe, one of Mill's visitors. The third son, James Ciarth Marshall, was member for Leeds in 1S47, and was a friend of John Mill ; I can remember meeting him in the India House. Sir William Molesworth came up to London, in 1833, as member for the eastern division of his own county, Cornwall. He had few or no acquaintances in London, till he took the Extract of a letter, ^Tay 28, 1831. — "Yesterday I dressed, called a cab, and was wheeled away to Hill Street. I f(.)und old Marshall's house a vi>ry tliK; one. He ouL,dn, indeed, to have a tine one ; for he has, I believe, at least, thirty thousand a vear. " 33^ molesworth; arnott. 1830-1836. opportunity that the House of Commons afforded of making up to Grote, who got leave from Mrs. Grote to bring liim to the house. Mrs. Grote made a great deal of him, and he soon got to know all the Grote circle, including the Mills. His predilections were to radicalism and scepticism, so that he had not to learn anything fundamental from his new associates. By his own account, he got his scepticism at the University of Edinburgh, where he spent two years ; (this was in the Twenties). He became one of Mill's most devoted followers. He struck Mill greatly both for ability and for having the courage of his opinions. He showed his zeal in the unmistakable form of founding, at his own cost, the London Review. Dr. Neil Arnott was on intimate terms with Mill for the years we are now entering upon. The acquaintance had not begun long before 1830, and was probably a consequence of his recently acquired reputation. The expository success of the "Elements of Physics" published in 1827, is to this hour without a parallel in the literature of science. The book, I know, was greatly admired both by Mill and by Grote, and led them to desire the acquaintance of the author. Arnott was born not far from Montrose, when James Mill was attend- ing the Academy there as a youth of fifteen. In the middle of the week, when Mill would deviate from the line of his walk home on Saturday and back to school on Monday, he and Hume could vary their rambles by going south on the coast road towards Arbroath. About three miles from Montrose they would pass the farmhouse belonging to Arnott's father, situated near the middle of the picturesque bay of Eunan, a delightful afternoon excursion. Arnott spent only his child- hood there, his father having gone to Aberdeen when he was about eight years old : but he had sufficient memories to interchange with Hume and Mill, when they reverted in con- versation to their native locality. Probably he met Hume in the circles of his patients, and was taken by him to Mill. His FONBLAXQUE ; M'CULLOCH. 339 conversation was sufficiently intellectual and scientific to l)e enjoyed by the whole set ; and he had a powerful scheming mind, extending to social philosophy, as well as to mechanics. He was of the sanguine temperament, full of hopes for the future of mankind, although his projects were often (luixotic. He was latterly medical adviser both to Mill himself and to the family. Fonblanque became Editor of the Examiner in 1830, and lifted the [xiper to its great eminence as a liberal weekly. His closest connexion was with John Mill, who was for several years a regular contributor of his. Fonblanciue had previously contributed to the paper, as well as to the iMonn'/ig Chronicle and to the West minster RccicKK By his own account, he assisted Black in llie Clironiclc from 1S21 to 1824, and wrote most of the articles on the Unpaid Magistracy. Among the visitors to Mill, and the associates of his Sunday walks, for several years, was a barrister named Hogg ; the author of a Life of Slieiley, and husband of the widow of Captain Williams who was drowned along with him. His son was a pupil with Coulson. Hogg seemed to have had objectionable points, and, before Mill died, the two had quarrelled; the only case that I know of Mill's quarrelling with any one that had ever been his friend. M'Culloch, the political economist, settled in London, on being made professor of Political Economy in E'niversity College, in 1S28; after the frustration of Jeffrey's purpose to endosv a chair in Edinburgh University, and to give him the first appointment. Mill no doubt took the lead in nominating him to University College. Mill was usually joined in his long Sunday walk with some of his associates. He had cultivated the jjower of jM-olonged walking as necessary to his health , and John and the rest of the children were habituated in like manner. I'he Sunday excursions were sometimes very long indeed. I have heard it said that the party kept on foot from ten to four, and, after 340 ATTACKS ON THE CHINA MONOPOLY. 1830-1836. dinner, again for several hours. Even the younger men spoke of the fatigue as sometimes beyond endurance. For some of the last years in London, Coulson, Peacock, M'Culloch, and Hogg, were members of the regular walking party. At Mickle- ham. Sharp was a near neighbour, and John Mill considered it a part of his good fortune to listen to the conversation of his father and Sharp during their walks. INDIA CHARTER RENEWAL. 1830— 1833. By an Act of Parliament passed on the 20th of August, 1833, the East India Company received the final modifications of its constitution, being deprived of the last remnants of its trading privileges. The published proceedings connected with this great revolu- tion bring Mill into the foreground, as the spokesman and adviser of the Court of Directors, and afford the only means we have of clearly understanding the official influence that he exercised in the government of India. By the Act of 1813, the Company had a renewal of its powers, with the loss of its India Trade. That Act was to expire in 1834 ; so that, notwithstanding the deafening thunders of the Reform agitation, the terms of the further prolongation of the Company's government had to be considered by Parlia- ment, The mercantile public was not disposed to consent to the continuance of the trading powers of the Company in any shape ; and a severe struggle was impending. The main fight took place some time previous to the introduction of the Bill in 1833. In the Committees of Parliament, and in the corres- pondence between the Government and the Court of Directors, the ground was so effectively cleared as to leave little to the debates at the different stages of the Bill in the two Houses. COMMITTEES ON INDIA CHARTER. 34 1 During the session of 1829, there was a rush of petitions from all the great centres of trade and manufiictures, directed against the renewal of the Company's charter ; the petitioners being opposed, not merely to the continuance of the Company's remaining monopoly — the China Tea trade — but to the reten- tion of the India government in its hands. Such was the strength of the hostile current, that the leaders of both parties looked upon the surrender of the tea monoi)oly as a matter of course. They were equally unprepared to trans- fer, at that moment, to the crown, the governnient of India. The campaign opened in the end of 1830 ; while the Duke of Wellington was minister. In February, Committees were appointed in both Houses of Parliament — " to enquire into the present state of the affairs of the East India Company ; and into the trade between Great Britain and China ". These, and all the subsequent Committees that the frequent dissolutions of Parliament in the next two years, required to be appointed afresh, were, in the Commons at least, unusually large; amounting to forty or fifty members. They had to include the leading men in the house, and a large representation of the centres of commerce. The first Committees were cut short by the dissolution of Parliament on 24th July, caused by the death of the King. No others were appointed that session. A good deal of evidence was accumulated ; the opposition to the Company being of course fully heard. On the 1 2th October, the same year, the corres])ondence between the Government and the Company began in a con- ference held at Apsley House; the Duke and Lord I'^llen- borough (President of the India Poard) met tlie Chairman and Deputy-Chairman of the Court of Directors; when the Duke with his usual curtness intimated that the Company was to be continued in the government of India, but with the loss of the China tea monopoly. The chairs reix'ried the conver- sation to the Court of Directors, and a brief minute was 342 MILL EXAMINED ON INDIA REVENUE. 1830-1836. prepared on the 20th, bringing forward the fact of the insuffi- ciency of the territorial revenue alone to meet the expenses of government ; there being a deficit of ^800,000, at present met by the China trade. At the meeting of Parliament in Feb., 1831, a Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons was again appointed. It consisted of forty members to begin with ; others were subse- quently added. P2arl Grey was in power, and Charles Grant (afterwards Lord Glenelg) was President of the India Board, and conducted all the negotiations with the Court of Directors, and finally carried the Bill through Parliament. His name of course headed the Commons' Committee ; others were Lord Althorp, Marquis of Chandos, Lord Morpeth, Sir James Mackintosh (who now held an office in the India Board), Lord Ashley, Joseph Hume, Labouchere, Poulett Thomson, Charles Wood, Goulburn, John Marshall, &c. In April, Parliament was dissolved. In the middle of June, the Committee was reappointed much the same as before, 36 members to start with. Before this third Committee, in August, Mill was examined through eight sittings, on the India Revenue. This had been his own special department, from his appointment in 18 19, till he became Chief Examiner in 1830. In India, the main source of Revenue is the Land Tax ; and Mill describes minutely the machinery for collecting the tax. ' He is asked if the Land Tax is a good one, and answers, Yes ; as far as this source goes, the people of the country remain untaxed. Tlie difficulties lie in the collection, and these are discussed before the Committee at great length. The chief problem that arose was due to the position given to the so-called Zemindars by the Cornwallis Settlement of 1793; a celebrated instance of mistaking the cliaracter of tlie pro- prietary rights of the apparent owners of the soil. The cultivators of the soil are called Ryots ; they pay the govern- ment tax to the Zemindars, who are charged by the authorities to a certain amount. The Ryots had a hereditary right to the ZF-MIXDARS AND RYOTS. 343 soil, subject to the payment of the tax, but the Zemindars under the settlement were able to encroach upon those rights ; and when the Company had its eyes once opened to the blunder that had been made, various devices were resorted to to prevent the rights of the Ryots from passing away ; and the manipulation of those devices seems to have been one portion of Mill's official duly for several years. The principal remedy was for the Company to purchase the land from the Zemindars, whenever any of them were obliged to sell it, and to re-settle the Ryots in their old hereditary rights. Many regulations had to be framed in carrying out this purjiose, all coming within the years when Mill was in charge of the Revenue Department. Officers in the Courts of Justice, and the servants of Collectors of Revenue, had to be prohibited from being bidders at the sales. Settlements on Zemindars, where fraud was discovered, had to be revised by a Committee. Overcharges to an enormous amount were discovered. Directions were issued to resist the increased demands of the Zemindars, from the extension of the poppy cultivation. Payment in kind was discouraged. The third day's examination was opened with a question as to the increase of the comforts of the people. He replies, he had conversed with many persons on this subject, and got opposite opinions. The sitting was next occupied with what was termed the Village Settlement : under which the Ryots were taxed by the head man of the village, a i)ersonage that also needed looking after. Here is one suggestion of Mill's own : — " It has occurred to me, and instructions to that effect have been conveyed to India, that the collector, in making his bargain with the head man, should, previously to assigning him the privilege, make him give in a schedule of the mode in which he meant to distribute the assessment, and, lining obtained this statement, cause it to be fixed up in tlie village itself, to be seen by every inhabitant of the village, with an invitation to the people to make any remarks that might occur to them." The village settlements occured in the I'residencv of 344 COLLECTION OF TAXES. 1830-1836. Fort William and the provinces. The discovery had been only recently made, that in a considerable district, the assess- ment was too high, and instructions, more or less peremptory, had been sent to take care that no more than the rent is exacted. Also it was recommended to the Madras Government that the Ryot's assessment should be fixed for a number of years. The fourth day was taken up with a general discussion of the revenue system of India, which, if it could be limited to Rent, Mill had pronounced the best in the world. On the fifth day, he is subjected to considerable badgering by the Committee on the Land Tax, on the merits of which they did not seem to agree with him. The other great sources of taxation were Salt and Opium ; these could not be dispensed with ; but the Company, on principle, had remitted a great number of petty taxes. The cross-examination goes on for another day on the instructions to collectors. On the day following he is called to give an account of the fluctuations of Revenue in different provinces. The eighth day is occupied with the costs of collection of the salt and opium duties. Instructions had been issued to make every improvement in the modes of collection. There is then a long argument about a permanent settlement with the Ryots. In conclusion, he is asked his opinion as to the opening up of government employment to the natives. He does not think much good would come of it ; better " to teach them to look for their elevation to their own resources, tlieir industry, and economy ". Petitions sent from India, he says, do not rej^resent the general language of the country. As a final home thrust, he is asked if a person could form a judgment of the natives without being personally act]uainted with them. Replies — " If the question refers to myself, I am far from pretending to a perfect knowledge of the people of India ". It was during the heat of the Reform Bill discussions in the CONSTITUTION OF INDIA GOVERNMENT. 345 Commons, that this examuiation took place ; and the Com- mittee was again cut short by the dissolution of Parliament following on the rejection of the Bill by the Lords. On the opening of the session, in January, a fourth Committee had to be appointed, with the understanding that it should subdivide itself, and take up the subject in six branches separately and simultaneously. Mill is summoned again ; and examined in four departments. Under one head — denominated ( Jeneral — he describes the whole machinery of government, both at home and in India ; and is questioned more particularly as to the constitution of the India administrative body. He disapproves of the present allocation of duties to the Governor-Cjcneral. He would have a Legislative Council constituted by four persons thus : — one acquainted with the laws of England ; one selected from the most experienced of the Compaiiy's servants ; one, a native of the highest character and qualilications ; and one, a person thoroughly versed in the philosophy of men and of govern- ment. As to the question of representative institutions for India, he pronounces a decided negative. He condemns the secret system at home (working through a Secret Conmiittee of the Court of Directors) as of very little good. The sederunt of this special Committee included Sir James Macdonald, Mar- shall, Labouchere, Lord Sandon, John Wood, Lord Cavendish, Sir R. Inglis. Before another Sub-Committee — (Grant, Shiel, Serjeant Wilde, O'Connell, Bonham Carter, Ewart, Lord Milton), he is examined on the Judicial System, and goes over its defects, namely, the combining of criminal and civil causes, and the system of ai)peals. He urges oral pleadings ; would give i)ower to the judges to call the witnesses ; and enjoins attention to the customs of India. Under the sixth l)ranch of India business, called Political or Foreign, he is examined in presence of Mackintosh (in the chair), Wynn, Bulwer, and Macaulay. This is the department of the protected or dependent states, which he describes in 346 LETTER ON TAXATION. 1830-1836. the blackest colours. The British power protects native rulers from insurrection, the old standing refuge of oppression, and yet cannot compel them to govern well. Certain precautions are taken by way of exerting some influence on the native ruler, which are minutely described, but are wliolly insufficient. Public opinion at home is opposed to absorbing these states ; but the sooner the intermediate plan is done away with, the better. Being asked as to the most desirable frontier, he says there is nothing now between us and that, but the territory of Runjeet Sing. If threatened by the Russians on the north- west frontier, we should be obliged to take possession of the country to the foot of the hills. Runjeet Sing occupies the Punjaub : the boundary between him and the Hill States is not very definite. Before another Sub-Committee (Frankland Lewis, Strutt, Sir Charles Forbes, Stuart Wortley), he again undergoes an examina- tion on the Salt and Opium monopolies. This is on the 28th of June. On the 15th August, an official letter is sent in to the Committee, giving full details of the Land and other Taxes. The drafting of this would fall to Mill. The side observations are sometimes curious. He defends the pilgrim tax from the charge of identifying the British Government with idolatry. He avers that the licensing of stews is not authorizing them, but rather lessening evils that we cannot prevent. On the tobacco tax, he does not mince his oi)inion of the injuriousness of the article itself So much for the Parliamentary Committees. Another line of operations had to be carried on meanwhile, in the shape of correspondence between the Court of Directors and the Government, which really settled the terms of the new BiU. The lengthened arguments of the Directors were of Mill's composition, as a matter of course. After the interview with the Duke and Lord Ellcnborough, the chairs reported the result to the Directors, who agreed to DKFENXE OF COMPANY. 347 a minute on the subject. The change of ministn-, however, made a new start, and Charles Grant now represented the Government. 'J"he tug of war came in 1S32. The })rime minister and Grant had an interview with the chairs, and finally intimated the Government's decision, wliich was in accord with the deliverance of the Duke in the end of 1830. Grant followed this up with a letter to the Chairman, contain- ing certain Ai/i/s, as what the provisions of the Bill should be. To this, the Directors gave an elaborate answer. Knowing that they could not maintain their monopoly, they contented themselves with disabusing the public of the supposed advan- tages of an open trade, in reducing the price of tea, and in affording new marts for our manufactures ; the peculiar cir- cumstances and policy of China constituting an excejition to all the rules of commercial policy. The more serious part of the case was the future administration of the Company, under the new circumstances. There would be, for one tiling, the difficulties in remitting money for home use. .Still more serious was the deficit to be made good, ui)on which a very protracted controversy arose. The first letter of the Directors contains a strong passage on the necessity of a sufficient security to the Proprietors, " to comjiensate the Company for the services which they have rendered, for the risks which they have run, and for the sacrifices which they are called upon to make, &c.". A farther point to be argued was the indepen- dence of the action of the Court of Directors, which was seriously infringed by (Grant's proi)Osals. A long argumentative letter from (irant (12th Fel)., 1833) meets the Directors point by point, and winds up with the ultimatum of the Giuernment. To this the Court of Directors rejilies on the 27th, with great elaborateness ; the longest and most masterly ])erf()rnian(e in the wh(3le controversy. With justice, does Tucker, one of the Directors, in a moticjn at the Clourt of Proprietors, use these words : — " Although our letters to the President of the lloard of Commissi(juers, Szc, are distinguished for their ability, lor 348 PASSIXG OF INDIA ACT. 1830-1836. their clearness, their candour and truth, their concihatory tone and spirit, and statesman-hke views, as well as for their suc- cessful refutation of that specious and imposing, but unsatis- factory reasoning, which characterises the letters of Mr. Grant, &c." The Bill is introduced, in the first session of the Reform Parliament, and is criticized at the India House as it advances. Grant and Macaulay are its sponsors in the Commons. The main provisions pass with no trouble : the debating chiefly turns upon the questions of the church establishments in India ; the Directors opposing their increase, but in vain. It may seem a little strange that Mill, whose views on Trade were of the most advanced school, should be exerting himself heart and soul to counter-argue the demands of the trading community on this occasion. The reason can easily be gathered from the perusal of his evidence. The mercantile interest could not see, in the light of an official, the very stagnant condition of the native population in India ; and seemed to believe that, but for the obstruction of the Com- pany's Government, there would be a great and sudden development of industry— exports and imports — to the benefit of the home producers.* ■ I now proceed with the records of the successive years, 1830. In April was published Sir James Mackintosh's Dissertation on Etiucal Philosophy. It appears that before the date of * The foregoing history brings before us with tolcralsle vividness the nature of Mill's occupation as an India Official. A scrai) of ]:iaper lying before me will further assist by a concrete example. The paper is a message drawn up to be sent to some pmson in the office, I cannot say who ; it runs thus : — " I have spoken to the Chairman respecting Major Ell wood's Case. He will make up his mind next week. " i'lclcher and 1 have gone carefully through the last Revenue Draft (^'adras) MACKINTOSH S DISSERTATION. 349 publication, copies of it had been distributed among his friends. Mill at once put down his remarks upon it, intending them to appear as letters to the author. The ])ublication was, however, delayed; and Mackintosh died on the 22nd May, 1832. The form taken by the remarks was then felt to be unsuitable, and nothing farther was done for a year or two. A remark of Mill's, in conversation, is remembered — •" I must touch up Mackintosh before I die ". The fulfilment of the wish was the " fragment on Mackintosh ". A specimen of its contents has already been given ; its general plan will be described afterwards. The article that Mill was induced, by great pressure, to contribute to the Westminster Review, after it had passed into Colonel Thompson's hands, was on the Ballot, and appeared in the July number of this year. It occupies 39 pages. It is a vigorous handling of the stock arguments against the Ballot ; protesting, nevertheless, at the outset, that the allegations of the opponents " bear upon them the broad appearance of mere pretexts ; the sham pleas, which are invented and set up, as often as men are summoned to defend opinions, which they have adoi)ted and are determined to maintain, from other considerations than those of their truth, or falsehood ". His first topic is the argument from the legitimate influence of property. He describes in glowing colours what he calls the and made a few immaterial alterations. When Mr. M'Culloch has seen it, I purpose givini; it to the Chairman. " The other Madras Draft will probably go into Committee on \\'e(hiesday next. " There are no fresh arrivals in Revenue Department. Lord Hastings is at Paris. liuekingham has been sent home. "J. M." But now turn the other side of the slip. There is a closely written disserta- tion entitled, " Kea'^ons to slievv that the C'hnstian Religion was not intended to guide or influence the actions or happiness of this life ; that its sole object is the futurt: life". I need ncjt (juote the reasons. I merely wish toilhu'.rate the transitions of Mill's employment during the long days at the India House. 35° ARTICLE ON BALLOT. 1830-1836. moral influence of property, and never hesitates to avow the opinion that the government of the world must always be in the hands of the rich • but they must be under motives to gain the good-will of the community. The ballot does not interfere with riches legitimately used. It interferes solely with the employment of wealth to coerce the wills of men by fear. He spends several pages in repaying with interest the com- mon charge against the Ballot, of making men mendacious. Taking his usual high ground of the sacredness of the trust committed to the voter, he denounces unfaithfulness to his trust as treachery of the very first water. It follows that the man that brings motives to bear upon the voter to make him betray this trust, is himself criminal in the highest degree. " Observe the horrid spectacle ; two sets of men, the one comparatively rich, the other poor, so placed with respect to one another, that they act ui)on one another, for mutual cor- ruption ; that they gain their ends upon one another, only by a renunciation of the most sacred obligations, and the commis- sion of the greatest crimes ; that, in order to have inward peace, in such a course of acting, they must succeed in obli- terating every trace of the higher morals from their minds. The sense of obligation to the community to which tliey belong, the regard due to a trust, are not compatible with their situa- tion. The men who have occasion for the prostitution, the perjury, the lliithlessness of voters, and the most perfect indifference on their part to the interests of their country, must beware how they appear to have any regard for morality before such persons, or any regard for country." " The prostituted voter, we said, is less criminal, than his corrupter. Not only is he less criminal in the principal act ; he being to a great degree the passive tool, the other the active agent ; his crime being single, that of tlie suborner multiplied in every individual whose villainy he has secured ; he is also less criminal in the circumstances of his act, lliey almost all in SUBORNING OF VOTES. 35 I his case being extenuating, almost all in his suborner's case aggravating circumstances, of the guilt." For what is the object of the suborner? "Take one of the men whose object is mere vanity — the distinction of being a member of parliament. Is there anything, in this petty, vulgar, motive, to extenuate the guilt of an enormous crime ? The motive of that proi)orti()n of candidates who seek admission fur the sake of plunder, is itself wicked, and of course adds to the wickedness of the conduct by which the admission is procured." " Another tremendous accusation lies upon the class of suborners. They are the class by whom chiefly the moral character of the voting classes is formed. The opinions which they si)read of what is honourable, and what dishonourable, become the governing opinions. Ihit the habits of thinking, about what is right and wrong, what is shameful, what the contrary, diffused among any people, constitute the moral character of that peojjle." Among the opponents of the ballot in parliament are those who say — " they hope not to live to witness the time, when Englishmen shall not have the spirit to deliver their vote in the face of day. It would be as honest, and about as wise, to say, they hope not to witness the time, when every l^nglishman shall not have his carriage and pair. If they were to say, which would l)e the only tlimg to the inirpose, that they hoped not to live to see the day when an Englishman would not go to the hustings, and fearlessly vote for the man of his choice, without regard to the dictation of any person ujjon earth ; the falsehood of the pretext would be too glaring to be successful, even in a country where as much is dune by hypocrisy as in England." Towards the close, he expresses more fully his view of the importance of bringing proi)er motives to bear upon men oi property. " Men of proi)erty love distinction ; but the distinction of property, where it is not .connected with political power, or 352 ARTICLE ON BALLOT. 1830-1836. Strongly associated with the idea of it, is insignificant. The great desire of men of property, therefore, ahvays will be for the distinction connected with public services. But, if they had an adequate motive for the acquisition, in a superior degree, of the high mental qualities, which fit men for the discharge of public duties, it cannot be doubted that they have great, and peculiar advantages, for the accomplishment of their purj^ose. Other men, even those who are not confined to mechanical drudgery, are under the necessity of employing the greater part of their lives, in earning the means either of subsistence or indei)endence. The men who are born to a property which places them above such necessity, can employ the whole of their lives in acquiring the knowledge, the talents, and the virtues, wliich would entitle them to the confidence of their fellow citizens. With equal motive, and superior advantages, they would, of course, in general, have superior success. They would be the foremost men in the country, and so they would be esteemed." He backs liimself up by his favourite Plato, who enunciates, as a maxim : — ' A man has peculiar advantages for attaining the highest excellence of his nature, when he is above the necessity of labouring for the means of subsistence.' " The man who is placed in these ciicuaistances," he con- tinues, " has not only the whole of his time to bestow, in early life, upon the accjuisitions which fit him for the business of legis- lation and government ; he alone, and not the man without fortune, who is still engaged in other pursuits, can bestow his time and attention, undivided, upon the public services with which he is intrusted. Our opinion, therefore, is, tliat the busi- ness of government is properly the business of the rich ; and that they will ahvays obtain it, eitlicr by bad means, or good. Upon this every tiling depends. If they obtain it by bad means, the government is bad. If they obtain it by good means, the government is sure to be good. The only good means of obtaining it are, tlie free suffrage of the people." DISAFFIXTIOX AT UNIVERSITY COLLKGE. 353 Such are a few morsels from a once famous article. The positions were afterwards re-stated and argued by Grote, in his Ballot S{)eeches, with a degree of fulness that hardly left any- thing to the oratory that eventually succeeded in carrying the measure. This article was afterwards reprinted as a twopenny tract, in a series of political tracts, edited by Roebuck, which I shall have occasion to refer to. A letter from Mill to Macvey Napier on the 8th July, relates primarily to the filling up of a scholastic appointment in India, for which he desires Napier to look out a fit person. He appends some observations on University College, which have a more general interest. The appointing of Leonard Horner, as paid jjrincipal or head of the college, with no teaching duty, was a well-meant step on the part of the Council, but it was found to work very ill. Mill writes with some bitterness — " I cannot close without saying a word about the Universitv. The general meeting terminated better than I expected ; and at any rate did no harm, which I feared it would do. ]]ut still it has left us in the same perplexities in which it found us. Brougham called here this morning to talk about the subject, and after being with me for an hour has just left me. The warden (though personally far more sinned against than sinning) is the grand source of difficulty ; for in the state f)f hostile feeling among them it is vain to expect that the machine will work well — and there is the less hope of it, that it is the rooted opinion of the warden, that there is but one cure for all the evil, and that is, giving plenty of power to him. Brougham with sincere friendship for him, did m)t conceal from me his wish and his hope, that his friends would prevail upon him to resign. This I can mention to you in confidence ; because I know the same is to a great degree your opinion as well as mine. And yet I should dislike to give any appearance of victory to those Professors who have 354 UNIVERSITY COLLEGE SCHOOL. 1830-1836. carried on a disreputable war against him ; and in this respect differ from him radically — that he has the interest of the Uni- versity deeply at heart — tliey have shown that they had not. I do believe (and I am grieved to say it) there is not a man among them who, if his own interests were perfectly detached, would care if it was burned to the ground to-morrow." Place's MS. history of the College discloses another em- broilment. hai)pening this year, with reference to tlie Junior School in the College. This was not at first a ])art of tlie College system. The want of such a school \'v-as soon fell ; and as the buildings wlien com})Iete would contain good accommodation, a scheme for instituting it was put forward by a number of the Proprietors, who subscribed the necessary funds to begin with. Mill was one of these subscribers, together with P)rougham, Lord iVuckland, Hallam, Goldsmid, Dr. Lushingtou, and others. " The subscribers laid their scheme before the Council of the University, proposing that they should take the school under their patronage, and offering in that case to ]jlace the nomination and power of removal of the Head- Master in their hands, in order that no part of tlie system of the school should be contrary to the principles upon whicli the University has !)oen founded. The Council approved of the plan, accepted the offer made to them by the sul)scribers, and con- firmed the a])iJointment by the subscribers of the Rev. Henry lirowne of Cor})us Christi College, Cambridge, to tlie office of Head-Master." Mr. Browne's programme, however, provided for the opening of the classes each day with prayer and reading of the scri[)tures. This was a violation of the College's funda- mental principle of religious neutrality, and could not escape without remark. Place is furious, and preserves a letter that he wrote to Colonel Jones, containing these expressions : — '•Am I to believe that Mn ]\lill was one of the schemers — one of those who submitted his [the })roi)oscd head master's] scheme to the ('ouncil, one of tlie Council who api)roved of the scheme, &c., &c. Above all, am I to believe that he is party REVOLUTION IN PARIS. 355 to this obnoxious prospectus ? Did he who wrote the memor- able and admirable essay ' Schools for All, not Schools for Churchmen only,' did he do all these things that ^h. Erowne might be warranted to set up a London University School for Churchmen only ? No, he did no such things." Place addresses a similar letter (date given, 9th July, 1830), to Henry \\'arburton, a sure sympathiser on such a point. Notwith- standing Place's strong remonstrance, the Prospectus passed in this form with Horner's approval. I should doubt whether the matter had received the full consideration of the subscribers and the Council ; and I presume the practice would not be long continued. After the three days of Paris (27th, 28th, 29th July), John Will went there in order to have personal interviews with the chief actors. An interesting letter to his father is preserved ; but I prefer to give it among my reminiscences of John Mill himself The French upturn added fuel to the English flame; and attracted the regards of the Reform party. John IMill, from this time forward made French politics a sjiccial study, and, I may say, a business. His father of course followed the events with keenest interest. Four months pass without any known event. The usual holiday at ]\Iickleham occurred in the interval , and possibly was occupied with the first draft of the observations on !Mac- kintosh. Every such holiday had its appointed task ; only less severe as the hand of time was telling upon the physical vigour. The Tst of December, this year, is the date of Mill's promo- tion to be head of the Examiner's office, through the retire- ment of his senior, William !\PCulloch. His duty now was, not to pre])are despatches in any one department, as he had hitherto done, but to superintend all departments — Revenue, Judicial, Political, and General. I had heard from various quarters that ]vPCulloch's repu- tation as an administrator was very high; his despatches 356 APPOINTMENT TO BE HEAD EXAMINER. 1830-1836. being accounted perfect models, and even superior to Mill's. It turns out, however, that these encomiums, although repeated by different persons, are all traceable to one source, namely Horace Grant, an official in the Examiner's office, who earned a well-merited reputation by a series of Education books, very much in advance of the time. Grant was one of John Mill's intimate friends, and was held in high esteem by him in every way. I became acquainted watli Grant, on one of my first visits to John Mill in the India House, and met him very frequently ; I could not but regard him as an able man. I learn, however, on good authority, that James Mill was the means of withholding from him an increase of salary that the Directors would otherwise have been willing to allow ; a proof of a want of perfect understanding between the two, which requires us to discount any unfavourable estimate that Grant might form of his official chief. It strikes us as a curious coincidence that M'CuUoch's retirement should take place just as the Company's Govern- ment was beginning its troubles ; the intimation of the Duke having only then l)een received at the India House. Was this from an opinion felt by M'Culloch himself, or by the Directors, or by both parties, that Mill was the man to bear the brunt of the coming struggle, in other words, to prepare the defences of the Company against the pending attack ? It was the head Examiner whose part it was to give shape to the views and arguments of the Court of Directors, and M'CuUoch's retirement made the work fall on his successor. One thing is certain, that Mill acquired a very great amount of influence and authority with the Court of Directors. It is doubted whether any one before or since obtained the same share of their confidence. It has been said that, he being dead when the Macaulay Commission brought over their new Code for India, the Directors could not trust their own judg- ment so far as to put it in force. ATHEX.tUM CLUB. 357 Mill had been one of the original members of the Athenaeum Club, founded in 1824, the chief projector being, I am told, John Wilson Croker. This year the building was ready, and it was resolved to add 100 members to the Club. Mill was one of the Committee appointed to make the selection. This would scarcely be worth mentioning, but that it recalls a curious remark that I heard John Mill make. He said that he was elected to the club by this Committee ; and but for that would never have been admitted at all : having already excited a sufficient amount of personal dislike among some of the members to ensure his being blackballed. This would seem to show that mere party feeling went to greater lengths then, in excluding men from the Athenaeum, than it would do now. I am not aware of any offence that Mill can be supposed to have given to individuals in 1830, that would suffice to blackball a man in the present day. In the Autobiography, John Mill states that the divergence between him and his father had become so great about this time, that he refrained as much as possible from talking on the subjects wherein they differed. He adds — " Fortunately we were almost always in strong agreement on the political ques- tions of the day, which engrossed a large part of his interest and his conversation ". He might have added, to the other questions of the day, the crisis in the India House, which made a great part of his work for two or three years. It must often have been the topic of their talk as they walked to and fro together between Queen S(|uare and Leadenhall Street. John gained a step by his father's promotion. 1831. The Grey Ministry is now in power ; Brougham is Chan- cellor, and is more anxious than ever to consult Mill on all emergencies. The extant letters to him, which are our most 358 LETTER TO BROUGHAM. 1830-1836. valuable documents for the remaining years, commence at this date. Mrs. Grote has a memorandum for the 24th January. " Mr. Mill (James) has had a baddish spell of gout. Con- fined for two weeks, and is a good deal reduced. He is now become ' Chief Examiner ' at the India House. We dined with him in Queen Square on Sunday, 9th January, and in consequence of his pressing request that George would put forth some thoughts on the Essentials of Parliamentary Reform, he consented to employ the ensuing three weeks on the task." The first letter to Lord Brougham is dated 5th February, and explains itself. ••■Queen Squake, jth Feby., iSjr. "My Dear Lord, " Understanding by what passed between you and Lord Lansdowne last night, that you are maturing a plan about Emi- gration, I think I ought to make you acquainted, more dis- tinctly than I have yet been able to do in conversation, with my views on that subject. You will take them, as they are meant to be offered, as items of the account which you cast up to make your own conclusion. " First of all, I am anxious to know what scheme you have for preventing the influx of L-ish ; as without that, no void, by means of emigration, can be effected. " I saw, the other day, that you immediately seized my idea of the necessity of comparing the sum necessary for the emigration of a family, and the fund which would suffice to give per])ctual employment to the man, hence maintenance to the family. It is seldom considered how small that sum is ; a year's wages to the man, with a small addition for slock, the whole ^50 or ^60, would suffice. " Two answers are ready, but neither, I think, of much weight. " The first is, that you get rid of a breeding pair. True ! SCHEMES OF EMIGRATION. 359 b;:t von also cct rid of the capital which maintains them ; and by that means do not alter in the least the ratio of your pojjulation to your capital, either for the present moment, or for the future. The family in question, if breeding at home, instrnd of the colony, would breed in a certain ratio to the supposed fund of ^50 or j£6o ; but every other family breeds in exactly the same ratio, and that whether the family in (question emigrates or remains at home. " The other answer is, that though ^50 or ^60 would give your man jjerpetual em])loyment at home, he will nevertheless be maintained in idleness. But I think we ought not to legislate upon such a principle as this ; that we must send away our popu- lation, and the funds requisite for employing and maintaining them at home, because we have not the sense or the virtue to set them upon productive labour. " I mention these things with the brevity of hints which to others would re(}uire much expanding, because your mind will readily catch the meaning, and follow out the consequences. " There is another consideration, more obvious, but which is of some weight ; that the poor rate is paid out of income ; the money raised by loan for emigration, is a deduction from the capital of the country. " I cannot forbear saying one word more on the subject of putting to labour the persons maintained at the i)ublic exi)ense. 1 licriectly agree with you tliat an effectual scheme to that effect could not at ])resent be brought forward, even by ministry, with hopes of success. Ikit much gocjd would be done by l.iromjiting fit ])ersons in both houses of ])arliament, to broach the subject, to create familiarity with the idea of it, the good effects of it, and the feebleness of all objections. I am per- suaded that a ministry desirous to do moje than circumstances will admit of their doing immediately, might in some such wavs make great preparation for their different (objects ; and by taking a judicious share in such preliminary discussions, strengthen the proper bias without committing themselves. 360 REMOVAL TO KENSINGTON. 1850-1836. " We must have future conversations upon a point which I was glad to find both you and Lord Lansdowne regarded so favourably last night ; I mean the choice of 7nanaging vestries (so I think I would call them rather than select), by the rate- payers of the parish. Something of this sort is indispensable, for any tolerable management of the parochial fund. And I think that Parish Managers, and District Managers, constituted upon some such plan, and a sphere of action well defined for them, would be a resource, which we may rue the want of, in many emergencies which the present state of the world is not unlikely to produce. " I am, my Dear Lord, " Faithfully yours, "J. Mill. " The Lord Chancellor." This letter shows him still in Queen Square. In a few months, he is at Vicarage Place, Kensington, in the detached villa now called Maitland House. On the 14th of Feb., he writes again to Napier on the filling up of the appointment that he had formerly written about ; and replies to suggestions about reprinting some of his Encyclo- paedia articles in the new edition (the Seventh) which Napier is now editing. He also gives a more favourable account of Horner's relations with parties at University College. It aj^pears to have been some time in March, that, in con- sequence of great pressure exerted upon Grote in the city, to put himself forward as member, a consultation was held at Mill's house to consider the matter. "After some hours it was decided that Mr. Grote would not come forward." Our next document is also a letter to Napier, on the ist June, still about the same appointment, on which the vacilla- tion of Lord E^Uenborough had given needless trouble in the office. He recurs to University College, retracts all that he had said about the better working of things. He had been THE LORDS AND REFORM. 36 1 absent from the Council from illness, when he last wiote, and did not know the state of the facts. He now finds " that all the old causes of evil were in strong operation ; they have been met with no consistent measures of counteraction, and much more wisdom is needed now to combat with all the difticulties than I see any chance of being applied to them ". In the month of August, he undergoes his eight days' examination before the Committee of the House of Commons, on the whole subject of the India Revenue. A letter to Lord IJrougham, on the i6th September, is our best indication of his views when the Reform Bill was in the depths. The point of time was, wh.en the Bill had got through Committee in the House of Commons, and was down for the third reading (19th September). It was safe in the Commons — and the question ufjpermost in the country was, AN'hat will the Lords do ? " MiCKLEHAM, Tjth Sept,, iSjT. " My Dear Lord Chanxellor, " I have been down here for a few weeks, otherwise I should have endeavoured to get in contact with you before now. Whenever I am anxious about puf)lic matters, it always does, and always did do me good, to converse with you. I am angry, when I hear so much stir about the Lords. Sharp and I at our walk the other day met Denison, who said — would you really make fifty peers ? A fearful measure — death-blow to the peerage ! Very well, said I, and if the peerage will so have it, who is to blame? \\'hat I want the Ministry to do — is to give out — fairly to i)roclaim — that they will not be defeated by tlie Lords ; that will do — the Lords are not wanting in that kind of wisdom which is called sapcrc sihi. That is truly my opinion. If they know you are determined, tliey will know wliat is j)roper for them to do. Croker and I'eel are much more anxious to have you out than to defeat the bill — the last is their pretext. 362 ANTICIPATED DEBATE IN THE LORDS. 1S30-1836. " I shall be in town in a fortnight — when I shall be anxious to obey all your calls. You, I apprehend, will not get from town this yera- at all. When the bill comes into your house, if I am in town I think I shall be present at tlie 2nd reading ; though I have not heard one debate these 20 years. Grey, Lord riunkett and yourself, I wish to be the only speakers on your side. What havoc ! VVliat a waste of strength ! But you must spe:.ik to those without and those who are to come. You 7:iiust cn^leavour to make every sort of right, and soljcr, but deep, and manly sentiment strike root, so as not only to live, but yield fruit. " About Peace (without which there is no salvation) it delights me to think how strong your feelings are. You are half a Quaker, and I am all but a whole one. India, its judicature altogether, or rather its government altogether, is a sul)ject about which I should have to talk to you for a month. There I am sure I can talk to you with advantage ; because I can save you an infinite deal of pain in getting at the evidence on which you should build. I take the liberty in the meantime to entreat you, though you keep your ear open, to give it in trust to nobody till I have ground myself into it. The subject is of vast imi)ortance, and sound opinions about it seem to me to be not only rare, but absolutely wanting. The Lord be with you, prays fervently *' Your devoted "J. Mill." Place writes a long letter to Grote on the Reform crisis as it stood, on the 26th October. A short extract will show that he consulted Mill at every turn. " I had a long conversation with Purdett this morning, who seems well dis])oscd to do anything and everything to obtain the ])ill ; and Mill, in re])ly to a note of mine, says, ' Your advice to the people who talk to you is the best possible. I saw Ecauclerk and Perry to-day, and am rejoiced to find that Sir Francis consents '." THE REFORM STRUGGLE. 363 1832. The month of May of this year .saw the crisis of llio Reform struL:L:'le. I came across a reference to a deputation to T.ord Brougliam, whicli was headed by Mill; the pur;)0se bein;^ to strengthen his hands in the great contest in which he had a leailing ofn- cial i)art. Having mislaid the document, I cannot supply the exact date or the terms of the address. I shall have to review the peculiar influence exerted by Mill in the hist(jry of the Reh^rm movement from the Peace to its consummation in the passing of the Bill. In the great agony week, from Wednesday, 9th, to \Vednesday, i6th May, his allies and lieutenants play a conspicuous part. In the popular demonstrations that carried the day, we must count Francis Place, George Grote, and Joseph Parkes, as chief among those that — Ride in the whirlwind and direct the storm. Some particulars of the history of this momentous week are quoted in the Appendix. The following letter to Lord Brougham is full of interest, and tells its own tale, without comment. ' ' MiCKI.F.II AM, 3rd Sept. , lS^2. " My DEAR Lord Chanxelt.or, " The subjects to which your letter adverts have been so much in my mind, that I have twenty times been tempted to write to you — and only withheld by the fear of doing any- thing to interrupt the little time you have to re^jair the wear and tear you sustain the rest of the year. " Nothing can be conceived more mischievous than the doctrines which have been preached to the common people, at liirmingham and elsewhere. At a late meeting of the Union, Attwood held forth tor hours, giving an exaggerated tlescri])tion of the misery of the ])eO[jle, from low wages ; then telling them 364 NOXIOUS OPINIONS AT POLITICAL UNIONS. 1830-1836. that the only cause of low wages is the government, and when- ever government does its duty, wages will be high. And the rest of the Orators were in the same strain. I was enraged at Black for republishing this atrocious stuff The newspapers should suppress all knowledge of these rascally meetings, by abstaining from the mention of them. " The nonsense to which your Lordship alludes about the rights of the labourer to the whole produce of the country, wages, proiits, and rent, all included, is the n ad nonsense of our friend Hodgkin, which he has published r,s a system and propagates with the zeal of perfect fanaticism. Whatever of it appears in the Chro7iide, steals in through his means, he being a sort of sub-editor, and Black not very sharp in detecting — but all Black's own opinions on the subject of property are sound. " These opinions, if they were to spread, would be the subversion of civilised society ; worse than the overwhelming deluge of Huns and Tartars. This makes me astonished at the madness of people of another description who recommend the invasion of one species of property, so thoroughly knavish, and unprincipled, that it can never be executed, without extinguishing respect for the rights of pro})crty in the whole body of the nation, and can never be spoken of with approba- tion, witliout encouraging the propagation of those other doctrines which directly strike at the root of all property. There is a certain Macqueen of Bedford who has put fortli a pamphlet, recommending, without shame, tliat the ounce of gold shall be coined into five sovereigns ; that is that every pecuniary contract in the nation shall be violated ; in other words, that one of the ]oarties to every such contract sliall be robbed for the benefit of the other. If a man ])reaches this doctrine witliout seeing what it is, he is below being treated with by argument ; if he preaches it, knowing what it is, hanging, a thousand times repeated, would be too small a punishment for liim. I understand the Tory prints generally CHRONICLE AND EXAMINER. 365 are recommending this pamphlet. And upon the subject generally, the Chronicle has not been perfectly pure. Tlie articles, however, in which any tamjjering with the currency has been spoken of as anything of a remedy, have all been written by Parkes of Birmingham, and let in by Clack's softness both of head and temper. I have talked with him very roundly u]jon that subject, and his opinions are good, as far as he understands them, which is not fi\r enough to save him from delusion. Unluckily, I am now able to see him but seldom : and then the influence of the people continually about him, gets the better of mine. "I should have little fear of the ])ropagation among the common pecjple of any doctrines hostile to ]jro]jerty, because I have seldom met with a labouring man (and I have tried the experiment upon many of them) whom I could not make to see that the existence of property was not only good for the labouring man, but of infinitely more importance to the labourers as a class, than to any other. But there are, in our circumstance.s at present, aids of that propagation, which may oi)erate deplorably : one is that which I have just now men- tioned, the robbery recommended through a depreciation of the currency ; the other is, the illicit cheap publications, in which the doctrine of the right of the labouring people, who they say are the only producers, to all that is produced, is verv generally preached. The alarming nature of this evil you will understand when I inform you that these ])ublic:ations are superseding the Sunday newspapers, and every other channel tlirough whicli the ]jeople might get better information. I liad been wcjndering for some time what made the Exa»ii)icr speak of Lord Althori) so often in the tone of vituperation. Hearing that the Ixlitor was going to Brighton, I got him to make a stop here on his way down, when he told me tliis, and that they considered Lord Althorp had not dealt fairly by them, or his own promise. I am sure it is not good ])olicy to give the power of teaching the i)eople exclusively to persons vioLit- 366 USEFUL KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY. 1830-1836. ing the law, and of such desperate circumstances and character that neither the legal nor the moral sanction has sufficient hold upon them. The only effectual remedy is to remove the tax which gives them this deplorable power. Surely it ought not to be said of your government that it is so void of resource as to be unable to spare or to replace a tax of this amount, pro- ducing such conse(|uences. "The resolution vvliich seems to be taken to allow no merit to our Society [Useful Knowledge], is most j^erverse. Because in one series of our Publications, there has been a superabun- dance of things, but little practical, all that we have done purely practical in other things is overlooked, and our character given from the former. We mu^t, however, as you say, endeavour at the practical even there. But they are little aware how difficult it is to get treatises of the kind they think of; for though subjects upon which everybody writes and talks, there are few people who can write and talk upon them instructively. It has been a source of great regret to me that for the last twelvemonths I have been able to give so little attention to the Society. And till our Indian questions are settled, which I hope will be next year, I shall continue to have drudgery for every moment of my time. But I am most anxious to take a greater share in the labours which already have done so much good, and for which there will long continue to be so much occasion. " What you say too about war is most important. The desire, so often expressed, that we should interfere to establish good government all over the world, is most alarming, and if assented to in any degree would lead to the worst of conse- quences. The business of a nation is with its own affairs. That is not only the general rule, but one to which it is not easy to conceive a case of exception. At all events, in the present state of Europe we have nothing to do with any other affairs but our own. We have suffered enough by mischievous interference. Let us not again embark easily in that folly. LORD WILLIAM EENTIXCK. 367 I'esides, I am fully satisfied that the good of manland in th.j largest Sense, is more interested at the present moment, in the peace of England, and that of France, the two countries from which improvement emanates, and which will rapidly impro\e if they kee]) free of war, than in re-establishing what ihey call the independence of Poland, or giving a particular Sovereign to Portugal, ten times told. " I am ashamed of having prated to you so long — but, liaving once begun, I could not easily stop. " I am. my dear I ,ord, '• With fcr\ent wishes for your health and prosperity, " Ever yours, "J. ^IlLL." In a letter from the Governor General of India (Lord William Bentinck) to r\Irs. Grote, there is a reference to Alill, in Lord ^^'illiam's usual strain of com})liment and res])ect. " I will not trouble you with my ' parish affairs ". Prom ]\Ir. Mill, did an extraordinary curiosity so ])rt)mi;t you, you can learn much more of Indian aflairs, than from me. I read his evidence with great pleasure, and much more [iro- fitabie instruction, I suspect, than the E. I. committee. Vou mentioned his approbation of my administration. No!ie could gratify me more, because he is one of the very few wlio can form a correct judgment." The passing of the Reform Bill saw many of ^dill's friends elected to Parliament. Grote came in for the city of London ; Strutt f)r Derby. Hyde \'illiers, was already in Larliament, and Secretrary to the India lioard, but died in the end of 1S32. His brother Gharles was first elected to Parliament, in 1^35, for Wolverhampton, which he has continued to rejjroent throughout his long and honourable career. Gharles Buller, was member for Liskeard, in Gornwall, and retained his seat for life; he died prematurely, in the end of iS-jS. 'Lhe old 368 mill's friends in parliament. 1830-1836. Marshall retired : his second son John came in, with Macaulay as a colleague, for Leeds. The eldest son William had been in the House from 1826, to 1 831, for a succession of places, but he is not in the Reform Parliament. ■Mill was very anxious to get a seat for Charles Austin ; and strongly urged Hume to recommend him to Bath. Every one looked foward to Austin's career as one of extraordinary brilliancy, likely to end on the woolsack. Nevertheless, he remained out of Parliament, and devoted his energies to making an enormous fortune at the bar. I shall never forget John Mill's exclamation once when Grote told him that he had met Austin at dinner, and that he was launching forth in admiration of certain things in the New Testament. The contrast with his views in other days must have been very marked. Roebuck was selected by Hume for Bath, on the recommen dation of Mr. Andrew Bisset. We should not close the record of the year without noting the death of Bentham, on the 6th of June. His last illness was watched by his friends while the Reform struggle was at at its climax ; and John Mill did not fail to provide a worthy commemorative notice in the Examiner. 1833. The Reform Parliament meets. Grote loses not a moment in giving notice of a motion for the Ballot. Mrs. Grote tells us : — "In the beginning of 1833 Mr. and Mrs. Grote dined in Threadneedle Street with William George Prescott; his other guests being Henry Warburton, John Romilly, Joseph Hume, and James Mill. After some dis- cussion it was settled that Mr. Grote should be the person to undertake the Ballot question in the ensuing session of Par- liament." Meantime the pressure of India affairs is coming to the intensity pitch. Mill had only a few days given him, in the MACAULAY AND MILL. 369 month of February, to prepare the final answer of the Court of Directors to Grant's elaborate reply to their first paj)er. There are two letters to Dr. Thomson, requesting him to recommend a professor for the Elphinstone College, Bombay. The second of the two (13th July), informs us that "the member for Derby (Strutt) is coming down to spend to-morrow with me," that is to be a Sunday visitor at Meikleham, as he often was. This exi^ression occurs : — " My head is full of India bills, and has room for nothing else ". The reader of Trevelyan's Life of Macaulay will be familiar with the course of the India Bill in Parliament ; Macaulay having delivered one of his greatest si)eeches in the debate on the second reading. It was in that speech that he made the followmg reference to Mill : — " Of all the innumerable specu- lators who have offered their suggestions on Indian politics, not a single one, as far as I know, however democratical his Oj)inions may be, has ever maintained the possibility of giving, at the present time, such institutions to India. One gentle- man, extremely well acquainted with the affairs of our Eastern Empire, a most valuable servant of the Company, and the author of a History of India, which, though certainly not free from faulrs, is, I think, on the whole, the greatest historical work which has appeared in our language since that of Cibbon, I mean Mr. Mill, was examined on this ])oint. That gentle- man is well known to be a very bold and uncom'promising politician. He has written strongly, far too strongly I think, in favour of juire democracy. He has gone so far as to main- tain that no nation which has not a representative legislature, chosen by universal suffrage, enjoys security against oppression. ])Ut when he was asked before the Committee of last year, whether he thougln representative government ])racticable in India, his answer was, ' utterly out of the (piestion '.'' P)V the Act, now passed, it was ]irovided that one of the members of the Su-preme Council in Calcutta, was to be clK)>en from among persons who are not servants of the Company. 24 37° I^^ILL RECOMMENDS MACAULAY. 1830-1836. One of Mill's suggestions was tantamount to this provision ; qualified by the condition that the said member should be versed in the philosophy of men and of society. The Government immediately put this appointment in Macaulay's view. The salary was ten thousand a-year. The appointment, however, lay, not with the Government, but with the Court of Directors. Grant (President of the India Koard), on the part of the government, would support the appointment ; but he expected violent opposition from the Company. He mentioned Macaulay's name to the Chairs, and they were furious ; knowing the course he had .taken against them on the India Bill. This is from a letter on the 23rd Oct. In ten days the appearances are altered, and the account Macaulay himself gives of the situation is this : — " We have a new Chairman and Deputy-Chairman, both very strongly in my favour. Sharp, by whom I sate yesterday at the J'ishmongers' dinner, told me that my old enemy James Mill had spoken to him on the subject. Mill is, as you have heard, at the head of one of the principal departments of the India House. The late Chairman consulted him about me ; hoping, I suppose, to have his support against me. Mill said, very handsomely, that he would advise the Company to take me ; for, as public men went, I was much above the average, and, if they rejected me, he thought it very unlikely that they would get anybody so fit." We have seen that Mill was a friend of Zachary Macaulay, and although the families did not come together, Mill's relation- ships were well known to the household. {L^^, Vol. I., p. 186, ist ed.). In the interval between the appointment to India and his setting out, Macaulay frecjuently saw Mill at his house. John Mill remembered his father earnestly coun- selling him to keej) to the line of an " honest politician ". The only letter to Lord Brougham this year, is one of con- dolence for the loss of his brother James. DEATH OF brougham's BROTHER. 37 1 " K. I. House, sSth Dec, iSjj. " Mv PEAR Lord Chancellor, " I have been in many minds about writing to you. My first impulse was to tell you how much I sympathize with you. And then I was afraid I should only be unreasonably officious. However, I must and will write. The death of any person, whom I have known so long, and known to ijossess so many amiable qualities, would have affected me. But when I think of the intimate and affectionate union in which he and you have lived from your boyhood, I conceive most feelingly the state of your mind, and pity you from the bottom of my heart. I would not venture thus to speak, but that the long personal attachment I have felt to you, and tlie share you have always shown I had in your regard, makes me think I have a right to the freedom of an old friend. 'i"he emotions of sorrow time will assuage, and the heavy calls of duty to which you must attend, will be a diversion to your thoughts. But alas ! the Deceased occupied a place about you which no body else can fill. No man can share your couuscls as he did. That is a loss irretrievable. " It is a great consolation to me to know you have been with your mother on this trying occasion. At her time of life such a blow as this falls with terrible weight. Your presence alone can support her. I trust you will be able to leave her, when you are forced away, in some degree of trancjuillity. " I hope you duly consider one duty, the care of your health. I know not when the time was, in the history of our species, that more depended on the health of one man, than depends at this moment on yours. The progress of mankind would lose a century by the loss of you. Think what that is ! " I hope you will not feel this as an intrusion, ^\'hen it will be any gratification to you to see me, after your return, it will be a great satisfaction to me to come to you, and to talk with you about doing good to the world, which you 372 TIMES ATTACKING BROUGHAM. 183O-1836. have more deeply at heart than any other man I am acquainted with. " Most affectionately and respectfully yours, "J. Mill." Mention of James Brougham is made by Jeffrey, " Cock- burn's Life," II. 94. 1834. We have very little to record for this year. Among the great reforms carried through Parliament this session, was the Poor Law Amendment Act, with which Mill strongly sympathized ; while John wrote strongly in its favour. The Act, however, incurred the displeasure of the Times, which just then turned against Lord Brougham, and was attacking him furiously. The following sentences show the form of attack. "The Times for 15 years praised, supported, or it you will, patronised his Lordship, so long as we supposed Lord Brougham to be actuated by honourable and elevated notions, guided by fixed and enlightened principles, aspiring to power through none but direct and manly means, disposed to use it virtuously. , . . We withdrew our friendship on finding it bestowed unworthily." This attack was the occasion of the following letter. " MiCKI.EHAM, 2-th At/g., jSj4. " My DEAR Lord Chancellor, " I am induced to write to you at present by what I see in the newspai^crs. I had observed by the Chronicle which alone I see down here, that the Times was barking at you, as it had been doing before I left town. I asked for some of the particulars from my son, who came down on Saturday, and he gave me such an account of the extent to which that paper was carrying its outrages, as induced me to get him to send me down a parcel of the recent numbers. I know no instance of such MOTIVES OF THE TIMES. 373 gross abuse. Denying one's talents, making one out to be a driveller, and a fool, I have had some experience of, and it touched me very slightly ; because I had evidence enough that better judges than my assailants did not think me so. Ikit it is much harder to bear the sort of moral charges brought by the Times ; and I know not well how I should have felt under them. You, however, have one enormous advantage in this res])ect. Your life has not been so obscure, that there can be anything now to discover about you. There is not a reflecting man in the civilized world who has not made up his opinion of your character ; from which few will be turned by a revolution in the language of the Times, which no man alive ascribes to the love of telling the truth. " I have been induced to touch on this subject by my fear, not that any undue impression would be made on you by the powerless hostility of the Times, but lest others, many of whom will feel more for you than you do for yourself, should make you think the matter more serious than it is. My opinion is, that it does you no harm whatsoever. The motive of the Times, I infer with certainty, is duly appreciated. The Chronicle of yesterday says a pertinent thing enough. What is the reason that the hostility of all who prey upon the public, and fight for ncjxious {)rivilcges, is steadily against you, but that they reckon ui)on you as the steady, and thank (iod, the i)owerful friend of all that is good in government ? If they believed you unsteady and deceitful, they would have better hopes of you. It is only necessary that you should go on in your own course ; doing all the service to good legislation which you can, and when vou are impeded, making it at all events known, how much more you would have done, if you had not been prevented : and you will most effectually baffle and disgrace your enemies of all sorts and sizes. Many mcjtives are obviously enough im])uted to the Times: your advocation of the Poor Law JJill ; your efforts to get repealed the taxes on news])a])ers, and others. But, I doubt not there is something more than this. The 374 WRITING ON MACKINTOSH. 1830-1836. Times (drolly to be sure, but pretty evidently) have been assuming to be really the governing power in this country, and to overawe even the Ministry. They, therefore, cannot endure the idea of having a man at the head of a Ministry, who is made of stuff not to be dictated to by a newspaper. They want a Ministry of whom they may boast (by insinuation at least) that it is a tool of theirs — and then they will sell thousands of papers. It agrees with this theory of mine that you and Lord Althorp are the objects of their attack. " I am amusing myself during these holidays wath looking over a thing, which, if I can get it put in order while here, you may hear something more of. When Mackintosh's Dissertation first appeared, indeed before it was published, I had prepared some strictures upon it, chiefly with a view to expose his per- versions of the principle of utility, and indeed the manner in which he had smattered with ethical science to evil purpose altogether. But I had written it in the form of letters to himself ; which would not do, when he was dead ; and with an asperity, which I would not find in my heart to use with a man who was just dead, and who could not stand up in his own defence. The papers thereupon lay by till now. But I could not help feeling that something useful might be done in removing confusion from men's minds on that important subject, of whicli Sir James's book is a wonderful example, and in showing the misfortune of men's deluding themselves with unmeaning words of which Sir James's book is not less an exami)le. " I am sorry for what you say about Lord Auckland. I must hear you speak on the subject of individuals, whose character I can but partially know. But the thing is of first- rate importance ; and every thing should be done to keep Lord William there. Cameron has been down with me for some days, mainly with a view to go into the details of his magnificent charge. He views it with the proper spirit. And I doubt not India will be the first country on earth to boast of a system of LONDON REVIEW STARTED. 375 law and judicature as near perfection as the circumstances of the people would admit. " I am, my dear Lord Chancellor, " Most resi)ectfully yours, "J. Mill." It was this summer that the London Revieiu was projected.* With the Fragment on Mackintosh, it made up Mill's chief occupation, so far as we know, for the remaining two years of his life. 1835- P'or this year our information is very full. Of the articles written for the Westminster Revie-ii\ four are published in the course of the year. There is an unusual number of interesting letters to Lord Brougham, besides other indications of the current leading events, including the attack of illness that proved the beginning of the end. Some interest may attach to the certificate that he gave his son James, in compliance with the forms prescribed by the ]:^ast India Company for admission to the service of the Com- pany. I })resume it was by an exceptional privilege, that the Court of Directors accepted a certificate from a candidate's father. * The following' is the account given in the Autohiography "One of the projects occasionally talked of between my father and nie, and some of the parliamentary and other Radicals who fre(|uenled his house, was the foundation of a periodical organ of philosophic radicalism, to take the pl.ice which the Westmiiis.'er k'c-'iciu had Ix'en intended to fill : and the scheme had gone so far as to liring under discussion the pecuniary contributions which could be looked fur, .md the choice of an editor. Nothing, however, came of it for snme tinv : but in the summer of 1834, Sir William Moleswortli, liimself a laborious student, and a preci->e and metaphysical thinker, capable of aiding the cause by iii> pen as W'-U as b\- his |)urse, spontaneously ])roposed to establish a Kevirw, proviiled I would consent to be the real, if 1 could not be the osten- si!resent electoral system, was exerted to the utmost. The author then remarks upon the extraordinarily short time that has sutliced for the growth of the spirit of reform. It is but a brief interval since Sir Francis Burdett was expelled from aristocratic society, and since to be called a IJenihamite exposed a man to be cut in the street by the friends of the aristocrats. It cannot, then, be long ere the new spirit show material results. It is a curious en(juiry, what has been the agency (jf this great change. Not the news])apers, for these have generally been very backward and unsteady in their advocac y. Not the larger j^eriodicals, which are unsuited to tlie jKijiulace, and addressed to the aristocratical classes. The real agency has been the sjtontaneous rellections of the middle (lass : ba>ed, in a great measure, on the observation of the way that Hume's persistent exposures were received in the House (jf Connnons. \\'ill this spirit l^e permanent? The an>wer depends on whether any good is to come of it. ^\'ell, as the Ruling lew 378 ARTICLE — STATE OF THE NATION. 1830-1836. have not yet been made to disgorge their spoil of the Many, good must come when that operation is accom})lished. The author here resumes his former expositions of the attitude of the RuUng Few to the subject Many ; setting forth the arts adopted, the support rendered by the union of Church and State, and by the class of Lawyers. By a threefold cord, the doom of mankind might have been sealed, but for printing and the reformation of Luther. To come down to the actual situation. P\jrmerly the opponents of change were divided into anti-reformers and half- and-half reformers. The first of these two are extinct ; they are incorporated with the others, without relinquishing their old modes of warfore. The thorough reformers have been rendered disreputable by the name " radicals " ; they are represented as desiring the destruction of government and religion, or else as so stupid as not see that what they desire amounts to that, 'i'he force of this calumny is now nearly spent. AVho is to judge of what is good or bad in political institutions ? Is it the majority of those that defame the thorough reformers ? These are no more to be trusted than the majority of the people at large. If it is the wise few among them, then there is also a wise few outside of them. Defamation is not discussion. (Government is no less government when it is better adapted to its ends ; religion is no less religion when it is purified from the defilements of selfish interests. To show the differences of opinion as to abuses, the author refers to the master abuse — the want of freedom of election. This, oi)ponents say, is an advantage ; the Reform Bill is now to be taken ?i'A Ji/ial ; it is on that view that Sir Robert Peel has declared his accession to it — a declaration that gives the measure of the man. The author then dwells upon the necessity of the two things ■ — secret voting and short parliaments. Reverting to the junction above mentioned of anti-reformers and moderate reformers — the new moderates and the old — he POSITION OF RADICAL MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE. 379 shows how the classes respectively preponderate in the two Houses ; and then addresses himself to the course ])roper to be pursued by the little band of genuine reformers. They are in a position where they may render incalculable good. They should not aim at office ; the time is not come for a partial union with either parties of the moderates. Yet, it will be the interest of every minister to have them for him rather than against him. Their vocation divided itself into two ])aths of exertion. The one is to make it the interest of every ministry to be tlie autlior of reforms. The other is to be the champion of the philosoijhical principles of government. There has been no example in Parliament, of a man worthy of this function, since the short period when Ricardo lifted his head. The aljsence of men to stand up for i)rinciples has been so complete that a faction has been created against it. — " W'e believe it would be impossible to assemble an equal number of tolerably educated men, in any other part of the civilised world, among whom it would be fashionable to set reason at defiance, and to ])rofess to act in contempt of her dictates ". There is a set of harsh phrases, serving each of them as a wrap])er for a little parcel of sojihistry. " Not speculation but practice," " wisdom of ancestors," " Institutions," and so on. 'l"he exposure of these sophistries would be a source of pofjular instruction of the highest importance. The true reformer should farther signalize himself as tlic chami)ion of property, as in the case of the attack on the fund- holders. Also, care should be taken to j)revent injur)- to life- interests, a ])rinciple lately violated in the cry against the holders of crown pensions. Then comes the abolition of the tax on corn : the abolition of the malt tax would operate in the wrong direction. Among detached incidents occurring to rouse tlie allention of reformers, the author refers to an insolent answer of Sir Robert I'eel to the question of Mr. Wakcly- -whether the inhabitants of St. Margaret's parish were to have the choice of 380 DIALOGUE ON THE BALLOT. 1830-1836. their rector. Sir Robert observes, in the true style of old Tory insult, "the inhabitants would not be put to that trouble". Education of course demands to be considered. Finally, the Colonies must be ranked as one grand cause of the oppres- sion of the English people. So long as a colony fails to defray its own expenses, it is hurtful to the mother country. In the same number of the Review Mill contributes an article on the Ballot, in the form of a Dialogue. It was in reply to a systematic attack on the Ballot in the Edinburgh Re%)iew for January, 1833. The Speakers are — a Farmer, who has been enfranchised, but feels himself in the power of his landlord ; a Squire, who stands up for that state of things ; and a Schoolmaster, who argues down the Squire, to the satisfaction of the Farmer. The following letter to Lord Brougham appears to have been written in June. "Vicarage Place, Ki:nsington, " Thursday. "My dear Lord, " Isaac Tomkins has shewn me the MS. of a second part of Thoughts on the Aristocracy ; and has allowed me to shew them to you. I assured him I could take that freedom with you. " If you ask me what I think of them, I answer, they are so much like the matter of certain musings I have had of late, that I could almost believe they were written by myself, yet I wonder at the boldness of Friend Isaac. " What he says of the Ministry, and of their position, of their inclination and their powers, cuts home so dee])ly, because it is so true. The people, however, must be made to under- stand, that it is to themselves they must look for reforms, if they would have any. And Isaac Tomkins is rendering a service of infinite importance by beginning the work. ISAAC TOMKIXS OX ARISTOCRACY. 38 1 "I tell him, it is a long and severe warfare in which he is engaging. But Isaac is made of good stuff. He says he knows by experience what perseverance can do in a good cause ; that he is old enough to remember the commencement of the endeavours which ended in the emancipation of black men from white, under less favourable circumstances than efforts can now be made to emancipate low-born men from the high-born ; and that, great as that object was, it sinks into nothing compared with this. " I do not think Isaac's ambition is ill-])laced, and I do not think he is insensible to the glory of annexing his name to the work, as that of Luther to the emancipation of all men from the domination of [jriests. These emancijjations are the things to get permanent glory by, and Isaac Tomkins knows it. " 1 am, my dear Lord, " Most sincerely yours, "J. ^IlLL." In the July number of the Lotidoii Review appears the notable article on " The Church and its Reform ". In the article, in the previous number, on the State of the Nation, the author had reserved the consideration of the two great provinces of abuse — Law and Religion. The jjresent article is devoted to Religion. He begins with quotations from Jortin, and from Bishop Watson, in f:Tvour of a sweeping reform in the English church. Watson's expressions are a little remarkable. A reformer of Luther's temper, he says, would, in five years, persuade the people to compel the Parliament to abolish tithes, to extinguish pluralities, to enforce residence, to exjiunge the Athanasian Creed, to free Dissenters from Test Acts, and the ministers of the establishment from subscription to articles. After forty- four years, only one item has been scored — the repeal of the Test Acts, 382 THE CHURCH AND ITS REFORM. 1830-1836 The time is come for considering what might be done by a well-ordered and well-conducted clergy. The author proposes first to illustrate the nullity of the present ecclesiastical estab- lishment in respect of good, and its power in the production of evil. The world needs no information respecting the abuses of the Romish chuich. The English clergy embraced the Romish machinery very nearly as it stood : the same orders of priests, with the same monstrous inequality of pay ; the same course of clerical service, doing little more than translate the Mass-book ; while the English clergyman is less devoted to the concerns of his office than the unmarried Romish priest. Can anything be a greater outrage upon the sense of propriety, a more profligate example of the contempt of public good, than to see a concatenation of priests, paid, in proportions, ranging from the height of princely revenues, down to less than the pay of a common footman ? The work performed for this pay exhibits, in the extreme, the opposite vices of extravagance and deficiency. The author undertakes to maintain these two propositions : — First, the services that are obligatory, and are regularly per- formed, are Ceremonies, from which no advantage can be derived. Second, that the services that might be efficacious in raising the moral and intellectual character of the people, are purely optional, are performed always most imperfectly, and in .general not at all. He remarks first on the Sunday Service. The repetition of forms of words tends to become a merely mechanical operation. The formularies themselves are of the nature of mere cere- monies. Of the repetition of Creeds, in particular, the best thing that can be said is that it is purely ceremonial. If it is not so, it is far worse ; by the habit of affirming as fact what is not a fact, a habit of insincerity is engendered that may pander to every other crime. The Collects may be classed with the Prayers ; the whole together is either meaningless or a great deal worse. The essence of the religious sentiment is a steady THE SUNDAY SERVICE. 383 conception of an Almighty Being of perfect wisdom and good- ness. The Church of England presents a Being very imperfect in both attributes. This strong statement the author supports chiefly by the character and composition of the praters. Telling God unceasingly of our wants im]jlies that he needs to be told of them. Asking him continually to do things for us, implies our belief that otherwise he would not do them ; that is, our belief either that God will not do what is right if he be not begged and entreated to do so, or that, by being begged and entreated, he can be induced to do what is wrong. Then as to praise, what use can there be in telling the Divine Being that he has such and such qualities, as if he was likely to mistake his own qualities, or that he is delighted in listening to his own praises. The Divine Author of our religion every- where indicates his opinion that prayer is nothing but a cere- mony. He nowhere lays stress on prayer as a duty. With his usual condescension to the weakness of his countrymen, he does not reprobate the practice, but by placing it among the vices of the Pharisees, he indicates what he thought of it. In the Sermon on the Mount, all prayer is reprobated but secret prayer, and even that is not recommended. Jesus never him- self makes a prayer on a public occasion; his expression — your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before you ask him — is a distinct declaration that prayer is a ceremony only. It is self-evident that to offer petitions to the Divine Being with the idea that they will have any effect is to suppose the petitioner wiser than his Maker. As to the rest of the Sunday service, where is the use of a jjriest to read a chapter of the Bible which every head of a family does at home ? Why read j)articular chapters only ? Then the Communion Service is considered, among Protestants, as a ceremony. According to Bentham's showing, it was never intended to be permanent, even as a ceremony, and it is particularly ill-fitted for that use. Next comes the Sermon, the only thing not essentially cere- 384 THE CHURCH AND ITS REFORM. 1830-1836. monial, but ]ial~)le to become not only ceremonial like the rest, but mischievous. One great feature of sermons consists in praise heaped unceasingly on the Divinity, with condemnation heaped as unceasingly on the Personification of Evil, as if there could be any one not already prepared to bestow lauda- tory epithets upon God, and opprobrious epithets on the Devil, as far as his powers of language would permit. Another grand class of Church-of-England sermons is occupied with praise of the Church and abuse of Dissenters ; converting religion, which ought to be a principle of love, into a principle of hatred. Is this a morality fit to be promulgated in every parish in the kingdom ? The author here adduces a charge of the then Archbishop of Canterbury, when Bishop of London, which Bentham had already overhauled, and where Dissenters were treated as " enemies " and men of " guilt ". Is not this Antichrist ? Another class of sermons is the controversial ; those that ■ undertake to settle points of dogmatic divinity. It is the opinion of rational men, that for ordinary congregations, such discourses can be of no use, and have a tendency to be hurtful. They put undue stress on points of belief that are not neces- sary They lower man's ideas of the Divine character ; they suborn belief, and create in the hearers a habit of dealing dishonestly with their own emotions. This is nearly the most imraoral state of mind that can exist in a human being. The Church of England teaching, in a vast amount, has this tendency. Oh, for a Pascal ! Leaving other subdivisions of sermons, the author comes to the moral. Though a man of the proper stamp would have other and more effectual means for making good moral impres- sions, yet a discourse of the right sort, delivered on the day of rest to the assembled parishioners, would have happy effects. It would esta!)lish pure ideas of the moral character of (lOd, a matter neglected or trampled upon in the Church of England, religion. It is childish to call the Almighty benevolent, and CORRECT NOTIONS OF THE SUPREME BEING. 385 ascribe to him actions that are the reverse ; or to call him wise, and represent him as moved by considerations that have weight only with the weakest of men. The author directs particular attention to the notions propa- gated as to punishment after death. Punishment is in itself un- desirable, and it is to be applied in the smallest quantity possible. The prevailing doctrine of future punishments reduces the Deity to an atrocious savage. Not only is the punishment excessive, it is also useless, being applied when the time of action is gone by. Proximity of punishment is necessary to its efficMcy. Hcll-])unishment is not derived from Scripture, as might be proved by particular evidence. In the view of Butler, the individual will pass into a future life with all his ac(|uired habits and dispositions, and be under a corrective regime, which will bring him right in the end. Next to the propagation of correct notions of the Supreme Being, is the stimulation of kindly and generous feelings, and of the desire of doing good ; guarding against misleading affections ; above all impressing parents with the right course to be taken in the education of children. Such, however, is not the character of the moral sermons of the Church of England. The author professes to have heard many of these, and to have found them to consist of vapid commonjjhices, given in vague and va])ouring phrases. He has often asked himself, after hearing such a sermon, whether any human being could have received one useful impression from it. He allows that the church has produced sermons of great controversial ability, but all defective in moral teacliing. So much for the regular service. There remain the special ceremonies of Baptism, Marriage, and the Burial of the Dead ; which are all dismissed as worthless, and, in the case of baptism, vicious fr(jni doctrinal errur. The author admits that there are good men among the working clergy, but they are the small number, and their energies are wanting in system. They are not in.siructed in 25 386 THE CHURCH AND ITS REFORM. 1830-1836. the art of doing good. Is it any wonder that, among a people improving in inteUigence, the clergy have lost their influence ? And if so, what is the use of them ? The population have chosen other guides. The Dissenters give evidence that they are in earnest about their religion. The Establishment is the natural sink of the indifferent, and of those whose lives are too scandalous for any other Christian society. The Church of England exists merely as a state-engine ; a willing instrument of those that hold the powers of government, to assist in abusing these. It is worthy of remark that the drunken and pauper part of the population cling to the church. Having gone thus far, the author finds it advisable to miti- gate the clamour that is likely to be raised by such plain speaking ; and he proceeds to adduce, as authorities on his side. Dr. Middleton and Jeremy Taylor, which, however, bear chiefly on the intolerance and bigotry of the church. The author adds, of himself, that the clergy of the church have sworn to stand still, and therefore detest all those that go on. The search after truth bodes them evil, and all their art is employed to prevent it. So much for the evils ; now for the remedy. By certain changes, far from violent, the church might be made an instru- ment of good. 1'he first thing would be a more equal distribution of work among the clergy, by equalizing parishes. Next, to secure men of good education and character, they should receive sufficient pay. Then comes the question — who is to appoint them ? The author does not pronounce decisively on this point, but assumes the difficulty to be not insurmount- able. He considers the best modes of superintendence, whether by individuals (bishops) or by assemblies, as in Scotland. He allows that the Scotch system has worked best, but favours a modified system of personal inspection. Instead of having great lords to do the work, he would have inspectors at, say, ;^iooo a-ycar ; the highest pay of the ])arish priest being ^'500 ; all pay being by salary, instead of by estates; a DOGMAS TO BE DISPENSED WITH. 38 7 system that he strongly condemns. He inchnes to think that laymen would be preferable for the work of inspection: there would be no cjuestions as to the adherence of the clergy to dogmas : it being a fundamental of the scheme that the incul- cation of dogmas should be forbidden, as suborning belief, and tending to make men liars. On this to])ic the author enlarges by referring to the history of the church, and its persistent opposition to all enquiry. He (]uotes the rei)robation of Locke by Copleston, for disres[)ect to the opinions of the church, and illustrates the degradation of the mind of the clergy by co])ious extracts from the Dunciad. He also returns to his old charges against the church for neglecting education until it became a piece of tactics ; when, by cou])ling it with religion, they made sure that it should l)e in their own hands. He repeats, from the positive or constructive side, that cere- monies and dogmas should be dispensed with. This would make a truly Catholic church : all would share in its services ; it would be the true idea of a State religion. The addresses of the clergy would have no other object than to assimilate the minds of the hearers to Him who is the perfection of wisdom and benevolence. This would be the true plan for converting Dissenters ; there would be no schism, when men had nothing to scind about. The work of the clergy would thus consist in supplying all possible inducements to good conduct. No general rules could be given for the work, but tests might be apjjlied for results. Such would be — premiums for the minimum of crimes, of law- suits, of pauperism, of ill-educated children. The assembling of all the families on the Sunday, clean and well-dressed, has an ameliorating effect. Besides addresses of a purely moral kind, instruction in science and useful knowledge would l)e of great service. Even branches of political science might be introduced ; such as political economy and the conditions of good government. Some of the elements of jurisprudence 388 THE CHURCH AND ITS REFORM. 1830-1836. would be valuable ; to teach the maxims of justice and the theory of protection of rights. These would be the more serious occupations of the day of rest. There should also be social amusements of a mild character, such as to promote cheerfulness rather than profuse merriment. Sports involving bodily strength, are not well adapted to promote brotherly feelings ; their encouragement in antiquity had in view the urgency of war. Music and dancing would be important. It would be desirable to invent dances representing parental, filial, and fraternal affections ; and to avoid such as slide into lasciviousness, which the author is always anxious to repress. Quiet and gentle motions, with an exhibition of grace, are what would be desired. To keep everything within the bounds of decency, the parishioners would elect a master and a mistress of ceremonies, and support their authority. A conjoint meal on Sunday would have the happiest effects ; being a renewal of the Agapai — love feasts — of the early Christians ; but with the exclusion of intoxicating liquors. The author finally disposes of the objection — How is all this to be done ? If there are as many people in earnest about religion as there are who pretend to be, all the difficulties would be overcome. We should not have been astonished at such a paper pro- ceeding from Bentham, whose studies in Theology were ex- tremely limited. But Mill had a complete Theological education, under able masters ; and his reading in the subject even in his later years was very considerable. His exegesis of the New Testament in regard to prayer, is somewhat surpris- ing. That he could have supposed it possible, in the course of a few years, to unlearn the whole of the Christian traditions, and to re-model the entire ritual upon the basis of a Religion of Natural Theism, is more wonderful still. Judging from the point of view of our time, he has even mistaken the lines of POLITICAL ECONOMY LECTURES. 389 the future modification of our Theological and Ecclesiastical framework. It is in the highest degree improbable, from present appearances, that the State will continue to uphold a parochial system for any purposes unconnected with purely secular business. The article, with all its ingenuity, will have to be remanded to the list of Utopias, among which it will deserve perusal for its constructive suggestions. The immediate effect of such an outspoken criticism of the Church was to damage the circulation of the Rrcien'. The editors were more careful for the future, but they could not recover the ground that was lost ; and the suspicion of its irreligious tendency was never effaced. The following letter refers to a set of Lectures on Political Economy, prepared by William Ellis, and, at Lord Brougham's suggestion, delivered to popular audiences throughout the country. They were circulated gratis to the Mechanics' Insti- tutions. I can remember receiving a copy for the Aberdeen Institution, of which I was Secretary. A subsequent letter alludes more fully to the incidents connected with them. ■■' India House, Slhjuly, iSjj. " My dear Lord, " I have made arrangements, which I shall be unable to alter, for going out of town on Friday afternoon. lUit I consider that as of little consequence ; because I know well what to expect from the Lectures ; and should eagerly give my assent to whatever may be deemed the best mode ot using them. Is anybody known who could be used as an itinerating lecturer ? I have a high opinion of what may be done by that means, witli such lectures as you can make. It would be good to think of the means of having a set of Lecturers. It would not be difficult to have men of tolerable capacity trained to be good readers ; and that, with discreet conduct and gentleman's manners, would suffice. 39° ATTACK OF HEMORRHAGE, 1830-1836. " I am, my dear Lord, with admiration of your ceaseless efforts, " Most faithfully yours, "J. Mill." Our next intimation gives the date of his chest seizure. Lord William Bentinck had just come from India, and Mrs, Grote was displeased that he had not yet paid her a visit. " Kensington, "Saturday, i^th August, iSj^. " My dear Mrs, Grote, " I hasten to exonerate Lord William, who is wanting in no point of respect in regard toward you. The last conver- sation I had with him, which is the only one I have had with him alone — after a hundred questions about you — he said, ' I shall go down to-morrow to see her at Dulwich '. And he seemed rather disappointed when I told him he would not find you, I won't tell you all he says about you ; it would make you too vain. He is going for a few months to some watering- place in Germany. Indeed, I am afraid, he is gone. If he is not, I should like you to call upon /lim. He is a man worth making much of, I assure you. When I consider what he is, and what he has done, in a most important and difficult situa- tion, I know not where to look for his like. " I was seized, the beginning of this week, with a spitting of blood, and have been ordered to keep since in perfect quiet, and not to speak. We have got the better of the hemorrhage, I think, for the present, and I venture to go this afternoon to Mickleham. I shall send for Myrtle in the beginning of the week, and, as soon as it is safe for me to venture motion, I shall get on her back. I pity the purgatory of poor Grote. I imagine, however, from what I read in the ministerial papers, that the H. of C. will i)retend the Corporation Bill is still worth having, notwith- standing its murder by the Lords, and that the House will be LITTLE HOPES OF RECOVERY. 39I up soon. After Lyndhurst's clause about the freemen, I should be glad to know what there is good in the Bill ? " I am, my dear Madam, " Most truly yours, "J. Mill." ' Myrtle ' was a horse that IMrs. Grote lent him for several summers during his stay at Mickleham ; his powers of walking being of late reduced by general weakness. His arrival at Mickleham made a sad impression on the household. A lady, still living, the daughter of Professor \\'allace, was then on a visit, and remembered his entering the house. He was scarcely able to speak, and his only words were — " dive me some marmalade and some milk ". The family remember sending to the neighbours to get some cold meat, as he could not endure anything hot. This was but the consummation of his down-hill career. In the spring, he had mentioned to Romilly and Strutt, who had been dining with him, that he had suffered much the previous winter from sick headache. He had also an attack of gout in the eyes, of which we can dimly imagine the horrors. Pr. Arnott thought he might still recover. Sir J. Clark, a better authority on lung disease, never thought so. Arnott used to attril)ute the growing obstruction of his lungs, to the dust on the road to Mickleham, on which he had two three-hour journeys a week, on the top of tb.e coach, for several months in the year. There can be no doubt, however, that much deejier causes were at work. A fortnight later, he writes to T.ord Brougham. " MlCKI.l-.HAM, All-list 2g. iSjj. " Mv DEAR T.ORP, " 1 take the liberty of retiucsting that you will be so good as allow Mr. Bracken to see you. He is the gentleman about whord Erskine, Sir Samuel Romilly, and Lord Brougham's speeches are laid under contribution for the puq^ose. The author's own exposition is occuijied with urging the three grand requisites — a Code, a proper distribution of Judges, and the taking of the evidence of parties orally in the court. " Such is the com])ass of law reform. It is all contained in three essential jtarticulars : — expressing the law as it ought to be expressed ; employing judges to do the judicial business of the country where they can do it to most advantage ; prescribing to them the mode of inquiry which leads with most certainty, and least trouble, delay, and ex})ensc, to the knowknlge of the truth. " That they are simple means, that they are efficient means, and that all other means are bad in com])arison, is among the clearest and most intallible of the deductions of common sense. "It is very evident, however, that they must l.)e conjoined, in order to the attainment of the end to which they are directed. No one, and no two of them, without the other, will answer our expectation. "Suppose we have the law c\])ressed, as it ought to be ex- pressed ; but judges employed and distributed in the barbarous and irrational manner in which the men doing judges' work in I'higland are distributed and controlled, and doing it with the detestable procedure which they use ; it caiuiot be doubted that the improved expression of a law administered bv such instru- ments would go a very little way towards affording us the un- 396 ARTICLE — LAW REFORM. 1830-1836. speakable benefits of good judicature. The delay, the expense, and even the uncertainty, would be very little diminished. "Again, suppose we had judges well supplied and placed, both for the original and appellate jurisdiction, but acting through an abominable procedure, and with a law abominably expressed, it is obvious under what disadvantages these judges would ne- cessarily act, and to what an extent they would be hindered from affording to the community the benefit of a good adminis- tration of justice. "As these three things, had in perfection, arc indispensable for a good administration of justice, it is obvious what must be the effect of trying to do without them, by making repairs on the despicable instruments which exist. Repair them as long as you please, you will have nothing but a pair of Sir John Cutler's stockings after all. Touch this thing or the other thing in all your ill-contrived judicial establishment, it is an ill-contrived judicial establishment still. Rectify some of the vices of your system of written pleadings, it is a system of written pleadings still, and thoroughly ill-adapted to the end we desire to attain. In regard to codification, doing this piecemeal is something like a caricature of reason. If a mass of ideas, all in disorder, are to be methodized so that they may be expressed with the greatest brevity and accuracy, you must take them all together ; you cannot detach a portion, and say, we will order these ; be- cause the order proper for them depends upon the order which is proper for all the rest. "We do not, however, though we think this a most important principle, undervalue the efforts of those who have ])us]ied the work of codification in a less perfect manner. They saw that in the benighted state of mind of those on whom the decision still dei)endcd, tlic proposition to systematize and accurately express the whole law would be regarded as sometliing frantic, while that of working upon a part would at any rate obtain a hearing. I'hat hearing was, at all events, a good tiling. It tended to familiarize to all men's minds the subject. It tended ADVICE TO HIS SOX. 397 to make them acquainted with the reasons for and the reasons against codification ; the clearness and cogency of the one, the miserable imbecility of the other. This process ha[)[)ily is going on ; and we expect shortly to hear a call for general and com- prehensive codification, as irresistible as that which has given us, at last, a commencement of parliamentary reform." We have next in order of date a characteristic letter to his son, James, who was studying in the East India Company's College of Haile)bury, with a view to the India Civil Service. " MiCKLEHAM, iSth Oct., iSjJ. " My df.ar James, " John will call and order your waistcoat to-morrow, and you will have it in a day or two. " I was much pleased to see you had the highest mark in everything last month. You must strive hard to have the same in the remainder. " The ditficulties you are in about the fate which awaits you in point of honours can only be met by your utmost exertions. He who works more than all others will in the end excel all others. Uifiicullies are made to be overcome. Life consists of a succession of them. And he gets best through them, who has best made up his mind to contend with them. " I do not like to give you any instructions about your Essay ; both because it would not be fair towards those with whom you have to contend, and because I am desirous to see what you yourself make of it. " Do not allow yourself to be taken in, as many people are, by an ambiguity in the word property. Englishmen in general incline to think that where properly is not entire, es|)cc:ially in the land, there is no property. lUit property may be as per- fectly i)ropcrty, when it includes only jjart, as when it includes the whole. There is no doubt that the ryot has a property in the soil, though it is a limited property. There is also no doubt that the government has a property in the soil, that al.- o 398 roebuck's pamphlets. 1 830-1 836. limited — the one property limited by the other. It is therefore a case of joint property. Hence the controversies. " My complaint is not removed. The lungs are now pretty clear, but the cough remains ; and the coming winter keeps up alarms. However, I must take all the care I can. The rest here are all well. And we shall move to town as soon as the weather becomes cold. We have had H. Bickersteth and Lady Jane for several days of last week. And his conversation is always an enlivener. I am the better for it. " Yours truly, "J. Mill." During the previous session of Parliament and the winter following, up to the assembling of the Houses in 1836, Roe- buck brought out a series of remarkably vigorous pamphlets, entitled " Pamphlets for the People ". The greater number he wrote himself: others were contributed by his brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas Falconer, now a County Court Judge in ^^'ales, and for a time Sub-Editor of the Lcmdun Review^ and the London and Westminster. A third contributor was A. H. T. Cliapman. William Allen wrote on Church Establishments in reply to Dr. Chalmers. The pamphlets came out weekly, at the cost of i^d. They were an attempt to break down the newspaper stamp, which the Whig Government would not abolish. Several were exclusively devoted to the subject of " Taxes on Knowledge ". All the questions of the day, including Muni- cipal Reform, were successively handled. The House of Lords had a considerable space devoted to it. It was a part of Roebuck's plan to provide cheap issues of important political articles, and several of Mill's Encyclopaedia and Review articles were printed. The Ballot article (West- minster) was sold for 3d.; the Dialogue, for 2d.; Colony, Juris- prudence, and Education, for 4d. each. The circulation of the tracts is stated to have reached ten thousand. INEQUALITIES OF FORTUNE NOT AN EVIL. 399 1S36. In the London Rcviezu for January, comes out a paper entitled " Aristocracy ". The chief point of passing interest attaching to it, was the treatment of the House of Lords question, which had so largely engaged the attention of Radical Reformers during the preceding year. He begins with the remark that the advocates of Aristocracy, by a common device when a l)ad thing has to be vindicated, labour to confound inecjualities of fortune with aristocratical privileges. Of inecjualities of fortune in themselves. Reformers were far from thinking evil. The good effects of these are to furnish leisure for intellectual attainments, and for cultivating the elegancies of life. But by inequalities are meant those that are the natural result of the laws of accumulation, not the unnatural results of coerced inheritance. Enormous fortunes in the hands of a small class, are adverse to both intellect and elegance. Such persons are neither intellectual nor encouragers of intellect. Besides, they are corrupters of taste, isasmuch they making cost the standard. A\'ho but i)eo])le whose taste is gone would have thought of erecting, in one day, a triumphal arch ? A man might as soon ornament his drawing- room with thumb-screws and bootikins. Music is not so easily spoiled ; but it is the rich man's concern that it should not go down to his poorer neighbours. And so, just because stroll- ing musicians have become good ])erformers, was war declared against them. In painting and sculjjture, the taste of the man of wealth is jnire selfishness. Instead of encouraging new pictures, he carries home old ones, and shuts them u[) from in- spection. Our aristocratic Legislature gave ^,11,000 for two Coreggios, when ^20,000 was all they had to spare for edu- cation, and when they could not relieve us from the taxes on knowledge. The author ne.xt handles severely the style of social inter- 400 ARTICLE- — ARISTOCRACY. 1830-1836. course arising from overgrown wealth. It is voted ungenteel to be the introducer of a serious subject ; the frivolity in conversation is proverbial and notorious. It is made up of two tones ; mockery and vehement admiration. What is desirable above all things in society is a spirit of mutual bene- volence ; the tone of scorn and mockery is destructive of this. "It is thus evident, that society derives no improvement from the style of conversation and social intercourse which take place in a class of men of overgrown wealth. It is, on the other hand, the main cause why the state of intellect, of morals, and of taste, is in this country at the low point at which, in each of these respects, it remains ; nor will there be any change for the better, till the influence of that class ceases to be predominant." These consist in one or other of the three things — money, dignity, power. Money privileges arise from an undue share of the government, by which are gained sinecure offices, and exemptions from taxes. Rank or dignity in a few necessarily supposes degradation in the rest ; and a degraded community is not an object of comfortable contemplation. The motives to the highest degree of well-doing in every line are then most operative when this well-doing leads to the highest distinction. Artificial ranks are a contrivance to prevent t\\Q prcejnia virtutis from being at the highest. But of all kinds of privilege, the most important is political power. The sole reason of political authority being the good of the community, any portion not answering this end is noxious. To set up men by giving them powers to be used for their own advantage, at the expense of the rest of the com- munity, is to set up a body of enemies. The greatest mischief of all is to give such men legislative powers. In England, nearly one half of the legislative power is placed in the hands of men who, by the tenure on which they hold it, are of necessity converted into a body of enemies. The great object of their dread is every approach to good government. " The existence of this power is an evil, so great, that all other HOUSE-Or-LORDS QUESTION'. 401 grievances in the state sink into nothing compared with it. That a clear-sighted and resolute peoi)le will not always endure it, is not to be feared ; but how long it may contrive to carry 3n its work, by fair words, and by little concessions, well-timed, it is not easy to foresee : especially so long as those who take the lead of the peoi)le in opposing them, afibrd them so much encouragement, by the faintness of their desire for the progress of good government, and the feebleness with which they urge even the reforms which they approve." The IIouse-of-Lords question was the question of the day. Tlie autlior ];roposes as a remedy the following plan. " Tet it be enacted, that if a bill, which has been jjassed by the House of CcMiimons, and thrown out in' the House of Tords, is renewed in the House of Commons in the next session of jjarliament, and passed, but again thrown out by the House of Lords, it shall, if passed a third time in the House of Commons, be law, without being sent again to the Lords." In case the Lords refuse their consent to the measure, he recommends the House of Commons to proceed a step farther, and declare that bills, as passed by themselves a certain number of times, and at certain intervals, are law. This resolution the people would hail with transport, and make the enactments laws Ijy their obedience ; and from that moment the House of Lords is blotted out. A\'hat could they do ? The Judges would follow suit : or if they did not, they could be rejjlaced by tliose that would. According to Lord John Russell, followed by his Attorne}'- (ieneral (Campbell), there is no occasion for any reform of the House of Peers ; the Lords, they say, will grow wiser. W'liat if these authorities are mistaken? It is not ignorance that is tlie source of the evil, but a mucli deeper cause — every man's ])re- ference of himself to anc/iher. If this could be got over, all government would be tumecessary. Another jiretence for delaving the reform of the Lords is tliat they will grow wise enough to see the danger of resisting 26 402 ARTICLE ARISTOCRACY, 183O-1836. the will of the people. But what reformers object to is the state of perpetual excitement that would be necessary ; a state, so far as it goes, of anarchy. The people can act only in two ways ; by violence, or by the prospect of violence, so near as to be terrifying. Is it not better to withdraw the necessity of the Lords' consent to a measure, alter a certain number of refusals ? In thus limiting the power of the Lords, in one way, the author would add to it in other ways where the mischievous use of it could be prevented. He would give peers the right of being elected to the Commons. This he thinks would be a stimulus to the education of the whole class ; and would supply motives to cultivate the good opinion of the people. The consequence would be an increase in their opportunities of rising to be the foremost men of the state, and an increase in the happiness attaching to their position. Finally, " we shaU be told, that, by this reasoning of ours, we destroy the foundation of monarchy as well as aristocracy ". In reply, the author points out the difference of the reasons for the two institutions. The greatness and the glory of a king depend upon his people ; he is identified in interest with them. In England, it is a fact that our kings made the blunder of linking themselves with the aristocracy. The aristocracy after making them dependent upon themselves, have made a stalking horse of them. The power of the sovereign has been converted into their power ; no wonder they like it. But till that was brought about, how did they behave ? They were the king's antagonists and his oppressors ; and it was only by the aid of the people that he could make head against them. The Stuart contest showed the king that he could not rule but in subser- vience to parliament. He has since put his neck into the collar of the aristocracy. But the interest of a king is not irreconcilable with the interests of his people, and it is not yet proved that his office is an unnecessary one. A first magistrate is necessary. The question is whether he should be hereditarj^, MONARCHY NOT A DISADVANTAGE. 403 or elective. \\'ith a hereditary rule, talent is a matter of chance ; \vith an elective, a high degree of talent is t(;lerably certain. Vet, as he must govern in subservience to parliament, and mu.it choose ministers agreeable to jxarliamcnt, he cannot go lar wrong, and talent is not of much importance. In these circumstances, there are very solid advantages on the side of the hereditary princi[)le. If the chief magistrate is to be elective, the choice must reside either in the parliament or in the jjcojile. If by ])arliament, the consecjuence would be a great development of faction, to the detriment of attention to businos. 'I'he choice of the people is jjerhaps less pregnant with evil : but the agitation and ferment would be in every way unfavourable. " If e\er the King of England becomes clear-sighted enough to see that he has been very ill-advised, in leaning upon a corrupt arir,tocracy, and a corrupt church, as the two crutches withcnit which he could not stand ; and tliat lie niay rest with assurance on the solid advantages to the people, inherent in his othce; he will occupy a far more exalted station in the social union tlian he has hitherto done. He will feel that he reigns in the reason and understanding of his people ; which is a more steady reliance, than that reigning in their hearts, which he has hitherto heard so much about, and to so little [jurpose." I'he article was immediately re])rinted as a cheap Tract in the Roebuck series of reprints. It was not so immediately jKjpular as Roebuck's own writing ; but it must ha\"e obtained a considerable circulation. In the same number of the RcrieiJ is a Dialogue — " Whether Political ICc(jnomy is useful,'' which, like the one on the Ballot, has the author's usual terseness, and a respectal)le command of the arts of Dialogue, which comparatively few have wielded with any great success for didactic purposes. This is liis last work. All tliat remains of the narrative is to present a few fragmen- 404 ADVICE TO BROUGHAM. 1830-1836. tary indications of the closing months. In January, he writes one of his vigorous and sympathetic epistles to Lord Brougham, now severed for good from the Whig Ministry, and thereby placed in a new and anomalous position. " Kensington, 14th Jamiary, iSj6. " My dear Lord, " I have not been on good terms with myself for some time, for delaying to write to you. But really, besides the aversion to do anything, which this illness has left behind it, I know not what to say. I was out of the way and knew nothing but the lies of the newspapers. I was also told that your doctors thought, when you went out of town, you had better not be pestered with letters. However, there is a talk within the last few days, in the newspapers, which has roused me. Though I know, in a general way, that there were feelings which ought not to have existed, I still believed that things would come round. If I can at all believe what is confidently rumoured, I must now give up that expectation. I know not how all this will end. I cannot augur well of it. People, who certainly have no strength to spare, do not seem to me to act wisely, when they throw away the best part of what they have. " With respect to yourself, I am doubtful whether they have not done you a service, rather than an injury. They do not know your internal resources, either for personal happiness, or for commanding the attention either of the present, or of future generations. After having shown yo\\Y9,c\i facile princeps in the contentions of public assemblies, it now remains to show what you can be in the quiet walks of literature. Having written more than any other ten men on the spur of the occasion, I wish you now to begin something which you may labour with all your care. Among various subjects I have thought of for you, I am most in favour with a history of your own times. This you could do with infinite advantages ; and though, in doing it faitlifully, you would have to say things not pleasing to existing individuals, this would to a great degree be remedied niCKERSTETH MASTER OF THE ROLLS. 405 by reserving the work for postluinious jiuhlication. "When one is al^jout to bestow on tlie world KiijuiL t'v ad — it is of little importiince whether they get it ten or twenty years hence. " I am going on towards recovery. I am allowed to go out in mild days into the garden, and they tell me that, if I take care till the good weather comes. I shall be well again. I hoj)e that you will return to town quite restored. " I am, my dear Lord, ""With great and unalterable regard, " Ever yours, '•J. Mill." On the same day Eickersteth writes with reference to his ai-cejiting the office of Master of the Rolls : — '• I have had a severe struggle to make myself submit, and without the support of your opinion, I scarcely think that I should have succeeded. It will be a great comfort to nie when I can have an op]jortunity of talking matters over with you. I shall endeavour to fmd one as soon as possible.'"' The belief in his tlnal recovery lasted a good while longer. The next document from his hand is dated 9th March. His son James had received his api)ointment to the India Ci\il Service, and had gone out to India. His departure was the first break in the family, and much was matle of him in the way of correspondence on the jjart of the otliers. llis fatlier undertook to contribute to the monthly letter, and the first contribution is an interesting glimpse into thedomesdc interior. I give it entire. " London, 9/// .l/.vi,//, iSj6. " Mv DEAR James, " I begin my first monthly epistle, which I hope will find you comfortably emi)loyed at Calcutta, after a jiro^jierous voyage. \\'e thought a good deal about you, till you were gone. We looked out very eagerly tor a nijrlh wind. The first intelli- gence Ceorge and Derry (ileiir)-) brought me e\-er}- morning was, 4o6 FAMILY DOINGS. 1830-T836. which way the wind set ; and there were plenty of conjectures about what you might be doing ; Geordie in ]Mrticular has a vehement propensity to determine the unknowable. " John is still in rather a pining way ; though, as he does not choose to tell the cause of his pining, he leaves other people to their conjectures. As for myself, I am going on much as when you saw me, not going back, but going very slowly forward. As I found I was not getting strength, and was not likely to get it, unless I had more exercise in the open air than I could take by walking, I have been compelled, though sorely against my will, to hire a chariot for a month ; and I go out with one of the three little ones, for two or three hours every day. The rest of us are all well ; and more or fewer of them will write to you. " We should have been beginning by this time to talk of Mickleham, but for the state of my health, and the badness of the house, which puts all in uncertainty and restrains the imagination. We do not think much about it. The lessons go well on. I have not yet resumed my hearing of them ; but John hears them and gives me a highly favourable account. As soon as I get a little strength (for I am so weak that every- thing is still a burthen to me) I shall set seriously to work on Logic with Derry. I think he will i)enetrate it rapidly ; and it will be of immense importance to him : it will give clearness and force to his intellect to a wonderful degree. " We have made a revolution with Yespect to the garden, which I think will be of advantage. I have made an annual bargain with a nurseryman who is to keep it in order, and keep it full of everything for a certain sum. We are to have the walks all turned, and tlie box new arranged ; and I suppose I must go to the ex[)ense of some new gravel to make it look fresh. We sliall be very smart, and wishing you liere to see our smartness. We have had three new fruit trees, to replace those decayed ones you may remember, near the bottom of the garden. One is a nectarine, I think, and the other two LOW STATE OF HEALTH. 407 are pcaclics, and one is christened after you, and called James. " I'here is nothing yet decided about the railway at Mickle- ham, but we are still in danger. I wish we could light upon a snug, warm house, in which I could live with safety. " And so much for the first epistle. " Sis fclix, et ne sis indignus ut sis. "J. Mill." In the letter to James from the next brother, Henry, we have a few additional particulars of interest. Henry writes, 5th A]jril : " I believe it is chiefly owing to this bad weather, that wc have no better news to tell you of my father, but we have tiiis now to cheer us, that we must be coming to some- thing better. The low miserable kind of torpidity, which he has had, during which he told Lord and Lady Langdale he was in a state wliich he could not have conceived before to be possible he could exist in, a total lack of ideas, when the mind was looking out on nothing, a mere em])ty space, a chaos, is more I believe tlie doctors think, distressing at the time, than of any material influence in retarding convalesence.'' Again, in the same letter : — " I have been reading to my father when out in tlie carriage for his airing, a jxistoral, in Scotch by Allan Ramsay, called the 'Cientle Shepherd'. My father thinks it the most beautiful ])astoral in any modern language. In these drives we often go to Wandsworth and Richmond, and I always think of you and our walks to Mickleham, as we pass that willow tree at the bottom of RichmondhilL My father got tired of Swift's Lilliput and ]jrobdin'4nag, and he said I read it so ill, that unless the subject was so interesting as to take his attention from my reading, he coifld not bear it : but reading against the sound of tlie carriage wheels, for two hours and a half, I should not mind, if I had the consolation of gi'.ing any ])leasure, but in addition \o my sore throat, 1 have the satisfaction of being remiinled at every turn that I am gi\ing pain, instead of ])leasure."' He made an effort to contribute to the next letter to James, 408 LAST COMPOSITION. 1830-1836 and wrote the following sentences, which may be given as his last composition, " I would not let this opportunity pass without saying a word to you. But as the rest, I sui)i)ose, have told you all the incidents, and I am worn out writing to the Governor-General and Macaulay and Cameron, I shall reserve my contribution till the next time. My great complaint now is weakness, but that is extreme and most distressing. How- ever, they say that needs but a little time and good weather, which has hitherto been wretched." A month later, Henry writes : — " Last night as wc, ' Geordie and I ' were sitting up in my father's room, George after a long silence, suddenly said, ' I hope James (I suppose John's being unwell put it into his head) is well '. My father directly said, ' So do I, George, but I have no right to think about it, and therefore I do not think about it ; I do not know anything about it, and so I ought not to think about it ; but when the time comes to write to him, poor fellow, and to let him know that we do not forget him, then I like to think of him, and then I do think of him.' These were his words, but this morning he says, we must beg you to excuse him for not writing to you, he feels so weak and so great an aversion to writing at all." A letter written in July lets us see him as the end drew near. " We had all of us been led to believe that my father could not live, for a week before he died, so that we were somewhat prepared, at least as much prepared as one can be for a thing which seems so distressing, as to be impossible to happen. You will be less prei)ared for it than we were, but you will not have had the torment of seeing him get weaker and weaker every day, seeing too that we knew it perfectly ; and altliough he seldom said anything about it, never by way of complaint, yet he sometimes, when he thought he should not recover, used to say to me or (ieorge that he would very willingly die, if it were not that he left us too young to be sure how we should turn out." LAST HOURS. 409 On the 13th June, Place wrote to Mrs. Grote : — "Stayed too long with ])oor Mill, who showed mucli more sympatliy and affection than ever before in all our lon^j friendsliip. ]]ut he was all the time as much of a bright reasoning man as he ever was ■ — reconciled to his fate, brave, and calm to an ,-xtent which I never before witnessed, except in another old friend, Thomas Holcroft, the day before and the day of !iis death." This was ten days previous to the end. John was at Brighton for his own h.ealth during liis father's last illness; but wrote as>idu(ju.sly to Henry, to know vdiether his hurr}ir.g back would be of any use. " As to my father, tell me as fully as you can how he is, both as to his illness itselt', and as to spirits, and what }ou think would be pleasantest to him ; not what he would wish or say out of kindness to me." The last phase of his illness was bronchitis; l;e sank away on th.e afternoon of Thursdav, the 23rd df June. Mrs. Cirote remarks as a coincidence : — " At tlie ver}- hour during wliich (;r(3te was delivering this speech on the Ballot, his great mental teacher and friend, James Mill, was passing away from amongst us. He died with.out anv pain or struggle, of long-standing ])ulm(jnary plnhisis. Grote was much affected by his loss, though we weie aware tliat it was imminent for several months before it hap|)ent:d." He was buried in Kensington Church. Of tlie friends jireseiU at the intermeiit, ?\Ioles\vorth w.is one oi those mo.-^t r.clably overcome witli grief. Chapter VIII. REVIEW OF LATEST WRITINGS :— POLITICAL ECONO^IY: ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN MIND: FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. MY notice of these works must necessarily be brief; yet, to pass them over entirely would leave a feeling of incompleteness in the biography of their author. rOLITICAL ECONOMY. This work, first published, as we have seen, in 182 1, went through three editions, and was not afterwards reprinted. The author's purpose in writing it is thus expressed : — " My object has been to compose a school-book of Political Economy, to detach the essential principles of the science from all extraneous topics, to state the propositions clearly and in their logical order, and to subjoin its demonstration to each. I am, myself, persuaded, that nothing more is necessary for understanding every part of the book, than to read it with attention ; sucli attention as persons of either sex, of ordinary understanding, are capable of bestowing." He apologizes for not (juoting authorities as he ])roceeds, and remarks — " I cannot fear an imputation of plagiarism, because I ])rofess to liave made no discovery ; and tliose men who have contributed to tlie progress of the science need no testimony of mine to establish their fame ". Nevertheless, the subject was one that he liad often written upon, and he could not pass through his mind any dejoart- rRlN'CIin.E OF POPULATION. 41I mcnt of Social Philosophy without impressing his individuality U])()n it. The terse and clear expository handlinsj; was a novelty, in forni at least ; and there were not wanting novelties in the su])stance. 'I'he principle of Population was fur the first time urged in the pressing and practical form that John Mill after- wards iterated. The following sentences will exemplify what is meaiit. "If we may thus infer that human hapjiincss cannot be secured by taking forcible methods to make ca])ilal increase as fast as ]io])ulation ; and if, on the other hand, it is certain, that where births take jjlace, more numerous than are required to up'r.okl a pojjulation corresponding to the state of capital, human happiness is impaired, it is immediately seen, that the grand piactical problem is. To find the means of limiting the number of births. It has also ap]K'ared, that, beyond a certain state of density in the ])opulation, such as to aflbrd in perfection the benefits of social intercourse, and of combined labour, it is not desirable that ])opulation should increase. The ])recise ])roblem, therefore, is to find the means of limiting births to that number wliich is necessary to keep up the population, without increasing it. ^^'ere that accomplished, while the return to capital from the land was yet high, the reward of the labourer would be ample, and a large sur[)lus would still remain." Another ])oint of originality was the doctrine of tlie unearned increment. This came under Taxaticjn. A\'e have seen his view as to the India l>and Tax. AN'here land, however, has become private property, the Slate cannot witln)ut iiijiisiice tax landlords out of proportion to their slake in the conuiumity. ikit when, without any exertion on their part, the ])rogress of society adds to the value of their land, there is no injuslice in appropriatuig this increase for the good of the conuuunity at large. "That rent, which is bought and sold; that rent, upon which the expectations of individuals are founded, and which, 412 WORK ON POLITICAL ECONOMY. therefore, ought to be exempt from any pecuHar tax, is the present rent ; or at most the present, with the reasonable prospect of improvement. Beyond this, no man's si)eculations, either in making a purchase, or in making provision for a family, are entitled to extend. Suppose now, that in these circumstances, it Avere in the power of the legislature, by an act of its own, all other things remaining the same, to double that portion of the produce of the land which is strictly and properly rent : there would be no reason, in point of justice, why the legislature should not, and great reason, in point of expediency, why it should avail itself of this, its own [jower, in behalf of the state ; should devote as much as might be requisite of this new fund to defray the expenses of the govern- ment, and exempt the peoi)le. No injury would be done to the original landowner. His rent, such even as he had enjoyed, and to a great degree such even as he had expected to enjoy it, would remain the same. A great advantage would at the same time accrue to every individual in the community, by exemption from those contributions for the expense of the government, to which he would otherwise have had to submit." One better versed than I am in the doctrines and history of Political Economy, could no doubt mention many otiier points characteristic of the work and its author. I believe, however, that I have noticed two of its greatest specialities. ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN MIND. Although I am better qualified to speak of the author's greatest work of a purely philosophical kind, the scope of this Biography forbids the amount of exposition that would be necessary to do it justice. It was a part of his early ambition, dating from his attendance on Dugald Stewart's Lectures, to contribute to the advance- ment of Mental Philosophy. His numerous and heavy labours in other regions prevented him, till late in life, from entering upon the task. His severe logical disci})line was an important LAW OF ASSOCIATION'. 413 preparation ; and the Analysis is signalized, among other merits, hv tlie careful definition of the terms employed. This, however, was not enough. The field of mental tacts had to be long and continuously rellected on ; and previous writers had to be carefully studied. Here, his opportunities were somewhat deficient. The sijace of time devoted to the work (1S22-29), after deducting the other claims on his attention, was barely enough for so great a task ; and, in point of com- pleteness, the result is manitestly interior to the treatises of Reid and Stewart, and somewhat on a par with tlie Lectures of his own 1-Alinburgh contem[)orary, Thomas IJrown. In ])recision, and in thoroughness of grasp of fundamentals, it excels til cm all. The chief merit that the author himself would have claimed for the work, is the carrying out of the Princij)le of Association, as it had been put forward by Hartley and day, who immedi- ately preceded him. It mu:-t be remarked, however, tliat the first and more ob\'i(jus application of this principle, namelv, to the explanation of the Intellectual faculties and [iro'-esses, is entirely wanting. A fundamental mistake clouded all th.is p.;rt of the subject. The distinction l)etween contiguous association, and the rouscitation of ideas from resemblance, is essential to drawing the line between Memory and Reasoning ; and tliis distinctiijn Mill failed to make. He aUowed that there was such a tiling as association by Resemblance, but looked at the facts so slightly as to suppose that it was a mere ca^e of repeti- tion. ITis account of the Intellectual fac:u!ties is me:;gre in the extreme ; and, in dealing with Abstraction and Reasoning, he discusses ratlier tlie logi'.al than the p>\(ho!ogical aspects. Indeed, a considerable jiortion of the work should ha\e gone to make up a treatise on Logic. The use actually made by him of the princi])le of Associa- tion, was to resoKe our comitlex feelings or emotions, into sim[)le or elementary feelings : and to show that many of the states commonly recognised as simjile, su( h as the Affectior.s, 414 ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN MIND, the Esthetic emotions, and the Moral Senthnent, are in fact compound. As an incidental consequence, he dwells upon the enormous possibilities of education, in the sphere of the feelings. He starts from our Pleasurable and Painful Sensations, as the groundwork, and shows how association connects these in our minds with their causes. From actual sensations and their actual causes, we come, by repetition, to form ideas of these sensations and of their causes. We then contemplate the sensations and the cause of them as past, and as future. Out of these conjunctions, arise our ideas of Wealth, Power, Dignity, and their contraries. When our fellow-creatures are contemplated as causes of pleasures and pains, we contract feelings towards them, corresponding to what are termed social affections ; as Friendship, Kindness, Family, Country, Party, Mankind. A like explanation applies to the objects called Sublime and Beautiful ; in which the author follows in the train of Alison's well known theory of Beauty. Next comes the explanation of the Will. Pleasures and Pains are the motives to our actions ; whether simple states, or the various compounds of these, expressed by Wealth, Power, Dignity, Love, &c. He considers that he has now prepared the way for the great ethical problem of the Moral Sense, which he undertakes to resolve into the elementary states of the mind, as already reviewed. He accounts for the Virtues, by showing them to be means to the more primary ends of securing pleasures and warding off jiains ; Prudence, operating in this way, as regards ourselves, and Justice and Benevolence, as regards others. The grand difficulty here is to account for seeking other men's pleasures, or to trace to self-seeking causes, our Disinterested Benevolence. Reciprocity goes a good w'ay, and is adduced accordingly. A long chapter on the mechanism and growth of the Will concludes the work ; and, for the state of physiological MERITS AND DEFECIS. 415 and other knowledge at the time, is remarkably able and original. The salient merit of the treatise is the demonstration of th,e compound character of many of the states formerly acccjunted simple. The author was not uniformly succcs-ful here, although he did a great deal. His basis was too narrcjw. Sensation does not cover the whole field of our primitive sensibilities : we have primary emotions also, as Fear, I.ovc, and Anger : the attem[)t to resolve these into Sensations, and their causes, is a failure. Without taking them into the account, neitlier Eeauty nor the Moral Sentiment can be satisfactcjrily exi^lained. I have not space tor more minute criticism. The work is one that will long be read by students in phiIoso])hv. The statements are so concise and clear, and the illustratioiis so good, tliat tile author's strong points can be sei/.ed with verv little effort ; and his defects are too obvious to do anv harm. A perusal of his chapter on the Social Affections is sufficient to disa!)use the mind of a prejudice — indusiriouslv circulated against philoso])hers of his school, from Hobbes to IJentham — of slighting the private affections, in aiming at a l()ft\- regard to the public weal. The section on the Family affections is replete with the ideal of perfect domestic hapi)ine>s : and, if the author did not act up to it, as he did U) his ideal of ])ublic virtue, the explanation is to be sought in human weakness and inconsistency. A FRAGMENT OX MACKIXTO.SII. The motive to the comi)osition of this wcjrk is stated in the Preface. It was the belief that the confusion into which Mackintosh, in his Dissertation, "had thrown the science of Ethics, was calculated to do great injury to the minds ot such young incjuirers as might resort to his work for instruction ; and my fear that the puffing, on the part both of himself and his friends, which had so successfully served the author through 41 6 FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. life, and the reputation he thence enjoyed, would procure a temporary and unfortunate celebrity to a deleterious pro- duction." After a short chapter setting Mackintosh right upon the primary notions of Ethics, he enters upon the treatment of Hobbes, whose character and philosophy Sir James had con- demned — for its dogmatism, its coldness, its striking the affec- tions out of human nature, its pure selfishness, and so on. The looseness of the author's mode of making good these accusations makes him an easy victim to Mill's ruthless criticism. The severity reaches its climax in dealing with Mackintosh's remarks referring to Hobbes's followers — " not to mention Mandeville, the buffoon and sophister of the ale- house ; or Helvetius, an ingenious but flimsy writer, the low and loose moralist of the vain, the selfish, and the sensual ". A writer that could indulge in this style must not complain of Alill's treatment. " He shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy." Mill's vindication of these two writers is masterly, as we may suppose. His incidental remarks on Mackintosh himself include the following observations, which sum up one of the worst accusations against him — his pandering to popularity. " They were two writers of name. It was, therefore, in Sir James's way, to tell us how well he was acquainted with them. They were also two very unpopular names. It was therefore also in Sir James's way to give them a dash of his black brush. He knew with whom it would be popular to speak ill of them. He therefore looked out for disparaging epithets ; any would do, so be they were strong enough. So down went ' the buffoon and sophister of the ale-house,' and ' flimsy writer, the low and loose moralist of the vain, the selfish, and the sensual '. P>y these few words Sir James proves that he was unacquainted with the writings which he thus traduces. No man who was acquainted with them would have chosen such terms to express himself in ; however much he might have VINDICATION OF Bf:NTnAM. 417 diSScnted from wliat is contained in them. For not only have tiiey no appropriateness to the faults that are in the writinirs, or have ever l)een imputed to them ; but they do not even pcjint in th,at direction."' The next chapter is on Ikitler. " Sir James glories in heajjing jjraise on Ikitler." The ethical doctrines of ISutler, both as presented by liimself, and as handled by Mackintosli, are criticised to exhau.-^tion. Such remarks upon the commen- tator as tlie following crop out, in endless variety of form : — '■ Tliere is not one of the more comi^licated phenomena of the human mind of which Sir James has more in his brain than a confused shadow of an idea. He is therefore constantly mi--taking one thing for another." Again — '' There is no more certain test of an understanding which has no force in it, than tlie facility with which it is taken in by a truism."' " Sir James"s inaccuracy in the use of words is a phenomenon."' '"It is for the benefit of exemplifying strongly to the young, the tendency (jf vague and circuitous language, in philosophy, th.at there is any use in attending to Sir James." But by far the uiost elaborate chapter on the work is the vindication of Bentham. This occupies iSo pages. As Mac- kintosh had included, in his strictures on Bentham, a reference to his sup[Kjsed disciples as well, Mill was personally implicateil, and therefore had to answer for himself as well as for Bentham. The iniptrtance of the chapter is not limited to chastising Mackintosli ; it is a valuable aid to the understanding of Bentham's whole meth.od of working. The shower of sharp- est sleet is only too inces-ant. Sir James, he savs, begins with a ])anegyric on himself He is willing to ]H!t his courage and honesty to th.e -everest test, in .s])eakiiig of Beiuham. \\hat wns the call f)r this? '".As .Sir janies was not going to praise, bu.t to help in t'i>i)araging, an unj.opular writer, he IkkI nothic: to fear."' This was not '[uite correct. Sir lames ha'! noticing to fear from general society; but he had some know- ledge of t!:e sharpness of wea;M)n and i)ower of arm tliat could 41 8 FRAGMENT ON MACKINTOSH. be counted on in Bentham's defence ; and there he had some cause to fear. Hence we are astonished at the recklessness of his language against the Bentham set : " braving vulgar pre- judices " ; " seeking distinction by singularity " ; " clinging to opinions because they are obnoxious " ; " wantonly wounding the respectable feelings of mankind " ; " looking down with pity, if not contempt, on the profane multitude ". Before hitting anyone so hard, Mackintosh should have been quite sure that he had no friends. Mill takes up all these offensive epithets piecemeal, in a way that the curious reader must see for himself A very small specimen of a long book is all that can be admitted here ; and I must economize farther, by asking that the reply of Mill to Macaulay on "Government," already cited, p. 231, be taken also as an example of the style of the " Fragment ". All Mill's friends that I have ever conversed with, regretted the asperity of his language towards Mackintosh. John Mill would have probably reprinted the book, but for this circumstance. It had been read over in MS. to Bickersteth, who had sug- gested a good deal of softening, and his suggestions were, I understand, for the most part adopted. Still, as it stands, the amount of provocation given would not justify to the ordinary reader such perpetual nagging. Not that such a strain is unfamiliar in polemic warfare. Far worse severities of language have been perpetrated thousands of times. The error in Mill's case lay in not recognizing the fact that the opinions of the great majority cannot, with impunity, be spoken of without much greater self-restraint on the part of a member of the small minority. Chapter IX. CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE. THE ample exhibition of Mill's character in the course of the narrative now t)rouyht to a close, and the copious citation and abstract of his own writings, can leave little to be said in illustration of his mind as a whole. Nevertheless, a general summing-up may be of service in bringing to view points that have escaped mention, and in leaving a more com- I^act and portable impression of the man. As to physique, Mill was of the middle stature, 5 ft. h hi.-itory in particular, his constant observation of the C(^urse of English politics, and, fmallv, his occu])ation in connexion with the Government of India, are to be counted among his (lualifications for acting as an ad\i^er in th.e critical emergencies that occurred in his life-time. Wiiile, in a great degree a pupil and f(;ll(jwer of Jlenlham iti Law and luris])ru- dence, he was va>dy l'entham"s superior in I'oliiics strictly so called. Of the literature of Tolitical Pl;il(-(!phy. lieutham knew almost nothing; his reading in Ilistorv was verv limited; and he became a poHtit-ian (juite late in the da.v. and i)lunged h.eatUong into extreme views, in maintaining which, to be sure, he was able to make mincemeat of the apologies for things as they Were. r^Iill, I take it, while so daring as to be accounted 422 INTELLECT AND WILL. revolutionary, was really the safest politician of his age. In the first French Revolution, no such man was to be found. His fertility of mind went beyond the question of govern- ment, to all the regions of the Social Science, including Political Economy. In many things he was, of course, a learner under Eentham, but not a mere learner. He devised expedients of his own ; and his judgment of Bentham's plans was wholly unfettered, and was all the more valuable in the cases where he gave them his unqualified concurrence. He was a man of strong Will, in the best sense of that some- what indefinite phrase. The basis of will is necessarily the active temperament ; and Mill was, by nature, a truly energetic character. Activity was natural to him ; he would never be found lounging and musing in idleness. But Will, in the highest sense, is activity confined to proper channels, by a few great leading motives ; these having their source in the feelings, regulated by the intellect. It is when a man has conceived some great ends of life with such intensity that they engross all the available active energy, that he is said to have Will in the higher meaning of purpose, persistence, steadiness of pursuit, as contrasted with intense fits of desultory application. Mill had formed for himself, at an early age, his ideals of pursuit. He conceived a certain ambitious future in the em- ployment of his high intellectual powers ; and, he combined with this, a wish to contribute something to the welfare of mankind. He would not sell himself for the rewards of party ; he had taken his measure of the grovelling dishonesty of mere partizanship. It is a consequence of the determined pursuit of one or two all-comprehending ends, that a man has to jmt aside many claims of mere affection, feeling, or sentiment. Not that he is necessarily devoid of the warm, social emotions : he may have them, in fair measure; not, however, in an overpowering degree. It is that they stand in his way to other things ; and so are, on certain occasions, sacrificed ; leading thereby to the reproach CHARACTER. 423 of being of a nature hard and unfeeling. Such was Pitt, and such was Mill. They had their friendships, their attachments, and their hours of sociability ; but they would not be called sociable men, in the sense commonly received. Mill had warm friendships, and was true to them ; a feature that we expect in a man of the best type of will. Such a one is faithful to all his engagements ; and his way is, not to incur more than he can meet. Mill was thus with his friends : he failed, in some particulars, though not in all, with his family ; the size of whit;h his son considers to be his one fatal imprudence. He ac(|uired very naturally the habit of proscribing sentiment, when he found it interfering with peoj)le's greatest good. 'J'he liberal ])olitics of such men as Godwin and Leigh Hunt was marred by suj)er-sentimentalism. It was imi)ossible for any one that conceived such a high ideal of human improvement, to miss seeing the importance of Truth, not as an end in itself — this the philosophy of Utility does not admit — but as a means possessing the very highest degree of urgency. To test all assertions by adequate evidence, to extricate the truth from involvments of imperfect language, to push inquiry by every metliod, these are prime essentials of human jjrogress. Of equal necessity is the removal of all checks to the liberty of ex])ressing opinions. If tlie.se objects have the importance that Mill attributed to them, his labours for their jjromotion would alone entitle him to be accounted a benefactor of the race. The biograjihical narrative makes sufficiently ai)parent his self-denying life. \Miile the demands upon his energies for his jtrivate needs were at the very utmost, he was an active fellow- worker with the philanthroi)ic: band that abolished sla\erv, ameliorated the horrors of our prisons, and began the general education of the ])eople. He declined the public importance that his labours might have brought him, in order to bestow it ujjon others who needed the stimulus. Every man that promotes great changes must lay his account 424 TREATMENT OF OPPONENTS. with hostility, more or less bitter and pronounced. How to deal with opponents is one of the most difficult points of ethics. AVe cannot be the friends of a cause, without being the enemies of its enemies. If they fight, so must we ; if they pass from argument to invective, calumny, and the infliction of personal injury, we must make reprisals. Yet, it is impossible to carry this far, without the malignant passions coming into }jlay ; and thus the best and holiest of men fall into the employment of weapons that in principle they disapprove of 'J'he use of strong language must be judged by the provocation. Mill, all his life, waged a war against those that he considered enemies of human welfare. He often gave vent to strong language ; but never to coarse invective. The cause that he fought under was public and not personal. He never said an}t]iing so severe as has fallen from Lord Shaftesbury. He had his feelings of natural resentment ; but there is no proof that he indulged in the vice of malignity, or resentment for its own sake. The emotions that were his solace and his rc:ward were the social and not the anti-social. lie could not help disap- proving of a number of people — disliking some, and despising others ; yet he made ample allowance for circumstances, and did not press severely upon individuals, except on public grounds. His strong feeling of independence, for which he endured so much toil, was not, to my knowledge, accompanied with any haughty, Pharisaical pride. I do not think that he was either ])-!Oud or vain, in the common acceptation of the terms. Some have said that he was a])i)roachable by flattery ; who is not ? But, unless I had had ])ersonal observation of the conduct that has been so interpreted, I could not undertake to say what it amounted to. Many marked traits of amiability, pure and simple, could be cited from his daily life, liesides his friends, among men of intellectual standing, the sharers of his oi)inions, he could take interest in people without much intellect, if they had goodness CHARACTER. 435 of heart. He cherislied the associations and the companions ol' hi.-, early days. He loved Scotch songs ; his mu>ical taste not being very deep. He delighted in the birds that fed in his garden : he was once very indignant with John illach fur scouting awav a blackbird. He cherished llowers, and enjo}'ed rural surroundings; and carried this sentin^.ent so far as to object str(.)ngly to his Mickleham valley being spoiled by the l-^l)som rail\va\-. Notwithstanding his ind:S[)OsiLion to com- municate th.e detailed incidents of his early career, he could speak of his struggles, in general terms, with much feeling. He wa.-; x/rupulou^ly attentive to the manners and rehnement of good society. He dressed carefully : being wliat is termed a "nattv'" man. His fine figure was not thrown away. d"he first thing that Lord \\'i!liam i]entin(:k remarked upon, to Mrs. (irote, after becoming acquainted with him, was his gentlemanly bearing. In spite of all that is said of Ids arrogant manner, he made his way in .society, and gained o\"er people his sujieriurs in rank. 1 have trusted entirely to eye-witnesses for the account of his jiowers in conversati(jn, and his swav o\er the niinds of youth. \\'heth.er, as John ^Vlill said, lie was |)re-eminently adapted for a jjrime minister, he was at all events a born leader — a kin.g of men. As a writer, his stvle has been found fatdt with, es[iecially l)y lientiiam : who sjKjke of the Hist(jry in particul.ir, as a!)otmd- ing in bad Jjiglish. Tlie fact I believe t(j be th.U, altiiough he took great pains to get rid of Scoilic isms, he did not att:iin a mastery of good lhv_Ii.-h idi(jm. A .Scinclcc.an mav possibly l)ecome a writer of pure hhigli>h, but either lie must leave Scotland earlv, (jr he mu^t drink verv c(.pioti>lv from the j)ure wells of Ihigli-^h I.itei'attire. Jcdm \\'il.M)n, ThriMias (,\nnpl)ell, byron, and Lockhart, were never re[iroacl'ied for writing an im-]higli>h style. JA'en Jeffrey liad wvv little remai!i> of the Scotch. iJut not nierelv had -Mill to listen to Scolchinen for a 426 UN-ENGLISH STYLE. good part of his life ; his studies also led him to a number of Scotch authors — Hume, Millar, Ferguson, Adam Smith, and Robertson.* So far as I am able to judge, there are comparatively few- un-English modes of expression in his later writings. One peculiarity of his that may be noticed is the old-fLishioned use of the negative — I know not, I see not — for I do not know, I do not see. I think the Scotch are specially addicted to this form ; English writers now-a-days use it very seldom. Curi- ously, the earliest specimen of John Mill's writing that has been preserved begins — " We know not ". Irrespective of the point of idiom. Mill is a careful, correct, and perspicuous writer. His grammar is, to my mind, le^s often at fault than his son's. His sentences are generally well marshalled, and easily disclose their meaning. The arrange- ment into paragraphs, is seldom defective. His sense of what was requisite to lucidity never deserted him. It is needless to remark that his composition was essentially cast for scientific subjects. He had practised narrative style in his long historical work, and attained a certain success ; but it was not carried to the pitch of art. The truth is, although a man of great general accomplislniient, language was not his forte. It is curious to compare him even with Bentham in this respect. Not only was Bentham educated in the circles whose conversational English is of standard purity, being in fact the standard itself, thereby securing the correctness of his idioms ; he was, in addition, a man of a natural literary endowment. * Hume was one of the most careful of writers ; lie was long out of Scot- land ; he had a good liti.Tary taste ; and yet his style is spoken of by Walter Bagehot in the following tertns : " Hume is always idiomatic, but his idioms are constantly wrong ; many of his bi:st ]iassages are on that account curiously grating and puzzling ; \ou fi'cl that they are very like what an Englishman would say, but yet that, after all, somehow or other they are what he never would say ; — there is a minute seasoning of imperceptible difference which distracts your attention, and which you arc for ever stopping to analyse ". 'litis criticism heljis us to understand how it was that Mill's expressions offended the ear of Bentham. CHARACTER. 4-^7 His copiousness of language would have set him up in a literary profession, and might have even obtained for him a place among our English classics. Speaking roughly, I should say that the vocabulary at his command was twice as abundant as Mill's. His philosophy was unfavourable to the fullest exercise of tlie gift ; but, within the limits allowed, he was an admirable writer. \\'hatever he attempted he did well. His chief display, in addition to his expositions of his own subjects, was in wit, Iiumour, and invective ; in all which he was a master. Mill occasionally tried liis hand in the same regions, but with little success. ?Ie had the disposition to be witty and humorous ; but wanted the resources of language and the i)lay of fancy. His power lay in sarcasm and invective; there he achieved something considerable. Yet, the terrific onslaught of Bentham in those works that hung fire from dread of pro- secution, was far beyond Alill's literary capacity. There remains now only one other topic — the nature and extent of the influence exerted by Mill in the poUtical move- ment crowned by the Reform Bill of 1832. REFORM MOVEMENT. It is unnecessary for the purpose we have in view, to go farther back than the Peace, in order to trace the streams of I-iberal politics then existing, and to note tlie swellings of the current from that time onward. Three-fourths, or four-fifths of the influences that brouglit about Reform may be sujjposed to have had llicir origin since 18 15. Among the best known fiicts of our political history is the Reform moNcment that followed the American Revolution, which led to various motions in I'arliament by I'itt himself; there being a network of societies in the country for ])romoting the object. It was in 1783 tliat the Duke of Richmond published his programme — universal suffrage, aniiual parlia- 428 EARLY REFORM MOVEMENT. merits, and electoral districts — which became the watchwords of the Reform societies. The French Revolntion came ; and with it Pitt's Tergiversation and the State Trials, aimed at suppressing the agitation everywhere. In 1793, Grey made his famous speech on tlie Aristocratic composition of the House of Commons. In 1797, he moved again in the House of Commons, and was sup[)ortcd by 91, against 256. This was the last of the AVhig motions on Reform for many years. The subject was left to the so-called Radicals, till Lord John Russell took it u]) in 18 19. The Reform Societies were never entirely silenced by prose- cution. A small number of energetic publications continued to flow from the press during the first fifteen years of the century. Criticism of the Government, in Parliament and out of it, maintained the conviction that there was something rotten in the state. Let us recall a few of the particulars. What wc should desire in a complete history of English opinion or Reform, would be to indicate the various authors of that opinion, the views promulgated, and tlie extent of their reception in the successive years. For we find that, among the genuine Reformers, the doctrines were more or less con- flicting and their influence mutually destructive. The sympathizers with the French Revolution had to suffer the furious attack of Burke. This brought to the front the writings of Paine, wliose influence both in America and England was very great. The sale of the " Rights of IVIan " in England has been estimated at hundreds of thousands. It was the gosi)cl of the absolute ecjuality of men, as ]M-oclaimed at tlie French Revolution, and was largely embraced here as in France, by the down-trodden many. I'aine's religious scejjti- cism. announced in the " Age of Reason,'' liad numerous followers in the lower orders, as Voltaire had among the higher, in the beginning of the century. 'Jliese were tlie classical works of Radicalism, and were in continuous demand among an intelligent portion of the working classes. HISTORY OF REFORM. 429 For tlie first third of tb.e ccntiir)- William Cobliett was a thorn in the side of the governing i-iowers. and could have !)een an intluential agitator, but for his pig-headedness and crotchets. For a time, he was the ally of the Westminster Radicals. The following extract from his Memoirs, by Huisli, describes the connexion. ''Cobbett was now an inmate of Newgate (1S04). . . Many of his oKl friends deserted him, but on a sudden he accjuired new ones, by altering the tone of tb.e sentiments Vviiii ii h.e hc.i] been accustomed to use. Amongst those ne.v friends was Sir I'rancis T.urdiett, whom he Iiad generally treated with an un!)ecoming severity, but who now suddenly became the obie( t of Ids warmest panegyric. Sir brands oUen visited him in Xewgate. where the party fre'[uently con>'.steiI of four of tb,e m(jst notorious characters of the times — Sir F. I'urdett, Major Cartwright, Henry Hunt, and A\'. Ojbbett. ll was in this conclave that tb.e aff.urs of the nation were can\-as>ed with a degree of perseverance and acuteness superior to an\lhing which liad ever taken place I)efore, and which may be s.dd to have laid the foundation of many of those great polilic;!! e\ents which were afterwards recorded in the annals of the (nmurv. '"The intimacv between him and Furtlett was n.iaiiuainetl until the month (jf Feljruary, 1S17, when it was siiddenlv ctit short, and no intercourse afterwards took place between them, even Uj) to the time of Cobbett's death.'' Of the (juarrel. Cobbett spjeaks thus : — " I was attacking him at the time ; I vras acctising him dis- tinctly of haviiig abandoned the reformers in the mon.ths of Fef)ruary and March. 1S17 ; I was laving it u]) ui liini with a heavy hand. I was telling him that I woidd bring liini down, though it might cost me about ten years to do it.'' Cobbett's Register, started in 1S02. w;!s (ontiiuied through all sorts of forttmes an.d misforttmes till his death in 1835. A historian of the ])re^ent day would hardly wadie tiii\j-.:gh liis sixty volumes, notwitiistanding their close bearing on the cur- 43 o cobhett. rent of political events. The sale was always counted by thousands.* A selection of papers from the Register, in six closely printed volumes, affords ample material for Cobbett's political opinions, and for exemplifying his peculiar style. From the time of his alliance with Burdett, he advocated radical reform of parliament, reduction of taxes, abolition of sinecures, and so on. He carried on an everlasting warfare about the national debt, and especially abused Peel's resump- tion of cash payments. He blamed the paper system for all the distresses of the nation. He charged the farmers with folly for their protection clamour, and bade them look to his reform of the monetary system to get better prices. He was always furious against Malthus, "that shallow and savage fellow, with his project for what he calls checking population". The bad condition of the labourers (he said) was wholly due to the National Debt. All attempts to amend the Poor Laws he treated with contempt. Scarlett's Bill of 1S21, he called a bill to check the breeding of labourers, lest the land should not yield enough to feed them. The old Poor Law he called " That wise, humane, and just code ". " Let those volumes of the Register (now 38) say whether the great and ever-prevailing burden of complaints has not been the ruin, the starvation, the degradation of the English labouring-class by the means of co-operating with an infernal paper money system." " I am convinced that paper money, large farms, fine houses, pauper- ism, hangings, transportings, leprosy, scrofula, and insanity, have all gone on increasing regularly together." He explains at length how all this happens. In a letter addressed to Sir F. Burdett, 22nd May, 1822, he declares it to be unjust on the part of the I-andlords to hold tenants to their leases under the present circumstances. " No tenant can possibly have seen or thought of, what he was really doing when he contracted to pay rent for the use of * In a pnssing reference to Cobbett, in 1817, Bentham speaks of his circula- tion of 60,000. HISTORY OF REFORM. 431 a farm in this kingdom at this time ; and, as the casuaUy which has arisen could not possibly be in his contemplation when he made the contract, the contract is not binding in conscience, and ought not to be binding in lawT In 1 82 3, he indulges in a long tirade against Ricardo, " on his Proposition for Dividing the Land, in order to pay off the National Debt "'. The same year, he frantically abuses Wilber- force, for creating sympathy towards the AVcst India negroes, to the neglect of the home labourers. " The devil a bit do you make any comparison between the lives which the Blacks lead, and the lives which the White labourers lead." In 1S24, he is found denouncing manufactures as "one great cause of pauperism and of the degradation of the people". The lunding system is credited with all the misery following out of them, as well as " Malthus and his crew of hard-hearted ruffians ". These few specimens from only one volume of the Selections (6th) are of use in recalling to mind the perilous stuff that Col)bett s])read broadcast for so many years. He had his followers and readers in all the large towns. I can remember his name as a household word before the Reform ISill. His " Register " and " Twopenny Trash " found their way into the shops of the working men. During tlie Reform agitation, he made a lecturing tour extending to Scotlantl, and it was a great disapj)ointment to me, that he did not come to Aberdeen. His abuse of the Whigs, however, was a jarring note, when the nation was in earnest to unite for some measure of reform. He succeeded in getting into Parliament, but showed his characteristic incoherence and whims, by sjiecchifyirig against the admission of the Jews. He required at all times a broad surface for his copious hatreds ; and was true to only one idol, himself Another noted agitator of the period covered bv Cobbctt was Henry Hunt, or, as he was called — Orator Hunt. His 432 HENRY HUNT. extraordinarily chequered and eccentric career was recorded by himself during the leisure of his 2I years' im]irisonment for the Peterloo affair. Although some of his statements want check- ing, his narrative is a part of the history of tlie Radical movement. His biography begins to be interesting when, about 1800, he was converted to Radicalism by a Henry Clifford, and taken down to Home Tooke's Sunday gatherings at Wimbledon. There he professes to have met the disaffected politicians of London and Westminster, among whom he nientions Place and Burdett (Place himself says he had not exchanged a word with Burdett before 1807). He spoke much like Cobbctt of the contemptible Westminster junto — meaning Place, Ijurdett, and the rest.* He made various attempts to get into Parliament. He marred Hobhouse's candidature for W^estminster in 181 8, and let in the Whig candidate. I'rom August, 1 8 19, dated his two and adialf years' imprisonment. Cobbett and he co-operated for a number of years, but wlicn Hunt was elected for Preston in December, 1830, Cobl)ett, who had himself been once rejected for Preston, vilified him considerably. He failed in Parliament, chiefly by his abuse of the Whigs, and praise of the Tories, which made him suspected of being a Tory in Radical clothing. In his last years he set up a blacking manufactory. He also introduced his " roasted corn," as a substitute for coffee, which was intended as a Iht at the revenue. These articles became a ])art of his own notorietv, and a handle for the ridicule of opponents. P.entliam took O'Connell to task for joining in that form of vulgar abuse. " Sliould you ever again have occasion to s])eak of Henry Plunt, I hoi)e you will not again bring it up against liim, as if it were a matter of reproach, that he sells J^lacking or anvlliing else ; for, besides that there is no harm in selling Pdacking, the * In spcakinsj of the period of the Home Tooke <:^ntlicrinn;s, lie says, ".At this time there was in fact very little disinterested i:)atriotisni anionj:;st the worl-;- ing classes of the eoniniunity ". Place, from still better knowledge, came to the same conclusiiai. HISTORY OF REFORM. 43j feeling thus betrayed belongs not to us democrats, but to aris- tocrats, who make property (and that more particularly in a particular form, the immoveable) the standard of opinion." Cobbett and Hunt stood very nearly ecjual in Bentham's opinion. " Hunt and Cobbett I contemplate with much the same eye, as the visiters of Mr. Carpenter, the optician, con- template the rabid animals devouring one another in a drop of water. Hunt I never saw, nor corresponded with. Cobbett I saw once at the house of a common accjuaintance ; and, without so much as the shadow of a dispute, half-an-hour sufficed me for seeing him exactly as he is. As a speaker, Cobliett, they say, is nothing ; Hunt very great. His moral character nothing has changed, nor presents a probability of changing ; his intellectual character has received jirodigious improvement. In the city of London, his inlluence has, of late, exercised by means of his speeches, become very consider- able." This was in 1828. lientham having said that the people, if possessed of the suffrage, would choose i)ersons of fortune and inlluence, rather than ''such men as Hunt and Cobbett"; Cobbett retorted by calling l^entham the " antediluvian lawyer " ; his invention being evidently at fault for an epithet. In the i)ublication called the " Black Dwarf," edited by Thomas Jonathan \\'ooler, from 181 7 to the end of 1824, Radicalism was kept witliin more reasonable l)ounds, although there was no sparing of the rod in dealing witli kings, aristocrats, and borough mongers. It is all but certain, that Major Cart- wright was tlie pecuniary l)rop of the jjcriodical ; llie radi(ali>m was exactly of the Major's ty])e, his name was everywhere throughout, and it died with liini. More res])ectal)le slill, it struck u]i a connexion with Benlham, no doubt through the Major. It contains several direct roniributions from Benlham, as well as numerous selections from his writlings. liesides this, Wooler obtained permission to reprint in a series of separate 28 434 WOOLER IN BLACK DWARF. numbers the Parliamentary Catechism as well as numerous selections from his writings. The paper attacked Malthus, but allowed letters in reply. Republicanism, after the American type, was its creed. In the person of George IV., the attack of the extreme radicals on kingcraft was all too easy ; and Wooler fulminated from Warwick gaol (where he was made to spend a year) against the trade. One of his letters " From the Black Dwarf to the Yellow Bronze in Japan " is headed " Failure of Kingcraft in some nations — Advice to such kings to look out for other Business," &c. Here is a chance quotation giving the programme of the paper : — " If I were to go to sleep I should dream of strange matters for England — such as the erection of a monument to the memory of the brave and virtuous Riego ! — a Reform of Parliament — a reduction of the debt — a revision of the public expenditure on the North American scale — the triumph of liberty on the Continent — the annihilation of the Turkish power — the consolidation of the liberties of Greece — the restora- tion of the tranquillity and happiness of Ireland — and certain other matters which I should think desirable for the benefit of the human race ; — but as I am awake, few of these things are likely to delight me — yet there are hopes of Greece, and the Continent may be roused from its fretful lethargy. The age is certainly improving in knowledge ; and knowledge is power with rational beings. So that, in a few years, the people of all countries may see that they can do without their keepers, and paying them their wages, may bid them be off to the moon, or elsewhere, where insanity is the order of the day." The issue for October, 1824 (it began weekly, but the Six Acts compelled it to change to a monthly), announces the death of the Major. At the end of the year, the editor closes his labours. This is his pathetic farewell : — " In ceasing his political labours, the Black Dwarf has to regret one mistake, and that a serious one. He commenced writing under the HISTORY OE REFORM. 4',-; idea that there was a Pui;lic in Britain, and tliat ])ul)lic devotedly attached to the cause of Parhanientary Relbrni. This, it is but candid to admit, was an error. Either there is no pubHc, or that public is indifferent upon the subject. . . ." For outspokenness and audacity, none of the radical agitators came up to Richard Carlisle, who was proijortionally honoured bv the Attorney-general of the time. Republican, Atheist, and Malthusian — he affronted at once the three most powerful objects of the country's veneration. Such advocacy of popular princi[)les as his could have done little for the cause, where so much that was obnoxious went along with it. His mission was to afford a test case of Liberty of Thought ; and. in that view, the advanced liberals stood up for him. ]jentham came forward in his behalf. John Mill's first appearance in print was to denounce the prosecution of him and his wife. I have reason to believe that he received substantial aid in his long imprisonments from the Bentham circle. Among the advocates of progress, at the epoch under review, a distinguished place must be assigned to AN'illiam Godwin. His great work '' Political Justice," came out in 1793. It was a splendid ideal, or political romance, and may be fitly compared to the Republic of Plato. It set ])eople thinking, made them dissatisfied with the j)resent state of things. It was the basis of Shelley's Creed ; Jeremy Bentham's " Not Paul but Jesus," contributing to the superstructure. Godwin's name would be ever famous in history, were it only for the i)art he took in defeating the Government ])rosecutions of Home Tooke, Hardy, Holcroft, Thelwal, and others, twelve in all, in 1794. His letter to the iMomin^i^ Chronicle, on the charge of Chief-Justice Eyre, wakened up the public mind so effectually, that all the trials ended in acquittals. Had these men been sentenced, liberty in England might have been as 43<5 EDINBURGH REVIEW : JEFFREY. disastrously suppressed as it was in Scotland by the different issue of the prosecutions of Muir and Palmer. Although thus capable of being a great political power, Godwin did not occupy himself with political writing in any form between 1815 and 1832. The London newspaper press falls under the retrospect that we are now occupied with. But the organs more specially devoted to Liberalism — the Chro?iicle and the Exa/iiiner—AMiyQ been sufficiently noticed in our narrative. Something remains to be said on the Edinbii7-gh Review, as an agent of progress. I do not think that Mill, in his merciless criticism of its ambiguous utterances, made the full allowance for the good that it really achieved. He pronounced it too exclusively the organ of the Whig Aristocratical party in Parliament. No doubt, many of its political articles had no larger aim than to see the restoration of that party to power. Yet, to the credit of Jeffrey it nmst be stated, that he constantly protested against this narrow view. That he admitted so many of Mill's articles showed that he was not a narrow-minded editor. But we fmd him again and again remonstrating with the defenders of pure Whiggism. I have marked many such passages in Cockburn's Life, and must make room for one. Cockburn speaks : — " Then, as to home politics, his opinions were in substance just those of the Whig party ; but with this material qualifica- tion, that he was one of those who always thought that even the Whigs were disposed to govern too much through the influence of the aristocracy, and through a few great aristocra- tical families, without making the people a direct political element. He stated this view in the following letter to Mr. Horner, 26th October, 1809. 'In the main, I think our opinions do not differ very widely ; and, in substance and reality, you seem to me to admit all that I used to contend with you about. In the first place, you admit now tliat i/icrc is HISTORY OF REFORM. 4J / a spirit of discontent, or disaffection if you choose to call it so, among the people, which must be managed and allayed, in some way or other, if we wish to preserve trancjuillity. And, in ilie next |jlace, you admit that the leading Whigs belong to the aristocracy, and have been obliged to goverii themselves a great deal by the neces.-^ity of managing this aristocracy. Now, all I say is, that tliere is a radical contest and growing struggle between the aristocracy and democracy of this country ; and agreeing entirely witli you, that its freedom must depend in a good measure on their coalition, I still think that the aristo- cracy is the weakest, and ought to give way, and that the blame of the catastrojjhe will be licaviest on those who provoke a rupture by maintaining its pretensions. W'lien I said I had no confidence in Lord Grey or Granville, I meant no more than that I thought tliem too aristocratical, and, conseijuently, likely to be inefficient. They will never be trusted by the Court, nor cordial with the Tories ; and, I fear, unless they think less of the aristocracy and its interests and jn-erogatives, they will every day have less influence with tlie people.'" In 1810, he wrote an article on the State of Parties (Xo. 30), in which tiiese views were strongly pres.-^ed. .\ddressing Horner, as a typical Whig, he calls it tlie article " whicli you all abused — and wliich I consequently think the best of all my articles, and tlie justest political speculation tliat has appeared in our immortal journal ". It is ([uite true th.at some more energetic imjictus was wanted to bring on the great revolution : but it would be a mistake and an injustice to deny to the J-ldinbiir^h a fair share in the pre])ar.uion of the public mind for llie fmal results. The powerful attacks on abuses by Swlney Smith, the eloquence of Jeffrey, the energy and flow of Brougham, and a ho^t besides, were in the right direction, notwithstanding all that Mill had to say au.nn^t the ambiguity and the truckling oi not a few of the art'cles. 438 IMPORTANCE OF BIRMINGHAM. We turn next to review the influence of the large towns under their local leaders. Westminster would of course be first ; but the only thing left to remark upon respecting it would be its action upon the other towns. In the columns of the BlacJz Dwarf, may be seen the assistance given to Bir- mingham on various occasions. At a meeting in connexion with the state prosecutions, Feb. 26, 1818, the Resolutions to be submitted had been drafted by Bentham. The importance of Birmingham in the Reform struggle gives it a title to priority of mention among the great English towns. In Mr. J. A. Langford's Cefitury of Birmingham Life, may be found some particulars as to the movement there. On the 17th June, 1 81 2, there is a meeting of artisans to consider how to express gratitude " to those gentlemen of Birmingham who have so laudably exerted themselves to restore the suspended trade, and also to those who have so benevolently subscribed to the relief of the poor of this town ". The author remarks — " It is the first instance we have of the artisans taking any part in public life — unless we look upon their doings at the riots of 1791 as having a prior claim ". The " great political agitation which produced the Political Union, and ended in obtaining the Reform Bill of 1832, was begun amid obloquy, opposition, and persecution, and had to endure many years of toil and suffering before success was obtained. ... In every town of importance, Hampden Clubs had been formed, for the purpose of creating a demand for reform, and educating the people in politics. " In Feb., 181 7, , . . the report of the secret committee of the House of Commons on the subject of these clubs was presented." The following is an extract describing their organisation and object. " Whatever may be the real objects of these clubs in general, your Committee have no hesitation in stating . . . that in far the greater number of them, and particularly in those which are established in the great manufacturing districts of HISTORY OF REFORM. 439 Lancashire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire, and which arc composed of the lower order of artisans, nothing short of a Revolution is the object expected and avowed. " On the professed object of their institution [Parliamentary Reform], they appear to be in communication and connexion with the club of that name [Hampden Club] in London." The first meeting at New Hall Hill (famous in the Reform crisis) was on 23rd Jan., 1817. The attendance was not alarmingly great ; 10,000, including women and children, being the estimate. A Petition to the House of Commons was resolved on, and the populace dispersed quietly. A more formidable meeting was held on 19th July, 1819, when Sir Charles Wolselcy was elected " Legislatorial Attorney and Representative " to the town. This was a great step, and alarmed the Government. The leaders at the meeting (Cart- wright and Wooler were there) were indicted, and brought to trial in London, in August, 1820. A shopkeeper, George Ragg, was brought to trial at Warwick Assizes for selling Carlisle's Republican and other obnoxious publications, includ- ing a number of the Black Book. The chairman of the New Hall Hill meeting, George Edmonds, was tried at the same Assize, and fined and sent to Warwick jail. In spite of all this, the organisation of the Birmingham Political Union went on, and was conducted by able and discreet leaders. On the 14th July, 1823, the " Birmingham Union Society of Radical Reformers" gave a grand dinner to Henry Hunt, then in the zenith of his popularity. On Dec. 14, 1829, "when hundreds of the inhabitants were shivering by their ci, through the articles of Mr. Maclaren, that first spread or popularised Eiberalism in Scotland. The KiTic:^' was a sort of bishop over th.e few faithful — the Scotsi/uvi was a missionary to the many unconverted." The influence of Mill began at an early stage in tlic Reform movement, and is thus described by Roebuck: — "When, however, after 1812, the question (of Tarlianientary Reform) again becanie a topic of discussion, and the Racli(;i! relormers began to stir, the persons who at that time lecl lluni, more es])e(ially in the city of Westminster, adopted lliat exposiiion of [jrin(i[iles on this subject which may be found si.ued with great precision as well as brevity tiy Mr. James Mill, the historian of Rritish India, in tlie article ' Government " in the Supi)lement to the Eiicyclopudia Britaiinica. The whole 444 BENTHAM S REFORM CATECHISM. doctrine of natural right was discarded, together with the principle of individual representation ; and an extensive constituency was now demanded, because by this means alone, as the Radical reformers asserted, the interests of tlie people and their representatives could be made identical, and an honest as well as intelligent government obtained through representation." This was previous to the publication of any of Mill's articles, and must have been the result of his talk with the Westminster politicians. At this stage, lientham liad his Plan of Parliamentary Reform written, but not printed. The discarding of the doctrine of natural rights was a great clearance of the ground ; it removed a source of weakness and misgiving from the cause. The defenders of things as they were had to equip themselves with a new set of reasons ; and were easily worsted when the appeal was made to argument. Before Mill's " Government " article was written, Pentham's Reform Catechism appeared (1817), and was a povv'crful engine on the side of Radicalism. There was, however, a want of tact and discretion in proceeding at once to tlie extreme of Universal Suffrage. There was, for such a reasoner as Ben- tham, something even worse. He had coupled with the universality of the suffrage, the universality of a certain modicum of Education ; yet in working with ]]urdett and Cartwright, he allowed the demand for the suffrngc to precede thfe education.''" Mill laid down principles that would ultimately conduct to universal suffrage ; but, for the present, he looked to the enfranchisement of the middle class. He and Bentham * Bcntham's education test was given in the enumeration of ex'ceptions, or as he called them, deftilcatio?is, under Universal Suffrage. One of the admis- sible defalcations was Non-readers. Bentham, however, considered tliat any- one could overcome this defect by three months' ajijilication of evening leisure ; an assumption in tlie teetli of all reasonable proljability. If education was jiroper to be considered as a ]ireliininary to U]iiversal Suffrage, the conditions to be rof|uired could n'lt be less tlian tlicse two. First, a national education, under which every child had to be at school for a given numl)er of years. Second, a. cheap and \\holesonie newspapiM" press, such as was possible only after tlie abolition of tlie newspaper stamp duty. MILLS INFLUENCE ON REFORM. 445 were equally strenuous for the ballot ; but his advocacy was probably the chief cause of its adoption by the advanced reformers. The immediate effect of the article on " Government " must have been considerable ; yet without turning up the files of the ccntempcjrary newspapers and political periodicals, it could not be detmitely stated. The other E)icydopu-d'ia articles, such as Colonies, Liberty of the Press, would still farther contribute to lay tlie enlarged foundations of political right. Ikit, it was in the Wesliniiistcr lin'ia:.\ that he did most to give both impetus and direction to the Reforni movement. John Mill says : — " At this period, when Liberalism seemed to be becom- ing the tone of the time, when improvement of institutions was preached from the highest places, and a complete change of the constitution of Parliament was loudly demanded in the lowest, it is not strange that attention should ha\-e been roused by the regular ai)iK'arance in controversy of what seemed a new school of writers, claiming to be the legislators and theorists of this new tendency. 'J'he air of strong conviction with which they wrote, when scarcely any one else seemed to have an etiually strong faith in as definite a creed; the boldness with which they tilted against the very fr(jnt of both the existing political parties ; their uncomjiromising ])rofession of opposition to many of the generally received opiiu'ons, and the suspicion they lay under of holding others still more helerodox than they i)rofe>sed ; the talent and verve of at least my father's articles, and the a])pearance of a corps behind him sut'ticient to carry (jn a Review; and final'y, the fact that the Review was bought and read, made tlie so-called Pentham s( hool in philo- sophy and poli'irs fill a greater i)lace in the public mind tlian it had he'd l.i.lwre, or has ever again held since other e([ually earnest schonl.^ of thought have arisen in ]-Jigland." R(jebuck adverts to the same infiuence in tl.e following terms: — "The anomalies to be found in every jiart oi our constitution were assailed continuallv, and not without effect, 446 IMPRESSIONS ON THE MIDDLE CLASS. by a large class of systematic and acute reasoners on the science of government, whose unsparing criticisms, and accurate and often profound deductions, were not always refuted by those who argued in support of things as they were, and who, by appeals to the beneficial working of the system, sought to repel the hostile inferences of a severe and inexorable logic. The class of reasoners, called at this period Radical reformers, had produced a much more serious effect on public opinion than superficial inquirers perceived, or interested ones would acknowledge. The important practical effect was not made evident by converting and bringing over large numbers of political partisans from one banner or class to another, or by making them renounce one appellation and adopt another ; but it was s'hown by affecting the conclusions of all classes, and inducing them, while they retained their old distinctive names, to reason after a new fashion, and according to principles wholly different from those to which they had been previously accustomed." It is evident that Mill got hold of the more intelligent minds of the growing middle class in our great centres of industry. To them his views and reasonings were adapted in many ways. He seconded their natural demands for better government and better legislation to suit the extension of manufactures and commerce, which must have suffered grievously from the bad administration of justice ; and insisted on their having a share of political power for their own defence. His principles were wide enough to include the lower orders in the suffrage, but the extension must be gradual and accompanied with the spread of education. He differed from the Cobbetts and the Hunts, in taking securities against ignorance and brutality, and in holding out no delusive promises of raising wages by the instrumentality of legislation. He and his son were alike distinguished both for their sympathies with the working class, and for refusing to feed them with false hopes. The ten-pound franchise hit very closely Mill's idea of the MILLS INFLUENCE ON REFORM. 447 first Step in Reform. In Grote's pamphlet, publisliecl at his instigation, entitled Essentials of Parlia»ie?ifa7y Reform^ the jtroposal was to enfranchise about a million of voters ; and the calculation was that so much could be effected by a pecuniary qualification of ^loo a-year (income). Of course the l^allot was an essential in his eyes ; but this could not be extorted from the legislature of the time. Had Mill not appeared on the stage at the opportune moment, the whole cast of political thinking at the time of the Reform settlement must have been very inferior in point of sobriety and ballast to what it was. His yilace could not have been taken by any other man that we can fix upon. I^entham, without him, would not have sufficed for the crisis. If privilege had been confronted with French Revolution theories of the Rights of Man and absolute equality, the various classes of the community might not have been got to co-operate with that harmony and unanimity which gained a bloodless victory over an obdurate aristocracy. Even Macaulay's advocacy of the Reform ]>ill, which was perhaps the most im])ressive of any, was matured by his having to pass through the Mill schooling, which he pretended to despise and refute. Indeed, but for his early contact with Mill's discijjles at Cambridge, he might have sat by the side of Peel, or at all events have been the supporter of some minimum compromise that would have baulked the popular wishes with safety, and postponed for years the results achieved in 1832. APPENDIX. 29 APPENDIX. A. (p. 19). — Miir s reading in Edinburgh. Professor Masson has recently extended his researches into the musty records of the Edinburgh University Library, and has sent me a few- additional jottings of the books taken out by Mill from the General Library during the last of his three years as a student of Arts, and his first of Divinity. They are almost exclusively phiiosopliical works : — Origin of Language, Vol. IL; Harris's Philological Inquiries; Hume's I'.ssays, Vol. L; Anarcharsis, Vol. IV.; Stewart's Elements (only just published) ; P'er- guson's Morals ; Harris ; Beattie's something or other. B. (p. 151.) — Bent ham on Romilly. The following unpublished letter of Bentham (to Place) gives his opinion of Romilly in the most unreserved way, and is very interesting. It was written immediately after Romilly's death (6th Dec, 181S). "My acquaintance with Romilly commenced in 17S4 or 5, he being then young at the Bar. On my return from Russia, early in 1 7SS, it ripened into intimacy, which continued without interruption or coolness till his death, notwithstanding the divergency of our declared sentiments in ])arty politics, and the part which I declared to him my having taken in opposition to him in his quality of candidate for Westminster . "No sooner had I got from the printer any one of mv works — and ,a multitude there has been of them, which, for some reason or other never saw till long afterwards, if ever, the public Hglit — than a copy went to Romilly of course. My manuscripts were equally at his command. . . . ". . . When he declares himself, as he does everlastingly, full of doubts, he worships himself in public for the learning and anxiety which generated them, and considers his duty as fulfilled. " Notwithstanding our intimacy, such was our local distance, so distrac- tive our respective occupations, we saw one another but seldom. Having travelled through that vast volume of mine intituled Church 0/ England ism, 452 APPENDIX. &c. , he sent for me, and pronounced these very ■words : 'Eentham, T am as sure as I am of my existence that, if you publish this, you will be prose- cuted ; and I am as sure as I am of my existence that, if you are prosecuted, you will be convicted. There is scarce a sacrifice that I would not make rather than that you should publish.' Not but that he agreed with it in every tittle, and declared it to several persons the most captivating book he ever read. lie suggested precautions which for some time were observed, but have for some time been discontinued." Bentham adds, in his own hand : " His sentiment in favour of the cause of the people went as far as ours. By avowing them in public, he should do harm (he said) to himself, and no good to the cause." C. — The Reform agony week. On Monday, the 7th May, Lord Lyndhurst, in the House of T>ords, carried his destructive amendment to the Bill, by 151 to 116. On Wed- nesday, the 9th, Lord Grey resigned. The king sent for Lyndhurst, who of course referred him to the Duke of Wellington ; and the Duke was occupied for several days with his fruitless attempts to form a ministry. In the meantime, the country had information on Tuesday, of the hostile vote of the Lords ; and every succeeding day added intensity to the popular fury. One of the first fruits was the addition to the Political Unions of a vast number of the more cautious and pacific citizens, many of them wealthy, who had hitherto kept aloof from agitation. Monster meetings were held, and resolutions passed of the most menacing kind. Petitions to the House of Commons to stop the supplies were general : the Manchester petition being the first to reach the House. The Birmingham Petition broadly insinuated that an ayipeal to arms was in store. Resolutions to pay no more taxes became the order of the day. The provincial deputations in London met tlic London Unions, and the conmion ardour was thereby increased. It was in the face of this growing conflagration, that the Duke was negotiating to form a Ministry. Authorities are divided as to what particular phase of the terrible agitation first arrested his hand. There was, of course, the likcliliood, amounting almost to a certainty, of a hundred thousand men in arms marching to London, to be joined by a larger number there. There was also the misgiving as to the military, with which Sonierville's narrative respecting the Scots' Greys has made us familiar. Great probability, however, attaches to the influence of a more specific move, with which Francis Place is identified, as chief instigator. On Saturday, the 12th, every blank wall in London was covered with a REFORM AGOXY WEEK. 453 placard bearing these words : — G) FOR gold — and stop the Duke. The efTect is said to have been electric. A run upon the hanks began. On Mondav, it was believed that the Duke had actually funned a cabinet, and the Pjank of England was besieged the whole day ; ujnvards of half a million of coin was carried off in a few hours. The same evening, the petitions for stopping the supplies poured into the Flouse of Commons, and the excitement of the House was increased by the double stimulation. On Tuesday, the 15th, the demand u]-)on the Bank went on with increased violence ; but, in the afternoon, there was news that the Duke had failed, and that Earl Grey had been sent for— which was confirmed bv his moving the adjournment of the House of Lords till Thursdav. On Wednesdav, the si)read of the information had a tranquillizing effect ; and was just in time to save the credit of the country. Without farther preface, I give a letter from Place to Grote, written on Tuesday evening. "Charing Cross, ijth May, i8j2. " My dear Sir, " We may now sing, ' Glory to God in the highest,' the Bill is won, the people s Bill, by the people s minister, and all this without the aid of the City of London — ' Life and Fortune ' men. " You and I can afford to differ, and may perhaps improve each other by differing. I expected a short denial from you in the Staiidard. "Just at the time the Standard was publisliiiig your — what shall I call them — oh I arguments, to prove that ' Go for Gold' was tio ::,o nt all, came a Great man. who, seeing the Placard in my ro(jm, jininted at it and exult- ingly exclaimed ' that's the Settler ! that has done it '. 'I'lii ; he said in the presence of a gentleman w^hom he had never before seen. When the gentleman had retired, he told me how the Placard and some other little things had worked out the reformation. He (the Great man) feareil a hitch : a very extraordinary one, and promised, if there s]u)u!, and pursuing them to their legitimate consequences, than of striking out new paths, and creating new objects, or even adorning the creations of other men's genius. With the single exception that he had something of the dogmatism of the school, he was a person of most praiseworthy candour in controversy, always of such self-denial that he sunk every selfish considera- tion in his anxiety fi-)r the success of any cause which he espoused, and ever ready to the utmost extent of his faculties, and often beyond the force of his constitution, to lend his help for Tfs furtherance. In all the relations of private life he was irreproachable ; and he afforded a rare example of one born in humljle circumstances, and struggling, during the greater part of his laborious life, with the inconveniences of restricted means, nobly main- taining an independence as absolute in all respects as that of the first subject in the land — an independence, indeed, which but few of the pampered children of rank and wealth are ever seen to enjoy. For he could at all times restrain his wishes within the limits of his resources ; was firmly resolved that his own hands alone should ever minister to his wants ; and would, at every period of his useful and virtuous life, have treated with indignation any project that should trammel his opinions or his conduct with the restraints which external influence, of whatever kintl, could impose.' I will finally advert to some recorded sayings of Bentham, which are in the highest degree depreciatory of Mill's motives as a democratic politician. These sayings are given in Bowring's Life, among the memoranda of Ben- tham's conversations. On being quoted, in an article on B)entham in the luiinlmr^h Kezuio, tliey drew forth h'om John Mill an indignant letter of repudiation. T'rom this letter 1 give the following extract : — " The Reviewer, quoting from the Memoirs, says, ' Bentham said of Mill, that his willingness to do good to others depended too niv.ch