the Introduction, and Chapter I. of "The Code of Political Economy," contains some useful observations: "It is by collections of facts, statistical and historical, that our acquaintance with the actual state of man is enlarged and corrected; and the chief office which philosophy has to perform, is, to analyse these facts;—to arrange them into their respective classes;—and to deduce from them, the plain and obvious inferences which reason and experience warrant. "There is perhaps no subject on which men have more freely indulged the wildness of speculation, than on the science of political economy; and there is perhaps no department of science, in which it is more completely out of place. The propensity to speculate, indeed, has led to the formation of those Utopian schemes, for the improvement and happiness of man, by which the public mind has been deluded, and the progress of the cautious inquirer most effectually checked. Perhaps no individual can be named, who has laboured more patiently, and more successfully, in the field of statistical analysis and inquiry, and whose works have done more to counteract the rage of speculation in politics and economics, than the author of the Code of Political Economy. This work, which is at present in progress, may be considered as the grand result of all the author's former labours, whether under the name of Parochial, Provincial, or General Surveys. He has most logically followed Lord Bacon's rules of induction, by commencing with the simple elements; ascending from them to combinations and classes, formed out of these simpler elements; and then exhibiting, in combined and regular order, the general conclusions to which the process of inductive analysis has led. The process is beautiful, and the success will, we doubt not, be gratifying. "I have examined, with much pleasure, the specimen of the proposed Code; and I am decidedly of opinion, that it will form a most valuable accession to our stores of statistical information and of political philosophy. I admire the simplicity and perspicuity of its details; the regularity and " lucidus ordo" of its arrangements; and the practical and business-like form which the whole system appears to assume. I have no fear that the author will fail to complete the outline he has drawn, and to fill it up, so far as the materials go; but I regret to think, that on some of the most important particulars, the information at present before the public is scanty and incorrect. I refer to such topics as those of age, classes, numbers of families, employments, births, deaths, &c. This applies indeed, more to England and Ireland than to Scotland, whose Statistical Account' is as yet unrivalled." When the statistical circumstances of a country have been once carefully collected, (the only sure basis on which a system of political economy can be founded), it will not then be difficult, to analyse the internal structure of the political community by which it is inhabited. For this purpose it is proposed to divide the society into three great branches; 1. The productive; 2. The useful, or indirectly productive; and, 3. The burdensome or unproductive; each including a number of subordinate classes, amounting to twenty-seven in all. 1. The productive are those, who add, by their labour, to the wealth and capital of the country. They furnish, in the words of Dr Smith, "vendible commodities, which last after the labour bestowed upon their fabrication is past ;" and it is by the labour of these classes, that wealth is procured, and capital accumulated. Dr Smith, however, omitted several classes, which are justly entitled, when the subject is minutely investigated, to the appellation of productive. 2. The chief source of the errors which have hitherto prevailed in political discussions, arises from this, that a sufficient distinction has not been made between national capital, and national income, and the classes of society dependent upon each. This important distinction, as the best foundation of political economy, will be fully explained in the proposed work. The useful classes exchange their services for a part of the national capital, or what might be rendered so, and thus derive an income on which they subsist. Their income is not primitive, but derivative. It is not a creation, but a transfer. The services, however, which they perform, are of the highest importance; for, without them, the social contract would not long be preserved, nor that harmony and order maintained, so essential to the existence and happiness of civil society. These classes may likewise be called "indirectly productive," as by their consumption of food, and their purchasing clothing, furniture, and various other goods, though they do not produce these articles themselves, they promote their reproduction by others. 3. Those classes, which have no property of their own, and can perform no services for which they are entitled to a remuneration from any of the other classes, are properly called unproductive; and are a heavy burden on the rest of the community. The attention of Government, therefore, ought in particular to be directed to the means of enabling as many of them as possible, to earn their subsistence independent of the public aid. For that purpose, it is necessary to ascertain their numbers, in what manner they are maintained, and how they might be rendered useful. In order to give a clearer view of his ideas on this subject, the Author has drawn up the following classification of the inhabitants of Scotland, with a calculation of the number of individuals belonging to each class: 3. The Clothing Workmen for the Home Market, TABLE II.—The Eleven Useful, or indirectly Productive Classes. 14. Class for the Public Defence, or the Navy and • No adults in Scotland live entirely upon the public funds; they only receive occasional assistance. † The greatest number of persons at any one time in the jails and bridewells of Scotland, anno 1818, was 1572, of whom 420 were debtors, and 1152 com TABLE IV.-Result of the Whole. CLASSES. FAMILIES. PERSONS. 1. The Eleven Productive Classes, ........ 2. The Eleven Useful, or indirectly productive Classes, 3. The Five Unproductive, Total,......... As this is the first attempt to classify the individuals of a great political community, it cannot be expected, notwithstanding every exertion to procure the most accurate information, that it should be perfectly correct. But surely no object could be more desirable for the statesman, and indeed for the public at large, than to ascertain the manner in which the members of a great political community are distributed; without a knowledge of which, in all our legislative proceedings, we are, to a certain extent, groping in the dark. It is only by examining, with attention and accuracy, the internal circumstances of a country, that the science of government can be brought to any thing like perfection;—that statesmen can improve a country, and ameliorate the condition of its inhabitants;—or that a government can discover, not only the evils under which a country suffers, and how they can be removed; but also the advantages in which it is deficient, and how they may be most easily procured. It is evident, that a classification of the inhabitants of a country, founded on the principles of this new principle of political economy, will most essentially contribute to the attainment of these great objects; and that its completion is a most important public undertaking, which cannot be too speedily or zealously carried on. One of the most important points to discuss in the proposed Code of Political Economy, is to ascertain, Whether a previously increased circulation is not necessary to secure an increase of price in agricultural, and other productions? On this subject it may be laid down as an incontrovertible political maxim, that the price of goods must depend, 1. On the supply; 2. On the demand; and 3. On the total quantity of signs, or tokens of value, in the possession of the person by whom they are to be pur mitted for crimes. It is to be observed, in regard to crimes, that they multiply with an increased population, not in an arithmetical, but in a geometrical proportion; that is to say, if a million of people produce 200 crimes, two millions will produce, not 400, but perhaps 1200 crimes, and probably of a more atrocious nature; and as population increases, the geometrical proportion will be increased. chased, or for the payment of which he can furnish adequate security. The great object of internal traffic is, the purchase of food, by the inhabitants of towns, from the farmers, and graziers, in the country. But that purchase depends upon the number, not of those who want, but of those who have something to offer in return for what they want;—not of those who would consume, but of those who can buy ; that is, upon the number of those who have the fruits of some other kind of industry to render, in exchange for the productions of the soil which they require *. To enable the inhabitants of towns, or the dealers who act for them, to give increased prices for the productions of agriculture, a greater quantity of currency must either be in their actual possession, or accessible to them when necessary. Before there can be a general rise in the price of commodities, there must be a greater quantity of circulating medium, to represent them. Before that which was of the value of two pounds, the quantity remaining the same, can be advanced to three pounds, that sum must previously be in existence, or accessible, to represent what was before represented by two pounds +. If the quantity of goods be considerably diminished, an increased price may take place, without an increased circulation. For instance, if a market is usually supplied with a thousand bullocks, which commonly sell at five pounds each, and the demand is not increased, the price will continue the same. But if the supply of bullocks amounts only to eight hundred, while the circulating medium remains five thousand pounds, the price will probably increase to L.6, 5s. each. If the number of bullocks, on the other hand, are increased to twelve hundred, the average price will then fall to L.4: 3: 4 each. But if, instead of five thousand pounds brought to market, the sum is seven thousand pounds, the price will then increase to L.7 each. Thus, the price entirely depends upon the supply, and the demand at the market, and on the amount of the circulating medium, with which the purchase is to be made. It is evident, therefore, that without a previous additional circulating medium, the price cannot be increased, unless there is a diminished supply of the article to be purchased. It is a mistaken idea, therefore, to suppose, that an increased price of goods can take place, without a previous increased circulation. In this, as in many other instances, the cause has been mistaken for the effect. The great depression, or fall in agricultural, and all other pro * Paley's Moral and Political Philosophy, vol. ii. p. 367. |