第11章

SinclairgainedacertainreputationbyaHistoryoftheRevenue(1785-90)，and，likeMalthus，travelledontheContinenttoimprovehisknowledge。Hisfirstbookfinished，hebeganthegreatstatisticalworkbywhichheisbestremembered。HeissaidtohaveintroducedintoEnglishthenameof’statistics，’

fortheresearchesofwhichalleconomicalwriterswerebeginningtofeelthenecessity。Hecertainlydidmuchtointroducethereality。Sinclaircirculatedanumberofqueries(upon’naturalhistory，’’population，’’productions，’

and’miscellaneous’informations)toeveryparishministerinScotland。Hesurmountedvariousjealousiesnaturallyexcited，andtheultimateresultwastheStatisticalAccountofScotlandwhichappearedintwenty-onevolumesbetween1791and1799。(35*)ItgivesanaccountofeveryparishinScotland，andwasofgreatvalueassupplying(36*)basisforallsocialinvestigations。

Sinclairboretheexpense，andgavetheprofitstothe’SonsoftheClergy。’

In1793Sinclair，whohadbeeninparliamentsince1780，madehimselfusefultoPittinconnectionwiththeissueofexchequerbillstomeetthecommercialcrisis。HebeggedinreturnforthefoundationofaBoardofAgriculture。

HebecamethepresidentandArthurYoungthesecretary；(37*)andtheboardrepresentedtheircommonaspirations。Itwasaratheranomalousbody，somethingbetweenagovernmentofficeandsuchaninstitutionastheRoyalSociety；

andwassupportedbyanannualgrantof£；3000。ThefirstaimoftheboardwastoproduceastatisticalaccountofEnglandontheplanoftheScottishaccount。TheEnglishclergy，however，weresuspicious；theythought，itseems，thatthecollectionofstatisticsmeantanattackupontithes；

andYoung’sfrequentdenunciationoftithesasdiscouragingagriculturalimprovementsuggestssomeexcuseforthebelief。Theplanhadtobedropped；

alessthorough-goingdescriptionofthecountieswassubstituted；andagoodmany’Views’oftheagricultureofdifferentcountieswerepublishedin1794andsucceedingyears。Theboarddiditsbesttobeactivewithnarrowmeans。Itcirculatedinformation，distributedmedals，andbroughtagriculturalimproverstogether。ItencouragedthepublicationofErasmusDarwin’sPhytologia(1799)，andprocuredaseriesoflecturesfromHumphryDavy，afterwardspublishedasElementsofAgriculturalChemistry(1813)。SinclairalsoclaimstohaveencouragedMacadam(1756-1836)，theroadmaker，andMeikle，theinventorofthethrashing-machine。Onegreataimoftheboardwastopromoteenclosures。

YoungobservesintheintroductorypapertotheAnnalsthatwithinfortyyearsninehundredbillshadbeenpassedaffectingaboutamillionacres。

Thisincludedwastes，butthegreaterpartwasalreadycultivatedunderthe’constraintandimperfectionoftheopenfieldsystem，’arelicofthe’barbarityofourancestors。’Enclosuresinvolvedprocuringactsofparliament——aconsequentexpenditure，asYoungestimates，ofsome£；2000ineachcase；(38*)

andastheyweregenerallyobtainedbythegreatlandowners，therewasafrequentneglectoftherightsofthepoorandofthesmallerholders。Theremedyproposedwasageneralenclosureact；andsuchanactpassedtheHouseofCommonsin1798，butwasthrownoutbytheLords。AnactwasnotobtainedtillaftertheReformBill。Sinclair，however，obtainedsomemodificationoftheprocedure；which，itissaid，facilitatedthepassageofprivatebills。

Theybecamemorenumerousinlateryears，thoughothercausesobviouslyco-operated。

Meanwhile，itischaracteristicthatSinclairandYoungregardedwastesasabackwoodsmanregardedaforest。Theincidentalinjurytopoorcommonerswasnotunnoticed，andbecameoneofthetopicsofCobbett’seloquence。Buttotheardentagriculturisttheexistenceofabitofwastelandwasasimpleproofofbarbarism。Sinclair’sfavouritetoast，wearetold，was’Maycommonsbecomeuncommon’——hisoneattemptatajoke。HeprayedthatEppingForestandFinchleyCommonmightpassundertheyokeaswellasourforeignenemies。

Youngisdrivenoutofallpatiencebythesightof’fern，lingandothertrumpery’inspirituponSalisburyPlain，whichproduceallthecornweimport。(39*)

Enfielddeclares，isa’realnuisancetothepublic。’(40*)Wegladthatthezealforenclosurewasnotsuccessfulitsaims；improversischaracteristic。

Itissaid(41*)thatYoungandSinclairruinedoftheBoardofAgriculturebymakingitakindofpoliticalclub。Itdiedin1822。SinclairobtainedanappointmentinScotland，andcontinuedtolabourunremittingly。Hecarriedonacorrespondencewithallmannerofpeople，includingWashington，Eldon，CatholicbishopinIreland，financiersandagriculturistsontheContinent，andthemostactiveeconomistsinEngland。HesuggestedasubjectforapoemtoScott。(42*)Hewrotepamphletsaboutcash-payments，CatholicEmancipation，andtheReformBill，alwaysdisagreeingwithallparties，Heprojectedfourcodeswhichweretosummariseallhumanknowledgeuponhealth，agriculture，politicaleconomy，andreligion。TheCodeofHealth(4vols。，1807)wentthroughsixeditions；TheCodeofAgricultureappearedin1829；buttheworldhasnotbeenenrichedbytheothers。HediedatEdinburghonthe21stSeptember1835。

IhavedweltsofaruponYoungbecauseheisthebestrepresentativeofthat’gloriousspiritofimprovement’whichwastransformingthewholesocialstructure。Young’sviewoftheFrenchrevolutionindicatesonemarkedcharacteristicofthatspirit。HedenouncestheFrenchseigneurbecauseheislethargic。

HeadmirestheEnglishnoblemanbecauseheisenergetic。TheFrenchnoblemayevendeserveconfiscation；buthehasnottheslightestintentionofapplyingthesameremedyinEngland，wheresquiresandnoblemenaretheverysourceofallimprovement。Heholdsthatgovernmentiseverything，andadmiresthegreatworksoftheFrenchdespotism：andyetheisathoroughadmirerofthelibertiesenjoyedundertheBritishConstitution，theessentialnatureofwhichmakessimilarworksimpossible。IneednotaskwhetherYoung’slogiccouldbejustified；thoughitwouldobviouslyrequireforjustificationathoroughly’empirical’view，or，inotherwords，theadmissionthatdifferentcircumstancesmayrequiretotallydifferentinstitutions。Theview，however，whichwascongenialtotheprevalentspiritofimprovementmustbenoted。

Itmightbestatedasaparadoxthat，whereasinFrancethemostpalpableevilsarosefromtheexcessivepowerofthecentralgovernment，andinEnglandthemostpalpableevilsarosefromthefeeblenessofthecentralgovernment，theFrenchreformersdemandedmoregovernmentandtheEnglishreformersdemandedlessgovernment。Everythingforthepeople，nothingbythepeople，’was，asMrMorleyremarks，(43*)themaximoftheFrencheconomists。Thesolutionseemstobeeasy。InFrance，reformerssuchasTurgotandtheeconomistswereinfavourofanenlighteneddespotism，becausethestatemeantacentralisedpowerwhichmightbeturnedagainstthearistocracy。Once’enlightened’itwouldsuppresstheexclusiveprivilegesofaclasswhich，doingnothinginreturn，hadbecomeamereburthenordeadweightencumberingallsocialdevelopment。

ButinEnglandtheprivilegedclasswasidenticalwiththegoverningclass。

ThepoliticallibertyofwhichEnglishmenwererightfullyproud，the’ruleoflaw’whichmadeeveryofficialresponsibletotheordinarycourseofjustice，andtheactualdischargeoftheirdutiesbythegoverningorder，saveditfrombeingtheobjectsofajealousclasshatred。WhileinFrancegovernmentwasstaggeringunderanever-accumulatingresentmentagainstthearistocracy，thecontemporarypositioninEnglandwas，onthewhole，oneofpoliticalapathy。Thecountry，thoughithadlostitscolonies，wasmakingunprecedentedprogressinwealth；commerce，manufactures，andagriculturewerebeingdevelopedbytheenergyofindividuals；andPittwasbeginningtoapplyAdamSmith’sprinciplestofinance。Thecryforparliamentaryreformdiedout：neitherWhigsnorToriesreallycaredforit；andthe’gloriousspiritofimprovement’

showeditselfinanenergywhichhadlittlepoliticalapplication。Thenobilitywasnotanincubussuppressingindividualenergyandconfrontedbythestate，butwasitselfthestate；anditsindividualmemberswereoftenleadersinindustrialimprovement。Discontent，therefore，tookinthemainadifferentform。Somegovernmentwas，ofcourse，necessary，andtheexistingsystemwastoomuchinharmony，eveninitsdefects，withthesocialordertoprovokeanydistinctrevolutionarysentiment。Englishmenwerenotonlysatisfiedwiththeirmaininstitutions，butregardedthemwithexaggeratedcomplacency。

But，thoughtherewasnoorganicdisorder，therewereplentyofabusestoberemedied。Therulingclass，itseemed，diditsdutiesinthemain，buttookunconscionableperquisitesinreturn。Ifit’farmed’them，itwasrightthatitshouldhaveabeneficialinterestintheconcern；butthatinterestmightbeexcessive。Inmanydirectionsabusesweregrowingupwhichrequiredremedy，thoughnotasubversionofthesystemunderwhichtheyhadbeengenerated。

Itwasnotdesired——unlessbyaveryfewtheorists——tomakeanysweepingredistributionofpower；butitwaseminentlydesirabletofindsomemeansofbetterregulatingmanyevilpractices。Theattackuponsuchpracticesmightultimatelysuggest——as，infact，itdidsuggest——thenecessityoffarmorethorough-goingreforms。Forthepresent，however，thecharacteristicmarkofEnglishreformerswasthislimitationoftheirschemes，andamarkwhichisespeciallyevidentinBenthamandhisfollowers。Iwillspeak，therefore，ofthemanyquestionswhichwerearising，partlyforthesereasonsandpartlybecausetheUtilitariantheorywasingreatpartmouldedbytheparticularproblemswhichtheyhadtoargue。

NOTES：

1。WealthofNations，bk。ii。ch。iii。

2。WealthofNations，bk。i，ch。xi，section1。

3。Ibid。，bk。i，ch。xi，conclusion。

4。Smiles’sWattandBoulton，p。292。

5。Young’sTravelsinFrancewasrepublishedin1892，withaprefaceandshortlifebyMissBethamEdwards。Shehassince(1898)publishedhisautobiography。

SeealsotheautobiographicalsketchintheAnnalsofAgriculture，XV，152-97。

Young’sFarmer’sLettersfirstappearedin1767；hisToursintheSouthern，Northern，andEasterncountiesin1768，1770，and1771；hisTourinIrelandin1780；andhisTravelsinFrancein1792。Ausefulebibliogrpahy，containingalistofhismanypublicationsisappendedtotheeditionoftheTourinIrelandeditedbyMrA。W。Huttonin1892。

6。Annals，XV，166。

7。TravelsinFrance(1892)，p。184n。

8。TravelsinFrance，p。54。

9。Ibid。，p。109。

10。Ibid。，p。61。

11。Ibid。，p。70。

12。Ibid。，p。279。

13。TravelsinFrance，p。125。

14。Ibid。，p。131。

15。Ibid。，pp。198，298。

16。Ibid。，pp。55，193，199，237。

17。Ibid。，p。43。

18。TravelsinFrance，pp。291-92。

19。Ibid。，p。132。

20。Ibid。，p。66。

21。Ibid。，p。131。

22。e。g。SouthernTours，p。103；NorthernTour，p。180(YorkCathedral)。

23。NorthernTour，iv。，344，377。

24。IrishTour，ii，114。

25。SouthernTour，p。326。

26。SouthernTour，p。22。

27。Annals，i，380。

28。Ibid。，vol。x。

29。Ibid。，iv，17。

30。SouthernTour，p。262：NorthernTour，ii，412。

31。NorthernTour，iv，410，etc。

32。IrishTour，ii，118-19。

33。MemoirsofSirJohnSinclair，byhisson。2vols。，1837。

34。Memoirs，i，338。

35。ANewStatisticalAccount，replacingthis，appearedintwenty-fourvolumesfrom1834to1844。