第29章

Thewholesystemturnedupontheprofittobemadefromthecriminals’labourbyBenthamandhisbrother。Thecommitteeobservedthat，howeverunimpeachablemightbethecharactersofthefounders，theschememightleadtoabusesinthehandsoftheirsuccessors。Theadoptionofthisprincipleof’farming’

hadinfactledtogrossabusesbothingaolsandinworkhouses；butitwas，asIhavesaid，inharmonywiththewhole’individualist’theory。Thecommitteerecommendedadifferentplan；andtheresultwasthefoundationofMillbankpenitentiary，openedin1816。(86*)Benthamultimatelyreceived£；23，000

bywayofcompensationin1813。(87*)Theobjectionsofthecommitteewouldnowbeacommonplace，butBenthamsawinthemanotherproofofthedesiretoincreasegovernmentpatronage。Hewaswelloutoftheplan。TherewereprobablyfewmeninEnglandlesscapableofmanagingathousandconvicts，inspiteofhistheoriesabout’springsofaction。’Ifanythingelsehadbeenrequiredtoensurefailure，itwouldhavebeenassociationwithasanguineinventorofbrilliantabilities。

Bentham’sagitationhadnotbeenaltogetherfruitless。HisplanhadbeenpartlyadoptedatEdinburghbyoneoftheAdams，(88*)andhisworkformedanimportantstageinthedevelopmentofthepenalsystem。

Bentham，thoughhecouldnotseethathisfailurewasablessingindisguise，hadlearnedonelessonworthlearning。Hewasill-treated，accordingtoimpartialobservers。’Never，’saysWilberforce，(89*)’wasanyoneworseused。Ihaveseenthetearsrundownthecheeksofthatstrong-mindedmanthroughvexationatthepressingimportunityofhiscreditors，andtheindolenceofofficialunderlingswhendayafterdayhewasbeggingattheTreasuryforwhatwasindeedamerematterofright。’WilberforceaddsthatBenthamwas’quitesoured，’andattributeshislateropinionstothiscause。WhentheQuarterlyReviewlongafterwardstauntedhimasadisappointedman，Benthamdeclaredhimselftobein’astateofperpetualandunruffledgaiety，’andthe’mainspring’

ofthegaietyofhisowncircle。(90*)Noone，indeed，couldbeless’soured’

sofarashishabitualtemperwasconcerned。ButWilberforce’sremarkcontainedaserioustruth。Benthamhadmadeadiscovery。Hehadvowedwarinhisyouthagainstthe’demonofchicane。’Hehadnowlearnedthatthenameofthedemonwas’Legion。’Tocasthimout，itwouldbenecessarytocastoutthedemonofofficialism；andweshallseewhatthisbitofknowledgepresentlyimplied。

IV。THEUTILITARIANPROPAGANDA。

Benthamin1802hadreachedtherespectableageoffifty-four。Hehadpublishedhisfirstworktwenty-sixyears，andhismostelaboratetreatisethirteenyears，previously。Hehadbeenbroughtintocontactwithmanyoftheeminentpoliticiansandphilanthropistsoftheday。Lansdownehadbeenafriendlypatron：hisadvicehadbeentreatedwithrespectbyPitt，Dundas，andevenbyBlackstone；hewasonfriendlytermswithColquhoun，SirF。Eden，ArthurYoung，Wilberforce，andothersinterestedinphilanthropicmovements，andhisnameatleastwasknowntosomeFrenchpoliticians。Buthisreputationwasstillobscure；andhisconnectionsdidnotdevelopintointimacies。Helivedasarecluseandavoidedsociety。HisintroductiontogreatpeopleatBowoodhadapparentlyratherincreasedthansoftenedhisshyness。Thelittlecircleofintimates，RomillyandWilsonandhisownbrother，musthavesatisfiedhisneedsforsocialintercourse。ItrequiredanelaboratenegotiationtobringaboutameetingbetweenhimandDrParr，thegreatWhigprophet，althoughtheyhadbeenpreviouslyacquainted，andParrwas，asRomillysaidbywayofintroduction，aprofoundadmireranduniversalpanegyrist。(91*)

HerefusedtobeintroducedbyParrtoFox，becausehehad’nothingparticulartosay’tothestatesman，andconsideredthattobe’alwaysasufficientreasonfordecliningacquaintance。’(92*)

But，atlast，Bentham’sfamewastotakeastart。Bentham，Isaid，hadlongbeforefoundhimself。DumonthadnowfoundBentham。Afterlongandtediouslaboursandmultipliedcommunicationsbetweenthemasterandthedisciple，Dumontinthespringof1802broughtouthisTraité；sdeLé；gislationdeM。Jé；ré；mieBentham。ThebookwaspartlyatranslationfromBentham’spublishedandunpublishedworks，(93*)andpartlyastatementofthepithofthenewdoctrineinDumont’sownlanguage。IthadthegreatmeritofputtingBentham’smeaningvigorouslyandcompactly，andfreefrommanyofthedigressions，minutediscussionsofminorpointsandargumentsrequiringaspecialknowledgeofEnglishlaw，whichhadimpededthepopularityofBentham’spreviousworks。

TheJacobincontroversieswerepassingintothebackground：andBenthambegantoattainahearingasareformerupondifferentlines。In1803DumontvisitedSt。Pete