[1] Cf. Letter LXXX, p. 200, cf. 236, etc.
[2] See the obituary notice in Annual Register 1823, which appears (on
comparison with MacCulloch's Preface to Ricardo's Works, p. xxxii) to
have been written by James Mill. See also Prof. Bain's Life of James
Mill, p. 210.
[3] He left L700,000. Gent. Mag. 1823.
[4] Letter to George Rogers, 11th Jan. 1832, in the 'Place' Collection,
British Museum.
[5] The political philosophy of Malthus is described by the present
editor at some length in 'Malthus and his Work,' Book III.
[6] Brougham's testimony is the more valuable because he is by no means
a disciple or admirer of Ricardo as an Economist. 'Statesmen of the Time
of George III,' vol. ii. pp. 166 seq. For other authorities on the
subject see Joseph Garnier's life of Ricardo in Dict. de l'Econ. Polit.,
and Bain's Life of Jas. Mill.
[7] See note to Letter XXI.
[8] March 26, 1823.
[9] Speech of March 18, 1823.
[10] May 21, 1823, etc.
[11] June 17, 1822.
[12] April 29, cf. May 7, 1822.
[13] MacCulloch's 'Funding and Taxation,' Preface to 1st Ed. (1845).
[14] Bentham, 'Princ. of Morals and Legislation,' I, IV.
[15] Ricardo's Wks. p. 554 (from 'Observations on Parliamentary
Reform').
[16] B. IV, ch. IX, middle, p. 307. 1 (McCulloch's ed.).
[17] E.g. by Held, 'Sociale Geschichte Englands,' article Ricardo, and
by Western in the House June 11, 1823, more coarsely by Cobbett in
passages quoted in Note to Letter LXIX, and many others.
[18] June 11, 1823, in reply to Western.
[19] E.g. Grenfell, March 11, 1823.
[20] Feb. 21, 1823, etc.
[21] May 30, 1823. He adds a crumb of criticism: Cobbett underestimated
the effect of machinery in throwing men out of work.
[22] E.g. 'The greatest advantage will be sought and obtained at all
times by the employer of capital.' Evidence before Lords' Resumption
Committee, 1819, Ques. and Answ. 75.
[23] Letter LXXVI.
[24] Ch. xxxi. of Pol. Ec. and Tax.; a chapter added in the 3rd ed.,
1821.
[25] Speech of 9th May, 1822.
[26] This had been acutely observed (without aid from these Letters) by
a writer in the Harvard 'Journal of Economics,' July, 1887.
[27] Ricardo, Pol. Ec. and Tax. Sect. I.
[28] Robert Mushet of the Mint. He published 'An Enquiry into the
Effects produced on the National Currency and Rates of Exchange by the
Bank Restriction Bill' in this very year 1810.
[29] John Whishaw, of Lincoln's Inn, the editor of Mungo Park's 'Life
and Travels' (1815, etc.): see Edin. Rev., Feb. 1815; Brougham's
'Statesmen in Time of George III,' ed. 1855, i. 369.
[30] Richard Sharp, called 'Conversation Sharp,' author of 'Letters and
Essays in Prose and Verse' (1834), member of the Bullion Committee.
[31] Probably Smithson Tennant, the chemist.
[32] P. E. L. Dumont of Geneva, the friend of Mirabeau and Romilly, best
known as the admirer of Bentham, whose works he brought out in French as
a labour of love. See Bentham's Works, ed. Bowring, vol. x. pp. 184-5.
Like Whishaw, Sharp, and Tennant, he was a member of the 'King of
Clubs.' See following letter.
[33] See note at the end of this letter.
[34] The same phrase occurs in Appendix to 'High Price of Bullion'
(Ricardo's Works, p. 297) etc.
[35] Malthus regarded the change in the currency as in some cases the
effect (and not the cause) of a change in trade. See references under
Letters VI, XII.
[36] Fastened with wax at one corner.
[37] Probably 1793 to 1810. See Malthus' Pol. Econ. (1820), p. 324, etc.
[38] Probably Wealth of Nations (McCulloch's ed., 1863) I. xi. 95. 1,
where the precious metals are said to be especially useful in the case
of a roundabout trade of consumption. Cf. Edinb. Rev. Feb. 1811, p. 362.
[39] Wetenhall's 'Course of Exchange.' See note to Letter XI.
[40] Edinb. Review, Feb. 1811. See 'Malthus and his Work,' p. 285.
[41] Some information on that point had been given by Mr. Thomas Hughan,
a West Indian merchant, before the Bullion Committee (Evidence, pp.
55-61).
[42] Franked by Richard Sharp.
[43] See note to Letter XII.
[44] The passages were probably the first three or four chapters of the
third book of Sir Jas. Steuart's 'Inquiry into the Principles of
Political Economy' (1st ed. 1767), more especially ch. iii, 'Is the loss
which the course of exchange marks upon the trade of Great Britain with
France real or apparent?'
[45] Ricardo's 'Appendix' to the fourth edition of his tract on the
'High Price of Gold Bullion.' This Appendix embodies most of the
opinions set forth in these early letters. See his Works (ed. McCulloch)
pp. 291 seq. Cf. 'Malthus and his Work,' p. 287.
[46] 'It is self-interest which regulates all the speculations of trade;
and, where that can be clearly and satisfactorily ascertained, we should
not know where to stop if we admitted any other rule of action.'
Appendix to 'High Price of Bullion' (Works, p. 292).
[47] See above, p. 15.
[48] See 'High Price of Gold Bullion,' Ricardo's Works (McCulloch's
edition), pp. 264, 282.
[49] The Fragment on p. 105 should perhaps come here.
[50] Aaron A. Goldsmid, of Mocatta and Goldsmid, bullion brokers. See
Report of Bullion Committee, Evidence of Witnesses, pp. 1-18, 61. He was
nephew of Abraham and Benjamin Goldsmid, who died by their own hand in
1810.
[51] Wetenhall got his information from Mocatta and Goldsmid. See
Bullion Report, Evid. p. 2.
[52] Henry Thornton, M.P., member of the Bullion Committee, author of
'An Enquiry into the Nature and Effects of the Paper Credit of Great
Britain,' 1802. See J. S. Mill, Political Economy III. xi. Sec. 4.
[53] Part III. ch. i. Sec. 5: 'On the Opinions of the Bullion Committee on
the Phenomena of the Circulation in 1809-1811,' pp. 100-110.
[54] See especially Letters IV and VI.
[55] Tooke, Hist. of Prices, p. 359.
[56] As was shown also in 'Letters on the Corn Laws,' by H. B. T. (J.
Deacon Hume.) London, 1834.
[57] When the price of gold in Holland is above 10 p.c. premium, and the
mint in England is open to the public, silver will be the standard in
London. Consequently its market and mint prices will agree, and gold
will be above the mint price. When under 10 p.c., silver will be above
the mint price, and gold will be the standard.
When the price of gold in Holland was above 9 p.c. premium, the English
L sterling would be estimated in silver and therefore the par of
exchange would invariably continue 38.61 currency; and 37.48 Banco if
the agio were 3 p.c.
[58] The agio is variable, but is supposed to be constant in this table
for the purpose of calculation.
A marc weight = 3798 grains troy. A marc is divided into 5120 onsen[a],
200 onsen[a] of pure silver in a guilder. Gold and silver are sold by
the marc in Holland perfectly pure[b].
British standard--gold 11 fine, 1 alloy; silver 11.2 fine, 18 dwts.
alloy.
[a] The word is indistinct.
[b] The gold mark is meant. See Adam Smith's account of the
Bank of Amsterdam in 'Wealth of Nations,' IV. iii. p. 212 n.
(McCulloch's ed.).
[59] A good commentary on these Tables and on the whole of these early
letters will be found in the Evidences of the Witnesses examined before
the Bullion Committee (1810).
[60] His favourite country-seat, in Gloucestershire.
[61] This actually happened; and the letter is re-addressed first to
'Aylesbury' and then to 'Hayleybury'.
[62] Here and elsewhere written 'expence'.
[63] Ricardo's second son. The eldest was Osman, the third Mortimer.
Ricardo had five daughters, three of whom were married, one to Mr.
Clutterbuck, mentioned later in the correspondence. (See Gentl. Mag.
1823, pt. ii, 376.)
[64] Announced as early as 1807 in the reply to Spence ('Commerce
Defended'). Ricardo's friendship with James Mill seems to have begun
about the year 1811: 'With an estimate of his [Ricardo's] 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 purpose, respecting either public or his private
affairs, in which I was not his confidant and adviser.' Letter of Jas.
Mill to MacCulloch, 19th Sept. 1823 (Bain's Life of Jas. Mill, p. 209).
[65] Thomas Smith of Easton Grey. His name is on the list of subscribers
to Hone's Testimonial, 1818.
[66] Malthus was in the habit of spending his Christmas with his wife's
relations at St. Catherine's near Bath, and it was in one of these
visits that he died there, 1834. See Malthus and his Work, p. 415.
[67] Here and elsewhere spelt 'favoring'.
[68] Ed. 5th (1789). In McCulloch's ed. (1863), pp. 336, 337. See
quotation at end of letter.
[69] See note at end of this letter.
[70] Mill had permanently taken up his abode with Bentham there in the
summer of this year (1814). His biographer gives a long description of
the house (_Life of Jas. Mill_, pp. 129 seq). It is in the valley of the
Axe, four miles from Chard, on the borders of Devonshire and Somerset.
[71] The first sentences of this letter are quoted by Empson, Edinb.
Review, Jan. 1837, p. 498.
[72] He was writing the tract entitled: 'Grounds of an Opinion on the
Policy of Restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn, intended as an
Appendix to "Observations on the Corn Laws."' It might however have been
the tract on Rent to which Ricardo is here alluding. See Letter XXIII.
[73] Here as elsewhere spelt 'endeavor.'
[74] 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent and the principles
by which it is regulated.' 1815.
[75] In the original, 'trade' has been written first and then struck out
in favour of 'stock.'
[76] 'An Essay on the Influence of a Low Price of Corn on the Profits of
Stock, shewing the inexpediency of Restrictions on Importation, with
Remarks on Mr. Malthus's two last Publications,' 1815. Ricardo's Works
(McCulloch), pp. 367-390.
[77] Cf. 'Nature and Progress of Rent,' p. 30, note.
[78] 'Rent,' pp. 21, 34. In the latter, Malthus says 'it would return
only the common profits of stock with little or no rent.' Cf. ib. p. 36.
[79] 'Grounds of an Opinion.' See note on Letter XXII, p. 56.
[80] Probably the passage in Book II, ch. v, quoted by Ricardo in Pol.
Econ. ch. ii (on Rent), p. 39 foot (McCulloch's ed. of Works). It
contains the Physiocratic paradox that in manufactures nature does
nothing, man does all; in agriculture nature does nearly all and man
very little.
[81] Ricardo's opinion, expressed frequently and emphatically afterwards
in the House of Commons, and most fully on paper in his article on the
Sinking Fund written for the Encycl. Brit., was that no safeguards could
prevent the Sinking Fund from being appropriated by a needy government,
and that it was therefore from the point of view of the public interest
a mere snare and delusion.
[82] Cf. Ricardo's Pol. Econ., ch. vi. 65 (ed. McCulloch).
[83] In his 'Letter to Samuel Whitbread, Esq., M.P.; being a Sequel to
Considerations on Protection of Brit. Agriculture, with Remarks on the
Publications of a Fellow of University College, and Mr. Ricardo, and Mr.
Torrens.' Dated 25th Feb. 1815. He discusses West in a long 'Note,' and
the two others in a longer 'Appendix.' Ricardo (whose tract on 'The
Influence of a Low Price of Corn on the profits of Stock' he has just
read) has, he says, 'little practical knowledge,' but brings forward
'truisms mixed with vagaries, clothed in the technical cant of political
economy.' Torrens does not escape much more easily.
[84] The New Corn Law, prohibiting importation when the home price of
wheat should be under 80_s._ a quarter.
[85] Possibly William Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S., the Quaker and eminent
mineralogist and geologist, member of the Geological Society. Born 1773,
died 1828. Ricardo in early life was himself devoted to geological
study.
[86] Part of this letter (5th sentence to 8th) is quoted by Empson,
Edinb. Review, Jan. 1837, p. 499.
[87] 'Essay on the External Corn Trade,' 1815, Part II, ch. ii: 'Is the
general principle' of free trade 'liable to limitations in the case of a
country more heavily taxed than other growing countries?' (To which
Torrens answers: No), ch. iii. Should there be limitations where an
artificial range of prices has been created by continued protection? (To
which he answers: No, but the re-introduction of free trade should be
gradual.) It was probably on such subjects as Tithes and Taxation that
he differed most from Ricardo. On the whole, Torrens stands rigidly by
Adam Smith as against his successors, especially Malthus. See Note to
Letter XXIX.
[88] Malthus did not carry out his intention. Though there are
occasional references in his later books to Torrens' 'Production of
Wealth,' there seems to be nothing like a reply to the strictures in
this 'Essay.'
[89] Here as elsewhere spelt in the old fashion 'expences.'
[90] Probably one of the two he published on the Currency in 1812 and
1813 respectively.
[91] MS. hopelessly torn.
[92] The name appears as Baswi in Ricardo's letters to Say. Even in
Ricardo's clear handwriting Basevi and Baswi would be hardly
distinguishable.
[93] Probably the statement given at the beginning of next letter.
[94] This really happens in the cases made prominent by Mr. Carey,
'Social Science,' I. iv (1858), where historical circumstances have made
cultivation begin with indifferent instead of fertile soils.
[95] Because the remaining six would purchase what eight purchased
before.
[96] Napoleon landed near Frejus on 26th Feb., 1815.
[97] Or rather in the Appendix to it, p. 292 (McCulloch's ed.).
[98] See the Note at the end of this letter.
[99] Ricardo was one of the original members of the Geological Society.
See McCulloch's ed. of his Works, p. xvii.
[100] Blake, probably William Blake, author of 'Observations on the
principles which regulate the course of Exchange and on the present
depreciated state of the Currency,' 1810.
[101] Probably G. B. Greenough, F.R.S., F.S.L., and President of the
Geological Society, who wrote on Geology, 1819.
[102] They were only foreign in the sense of being articles, not only
manufactured in this country but also imported from abroad, e.g. soap
(under a heavy duty) from France, Italy, and Spain.
[103] Probably William Smyth, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge,
friend of Mackintosh and Horner.
[104] Dr. Alexander Crombie, schoolmaster, theologian, and economist,
had published in the Pamphleteer, vol. x, in 1813, a 'Letter to David
Ricardo, containing an analysis of his pamphlet on the Depreciation of
Bank Notes'. About a year after the date of this letter he wrote
'Letters on the Agricultural Interest'. When Torrens did not get his
inspiration from Adam Smith he seems to have got it from Dr. Crombie,
for whom he had profound respect. See Torrens' Essay on Money and Paper
Currency, 1812, and Essay on External Corn Trade (Preface), 1815.
[105] Hopelessly torn by the seal.
[106] Probably they had had a private conversation on the subject. On
the 28th June Whitbread made a lengthened speech in the House to this
effect.
[107] A loan of 36,000,000 was contracted in 1815. See Gilbart's
'History and Principles of Banking' (2nd ed. 1835), p. 54.
[108] Pascoe Grenfell, member of the Bullion Committee, a strong
supporter of Wilberforce in the matter of Emancipation. His motions in
Parliament on the subject of the Bank of England are given in the
appendix to Ricardo's 'Economical and Secure Currency' (Wks. p. 451), a
pamphlet which by its author's admission (p. 395) owes much to him.
[109] Cf. Ricardo's Pol. Econ. and Tax. ch. vi, Profits.
[110] Probably 'An Address to the Nation on the relative importance of
Agriculture and Manufactures, with remarks on the doctrines of Mr.
Malthus,' 1815.
[111] High Price of Corn, 1815.
[112] Spelt throughout 'Othaeite.'
[113] Probably Henry Warburton, mentioned e.g. in Personal Life of Geo.
Grote, p. 75. In a MS. letter from Joseph Hume to Francis Place, 19th
Oct., 1839 (in the Place Collection), he refers to Mr. Warburton as a
friend of Place who had been too much neglected by the Whigs in office.
[114] In Arthur Young's Farmer's Calendar, 1815, p. 501, L10 are said to
be the average capital needed for stocking a farm in 1814, and L15 are
counted high.
[115] Probably the 'Proposals for an Economical and Secure Currency,
with observations on the profits of the Bank of England as they regard
the public and the proprietors of Bank Stock.' See Works (McCulloch's
ed.), pp. 391 sq. One 'proposal' was that the Bank should be obliged to
deliver uncoined bullion, at the Mint price (instead of coined money) in
exchange for its notes.
[116] Presumably Ricardo's first pamphlet, of 1810. Cf. Works
(McCulloch's ed.) p. xxiii.
[117] They amounted to 27,300,000 ('Econ. and Sec. Currency,' Wks., p.
450, but cf. p. 413).
[118] Probably 'Econ. and Secure Currency.' See note to Letter XLII.
[119] See Malthus and his Work, p. 422.
[120] 'Additions to the 4th and former editions of an Essay on the
Principle of Population,' published in June 1817, both in the separate
form and as part of the 5th edition of the Essay.
[121] The Post Office London Directory of the time gives Ricardo's full
City address as 4 Shorter's Court, Throgmorton Street.
[122] The advice was taken.
[123] Which gave him his first stimulus to economical study when he read
it at Bath in 1799. See McCulloch's ed. of Wks., pp. xvii, xviii.
[124] See note at end of this letter.
[125] 'Economical and Secure Currency.' See note to previous letter.
[126] Cf. 'Econ. and Secure Currency,' Wks., pp. 433, 434.
[127] Letter to the Earl of Liverpool on Agriculture, 1816.
[128] The edition reprinted in Wks., ed. McCulloch, pp. 391 seq.
[129] The question was whether the Income Tax, being a war tax, was to
cease with the war. The Ministry were forced to yield.
[130] Not Chas. Bosanquet who wrote on the Bullion Report, but Jacob
Bosanquet, a Director of the East India Company.
[131] Letter to Lord Grenville occasioned by his observations on E.
India Co.'s education of Civil Servants, 1813.
[132] See Malthus and his Work, p. 424.
[133] Hon. Wm. F. Elphinstone, a Director of the East India Company.
[134] Written without a capital, as the days of the week usually are in
these letters.
[135] From the description which follows, this must be the last section
('Mr. Malthus's opinions on Rent') in 'Political Economy and Taxation,'
1817.
[136] From Letters LII, LIII, it is clear that the printer had to wait
for the whole MS. much longer than was at first intended.
[137] This sentence is quoted by Empson, Edin. Review, Jan., 1837, p.
498.
[138] Essay on Population.
[139] Part of this sentence is quoted by Empson in Edin. Review, Jan.,
1837, p. 498.
[140] See Malthus, Pol. Econ. (1820), p. 241: 'The real wages of labour
consist of their value, estimated in the necessaries, conveniences, and
luxuries of life.' The 2nd ed. (1836) adds, 'which the money wages of
the labourer enable him to purchase' (p. 217). In 'Definitions' (1827)
he says 'command' instead of 'purchase,' (p. 239).
[141] 'Statements respecting the East India College,' etc., 1817.
[142] See the long and interesting Report of Select Committee of House
of Commons on the Poor Laws. Ann. Reg. 1817, Chron. pp. 263-302. Cf.
Ann. Reg. 1816, Chron. pp. 151 and 345.
[143] 'Statements respecting the East India College,' 1817.
[144] Rent, p. 8. The second is the fact that the necessaries of life
create their own demand by leading to an increase of population.
[145] P. 40.
[146] Ibid., p. 15.
[147] The comments in this letter occur at greater length in the last
chapter of Ricardo's 'Pol. Econ. and Tax.': 'Mr. Malthus's opinions on
Rent' (1st ed., 1817), McC. ed., pp. 243 seq.
[148] 'Additions to the Fourth and Former Editions of an Essay on the
Principle of Population,' etc., 1817.
[149] Should be p. 17.
[150] P. 21.
[151] 10,488,000 is the figure given by Malthus, l. c. p. 18.
[152] Should be p. 21. Ricardo may have had a proof before him.
[153] Charles Grant, M. P., later Lord Glenelg. He was a Director in the
preceding year (1816).
[154] Hon. Douglas J. W. Kinnaird.
[155] Pol. Econ. and Tax. ch. xxxii.
[156] One of whom was probably James Mill. See 'Autobiography of John S.
Mill,' p. 27.
[157] 'Conversations on Political Economy' (anon. 1816), in which the
interlocutors are 'Mrs. B.' and 'Caroline.'
[158] In original, 'addition.'
[159] On the External Corn Trade.
[160] Joseph Hume, M. P. for Melcombe Regis, and later for Montrose. He
had much knowledge of India, and was at that time (vainly) endeavouring
to get a seat on the Board of Directors.
[161] I.e. the note which now appears Ric. Wks., p. 253, ('Upon showing
this passage to Mr. Malthus at the time when these papers were going to
the press,' etc.). In that note Malthus is made to say he used the words
real price twice by mistake in Ricardo's sense, cost of production,
instead of his own, power of purchasing other commodities.
[162] Professor of Hindu literature and of the History of Asia, at
Haileybury College.
[163] Professor of Mathematics.
[164] M. de Foligny, according to the E. India Register for this year,
(1817).
[165] Probably the 'Petit Volume contenant quelques apercus des Hommes
et de la Societe.' See Oeuvres Diverses, pp. 661 seq.
[166] See the passages quoted by Malthus, Pol. Econ. (1820), pp. 382
seq. Cf. 'Additions' to Essay, pp. 243 n., 235.
[167] Probably Dr. W. H. Wollaston or Woolaston, F.R.S., the chemist.
[168] Pp. 81 seq. of McCulloch's edition of Works.
[169] 'British India.'
[170] The physician who, along with Dr. Marcet, attended Sir Sam.
Romilly on the day before his death (Nov. 1818).
[171] Lord Lansdowne's house in Wiltshire.
[172] Essay on Pop., 4th ed. See above, p. 128.
[173] See next page.
[174] Queen Sophia went there with Princess Elizabeth at the end of
November. (Ann. Register, 1817, Chron., p. 123.)
[175] Probably the 'Political Economy,' 1820.
[176] J. R. McCulloch, in all probability.
[177] 'British India.'
[178] Mill's estimate, however, has seldom been accepted by later
authorities.
[179] Written by oversight 1817. The postmark and all the internal
evidence show that 1818 must be the year.
[180] Less famous perhaps by his numerous writings and speeches on the
currency than by his Letter to his leaseholders in the spring of 1811,
calling on them to pay their rents in gold or else in such an amount in
notes as would cover the depreciation since the date of their leases.
The text of the letter is given by Cobbett, Paper against Gold, letter
XXV.
[181] 'Political Economy and Taxation.'
[182] Mackintosh entered on his duties as Professor of Law there 1818.
[183] 1818. See Ann. Register, 1818, Chron., p. 207.
[184] British India, publ. 1818.
[185] It was dissolved on 10th June.
[186] The Bill for renewing Restriction for another year had passed the
Commons, and was to be moved by Lord Liverpool on 26th May, 1818. Lord
Grenville spoke against it at great length.
[187] 'Plan of Parliamentary Reform in the Form of a Catechism, with
reasons for each article. With an Introduction, showing the necessity of
Radical and the inadequacy of Moderate Reform' (1817).
[188] A glimpse of his mental history is given in the remarkable letter
to Sharp, written from Bombay, on 9th Dec. 1804. He had even then
outlived his reaction against the ideas of the French Revolution. See
Life, vol. i. 128-136.
[189] A grandchild.
[190] Ricardo's son-in-law. See above, p. 41. Ricardo eventually sat for
Portarlington in Queen's County.
[191] The poll was open for fifteen days, and on Saturday, July 4th, the
result was declared: Romilly (Whig) 5339, Burdett (Whig) 5238, Maxwell
(Tory) 4808, Orator Hunt 84.
[192] We should expect 'detail.'
[193] He had added (and then cancelled): 'but it appears to me that our
difference is occasioned by what I think the improper sense in which you
use the word Wealth.'
[194] Franked by H. J. Shepherd (M.P. for Shaftesbury, Dorsetshire).
[195] June, 1818. 'Mr. Ricardo,' says the reviewer, 'has done more for
the improvement [of Political Economy] than any other writer with
perhaps the single exception of Dr. Smith' (p. 60). He follows up this
laudation with a full analysis of the doctrines of the book ('Political
Economy and Taxation'), finding nothing with which he disagrees.
[196] Here, as frequently elsewhere, written M'Cullock.
[197] The estate of Lord Lansdowne, about three miles from Chippenham,
Wilts. As Lord Henry Petty, this statesman had been Chancellor of the
Exchequer in the short-lived government of 'All the Talents' in 1806. He
held office in Grey's Reform Ministry 1831. He joined with Malthus and
others in founding the Statistical Society 1834. He outlived his most
famous contemporaries, and died in 1863 in his 83rd year.
[198] Famous by association with the Oregon dispute. He recorded his
impressions of England in a book called 'Narrative of a Residence at the
Court of London from 1817 to 1825,' (publ. 1833), and 'Memoranda of a
Residence at the Court of London, comprising Incidents Official and
Personal, from 1819 to 1825,' (touching on Oregon and other questions)
(1845).
[199] Bentham was then over 70.
[200] Franked by himself.
[201] See Note 1 at end of this letter.
[202] See Macvey Napier's Correspondence (Macmillan, 1879), p. 23, where
Jas. Mill (writing on 10th Sept. 1819), says of Ricardo to Napier, 'it
is unaffected diffidence that is the cause of his unwillingness, for he
is as modest as he is able.' Cf. also Bain's Life of Jas. Mill, p. 187.
[203] Probably, that deference for Ricardo's authority was delaying his
new book on 'Political Economy.'
[204] See note 2 at end of this letter.
[205] 'The principal domestic events of the year [1819] are intimately
connected with the movements of a set of men who have received the name
of Radical Reformers,' Annual Register, 1819, Hist. p. 103.
[206] Name not clear in MS.
[207] Franked by himself.
[208] 'Principles of Political Economy considered with a view to their
practical application' (Murray), 1820.
[209] The three foregoing sentences are quoted by Empson, Edin. Review,
Jan. 1837, p. 478, though the letter is wrongly dated.
[210] Probably the note on p. 485: 'Mr. Ricardo deserves the thanks of
the country' for having suggested to it a comparatively easy means of
returning to Cash Payments.
[211] Ch. vii. sect. iii. pp. 351 seq.
[212] Several words wanting. Page much torn. But cf. Letter LXXIII, p.
173.
[213] Hitherto 'McCullock.' Ricardo at last falls into the Scotch way
of spelling.
[214] 'An important Liberal organ,' of which in 1822 the editor was
Walter Coulson a friend of Jas. Mill. (See Bain's Life of the latter, p.
183.) In 1811 the editor was Mr. Quin, and its views were at least not
liberal enough for Cobbett. See Paper against Gold, p. 310.
[215] Franked by himself.
[216] Lettres a M. Malthus sur differents sujets d'economie politique,
notamment sur les causes de la stagnation generale du commerce (Paris,
1820). In addition to these 5 open letters, a letter of Say to Malthus
(Feb. 1827) together with the reply of Malthus is given in Oeuvres
Diverses de J. B. Say, pp. 502-515.
[217] Perhaps Oct. 1819 (see e.g. p. 471), 'on Mr. Owen's Plans for
relieving the National Distress.'
[218] Spelt here, as elsewhere, 'chuses.'
[219] Of the 'Traite d'Economie Politique' (1819). See Oeuvres
Diverses, p. xiii. Say had made considerable alterations.
[220] See Ricardo, Pol. Econ. and Tax., ch. XX. 'Value and Riches,' Wks.
pp. 165 seq., 3rd ed.
[221] Edin. Review, Aug. 1820. McCulloch proposed to make the tithes a
poundage on Rents, varying therefore with the net income and not with
the gross produce.
[222] Elements of Political Economy, 1821. See J. S. Mill,
Autobiography, pp. 27, 28, for whose use (in the first place) it was
prepared. For clear logical precision it stands alone among economical
text-books.
[223] See Wks. (ed. McCull.), Preface, p. XXXI.
[224] Franked by himself 9th Oct., which is therefore the real date of
the letter.
[225] Written 'controul.'
[226] The foregoing three sentences are quoted by Empson, Edin. Review,
Jan. 1837, p. 499.
[227] 'Real value in exchange may be defined to be the power of an
object to command in exchange the necessaries and conveniences of life,
including labour,' Malthus, Pol. Econ. (1820), p. 62. 'Wages are to be
estimated by their real value, namely, by the quantity of labour and
capital employed in producing them,' Ricardo, Pol. Ec. 2nd ed. 1819, p.
44, Wks., p. 32.
[228] See Pol. Econ. and Tax. ch. xxi. 'Effects of Accumulation on
Profits and Interest.'
[229] The arrangement is altered, and we have such significant changes
as 'almost exclusively' instead of 'solely.'
[230] Franked by himself.
[231] See Wks. p. 176. 'Malthus and his Work,' p. 294.
[232] See Ricardo, Wks. pp. 110-112.
[233] A Sinking Fund.
[234] This simile is used by Malthus in Quart. Rev. Jun. 1824, with 'old
wine' in place of 'oak trees.'
[235] Franked by himself. Date only on cover.
[236] Perhaps the passage beginning at foot of p. 41 of Wks. and pp.
65-6 of 2nd ed. of Pol. Ec. and Tax. (where he is describing the effect
of agricultural improvements), 'With the same population and no more,
there can be no demand for any additional quantity of corn,' etc. etc.,
as far as the sentence, 'A considerable period would have elapsed
attended with a positive diminution of rent.'
[237] Franked by himself.
[238] Ch. xxxi, in which he explains his change of mind with great
frankness. Cf. Author's Advertisement to 3rd ed. of Pol. Econ. and Tax.,
Wks. p. 3. McCulloch's views were too early stereotyped. For his
character and habits generally, see Bain, Life of Jas. Mill, p. 183,
etc.
[239] It is due to McCulloch to say that in his published notices of
Ricardo he conceals his consternation.
[240] Franked by himself.
[241] Or Bromeberrow, one of Ricardo's estates, afterwards left to his
son Osman.
[242] Anon. London, 1821. The writer criticises Malthus closely though
in a friendly spirit. He is less polite to Say.
[243] Also anonymous.
[244] Franked by himself.
[245] Imported foreign goods. See below.
[246] 'An Essay on the Production of Wealth, with an Appendix, in which
the principles of Political Economy are applied to the actual
circumstances of this country,' London, 1821. The Preface is dated June
30, 1821.
[247] Franked by himself. Date only on cover.
[248] _Sic_, a slip of the pen for 'rise.'
[249] [Note by Ricardo.] On reading over my letter I am doubtful whether
this opinion respecting exportable commodities is correct.
[250] July 1821, no. LXX. See Malthus and his Work, p. 368. Ricardo
evidently suspected Malthus to be the author. See conclusion of next
letter.
[251] The writer added but struck out: 'and wages must be necessarily
high, in which case she may employ nearly the same amount of capital.'
[252] Franked by himself.
[253] See 'Political Economy and Taxation,' chapter on Value.
[254] Franked by himself.
[255] The Political Economy Club was founded by Tooke in 1821, though
there had been informal meetings of the members for some time before in
Ricardo's house. See Bain's Life of Jas. Mill, p. 198, where the
programme of the club is given. It included discussion and propaganda,
replies to unsound newspapers, and the circulation of sound literature.
[256] 'Essay on the Production of Wealth,' 1821. See above, p. 195.
[257] This had been its feature for some time. 'There is a canting
Scotchman in London who publishes a paper called the "Champion," who is
everlastingly harping upon the virtues of the "fireside," and who
inculcates the duty of quiet submission.' Cobbett, Pol. Reg., Nov. 2,
1816, p. 460. Cobbett, like many others, took the received Political
Economy for a doctrine of political quietism.
[258] Necker's asylum in 1790 and the scene of his death in 1804, the
refuge also of his daughter Madame de Stael, when driven from Paris by
Napoleon. Madame de Stael died here in 1817, and her last book,
'Considerations sur les principaux evenements de la Revolution
Francaise,' was brought out in 1818 by her son the Baron de Stael and
the Duc de Broglie jointly. Sismondi had long been a familiar friend of
the house, and it was probably he who had introduced Ricardo. The
'Nouveaux Principes d'econ. polit.' (Sismondi's chief economical work)
had appeared in 1819.
[259] The publicist. See 'Malthus and his Work,' p. 416.
[260] See Ricardo, Works, p. 171; De Tracy agreed with Say's definitions
of 'value,' 'riches,' and 'utility.' He was at this time 68, and his
chequered life (of war, politics, and authorship) did not end till 1836.
His economics are properly a branch of his philosophy.
[261] Louis had been, like his brother, in the Cotton manufacture, but
left it for Sugar Refining. His 'Considerations sur l'industrie et la
legislation,' etc., published in 1822, is the book to which Ricardo
refers.
[262] Germain Garnier, author of 'L'Histoire de la Monnaie' and
translator not only of 'The Wealth of Nations' but of 'Caleb Williams,'
etc., had died 4th Oct., 1821.
[263] The 'Political Economy.' The 2nd ed. did not appear till 1836,
after its author's death.
[264] April 1822, pp. 239 seq. on the State of the Currency. This is the
article closely criticised by Tooke in 'High and Low Prices,' Part i.
pp. 19 seq.
[265] 'A Letter to David Ricardo, Esq., M.P., on the true principle of
estimating the extent of the late Depreciation in the Currency and on
the effects of Mr. Peel's Bill for the Resumption of Cash Payments by
the Bank,' by Thomas Paget, Esq., 1822 (July). It contains more rhetoric
than logic.
[266] One of his chief Parliamentary opponents, in the agricultural
interest.
[267] 'Thoughts and Details on High and Low Prices' was published early
in 1823. Tooke was for thirty years a Russia merchant.
[268] 'The Measure of Value Stated and Illustrated, with an Application
of it to the Alterations in the Value of the English Currency since
1790,' London, 1823.
[269] See note to this letter.
[270] Here as elsewhere written 'chuse.'
[271] Written here as elsewhere 'potatoe.'
[272] Franked by himself. Date and address only on cover.
[273] Gold, with many reservations. See Wks., pp. 29 to 33. But compare
p. 231 below.
[274] Published in 1824 by his family, and reprinted in Wks., ed. MacC.,
pp. 499 seq.
[275] Franked by himself.
[276] Franked by himself.
[277] W. of N., I. vi. 23, 1.
[278] Edin. Rev., Jan. 1837, p. 499.
[279] Life, pp. 209-213.