第5章
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  Thereforeallsentimentwasobjectionable,forsentimentmeansneglectofrulesandcalculations。HeshrankfromshowingfeelingwithmorethantheusualEnglishreserve;andshowedhisdevotiontohischildrenbydrillingthemintoknowledgewithuncompromisingstrictness,Hehadnofeelingforthepoeticalorliterarysideofthings;andregardedlife,itwouldseem,asaseriesofarguments,inwhichpeopleweretobeconstrainedbylogic,notpersuadedbysympathy。HeseemstohavedespisedpoorMrs。Mill,andtohavebeenunsuccessfulinconcealinghiscontempt,thoughinhislettershereferstoherrespectfully。Millthereforewasamanlittlelikelytowintheheartsofhisfollowers,thoughhisremarkablevigourofminddominatedtheirunderstandings。

  Theamiableandkindly,whosesympathiesarequicklymoved,gainanunfairshareofourregardbothinlifeandafterwards。Wearemorepleasedbyanineffectualattempttobekindly,thanbyrealkindnessbestowedungraciously。Mill’sgreatqualitiesshouldnotbeoverlookedbecausetheywerehiddenbyamannerwhichseemsalmostdeliberatelyrepellent。Hedevotedhimselfthroughlifetopromotethetruthashesawit;toincreasethescantyamountsofpleasuresenjoyedbymankind;andtodischargeallthedutieswhichheowedtohisneighbours。

  Hesucceededbeyondalldisputeinforciblypresentingonesetofviewswhichprofoundlyinfluencedhiscountrymen;andtheverynarrownessofhisintellectenabledhimtoplanthisblowsmoreeffectively。

  NOTES:

  1。ThechiefauthorityforJamesMillisJamesMill:aBiography,byAlexanderBain,EmeritusProfessorofLogicintheUniversityofAberdeen,London,1882。Thebookcontainsveryfullmaterials,and,ifratherdry,dealswithadrysubject。

  2。Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。70n。

  3。Bain’sJamesMill,p。166。

  4。Gifford’srealnamewasJohnRichardsGreen。TheidentityofhisassumednamewiththatofthemorefamousWilliamGiffordhasledtocommonconfusionbetweenthetwoperiodicals。’PeterPindar’assaultedWilliamGiffordundertheerroneousimpressionththewaseditorofthesecond。

  5。LetterinBain’sJamesMill,pp。136-40。

  6。Autobiography,p。39。

  7。Bain’sJamesMill,pp。97-106。Millappearstohavesaidsomething’extravagant’aboutBenthaminanarticleuponMirandaintheEdinburghReviewforJanuary,1809。HealsogotsomepraisesofBenthamintotheAnnualReviewof1809Bain,92-96。

  8。SeetheveryinterestingLifeofFrancisPlace,byMrGrahamWallas,1898。

  9。Bain’sJamesMill,p。78,andWallas’sFrancisPlace,p。66。

  10。Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。68。

  11。He’puttogether’theNotPaulbutJesusatFordAbbeyin1817,andhelpedtoprefacetheReformCatechism。Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。84。

  12。Thearticleof1811wasalsopublishedseparately。

  13。Hewroteonlythefirstvolume。TwootherswereaddedbyCuthbertSouthey。

  14。LecturesAshe,1885,pp。32,61。

  15。JamesMill,accordingtoPlace,wrotea’memorableandadmirableessay,”Schoolsforall,notschoolsforChurchmenonly。”’——Wallas’sFrancisPlace,99n。

  16。ThisabsurdsuspicionwasarousedbyaquarrelaboutBurdett’sarrest。SeeWallas’Place,p。56。

  17。MrWallasgivesanaccountoftheseschemesinchap。iv,ofhisLifeofPlace。IhavealsoconsultedPlace’scollectionsinAdditionalMSS。,27,823。

  18。Bain’sJamesMill,p。162。

  19。H。H。Wilsoninhisprefacetotheeditionof1840。

  20。Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。78。

  21。Bain’sJamesMill,p。435。

  22。Ibid。,p。433。

  23。Bentham’sWorks,p。498。

  24。SeeCannaninEconomicReview,1894。

  25。SeeunderBlackinDictionaryofNationalBiography。

  26。Autobiography,p。101。

  27。SeePlace’saccountinAdditionalMSS。27,823。

  28。G。C。Robertson,PhilosophicalRemains,p。166;andunderGeorgeGroteinDictionaryofNationalBiography。

  29。LetterscommunicatedbyMrGrahamWallas。SeeMrWallas’sFrancisPlace,p。91。

  30。SoPlaceobservedthatMill’couldhelpthemass,butcouldnothelptheindividual,notevenhimselforhisown。’——Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。79。

  31。Autobiography,p。48。Chapter2:ReformMovementsI。PoliticalChangeThelastyearsofMill’slifecorrespondtotheperiodinwhichUtilitarianismreached,incertainrespects,itshighestpitchofinfluence。Thelittlebandwhoacknowledgedhimastheirchiefleader,andastheauthorisedlieutenantofBentham,consideredthemselvestobeinthevanofprogress。Thoughdifferingonmanypointsfromeachother,andregardedwithaversionordistrustbytherecognisedpartyleaders,theywereintheirmostmilitantandconfidentstateofmind。Theyweresystematicallyreticentastotheirreligiousviews:theylefttopopularoratorsthepublicadvocacyoftheirfavouritepoliticalmeasures;andthecreditoffinallypassingsuchofthosemeasuresaswereadoptedfellchieflytothehandsofthegreatpoliticalleaders。

  TheUtilitariansareignoredintheorthodoxWhiglegend。Intheprefacetohiscollectedworks,SydneySmithrunsovertheusuallistofchangeswhichhadfollowed,and,asheseemstothink,hadingreatpartresultedfrom,theestablishmentoftheEdinburghReview。Smithhimself,andJeffreyandHornerand,aboveall,’thegiganticBrougham,’hadblowntheblastwhichbroughtdownthetowersofJericho。SirG。O。Trevelyan,inhisLifeofMacaulay,describestheadventoftheWhigstoofficeinasimilarsense。’Agitatorsandincendiaries,’hesays,’retiredintothebackground,aswillalwaysbethecasewhenthecountryisinearnest:

  andstatesmenwhohadmuchtolose,andwerenotafraidtoriskit,steppedquietlyandfirmlytothefront。Themenandthesonsofthemenwhohadsolongenduredexclusionfromoffice,embitteredbyunpopularity,atlengthreapedtheirreward。’1TheRadicalversionofthehistoryisdifferent。Thegreatmen,itsaid,whohadleftthecausetobesupportedbyagitatorssolongasthedefencewasdangerousandprofitless,steppedforwardnowthatitwasclearlywinning,andreceivedboththerewardandthecredit。MillandPlacecouldnotfindwordstoexpresstheircontemptforthetrimming,shufflingWhigs。Theywereprobablyunjustenoughindetail;buttheyhadastrongcaseinsomerespects。TheUtilitariansrepresentedthatpartofthereformingpartywhichhadadefiniteandareasonedcreed。

  Theytriedtogivelogicwherethepopularagitatorswerecontentwithdeclamation,andrepresentedabsoluteconvictionswhentheWhigreformerswerecontentwithtentativeandhesitatingcompromises。Theyhadsomegroundsforconsideringthemselvestobethe’steelofthelance’;Themenwhoformulatedanddeliberatelydefendedtheprincipleswhichwerebeginningtoconquertheworld。

  TheUtilitarians,Ihavesaid,becameapoliticalforceintheconcludingyearsofthegreatwarstruggle。Thecatastropheoftherevolutionhadunchainedawholewhirlwindofantagonisms。Theoriginalissueshadpassedoutofsight;andgreatsocial,industrial,andpoliticalchangeswereinprogresswhichmadethenationthatemergedfromthewaraverydifferentbodyfromthenationthathadentereditnearlyagenerationbefore,itisnotsurprisingthatatfirstveryerroneousestimatesweremadeofthenewpositionwhenpeaceatlastreturned。

  TheRadicals,whohadwatchedononesidethegrowthofdebtandpauperism,and,ontheotherhand,theprofitsmadebystockjobbers,landlords,andmanufacturers,ascribedalltheterriblesufferingstotheselfishdesignsoftheupperclasses。Whenthewarendedtheyhopedthattheevilswoulddiminish,whilethepretextformisgovernmentwouldberemoved。Abitterdisappointmentfollowed。Thewarwasfollowedbywidespreadmisery。Plentymeantruintoagriculturists,andcommercial’gluts’resultinginmanufacturers’warehousescrammedwithunsaleablegoods。Thediscontentcausedbymiseryhadbeenencounteredduringthewarbypatrioticfervour。Itwasnotatimeforredressingevils,whentheexistenceofthenationwasatstake。Nowthatthemiserycontinued,andtheexcusefordelayingredresshadbeenremoved,ademandaroseforparliamentaryreform。Unfortunatelydiscontentledalsotosporadicriotings,tobreakingofmachineryandburningofricks。TheTorygovernmentsawinthesedisturbancesarenewaloftheoldJacobinspirit,andhadvisions——apparentlyquitegroundless——ofwidespreadconspiraciesandsecretsocietiesreadytoproducearuinofallsocialorder。Ithadrecoursetotheoldrepressivemeasures,thesuspensionoftheHabeasCorpusAct,thepassageofthe’SixActs,’andtheprosecutionofpopularagitators。

  Manyobserversfanciedthatthechoicelaybetweenaservileinsurrectionandtheestablishmentofarbitrarypower。

  Bydegrees,however,peacebroughtbackprosperity。Thingssettleddown;commercerevived;andtheacutedistresspassedaway。ThewholenationwentmadoverthewrongsofQueenCaroline;andthedemandforpoliticalreformbecameforthetimelessintense。Butitsoonappearedthat,althoughthiscrisishadbeensurmounted,thetemperofthenationhadprofoundlychanged。Thesupremepowerstillbelongedconstitutionallytothelandedinterest。Butithadaprofoundlymodifiedsocialorderbehindit。Thewarhadatleastmadeitnecessarytotakeintoaccounttheopinionsoflargerclasses。Anappealtopatriotismmeansthatsomeregardmustbepaidtotheprejudicesandpassionsofpeopleatlarge。Whenenormoussumsweretoberaised,themoneyedclasseswouldhavetheirsayastomodesoftaxation。Commerceandmanufactureswentthroughcrisesofterribledifficultyduetothevariouschangesofthewar;but,onthewhole,theindustrialclassesweresteadilyandrapidlydevelopinginwealth,andbecomingrelativelymoreimportant。Thewaritselfwas,inoneaspectatleast,awarforthemaintenanceoftheBritishsupremacyintrade。Thestrugglemarkedbythepolicyofthe’OrdersinCouncil’ononeside,andNapoleon’sdecreesontheother,involvedaconstantreferencetoManchesterandLiverpoolandtherapidlygrowingmanufacturingandcommercialinterests。Thegrowth,again,ofthepress,atatimewheneveryonewhocouldreadwaskeenlyinterestedinnewsofmostexcitingandimportantevents,impliedtherapiddevelopmentofagreatorganofpublicopinion。

  Theeffectsofthesechangessoonbecamepalpable。Thepoliticalatmospherewasaltogetherdifferent;

  andanentirelynewsetofinfluenceswasgoverningthepolicyofstatesmen。

  ThechangeaffectedtheToryasmuchastheWhig。Howeverstronglyhemightbelievethathewascarryingontheoldmethods,hewasaffectedbythenewideaswhichhadbeenalmostunconsciouslyincorporatedinhiscreed。

  Howgreatwasthechange,andhowmuchittooktheshapeofacceptingUtilitariantheories,maybebrieflyshownbyconsideringafewcharacteristicfacts。

  TheablestmenwhoheldofficeatthetimewereCanning,Huskisson,andPeel。Theyrepresentedtheconservatismwhichsoughttodistinguishitselffrommereobstructiveness。Theirinfluencewasfeltinmanydirections。TheHolyAlliancehadthesympathyofmenwhocouldbelievethatthewarhadbroughtbackthepre-revolutionaryorder,andthatitsmainresulthadbeentoputtheJacobinspiritinchains。

  Canning’saccessiontoofficein1822meantthattheforeignpolicyofEnglandwastobedefinitelyopposedtothepolicyofthe’HolyAlliance。’

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