SinclairgainedacertainreputationbyaHistoryoftheRevenue1785-90，and，likeMalthus，travelledontheContinenttoimprovehisknowledge。Hisfirstbookfinished，hebeganthegreatstatisticalworkbywhichheisbestremembered。HeissaidtohaveintroducedintoEnglishthenameof’statistics，’
fortheresearchesofwhichalleconomicalwriterswerebeginningtofeelthenecessity。Hecertainlydidmuchtointroducethereality。Sinclaircirculatedanumberofqueriesupon’naturalhistory，’’population，’’productions，’
and’miscellaneous’informationstoeveryparishministerinScotland。Hesurmountedvariousjealousiesnaturallyexcited，andtheultimateresultwastheStatisticalAccountofScotlandwhichappearedintwenty-onevolumesbetween1791and1799。35*ItgivesanaccountofeveryparishinScotland，andwasofgreatvalueassupplying36*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’sPhytologia1799，andprocuredaseriesoflecturesfromHumphryDavy，afterwardspublishedasElementsofAgriculturalChemistry1813。SinclairalsoclaimstohaveencouragedMacadam1756-1836，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。
Itissaid41*thatYoungandSinclairruinedoftheBoardofAgriculturebymakingitakindofpoliticalclub。Itdiedin1822。SinclairobtainedanappointmentinScotland，andcontinuedtolabourunremittingly。Hecarriedonacorrespondencewithallmannerofpeople，includingWashington，Eldon，CatholicbishopinIreland，financiersandagriculturistsontheContinent，andthemostactiveeconomistsinEngland。HesuggestedasubjectforapoemtoScott。42*Hewrotepamphletsaboutcash-payments，CatholicEmancipation，andtheReformBill，alwaysdisagreeingwithallparties，Heprojectedfourcodeswhichweretosummariseallhumanknowledgeuponhealth，agriculture，politicaleconomy，andreligion。TheCodeofHealth4vols。，1807wentthroughsixeditions；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。Shehassince1898publishedhisautobiography。
SeealsotheautobiographicalsketchintheAnnalsofAgriculture，XV，152-97。
Young’sFarmer’sLettersfirstappearedin1767；hisToursintheSouthern，Northern，andEasterncountiesin1768，1770，and1771；hisTourinIrelandin1780；andhisTravelsinFrancein1792。Ausefulebibliogrpahy，containingalistofhismanypublicationsisappendedtotheeditionoftheTourinIrelandeditedbyMrA。W。Huttonin1892。
6。Annals，XV，166。
7。TravelsinFrance1892，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。180YorkCathedral。
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。