DR. .11.A.I.MERS ON POLITICAL ECONOMY.
DR. CHALMERS is a writer distinguished for the benevolence of his views, the vigour of his understanding, and the eloquence of his language. His opinions on the most important questions of political economy are pretty, well known : they have been com- municated through several channels,--chietly, however, by his works on Pauperism, on the Extent and Stability of the National Resources, on the Use and Abuse of Literary and Ecclesiastical Endowments, and the Christian and. Civic Economy of Large Towns. Dr. CHALMERS has almost equally divided his gifts be- tween the Church and the State. It is his opinion that the pastor should understand the tempera! condition of the public of which his parish is a part, that he may at the same time better look to the eternal interests of the community under his care. In fur- therance of this view, to the stated lectures of the Divinity Chair at Edinburgh, which the Doctor now so worthily fills, he has added a supplemental course of Political Economy.
"Some of the text in this volume," he observes, "was recently delivered in lectures to the students of the Theological Hall in Edinburgh. We gladly transfer them from the chair to the press, were it for no other reason than to relieve our academic work, in all time coming, even from the semblance of aught that is extraprofessional. We cannot, however, bid adieu to Political Economy, without an earnest recommendation of its lessons to all those who enter upon the ecclesiastical vocation. They are our Churchmen, in fact, who could best carry the most important of these lessons into practical effect. If sufficiently enlightened On the question of pauperism, they might with the greatest ease, in Scotland, clear away this moral leprosy from their respective parishes ; and, standing at the head of Christian education, they are the alone effectual dispensers of all those civil-and economical blessings which would follow in its train.'
• The position maintained in Political Economy by Dr. CHAL- units is peculiar,—he professes his belief in the truth of most of its tenets, while he despises their efficacy; with no very great differences, he -expounds and defends most of the doctrines of the Political Economists, while he looks down with contempt upon .. the Economists themselves. The reaton of this is that he has too much sense and logic to resist the arguments Of those who are . masters of these questions, but, on the other hand, he has a panacea of his own. This:panacea is the moral check. The dif- fusion of sound principles respecting the nature of wealth, and the laws which regulate its increase, decrease, and distribution, may go on for ever, and do no good : it is nothing to convince the pub- lic reason—the Christian preacher must come in and inculcate "intelligence and virtue.' Let him : the Economist, who has enough to do to discover and lay down the rules of his science, will be right glad of rational aid; and in spite of Dr. CHALMERS'S sneers against Economists, we do not believe that they can be charged with ever rejecting it or professing to dispense with it. But how are virtue-and intelligence to be taught? Dr. CHALMERS does not tell us : but we may infer, from his enmity to the abolition of tithes, and his hatred of the poor-laws, he would recal the time, if it ever existed, when general benevolence was the prevailing principle of human nature, and when all that was demanded for the guidance of life, and preservation from error, was a perpetual stream of wisdom flowing from a revered pastor and patriarch in one. We have so great a respect for the Doctor's own sincerity, earnestness, and power of producing conviction on his hearers, that, could we divide mankind into thousands, and put a Dr. CHALMERS at the head of each community, we should give ourselves but little concern either about poor-laws, or tithes, or
property-tax. But it is not so. Let the excellent Doctor, and all who, like him, sincerely wish well to their kind, proceed with all their power in promoting the education of the people and rais- ing the standard of their wants—in short, in producing the "moral check :" in the mean time, we trust the abused and despised Economists will not fail to continue their investigations, or cease
to exhibit to us the working and the principles of national wealth. We do not generally disagree with the tenets of Dr. CHALMERS, except on a few great points, in which, we conceive, he falls into
very dangerous heresies. His sweeping hostility to the Poor-laws, we hold to be erroneous and pernicious to the last degree ; and his preference to promiscuous and accidental alms for the support of the poor, in the present state of the world, almost ridiculous. He maintains that these laws have "dissevered the golden line of life, reaching from the apex of society to its basement," and "in fact,
• vitiated and distempered the whole breath of society in England." It might with much more reason be maintained, that abused
though they undoubtedly have been, • they haVe nevertheless prevented the entire decomposition of this society, and proved a barrier to the utter degradation of the labouring class—that they have been the check ofthe legislatorial landowner, and have saved us from beifigoverrun by a race of potato-eaters.
Dr. CHALituals's opinions on. Taxation are somewhat peculiar: he
holds that all taxes fall on rent, and that every increase of taxes tends to the reduction of the landowner's luxuries. Thus, the only limit of taxation is the land rental of thatountry ; and the only con- sequence of arriving at that thatthe landowner would cease . . .
as the member of a class; the Government would he the universal landlord ;—and, in the opinion of Di. CHALMERS, the Change would be for the better. • This is the old "sun and dew's system of Buam—though he was far from seeing these Ultimate conse- quences in the refreshing influence of taxation. . It mist be said, that lbw others as yet participate in the new light,—or rather the old light newly revived, for it is the doctrine of the oldFrench Economists. Its tendency, as expounded by Dr. CHALMERS, iS to promote a liberal expenditure On the part of Government. Re- trenchment is, in the opinion of Dr. CHALMERS, a scurvy farce. Here is an extract from his sermon on the text Of "Tax and
Spend:". •
With such views, we cannot share in the patriotic enthusiasm which is felt on the subject of retrenchment. Our patriotism and Philatithropy inelMe Us the other way. In common estimation, the demands of the palm service are regarded as so many encroachments on the general comfort of society. In our estiMation, they are but encroachments on the luxury of one class ; and that the landed proprietors : and we cannot regard with complacency the ablidg- Meats whith are made, either in the number or the support of national func- tionaries, when we believe that the only effect will be, to enlarge the means of the aristocracy, and enable them to live in grater splendour or delicacy than before. So far from taxation having been carried to its extreme limit, we be- lieve it was never at a greater distance from the limit than at this moment ; and, to substantiate the position, we make our confident appeal to the growing.num- ber of those families in the country who are elevated above the condition of labourers, to the increased profusion of their tables, and the increased magnifi- cence of their houses, and furniture, and equipage. In other words, there is still, with all the outcry of our being an overburdened people-;--there is still ' a larger fund for the additional imposts of government, than at any former period in British history; or, which is the same thing, a larger disposable population, who, with but the surrender of luxury on the part of private individuals can be spared for enlarging the civil, and the military, and the educational, and all the useful or respectable establishments of the nation. When told, as we often are, that no trade can bear to be taxed any further, our reply is, that it is not the trade which furnishes the tax. Trade is but the channel, and not the fount- ain-head, of all the supplies which come into the treasury. It is not commerce, but its customers, who pay all taxes ; and these are mainly, the holders of the maintenance of labour. They can bear to be further taxed, so long as they .in- dulge in articles of enjoyment which might be dispensed with ; and, in giving up these, they might abridge or annihilate many & trade, yet without destroying the sustenance either of its capitalists or labourers, which, instead of being de- stroyed, is but transferred into the coffers of government. By this process we but exchange the products of commerce and manufactures for public benehtd ; and we repeat, that, instead of stinting any goodly or desirable objects of patri- otism, never was there a time when they might be more freely and bounteously extended. Having such views on the real effects and rationale of taxation, we cannot give our admiration or auroral to the scurvy economics of the day. •To our'eye, they have the characteristics of selfishness and sordidness; and we can see nothing In these paltry savings of Government, but a surrender of great pub- lic intereshi, that the ignoble gratifications of sense or of vanity may be left- un- impaired.
Our object, in the present notice, has been to convey a merely general idea of a work which deserves the attention of all who take an interest in the social welfare of men. There are several points of a controversial nature, to which we shall return in other parts of the Spectator; when we shall also have an opportunity of laying before our readers some opinions of Dr. CHALMERS on the subject of Taxation, with which we more nearly agree than with those that are put forward above.
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