首页 >出版文学> James Mill>第9章

第9章

  6。Bentham’sWorks,x,p。574。
  7。Brougham’sSpeeches1838,ii。287-486。
  8。AninterestingsummaryoftheprogressoflawreformsandofBentham’sshareinthemisgiveninSirR。K。Wilson’sHistoryofModernEnglishLaw1875。
  9。Bentham’sWorks,x,571。
  10。InCambridgePrymewasthefirstprofessorin1828,buthadonlythetitlewithoutendowment。
  Theprofessorshipasonlysalariedin1863。
  11。Ricardo’sWorks1888,p。407。
  12。PrintedinPorter’sProgressoftheNationandelsewhere。
  13。SeesixthvolumeofHistoryofPricesbyTookeandNewmarch,andprivatelyprintedMinutesofPoliticalEconomyClub1882。
  14。Speeches,3vols。
  8vo,1831。
  15。Ibid。,ii,465-530。
  16。Ibid。,ii,477。
  17。Bentham’sWorks,ii,459。WemayrememberhowJ。S。Millinhisboyhoodwasabashedbecausehecouldnotexplaintohisfathertheforceofthedistinction。
  18。Speeches,ii,246,332。
  19。Ibid。,i,102-108Currency-Pamphletof1810。
  20。Ibid。,ii,397。
  21。Speeches,iii,257。
  22。Ricardoindeedmadeareservationastothenecessityofcounterbalancingbyamoderatedutythespecialburthensuponagriculture。
  23。IntheHistoryofTrades-UnionismbySidneyandBeatriceWebb1894,pp。88-98。ThehistoryofPlace’sagitationisfullygiveninMrGrahamWallas’sLife,chap。viii。
  24。Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。217。
  25。Firstpublishedin1807-8。
  26。Letteriii。
  27。Ibid。,vi。
  28。SydneySmithputveryingeniouslytheadvantagesofwhathecalledthe’lottery’system:ofgiving,thatis,afewgreatprizes,insteadofequalisingtheincomesoftheclergy。
  Thingslooksodifferentfromoppositepointsofviews。
  29。ChurchofEnglandism,ii,199。
  30。SeeespeciallyhisreviewofSouthey’sBookoftheChurch。
  31。Romilly’sMemoirs,iii,33。
  32。57GeorgeIII,caps。
  60-67。
  33。Editionof1828,p。24。
  34。Ibid。,p。10。
  35。AMrGrayproposedatacountymeetingin1816thatthecryof’retrenchmentandreform’shouldberaisedineverycorneroftheislandHenryJephson’Platform,p。378。Idonotknowwhetherthiswasthefirstappearanceoftheformula。
  36。HumehadbeenintroducedtoPlacebyJamesMill,whothoughthimworth’nursing’。Placefoundhimatfirst’dullandselfish’,but’nursedhim’sowellby1836hehadbecomethe’manofmen。’——Wallas’sFrancisPlace,p。181,182。
  37。Torren’sLifeofGraham,i,250-72,wherehisgreatspeechof14thMay1830isgiven。
  38。2and3WilliamIV,cap。
  111passed15August1832。
  39。4and5WilliamIV,cap。
  15。
  40。ThePlatform,itsOriginandProgress,byHenryJephson1892,givesaveryinterestinghistoricalaccountoftheprocess。
  41。57GeorgeIII,cap。19
  and60GeorgeIII,cap。6。
  42。SeeJephson’sPlatform,pp。167-70。
  43。SeeJephson’sPlatform,i,348,455,517。
  44。SeeIbid。,ii,129-40
  forsomeinterestingpassagesastothis。
  45。OfficialCorrespondence1887,308。
  46。Greville’sGeorgeIV,andWilliamIV,iii,155,167-69,171。
  47。Bentham’sWorks,x,571。
  48。Romilly’sMemoirs,ii,67,222。
  Chapter3:PoliticalTheoryI。MillonGovernmentInowturntothegeneralpoliticaltheoryofwhichMillwastheauthoritativeexponent,theEncyclopaediaarticleupon’Government’1820givesthepithoftheirdoctrine,itwas,asProfessorBain1thinks,an’impellingandaguidingforce’
  inthemovementwhichculminatedintheReformBill,theyoungerUtilitariansregardedit,saysJ。S。Mill,as’amasterpieceofpoliticalwisdom’;2whileMacaulay3tauntsthemforholdingittobe’perfectandunanswerable。’ThisfamousarticleisaterseandenergeticsummaryofthedoctrineimpliedinBentham’sWorks,butthereobscuredunderelaborationofminutedetails。Itisrathersingular,indeed,thatsovigorousamanifestoofUtilitariandogmashouldhavebeenacceptedbyMacveyNapier——asoundWhig——forapublicationwhichprofessedscientificimpartiality。Ithas,however,inthehighestdegree,themeritsofclearnessandcondensationdesirableinapopularexposition。Thereticenceappropriatetotheplaceexcusestheomissionofcertainimplicitconclusions。Millhastogiveacompletetheoryofpoliticsinthirty-two8vopages。Hehasscantyroomforqualifyingstatementorhistoricalillustration,Hespeaksasfromthechairofaprofessorlayingdowntheelementaryprinciplesofademonstratedscience。4
  Millstartsfromthesacredprinciple,theendofgovernment,astheendofallconduct,mustbetheincreaseofhumanhappiness,theprovinceofgovernmentislimitedbyanotherconsideration。Ithastodealwithoneclassofhappiness,thatis,withthepainsandpleasures’whichmenderivefromoneanother,’Bya’lawofnature’labourisrequisiteforprocuringthemeansofhappiness,Now,if’nature’producedallthatanymandesired,therewouldbenoneedofgovernment,fortherewouldbenoconflictofinterest,But,asthematerialproducedisfinite,andcanbeappropriatedbyindividuals,itbecomesnecessarytoinsuretoeverymanhispropershare,What,then,isaman’spropershare?Thatwhichhehimselfproduces;for,ifyougivetoonemanmorethantheproduceofhislabour,youmusttakeawaytheproduceofanotherman’slabour。Thegreatesthappiness,therefore,isproducedby’assuringtoeverymanthegreatestpossiblequantityoftheproduceofhisownlabour。’Howcanthisbedone?Willnotthestrongesttaketheshareoftheweakest?Hecanbepreventedinoneandapparentlyonlyinoneway。Menmustuniteanddelegatetoafewthepowernecessaryforprotectingall。’Thisisgovernment。’5
  Theproblemisnowsimple。
  Governmentisessentiallyanassociationofmenfortheprotectionofproperty。
  Itisadelegationofthepowersnecessaryforthatpurposetotheguardians,and’allthedifficultquestionsofgovernmentrelatetothemeans’ofpreventingtheguardiansfromthemselvesbecomingplunderers。
  Howisthistobeaccomplished?
  Thepowerofprotection,saysMill。followingtheoldtheory,maybeintrustedtothewholecommunity,toafew,ortoone;thatis,wemayhaveademocracy,anaristocracy,oramonarchy。Ademocracy,ordirectgovernmentofallbyall,isfortheordinaryreasonspronouncedimpracticable。Buttheobjectionstotheothersystemsareconclusive。Theneedofgovernment,hehasshown,dependsupon’thelawofhumannature’6that’aman,ifable,willtakefromothersanythingwhichtheyhaveandhedesires。’Theveryprinciplewhichmakesgovernmentnecessary,therefore,willpromptagovernmenttodefeatitsownproperend。Mill’sdoctrineissofaridenticalwiththedoctrineofHobbes;menarenaturallyinastateofwar,andgovernmentimpliesatacitcontractbywhichmenconferuponasovereignthepowernecessaryforkeepingthepeace。Buthere,thoughadmittingtheforceofHobbes’sargument,hedivergesfromitsconclusion。Ifademocracybeimpossible,andanaristocracyormonarchynecessarilyoppressive,itmightseem,headmits,asitactuallyseemedtoHobbesandtotheFrencheconomists,thatthefewertheoppressorsthebetter,andthatthereforeanabsolutemonarchyisthebest。Experience,hethinks,is’onthesurface’ambiguous。EasterndespotsandRomanemperorshavebeentheworstscourgestomankind;yettheDanespreferredadespottoanaristocracy,andareas’wellgovernedasanypeopleinEurope。’InGreece,democracy,inspiteofitsdefects,producedthemostbrilliantresults。7Hence,heargues,wemustgo’beyondthesurface,’and’penetratetothespringswithin。’Theresultofthesearchisdiscouraging。Thehopeofgluttingtherulersisillusory。
  Thereisno’pointofsaturation’8withtheobjectsofdesire,eitherforkingoraristocracy。Itisa’grandgoverninglawofhumannature’
  thatwedesiresuchpoweraswillmake’thepersonsandpropertiesofhumanbeingssubservienttoourpleasures。’9Thisdesireisindefinitelygreat。Tothenumberofmenwhomwewouldforceintosubservience,andthedegreeinwhichwewouldmakethemsubservient,wecanassignnolimits。
  Moreover,aspainisamorepowerfulinstrumentforsecuringobediencethanpleasure,amanwilldesiretopossess’unlimitedpowerofinflictingpainuponothers。’Willhealsodesire,itmaybeasked,tomakeuseofit?The’chainofinference,’hereplies,inthiscaseiscloseandstrong’toamostunusualdegree。’Amandesirestheactionsofotherstobeincorrespondencewithhisownwishes。’Terror’,willbethe’grandinstrument。’10Itthusfollowsthattheveryprincipleuponwhichgovernmentisfoundedleads,intheabsenceofchecks,’notonlytothatdegreeofplunderwhichleavesthemembersofacommunity……Thebaremeansofsubsistence,buttothatdegreeofcrueltywhichisnecessarytokeepinexistencethemostintenseterror。’AnEnglishgentleman,hesays,isafavourablespecimenofcivilisation,andyetWestIndianslaveryshowsofwhatcrueltyhecouldbeguiltywhenunchecked。Ifequalcrueltyhasnotbeenexhibitedelsewhere,itis,heseemstothink,becausemenwerenot’thesameassheepinrespecttotheirshepherd,’11andmaythereforeresistifdriventoofar。Thedifficultyuponthisshowingistounderstandhowanygovernment,exceptthemostbrutaltyranny,everhasbeen,orevercanbe,possible。
  Whatisthecombiningprinciplewhichcanweldtogethersuchamassofhostileandmutuallyrepellentatoms?Howtheycanevenformthenecessarycompactisdifficulttounderstand,andtheviewseemstoclashwithhisownavowedpurpose。ItisMill’saim,asitwasBentham’s,tosecurethegreatesthappinessofthegreatestnumber;andyetheseemstosetoutbyprovingasa’lawofhumannature’thatnobodycandesirethehappinessofanyoneexcepthimself。HequotesfromMontesquieuthesaying,whichshowsan’acutesenseofthisimportanttruth,’’thateveryonewhohaspowerisledtoabuseit。’12Ratheritwouldseem,accordingtoMill,allpowerimpliesabuseinitsveryessence。Theproblemseemstobehowtomakeuniversalcohesionoutofuniversalrepulsion。
  Millhashisremedyforthisdeeplyseatedevil。Heattacks,asBenthamhadalreadydone,theold-fashionedtheory,accordingtowhichtheBritishConstitutionwasanadmirablemixtureofthethree’simpleforms。’Twoofthepowers,heargues,willalwaysagreeto’swallowupthethird。’13’Themonarchyandaristocracyhaveallpossiblemotivesforendeavouringtoobtainunlimitedpoweroverthepersonsandpropertyofthecommunity,’thoughthedemocracy,ashealsosays,haseverypossiblemotiveforpreventingthem。AndinEngland,ashenodoubtmeanthisreaderstounderstand,themonarchyandaristocracyhadtoagreatextentsucceeded。Where,then,arewetolook?Tothe’granddiscoveryofmoderntimes,’namely,therepresentativesystem。Ifthisdoesnotsolvealldifficultiesweshallbeforcedtotheconclusionthatgoodgovernmentisimpossible。Fortunately,however,therepresentativesystemmaybemadeperfectlyeffective。Thisfollowseasily。Itwould,ashehassaid,14bea’contradictioninterms’tosupposethatthecommunityatlargecan’haveaninterestoppositetoitsinterest。’