THE RIGHT CHRISTIAN AND CIVIC ECONOMY FOR A NATION, WITH A MORE SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITS LARGE TOWNS. CHAPTER I. The Advantage and Possibility of assimilating a Town to a Country Parish. THERE are two classes of writers, whose prevailing topics stand intimately connected with the philosophy of human affairs, but who, in almost all their habitudes of thinking, have hitherto maintained an unfortunate distance from each other. There are political economists, who do not admit Christianity, as an element, into their speculations; and there are Christian philanthropists, who do not admit political science, as an element, into theirs. The former very generally regard the professional subject of the latter, if not with contempt, at least with unconcern; and the latter as generally regard the professional subject of the former, with a somewhat sensitive kind of prejudice, bordering upon disapprobation and dislike. It is thus, that two classes of public labourers, who, with a mutual respect and understanding, might have, out of their united contributions, rendered a most important offering to society—have, in fact, each in the prosecution of their own separate walk, so shut out the light, and so rejected the aid, which the other could have afforded, as either, in many instances, to have merely amused the intellectual public, with inert and unproductive theory, on the one hand, or as to have misled the practically benevolent public, into measures of well-meaning, but mischievous, and ill-directed activity, on the other. And indeed, it is only in the later walks of political science, that the aid of Christianity has obviously become of practical importance to her; nor did this aid appear to be at all requisite for the purpose of giving effect to her earlier speculations. Till within these last fifteen years, the great topic of inquiry among our abstract politicians, was the theory of commerce; and the moral habit of the labouring classes, as founded on their religion, did not enter, as an element, or as a component part, into that theory. By the simple fiat of an enlightened parliament, the freedom of trade could be established; and every artificial restraint or encouragement, alike be done away; and all intermeddling with a concern, which is best provided for on the part of government, by its being simply let alone, could henceforth be left to the operation of nature's own principles, and nature's own proAnd thus, without borrowing any other aid from the religion of the New Testament, than cesses. that general benefit which she has conferred upon society, by the greater currency she has given to the virtues of truth, and justice, and liberality, among men, may all that is sound in the political economy of Smith, and his immediate followers, have been carried into accomplishment, by a series of enactments, or rather of repeals, on the part of a country's legislature, without any concurrence of principle and habit whatever, either sought after or obtained, on the part of a country's population. But the case is widely different, with respect to the later contributions, which have been rendered to this science. We allude more especially to the Essay of Mr Malthus, whose theory of population, had it been present to the mind of Mr Smith, would, we think, have modified certain of those doctrines and conclusions, which he presented to the world, in his Essay on the Theory of Commerce. It is true, that government, by her obtrusive interferences, has put the country into a worse condition, in respect of her population, than it would have been in, had this branch of its economy been left altogether to itself-just as she has put the country into a worse condition, in respect of its trading prosperity, than it would have been in, had this branch of its economy been also left to itself. There are certain artificial encouragements to population, which government ought never to have sanctioned, and which it were the wisdom of government, with all prudent and practicable speed, to abolish. There are certain bounties that the law has devised upon marriage, in every way as hurtful and impolitic, as her bounties upon trade, and |