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• Abbreviations
• 300.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 290 & 299]
• 301.: Ricardo to Murray1
• 302.: Ricardo to Mill1[answered By 303]
• 303.: Mill to Ricardo2[reply to 298 & 302]
• 304.: Trower to Ricardo1[reply to 295.—ANSWERED By 307]
• 305.: Ricardo to Place2
• 306.: Sharp to Ricardo2
• 307.: Ricardo to Trower2[reply to 304]
• 308.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[answered By 309]
• 309.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 308.—ANSWERED By 310]
• 310.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 309.—ANSWERED By 314]
• 311.: Trower to Ricardo1[answered By 312]
• 312.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 311]
• 313.: Ricardo to Trower2
• 314.: Mcculloch to Ricardo4[reply to 310.—ANSWERED By 315]
• 315.: Ricardo to Mcculloch3[reply to 314]
• 316.: Trower to Ricardo1[answered By 317]
• 317.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 316]
• 318.: Ricardo to Mill2[answered By 319]
• 319.: Mill to Ricardo1[reply to 318]
• 320.: Mill to Ricardo1
• 321.: Ricardo to Mill4[answered By 322]
• 322.: Mill to Ricardo3[reply to 321.—ANSWERED By 323]
• 323.: Ricardo to Mill1[reply to 322.—ANSWERED By 325]
• 324.: Malthus to Ricardo2[answered By 328]
• 325.: Mill to Ricardo4[reply to 323.—ANSWERED By 329]
• 326.: Ricardo to Place1
• 327.: Trower to Ricardo3[answered By 330]
• 328.: Ricardo to Malthus1[reply to 324.—ANSWERED By 338]
• 329.: Ricardo to Mill2[reply to 325.—ANSWERED By 332 & 337]
• 330.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 327.—ANSWERED By 339]
• 331.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[answered By 333]
• 332.: Mill to Ricardo2[reply to 329]
• 333.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 331.—ANSWERED By 344]
• 334.: Brown to Ricardo1[answered By 336]
• 335.: Brown to Ricardo1[answered By 336]
• 336.: Ricardo to Brown1[reply to 334 & 335]
• 337.: Mill to Ricardo1[reply to 329]
• 338.: Malthus to Ricardo1[reply to 328.—ANSWERED By 345]
• 339.: Trower to Ricardo3[reply to 330.—ANSWERED By 346]
• 340.: Bentham to Ricardo1
• 341.: Ricardo to Place2
• 342.: Place to Ricardo1[answered By 343]
• 343.: Ricardo to Place1[reply to 342]
• 344.: Mcculloch to Ricardo2[reply to 333.—ANSWERED By 349]
• 345.: Ricardo to Malthus2[reply to 338]
• 346.: Ricardo to Trower2[reply to 339]
• 347.: Say to Ricardo1[answered By 352]
• 348.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[answered By 349]
• 349.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 344 & 348]
• 350.: Ricardo to Heathfield1
• 351.: Ricardo to Trower1
• 352.: Ricardo to Say1[reply to 347.—ANSWERED By 356]
• 353.: Lord Grenville to Ricardo2
• 354.: Ricardo to Trower1
• 355.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[answered By 358]
• 356.: Say to Ricardo1[reply to 352]
• 357.: Ricardo to Trower1
• 358.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 355.—ANSWERED By 359]
• 359.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 358.—ANSWERED By 360]
• 360.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 359.—ANSWERED By 361]
• 361.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 360—answered By 366]
• 362.: Ricardo to Mcculloch2[answered By 366]
• 363.: Ricardo to Malthus2
• 364.: Ricardo to Sinclair1
• 365.: Ricardo to Napier1
• 366.: Mcculloch to Ricardo3[reply to 361 & 362.—ANSWERED By 368]
• 367.: Ricardo to Bentham2
• 368.: Ricardo to Mcculloch3[reply to 366.—ANSWERED By 372]
• 369.: Bentham to Ricardo5
• 370.: Ricardo to Mill3
• 371.: Trower to Ricardo3[answered By 373]
• 372.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 368.—ANSWERED By 375]
• 373.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 371.—ANSWERED By 376]
• 374.: Ricardo to Mill2
• 375.: Ricardo to Mcculloch2[reply to 372.—ANSWERED By 377]
• 376.: Trower to Ricardo1[reply to 373—answered By 380]
• 377.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 375.—ANSWERED By 381]
• 378.: Malthus to Ricardo1[answered By 379]
• 379.: Ricardo to Malthus2[reply to 378.—ANSWERED By 388]
• 380.: Ricardo to Trower2[reply to 376.—ANSWERED By 384]
• 381.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 377]
• 382.: Mill to Ricardo1[answered By 383]
• 383.: Ricardo to Mill1[reply to 382]
• 384.: Trower to Ricardo1[reply to 380.—ANSWERED By 387]
• 385.: Mill to Ricardo2[answered By 386]
• 386.: Ricardo to Mill1[reply to 385.—ANSWERED By 389]
• 387.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 384.—ANSWERED By 390]
• 388.: Malthus to Ricardo1[reply to 379.—ANSWERED By 392]
• 389.: Mill to Ricardo1[reply to 386.—ANSWERED By 394]
• 390.: Trower to Ricardo1[reply to 387.—ANSWERED By 391]
• 391.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 390.—ANSWERED By 397]
• 392.: Ricardo to Malthus1[reply to 388.—ANSWERED By 395]
• 393.: Say to Ricardo1[answered By 430]
• 394.: Ricardo to Mill1[reply to 389.—ANSWERED By 398]
• 395.: Malthus to Ricardo1[reply to 392.—ANSWERED By 402]
• 396.: Grenfell to Ricardo1
• 397.: Trower to Ricardo4[reply to 391.—ANSWERED By 403]
• 398.: Mill to Ricardo2[reply to 394.—ANSWERED By 400]
• 399.: Mill to Ricardo2[answered By 400]
• 400.: Ricardo to Mill3[reply to 398 & 399]
• 401.: Ricardo to Mccullochcculloch3[answered By 406]
• 402.: Ricardo to Malthus1[reply to 395.—ANSWERED By 404]
• 403.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 397.—ANSWERED By 410]
• 404.: Malthus to Ricardo1[reply to 402.—ANSWERED By 405]
• 405.: Ricardo to Malthus1[reply to 404.—ANSWERED By 408]
• 406.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 401.—ANSWERED By 407]
• 407.: Ricardo to Mccullochcculloch1[reply to 406.—ANSWERED By 412]
• 408.: Malthus to Ricardo1[reply to 405]
• 409.: Ricardo to Mcculloch3[answered By 412]
• 410.: Trower to Ricardo2[reply to 403.—ANSWERED By 415]
• 411.: Malthus to Ricardo2
• 412.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 407 & 409.—ANSWERED By 416]
• 413.: Mill to Ricardo3[answered By 414]
• 414.: Ricardo to Mill2[reply to 413]
• 415.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 410.—ANSWERED By 419]
• 416.: Ricardo to Mcculloch2[reply to 412.—ANSWERED By 417]
• 417.: Mcculloch to Ricardo2[reply to 416.—ANSWERED By 418]
• 418.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 417.—ANSWERED By 421]
• 419.: Trower to Ricardo1[reply to 415.—ANSWERED By 420]
• 420.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 419]
• 421.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 418.—ANSWERED By 422]
• 422.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 421.—ANSWERED By 424]
• 423.: Trower to Ricardo3[answered By 426]
• 424.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 422.—ANSWERED By 428]
• 425.: Tooke to Ricardo3
• 426.: Ricardo to Trower1[reply to 423]
• 427.: Tooke to Ricardo2
• 428.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 424.—ANSWERED By 431]
• Malthus to Sismondi1
• 429.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1
• 430.: Ricardo to Say2[reply to 393.—ANSWERED By 446]
• 431.: Mcculloch to Ricardo2[reply to 428.—ANSWERED By 433]
• 432.: Ricardo to Sinclair1
• 433.: Ricardo to Mcculloch2[reply to 431.—ANSWERED By 434]
• 434.: Mcculloch to Ricardo1[reply to 433.—ANSWERED By 436]
• 435.: Trower to Ricardo1[answered By 437]
• 436.: Ricardo to Mcculloch1[reply to 434.—ANSWERED By 474]

303.

mill to ricardo2
[Reply to 298 & 302]

Westminster 14 Jan^y. 1819

My Dear Sir

I am roused by your talk of being in town the week after next, and must not let you arrive without another letter from me. As Hume sent me word he would probably call here to day, I shall also have a chance of a frank for you.

I have received all your communications; and congratulate you upon them most sincerely. The points cannot but be regarded as of unusual difficulty; because there are so few persons whom it is possible to bring to have clear conceptions upon them, and to reason consistently. And yet you both see to the bottom of them, and state the reasons upon which your own opinions are founded, and the objections which are made to them, with the utmost clearness; and give the last a conclusive answer. This is the general character of the whole. We shall go over them one by one; and they will afford us interesting subjects for a variety of our walks.—As you gave me no directions to do any thing with your answer to Torrens, I concluded you had sent a copy to the Magazine, and so keep this waiting your arrival.1

I am much gratified with your remarks upon Lord Greys speech, because they so exactly correspond with my own. You see through it completely, and describe most exactly the whole purport and temper of it, as well as the artifice, the flimsy varnish with which it is covered. You have been most struck with the morality of it: As my mind has been long made up about Whig morality, I am more surprised at the intellectuality. To be sure it is a pretty bold stretch in Ethics, to make all political morality consist in supporting the Whigs, and turning out the ministry; as you so well describe him as doing. This, however, I am not so much surprised at Lord Greys thinking; as at the weakness of the intellect which supposes that other people can be brought to think the same thing. You well describe the speech as a tissue of inconsistencies and contradictions: which of necessity happens when a man wishes what he is unwilling directly to say: and thinks himself obliged to say something which he does not really wish: As when his lordship wishes people to believe that all political morality consists in hoisting the Whigs into place, which he does not dare to say in plain words; and thinks himself obliged to say at the beginning of his speech that he is for reform; though the whole of the remainder of it tends only to shew that he is for no reform.

Another of their artifices is the cry about retrenchment. They turn aside from parliamentary reform, and substitute the cry of retrenchment. They think that this will make them popular; and that the people fondly hoping for an abatement of taxes, will join in a cry to put out the present expending ministers and bring them, retrenching ditto, in! Now what is surprising is, the intellect of this. This is neither more nor less than the intellectual cry, Do, pray, exert yourselves, with us, to alter the effect without altering the cause! Get a different effect, by all possible means; but get it by the same cause! What has been the cause of that profligate expenditure, which has existed since the revolution, and of which they now cry that we have such unspeakable need of retrenchment? Of course, it has had a cause. And of course that cause has not been the wish of the people to be plundered. The cause has been the interest of the parliament to concur in plundering. Shall we put an end to that interest, the cause of the plunderage, by an effectual reform? Oh, no! By no means! For God’s sake, think of nothing like that! It is wild! Immoderate! Ungenteel! Never think of altering the cause: only think of altering the effect, without altering the cause!—Is not this logic! Would it not be incredible that any men, above the rank of idiots, should impose upon themselves so far, as to yield up their understanding, to this irrationality, and to expect the same effects from it with regard to others; if we had not so much experience, that when men herd together who have the same interests, and when they are accustomed almost wholly to talk only with one another about these interests, there is hardly any conclusion, favourable to their interests, which they are not capable of embracing, however absurd.

I am well pleased to hear that Macculloch is again dealing with you in the Edin^r. Review. I, too, I believe, am to be in the next N^o..1 I have looked at the passage you point out where Say is quoted, and about his inconsistency there can be no doubt. He is but a poor creature, I fear. This, with the new edition of your book, will do for you, all that is necessary. You are now, beyond all dispute at the head of Political Economy. Does not that gratify your ambition? And who prophesied all this? Tell me that! And scolded you on, coward that you are? Tell me that!

I dined at Bow with Mr. Moses Ricardo on monday—and was very happy, and very merry. All this may prove to you that I am in no small degree better: so that there is no fear of the walks—they will complete the cure.

I have no idea that there will, or can be any doubt about the seat. And they must keep to their bargain, too. The matter I understand rests till Sir H. Parnell comes, which will be near—and then it will be concluded. Mr. Ralph, I think, told me, that your solicitors have not yet got the extra copy of the title-deeds; but this, I conclude, is only the usual delay of d—d attorneys.

About your deriving profit from your reading, I have no doubt at all. Bad memory! Why every body has a bad memory. I have a bad memory, as well as you. But I can remember what I take sufficient pains to remember; and so can you. Memory is an effect; and you cannot have it without the cause; though lord Grey thinks otherwise of retrenchment. And as for speaking, you must speak—so there is no more to be said about that matter.

I beg to offer my best respects to Mrs. Ricardo, and whoever else is of your party—in particular to my friend, Mrs. Osman, for whom, since she likes Rousseau, I mean to send his very beautiful, and in many respects very instructive work on Education.

Most truly yours

J. Mill

[2 ]Addressed: ‘David Ricardo Esq / Gatcomb Park / Minchinhampton / Glo’stershire’.—MS in R.P.

[1 ]Ricardo’s answer has never been published and the MS is missing.

[1 ]Dec. 1818: Art. I is a review of Mill’s British India (by W. Coulson); Art. III a review of Ricardo’s Economical and Secure Currency (by McCulloch).