Born:
John Selden,
lawyer and politician, 1584, Salvington, Sussex;
George Whitefield,
celebrated preacher, 1714, Bell
Inn, Gloucester; Elizabeth Carter, distinguished
literary lady, 1717, Deal; Chr�tien Guillaume Lamoignon de Malesherbes, minister
and defender of
Louis XVI, 1721, Paris; Bernard, Comte de Lac�p�de,
eminent naturalist, 1756, Agen; Jane Austen, novelist,
1775, Steventon, Hampshire; Carl Maria Von Weber,
composer of Der Freisch�tz, 1786, Eutin, in Holstein.
Died: Sir William
Petty, eminent political economist, 1687, Westminster;
Abbe Desfontaines, translator of Virgil and Horace,
1745; Thomas Pennant, naturalist, 1798, Downing,
Flintshire; Antoine Franqois de Fourcroy,
distinguished French chemist, 1809; Rev. Samuel Lee,
orientalist, 1852, Barley, Herts; Wilhelm Grimm, writer of fairy tales, &c.,
1859, Berlin;
William Bosville, Esq, 1813, Gunthwaite.
Feast Day: St. Ado,
archbishop of Vienne, confessor, 875. St. Alice or
Adelaide, empress of Germany, 999.
SIR WILLIAM PETTY
In the small town of Romsey or
Rumsey, in Hampshire, William Petty, the son of a
humble tradesman, was born in 1623. Like Franklin, the
boy took great delight in watching artificers working
at their various occupations, and when little more
than twelve years of age, he acquired a facility and
dexterity in handling tools, which proved of great
advantage to him in after-life. At the age of fifteen,
having mastered all the education afforded by the
grammar-school of Rumsey, Petty proceeded to the
college of Caen, in Normandy. An orphan, without
patrimony or patron, the young student took a small
venture of English goods with him to France, and
during the four years he remained at college there, he
supported himself by engaging in trade. Josiah
Wedgewood used to say, that there was no pleasanter
occupation than making money by honourable industry;
and Petty always alleged that making money was the
very best kind of employment to keep a man out of
mischief.
Having acquired French, mathematics,
astronomy, and navigation, Petty returned to England
and entered the sea-service; but being reproved for
not reporting a certain landmark he was ordered to
look out for, he discovered, for the first time, that
he was near-sighted, and, in consequence, determined
to abandon the sea. In the very curious
auto-biographical preamble Petty attached to his will,
we learn that when he gave up the sea-service, his
whole fortune consisted of sixty pounds. Having chosen
medicine as his future profession, he went and studied
at Leyden, Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Paris. At the last
place he devoted his attention particularly to
anatomy, the subsequently celebrated
Hobbes being his
class-fellow. Petty, during this sojourn on the
continent, supported and educated a younger brother
named Anthony, and was sometimes so reduced, that in
Paris he is said to have lived for two weeks on three
penny-worth of walnuts. His ingenuity and industry
extricated him from such difficulties, and he very
probably exercised his favourite method of keeping out
of mischief; for when he and his brother returned to
England, after a three years' absence, and all charges
of travel, subsistence, and education, for two persons
had been paid, Petty's sixty pounds, instead of being
diminished, had increased to seventy.
He then invented an instrument
for double writing, which seems to have been merely a
copying machine. Four years afterwards, he obtained
the degree of Doctor of Medicine. His seventy pounds
were then reduced to twenty-eight; but being appointed
to the professorship of anatomy at Oxford, and the
Readership of Gresham College, in two more years he
was worth four hundred pounds. And then, being
appointed physician to the army in Ireland, with an
outfit of one hundred pounds, he went to that country
with five hundred pounds at his command, and a salary
of one pound per day, in addition to which he soon
acquired a private practice of four hundred pounds per
annum.
The tide which bore him to
fortune, was the appointment of physician to the army
in Ireland. This, however, was no mere lucky accident.
Petty, by hard industry, rigid economy, and great
ingenuity, had prepared himself to take advantage of
such a flood, to swim and direct his course upon it at
pleasure, not to be swept away by it. His reputation
as a man of great ability obtained the appointment. A
contemporary writer tells us, that ' the war being
nearly ended in Ireland, many endeavours were used to
regulate, replant, and reduce that country to its
former flourishing condition, as a place most wanting
such contrivancesas tended to the above-mentioned
ends, and for which Dr. Petty had gained some
reputation in the world.'
The state of Petty's
money-affairs, previous to and on his arrival in
Ireland in 1652, as above detailed, are taken from his
will, and we find, from the same document, that by
undertaking contracts, speculating in mines, ships,
and timber, making advantageous bargains,' and '
living within his income,' in the course of
thirty-five years, he had increased his store to a
fortune of �15,000 per annum.
Petty is best known by his
admirable survey of Ireland. Soon after his arrival in
that country, observing that the admeasurement and
division of the forfeited estates, granted to the
Cromwellian soldiery, was very much mismanaged, he
applied and obtained a contract for the execution of
this important work, which he performed not more for
his own advantage than that of the public. The maps of
this survey, comprising a large proportion of the
kingdom, were all drawn by Petty, and entitled by him
the 'Down Survey,' from the trivial, though in one
sense important, reason, that all was laid down on
paper. And, considering the time and circumstances in
which these maps were executed, their accuracy is
surprising, and they continue to be referred to as
trustworthy evidence in courts of law even at the
present day.
The changes of governments and
parties, appeared rather to have contributed to the
success in life, than to the discomfiture of this
remarkable man. He was secretary to Henry Cromwell,
when lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and sat in Richard
Cromwell's parliament, as member for West Looe, in
Cornwall; yet, at
the Restoration, he
received the honour of knighthood from Charles II. That model of an
English gentleman, Evelyn, who knew Petty well, thus
speaks of him:
'The map of Ireland, made by
Sir William Petty, is believed to be the most exact
that ever yet was made of any country. There is not a
better Latin poet living, when he gives himself that
diversion; nor is his excellence less in council and
prudent matters of state; but he is so exceeding nice
in sifting and examining all possible contingencies,
that he adventures at nothing that is not
demonstration. There were not in the whole world his
equal, for a superintendent of manufacture and
improvement of trade, or to govern a plantation. If I
were a prince, I should make him my second councillor
at least. He was, with all this, facetious and of easy
conversation, friendly and courteous, and had such a
faculty of imitating others, that he would take a text
and preach, now like a grave orthodox divine, then
falling into the Presbyterian way, then to the
fanatical, the Quaker, the monk, the friar, the popish
priest, with such admirable action, and alteration of
voice and tone, as if it were not possible to abstain
from wonder, and one would swear to hear several
persons, or forbear to think he was not in good
earnest an enthusiast, and almost beside himself; then
he would fall out of it into a serious discourse; but
it was very rarely he would be prevailed on to oblige
the company with this faculty, and that only amongst
intimate friends.'
Petty invented a
double-bottomed ship, and patented inventions for the
improvement of carriages, cannon, and pumps. During
all those occupations, he found time to write
treatises on statistics and political economy, being
one of the first to elevate the latter study to the
rank of a science. His Political Anatomy of Ireland
gives the first authentic account of the population of
that country, and affords valuable information of its
state towards the close of the seventeenth century. He
clearly foresaw the great advantages of a union
between England and Ireland, and of a free commercial
intercourse between the two kingdoms. His treatise on
Taxes and Contributions is far in advance of his time,
and in this work is first demonstrated the now
universally recognised doctrine, that the labour
required for the production of commodities alone
determines their value. In his Quantulumcunque (a
treatise on money), he condemns laws regulating the
rate of interest, observing that there might just as
well be laws to regulate the rate of exchange; and he
exposes the then prevailing fallacy, that a country
might be drained of cash by an unfavourable balance of
trade.
Petty, in that remarkable
document, his will, spews that he well understood the
true principles of political economy as respects
mortuary charities; clearly foreseeing the many evils
that have since arisen from injudicious bequests. He
says:
'As for legacies to the poor,
I am at a stand; as for beggars by trade and election,
I give them nothing; as for impotents by the hand of
God, the public ought to maintain them; as for those
who have no calling nor estate, they should be put
upon their kindred; as for those who can get no work,
the magistrates should cause them to be employed,
which may be well done in Ireland, where is fifteen
acres of improvable land for every head; prisoners for
crimes, by the king; for debts, by their prosecutors;
as for those who compassionate the sufferings of any
object, let them relieve themselves by relieving such
sufferers�that is, give them alms pro re nata, and for
God's sake, relieve the several species above
mentioned, if the above-mentioned obligees fail in
their duties. Where-fore, I am contented that I have
assisted all my poor relations, and put many in a way
of getting their own bread, and have laboured in
public works, and by inventions have sought out real
objects of charity; and I do hereby conjure all who
partake of my estate, from time to time, to do the
same at their peril. Nevertheless, to answer custom,
and to take the surer side, I give �20 to the most
wanting of the parish, in which I may die.'
He further concludes his will
with the following profession of his religious
opinions:
'I die in the profession of
that faith, and in the practice of such worship, as I
find established by the laws of my country; not being
able to believe what I myself please, nor to worship
God better than by doing as I would be done unto, and
observing the laws of my country, and expressing my
love and honour of Almighty God by such signs and
tokens as are understood to be such by the people with
whom I live, God knowing my heart, even without any at
all; and thus begging the Divine Majesty to make me
what he would have me to be, both as to faith and good
works, I willingly resign my soul into his hands,
relying only on His infinite mercy, and the merits of
my Saviour, for my happiness after this life, where I
expect to know and see God more clearly than by the
study of the Scriptures, and of his works, I have
hitherto been able to do. Grant me, 0 Lord, an easy
passage to thyself, that as I have lived in thy fear,
I may be known to die in thy favour, Amen.'
Petty died on the 16th of
December 1687, and was interred beside his humble
parents at Rumsey; a flat stone in the church
pavement, cut by an illiterate workman, records
'HERE LAYES SIR WILLIAM
PETTY.'
He left three children; his
eldest son, Charles, was created Baron Shelburne by
William III, and, dying without issue, was succeeded
by his younger brother, Henry, created Viscount
Dunkeron, and Earl of Shelburne. Henry was succeeded
by a sister's son, who adopted his name and arms, and
the noble family of Lansdowne, seemingly inheriting
the talents with the estates, have ever proved
themselves worthy namesakes and representatives of Sir
William Petty.
WILHELM GRIMM'S
MARRIAGE
The renowned literary
co-partnership, known as the 'Brothers Grimm,' was, on
16
th
December 1859, dissolved by the death of the
younger member of the firm. The present year (1863)
has witnessed the death of the surviving elder
brother, Jacob Grimm; and in the decease of these two
eminent men, Germany has been deprived of the two
greatest philologers and critical archaeologists which
even she can boast of The learning and industry of the
brothers was only surpassed by the beautiful
simplicity and affection which characterised their
progress and mutual intercourse through life. An
interesting epitome of their history, as well as some
curious circumstances connected with the marriage of
Wilhelm Grimm, are given in a letter which lately
appeared in the columns of a widely-circulated
newspaper, from its Prussian correspondent. The story,
from its piquancy, merits being preserved, and we
accordingly quote it as follows:
'From morn till night they
[Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm]
worked together in
contiguous rooms for nearly sixty years. United in
literary labour, they never separated socially. A
librarian's office, or a professorship, conferred upon
one of them, was never accepted until an analogous
post had been created for the other. William installed
Jacob in the library of Marburg, Jacob drawing William
after him to the university of Gottingen. They lived
in the same house, and it is more than a fable they
intended to marry the same lady; or rather they
intended not. The story is, that an old aunt, taking
commiseration on the two elderly bachelors, and
apprehensive of the pecuniary consequences of their
students' life, resolved to provide them with partners
fit to take care of them after her death.
After great reluctance, the
two philological professors were brought to see the
sense of the plan. They agreed to marry, but on this
condition, that one of them should be spared, and the
wife of the other obliged to look after the finances
and linen of both. A young lady being produced, the
question of who should be the victim was argued for
many an hour between the unlucky candidates. Nay, it
is even alleged that
the publication of one
of their volumes was delayed full eight days by the
matrimonial difference. At length Jacob, being the
elder, was convinced of his higher duty to take the
leap. But he had no idea how to set to work, and
ingratiate himself with the lady. Half from a desire
to encourage his brother, and half from a wish to take
some share of the burden, William offered to come to
the rescue in this emergency, and try to gain favour
with the future Mrs. Grimm.
Then Cupid
interfered, and took the matter into his own hands.
The lady being a lovely girl of twenty-two,
distinguished by qualities of heart and head, proved
too many for the amateur. She had been entirely
ignorant of the honours intended for her, and the
fraternal compact to which she had given occasion; and
it is, perhaps, for this very reason that, falling in
love with her resolute antagonist, she so changed the
feelings of the latter as to convert him into a slave
and admirer before the end of the week.
Then arose a
difficulty of another but equally delicate nature.
Over head and ears in love, William dared not make a
clean breast of it to the fair lady. In his conscience
he accused himself of felony against his brother. He
had broken their agreement; he had robbed him of his
bride. He felt more like a villain than ever he did in
his life. But heaven knew what it did in furnishing
him with an old aunt. Stepping in at the right moment,
and acquainting Jacob with what had been going on
before his eyes, this useful creature cut the
Gordian-knot in a trice. So far from getting into a
fury, and hating his brother for what he could not
help, Jacob was barbarous enough to declare this the
most joyous tidings he had ever received. So William
was married, Jacob making off for the Harz, and roving
about among the hills and vales with the feelings of
an escaped convict. The marriage was happy. Of the two
sons resulting from it, the younger, a poet of great
promise, many years after married the second daughter
of Bettina von Arnim. After, as before it, the two
brothers continued to keep house together.'
In further reference to the Brothers Grimm, who, as
is well known, have acquired great popularity with
juvenile readers by their collection of fairy tales
and legends, the following amusing anecdote may here
also be introduced. It is related in the Athenaeum,
for 1859, and is given on the authority of Jacob Grimm
himself. A little girl of about eight years old,
evidently belonging to an upper-class family, called
one day at Dr. Grimm's house, and desired to see the
'Herr Professor.' The servant shewed her into the
study, where Dr. Grimm received her, and inquired,
with great kindness, what she had to say to him. The
little maiden, looking very earnestly at the
professor, said:
'Is it thou who hast written those fine M�
rchen'
[fairy tales]?
'Yes, my dear, my brother and I have written the
Haus M�rchen.'
'Then thou hast also written the tale of the
clever little tailor, where it is said, at the end,
who will not believe it must pay a thaler' [dollar]?
'Yes, I have written that too.'
Well, then, I do not believe it, and so, I
suppose, I have to pay a thaler; but as I have not
so much money now, I'll give thee a groschen [about
three-halfpence] on account, and pay the rest by and
by.'
The professor, as may be expected, was highly
amused with this combination of childish simplicity
and conscientiousness. He inquired the name of his
little visitor, and took care that she reached home in
safety. Doubtless also the kind old man must have felt
ever afterwards something like a paternal affection
for the tiny critic, who had thus taken so warm an
interest in one of his own bantlings.
A
CONVIVIAL ENTHUSIAST OF THE OLD SCHOOL
December 16th, 1813, died at his house, in Welbeck
Street, William Bosville, of Gunthwaite, Esq., at the
age of sixty-nine; in some respects a notable man.
According to the report of his grand-nephew, the Rev.
John Sinclair, in the memoirs of his father, Sir John
Sinclair, he shone as an eccentric habitue of London
during a large part of the reign of George III. 'My
grand-uncle's exterior,' says Mr. Sinclair, 'consisted
of the single-breasted coat, powdered hair and queue,
and other paraphernalia, of a courtier in the reign of
George II; but within this courtly garb was enclosed
one of the most ultra-liberal spirits of the time. He
assembled every day at his house, in Welbeck Street, a
party of congenial souls, never exceeding twelve in
number, nor receiving the important summons to dinner
a single moment after five o'clock... . A slate was
kept in the hall, on which any intimate friend. (and
he had many) might inscribe his name as a guest for
the day... . He scarcely ever quitted the metropolis;
he used to say that London was the best residence in
winter, and that he knew no place like it in summer.
But though he seldom really travelled, he sometimes
made imaginary journeys. He used to mention, as a
grave fact, that he once visited the Scilly Isles, and
attended a ball at St. Mary's, where he found a young
lady giving herself great airs, because her education
had received a "finish" at the Land's End.
Another of his stories was that, having been at
Rome during the last illness of Clement XIV, he went
daily to the Vatican, to ascertain what chance he had
of enjoying the spectacle of an installation. The
bulletins, according to my uncle's playful
imagination, were variously expressed, but each more
alarming than its predecessor. First, "his Holiness is
very ill; next, "his Excellency is worse;" then, "his
Eminence is in a very low state;" and at last, the day
before the pope expired, came forth the startling
announcement, "his Infallibility is delirious." This
pleasant original occasionally coined anecdotes at the
expense of his own guests, and related them to their
face, for the amusement of the company. Parson Este
was once editor of a paper called the World; and Bosville alleged of him,
before a large party, that
one day a gentleman in deep mourning came to him at
the office, requesting the insertion of a ready-made
panegyric upon his brother, who had died. a few days
before. "No!" answered the reverend editor; "your
brother did not choose to die in our newspaper, and
that being the case, I can find no room for eulogies
upon him."
It was a favourite saying of Bosville, which my
father borrowed from him, when he wanted to give
encouragement to a diffident friend, "Il faut risquer
quelque chose." The origin of this catch-word was a
story told by Bosville of a party of French officers,
each of whom outvied the rest in relating of himself
some wonderful exploit. A young Englishman, who was
present, sat with characteristic modesty in silence.
His next neighbour asked him why he did not contribute
a story in his turn, and, being answered, "I have done
nothing like the feats that have been told us," patted
him on the back, and said with a significant look:
"Eh, Bien, monsieur, il faut risquer quelque
chose."
'[Bosville] wished his dinner-parties to be
continued to the very last. His health declined, and
his convivial powers deserted him; but the slate
hung as usual in the hall, and he felt more anxiety
than ever that the list of guests upon it should not
fail of its appointed number ... Even during his
last hours, when he was confined to his chamber, the
hospitable board was regularly spread below. He
insisted upon reports from time to time of the
jocularities calling forth the laughter which still
assailed his ear; and on the very morning of his
decease, gave orders for an entertainment punctually
at the usual hour, which he did not live to
see.'�Rev. John Sinclair's Memoirs of Sir John
Sinclair, 2 vols. 1837.
Though, as Mr. Sinclair informs us above,
his
grand-uncle clung most pertinaciously to the
metropolis and rarely quitted it to any distance,
there was, nevertheless, a series of country
excursions which he long continued to make with great
regularity. We allude to the famous Sunday-parties
given by John Horne Tooke to
his friends at his
mansion at Wimbledon. Among the numerous guests who,
on the first day of the week, might be seen ascending
the hill from Putney, or crossing Wimbledon Common, to
their host's residence, Mr. Bosville was one of the
most constant; and we are informed by Mr. Stephens, in
his Life of Horne Tooke, that for 'many years a
coach-and-four, with Mr. Bosville and two or three
friends, punctually arrived within a few minutes of
two o'clock; and, after paying their respects in the
parlour, walked about an hour in the fine gardens,
with which the house was, all but on one side,
surrounded. At four, the dinner was usually served in
the parlour looking on the common.' To such festive
reunions, presided over by the great wit and bon
vivant of the day, Mr. Bosville's own parties seem to
have borne a close resemblance, though doubtless his
social and conversational powers paled before those of
the author of The Diversions of Purley.
ABOLITION OF THE PASSPORT-SYSTEM IN FRANCE
A wise and liberal measure adopted by the emperor
of the French, in 1861, had the effect of drawing
public attention to an international system which
travellers had ample reason to remember with
bitterness. This was the system of passports � 'that
ingenious invention,' as a writer in the Quarterly
Review, in 1855, characterised it, 'for impeding
the tourist and expediting the fugitive.' From early
times, sovereigns claimed the right of prohibiting, if
they chose, the entrance into their dominions of the
subjects of another sovereign; and of equally
prohibiting the exit of their own subjects. Hence,
when states were at peace, the sovereigns adopted a
plan of permitting the relaxation of this rule,
through the medium of their respective ambassadors or
representatives. Hall, in his Chronicle, adverts to
these sovereign rights in the reign of Edward IV; and
the rules are known to have been very strict in the
times of Elizabeth and James I. Passports are a very
ancient institution. It is mentioned by some of the
old monkish chroniclers as an achievement on the part
of King Canute, that he obtained free passes for his
subjects through various continental countries, on
their pilgrimages to the shrines of the Apostles Peter
and Paul at Rome.
Each pilgrim was furnished with a document in the
nature of a passport, called Tracturia de Itinere
Peragenda. The general form of these documents was as
follows:
'I [here comes the name of the person granting
the passport], to our holy and apostolic and
venerable fathers in Christ, and to all kings,
bishops, abbots, priests, and clerks in every nation
of Christendom, who devote themselves to the service
of the Creator, in monasteries, in cities, in
villages, or in hamlets. Be it known to you that
this our brother [here comes the name of the person
holding the passport] and your servant, has obtained
permission from us to proceed on a pilgrimage to the
Church of St. Peter, your father, and to other
churches, to pray for his soul's sake, for yours,
and for ours. Therefore do we address this to you,
begging that you will, for the love of God and of
St. Peter, give him hospitable treatment, aiding,
consoling, and comforting him�affording to him free
ingress, egress, and regress, so that he may in
safety return to us. And for so doing, may a fitting
reward be bestowed on you, at the last day, by Him
who lives and reigns for ever!'
This was something more than a passport, however,
seeing that it entreated hospitality for the
pilgrims. Those perplexing people, the Chinese, who
have anticipated us in so many things, had a
passport-system nearly a thousand years ago. The Abb�
Renaudot, in his translation of the Travels of Ebn
Wahab, in the tenth century, gives the following
passage:
'If a man travel from one place to another, he
must take two passes with him�the one from the
governor, the other from his deputy or lieutenant.
The governor's pass permits him to set out on his
journey, and takes notice of the name of the
traveller and of those of his company; the age and
family of the one and the other. And this is done
for the information of the frontier places, where
these two passes are examined; for whenever a
traveller arrives at any of them, it is registered:
"That such a one, the son of such a one, of such a
family, passed through this place on such a day,"
&c.'
The reason assigned by the Arabian traveller
for this custom is the following: 'By this means they
prevent any one from carrying off the money or effects
of other persons, or their being lost.' It is not
difficult to see that a system of registry, by which
the movements and location of the subjects of a
sovereign could be known, may be made applicable to
some useful purposes; but when nations have advanced
in civilisation, when their trading transactions bring
them more and more into correspondence, the system
becomes an impediment, productive of far more harm
than good.
The Moniteur, the official French newspaper,
contained the following announcement on the 16th of
December 1860:
'The Emperor has decided that after the
1st of January next, and by reciprocity,
the subjects of her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain
and Ireland coming into France, shall be admitted and
allowed to travel about without passports. The
Minister of the Interior will give instructions to his
agents to see this matter carried out.'
It had been long known that the Emperor's personal
opinions were opposed to the passport-system, and that
he had only waited for the current of French thought
to flow in the same direction as his own. A leading
article in the Times, two clays afterwards, forcibly
depicted the evils of the system which has thus been
happily abolished:
'The passport-system was a standing annoyance to
British subjects in France. It involved the two
things which Englishmen detest most�vexations
stoppages for the sake of small exactions, and
constant liability to official interference. You
might seldom experience the actual evil, but you
never got rid of the risk. At any hour of the day or
night, on any pretence, or on no pretence, you might
be required to produce your "papers," like a
suspicious-looking vessel on the high-seas; and, if
this manifest of your person and purposes did not
satisfy the inquirer, you were liable to detention
and imprisonment at his discretion. It was a right
of search in the most offensive form, hanging over
the traveller at every stage of his journey. At the
best, you could never escape molestation or fine.
You might compound with a commissionaire, and be
quit of the job for a two-franc piece and a couple
of hours' delay; but that much was inevitable, and,
as it might recur at every town you came to, you
were never safe. Above all�and this was the most
exasperating feature in the case�the system placed
you, as a matter of course, under the notice and
control of the police, from the first moment of your
arrival in the country, to the moment of your
departure. The very filet of your travelling was
regarded as a proceeding requiring justification.
You had to clear yourself of a prim� facie case
against you, and the passport was your
ticket-of-leave. Unluckily, it was impossible to
insure the completeness of this precious document.
No man could ever take it for granted that his
passport was in perfect order; and, consequently, he
was always at the mercy of the police, who, from
whim, suspicion, zeal, or spite, might deal with him
as they chose, on no other warrant than some alleged
defect in the cabalistic form of the passport.
Passports were to police agents what the
confessional is to the Romish priesthood�the
instrument of power and action.'
If this mode of keeping out the unoffending had the
effect of keeping out offenders also, something might
be said in its favour; but this is precisely what it
did not do. 'None knew this better than the police
themselves. They understood perfectly that all the
fish they pretended to catch, slipped always, and, as
a matter of course, through their meshes. We think we
may defy any one to produce an instance of a
conspirator, male-factor, or other evil-minded person
who was arrested upon the evidence of his passport. On
the contrary, as the police were bound, by the
conditions of their own system, to take the shewing of
the passport as conclusive, and as the papers of these
gentry were invariably in order, the disguise proved
exceedingly convenient to them. Except for their
passports, they might have had to give some account of
themselves, but these documents saved them all trouble
and risk together. There they were, stamped and
ticketed as lawful travellers by the police
themselves, bearing the police-mark, and covered by
the police certificate. As they had taken excellent
care to observe every formality, there was nothing to
be done with them; and the weight of the system
consequently fell on the unsuspecting victims, whose
very innocence had prevented them from providing
against its snares.' The truth is, that a swarm of
officials lived and prospered upon the profits of the
system; and as the destruction of those gains would be
equivalent to the destruction of a profession, all
those who practised the profession had a strong reason
for maintaining the system, and staving off reform as
long as possible. Hence the oft-repeated assertions
that the passport-system was the palladium, the aegis,
the shield of good government.
The probabilities are, that other governments will,
one by one, abandon the absurd restrictions which have
thus been abolished by France.
