Importance of the Sevenceof” Political’ Economy. 
tie! poor felidw feAaemne? 'T told him’! 
was a! Ronish WHholie” and ‘by good 
ta had'a gold ctoss fora brooth 
pene bosom," T ‘showed it him’; ‘on 
ehhe pardoned the slave, atid shewed 
pees that Wé Had ‘not previously seen, 
Specially" some exqnisite paintings on 
is subjects." You cannot imagine 
ai ore’ romantic’ situation, or one which 
coifiinands a mure'lovely prospect than 
this © monastery, ‘especially the church, 
which’ is’ the’ highest object | on this 
part of the. coast, and is visible far at 
sea The” ‘Portuguese are an honest 
well-behaved ‘people, remarkably  at- 
tached to’ the ‘English, but they are 
passionate. in the extreme, and murders 
are very ‘common—not for plunder, but 
: ré¥etige,” or'on ‘sudden quarrel. One 
day 'T witnessed one of these take place, 
Which ‘almost chilled my blood. Hap- 
pening to 20 down to the cotton wharf, 
Psaw two men fighting; one of them 
gave ‘the other a severe blow on the 
breast; which exasperated him so much, 
that he immediately drew a knife and 
cat his sdyersary across the abdomen, 
The'unfottinate man expired in about 
fivé’ minutes, while the assassin took 
sanctuary i ina neighbouring church, and 
in about a week “afterwards I saw him 
166kin¢ at’ Some English hardware in a 
shop: Window. It is too expensive for 
any one to undertake to bring a criminal 
to jsti¢e' for a capital crime, and if he 
has taken sanctuary it is of no use. 
The Portuguese are sober, and tolerably 
indistrions. | Their seamen are remark- 
ably good and faithful, and for English 
merchants, preferable to any other fo- 
consists of gold, silver, diamonds, sugar, 
cotton, hides, ipecacuanha, sarsaparilla, 
7 other valuable commodities ; but 
Po greater part of these articles are not 
Test-Indian possessions,the produce 
Hes is nearly similar, but inferior 
bro Bia the Brazils. 
— 
PotiricAr Economy and Popuation. 
Puslnivontaxce of the Science of 
‘OUR Magazine embracing all sub- 
4 jects” of importance, and being 
request your insertion of the following 
obsefyations! 
“the! (erm politiéal“econdmist is ‘Some- 
ie, ba 
réigners. The produce of the Brazils 
ic, rum, molasses, coffee, ginger, and 
ttable eto England, on account of 
ree ality, and double the price of that 
9° For the’ Monthli/ ron eila! 
OLITICAL Economy. 
opie to ‘discussion, I am induced to 
Rewriter iit the! last “numb: tr ‘pays, 
629 
What” of* undéfiried import, . ‘féspecting 
which no two ‘persons will be found to 
degree, if two ever can be found to give 
any definition at all, which by the. bye, 
fraeine! from all that wr have seen and 
heard ‘on the ‘subject, is problemati- 
eal.” This is, to be sure, a sad exam- 
ple of ignorance in one who assumes 
to teach others. 
The whole of the article of your cor- 
respondent is founded on assumptions, 
and if analyzed would be found to be 
wholly erroneous. He says, “ assum- 
ing, however, that, by political econo- 
mist, is meant, one who understands the 
relations and the right administr ation of 
the varied interests of society’:”’—Here he 
gives a definition, not his own, but one 
that all political economists agree in, 
and have long agreed in, although it has 
not on every occasion ‘been expressed 
in the same words. All agree, how- 
ever, that political economy js distinct 
from politics in the usual acceptation 
of this word. Monsieur Say, who cer- 
tainly is “one of the ablest political 
economists in’ Europe,” and_ one who 
has, by his works, been the mean of 
propagating a knowledge of the science 
to a very considerable extent, says, 
“ Politics, which is properly the name 
of the science by which societies are 
organized, has long been confounded 
with political economy, which teaches 
how wealth is formed, distributed, and con- 
sumed.” Traité d’economie politique, 
1814. 2d Ed. Discours Préliminaire, 
Mr. Ricardo will be found to agree 
with this definition. Mr. Ricardo, who 
wrote his invaluable book since Mons. 
Say published his second edition, avail- 
ed himself of the further information 
which had been elicited, and assisted 
still further to perfect the ‘science of 
political economy. 
Mr. Mill, in his “ Elemenis of Poli- 
tical Economy,” says, “the science of 
political economy divides itself into 
two grand inquiries, that which relates 
to production, and that which relates 
to consumption ; the laws of distribu- 
tion constitute an intermediate in- 
quiry between that which relates to 
production, and that which relates to 
consumption.” Thus it appears, . that 
the three most eminent writers agree 
with one another, and with your. cor= 
respondent : they ’ making the defini- 
tions to consist in words more precise 5 
he his definition less precise, but more, 
general. If, however, nothing » more 
were implied, by | your SoTeaR RD ent 
than a definition of the words sini 
ca 
