Ill 



ince another Smith, Adam Smith, took England, 

 or rather Europe, by surprise, by presenting the 

 world with his, ' Wealth of Nations/ Now Adam 

 Smith knew a great many things that his 

 contemporaries did not know. In his speciality, 

 it may very fairly be said, that he was far in 

 advance of his age. Yet experience has shown 

 that Adam Smith's knowledge was defective; 

 and that his opinions, on very many points, were 

 erroneous. The statement of this fact, is no 

 disparagement to the great reformer. It would 

 only be very disparaging to civilized Europe to 

 have stood still on the spot where he left her. 

 But Europe has not stood still. She has vindi- 

 cated civilization, and progressed very far in advance 

 of her old position, so far, that, as Mohamma- 

 dans call the age preceeding the mission of their 

 Prophet, the e days of ignorance/ modern econo- 

 mists will not, I dare say, care to dispute the 

 point with me, if I distinguish the period prior 

 to the appearance of the ' Wealth of Nations/ as 

 compared with the present, by some such epithet. 

 Certainly, looking at the very long time it has taken, 

 Europe to acknowledge the general truth of many 

 sound theories propounded by the elder Smith, 

 they will admit that, had the writings of Mill, 



Ricardo, De Quincey, and many others who have 

 since successfully attempted a practical adaptation 

 of the theories of this science to the progressive 



