Last Years. 375 



I wish your American public could be made to feel the 

 utter viciousness of the plea commonly put in in defence 

 of your piratical system that it is essential for your insti- 

 tutions that the people should have access to knowledge, 

 unrestrained by regard for the author's claims. The truth 

 which, instead of this, should be impressed upon them, but 

 which I fear nothing will make them recognize, is, that free 

 institutions can exist and work well only in virtue of an all- 

 pervading equity. The coercive form of government, itself 

 implying an over-riding of men's rights, is capable of main- 

 taining a tolerably stable social state among citizens whose 

 regard for one another's rights is comparatively small : 

 force does what conscience fails to do. But in proportion 

 as a government becomes non-coercive, and is the concom- 

 itant of a social system based upon contract, and the 

 working together under voluntary co-operation, things can 

 go well only in proportion as citizens have such natures as 

 prompt them to respect one another's claims. Already the 

 well working of your institutions is perturbed in all kinds of 

 ways by dishonesty. Any increase of dishonesty will even- 

 tually in some way or other cause their collapse ; their only 

 salvation is increase of honesty. Hence, so far from its be- 

 ing needful, as your people allege, that the necessity is 

 diffusion of knowledge at the expense even of honesty, it 

 is, contrariwise, needful that there should be a diffusion of 

 honesty even should there be some consequent impediment 

 to the spread of knowledge. It is, I suppose, hopeless to 

 try to make them see this. 



In the summer of 1882 Youmans's long-felt desire 

 to welcome our friend Spencer to America was grati- 

 fied. Mr. Spencer was accompanied by an old friend, 

 Mr. Edward Lott, of Derby, a traveler of experience, a 

 man of skill in smoothing the difficulties of a rapid tour, 

 blessed with imperturbable good nature, and withal 

 a trusty shield against reporters and intrusive visit- 



