LAW IN POLITICS. 375 



the work of Watt. And why it was harder is a 

 question which it may be well to ask. It is not 

 surprising that the methods of applying to our 

 own use the Powers of external Nature, should be 

 matter of difficult research. But it may well seem 

 strange that the forces which have their seat with- 

 in ourselves — in the Mind and Character of Man — 

 should be so unknown to us as to require careful 

 reasoning and observation before we know how to 

 use them with success for the attainment of our 

 ends. Yet so it is. The conscious energies of the 

 Will are ever tempted to march directly upon 

 objects which can only be reached by circuitous 

 methods of approach. And so the Wealth of 

 Nations, and the skill of Crafts, and the success of 

 Trade, had all been hindered by the measures de- 

 signed for their protection. The promptings of 

 individual interest had been checked and thwarted 

 and driven into channels less fruitful than those 

 which they would have naturally found. 



On the other hand, the discovery of the Steam 

 Engine, like every other weapon placed at the 

 disposal of Mind, gave a new stimulus to the 

 motives, and a new form to the conditions by 



