660 
PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 
methods of investigation of phenomena that have in the case of other 
sciences Jed to such remarkable results during the present century. 
It may be as well to remark at this point that this paper deals only 
with objective material facts. That the study of such facts will not 
account for all the vital phenomena of a community is true and 
obvious. Nor does a knowledge of the processes of digestion and 
circulation account for ail the vital phenomena of a man. But it 
would be as reasonable to object to a study of the unconscious vital 
processes in a man on the ground that u life is more than meat” as to 
object to the study of the physical phenomena of social life on the 
ground that it takes no note of the mental attributes of men. I make 
this observation to avoid the charge of forgetting that the effects 
which we see around us are the resultant of a hundred causes, and that 
the discovery of one of them is not a solution of the enigmas of life. 
Nevertheless, since the various material phenomena of the life of a 
community are the effects of material causes, the study of the 
phenomena is the most likely way to discover those causes. 
The bodily health of the individual, apart from his surroundings, 
depends upon the supply of a sufficient quantity of suitable food, 
upon the proper digestion of that food, and upon the due circulation of 
the blood which is the product of digestion. If the individual has not 
attained maturity, this product must be sufficient not only to repair 
waste, but to supply the additional material necessary for growth. If 
the food is insufficient or unsuitable, if the digestive functions arc 
deranged, or if the circulation is out of order, the health of the 
individual suffers. So in a community. The lirst condition of health 
is a sufficient supply of proper food for its members. In the existing 
state of societies clothing and shelter may be regarded as equally 
essential. These three terms, food, clothing, and shelter, comprise all 
the ordinary articles of consumption of the members of a community, 
whether the food is simple or luxurious, whether the clothing is 
limited to a loin cloth or includes the richest jewels, and whether the 
shelter is a lint or a palace. W arlike stores arc another class of 
articles for which provision must usually be made, but which it is not 
necessary for my present purpose to consider further. 
The fund which supplies this food, clothing, and shelter is the 
income or revenue of the community, and corresponds to food in the 
case of the individual. (This revenue is not to be confused with the 
product of State charges and levies, wdiich is called the State revenue.) 
This fund, having been brought into suitable form, is circulated or 
distributed throughout the body politic. Part of it is consumed in 
repairing waste, and the remainder is available for grow r th, or for 
additions to the capital or stock of the community. If there is no 
surplus there can be no growth in the wealth of the community. If 
the revenue is insufficient to repair waste, the community, or some 
part of it, will be insufficiently nourished ; and if, although the revenue 
is sufficient, the circulation of it is defective, the same result will 
follow as to rhe part where the circulation is obstructed. 
It is necessary, then, in order to a proper knowledge of the 
material condition of a body politic, to investigate its sources of income 
(or food), both as to quantity and quality, the manner in which this 
income or a sufficient part of it is digested — that is, brought into the 
