第50章 >>

Inasmuchas，onthissystem，anygivenamountofexpenditure，onceincurred，wouldprovidenotmerelyasingleemigration，butaperpetuallyflowingstreamofemigrants，whichwouldincreaseinbreadthanddepthasitflowedon;thismodeofrelievingoverpopulationhasarecommendation，notpossessedbyanyotherplaneverproposedformakingheadagainsttheconsequencesofincreasewithoutrestrainingtheincreaseitself:thereisanelementofindefinitenessinit;noonecanperfectlyforeseehowfaritsinfluence，asaventforsurpluspopulation，mightpossiblyreach。Thereishencethestrongestobligationonthegovernmentofacountrylikeourown，withacrowdedpopulation，andunoccupiedcontinentsunderitscommand，tobuild，asitwere，andkeepopen，inconcertwiththecolonialgovernments，abridgefromthemothercountrytothosecontinents，byestablishingtheself—supportingsystemofcolonizationonsuchascale，thatasgreatanamountofemigrationasthecoloniescanatthetimeaccommodate，mayatalltimesbeabletotakeplacewithoutcosttotheemigrantsthemselves。 Theimportanceoftheseconsiderations，asregardstheBritishislands，hasbeenoflateconsiderablydiminishedbytheunparalleledamountofspontaneousemigrationfromIreland;anemigrationnotsolelyofsmallfarmers，butofthepoorestclassofagriculturallabourers，andwhichisatoncevoluntaryandself—supporting，thesuccessionofemigrantsbeingkeptupbyfundscontributedfromtheearningsoftheirrelativesandconnexionswhohadgonebefore。Tothishasbeenaddedalargeamountofvoluntaryemigrationtotheseatsofthegolddiscoveries，whichhaspartlysuppliedthewantsofourmostdistantcolonies，where，bothforlocalandnationalinterests，itwasmostofallrequired。Butthestreamofboththeseemigrationshasalreadyconsiderablyslackened，andthoughthatfromIrelandhassincepartiallyrevived，itisnotcertainthattheaidofgovernmentinasystematicform，andontheself—supportingprinciple，willnotagainbecomenecessarytokeepthecommunicationopenbetweenthehandsneedingworkinEngland，andtheworkwhichneedshandselsewhere。 15。Thesameprinciplewhichpointsoutcolonization，andthereliefoftheindigent，ascasestowhichtheprincipalobjectiontogovernmentinterferencedoesnotapply，extendsalsotoavarietyofcases，inwhichimportantpublicservicesaretobeperformed，whileyetthereisnoindividualspeciallyinterestedinperformingthem，norwouldanyadequateremunerationnaturallyorspontaneouslyattendtheirperformance。Takeforinstanceavoyageofgeographicalorscientificexploration。Theinformationsoughtmaybeofgreatpublicvalue，yetnoindividualwouldderiveanybenefitfromitwhichwouldrepaytheexpenseoffittingouttheexpedition;andthereisnomodeofinterceptingthebenefitonitswaytothosewhoprofitbyit，inordertolevyatollfortheremunerationofitsauthors。Suchvoyagesare，ormightbe，undertakenbyprivatesubscription;butthisisarareandprecariousresource。Instancesaremorefrequentinwhichtheexpensehasbeenbornebypubliccompaniesorphilanthropicassociations;butingeneralsuchenterpriseshavebeenconductedattheexpenseofgovernment，whichisthusenabledtoentrustthemtothepersonsinitsjudgmentbestqualifiedforthetask。Again，itisaproperofficeofgovernmenttobuildandmaintainlighthouses，establishbuoys，&c。forthesecurityofnavigation:forsinceitisimpossiblethattheshipsatseawhicharebenefitedbyalighthouse，shouldbemadetopayatollontheoccasionofitsuse，noonewouldbuildlighthousesfrommotivesofpersonalinterest，unlessindemnifiedandrewardedfromacompulsorylevymadebythestate。Therearemanyscientificresearches，ofgreatvaluetoanationandtomankind，requiringassiduousdevotionoftimeandlabour，andnotunfrequentlygreatexpense，bypersonswhocanobtainahighpricefortheirservicesinotherways。Ifthegovernmenthadnopowertograntindemnityforexpense，andremunerationfortimeandlabourthusemployed，suchresearchescouldonlybeundertakenbytheveryfewpersonswho，withanindependentfortune，unitetechnicalknowledge，laborioushabits，andeithergreatpublicspirit，oranardentdesireofscientificcelebrity。 Connectedwiththissubjectisthequestionofproviding，bymeansofendowmentsorsalaries，forthemaintenanceofwhathasbeencalledalearnedclass。Thecultivationofspeculativeknowledge，thoughoneofthemostusefulofallemployments，isaservicerenderedtoacommunitycollectively，notindividually，andoneconsequentlyforwhichitis，primafacie，reasonablethatthecommunitycollectivelyshouldpay;sinceitgivesnoclaimonanyindividualforapecuniaryremuneration;andunlessaprovisionismadeforsuchservicesfromsomepublicfund，thereisnotonlynoencouragementtothem，butthereisasmuchdiscouragementasisimpliedintheimpossibilityofgainin……