PREFACE.

Kit
of truth. Strong powers of mind he un-
questionably possessed; otherwise, he could
neither have produced the works which have
associated his name with the political measures
of the age, nor could he have inspired those
sentiments of admiration and deference, which
have been so warmly manifested by men, them-
selves of no common talents. It is probable,
however, that the excess of their admiration
has blinded them to his defects; that they have
been too much occupied with the excellence of
his speculations to note the errors by which
they are disfigured. It would be difficult, on
any other supposition, to account for the ex-
travagant praises which have been heaped on
his Principles of Political Economy and Tax-
ation. One of our most distinguished living
economists designates it as a “ work rivalling
the ¢ Wealth of Nations’ in importance, and
excelling it in profoundness and originality *.”
* A Disc. on Pol. Econ., by J. R. M:Culloch, Esq., p. 65.