14

POLITICAL  ECONOMY

however,  the  masters  of  the  new-born  science
were  in  some  measure  responsible—political
and  social  sentiments  were  contaminated  ;
and  the  country  was  condemned  to  pass
through  one  of  the  greatest  crises  in  its
history,  that  occasioned  by  mechanical
invention  and  the  introduction  of  steampower,
  without  benefit  of  much  mutual  helpfulness ­
  and  sympathy.  Said  the  Duke  in
Coningsby,  “  Supposing  a  case  of  outdoor
relief  “  I  could  not  suppose  anything
so  absurd,”  replied  his  son-in-law,  who  was
chairman  of  one  of  the  newly-constituted
Boards  of  Guardians.  Nobody  can  feel  quite
confident  in  passing  sweeping  judgments  on
bygone  events  ;  and  it  may  have  been  that
grave  errors  in  resisting  progress  were  avoided
in  consequence  of  the  austere  teaching  of  the
dominant  political  economy,  and  that  men
were  made  hard  enough  and  pushing  enough
to  win  their  way  through  when,  in  accordance
with  its  maxims,  they  were  left  to  depend  on
themselves  alone—
“Stem,  rugged  nurse,  thy  rigid  lore
With  patience  many  a  year  they  bore  !  **
But  that  much  of  the  reason  for  which
laisser  faire  was  recommended  and  practised ­
  originated  in  mental  confusion  must