"[318]
With the greatest respect for Mr. M'Culloch's skill as a political
economist, this proposition has neither been established nor conceded in
the unlimited sense in which he here puts it forward. Enthusiastic men,
who become enamoured of some favourite theory, are apt to attach too
much importance to it--push it too far, and try to fit things into it
which it will not contain, without being modified or enlarged. This has
been the case with political economists to a remarkable extent; a fact
which John Stuart Mill notices and complains of as injurious to the
science.[319] The chief flaw in Mr. M'Culloch's apology for Absenteeism
(as his essay may well be called) is, that he entirely overlooks the
peculiar nature of Irish exports. Those exports consist almost
exclusively of raw, or, to use Adam Smith's word, of _rude_ produce; and
where this is the case Mr. M'Culloch's principle will not hold without
large modifications. Mr. Senior saw this, and, in dealing with Irish
Absenteeism he modifies the principle accordingly. In discussing the
proximate cause deciding the rate of wages, he lays down as his third
proposition, that "It is inconsistent with the prevalent opinion,[320]
that the non-residence of landlords, funded proprietors, mortgagees, and
other unproductive consumers can be detrimental to the labouring
inhabitants of a country _which does not export raw produce_.
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